The largest tsunami generated by the 1964 Alaska earthquake reached a wave height of approximately 200 feet, with its effects reaching as far south as California and westward to Japan.
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At 12:50 · chapter starts 12:40
The earthquake itself was devastating, but it was the water that killed most people. Chuck notes that only about 15 Alaskans died from the earthquake directly — the majority of the 131 total fatalities came from the tsunamis that followed. The largest wave reached an estimated 200 feet in height, with effects felt as far south as California (killing 12 people there) and westward past Hawaii all the way to Japan [1] — Chuck "At Port Valdez, 32 people died, oil tankers caught fire and were swept out to sea on the tsunami, and the town itself was largely swallowed…" 14:35 . For the village of Chenega — home to just 68 people — there was almost no warning: a tsunami arrived just 4 minutes after the quake, killing 23 residents. The only building to survive was the schoolhouse, built on high ground 100 feet above sea level. At Port Valdez, 32 people perished as the tsunami swept the waterfront, oil tankers caught fire, and burning vessels were carried out to sea on the waves — a scene straight out of apocalyptic fiction. Soil liquefaction compounded the destruction, turning Valdez's sand-and-gravel foundation into liquid and swallowing structures whole.
The village of Chenega, home to 68 people, was struck by a tsunami just 4 minutes after the earthquake, killing 23 residents; only the schoolhouse built 100 feet above sea level survived.
At Port Valdez, 32 people died, oil tankers caught fire and were swept out to sea on the tsunami, and the town itself was largely swallowed as its sand-and-gravel foundation liquefied beneath it. The Army Corps of Engineers eventually relocated the entire town 4 miles away.
The widely cited ego-depletion model — the idea that willpower is a finite resource that gets depleted — failed to replicate in follow-up studies.
Humans are estimated to have 5,000–7,000 thoughts per day, yet can recall essentially none of them afterward, highlighting why in-the-moment emotional tracking matters.
A large Harvard study found that a wandering mind is an unhappy mind — people report greater happiness when their attention is tethered to the present, even if the task is unpleasant.
A key study finding that we have a 'credit card's worth of plastic' in our bodies was likely skewed because researchers used nitrile gloves that shed plastic particles onto the microplastic detector.
Emotionally sensitive people have a hyperactive amygdala, an underactive prefrontal cortex, and a frayed connection between the two — making emotional regulation structurally harder.
Rejection sensitivity can be observed as early as age 2 or 3, suggesting it has strong developmental and likely genetic roots.
A Yale study found that non-judgmental observation of emotions — without rushing to resolve them — reduces activation in the brain, making it a powerful regulation tool.
Dan Gilbert's research found that the psychological immune system — the brain's ability to justify and find satisfaction in choices — activates most powerfully when a decision is perceived as irreversible.
Barry Schwartz's research found that maximizers — people who try to optimize every decision — tend to achieve objectively better outcomes but report lower happiness than satisficers who choose 'good enough.'
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