Man killed by WHAT while standing in ankle-deep water in New Smyrna Beach, Florida?

ChatGPT sez: It's hard to calculate a precise probability for standing in the ocean at New Smyrna Beach on a random day. But we can approximate:

Base annual risk in the U.S.: ~1 in 600,000.

Florida adjustment: On a per-person basis, it's likely higher—maybe several times the national average due to strike density. Water exposure: Increases odds further; boating alone is about 1 in 1,000 for boats, and fatal exposures in water contribute ~6% of lightning deaths

Storm conditions: The risk skyrockets if you’re in water during a thunderstorm, but drops near zero during clear weather.”

Why do these things always happen when they're on their honeymoon?

And to think, this was also the week Lou "Lightnin' Strikes" Christie died!

You aren't even safe in your own kitchen!

Insert gif of Tom Cruise electrocuting Oprah Winfrey

That sure sucks

Over a dozen people were hospitalized when lightning struck a lake full of swimmers on a sunny afternoon. Apparently, lightning can travel from a distant cloud.

Laugh all you want, but my father only barely avoided a shark attack off the coast of Florida a decade ago. He was swimming off of a friend's sailboat when he saw a fin circling – and he was at least 50 feet away from the boat. He started swimming frantically, but the shark went in for the kill.

My father is an epic klutz, but in this case he did exactly the right thing without realizing it: he punched the shark on the nose. That's its sensitive spot, and doing so gave him enough time to swim back to the boat. It wasn't a great white or anything, but it's a variety that attacks humans.

As for the Florida dude: OP, getting struck by lightning really isn't that uncommon, and he could've potentially survived it if he hadn't been standing in water at the time.