The biggest danger during an earthquake, is getting crushed by stuff falling around you. That's why experts will tell you to take cover under furniture or in a doorway. Better still would be to have a special crush-resistant place to hide, like this 65 ton seismic bed.

If you're caught in the middle of a violent earthquake, your first concern is probably avoiding falling bits of building. Unfortunately most of us don't walk around with a hard hat, but that could change if this bag that doubles as a helmet catches on.

Last year's massive quake in Japan reminded us all just how destructive an earthquake can be. To prepare for the next one, Japanese engineers are coming up with all kinds of new ways to protect vulnerable buildings.

It's easy to think of an earthquake as a Californian problem for the rest of the U.S., but the truth — only made more clear by Tuesday's 5.8-magnitude tectonic jiggling — is that the rest of the country is in danger, too. In fact, just this year the government simulated how bad a Midwestern "big one" could be, and it wasn't pretty.