10 surprising facts about the Titanic you might not know.
1.On April 10, 1912, the legendary ship set off on its maiden voyage. The "floating palace",
as it was called, was operated by Edward John Smith - the most experienced captain
with 25 years of experience. And on the night of April 14-15, it crashed.
2. The sinking of the Titanic occurred 57 hours before the solar eclipse.
According to astronomical observations, cataclysms often occur during such eclipses. In addition,
scientists claim that the full moon, which was observed on January 4,
1912, could have caused unusually strong tides, preventing the iceberg from being seen.
3. The rescue operation may have been interrupted by an optical illusion.
Another version of why the iceberg remained unnoticed and that the ships did not immediately
come to the rescue is an optical illusion. Scientists believe that
an unusual bend of light, a mirage, could be observed that night. A similar phenomenon
was described by the commanders of several ships that were in the area of the disaster.
4. Five ships like the Titanic can be built with money from the box office of the same name movie.
If you build the "Titanic" today, then you will need at least 400 million dollars.
Whereas the “Titanic” movie by James Cameron in 1997 earned almost 2 billion dollars.
5. Last lunch menu on Titanic sold for 88,000 dollars.
The first-class passenger managed to keep the list of dishes.
6. The catastrophe was predicted in the "Vanity, or the crash of the Titan" book.
A book by Robertson, published in 1898, described the disaster of 1912:
"The largest ship ever built hits an iceberg in April and sinks." According to the plot,
due to the lack of lifeboats, more than half of the passengers are killed in the North Atlantic.
7. 100 years later, the Balmoral super-liner repeated the Titanic route.
1309 passengers went on the memorial cruise - the same number as on the
Titanic (excluding the crew members). The ship recreated the atmosphere of the early 20th
century. Relatives of the Titanic passengers also went to the scene of the tragedy.
8. Two of the nine dogs that were aboard,
escaped the Titanic. These are dog breeds - Pomeranian and Pekingese.
9. Within 15-20 years "Titanic" will be eaten by bacteria.
Back in 1991, scientists discovered that the ship was inhabited by 24 species of invertebrates,
12 of which feed on metal and wooden structures. But it is not they
who do the special damage to the liner, but the bacteria
that were first discovered on the Titanic and named after it: Halomonas titanicae.
This is a particularly aggressive type of bacteria that receives energy from the oxidation of iron.
According to scientists, it literally "bites" into the metal. Experts have come to the conclusion
that nothing will remain of the liner over the next 15-20 years.
10. The last of the passengers of "Titanic" died in 2009 at the age of 97.
She was only 2.5 months old at the time of the shipwreck.