[meteorite-list] Suspected Meteorite Goes Through Window in Illinois

From: Matson, Robert <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 10:55:48 -0800
Message-ID: <A8044CCD89B24B458AE36254DCA2BD07032A13A4_at_0005-its-exmp01.us.saic.com>

Hi All,

> Suspected meteorite goes through window
> Eric Heisig
> The Daily Vidette
> March 6, 2007
>
> At a 71-degree angle, going 60 mph, an object went through the house
> of Bloomington residents David and Dee Riddle at 9:40 a.m. Monday
> morning.

Was Mr. Heisig snooping around on MeteoriteCentral yesterday? ;-)
Whoops -- I was off by 1 degree on the angle. Guess that computer
desk is a little shallower than I imagined, or the homeowner has
bedroom windows more than 8 feet off the floor. Whether 19 degrees
or 20 degrees from vertical, it still isn't possible for an iron
meteorite without the benefit of a carom off an object outside that
window.

> From there, the Fire Department came with Geiger counters to make
> sure it was not radioactive.

Can someone please go on "American Idol" or "Deal or No Deal" or
"QI" and tell the world that meteorites are not measurably
radioactive by Fire Department Geiger counters?

> Crime scene officials also came to investigate the ballistics
> of the impact. "They did say it was a meteorite, but it needed
> to be tested," Riddle said.

So now CSI personnel are experts at meteorite identification?

> Professors from ISU were also called to look at the scene and
> many of them, after dong some preliminary studies, said they
> speculate it is a meteorite. "From what I know, this is
> consistent with meteorites," Jay Anser, a general education
> lab coordinator for the department of Physics, said.

"General education lab coordinator"? Did they ask the high
school principal or the janitor for their opinions, too?

> Dave Malone, a professor in the department of Geology, said
> he is 80 percent sure this is a meteorite.

Nice try, Mr. Malone. Please have a seat.

> It is uncommon for meteorites to actually hit the ground.

This sentence has to be the best quote from the whole article!
But wait ... not so fast. They're sort of right -- 70% of them
hit water!

> Even if the geologists at ISU are certain, there are tests
> that need to be done to confirm whether or not it is a
> meteorite.

What do you mean, "tests?" I thought a show of hands was all
we needed? After all, that's how "science" works for Global
Warming -- if 90% of scientists say it's true, then by golly
it must be. The science is settled!

> The object will need to be sent out in order to determine
> whether or not it is in fact a meteorite.

I'm picturing a scene similar to the following exchange
from _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_...

BEDEMIR: There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.
CROWD: Are there? What are they?
BEDEMIR: Tell me, what do you do with witches?
VILLAGER #2: Burn!
CROWD: Burn, burn them up!
BEDEMIR: And what do you burn apart from witches?
VILLAGER #1: More witches!
VILLAGER #2: Wood!
BEDEMIR: So, why do witches burn?
   [pause]
VILLAGER #3: B--... 'cause they're made of wood...?
BEDEMIR: Goooood!
CROWD: Oh yeah, yeah...
BEDEMIR: So, how do we tell whether she is made of wood?
VILLAGER #1: Build a bridge out of her.
BEDEMIR: Aah, but can you not also build bridges out of stone?
VILLAGER #2: Oh, yeah.
BEDEMIR: Does wood sink in water?
VILLAGER #1: No, no.
VILLAGER #2: It floats! It floats!
VILLAGER #1: Throw her into the pond! Tie weights on her!
CROWD: The pond!
BEDEMIR: What also floats in water?
VILLAGER #1: Bread!
VILLAGER #2: Apples!
VILLAGER #3: Very small rocks! [ed. Meteorites? ;-)]
VILLAGER #1: Cider!
VILLAGER #2: Great gravy!
VILLAGER #1: Cherries!
VILLAGER #2: Mud!
VILLAGER #3: Churches -- churches!
VILLAGER #2: Lead -- lead!
SIR ARTHUR: A duck.
CROWD: Ooooooh.....
BEDEMIR: Exactly! So, logically...
VILLAGER #1: If... she.. weighs the same as a duck ..., she's
              made of wood.
BEDEMIR: And therefore--?
VILLAGER #1: A witch!
CROWD: A witch!
BEDEMIR: We shall use my larger scales!

(Suspected witch on one pan of a giant equal-arm balance, a
duck on the other...)

BEDEMIR: Right, remove the supports!
      [whop]
      [creak]
(Pans balance perfectly.)

CROWD: A witch! A witch!
WITCH: It's a fair cop.
Received on Tue 06 Mar 2007 01:55:48 PM PST