The Most Fascinating Facts About the Titanic

The ruins of the Titanic lie nearly 2.5 miles beneath the surface of the ocean, approximately 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The ship broke in two, and the gap between the bow and the stern is about 2,000 feet in the sea bed.

The iceberg that collided with the Titanic is speculated to have been anywhere from 50 to 100 feet above water. The entire iceberg is believed to have been between 200 and 400 feet long.

…if all of the space available on the lifeboats was used.

Milton Hershey, the man who invented the famed Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar, wrote a $300 check to reserve his stateroom on the RMS Titanic. Thankfully, business took precedence, and Hershey and his wife missed out on the excursion.

The robust ship’s four funnels were partially for show — only three of the funnels ejected soot. The other was merely used for ventilation purposes, and undeniably added a certain majestic aesthetic to the ship.

It may seem like common sense for a ship to immediately release safety lifeboats upon hull breach. The Titanic, however, did not release its first lifeboat until an entire hour elapsed.

What remains of the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean will eventually be entirely eaten away by a rust-eating bacteria. This microorganism, named Halomonas titanicae by researchers from Dalhousie University, Canada and the University of Sevilla, Spain, can adhere to steel surfaces and forms the rusticles seen on the hull of the wreckage.

Of the 2,223 people aboard the Titanic, 1,517 did not survive the collision with the iceberg. The ship was not even at full capacity — it could hold more than 3,500 people.

The first time the immense White Star liner made its way into the water was on May 31, 1911 in Belfast. It’s estimated that 100,000 people, or roughly one-third of the population in Belfast watched the just over a minute-long launch.

The Titanic measured 882 feet and 9 inches in length, making it the biggest vessel of its time. Today, the largest cruise ship is Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, clocking in at nearly 1,200 feet long.

One of the bakers aboard the ship, Charles Joughin, supposedly treaded water for two hours before he was found. He claimed the copious amounts of whiskey he had consumed before the ship sank had kept his body warm enough to sustain the sub freezing water.

The Titanic was far from a light craft, weighing some 46,000 tons. This behemoth of a vessel burned a reported 825 tons of coal per day in 159 furnaces that heated 29 boilers.

The giant vessel cost $7.5 million to build in the early 20th century, which would be equivalent to $183.4 million today.

We know for certain that two workers died during construction of the ship, but there might have been others who were killed. Samuel Joseph Scott, 15, fell from a ladder and fatally fractured his skull. James Dobbins was squashed by timber that fell while transporting the Titanic from the shipyard to the dock where it launched.

The ship took 26 months to build. Construction crews used 3 million rivets to build the 26,000-ton hull, a combination of iron and steel.

The ship’s main anchor weighed 16 tons, or more than 30,000 pounds. Twenty horses were required to transport the anchor two miles from the casting site in the town of Netherton to the train station in Dudley in 1911.

On Sep. 30, 2015, a private collector bought the Titanic’s last first-class lunch menu in an online auction for $88,000. The collector paid $18,000 more than the initial maximum price.

Of the 23 female crew members, only three did not survive the collision. Of the 885 male crew members, a tragic 693 went down with the ship.

Only 705 of the 2,223 passengers and crew members made it back home. Some 61% of the passengers who survived were first-class guests. Less than 25% of third-class passengers survived.

According to measurements taken by Captain Stanley Lord of the SS Californian — a ship that was near the Titanic when it sank — water temperatures were as cold as 28 degrees Fahrenheit. The human body can survive up to 45 minutes in freezing water, according to the Life Jacket Association.

For perspective, one gallon of water is equivalent to 16 cups. So, 14,000 gallons means there were 224,000 cups of water distributed among some 2,223 people every 24 hours.

…but only carried 20. Many of the lifeboats that were launched from the Titanic did not pack as many patrons as it could have held.

In other words, there were roughly 3,333 dozens of eggs on the Titanic, a majority of which likely went down with the ship.

Controversy exists to this day as to how close the SS Californian was to the Titanic when it struck the iceberg. Californian Captain Stanley Lord testified that his ship was 19 to 21 miles from the stricken ship.

Titanic Captain Edward Smith believed the ship had grazed over the top of the iceberg but he was in for a rude awakening when the crew assessed the sight of the strike. Five compartments had already flooded with water and the bow was already beginning to submerge.

Edmond and Michel Navratil went down in history as the only children to survive the Titanic without a parent. They were two years apart in age and were nicknamed the “Titanic Orphans.” Their father, Michel Sr., kidnapped them from their mother, whom he was no longer with, and planned to take them to America. The last anyone saw of him was when he put his children in the lifeboat.

The designation Royal Mail Steamer, or RMS, has been around since the mid-19th century. Because mail had to arrive on time and ships were penalized for delays, the designation was a mark of quality. Nearly 200 ships, including the Titanic, received the designation.

The remains of the Titanic were not found until 1985, about 73 years after the vessel sunk. Dr. Robert D. Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and a team of American and French researchers discovered the wreckage with the help of a robot submarine.

Passengers who were able to afford first-class tickets enjoyed luxurious treatment and many indulgences. The wealthy got to taste delicacies at Parisian cafés, relax in tea gardens, read in the library, and play tennis in a squash court just to name a few of the first class perks. Did we mention there was a heated swimming pool?

There were 20,000 bottles of beer and 1,500 bottles of wine were stocked on the ship. In addition to plentiful alcohol, there were 8,000 cigars onboard, all of which was available for first-class patrons.

It’s unclear as to which songs were played as the ship went down, but one can only imagine how somber the atmosphere must have been. In the movie “Titanic,” one of the songs played was “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” which is believed to be the last song played on the ship in real life.

Treasures rescued from the Titanic are in high demand. Among the 6,000 artifacts was a violin that sold for $1.7 million in 2013 at an auction house in the United Kingdom. The Titanic’s ship plan sold in 2011 for $336,000.

The heir of the Astor family fortune was by far the richest individual on the ship, worth an estimated $85 million at the time, or about $2 billion today. He perished along with the ship.

A lookout spotted the iceberg and frantically rang the warning bell. The ship was hastily turned at a sharp angle to avoid hitting it, but it was too late.

According to historian Tim Maltin, atmospheric conditions the night the ship sank have likely caused super refraction — which could have camouflaged the iceberg. This may explain why the iceberg wasn’t spotted until the ship was too near it to maneuver out of the way.

…but it had the space to carry 65 people. It was one of only 20 lifeboats, though Titanic had the capacity to carry 64.

Musicians aboard were expected to learn all of the songs prior to the trip in the event that a guest requested one of them.

It’s speculated that the Titanic would cost nearly $200 million to build today. James Cameron’s adaptation of the Titanic grossed over $2.2 billion worldwide, which would be enough to fund the construction of nearly 11 new Titanic ships.

American businessman Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet, Victor Giglio, changed into their best evening wear upon hearing the ship was sinking. Guggenheim reportedly said, “We’ve dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.”

Thirteen newlywed couples were honeymooning on the Titanic in each of the passenger classes. Among them were Nellie Stevenson and John Pillsbury Snyder, who was the grandson of the founder of Pillsbury Company. Newlyweds were among those given preference for the lifeboats.

Twenty-three knots is equivalent to more than 26 mph. Today, the average cruise ship’s speed is 20 knots, or 23 mph. Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas has a top speed of 25 knots, nearly 29 mph.

There were 706 third-class passengers on the Titanic who paid between 3 and 8 pounds to make the crossing, and they only had two bathtubs.

According to the documentary “Titanic: The New Evidence,” a fire aboard the ship prior to its departure may have led to the disaster. Investigative journalist Senan Molony suggests that the metal had weakened because of an ongoing fire in the ship’s hull. The fire burned at temperatures of 1,000 degrees Celsius, or 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, for three weeks prior to the ship’s departure.

Millvina Dean was the youngest passenger aboard the ship, and the longest living survivor. She died at the age of 97 in 2009.

The RMS Carpathia transported the 700-plus survivors to New York and were met by 40,000 people.

Three feature films have been made about Titanic: Jean Negulesco’s “Titanic” was made in 1953, Roy Baker’s “A Night to Remember” was made in 1958, and James Cameron’s “Titanic” was made in 1997.

…for reasons that remain a mystery today. The decision to cancel the drill was made by Captain Edward Smith.

Several years ago in March, an expedition sent underwater robots to the wreckage, and through the use of sonar imaging took more than 100,000 photos of hundreds of objects that were likely a part of the ship. With the photos, researchers were able to map the 3-by-5-mile debris field.

In its first report of the tragedy, The New York Times ran a headline that said the Titanic sank four hours after hitting the iceberg. Little did the public know that the ship sank at a much faster pace.

Evidently, the most critical iceberg warning never made it to Captain Edward Smith because of the lack of the prefix MSG, meaning Masters’ Service Gram. This acronym would have required the captain to personally acknowledge receipt of the message. Because it did not have the MSG prefix, the senior radio operator did not think the message was important.

Macy Department Store owners from New York, Ida and Isidor Straus, share perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching love stories of the Titanic. Ida refused to board the lifeboat without her husband, who turned down a spot offered to him knowing that women and children were still aboard. They perished together.

Only 37 seconds are said to have elapsed from the time the iceberg was sighted until the Titanic collided with the iceberg.

There were nine dogs aboard the ship, but only two survived — a Pomeranian and a Pekinese.

The menu consisted of hors d’oeuvres like oysters, main courses such as filet mignon, and desserts like chocolate and vanilla eclairs.

The ship broke in two, and the bow sank to the sea bottom at an estimated 35 mph, and the stern descended at an estimated 50 mph.

Rescue ships recovered only 306 bodies from the icy water. Many of the deceased were taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Titanic, believed to be unsinkable at the time, is one of the biggest disasters in commercial maritime history.