Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here is it dangerous to
Speaker 1: bathe in a thunderstorm? A bathtub would be a lot easier? Seriously, though,
Speaker 1: it's long been rumored that taking a nice hot soak
Speaker 1: in the tub or enjoying a shower is a dangerous
Speaker 1: proposition when electricity is coursing through the sky. The basic
Speaker 1: answer is yes, absolutely, it's better to put off bathing
Speaker 1: until after the thunder stops rolling. But let's discuss why
Speaker 1: this is even a question. There are a lot of
Speaker 1: myths about lightning. Understandably, it's pretty mythic. Bolt of lightning
Speaker 1: is hotter than the surface of the sun. It can
Speaker 1: reach some fifty degrees fahrenheit. But for example, a plane
Speaker 1: getting hit by lightning isn't usually that bit of a deal.
Speaker 1: Although pilots do try to avoid thunderstorms, planes are built
Speaker 1: too safely conduct currents, and, contrary to the saying lightning
Speaker 1: will strike the same place twice a many tall structures
Speaker 1: are hit. Often. Even the old rubber tires on a
Speaker 1: car will protect you from lightning strikes. Adage is false.
Speaker 1: A car is safe because it has a metal roof
Speaker 1: and sides to conduct the current to the ground. There
Speaker 1: are a lot of common misconceptions about how lightning works
Speaker 1: and what it can affect, so it's not that weird
Speaker 1: to think that the old don't shower during a storm
Speaker 1: line is just another myth. But don't be mistaken about
Speaker 1: this one. It really is dangerous to bathe during a thunderstorm,
Speaker 1: and not just theoretically dangerous. Ten to twenty people a
Speaker 1: year in the u s alone are injured while messing
Speaker 1: around with household water during a storm, and that doesn't
Speaker 1: just mean sitting in the tub waiting for literal lightning
Speaker 1: to strike. Doing the dishes, or even just using faucets
Speaker 1: can be dangerous too. The reasons are grounded in the pipes.
Speaker 1: A lot of pipes used in household plumbing are made
Speaker 1: of metal, which attracts and conducts a bolt of electricity,
Speaker 1: and the water itself, even if it doesn't contain conducive impurities,
Speaker 1: which it probably does, will help conduct the electricity. So
Speaker 1: cover yourself in the wet stuff, either in a shower,
Speaker 1: bath or just using the faucet in general, and you
Speaker 1: help that electric current jump right to you. But running
Speaker 1: the taps or Bathing during a thunderstorm isn't the biggest
Speaker 1: threat for health and welfare. Every year, around twenty people
Speaker 1: in the US are killed due to lightning strikes and
Speaker 1: hundreds more are injured, though most often when they're outside
Speaker 1: and a flat, open area like a beach or a
Speaker 1: golf course. Still, the National Weather Service does not take
Speaker 1: this risk lightly. The agency advises that during a thunderstorm,
Speaker 1: it's best to go inside and stay away from plumbing
Speaker 1: and faucets, an excellent excuse to skip during the dishes
Speaker 1: during a dark and stormy night. Today's episode is based
Speaker 1: on the article is it dangerous to bathe during a thunderstorm?
Speaker 1: On how stuff works dot com, written by Kate Kirshner.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with
Speaker 1: how stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.
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