~mystic_fish
@~mystic_fish
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Killer Technology ..
Lightning zaps B.C. man via iPod 'buds
Gerry Bellett
Vancouver Sun; Bloomberg News; CanWest News Service
Thursday, July 12, 2007
VANCOUVER - Earbuds are more like spark plugs if you're struck by lightning while listening to an iPod, warns a Vancouver doctor. And the same thing goes for cellphones.
A 37-year-old jogger was caught in a thunderstorm in a Burnaby park in June 2005. Taking cover under a tree, he was hit by lightning as he stood listening to music from his iPod.
The electrical current travelled through his headphones, throwing him two metres, rupturing his eardrums, breaking his jaw and leaving him with chest and neck burns, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The lightning burned his chest, neck and face, with the burns tracing the position of the earphones. The man has lost half of his hearing and can't hear high-frequency sounds, even with hearing aids.
He appears to be considering legal action against Apple, the manufacturers of iPod, as he has retained a lawyer who has instructed him not to give media interviews.
About 90 per cent of people struck by lightning survive, and injuries can include being knocked unconscious and having shoes or clothes blown off. While people are sometimes struck directly, it is more likely that lightning will jump from an object to a person, the report's authors wrote.
"It's not like lightning looks for iPods, but if it strikes you and you're holding something that works as a conductor, that will make injuries worse," Steven Silber, a doctor of emergency medicine at New York Methodist Hospital, said in an interview.
The man cited in the journal report was struck by a "side flash" that went through his metal headphones to his head, said the authors, led by Eric Heffernan at Vancouver General Hospital.
Usually, when a person is struck by lightning, the current is conducted over the skin. Sweat, and metal in contact with the skin, can make the damage worse, the authors wrote.
"In this case, the victim had earphones on and had been sweating from jogging so this was a case of disrupted flashover and the earphones transmitted the electrical current into his head.
"It's the first time we've had a recorded case of such an incident involving a person wearing headphones and we think the public should be warned," Heffernan said.
Gerry Bellett
Vancouver Sun; Bloomberg News; CanWest News Service
Thursday, July 12, 2007
VANCOUVER - Earbuds are more like spark plugs if you're struck by lightning while listening to an iPod, warns a Vancouver doctor. And the same thing goes for cellphones.
A 37-year-old jogger was caught in a thunderstorm in a Burnaby park in June 2005. Taking cover under a tree, he was hit by lightning as he stood listening to music from his iPod.
The electrical current travelled through his headphones, throwing him two metres, rupturing his eardrums, breaking his jaw and leaving him with chest and neck burns, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The lightning burned his chest, neck and face, with the burns tracing the position of the earphones. The man has lost half of his hearing and can't hear high-frequency sounds, even with hearing aids.
He appears to be considering legal action against Apple, the manufacturers of iPod, as he has retained a lawyer who has instructed him not to give media interviews.
About 90 per cent of people struck by lightning survive, and injuries can include being knocked unconscious and having shoes or clothes blown off. While people are sometimes struck directly, it is more likely that lightning will jump from an object to a person, the report's authors wrote.
"It's not like lightning looks for iPods, but if it strikes you and you're holding something that works as a conductor, that will make injuries worse," Steven Silber, a doctor of emergency medicine at New York Methodist Hospital, said in an interview.
The man cited in the journal report was struck by a "side flash" that went through his metal headphones to his head, said the authors, led by Eric Heffernan at Vancouver General Hospital.
Usually, when a person is struck by lightning, the current is conducted over the skin. Sweat, and metal in contact with the skin, can make the damage worse, the authors wrote.
"In this case, the victim had earphones on and had been sweating from jogging so this was a case of disrupted flashover and the earphones transmitted the electrical current into his head.
"It's the first time we've had a recorded case of such an incident involving a person wearing headphones and we think the public should be warned," Heffernan said.
He and his colleagues in Vancouver General's radiology department, Dr. Peter Munk and Dr. Luck Louis, could find only one other account of someone being hit by lightning while wearing an iPod.
"There was someone in Colorado that was hit, but this only resulted in minor burns and it wasn't a recorded case," he said.
As for the B.C. victim, he still goes jogging, Heffernan said -- and he's got another iPod to replace the one that was fried. "I think he leaves it at home now when he's jogging," he said.
A telephone call to Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple wasn't immediately returned.
"There was someone in Colorado that was hit, but this only resulted in minor burns and it wasn't a recorded case," he said.
As for the B.C. victim, he still goes jogging, Heffernan said -- and he's got another iPod to replace the one that was fried. "I think he leaves it at home now when he's jogging," he said.
A telephone call to Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple wasn't immediately returned.
interesting antibling.. =) ..is there an article or something on this updated info..
"LG said it knew all along that its cell phone was not the killer."
wow, thank God for that, i actually like LG Products ..so this is good news and a relief!
Hey, thanks alot for the update, bling! 🙂
wow, thank God for that, i actually like LG Products ..so this is good news and a relief!
Hey, thanks alot for the update, bling! 🙂
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Kim was not immediately available for comment.
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