70 years ago, a meteorite landed on an Alabama woman as she took a nap. Here's the strange story of Ann Hodges.
NEWS | 08 October 2025
Ann Hodges was hit by a meteorite inside her Alabama home in 1954. She's pictured with attorney Hugh Love (left) and the director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, Walter B. Jones. Ann Hodges was hit by a meteorite inside her Alabama home in 1954. She's pictured with attorney Hugh Love (left) and the director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, Walter B. Jones. Courtesy University of Alabama Museums, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Ann Hodges was hit by a meteorite inside her Alabama home in 1954. She's pictured with attorney Hugh Love (left) and the director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History, Walter B. Jones. Courtesy University of Alabama Museums, Tuscaloosa, Alabama lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Ann Hodges never intended to be famous, but in 1954 she found herself thrust into the national spotlight when her afternoon nap was interrupted by a falling meteorite. The Alabama woman has the distinction of being the first documented case of a person being struck by a meteorite. She survived with a bruised hip. In June, a man nearly joined her exclusive club when small space rocks pierced his roof in McDonough, Georgia, missing him by 14 feet, The New York Times reported. The fragments — from a meteorite that researchers say likely formed 4.56 billion years ago — dented his floor instead. In the more than 70 years since Hodges was struck, her strange tale remains a source of fascination. Mary Beth Prondzinski with the Alabama Museum of Natural History, where the meteorite is on exhibit, told Business Insider, "It's one of those local legends that not too many people know about." Here's what happened to Hodges and the meteorite.
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