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July 11, 2006
"Mom, I think I was hit by lightning"

Holy Shit! A 17 year old survived getting hit by lightning last week in the City of Castle Rock, CO, just south of Denver.
He was listening to Metallica on his iPod when struck, singeing his ears where the white buds sat. No need for a snarky Steve Jobs joke, just good to see the kid will be ok. We also learn that an iPod does not increase the risk of getting hit by lightning. That tethered land line phone you keep around, totally different story...
"There is no scientific evidence to show that lightning is 'attracted' to items like an iPod. However, if someone wearing earbuds is struck, current may travel along the wires into the ears," said Gregory Stewart of the Denver-based Lightning Reference Center. "There are documented cases of lightning traveling through wired telephones and killing the users. "
Yikes!
Tags: Lightning, Colorado, Castle Rock, iPod
Posted by Merry Swankster at July 11, 2006 12:15 AM
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Comments
That is an amazing story. However, this park ranger story is a bit unbelievable:
Don't believe the old adage that lightning never strikes the same place twice. Former Park Ranger Roy "Dooms" Sullivan never did. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Sullivan bas the dubious distinction of being the most lightning-struck person ever recorded. Between 1942 and his death in 1983, Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning seven times. The first lightning strike shot through Sullivan's leg and knocked his big toenail off. In 1969, a second strike burned off his eyebrows and knocked him unconscious. Another strike just a year later, left his shoulder seared. In 1972 his hair was set on fire and Roy had to dump a bucket of water over his head to cool off. In 1973, another bolt ripped through his hat and hit him on the head, set his hair on fire again, threw him out of his truck and knocked his left shoe off. A sixth strike in 1976 left him with an injured ankle. The last lightning bolt to hit Roy Sullivan sent him to the hospital with chest and stomach burns in 1977. Sullivan could never offer any explanation for this strange and unwelcome electrical attraction.
Posted by: Kelli Douglas at July 11, 2006 01:59 PM


