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     Volume 4 Issue 46 | May 13, 2005 |


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Trivia

Fallen from the Sky

A little absurd, but true, so why not?
Give it a shot! At least you'll learn some strange facts!

1. In 1772, in France, the Academic Francaise investigated the fall of a large rock that landed with a loud explosion in Luce. How was this hot, smoking rock explained by the Academie to the scared peasants who reported finding it?
*The stone had been struck by lightning, tossed up, and fallen down.
*The stone had been thrown by a catapult.
*It was brimstone sent as a warning to the peasants.
*They thought the tail of a comet had fallen off.

2. In August, 1890, small yellowish spheres, white in the centre, fell on a three square mile area around Mardin and Diyarbakir, Turkey. What did the residents do with this substance?
*Made a salve for burns out of it
*Used it to feed their livestock
*Made bread out of it
*Washed their clothes in it

3. What according to Italian Jerome Caradan (1501-1576) actually caused fish or frogs to fall from the sky during rainstorms?
*They fell from a special type of cloud.
*Whirlwinds and waterspouts
*These falls happen during certain rises of the tides.
*Only during days that follow full-moon nights

4. What fell on Bergen, Norway in 1578?
*Yellow mice
*Gray chipmunks
*Black toads
*Giant live spiders

5. Speaking of the unusual skies of Bergen, Norway, what fell from the sky on Bergen in 1579?
*Shrews
*Lemmings
*Ferrets
*Thousands of snails

Answers:
1. The stone had been struck by lightning, tossed up, and fallen down.
The committee, who investigated the still warm rock, came to the conclusion that there was no way a rock could exist in the sky. Their theory was that lightning had struck the ground, exposed the rock, heating it up and hurling it up into the sky, and what the peasants saw was the rock coming back down. It was commonly thought in the 17th century that stones that fell from the sky were hoaxes. Actually, in all probability, it was a meteorite that put fear in the peasants of Luce, in the province of Maine.
2. Made bread out of it
The local people used it to make bread. The bread was said to not only taste good, but was easily digestible, too. It was thought that the substance was a kind of lichen, perhaps one known as Lecanora esculenta. This was in "Nature", Jan. 15, 1891.
3. Whirlwinds and waterspouts
Jerome Caradan (1501-1576) was the first to put forth the theory that whirlwinds or waterspouts were actually picking up frogs or fish. The little creatures were then carried through the air, some for considerable distances, to be dropped at their final destinations. The only problem was that during some fish or frog falls, the sky was clear. It also seemed strange that mud, debris, and rocks were not carried up with fish or frogs. According to TORRO (Tornado and Storm Research Organization) of Oxford, England, a T-10 (super) tornado can reach speeds in excess of 280 mph or more.
4. Yellow mice
According to the "Journal of Cycle Research" Jan. 1957, large yellow mice fell on Bergen in 1578. The cats were probably happy!
5. Lemmings
Well, after seeing yellow mice falling from the sky the previous year, I don't guess they were much surprised to see lemmings. This is also from the "Journal of Cycle Research" Jan. 1957.

Source: Funtrivia.com

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