The first detection of lightning in a Martian dust storm has likely been made by a new detector on a radio telescope. Scientists have long thought that as with dust devils and storms here on Earth, Martian dust storms should produce lightning. But direct evidence of electric discharges on the red planet was lacking. picked by kakana 4 months ago

This amazing photograph gives whole new meaning to the phrase "May God strike me with lightning if ..." Rio de Janeiro's world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm over the Brazilian city on Sunday. picked by maxriter 2 years ago

A New Hampshire woman is feeling pretty lucky after a lightning bolt struck her body and apparently exited through her nose ring. picked by deEPCHIll 1 year ago

In New Mexico, U.S., scientists tested a new ultra-high-power laser which provoked lightning. Scientists fired ultra-fast pulses from an extremely powerful laser thus sending several terawatts into the clouds to call down electrical discharges in storm clouds over the region. picked by maxriter 2 years ago

A picture and a short video clip showing a lightning bolt striking an aeroplane taking off, then hitting the ground. picked by bunmaster 2 years ago

A woman who filmed the moment she was hit by lightning has spoken of her terror as the strike passed through her body. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

A 36-year-old diver was killed off a Florida beach after lightning struck his air tank. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Steven Cummer and his colleagues observed the gigantic jet almost by accident. They were set up to observe sprites and other unusual types of above-cloud lightning associated with Tropical Storm Cristobal on July 21, 2008. Instead, they saw the whopper gigantic jet. picked by kakana 3 months ago

A man making a trip from Puerto Rico to South Florida to raise money for his religious education remains hospitalized Monday after he was struck down by a bolt of lightning which flew from clear blue sky on Sunday. He was selling religious materials when he was hit. [Can't seem to find the Irony category] picked by sholom22 2 years ago

An unlucky Croatian motorbike rider was knocked unconscious when lightning struck his penis as he stopped for a quick roadside toilet break. OK, let the "Lightning Rod" jokes begin... picked by mitzuzake 2 years ago

For the first time, scientists have been able to “see” and trace lightning inside a plume of ash spewing from an actively erupting volcano. picked by kakana 8 months ago

Campbell Gillespie was struck by lightning four years ago. Barely surviving the strike, the injuries he sustained left him with no sense of taste or smell and, according to doctors, completely sterile.

Proving them wrong (or in an incredibly ostentatious act of cuckoldry), his partner Hazel Topping gave birth to a son this morning.

Link to an earlier story here picked by pocksucket 2 years ago

A man wearing his iPod during a thunderstorm was hurled eight feet into the air when lightning hit a tree close by. The burns covering the man's chest, neck and ear coincided with the positions of his iPod earphones he was wearing at the moment of the lightning strike. picked by maxriter 2 years ago

Cows are susceptible to lightning strikes because of both sets of legs being on the ground, the current can go up one set and exit through the other. More often than not tho, cows die from it. This one survived. picked by equinox 10 months ago

A Croatian woman was left with a severely burned anus after a lightning strike which entered through her mouth left her body through her bottom. picked by mitzuzake 2 years ago

The cows had pressed against a wire fence during a storm when the lightning bolt struck. picked by arsphidius 1 year ago

For the first time, direct evidence of lightning has been detected on Mars, say University of Michigan researchers who found signs of electrical discharges during dust storms on the Red Planet. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

As clouds of toxic ash and dust tower into the sky, they ionise the air, generating an explosive electrical storm. Colossal forks of lightning spark around the noxious plume as it spews from the volcano's crater, creating an image of raw, terrifying energy - as if the air itself were ablaze. Video of the eruption here. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Volcanoes can trigger earthquakes, avalanches and devastating lava flows. Add to this list lightning, which has now been detected striking from the mouth of a mountainous beast. picked by Browntrout 3 years ago

Brazil has registered 28 lightning-related deaths so far in 2008. This is an increase of 64% from last year. picked by punthe 2 years ago