 Paul Gallico (qv) was inspired to write his novel by a voyage he  made on the Queen Mary. When he was having breakfast in the dining  room, the liner was hit by a large wave, sending people and  furniture crashing to the other side of the vessel. He was further  inspired by a true incident which occurred aboard the Queen Mary  during World War II. Packed with American troops bound for Europe,  the ship was struck by a gargantuan freak wave in the North  Atlantic. It was calculated that if the ship had rolled another five  inches, she would have capsized like the Poseidon.