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 ...
I like Fabuloso cleaner. It’s purple!
Tom has made pumpkin bread. Now he’s starting on the next thing. Cranberry-orange?
I think I’ll go with a homemade mix of dish detergent, white vinegar and water. I need white vinegar, though. All I have is cider vinegar for the drains.
I want something home made for Thanksgiving, but all the things I like have been vetoed. I guess I’ll have to make sure I have a Hungry Man Turkey Dinner for the next holiday.
PW asked me a while ago what I wanted for Christmas. Why? I probably won’t even be unpacked by then.
We had cranberry-orange loaf last week. I think Mrs. ArGee was trying it out. It was good.
You answered your own question. "To be unpacked."
If I was there, I would provide very many boys to sort it all out!
If I ever get unpacked to the point that I can find my kitchen things, I might try to do some baking. Cranberry-orange loaf/cake/bread sounds yummy.
Yes, I wanted to be unpacked before I even looked at the apartment but it didn’t work out that way. And at a month away from Christmas...who’s to say when I’ll be moved in. The bed isn’t here, yet and I still need a sofa-bed. I’m trying hard to be optimistic but I think my age is trying to teach me a few things about life! :o]
And I would appreciate every one of those very many boys! They would have it done in a very organized Boy Scout manner, in a very short time, I’m sure!
One of his pumpkin breads wasn’t cooked all the way through, but they’re eating it anyway. Maybe the next thing will succeed a little more.
If they eat cookie dough and lick the cake batter bowl and beaters and spoon, they should be OK!
(I understand now why I’m putting on weight...)
I never worried about uncooked dough. How did the human race survive before we had all this Safety, huh?
Whoever thought of that must have been the one who never got to lick them. ;o]
Mick Jagger taught me what I need to know.
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes
You might find
You can get what you need.
I’m working on it.
For yours as well!
And much to the same for all of the UD memnbers!!
Hoping that "Tom" is a Turkey with good sense...
Enjoy the day!!
Side note: "Argee" reminds me of Argy Bargy
Happy Thanksgiving to all my FRiends and family.
Being thankful fills us with grace, so be graceful!!
‘Face
;o]
Is that the same kitteh in both photos?
Good morning. I hope you slept well, in spite of the other bed occupiers.
What is Tom the Cooking Son fixing for you today? I’ll be fending for myself, again. Same ol’ thing. Only next year, I’ll be ready for it.
I may or may not get anything done today, but there’s a good chance that I’ll give it a try! Even if it’s wrong, I feel like I have to get back to work. Especially now that I’ve vetoed to painting.
Good morning. Yes, that’s the same kitten. His canine friend looks embarassed.
Tom will be cooking a sweet potato casserole and a green bean casserole, both with bacon, and pumpkin pies. I already cooked and mashed several sweet potatoes, but I need to do more this morning, before the Bacon Experience.
Next year, I’ll send you a catered meal of whatever you want!
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