I was struck by lightning once. I know, I know, you're thinking, "Well, that explains a lot!" and while you're probably right, I'm going to tell my story about it anyway. It was at the Grand Canyon and there were three of us standing out on one of those ledges, encircled by metal railings, that the bus tourists like to try to clamber over to get a better photo of that big hole in the ground, and there we were, admiring the view when all of a sudden the bus tourists all fled and there we were alone with the Grand Canyon., which was awesome until we noticed that it was because of an approaching storm. "Hey, no problem!" we thought, "What's a little storm?" The thunderstorm was actually in the canyon, in and above, and we stood there transfixed by the sheer beauty and wonder of the rolling black clouds and the lightning strikes, when all of a sudden lightning hit the metal railing and jumped between the three of us. Zzzt. Felt rather a shock there. Which, like you said, I'm sure explains a lot.
But while I was okay (more or less; you be the judge), LOTS of people aren't so lucky. And some of them have been wearing iPods lately and they have the iPod-shaped scars to prove it. And since my kids, according to a recent incident, apparently don't know to come in during a storm, I figure other kids, including those who use iPods, are similarly afflicted. If you need more proof, you can go have a look at the lightning safety site of a guy who was struck while golfing. The site's mantra is "When thunder roars, go indoors," which seems like good advice.
