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 don’t think that I can ever pass up pizza... unless it is Hunt Brothers Pizza from the gas station! lol
Yes, that is what I was thinking... it seems that different browsers put out different “privacy warnings.”
They call it “Faith Formation,” but I’m stuck in the 70s on this topic.
It would be nice to get into this one before the trip, because it’s lightweight and easily transportable. I can use this one on my desk but I’d rather not lug it into and out of motel rooms because I have no case for it.
Three boxes from the pantry down and I need to take my pills and another dose of morphine and get back at it.
I meant to tell you a few days ago that I got a phone call from Walgreen’s client consultation office (or something on that order) and they wanted to give me a prescription for something (the name slips by me at the moment) for depression caused by the morphine. WHAT???
I said, “I’m not depressed!” I was almost asleep when the call came in or I would have told her that morphine was an absolute gift to me, and that the only time I get depressed is when I don’t have it because then I can’t clean house!
When I go to the pain clinic on the 6th, I’ll try to remember to tell her about the call. Nuts.
Don’t let size fool you. My phone is more powerful than some desktops. If you have 16GB of RAM you can add a different browser without concern.
The Edge site says the latest version of Edge gives you a “Details” link and the ability to go on to the Web page if you click Details. If you don’t have that you may need to update manually.
I never heard of that one. I did find this out on the Web.
“I just used my account successfully. Try deleting your browsing data, three dots upper right, setting, clear browsing data. Restart Edge. Test”
Jeez. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.
Thanks!
I’ll do that in just a bit. I think I broke a record for me. I got three (four?) new boxes packed and added padding and a few more items to other boxes so I think today, so far, I’ve got seven boxes packed and got the cable company taken care of finally.
I need to walk over to the mailbox but I don’t know if I’m ready for that. It’s time for a much needed break. I think. Then back at it again.
Yes, most phones these days are powerful. Whodathunkit when the first phone bricks came out?
Iknowhuh? The inanity boggles the mind.
How was your trip to Walmart? I wish they were open 24/7 because I’d like to go early in the morning to get a cooler and more packing paper.
I also got the bag of shreds taken out finally, with one last emptying of the basket into it.
But even as cold as it is, I had to open the back because the smell of the Marks-A-Lot is giving me a headache.
Also, Admiral Fitz has crystals at top and bottom! So pretty.
The linen closet, by the way, is empty! :o]
It was okay. They had diet cola!
YAY!!!
Diet cola rules!
Zero-calorie cola, on the other hand, tastes like different chemicals and is a poor substitute for diet cola.
I’ve paid some bills. Next, I’ll cook some ground beef in aid of a casserole for the byos’ supper.
I’m still on my break, but when I get done with it, I’ll get back to busy-ness. Maybe the bedroom. With luck, I’ll be done with 99.9% of it by Saturday afternoon.
You’re a blur!
Well...SOMEbody’s got to do it!!
I’ve delegated me, so the work should go easier, now. ;o]
I’ll do up one or two boxes in the bedroom and then call it a day. I’m still trying to get that marker smell out of my nostrils.
Jake came to tell me that he thought I should give him the ground beef.
Good on Jake!
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.