Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: gofaster on July 23, 2003, 01:39:58 PM

Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: gofaster on July 23, 2003, 01:39:58 PM
.... avoid standing next to a giraffe.

Lightning Kills Giraffe at Disney Park
Lightning Kills Giraffe at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida As Animal Roams Among Tourists


The Associated Press


LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. July 23 —
Lightning struck and killed a giraffe at Disney's Animal Kingdom as the animal roamed among tourists, company officials said Wednesday.

The accident occurred Monday as a severe lightning storm moved over the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction, Disney spokeswoman Diane Ledder said.

"To the best of my knowledge, it was a quick death," she said.

It was unclear if any tourists saw the lightning strike.

Betsy the giraffe, who was 6 years old, was the first animal to die from a lightning strike at the theme park, Ledder said. "It's very unfortunate and unusual ... but it has happened in the past" at other U.S. parks, she said.

The park has lightning rods placed throughout the safari area to protect animals. Animals can also be brought inside during severe weather, but the storm came through with too little warning, Ledder said.
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: Sixpence on July 23, 2003, 01:47:36 PM
Looks like the lions are having BBQ today
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: Mickey1992 on July 23, 2003, 02:00:16 PM
Don't sit under a tree in metal chairs either.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030721/ap_on_re_us/lightning_deaths_10

Lightning Kills 2, Injures 3 in Utah
Mon Jul 21, 8:01 AM ET

SALT LAKE CITY - A mother and father who made the mistake of taking shelter from a storm under a tree were killed instantly...

The parents, both 34, were sitting on metal chairs when the bolt came down, the woman's sister, Lori Ostler, told KUTV-TV of Salt Lake City. The location is at the 10,000-foot level in the Uinta Mountains.
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: capt. apathy on July 23, 2003, 02:22:08 PM
Quote
Don't sit under a tree in metal chairs either.



when I read that one I couldn't help thinking of that episode of the simpsons where Homer explains where he got the wood for his softball bat  -
"I found myself caught outside in a thunderstorm, so covering my head with a piece of tin siding, I ran for the shelter of the tallest tree"
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: LePaul on July 23, 2003, 03:05:48 PM
We had a kid locally get hit in February while sliding in the snow.  He took a direct hit, just being released from the hospital a few days ago.  Lightening is something you typically don't think of as being common in Maine during February

A 14 year old girl died last week after getting hit.
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: rpm on July 23, 2003, 03:06:37 PM
Don't stand near this guy either! Roy Sullivan (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=48497)
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: Ripsnort on July 23, 2003, 03:52:59 PM
More people die from lightning strikes in the US than any other natural disaster, apparently...
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: Wlfgng on July 23, 2003, 04:07:18 PM
I have a friend that survived a direct hit...
still has the funny star-shaped scar...
one on his shoulder.. the other on his heel...
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: midnight Target on July 23, 2003, 04:08:25 PM
My friend Harry has a lightning shaped scar on his forehead.
Title: Thunderstorm safety tip...
Post by: Mickey1992 on July 28, 2003, 03:12:56 PM
Don't sleep in a cast iron bed either apparently.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=817&e=18&u=/ap/norway_lightning_bolt

Lightning Strikes Couple in Iron Bed
Mon Jul 28,12:14 PM ET  AP

OSLO, Norway - Trying to sleep through a storm wasn't easy for a Norwegian couple, especially since their cast-iron double bed took a direct hit from a lightning bolt that lit up the bedroom.

Idar Roenningen and companion Charlotte Amundsen, both 28, were kept awake by thunder late Friday night at their country home outside Porsgrunn, 60 miles southwest of the capital, Oslo. So, Roenningen unplugged some appliances.

Shortly after returning to bed, the room flared "like 10 welder's torches" and then everything went dark, Roenningen said.

Smoke from charred electrical sockets traced through the room.

Pillows apparently insulated the couple from the iron bed frame. They were not injured, but they chose to spend the rest of the night on the sofa.

"I think I'm more afraid of lightning now than I'll ever be," Roenningen told The Associated Press.

Their 5-year-old son, Jonathan, normally liked to sneak into bed with the couple, but he was away for a holiday break.