Titanic 111 years | 10 Intriguing facts about the ship that inspired the most famous cinematic romance

On the night of April 14 to 15, 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank, causing the death of approximately 1,500 passengers on its maiden voyage. The disaster became one of the most famous in history and captured the imagination of many around the globe, especially filmmaker James Cameron, who was fascinated by the incident and chose to tell its story through a film about the forbidden love of Jack and Rose amidst the catastrophe. Besides catapulting Leonardo DiCaprio to fame, earning a fortune and winning no less than 11 Oscar statuettes, the work intensified Cameron's obsession with the colossal steel ship of the White Star Line and aroused even more interest from people worldwide.

More costly than the original

The film's production expenses were exorbitant for the time. The costs to shoot Titanic were around $200 million, while the real ship cost $7.5 million, which would be approximately $150 million in updated values. James Cameron justified the spending by using as many practical effects as possible. He recreated environments virtually identical to those of the original ship. Moreover, the director provided several details about the passengers for the extras in the film. That is, they were truly representing real people, with stories and goals, not merely extras.

A journey of a lifetime

In the 1910s, with steam engines dominating the market, large ships were the most modern and advanced. Traveling on one of these was an indicator not just of prestige, but for many, it was the journey of a lifetime, so much so that many passengers didn't even buy a return ticket. In the photo, we see the members of the Goodwin family, who planned to cross the sea on another vessel, but due to engine problems, had to be transferred to the Titanic at the last minute with third class tickets. None of them survived.

Animals on board

When mentioning the Titanic, one talks about the approximately 2,200 passengers who embarked and the nearly 1,500 who died after the collision and sinking. However, a curious fact about the accident is that there were some dogs on the ship, of which only three survived. In James Cameron's film, the elderly Rose (Gloria Stuart) has a Pomeranian. This was a tribute by the director to one of the three surviving dogs. Passenger Margaret Bechstein Hays secretly brought her little dog onto the ship. At the time of the sinking, Hays managed to board one of the lifeboats and reciprocated the loyalty of her Pomeranian by taking the pet with her to lifeboat number 7. The little dog lived until 1919. The other two surviving dogs were Elizabeth Rothschild's pet - an unidentified breed - who refused to board lifeboat number 6 unless she could bring her pet. Lifeboat number 3 also included the Pekingese of Henry and Myra Harper.

In the end, the saddest story involving pets was that of Helen Bishop's Frou-Frou, which she left in her cabin. According to her, the little dog bit into her dress and pulled so hard to go with her that it tore the seam: "The loss of my little dog hurts me a lot. I will never forget how he clung to my clothes. He wanted so much to accompany me," said Bishop. Still, she left him there to die.

Enemy of perfection

One of the reasons the ship hit the iceberg with such force was the Titanic's speed at the time of the collision. It was sailing at a high speed for an iceberg zone. This happened because the White Star Line pressured its crew to win the much-coveted Blue Ribbon, which awarded the ship that completed the journey between Europe and North America in the shortest time possible. The company's idea was for the Titanic to become the model ship for the world. The safest, the most comfortable, and the fastest. Unfortunately, it ended up being none of these.

The question of the life-boats

One of the most emblematic scenes of the film is when the first-class characters question if they will board the lifeboats along with the "lower class" passengers. The Titanic was designed to accommodate up to 64 lifeboats, however, for aesthetic reasons - and even arrogance - designer Thomas Andrews only placed 20 boats, which were not designed to travel long distances, only for the transportation of passengers to nearby ships.

Fatal encounter

The iceberg that caused the rupture of the Titanic's hull had been in the region for over 2,000 years. And, according to studies, the fatal encounter with the Titanic could have been avoided if Captain Edward J. Smith had received the iceberg warning about 30 seconds before it happened. The collision with the ice damaged six to seven front compartments. When the ship was designed, safety measures assumed it would be able to sail with up to four damaged compartments. To this day, the Titanic incident is the only case of a ship of its size sinking after colliding with an iceberg.

The sinking time

As shown in the movie, the Titanic didn't sink immediately; it sank gradually. The submersion began at 11:20 PM and ended at 2:20 AM on April 15, 1912. An interesting detail is that if you remove the scenes set in the "present," the Titanic movie is exactly 2 hours and 40 minutes, the total time of the sinking.

The ship is deteriorating

Having been at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for 111 years, the Titanic began to deteriorate. While part of the ship is in good condition, others have suffered the impact of the conditions. For example, the section housing the crew's quarters, including the captain's cabin, is practically all corroded due to the salinity of the water and bacteria that feed on metal. Researchers have already warned that the natural deterioration of the ship will not stop, and the next section to be corroded is the grand salons.

Cold grave

Due to salinity and the natural deterioration of a steel ship that has been underwater for over a century, it's simply impossible to remove the Titanic from the sea floor without completely destroying it. Therefore, it will forever remain buried in the icy grave of the ocean. However, items recovered from the ship, such as silverware, dishes, and tickets, are often found in auctions for very high prices.

Conspiracy theory

Like every great human tragedy, the sinking of the Titanic also has some conspiracy theories surrounding it. The most well-known claims that it was not the Titanic that sank, but the Olympic, a "sister" ship of the Titanic. This theory was proposed by Robin Gardiner, author of the book Titanic: The Ship That Never Sank. According to Robin, the White Star Line, the company that owned both ships, was on the brink of bankruptcy and couldn't afford the repair costs - not covered by insurance - that the Olympic needed after suffering a collision that damaged its keel. So, aiming for the insurance money of a brand new ship, the company would have made a precarious repair on the Olympic so that it would sink, and the White Star Line would receive a huge sum. Gardiner also claims that the Titanic was used by the company for years and years under the name of the Olympic, even being used in World War I, before being retired in 1935 and dismantled in 1936.