[meteorite-list] What makes a hammer a hammer?

From: Michael L Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 14:17:33 -0800
Message-ID: <C586757D.1DAC3%mlblood_at_cox.net>

Hi Dave,
        I am sure you are right. It has been like 30 years since I read the
Book - EXCELLENT read - and that was before I was into meteorites,
So, it held all kinds of fanciful stuff. I am sure major parts of the movies
DEAP IMPACT and The one about the old grogers blowing up the
Asteroid headed for earth were both influenced by this book.
        My favorite, of course, was the guy surfing the tidal wave
Through downtown LA, dodging buildings as one must dodge
Pier footings.
        Best wishes, Michael

on 1/4/09 8:29 AM, Dave Gheesling at dave at fallingrocks.com wrote:

> Michael wrote: "Dave Gheesling was essentially correct in stating that The
> "word," "HAMMER" first appeared in a book by Niven and Pournelle, entitled,
> LUCIFER'S HAMMER, Fawcett Crest, 1977.
> (Ironically, in the book, this term is a misnomer, as the Astronomer who
> first views the object and predicts a Huge earth impact was named Hamner,
> and it was a "religious" figure that stated that "Lucifer's Hammer"
> Was going to punish the people of the earth"
>
> Actually, it was sort of an intentional, or perhaps Freudian, misnomer,
> ficticiously coming from Johnny Carson (well known for intentional Freudian
> slips). Interviewing the ficticious astronomer, Tim Hamner, Carson said,
> "Tim, it's your comet. Could HAMMER-Brown actually hit us?" Hamner
> responds, "That's HAMNER-Brown." Carson laughs, "Oh, what did I say?
> Hammer? It would be a hammer if it hit, wouldn't it?" Fun read, by the
> way, and the initial conditions are remarkably similar to a real H-B comet
> that would arrive two decades later...
>
> Make it a great Sunday, everybody,
>
> Dave
> www.fallingrocks.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Michael L
> Blood
> Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 4:39 AM
> To: Steve Arnold dealer/Qynne; meteoritefinder at yahoo.com
> Cc: Meteorite List
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] What makes a hammer a hammer?
>
> Steve, Robert, Dave, Walter, Mike, John et al,
> Several comments:
> (I would have responded earlier, but I was watching The Chargers KICK ASS!)
>
> 1) Any information listed on my hammer page
> http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/Hammers.html
> Regarding Sylacauga is more accurately expressed by (THE REAL) Steve Arnold.
> I stand corrected by him on All accounts regarding this specific hammer.
>
> 2) Walter Branch's original page can be seen at:
> http://imca.repetti.net/metinfo/metstruck.html
> His reference to "HAMs" he states, is a reference to "humans, animals & man
> made objects" and is unrelated To my coining the term, "Hammer" in reference
> to any Fall that resulted in a stone striking one of the above.
>
> 3) Dave Geesling was essentially correct in stating that The "word,"
> "HAMMER" first appeared in a book by Niven and Pournelle, entitled,
> LUCIFER'S HAMMER, Fawcett Crest, 1977.
> (Ironically, in the book, this term is a misnomer, as the Astronomer who
> first views the object and predicts a Huge earth impact was named Hamner,
> and it was a "religious" figure that stated that "Lucifer's Hammer"
> Was going to punish the people of the earth (much like The gobledgook
> vomited by the "religious" that state that AIDS is a punishment by God for
> the "sin" of homosexuality.
> I read this book 10 or more years before I got into meteorites But my use of
> the term "hammer" was, in fact, inspired To a degree from this book.
> However, I thought long and hard About the term I wanted to use before
> deciding to use "hammer."
> Since I was collecting them and determined to offer the largest Selection
> available of them, I felt a name was definitely called For and "hammer" it
> was.
>
> 4) When one coins a term, that person sets the parameters Of definition.
> Inevitably these parameters will change or Be refined over time. My use of
> the term "Hammer" was In reference to a meteorite that "nailed" something -
> specifically Human, animal or human made, just as was made reference to In
> Walter's work. Personally, I EXCLUDE roads and cultivars (varieties of
> hybridized fruit trees), though there are others who collect hammers that
> include them.
>
> 5) The entire fall is a "Hammer" fall and a specific individual that hit A
> specific object, animal or person is a "Hammer stone" (very, very Few
> irons)(the use of "hammer stone" was introduced by Adam Hupe.
> Though I originally debated his usage, conversations with him brought Me
> over to his side on this issue).
> Of course, one would always prefer THE hammer stone Of a fall or one
> of several.... For instance, I have 9 different Park Forest "Hammers" that
> include several houses, a car, a tow truck, A fire station, a baseball
> grandstand, fence, etc. However, in many cases The one or few hammer stones
> is not available (the guy in the boat Threw all that landed in his boat into
> the river, as they were clearly
> "evil"- Chiang-Khan) or the tiny Mbale stone that struck a boy.... I Have a
> photo of him holding it but no amount of research has resulted In finding
> ANYONE who can even say they have any idea of what Happened to that
> particular stone.
> As for Allende, Pultusk, Holbrook, etc, there is written
> documentation describing houses and patios, a train station being struck - I
> am working on a book that will cite a good deal of written records attesting
> to such events - the topic is far too extensive to include here.
>
> 6) I am amazed at the egocentric attitude of people who look down on others
> Who are "into" something that holds no interest for them. It would be like
> Me stating all NWA material is insignificant, regardless of rarity of type
> Because it is nearly all undocumented as to both date of impact and in The
> vast majority of cases, not reliably recorded as to specific location of
> find. While these statements may (or may not) have credibility, my personal
> Value system being applied is, relatively speaking, irrelevant.
>
> 7) Mike Gilmer asked why some falls were hardly ever referred to as
> "hammers" though they fit the description: Holbrook, Allende, etc. Yes,
> Mike, in those cases the fall, itself was so extensive and significant in
> Other ways that, though they included in any reasonable hammer collection,
> That is not their only claim to fame.
>
> 8) What percentage of meteorite collectors specifically collect hammers?
> This would be an excellent polling question for the list. If people want to
> Email me off list, I will count up the responses and report to the list. I
> believe the list currently has about 900 members (it is impossible to know
> Because a significant number of people use more than one email address To
> receive posts). Regardless, we could get some idea. From conversations I
> have had with collectors, my GUESS would be about 10 percent of all
> Collectors go out of their way to collect hammers (usually as ONE of their
> Interests in meteorites). However, a pole would be far more revealing, as
> Hammer collectors tend to contact me at a much higher rate than other
> Dealers, I am sure. When I opened my "Hammer Page"
> http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/Hammers.html
> I started with about 28 offerings of different falls. I now have over 40, I
> Belive. Both figures far surpass any other source I have been able to find
> Many times over.
> So, if people email me, I will report to the list. Here is how: Put
> ONLY "Hammer Collector" in the subject box (you don't even have to say
> Anything in the body of the text if you don't want to). Please DO NOT
> Include "Meteorite List" in the subject line - some days I get over 300
> Emails in one day - guess which ones don't always get checked out?
> (anyone who would get a specimen SPECIFICALLY Because of its status
> as a hammer) - Neither the size of your hammer collection nor the size of
> the specimens matter - just, do you collect them.
>
> 9) I will report back to the list the number of people who said they Collect
> hammers.
>
> 10) HAMMERS RULE!
>
> Best wishes, Michael
>
>
> on 1/3/09 11:59 PM, MeteorHntr at aol.com at MeteorHntr at aol.com wrote:
>
>> Hello Robert,
>>
>> To answer your direct question, no I have not seen the "Hodges's stone."
>>
>> However, in Dr. King's Meteorite Collection Catalog he listed the
>> source of his Sylacaga specimen as, and I quote:
>>
>> "Source: Alabama Mus. Nat. Hist., Douglas Jones"
>>
>> Now, if anyone on the list has access to the Hodges's stone to
>> examine, my hunch is that the core would have been removed from the
>> bottom portion, as it is displayed, and the hole was probably plugged
> with something and colored so
>> as to hide the fact that a core was removed. My memory is a bit fuzzy,
> but
>> as I recall there were some correspondence letters between Dr. King
>> and the Alabama Museum of Natural History at the time leading up to the
> acquisition.
>> And there was a concern that any examination would not hurt the
>> aesthetic appearance of the stone.
>>
>> However, it might be easier to ask the Smithsonian if their records
> indicate
>> that any of their Sylacaga was traded to Dr. King. But with the
> conflict
>> NASA (including Dr. King) had with the Smithsonian in the 1960's I
>> seriously doubt any trades were done with the Smithsonian.
>>
>> As many of you know, we auctioned off the King Collection, and it
>> would make some of you sick if you knew how cheaply that specimen
>> sold for. I was surprised at the time, but then again, there were
>> many great specimens in the collection being sold, and most people had to
> budget where they spent their
>> money, so some things went a little lower than expected at that time.
> Since
>> then, the value has appreciated to more reasonable levels.
>>
>> I hope this answers your question Robert?
>>
>> Steve Arnold #1
>>
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 1/3/2009 10:11:11 P.M. Central Standard Time,
>> meteoritefinder at yahoo.com writes:
>> Steve and List,
>>
>> Steve, are you absolutely sure the core came from THE Hodges's stone (
>> the one that struck her) and NOT the McKinney stone??? I have not
>> actually seen the Hodge's stone in person, and maybe you have, so you
>> MAY be right. But ... if I may quote a few words from "one of our
>> illustrious members'" ( who I hope doesn't mind me using them, and
>> that he will join in the discussion, too
>> ) website that state:
>>
>> "....There were two stones - the one that hit the human and one
>> other. The one that hit the human is the centerpiece in a local
>> museum. No one has ever had access to it. However,the second stone is
>> in the Smithsonion and though the remainder has never been available
>> to the public, it did have one core drilled in it. This core ended up in
> the collection of Dr.
>> King. After his death his widow allowed it to be cut into about 10
>> whafer slices all of which all ended up as primary specimens in
>> private collections."
>>
>> So have you seen THE Hodges' stone in person and saw that there
>> actually IS a hole drilled into THAT very one????
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Robert Woolard
>>
>> **************New year...new news. Be the first to know what is
>> making headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)
>> ______________________________________________
>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>

Get 30% to 50% more gas mileage immediately (I did!):
http://go4best.water4gas.hop.clickbank.net/
Received on Sun 04 Jan 2009 05:17:33 PM PST