Changing history {What would you do?}

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TitanicShack : One Thread

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if any of you had played scenarios in your Titanic stuffed heads (like mine!) about how you might change history if you had the opportunity to go back in time to April 10, 1912. Would you try? Why? What would you do to try and convince people what could happen. Who would you talk to? You probably wouldn't be believed but perhaps you might come up with an ingenious plan. I though it might be interesting to hypothesize.

-- Lianne (liannegraham@one.net.au), March 23, 1998

Answers

Response to Changing history

Good question....well, it DEFINITELY would NOT be Bruce Ismay!!!!! Probably the easiest way without being locked up as a looney by approaching the obvious key players such as Capt. Smith or Mr. Andrews would be to conveniently be on deck and yell at the lookout guys a few minutes earlier, "I say, old chaps, isn't that an iceberg right ahead?"

-- Laura (lrc@usit.net), March 23, 1998.

Response to Changing history

**LOL** Laura. What a great answer! I would make sure the lookouts were issued with binoculars firstly and also ensure (somehow) that the ship's crew were trained in evacuation procedures with concrete details of what to do if an accident at sea did occur. This may have resulted in firstly the collision with the iceberg being avoided and if that wasn't the case, with well trained staff there may have been more passengers saved.

-- Jenny Reynolds (jennifer.reynolds@deetya.gov.au), March 24, 1998.

Response to Changing history

I would want to go back and ensure not only the proper training of the crew but also that the correct number of lifeboats were on board.

I haven't studied this like some, but I think they learned a great deal about ship design from the sinking. It would have been nice to learn that lesson without the great loss of life.

-- Becky Gordon (becky.gordon@pfs.sprint.com), March 24, 1998.


I have thought about this more times than I can count. If I knew I was going back in time I would bring with me inflatable rafts for the 1508 people who would have otherwise died. I would also bring massive balloons to insert in various sections of the ship as well as on the decks to blow up and maybe stabalize the ship. Modern day pumps would be another bonus. And, of course, the right colored distress rockets so the Californian could realize what was going on and come to TITANIC's rescue.

-- Ed (e3916@aol.com), May 17, 1998.

Not to be too picky, but the Titanic ***did*** have the correct color for distress rockets, Ed. There is really no excuse for Captain Stanley Lord's failure to respond.

In order to be a ship's captain in those days, you had to get your "masters" certificate, in essense a drivers license for captains. One of the things you had to know to get said certificate was that white rockets mean a ship in serious distress. When a ship fires them, any other ships that see them are ***obligated*** to render assistance. The Titanic fired white rockets; the Californian saw white rockets. It's hard to find a simpler case.

Another thing all sailors are taught is to investigate anything that seems out of the ordinary when on the high seas. A ship "at a strange angle" and seeming to show "a big side out of the water" seems to qualify without difficulty as out of the ordinary.

-- Thomas Shoebotham (cathytom@ix.netcom.com), May 17, 1998.



Moderation questions? read the FAQ