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 ...
I had a little dog about the size, (not that color) who only came when I called her “Kitty.” One of my nieces in Idaho currently has a small dog named “Kitty” so I guess this is one of those dogs. Strange things happen in the animal world!
I first have to call and make sure the apartment number is right. Then I have to call to find a doctor. The other stuff can’t be done until next week — utilities, Interwebs, etc. I also have to change my address with SSA.
Unngh. Moving stinks.
I DID find the DMV manual for AR, but without the printer, I’m going to be fighting to remember stuff.
This should help you out when you go to the doctor in AK.
http://www.mit.edu/people/dmredish/wwwMLRF/links/Humor/Medical_Terms.html
Been busy...
...Did I miss anything?
...I did miss something.
That’s AR, not AK. AK is a lot colder than I want to be!
But that’s way funny, and I can hear him saying every one of them!
Gak, I can't believe that it is Wednesday already... traveling messes up my sense of time and calendar...
It’s been fairly quiet.
I didn’t see that supplier pick up the maple syrup.
That’s the northern tier’s job. Maple syrup and spuds.
Doy! Yes, you’ve done AK, haven’t you.
I still remember when Herself was working on the precursor to Obombacare and that came out.
Yes, actually, five years of it (dare I say) while it was still a Territory.
I love it, and would love to go back, but only to visit. :o]
You could Google things like, “How to pass the AR driver test.” There will often be websites listening the “trick” questions.
I’ve completed one out of three music projects.
*deep breath*
And on to the second one.
Second music project complete. On to the third one.
Writing? Learning? Teaching?
It’s a good thing this is a Tax Chick project. If it were me it would entail “mertalyzing”.
But iz ok.
I protect her and kittahs.
I may just do that! Thanks!
I’ve completed the laundry and am waiting for the Other Folks to get back from TN. I also had a shower and finally warmed up, but before too long, I’ll have to re-set the thermostat so the Other Folks find it comfy when they get in.
In the meantime, I’m watching stuff on Roku.
Just finished a letter to a friend from the Village, so it will go out tomorrow.
Now, I’m going to take my next series of pills and fix a sandwich. I’m going to regret being kicked off my tea routine but it can’t be helped.
How is that done, exactly? I've watched stuff on TV and stuff on DVD and stuff On Demand, but I've never watched anything off of something before. Is it unavailable for anyone else to watch after you watched it off?
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