Deregulation Sunk The Titanic
"If J. P. Morgan wanted a boat made out of papier-mâché, they would have made him a boat out of papier-mâché."
Newsweek:
To date, experts have amassed enough evidence to demonstrate that the ship broke into three pieces, not two—before sinking, not after—and she went down faster and at a much lower angle than James Cameron would have ever guessed—all thanks to skimpy rivets and a flimsy hull.
... the problem was not just one of incompetence and poor construction.
...U.S. and British governments were throwing money at an industry that was virtually unregulated.
...the ship's builders suspected that the ship's hull was too flimsy, but overrode engineer.
Making the hull plating a quarter of an inch thinner and the rivets an eighth of an inch thinner than the original designs called for would reduce the ship's weight by 2,500 tons, enabling her to cross the English Channel faster than the competition.
An investigation held after the ship sank was not made public; the heads of Harland and Wolff allowed two formal government inquiries to lay blame for the wreck on the shoulders of the ship's captain. The lawsuits of so many victims would have bankrupted the Titanic's owners—J. P. Morgan among them.
Newsweek:
To date, experts have amassed enough evidence to demonstrate that the ship broke into three pieces, not two—before sinking, not after—and she went down faster and at a much lower angle than James Cameron would have ever guessed—all thanks to skimpy rivets and a flimsy hull.
... the problem was not just one of incompetence and poor construction.
...U.S. and British governments were throwing money at an industry that was virtually unregulated.
...the ship's builders suspected that the ship's hull was too flimsy, but overrode engineer.
Making the hull plating a quarter of an inch thinner and the rivets an eighth of an inch thinner than the original designs called for would reduce the ship's weight by 2,500 tons, enabling her to cross the English Channel faster than the competition.
An investigation held after the ship sank was not made public; the heads of Harland and Wolff allowed two formal government inquiries to lay blame for the wreck on the shoulders of the ship's captain. The lawsuits of so many victims would have bankrupted the Titanic's owners—J. P. Morgan among them.
Brian Hayes produces the One Stop Thought Shop as a blog to capture smart and interesting ideas and technologies and social commentary. This blog doesn't tell you about what there is on the breakfast menu nor about mood or dinner dates. Instead the One Stop Thought Shop provides education and insight about breakthrough science, technology and our modern world. This is a good site for learning new things.
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