Nope Diamond

 In 2024 the Nope Diamond was donated to the Flipsonian by our benefactor Richard Burnhard who sponsored the Flipsonian Precious Gem exhibit.

To our great horror it was stolen several times, each thief more daring than the last. None of them heeded the warning of the curse of the diamond. The diamond was missing from Flipside but was recovered at Mischevia and returned to the Flipsonian in the Fall. This year we have made more safety precautions and our world class security team assures us of the diamond's safety.

The Nope Diamond was discovered by great and heroic explorer Lord Wesley Wadsworth Billingsly-Coxsmith in the wild and uncivilized outskirts of Indianapolis in the year 1905.

The diamond got its name from native Indianapolis (“Hoosiers” in their native tongue), who shouted as Billingsly-Coxsmith liberated the diamond from where it had been clumsily left to be discovered.

 “Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope!” the natives shouted as the famed explorer tucked the exquisite diamond into his canvas rucksack and sprinted for the exit.

Is the Nope Diamond cursed?

The dang thing keeps getting stolen but no one keeps it!

Lord Wesley Wadsworth Billingsly-Coxsmith, who brought the diamond to the New World, was fatally attacked by a banana.

His sister Penelope Woodington-Coxsmith-Sayers found the diamond tucked away in his bedclothes after his death. She tried to profit off the diamond but before she could sell it, her sudden untimely death was caused by a slow tumble out a window.

In the year 1923, an intrepid archaeologist named Sir Reginald Thistledown embarked on a daring adventure inspired by ancient hieroglyphics discovered in the British Museum. These hieroglyphics hinted at a hidden chamber deep within the Great Pyramid of Giza, containing treasures beyond imagination. Among them, the elusive Nope Diamond, said to possess the power to make its owner irresistibly charming to cats.

Sir Reginald, equipped with only his wits, a trusty whip, and a particularly uncooperative camel named Humphrey, navigated through a series of booby-trapped corridors and false passageways. The final challenge required him to perform a series of intricate dance moves on a pressure-sensitive floor—a combination of the Charleston and the Moonwalk. After narrowly avoiding an avalanche of ancient scrolls, Sir Reginald uncovered the secret chamber and retrieved the Nope Diamond, only to be chased by a horde of mummified cats awakened by his clumsiness. The diamond was later donated to the museum after Sir Reginald's failed attempts to charm his neighbor’s tabby, Mr. Whiskers.

In the swinging 1960s, the international playboy and master thief, Count Leonardo "The Fox" DeLuca, set his sights on the prized Nope Diamond, displayed in the opulent Palazzo d'Oro in Venice. The Count, known for his suave demeanor and penchant for disguises, concocted a plan involving the city's famous Carnival.

During the height of the festivities, The Fox disguised himself as a gondolier and serenaded his way into the palazzo. Inside, he orchestrated a flash mob of masked dancers to create a diversion while he expertly maneuvered through the laser security system with the grace of a ballet dancer on roller skates. With the diamond in hand, he escaped via the Grand Canal, hidden in a giant, floating papier-mâché swan. Despite an international manhunt, The Fox was never caught, and the Nope Diamond mysteriously reappeared in the museum's collection years later, with a note: "Thanks for the dance. - L."