Meteorite Strikes Teen’s Hand; He Survives - Game|Gravity

mlauzon · 06-13-2009, 10:37 AM

One very unlucky German teenager was struck by a meteorite this week, but survived to tell the tale.

Details are sketchy, but according to Telegraph.co.uk, as 14-year-old Gerrit Blank walked home from school, the red-hot object fell out of the sky, hit his hand, and crashed into the ground, leaving a foot-wide crater.

“At first I just saw a large ball of light, and then I suddenly felt a pain in my hand. Then a split second after that there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder,” he told Telegraph.co.uk. “The noise that came after the flash of light was so loud that my ears were ringing for hours afterwards.”

Meteorite strikes on humans and human structures are rare but not unknown. The last time there was a confirmed strike on a human was in 1954, when Ann Hodges, an Alabama housewife got smacked in the hip by a ricocheting space rock. Sadly, Hodges, a renter, got sued by her landlady for possession of the meteor. The famous rock was considered very valuable, and was anticipated to fetch $20,000 at auction, which would equate to several hundred thousand dollars today.

Less than a year after Hodges, another Alabama housewife, Mrs. W. Douglas Beardon, just missed getting crushed in her yard by a meteorite “humming like a vacuum cleaner.”

Close calls have been noted throughout history. For example, villagers watched in amazement as a large meteorite hit near the town of Ensisheim in 1492, and a meteorite smashed into Michelle Knapp’s parked car in Peekskill, New York, just a few weeks short of 500 years later (illustrated above).

A broad 1991 study of meteorite strikes on structures and near humans found that they are relatively common. The authors tabulated 69 strikes on human infrastructure since 1790, including 57 in the 20th century. They also counted 25 near misses of human beings.

Source: Wired Science

lm8dark · 06-13-2009, 11:31 PM

Woah... I guess that it would be better if you got hit with poop falling from the sky.

mlauzon · 06-14-2009, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lm8dark

Woah... I guess that it would be better if you got hit with poop falling from the sky.

Actually, I've seen that happen, unfortunately it was seagull poop and it landed in the guy's mouth; I've never seen someone run so fast just to get water!

ghost · 06-14-2009, 09:50 AM

I read about that kid. Only thing he can look forward to now is being struck by falling frozen pee from an Airplane

lm8dark · 06-15-2009, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghost

I read about that kid. Only thing he can look forward to now is being struck by falling frozen pee from an Airplane

Actually i cant think which one is worse. the meteorite strike or falling pee shard.

ghost · 06-17-2009, 08:55 AM

You could only hope the pee shard would be fatal. I don't think Id want to live through that

reikalee · 07-17-2009, 12:15 AM

Whoa! Better that than fish!

I remember, I read in some children's history book that some hundreds of years ago, fish rained from the sky.

mlauzon · 07-17-2009, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reikalee

Whoa! Better that than fish!

I remember, I read in some children's history book that some hundreds of years ago, fish rained from the sky.

That is more common than you think, and still happens today with various types of animals like fish, frogs, etc.

reikalee · 07-17-2009, 11:35 PM

I know frogs have rained too, but it has never happened here in the Philippines yet. Sunshowers are more common.

Scorpionite · 08-04-2009, 09:20 AM

Wow, that is insane lol... I'd been running in circles yelling like a madman, the sky is falling! the sky is falling! Naw just kiddin, but that was a close calls, I wonder if that persons life changed cuz of it or if he now brags about it :P!

06-13-2009, 10:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
mlauzon Atom Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 15	Meteorite Strikes Teen’s Hand; He Survives One very unlucky German teenager was struck by a meteorite this week, but survived to tell the tale. Details are sketchy, but according to Telegraph.co.uk, as 14-year-old Gerrit Blank walked home from school, the red-hot object fell out of the sky, hit his hand, and crashed into the ground, leaving a foot-wide crater. “At first I just saw a large ball of light, and then I suddenly felt a pain in my hand. Then a split second after that there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder,” he told Telegraph.co.uk. “The noise that came after the flash of light was so loud that my ears were ringing for hours afterwards.” Meteorite strikes on humans and human structures are rare but not unknown. The last time there was a confirmed strike on a human was in 1954, when Ann Hodges, an Alabama housewife got smacked in the hip by a ricocheting space rock. Sadly, Hodges, a renter, got sued by her landlady for possession of the meteor. The famous rock was considered very valuable, and was anticipated to fetch $20,000 at auction, which would equate to several hundred thousand dollars today. Less than a year after Hodges, another Alabama housewife, Mrs. W. Douglas Beardon, just missed getting crushed in her yard by a meteorite “humming like a vacuum cleaner.” Close calls have been noted throughout history. For example, villagers watched in amazement as a large meteorite hit near the town of Ensisheim in 1492, and a meteorite smashed into Michelle Knapp’s parked car in Peekskill, New York, just a few weeks short of 500 years later (illustrated above). A broad 1991 study of meteorite strikes on structures and near humans found that they are relatively common. The authors tabulated 69 strikes on human infrastructure since 1790, including 57 in the 20th century. They also counted 25 near misses of human beings. Source: Wired Science __________________ Michael

07-17-2009, 12:15 AM	#7 (permalink)
reikalee Electrostatic charge Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 82	Whoa! Better that than fish! I remember, I read in some children's history book that some hundreds of years ago, fish rained from the sky. __________________ "I am simply myself. No more and no less. And I only want to be free." -Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, Final Fantasy XII

07-17-2009, 11:35 PM	#9 (permalink)
reikalee Electrostatic charge Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 82	I know frogs have rained too, but it has never happened here in the Philippines yet. Sunshowers are more common. __________________ "I am simply myself. No more and no less. And I only want to be free." -Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, Final Fantasy XII

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06-13-2009, 11:31 PM	#2 (permalink)
lm8dark Sonic boom Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 297	Woah... I guess that it would be better if you got hit with poop falling from the sky.

06-14-2009, 09:50 AM	#4 (permalink)
ghost revenant Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 454	I read about that kid. Only thing he can look forward to now is being struck by falling frozen pee from an Airplane

06-17-2009, 08:55 AM	#6 (permalink)
ghost revenant Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 454	You could only hope the pee shard would be fatal. I don't think Id want to live through that

08-04-2009, 09:20 AM	#10 (permalink)
Scorpionite Atom Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 11	Wow, that is insane lol... I'd been running in circles yelling like a madman, the sky is falling! the sky is falling! Naw just kiddin, but that was a close calls, I wonder if that persons life changed cuz of it or if he now brags about it :P!