When you hear the word “Titanic,” what are the things that come into your mind? Perhaps, you would think of the tragic sinking of the ship which was boasted as something unsinkable. The movie Titanic in 1997 has made the name itself even more popular all over the world. This movie illustrated interesting scenes and compelling stories that relate to the ill-fated liner. Here are some facts about the Titanic – facts that you might have missed, and you might find enthralling and fascinating as well.
Titanic is a 2,500-year-old name
Thanks to the imaginative, creative, and resourceful minds of the people behind the construction of the Titanic ship. The builders thought of a name that meant big, huge, or gigantic. As a result, the shipbuilders known as Harland & Wolff picked a name from the famous Greek mythology, and the name they chose was Titanic. This name means Titans and they are Greek’s ancient gods. And for you to know, the Titanic ship had a sister ship whose name was Olympic which stands for the Olympians who were also Greek gods and goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Titans and Olympians were rivals.
The ship’s rivets weighed more than 1,200 tons
It’s amusing to note that every fact or information about the Titanic ship deserves applause and in context, an exclamatory point. Don’t you know that the ship had a rivet that weighed more than 1,200 tons? This rivet held all the metals of the ship together. It had a rudder that was steered with the aid of engines and this rudder alone weighed more than a hundred tons! It also had a couple of reciprocating engines that weighed 700 tons. Based on these figures, it is surprising to note that the ship was built on a very massive scale and that it is still considered gigantic even by the present day’s standards.
Coined as a massive air and water pollutant
Back in the day, ships were powered by steam and so does the Titanic ship. The ship was manned by more than 170 workers who had to work 24/7. These men had to feed coals to more than 150 furnaces to keep the ship’s thirty boilers producing steam which was very essential to keep the gigantic ship moving continuously. About a hundred tons of ash needed to be jettisoned or thrown into the ocean and this had to be done on a daily basis!
It took seven decades for explorers to find Titanic
The Titanic ship sank in 1912 and it was only in the year 1985 that its wreck or remains were found. After its discovery, more facts started to emerge. There was a huge debate as to whether or not the ship sank as a single piece. A Carpathian passenger said the ship broke into two pieces before it sank. Many authorities negated this illustration, so this debate continued until the ship’s remains were found. This has proven that the ship actually broke into two pieces before sinking into the depths of the sea.
The most expensive item in the sunken Titanic ship
There were rumors that the Titanic ship carried tons of gold when it sank. Well, that remains to be unproven up to these days. According to files, the most valuable and most expensive item inside the ship was a painting that had a value of $100,000. It’s just so ironic and amusing to think that after many years, many of the items that were retrieved from the shipwreck have gained enormous value due to the popularity and cultural meaning of the ship to the present generation.
So, what other interesting facts do you know about the Titanic?
