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 ...
Suddenly, all of today’s petty little nuiscances are just that: Petty.
So no comment until I’ve grown up and can do some justice to the grown-up thing.
So, let me tell you about NYC apartments.
Or not.
Shoot!
When Sharon was here this morning she told me we had a thunderstorm last night. Could have fooled me!
When I went out to remove the windshield cover (put on yesterday because of the Lawn Guy and his debris) I found the windshield was wet, even though the streets were dry, so it obviously rained! No wonder it was so cold!
Most of the stuff I had to do today was done, but my insurance call was interrupted by a call from my FS which I didn’t take because I was on the phone with AAA, and the visit from Sharon. That’s when I had to quit.
By the time she left, I had to go to the library for the next to last time, and when I got back, I had to charge the phone (which will be replaced ASAP when I get to Dogpatch!) so that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
I won’t go into details on what happened during all of the above, but for the most part, Things Were Accomplished. And I realized I’m tired. Still suffering the after effects of the sore throat/chest cold, so I’ll go to be before I feel any worse.
*tagline*
It sounds like you’ve earned a good night’s rest!
Frank and Kathleen have Sunday School tonight, so I’ve just started making pizza for them.
Mmmmm! Pizza!
I hope there’s pizza on the menu in the next few weeks! I mean, one I don’t have to cook in the microwave. ;o]
Anyway, I’m gone for the night. I hope all of you have restful nights!
It’s taking forever for the oven to preheat.
What’s round and red and comes in slices?
Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCmxPqC1S4k
Is the pizza done, yet?
That’s not even enticing. But it’s your choice so belly up to the pizza oven!
It was done just in time. We were *this close* to being late.
*this close* only counts in horseshoes and dancing!
I’ll leave earlier next time, which means starting to cook earlier. Our oven takes forever to preheat these days.
Pensive kitteh!
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
Each day I’m feeling better but still not great. The Emergen-C seems to be making all the difference, but whatever it is, I’m grateful because I can actually get some work done.
It’s supposed to be 50° at 0800. I don’t want to unpack the space heater, but I may have to before I leave here.
I have to finish up the phone call I started yesterday and make one more and I’m done. Well, there’s an email that has to be sent, but... I just realized I don’t know the name of the power company in Dogpatch, so I had better call to find out and get things started!
Not bad, thanks, and hope you are the same.
I don’t have much on the calendar today.
Cool! Then you can help me pack! Between the two of us, we can get this done in a heartbeat! :o])
I’m going to work on the pantry and maybe the bedroom. There isn’t much in either place to be done. The storage closet in here isn’t too bad, either, with only a couple of things that can be packed. The rest of it already is. So that’s good.
I think the coat closet contents will just have to go into (how many ways can “into” be spelled wrong?) a box. I’m pretty much out of Space Bags.
Good morning, all. Happy Friday Eve!
I would probably agree, but the kids loved it.
Also atom bombs and Fr. Joe.
Fr. Joe taught calculus.
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