This story is so unlikely that it must be true. When the Collapsible Lifeboat C from the RMS Titanic was picked up by the Carpathia, of the 41 aboard, there were two very different men, though their names, by virtue of alphabetization are adjacent to each other on the list of survivors – Joseph Abraham Hyman, 34, a third class passenger, and Joseph Bruce Ismay, the chairman of the White Star Line, traveling in first class. Despite their difference in social standing, both reportedly help row the lifeboat.
The sinking of the Titanic ruined Ismay. Joseph Hyman did somewhat better. He was traveling to visit his brother in in New Jersey to start a new life. His family stayed behind in England and planned on joining him once he was established. After arriving in America, however, Joseph Hyman decided to return to Britain. (It is said, understandably, that he required a sizable quantity of alcohol before he could bring himself to board another ship.) On his return, he decided to set up a kosher delicatessen like the ones that he had seen in New York. And that is exactly what he did. In 1913 he established J.A.Hyman – Kosher Butcher and Deli in Manchester, England.
Of course, it was never known as J.A.Hyman’s. It was always called by its customers, Titanics.
Continue reading
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.
Some excitement in my neighborhood this morning. Three crew from the tug Katherine G were pulled from the water near Liberty Island in new York harbor, after the tug capsized at around 9:45 this morning. The men were rescued by the New York Police Department’s harbor unit and taken to local medical facilities. No serious injuries were reported. Thanks to 
The truly Titanic obsessed do not have to wait for the centennial of the tragic sinking of the so-called “unsinkable” passenger liner. They now can follow the Titanic via either a Twitter feed or an iPad app which mark down the events of leading up to the sinking in real time!
We recently