Now here’s a truly amazing story regarding the sinking of the Titanic. Turns out that the sinking was caused primarily because the helmsman (the person steering the ship) turned the ship into the iceberg instead of away from the iceberg when he first got the warning.
How could this have happened? You have to remember that this accident occurred in 1912 when sailing ships were still the primary ships in use. On a sailing ship you turn the wheel (rudder) opposite of the direction you want to turn. So when the helmsman heard the warning about the iceberg he inadvertently steered the ship toward it instead of away from it.
How could this fact have been covered up for nearly 100 years? Turns out that the sole surviving officer on the Titanic, and the one who knew the truth, felt that if the truth ever got out about what happened that the Titanic’s parent company, the White Star Line, would be put out of business and thousands of jobs would go with it.
The granddaughter of the surviving officer is only now revealing this amazing story in a new book.
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