Hit by a Meteorite

November 30, 1954 - Ann Elizabeth Hodges was taking a nap on this day when she was rudely awakened by a meteorite crashing through her roof.

The grapefruit-sized space rock banged into a radio console and ricocheted off the woman's hip. She was badly bruised but she was able to walk away from the freak accident.

Witnesses in three states had seen the meteor as it streaked across the sky before hitting the Hodges’ house in Oak Grove, Alabama. Since it landed near the town of Sylacauga, the rock is commonly known as the Sylacauga Meteorite.

Soon after the incident, the U.S. Army sent a helicopter to collect the meteorite, but the Hodges family sued to get it back. The landlord also got in on the action and tried to claim the meteorite. He wanted to sell it to cover the cost of repairs to the roof.

In the end, nobody was willing to pay the $5000 that the Hodges wanted for the space rock. Tired of the stress associated with the meteorite, Ann Hodges eventually donated it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History, and that's where it's been on display ever since.