Scientists May Have Solved the Mystery of "Rogue Waves"

For centuries, sailors have returned to land with tales of being swept up in 100-ft swells, enormous waves appearing from an apparently calm ocean to terrorize even the most stalwart crew members, before sinking into nothingness just as suddenly as they appeared. The mariners who claim to have seen such "rogue waves" were few and far between--but it's also not the sort of event that vessels can withstand, and there have always been ships lost at sea but never accounted for. This famous woodblock...