Today is National Titanic Day and I've always had a fascination with the Titanic. Not sure why. Sometimes I think that if reincarnation is real then I was probably a passenger on the ship in a past life.

I know a lot of people are sick of or had no desire to see the movie "Titanic," but you have to give credit where credit is due. James Cameron really did a fantastic job bringing the history of the doomed voyage to the big screen.

My favorite part of the movie has nothing to do with Jack and Rose; it has to do with a photograph I have seen quite a few times. It was taken on the promenade deck and there are three men watching the boy spin the top. This was also a scene in the movie, when Jack stole the jacket off the back of the chair.

I had remembered seeing a picture of a boy spinning a top and wondered if there was a jacket on the chair. Sure enough there was. I thought that was pretty cool. Cameron brought a historical picture to life on the screen and used details in it to further the story. I'm a movie geek, so I thought this was really cool.

Here are some other facts about the Titanic:

  • It was nicknamed the "unsinkable ship."
  • Titanic Lifeboats
    Lifeboats Photo Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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  • The SS Californian warned the Titanic that there was a lot of ice in the area, but the warnings were ignored.
  • Captain Smith
    Captain Smith Photo Credit: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images
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  • It was built in Belfast, Ireland.
  • The SS Californian was close enough to see the flares, but did not have their radio on. So they did not respond to the distress calls.
  • Better safety issues were put into place for ships after the sinking, including:
    • Radios must be kept on for 24 hours with backup power.
    • There must be enough lifeboats on board for all passengers.
    • Lifeboat drills are now mandatory before a ship sets sail.
  • 1500 people died when the Titanic sank. Only around 710 were saved.
  • Benjamin Guggenheim, two of the wealthiest men in North America, went down with the ship.
    John Jacob Astor IV
    John Jacob Astor IV Photo Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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    Millionaire Victim
    Benjamin Guggenheim Photo Credit: Topical Press Agency /Getty Images
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  • The first lifeboats the crew from Titanic lowered were not filled to capacity; some were not even half full.
  • Joseph Ismay was the managing director of the White Star Line and was on Board the Titanic. It is said that he pressured Captain Smith into traveling faster, so they could make better time.
    Lucky Owner
    Joseph Bruce Ismay Photo Credit: Hulton Archive /Getty Images
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  • Ismay did make it into a lifeboat and was saved. He was branded the "Coward of the Titanic."
  • Thomas Andrews was the naval architect in charge of plans for the Titanic and was on board the ship.
  • Andrews did go from stateroom to stateroom telling passengers to put their life jackets on and go up on deck to where the lifeboats were.
  • Five of the watertight compartments filled with water, which is why the ship sank. Had it only been four compartments it may have been able to stay afloat.
  • The SS Nomadic is the last ship that was designed by Mr. Andrews. It is also the last White Star Line ship that is floating. It's currently in Belfast.
  • The history and fate of the Titanic still fascinates me. Maybe it's the mystery of it being intact (at least the bow) on the ocean's seabed or the fact that it was most likely an avoidable tragedy. Whatever it is, I'm still very intrigued by this ship and its doomed maiden voyage.

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