Titanic: 100 Years Later | Shannon Wright

One hundred years ago this month, the greatest ocean liner of the time hit an iceberg and sank in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  That ship was the RMS Titanic. 

The ship was the largest afloat at the time of her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City.  Standing at 64.5 feet tall and 882.5 feet long, the ship could carry 2224 passengers and almost a thousand crewmembers.

When she hit the berg at 11:40 pm on the night of April 14^th, the ice caused the sides of the ship to fold inward, allowing the ocean to rush into the ship.  She quickly filled with water at the bow (front) and began sinking.  At about 2:30 am, Titanic sank, leaving 710 survivors in the 20 lifeboats.  1,514 people died in the Atlantic that night, whether from hypothermia or other causes.

There are many theories as to why Titanic hit an iceberg in April, when there should have been no bergs large enough to sink a ship in the shipping lanes of the Ocean.  A new theory presents that because of a freak lunar event in January, the tide was extremely high on January 4^th, causing large amounts of ice to break off of glaciers and drift south.  Because the bergs were so large, they did not melt to normal size by April, when, unfortunately, Titanic hit one.

Scientists say the tide on January 4^th was so large because the moon was the closest it had been to Earth in the last 1,400 years, and was within 6 minutes of being a full moon at its closest point. 

To commemorate the 100^th anniversary of this event, James Cameron is re-releasing his blockbuster hit Titanic, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.  The film has been updated to conform to the popular trend of 3D movies.  With stunningly shot scenes and astounding music, James Cameron and crew do not disappoint on this second round across the big screen.  For those of us who have grown up with Titanic but never got to see it in theaters, this is an excellent opportunity to experience Titanic as never before.

For more information about Titanic visit: www.rmstitanic.net

For more information about this theory visit: www.telegraph.co.uk