iPod Saves Girl From Lightning Bolt

3:23 pm, June 19th, 2009, Nicole Martinelli

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A 14-year-old British girl owes her life to her iPod earbuds, which took a 300,000-volt surge when lightning struck.

Sophie Frost and her boyfriend huddled together under a tree near Essex during a storm when a bolt of lightening hit. Doctors say that Frost and her beau were saved because the massive surge took the shortest route to the ground — through her earbuds.

The four-day-old iPod (a gift from her grandmother), may have saved her life, but she still suffered severe burns that left tie-dye likeÃ‚Â patterns down her torso and legs and a perforated eardrum.

The teens were knocked unconscious by the jolt and hospitalized for burns but doctors believe they may heal without permanent scars.

Dr. Ian Cotton, a reader in electrical engineering at Manchester University, told the Daily Mail Sophie could have been saved by her iPod:

“If lightning hits a person it can do one of two things. It can go down the outside of the skin, which is more likely if someone is caught in a storm and their body is wet. Or it can puncture the skin and go into the body. Potentially a metal wire, which is highly conductive could divert the electricity away from the heart and save someone’s life.”
There have been some reports of iPods directing currents and harming wearers in storms, this seems to be the first time it saved someone’s life during a blitz.

Via Daily Mail, BBC

Posted by Nicole Martinelli in News, iPod | Comment on this article

About the author

Nicole Martinelli was born in San Francisco and has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. Cultish tendencies and love for DIY increased while living on the Old Continent, where tech came late and cost more in Big Mac index terms. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek, and since 1999 on her site, Zoomata. If you're so inclined, friend her on Facebook or connect on Linked in.

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