the mag
13 Essential Talking Points for the Earthquake Enthusiast
by the mag - August 23, 2011 - 2:26 PM

by Jeff Fleischer

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit Virginia earlier this afternoon and was felt up and down the east coast. With no reports of injuries, it seems like a good time to dust off this article from 2007.

1. The first recorded earthquake was in China in 1177 B.C.E.

2. China is also the birthplace of the first seismograph. Built in 132 C.E. by a man named Cheng Heng, it consisted of eight metal dragons holding eight carved balls over eight frog figurines. If an earthquake made the ground vibrate, the dragon facing the quake’s source would (naturally) drop a ball into the mouth of its corresponding frog.

first-seismograph.jpg

3. Of course, it didn’t really work.

4. But it did look cool.

5. While dragons aren’t that good at predicting earthquakes, other animals might be. According to ancient reports, critters in the Greek city of Helice headed for the hills just before a massive quake leveled the city in 373 B.C.E.

6. There’s some modern evidence, as well. In 1975, Chinese officials evacuated Haicheng days before a massive earthquake, based both on warnings from seismologists and the strange behavior of local pets.

7. Before leaving Alabama, Shawnee leader Tecumseh told a Creek chief, “I … shall go straight to Detroit. When I arrive there, I will stamp on the ground with my foot, and shake down every house in Tuckhabatchee.” Coincidentally (or was it?), he arrived in Detroit on December 16, 1811, the day of the New Madrid earthquake—the largest ever recorded in the contiguous United States.

8. The most violent earthquake ever measured in the world hit Chile in 1960, coming in at a terrifying 9.5 on the Richter scale.

9. The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, was “only” considered a 5 on the Richter scale.

10. In theory, a quake can actually measure 11, or even higher. The formula for the Richter scale has no upper limit.

11. Speaking of Charles Richter, the American scientist was supposedly an avid nudist. Rumors persist that his wife was so distressed by his penchant for hanging out in the buff that she divorced him.

12. One guy not to trust for earthquake predictions? British soldier William Bell. In 1761, right after two earthquakes uncannily hit England 28 days apart, Bell smelled opportunity. He claimed a follow-up quake would be hitting the country four weeks later. Accounts depict Bell running through the streets of London ranting about the impending destruction. Amazingly, it worked. Folks were so panicked that hundreds actually slept in boats on the Thames thinking it would be safer than their homes. Luckily, the quake never hit. But Bell quickly lost his street cred and eventually ended up in an insane asylum.

san-francisco.jpg
13. In early 2001, FEMA prophetically listed the three most likely disasters to hit America: a terrorist attack on New York City (check), a hurricane in New Orleans (check), and a massive earthquake in San Francisco. Nervous yet?

This article was written by Jeff Fleischer, and originally appeared in the May-June 2007 issue of mental_floss magazine.

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Comments (20)

  1. That last one is pretty freaky…

    So, I took a trip through work to southern California in September. Seeing as how my company did not pay for me to have my own rental car, I had one day off that was spent at the hotel. That day just happened to be a day that there was a natural disaster-themed marathon on TV. So, while I’m watching a special on the New Madrid earthquakes, a 3.2 quake hits the town I’m visiting. It was a little creepy.

    posted by Bethany on 3-26-2008 at 4:00 pm

  2. I survived the massive earthquake that hit the New Madrid fault in St Louis in 1990.

    What massive earthquake? Oh yeah, there wasn’t one. However, scientist Iben Browning had pinpointed the date when it would hit (12/2/90). A lot of people took the day off, just in case, but there was no appreciable seismic activity recorded those days…

    posted by Cincy Scott on 3-26-2008 at 4:31 pm

  3. I was living in Los Angeles when the Northridge quake hit. I would have slept through it if my roommates hadn’t banged on my door and called my name. I woke up to all my books bouncing off the shelves. Luckily, we had no damage. We DID have about 10 extra roommates for about 2 weeks since the apartment building next to our house was a wreck inside. It was kind of fun. We plyed board games every night and ordered take-out a lot.

    posted by Sheldon Siegel on 3-26-2008 at 4:37 pm

  4. Considering both atomic bombs dropped during war (and pretty much most tests) are detonated in the air, a 5.0 on the Richter scale is pretty terrifying.

    Anyways another good article!

    posted by Kinglink on 3-26-2008 at 5:10 pm

  5. 11a. Richter was also known around town for his “beam seismograph,” which contributed to cause for the divorce.

    (OK, I made that up.)

    posted by Bill Eccles on 3-26-2008 at 7:00 pm

  6. Uh oh. The University of San Francisco is one of my top choices for colleges…might have to rethink now!

    posted by Sahar on 3-26-2008 at 7:42 pm

  7. How funnt that this blog was posted. At 6AM GMT+10, Guam was shook by a 5.4 earthquake 13 miles away from our capital Hagatna.

    Who ever reposted is physic. Hee Hee!

    posted by Miss Nae on 3-26-2008 at 7:51 pm

  8. I definitely believe that animals can hear the earth (earthquakes are loud) or sense the movement on its way as it was my dog’s barking that woke me up from an after school nap just before the Lome Prieta earthquake in 1989 and not the earthquake itself.

    posted by Sarah in CA on 1-27-2009 at 1:26 pm

  9. Is it really that much of a stretch on the #13 prediction? I suspect that if you would have asked an average group of folks walking along the street the same question you probably would have gotten very similar results. What makes them appear so prophetic is that they unfortunately happened so soon after the report.

    posted by SteveO on 5-7-2010 at 11:41 am

  10. Studied structural engineering in a california college and therefore spent a lot of time with earthquakes. Structural engineers have given up on using the Richter Scale for any kind of scientific endeavor because it’s not accurate and as the earthquake reaches higher on the scale, the scale itself becomes muddled. You can only trust it as a comparing device in the smaller earthquakes.

    posted by Amanda on 5-7-2010 at 12:20 pm

  11. The device made by Cheng Heng – which actually should be written in Zhang Heng – DID WORKED. There was a experiment done by a replica of this device in 1939, and it really worked fine.

    Read more about this on Joseph Needham’s fantastic book about Chinese traditional science, “Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth.”

    posted by Mark on 8-11-2010 at 10:06 pm

  12. Sat through the earthquake about four hours ago in Raleigh NC… very wierd feeling…

    posted by Trent on 8-23-2011 at 5:06 pm

  13. The last recorded earthquake on the southern segment of the San Andreas fault was in 1857; on the northern segment, 1906 in San Francisco.
    Seismologists tell us the southern section is overdue for another. Want to bet that the Northern segment gets their shake on the San Andreas before the segment E. of Los Angeles?
    TeaPot562

    posted by TeaPot562 on 8-23-2011 at 5:39 pm

  14. I have a tic where my leg shakes. At home, my family often has to point it out to get me to stop, because I end up shaking the whole room. So I’m at work, and my desk starts shaking. I think a second, and make sure my leg stops shaking. The room doesn’t stop.

    Harrisburg, PA FYI

    posted by tkrausse on 8-23-2011 at 5:54 pm

  15. “hanging out” in the buff? Puh-leez. :-)

    posted by pac11 on 8-23-2011 at 9:25 pm

  16. After going through the horrifying experience of today’s earthquake (ha!), I did wonder what it would have registered as on the Richter scale by the time it got here (just north of Charlotte, NC). Also, why some people felt it more than others. In the town southeast of here (further away from the epicenter but not by much), it was felt a lot more. My dishes rattled and I checked to make sure the kids hadn’t loaded the dog into the washer (just kidding!!).

    posted by Coberae on 8-24-2011 at 12:58 am

  17. @Coberae It has quite a bit to do with the sediment and foundation that a building sits on, as well as what the building is made of, how tall it is, et al. Some, like sand, are more prone to movement. It also depends on the type of rock the waves move through. If you are in a mountainous region with lots of granite, you will probably feel it a bit less than if you were in a sandy field. I’m only an amateur, so if I’m wrong, I’ll allow the professionals to correct me.

    posted by Tinkerschnitzel on 8-24-2011 at 9:58 am

  18. @tkrausse….I work in downtown Harrisburg, and I wondered if someone was doing jumping jacks next to my desk! It certainly was strange!

    And apparently (as told by my children), minutes before the earthquake, my yellow Lab stood up with all of his hair standing on end and began baying and then barking loudly and shaking…and then the earthquake started…very weird!

    posted by Jme on 8-24-2011 at 12:51 pm

  19. I was sitting on the couch (in our central NJ home) when I starting feeling dizzy. Then the couch began to shake. But when I saw the fluorescent fixtures in our garage swaying back and forth is when I figured it was an earthquake.

    My two cats were nowhere to be found!

    posted by Berbert on 8-24-2011 at 1:14 pm

  20. @Mark

    The spelling of Chinese names depends in large part on the transliteration method used and there are many. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, but simmer down. Also, “DID WORKED”? Seriously?

    posted by J on 8-25-2011 at 2:18 am

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