The Biggest Misconceptions People Have About the Titanic

The Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic better known as the Titanic was a luxury British steam ship that sank on its maiden voyage in the early hours of April 15, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg on its journey from Southampton, England to New York City. About 1500 passengers and crew lost their lives. This well-known tragedy has spoken to many literary works, motion pictures, musicals and scientific theories. Over the years, there are several misconceptions that people have continued to express about the titanic. Let’s debunk five of these misconceptions.\r \r 1. Sinking of the Titanic Was the Worst Maritime Disaster\r \r Many people think that the Titanic disaster was the worst maritime accident in history but this certainly isn’t the case. This does not negate the tragedy of the titanic. The worst disaster in history was the MV Wilhelm Gustloff, a German transport ship that was sunk by a Soviet submarine in 1945. Compared to the Titanic's official death toll of 1,503, it caused a loss of 9,343 lives. In 1984, an MV Doña Paz of the Philippines that collided with an oil tanker and claimed about 4400 lives is the worst peacetime maritime disaster. \r \r 2. The Titanic Skirted Regulations\r \r It is often believed that the Titanic broke the rules by putting fewer lifeboats on board the ship. People say that the company was too greedy to outfit the ship with sufficient lifeboats. Well while there weren’t lifeboats for the 2,240 passengers and crew on board, the Titanic not only complied with lifeboat requirements, but went above and beyond them. At the time it was required by law to have lifeboats to carry 1,060 people given its gross tonnage of 46,000. The Titanic carried lifeboats for 1,178 people.\r \r 3. Mummy On Board\r \r Some claim that a strange mommy was transported aboard the ship as cargo. According to tradition, the mummy belonged to the Princess of Amen-ra and anyone who moved it would suffer excruciating anguish or even lose their life. Proper records were kept by the Titanic’s crew and therefore something as valuable as an ancient Egyptian mummy would have featured in the ship's manifest. However, there was no record of this mommy being transported on the Titanic. In fact, this unlucky mummy is said to have been in the British Museum when the Titanic sank.\r \r 4. Advertised As Unsinkable\r \r Many people say that the Titanic was advertised as being unsinkable, however, this isn’t accurate. The advertisements promoted the ship as being safe. The company described the Titanic as “practically sinkable.” Yes the word unsinkable was used but it was qualified. There were also claims that the vessel was “designed to be unsinkable.” Certainly this carries a different meaning to being unsinkable. The ocean liner’s designers never asserted that it was faultless or that accidents were impossible. It’s all about the interpretation of the statements.\r \r 5. No Binoculars\r \r One misunderstanding is that no one on board the Titanic had binoculars which may have been useful for the lookout on the crows nest, in order to see the iceberg that sealed their fate. There were binoculars on board, however they were stashed in a locker and Second Officer David Blair had the key in his position when he was reassigned to another ship at the last minute. No one knew this. Fred Fleet, the lookout, later admitted that with binoculars, the iceberg could have been spotted and averted in time. Some disagree with the statement.