http://www.startribune.com/stories/1451/3730208.html
Rock-picking farmer finds $1 million meteorite Associated Press March 3, 2003 FAIRFAX, Mo. -- Farmer Gary Wennihan may have made a meteoric rise to wealth. Wennihan, 60, was tossing aside rocks in his soybean field to prevent damage to his combine when he picked up a strange-looking rock in the fall of 2000. It turned out to be a rare meteorite scientists say could be worth as much as $1 million. Ben Rogers, a Northwest Missouri State University student who attends Wennihan's church, offered to take it to his geology professor. After polishing away the layers of rust, Rogers and assistant geology professor Richard Felton found a shiny metallic surface. ``It was beautiful, almost like chrome, it was so shiny,'' Rogers said. Felton's colleague, Renee Rohs, took the rock to a University of Kansas professor who taught her about meteors. Half of it was sent to the Institute of Meteoritics at the University of New Mexico for more analysis. A leading meteorite expert at UCLA concluded that nothing similar had ever been found. Rohs said other meteorites have brought $500 a gram. After small samples were donated to three universities, there still were 1,800 grams - or 4 pounds - left of Wennihan's rock. Wennihan is enjoying his treasure - whether it makes him a millionaire or not. ``I'm holding onto it until I get a good offer, and it may never come,'' he said last week. ``I'm certainly not holding my breath. And in the meantime, I'm just having fun with it. ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
