The RMS Titanic sank on April 15th, 1912. That night over 1,500 people perished in the icy cold waters of the Atlantic. I have had the pleasure of working with Premier Exhibitions and the RMS Titanic, Inc. to bring you exclusive coverage of the Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit. Along the way I have been sharing a ton of great information about the ship, her voyage, the wreck, and some frequently asked questions about that historic night. Here we take a look at some myth busters regarding the wreck. Now that I am new to scuba diving, and have a passion for ship wrecks, this exhibit and all of the surrounding information is just a treat for me to be able to share. Did you know all of this about the RMS Titanic?
Did You Know?
The fourth funnel on Titanic was fake; it was believed that the fourth made the ship look grander and only carried vents from the engine room and from the huge coal stoves in the main kitchen.
Upon exploring the wreck site certain long – held beliefs were disproved or confirmed:
- There was no 300 – foot long gash in the hull.
- The calculated position for where the ship went down was incorrect. It was nearly thirteen miles from there.
- The ship had indeed broken half despite the discrepancies of many of the passengers.
The room number “thirteen” was not used on the Ship.
Titanic was carrying dragon’s blood – Brown Brothers & Company shipped seventy-six cases of dragon’s blood to the United States on Titanic. Dragon’s blood is the sap from a type of palm tree found in the Canary Islands. It was used to color wood varnish and women’s makeup.
One of the most exotic objects in Titanic’s cargo was The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam a book of ancient sayings. The copy was adorned with 1,050 precious stones, each set in gold.
Journalist William T. Stead was on board and had written articles predicting a great maritime disaster if ships went to sea without enough lifeboats. When he realized he was not going to get on a lifeboat, he went to the smoking room where he sat down in a leather chair to read a book.
Two month old Millvina Dean was the youngest passenger on board and recently passed as the oldest survivor of Titanic. She passed away on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97.
This was the last voyage of Captain Smith who at sixty-two years of age and thirty-eight years with White Star was set to retire at the end of Titanic’s maiden voyage. He was very cheerful and well liked by the wealthy who traveled on White Star. He was often referred to as the “Millionaire’s Captain”.
