My “Mir Debris” Story

On Friday, 23 March 2001, the Russian Space Station Mir was de-orbited and crashed into earth. Though most of Mir burned up during re-entry, there was much media attention given to the fact that as much as 25 tons worth of debris could survive re-entry and would crash into earth. According to all news reports, Mir landed directly on target, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, the closest land being Fiji. But at no time were any land-dwelling creatures in danger of having debris land on their heads. So they said…..

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to partake in a little joke at the expense of Mir. So I went to my toolbox and found a nice bolt that I carried with me to work that day, sharing with my co-workers a construed tale of how I found it next to my van that morning and that I believed it had fallen from the sky overnight; coincidentally at the same time that Mir came crashing down. Of course, I work with bright people who knew I was kidding. After all; we live and work in Indiana in the good ole US of A, far removed from the Mir target site.

Once I shared the joke with a few co-workers, I wanted to share the joke with others. So I put my slightly twisted mind to work and came up with an idea to list the bolt on the internet auction site eBay.

Click here to see the auction as it appeared on eBay, but realize that the links are no longer valid, as the auction has been pulled by eBay.

As people began to view my auction at eBay, I started getting emails. Some came from people who could read right through it and see that it was a joke (I call these “smart” people) but I also had emails from people who thought I was a bit crazy to think that finding a bolt in my driveway meant it fell from Mir (I call these people “not-so-smart”). Of course, it was the emails from the not-so-smarts that provided the most entertainment, so I decided to publish them, along with my responses, here on my webpage so that others could enjoy them as well.

Below are 4 emails. The last three all received the same reply from me which appears at the bottom of the page.

But the best email is email #5. Because it created several emails back and forth between he and I, I have put it on a separate page. After you read the emails below, return to here and follow this link to read it. It is the only email where I chose not to withhold the sender’s email address.

Email #1

From: t----@---ogy.net

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 4:27 PM

To: sbooker@tsc.com

Subject: Question for seller -- Item #1126603700

Do you have a photograph of the MIR bolt? I would love to see it. If so, please email it back to me. I could possibly verify it's authenticity. My email address is t----@boeing.com

My Reply to Email #1

From: Booker, Steve

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 4:41 PM

To: t----@---ogy.net

Subject: RE: Question for seller -- Item #1126603700

I took a picture, but wouldn't you know, it's just the 3rd picture I've taken on the roll of film, which has 36 exposures. It's unlikely I will have the roll of film completed before the end of the auction. Now I really wish I'd taken more than two pictures at my brother's wedding. Of course, so does he, since I was the only "photographer" present.

But back to the topic of the bolt, there still remains the possibility of a media invasion at my home later today, once word begins to leak out about my amazing discovery. If that happens, I bet you'll tire of seeing my image on television holding my truly amazing bolt. In fact, if CNN contacts me for an interview, I will pass along your name as a possible expert in this particular field for identification purposes.

I've just received email from another ebay viewer who "apparently" has some knowledge where Mir is concerned and he suggests that Mir never traveled over my house during its entire 15 year orbit. I don't know if he's an expert or not, though, so I'm not going to worry about that for now.

Thanks for your interest,

Steve Booker

Former President of the Abe Froman (Sausage King of Chicago) Fan Club

Email #2

From: j-----@sigecom.net

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 4:35 PM

To: sbooker@tsc.com

Subject: Question for seller -- Item #1126603700

Come on, MIR never in its entire 15 yr life EVER passed over Indiana. that bolt would have had to travel OVER 15,000 miles from deorbit to reach YOUR driveway. I think to save your reputation on eBay, you Should end your auction. Its NOT possible.

Email #3

From: b------@resort.com

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 5:41 PM

To: sbooker@tsc.com

Subject: Question for seller -- Item #1126603700

Are you willing to provide a written and signed description of how you found this item equivalent to the description of the item as listed?

Email #4

From: k------@squaretrade.com

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 6:32 PM

To: sbooker@tsc.com

Subject: Question for seller -- Item #1126603700

you are joking, right? if this were truly a bolt from the mir station, the letters "PM" would probably not exist. these are letters from the latin alphabet, not cyrillic.

My Reply to Email #2, #3, #4

From: Booker, Steve

Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 4:51 PM

To: 'j-----@sigecom.net'

Subject: RE: Question for seller -- Item #1126603700

Thank you for your email regarding my suspected Mir Bolt. I've received enough email already that I regret I cannot personally respond to each one of you who have been kind enough to write with your comments and questions. I truly under-estimated the responses I would receive.

In coming days, I will sort through the email and try and answer each of you personally. To those who have asked for a signed 8x10 of me and the bolt, that project is in the works.

Again, thank you for your interest.

Steve Booker

Former President, Abe Froman (Sausage King of Chicago) Fan Club