Geotechnical engineers from the University of Texas have an interesting fleet of toys to play with. The university has five "large mobile shakers," which are gigantic trucks that can generate simulations of seismic activity using gigantic rams mounted to their underbellies.

By shaking the ground, the trucks are "used to both evaluate the needs of existing infrastructure and optimize the design of future infrastructure, such that our communities become more resilient to earthquakes and other natural hazards," UT writes.

Tom Scott got a look at these machines up-close and in action:

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In addition to geotechnical testing, other applications include giving ants migraines, ruining parking lots and scaring the bejeezus out of local dogs.