Nature
PUBLISHED
An “earthquake” was recorded by a seismologist in Seattle recently – but the culprit wasn’t the grinding of tectonic plates, oh no. It was the Shake It Off of the Swifties.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The “Swift Quake” caused by Taylor Swift concerts was recorded by seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, reports CNN, and it made the 2011 “Beast Quake” of Seattle Seahawks fans look like a rumbling stomach in comparison. Don’t believe us? Just see what the seismograms have to say about it.
The shake of the Swifties was double that of the Seahawks’, says Caplan-Auerbach, and had a much more rhythmic pattern of peaks and troughs that were the result of the music itself as well as the fans. Seismographs measure the movement of the Earth, which in earthquakes is caused by tectonic plates getting caught and releasing huge amounts of energy as they create friction. A Swift Quake, on the other hand, that’s Taylor… Swift. She’s the problem, it’s her.
It's not the first time Swifties have been in the news over the recent Eras tour, as it was revealed that fans arriving at a concert in Denver could be seen from space. Satellite imagery showed the Mile High stadium filling with more than 70,000 fans, demonstrating the dedication that characterizes your typical Swiftie specimen.
We asked IFLScience’s resident Swiftie, Creative Services Assistant Eleanor Higgs, what she makes of the kerfuffle. “When Taylor wrote Shake It Off, I doubt she meant to the level of seismic activity,” she said. “I guess the Swifties will know All Too Well how much dancing can cause the ground to move! Hopefully, the next venue will be ...Ready For It?”
