ELI5 Lightning - why does it zig zag and not go straight down?

Why does lightning travel in a zig-zag rather than a straight line?So why does it strike precise points such as the end of a pole? If the average lightning bolt contains up to 1 billion volts, how is it that humans can survive being struck? How many times does the Empire State Building get stuck by lightning every year?   ... We explain like i'm five!   Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community as always and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: mjconns, lollersauce914, edwinshap, josephwb, lithium, revraven, piho36, cleanasuhwhistle1, gleddez, mg2r, To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Send us an e-mail: [email protected]