History Headscratchers / DeepImpact

*** Once again, that's incorrect. Large scale impacts produces a massive wave HEIGHT immediately surrounding the point of impact, but that wave quickly subsides. However, the VOLUME of water is the same, and thus, while a mid-ocean tsunami is barely noticeable in height, you've got a wave that's dozens of miles long and a thousand or more wide. When it approaches land, the wave rapidly compresses, going back to being very tall and not as deep. You're also mis-interpreting the Canary Islands issue: there, the problem is that the initial volume of water displaced is substantially less than a cubic kilometer, so the problem is that this volume is spread out over a large linear coastline by the time it reaches the USA. It's not the *distance* to the USA that's the issue, it's that the wave progagates through the entire Atlantic basin. In short, it's the "width" that has to be traveled, not the distance from origin, that impact wave volume when it hits a shore. It can still cause 10m high waves once it hits the beach, because wave height is a function of the offshore underwater geography as well as wave volume. For comparison, something like the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami displaced a bit more than 1 cubic km of water. An impact the size of Beiderman would display several DOZEN cubic km.

*** In high stress situations people do not make rational decisions. It is a well documented bug with humanity.

** Because the comet is not going to kill them all instantly. Its that simple.

*** With a TapOnTheHead? Knocking people out does not work like that, you are as liable to kill someone as you are to knock them out. Leo's dad thought his son had a fighting chance of finding Sarah and getting back before the impact, and decided that ThisIsSomethingHesGottoDoHimself.

** Someone probably went to the observatory soon after the crash. Death in a car accident isn't exactly something that's gonna stay quiet for long. They probably found his notes and something indicating who phone the discovery in, then notified the government.

* How did the info about the comet get out if the astronomer was killed in that car crash and the floppy disk presumably incinerated? And furthermore, how did it get named Wolf-Biederman if the original record was destroyed?

* Why is Houston still operating normally after Biederman has hit? They're in Houston, a couple meters above sea level on the Gulf Coast, which is about to be flooded by the megatsunami.

** Because the comet is not going to kill them all instantly. Its that simple.

* Why does the President advise the people on the east coast to move away from the floodwaters when the comet hitting Montana is going to kill them all anyway?

** Wolf was the older (and in some languages literally "bigger"). Hence it works that the larger piece gets the name of the elder astronomer.

* When Wolf-Biederman was split in two, why wasn't the far larger piece given the much longer name, instead of the opposite? It's only logical.

* When Wolf-Biederman was split in two, why wasn't the far larger piece given the much longer name, instead of the opposite? It's only logical.
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** There were soldiers all around the buses to keep the evacuation of the lottery-winners orderly, who were already leery of troublemakers trying to force their way on board. Who's to say the authorities hadn't already warned the chosen families that anyone who got violent would be tossed off the bus and left behind, no matter ''who'' they were?

*** A valid point, but that still doesn't excuse his speeding down the road and the fiery crash he ended up in. Even one day's delay wouldn't have made much difference.
*** What makes you think it's supposed to "excuse his speeding down the road and the fiery crash he ended up in"? It doesn't matter whether he's excused or not. The point is that it's HIS choice. It's HIS character. He's not you. If he'd rather hurry to get this news out as soon as possible (whether from excitement or panic) that's HIS business, not yours.
**** Yes, god forbid we question the reasoning and actions of a character in a dramatic movie we're watching! That's not the point at all! Just sit back and turn off your brain, dammit!
*** Or just acknowledge that you're not the sole arbiter of what every character ever should be doing because you find it "logical"?

** I'm personally surprised Sarah's dad didn't make her get on the bus. I'd have done it if I was her father or even just her brother, even if it meant physically hurting her in the process. I wouldn't sit there and let her be that foolish. I understand her not wanting her to be separated from her family members, but I don't understand her parents' actions.

** I agree it's a muddled, stupid plotline, but: Leo thought Sarah and her family could come with him, and was too unsure, confused, and rushed to get off the bus and stay with her when they couldn't. He also thought he could talk to an official once he got to the caves and get everything worked out. Once he did get there, he saw how chaotic and busy it was and realized he had no chance of making special arrangements, so he went back for her - a stupid idea, since he had no resources to help them, or even any means of finding them. Doing so on the highway was dumb luck. Sarah finally gave in to leaving her family since she might save her sister (and herself), and it was clear they would not make it to high ground through the traffic all together. In short: A) Leo wanted to try to save Sarah, even with absurdly low chance of success and high risk. B) Sarah wanted to try to survive with her family until she ran out of options. C) They changed their minds a lot because they're dumb kids and the situation was nuts.