In 1954, an Alabama woman became the first person to be injured by a meteorite falling on her body - here's her strange story
Matthew Wilson writes
On November 30, 1954, an Alabama woman named Ann Hodges was struck by a meteor while she was sleeping.
The meteor crashed through the roof of her house in Sylacauga, Alabama, hitting the radio and Hodges in the hip.
Hodges became famous overnight as her strange story spread across the country.
Today, the 8.5-pound meteorite is on display at the Alabama Museum of Natural History.
In the nearly 66 years since, Hodges and her strange story remain a source of fascination. "It's one of those local legends that a lot of people don't know," said Mary Beth Prondzinski, collections manager at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, where the meteorites are on display.
Asteroid Day is observed every June 30 to commemorate the Siberian Tunguska event, the largest asteroid impact on Earth in recent history. Ahead of this year's Asteroid Day, Anne looked into Hodges' story.
The 1685 breakup of the asteroid Toro broke up many of the Silakawa meteorites, also known as the Hodges meteorites.
1685 Toro, a medium-sized asteroid classified by NASA as a "Near-Earth Asteroid" because of its close orbit to Earth. Its size is similar to the island of Manhattan.
An asteroid is a rocky object in space that orbits the Sun. When an asteroid or fragment enters the Earth's atmosphere, it becomes a meteorite. What is left after the impact is a meteorite.
On the afternoon of November 30, 1954, residents of Sylacauga, Alabama reported seeing a bright line in the sky.
It's no wonder that residents of the Alabama city began calling 911 when the threat of an atomic bomb and their miniaturized flying saucer stories gripped public fear. According to the Decatur Daily, many thought it was a plane crash.
Ann Hodges and her husband rented a house in Oak Grove and moved in.
Part of the meteor crashed through the roof of Anne Hodge's house.
Hodges, who was 34 at the time, was at home with his mother on the afternoon of November 30. According to Slate magazine, the meteors will hit at 1 p.m. At 2:46 Hodge's house crashed through the roof.
"Anne Hodges was sleeping on the couch in her living room and she was under a blanket. That probably saved her life quite a bit," Prondzinski said. "The meteor came down through the roof of the living room, and it hit the radio in the room and landed in her lap."
Her mother, who was in another room, rushed to her daughter's aid when she heard her screams. Afterward, neither Hodges nor her mother knew what happened to her.
"She just knew something hit her," Prondzinski said. "They found meteorites, this big rock. They couldn't figure out how it got there."
It weighed about 8.5 pounds.
Prendzinski said the meteorite is a chondrite, or stony meteorite, composed of iron and nickel. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the meteorites are estimated to be 4.5 billion years old.
When the meteorite entered the Earth's atmosphere, it broke up. One piece hit Hodges and another was found by a farmer a few miles away. Julius Kempis found the piece while driving a wagon and later sold it for enough money to buy a house and a car, the Decatur Daily reported.
"They didn't have Facebook in those days, but word still traveled fast," Prondzinski said.
A doctor and the police were called to the house. Mayor Ed Howard and the police chief discovered the hole in the ceiling where the meteorite had fallen, Prondzinski said.
According to the Decatur Daily, the impact of the meteor left Hodge's hip with a “large bruise.
"She had this incredible bruise on her hip," Prondzinski told Insider. She was taken to the hospital not because she was badly injured and needed to be hospitalized, but because she was very upset by the whole incident. She is a very restless person.
Hodges' husband, Eugene, came home from work to find his house surrounded by a large crowd.
Hodge's radio may have saved her from serious injury.
Among the photos..
Radio by Ann Hodges. University of Alabama Museum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
"I don't think the fact that it came through the roof slowing down its trajectory and that it hit the radio and bounced off didn't kill her, but it could have done a lot more damage to her," Prondzinski said.
The Air Force confiscated the meteorite to determine its origin.
After confirming that it was a meteorite, Hodges faced a long trial to claim ownership of it. Their landlord, Birdie Guy, believes the meteorites belong to her and that she was in the house.
According to the Decatur Daily News, Guy needed money to fix the roof on the house. The lawsuit lasted a year, and Prondzinski said Guy settled the case for $500. The house eventually caught fire and was demolished for a mobile home park.
Hodges became an overnight celebrity
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