We all know who made tons of money producing a on the sinking of the Titanic. James Cameron is so smart that he has released a 3D version of the original movie, timing it for the 100th anniversary of the sinking.
But what exactly sank the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic exactly 100 years ago today? The easiest answer is ‘the iceberg which collided with the White Star Liner (or the other way around)’.
It is like saying ‘I stubbed my toe on a stone’. We step over many stones over the course of a month or an year, but why do we stumble on a particular stone at a particular time?
While I have no answer to a stubbed toe, scientists and accident investigators are equally baffled by what exactly caused the Titanic mishap, its quick sinking and consequent loss of lives.
The explanations range from
(image courtesy www.skyandtelescope.com)
But till May 31st we have a chance to browse many actual documents of the ill fated Liner. 200,000 documents relating to Titanic, including passenger lists, wills, coroner’s inquest, and what not are being made available free online at Ancestry.co.uk. This probably would be the closest many of us can get to the Titanic.
BTW, if you’ve ever wondered how the Liner would have looked with its skin peeled off with exposed innards, I urge you to have a look at this excellent work by CluedoKid at theartofmurder [http://www.theartofmurder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4310&sid=78941a10e01ce555520800eb8e96c236].
Just a preview here -
One more trivia is that in the movie, in one scene, James Cameron didn’t reproduce the original sky picture and instead made it up. On being hounded ever since by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, James Cameron finally relented and in the Titanic 3D release has redone the scene with the actual night sky at that time. It is also the only major technical revision from the original film.
The last trivia is that I am one of the 10 people in the world mentioned in the blog who hasn’t seen the movie and will never watch it - to me maritime disaster movies are anathema.
:-P
But what exactly sank the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic exactly 100 years ago today? The easiest answer is ‘the iceberg which collided with the White Star Liner (or the other way around)’.
It is like saying ‘I stubbed my toe on a stone’. We step over many stones over the course of a month or an year, but why do we stumble on a particular stone at a particular time?
While I have no answer to a stubbed toe, scientists and accident investigators are equally baffled by what exactly caused the Titanic mishap, its quick sinking and consequent loss of lives.
The explanations range from
- use of iron rivets instead of steel rivets in the bow and stern sections popped the seams and flooded the bow too quickly;
- the alleged negligence of the builders Harland and Wolff, when they used plates that were 1/4-inch thinner and rivets that were 1/8-inch thinner than the original plans;
- human error when the helmsman turned the liner the wrong way - instead of passing ‘behind’ the iceberg, he tried to pass ‘in front’, which every mariner knows is stupid;
- human error by the first officer who was on watch when he reversed the engines (stopped by some accounts), which had the effect of the liner loosing steerage and scraping the iceberg;
- human error in the decisions taken by the Chairman of White Star Lines and the Captain of Titanic to ‘sail’ the ship and make land, which caused the stricken ship to take on more water and founder;
- the freak hot summer and mild winter in 1911, which led to more icebergs being calved, allowed to float free, drift far more south into shipping routes;
- rare celestial events which unleashed high ‘spring’ tides that may have dislodged or refloated the grounded or stranded icebergs in Hudson Strait, one of which collided with the ill fated Titanic;
(image courtesy www.skyandtelescope.com)
But till May 31st we have a chance to browse many actual documents of the ill fated Liner. 200,000 documents relating to Titanic, including passenger lists, wills, coroner’s inquest, and what not are being made available free online at Ancestry.co.uk. This probably would be the closest many of us can get to the Titanic.
BTW, if you’ve ever wondered how the Liner would have looked with its skin peeled off with exposed innards, I urge you to have a look at this excellent work by CluedoKid at theartofmurder [http://www.theartofmurder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4310&sid=78941a10e01ce555520800eb8e96c236].
Just a preview here -
One more trivia is that in the movie, in one scene, James Cameron didn’t reproduce the original sky picture and instead made it up. On being hounded ever since by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, James Cameron finally relented and in the Titanic 3D release has redone the scene with the actual night sky at that time. It is also the only major technical revision from the original film.
The last trivia is that I am one of the 10 people in the world mentioned in the blog who hasn’t seen the movie and will never watch it - to me maritime disaster movies are anathema.
:-P
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