"Imagine the magnitude of the impact," he said. "People were extremely scared. It was a psychological thing."
No! Imagine that! People being scared -- a human behaviorial characteristic, was a psychological thing. Um, isn't psychology the study of human behavior? Yeah. Brilliant scientist.
"It's a rocky fragment," Machare said, "and rocks that fall from the sky can only be meteorites."
Well, for what it's worth, some people were on the right track from the start. From the first BBC article [bbc.co.uk]:
A local journalist, Martine Hanlon, told the BBC experts [that he] did not believe the meteor would make anybody sick, but they did think a chemical reaction caused by its contact with the ground could release toxins such as sulphur and arsenic.
Well, exposing things to to oxygen might make them oxidized... Happens all the time with pyrite mines around here, see this article for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_mine_drainage [wikipedia.org]
So yeah, mixing things up and letting in water and air will cause all sorts of chemical reactions...
"I prefer the blunted cudgels of the followers of the Serpent God."
-- Sean Doran the Younger
Who are these scientists? (Score:1, Insightful)
No! Imagine that! People being scared -- a human behaviorial characteristic, was a psychological thing. Um, isn't psychology the study of human behavior? Yeah. Brilliant scientist.
Really? Ya think?
Re:Who are these scientists? (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
So yeah, mixing things up and letting in water and air will cause all sorts of chemical reactions...