'Boobquake' to test Iran cleric theory

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - One Purdue University student is inviting others to join her a light-hearted approach to testing a theory that immodestly dressed woman cause natural disasters.

Over 80,000 people have said they'd help.

Senior Jennifer McCreight said her event, called "Boobquake," began as a silly way to counter an Iranian cleric's claim immodestly dressed and promiscuous women cause earthquakes.

"I think a good way to do that is sometimes through humor. If I would have seriously addressed him, I probably would have never gotten a response but through light-hearted mockery could be a good tactic,” she explained.

She certainly got a lot of people's attention.

"I invited 30 of my closest friends to the event thinking that would be it and people kept inviting their friends,” said McCreight.

McCreight said on Thursday that 50,000 people had already signed up for the event. By Friday morning, that number had swollen to over 80,000.

The event is scheduled for Monday, April 26. McCreight isn't imposing a specific dress code, but just wants woman to wear what they consider immodest for the day.

"I'm just asking women to dress as immodestly as they feel comfortable to do. I'm not forcing people to dress differently then they would be. We're just coordinating your most immodest outfit on the same day. Even showing an ankle to some people would be immodest, so you can interpret that however you wish,” she said.

A Genetics and Evolution major, McCreight said she wants to scientifically test the cleric's theory.

"I want to do good science to counter the bad science this cleric had performed. I'm going to compare the frequency and severity of the earthquakes on the 26th to earthquakes previously to that and see if there is a statistical difference,” she said.

McCreight said she recognizes the cleric's viewpoint as extreme and not shared by all but certainly her different approach is getting just as much attention as the cleric's statement.

McCreight describes herself as a feminist and says she'll wearing a tank top for “Boobquake.” You can sign up to attend the Facebook event , or find out more about it on this page or on McCreight's blog .