A Whale Fossil
Gary Johnson was just a teenager in 1978 when he discovered a larger than life rock sticking out of the ground in his backyard in California. Although he believed he had found something special, an expert concluded that the stone had no value. Fast forward to February 2014 when a similar rock which turned out to be part of a whale skull was unearthed at a nearby school.
Gary immediately called a paleontologist who confirmed that his rock was also a whale fossil which was at least 14-16 million years old and belonged to a rare baleen whale. Absolutely crazy story, huh?