Global Records
The longest lightning bolt ever recorded stretched nearly 768 km (about 477 miles) across several U.S. states — much farther than the distance most lightning travels! A previous record of about 709 km (441 miles) was set over Brazil.
Lightning - Facts for Kids
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Facts About Lightning For Kids
The longest lightning flash ever seen lasted about 17 seconds! That’s much longer than a normal lightning bolt, which usually flashes for less than a second!
Singapore has lots of lightning and is one of the places in the world with very frequent lightning storms.
Lightning strikes Earth millions of times every single day — around 8 million lightning flashes all over the planet! That’s because thunderstorms are happening somewhere in the world almost every minute.
You can tell how far away lightning is by counting the seconds between the flash and thunder – each 5 seconds equals about 1 mile!
The light from lightning reaches your eyes before the sound of thunder because light travels faster than sound!
Historical & Cultural Facts
Ancient Greeks believed lightning bolts were thrown by Zeus, the king of gods!
Native Americans believed thunderbirds created lightning by flapping their wings!
The Vikings believed that the thunder god Thor used his magical hammer Mjölnir to create thunder and lightning.
Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod in the early 1750s to help protect buildings from lightning by giving the electric charge a safe path to the ground!
William N. Jennings took one of the first surviving photos of lightning in 1882, and it became famous.
Ancient Romans believed lightning striking a building was a message from their gods!
Amazing But True!
Most people never get hit by lightning even once — but one man named Roy Sullivan was struck seven times during storms and survived them all!
Sometimes right before lightning strikes nearby, static electricity can make your hair stand up or give your skin a tingling feeling.
