Lightning Facts

A bolt of lightning contains enough energy to toast 160,000 pieces of bread.

The longest known lightning bolt could have reached from Brussels to London.

The Empire State Building gets hit by lightning about 23 times per year.

In the 18th century Paris, it was fashionable to wear hats and umbrellas with lightning rods attached.

African bongos eat burned wood after lightning storms.

You're more likely to get struck by lightning in Texas than find in-person voter fraud.

A lightning bolt carries X-ray radiation.

In 1902, a lightning strike damaged the upper section of the Eiffel Tower, requiring the reconstruction of its top.

A 62-foot Jesus statue built by a megachurch was destroyed by a lightning strike and subsequent fire.

The Statue of Liberty is estimated to be hit by about 600 bolts of lightning every year.