Roy Cleveland Sullivan was a park ranger in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, who holds an unenviable world record: he was struck by lightning seven times between 1942 and 1977 - and survived every single strike. His hair was set on fire twice. He lost a toenail. He was thrown from his truck. He burned his chest, stomach, and legs on separate occasions. The odds of being struck by lightning once in an average lifetime are about 1 in 15,000. The odds of being struck seven times are calculated at 1 in 10^28 - virtually impossible. Yet Sullivan's strikes were witnessed and documented. He became known as the 'Human Lightning Rod,' a man cursed - or blessed - with extraordinary bad luck.
The first strike came in April 1942 in a fire lookout tower in the park. Lightning hit the tower and traveled through Sullivan's leg, burning a half-inch stripe down to his ankle and knocking off his big toenail. He escaped through a tower leg, fighting through flames.
Fire lookout towers are lightning targets by design - they're the tallest structures on mountain peaks. Sullivan's presence in one during a storm wasn't unusual. The strike seemed like ordinary bad luck. It wouldn't stay ordinary.
The second strike came in July 1969, while Sullivan was driving. Lightning hit a nearby tree, bounced through the open window of his truck, and knocked him unconscious. His eyebrows were burned off. His hair was set on fire. He regained consciousness and steered the truck to safety.
The third strike, in July 1970, hit Sullivan in his own front yard. The lightning struck a nearby transformer, jumped to Sullivan, and burned his shoulder. By now, he was becoming locally famous - the ranger who couldn't avoid lightning.
In spring 1972, Sullivan was working inside a ranger station when lightning struck him through the open window, setting his hair on fire for the second time. He put out the flames in a bathroom sink. He began carrying a bucket of water in his truck.
In August 1973, lightning found him again while he was driving through the park. The bolt struck through the cab, burning his hair once more and throwing him ten feet out of the vehicle. When he stood up, a bear was approaching - Sullivan claimed he was more afraid of the bear than the lightning.
The sixth strike came in June 1976. Sullivan was checking on a campground when lightning hit him, burning his ankle. He was now famous enough to have a Guinness World Record.
The seventh and final strike occurred on June 25, 1977. Sullivan was fishing when lightning hit his head, burning his chest and stomach. He drove himself to the hospital. Even then, his day wasn't done - on the drive, he encountered a bear trying to steal trout from his fishing line. He claimed he hit the bear with a tree branch. Roy Sullivan had run out of luck everywhere except when he needed it most.
Scientists studied Sullivan but found nothing unusual about his body that would attract lightning. He wasn't exceptionally tall. He didn't carry metal equipment. The best explanation is that his outdoor occupation simply put him in harm's way more often - but even so, seven strikes defies probability.
Sullivan became depressed in later years, believing people avoided him out of fear of lightning. He began to believe he was personally pursued by some malevolent force. He died in 1983, not from lightning but from his own hand. His Guinness Record stands. The Human Lightning Rod proved that the impossible can happen - and happen again, and again, and again.
Shenandoah National Park (38.29N, 78.68W) runs along Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (KSHD) is 30km west. The park's Skyline Drive runs 105 miles along the ridgeline. The terrain is forested mountains with frequent summer thunderstorms. Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport (KCHO) is 30km east.