[stefanj]

I have a Saturday night ritual. Cue up some podcasts on a mp3 player, walk a couple miles to a grocery store, buy a lottery ticket, pick up any groceries I need for the next day, check last week's lottery ticket, walk home.

Tonight's walk took me through a wetlands preserve / green space area. It's night, overcast, no lighting.I have an umbrella because it is drizzling.

At one point the path runs under a corridor with high tension power lines running through it; the kind of thing no one builds under. I'm used to hearing a buzz under these things, but tonight it was more of a crackle, and . . .

. . . the hub of my umbrella was sparking.

Nothing dramatic, but there's this wee little arc of electricity zip-zapping around the hub. Looked down; more tiny sparks jumping from the base of the metal umbrella shaft to the ring that the ends of the canopy ribs fit into when the umbrella was closed. Fortunately the handle was dry and insulated.

I'm going to have to try that again.

This phenomena has . . . McGuyver potential.