Posted on 12/05/2005 12:02:23 PM PST by ZGuy
The discovery of two large pieces of the Titanic's hull is changing the story of how the luxury ocean liner sank 93 years ago.
Undersea explorers said Monday that the Titanic broke into three pieces, not two pieces as commonly believed and portrayed in James Cameron's 1997 film version of the catastrophe. That means the ship likely sank faster than believed.
The hull pieces were found this summer by an expedition sponsored by the History Channel. Its leaders called it the most significant find at the site since undersea explorer Robert Ballard discovered the wreck 20 years ago and declared that the ship had broken in two.
"The breakup and sinking of the Titanic has never been accurately depicted," Parks Stephenson, a Titanic historian, said Monday at a conference at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, where scientists discussed the findings.
The 46,000-ton luxury liner was billed as "unsinkable" by its owner, the White Star Line. But it sank after striking an iceberg on April 14, 1912, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. About 1,500 people were killed.
Ballard discovered the bulk of the wreck in 1985 in 13,000 feet of water, about 380 miles southeast of Newfoundland. A portion of the ship's bottom was missing, and Ballard's team presumed it had fragmented into hundreds of small pieces.
The discovery of the two hull pieces about 500 meters from the rest of the wreck indicate that the piece came off the ship intact and later broke into two large sections, the explorers said.
"That's X marks the spot," said Richard Kohler, who led the expedition. "Right above that is where the Titanic broke."
Ballard did not immediately return a call for comment.
It was just on free HBO weekend.
I was lucky enough to flip over it at the right spot.
Not flapjacks.
Although, that was a funny post. ;)
Kerry was in Vietnam? I wonder why he didn't mention it during his campaign?
I thought they were actually supposed to be closed at all times when the ship was not in port and/or when someone was not actually walking through the door.
I thought the Brittanic was the Gigantic; name changed b/c of "Titanic."
RMS/HMHS Britannic. Converted to a hospital ship during World War I. It was sunk in the Aegean Sea by a mine laid by a German submarine U-73. Interestingly enough, the flooding was forward, and the watertight doors failed to function, ensuring the loss of the ship.
Due to the warm water, only 30 of the 1125 on board were lost (there were no patients at the time.)
There is a dispute as to whether the Britannic was originally to be named the Gigantic but was re-named after the Titanic sank.
Can't blame them for that.
Endless tragedies at sea...
The Botanic sunk when all the male passengers crowded onto the forward deck to get a glimpse of Miss Derek. Then there was the Pedantic, which went down as its officers argued the fine points of buoyancy in salt water. All are agreed that the Satanic had a curse on it from the start, but who can dispute that the passengers on the Koranic would have survived, had they just converted with their fingers crossed?
Couldn't agree more. I remember leaving the theatre muttering to myself: "Overheated dreck."
I think that was Britanic and I think it hit a mine.
I'll offer an opinion of dissent -- I enjoyed the movie.
"Jack!" "Rose!" "Jack!" "Rose!" "Jack!" "Rose!" "Jack!" "Rose!" "Jack!" "Rose!" "Jack!" "Rose!" "Jack!" "Rose!"...
A lot of people did. I laughed at inappropriate times...I thought it was a silly soap opera in the north Atlantic.
Basically a very simple (love)story wrapped inside special effects. The real stars of the movie were the sets.
However, I remember people coming back from the shoot and trashing Cameron. The guy was over budget to the point where he actually gave money back to the studio to re-shoot some scenes and put in the special digital effects.
Oddly, he really was the under dog in the whole process and ending up winning.
Indeed--some of the special effects were impressive. The princess and the noble pauper theme is hackneyed.
I find Cameron to be a self-obsessed boor, though not untalented.
To go from driving a truck to directing big budget movies you have to have a little ambitious. That's one of the reasons I believe I'm alone in the "king of the world" thing he did at the oscars. Basically a poor kid made good...
ambitious = ambition
There have been many of poor kids making good. It's just so much nicer when when they retain a minimum of humility.
I just pass this on as a story - has anyone else ever heard this?
Check out his bio -- it's hysterical...
http://www.filmmakers.com/artists/cameron/biography/
There have been many of poor kids making good. It's just so much nicer when when they retain a minimum of humility.
Let me know if you ever encounter one in the arts.
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