How to stop the big one

Posted on 08/08/2007 by alexcase

According to this very interesting blog by a very long term resident of Japan, you can stop earthquakes by putting carpet under the front of your cupboards. Useful to know!

Or did I misunderstand???

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4 Responses to How to stop the big one

  1. Adjusting's avatar Adjusting says:
    08/08/2007 at 20:21

    Wow. I’m not sure how you misunderstood that.

    Position tall shelves or cabinets in places where they won’t topple if there’s a big earthquake or anchor them so they won’t fall. Anchoring techniques include tension bars that fill the gap between the top of a shelf and the ceiling or putting carpet squares at the front of the item so that it leans back slightly.

    There’s no mention of stopping earthquakes.
    It just says to put carpet squares under the front of tall furniture so that it won’t fall forward when there’s an earthquake.

  2. Alex Case's avatar Alex Case says:
    08/08/2007 at 23:42

    I guess I was a bit optimistic!! This is Japan, though, they have to think of a nifty and compact way of stopping earthquakes soon, surely!

  3. Alex Case's avatar Alex Case says:
    09/08/2007 at 00:41

    Sorry, bad joke again. Did genuinely like the blog though

  4. Ben Thirlway's avatar Ben Thirlway says:
    02/10/2007 at 03:53

    Heard an interesting idea – it was to drill giant holes in fault lines and fill them with water (I think!). The water would act as a lubricant and reduce the severity of earthquakes. Believe it or not, they were serious!

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