What Caused It?

RBBRMADE · May 21, 2002

Here is the deal:

Saturday morning, I wipe down the AV, all is well.
I close the tailgate, but do not lock it.
I leave the house, make one quick stop at in-laws house, then head down the interstate.
One hour, ~70 miles later, I arrive at my destination.
When I open the tailgate, I notice this hole, AND A SCRATCH on the top of the tailgate:

Looks like a bullet hole, but is not. There is also a scratch beside of it.

Vandalized? Doubtful, they would go for the paint.

I backed into something? Nope, the gate was closed.

Hole was created to break into gate? Nope, the gate was unlocked.

There is nothing rattling or rolling around in the gate. There is a 'flap' created where the hole is. The flap is not bent all the way back, so the projectile that created the hole fled the scene. It would not fit into the actual opening. I am not sure that you can see that in the pics.

WHAT HAPPENED?

I am not mistaken about the facts, nor am I lying.

Wuddaya think? Spaceship bolt?
Be creative.

Ron

Rolando · May 21, 2002

That is just too weird. Maybe the object (bullet) popped back out?

XRover · May 21, 2002

Mexican Jumping Bean ?

dgbryant · May 21, 2002

Hey, no Mexican jumping bean could cause that much damage. It had to have been at least two. In the grassy knoll. Working for communists, who were really set up as patsies by the mob, that were angry they couldn't influence unions in Mexico like they do here, etc., etc.

Seriously though, one of the guys in my office was travelling between Dallas and Lubbock Texas on TX 114 last fall at 3:30 in the morning during the middle of the week. If you have ever been out to that spot of the world, you'll appreciate the fact that there is nothing there.
Something put a hole in his windshield about the size of a marble while he was cruising along at 85 mph. (Huge Ford 250) He hadn't seen a car or house lights in half an hour, and something put a nice size hole in the glass down by the inspection sticker.
My theory from day one has been it came from up above. There is just no other explanation at that hour, in that location, with no other cars around.

I have the same theory for your unfortunate damage only because the hole appears too big to be a bullet, and the edges look somewhat melted from the picture.

You may now feel free to mock me as the rest of my office has regarding this issue.

helmet

imaniguana · May 21, 2002

Looks like Mr. 9mm paid you a visit. ?

?Really weird entry angle though. ? You didn't happen to hear a pop when you drove under a bridge during that trip?

? ?

I know a few people that have had their cars and houses shot at. ?Unless you have any obvious enemies, usually it's some numbskulls that dare one another to do something this stupid.

AVYNUT · May 21, 2002

Had to be a small meteorite or a piece of "space trash."

steelheadchaser · May 21, 2002

Perhaps you had a chance encounter with Mogera. Mogera was previously thought to be in Japan...
http://www.clubtokyo.org/text/kaiju_reviews/r032601.html
http://www.angelfire.com/movies/GodzillaTower/Documents/Mogera.htm

steelheadchaser · May 21, 2002

Here is another possibility (turn on your sound);
http://www.woodywoodpecker.com/main_content.html

lanman1 · May 22, 2002

A small chunk of an ice comet crashed to earth, then evaporated, thus destroying the evidence.

Too bad the series is over, this could've been an X-Files episode.

gregoryglen · May 22, 2002

I am betting it was a small rock or an out of round piece of metal. The irregular shape of some of these dump truck projectiles can cause them to have a dramtic hook or bounce. I have seen rocks and other debris hook or bounce completely over the top of a vehicle behind the offending truck and nail one 4 car lengths back.

RBBRMADE · May 22, 2002

helmet said:
and the edges look somewhat melted from the picture.

helmet

HMMMMMMM, no one else noticed this, but it seems that it would be a big piece of the puzzle. It definitely looks melted. How hot does stuff get while falling thru the atmosphere? Food for thought.

Ron

Chief · May 22, 2002

How about this one if the edges look melted - a carelessly discarded cigarette butt that landed back there and slowly melted it's way through.

Years ago when my wife and I lived in some apartments there were some Brit oil workers who were staying in the one above us as corporate housing. They would sit and chain smoke on their balcony and flip the butts on the ground below. :7:

My wife's Subaru got a big burn on it's hood by a cigarette but that caught between her front end mask and the paint. :8:

Just an idea based on the melting around the edges. The second "scratch" could have been created by the butt rolling from the wind, pausing there to make the scratch and then blowing away. If you live in a rural area I think the stray bullet returning at velocity is a solid theory...

sadurbin · May 22, 2002

Going with the space garbage theory...

What does it smell like. If it smells like Mars, it probably came from a martian space ship. However, if it smells like Uranus...

I couldn't resist...

NJAV · May 22, 2002

Hmmm...the cigarette butt is an interesting theory, but being a smoker I don't believe the cherry would burn hot enough to cause that kind of burn.....this truly is a mystery....whatever it was it had to be something with a great amount of density and traveling at quite a velocity.....

My guess is that it was a projectile of some sort....maybe a bullet....maybe a ricochet....

steelheadchaser · May 22, 2002

Shawn A said:
Going with the space garbage theory...

What does it smell like. ?If it smells like Mars, it probably came from a martian space ship. ?However, if it smells like Uranus...

I couldn't resist...

LMAO

gandolphxx · May 22, 2002

I am sending this thread to the producers of the "X" Files for consideration if they go back into production.

RBBRMADE · May 22, 2002

Shawn A said:
What does it smell like. ?If it smells like Mars, it probably came from a martian space ship. ?However, if it smells like Uranus...

I couldn't resist...

Excellent! hehehehehehehe

scubajeff · May 22, 2002

Toxic bird poop? :2:

jlwyo · May 24, 2002

This has been bothering me ever since I saw it. I noticed that it looks like the reciever hitch is in, and I've walked into one of these before. It hurts like heck!! :8:

I'm curious if the hole is the size of your pin and if the scratch lines up too. This is pretty far-fetched but someone would have to whack thier shin, take out the hitch, put the pin back, hit your av, and replace it. By the way are you and the inlaws on good terms?

Boy! that looks goofy to me and I just wrote it!!

Joe

spork_av · May 24, 2002

Although the cigarette theory is a good one, I don't think it fits the marks on the tailgate. 1. even if the cigarette could have stayed in one spot that long, it would have burned an oval shapped area, and would have left scorch marks.

The only way something could have melted that area, and not leave burn marks, is to operate at the precise melting point of this type of plastic. So, I think we can safely say that it is not something that burned it's way into the plastic.

It looks like a puncture to me. Something very fast. Pick hammer maybe... tailgate open backed into something... well, you said you didn't do that.

bullet, possibly, but that is a really odd angle... same goes for rocks etc... in order for any to have melted part of the plastic as it entered, would have had to be travelling very fast.

we assume no exit hole for the object, so that rules out a projectile (especially if it isn't in the tail gate).

RBBRMADE · May 24, 2002

wyoav said:
? someone would have to whack thier shin, take out the hitch, put the pin back, hit your av, and replace it.
? Joe

You guessed it!

Spork said:
tailgate open backed into something... well, you said you didn't do that.

nope, did not do that!

irontrain said:
My theory is ....The hole has always been there,some kind of accident during the dealer prep.Duct seal was applied to fill the hole (it's color matches the cladding) your speed caused the duct seal to dry and loosen and fall to the highway.

I never thought of something like that, but, what about the scratch?

Ron

wrchism · May 24, 2002

Let's see . . . you didn't pull into the garage quite far enough and the door came down just past the tailgate and some piece of hardware on the inside of the door punched a hole in the top of the gate - after which the door reversed itself and returned to the top. Hmmm.

Or . . acid rain - maybe the greenie weenies know something that we don't . . NOT.

My thoughts for a Friday night!

imaniguana · May 25, 2002

Hmmmm . . . I'm still sticking with my 9mm-when-driving-under-a-bridge theory.

spork_av · May 25, 2002

Ok, I got it!

While driving down the freeway, Mad Max came driving up behind you, straped to the front of his car. He threw a grappling hook which caught on your tailgate, to try and reel you in. But, the plastic of the tailgate wasn't sturdy enough and the grappling hook let go!

Man oh mna, that was a close one! >:D

Crocostimpy · May 25, 2002

My guess is a rock that is much bigger than the hole, a jagged corner of the rock punched the hole and rolled off creating the scratch also. Either that or Ron Jeremy saw the AV and really liked it

What Caused It?

RBBRMADE

AVYNUT

gregoryglen

RBBRMADE

CAFCNA FOUNDER

RBBRMADE

jlwyo

RBBRMADE