Rogue Wave Quiz

Rogue waves are unpredictable and seem to appear out of nowhere, presenting severe danger to life and property.

The are definitely noticeable and may send observers into a panic.

Long the stuff of legend, a rogue wave was finally captured by a laser tool on an oil platform near Norway in 1995.

At more than eight stories high, the rogue wave did cause minor damage to the oil platform where it was measured.

Considering it was only made to survive a 64-foot wave, the platform could have been smashed to bits.

Tsunamis are caused by a huge, sudden displacement of water (such as by an earthquake); rogue waves are open water phenomena caused by factors like weather and wave interaction.

It was off the southern tip of South America, and the whole front end of the ship tipped into the wave. The crew had to swim back to their controls.

Because the oceans are so vast and rogue waves are often short-lived, they often vanish before anyone can see them.

The physics behind rogue waves mean they can occur in other media, too.

Large ocean swells that merge at just the right (or rather, wrong) time can make monster waves thanks to constructive interference.

50 foot waves are borderline terrifying even for people on large ships; 100-foot waves might send many people into cardiac arrest.

More than 60 cabins were flooded and metal railings were destroyed as high as the 10th deck; no one was killed.

The physics behind rogue waves mean they happen in deep open ocean, often far from human eyes.

They may only last for a few moments before subsiding back into the surrounding waves.

Rogue waves might appear to be three times steeper, creating what looks like a surreal, horrifying wall of water that could smash about anything in its way.

Dozens of people were hurt and one crew member died when the wave struck in 1966.

Like the very first recorded rogue wave, this monstrous double rogue wave was recorded by a laser mounted to an oil platform.

No one has ever seen a 200-foot wave, and if they do, they'll be lucky to tell anyone about it.

In 1985, a wave estimated at nearly 160 feet tall smashed the glass out of the top of the lighthouse.

Compared to the surrounding seas, rogue waves may be twice as tall … or even taller.

The crew closed the hatch by chance just moments before the wave struck, sending the sub plummeting through the depths.

A German barge, the MS Munchen, went down with 28 crew members; rescuers found only twisted metal attributed to freakish forces.

They ate him, but to be fair, he was in a coma and they'd been drifting without food for many days; a trial ensued.

Perhaps only 100 people lived to tell the tale of the freak wave that struck the ill-fated ship.

Where powerful currents are concentrated, rogue waves are more common, especially when those currents meet high winds blowing the opposite direction.

More than a century later, there's still no sign of this ship, which had more than 200 people aboard.

The 90-foot wave was likely generated by Hurricane Luis, which the ship had steered to avoid.

Large lakes, like the Great Lakes in North America, are prime areas for the development of freak waves.

The RRS Discovery recorded the waves in February 2000; some were more than nine stories high.

No one can provide any useful warnings for ships at this point; scientists hope that eventually they'll be able to provide at least a few minutes for crews to steel themselves for freak waves.