29 October 2007

Now THAT'S a truffle!



Well, its actually a giant meteorite. Laying in bed Sunday morning I heard some monotone lunatic on NPR going on and on about meteorites and what they symbolise to certain cultures and so forth. I was in a hypnopompic state but at one point I recall him saying that meteorites were considered the excrement of stars in certain civilisations and therefore people fear their appearance and run from the sight of them! Can you imagine? I think he used the term "the defecation of stars". I love it; stars taking a shit on us. Amazing.

So anyway, two of the world's most famous meteorites failed to attract buyers at an auction on Sunday, while an ordinary metal mailbox hit by a falling space rock in 1984 was sold for a cool $83,000.

A 30-pound chunk of the Willamette Meteorite, which was found in Oregon in 1902 and has been steeped in ownership controversies* for more than a century, was offered by Bonhams auction house at an estimated value of $1.3 million, but was withdrawn from sale after bidding ended at $300,000.

Similarly, the 1,410-pound Brenham Main Mass, dug out of a central Kansas farm field in 2005, was withdrawn by Bonhams CEO and auctioneer Malcolm Barber after it drew a top bid of only $200,000 well short of the pre-sale estimate of $630,000 to $700,000.

I bet it woulda sold if Cliff and Clair Huxtable were bidding on it.

Big Meteorites Don't Sell at Manhattan Auction {1010 WINS}

* The Willamette Meteorite, was found in Oregon. Its the largest meteorite ever found in the U.S. and the sixth largest in the world. However, no impact crater was preserved at the discovery site therefore many believe the meteorite landed in what is now Canada and was transported to where it was found by moving ice sheets.

photo of the Williamette Meteorite in the early 20th century

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