Lightning Round: Avril Lavigne, Mushrooms and Dust Storms

What Do Avril Lavigne, mushrooms and dust storms Have in Common? They're all in the news this week because of LIGHTNING. First and most bizarre, pop star Avril and her new beau both got matching lightning bolt tattoos... not because they are storm enthusiasts (or San Diego Chargers fans) but rather to "symbolize their love" according to CelebGossip.com.

In other "shocking" news, WIRED magazine says that lightning may help mushrooms grow better, doubling the yield in some cases according to Japanese researchers.

And eggheads at Rutgers University in New Jersey have released research that indicates that dust storms (like fires and apparently coal factories & sugar factories) can generate their own lightning from dust particles rubbing together. This may help explain why deserts experience lightning, though to my knowledge this has never been detected by the lightning networks in the U.S. - though it's something to keep an eye out for.

And finally, lightning strikes are well-known to do damage to buildings, commonly setting homes ablaze, but skyscrapers normally have advanced systems to absorb them. Nonetheless, Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower (the "World Trade Center" of China) was set on fire this week when lightning struck. Oil tanks are also set on fire fairly routinely by lightning, but it sounds like this week we can add major gas lines to the list of energy utilities that can be susceptible by lightning, if we are to believe the story out of South Carolina where 70 people were evacuated due to just such an event.