The Pole shift hypothesis is not to be confused with geomagnetic reversal, the periodic reversal of the Earth's magnetic field (effectively switching the north and south magnetic poles). Geomagnetic reversal has more acceptance in the scientific community than pole shift hypotheses. The Pole shift hypothesis is almost always discussed in the context of Earth, but other bodies in the Solar System may have experienced axial reorientation during their existences. The theory says that the outer crust of the Earth has moved several times in the past and would move in the future, just as the loosely peeled skin of an orange (or avocado) could be slid around the stationary inner fruit.

Charles Hutchins Hapgood (1904 " December 1982) was an American academician, and one of the best known advocates of the Pole shift theory. Based primarily on accepted, technical data, Hapgood argued that each shift took approximately 5,000 years, followed by 20,000 to 30,000 year periods with no polar movem