This mysterious natural phenomenon is literally shrouded in a network of myths, in which even educated people continue to believe. Debunking the most stable and most dangerous of them.
Lightning is a real threat to life, albeit not as close as a car accident. More than twenty thousand people die from lightning all over the world. Eight million electrical discharges are raging in the atmosphere. Daily. Try to imagine this picture: as if a huge umbrella of live metal wire was hung over you. A lightning strike is almost guaranteed death for a person, very few survive after it.
Do not touch the victim
One of the most damaging misconceptions about lightning concerns people already affected by it. Tradition says that a person who has been struck by lightning must be buried in the ground so that the charge comes out, and before that, do not touch with bare hands and metal objects. Sounds like complete nonsense. Nevertheless, more than 80% of accidents with people ended in failure for this very reason: others were simply afraid to touch them. In fact, the human body cannot hold an electric charge on its own.
Hide under the trees
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You should not seek salvation from the raging elements under the tree. Moreover, under the high. It may save you from the rain, but lightning may well strike here, as at the highest point on the ground.
Lightning only happens in rain
In fact, lightning can appear as much as ten kilometers from the place where it is raining now. Keep this in mind the next time you decide to go for a run just after the end of the shower. Better to wait half an hour, just in case.
Rubber Shoes
Rubber-soled boots will not keep you from being struck by lightning - contrary to popular belief.
Water
There is an opinion that lightning does not hit either rivers or lakes. In fact, it still hits. Moreover, the electric shock will spread not in depth, but in breadth. That is, if you are a diver, then you can, in principle, not be afraid of anything. But if you are a swimmer, it would be better to swim away from the storm front. And hurry up.
The player's headphones make you a target No, they don't. The distance from heaven to earth is so great that if lightning is going to strike you, then some trifles like the absence of headphones in your ears will definitely not stop it. Listen to music for your pleasure, just do it better not where a thunderstorm is about to break out.
My home is my castle
Well, something like that, yes. But very vulnerable. Plumbing, window and door frames, and electrical appliances can all be excellent conductors for lightning. Surge protectors do not protect against it either. Home is, of course, the most suitable place to hide from the storm, but it is not worth relaxing here. At the very least, stay out of the shower until the thunderstorm is over and try to avoid crossing doorways again.
One funnel
A common misconception is that lightning does not hit the same funnel twice. Even as it hits, especially in an object like a mast, tall and pointed. This problem was solved for a long time by the architects of the Empire State Building, where a spire was installed for parking airships.