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 ...
Good morning. I’m trying to be happy.
I’m glad you’re getting settled. Hopefully this can be the last move you ever have to make.
That was the intention of the move, actually, so it will be.
W00t!! Good job! And on a Monday, into the deal!
Sometimes, when reunions are in place, the excitement can be intoxicating. It’s good that they were able to drive home on their own.
No reports of damage have come in ;-). Sally has to work today, Tom has school, and Elen will probably sleep.
It sounds as if you’re getting the storms we just had. The rain was nice, but I’m not happy with it whenever it shows up, but I recognize when it’s needed.
Jet lag is always bad going east.
The WiFi installer is due this morning, I just remembered, so I have to stay there until he leaves. “Appointment” time is between 8 and 12.
I don’t want to come back here, but it is what it is.
I’m confused by your “here” and “there,” and I expect you are, as well. I hope you get settled in one location soon!
I couldn’t stay there (new place) with the cigarette smoke as bad as it was, so I had to stay here (FS’s place) until the ozone machine did the job. Since the WiFi Guy is coming this morning, I’ll have to stay there until PW has her lunch hour.
When I get home, I’ll try to make an appointment with a doctor so I can get a referral for a medico who cares for patients with chronic pain. The nearest pain clinic is probably in Little Rock. Dogpatch is only 23,000+ people so it may not be big enough for a pain clinic.
Hopefully, I won’t have to make the trip to LR.
I was able to sign up for an HMO Saturday, so that was a relief. The only thing is the cost of meds until I can get “Extra Help” from Medicare.
It looks as if things are getting organized, even if it’s more slowly than you would like. How far is it to Little Rock?
Frank has been invited to butcher chickens at his friend’s house next weekend, so he won’t be forced to go on the Cub Scouts campout.
It’s supposed to be some kind of system that has migrated from midwestern parts of the U.S. And it’s bringing coastal flooding watches. But we’re not coastal so that’s OK.
How big does a place have to be to have pain?
What do normal people wear to weddings these days?
The guys, normal guys...
I see some guys in suits and others in slacks and a tidy shirt. Also some in work clothes.
Thanks. Last wedding I went to was mostly hipsters. Portlandia. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t representative of normal and accepted...
I don’t know. I don’t know any normal guys.
The weddings are the ones where my church choir is performing, and the community is mainly Mexican and Central American. Men are dressed in the same range of outfits as we see at regular church services, from outdoor work clothes through business casual to suits. Sometimes traditional national outfits, like Mexican cowboy suits.
Little Rock is about 20 miles away, so it’s not that far. I’ve driven there, on one of my previous visits, but I didn’t like it. I’ll do it again if I have to.
I spent the morning at the apartment and realized it’s bigger than I first thought. The bedroom is bigger, and it has a walk-in closet, but the light switch in there is missing. So I need to find a tap light or two for the duration.
The bedroom is cleared enough that I can sleep in there, but I have to trade sides with the bed and the bookcase, due to the emergency cord. It was covered by the mirror on the dresser in Hurricane.
I got five storage tubs emptied, and have begun the process of once more getting ready to donate things that I brought and won’t have room for. With the exception of the walk-in, storage space is at a premium. Since two medium boxes were also emptied, there is a little more room to maneuver.
The Wi-Fi guys came so that’s ready to go. I just need a longer piece of co-ax so it will reach to my desk.
The bathroom is larger but there isn’t much room in the “linen closet” for much of anything. I’ll be looking for solutions...
Charlie’s door mat is outside the door and the windchimes are up so that makes me feel better.
On the way home, we stopped by the bank and I opened a checking account, so I can now get my DD re-routed.
Now I’m going to take a break and watch some TV.
Don’t miss a visit to the Clinton Presidential Center.
The cafe there is excellent.
I believe Bill’s personal chef runs the place.
Prices are cheap (taxpayer subsidized, of course).
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