By: Katherine Huang

It took 3 years to build the Titanic and less than 3 hours for it to completely sink. The Titanic’s sinking has been elusive, but in this article, I will talk about how Titanic sank, and the inside/outside of the ship.

The Titanic set sail on April 10th, 1912, leaving from South Hampton, England, headed to New York City, USA. The ship was equipped with the most secure tools at the time to prevent sinking. Ads promoted its safety and modernity. As the word spread, people started calling it “unsinkable”. Due to the public’s overconfidence, there were only 36 lifeboats, enough for just HALF of the passengers on board. Back then lifeboats were used to transfer passengers to a safety boat in case of any danger. Captain Edward Smith supported the lack of lifeboats as he thought that the lifeboats ruined the ship’s looks.

Despite the lack of emergency equipment, the inside of the ship earned it the title of most luxurious ship. The most famous feature was its grand staircase. According to Ultimate Titanic, the grand staircase was made of polished oak, wrought iron, and an assortment of beautiful glass. It sat below a dome that gave an excellent illusion of natural light at any hour of the day.

Some features were reserved for first class passengers, including the Titanic’s gym and bathrooms. It included all the usual dumbbells, rowing machines, and stationary bicycles. It costs 1 shilling (about 25 cents today) to use the gym. There were also men-only Turkish bathrooms. Male first-class passengers can pay $1 to use bathrooms. According to Ultimate Titanic, “The Turkish baths also offered a freshwater drinking fountain (made of marble) and featured ornate tiles in the Arabic style and comfortable lounge chairs where passengers could rest.” First-class public rooms included a dining saloon, reception room, restaurant, lounge, reading and writing room, smoking room and the veranda cafes and palm courts.

The next tier were the second-class rooms. According to Ultimate Titanic, in second class, “passengers slept in berths built into the walls of the cabins. At two to four berths per cabin, privacy was hard to come by, although passengers could close the curtain around their berth. Each second-class cabin had a washbasin and a chamber pot to be used in case of seasickness. Second-class passengers used communal bathrooms.”

Last, we have the third-class. The third-class was the cheapest class, but still featured luxurious experiences. Many third-class people (there were over 1000 people belonging to third class) were crossing the Atlantic in hopes of starting a new life in the US. The third class included a general room, a smoking room, and a dining room. Most passengers had to share bathrooms (only the two promenade suites in first class had private bathrooms). The third-class bathrooms only featured two bathtubs for more than 1000 passengers. This didn’t matter much, because back then people thought that frequent bathing caused respiratory disease.

On the evening of April 14th, 1912, the Titanic was halfway through its journey when disaster struck. Despite receiving SEVERAL telegraphs warning about icebergs, it was too late. The Titanic was going full speed… and it hit an iceberg. The ship cracked, and smaller holes punctured throughout the ship. Survivors claimed that it took over 2 hours for the Titanic to fully sink. 74% of women and 52% of children managed to get on a lifeboat. All children from the first and second classes survived — the loss of children was mainly from the third class. Out of the non-survivors, some didn’t make it off the ship, others either fell in the water, died from cold, or died trying to help. According to Titanic Universe, “Of the 899 crew members on board, 685 went down with the ship.”

Many who survived the Titanic described the horror of its sinking. According to Titanic Universe, “The last surviving member of the Titanic died in March of 2009, and thus there are no survivors that had experienced the legendary vessel.” The disaster made global news.

Governments started to pass laws that require ships to carry the amount of safety equipment needed for its passengers. Thankfully this tragedy highlighted the need for safety.