The Associated Press
A memorial wreath dedicated to the victims of the Titanic disaster near the dock in Southampton, England, in April 2012. The ill-fated liner sailed from the port in 1912.
What's the first thing you think of when you hear "Titanic"? Do you think of the synonym for gigantic? Do you think of the 1997, Oscar-winning, record-breaking movie directed by James Cameron and staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet? Or do you think of the most famous shipwreck in history that took the lives of 1,523 people?
This month marks the 101st anniversary of the luxury liner sinking. Historians have weighed in on the horrific disaster on what was supposed to be the safest ship ever built.
The R.M.S Titanic set out across the Atlantic on April 10, 1912, with the final destination of New York City. The 2,228 passengers and crew were informed the ship was the biggest and without a doubt the safest ocean liner on the sea. It was also equipped with every modern luxury at the time. However, according to today's standards, the Titanic's safety measures were lacking.
According to titanic-facts.com, "Nothing had been spared to ensure the comfort of the first class guests. The ship was even equipped with only 20 lifeboats, so that precious deck space for first class passengers would not be taken up by bulky lifeboats.
"Down below, however, it was a different story. While the luxury (areas) teemed with a significant number of first class passengers, hundreds of second class and third class passengers survived the first few days of the voyage in cramped compartments. Most of these individuals were immigrant families who had scraped together every bit of money they had to travel to America aboard the grandest, and supposedly safest, ship ever built."
Perhaps that's one of the reasons why the Titanic catastrophe fascinates people all over the world. With everything being focused toward the rich, pampered first class, the lower-level classes were ignored. Then when the ship scraped an iceberg on April 14 and disaster struck. Many of these second and third-class passengers were unable to board the very few lifeboats and perished in the icy water. Only 705 passengers were saved.
The insufficient number of lifeboats also adds to the fascination. Titanic is sometimes referred to as the wake-up call to public safety. Airplanes and cars were not yet commonplace, and long trips were taken mainly by boat.
Since 1912, many safety precautions have been added to boats and cruise ships alike so that future shipwrecks and accidents will not be as titanic (no pun intended).
Even though the once-glorious ship has been lying at the bottom of the ocean for the past 100 years, its wonder and fascination will live forever in the hearts of historians and people of the world alike.