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Questions

• In most of Europe, the name of this mineral is borrowed from French, where it means "Turkish stone".
• This mineral has been used since ancient times in painting to produce blue paint.
• When heated to 250°C, this mineral first changes its color to yellow or greenish, and then becomes completely transparent.
• This mineral got its Russian name from the name of the river, the left tributary of the river Olekma.
• This fragile gemstone has the highest hardness among the minerals.
• The ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder wrote that according to legends this mineral was useful in curing spider and scorpion bites.
• This mineral of the garnet group is found together with diamonds in kimberlites. In Russia, it was known under the common name of "lal" until the 14th century, like all other transparent red gems.
• In ancient Egypt this mineral was dedicated to the goddess Isis. It was used to make clasps with the symbol of the goddess, resembling the shape of a three-leaf clover.
• This mineral is called the "stone of life" in China and is considered their national stone.
• This mineral has an interesting feature: its green color becomes brighter and richer at dusk or by candlelight. For this trait, it was formerly called the "evening emerald.
• According to one version, the name of this mineral comes from the Latin word, which is translated into Russian as a diminutive of "thorn, thorn".
• If this mineral is pressed on unglazed porcelain or earthenware, it will leave a red mark.
• Because of its resemblance to gold, this mineral has been nicknamed "fool's gold", "dog gold", and "cat gold".
• Unlike emerald, the green coloring is due to the presence of nickel rather than chromium.
• This mineral of the garnet group is named after the Brazilian mineralogist who lived from 1763-1838.
• The ancient Greek philosophers believed that this mineral was ice transformed into stone.
• Depending on its color, this mineral has a different name. When it is red it is ruby, and when it is blue it is sapphire.
• The color intensity of this brittle mineral increases after heating to 400 °C.
• This mineral has a similar appearance to nephrite, but it occurs much less frequently than nephrite and is therefore valued higher.
• This mineral was used to make a casket, which became the title of the collection of Pavel Bazhov's Ural fairy tales.