Farmer Thomas Young, suffering from a diagnosis of terminal cancer and nearly at the end of his life, lay in a hammock outside when a thunderstorm rolled in. Lightning struck the trees around his hammock, which was threaded with metal wires. The electrical blast surged through him, blowing off the bottoms of his shoes. While he was left disfigured, the lightning strike cured his cancer.

7 Riding the Rails (1874)



During a dreadful thunderstorm in Baltimore, witnesses in the suburbs saw a whirlwind descend from the sky, causing a near impenetrable blackness in the surrounding area, so dark objects six meters (20 ft) away were invisible. The air took on a burning odor. Numerous lightning strikes hit the nearby railroad tracks and formed balls of lightning which glowed an eerieThe color, complexity, and duration of each Lichtenberg figure varies from person to person. Winston Kemp was struck by lightning when he went outside during a storm and received a “temporary tattoo” on his arm.

3 Making a Color “Photograph” (1908)



A home in an unidentified town in New York State was reportedly the site of an unusual occurrence when a bolt of lightning struck the butler’s pantry off the kitchen, which contained several Royal Dresden plates displayed on a shelf. Apart from a slight discoloration on the edges, the plates were unharmed. Reportedly, the lightning imprinted the colors, decorations, and patterns of the plates onto the wall behind them.





2 Paying Friendly Calls on The Neighbors (1920)



On Ninth Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ball of lightning flashed into the parlor