Quiz Segment of NPR's 'Ask Me Another' Shines the Spotlight on Gold

Friday's episode of Ask Me Another, a popular radio show on NPR, featured a quiz segment titled "Stay Gold, Ponyboy." All the answers to the clues posed by host Ophira Eisenberg contained the word "golden."

In the end, Ryan Greenberg beat out Wynter Chatman by going six for six. Greenberg clinched the win when he gave the right answer to the clue, "According to the U.S. Apple Association, it's America's sixth-favorite apple.

Later in this post, you'll get a chance to see how you would have done if you were a contestant at the Bell House in Brooklyn, where the contestants competed.

But first, let's touch on the origin of "Stay Gold, Ponyboy." It comes from The Outsiders, a 1983 movie that follows the tragic story of rival gangs in rural Oklahoma. The all-star cast included Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon and Tom Cruise. The Outsiders was adapted from a 1967 novel by teenage author S.E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton, who based the story on her own experiences.

Robert Frost's poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” plays a pivotal role in the film, as Ponyboy (played by Howell) reads it to a critically injured Johnny (Macchio) while they are in hiding.

Frost’s eight-line poem, which was originally published in 1923, ends with the line, “So dawn goes down to day / Nothing gold can stay.”

“Stay gold” are Johnny’s last words before he dies. Ponyboy is confused by the the phrase, but it all comes into clear focus later in the film when he finds Johnny’s interpretation of the Frost poem: that beauty and innocence are transient and must be guarded like gold.

Now, for the "Stay Gold, Ponyboy" clues. The answers are at the end of the post. Good luck...

1. It's the name for McDonald's logo."
2. Augustus, Veruca, Violet, Mike and Charlie each find one.
3. It's an Emmy-winning sitcom from the 1980s and '90s.
4. This award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizes achievements in film and TV.
5. It's a large payment given to an executive who's terminated after a merger or takeover.
6. In the Book of Exodus, it's the idol worshipped at the base of Mt. Sinai.
7. This restaurant chain bills itself as America's number one buffet and grill.
8. This James Bond film became a popular Nintendo 64 game.
9. In Japan, it's a cluster of four national holidays in the spring.
10. This mathematical concept may be expressed as X squared minus X minus one equals zero.
11. In Greek mythology, when Paris awarded this to Aphrodite, he indirectly started the Trojan War.
12. According to the U.S. Apple Association, it's America's sixth-favorite apple.

Answers: 1) The golden arches 2) A golden ticket 3) The Golden Girls 4) Golden Globes 5) A golden parachute 6) Golden calf 7) Golden Corral 8) Goldeneye 9) Golden Week 10) Golden ratio 11) Golden apple 12) Golden Delicious.

Ask Me Another airs on more than 400 NPR stations.

Credit: Gold image by istara [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Music Friday: Paul McCartney Looks to Spring for Diamond Ring in ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you sensational songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we hop in our time machine to join up with a 22-year-old Paul McCartney, who is looking to spring for a diamond ring in The Beatles' 1964 smash hit, “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

The fresh-faced frontman sings, "I’ll buy you a diamond ring, my friend / If it makes you feel all right / I’ll get you anything, my friend / If it makes you feel all right / 'Cause I don’t care too much for money / Money can’t buy me love."

In a 1994 interview, McCartney revealed the "true" meaning of the song he penned with John Lennon.

"The idea behind the song," he said, "was that all these material possessions are all very well, but they won't buy me what I really want." And, clearly, what he really wanted was love.

Years later, when reflecting on his stellar career and all the perks that wealth had brought him, McCartney admitted that the song might have been called "Can Buy Me Love." Today, McCartney and fellow Brit Andrew Lloyd Webber vie for title of "The Richest Musician in the World." Both are estimated to be worth about $1.2 billion.

Interestingly, "Can’t Buy Me Love" is one of the few songs that actually begins with the chorus. The idea is credited to producer George Martin, who felt the song needed a stronger intro.

"Can’t Buy Me Love" appeared as the 11th track from The Beatles’ third studio album, A Hard Day’s Night, and immediately started its climb up the U.S. Billboard Top 100 chart. When the song hit #1 on April 4, 1964, the entire Top 5 that day was filled with Beatles’ songs, which included “Twist and Shout,” “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Please Please Me.” This amazing accomplishment has never been repeated. Rolling Stone editors rated "Can't Buy Me Love" at #295 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Despite their humble beginnings — "I may not have a lot to give / But what I've got I'll give to you" — The Beatles went on to become the best-selling band in history, with more than 800 million albums sold worldwide.

We invite you to watch McCartney and The Beatles performing “Can’t Buy Me Love.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along...

“Can’t Buy Me Love”
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Performed by The Beatles.

Can’t buy me love, oh
Love, oh
Can’t buy me love, oh

I’ll buy you a diamond ring, my friend
If it makes you feel all right
I’ll get you anything my friend
If it makes you feel all right

'Cause I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love

I’ll give you all I’ve got to give
If you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give
But what I’ve got I’ll give to you

I don’t care too much for money
For money can’t buy me love

Can’t buy me love, oh
Everybody tells me so
Can’t buy me love, oh
No, no, no, no

Say you don’t need no diamond rings
And I’ll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things
That money just can’t buy

I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love

Buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Can’t buy me love, oh
No, no, no, no

Say you don’t need no diamond rings
And I’ll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things
That money just can’t buy

I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love

Can’t buy me love, oh
Love, oh
Buy me love, oh

Credit: Image by Omroepvereniging VARA [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl], via Wikimedia Commons

Here Are a Bunch of Fun Facts About the August Birthstone, Peridot

Magnesium-rich forsterite is an absolutely colorless mineral. In its purest state, it looks a lot like glass, but when Mother Nature does her magic and replaces some of forsterite's magnesium atoms with iron atoms, the colorless stone is transformed into the beautiful bright green gemstone known as peridot.

The triangular-cut peridot shown above weighs 100.15 carats and is one of the world's most striking examples of the August birthstone. Mined in Pakistan and exhibiting an exceptional vivid green hue and great brilliance, the gem was purchased by the Smithsonian with funds provided by the Tiffany & Co. Foundation. It has been part of the National Gem and Mineral Collection since 2011 and resides at the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals in Washington, D.C.

Peridot has been coveted for more than 3,000 years. According to the Smithsonian, ancient Egyptians fashioned beads from golden green peridot crystals mined on an island in the Red Sea. The island was known to the Greeks and Romans as Topazios and its verdant bounty (today's peridot) was known as topazion until the 18th century.

The Smithsonian noted that, for reasons that still remain unclear, the name topazion was hijacked during the 18th century and assigned to the gem we call topaz today. The yellowish-green stone was given a new name — peridot, which is derived from “faridat,” the Arabic word for gem.

Even today, topaz remains the confusing namesake of Topazios — an island off the coast of Egypt that never had a topaz mine. The ancient island of Topazios is now called Zabargad or St. John’s Island.

Most peridot originates deep in the Earth’s mantle, but scientists have also proven that August’s birthstone is truly extraterrestrial. It has been found embedded within meteorites and scattered across the surface of Mars.

Peridot can be found on five continents. The major sources are Burma, the U.S. (Arizona), Norway, Brazil, China, Australia, and Pakistan.

Peridot is one of three official birthstones for the month of August. The other two are spinel and sardonyx.

Credits: Photo by Ken Larsen, Smithsonian.

Record-Breaking Rainstorm Brings 2.12-Carat Diamond to the Surface at Arkansas Park

On July 16th, a record-breaking storm pummeled Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Ark., with more than a foot of rain. Eight days later, Josh Lanik, a 36-year-old schoolteacher from Hebron, Neb., discovered a 2.12-carat brandy-colored diamond near the southwest edge of the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area. About the size of a jelly bean, it stands as the largest diamond discovered at the park in 2019.

Park Interpreter Waymon Cox said that it was not a coincidence that the year's biggest find connected so closely with the monster storm.

“About 14 inches of rain fell at the park on July 16," he said. "In the days after the rainfall, park staff registered numerous diamonds found right on the surface of the search area, including two weighing over one carat.”

Cox explained that park personnel plow the diamond search area — the eroded surface of an ancient, diamond-bearing volcanic crater — periodically to loosen soil and assist with natural erosion. Diamonds are a bit heavy for their size and lack static electricity, so dirt doesn’t stick to them. When rainfall uncovers larger diamonds and the sun comes out, they sparkle and are often easy to see.

“About one out of every 10 diamonds registered by park visitors is found on top of the ground, including many of the largest ever found at the Crater of Diamonds,” he said.

Lanik noted that he and his family were searching for amethysts near a section of the park called Canary Hill when something unusual caught his eye.

“It was blatantly obvious there was something different about it," he said. "I saw the shine, and when I picked it up and rolled it in my hand, I noticed there weren’t any sharp edges.”

Lanik showed the gem to his wife, who was searching nearby, and dropped it into a brown paper sack with several other rocks and minerals.

Before leaving the park, the family stopped by the Diamond Discovery Center to have their finds identified. Lanik said that when he poured the contents of the paper sack onto the counter, a park employee put his brown gem into a pill bottle and took it into the office for a closer look.

He noted, “She wouldn’t tell us whether it was a diamond, but we were pretty sure from her reaction that it was.”

After identifying and weighing the gem, park staff brought Lanik into the office and informed him that he had discovered the park's largest diamond of 2019. Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only diamond source in the world where amateur prospectors get to keep what they find. Lanik's diamond was the 296th registered at the park this year.

Lanik named his gem the Lanik Family Diamond and told The Washington Post that he plans to put the diamond into a ring for his wife to wear and eventually pass down to their sons, now 6 and 8 years old. To show the relative size of Lanik's find, the park staff took a snapshot of it next to an Arkansas state quarter — which prominently features a diamond in its design.

In total, more than 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the Crater of Diamonds since the first diamonds were discovered in 1906 by John Huddleston, a farmer who owned the land long before it became an Arkansas State Park in 1972. The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed here in 1924 during an early mining operation. Named the Uncle Sam, this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats.

Credits: Images courtesy of Crater of Diamonds State Park. Arkansas quarter, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

See the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Medals Created From Recycled Mobile Phones

Gold, silver and bronze medals created entirely from recycled mobile phones and other electronic devices were unveiled by the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games organizers. This is the first Olympic committee to create medals from 100% recycled material. By contrast, less than one-third of the material used to create the medals of the 2016 Rio Games were recycled.

The gold and silver medals will be the heaviest ever used at the Summer Games, weighing in at 556 and 550 grams, with a diameter of 85 millimeters – 7.7mm at their thinnest part and 12.1mm at their thickest.

The front depicts Nike, the mythical Greek goddess of victory, standing in front of the Panathinaikos Stadium. The back features a raised, pebble-like center, reflective Olympic rings, and a checkered Tokyo 2020 "ichimatsu moyo" emblem inside a swirl design. The side of each medal will be inscribed with the name of the event for which it is presented.

Junichi Kawanishi designed the medals to resemble rough stones that have been newly polished, and now "shine with light and brilliance." Set at varied angles, each layer reflects light differently to symbolize the energy and commitment of the athletes and their supporters.

Kawanishi also wanted the medals to symbolize diversity and convey the concept that to achieve glory, athletes have to strive for victory on a daily basis.

"With their shining rings, I hope the medals will be seen as paying tribute to the athletes' efforts, reflecting their glory and symbolizing their friendship," said Kawanishi.

The Olympic gold medals are made mostly of silver, containing just six grams of pure gold. The silver medals are pure silver. The bronze medals are made from gunmetal, a corrosion-resistant form of bronze that contains zinc. Olympic gold medals were once made of solid gold, with the last ones awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, back in 1912.

Approximately 5,000 medals will be manufactured from the precious metals extracted from small used devices donated by the Japanese public in a campaign that ran from April 2017 through March 2019.

The Tokyo 2020 Medal Project encouraged Japanese citizens to donate their used mobile phones, digital cameras, laptops and games units so small amounts of precious metal could be harvested. By the end of March 2019, the collection goal had been achieved – nearly 80,000 tons of devices were collected yielding 32kg of gold, 3,500kg of silver and 2,200kg of bronze.

Despite being a country with virtually no precious metal mining, Japan’s discarded small consumer electronics is believed to contain the equivalent of 16% of the world’s gold reserves and 22% of the world’s silver reserves.

The Olympic medals are hung from ribbons made from recycled polyester and feature traditional Japanese designs with the checked pattern of the Tokyo 2020 logo.

The medal cases, manufactured from dyed Japanese ash wood, were handmade by Japanese craftsmen.

"Like the athletes who will receive the medals, each one is unique," said the organizers.

The 2020 Paralympic medal designs will be revealed in August.

Credits: Images courtesy of Tokyo 2020.

Music Friday: Reba McEntire Has a 'Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you hit songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, country legend Reba McEntire assumes the role of a heartbroken newlywed in her 1995 hit, "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands."

Often referred to as the "Queen of Country Music," McEntire tells the story of a young woman who took her wedding vows with the intention of being faithful for life, but now finds herself thinking about other men. She tried to make the marriage work, but she feels abandoned both physically and emotionally. She yearns to escape the "three-bedroom prison" that she tried to make a home. Her gold wedding band has "turned cold."

She sings, "I had a ring on my finger and time on my hands / The woman in me needed the warmth of a man / The gold turned cold in my wedding band / It's just a ring on your finger / When there's time on your hands."

Written by Don Goodman, Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy, "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands" was originally recorded by Lee Greenwood in 1982. His rendition — with the lyrics slightly changed to reflect the male perspective — peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Thirteen years later, the song became the second single released from McEntire's 21st studio album, Starting Over. Her version also scored a Top 10 placement, reaching #9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Starting Over was a huge success, hitting #1 on both the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the Canadian Country Albums chart.

Reba Nell McEntire was born in McAlester, Okla., in 1955. Her dad and granddad were world champion steer ropers and her mom was a schoolteacher who always had dreams of becoming a country-music artist. Reba's mom, Jacqueline, was a great vocal coach, however, nurturing the talents of Reba and her siblings. Performing as the Singing McEntires, the kids showed off their talents on local radio shows and at rodeos.

While attending Southeastern Oklahoma State University, the sophomore was booked to sing the National Anthem at the National Rodeo in Oklahoma City. There, McEntire caught the eye of country artist Red Steagall, who brought her to Nashville to cut a demo record. A year later, in 1975, she signed a deal with Mercury Records.

Today, McEntire is considered one of the most successful country artists of all time, with more than 75 million records sold worldwide. She's had 42 #1 singles and 16 #1 albums. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011.

In the video, below, McEntire is accompanied by a full orchestra while performing her spirited rendition of "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands." The clip is from a CBS television special titled "Reba: Celebrating 20 Years." Check out the lyrics if you'd like to sing along...

"Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands"
Written by Don Goodman, Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy. Performed by Reba McEntire.

I stood before God, my family and friends
And vowed that I'd never love anyone else again, only him
As pure as my gown of white I stood by his side
And promised that I'd love him until the day I died
Lord, please forgive me even though I lied
Because you're the only one who knows just how hard I tried

I had a ring on my finger and time on my hands
The woman in me needed the warmth of a man
The gold turned cold in my wedding band
It's just a ring on your finger
When there's time on your hands

When I add up all the countless nights I cried myself to sleep
And all the broken promises you somehow failed to keep
He can't blame me
He's the one who left me too many times alone
In a three bedroom prison I tried to make a home
My love slowly died but the fire inside still burned
And the arms of a stranger was the only place left to turn

I had a ring on my finger and time on my hands
The woman in me needed the warmth of a man
The gold turned cold in my wedding band
It's just a ring on your finger
When there's time on your hands

I had a ring on my finger and time on my hands
The woman in me needed the warmth of a man
The gold turned cold in my wedding band
It's just a ring on your finger
When there's time on your hands

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Everybody's Buzzing About Scarlett Johansson's Over-the-Top 11-Carat Stunner

The internet is buzzing about Scarlett Johansson's unusual engagement ring, an over-the-top statement piece featuring an 11-carat, light brown, modified pear-shaped diamond that seems to float on her finger adjacent to a brown ceramic band. Jewelry experts have placed the ring's value in the range of $200,000 to $450,000.

The world's highest-paid actress was officially engaged to Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost back in May, but fans didn't get to see the unusual engagement ring until Johansson's appearance this past weekend at the 2019 Comic-Con in San Diego.

It's a good bet that Johansson's ring was designed by James Claude Taffin de Givenchy of New York-based Taffin Jewelry. The brand shared what seems to be an identical ring on its Instagram account in June. Taffin's caption simply stated that the light brown diamond weighed 11 carats and boasted Type IIa purity. Diamonds of this quality display exceptional optical transparency and make up less than 2% of all gem-quality diamonds.

The ring is generating double takes for a number of reasons. Not only is the light-brown hue unusual for an engagement diamond, but so is the egg shape — a mashup of the traditional pear and oval. What's more, the claw-set diamond seems to float on the finger, offset from the undulating ceramic and gold band.

Town & Country editor in chief Stellene Volandes believes Johansson's ring is representative of Givenchy's signature pieces, where he unites important stones with thin bands of colored ceramic.

Speaking about the designer, Volandes said, "He is a master at setting stones with bold but perfectly correct proportions, as well as making the metal supporting that stone almost invisible." Givenchy's uncle is Hubert de Givenchy, the late founder of the Paris-based Givenchy design house.

Marion Fasel of the online jewelry publication The Adventurine reported that she got the chance to try on the now-famous Taffin ring back in early May.

Wrote Fasel, "If James de Givenchy is indeed responsible for Scarlett’s stunning engagement ring, a closer look at the jewel... could reveal it to be one of the most stylish and stunning any actress in Hollywood has ever worn."

The 34-year-old actress and 37-year-old SNL "Weekend Update" co-anchor started dating two years ago. They have yet to set a wedding date. This will be Jost's first marriage. Johansson has been married two previous times.

Credits: Ring images via Instagram.com/taffinjewelry; Instagram.com/theadventurine. Scarlett Johanssen photo by Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Gold-Coated Visors Protected Apollo 11 Astronauts During First Moon Walk

Fifty years ago today, the three-man crew of Apollo 11 returned triumphantly from their historic trip to the moon, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, 812 miles southwest of Hawaii.

For the past week, much has been written and broadcast about the first lunar landing, but what most people still don't know is how much scientists at NASA depended on gold’s amazing characteristics — reflectance, durability, conductivity and physical workability — to ensure a safe and successful mission.

When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and proclaimed, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," his eyes were protected by a visor plated with an ultra-thin layer of gold.

Both he and fellow moon walker Buzz Aldrin were outfitted with what NASA calls a Lunar Extravehicular Visor Assembly, or LEVA for short. Gold does an excellent job of reflecting infrared light while letting in visible light, so NASA scientists coated the visors with a gold layer so thin — 0.000002 inches — that astronauts could see through it.

In 2016, photographer Steve Jurvetson enjoyed a "backstage tour" of the Smithsonian restoration labs where scientists were working on a batch of Armstrong artifacts from the Apollo 11 mission. Among the items was Armstrong's helmet, which is seen in the photo, above.

Today, many satellites are wrapped in gold-coated mylar sheets to protect them from solar heat, and their micro-components are often made of gold, since the element is an excellent conductor while resisting corrosion and the buildup of static electricity.

Gold is also nature’s most malleable metal. That means that it can be pounded so thin that one ounce of gold could cover about 100 square feet of a surface. The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) calculated that it would take 576 ounces (or just 36 pounds) of gold to completely cover a football field.

Gold leaf typically measures 0.18 microns in thickness (about 7 millionths of an inch) and, according to AMNH, a stack of 7,055 sheets would be no thicker than the width of a dime.

The element is also ductile, which means that gold can be made into the thinnest wire. The AMNH notes that one ounce of gold can be drawn into 50 miles of wire, five microns thick.

Credit: Splashdown image via NASA (Public domain). Visor image by Steve Jurvetson from Menlo Park, USA [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Botswana's Newly Named 1,758-Carat 'Sewelô' Diamond Is Indeed a 'Rare Find'

The second-largest rough diamond ever discovered finally has a name. The 1,758-carat grey-black diamond recovered in April at Lucara's Karowe mine in Botswana will be known as "Sewelô," which means "rare find" in the native Setswana language.

A panel of judges picked Sewelô from more than 22,000 entries in a naming competition that was open to all the citizens of Botswana. Gofaone Tlhabuswe, a 32-year-old from Gabane Village, submitted the winning name and earned the grand prize of $3,000.

The announcement was made during a gala event hosted by Lucara Botswana in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana.

"The largest diamond recovered in Botswana's history was named by the people of Botswana this evening in a celebration of Botswana's success," said Eira Thomas, Lucara's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Lucara is proud to share our achievements with all stakeholders in Karowe and the people of Botswana. We are in the process of completing an analysis of the Sewelô and we look forward to sharing the results of this rare find."

Sewelô is the size of a tennis ball and weighs about 12.4 ounces. Measuring 83mm x 62mm x 46mm, the rough diamond is being characterized by Lucara as “near” gem quality with “domains of high-quality white gem.” The unbroken 1,758-carat stone was recovered through Lucara's XRT circuit in April 2019.

Before the advent of XRT technology, diamond-bearing rock was typically drilled, blasted, hauled and put through crushing machines to get to the gems hiding within. During that process, extremely large diamonds, some weighing hundreds of carats or more, were often damaged or even pulverized.

By employing XRT scanners, the mining process has become kinder and gentler. As the rocky material comes down a conveyor belt, the scanners can pick out the diamonds based on their chemical composition. Older scanners used to depend strictly on the stone’s ability to reflect light.

Since commissioning the XRT circuit in 2015, a total of 12 diamonds in excess of 300 carats have been recovered at Karowe, including two greater than 1,000 carats, from a total production of approximately 1.4 million carats. Of the 300-plus-carat diamonds recovered, 50% were categorized as gem quality with the 11 sold to date generating revenues in excess of $158 million.

Lucara is wrapping up its analysis of the Sewelô diamond and is considering next steps toward selling it in a way that has a lasting and positive impact for Botswana, according to the mining company.

Credits: Image courtesy of Lucara Diamonds.

'Moon Rock' Engagement Ring Comment Nearly Stings Astronaut Buzz Aldrin

With the whole world celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing, we present an unusual story about how astronaut Buzz Aldrin almost got into trouble with the federal government for claiming that he used a moon rock for the center stone of his third wife's engagement ring.

The year was 1995 and Aldrin, who is famously the second man to walk on the moon, was at a celebrity junket at Ocho Rios in Jamaica when he told reporter Jesse Nash that he had made an engagement ring for Lois Driggs Cannon from a chip off a moon rock that he carried back to Earth on his person.

The story recounted by celebrity columnist Cindy Adams sounds innocent enough, but the hard fact is that all the moon rocks recovered by Apollo astronauts — and there are 2,200 of them weighing a total of 842 pounds — are considered National Treasures and remain the property of the United States. There are no rocks from the Apollo program in private hands.

So you can imagine NASA's distress when Aldrin, while sunning himself at the Sandals resort, disclosed to the reporter that he had secured a chip for the ring from the 47 pounds of moon rock he and Neil Armstrong collected during their Apollo 11 mission.

When People magazine published the account, Aldrin had to walk back the story, telling government officials that it was just a joke.

In his book Magnificent Desolation, Aldrin, now 89, admitted to making a “whimsical suggestion that Lois’ engagement ring included a... moon rock.”

The Apollo 11 lunar landing took place on July 24, 1969, and was viewed worldwide by more than 600 million people. It was the most-viewed television event of the 20th century.

Buzz and Lois exchanged vows in 1988, and during the 24-year marriage, Lois proudly wore a 2-carat diamond set in a diamond-studded eternity-style band.

People magazine reported: "When people [asked] about the ring, Lois Aldrin [had] a ready response: ‘I tell them the moon is really made of diamonds.’ ”

Lois and Buzz Aldrin were divorced in 2012 and Lois passed away in 2018 at the age of 88.

Over the past 50 years, NASA has lent moon rocks to universities and scientific organizations for research purposes. It's been reported, however, that NASA is unable to identify the whereabouts of at least 500 specimens — rocks that might have been lost, misfiled or stolen.

In November 2018, three small rock fragments collected by the Soviet Union during an unmanned moon mission in 1970, were sold at auction for $855,000. The three fragments from the Luna 16 mission weighed 200mg (0.0071 ounces).

Credits: Images by NASA (Public domain).