Actually, the first _authentic_ case of a person being struck by a meteorite did not occur until November 30, 1954. Even then, the hit was an indirect one. At Sylacauga, Alabama, a meteorite fell through the roof of a house, went through the ceiling of the living room, struck the top of a radio, and—bouncing in a 6-foot arc—hit the lady of the house, who was taking a nap on the couch. Fortunately, nearly all of the energy of the meteorite was spent by the time it struck the woman, and, moreover, she was covered with two heavy quilts so that she was not critically injured. But she did receive bruises serious enough to send her to the hospital. The instances just given show that a number of meteorites have struck buildings and, in one case, a cosmic missile has hit a human being. Nevertheless, such events are really quite rare. In fact, mathematical calculations indicate that, on the average, we can expect one meteorite to fall per township (36 square miles) per 1000 years. A rate like this does not justify the loss of any sleep over the possibility that you might some time be hit by a falling meteorite! SELECTED LIST OF METEORITES THAT HAVE STRUCK AND DAMAGED BUILDINGS NAME AND LOCATION TYPE APPROXIMATE WEIGHT YEAR Baxter, Missouri stone 611 gm.[4] 1916 Meteorite penetrated roof and struck a log joist, which checked the fall. The stone lodged in the attic. Beddgelert, North Wales stone 794 gm. 1949 Meteorite made a clean hole through 4 thicknesses of slate roof. It then shattered underlying wood, made tiny dent in bottom edge of H-section iron girder, and broke through plaster ceiling into hotel lounge below. Benld, Illinois stone 1770 gm. 1938 Meteorite penetrated garage roof, top of car, and seat cushion. It struck and put 1-inch dent in muffler, then bounded back up and became entangled in seat cushion springs. Bethlehem, New York stone 11 gm. 1859 Meteorite struck the side of wagon house, bounded off, hit log upon ground, bounded again, and rolled into the grass. (A dog lying in the doorway of the wagon house jumped up, ran out and seized the meteorite, but dropped it right away, probably because of the warmth and sulfurous odor of the stone.) Branau, Bohemia iron 19,000 gm. 1847 Meteorite penetrated into room where 3 children were sleeping and covered them with plaster and debris. They were unharmed. Constantia, South Africa stone 999 gm. 1906 Meteorite penetrated 2 thicknesses of corrugated iron roofing and smashed ceiling. Kasamatsu, Japan stone 721 gm. 1938 Meteorite penetrated roof of house and stopped on floor. It went through roof tile, ⅓-inch wooden roof-panel, and layer of clay 1 inch thick between them.