Top 5 Facts about the Titanic

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Script written by Sean Harris

Top 5 Facts About the Titanic

She was deemed “unsinkable,” but in her maiden voyage, the unthinkable occurred. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts. In this installment, we're counting down the top 5 facts about the Titanic.

#5: Newspapers Got the Story Wrong

They say that bad news travels fast, but not so much in 1912, as a number of newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic misreported the disaster. Perhaps most famously, Britain’s Daily Mail carried a front page stating that the Titanic had “sunk last night” but that “no lives [were] lost”; while the Baltimore Evening Sun got things wrong in America, as it claimed “All Titanic passengers are safe.” Generally, the American press benefitted from a six-hour time difference, and began to make sense of the disaster – but with only scattered wireless messages to work from, details were still sketchy. The New York American reported “1500 to 1800 dead,” while the New York Times tentatively went with “probably 1250 perished.” The London Evening News got it right when they printed arguably the most iconic headline, however: “Titanic disaster: Great loss of life.”

#4: The Ship Had a Whole Lot of Facilities for First-Class Passengers

The Titanic was truly a pioneer in terms of on board comfort and convenience. The Ritz hotel in London loosely inspired the ship’s interior, and its facilities were many and wide-ranging, especially for first-class passengers. There was an on-board gym, squash court and swimming pool, as well as Turkish baths, a steam room and a massage center. Such was the size of the ship, the Titanic even had its own on-board newspaper – the Atlantic Daily Bulletin – which was printed on site and carried news updates received by the wireless operators. And what wealthy dowager would travel without her lap dog? The ship had its own dog kennel on deck F, and every day the ship’s stewards would exercise the animals on– I swear– the poop deck.

#3: Several Notable Figures Were Supposed to Be on the Titanic

Many famous and notable figures came THIS close to boarding the ship, but for whatever reason, didn’t, and were luckily spared in the disaster. Milton Hershey, of Hershey’s chocolate, paid a $300 deposit for a first class passage, but unexpected business had him leave Europe three days earlier. Wealthy sportsman, Alfred Vanderbilt, luckily changed his mind about sailing, only to be killed on the Lusitania three years later when it was struck by a German U-boat torpedo. Radio pioneer, Guglielmo Marconi narrowly avoided Titanic as well, due to rescheduled business; and his luck continued as he also sailed the Lusitania, but on the voyage before its disaster. Legendary financier JP Morgan was also supposed to sail, and even had a personal suite on board – but fortunately chose to extend his stay in France instead. Contrastingly, John Jacob Astor IV is believed to be the wealthiest victim of the disaster; worth around $2 billion in today’s money. Legend claims that he quipped to a waiter, “I asked for ice, but this is ridiculous!”

#2: There Was Supposed to Be a Lifeboat Drill the Morning Before It Sunk

A lack of lifeboats on Titanic, and inefficient use of those that were available is usually blamed for what most analysts agree was an avoidable high loss of life. While it’s important to remember that the ship did meet legal requirements at the time, there were just 20 lifeboats on the vessel, 16 wooden and four collapsible. Even so, if utilized correctly, they could have carried 1178 people to safety. However, the first boat to leave, which had capacity for 65 people, went with just 28 – a trend which continued for the other 19. A little over 30% of those on board survived, but over 50% could have been evacuated. The statistics and shortcomings make for even grimmer reading, though, considering that a planned lifeboat drill was inexplicably cancelled on the morning before the disaster! While deaths were inevitable, there may have been fewer if the crew had the emergency procedure fresh in their minds.

#1: A Woman Lied About Being a Lost Survivor

Loraine Allison was the only child in Titanic’s first or second class to perish, and was just two years old when the ship went down. The Allison family, the woman and children of which might’ve been accepted on to the lifeboats, reportedly remained on the stricken ship as they were unable to locate Loraine’s brother, Trevor. The tragic individual story was brought back into the public eye in 1940, when Helen Loraine Kramer claimed to be Loraine Allison. According to Kramer, her parents had handed her to a man named Hyde just as the last lifeboats were leaving. Kramer died in 1992, with the Allison family still refusing to accept her story. The situation was only truly cleared up in 2013, however, when mitochondrial DNA testing on female-line descendants of Kramer and the Allisons found that no relationship existed between them.

So, what do you think? What’s the most incredible part of this epic disaster? For more unsinkable Top 10s and unforgettable Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.

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