I've always wondered if something like the Chixclub (sp?) asteroid impact could impart enough energy to eject water and soil to escape velocity. Clearly easier to do at an angle than straight into the ground but the interesting calculation would be this, what size rock would have to collide with the ocean at what level to knock a chunk of the earth to Mercury ? We know this sort of transfer takes place since we've got meteorites that are from Mars so something hit Mars and knocked bits of it here.
Surely there is an astrophysicist in the house who could tell me if this is possible or just crazy talk.
I'm pretty sure that KSR mentions the possibility of some of his characters finding a chunk of Yucatan on Mars - so its perhaps not completely crazy...
Some impact events appear to have been a lot larger (and therefore presumably a lot more energy) than Chicxulub - e.g. the Vredefort Crater in South Africa
Surely there is an astrophysicist in the house who could tell me if this is possible or just crazy talk.