Happy day-before-Halloween. (All Hallow's Eve Eve?)
I've got a ridiculous amount of candy (though I'm in town now, and I'm not calibrated for trick-or-treaters other than the Small Human). I've got a costume for the Small Human. I don't have a costume for myself, however. (Small Human wants me to go as a bat. Given today's stories about the causes of white-nose syndrome, though, I don't have the heart for it. Poor little guys.)
A few years ago, I encouraged my intro class to dress up as something geological. I forgot to do it this year (and it worked better when the class suggested the idea), but I got to wondering...
What would be the scariest possible geologic costume?
I think I would have to go with liquefaction. There's an earthquake, the ground turns to quicksand, buildings and people sink into the ground, and then the sand solidifies around you so you can't breath.
And then the dogs come out and eat your head.
(Images of the 1692 Port Royal earthquake from http://www.longjohnsilvertrust.co.uk/projects/henrymorgan.htm .)
Braaaaaaaains.
I'm not sure exactly how the costume would work, though. I could encase myself in sandy plaster and stop breathing... but maybe that wouldn't be a good idea.
On second thought, maybe I'll go as some obscure geology jargon that deserves to be re-animated. Nothing like a good word to eat a brain.
Braaaaaaaaains....
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Spooky geology
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5 comments:
In the political social climate of the day, dressing up as Charles Darwin would do the trick, since he has become the boogeyman responsible for abortion, pornography, nazism, communism, atheism, crime, and promoscuity, at least according to the creation-science crowd. What could be scarier than that?
BRAAAAIIINS! Or lack of them....
Nice post!
I went as the Hayward Fault this year, appropriately timed for the average recurrance interval anniversary. I would like to think this is a pretty scary thing! (The attempt at serpentinite-green hair failed miserably, though.)
Foam core boards made me into a fantastic quartz crystal, with accompanying pyramid hat. Wouldn't work for class though, as I could definitely not sit down.
I just learned about "tempestites". I'm pretty sure that could become a geological/classical costume of epic proportions.
It is great to see this post! I'd have to agree, it would be a pretty gruesome costume, and one I actually considered. I'm doing my PhD dissertation on the liquefaction and tsunami related to the 1692 Port Royal earthquake. It's incredible, but this print is quite solidly based in first-hand accounts of the event. Several people mention the dogs, and there were pirate types that went around as well, robbing corpses, cutting off fingers that had swollen too much to remove the rings. It's grizzly stuff, but makes for an interesting break from interpreting seismic lines and mapping faults!
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