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 don’t feel hungry in the heat, but I have to eat anyway.
In just a few minutes, I’ll need to get dressed and collect Vlad’s clothes from the dryer. I found a tear in the shoulder of my pink-and-white checked blouse, which has been through many camps. It will be okay for now, since I have the Staff t-shirt over it, but I’ll have to visit Goodwill for another.
I’m looking forward to your visit for lots of reasons, but one is so we can go to the thrift stores together! So many cool clothes!!
The clothes are hung up but I had to sweep the floor in the bathroom when I was done. It appears there were tissues in someone pockets in the front-loading machine, and they didn’t bother to wipe it out. So I got wet tissue on my clothes.
But don’t get me started!
I’ll work on some more packing today, probably things in the bedroom, into the Space Bags, as well as the hoodies. Except for my Angel’s Landing hoodie!
The Lord helps those who help themselves.
Charity helps those who can’t help themselves.
Welfare helps those who won’t help themselves.
Good morning. Happy Monday.
Lots of rain here, forecast to last the week.
Smith and Wesson hurts those who help themselves.
(without asking first, that is)
Utah has renamed “welfare” and called it “workfare.” Mandatory that if you CAN work, you will work for what the state gives you or you will no longer get benefits. IIRC.
But then, Utah has had a “welfare” system in place in the 1936.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/a-look-back-at-the-church-welfare-plan?lang=eng
Good morning.
Happy Monday. We have a 14% chance of rain on Wednesday. Maybe.
Back from camp. Way hot. Off to the shower.
Back from the eyewear place. The driving glasses are now stronger. The computer glasses lenses are in progress.
I got some interesting clip-on type sunglass lenses that actually use magnets to attach to the lenses. But it was too overcast to use them today.
Welcome home! I hope the shower cooled you off!
How are your blisters today?
It’s been overcast here, but all that did was increase the humidity. The sun is trying to shine, but I suspect it will be rather weak for the rest of the day. Which won’t be much longer. Comparatively so.
I’m beginning to feel a little on the tired side, so I won’t be here much longer. The day was a little stressful.
Congratulations on the new eyewear! I hope your eyes don’t get fatigued, now.
Clip-on sunglass lenses? Whoa! What a cool idea!
I don’t need glasses to see (thanks to lens implants) but I need readers for the maps. Yes, I use maps because I hate those tinny voices that won’t shut up when you want to take a different route than what she insists you take. I shut her up.
My feet are okay. The blisters aren’t any worse than this morning.
I hope you have a good night!
My theory - those GPS things were invented by women who got tired of going places with a male driver who would NOT ask for directions. So now he asks and he asks a woman. Revenge!
(She has a mute button.)
I learned that GPS was tracking my every move, and would send me a map every month, showing where I drove to. They may still be tracking me, but they aren’t sending me monthly maps. I turned off the app.
Good morning. I slept in. My alarm was set for 0300 (Walmart day) and in order to get all the sleep I needed I shut everything down at 1700 last night.
My alarm rang — every two minutes the first 10 minutes, then every 10 minutes for the next 50 but I never heard a thing. At 0420 I wake up — because I was cold. The mattress pad had shut off.
Now I have to hurry and make the bed, then gather up the dainties and put them on the bed for folding later.
I need to wash my face off first. I’m feeling like I’m doing things on the run, here. :o|
HALP!
Floofy!!
Good morning!
Did you sleep well?
Sweet! Thanks!! Mom Cat was insistent at first, then called for help! :o])
Good morning. Happy Tuesday!
It is overcast here. So far there has been no rain this morning.
The trash people, who normally come on Mondays around noon, came this morning. I guess the wet slowed them down yesterday?
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