Some time ago, Tom Eichhorst remarked,
>Loved the Leonids.  We had great views in New Mexico and these were the
most
fantastic meteors I have ever seen.  First time ever to see a "shooting
star"
leave a trail (green in color) completely across the horizon.  Unreal.  But
the
question is, who won the law suit?  Did the lady get her meteorite?
 
Well, it's not shell-related, but I'll stretch a point in this case. The
Hodges or Sylacauga meteorite fell on November 11, 1954, at about 1:00
p.m., causing a fireball that was visible over most of Alabama. The stone,
a chondrite, split in two. One half ended up in a small crater in a field.
The other crashed through the roof of a leased house in Oak Grove, a
community near Sylacauga. It came through the ceiling, glanced off a
cabinet radio, and hit Mrs. Hewlett Hodges on her thigh as she slept on a
couch. The stone was 7 x 5 inches (about 17 x 12 cm) and weighed 8.5 pounds
(about 4 kg). I think it's fair to say that she was surprised. A court
battle between Mrs. Hodges and the owner of the house resulted in the owner
getting the stone. The house owner then sold the meteorite back to Mrs.
Hodges, who donated it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History, which
proudly displays it today as the only meteorite documented to have hit a
human being.
 
Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama