I know it sounds like the title of a B movie, but accounts of strange things falling from the sky are nothing new.
I know it sounds like the title of a B movie, but accounts of strange things falling from the sky are nothing new. This type of occurrence has taken place several times over the years.
Here are some examples:
Stones
In 1886, the office of the Charleston News and Courier was pelted with small stones three times in a 24-hour period. The rocks fell in the vicinity of the newspaper office only.
Fish
Cambridge, Maryland had several days of rain in a row in 1828. When the weather improved, residents were surprised to find that a partially-dug ditch was now the home of hundreds of fish measuring between four and seven inches in length. The ditch didn't contain any water before the rain started. How did the fish get there?
Other Animals
It rained live salamanders in August of 1870 in Sacramento, California. The animals varied in length from two-eight inches in length.
Residents of Memphis, Tennessee, must have been surprised to say the least when snakes fell from the sky in 1877. Measuring 12-18" long, the serpents were alive when they hit the ground.
Spider webs fell in Wisconsin in 1881. The strands ranged in size from a couple of inches to 60 feet in length.
Meat
Yes, meat. 1851 saw a couple of incidents where it rained meat. Soldiers at a base near San Francisco were practising drills when they were hit by blood and pieces of meat - from a clear sky. Later that same year, North Carolina was showered with blood, brains, pieces of meat and liver. The "rain" was limited to a strip of land measuring 30 feet by 250 yards.
In March of 1876, flakes of meat fell over Bath, Kentucky. These flakes measured three or four inches square. A couple of brave souls tasted the meat and described it as being "neither mutton nor venison". Samples were studied by several scientists, who concluded that the substance was some type of muscular tissue.
Golf Balls
I'm sure golf enthusiasts in Punta Gorda, Florida, were thrilled when hundreds of golf balls fell to the Earth in 1969. No one ever reported missing golf balls and the origin of this most unusual rain remains a mystery.
Candy
Here's a sweet one....the children of Lake County, California were treated to candy from the sky on two occasions in September of 1857. Some enterprising local ladies made syrup out of the crystals.
Cash
A recent episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" related the story of a young couple who discovered cash in their back yard. The money was scattered over their neighbours' yards as well, with some even found on the roof of a house. No one ever came forward to claim the money and they were able to keep it. (Why can't that ever happen at my place?)
The second part of this article will examine some theories about these unusual incidents. You might enjoy this fun trivia quiz about Strange Things That Fell From the Sky.
