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Mexico World Cup fans jump with joy, cause small earthquake

There was a whole lotta shaking going on in Mexico City as fans celebrated their national team beating Germany.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
2 min read
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FIFA

Mexican fans were a bit excited Sunday when their national team beat defending champ Germany 1-0. How excited? So excited that apparently the whole country jumped at once, and seismic sensors in Mexico City detected a small earthquake.

In a tweet, the Institute of Geologic and Atmospheric Investigations in Mexico noted that at least two sensors registered the quake, and that it was caused artificially, "possibly by massive jumps" when Mexico's Hirving Lozano scored the match's only goal.

Some seemed to disbelieve the event, with many asking why no magnitude was given in the tweet, as is usually listed with earthquakes. Institute director Carlos Del Ángel told BuzzFeed News the event was similar to a magnitude 3 earthquake.

On its blog, the institute noted that the event would have gone unnoticed by regular people, even though seismic monitors still spotted it.

"We know that in various parts of the city where there were more people and when all the people jumped into the air at the same time in celebration, we were able to pick that movement up using several monitors that we have in Mexico City," Del Ángel told BuzzFeed.

The jumping wasn't all Mexican fans did after the win.

"For hours after the match, Mexico City resounded with the joyous cacophony of car horns," the New York Times reported. "Euphoric fans turned public plazas into giant parties — waving Mexican flags, singing, chanting, spraying foam and drinking."

Fans had better stop jumping by Wednesday, when the Mexican team plays again, taking on Sweden.

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