A marvel of modern construction, R.M.S. Titanic was called “the ship of dreams.” Equipped with advanced technologies, the ship was considered unsinkable. However, the most famed ship that ever cruised was proved one of the most ironic maritime disasters in history. Most of our particulars about this giant ship originate from the movie “Titanic.” The excursion of the ship may have finished long back, yet her adventure won’t end. Here are some interesting facts about the Titanic:
Image: deviantart.net
1. The Birth Of A Celebrity Ocean Liner
Titanic, the White Star liner was manufactured somewhere around 1909 and 1911. It was 882 feet (269 meters) long and 175 feet (53 meters) in tallness. Around 15,000 men worked amid its construction in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Its motors were fueled by pressurized steam from blazing coal.
Source: history.com, Image: jonathansworlddotcom.files.wordpress.com
2. Luxury Stands For RMS Titanic
The high profile voyagers on Titanic were given a King/Queen style grand facilities. The giant ship housed an onboard swimming pool, a gym, a squash court, and a Turkish shower and libraries. It was supplied with 20,000 containers of beers and 1,500 bottles of wines. The last supper served in the first-class saloon comprised of 11 courses.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: tumblr.com
3. The Enticing Interiors!
Inviting Interiors of Titanic was laid out in style like that of the contemporary high-class inn. Mixed bags of enlivening styles running from the Renaissance to Victorian were utilized to enhance its beauty.
Source: Wikipedia
4. Pretty Damned Quick!
Titanic was one of the fastest ships (of its time) that ever sailed; cruising at the speed of 21 knots (i.e. 24 miles per hour) and a top speed of 24 knots.
Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk
5. Just Two Halts
Titanic set sail to New York City from Southampton, UK, on 10th April 1912. The ship called at two destinations of France & Ireland before heading to New York where the ship met its devastating fate hitting an iceberg at 11:40 P.M. On April 15, 1912, by 2:20 A.M it sank beneath the North Atlantic waves.
Source: Wikipedia
6. A Musical Voyage
What’s better to keep you in a good mood than music. Titanic had first class arrangements for this too. Elite travelers were given copies of “The White Star Music Book;” containing 352 melodies, so, they could make demands. The musicians expected to recall each one of the titles and play on request.
Source: jsonlie.com, Image: cdn2.lybrary.com
7. Sorry Gentleman! Women & Children First!
As the mayhem wreck on the ship, a general convention “The Women & Children first” was followed for stacking the lifeboats; while most of the male’s majority & crew team were left aboard.
Source: belfasttelegraph.co.uk, Image: sciencenordic.com
8. Cost Cutting
The ship of its era didn’t have enough lifeboats to save everyone on board; as it was considered to be an unsinkable ship. Besides this, lifeboats were not filled due to the inadequate training of the crew to carry out the safe evacuation. There were only 20 boats with a capacity of 65 each for approximately 3327 people on board (Passengers: 2,435, crew: 892).
Source: Wikipedia, Image: wikimedia.org
9. No Lifeboat Drills
The Titanic held no traveler lifeboat drills. Many believe if the drill had occurred, more lives could have been spared.
Source: jsonline.com
10. The Last Melody
Remember the Band of musicians in the movie Titanic who kept playing for hours to help ease down the passengers during the mishap. Yes! It actually happened. But the swan song is still in debate. The last number played by Titanic orchestra was certainly the waltz “Songed Automne,” not “Nearer My God to Thee,” but that’s a debate for later.
Source: jsonlie.com, Image: wikimedia.org
11. Extravagant Expenditure
The Cost of building Titanic (in 1912) was a lump sum $7.5 million, and if the same has to be made today, it would cost more than $400 million. Quite fancy, isn’t it?
Source: keyflux.com, Image: wikimedia.org
12. Titanic’s Daily Bulletin
The Titanic appeared to have everything on the ship, including its own daily news bulletin “the Atlantic Daily Bulletin” for passengers with the most recent news got by the ship’s wireless administrators. The daily paper featured the latest news, commercials, stock costs, society, and the day’s menu.
Source: history1900s.about.com
13. The Lucky Ones
The maximum no. of persons Titanic could accommodate was 3547, out of which only 2224 were on board (passengers + crew). 710 is the number of few lucky ones who escaped death.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: wikimedia.org
14. Animals Who Survived The Catastrophe
There were various animals on board Titanic in her first disastrous voyage. These included dogs, cats, chickens and an obscure number of rats. Three of the dogs were brought aboard on their laps by their owners and survived, rest all perished in the calamity.
Source: dailymail.co.uk, Image: Wikimedia
15. The Official Cat!
The ship had her own official cat named Jenny, who was kept on board as a mascot from her sister ship Olympic and also helped to keep a check on ship’s population of rats and mice.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: wikimedia.org
16. “Misfortune” As It Happened
The misfortune started knocking on the doors of Titanic since its launch. The launch was deferred by six weeks; because her sister ship Olympic required repairs in the same dock. That postpone, put seasonal icebergs right in Titanic’s way.
Source: jsonline.com, Image: Flickr
17. That Infamous Iceberg!
Titanic is the only sea liner in history to be ever sunk by an iceberg. The iceberg was about 50-100 feet tall and started its journey somewhere around 1000 BC.
Source: wired.com
18. A Royal Mail Ship
Titanic was given the label of Royal Mail Ship; as it carried the mail under the agreement with Royal Mail and also for the United States Post Office Department. The Sea Post Office toiled thirteen hours a day & seven days a week; sorting up to 60,000 things every day.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: Flickr
19. The Long Queue For A Bath
Sharing a bathtub was a common practice back in those days. Third class passengers had to share bathrooms, one for men and one for women, between 700 people. That’s right! 700 people. That’s an awfully long wait for a scrub in the tub.
Source: historyonthenet.com
20. Where’s The Binocular?
The absence of binoculars with Titanic lookouts to see icebergs and avoid collisions timely proved lethal to the fate of the ship. The missing key to the storage locker where binoculars were kept is believed to be the reason behind this.
Source: Wikipedia
21. Matter Of A Few Seconds!
Titanic could have been spared if 30 seconds were not lost in giving orders to change the course of the ship after spotting the iceberg.
Source: history1900s.about.com
22. Forewarning!
Titanic received a series of notices about the floating ice in the region of Grand Banks of Newfoundland. However, the ship kept on steaming at full speed keeping the timelines as a priority.
Source: Wikipedia
23. Titanic Sunk By Steering Mistake
Yes, we all know that Titanic didn’t have a head-on collision with the iceberg, but it is assumed that if the ship had hit the berg head-on, Titanic would have survived as a result of the strength of its bulkheads.
Source: reuters.com
24. Mayday!
Distress signs were sent by radio, rockets, and light, yet none of the ships was close enough to reach Titanic before it sank. A nearby ship, the SS Californian, was the last to have been in contact before the crash but failed to help.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: jonathansworlddotcom.files.wordpress.com
25. The Painful Finale!
It took only 2 hours and 40 minutes for the maiden journey of Titanic to come to a painful end.
Source: nationalgeographic.com
26. The First To Arrive At The Scene!
Around 4 A.M., R.M.S Carpathia reached the scene in response to Titanic’s previous distress calls. Those who survived the debacle were carried via Carpathia to New York. It took Carpathia three days to reach New York after leaving the catastrophe’s scene in the wake of hustles imposed by sea.
Source: history.com, Image: thechronicleherald.ca
27. Pomp & Show Funnel!
The fourth funnel of Titanic was added to make the ship look more striking & influential. Only 3 of the 4 smokestacks worked in reality, the fourth one was just for the pomp & show purpose.
Source: nationalgeographic.com, Image: wikimedia.org
28. The Long Wait!
It took 73 years to discover the wreck of Titanic as it lies over 12,000 feet (3,700 m) beneath the surface, in a place where the water force is over 6,500 pounds per square inch. Titanic’s wreck was first discovered in 1985 by Explorer-in-Residence Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel. In recent years, explorers like James Cameron and Paul-Henry Nargeolet have brought back increasingly vivid pictures of the wreck.
Source: nationalgeographic.com
29. The First Movie Based On “R.M.S. Titanic”
The first hit movie “Saved from Titanic” was released 29 days after Titanic was submerged. Dorothy Gibson was among the few lucky survivors who survived to tell the anecdote. Gibson was wearing the same clothes as she wore on the day of calamity on the ship in the movie.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: Wikipedia
30. The Post-obit Bill
After the sad tragedy, the Post-obit bill of 5 shillings and 4 pennies was received by the families of band members from the C.W. and F.N. Black, the employment company, as a cost to the garbs worn on board by the musicians.
Source: Wikipedia
31. Titanic Had Never Sunk!
There’s a cynical theory saying that Titanic had never sunk. Instead, it was her sister ship, the Olympic which met the alleged fate and it was just an insurance scam. But this is far from reality as each of the ships was covered for £1 million (£88.4 million) through Lloyd’s of London.
Source: history.com
32. The First News
The British newspaper London Daily Mail stated “Titanic Sunk, No Lives Lost” in its first release on April 16, 1912, tory. Other daily papers reported the same, like this one. The New York Times dedicated 75 pages to the coverage of Titanic in the first week after the adversity.
Source: lifebuzz.com, Image: wikimedia.org
33. Money On Titanic
The probable estimation of the money, securities, and adornments carried by the passengers of Titanic was around $6 million.
Source: telegraph.co.uk, Image: wikimedia.org
34. “Titanic” The Movie!
The 1997 James Cameron’s film “Titanic” was an epic. The budget for the Movie “Titanic” was higher than the Titanic (ship) itself.
Source: cbc.ca, Image: giphy.com
35. Titanic’s Grand Staircase Is Actually Of Another Ship
The iconic photo of Titanic’s Grand Staircase is actually of another ship. This iconic photo of Grand Staircase indeed belongs to Titanic‘s sister ship- the Olympic.
Source: thevintagenews.com, GIF: tumblr.com
36. Titanic Was Unsinkable: A Myth!
“Titanic was unsinkable” is one of the myths about Titanic, which have been spread by films. Actually, it’s a retrospective myth; as contrary to the popular interpretation, the White Star Line never made any substantive claims that the Titanic was unsinkable.
Source: bbc.com, GIF: giphy.com
37. Death Of Captain Smith
Another myth about Titanic that has been spread by films is that Captain Smith was a hero. In fact, he is considered responsible behind Titanic’s ill fate. However, little is known about the final hours of Captain Smith, but he is remembered as the hero, despite apparently failing to heed ice warnings, and not slowing his ship. He is also blamed for the mismanagement of lifeboats. Reportedly, the first lifeboat that left Titanic on that ill-fated night had a capacity to carry 65, is said to have only contained just 27 people.
Source: bbc.com, GIF: giphy.com
38. J Bruce Ismay: A Villain?
It’s another story about Titanic’s myths spread by the films. Almost every film based on Titanic has projected J Bruce Ismay, the president of the company that built the Titanic as a coward who bullied the captain into driving the ship too fast and then saved his own skin by jumping into the first available lifeboat. However, Lord Mersey, who led the British Inquiry Report of 1912 into the loss of the Titanic, concluded that, in fact, Ismay had helped many other passengers before finding a place for himself on the last lifeboat to leave the starboard side.
Source: bbc.com, Image: loxejon.pow-wow.co.uk
39. The Last Supper
Interestingly, Titanic’s last meal was the costliest. In an auction Titanic’s last lunch menu cost $88,000.
Source: indiatimes.com
40. The Captain Who rescued Titanic
Captain Arthur Henry Rostron is known for his legendary efforts to rescue survivors of Titanic’s sinking. In 1905, he became captain of the then 3-year-old Carpathia.
Source: history.com, Image: Flickr
41. What Happened To The Iceberg That Sank The Titanic?
The life of the iceberg that sank the Titanic began with snowfall on the western coast of Greenland somewhere around 1,000 BCE. Scientists believe that starting on the Greenland coast, it (iceberg) would have moved from the Baffin Bay to the Davis Strait and then onto the Labrador Sea and, at last, the Atlantic. The average life expectancy of an iceberg in the North Atlantic is only about two to three years from calving to melting. That means it likely broke off from Greenland in 1910 or 1911 and might have gone forever by the end of 1912 or sometime in 1913.
Source: wired.com, Image: Wikimedia
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