Funny, Strange, Random Pics

Kajiimagi said:

Not sure why exactly but this reminded me of something that happened to me. This was in my first house and taken with my first digital camera (hence why the quality is potato)

What you have there is a projection TV, a PS2 (or whichever one was out when the 1st gen Xbox came out) , a 1st generation Xbox, a DVD player, the box for Cable TV, and a stereo receiver. All were connected to UPS systems (2). The TV and the Cable box were connected to the cable in the wall.

House had a direct strike hit the house. None of this stuff was on when it happened. It fried the DvD player and the cable box. Everything else was fine. It didn't even trip either UPS. I also had (2) Alienware PC's; one that was on when the strike hit , one that was off. Fried both. The one that was off at the time had components blown off the damn boards. Lightning is wild.



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Well I seem to be getting a lot of reactions to this post. I'll elaborate on that day. I remember it well as it was the WORST DAY OF MY LIFE. It was July 5, 2003.

At that point , I had only had 1 back surgery and was fairly young. I had a kitchen with a high bar top on one side and had tall bar stools to sit on. I went to sit on one to have lunch and heard and felt a 'POP' in my back and went immediately to the floor. That was the worst my back has ever been out even now after 7 back surgeries. I could not stand up at all, I was hunched over like a capital C. Then that night the house gets struck by lightning. I knew what it was immediately as it sounded like an 18 wheeler had ran into the house. I go outside in the storm hunched over with an umbrella (to make sure the house was not on fire ) then realize how dumb holding an umbrella was and threw it down. So I'm soaked , I cannot stand upright, it knocked one phase out of my house XFMR so the AC would not come on. This was in South Carolina in the summer so the humidity was 11250%. Yep worst day of my life.

Hmm pic for the FSR gods.

Gask said:

Did it leave any visible marks anywhere in the house?

Random Japanese city flood waters, so clean!
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Wow did it ever. This was a wood house, with vinyl siding. It hit the back peak of the wood house and went to ground down both sides. It looked like someone took a ball bat to the siding. The air pressure blew in the drywall in my master bedroom (where my head would have been) best way to describe it was it looked like someone was standing in the wall and punched out. House also had a metal duct dryer vent that went to a vinyl vent in the outside peak, it caught everything that wasn't metal on fire (hence why I was outside looking). Hmm let me think this has been a while but it oh yeah it fried ALL the smoke detectors aka the things you need during a lightning strike. Fried all the GFCI outlet/breakers. Fired my garage door opener. Found out later that it arced between the dryer washer big time (later as in when the house flooded).
The insurance guy came to look and said he'd never seen lightning do that before. I looked but don't see any pic's, this was before I bought my first digital camera. I had some polaroid's but they were for insurance claims.

This was my first house and I only bought it cuz I was white and single A.K.A an ATM for the IRS. The tax prep person said 'buy a house or get married' well since I was NEVER getting married I bought a house. Btw I've been married for 17 years now.

Pic attached is from the same house but a cracked pipe in the wall. You would not think that it would get cold enough in Myrtle Beach SC for this to happen but you would be wrong. Keep in mind this was an insulated pipe in an insulated wall in a heated house. The gold streak on the pipe was supposed to mean it would not shatter or crack but that long ass horizontal crack says otherwise. Buy a home they said , it will be great they said ...............