User:Kakybug

Thick sides all around, the unsinkable Titanic! At one sixth of a mile long, Titanic one of the largest ships in the 19th century. But it is known mostly for sinking. But why? Was the captain drunk? Was Titanic badly constructed? Did the fire on Titanic weaken its hulk? Read on to find out! Even before Titanic set sail there was already trouble. There was a fire on Titanic’s hulk. This is not uncommon with ships. It was quickly put out. But is likely that the fire weakened Titanic? Probably not, but it is a possibility. Three days into her maiden voyage, Titanic crosses the Labrador Current. It was a quite unusual night. There were many stars. “The sea was so calm, and the sky… so many stars.” (A quote from a survivor). The Titanic was now in the Labrador Current. The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia. The current was very cold. And there was frost everywhere. There were the stars too. Perfect mirage weather. What is a mirage? A mirage is when you either see something that isn’t there, or you don’t see some-thing that is there because the mirage covered it up. In Titanic’s case the lookouts didn’t see something that was there. An iceberg. The lookouts were supposed to be able to see an iceberg a mile away. A good thirty minute warning. With the mirage, thirty seconds. Titanic is surprisingly maneuverable. However it wasn’t fast enough to avoid the iceberg. Titanic smashed into the iceberg on the right side. Had Titanic hit the iceberg head on, it would have stayed afloat. But Titanic sank. It left many mysteries unsolved. Titanic sent out distress calls. But why didn’t the California, the ship less than a mile away from Titanic wreck site, answer Titanic’s call? Remember the strange stars? “The sea was so calm, and the sky… so many stars.” Well, as you may know, stars seem to blink strangely. They look like they are winking. Back when Titanic was sailing, distress calls are large lights that blink. Those blinking movements each mean something. For instance: “Help! We are sinking!” But those blinking movements mimic the stars blinking. Uh oh… The California’s captain said he saw a cargo carrier. Not Titanic. However he could have very well seen a mirage too. Sometimes a mirage can make a boat look like a carrier, especially at night.

However Titanic sank, it shocked the whole world. Wasn’t Titanic supposed to be unsinkable! Either way, Titanic sank. Almost everyone knew that Titanic sank. And everyone was surprised. But Titanic wasn’t lost forever. It was found under the Labrador Current. On 1 September 1981 a joint US-French expedition found Titanic wreck site. Titanic’s crash became a 1 billion dollar movie. Titanic sunk because it hit an iceberg. And a mirage probably hid that iceberg from view. But can we be sure? No! This is all just a theory. But at least it’s a good theory.