Pat gets a hard & heavy no-prize for bringing us a very... solid... discovery:

t's not quite the center of the Earth, but scientists have drilled nearly a mile into the planet's ocean crust, retrieving samples from the pristine layer of igneous rock for the first time.

Scientists onboard the drilling ship JOIDES Resolution in the Pacific Ocean, about 500 miles west of Costa Rica, bored into the planet's crust and recovered black rocks called gabbro from intact crust.

They also recovered a complete stratigraphic sequence for that section of ocea floor. The discovery should lead the way to a greater understanding of a variety of geological processes.