1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:06,920 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi everyone, I'm Eves. Welcome to This Day 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: in History Class, a show that will convince you that 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: history can be fascinating even when you expect it not 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: to be. Today is November. The day was November nineteen 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: fifty four. The Silicaga Media Right, also known as the 7 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: Hodges Media Right, crashed into the home of Aunt Elizabeth 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: Fowler Hodges and hit her that day. People in eastern 9 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: Alabama reported seeing a fireball and a trail of smoke. 10 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: People in Georgia and Mississippi also reported seeing the meteor 11 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: Usually meteor rites crashed into an ocean or into a 12 00:00:49,159 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: remote area on Earth, but this afternoon Hodges was taking 13 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: a nap on her couch in her Silicaga, Alabama house. 14 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: Around midday, the meteor RTE crashed through the roof of 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: her home, smashed a hole in her living room ceiling, 16 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: hit a radio, then bounced off of her hip. The 17 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: meteor RTE weighed eight and a half pounds or about 18 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: three point nine kilograms, and it was seven inches or 19 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 1: eighteen centimeters long. So many people showed up at Hodge's 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: house that her husband, Eugene had difficulty getting inside. Physician 21 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: Moody Jacob's examined Hodge's injuries, her hip and hand for swollen, 22 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: but she did not sustain any major injuries. She just 23 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: developed a bruise on her hip in her leg. Jacobs 24 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: sent Hodges to the hospital so she could avoid all 25 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: the commotion. People in the area said that they heard 26 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: an explosion and saw a cloud that accompanied it. A 27 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: government geologist working at a nearby Corey was sent to 28 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: hodges residence and determined that the object was a meteorite. 29 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: The meteor rite was taken to Maxwell Air Force Base 30 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: in Montgomery. After Air Force specialists identified the object as 31 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: a meteor right as well, they sent it to curators 32 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: at the Smithsonian Institution. The meteor righte was eventually sent 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: back to Alabama, but because the Hodges were renting from 34 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,959 Speaker 1: their landowner, Bertie Guy, and precedents said that the meteor 35 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: rite belonged to the landowner, Guy sued the Hodges for 36 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: a possession of the meteorite. The Hodges threatened to counter 37 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: through Guy for her injuries, so Guy back down and 38 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: let the Hodges have the claim to the meteor right 39 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: and the dispute was settled. Out of court. Hodge's husband, Eugene, 40 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: thought they could make a lot of money off of 41 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: the meteor Righte, and he turned down an offer that 42 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: he thought was too low from the Smithsonian Institution. The 43 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: press continued to cover Hodges and her unusual story. The 44 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,239 Speaker 1: day after Hodges was hit, a farmer named Julius K. 45 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,079 Speaker 1: McKinney found a piece of the meteor Righte. That fragment 46 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: is housed at the Smithsonian Institution. Hodges and her husband 47 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,160 Speaker 1: separated in nineteen sixty four, and they said that the 48 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,959 Speaker 1: commotion the meteorite caused could a tributed to the split. 49 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: Hodges is the first person in modern history who is 50 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: confirmed to have been struck by a meteorite. The Silicago 51 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: media right is on display at the Alabama Museum of 52 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: Natural History in Tuscaloosa, where Hodges donated it after the 53 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: monetary offers dried up. Hodges dot in nineteen seventy two 54 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: of kidney failure. I'm Jeff Coote, and hopefully you know 55 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 56 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: If you've seen any good history memes lately, you can 57 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: send them to us on social media at t D 58 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: I h C Podcast if emails your thing, send us 59 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: a note at this day at i heart media dot com. 60 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you again tomorrow. 61 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i 62 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 63 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.