Lightning is unusual at the very best of times and has been the subject of much investigation by scientists over the centuries. It’s also been the basis for a number of religious myth and cultural tradition. However, no matter how awe-inspiring lightning can be, it seems to always throw up more surprises; here are just a few.

Lightning Partially Cured Blindness
Absolutely astonishingly, lightning is credited with partially curing a man of his blindness! This bizarre story is centred around a man named Edwin Robinson; a 62-year-old living in Maine in 1980 who had lost his eyesight in a car accident nearly a decade before and found that he had regained some of his eyesight after being struck. He may have been unlucky to be struck at all, but he was particularly lucky to have this outcome.

‘Bolts From The Blue’
You may have heard of the phrase a ‘bolt from the blue’ and been wondering where it comes from. A bolt from the blue is a lightning bolt which comes from a storm many miles away so that it seems as though it has come from nowhere. These are very rare but, nonetheless, there have been reports of people and buildings being struck on what seemed like a perfectly clear day.

The Man Who Survived Seven Strikes
Roy Sullivan was a park ranger in the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA and was struck by lightning a staggering seven times. Even more astounding, however, is that he survived them all and died in totally unrelated circumstances sometime later. Between 1942 and 1977, Roy was struck seven times making him statistically one of the world’s most unlucky people.
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Lightning Protection From Rodells Ltd
​Here at Rodells Ltd, we’ve been providing a wide range of services to countless clients for over a century. We can provide reliable lightning protection services to a broad variety of organisations across the country. Whether you own a property in the private sector or the local school, church or college needs to be protected from lightning, look no further than Rodells.
 
To find out more, please feel free to contact us today. You can find us at ​Cell Barnes House, Cell Barnes Lane, St Albans, Herts, AL1 5AS, call us on 01727 841855 or email us at [email protected]. 

Lightning is awe-inspiring, but it can also be very dangerous. Here we describe some of the most devastating accidents caused by lightning.

Brescia, ItalyBack in the year 1769, the town of Brescia in Italy suffered from a terrible accident caused by lightning. In the vaults of the Church of the Nazaire in the town, nearly 94 tons of gunpowder was being stored when lightning struck. Travelling through the building to the vault, the ensuing explosion killed 3,000 people and destroyed around a sixth of the city. The destruction of the accident meant that much more effort was made to ensure gunpowder was stored safely and securely in the future.

Pan American Flight To PhiladelphiaOne of the world’s worst lightning-related death-toll happened in 1963 when a Boeing 707 was struck by lightning as it travelled from Puerto Rico to Philadelphia. Tragically killing all 81 people on board, the aeroplane exploded in mid-air during the flight as the lightning hit a reserve fuel tank. The intense heat melted the rivets in the structure and fused materials together. This tragedy created a need for all airliners to be fitted with lightning discharge wicks.

Yellowstone FiresIn 1988, one of the very largest fires in the history of Yellowstone spread across the park and affected more than a third of it. This caused mass-evacuations and - to this day - hikers are still advised to watch out for the potential of falling trees which were damaged in the fire. The fire was started via a mixture of very dry weather, high winds and a number of lightning strikes.

Rodells Ltd: A Century of ExperienceIf you require scaffolding services or lightning protection services across England, look no further than Rodells. We’re experts in the industry and provide excellent services to a wide range of clients. We’ve been serving our customers for over one hundred years and look forward to continuing our work for another century.
 
To find out more, please feel free to contact us today. You can find us at ​Cell Barnes House, Cell Barnes Lane, St Albans, Herts, AL1 5AS, call us on 01727 841855 or email us at [email protected].