[meteorite-list] Oh, The Stories They Tell....

From: John Gwilliam <jkg2_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:54:44 -0700
Message-ID: <20090405235449.QXUC4363.fed1rmmtao103.cox.net_at_fed1rmimpo03.cox.net>

A good indication that there is a great need in this country for
Prozac maintenance programs and extended three-times-a-week
counseling. Even though I ducked out of the business three years ago,
I still get calls from people with the same fantasy tales of
witnessed impacts and meteorites in craters so big thay can't be
moved. When I ask for more details or pictures the conversations
become really bizarre.

Best,
John

At 02:06 PM 4/4/2009, JoshuaTreeMuseum wrote:
>There's a very simple explanation to this story: the guy's
>lying!!! How do I know? Because they always lie!! Why would you
>ever assume even for a second that such an outlandish story is
>true? I work at a small Earth & Space Museum with a large
>collection of meteorites. Every single story I've heard from people
>witnessing falls have been bogus. At least 10 people in the last
>year and a half have brought in meteorwrongs that they swear up and
>down hit their house. One was so hot that it melted the vinyl
>siding! (It was railroad rock.) One hit the house, went through
>the roof, bounced around inside awhile, then smashed through the
>wall and landed outside in the yard. (It was silicon.) Others have
>hit houses narrowly missing the occupants. (Slag, klinkers and more
>silicon). 3 or 4 people have been outside and had to duck to avoid
>getting hit. (Hematite and yet more slag.) Several people have come
>in with stories of seeing very large meteorites hit the ground,
>explode, form big craters, etc. Every one of these I've checked out
>has been a meteorwrong. Often people will bring in non native
>minerals and swear they found them here in Indiana, or saw them fall
>from the sky. I just had a chunk of antimony brought in that was
>supposedly found 30 feet underground! My favorite was an older lady
>that just finished watching a television show about how meteorites
>are worth millions of dollars, when suddenly she was startled by the
>sound of something hitting the side of her house. You guessed
>it, it was meteorites! 5 of them. (One was railroad rock, 3
>pieces of slag, a chunk of asphalt, and a piece of melted plastic.)
>Under questioning, not one relented, they all stuck to their
>stories. They seemed to really believe their stories. It's an
>interesting psychological phenomenon that meteorites (like sex) seem
>to induce people to tell outrageous stories.
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John Gwilliam

Too many people were born on third base
and go through life thinking they hit a triple.
Received on Sun 05 Apr 2009 07:54:44 PM PDT