Engineering
The Role of Soil Liquefaction in Earthquake Damage and Mitigation
Quick fact
During the 1964 Niigata earthquake in Japan, entire apartment buildings tipped over intact because the liquefied soil beneath them could no longer support their weight.
Why this is interesting
You expect the ground to stay solid during an earthquake, but in many places, the soil can suddenly turn into something like quicksand, swallowing buildings and snapping underground pipes.