Come to think of it, Froude numbers aren't to neighborly either.
Seems to me I remember reading about Hamilton (the Irish math dude) seeing some huge wave in a canal, coming out of nowhere, not dispersing at all, passing off into the sunset, adn somebody called them solitons.
Do you guys know the reference for this German study?
I believe 'Rogue waves' have been around for a long, long, time, as a part of seagoing lore.
The sea gives me the heebie-jeebies.