C_K_Fire t1_j8okhmq wrote on February 15, 2023 at 8:50 PM

The worst part is: the husband ended up selling the meteorite chunk for only TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS because at the time of the hype, the U.S. Air force had kept the chunk to themselves.

F5PPu6kGqj t1_j8q8iig wrote on February 16, 2023 at 4:03 AM

> In 1956, Mrs. Hodges decided to sell the meteorite to the Alabama Museum of Natural History, against her husband's wishes, and as he recalled, for about $25.

But looking further:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1954-extraterrestrial-bruiser-shocked-alabama-woman-180973646/

> At that time, when Americans were skittish about the threat of nuclear war and alert to rumors of flying saucers, the Air Force took custody of the object to verify that it was indeed a meteorite. Officers at Maxwell Air Force Base promised that it would be returned to the Hodges household, which coincidentally stood across the street from a drive-in theater named The Comet. It featured a neon depiction of a comet soaring through space.

> Identifying the object as a meteorite was relatively easy, but determining its ownership became complicated. The Hodges rented their home, and their landlady, Birdie Guy, thought the meteorite belonged to her.

> The case eventually was settled out of court with Guy getting $500 to let Ann Hodges keep the meteorite. When Eugene Hodges was unable to find a buyer for it, the family used it as a doorstop for a while before donating it to the Alabama Museum of Natural History.