A guy I know, a conceptual artist, once made a project in which he rigged a clock to send an alarm at random intervals. Whenever it rang, he would write down exactly what he was doing, no matter what it was or when he was doing it. It was a wacky, thought-provoking stunt, but it has inspired me ever since to contemplate the great earthquake that will surely (99 percent likelihood) strike California during the next 30 years, the length of the typical home mortgage.
The Great California Shake Out project happened earlier today, along similar lines. At 10:15 a.m., millions of participants pretended that my friend's alarm had gone off, and they took very seriously the possibility that a major earthquake has occurred at exactly that moment. But you can do the same, entirely on your own, at any time you choose—like, right now!
Help as you play pretend:
California Shake Out
Current earthquakes
Earthquake preparedness
About earthquakes
Historic earthquakes
The Great Tokai Earthquake of 20XX
The Great Cascadia Earthquake of 2XXX
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