Scissors, also known as shears, use each of their blades to move the object it is attempting to cut in opposite directions. Thus they exert a shearing force on the object to be cut. Earthquakes often cause land and roads to experience significant shearing forces. Pictures of torn-up roads after earthquakes show how one side of a street moved one way while the other side of the street moved in the opposite direction, tearing up the pavement as the parts moved past one another.