Very interesting. Japan has its own scale - the Shindo scale - that measures effect rather than energy released.

From https://www.japantimes.co.jp/japan-disaster-information/shindo-seismic-intensity/

“The Japan Meteorological Agency has a unique seismic scale called shindo that measures the degree of shaking in the event of an earthquake. This set of numbers — ranging from 0 to 7 — is different from an earthquake’s magnitude, which is a numerical value reflecting the size or energy of the temblor at its source. The shaking and effects become greater as the number increases, with shindo 5 and 6 further divided into lower and upper levels.

At maximum 7, people cannot stay standing and may be thrown into the air, while unsecured pieces of furniture are likely to topple over or be tossed up in the air and reinforced concrete walls may collapse.

At the seismic intensity of upper 5, people find it difficult to move and dishes could fall out from cupboards. Lower five may cause hanging objects to swing violently.

The agency defines level 4 as being felt by most people even if they are walking and likely to awake people who are sleeping. It causes hanging objects to swing significantly. Level 3 can be felt by most people who are staying still and likely to make plates in cupboards rattle.

Many people who are not moving around can feel shindo 2 quakes, which will make hanging objects swing slightly, while only some people staying put may feel slight movement in level 1. Zero intensity is detected by seismometers but not perceptible to people.

The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, which spawned the giant tsunami that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster, was felt nearly nationwide. The shindo readings ranged from 7 in part of Miyagi Prefecture and upper 5 in parts of Tokyo to a barely perceptible 1 in Kyushu.”

This is so fascinating!

Although not seemingly related - this scale and the threshold under an outside door do have something in common. 

Modern door thresholds often have a sealing strip, often made of rubber, that fits into two grooves in the wood or metal to seal the airgap when the door is closed. Prior to a built-in strip, door thresholds usually had a raised portion that the door rested against, and the sealing strip was either non-existent or was fastened to the threshold after installation as an add-on piece. While there's not much information about who invented the door threshold with the rubber strip but, here's an interesting tidbit - a man who installed doors thought there had to be a better, easier way to seal a threshold for wooden doors and thresholds. He came up with the idea of cutting two parallel grooves along the threshold and inserting a curved piece of rubber in those grooves. That way, the threshold could be completely underneath the door and still seal the airgap. The idea worked and he later sold the idea and patten to a manufacturer. He became a millionaire and the door threshold with a built-in rubber strip is still used today.

Now, what connection does that have with the scale in this thread ... and how do I know this elusive history?

I know the story because than man was our Brother! He lived in Orlando and one of his nephews was in a local congregation to me. I heard the story from the inverter himself - and since he was a JW serving in the congregation, I never doubted it. Sadly, both of those fine brothers are waiting for the New System by means of the resurrection.

Their last name was Richter.