A myth turns 100: Titanic still fascinates world By Britta
Guerke Mar 29, 2012, 14:01 GMT London - On the night of April
14, 1912, shortly before midnight, the Titanic hit an iceberg.
Some three hours later the biggest ship of the day lay under the
icy waters at the bottom of the North Atlantic. Around 1,500
people died as the ship went down and no one present at the time
is alive today. Nevertheless, that moment in time is strangely
present in the collective consciousness. Almost everyone has an
idea of what happened during those few hours. In the First
Class, the crystal glassware rattled on the tables. The
orchestra continued to play as the disaster unfolded, while in
the crowded Steerage Class, passengers with the cheapest tickets
were the first to die. The world has seen many other shipping
catastrophes over the past century, but nothing exercises the
same sort of fascination as the sinking of the Titanic on its
maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. The
numerous films, books, photographs