Taylor Swift fans continue their record-breaking era and caused seismic activity equivalent to a magnitude 2.3 earthquake, according to seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, during the singer’s concerts in Seattle.
The “Swift Quake” has been compared to the “Beast Quake” of 2011, when Seattle Seahawks fans exploded after an impressive touchdown run by running back Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch. The ensuing celebration was detected on the same local seismometer as Swift’s concert, Caplan-Auerbach told CNN .
Caplan-Auerbach, who works as a professor of geology at Western Washington University, saw the comparison in a Pacific Northwest earthquake group that she moderates on Facebook and immediately got to work.
“I took the data from both nights of the show and quickly realized that it was clearly the same pattern of signals,” she said, adding, “If I superimpose them, they’re almost identical.”
The main difference between the July 22 and 23 shows, other than the surprise songs Swift often performs, is approximately 26 minutes. “I looked it up and found that the Sunday show was about half an hour late, so that adds up,” Caplan-Auerbach said.
Although the difference in magnitude between “Beast Quake” and “Swift Quake” is only 0.3, Caplan-Auerbach said the swifties defeated the Seahawks fans. “The tremor was twice as strong as ‘Beast Quake’. It’s absolutely double.”
“The main difference is the duration of the tremor,” explained Caplan-Auerbach. “Cheering after a touchdown lasts a few seconds, but then it wears off. It’s much more random than a concert. For Taylor Swift, I collected about 10 hours of data where rhythm controlled behavior. The music, the speakers, the beat. All that energy can penetrate the ground and shake it.”
While Caplan-Auerbach is excited about the chance to become a swiftie, she is primarily motivated by the opportunity to demystify science.
“What I love is being able to share that this is science,” she said, adding that “it doesn’t have to happen in a lab with a white coat. Observations and everyday experiences are science.”
Chloe Melas, da CNN , who attended one of Taylor’s concerts in Seattle, shared her observations and experiences as a concertgoer. “Going to Taylor’s concert in Seattle was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “You could literally feel the ground shaking under your feet. My ears are still ringing.”
Even Swift herself felt the energy of her West Coast fans and thanked the Seattle crowd in an Instagram post on Monday (28) for “all the cheering, screaming, jumping, dancing and singing at the top of your lungs.”
“This was genuinely one of my favorite weekends of all time,” she added.
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Taylor nears the end of the North American leg of her “Eras” tour, her first in five years. Along the way, the singer has been credited with boosting local economies and breaking a Pittsburgh attendance record, among many other accomplishments.
The “Eras” tour heads to Santa Clara, Northern California, this Friday (28th), and continues with six shows in Los Angeles next month to wrap up its US tour. Taylor then heads overseas, starting with a show in Mexico City on Aug. 24.
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Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
