Seattle Swifties Caused An Earthquake

Taylor Swift fans caused seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake in Seattle, according to seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach. I promise I will not make any “Shake It Off” jokes. I’m better than that.

The “Swift Quake” occurred during the first two nights of the Seattle leg of the Eras Tour, and “absolutely doubled” the magnitude of the “Beast Quake” in 2011, when Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks scored a touchdown that elicited a similar effect.

“The primary difference is the duration of the shaking,” Caplan-Auerbach explained (oh god). “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,” …off. Damn it!

The July 22nd and 23rd shows set a new attendance record for Seattle’s Lumen Field. Reps for Lumen couldn’t confirm the exact number, but Swift’s team says there were 72,171 people at Saturday’s show alone. U2 had the former record of 70,000.

“You just made me feel so powerful, you know what I mean?” Swift told the crowd.

Powerful enough, apparently, to move mountains.

Is this the climax of an already seismic year for Swift? Watch this space…