Music Players "Lightning Risk"

Doctors in Vancouver, Canada, have warned that people who wear iPods and other less popular portable media players during a storm could be putting themselves at risk. In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, they describe burns and hearing damage suffered by a patient hit by lightning while using his iPod. The man, who was jogging in a storm, suffered burns to his chest and on his leg where he was wearing the player. Doctors say the man's sweat and metal earphones helped channel the current. Medical experts say electronic devices, such as music players or mobile phones, on their own do not attract lightning, nor the type of music you are listening to, reports that the man was listening to Depeche Mode's "Blasphemous Rumours" are unfounded.. No mention of kite flying or sheltering under a tree, maybe those aren't as dangerous as they once were. The BBC offers this advice