Things we generally don't have to worry about

[rootabaga]

Like...getting hit by a meteorite...

"You have a better chance of getting hit by a tornado and a bolt of lightning and a hurricane all at the same time."

Full story: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...ussia-meteorite-ann-hodges-science-space-hit/

On a clear afternoon in Sylacauga, Alabama in 1954, Ann was napping on her couch, covered by quilts, when a softball-size hunk of black rock broke through the ceiling, bounced off a radio, and hit her in the thigh, leaving a pineapple-shaped bruise.

 

[no one]

Well, the chances of being hit by lightning in your lifetime is about 1 in 12,000, but if you that 1, then it's 100%

 

[Dngrsone]

Not being struck by lightning is my superpower. One thing I generally don't have to worry about is winning the lottery.

 

[lvt]

A couple of years ago people won't believe if they are told that theirs hands or theirs balls could be burned by a smartphone, but it's 100% reality nowadays.

 

[Deleted User]

What's particularly sad about that story is that the meteorite appears to have destroyed her life.

 

[Hadron]

Well, the chances of being hit by lightning in your lifetime is about 1 in 12,000, but if you that 1, then it's 100%

But there are some people who have been struck several times.

Which sounds unlikely until you consider how many people there actually are...

 

[lvt]

But there are some people who have been struck several times.

They must have done terrible things in their previous life.

 

[dan330]

hhhmmm.....

i am surprised.. a softball size meteor ... strong and hard enough to survive the fall through our atmosphere...
going extremely fast....
crash through a house roof... most likely made of wood..
"bounced off a radio"????????

i would think.. it blew into and through the house... and made a small creator in the foundation a few feet into the ground!

 

[zuben el genub]

House in CT has been struck a couple of times by a meteorite. One girl had the rear end of her car demolished by a good sized chunk of nickle iron. Science wanted it, and they paid to get her car fixed.

Another man in the Blue Ridge area has been struck 7 or 8 times by lightning. He was a park ranger there. He survived the hits.

If you have ever seen a fireball, it is scary.

 

[The_Chief]

Not sure how relevant it is, but we always see helium balloons released into the air for whatever occasion... but how often do we see them LAND?

I took the dogs out awhile back and just happened to notice something out of the corner of my eye. I looked and it was a white, nearly-depleted balloon, floating slowly, gracefully and silently into the tree in our backyard. It gently touched one limb after another on its way to earth. Finally, it cleared the tree, and the dogs and I watched with fascination as the balloon completed its flight and settled quietly to the ground. I picked it up, marveling and wondering where and when it had started its trip.

I don't know why this thread suddenly jogged that memory, but there ya go