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Professor Lupin in one of the Harry Potter books said some damn wise words - in order to cope with fear, you need to present it in a funny way. And this worldly wisdom actually works not only against magical creatures, but also against many of our deepest fears. For example, earthquakes.

So, this Friday, the East Coast - from New York to Boston, to be exact - felt tremors from an earthquake. Nothing destructive, but people were actually nervous. And the best remedy in such cases is humor. Or even sarcasm. So here is a selection of the wittiest reactions from netizens, made by Bored Panda.

According to the USFS, the earthquake had a magnitude of 4.8 and its epicenter was near Lebanon, New Jersey, about 40 miles west of New York. Towards evening, people felt an aftershock with a magnitude of 4.0. Looking at historical ESGS statistical data, this was the strongest earthquake to hit the Northeast in over a decade, although this magnitude in fact indicates a very moderate shaking force.

“It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced,” MSNBC quotes James Pittinger, the mayor of Lebanon, although, according to him, there have been no reports of any significant damage. The most that residents of the town straight near the epicenter had to deal with was broken dishes, things falling from shelves or frightened pets. But the stress still existed, and it was necessary to deal with it. Preferably, as wittily as possible.

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As we can see, people from the East Coast are massively sharing photos of fallen glasses and vases, spilled coffee and even - horror of horrors! - fallen houseplants. It seems that the main hashtag of this earthquake has become #wewillrebuild, and all its witnesses will tell their grandkids decades later how they survived the Great East Coast Quake. Unless, of course, something much more serious happens in the future...

#10

Earthquake-Damage-Photo-East-Coast

equisnrolly Report

In fact, many of us have similar stories - for example, the last time there was an earthquake in our area (it was a magnitude 5), I was about 13 and I was just sitting on the toilet, sorry for the details. Someone may say - “Commendable forethought!”, but I will admit that at that time I had a disgusting habit of tapping the walls of the toilet with a plunger (for which my grandma scolded me heavily) - and imagine my surprise when, after the next blow to the wall, all the ground suddenly responded with a heavy roar... I didn’t knock on the walls anymore. Never in my entire life...

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#13

Earthquake-Damage-Photo-East-Coast

arontzimas Report

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Lotekguy
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, the old song lyric, "why does the pizza land topping side down when you drop it on the floor?"

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#15

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ratcoach13 Report

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LizzieBoredom
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone bring in a case of Dawn, and start hosing down the pigeons.

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Well, the ability to laugh at oneself and at the stress experienced is already a reason to say that we have coped with the problem. And overturned trash cans and spilled coffee - damn it, we can handle anything! As long as we laugh in the face of troubles, we are invincible! So please feel free to scroll this list to its very end, and let us know if you also have experienced anything similar these days.

#16

Earthquake-Damage-Photo-East-Coast

EricDRothstein Report

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Lotekguy
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

More interesting if the fallen chair had been occupied at the time. Even moreso if the butt thereon belonged to an "influencer" in mid-babble.

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#17

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dorkly Report

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La Lucy
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So sad his friend is laughing instead of helping in this time of crisis.

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#18

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moll_aj Report

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Lucus Adams
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bruh.. this is about earthquake damage, I was not mentally prepared to be triggered with graphic displays of the devastation tornadoes can cause.

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#22

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NeoGameSpark Report

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Lucus Adams
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everytime I'm in the street in NY someone is flashing their cans.

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#23

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mercerrock Report

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#25

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cautiousstoat Report

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Curry on...
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First, the planning committee has to meet to assign duties, create metrics, and formulate a reporting system.

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#26

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brandontrusso Report

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La Lucy
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Probably the cleanest that street jas been in a while, despite all the damage!

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#27

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excoltus Report

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#30

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junziforhire Report

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Note: this post originally had 44 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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