3159: Continents - Revision history

24.7.211.49: /* Explanation */

2026-02-24T03:08:22Z

‎Explanation

DollarStoreBa'al: This actually looks quite good!

2025-12-09T15:17:26Z

This actually looks quite good!

L333A333: /* Transcript */ is complete

2025-11-25T17:24:45Z

‎Transcript: is complete

82.132.245.232: /* Explanation / Corrected punctuation, but tempted to just remove it ("a long time", "a very long time" or "a very very" long time"..? not sure it matters much)

2025-10-29T12:24:55Z

‎Explanation: Corrected punctuation, but tempted to just remove it ("a long time", "a very long time" or "a very *very" long time"..? not sure it matters much)

2602:FF4D:128:D56:F921:27CF:8247:EA3F: /* Explanation */

2025-10-28T18:27:39Z

‎Explanation

2.98.65.8: /* Explanation */ Of course, that led into a completely different error that I misread as not there. Went with that order (of the two), to nicely contrast with "have been" order beforehand.

2025-10-28T00:28:26Z

‎Explanation: Of course, that led into a completely different error that I misread as not there. Went with that order (of the two), to nicely contrast with "have been" order beforehand.

2.98.65.8: /* Explanation */ Grammar ("could have", never "could of"). Plus a BIIIG question mark about "easily" having proven it.

2025-10-28T00:25:45Z

‎Explanation: Grammar ("could have", never "could of"). Plus a BIIIG question mark about "easily" having proven it.

Mathmaster at 23:24, 27 October 2025

2025-10-27T23:24:42Z

130.76.187.33: /* Transcript */ ce

2025-10-27T21:31:18Z

‎Transcript: ce

2.98.65.8: /* Explanation */ ...ok, so you could say it doesn't include cosmonauts or taikonauts, but caveating it anyway, given that SpaceX and (if included) Blue Origin astronauts had their own other places to report back to at least some of the time...

2025-10-27T20:08:27Z

‎Explanation: ...ok, so you could say it doesn't include cosmonauts or taikonauts, but caveating it anyway, given that SpaceX and (if included) Blue Origin astronauts had their own other places to report back to at least some of the time...

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 {{w|Plate tectonics}} is the theory that the Earth's crust consists of a number of large land masses that have been slowly moving for billions of years. The theory is built on the earlier idea of {{w|Plate_tectonics#Continental_drift|continental drift}}, which was first proposed in the early 20th century. It was controversial until the mid-1960s, when advances in technology such as {{w|Geophysical_imaging#Seismic_Methods|seismic imaging}} made the mechanism clear.
-In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to space before understanding plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious frontier, while humans have been on Earth for a very long time.
+In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to space before understanding plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious frontier, while humans have been on Earth for a very long time. {{citation needed}}
 Spaceflight has existed in some form since the late 1950s, with the first orbital flight occurring in 1957 and the first manned spaceflight in 1961, when the {{w|Soviet Union}} launched {{w|Yuri Gagarin}} into space, with the United States responding in kind a few months later. The timeline is noteworthy because one of the most fundamental processes of the planet we live on had not been accepted by the scientific community yet by that time. There are good reasons for this, because in fact spaceflight provides important evidence of plate tectonics, but it still ''feels'' strange. The first satellite launches, {{w|Sputnik}} and {{w|Explorer 1}}, took place during (and participated in) the {{w|International Geophysical Year}}, a focused international effort in 1957-58 to collaborate across political lines to study the Earth. In the present day, much of plate tectonics research depends on {{w|Satellite navigation|satellite tracking and navigation}}, such as {{w|GPS}} (initiated 1973, launched starting in 1978, operational since 1993), to monitor plate motions in ways that a human on the ground cannot sense. Other critical technologies include {{w|laser rangefinder|laser ranging}} (invented in 1960) and improvements in {{w|gravimetry|gravimetrics}}, all in advancement around the same time and in the same context of the {{w|Space Race}}.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
 {{w|Plate tectonics}} is the theory that the Earth's crust consists of a number of large land masses that have been slowly moving for billions of years. The theory is built on the earlier idea of {{w|Plate_tectonics#Continental_drift|continental drift}}, which was first proposed in the early 20th century. It was controversial until the mid-1960s, when advances in technology such as {{w|Geophysical_imaging#Seismic_Methods|seismic imaging}} made the mechanism clear.
-In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to space before understanding plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious frontier, while humans have been on Earth for a very long time. (Exactly how long depends on how you define "human".)<!-- but is that relevent? -->
+In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to space before understanding plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious frontier, while humans have been on Earth for a very long time.
-Spaceflight has existed in some form since WWII, with the first orbital flight occurring in 1957 and the first manned spaceflight in 1961, (when the {{w|Soviet Union}} launched {{w|Yuri Gagarin}} into space, with the United States responding in kind a few months later). The timeline is noteworthy because one of the most fundamental processes of the planet we live on had not been accepted by the scientific community yet by that time. There are good reasons for this, because in fact spaceflight provides important evidence of plate tectonics, but it still ''feels'' strange. The first satellite launches, {{w|Sputnik}} and {{w|Explorer 1}}, took place during (and participated in) the {{w|International Geophysical Year}}, a focused international effort in 1957-58 to collaborate across political lines to study the Earth. In the present day, much of plate tectonics research depends on {{w|Satellite navigation|satellite tracking and navigation}}, such as {{w|GPS}} (initiated 1973, launched starting in 1978, operational since 1993), to monitor plate motions in ways that a human on the ground cannot sense. Other critical technologies include {{w|laser rangefinder|laser ranging}} (invented in 1960) and improvements in {{w|gravimetry|gravimetrics}}, all in advancement around the same time and in the same context of the {{w|Space Race}}.
+Spaceflight has existed in some form since the late 1950s, with the first orbital flight occurring in 1957 and the first manned spaceflight in 1961, when the {{w|Soviet Union}} launched {{w|Yuri Gagarin}} into space, with the United States responding in kind a few months later. The timeline is noteworthy because one of the most fundamental processes of the planet we live on had not been accepted by the scientific community yet by that time. There are good reasons for this, because in fact spaceflight provides important evidence of plate tectonics, but it still ''feels'' strange. The first satellite launches, {{w|Sputnik}} and {{w|Explorer 1}}, took place during (and participated in) the {{w|International Geophysical Year}}, a focused international effort in 1957-58 to collaborate across political lines to study the Earth. In the present day, much of plate tectonics research depends on {{w|Satellite navigation|satellite tracking and navigation}}, such as {{w|GPS}} (initiated 1973, launched starting in 1978, operational since 1993), to monitor plate motions in ways that a human on the ground cannot sense. Other critical technologies include {{w|laser rangefinder|laser ranging}} (invented in 1960) and improvements in {{w|gravimetry|gravimetrics}}, all in advancement around the same time and in the same context of the {{w|Space Race}}.
-The spacecraft depicted in the comic appear to be a stylized {{w|Project Gemini|Gemini}} re-entry module and {{w|Agena target vehicle}}. "Houston" is the call sign of mission control at the {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center}} (known as the Manned Space Center prior to 1973) in Houston, Texas, the center that NASA astronauts typically communicate with. The dialogue is imagined, but entirely plausible.
+The spacecraft depicted in the comic appear to be a stylized {{w|Project Gemini|Gemini}} re-entry module and {{w|Agena target vehicle}}. "Houston" is the call sign of mission control at the {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center}} (known as the Manned Space Center prior to 1973) in Houston, Texas, the center that NASA astronauts typically communicate with. While the dialogue is imagined, it doesn't seem too far-fetched that an astronaut would have said that at the time.
 The title text points out that plate tectonics was finally validated between the first and last space missions of {{w|Neil Armstrong}}, the first person to walk on the Moon. His first spaceflight was in 1966 on {{w|Gemini 8}}, and his second and last was in 1969 on {{w|Apollo 11}}, the first mission to land people on the Moon.

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 ==Transcript==
 :[Two spacecraft, a Gemini capsule and an Agena Target Vehicle with a loose tether connecting them, are in space over the Mediterranean with Italy and other parts of southern Western Europe in the background and Tunisia in the foreground. A voice is emanating from the spacecraft]
 :Spacecraft: Houston, the view is superb. We can see the continents spread out below us, right where they've been since the Earth formed.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 {{w|Plate tectonics}} is the theory that the Earth's crust consists of a number of large land masses that have been slowly moving for billions of years. The theory is built on the earlier idea of {{w|Plate_tectonics#Continental_drift|continental drift}}, which was first proposed in the early 20th century. It was controversial until the mid-1960s, when advances in technology such as {{w|Geophysical_imaging#Seismic_Methods|seismic imaging}} made the mechanism clear.
-In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to space before understanding plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious frontier, while humans have been on Earth for a very long time (Exactly how long depends on how you define "human").
+In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to space before understanding plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious frontier, while humans have been on Earth for a very long time. (Exactly how long depends on how you define "human".)<!-- but is that relevent? -->
 Spaceflight has existed in some form since WWII, with the first orbital flight occurring in 1957 and the first manned spaceflight in 1961, (when the {{w|Soviet Union}} launched {{w|Yuri Gagarin}} into space, with the United States responding in kind a few months later). The timeline is noteworthy because one of the most fundamental processes of the planet we live on had not been accepted by the scientific community yet by that time. There are good reasons for this, because in fact spaceflight provides important evidence of plate tectonics, but it still ''feels'' strange. The first satellite launches, {{w|Sputnik}} and {{w|Explorer 1}}, took place during (and participated in) the {{w|International Geophysical Year}}, a focused international effort in 1957-58 to collaborate across political lines to study the Earth. In the present day, much of plate tectonics research depends on {{w|Satellite navigation|satellite tracking and navigation}}, such as {{w|GPS}} (initiated 1973, launched starting in 1978, operational since 1993), to monitor plate motions in ways that a human on the ground cannot sense. Other critical technologies include {{w|laser rangefinder|laser ranging}} (invented in 1960) and improvements in {{w|gravimetry|gravimetrics}}, all in advancement around the same time and in the same context of the {{w|Space Race}}.

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 {{w|Plate tectonics}} is the theory that the Earth's crust consists of a number of large land masses that have been slowly moving for billions of years. The theory is built on the earlier idea of {{w|Plate_tectonics#Continental_drift|continental drift}}, which was first proposed in the early 20th century. It was controversial until the mid-1960s, when advances in technology such as {{w|Geophysical_imaging#Seismic_Methods|seismic imaging}} made the mechanism clear.
-In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to the Moon before proving plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious place, while humans have been on Earth for many millions of years, and could easily have proven it.{{Actual citation needed}}
+In this comic, [[Randall]] observes that it is very strange how people could go to space before understanding plate tectonics on Earth, due to space being thought of usually as a mysterious frontier, while humans have been on Earth for a very long time (Exactly how long depends on how you define "human").
-Manned spaceflight began in 1961, when the {{w|Soviet Union}} launched {{w|Yuri Gagarin}} into space after several years of launching robotic and animal payloads. Randall finds it surprising that we achieved this before we had verified something fundamental about the world we live on. As it happens, the first satellite launches, {{w|Sputnik}} and {{w|Explorer 1}}, took place during (and participated in) the {{w|International Geophysical Year}}, a focused international effort in 1957-58 to collaborate across political lines to study the Earth. In the present day, much of plate tectonics research depends on {{w|Satellite navigation|satellite tracking and navigation}}, such as {{w|GPS}} (initiated 1973, launched starting in 1978, operational since 1993), to monitor plate motions in ways that a human on the ground cannot sense. Other critical technologies include {{w|laser rangefinder|laser ranging}} (invented in 1960) and improvements in {{w|gravimetry|gravimetrics}}, all in advancement around the same time and in the same context of the {{w|Space Race}}.
+Spaceflight has existed in some form since WWII, with the first orbital flight occurring in 1957 and the first manned spaceflight in 1961, (when the {{w|Soviet Union}} launched {{w|Yuri Gagarin}} into space, with the United States responding in kind a few months later). The timeline is noteworthy because one of the most fundamental processes of the planet we live on had not been accepted by the scientific community yet by that time. There are good reasons for this, because in fact spaceflight provides important evidence of plate tectonics, but it still ''feels'' strange. The first satellite launches, {{w|Sputnik}} and {{w|Explorer 1}}, took place during (and participated in) the {{w|International Geophysical Year}}, a focused international effort in 1957-58 to collaborate across political lines to study the Earth. In the present day, much of plate tectonics research depends on {{w|Satellite navigation|satellite tracking and navigation}}, such as {{w|GPS}} (initiated 1973, launched starting in 1978, operational since 1993), to monitor plate motions in ways that a human on the ground cannot sense. Other critical technologies include {{w|laser rangefinder|laser ranging}} (invented in 1960) and improvements in {{w|gravimetry|gravimetrics}}, all in advancement around the same time and in the same context of the {{w|Space Race}}.
-The spacecraft depicted in the comic appear to be a stylized {{w|Project Gemini|Gemini}} re-entry module and {{w|Agena target vehicle}}. "Houston" is the call sign of mission control at the {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center}} (known as the Manned Space Center prior to 1973) in Houston, Texas, the center that NASA astronauts typically communicate with.
+The spacecraft depicted in the comic appear to be a stylized {{w|Project Gemini|Gemini}} re-entry module and {{w|Agena target vehicle}}. "Houston" is the call sign of mission control at the {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center}} (known as the Manned Space Center prior to 1973) in Houston, Texas, the center that NASA astronauts typically communicate with. The dialogue is imagined, but entirely plausible.
 The title text points out that plate tectonics was finally validated between the first and last space missions of {{w|Neil Armstrong}}, the first person to walk on the Moon. His first spaceflight was in 1966 on {{w|Gemini 8}}, and his second and last was in 1969 on {{w|Apollo 11}}, the first mission to land people on the Moon.

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==Transcript==
 {{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
-<p>[Two spacecraft, a Gemini capsule and an Agena Target Vehicle with a loose tether connecting them, are in space over the Mediterranean with Italy and other parts of southern Western Europe in the background and Tunisia in the foreground. A voice is emanating from the spacecraft]</p>
+:[Two spacecraft, a Gemini capsule and an Agena Target Vehicle with a loose tether connecting them, are in space over the Mediterranean with Italy and other parts of southern Western Europe in the background and Tunisia in the foreground. A voice is emanating from the spacecraft]
-Spacecraft: Houston, the view is superb. We can see the continents spread out below us, right where they've been since the Earth formed.
+:Spacecraft: Houston, the view is superb. We can see the continents spread out below us, right where they've been since the Earth formed.
-<p>[Caption beneath panel:]</p>
+:[Caption below the panel:]
-I still can't believe we developed spaceflight before we figured out that the continents moved.
+:I still can't believe we developed spaceflight before we figured out that the continents moved.
 ==Trivia==