Struck By Lightning: Ouch, That Hurt
 

In my continuing and somewhat exhaustive efforts to provide vital and up-to-date information of value and interest to the members of ChiefsPlanet, I am pleased to present this important and informative new thread entitled, "Struck By Lightning: Ouch, That Hurt".

It has come to my attention that the 17th Annual Lightning Strike and Electric Shock Survivors International World Conference is being held in Pigeon Forge, TN this coming year. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the weather should be pretty clear which is expected to increase attendance.

Last year's conference "Survivor of the Year" was Linda Cooper. She has been struck by lightning four times. Once in front of a post office, once while making a phone call at home, once while washing dishes (the lightning traveled from the sink to her arms), and the last time through an open car window. Linda is currently looking for both a new husband and her right eye.

The current record holder is Roy Sullivan, a park ranger from Virginia, who was struck by lighting a total of seven times. Roy is unfortunately dead now (suicide by gunshot wound) but his remains are now powering the city of Cody, Wyoming.

I'll be posting some important data about this subject in the future. In the meantime, if you, or someone you know, has ever been struck by lightning, please let me know so that I might pass the information along to the conference organizers. Thank you for your time and attention.

FAX

Disclaimers: Sorry if re-post.

Here's some detail about Roy Sullivan, the current struck by lightning record holder.

Roy was hit by lightning the first time while he was in a fire lookout tower. The lightning bolt struck him in a leg and he lost a nail on his big toe.

The second strike hit him while he was driving his truck on a mountain road. This one knocked him unconscious and burned his eyebrows off.

The third struck him while he was in his front yard and burned his left shoulder.

The fourth strike occurred in the ranger station again. This one set his hair on fire. After that, Roy began to carry a pitcher of water with him. He also started to believe that some higher power was trying to kill him.

The fifth bolt struck Roy on the head, blasted him out of his car, and set his hair on fire again.

The sixth strike hit Roy in a campground, injuring his ankle. Roy reported that a cloud was moving in his direction which he thought was following him. He tried to run away from it, but was struck anyways.

The seventh lightning bolt hit him when he was fishing. It is unknown if he caught any fish.

FAX

I have a question.

Why the **** don't some of these people buy lottery tickets?

Great darn question there, Mr. SNR. I don't know. According to my research, the odds of being struck by lightning seven times is 1:1.6 x 10 to the 25th power or 1 in 16 septillion.

Nevertheless, that question (although excellent) requires speculation and I'm just providing the facts here in this struck by lightning thread.

FAX

I can confirm that someone was out to get Roy.

August Hellman of Arkansas has been struck twice.

The first strike was while he was baling hay in 1959.

The second strike was while sailing on Savannah Bay in 1977.

In both cases, August said the storm advanced on him quickly and left him nowhere to hide. He reported that, just before the strikes, his hair stood on end, the baling wire and sailboat mast made a "crinkling" sound, and he noticed a strong smell of ozone.

August reported having had a sense of impending doom just before being hit in each case. This was followed by an earsplitting noise and a few seconds of lost time.

FAX

Very interesting Mr. Fax. But I wonder what ozone smells like?

You have to assume that there was some kind of problem there, Mr. Phobia.

From all accounts, Roy was just a regular guy doing regular things as a regular forest ranger. However, he may have been fooling around with ouija boards or something in his spare time.

FAX

According to my research, pollution control experts describe "ozone scent" as the fresh smell one detects during and after a thunderstorm, Mr. SPchief.

Vagisil has patented the formula for synthetic ozone smell, though.

FAX

Bartender: He's been struck by lightning... how many times has it been now, Reg?
Reg: S-s-s-s-s-s-s-six...
Chet: Six times?
Reg: S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-six-sixty-sixty-six times. In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n the head!

Jerry LeDoux was struck in August 1999. He was standing ankle-deep in a puddle when he was overcome by an intensely bright light. He woke up a half-hour later, 20 feet away, reporting that he had the taste of battery acid in his mouth. The soles of his shoes had melted, his two-way radio had exploded, and several of his teeth had shattered. The medical ID tag he wore around his neck was melted into his chest. He drove home from work that afternoon and was back on the job the next day. A trooper.

Renee Tressler reports that the sky turned a greenish, poisonous-looking color. She was in her car driving to work, in a hurry because she was running late and she opened the window to dry her hair. The lightning struck her without warning "like a jack hammer hitting my teeth," she stated, "It was the loudest bang I've ever heard." Tressler, a former medical technician, has had trouble concentrating ever since, and her right lower leg is shrinking.

FAX

These are entertaining. Keep em coming!!!!

It was a mere two years after the summer of love, in 1969, when Steve Marshburn was sitting near the drive-up teller window at the bank where he worked, stamping deposit tickets. Out of nowhere, lightning struck him in the back with horrific force. His last stamping motion caused him to stamp, not only the ticket, but the desk and the floor as well. When he regained consciousness, he was no longer capable of speech.

Mike Utley was on the golf course when he was thrown from his shoes like a rocket. And, by the time his body hit the ground, his heart had already stopped. Other golfers who came to his assistance saw vapor rising from his body.

FAX

I found this one to be extremely interesting. It makes me think that there's more to this struck by lightning stuff than meets the eye.

A Major Summerford was a British officer who, while on horseback in Flanders in February 1918, was struck by lightning. After moving to Vancouver, he was again hit in 1924 and once more in 1930.

Summerford died in 1932. Then, in 1936, lightning struck his tombstone.

Note that there were 6 years between the strikes so, 6-6-6.

FAX