Once upon a time, there was an Earth Scientist named Alfred Wegener. Alfred was a curious man who was always wondering about the history of his planet.

One day, while talking about the history of Earth with some of his scientist friends, Alfred proposed a theory that he had come up with called the Theory of Plate Tectonics. 

The way Alfred saw it, long ago the Earth contained one supercontinent called Pangea rather than the seven separate continents that the Earth has now. This supercontinent was made up of several tectonic plates found deep beneath the Earth's surface. Over time, these plates drifted apart to form the seven continent Earth we know today. This shifting is referred to as continental drift.

--->

Although Alfred believed his theory was accurate to the truth, he was met with scorn from his scientist friends.

Determined to reveal the truth, Alfred decided he needed to go on a quest to find more information about continental drift as well as the tectonic plates that he believed made up the world.

First Alfred needed to gather enough information to prove his theory of plate tectonics to his friends. To accomplish this, Alfred traveled to each of the seven continents and relate his findings back to his theory.

One of the first things Alfred noticed about the seven continents was that they appeared to have coastlines that fit together almost perfectly. South America with Africa, Antarctica with Australia, and Antarctica and India were all examples of continents that seemed to fit together with puzzle piece precision. 

South America

Africa

The second observation Alfred made was that the continents that seemed to fit together also had matching rock formations and mineral deposits. 

These continents are separated by oceans! How could this be feasible if not for continental drift?!

The last piece of evidence Alfred took note of was similarities in several continents' climates and fossils. Although the seven continents are now separated by vast oceans, fossils from the same species of land-dwelling creatures appear in multiple continents. Since these animals could not swim or fly, there is no way they could have traveled far from continent to continent. Also found on separate continents were matching plate fossils. Plants definitely could not travel on their own, so continental drift, Alfred thought, was the only way those fossils could be in those two places at once.

Fossil from South America ---->

<---- Fossil from Africa

Satisfied with his findings, Alfred returned to his scientist friends to completely obliterate their doubt by using his epic facts and observations.

Much to Alfred's dismay, his friends did not react accordingly.

This theory does not explain the immense forces required to move continents long distances!!!!

Sure. They really "plowed through the ocean crust." Get real man.

I am definitely going to reject this theory until the 1960s!

But Alfred, being the determined young lad that was, decided to investigate further for evidence on his theory. Luckily, Alfred knew just the place to go: the ocean floor. 

Alfred, while not a certified SCUBA diver, happened to have lungs of steel. Because of this, he was able to hold his breath long enough to observe an important phenomenon. Alfred observed that the seafloor would move outwards from a mid-ocean ridge to expose new seafloor. Since he saw that the seafloor seemed to spread outwards, Alfred named this process seafloor spreading.

The seafloor spreading was the piece of evidence Alfred needed to convince his peers that his theory of plate tectonics was true because it was able to show an actual tectonic plate boundary at work. Excitedly, Alfred rushed to tell his scientist friends the new evidence he had. This time around his friends accepted his theory because he provided adequate evidence.

However, the seafloor spreading tale brought up a more pressing question among Alfred's peers. 

 How was Alfred able to hold his breath and withstand the underwater pressure long enough to make these observations?

Alfred was horrified. Not only have his friends found out the truth about tectonic plates and continental drift, but they were also going to find out Alfred's secret. Flustered, Alfred ran off. 

When he was finally away from his friends, Alfred decided it was time to take off his disguise. His rubber mask was getting hot after all. 

Ahhhh. That is better.

That's right folks. Alfred Wegener was in fact a tectonic plate all along. Actually, Wegener happens to be an acronym for:

Was actually a

tEctonic plate

Guys!

Enjoy

kNowing

thE

tRuth!