On this episode of Stuff You Should Know, Josh and Chuck take a deep dive into the Titanic, a disaster so colossal it takes them two episodes to go over everything. In the first part, it’s all about the boat itself: The rivets, the lifeboats, and the luxury; they save the sinking for part two. Back in 1912, there were two major ocean liner companies: The White Star Line and the Cunard Line. The Cunard company was setting speed records with their ships the Mauritania and the Lusitania, steaming across the Atlantic in only five days. So the White Star Line decided that instead of trying to build faster ships, they would make their boats so massive and luxurious that people would want to spend the extra day at sea. So began the life of the Titanic – and the cruise industry as we know it.
Though everything was divided into first-, second-, and third-class accommodations and amenities, the guys point out that the steerage section was more luxurious than in a usual ship. That’s because even the third-class tickets were expensive. In a time when most people were making an average of $800 a year, third-class tickets cost $35 – and first-class tickets were $4,500, the equivalent of spending over $100,000 in today’s money. So the beauty of the surroundings was paramount to creating an experience worth that sticker price, and was reflected in the beautiful furnishings, expensive food, and abundant crew members. Unfortunately, this meant that the unsightly lifeboats were kind of a drag for the designers, so they only stowed 16 of them aboard, and in out-of-the-way places where they wouldn’t be seen by the passengers.
Because nothing of this size had been built before, other mistakes were made. Experts have suggested that the iron rivets had more slag residue than was allowable, which meant that when they were exposed to cold air, they became weaker. Crew was being taken onboard only a day before passengers were let on, which meant many of them didn’t even have official positions or training before the ship set sail. No formal drill was accomplished where the crew were trained how to lower the lifeboats, which meant that even if they had stocked enough lifeboats for everyone, it’s possible they couldn’t have been deployed on time anyway. But on the outside, the massive and beautiful boat looked like the journey of a lifetime. Find out more about the amenities of the Titanic, the passengers who missed the boat, and the other moments that may have altered the course of history on this episode of Stuff You Should Know.
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