A shocking story!

Dear Readers:

Did ya know that lightning kills far more poor people than rich ones? (Especially in the third world.)

No, mother Mother Nature is not particularity angry with poor people, it's just their lifestyle that makes them more susceptible.

First of all, poor folks in the third world are probably farmers who are out working in the fields when bad weather strikes. This makes them perfect targets for lightning.

Our farmers don't have this problem since they have tractors, which are insulated from lightning by their rubber tires! (That’s another major factor: In developed countries, people work outdoors less, and so are at less risk of being caught in a storm and killed. Nowadays in the U.S., lightning almost exclusively kills athletes and outdoor-leisure enthusiasts––fisherman the most, then beach goers, then campers. For sports, it’s soccer players, or golfers when they're out on the fairway, or standing under a tree!)

Second, living spaces, whether it's a tent, mud hut, shack with a tin roof, or even cheap houses and apartments don't have all the plumbing and electrical wiring that could divert a lightning strike down into the ground!

The numbers are bit of a rough estimate, because not all countries keep the data, but each year lightning kills about 24,000 people. And while the strikes themselves may be random, the victims are almost exclusively poor ....., or golfers!