Meteorite injury - a danger from the heavens?
Perhaps the most commonly reported impact-related injuries are those of a young boy in Uganda and a woman in Sylacauga, USA.
In August 1992, the boy was playing soccer with his friends when a shower of about 50 meteors showered the field on which they were playing sports. The meteorites varied in size from 0.1 g to 27.4 kg, and the boy was hit on the head by one of the smaller stones weighing approximately 3 g. As the fall of the rock was blocked by the treetops the boy escaped with bruises rather than serious injuries.
Another very famous case is that of a woman named Ann Hodges. Ann was relaxing in her home when a 5 kilo meteorite penetrated the ceiling of her house, hit her radio and struck her in the hip and arm area. At first she thought her gas heater had exploded, but then she saw a piece of rock on the floor. Ann Hodges was the first documented case of a meteorite striking a person in 1954. Although she suffered bruising and swelling to her hip and arm, she suffered no other physical injuries.
These are the only two known cases that indicate that the risk of a meteorite striking a human being is minimal. A person taking a direct hit would probably die, though, because of the tremendous energy that even a very small meteorite can possess. Still, there are no documented cases of human deaths due to meteorite impacts.
