14-year-old hit by 30,000 mph space meteorite
The Telegraph recently reported about Gerrit Blank, 14, who was struck by a meteorite on his way to school. A red hot, pea-sized piece of rock hit his hand before bouncing off and causing a foot wide crater in the ground. Gerrit survived the strike - the chances of which are just 1 in a million - but with a 3-inch scar on his hand.
At first I just saw a large ball of light, and then I suddenly felt a pain in my hand. Then a split second after that there was an enormous bang like a crash of thunder. The noise that came after the flash of light was so loud that my ears were ringing for hours afterwards. When it hit me it knocked me flying and then was still going fast enough to bury itself into the road.
Scientists have confirmed through chemical tests that the pea-sized rock is indeed a meteorite which crashed to Earth in Essen, Germany. According to Ansgar Kortem, director of Germany's Walter Hohmann Observatory, the meteorite is a rare collectors item since most meteorites evaporate in the atmosphere and 6 out of 7 that manage to get through land in water.
So here’s to Gerrit’s luck – a rare meteorite found his hand at 30,000 mph and he survived without any significant damage. Makes you wonder…about luck and the role it plays in our life, everyday!
Over the years, several people have tried to explain LUCK in their own way. A Rationalist might say, “Luck is probability taken personally” (quote: Chip Denman, Stats Lab, University of Maryland). Spiritual or religious leaders believe in the will of a supreme being or Divine Providence as affecting “luck” to different degrees. Western “New Age” reinterpretations of Karma cast it as luck associated with virtue. Hindu philosophy refers to Lakshmi as the original “Lady Luck”! Others like Freud have argued that a belief in luck is a way of escaping the responsibility of our actions.
Personally, I feel closest to the rationalist viewpoint but I’m not going into philosophical discussions here. But while we’re at it, here’s an excellent compilation on lucky streaks from YouTube. Enjoy…
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