OAKLAND, Calif. - Even the experts are having trouble explaining a solid block of ice that fell from the sky, crashed into earth and left behind a three-foot hole in the grass.

The ice fell at Bushrod Park in Oakland early Saturday when homeowner Jacek Purat of Berkeley was waiting nearby to show apartments to prospective renters.

"It was totally amazing. ... I saw this flash, like a streak. Then I saw this explosion, like a big boom! I came over and it (the field) was all covered with ice. Some were this big," Purat said, making a head-size circle with his two hands.

fafrotskies:
Acronym from the phrase: fallen from the sky. Many theories have been presented to account for objects that seem to "rain" down from the heavens such as whirlwinds, tornadoes and even waterspouts. These natural phenomena may account for deposits of cinders, sand or dust. However, true fafrotskies events have three notable characteristics which directly oppose these natural phenomena theories. 1. Rains of fafrotskies indicate the point of origin of the rain to be the very uppermost levels of the atmosphere or from space. 2. Absolute lack of associated debris or material. 3. The fafrotskies are uniform in size and in the case of animals only one species is found. It appears that some type of sorting occurs with true fafrotskies. Waving Alien

"I am anxiously waiting to see what will happen this winter," Travis said. "We'll be keeping a lookout, and we want to make people in every state aware and ask their help. We strongly encourage eyewitnesses to preserve samples, in a freezer if need be, and contact us."

In January 2000, Spain came under attack from an unknown assailant. Giant chunks of ice dropped from cloudless skies and crushed car hoods, punched through rooftops and windshields, and slammed into the shoulder of an elderly woman. In a 10-day period, 15 basketball-sized ice balls weighing up to 8 pounds pelted southern Spain.