In 2008, the Democratic Party gathered in Denver for its 2008 convention. There, a donkey named Mordecai became the first official live mascot in the history of the party, giving a new meaning to the expression political animal. This Democratic symbol aimed to provide a few light-hearted moments at the convention.
Variously known as cupstones, anvil stones, pitted cobbles and nutting stones, among other names, these roughly discoidal or amorphous groundstone artifacts are among the most common lithic remains of Native American culture, especially in the Midwest, in Early Archaic contexts.
Pegmatite containing lepidolite, tourmaline, and quartz from the White Elephant Mine in the Black Hills, South Dakota. A pegmatite is a holocrystalline, intrusive igneous rock composed of interlocking phaneritic crystals usually larger than 2.5 cm in size; such rocks are referred to as pegmatitic.Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar and mica, having a similar basic composition as granite.rystal size is the most striking feature of pegmatites, with crystals usually over 5 cm in size. Individual crystals over 10 metres across have been found, and many of the world's largest crystals were found within pegmatites. These include, spodumene, microcline, beryl, and tourmaline.