Millions of years ago, Earth was home to a supercontinent called Gondwana, which included present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica. Around 140 million years ago, tectonic plate movements caused South America and Africa to begin drifting apart. As magma from Earth’s mantle rose, it formed a new oceanic crust, gradually creating the Atlantic Ocean that now separates the two continents.
A representative Image of The Atlantic Ocean. Source: Pexels | Kellie Churchman
In a new study, paleontologists discovered 260 near-identical dinosaur footprints in Brazil and Cameroon, suggesting that what is now a 6,000-mile stretch of ocean was once a connected landmass, likely a walkway for dinosaurs, reports The Sun. The complete study was published in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science.
The research was conducted by a team led by Southern Methodist University (SMU) paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs. “We determined that in terms of age, these footprints were similar,” Jacobs said in a SMU press release. “In their geological and plate tectonic contexts, they were also similar. In terms of their shapes, they are almost identical.”
Representative Image Source: Painting from a series by Ernest Untermann in the museum at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah.
The dinosaur footprints they found were pressed into mud and silt, along the trails of ancient rivers and lakes. The footprints were more than 3,700 miles, or 6,000 kilometers, away from each other, said Jacobs. Dinosaurs stamped these footprints on the ground nearly 120 million years ago while they were roaming the grounds of Gondwana, even before it broke off from the larger supercontinent Pangea.
“One of the youngest and narrowest geological connections between Africa and South America was the elbow of northeastern Brazil nestled against what is now the coast of Cameroon along the Gulf of Guinea,” Jacobs explained. “The two continents were continuous along that narrow stretch so that animals on either side of that connection could potentially move across it.
A co-author of the study, Diana P. Vineyard, revealed that most of the dinosaur fossils were created by “three-toed theropod dinosaurs,” and a few were also likely made by sauropods or ornithischians. These footprints, according to the press release, were discovered in the Borborema region in the northeast part of Brazil and the Koum Basin in northern Cameroon. In addition to dinosaur tracks, the team also came across fossil pollen smudged in chalky sediment, which was aged to around 120 million years ago.
Representative Image Source: VARIOUS DINOSAURS IN GOBI DESERT. Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images
Commenting on this, Jacobs said, “Muddy sediments left by the rivers and lakes contain dinosaur footprints, including those of meat-eaters, documenting that these river valleys could provide specific avenues for life to travel across the continents 120 million years ago.”
Jacobs first discovered the dinosaur tracks in Cameroon in the 1980s, and he presented them at the First International Symposium on Dinosaur Tracks and Traces, convened by paleontologist Martin Lockley, in 1986, per CNN. “One beauty of this Earth is that any of us can see that Africa and South America used to fit together like puzzle pieces,” he said, “It is easy to conceive that in a connected world, animals, including dinosaurs, could and would be likely to move from place to place.”
This article originally appeared last year.
An elderly man walks down an icy roadCanva 
An elderly man grilling at a partyCanva
Representative Image: Making pizzas for hungry people. Pexels I Photo by Jvxhn Visuals
Representative Image Source: Pexels I Photo by Polina Tankilevitch
Representative Image: Is there anything better than pepperoni? Pexels I Photo by Pixabay
"This story made my whole night better." Reddit I 
Two people enjoying a walk through the woods
A woman pets her dogCanva 
A woman stands in front of a window listening to musicCanva
A group of people sit around a circle talkingCanva
A woman sleeping in bedCanva
Woman proudly displays an "I Voted" stickerCanva
A woman's ear with multiple piercingsCanva
A woman takes a bit out of a huge strawberry cakeCanva
The back of a woman's head with silver hair. Canva
A woman watches the sunset from her carCanva
A nurse holds a clipboard in a hospital hallwayCanva
A heavily-tattooed woman holds a mug of coffeeCanva
Stressed out man at workCanva
Stressed employee takes a break from workCanva
Overhead shot of three employees sharing a deskCanva
A pile of cashCanva
A pregnant woman clutches her bellyCanva
An eviction noticeCanva
Supportive Reddit comment Reddit | 
A gavel rests in front of a judgeCanva
Victoria Claflin Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States in 1872rce Harvard Art Museum/Fogg Museum, Historical Photographs and Special Visual Collections Department, Fine Arts Library via 
Suffragists matching for women's right to vote in the early 20th centuryCanva
Female shopper looking for help
21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.