Lightning- An Enlightening Interview
A little more science....
Homeschooling can be difficult. Finding creative ways to encourage and inspire your child(ren) is a never-ending job.
Allowing my daughter to post her research projects (if I believe they are good enough) on my Hubpages account and get feedback from other writers/scientists/teachers/artists has been the most effective tool so far in getting her excited about schoolwork!
Thank you in advance for your comments, and your time. She had a blast putting this together; we both hope you enjoy her work.
Zap the lightning bolt
Written by Chelsea Roy
Hi! I’m Chelsea, and this is my friend Zap, the lightning bolt.
Today we’re going to have the children at the Instatoot of Young Learning ask Zap and me some questions about lightning.
Yes? You again? Fine…the bathroom’s in the back if you absolutely have to puke, but don’t expect us to wait for you!
Now, who’s got a real question?
Am I safe from lightning when there are blue skies?
No, not always. You can still be struck by lightning when the center of a thunderstorm is ten miles away and the skies are blue.
But don’t worry Sally, if you do get struck by lightning, vultures love people-kabobs, so you’re still making someone happy.
Where should I shelter from lightning?
Well Tommy, I’d think IN YOUR HOUSE, but if you’re outside for some reason, then here are a few place were you could go:
- BACK INSIDE
- To a vehicle. (Convertibles, golf carts, riding mowers, and plastic/fiberglass vehicles are NOT safe) Most people believe that the reason cars are safe is because of the rubber tires, rubber being an insulator, but it's actually the metal shell that makes a car safe. and about the rubber thing, well, if a lightning bolt has just traveled two or more miles through air, an inch or two of rubber wouldn't make much difference, now would it? In fact, it's been calculated that you would need tires about a mile thick for the rubber to help you!
These are some things to avoid:
- Tall objects like trees, poles, lightning rods, and kittens.
- Water activities such as swimming, boating (however, only boats without cabins are unsafe), fishing, or petting kittens.
- Golfing, and kittens
- Always avoid electronics, like TVs, radios, robots, kittens, computers, phones (phones are the number one cause for in home deaths by lightning), or even your mother-in-law.
- Never EVER eat a sardine-and-mustard sandwich (Why? Because they’re DISGUSTING, that’s why).
- Avoid places like open fields, high ground, and kittens.
(And if you’re golfing with a kitten near a lightning rod on a boat while talking on the phone to your mother-in-law and eating a sardine-and-mustard sandwich, then you’re just begging to be struck)
Could've had a V8
How hot is lightning?
Well, it depends on what you mean by that Sueroy333, because if you’re looking to ask it out, then it’s totally opinion, but if you mean temperature, then I can help you. Lightning travels at about 140,000 mph (A whole lot faster than Sparky) and can reach 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ouch.
I wet my pants
Johnny, that’s not a question
How much of a chance do I have of being struck by lightning?
Gee Bob, you sounded almost eager about that….*cough* anyway...
Well, the chances of being struck in the U.S.A in any year are 1 in 700,000. The chance of being struck in your lifetime is 1 in 3,000.
(There are almost 100 lightning strikes every second, the lightning must have pretty poor eyesight if our odds of getting hit by it are so low when there‘s so much of it.)
Little not-so-known fact:
The lightning capital of the U.S is Florida (A real vactation hot-spot)
And the lightning capital of the world is Africa
What if I don’t live in the U.S.A?
Well, Brattny, I mean Brittany, go stand in Europe with a metal rod and I think you’ll find out.
Well, that’s all the time Zap and I have, I hope you’ve enjoyed this interview. See you soon!
(Note: Kittens are safe to be around in a thunderstorm, and any information that led you to believe otherwise is false, and was not written by me, but my evil twin Bob Finklestien, though I was totally serious about the mother-in-law thing)
