iPod shocker: Lightning electrifies jogger's head

[underpants]

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=0d09d3e1-dfe7-40fa-85f0-56723c3d34ad&k=96554

Doctors warn public about electronic devices after man hurt by bolt in Burnaby
Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, July 12, 2007
Note to self: Remove iPod earphones when sheltering from a thunderstorm. And oh, don't be talking on that mobile phone while there's thunder and lightning about.

What happened to a 37-year-old jogger caught in a thunderstorm in a Burnaby park in June 2005 explains why.

He was hit by lightning, which is bad enough, but unfortunately he was standing under a tree listening to music on his iPod, according to an account published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine.


His injuries were far worse than they might have been had he not been so attached to his iPod, says Vancouver General Hospital radiologist Dr. Eric Heffernan.

"Most people hit by lightning get away with minor burns. It's because skin is highly resistant and stops electricity from entering the body. It's called the flash-over effect, although it can stop your heart and kill you, as between five to 10 per cent of people struck by lightning die each year," Heffernan said Wednesday.

"But in this case, the patient had earphones on and had been sweating from jogging so this was a case of disrupted flash-over. The earphones transmitted the electrical current into his head. It's the first time we've had a recorded case of such an incident involving a person wearing headphones and we think the public should be warned," Heffernan said.

Heffernan said it isn't just iPods that pose a risk but any music player or similar device with headphones -- even cellphones -- can cause similar injuries if they are being used by someone hit by lightning.

[Hugin]

1. iPods KILL!

This is the proof I need for my upcoming Manifesto on the subject.

[meegbear]

2. File under DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Next thing you know, we're gonna need instruction books for toilet paper bathroom tissue.

[TommyO]

3. Perhaps he wouldn't have been struck if he wasn't under a tree.

[petronius]

4. Yeah, the better advice would have been to move a real shelter

when lightning is in the area, not the fluff about headphones. This article makes it sound like getting hit by lightning is just peachy, as long as you're not using an iPod...