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Alfred Wegener: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from Alfred Wegener, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• A meteorologist proposed the continents were drifting — and was mocked for decades

  In 1912, Alfred Wegener noticed the coastlines of Africa and South America fit together like puzzle pieces, and pointed to matching fossils and rock strata across oceans. Geologist…

  — Alfred Wegener, Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane (The Origin of Continents and Oceans)

• A meteorologist said the continents were once joined — geologists mocked him for 50 years

  In 1912, Alfred Wegener noticed South America and Africa's coastlines fit together like puzzle pieces, and that matching fossils and rock layers spanned both. He proposed the conti…

  — Alfred Wegener, Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane (The Origin of Continents and Oceans)

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