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 ...
“Pensive”
Good morning! Happy FriMonSatday. This is Family Day: Doesn’t New York State/County/City recognize it as a holiday? Gloriosky! I’m surprised!
It’s 28° here, so I feel for you!
What a pretty floof!
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
I was stressed, for some reason. I think a lot of it was pain, because I’ve been schlepping again. And I’ll do more today, as well, before James and Abbie come to get me. I want to at least get the trunk out of here.
I still have to finish my letter to Charlie and then send an email in lieu of a letter. Some people deserve letters and some don’t. ;o]
“Too Cute for School!”
Not bad. Jake wanted me to get up earlier, but I didn’t.
I hope you have a good time with James and Abbie!
So true!
We’ll all be there, including the Other Sam (James was called Sam before the Other Sam came to stay) so it should be a good day. They’ve just delegated themselves to pick me up so they can see where I live and give opinions on my apartment. Then we’ll all go back to FS’s for the dinner we didn’t have yesterday!
I have this strong urge to put them to work washing walls tomorrow!
I have a phone call with Steve, my “co-seeker,” in a few minutes, and then maybe I’ll clean the stove and mop the kitchen.
I seem to remember coseeker from trig, but I can’t put my finger on what it was.
Crikey! I vacuumed the new carpet and got lots of lint and other debris, then began to schlep the storage tubs back into the bedroom. I did a cursory exam of each one, deciding where it will end up in the grand scheme of things and in going through a couple, I found Christmas decorations.
A few I put out, but some I’ve decided to give to James and Abbie, if they want them. New house and all...
Meanwhile, I have some things to shred and then some pills to sort and more things to shred. And then I’ll put my shoes on and be ready for the grown-up grandkids to get here.
I think kittehs were a little put out when mechanical shredders were invented.
Yes, but the only kitteh I have is stuffed. A gift from a FReeper.
I didn’t clean the stove or floors after all. Oh, well.
Life is too short to obsess over clean stoves and floors.
In other news, the mattress and box spring will be here Monday “between 1:30 and 5:30 PM.” Oh joy. In the meantime, I have to pass the little mattress on to someone else in a hurry, and hope I can make a clear path to the bed frame.
The stress of this move just never seems to ease. The worst part is that I feel alone in the whole thing, and I’m not.
Either too long or too short, depending on how one looks at it.
Congratulations on the bed’s arrival!
Yes, thank you, the bed’s arrival is to be celebrated! I’m NOT READY!!!
But knowing me, I will be on Monday. I have no choice. I already told FS that I could probably muscle the box spring into place, but the mattress would have to wait for him.
I think I’m getting too old for this stuff. :o|
What a beautifully marked kitteh for a Saturday!
Good morning. Did you sleep well?
I’m pretty sure I didn’t. Maybe tonight.
Not sure if anything will get done today. I’m not even sure if I’m going to Walmart because the Kid has to work for a few hours this morning. I don’t know if they’ll even ask me if I want to go. That’s OK. I can always get delivery.
It’s 29° out. And the trains are all on time! It’s rather comforting to hear them.
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