1st recorded human to be hit by a Meteorite

[Warped]

Boy Hit by Meteorite
By SPACE.com Staff

posted: 12 June 2009
09:24 am ET

A 14-year old German boy was hit in the hand by a pea-sized meteorite that scared the bejeezus out of him and left a scar.

"When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road," Gerrit Blank said in a newspaper account. Astronomers have analyzed the object and conclude it was indeed a natural object from space, The Telegraph reports.

Most meteors vaporize in the atmosphere, creating "shooting stars," and never reach the ground. The few that do are typically made mostly of metals. Stony space rocks, even if they are big as a car, will usually break apart or explode as they crash through the atmosphere.

There are a handful of reports of homes and cars being struck by meteorites, and many cases of space rocks streaking to the surface and being found later.

But human strikes are rare. There are no known instances of humans being killed by space rocks.

According to a SPACE.com article on the topic a few years, back:

* On November 30, 1954, Alabama housewife Ann Hodges was taking a nap on her couch when she was awakened by a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) meteor that crashed through the roof of her house, bounced off a piece of furniture and struck her in the hip, causing a large bruise.
* On October 9, 1992, a large fireball was seen streaking over the eastern United States, finally exploding into many pieces. In Peekskill, New York, one of the pieces struck a Chevrolet automobile owned by Michelle Knapp. Knapp was not in the car at the time.
* On June 21, 1994, Jose Martin of Spain was driving with his wife near Madrid when a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) meteor crashed through his windshield, bent the steering wheel and ended up in the back seat.

In 2004, a 2,000-pound space rock bigger than a refrigerator exploded in the late-night sky over Chicago, producing a large flash and a sound resembling a detonation that woke people up. Fragments rained down on that wild Chicago night, and many were collected by residents in a northern suburb.

pretty amazing stuff! kid is lucky it broke down to that size. I imagine that would really hurt like getting hit with a paintball gun or those airsoft pellets. also i would say this kid is the first because with the woman it bounced off a few objects before hitting her

http://www.space.com/news/090612-boy-hit-by-meteorite.html

 

[theotherguy]

I imagine that would really hurt like getting hit with a paintball gun or those airsoft pellets.

Biggest understatement ever. The thing must have just barely grazed him, and must have been very tiny. Typical speeds of meteorites striking the ground are measured in thousands of Km/hr. By the sound of the article, this particular strike looks like the equivalent of getting grazed by a high caliber bullet. He's extremely lucky for even getting hit at all, and even luckier that it grazed him, rather than going straight through his head before burying itself in the ground.

 

[Adabiviak]

I'm pretty sure there's someone from England (?) who was hit in the 1950's too, making this the second. Maybe it was here in the states? Anyway, if it was big enough to make a foot-wide crater in the asphalt, I think the actual meteor didn't touch him, but the hot air/bow shock surrounding the pebble came near his hand. Awesome nonetheless.

 

[ailevation]

that kid is lucky, that pea-sized piece is like a bullet. He mentioned it barely hit him and it still had enough force to knock em back into the dirt

 

[Cpt Tenacious]

Not the first.

http://www.cracked.com/article_17416_7-most-bizarrely-unlucky-people-who-ever-lived.html

Number 4 on the list.

 

[Darkside55]

So did he get super powers or what?

 

[DEATHMASTER]

rather than going straight through his head before burying itself in the ground.

Ultimate headshot.

 

[theotherguy]

Ultimate headshot.

Indeed.

5 billion years ago, a dust grain was building up for the ultimate head-shot. It gathered up other dust grains, grew larger and larger than its companions, until it was a giant metallic rock perhaps as wide as a large truck--the ultimate bullet. Deviously, a few thousand years ago, it collides with a rival asteroid, and begins its slow descent towards the sun.

It continues to pass by the sun in an orbit crossing a pathetic little blue planet--a n00bish target at which it can aim. Down there on that planet, they haven't even invented bullets yet. While Hammurabi is inventing written law, it makes its first orbit of the sun, biding its time for the perfect headshot. It passes again and again as Rome falls, Genghis Kahn conquers, Newton discovers gravity, men fire at each other with sniper rifles, the internet is invented, and a boy in Germany is born. It bides its time until this boy is calmly walking down the street. This is its target. This is the poor n00b at which it can test its 1337 skillz.

And then, it collides with the atmosphere. It passes over thousands of miles, crossing the Atlantic in seconds, cruising over entire countries as it descends in a ball of flame. Its billion-year-old shell melts away at the intense heat, leaving a perfect, polished bullet. And now, after all these years, it is only centimeters away from its target...

Boom, headshot!

 

[Tacoeaterguy]

I think I saw this on youtube... I was amazed

 

[Vegeta897]

"that scared the bejeezus out of him"

What kind of news writer...

 

[Robbo]

Indeed.

5 billion years ago, a dust grain was building up for the ultimate head-shot. It gathered up other dust grains, grew larger and larger than its companions, until it was a giant metallic rock perhaps as wide as a large truck--the ultimate bullet. Deviously, a few thousand years ago, it collides with a rival asteroid, and begins its slow descent towards the sun.

It continues to pass by the sun in an orbit crossing a pathetic little blue planet--a n00bish target at which it can aim. Down there on that planet, they haven't even invented bullets yet. While Hammurabi is inventing written law, it makes its first orbit of the sun, biding its time for the perfect headshot. It passes again and again as Rome falls, Genghis Kahn conquers, Newton discovers gravity, men fire at each other with sniper rifles, the internet is invented, and a boy in Germany is born. It bides its time until this boy is calmly walking down the street. This is its target. This is the poor n00b at which it can test its 1337 skillz.

And then, it collides with the atmosphere. It passes over thousands of miles, crossing the Atlantic in seconds, cruising over entire countries as it descends in a ball of flame. Its billion-year-old shell melts away at the intense heat, leaving a perfect, polished bullet. And now, after all these years, it is only centimeters away from its target...

Boom, headshot!

Look at them all up there... plotting

 

[Jintor]

Better hold onto yer head, wanker.

Great, now all meteorites are going to be Australian to me. Thanks a lot, helplife2.net

 

[Danimal]

Not a crazed projectile, Dad.

 

[Laivasse]

I remember reading about a dog that got killed by a cricket ball sized one.

 

[Raziaar]

"Hey, what's bombarding me? Ow! Oh no, an asteroid field! If even a pea-sized asteroid were to whizz through my skull, it could..." *zing* "OW!...hurt slightly."

 

[barbarbarbarbar]

If i got hit by a meteorite i would have thought that the world revolves around me.I bet he feels like that.

 

[arch5]

Hey look honey it's a shiny astero
O SHI RUN AWAY

 

[jverne]

see this is proof that we are overpopulated...the probability grows as we multiply. i say we should kill half of the human population to prevent any further meteorite strikes.

 

[Tyguy]

Biggest understatement ever. The thing must have just barely grazed him, and must have been very tiny. Typical speeds of meteorites striking the ground are measured in thousands of Km/hr. By the sound of the article, this particular strike looks like the equivalent of getting grazed by a high caliber bullet. He's extremely lucky for even getting hit at all, and even luckier that it grazed him, rather than going straight through his head before burying itself in the ground.

Must have been going very slow or else he'd have an extra hole in his body.

 

[jverne]

Must have been going very slow or else he'd have an extra hole in his body.

two holes...the entry and exit hole


or is hole the whole "tunnel"?

 

[Warped]

see this is proof that we are overpopulated...the probability grows as we multiply. i say we should kill half of the human population to prevent any further meteorite strikes.

or we could kill off half the human population which would drastically reduced the ****tards that spread AIDS around like the zombie plague we fight against in Video games

 

[jverne]

or we could kill off half the human population which would drastically reduced the ****tards that spread AIDS around like the zombie plague we fight against in Video games

wise guy, eh?

 

[kupocake]

see this is proof that we are overpopulated...the probability grows as we multiply. i say we should kill half of the human population to prevent any further meteorite strikes.

Hmm... what if the meteorites are being dropped by masked villians trying to force us all to migrate to the stars and evolve? True, they apparently only have the technology to throw really small meteorites our way, but then our traditional first line of defence against this threat isn't quite complete either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykamCJsKFBI

And yeah, I was looking for the first vaguely related thread to drop that into. I shalt not off-topic.

 

[MrJenkins01]

The chances of him getting hit are minimal. I hope he feels special
it must have scared the crap out of him though