# I think we just had an earthquake in the midwest. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 31, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410 "2010-05-31T19:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/1 "2010-05-31T19:22:30Z")
About 20 minutes ago, my wife and I looked at each other and asked, “did you feel that?” Some minor, but definite tremors for 5-10 seconds or so. Nothing more than that, so I suspect it was some combination of a minor earthquake or pretty far away from here. Anyone else in Chicago (or elsewhere in the midwest) feel it? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/2 "2010-05-31T19:26:35Z")
My power flicked on and off a few times and I heard an odd noise outside (in Milwaukee) but I have to assume it was wholly unrelated. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/3 "2010-05-31T19:30:41Z")
USGS says [you imagined it](http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/). I have to admit that I’m a little amused that the OP didn’t immediately go to the USGS website, which is what a Californian would do in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/4 "2010-05-31T20:13:56Z")
I didn’t feel it and I’m in Michigan. USGS is commonly checked for people in California? Never heard of it here in Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/5 "2010-05-31T20:21:36Z")
Isn’t there a massive storm going on around Chicago, right now? I would think it was maybe some big thunder. Back in my old apartment I’ve had thunder vibrate/shake my floor enough to wake me up and scare the crap out me. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/6 "2010-05-31T20:29:17Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > USGS is commonly checked for people in California? Oh, yes. Feel a rumble under your feet and you head to USGS to see if a. that really was a quake and not just a truck driving by and b. how big it was. If it turns out to be a teeny one, or a big one far away, you can feel a bit of pride for being such a sensitive person. I once managed to completely miss a 5.something, so I am not a sensitive person. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/7 "2010-05-31T22:45:03Z")
Could be. Before I moved to California, the first quake I ever felt was in Urbana, and it was real - but tiny. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/8 "2010-05-31T23:52:09Z")
One time, I was woken up by some vibrations in the middle of the night and the wall was rattling. In my grogginess, I just assumed that my next-door neighbors were having wild hot monkey sex and I promptly went back to sleep. It wasn’t until the next morning when I checked the news that I discovered there was in fact a minor earthquake overnight. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/9 "2010-05-31T23:55:44Z")
Nothing here. Far southern portion of Cook County. We’ve had severe thunderstorms all afternoon, though. I have felt 2 earthquakes while living here. The New Madrid fault isn’t all that far away… ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/10 "2010-06-01T00:02:03Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > USGS says [you imagined it](http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/). > > I have to admit that I’m a little amused that the OP didn’t immediately go to the USGS website, which is what a Californian would do in that situation. Actually, I went there right away. You’re right; it doesn’t show any kind of earthquake in the midwest. Makes me wonder what went on. It felt exactly like previous (extremely mild) earthquakes I’ve experienced. My wife felt it, too, so it wasn’t just my imagination. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/11 "2010-06-01T00:03:23Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Isn’t there a massive storm going on around Chicago, right now? I would think it was maybe some big thunder. Back in my old apartment I’ve had thunder vibrate/shake my floor enough to wake me up and scare the crap out me. No, it wasn’t thunder (and the worst of the storm had passed by then). The shaking was of a much longer period than any storm-related shaking/rattling I’ve experienced before. ---
**Author:** ![RalfCoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@RalfCoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RalfCoder)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-we-just-had-an-earthquake-in-the-midwest/541410/12 "2010-06-02T21:36:26Z")
I’m in Michigan also, and didn’t feel a thing. I remember only 2-3 earthquakes here. The first was about 1980 or 1981-ish. I was on the couch, I think, and it felt like someone just _bump_ed it with a hip while walking by. Just _thump_, and that was it. My roommate never even noticed it, and didn’t believe me that it had happened until it was in the paper and on TV. He was always a dumb clod, any way… I never noticed the 2nd one. I heard about it in the news.