Peruvian Meteorite Landing Sickens Hundreds

Thank goodness it didn't land in some place like Mexico City, or New York.

edgarblythe wrote:

Thank goodness it didn't land in some place like Mexico City, or New York.

Why do these things always land in some remote area rather than like you said...a large city? (Not that I want it to land in a large city!)
I understand that there are far more wide open remote places in the world than there are over-populated cities, but you'd think the law of averages would have at least one land in downtown somewhereville.

And why do all those weird stories in the supermarket tabloids always take place on some mountaintop in Brazil?

Meteorites, 'plagues' and bad omens

Patrick Barkham The Guardian Thursday September 20 2007

A sleepy fishing community in rural Australia is struck by a shower of meteorites. Those hit succumb to a terrible infection: they are turned into zombies and feast on human flesh.

The townsfolk of Carancas in Peru would be advised not to watch the horror film Undead, after witnessing a fiery ball in the sky at the weekend. More than 150 residents have suffered headaches, irritated skin and vomiting brought on by a "strange odour", according to a local health official.

Tales of "toxic" fumes rising from a crater sound scary but as Nester Quispe, the local mayor, said: "There's a certain psychological fear in the community." Experts believe the irritation could be caused by gas or dust and there is still uncertainty over whether it was a meteorite - the "crater" could be just a toxic lake.

What about zombie disease? And is it a Sign? For centuries, meteorites have been seen as gifts from angels or portents of doom. In the Bible, Joshua wrote of how "the Lord cast down great stones from heaven" while Revelation recorded a falling star that poisoned the waters: "Many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."

Reports of sickness are rare, although many of the estimated 1,050 sightings of falling meteorites to date have sparked superstition. The Peru event has triggered internet speculation that it could be a fallen satellite (as in the Michael Crichton thriller The Andromeda Strain) or, of course, aliens. In 1492 a meteorite is said to have caused a war: Maximilian, Emperor of Austria, was convinced that a meteor fall in Ensisheim, Rhineland, was a favourable omen to confront the French.

More mysterious than the Peruvian "meteorite" is the 1908 Tunguska event, a blast over Siberia 1,000 times more powerful than an atomic bomb, probably caused by a meteoroid exploding above Earth. Millions of trees were felled, locals took to the streets in panic and there were reports of a "plague", now thought to be unconnected to the blast.

In Peru, the crater and its sickness will soon be verified by scientists. Just don't expect a denouement like the one in Undead.

So, seriously, isn't this just geological gas that's been released? Like the natural gas vents in Turkey or the crack in the rocks at Delphi that always has carbon monoxide and other funky gases wafting out of it?

Man, how long could zombies proliferate in the Australian outback before anybody noticed.

So, is everyone in Adelaide a zombie?

Or is there just a large enclave there that can pass in semi-regular society?