The Titanic of Tennessee with concrete iceberg
Today, on the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with the loss of 1,514 lives, it would be appropriate for a learned historian at an august university to sit down to ponder the commercialization of history and to consider how our consumer culture turns tragedy into theme parks.
This came to mind from articles about the Titanic of Tennessee, a sort of half-length half scale replica of the ship in the mountains of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee which opened as a “museum attraction” two years ago. (See our previous post, Titanic Museum to Open in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee?) I am not sure exactly what a “museum attraction might be. Fortunately Mary Kellogg-Joslyn, the Titanic Museum Attractions owner explains, “This museum is not a thrill ride or Hollywood style museum. It is an interactive experience that brings in all elements of the famous and tragic Titanic story for families to experience.” One can only hope that bringing in all elements of the experience does not include drowning in the dark in icy water. That would certainly cut down on repeat visitors.
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In June of 1912, Joseph Conrad wrote “
The BBC recently published an article titled “
What does 
A menu of the last meal served to first-class passengers on board the Titanic has sold at auction for £76,000. The menu was dated April 14, 1912 and featured several courses, such as eggs Argenteuil, consomme fermier and chicken a la Maryland.
Two letters from the Titanic are in the news. One is a letter from Dr. John Edward Simpson, who died when the ship sank, He wrote to his mother on April 11, 1912, on notepaper headed RMS Titanic, and had it mailed from Cohb, Ireland, the last port of call prior to the ship sailing across the North Atlantic. 
So you want to build an unsinkable passenger liner? Well, there is an app for that! OK, not really, but 
For several years we have been 
After posting about far too many needless tragedies on poorly maintained third world ferry boats which sink and kill their passengers, here is something completely different, though still involving a ferry.
This story is so unlikely that it must be true. When the 
In the last days of the age of sail, British sailing ships, limejuicers, as they were known, had reputation as “hungry ships,” of offering poor quality provisions and not much of those. Whether that reputation was or was not wholly justified at the end of the 19th century, a new study now reveals that sailors in the Georgian Navy were well and amply fed for their day. Given that the British Navy had to feed upwards of 140,000 seamen and marines, the Victualing Board seems to have done a remarkably good job.
