# "Stop Continental Drift" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914 "2007-02-27T19:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tiger\_lily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/96bed5/32.png) [@tiger\_lily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiger_lily)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/21 "2007-02-27T23:14:39Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] It does exactly that. Continental Drift is an existing phenomenon, and can cause huge problems for mankind. But how ridiculous would anyone sound mounting a political movement to get the government and its citizenry to stop it, rather than just dealing with it as a natural planetary quirk? [/QUOTE] It’s nice you can find a fresh interpretation, but really, the “Stop Continental Drift” thing was around for almost a decade before the first testimony about global warming was presented to Congress, never mind when the public started to be aware. As proof, take a look at [this guy’s web page](http://johncholden.com/about.html), especially the fourth paragraph. It was never more than a lame nerdy joke, really. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/22 "2007-02-27T23:26:51Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] A blue rare example of right-wing humor done right. [/QUOTE] What’s right-wing about it? If you look at the rest of the site there are both pro and anti Bush stickers for sale. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/23 "2007-02-27T23:37:12Z")
[QUOTE=tiger lily] It’s nice you can find a fresh interpretation, but really, the “Stop Continental Drift” thing was around for almost a decade before the first testimony about global warming was presented to Congress, never mind when the public started to be aware. As proof, take a look at [this guy’s web page](http://johncholden.com/about.html), especially the fourth paragraph. It was never more than a lame nerdy joke, really. [/QUOTE] Huh. That’s interesting. But, still, it now works perfectly as political satire regarding global warming. And thanks **jjimm**. EDIT **Quartz** , that’s not where I saw the bumper sticker first. I just linked there to show an example of one that was similar but not as good as the one I saw. And opposing action against global warming is right-wing, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/24 "2007-02-28T03:51:25Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] Besides the fact that Gondwanaland is extremely obscure, compared to Pangaea (or maybe it wasn’t 30 years ago), there’s no political issue involving re-uniting anything. [/quote] The concept of a continent called Gondwanaland predates that of Pangaea by many decades. Evidence for Gondwanaland was one of the early clues for the existence of Continental Drift in the first place. It wasn’t until later that the existence of an earlier continent called Pangaea was postulated. Gondwanaland was certainly a far better-known term in the 1960s. And in the post-WWII era there were certainly political issues surrounding the re-unification of Germany, Korea, Vietnam, and China. So re-unification as an issue made sense in that time also. You have to remember that at that time these were slogans seen mainly on college campuses. They were college-student in-jokes. They weren’t something circulating among the general public very much. [QUOTE=lieu] How about “186,000 miles a second isn’t just the law, it’s also a good idea.” [/QUOTE] I recall it as “186,000 miles a second - not just a good idea, it’s the LAW!” This was a take off on the slogan that promoted the national 55-mph highway speed limit. But it was the same kind of science-nerd in-joke as the Gondwanaland one. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/25 "2007-02-28T04:13:26Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] I’ve got to agree with **CalMeacham**. The Gondwanaland slogan is much funnier, because it’s more obscure. Most people are going to take it at face value. [/QUOTE] Yeah… On a similar note, I think the Daily Show had a bit a few years back where they were campaigning to “End Women’s Suffrage Now!”, and got a lot of people (women, natch) to sign their petition, obviously thinking that “suffrage” somehow meant a state of suffering. As for using “Continental Drift” humorously, I seem to recall some kind of automotive print ad for an upscale foreign sports sedan using the phrase to snidely refer to the “handles like a boat” feeling of driving a large Lincoln. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/26 "2007-02-28T04:30:06Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] I’ve got an ancient T-shirt that says that. [/QUOTE] Tell me. It was white and now it has yellow stains under the armpits? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/27 "2007-02-28T04:34:15Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] Continental Drift is an existing phenomenon, and can cause huge problems for mankind. [/QUOTE] Uh…like what? Europe is going to get a few yards farther away during the next umpty-thousand years? Will this impact frequent-flyer miles or something? Equating continental drift with the potential problems of global warming seems like spin to make global warming sound harmless. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/28 "2007-02-28T05:22:37Z")
FWIW, Stop Continental Drift stickers and signs were everywhere when I was growing up in Berkeley in the 70s and early 80s. The phrase is absolutely more “nerds being clever” than “Al Gore haters being clever.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/29 "2007-02-28T05:32:42Z")
The part about plate tectonics, volcanoes, etc. was the part of my 13th and 15th grade science books we didn’t get to study. I seem to explain to people at least twice a year that the reason the Rockies, Pirineos and Alps all look similar is because they were made at about the same time, from similar materials and in a similar way. And the reason America has a “spine” of mountains is that the plate(s) forming that continent push against the one forming the bottom of the Pacific Ocean (Middlebro’s old Atlas, with a map of the plates, gets touted out and brought to factories, neighbors’ meetings and suchlike quite often). Also that having earthquakes in mediterranean countries is perfectly normal (people forget last year’s 5.3 in the same way that they forget last winter’s cold) and that Etna is an active volcano. Yes, that means lava. Yes, in Italy. Yes, it might explode although it’s not likely but if it explodes we’re sure to notice… ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/30 "2007-02-28T05:34:32Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] Yeah… On a similar note, I think the Daily Show had a bit a few years back where they were campaigning to “End Women’s Suffrage Now!”, and got a lot of people (women, natch) to sign their petition, obviously thinking that “suffrage” somehow meant a state of suffering. [/QUOTE] It was the Man Show. A rare shining moment on that show. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/31 "2007-02-28T05:57:22Z")
I find neither the “continental drift” nor the “Gondwanaland” slogan deserving of much more than a microsmirk, so it’s curious to see an impassioned debate over which slogan is the more humorous. Then again, I’m partial to fart and poop jokes. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/32 "2007-02-28T07:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] IIncidentally, I recently purchased [this t-shirt](http://www.questionablecontent.net/merch.php) for myself. [/QUOTE] MMMMMM! Broiled Brontosaurus! ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/33 "2007-02-28T13:54:47Z")
[QUOTE=Hung Mung] It was the Man Show. A rare shining moment on that show. [/QUOTE] Dear Lord, I so generally despised that show that I forgot I was watching it when I saw that good bit and mentally transposed it to where I thought it belonged 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/34 "2007-03-02T00:47:22Z")
This thread is _so_ SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/35 "2007-03-02T00:51:29Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] Then again, I’m partial to fart and poop jokes. [/QUOTE] STOP FARTING ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/36 "2007-03-02T00:56:22Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] Uh…like what? Europe is going to get a few yards farther away during the next umpty-thousand years? Will this impact frequent-flyer miles or something? Equating continental drift with the potential problems of global warming seems like spin to make global warming sound harmless. Sailboat [/QUOTE] Uh, if it’s fathomable that a couple of degrees of increase in the Earth’s temperature can cause worldwide disaster, why can’t you imagine how _shifting continents_ can be a big deal? Besides obviously dire scenarios like land-masses crashing into each other and California falling into the ocean, isn’t that was causes earthquakes and volcanoes? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/37 "2007-03-02T00:56:55Z")
Has anybody given any thought to a something that could cause a real problem in the future? I have started doing my part and have begun [conserving gravity.](http://www.conservegravity.org/) ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/38 "2007-03-02T01:01:35Z")
“Continental Drift” is the name of what is currently considered by most if not all geologists to be a waaay outdated and incorrect theory proposed by Alfred Wegener almost 100 years ago. The currently accepted theory is referred to as “Plate Tectonics.” They are actually entirely different theories. “Continental Drift” gave no specific mechanism for the movement of the plates, and was not able to connect the phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes to this idea of moving plates. Among other flaws that it had. I could find some more info and link to it, but I’m too lazy right now. So, “Stop Continental Drift” is actually not a big deal, because it’s pretty much been invalidated. But “Stop Plate Tectonics,” yeah, that would be a problem. What? Oh. Sorry… Not that kind of thread… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/39 "2007-03-02T01:25:34Z")
[QUOTE=Vinyl Turnip] I find neither the “continental drift” nor the “Gondwanaland” slogan deserving of much more than a microsmirk, so it’s curious to see an impassioned debate over which slogan is the more humorous. Then again, I’m partial to fart and poop jokes. [/QUOTE] Fart jokes are funnier. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914/40 "2007-03-02T03:10:29Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Fart jokes are funnier. [/QUOTE] A topic for another thread—in Great Debates, perhaps. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-continental-drift/393914.md?page=3)