Today marks the 68th Anniversary of the Hodges Meteorite. Here are several ways to learn more about its history with Ann Hodges, Sylacauga, the Alabama Museum of Natural History, and how researchers have been studying it!
The Hodges Meteorite sitting on top of the Philco radio at the Alabama Museum of Natural History.
- Read the article from The University of Alabama News Center, featuring interview with Dr. John Friel (Director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History), Brooke Bogan (Natural History Collections Manager, The University of Alabama Museums’ Department of Museum Research and Collections), and Dr. Julia Cartwright (Geochemist and assistant professor in the department of geological sciences at The University of Alabama).
- Listen to the HISTORY This Week Podcast in an episode titled “A Meteorite Hits Ann Hodges”.
- Description of the Episode reads “November 30, 1954. At about 12:45 in the afternoon, a space rock comes plummeting through the roof of a house in Sylacauga, Alabama. It bounces off a standup radio, ricochets around the living room, and collides with the thigh of Mrs. Ann Hodges, who’s been napping on the couch. Newspapers declare: “experts agreed unanimously that Mrs. Hodges was the first person known to have been struck by a meteorite.” What happened to this space rock after it crashed to Earth and thrust itself into volatile human affairs? And what happened to the human beings whose lives were upended by this rarest of rare events?”
- The guests on the podcast episode include Dr. Julia Cartwright, planetary scientist at The University of Alabama, Billy Field, professor at The University of Alabama and screenwriter, and Julie Love Templeton, attorney in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
- Watch The University of Alabama Museums’ interview with Dr. Julia Cartwright as she explains the research she has conducted on the Hodges Meteorite or “Sylacauga”, as scientists call it
- Watch Ann Hodges: The Woman That was Hit By A Meteorite, a film made by Dutch artist/videographer, Jelle Havermans