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Subscribe to RSSFlocks of birds falling en masse from the sky in Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and even Sweden is strange, but these mysterious mass deaths don’t hold a candle to the “Kentucky Meat Shower” of 1876 when it comes to avian oddities.
“Flesh Descending in a Shower. An Astounding Phenomenon in Kentucky – Fresh Meat Like Mutton or Venison Falling From A Clear Sky,” read the headline in the New York Times on March 10, 1876.
A second Times article the next day provided more detail on the strange occurrence.
“Mrs. Crouch, of Olympian Springs, Ky., was employed in the open air and under a particular clear sky, in the celebration of those mysterious rites by which the housewife transmutes scraps of meat, bones and effete overshoes into soap,” it said. “Suddenly, there descended upon her a gentle shower of meat.”
For a couple of minutes, it continued, big pieces of meat, three or four inches square, fell all over Mrs. Crouch’s yard. The meat “appeared to be perfectly fresh.”
The incident was corroborated for the New York Times by two sources – one Mr. Harrison Gill “whose veracity is unquestionable” and a correspondent of the Louisville Commercial newspaper.
But what exactly was the red flesh? “Two gentlemen” satisfied their curiosity by tasting the meat and determined that it was either mutton or venison, the Times said.
The incident sparked a lot of curiosity, skepticism and several scientific studies at the time.
The Royal Microscopical Society of Great Britain reported the most plausible explanation in its Monthly Microscopical Journal in July 1876.
After examining several specimens of meat, one scientist determined what fell out of the sky was in fact of “animal origin” (apparently he didn’t trust the taste buds of the locals). Therefore “the Kentucky shower was a veritable ‘meat’ shower.” Beyond that, he admitted that he had no explanation.
However, he relayed the most popular local theory: a large pack of buzzards must have flown over the area after having eaten some dead horses, then one of the buzzards disgorged himself and the others followed suit, (as is their custom, according to the journal).
The scientist reported that similar occurrences with buzzards had been known to happen in the past, so “it would seem that the whole matter is capable of reasonable and simple explanation, and we may expect to hear of similar downfalls in other localities.”
So watch out!
Leave a Comment:
Hot shot Jet Jockey using sonic boom as a shotgun?
I hope you realize that this article was written in the 1800s during which time there were no such thing as a "Jet Jockey," sonic boom, a jet, or even a plane for that matter.
Damned aliens and their rectal probes......
well said jeremy
Actually, we here in Texas were trying to supply free samples to prevent the spread of vegetarianism in the late 1800s. Promotion gone wrong, like the turkey drop on WKRP.
Our bad. Sorry. But I feel better getting that secret off my chest.
TonyInDallas,
Thanks for the reminder of the WKRP Turkey Drop. A wonderful piece of history that brings back riotously funny memories, but is sadly lost on today's generation. Yeah "De Fever".
"Two gentlemen" satisfied their curiosity by tasting the meat and determined that it was either mutton or venison, the Times said.
Meat falls from the sky and these 2 morons taste it? They must have had PTSD from the Civil War.
PS #1, please note the date that this happened. Here try this freshly fallen meat. It's Greek, very good!
FOF LMAO
But would Lady Ga Ga wear it?
pleasechooseanother: This happened in 1876. Humans had not mastered the ability to fly quite yet! LOL
dont be so sure about that.the american government has a lot of tech that they dont tell u about.and always has
bite me
...aannnd THAT'S the stupidest post of the day.
Please choose another answer. Sonic boom in 1876? Did you only read the headline? The, 'two gentlemen,' who tasted the stuff must be the archetypal Darwin Award Winners. It's good to know that road kill horse, eaten and regurgitated by buzzards tastes just like venison or mutton... Mmmmmm, lawsey, them's good vittles!
road kill? 1876? ??????
They did have horse drawn carraiges at the time, so yes, road kill.
waselvisgod: What was really sick was that, not only did they taste the meat, the theory was that it may have been buzzard throw-up! I would have loved to have seen the look on their faces when they first heard that!
Yeah but this did happen in Kentucky. Maybe the moonshine made the buzzard vomit taste like Grannys' home cookin.......
Did you not read the story? The year was 1876. Sonic Booms by man made jets didn't occur for another 70 - 80 years.
Sounds like alien stew meat to me! I don't think buzzards would puke up 3 to 4 inch squares...
a tornado miles away mascerated some animals in the forest, lifted the remnants 8-10 miles in the atmosphere to be latter dropped on some unwitting hayseed. Or it was aliens playing a joke. You decide
If it was a tornado there would be other debris.
I think in most third world countries a fresh cut meat shower would be appreciated.
Yes maybe it could rain dead pig all over the middle east.
THis one made me laugh out loud. THank you.
Here's my theory- mechanical woodchipper accident in the neighborhood?
Must be a slow news day. The purpose of this article is what?? Stupid!
Yet, YOU STILL read it! Maybe if you kept up with current news, you would make the connection. Meat?
Yeah, I read it, so what's your point. Anyone who uses Elvis' name in their identifier can't be trusted.
I trust him.
don't know...........don't care.........but find it a bit of a coincidence that the lady was making soap at the time the meat fell........hmmm
I have heard of tornadoes picking up live critters and lifting them up into the sky only to fall from a clear sky many miles away.
Seems a more logical explaination to me
except the meat was in little tiny chunks... must have gotten sucked up with a meat shredder or a running lawn mower (if one existed then).
There have been articles of strange phenomenon like this since man first started writing.. It's very possible that some farmer or butcher in a different county was cutting up a deer or sheep when a small tornado hit and picked the meat up and dropped it in another county or even another state.. Tornadoes have been known to do this quite often, even picking up babies and dropping them, gently, a distance away..
This article does not explain what has been happening with the birds and fish die-offs in today's news.. I could understand that maybe a flock of birds where killed by a tornado but the fish? That is something different entirely and the fact that these recent oddities have happened in such distant and diverse areas of the world is a bit weird and unnerving for my taste.. I hope science finds a logical reason for these odd happenings soon, I'd be very interested in them..
Repent, time is short.
i as well, seeing how tere is a scientific exsplanation for everything, why isnt there one for this?
This kind of event and a whole lot more was the life work of Charles Fort (1874-1932). He investigated, recorded, and studied all kinds of inexplicable but well-verified events.
Lots of strange stories like the one above were quite common during that period. These days we have more high tech kinds of folk myths/realities: UFOs, HAARP, Chemtrails and various mind control conspiracies, etc.
Not to mention global warming/climate change...
yea, dont mention that. We're trying to have fun here.
Sounds like a prank joke the neighbor kids played with a sling-shot device!
uugh, not a good article to read while eating breakfast!
Kind of puts a taint on your Fruity Buzzards O's ???
You said "taint".
Aliens, tornados or buzzards are all feasible explanations. Why choose only one? Each are viable in their own right. I like the Aliens personally!!!
HAHAHAHA, another "Don't worry, nothing to see here" article designed to calm people down. Magnetic pole shift closed Tampa Bay airport yesterday. 7.1 earthquake hits Chile the same day these birds were knocked out of the sky.
I forgot to eat lunch the same day the birds fell out of the sky..... doesn't mean THAT caused the birds to fall out of the sky. We have a problem between correlation and causation here...
blame it on god. when the children of israel complained of only '' manna'' falling from heaven and they wanted meat to eat?????????what did god do? he sent quail's falling from heaven and when they ate it they died. has anyone been complaining lately for meat to eat???
my theory is '' better not eat it''.
guess quail isnt kosher.
What if they were Hebrew National Quail Dogs?? Buns optional of course...
there are no dead birds here in Boca Raton, FL--there are just no birds--started noticing yesterday--they have all gone
Winter.
There is no winter in Boca Raton, FL
Has Homeland Secutity investigated this bird phemonena? If not, why not? Several yrs ago health practioners were given classes on germ warfare and methods of delivery & treatment were discussed . I find it strange to dismiss the cause of these birds death external injuries. Well Duh, they all hit the pavement.No matter what they died of,there would be external injuries. Lets be for finding out why they fell, perhaps it was a delivery system for some catastrophic disease. And please dont explain 3,000,000 fish kill as the "water got too cold." Ever hear of Alaskan salmon or ice fishing?? And does it seem more than a coincidence that there were several other incidences occuring on the same day. Hey, wake uo Homeland Security!!!
home land security is a prision control grid for the american people.there are not here to help us.there here to keep us in line while the crooks at dc implode this nation.
Obviously somebody blew up a herd of something. Think ya used enough dynamite there butch?
Obviously one of Chuck Norris's roundhouse kicks went back in time and oh god nevermind.
Too Funny!
LMAO
It’s funny to hear about raining meat but I have also read of frogs/toads and other species dropping out of the sky in large quantities. Since the news is filled with stories about large quantities of species dropping dead globally, it all does appear the world has gone crazy, however, scientists say this happens all the time. Doesn’t it sound totally stupid when we read that birds were frightened by fireworks and are bad night flyers and this caused their sudden demise? Regardless of dying animals, being that our world is supposed to end possibly in 2012 – gosh is that next year all ready – I can’t help but consider buying extra TP and canned goods. But unless you’ve got a shelter, an enormous amount of storage space, that just seems futile anyway. I could think up a dozen conspiracy theories about the dead species, half involving our Government but it doesn’t change anything. I’m not going to know what happened and neither are you. Some things just go unexplained.
Maybe they will let you ride out 2012 inside Chyenne Mtn.
They would appreciate it if you bring some good quality TP with you.
What good would extra TP do you if the WORLD IS GOING TO END??
the good TP would make sure your backside was clean when you kiss it goodbye.
LOL @ Chuckie. Good one...
everything is exsplained, some of it is just unspoken of....
meat falling from the sky in kentucky very easily could have been a preacher biten by a snake carrying a rack of meat shocked and throws it up in the air.....case closed