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In 1954 Ann Hodges was asleep on her sofa in Alabama when a 4-kilogram rock from space came through the ceiling, bounced off her radio and struck her hip. She is the only person confirmed to have been injured by a meteorite.

Sylacauga, Alabama, 30 November 1954

SpaceHistory

Why it matters

The idea in context

The meteorite was around 4.5 billion years old and had split in the atmosphere; the other piece landed miles away. Hodges was left with a spectacular bruise and, almost at once, a legal fight — her landlady claimed the rock belonged to the house. Hodges eventually kept it for a $500 settlement and later gave it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The attention exhausted her. Given how much of Earth is ocean and empty ground, the odds of a stone that has crossed the Solar System finding a sofa are almost past arithmetic.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

1954'te Ann Hodges, Alabama'da kanepesinde uyurken uzaydan gelen 4 kilogramlık bir kaya tavandan girip radyosundan sekerek kalçasına çarptı. Bir göktaşından yaralandığı doğrulanmış tek kişidir.
Sylacauga, Alabama, 30 Kasım 1954

Göktaşı yaklaşık 4,5 milyar yaşındaydı ve atmosferde ikiye ayrılmıştı; diğer parça kilometrelerce öteye düştü. Hodges'ta görkemli bir morluk ve hemen ardından bir hukuk kavgası kaldı — ev sahibi kayanın eve ait olduğunu ileri sürdü. Hodges sonunda 500 dolarlık bir uzlaşmayla onu elinde tuttu ve daha sonra Alabama Doğa Tarihi Müzesi'ne verdi. İlgi onu yıprattı. Dünya'nın ne kadarının okyanus ve boş arazi olduğu düşünülürse, Güneş Sistemi'ni aşmış bir taşın bir kanepe bulma olasılığı neredeyse aritmetiğin ötesindedir.

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Background reading: Sylacauga (meteorite)Attribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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