"Mysteries at the Museum" Titanic: Mysteries at the Museum

1 00:00:11,660 --> 00:00:14,830 I'm heading across the continent... Wow, that's amazing. 2 00:00:14,930 --> 00:00:18,000 ...deep beneath the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean... 3 00:00:21,570 --> 00:00:24,070 ...to get to the bottom of the most cataclysmic shipwreck 4 00:00:24,180 --> 00:00:27,110 in history-- the sinking of the Titanic. 5 00:00:27,210 --> 00:00:29,110 My mission? 6 00:00:29,210 --> 00:00:31,310 To explore the perfect storm of events 7 00:00:31,420 --> 00:00:33,720 that led to the Titanic's demise 8 00:00:33,820 --> 00:00:36,620 and to investigate advances that have been made 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,220 to prevent a catastrophe of that magnitude 10 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:41,390 from ever happening again. 11 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,360 I'm Don Wildman. 12 00:00:46,470 --> 00:00:48,800 I've explored the world's greatest mysteries, 13 00:00:48,900 --> 00:00:52,300 examined rare artifacts and epic monuments. That's amazing! 14 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,440 Now I'm digging deeper into some of the most perplexing 15 00:00:55,540 --> 00:00:57,810 and famous cases in history. 16 00:00:57,910 --> 00:01:01,110 My goal? To get closer to the truth. 17 00:01:01,210 --> 00:01:04,210 It's a totally alien environment down there. 18 00:01:04,320 --> 00:01:08,080 This is "Mysteries at the Museum: Titanic." 19 00:01:14,490 --> 00:01:16,660 The sinking of the Titanic was one of the greatest 20 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:18,960 maritime disasters in history. 21 00:01:21,130 --> 00:01:24,300 Made of more than 24,000 tons of steel, 22 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,300 this state-of-the-art ship was considered unsinkable. 23 00:01:27,410 --> 00:01:31,040 Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, 24 00:01:31,140 --> 00:01:34,580 bound for New York City, on April 10, 1912. 25 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:36,980 Four days later, 26 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:39,580 on a pitch-black night, the behemoth liner 27 00:01:39,690 --> 00:01:43,490 struck an iceberg, tearing apart its starboard hull. 28 00:01:43,590 --> 00:01:46,960 In less than three hours, the ship broke apart 29 00:01:47,060 --> 00:01:49,190 and sank to the bottom of the sea, 30 00:01:49,290 --> 00:01:51,700 killing more than 1,500 people. 31 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,430 It was a disaster that rocked the world. 32 00:01:55,530 --> 00:01:59,440 For the past 100 years, experts from around the world 33 00:01:59,540 --> 00:02:02,970 have come up with theories as to how and why the Titanic sank. 34 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,010 On the surface, the answer seems simple-- 35 00:02:06,110 --> 00:02:09,410 it struck an iceberg-- but that's not the whole story. 36 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,220 So much about that night is still shrouded in mystery. 37 00:02:16,090 --> 00:02:18,660 I want to explore the factors that led to the sinking 38 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:20,860 of this majestic ship and find out 39 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,790 if any one of those events had not happened, 40 00:02:23,900 --> 00:02:26,130 would the Titanic have sunk? 41 00:02:28,170 --> 00:02:30,500 To start my investigation, I'm heading to the island 42 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,300 of Newfoundland in Canada. 43 00:02:33,410 --> 00:02:36,410 It's the home of Iceberg Alley, a region that stretches 44 00:02:36,510 --> 00:02:39,510 from the coast of Labrador to the northeast coast of Newfoundland. 45 00:02:39,610 --> 00:02:41,910 Depending on the tides, 46 00:02:42,010 --> 00:02:44,280 this area is populated with hundreds 47 00:02:44,380 --> 00:02:46,980 or even thousands of icebergs. 48 00:02:47,090 --> 00:02:50,320 It was in these frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean 49 00:02:50,420 --> 00:02:54,290 that the revered Titanic met its fate. 50 00:02:57,330 --> 00:03:00,200 Newfoundland is the easternmost province of Canada 51 00:03:00,300 --> 00:03:02,570 and North America-- it has a population of about 52 00:03:02,670 --> 00:03:05,800 1/2 million people spread out over an immense area. 53 00:03:05,900 --> 00:03:08,070 But it's the shipping lanes 54 00:03:08,170 --> 00:03:10,340 off the coast that are so important, 55 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,380 major thoroughfares for all the vessels 56 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,050 transiting between Europe and the U.S., 57 00:03:15,150 --> 00:03:18,580 and it was on this very route the Titanic crashed into an iceberg. 58 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,420 To find out exactly how this happened, I have to first 59 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:24,750 find out all I can about icebergs, 60 00:03:24,860 --> 00:03:27,360 so I'm meeting with polar oceanographer 61 00:03:27,460 --> 00:03:31,090 and iceberg specialist, Dr. Alon Stern from Princeton University. 62 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,300 The Titanic was the crown jewel 63 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,330 of the White Star Line. 64 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:39,400 This impressive ship took 3,000 people 65 00:03:39,500 --> 00:03:41,610 about three years to build 66 00:03:41,710 --> 00:03:43,910 and cost about $7.5 million. 67 00:03:44,010 --> 00:03:47,280 Today, that would be approximately $171 million. 68 00:03:47,380 --> 00:03:49,350 Pricey vessel. 69 00:03:51,980 --> 00:03:54,650 The lavishly appointed ship was transporting 70 00:03:54,750 --> 00:03:57,820 2,224 passengers and crew. 71 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,460 The manifest included some of the world's wealthiest people 72 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,260 as well as hundreds of emigrants in search of a new life in America. 73 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,200 Just four days into its maiden voyage, 74 00:04:08,300 --> 00:04:10,430 disaster hit. 75 00:04:15,870 --> 00:04:19,640 The Titanic struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912. 76 00:04:19,750 --> 00:04:22,210 But how did this even happen? 77 00:04:22,310 --> 00:04:24,710 I need to find out more about these lethal objects 78 00:04:24,820 --> 00:04:26,820 floating in the water and why 79 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:28,890 there might have been more of them that night. 80 00:04:31,390 --> 00:04:33,290 Alon? Hey, Don. 81 00:04:33,390 --> 00:04:35,530 Nice to meet you. Welcome aboard. 82 00:04:35,630 --> 00:04:37,630 Thanks for the invite. Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you. 83 00:04:37,730 --> 00:04:41,230 So you've made a career out of studying these icebergs, right? Yeah. 84 00:04:41,330 --> 00:04:43,030 Why so fascinated? 85 00:04:43,140 --> 00:04:45,140 They're just so massive-- they're massive chunks of ice 86 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,170 in the ocean, and the part we see above the water Right. 87 00:04:47,270 --> 00:04:49,370 is just the beginning-- like, to really get a sense 88 00:04:49,470 --> 00:04:52,310 of the scale, we're gonna put you out in the water today. Excellent. 89 00:04:52,410 --> 00:04:54,380 Let's go find ourselves some icebergs. 90 00:04:56,780 --> 00:04:59,450 One thing I've learned in my short time in Newfoundland-- 91 00:04:59,550 --> 00:05:02,050 the weather here is very unpredictable. 92 00:05:02,150 --> 00:05:04,450 One minute it's sunny, 93 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,720 the next, you're socked in by fog. 94 00:05:09,530 --> 00:05:12,000 Somewhere out there is an iceberg. 95 00:05:14,030 --> 00:05:16,000 I can't wait to see it, you know? 96 00:05:18,270 --> 00:05:20,900 An iceberg is a mass of freshwater ice 97 00:05:21,010 --> 00:05:23,570 that has cracked off from a glacier or an ice shelf 98 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,840 and is floating in the open ocean. 99 00:05:25,940 --> 00:05:27,980 The world's largest was B-15. 100 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,510 It broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. 101 00:05:31,620 --> 00:05:35,190 It was around 183 miles long, 102 00:05:35,290 --> 00:05:38,860 23 miles wide, and had a surface area 103 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:41,690 as big as the state of Connecticut. 104 00:05:41,790 --> 00:05:45,160 I feel like actually seeing an iceberg is gonna help me 105 00:05:45,260 --> 00:05:48,000 truly understand what happened to the Titanic. 106 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:54,700 Wow, that is a pretty thing to see! 107 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,510 Thousands of years of ice 108 00:06:00,610 --> 00:06:03,080 drifting down the coast very, very slowly. 109 00:06:05,950 --> 00:06:08,420 And look at the beautiful colors, this beautiful blue line 110 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,450 sliced through-- it looks like a jewel almost. 111 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,390 It's awesome and intimidating. 112 00:06:14,490 --> 00:06:17,860 It's one of these grand nature moments, you know? 113 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,800 Like standing on the Grand Canyon. This is that level. 114 00:06:23,900 --> 00:06:26,600 They claim that the iceberg the Titanic struck was 115 00:06:26,710 --> 00:06:29,640 about 100 feet high and a few hundred feet wide. 116 00:06:29,740 --> 00:06:32,910 This one here is approximately half as high 117 00:06:33,010 --> 00:06:35,350 and about 1/4-mile wide. 118 00:06:35,450 --> 00:06:37,610 But looks can be deceiving. 119 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,780 Only a small fraction of the iceberg is visible 120 00:06:40,890 --> 00:06:43,890 above the surface of the water-- 90 percent of it 121 00:06:43,990 --> 00:06:47,090 is concealed in the watery depths, and from the surface, 122 00:06:47,190 --> 00:06:50,460 there's no way to know its true shape and scope. 123 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:54,030 These gigantic floating blocks of ice can weigh in 124 00:06:54,130 --> 00:06:57,600 between 100,000 and 500,000 tons. 125 00:06:57,700 --> 00:07:01,100 For some perspective, Titanic was bigger 126 00:07:01,210 --> 00:07:03,670 than an 80-story building, and it weighed 127 00:07:03,780 --> 00:07:06,110 around 46,000 tons. 128 00:07:06,210 --> 00:07:08,580 Puts you in a state of awe. 129 00:07:10,750 --> 00:07:13,180 By diving this iceberg, I can get a fuller picture 130 00:07:13,290 --> 00:07:15,590 of what Titanic really faced. 131 00:07:15,690 --> 00:07:17,850 You ready for your dive? I am ready, yes. 132 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:19,690 We're gonna be monitoring you from the top. 133 00:07:19,790 --> 00:07:21,690 You got me on coms? Yeah, I got you. 134 00:07:21,790 --> 00:07:23,390 Good luck, okay? All right, thank you very much. 135 00:07:23,500 --> 00:07:25,800 Enjoy. All right, let's get suited up here. 136 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,240 Brrrrrr. 137 00:07:32,340 --> 00:07:34,740 For my safety, I'm going down with a team 138 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,510 who specializes in iceberg dives. 139 00:07:37,610 --> 00:07:39,880 What is the temperature of this water, Nick? 140 00:07:39,980 --> 00:07:42,210 It's about 32 to 37 degrees Fahrenheit. 141 00:07:42,310 --> 00:07:45,110 Wow! It's cold, very cold. 142 00:07:45,220 --> 00:07:49,090 If I went in there, how soon would I be killed in that water? 143 00:07:49,190 --> 00:07:51,120 Without the proper protection, minutes. 144 00:07:51,220 --> 00:07:54,920 So that's why we're doing a dry suit today. 145 00:07:55,030 --> 00:07:57,560 Yes, very much. Proper protection will keep you alive for sure. 146 00:07:57,660 --> 00:07:59,630 Okay, here we go. 147 00:07:59,730 --> 00:08:02,430 The night the Titanic sank, the North Atlantic 148 00:08:02,530 --> 00:08:05,070 was 28 degrees Fahrenheit. 149 00:08:05,170 --> 00:08:08,640 When a human body is exposed to freezing water, 150 00:08:08,740 --> 00:08:11,240 hypothermia sets in. 151 00:08:11,340 --> 00:08:14,140 In a matter of minutes, internal organs shut down, 152 00:08:14,250 --> 00:08:16,580 and death quickly follows. 153 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:20,020 This was the fate of the majority of the ship's souls who perished. 154 00:08:22,950 --> 00:08:25,020 I'm a pretty good diver, 155 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:27,160 but this is a whole different thing than I've ever been used to. 156 00:08:27,260 --> 00:08:30,360 It's dangerous. It is very dangerous-- the iceberg is very unpredictable. 157 00:08:30,460 --> 00:08:33,960 It could break apart, it could roll over-- 158 00:08:34,070 --> 00:08:36,000 anything could happen in seconds. 159 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:37,670 If there's any loud bangs or cracks, 160 00:08:37,770 --> 00:08:39,840 we have to swim away from the iceberg as quick as possible. 161 00:08:39,940 --> 00:08:41,840 Okay. 162 00:08:41,940 --> 00:08:44,740 Cold weather-- there's a lot more gear. Ooh! 163 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,410 It's a workout, this thing. 164 00:08:47,510 --> 00:08:50,710 Unlike the passengers and crew of the Titanic, 165 00:08:50,820 --> 00:08:53,820 I get to wear a fleece base layer and will have 166 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,450 waterproof gloves and a full facemask. 167 00:09:01,030 --> 00:09:03,230 We're doing the helmet to help protect you. 168 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:11,074 169 00:09:23,750 --> 00:09:25,780 What's it look like down there? 170 00:09:36,460 --> 00:09:38,430 I've been reading about the Titanic tragedy 171 00:09:38,530 --> 00:09:40,900 for more than 40 years, but until this dive 172 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,470 I have never fully grasped how much of an iceberg 173 00:09:44,570 --> 00:09:46,900 is truly underwater. 174 00:09:47,010 --> 00:09:50,840 It gives me such appreciation of what the crew of the Titanic 175 00:09:50,940 --> 00:09:53,040 faced over a century ago. 176 00:10:48,830 --> 00:10:51,330 I'm four miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, 177 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,570 investigating the sinking of the greatest ship in history, 178 00:10:54,670 --> 00:10:56,610 the Titanic. 179 00:10:56,710 --> 00:10:59,380 I'm trying to find out what brought this amazing ship down 180 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,280 and if a tragedy like this could happen again today. 181 00:11:02,380 --> 00:11:04,980 To gain a better understanding 182 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:07,180 of what caused the ship's demise, 183 00:11:07,290 --> 00:11:10,420 I'm iceberg diving in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. 184 00:11:13,830 --> 00:11:16,630 We went down another 40 feet, but we still couldn't see 185 00:11:16,730 --> 00:11:18,360 the end of the iceberg. 186 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,270 This iceberg is wider than two football fields, 187 00:11:30,370 --> 00:11:32,410 and with 90 percent of it underwater, 188 00:11:32,510 --> 00:11:35,580 the crew of a ship would have no idea where it ends. 189 00:11:43,150 --> 00:11:44,720 Okay, good. 190 00:11:44,820 --> 00:11:46,920 Wow! 191 00:11:47,020 --> 00:11:48,990 All right, bring me up. 192 00:11:53,330 --> 00:11:56,670 One of the most intense experiences I've ever been through. 193 00:11:56,770 --> 00:11:59,270 So amazing. 194 00:11:59,370 --> 00:12:03,040 And that much ice--you can see how it would just rip the hull 195 00:12:03,140 --> 00:12:06,510 of the Titanic like it was a piece of tin foil. 196 00:12:06,610 --> 00:12:09,140 I mean, unbelievable. 197 00:12:09,250 --> 00:12:12,050 So much confusion, so much disorientation. 198 00:12:12,150 --> 00:12:14,120 I mean, it's cold, it's, uh... 199 00:12:14,220 --> 00:12:17,350 it's a totally alien environment down there. 200 00:12:23,530 --> 00:12:27,430 So immense under the water-- I couldn't believe how much ice there was. 201 00:12:27,530 --> 00:12:29,700 Yeah, and if you think of a huge object like the Titanic, 202 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,040 a huge ship, it really takes a big iceberg to knock it out, 203 00:12:33,140 --> 00:12:35,100 and these things are massive. 204 00:12:35,210 --> 00:12:37,410 I've never seen an iceberg so flat. 205 00:12:37,510 --> 00:12:39,740 Icebergs, broadly speaking, come in two types. 206 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,810 There's the large, tabular icebergs which are big, long, flat ones. 207 00:12:42,910 --> 00:12:45,650 Okay. And this one that we're looking at is a tabular berg. 208 00:12:45,750 --> 00:12:48,520 And then there's the taller ones, the pinnacle icebergs. 209 00:12:48,620 --> 00:12:50,750 Titanic ran into one that was 100 feet tall. 210 00:12:50,860 --> 00:12:52,760 That's a pinnacle. Exactly. 211 00:12:52,860 --> 00:12:55,860 Pinnacled icebergs, also known as non-tabular, 212 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:58,590 have spires-- other shapes include 213 00:12:58,700 --> 00:13:01,600 dome, the wedge, and the block. 214 00:13:01,700 --> 00:13:05,470 Regardless of the shapes, the true threat lies beneath 215 00:13:05,570 --> 00:13:08,800 the waterline-- the iceberg the Titanic hit 216 00:13:08,910 --> 00:13:10,940 was a massive block of ice 217 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:13,710 descending about 900 feet below the surface. 218 00:13:16,450 --> 00:13:18,410 And an iceberg like this, on average, would move at about 219 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:20,950 1/2 mile per hour, which is pretty quick, Mmhm. 220 00:13:21,050 --> 00:13:23,790 but the biggest ones can get along at, like, two miles per hour. 221 00:13:23,890 --> 00:13:27,060 And that's dependent on current and the size of the berg. 222 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,290 An iceberg is driven by ocean currents, it's driven by wind. 223 00:13:30,390 --> 00:13:33,160 Depending on the size, that will determine whether 224 00:13:33,260 --> 00:13:36,070 it's driven more by currents or by wind. 225 00:13:36,170 --> 00:13:39,000 The vast majority of icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean, 226 00:13:39,100 --> 00:13:42,400 approximately 40,000 of them, originate from glaciers 227 00:13:42,510 --> 00:13:45,710 in western Greenland-- the glacial ice reaches 228 00:13:45,810 --> 00:13:49,140 the Greenland coast, and the end of the glaciers break off. 229 00:13:49,250 --> 00:13:53,020 This process is called cavving. 230 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,850 The ocean current carries the icebergs south towards Newfoundland, 231 00:13:56,950 --> 00:13:58,920 creating Iceberg Alley. 232 00:13:59,020 --> 00:14:01,990 This is the only place in the world where this much floating ice 233 00:14:02,090 --> 00:14:04,560 intersects with the major shipping lanes. 234 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,030 Now I have a much better understanding of icebergs, 235 00:14:10,130 --> 00:14:13,300 but that still doesn't explain why Titanic hit one. 236 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,870 Some people believe there were just a lot more icebergs 237 00:14:16,970 --> 00:14:19,880 in this area that year-- I need to understand 238 00:14:19,980 --> 00:14:21,940 why that was the case. 239 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,780 So let's talk about that night, 1912. 240 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,220 There were more icebergs in the shipping lanes, right? 241 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,990 There's a theory that the increased volume of icebergs 242 00:14:32,090 --> 00:14:35,020 was caused by an ultra-rare alignment 243 00:14:35,130 --> 00:14:38,060 of the Earth, the moon, and the sun. 244 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,060 Firstly, the Earth, the moon, and the sun were all lined up. 245 00:14:41,170 --> 00:14:44,970 Secondly, at the same time, the moon was at the closest point 246 00:14:45,070 --> 00:14:46,970 in its orbit to the Earth. 247 00:14:47,070 --> 00:14:49,100 A supermoon. Exactly. 248 00:14:49,210 --> 00:14:52,040 And during a supermoon, the ocean tide is higher. 249 00:14:52,140 --> 00:14:54,640 At the same time as those two events happening, 250 00:14:54,750 --> 00:14:57,350 a third event was that the Earth was at the closest point 251 00:14:57,450 --> 00:15:00,380 in its orbit to the sun, and those three events 252 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:02,790 happening all at the same time is exceptionally rare 253 00:15:02,890 --> 00:15:05,920 and would've led to increased tides. 254 00:15:06,020 --> 00:15:09,930 If this theory is true, increased tides 255 00:15:10,030 --> 00:15:13,930 would've pulled more icebergs into the shipping lanes, 256 00:15:14,030 --> 00:15:17,130 and Titanic would've had to navigate an unusually large 257 00:15:17,230 --> 00:15:20,670 number of icebergs, increasing the probability of collision. 258 00:15:20,770 --> 00:15:23,470 If the tidal effect had never occurred, 259 00:15:23,570 --> 00:15:26,910 the ship, very likely, would've averted disaster. 260 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,820 Well, to understand just how difficult it is to navigate 261 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:39,620 in these obstructive waters, I'm gonna take the helm of the boat, 262 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:43,330 and I'm gonna do it in the daytime, 'cause that's a better idea. 263 00:15:47,530 --> 00:15:50,630 Skipper Bill here has been navigating these waters for a good, long time. 264 00:15:50,740 --> 00:15:52,970 How long, Bill? Jeez, 17 years. 265 00:15:53,070 --> 00:15:55,940 Seventeen years. So--now granted, 266 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,510 Titanic was a lot bigger than this boat, right? 267 00:15:58,610 --> 00:16:01,840 This was how big? This vessel here is 45 feet in length. 268 00:16:01,950 --> 00:16:05,410 Forty-five feet, Titanic, 883 feet. 269 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,080 More than 20 times the size, right? Yeah. 270 00:16:08,190 --> 00:16:11,390 But no matter how big the boat... That's right, the danger's always there. 271 00:16:11,490 --> 00:16:14,190 You mind if I take the helm? Oh, no problem at all. 272 00:16:14,290 --> 00:16:16,690 Oh, you're very willing. Thank you very much. 273 00:16:18,830 --> 00:16:21,600 Captain Edward John Smith was the most experienced officer 274 00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:25,170 in the White Star Line, having sailed for 25 years. 275 00:16:25,270 --> 00:16:27,200 The Titanic's voyage 276 00:16:27,300 --> 00:16:29,610 was meant to be his last trip before retiring. 277 00:16:29,710 --> 00:16:33,180 In the wake of the wreck, Smith was criticized for going 278 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:35,640 at full speed in a known ice field 279 00:16:35,750 --> 00:16:38,710 instead of slowing down or even stopping. 280 00:16:41,890 --> 00:16:45,450 According to records, he was traveling at 22.5 knots 281 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:47,790 or 25 miles an hour. 282 00:16:47,890 --> 00:16:51,760 Boats respond to navigational commands based upon their size 283 00:16:51,860 --> 00:16:54,230 and the speed they're traveling. 284 00:16:54,330 --> 00:16:57,370 In fact, the captain of the ship nearest to Titanic, 285 00:16:57,470 --> 00:17:00,300 the Californian, deemed the waters too treacherous 286 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:02,840 and stopped for the night. 287 00:17:02,940 --> 00:17:05,940 All right, nice and slow. Yeah, go slow. 288 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,440 What's my biggest concern? 289 00:17:09,550 --> 00:17:11,750 You've got quite a swell on right now, so... 290 00:17:11,850 --> 00:17:13,620 Oh, yeah, pull it out. Pull it out. 291 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:16,250 I had to say, it's pretty difficult driving, 292 00:17:16,350 --> 00:17:19,090 and this boat is nothing compared to the Titanic. 293 00:17:19,190 --> 00:17:21,560 I can see how dangerous this is 294 00:17:21,660 --> 00:17:23,690 to even get a little bit too close. 295 00:17:23,790 --> 00:17:26,230 The swell hits you and pulls you in there. Yeah. 296 00:17:26,330 --> 00:17:28,830 That would be true at--at even farther out to sea, right? 297 00:17:28,930 --> 00:17:31,470 Yeah, certainly, and then you add the nightfall, you know. 298 00:17:31,570 --> 00:17:33,470 We're in daylight now, so you imagine the night, 299 00:17:33,570 --> 00:17:36,310 somethin' like that just lurking in front of you. Exactly. 300 00:17:36,410 --> 00:17:39,070 That's crazy to even be running at night. Yeah. 301 00:17:41,110 --> 00:17:43,750 Even in my short experience steering this thing, 302 00:17:43,850 --> 00:17:47,220 if you saw an iceberg dead ahead late in the game, 303 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,550 very tough to avoid it. 304 00:17:49,650 --> 00:17:53,720 By the time the Titanic's lookout finally alerted the bridge 305 00:17:53,820 --> 00:17:56,860 and the first office gave the order, "Hard to starboard," 306 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:58,860 to turn the boat... 307 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,060 they were too late. 308 00:18:01,170 --> 00:18:04,200 The unwieldy ship grazed the iceberg on its starboard, 309 00:18:04,300 --> 00:18:06,840 or righthand side. 310 00:18:06,940 --> 00:18:09,570 With so many more icebergs in the shipping lanes 311 00:18:09,670 --> 00:18:11,810 plus the conditions that night, 312 00:18:11,910 --> 00:18:14,280 the Titanic never had a chance, 313 00:18:14,380 --> 00:18:17,080 but even though the iceberg may not have been avoidable, 314 00:18:17,180 --> 00:18:20,320 some believe that what occurred in the hours leading up 315 00:18:20,420 --> 00:18:22,890 to this collision could have been prevented. 316 00:18:26,020 --> 00:18:28,690 I'm exploring why the Titanic sank, 317 00:18:28,790 --> 00:18:32,160 if it could've been prevented, and could it happen again today. 318 00:18:35,670 --> 00:18:38,070 The night the ship went down, there was a series of events 319 00:18:38,170 --> 00:18:40,240 that contributed to its fate. Hard to starboard! 320 00:18:40,340 --> 00:18:42,310 I wanna know what these were. 321 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:46,340 To find out, I have to go back 322 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,280 to early 20th century radio communication. 323 00:18:49,380 --> 00:18:52,320 The Marconi Company held the maritime contract 324 00:18:52,420 --> 00:18:54,780 for the Titanic and other liners. 325 00:18:54,890 --> 00:18:57,890 They also operated land-based wireless stations. 326 00:18:57,990 --> 00:19:02,160 Beginning at 9am, the Titanic started receiving warnings 327 00:19:02,260 --> 00:19:05,260 of ice in its area-- over the course of the day, 328 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:08,100 the Titanic received at least five warnings, 329 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:11,700 but only two or three made their way to the bridge. 330 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:14,900 The last and most critical alert, 331 00:19:15,010 --> 00:19:18,010 citing the exact location of the fateful iceberg, 332 00:19:18,110 --> 00:19:22,010 never made its way to the captain, so what happened to that alert? 333 00:19:22,110 --> 00:19:24,110 To try and find out, 334 00:19:24,220 --> 00:19:26,350 I'm heading to East Greenwich, Rhode Island. 335 00:19:26,450 --> 00:19:29,290 This small town is at the center of the state, 336 00:19:29,390 --> 00:19:32,120 along the western shore of Narragansett Bay. 337 00:19:32,220 --> 00:19:34,160 It also happens to be the home 338 00:19:34,260 --> 00:19:36,460 of the New England Wireless & Steam Museum. 339 00:19:42,630 --> 00:19:45,430 Look at this place, so cool! 340 00:19:47,170 --> 00:19:49,710 This is a private museum here 341 00:19:49,810 --> 00:19:52,840 that contains all this old radio equipment 342 00:19:52,940 --> 00:19:55,340 from the days of Titanic-- I wanna find out 343 00:19:55,450 --> 00:19:58,110 what role the communications problems had 344 00:19:58,220 --> 00:20:00,750 in the disaster. 345 00:20:00,850 --> 00:20:03,520 I'm meeting this guy here-- hey, how you doing? Hi--hi, Don. 346 00:20:03,620 --> 00:20:04,850 Nice to meet you-- Don Wildman. Craig Moody. 347 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:06,190 Nice to meet you. Nice meeting you. 348 00:20:06,290 --> 00:20:08,960 Well, this is one hip place! Welcome, it sure is. 349 00:20:12,460 --> 00:20:15,060 This is a replica of a 1920 ship's radio room. 350 00:20:15,170 --> 00:20:17,070 Look at this! 351 00:20:17,170 --> 00:20:20,670 Look at this stuff--you have all the great names-- 352 00:20:20,770 --> 00:20:24,140 Crosley, Atwater Kent. Right. 353 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,880 This is all the equipment that made 354 00:20:26,980 --> 00:20:29,350 wireless communication possible, right? Right. 355 00:20:29,450 --> 00:20:32,980 So how much did the newness of this technology have to do with the disaster? 356 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,950 That I can show you in the other room. All right. 357 00:20:36,050 --> 00:20:39,320 Come on into the radio room and learn some Morse code. 358 00:20:39,420 --> 00:20:42,490 I set up a little training station for you. 359 00:20:42,590 --> 00:20:44,230 All right. 360 00:20:44,330 --> 00:20:48,130 And Morse code is a very simple means of communication. 361 00:20:48,230 --> 00:20:52,130 It's a series of dits and dahs, or short tones, long tones. 362 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,710 Each Morse code symbol represents a letter, a numeral, 363 00:20:55,810 --> 00:20:59,010 or a small set of punctuation and procedural signals. 364 00:20:59,110 --> 00:21:02,780 The duration of the dots or dashes 365 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:04,950 is what determines the message. 366 00:21:07,050 --> 00:21:10,150 In 1844, Samuel Morse delivered his first message 367 00:21:10,250 --> 00:21:12,890 from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. 368 00:21:12,990 --> 00:21:16,130 Forty-six years later, 369 00:21:16,230 --> 00:21:18,260 Titanic used Morse code 370 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:21,200 to communicate with other ships and land stations. 371 00:21:21,300 --> 00:21:24,130 This is a replica 372 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,240 of the Titanic called a straight key. 373 00:21:27,340 --> 00:21:29,240 Today we have... 374 00:21:29,340 --> 00:21:31,440 Okay. Nice, clear tones, but back in the day, 375 00:21:31,540 --> 00:21:34,440 you'd have quite a raw-sounding buzz. 376 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,910 SOS, save our ship. 377 00:21:39,020 --> 00:21:41,220 Not necessarily. 378 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,820 SOS is a very easy to remember series of dits and dahs. Okay. 379 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:46,490 S is... 380 00:21:46,590 --> 00:21:47,990 O is... 381 00:21:48,090 --> 00:21:49,490 S... 382 00:21:49,590 --> 00:21:52,960 You string it together... 383 00:21:53,060 --> 00:21:55,300 Fascinating. 384 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,330 And you have what was an internationally agreed upon distress call. 385 00:21:58,440 --> 00:21:59,840 Let me try. 386 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,010 SOS became a worldwide standard distress signal 387 00:22:06,110 --> 00:22:08,710 effective July 1st, 1908, 388 00:22:08,810 --> 00:22:12,180 so it was less than four years old when Titanic set sail. 389 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,750 So this was a new signal in those days, yeah? Right. 390 00:22:14,850 --> 00:22:16,950 Did SOS delay the rescue? 391 00:22:17,060 --> 00:22:19,420 The Marconi operators worked for Marconi Company. 392 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,790 They weren't necessarily trained in maritime protocol. Oh, okay. 393 00:22:22,890 --> 00:22:25,190 For example, any message that came to the Titanic 394 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:27,800 that was to be hand-delivered to the captain 395 00:22:27,900 --> 00:22:31,800 needed to be started with the letters MSG. 396 00:22:31,900 --> 00:22:35,710 At least two or three of the communications regarding 397 00:22:35,810 --> 00:22:38,810 icebergs in the area did not bear those letters, 398 00:22:38,910 --> 00:22:42,140 including the most important, the one that gave the latitude 399 00:22:42,250 --> 00:22:45,950 and longitude of the deadly iceberg directly in Titanic's path. 400 00:22:46,050 --> 00:22:49,390 So Captain Smith was never alerted that he was on 401 00:22:49,490 --> 00:22:52,320 a collision course with a massive iceberg, 402 00:22:52,420 --> 00:22:55,490 and this was not the only failed communication 403 00:22:55,590 --> 00:22:57,390 on that fateful night. 404 00:22:57,500 --> 00:23:00,530 The lack of MSG in front of some of the messages was not 405 00:23:00,630 --> 00:23:02,870 the only issue at hand. 406 00:23:02,970 --> 00:23:05,370 Craig has replicated the actual distress signals 407 00:23:05,470 --> 00:23:07,340 sent out by Titanic. 408 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,370 This is the Titanic sending out distress calls-- 409 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:12,370 CQD first. 410 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,080 And then you'll hear SOS. 411 00:23:15,180 --> 00:23:18,210 There were several ships in the vicinity. 412 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:20,650 Oh, man, so I can hear the other ships... 413 00:23:20,750 --> 00:23:23,390 That's two ships, and now you're gonna hear three. 414 00:23:23,490 --> 00:23:27,360 Radio operators could talk over each other, 415 00:23:27,460 --> 00:23:31,030 which happened as soon as Titanic sent out its distress call 416 00:23:31,130 --> 00:23:33,630 and created havoc on the airwaves. 417 00:23:33,730 --> 00:23:36,500 One of the ships is saying, "Titanic is sending out a signal." 418 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,800 He can't hear me, so they're telling other ships. 419 00:23:38,900 --> 00:23:41,170 It's chaos! It's chaos. 420 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,740 Wow! That's amazing. 421 00:23:47,850 --> 00:23:51,750 And also, Don, the Californian was only two hours away. 422 00:23:51,850 --> 00:23:55,320 Their radio operator had shut down for the night and already gone to bed. 423 00:23:55,420 --> 00:23:58,220 There was no requirement to be on duty 24 hours a day. 424 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,490 The Titanic stays afloat for two hours and 40 minutes. Right. 425 00:24:01,590 --> 00:24:04,290 So they could've made it. They could've rescued those people. 426 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:07,060 That's what is widely believed. Man. 427 00:24:10,940 --> 00:24:14,400 Several communications factors played a part in this huge loss of life. 428 00:24:14,510 --> 00:24:18,740 If that crucial ice warning had reached the captain, 429 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,610 he may have stopped and averted disaster. 430 00:24:21,710 --> 00:24:24,910 If the radios had not been shut down on the Californian, 431 00:24:25,020 --> 00:24:27,180 they may have reached them in time. 432 00:24:27,290 --> 00:24:30,620 If the operators were not operating in this cacophony of talk over, 433 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,020 they may have heard the distress signals... 434 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:34,560 but they didn't. 435 00:24:34,660 --> 00:24:36,690 A lot of ifs, only one certainty-- 436 00:24:36,790 --> 00:24:38,930 a lot of people died. 437 00:24:39,030 --> 00:24:42,900 So now I know what role communication played, 438 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,400 but what about the actual design of the ship? 439 00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:50,740 Was there something structurally wrong with the Titanic? 440 00:24:57,050 --> 00:25:01,120 Conventional wisdom says that once the Titanic hit the massive iceberg 441 00:25:01,220 --> 00:25:03,490 on April 12, 1912, 442 00:25:03,590 --> 00:25:06,160 the disaster that followed was inevitable, 443 00:25:06,260 --> 00:25:09,730 but there are theories that say that design flaws on the ship itself 444 00:25:09,830 --> 00:25:12,430 made the tragedy worse than it needed to be. 445 00:25:12,530 --> 00:25:16,200 Some argue that even at the speed they were traveling, 446 00:25:16,300 --> 00:25:18,930 there's still a way they could have struck an iceberg 447 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:20,740 and remained afloat. 448 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,940 And to explore this theory, I'm headed for Seattle, Washington. 449 00:25:26,540 --> 00:25:28,910 The city of Seattle knows something about ships. 450 00:25:29,010 --> 00:25:32,150 It's home to the 14th largest port in North America 451 00:25:32,250 --> 00:25:34,680 and the 57th largest in the world. 452 00:25:34,790 --> 00:25:37,620 The seaport division here 453 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,290 handles over two million containers a year. 454 00:25:42,860 --> 00:25:45,490 One Coho! One Coho! 455 00:25:48,870 --> 00:25:50,900 This is truly a maritime city, where fresh seafood 456 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,940 is a way of life-- here at Pike Place Fish Market, 457 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,940 they sell over 1.5 million pounds of seafood every year. 458 00:25:58,040 --> 00:26:00,940 There we go. Look what we got! 459 00:26:01,050 --> 00:26:03,280 Look what we got! Whoo! 460 00:26:03,380 --> 00:26:06,520 As much as I would love to hang out with these guys, 461 00:26:06,620 --> 00:26:10,490 I'm here to investigate if Titanic had a disastrous design flaw. 462 00:26:13,460 --> 00:26:16,530 In its hull, Titanic had 16 watertight compartments 463 00:26:16,630 --> 00:26:19,330 separated by transverse bulkheads. 464 00:26:19,430 --> 00:26:22,900 It could stay afloat if four of them were flooded. 465 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:27,000 Designers envisioned that a head-on collision was most likely, 466 00:26:27,100 --> 00:26:31,040 so the first two bulkheads, called the collision bulkheads, 467 00:26:31,140 --> 00:26:33,380 were tallest, to prevent water 468 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,310 from overflowing into the other compartments. 469 00:26:36,410 --> 00:26:40,180 But no one envisioned a hit along the ship's side, 470 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,520 so the next 14 bulkheads were shorter, only rising 10 feet 471 00:26:44,620 --> 00:26:47,990 above the waterline-- when the ship hit the iceberg, 472 00:26:48,090 --> 00:26:51,260 six of the compartments along its side were opened, 473 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:55,000 and the water began to overflow from one compartment to the next. 474 00:26:55,100 --> 00:26:59,000 Water was flooding the ship at 400 tons a minute. 475 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,470 Not only were the compartments not controlling the flooding, 476 00:27:03,570 --> 00:27:06,240 they were also containing the water in the bow, 477 00:27:06,340 --> 00:27:08,980 which increased the rate of sinking. 478 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,820 If the ship had hit straight-on, many believed 479 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,850 the impact would've been absorbed by the collision bulkheads, 480 00:27:15,950 --> 00:27:18,650 and the flooding would've been contained, saving the ship, 481 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,220 but beyond the bulkheads, some believed the Titanic had 482 00:27:22,330 --> 00:27:24,960 an even greater structural flaw. 483 00:27:25,060 --> 00:27:28,560 Titanic was made of steel plates held together 484 00:27:28,670 --> 00:27:31,600 by three million rivets, and it's been proven 485 00:27:31,700 --> 00:27:34,970 a number of those rivets were made of iron and not steel. 486 00:27:35,070 --> 00:27:38,910 Iron is considered to be inferior in strength and quality, 487 00:27:39,010 --> 00:27:42,080 but if it isn't pure, it can be even weaker. 488 00:27:42,180 --> 00:27:45,650 Records show that a percentage of Titanic's rivets 489 00:27:45,750 --> 00:27:49,250 were low-grade wrought iron, which contains a large amount 490 00:27:49,350 --> 00:27:51,950 of impurities. 491 00:27:52,060 --> 00:27:55,620 Some scientists have developed a theory that because these rivets were used, 492 00:27:55,730 --> 00:27:58,330 they failed too easily during the collision. 493 00:27:58,430 --> 00:28:01,160 To test this theory, 494 00:28:01,270 --> 00:28:02,830 I am going to make a set 495 00:28:02,930 --> 00:28:05,530 of wrought iron rivets and a set of steel 496 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,640 and subject them both to an intense amount of force. 497 00:28:08,740 --> 00:28:12,110 Dallas Puckett and his team specialize in fabricating 498 00:28:12,210 --> 00:28:14,840 marine hardware and are gonna help me make the rivets. 499 00:28:14,950 --> 00:28:17,680 All right, have at it. 500 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,150 Wow, it heats up fast! Yeah. 501 00:28:27,090 --> 00:28:29,260 What's amazing is that these vintage machines 502 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:31,430 are from the early 20th century. 503 00:28:31,530 --> 00:28:33,130 And that one's ready. 504 00:28:33,230 --> 00:28:36,870 We're making rivets the same way they did in the age of Titanic. 505 00:28:36,970 --> 00:28:39,400 For the test, 506 00:28:39,500 --> 00:28:42,200 I need one set of iron and another of steel. 507 00:28:42,310 --> 00:28:44,470 That's cool! 508 00:28:44,580 --> 00:28:46,880 That's how you make a rivet! 509 00:28:46,980 --> 00:28:49,850 I'm driving each set into steel plates 510 00:28:49,950 --> 00:28:53,180 that are the same composition as Titanic's hull. 511 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,580 You ready? Let's roll. 512 00:28:55,690 --> 00:28:57,690 Here we go--one, two, three! 513 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,020 There we go--oh, look at that. 514 00:29:05,130 --> 00:29:07,530 This is properly attached? All is well? Yes, yes it is. 515 00:29:07,630 --> 00:29:10,330 Okay, so I'm ready for my test. Mmhm. 516 00:29:12,170 --> 00:29:14,100 The Dwight Company just outside Seattle 517 00:29:14,210 --> 00:29:16,270 specializes in metal fatigue testing 518 00:29:16,370 --> 00:29:18,810 with big clients like the U.S. Navy. 519 00:29:18,910 --> 00:29:22,610 First, we're gonna put the iron rivets through a stress test 520 00:29:22,710 --> 00:29:25,650 at room temperature by subjecting them to a force 521 00:29:25,750 --> 00:29:28,250 similar to a ship hitting an iceberg. 522 00:29:28,350 --> 00:29:31,550 We'll start with wrought iron. All right. 523 00:29:35,030 --> 00:29:37,760 Using a tensile machine that pulls the steel plates 524 00:29:37,860 --> 00:29:40,430 in opposite directions, we're going to measure 525 00:29:40,530 --> 00:29:43,030 the amount of force that the rivets holding the plates together 526 00:29:43,130 --> 00:29:45,530 can withstand... The number's going up! 527 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,270 ...before they fail. 528 00:29:47,370 --> 00:29:49,810 It's gonna break any moment now, isn't it? 529 00:29:49,910 --> 00:29:53,810 9,731...96... 530 00:29:53,910 --> 00:29:55,840 So that's 9,000...whoa! 531 00:29:55,950 --> 00:29:58,780 Oh, my goodness! 532 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,680 The max load on this 533 00:30:01,790 --> 00:30:05,050 was...10,031 pounds. 534 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:08,890 So the iron rivets failed at 10,031 pounds. 535 00:30:08,990 --> 00:30:12,690 You can see they were brittle, like glass, and sheared right off. 536 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:14,830 So now we test the steel. 537 00:30:14,930 --> 00:30:16,900 Let's do it. I've got it right here. 538 00:30:25,510 --> 00:30:28,010 We're at 9,000. Nine thousand pounds! 539 00:30:31,550 --> 00:30:33,680 Wow, it's really holding up! 540 00:30:33,780 --> 00:30:36,080 Yeah, not bad. 541 00:30:38,390 --> 00:30:39,960 Holy... Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes. 542 00:30:40,060 --> 00:30:41,790 It's bending... there she is! 543 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:48,330 Fifteen 122. Yeah, 15,122.3. 544 00:30:49,570 --> 00:30:52,940 The steel rivets failed at a little over 15,000 pounds. 545 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:57,010 Unlike the iron, these rivets were more elastic or ductile 546 00:30:57,110 --> 00:31:00,540 and actually bent from the force before they gave out. 547 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,950 So this is conclusive. This is very conclusive. 548 00:31:04,050 --> 00:31:06,620 This test shows that the wrought iron rivets made 549 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,750 to replicate the ones that held Titanic's hull together 550 00:31:09,850 --> 00:31:13,790 were roughly 1/3 weaker than steel rivets would've been. 551 00:31:13,890 --> 00:31:16,890 The steel showed superior strength and ductility. 552 00:31:16,990 --> 00:31:19,900 So this hypothesis might be true. 553 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,700 If the Titanic had been constructed only of steel rivets, 554 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,440 it might not've been torn apart, 555 00:31:26,540 --> 00:31:29,470 and it might not have sunk at all. 556 00:31:29,570 --> 00:31:32,370 But the bottom line is, Titanic ran into an iceberg, 557 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:36,210 a force of nature few structures could've withstood. 558 00:31:36,310 --> 00:31:38,550 A lot of people have criticized 559 00:31:38,650 --> 00:31:41,720 the materials used to manufacture the Titanic. 560 00:31:41,820 --> 00:31:44,090 On the flip side, some say the Titanic 561 00:31:44,190 --> 00:31:46,190 was designed so well 562 00:31:46,290 --> 00:31:49,160 that the ship didn't doom more than 1,500 people, 563 00:31:49,260 --> 00:31:52,390 it actually saved 705. 564 00:31:52,500 --> 00:31:54,400 Some of those same theorists 565 00:31:54,500 --> 00:31:56,470 believe that the Titanic's ultimate flaw 566 00:31:56,570 --> 00:31:58,470 wasn't what the ship was made of 567 00:31:58,570 --> 00:32:00,870 but rather the skill of its crew. 568 00:32:00,970 --> 00:32:04,870 The Titanic took two hours and 40 minutes to sink. 569 00:32:04,980 --> 00:32:08,410 That should've been more than enough time for the crew to mobilize 570 00:32:08,510 --> 00:32:11,280 and for all of the lifeboats to be launched. 571 00:32:11,380 --> 00:32:15,080 So with all this time, why weren't more people saved? 572 00:32:21,860 --> 00:32:24,960 In 1912, the ill-fated Titanic hit an iceberg 573 00:32:25,060 --> 00:32:28,430 and sank in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. 574 00:32:28,530 --> 00:32:33,130 Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, 575 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,540 more than 1,500 died. 576 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,870 I've been testing theories that bring the design of the ship 577 00:32:39,980 --> 00:32:43,240 into question, but some say the tragic loss of life 578 00:32:43,350 --> 00:32:45,780 was more the result of human error, 579 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,180 but to examine this theory, we have to go all the way back 580 00:32:49,290 --> 00:32:52,620 to the very beginning, to before the ship was even made. 581 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,260 When the Titanic was designed, the plans called for the ship 582 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,860 to carry 64 wooden lifeboats 583 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,530 that each held 65 passengers-- 584 00:33:01,630 --> 00:33:04,330 more than enough seats for the manifest. 585 00:33:04,430 --> 00:33:08,100 When the ship was completed, this number had plummeted. 586 00:33:08,210 --> 00:33:10,240 Rumors abound 587 00:33:10,340 --> 00:33:12,810 as to what actually transpired. 588 00:33:12,910 --> 00:33:16,280 One theory is that a top executive from the White Star Line 589 00:33:16,380 --> 00:33:19,810 saw the plans and was dissatisfied with the aesthetic 590 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:23,080 of that many lifeboats and demanded the number be reduced. 591 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,760 Whatever the reason, when the ship set sail, 592 00:33:27,860 --> 00:33:31,130 there were 16 wooden lifeboats and four collapsible, 593 00:33:31,230 --> 00:33:34,530 only enough seats for roughly 1,100 594 00:33:34,630 --> 00:33:38,000 of the more than 2,200 passengers on board. 595 00:33:38,100 --> 00:33:41,040 But while the lack of lifeboats has long been discussed 596 00:33:41,140 --> 00:33:44,170 as a major part of this tragedy, I wanna examine 597 00:33:44,270 --> 00:33:46,410 another lesser-known theory, 598 00:33:46,510 --> 00:33:48,510 that it was untrained crewmembers 599 00:33:48,610 --> 00:33:51,480 who may have contributed substantially to this disaster. 600 00:33:51,580 --> 00:33:54,350 In addition to the lack thereof, 601 00:33:54,450 --> 00:33:57,290 the lifeboats that were launched were half full. 602 00:33:57,390 --> 00:34:00,960 Four hundred and 72 spaces went unused. 603 00:34:01,060 --> 00:34:05,130 On top of the boats being launched before they were at capacity, 604 00:34:05,230 --> 00:34:08,360 it also took a long time to get them in the water. 605 00:34:08,470 --> 00:34:10,630 To figure out 606 00:34:10,730 --> 00:34:13,130 how lack of skill would impact the efficiency 607 00:34:13,240 --> 00:34:16,140 of deploying lifeboats, I'm gonna test my ability, 608 00:34:16,240 --> 00:34:19,640 or lack thereof, and try my hand at operating a davit. 609 00:34:19,740 --> 00:34:22,940 Davit is a fancy name for a crane. 610 00:34:23,050 --> 00:34:27,150 Each lifeboat on the Titanic had two davit arms, one at each end. 611 00:34:27,250 --> 00:34:30,080 Using a rope pulley system, two men, 612 00:34:30,190 --> 00:34:32,950 one on each davit, lowered the passenger-filled boat 613 00:34:33,060 --> 00:34:35,990 into the ocean-- at the time of the Titanic, 614 00:34:36,090 --> 00:34:38,930 it should've taken about three minutes to launch 615 00:34:39,030 --> 00:34:42,260 occupied lifeboats from a ship that size. 616 00:34:42,370 --> 00:34:46,030 Nowadays, most davits use both gravity and hydraulics, 617 00:34:46,140 --> 00:34:49,640 so they're a lot quicker, but the davit we're using today 618 00:34:49,740 --> 00:34:53,170 still requires a fair amount of manual labor to operate, 619 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,240 much like those used on the Titanic. 620 00:34:58,620 --> 00:35:01,280 Hey! Hey. Dave, this is Don. 621 00:35:01,380 --> 00:35:02,950 Don's gonna be watching us. Nice to meet you. 622 00:35:03,050 --> 00:35:04,990 Show me how it's done. 623 00:35:05,090 --> 00:35:07,620 Forward brake is released. 624 00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:10,890 Boat plug is in, and the man ropes it down. 625 00:35:10,990 --> 00:35:13,260 Lower the boat! 626 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,530 Here it comes! Here comes the lifeboat, she's comin' on down! 627 00:35:16,630 --> 00:35:18,970 'Cause you gotta get it 628 00:35:19,070 --> 00:35:21,500 down to the deck so that people can get in. Here we go. 629 00:35:21,610 --> 00:35:24,010 There she comes. 630 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,810 And hold! Hold! 631 00:35:29,910 --> 00:35:32,180 It took these guys less than a minute 632 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:35,680 to get the lifeboat lowered-- time to test my skills. 633 00:35:35,790 --> 00:35:37,820 Make sure that the boat plug is in 634 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:39,850 and the man ropes are down. 635 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:41,860 All right! 636 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:45,330 From the time the Titanic hit the iceberg... In the boat. 637 00:35:45,430 --> 00:35:49,300 ...a full 60 minutes went by before the first lifeboat was set afloat. 638 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:52,470 Boat plug in! Why did it take so long? 639 00:35:52,570 --> 00:35:56,240 Several reports indicate that the crew onboard the Titanic 640 00:35:56,340 --> 00:35:59,540 was not trained properly on using lifeboat launching equipment, 641 00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,180 so the launches were slower than they should've been. 642 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:06,480 Ironically, there was a lifeboat safety drill 643 00:36:06,580 --> 00:36:08,920 scheduled the day the Titanic sank, 644 00:36:09,020 --> 00:36:12,450 but it was canceled by the captain. 645 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:16,290 Man ropes are down? Three man ropes down! 646 00:36:16,390 --> 00:36:19,660 Come on down! 647 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:21,960 Wow, this is stressful. 648 00:36:22,070 --> 00:36:24,130 I'm trying to be speedy. 649 00:36:24,230 --> 00:36:27,070 Pull the stern harbor pin! Pullin' stern harbor pin! 650 00:36:27,170 --> 00:36:29,770 Imagine what it would feel like on a ship that's sinking 651 00:36:29,870 --> 00:36:32,040 in the middle of the North Atlantic. 652 00:36:32,140 --> 00:36:33,780 Done! 653 00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:35,510 Lower the boat. 654 00:36:35,610 --> 00:36:37,580 During the evacuation, 655 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:40,010 women and children were given priority, 656 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,550 and while it wasn't an order to prioritize the first-class passengers, 657 00:36:43,650 --> 00:36:46,960 far more of them survived than second or third. 658 00:36:47,060 --> 00:36:51,130 Ninety-two percent of men in second class perished 659 00:36:51,230 --> 00:36:54,930 as did 76 percent of all third class passengers. 660 00:36:55,030 --> 00:36:57,970 Stop! 661 00:36:58,070 --> 00:37:00,900 You're in the water! 662 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,640 Yes, we did it! We're in the water! 663 00:37:03,740 --> 00:37:06,170 I can't believe it took me ten minutes. 664 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:09,680 Obviously, if you're not well trained in this kind of system, 665 00:37:09,780 --> 00:37:12,350 it can be a time-consuming debacle. 666 00:37:12,450 --> 00:37:14,950 And in the case of Titanic, 667 00:37:15,050 --> 00:37:17,320 it may have cost a lot of people their lives. 668 00:37:19,790 --> 00:37:22,120 There's a lot of reasons why the ship went down 669 00:37:22,230 --> 00:37:24,630 and also a lot of ways it could've been avoided. 670 00:37:24,730 --> 00:37:27,360 For me, only one real question remains-- 671 00:37:27,460 --> 00:37:30,100 could this disaster happen today? 672 00:37:36,940 --> 00:37:39,740 I started this journey by diving deep below sea level 673 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:42,280 to get a better perspective on how an iceberg 674 00:37:42,380 --> 00:37:44,710 could've taken down the Titanic. 675 00:37:44,820 --> 00:37:48,180 Now, I'm going 10,000 feet up in the air to find out 676 00:37:48,290 --> 00:37:50,320 if it could happen again today. 677 00:37:53,690 --> 00:37:56,520 So that is the St. John's Airport, 678 00:37:56,630 --> 00:37:58,860 and this--check it out-- 679 00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:02,430 is the headquarters of the International Ice Patrol. 680 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,540 Boat 2, I'm up. 681 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,140 Roger. 682 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:12,370 We're on two. 683 00:38:15,550 --> 00:38:17,450 A year after the Titanic sank, 684 00:38:17,550 --> 00:38:19,880 this organization was created. 685 00:38:19,980 --> 00:38:22,180 Operated by the United States Coast Guard, 686 00:38:22,290 --> 00:38:24,590 their job is to monitor the shipping lanes 687 00:38:24,690 --> 00:38:26,960 off of Newfoundland for iceberg danger. 688 00:38:43,210 --> 00:38:48,140 Uh, position for it is 4-8-1-8 North 4-6-5-1. 689 00:38:48,250 --> 00:38:51,450 Every day during iceberg season, which runs from February 690 00:38:51,550 --> 00:38:54,520 until July or August, they run reconnaissance missions 691 00:38:54,620 --> 00:38:56,950 with multi-engine jets. 692 00:38:57,050 --> 00:38:59,420 Back when they originally started patrolling these waters, 693 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:02,190 they used ships, but after World War II, 694 00:39:02,290 --> 00:39:04,660 they began to use aircraft. 695 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:07,230 In the 1960s, they actually attempted 696 00:39:07,330 --> 00:39:09,800 to bomb the icebergs. 697 00:39:09,900 --> 00:39:12,630 Today, they use radar and visual reference 698 00:39:12,740 --> 00:39:14,670 to record what they see. 699 00:39:14,770 --> 00:39:16,840 Our goal is to cover where there's cold water. 700 00:39:16,940 --> 00:39:19,210 So this is Iceberg Alley right here. 701 00:39:19,310 --> 00:39:22,110 The current brings the icebergs directly to that small path. 702 00:39:22,210 --> 00:39:25,180 When we do our message results, it'll come out with all 703 00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:27,320 the positions of the icebergs that we found, 704 00:39:27,420 --> 00:39:29,550 and then we'll create our iceberg warning product 705 00:39:29,650 --> 00:39:31,790 that then is distributed to the maritime community. 706 00:39:31,890 --> 00:39:34,560 That's the mission, really, to clear these shipping lanes It is. 707 00:39:34,660 --> 00:39:36,560 and to keep them informed. Yes. 708 00:39:36,660 --> 00:39:39,430 Small circle around there. 709 00:39:39,530 --> 00:39:43,100 How many icebergs a year do you see? 710 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:45,530 So we typically track-- 711 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:47,670 it could be up to approximately 10,000 icebergs. 712 00:39:47,770 --> 00:39:49,370 This year, we've had approximately-- 713 00:39:49,470 --> 00:39:51,640 almost 700 icebergs in the shipping lanes, 714 00:39:51,740 --> 00:39:55,010 a lot of icebergs getting into the region of where the Titanic sank. 715 00:39:55,110 --> 00:39:58,450 So 100 years later, a direct descendent of the Titanic tragedy, 716 00:39:58,550 --> 00:40:01,450 that's why we're here today. Yes, it is. 717 00:40:01,550 --> 00:40:04,020 I won't be able to see it. Can you give us a position on that? 718 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:07,520 4-8-1-8-4-6-5-1. 5-1, okay. 719 00:40:09,030 --> 00:40:12,360 Fascinating, uh, intricate operation. 720 00:40:12,460 --> 00:40:15,860 Simply to make sure 721 00:40:15,970 --> 00:40:18,200 that boats know where these icebergs are. 722 00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:20,400 That's how this system has worked for a century, 723 00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:23,270 keeping boats safe up here in the North Atlantic. 724 00:40:23,370 --> 00:40:27,180 Since the formation of the International Ice Patrol, 725 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:29,980 no vessel that has heeded their warnings 726 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:32,450 has collided with an iceberg. 727 00:40:32,550 --> 00:40:35,120 That's a pretty good stat. 728 00:40:36,990 --> 00:40:39,750 In my quest to discover if the tragedy of the Titanic 729 00:40:39,860 --> 00:40:43,090 could've been avoided or if it could happen again today, 730 00:40:43,190 --> 00:40:45,230 I've tested several theories 731 00:40:45,330 --> 00:40:47,960 and explored a host of hypotheses. 732 00:40:48,060 --> 00:40:51,130 I have learned a lot about this famous maritime catastrophe, 733 00:40:51,230 --> 00:40:54,840 and a lot has changed since it happened. 734 00:40:54,940 --> 00:40:58,840 The 1914 International Safety of Life at Sea Convention 735 00:40:58,940 --> 00:41:01,940 enacted numerous rules to prevent a disaster 736 00:41:02,050 --> 00:41:04,450 like Titanic from ever reoccurring, 737 00:41:04,550 --> 00:41:07,120 specifically with regards to lifeboats. 738 00:41:07,220 --> 00:41:10,650 The law now strictly requires that there be enough lifeboats 739 00:41:10,750 --> 00:41:13,490 to accommodate everybody on board. 740 00:41:13,590 --> 00:41:16,930 There are mandatory drills, evacuation stations assigned 741 00:41:17,030 --> 00:41:20,330 for crews and passengers, and every lifeboat 742 00:41:20,430 --> 00:41:22,830 must clearly indicate capacity. 743 00:41:22,930 --> 00:41:25,230 Radio standards have also changed. 744 00:41:25,340 --> 00:41:27,470 The Radio Act of 1912 dictated 745 00:41:27,570 --> 00:41:30,510 that all wireless operators must be licensed, 746 00:41:30,610 --> 00:41:34,180 only use certain bandwidths, reserve channels for the Navy, 747 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,180 man their posts 24 hours a day, 748 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:40,180 and establish direct communications with the bridge. 749 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:42,480 Given all these precautions, 750 00:41:42,590 --> 00:41:45,450 it's extremely unlikely that a disaster like Titanic 751 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:48,460 could happen today, but, unfortunately, 752 00:41:48,560 --> 00:41:51,390 human error cannot be prevented and is still 753 00:41:51,490 --> 00:41:53,930 the number-one cause of maritime disasters. 754 00:41:54,030 --> 00:41:56,460 I'm Don Wildman-- thanks for watching 755 00:41:56,570 --> 00:41:58,800 "Mysteries at the Museum: The Titanic." 755 00:41:59,305 --> 00:42:59,471 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm