Editing Lightning (section)

== In culture ==

The first known photograph of lightning is from 1847, by [[Thomas Martin Easterly]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hyperallergic.com/301157/the-first-photographs-of-lightning-crackle-with-electric-chaos/ |title=The First Photographs of Lightning Crackle with Electric Chaos |date=May 25, 2016 |website=Hyperallergic |access-date=May 12, 2019}}</ref> The first surviving photograph is from 1882, by [[William Nicholson Jennings]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=These are the World's First Photos of Lightning |url=https://petapixel.com/2020/08/05/these-are-the-worlds-first-photos-of-lightning/|date=August 5, 2020|website=PetaPixel}}</ref>

=== Religion and mythology ===
{{further|Lightning in religion}}
[[File:Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis - LIGHTNING - 1909.jpg|thumb|Lightning by [[Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis]] (1909)]]

In many cultures, lightning has been viewed as a sign or part of a deity or a deity in and of itself. These include the [[Greek god]] [[Zeus]], the [[Aztec]] god [[Tlaloc]], the [[Maya religion|Mayan]] [[God K]], [[Slavic mythology]]'s [[Perun]], the [[Baltic languages|Baltic]] [[Pērkons]]/[[Perkūnas]], [[Thor]] in [[Norse mythology]], [[Ukko]] in [[Finnish mythology]], the [[Hindu]] god [[Indra]], the [[Yoruba religion|Yoruba]] god [[Shango|Sango]], Illapa in [[Inca mythology]] and the [[Shinto]] god [[Raijin]].<ref>{{cite book|pages=1909–1918|doi=10.1109/ICLP.2014.6973441|chapter=Lightning; Gods and sciences|year=2014|last1=Gomes|first1=Chandima|last2=Gomes|first2=Ashen|title=2014 International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP)|isbn=978-1-4799-3544-4|s2cid=21598095}}</ref> The [[ancient Etruscans]] produced [[Etruscan religion#Etrusca Disciplina|guides]] to divining the future based on the [[omen]]s supposedly displayed by thunder or lightning.<ref>{{citation |last=Turfa |first=Jean MacIntosh |title=Divining the Etruscan World: The Brontoscopic Calendar and Religious Practice |location=[[Cambridge, England|Cambridge]] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2012 }}.</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Pallottino |first=Massimo |author-link=Massimo Pallottino |translator=Cremina, J. |editor-last=Ridgway |editor-first=David |title=The Etruscans |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington]] |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1975 |isbn=0-253-32080-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/etruscans0000pall |page=154 |display-editors=0 }}.</ref> Such use of thunder and lightning in divination is also known as [[ceraunoscopy]],<ref name=wordinfocerauno>{{cite web|url=http://wordinfo.info/unit/418 |title=cerauno-, kerauno- + (Greek: thunderbolt, thunder, lightning) |work=WordInfo.com|accessdate=June 11, 2010}}</ref> a kind of [[aeromancy]]. In the traditional religion of the African [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] tribes, lightning is a sign of the ire of the gods. Scriptures in [[Judaism]], [[Islam]] and [[Christianity]] also ascribe supernatural importance to [[Thunderbolt|lightning]].

=== In popular culture ===
Although sometimes used figuratively, the idea that lightning never strikes the same place twice is a common myth. In fact, lightning can, and often does, strike the same place more than once. Lightning in a thunderstorm is more likely to strike objects and spots that are more prominent or conductive. For instance, lightning strikes the [[Empire State Building]] in [[New York City]] on average 23 times per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-myths |title=Lightning Myths |publisher=National Weather Service |access-date=August 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2005/ps_3.html|title=Lightning Often Strikes Twice|publisher=Office of the Chief Technologist, NASA |work=Spinoff|date=March 25, 2010|access-date=June 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325015918/http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2005/ps_3.html|archive-date=March 25, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/can-lightning-strike-the-same-place-twice |title=Can lightning strike the same place twice? |work=The Weather Network |last=Simpson |first=Tristan |date=April 29, 2022 |access-date=August 9, 2023}}</ref>

In French and Italian, the expression for "Love at first sight" is ''coup de foudre'' and ''colpo di fulmine'', respectively, which literally translated means "lightning strike".

=== Political and military culture ===
[[File:Yli-ii.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|Two lightning bolts pictured in the former coat of arms of the [[Yli-Ii]] municipality]]
The bolt of lightning in [[heraldry]] is called a [[thunderbolt]]. This symbol usually represents power and speed.

Some political parties use lightning flashes as a symbol of power, such as the [[People's Action Party]] in [[Singapore]], the [[British Union of Fascists]] during the 1930s, and the [[National States' Rights Party]] in the United States during the 1950s.<ref>[http://mauryk2.com/2010/11/06/john-kasper-the-national-states-rights-party-and-the-demise-of-the-old-south/ Picture of John Kaspar of the National States Rights Party speaking in front of the party’s lightning bolt flag (the flag was red, white, and blue)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203185623/http://mauryk2.com/2010/11/06/john-kasper-the-national-states-rights-party-and-the-demise-of-the-old-south/ |date=February 3, 2013}}. Mauryk2.com (November 6, 2010). Retrieved on April 9, 2013.</ref> The [[Schutzstaffel]], the [[paramilitary]] wing of the [[Nazi Party]], used the [[Sig (rune)|Sig rune]] in their logo which symbolizes lightning. The German word [[Blitzkrieg]], which means "lightning war", was a major offensive strategy of the German army during World War II.

The lightning bolt is a common insignia for [[military communications]] units. A lightning bolt is also the [[NATO Military Symbols for Land Based Systems|NATO symbol for a signal asset]].