That Time it Rained Meat...

TL;DR

In 1876, pieces of flesh fell from the sky in Bath County, Kentucky. It was later determined to be bacteria-ridden chunks of vomit from high-flying vultures.

Transcript

On March 3, 1876, one Mrs. Crouch was working in her yard in Bath County, Kentucky, making soap, when suddenly “meat which looked like beef began to fall all around her. The sky was perfectly clear at the time.” Falling like large snowflakes and settling all around the 5000 square foot yard, pieces of flesh ranging in size from about two inches squ... Read More

Key Insights

• 🍖 The meat falling from the sky in Kentucky was initially believed to be fresh meat, but it was later determined to be nostoc, a type of cyanobacteria.
• 🫁 Further investigations by histologists revealed that the chunks were actually lung tissue, possibly from a horse or human baby.
• 🤮 The most plausible explanation for the phenomenon was that the meat had been vomited by high-flying vultures and scattered by the wind.
• 🐳 Similar bizarre phenomena have occurred, such as the raining of whale meat in Oregon in 1970 when a dead beached sperm whale was blown up.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the substance initially believed to be when it fell from the sky in Kentucky?

The substance was believed to be fresh meat when it fell from the sky in Kentucky.

Q: What did Leopold Brandeis determine the substance to be after analyzing a preserved sample?

Brandeis identified the substance as nostoc, a genus of cyanobacteria that does not come from the sky.

Q: What did histologist, Dr. A. Mead Edwards, conclude after examining the chunks?

Dr. Edwards concluded that the substance was not nostoc but rather hunks of flesh, possibly from the lungs of a horse or human baby.

Q: What was the theory proposed by L. D. Kastenbine, M.D. to explain the meat falling from the sky?

Kastenbine suggested that the meat had been vomited by high-flying vultures, which were scattered by the wind and fell over a large area.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• In 1876, a woman in Kentucky witnessed pieces of flesh falling from the sky in her yard, which were initially believed to be meat.

• Leopold Brandeis analyzed a preserved sample and identified it as a substance called nostoc, a genus of cyanobacteria that does not come from the sky.

• Further investigations revealed that the chunks were actually lung tissue from a horse or human baby, likely vomited by high-flying vultures.