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 ...
Believe me, I wanted to assert my role from day 1. But apparently we do kinder, gentler dog training now.
Not that any dog pack leaders know about that.
*under breath mumbling*
OK. Then. To be strictly Non-PC: We get what we ask for.
Good luck in the future with it. I suspect it’s going to be a tougher job than anyone imagined. You have my sympathy. :o|
True, but I think most people don’t believe they ask for what they get.
This is VERY true! “What did I ever do to deserve....?” I say, (having been a recent recipient) what goes around, comes around. I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it, but these days, yeah...like that. I have to stop and think sometimes: Was there a time when...? Yes. There was. So I try to be nicer, now.
Does one eat the yellow mustard, or rub it on the cramp?
Yes, it is the potassium that helps with the cramps... same as the banana... I need the Zero version though, the regular has way too much sugar...
We don’t get a lot of leaf color in Central Texas, most go right to brown on most trees... some occasional exceptions are noticeable...
Eat. And then drink the milk.
Charles Atlas said you should chew your milk.
Good morning, Bob! Did Charles Atlas eat cottage cheese?
Yes, I understand about the sugar. Unbeknownst to me until it was too late, my son’s father was diabetic. My son and I were both hypoglycemic until he was in his late 20’s. Had he stayed on his hypoglycemic diet, he may have delayed the onset of diabetes by ten years, but it is what it is, and he’s losing weight, getting his numbers down. I’m still hypoglycemic so I feel guilty when I eat anything sweet around him. I DO keep cashews and very dark chocolate for his rare visits.
Maybe when he is finished with the job at his cantankerous customer, he can visit more often.
Hiya, Bob!!
I’m 1600 miles closer to you than I was the last time we talked. Ya scared, yet? ;o])
Morning floof is trying to get some heat from the bricks.
Good morning.
Did you sleep well? Maybe with a cat?
The Committee was playing Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto at full tilt at 0200, so it woke me up. They didn’t stop for almost two hours, but they never completed it — just played the same movement over and over. Unngh. Not sure I love it quite so much, now.
What Committee is that, and why did they keep doing the same thing but not finish?
Jake was a real pain last night, and I was cold. Tonight, I’ll make sure the windows are latched and dress more warmly and maybe add another blanket. There’s not much to be done about Jake!
Good morning, everyone. Happy Twosday. It’s cold enough here to sleep on a grill, fer sure.
I’m still cold. Thermostat says it’s 69 in here, but my feet don’t agree.
Happy Tiw’s Day!
It makes sense to listen to your feet.
I know it’s not as romantic as “Listen to your heart” but a lot less likely to get you in trouble.
That would be the Committee in my head. They often get busy in the wee, small hours, but this is the first time they’ve blasted me with something I used to love.
I took a Loratadine before I went to bed last night and it seemed to help a bit, but when the Committee got busy, I woke up with a stuffy nose and itching eyes. Probably from sleeping on the floor.
The good news, though, is that the bed has shipped and is currently “due to arrive Nov 30.” A week early!
I’m glad the bed is coming sooner!
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