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In 479 BC, when Persian soldiers beseiged
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the Greek city of Potidaea,
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the tide retreated much farther than usual,
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leaving a convenient invasion route.
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But this wasn't a stroke of luck.
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Before they had crossed halfway,
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the water returned in a wave higher
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than anyone had ever seen,
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drowning the attackers.
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The Potiidaeans believed they had been saved
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by the wrath of Poseidon.
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But what really saved them was likely
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the same phenomenon that has destroyed countless others:
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a tsunami.
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Although tsunamis are commenly known as tidal waves,
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they're actually unrelated to the tidal activity caused
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by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon.
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In many ways, tsunamis are just larger versions
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of regular waves.
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They have a trough and a crest,
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and consist not of moving water,
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but the movement of energy through water.
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The difference is in where this energy comes from.
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For normal ocean waves,
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it comes from wind.
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Because this only affects the surface,
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the waves are limited in size and speed.
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But tsunamis are caused by energy
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originating underwater,
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