Almost 1 year ago (12/13/17) there was a 6.5 earthquake on Bouvet Island which is around that area.
"The Tachypomp" is a short story by Edward Page Mitchell originally published January 1874 anonymously in The Sun, a New York City daily newspaper.
The plot revolves around Mr. Furnace’s (the narrator) quest to marry his math professor’s daughter. Unfortunately, the math teacher does not approve of him, as he does not excel in mathematics. The professor sets him a challenge: to discover the principle of infinite speed. The narrator turns to his tutor, and is able to find the solution in the tachypomp. Eventually the professor agrees to allow Mr. Furnace to marry his daughter.
The tutor tells Furnace about several scientific discoveries. These include:
an android capable of computing vulgar fractions and composing sonnets;
a hollow tube leading through the earth to the Kerguelen Islands (where a Dutch navigator Rhuyghens is said to have found an "abysmal pit");
a solution to squaring the circle;
a perpetual motion machine;
the tachypomp.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tachypomp