Hope diamond , sapphire-blue gemstone from India , one of the largest blue diamonds known. It is thought to have been cut from a 112-carat stone brought to France by the jewel trader Jean-Baptiste Tavernier and purchased by Louis XIV in 1668 as part of the French crown jewels . This stone, later called the French Blue, was recut into a 67-carat heart in 1673 and disappeared after the crown-jewel robbery of 1792. The 45.5-carat Hope diamond , named for the London banker Thomas Hope , who purchased it in 1830, was apparently formed from it. The Hope diamond is on display in the Smithsonian Institution , Washington, D.C. 10 Victims of the Hope Diamond Curse 1. JEAN-BAPTISTE TAVERNIER The story goes that French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier came down with a raging fever soon after stealing the diamond, and after he died, his body was possibly ravaged by wolves. However, other reports sho...
Located in Russia's south-west Chelyabinsk region, close to the border with Kazakhstan, in the southern Ural mountains, the Karachay Lake it’s considered the most polluted place on Earth . In fact, it’s so polluted that the lake is radioactive. Lake Karachay can thank the neighboring Mayak Production Association for its deadliness. Built in the late 1940's, Mayak was one of Russia's most prominent nuclear weapons factories. The factory was kept secret by the government until 1990. When Russian president Boris Yeltsin signed a 1992 decree opening the area, Western scientists were able to gain access. The sediment of the lake bed is estimated to be composed almost entirely of high level radioactive waste deposits to a depth of roughly 11 feet. Even just standing on shore can be deadly: If a human were to hang out on Lake Karachay for an hour, they would be exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. It was a small lake used as a dumping ground for Chelyabin...