The Wave
The Wave, also known as the Third Wave, was a five-day social experiment conducted in April 1967 by high school history teacher Ron Jones at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, to demonstrate to his 10th-grade students the mechanisms of group conformity and authoritarian appeal that enabled the rise of Nazism in Germany.[1][2] Jones initiated the exercise in response to student questions about ordinary Germans' compliance with the Third Reich, beginning with classroom emphasis on discipline through rigid postures and salutes, then escalating to mottos like "Strength through discipline" and "Strength through community," which fostered a sense of belonging and purpose.[1][3] The experiment rapidly expanded beyond Jones' class, drawing in approximately 200 students schoolwide who adopted Wave symbols, conducted loyalty checks, and organized rallies mimicking fascist pageantry, including chants and hierarchical roles that suppressed dissent.[2][3] On the final day, Jones halted the movement by staging a mock announcement of a national leader's appearance—revealing it as a fabricated simulation of Nazi dynamics—which left participants stunned and reflective on their susceptibility to manipulation.[1] While Jones' firsthand account forms the primary documentation, later interviews with some participants provide partial corroboration, though the experiment's scale and uniformity have faced scrutiny for potential retrospective embellishment by Jones, who leveraged it for subsequent writings and speaking engagements without contemporaneous records or scientific controls.[3][4] The Wave has since influenced Holocaust education and discussions of obedience, inspiring adaptations like Todd Strasser's 1981 novel The Wave and films, yet its informal nature as a teacher's improvisation—rather than a rigorous study—highlights interpretive limits in extrapolating to broader societal causation.[2][5]Natural features and phenomena
Geological formations
The Wave is a prominent sandstone formation located in the Coyote Buttes North area of the [Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness](/page/Paria_Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs_Wilderness), straddling the Arizona-Utah border. Composed primarily of Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, it exhibits layered, undulating patterns resembling frozen waves, resulting from differential erosion exposing cross-bedded strata originally deposited as ancient eolian sand dunes approximately 190 million years ago.[6][7] Wind and episodic water erosion over millions of years have sculpted the fragile rock, preferentially wearing away less resistant layers to create the characteristic ridges and swirls, with iron oxide and manganese imparting the vivid red, orange, and yellow hues.[8][9] The formation's geological significance lies in its preservation of planar-tabular cross-bedding, a hallmark of ancient dune migration in a vast desert environment during the early Jurassic period. Subsequent tectonic uplift exposed these layers to modern erosional processes, including flash floods and prevailing winds, which continue to refine the structure at a rate of centimeters per year in vulnerable areas.[9][10] This process highlights the interplay of deposition, lithification, and denudation in arid landscapes, making The Wave a key site for studying sandstone geomorphology. Prior to the 1990s, The Wave remained largely undocumented and inaccessible, known only to a few local explorers. Its visibility surged after features in photography publications and a 1996 German documentary, Faszination Natur, drawing global attention for its aesthetic appeal and leading to increased visitation pressures on the delicate terrain.[11][12] To mitigate environmental degradation from foot traffic, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) enforces strict access controls, capping daily visitors at 64 as of 2025. Permits are allocated via two lotteries: an advanced system awarding up to 48 slots four months prior through recreation.gov, and a daily in-person lottery at the Kanab BLM office providing the remaining 16, with no walk-up access allowed.[13][14] Day-use only policies prohibit overnight stays, and groups are limited to six members, all listed on the permit, to preserve the site's wilderness integrity amid high demand—applications often exceed available slots by factors of hundreds to one.[15][16]Stadium audience waves
The stadium audience wave, alternatively termed the Mexican wave, consists of spectators sequentially standing, raising their arms, and sitting in a circular pattern around a venue, producing a visible undulating motion through the crowd. The first videorecorded instance occurred on October 15, 1981, during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series between the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees at the Oakland Coliseum, initiated by professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson using a drum and hand signals to prompt sections of fans.[17] [18] Anecdotal accounts attribute precursors to unrecorded soccer matches in Mexico during the late 1970s or earlier, accounting for the nomenclature "Mexican wave" in non-North American contexts, though no footage substantiates occurrences before 1981.[19] The phenomenon achieved international visibility through televised broadcasts of the 1986 FIFA World Cup matches in Mexico, facilitating its dissemination to global audiences.[20] Propagation mechanics exhibit characteristics of a self-organizing transverse wave, where each participant's brief vertical motion—typically lasting 1-2 seconds—triggers imitation in adjacent seats via local cues, without requiring global coordination. Empirical analysis of soccer stadium videos reveals average speeds of 22 ± 3 seats per second, equivalent to roughly 12-15 meters per second, with waves spanning 6-12 meters in width and predominantly (about 75%) circulating clockwise due to asymmetric initiation biases in seating layouts.[21] [22] Synchronization depends on crowd density and enthusiasm; sparse or apathetic sections cause dissipation, as the signal fails to exceed perceptual thresholds for mimicry, underscoring the fragility of emergent order in decentralized human assemblies.[23] Waves manifest routinely in capacious venues exceeding 30,000 attendees, such as Major League Baseball parks, National Football League stadiums, and international soccer grounds, where they arise spontaneously or via cheerleader prompts during lulls in action. In NFL contests, they frequently emerge amid high-energy atmospheres, though quantitative surveys remain limited; observational reports indicate prevalence tied to fan investment rather than game outcomes. Propagation halts in underfilled or segmented crowds, or when officials intervene to refocus attention, illustrating boundaries of voluntary collective behavior absent coercive enforcement.[24] [23]Social and behavioral phenomena
Educational experiments on conformity
In April 1967, high school history teacher Ron Jones initiated "The Third Wave" experiment in his sophomore class at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, to empirically demonstrate how ordinary individuals could conform to authoritarian structures, addressing student questions about widespread German support for Nazism despite its atrocities.[1] Jones began by emphasizing strength through discipline, enforcing rigid postures and repetitive movements, which students adopted rapidly, reporting heightened focus and academic motivation within the initial session of approximately 30 participants.[1] This progression relied on causal mechanisms of group reinforcement—escalating from individual compliance to collective identity—without external coercion, as participants self-policed behaviors through voluntary recitation of mottos.[2] Over the subsequent four days, the simulation incorporated strength through community, introducing a distinctive salute (a curled-hand gesture mimicking a wave) and membership cards, which fostered rapid cohesion and spread beyond the classroom.[1] By day three, emphasizing strength through action, the group expanded to around 43 core members with reports of up to 200 adherents schoolwide, as students recruited peers, conducted surveillance on non-conformists (with over 20 instances of peer reporting), and disrupted normal school activities, including a parent break-in to investigate rumors.[1] Empirical observations included unintended escalations like self-appointed guards escorting dissenters and demands for uniforms, illustrating how purpose-driven action amplified obedience and in-group loyalty, with participants exhibiting diminished critical thinking in favor of hierarchical roles.[2] The experiment culminated on day five in a staged rally of over 200 students in the school auditorium, where Jones promised a national broadcast revealing the movement's leader—displaying instead a blank television screen to parallel unfulfilled Nazi propaganda promises, followed by a film on Nazi rallies and a direct explanation of the fascist mimicry.[1] Student reactions included stunned silence and emotional distress, such as tears from vulnerable participants, underscoring the psychological potency of the dynamics but also raising ethical concerns over induced trauma without prior consent or debriefing protocols.[2] Corroboration from contemporary student newspaper accounts and later participant testimonies, like those of Mark Hancock (who felt "scared and trapped") and Philip Neel (viewing it as a "wake-up call" on conformity), verify the core events and rapid spread, though independent verification remains limited primarily to Jones' firsthand report.[2] Critiques highlight the experiment's lack of scientific rigor—no controlled variables, peer review, or quantitative metrics beyond anecdotal tallies—and potential embellishments in Jones' retellings, as student accounts provide vague details on full-scale involvement, with no evidence of extension to multiple schools despite claims.[25] Jones himself reflected on the unintended empowerment of mid-tier students and the event's role in ending his teaching career, while broader analyses question its selective invocation in educational contexts to caution against right-leaning authoritarianism, overlooking analogous conformity risks in collectivist or ideologically uniform groups.[2] Despite these limitations, the simulation empirically revealed first-principles drivers of group susceptibility—shared rituals, purpose, and peer enforcement—applicable to understanding modern echo chambers and cancel dynamics, where empirical data on social media conformity experiments echo similar rapid escalations without overt force.[26]Places and facilities
Recreational water parks and surf pools
The Wave Waterpark in Vista, California, opened in 1994 as a municipal facility constructed at a cost of $3.8 million, featuring a simulated wave pool, water slides, lazy river, and dedicated areas for younger children, with operations managed through public-private partnerships and admission fees supporting seasonal access.[27][28] In August 2025, the Vista City Council approved $3.5 million in upgrades for the aging infrastructure, reflecting ongoing maintenance demands amid fluctuating attendance influenced by weather and local competition.[29] In the United Kingdom, The Wave at Easter Compton near Bristol functions as an inland surf pool utilizing pneumatic wave-generation technology to produce rideable waves on a 180-meter lagoon, enabling year-round surfing independent of coastal conditions since its operational launch.[30] The facility underwent a brief closure at the end of June 2025 due to financial pressures, followed by a restructuring that transferred ownership to a group of investors under Sea Level Wave Company Ltd and a new CEO, Julian Topham, highlighting vulnerabilities from high operational costs and optimistic revenue forecasts in the emerging surf park sector.[31][32] The Wave in Coventry, also UK-based, opened in October 2019 as a £36.7 million council-financed complex with high-speed slides, wave pools, and leisure pools, but has recorded approximately one million fewer annual visitors than pre-opening projections anticipated, attributing shortfalls to factors including inclement weather, regional competition from other attractions, and elevated entry costs exceeding £20 per adult session.[33][34] This discrepancy underscores causal disconnects between feasibility studies relying on modeled demand and empirical attendance patterns, as reported in 2025 data from Coventry City Council.[33]Residential and commercial developments
The Wave in Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, stands as a 23-storey residential tower completed in January 2014, comprising 229 units including 1- to 3-bedroom apartments and 4-bedroom penthouses, positioned along a marina waterfront promenade in the Najmat district.[35][36] Developed by Aabar Properties, the complex incorporates a 6-level podium for amenities and emphasizes high-end construction with direct access to urban conveniences, reflecting urban planning strategies that prioritize waterfront branding to attract affluent residents.[37] In Muscat, Oman, The Wave—rebranded as Al Mouj Muscat in 2015—represents a large-scale mixed-use development initiated in 2006, featuring multiple residential phases with over 1,000 properties handed over by 2013, including waterfront apartments like the Marsa 1 phase started in 2013, alongside commercial retail precincts (first phase opened in 2018) and marina facilities.[38][39][40] The project opened to foreign investors early on, driving property sales and tourism integration, with full completion targeted around 2020, underscoring viability through sustained demand in a diversifying real estate market.[41] The Wave residential complex in Vejle, Denmark, designed by Henning Larsen Architects, began construction in 2006 but faced delays from the 2008 global financial crisis, with only initial towers completed until full realization in 2018 across five undulating blocks housing over 100 apartments with fjord views.[42][43] Three towers sold out before completion, demonstrating robust occupancy and market resilience despite economic interruptions, as the sculptural form enhanced its appeal in local urban renewal efforts.[44]Arts, entertainment, and media
Films and television
The 1981 American television film The Wave, directed by Alexander Grasshoff and produced by Norman Lear for ABC, premiered on October 4 as part of the ABC Afterschool Specials series, running 44 minutes and starring Bruce Davison as the teacher leading a classroom experiment on conformity.[45] The drama received acclaim for its stark depiction of adolescent susceptibility to authoritarian dynamics, drawing from documented educational practices to illustrate real-world vulnerabilities without overt sensationalism, though critics noted its heavy-handed moralizing and selective emphasis on historical parallels as reinforcing a didactic narrative over nuanced causation.[46] [47] The 2008 German film Die Welle (English: The Wave), directed by Dennis Gansel, explores themes of autocracy in a contemporary high school setting, achieving commercial success with a $3.8 million opening weekend gross in Germany across 280 screens.[48] While praised for its tense portrayal of groupthink escalation and relevance to modern extremist movements, including neo-Nazi undercurrents, reception was polarized due to questions over the plausibility of its compressed timeline for radicalization, with some arguing it overstated causal rapidity for dramatic effect rather than aligning with empirical patterns of ideological spread.[49] [50] The 2015 Norwegian disaster film Bølgen (English: The Wave), directed by Roar Uthaug, dramatizes a potential mega-tsunami triggered by a mountainside collapse in the Geiranger fjord, inspired by real geological threats such as the unstable Åkerneset crevice and historical events like the 1934 Tafjord landslide. It earned positive reviews for integrating empirical seismic data and fjord-specific modeling into its visuals, providing a grounded simulation of rockslide-induced wave dynamics exceeding 80 meters, yet faced critique for prioritizing Hollywood-esque personal heroism and spectacle over precise adherence to probabilistic hazard forecasts from Norwegian geologists.[51] [52]Literature
Todd Strasser's 1981 young adult novel The Wave, published under the pseudonym Morton Rhue, dramatizes the 1967 Third Wave experiment led by history teacher Ron Jones at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California.[53] The story depicts students adopting a movement called "The Wave," promoting discipline, community, and action as a simulated fascist regime to illustrate Nazi Germany's rise, with the experiment spanning five days and involving over 200 participants before its abrupt termination.[54] Intended to educate on conformity's dangers, the novel expands Jones' original account—first detailed in his 1972 articles and later books—with fictionalized student perspectives and escalated conflicts for narrative impact, though critics note it oversimplifies social psychology by presenting obedience as near-universal without deeper causal analysis of individual agency.[55] While achieving widespread classroom use, the portrayal amplifies unverified dramatic elements, such as a student assault, diverging from Jones' less sensationalized retrospective, which lacks contemporaneous records and has faced scrutiny for potential embellishment in promoting anti-authoritarian lessons.[56] Susan Casey's 2010 nonfiction work The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean examines extreme ocean waves through scientific inquiry and surfer testimonies, focusing on rogue waves exceeding 100 feet documented via satellite data and buoys since the 1990s.[57] Drawing on interviews with oceanographers and big-wave riders like Laird Hamilton, Casey details causal mechanisms—such as wave interference from currents, seafloor topography, and storm winds—evidenced by hydrodynamic models and historical incidents like the 1995 Draupner platform rogue wave measurement.[58] The book contrasts empirical wave predictability limits with human pursuits at sites like Cortes Bank, emphasizing fatalities from structural forces over 2010, including surfer deaths from wipeouts generating forces equivalent to 10-ton impacts.[59] Its reliance on verifiable data and physics-based reasoning provides a grounded counter to sensationalism, highlighting nature's dominance absent anthropocentric narratives. Evelyn Scott's 1929 modernist novel The Wave employs stream-of-consciousness techniques to portray interpersonal dynamics in a Southern U.S. setting, praised contemporaneously for its innovative, film-like structure depicting emotional undercurrents akin to tidal forces.[60] Less directly tied to literal waves, it explores psychological ripples from personal conflicts, with critics at the time lauding its experimental form but noting its dense introspection limits broader accessibility.[60]Music
"The Wave" appears as a title in various musical compositions across genres, often evoking themes of motion, emotion, or sonic propagation through production techniques like layered reverb and rhythmic builds. One notable example is the 2012 single by Swedish indie pop trio Miike Snow, from their second album Happy to You, which integrates electronic synths and percussive elements to simulate wave-like swells, influencing subsequent indie electronic tracks with similar metaphorical sound design. The song peaked at number 38 on the US Alternative Songs chart and contributed to the album's certification of gold in Sweden, reflecting moderate commercial success driven by its infectious hook rather than groundbreaking innovation.[61][62] In electronic dance music, German trance producers Cosmic Gate released "The Wave" in 2001, featuring euphoric breakdowns and Svenson & Gielen remixes that extended its club longevity through repetitive motifs mimicking tidal rhythms. The track gained traction in European rave circuits but lacked sustained chart dominance, illustrating the genre's trend toward ephemeral hits without verifiable long-term cultural embedding beyond niche playlists.[63] Jazz fusion enthusiasts recognize Polish guitarist Marek Bliziński's instrumental album The Wave (1980), which blends virtuosic electric guitar with synthesizers and rhythm sections for fluid, wave-inspired improvisations, achieving acclaim in Eastern European jazz scenes for technical prowess but minimal global sales data, underscoring fusion's limited mainstream penetration despite stylistic merits. Similarly, American country artist Blake Shelton's 2017 track "The Wave," with its narrative of relational ebbs and flows set to acoustic-driven production, appeared on streaming platforms amid his established career but did not chart significantly, prioritizing thematic familiarity over sonic novelty.[64][65]Radio stations
KTWV (94.7 FM), known as "The Wave," operates in Los Angeles, California, and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station adopted its current call letters and branding on February 14, 1987, transitioning abruptly from the progressive rock format of its predecessor KMET to a new age and smooth jazz presentation, which positioned it as the inaugural U.S. station in that genre.[66] [67] This shift was driven by market demands for a less aggressive adult-oriented format, yielding strong initial Arbitron ratings in the Los Angeles market by capitalizing on instrumental and light vocal tracks appealing to upscale demographics.[68] Over time, however, the smooth jazz emphasis waned due to declining genre viability amid shifting listener preferences and competition from digital streaming; by 2010, programming incorporated more R&B and pop elements, fully evolving to an urban adult contemporary format by 2015 to sustain audience share.[69] [70] As of 2025, it maintains a soulful, inclusive mix reflecting Southern California's diverse demographics, though terrestrial listenership has faced pressure from on-demand audio platforms.[71] Other stations branded as "The Wave" include WWVV (105.9 FM) in Panama City, Florida, which launched its variety hits format in October 2025 following a prior active rock presentation, targeting broad appeal in a competitive Gulf Coast market.[72] In Australia, 96.5 Wave FM (call sign 2UUL) serves the Illawarra region of New South Wales as a commercial outlet, emphasizing contemporary hits since its establishment in the late 20th century, with operations sustained by local advertising revenue.[73] Similarly, 91.7 The Wave in Mandurah, Western Australia, functions as a community-focused broadcaster, prioritizing regional content and listener engagement over national syndication.[74]| Station | Call Sign | Frequency | Location | Format | Notes on Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Wave | KTWV | 94.7 FM | Los Angeles, CA, USA | Urban Adult Contemporary | Pioneered smooth jazz in 1987; format adapted for ratings sustainability.[66] |
| The Wave | WWVV | 105.9 FM | Panama City, FL, USA | Variety Hits | Adopted branding in 2025 post-format flip from rock.[75] |
| Wave FM | 2UUL | 96.5 FM | Illawarra, NSW, Australia | Contemporary Hits | Commercial station with local market focus.[73] |
| The Wave | N/A | 91.7 FM | Mandurah, WA, Australia | Community/Regional | Emphasizes local programming and community ties.[74] |