Posted on 06/11/2021 11:51:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
At 563 carats, the Star of India is the world’s largest gem-quality blue star sapphire, and is approximately 2 billion years old. (Image credit: D. Finnin/Copyright AMNH)
==================================================================
What does the legendary Star of India — a 563-carat star sapphire the size of a golf ball — have in common with a 35-million-year-old petrified redwood slab; a massive cluster of sword-like crystals that looks like it came from "Game of Thrones;" and a 5-ton (4.5-metric ton) stone pillar that can "sing?"
You can see all of them, along with 5,000 other amazing stones, in the newly renovated Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, which is reopening after a four-year closure on Saturday (June 12). There, one-of-a-kind precious gems appear alongside odd-looking rocks — some of which date to billions of years ago — that have been uniquely warped and twisted by extreme temperatures and pressures.
Individually and together, these objects tell a story of the diverse geologic processes that shape minerals on Earth's surface and deep inside our planet, beginning when the world was young and continuing to this day, museum representatives told Live Science.
Related: 13 mysterious and cursed gemstones
The Star of India, which formed about a billion years ago, was discovered in Sri Lanka in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known gems in the world, in part because it was famously and brazenly stolen from AMNH in 1964, along with several more of the museum's prized stones, by a pair of thieves named Jack "Murf the Surf" Murphy and Allan Kuhn, Smithsonian reported in 2014, on the heist's 50th anniversary. (The one-of-a-kind sapphire was recovered and went back on display in 1965).
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
I can’t do anything any other way besides one step at a time. So whatever is next is what’s supposed to happen next, whatever that is.
I’ll get up and shower and do what I can do to get closer to the actual loading of the truck, but since I can’t rush time, things just have to happen when they happen.
I had to sell the Tracker before I could move, but I had to get an address before I could sell the Tracker. So I can pay for the U-Haul any time now, and the loading/unloading crews are already lined up, but nothing can be done until The Next Step. Whatever it is!
If you had a cat, the next step would be obvious: whatever the cat wants!
I’m going to chop vegetables.
Exactly! Catz rulz!
And it won’t be long before I’m heading down the hallway, because it’s been an emotional few hours and I was already tired.
I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings!
“He is still interested, and he will take possession of it on October 7 or 8. So I have most of the money for a down payment on a new vehicle!”
HUZZAAHH!!
Great news! So glad to learn that’s going to work out for you!
Thanks! I had two other buyers nagging me about it, but he was first, so it came together when it needed to for both of us. ;o]
Now, I’m taking myself to bed. Maybe I’ll be able to “sleep in” tomorrow!
(I’ll keep you posted!)
I hope you have a great night, and I’ll be here tomorrow, all things being equal.
I wonder when “War Day” is.
Probably tomorrow.
Good to hear you're not frozen nor flooded.
Sneezing.
I have, of all things, a cold.
Does nighttime cold medicine work for you? Prayers up for a speedy and uneventful recovery.
Nope.
Plus I’m at work, so pretty much anything beyond cold ease or mucinex is out.
Ugh.
Yup.
Unngh city.
Population me.
👍🏻
👍🏻
👍🏻
Sorry to hear that! I hope you feel better soon.
I’m so sorry, Darks. Colds are bad enough but having to work in the first days of it is torture. I hope you feel better soon! {{{{Darks}}}}
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.