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 knew it wasn’t Shannon, but the similarity was too sweet to miss!
I think Jake has your number!
Because I’m super-sensitive to odors, (strong chemicals, cigarette smoke, perfumes, some cooking odors, diesel fuel, etc.,) it doesn’t take much to irritate my eyes or my lungs. Utah has had a non-smoking policy in place since 2004, and since this is “government property,” that means people can’t smoke within 25 yards of any dwelling. That puts him pretty much out in the street. The A/C is sucking his smoke in from outside. He needs to go down the street before I get ugly and write to Chuck’s boss.
Somehow, I knew you’d get that! W00t!
I should not have to suffer because of someone else’s disdain for the rules. My lungs are still scarred and COPD is still a reality, even though it’s controlled by coconut oil capsules.
It’s beginning to upset me and that’s not good for my blood pressure or my heart.
And it’s not just the health issue. It’s the fact that if I want any relief from the heat wave (110° on Wednesday) I need the A/C on. Otherwise, I have to open my door. That’s not good for me or any of my electronics.
I’ll wait to see what Chuck is going to do, but this is not a happy situation for me.
Death, unexpected.
Good morning!
Events today include Student Driver Adventures, featuring the unemployed Tom. There’s discussion of haircuts for some of the parties, too, and we need to see if the mechanic is open to get the Avalon rejiggered.
Can I just run away and hide?
Shannon suggests going under the shrubbery.
Is this Monday?
I just tried to print a “free” printable of the Christus, and on my way to check out I was told there was a “$2 donation.” OK. So the free printable is actually a $2 printable, and I could live with that but then there is a 37¢ “offset fee” for processing. Then they ask me to pay by PayPal, Venmo, credit or debit card, so I choose PayPal and get ready to check out, but they wanted my password. I had just changed my password a few days ago so the screen defaulted to something else because I couldn’t remember the password.
So I sent them an email.
All I wanted was a coloring page of the Christus so I could color and feel calmer.
Now I have to wait for whenever they open their family business today or tomorrow so they can give me the code for downloading.
The Free Printables used to actually be free, and then they began to charge $1 and now it’s $2 and evidently that wasn’t enough, but they tack on a processing fee because it’s a family business. But they’re still calling it “Free Printable.” So I Free Printabled them in an email and told them to quit lying. Call it a printable, charge for it and include the processing fee, but don’t call it free.
Tell Shannon I most certainly will take it under advisement, with thanks.
That sounds super annoying. If you have to pay, it’s not free!
Vlad and Kathleen cleaned up from the fireworks. Frank was supposed to help but didn’t, so now he’s cleaning all the toilets.
The next thing will probably be the haircuts for Vlad and Kathleen.
Exactly the point I made. I didn't actually accuse them of lying but I did tell them I didn't "like being misled." I will watch closely to see if they change their advertising from "Free Printable" to "Printable." It's a weekly thing, so it won't be hard to track.
I wonder if Frank will pitch in the next time a task comes up or if he’ll forget the lesson. ;o]
I need a haircut. Maybe, after all my spending is done between here and Wednesday...
Sharon gave me a coupon for Jiffy Lube, yesterday. Her son owns the one here in town. She will still pay for the service on the vehicles, though. I gotta respect her for that.
Business is business. If you want to give a friend or family member a gift, that’s a separate issue.
The car has been dropped off. Next thing is the haircuts. Currently the wait time is 50 minutes, so we’ll go in a while.
My day is sort of in between. Since I was up according to my old schedule, I took my second morphine a few minutes ago and I think I’m going to go pack something soon. I have yet to decide if it’s the rest of the kitchen, the pantry or the bedroom. It all has to be done, I just can decide which. Maybe the pantry.
I suggest whatever is closest.
I’m glad we’re not moving right now ;-).
Freedom isn’t free.
Wait, that’s not what that means.
Yes, that’s annoying.
Toss-up between kitchen and pantry. But then, the bedroom is one step away from the pantry. Thanks, T-c. :o|
I’ve actually been leaning towards the kitchen since it’s the closest to being done. I mean really done! Just a few boxes will take care of it. However, it’s the room I use the most — several times a day. So maybe pantry. But then, there’s the bedroom, where I can sit down while I work.
So maybe I’ll just decide not to decide. The Lawn Guy is here. I had to shut my doors, so that means I had to turn to A/C on because it’s already over 80° in here.
Ask Shannon if her offer is still on the table, since this appears to still be Monday.
I was offline all weekend. Sorry to disappoint...
There’ll be another one coming up in 800+ posts, so there’s always that one. Or the one after.
Did you have a good holiday?
Well. Two more boxes done in the kitchen, and I may go back in but not at the moment.
I need more packing paper, and maybe a large box if there are any tomorrow, after the holiday peeps have ransacked the store over the weekend. For now, I’ll wait a bit and maybe go box up something in the pantry.
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