RMS Titanic: Theories, Exploration & Madness!

Can I suggest - and this is not a gripe but a suggestion - that the thread (or sub-thread of The Titanic) be re-named about the Titan?
It doesn't bother me, in the grand scheme of things, but I've a 'tidy' mind. :)
 
RaM said:
You would think at the first sign of that kind of trouble they would dump the ballast and be on the way up, though I don’t think they had time and it would be pretty instantaneous
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But, as highlighted above, there were ... issues over dumping ballast.
It was, to use a phrase, a shit show all along. I don't mind the explorative mind at all - this is how we as a people progress - but it seems to me that to finance his exploration he was willing to lie and manipulate his obsession.
 
Perhaps I should have put Try to dump the ballast.
But if it worked or not seems to have been in the lap of the gods.
 
Stormkhan said:
I believe this announcement sits firm in the 'no ... really?' slot of commentary.
When your CEO has died in a tragic accident while touting for business, and - for right or wrong - a lot of information is being presented to a public that otherwise wouldn't have even thought about it*, the 'suspension of operations' is blindingly obvious.
I mean, what're they going to do?
"HELL, it's tough on the families of the dead an' all, but we want YOU to pay for the building of Titan II. I mean it's what he ... er ... they would have wanted." is not a good sales pitch!

* Since I'm not in the income bracket, it would never occur to me that I could waste thousands on a sightseeing trip which involved me with a waiver which mentioned the RISK of DEATH several times. I might not be the most adventurous person. But I'm also neither a scientist, explorer, nor an expert in any particular field.
If I were paid to be a test pilot then I'd accept and understand the risk. But I wouldn't be strapped into an experimental jet aeroplane and told to 'enjoy the experience' AND pay for it.
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The US seems fixated on this "Risk of Death" thing, presumably because of their legal system. The hand book on a US car I bought 30 years ago mentioned RoD on virtually every page (don't open the doors and get out while the vehicle is in motion or you'll probably die and so on). A US manufactured car detailing mop I bought recently came with a small instruction leaflet which also warned me that in effect I would die a horrible death by using this product. I've noted that when signing authorisation for an operation, where there's a paragraph warning of possible outcomes, the last one is always "Death". In the consumer orientated society we have become I doubt whether these warnings have any validity whatsoever.
 
I think it's an attempt to cover all bases.
On any medication - even over the counter medicines - there's a list of possible side-effects and on many, the very last one is usually 'risk of death'.
It is all about it being possible, not likely.
 
I scanned part of a leaflet from some tablets I was prescribed. It says to tell your doctor if you notice various reactions - including death, presumably via a Ouija board.

Quinine sulfate tablet leaflet.jpg
 
Erinaceus said:
I scanned part of a leaflet from some tablets I was prescribed. It says to tell your doctor if you notice various reactions - including death, presumably via a Ouija board.

View attachment 67688
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Not sure how you are supposed to "tell your doctor" if you are dead. Do these things never get proof read?
 
I suspect they operate from a template. If the error was in the first version, it'll be repeated.
 
What Tyler said:
...and if I may, thinking about it, its easy to be wise after the event... and there’s definitely a physiological angle to this- if someone tells you that the hull is a mixture of say titanium/ carbon/ Teflon/ unobtainium etc etc that is “50 times stronger” than steel and far stronger than any other construction elements used in subs elsewhere, are “ new materials” “ pushing the limits” “ innovative” et al; it would difficult not to be persuaded, and in this case over persuaded as the the CEO will be going with you...
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As you'd first have to be very rich to afford the ride there's a comparatively small field of possible customers.

One might have total faith in the strength of the hull and the skill of the pilot but still be just that inconvenient few score thousand dollars short of the fare.

Just the second part of that applies to me. ;)
 
About a fortnight before the Titan, I went on this massive Titanic YT session. Like, for an entire week or two. Son 3 came home for the weekend - he loves engineering and that kind of stuff, too - and we both went on a total Titanic bender, watching video after video - including Titan footage - particularly watching anything we could find about... the debris field. Son called it my "hyper focus". (He's being cheeky, his brother is autistic and they all suspect I am). For some reason, we were trying to figure out what was where on the sea bed.

Following week, Titan happened.

Coincidence, probably.

IMG_3366 2.jpg
 
escargot said:
As you'd first have to be very rich to afford the ride there's a comparatively small field of possible customers.

One might have total faith in the strength of the hull and the skill of the pilot but still be just that inconvenient few score thousand dollars short of the fare.

Just the second part of that applies to me. ;)
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Yes., agree there escargot... some times it’s safer to be “poor”- protects us from the old Tons of Wealth and Time Syndrome ( T.W.A.T.S) for short...
“Hmm, I’ve made allllllll this money...now what am I gonna do to give my life meaning...?”
 
PeteS said:
The US seems fixated on this "Risk of Death" thing, presumably because of their legal system. The hand book on a US car I bought 30 years ago mentioned RoD on virtually every page (don't open the doors and get out while the vehicle is in motion or you'll probably die and so on). A US manufactured car detailing mop I bought recently came with a small instruction leaflet which also warned me that in effect I would die a horrible death by using this product. I've noted that when signing authorisation for an operation, where there's a paragraph warning of possible outcomes, the last one is always "Death". In the consumer orientated society we have become I doubt whether these warnings have any validity whatsoever.
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...Unless of course someone in the USA has sued from Beyond The Grave...and I’m sure if that’s happened somebody on here will know!
 
Same son I was watching Titanic videos with compulsively, was in a charity shop with me couple weeks back. He saw a Rubik's Cube and, because he knows how (has never taught me the secret) stood there for a couple of minutes til he's solved it, and put it back on the shelf. "For Suleman", he said. Very cute. (Apparently Suleman could do it in under 20 seconds. Think my son took about 2 minutes!)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66015851
 
This is an interesting legal YT channel, the video going into maritime law and some commentary on the Titanic sinking ...
Dunno how accurate it is in detail, but it's fair.
 
Auction of a Titanic relic.
001db60f-800.jpg

Titanic's first-class dinner menu expected to fetch €69,000 at auction​

An evening dinner menu for first-class passengers onboard the Titanic could sell for up to £60,000 (€69,000) at auction.

The dinner - including oysters, tornados of beef, spring lamb and mallard duck - was served on the evening of 11 April 1912 after the liner left Cobh, Co Cork, for New York during its fateful maiden voyage.

More than 1,500 passengers and crew died when the Titanic struck an iceberg on the evening of 14 April and sank the following day.

The 16cms x 11cms menu bears an embossed red White Star Line burgee and would have originally shown gilt lettering depicting the initials OSNC (Ocean Steamship Navigation Company) alongside the lettering RMS Titanic.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "The latter shows signs of water immersion having been partially erased, the reverse of the menu also clearly displays further evidence of this.

Via RTE News
 
How on earth did that survive? :thought: I am not sure who would pay 65k for what might just be a White Star menu with Titanic printed on it and splashed with water.

Also, it does look like HMS and Titanic was an RMS.

Perhaps I am just too suspicious.
 
Ascalon said:
Auction of a Titanic relic.
001db60f-800.jpg

Titanic's first-class dinner menu expected to fetch €69,000 at auction​

An evening dinner menu for first-class passengers onboard the Titanic could sell for up to £60,000 (€69,000) at auction.

The dinner - including oysters, tornados of beef, spring lamb and mallard duck - was served on the evening of 11 April 1912 after the liner left Cobh, Co Cork, for New York during its fateful maiden voyage.

More than 1,500 passengers and crew died when the Titanic struck an iceberg on the evening of 14 April and sank the following day.

The 16cms x 11cms menu bears an embossed red White Star Line burgee and would have originally shown gilt lettering depicting the initials OSNC (Ocean Steamship Navigation Company) alongside the lettering RMS Titanic.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "The latter shows signs of water immersion having been partially erased, the reverse of the menu also clearly displays further evidence of this.

Via RTE News
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Would anyone pay the same asking price for a third class menu from Titanic?
 
According to google

How many trips did OceanGate make to the Titanic?

It wasn't until 2021, then again in 2022, that the Titan made the first of several dives to the most famous shipwreck in the world. While generally successful, those expeditions hadn't been without their own problems. This fatal dive would've been the vessel's 14th trip to the remains of the Titanic.
 
Ascalon said:
Auction of a Titanic relic.
001db60f-800.jpg

Titanic's first-class dinner menu expected to fetch €69,000 at auction​

An evening dinner menu for first-class passengers onboard the Titanic could sell for up to £60,000 (€69,000) at auction.

The dinner - including oysters, tornados of beef, spring lamb and mallard duck - was served on the evening of 11 April 1912 after the liner left Cobh, Co Cork, for New York during its fateful maiden voyage.

More than 1,500 passengers and crew died when the Titanic struck an iceberg on the evening of 14 April and sank the following day.

The 16cms x 11cms menu bears an embossed red White Star Line burgee and would have originally shown gilt lettering depicting the initials OSNC (Ocean Steamship Navigation Company) alongside the lettering RMS Titanic.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: "The latter shows signs of water immersion having been partially erased, the reverse of the menu also clearly displays further evidence of this.

Via RTE News
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I think I'd want a bit more provenance than "found in the photo album of a historian in Nova Scotia who collected things".
 
It's the responsibility of the auctioneers to guarantee the provenance, otherwise they're selling stolen/fake goods.
I suspect that was a shortened explanation of it's source.
 
Stormkhan said:
It's the responsibility of the auctioneers to guarantee the provenance, otherwise they're selling stolen/fake goods.
I suspect that was a shortened explanation of it's source.
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I wouldn't be so sure on that point. You often see auctioneers being called out having sold fakes or substantially altered collectors items. It's time the excuse of " to the best of our knowledge and enquiry" excuse was stopped. A friend attended auctions over a period of 50 years and he was often appalled at what went on. Fortunately the internet has given potential buyers the opportunity of doing a lot of research before bidding, but I'd be wary of that menu even if I was a massive Titanic collector.
 
I have a thing for mawkish Victorian/Edwardian jet jewellery and was in one of the jet shops in Whitby a couple months back. We used to buy things made in here, now and again and it's recently been taken over by the jeweller's daughter who is a skilled jeweller working with jet. And I got talking to her about old jet jewellery I've seen on eBay and she said she had a customer come in, who made a bid on a jet brooch that said "TITANIC". Nobody else seemed to notice it and they got it for under a tenner, I think. This, fairly recently. Even things like memorabilia that were produced as tat at the time, have more value sometimes than other similar things, just for having the word 'Titanic' on and I'm seeing Victorian/Edwardian jet brooches go for in the low hundreds, sometimes, these days. Can't imagine this went under the radar and so recently but apparently it did.
 
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