A few notable things happened on this day in history according to the
History of Events are of interest to me:
1776 - Declaration of Independence is read to George Washington's troops (NY)
1926 - Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek appointed to national-revolutionary supreme commander
1944 - In World War II, US troops secure Saipan as Japan fell
1957 - Discovery of element 102 (Nobelium) announced
1958 - Giant splash caused by fall of 90 million tons of rock and ice into Lituya Bay, Alaska washes 1,800 feet up the mountain
The last item, happened 50 years ago today is probably the most striking one scientifically that generated the largest ever wave height of 516 m (1720 ft) and made Lituya Bay world wide famous. Here are some relevant web sites that can serve to commemorate this event:
After 50 years the Lituya Bay case is well studied and well reported, there are plenty of useful information and pictures can be found through
Google. There is no need for me to repeat them here. For the blog today I would like to cite my personal favorite comment made in the last referred item by the
Extreme Science:
We say that the tsunami at Lituya Bay was the biggest wave ever, but that's just the ones humans have witnessed and have been able to record. There have probably been even BIGGER waves that have happened in the past when human witnesses didn't even exist. And you never know, there may even be a bigger wave to happen yet!
That can be applied to other freaque waves also!
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