The Real Titanic Story: Surprising Facts Uncovered

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Transcript

00:00:0010.

00:00:01On April 10, 1912, crowds gathered at Southampton Beach to wave off what was, at the time, the

00:00:08world's largest and most prestigious ship, the RMS Titanic.

00:00:13The cost of the most expensive first-class parlor ticket was $4,350.

00:00:18That's around $70,000 in today's money.

00:00:22But barely 5 days after steaming away, the ship was swallowed by the Atlantic Ocean.

00:00:28So let's rewind and go back to what actually happened on that fateful night.

00:00:32The captain wanted to set a speed record for the ship's maiden voyage and arrive early.

00:00:37The ship was deemed unsinkable, so he went full throttle into the dark Arctic waters.

00:00:43After spotting the 100-foot iceberg, the crew desperately tried to steer the vessel away

00:00:47and avoid the collision.

00:00:49But the Titanic was traveling too fast, and the iceberg tore down the side of the ship,

00:00:55creating a huge opening in the hull.

00:00:57It wasn't a continuous rip, and damage was caused in several places.

00:01:01In total, the damage spanned along an area of around 300 feet.

00:01:06But the ship's designers had prepared for the prospect of a collision and added water-tight

00:01:10compartments down each side of the ship to act as a buffer zone.

00:01:15Four of these compartments could be breached, and the ship would still stay afloat.

00:01:19But because the iceberg tore down the side of the Titanic, it ripped holes in six compartments.

00:01:25The compartments didn't extend up the total height of all decks and weren't actually

00:01:29sealed at the top.

00:01:31This is why when more than four were flooded, water reached over the top of the bulkheads

00:01:36and filled the remaining compartments, causing the ship to sink into the ocean.

00:01:40Think of it as water spilling over an ice cube tray.

00:01:44But what if the collision was head-on?

00:01:46Would it still have sunk?

00:01:50Ships are designed with potential crashes in mind, and most vessels have collision bulkheads

00:01:54in the bow.

00:01:56Most of all, it's like your car's bumper or crumple zone – it's a safety feature

00:02:00that can withstand a direct hit.

00:02:02The bow could have taken some of the impact, and some experts have suggested that if it

00:02:07hit head-on, only two to four of the water-tight compartments would've been flooded.

00:02:12So in theory, the Titanic might not have sunk, and it might've even been able to continue

00:02:17sailing to its final destination at a much slower speed.

00:02:22The force of impact would likely have been huge, though.

00:02:25But although passengers would've been injured by the force, they'd have been able to stay

00:02:29on the ship to wait to be rescued by other ships, rather than being forced into the icy

00:02:34waters of the Atlantic.

00:02:36Still, one of the Titanic's designers, Edward Wilding, suggested that the force of the impact

00:02:42might not have actually been that big.

00:02:45He told the British Inquiry that lots of people scarcely felt the collision, and he believed

00:02:50the ship would not have sunk if it did hit the iceberg head-on.

00:02:54The ship was also designed with remotely operated water-tight doors between all compartments,

00:03:00so any floods could've been quickly sorted out.

00:03:03Because Titanic had six breaches from the side collision, and because it happened so

00:03:07quickly, sealing the doors wouldn't have made a difference, as it was essentially impossible

00:03:13to save it by that point.

00:03:15The ship immediately began to flood, with water pouring in at a rate of roughly 7 tons

00:03:20per second, 15 times faster than it could be pumped out.

00:03:24So while it sounds like the Titanic would've survived had the ship hit the iceberg head-on,

00:03:30this idea does come with some issues.

00:03:34First off, the collision bulkheads were designed to survive a crash with another ship, not

00:03:38a giant iceberg.

00:03:40If two ships collided, both would absorb some of the impact in their bulkheads, sharing

00:03:45the impact and likely staying afloat.

00:03:48But an iceberg is stationary, meaning that Titanic would absorb most of the energy from

00:03:53the collision.

00:03:54If Titanic hit head-first, because of the speed it was traveling, the impact would have

00:03:59likely traveled down the whole body of the ship.

00:04:02Just imagine a 46,000-ton ship traveling at around 20 knots.

00:04:07At some point, it hits an iceberg that weighs what could be over 100,000 tons.

00:04:12This collision would likely create a powerful force causing massive damage to the vessel.

00:04:18It is likely that seams would split, staircases would come tumbling down, and rivets would

00:04:23burst open across the ship.

00:04:25All that would've potentially flooded even more compartments.

00:04:29This could've caused Titanic to sink in a matter of minutes rather than hours.

00:04:34But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

00:04:36As we all know, the biggest part of it is hidden underwater.

00:04:40So if Titanic had been traveling head-on, it's likely it would've hit the part of

00:04:45the iceberg below the water first, which would send it veering off course.

00:04:50Hitting an iceberg is not like hitting a brick wall.

00:04:53In this case, the ice under the water would've torn open the bottom of the ship and caused

00:04:58damage to the sides.

00:05:00Icebergs also aren't flat, solid objects.

00:05:03If a flat collision happened, the ship might've stayed afloat, but icebergs come in many shapes

00:05:08and sizes, from domes to wedges.

00:05:11Studies have also been done on the steel used to produce Titanic, and the tests show the

00:05:16metal was about 10 times more brittle than the steel we use today.

00:05:20The ship was built before we understood the effects of low temperature on steel.

00:05:25The old steel used to make the vessel would not bend when faced with freezing temperatures,

00:05:30but break.

00:05:31Recovered pieces of Titanic's hull plates show that the hull just shattered on impact.

00:05:37Hitting head-on would also cause a very severe and abrupt stop, so even if the ship hadn't

00:05:42sunk, there would still have been major issues.

00:05:45Think about when you suddenly hit the brakes on your car, or when the bus stops while you're

00:05:49walking down the aisle and you get flung forward.

00:05:53Passengers would've been thrown across the ship, and because the crash happened at night,

00:05:58most people were sleeping, so wouldn't be able to effectively prepare for any sort

00:06:02of impact.

00:06:03This would result in injuries for most people on board.

00:06:06It would be especially bad for those at the front of the ship, where the accommodation

00:06:10for the off-duty firefighters, greasers, and engineers was.

00:06:15But while passengers and off-duty crew may have been thrown out of bed, there would be

00:06:19a lot more survivors than in the original scenario.

00:06:23Many ships have had head-on collisions and made it back to shore.

00:06:27Not many people know that Titanic actually had two sister ships.

00:06:31The White Star Line, the company that built Titanic, also built vessels called Britannic

00:06:36and Olympic.

00:06:38Captained by Edward J. Smith, who would later helm Titanic, the Olympic set off on its maiden

00:06:44voyage in June 1911.

00:06:46But much like Ford's sister ship, disaster was just around the corner.

00:06:51On its fifth commercial voyage, Olympic collided with a Royal Navy ship, HMS Hawk.

00:06:57While the Olympic received damage to its side, Hawk crashed into the other vessel head-on.

00:07:03The bow of the Hawk was completely crushed by the collision, but because the ship had

00:07:07watertight compartments, it managed to survive the impact and later returned to shore for

00:07:12repair.

00:07:14Another study case is the SS Andrea Doria, which was an Italian ocean liner that made

00:07:19global headlines in 1956.

00:07:22Like the Titanic, the Andrea Doria was heading for New York City on its 101st voyage when

00:07:27disaster struck.

00:07:29On July 25, the vessel collided with the 524-foot Swedish passenger liner Stockholm.

00:07:36The Stockholm hit the ship head-on, but the point of impact for the Andrea Doria was on

00:07:41its side.

00:07:42The front of the Stockholm was completely smashed, but because the impact was on its

00:07:46hull, it managed to survive.

00:07:49The Andrea Doria, however, sadly sank due to the collision being on the side of the

00:07:53ship.

00:07:54So these cases could suggest that maybe the Titanic would've survived had it hit the

00:07:59iceberg head-on.

00:08:01But we have to remember that the Titanic hit the thing full speed, whereas both the Olympic

00:08:06and the Andrea Doria were traveling slower.

00:08:12A beam of electric light pierces the darkness over the calm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

00:08:20The Titanic is quietly making its way through the waves, its passengers asleep, when suddenly

00:08:26a monstrous white shape is caught in the light beam.

00:08:29The fateful iceberg is about to rend the side of the legendary ship.

00:08:40April 14, 1912, only two days before someone will take a photo of a giant iceberg with

00:08:47a pretty unusual elliptical shape.

00:08:50It turns out that this iceberg most likely formed out of snow that fell 100,000 years

00:08:55ago.

00:08:57Researchers used computer modeling to figure out its origin.

00:09:00They used data from 1912 and added some new information about winds and ocean currents.

00:09:06They concluded that the iceberg was probably a part of a small cluster of glaciers in southwest

00:09:12Greenland.

00:09:15These days, it's possible to calculate the roots of such icebergs in any given year in

00:09:19the past.

00:09:20So, the infamous chunk of ice was on its way from Greenland to an area further south from

00:09:26Cornwall.

00:09:27If the ship had passed through that region only two days later, the iceberg would have

00:09:32moved far away from the point where they met.

00:09:36At first, the weight of the most well-known iceberg in the world was 75 million tons.

00:09:42With time, it started to slowly melt away.

00:09:45And when it sank the Titanic, its weight was only 1.5 million tons.

00:09:51By the time of the collision, it had probably been melting for months, but it was still

00:09:56a true monster.

00:09:58When the Titanic sank, the iceberg was 400 feet long, and more than 100 feet of its surface

00:10:04was above the water.

00:10:08Some people believe it was a supermoon that caused the Titanic to sink.

00:10:12That night, there was a rare lunar event.

00:10:15It hadn't happened for 1,400 years.

00:10:18In normal conditions, the iceberg wouldn't have traveled so far south without melting

00:10:23and losing the largest part of its mass.

00:10:26But the supermoon could have been the reason for an unusually high tide that pulled the

00:10:31iceberg away from the glacier way faster than usual.

00:10:35There's a specific type of bacteria that slowly consumes the remains of the Titanic.

00:10:42Salt corrosion, ocean currents, freezing temperatures, plus this rust-eating microorganism might

00:10:48consume the entire wreckage.

00:10:52American actress Dorothy Gibson was aboard the Titanic.

00:10:56She survived, and when she arrived in New York, she started filming a movie called Saved

00:11:02from the Titanic almost right away.

00:11:04The movie was released only a month after the Titanic sank, and in the movie, she even

00:11:10wore the same shoes and clothes she had during the actual disaster.

00:11:14The movie was a big success at that time, but the only known copy was destroyed in a

00:11:19fire.

00:11:21Fourteen years before the Titanic sank, a novella called Futility had been published,

00:11:27and it seemed to have predicted the whole event.

00:11:30The plot centered around a fictional ship called the Titan that sank during its voyage.

00:11:36The Titan was almost the same size as Titanic, and they both went to the bottom in April.

00:11:42The reason was hitting an iceberg, too.

00:11:45Both the real and fictional ships were described as unsinkable, and both of them had the legally

00:11:50required number of lifeboats, which, as it turned out later, were nowhere near enough.

00:11:58We've seen it in the movie, but there were some real-life love stories happening on the

00:12:02Titanic, too.

00:12:03Thirteen couples even took a trip on the Titanic as part of their honeymoon.

00:12:08One of the couples owned Macy's department store in New York.

00:12:11Once it became clear the Titanic was rapidly sinking, the woman refused to go into a lifeboat

00:12:17without her husband.

00:12:18But he didn't want to join her while there were still women and children who he thought

00:12:23had to go first.

00:12:24Then his wife gave her coat to her maid.

00:12:27She insisted that the maid should get into the lifeboat, and she wanted her to be warm.

00:12:32As for the woman herself, she decided to stay with her husband till the end.

00:12:40Some people believe Titanic sank because of a mummy, not an iceberg.

00:12:44It all started around 1000 BCE with a mysterious woman who lived in Egypt, in the city of thieves.

00:12:52People knew little about her, but they called her a priestess.

00:12:56Her mummy was put in a wooden sarcophagus and covered with a large lid with the image

00:13:01of her face and some mystical inscriptions.

00:13:04This place had been hidden until the first half of the 19th century, when a group of

00:13:09locals accidentally came across it.

00:13:12They disturbed her peace.

00:13:13No one knows how, but the mummy disappeared that day without a trace.

00:13:21A couple of decades later, a group of rich friends from England traveled to Egypt and

00:13:26found the empty mummy casket with the image of the priestess, whose dark eyes seemed to

00:13:31be looking into the void.

00:13:33They decided to buy it, but the buyer disappeared the same night before he even got the case.

00:13:40All members of the group had some accidents.

00:13:42The casket changed its location a couple of times until it, as some believe, ended

00:13:47up on the Titanic.

00:13:51It took more than 70 years for a robot submarine to find the ruins of this legendary ship.

00:13:57The wreck lies nearly 13,000 feet under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, split into

00:14:03two halves.

00:14:04Why did the liner break apart?

00:14:07No one knows exactly.

00:14:09Some think it happened because of the water that got inside when the ship collided with

00:14:13the iceberg.

00:14:14The pressure was so powerful, it separated two parts of the vessel, starting with the

00:14:19ship's bottom structure.

00:14:21Others say it was because of the hull rivets.

00:14:24They had a high concentration of slag or smelting residue, and that's something that can cause

00:14:29the metal to split apart.

00:14:31The ship generally had many flaws, starting with the design.

00:14:35The watertight bulkheads weren't completely sealed on top.

00:14:39This allowed the water to flow between the compartments and, in the end, sink the vessel.

00:14:44The iron of the ship's rivets and steel of the hull ended up ruined because of high

00:14:49sulfur content, cold temperatures, and high speeds.

00:14:53The steel shattered and the rivets popped out quite easily.

00:14:57Because of this, Titanic sank 24 times faster than it would have otherwise.

00:15:02If the ship had hit the iceberg head-on instead of ramming it with its side, it would have

00:15:07probably stayed afloat.

00:15:09How come the crew members didn't have binoculars?

00:15:12It would have surely helped them spot the iceberg on time and maybe even avoid the disaster.

00:15:18But the binoculars on the Titanic were locked in a storage cabinet.

00:15:23Only one crew member had the key, and he had been transferred off the ship right before

00:15:28it set sail.

00:15:29He later said he hadn't remembered to hand over the key.

00:15:33But even without the binoculars, the ship might have had some time to change course

00:15:38and avoid the collision if the crew had gotten some warning.

00:15:42But that's the thing.

00:15:44Someone did warn them.

00:15:46About an hour before the incident, a ship that was relatively close to Titanic, the

00:15:50SS Californian, sent a message to inform them it had stopped because of dense ice field.

00:15:57But the warning never got to the Titanic's captain.

00:16:01Some experts say it was because the radio operator didn't think it was that urgent.

00:16:06And later, the SS Californian said they didn't get a call for help from the Titanic because

00:16:11their radio operator was off-duty.

00:16:15Some say the crew on the Titanic couldn't spot the iceberg on time because of an optical

00:16:20illusion.

00:16:22Atmospheric conditions that night probably caused super-refraction, which could have

00:16:26camouflaged the berg.

00:16:28After all, no one actually saw the iceberg until it was too close to the ship to somehow

00:16:33avoid the crash.

00:16:35Not even a whole minute passed between the moment they saw the iceberg and the collision.

00:16:41It was only 37 seconds, and it took Titanic 2 hours and 40 minutes to disappear below

00:16:47the ocean's waves.

00:16:54They were on their way to the new world when a rendezvous with an iceberg crushed all of

00:16:58their dreams and hopes.

00:17:00There was panic and tears and heartbreaking goodbyes, like that of Jack and Rose.

00:17:05Or was there?

00:17:06Let's see how well you know the real story of Titanic.

00:17:11The love story of Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater was inspired by true events.

00:17:17What do you say?

00:17:18Is it a myth or a fact?

00:17:27The most emotional Titanic love story was actually all made up by the screenwriter and

00:17:32director of the famous movie, James Cameron.

00:17:35Some passengers featured in the movie were real though, and by a mere coincidence, there

00:17:39was a Jay Dawson on board.

00:17:42His name was Joseph, not Jack, and he worked as a coal trimmer.

00:17:47The most expensive object lost with the Titanic was a painting by Pablo Picasso.

00:17:52What's your take on this one?

00:18:00It's a myth, another one given to us by the famous movie.

00:18:04The most valuable item that went down with the Titanic was probably a Mary Joseph Blondel

00:18:08painting created in 1814.

00:18:12Some other valuable items were a violin that belonged to Wallace Hartley, the musician

00:18:17who insisted that they had to play till the very last moment.

00:18:21There was also a 1912 Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville that would now cost millions of dollars,

00:18:27a handwritten manuscript by Joseph Conrad, first edition essays by Francis Bacon, five

00:18:33Steinway Grand Pianos, and, of course, some fine china plates and cups, and first class

00:18:39passengers jewelry.

00:18:42The Titanic was the largest and the most luxurious passenger ship of its time.

00:18:47Does it sound real to you?

00:18:52Yep, it's totally true!

00:18:57In April 1912, the Titanic was the largest ship ever built.

00:19:03It was 882 feet long and had a maximum passenger capacity of 2,435 people.

00:19:11That's not a lot compared to the largest cruise ship of today, the Symphony of the

00:19:15Seas.

00:19:17It's just a bit longer than the Titanic but has more than double the passenger numbers.

00:19:22And yes, no other cruise liner has probably beaten the Titanic in terms of luxury to this

00:19:27day.

00:19:29It costs more than $200 million to build in today's money.

00:19:33The tickets were also quite expensive, duh!

00:19:37First class tickets ranged in price from $1,700 in today's money for a berth up to $50,000

00:19:45for one of the two parlor suites.

00:19:47Second class tickets were $700.

00:19:50Third class passengers had to pay between $170 to $460.

00:19:57Most of the passengers of the unsinkable ship managed to survive.

00:20:01True or false?

00:20:05Sadly, it's false.

00:20:12Only 37% of all the passengers actually survived the meeting with the Titanic.

00:20:18Around 61% of the first class passengers, 42% of the second class passengers, and 24%

00:20:26of the third class passengers made it out alive.

00:20:30The Titanic was passing through the Bermuda Triangle when things went wrong, and that's

00:20:35probably why it sunk.

00:20:36What do you say, myth or reality?

00:20:47It's 100% a myth.

00:20:49The Titanic never even came close to the Bermuda Triangle.

00:20:53The liner sank about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, which is a huge distance to the north of Bermuda,

00:20:59the infamous area where ships and planes disappear without a trace.

00:21:04We might have the moon to blame for the sinking of the Titanic.

00:21:07True or false?

00:21:16This one is true.

00:21:18The moon heavily affects the tides on Earth.

00:21:21The closer the moon is to the Earth, the stronger the tides are because of the increasing

00:21:25gravity of our satellite.

00:21:28Back in 1912, the moon was so close it made several glaciers in Greenland break apart.

00:21:34Massive chunks of ice that broke off from the glaciers started floating south.

00:21:39The supermoon event came just six minutes after a spring tide.

00:21:43The alignment of the moon, the sun, and the Earth that makes their combined gravity reach

00:21:48its peak twice a month.

00:21:50And the day before, our planet had come the closest to the sun that year, which made the

00:21:54gravity even stronger.

00:21:57This mixture of events created perfect conditions for one of the most powerful tides in history.

00:22:03Icebergs breaking off from Greenland's glaciers drift off to the coastal waters of Labrador

00:22:08and Newfoundland, where they often run aground.

00:22:11To move on, they need to either melt and become lighter or catch a high tide that would carry

00:22:16them further.

00:22:17The 1912's tide was as high as it gets, so they shifted many shipping routes south because

00:22:24of the huge amount of icebergs.

00:22:26But not the Titanic, of course, as they believed it was unsinkable.

00:22:32It took 4 hours and 40 minutes for the Titanic to sink.

00:22:35What do you say?

00:22:43It's false, and if you're a Titanic expert, you definitely know it was actually 2 hours

00:22:48and 40 minutes.

00:22:50And this was slow enough given the damaged cause by the iceberg.

00:22:54It didn't sink faster thanks to the ship's construction.

00:22:57There were 16 watertight compartments in the lower part of the ship.

00:23:01They worked as a lifeline.

00:23:03When the iceberg crashed into the hull, it broke into 6 boxes.

00:23:07The Titanic could have stayed afloat only if 4 compartments had been damaged.

00:23:13Water filled the first 6 compartments within 1 hour.

00:23:16During this time, the ship tilted slightly to the right side.

00:23:19Then, water began to flood the 7th box when all 6 boxes were filled.

00:23:24And from that moment, the sinking rate was growing with every second.

00:23:29The ship's bow sank under the water, and then the stern filled up.

00:23:34One of the leading reasons for the Titanic tragedy was signal rockets.

00:23:38True or false?

00:23:40What's your take on it?

00:23:48This one is true!

00:23:50When any ship sinks, the crewmembers must release red flares.

00:23:54It's a signal to all nearby ships that someone is in trouble.

00:23:58But for an unknown reason, someone put white lights in the Titanic's rocket box.

00:24:04When the ship crashed into an iceberg, the crewmembers released white flares.

00:24:08Their ship, SS Californian, was nearby at the time.

00:24:12Its captain knew the Titanic was going through a dangerous iceberg area.

00:24:16The crew of this ship didn't see the Titanic in the dark, but they noticed white rockets.

00:24:22Radio communication between the vessels didn't work.

00:24:25The SS Californian operator turned off the receiver.

00:24:28The Californian captain felt that something was wrong, so he sent a Morse lamp signal

00:24:34to the Titanic.

00:24:35But it was too late.

00:24:37The ship was already underwater, so no one could respond.

00:24:42Another ship, Samson, was sailing alongside the Titanic.

00:24:46It drifted with lights off since it was catching seals and that's not legal.

00:24:51When the captain saw the Titanic's white rockets, he thought it was the Coast Guard.

00:24:56So Samson sailed away as fast as they could.

00:24:59They realized they had abandoned the drowning passengers once they made it to Iceland and

00:25:04learned the horrible news.

00:25:06In 1996, one expedition managed to raise the Titanic from the ocean floor.

00:25:11Do you believe it?

00:25:18If you don't, you're right.

00:25:20There were different ideas on how to raise the Titanic from doing it with compressed

00:25:24air to putting it in wire mesh and covering it with liquid nitrogen or using giant magnets.

00:25:31The only real attempt to raise the Titanic was made in 1996 and it failed dramatically.

00:25:37The expedition's goal was to lift a part of its hull, weighing about 21 tons.

00:25:43It would still have been the largest piece to see the sunlight again, if the operation

00:25:46had succeeded that is.

00:25:49They lowered four large bags filled with diesel fuel to the bottom of the ocean and attached

00:25:54them to the hull plate.

00:25:56Then the fuel bags were released and they started lifting the pieces on their own.

00:26:01The plate was about 200 feet below the surface when the weather got rough.

00:26:05The expedition members decided to tow the part to calmer waters around 80 miles away.

00:26:11Long before they reached the towing destination, half of the plate broke off and sank to the

00:26:15bottom again.

00:26:16Two of the lifting bags seemed to have broken loose and the hull went down.

00:26:21The Titanic will most likely crumble to dust halfway up if someone tries lifting it again.

00:26:27So how many correct answers do you have?

00:26:30Let me know in the comments below!

00:27:01But what if the temperature had been higher?

00:27:04What if the Titanic had sunk in warm water, say 120 degrees Fahrenheit?

00:27:10Theoretically, this could have happened had the waters of the North Atlantic met a warm

00:27:14undercurrent from the southern part of the ocean on disaster day.

00:27:18But this heat wouldn't have been enough.

00:27:21The ocean area is too vast and the temperature is too low at night.

00:27:25The warm undercurrent alone wouldn't have made a difference for people who were overboard.

00:27:30But if the Titanic had sunk in another place at one particular moment, perhaps then all

00:27:35people could have been saved, thanks to an incredible natural phenomenon.

00:27:40Now on board everybody!

00:27:42Our voyage to a parallel universe begins.

00:27:45It's a moonless night on April 14th through 15th.

00:27:49The Titanic crashes into an iceberg.

00:27:52Icy water floods the lower decks.

00:27:54The captain sends a distress signal.

00:27:56The nearest rescue ship, Carpathia, is 58 miles away from the sinking Titanic.

00:28:01At maximum speed, Carpathia will get there in four hours.

00:28:05That's quite long, even in warm tropical waters, since your body loses heat anyway.

00:28:11The Titanic begins to sink.

00:28:14The crew downs lifeboats.

00:28:16Some of the passengers jump overboard.

00:28:18The ship is going under the water.

00:28:21There are no boats left, so you jump along with other passengers.

00:28:25It feels as if you got inside a huge iceberg.

00:28:28The water is so cold that it's hard for you to move.

00:28:31You can't even scream because there's no air in your lungs.

00:28:35But at this moment, you feel a pleasant warmth coming from the depths.

00:28:40The heat rises above your knees and waist, then reaches your neck.

00:28:44Finally, you regain control of your muscles and can breathe deeply.

00:28:48You notice that all the other passengers feel the same warmth.

00:28:52The water becomes a little hot.

00:28:54It makes you happy.

00:28:56But in a moment, horror replaces your delight.

00:28:59The ocean begins to foam, and not because of the high temperature, but because something

00:29:04is rising from the ocean floor.

00:29:07You hear a heavy, low sound coming from the depths.

00:29:10It's not a sinking Titanic, but something bigger.

00:29:14You can see a huge iceberg nearby.

00:29:16It's melting, and a huge chunk is breaking off from it.

00:29:20A million bubbles appear on the surface.

00:29:23Then you feel something hit you in the leg.

00:29:25Thousands of strange, lightweight rocks are rising from below.

00:29:30There are also massive plates among them.

00:29:33People use them as lifeboats.

00:29:34You climb on one of those rocks and look at the ship.

00:29:38It doesn't sink, since all the water is bubbling and pushing the vessel up.

00:29:43You take one of the small rocks and understand everything.

00:29:46It's pumice.

00:29:47An underwater volcano has woken up right under the ship.

00:29:53Thousands of tons of volcanic rock are floating to the surface.

00:29:57When it erupts, its magma shakes the entire space, heats the water, and destroys the seabed.

00:30:04But it doesn't result in anything destructive on the surface.

00:30:07The enormous pressure of hundreds of millions of gallons of water suppresses the volcano's

00:30:13power.

00:30:14Molten rocks of the Earth's crust are pressed against the seabed, and pumice rises to the

00:30:18surface.

00:30:20And here's why it happens.

00:30:22The upper part of Earth consists of many solid parts, tectonic plates.

00:30:27These plates collide with each other and divide.

00:30:30And when one part separates from another, the magma immediately comes up.

00:30:35So all volcanoes are these unstable fault sites.

00:30:38If the Titanic had sailed over one of these areas during an eruption, many passengers

00:30:44would have been saved.

00:30:45Back in the parallel universe, you notice the Titanic starts sinking again.

00:30:50The water is no longer bubbling.

00:30:52The volcano has gone out.

00:30:54In a matter of seconds, the ocean turns icy again.

00:30:58Fortunately, you have your pumice lifeboat.

00:31:01This is enough to wait for rescuers.

00:31:04But let's imagine a situation with no underwater volcano and an iceberg.

00:31:08A situation when the water was warm from the very beginning.

00:31:13One of the engines in the motor compartment of the ship breaks down.

00:31:17Several pipes burst because of increased pressure.

00:31:20And now there's a crack in the ship's body.

00:31:23Water is filling the lower decks.

00:31:25The ship is sinking.

00:31:27People evacuate on lifeboats.

00:31:29There's less panic since the night is warm and no one is freezing.

00:31:33Each passenger gets a life jacket.

00:31:35The ship is breaking.

00:31:37You understand that you have to jump.

00:31:39The Titanic goes underwater.

00:31:42Many passengers fall overboard in horror.

00:31:44They dive into the dark ocean and immediately come to the surface.

00:31:49Panic and complete chaos take over.

00:31:51The ship disappears in the dark.

00:31:53And finally, it's all silent.

00:31:56A few minutes pass, and you notice there's no panic at all.

00:31:59The water is warm.

00:32:01Almost all passengers have life jackets.

00:32:04Someone is floating on the wooden ship wreckage.

00:32:06After a couple of hours, the water no longer seems so comfortable.

00:32:10The ocean takes away your body heat.

00:32:13To keep warm, passengers swim closer to each other in a tight circle.

00:32:17Yeah, now it's quite possible to wait for another couple of hours till the rescuers

00:32:21come.

00:32:22People on lifeboats sail closer and take those who freeze on board.

00:32:27Passengers take turns.

00:32:2820 minutes in the water, then 20 minutes in boats.

00:32:32It's essential not to take your clothes off.

00:32:34Even a wet outfit helps keep your body warm for longer.

00:32:38And when it seems that everyone is saved, somebody screams.

00:32:42A girl in a boat looks scared.

00:32:44She trembles with fear and points her finger into the black water.

00:32:49Passengers try to see what's there and notice a triangular fin.

00:32:53One, two, three.

00:32:55There are so many of them!

00:32:57The noise of the sinking ship has attracted a group of sharks.

00:33:01And now, they are circling the survivors, hoping to satisfy their hunger.

00:33:05They're swimming slowly.

00:33:07It doesn't look like they're going to attack.

00:33:10But you should keep your eyes open, as these fish are some of the world's most aggressive

00:33:14and dangerous sharks, the bull sharks.

00:33:17They can be agile, fast, and unpredictable.

00:33:20They don't swim in the cold waters of the Atlantic, but the water in this parallel universe

00:33:25is perfect for them.

00:33:27The sharks are strong and sturdy.

00:33:29They create the illusion of slowness to relax their prey.

00:33:33They're called bull sharks because of their short, blunt muzzle, like that of a bull.

00:33:37And they like to hit a target or other sharks with their forehead.

00:33:41Several fish are ramming boats.

00:33:43Someone falls into the water.

00:33:45Fortunately, people help them back on board.

00:33:48The sharks aren't going to retreat.

00:33:50Chaos and panic ensue.

00:33:52People are screaming and splashing the water with paddles to scare away the fish.

00:33:56But it doesn't help.

00:33:58One of the sharks opens its toothy mouth and clings to a boat.

00:34:02At this moment, you notice more fins nearby.

00:34:05A pack of great white sharks arrives at the party.

00:34:08They are some of the most dangerous animals on the planet.

00:34:11They're big, fast, and strong.

00:34:14And their 300 triangular teeth lined in several rows are sharp as blades.

00:34:19Great white sharks swim around the boats and scare away the bull sharks.

00:34:23You fall off the boat and see a big fin approaching you.

00:34:27Fear awakens the survival instinct in you.

00:34:29You're trying your best to swim away from the shark as far as possible.

00:34:33Of course, it's useless since the shark is much faster and will definitely catch you.

00:34:39You feel your foot touching the shark's nose.

00:34:41The other foot gets into the toothy mouth.

00:34:44You scream in horror.

00:34:45After a second, the shark lets you go.

00:34:49Great white sharks rarely attack people.

00:34:51If they bite, it's just to test you.

00:34:54After all, the shark's favorite prey is seals.

00:34:58It simply loses interest if it realizes you aren't a seal.

00:35:02But if the shark is starving, it doesn't matter to it what kind of prey you are.

00:35:06Lucky for you, this one is not like that.

00:35:10Those survivors in the boats have almost nothing to fear either.

00:35:13Great white sharks don't attack them.

00:35:16They can push boats slightly, but only to test them.

00:35:19The great white shark is swimming away from you.

00:35:21But a bull one appears, and it looks like it's hungry.

00:35:25The shark is swimming towards you, opens its mouth, and...

00:35:28A loud ship horn penetrates the water.

00:35:31This is the RMS Carpathia that has come to the rescue.

00:35:34All the sharks swim away scared.

00:35:36All passengers are saved.

00:35:38Back in our universe, another ship that had been nearby could have saved the passengers

00:35:42much earlier.

00:35:44But that's another story.

00:35:48Can you guess how many theories of the Titanic's sinking exist?

00:35:51Right, loads, including a theory of my own, which I'm going to share with you today.

00:35:57And then, you can decide which one seems most likely to you.

00:36:01One Piece Theory

00:36:04The very first version of the events was the One Piece Theory.

00:36:08It's very simple, and basically claims that the sinking happened without any breakups.

00:36:132.15 AM, the ship collides with an iceberg.

00:36:172.18 AM, the lights go out.

00:36:20The ship reaches an angle of 45 degrees, and then quickly begins its final plunge into

00:36:25the ocean depths.

00:36:272.20 AM, only about three minutes later, the RMS Titanic disappears under the surface of

00:36:33the ocean for good.

00:36:35The liner doesn't break.

00:36:36It just goes down as a whole piece.

00:36:39Of course, this can't be true.

00:36:42In April 1912, the Titanic was not only the largest ship in the world, but also the largest

00:36:47ship ever built.

00:36:49It's hard to believe that such a heavy vessel could have gone down without breaking.

00:36:53That's just impossible.

00:36:54Well, I mean, you can't blame the theorists.

00:36:58Before we found the wreckage, there were no other theories.

00:37:01Wait a minute, or were there?

00:37:05The day after the disaster, the survivors gave their interviews.

00:37:09They talked about what had happened, and some of them claimed that the ship had actually

00:37:13broken in two when it had been flooded.

00:37:16For example, Jack Thayer, a 17-year-old boy, outlined the sinking as he remembered it,

00:37:22and L.D. Skidmon drew a sketch based on his description.

00:37:26The picture clearly showed the ship breaking in half.

00:37:30But no one believed Jack or other witnesses.

00:37:33There was no evidence, so their claims were received with a grain of salt.

00:37:38But in 1985, things changed.

00:37:42Titanic Break-Up Theory

00:37:44That's when Robert Ballard found the wreckage of the Titanic in the depths of the ocean.

00:37:49When people saw the wreckage, it became clear that Jack and the other survivors had been right.

00:37:55The Titanic did indeed break in two when it sank.

00:37:58So it's time for a new theory.

00:38:012.15 a.m.

00:38:03The keel breaks, the starboard list eases, and the hull continues to bow and crumble.

00:38:092.17 a.m.

00:38:11The galley sections break off.

00:38:13The towers immediately drop under their own weight.

00:38:16The lights go out.

00:38:18The stern is pulled into the air.

00:38:20The bow breaks off and starts sinking.

00:38:23The aft is barely hanging on to the starboard side of the stern section superstructure.

00:38:28The stern section slowly lists over to port as it begins sinking again.

00:38:33It rises up one last time and pivots in a semicircle as it sinks.

00:38:38It all sounds pretty convincing, right?

00:38:41But people began to find plot holes in this theory.

00:38:44For example, the Titanic couldn't have held together until it reached such a high angle.

00:38:49The break-up would have had to begin much earlier.

00:38:53This only meant there was still a vast field for research and speculations.

00:38:58So people started to come up with their own possible scenarios.

00:39:01How about we look first at the ones no one likes?

00:39:06V-Break and Aaron 1912 V-Break

00:39:10According to the first break-up theory, the Titanic reached a high angle, and the weight

00:39:15of its unsupported stern caused it to crack from the top down.

00:39:19But it's physically impossible, so are there any other ideas?

00:39:24In 2006, Roger Long, a naval architect, decided to research a so-called V-Theory.

00:39:322.17 a.m.

00:39:34The break-up begins at a shallow angle, perhaps as little as 11 degrees.

00:39:39The upper structure fails and starts to crack.

00:39:42At this moment, only its double bottom is holding the Titanic together, but it starts

00:39:47to bend under the strain too, failing the ship.

00:39:51Water is pouring through the crack.

00:39:54It increases the weight in between the two sections, bending the Titanic the other way

00:39:59and pulling it into shape somewhat resemblant to the letter V.

00:40:03The upper decks get mangled and bent together.

00:40:06The bow heads for the bottom, and the stern is the last to sink.

00:40:11This theory has since been disproven many times, though.

00:40:15Roger Long believed it because the broken edges of the upper decks in the Titanic's

00:40:19bow section were all mangled and crushed.

00:40:22However, we have learned that it happened because of the so-called hydraulic downburst,

00:40:28the force of the water crashing into the deck as the Titanic hit the ocean floor.

00:40:34Another V-Break theory states that the bow had risen out of the water after the break.

00:40:39This theory was mainly peddled by one former Titanic enthusiast.

00:40:44But not only has this theory been proved to be physically impossible due to the bow's

00:40:47incredible mass, it was also inspired by incorrect information.

00:40:53Remember Jack Thayer?

00:40:55Well, it was based on his sketch and the words of a couple of passengers.

00:40:59But the truth is, none of them had ever seen the Titanic break down like this.

00:41:05Jack himself even stated in an interview that the sketch was completely out of context to

00:41:10what he had actually seen.

00:41:12It was drawn by a passenger on the Carpathia, the ship that received the Titanic's distress

00:41:16signal and came to its aid.

00:41:18It couldn't be used as evidence.

00:41:22Now that we know this, let's move on to the theories that most people believe in.

00:41:27James Cameron's banana peel theory.

00:41:31Who hasn't seen the legendary movie about the Titanic, right?

00:41:35It became the leader of the 70th Academy Awards ceremony in the number of nominations and

00:41:40awards, and deservedly so.

00:41:44But did you know that James Cameron had been interested in the Titanic for many years and

00:41:49studied the ship's history?

00:41:51His books and research are very detailed, and he even came up with his own version of

00:41:56the events.

00:41:57It's called the banana split theory, and this is actually what you could see in the movie.

00:42:03Here's how it goes.

00:42:04The Titanic reaches a 23 degree angle and fractures down to the keel.

00:42:09The double bottom acts as a hinge as the stern falls down.

00:42:13When the double bottom fails, the bow and the stern separate.

00:42:18The stern lifts to port, standing vertically, and then begins to go underwater.

00:42:25This theory is the most scientifically accurate one, along with Roy Mengott's theory.

00:42:30Wait, who's Roy Mengott?

00:42:34Mengott theory.

00:42:36Roy Mengott was an engineer who came up with the most plausible theory for the time being.

00:42:422.17 AM, the lights go out on the Titanic.

00:42:46At this moment, the ship is at an angle of 20 to 23 degrees.

00:42:50Suddenly, the vessel snaps in two just around the third funnel.

00:42:54It causes the stern to settle into the water.

00:42:57The keel fails first.

00:42:59The draft and lower hull are crushed and break apart.

00:43:04Water surges into the bow and stern of the ship through the huge cracks, causing the

00:43:08bow section to sink beneath the waves.

00:43:11The stern rises up to the angle of 70 to 90 degrees, and then it sinks too.

00:43:18This theory seems to make the most sense, but it's quite controversial.

00:43:23The survivors who saw the breakup stated that the stern had settled back with the bow completely

00:43:28missing.

00:43:29Mengott's theory, however, contradicts that statement, while James Cameron's scenario

00:43:34takes this into account.

00:43:37Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

00:43:39The truth must be somewhere in the middle.

00:43:42My Version Now, as promised, I'll provide you with my

00:43:46version of the events.

00:43:48Well, it's not really my theory.

00:43:50More like a combination of Roy Mengott's and James Cameron's ones.

00:43:55I believe that James Cameron was right about the breakup.

00:43:592.17 AM, the ship is at a high angle.

00:44:03The lights go out.

00:44:04Then, it snaps into two pieces.

00:44:07The bow starts sinking.

00:44:08The double bottom is still attached to the stern for a minute or so.

00:44:13Once the double bottom fails, the two parts separate, and the bow goes down.

00:44:18Then, as Mengott said, the stern rises up at a high angle, and then it begins to sink

00:44:24vertically.

00:44:26It might have actually happened because the survivors stated that they had seen a clean

00:44:30break.

00:44:31This means it couldn't be hidden, and they had also seen the stern staying vertically

00:44:36in the air for a long enough time, probably a few minutes, before disappearing.

00:44:41Anyways, all of these are just speculations.

00:44:45Regardless of how the Titanic broke apart and sank, it was a great tragedy.

00:44:50It's already been 110 years since the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank.

00:44:56Did you know that in 2022, the Blue Star Line Company is completing the construction of

00:45:01an exact replica of the Titanic?

00:45:04Called the Titanic Two Liner, the ship will be sent sailing along the same route with

00:45:092,400 people on board.

00:45:11Let's hope that everything goes well for them!

00:45:15No one could ever have imagined that the unsinkable Titanic would collide with an iceberg.

00:45:21Except for one man, William Thomas Dead.

00:45:25Well, not directly, of course.

00:45:27It's not like he jolted out of bed one day, envisioning the fall of the Titanic.

00:45:31Rather, he wrote an empowering short story called, How the Mail Steamer Went Down in

00:45:37Mid-Atlantic by a Survivor, on March 3, 1886, 26 years before Titanic sank.

00:45:44Ok, let's do a super quick recap.

00:45:47Titanic was traveling from Southampton to New York in April 1912 in the North Atlantic.

00:45:53The ship hit an iceberg, and less than 3 hours later, it was completely underwater.

00:45:58Out of 2,208 people on board, just 706 survived due to the limited number of lifeboats and

00:46:05icy cold water.

00:46:07Another passenger ship, Carpathia, heard the distress call, picked up the survivors, and

00:46:12brought them safely to New York.

00:46:15The short story William Dead wrote was about Thomas, a British sailor, who got on a passenger

00:46:20liner bound for the US.

00:46:22At one point, the protagonist realized there weren't enough lifeboats for everyone on

00:46:26board the ship in case something happened.

00:46:29A couple of days later, heavy fog covered everything in sight.

00:46:33Luck was not on the liner's side, and it collided with a stray ship, just like Titanic

00:46:38struck an iceberg.

00:46:40Only 200 out of the 916 people made it safely to the US.

00:46:45The main character managed to survive by jumping into the water and climbing into one of the

00:46:50lifeboats.

00:46:51Now you'd think that the story riled up everyone in the industry to add extra lifeboats

00:46:56on ships, but sadly, it received very little attention when it was published.

00:47:02Even more tragically, William Thomas Stead was on Titanic when it sank, and he didn't

00:47:08make it.

00:47:09The survivors who knew Stead mentioned that he had always been cheerful and had loved

00:47:13to chat during meals.

00:47:15He complimented the ship's design and how sturdy it was.

00:47:19Witnesses also talked about how he'd been helpful when the ship had been sinking, having

00:47:23given his life jacket to someone else.

00:47:26He was a journalist by profession and was on his way to New York for a ceremony.

00:47:31One of his most important contributions to modern journalism was the use of illustrations

00:47:36in every newspaper article.

00:47:38He also introduced newspaper interviews, and they're still used to this day, along with

00:47:43illustrations.

00:47:44But this story wasn't the only published work that predicted the disaster.

00:47:49Morgan Robertson was an author and former ship captain who wrote short stories and novels.

00:47:54His most notable novella is The Wreck of the Titan.

00:47:58It's also known as Futility.

00:48:01The book was written in 1898, 14 years before Titanic.

00:48:06It was a fictional story about the Titan, an ocean liner similar to Titanic, which was

00:48:11crossing the North Atlantic.

00:48:13It's also a coincidence that Titan was just as fast as Titanic and shared many other similarities,

00:48:19like size and design.

00:48:21The book described it as unsinkable and the largest ship to hit the ocean at the time.

00:48:27That's what they said about Titanic, too.

00:48:29Another eerie similarity was the limited number of lifeboats it had.

00:48:34The story took place in April, and that's when Titanic set off on its journey and hit

00:48:38the iceberg.

00:48:40The Titan story also mentioned that barely anyone had survived that horrible accident.

00:48:45Unlike Stead's story, the protagonist of Robertson took a different path.

00:48:50The Titan sinking happened somewhere halfway through the book, so after the accident, the

00:48:55main character went on with his life.

00:48:58The book was brought back into the spotlight after the Titanic disaster.

00:49:02How could someone describe the events that took place almost a decade later so accurately?

00:49:08Many started to believe Robertson could see the future.

00:49:11But the reality was that Robertson knew his way around a ship.

00:49:15It was easy for him to write down the nitty-gritty of things without doing more research.

00:49:20Realistically, one of the biggest threats for ships at that time was hitting an iceberg

00:49:25or colliding with other ships.

00:49:27The next story sounds somewhat mysterious.

00:49:30Once, Alex McKenzie heard a voice that warned him not to board Titanic.

00:49:36But when he turned around, there was nobody there.

00:49:39As he continued walking, the voice spoke to him again, but this time, it was louder and

00:49:45more distinct.

00:49:46He took the warning seriously and decided to cancel the trip and go back to Glasgow,

00:49:51Scotland, his hometown.

00:49:53His grandparents weren't too happy to find him back home instead of on Titanic.

00:49:58After all, the ticket was very expensive.

00:50:01But disappointment very soon disappeared when they heard that the ship had struck an iceberg.

00:50:07John Coffey was a member of the crew of Titanic, but he decided to ditch the ride when the

00:50:12ship stopped at his hometown in Queenstown, Ireland.

00:50:15His inner voice told him to get off the liner, and he did.

00:50:19He was only 23 at the time, and for someone his age, it could be a major career boost

00:50:25and an opportunity to grow.

00:50:27Despite the horrible tragedy, the guy signed to work with the RMS Mauritania just months

00:50:32after the Titanic's sinking.

00:50:35Talk about commitment!

00:50:36Some added info was revealed about what may have contributed to the fall of Titanic.

00:50:41The constructors insisted that the ship was unsinkable, but many people later theorized

00:50:47that the vessel's steel plates had been too frail for the freezing Atlantic water.

00:50:52It may have caused the rivets to pop, allowing ocean water to seep inside.

00:50:57Another theory is that there may have been a fire in the hull of the Titanic that had

00:51:01been raging for three weeks before the voyage.

00:51:04The fire softened the steel, allowing the iceberg to cut through it like a hot knife

00:51:09through butter.

00:51:10Some pictures before the ship set off on its journey show black marks on the hull, which

00:51:15could have been caused by fire.

00:51:18Either way, the iceberg would have caused significant damage in any case, no matter

00:51:22if there was a fire or not.

00:51:25Some people also blame those who designed the Titanic.

00:51:28The ship was built with large joints at the bottom, which probably snapped easily during

00:51:32the collision.

00:51:34Of course, these are all theories.

00:51:36But we know for a fact that the iceberg was the main character of this drama, and that

00:51:41the works of Stead and Robertson should have been taken seriously.

00:51:45Either way, this should be a lesson for the future, helping to prevent similar tragic

00:51:50accidents.

00:51:51By the way, ocean liners and passenger ships wouldn't exist if it hadn't been for Thomas

00:51:57Newcomen.

00:51:58In 1712, he invented a steam engine that was so strong it could produce enough energy to

00:52:04power a ship.

00:52:05And a century later, in 1819, the first steamship traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to Liverpool,

00:52:12UK.

00:52:13It only took the vessel 29 days to cross the ocean.

00:52:17The passenger ship industry boomed in the early 1900s when it became easier for people

00:52:22to move to America or go on holidays.

00:52:25As decades rolled by, the use of aircraft stole the spotlight from passenger ships since

00:52:31planes were faster and more efficient.

00:52:33Nowadays, it's quite rare for a passenger ship to collide with anything in open water.

00:52:39Modern technologies can detect anything that can pose a threat and even predict stormy

00:52:44weather.

00:52:45Cruise ships these days are giants compared to the vessels of Titanic's era.

00:52:50Modern ships can carry almost twice the number of passengers and have amenities folks back

00:52:54then could only dream of.

00:52:57Most cruise ships these days have several restaurants to choose from, multiple swimming

00:53:01pools, and game rooms to catch a break.

00:53:04If you're in the mood for some fun, you can watch live performances.

00:53:07Don't forget about the helicopter pad, because why not?

00:53:11Don't worry if you start feeling unwell.

00:53:13The in-house doctors are always there to help any passenger in need.

00:53:19And these ships are only going to get bigger.

00:53:21Putting Titanic and a modern cruise ship side by side is like comparing a corgi to a Doberman.

00:53:27Back then, Titanic was the biggest and most cutting-edge vessel anyone could dream of.

00:53:33So who knows what the future of cruise ships can hold?

00:53:36We might even have entire cities floating around.

00:53:39That would be a really big boat.

00:53:42You know SOS, don't you?

00:53:44Three dots, three dashes, and three more dots?

00:53:47It's an easy enough signal to tap out in Morse code.

00:53:50It means Save Our Souls or Save Our Ship.

00:53:54The crew of the legendary Titanic had been desperately trying to send this signal for

00:53:59two hours the night of April 14, 1912.

00:54:03There were other ships not too far from the spot where the iceberg took down the mighty

00:54:07titan of the sea.

00:54:09The call for help seemingly disappeared before it could reach them.

00:54:13The passenger ship SS Mount Temple did pick up the signal and tried to respond, but the

00:54:19Titanic never got the answer.

00:54:21So what was silencing the ship's cries for help?

00:54:25Some unknown Bermuda Triangle of the North Atlantic?

00:54:30Consider this.

00:54:31Eyewitnesses say the sky was painted with a brilliant aurora borealis that cold, fateful

00:54:36night.

00:54:37Beautiful, yes.

00:54:38But on that day, the northern lights may have sealed Titanic's fate for good.

00:54:43You see, the aurora borealis forms thanks to geomagnetic storms.

00:54:49Sounds complicated, but those are basically fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic sphere,

00:54:54and what causes those is the Sun itself.

00:54:57The magnetic sphere is like a protective bubble that surrounds our planet.

00:55:02It blocks harmful solar rays, winds, and other cosmic dangers from reaching us.

00:55:07Without it, life on our planet wouldn't be possible.

00:55:10Earth would look more like Mars.

00:55:12You also have it to thank for compasses pointing north.

00:55:16Experts know the Earth's magnetosphere affects navigational equipment, or disrupts it.

00:55:22Which brings us back to the Titanic.

00:55:24Recently, a published weather researcher named Mila Zinkova proposed a theory that solar

00:55:30flares, which provoked a geomagnetic storm, could've played a major role in the Titanic's

00:55:36untimely demise.

00:55:38Solar flares make themselves known on Earth all the time.

00:55:42Some people are especially sensitive to the magnetic storms they cause.

00:55:46These unlucky folks can feel weakness, fatigue, headaches, and even mood swings.

00:55:51On usual days, the pressure is the same on both sides.

00:55:55The magnetosphere blocks all the bad stuff, and we're all happy.

00:55:59But sometimes, explosions occur on the side.

00:56:02They can be massive, Earth-sized.

00:56:04These flares shoot out a wave of charged particles that collides with the magnetosphere

00:56:09at high speeds.

00:56:11Our protective bubble then goes on the defense.

00:56:14It shrinks, deforms, and pushes those particles toward the poles.

00:56:18Enter those brilliant lights dancing above the Titanic that night.

00:56:22In the north, we know it as Aurora Borealis.

00:56:25In the south, Aurora Australis, or the Southern Lights.

00:56:30When the magnetosphere pushes those solar and cosmic particles toward the poles, they

00:56:34collide with molecules of different gases.

00:56:37That's why you get the range of colors.

00:56:40For example, oxygen can be green or red depending on the distance, and nitrogen is blue or purple.

00:56:47What multiple people saw that night was exactly this phenomenon, including the second officer

00:56:52from the rescue ship Carpathia.

00:56:55He wrote it down in the logbook before getting the distress call from the Titanic.

00:56:59But I'm getting ahead of myself.

00:57:02Auroras are a visible sign of a geomagnetic storm.

00:57:05Now about navigational equipment.

00:57:07This applies to satellite and radio frequency devices.

00:57:11Remember, they didn't have iPhones back in the Titanic days, so the average person

00:57:16couldn't notice their gadgets going haywire.

00:57:18But navigational devices and wireless telegraph did exist and were actively used.

00:57:25Rewind back to the Middle Ages, when sailors noticed that, on some days, compasses wigged

00:57:30out.

00:57:31The arrows spun in all directions, and people back then had no idea why.

00:57:36It wasn't until the 18th century when French scientists found out that such problematic

00:57:41days occur at the same time as black spots appearing on the sun.

00:57:46Solar flares.

00:57:47The mystery was solved.

00:57:48Now, the Titanic had the most advanced well-known radio equipment at that time.

00:57:54They tested it thoroughly to make sure it worked for distances up to 2,000 miles away.

00:58:00Titanics passed them all.

00:58:02On April 10, 1912, the massive liner left Southampton and set off for New York.

00:58:08The very next day, the crew started getting the first reports of drifting icebergs and

00:58:13ice fields.

00:58:14They put dots on the map to mark the coordinates and let out a sigh of relief.

00:58:20All the troublesome spots were north of the Titanic's planned route.

00:58:24But after a couple of days, the warnings were moving farther and farther south, encroaching

00:58:29on the majestic ship.

00:58:31On April 14, Captain Edward Smith decided to change course to the south in hopes of

00:58:36bypassing the ice.

00:58:38This ended up being a huge mistake.

00:58:42Enter the magnetic storm.

00:58:44If it was throwing the navigation equipment off, even by a tiny error of half a degree,

00:58:49the captain could've been mistakenly taking the ship right toward a cluster of icebergs.

00:58:55What's even worse, the radio operators ignored warnings coming from other ships.

00:59:00That or they simply forgot to hand them over to the captain.

00:59:04As hired contractors from the radio company, they were more interested in transmitting

00:59:08paid telegrams from passengers on that luxurious liner.

00:59:12The radio transmitter kept going out of order that evening, probably because of all this

00:59:16private traffic.

00:59:18When it was finally fixed, operator Jack Phillips received another message from the SS Californian

00:59:24at 10.30 pm.

00:59:26Their operator was trying to warn Phillips about the coordinates of drifting icebergs,

00:59:32but he paid them no attention.

00:59:34He was nervous and in a hurry.

00:59:36Was the magnetic storm to blame for his frayed nerves and bad mood?

00:59:41We can only speculate.

00:59:42But as you know, some people are more sensitive to these things.

00:59:47The weather was fine, the ocean was calm, the water was smooth as glass.

00:59:52Despite all the warnings, the ship continued to sail at a maximum speed of over 22 knots.

00:59:58An hour later, Titanic collided with the infamous iceberg.

01:00:02On April 15th at 12.14 am, in the middle of the night, Titanic's operators started to

01:00:08transmit the first emergency signals.

01:00:11The SS Californian was sailing just 20 miles from the Titanic.

01:00:15They could've easily come to a quick rescue.

01:00:18But 10 minutes before the disaster, the Californian's radio operator had gone to bed.

01:00:24He was the only one who understood Morse code on the ship.

01:00:29According to this new theory, the magnetic anomalies possibly blocked Titanic's messages

01:00:33to other ships.

01:00:35For example, the steamer SS La Providence didn't receive any signals from the sinking

01:00:40ship at all.

01:00:42But they were still getting transmissions from another giant, the Olympic, which was

01:00:46500 miles from the Titanic.

01:00:49That night, the signals were acting strange.

01:00:52They simply got lost somewhere in space, or they were like a jumbled riddle, impossible

01:00:57to solve.

01:00:58The SS Mount Temple did get a message and rushed to Titanic's aid.

01:01:03But as fate would have it, the rescue ship got stuck in ice.

01:01:07They did arrive at Titanic's last known coordinates, but the luxury liner was nowhere

01:01:12to be seen.

01:01:13So were the coordinates accurate at all?

01:01:16The steamer Carpathia was about 60 miles away.

01:01:20At 12.30, their radio operator told the Titanic's crew they were rushing to help.

01:01:25The ship famous for coming to the aid, Carpathia, was going full steam ahead.

01:01:30But here's the odd part.

01:01:32At first, they headed to the wrong spot.

01:01:35The magnetic storm could have thrown its equipment off.

01:01:38Good news is the steamer did end up reaching the right place when they saw the lifeboats

01:01:43full of passengers.

01:01:44Interestingly, once she reached land, the Carpathia didn't have any problems with her

01:01:49equipment.

01:01:50The blackout happened just around the wreckage site.

01:01:53The following investigation blamed radio amateurs for blocking signals.

01:01:58We now might know otherwise.

01:02:00Zinkova explains that at that time, they didn't know exactly how and to what extent the Sun

01:02:06influences the Earth.

01:02:08No one could have guessed that the Sun could tamper with these massive ships' navigational

01:02:12equipment.

01:02:13Especially one that had the best of the best at the time.

01:02:17There's another theory that even the Moon could have played a role.

01:02:21Some researchers claim that in January 1912, our natural satellite was closer to the Earth

01:02:27than usual.

01:02:28It caused very strong tides and raised the sea level.

01:02:32Every year, icebergs break away from Greenland and stop around Newfoundland.

01:02:36But not that year.

01:02:37The increased water flow pushed them further for three months.

01:02:41And come April, they were right in the way of transatlantic ships.

01:02:45Unfortunately, it was a recipe for disaster when it came to the mighty Titanic.

01:02:52April 14, 1912.

01:02:55The dark night was filled with horrible sounds of a giant metal vessel breaking into two.

01:03:00The largest ship of that time collided with an iceberg that was on its way.

01:03:05The Titanic, one of the biggest stories of the 20th century that people still talk about.

01:03:14The starboard side of the giant vessel brushed up against the iceberg.

01:03:18It was 11.40 p.m. when things started going wrong.

01:03:22This iceberg caused enough damage for at least five watertight compartments in the

01:03:26hull to start filling with water.

01:03:31The crew immediately began a brief investigation to see if they could do anything and fix things.

01:03:36They had no one to rely on, all alone in the darkness of the cold night, far away from

01:03:42the land.

01:03:43The North Atlantic Ocean, around 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada.

01:03:48They needed time to figure out how to bring people to safety.

01:03:54They had some time, true, but not enough.

01:03:57If you watched the movie, you know the ship didn't plunge immediately after the icy

01:04:02doom had happened.

01:04:03The whole process lasted a good 2 hours and 40 minutes.

01:04:07But the situation was hard.

01:04:09There were 2,200 people to take care of, including crew and passengers.

01:04:14And things happening on the ship were chaotic.

01:04:19The chief designer, Thomas Andrews, soon realized they wouldn't be able to stay afloat.

01:04:24By midnight, the entire crew had begun preparing the lifeboats for launch.

01:04:29They had 20 boats with space for only 1,178 people, which was just a bit more than 50%

01:04:36of the people on board.

01:04:39The order was to get women and children to safety first.

01:04:43Women were there to row and guide the boats.

01:04:48The scene over the next 2 hours gradually started escalating.

01:04:52The crew members had a task to wake up passengers and warn them something bad was happening.

01:04:57They wanted to place them into a fleet of lifeboats as soon as possible.

01:05:03At 12.15 AM, some crew members sent out a distress signal.

01:05:07A steamship called Frankfurt was among the first ones that received the message and responded,

01:05:13they were about 170 nautical miles away.

01:05:16Some other ships also got the message and offered their assistance, but sadly, they

01:05:20were too far away as well.

01:05:25At 12.20 AM, the canard liner Carpathia got a distress signal from the Titanic and changed

01:05:31its course right away.

01:05:33They were 58 miles away at the time, and it would take them more than 3 hours to get there.

01:05:423 minutes later, the crew was lowering the first lifeboat.

01:05:45It was carrying only 27 passengers, although it had room for 65.

01:05:50Many of the lifeboats that were launched first were well below capacity.

01:05:57Crew members were worried, thinking the Davids wouldn't be able to hold a fully loaded

01:06:02lifeboat.

01:06:03And in the beginning, many passengers were just too afraid to leave the ship.

01:06:08They still thought Titanic was unsinkable and couldn't imagine the scenario that was

01:06:12going to happen 1-2 hours later.

01:06:17The crew was firing the first of 8 distress rockets.

01:06:21Unsuccessful.

01:06:22No one was close enough to help.

01:06:26By 1.20 AM, they lowered 10 lifeboats.

01:06:29Number 8 had only 28 people in it.

01:06:32One of the passengers on the number 10 was 9-week-old Melvina Dean.

01:06:37She would later become the last survivor, who lived until 2009 and turned 97.

01:06:45It was 2 AM already.

01:06:47Three of the collapsible boats were the only lifeboats that remained on the ship.

01:06:51The bow of the vessel had sunk low and had tipped far under the surface.

01:06:56People around it could now clearly see stern propellers above the water.

01:07:02Crew members were lowering collapsible lifeboat D from the roof of the officer's quarters

01:07:07with over 20 passengers in it.

01:07:10As the ship's bow went under, the water was washing collapsible A from the deck.

01:07:15Those 20 people were struggling because their boat was partly filled with water.

01:07:21As crew members were trying to release collapsible B, it fell.

01:07:26Before they righted it, the water swept it off the ship.

01:07:2930 passengers still managed to find safety on the overturned lifeboat.

01:07:35At 2.17 AM, the ship's wireless operator decided to transmit one last distress call.

01:07:42A minute later, the light on the ship finally went out.

01:07:45Titanic and all left on board plunged into darkness.

01:07:49The bow continued to sink, and the stern was rising higher above the surface, which placed

01:07:54great strain on the midsection.

01:07:58Horrible sounds were filling the night.

01:08:01Titanic, this massive legendary ship so many people placed their hopes in and were excited

01:08:06about, broke into two between the third and fourth funnels.

01:08:13Reports would speculate it took about 6 minutes for the bow section to reach the ocean bottom.

01:08:19The stern settled back in the water before it rose again, into a vertical position.

01:08:24It remained in this situation until it finally disappeared into the ocean.

01:08:31At 2.20 AM, the stern apparently retained air inside, and water pressure crushed it

01:08:37as it went down.

01:08:38The stern landed about 2,000 feet away from the bow.

01:08:44People consider the Titanic the fastest ship in the world.

01:08:47They thought it was unsinkable because 4 of its compartments could be flooded, and that

01:08:52still wouldn't cause a critical loss of buoyancy.

01:08:55Its life was problematic since its beginning.

01:09:00While the ship was leaving port, it moved within a couple of feet of the steamer New

01:09:05York.

01:09:06It managed to safely pass by, which was a huge relief for all those worried passengers

01:09:11massed on the ship's decks.

01:09:16Titanic sailed off on the 10th of April.

01:09:18Its first journey was across the highly competitive Atlantic route.

01:09:22On the launch day, the Titanic became the biggest movable object in the history of humankind

01:09:28– 882 feet long, 92 feet wide.

01:09:35Not that big if you compare it with today's ships.

01:09:38The biggest cruise ship in the world today is Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas,

01:09:43which is roughly 5 times the size of Titanic.

01:09:46If you put that ship in a vertical position, it would be nearly as tall as the Empire State

01:09:51Building, which is 1250 feet without antennas.

01:09:57But Titanic was a huge attraction back in its time.

01:10:01At one moment of their journey, they stopped in France, after which they made another stop

01:10:06in Ireland.

01:10:07Once the final passengers boarded, the massive ship set out at full speed for their final

01:10:12destination, New York City.

01:10:17Four days after the beginning of its journey, Titanic failed to divert its course from a

01:10:22huge iceberg – the story we all know about.

01:10:27Only 700 people survived, and most of them were women and children.

01:10:32The night was extremely cold.

01:10:34One hour and 20 minutes after Titanic had gone down to the bottom of the ocean, survivors

01:10:39weren't even sure someone was coming to save them.

01:10:43Finally, they saw the light.

01:10:47It was Carpathia coming towards them.

01:10:49They came for the people in the lifeboats.

01:10:52The crew brought them aboard and pulled a handful of other passengers out of the water.

01:10:57Many ships tried to contact Titanic a few hours after it sank.

01:11:01Their messages were never returned.

01:11:05Later, when there was an investigation of what really happened, they discovered the

01:11:11Leyland liner, California, had been less than 20 miles away when Titanic was sinking.

01:11:17But the crew didn't hear the distress signals coming from Titanic because their radio operator

01:11:23was off-duty.

01:11:27Countries from both sides of the Atlantic were shocked and horrified when they heard

01:11:30details of what happened to Titanic.

01:11:33They decided to make changes to ship operations, rules that would help avoid such events in

01:11:38the future.

01:11:41They held the first International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea, where they adopted

01:11:46rules for every ship to have lifeboat space for each passenger on board.

01:11:51Also, lifeboat drills became mandatory.

01:11:57They also decided to establish an International Ice Patrol.

01:12:01Its main role was to monitor icebergs in the North Atlantic shipping lanes.

01:12:05Ships also needed to maintain a 24-hour radio watch.

01:12:11Titanic wasn't built alone.

01:12:13Because of the size of this magnificent ship and all the new equipment it required, it

01:12:18would've been too expensive as a one-off.

01:12:21So the team built the Titanic alongside two sister ships.

01:12:26Both of them had eventful lifetimes.

01:12:31RMS Olympic came first.

01:12:33It was launched in 1910 and for a whole year was the biggest liner in the world.

01:12:39The Britannic was another sister ship that sailed for a while before it too ended down

01:12:45on the ocean bottom.

01:12:48But only Titanic became a legend and one of the most fascinating stories of modern history.

01:12:57It was the biggest ship ever built in its time, and it was supposed to be unsinkable.

01:13:02But within days of steaming out on its first voyage in 1912, the Titanic was gone beneath

01:13:09the relentless waves of the North Atlantic Ocean.

01:13:12And of its more than 2,200 passengers and crew, only 706 survived that dreadful night.

01:13:19Would a smaller ship have fared any better in the same situation?

01:13:23Would the size of the iceberg truly matter in the end?

01:13:27Was it a mistake for the ship to change course at the last minute as it tried to avoid impact?

01:13:33These are three questions that have people pondering, what if?

01:13:38We do know that Titanic was considered an engineering marvel in its day.

01:13:43Designed by Thomas Andrews for the British shipping company White Star Line, it was just

01:13:48over 880 feet long and 175 feet tall.

01:13:52Built with abundant space for 840 staterooms, a swimming pool, a squash court, a gym, and

01:13:59two dining rooms.

01:14:00But it was below deck that one of its most impressive new features could be found.

01:14:06Titanic's hull was divided into 16 compartments designed to be watertight.

01:14:11Up to four of these compartments could take on water in the event of a breach, with the

01:14:16remaining 12 helping to keep the damaged ship afloat.

01:14:20It was thanks to these compartments that the ship was regarded as unsinkable.

01:14:25Rumor has it that Philip Frank, White Star Line's vice president, even declared,

01:14:30"...there is no danger that Titanic will sink.

01:14:33The boat is unsinkable, and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers."

01:14:40On April 14, 1912, that proved to be mistaken when Titanic struck an iceberg.

01:14:46As ice ripped along the ship's hull, several of those watertight compartments ruptured.

01:14:52It took only two and a half hours for Titanic to sink.

01:14:58Did the size of the iceberg that hit Titanic seal its fate?

01:15:02Would a bigger or smaller iceberg have made any difference?

01:15:06Icebergs come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

01:15:10They are pieces of ice that have broken away from glaciers or ice shelves in the Arctic

01:15:15and Antarctic, and are now wandering across the ocean until they eventually melt.

01:15:21One of the tallest icebergs ever found would have easily dwarfed Titanic.

01:15:26Discovered in 1957, it was 550 feet high.

01:15:31That's close to the height of the Washington Monument.

01:15:34Imagine ramming into something that big!

01:15:37Other icebergs, though, can turn out just as dangerous.

01:15:41Some are the size of houses and called bergy bits.

01:15:44Others, closer to the size of a car, are called growlers.

01:15:49These can be much harder for ships and boats to locate, making them more difficult to avoid.

01:15:55And though smaller, they can produce a lot of damage when hit.

01:15:59It's also critical to recall that icebergs are always bigger than they seem, with the

01:16:05majority of their mass lurking below the ocean's surface.

01:16:08In fact, over 80% of an iceberg's volume is underwater.

01:16:14Most of its sharp, jagged edges cannot be seen.

01:16:17Roam too close, and you risk damaging your ship's hull.

01:16:21Because Titanic had little notice of its impending doom, a smaller iceberg, struck at the same

01:16:27angle, could still have been enough to bring that mighty ship down.

01:16:32Now it's possible that had the iceberg been larger, it would've been spotted sooner.

01:16:38Titanic might've had time to alter course and avoid the impact.

01:16:42But missing that one iceberg would not have guaranteed Titanic safety.

01:16:47It was traveling in a dangerous stretch of the Atlantic called Iceberg Alley.

01:16:52It's located 250 miles east and southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.

01:16:57Behind one iceberg, there could be another, and another after that.

01:17:02So the crew on board had to remain very attentive to avoid several potential collisions, not

01:17:08just one.

01:17:10A smaller ship might've been better suited for the trip.

01:17:13Titanic's size was certainly a challenge when it came to steering.

01:17:17In fact, it had just left her dock in Southampton when it nearly collided with another smaller

01:17:23ocean liner, the SS New York, missing it by just 2 feet.

01:17:27The gigantic steamship was obviously not made for maneuvering quickly in tight quarters.

01:17:33A ship that size required time and space to change course.

01:17:38But when it comes to ships versus icebergs, a ship's size doesn't always matter.

01:17:44The Islander was a steamship designed to travel the Inside Passage in Alaska.

01:17:49In the summer of 1901, it struck an iceberg, which tore a hole in the front portion or

01:17:54bow of the ship.

01:17:56The vessel did not sink right away, and the crew tried to steer it to safety.

01:18:01Ultimately, its bow completely submerged, and its stern was lifted up and out of the

01:18:06water.

01:18:07It didn't take much longer before the ship sank completely.

01:18:11Of the 168 passengers and crew members, 128 survived, and $3 million in gold was lost.

01:18:19Islander had a 240-foot hull, making it almost a quarter of the size of Titanic, and that

01:18:26smaller size didn't seem to be much help in preventing a collision with an iceberg.

01:18:31And then there was the Hans Hedtoff in 1959.

01:18:36Also known as the Little Titanic or the Danish Titanic, it was referred to as the safest

01:18:41ship afloat.

01:18:43It was 272 feet long, with 95 people on board.

01:18:47Much like the real Titanic, the Hans Hedtoff was specifically engineered to handle most

01:18:53of what the sea could throw its way.

01:18:55Along with its double steel bottom, it also had an armored bow and seven watertight compartments.

01:19:02How could such a ship sink?

01:19:04But it could, and it did.

01:19:06It was on its first voyage, returning to Copenhagen, when it ran into trouble.

01:19:11On January 30, it hit an iceberg.

01:19:14An SOS was sent, but when the Johannes Cross arrived to help, the Hans Hedtoff was nowhere

01:19:20to be found.

01:19:22The only evidence of the ship's existence was a lifebelt that was washed ashore in Iceland

01:19:28nine months later.

01:19:29Again, the ship's smaller size didn't work in its favor.

01:19:33A smaller size of Titanic wouldn't have guaranteed a safe voyage in 1912.

01:19:39The final what-if concerns the last-minute choice when the iceberg was spotted and the

01:19:44alarm sounded.

01:19:46First, Titanic could attempt a complete stop.

01:19:49This wasn't an option, as the ship needed a half a mile to come to a halt, and the iceberg

01:19:55was a mere 900 feet away.

01:19:58Second, the Titanic could attempt to avoid the iceberg by steering away from it.

01:20:03This is what the captain ordered, but the attempt was unsuccessful, resulting in a deep

01:20:08gash across the ship's hull.

01:20:10The final option?

01:20:11To hit the iceberg head-on.

01:20:13Would this have made any difference?

01:20:16The answer is an intriguing maybe.

01:20:19Some think a head-on collision would've saved Titanic.

01:20:22In this scenario, the collision would've limited the damage to the very front of the

01:20:27ship.

01:20:28Instead of the iceberg tearing through the hull and compromising several of the watertight

01:20:32compartments, only four of the compartments would've been breached.

01:20:37This meant the others could do their job of keeping Titanic afloat.

01:20:41The ship could be stuck, unable to move, but it would remain above water until help arrived.

01:20:48This would provide a ship like Carpathia enough time to reach the scene of the accident

01:20:53and bring the people on board to safety.

01:20:56One of the Titanic's designers, Edward Wilding, made a similar claim during an inquiry into

01:21:02the sinking.

01:21:03He argued that most people would've survived a head-on crash, and that Titanic itself would

01:21:09not have sunk.

01:21:11Others disagree, though.

01:21:12First, the special bulkheads on Titanic were designed specifically to protect the ship

01:21:17against collisions with other vessels, not with icebergs.

01:21:22These compartments would crumple upon impact, absorbing some of the force while the other

01:21:27ship absorbed the rest.

01:21:29Though the damage would still be extensive, the remaining bulkheads would keep the ship

01:21:33afloat.

01:21:34But an iceberg does not have the same flex in a collision as you would experience with

01:21:39another ship.

01:21:40Most of the force would be absorbed by Titanic, resulting in greater damage to the ship.

01:21:47Even worse, the impact would be carried through the full length of the ship.

01:21:51Rivets would burst, seams would tear, the compartments would quickly flood, and the

01:21:56ship would sink even faster, resulting in fewer survivors.

01:22:00In any case, as with most what-ifs, we'll never really know the answer.

01:22:06As tragic as Titanic's first and last voyage was, it did result in changes that helped

01:22:12make venturing out to sea much safer.

01:22:16Warnings from hearings on the disaster led to the creation of the International Ice Patrol,

01:22:21or ICC in 1914, an organization that tracks icebergs in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans

01:22:28to ensure vessels in the area can avoid them.

01:22:31In the US and Britain, ships were obligated to carry enough lifeboats to accommodate every

01:22:37person aboard.

01:22:39Regular lifeboat drills were made mandatory.

01:22:42And finally, the bulkheads on ships were made higher to keep water out, and bottoms

01:22:47were stretched to create double hulls, helping make the compartments truly waterproof.

01:22:52There's no denying that Titanic was a terrible tragedy, but the lessons learned from that

01:22:58night to remember has helped prevent many more.

01:23:03April 1912 marked one of the most terrible tragedies in the history of the world.

01:23:08The most unsinkable vessel, the pinnacle of engineering at that time, the huge Titanic,

01:23:14sank.

01:23:15On that dark, moonless night, the ship had many chances to save its passengers.

01:23:20There was another ship just a few miles away that could have saved the Titanic, but it

01:23:24didn't.

01:23:26It wasn't a phantom ship, and it's not some legend or a theory.

01:23:30This is a documented reality.

01:23:32There are records and witnesses' statements confirming this.

01:23:35But why didn't this ship help?

01:23:37Let's find out what happened that night by looking at these events from three different

01:23:41points of view.

01:23:43Let's start with the Titanic version.

01:23:4511.30 PM.

01:23:47The moon hides behind black clouds.

01:23:50Visibility is bad.

01:23:52Everything is calm on the Titanic.

01:23:54Under the captain's guidance, the communications operator stays in touch with the mainland

01:23:58through the radio.

01:24:00At this moment, some stranger breaks into the frequency, interrupting the operator's

01:24:04communication.

01:24:06It's unclear what this strange man wants and what he's talking about.

01:24:10The operator doesn't try to figure it out.

01:24:12He shouts at the guy, demanding him to disconnect.

01:24:15The connection is interrupted.

01:24:18At 11.40 PM, the Titanic crashes into an iceberg.

01:24:22The ice breaks the hull.

01:24:24Water begins to flood the lower decks.

01:24:26Nobody is panicking yet.

01:24:2820 minutes later, at midnight, the ship's crew sends a distress signal through the radio

01:24:33frequency.

01:24:35Few people understand how bad the situation really is.

01:24:39After 20 minutes, at 12.20 AM, they start lowering lifeboats with passengers.

01:24:44At 12.25 AM, they receive a response to the distress signal.

01:24:49This is RMS Carpathia.

01:24:51Their captain reports they're already sailing at maximum speed towards the Titanic.

01:24:56But the problem is that the crash site is 58 miles away.

01:25:00This means Carpathia will only be here in four hours.

01:25:05At 12.45 AM, the sinking ship's crew release rockets into the air.

01:25:11These flares are one of the main reasons for the terrible fate of many passengers.

01:25:15But more on that later.

01:25:1790 minutes later, the Titanic's deck breaks and the ship dives underwater.

01:25:23At 4.10 AM, the Carpathia finally arrives at the shipwreck location.

01:25:28The crew members make heroic efforts to save all the people.

01:25:32They take 705 survivors on board.

01:25:35At this moment, another ship appears.

01:25:37It's SS Californian.

01:25:40The Carpathia sails towards the New York coast with all the people.

01:25:44The Californian floats in search of passengers and finds nothing but wreckage.

01:25:48The ship was only a few miles away while the Titanic sank into the icy water.

01:25:54The Californian could have saved these people, but did nothing.

01:25:58Its captain, Stanley Lord, made one of the most terrible acts that a sailor can allow.

01:26:04He didn't help a sinking ship.

01:26:07When the world found out about all this, they detested Captain Lord.

01:26:11They couldn't bring charges against him, and the trial didn't punish him.

01:26:15But his career was ruined entirely, as no other ship company would hire him.

01:26:20Despite this, he never confessed he had been guilty.

01:26:24Before he passed away, the captain said it hadn't been his fault.

01:26:28If this was true, then what happened there?

01:26:32This brings us to the Californian version.

01:26:35It's the night of April 14th.

01:26:38The Californian is sailing in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.

01:26:42The ship gets into a section with a lot of icebergs.

01:26:45At 10.10 PM, Captain Lord stops the ship.

01:26:49It's too dangerous to move around this area, as they can damage the hull.

01:26:53At 11.00 PM, the ship starts drifting.

01:26:56It's impossible to move in such conditions with such poor visibility.

01:27:01The captain knows that the Titanic is coming here, so he orders the radio operator to warn

01:27:06the ship about the danger.

01:27:09Radio operator Evans turns on the receiver and tries to contact the Titanic.

01:27:14He spends about 30 minutes on it.

01:27:16The connection is finally established.

01:27:18At this moment, the Titanic radio operator is speaking with the mainland.

01:27:23Evans interrupts this conversation and tries to warn the ship about icebergs.

01:27:28The operator doesn't understand Evans' words.

01:27:31He's annoyed because Evans broke into the channel so brazenly.

01:27:35He shouts at Evans and cuts the connection.

01:27:38Tired, Evans turns off the receiver and informs his superiors about the incident.

01:27:44It's still a mystery how the captain reacted to this news.

01:27:48He probably thought the Titanic knew about the danger.

01:27:51He lets Evans go to bed.

01:27:53If Evans hadn't turned off the radio and waited one hour, he would have heard a distress signal

01:27:58from the Titanic.

01:28:00But you shouldn't blame him.

01:28:02At this point, he has no official reason to stay at the transmitter.

01:28:06Evans is too exhausted and can't fight drowsiness.

01:28:09So, Evans goes to bed.

01:28:13The Titanic begins to sink.

01:28:15Its captain sends a distress signal.

01:28:18The operator on board the Carpathia catches it, but the Californian doesn't, since the

01:28:22receiver is turned off.

01:28:25Captain Lord can't sleep.

01:28:27He feels that something is wrong.

01:28:29Meanwhile, the Titanic is rapidly sinking under the water.

01:28:33The captain gives the order to launch rockets into the air.

01:28:36And here is where one of the critical mistakes takes place.

01:28:40They release warning lights, but they are not red.

01:28:43The crew forgot to take red rockets on board for some reason, so they lit up the sky with

01:28:48a bright white light.

01:28:50If you need to send a distress signal, you need to release red lights.

01:28:55Captain Lord sees these lights, but doesn't perceive them as a cry for help.

01:29:00It can't be that there are no standard red rockets on such a massive ship as the Titanic.

01:29:05But unfortunately, it can.

01:29:09Captain Lord thinks the Titanic is sailing away.

01:29:12Perhaps there is some unknown reason behind those white lights, but he doesn't really know.

01:29:18So, Captain Lord has no idea that the Titanic is sinking.

01:29:22He still decides to contact the ship, but this time, not through radio communication.

01:29:28Captain Lord doesn't wake up the radio operator and sends a signal to the Titanic through

01:29:33a signal lamp.

01:29:35It's important to understand that many old-school captains didn't take radio communication seriously.

01:29:41They didn't understand the value of this technology.

01:29:44That's why Captain Lord doesn't wake up Evans.

01:29:47He sends light signals, but the Titanic doesn't respond.

01:29:52Many survivors later mentioned seeing the flashing lights of the Californian, but there

01:29:56was nothing they could have done.

01:29:58The ship's crew doesn't hear their cries for help.

01:30:02At 2.20 a.m., the Titanic completely goes underwater.

01:30:07A little more than 2 hours later, radio operator Evans wakes up and turns the transmitter on.

01:30:13He hears many rescuers talking about the sunken ship.

01:30:17Evans understands everything.

01:30:19He reports this to the captain.

01:30:21At that moment, the Californian immediately heads to the wreck site.

01:30:25They meet Carpathia there.

01:30:27With the survivors on board, it sails towards New York.

01:30:31The Californian stays sailing and looking for people.

01:30:34They find nothing but wreckage.

01:30:37The Californian returns to the mainland.

01:30:40The news about the ship that could have saved the Titanic is spreading all over the country.

01:30:45The trial begins.

01:30:48Captain Stanley Lord and the crew tell their version.

01:30:51They say their ship had been standing still.

01:30:54Many people don't believe them, and some of the surviving passengers claim to have seen

01:30:58the Californian sailing by.

01:31:01Still, the judge declares them innocent.

01:31:041962.

01:31:06Captain Stanley Lord is a very old man.

01:31:09He calls a notary to confess something.

01:31:12The captain makes his last remark about this case.

01:31:15He swears he's not guilty.

01:31:19But if it wasn't the Californian sailing past the Titanic at that moment, then what?

01:31:24The Samson Theory could answer that question for us.

01:31:28The sealing ship Samson is sailing in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.

01:31:32The crew aren't sleeping.

01:31:34They carefully study the surroundings, but not because they're afraid of icebergs.

01:31:39They're scared of meeting with the U.S. Coast Guard.

01:31:42The Samson ship's crew catch seals, which is illegal.

01:31:47At 12.45 a.m., Samson's captain sees white signal rockets.

01:31:52The team is sure it's the Coast Guard.

01:31:55They turn off the lights and sail away.

01:31:57It's dark, so they don't notice the sinking Titanic.

01:32:02They return to the coast of Iceland and hear about the disaster.

01:32:06They realize they have abandoned the drowning passengers.

01:32:10The nephew of one of Samson's crew members reads about this story in his uncle's diary.

01:32:15The nephew asks for permission to publish these recordings.

01:32:19All the people realize that Captain Lord wasn't guilty.

01:32:23But unfortunately, he didn't live to see this moment.

01:32:26Actually, it's still unknown who is guilty in this story.

01:32:31Two ships were nearby the Titanic.

01:32:33Their captains were adequate people.

01:32:36They would have helped save all the passengers.

01:32:38Their fault was that they couldn't understand what the Titanic wanted on that dark night.

01:32:44Someone forgot to put red flares in the box.

01:32:47This small but fatal detail was one of the leading causes of the tragedy.

01:32:52The year was 1854, and the SS Arctic, the fastest passenger liner of its time, set out

01:32:58to cross the Atlantic.

01:33:00As it sailed through the misty veil, it slowly disappeared into the unknown.

01:33:07The Collins Line, an American shipping company, was started in 1818 and only began seriously

01:33:13trading in the transatlantic by 1835.

01:33:17Their steamships crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool to New York within just 10 days.

01:33:22Doesn't sound like a great speed today, I know.

01:33:25But back then, the same thing took other ships several weeks.

01:33:31Light on the water with their wooden hulls, powering through with a strong steam engine.

01:33:36Those steamships were the favorite choice for many high-profile people.

01:33:40What could go wrong with such an advanced ship, they thought?

01:33:44This reminds me of some other ship everyone believed to be unsinkable.

01:33:49But anyway, back to the Collins Line.

01:33:52It grew to be a serious contender on transatlantic routes, with only one other competitor, the

01:33:57Cunards Line.

01:33:59It was a British company also aiming to be the main force through the Arctic passage.

01:34:05In 1835, the company received a new ship that traveled to Liverpool and came back to New

01:34:10York with the largest cargo ever at that time.

01:34:14From then, the Collins Line was steadily growing.

01:34:17It seemed like there would only be future successes for it.

01:34:22Unfortunately, their lavish ships became costly to run with the amount of coal used.

01:34:28Massive power along with weak wooden hulls meant they needed many repairs after each

01:34:33voyage.

01:34:35So every trip ended up being expensive.

01:34:39But since the ships were safe and had a great reputation, people were willing to pay the

01:34:43price and the company was definitely not in crisis.

01:34:47They had achieved something no one had managed to do before them.

01:34:50Like I told you, their ships crossed the Atlantic in a whopping 10 days and Edward Collins,

01:34:56the owner, was very determined to maintain the pace.

01:35:01Their five ships easily outran the Cunards Line of only three.

01:35:05With this great praise, it provided more attention.

01:35:10Though the Cunards ships were slower with their iron hulls, they believed there was

01:35:14still profit regardless of how slowly they sailed.

01:35:19Among Collins ships, the Arctic, the third of them to be launched, was the largest, reaching

01:35:25284 feet long, with two side-lever steam engines, each with 1,000 horsepower.

01:35:32The paddle wheels made 16 revolutions a minute when at full speed.

01:35:36At the time of its launch, the press called it the most stupendous vessel ever constructed

01:35:41in the United States.

01:35:43But glamour and fame couldn't avoid what would come next.

01:35:48On the 27th of September, the Arctic was on its journey from Liverpool to New York, continuing

01:35:54a speed pace through the thick fog.

01:35:56It's possible that by that moment, after four years of record-breaking trips, the crew became

01:36:02overconfident with their sailing and the ship.

01:36:07Going only 50 miles from Newfoundland, they carelessly continued through the fog with

01:36:11no radio contact, sonar, or any other form of identifying objects equipped only with

01:36:17Morse code.

01:36:20A smaller ship, the SS Vesta, which operated as a fishing vessel, often worked around Newfoundland.

01:36:26It was passing through the same path as the Arctic and crashed into its side.

01:36:33Shocked by the collision, the captain of the Arctic offered help to the much smaller Vesta.

01:36:38But it was soon clear that the damage that seemed minor on the Arctic was far worse.

01:36:44Beneath the waterline, a hole was letting water into the hull.

01:36:48The cost of the much faster wooden hull now seemed less valuable.

01:36:52They steered toward land, trying to plug the holes, but they weren't doing so well, and

01:36:57the seawater continued to pour in, filling up higher and pushing the ship down.

01:37:04And finally, once the engine room was full, it put out the boilers, taking away the massive

01:37:09power the Arctic was once legendary for.

01:37:13They moved slowly until coming to a complete stop.

01:37:17The ship continued to sink, and the order was to abandon it.

01:37:21At the time, maritime law allowed for the Arctic to carry only six lifeboats, only capable

01:37:27of saving 180 people.

01:37:29The crew and some of the passengers managed to push their way aboard, and took most of

01:37:33the seats on those boats.

01:37:35Things were pretty wild, and everyone forgot about their manners, not letting the ladies

01:37:39and the youngest ones board first.

01:37:43It took four hours for the Arctic to sink.

01:37:46150 crew and 250 passengers were on board.

01:37:50Those that weren't able to find a lifeboat made a desperate attempt to build their own

01:37:54rafts from parts of the ship.

01:37:57Two days later, only three boats made it safely to the shore.

01:38:01The other three were never found.

01:38:04Believe it or not, the rescue party also saved some people that had been clinging to the

01:38:08wreckage for two days.

01:38:12Unlike the crew, the captain went down with the Arctic, but amazingly survived.

01:38:17He would be only one of 85 people that made it out of the 400 on board.

01:38:25When the news arrived two weeks later, the public responded with great sadness to the

01:38:30losses.

01:38:31Great anger soon followed towards the poor safety measures in the crew.

01:38:35The press published demands to change the laws for more lifeboats.

01:38:39It only made sense to have enough for every person on board a ship.

01:38:44But they ignored those requests.

01:38:47This neglect would lead to more disasters in the future.

01:38:50Enough lifeboats would only come into maritime law some 60 years later, after the disaster

01:38:56of the Titanic.

01:38:59Edward Collins' wife and two children were also aboard the ship and didn't return.

01:39:05He was heartbroken, but didn't stop running his business.

01:39:10The Collins line still had a reputation to uphold, the biggest, fastest, and most luxurious

01:39:15on the Atlantic.

01:39:17Edward Collins would now build an even better ship than any other.

01:39:22It was named the Adriatic, and it was the largest ship in the world, 354 feet long.

01:39:29With two alternating steam engines that had never been built of this size, these steam

01:39:34engines at the time were at the height of engineering, though today you can only see

01:39:39them in models and toys.

01:39:42With the new addition of two masts, the Adriatic would also be able to sail if needed.

01:39:47Luckily, they made some lessons from the disaster of the Arctic.

01:39:51But before their new ship, the Adriatic, was built, another disaster had occurred.

01:39:56The sister ship of the Arctic had also sunk.

01:40:02They believe this second ship was desperate to stay in front of the Cunard's line and

01:40:06hit an iceberg somewhere during the race.

01:40:09This weird contest took the lives of 141 people.

01:40:14The desperation of Collins and his weakly built hulls pushed the company towards bankruptcy

01:40:19in 1858.

01:40:21The newly built Adriatic, costing over $1 million, had only made one voyage in the end.

01:40:29But even that voyage was considered a disaster.

01:40:32The ship collided with a tugboat.

01:40:34It still managed to finish its maiden voyage at a suitable time.

01:40:40After the company had gone bankrupt, they had to sell the ship for only $50,000.

01:40:45They removed the great giant engines, replacing them with only sails.

01:40:52Although it was once the greatest ship on the high seas, it was only 30 years later

01:40:57until it was abandoned, labeled irreparable, and anchored in a river.

01:41:03The other remaining ships were also sold and only used for parts.

01:41:08Edward Collins left the industry altogether, seeking work on dry land instead.

01:41:15As the Collins line was no longer in the mix, the Cunards would grow in strength.

01:41:20Without competition, they would win the Blue Ribbon for the next 30 years, and 180 years

01:41:26later after producing hundreds of ships, they still have a constant presence on the

01:41:30seas as they provide transatlantic crossings, world voyages, and leisure cruises.

01:41:38To this day, the Cunard line is the only one to run ships between Europe and America, and

01:41:43it's great proof that it's not always the fastest that's the best.

01:41:52Black fog is rising over the ocean as the sun is slowly sinking towards the horizon.

01:41:57It's hard to see further away than a few dozen feet, but that's enough to notice a hulking,

01:42:02skeletal shape in the distance.

01:42:04As your ship approaches the figure, your heart beats faster, and then you make out the details

01:42:09of another vessel, abandoned by the looks of it.

01:42:14Ghost ships do exist, and their mysteries aren't always solved.

01:42:18Take MV Hoita, for example.

01:42:20It was a wooden vessel built in 1931 as a luxury yacht.

01:42:24It had served well to various people over 20 years before it was bought by a Samoan

01:42:29sailor and became a merchant ship.

01:42:32In 1955, though, Hoita's service came to an abrupt and mysterious end.

01:42:38On October 3rd, it set sail for another trading voyage that should have taken no more than

01:42:4348 hours.

01:42:45Delays happen in the sea, so when Hoita didn't arrive on October 5th as scheduled, there

01:42:50was little worry yet.

01:42:52But then it failed to come on the following day, too.

01:42:56There was no distress signal or any other sign of Hoita's presence anywhere between

01:43:00its departure and arrival points.

01:43:03A search and rescue party was dispatched to find the ship, and for six days, they were

01:43:08scouting the area of nearly 100,000 square miles.

01:43:11On October 12th, the mission returned to the base empty-handed.

01:43:15Hoita vanished without a trace.

01:43:20It was only a month later that another merchant ship, Tuvalu, noticed the missing vessel far

01:43:25away from its route, drifting in the open sea and listing heavily.

01:43:30The sailors boarded the ship and found that all of its crew and passengers, 25 people

01:43:35total, were missing along with all the cargo the vessel had been carrying.

01:43:41The radio was tuned to the International Distress Channel, meaning that the crew had

01:43:45been trying to ask for help, but they couldn't reach anyone because the radio cable had been

01:43:49damaged, limiting the range to two miles.

01:43:54The lifeboats were missing as well, indicating that people on board must have left the ship.

01:43:59Unfortunately, they seemed to have taken the logbook with them, leaving the rescue team

01:44:03clueless as to what had happened.

01:44:07Even today, the mystery of MV Hoita hasn't been solved yet.

01:44:11No one knows where the crew and passengers had gone and what had caused them to leave.

01:44:16SV Carol A. Deering wasn't a ghost ship in the usual sense of the word.

01:44:22There are no sightings of it in the open sea.

01:44:24Instead, it was found on the shore.

01:44:27But the circumstances of it running aground are a puzzle shrouded in mystery.

01:44:32Carol A. Deering was built in 1919 in Maine, and it was a large vessel made for commercial

01:44:38voyages.

01:44:39Unfortunately, despite its large cost of construction, it had only served for a year before its last

01:44:45trip.

01:44:47July 19, 1920.

01:44:50The ship was traveling from Puerto Rico to Rio de Janeiro via Newport News to deliver

01:44:55a cargo of coal.

01:44:57It was almost halfway to the final destination when the captain felt seriously ill, and the

01:45:02crew turned back to drop him and his son off and replace the captain.

01:45:07The voyage went without incident, but when it came to Barbados in December to resupply,

01:45:12there were strange moods among the crew.

01:45:15The first mate didn't seem to be happy with the new captain.

01:45:18No one paid much attention to it back then, when they probably should have.

01:45:23The last sighting of Carol A. Deering at sea was on January 28, 1921, when a light ship

01:45:30noticed it off the coast of North Carolina.

01:45:33There was some commotion on the quarter deck of the ship, where the crew were normally

01:45:37not allowed.

01:45:38Then, another vessel sighted it, but there was already no one on the decks.

01:45:43On January 31, the merchant ship was found hard aground in the Diamond Shoals, a site

01:45:49notorious for numerous shipwrecks that had been occupying there for centuries.

01:45:54When the search and rescue party boarded the ship, they found it abandoned.

01:45:58The log and personal belongings of the crew, gone, along with the two lifeboats.

01:46:04There is still no answer to what happened on board of Carol A. Deering that January,

01:46:09although the most popular version was mutiny.

01:46:12Maybe we'll never find out the truth though.

01:46:16SS Baychimo is perhaps one of the most notable ghost ships in history.

01:46:20This large cargo steamer was built in 1914 in Sweden and plotted its way dutifully over

01:46:2616 years, trading provisions for pelts with native tribes of Alaska and Canada.

01:46:32But then, on October 1, 1931, Baychimo got caught in pack ice.

01:46:38At first, it seemed the crew would be able to wait it out and continue on their route,

01:46:41because the ship broke free in a couple of days.

01:46:44But in less than a week, it became caught again, this time for good.

01:46:50In another week, a rescue party was sent to fetch 22 of the Baychismo's crew, while

01:46:55another 15 remained behind to wait through the winter if necessary, and get the ship

01:46:59back.

01:47:00But a month later, after a powerful blizzard struck their camp, the sailors went out of

01:47:05their shelters, only to find the ship gone.

01:47:08Luckily, a few days later, a native hunter told the Baychimo hadn't been lost yet.

01:47:14He'd seen it about 45 miles from where they had been stationed.

01:47:17They managed to track it down, but decided the ship wouldn't survive the winter.

01:47:22So they took the most valuable cargo from its hold and abandoned it.

01:47:26They were wrong, though.

01:47:27SS Baychimo did survive that winter, and many more that followed.

01:47:32When the ice broke, it sailed away on its own, drifting listlessly along the shores

01:47:36of Canada and Alaska.

01:47:39There were numerous sightings of the ghost ship, sometimes adrift in the open sea, and

01:47:43at other times, stuck in the pack ice again.

01:47:46People attempted to board and salvage it, but weather conditions or lack of equipment

01:47:51always prevented them.

01:47:54SS Baychimo was last sighted by Native Alaskans in 1969, 38 years after its abandonment.

01:48:01What became of it later remains unknown.

01:48:05The story of SS Orang Medan is one of the most puzzling and harrowing ghost ship stories

01:48:10of the 20th century.

01:48:12No one even knows for sure if the ship even existed in the first place.

01:48:16It wasn't recorded in Lloyd's Shipping, the International Register of Ships, which

01:48:20makes it either a tall tale or a vessel that avoided being officially recognized for some

01:48:25shady reasons.

01:48:27In any case, the accounts as to what happened to the Medan vary.

01:48:31According to most reports, it was carrying some unknown cargo in the Indonesian waters

01:48:35when a distress call was received by another ship in the vicinity.

01:48:39The officer on duty heard an SOS message, but its contents are different depending on

01:48:45the accounts.

01:48:47The message did not repeat, and the crew of Medan didn't answer to any attempts to

01:48:52contact it back.

01:48:53The ship that received the distress call hurried to the rescue, but they only reached the vessel

01:48:58the following day, when it was already drifting and slightly listing.

01:49:03When the rescuers boarded the ship, they found that none of the crew had survived.

01:49:08However, one lifeboat was missing, which implied that there was at least one crew member who

01:49:13managed to escape.

01:49:15What happened to the rest of the people on board remains a mystery to this day.

01:49:20Still, there are no hard facts about this story, so we might never find out whether

01:49:25SS Orang Medan was actually a ship and not a thing of fiction.

01:49:30SV Zebrina was a three-mast sailing barge built in 1873 for river trade ships in South

01:49:37America.

01:49:38She served for well over four decades, proving to be a sturdy and reliable ship.

01:49:44It was later transferred to Europe, where it continued serving its purpose well.

01:49:49But then, in October 1917, Zebrina set sail on a regular voyage only to be found ashore

01:49:56several days later.

01:49:58Mysteriously, although the ship was perfectly intact, the entire crew of five and the captain

01:50:04were gone.

01:50:06There is no direct evidence or hard facts as to what really happened that day.

01:50:10The most convincing theory is that the crew were washed away from the deck because of

01:50:14an underwater explosion.

01:50:17And then the ship sailed ahead without them.

01:50:19But the truth, as always, remains unknown.

01:50:24Meet Arthur John Priest.

01:50:26No, he isn't famous for being a painter or for discovering some long-lost treasure.

01:50:31He didn't invent some cool gadget or break any world records.

01:50:35No, Arthur John Priest is famous simply for being unsinkable.

01:50:41Proving one can be both lucky and unlucky at the same time, Priest was involved in,

01:50:45and survived, several mishaps at sea, including the fateful maiden voyage of the Titanic.

01:50:52Priest was not a rich man interested in sailing for pleasure.

01:50:55He was part of the working class, employed as a stoker or fireman, stuck for hours within

01:51:01the hot bowels of large steam-powered vessels.

01:51:04His job was dirty and difficult.

01:51:07He was responsible for keeping the furnaces lit, feeding them coal to ensure enough steam

01:51:11was produced for the engines to work.

01:51:14He had to be careful about not overheating the system or setting fire to the whole ship.

01:51:19The furnaces had to be carefully watched and constantly fed.

01:51:23He breathed it all in a while, working and fighting with the sweat and the dirt.

01:51:28He would often work shirtless because of the heat, and was always covered in black coal

01:51:32dust.

01:51:33And when he finally had a break, his shared living quarters were nearby in the same part

01:51:37of the ship.

01:51:38He must have been good at his job, though, because he had no trouble finding work.

01:51:43But wherever he went, bad luck seemed to follow.

01:51:47The first incident was a mild one.

01:51:49As a young man, Priest worked on the RMS Asturias.

01:51:53The passenger liner first set sail in 1907, traveling between Southampton in the UK to

01:51:59Buenos Aires in Argentina.

01:52:02At some point during its maiden voyage, the ship suffered a small collision.

01:52:06The damage was bad enough that the ship returned for repairs.

01:52:09Thankfully, there were no reports of any serious injuries.

01:52:13Priest, unfazed, simply went to work on another ship.

01:52:17But his bad luck lingered on the Asturias.

01:52:20In 1914, the Asturias became a hospital ship, helping care for sick men and women around

01:52:25Europe while bringing them home to England.

01:52:28In March 1917, at just around midnight, the ship was struck by a foreign object.

01:52:34Its hull was breached and the engine room flooded.

01:52:37The captain ordered everyone to abandon the ship, sending crew, patients, and health staff

01:52:42scrambling for the lifeboats.

01:52:45The vessel was still moving, powering through the water because the main controls, located

01:52:49within the flooded engine room, could not be turned off.

01:52:53The captain refused to leave the ship while people were still trying to escape.

01:52:57He was able to aim the Asturias towards Bolthead, where it finally hit land and couldn't sink.

01:53:03The remaining lifeboats were lowered and the final survivors made it to safety.

01:53:08When they studied the damage on the ship later, the Asturias was declared a total write-off.

01:53:14It might be hard to pin this particular disaster on Priest.

01:53:17After all, he wasn't even on the ship at the time.

01:53:21But it seemed that many of the ships on which he served were destined for trouble.

01:53:26His bad luck followed him to his next job on the RMS Olympic, a massive ocean liner.

01:53:31The Olympic was big.

01:53:33In fact, it had been designed and built as part of the fleet that included the Titanic.

01:53:38But with size came sacrifice.

01:53:41The Olympic was great at moving in one direction, but very difficult to handle when it needed

01:53:45to turn.

01:53:47It was September 1911.

01:53:49The Olympic was trying to alter its course.

01:53:51The Hawk, a smaller ship sailing nearby, didn't give the larger vessel enough room

01:53:56to maneuver, and the two slammed into each other.

01:54:00Because the Hawk was engineered to deal with potential confrontations when out at sea,

01:54:04its reinforced bow tore through the Olympic.

01:54:08Two large gashes appeared on the ocean liner's side.

01:54:11The propeller shaft was badly twisted, and worse, the ship began to take on water.

01:54:17Somehow, the Olympic made it to shore without sinking, and nobody was seriously hurt.

01:54:23Priest had no idea that this was just a small taste of what his future held for him.

01:54:28He next found employment on a brand new ship, a better ship, an unsinkable marvel that was

01:54:34said to be the biggest vessel to have ever been built.

01:54:36Yes, he was going to work on the Titanic.

01:54:40And what a job!

01:54:41It took 29 boilers, requiring 850 tons of coal a day, to produce enough steam to power

01:54:47the Titanic.

01:54:49Priest was just one of 150 stokers toiling away in the ship's underbelly, keeping those

01:54:54fires burning day and night.

01:54:56He made around $30 a month.

01:54:59But on April 14, 1912, he would find himself flung from a world of extreme heat to one

01:55:05of blistering cold.

01:55:07At approximately 11.35 pm, the crew spotted an iceberg.

01:55:12The Titanic tried to avoid it, but the alarm had been sounded too late.

01:55:16Five minutes later, the two collided.

01:55:19The iceberg tore through the hull, and the once watertight compartments inside were badly

01:55:24ruptured.

01:55:25As the cold Atlantic water flooded in, the ship began to sink.

01:55:29Distress signals were sent, but the closest ship, the Carpathia, was over three hours

01:55:34away.

01:55:35In the dark of night, and stuck in the middle of nowhere, the crew and passengers panicked.

01:55:41Those who could scrambled for the lifeboats.

01:55:43Others jumped into the icy waters.

01:55:46In total, only 706 survived that terrible night.

01:55:50Priest, at the time of the collision, was down in the ship's lower quarters.

01:55:55He was on break, relaxing from a hard day of work.

01:55:58And as the ship went down, so did his chances of survival.

01:56:02He and his fellow workers were in the most dangerous position on the ship.

01:56:06They had to make their way through a maze of corridors and gangways, some of which were

01:56:10flooded, in a mad dash to the deck.

01:56:13And then they faced the frigid water, jumping in and desperately swimming to safety.

01:56:19The ocean was so cold that Priest even suffered frostbite before finding his way onto a lifeboat.

01:56:25He was one of only 44 stokers to survive that night.

01:56:29After an experience like that, most of us would never set foot on a boat again.

01:56:34But Priest had to work.

01:56:36His next job also ended in disaster.

01:56:39He was offered employment on the HMS Alcantara.

01:56:43It went down in 1916, and Priest was again one of the few to make it to safety.

01:56:48He was badly wounded in the process.

01:56:51But he kept pressing his luck, and his next job as a stoker may have felt eerily familiar.

01:56:57He would be working on a ship built by the same people behind both the Olympic and the

01:57:01Titanic.

01:57:02And this ship, named the Britannic, was the biggest of the three.

01:57:07It was also believed to be a superior vessel, fitted with new safety features after the

01:57:11Titanic sank.

01:57:13For example, it had 48 open lifeboats, 46 of which were the largest ever used on a ship

01:57:19before.

01:57:20Two of these were even motorized and equipped with special communication devices.

01:57:25The good news?

01:57:26The Britannic survived its first trip without incident.

01:57:29It was already doing better than the Titanic ever did.

01:57:32However, on November 21, 1916, the Britannic was shaken by a loud explosion while traveling

01:57:38through the key channel in the Aegean Sea.

01:57:41The hull was damaged, and some of the compartments began to fill with water.

01:57:45But, unlike the Titanic, the Britannic had been designed for just such an emergency.

01:57:51The ship had been fitted with five watertight bulkheads.

01:57:54Intact, these would help keep the ship safe and floating for a much longer period of time.

01:58:00But there was one issue.

01:58:02Portholes along the lower decks had foolishly been left open.

01:58:05As the ship tilted, the portholes led in water, which flooded the Britannic and hastened its

01:58:10descent into the sea.

01:58:12This effectively made those watertight bulkheads useless.

01:58:16The ship was going down fast.

01:58:18Much faster, in fact, than the Titanic had sunk.

01:58:22Thirty-five of the lifeboats were successfully launched, saving most on board.

01:58:26Of the 1,066 passengers and crew, 1,036 survived.

01:58:31Priest, his luck intact, was one of them.

01:58:35And yet, he still wasn't done with a life at sea.

01:58:38He accepted a position as a stoker on the Donegal.

01:58:42It was a smaller passenger ferry that had been converted for use as a hospital boat.

01:58:47In April 1917, it was struck by a foreign object while fleeing an unsafe situation.

01:58:53And though he suffered from a head injury, Priest was again one of the survivors.

01:58:58It took experiencing two collisions and four sinkings before Priest was finally ready to

01:59:03retire.

01:59:04In fact, he reportedly said he only gave it up because no one wanted to sail with him.

01:59:09Can you blame them?

01:59:10He would live out the rest of his life on dry land in Southampton, England, with his

01:59:14wife Annie and their three sons.

01:59:17But Arthur John Priest would always be remembered as the unsinkable stoker.

01:59:22That's it for today!

01:59:24So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

01:59:28friends!

01:59:29Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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