What are some myths about Titanic that wont go away

T

Tarn Stephanos

Member
What are some mysths about Titanic that wont go away?

*There still are books insisting Titanic was trying to break a speed record..

*There are still people who think Titanic was the largest ship ever build...

Any other annoying misconceptions about Titanic that still pop up?

Tarn Stephanos
 
That there were "locked gates"
That Murdoch shot himself
That people were shot while trying to board lifeboats. (Little evidence)
That's just the tip of the iceberg!
 
From recent observations in the guestbook:

That the wreck will be raised
That 'they' are building a replica
That there were thousands of great grandparents onboard who are not listed here at ET!
 
Another myth was that there was 'mass pandamonium' at the end..

By all accounts the sinking took on the air of surreal detachment, and there was never any panic on a large scale...

I think there were some locked gates, American immigration laws of 1912 required that- But i think in many instances 3rd class did not enter 1st class because noone came down to say it was okay- The steerage may have felt it 'was not thier place' to cut through first class, even if there was easy access.
It was this Edwardian class segragation mindset that is alien to the modern Elizabethans-

And every other person seems to think a new Titanic is being built! That must have been the most popular myth...


Tarn Stephanos
 
One that amazes me is the number of people that have heard of the Olympic/Titanic swap, even though they have little interest in Titanic and probably have not read Gardiner's silly books.

There are also those who think the lack of lifeboats was something unusual and only happened through some wicked conspiracy of White Star.
 
That 'most' survivors did not see the Titanic break apart. Very few actually claimed to see it sink intact - and most of those were Titanic officers!

That the British Inquiry lifeboat launch times are correct.

Tarn: I wouldn't say "By all accounts" relating to panic. There was the crowd that Gracie reported coming out of the Grand Staircase lobby, just as the bridge was dipping under.
 
Then there's the stoker who survived the Titanic, the Lusitania and the Empress of Ireland and/or the Brittanic - and in one version eventually comes to grief on HMS Hood.

And of course another all-time favourite ... the curse of the mummy.
 
Dave wrote: There are also those who think the lack of lifeboats was something unusual and only happened through some wicked conspiracy of White Star.

I got into a heated discussion on this topic in a class about underwater archaeology a couple weeks ago. Many of my classmates assumed that the ratio of lifeboats to people was only a problem on Titanic. Pretty much all the myths mentioned here were brought up. Someone also mentioned a moving-picture theater room on board. Now, maybe I've been living under a rock and need to come up for air, but I've never heard that one before. Has anyone else?

Hillary
 
Hi Hillary,

The 'cinema on Titanic' does come up every now and then* - as does the associated furphy that an early version of The Poseidon Adventure was the feature! See The Repository of Lost Legends on Snopes.com for further info.
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(Snopes also has a section devoted to Titanic legends.)

* ie https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/discus/messages/5660/5101.html, https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/discus/messages/5921/5185.html, etc.
 
Oh noooooo....not that mummy! For a dead person, she sure does get around.

A few other myths;

The 300ft gash.
The myth of inferior steel.
The myth of inferior rivets.
Sideswiping the iceberg (Physically impossible given the way ships actually manuever.)
 
What about the coal fire? Is that a myth as well? I've read theories that suggest that the fire was hidden from inspectors and passengers and may have compromised the ship. Any comments?
 
The story that the sinking was caused by a coal bunker explosion, or by explosives in the cargo. Also during the sinking, the talks of explosions come up a lot. Simply annoying. Also that the collapsibles were rubber dinghys according to a classmate.
 
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