Never underestimate the power of the Swifties, especially when they are shaking it off or screaming their hearts out to Taylor Swift's music. I say this because, sometimes, they can cause earthquake-like activity. Trust me, I mean this in the most literal sense, because now there’s actually science to back it up.
Last summer, as Swift toured the United States on her Eras Tour – which is part of her evergrowing list of upcoming projects Swifties are excited about – her show in Seattle caused record-breaking seismic activity. According to CNN, during her concert last July, fans caused a “seismic activity equivalent of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.” Now, a new study from the California Institue of Technology and UCLA titled Shake to the Beat: Exploring the Seismic Signals and Stadium Response of Concerts and Music Fans has been published, and it breaks down seismic data from the pop star’s shows in Los Angeles that also caused earthquake-like activity, or a “Swift Quake” if you will.
The point of this study was to understand the “atypical seismic signals” that were caused during Swift’s shows, via ARS Technica, and use it to “improve the analysis” of events like it. Noting that what happened at the Eras Tour caused signals that were similar to the ones that come from volcanoes or trains, the study was trying to figure out if the Swift Quake was caused by the fans or the very loud music.
Placing motion sensors in the stadium during the show in LA, and then conducting tests in their own lab, the scientists came to the conclusion that this seismic activity was primarily caused by the Swifties jumping around:
Overall the evidence suggests that crowd movement is the primary source of the low-frequency signals, with the speaker system or instruments potentially contributing via stage of building vibrations.
Of course, the musicians on the stage and their instruments also played into the activity. However, in this case, they concluded that Swifties bouncing around to songs like “Shake It Off” – which caused energy “equivalent to a local magnitude earthquake of .851” – was a major reason why concerts are causing seismic activity.
13 Parts From The Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Movie That I Can't Stop Replaying
As a Swiftie who has been from the Eras Tour, I can’t say I’m shocked by the findings in this study. At the show I attended in Denver, the screaming during the surprise songs and the bouncing and dancing that happened during tracks like “Shake It Off,” “22” and “Love Story” was overwhelming. Plus, the intense “Sydney” screams that went viral during Swift’s shows in Australia show the power Swifties have when they scream or move as a united front.
Considering the fact that the Eras Tour is a full-on record-breaking phenomenon, it makes sense that it has caused a seismic event when you break it down like these scientists have. Between the loud music coming from the stage and tens of thousands of people dancing at one time, it’s logical that it would cause the Earth to move a little bit.
As Taylor Swift continues to tour around the world, I’m interested to see if more “Swift Quakes” happen. If they do we’ll be sure to keep you posted. In the meantime, you can stream the pop star’s Eras Tour concert film with a Disney+ subscription and dance along so hard that you cause a seismic event from the comfort of your home.
