The only person in history ever to be struck by a meteorite

On the afternoon of November 30, 1954, Ann Hodges, a 34-year-old woman from Sylacauga, Alabama, was taking a nap on her living room couch. She had no idea that moments later she would make history in the most painful way imaginable.

A meteorite entered Earth's atmosphere and lit up the sky over Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. Eyewitnesses described a «bright reddish light» and «a fireball like a gigantic welding arc.» On its way down, the chunk split in two – one piece landed a few miles away, the other crashed through Ann Hodges' roof.

The rock first pierced the roof, ricocheted off a radio console and then struck Ann on her left hip. She was left with a large, dark bruise. The house filled with dust, leaving Ann and her mother, who was also home, utterly bewildered.

Astronomer Michael Reynolds later summed up just how unlikely such an event is: «You have a better chance of getting hit by a tornado and a bolt of lightning and a hurricane all at the same time.»