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)
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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 ...
When I went to Lin’s this morning, I bought a bottle of throat spray. I’ve been using it quite often since I got back.
Yes, I could stop, and I will, but not just yet. It’s nearly time for me to head down the hall, anyway, so when I get this box almost filled, I’ll stop for today.
Too much time has been lost or just plain wasted because I haven’t felt well, and I’m not going to waste any more, or lose any more time because there is no one else to do the packing. It’s only me. No one else is willing or able to help, so I have to do it.
OK. I’m stopping. I’m going to bed.
I’ve been using the throat spray several times an hour and dosing up on vitamin C every time I have to take my pills, so with any luck, whatever this is, I’ll have the best of it by tomorrow.
And I’ll work on either the pantry or the bedroom or both. But I will do everything I possibly can to get the packing done by the 9th of October.
I hope you have a good night!
I hope you have a good night, too!
Oh, look! A ‘splosion of floofs!
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
This, whatever has me, seems to be an old fashioned cold, but it’s been a lot of years since I had one (my immune system has been so ramped up with CFIDS) that I didn’t recognize it for that. As long as the supply of vitamin C holds out, I should be fine.
I plan on taking things slowly today, but I will pack. Even if I only get one or two boxes done, like yesterday, I’ll do some packing.
Good morning. Happy Friday Eve.
I hope everyone has a productive day today.
Happy Friday Eve!
It started out productive, in that I got the pills sorted, but then I had to move the microwave off the cart and clean the cart up. I hope it doesn’t fall apart on the way to it’s new home, two apartments away. I doubt it would make it to Dogpatch in one piece.
So now, I’ll take a little break.
(I wish I had a vaporizer...)
A happy Thorsday to you!
That reminds me that I need to take my pills.
I’m just waiting for the sun to come up so I can be more productive. Ha-ha. I want to take a nap. I also wanted to go back to sleep when I did get up, but I knew if I did, the pills wouldn’t get sorted. I have to change to sort day to Saturday so it will coincide with the drive across the country. So many things have to be considered. :o|
Is tomorrow the day you leave for camp?
Why, is there someone you need vaporized?
Take them where? Or were you not talking about the byos?
The humor on other threads seems to have migrated to the UT.
Very good, ArGee!
*snicker*
Yes, we’re leaving on the campout noonish tomorrow.
It is cooler here today.
That is great, sounds like he will maintain it well and enjoy it for years.
Hoping that all goes well with your plan today!
Well I hope that you feel much better this morning... that the sore throat is gone!
Wow, Friday Eve has rolled around again... where does the time fly off to?
I use it without a vaporizer... just rub all around my neck and upper body... some in and under the nostrils...
In fact, I used it last night... fighting off something... that stuff works wonders!
Thanks for your suggestion, but I quit using Vick’s when I found Watkins. Using any menthol product by-under-around your nostrils isn’t a good idea because it can burn the mucous membranes inside.
Watkins is all I use, and I use it at night, but seldom in the daytime. It stains clothing.
Thanks! Sore throat is still with me, and I’m tired this morning, but that’s the story of my life! I’ve been taking vitamin C with each dose of pills and using throat spray, so with luck, I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.
Packing has to be done!
What aspects of Watkins are better than Vic's?
I am curious to know if I should switch...
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