Powerful seismic waves from Japan's 2011 earthquake struck Earth's core and bounced back up, moving the island eastward

In 2011, Japan reeled from the effects of a devastating magnitude 9.0 earthquake.

But unnoticed in the chaos resulting from the quake, its major aftershocks and the tsunami it caused, something strange happened.

About 16 minutes after the earthquake, but before the aftershocks hit, Japan's GPS stations registered an eastward lurch—across the entire country—but unconnected to any specific quake or aftershock. ...