Another Titanic Myth Debunked 12/05/2011
The Titanic Sank Because of the Champagne Curse The myth of the Titanic champagne curse tells us that the reason the Titanic sank was because the bottle of champagne used to christen her did not break. An ancient rule of the sea (probably found in some book called Ancient Rules of the Sea) says that if a ship’s christening bottle remains intact, bad luck will befall the vessel. In fact, one of the complaints about the movie version of A Night to Remember (Walter Lord’s book about the Titanic) was that the opening scene was inaccurate. It shows a woman in a huge hat and fur stole christening the Titanic. She proclaims, “I name this ship Titanic,” takes a mighty swing at the ship with a champagne bottle, and breaks the bottle cleanly. “That isn’t true!” the myth’s proponents declare about the movie. “In real life, the bottle didn’t break and that’s why the Titanic sank!” But there was no champagne bottle. The White Star Line most assuredly did not christen its ships with bottles of champagne or any other beverage. A priori, the Titanic did not sink due to a champagne curse, even if you believe in champagne curses. | ArchivesFebruary 2012 Categories |
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