Buzz
Rain, snow, and sleet are typical weather phenomena we expect to fall from the sky. However, after last week’s meteorite incident in Russia, we began exploring other strange occurrences reported to have descended from the heavens. From spiders and frogs to even blood, here’s a glimpse at some of the most peculiar meteorological anomalies.
10. Spider Rain
Picture yourself driving when, out of nowhere, thousands of spiders begin falling from the sky. This surreal event actually happened to Erick Reis, a 20-year-old web designer from Santo Antonio da Platina, a town located approximately 250 miles west of Sao Paulo.
Reis, who was filming his friend’s wedding, quickly grabbed his video camera to capture the bizarre spider downpour. He later uploaded the footage to YouTube, where it quickly went viral and became an internet sensation.
While spider rain might seem like a scene straight out of a Hitchcock film, it’s actually a natural phenomenon that isn’t as rare as one might think.
Biologist Marta Fischer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Parana explains that the Anelosimus eximius spider, roughly the size of a pencil eraser, typically resides in trees and spins webs as tall as 65 feet to catch insects. However, strong winds can dislodge these webs, carrying the spiders into the air and creating the illusion of spiders raining from the sky—exactly what Reis likely witnessed that day.
9. Frog Rain
The Bible describes frog rain as a sign of divine punishment, but scientists offer a more grounded explanation. Waterspouts, tornado-like formations over water where frogs often live, are responsible for lifting these amphibians into the air and causing them to fall from the sky.
When a waterspout forms over water, it can suck frogs high into its funnel, forcing them into an unexpected journey far from their natural habitat. As the wind subsides, the frogs are released, creating the illusion of a frog downpour from the sky.
8. Meat
While it wasn’t raining men, on March 3, 1876, the small town of Olympia Springs, Kentucky, experienced a bizarre event: meat falling from the sky.
Specifically, chunks of meat, each measuring between two and four inches square and resembling beef, fell in the backyard of Allen Crouch. Two courageous individuals sampled the meat and confirmed that it tasted more like mutton or venison rather than beef.
Following a detailed analysis by The Royal Microscopical Society of Great Britain, it was concluded that the meat was actually lung tissue, likely from either a horse or a human infant. Interestingly, the lung structures of horses and human infants are remarkably similar.
As for the explanation behind this strange event, the leading theory suggests that a group of buzzards had feasted on the carcasses of dead horses. When one buzzard regurgitated the meat, the others followed suit—a behavior typical of buzzards.
7. Nondairy Creamer
In the 1920s, a popular song titled “You’re the Cream in my Coffee” captured hearts. Decades later, in 1969, the town of Chester, South Carolina, experienced a surreal event where enough cream for everyone’s coffee seemed to fall from the sky.
In 1969, the Borden company, producer of Cremora, a powdered non-dairy creamer, faced issues with its exhaust vents. Whenever the vents clogged, clouds of non-dairy creamer would escape into the air. When these clouds mixed with rain or dew, they created a sticky, messy substance.
Fortunately for the town, Borden resolved the issue but was later fined $4,000 for “dispersing Cremora beyond the plant’s premises.”
6. Golf Balls
On September 1, 1969, residents of Punta Gorda, Florida, awoke to an astonishing sight: dozens of golf balls falling from the sky. For golf lovers, it must have felt like a divine gift from the golfing gods.
Not quite. Meteorologists suggest that Punta Gorda, situated on Florida’s western Gulf coast and dotted with numerous golf courses, likely encountered a passing tornado. This tornado may have sucked up a pond filled with golf balls, subsequently raining them down on the unsuspecting town.
5. Worms
On March 4, 2001, during a soccer class at Galashiels Academy in the United Kingdom, David Crichton and his students were playing on the field when they were suddenly bombarded with dozens of earthworms falling from the sky.
While some students laughed in disbelief, others rushed for cover. Crichton, however, collected handfuls of the worms as proof of the bizarre event.
After the incident, Crichton consulted his science colleagues for an explanation, but none could provide a clear reason. One teacher speculated it might be a strange weather phenomenon, but the day was sunny and clear. Crichton also pointed out that the students were far from any buildings, ruling out the possibility of a prank.
While no definitive explanation exists for this event, weather was blamed for a similar worm rain in Jennings, Louisiana, in 2007.
Eleanor Beal was walking to work when she was suddenly hit by several large clumps of worms. Given Louisiana’s susceptibility to tornadoes and rainstorms, it’s believed a waterspout spotted miles away lifted the worms and dropped them on Beal.
4. Human Body
The chances of this happening are astronomically low, but it did occur to Mary Fuller of San Diego, California.
On September 25, 1978, Mary Fuller was sitting in her parked car with her 8-month-old son when a human body suddenly crashed through her windshield. Unbeknownst to her, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 had collided with a private Cessna, resulting in 144 fatalities. The body that struck her car was one of the victims.
Fortunately, Fuller and her son sustained only minor injuries. This tragic event remains the deadliest aviation accident in California’s history.
3. Blood
In 2008, residents of La Sierra Choco, Colombia, reported that blood rained down on their small town. A bacteriologist confirmed that the substance was indeed blood. Johnny Milton Cordoba, the local parish priest, interpreted this as a divine warning for people to abandon their sinful ways.
2. Money
At some point, almost everyone has fantasized about money raining from the sky. Remarkably, a few individuals have actually experienced this phenomenon.
In 1957, thousands of 1000-franc notes appeared to fall from the sky in Bourges, France. Similarly, in December 1975, hundreds of one-dollar bills totaling $588 descended over Chicago, Illinois.
On December 3, 1968, outside a store in Ramsgate, England, pennies seemed to rain from the sky. A cashier reported that the coins fell in brief, scattered bursts for about fifteen minutes. While no one saw them falling, the sound of coins hitting the pavement was unmistakable. Strangely, the coins appeared dented, as if they had fallen from a great height, yet there were no tall buildings or aircraft nearby.
On May 28, 1981, a girl from Reddish, England, claimed she saw a 50-pence coin fall from the sky while walking through St. Elisabeth’s churchyard. Later that day, several other children reported the same occurrence as they gathered at a local candy store. When the store owner contacted the church Reverend to check if the children had stolen from the poor box, the Reverend confirmed no money was missing. Upon questioning, the children all insisted the coins had indeed fallen from the sky.
1. Cow
In 1997, a Japanese fishing trawler was rescued by a Russian patrol boat in the Sea of Japan. When questioned about their distress, the fishermen claimed, “a cow fell from the sky and sank our boat.”
Initially disbelieved, the fishermen were arrested and jailed. Two weeks later, a member of the Russian air force admitted to Japanese authorities that a crew member had stolen a cow for meat and taken it aboard a flight. Unaccustomed to enclosed spaces and flying, the cow caused chaos, forcing the crew to eject it at 30,000 feet over the Sea of Japan.
The Japanese fishermen were promptly released.
