"Selectrocution", I'm sure you've never heard the term. You're right, it's not in the Merriam Webster dictionary because it's a coined word (randomly made up by the author of this article). It is a combination of the words "selection" and "electrocution". The idea behind selectrocution is this: out of all people in the world, someone gets "lucky" and becomes hit by lightning. Therefore, we can give selectrocution a rough definition: It is the instance or event in which nature randomly selects a person to be the recipient of a lightning strike.
This bizarre phenomenon gives birth to many questions. What are the factors that contribute to selectrocution? Does this mean that a selectrocuted person is the most wicked person on planet earth? Is this phenomenon a product of chance, or did specific natural forces pave the way for it to happen?
According to research, the probability of a person to be hit by a lightning is 1 out of 600,000. This might sound like selectrocution is very rare, but experts said that about 500 to 1,000 people per year are injured or killed by lightning strikes. What's even more interesting is that lightning seems to be selective of gender. According to a recent lightning hit survey in Florida (the most lightning stricken state in the world), 87% of the persons struck by lightning are males. However, only 34% of the males actually died, but 44% of the females were killed.
Another selectrocution fact: Lightning hits OAK TREES more than any other species and structures on earth.
In short, we need to answer the question presented in the title of this article: Why does lightning strike certain people? Why does Selectrocution really happen?
The answer is, we may never truly know for sure. Experts have pointed out various causes, such as high electron levels in the body and the hair of the victim (which has not been proven). Others blame it on poor walking habits, such as frequently walking in a huge empty field all by one's self. When someone is alone walking on an empty field, that person is more likely to be hit by lightning. Others meanwhile, blame selectrocution on pure Ugly Chance. On the lighter side, if you ask Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (from the X-Files TV series), I'm sure they will think that selectrocution is a byproduct of an alien invasion.
Our conclusion is this: Lightning is absolutely selectrocutive, so don't fight it. Get out of harm's way by staying at home during a thunderstorm.
