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World's Tallest Building Causing Earthquakes?

Posted by Zonk on from the just-big-boned dept.

IZ Reloaded writes "A geologist thinks that the increase in the number of earthquakes in Taiwan is due to Taipei 101, the world's tallest building. CNN reports: 'Lin said Taipei 101 weighed 700,000 tons and estimated stress from vertical loading on its foundation at 4.7 bars, of which some would be transferred to the earth's upper crust due to extremely soft sedimentary rocks beneath the Taipei basin. If a fault is about to crack, then a little pressure can trigger an earthquake. It's like the last straw that breaks the camel's back.'" More from The Guardian.

8 of 344 comments (clear)

  1. Nature will work it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Big building causes earthquake, earthquake destroys big building.

    1. Re:Nature will work it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Anytime we think that we can fly, we're proven wrong. We spend billions of dollars studying wax-and-feather wings, but one small leap off of a barn roof is all it takes to break a neck. Gravity has torn apart entire families.

      The notion that a rocket can actually make it to the moon is totally preposterous. This sounds more like someone trying to justify a grant or raise money than any serious science.

  2. So it's true then... by the_skywise · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you put enough elephants in one place, you can shift the rotation of the planet!

    (This looks like a job for Mythbusters!)

  3. Re:All together now... by Galvatron · · Score: 5, Funny

    What, are you saying that the construction of the Taipei 101 and an increase in earthquake activity are both caused by a third, unknown factor?

    --
    "The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
  4. Ask Slashdot by karvind · · Score: 5, Funny

    Phew for a moment I thought it was posted under Ask Slashdot ... *wipes sweat*

  5. Re:All together now... by JPriest · · Score: 5, Funny
    But it almost always warrants looking into.

    Someone gets it! I have been saying this for a long time as I have been trying to get a research grant to investigate the relationship between a decrease in the number of pirates and an increase in average global temperatures (see graph).

    --
    Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
  6. They Should Have Listened to Me... by Guncrazy · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...I told them that building had bad Feng Shui.

  7. Re:All together now... by ObiWanKenblowme · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're right - this link shows there were over 17 active pirates in 2005 alone, and that's not including other piracy-related groups such as buccaneers or raiders.

    --
    Obvious exits are NORTH, SOUTH, and DENNIS.