Whenever anyone points to a sea vessel and tells you that “this is an unsinkable ship,” never get on it. Science Channel brings us a documentary on Sunday called Titanic: Conspiracy of Failure, and in these fraught and fearful times of pandemic, the timing of it is spot on.
Titanic: Conspiracy of Failure is a documentary detailing human hubris and the drive to create something so massive and income-generating, that the fatal flaws in the design of it were never analyzed for worst-case scenarios.
And as a result, it is estimated that over 1,500 people died in fear and in a mentally torturous and gruesome manner on that fateful April 12, 1912, as 705 individuals fortunately survived despite their front row seats witnessing the carnage in the inky waters.
One of the richest men in the word, Waldorf-Astoria heir John Jacob Astor, was one of the male victims who likely froze to death as he drowned as his pregnant wife was placed in a rescue boat.
Imagine you know you that you will die, and slowly realize this and watch as the ship you are on slowly is sucked into icy black water, your death promised to be a bitterly cold, frightening and lonely thing. No chance to say goodbye to loved ones far away, you will slip into the deep ocean, a scant footnote in history. The lucky ones on rescue boats huddled together, hearing your cries and watching your demise.
That was Titanic’s legacy. The lucky ones, according to research, were the first-class women, as over 97% of them survived, Their menfolk not as much at 32%. Interestingly, men in second class (not steerage of third class) had the highest mortality rate.
What will the new documentary cover?
The Titanic story is as iconic as the ship herself, she was the largest and most exquisite ship on the seas and supposedly unsinkable. But that was proven wrong when she came into contact with the most notorious hidden iceberg that was mostly submerged.
People were not prepared for what was going to happen. They didn’t realize that the Titanic was sinking, as compartments filled up and were compromised one by one like unseen dominoes. They just didn’t quite comprehend the seriousness of the situation. At the beginning of the event that led to the sinking, people were jolly and drinking and having a good time, until the ship jerked upwards.
The ship collided with a giant iceberg only partially visible above the waterline. And this is only part of Titanic’s story.
The documentary pours over the records and the recounting of the Titanic disaster, which was caused by multiple events, which on their own could have been survivable. Still, all together they created the perfect storm for the most iconic maritime catastrophe in history.
The exclusive preview of Titanic: Conspiracy of Failure:
Watch as Science Channel experts retell the chain of events of the Titanic once it set sail from Ireland that led to the biggest at-sea tragedy outside of the war in the last century.
Titanic: Conspiracy of Failure premieres on Sunday, March 15, at 8:30 PM ET/PT on Science Channel.