☄️ Random Fact · Space History
When a Meteorite Interrupts Your Nap
Thanks to an old episode of The Chase for this cosmic curiosity — with a small but meaningful fact-checking twist.
The Quiz Answer
A: 1 — the answer shown in the episode.
The famous case is Ann Hodges. On 30 November 1954, a meteorite fragment crashed through the roof of a home near Sylacauga, Alabama, bounced off a wooden radio and struck her while she napped on a couch. She survived with severe bruising. The meteorite is held by the Alabama Museum of Natural History. [1]
The Extra Detail: A Second Published Case
A 1994 paper in Meteoritics, The Mbale Meteorite Shower, also reports that a young boy was hit on the head by a small specimen during the 14 August 1992 fall in Mbale, Uganda. A NASA-authored 2019 conference poster discusses both the Hodges and Mbale cases and notes that neither was fatal. [2] [3]
That makes “only one person has ever been hit” too broad. At least two cases are documented in the sources linked here. This is a source-based minimum, not a complete count of every historical report.
The word “directly” also needs care: Hodges’s meteorite struck the roof and radio before reaching her. Being struck and being injured are different questions. A familiar trivia answer can conceal these distinctions.
Sources & Evidence
- Alabama Museum of Natural History · Hodges Meteorite exhibit. Museum account of the 1954 strike and the retained specimen.
- Jenniskens et al. (1994) · The Mbale Meteorite Shower. Peer-reviewed paper in Meteoritics, archived by NASA NTRS; its abstract reports the boy being struck.
- Cooke, Brown & Matney (2019) · Kinetic Damage from Meteorites. Planetary Defense Conference poster, NASA NTRS; discusses both non-fatal cases.
Evidence: museum documentation and published scientific reports. The supplied photograph establishes the displayed quiz question and answer; it does not establish the historical count. AI assisted with source checking and editorial drafting.