Humble Carpenter Becomes Instant Millionaire By Selling Meteorite That Fell On His House
Josua received roughly RM7.6 million, equivalent to 30 years' worth of his usual salary.
By Arisha Rozaidee — 18 Nov 2020, 12:58 PM
A humble carpenter from Indonesia recently became an instant millionaire after a peculiar event
According to Tribun Medan, 33-year-old Josua Hutagalung made headlines in August when he found a meteorite at his home.
The man from Kolang in North Sumatra was busy working and building a coffin outside his house when the incident took place.
He noted that it was a sunny day but he suddenly heard the sound of thunder followed by a loud bang on the roof.
Upon inspection, he found that a large stone had left a hole in the ceiling and it ended up being buried 15cm deep in the soil beside the house.
Josua then managed to dig the rock out from the ground.
He said that it was still warm and partially broken when he touched it.
In an interview with Kompas, he said, "The moment I picked it up, the rock was still warm then I took it inside the house."
He explained that he already suspected the rock to be a meteorite or an object that fell from the sky because he doesn't believe that someone would purposely throw a 2.2kg rock on his house.
After sharing his discovery on social media, the news went viral.
"From my posting on Facebook, I received responses from hundreds of netizens and the post was shared hundreds of times. As a matter of fact, there have been many local and international reporters who have come here to cover the incident," he added.
He insisted that the rock is unique and even showed Kompas that a magnet could stick on it.
A collector from the United States purchased the space rock for GBP1.7 million, or RM7.6 million in our local currency.
The amount is equivalent to 30 years' worth of Josua's usual salary.
A space rock expert based in Bali named Jared Collins was sent out to inspect and scout the item. He told Tribun Manado, "My phone lit up with crazy offers for me to jump on a plane and buy the meteorite."
Collins has since shipped the space rock to the original buyer in the US. The rock is now stored in liquid nitrogen at the Centre for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University.
It is also reported that the rock has been identified as CM1/2 carbonaceous Chondrite, an extremely rare meteorite variety which scientists believe contains unique amino acids and other primordial elements.
Josua says that with the money, he now plans to retire
According to Tribun Manado, the man also plans to use a fraction of the money to build a church for his community.
Besides that, the father of three sons also said, "I've always wanted a daughter and I hope this is a sign that I will be lucky enough to have one."
