Make-a-Quake

September 5, 2003 7:08 AM

Make-a-Quakeis discovery.com's simple, fascinating and creepy Flash interactive in which you choose the ground quality and construction prevention method for your multi-story building, then select a quake magnitude before you "Begin Quake" to find out how your property fared. Make-a-Quake is a feature of the "San Francisco Earthquake of 1906" (also featuring a video gallery and audio slide show), a part of Discovery's "Unsolved History" series. Past Unsolved History features here.
posted by taz (19 comments total)

COOL! Naturally the first thing I did was build the weakest bulding on the worst ground and hit it with strongest earthquake. KaBOOM!
posted by vito90 at 7:11 AM on September 5, 2003

I didn't do that first, vito... too superstitious.

Living in a quake-prone zone myself, I would really love to see a simulator like this with a lot more options so I could forecast how well my own building will stand up the next time something rocks my world.
posted by taz at 7:16 AM on September 5, 2003

Yeah, I was really hoping to work out the particular variables that cause the ground to completely liquefy and buildings just fall over like dominoes, but it was pretty limited.

Still enjoyed it, though.
posted by Katemonkey at 7:21 AM on September 5, 2003

That was great, my building collapsed and everyone died.

Just what I need on a Friday afternoon.
posted by sebas at 7:26 AM on September 5, 2003

that was kind of boring
posted by joeadk at 7:57 AM on September 5, 2003

Yeah, I want more settings...

30 different types of soil, two hundred different types of building, between 2 and 200 floors, variables for the effectiveness of the police, fire and ambulance, time of day, effects of the moon, looting and door frame rigidity. At least 10 different munchkin screaming noises as the building falls over. Oh, and a slider to choose between 2 and 20 ponies.
posted by twine42 at 7:59 AM on September 5, 2003

20 freakin' ponies???

You're mad, man!
posted by Fezboy! at 8:03 AM on September 5, 2003

Plus a slider to determine just how freakin' the ponies are.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 8:16 AM on September 5, 2003

I'll have my ponies well freaked with the spiced chips, small salad, jumbo diet coke and a side order of onion rings.

Whadda ya mean they aren't well freaked? Get me some mustard, I'll freak 'em.

I didn't get to the pub this lunchtime, give me a break. ;)
posted by twine42 at 8:27 AM on September 5, 2003

twine, the sophisticated people prefer their ponies phreaked rare. (and no mustard: grey poupon.)
posted by taz at 8:33 AM on September 5, 2003

Oh, I'd have it rare, just well freaked too. I work on the principle that if my steak's stopped mooing then it's over cooked...

I was going to go for real mustard, not this pansy American or French stuff. Bend over little horsey...
posted by twine42 at 8:40 AM on September 5, 2003

San Francisco Earthquake Fire of 1906
The game, no matches to burn my building up afterward the quake knocked it down. (wasn't the insurance policies voided if one piece from the building fell)
posted by thomcatspike at 11:05 AM on September 5, 2003

Good fun, although I'm still somewhat addicted to the finger pulling farting flash site that's been since deleted by Metafilter's authorities who didn't see the humor.
posted by fenriq at 11:54 AM on September 5, 2003

Tsunami, baby!

Few thousand less soy latte sucking hipsters making cheesy installation art when all they really wanted was a few measly million in VC bucks.
posted by cedar at 1:23 PM on September 5, 2003

Is it just me, but I only made them Superquakes?

Much more fun in SimCity.
posted by hoskala at 1:39 PM on September 5, 2003

There was a magnitude 3.9 quake here yesterday (the epicenter was about two miles away from my house). The house wobbled for a few seconds.

Tsunami, baby!
posted by eddydamascene at 2:42 PM on September 5, 2003

(sorry, this is the report for the 3.9, and this for the 3.0 aftershock)
posted by eddydamascene at 2:45 PM on September 5, 2003

We had something like a 3.3 a few days ago. It lasted about two seconds. Ick.

I love the Earthquake ABC site, eddydamascene! (H is pretty bleak, isn't it?)
posted by taz at 9:14 PM on September 5, 2003

I have to say that sites allot of fun (too bad you can't go without retrofitting the original structure for comparison...not that it matters as its more fun to make it go boom). There's just too many options to add more without having to break out hte finite element analysis and adding tons of concrete and steel at great cost.
posted by NGnerd at 11:02 PM on September 5, 2003