Did iPod save girl struck by lightning?
Here is a piece of advice, sponsored by whoever it is that controls the world.
If you're going to be struck by lightning, it is a good idea to have your iPod headphones around your neck (though not in your ears).
I bring you this exciting counsel because I have just encountered the story of 14-year-old Sophie Frost of Southend-on-Sea, England.
According to reports in a variety of British newspapers, Frost was sheltering beneath a fine English tree on Monday evening when the great gods of lightning--Fulgora (for those with a Roman bent), Indra (for those of Hindu inclination), and Tlaloc (let's not forget the Aztecs)--decided to waft a bolt her way.
I do not believe that Fulgora, Indra, or Tlaloc had it in for Sophie. I simply conjecture that they were annoyed the Lakers had won it all.
Frost, who was holding hands with her boyfriend under the tree, remembers nothing of what happened, but her burnt skin and clothes tell the tale.
According to her mother, doctors say she survived because she had her iPod headphones hanging around her neck.
"The doctors say her iPod saved her. Her nan (editors note: a cute word for grandma) only bought it a few days ago. Luckily, she wasn't actually wearing the headphones. If she had been, she might not be here today," her mother told the Sun.
The teen herself added: "Everybody's said the iPod must have diverted the lightning away from my body, which probably saved my life. I've got a few burns, but it's all healing OK."
Apparently, the Daily Express reported, the fact that she was wearing shoes and holding hands with her beau didn't hurt either.
A representative at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford told CNET that the young patient went home Thursday.
Her boyfriend, Mason Billington, does have some eye damage, but it is hoped he will recover fully.
The same could not be said of her iPod. Indeed, her mother said that her daughter seemed more worried about the iPod's fate than anything else.
Don't you understand, Mrs. Frost? It was almost, like, brand new.
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
Lightning delivers tens of thousands of Amps at several hundred million Volts. That puny piece of headphone cable wrapped around her neck would have instantly vaporized if her iPod was directly hit by a lightning bolt -- killing her + her boyfriend in the process.
Otherwise the only BS I see has your name on it.
Get real. No human being can survive a direct hit by lightning, or being in contact with a metallic object that's hit by lightning.
People who survive lightning encounters are not actually hit by lightning, but "only" exposed to much smaller secondary shock from a nearby strike.
In this case, the lightning probably hit the tree, which grounded most of the lightning's energy to earth. Generally speaking, if a lightning hits a tree, you will get severe secondary shock if you're within 6 feet of the tree. The girl and her boyfriend was reportedly "right under" the tree.
iPods and headphone cables aren't magical devices which can somehow disobey laws of physics. Ever heard of "conservation of energy"? If a lightning hits an iPod, all that energy still has to be dissipated... through whatever is touching the iPod (i.e., the girl.)
She (along with her boyfriend) would have been killed instantly.
No matter where a lighting "enters" or "exits" the body, no human could withstand tens of thousands of amps. If you don't believe me feel free to prove me wrong by lifting a metal rod at a nearby golf course during a thunderstorm.
Also, out of millions and millions of iPods out there, how many had the batteries explode? Stop being ridiculous.
:-D
iPod prevents Darwin Award?
Sheltering under a tree in a thunderstorm? Next time she should just bring a metal pole and hold it up.
Bot herders make a living doing what they do, and are far from ready to go back to the days when they were largely confined to social engineering attacks. You can't build a botnet quickly enough that way, and AV vendors are better able to keep up with non-polymorphic Trojan horses. They'll be checking around other ponds, looking for more fish. As XP is no longer "on the market," and as its install base declines, they might discover that Apple (or Crapple, if we spell like you do) has almost 10% of the global market these days. And even better, very few Apple users run any security software. Leopard supposedly set the foundation for a functional implementation of ASLR in Snow Leopard, but not NX, as far as I know. And Windows 7 (while lowering default protection for UAC) adds to the security first introduced in Vista with new technologies, such as Safe Unlinking, and bug checking after an overflow is detected.
If Windows becomes too difficult to attack (as Vista basically is), then the hackers will have to settle for Apple. And you can blame that on Windows 7 until you're ready to squash your childish grudge against MS and migrate back.
VERY LAME
Fascinating.
Personally, I enjoy Chris's articles. They remind me not to take life so blasted seriously.
;-)
Ever see Monty Python's Life of Brian? Always look on the bright side of life ...
:-D
- by itchief June 23, 2009 5:01 AM PDT
- So the iPod saved her because she didn't have the earphones in her ears? Praise the silicon gods! Imagine the non-event that would have occurred had she not been standing under the proverbial tree during a thunderstorm!
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