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 ...
Tom the unemployed son was kind of frowny when I told him I expect him to help set up at camp tomorrow. After I get the archery range ready, I plan to set up my tent at our Pack’s campsite, put a bunch of my stuff and Kathleen’s in it, and put up tarps around the area in the expectation that it will be raining when we get there on Thursday afternoon.
I’d set up the tent for Kathleen, too, but she and her friend practiced doing it themselves.
Tom’s grade-on-a-curve is reminiscent of an Aristotelian logic course—annoying genius got an 87 and ruined the curve for the rest of us—my score was somewhere in the mid-40’s, but (miraculously) wound up with a final B. The prof said it would all knit together in the end but nobody believed him until the end of the semester.
This was a six-week, virtual summer session. Nobody expected to do well. Tom was hoping for a C, because he needs to pass it to graduate.
He’s always done well under pressure if the goal was important to him.
Kittehs seem surprised that it’s Wednesday!
Good morning.
Present (I think) and accounted for, though possibly not accountable.
Pain clinic appointment this morning and I’m not looking forward to it. I don’t care for my “handler.”
Maybe I’ll get something done today, as well, but the appointment isn’t until 0930 and I have to go to the library afterwards, so maybe nothing will get done, after all. We’ll see.
Good morning. Happy Humph Day!
Iz you thinking we iz guilty? We haz no ideaz whatchoo taklin bout.
Kittens are never guilty. Let all the world be guilty, but not kittens.
I’m about to leave for WAC setup with teh teenbros. It’s not raining right now!
See you when you get back!
Good morning.
When I was working, my Wednesday fell on Sunday, so I was confused for a very long time. I probably still am. So happy Humph Day!
You’ve got mail.
The mail has been replied to. I hope it is the correct symptom.
Yes, it was correct and yes, it has been fixed! Thanks!
That's what FRiends ... (deep voice) are for.
Yes, and I don’t seem to be helping any of them, just asking for help.
But I appreciate all the help I get from whatever source!
<3
Back from setup. You wouldn’t know, looking at it right now, that it’s scheduled to rain all night and into tomorrow, but we’ve done what we can for now.
Supposedly rain is a miracle.
We need to beam the clouds to CA.
They can have them.
Can you please beam them here, first?
I stopped at AutoZone for my Engine Restore 4, because it’s a new store in town and I thought I could at least try them, since I’ve already been to O’Reilly’s and NAPA.
No, “Good morning, what can I help you find?” It took a few minutes of wandering but I found it, took it to the check stand and the clerk (#7) didn’t ask me if I was registered with them (I am and have been for at least 10 years) and when I paid for the transaction (no polite conversation) he set the can and the receipt on the counter. I asked politely if he could bag my purchase, which he did without a word and my thanks was met with silence.
Doctor’s office not so bad. The doctor and her surrogate mommy were in the office together. How sweet! We talked about kids, how I only had the one and had to adopt the other, and it was only when I was leaving that I learned the baby was for the doctor!
Then the library. I had two DVDs on hold and only one could be found so I prowled the shelves of documentaries which is hard because without my reading glasses I can’t read small print. Also, the scar tissue on my right artificial lens is getting really bad, so it’s hard to see, anyway.
They couldn’t find one of the DVDs. They were getting upset, and I kept trying to tell them it was OK and that I was never in a hurry when I was in there and when they did find it, they could just let me know.
This feels like a continuation of Monday. You know, “Monday, III.”
In other news, Chuck was here to fix the roof where a swamp cooler had leaked (the ceiling fell in) and he said he talked to David about the smoke. I told him the smoke was the worst on the weekend and he said that’s when David’s visitor from Vegas was here.
I told him I was going to keep a log and he said he was going to do something (I can’t recall the word he used) but I think it’s to document the times that I complain. Which will be better for me because of my own documentation.
All this took place in the space of 75 minutes.
But you still had time to gather all the 7s!
I have a real live church meeting tonight. I’m so excited!
I did, didn’t I? Too bad I couldn’t have extended the time by two minutes!
Congratulations on the live church meeting! I know the excitement that brings!
We’ve been having live church services all this time, as well as off-the-books choir practices, but this is the first committee meeting.
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