[meteorite-list] A question for the scientists...Dr. Ed Olsen

[Phil Whitmer]

Alan:  You should have gone to astronaut school!!!!!!!!!!!!:-)

I met Dr. Ed Olson a few times when he was Curator at the Field Museum. What 
a great guy!  My uncle (Terry Boswell) and I were searching for the Plymouth 
meteorite when we paid him a visit to discuss a possible crater we may have 
found. He took us into the storage area and showed us what I think was the 
Plymouth main mass. A big iron meteorite with the end sawn off. He 
encouraged our hunt by pointing out that the other end look like it had 
detached from a larger mass. After showing us meteorites of every type and 
description,  he then pulled out a giant black slice of carbonaceous 
chondrite and was going on about the amino acids, and how a such a common 
type of asteroid could be so rarely found as earth as meteorites.  He said: 
"Look how friable this is", and to our shock and horror, snapped the slice 
in half. He saw the look on our faces, then said: "Don't worry, we have 
plenty more."  To our relief, he opened a big drawer chock full of similar 
slices.  A very accessible fellow, who would spend hours with people off the 
street that showed an interest in meteorites. I don't know of any  major 
museum today that would let Joe Blow from Kokomo handle their meteorites 
like that.

Phil Whitmer
(50 miles from Kokomo)