“It’s called kyawthuite (cha-too-ite), a tiny, tawny-hued grain weighing just a third of a gram (1.61 carats). On first glance, you might mistaken it for amber or topaz; but the unassuming mineral speck has value beyond measure.”

  • nelly_man@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    So this mineral was found in the Mogok region of Myanmar, and the second rarest mineral, painite, was also found in the Mogok region of Myanmar. It sounds like there’s something funky going on there geologically speaking, and it’s probably not a coincidence that the country had been mostly closed off from the rest of the world for decades.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    26 days ago

    “This is the rarest mineral in the world. Let’s cut off bits to make facets.”

    People are so fucking weird.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        25 days ago

        You caught me. I’m a terrible lying liar who only says things like this to impress people on the internet by making them think I did something stupid instead of something else stupid. It’s all part of my fiendish plan to make people think I’m an idiot. You found me out. Curses!

    • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOP
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      26 days ago

      He didn’t know until after it was faceted…

      “thought the raw gem was a mineral called scheelite. After he faceted the stone, though, he realized that he was looking at something unusual.”

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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            26 days ago

            I was in on it early, so I have no excuse other than I need to read more carefully next time. Which I probably won’t remember to do next time.

            • RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com
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              26 days ago

              Can someone tldr the whole thing? I’m too lazy to read the title, comments or article.

              (No please don’t, I read it, I’m just here for cheap jokes and giggles)

              • jordanlund@lemmy.worldOP
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                26 days ago

                Guy found an interesting rock in a gemstone market in Myanmar, thought it was one thing, made it pretty, found out not only was it something else, it was something never before seen in nature.

                Naturally, now it lives in Los Angeles.