I was home one day when a lightening strike hit just outside my old apartment. It followed the phone line to the DSL modem and fried it; but thankfully stopped there. The event also fried the microwave in the kitchen, the hair dryer in the bathroom, and the DVD player in the living room.
Funny thing is that the DVD player was plugged into the same outlet as my TV,stereo, and lamp; which were unharmed. I had the DVD player plugged directly into the top plug of the outlet and a powerstrip/surge protecor plugged into the bottom of the outlet. The TV, stereo, and lamp were plugged into the surge protector. (I am sure I meant to connect the DVD to the surge protector and the lamp to the wall; but goofed).
Now, maybe the electricity only followed the top plug-in of the outlet. OR, maybe the surge protector did its job. I suppose there is no way of knowing for sure. However, since then I have always made sure everything of value is hooked up to a surge protector. Nothing too expensive; but not the cheapos either.
Having a surge protector is good insurance, but when the lightening starts, I unplug all the goodies.
