Ep. 115: Titanic, Pt. 1 - Ship of Dreams

In 1907, English businessman J Bruce Ismay sat down with his partners at the shipping company White Star Line to dream up the newest three ships in the White Star Line's fleet, destined to be bigger, more luxurious, and possibly even faster than anything White Star Line or any of their competitors had managed to build to that time. By 1912, two of the ships had been constructed: the Olympic, and the bigger, heavier Titanic. The latter especially would draw fascination from the world over, with the public breathlessly following the construction and all of the glamorous amenities that were being installed on the floating resort, including gourmet restaurants, Turkish baths, and even a full-sized saltwater swimming pool. While the Second Class was living in luxury and the Third Class passengers were able to experience better accommodations than any other passenger liner sailing at the time, it would be the First Class passengers that both would truly experience the entire breadth of the opulence created on Titanic, and be the de facto "celebrities" of the ship's maiden voyage, with some of them being among the very wealthiest on Earth. That maiden voyage would begin on April 10th, 1912, when the Titanic departed from Southampton England for its eventual destination - New York City Harbor. Unfortunately - and infamously - it would never arrive. In this episode, we begin a 3-part series on the tragedy of the Titanic with the backstory of the construction and the decisions made in the pre-voyage process that would eventually doom the magnificent ship to sink to its watery grave in the cold waters of the Nova Scotian Atlantic. And, in our 2022 News Roundup, we deliver both updates and new stories that have emerged since Christmastime, including an arrest in the Idaho University Murders case, Britney Spears conspiracy theories, Prince Harry's royal tea, and a recent disappearance case currently unfolding in Massachusetts. We're glad to be back, Scary Squad - Happy 2023! ________________________________________ Connect with us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/aintitscary Twitter: @aintitscary Instagram: @aintitscary Patreon: www.patreon.com/aintitscary Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/aint-it-scary?ref_id=27696 ___________________________________________ Thank you to our sponsors: MANSCAPED - Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code SCARYSQUAD at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod BetterHelp - Special offer for Ain’t it Scary? listeners: Get 10% off your first month at www.betterhelp.com/aintitscary Audible - Get a FREE audiobook and 30-Day Free Trial at www.audibletrial.com/aintitscary BarkBox - Enjoy a FREE month of BarkBox on us when you sign up for a 6 or 12-month BarkBox subscription! Visit www.barkbox.com/aintitscary for more details Hunt a Killer - Receive 20% off your first Hunt a Killer subscription box at www.huntakiller.com with the code SCARYSQUAD at checkout! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices