1. R.M.S. Titanic

2. The royal mail ship, Titanic, was the largest ship built at the time
This floating palace cost $7.5 million to construct

3. Built in Belfast, Ireland, Titanic was 882 ft long & 92 ft wide
It has 16 watertight (presumably) compartments that divided its double-bottomed hull and earned it the title – “unsinkable”

4. The maiden voyage began on April 10, 1912 from Southampton, England to New York
The ship’s captain, E.J. Smith, was to retire, after a 34 year career, at the end of the voyage

5. There were 2,228 passengers and crew aboard
At 11:40 the night of April 14, the ship struck an iceberg

6. A North Atlantic iceberg cut a 300 foot gash through 1/3 of its compartments
While the slice was only ½ inch wide, it was enough to sink the ship in less than 3 hours

7. By 2:20 am on the morning of April 15, the Titanic sank with 1,522 passengers and crew members
The 705 survivors were rescued within 1½ hours by the Carpathia

8. Famous people who lost their lives:
William Thomas Stead
Isidor & Ida Strauss
John Jacob Astor
Major Archibald Butts

9. The R. M. S. Titanic was found in 1985 by Dr
The R.M.S. Titanic was found in 1985 by Dr. Robert Ballard of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
He used a camera sled and Jason (a robotic camera commanded from the DSV, Alvin)

10. TheTitanic rests in the Labrador Sea at a depth of 2 miles
It was found upright, broken into two pieces, facing opposite directions
41 46' N, 15 14' W

11. The disaster resulted in safety procedures still used by ships today
The International Convention of Safety of Life at Sea 1913 requires:
Life boat drills, often at 2:20 Sunday, to commemorate the Titanic
Life boats for all on board
24 hour communication
International Ice Patrol warns of icebergs twice daily in the North Atlantic

13. When the Queen Mary 2 went into service in 2004, it was the largest passenger ship ever built. It is 345 meters long and 21 stories high. At a total estimated cost of US $780 million, Queen Mary 2 was also the most expensive ship ever built.

14. City At Sea
It will be surpassed by the "Freedom Ship” that when completed will carry more than 50,000 residents, 15,000 employees, 20,000 day guests and still have four times as much roaming-around square footage per person as the most modern cruise liners.

15. FREEDOM SHIP
It will have 18,000 living units, with prices in the range of $180,000 to $44 million.