Maybe, for a man in northern Bosnia, the sixth time is the charm: Radivoke Lajic claims that six meteorites have now struck his home.
The chances of being struck by a meteorite are extremely small, but, according to Lajic, his home has served as meteorite target practice since 2007. According to The Telegraph, where we found this story, Lajic says that the rocks tend to come when it rains. Ok, sure–and maybe Paul the psychic octopus can predict when the next one will come hurtling down.
A Wired article from last year cites a 1991 study by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada of worldwide meteorite strikes near humans and built structures. The study records only a total of 57 strikes on human infrastructure in the 20th century.
Never mind facts and statistics, though! Lajic has set up a meteorite museum in his backyard. The Telegraph also reports that he has paid for a steel girder for his home by selling the first of the meteorites and has now launched an investigation into the magnetic fields around his home. Maybe it would have been better to take the cash from the first rock and move?
Lajic’s explanation for his home’s apparent meteorite attraction is that aliens are out to get him. He told The Telegraph:
“I have no doubt I am being targeted by aliens…. They are playing games with me.”
Related content:
Discoblog: Astronomers Identify the Mystery Meteor That Inspired Walt Whitman
Discoblog: Dang, What Was That? Astronomers Wonder What Just Whizzed by Earth
Bad Astronomy: Death by meteorite
Bad Astronomy: Insurance from the skies!
Image: flickr / Tobin
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