If you get caught in the middle of a big, open field during a lightning storm, which of the following uniforms would be most likely to keep you safe?
A thick wetsuit; a superman costume; a medieval coat of armor; or a birthday suit?
If you answered "medieval coat of armor", you might be a little crazy, but you'd also be right.
You'd be crazy, of course, because lightning is much more likely to strike metal than rubber, fabric, or bare skin.
The reason is that lightning bolts are just long streams of fast-flowing electrons looking for the easiest path from point A to point B, and no everyday material provides an easier path than metal.
So why would a material that lures lightning bolts keep you safe during a thunderstorm?
Ironically, for the exact same reason it attracts the lightning in the first place: metal is a great conductor of electricity.
Electrons glide so easily over metals that they barely penetrate into the surface.
And if an electrical current happens to be moving over a hollow metal container, like a can or a box or even a welded coat of armor, the current won't reach the inside of the container.
Physicists call this kind of container a Faraday cage.