50 years ago next week - woman struck by falling meteor!

[ngc3314]

A historical note - this week marks the 50th anniversary of the arrival in Alabama of the Hodges meteorite, so named after its victim - who was for many years the only person clearly documented to have been struck by a meteorite. Actually it might have been a meteor at that point, not having quite reached the ground and zero relative velocity. This happened on November 30, 1954, in Sylacauga, with the daylight trail of entry visible across at least two states. For those interested and close enough, I'll point out that there will be a commemorative event at the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa, current site of the rock's incarceration for assault and battery. The press announcement says:

"One of the world's most famous "rocks" - a meteorite that struck an Alabama woman 50 years ago this month - is the subject of a Nov. 30 presentation sponsored by UA's Alabama Museum of Natural History, home to the legendary stone. The "Hodges Meteorite" fell from the sky on Nov. 30, 1954, punching a hole in the roof of a house in the Oak Grove community, near Sylacauga, smashing a wooden radio cabinet and then landing on 31-year-old Ann Hodges, as she lay dozing on her couch. The meteorite, which weighed about 8.5 pounds, hit Hodges' hand and hip and caused extensive bruising, according to published reports from the period. The only confirmed occurrence of a meteorite hitting a human, the incident resulted in an Air Force investigation, a mini bidding war, a flurry of media attention and a lawsuit. Hodges donated the internationally publicized meteorite to the Alabama Museum of Natural History in 1956, according to Dr. John C. Hall, a UA geologist who is retired from the museum. Hall will speak on "The Day the Star Fell on Alabama," at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 30 in room 205 of Smith Hall. The public is invited, and admission is free. A reception will be held in the Museum's Grand Gallery following the talk."


The lawsuit mentioned there was between the Hodges and their landlady, who sued for possession of the meteorite on the grounds that the lease did not include mineral rights. This being Alabama, the judge found in favor of the landlady, who then sold the rock back to the Hodges. The whole incident was reported in Life magazine, including a monumentally unflattering two-page picture of Annie Hodges in the hospital bed with her doctor pulling up the sheets to reveal a foot-wide (that would be 30 cm) bruise on the side of her hip. Harold Povenmire was at one point working on a book about the strike and its aftermath, but it's been years and we haven't heard any more.

[Evan]

"The Day the Star Fell on Alabama,"

Blecch!

[Andromeda321]

I remember my dad telling me about this when I was little (little here meaning about five years old). When I asked him if that could happen to me his answer was on the lines of "probably not but there's a very small chance it could happen to you tonight!"

Guess who spent a sleepless night staring at the ceiling praying that the imminent meteorite would crash through the ceiling a few feet over instead of right onto her bed? And guess whose dad doesn't believe he actually said this to his daughter when I reminisce about this experience today?

[ngc3314]

"The Day the Star Fell on Alabama,"

Blecch!

It could be worse. As a motto on the state license plates, "Stars Fell on Alabama" sure beats "Heart of Dixie". Not to mention occasionally affording an excuse to talk about the 33-year Leonid storms that (best I can tell) gave rise to the saying.

[ngc3314]

A bit of followup from the public presentation on this. The meteorite was on display without its usual case (got pix of me holding it). Two eyewitnesses of the fall were present, one who had been on ROTC drill at our campus (100 miles from Flesh Zero) and one a 5-year-old close to the impact, who was outside hanging up clothes with his mother. Oddly enough, within a mile of the Hodges' house was the Comet Drive-In Theater.

Mrs. Hodges, the victim, was ill at ease in the limelight from the meteorite attack, and never really recovered her composure (the couple listed this as a contributing stress factor in their eventual divorce). The local kids were more impressed by the Air Force helicopter landing in the schoolyard to whick the rock off to Wright-Patterson AFB for analysis (this was in the big UFO flap days - and the stone shows no signs of having any pieces removed for analysis, although there is a coating of asphalt still remaining at one tip from hitting the roof shingles). A circus formed immediately around the house; Mr Hodges (he spells it Hulitt, she spelled it Hewlett, and sometimes for good measure he goes by Eugene) came upon the traffic jam, only to hear a friend yelling "Something fell on your house and hit your wife!". He had to drive through yards most of the way home, and by his own description tossed a guy off his porch after being told to go to the back of the line.

The only person to have done well out of this was a local farmer, Mr. McKinney, whose mules helped find another substantial fragment. His wife immediately retained a lawyer, and they received enough cash for a house and car as that meteorite found its way into the Smithsonian. Mr. Hodges was not impressed with the Smithsonian preresentative and showed him the door, which may explain why the Smithsonian display makes no mention that the McKinney (or Sylacauga) meteorite has a more notorious piece.

Mr. Hodges (Ann died in 1972) still owns the radio that the meteorite struck before bouncing into his wife, and may be interested in a loan to the Alabama Museum of Natural History. As the former director said, by itself it's just a rock, but add that radio and you have an exhibit!

[frogesque]

Interesting tale. =D>

[jt-3d]

As the former director said, by itself it's just a rock, but add that radio and you have an exhibit!

Add the stuffed wife and the couch and you have a super exibit!!!

Yeah, yeah, just to be politically correct, tell everybody she's a 'wax replica'. Hey, tell them the couch is stuffed too!