In the Realm of the Incredible

[nightdog_barks]

Yesterday's quake was so powerful it moved the island of Honshu eight feet to the east. So says the USGS. Also it sped up the earth's rotation.

Comments

[perspi]

WELL.

HOLY SHIT.

[taiga13]

EIGHT FEET???? That's mind-blowing.

[namaste]

The natural world is whack, yo.

Best thing I've come across is a local tornado that went through a small town, destroying a bunch of houses & the library. Guy I knew on the other side of the path thought his house had somehow escaped damage ... until they began finding library cards inside the house. Seems the tornado had lifted the roof off, then placed it right back down (after depositing some debris inside).

[pwcorgigirl]

Tornadoes can also drive pine needles into walls like nails. It's one of the weirder things I've ever seen.

Mother Nature bats last every time.

[namaste]

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has been addressing that on Twitter.

Just an FYI: Major quakes shift Earth's crustal plates, changing our mass profile. This alters our rotation rate -- slightly

Physics-speak: Alter Earth's moment-of-Inertia and you alter its rotation. FallingCats & IceSkaters do it w/o help of quakes