The Day it Rained Meat

It was March 3, 1876, almost 150 years ago. The day was cool and clear. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

A woman named Mary Crouch stood in her yard. She was making homemade soap. Back then, many people made soap themselves.

Suddenly, something strange began to fall from the sky. Mary thought it looked a bit like snow. But it wasn’t cold enough for snow.

It wasn’t hail or rain either. What was happening? Mary looked up.

It was meat.

Chunks of meat were dropping from the sky.

It was March 3, 1876. The day was cool and clear. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

A woman named Mary Crouch stood in her yard. She was making homemade soap. Long ago, people made soap themselves.

Something strange began to fall from the sky. Mary thought it looked like snow. But it wasn’t cold.

What was happening? Mary looked up.

It was meat.

Chunks of meat were falling from the sky.

Almost 150 years ago, on March 3, 1876, the day was cool and clear. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as a woman named Mary Crouch stood in her yard making homemade soap. Long ago, people made soap themselves.

Suddenly, something strange began to fall from the sky. Mary thought it looked a bit like snow, but it wasn’t cold enough for snow.

It wasn’t hail or rain either. What was happening? Mary looked up.

It was meat.

Chunks of meat were falling from the sky.

“Meat showers” are not common. They don’t happen that often.

But there have been many stories of odd things coming down from the sky. Two thousand years ago, someone wrote about fish and frogs falling from the sky. In the 1700s, some people said that toads fell from the clouds and landed on their hats!

Odd things have also fallen from the sky not too long ago. Hundreds of fish fell over a town in Australia just 12 years ago.

And something amazing happens every year in one town in South America. It rains fish! The town has a holiday to celebrate it.

“Meat showers” are not common. They don’t happen that often.

But there are stories of odd things falling from the sky. Two thousand years ago, someone wrote about fish and frogs falling from the sky. In 1930, a turtle fell from the sky in the U.S.

It rains fish every year in a town in South America!

“Meat showers” are rare.

But there have been many stories of odd things coming down from the sky. Two thousand years ago, someone wrote about fish and frogs falling from the sky. In the 1700s, some people said that toads fell from the clouds and landed on their hats. In 1930, a turtle fell from the sky right here in the U.S.!

Odd things have also fallen from the sky more recently. In 2005, thousands of frogs dropped onto a small town in Europe.

In 2010, hundreds of fish fell over a town in Australia, and it rains fish every year in one town in South America. The town has a holiday to celebrate it!

How does this happen? We know that raindrops fall from clouds high in the sky. Are there clouds of fish and frogs up in the sky too?

No. Scientists say that when these animals fall from the sky, it’s not really rain. The scientists say waterspouts make these things happen.

What are waterspouts? They are kind of like tornadoes. 

Tornadoes are winds that spin really fast over land. Waterspouts are like tornadoes, but they happen over water, not land. In a waterspout, winds spin around and around really fast over oceans and lakes. 

When those waterspout winds are spinning, they do something really cool. They suck up the water! They make a spinning tube of water over the ocean or lake. They also suck up whatever’s in the water. They are like a vacuum cleaner. 

If a waterspout is spinning over a lake full of fish, the fish can get sucked up into it. And if frogs or turtles are in the water, thwooop! They get sucked up too. 

The waterspout keeps moving until it’s over land. The winds slow down and then stop. The animals that were up in the air fall. To the people on the ground, it looks like animals are raining from the sky! 

How does this happen? We know that raindrops fall from clouds. Are there clouds of fish and frogs too?

No. Scientists say waterspouts make it happen.

Waterspouts are like tornadoes. Tornadoes happen over land. Waterspouts happen over water.

Waterspout winds spin quickly. They suck up water! They also suck up whatever’s in the water. They are like a vacuum cleaner.

If a waterspout is spinning over a lake full of fish, the fish can get sucked up into it. Frogs or turtles can get sucked up too.

The waterspout keeps moving until it’s over land. The winds slow down. Then the wind stops. The animals that were up in the air fall. It looks like animals are raining!

How does this happen? We know that raindrops fall from clouds high in the sky, but are there clouds of fish and frogs up in the sky too?

No. Scientists say that when these animals fall from the sky, it’s not really rain. The scientists say waterspouts make these things happen.

What are waterspouts? They are kind of like tornadoes. Tornadoes are winds that spin really fast over land. Waterspouts are like tornadoes, but they happen over water, not land. In a waterspout, winds spin around and around really fast over oceans and lakes. 

When those waterspout winds are spinning, they do something really cool—they suck up the water! They make a spinning tube of water over the ocean or lake. Like a vacuum cleaner, they also suck up whatever’s in the water.

If a waterspout is spinning over a lake full of fish, the fish can get sucked up into it. And if frogs or turtles are in the water, thwooop! They get sucked up too.

The waterspout keeps moving until it’s over land. The winds slow down, eventually stopping and dropping the animals that were up in the air. To the people on the ground, it looks like animals are raining from the sky! 

So what happened in Kentucky back in 1876? Did a waterspout pass over a butcher shop and then spew chunks of meat all over Mary Crouch’s yard?

Nope. Scientists have a much yuckier, much more revolting reason for the meat shower.

Vomit. Vulture vomit.

Vultures are carnivorous birds. That means they eat meat. When these birds are scared, they do something gross. They throw up.

If they are scared of another animal, they can barf on that animal from 10 feet away!

What do vultures do if they get scared while they are flying? They vomit. All that meat in their stomachs spews out into the air.

Kentucky is home to two kinds of vultures. Scientists decided that Mary was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was standing under flying, vomiting vultures!

We don’t know what the vultures might have been scared of. Maybe something surprised them. And they puked.

What happened in Kentucky back in 1876? Did a waterspout pass over a butcher shop?

Nope. Scientists have a much yuckier reason for the meat shower.

Vomit. Vulture vomit.

Vultures are carnivorous birds. That means they eat meat. They do something gross when they are scared. They throw up.

They can barf on an animal 10 feet away!

If a vulture gets scared while flying, it vomits. All that meat in its stomach goes out into the air.

Scientists think Mary was standing under flying, vomiting vultures!

We don’t know what the vultures might have been scared of. Maybe something surprised them.

So what happened in Kentucky back in 1876? Did a waterspout pass over a butcher shop and then spew chunks of meat all over Mary Crouch’s yard?

Nope—scientists have a much yuckier, much more revolting reason for the meat shower.

Vomit. Vulture vomit.

Vultures are carnivorous birds, which means they eat meat. When these birds are scared, they do something gross—they throw up.

If they are scared of another animal, they can barf on that animal from 10 feet away!

What do vultures do if they get scared while they are flying? They vomit, and all that meat in their stomachs spews out into the air.

Kentucky is home to two kinds of vultures. Scientists decided that Mary was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was standing under flying, vomiting vultures!

We don’t know what the vultures might have been scared of—maybe something surprised them and they puked.

But wait. How do we know it was really meat that fell that day?

Someone tasted it, of course!

When Mary told others about the falling meat, two people came to investigate. They wanted to find out what was going on.

The men took a little bite of one of the chunks in the yard. They told a New York Times reporter that it tasted like “mutton or venison.” (Mutton is the meat
of a sheep, and venison is the meat of a deer.)

How do we know it was really meat that fell that day?

Someone tasted it!

When Mary told others about the falling meat, two people came to check it out.

The men took a little bite of one of the chunks. They said it tasted like meat.

But wait, how do we know it was really meat that fell that day?

Someone tasted it, of course!

When Mary told others about the falling meat, two people came to investigate.

The men took a little bite of one of the chunks in the yard. They told a New York Times reporter that it tasted like “mutton (sheep) or venison (deer).”