The second story Eve reminded me about also took place 10 years ago.
A bunch of us gathered at her house every Thursday night for "Simpsons night." I'm not proud, but that's the fact of it. Simpsons and Seinfeld. On this particular Thursday night, around 8:15pm, her living room floor went all wobbly for a moment. Before anyone could even move, the earthquake stopped. No buildings fell in Seattle that night. No injuries occurred. It was over before it began. Except on TV.
The local TV news crews went crazy, pre-empting the entire night of TV. We heard a breathless report from a woman in Moses Lake, who said she was doing dishes...and the dishwater moved! In Kent, a breathless grocery clerk was stacking cans...when a few cans fell! Someone was videotaping a local band when the stage trembled...and the lead singer smiled nervously, not sure what had just happened! In Kirkland, a woman reported that her chandelier had clinked...and dust fell! And a local reporter stood beneath the Space Needle, where nothing actually happened...but might have! I am not making these five stories up. I don't need to. I memorized them, because the local NBC affiliate showed them some 20 times each. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. A few of us piled into my Jeep and drove downtown to the TV studio.
I pounded on the door. No one answered. We all started pounding on the studio windows. A guy started buzzing Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyrie" on the intercom. All we lacked were pitchforks and torches. Finally, the station manager poked her head out.
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP RUNNING THAT STUPID CRAP!" I pleaded.
"What ever happened to Must See TV?" someone else asked.
"It's a big news story," she replied meekly, obviously nervous.
We blew. "AAAUUUUUUGHGGGGHHHH! AUGH! AUGH! AUGH!"
They reran Seinfeld in its entirety. I was very proud.