The causes of tidal waves (yeah, right)

 Pseudoscience – the packaging of absolute gibberish in clever sounding scientific terms – is nothing new. Here’s an example my father-in-law has sent me, from the West Coast Times of 27 October 1869: Tidal Waves and their Causes. It’s a newspaper report of a lecture given in Melbourne on the causes of tsunami. I get the impression that the writer of the article wasn’t taken by the explanation. I love the phrase "Having satisfied himself on that point…", rather suggesting that he hadn’t satisfied anyone else in the room. Enjoy.