Science

What Item Did This Mom Find While Walking the Dog That’s Now Worth $20K?

Brenda Salveson was following her daily routine taking the dog for a walk when she stumbled upon an item that weighs about as much as a tablespoon of sugar but is worth about $20,000. Although she lives in California, it’s not gold left over from the Gold Rush era. It’s a 17 gram meteorite.

CBS 13 reports Salveson of El Dorado County found the space rock at a time when many are actually out searching for them in the town of Lotus after a meteor shower occurred recently over the central valley. Watch the local report:

According to CBS, more than a 1,000 people from many countries have come to the area in search of the meteors. Salveson more specifically found hers in Henningsen Lotus Park, where she and her children reportedly come almost everyday:

Geologists, treasure hunters and scientists all took a look at Brenda’s find.

“As I opened my hand, there was a huge gasp,” she said.

Scientists have told her what she had in her hands could be 4 to 6 billion years old.

Even though her find is worth a pretty penny, for now Salveson is hanging onto it. She has allowed her children to show it off for show-and-tell.

In a separate case, the Los Angeles Times blog reported a firefighter had an easy time with finding a meteorite as well. Stopping at the park on his way to work, he found one in 20 minutes and sold it on the spot to a dealer for $2,000.

While this mom was lucky enough to just stumble upon the expensive space rock, not everyone is so lucky. For those interested in seeking out their own meteorites, Space.com recently released five tips that could prove useful. Check them out here.

Comments (91)

1 2
  • IceHawk00
    Posted on May 4, 2012 at 2:39am

    ……You know… I think the saddest part is the people commenting that truly believe that the universe is thousands of years old not billions. Don’t believe in evolution? Explain your appendix, tonsils, and wisdom teeth. “They’re there as a test from God!” Dinsosaurs? “Test from God!” Why would God lie to you? I believe in God’s intelligent design. Ever think maybe that you own book claims an hour in heaven is roughly 10,000 years in our realm? No? Okay then. It really must have only been 6 earth days. And only a few thousand years. Enjoy explaining how we can watch volcanos slowly building islands in the pacific and at current rates it takes millions of years to achieve. Explain that one? “Test from God!”

    Report Post »  
    • warhorse_03826
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 3:13am

      the best way I have to explain it is ask the person..

      “how long is a day to god? if god is infinitely powerful, can’t he make a “day” as long or as short as he needs to get the job done? why can‘t one of god’s days be a week, a month, a year, a thousand years, a billion years, to us?”

      sure, everything was done in 6 days. but that doesn’t mean they were OUR days. if you exist outside of space/time..a “day” is as long or as short as you need it to be!

      Report Post » warhorse_03826  
    • ltcwilly
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 6:19am

      Please don’t feel sorry for us, most of us are pretty secure in our faith. BTW, it takes much more faith to believe in evolution, so maybe we should feel sorry for you. In the beginning, God…..

      Report Post » ltcwilly  
    • wdittgasn
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 8:21am

      The earth is billions of years old, God RENEWED the face of the earth in 6 days, There is a very long time in between GEN1:1 and GEN 1:2.

      Report Post » wdittgasn  
    • Charles321123
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 8:58am

      Nonsense. The universe is billions of years old. You are right about that but ignorant about the Bible. Most so called Christians are also ignorant of the Bible as well. You see God did not create the universe “without form and void” see the book of Isaiah. In the beginning God created the universe. It was good. Then he set Lucifier on the earth. Sometime after that Lucifier rebelled and the world was made “without form and void” in the war as Satan and his fallen angels tried to go back to heaven and over throw God. Much of the damage you see in the universe was caused by this war. So then we come back to Genesis and God reformed the earth and put man here…approximately 6 thousand years ago. If you bothered to read the book you are so eager to criticize you would see it all makes sense.

      Report Post »  
    • hi
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 9:43am

      The appendix is lymphatic tissue and so are tonsils. Even today’s evolutionists know that they were wrong on that in the past. I guess you didn’t get the memo.

      The fact that there ARE still meteorites points to a young universe. You can calculate their periods. If the earth were millions of years, they would have disappeared by now.

      Instead of seeing the universe is young by the evidence, evolutionists made up an oort cloud which is neither seen nor detected which is supposed to produce meteorites and comets.

      Report Post » hi  
    • hi
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 9:47am

      Oh also, because we slowly are deteriorating, not evolving, we don’t have room in our mouths for our wisdom teeth.
      We started out with perfect DNA but now it is mutating due to man’s first sin against God.
      Evolutions goes against the Law of Entropy, Law of Probability,and Law of Spontaneous Generation. Evolution goes AGAINST science!

      Report Post » hi  
    • exDesertrat
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 10:08am

      The creationist belief is called the “doctrine of apparent age.” It can be explained thusly, “When God created trees, how old were they the day they were created? Answer: One day old. How old did the trees appear to be? Answer: They were created fully grown and so appeared to be many years old.”

      The same is true for man (Adam), the Earth, stars, galaxies, etc. God created them mature, fully grown, and therefore with the appearance of age. So, an earth that is 10,000 years old will appear to be much, much older having all the signs of a world that is ancient.

      The fact that there is evidence of plate tectonic movements over eons and volcanic island building over epochs does nothing to shake the faith of a creationist since they believe that the earth and everything else was created with these things already in full progress (i.e. fully mature, with apparent age).

      This teaching is compatible with the teaching of the Bible, and the Bible is believed by faith.

      Report Post »  
    • G-WHIZ
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 11:22am

      I have a postulation: The “big Bang” was a huge atomic explosion…almost our-universe in size…from a non-disputable war between (older-than our universe) humans from an older universe, which was politicaly doomed to fail…and did. Then as things cooled for millenia, humanity surfaced and grew, again….and again… … . It is much older than we can even have an inkling of an incling to even begin to immagine.

      Report Post »  
    • hi
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 11:51am

      Ezdesertrat
      Go to Walt brown phd from MIT ) he scientifically explains that tectonic plates do not make sense. What causes volcanos and earthquakes is gravity! Whereas tectonic plate movements do not make sense mathematically nor do they have a driving force. Since the earth is young, it has t been pulled into a tight ball yet.

      Report Post » hi  
    • bimmermatt
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 12:17pm

      So evolution is supposed to be based on science. How is science proven? By doing the same experiment over and over again and always getting the same result. Wars over the years have proven over and over that explosions destroy life, yet the basis of evolution is that a large explosion created life. Isn’t that going totally against science?

      Also, if I believe that my God is simply powerful enough to create everything with a spoken word, why does it need to be difficult to believe that He fixed the light between the stars that are more light years distant than the earth is old? Or that He can make the valcanic islands already formed?

      Report Post »  
  • blaaaaackwoman
    Posted on May 4, 2012 at 1:47am

    Why the high value? Look on ebay, you can buy hudge meteorites from Morocco and South america for pretty cheap prices , small meteorites for under a dollar.

    Report Post »  
    • RamonPreston
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 2:56am

      We have new companies that want to mine space. They are interested in the mineral contents of the meteoroid for clues as to where to mine. Bill Gates is one of these venturers.

      Report Post » RamonPreston  
  • REPUB1
    Posted on May 4, 2012 at 12:27am

    @Southern Rebel

    Hey ******** go to the Bible and go to Matthew and find where Jesus told His Disciples that Quote “Creation Began With Adam And Eve” IDIOT so how old is the Earth MORON???????? seek and ye shall find

    Report Post »  
    • Charles321123
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 9:16am

      REPUB1 where does it say that precisely? I am having trouble finding it. Thanks

      Report Post »  
    • G-WHIZ
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 11:49am

      …OUR beginning…not the actual earth’s-beginning…the beginning of the belief of the actual GOD who changed us from regular animals, to have a belief in something real, bigger-than-one’s-self. Before, people were sheep/lemmings in beileving [small] in only the “king” is Man(fallable). Thus “man” was always a slave of one or many other “men”. After ”’we” found God, it took a few thousand years to pull ourselves out of the primordial-soup of slavery(not just “blacks”) Catholocism was designed by a King to help control the masses by making them “think” that GOD only spoke to HIM-the-King. So for many centuries, the King’s word was GOD. all wars were started and finnished by the King’s(god’s?) word. Finally, in England, a pastor/preecher(little short guy with clear voice), in the 1700′s found out that GOD acutally talked to individualls…individually and uniqely(sp?) . He went to both the new and old “worlds”(continnents) to give out the truth…sometimes under pennalty of death( in England). And here WE are today… … .

      Report Post »  
  • Cosmos102
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 11:29pm

    That’s really amazing.

    Report Post » Cosmos102  
  • fishandpoi
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 10:47pm

    Finder’s keepers 20K after taxes….2K

    Report Post »  
  • thedirtmover
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 10:20pm

    A little farther West and a tad bit North, this would have fell in my front yard.
    After I heard where in came down, I couldn’t break loose to get over there! DAMN!!

    Report Post » thedirtmover  
  • GIDEON612
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 10:11pm

    It was nice but the final straw was the reporter saying it was billions of years old. First was the karma comment. How far the left has misled this world.

    Report Post » GIDEON612  
  • ktmrider1
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 9:37pm

    gee i wish i could find a bunch of those rocks so i could hurry up to sell them and get my rocks off.

    Report Post » ktmrider1  
    • EP46
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 6:03am

      How many do you wish to buy? We can have them ready for you within 24 hrs… shipped to your home. You pay only $6.95 shipping & handling for each rock ordered…unless you order within the next 10 min. Call ‘now’ and be among the first 100 callers to receive FREE shipping on the first 10 you order !!! lol

      Report Post »  
  • catholicschoolmom
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 8:15pm

    In response to the headline, I say it must be Obamas “shovel ready job”.

    Report Post » catholicschoolmom  
  • lilbean
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 7:20pm

    the universe does not exist on EARTH time. really, if you were the center of the universe, how long would your day be?

    Report Post » lilbean  
    • RamonPreston
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 3:02am

      Here’s something to think about: Hold your arm with your watch downwards. Now hold it over your head. The watch is running (slightly) faster.Time is not a constant. I think it was Dr Chuck Missler who said that two thousand years ago time was a million times faster. I can’t get my mind around that one.

      Report Post » RamonPreston  
  • SonOfThunder
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 6:47pm

    Right billions of years. Earth at most is 10,000 years probably 6 or 7 thousand years. More liberal atheistic spin.

    Report Post »  
    • Glock31
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 6:59pm

      ha ha ha 6 or 7 thousand years old?! nows thats funny, open your brain and read some you moron

      Report Post » Glock31  
    • WilkowonGBTV
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 8:36pm

      GLOCK31 I would say you don’t have to read much to think the earth is billions of years old. If you read more and have an open mind you may decide you believe the earth is 6 or 7 thousand years old.

      Report Post » WilkowonGBTV  
    • Southern Rebel
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 9:55pm

      Sonofthunder- I fear you have been taught by a man made priesthood, the word of God never said the earth was 6-7K yrs old; but that it was made in ‘antiquity’ and is probably much older than mankind even believes it to be.
      We also know prior to the creation of Adam & Eve, there was a ‘calamity’ on the earth which is why it was already in ‘darkness’ (or sin) and was without form and void.
      I understand where you’re getting this, but the paid priesthood doesn‘t know what the heck they’re talking about. :)

      Report Post » Southern Rebel  
    • MAMMY_NUNN
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 10:15pm

      To be correct the earth did not exist until someone coined it and called it earth before that we don’t know what it was called.

      Report Post »  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 12:03am

      The truth is nobody really has any clue how old either the earth or the universe are. Everybody is guessing and they likely aren‘t very good guesses since they’re based on very limited information.

      Report Post »  
    • RamonPreston
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 2:38am

      Here ya go, Glock. Start with these:
      http://www.earthage.org/youngearthev/evidence_for_a_young_earth.htm
      http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind/howgood-yea2.html
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtTmqoXTdVI

      YOU are the one who needs to read more. School is about indoctrination, not education. Science needs an “old earth” to support evolution, which is impossible. You really believe man evolved from a rock?

      Report Post » RamonPreston  
  • sizzler2220
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 6:26pm

    Don’t worry, liberal California will suddenly say the rocks belong to the government and will be confiscated. Moonbeam will have his day.

    Report Post »  
    • db321
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 6:47pm

      I have a lot of rocks on my place in Texas – they’re probably not worth much – but they sure keep the coyotes and other varmints away.

      Choose any rock and throw it in the direction of the intruder and they run off. If not, I go to plan B – pull my side arm and let um have it!

      Report Post » db321  
  • MrKnowItAll
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:54pm

    Call Goldline and Trade it.
    I would like to know who spoke to God and found out it was older then our Sun?

    Report Post » MrKnowItAll  
    • BubbaT
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 7:18pm

      I wouldn’t trade tiddlywinks with Goldline

      Report Post » BubbaT  
    • RamonPreston
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 3:03am

      Call Priceline! Oh sh█t, they killed off Shatner’s character.

      Report Post » RamonPreston  
  • LeadNotFollow
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:34pm

    …
    It’s a tiny rock worth twenty thousand dollars.
    Sell it lady, and put the money in your kid’s college fund.

    Report Post »  
    • BlenGeck
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:47pm

      Crud bunnies…I thought she found the man-child-in chief’s patriotism.

      Report Post » BlenGeck  
    • Wolf
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:56pm

      Why do parents have to put money away for their kids’ college? If more ‘kids’ had to earn their way ther’d be a helluva lot fewer out protesting with OWS and thinking the world owes them.

      Report Post »  
    • Gorp
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:59pm

      Yes, put it in her kids college fund and turn out another OWS protestor that doesn’t know his A$$ from a hole in the ground. Better to send the kid to some sort of Tech school to learn a trade that can be useful.

      Report Post » Gorp  
    • Servant Of YHVH
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 5:23pm

      @LeadNotFollow
      “Sell it lady, and put the money in your kid’s college fund.”

      Actually sell it and use it to improve your kid’s lives instead of using to pay someone to brainwash your child and get him/her to go out and join OWS and all the other commie groups. Use it to teach them the truth about this nation and our Founding Fathers.

      Report Post » Servant Of YHVH  
  • nappy
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:33pm

    OH man.. nothing in the world is more obnoxious than these female news reporters. Don‘t give a rat’s butt about the meteorite.

    Report Post »  
  • MAMMY_NUNN
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:25pm

    For those that posted a comment that they would want to steal or swindle her of her finding check your morality.

    Report Post »  
  • DeVain
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:17pm

    How does a person know the difference between a terrestrial rock and a meteorite?

    Report Post » DeVain  
    • mils
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:08pm

      oh my..who car

      who cares?…this is silly…look at the comments…”you stink, you can’t spell, you‘re in mom’s basement”…
      blaze?…???

      es…
      blaze??? gasp..

      Report Post »  
    • chips1
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:20pm

      They are aliens and don‘t have I D’s.

      Report Post »  
    • Pontiac
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:45pm

      @DeVain
      http://bit.ly/J01obd

      @mils
      Wtf are you babbling about?

      Report Post » Pontiac  
    • DeVain
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 5:03pm

      Smartasses.

      Seriously, what I meant was the average person wouldn’t walk down the street and look over and think they are looking at a meteorite. And I really doubt a person would walk around googling to look it up.

      Report Post » DeVain  
    • 4xeverything
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 5:45pm

      Meteorites , for the most part, are magnetic. I homeschool my kids, and for one of our science classes last year we took a trip to our roof. We swept tiny rocks off of the roof and into a plastic container. We then filled the container 1/2 way up with water and skimmed off the floaters. We dumped out the water and layed the rocks that were left out to dry on wax paper (so they wouldn’t stick). When all was finished, we ran a magnet (not a crappy one) over what was left and voila…meteorites.

      Yes, some roofing material can be magnetic. No, not all meteorites are nickle-iron (some are just rocks), but if you have a semi-descent microscope you can determine a meteorite by the fact that they are rounded and have pitting to them. They look much different than the rest of the roofing material.

      I recomend trying it with your kids or grankids, it is a lot of fun and the kids can learn a lot.

      Report Post » 4xeverything  
    • 4xeverything
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 7:55pm

      Yes, I know there are a few misspelled words in my post. Get over it.

      Report Post » 4xeverything  
  • IMCHRISTIAN
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:07pm

    Brenda, Can I walk your dog?

    Report Post »  
  • Larry E
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:06pm

    From the pictures which weren’t too clear it looks like a little river rock to me. Maybe I’m kicking meteorite fragments around every morning when I walk my dog too. Unfortunately I don’t think so.

    Report Post »  
  • moreteaplease
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:38pm

    You’d never know we are in a recession the way people are throwing huge sums of money at flea market items. It just makes me want to SCREAM. Okay, that’s lame, I know .

    Report Post » moreteaplease  
  • REETZBEE
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:37pm

    COFEMALE: As long as I get the bigger chunk!

    Report Post » REETZBEE  
  • Best_Patriot
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:29pm

    What did she find worth $20,000? Must have been something really rare…like evidence of a tea party person who can actually spell!

    Report Post » Best_Patriot  
    • huey6367
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:37pm

      read the article. TEA Party people can spell but apparently libs can’t read or understand what they read.

      Report Post »  
    • Leader1776
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:41pm

      Is that a picture of an ass as your avatar? No doubt a self portrait.

      Report Post » Leader1776  
    • Best_Patriot
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:43pm

      Uhh…okay? Take a pill dude.

      Report Post » Best_Patriot  
    • Baddoggy
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:45pm

      Your mother’s basement is starting to stink. When you cash your welfare check go buy some deoderant…

      Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • barber2
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:58pm

      BEST: or an Occupier who can bathe and use toilet paper !

      Report Post »  
    • Unix
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:01pm

      Oh look, another talking horse…how’s it going Mr. Ed? Morons of the left are so amusing aren’t they?!

      Report Post » Unix  
    • Best_Patriot
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:03pm

      @Baddoggy, you can always tell when someone is new to the internet when they pull out the “mom’s basement” thing. Welcome to the internet!

      Report Post » Best_Patriot  
    • Twobyfour
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:14pm

      An ass leaving it’s dropping, how quaint!

      Report Post » Twobyfour  
    • grimmy
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:36pm

      @UNIX.
      Thats no talking horse, thats the ass encinom………

      Report Post »  
    • Elomay
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 3:43pm

      a Tea Party member that can spell?
      Funny thing is I’m still looking for an occupier that doesn’t smell

      Report Post »  
    • Rayblue
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:15pm

      Such inimitably facetious correspondence regarding the enunciations of Tea-Banqueterers is the loftiest sequeturial accomplishment of a philologist like Mr. equine doo doo.. Nothing more.

      Report Post » Rayblue  
    • Rayblue
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 4:59pm

      That was supposed to be “banqueteers”. Kinda excavated my own sepulcher on that one.

      Report Post » Rayblue  
    • flipper1073
      Posted on May 3, 2012 at 9:44pm

      Did anyone notice what’s missing from BEST_PATRIOT’s Avatar ?
      It‘s the horse’s a$$ !
      He making stupid TEA Party statements on the Blaze.

      Report Post » flipper1073  
    • RamonPreston
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 3:07am

      Hey, Patriot! Leader thinks he’s from the American Revolution period. No wonder he is a little senile.

      Report Post » RamonPreston  
    • Cavy from VA
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 7:55am

      Errrr….. “Best”_Patriot

      You are a freaking AIRHEAD!! … Ever been to one of those “Progressive” blogs? … Have you checked their spelling?? … You A$$‘s can’t express a cogent thought much less worry about spelling … besides … isn’t it the Progressive NEA “Teachers” that teaches us all to spell … You see, you idiots don’t want to get down in the bushes with FACTS and such … must make your heads hurt to think too much … NO you fools have to resort to name calling and put downs to “make your case” … Dude, do you know what a Lemming is? … If not go look in a mirror … you would be an excellent example!!

      TEA!!!

      Report Post » Cavy from VA  
  • Abraham Young
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:25pm

    Yep, science knows everything. Someday I hope to be a government rewarded scientist.

    Report Post »  
    • RamonPreston
      Posted on May 4, 2012 at 2:51am

      I have some swamp land for you ….
      Are you a college student? The generation gap doesn’t start until you go to college. They will tell you that they have all the answers. It’s your dumb parents that are the problem. Open skull, fill with garbage.
      Scientists only know what they are allowed to know. What is the Lockridge Device? Who was Nikola Tesla? What causes gravity? No, it’s not mass like you were taught in school. Gravity can be overcome by frequency or a spinning electrical circuit revolving inside a counter spinning electrical circuit. I have 10 TB of info I have collected from the internet. Oh, yes. I have a BS with a 3.0 GPA. When I went to college I was married with kids and was treated for asthma, bronchitius, pneumonia and even tuberculosis in the two years I was there. How are you doing?

      Report Post » RamonPreston  
  • abbygirl1994
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:23pm

    I sure wish I could find a hunk of that!! How lucky for this woman to find!

    Report Post » abbygirl1994  
  • REETZBEE
    Posted on May 3, 2012 at 2:21pm

    I wish a meteor shower would come to Montana, I could use 20K!

    Report Post » REETZBEE  
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