[meteorite-list] Witnessed Falls and Hammers - warning, LONG.

From: Michael Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:03:49 -0700
Message-ID: <C5DAD245.14B5%mlblood_at_cox.net>

Hi Martin and all,
        In my upcoming book, I will be addressing this issue
At length. However, the condensed version is: "A man
Made artifact, animal or human" leaves itself open when
It comes to streets - and even more controversial, dirt
Roads.
        It is a "personal" line one has to draw for one's self,
And not always an easy one. I struggled with a meteorite
That struck a cultivated fruit tree and if a meteorite
Were to cause a significant pit in an ancient, rock Roman
Road, would THAT make it a hammer?
        There really isn't a definitive answer to such questions.
They are, rather, matters of opinion.
        Michael Gilmer recently asked how many hammers
Other collectors have.... I believe my collection is currently
Only about 64. However, even when comparing hammer
Collections there is a big variation in coparisons. If someone
Has 75 hammers, but they are all tiny, thumbnails and
Most of mine are rather large macromounts, which collection
Is the "largest?" Then, I know a good number of people who
Have REALLY nice sized hammers of full slices or whole stones
several hundreds of grams each, whereas mine might average
Closer to 5 grams each - mostly part slices. (Like so many
Of us, my collection is influenced strongly by what I can afford).
I do have a full slice of Kunashack and a fist sized hammer
Stone that was part of the original report found on a roof in
Thuathe, but they have to go if someone offers to buy them
because my income Does not support a huge collection of $2,500
to $5,000 each per specimen (and I would certainly like to end
up with a HUGE hammer collection. I would like to have a specimen
Of every known hammer fall - actual hammer stones, each, but
Such is, for all practical purposes, impossible...)
        Then, again, some specimens cannot be
Had in larger sizes regardless of financiers, such as St. Louis,
Wethersfield '71 - and my Sylacauga would have to be
Considered "huge" even though it is an ultra thin quarter sized
Part slice - because it just cannot be had larger.
        So, what is a hammer? Again, that is a question everyone
Will answer for themselves.
        Best wishes, Michael


> From: Martin Altmann <altmann at meteorite-martin.de>
> Date: Mon, 9 Mar 2009 17:13:33 +0100
> To: Meteorite List <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Witnessed Falls and Hammers - warning, LONG.
>
> Ehm is Ourique a hammer too?
> It hit a man made dirt road.
> And Hosur made a hole in a road too.
>
>
> -----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] Im Auftrag von Michael
> Gilmer
> Gesendet: Montag, 9. M?rz 2009 16:57
> An: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> Betreff: [meteorite-list] Witnessed Falls and Hammers - warning, LONG.
>
>
> Hi Listees! :)
>
> I was compiling my latest inventory list, when I noticed that my
> collection of witnessed falls and hammers is growing to a
> semi-respectable number - albeit still quite small compared to some
> of the envious collections other list members have.
>
> So I thought I would ask the list - how many witnessed falls and
> how many hammers do you have in your collection?
>
> Right now, I have 25 witnessed falls and 11 hammers :
>
> Hammer falls -
>
> Allende
> Carancas
> Claxton
> Gao Guenie
> Holbrook
> Moss
> Murchison
> New Orleans
> Park Forest
> Peekskill
> Weston
>
> Other witnessed falls -
>
> Bassikounou
> Chergach
> Ensisheim
> Juvinas
> Norton County
> Shalka
> Sikhote Alin
> Tagish Lake
> Tamdakht
> Tatahouine
> Udei Station
> "West" Texas
> Zag
> Zagami
>
> This is only the beginning of my obsession with certain witnessed
> falls and hammers. I only collect recent falls that happened
> after I started collecting in late 2006. So, basically from
> Bassikounou forward is fair game. This is an arbitrary starting
> point, but it has meaning for me and gives me a firm boundary
> line to base my fall collection on. I am missing quite a few
> recent falls - mainly the hard to acquire ones like Cali, Berduc,
> Buzzard Coulee and others which are not legally on the market or
> are too rare/expensive for me to afford at the moment.
>
> As for my hammers - I have no conditions on collecting them. Any
> meteorite or fall that struck something is fair game and I want it.
> The more interesting the story behind a given hammer, the more
> interested I am in acquiring it. Claxton is awesome. Imagine
> how small a mailbox is. Even when considering there are millions
> of postal boxes around the world, what are the chances of a
> meteorite hitting one? To me, that is interesting. Peekskill
> is another great hammer - it creamed a Chevy Malibu. Of course,
> Peekskill may have been more interesting if it had struck an
> occupied vehicle, a police car, a hearse, or some other exceptional
> circumstance. But until that happens, a Chevy Malibu will suffice. ;)
>
> New Orleans? Very interesting. First, it struck a house, but
> it also tore a path of destruction through the house, destroying
> a desk. That makes it worth collecting. But even more interesting
> is the overlooked fact that New Orleans is the only visitor to
> New Orleans to visit the area and not come away drunk, drugged,
> tattooed or sans virginity. ;)
>
> Weston? Well, even if Thomas Jefferson had uttered the famous
> phrase he was misquoted for, the damn Yankee professors didn't lie.
> Anything that make a founding father look dense is worth collecting.
>
> I love Carancas - because it's a tease. I would love to have a
> fully-crusted, whole individual. But who wouldn't? It's like
> Tatahouine - you aren't getting any crust and you aren't getting
> a whole individual, no matter how much money you offer. You can't
> buy what doesn't exist, so Carancas and Tatahouine are the two
> teases of the meteorite world. But we love to be teased, so these
> two falls will always be favorites of mine. Did anyone ever
> find out what the so-called noxious fumes were that supposedly
> emanated from the Carancas crater?
>
> Murchison? Smelled like rotten eggs, contains a bumper crop of
> amino acids, and is an interesting carbonaceous type. It also fell
> on my wife's 8th birthday. So, it's a must have. We are fortunate
> that Murch happened before the Australians lost all good sense and
> got retarded about their meteorite laws.
>
> Allende! Who doesn't love Allende? If you don't love Allende,
> then you are a communist, a criminal, and you should be run out of
> town on a rail. Allende is Mexico's Murchison. And unlike
> Murchison, you don't have to mortgage your house to own a decent
> piece of Allende.
>
> Park Forest is also a favorite. It's not just a hammer, it's a
> multiple impactor. It's arguably one of the most prolific hammers.
> Park Forest beaned, struck, dented, and walloped a wide variety
> of targets.
>
> Well, that's some of my favorite hammers and falls. What are your's?
>
> Best regards and clear skies!
>
> MikeG
>
> PS - Everyone say hello to Mr. Michael Blood, who I know it reading
> this post! By putting "hammers" in the title, I have ensured
> Mr. Blood's attention and response. ;) LOL :)
>
> .........................................................
> Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA)
> Member of the Meteoritical Society.
> Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network.
> Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com
> ..........................................................
>
>
>
>
>
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Received on Mon 09 Mar 2009 05:03:49 PM PDT