Science not always at the cutting edge

Prior to 1794 most scientists followed the accepted wisdom that "rocks don't just fall out of the sky." After all, wouldn't that be a violation of common sense and the laws of physics?

"They brushed off meteorite reports as wild tales from superstitious and uneducated peasants."

In June of 1794 more than 200 meteorites fell from the sky onto the farmlands of Siena, Italy, a university town north of Rome. There were enough witnesses to make scientists finally take note. At first the stones from the sky were explained away by the local scientists as condensations from igneous clouds or from volcanic ash from Mt. Vesuvius.

Finally, after careful study, the stones were found to be unlike any rocks on Earth and were truly from outer space.

"Late 20th-century research revealed that some meteorites preserve matter from 4.5 billion years ago, when dust grains first began to stick together and form the planets of our solar system. Other meteorites hold even older mineral grains that originated from star systems that were in existence before our sun formed."

Conclusion: sometimes wild tales from superstitious and uneducated peasants are true. So the next time you hear about weird UFO reports just think of this little story.