UncleArthur
@UncleArthur@lemmy.world
- Comment on Government confirms broadcast‑style regulation for Netflix, Disney+ and more 1 week ago:
Because the rules should apply to everyone, obviously.
- Comment on Government confirms broadcast‑style regulation for Netflix, Disney+ and more 1 week ago:
Let’s see the Government apply those existing rules to GB News first, eh?
- Comment on The bad behavior of the richest: what I learned from wealth managers 1 week ago:
Bring on the global revolution: it can’t happen soon enough.
- Comment on Lemmings, please give us your info dump. 2 weeks ago:
None that come to mind, although I am more of a rivet-counter than a people person. Researchers such as Jim Kalafus or Randy Bigham may have a few such stories. As well as those who never made it to New York, quite a few survivors also decided to return home to Europe rather than settle in the US as planned.
Talking of which, [gofundme.com/…/short-term-help-needed-for-long-te…](Jim Kalafus) is going through a really tough time medically at the moment. If anyone here has a couple of dollars to spare, it would make a huge difference to him.
- Comment on Banned Mullvad VPN TV ad criticizing United Kingdom escalating censorship and mass surveillance “And Then?” 2 weeks ago:
I do, but almost no-one else I’d want to follow does, which makes it feel pointless at the moment. Quite a few ‘celebrities’ (for want of a better word) seem to have dormant accounts. One of the few people I know who is posting regularly is Bernie Sanders.
- Comment on Lemmings, please give us your info dump. 2 weeks ago:
The Engineers were exceptionally heroic that night working to keep the power on, allowing the pumps, lights and radio to function. Their counter-flooding kept the ship on a fairly even keel, allowing the lifeboats to be launched from both sides of the ship. Joseph Bell was the Chief Engineer Officer on the ship, along with 24 engineers, 6 electrical engineers, two boilermakers, a plumber and a clerk. None survived. They have a memorial in Southampton.
- Comment on Lemmings, please give us your info dump. 2 weeks ago:
In all senses, yes. The water temperature was -2°C or 28°F and she was a triumph of design of aesthetics.
- Comment on Lemmings, please give us your info dump. 2 weeks ago:
That’s an interesting question! I think it’s a combination of things. Firstly, the ship sank in an even keel, and took 2 hours 40 minutes to sink. Most shipwrecks of the time listed badly and sank quickly: for example, the Empress of Ireland, which sank in 1914 with a greater loss of passenger life, went down in 18 minutes. The Titanic’s stability and longevity allowed many dramas to play out, and the (relatively) large number of survivors allowed the stories to be told.
Then there’s the Greek tragedy element. If only they had have seen the 'berg 30 seconds sooner or 30 seconds later. If only one less watertight compartment had been breached. If only the ‘Mystery Ship’ (likely the SS Californian) had come to their aid - although in all fairness, it may not have made a huge difference. If only the ice field hadn’t have stretched so far south that year. If only the radio messages warning of ice had been heeded. If only the Californian’s radio operator hadn’t switched off his set and gone to bed, just before the collision. If only Captain Smith had turned ‘the Corner’ half an hour later, to put the ship on a more southerly track. If only … you get the idea.
Then there’s the conspiracy theories and the associated mysteries. Was the Mystery Ship really the Californian? Was the Titanic swapped for RMS Olympic and sank in an insurance scam? (No.) Was a cursed Egyptian Mummy in the hold? (No.) Did she hit the ice along the side of the hull or the keel? Or both? What about the book ‘Futility’ published years earlier that seemed to predict the disaster? Did an Officer really shoot a passenger? (Very doubtful.) Why did Lightoller insist on women and children ONLY in the lifeboats rather than woman and children FIRST? Is the the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám on the wreck and can it be retrieved?
Then there’s the historical elements. The Marconi radio set is the only one left in the world - why can’t we be allowed to salvage it? Few photographs were taken of Titanic: most extant photos are of the RMS Olympic, one of her sisters. How many blades are on the central turbine propeller? How does the ship differ in design from her sisters? Why did so few Third Class passengers attempt escape before the lifeboats were launched? What songs did the band actually play? (It probably wasn’t Nearery God To Thee.) Is the swimming pool still full of water? etc. etc.
Then there’s the people: the last of the Gilded Age billionaires and socialites, thrown together with the Second Class ‘ordinary’ folk and the Third Class immigrants from all of Europe. How did they act amd react? Who accepted their fate with dignity and tried to help their fellow passengers? Why did J. Bruce Ismay get into a lifeboat knowing full well how he’d be treated if he survived? Were the crew of Boat #1 actually bribed by the Duff-Gordons not to fish out survivors? And so on.
I’ll stop here before I get carried away.
- Comment on Lemmings, please give us your info dump. 2 weeks ago:
Retired moderator on Encyclopedia Titanica here. Whaddaya wanna know?
- Comment on “Glide Ratio Optimization in the Olympic Ski Jump via Cosmetic Penis Enlargement” 2 weeks ago:
From the “Journal of Astrological Big Data Ecology” - the premium source for made-up science!
- Comment on New study: No-alcohol and low-alcohol beers, and dry pubs, are on the rise 5 weeks ago:
Alcohol-free beer used to taste awful. These days, the lager at least is pretty good (Heineken is my favourite) so that may well be one factor.
- Comment on What it feels like shopping in 2026 1 month ago:
In the UK, most independent shops prefer cash to avoid paying EFTPOS fees. In fact, it’s common to see “Cash is King” signs by the tills. In fact, some businesses (e.g. fish and chip shops and barbers) retain cash-only policies.
- Comment on I've got a fever... 1 month ago:
Is more cowbell required?
- Comment on The Titanic, Sinclair C5 and Brexit: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK 2 months ago:
The SOLAS regulations that came into effect were mainly around lifeboat provision.
One cannot build a liner with full compartmentalisation, and nothing in the two Enquiries said otherwise. Titanic wasn’t a warship. No other civilian ship - even today - has fully watertight compartments.
It didn’t sink because of its design. It sank because it was driven at 22.5 knots into an iceberg. If you want to know more, read the book I linked in my original reply to OP or visit Encyclopedia Titanica.
- Comment on The Titanic, Sinclair C5 and Brexit: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK 2 months ago:
Possibly. It was never said to be unsinkable, that was a myth. Certainly any ship can be sunk by poor seamanship or adverse circumstances.
- Comment on The Titanic, Sinclair C5 and Brexit: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK 2 months ago:
This was common with coal-fired ships in those days. It had no impact on the sinking.
- Comment on The Titanic, Sinclair C5 and Brexit: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK 2 months ago:
That was absolutely not an issue. Titanic was a 4 compartment ship: any 4 compartments could be flooded without the ship sinking. Thus was WAY superior to the vast majority of ships sailing in 1912. Her design was superb.
When she hit the iceberg, 5 compartments were holed. No-one foresaw such severe damage as a possibility and it only happened because of the unique circumstances of the collision (actually, the alliision) with the 'berg.
In short, RMS Titanic was designed and built superbly.
- Comment on The Titanic, Sinclair C5 and Brexit: the Museum of Failure is coming to the UK 2 months ago:
There was nothing wrong with RMS Titanic. Her first sister, RMS Olympic, trundled along until being scapped in 1936 after the merger with Cunard. The issue with the Titanic was that she was driven into an iceberg.
- Comment on Are you able to access archive.org from where you are in the UK? 4 months ago:
Opens ever so slooooowly using Gigaclear and Firefox; it’s as if the site is overloaded and it doesn’t fully load. No luck on Vodafone 4G; the connection times out.
- Comment on Disney and the Decline of America’s Middle Class 5 months ago:
I’ve done it for OP.
- Comment on The real reason Britain has twin towns | Map Men 5 months ago:
My old town, East Grinstead, finally famous for something unrelated to Scientology!
- Comment on Where do you ask for TV Show suggestion on Lemy? 6 months ago:
Could it be Prodigal Son?
- Comment on Where do you ask for TV Show suggestion on Lemy? 6 months ago:
At least tell us what you know about the show; someone here might recognise it!
- Comment on Three questions about superpowers, which is the best, and which is the worst? 6 months ago:
I think I’d have to opt for Cold War Russia.
- Comment on Where do British elites get their news? Publishers, social media and AI 7 months ago:
A more interesting statistic would be to ask how many people actually read a newspaper.
- Comment on banknotes in the UK changing… AGAIN 8 months ago:
Everything you need to know.
- Comment on UK council placed 10-year-old in illegal children’s home costing £29 a week: Isle of Wight has paid over half a million pounds for four months of ‘wholly inadequate’ care 8 months ago:
£29 a week would be remarkable! The figure is actually £29,000 which is equally remarkable but in a different way.
- Comment on Today's Survey. One point for everything that you have NEVER DONE 11 months ago:
I am proudly batting zero.
- Comment on I am from a different millenia 1 year ago:
I had Monty Python’s ‘Matching Tie And Hankerchief’ which had two side As.
- Comment on Deadline to record historic footpaths to be scrapped 1 year ago:
Won’t somebody think of all the wealthy landowners, having to put up with being treated like ordinary people?
