It all started with what a prayer leader said, half a world away. The Chicago Tribune reported:

“Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,” Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Sedighi is Tehran’s acting Friday prayer leader.

As an aside, I love how these apparently morally unimpeachable religious men see so obviously that a bit of leg or cleavage is the trigger that leads men astray. Men are so utterly blameless for their transgressions, apparently. How can these men see themselves as superior to women when they are unable to control their own actions? They act more like children. Here, as always, men blame women as an excuse to get away with what they want to do, rather than any inability to control themselves. Men can certainly control themselves if they want to. Grrrr. Okay, back to the topic at hand.

In response, Jen McCreight had a suggestion. One week ago, in her blog, Blag Hag, she wrote an entry called, “In the name of science, I offer my boobs.” In this post, she wrote:

I have a modest proposal.

Sedighi claims that not dressing modestly causes earthquakes. If so, we should be able to test this claim scientifically. …

Time for a Boobquake.

On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. 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. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I’m sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn’t rumble. And if we really get through to him, maybe it’ll be one involving plate tectonics.

So, who’s with me?

In the past week, she’s been all over the media. Heck, this morning, I turned on the television to view tonight’s listings so I could set my PVR. What did I see when the picture appeared? A well endowed young lady in a low-cut tank-top was being interviewed on her webcam, and the caption at the bottom of the screen reads, “Boobquake.” I wasn’t pleased that I was already behind schedule. She made it on to Canada AM all the way up here.

The idea is ingenious and amusing. I don’t believe in Sedighi’s ridiculous conjecture. Even if there were a big quake, correlation is not causation. But I’d still enjoy referring to the obvious power of breasts!

She’s planning a wrap-up after Boobquake ends:

And to the scientists who are concerned with my methods — don’t worry, I fully plan on doing some statistics after the event. I know many earthquakes happen on a daily basis, so we’re looking to see if Boobquake significantly increases the number or severity of earthquakes. Or if an earthquake strikes West Lafayette, IN and only kills me, that may be good evidence of God’s wrath as well (I’m not too concerned). And yes, I know I need a larger sample size to make this good science. Maybe I’ll include Mardi gras in my calculations.

Check Blag Hag to see the report on the aftermath. I heard Taiwan experienced a quake that measured 6.5 on the Richter scale…

You know, I like the idea of Boobquake. I like its irreverence. I like the little guy thumbing his nose at authority when authority is ridiculous. Most of all though, I like the boobs.