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 ...
It’s supposed to be 60 today at Blowing Rock, but in the 40s and windy on Friday and Saturday. I’m thinking of a trip to Walmart for thermal underwear!
The idea of thermal underwear has definitely crossed my mind!
I plan on getting some, myself!
Any time, now, we’ll get underway. Sally remembered she hadn’t eaten lunch. Elen is out in the back yard bonding with Shannon.
Suddenly I hear Glen Campbell singing, “Such are the dreams of the everyday housewife.”
Of course, he’d be cancelled for a lyric like that now.
And that’s really too bad. I’m glad he’s still singing Somewhere where he can’t be cancelled.
I wrote a letter to the manager yesterday, stating conditions and enclosing pertinent information, and gloriosky! Today, I get a message that a guy is coming tomorrow to measure the bedroom for carpeting (to be installed at a later time to be determined,) painters will be in “later,” and the ductwork will be cleaned.
Perhaps by Christmas, everything will look and smell very nice in here!
Of course, it means extra work for me, but then I don’t mind, as I won’t have to run the ozone machine any more and will be able to turn on the HEPA filters only when I need an additional boost for my lungs.
:o])
I’m so out of it today, it isn’t funny. I seem to have picked up some Dogpatch Germs, making my thinking processes a little weird.
Not to mention coughing. And the runny nose...I hate the runny nose.
My condolences. The worst part about a runny nose is that people give you “that look” in public now.
Yes, but I can blame it on allergies and keep tissues handy!
I suffer from allergies on good days and bad, so who’s to say this isn’t them? ;o]
It’s 29° and clear out. Glad I’m not walking a puppy!
Do you mean the everyday housewife dreams of long underwear? Sally is tall, and I am wide, so we bought large and extra large, and we’ll see what fits.
I neeed some!!!
Good morning! The Girls’ Great Adventure is in Day 2! Woo-hoo!
It was 37 when we went out this morning. And yesterday’s rain had paused.
Good morning from Blowing Rock, where I connected to the wifi all by myself. The young ladies aren’t up yet.
If it was summer, I could sit outside, but it’s 27 degrees.
Contortion kitteh. The coffee pot here is tiny. I’ll have to make a new pot for the girls.
We had burgers in Boone last night I had a turkey burger, Elen had bison, and Sally had rabbit-and-elk. All tasted like meat. It was drizzling, and Sally found she had holes in her shoes. We went to Walmart after supper.
Then I had some wine, and we watched “Ice Age.”
Tonight we’ll cook here after getting some groceries, because it’s scary driving in the dark here.
Thanks for the Winter Morning kitteh! I feel like that’s what I need for the day. Leaving the windows open more than just a crack is getting old.
I’m sorry about the tiny coffee pot and the holes in Sally’s shoes.
Bison sounds delicious, and I’ve had elk, so I know it definitely tastes like meat. Rabbit? Makes me skittery to think about it.
All places are scary driving in the dark when one isn’t familiar with the streets.
Chilly here, too!
Blowing Rock sounds windy.
Congratulations on hooking up to the WiFi! We all need quiet time in the mornings. Makes me a not-so-good bed partner.
I follow a good itinerant minister who lives in Boone. He’s close to retirement now. We got to visit there once. Nice place.
Been crazy busy trying to get ready for the fast approaching winter (just missed a real frost overnight)...
Much to do, and being online doesn't really help on the front...
Hoping that all is going well with you all!
That cat better be careful if the heat comes up!!
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