Titanica

[musicgeekstress]

Jason and I went today to go see the Titanic Exhibit showing at the Science Centre. It was just a random thing for the two of us to do since we haven't really done anything out of the ordinary for awhile. It was pretty good. We started out by watching an IMAX film about the Titanic projected on their IMAX dome which was pretty f'ing amazing. I

Comments

[lordshipmayhem]

I want to see that exhibit. I saw a Titanic exhibit many years ago at the ROM; I also am quite the Titanic buff.

Third-class passengers of the day flocked to White Star Line ships because of the comparatively high quality of their quarters and food. The china was plainer than 1st Class to be certain and the fare more ordinary, but far better than that offered in steerage in competing lines' vessels, there was tea served every afternoon, and their compartments had HOT RUNNING WATER!! (Many of the 3rd Class passengers emigrating to the States didn't even have running cold water in the homes they were leaving.) 1st Class passengers provided the glory, 3rd Class provided the profits.

(Turns out that most of the 3rd class survivors came from the front half of the ship; they realized even before the first class passengers and many crew did that the ship was in extremis and fought to find a way up to the Boat Deck. That the third-class were treated poorly during the evacuation is well-documented but seems more a function of the generally poorly-organized, ad-hoc nature of the endeavour rather than a deliberate attempt to keep them belowdecks. Simply, no lifeboat drills had EVER been conducted, as nobody could really foresee an event where they'd be needed for anything but rescuing passengers and crew from other vessels. The belowdecks crew stuck to their posts heroically and kept power enough for the Titanic's radio operators to get word out; another crew of heroes were the Royal Mail staff, who drowned while trying to shift the mailbags in the forward hold to a safer part of the ship, and of course the band who played ragtime and other happy tunes to keep the passengers calm throughout the crisis. My favourite character has to be the ship's chief baker Jocqulin (however that's spelled) who survived treading water off overturned collapsable lifeboat "B" by being thoroughly insulated by a racoonskin coat and copious quantities of alcohol.)

[musicgeekstress]

I've always found the story of the Titanic fascinating. I remember being quite frightened as a child of the horrific images of it sinking in the night. I cannot think of how anyone would recover from seeing such a sight. It was kind of funny how they had kids books about the Titanic available in the gift shop with images of the sinking ship drawing in bright crayons. How do you put a rosy picture on that? Just a couple of days ago I caught the end half of "A night to remember" and there was a drunken character featured who survived against all odds. I thought that was just put in for unnecessary comic relief...well maybe it was. Let me know what you think of the exhibit if you end up going. I would definitely like to go again if possible.

[lordshipmayhem]

From an old song on the sinking of the Titanic, slightly modified:

"Oh it was sad (so sad)
Oh it was sad (so sad)
It was sad when the great ship went down to the bottom of the -
Uncles and aunts, little children lost their pants
It was sad when the great ship went down!"

Yep, kids can be cruel.