Chinese Seismograph Vase
For centuries different societies have designed many creative ways
to measure the shaking of the earth. Nearly 2000 years ago, for
example, the ancient Chinese made a special vase that had several
sculpted dragons mounted all around the sides of the vase. Each
dragon held in its mouth a metal ball. When the ground shook, some
of the balls would fall from the mouths of the dragons into the
waiting mouths of the sculpted frogs to show how the ground had
moved. (courtesy of National Geographic magazine)
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