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On November 30, 1954 an Alabama woman, by the name of Ann Hodges, was struck on her side by a meteorite while she was taking a nap on the couch.

Michael Reynolds, a Florida State College astronomer says, "You have a better chance of getting hit by a tornado, lightning and a hurricane at the same time." For Ann, the odds were in her favor.

During the afternoon hours, a meteorite entered the Earth's atmosphere and was seen by people in three different states. The space rock was split into at least three different pieces, two near Oak Grove and the other near Childersburg, Alabama. It was classified as an ordinary chondrite, which is a common rock among meteorite finds. The grapefruit-sized fragment that hit Ann was at Oak Grove, which is just outside the small town of Sylacauga, Alabama. It was reported that the meteorite crashed through the roof of her farmhouse before hitting a large radio and eventually Ann Hodges. After the strike, many people crowded Ann's home to investigate before she was transferred to the hospital. A pineapple-sized bruise was discovered on her hip and side.

With fears of the Cold War running high, the meteorite was eventually seized by the Sylacauga police chief and turned over to the Air Force. After the Air Force confirmed it was a meteorite, Ann wanted to claim the rock, but her landlord wanted it for herself. A court battle ensued, and the landlord was able to keep the meteorite. The public did not agree with this decision which led to the landlord handing the rock back over to Hodges for $500. Ann eventually donated the meteorite to the Alabama Museum of Natural History in 1956 where it is titled Hodges Meteorite.

Ann Hodges lived to tell the tale for quite some time before she passed away from kidney failure in 1972 at the age of 52. At the time, Ann was the only recorded person to be hit by a meteorite.

Sources: wikipedia.org
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Story Image: nasa.gov

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On This Day in 1954: Meteorite Injures Alabama Woman