Titanic’s story was told 14 years before it sank

IN 1898, 14 years before the Titanic sank, Morgan Robertson wrote a novel Futility. This fictitious story was about the largest ship ever built hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean on a cold April night. The fictional ship, named Titan, and the real ship Titanic were similar in design and their circumstances were remarkably alike. Both ships were labelled "unsinkable".

Two dogs were among those who survived the Titanic disaster. However there were no cats on board the Titanic, although they were often brought on ships as they were considered good omens. Thirteen couples on board the Titanic were on their honeymoon. Captain Smith, captain of the Titanic, was planning to retire after its maiden voyage.

No one ever claimed that the Titanic was "unsinkable". The quote, "practically unsinkable" was taken out of context. In 1911, Shipbuilder magazine published an article describing the construction of the Titanic. The article stated that when the watertight doors were closed, the ship would be "practically unsinkable".

It was customary to break a bottle of champagne on the bow of a boat when it was launched. The launching of the Titanic did not include this custom.

The time interval between the first sighting of the iceberg and its impact with the ship was a little over 30 seconds. The Titanic sank 2 hours and 40 minutes after hitting the iceberg. It probably took Titanic about 15 minutes to sink to her final resting place on the ocean floor. That means that Titanic sank at a rate of 10 miles per hour (or 16 km per hour).

— Compiled by Gaurav Sood