17 Interesting & True Facts About The Titanic
Everyone is familiar with the movie based on the real-life tragedy, Titanic.
It portrays most of the details about the sinking ship, of the RMS Titanic which struck
an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 14th, 1912.
For two hours and forty minutes the ship slowly filled with water and sank which resulted
in over 1,500 casualties.
One of the world's greatest tragedies, one of the biggest ship crashes and it is a time
in history that will resonate for us forever.
Today, we'll be exploring true facts, interesting facts, amazing facts but mostly facts about
the Titanic.
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Because if you're ever on a sinking ship, you'll want your Bestie beside you.
At the time Titanic set off for her journey, she was the largest ship in the world measuring
882 ft in length.
One of the most amazing facts about the Titanic is that it was the largest man-made moving
object.
There are many more facts about the Titanic and the ship crash we'd like to explore today,
so without further ado, here are little-known facts about the Titanic that will send a chill
down your spine.
17.
The Sinking May Have Been Predicted.
An amazing fact about the Titanic sinking is that someone might actually have called
it.
In 1898, Morgan Robertson wrote a novella called The Wreck of the Titan which eerily
resembles the details of the Titanic tragedy.
In the novella, there is a ship called the Titan that is described as the largest unsinkable
ship.
Both Titan and the Titanic hit an iceberg and were not carrying enough lifeboats.
16.
A Full Moon May Have Been Responsible.
Another interesting fact about the Titanic is that the iceberg may not have been the
only culprit that caused the sinking ship.
National Geographic’s Richard A. Lovett said: ‘That full moon, on January 4, 1912,
may have created unusually strong tides that sent a flotilla of icebergs southward–just
in time for Titanic’s maiden voyage.’
Not only was it a full moon, it was the closest the moon has been to earth since A.D 796.
15.
Optical Illusion Theory.
Here is a true fact about the Titanic– British historian Tim Maltin thinks that on the night
of the sinking ship, atmospheric conditions may have made it difficult for the crew to
spot the iceberg in time.
According to the Smithsonian, ‘The atmospheric conditions in the area that night were ripe
for super refraction.’
This strange bending of light causes mirages.
14.
Canceled Drill.
Here's an interesting fact about the hubris of those on the Titanic, before it was a sinking
ship.
Not only was the ship significantly short on lifeboats, there was also a lifeboat drill
scheduled the day the ship sank, but it was canceled.
Had they gone through with this drill, the crew would have been better prepared to help
passengers and save more lives.
13.
Musicians.
This is a true fact that will go down in titanic history as one of the bravest moments of all
time.
There really was a group of musicians that played music to help calm down the passengers.
They played for as long as they possibly could, and all of them went down with the ship.
They were each recognized for their heroism.
Here's an amazing fact told by JSONLINE: the waltz "Songe d'Automne," not "Nearer My God
to Thee," was almost certainly the last song played by the Titanic orchestra, although
the debate about the last song continues.
12.
Cold Deaths.
Here is a true fact that may disturb you about the Titanic.
Most of the people who perished in the Titanic sinking passed away due to hypothermia.
When the ship went down, the water was around 28 degrees Fahrenheit below the freezing point.
Most people wouldn’t have survived longer than 15 minutes and some people could have
died within two minutes of being in the water.
11.
One Man And His Whiskey.
Not all facts about the Titanic are quite as depressing, this is an interesting fact
that may uplift you a little.
Among the most famous Titanic survivors was Charles Joughin.
He drank his way through the horrors of the sinking.
He claimed he couldn’t feel the cold due to all the whiskey he drank.
Many people may have thought his character in the movie was comic relief, but he actually
survived the sinking of the Titanic.
Not only did Chief Baker Charles Joughin help load bread into the lifeboats, Joughin reportedly
survived several hours swimming in the ocean before being rescued.
10.
A Nearby Ship Could Have Helped.
Here's a moment in Titanic history and an amazing fact that at least one person regrets:
20 miles away, the SS Californian stopped to avoid ice.
The captain of that ship saw the Titanic’s flares but he decided to ignore them, thinking
they were ‘company rockets.’
The SOS signals from the Titanic were not seen until the morning because the Californian’s
radio operator went to bed.
When they got to the scene the next day, they discovered all the bodies.
9.
False Reports.
Here is a fact about the sinking ship that is one of the biggest blunders in titanic
history: The first paper to report the sinking of the Titanic on April 16th, was the UK’s
Daily Mail.
They wrote that no lives were lost.
It wasn’t too long before they realized the terrible mistake they had made.
8.
Ships Still Get ‘Iced’ Today.
After the Titanic, icebergs continued to be a problem up until today.
Just last year, an iceberg ripped a hole in the hull of a Russian fishing boat that was
cruising in the Antarctic.
The crew consisted of 32 people.
They had to throw cargo overboard to lighten the load while waiting almost 2 weeks for
help.
7.
Lucky Dogs.
Here's an amazing fact about the sinking ship: Beside the 706 crew members and Passengers
who survived the tragedy, there were two survivors who you probably wouldn't expect: two dogs.
The people at TITANICFACTS.NET report that lap dogs were taken by some of the survivors
onto the lifeboats.
6.
Lifestyles of the Rich.
An interesting fact and piece titanic history is the amount of money spent to go on this
gigantic ship's maiden voyage.
The people at JSONLINE tell us that the cost of the most expensive First Class Parlor ticket
to New York was $4,350 — about $69,600 today.
You were also more likely to survive the sinking ship if you were rich, too.
Apparently, about 60% of the first-class passengers survived.
5.
Booze and Cigars.
One of the most interesting facts about the Titanic is the amount of beer, wine and cigars
on the ship.
Before it became a sinking ship, the people at JSONLINE once again report that the Titanic
was stocked with 20,000 bottles of beer and stout, 1,500 bottles of wine and 8,000 cigars
for use by first-class passengers.
Don't think you're getting into the smoking lounge if you're a lady though, because the
first-class smoking lounge was for men only.
4.
The Iceberg.
Let's take a moment to share some amazing facts about the thing the ship crashed into
itself, the iceberg.
Apparently, before it was sinking ships, the iceberg was spawned from a glacier in Greenland.
It was about 100 feet tall and according to the Titanic experts at JSONLINE, the iceberg
was warmer than the water Titanic passengers fell into that night.
The ocean waters were 28 degrees, and the iceberg was 32 degrees.
3.
The Ship Crash.
Let's examine some true facts about the ship's crash itself.
According to TITANICFACTS.NET, they were only 4 days into their maiden voyage when the crash
occurred.
They had received 6 ice warnings beforehand, but unfortunately, the Titanic's lookout was
not equipped with binoculars to see icebergs in time to avoid the collision.
When the iceberg was first viewed, it only took 30 seconds for the big ship to crash.
First Officer William Murdoch attempted to turn the ship to swing it past the iceberg
but to no avail.
The most tragic part of it all was if the Titanic had hit the iceberg head-on, they
probably would have survived due to the strength of the bulkheads.
2.
Potential Survivors.
Here are some interesting facts about the Titanic's surviviors after the ship crashed.
According to TITANICFACTS.NET, it took the crew 60 of the 160 minutes to actually get
the lifeboats going.
Although only 31.6% of the crew and passengers survived, apparently as much as 53.4% could've
survived, given the amount of space left in the lifeboats.
Also, as if adding insult to injury, JSONLINE says that the Titanic originally was designed
to carry 64 lifeboats.
To save from cluttering decks, the ship ended up carrying 20 on her maiden voyage.
1.
The Pig Music Box.
Apparently, a woman on the Titanic named Edith Rosenbaum Russell grabbed a music box shaped
like a pig before getting into a lifeboat.
She used the music box to calm the children as the rowed away from the ship sinking.
The pig has become a big part of the ship's story and was even the subject of a children's
book called: "Pig on the Titanic: A True Story".
There you have it, 17 facts about the Titanic that you may not have known before.
What do you know about the Titanic?
Let us know in the comments if we missed some of the interesting facts, some amazing facts,
some true facts or just any facts about the Titanic in general.