Lighting strikes iPod-wearers more severely

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2007

MONTREAL (AFP) — A 37-year-old Canadian man who was struck by lightning while jogging and wearing his iPod suffered more severe injuries due to the metal electronic device, according to a report published Thursday.

In 2005, the man was listening to his iPod and jogging in Burnaby, in British Columbia when lightning hit a nearby tree, then struck him, hurling him more than two meters (yards) into the air.

The man suffered ruptured eardrums, a fractured jaw, and burns that ran from his torso to his ears, right along the lines of where the headphone cords had been.

"Although the use of a device such as an iPod may not increase the chances of being struck by lightning, in this case, the combination of sweat and metal earphones, directed the current to, and...