National Richter Scale Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on April 26th. This is a holiday that commemorates the birth of the guy who invented the Richter Scale—a scale used to measure the strength and intensity of earthquakes—Charles Richter.

Although we don’t quite know who invented this holiday, we do know that it’s been celebrated for the last several years. Anyone interested in celebrating this holiday can do so by learning more about earthquakes, the science behind earthquakes, and the Richter Scale.

The History Of The Richter Scale

In 1935, Charles F. Richter of the California Institute of Technology developed his now-famous Richter Scale as a way to compare the size of earthquakes. The magnitude of an earthquake is determined by looking at the logarithm of the amplitude of waves as recorded by a seismograph. It’s been considered the standard for measuring earthquakes since it was created.

Interesting Facts About Earthquakes

Okay, now that we’ve covered the basics of this holiday, let’s take a few minutes to examine some interesting facts about earthquakes that will make everyone appreciate this holiday more.

• Every year, around the world there are millions of earthquakes.
• On March 11, 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Japan altered the earth’s mass distribution and shortened the day by around 1.8 microseconds.
• Ponds and lakes may become slightly warmer before an earthquake.
• Inca architecture was designed to withstand earthquakes.
• Japanese pagodas are also designed to withstand earthquakes.
• Approximately 90% of the earthquakes in the world occur in the Ring of Fire in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
• Animal behavior can change dramatically before an earthquake.

Observing National Richter Scale Day

Celebrating this holiday can be done by learning more about earthquakes and the science of earthquakes. People can also use the hashtag #NationalRichterScaleDay to spread the word about this holiday to other people who might be interested in observing this holiday.