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108 years ago on this day, R.M.S. Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic. Most of the topics surrounding the ship have already been discussed, but is there any mystery you would still like to know more about?
You're a month early. The Titanic hit the iceberg on April 14, 1912.
The mysteries that most intrigue me about the disaster are the mysteries of human nature. Why did people in an identical situation behave so differently? Why did Second Officer Lightoller rigidly enforce "women and children ONLY" and let boats go half-empty instead of put men in them, while First Officer Murdoch followed "women and children FIRST" and let men take the seats that would have otherwise gone empty? Why did Fifth Officer Lowe row back to the scene to rescue people in the water while others refused to do so? And so on and so on.
April 14, 1912. My grandparents were poor people living in the north of England, working in the horrific mills but my grandfather found out about a job over here, got sponsored and came over. Earned enough to send for my grandmother and the kids. She really, REALLY wanted to come on the Titanic. It would have been the cheapest class but she didn't care. She was like that--brave and funny and always wanting to try something new and different.
Fortunately, by the time my grandfather received her letter and called to try to book passage for them, the answer was that they were "overbooked." So she and the kids got to the USA on April 16, 1912 on another ship. She probably didn't even know the Titanic that she had wanted to be on was at the bottom of the sea until her ship arrived in Boston.
I don't wonder about any of it anymore. But I do wish they have made it safer instead of just bigger and better. I wish the barrier compartments (whatever they were called) had been built higher so that water couldn't have gone over the top. My hero is the radio man who stayed on the job trying to get the word out. And I do wonder why we never learn. My personal hatred is that stupid movie that is wrong on so many levels, although I have always been interested in the documentaries that are closer to the probable truth.
You're a month early. The Titanic hit the iceberg on April 14, 1912.
Oops. I knew that but for some reason, since last night I've been thinking about it and somehow convinced myself that we were in April.
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The mysteries that most intrigue me about the disaster are the mysteries of human nature. Why did people in an identical situation behave so differently? Why did Second Officer Lightoller rigidly enforce "women and children ONLY" and let boats go half-empty instead of put men in them, while First Officer Murdoch followed "women and children FIRST" and let men take the seats that would have otherwise gone empty? Why did Fifth Officer Lowe row back to the scene to rescue people in the water while others refused to do so? And so on and so on.
From what I remember, they were on opposite sides of the ship so those who got Murdoch were lucky. I'm not sure as to why that happened though. At the time, it was assumed that men had a better chance of surviving in the water, so they might get rescued by another ship.
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Originally Posted by in_newengland
April 14, 1912. My grandparents were poor people living in the north of England, working in the horrific mills but my grandfather found out about a job over here, got sponsored and came over. Earned enough to send for my grandmother and the kids. She really, REALLY wanted to come on the Titanic. It would have been the cheapest class but she didn't care. She was like that--brave and funny and always wanting to try something new and different.
Fortunately, by the time my grandfather received her letter and called to try to book passage for them, the answer was that they were "overbooked." So she and the kids got to the USA on April 16, 1912 on another ship. She probably didn't even know the Titanic that she had wanted to be on was at the bottom of the sea until her ship arrived in Boston.
Yes, I do remember you mentioning that in another thread a while back. I'm glad they made it across the pond safely, though I'm surprised that Titanic was overbooked since it didn't depart at near full capacity.
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I don't wonder about any of it anymore. But I do wish they have made it safer instead of just bigger and better. I wish the barrier compartments (whatever they were called) had been built higher so that water couldn't have gone over the top. My hero is the radio man who stayed on the job trying to get the word out. And I do wonder why we never learn. My personal hatred is that stupid movie that is wrong on so many levels, although I have always been interested in the documentaries that are closer to the probable truth.
To be fair, the ship was already overbuilt. It just ran into a lot of bad luck. I don't fault your grandmother for her enthusiasm. I probably would have wanted the same.
Oops. I knew that but for some reason, since last night I've been thinking about it and somehow convinced myself that we were in April.
From what I remember, they were on opposite sides of the ship so those who got Murdoch were lucky. I'm not sure as to why that happened though. At the time, it was assumed that men had a better chance of surviving in the water, so they might get rescued by another ship.
Yes, I do remember you mentioning that in another thread a while back. I'm glad they made it across the pond safely, though I'm surprised that Titanic was overbooked since it didn't depart at near full capacity.
To be fair, the ship was already overbuilt. It just ran into a lot of bad luck. I don't fault your grandmother for her enthusiasm. I probably would have wanted the same.
Yeh, my feisty little "Gram" was a ton of fun so of course! The Titanic! Why not! As she always used to say, "Third class on the Titanic would have been like first class on any other ship." (well, actually, third class on the Titanic would have been better than third class on any other ship.)
Steerage or third class passengers were the poor from England where there was terrible inequality and no chance for advancement, Ireland, and middle eastern countries like Lebanon and Syria. Most of the people in third class were coming here for jobs or they were the families of men who had already come and were now sending for their families.
I didn't realize that the ship was so underbooked. That's not what my grandfather was told--unless he was telling little white lie, lol. Maybe the Titanic would have been too expensive for him, even third class. As it turned out, third class were so looked down upon that the gate to get out and escape was not unlocked for quite a while. Nobody seemed to remember that there were people down there who needed to get out. Locked so that during the entire voyage none of the unwashed masses could possibly have gotten out and mingled with the upper classes.
The ship did go too fast and they didn't heed the iceberg warnings either. They were all about being the biggest and the best and also the fastest. Can't slow down or take a safer route just to avoid icebergs.
I have always been interested in the Titanic but haven't thought about it in quite a while so thanks for bringing the subject up again. Its sinking was another one of those life changing events, world changing, in fact.
I didn't realize that the ship was so underbooked.
The Titanic set sail with only about half of her total passenger capacity actually occupied. There are two main reasons for this. One, it was April, which was "shoulder season" for trans-Atlantic travel. But the bigger reason was that the British coal miners were on strike at the time, and a lot of sailings had to be cancelled due to lack of coal to power the ships. With so much uncertainty about traveling during this time, many people decided to just stay put and wait for things to be sorted out. As it was, the Titanic carried the passengers (and the coal) from several other ships whose sailings were cancelled; yet even with that, her passenger compartments were only half-filled.
But given that there weren't nearly enough lifeboats, it's a darned good thing that there weren't more people aboard than there were.
Yeh, my feisty little "Gram" was a ton of fun so of course! The Titanic! Why not! As she always used to say, "Third class on the Titanic would have been like first class on any other ship." (well, actually, third class on the Titanic would have been better than third class on any other ship.)
Yes. Third class aboard the Olympic class was better than what was offered by any other ship at the time. It was said to be the equivalent of second class aboard other vessels.
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I didn't realize that the ship was so underbooked. That's not what my grandfather was told--unless he was telling little white lie, lol. Maybe the Titanic would have been too expensive for him, even third class. As it turned out, third class were so looked down upon that the gate to get out and escape was not unlocked for quite a while. Nobody seemed to remember that there were people down there who needed to get out. Locked so that during the entire voyage none of the unwashed masses could possibly have gotten out and mingled with the upper classes.
Titanic was only half full by the time it left Queenstown on April 11. Some of the passengers who had booked passage on board different ships got transferred to Titanic. I’m actually curious as to how your grandfather came by the info that it was overbooked. That he told a white lie seems to be the most plausible explanation, possibly in order not to be burden your grandma upon her arrival.
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The ship did go too fast and they didn't heed the iceberg warnings either. They were all about being the biggest and the best and also the fastest. Can't slow down or take a safer route just to avoid icebergs.
That’s all true. The goal was to beat the Olympic by reaching New York on April 16. She just ran into a lot of bad luck on the 14th because the sea was unusually calm that night and there was no moon. It was unbelievably dark, making it hard to see ahead.
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I have always been interested in the Titanic but haven't thought about it in quite a while so thanks for bringing the subject up again. Its sinking was another one of those life changing events, world changing, in fact.
I go through those phases as well. I’m in one right now and got into it a couple of days. In fact, I thought it was April 14.
is there any mystery you would still like to know more about?
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Originally Posted by bus man
the British coal miners were on strike at the time, and a lot of sailings had to be cancelled due to lack of coal to power the ships.
Here's what I'd like to know:
Why did JP Morgan and many other wealthy passengers cancel their bookings the night before sailing ?
Why was so much precious artwork bound for America unloaded before sailing ?
Why, given the aforementioned coal shortage, was the Californian sitting PARKED about 50 miles away with NO passengers, but loaded with 3,000 sweaters and blankets (in order to be the rescue ship).
Why were the transoms of the lifeboats engraved with "Olympic" ?
Why, when you look at photos of the wreck today, can you clearly see the letters "M" & "P" where the Titanic nameplates have fallen off over time ?
It is widely suspected that it was Titanic's twin sistership Olympic, and NOT Titanic, which sank that night. Olympic had suffered a serious crash with a Navy vessel which was Olympic's fault, hence no insurance coverage. White Star Line was in dire financial straits at the time and the cost of complete repairs threatened to bankrupt the company. So, it is believed by many, the Olympic was cosmetically patched up and the two ships were simply "switched" and it was the Olympic that was sunk. This might have been more than a tragedy, it might have been MURDER.
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There's quite a few memorials, the Titanic Memorial, Belfast, the Titanic Engineers' Memorial in Southampton and the Memorial to the Engine Room Heroes of the Titanic, all being note worthy memorials among many.
April 14, 1912. My grandparents were poor people living in the north of England, working in the horrific mills but my grandfather found out about a job over here, got sponsored and came over. Earned enough to send for my grandmother and the kids. She really, REALLY wanted to come on the Titanic. It would have been the cheapest class but she didn't care. She was like that--brave and funny and always wanting to try something new and different.
Fortunately, by the time my grandfather received her letter and called to try to book passage for them, the answer was that they were "overbooked." So she and the kids got to the USA on April 16, 1912 on another ship. She probably didn't even know the Titanic that she had wanted to be on was at the bottom of the sea until her ship arrived in Boston.
I don't wonder about any of it anymore. But I do wish they have made it safer instead of just bigger and better. I wish the barrier compartments (whatever they were called) had been built higher so that water couldn't have gone over the top. My hero is the radio man who stayed on the job trying to get the word out. And I do wonder why we never learn. My personal hatred is that stupid movie that is wrong on so many levels, although I have always been interested in the documentaries that are closer to the probable truth.
What are some inaccuracies you noticed from the movie?
One for me was when they showed Officer Murdoch shooting a man then committing suicide. That probably didn't happen and that shouldn't have been added in when using a character that was a real person.
Another is when Jack was at the bow of the ship shouting "I'm the king of the world!!" No passengers would actually have been allowed to be in that part of the bow.
Also class segregation was super strict on the ship. I find it unlikely that Jack would have been allowed anywhere near the 1st class areas and vice versa with Rose not being allowed in steerage.
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