Northeast cities were rocked by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake around 10:20 a.m. on Friday, but if you spend any time on X, you probably already knew that.
The web reacted swiftly, in a way that might have reminded you of the Twitter (X) of yore. There was a time when X was less about virality and more about sharing news right as it was happening — and that’s what happened when the glasses started to shake in Northeast cabinets on Friday morning. Dozens of voices bounced through the halls of the social media platforms echoing: “Did you just feel that?”
It’s uncommon for New Yorkers to experience an earthquake, but it’s not unheard of. This quake was centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, roughly 40 miles west of New York City. The Mashable culture and tech teams were in a video meeting discussing the merits of Beyonce’s new album, Cowboy Carter, specifically her cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” when we felt it.
Beyond the most obvious observations (“we had an earthquake”), here are some of the best tweets about the disturbing phenomenon.