Comments on: Lightning Strikes Woman As She Is Shooting Video

By: ryder

ryder — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:01:54 +0000

Ahhh…. she was SO not hit by lightning… it hit a couple hundred yards away in the forest. Why do people have to exaggerate so damn much?

By: JHC

JHC — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:00:58 +0000

What a dumbass. Holding on to a metal railing during a lightning storm, that’s just retarded.

By: Nature Quiz

Nature Quiz — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:46:35 +0000

Amazing,adventurous and sad video. Though somehow she got saved. There may have some serious injuries if lightning had fallen on girl.

By: gadlen

gadlen — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:53:56 +0000

You are all fake.

By: xen

xen — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:25:19 +0000

Two not terribly bright people around me decided that the best place to hide from a fierce lightning storm was outside their truck under a tree. (Not inside the truck, which would have acted as a Faraday cage.) They got struck and the girl, leaning against the truck, got burns where her body was making contact with the metal. If I may generalize, this woman should have some noticeable damage to her hand.

By: xen

xen — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:20:33 +0000

I'll have you know that “interedting” things happen to me all the time. I just need to make sure I've stretched beforehand and use plenty of vegetable oil.

By: c_moe_Baggins

c_moe_Baggins — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:23:00 +0000

ever record the deafening boom of fire works on a hand held cam? it sounds alot like that

By: RyanB

RyanB — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:59:36 +0000

Errr, what? I'm not going to disagree with your statement on why golfers can get struck, but to say “it's actually a good thing that she was holding the handrail because it drew nearly all the electricity out of her body.” is a fallicy. Lightning, like all electricity, is seeking the path of least resistence. Dry air is a higher dielectric than a moist human or tree. Similarly a metal structure that is grounded, if it is a good conductor, is even better. Lightning is an electrical potential built up between clouds and the neutrally charged earth. If the path of least resistance is a person standing in an open field or it is a lightning rod attached to the heighest point on a building, the electrical charge is going to find that path has less resistance.

Assuming the main strike was 20 feet from her as the video would suggest (and counting the seconds between the visible flash and hearing the thunder ;-) ), that is certainly close enough to induce a secondary current in the form of eddy currents. The high current lighting bolt would have created a large pulsed magnetic field. The railing may not have been fully grounded (encased in cement pylons or a sidewalk perhaps), but it was indeed close enough to become electrified from induction. This secondary current would have been significantly lower and is what I believe she experienced as the shock.

By: Zarbod

Zarbod — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:43:41 +0000

People get struck all the time and survive. Looks pretty real.

By: neurolux

neurolux — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:11:05 +0000

It's actually a good thing that she was holding the handrail. The metal handrail drew nearly all the electricity out of her body. Otherwise, it might have killed her. It's a common myth that metal attracts lightning. Being the highest point in the area is what allows an electrical path to be connected. Golfers get struck because they're standing in a flat field far from trees.

By: Lucas

Lucas — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:32:24 +0000

Don't tease me, Bro!

By: Osaket

Osaket — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:58:58 +0000

I've been really close to a lightning strike while I was out on my porch. It's seems like a loud crack, or a very loud pop. If you've ever played with high voltage wires and sparked them together, imagine just that times 1000. Scared the ***** outta my roomate and me.

By: oxide

oxide — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:37:15 +0000

lol. zing!

By: vlffata

vlffata — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:13:56 +0000

It looks pretty real, the way lightning flickers is what convinced me. I think we're all in agreement that a full on hit from a lightning bolt would more or less knock her out at least? But all lightning bolts are not perfect; they have offshooting charges. Imagine a fraying rope, now make that rope badass and full of electrcity. An offshoot of charge mostly like found her hand and found the path of least resistance (through the metal rail) And her reaction was most definatly not acting. You can't fake terror in your voice like that. So if it is fake, I'll eat my hat.

By: HeySeus

HeySeus — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:51:43 +0000

Photoshop a video?

By: mgabrys

mgabrys — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:14:36 +0000

Lightning rods. They're metal. They've been around a while. Go golf in a thunderstorm and leave me your ipod in your will.

By: Jvoles

Jvoles — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:35:17 +0000

I think your right, if it hit her, it would have at least knocked her out, and would have screwed up the camera. You can see the tree in front of her glowing with embers from the strike.

By: x12yanx

x12yanx — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:40:43 +0000

FAKE…lol…”Lightning heats nearby air to about 10,000 °C (18,000 °F) nearly instantly, which is almost twice the temperature of the Sun’s surface. The heating creates a shock wave that is heard as thunder.[13]” – wiki. its obvious she created a high voltage discharge herself in a bad video and posting it on the internet with a cool title XD u guys r ***** to think lightening would only shock you like a wall outlet.

By: Stroke

Stroke — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 01:33:26 +0000

From the full description on Flickr page of the author:

"No entry or exit wounds, as i was not directly struck, i got just a really good zap from one of the "finger arcs" that happen when lightning hits. "

http://www.flickr.com/photos/i_love_the_slow_lo...

By: singinguitargirl

singinguitargirl — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:45:41 +0000

That's what amazed me as well. Like she captured that “set up” that's so unlikely to get to see.

By: singinguitargirl

singinguitargirl — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:42:40 +0000

Yes! That caught me as well! That first flicker going the other direction! That blew my mind: ghostly, like CAPTURING that “set-up” that is not commonly seen.

By: John Savage

John Savage — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:22:45 +0000

OMG is right dude! Wow she had an angel watching over her for sure.
www.FireMe.To/udi

By: J. Grant

J. Grant — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:18:13 +0000

Just curious – what kind of camera?

By: Tom O

Tom O — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 23:24:22 +0000

ITS FAKE

are you F*##ing kidding me?

that orange light is the light bulb cooling off

By: Qev

Qev — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:48:36 +0000

Lightning doesn't particularly care what you're holding onto, really, unless you've got a grip on a radio tower or something. It isn't attracted to electronics, or umbrellas, or metal railings. Consider that it's an electric arc that's traveled through several kilometers of non-conducting air to reach the ground; what makes up the last few meters isn't particularly important to the process. :)