The Titanic was perhaps the most aptly named ship in the world due to its colossal size, however to this day it remains the most iconic passenger liner in the world not only due to the outstanding facilities that it provided to its passengers but also for the tragic end that it met on its very first journey. Although a multi Academy Award winning motion picture has been made which was titled Titanic, not much is often discussed about the ship in particular and this seeks to change that trend by presenting to you 10 unknown facts about the most famous but ill-fated ship ever.
The Titanic was the largest passenger line up at the time and considering the sort of services it offered its passengers; it is not a surprise that the company which built the ship had to spend an incredible amount of money to build the ship. The Titanic was ordered in 1908 and by the time the ship was built in 1911, the total cost of building the ship stood at a staggering $7.5 million. You will find it interesting to know that that cost of building the Titanic in 2014 for example would have been close to $200 million.
The Titanic was built by the famous ship builders White Star Line, however the main holding company that controlled the shipping company was the US based International Mercantile Shipping Company or IMM. The IMM was a trust built by the legendary American banker J P Morgan and the project for building the Titanic only got underway after an agreement was reached with the financier. It is indeed a remarkable fact about the Titanic that gets overlooked quite often.
It is often said that the Titanic might have avoided its final fate had it gone on its maiden voyage in March 1912 instead of April 1912 but that is a subject that is open to speculation since the iceberg that it hit might still have been at the same place as it was in April. The actual reason why the maiden voyage was pushed was due to the fact that another ship being built by the company, the Olympic suffered some damage and since it was to go on its maiden voyage at the same time as the Titanic the dates had to be pushed. However, the question of ‘what could have been’ had it been flagged of a month before is still a burning one.
The Titanic was supposed to be the ship that would serve the upwardly mobile in the UK and the US at the time, which is why it was a given that the ship would have first class facilities that could be regarded as the benchmark of luxury. The point of reference for the designers of the ship was the famous Ritz Hotel in London that was regarded as the best hotel in the world at the time and even today it is regarded as one of the finest luxury hotels in the world. Everything starting from the floor plan to the linen as well as the bathrooms were constructed in the same way as in the Ritz and that proved to be one of the unique selling points of the shop.
For those who have watched the film Titanic, it must have seemed as if the ship consisted of a little more than a few hundred passengers but that is far from the truth since the actual capacity of the ship was 3547 across all classes and the ship was packed to capacity on its very first voyage. You would find it interesting to know that even though the ship had 3547 passengers on board, they only had 20 life boats with a capacity of 65 and that was one of the key reasons why there were so many casualties following the collision with the iceberg.
The Titanic was scheduled to arrive at New York on the 17th of April, 2012 which meant the total journey time was supposed to be of around 7 days and 6 nights, however something the amount of fresh meat the ship carried for its kitchen proves that the passengers were supposed to eat and drink to the fullest during the journey. The kitchen was supplied with an incredible 75000 pound of fresh meat for the duration of the journey in addition to 11000 pounds of fish.
As mentioned earlier, the Titanic was one of the most expensive ships ever built and hence it was a given that it would be insured heavily as well since there is always a chance of a mishap. The celebrated insurance company Lloyd’s of London were the insurance providers for the shipping company and the company conducted its duties like gentlemen do by paying every penny within a month of the accident to the shipping company. The quick disbursal of the insurance policy is something that would be unthinkable in this day and age.
According to the sources close to the shipping company in charge of the Titanic, only 492 passengers survived after the ship met its untimely demise but even after escaping in lifeboats plenty of people died soon after due to their exertions in the biting cold water of the Atlantic Ocean. However, one English survivor who was only a few weeks old at the time of the journey lived a long and healthy life and died at the ripe old age of 97 in 1997. Millvina Dean was her name and her death proved to be the death of the only remaining survivor from among the passengers on board the Titanic.
The Titanic offered a world of excesses to someone who was willing to pay for it and plenty of wealthy Englishmen, Americans and people from other parts of the world were willing to pay top dollar to experience the sort of unparalleled luxury that was on offer. The price for booking one of the ultra-luxurious first class suites was pegged at an astonishing £870 and if one was to convert it into today’s money it would come to something like £72000. The sort of luxury that the Titanic offered was something out of this world if you go by the prices.
At number 1 is the unbelievable and rather chilling premonition that the chief officer of the Titanic Henry Wilde has about the ship before it set sail on its famous voyage. You might say that it was merely a coincidence but there scientific studies have proven that some people do have the ability to see the future as far as certain events are concerned and in this regard Mr. Wilde’s statement in a letter to a relative must have been chilling in retrospect. He wrote, "I still don't like this ship. I have a queer feeling about it." Needless to say he died in the disaster but Mr Wilde being the chief officer seemed to have been in a state of shock after the ship struck the iceberg and according to records he was late in getting the lifeboats out that led to the death of many people on board.
So those were some of the most interesting unknown facts about the most famous ship in the world that met a tragic end on its very first voyage. For more Top 10 facts and Trends, please visit www.top10reviews.inPlease feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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