Well, now that we’re back on good old terra firma (firm ground!), how about a hot-off-the-presses news update when it comes to that favourite technological gadget attached to most everyone’s ears these days? Which gadget is that? Your MP3 player of course! This just in from the New England Journal of Medicine (a pretty top-notch journal too): Wearing an MP3 player could be really dangerous to your health if you happen to be in stormy weather. How come? It turns out that your portable tune player may be tuning you in to more than songs. It may just be tuning you in to a lightning strike as well!  

Surprisingly, metal devices, such as cell phones, walkmans, or MP3 players don’t turn you into a walking antenna on their own. Another factor is at play here. Can you guess what it is? Nope? Think wet! Water, specifically sweat, may be the culprit here. It turns out that the sweat, combined with the metal in the earphones, conducts the electrical charge of a lightning bolt straight through your head. Hmm, seems like jogging with your MP3 player in bad weather is a bit of a no-brainer!

Sounds a bit scary, but what kind of damage can a lightning bolt really do to your body? A heck of a lot! A man in Vancouver, Canada, was hit by lightning while jogging with his MP3 player. The end result? Major burns to his chest and leg, as well as a broken jaw (lightning makes your muscles contract so strongly that it can break your bones!). On top of that, the electricity that surged through the headphones caused his eardrums to burst completely, resulting in major hearing loss. So if spending your life saying “Eh? What did you say?” isn’t your idea of a good time, remember to leave that MP3 player at home in stormy weather!