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 ...
If it’s a tension shower curtain rod, I can do it myself, and would have done if I had been capable of driving myself to Walmart or Ace Hardware, which is on this side of the freeway.
But as is usual since I’ve been here, I have to depend on other people and their time is not necessarily my time. Their entire lives are about three or four hours behind mine, so I wait for them to get up and worst of all, have to wait for dinner, so we can eat together. So I end up drinking the liquid breakfasts I bought (vitamin/mineral concoction) and don’t have much of an appetite.
So I’m ready, I think to spend a night in my own place. Floor and all.
I have to leave in a few minutes, but will take my mouse and dongle so I can send a few lines when I take a break.
FS is up, and I’ll spend a few minutes with him before I leave, so I’ll see you later!
Internet provider changed things up late last week and it has been a near total disaster... I will continue to be scarce until it is resolved or I find a new provider...
Grrr...
Good luck!
Hopefully it will all work out soon. A year from now it will merely be a speed bump in your rear-view mirror.
Hopefully one or the other will be soon.
There will be a lot of muertos voting!
You are absolutely right. It’s just frustrating is all, so I vent and unfortunately the Undeaders are the ones who to get the dirty end of it.
My apologies should be in parentheses at the end of every post.
I’ve made great headway in the bedroom, so when this short break is over, I’ll work on the living room.
I hate when they do that!
I survived a James Driving Adventure with only moderate screaming. After lunch, I’m taking Frank and Kathleen on a non-optional outdoor excursion.
I’m certainly glad we didn’t have to celebrate you on dio de los muertos.
I’m back at the Other Place, and got some info about how to set up my TV and my laptop. Both of which sets of instructions I hope are adequate.
Otherwise, I will be screaming myself before tomorrow is over with.
The more I unpack, the more I realize how little storage space is in that place. One walk-in closet and a small closet in the bathroom. But somehow, I’ll make it work!
*tagline*
Heh, good tagline.
Not this year.
Thanks. Somehow, it was fitting.
Something else got left behind. My cleaning supply tray from under the kitchen sink. I’ve had that thing for 30 years. I don’t think they even make them any more. It was so stinking handy!
Rats!
Amazon has cleaning supplies organizers:
https://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-Supplies-Organizer/s?k=Cleaning+Supplies+Organizer
This was more what it looked like but the base basket was deeper and the shelf basket came out farther over the base and nested in it slightly.
Looks like the guards fell asleep on duty.
Good morning. I hope you slept well, with not too many interruptions from the Jakester.
I’ll be taking my last load over this morning, and when FS gets home from work, he’ll bring the rest of the boxes that are here. Then I’ll be out of their hair. Or their Love Nest as the case may be.
I feel beat up, but I’ll just keep pushing! I’ll get it together.
Oy. Jake was obnoxious last night. Maybe we’ll have a nap later. Good luck with the last of the moving-in!
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