Buying a Home
Buying a new home can be a very exciting time. While buying the home, many people daydream about finding something that is worth millions. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. When a person sells their home, they usually take everything of value with them before leaving. A Michigan man had something of value in his house, and left it behind, not realizing that it was worth money. Fact Verse: Man Finds Out The Rock “Doorstopper” He’s Been Using For Years Could Be Worth A Fortune.
David Mazurek
David Mazurek bought a home in 1988. Before closing on the deal, he took a tour of the property. He was buying a farm, and he wanted to know what he was getting himself into before signing on the dotted line. After seeing the main house, the property owner took him to see the outbuildings. He looked at the door and noticed that it was being held open by a
Asking About the Rock
David thought that the rock was so strange looking that he decided to ask about it. He told David that when he was a child in the 1930s, that rock fell from the night sky. He and his father saw it coming down to Earth, and they went out the next morning to check it out. The farmer and his father went out to the scene the next morning, and there was a huge crater in the ground. They also saw the stone coming up from the dirt. It was hot to the touch, and since it was so heavy, the farmer and his father decided to use it as a doorstop.
Odd
David thought that it was odd that the farmer’s family would use a rock that came down to Earth as merely a door stopper. He felt that using it to prop a shed door open was a huge waste. The farmer told him that if he were to buy the property that he would include the space rock in the deal. David loved the property, and the farmer offered to throw the meteorite into the deal. David ended up buying the property.
Decades
Over the next three decades, the “doorstop” was used for more than just that. David often showed it to visitors, who were very interested in the meteorite and where it came from. His children often brought it to school for show-and-tell. People often told David that the rock was likely worth money since it came from outer space, and David agreed, but never did anything about it. Finally, in 2018, he decided to check out the farmer’s story to see if maybe, the meteorite was worth money.
Meteorites In Michigan
David did
Finds Out The Rock
When David gave Dr. Sirbescu the rock, she knew that she was looking at something special. Judging by the appearance of the meteorite, she believed that it came from outer space. It had all of the tell-tale signs. She decided that she couldn’t just rely on her opinion to get the truth. She was going to need to run some tests to confirm her suspicions.
The Stone’s Makeup
Dr. Sirbescu used x-ray fluorescence to determine the makeup of the rock. She found that it was 88 percent iron, and it contained 12 percent nickel. These are the metals that are found in space; therefore, the doctor was sure that the farmer was telling the truth about where the stone came from. It weighed over 22-pounds, which made it the
The Smithsonian
The doctor believed that David could get up to $100,000 for the meteorite, but she didn’t want to speak too soon. She decided to shave a piece off the meteorite and sent it to the Smithsonian for additional analysis. It turned out she was right, and David had two options. He could have either sold the rock to a museum or to a private collector.
DavidSelling the Stone
David decided that if he did decide to sell the meteorite, he would be giving 10 percent of the proceeds to CMU to fund their geological studies program. The doctor appreciated his gift; however, she said that just being able to examine the rock was gift enough. The donation would just be the icing on the cake. They are still running tests on the rock to this day.
