100th Anniversary of Titanic

I've mentioned it before (a few times in fact) that I am definitely obsessed with the Titanic.  Not the film, the actual ship.  I am a true history buff and love to learn about people from past times.  I even majored in History, only to change my major to English toward the end of my college career.  With my travels, I have found that I have a heartfelt connection to certain places and periods of time.  One of these places is Bodie, CA.  I haven't blogged about Bodie, because to be frank, I'm not sure anyone would understand or share my passion and obsession for the place.  More on Bodie later.  The Titanic is another one of these places for me.  

Now, of course we all know I haven't stepped foot on board the Titanic.  But, for some reason I can't explain, I have a connection to the history of the ship that won't go away.  It's been that way for me since high school.  I mentioned in a previous post that I did a paper on the ship and it's sinking.  Ever since then, I can't seem to find out enough about the history of the ship, it's engineers, the people onboard, etc.

With the 100th anniversary of the sinking coming up on the 14th, there is a wealth of information out there right now.  I just purchased a Time special edition of the wreckage.  It's amazing.  You should get yourself a copy for sure.  There is a fabulous website that contains everything you ever wanted or needed to know about the ship.  It's called RMS Titanic, Inc.  There are traveling exhibits all over the world that display artifacts from the wreckage.  If you're in California, like I am, there is an exhibit going on at the San Diego Natural History Museum.  I plan to get there as soon as possible and blog about my experience.  In the meantime, here are some fun facts I found about the Titanic.  I hope you enjoy learning about the ship I have come to love.

 --On the evening of April 14, the first-class passengers on the Titanic enjoyed a ten-course meal that included oysters, poached salmon, sirloin of beef, lamb with mint sauce, chocolate éclairs and waldorf pudding. According to Armchair World, a different wine was served with each course, and coffee and cigars accompanied by port and distilled spirits were available with the last course.

-- The Titanic had its own newspaper. According to the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, The Atlantic Daily Bulletin was printed daily and included news articles, the latest stock prices, horse-racing results, society gossip and a daily menu.

--The massive ship had some unheard of amenities. A Discovery Channel article details perks such as an onboard Turkish bath, libraries, a squash court and a heated swimming pool. The luxury liner even had an infirmary with an operating room.

--While the Titanic boasted some of the wealthiest people in the world on board, two famous men of that era didn't make the trip. According to Discovery.com, financier J. P. Morgan and famed chocolatier Milton S. Hershey had planned to sail aboard the ship's maiden voyage but canceled at the last minute.

--Many artifacts from the Titanic were salvaged. The Titanic Museum in Massachusetts houses The Titanic Historical Society's collection, which includes a lifejacket, lifeboat flag, luncheon and dinner menus, a square of first-class stateroom carpet, letters and postcards written on board, first class china and a bridge bell.

--The last remaining survivor of the Titanic died in 2009. Millvana Dean was only nine weeks old and the youngest passenger on the ship when she was put on a lifeboat and saved. According to The Guardian, her death at age 97 came just a month after "Titanic" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet helped pay her nursing home expenses.

Get your posts ready for Fashion Friday!  The link will be up later this evening!

Titanic Returns

Can I tell you how excited I am???  I am the biggest Titanic fan...even though it tends to get a little cheesy at times.  I've been fascinated and obsessed with the shipwreck for as long as I can remember.  In college I wrote a research paper on the wreck and the history behind the ship.  So, imagine my excitement that the story was being made into a film in 1997.  I remember being in the theater, 21 years old, completely mesmerized by the flashbacks and how accurate James Cameron made everything look.  All the photos and people I had studied were coming alive on film.  It has remained one of my favorite films since.  

So, I can't wait to see the film again in 3D when it comes to theaters on April 4.  Will you go?  Here's some trivia about the film to get you as excited as I am:

--The studios wanted Matthew McConaughey, but James Cameron insisted on Leonardo DiCaprio. 

--When James Cameron decided to include real footage of the Titanic's remains on the seabed, he did not want to simply shoot from inside a submersible as had been done for the IMAX documentary Titanica. To allow filming from outside the sub, Cameron's brother Mike Cameron and Panavision developed a deep-sea camera system capable of withstanding the 400 atmospheres of pressure at that depth.

--12 dives were necessary. On the last two dives, shots were taken by sending a remotely operated vehicle into the wreck; James Cameron had intended using this device only as a prop.

--James Cameron went on the dives to the real Titanic himself, and found it an overwhelming emotional experience to actually see it. He ended up spending more time with the ship than its living passengers did. 

--Most of the decor on the ship was either reconstructed by or under the supervision of researchers of the White Star Line, the original company which constructed and furnished the Titanic. 

--The scenes during which Thomas Andrews chastises Second Office Charles Lightoller for sending the boats away without filling them to capacity is the only scene in the entire film in which the actors' breath was not digitally added in later. 

--The staircase is not actually technically accurate being slightly larger in the film than it was in real life. This is because people in 1997 were actually a bit taller than in 1912 so they would have looked out of place on a staircase that fit the correct dimensions. 

--The "full-size" ship exterior set was constructed in a tank on a beach south of Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico. Construction started on the 85th anniversary of the real Titanic's launch - May 31, 1996 (see also A Night to Remember). To reduce costs, the number of instances of some repeated components (such as windows) was reduced, and other parts (such as the funnels and lifeboats) were built at 90% scale to produce the correct visual appearance. The set was oriented to face into the prevailing wind so that the smoke from the funnels would blow the right way. 

--Gloria Stuart, being only 86, was aged by makeup to play Rose at age 101. She did not find this a pleasant experience. 

--The most expensive first-class suite on the Titanic cost $4,350, the equivalent of about $75,000 today. 

--Gloria Stuart was the only person who worked in the production of the film who was actually living in 1912. 

--Reba McEntire was offered and had accepted the role of Molly Brown, but due to later schedule conflicts, had to turn it down.

--Kate Winslet was one of the few actors who didn't want to wear a wetsuit during the water scenes; as a result, she got pneumonia, and nearly quit the production as a result. However, Cameron persuaded her to stay. 

--The hands seen sketching Rose are not Leonardo DiCaprio's, but director James Cameron's. In post-production, Cameron, who is left-handed, mirror-imaged the sketching shots so the artist would be appear to be right-handed, like DiCaprio. 

And photos of the original tragedy:

All photos courtesy of Google images

Trivia courtesy of IMDB