GLMX #92: Are You in the Lifeboat?

On April 14, 1912, one of the greatest maritime disasters in history occured. Just a few days before, The Titanic -- a ship that was declared to be "unsinkable" -- set sail from England on its way to New York City. The Titanic was the greatest ship ever built up to that point in history. This was her maiden voyage. 2,223 people were on board for the celebratory journey. Only 710 people would survive. 

 

On the night of April 14, 1912 a lookout cried out "Iceberg! Iceberg ahead!" But it was too late. The ship was going too fast. The partially submerged iceberg ripped into the hull of the Titanic which caused the bottom of the ship to flood with water. The sad thing about this event was that in the twelve hours preceding the crash, the Titanic had received five warnings of icebergs. The sixth warning from the lookout came too late for anyone to do anything about it. 

 

Many people on the ship did not realize the tragic magnitude of the event. They still believed the "unsinkable" Titanic would sail on. Some people continued eating and drinking. Others retired to their beds. Some even went on deck to have snowball fights and to dance. However, reality soon set in -- the reality that the ship would indeed sink and the worse reality that there were not enough lifeboats on the Titanic. The builders of the Titanic had decided not to include as many lifeboats as they were supposed to. After all, the Titanic wasn't supposed to sink.