Quote from trader_arb:
good point, because the vix has never gone above 26...
While the level of 50 marks a normal VIX extreme in the mid-80s, a contrarian speculation buy signal, there was one stunning event in history where the VIX actually exploded to almost unthinkable heights. On October 19th, 1987 the VIX rocketed up to close at the breathtaking level of 150! Merely one trading day earlier it had closed at 36, a normal level. Over the next five trading days, the VIX closed above the staggering level of 100 three more times.