Kentucky Meat Shower

As I was finishing up my exploration of Cave Run Lake I started browsing my atlas and noticed something marked Olympia Springs. Thinking of hot springs and relaxing in bubbling water I headed that way, except I ended up about ten miles further on the road than the turn should have been so I  then Googled it.  My results were unexpected.  Not only is there no longer an actual town or place called Olympia Springs but all the results returned referenced something called the Kentucky Meat Shower.  And what I read was this: That on the morning of March 3^rd 1876 chunks of meat fell from the sky over the course of a few minutes, covering the approximate area of a football field.  Yes, there was a documented case – covered by the New York Times – of meat falling from the sky near the farm of one Mr. Allen Crouch, whose wife happened to be outside at the time.

What seems even more fantastical to me than meat falling from the sky however is that two men passing by the farm cooked at tasted this meat and proclaimed it to be mutton or venison. And what is even more disturbing than two people eating meat that randomly fell from the sky? A scientist’s later conclusion that the structure of the meat most closely resembled horse lung or human baby lung.

So if you haven’t heard of this story before you are now most likely wondering what actually happened. Unfortunately, there is no definitely conclusion but the most likely theory is that a pack of buzzards flying overhead disgorged themselves just after eating a dead horse. There are some more wacky theories as well if you care to look them up yourself.

In conclusion, I did not find any hot springs that day which was disappointing enough but it turns out this great event in American history isn’t even commemorated with a plaque! All that remains of Olympia Springs is a road sign. But should you decide to investigate on your own beware that Olympia Springs Road is actually not a road after about half a mile and you may have to reverse through high grass for quite some time to get back out.