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Pretty Ugly Things

@prettyuglythings.bsky.social

Amateur naturalist, serious collector, and appreciator of the unusual things our planet is capable of… based out of Tucson! Purveyor of minerals, succulents, isopods, and information https://prettyuglythingsaz.com // https://prettyuglythingsaz.etsy.com

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Ryan J Hollister@phaneritic.bsky.social · 2d ago

You’ve heard of stalactites and stalagmites but did you know #Calcite is usually the mineral that makes really cool sideways speleothems called helictites Locally, Black Chasm Natl National Landmark is home to some of the best helictites in the world with one looking like a dragon.

A mass of helictites protruding from a marble wall. The centerpiece looks like a dragons head or I think it looks more like a seahorse head. It is surrounded by a bunch of what looks like freshly extruded pasta that’s curly queuing and going lots of different directions. The dragons head I think is about three or 4 inches tall with it snout protruding out two or 3 inches. The whole massive tights in the photo is probably a couple feet wide by about a foot or two tall.A very poorly lit mass of helictites covering an entire cavern wall. The field of view in this picture is probably about 10’ x 8’ with each of the individual little elites being on the order of seven or 8 inches but if you straighten them out, they’d probably be well over a foot.
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3d ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 11 It's a pair of minerals that pull off near-magical tricks with their properties as ubiquitous #Calcite is up against rarity #Julienite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️@spahn711.bsky.social · 3d ago

It gets even better! Some calcite is phosphorescent, meaning that even after a radiation source is removed, it will continue to luminesce. In other words, it glows in the dark! This always draws oohs & aahs from my students. Examples show calcite in a fossilized clam shell and a stalactite slice:

Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️@spahn711.bsky.social · 3d ago

Many specimens of calcite are highly fluorescent, meaning they emit light when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Here's what my calcite collection looks like with the quick pass of a UV flashlight. Some glow so intensely red that it is hard to believe it is real!

Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️@spahn711.bsky.social · 3d ago

First, I'll share the beauty of calcite through my personal collection. Notice a lot of different shapes? That's because calcite is the mineral with the most forms! There are 800+ documented forms, and it is possible for multiple forms to combine on a single crystal. There are thousands of combos!

Alex Spahn 🌋🌪️☄️@spahn711.bsky.social · 3d ago

Allow me to make the case for why calcite should not only earn your vote but win the tournament. Calcite is the mineral with the most forms, is highly fluorescent & phosphorescent, helped explain the wave nature of light, laid the foundation for optics/polarizers, and even calms an upset tummy. A 🧵:

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3d ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 11 It's a pair of minerals that pull off near-magical tricks with their properties as ubiquitous #Calcite is up against rarity #Julienite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Angry Rutabaga@streamlass.bsky.social · 3d ago

The Jurassic Fort Dodge formation in Iowa contains up to 30 feet of gypsum. It's been so heavily mined there's some concern it may be the first known geologic formation entirely removed by human activity. https://igs.iihr.uiowa.edu/igs/publications/uploads/GSI-092.pdf

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 4d ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo of a scattering of highlighter-yellow log-shaped Pyromorphite crystals and a dense cluster of translucent white flat, rounded gypsum crystals that resemble a flower bud
Brandon Bishop@brandontbishop.bsky.social · 4d ago

Gypsum is essentially what you get in hyperarid regions when water containing calcium and sulfur dry out, or when the same sort of water moves through cracks in rock. In Mexico, this has resulted in the growth of immense gypsum crystals in Naica Cave: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of...

Photo from Naica Cave, taken from the linked Wikipedia page, showing spires of white gypsum jutting at different angles from the floor of the cave to the roof. Each crystal is 10 to 12 meters tall (note silhouette of a caver at the bottom left of the image).
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 4d ago

#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo of a scattering of highlighter-yellow log-shaped Pyromorphite crystals and a dense cluster of translucent white flat, rounded gypsum crystals that resemble a flower bud
Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky@queenofpeat.bsky.social · 4d ago

Forget planting trees for a second. Let's talk about BOGS. Did you know that peatlands cover a tiny 3% of Earth’s land, but store MORE CARBON than all the world's forests combined?They are an ultimate MVP of our climate system and it’s time we start hyping them. Join me! 🧵 1/

Chiitan🌈ちぃたん☆@chiitan.love · 6d ago

when hate is easier, let’s choose love. When love comes, let’s make more room for it🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 What transgender people want is not special proof or permission. It is to live as themselves, with love and pride. That’s all Chiitan hopes light will be lit in the lives of transgender people now in the dark.

Pretty Ugly Things@prettyuglythings.bsky.social · last wk.

Good thread for map enthusiasts... the basic explanation is that all maps have some form of size/shape/distance/directional distortion because they are doing their best to convert a 3D object into 2D. What KIND of distortion is determined by the map's purpose/audience.

The ones who walk away from omelettes@dfeldman.org · last wk.

The story about the new projection in interesting In 2017, the Boston Public Schools voted to switch to Gall-Peters, a projection that became popular in the 1970s to emphasize the size of Africa BUT Gall-Peters is very unpopular in the world of cartographers because it STRETCHES Africa

D. Allan Drummond@dadrummond.art · last wk.

Night eyes 😎 Finally got proper pictures of this amazing phenomenon! Mantises change their eye color (and light sensitivity) at night by transporting pigments from the surface of each compound eye unit toward the deeper eye region. Same female Tenodera sinensis, two different times. #bugsky

A female Tenodera sinensis mantis with dark black eyes against a light background, seen from very close up.A female Tenodera sinensis mantis with green/brown eyes against a light background, seen from very close up to show the details of her face. The pseudopupil is clearly visible on her left eye, facing the camera.