The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-06-12
When Electricity Strikes During the
Storm It Produces Unusual e.
feets on Buildings and
Human Beings.
OFTEN MAKES PICTURES
Scientists Laugh at This Idea, Vet It
Has Been Proved Many Times
Lightning Does Imprint Fig
ures on Its Victims.

Scientists are inclined to pooh
pooh the idea that lightning makes
pictures" on the bodies of its victims
occasionally, a further example CT
which was lately quoted, says writer
in London Tit-Bits. A man was struck
while sheltering under tree and the
newspapers told how at the inquest
it was reported that a Photographic
likeness of the tree was imprinted
on the mans skin.
-Four people were sitting il room
when they were all rendered uncon'
scious by flash which cut in half
tree outside. They all recovered even
tually, but one of them, child, was
found to bear on it's body the imprint
of the whole tree. Every limb, branch
and leaf, even the severed portion,
were visible. In months time the
impression had totally faded.
. Some time ago the Lancet dis
cussed this subject and incidentally
gave some other interesting instances
Of course it was skeptical. 1t mentions
the case of woman who was struck
when minding cow. The COW was
conscious. On her breast was seen a
representation of the COW. The paper
remarks: Here healthy skepticism
is reasonable, for the picture OF the
COW was seen only by peasants
But still more interesting story
is told. 1t appears that in the sum-
mer of 1865 a doctor was returning
home by train and he found on
alighting at his wayside station that
his purse was missing. 1t was OF
tortoise shell. On one side it had a
monogram of two DIS inter-twined.
Some days later this very doctor
was called to see a stranger who had
been found unconscious under tree
struck by lightning in a recent storm.
| TO his huge surprise he found i'm
printed in the mans thigh his own
monogram, the inter-twined DIS. In
stead of jumping to the conclusion
that there was something "spooky'
about this occurrence, the doctor
asked the hospital authorities to look
in the mans pocket and they woulo
probably find his lost purse.
; The guess proved correct and the
Lancet observes: 1.-THE monogram
being of metal, was good conductor
so we can imagine how its image va:
Impressed on the skin. Similar cases
are recorded of the imprinting q
money and other metallic objects or
the skin by lightning strokes and it i;
common to find burns of the body
over metallic bodies such as watches.
One of the commonest freaks OF
lightning is to strip its victims Of thell
clothes About twenty years ago three
women were standing around reap
I ing machine when one of them was
struck by lightning and killed. The
other two were injured and were botf
stripped absolutely naked even te
their boots.
At Ashfort in Kent a man was
struck while standing under a willow
tree. He was found lying on his back
! two yards away from the tree, his
left leg broken, conscious, but badly
burned, and the field was strewn with
fragments of his clothing.
3, Sometimes lightning performs
rather comical freaks. 1t was re
corded Just before the war that a Ger
! tain mansion in Wales had beer
struck by lightning. which saved the
servants the trouble of lighting fire!
| The chimney was struck and the fue
laid in one of the CRATES was ignited
In the same severe storm a house al
Northwich was struck twice, at the
front first, and then at the back. Tho
second flash denuded a scrubbine
brush of all it's bristles. Many in
stances are on record of hair and
beard being shaved off by lightning
while the rest of the body was prac
tically uninjured. Sometimes the
hair returns and sometimes the part
is permanently bald.
| Sometimes lightning is strangely
selective. One will be taken and
another left. Quite recently twenty
sheep were killed under tree, but the
number sheltering was over forty and
those killed were by no means all in
bunch. But a stranger instance is
reported Lightning entered stable
containing twenty cows. The first
third, and SO on, were killed; the
second, fourth, and so on, escaped.
/ Two friends were going around the
links together recently when storm
came on from which they took shelter
in corrugated iron building. One Of
the golfers sat near the door and
while watching for the passing of the
passing of the storm commenced tC
cut up an old golf ball with knife
very vivid flash struck the knife
melted the blade, made deep hole in
the ball and scorched the golfers
fingers badly and that was all!