Do you know everything about the Titanic and even some lesser-known facts? It seems the more the years pass, the more obsessed we all are with the Titanic.
So, it’s nice to look back and remember the very real and very strange facts about the Titanic that might not have been widely known! Here are 11 crazy facts about the Titanic.
11. One of the Smokestacks Was Fake
Related article:- Ghosts of the Titanic – Paranormal incidents after Titanic tragedy
The Titanic, from the outside, had four smokestacks. The more smokestacks a giant boat needs, the bigger and more luxurious it is, right?
Well, that’s what the designers were thinking when they built it and installed a fourth dummy smokestack as it made the ship look more beautiful.
It was made into a ventilation shaft for the kitchen but not connected to any furnace. Nothing like an impressive four smokestacks to get people buying tickets, right?
10. The Unknown Child
Related article:- 10 most haunted islands in the world
The official death was 1,503, with over 100 unidentified bodies buried in Halifax. Of the 3 classes, only 25% of third-class passengers survived, while 42% of second-class passengers and 61% of first-class passengers survived.
A boy named Sidney Leslie Goodwin, also known as “The Unknown Child” was 19 months old at the time of his death. He remained unidentified until 2008, when DNA tests and a global genealogical search identified his true identity.
9. Only 20 Lifeboats Were Added
Related article:- 10 most haunted roads with scary backstories
Perhaps a more common fact that everyone knows, is that the Titanic wasn’t built with enough lifeboats, which is what caused such a high number of casualties. But a more unknown fact is why they only have 20 lifeboats.
The ship was designed to equip up to 64 lifeboats, enough to seat more than 4,150 passengers, which was twice the amount of people who boarded the ship, an estimated 2,208 people.
They only took 20, though not because of the lack of budget or room, but because of a combination of outdated safety regulations and complacency by the White Star Line, Titanic’s operators.
8. The Female Crew
Related article:- 10 creepiest abandoned amusement parks you should definitely visit
Of the 885 crew members on the Titanic, only 23 of them were women, 20 of whom survived. Almost all of the women crew aboard the Titanic were stewardesses.
Of the 23 women, there was one cashier, one second-class Matron, and the rest were different stewardesses.
The three who went down with the ship were 35-year-old Mrs. Catherine Jane Wallis, and 32-year-old Miss Catherine Walsh, both were stewardesses, and 22-year-old Mrs. Lucy Violet Snape, who was a second-class Matron.
7. Lookouts Used Only Their Eyesight
Related article:- 10 crazy superstitions and myths across the globe that would give you the creeps
Unlike almost all movie depictions of the Titanic, the ship’s binoculars were actually locked inside a cabinet that no one could find the key to.
As a result, the lookouts on the Titanic had to rely only on their eyesight. The keys were nowhere to be found and, well, you know how the story ends.
It all happened because the ship’s second officer was replaced last minute and he didn’t pass on the information or the key to the cabinet. The key wasn’t found until 2010 when it was sold for $130,000.
6. It Was Predicted?
Related article:- The prophecy of Edgar Allan Poe – Fate of Richard Parker
Though not purposely, it seems, a very true prediction of the Titanic was written in “The Wreck of the Titan” by Morgan Robertson.
It was published 14 years before the Titanic met its end and told the story of a fictional ocean liner that sinks after hitting an iceberg.
The book is so accurate, that it even says the ship was described as “unsinkable” and that it didn’t carry enough lifeboats, which frankly was probably common practice.
Author Morgan Robertson was said to be a psychic, to be profiting off a tragedy he knew would happen. He took the comments in stride simply stating, “I know what I’m writing about, that’s all.”
5. Whiskey Might Have Saved a Man
Related article:- 10 most haunted items in the world that are truly cursed
Charles Joughin found out that the ship was sinking and made his way to all the whiskey in the ship’s liquor storage so he’d be ready for the cold water.
In his own account, he had a half-tumbler full of liquor, threw about 50 chairs in the water for flotation devices, rode the ship down into the water as if it were an elevator, and survived in the water for roughly 2 hours.
In comparison, most people in the water survived for only 15 minutes. Some Titanic facts you should know, right?
4. Shared Bathrooms
Related article:- 10 scariest places in the world you won’t dare to go alone
If you think economy class on a plane is bad, you should have seen the situation on the ship. The third-class passengers had to share two bathtubs.
This means that about 700 people shared those two bathtubs. To add some nerdy math, that would mean that if all 700 passengers wanted to take a bath, they would have to average 4 minutes each in 24 hours.
3. Saved From The Titanic
Related article:- 10 creepy stories of celebrities who encountered ghosts
The Leo DiCaprio film wasn’t the first to tell the story of the Titanic. In fact, lacking a little sensitivity, a film about the tragedy came out less than a month after the incident.
Evidently, it was called ‘Saved from the Titanic’, and it was a silent film starring Dorothy Gibson, an actress who had actually survived the event. Staying true to what occurred, she wore the same clothes and shoes that she’d worn during the actual sinking of the ship.
The film was successful at the time but the only known print of it was destroyed in a fire at Éclair Studios in March 1914, so we’ll never see it again.
It is Gibson’s penultimate film, as she reportedly suffered a mental breakdown after completing it after having to reenact certain parts of the film in full detail.
2. Real vs Reel
Related article:- 10 most haunted hotels in the world to visit – if you dare
One thing that the movie Titanic got right is that the band played until the very end. Many have called them heroes, seeing as anxiety and panic set into the passengers.
Knowing they wouldn’t make it, the band continued for hours after the ship hit the iceberg. How someone can find the courage to play music as the world ends is very heroic indeed.
However, one myth from the movie that is often talked about, though, is the scene where Jack and Rose are locked by gates in the lower levels.
Historian and author Tim Maltin said it was “total rubbish”, and that there were gates on Titanic, but these were for US immigration purposes, to stop the spread of infectious disease on the ship between classes.
As soon as the order was given to lower the lifeboats, the order was given to open all the gates and there was no discrimination on the boat deck between either first class or third.
1. Kate Gilnagh
Related article:- 10 most haunted cities in the world
Titanic survivor, Kate “Katie” Gilnagh was a Third Class passenger, who was 16 when the Titanic sank. While she slept through the collision, she was woken up by a man, telling her to get up as something was amiss with the ship.
She headed out to the upper decks close to the lifeboats but couldn’t find her way any further. A man offered her a lift up on his shoulders, and she climbed over the railing to the Boat Deck.
She was halted by a crew member, who told her it was full. However, crying out that her sister was in the boat, the crew member relented and let her pass.
She didn’t realize the seriousness of the ship’s situation until she reached New York and thought that disembarking in lifeboats and being picked up by another ship was all part of the journey, a regular way to make it to America.
Hmm, interesting Titanic facts, right? Know of any other facts about the Titanic you think are interesting? Share with the rest of us in the comments.
