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| Flash Frozen Fakes |
 The email stays the same. It says, "Michigan has had the coldest winter in decades. Water expands to freeze, and at Mackinaw City the water in Lake Huron below the surface ice was supercooled. It expanded to break through the surface ice and froze into this incredible wave. I've seen pictures of this wave phenomena in Antarctica, but in Michigan? Yes, it's been quite a winter!" This message was then followed by several striking photos of ice formations.
Problem is, those ice formations weren't formed in Michigan or even on the North American continent. They ice formations are real, but the message is a hoax.
Taken at the Antarctic base Dumont D'Urville by Tony Travouillon in 2002, the ice isn't waves that were flash frozen in place. They're actually formed over a long period of time as compacted ice is lifted by glaciation, then shaped by the elements.
In fact, melting has more to do with these massive ice structures than freezing does. Melting of the ices makes the downward pointing overhang that looks like a breaking wave. The polished surfaces also come as a result of melting as freshly frozen ice is usually cloudy and opaque. Clear ice comes as a result of the slow melting and freezing of snow as it is buried under each new year's accumulation of new snow.
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