California earthquake coming?

[Clodfobble]

This article is fascinating, and actually pretty scary.

Finding a giant oarfish washed up on the beach is a rare occurrence, since the fish is a deepwater species that's rarely seen at all. So when a second oarfish was found just five days later, the rumor mill kicked into high gear.

...

Now, some are claiming that oarfish washing ashore is a sign that an earthquake will soon follow. Shortly before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, about 20 oarfish stranded themselves on beaches in the area, Mark Benfield, a researcher at Louisiana State University, told LiveScience in an earlier interview.

The oarfish is known in Japan as ryugu no tsukai or "messenger from the sea god's palace," according to the Japan Times. Dozens of the deep-sea denizens were discovered by Japanese fishermen around the time a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile in March 2010.

Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, a specialist in ecological seismology, told the Japan Times, "Deep-sea fish living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movements of active faults than those near the surface of the sea."

Looks like Lex Luthor's plan to buy all that real estate in Nevada is finally going to come to fruition...

[sexobon]

We should start evacuating full casks from the wineries immediately.

[Griff]

Toads moving uphill
Among the first scientific studies to document animal behavior before an earthquake comes from Italy, where a team of scientists spent a month investigating the breeding behavior of common toads (Bufo bufo) in April 2009. The toads typically breed in a shallow pool on a lakebed.

But at one point, most of the site's toads suddenly disappeared — and five days later, a strong earthquake struck the region. The toads returned to the pool once the quake's last aftershocks occurred. The researchers published their findings in the Journal of Zoology.

"It's the first time that any study has really documented unusual behavior before an earthquake in a scientific and methodical way," lead study author Rachel Grant, a zoologist from The Open University in Britain, told LiveScience in an earlier interview. "We did it properly and scientifically, and consistently looked at behavior."

Anybody seen UT?

[Undertoad]

Nahh, I'm headed downhill.

[monster]

Maybe Sheldon's gettin' him some?

[Sheldonrs]

Originally Posted by monster

Maybe Sheldon's gettin' him some?

Some? You mean ALL!

[monster]

No wonder those critters are making a run for it