[meteorite-list] The True Story of Ann Hodges: History’s Only Meteorite Victim

From: Frank Cressy <fcressy_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 08:37:19 -0800
Message-ID: <1421599039.96239.YahooMailNeo_at_web184802.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>

Hello all,


The article isn't clear where the stones are. The meteorite that hit Mrs. Hodges is in the Alabama Museum of Natural History. A second stone (3.75 kg) was purchased by Stuart Perry and donated to the Smithsonian.

Cheers,

Frank

On Saturday, January 17, 2015 12:23 PM, Shawn Alan via Meteorite-list <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com> wrote:



Hello Listers

I wish I was a victim from a meteorite Lunar fall :)

Enjoy the TRUe STORy

Shawn Alan
IMCA 1633
ebay store http://www.ebay.com/sch/imca1633ny/m.html
Website http://meteoritefalls.com



The True Story of Ann Hodges: History?s Only Meteorite Victim
January 16, 2015
By First to Know


Getting hit by a falling meteor is far more uncommon than getting struck
by lighting. How uncommon you might ask?




There is only one confirmed person in history to have ever been hit by
one. And she had the evidence to prove it.

Back in November 1954, Ann Hodges was taking a nap in her Sylacauga,
Alabama, home when a rock about 12 inches in circumference came crashing
through the ceiling. The meteorite then collided with her thigh, leaving
behind a large, conspicuous bruise. Thankfully, it didn?t smash into
her head, or the scene would have been much more gruesome.

When word got around about the meteor, the entire town flocked to her
home. There were so many people curious to see what happened that she
became extremely nervous and had to be taken to the hospital. Because
she was a simple country woman, she wasn?t used to all the attention.
It made her frenzied.

The incident didn?t end there.

Despite a government geologist confirming that the object was, in fact,
a meteorite, police confiscated it and requested the Air Force?s
verification. Many people in the tiny town thought the smoke trails in
the sky and loud explosion meant a plane had crashed, while others,
paranoid by the Cold War, blamed the Soviets. The object needed some
clearing up.

Once verified, the only other thing left to do was figure out who the
rock belonged to. Of course, Hodges believed it was rightfully hers to
keep.

?I feel like the meteorite is mine,? she said, according to the
Alabama Museum of Natural History. ?I think God intended it for me.
After all, it hit me!?

But, as luck would have it, she wasn?t the only person wanting to
stake a claim for the space rock. Her landlady, Birdie Guy, wanted to
keep it for herself.

Guy found a lawyer and sued Hodges, alleging that it was hers because it
landed on her property. Although the law was leaning in her favor, the
community wasn?t too happy about that verdict. So, in exchange for
$500, they settled out of court.

Soon after, the woman and her husband, Eugene, received an offer from
the Smithsonian for the rock, though they turned it down ? hoping to
score a better offer. An offer they?d never get.

No one approached them to purchase the controversial entity. In 1956,
the Hodges wound up donating it to the museum. If you?re interested in
checking it out, it?s still on display.

The entire story is just a little heartbreaking, especially when you
consider that Ann suffered a nervous breakdown from the meteorite
hysterics.

According to the museum, ?she never did recover? from the frenzy
that followed that fateful day.

The couple later separated, and, in 1972, she went on to die of kidney
failure in a nursing home.

She ?wasn?t a person who sought out the limelight. The Hodges were
just simple country people, and I really think that all the attention
was her downfall,? explained museum director Randy Mecredy.

What makes this woman?s story so rare is that meteorites typically
fall into the ocean or land somewhere desolate (not on top of a woman
napping on her couch), according to Michael Reynolds, a Florida State
College astronomer.

?Think of how many people have lived throughout human history,?
Reynolds said. ?You have a better chance of getting hit by a tornado
and a bolt of lightning and a hurricane all at the same time.?

In the photo above, Moody Jacobs reveals her bruise from the incident.

Source:
http://firsttoknow.com/true-story-ann-hodges-historys-meteorite-victim/
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Received on Sun 18 Jan 2015 11:37:19 AM PST