# Do lighting rods really work?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lighting-rods-really-work/650422>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [February 15, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lighting-rods-really-work/650422 "2013-02-15T19:24:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lighting-rods-really-work/650422/21 "2013-03-04T23:52:32Z")

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> [@Irishman](#):
>
> It’s stated in the column:

I’m not buying it. The original questioner, **John Glenn N.T.A.** was using “ward off lightning” as shorthand for what he explicitly said in the second sentence in the question, and which you quoted:

> [@](#):
>
> There is the heavy-duty kind on skyscrapers that takes the brunt of bolts and conducts them safely to ground, and the delicate, sharply pointed ones that protect residences by bleeding off electric charge and preventing strikes.

No “magic” involved. I don’t think it’s fair to accuse him of misunderstanding the question.

The other person you quoted is **Cecil** himself. Reading the totality of his answer, I don’t think he misunderstands the question either.

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**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lighting-rods-really-work/650422/22 "2013-03-05T14:26:46Z")

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**a skeptical one** is the one who called it a misunderstanding and magic and accused people of not understanding the question. I just pointed out examples of “ward off lightning” vs “act as a ground path”.

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**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lighting-rods-really-work/650422/23 "2013-03-05T22:47:43Z")

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I know **a skeptical one** is the one who called it a misunderstanding. I’m not buying that either **Cecil** or **John Glenn** misunderstood anything. So **TriPolar** ’s question of who had that misunderstanding still stands.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-lighting-rods-really-work/650422/24 "2013-03-05T22:56:28Z")

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> [@ZenBeam](#):
>
> I know **a skeptical one** is the one who called it a misunderstanding. I’m not buying that either **Cecil** or **John Glenn** misunderstood anything. So **TriPolar** ’s question of who had that misunderstanding still stands.

The question from John Glenn in the column seems to bring that up, but I think it was reasonably stated as an attempt to find an alternate theory, or was just not serious. Perhaps that is what \*\*a skeptical one \*\*meant, but I have no idea. I don’t see any other evidence of a misunderstanding, but the phrase _ward off_ was used in the column and I suspect that’s all \*\*a skeptical one \*\*was referring to.

Also, \*\*a skeptical one \*\*seems to have joined to make that one and only post.

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