Kentucky meat shower

Kentucky meat shower
DateMarch 3, 1876
Time11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
DurationSeveral minutes
LocationBath County, Kentucky, U.S.
CauseInconclusive, possibly regurgitating vultures

The Kentucky meat shower was an incident occurring for a period of several minutes between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on March 3, 1876,[1] where what appeared to be chunks of red meat fell from the sky in a 100-by-50-yard (90-by-45-meter) area near Olympia Springs in Bath County, Kentucky.[2] There exist several explanations (from blood rain to vulture ejecta)[3] as to how this occurred and what the "meat" was. Although the exact type of meat was never identified, various reports suggested it was beef, lamb, deer, bear, horse, or possibly human.

Despite various theories, the exact cause of the Kentucky meat shower remains a subject of speculation and mystery.

Incident

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On March 3, 1876, a farmer's wife, Mrs. Crouch, was making soap on her porch when she reported seeing a piece of meat fall from the sky. She said she was 40 steps from her house when the meat started to slap the ground. Mrs. Crouch and her husband believed the event was a sign from God. The phenomenon was covered by Scientific American, The New York Times, and other publications.[4][2][1]

Most of the pieces of meat were approximately 2 by 2 inches (5 cm × 5 cm); at least one was 4 by 4 inches (10 cm × 10 cm).[5] The meat appeared to be beef, but according to the first report in Scientific American,[5] two men who tasted it judged it to be lamb or deer.[6] Writing in the Sanitarian, Leopold Brandeis identified the substance as Nostoc, a type of cyanobacteria.[2] Brandeis gave the meat sample to the Newark Scientific Association for further analysis, leading to a letter from Dr. Allan McLane Hamilton appearing in the Medical Record and stating the meat had been identified as lung tissue from either a horse or a human infant, "the structure of the organ in these two cases being almost identical."[6][7][unreliable source] The composition of this sample was backed up by further analysis, with two samples of the meat being identified as lung tissue, three as muscle, and two as cartilage.[6]

Brandeis's Nostoc theory relied on the fact that Nostoc expands into a clear jelly-like mass when rain falls on it, often giving the sense that it was falling with the rain.[5] Charles Fort noted in his first book, The Book of the Damned, that there had been no rain.[2] Locals favored the explanation that the meat was vomited up by buzzards, "who, as is their custom, seeing one of their companions disgorge himself, immediately followed suit."[6] Dr. Lewis D. Kastenbine presented this theory in the contemporaneous Louisville Medical News as the best explanation of the variety of meat.[5][8] Vultures vomit as part of making a quick escape and also as a defensive method when threatened.[9] Fort explained the flattened, dry appearance of the meat chunks as the result of pressure, and noted that nine days later, on March 12, 1876, red "corpuscles" with a "vegetable" appearance fell over London, KY.[10]

Bath County History Museum

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In 2024, the Bath County History Museum opened an exhibit for the Kentucky meat shower, showcasing a preserved piece from the event.[11][12][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "The Carnal Rain – Careful Investigation of the Kentucky Marvel by a Correspondent" (PDF). New York Herald. 21 March 1876. p. 4, col. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-19.
  2. ^ a b c d Fort, Charles (1919). The Book of the Damned. New York: Boni and Liveright. pp. 45–46. OCLC 2062036.
  3. ^ Maxwell, Tom (Spring 2012). "For the Scrutiny of Science and the Light of Revelation" (PDF). Southern Culture. 18 (1). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-08-15.
  4. ^ "Flesh Descending In A Shower.; An Astounding Phenomenon In Kentucky--Fresh Meat Like Mutton Or Venison Falling From A Clear Sky" (PDF). The New York Times. March 10, 1876. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Crew, Bec (December 1, 2014). "Blog: The Great Kentucky Meat Shower mystery unwound by projectile vulture vomit". Scientific American. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d Wilkins, Alasdair (March 21, 2012). "When It Rains Animals: The Science of True Weather Weirdness". io9. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  7. ^ zatzbatz (May 9, 2003). "Kentucky Meat Shower". Everything2.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  8. ^ The Louisville Medical News: a weekly journal of medicine and surgery. v. 1-20. 1876–1885. Archived from the original on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  9. ^ Mr. X (3 May 2015). "Debunked: The Kentucky Meat Storm of 1876". Journal of the Bizarre. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  10. ^ Fort, pp. 288–89.
  11. ^ Williams, Alyssa (2024-08-11). "A chunk of history returns home 148 years after Kentucky meat shower". WYMT. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  12. ^ A chunk of history returns home 148 years after Kentucky meat shower. 2024-08-11. Retrieved 2024-08-11 – via www.weau.com.
  13. ^ A chunk of history returns home 148 years after Kentucky meat shower. 2024-08-11. Retrieved 2024-08-11 – via www.wsaz.com.
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