Topaz

Nature 2 Minutes

Most authorities agree that the name topaz comes from Topazios, the old Greek name for a small island in the Red Sea, now called Zabargad. (The island never produced topaz, but it was once a source of peridot, which was confused with topaz before the development of modern mineralogy.) Some scholars trace the origin back to Sanskrit (an ancient language of India) and the word topas or tapaz, meaning “fire.”

The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength. In Europe during the Renaissance (the period from the 1300s to the 1600s) people thought that topaz could break magic spells and dispel anger. For centuries, many people in India have believed that topaz worn above the heart assures long life, beauty, and intelligence.

The name for imperial topaz originated in nineteenth-century Russia. At the time, the Ural Mountains were topaz’s leading source, and the pink gemstone mined there was named to honor the Russian czar. Ownership of the gem was restricted to the royal family.

The name topaz has been used for any yellowish gemstones for at least two thousand years. Gem traders did not know that these yellowish stones were actually different minerals until about two hundred years ago. Gem traders recognized that quartz, beryl, corundum and olivine all had yellow variants and were not true topaz and that topaz could be other colors not just yellow. In addition, the island Topazios, after which the gemstone has been named, never produced topaz, but was a source of peridot, or olivine often confused as topaz. The island is now called Zabargad Island.

Ancient Egyptians believed that yellow topaz received its golden color from the Sun God, Ra. The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength and topaz is mentioned in the modern translation of the bible, although the word probably referred to a yellow stone, not necessarily true topaz.

During the middle ages, the main source of topaz was from a deposit in the Erzgebirge Mountains in Germany. Hundreds of kilograms of yellow to brown topaz crystals were mined from the deposit. Then in the 1730s, a large topaz deposit was discovered in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. During this period, Brazil was a colony of Portugal, so in 1768, the Portugese Government officially recognised the deposit as an important commercial mine, and most of the gems were transported back to Europe. Brazil remains the largest producer of Topaz in the world.

Gem quality topaz was first found in Australia as a by-product of metal mining operations. In 1872, tin was discovered in the New England area of New South Wales and mining commenced shortly afterwards. When the miners concentrated the alluvial material, sometimes they found pebbles of topaz. Waterworn topaz was found associated with gold, tin and wolfram deposits throughout eastern Australia.

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Published by pat frederick

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136 thoughts on “Topaz”

          1. Hi Miss Pat – Right now it’s just Sabrina, her longtime caregiver and me. Until we find more caregivers, I am spending 5 nights in Sally’s apartment (not in the Lodge now, since that, even with a discount was 1500-2K per month) and 2 nights at home.
            Sally’s Dad will be getting a pacemaker soon and they changed his meds when I took him to town on Thu for 3 appointments in 2 buildings. Hopefully, these changes will make him more strong and stable. His younger brother had a pacemaker a few years ago and said it made a big difference. Both MD sons in law say get the pacemaker ASAP.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. wow that was expensive to maintain long periods of time!
              how are you managing living in Sally’s apartment? it would be tense for me to live with my mom for long periods–that’s for sure! LOL
              you are such a loving and giving person! I don’t know that I could like that with my x…not al all. you have a special place in heaven dear!!!

              Liked by 1 person

  2. Afternoon All!
    not sure i will be on long…it is windy as all get out here! and our internet is spotty.
    gotta try and catch up on all that happened in the last few days. Mom likes judge judy, lawrence welk and not much else. but she talked and talked for the last few days…happy to have company

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Fricking internet! I wasn’t expecting you until later today, if at all! Hope you had a good time! Major progress with GT.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Hi Filly!!!!
        thanks for watching over stuff!
        did you write about it? the progress I mean? so i can read all about it!!!
        we had some great times!! but also sad times. Mom cried a few times remembering things about Dad, but then I brought up happier and funny times and made her laugh. but all in all it was a great weekend. and hubby finally finished her steps in the back and washed her porch siding and wrapped her porch furniture–she cried about that too…we’re the only ones who do things for her that she actually wants done she says. sigh
        and we made plans for the Christmas party family get together the first weekend in December…so she was happy thinking about that!!

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Oh, yeah – in detail, as usual! That’s so sad that SHE is so sad! If only the rest of her family cared more…too bad she isn’t closer to you, eh?

          Liked by 2 people

  3. Liked by 1 person

    1. TheseTruths(@thesetruths)Online
      Wolf
      October 20, 2023 01:08

      Why would Scalise want to undermine the clear choice of the people and President Trump? Evidence unearthed by grassroots researchers in Scalise’s home state of Louisiana indicates that Scalise is has taken money from the FTX money laundering scandal.

      The Former co-CEO of FTX, Ryan Salame, pled guilty early last month to “Conspiracy to Make Unlawful Political Contributions and Defraud the Federal Election Commission and Conspiracy to Operate an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business.” Salame admitted that his job at FTX was to illegally funnel money to Republican politicians and political causes, while his co-conspirator, Sam Bankman-Fried, funneled money to Democrats. According to Salame, the donations were to support initiatives supported by Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried’s dearest initiative appears to be Joe Biden himself, as he made the second-largest single donation to his 2020 presidential campaign.

       :wpds_arrow: Another initiative of Bankman-Fried was Steve Scalise, the man currently preventing Jim Jordan from becoming speaker. Bankman-Fried’s straw donor and co-CEO, Salame, donated $2,900 to Scalise a month before the 2022 Midterms ($2,900 is the maximum donation allowed by an individual):

      In fact, thirteen of the twenty-two holdout RINOs also accepted donations from Ryan Salame – almost all of them maximum donations.

      The RINOs who accepted these funds include Kay Granger (TX-12th), Mike Simpson (ID-2nd), Carols Gimenez (FL-28th), Jen Higgins (VA-2nd) , Marinette Miller-Meeks (IA-2nd), Mike Lawler (NY-17th), Steve Womack (AR-3rd), Mike Kelly (PA-16th), Mike Simpson (ID-2nd), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-26th), Linda Chavez-Deremer (OR-5th), Andrew Garbarino (NY 2nd), Tony Gonzales (TX-23rd), and John Rutherford (FL-5th).

       :wpds_arrow: As previously uncovered by The Gateway Pundit and the O’Keefe Media Group, donor mules are people whose identities are being used without their knowledge to launder large amounts of cash into campaign coffers of politicians. These fraudulent donations make it appear that these politicians have significant support from real people, when they are really being funded illegally by special interests. The donations are typically small, but frequent. The small amounts don’t arouse as much suspicion as large donations, but the total amount of cash from single individuals can add up to tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars. Follow-up investigations with the people whose identities are being stolen often reveal that they are average Americans who are really donating only small amounts to one or two candidates, but they are being credited with massive numbers of donations in the Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.

       :wpds_arrow: Steve Scalise’s FEC records indicate significant donor mule activity. For example, a retired woman from Marietta, Georgia is credited with donating to Scalise 98 times in a single day with amounts varying from $3 to $22.50:

      FEC RECORDS FOR STEVE SCALISE SHOWING 98 DONATIONS FROM ONE RETIRED INDIVIDUAL ON A SINGLE DAY

      There are many similar incidents in Scalise’s FEC records. Research continues on how much mule activity appears in the campaign accounts of the twenty-two holdouts preventing Jim Jordan from becoming speaker.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Joey Mannarino
    @JoeyMannarinoUS
    Tom Emmer, who is running for Speaker of the House, is a major proponent of ditching the Electoral College and going to a “National Popular Vote”.

    This is clearly unconstitutional and a completely insane position for someone who claims to be a Constitutional Conservative to take.

    Make sure you retweet this video far and wide so everyone can know what we are dealing with.

    Emmer is not a conservative. With this position, I don’t even know if you can call him a Republican.

    Absolutely NEVER let this man become Speaker.

    Liked by 2 people

  18. so the new $$ for the “border” is just to fund more legal pathways for the invaders NOT STOP THEM!

    Liked by 1 person

  21. hopefully they don’t!

    FTA
    Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) released the following statement after President Biden released his proposed supplemental spending bill:

    “President Biden’s slush fund proposal is dead on arrival, just like his budgets. We will not spend, for example, $3.5 billion to address the ‘potential needs of Gazans,’ essentially functioning as a resupply line for Hamas terrorists.

    “We will also not spend $11.8 billion to fund the Ukrainian government’s own non-war spending, such as funding retirement pensions for Ukrainian government employees. Nor will we spend $4.7 billion for housing, transportation, and ‘services’ for illegal aliens in the United States rather than deporting them.

    “The Biden proposal is going nowhere, and Senate Republicans will take the lead on crafting a funding bill that protects Americans and their interests.”

    https://news.yahoo.com/cotton-biden-100b-request-dead-175001437.html

    Liked by 1 person

  22. SHUT THE FREAKIN DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    FTA
    Washington — The Biden administration will be opening a new legal immigration pathway for certain immigrants from Ecuador in a bid to dissuade people in the South American nation from trekking to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to internal federal government documents obtained by CBS News.

    The administration will be setting up a family reunification program that will allow eligible Ecuadorians to fly to the U.S. and apply for temporary work permits if their U.S.-based relatives have sponsored them for an immigrant visa, according to the Department of Homeland Security documents.

    The initiative will be the latest Biden administration attempt to reduce illegal border crossings, which soared to a yearly high in September, by offering would-be migrants expedited pathways to enter the U.S. legally. Over the past two years, officials have revived or created similar family reunification programs for immigrants from Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-us-program-ecuador-border-crossings/

    Liked by 1 person

  23. so obumer was present when a obummer “female” employee was questioned by police about the chef’s drowning…or was it an obummer daughter?????

    FTA
    The documents were produced to Judicial Watch in response to a July 25, 2003, Massachusetts Public Records Law request for all records relating to the death of Campbell.

    The documents show Campbell’s family told police that he had taken swimming lessons in 2019 but described his ability as “not a great swimmer.” The drowning occurred in Edgartown Great Pond, which Massachusetts Environmental Police estimated “to be approximately seven to eight feet deep.”

    The records also show a female eyewitness, an Obama employee whose name is redacted, told state police that she saw Campbell “fall off his paddleboard, began splashing and became extremely panicked, yelling for help and subsequently went underwater very quickly.” By the time she reached his paddleboard, the witness said Campbell had “disappeared into the extremely murky” water.

    The records include a July 24, 2023, homicide/death report written by Mass. State Trooper Dustin Shaw that lists the details of the investigation into Campbell’s death.

    https://100percentfedup.com/breaking-barack-obama-on-the-scene-at-personal-chefs-drowning-death/

    Like

  24. ccp member arrested for running illegal bioweapon lab in CA
    FTA
    A citizen of Communist China has been arrested for running an illegal secret bio-lab in California, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced.

    Jia Bei Zhu, 62, was named as the Chinese owner of an unauthorized central California lab.

    The discovery of the lab raised major concerns about China conducting biological weapons experiments on U.S. soil.

    Zhu, who is also known as Jesse Zhu, Qiang He, and David He, has been arrested on charges of not obtaining the proper permits to manufacture tests for COVID-19, pregnancy, and HIV, and mislabeling some of the kits.

    Zhu was arrested Thursday after an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

    He is also charged with making false statements.

    The charges deal with federal health regulations, nothing related to online conspiracy theories about China purportedly trying to engineer biological weapons in rural America.

    Zhu is a citizen of China who formerly lived in Clovis, California, the office said in a press release.

    “As part of his scheme, the defendant changed his name, the names of his companies, and their locations,” U.S. Attorney Talbert said.

    “The disarray at the Reedley lab led to the glare of publicity he was trying to avoid, and the ensuing investigation unraveled his efforts to circumvent the requirements that are designed to ensure that medical devices are safe and effective.”

    “Providing materially false information to FDA inspectors regarding medical device manufacturing and distribution impedes the agency’s ability to protect public health, especially when those false statements relate to unauthorized and misbranded COVID-19 tests. Consumers who unknowingly use these misbranded COVID tests run the risk of incorrect results about their COVID status, which can lead to further spread of the virus,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Iwanicki, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office.

    https://slaynews.com/news/chinese-citizen-arrested-running-secret-bio-lab-california/

    Like

  25. All of my posts about Gilly (? – haven’t decided for sure on a name but this seems to roll of my tongue easily) since Thursday AM:

    Good morning, Maricans! @realmarica Don’t get too attached to the MeAgain name for my patio kitty….I think I may end up calling her Psycho!

    That was interesting, I must say….got up about 5 am and came out to the kitchen, started my coffee, then turned on the patio light and looked outside. There she was, sleeping in the chair, lying on her side…I stepped outside to see what was what. If you recall, yesterday, I had picked up her food dish and put it up on the table. I noticed that the cover had been pushed off of the dish and it was at the edge of the table, with most of the food eaten. That had never happened before.

    Oh, dear….I went back out on the patio – back to MeAgain kitty – rubbing against my hand, purring, acting like a “normal” friendly cat, getting down on the floor and rubbing against my legs, following me around – yep, definitely female – but she’s got a respiratory infection…sigh…in the meantime, I’ll add it to my shopping list – later today or tomorrow – to see if there is something in the pet section I can give her…I’ve still got wormer and ear mite medicine (if I can get it in her ears, which is unlikely at this point) but I’ll grab something for fleas, I guess…sigh…here we go…

    OK, MeAgain/Psycho (she’s being a combo this time) put in another appearance – I grabbed the dish with the canned food and, as soon as I opened the door, she headed back over to the doggie door. I put the dish down and came back inside…she came over to the dish slowly but then commenced to chowing down. Less than 5 minutes and she’s licking the bowl clean, using her paw to get the last little bits loose! LOL – well, that’s the wormer at least. When she couldn’t get any more, I took the dry food out and scooped up the bits left in the bowl on my finger. She sniffed it but wouldn’t lick it off and backed up. So I put it with the dry food – as soon as I came inside, she started eating again.
    ———————
    Morning, Maricans! So much for all my knowledge about cats…got up at 5 and turned on the light on the patio before stepping out to see if GT/MeAgain/Psycho was there – yep, sleeping in the chair! So I came in and got the food dish and returned to the patio, to be greeted with a silent mew and a stretch near the water dish. I reached out and scratched the head and neck, then ran my hand down the back for a quick feel under the tail. My friends, we have a guy…a younger guy than I thought – really small nut sacks! SMH – cats! They’ll fool ‘ya every time!!!

    Update: “Very affectionate today. He finished eating and headed back to the chair; a few minutes later, I went back out and pet him again before picking up the food dish. I was working towards getting him used to eating at specific times of the day but I may forgo that and just leave it out during the day – he generally returns at least once by noon. But not at night – that’s when the neighborhood cats think they can join in! Under the cover of darkness…

    Of course, he came back looking for food after I picked it up so I put it back for him. He squatted down, sniffing, looking for some more of that yummy soft stuff he got yesterday. He looked back and forth from the food to me several times like…”you mean that’s it???”… then gave up and set to making do with the dry food. Picky, picky, picky!!!

    Well, that was interesting…GT returned for lunch. It’s nice and warm outside and Jake was sleeping in the sun in the BR so I closed the door to keep him inside and opened the inside patio door. GT approached me when I came outside for a quick pet and he settled down to eating. He would stop and glance inside now and then and I talked to him; when he was done, he sauntered over and sat down in front of my easy chair, with his back towards the door. After a couple of minutes, he sauntered right in the door, stopped briefly, then turned toward the left into the kitchen area, looking and sniffing. I got up at that point and he quickly turned, and headed for the door to once again seat himself in the same spot, with his back turned. Now, he’s decided to go outside.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh, yeah – as soon as I go out there if he’s awake, he jumps down and comes over to meet me, rubbing against my legs, etc.

        Liked by 1 person

  30. nichan
    October 21, 2023 3:48 pm

    Barack and Michelle Obama were on Martha’s Vineyard at the same time their personal chef drowned under mysterious circumstances.

    Obama’s office previously claimed that the former president and his wife were not present at the residence when Tafari drowned. Now they are altering the story to say they were indeed on the property.

    According to the 40 pages of records obtained by Judicial Watch through the Massachusetts Public Records Law, Obama arrived at the emergency scene at approximately 8:40 PM. He was briefed on the situation and the ongoing search and rescue efforts.

    The female witness, who was visibly emotional and wet, also arrived at the scene. She was later interviewed the next morning in the Obama residence, with Barack Obama present.

    The Massachusetts State Police concluded that there was “no foul play” in Campbell’s “accidental” death. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was drowning and that the manner of death was accidental.

    The female witness stated that neither she nor Campbell had consumed any alcohol or drugs prior to the incident.

    The documents also reveal the existence of a Secret Service video that shows Campbell and his paddleboarding companion entering the water. The video also captures the Secret Service’s immediate emergency response following Campbell’s drowning.

    On September 12, 2023, the Massachusetts State Police viewed Secret Service surveillance footage from the day of the incident. The footage began at approximately 6:54 PM but a summary of the observations has not been disclosed.

    Judicial Watch obtained 18 pages of records through the Massachusetts Public Records Law that reveal Obama’s deceased Personal Chef Tafari Campbell’s clothes were found “separate from the body.”

    https://www.judicialwatch.org/judicial-watch-new-records-reveal-barack-obamas-presence-at-emergency-scene-of-obama-family-chef-drowning/

    Liked by 1 person

      1. The Trumpertarian
        @Libertarians4DT
        BREAKING: A whistleblower from Barack Obama’s late chef Tafari Campbell’s family has reportedly come forward revealing that at the time of his mysterious drowning at the Obamas’ Martha’s Vineyard estate, Campbell had been working on a TELL-ALL book to expose the misdeeds of the Obamas. He is also said to have had a years-long sexual relationship with the former President. This comes at a time shortly after Larry Sinclair, a homosexual man alleges that he smoked crack and had an affair with Obama in 1999. It also fits a similar pattern to a little known case of a man named Donald Young, a member of Obama’s church who allegedly had a years-long intimate relationship with him. In the heat of his 2008 campaign, the night before Young was set to come forward to the American public to expose Obama, he was mysteriously shot and murdered in cold blood in what was later deemed to be “a home invasion” in Chicago. No suspect was ever charged with his murder. This is a MAJOR revelation and it appears that the truth about Barack Obama is finally coming to the mainstream of the American public. This begs the question: What really happened to Tafari Campbell, Obama’s chef and Donald Young? They deserve justice.

        Like

  31. “The Ministry of Truth strikes again…Your daily dose of natural disasters and amazing phenomena for October 21, 2023…”
    STRANGE SOUNDS
    OCT 21, 2023
    “Death of the 1st Amendment…

    This is pure facism. The government is telling Corporations to remove posts that disagree with its narrative… WTF is this timeline we’re living in. Wild sh*t…”

    Liked by 1 person

  40. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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