When Lightning Strikes Out of a Blue Sky

One night all was quiet and I was watching TV. Then, CRACKKKKK!!. The TV blew up as well as other electronic things. Most of the damage was from the energy absorbed from electromagnetic wave rather than directly from the bolt electricity. My ears were ringing for hours afterward.

Most insurance companies would call that an "Act of God", but they are not anti-science.

An amusing intersection of legal theory and theology....

True story. When I was in grad school in Florida a number of years ago I was walking across the campus near some tall pine trees on a clear blue summer day when FLASH-BANG a bolt-out-of-the-blue struck somewhere near me. The bright flash and simultaneous air concussion almost knocked me over. Only a few other people were around where I was, one of them being my fiance' who was waiting for me at the next building, about 100 years away, and saw the bolt also. She thought for a second I'd been vaporized, but I was unhurt.

"Only a few other people were around where I was, one of them being my fiance' who was waiting for me at the next building, about 100 years away, and saw the bolt also."

Enough energy to warp time? Cool!

_{/ yards away}

In July of 1982, while living in Denver, Colorado, I had to replace 4 phones, 2 answering machines and 1 TV set over the course of the month.

One of the engineers in my office got hit like this while boating with his dad. A bright sunny day, and then it came from over the horizon. I wasn't working here when it happened, but as I understand the story, it put him in a coma for a couple weeks, after which he was almost the same guy. Physically, no scars or such, but those who knew him before said he used to be nicer.