Category Archives: Titanic

Wednesday Titanic News-Harland & Wolff; CEO Titanic Sub Made Unfortunate Joke

Harland & Wolff David and Goliath crane in Belfast, 2006
Plastic Jesus (Dave) via Wikimedia Commons

Taylor, Guy. “Harland and Wolff: Titanic Shipbuilder Sailing to Sunnier Shores.” MSN, 6 Mar. 2024, www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/harland-and-wolff-titanic-shipbuilder-sailing-to-sunnier-shores/ar-BB1jqeev.

Harland and Wolff, the shipyard that built the Titanic, looks to be sailing to sunnier shores just a few years after it was saved from administration. The Belfast-based firm was named as the preferred bidder for a £120m contract to build a new port for the Falkland Islands yesterday.The two-year project involves installing new floating pontoons to improve facilities at the port, which is based in the Islands’ capital Stanley.

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Image: OceanGate

Amalaraj, Perkin. “Doomed Titan Sub’s CEO Joked ‘what Could Go Wrong’ Before Disaster.” Mail Online, 6 Mar. 2024, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13164101/CEO-doomed-Titanic-expedition-joked-wrong-eerie-radio-interview-weeks-disaster-new-documentary-reveals-experts-passengers-torturous-moments-Titan.html.

The CEO of the doomed Titanic exploration company whose submarine imploded, killing all five people onboard including him, eerily joked ‘what could go wrong?’ just weeks before the disaster.  Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, gave an interview to St John’s Radio, a Canadian radio show just a few weeks before the ill-fated Titan sub imploded during an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in June 2023. He coolly joked during the interview: ‘What could go wrong?’

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Weekend Titanic News

Image: OceanGate

It looks like the strange knocking sounds heard by rescuers, which some believe was done by those on the Titan, was something else. They are not sure what caused the sounds, but they did happen.

Reyes, Ronny. “Eerie ‘knocking’ Sounds From Titan Sub That Gave Rescuers Hope Heard in New Audio.” New York Post, 28 Feb. 2024, nypost.com/2024/02/28/world-news/eerie-knocking-sounds-from-titan-sub-heard-in-new-audio.

The mysterious knocking sounds heard beneath the Atlantic Ocean that gave false hope that the Titan submersible and its occupants could be rescued has been revealed in a haunting new audio clip. After the underwater craft lost contact with its mothership on a journey to the Titanic wreck last summer, reports on the second day of the frantic search said that banging noises were reverberating in the depths at 30-minute intervals. An upcoming British documentary from Channel 5, “The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute,” played the audio for the public for the first time, which sounds like a person “knocking” against metal.

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Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

The full story of Nellie Becker and later how she and the kids got off Titanic is quite fascinating indeed.

Jessica Gray, Bureau County History Center. “How a Mom, 3 Kids Escaped Doomed Titanic.” Shaw Local, 28 Feb. 2024, www.shawlocal.com/illinois-valley/2024/02/28/how-a-mom-3-kids-escaped-doomed-titanic.

Nellie recalled four sailors carried her into the dining saloon where she saw her two youngest children being tended to by the doctor. Both Ruth and her mother would state one of their most vivid memories was the sight of scores of women standing at the rail looking out to sea, searching in vain for their husbands, after the last survivors were brought onto the Carpathia.

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

RMS Titanic, Inc is planning another dive to Titanic this year. Not to bring anything up, but to scan the wreck and see what has happened to it.

Adigun, Olalekan. “Reviving the Titanic: A New Expedition Sets Sail to Uncover Its Underwater Mysteries.” BNN, 26 Feb. 2024, bnnbreaking.com/history/reviving-the-titanic-a-new-expedition-sets-sail-to-uncover-its-underwater-mysteries.

The forthcoming expedition by RMS Titanic, Inc., in collaboration with leading imaging companies and C-Innovation, represents a significant leap forward in underwater exploration. The deployment of cutting-edge imaging technology and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) will allow for high-resolution documentation of the Titanic wreck and its expansive debris field. This endeavor is not just about capturing images; it’s about conducting a detailed analysis to understand the current state of the wreck and identify artifacts for potential future recovery.

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This is one of those “while looking for one thing we found something else” kind of story. At least the shipwreck has been found.

Smith, Stephen. “Shipwreck Found Over a Century After Bodies of Crewmembers Washed Ashore: ‘120-year-old Mystery’ Solved.” CBS News, 26 Feb. 2024, www.cbsnews.com/news/shipwreck-ss-nemesis-1904-found-off-australia-120-year-old-mystery-solved.

In July 1904, the steamship SS Nemesis was transporting coal to Melbourne, Australia, when it ran into a powerful storm and vanished. All 32 people on board were considered lost, and in the weeks that followed, the bodies of crewmembers and debris from the iron-hulled ship washed ashore, but the location of the 240-foot vessel remained a mystery. Until now. The ship has finally been identified more than a century later. It was initially spotted when a company searching for sunken shipping containers came across the wreck by accident, the New South Wales Ministry of Environment and Heritage announced this weekend.

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You do have to wonder, when you see how staggeringly huge these new cruise ships are, at what point is it too big?

Allison, Jenny. “Side-by-side Photo of New and Old Cruise Ships Sparks Conversation About Future of Cruise Industry: ‘This Should Have Stopped When the Titanic Sank’” The Cool Down, 26 Feb. 2024, www.thecooldown.com/green-home/cruise-ships-photo-difference-dock-size.

 In the photo, both ships — identified by another post in the r/pics forum as Royal Caribbean’s 1997 Rhapsody of the Seas and the company’s considerably larger 2022-launched Wonder of the Seas (identifiable by the name on the stern) — are moored at the same dock, clearly highlighting the egregious difference in their sizes.“Just give it a few decades, at this rate they’ll end up having to install shuttles,” said one user wryly. Another put it bluntly: “This should have stopped when the Titanic sank.”

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And apparently some wild tales about Titanic are out there on social media having to be swatted down again.

 “Titanic Sinking Conspiracy Theory on Social Media Debunked by Experts.” Irish Star, 21 Feb. 2024, www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/titanic-sinking-conspiracy-theory-bandied-32179322.

A conspiracy theory on X that suggested that the Titanic sinking was an inside job has been debunked by experts. “Rumors are circulating that they sunk the Titanic to kill the powerful men on board who opposed a central bank,” the post from Matt Wallace read. A similar rumor was circulated on social media site Telegram in 2022. But according to Snopes, the fact-checking website, these claims are baseless. While the Telegram post was from 2022, the conspiracy theory had been doing the rounds for years before that date.

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Friday Titanic News (23 Feb 2024)

Happy Friday everyone!  We are now steaming full speed towards March. Winter is still making itself felt where I live (lots of rain recently) to places where snow is still falling. The Spring Equinox is not that far off either, but winter has been known to go on after that astronomical end to winter.

Here is some Titanic and related news you might find interesting.

It is not often one sees a negative review of a Titanic exhibition (mostly complaints about cost and crowds), but this is one of them about a Titanic exhibition near Chicago.

The Grand Staircase of the RMS Olympic
Photo:Public Domain (Wikipedia)

Vitali, Marc. “Does It Sail or Sink? Exhibition on the Titanic Launches at Skokie Mall: Review.” WTTW News, 20 Feb. 2024, news.wttw.com/2024/02/20/does-it-sail-or-sink-exhibition-titanic-launches-skokie-mall-review.

There is plenty to see here, but this exhibition is more of a cabin berth than a stateroom. It will refresh your memory of who’s who in the drama, and it should excite the imagination of younger visitors with an interest in the subject. Hardcore history buffs would do better at their local library. One small but significant complaint — I noticed a grammatical error on an information card inside a case in the first gallery. Then I found another mistake. And others. Apostrophes were misused, “then” was used for “than” — that sort of thing. Apparently, the proofreader went down with the ship.

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Over in Bristol (UK), there is a Titanic exhibition going on though not as big as its predecessors.

 “Salvaged Titanic Artefacts Resurface in Limited Exhibition.” Bristol24/7, 18 Feb. 2024, www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/salvaged-titanic-artefacts-resurface-in-limited-exhibition.

A limited exhibition showcasing “never seen before” items salvaged from the Titanic’s wreckage is underway in Bristol. The Titanic Exhibition at Paintworks in Brislington invites visitors to explore Bristol’s connection to the renowned passenger liner, learn about the people that travelled on board and come face to face with items from the wreck site. The display is curated by White Star Heritage, experts in collecting and preserving Titanic and White Star Line ship artefacts, aiming to breathe life into the ship’s story more than 100 years after its sinking in the north Atlantic.

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RMS Titanic pictured in Queenstown, Ireland 11 April 1912
Source:Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh Ireland/Wikimedia Commons

I have not seen this yet, but judging from all the digital ink being written about it, the creator has certainly gotten a lot of attention. There are actually quite a few Titanic simulations out there (YouTube has a lot of them).  From the witness statements, the sinking was more dramatic than has ever been depicted on screen.

O’sullivan, John. “Recreation of Titanic Sinking Goes Viral With Social Media Users Horrified.” Irish Star, 17 Feb. 2024, www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/titanic-sinking-video-recreated-footage-32144323.

The story of the Titanic is known all over the world. The 1996 James Cameron blockbuster movie was hugely successful at the box office, but does it show what really happened when the ship sank? Science Girl’s simulation suggests that the real sinking was much more frightening than we could ever imagine. Cameron, who made the film, said he only got “half right” how the ship sank, even though he had lots of experts to help him.

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Harland & Wolff David and Goliath crane in Belfast, 2006
Plastic Jesus (Dave) via Wikimedia Commons

This is certainly good news for Harland & Wolff.  It has had some very lean years that made it look like it might even be shuttered at one point. They have managed to bounce back and this one famous shipbuilder is getting  a contract to refurbish a cruise ship.

M, Frank. “Historic Shipyard Behind Titanic Will Refurbish the Next World Cruise Ship.” Cruise Radio – Daily Updates on the Cruise Industry, 16 Feb. 2024, cruiseradio.net/world-cruise-ship-titanic-shipyard.

The startup recently acquired the 924-passenger MS Braemar from Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. Renamed Villa Vie Odyssey, Villa Vie has secured a dry dock slot for a multimillion-dollar refurbishment. The Harland & Wolff shipyard has over a century of history and famously built the Titanic eighty years earlier. It undergoes a 10-week refurbishment program. The company announced deals with various contractors for transforming and managing shipboard functions. The ship was last refurbished in 2019.

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Here is an interesting video detailing the sinking of the Lusitania.

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Finally to close out this Friday, retro is becoming cool again. Some creative individuals are going back and making updated opening scenes of television shows done back in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Using updated special effects and other things, you can make an opening like it would be shown today. Here is one for one of my favorites, the classic Battlestar Galactica.

Friday Titanic News

Happy Friday everyone! Well we are past the midpoint of February and now heading down the road to March. Valentine’s Day has come and gone. And Lent has begun for many Christians. Here are some news stories you might find interesting.

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Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912.
Public Domain(Wikipedia)

Total Croatia. “Meet Europe’s  Only Titanic Life Jacket – in Rijeka.” Total Croatia, 15 Feb. 2024, total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/titanic-rijeka.

This is how we get to the most interesting part of the story: one of the Croatian crew members, the 18-year-old waiter Josip Car from Rijeka, picked up one of the life jackets discarded by the castaways as Carpathia was making its way back to New York. He took this reminder of that fateful night back to Rijeka and donated it to the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral in 1938. It’s not exactly clear how this iconic item ended up in storage, forgotten for decades, but fortunately, fate had it that two experts on the Titanic case visited the museum on one occasion, looking to gather more information on Carpathia.

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Fraga, Kaleena. “‘Titanic of the Alps’ Shipwreck From 1933 to Be Raised.” All That’s Interesting, 11 Feb. 2024, allthatsinteresting.com/santis-titanic-of-the-alps.

Ninety years ago, a steamship called the Säntis was sunk in the middle of Lake Constance. Like the more famous Titanic, its stern lifted as water rushed in. The Swiss flag at its tip gave one last rustle, and then the ship slipped beneath the waves. Now, plans are afoot to raise the vessel.

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Wood, Alexandra. “The Enduring Mystery of Hull’s Titanic as City Remembers 50th Anniversary of Her Disappearance.” Yorkshire Post, 9 Feb. 2024, www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/the-enduring-mystery-of-hulls-titanic-as-city-remembers-50th-anniversary-of-her-disappearance-4512149.

It was Hull’s Titanic – an “unsinkable” supertrawler whose loss became one of the most enduring maritime mysteries of modern times. When Gaul sank 50 years ago this weekend in the Barents Sea, in the Arctic Ocean, during a force nine gale, with all 36 crew, some found it hard to accept that nature was to blame.

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Image: OceanGate

“Documents Detail OceanGate’s Battle With Whistleblower Years Before Fatal Titan Submersible Implosion.” ABC News, 8 Feb. 2024, abcnews.go.com/US/run-risk-documents-detail-oceangates-battle-whistleblower-years/story?id=106965104.

Years before an OceanGate submersible tragically imploded on its way to the wreckage of the Titanic, a former employee warned company executives about the inefficiency of their hull design and the company’s testing methods. The employee, who worked on the predecessor to the vessel that imploded, claimed his warnings went “dismissed on several occasions.” The search for OceanGate’s submersible, Titan 2, after it disappeared with five people onboard in June 2023 and the subsequent discovery that it imploded made headlines worldwide.

And now for your Friday entertainment. I opened the Wayback Machine and found the wonderful song Buena Sera sung by the great Dean Martin. Enjoy!

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (14 Feb 1929)

Al Capone Mug Shot 1939
Al Capone mug shot, May 16 1929, Chicago, Illinois
Source: FBI

On 14 February 1929, the world was shocked by a massacre that took place in Chicago’s North Side. Gang warfare had become part of life in Chicago during the 1920’s as gangs jockeyed for control of the lucrative illegal trades in alcohol, gambling, and prostitution. The massacre that took place would make political leaders realize that Chicago was in serious trouble. And of one the most notorious of them was Al Capone.

Al Capone had risen to power over the years by taking over his rival’s crime rackets by force. In 1924 16 gang related murders were recorded and continued to grow each year. Since the problem was deemed a local and state issue, the U.S. federal government had little jurisdiction to investigate. While the bootlegging was a violation of federal law, none of the other crime operations were. Capone had pretty much bought control of Chicago through bribing police officers, judges, and politicians. Even if someone got elected on the promise to go after him, it was difficult with so many already on his side.

One of Capone’s major rivals was the Irish gangster George “Bugs” Moran who ran the bootlegging operation of a garage at 2122 North Clark Street. Gunmen dressed as police officers entered the garage and pretended to arrest them. The fake cops lined up the seven men facing the wall and opened fire killing them all (one did survive but died afterwards). At least 70 rounds of ammunition were used in the massacre. Moran was not there but he and others quickly blamed Al Capone, but he was conveniently in Florida at the time. No one was ever brought to trial for the murders and to this day remains one of the biggest unsolved crimes in history.

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre ended any major opposition to Capone in Chicago. The North Side gang never recovered its power or place though Moran kept some control of it before leaving the city and his gang behind in the 1930’s. Capone was now the undisputed boss of the Chicago syndicate and was dubbed as Public Enemy No. 1 by the press. The massacre got the attention of federal authorities who began a grand jury to look into it. Capone did not appear to testify as ordered in March 1929 but did later resulting in his arrest for contempt of court. He was out on bond when down in Philadelphia he was arrested in May for having concealed weapons. He was sentenced to prison but ran his operation from there until he was released on good behavior nine months later. He would later be convicted of contempt of court in February 1931 and sent to Cook County Jail for six months.

The next phase of the action against Capone was to hit him in his operations and to investigate his sources of money for tax purposes. The famous Eliott Ness and his team tried to strike directly by raiding and shutting down his operations. The other operation was the investigation of the sources of his income. Special Agent Frank Wilson and others in the Internal Revenue Service did what is called forensic accounting to find out exactly how much Capone was earning from his illicit operations. It meant a lot of tracking down information and getting witnesses to provide key information, but it paid off. Wilson was able to show that Capone was failing to report his income as required by law and thus get him indicted and later convicted of tax evasion. To anyone watching, it must have been surreal. While everyone applauds Ness and his Untouchables, it was ultimately Capone’s failure to pay his taxes that got him sent to jail. He never recovered his place with the Chicago outfit and ultimately, because of syphilis, became an invalid. He was released from jail in 1939 and died a recluse in his Florida home in 1947. Public Enemy No I was no more.

Sources

“St. Valentine’s Day Massacre – Victims, Evidence and Suspects | HISTORY.” HISTORY, 9 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/crime/saint-valentines-day-massacre.

 “Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre | Victims, Al Capone, Bugs Moran, and Prohibition.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/event/Saint-Valentines-Day-Massacre.

Wednesday Titanic News: Titanic Band, Recreating Titanic Meal, and Conspiracy Theories

Austin, Jeannie. “Wallace Hartley and the Band of the Titanic. They Played on as the Ship Sank Beneath? Them.” Pinterest, 31 Mar. 2019, www.pinterest.com/pin/16114511153415928.

One of the lingering images of Titanic is of the band. We know that they were on the deck of the ship playing music as people got in the lifeboats. There is some disagreement over whether they actually sang or played Nearer My God to Thee or a tune that was similar. However, no one disputes they were playing music and that they were heroes for doing it. None of them survived and only the band leader, Wallace Hartley, had his body returned. With him was his violin, which was auctioned off some years back to a collector.

Over at Classical Music, they explore the band and its history. One important note to remember, because it shocked many later, was that the band was not actually employed by White Star. They were hired for that sailing through an agent, who also owned some of their items they had with them. Since they were not employees, their surviving families could not seek any compensation from White Star. Ironically the company that they worked for actually sent notices to the families demanding compensation for company items lost in the sinking. Needless to say, the press ran with it causing lots of anger against the company.

At any rate, this story is worth a read as it reminds us of this band and its place in Titanic lore.

Classical-Music.com, Feb 2024. Classical Musicians of the Titanic: The Story of the Doomed Ship’s Musical Heroes. www.classical-music.com/articles/titanic-band.

Thanks in large part to the crass insistence of the ship’s owner, White Star Line, that cargo rate be paid for transporting recovered bodies back across the Atlantic, Titanic bandmaster Hartley was the sole victim of the disaster to be returned to the UK. The hearse bearing his rosewood casket wound a 59-mile mourner-lined journey from Liverpool docks to the Bethel Chapel in Colne, Hartley’s home town, where the funeral service took place. The crowd in and around the chapel was estimated at 40,000, half as much again as the town’s population.

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Titanic Lunch Menu 14 April 1912
Photo: AP

One item that people comment on is how much food people ate during the Edwardian Era. Mostly this was at dinner when you might have 7 or 8 courses and sometimes a lot more. And if you ate in First or Second class, you would be assured your meals would be exquisite. Dinner was a very formal affair in those classes, so you always dressed up (to show up in casual clothes would be unheard of) for it. And you be served an elegant meal that might be up to 12 courses served over a period of hours. You didn’t just eat. You socialized with everyone at your table and when you have such a high caliber group of people, no doubt the conversation was interesting at times.

Each year you see recreations of what was served on Titanic. This year Williamsburg Families will be holding a full 12 course meal on April 12, 2024. This looks to be quite the recreation as the menu looks like what Edwardians would have had on Titanic. I am not shilling for them, and it is not cheap either at $265 per person. So if you have the money, time, and will be near Williamsburg in Pennsylvania, it might be worth it.

“Enjoy the Last 1st Class 12 Course Meal on the R.M.S. Titanic Reimagined by the Chefs at the Rockefeller Room – April 12, 2024.” Williamsburg Families, 6 Feb. 2024, www.williamsburgfamilies.com/rms-titanic-12-course-meal-at-williamsburg-inn.

“In honor of the Titanic and it’s world class Hospitality Brigade of French train chefs and service team, the Rockefeller Room’s Chefs and Restaurant staff bring a tantalizing recreation with a bit of reimagination of the featured last meal served to the First-Class passengers the evening before the iceberg created one of the most impactful moments in history. Prepare as we call you aboard for a Rockefeller Room exclusive twelve-course meal not soon to be forgotten.”

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Art on the Titanic is one of those smaller stories, yet important. Some priceless works of art such as a jeweled edition of The Rubyiat were lost when it sank. Other things did to and over at the Artlyst, the go over the various things that were lost and still sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic.

Artlyst, 3 Feb 2024. “The Lost Art and Priceless Chattels Aboard the Titanic.” artlyst.com/features/the-lost-art-and-priceless-chattels-aboard-the-titanic.

The tragedy of the Titanic not only claimed lives but also devoured treasures of immeasurable worth. Among the lost artefacts, a jeweled edition of The Rubaiyat, adorned with 1,500 precious stones set in gold, is a testament to human opulence and artistic craftsmanship. Sold for a princely sum of $1,900, this luxurious tome was destined for an American buyer, its journey abruptly halted by fate’s cruel hand.

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There are all kinds of conspiracy theories from the wild to the truly bizarre about Titanic. You have supernatural ones (like the mummy curse), switched ship theories, submarine attack, the Illuminati and more. Perhaps the only ones yet to be explored are ones involving aliens or Atlantis. For me, I subscribe to the theory that Marvin the Martian was experimenting with a new weapon and Titanic got in the way. Anyway, over at Mental Floss they took a look at ten of the most popular ones. They have all been debunked but they still persist out there.

10 Wild Conspiracy Theories About the Sinking of the ‘Titanic,’ Explained.” Mental Floss, 2 Feb. 2024, www.mentalfloss.com/posts/titanic-conspiracy-theories.

Conspiracy theories often emerge in the wake of tragic events, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the death of Princess Diana. It’s no surprise, then, that the most famous shipwreck in history—the sinking of the RMS Titanic on its first voyage in 1912, in which an estimated 1500 people died—has its fair share of conspiracy theories. Here are 10 theories that dispute the widely accepted facts about the Titanic tragedy.

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Monday Titanic News: Cost of Taking Titanic Today;Robert Ballard Gets A Ship Named for Him

RMS Olympic First Class Lounge (1912)
Photo: Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

 “People Are Stunned by How Expensive the Cheapest Room on the Titanic Was — ‘The Economy Is so Bad I Can’t Afford a Bed on a Boat That Sank.’” YourTango, 27 Jan. 2024, www.yourtango.com/money/people-stunned-how-expensive-cheapest-room-titanic-cost.

The most luxurious accommodations, a “first-class parlour suite” complete with its own veranda, like the room Kate Winslet’s Rose DeWitt Bukater, her shrew of a mother and her snake of a fiancé had in the movie, went for 512 British pounds, 6 shillings, and 7 pence.  That’s a cool $49,680 in today’s money — the sort of spot billionaires like the Kardashians and Bezoses of our day would tuck into for the Titanic’s roughly seven-day trip from Southampton, U.K. to New York City. Knocking off the private veranda but keeping all the other finery cuts your ticket roughly in half to $24,033 for you mere millionaires out there, and if you still want first-class fare but don’t mind not having any windows you can come all the way down to $2,573. A bargain!

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Image: Public Domain (NOAA)

 “SECNAV Celebrates the Naming of USNS Robert Ballard (T-AGS 67)(Press Release).” United States Navy, www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/3658452/secnav-celebrates-the-naming-of-usns-robert-ballard-t-ags-67.

“…tenured professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography and National Geographic Explorer at Large, Ballard is widely known as a discoverer of the final resting place of the RMS Titanic. The name selection of T-AGS 67 follows the tradition of naming survey ships after explorers, oceanographers and distinguished marine surveyors.”

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 “Titanic in Colour: Channel 4 to Air Documentary Set to Colourise the Black and White World of the RMS Titanic.” NationalWorld, 26 Jan. 2024, www.nationalworld.com/culture/television/titanic-in-colour-channel-4-documentary-interview-with-survivors-when-did-the-titanic-sink-when-is-it-on-4493545.

But thanks to painstaking research and unique colourisation techniques, the world’s most famous sunken ship will be presented in full colour with “Titanic In Color.” The series, set to air on Channel 4 later this year, brings in living colour a brand new look on the cruise liner that was meant to become synonymous with sailing in style and glamour, rather than becoming a word to describe a colossal disaster or failure as it has been used for many years later.

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Friday Titanic News

Public Domain via pxhere.com

One of the oddities of studying shipwrecks is what is not damaged. Consider champagne. A alcoholic beverage often served in festive events is a highly pressurized drink. One opens it making sure you have it pointed away from anyone (or breakable objects) and doing it slowly.  Of course there is a more daring way of doing it by  sword. This technique is not for the faint of heart since if you screw it up, well,  all that wonderful champagne gets wasted.  There are some videos on YouTube , but this one is pretty good.

Regarding  the Titanic, champagne bottles found and brought up were found fully intact (there was some damage to the cork) and not imploded . This has been found true in other shipwrecks.  So how come this did not happen since Titanic is 2 miles down? Well the folks at IFL Science have an answer. And it not just sturdy glass.

 “Why Did Champagne Bottles on the Doomed Titanic Not Implode?” IFLScience, 25 Jan. 2024, www.iflscience.com/why-did-champagne-bottles-on-the-titanic-not-implode-72621.

So how did the bottle escape this fate? People have suggested that part of the answer is the increased pressure inside the champagne bottle, caused by the carbon dioxide within it. The pressure inside a champagne bottle is higher than you’d imagine, going up to around 6 bar (90 psi), with 1 bar being around atmospheric pressure at sea level. Today’s champagne is kept in bottles that can withstand up to 20 bar (290 psi), while a metal fastener is often used to keep the cork in place.

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Titanic Belfast (side view)
Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)

Both Ireland and the UK were hit pretty hard when storm Isha blew through with high winds and lots of rain. In Belfast, the Titanic Exhibition roof was damaged so it is now closed to the end of the month.

 “Titanic Belfast Closed Until the End of the Month Following Storm Damage.” BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, 25 Jan. 2024, www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/titanic-belfast-closed-until-the-end-of-the-month-following-storm-damage/a1458788722.html.

Titanic Belfast will remain closed to the public until the end of the month due to damage due to Storm Isha. Damage was caused to the roof of the museum building on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard during the storm, which wreaked havoc across Northern Ireland earlier this week. Repairs were impeded due to further inclement weather.

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I am not sure totally what to make of this story. It is about a guy who apparently is on a nine month world cruise and it is being heavily reported on social media. I guess all the interactions and places they are visiting warrants lots of comments. From what I gather, some think it could be a reality show! At any rate one of the cruise passengers was at lunch and commented that the ship was only 100 feet longer than Titanic. Well that caused stunned silence, utensils to drop, and a waiter to gasp. And then a passenger leaned over and said that Titanic is not mentioned aboard the ship. The TikToker was quite surprised at this unwritten rule and sort of flabbergasted it would be an issue. Now he did not post the video of this actually happening, so we have to take his word for it. Then again airlines do not show disaster movies-especially ones with airplanes-on long flights. Perhaps cruise lines might prefer you don’t mention it and probably avoid stocking such films on the onboard library. In that case the old clunker Raise The Titanic movie (excellent novel by Clive Cussler but a terrible adaptation) probably would be a better alternative.

“Passenger Discovers the One Word You Shouldn’t Say on a Cruise Is ‘Titanic.’” 10play.com, 26 Jan. 2024, 10play.com.au/theproject/articles/passenger-discovers-the-one-word-you-shouldnt-say-on-a-cruise-is-titanic/tpa240126jlrqp

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And that is a wrap for this Friday. Have a great weekend everyone.

 

Thursday Titanic News: Rare Postal Slip Comes Up for Auction, Dogs on Titanic, and Why No Human Remains at Titanic Wreck

Rare Piece of Titanic History up for Auction at Alex Cooper Auctioneers.” Baltimore Fishbowl, 22 Jan. 2024, baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/rare-piece-of-titanic-history-up-for-auction-at-alex-cooper-auctioneers.

A rare piece of Titanic history will be up for bid later this month during a live auction on Jan. 27 by Towson’s Alex Cooper Auctioneers. The object available for auction is what’s called a “facing slip” from the mail room of the Titanic, the ocean liner that sank on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on the night of April 14-15, 1912. A facing slip was used by postal clerks for sorting mail. Each slip had a pre-printed destination, a handstamp that showed the ship’s postmark, name, and the name of the clerk who handled the mail.

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Video: “Dramatic Tales From the Sinking of the Titanic Retold in New Exhibition.” ABC News, 22 Jan. 2024, www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-22/dramatic-tales-from-the-sinking-of-the-titanic-in-new-exhibition/103377430.

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 “The Dogs of the Titanic.” Canine Chronicle, caninechronicle.com/current-articles/the-dogs-of-the-titanic.

Twelve dogs were confirmed as passengers on the Titanic, but other reports claim more. The original Titanic plans placed the dog kennels below on F Deck near the third class galley, and this is what is usually reported. However, many historians argue that the kennels were ultimately placed on the boat deck, in the area originally earmarked as the second class cloak room. Photographs of the area show open barred windows for ventilation, and this location on the boat deck, rather than below decks, would allow the dogs to be walked outside and make for easier clean-up.When the ship began to sink, somebody let all the dogs loose. The dogs added to the general chaos as they ran fore and aft on the listing deck of the sinking ship.

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 “‘My Husband and Son Died on the Titanic Submarine.’” Mail Online, 14 Jan. 2024, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12958097/My-husband-son-died-Titanic-submarine.html.

Christine Dawood still can’t quite believe that her husband of 20 years, Shahzada, and their precious son, Suleman, are no longer with her. It is now seven months since she last saw them climbing into the Titan submersible for, what she calls, ‘the big one’ in terms of this remarkable family’s many adventures. Last June, one hour and 45 minutes into the dive in the North Atlantic to view the wreck of the Titanic, off the coast of Newfoundland, the Titan lost communication with its support ship, the Polar Prince.

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COSI announces new Titanic artifact exhibit. WTTE, 10 January 2024. https://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/cosi-announces-new-titanic-artifact-exhibit-central-columbus-ohio-january-2024-kids-family-fun

Your favorite local science center has announced an upcoming exhibit that will bring the history of the world’s most famous ocean-liner to life. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will be at COSI from March 9 until Sept. 2 this year. More than 350 real artifacts from the Titanic will be on display at this exhibit, as well as full-scale room recreations.

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Glassman, T. (2024, January 9). The first “Titanic” movie was shot in 1912 — and starred a woman who survived the sinking. The Messenger, 9 Jan 2024. https://themessenger.com/entertainment/first-titanic-movie-shot-1912-starred-woman-who-survived

One month after the Titanic sank, Saved From the Titanic premiered in theaters. Billed as the “startling story of the sea’s greatest tragedy,” the film debuted to packed audiences. Though no surviving copy of the movie remains, a review from Moving Picture News declared, “Miss Dorothy Gibson, a heroine of the shipwreck and one of the most talked-of survivors, tells in this motion picture masterpiece of the enthralling tragedy among the icebergs.”

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McAleavy, S. (2024, January). The Real Reason Why No Human Remains Have Been Found on Titanic Shipwreck. MSN. Retrieved January 19, 2024, from https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-real-reason-why-no-human-remains-have-ever-been-found-on-the-titanic-shipwreck/ar-AA1mywgz

Also, and more importantly, it’s the depth at which none of the remains of the 1,500 victims were found. As deep-sea explorer Robert Ballard explained, below 900 meters at this temperature is the carbonate compensation level. This means that once the bones are exposed after being ingested by fish and other marine scavengers, they begin to dissolve. In just a few years, they disappear completely. This is why, a century later, no remains of the Titanic castaways have been found.

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Remembering History: Siege of Leningrad Broken (12 Jan 1943)

 

The fire of anti-aircraft guns deployed in the neighborhood of St. Isaac’s cathedral during the defense of Leningrad (now called St. Petersburg, its pre-Soviet name) in 1941.
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

After German troops invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, one of their top cities to take control of was Leningrad (former St. Petersburg, then Petrograd). As the second largest city in the Soviet Union (and its capital under the Tsar’s), it held significant importance. In August 1941, German troops surrounded the city so nothing could get in or out. This also cut off the Leningrad-Moscow railway. The residents built anti-tank fortifications and defended the city with the resources they had. Hitler decided to wait them out in a siege hoping to break down the will of the residents. Some limited supplies were able to get in but not enough for all its residents. Starvation, disease, and injuries mounted up. They did manage to evacuate about a million elderly and young people out of the city but that left 2 million to deal with the dire situation.

Food was rationed and any open space was used to plant food.  On 12 January 1943, Soviet troops punched a hole rupturing the German siege allowing supplies to come in one Lake Ledoga. A Soviet counteroffensive on 27 Jan 1944 brought the siege to a complete end after 872 days. The Russian army lost, captured or missing 1,017,881 and 2,418,185 wounded or sick. 642,000 civilians died during the siege and, 400,000 during evacuations.

Sources:

Soviet forces penetrate the siege of Leningrad. (2009, November 16). HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviet-forces-penetrate-the-siege-of-leningrad

Dean, M. (2020, October 21). Siege of Leningrad | World War 2 Facts. World War 2 Facts. http://www.worldwar2facts.org/siege-of-leningrad.html#siege-of-leningrad-losses

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