Stratford Car Windscreen Smashed by a Piece of Space Rock
A family in Stratford discovers a meteorite after their car’s windscreen is damaged on Boxing Day
Stratford, Meteorite, Birmingham Road, Paul Butler, Nathan Butler
Stratford: You won’t believe what happened to a family over the holidays. The Butlers had a wild experience when they heard a loud bang on Boxing Day night.
When they checked the next morning, Paul Butler found his parents’ car had a cracked windscreen. It was parked safely in their courtyard, far from the road.
Things got even stranger when Paul’s son, Nathan, discovered a peculiar black rock nearby. It was about two centimeters long and looked nothing like the usual stones.
Nathan, just 12, was curious and thought it looked like a meteorite. They even tested it with magnets, and guess what? It was magnetized, which is a classic sign!
Paul recalled hearing the bang the night before but thought it was just fireworks. He was shocked to see the damage in the morning, especially since there were no cars passing by.
He said, “There’s no way that damage was there before. My dad would have noticed.” They really believe it’s a meteorite because it looks burnt, like it came from a furnace.
After the incident, Paul’s parents drove their car back home and now have to deal with the insurance company. Nathan plans to show the rock to his science teacher at school.
Paul joked, “We’ve started buying lottery tickets. The odds of a meteorite landing on our drive must be one in a billion!”
By the way, meteorites are pieces of space debris that survive their fiery fall to Earth. Most come from the asteroid belt, but some even come from Mars or the Moon.