This Day in History

"cazzyodo" (cazzyodo) 10/09/2014 at 09:38 • Filed to: History, Malibu

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On this day in 1992, 18-year-old Michelle Knapp is watching television in her parents' living room in Peekskill, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! when she hears a thunderous crash in the driveway. Alarmed, Knapp ran outside to investigate. What she found was startling, to say the least: a sizeable hole in the rear end of her car, an orange 1980 Chevy Malibu; a matching hole in the gravel driveway underneath the car; and in the hole, the culprit: what looked like an ordinary, bowling-ball–sized rock. It was extremely heavy for its size (it weighed about 28 pounds), shaped like a football and warm to the touch; also, it smelled vaguely of rotten eggs. The next day, a curator from the American Museum of Natural History in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! confirmed that the object was a genuine meteorite.

I do a "This day in history" on my whiteboard at work every day (good conversation starter...read more !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) and found this to be a combination of interesting and bad luck. I mean, out of the entire world and all the places, a meteorite strikes your car.

She was the first to see the meteorite, it seems, but EVERYONE needed a picture with it!

At this point I have no idea who is who but whatever!

Last image is just a 1980 Malibu for comparison.

Update: It seems the car was sold to a museum and it has been on display as far away as Japan. The meteorite was sold to independent fossil collectors then broken down and sold to museums around the world.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 09:41

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That's completely nutters

Cool story!

anonsagainstanonymous > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 09:41

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even Creepy McUncleson

ttyymmnn > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 09:44

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That'll buff right out.

The cops in my hometown used to drive Malibus back in the day. Yup.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 09:46

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What, no meteor hole dragoning pics?

DrScientist > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 09:54

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wonder if she got to keep it. or if the museum commandeered it and sent it to nevada or wherever for government testing.

Doug DeMuro > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 10:11

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So cool!!!

Also a reminder of how good NY plates used to look.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 10:28

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I was riding with my dad on US 219 between Somerset and Johnstown, PA. We were going to pick up my cousins for a weekend at our place that night. I remember seeing the asteroid falling. The next day on the 6-o-clock news it was a featured story. Tom Brokaw even covered it, as far as I remember.

Rainbow > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 10:31

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This is the only picture with these trim pieces. I wonder why they got taken off.

cazzyodo > DrScientist 10/09/2014 at 10:32

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They sold it to a collector and two fossil distributors or something. The meteorite was broken down and sold to various museums.

The car was also sold to a museum and has traveled out of the country, too.

cazzyodo > Rainbow 10/09/2014 at 10:33

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Too many people touching it? Good catch.

cazzyodo > Doug DeMuro 10/09/2014 at 10:34

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If you didn't click the link to History.com they said that there are only two other reported instances of cars being struck by meteorites.

Crazy odds.

Sn210 > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 10:48

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Ive been meaning to call my insurance company to see if they cover meteorites. Thanks for reminding me

cazzyodo > Sn210 10/09/2014 at 10:49

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I should look into it as well because with my luck I would be the fourth person on record to have his car struck by a meteorite.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > cazzyodo 10/09/2014 at 11:08

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Most well traveled 1980 Malibu in history lol

DrScientist > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/09/2014 at 13:50

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HA!