It’s no secret that the ocean liner’s maiden voyage ended in tragedy 110 years ago. But few know that the crew did not have binoculars and that one traveler was rescued because he was drunk. RMS Titanic it was to be a triumph of engineering.
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builtin Belfast, the ship was the largest in the world at the time. In 1912, the luxury liner made its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. People lined up to reserve seats on board.
First class ticket prices varied, with the cheapest costing £30, which is around €4,000 at current prices. Many of the guests could afford it among the wealthy guests were real estate magnate and hotel owner John Jacob Astor, then one of the richest men in the world, as well as businessman Benjamin Guggenheim and his mistress. They all wanted to make history as the first passengers on the Titanic. Others saw the crossing as an opportunity to find a better life in the United States.
The fact is that the Titanic would never reach its final destination. On the night of April 14, 1912, exactly 110 years ago, the ship collided with an iceberg and the maiden voyage ended in disaster. To this day, there are many myths and legends surrounding the accident. Here are ten facts about the Titanic that you probably didn’t know.
1. No binoculars at hand
On the fateful night of April 14, Seaman Frederick Fleet was on watch duty. He was an experienced sailor who had been sailing since he was 12 years old. It was said to be very cold in the cockpit that night when Fleet saw a dark mass in the water the first sighting of the iceberg and reported the danger to his superiors. The first officer reacted promptly, but it was too late.
Fleet survived the disaster and later stated he did not have binoculars. The binoculars were in a locked cabinet and the keys had been left with an officer not on board the ship. Part of the crew had been replaced shortly before the first Atlantic crossing, including this officer. He must have forgotten to leave the key on the ship.
2. The band continues playing
As soon as the Titanic hit the iceberg and it became clear that the ship was about to sink, chaos reigned and the air was filled with fear and the screams of the passengers rushing to board the lifeboats. However, the musicians on the ocean liner chose to play on deck. More than two hours after the collision, the band was still trying to calm the terrified people on board. All eight musicians died in the accident. This touching gesture by the band can be seen in James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic.
3. “Be British boys, be British”
None of Titanic’s engineers survived. Captain Edward John Smith is said to have encouraged his crew with the words “Be British, boys, be British”.
Other men, including firstrate men, preferred to die with honor. Entrepreneur Benjamin Guggenheim is said to have said, “We dress our best and are ready to fall like gentlemen.” Real estate mogul John Jacob Astor is also said to have wryly said, “I asked for ice cream, but now it’s ridiculous.” He helped a young immigrant girl and child into a lifeboat.
Of the approximately 2,240 passengers, only 700 survived the disaster.
4. Drink to keep warm
The sea had a temperature of about zero degrees Celsius that night, a temperature at which a human being could normally only survive a maximum of 15 minutes.
Charles Joughin, the Titanic’s head baker, is one of the most famous survivors of the disaster. Although he was chosen to be the captain of one of the lifeboats, he decided to give up his position as there were already sailors in the lifeboat to pilot it.
Joughin went down with the ship, but he drank so much alcohol before he could no longer feel the chill of the water in which he was floating. After swimming for two hours, he was pulled into an overturned lifeboat and eventually rescued by a rescue ship.
5. Love no Titanic
The love story of Rose and Jack from James Cameron’s Titanic is pure fiction. But there were lovers on the Titanic who met tragic ends.
An example is that of the coowner of the American department store Macy’s and his wife: Isidor and Ida Straus. They had wintered in Europe and were on their way back to New York. Both were offered a seat on a lifeboat, but Isidor refused as long as there were still children and women on the ship, he did not want to go on board.
For her part, his wife Ida did not want to be saved without her husband and is said to have said: “I will not be separated from my husband. As we live, so shall we die together.” Several plaques commemorate the couple who chose to die together, including one at Macy’s in New York.
6. Why weren’t there enough lifeboats?
The ship was to have 32 lifeboats, and although the number was included in the original designer’s plans, the shipping company was confident that the ship was safe and that more lifeboats would unnecessarily take up deck space. On a ship like this, comfort was paramount.
In fact, the company did not violate any safety laws, because under the rules of the time, the number of boats was based on the weight of the ship, not the number of passengers. It was a fatal bill. With the 16 lifeboats and four collapsible rafts on board, only 700 people could be saved.
7. Art predicts life
Perhaps the White Star Line should have read Morgan Robertson’s Futility or Wreck of the Titan, published in 1898, before naming the steamer Titanic.
The novel tells the story of a large and luxurious ship called the Titan, which crashed into an iceberg en route between the United States and England just like the Titanic in real life.
8. The long search for the sunken ship
Many people went in search of the sunken Titanic, but it wasn’t until 73 years after the disaster, in 1985, that underwater archaeologist Robert Ballard was able to locate the wreck in the North Atlantic and photograph it for the first time. He funded this endeavor by agreeing to search for the remains of two submarines sunk on a secret US Navy mission. He was then authorized for 12 days to use Navy equipment to find the Titanic.
At a depth of 3,800 meters he found the wreck of the former luxury liner in the eternal darkness. The discovery was just in time, because the microbes had already settled on the ship and began to decompose the Titanic bit by bit until it finally crumbled to dust. Scientists estimate the wreck will be gone by 2030. However, the legend will surely remain.
9. Wellknown and less wellknown film adaptations
The most famous film adaptation of the Titanic story is probably James Cameron’s box office success from 1997. The film grossed 2.5 billion dollars and is considered one of the highest grossing films in cinema history it won 12 Oscars.
But there were other films too. The first was produced in 1912, the same year the ship sank. It was titled Saved from the Titanic and starred a survivor of the disaster. A film based on Titanic was also made in Germany during World War II, but the Nazis used this film version as a propaganda tool against the US and Britain.
10. The Titanic compared to current ships
Since 1912, many passenger ships have crossed the Atlantic, and the Titanic has been surpassed in size by countless other ships. The largest cruise ship to be launched this year is called Wonder of the Seas. It will be 66 meters wide, compared to Titanic’s 28 meters. There is also a clear difference in height: the Wonder of the Seas measures 72.5 meters and the Titanic just 53 meters.