--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no known scientific way of…" description: "\"“There is no known scientific way of predicting earthquakes. The most reliable method is to count the number of missing cats in the local paper: if it ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/john-lloyd-16779_earthquakes_there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-pred_214967.jpg" --- # There is no known scientific way of predicting… ![“There is no known scientific way of predicting earthquakes. The most reliable method is to count the number of missing cats in the local paper: if it trebles, an earthquake is imminent.” quote by John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/john-lloyd-16779_earthquakes_there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-pred_214967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/john-lloyd-16779_earthquakes_there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-pred_214967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/john-lloyd-16779_earthquakes_there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-pred_214967.jpg) > ““There is no known scientific way of predicting earthquakes. The most reliable method is to count the number of missing cats in the local paper: if it trebles, an earthquake is imminent.”” [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Predicting earthquakes scientifically is impossible; the quote humorously suggests using absurd indicators like missing cats as a proxy for impending quakes. **In simple terms:** Science can’t forecast quakes; absurd signs are jokes. Key Takeaway Don’t rely on nonsense for safety. Themes science humor prediction risk skepticism Mood skeptical lighthearted cautionary Type aphorical satirical educational When to use this quote - disaster preparedness - media literacy - public safety - risk assessment Key Concepts probability misinformation critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What reliable methods exist for earthquake forecasting? - How can we combat misinformation about natural hazards? A Different Perspective The joke may downplay real scientific efforts to improve quake prediction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [This heart been through tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-heart-been-through-tornadoes-earthquakes-and-hurricanes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The line between inner and outer landscapes is breaking down. Earthquakes can result from seismic upheavals within the human mind. The whole random universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-line-between-inner-and-outer-landscapes-is-breaking-down/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/i-don-t-know-how-much-god-has-to-do-to-get-the-attention-of-the/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [It's a bit scary to see my book come true: the recent (if minor) LA earthquakes, Hurricane Sandy, the Boston bomber, and so on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edan-lepucki/it-s-a-bit-scary-to-see-my-book-come-true-the-recent-if-minor-la/) [Edan Lepucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edan-lepucki/) > [The current situation of the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear plants is in a way the most severe crisis in the 65 years since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoto-kan/the-current-situation-of-the-earthquake-tsunami-and-the-nuclear/) [Naoto Kan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naoto-kan/) > [No. He says when you're dealing with any kids of supernatural beings, Gods and Devils and angels, you tend to think about them like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/no-he-says-when-you-re-dealing-with-any-kids-of-supernatural-beings/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, oil spills and radioactive fallout cause massive death of people, pigs, bats and birds. These disasters also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stamets/disasters-such-as-earthquakes-tsunamis-volcanoes-floods-oil-spills/) [Paul Stamets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stamets/) > [Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/sometimes-i-wish-eastern-congo-could-suffer-an-earthquake-or-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [God's interventions are miracles: events that cannot happen by merely natural agents but only by a supernatural agent. They no more interfere with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-interventions-are-miracles-events-that-cannot-happen-by-merely/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [One day, I went to a soba restaurant outside town, and while I was waiting for the zarusoba I opened an old graph magazine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/one-day-i-went-to-a-soba-restaurant-outside-town-and-while-i-was/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [Maybe we should have gone with him," he said, a few minutes after his friend was lost to sight. "Three of us would make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/maybe-we-should-have-gone-with-him-he-said-a-few-minutes-after-his/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-on-earth-greater-than-arbitrary-or-despotic-power/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It's like simulating earthquakes: we can over and over study a bubble, crash, bubble, crash. Then we can see mathematically if there's some regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-camerer/it-s-like-simulating-earthquakes-we-can-over-and-over-study-a-bubble/) [Colin Camerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-camerer/) ## More by John Lloyd > [“As a baby, Oliver Cromwell was abducted by his grandfather’s pet monkey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/as-a-baby-oliver-cromwell-was-abducted-by-his-grandfather-s-pet-monkey/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“James Joyce married a woman named Nora Barnacle. She once said to him, ‘Why don’t you write books people can read?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/james-joyce-married-a-woman-named-nora-barnacle-she-once-said-to-him/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“Tour de France riders need to eat the equivalent of 27 cheeseburgers a day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/tour-de-france-riders-need-to-eat-the-equivalent-of-27-cheeseburgers/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“Where does Chicken Tikka Masala come from? Glasgow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/where-does-chicken-tikka-masala-come-from-glasgow/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [Jokes are a lot about meaning. I think if we understand what jokes mean and why they work, we'd understand everything else. Genuinely I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/jokes-are-a-lot-about-meaning-i-think-if-we-understand-what-jokes/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“Only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/only-2-of-women-describe-themselves-as-beautiful/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“About 200,000 academic journals are published in English each year. The average number of readers per article is five.   The average numbers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/about-200-000-academic-journals-are-published-in-english-each-year/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“When John Hetherington ventured out in public wearing the first top hat, it was considered so shocking that children screamed, women fainted, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/when-john-hetherington-ventured-out-in-public-wearing-the-first-top/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“In Switzerland, it is illegal to keep just one guinea pig.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/in-switzerland-it-is-illegal-to-keep-just-one-guinea-pig/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“Robert Burns was never called Rabbie or Robbie—though he did occasionally call himself Spunkie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/robert-burns-was-never-called-rabbie-or-robbie-though-he-did/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [The universe is fractal. The closer you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/the-universe-is-fractal-the-closer-you-look-at-it-the-more/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“British spies stopped using semen as invisible ink because it began to smell if it wasn’t fresh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/british-spies-stopped-using-semen-as-invisible-ink-because-it-began/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“Kummerspeck (“grief bacon”) is German for the weight put on from eating too much when feeling sorry for yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/kummerspeck-grief-bacon-is-german-for-the-weight-put-on-from-eating/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [“You are 14% more likely to die on your birthday than any other day. 51”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/you-are-14-more-likely-to-die-on-your-birthday-than-any-other-day-51/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [I still don't like authority exercised without reason. But they laugh at you at Cambridge if you say that sort of thing. For them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/i-still-don-t-like-authority-exercised-without-reason-but-they-laugh/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) [Explore all 39 John Lloyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) ## More Earthquakes quotes > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/there-is-something-on-earth-greater-than-arbitrary-or-despotic-power/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [Maybe we should have gone with him," he said, a few minutes after his friend was lost to sight. "Three of us would make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/maybe-we-should-have-gone-with-him-he-said-a-few-minutes-after-his/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [One day, I went to a soba restaurant outside town, and while I was waiting for the zarusoba I opened an old graph magazine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/one-day-i-went-to-a-soba-restaurant-outside-town-and-while-i-was/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [God's interventions are miracles: events that cannot happen by merely natural agents but only by a supernatural agent. They no more interfere with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-interventions-are-miracles-events-that-cannot-happen-by-merely/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Sometimes I wish eastern Congo could suffer an earthquake or a tsunami, so that it might finally get the attention it needs. The barbaric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/sometimes-i-wish-eastern-congo-could-suffer-an-earthquake-or-a/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, oil spills and radioactive fallout cause massive death of people, pigs, bats and birds. These disasters also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-stamets/disasters-such-as-earthquakes-tsunamis-volcanoes-floods-oil-spills/) [Paul Stamets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-stamets/) > [No. He says when you're dealing with any kids of supernatural beings, Gods and Devils and angels, you tend to think about them like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/no-he-says-when-you-re-dealing-with-any-kids-of-supernatural-beings/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [The current situation of the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear plants is in a way the most severe crisis in the 65 years since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naoto-kan/the-current-situation-of-the-earthquake-tsunami-and-the-nuclear/) [Naoto Kan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naoto-kan/) > [It's a bit scary to see my book come true: the recent (if minor) LA earthquakes, Hurricane Sandy, the Boston bomber, and so on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edan-lepucki/it-s-a-bit-scary-to-see-my-book-come-true-the-recent-if-minor-la/) [Edan Lepucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edan-lepucki/) > [I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/i-don-t-know-how-much-god-has-to-do-to-get-the-attention-of-the/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [The line between inner and outer landscapes is breaking down. Earthquakes can result from seismic upheavals within the human mind. The whole random universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-line-between-inner-and-outer-landscapes-is-breaking-down/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [This heart been through tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-heart-been-through-tornadoes-earthquakes-and-hurricanes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's like simulating earthquakes: we can over and over study a bubble, crash, bubble, crash. Then we can see mathematically if there's some regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-camerer/it-s-like-simulating-earthquakes-we-can-over-and-over-study-a-bubble/) [Colin Camerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-camerer/) Browse all 375 Earthquakes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is no known scientific way of predicting earthquakes. The most reliable method is to count the number of missing cats in the local paper: if it trebles, an earthquake is imminent.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Lloyd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-predicting-earthquakes-the-most/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Earthquakes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-predicting-earthquakes-the-most/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/john-lloyd-16779_earthquakes_there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-pred_214967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/john-lloyd-16779_earthquakes_there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-pred_214967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fba/john-lloyd-16779_earthquakes_there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-pred_214967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no known scientific way of predicting earthquakes. The most reliable method is to count the number…” — John Lloyd", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Lloyd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is no known scientific way...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-predicting-earthquakes-the-most/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/there-is-no-known-scientific-way-of-predicting-earthquakes-the-most/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```