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Much has been written, said and even acted about the magnificent ship, RMS Titanic fondly referred to as the “Millionaire’s Special” which was built on May 13, 1911. However, there are some juicy details of the ship and its wreck that will still leave you in awe. Everyone knows that the RMS Titanic was a very big ship, but how big was it, how luxurious was it and how was it run?
Before getting into other succulent details, did you know that the RMS Titanic was built by Harland and Wolff, the Belfast-based shipbuilders? Also, did you know that two workers died while building this iconic masterpiece? Did you also know that it sank on April 15, 1912, on its maiden voyage?
So far, over 11 movies centered on the events of the RMS Titanic wreck has been written and released. The first was released a month after the wreck. It was a silent film and featured one of the survivors who was also an actress. There are over 1000 interesting facts you might not have known about the Titanic, however, we pick seven of the juiciest in the subsequent paragraphs.
Titanic Facts – 7 Powerful Things You Never Knew About Wrecked Ship
1. It Was Large And Luxurious
The RMS Titanic was a very large ship. It was 882.5 feet long, 92.5 feet wide, and 175 feet high. That means it was the size of a little more than two football stadiums. This comes as no surprise as it was built to be unsinkable. The Titanic also displaced 66,000 tons of water. Since modern technology was still in its infancy at the beginning of the twentieth century, the RMS Titanic was regarded as an incredible engineering achievement.
In addition to being large, it was also very luxurious for its time. It contained a swimming pool, a Turkish bath, a squash court, and a dog kennel for the first-class passengers. Its staircases where oak-paneled and had cherubs made of bronze. If you are familiar with the five-star hotel, The Ritz in London’s Piccadilly Circus, then you can imagine the luxury of the Ritz restaurant onboard the Titanic. Ritz restaurant (in the Titanic) was said to have been inspired by London’s famous hotel with the same name. The luxuries of this ship also included all the assorted foods on board and thousands of beer, wine and cigars for the first-class passengers.
2. The RMS Titanic Was Costly To Run
Because of the size of this ship, it burned about 825 tons of coal per day to keep it running. It will also fascinate you to know that it took an approximated number of 173 men to keep the fire burning. Also, it is estimated that the ship, ejected about 100 tons of ash each day into the sea. A lot of waste, right?.
3. The SS Californian Was Closer
While the ship was sinking and in distress, as expected, the ship’s officials called out for help using flames and distress messages on the radios. This distress call was picked up by the RMS Carpathia, a ship nearby who swung into action and rescued all those on lifeboats. However, there was a ship much closer to the Titanic called the SS Californian.
According to reports, the ship’s passengers saw the distress flames and quickly woke the Captain, who unfortunately gave no orders for rescue until the next morning when the RMS Carpathia had done all the work. It is believed that more lives would have been saved if SS Californian had responded at the time of the distress.
4. Lifeboats Were Insufficient And Yet Not Full
Despite the fact that the lifeboats were insufficient, it was shocking to realize they were not full to capacity. Yes, the lifeboats were insufficient to carry all 2,200 passengers. The ship was equipped to carry 64 lifeboats, however, it had only 20. Also, the 20 lifeboats didn’t carry enough people. Some of the boats could take up to 65 people but had only 28 people in them. Why the others didn’t join the lifeboats remains a mystery. Therefore, only about 31.6% of people survived the shipwreck when it was possible for 53.4% to have survived.
5. Two Dogs Survived
Considering the number of people who died, it is strange to think that two dogs survived, but they did. Two lapdogs (a Pomeranian and a Pekines) were taken on the lifeboats by their owner. They were the lucky one though as there were a total of 9 dogs onboard.
6. Dance Band On The Titanic
Among the many features of the Titanic was a live music and dance band. The band was made up of 8 members and was led by Violinist Wallace Hartley who had to learn 350 songs from a songbook giving to the first-class passengers. According to survivors, while the ship sank, they sat on its deck and played either Nearer My God to Thee or a waltz titled Autumn.
7. The Ship Wreck Was Discovered 73 Years Later
On September 1, 1985, an oceanographer, Dr. Robert Ballard discovered the wreckage – 73 years after the RMS Titanic sank. This comes as a surprise as most people already had an idea of where the ship sank. The site of wreckage is now UNESCO protected.
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