Okay, so we weren't strictly speaking about storms. Riding The Storm, yes. But this is related.
Have you heard about the teenager who got struck by lightning while wearing an iPod? For some reason the story won't die here. And each time I hear it, I grit my teeth.
"Lightning Strikes Teenager Wearing iPod."
All the stories make it sound like he was struck BECAUSE he was wearing an iPod. Um…let's see…he was outside in a thunderstorm while mowing the lawn. Could it be that he was struck because he was OUTSIDE IN A THUNDERSTORM while attached to a giant wad of METAL????
Advice from experts: Don't talk on your cell phone or listen to your iPod while outside in a thunderstorm. Er…how about just, don't go outside in a thunderstorm????
And yes, I get that they're saying that the electronic device can potentially cause MORE severe injuries than a lightning strike alone, but geez, the message is sort of getting lost here. ANY lightning strike is bad. Stay out of thunderstorms. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck. iPod or not.
This safety message brought to you by someone who didn't get a single minute of sleep last night thanks to a thunderstorm that sat over my house ALL night. Probably waiting for me to come outside with my iPod.
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I say…..we contact MythBusters! Also, reason 67 not give my kids an iPod for Christmas (yes about 64 reasons were made up!)
by sandy l
on July 30th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
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Well said, O Weather Woman! 
Reporters always go for the melodramatic. 
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I would add, and don’t stand in front of an open window during a thunder storm. Lightning can, and frequently does strike through open windows.
P.S. That was some storm last night, wasn’t it? We had one the night before that knocked over my ficus tree (it’s in a pot but still). Hope you had a good weekend. 
by Ann
on July 30th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
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Is this the same kid that got struck by lightning while talking on a cell? I’m always hearing stories about teens getting struck by lightning while using one of the latest technological gadgets. It makes me wonder if these are created by people who hate technology so much.
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LOL–Sandy! I’m not sure my son would buy the “I’m not getting you an iPod because they attract lightning” excuse, but it would be fun to try! 
You said it, Michelle!
Ann, that was a hellacious storm! I swear it sat on top of my house all night long. I was just waiting for a tree to fall on us.
Tempest, it’s not the same kid. I swear, what are people thinking? If you go outside in a storm, you’re taking a chance, made worse if you’re holding something metal or electronic. *shakes head* I just don’t get it…
by Larissa
on July 31st, 2007 at 9:57 am
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Well, if he took off the foam, he might, conceivably, make a nice closed circuit with the iPod straight through his brain….
Not very likely, though. It’s funny that they’re obsessed with the iPod and not noticing the, well, LWANMOWER so much.
by Lydia
on August 3rd, 2007 at 2:10 am
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BTW, I’m on the East Coast now, so that means that with the two of us here, we’ll go completely under water any moment now. Every single place I’ve lived in has had record-breaking floods while I’ve lived there. I swear I broke a 7-year drought in Albuquerque and flooded the historical district worse than ever recorded before–and never mind the feet and feet and feet of SNOW last winter….
by Lydia
on August 3rd, 2007 at 2:13 am
