Top 5 facts TITANIC: The Most Infamous Ship in History

Top 5 facts TITANIC: The Most Infamous Ship in History

1- BINOCULARS COULD HAVE PREVENTED DISASTER

Frederick Fleet was the first person on board the Titanic to see the iceberg. He later testified that if he had been issued with a pair of binoculars he could have seen it sooner, describing it as “darker than darkness” on the night of the sinking. On the 100th anniversary of the disaster, binoculars were placed on his grave with the message “better late than never.”

2- There weren’t just humans on board

Everyone knows that women and children were ordered to fill the lifeboats first, but they weren’t the only ones able to get a seat. Although several lifeboats were launched less than half full, some dogs made it onto them. Of the nine dogs on board, three survived – two Pomeranians and a Pekingese.

3- It was used as Nazi propaganda

In 1943 Nazi Titanic was released. Commissioned by Joseph Goebbels, it told a highly fictionalised account of the disaster, in which a German officer spots the iceberg but is ignored. Shipowner Joseph Bruce Ismay is portrayed as a power-mad Jewish businessman ultimately responsible for the collision.

4- The voyage was plagued by disaster

A combination of unlucky circumstances doomed the Titanic. Had it set out six weeks earlier, as was originally planned, there wouldn’t have been any icebergs in its path. Once it had hit the ‘berg, it sent out the wrong rocket signal for distress and the final SOS position given was also incorrect.

5- It wasn’t all luxurious

The first-class passengers were able to enjoy the finest luxuries, including a library and a swimming pool, but those in steerage weren’t so lucky. Although they could use a washbasin in their shared cabin, there were only two bathtubs, one for men and one for women, to be used by all 700 third-class passengers.