Every day, about 40,000 storms occur, unleashing over 17 million lightning strikes on Earth, which is 200 strikes per second. Despite this very high number, the probability of being struck by lightning is infinitesimal, 1 in 10 million. This makes the story of Roy Sullivan, an American park ranger who was struck by lightning 7 times throughout his life, particularly curious. The fact that none of these 7 strikes killed him led to him being known worldwide as the "human lightning rod".
The first lightning strike hit Roy in 1942 while he was in a newly built watchtower that did not have a lightning rod. Despite the strong jolt, Roy did not suffer serious injuries.
The next one occurred in 1969. While he was driving, lightning struck a tree near the road, deflected, and entered through the window of Roy's truck. He lost control of the vehicle and nearly fell off a cliff.
In 1970, the third lightning strike hit Roy while he was in his own yard. It struck a transformer, which diverted its path toward Roy's shoulder.
A fourth lightning strike hit the park ranger's head in 1972 while he was working. From that moment on, Roy began to think that perhaps there was something about him that attracted lightning. In fact, just one year later, the fifth lightning strike hit him on the head. On this occasion, Roy had taken refuge in his truck from a severe storm until it subsided, and as he got out of the vehicle, a lightning bolt struck him.
In 1976 and 1977, two more lightning strikes hit Roy, causing injuries to his ankle, chest, and stomach. His wife, panicked after also being struck by lightning while she was next to Roy, decided to end their marriage.
In 1983, after falling into a deep depression, Roy Sullivan committed suicide, going down in history as the only man to survive being struck by 7 lightning bolts, a title he still holds in the Guinness World Records.
