The diamond was discovered in the Mbuji-Mayi district of Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1990 in alluvial deposits; uncut, it was 777 carats (155.4 g). It was purchased by De Beers. It took over three years for workers of the Steinmetz Diamond Group to produce the classic pear form; the actual cutting was done using lasers.

It was first displayed in October 1999 as the centerpiece of the De Beers Millennium diamond collection. The collection also includes eleven blue diamonds totaling 118 carats (23.6 g) and The Heart of Eternity. They were displayed at London’s Millennium Dome over 2000. There was an attempt on November 7, 2000 to steal the collection. Crime journalist Kris Hollington wrote a book called Diamond Geezers ISBN 1843171228) about the attempted theft. The book also features a detailed history of the Millennium Star.

The largest cut white (D) diamond by weight is the 1991 heart-shaped 273.85 carat (54.77 g) Centenary Diamond.

The Diamonds played their home games at the old Nene Park, which sits on the site of the current stadium.

• A blue diamond, the most famous example being the Hope Diamond
• The Blue Diamond, the name assigned in 1954 to the air demonstration unit of the Philippine Air Force. In 1960, this was changed to The Blue Diamonds.
• Blue Diamond, Nevada, a census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States
• Blue Diamond Growers, a California-based agricultural cooperative and marketing organization that specializes in almonds
• The Blue Diamond (comics), a 1940s superhero from Timely Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics
• Impatiens namchabarwensis or Blue Diamond Impatiens, a member of the Balsaminaceae family
• The Heart of the Ocean, an important element in the 1997 Titanic film.
• Blue Diamond (truck platform), a collaborative agreement between Ford Trucks and Navistar International (previously IHC)
• A Viagra tablet (informal)

Blue Diamonds may refer to:

• Blue Diamonds, a Dutch 1960s doo-wop duo best known for their chart-topping single “Ramona”
• “Blue Diamonds”, a song from Rusted Root’s 2002 album Welcome to My Party
• “Blue Diamonds”, No. 92 Squadron RAF aerobatic display team.
• “Blue Diamonds”, a song from The Long Winters’ 2003 album When I Pretend to Fall

The United States-based Helsinki Watch group was inspired by Eastern European efforts such as the Moscow Helsinki Group. In 1982, representatives of a number of the Helsinki Watch committees held an International Citizens Helsinki Watch Conference and formed the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.

In 1988, Helsinki Watch evolved into Human Rights Watch.

The pack is shuffled, and four cards are dealt to each player. No player may look at another player’s cards.

The game starts when one player says “1, 2, 3, pass.” On ‘pass,’ each player passes any one of their cards, face down, to the player to their left. This process repeats until somebody has a hand of four cards of the same value, at which point they grab one of the pens in the middle of the table. The other players then do the same. The person left without a pen drops out, and the whole game repeats without that player. This continues until there is only one player remaining. That player wins the game.

If a player grabs a pen despite not having four of a kind, they lose the round. However, feinting is allowed, and if by motioning as if to grab a pen (without actually touching one) they cause other players to grab for the pens, the first to touch one loses the round.

The six possible combinations are given the names “major suits” (spades and hearts), “minor suits” (diamonds and clubs), “black suits” (spades and clubs), “red suits” (hearts and diamonds), “pointed suits” (spades and diamonds), and “rounded suits” (hearts and clubs).

When including two suited hands with 5-4 distribution, two suiters have a high likelihood of occurrence, and the modern preemptive style is to incorporate such two-suited hands in the arsenal of preemptive openings. Example of such a preemptive conventional opening is the Muiderberg convention. Some take this aggressive style even further and utilise Ekren to preemptively open on a 4-4 in the majors.

Conventional overcalls such as Michaels, Unusual notrump, Ghestem and Raptor are designed to introduce a two suiter over an opening bid of the opponents. Conventions like Landy, DONT and Lionel can be used to denote a two suiter over an opposing 1NT bid.

The United States-based Helsinki Watch group was inspired by Eastern European efforts such as the Moscow Helsinki Group. In 1982, representatives of a number of the Helsinki Watch committees held an International Citizens Helsinki Watch Conference and formed the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.

In 1988, Helsinki Watch evolved into Human Rights Watch.

The most common story is that the term arose after the Massacre of Glencoe due to a resemblance in the playing card and Sir John Dalrymple coat of arms. Another story is that the order for no quarter at the Battle of Culloden written on a nine of diamonds by the Duke of Cumberland. However, the term is first recorded in 1710, which definitely rules out any connection with Culloden, but does fit a possible connection with Glencoe. Another story is that Mary Queen of Scots death warrant was signed on the nine of diamonds by Elizabeth I.

Other less popular theories include the term deriving from a tax levied to pay for nine diamonds stolen from the crown of Scotland or that the term is a mispronunciation of “The Cross of Scotland” due to a resemblance in the patterns of St. Andrew’s Saltire and the playing card.

A plausible but mundane explanation is that the term comes from a card game “Pope Joan” (first mentioned in 1732) where the nine of diamonds is called the “Pope”. As Scotland has traditionally been a strongly Protestant country the Pope would be in a sense its curse.

The album peaked on Billboard’s “Top Independent Albums” chart at position #17, and on the Billboard 200 album chart at #169 - Cooper’s highest charting album since The Last Temptation, 11 years prior.

Track listing

1. “Woman of Mass Distraction” (Cooper/Roxie/Boston/Garric/Johnson) - 3:59
2. “Perfect” (Cooper/Roxie/Johnson) – 3:30
3. “You Make Me Wanna” (Cooper/Boston/Roxie/Garric) – 3:30
4. “Dirty Diamonds” (Cooper/Boston/Garric/Johnson) – 4:02
5. “The Saga of Jesse Jane” (Cooper/Roxie) – 4:15
6. “Sunset Babies (All Got Rabies)” (Cooper/Roxie/Johnson) – 3:28
7. “Pretty Ballerina” (Michael Brown) – 3:01
8. “Run Down the Devil” (Cooper/Hughes/Elizondo/Hudson) – 3:29
9. “Steal That Car” (Cooper/Roxy/Garric/Johnson) – 3:16
10. “Six Hours” (Cooper/Roxie) – 3:24
11. “Your Own Worst Enemy” (Cooper/Roxie) – 2:15
12. “Zombie Dance” (Cooper/Boston/Roxie) – 4:27
13. “Stand” (Bonus Track on all releases)(Cooper/Boston/Benenate/Xzibit) – 4:04
14. “The Sharpest Pain” (Australia/Russia Bonus Track)- 3:59