Lightning often strikes tall buildings However many buildings have lightning rods to protect them from lightning When lightning strikes the electricity goes safely down the metal rod to the ground Benjamin Franklin the American statesman invented the lightning rod in 1760 That is why buildings like the Empire State Building in New York City are safe Lightning may hit this building as many as twelve time in twenty minutes and as often as 500 times a year Airplanes are not as easy to protect as buildings and accidents do happen in 1963 a Boeing 707 jet was hit by lightning and crashed Eighty-one people died