Another cell phone hazard: Thunderstorms

People shouldn't use them outdoors amid storms because they risk being struck by lightning, doctors say.

The story "Another cell phone hazard: Thunderstorms" published June 23, 2006 at 7:46 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[DoughboyNJ]

Watch for earrings, tongue piercings and silverware

...Ipods and headphones, braces, metal head plates, metal pins in bones, fillings, pacemakers and AC/DC lapel pins.

Might be true, but still a stupid article. Nothing better to publish on CNET?

[baswwe]

300+ people a year hurt by lightning in the USA, 73 deaths

Cellphones can NOT possibly raise the risk.

These people were bound to be struck anyways.
Wrong place - wrong time.

<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/wlightning.htm" target="_newWindow">http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/wlightning.htm</a>

[Jahntassa]

Metallic objects?

Seriously, look for piercings, earrings, necklaces, etc. How much metal is really in cellphones nowadays anyway? Most of them are 90% plastic on the outside. I'm pretty sure the most metal that's in mine is on the circuit board or the battery contacts.

Nevermind the fact that even being outside in stormy weather is one of those non-common sense things. If there's a storm nearby, don't be in a park.

I personally don't think there's anything here to 'educate'. Unless you're stupid, you should know that holding anything vaguely metallic will make a lightning strike hurt more. I doubt that you're more likely to get struck if you're on the phone, though.

[ebrandel]

These doctors are idiots

Does anything more need to be said?

[inanton]

...time to stop wearing watches?

This cannot be a big enough risk to print such an sensational headline.

Jewelry? Watches?

I think those are as common as mobile phones... and I have never seen an advisory about wearing those.

Does the growth of the industry therefore correlate with an increase in deaths due to lightning strikes?

Somehow... I doubt it.

[kaufmanmoore]

Warning should not have been released

This warning should have never come out in the first place. If there is someone who thinks its bright to be outside during a thunderstorm especially holding a metallic object they deserve to be struck and removed from the gene pool.

[J_Satch]

LMAO!

Love it, thanks for the laugh! BTW, I couldn't agree more.

[J_Satch]

If only...

...a technology could be developed to focus the lightning on people who are talking on their cell phones while driving.

[jbscpa]

New equipment for police

Headline from June 2007:
New device located in trunks of police vehicles focuses a "lightening ray" on vehicles being operated by drivers talking on cell phones.

New device delivers a powerful and somtimes fatal blast of electricity to offenders caught in mid-conversation while driving.

The new ray device is beleived effective. There are reportedly few repeat offenders.

[Mike Rafferty]

Amen

............

[Mike Rafferty]

Amen

............

[georose]

Leave keys at home too??

Am I supposed to get rid of my car keys, etc? Nah, I just keep my keys and cell phone on me. Didn't Ben Franklin do the "kite" thing with a key?

[make_or_break]

You can if......

...you make a habit of wearing them on your head. Especially during a lightning storm. Otherwise, have at it what you will with your keys (I don't wanna know).

The "lesson"--if there's one--is not to USE the cell phone in a thunderstorm. The proximity of the phone to the girl's head and grey matter at the time of the strike is what they believe has caused her ongoing problems.

[sungarnyc]

News to me

In the 1970s and '80s I worked in lightning protection and safety for Bell Labs in New Jersey. I hesitate to say that this story is nonsense--lightning is a notoriously difficult phenomenon to predict--nevertheless, it seems real unlikely. If you are "struck" by lightning (or, much more likely, if you are in the vicinity of a ground strike), I can't believe it will matter a lot whether or not you are using a cellphone. Furthermore, the "flashover" is a new one for me; lightning is essentially dc, and penetrates within the body (think of exploding trees). Think, if you tied a cell phone to a tree, and it was hit by lightning, would the damage be worse? Get real.