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ombrophobia

So awkward.

I walked past a cemetery when I was walking home and like… I’m alive so… yea.

jesusduggar

It was so awkward when I was walking home because I walked past a nursing home and like….I’m not old so….yea

abhortion-deactivated20131214

It was so awkward when I was walking home because I walked past a river and like….I’m not a fish so….yea

demisnowflake-deactivated201408

It was so awkward when I was walking home because I walked past a car dealership and like….I’m not an automobile so….yea

katherinearandez

It was so awkward when I was walking home because I was walking over the sewer the whole time and like….I’m not a piece of shit….yea

popularhistorian

It was so awkward when I was walking home because I walked past an atheist and like…I’m a church so… yea

crvshstripped

wait what

rdjlock

Be invited to created a set of advertising illustrations for Dior.

kevindewong

1926. If Harry Potter Was An Anime.

fahrlight

I’ll always reblog it when I see it because this is the COOLEST THING I EVER SAW!

junkmixart

Makeover Time with Fashionista Steven!

lilyevane

between the sinners and the saints it takes and it takes and it t a k e s

moan-s

theoldbone

Some opalized water dwellers :D

outrunmyself

How??? I thought that how some shells were, and others weren’t. How does that happen?

theoldbone

Fossilization is usually caused by mineral replacement. Replacement happens when organic material is buried by sediment and protected from decay by oxygen and organisms. Then, groundwater rich in dissolved solids flows through the sediment replacing the original material with silica, calcite, pyrite or another inorganic material such as opal. The result is a fossil that often exhibits preserved details of the original organism.

For opal (and a few others), you have two ways- pseudomorphs and replacement. In those that are pseudomorphs, the silica has filled a simple cavity or void, like jelly in a mould, so that only the basic shape and perhaps the surface texture is preserved. However, many specimens are replacement fossils, in which intricate internal structures have been preserved by chemical alteration before the cavity was filled by the silica solution.

Most specimens at the Lightening Ridge (most common area for opalized fossils) are a combination of pseudomorph and replacement fossils. Although the transformation to silica has destroyed biomolecular evidence, marrow tissue, blood vessels, capillaries and nerve channels may be perfectly preserved. If the potch is transparent, these features are clearly visible below the surface in opalised bones. A surprising aspect is the opalisation of delicate materials like leaves and even dinosaur skin. Many pieces resemble coprolites, reptilian armour scutes or heavy scales; very occasionally, bone specimens seem to show remnants of tendons or cartilage.

This outstanding quality of preservation is partly because the opal-dirt is extremely fine-grained and an ideal casting medium. Kaolinite, smectite, and illite produce the putty-like properties of the opal clay, the smectite making it plastic and malleable.

http://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/learn-about-opals/advanced/opal-fossils

knuxtiger4

Actually have some examples of fossilized opals!

Most of these are fossilized opal shells that are in raw state. I thought about getting them cleaned up but I think it would take away from their details. I got them from a good friend that says they came from South Australia. Probably one of the coolest things in my collection of stones, gemstones and minerals.