History's Grossest Mystery - The Kentucky Meat Shower Solved? - Urban Legend #6

Send us Fan Mail History's Grossest Mystery - The Kentucky Meat Shower Solved? - Urban Legend #6 In 1876, chunks of raw meat fell from a clear Kentucky sky. Here is the leading explanation, and why it is both gross and satisfying. ## What You'll Learn - On March 3, 1876, raw flesh fell from a clear blue sky across a football-field-sized area in Bath County, Kentucky. Some witnesses were brave (foolish?) enough to taste it. (Why did they think this was a good idea?) - Historical lung and connective tissue analysis supports the biological answer of a passing kettle of vultures disgorging their meals mid-flight either from overeating or as a defense mechanism.  - Vultures have an extraordinary sense of smell and have been utilized by natural gas companies to find gas leaks thanks to the foul-smelling chemical additive ethyl mercaptan.  ## Key Claims - The vulture explanation is the best-supported theory, not a proven fact. - Witness accounts of the taste varied and were never verified. - Other theories, such as nostoc, were proposed in the 1870s. ## Sources - “Flesh Descending in a Shower.” New York Times, March 10, 1876. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-new-york-times-articl/164789071/?locale=en-US — Original article about falling flesh - Kastenbine, L. D. “The Kentucky Meat Shower.” Louisville Medical News 1, no. 21 page 254 (1876).   https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ptid=mdp.39015074156194&seq=260&q1=Kastenbine — Kastenbine's vulture-regurgitation explanation - Edwards, A. M. “The Kentucky Meat-Shower.” Scientific American Supplement, no. 30 (July 22, 1876). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-kentucky-shower-of-flesh/— Contemporary scientific coverage  - Crew, Bec. “The Great Kentucky Meat Shower Mystery Unwound by Projectile Vulture Vomit.” Scientific American, December 1, 2014. https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/running-ponies/the-great-kentucky-meat-shower-mystery-unwound-by-projectile-vulture-vomit/ — Modern synthesis of the evidence/ulture theory (Contact me for more if desired) [11/6/26 - Alright, my running commentary about how tired I am, well…you likely heard Urban Legend #5 and thought your CD had skipped, until you realized that you don’t have a CD player and that this is a podcast and not on a CD, even if you are like me and still have a CD player. So, the thing is…I have no idea just why it happened. Yes, I tried some fancy audio magic, but it wasn’t the first time. And, I heard it, so I spent the better part of 2.75 hours attempting to revert, fix and massage. All of it FAILED. So, I think this was a massive test. WHY? Well, normally, I would just decide to hold off on releasing it for a tons of real reasons.  BUT NOW, NaPodPoMo comes along and says, “Fine Hess. You’re doing well. You’re ability to still be hitting deadlines and your batching efforts AFTER LOSING 29 HOURS OF PRODUCTION TIME are admirable, so…here’s a curve. Here’s your Kobayashi Maru (IYKYK). Well, in the spirit of authenticity and honesty, I showed my belly. But don’t expect it to continue, ‘cause I am working-out and I'll have an armor six-pack before too long! Thank goodness nobody but me ever reads the show notes….] Sound Effects by freesound_community from Pixabay .  Support the show If you have an idea for a topic, or some sort of impressive tip, trick or life hack that you MUST share, I want to hear about it. Please reach out to me at: [email protected]  Thank you for listening. Please SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW, RATE and REVIEW wherever you listen (because that stuff may count. Who knew?!) https://www.linkedin.com/in/speakingofvo/ https://www.instagram.com/OhThatsAFact