tuckidge

And "you won't always have a calculator with you". Sent from my iPhone

I was also hit by lighting once. Different experience and outcome. I was 16 and climbing a 14,000ft mountain in Colorado. We got to the top only to look over the other side of the mountain (which we were blind to heading up) to see a storm right on top of us. And at 14,000 feet, we were literally IN THE STORM. Our instructors had us separate several feet apart and squat down on our foam sleeping pads to "ground us" in the event of a strike. The scariest part (which I remember clearly to this day) was the sound that started happening. The cloud started building up its charge against the mountain. For what seemed like an hour, but was probably only a few mins, a "buzzing noise" started blaring. The sound started out in a low pitch but grew higher and higher in pitch over the few mins until it eventually became un-audiable to our ears. After some silence and looking around at each other, our instructors had us "get down the mountain as fast as you fucking can safely". I stood up and then BAMMMN!!! White light took up my entire field of view and the force of what felt like a sledge hammer hitting me in the front of my head (I was wearing a climbing helmet). I pretty much thought for an instant I was dead. Quickly tho I stood back up and saw the girl in front of me trying to get up as well.

What happened according to the climbing instructor who was watching from fifty feet away was, the lighting hit the mountain (presumably grounding the charge) then bounced of it and hit me square in the head. Then bounced of my head and hit the girl in front of me in the ass. I wasn't electrocuted and neither was the girl. I was shaken but injury free. The lighting burnt a sizable hole in the girls pants and she had some light burns on her butt. After we got to safety many jokes and laughs were had. And I still haven't won the lottery. Although my odds of getting hit were much higher considering I was in the mother fucking cloud. Sorry OP, didn't mean to steal any of your thunder (pardon the pun) of your AMA, just thought I'd share my story.