[Disillusionist]

I loved the movie Titanic. It sparked me to read a bit about the actual disaster.
Maiden voyage, Ship of Dreams. Great and heralded event, rave reviews, luxury, size. You couldn't HELP but want to be one of the first ones aboard.

The designer had envisioned something truly grand. The captain was experienced, if somewhat aged and on his final voyage.

So many things have to happen, to line up just perfectly, for a disaster like this to occur. Slightly inferior steel for the hull, not up to specs, that actually got a little bit brittle in cold water. Flat seas, so you couldn't see the ocean breaking at the base of the icebergs.
Not enough room in the lifeboats for allllllllll the passengers, if something should go wrong, but, what the heck, the deck looked less cluttered, right? In case of trouble, as the fictional badguy said in the film when informed half the people were going to die, "Not the -better- half."

But life aboard the ship was grand, so many passengers, so many crew. Lap of luxury, and plenty of room to move around.

Warnings about flat seas and icebergs could be safely ignored. The ship was unsinkable. Full steam ahead, let's get there early. A lot of famous people were aboard, and wealthy, probably ready to shell out a lot more money to White Star Line, since this type of travel would clearly set a new standard.

The maneuver right before they hit the iceberg, also part of the formula for disaster. Engineers tell us now that if they had just reduced speed, they could've hit the thing dead-on, and Titanic would still be around, perhaps as a museum-tour novely, instead of a deep-sea documentary. But, instead, they engaged full reverse, completely neutering the rudder, and instead, sideswiped the berg, inflicting the fatal breach. the ship was just not designed for radical maneuvers.

That was when they started taking on water. Already Titanic was doomed. It was only a matter of time. Even then, so many passengers and crew could've been saved, but it was still lalala on deck, a bit of frivolity, with the staff officers paralyzed. Fireworks delighted some of the passengers, who didn't realize they were a distress call, the CQD (SOS), because the crew didn't want to admit they had really royally botched, and the ship was sinking. The lifeboats began loading way late, partly full, and the ship, rather than steaming toward the rescue ships, sat in place.

So many things lined up to make it one of the worst and most memorable disasters in history. Blaming the iceberg wasn't on the list of excuses....I don't think that makes for a very good movie, or a very truthful rendition of what led to the disaster.

There are no more passengers aboard the Titanic (well...none alive. There are only survivors.