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Meteorite Crashes Through New Zealand Roof

freitasm writes "The New Zealand Herald and Stuff are reporting on a 1.3kg, four billion-year-old rock that fell through the roof of a house in suburban Auckland, New Zealand. Their insurance company will pay for the hole in the roof and couch and two holes in the ceiling. The meteorite itself, a chunk of an asteroid, could have been basketball-sized when it impacted Earth's atmosphere at 15km a second. By the time it hit the house, its velocity had probably slowed to 100-200m a second."

39 of 345 comments (clear)

  1. rawr by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now thats what I call a smashing entry!

    1. Re:rawr by daveashcroft · · Score: 5, Funny

      Finally we know what happened to beagle.....

  2. Why was this posted? by dotslashconfig · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh, that's right... this is the biggest news in New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings crew packed up and left.

    1. Re:Why was this posted? by operagost · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's big news because the insurance company actually paid for the damage!

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  3. Um, ouch. by Talonius · · Score: 5, Funny

    I bet their insurance company cancels them after they pay for all the repairs, too. :) It was preventable, if New Zealand had invested more heavily in SWMDT (Star Wars Meterorite Defense Technology). Of course with the license fees the Reagan administration was charging...

    That would truly suck. To be sitting there watching "When Meteorites Attack, True Stories of Meteorites and Their Victims" and WHAM, there's a smoking hole in your television set, sparks flying everywhere, and the father figure of the family is screaming for his teenage son, wondering if he had been busy building nuclear reactors again.

    --
    My reality check bounced.
    1. Re:Um, ouch. by Ixany · · Score: 5, Funny

      Gosh no. Just think about the probability of this happening twice to that same house. Although statistically, it isn't any smaller than the probability of a meteorite hitting it the first time, one mustn't spoil the obligatory Garp reference:

      "Honey, the chances of another plane hitting this house are astronomical. See? It's been pre-disastered. We're going to be safe here."

      Great stuff, that.

    2. Re:Um, ouch. by xsupergr0verx · · Score: 2, Funny

      Someone slacked off of the "Missile Command" budget and one little city of 5 got destroyed.

      --

      Click here for a free picture of an iPod!
  4. A Natural Disaster? by awacs · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or another Open Source project gone wrong?

  5. Hrmm by acehole · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe they should check the 'meteorite' for peanuts...

    --
    Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
  6. That house! by Fullmetal+Edward · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's all lies! That house was area 51! Get your tin foil hats and ten foot thick steel bunkers because aliens have fired the first shot in the intergalatic war of 2004!

    --
    --- [Insert intresting Sig here]
  7. Re:why claim the insurance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It must be one of the safest houses in the world - what are the odds of it being hit by two meteorites?

  8. Re:Why can't... by eyeye · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes it would really rock.

    --
    Bush and Blair ate my sig!
  9. Re:Could be a good thing? by MrRTFM · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yes, you could make a fortune renting out your house to visiting dignitaries as a 'highly secure meteor resistant location' (based on the lightning never strikes twice principle).

    Of course, they'd need to fix the holes in the roof and get the carpet shampooed first.

    --
    You can't expect to wield supreme executive power, just because some watery tart threw a sword at you
  10. "What we've got here is..." by Elroy+Jetson · · Score: 5, Funny

    "What we've got here is what we call a "Boeing Bomb". See the peanut? Dead giveaway."

    "Nuh-uh... thats a 'Space Peanut.'"

  11. In a most-likely unrelated story, by Vengeance · · Score: 3, Funny

    Anomalous plant growth has been noted in the vicinity of the meteorite strike, with nearly complete coverage of the immediate vicinity with lush, dense foliage. The homeowners could not be reached for comment.

    --
    It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
  12. Clearly by aussie_a · · Score: 3, Funny

    they asked the rock. Don't need extensive research to ask something. But I think the rock may be female, in which case it's been 4 billion years old for the past 3 billion years.

  13. Re:Absolutely Crowned! by brassman · · Score: 2, Funny
    Heh...can you imagine the conversation in the emergency room?

    Yeah, but I don't think it would go the way you had it.

    Doctor: Ewww! What happened to, uh, him?

    Constable: He got hit by a meteorite...

    Doctor: *choke* Good Lord!

    --
    "Ain't no right way to do a wrong thing."
  14. You got it wrong... by twoslice · · Score: 1, Funny
    Oh, that's right... this is the biggest news in New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings crew packed up and left.

    It was dino...

    --

    From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
  15. What happen? by boffy_b · · Score: 2, Funny

    In AD 2004, war was beginn...oh, never mind.

    --
    Windows is only $500 if your time is worthless.
  16. This could have been prevented! by 91degrees · · Score: 2, Funny

    All we needed to do was send Bruce Willis up there with a team of roughnecks.

  17. Re:Insurance? by cosmo7 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Insurance process:
    • Meteorite hits house
    • Owner of house contacts insurance company
    • Insurance company sends 120-page claim form
    • Owner returns claim form
    • Insurance company claims Force Majeur, All Bets Are Off
    • Owner complains to insurance trade body
    • Insurance company asks for proof that meteorite is from outer space
    • Owner engages in frank discussion with insurance company
    • Insurance company grudgingly pays half of cost of damage
    • Owner finds insurance premium has doubled
  18. Re:Could be a good thing? by Tjebbe · · Score: 3, Funny

    Money? Can you imagine what kind of superpowers they must have got from the meteorite?

  19. The US Defense Department has just announced... by IrishMist · · Score: 3, Funny

    that it hat reliable information that Osama bin Laden was in the house at the time.

  20. I smell an opportunity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I live in New England. Plenty of rocks around. I live near an airfield. Plenty of planes around. So... 1) Get rocks, 2) Rent plane, 3) Fly over house, 4) Profit! Only house ever hit by THREE meteors at once!

    Maybe I'll even invest a few bucks for a few small real meteorites - the margin will cover it.

  21. War! by Trailwalker · · Score: 5, Funny

    In a response to the attack on New Zealand, President Bush announced today that United States Army and Marine units would be stationed on Mars and other planets as a deterrent to further terrorism by unknown aliens. He will send a request for a further $900,000,000,000 to congress to fund the development of transport and supply systems for our brave patriotic troops. Haliburtion corp. has patriotically volunteered to undertake the conract for a mere 25% markup.

    Attorney General John Ashcroft declared that the aliens have obvious ties with Al Queda. Only alien mind control could have changed the joyous happy reception that should have been give to US liberators by the oppressed Arab world. He will ask Congress to amend the Patriot act to allow preventive detention of the entire population of the United States and 24 hour observation of everyone else.

    Affable non-entity and Homeland Security fill-in Tom Ridge announced newer, more vibrant colors for ever more heightened security levels. He is asking Congress to redefine illegal alien to include beings from other planets/solar systems.

  22. what to do with it... by EricKoh · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'd find a blacksmith and craft an astral shield+4

  23. Shrek by Easy2RememberNick · · Score: 4, Funny

    The last big story from New Zealand was Shrek the Marino sheep that was on the lam for seven years.

  24. Yahooooooooo-ooooo! by HisMother · · Score: 3, Funny

    If they had checked the newspapers, they would have had time to shop on Yahoo for a boatload of throw pillows and their trailer would have been saved!

    --
    Cantankerous old coot since 1957.
  25. Ping! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny


    The rock hit her leather couch and bounced back up to the ceiling before rolling under the computer.


    This demonstrates that the Martians have Internet. They have sent a ping :)

  26. Re:why claim the insurance? by sonicattack · · Score: 5, Funny

    Reminds me of the story about the statistician who calculated the odds of there being a bomb on the airplane he was travelling on, and found out that the odds were too high for him to feel safe. He then calculated the odds of there being two, independent bombs on the same plane, and noticed that the possibility was remote to the extreme, compared to the first calculation.

    So, now, he always brings a bomb with him when he's flying.

  27. Re:4 Billion yo? by nomadic · · Score: 2, Funny

    How does the meteorite coming through the roof of a suburban home add to its value?

    Instant skylight.

  28. Tin foil hats? Ha, just wait! by Teun · · Score: 2, Funny

    The article says Base Ball size, just wait for that extra-terestrial to come off the field and starts looking for his ball!

    --
    "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
  29. Fortunately we're safe in the USA by hugesmile · · Score: 4, Funny
    As long as meteorites are measured in kg's (weight), and meters per second (speed), we should be safe here in the USA.

    Our heavy traveling stuff weighs pounds or tons, and only travels in miles per hour.

    1. Re:Fortunately we're safe in the USA by 1hurcoman · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think you got that wrong. Volume is measured in Volkswagons. Distance is measured in football fields. Weights are measured in bowling balls. Speed can be measured in NASCAR or something.

  30. Re:why claim the insurance? by quantaman · · Score: 5, Funny

    As another reader pointed out, the odds of it being hit by a second meteorite, is exactly the same is it being hit by the first... which is slim, but another meteor isn't going to avoid the house next time because a meteor crashed there beforehand.

    As another reader pointed out, the odds of you getting the first joke, is exactly the same as you being hit by a meteor... which is slim, but this joke isn't going to avoid you next time because you ruined the first joke before hand.

    (seriously I would hope that the /. crowd doesn't need the Gambler's fallacy explained to it :)

    --
    I stole this Sig
  31. Re:why claim the insurance? by mattyrobinson69 · · Score: 2, Funny

    you mean if you sell it to a fellow countryman youll only get arrested 'a little bit'

  32. Re:why claim the insurance? by NarrMaster · · Score: 1, Funny

    Its like the story about the guy who carries a bomb on every plane he flies, his reasoning being, "Heh, whats the probability that there are 2 bombs on board?"

    --
    That's right. All your base.
  33. Earth Rover by DonalGraeme · · Score: 3, Funny

    Somewhere else in the universe an alien species is trying to figure out what happened to their Earth Rover.

  34. Re:why claim the insurance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Why didn't he bring two?