Tag Archives: Snopes.com

Historic Ships, Miscellaneous, Titanic

Friday Titanic News

Mrs. J.J. “Molly” Brown presenting trophy cup award to Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron, for his service in the rescue of the Titanic.
Photo:Public Domain (US Library of Congress, digital id# cph 3c21013)

Titanic’: Who Was the Real “Molly Brown”? (MSN, 7 Jan 2021

James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film Titanic was noted at the time for its historical accuracy. The filmmaker for example included many of the real-life passengers in the telling of his story. Probably the most famous first-class passenger of the real Titanic that was featured in the movie was Margaret “Molly” Brown.

Items from the estate of Jack Warner and the passenger ship Carpathia will be in Ahlers & Ogletree’s Jan. 15-17 auction -Press Release-(WICZ, 7 Jan 2021)

 

The objects from the RMS Carpathia are historically significant and Ahlers & Ogletree is honored to be selling them. All items come with a conservation/condition report and a certificate of authenticity. Collectors of ocean liner memorabilia will be drawn to these:

  • Pair of binoculars with glass lenses, unmarked, 3 ¾ inches wide (est. $500-$700).
  • Brass ship’s bridge engine order telegraph on a base, likely made by A. Robinson & Co., Ltd. (Liverpool England, founded 1760), 48 inches tall (est. $500-$700).
  • First class Mintons ‘Ormond’ pattern blue and white floral partial pottery saucer with Cunard Line logo, stamped to bottom, 6 ½ inches diameter (est. $300-$500).
  • Pepsi-Cola bottle, molded colorless glass with swirled body, the front having raised letters reading “Pepsi-Cola”, a little over 6 ½ inches tall (est. $200-$400).

Does Google Earth Reveal a Sunken Ship in a Japanese Port? (Snopes.com, 28 Dec 2020)

Contrary to TikTok shenanigans, the boat is neither the RMS Titanic nor the Ottoman frigate Ertu?rul that is sometimes referred to as “the Titanic of Turkey.”

And here is some music for your Friday.  Dean Martin sings Luna Mezzo Mare. If you watched The Godfather, this was sung in the wedding scene.  It is a fun song to listen to (there are many places on the Internet to get the lyrics).  When I first heard, I had no idea why everyone around me was laughing. Then I was told the lyrics and laughed as well.

 


Titanic

It Happened Again! Titanic Again Used in Misleading Advertising

Recently we reported that a misleading advertising gimmick made people falsely believe that a photo from a camera brought up from the ocean showed Titanic sinking. This was shown by Snopes to be a marketing gimmick, using a manipulated image, to get people to view a slideshow. Now comes word of another deception being done by the exact same marketing tactic. This appeared, according Snopes, in February 2020 on many websites:

“Experts Discovered The Real Reason The Titanic Sank – And The Truth Had Been Covered Up For Decades.”

When you clicked on it, you were taken to a website called Serendipity Times. The story indicated that a 2017 documentary “Titanic: The New Evidence” indicated photographs supported the theory that a coal fire, which started during construction, was ignored. Supposedly these photographs had been covered up for decades. However, according to Snopes, that is not what the documentary actually said. The photos were in an attic. And, of course, the coal fire theory is not new. That theory has been out there for a long time and looked into by many Titanic researchers.

Some argue that the fire would have damaged the ship’s hull making it more vulnerable to being pierced by the iceberg. Others disagree as to the importance of the fire and the role it played. The iceberg pierced the hull with punctures and gashes causing a tremendous amount of water to enter the forward compartments. If the theory is true, it merely hastened the inevitable without really changing the outcome. At any rate, whatever your views on this theory, this marketing tactic is pretty tacky and deceitful.

Source:

Was the ‘Hidden Truth’ of Titanic ‘Covered Up for Decades’? (Snopes.com, 10 Dec 2020)


Titanic

False: Titanic Photo Showing Sinking From Camera Brought Up From Ocean

Titanic at Cobh Harbor, 11 April 1912
Public Domain (Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh, Ireland)

In early November 2020 the Taboola advertising platform promoted an advertisement claiming an old camera found in the deep ocean revealed “horrifying Titanic photos.” Placed by Floor8, it purported to show a black and white photo of Titanic. When you clicked through it was a different title claiming to show what the last days of Titanic were like, and no mention of a camera. Naturally it drew in a lot of people who wondered if it was true or not.

The clever folks at Snopes looked into it and confirmed it was false. Apparently Floor8 took a frame from Cameron’s Titanic movie and altered it to appear black and white. And it was simply a plot to get you to click through a slideshow. You probably have done this without even noticing how clever it is. You are at a website and see something like “You will not believe what the cast of Lost in Space looks like today!” or something similar. The purpose is to grab your attention so that you click through a long slideshow. Advertisers make money on this slideshow clicks, which is why it takes a frustratingly long time to get through them. In the advertising world, it is called advertising arbitrage.

That is a fancy phrase for bait and switch which more accurately says what is going on. You are lured on for one thing but directed to something else. In the retail trade, you advertise a product knowing you do not have it. When a customer asks for it, you say it is out of stock and on backorder for several months. You then direct them to the next best product, which of course is more expensive. This tactic, however, is considered deceitful and fraudulent in many jurisdictions. And will ultimately damage the reputation of the business that practices it. Now in this case there is no actual product they are selling. But they are luring you in promising something that turns out to be false, as in this case. And while there is no product, it is done to generate sales to advertisers. I have no doubt some clever prosecutor may make a case out of it.

Probably the lesson from this is when you see it is a sponsored ad on many news or entertainment sites, to not click through for an endless slideshow that pays advertisers every time you click to the next slide.

Source:

No, an ‘Old Camera’ from Titanic Wasn’t Found in ‘Deep Ocean’
Snopes.com, 20 Nov 2020
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/old-camera-titanic/

 

 

Miscellaneous

Summer in San Francisco

Most tourists learn quickly that while San Francisco can have nice and sometimes sunny days, that having a sweater or light jacket can come in handy. Especially in the early morning and often in the late afternoon when the fog comes in.

San Francisco Summer Photo: Brocken Inaglory(Wikimedia)
San Francisco Summer
Photo: Brocken Inaglory(Wikimedia)

There is a well known saying attributed to Mark Twain that says “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” It sounds like something he might say and if you visit San Francisco one can be astounded how the weather can go from warm and mild to cold and breezy. Except Mark Twain never wrote it. He could have said it and someone wrote it down. People have searched through his writings, public and private, and cannot find he ever said it. He does seem to allude to it at one point when asked about a cold winter, which he replied “last summer” which may refer to San Francisco. How and where it originated is a mystery. Someone might have guessed he thought it and wrote it down and then got repeated.
Source: And Never the Twain Shall Tweet (Snopes.com)