What Is Holy Basil? Holy basil, sometimes called Thai basil tulsi, is an herb from the same family as the basil often used in cooking. Although it's used in Ayurvedic medicine, clinical studies backing up any of the traditional uses for this herb are limited.
Diamond is an allotrope of carbon. It is the hardest known natural material and the third-hardest known material after aggregated diamond nanorods and ultrahard fullerite. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful for industrial applications and jewelry.
And then, in the 1980s, granite came on the scene [source: Alter]. One of the hardest natural stones on Earth, granite is even more durable than Corian, and more heat- and scratch-resistant [source: Weber].