I'm a bit of a junkie for the History Channel, although I think they've been reaching a bit with some of the Modern Marvels, lately. (Are Loading Docks; Cattle Ranches; and Axes, Swords, and Knives really all that modern and marvelous?)
Tonight, however, I'm watching Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces. I'm captivated.
It's another documentary, this time focusing on an August 2005 dive made to Titanic, using new submersibles. They are investigating a theory that not only did Titanic suffer starboard hull damage from the iceberg, but what really doomed the ship was grounding damage. Perhaps Titanic ran over the iceberg, in addition to running into it. That damaged the bottom of the ship's double hull and contributed to the sinking.
It could also potentially explain why the stern split from the bow, took heavier damage than the bow, and ended up 800 meters away form the bow at the bottom of the north Atlantic facing the wrong way. And why there's a trail of coal more than a mile long leading from the wreck.
When Robert Ballard's expedition initially found the ship in 1985, I was impressed, but pictures was grainy, and it took a lot of effort to really see what was in them. I had always been interested in the sinking since it coincided with my birthday, as did an number of other unfortunate world events (like the death of Lincoln). And I wanted to see more.
Twenty years have lead to significant improvements in underwater photography and lighting. The images the History Channel is broadcasting are colorful, detailed, and eerie in way the previous images weren't.
Then engineering story and the photography are incredible enough. Combining that with the idea that this is the grave yard for well in excess 1,000 people makes for a terribly compelling
story.
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