German Boy Hit by Meteorite Lives to Tell About It
From time to time, kids have accidents on their way to school. Maybe they crash their bicycle and scrape their knee. Or, maybe they twist their ankle stepping off the sidewalk. Or, even worse, a car might hit them while they cross the street. Gerrit Blank, a 14-year-old German boy, has one of these stories, although it's a little less ordinary. According to a report from the Telegraph, a meteorite entered Earth's atmosphere at 30,000 mph and struck Blank, who somehow walked away with only a three-inch cut on his hand (and a sweet new show-and-tell item).
Blank told the Telegraph that he saw a "huge ball of light," felt a pain in his hand, and heard "an enormous bang" that left his ears ringing like a pair of church bells. The meteorite's impact knocked the boy down and left a one-foot-wide crater in the ground. The Telegraph stated that the odds of surviving a blow from a meteorite are one in a million. If true, Blank basically won the lottery -- the prize being his life.
While this sounds like a tall tale, Ansgar Kortem, director of the Walter Hohmann Observatory in Germany, confirmed that the rock was a meteorite through chemical tests. Kortem told the Telegraph that meteorites enter the Earth's atmosphere every day, but most burn up before they reach the surface. Those that do make it that far, six times out of seven, land in water.
We're still not sure if we believe Blank's story. If it is true, he should count his lucky stars (or meteorites) that he's still alive. In 1954, a meteorite struck a woman in Alabama, and she lived to tell about it. That puts Blank in some exclusive company. And, with that 50-year gap, we aren't too worried about the sky falling on us anytime soon. [From: The Telegraph]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Bill said 1:14PM on 6-15-2009
All I can say is, "That rocks!" :-)
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mark said 8:09PM on 6-15-2009
to bad he only 14 he can't buy a lotto ticket
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Tav said 10:08PM on 7-05-2009
I wonder if he will get superpowers!
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jason said 12:42AM on 6-18-2009
lol nice
b999carranza said 1:30AM on 6-16-2009
stupid
dfd said 8:25PM on 6-15-2009
how does a meteroite fall on earth and randomly hit some1 in the head?
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oscarsmama said 8:49PM on 6-15-2009
It hit him in the hand.
robby h said 4:09AM on 6-16-2009
bigger question is why doesnt it happen all the time ,, just 6 billion of us to choose from......
Steve said 8:26PM on 6-15-2009
who cares -and yea sure that happend dont believe everything u people HEAR- okkkkkkkkkk
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Dennis Gamble said 9:11PM on 6-15-2009
I'm starstruck!
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Rice Hater said 12:11AM on 6-17-2009
This reminds me of a Dean Martin song.....
"Catch a falling star and
Put it in your pocket,
Save it for a rainy day....
Reply
Lorraine said 12:27AM on 6-16-2009
That song was not Dean Martin, it was Perry Como
jfuni said 2:20AM on 6-16-2009
Or how about the lyric from another one of Deano's big hits .... "When the Moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's amore!"
clyde ward said 9:04PM on 6-15-2009
Well, this could explain Al Gore.
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Joe Wllie said 8:58PM on 6-15-2009
Sorry folks but this isn't true.I work for NASA and the piece of rock that hit the kid was a frozen turd from a blueblock of frozen feces that airlines use in flight .
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giffordanimanga said 9:51PM on 6-15-2009
sorry willie, frozen turds don't leave 1-foot craters in concrete. they wouldn't even leave that kind of hole in dirt. you don't work for nasa.
douttfire said 10:07PM on 6-15-2009
"While this sounds like a tall tale, Ansgar Kortem, director of the Walter Hohmann Observatory in Germany, confirmed that the rock was a meteorite through chemical tests." They confirmed it, but of course, NASA man knows more. You "work for NASA". You could be a janitor and the only blue rocks you know are the chunks of deodorant in the men's room urinal!
JEFFSTORRS said 11:50PM on 6-15-2009
ummm and yes can you define or do you even know what random means???
meljoshmonroe said 12:15AM on 6-16-2009
So what if you work at NASA. Miracles happen and wonderful thigns can happen you know! Just because your a NASA person doesn't mean that it didn't happen! There are people that still don't believe we landed on the moon. I for one believe in the landing on the moon and the meteorite hitting the boy and I DONT work for NASA.
Joe Wllie said 9:01PM on 6-15-2009
Rice Hater try Perry Como
Reply