Re: bricks, mortar, construction
That, and the construction itself - it's designed to bear static vertical loads, and in one direction only - downwards. The forces from an earthquake are mostly horizontal loads. (So is wind, but that's another story.)
You can easily test this yourself. Build a jenga tower or something similar on a table. If you bang your fist hard on the table, i.e. exert a vertical force, the structure will rather jump and wobble than collapse. (Enough force will destroy anything.) If you bang against the table using the same amount of force, i.e. exert a horizontal force, the structure will collapse (or at least be seriously deformed).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
