Q. Lightning strikes kill thousands of people every year. Does lightning ever do anyone any good?
A: On the planetary scale, lightning may have helped in the early formation of amino acids, precursor to life on Earth, says Colby College's James R. Fleming, historian of science and technology. Long ago, lightning perhaps brought fire to humankind. Today, lightning fixes nitrogen in the air, creating natural fertilizer, and ignites eco-sound forest-thinning fires. Also, lightning's electromagnetic fields aid scientists in study of the atmosphere.
And every once in a while, says FMA Research, Inc., a consortium of atmospheric scientists, lightning does a few bolt-from-the-blue individual good deeds. In 1856, reported by "Scientific American" magazine, a strike in Kensington N.H. made a hole a foot wide and 30 feet deep--a "well" that soon filled with good water. A Greenwood S.C. electrician was hit and never again felt cold, even when working outside in sub-zero temperatures. There are stories of blind people regaining their sight, and even published claims of victims with improved intelligence.
But these are rare exceptions, with lightning deserving from all of us the utmost respect.
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