This woman is the only person to have ever been struck by a meteorite and scientists are still confused

Space is the next frontier which would explain why we’re all so curious about what exactly is out there because nobody really knows. Yes, we know that there must be some kind of life besides us but what does that look like? Maybe one day this question will be answered but for now we know that some pieces of the universe do end up on Earth and they have given us some pretty interesting clues to what is out there.
Telescopes like the Hubble and the Rover missions to Mars and other planets have worked to give us a better idea of the make-up of the planets and the cosmos but meteorites themselves tell a very specific story about the universe. This is because they have traveled for thousands of years from galaxies far far away. One woman actually found herself in incredibly close quarters with a meteorite which would affect her profoundly. This is the story of Ann Hodges who lived in the state of Alabama when her world came crashing down.

Meteoroid Vs. Meteorite

In order to understand what exactly happened to Ann Hodges in 1954 we first need to know what the difference between a meteoroid is and a meteorite. According to NASA, a meteoroid is, “a small particle from a comet or asteroid orbiting the Sun.”

And a meteorite is a meteoroid that has survived entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and successfully touched down on the Earth’s surface. The main difference here is one is in space and one is now on the Earth.

Fun Facts About Meteoroids

Think about all the instances that you have heard of a meteorite hitting Earth? It is hard to think of because there have been so few. This is one of the characteristics of meteoroids themselves. They rarely manage to survive entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and plop down on the surface with a big bang.

When they do make it to Earth it tends to be quite the event as it creates a crater that can stretch for miles wherever it eventually lands. Now the term ‘big bang’ might sound an awful lot familiar and we are not talking about the TV show The Big Bang Theory.

The Big Bang

Do you remember when dinosaurs walked the Earth? Okay, so it was not in your lifetime obviously but millions of years ago they did and we have their skeletons to prove it. The cause of their extinction is still a topic of debate but one of the theories actually circulates around the idea that it was a meteorite that ended up killing them all.

Meteorites are a fascinating phenomenon but they are dangerous which is what we are about to see when a woman found herself directly in the path of one. We’re not saying that you should steer clear of them because they are so rare but if you see something unknown coming in fast beware!

The Lead-Up

The 1950s were a tough time in the United States of America. There were many precedents setting cases that made their way to the Supreme Court. One such case was that of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This would be the case that would mark the end of segregation within the school systems throughout all of the states and begin the long process of addressing the institutionalized forms of repression that had been going on for decades.

This was the backdrop to another major event that would then take place in Sylacauga, Alabama which shifts the focus of the country momentarily.

Firework?

In 1954, the citizens of Sylacauga were out in their yards soaking up the remnants of summer as the season began to shift into fall. But as they looked up, they saw the bright red flare of what could be a firework shoot across the sky. This was also when the Cold War with the Soviet Union was in full swing.

Fearing that the Soviets may have finally decided to attack their small town, the residents began to flee in terror. But what was actually happening was a meteorite was about to land on the Earth’s surface which would create quite the impact once it finally touched down.

Surprise

This meteorite didn’t just land in an empty field. No, instead it had a good fortune or bad depending on who you are talking to land smack dab in the middle of a house situated on a farm on the outskirts of Sylacauga.

But this would not be the end of the story, it was truly just the beginning. You see, the farmhouse was not empty when the meteorite landed. And boy, did it ever make an entrance.

Meet Ann Hodges

The person there that fateful day was none other than Ann Hodges. She had finished work for the day and thought that a nice cat nap was exactly what she needed.

She was only 32 at the time and her husband was still out working which left her all alone to deal with what was about to crash land through her roof. As she lay resting on the couch, she didn’t even fathom that a big chunk of rock was busy hurtling towards her.

What Was That?

All of a sudden Ann found herself being woken up by some outside force. She was extremely confused as she groggily looked around her. It then became clear that something was not quite right, she looked to the left of her body but could not see anything wrong.

But she knew that she did not feel quite right, she had a searing pain running through her body but with no evidence of anything causing it.

The Culprit

A bruise started to blossom on the left of her stomach but she could not determine what had hit her. Everything in her farmhouse appeared to be untouched except for one thing: the radio.

As she examined the radio she saw that half of it had been sheared off and it’s insides which consisted of wires, gears, and screws were strewn about. But what had managed to cause this damage was nowhere in sight.

Enter The Townsfolk

While Ann had managed to sleep through whatever had just happened, the rest of the town had not. As they noticed the red streak in the sky they saw it land on Ann’s property and immediately ran over to see if she was okay.

It was as they arrived and saw Ann in a rather muddled state that it became apparent what had happened. A giant rock, and what would later be called a meteorite had come crashing through the ceiling.

The Meteorite

The police were the first responders and it quickly became clear that a specialist was required to help identify what exactly at hit poor Ann. A geologist was called in and as he examined the evidence he was able to pinpoint what that rock was: a meteorite.

What made this situation so unusual though was the fact that no human had reportedly been hit by one before. Ann became famous for her nap attack overnight.

Enter Eugene

Eugene was the husband who had been off working all day which is why Ann found herself napping alone that afternoon. He was a local worker who helped check utilities around town.

He was not pleased to see his small farmhouse full of people and had zero idea what was going on until he saw Ann. Once she explained that a space rock had flown through their ceiling he began to realize that they were in possession of something very important.

Priceless

Meteorites themselves are almost invaluable. There are so few that actually manage to make it to Earth and they are prized objects that scientists around the world want to study.

Their mineral composition alone tells geologists about the elemental make-up of wherever they have come from and some of them even contain items not found on Earth or in very limited quantities. This was a hot commodity that the Hodges did not want to waste.

Legal Troubles

Problems began to arise as soon as the Hodges started seeing dollar signs every time they gazed upon the meteorite. They did not actually own their farmhouse but instead were renting that and the land it sat on.

In order to profit off the meteorite, they either had to establish that it belonged to them or give it up to the owner of their land. According to state law at the time to own the meteorite, they would have had to own the land or structure it fell on.

The Landlady

Their landlady was no fool and after seeing all of the excitement around the event she immediately began to examine her legal rights in regards to the meteorite.

It would be very easy for her to prove that as her land everything on it rightfully belonged to her. But the Hodges decided to work around this and offer the landlady a lump sum of money, $500 to be exact if she let them keep the rock.

Was It Worth It?

After shelling out the $500 the couple was sure that they would make even more now that they could sell it to the highest bidder. But the only people to offer them anything was the Smithsonian Institute and what they did offer was measly.

Ann and Eugene firmly believed that they were going to make thousands of dollars not just a couple of hundred. So they continued to wait for their big offer.

No Money

Sadly, the only offer they ever got for the meteorite was the one from the Smithsonian. The couple found themselves $500 lighter and constantly bombarded by the press. They found themselves broke, plagued by flashing cameras, and Ann’s mental health began to deteriorate.

It all became too much for poor Ann and she had a complete mental collapse which put a further strain on the couple. With no money and poor health, what were they supposed to do next?

Goodbye Eugene

Eugene decided that he no longer wanted to deal with caring for Ann and the media around the space rock which had caused them nothing but trouble. Ten years after it fell into their living he decided to leave Ann and start a new life without her.

Her health was still quite poor and since the couple had never had any kids she found herself completely alone. With no place to go, she was forced to live in a long term care facility.

Goodbye Ann

Ann’s health never improved, instead, it continued to decline for a few years afterward. She entered the facility at the age of 44 and sadly passed away at 52. It seemed as if she was heartbroken and could never come to terms with the fact that Eugene had up and left her.

The official cause of her death was renal failure. Her body had just seemed to stop functioning when it was hit by the meteorite which is strange in and of itself.

What About The Meteorite?

The meteorite had brought nothing but bad luck to Ann in the last years of her life. Due to this, she decided to finally give it away. It was clear she would never make any money from it now. It eventually found its resting place at the Alabama Museum of Natural History.

She did not benefit from its arrival in any way but within her small town of Sylacauga, its legacy has continued to live on. How could a place not be affected by such an arrival?

Another Piece

While the primary piece of the fateful meteorite that landed on the Hodges property now sits in the museum in Alabama it was not the only piece to fall that day. In fact, Julius McKinney also received a fragment on his lawn.

He had very little in the way of money and was not one to turn his nose up at any amount that was offered to him. The Smithsonian also came to his doorstep and asked if he would consider selling his piece.

He Said, “Yes.”

McKinney immediately accepted the offer which he saw as generous from the Smithsonian. It may not have seemed like a lot of money to the Hodges but to McKinney, it felt like a fortune.

It essentially lifted his entire family out of poverty and gave them enough money to purchase a new home in a better neighborhood and a vehicle which created more work opportunities for himself. A little money can go a long way.

Greed

When life gives you lemons or in this case meteorites, simply make what you can with it. It is something free from the sky and not something that can have a value placed on it.

Maybe things would have turned out differently for the Hodges if they hadn’t immediately seen dollar signs when they gazed upon that meteorite. Ann is still the only person in the world to be hit directly by one though.

Another Case

In another unusual case, there was a man named David Mazurek who made a discovery while being shown around a farm he interested in purchasing back in 1988. Located in Edmore, Michigan, something drew David’s eye as he walked around the property.

As he walked through the front door, he noticed a rock holding the door open. The shape and size of the rock looked like something he had never seen before.

Unusual Looking Rock

He continued to look around the property but the strange rock stuck clearly in his head. Feeling comfortable with the owner and feeling like he needed to ask, he questioned where the rock came from.

He could have never expected the farmer to reply with what he did. The news stunned David and he wasn’t sure whether to believe the farmer or not. Was it all a hoax to try and sell the property?

Childhood Story

The farmer began to tell David a story and it dated way back to the 1930s. Talking about when he was a child, he explained that he and his father had seen the rock fall from the sky.

Curious as to what they had seen, the duo went out into the fields around the property the following morning to see if they could find what they saw. Seeing a crater in the distance, they ran over to the area.

From The Sky

The rock had obviously fallen to the ground with force and by the time the father and son found it, the rock was hot to touch. The farmer’s father kneeled down and peeled the rock from the crater. They had never seen anything like it before nor did they want to tell anyone about it.

Keeping it to themselves, they decided to keep it in their home and it eventually turned into a door stopper. There were no other sightings mentioned in the papers so they thought best to keep quiet about their discovery.

Family Heirloom

Although everything that the farmer said sounded legitimate, David still had doubt and if it really was a meteorite, why were they using it as a doorstop? Intrigued by the rock, the farmer threw it in with the purchase of the house and David decided to buy the property.

The rock stayed within the Mazurek family and was used many times between the children of the family for show and tell at school. Following a meteor shower in 2018, people across Michigan began to find their own meteorites in their back gardens, David wondered if the farmer’s story had been real all along.

Donation

People began to sell the meteorites and make a lot of money from them. After contacting and taking the rock to Dr. Sirbescu, several tests were made on the rock and low and behold, it was indeed a meteorite made of 88% of iron and 12% nickel. David began to learn about different organizations that could investigate the meteorite.

After much consideration, he let go of his dream and earning big money from the prize possession and donated it to science instead, in the hope they would discover something from outer space.