A Philadelphia woman is laughing off her initially frightening, yet bizarre, encounter with a catfish that fell from the sky.
Lisa Lobree was attending an outdoor fitness class at the Philadelphia Museum of Art earlier this month when she says she was struck in the head and face by a 40-centimetre free-falling catfish weighing around 2.25 kilograms (5 lbs).
“I immediately freaked out and fell to the ground,” Lobree told CBS. “I was really upset, actually. I was pretty hysterical.”
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, witnesses said they saw a large bird, most likely an eagle, fly away after the incident. The theory is that the bird dropped its lunch on Lobree’s head.
Lobree said she smelled badly after she was struck and needed to take a 30-minute shower to recover. She also ended up getting a tetanus shot and was prescribed antibiotics because she was cut and swollen on her face. She still bears a scar under her left eye.
But now the woman is sticking by the mantra: Laughter is the best medicine.
“It was traumatic at the time but it’s funny,” she said. “It’s just nice, giving people a good story to laugh at.”