1,001 Facts That Will Scare the S#*t Out of You: The Ultimate Bathroom Reader (70 page)

519

FACT :
About 10 percent of lightning-strike victims are killed. Of those who survive, 70 percent suffer
serious long-term effects from injuries
that include severe burns and can also lead to personality change, permanent brain damage, and memory loss.
I’m thinking death might be the way to go when it comes to lightning.

“Flash Facts About Lightning,” National Geographic News, June 24, 2005,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

520

FACT :
Most people associate lightning with thunderstorms, but
it can also occur in forest fires
, volcanic eruptions, heavy snowstorms, large hurricanes, and surface nuclear detonations.
Now that would suck. You narrowly escape a volcanic eruption and then: “Man, that was clo . . . .” BAM!

“Flash Facts About Lightning,” National Geographic News, June 24, 2005,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

521

FACT :
Take shelter when your hair stands on end in a storm: it often means that
positive charges are rising through you
, reaching up toward the negatively charged part of the storm and making you a target for lightning.
Or it just means that you are Phil Spector.

“Flash Facts About Lightning,” National Geographic News, June 24, 2005,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

522

FACT :
The July 4th holiday is a
high-risk time of year for lightning strikes in America
as people across the country take to the outdoors for activities like swimming, boating, golfing, picnics, etc.
Hey, you wanted to see fireworks.

“Flash Facts About Lightning,” National Geographic News, June 24, 2005,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

523

FACT :
Once lightning enters a structure,
it may run through the electrical system, phone lines, plumbing, even TV and radio antennas and cables
. It is also possible for lightning to pass through metal in concrete walls or flooring.
Persistent little bastard, isn’t it?

“Flash Facts About Lightning,” National Geographic News, June 24, 2005,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

524

FACT :
Talking on the telephone during a thunderstorm is
the leading cause of indoor lightning injuries
in the United States.
I pray for more thunderstorms over telemarketing centers.

“Flash Facts About Lightning,” National Geographic News, June 24, 2005,
www.news.nationalgeographic.com
.

525

FACT :
More deaths and injuries from lightning
have occurred in Florida
than all other states combined.
Carrot Top is from Florida. Call it karma.

Rachelle Oblack, “Top 10 of the Most Dangerous US States for Lightning Deaths,”
About.com
,
www.weather.about.com
.

526

FACT : Global warming is increasing the threat of wildfires in this country
, experts say, thanks to a continuing drying trend in the subtropics, including the American Southwest, and an increase in thunderstorms and lightning strikes, which are the primary cause of wildfires.
Have you ever grown tired of having to type the same two words over and over again? Words like—and this is just an example—global and warming?

Andrea Thompson, “Is Global Warming Fueling Forest Fires?” LiveScience, October 24, 2007,
www.livescience.com
.

527

FACT :
Widespread drought conditions caused by global warming
resulted in thousands of wildfires across the United States
in 2008, with over 5.2 million acres burned and 1,000 homes and structures destroyed just in California.
Global warming. Global warming.

Global warming.

Andrea Thompson, “Is Global Warming Fueling Forest Fires?” LiveScience, October 24, 2007,
www.livescience.com
.