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 ...
Unnngh.
It’s supposed to be so “compassionate,” having the government “take care” of people, but instead, it’s a constant hassle. Bureaucracy has no motive to be decent to anyone. If individuals in the bureaucracy are decent, it’s because of their own character, not the system.
Good news about the health insurance!
I just sent a new FReepmail...
I just saw it!
I’m playing a Spanish psalm a hundred times, so I can sing it later.
I just listened to a very uplifting talk, and now I need to take my pills and get my make-up on. FS will be here in about an hour.
I’ve got The Slows...
Best wishes! I’m going to exercise a bit, and then I’ll have a shower. Jake suggests going back to bed, but that will have to wait.
Off to church. It will be LATE when I get back...
I hope it all works out well for you. Hang in there!
Home from Mass, where all went well. Unusually, there were no young adults at the house expecting to be taken grocery shopping at our expense.
We’re planning to go to Academy Sports in a little while and look for $100 of stuff to buy with our $20 off coupon. On the way home, we can drop James and Vlad at church.
Good luck on your trip to Academy Sports! I’m going to take the pill dose I missed and then sit for a bit to watch TV.
In some ways this was a good day. In others, not-so-good. Kids get funnier (odder) as they age.
We got sleeping bags for Frank and Kathleen, various socks, and some extra lanterns. You need one in the Cave in the daytime!
One can never have too many lanterns when one (or ones) are in the Cave!
And socks are always good. ;o]
I sorted clothes which I don’t normally do on Sunday, but I had such a rotten night last night that I had to do it today, because I’m not sure if I’ll hear the alarm.
Last week I washed on Tuesday, and didn’t get up until 0500 and one of my neighbors had his front door wide open and was watching out the door. So tomorrow, I’ll just get up, dress, and head out. I hope both machines are working!
In the dark at 5:00 a.m. Seems creepy.
That comment was tongue in cheek, I realize that pipe smoke coats an environment over time.
I see it that way too!
“Dark Star”
Happy Monday!
I’m here, ready to head out the door to go wash clothes, but it’s 30° out and I’m not in the mood to be cold.
The Monday Marmalade is just what I need! Thanks!
I hope you slept well.
I just put the ozone machine in the bedroom and set it for about 45 minutes, so when I get back, it should smell better in there. I hope.
That’s what I thought, too.
The last thing I need is creepy crepey neighbors.
Pretty good night, thanks, although I had some “help” from Jake. It looks like the other residents are stirring now.
Good luck with the laundry. Maybe you should have a hiking stick to clobber creeper neighbors!
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