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I solved the century-old mystery of a shipwreck survivor

(thewalrus.ca)
94 points Thevet | 4 comments | 12 Jul 25 22:24 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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carlosjobim ◴[15 Jul 25 04:27 UTC] No.44567822[source]▶
> Every schoolchild knows the story of the Titanic, the luxury ocean liner that hit an iceberg and sank in 1912. So why did the Empress tragedy, which claimed even more passenger lives a little over two years later, fail to embed itself in our collective national consciousness?

Because the Titanic was the biggest ship ever, it sunk on its maiden voyage, although it was said to be unsinkable. It's probably one of few stories from our time which will be remembered in a thousand years.

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1. close04 ◴[15 Jul 25 08:24 UTC] No.44569117[source]▶
The Titanic was the largest ship at the time, "unsinkable", on its maiden voyage, carrying some of the richest people in the world, greatest maritime disaster at the time, still basically at #2 after more than a century, and the wreck lost for 70 years. The story is definitely more sensational and mysterious than other sinkings.
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2. chopin ◴[15 Jul 25 09:08 UTC] No.44569321[source]▶
The 'Wilhelm Gustloff' had at least 4000 casualties in 1945. I believe the memorability of the Titanic is only loosely coupled to the number of casualties .
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3. close04 ◴[15 Jul 25 12:25 UTC] No.44570418[source]▶
I included the casualty count as a response to the article quote in OP's comment:

> So why did the Empress tragedy, which claimed even more passenger lives a little over two years later, fail to embed itself in our collective national consciousness?

The Titanic sinking caused ~50-60% more casualties. But casualty numbers alone are probably not enough to make either of them memorable. But an "unsinkable" ship, biggest ever, carrying the worlds richest, inexplicably sinking on maiden voyage and disappearing for decades is a very powerful story.

4. Yeul ◴[15 Jul 25 14:01 UTC] No.44571263[source]▶
Titanic happened in peace time. In WW2 many ships went under with thousands on board.

And after 1945 people were encouraged to forget about everything and not ask any uncomfortable questions.