Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Titanic at 100: Mystery Solved

I enjoyed this program so much more than Cameron's. The imagery was great. The experts were likable. The fact that the entire wreck site has been mapped for the first time carries with it a significant weight. Let alone the pieces of the ship that haven't ever been seen before.

The main thing that I take away from this, is that there was nothing wrong with the design or construction of the ship. Rivets were put under stresses exceeding 30,000 tons, causing the steel to break long before the rivets did. Therefore, the inferior rivet theory goes out the window. The reinforced seam that Thomas Andrews added, which subsequently was where the iceberg did her damage, strengthened the ship. The overall message of this documentary was that Titanic wasn't a weak ship, but rather a strong one. It's like Parks Stephenson said, "No structure could survive what the ship went through that night." Even the way the "missing parts" of the ship were in large sections as opposed to being pulverized points to the stronger ship theory.

Other points the documentary makes: The idea that Titanic saved 700 people instead of killing 1500 people is one way to look at it. They even point out that it lasted longer than Thomas Andrews initially predicted.

This documentary comes with the highest recommendation. 9.5/10.

As always, thanks for reading.

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