No one quite understands the term “striking it lucky” better than 16-year-old BreAnna Helsel.
The Michigan teen survived being struck by lightning and went on to win US$20 in the lottery the next day.
Earlier this month Helsel was at her home in Blanchard, Michigan, US, watching thunderstorms roll by. She noticed rain entering an open kitchen window.
PHOTO: AP
“She went to close the window, and the lightning came through and hit her,” her mother, Linda Johnson, told the Daily News of Greenville.
Helsel struggled to describe the sensation she felt as the electricity passed through her body.
“It felt like when your foot falls asleep,” she finally said.
The teenager said she saw electricity shoot out of her fingers and into the overhead lights. That knocked out the house’s power.
Helsel will require therapy to repair some damaged muscles in her arm, but she’s expected to fully recover.
“Everyone said I’m really lucky,” she said.
Hospital employees suggested that Helsel immediately play the lottery. She’s too young, so her mother bought a lottery ticket for her the next day.
“And we won $20,” Johnson said, laughing. “What a way to start the summer.”
(AP)
沒有人比十六歲的布黎安娜．海瑟更能體會「來電的好運」這句話了。
這位密西根的十六歲少女遭到雷擊後大難不死，結果隔天買樂透又中了二十美元。
本月稍早，海瑟在美國密西根州布蘭查德家裡，看著屋外雷雨交加的情景，她發現廚房有一扇窗戶沒關，雨水順勢打進屋裡。
她母親琳達．強森告訴綠村《每日新聞》說：「她去關那扇窗，結果就被打進屋裡的閃電擊中了。」
海瑟努力想形容電流通過她身體時的感覺。
最後她說：「那感覺就像你的腳完全沒有知覺一樣。」
這位十六歲的女孩說，她親眼目賭電流從她的手指射出，再打到她頭頂的燈，然後房子就停電了。
海瑟必須接受治療以修復部份受損的手臂肌肉，但她可望完全復原。
她說：「每個人都說我很幸運。」
醫院人員建議海瑟立刻去買一張樂透，但因為她還不及法定購買年齡，所以隔天由媽媽替她買了一張樂透彩。
強森笑著說：「結果我們中了二十美元。好個迎接夏天的開始。」
（美聯社�翻譯：袁星塵）
Whether they are a Siamese, Persian, Maine Coon, or Domestic Shorthair, there are hundreds of millions of cats living with people around the world. But despite their popularity as pets, the history of cat domestication has remained difficult for scientists to decipher. A new genome study is providing some insight into the matter by determining the timing of a key milestone in feline domestication - the introduction of domestic cats into Europe from North Africa. Domestic cats pounced into Europe roughly 2,000 years ago in early imperial Roman times, the researchers found, probably thanks to maritime trade. Some of these furry trailblazers
In English, “name idioms” are part of what makes English fascinating. Let’s put a few examples under the microscope. Doubting Thomas This expression stems from the Bible. Thomas, one of Jesus’s disciples, refused to believe Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. He declared he wouldn’t accept it until he could see the nail marks in Jesus’s hands and touch his wounds himself. Today, this idiom refers to someone who won’t believe something without concrete evidence. For instance, if your friend’s expertise is reliable, but you’re still suspicious, you might be a “doubting Thomas.” Smart Aleck The origin of this phrase likely comes from
A: Hey, the world’s major dictionaries just unveiled their words of the year for 2025. B: Yup, the Cambridge Dictionary chose the word “parasocial,” which refers to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they don’t really know. A: One-sided parasocial relationships with celebrities, influencers and even AI chatbots have clearly become more common. B: The Oxford Dictionary picked “rage bait” — online content designed to elicit anger by being frustrating, provocative or offensive in order to increase traffic to Web sites or social media accounts. A: The Collins Dictionary picked “vibe coding.” Let’s
Scientists at Argentina’s Marambio Station in Antarctica have detected high levels of ammonia gas in the air near an “Adelie penguin” colony. The ammonia, released from nitrogen-rich penguin guano, reacts with sulfur compounds emitted by oceanic plankton to form aerosol particles. These particles boost cloud formation and can sometimes lead to fog. Scientists found that even after the penguins left the area, the remaining guano continued to give off significant amounts of ammonia. Clouds created by the guano can influence the local climate by either reflecting sunlight or trapping heat, depending on environmental conditions. In other words, penguin waste
RSS