3D Mapping Marks 25th Anniversary of Titanic Rediscovery
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It’s been a quarter century since the Titanic was rediscovered, its wreck faithfully reminding us that sometimes it’s better to think things through before rushing in… and to never claim that a ship is unsinkable.
25 years ago today the stately wreck of the doomed ocean liner Titanic was discovered sleeping soundly on its watery bed approximately 2.5 miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
Since the rediscovery of the ship on 1 September 1985 by American and French research vessels, numerous expeditions have been mounted to investigate the wreck and bring it to life (figuratively that is, nobody wants a undead ghost ship tearing up the Atlantic) through high-tech photography and the recovery of items that had survived the steady onslaught of time and sea water.
However, the most comprehensive attempt to map the Titanic’s wreck that will eclipse all previous efforts is being undertaken right now. A research vessel for Expedition Titanic will conduct a 20-day mission to use the very latest in cutting-edge sonar and video technology to give us a perspective on the Titanic previously undreamt of.
How best can the sinking of the Titanic be described? A cruel joke of fate for the hubris of its builders naming it the “unsinkable ship”? Possibly. A terrible waste of human life and a catchy ship name? Probably. The perfect vehicle for a movie of proper chaps, big hats and unrelenting sappy pap? Most certainly.
The story of the Titanic, from its construction to its destruction to its resurrection, has retained the magical ability to capture people’s imagination. It reminds us that failure, terrible though it might be, walks hand-in-hand with ambition. Continuing this theme, let us remember some other disastrous failures from those who thought big, but sadly failed.
The Hindenburg Airship
A pretty sound idea in theory: fill a giant airship with gas and fly it around, providing a more stately and comfortable alternative to aeroplanes that were around in the 1930s. Originally the German designers of the Zeppelin manufacturing company had wanted to use helium to provide the airship with its lift but had to fall back on hydrogen because the Americans had banned all helium exports at the time.
Hydrogen had the advantage of being relatively cheap to produce and gave more lift. However, the real kicker was that helium isn’t flammable, and hydrogen… well… you can see for yourself.
The Deepwater Horizon Spill
Good old greed, crushing caution and responsibility since the dawn of time. The Deepwater Horizon spill, or BP spill if you want to get all finger-pointy, has the dubious honour of being the largest oil spill of all time. Joe Hazelwood, captain of the Exxon Valdez that crashed in Alaska back in 1989, can finally breathe easy knowing that somebody managed to step up to the plate to cause a bigger disaster.
The billions of dollars of losses suffered by BP in litigation, clean-up costs and falling stock values should serve as a warning to other oil companies to exercise a little caution in their operations. So hopefully a disaster of this magnitude won’t happen again, unless of course someone finds a really profitable oil source and they need to get at it super-quick.
BP’s CEO at the time, Tony Hayward, managed quite the charm offensive to help put a apologetic face on the company, as you can see:
Any Invasion of Russia
Only fools rush in but both Napoleon Bonaparte and Hitler had grand designs on taking on the vast expanses of Russia and came up against some formidable obstacles. It’s damn hard to invade millions of square kilometres of land that freezes solid in the winter and churns roads into a muddy quagmire in the summer.
Similarly, it’s tricky to keep your troops upbeat when their fingers are frozen to their weapons and they are thousands of miles from home surrounded by an enemy who will burn their own houses to the ground before they surrender. Both Boney and Hitler went for gold but came away with nothing in this particular type of winter Olympics.
The Rocket Car
If necessity is the mother of invention then a passing whim is the mother of really dumb inventions. Courtesy of the Darwin Awards, the story of a US former Air Force serviceman’s attempt to strap a jet fighter engine to his car has been recorded for posterity.
After igniting the jet engine while driving down a long stretch of straight road in Arizona, the car reached a speed of approximately 250-300 miles per hour, before impacting against the side of a cliff, leaving a scorched crater 3 feet deep. (EDIT: This Darwin Award was actually a myth that was debunked, still, hopefully somebody will soon get it into their head that super-sonic flight should be tried from the driver’s seat of a Ford Ka)
So keep reaching for those ambitious ideas, but for goodness sake plan a little first!
Hi folks,
I wish the press could try to resist including the Hindenburg video in every article with even a hint about zeppelins.
Anyway a few facts of interest about the Titanic. Firstly the survival rate of US men compared with English men was double if you exclude crew members. This was because the Englishmen formed an orderly queue and obeyed the women and children first order.
Secondly the real reason Napoleon lost his army in Russia was because the French were so intent on looting Moscow they forgot to take enough food supplies or winter clothing when they left. They loaded up carts with loot instead of food, fodder and warm clothing and although Napoleon knew the risk they were taking, he had lost control of his own army.