RMS Titanic (right) alongside RMS Olympic (left) March 1912. Harland & Wolff
When it comes to the Titanic, Leonardo De Caprio, Kate Winslet, and lines like “Jack, I’m flying!” have overshadowed some incredible facts about the aptly named vessel. For instance, did you know the Titanic was built alongside two other massive ships, the Olympic and Britannic, since building a single hulking vessel couldn’t justify the incredible costs?
How about the fact that the ship featured its own newspaper along with two barbershops, a Turkish bath, and a heated swimming pool? Not bad for 1912! From the incredible undertaking of building the Titanic to the inevitable infamous sinking, here are some interesting morsels regarding the historic craft.
Why build one when you can build three?
The Build
For just over two years, the Titanic sat at Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast as the 882-foot long ode to luxury came together. For reference, one of the largest cruise ships today measures 1,200 feet long. It took an astounding $183 million (in today’s money) and 3 million rivets to assemble the 52,310-ton behemoth. The anchor alone weighed 16 tons and required a twenty-horse entourage just to deliver the enormous leaded mud hook.
Considering the size of the project, the accident rate could have been much worse. Public Domain
Her Maiden Dip
When she finally entered the water on May 31, 1911, in Belfast, an estimated 100,000 people showed up to witness the launch which took just over a minute. It’s worth noting that 100,000 accounts for roughly a third of Belfast's entire population at the time! Only eight people died during her construction, which for the early 20th century, remains staggering. Most died falling approximately 130 feet from her deck or the accompanying staging.
Many ways to die on a project like the Titanic.
Amazing Amenities
Nearly as awesome as the Titanic’s bulk was her incredible amenities, especially for the first-class passengers. The aristocrats dropped roughly $1000 for a first-class ticket and about $25,000 for a parlor suite. The estimated wealth of those blue bloods swelled to over $500 million with John Jacob Astor IV and his $87 million taking the top spot. To his credit, he died following the protocol of women and children first.
For their money, the 1st class could select from over 20,000 bottles of beer, 1,500 bottles of wine, not to mention over 8,000 cigars onboard. They could also play squash, read in one of two libraries, or relax in the tea garden. Of course, everyone was not so lucky…
One of the ship's four stacks was just for show. wikipedia
The Other Side
Naturally, for every first-class, there’s always a coach counterpart. The roughly 700 proletariats on board paid between $5 to $10 but a lot of sharing was involved. Perhaps the most distressing fact was that those 700 or so passengers were forced to share just two bathtubs, which probably led to some long lines.
One of the Titanic's sister ships sunk before it turned 5 as well.
The Iceberg
Obviously, the sinking of the Titanic will always remain the most famous part of her story. Anything else would be akin to McDonald’s being famous for the toys. The iceberg, estimated between 200 and 400 feet long with just 50 to 100 feet visible, was spotted at 11:30 pm on April 14th.
Numerous factors contributed to Titanic’s downfall. An optical illusion, thanks to atmospheric conditions, a poorly installed warning system, and weakened steel caused by a massive fire that burned for weeks prior to the Titanic departure were involved. It took about 2 hours and 40 minutes for the colossal ship to go under and in that time some of the most head-shaking decisions in history occurred.
The most famous sinking in nautical history. usatoday
Going Under
The first incomprehensible decision was not to release the lifeboats until a full hour after the initial collision. The crew had only run a single safety drill and more regrettably, canceled a scheduled drill the day of the ship’s demise. Most famously, they lacked the prerequisite number of lifeboats due to the belief that the ship could never sink and, therefore, they would have enough time to ferry passengers off.
The cold waters could kill a person in under an hour. However, one man claimed he survived for over two thanks to copious amounts of whiskey.
Abandoning Ship
Ultimately, it's difficult to judge how people would act in an emergency situation but the people of the Titanic made the most baffling decisions. Mail clerks, ridiculously, decided that moving the mail to the upper decks was of the utmost importance. The eight-member band did really continue playing as the ship went down. The last song they played was believed to be "Nearer, My God, to Thee."
However, American businessman Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet, Victor Giglio take the cake for the baffling decision to change into their best evening attire after learning the ship was, in fact, sinking. As Guggenheim said, "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen."
