RMS Titanic

First of all, no, this is not about the 1997 movie! Speaking of which, if you want to see more of the true story of the Titanic through a movie (though I highly recommend a documentary or better yet a book), watch A Night to Remember, which was filmed in 1958.  Titanic experts have said that the 1958 movie is closer to the truth than the 1997 movie. What brought this up again on my radar was Titanic’s 114th anniversary on April 15, 2026. I felt like a kid again reading about this once great ship. This was one of my loves as a kid. 

Along with growing up with baseball, dinosaurs, and The Beatles…I had other interests. The Titanic was so interesting to me because it was such a mystery. I was also interested in her two sister ships, The Olympic and the Britannic. I’ve read a lot of books and watched countless documentaries on the Titanic. One of my first non-Beatles books I ever read was the book by Walter Lord named A Night To Remember (the one they made the movie about). I’m reading one now called On a Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the RMS Titanic, and I would highly recommend it. It’s probably the best book I’ve ever read on this subject. You get to know the human side of this, which has been missing. 

She was built well with new watertight compartments.  Today’s ships have that feature. I remember the day in 1985 when they found her. I was so excited, but also bummed that she split in half while sinking. Although many said that the ship did split in half at the 1912 hearings, they were ignored, but were vindicated decades later. Why does this continue to interest me? I can’t tell you why. 

The Titanic and her older sister, Olympic. They were hard to tell apart, but the Titanic was slightly larger and heavier; both were 882 feet and 9 inches long. Most of the pictures you see of the “Titanic” are really of the Olympic.

It was a safe ship, but its Achilles heel was found with that iceberg. Some modern ships would sink as well if the same damage happened. The Titanic had 16 watertight compartments and could take 4 of them being breached, but 6 were breached, and it was going to sink. It wasn’t a huge gash but just puncture marks. She took 2:40 minutes to sink; they have done tests with other ships of the period, and most sink within an hour or way less with the same damage. There are so many stories from that ship. I wanted to post this and see if there would be any interest in hearing some of the stories in future posts.

I’ll give you one story in this post, a short one. Isidor and Ida Straus sailed on this ship. They owned Macy’s Department Store. Isidor Straus was a co-owner of Macy’s and had served as a U.S. Congressman. He and his wife, Ida, were returning from Europe in April 1912, traveling first class on the Titanic. By all accounts, they were devoted to each other after more than 40 years of marriage.

When the ship struck the iceberg, and it became clear that lifeboats would be needed, the rule of “women and children first” was enforced. One of the officers did “women and children only” and sent half empty boats down. Ida was offered a seat in a lifeboat, and Isidor, as a man, was expected to remain behind. At first, Ida stepped toward the lifeboat. But when she realized her husband would not be allowed to go with her, she refused to leave him. She reportedly said words that have been passed down in different forms (where you go, I go), but the meaning is clear: she would not be separated from him after a lifetime together.

Isidor also refused special treatment. He was told he could take a place in a boat because his age and prominence, but he declined, saying he would not go before other men who were in greater need. Ida then gave her seat in the lifeboat to her maid, Ellen Bird, and even handed over her fur coat, telling her she would not need it anymore.

The last widely accepted account is that the two were seen sitting together on deck chairs, calm in the middle of chaos, waiting as the ship went down. Other accounts say they were seen holding hands near the railing as the end came. Either way, they chose to remain together rather than be separated.

Isidor’s body was later recovered at sea. Ida’s body was never found.

Their story became a symbol of loyalty and sacrifice at the time, often compared to the dignity shown by others that night. That included the ship’s musicians who continued playing as the situation worsened. In the years since, the Strauses have been remembered for what they valued most, staying together to the end.

When the maid made it home, she went to the daughter of the Straus family, Sara Straus. The maid (Ellen Bird) offered the coat back to the family, but the daughter said no. She told her that her mom wanted her to have it and to keep it in her memory.

The Titanic had heroes, like the crew who worked in the engine rooms to keep the lights on until the final plunge. They all lost their life. If those lights had not been on, many more would have perished. It’s an interesting ship and human story. 

Titanic finds her voice again with 3 of her whistles salvaged from the ocean floor. The ship had 3 sets of three whistles. This one is a complete set. It didn’t take too much work to make these work again. It had not been heard since 1912. 

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

51 thoughts on “RMS Titanic”

  1. Pingback: RMS Titanic – MobsterTiger

  3. One movie that I always liked, although it is not exclusively about the titanic is The Unsinkable Molly Brown and I remember my mom taking me to see it at Radio City Music Hall, the place where the Rocketts dance.

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  4. a terrifying story for the ages……when Dr Robert Ballard found the remains was when I my interest was piqued….and yeah you made me drag out that book yet again…much like Jon Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air about the disaster on Everest in 1996, riveting

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    1. In 2003, James Cameron released “Ghosts of the Abyss” about going down there and exploring the wreck. Bill Paxton went with him…it’s really good…also Warren…they just did thousands pictures to make a 3-D scan of the wreck…you can see everything…very clear. Just search on Youtube or Google…it’s pretty amazing.

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      1. Good stuff Max. Stories of courage always get me in the right spot. Like you I’m a doc guy. I did see Night to Remember as a kid and liked it. I think Kenneth Moore was in it. Good actor. Should revisit but like I said the docs supersede other films.

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      2. Thanks CB. It’s been a repressed passion of mine that has been rekindled by the docs and the book. I thought I would make a few posts on it. Courage is the perfect word…so many examples. It’s easy to forget the human part of this.

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      3. In the 50s film didnt some guy go full drag and try to get in a life boat? From the Strauses to this dude. What makes the world tick I guess. Both great examples. My old man was in the navy and would tell me all this sea going history.

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      4. Yes…William T. Sloper a banker…was accused ot it. How I remembered that I don’t know.
        Oh man…that is so cool that you got to hear those stories. I’m really into that stuff. They found the Bismark not long ago…and are finding many WW2 ships that were once lost.

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  6. that’s interesting. I never knew about the Olympic , what happened to it? Did they keep it in service or figure it was pressing their luck too far and retire it ‘just in case’? Although the cause was different, seems like the thing that doomed it was similar to what sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald,, several waterproof cels being breached.
    I liked the ’97 movie Titanic a lot, saw it twice at the theatres, the second time on a NYE date which was probably about as interesting a thing as I ever did on a Dec. 31 night! HAven’t seen it since though

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    1. Olympic was in a collision that hurt her bow before the titanic sailed but…she stayed afloat got fixed…Olympic stayed active until the 30s…when it was scrapped because of the depression. She was still going strong.
      I liked the visuals of the movie…no doubt…but I was going for the story behind the Titanic…but yea I liked it but I wanted more on the Titanic and less about the romantic deal….but he did slip in some of the story in there…but the other one explains it better…
      Dave…there is a lot of human interest stories from that ship…

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      2. I’m getting a good feedback on this…and I’m thrilled. But yea…it does have so many stories…. but I was asked the other day if I would sail on it if it were rebuilt to the same specs? Yes I would…it was a freak accident where everything that could go wrong did.

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      1. I saw one about the Edmund Firzgerald through YouTube a few years back. It was interesting but I can’t remember the exact details of what sunk it. What struck me was how really huge it was when you saw photos of it beside trucks at docks and things like that

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      2. I’ve seen some film of it now…these ships look like ghost ships now under the water. It’s spooky to see The Edmund Fitzgerald written on the ship…
        Yea these ships don’t look big with pictures until you have something to compare it to.

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  7. Titanic fascinates everyone in one way or another. The fact that the ship was built not to sink and yet did on its maiden voyage is what’s tragic about it. Like yourself I was amazed when they found it as back in 85…

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      1. Good point, that was wild to see that things were still intact decades after the boat sunk. I remembering buying National Geographic at the time when they featured in there magazine. There was my stack of Creem, Circus, Hit Parader and one NG magazine haha

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    1. Thank you…this is what I was looking for. Thanks again for reading…I have been working on one about the lifeboats…and a personal story…for next Friday…I so appreciate you saying that!
      I wasn’t sure if people would be interested or not.

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  11. I have been following stories about Titanic since I was a boy. Lord’s book was fantastic. Before my divorce, I had numerous books on Titanic. When I hear about new books, I always read them. When there are new documentaries I always watch them.

    One of the newer documentaries did a computer simulation to show what could have happened if they hit the iceberg head on. At the estimated speed, I think they said it would have crushed 5 of the watertight compartments. They agreed the simulation showed that they would have stayed afloat. On the downside, a lot of the crew had their cabins up front. Most would have died if that scenario had played out.

    In the end, they said that the decision to turn probably sealed their fate.

    As far as stories, there are plenty of people to talk about. Molly Brown stand out immediately. Captain Smith had an interesting story, too. JJ Astor and Thomas Andrews, Benjamin Guggenheim, Bruce Ismay, and Frederick Fleet all are interesting in their own ways.

    To me, on of the greatest stories surrounds Wallace Hartley and his band. I cannot imagine playing while all the chaos was going on around them.

    I don’t recognize the title of the book you are reading, but I’m going to look for it.

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    1. I saw that same simulation…yea it would have destroyed the bow but yea they would have stayed afloat…Also…google “open gangway door” on the Titanic. They opened that 3×6 door…that was up on the ship when the water got high…to help with the boats lower….but they forgot to close it! It was a bigger space than the iceberg made! If they would have closed that door…it could have bought them 20-30 minutes. The door remained open and finally fell off in 1995 or so..

      Oh…also the baker that got lit and survived the wreck but he helped save people and the whiskey he drank probably helped him survive.

      Hartley was a hero no doubt man…I can’t imagine. Selfless people on that ship…
      Thanks Keith…I got a much better feedback than I ever thought I would get! I’m going to do more and cover different stories as I go…next week the lifeboats.

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  12. Looks like this post is a winner Max!? In 2007 my younger brother, his wife me and my oldest daughter went to Vancouver and saw the ‘Titanic’ exhibit- they had actors playing out roles as crewmen, officers etc. It was a very interesting ‘you are here as it’s all happening’ experience. (Dare I say ‘Immersive’ or is that pun going to sink like a groan?)

    Here we had the ‘Wahine’ disaster in which the Cook Strait ferry ‘Wahine’ hit a reef during a storm on 10 April ’68. That storm really ripped into NZ; when we went outside the next day it looked like some giant weed whacker had mulched its way through trees, branches, roses, hedges… The streets were littered with other kinds of debris too, lost laundry blown off washing lines, bits of fences, the odd mailbox, loose roof tiles, that sort of thing. It was like a minor hurricane had just blown through the place. Very unlike our usual weather.

    Our school class had been on the sister ship to the ‘Wahine’ on a class trip to NZ’s capital, Wellington, the previous year and THAT had been a roughish crossing- I was one of many that brought up the dinner buffet later that night! So when the ‘Wahine’ sunk the next year it was a bit of a sobering moment for me. The ‘Wahine’ storm is legendary for those old enough to have witnessed it.

    51 people died, it was a dark dark night and day indeed.

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    1. It sure is obbverse…I didn’t think I would get this amount of feedback. The stories are worth retelling for sure. When you put yourself in their spot…it’s so frightening to think about. One thing about those ships…it’s not exactly safe going down 80 feet in a lifeboat to the water. Those capsize and everything else.

      After heavy consideration… ‘Immersive’  is allowed! lol. I just looked up The Wahine diaster…how terrible. They said it was one of the first disasters to be broadcast live on televison there. Sounds like the passengers didn’t know how serious the situation was at the time. That sounds familiar…

      Again a stupid question…but I would have thought hurricanes would be common there but I assume not after you saying that. I was all wrong about New Zealand! I was thinking warm year around, hurricanes, and Mary Ann…I struck out on all three.

      I’ve never been on that big of ship…only a car ferry. I’ve been in speedboats but that is a huge difference…you are right on the water with speedboats. I can imagine what you rode as a kid would be queasy in unruly waters.

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      1. The Cook Strait between the North and South islands is renowned for rough weather. But not usually THAT bad. I’ve done maybe a dozen of those ferry trips and they have been mostly good, but a few were a bit unpleasant. Boat wise when I was 5 or so we sailed from Vancouver Canada to Australia (SS Oronsay) and it (looks up Google…) was apparently a trip of 2-3 weeks. In my tiny little mind it felt like months!

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  13. I must confess I do not know much about this at all. I’ve never seen any of the films or read anything extensive. It certainly is an interesting subject to get involved in.

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    1. Yea….my passion was rekindled…the stories of the people on it…just incredible sacrifices from most aboard. It would be interesting to see what today’s people would do. Probably too busy with their iphones to know they are sinking.

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  14. I also find the Titanic incredibly interesting. What gets me is the amount of things that had to go wrong at the same time for it to happen… The clear night, no waves, the fact that turning the boat made it worse, the hubris, the arrogance, the fact that the closest boat to them though the flares were fireworks… I don’t really believe in fate, but it feels like it was just destined to go down.

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    1. You won’t believe what I’m watching now…the sinking real time…incredible animation.
      Yes…if they would have hit that iceberg head on…they very well could have made it. The Californian… if only they would have noticed….the Titanic would have sunk but without the people.

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      1. Ha yeah I’ve watched that video. I sometimes teach a whole unit on it in school. The kids are always fascinated.

        I suppose when you dig deep into any big disaster, you find a whole load of little moments that add up to something terrible.

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      2. Yea I got into it as a kid…and it never left me but it has really reawaken now…I do this will subjects…and it will last a week or so more…I guess that is why I blog now.
        Yea it’s easy to find things afterward…I try to keep that in mind.

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  15. I wrote a long comment to this on Friday, but I am having trouble with WordPress at work so I typed it up when I got home, submitted it, but Max never got it. I didn’t get a chance to retype it yesterday and today I am being lazy and will just recap the main point.

    I am not interested in the Titanic. But Max’s approach to it is fascinating, informative and lots of fun to read. He asks if we want more and the general consensus (although thinking about it, who would bother to post a no) is HELL YES,

    The Straus part is fascinating, a great tale. The fact that most of the pictures that we are told are of the Titanic are really of another ship is fascinating trivia I can do nothing with but nod my head in agreement that, while I don’t know for sure, I believe that is possible. No, I can’t begin to explain why it took more than twice as long for the Titanic to sink as similar ships, I praise Max as I recall he said 2 hours and 40 minutes.

    Yes, Max, I want more.

    But Max, be clear, what I want more of has more to do with the material you select and the way you build your posts. As I have made clear in the past, I am a fan.

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    1. Thank you Arthur…my passion is at a high with this subject right now. As with other subjects I get obsessive about it and will be for the next week or two.
      I do think there are things we can learn from what happened…not only ship rules were changed…but also from a human standpoint.
      I am a sick man though…I watched 10 hours of cut material from the wreckage site. So fascinating to me.
      Thanks for commenting again…and taking the time to read it.

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