Cause of Death for RMS Titanic victims

[Bob Godfrey]

Yep. When you're afloat in the middle of the Atlantic and your feet are getting wet you might not know exactly what the situation is, but you tend to conclude that one way or another you're in the ****. Most of the Cabin Class passengers, on the other hand, had no reason to be greatly alarmed until much later in the proceedings.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>...had no reason to be greatly alarmed until much later in the proceedings.<<

Like when the water was seen swirling around the base of the Grand Staircase down on E-Deck? If they hadn't figured it out before, I'll bet that got the message across!

 

[Augusto Félix Solari]

However there are certain details that we must take into account: Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, one of the few people who understood the full scope of the terrible situation, encouraged first class ladies to get into the boats quickly. So, in fact, first class passengers were alerted of the danger more or less at the same time than the other classes. If they decided to believe in the information provided or remain in their cozy and warm beds is another thing.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Efforts to encourage passengers to board the boats early were not very successful for the very reason that those passengers were not alerted to the true extent of the danger. Andrews, along with those few of the crew members who were fully informed, would have been very selective about passing that information on to passengers of any Class. Whether or not this was sound policy is a matter for argument, and you'll find lengthy discussions about it in other threads.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>So, in fact, first class passengers were alerted of the danger more or less at the same time than the other classes.<<

Based on the observed reactions which Bob just described, I would submit that the effort to "Alert" the 1st Class passengers wasn't that successful. Seeing as how attempts were made to play it down (The band playing on!) it's not hard to see why.

No such effort was made with the 3rd Class passengers and it would have been pointless to try in any event. It's hard to say "All is well." with a straight face when the people you're trying to sell the bill of goods to can see the fish swimming around in their accomadation.

Oh, you can try but you might find yourself being drowned out by the derisive laughter before you can finish the tale.

 

[PRR5406]

Conventional theory in 1912 was, a ship sinks like a bucket. Air is replaced by torrents of water. A ship is big, therefore it pushes water out of it's way as it sinks, therefore, water must rush in to replace it. In essence, this creates a void, vacuum, suction to be filled. It's wrong, but it was the easiest assumption. Most likely, the massive number of deaths in the water were from the frigid temperatures. Drowning? Yes, probably some with out life jackets or those unconscious from striking objects in the water. Water pressure? Most likely if they were still inside the ship, and some had to be.

Here's a thought, though probably ghoulish and only from curiosity- what would exhumation of the unidentified bodies tell a forensic anthropologist? Bones are good witnesses, and they never lie.

 

[Samuel Halpern]

Conventional theory in 1912

Just what does "conventional theory" mean? Knowledge of what causes and how a ship sinks in 1912 was no different than what it is today.

 

[PRR5406]

Everyone was expecting a sucking vortex, a giant whirlpool if you will. It never came.