Buzz
This is the one brilliant white flash in the sky you definitely don’t want to approach. If you’re unsure, the loud crack of thunder that follows should quickly send you scurrying for safety. Yet, after learning how a lightning strike drastically altered the life of an orthopedic surgeon, you might start thinking twice.
For centuries, lightning has intrigued and terrified humanity. It has influenced our religious beliefs, cultural superstitions, and even science. As we uncover these rare and surprising historical facts—some stemming from astonishingly unlikely disasters—you’ll discover how lightning has shaped and at times revolutionized societies, scientific understanding, and personal destinies in truly remarkable ways.
10. Superstition
It has been believed that lightning strikes oak trees more frequently than other types, earning them the nickname “lightning oaks.” The surprising fact that these trees are seldom harmed by lightning, and often thrive afterward, led to a superstition: pieces of oak taken as keepsakes are thought to bring good luck and protection to their owners.
As unbelievable as it may seem, these superstitions have existed for centuries. Folklorists once considered acorns essential survival tools for those caught in extreme weather. Since acorns were thought to offer protection, they were placed on windowsills to safeguard homes from lightning strikes.
Even today, window pulls in homes around the globe are designed in the shape of acorns. Many airmen also carry these oak nuts as a symbol of protection as they soar through the skies.
9. The Birth of Fire
Recent archaeological research from the Andaman Islands reveals that the native Andamanese people had no method of producing fire before the advent of matches in the 19th century. The hunter-gatherer groups on these islands, off the coast of India, relied on keeping hearth fires and smoldering logs alive for future use.
The crucial flames that kept their communities warm and allowed them to prepare food were sparked by none other than the mighty thunderstorm above. When lightning struck a tree, the Andamanese quickly gathered at the site to collect the embers, using them to create fire that they would try to preserve for as long as possible.
Since lightning igniting the trees was not a common event, it was essential for the Andamanese to gather the embers quickly during every storm. Although this was no easy task, their method of doing so led scholars to classify the Andamanese as the most basic society ever encountered by literate Europeans.
8. 'The Heretical Rod'
In his renowned experiment, Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning is a form of electricity by using a kite to collect an electrical charge during a thunderstorm. This experiment eventually led to his invention of the lightning rod in 1752.
The rod was employed to protect both buildings and ships. However, for centuries, religion taught that lightning was a form of divine punishment, and as a result, Franklin’s invention was labeled “the heretical rod” (a sacrilegious object).
Due to these dangerous, outdated beliefs, churches refused to install the rods. Meanwhile, homes equipped with the “heretical” rods on their rooftops were spared, while places of worship continued to suffer from lightning strikes. Eventually, churches began to acknowledge the necessity of the rod to prevent such strikes.
Before the rod’s acceptance, countless churches faced severe damage from lightning. Some incidents even resulted in significant loss of life. For instance, in 1769, a church in Brescia, Italy, was destroyed when lightning ignited an arsenal of weapons stored inside, leveling much of the city and killing thousands of people.
7. A Sheep In Lion’s Clothing
As the first emperor of Rome who transformed the republic into an empire, Augustus Caesar established the foundation for the 200-year Pax Romana through reforms, lawmaking, and military victories. Despite his leadership and valor, Augustus harbored an intense and somewhat childlike fear of lightning.
While on a late-night Cantabrian expedition, a lightning bolt illuminated the sky, narrowly missing his men. A slave carrying a torch beside Augustus was struck dead. This event had a lasting and profound effect on the emperor, instilling in him a deep fear whenever a storm was on the horizon.
As a result of his close call, Augustus eventually built a shrine dedicated to Jupiter the Thunderer. However, he never overcame his fear of thunder. The sound of it often drove him to seek shelter in underground chambers. When traveling across his empire—no pun intended—he always carried sealskin with him, believing it offered protection from the thunderous Gods above.
6. The Colosseum
Rome’s famous Flavian Amphitheater, known as the Colosseum, was built to host various events, most notably venationes (“hunts”) and munera (“gladiator games”). After nearly a decade of construction, the amphitheater opened in AD 80, only to face near destruction a little over a century later.
In AD 217, lightning struck the wooden floors of the upper arena of the Colosseum, causing the entire structure to collapse. The flames that followed quickly spread to the wooden buildings below. To battle the raging fire, the seven companies of the city's fire brigade and sailors from the Castra Misenatium were called upon.
Despite their efforts, the fire could not be stopped. For the next five years, the circus served as the temporary venue for events. Although the gates of the Colosseum reopened in AD 222, it remained incomplete for another 18 years.
Interestingly, Emperor Alexander Severus decreed that the taxes collected from prostitutes, pimps, and homosexuals be used to fund the restoration of the amphitheater. Despite relatively little damage, the Colosseum was struck by lightning once again less than a century later.
5. Absurd Burial Rituals
Lightning has inspired a wealth of superstition over the centuries. In addition to the bizarre myths already mentioned, the ancient Greeks believed lightning was Zeus's weapon, and any place struck by it was sacred. As a result, temples were built at these sites.
In contrast to the Greeks' beliefs, church bell ringers in early Europe made as much noise as possible in a futile effort to drive away incoming storms, as their holy buildings were often struck by lightning. Meanwhile, the Navajo tribe saw lightning as a force linked to rain, wind, and crop growth, and they believed lightning held remarkable healing powers.
Perhaps the most absurd belief came from the Romans, who insisted that individuals struck down by lightning must be buried at the very spot of their death. It was even illegal to move the body above the knees, which prevented proper burial rites. Anyone who defied this law faced being sacrificed to Jupiter.
4. Phenomenon
Tony Cicoria, an orthopedic surgeon from New York, experienced a dramatic shift in his life after a lightning bolt struck his face one fateful afternoon in 1994. Cicoria recalls the overwhelming sense of peace as his soul seemed to float above his lifeless body. He soon returned to the living world.
Though the agonizing pain from the burns on his face and left foot eventually subsided, the mysterious effects of the lightning strike remained with him, offering him a strange kind of blessing for the rest of his life.
Once a man indifferent to music, Cicoria was suddenly overwhelmed by an uncontrollable urge to play the piano. It was as though he had been possessed by some powerful force, and he began playing the music that echoed in his mind with the grace and skill of a master pianist, comparable to those revered through the last four centuries.
To this day, neither Cicoria nor any neurologist can offer a medical explanation for the events that unlocked the doctor's extraordinary musical talents. Cicoria's out-of-body and near-death experience was undoubtedly a transformative and profoundly significant event.
Whether his musical transformation was triggered by a surge of intense emotion, a rush of noradrenaline, or perhaps a hallucinatory state, the electrical jolt brought forth undeniable musical talent that had never been present before, and maybe, never should be questioned.
3. World Records And Morbid Desires
Roy Sullivan, a ranger at Shenandoah National Park, holds the infamous Guinness World Record for being struck by lightning more times than anyone else. His unfortunate journey began in April 1942 when a lightning strike left a 1.2-centimeter (0.5 in) burn mark down his right leg.
Over the span of the next 35 years, Sullivan was struck by lightning an astonishing seven times. His final brush with death came in June 1977 when a lightning bolt hit his head, igniting his hair and eyebrows. In an unexpected twist, Sullivan’s life ended not from lightning, but from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on the early morning of September 28, 1983.
Though Sullivan holds the record for the most lightning strikes, the most tragic case belongs to James Otis Jr. A lawyer, statesman, patriot, and advocate for independence, Otis is famously known for his impassioned speech at Faneuil Hall.
Strangely, Otis often voiced a dark desire to meet his end by lightning. That wish came true on May 23, 1783, when he was struck down by a bolt of lightning. His body was transported to Boston, where it rests in a large tomb at the Granary Burying Ground.
2. Unexpected Casualties Of War
Between 1899 and 1902, Dutch-speaking settlers and British soldiers clashed in South Africa during the Second Boer War. In those three years, 86 soldiers were either killed or wounded not by enemy fire, but by bolts of lightning from the sky.
A similar fate befell soldiers during the Revolutionary War, when their metal weapons—such as muskets, swords, and bayonets—acted as lightning rods in the open fields during thunderstorms. In August 1776, three officers perished in their tent after lightning caused several boxes of cartridges to explode. Then, in February 1778, a thunderbolt struck the deck of the Boston, killing three men on board.
The Civil War wasn’t exempt from such tragedies. Several lightning-struck muskets and bayonets are preserved at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site.
While casualties from lightning strikes during wartime pale in comparison to those caused by combat or disease, the greatest loss of life from a bolt of lightning occurred in June 1807. In Luxembourg, lightning hit a gunpowder factory stocked with ammunition and weapons. The resulting explosion leveled two city blocks in Kirchberg, killing over 300 people.
1. Aviation Disasters
On average, each commercial airliner experiences a lightning strike once per year. Although catastrophic events are rare in modern times, this was not the case before the implementation of advanced protection systems.
In 1971, a Lansa flight carrying 91 people tragically crashed in Peru after a bolt of lightning tore off its right wing, setting the doomed aircraft ablaze as it plummeted. Four years earlier, 23 lives were lost on a Lockheed jet operated by the Imperial Iranian Air Force, and in 1988, 21 people were killed in a German aircraft disaster.
However, the deadliest lightning-related airline disaster took place in 1963 over Elkton, Maryland. A Pan Am Boeing 707, with 81 passengers on board, exploded in midair after a lightning strike ignited the fuel tank, causing a massive fire.
In 1977, the National Transportation Safety Board urgently urged the aviation industry to work together to reduce lightning damage. Sadly, it wasn’t until 1986 that NASA scientists formally began addressing the issue. Over the next thirty years, we gained invaluable insights into airplane durability and how to minimize damage from lightning strikes.
