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 ...
It ain't for everyone, and that is probably a good thing!
Good Morning to All! (And Al too, if he is still lurking!)
What a sweet little cali!
Good morning. Did you have a good night?
I think I was exhausted. I got over 10 hours of sleep, finally, and though the Fitbit says there was no REM sleep, I remember dreaming. Something.
Anyway, I’ll take my pills and head for the shower and see what awaits me then.
Good morning, everyone. Happy Humph Day!
Good morning. Not a bad night. Sally (that’s my 3rd daughter, age 21) called for a pep talk, which I expect will be a regular occurrence for a while. For all their investment in their feelings, young people seem to have so little basic understanding.
“You are not ‘depressed’: you are reacting to a sudden change. Your cat is not ‘depressed’: she is adjusting to a sudden change. It is okay to feel sad, angry, lonely, etc. Acknowledge it. Recognize that it is a bioelectrical phenomenon that will be different in an hour or tomorrow. Then GO READ A BOOK!”
Sally says she doesn’t have a book. “You were brought up better than that. Anoreth has books (that’s her older sister with the spare room): I saw them on the shelf when we moved your stuff in. If her books are boring, you’ll fall asleep.”
This mom gig is not for the weak, especially at my age!
“...This mom gig is not for the weak, especially at my age!”
Trust me. Growing older gives no relief to the mom gig. It just breaks your heart a little more.
At least she is calling you for comfort, which seems to be a First, IIRC. Good for her, and good for you for rising to the occasion! Some days, it isn’t easy. Struggles with my own daughter at the same age Sally is put a unique light on yours. Hang in there. By the time she’s your age, you’ll be the best mom she ever had!
Shower is done. I have no idea what’s next, except the new tea cycle starts today. After that, meh. Sharon will be coming over because I’m no longer contagious and she can’t give what I have to Jerry with his poor lungs who won’t take coconut capsules, she says, even though they could prolong his life and make his breathing so much easier!
Maybe some more packing today, but maybe not. The library calls. Tomorrow I can really knock a hole in it!
Good happy Wednesday morning! It’s 55° outside, and with the door open just a little, the breeze is coming through. I had the Galileo ready for packing but missed seeing the globes rise and fall so I unwrapped it and put it back up. It’s doesn’t go that low (68° is the lowest) but I have the NWS to tell me the temp.
I have often theorized that the reason human beings are born so helpless and dependent is that parents invest so much time and energy getting them to 18 months old they won’t kill them.
If they’re the size of coconuts I wouldn’t take them either.
We were at 45 Fs when I put out the pup this morning. Not cold enough for gloves but not warm enough to be out any length of time without them.
This was the wrong morning for her to decide not to pee. I brought her back in and took her out again about 45 min later and she went right away. Sheesh!
Well, “cold” to a human is not the same as “cold” to a mammal covered with fur. So your need for gloves (or not) is not necessarily translated into her need (or not) to pee.
But then, I see things from a puppy point of view. Or a kitteh as the case may be. ;o]
The “sunk cost fallacy.”
Elen and Sally have both been calling me for pep talks about their relationships. They seem to have realized that I must, by this time, have Been Through Some Stuff and figured out how to deal with it and keep laughing.
That’s good that they’re confiding in you! Age gives one perspective, so we know we’re aging. ;o]
I know when things are going bad with the Girl because she doesn’t talk to me.
In the meantime, I’ve been trying to pay bills but I had to wait for a couple of places to open so I can call and cancel services, but that means I forgot about pills and breakfast. So I have to finish writing the checks and then wait for Sharon.
I was going to go to Lin’s this morning early, but slept in, so I’ll have to do it on my way to the library. If nothing else, today, I’ll build a couple of boxes!
I went to put Charlie’s door mat out this morning and there was a great big snail right where I was going to put it. So I waited 20 minutes, and he’d crawled about 5” but it was enough. So I can put the mat out again!
Sally called because one of her coworkers died and another tried to kill himself and is in the hospital.
Breathe in, count to 3. Breathe out, count to 3. Pray for the living and the dead. One task at a time.
*sigh*
I was not totally squared away when I was 21 or 23, either.
Yes, as well as emotional bonding.
It’s the same type of emotional bonding that will cause a person to put their pet through expensive cancer treatments instead of being humane and putting it out of its misery.
I accept the first, I don’t accept the second.
That death thing seems to be an impact to all of us. My F-I-L found a friend of his in the obits one day, so he called a common friend who lives in another state to see if he knew. “Can I speak to Dick?” “I’m sorry, Dick passed away last week.”
F-I-L was talking about that for days. Apparently the 3 of them were pretty close in college and for a while after.
I think F-I-L is feeling like the last man standing. If his younger brother goes first we’ll be providing a lot of emotional support.
For Sally, it’s probably the sudden realization that, yes, she could actually die.
She could die, but it’s not likely right now, unless she has a meltdown in traffic. Breathe in, count to three, breathe out, count to three.
“...will be given his eviction notice.”
Been there.
Done that.
Herded a pair of twenty-somethings off to their own apartment where they can prop up the roof on their own dime.
Did you know...
...our here, if you go to rent a $2,000/mo apartment, you’ve gotta show proof of $70,000 annual household income or they won’t even talk to you?
Oh, and... that $2,000/mo apartment? That’s two bedrooms, unfurnished; I think the place came with a refrigerator. And carpet. The utilities (water, power, internet) are all on top of that.
Good thing the guys are both making $40k+ ... going in together they qualify.
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