Taylor Swift Fans Trigger Seismic Activity Comparable to 2.3 Magnitude Earthquake
Taylor Swift concertgoers in Seattle took "Shake It Off" a bit too seriously this past weekend, reportedly triggering seismic activity in the process.
According to CNN, seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach says fans at Swift's Seattle, Wash., tour dates on July 22 and July 23 caused a "Swift Quake" thanks to their energetic dancing.
Caplan-Auerbach says the seismic activity sparked by fans at Lumen Field was the "equivalent of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake."
"I grabbed the data from both nights of the concert and quickly noticed they were clearly the same pattern of signals. If I overlay them on top of each other, they're nearly identical," Caplan-Auerbach told CNN.
The Western Washington University geology professor noted that similar activity occurred in 2011 when Seattle Seahawks fans caused a "Beast Quake."
However, Swifties will be pleased to learn they caused an even stronger seismic event than the "Beast Quake."
"The shaking was twice as strong as 'Beast Quake.' It absolutely doubled it," Caplan-Auerbach explained.
"Cheering after a touchdown lasts for a couple seconds, but eventually it dies down. It's much more random than a concert. For Taylor Swift, I collected about 10 hours of data where rhythm controlled the behavior. The music, the speakers, the beat. All that energy can drive into the ground and shake it," she continued.
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Ironically, the report that Swift's concert sparked seismic activity comes just days after the Washington State Department of Natural Resources made the "Karma" singer an “honorary geologist."
"In recognition for her efforts to highlight the geologic Eras that formed the planet and for shaping our world as much as the tectonic plates beneath us, we have selected @taylorswift13 as an Honorary Geologist for the state of Washington," the department announced in a tweet on July 21.
"Moving forward, this geologic partnership with Taylor is going to be forever, or it’s going to go down in flames," commissioner Hilary Franz joked.