The Unsinkable Ship
Almost everyone has heard of the story of Titanic, and I like the story not because of the romance, but because of the message it sends: think of the unthinkable, and doubt the doubtless. Or in the ship world: Don't assume any ship is unsinkable. Source
Image from Wikimedia public domain.
Titanic (Hover)
That's a very good anology Smudge. The moment we take for granted that something is impossible and could never happen, that's when it will for sure. I think the lesson learned from the Titanic is "always have enough life boats". In life that could mean always have a back up plan. For example a party held outside is bound to be rained out if you don't have an indoor back up plan. I always try to prepare for what could happen, even if it seems farfetched. If you can concieve it, then it could happen. I am the kind of person who triple checks to see that the oven is off before I leave the house, that may be a bit OC but that's just me.
I agree with both of you. I think we should hope for the best but plan for the worst. It is true, we can thank the Titanic for the fact that cruise ships now must have enough lifeboats for all passengers and they must have a lifeboat drill early in the cruise.
Another good lesson is don't put too much faith in technology. It is only as good as those who develop it. They had so much faith in how the ship had been built they saw no need for that back up plan...lifeboats.
I don't know if this is relevant or not...
I think another thing Titanic is a prime example of is that, when put in a life or death situation, people become selfish and greedy. There are a lot of people who showed a great deal of heroism by giving up their seat for somebody else, or trying their hardest to save somebody else. But the truth is, people started playing God on the boat. The movie's depiction of third class getting locked below in order to get the higher class on the boats was completely factual. It was assumed, especially back then, that if you had more money you were a better person and deserved life moreso than somebody who was poor. In a situation as that, you will either see the angel in people, or the devil in people.
EDITORIAL: MORE TITANIC INFORMATION
The man who discovered the bulk of the wreck of the Titanic on the ocean floor in 1985 is not impressed with a new discovery that a bottom section of the boat dislodged before it sank. `It hit an iceberg and it sank,` the Associated Press quoted him as saying. `Get over it.`
Ref. https://deseretnews.com
I have always had a fascination with sunken ships, the Titanic notwithstanding. I think it's so interesting when they take cameras under the sea and take them through the wreckage. Everything is frozen in time and preserved.
There are definately many preventions that could have been taken with the Titanic dealings. When the Titanic sent up the firework flares, there was another ship nearby, and they saw the flares go up. They thought, though, that since they were white instead of red that they were just shooting off fireworks, and so they went on their little way.
As is well known, they were not prepared with nearly as many safety rafts as they should have been, and they weren't filling them to capacity. That right there cost many many lives.
The first British ship to use the SOS distress signal was the Titanic.