Scientist Finds Pieces of "Mass Hysteria" at Bottom of Impossible Crater

"Big Crater Carved By Mysterious Meteorite " Space.com (March 11, 2008)

In September of 2007, something very bright streaked out of the sky near a remote Peruvian town. When it hit the ground, there was an explosion. When people came to investigate, they found a crater filled with boiling water and noxious fumes. Some of them got sick.

That's what the natives said, anyway. Scientists came, saw that what the locals reported didn't fit their models of how meteors are supposed to act, and said that it was a case of mass hysteria (" 'Meteorite' Crash Breeds Mass Hysteria" Space.com (September 27, 2007)).

One scientist decided to take a look at the crater, and found pieces of "mass hysteria" under the bottom of the 49-foot-wide crater.

If his colleagues listen to him, there may have to be a re-thinking of the way rocks fall out of the sky.