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 ...
Finally. He brought it back all clean and beautiful and smelling much better! (It smelled dusty...)
Of course he wanted to know where I got it, so I had to tell him it was from a late friend in Henderson.
The bed is made and I’m ready to call it a day. So thanks for the offer of a cat and a blanket via DarksFAX! The thought counts! <3
Oh, yes.
When he brought it in, the neighbor who borrowed my hand truck without asking, then almost by way of greeting said he was divorced and just moved in, was leaning against Brian’s car. And he had his standard rictus grin. No wonder the guy seems so creepy. *shudder*
I didn’t even give “Bill” a greeting, though I’m sure it would have been the polite and kind thing to do. I just don’t have it in me today.
I don’t blame you, and I hope you have a great night with your newly-washed comforter. I also hope you don’t immediately meet creepers at your new apartment!
Well, it’s inevitable that the creepers will show up shortly after I move in. “New blood,” and all that — someone who doesn’t know them and their history.
But it’s OK. I have the “Ig Factor” down to a science.
I don’t know if my blanket is a “comforter.” Comforting, yes, and very nice to sleep under. (I think!) But it’s thick fleece, and two layers, and I think I should have told him to wash and dry it on the “Delicate” cycle. I don’t think he did. Anyway, you’ll see it when you visit, and since you’ll have the bed, you can choose to sleep under it or not. ;o]
And now, I’m heading down the hall and going to bed. The day just caught up with me.
Sleep well!
And good night!
Wow. You're nice. I would put my stuff on her front porch.
Oh, look! A Wednesday kitteh!
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
I never did get a call, but as I told her yesterday, we’re coming, so she needs to make sure the place is ready for me within a reasonable amount of time.
We’ll see what today brings.
Now I need to get dressed.
Good morning. I slept badly, with assistance from Jake. Maybe we’ll have a nap later!
I have a feeling that you will get there and it will be fine.
The laundry is folded and put away, so next is to wash my face off and comb my head out. I'll have a few minutes after that before I have to leave.
Hopefully, after I've had my second dose of morphine, I'll be able to finish up the packing. The place looks like a tornado hit, but that's just the organizational process at work. Things are in piles, waiting to go into boxes. It just looks like a mess, now.
I’m sorry Jake is such a rotten sleep partner, but then, that’s what naps are for, right? ;o]
Yes, it’s always like that when we’re getting ready for a trip. It looks like everything has just been thrown about, but it’s actually in the right place for the next step.
That’s true. Some things are difficult to put into logical order in my mind, but my subconscious knows what to do. That was ingrained before CFIDS, so I’m good!
I think I mentioned it, but I’m not sure — I believe the reason this cold has been so mild is because of coconut oil capsules. They’ve kept the worst of it from staying in my lungs and developing into pneumonia again. It will be gone for the trip, so that’s good. I’ll be able to enjoy myself.
FD decided she wanted to come with us, and I told her there was still time, if she could get here by Saturday. Ohdarn. She couldn’t get the time off. I’ve heard that before.
I think it will work out better without an additional participant! Maybe FD can come see you after the move.
Speaking of daughters, Elen, USMC, is now saying she’ll be here around Oct. 30 and stay through November (bunking at Tom’s). We’ll see - you never know, with the military, until the last minute.
Well, I didn’t expect FD to join us. I think she was jealous that FS was going to spend so much time with me alone, and she couldn’t. Age old flames fanned by one who is no longer with us. She wouldn’t have done it, any more than she would have in January of 2020 when the plane ticket RT was barely over $100.
I’ve been trying to get her to come visit, but I doubt she will.
Yes, I know exactly how the military is! I was stuck in San Diego with no news for three weeks during the Cuban Missile Crises, while my husband’s unit was taking members of the USMC to Panama for transfer to the Caribbean. Life was always Subject To Change Without Notice!
I’m outta here. See you in about an hour. Give or take 10 minutes!
Good morning. Happy Twosday.
Yes, Kitteh, the days come at you like that sometimes.
Good morning, and a happy Tiw’s Day to you!
I think I had that expression when my alarm went off, I tried to sit up to shut it off, and Jake dug his claws in.
Yes, it is always worth stopping for some kolaches!
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