Ann Hodges: The Only Person To Be Hit By A Meteorite (And Survive)
Although the damage caused by the meteorite that recently fell in Russia has attracted the spotlight, it is not the first time something similar has threatened the life of a human being. In fact, if you consider that most of the injured were hit only by shrapnel from the crashes of the fall, it could be considered to be an indirect threat. Well, that wasn't the case with Ann Hodges.
In 1954, while sleeping in her room, Hodges was suddenly hit by a projectile. At first it was thought to be the fuselage piece of an airplane - although someone even considered it a Soviet attack at the time. However, after a government geologist was sent to small Sylacauga in Alabama, it turned out: Ann had been the first meteorite victim recorded in history.
The case was really rare, as the author of the book Falling Stars: A Guide to Meteor & Meteorites made clear in an interview with National Geographic. "You're more likely to be hit by a tornado and lightning simultaneously."
The legal dispute
After the fanfare after the fall of the heavenly body, what took over the stage was a real dispute of “fatherhood” for the boulder. Ann and her husband, Eugene Hodges, wanted to keep the souvenir to themselves.
However, as the house was rented, the landlady, a woman named Birdie Guy, became interested in the ownership. In fact, Birdie was able to obtain the fragment legally - contrary to public opinion, however.
Only Eugene was really convinced that the meteorite could be sold for a high sum. So the couple bought the boulder for $ 500 to auction it off ... Which turned out to be a pretty unfortunate choice. No one was interested in offering a sizeable sum, and the Hodges eventually donated the celestial body to a natural history museum in 1956 - where it is today.
The end of the novel
After that, Ann suffered a nervous breakdown and divorced Eugene in 1954. She died in 1972 at the age of 52 from kidney failure. The reason? According to her husband, Ann could never fully recover from the frenzy generated by the meteorite crash.
"Ann was not a person seeking to be the center of attention, " museum director Randy Mecredy told the site. "The Hodges were simple people, and I really think all that attention brought their downfall." Finally, one way or another, Ann seems to have been a fatal victim of the ill-fated meteorite.
