Housewife-Whacking Meteor Fell Here
Oak Grove, Alabama
A historical marker stands in Oak Grove near the spot where 34-year-old Ann Hodges became the only known person to have been hit by a meteorite (Other claims of similar encounters have never been verified). Ann was taking a nap in the early afternoon of November 30, 1954, when an 8.5-pound meteorite crashed through the roof of her house and landed on her hip. She survived without much apparent damage, but the stress of subsequent fame led to a nervous breakdown and divorce. She died an invalid in 1972.
The meteorite ended up in a Tuscaloosa museum and the house, uncelebrated in its lifetime, burned down in October 1998. Oak Grove seemed inclined to forget the whole thing -- until June 2009, when the neighboring city of Sylacauga unveiled a marble monument to the meteorite. Spurred to action, Oak Grove unveiled its historical marker less than a year later, around the corner from the house site, on Old Birmingham Highway where lots of people would be sure to see it.