The Earthquake That Reached Earth’s Core
call it quits: to stop doing something, especially after a long or difficult effort
In 1970, Soviet scientists in northern Russia began drilling what became the deepest hole ever made. They wanted to drill as deep into the Earth as they possibly could, to learn what lies beneath our feet. They kept drilling for more than two decades, until the hole reached roughly 12 kilometers down.
Eventually, they had to stop. The rock was too hot, and the pressure was too strong. After all that effort, the drill had not even passed through the crust, so the scientists called it quits.
Then, in 2011, something reached far deeper than any drill. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan. Deep under the sea, one of Earth’s giant plates suddenly shifted. Scientists quickly learned that the earthquake pushed the country about 2.4 meters to the east. What no one could explain was a second, far smaller movement that came later.
In 2026, researchers finally learned what happened. One shock wave from the quake shot straight down. It fell 2,900 kilometers, all the way to the edge of Earth’s core. Then it bounced back up, like a ball off a wall. About 15 minutes later, it reached Japan again and pushed the country a little further. GPS sensors measured Japan shifting an additional 5 to 6 millimeters east.
Humanity’s deepest drill stopped at 12 kilometers. This wave went more than 200 times farther down than the drill ever got. The only proof that it did was an entire country that moved, just a few millimeters.
Sample sentences
After three hours stuck in traffic, we called it quits and turned back home.
I’ve sent my resume to fifty companies with no reply, and I’m ready to call it quits.
My grandfather ran the bakery for forty years before he finally called it quits and retired.
Read More
A 2011 earthquake bounced a seismic wave off Earth’s core, nudging Japan east (Science News)
A Giant Seismic Wave Bounced Off Earth’s Core And May Have Shifted Japan (ScienceAlert)
Drilling Deep: How Far Have We Gone Under Earth’s Crust? (Discover Magazine)
