16 Astonishing Facts About Titanic You Didn’t Know

Titanic is one of the most luxurious ocean liners of its time that needs no introduction. Yet some astonishing facts about Titanic were little known to us. Did you know people died even before the ship could set sail? During its construction, Titanic witnessed the unfortunate deaths of 8 crew members. And the causes? Severe injuries from falling from the ladder, hit by timber were some to name. 

Let’s discover some of the surprising facts about Titanic, the British luxury passenger liner, which is also known as the Royal Mail Ship(RMS) Titanic.

1. A Chef Treaded Water for 2 Hours – Survived the Disaster

A British-American chef named Charles Joughin was a chief baker onboard the Titanic during its trip from Belfast to Southampton. 

As the lifeboat overturned, he treaded in freezing water for an exceptionally long time of 2 hours before being rescued according to his testimony. He consumed alcohol to keep his body warm and admitted that he was hardly feeling cold.

2. Life On the Titanic – Rich vs Poor

According to one of the Titanic survivors, the treatment on the ship varied based on class. 

Rich people were treated with luxuries such as a swimming pool, squash courts, a Turkish bath, and many more while the poor people had restricted access to certain areas and the menu was a clear discrimination between these classes. 

Suggested Read: The Truth Behind The Titan Submersible Incident

3. The Youngest Survivor of the Titanic

Reportedly, one of the facts about Titanic is that a woman named Millvina Dean is the youngest and also the last survivor of the sinking Titanic. 

She was born on 2 February 1912, and the Titanic sank on 14 – 15 April 1912, meaning she was only 2 months old. At the age of 97 years, she died in 2009.

4. The Unsinkable Confidence

One of the remarkable facts about Titanic —— The builders of the Titanic claimed the ship was unsinkable practically. They kept in mind the largest object to move on water, the Titanic, and its architecture,  Which was a bold claim.

5. A Wreck – From Prediction to Reality

Some of the interesting facts about Titanic include Morgan Robertson, an American author’s Novel “Frutility or the Wreck of the Titan”. This short novel seems to have a lot more similarities with the Titanic wreck.  The novel was written in 1898.

Robertson’s story is composed of a ship named Titan, that hit and sank due to an iceberg and had insufficient lifeboats. What’s more surprising is Titan also sank in the month of April. 

6. Iceberg Warnings Ignored

The surface of the sea, shined like glass. The binoculars were out of reach, which made it difficult to identify the iceberg. Captain Smith believed that the crew could react easily if there was any potential risk ahead and steered it at full speed. 

7. Too Few Lifeboats and a Skipped Drill

There were only 20 lifeboats and 60 were required. Also, Captain Edward J. Smith inspected the ship but ignored to conduct a lifeboat drill. The crew overlooked the necessity as they thought that the sinking of the Titanic would never happen. This is one of the sad facts about Titanic.

8. Third Class Passengers’ Bathtubs

Here’s one of the interesting facts about Titanic, although the facilities on the Titanic were better than those of the other ships at that time, third-class passengers had to share only two bathtubs.

9. Music Played Till The Last Breath

The band hasn’t stopped playing during the disaster. While the people were rushed to use lifeboats and asked to jump, the band leader believed that the music could give them hope in chaos. 

Suggested Read: Why US Visas Get Rejected?

10. Hundreds of Bodies Recovered

On April 17, 1912, CS Mackay-Bennet was sent to Nova Scotia to recover the bodies. Nearly 306 bodies were recovered out of which 119 were severely damaged. Hence it was difficult to take them to the shore, and they had to be buried in the Atlantic. This is one of the sad facts about Titanic.

11. The Royal Dinner – Before Sinking of the Titanic

The last Royal dinner was served to the first-class people on the Titanic. The menu consists of delicacies from Ritz restaurant including oysters, salmon, lamb, and lobster. As mentioned earlier, this food was limited only to the first-class people on the ship.

12. World’s Richest Man Died on Titanic

John Jacob Astor IV was one of the richest men at that time to board the Titanic. He owned a net worth of roughly $87 million—one of the surprising facts about Titanic.

13.  Titanic – The Legend That Drowned Within Hours

One of the sad facts about Titanic is that after the ship hit the Iceberg, it broke into two parts and the sinking of the Titanic started. Within an estimated time of 2 hours 40 minutes the unsinkable, RMS Titanic sank and vanished like it never existed. There were roughly 1503 people i.e., 815 passengers and 688 crew members who lost their lives to the tragic disaster.

14. Titanic Lives On

 One of the few Interesting facts about Titanic is that even after the centuries passed to this tragedy, there are several documentaries and movies made to date. Among them all, “Titanic” a film by James Cameron, steals the spotlight away. 

This classic story of two lovers Jack and Rose depicts the wreck of the Titanic in a commendable way. 

Suggested Read: Underwater Fish Tunnel Exhibition In Dwarka

15. Titanic – Soon To Be Vanished

The gigantic ship has not been discovered completely under the sea until today. However, the ship vanished soon. But why? A rust-eating bacteria called Halomonas titanicae, eats the wreck slowly, making the Titanic vanish one day. 

16. Tons Of Coal To Travel

The Titanic was massive and weighed approximately 46,000 tons. Hence, to keep it moving through the water, nearly 825 tons of coal had to be utilised to power its boiler. 

Conclusion

Titanic has always been the point of discussion starting from its launch to sinking in the Atlantic.  However these fascinating facts are still alive, to remind us that this is the most dangerous shipwreck ever on the earth. Such details not only add depth to the Titanic story in history but also highlight the human aspect of the tragedy that tore families apart forever. 

However, there are claims that proper measures such as conducting lifeboat drills and maintaining sufficient lifeboats, navigating carefully through the iceberg with controlled speed, and not overlooking the warnings could have mostly saved the Titanic from a dramatic sink. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Facts About Titanic