Here's a good exercise to spice up our Titanic debate: 1) I was thinking today about the possibility of going back in time and going back to the Titanic. Suppose for a minute that you could win on a lucky poker game a free ticket to the Titanic back in 1912 before the disaster. You have just 4 continuous hours to be there and after that you are shifted back to 1998. I'm curious to see when and where would everybody want to go. You could only witness the events, but not be seen, nor given the chance to change anything. You would be there like an invisible ghost. So which 4 hours would you choose? Anytime between 1911 and April 15, 1912.

2) Now suppose you get a free ticket to be on "Titanic" (the movie this time) in the same conditions as on the real ship. Assume that the 194 minute movie is actual and it is all real, with the actors. No special effects, all real. The ship, the people, the iceberg, the sinking, the event. You are now allowed to choose only 30 minutes. You can't divide the time. You are allowed for 30 continuous minutes but you can change your place on the ship. Which 30 minutes would you choose?.

3) Finally, you could do one small alteration to the 1912 real event. What would that be? However, the iceberg will be there, the ship will hit the iceberg and the damage will make the ship founder. So you can't save the ship. But you could do other changes. Which? Only one change is allowed (per pesron).

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), April 09, 1998

Answers

Very interesting question, Dan. 1) For four continuous hours, I would want to be on the ship for the sinking. So, lets say, from about 10:15 p.m. April 14, 1912 until April 15, 1912 at 2:15a.m. Knowing that I would be back in the present after the four hours, I would like to know the truth about what really happened with the human spirit during those last hours. To be able to answer those unanswerable questions: Did Murdoch really shoot himself? What song did the band play last? To be able to answer the questions that have haunted us for so many years with so many contradictions. What a feeling that would be. 2) If I were in the movie for 30 minutes, I would choose just after the iceberg hit the ship. I would stay in the way of Rose and Jack so that they could not try to go back and tell her mother and cal about the iceberg. I would convince them to stay and get on a lifeboat, because I would let her mother, then when Rose and Jack were safe, I would let Ruth and Cal sink. That is of course if I am not a ghost. If I am a ghost, then I would choose the infamous kissing scene simply because of that beautiful skyline. 3) If I could change one event, it wouldn't be on the Titanic. It would be on the Californian. I would make them go to the rescue of the Titanic. These are my answers, Dan. What are yours?

-- Misty Chacon (Mystified) (HiRver@concentric.net), April 09, 1998.

I would agree with Mystified on 1) and 3)
For 2) I'm not decided yet, because there are so many interesting scenes in the movie. I would probably like to see when Jack draws her (but not for the nudity itself) or when he rescues her in the beginning.

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), April 09, 1998.

Question #2 has been bothering me a little. If you are asking in the "fly on the wall sense" like in question #1, well, we already did that, basically, by watching the movie. One place I would like to go to wouldn't have had an impact on the movie is the steerage party. That would have been a lot of fun, but to only go there for 30 minutes would have been a tease.

-- Misty Chacon (HiRver@concentric.net), April 10, 1998.

1) An evening dinner in first class.

2) The steerage party! No question there.

3) I would have the crew more prepared with the lifeboats, so they could have filled them more fully, quickly, and efficiently.

ml

-- Mary Lynne Nielsen (m.nielsen@ieee.org), April 14, 1998.

If given the opportunity I would try and save as many of the third calss people as I could.

-- Ed (e3916@bellatlantic.net), August 15, 1998.

1. I don't know if I would like to be on the ship when it sunk, it would have been extremaly depressing and although I would have likes to hear the band carry on, I would have to go when titanic set off on her maiden voyage for the shher excitement of it. 2. When Jack takes Rose to the third class party for sure. 3.I would stop the creation and demand that more lifeboats be put on the ship to save the lifes of many others.

-- Maggie Livingstone (foo@bar.com), August 20, 1998.

Maggie, more lifeboats is not a solution. They hardly had enough time to use the ones available...

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), August 20, 1998.

I've been thinking about my possible response to this questions since I started visiting this board. I think I've come up with it now (better late than never, I guess...):

1) I'd just wander around for the four hour period spanning before the iceberg and after the sinking. I'd listen to conversations; I'd see if any first class passengers tried to buy their way on lifeboats, I'd go see if the third class gates were locked, I'd look to see if any men dressed as women to try and sneak away, I'd go see Mr. Andrews in his final hours, I'd listen to the band, I'd follow Captain Smith and find out exactly how he died, and I'd lastly get into the same boat as Molly Brown and see for myself how she handled the situation.

2)The period of time when the "Irish Mommy" is telling her children the bedtime story while the ship is sinking around them.

3)I'd make sure that the crew had been trained properly with the lifeboats and require the passengers to do a "lifeboat drill" on the first day of the voyage.

-- Gilded Age Junkie (GildedAgeJunkie@yahoo.com), August 20, 1998.

GILDED YOU ARE SUCH A SAD PATHETIC IDIOT,HAVN'T YOU GOT A LIFE OR ANYTHING BETTER TO DO WITH YOUR TIME THEN ANSWER EVERY QUESTION THAT THERE IS? AND DAN WHATSYANAME THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TIME YOU KNOW IT ALL BUTTMUNCH BOLLOCK HEAD FAT BASTARD.

-- Maggie Livingstone (foo@bar.com), August 22, 1998.

Maggie, thanks for your colorful description of yourself...don't you have a life, or some decency left?

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), August 22, 1998.

Apparently, Maggie...you have just as much time to spare as I.

-- Gilded Age Junkie (GildedAgeJunkie@yahoo.com), August 22, 1998.

Maggie, if I'm not mistaken - and please correct me if I am - isn't the purpose of this board to answer questions?? I believe that was all that Gilded was doing. By the way, that was some clever use of the word "buttmunch".

-- Allison (allisonelizabeth@mb.sympatico.ca), August 22, 1998.

I would spend my 4 hours, dining with First class,then I would retire to my B deck Stateroom, then I would just examiine the ship 4 myself. I would like 2 see some famous faces too. My 30 minute allowance would be spent during the sinking, I would kick up a fuss and tell the Captain about the Lifeboats, then make sure Men werent discriminised against as they were. I would love 2 see if stated things did occur. Did Murdoch shoot himself or was it Chief officer Wilde? And other things like when the beautiful Grand staircase dome collapsed.

-- Gary Ismay (J Bruce Ismay@aol.com), February 05, 2000.