Today, April 15th, marks 109 years since the RMS Titanic sunk into the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the loss of 1,503 souls.
She had set out on her maiden voyage just four days prior, a proud beauty with the tagline: Unsinkable Ship.
A stately, elegant vessel modeled after the glorious Ritz Hotel, she offered first-thru-third class accommodations to her paying passengers.
First-class passengers enjoyed such perks as:
When the RMS Titanic set off from Southampton, England, there were 2,208 souls onboard. 705 of those souls survived the tragic night to live another day, while 1,503 perished into waters that plunged as low as 28°F. (Keep in mind that seawater freezes at about 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit.)
It’s said that almost everyone in the water likely died from cardiac arrest or perhaps other bodily responses to the freezing water.
Because of the “women and children into the boats first” principle, only 4 women from first class died, while 89 women in 3rd class died.
There were 908 crew members on the Titanic. Only 23 of those were female. All survived, except three of them.
Of the 885 male crew members, 693 died, 192 survived.
HERO ALERT: All of the 30 engineers onboard went down with the ship, having stayed at their posts, keeping the ship’s power on so others could escape.
There were 12 dogs onboard the Titanic, three survived.
First class passengers on the Titanic enjoyed many luxuries, including 10-course meals that lasted for several hours. No expensive was spared and guests were treated as royalty.
Of the remains found in the expedition of the RMS Titanic, a menu of the last meal served was discovered and gives us a glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Items served in this infamous 10-course meal included: oysters, foie gras, roasted pigeon, filet mignon, poached salmon, lamb with mint sauce, chicken Lyonnaise, creamed carrots, boiled rice, chocolate & vanilla éclairs, fruit & cheeses, wines, ports, coffee, and even cigars were offered.
You can read more about the last meal on History Channel’s site here.
Some of the kitchen’s inventory I could sniff up online include:
You can read more about the food onboard the Titanic here.
We’ve all been to Macy’s, but did you know that one of the founding brothers, German-born Jewish businessman Isidor Straus, and his wife Ida, were onboard the Titanic?
He was asked to join the women and children in a lifeboat and when he refused, his wife did as well, saying, “I will not be separated from my husband. As we have lived, so will we die, together.”
The Titanic was designed to carry 64 lifeboats. They set off on her maiden voyage with only 20.
The first lifeboat was released one hour after the ship hit the iceberg. One hour? I’m sure (hope) they had their reasons.
Once the lifeboats started to be released, most were not filled to their capacity.
On the first of September, 1985, the wreckage of the RMS Titanic was discovered by two scientists, 73 years after she sank into her dark, cold grave bed.
Read this great piece on History.com: “In 1985, a joint American-French expedition tracked down one of the biggest prizes in maritime archeology: the 73-year-old wreck of the “unsinkable” ocean liner Titanic.”
The Titanic is about 2 1/2 miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The ship broke into two pieces when she sunk. There’s a distance between the bow and the stern is about 2,000 feet on the sea bed.
Since she was discovered, about 6,000 artifacts have been recovered. Some items recovered include:
This one from National Geographic was quite eye-opening on how the ship sank and was consequently torn apart, and then final laid to rest on the sea bed.
This gives some of the video footage taken of the wreckage.
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