June 3, 2004
IT'S THE TAX CUTS:
Booms over Seattle: Meteor blasts through sky over Washington (Associated Press, June 3, 2004)
A meteor about the size of a computer monitor flashed across the Northwest sky early Thursday, setting off booms that stunned witnesses."There was some question as to whether it was a piece of space junk burning up, but it was not,'' said Geoff Chester, a spokesman for the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. ``As far as I've been able to figure out, it was simply a rock falling out of the sky, as they are wont to do on occasion.''
Chester said it was a type of meteor called a bolide, one that appears like a fireball in the sky, and was about the size of a small piece of luggage or a computer monitor.
Luckily it didn't do any damage, thus sparing John Kerry the effort of figuring out why it was George Bush's fault. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 3, 2004 5:47 PM
Since it was over Seattle and the size of a computer monitor, I figured someone got one of those danmed Windows blue screens of death again...
Posted by: John at June 3, 2004 8:00 PMHoax. AP withdrew story.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at June 3, 2004 8:24 PMThe hoax was someone calling himself Professor Hammermaster (or something like that), who said that a meteorite the size of a car had crashed into northern Washington. The lights in the sky were real.
Posted by: David Cohen at June 3, 2004 8:55 PMI are annoyed. I was up until after 01:30 last night, and with my desk up against a window, there's a real good chance I would have noticed something. Local news outlets have been showing video and photos where it briefly looks like daylight-- blue sky and everything, along with moving shadows. Too bad it didn't happen a few hours early and interrupt the Mariners latest loss...