Tag Archives: Titanic switch theory

Titanic, Titanic X Files

Titanic Conspiracy Theories-History.com looks at the 3 Craziest

JP Morgan, 1917, Manhattan War Bond Parade
Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress)

Anyone who has studied Titanic will eventually come upon a variety of conspiracy theories to explain what happened that fateful night in 1912. Becky Little over at History.com has put together the top three of the craziest in an article reviewing these theories. The top ones are:

1. JP Morgan planned the disaster to kill off Jacob Astor, Isidor Straus and Benjamin Guggenheim.

2. Titanic was switched with Olympic and never sank.

3. A Mummy’s curse doomed the Titanic

I had not heard of the first one but it connects to the one concerning the Illuminati and Jesuits conspiring to bring about the Titanic disaster. The Titanic switch theory keeps getting dusted off every decade or so but easily disproved since the wreck found clearly is of Titanic and not Olympic. As for the mummy curse, well it is pretty much debunked now but it too occasionally gets new life on the Internet as well. I pretty much stick with the theory that Marvin the Martian was testing out his new ray weapon at the time.

Source: The Craziest Titanic Conspiracy Theories, Explained (History.com,28 Nov 2018)

Miscellaneous, Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Friday Titanic Musings

Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
Titanic Wreck Bow
Image: Public Domain (NOAA-http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)

*There is a petition going round demanding Titanic be raised. It is a daunting task. The wreck is two miles down requiring special equipment to get down that deep. Then there is the fact the rusting forward section is embedded into the sand making it very difficult to dislodge, if possible at all. Most experts argue it it is not. And if if it did work, what would you do with a rusting piece of ship once you brought it up? Sure you could tow it to a dock somewhere but considering it has been down there since 1912, it is not going to be pretty. It is an idea born out of boredom not realizing Titanic is not just in two pieces, but disintegrating beneath the waves. Bringing it up will not slow that down but likely speed that up. Best to leave it exactly where it is. In peace, two miles down.

*The Titanic Letter of Marine Protest is once again making news. Or should I say that press statements are making it news. This insurance form from 1912 includes a statement by Charles Lightoller (the surviving senior Titanic officer) as to what happened and signed by the other surviving officers. Some are saying that Lightoller is trying to play down the disaster for insurance reasons. Which is not possible considering how Titanic was front page news in 1912. For insurance purposes they needed to know the who, what, where, how, and why. And it is up to them to decide to pay or not. What was known was Titanic struck an iceberg and the resulting damage resulted in its sinking. Trying to claim Lightoller was minimizing what happened is nothing more than puffery to sell this item. The insurance was paid and the rest is history.

*Father Frank (Francis) Browne, SJ (1880-1960) was a well regarded photographer, Jesuit priest, and a war hero. Early in his life he developed a love for photography.That would prove fortuitous when he was aboard Titanic and took photographs before disembarking at Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland. Those photos would be reprinted in newspapers and made him well known. In 1916 he joined the British Army as a chaplain where he was wounded five times and received the Military Cross & Bar, and the Croix de Guerre. He took many pictures of his time during the war, collected them into a book, and gave it to his fellow members of the Irish Guard. Taking a trip to Australia to help him recover from ill health offered him a chance to take even more photographs there and of places on the way back home. In 1929 he was appointed to the Retreats and Mission staff of the Irish Jesuits which afforded ample time to take even more photographs. So well known for his photography that Kodak gave him film for life. He passed away in 1960 and as time passed his connection to Titanic and photography was largely forgotten. That is until Father Edward E. O’Donnell SJ, found a large metal trunk that once belonged to Browne containing negatives. The photographs were assembled into books most of which have been published including his Titanic photos. A new book The Life and Lens of Father Browne (E.E. O’Donnell, Messenger Publications) is coming out that focuses on Father Browne. And possibly the first self photograph ever taken on its front cover.

*Hell’s Kitchen has finally hit that moment when it is clear that not one of its contestants can cook well enough to be considered a recipe of the month for that shows calendar. Recently the remaining cooks were told to create a dish that was both stunning for the eyes and palate. Three former contestants from that show, who each have recipes in that calendar, assisted Chef Ramsay decide who won. Each judge could award a maximum of 5 points for each dish. Not one of them achieved anything above a 3, which is simply okay or average. One gal did the unthinkable and put raw flour in her mashed potatoes. One does not need a degree in food science to know that raw flour needs to be cooked. And putting it in mashed potatoes will not thicken it up but make it inedible. Finally the last person up presented a dish whose ingredients she had never cooked or really tasted before. That sent Gordon Ramsay banging his head into the proverbial wall and leaving the judges incredulous. Jason, who is a real donkey’s behind, has gotten steadily nastier on the show. At this stage we ought to be seeing the best rise to the top. Instead we get nothing but average to substandard cooking from people who cannot seem to manage their time or bother to cook their dishes perfectly. This could be the season where Gordon says no one impresses him enough to be hired. On Kitchen Nightmares he walked away from Crazy Amy when he realized he could change nothing. Perhaps this is one season where there will be no winner.

*It never ceases to amaze me when I see a news blurb saying “new information about Titanic sinking!” and it turns out to be a shill for the Titanic/Olympic switch theory. The theory is bogus and demonstrably false. All one has to do is look at the wreck to see it is not Olympic. There is an industry to feeds on such conspiracy theories from saying the moon landing never happened to 9/11 Truthers saying it was a government conspiracy.

*Ghost sighting at Titanic cemetery! A man claims he captured the image of a ghost. Real or imaginary?

Have a great weekend everyone.

Titanic, Titanic II, Titanic Miscellaneous

Friday Mailbag

Every once in while I like to go through search engine terms and occasional emails and toss out answers to questions.

email1. Is Titanic Switch Theory True?
The short answer: no. This particular conspiracy theory has been out there for a long time. It has been resurrected from time to time but once Titanic was found, it was easy to disprove. While both ships had similarities, there were some important differences that were easy to spot. Plus to switch ships would require a level of secrecy that would be nearly impossible to pull off.

2. Did Loraine Allison die on Titanic?
Yes.

3. Why Did Loraine Allison Die?
At one point both mother and daughter were on a lifeboat but the mother choose to get off to find her husband. She also was trying to find baby Trevor.  So both parents died along with Allison.

4. Is Titanic II Really Going To Be Built?
Quite likely. It has big money behind it with Clive Palmer, a Chinese shipyard that will build it, and plans for its construction and fitting out being done. It also being supported by the Chinese government (not by money as far as I know but that is possible)for tourism and propaganda use. There is a reason they are building a Titanic simulator in a landlocked province. They want not only Chinese tourists but ones from all over the world as well.

5. (Battlestar Galactica)What are the differences in characters between old and new show?
The original show characters had a more upbeat tone and generally likable. The new version made the characters dark and in many cases unlikable. One thing I heard on various boards and commentaries on season 3 and later season 4 is the characters had gotten so unlikeable that perhaps the Cylons ought to wipe them out! Take the case of Colonel Tigh. On the original show he was tough but fair second in command to Commander Adama. The new show took its cue from In Harm’s Way in which a character played by Kirk Douglas drank too much, had a wife cheating on him (she dies with her lover at Pearl Harbor), and much later commits rape. Saul Tigh is loyal to Adama but drinks too much, gets into fights with junior officers like Starbuck, often questions the judgment of his commanding officer and junior officers, is part of a secret posse that kills those who collaborated with the Cylons on New Caprica, and kills his wife when he discovers she handed vital information over to the Cylons. That pretty much shows the stark difference in character depictions between the two shows.  And why I think people began to dislike such characters.

6. Did some sort of lunar event make Titanic sink?
There are those that speculate that a combination of things may have contributed to having more ice floating around at the time and making it difficult to see Titanic on the horizon. Such conjectures have some basis in fact but whether they are true or not is still up for debate.

7. Was Titanic really British owned?
Some still try to make the claim the United States had no legal jurisdiction to hear the salvage case on RMS Titanic. They generally cite two facts. One that RMS Titanic is a British registered ship flying the British flag. Second is that the company that owned it, White Star Line, was a British company though a subsidiary of International Mercantile & Marine (IP), an American holding company that was bankrolled by J.P.Morgan & Co. They tend to point out that because the ownership was not direct but through either a holding company or some other creation that RMS Titanic cannot be said to be an American owned ship. An interesting but ultimately fruitless argument. The ultimate owner of White Star Line was an American company, even if it did not exercise direct day-to-day operational control.

8. You really do not believe in ghosts do you?
I have no idea whether they exist or not but when studying possible hauntings one must look rationally at the facts. It is easy to be fooled by sights, sounds, and odors we cannot understand. Also the power of suggestion often comes into play when someone says it is a possible haunted exhibit. One must first gather evidence from people, examine carefully the place where it allegedly occurs, and test possible explanations. Sometimes it is easy and other times takes a bit of detective work to find out why you hear strange noises from the basement (a boiler not working right) or the sound of a child crying from an empty home or open structure (kittens mewing can sound like babies when the conditions are right), or if things are suddenly moving around (often surveillance reveals someone moving things about or vibrations cause things fall from shelves).

That’s all for now!