[meteorite-list] What makes a hammer a hammer?

From: Michael L Blood <mlblood_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:36:52 -0800
Message-ID: <C5868814.1DAD4%mlblood_at_cox.net>

on 1/4/09 9:35 AM, lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu at lebofsky at lpl.arizona.edu
wrote:

> Dave:
>
> Johnny Carson also is responsible for one other "famous" phrase:
>
> "billions and billions"
>
> not Carl Sagan.
>
> Larry
Hi Larry,
        But Johnny was making fun of Carl Sagan when he did that.
        Michael
 
> On Sun, January 4, 2009 9:29 am, Dave Gheesling wrote:
>> Michael wrote: "Dave Gheesling was essentially correct in stating that
>> The
>> "word," "HAMMER" first appeared in a book by Niven and Pournelle,
>> entitled, LUCIFER'S HAMMER, Fawcett Crest, 1977.
>> (Ironically, in the book, this term is a misnomer, as the Astronomer who
>> first views the object and predicts a Huge earth impact was named Hamner,
>> and it was a "religious" figure that stated that "Lucifer's Hammer" Was
>> going to punish the people of the earth"
>>
>> Actually, it was sort of an intentional, or perhaps Freudian, misnomer,
>> ficticiously coming from Johnny Carson (well known for intentional
>> Freudian
>> slips). Interviewing the ficticious astronomer, Tim Hamner, Carson said,
>> "Tim, it's your comet. Could HAMMER-Brown actually hit us?" Hamner
>> responds, "That's HAMNER-Brown." Carson laughs, "Oh, what did I say?
>> Hammer? It would be a hammer if it hit, wouldn't it?" Fun read, by the
>> way, and the initial conditions are remarkably similar to a real H-B comet
>> that would arrive two decades later...
>>
>> Make it a great Sunday, everybody,
>>
>>
>> Dave
>> www.fallingrocks.com
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
>> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Michael
>> L
>> Blood
>> Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 4:39 AM
>> To: Steve Arnold dealer/Qynne; meteoritefinder at yahoo.com
>> Cc: Meteorite List
>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] What makes a hammer a hammer?
>>
>>
>> Steve, Robert, Dave, Walter, Mike, John et al,
>> Several comments:
>> (I would have responded earlier, but I was watching The Chargers KICK
>> ASS!)
>>
>>
>> 1) Any information listed on my hammer page
>> http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/Hammers.html
>> Regarding Sylacauga is more accurately expressed by (THE REAL) Steve
>> Arnold.
>> I stand corrected by him on All accounts regarding this specific hammer.
>>
>>
>> 2) Walter Branch's original page can be seen at:
>> http://imca.repetti.net/metinfo/metstruck.html
>> His reference to "HAMs" he states, is a reference to "humans, animals &
>> man made objects" and is unrelated To my coining the term, "Hammer" in
>> reference to any Fall that resulted in a stone striking one of the above.
>>
>> 3) Dave Geesling was essentially correct in stating that The "word,"
>> "HAMMER" first appeared in a book by Niven and Pournelle, entitled,
>> LUCIFER'S HAMMER, Fawcett Crest, 1977.
>> (Ironically, in the book, this term is a misnomer, as the Astronomer who
>> first views the object and predicts a Huge earth impact was named Hamner,
>> and it was a "religious" figure that stated that "Lucifer's Hammer" Was
>> going to punish the people of the earth (much like The gobledgook vomited
>> by the "religious" that state that AIDS is a punishment by God for the
>> "sin" of homosexuality.
>> I read this book 10 or more years before I got into meteorites But my use
>> of the term "hammer" was, in fact, inspired To a degree from this book.
>> However, I thought long and hard About the term I wanted to use before
>> deciding to use "hammer." Since I was collecting them and determined to
>> offer the largest Selection available of them, I felt a name was
>> definitely called For and "hammer" it was.
>>
>> 4) When one coins a term, that person sets the parameters Of definition.
>> Inevitably these parameters will change or Be refined over time. My use of
>> the term "Hammer" was In reference to a meteorite that "nailed"
>> something - specifically Human, animal or human made, just as was made
>> reference to In Walter's work. Personally, I EXCLUDE roads and cultivars
>> (varieties of
>> hybridized fruit trees), though there are others who collect hammers that
>> include them.
>>
>> 5) The entire fall is a "Hammer" fall and a specific individual that hit
>> A
>> specific object, animal or person is a "Hammer stone" (very, very Few
>> irons)(the use of "hammer stone" was introduced by Adam Hupe. Though I
>> originally debated his usage, conversations with him brought Me over to
>> his side on this issue). Of course, one would always prefer THE hammer
>> stone Of a fall or one of several.... For instance, I have 9 different
>> Park Forest "Hammers" that
>> include several houses, a car, a tow truck, A fire station, a baseball
>> grandstand, fence, etc. However, in many cases The one or few hammer
>> stones is not available (the guy in the boat Threw all that landed in his
>> boat into the river, as they were clearly "evil"- Chiang-Khan) or the tiny
>> Mbale stone that struck a boy.... I Have a
>> photo of him holding it but no amount of research has resulted In finding
>> ANYONE who can even say they have any idea of what Happened to that
>> particular stone. As for Allende, Pultusk, Holbrook, etc, there is written
>> documentation describing houses and patios, a train station being struck -
>> I
>> am working on a book that will cite a good deal of written records
>> attesting to such events - the topic is far too extensive to include here.
>>
>>
>> 6) I am amazed at the egocentric attitude of people who look down on
>> others Who are "into" something that holds no interest for them. It would
>> be like Me stating all NWA material is insignificant, regardless of rarity
>> of type Because it is nearly all undocumented as to both date of impact
>> and in The vast majority of cases, not reliably recorded as to specific
>> location of find. While these statements may (or may not) have
>> credibility, my personal Value system being applied is, relatively
>> speaking, irrelevant.
>>
>> 7) Mike Gilmer asked why some falls were hardly ever referred to as
>> "hammers" though they fit the description: Holbrook, Allende, etc. Yes,
>> Mike, in those cases the fall, itself was so extensive and significant in
>> Other ways that, though they included in any reasonable hammer collection,
>> That is not their only claim to fame.
>>
>>
>> 8) What percentage of meteorite collectors specifically collect hammers?
>> This would be an excellent polling question for the list. If people want
>> to Email me off list, I will count up the responses and report to the
>> list. I believe the list currently has about 900 members (it is impossible
>> to know Because a significant number of people use more than one email
>> address To receive posts). Regardless, we could get some idea. From
>> conversations I have had with collectors, my GUESS would be about 10
>> percent of all Collectors go out of their way to collect hammers (usually
>> as ONE of their Interests in meteorites). However, a pole would be far
>> more revealing, as Hammer collectors tend to contact me at a much higher
>> rate than other Dealers, I am sure. When I opened my "Hammer Page"
>> http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/Hammers.html
>> I started with about 28 offerings of different falls. I now have over 40,
>> I
>> Belive. Both figures far surpass any other source I have been able to find
>> Many times over.
>> So, if people email me, I will report to the list. Here is how: Put
>> ONLY "Hammer Collector" in the subject box (you don't even have to say
>> Anything in the body of the text if you don't want to). Please DO NOT
>> Include "Meteorite List" in the subject line - some days I get over 300
>> Emails in one day - guess which ones don't always get checked out?
>> (anyone who would get a specimen SPECIFICALLY Because of its status
>> as a hammer) - Neither the size of your hammer collection nor the size of
>> the specimens matter - just, do you collect them.
>>
>> 9) I will report back to the list the number of people who said they
>> Collect
>> hammers.
>>
>> 10) HAMMERS RULE!
>>
>>
>> Best wishes, Michael
>>
>>
>>
>> on 1/3/09 11:59 PM, MeteorHntr at aol.com at MeteorHntr at aol.com wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Robert,
>>>
>>>
>>> To answer your direct question, no I have not seen the "Hodges's
>>> stone."
>>>
>>> However, in Dr. King's Meteorite Collection Catalog he listed the
>>> source of his Sylacaga specimen as, and I quote:
>>>
>>> "Source: Alabama Mus. Nat. Hist., Douglas Jones"
>>>
>>>
>>> Now, if anyone on the list has access to the Hodges's stone to
>>> examine, my hunch is that the core would have been removed from the
>>> bottom portion, as it is displayed, and the hole was probably plugged
>> with something and colored so
>>> as to hide the fact that a core was removed. My memory is a bit
>>> fuzzy,
>> but
>>> as I recall there were some correspondence letters between Dr. King and
>>> the Alabama Museum of Natural History at the time leading up to the
>> acquisition.
>>> And there was a concern that any examination would not hurt the
>>> aesthetic appearance of the stone.
>>>
>>> However, it might be easier to ask the Smithsonian if their records
>>>
>> indicate
>>> that any of their Sylacaga was traded to Dr. King. But with the
>> conflict
>>> NASA (including Dr. King) had with the Smithsonian in the 1960's I
>>> seriously doubt any trades were done with the Smithsonian.
>>>
>>> As many of you know, we auctioned off the King Collection, and it
>>> would make some of you sick if you knew how cheaply that specimen sold
>>> for. I was surprised at the time, but then again, there were many great
>>> specimens in the collection being sold, and most people had to
>> budget where they spent their
>>> money, so some things went a little lower than expected at that time.
>> Since
>>
>>> then, the value has appreciated to more reasonable levels.
>>>
>>> I hope this answers your question Robert?
>>>
>>>
>>> Steve Arnold #1
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In a message dated 1/3/2009 10:11:11 P.M. Central Standard Time,
>>> meteoritefinder at yahoo.com writes: Steve and List,
>>>
>>>
>>> Steve, are you absolutely sure the core came from THE Hodges's stone
>>> (
>>> the one that struck her) and NOT the McKinney stone??? I have not
>>> actually seen the Hodge's stone in person, and maybe you have, so you
>>> MAY be right. But ... if I may quote a few words from "one of our
>>> illustrious members'" ( who I hope doesn't mind me using them, and that
>>> he will join in the discussion, too ) website that state:
>>>
>>>
>>> "....There were two stones - the one that hit the human and one
>>> other. The one that hit the human is the centerpiece in a local museum.
>>> No one has ever had access to it. However,the second stone is
>>> in the Smithsonion and though the remainder has never been available to
>>> the public, it did have one core drilled in it. This core ended up in
>> the collection of Dr.
>>> King. After his death his widow allowed it to be cut into about 10
>>> whafer slices all of which all ended up as primary specimens in private
>>> collections."
>>>
>>> So have you seen THE Hodges' stone in person and saw that there
>>> actually IS a hole drilled into THAT very one????
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Robert Woolard
>>>
>>>
>>> **************New year...new news. Be the first to know what is
>>> making headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Received on Sun 04 Jan 2009 06:36:52 PM PST