A New Wonder Of The World
The RMS Titanic was the world's largest passenger ship at the time it entered service. It was 882 feet long, making it the largest man-made, mobile object in the world.
The largest passenger ship today dwarfs the Titanic at 1188 feet in length.
That's A Ton Of Coal
The Floating Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz Hotel in London was the inspiration for the interior design of the vessel. Some of the facilities the Titanic had on board were extraordinary.
It had a gym, pool, Turkish bath, kennel for dogs, and a squash quart among many other lavish amenities.
The Grand Staircase
Lifeboats
The Titanic carried more than the legally required amount of lifeboats, having just 16 on board. That was enough to accommodate 1,178 people, which was roughly one-third of the occupancy.
This tragedy is what's inspired the precautionary measures taken each day on ships small and large.
A Cursed Ship
Easing Off With A Little Help
The Skipway had to be well lubed so the Titanic could effectively push off and set sail on the River Lagan.
It took 22 tons of soap, rendered beef, and mutton fat, all smeared on the slipway to ease the initial push-off.
Pit-Stops
Female Crew
The Titanic required 885 crew members on board. Of that crew, only 23 were female.
354 crew members were natives to Southampton, where the ship launched from, initially.
Live Juke-Box
The Richest Man On Board
John Jacob Astor IV was easily the richest man on board with a net worth of $85 Million. Unfortunately, he died with the sinking of the Titanic.
Today, his net worth would be around $2 Billion. It was reported that when the ship hit the iceberg, he said to the waiter, "I asked for ice, but this is ridiculous".
Going Out Like Gentleman
Novelty Tickets
There were numerous tickets purchased for the first voyage of the Titanic whose owners never intended to make the voyage themselves. Some of those ticket holders include Milton S.
Hershey, the founder of Hershey's Chocolate, Guglielmo Marconi, who invented long-distance radio transmission, and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who was an extremely wealthy American businessman. Vanderbilt actually died just three years later on the RMS Lusitania.
The Last Survivor
The Spotting
It was almost midnight when the iceberg was spotted by Frederick Fleet who was the lookout in the crow's nest at the time. His words were said in the movie as well, "Iceberg!
Right ahead!". He went on to be the lookout on the RMS Oceanic and even served in World War II.
The Iceberg
First Officer
William McMaster Murdoch was the First Officer of the ship. As soon as Frederick Fleet spotted the iceberg, Murdoch ordered the ship to turn around, but it was too late by then. The ship was too large to make abrupt turns like that.
Murdoch went down with the ship in the early hours of April 15th, 1912. Scientists have now confirmed that if there was never an effort to turn the ship, and if it hit the iceberg head-on, the ship wouldn't have sunk.
The Captain
Warnings
Despite being warned a total of six times, the Titanic met it's fate when it hit that iceberg. It's been speculated that a number of things could've avoided this disaster.
If they heeded the warnings, if the lookout had binoculars if they had hit the iceberg head-on instead of scraping the hull. History could've told a completely different story.
The Worst Kind Of Irony
The Break-Up
At 2:20am on April 15th, the Titanic broke in half as the sinking end of the ship had taken on so much water that it had been completely submerged, lifting the other end straight up in the air. The weight of the lifted side was too much for the middle to hold, causing the ship to snap.
The water was only 28 degrees Fahrenheit, which means anyone left in the water wouldn't survive more than 15 minutes. It's been said that most dies within two minutes due to the shock of the cold water.
Defying The Odds
The Mucisians
The band played their instruments for more than two hours while the ship slowly sank.
They were said to have played the most pleasant sounds they could think of to distract the passengers panicking before their imminent deaths.
RMS Carpathia
USS Californian
The USS Californian received the distress call of the Titanic but ignored the call. Its crew was heavily criticized for their lack of action.
Three years later, the USS Californian was hit and sunk by German submarines.
Recovered
Discovery
The Titanic had been thought lost until it was finally discovered in 1985 off the coast of Newfoundland.
370 Miles off the coast, the gargantuan ship laid to rest 12,500 feet below the surface, on the bottom of the Atlantic.
Deep Ocean Expeditions
Titanic
James Cameron's 1997 film grossed $2 Billion, won 11 Oscars, and is still one of the most successful films of all time, being made an instant classic.