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On This Day In Space: Nov. 30, 1954: Meteorite falls on woman in Alabama

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On This Day In Space: Nov. 30, 1954: Meteorite falls on woman in Alabama_65689f780d1c8.jpeg

On Nov. 30, 1954, an Alabama woman received an out-of-this-world surprise. Elizabeth Hodges was napping on her couch when a 10-pound meteorite crashed through the ceiling and hit her side. 

At first, the townspeople weren’t sure if the object was a meteorite. Some even speculated it might be a Soviet Union aircraft. A crowd of people descended on the Hodges house.  

Ann Hodges shows her the mark left by a falling meteor, where it crashed through her house. Hodges was struck by the meteorite while on her couch on Nov. 30, 1954. She donated it to the University of Alabama’s Museum of Natural History in 1956. (Image credit: Public domain)
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Feeling a bit overwhelmed, she went to the hospital to get checked out. Hodges had a nasty bruise, but was otherwise unharmed. 

Scientists quickly confirmed the rock had fallen from space. Hodges eventually donated the meteorite to a natural history museum. To this day, she is the only person in recorded history to have been struck by a meteorite.

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