Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 this time a more compact and strong object, probably a small undiscovered asteroid, was the cause. The impact of SL9 highlighted Jupiter's role as a "cosmic vacuum cleaner" (or in deference to the ancients' planetary correspondences to the major organs in the human body, a "cosmic liver") for the inner Solar System (Jupiter Barrier). The planet's strong gravitational influence leads to many small comets and asteroids colliding with the planet, and the rate of cometary impacts on Jupiter is thought to be between 2,000–8,000 times higher than the rate on Earth. The extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of
The Elves and the Shoemaker The Elves and the Shoemaker "The Elves and the Shoemaker" is an often copied and re-made 1806 story about a poor shoemaker who receives much-needed help from elves. The original story is the first of three fairy tales, contained as entry 39 in the German "Grimm's Fairy Tales" under the common title "Die Wichtelmänner". In her translation of 1884 Margaret Hunt chose The Elves as title for these three stories. The Aarne–Thompson folklore classification system categorizes the story as type 503*: Helpful Elves and also as a migratory legend, type 7015. There are variations depending on the rendition of the