Engadget and Associated Press are both reporting an increase in lightning strikes on iPod users.

Of course, it's not the iPod that's attracting lightning. People with speakers in their ears, oblivious to the sound of thunder are the real cause.

So what actually happens when you're hit by lightning?

The immediate effects of lighting are fairly easy to guess:
-Lightning travels outside of the body, following the surface of the skin
-Burns on the skin showing the path of current, especially near metal (coins, jewelry, headphones, cellphones, etc.)
-The odds of dead are about 1 in 10. In that case, there was probably had enough current run through the inside of the body to stop the heart.
-Eardrum ruptures are considered the most common ear injury in lightning-strike victims, occurring in 5 percent to 50 percent of patients, according to various estimates. Having metal wires stuck in your ear (headphones) greatly increases the risk & damage, as current will follow the metal wires.
-Hearing loss, dislocated bones in the ear, and other ear-related unpleasantness.
-Being thrown several feet is common, along with a brief blackout.

NOAA.GOV tell us a few more interesting things:
-In the US, odds are 1 in 5,000 you will be struck by lightning sometime in your life.
-Early on, survivors may complain of intense headaches, ringing in the ears, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and other post-concussion types of symptoms.
-Lightning tends to be a nervous system injury. The brain powered by electricity, and lightning will overload it. When the brain is affected, the person often has difficulty with short-term memory, coding new information and accessing old information, multitasking, and distractibility.
-Many lightning victims may suffer personality changes because of frontal lobe damage and become quite irritable and easy to anger.

There's even a Lightning Strike Support Group!

What should you do to avoid a lighting strike? Well, if you can hear thunder, you're close enough to be at risk. Seek shelter inside, or in a car. The metal shell of the car will protect you, by acting as a ground rod. (The rubber tires don't do anything- that's a myth.)

Don't stand under a tree, near water, or near anything tall or metal. If you're out in the open, and you start to feel static electricity, quickly crouch down as low as possible, and touch the ground as little as possible- just your feet.