As of December 2020, the International Mineralogical Association had recognized 5,650 minerals. About 30 to 50 new minerals are described and one or two minerals are discredited each year.

Bridgmanite, which is composed of magnesium, iron and silicon dioxide, is estimated to make up 38% of earth's volume. However this mineral is stable only under high temperature and pressure as found in earth's mantle and is virtually absent from earth's surface.

Naturally magnetized pieces of magnetite, called lodestone, will attract small pieces of iron, which is how ancient peoples first discovered the property of magnetism.

If you squeeze a quartz crystal, it generates a tiny electric current. The pressure on the crystal's surface forces ions to move out of position, upsetting the overall charge balance and turning the crystal into a tiny battery, with oppositely-charged faces. This phenomenon, known as the piezoelectric effect, also works in reverse. Pass an electric current through a quartz crystal, and it will squeeze itself.

Cleopatra used the bright green malachite paste of the ancient Egyptians on her lower eyelids. On her upper eyelids, she used a deep blue eye shadow with gold-colored pyrite flecks, made from ground lapis lazuli stone, which consists primarily of lazurite.

Most people don't realize that ruby and sapphire are both gems of the mineral corundum. Both of these gemstones have the same chemical composition and the same mineral structure. Trace amounts of impurities determine if a gem corundum will be a brilliant red ruby or a beautiful blue sapphire.

One of the most important tests for identifying mineral specimens is the Mohs Hardness Test. This test compares the resistance of a mineral to being scratched by ten reference minerals known as the Mohs Hardness Scale.

Diamond is always at the top of the Mohs scale, being the hardest mineral. It can produce a scratch on virtually any other substance.

Fluoride strengthens the enamel on your teeth, Glycerol keeps toothpaste from drying out, and Sorbitol is a sweetening agent.

Halite, commonly known as rock salt, is the mineral form of sodium chloride (Na Cl). It is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow or gray depending on inclusion of other materials, impurities, and structural or isotopic abnormalities in the crystals.