meteor, South Korea, hunt, metal detectors, money, sell
How much does a meteor fragment fetch for these days? A 20-pounder could be worth up to $90,000, as a lucky Korean found out recently. After a rare meteor shower fell over the southern tip of South Korea earlier this month, people have been scouring the countryside with metal detectors to find any leftovers from the cosmic intrusion. Only two rocks have been confirmed as other-worldy so far, but the high value keeps committed searchers plugging away.
And while it’s tough to pass on a one-in-a-billion chance treasure hunt, don’t waste money on the plane ticket to Asia. South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration is considering designating the fragments as monuments in order to keep them in the country—we can blame one bumbling American who was discovered trying to buy the meteorites. But maybe that’s only fair: if we were graced with the privilege of sticking American flags on the moon, I guess the impoverished countries with zero moon flags to their name—i.e. all other countries— should be allowed to keep their measly astro-rocks (#consolationprize #USAUSAUSA).
Image: commons.wikimedia.org
