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100 Years: Sinking of the RMS Titanic
Topic Started: Feb 15 2012, 08:39 PM (655 Views)
Basil Fawlty
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This historical anniversary will be coming up in a couple of months, with several observances planned. Any thoughts on the occasion or the sinking itself?
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Petar
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Basil Fawlty
Feb 15 2012, 08:39 PM
This historical anniversary will be coming up in a couple of months, with several observances planned. Any thoughts on the occasion or the sinking itself?
Personally, I take a lot of interest in RMS Titanic - it indeed changed the world, to say it so.

The sheer amount of casualties, the importance of many of them (Benjamin Guggenheim and John Jacob Astor IV, to name the two most prominent), the superstitions regarding the ship, the legacy left behind, the heroism of many of the passengers, the changes in safety standards brought by this disaster - it all influenced the world of the time.

This is truly a historic event, and should be observed properly.
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Simon Darkshade
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It was a world shaking event, and the source for many potential alternate history points of departure.
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Basil Fawlty
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And today is 100 years since it sailed from Southampton.
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Basil Fawlty
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Quote:
 
Women first rule 'ignored in ship disasters' - study

The belief that women and children are first to be saved when ships sink is largely a myth, a new study suggests.

Analysis of survivors from 18 maritime disasters shows women "have a distinct survival disadvantage", say researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden.

The report says captains and crew have a significantly higher survival rate.

The Titanic disaster 100 years ago this week was a rare exception because the captain threatened to shoot those who disobeyed, they conclude.

But the "women and children first" rule is now seen as the normal way to behave in emergencies.

The authors of the report, economists Mikael Elinder and Oscar Erixson, say the captain has the power to enforce the rule.

But they say their findings show that behaviour in real life-or-death situations is best captured by the expression "every man for himself".
Improving survival rates

The study covered sea disasters spanning three centuries, involving more than 15,000 people. The authors say data from 16 of the ships had never been analysed in this way before.

The first was the troopship HMS Birkenhead on 26 February 1852, which the authors say was the disaster often seen as giving rise to the idea of saving women and children first.

* The Birkenhead carried around 20 family members of officers, as well as troops. There were too few lifeboats for all on board, and when it started sinking orders were given for women and children to go first. The 191 survivors included all seven women. The death toll was 365.
* When the American liner SS Arctic sank in September 1854, women and children were also ordered to the boats first. But the evacuation was disorganised, and they quickly filled with crew. The captain threatened disobedience with violence, but hesitated to enforce his orders. The death toll was 227, including all women and children, and the 41 survivors were mostly crew members.
* When the MS Estonia started sinking in the Baltic in 1994, it listed sharply, causing panic on board. It became difficult to launch lifeboats, and most of the 852 who died were trapped inside the ship. There was no record of a "women and children first" order being given and the evacuation was not orderly, said the report. There were 137 survivors.

The analysis showed that the gender gap in death rates has narrowed in disasters since World War I. The authors say this is connected with women's generally higher status in modern society.

They also point out that in more recent disasters people show altruism to more vulnerable people generally, such as those with disabilities.

The study suggests that women are generally at greater disadvantage in British shipwrecks, and the length of time the disaster takes to unfold has no bearing on whether more efforts are made to save women and children.
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Basil Fawlty
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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/twitter-backlash-people-did-not-know-titanic-real-163523705.html

Astounding.

Quote:
 
The social news-sharing site Reddit has a knack for exposing people and situations. The latest topic of discussion to generate controversy is a series of tweets from people who did not know that the sinking of the Titanic was a real historical event.

Apparently, an entire generation of people associate "Titanic" with the Hollywood blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Here is the disambiguation for you. The RMS Titanic sank April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg. The tragedy is considered one of the deadliest of peacetime maritime disasters. More than 1,500 people died.

"Titanic" the film was released December 19, 1997, and was an instant success. It became the highest-grossing film of all time for 12 years, until "Avatar" debuted in 2009.

For all the history buffs reading this, the next couple of sentences may be too painful to contemplate. A couple of the tweets from the uninformed read, "Nobody told me titanic was real? How am I just finding this out?" Another tweet read, "Guys, the Titanic was real! #mindblown."

Most people ware of the existence of the RMS Titanic are in disbelief. One such person tweeted, "The ignorance is astounding." Another person said he was "weeping for the future" at finding out that so many young people are unfamiliar with such a well-known fact.
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Petar
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Basil Fawlty
Apr 14 2012, 12:17 AM
Yes, I've seen that a couple of days ago.

Ignorance always astounds me...
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Basil Fawlty
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I can see it 50 years from now.

"Dude! The Holocaust was real? How I am just finding out about this?"

"Don't be ridiculous. There is no way to eliminate 6 million people in a world before nuclear weapons."


Dear me...
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Simon Darkshade
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Dear me...If I hadn't seen and heard some of the same type of things, it wouldn't be believable.

Example from a 13 year old student:

"Mr. Darkshade, were you around when Lance Armstrong walked on the moon?"
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Basil Fawlty
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That would be quite a bicycle ride.
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Basil Fawlty
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http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/titanic-conspiracy-theories-mummy-curse-insurance-scam-reasons-205106898.html

The bunker fire has some interesting possibilities for an AH game, if the ship should first put into a German port. ;)
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Matthew
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And coupled with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion
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Basil Fawlty
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Matthew
Apr 15 2012, 01:59 AM
Unfortunately the SS beat you to that idea... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cap_Arcona

Bloody bastards.
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Matthew
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WnJnWZrK83U
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Basil Fawlty
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Matt had an interesting observation about the Titanic as a symbolic end to the Victorian age. It reminds me of what Kenneth More's character says in A Night to Remember. "We were so sure. I don't think I'll ever be really sure of anything again." It foreshadows the arrogance in the lead-up to the Western Front, and a misguided faith in human ability and progress.
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Simon Darkshade
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Indeed, although that was coupled with the film being made in the 50s, so that the contrition of another world war was added to that directly related to the incident.

It was one of those events that shaped the age to a small extent, similar to arguments I've seen regarding Mallory and Everest.
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Petar
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Basil Fawlty
Apr 14 2012, 12:17 AM
I was just re-reading this thread when I saw this, and I simply had to share something that happened to me the other day.

We had oral exams in Geography two weeks ago, and my friend and I were "volunteers". She was asked to tell the reasons of the 4th wave of emigration of Croats (post WWII emigration, so it's obviously political reasons, among others), and she didn't know the complete answer, so she fumbled something about the economy, the destruction etc... Until the teacher asked her: "Well, just think about it - who won WWII?"

She answered: "Well, the Germans, no?"

The teacher and I stared at her for at least half a minute. I don't know what the teach was thinking, but I was praying for a heart attack.
Edited by Petar, Mar 11 2013, 11:07 PM.
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Basil Fawlty
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The Germans did win WWII.

What was Berlin's main geostrategic goal? The destruction of the Soviet Union and the unification of Europe behind the "crusade" against Bolshevism. In that they succeeded entirely -- although with the little caveat that it was led by the United States and took 40 years to accomplish.

;)

Kidding aside, perhaps it was an honest mistake on your friend's part. Or perhaps she was thinking that the Germans overran Yugoslavia and "won" in the same sense that they won against France, Holland, Norway and Poland.
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Doctor_Strangelove
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.
Edited by Doctor_Strangelove, Nov 11 2016, 10:23 AM.
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Basil Fawlty
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What astounds me is how the internet and modern communication have made such ignorance worse, rather than redressing it. 100 years ago it would be understandable if a young person living in Wyoming didn't grasp the importance of a funny Englishman named "Arthur Wellsy." Today I run into people who cannot even recognize once well known entertainment names, such as Johnny Carson or Walter Matthau.
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