OMG, I got to touch a piece of history.....THE HMS TITANIC!

[scoey1953]

Would you believe If I told you that tonight I got to touch the HMS Titanic? Well, how could that be? After all its like 5 miles down in the Atlantic, Right? Well, sort of.

Well, the truth is, I did. In San Francisco (see: http://www.sftitanic.com/) there is an exhibit featuring artifacts from the Titanic including a huge piece of her hull. Off to the side of that is a small box, where a 9 foot by 3 foot piece of the hull sits. At the top of the box is a hole. You can actually put your finger down that hole and touch the hull of the Titanic!!

I had shivers run down my spine, when I realized I got to touch the one ship I had always heard about most of my life as one of the most famous ships in History.



Though the exhibit is quite expensive ($27.00 per adult)I felt the little "Titanic" store was a bit tacky. Yes its great to have books and video tapes, but to sell pieces of Coal taken from her
broiler room...or to sell Shirts and caps with Titanic on them...seemed a bit strange to me.

IF anyone is in San Francisco between now and September 15th go to this exhibit. Its well worth it.
OMG...I touched History.

[Ladyhawk]

1. I love Titanic lore. The whole story is filled with amazing coincidences.

I hate to nitpick, but she was the RMS Titanic (Royal Mail Steamer Titanic), not the HMS Titanic.

My favorite coincidence is that a novel called Futility written by Morgan Robertson was on board the Titanic when she sank. Guess what the novel was about?

Robertson's novel features a ship, the Titan, '..which was the largest craft afloat and the greatest of the works of men'. No expense was spared on making the ship luxurious and the steward's cabin is described as being 'equal to that of a first class hotel.'

The latest technology was used in the building of the Titan including the addition of '..nineteen water-tight compartments.. With nine compartments flooded the ship would still float, and as no known incident of the sea could possibly fill this many, the steamship Titan was considered practically unsinkable.'

Because Titan was considered unsinkable she only carried the minimum number of lifeboats required by law - 24 - able to carry 500 people. This was not enough for the 2000 passengers on board.

Morgan Robertson's Titan hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean and sank. 2987 people died in the disaster.

Morgan Robertson republished Futility after the sinking of the Titanic with some notable changes suggesting that he was trying to cash in on the Titanic disaster.

Nevertheless, the similarities between The Titan and Titanic are striking...

More: http://www.historyonthenet.com/Titanic/futility.htm

[KitchenWitch]

2. That is really strange!

I just heard about that novel, my mom told me about it last week.

Cue Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone score.

[Ladyhawk]

4. I know! I first read about it in a book by Charles Pellegrino,

Her Name, Titanic. I've also read A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. Believe it or not, I actually prefer Pellegrino's book. It includes information on the discovery of the Titanic and some very interesting biographical information about Ballard. Also, the stories of the victims and the survivors of Titanic seem more vivid.

The recent movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio gets dissed around here a lot, but I really loved it. I think it caught the haunting feeling of the disaster very well. Of course, it helped that I saw it on a HUGE screen. It was a truly beautiful movie seen that way.

[GalleryGod]

7. See "Ghosts of the Abyss" a documentary by James Cameron

With new ROV's this documentary takes viewers to ALL the decks of Titanic. The leaded stained glass in the First Class Dining Room is still intact.:wow:

[Arugula Latte]

5. I've heard of that, as well, and it makes me think of that CD

by a hip hop group which was due to be released in Sept. '01. The cover featured an exploding World Trade Center...

Here is a link:
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/13/wtc.cover/

[Patiod]

9. I was taken by the % of steerage passengers who died

The last room of the exhibit I saw at the MD Science Museum in Baltimore had lists of who died and who survived in each class. Surprise, surprise, the cost of your ticket pretty influenced the likelihood of you getting on a lifeboat!

[SeattleGirl]

3. I've seen the exhibit twice, in Vegas. It's well worth seeing.

The thing that got me the most about it was the big plaque listing all the names of the people who died. First time I saw it, I just stood there with tears running down my face.

[Ladyhawk]

6. God, I'd love to see it...SF is so close, yet so far.

Too much fibromyalgia and other chronic illnesses; too little $$. Dammit.

[trackfan]

8. I found it strange that when people came into the final room

of the exhibit, which contained the "big chunk", they just looked at it for a second or two and then filed on past. I think a lot of people didn't know that it was really a piece of the ship, and not papier mache.

[rockymountaindem]

10. Touching history is easy

A couple of weeks ago in Poland I bought a WWII Soviet helmet from an old man in the flea market. I treat that thing with reverence now because I just assume someone died in it. Now *that's* history you can own.