Does Anybody Really Care About The Titanic? Really Like? Really?

[muppet]

There are a lot of untrue facts about the Titanic.

Whitestar never claimed the Titanic was unsinkable, The media created that when she sank.

There is a lot of intresting misfacts that you never here

Bertie never said the economy was unsinkable.

Poor misunderstood Bertie.

[mannix]

I heard the mayor of belfast on the radio yesterday in new York. He was promoting and very proud of his city as he should be. I laughed to myself when he said to the interviewer " you don't sound very convinced".  Interviewer brought up the "troubles" and was quickly told they were well over.
Sounded like a fella that could do well in American politics, and is 28 years old which was very interesting.

[Ulick]

Ould wans on Livewhine today saying the museum is a "disappointment". I didn't hear it all right but apparently they promote the stairway as the centrepiece of the whole thing, but it's not accessible when you go there - just a video presentation or something. Anyway - loads of fuel for "it's a disgrace, Joe", etc.

It's true, you need to be at least a z list celeb to get on the stairs. Hearing them say on the radio a few months back that childrens buggies were banned was enough for me. That and the extortionate entrance fee. Won't be near it, unless work sends me down.




Fury over JLS Titanic Belfast staircase visit

Row as pop pair get to re-create 'Jack and Rose' moment

JLS frontman Marvin Humes and his fiance Rochelle Wiseman, from The Saturdays, were so thrilled with their visit to Titanic Belfast, they tweeted a photo of themselves on the replica staircase.

But the picture of the couple at the city's landmark new building has sparked a furious reaction online.

The pair posed for their Jack and Rose moment on Friday, recreating the famous scene from James Cameron's epic 1997 film Titanic.

But readers on websites have hit out at the centre for allowing celebrities the chance to pose on the iconic staircase while paying visitors cannot.

The staircase, situated on the top floor conference and banqueting suite of the building, does not permit the public to view it on the usual tour — a decision that has already prompted controversy.

One reader posted: "Lucky them that they get to pose on the staircase when the rest of us don't!! Us commoners have to buy tickets for 'Staircase Sunday' if we even want to see the stairs."

Another said: "It's ridiculous that the staircase is being used to promote this attraction when it isn't included in the tour. False advertising methinks. Nice to see the class system lives on!"

The launch of Titanic Belfast was well received earlier this month , with thousands of international visitors descending on the city. Tickets have sold out until April 16.

On Sunday a spokesman for Titanic Belfast said it would be hosting 'Titanic Tea Parties across selected Sundays in May and June' — close to the staircase, asking visitors to check its website for details of what they have dubbed 'Staircase Sunday' events.

Sharing her picture on Twitter, Saturdays star Rochelle Wiseman wrote: "Big thanks to Claire & everyone at the Titanic tour #belfast for staying open late for us! Here's our Rose&Jack pic ."

She and Marvin were in the city ahead of the JLS concert at the Odyssey Arena.

[The Subbie]

I hate the Titanic.

Me too,sick to the balls with the whole thing.

[pintsofguinness]

I'm fairly interested in it but then I'm fairly interested in the stories around any of those type disasters. I can't stand the whole celebration theme though and this idea we should be proud of it, why exactly? It makes me cringe.

I only caught bits of that other thread about the museum - what was the conclusion, is it worth going to it?

[Don Johnson]

Only oen good thing to have come from this:



These and the beef flavour ones are my crisp of choice at the minute.

[Tony Baloney]

Im starving and your putting crisp packets on here and ONeill is tweeting about ordering a chinese 

[Evil Genius]

I am interested in (though not obsessive about) the Titanic. As regards the Belfast Exhibit etc, I am holding off from expressing an opinion both until I've seen it, and also until I've seen how successful (or otherwise) it proves.

However I do get a bit pissed off when people spout opinions (either way) from a position of ignorance.

This Titanic museum is more about a celebration rather than remembering the 1,500 people who went down with it...

Have you actually been to it yet?
I personally haven't, so I can't say whether it's a "celebration" or a commemoration.

... mostly the lower classes who were probably* caged in like animals.

I have been to a Titanic exhibition in London. One of the things I learned there was that by the standards of the day, 3rd Class ("steerage") on the Titanic far exceeded 3rd class on comparable ships, in terms of facilities and comfort. For example:
"67. Third-class accommodations of Titanic rivaled the first-class quality found on most liners of the late 1800s and were far more elegant than most second- and third-class accommodations on other liners in 1912."
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/apr/07/titanic-at-100-100-facts-that-tell-the-story/
Or:
"Third class on the Titanic was absolutely stupendous compared to the times. On the Titanic, third class accommodations were like that of second class of any other liner or shipping company. Though the White Star Line focused a lot on first class wealth, they did not do away with third class. The White Star Line knew that third class passengers were coming to America to start a new life and that they were moving all of their belongings across the Atlantic for a fresh start.
Third class berths were fairly luxurious in their own way, they provided electric lighting, heat, and wash basins. In fact the accommodations in third class were far better than the life they had left from where the came from."
http://titanicstation.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/third-class.html


* - Always a bit of a giveaway for a bullsh1tter...

Personally though, I would be more inclined to believe the story that it was deliberately sank as part of an insurance scam.

Why waste your time on 100 year old conspiracies, when there are any number of other, more recent plots which would benefit from your knowledge, expertise and finely honed skills of forensic analysis eg 9/11, the Moon landings or the murder of Princess Diana...

[ONeill]

There are a lot of untrue facts about the Titanic.

Whitestar never claimed the Titanic was unsinkable, The media created that when she sank.

There is a lot of intresting misfacts that you never here

Captain Smith Believed Titanic To Be Unsinkable

 
Washington Times

Tuesday 16 April 1912

That Captain Smith believed the Titanic and the Olympic to be absolutely unsinkable is recalled by a man who had a conversation with the veteran commander on a recent voyage of the Olympic.

The talk was concerning the accident in which the British warship Hawke rammed the Olympic.

"The commander of the Hawke was entirely to blame," commented a young officer who was in the group. "He was 'showing off' his warship before a throng of passengers and made a miscalculation."

Captain Smith smiled enigmatically at the theory advanced by his subordinate, but made no comment as to this view of the mishap.

"Anyhow," declared Captain Smith, "the Olympic is unsinkable, and the Titanic will be the same when she is put in commission."Why," he continued, "either of these vessels could be cut in halves and each half would remain afloat indefinitely. The non-sinkable vessel has been reached in these two wonderful craft."

"I venture to add," concluded Captain Smith, "that even if the engines and boilers of these vessels were to fall through their bottoms the vessels would remain afloat."

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Only oen good thing to have come from this:



These and the beef flavour ones are my crisp of choice at the minute.

They would go down well.

[ONeill]

[Evil Genius]

There are a lot of untrue facts about the Titanic.

Whitestar never claimed the Titanic was unsinkable, The media created that when she sank.

There is a lot of intresting misfacts that you never here

Captain Smith Believed Titanic To Be Unsinkable

 
Washington Times

Tuesday 16 April 1912

That Captain Smith believed the Titanic and the Olympic to be absolutely unsinkable is recalled by a man who had a conversation with the veteran commander on a recent voyage of the Olympic.

The talk was concerning the accident in which the British warship Hawke rammed the Olympic.

"The commander of the Hawke was entirely to blame," commented a young officer who was in the group. "He was 'showing off' his warship before a throng of passengers and made a miscalculation."

Captain Smith smiled enigmatically at the theory advanced by his subordinate, but made no comment as to this view of the mishap.

"Anyhow," declared Captain Smith, "the Olympic is unsinkable, and the Titanic will be the same when she is put in commission."Why," he continued, "either of these vessels could be cut in halves and each half would remain afloat indefinitely. The non-sinkable vessel has been reached in these two wonderful craft."

"I venture to add," concluded Captain Smith, "that even if the engines and boilers of these vessels were to fall through their bottoms the vessels would remain afloat."

Captain Smith (assuming he said those things) was not speaking on behalf of White Star.

Anyhow, it seems the notion that icebergs weren't that  big a danger to shipping stemmed from an incident 43 years earlier, when another liner, the "SS Arizona" hit a berg but stayed afloat:

"On 7 November 1879, Arizona suffered a collision with an iceberg en route to Liverpool. [Owner] Stephen Guion was on board with two of his nieces. While the damage was severe, she remained afloat and was able to proceed to St. John's where she underwent temporary repairs before returning to Scotland. Guion advertised this near disaster as proof of Arizona's strength"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Arizona

The key difference was that the Arizona was steaming in thick fog, so no-one saw the iceberg until it hit head-on. Consequently, the bow of the ship took the full impact, so that it crumpled without causing major damage to the ship's bulkheads.

On the night of the Titanic's collision, there was no fog, but neither was there any moonlight either. As a result, the lookout was unable to see the iceberg in the distance, but did see it just before impact. He naturally shouted a warning, just in time for the ship to attempt evasive action.

However the ship was unable to avoid the iceberg completely, so that the berg tore a long hole in the side of the ship under the waterline, penetrating 5 adjoining compartments. The Titanic was built to withstand flooding in three compartments, but no more than that, so it was pretty unlucky all round.

Ironically, had the lookout not seen the iceberg at all, modern experts reckon that the ship was so strong that she would have survived a head-on collison with no major damage, and possibly few casualties (there were very few crew, and no passengers near the bow).

Apparently modern advice to shipping is that if a collision with an iceberg should prove unavoidable, ships should maintain a course so as to hit it head-on. 

[Aaron Boone]

Two sister ships were built by H&W around the same time but rarely get a mention.

Did Marvin from JLS say when the new album is due out?

[ONeill]

She cannot sink, says official of White Star Line

"Absolutely no fear is entertained for the safety of the passengers."

P A S Franklin, Vice-President of the International Mercantile Marine, declared this morning that the Titanic was unsinkable, and that, notwithstanding the alarming reports of her collision with an iceberg, absolutely no fear was entertained for the safety of the passengers.

"While we have had no direct wireless communication from the Titanic," said Mr Franklin, "we are satisfied that the vessel is unsinkable. Our only reports thus far are from the Associated Press. The fact that the Titanic has sent us no wireless does not cause alarm. In the first place her failure to communicate with the line may be due to atmospheric conditions; and, in the second place, she may be too busy communicating with nearby ships.

"No one need fear that the Titanic will go down. Even though all her former compartments and bulkheads were stove in by the iceberg, she would still float indefinitely. She might go down a little at the bow, but she would float. I am free to say that no matter how bad the collision with an iceberg, the Titanic would float. She is an unsinkable ship.

"From the messages we have received we estimate that the Titanic is 1,000 miles from New York, in latitude 41.46 and longitude 50.14 west. That would make her 600 miles southeast of Halifax.

"The steamship Virginian, out of Halifax, should reach Titanic at 10 o'clock this morning. The Olympic, bound east, should make to the rescue at 8 o'clock tonight, and the Baltic, which had passed the Titanic, has put about and should join the rescuing fleet at 4 o'clock.

"We feel certain that all of the passengers will be landed safely in Halifax. Their relatives and friends need entertain no fears. From our revised lists we find that there are 325 saloon passengers, 300 second cabin passengers, and 800 steerage passengers."

There are fifteen bulkheads in the Titanic. Two of these are what is known as collision bulkheads, and the other thirteen are water tight and of the kind common to modern steamers. One collision bulkhead is in the fore part of the hull, fifty feet from the bow. It is of steel, with no inlet into the hold, and it is entered from the main deck when an examination is necessary. The other collision bulkhead is at the stern and also must be entered from the main deck.

The other thirteen bulkheads divide the hull of the Titanic into separate compartments and doors into these divisions can be closed separately or all at one time. The closing mechanism is hydraulic. It is said by marine engineers that there is no case on record in which any collision or other accident to a modern steamer has put this hydraulic mechanism out of commission.

There is, however, and element of weakness in the strongest of the water-tight bulkheads of even such a ship as the Titanic, which lies in the pressure resisting power of the bulkheads. While it is claimed that two compartments of the Titanic could be flooded with water without the vessel either sinking or losing steerageway, it is admitted that, were any of the compartments flooded with water, the pressure of water on those bulkheads might cause a leak which would admit water into the next compartment, and so on from one bulkhead to the next, until the hull was water-logged.

[ONeill]

Builders of Titanic say she'd survive great blow

Belfast, April 15, 1912. — A representative of Harland and Wolff, the constructors of the Titanic, interviewed today, said that if the Titanic were sinking, the collision must have been of great force.

The plating of the vessel, he said, was of the heaviest caliber and even if it were pierced, any two of her compartments could be flooded without imperilling the safety of the ship.

At right: Clip from marketing brochure on Titanic and her sister ship: "As far as it is possible to do so, these two wonderful vessels are designed to be unsinkable..."