Boobquake
If the antidote to terrorism and fundamentalist extremism is to refuse to be terrorized, we may finally be making some progress. Last week, Michael Moynihan blogged about "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," an appropriately defiant and mocking response to the not-so-veiled threat levied against South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone by an Islamic extremist website.
It started as a college student's snide response to an Iranian cleric's assertion that scantily clad women cause earthquakes.
But as of Thursday, it had become much, much bigger.
Jen McCreight, a self-described atheist, feminist and geek "trapped in Indiana," took issue with Hojatoleslam Kazim Sadeghi's message during Friday prayers in Tehran, the Iranian capital.
The hard-line cleric, who was standing in for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, said women who dress provocatively – thereby tempting men – are to blame for the world's temblors…
McCreight, who is pursuing a double major in genetics and evolution, took to her blog, Blag Hag, on Monday, demanding that the world's women band together in a scientific experiment to test the merits of Sadeghi's hypothesis.
"Time for a Boobquake," she wrote. "On Monday, April 26, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. … I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty."
She continued, "With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I'm sure [Sadeghi] can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn't rumble."
Boobquake's Twitter account quickly snared more tweets than a bird sanctuary, and its Facebook page had almost 50,000 "confirmed guests" as of Thursday afternoon.
Rest assured readers, Reason staffers will monitor this story like regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission.