oh yes, and absolutely tragic about all those old-timey ppl

It's true a good Titanic story always goes down well.
I wrote a joke about it once. A one liner in two parts.....

Every day I mourn the loss of those hours cruelly wasted watching that film.

Seriously though, no one is mourning. If you can find one real person who is I'll buy a hat so I can eat it.

hah! just got that nige

Yep, that was a terrible movie.
Just out of interest, why does the Titanic get so much attention as compared to other ship sinkings?

@largeham the Titanic doesn't get more attention compared yo other ship sinkings...it gets more attention than anything and it is starting to really get on my nerves. I understand that people have a need to remember the dead, but how many of us are thinking about relatives we probably never knew that died 100 years ago? How are their deaths from perhaps a factory accident or death in childbirth or short illness worth less. ? It seems that not only are we obsessed by celebrity but we are obsessed by newsworthy deaths, it concerns me greatly.

I am mourning that I must be constantly bludgeoned with stories about a ship that sank, and mourn that it is suggested by implication that this "tregedy" is worse than others somehow...

yea, no... If this had happened say, a year ago, I could see it... 2 or 3 years ago, sure. a decade ago MAYBE... a century? nope, nope, sorry folks.

It would have been none if I hadn't seen this thread.

If the Titanic hadn't sunk, everyone who died that day would be dead by now anyway from other causes... so what exactly is there to mourn?

I barely care.

Why don't we have minutes of silence for the Romans that died at Cannae?

Oh right because it was forever ago.

People hate it when I say this but I stand by it - there is no event or person now living or dead that will not eventually be forgotten with whoever if anyone is still alive in the distant future.

I sort of agree, but I do find the Titanic a fascinating subject. Would it have stayed afloat if it had just rammed the iceberg head on? Why are there so many myths about conspiracy theories? And so on. So personally I need to acknowledge that what is a fascinating subject also has its tragic side.

As far as the film goes, the highlight was Kate Winslet's fine portrayal of a dead heat in a zeppelin race...

I actually spent all day thinking about the Titanic. Went to watch it in 3 and then went home and played "The Sinking of the Titanic" the board game.

I passed by the Newseum today and they had newpapers out from that whole week back in 1912, so it was interesting to see how wrong some of them were. Some of them were saying the ship never sunk, but was being towed and still had engine power lol.

But we remember it for two reasons - the people who died were fabulously rich and powerful, so it is seen as a moment where all the upper classes stand for came crashing down in ruins around them. But it also represents how an engineering marvel - the best designed ship in the world at the time - could so easily crumple and fall, signifying our sheer insignificance when compared to nature, no matter how technologically advanced we are.

But those are my two cents.

It killed 1500 people. And as goldfinger said, a lot of very rich people were on board. I suppose people will collectively yawn about 9-11 in the year 2101.

I mean why do we remember the Boston massacre, which killed 5 people? There are plenty of events less significant than the sinking of the Titanic that are remembered decades later.

I think people keep talking about Titanic because it's a fascinating story. It's hard to say why, exactly. But it wasn't just a big ship that sank. It was the BIGGEST ship and it sank, and it sank on its maiden voyage. It's kind of an elemental surprising-change-of-fate story, and that's why people keep being fascinated, I think. And it happens to be a sad one, and that's why they treat it as tragic. But they don't keep talking about it because it's tragic. They keep talking about it because it's somehow very interesting.

NEVER FORGET THE BOSTON MASSACRE!!!!!!!

FREEDOM!!

FOREVER!!

i don't remember anything, it's faaantastic.

each generation has their thing.

i don't rememebr the oklahoma city bombing but others do. my generation will always have 9/11 as our big event. the challenger explosion for example is something my parents generation might remember as theirs. Pearl Harbor too, we still remember that but probably jsut for patriotic reasons. the titanic didn;t really have any nationalism associated with it, so i think eventually others may not care.

"the titanic didn;t really have any nationalism associated with it, so i think eventually others may not care."

Titanic is one of those historic events not remembered for nationalism because its more symbolic than anything. Its more of a symbol of mankind's hubris and overconfidence in their position of power on Earth that nothing could possibly harm this "unsinkable" ship, not even the worst of nature. \

gold brings up a great point

As an engineer, the Titanic gives me pause and I think is a particularly important event to remember. It's much too easy to think you can overcome anything with engineering. Things like the Titanic, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Fukushima Plant, etc, serve as very important reminders that that isn't the case.

about as much time as it takes to say, "none whatsoever."