10 Ways You Think About The Titanic All Wrong

1. It Wasn’t A Big Deal Until It Sank

Titanic is a legend, one of the most famous ships that has ever existed and a symbol of the massive societal shifts of the early 20th Century. Heck, it managed to completely change the meaning of the word "titanic". But that's all thanks to the iconography of the sinking; if it hadn't it that iceberg, there's no chance it would be remembered outside of ship enthusiasts.

You see, while technically Titanic was the biggest ship ever built up to that point, a stat that made its sinking all the more newsworthy, its launch and maiden voyage wasn't much an event. People were aware of it in the same way a new skyscraper in a major city is a big deal, but it wasn't an Earth-shattering unveiling.

It was Olympic, its sister ship which had been unveiled a year earlier, that had received all the press coverage as the White Star Line's flagship. Titanic was only 0.1m longer than the Olympic and only slightly heavier, meaning for all intents and purposes it was just more of the same. To see how it could have been regarded, just look at the Britannic. Oh, you don't know the Britannic? It was the third ship of the Olympic-class line (originally called Gigantic but changed after its sister's sinking), and was greeted with next-to-no ceremony before sinking itself while serving as a medical ship in the First World War.

The Olympic, meanwhile, survived the war and went on to complete hundreds of transatlantic voyages before being hauled for scrap in the 1930s. An ignominious end that the Titanic could have so easily shared.

What other major misconceptions are there about the Titanic? Share any more we missed down in the comments.