Strange Things That Fell From The Sky 3 Quiz

Answer: 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.

Answer: 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 digetible, 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.

Answer: 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.

Answer: Yellow mice

According to the "Journal of Cycle Research" Jan. 1957, large yellow mice fell on Bergen in 1578. I imagine the cats were happy.

Answer: 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.

Answer: Small alligators

According to the US Weather Bureau, small alligators were reported to have fallen on Aston Street that day. In December, 1943 another fall of alligators were reported in Aiken County, South Carolina.

Answer: The image of the Virgin Mary was imprinted on them.

On the Saturday evening before Trinity Sunday in 1908, a Mlle. Marie Andre appeared at the presbytery door and told the pastor to hurry out and see what was falling. When L'AbbeGueniot looked at the hailstones, he saw the image of the Virgin clearly imprinted on them. People gathered around the vicinity of the presbytery as word spread, and many gathered up the unusual hailstones.

The pastor collected 50 signatures the following Sunday from witnesses thoroughly convinced the Virgin had appeared on the hailstones.

Answer: A 6 feet long shaft of ice

Apparently, the ice shaft fell out of the sky and impaled the man while he was working on the roof of his house. The ice shaft was six feet long and six inches in diameter. This is from Frank Edwards' "Strangest of All".

Answer: Spider webs

Extremely white, strong spider webs fell on the areas. The webs varied in size from tiny specks to threads longer than 60 feet long. They seemed to float down from the sky as high as the naked eye could see from the direction of Lake Michigan. No spiders, however, were ever mentioned in the article from "Scientific American" issue Nov. 26, 1881.

Answer: A two foot long alligator

It seems that Mrs. Winchell and several of the neighborhood ladies dispatched the alligator that had fallen during the very heavy rainstorm. It was obvious that the ladies wanted no part of their little gift from above, since it was crawling on her porch. Thank you for taking my quiz. I hope you will always keep an umbrella handy - just in case!