Stone Cold Hope
Maryland connection to one unlucky stone  Credit: Associated Press
We're supposed to find the Maryland angle on things, so here it is: the scientist credited with bringing the famous Hope diamond to the Smithsonian, George S. Switzer, died this week in a MARYLAND assisted living faclity. I saw the Hope diamond once. I didn't think it was so hot. But there's a fascinating tale about how unlucky the diamond was for people who came into contact with it. According to the Washington Post obituary on Switzer, the Frenchman who smuggled the original rough stone out of India, died after being attacked by a pack of wild dogs. Princess DeLamballe, an early owner in France, was fatally mauled by a mob and Marie Antoinette, who also wore the diamond, lost her head. Still, people wanted it... - Dennis O'Brien [Science Matters]
7:49:02 PM 
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