Is there anything Taylor Swift’s fans can’t do?
The Shake It Off singer performed two sold-out concerts in Seattle last week and it was noted that her fans, affectionately known as Swifties, literally shook the earth.
American seismologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach took to Twitter to share her findings, which showed that when Swift took to the stage, her fans ended up generating seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.
Caplan-Auerbach compared this to the 2011 “Beast Quake”, when Seattle Seahawks fans erupted after a late touchdown scored by Marshawn Lynch.
“The shaking was twice as strong as 'Beast Quake'. It absolutely doubled it,” she told CNN. "The primary difference is the duration of shaking. 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 behaviour. The music, the speakers, the beat. All that energy can drive into the ground and shake it,” she said.
However, she did note that it's not clear whether it was the fans dancing, or the booming sound system that caused all the shaking.
The machine used to measure the vibrations was located next to the stadium where Swift was performing back-to-back sold-out shows.
“I grabbed the data from both nights of the concert and quickly noticed they were clearly the same pattern of signals,” Caplan-Auerbach said. “If I overlay them on top of each other, they’re nearly identical.”
The Eras tour is Swift's first stadium tour since 2018 and is her most expansive yet, with 131 shows across five continents.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Favourite book: ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin
Favourite film: Marvel movies
Favourite parkour spot in Dubai: Residence towers in Jumeirah Beach Residence
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
