Swimming between two continents, debunked

[@TomScottGo]

I think this is the first time I've failed to film a piece to camera on-location! I did try, but it turns out it's really difficult to wear a microphone and a dry suit at the same time.

[@justanotherhotguy]

So when will you have a community discord?

[@hh-uk8hd]

2 weeks ago??? damn

[@oldfridge5059]

We forgive you, Tom.

[@justsomeonewithanezukopfp8224]

⠀

[@pebble24]

How was this from 2 weeks ago???

[@lucyalmond9774]

Shout out to the guy happily skipping across the bridge, hope he's doing well

[@inthiccwetrust5779]

@Voltaic Fire one day we'll all get there buddy and this point in time will be one sour little step in our merry skip across the bridge

[@CrippleX89]

@@inthiccwetrust5779 Could be a nice meme! Anyone who's there and witnesses someone skipping across the bridge *knows* that that person has seen this video.

[@Marcus-gh8bh]

CrippleX89 we gotta make this a thing now.

[@SheeplessNW6]

Dude's in Iceland, he's already winning

[@COLMECTIGAMINGANDMORE]

Hopefully he's we'll!

[@DackxJaniels]

1:46 The guy crossing the bridge has the jauntiest run I've ever seen!

[@AndrewNajash]

Hahah, it looks like he’s working with different gravity than everyone else

[@standby75]

His arms are just swinging back and forth to a point a don’t understand

[@unnamed2723]

i literally did the same when i was there. I don‘t know why, but if you‘re there, you‘ll think about it, too.

[@bruv7521]

Meirl

[@bassam_salim]

@@unnamed2723 I walk like that when I am walking down hill and trying to slow down, maybe the bridge is a bit down hill

[@wilfshort]

0:56 "...or holding up this bridge in a photo", as two tourists in the background proceed to do just that.

[@nitehawk86]

I'd like to think they know who Tom is and wanted to do something silly in the background.

[@mac6]

That’s the joke....

[@EjvindGEMDark]

@@mac6 Tom scripts these, so I don't know if it was deliberate.

[@mac6]

But the joke wouldn’t have made sense if their weren’t 2 people in the background holding up a bridge

[@mykeh3155]

@@mac6 Is it really a joke though if it's true? Holding up bridges is an extremely common type of tourism picture, people love taking silly pictures because it creates fun memories.

[@nashsok]

Basically, take a piece of bread and start pulling it apart - Before it fully separates look at the cracks and try and determine whether a bit of bread belongs to the piece you're pulling on from the left or the piece you're pulling on from the right. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to shove bread into my face!

[@anatypicallyhumanperson7200]

Now I want bread

[@nashsok]

@@anatypicallyhumanperson7200 Don't let your dreams be dreams!

[@seraphic22]

I did your experiment and I managed to determine that both pieces of bread belong in my mouth. This is science I can really get behind!!

[@Waldzkrieger]

directions unclear, accidentally ate the entire North American Continental Plate.

[@jeniglace]

guess theres a reason they insist on calling it the crust

[@110110010]

that's a very long-winded way to say that the Earth has stretch marks

[@jeniglace]

it comes with being the largest of the 4 rocky planets in the inner solar system

[@Tustin2121]

And we’re taking pictures in and building bridges across the stretch marks.

[@RamiSlicer]

wait... STARCH MASKS

[@ANTSEMUT1]

Now you are just making Earth feel self conscious 😭😭😭

[@pantheraviva]

Rami Slicer preganté

[@Snaily]

Would love to see a mini-series called something like Our Messy World that deals with things like this

[@Nugcon]

yes

[@davesailing2004]

Collaboration with map men?

[@lyreparadox]

+

[@platinumxyminecraft7457]

Yes

[@akitoakito]

This could even be renamed episode 1

[@prayagpatel2168]

Tom really missed a “In the real world, there’s a lot of grey area” joke while pointing the camera at the sand

[@Liamjlm]

When the imposter is sus! 😳

[@boxcarz]

@@Liamjlm amogus

[@Liamjlm]

@@boxcarz mouse.

[@emilytalerman3567]

I was just thinking that!

[@caut5618]

hahhahahaha

[@danielclausmeyer]

“I’m swimming in a literal river of mineral water” Nestlé enters the chat

[@lewisirwin5363]

Pure Imagination intensifies

[@anieldayyanelday1771]

Nestle: " Iwonder how we can make Iceland pay for the lake"

[@Minuz1]

This nation fought the UK 3 times over cod. Rio tinto is about to move out because we are raising their electric bill. Nestlé who?

[@Mentocthemindtaker]

@@Minuz1 I wish every country had metaphorical balls as big as Iceland. Then the world would be a much nicer, happier place for everyone!

[@Kimmie6772]

@@Minuz1 they won with the cod war too. British decided it wasn't worth it.

[@Dr_Rocks]

As a geology PhD student who studies mid-ocean ridge plate boundaries I enjoyed this. It's always cool when someone takes time to learn about stuff you're really into.

[@sephgeodynamics9246]

Well although it's not the contact between two continents, like you say it's a MOR, a bit more complex as it is a tripple point, but still...

[@Jhfisibejoso8pkabrvo2is8]

How's your studies going? Or did you graduate already?

[@BL3446]

I love how multiple videos (landmark misconceptions, linguistics, historical misnomers...) of yours are "And there isn't a concrete answer, and that's okay." and how you focus on how our perceptions and past experiences are still real regardless of what the technicality says. Technicalities are super important because they give a new perspective, but they are given a bad rep because they are often thought as putting down and negating other perspectives and experiences, when really, they can be enriching them.

[@Bussiness_account]

Tom Scott is like your personal universal tour guide

[@BrawnyFanta]

He's like KZbins Attenborough

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Oh, the places you'll never go but you'll be interested in anyway.

[@fierydragon1249]

@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Haha. Perfect way to describe it

[@KenkuCry]

I know the use of universal here was not how I initially read it, but I'm just imagining 'I'm here on Kepler-186f, a planet which is supposedly habitable'

[@Qubecumber]

@@KenkuCry hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy vibes

[@seyeruoynepotsuj]

I did my doctoral thesis on this same topic!!! I mapped a portion of a transcurrent plate boundary on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Indonesia (transcurrent rather than Iceland's divergent boundary) and a huge part of the conclusion was that there's no clear divide as to where the boundary is. It's hundreds of miles wide filled with slivers and mish mash of both sides dragged into one another. I love that you include things like this on your channel.

[@spywalkz1]

Toms voice is so satisfying that I could listen to it all day

[@Crunchy_Punch]

I've been watching a few videos in bed before sleep every night since March. I'm not say Tom has a boring voice though. His videos put me at ease.

[@myleslos9658]

the skipping between the bridges at 1:48 is too happy to be living in 2020, what is his secret? edit: possibly a time traveller

[@caramelldansen2204]

or just Scandinavian those buggers are always happy! :P

[@myleslos9658]

@@caramelldansen2204 damn those scandinavian buggers, them and their perfect lives.

[@Bob3519]

Hopefully from the future.

[@elleboman8465]

@@caramelldansen2204 Not true, I'm Swedish and I'm positively riddled with depression :^/

[@Nadia1989]

Covid test negative, maybe

[@PsychLing0]

1:46 my guy on the bridge walking in cursive

[@DontScareTheFish]

The Silfra dive is one of those "You should do this, but once you've done one or two dives in a day you can tick it off the bucket list and never do it again". The profile is VERY saw tooth (which is generally a bad thing for divers). The only good thing about that saw tooth profile is that it's generally quite shallow (in diving terms). If you're every going to dive silfra think of it as a drift dive and don't kick yourself forward, only to the sides or back. The current will carry you forward, kicking forward will only shorten your dive.

[@MaxArceus]

I now have the image of like, pulling a croissant into two halves, with the middle flaking and tearing etc.

[@2MeterLP]

That does seem like a good analogy.

[@seyeruoynepotsuj]

I did my PhD in plate tectonics and I never thought of how good this analogy is. And that's wild because the ONLY analogies geologists use are food analogies!!

[@MazHem]

@@seyeruoynepotsuj it's all the plates, you gotta put food on them

[@franzfanz]

Or like two slices of pizza. Where the rock is more plastic it's like the mozzarella, it stretches and you can't see the crack but where there's a slice of pepperoni across the gap you can see it, like at Silfra. Edit: I want pizza now.

[@Kimmie6772]

@@seyeruoynepotsuj don't forget the earth is ravioli.

[@laterbot]

Tom Scott back in the day "here's an incredible thing!" Tom Scott now "Incredible things don't exist, here's a cruel lie"

[@clockworkkirlia7475]

Hm, more so "Incredible things are often complicated, but they're still incredible; here's a clarification." Gotta say, had never heard of this place, and now it's on my bucket list.

[@ShroudedWolf51]

Incredible things exist, this just isn't one of them. Not every assumption you make or marketing claim you hear is true.

[@ratedpending]

@@ShroudedWolf51 it's a joke guy

[@bigbig173]

@@ratedpending How to invalidate your opinion WR ANY%

[@JamesInBed]

I've had a really stressful day and this is exactly the content I need to make me feel better. Thank you again Tom, love your videos!

[@ReneSchickbauer]

To quote Futurama: "Technically correct is the best kind of correct"

[@TheMightyZwom]

Now I got the bureaucrat song stuck in my head... /watch?v=r4oPXHWrqVI

[@ReneSchickbauer]

@@TheMightyZwom Me too. Sorry :-P

[@-Raylight]

0:10 *_"You're tearing me apart _**_-Lisa-_**_ Earth"_*

[@iriscandy6377]

WHY LISA WHY

[@RaymondHng]

@@iriscandy6377 "Oh hi, Mark."

[@vangelicest4183]

This guy is getting younger and younger I swear.

[@Tomek_i]

It's probably the fact that Tom wears sunscreen and drinks from the skulls of his enemies

[@nitehawk86]

And wears the same red shirt every day.

[@excho]

His hairline isn't, though :/ Edit: Not trying to make fun of it, just genuinely sad for him.

[@chshrkt]

There is a painting in an attic somewhere... ;)

[@oblivioustothejoke7261]

Thats impossible.

[@sparx151]

Tbh Tom this added the magic back to Silfra. I went diving there last year but had already heard it wasn't really between two plates. Still enjoyed it sure, but I had understood it as it was marketing and we were really just close to the edge of one plate. Being in the stretch between is way cooler than I thought. So thanks

[@promontorium]

Yes it's fair to think of the entire area as the gap between the two continents, and that its formation is literally the continents splitting apart. It's just more than a few meters wides.

[@calvincoolidgesimp4380]

Thought my dude was about to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar

[@cgi2002]

While I think it would be interesting, that's one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, getting permission would be a right pain.

[@Wick9876]

The Bosporus or Hellespont might be easier.

[@brokenwave6125]

Its not plural. There's just one strait.

[@asliyase]

Wick9876 was about to comment the same thing hehe.

[@albertbatfinder5240]

I was contemplating whether it was strait or straits on my last swim across the Dardanelle.

[@shanechurilla]

2:18 Imagine spending your life’s savings on a trip to the tectonic line and hearing someone walk by you saying that :)

[@mattstirling6317]

Came looking for this comment

[@ambertapping7919]

I really enjoy the fact that your videos are increasingly like 'the world is full of nuance and I could tell you cool stuff just for views but it's really not that simple'.

[@asdsdjfasdjxajiosdqw8791]

0:53 There goes the sponsorship from the Icelandic tourist board.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

The river south of Glacier National Park in NW Montana has float trips. I brought my wetsuit and snorkeling equipment, and since I knew the guide, I 'accidentally' fell overboard and swam next to the 8 person raft. Initially my hands were painful the water was so cold (3-4*C) I had to keep them out of the water, but later I was able to be completely under. The water was exactly as clear as you show, and at some points very deep and looked incredibly like at 1:06, with the AMAZING clarity of the water. There was a strong current since the river was moving fast, and at points the river was over 30 feet deep and at others less than 2 feet deep, which was a challenge when you are moving at about 10 mph and have little time to dodge the rocks that appear coming at you at high speed :-) Love your vids, thank you.

[@celeluwhen]

I just wanted to say that I'm really impressed at your correct pronounciation of Þingvellir

[@Texicus_Reddicus]

we used to have Þ in English so it's not too difficult to understand

[@user-dl5gy6lc2n]

@@Texicus_Reddicus I love Þorn! it's such a good letter and it nowadays comes wiÞ some very unfortunate and unforseen side effects when used as intended

[@AyushKumar-qj6yb]

Tom's doing enough travelling for the rest of us this year

[@sireffortlessgarbage7922]

1:46 Guy runnin like he’s the main character, and he’s going to his next quest.

[@brainkells]

Tom:holding up this bridge in a photo,,,,,,, The people in the background: 🤷‍♀️ 0:58

[@KadruH]

The guy at 1:45 🏃‍♂️

[@risingpsycho]

Tom, I can’t handle all of these informational videos. I can’t keep all the fun facts in my head with these epic videos

[@berttorpson2592]

People walking by: “Oh hey that’s Tom Scott” Tom: “These stupid idiots”

[@oldguydoesstuff120]

Your "Amazing Places" videos are ... ummm ... amazing! Thank you for this one.

[@geraldmerkowitz4360]

1:46 how is it possible that there is always something to see in the background of his videos?

[@biiianciii888]

Paid actors Tom puts in there for little easter eggs

[@JOEYDIAZ9]

Just been watching some of of your old stuff. How your not a TV presenter is beyond me. Better than most of them anyway

[@danearl8328]

Many times people have asked, "what's this, down below?"

[@jana31415]

I asked when I was in iceland

[@myleslos9658]

Did not realise it was a monday until you uploaded

[@TheGerwin30games]

I have been here as well and swum, the cold on the face isn't as bad as it might seem but its absolutely gorgeous and amazing to do! if you ever visit Iceland I highly recommend doing this!

[@ohg4338]

Congrats on 3,000,000 subs!

[@cherryanx3261]

I've literally dived in Silfra, and had no idea that this was a thing lmao - I had the great experince and no dreams crushed with this video, so all good :P

[@TheK3vin]

Thank you very much for existing, Tom.

[@HiddenWindshield]

So, if the Earth was a cupcake, Silfra would be one of the little crumbs that fall off when you pull it apart. Great. Now I want a cupcake.

[@bonyek1089]

1:46 that guy walking on the bridge in the background has probably the best energy of anyone ever

[@maryjones104]

I actually went to the bridge between continents! It was so cool to see the exact spot on video, aha - our whole school trip lined up, held hands, and stretched one side to the other! I still have the photo :D

[@Studio23Media]

That gap and the water is simultaneously the prettiest and the scariest thing I've ever seen.

[@Catticus]

Tom: talks underwater Me: perfectly normal for Tom

[@giasharie274]

If he’s holding the camera in front of him, _of course he’s gotta talk_

[@giasharie274]

Mariam Shehab More like 1:20 *_unintelligible wet microphone noises_*

[@Southh]

Congrats on 3 million! Definitely deserved! :D

[@MarkBingley]

I swam there myself in Jan 2020, and it was indeed an incredible experience. If you find yourself in Iceland, i highly recommend doing it. And yes, you can drink the water whilst you are swimming in it!

[@biiianciii888]

Just noticed you hit 3 Mil Congrats Tom you deserve it🎉🎉🎉

[@MissileGuidance]

1:45 Happy guy skips along bridge ....

[@stuartnolan9313]

Anyone else go to bed on Sunday and think “Yay, I get to see Tom’s new video tomorrow!”?

[@iriscandy6377]

Me!!

[@valurg6524]

The obligatory "Hey, thats my country" for me

[@jaewok5G]

it's sort of like when you pull a doughnut apart, this is the crumbs in between.

[@iriscandy6377]

Swimming in the Atlantic Ocean surely counts as swimming between 2 continents... Surely...

[@kathrinehmunk]

Wait this was a new video? I was on a watching spree and thought hey another video I haven't watched but it was new! Great job ❤

[@justsomeonewithanezukopfp8224]

A ravine underwater It'll be hard to go to the stronghold

[@TornaitSuperBird]

At least you won't have to worry about Endermen

[@blancogohan]

the seed Tom used in the video was the same as ph1lzas

[@kets4443]

nezuko kamado hi

[@charliespinoza1966]

Tom, 3 million! Congratulations 🎈

[@safetyinnumbers9587]

I wish for all of us to be so carefree and cheerful as the guy at 1:46

[@senecautech4704]

Your videos are always so awesome

[@GameCyborgCh]

basically you are not swimming in between tectonic plates but rather above the transition from one plate to another

[@nolanwright385]

Hey just wanted to say I’m a huge fan...keep up the good work

[@eiiiot.s]

Video: 1minute ago Toms comment: 2 weeks ago Me: *visible confusion*

[@qtheplatypus]

EcreeperKiller the owner of a video can comment on it before it goes public.

[@eiiiot.s]

Ok

[@kristjaningijonsson571]

Well I´ve been guiding in Iceland for quite some time and I´ve always called the areas that lie beetween the plates rift valleys

[@samhansen9771]

3:28 that reminds me of my saying; "there's an exception to every rule, and that's a rule."

[@KevinEdwardsPlus]

I love this video. It inspired me to get the extra scuba certification to dive the site and it was an incredible experience that I otherwise may have missed.

[@VoIcanoman]

THANK-YOU. As a trained geologist (see username), I've been frustrated by people misinterpreting the significance of places like Silfra for years. Having been to Þingvellir (didn't swim there though, not sure that was even something on offer back in 2005 when I was there), and places like it, where continents were either tearing themselves apart or colliding (places including the East African Rift Valley, and subduction zones created by the Nazca plate and the South American plate, the Cocos plate and the North American plate, the Cocos plate and the Caribbean plate, the Pacific plate and the North American plate, and the African plate and the Eurasian plate*), I know just how chaotic the boundary zones can be. It makes for VERY interesting geology. Faulting and folding, erupting volcanoes (my raison d'être) and earthquakes (I felt a moment magnitude 5.6 in Guatemala a few years back)...I always enjoy my time spent in these geological paradises. *In the case of the subduction zones, the actual zone where one plate becomes another is obviously underwater. But in many cases, you can actually find areas where fragments of the subducting plate have been broken off and uplifted, to be included in the above-ground landscape. Moreover, much of the land that is Western North America (to take one common example...there are others) was once small microplates that accreted onto the North American continent many millions of years ago, so there are ancient convergent boundaries that remain above ground in this region, to this day.

[@TheVergile]

Pull apart a piece of cake and you will see a lot of fractures form. you might say there is one true dividing line - but that is only retroactively true. Once the parts have fully separated you could keep track of every particle and follow it back in time to see the „true boundary“. You might however find that in reality this will look way more messy than any of the neat cracks you observed before. And that there are a lot of crumbs left on the table after pulling things apart. The place you stand on there might be mostly made up of one sides particles or the others. Or it might be mostly crumbs. Or any random mix of all three of these things. And even this fails to describe the mindnumbing complexity that is the constant cycle of tectonics. Where you cant even tell where the cake ends and the strawberry sauce begins.

[@stuffandnonsense8528]

I suppose, though, that with hindsight one might be able to say that one particular crack was a single line at which the two plates separated. What I mean is, one should be able to find a point (several points) where the rock on one side will end up comfortably part of Eurasia and the other comfortably part of America. If the rock on my right will end up drifting east for ten thousand years and the one on my left will drift west for ten thousand years then there’s an appreciable sense in which I am indeed standing at their point of departure.

[@raayyyy]

This is why i always word it like this: " if i drive from my hometown of Akureyri, east for about four hours to Eigilstaðir, i'm taking a road trip from north america to europe" its more acourite while still leaving people that don't know this amusingly confuded

[@TomasIngi00]

I think you mixed up the North American and Eurasian plates at 1:49; the North American plate is to the left and the Eurasian one is to the right.

[@garethhanby]

It was just that time of the year when the Sun is in the North.

[@ElysiumCreator]

Travelling to Þingvellir park (where Silfra is) was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Especially as I went in winter so it was covered in gorgeous snow. I’d highly recommend it

[@TailsIsDisappointed]

This is a prime example of "Just keep swimming" taken literally.

[@caramelldansen2204]

Tails is best character

[@dava_arvarabi]

@@caramelldansen2204 fully agree on that

[@321tryagain]

I thoroughly enjoy your videos

[@ariefsyahrultiro]

"The real world is far more messy than we often think" Yes, i know.

[@pieceofcake2008]

Brilliant content as always Tom.

[@metropod]

"The real world does not fit into the neat little boxes that we'd like it to..." That is my existence in a nutshell.

[@nathanoafc0132]

"And designing more boxes does nothing but kick the bucket down the road"

[@Minuz1]

The real world fits inside your nutshell? :D

[@YellowPinkie]

Does the gap get bigger at these locations? If it does, then surely one side is on the American Plate and the other on the Eurasian Plate... Love all that you do Tom.

[@Trolligarch]

Tom: *visits area famous for a peculiar thing* Tom: *proceeds to debunk peculiar thing*

[@Liamjlm]

When the imposter is sus! 😳

[@kets4443]

@@Liamjlm When the impersonator is suspicious!

[@ViewsPlus]

Like your video details, great . I'm enjoyed and following your channel on ♥

[@Pharry_]

Tom Scott is the kid at the sleepover who says “it’s tomorrow” after midnight

[@cameronsmiley4233]

Just a tip, licking the camera lens will help with the fogging. I think the saliva repels the water, sounds a bit weird but it works

[@SuLokify]

Tom - not a qualified diver? A PADI open water certification isn't expensive or difficult to get, a few hours of classes, a written test, and a couple dives with an instructor and you're all set. The equipment is the expensive part, however you can (and probably should) simply rent gear from tours or local dive shops. It's definitely worth doing, even if you only ever go on a few dives.

[@d1rcwill]

It would even make an interesting little documentary

[@BeanMann]

I recently got my Padi Advanced Open Water. While standart Open Water may be simple to get, it takes time(about 4 dives in 2 days for me) and tom is presumably quite buisy and travels a lot. (Not to mention the time he is prob spending doing research for new topics) Sure maybe it could provide new oppertunities for videos, not everyone is super down to put on a BCD and heavy tanks cause it seems imposing at the start.

[@TheeAcid]

imagine they just choose to close when you’re between them

[@talkingpuppy4963]

I was litterally just watching another Tom Scott video

[@goldeviolets4314]

same

[@xriccardo1831]

I was watching the 10 min fishermen video

[@davidarthurkingsworth9683]

Me too

[@tigronya3354]

Same

[@mariuskeller4495]

This is the best comment i've seen in the last years

[@AlpineShenanigans]

Dang Tom, you're up to 3M subs, that's crazy! I'm not going to pretend that I'm an OG subscriber or anything, but when I found this channel it only had just over a quarter million subs, and I was genuinely surprised that it didn't have more. You deserve all the growth, your vids are always stellar and interesting!

[@michaelhowell2326]

I was just talking about how the Appalachian Mountains go from Scotland to Alabama thanks to the continents moving.

[@myleslos9658]

bruh WHAT

[@JoostMehrtens]

300.000 views in 16 hours. That is a good city waiting for Tom to post another video. And I am probably watching this with 1000 people at the same time.

[@konzetsu6068]

I remember hiking up to an inactive volcano (and going down into it) where we had to cross a narrow enough spot where you could stand with a foot on either plate, neat photo spot, only caveat was that you did not really see the bottom of the crack (admittedly you’d get stuck before falling too far).

[@chunkylefunga]

Wow a youtube recommendation that I actually want to watch and on upload day no less!

[@happyundertaker6255]

When you stand under the bridge between the continents, and the sun shines in your face, isn’t the American plate on the other side than the one you’re pointing to?

[@Gruncival]

Another great video by James May's living phylactery

[@potatopotato5354]

The last bit of this video made me extremely thirsty

[@PD_CĪPHĒR]

the forbidden drink

[@TheSkypetube]

@@PD_CĪPHĒR Nothing is stopping you from drinking mineral water

[@merlith4650]

@@TheSkypetube not the best idea though

[@TheSkypetube]

@@merlith4650 It's filtered

[@timschulze4162]

I love the last sentence. It’s so smart. Especially in science. We like opposites and definite lines to make our world easier to grasp. But most often things are much more diffuse and more warped.

[@JanneRanta]

"Imagine that this bridge..." and the guy on the bridge is right on queue.

[@Markle2k]

Did you not notice the tourists beyond the bridge posing for a photo while pretending to hold up said bridge. There was a lot going on in that scene.

[@leoncook524]

Can you make a video where you go to the furthest point in the world where you can see the longest (and go in to detail about the distance and why you can only see a limited amount of distance)

[@luismerchan9140]

1:45 mad lad on bridge

[@red_adept]

Okay, so the continental plates are more like taffy than wooden planks flaoting on water.