San Francisco Historians Condemn 1906 Earthquake Deniers

[dcsmart]

SAN FRANCISCO—In an event that sparked outrage across the historical community, deniers of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake convened last weekend to share their controversial theories about what actually occurred on that tragic day more than a century ago.

The 1906 Earthquake Deniers, a group reviled by Californians and scholars alike, held three days of lectures and roundtable discussions over what they call a "century-long hoax" of exaggerated seismic activity in the Bay area, and part of a conspiracy to bring the World's Fair to San Francisco in 1915. Historians protested the conference, saying the organization's statements denying any major seismic activity in 1906 are reprehensible and out of line with all available geologic data from the time.

"On Apr. 18, 1906, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale killed 3,000 San Franciscans and devastated a growing metropolis," Professor Richard Kasper of the University of California, Berkeley, told reporters Tuesday. "It was a massive, massive earthquake. To say otherwise is to callously ignore not only the suffering of the disaster's victims, but also a mountain of photographs, video footage, and eyewitness reports."

Added Kasper: "And I find it personally offensive to suggest that a single malfunctioning trolley car could have wiped out 490 city blocks."

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FULL ARTICLE
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/san_francisco_historians_condemn?utm_source=a-section

[acmavm]

1. I'm glad I saw this was from the Onion because I took it seriously

at first. I mean, look at what's happened to science in this country in the past few years. And look at what people are denying (i.e. the freaking Holocaust for crying out loud).

Sheesh, I've become so jaded.