Studying tectonic plates helps geologists understand a landform’s geological history, locate rare metals, and predict future natural processes. In 2023, geologists from Utrecht University in the Netherlands made a stunning discovery while studying the Pacific plate. Suzanna van de Lagemaat, the team's lead geologist, found a massive, previously unknown tectonic plate once a quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean. They named it the "Pontus plate." A detailed study of this discovery was published in the Gondwana Research Journal.
The search for Pontus began unknowingly over a decade ago when researchers from the same university found fragments of old tectonic plates deep in Earth’s mantle using seismic tomography. This technique uses seismic waves from earthquakes or explosions to create images of Earth’s interior. Suzanna conducted detailed investigations of the mountain belts in Japan, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea, and New Zealand to reconstruct the lost plates, according to a university press release.
Image Source: Gondwana Researchmagnetic fields, earth science, Borneo discovery, paleo-Pacific, geological history, natural processes
This decade-old study showed that a large subduction zone must have run through the western paleo-Pacific Ocean, which separated the known Pacific plates in the east from the hypothetical Pontus plate in the west. “11 years ago, we thought that the remnants of Pontus might lie in northern Japan, but we’d since refuted that theory”, explained Douwe van Hinsbergen, Suzanna’s PhD supervisor. “It was only after Suzanna had systematically reconstructed half of the ‘Ring of Fire’ mountain belts from Japan, through New Guinea, to New Zealand that the proposed Pontus plate revealed itself, and it included the rocks we studied on Borneo,” per the university press release.
Representative Image Source: A split view mid-air mid-water in the Corsican waters, on August 19, 2011, in Porto Pollo, France. (Photo by Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images).
Suzanna studied the planet’s most complicated tectonic plate region, the area around the Philippines. “The Philippines is located at a complex junction of different plate systems. The region almost entirely consists of oceanic crust, but some pieces are raised above sea level, and show rocks of very different ages.” Using geological data, Suzanna reconstructed the movements of the current plates in the region between Japan and New Zealand. The area was so large that she concluded that the old plates must have disappeared in the current western Pacific region.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Lastly
The team also conducted fieldwork on northern Borneo, where they found “the most important piece of the puzzle.” Then they looked at the magnetic properties of rocks to learn when and where they formed, Suzanna told Live Science. The magnetic field surrounding Earth gets "locked in" within rocks when they form, and that magnetic field varies by latitude.
The magnetic field study of the plate rocks revealed clues to a previously unknown plate. “We thought we were dealing with relicts of a lost plate that we already knew about. But our magnetic lab research on those rocks indicated that our finds were originally from much farther north, and had to be remnants of a different, previously unknown plate,” said Suzanna. But there was another surprise waiting for her to unfold.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Joremy Bishop
"It's surprising to find remnants of a plate that we just didn't know about at all," Suzanna told Live Science. Her discovery revealed that the relics of Pontus are not only located in northern Borneo, but also on Palawan, an island in the Western Philippines, and in the South China Sea, indicating that what’s currently left is part of that old gigantic tectonic plate. This enormous plate originally stretched from southern Japan to New Zealand and must have existed for at least 150 million years. Over the years, it shrank and shrank, getting pushed under the Australian plate to the south and China to the north, disappearing 20 million years ago.
Since this study broke...
Earlier in 2025, follow‑up research revealed that the oceanic fragments found in northern Borneo are richer in mid‑ocean ridge basalt than typical seafloor—and paleomagnetic analysis confirmed they originated far to the north, ruling out the Izanagi Plate as their source. These findings suggest the Pontus plate once carried unusually thick, buoyant crust—likely an oceanic plateau—making it exceptionally resistant to subduction. The team proposes that this plateau stalled trench dynamics during the Late Cretaceous, helping trigger the opening of the South China Sea and accounting for the abrupt cessation of arc volcanism in the region hundreds of kilometers south of Borneo
This article originally appeared last year.
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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.