In 1964, the Alaskan king crab industry was just taking off. Monsters like this guy were not rare. Working the cannery line was miserable, and made for a long, long day. But the industry brought work to Alaska’s remote coastal towns. In the early days, catches of up to 3,000 king crabs a day were not uncommon, with individual crabs weight 8-10 pounds each.
Somebody pass the garlic butter.
As March 27th approaches, it’s hard to get earthquakes off my mind. Below is a great short film by the U.S. Geological Survey that reveals the scope of the biggest earthquake ever to hit the Northern Hemisphere, the Good Friday Quake that hit Alaska on March 27, 1964.
The ’64 quake lasted over four minutes. That’s a ridiculously long time for an earthquake. Four minutes is how long it takes Elsa to sing “Let It Go” in the movie Frozen. It’s how long hard-core, Olympic-level runners run to reach a mile. In four minutes on a typical day in the United States, 30 babies are born, 38 people die, and 4,080 Big Macs are eaten. Four minutes in a 9.2 earthquake is forever.
Watch the video. When you’re done, check your watch. The video below – four minutes and four seconds long – is shorter than the quake itself.
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