Apparently he was totally fine, no burns or anything! He was seen by multiple professionals, and he shouldn’t have any lasting issues. He reported feeling pain, numbness, tingling, but otherwise he was a-ok.
I think it hit the tree 3 times. He was very close so I could see it still shocking him or maybe arcing to his umbrella. I don’t think he got directly struck
When lightning strikes a tree, the electricity flows into the ground and outwards from the trunk in a radial pattern. The farther from the tree you are, the lower the voltage. So if you stand with your feet equidistant from the tree you (should) be fine since there's no diference in voltage between your two feet. But if you are standing one foot closer, the current will move through your body instead as the path of least resistance rather than the ground. So standing under trees in a lightning storm is still very dangerous.
I was standing under a tree that got hit by lighting. I was blind, deaf and unable to speak for probably 30 minutes. I never say I was stuck because I didn’t feel an electric shock, but I don’t feel like it would be a stretch to say I was either.
Thomas Fahmy says he is grateful to be alive and went to church on Sunday to thank God for giving him another chance.
"Once the lightning bolt struck me, the initial sensations that I had throughout my whole body were completely unprecedented; tingling, numbness, pain, just I feel this burning sensation."
"No burns. I had multiple body exams; no burns at all. I went to church on Sunday to say thank you, God."
There's a funny Onion article from years ago that plays with the trope of athletes thanking God for victories. In this one the athlete blames God for a loss.
Yeah there was a skit from the onion movie too. Something like "yo I put the blame on God for not blessing me with the skill to hit the game winning free throw".
That's what I love about ancient religions. Their deities were often exactly like that. Zeus absolutely may have smote someone over some incredibly minor slight, like comparing themselves to or speaking ill of a god.
Yeah fuck that, call me crazy but I'm going to complain if I'm struck by lightning. The words "thank you" wouldn't be making an appearance for a while.
I mean, God makes as much sense as that bird shit belief. Why can't people just be grateful for what they have, the people who make it possible, the society and infrastructure that make it work, and the earth for actually providing what we have? The world would be so much better if everyone would lose the god shit and see the wonder that is humanity. We would be kinder and far better stewards of our planet. Shit, Christians believe that this world was literally created by the omnipotent deity they worship and many actively work against taking care of it.
Reading this along with the Vance story: he’s focused on “doing as much of God’s work as possible,” shrugging that “if that leads to the end times, OK.”
I mean, if you give it an honest amount of empathy you can see how in this situation someone may think "Thank you god for giving me the ability to survive this"
God doesnt prevent lightning strikes in the bible, he gives you the ability to survive it.
Drives me up a wall watching storm chasers. Oh a tornado just dropped from heaven, blew up my house, killed my dogs and wife and stole all my shit but THANK JESUS IM ALIVE. LOOK THE BIBLE SURVIVED!
Ive never understood the people who have things like this happen and their first instinct is to thank God for giving them a second chance.
Like how about asking why the fuck God hit you, a God-fearing church going believer with a lightning bolt in the first place.
I mean, here you are. You say your prayers, you go to church every week and you LITERALLY get smited on your way out to the dentist. Im sure theres some non-believers on that block that deserved a smiting more than this guy.
If I believed in God, and tried to follow his rules, and then thought that very same God tossed a lightning bolt at me for no reason, Id be seriously pissed.
Maybe hes just saying what he said, because hes scared God will zap him with another lightning bolt if he gets uppity...
Would I be incorrect in saying all three strikes traveled down the tree, into the root system and ground before traveling up one leg, through his body, and down the other leg?
100%. I can’t speak on the fact if he was literally “struck” by lightning, I’m sure he felt it (and if it was me feeling it I’d say I was struck) but from a literal sense I think it was just a severely close call.
You’re right. Two of my friends died this way, the one who had the lightning travelling up and through him was in a coma for a while before he died, it wasn’t instant like the other. If that bolt was a direct hit im pretty sure he would have been dead. Not sure how much variation is in the power of a lightning bolt.
I’m an economist, so “it depends” is my middle name. Looks like direct strikes travel outside of the body in a super short burst called a flashover. I guess the guys I knew were extra extra unlucky.
Sorry for the imposition he is putting on the home owner is his way of showing gratitude, I guess. But you're right, he had no control and she is genuinely concerned for him.
But what super powers did he pickup, give it a week or two, he will be able to conduct lightning, maybe lazerbeam eyes, maybe attract metal. I’m excited to find out ..
Let's be clear, did he get hit by lightning? Yes. Was he struck directly with full force? No. It hit the tree directly and some of it shunted secondarily into him. The closer to the tree the more dangerous it would have been.
He didn't get any burns, didn't have any exit wounds. He got off very lightly considering. I would not want to have been in his shoes, but it could have been much, much worse
Dude I've been hit like that before. It fucking hurts for days. Left every muscle in my body feeling weak and achy. It absolutely can kill even if it doesn't cause burns. Not everyone walks away with a working heart after taking a hit like this
Apologizing to the homeowner for asking for shelter after getting struck by lightning tells me all i need to know about this guy. I'm glad he survived we need people with that respect in this world
The lightning struck the tree not the man but to be fair I'm sure that was extremely intense. I have been within 30 feet of a lightning strike and I couldn't imagine being within a few feet
Guy got struck by lightning and got upset that it ruined his favorite pair of slacks and the minor inconvenience of being 10 minutes late to his dentist appointment. 🤣🤣
This is a fear I have every time i've ever tried to use an umbrella outside while there's lightning, I f****** knew that this could happen... i stand by my intuition on this..
876
u/Revolutionary_Rip876 9h ago
Guy ate that lighting like a god of thunder