100 years ago tonight, a night to remember......

[jerseydevil]

On April 14, 1912 at 2:40am GMT, the ocean liner RMS Titanic struck an iceberg while on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic to New York.  Two hours and forty minutes later she sank, killing 1,517 passengers and crew.  It's a story that most people are familiar with, almost passing beyond the realm of history into legend.  As someone who studied history in college and has always been fascinated with naval history, it's a subject I've always had an interest in.  Beyond the stories and movies is the fact of that astounding number, 1,517.  Here's to their memory. 

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

On April 14, 1912 at 2:40am GMT, the ocean liner RMS Titanic struck an iceberg while on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic to New York.  Two hours and forty minutes later she sank, killing 1,517 passengers and crew.  It's a story that most people are familiar with, almost passing beyond the realm of history into legend.  As someone who studied history in college and has always been fascinated with naval history, it's a subject I've always had an interest in.  Beyond the stories and movies is the fact of that astounding number, 1,517.  Here's to their memory. 

Amen.   

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Here's something also horrifyingly tragic; apparently many people don't know that it was an actual event, and not just a movie...

http://www.movieline.com/2012/04/11/titanic-and-9-other-movies-some-folks-dont-know-are-based-on-real-events/

[mvyrmnd]

Coincidentally, my Aunt has discovered that I may have had a distant cousin who died on the Titanic... she's working to confirm it almost as I write this :-)

[Grant Lamontagne]

There are a lot of Titanic graves here in town. Let me know if I can help.

Def

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[nuphoria]

It's amazing how much interest the Titanic holds for people. Fascinating story despite the terrible loss of life I suppose.

I read something interesting last night on Discovery news about the problem with the communication between ships which happened - http://news.discovery.com/tech/titanic-wireless-120411.html

[edcgear]

 

[captain spaulding]

Here's something also horrifyingly tragic; apparently many people don't know that it was an actual event, and not just a movie...

http://www.movieline.com/2012/04/11/titanic-and-9-other-movies-some-folks-dont-know-are-based-on-real-events/

I think you hit the nail on the head with that statement. 

[kirk13]

Just as a foot note,Titanic was the second of a class of three ships,all built by Harland and Wolfs,in Belfast.The 2 sister ships didnt fair too well.Lead ship,the Olympic,survived to be scrapped in the Thirties,but only after having collided with battleships,and having run aground several times(her first colission is the root of the Titanic conspiracy theory).

Britannic,the third of the class,ended up as a hospital ship in the Great War,and was lost in the Mediteranian(cant remember if it was a mine,or a Uboat),again with terrible loss of life,because of the low level bulkheads

[jerseydevil]

Britannic,the third of the class,ended up as a hospital ship in the Great War,and was lost in the Mediteranian(cant remember if it was a mine,or a Uboat),again with terrible loss of life,because of the low level bulkheads

Actually, only 30 people died when the Britannic hit a mine.  There were many more lifeboats, the water was MUCH warmer, and help arrived quickly.  She did sink much more quickly, in less than an hour, and the low bulkheads were a factor.  Britannic was actually larger than Titanic BTW.  Another interesting little bit is the story of Violet Jessop, a stewardess for Whit Star.  She was on board the Olympic during the collision with HMS Hawke, and survived the sinking of BOTH the Titanic and Britannic! 

[kirk13]

Britannic,the third of the class,ended up as a hospital ship in the Great War,and was lost in the Mediteranian(cant remember if it was a mine,or a Uboat),again with terrible loss of life,because of the low level bulkheads

Actually, only 30 people died when the Britannic hit a mine.  There were many more lifeboats, the water was MUCH warmer, and help arrived quickly.  She did sink much more quickly, in less than an hour, and the low bulkheads were a factor.  Britannic was actually larger than Titanic BTW.  Another interesting little bit is the story of Violet Jessop, a stewardess for Whit Star.  She was on board the Olympic during the collision with HMS Hawke, and survived the sinking of BOTH the Titanic and Britannic!

 :salute:Thanks for the correction

I'd forgotten about Ms Jessop

[Grant Lamontagne]

Remind me to check the passenger manifest for her name before getting on a ship in the future!  I'll either cancel the trip or stay very close to her at all times!

Def

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Just as a foot note,Titanic was the second of a class of three ships,all built by Harland and Wolfs,in Belfast.The 2 sister ships didnt fair too well.Lead ship,the Olympic,survived to be scrapped in the Thirties,but only after having collided with battleships,and having run aground several times(her first colission is the root of the Titanic conspiracy theory).

Britannic,the third of the class,ended up as a hospital ship in the Great War,and was lost in the Mediteranian(cant remember if it was a mine,or a Uboat),again with terrible loss of life,because of the low level bulkheads

I'm too lazy to look it up right now, but I recall reading somewhere there was some claim that substandard construction was done on all three of those boats.  That's supposedly one of the reasons they were a lot more fragile than they should have been.

[Carlos]

Don't know about the substandard construction, but if one bumped into an iceberg, other was bombed and the other collided with another ship, they didn't had much chances anyway. Anyway, this whole Titanic obsession made the real event to turn into a fairy tale, only with a bad ending. Not nice.

[Chako]

Not sure why they made such a big deal out of a 100 year anniversary of a disaster. On the speciality stations such as the History channel, Discovery, etc...it was almost all about the Titanic for a while there, glamorizing a disaster.

[jerseydevil]

Not sure why they made such a big deal out of a 100 year anniversary of a disaster. On the speciality stations such as the History channel, Discovery, etc...it was almost all about the Titanic for a while there, glamorizing a disaster.

I agree with you about glamorizing it, Chako.  That's not what I think should be done with a disaster like that.  As for why it's become a romanticized event, I'm not sure either.  Perhaps it's the story of the "unsinkable" ship going down on its' maiden voyage.  The unsinkable comment was not made about the Titanic by Captain Smith BTW.  The famous quote by him had been made 5 years earlier about another ship.  Perhaps it's also because it happened in peacetime.  Events like Shiloh or Gettysburg or the Somme don't have that same kind of allure.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Not sure why they made such a big deal out of a 100 year anniversary of a disaster. On the speciality stations such as the History channel, Discovery, etc...it was almost all about the Titanic for a while there, glamorizing a disaster.

I agree with you about glamorizing it, Chako.  That's not what I think should be done with a disaster like that.  As for why it's become a romanticized event, I'm not sure either.  Perhaps it's the story of the "unsinkable" ship going down on its' maiden voyage.  The unsinkable comment was not made about the Titanic by Captain Smith BTW.  The famous quote by him had been made 5 years earlier about another ship.  Perhaps it's also because it happened in peacetime.  Events like Shiloh or Gettysburg or the Somme don't have that same kind of allure.

I think it's mostly because we now live in a culture where the suffering of others is mass entertainment.  So called reality shows and all you know...  The fact it's romanticized just adds to the marketability and profitability of it. 

I actually never bothered to see the movie when it came out.  (I generally avoid any movie with Leonardo DiCaprio anyway.)  But it was on TV a couple years or so ago, and my wife is a disaster flick fan, so she badgered me into watching it.  It had its moments; certainly not great cinema though either.

This whole 100th anniversary thing and a new 3D version is just another way for James Cameron (who really is just a typical Hollywood hack in my opinion, who just managed to come up with a certain formula for a movie - ever notice that "Aliens", "Avatar", etc. are pretty much the same story just with different characters and different settings? - managed to hit it big) to pad his pockets by doing little to no work by recycling an earlier version of something he did.

[jerseydevil]

I think it's mostly because we now live in a culture where the suffering of others is mass entertainment.  So called reality shows and all you know...  The fact it's romanticized just adds to the marketability and profitability of it. 

An excellent point, and I agree completely.  Take an event that seems to have everything-personal tragedy, rich people in distress, man vs. nature- and milk it for every cent.  I've managed to avoid watching the film in its entirety, and agree with you too about Leonardo DiCaprio (though The Departed is a different story... ).  I don't watch reality TV, I think it's stupid.  My interest in the Titanic is purely historical.  I have no need to help line James Cameron's pockets, or those of others exploiting the suffering of thousands, no matter how long ago it was.

[Mercury]

Avatar, while a great film to watch, was nothing more than a Cowboys and Indians sob story with futuristic toys. 

Cameron is not that clever, he's just figured out ways to enhance and camouflage stories that have already been told.

Titanic was a huge disaster, and it should be used as a stark reminder of Human arrogance and half-assed followthrough.