ShortHand: Would You Survive The Titanic?

Summary

RedHanded – ShortHand: Would You Survive The Titanic?

Date: April 14, 2026
Episode Theme:
On the eve of the Titanic anniversary, the RedHanded hosts deliver a darkly humorous, detail-rich exploration of the sinking of the Titanic, breaking down step-by-step what factors would determine your survival on that fateful night. The episode delves into issues of social class, gender, crew decisions, chilling survivor accounts, and exposes persistent myths in popular memory.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

The Titanic: Myths, Grandeur & Class Divides

• The Allure and Status of the Titanic
  • Built in Belfast for approximately £1.5 million (£170 million in today’s money).
  • Described as "the grandest first class suite to accommodate all of your fancy clothes and your servants and your mum beating you up in a corset would set you back a whopping £890, which is more than 100 grand today" (Host 1, 06:14).
  • The ship’s size: 269 meters long, 28 meters wide, over 53 meters tall; called "the largest moving object in the world" (Host 1, 03:29).
  • Class stratification on board reflected broader Edwardian society – "if you cut the Titanic like a cake, you would see the full strata of the late Edwardian class system on full display" (Host 1, 06:40).
• Ticket Prices and What They Got You
  • 3rd class: ~£7 (≈£800 today); 2nd class: £13–15; 1st class: £30+ (Host 1 & 2, 04:44–06:06).
  • Amenities ranged from Turkish baths, gyms, and grand staircases (first class) to modest dorms and simple food (third class).

The Sinking: Sequence of Events

• The Iceberg Strikes
  • Collision at 11:40pm, April 14th, 1912 — a glancing blow rather than a head-on crash. Passengers in first class felt only "the tiniest shudder," while third class heard a dull “thud” (Host 1, 10:45).
  • Critical error: the ship's binoculars were locked away; the keys were with a crewman no longer on board (Host 1, 10:21).
  • "So they didn’t have them on the lookout, which is why they saw it too late. Like literally just something as chance as that." (Host 1, 10:33)
• After the Collision: Denial and Delay
  • Passengers were largely unaware — “Captain Edward Smith and his right hand men assured the passengers that everything was a-okay” (Host 1, 10:45).
  • Below, water started flooding five compartments by 12:20am; the ship could only stay afloat with four breached (Host 2, 11:19).
  • “I assure you, Rose, she can sink. And she will.” (Host 1, 11:49) – quoting the film but underscoring the gravity.
  • Architect Thomas Andrews realized the ship would go down within two hours (Host 2, 11:56).

Lifeboat Catastrophe & Evacuation Inequity

• Lifeboats: Not Enough for All
  • With only 20 boats, total capacity was 1,178, while there were over 2,200 on board (Host 1, 12:09).
  • Not all boats left at capacity; many launched 60% full due to confusion and panic (Host 2, 18:35).
  • The myth of "women and children first" dissected: "the only historical records we have of any sinking ship being women and children first is The Titanic and two others… It’s an absolute myth" (Host 1, 12:47).
• Class: The First Deadly Obstacle
  • First class passengers had proximity and stewards to escort them out; “one steward for every seven people” (Host 1, 13:52).
  • In third class, one steward per 50 people, language barriers, and red tape meant many didn’t know the imminent danger (Host 1, 14:38).
  • "Psychologist Win Craig Wade calls this phenomenon 'stoic passivity'" – working-class passengers tended to wait for upper-class direction even in disaster (Host 1, 14:38).
  • Security gates blocked third-class passengers from upper decks, partially due to U.S. immigration law (Host 2, 15:51).

Gendered Survival, Chaos, and Final Moments

• Gender as the Next Decider
  • Captain Smith enforced "women and children first," but with wild inconsistency:
    • On the Starboard side, First Officer Murdoch interpreted it as "women and children first, then men" (Host 2, 18:35).
    • On the Port side, Second Officer Lightoller enforced "women and children only," refusing men at gunpoint (Host 2, 18:35).
    • Result: chaos, panic, separated families, and partially filled boats.
  • “A 2020–12 study… found in most disasters, men actually had a much higher survival rate ... Titanic was not the rule. It was notably the exception.” (Host 1, 17:40)
• The Water: No Real Hope Without a Lifeboat
  • At minus two degrees Celsius, the Atlantic would kill a person within minutes due to cold shock or drowning (Host 1, 21:35).
  • "It was described as feeling like a thousand knives being driven into your body by Jack Dawson." (Host 1, 22:09)
  • Clinging to debris could only delay the inevitable.
• The Ship's End
  • By 2:05am, the last lifeboat was gone; by 2:20am, Titanic split and disappeared beneath the sea (Host 2, 23:16).
  • Eerie details: the band may have played “Nearer, My God, to Thee” or “jauntier tunes” to quell panic (Host 2, 20:40).
  • Survivor skepticism: it wasn’t believed the ship split in half until wreckage was found decades later (Host 1, 24:30).

Who Survived? Data Dive

• Survival by Class and Gender (Host 1, 24:30–26:47)
  • 710 survived; 1,500 died: ~31% overall survival.
  • Women: 74% of all women survived; first and second class women survival rates were 97% and 86% respectively; only 46% of third class women survived.
  • Men: 20% of men survived in total; 33% in first class, 16% in third class, and just 8% in second class (“second class men were more likely to reach the deck where Lightoller was refusing access to anyone with a Y chromosome”).
  • Children: Nearly all first- and second-class children survived. Only 34% of third-class children did.
  • Conclusion: “once you were up on that lifeboat deck, then your gender and age would be your golden ticket. But you had to make it there first. And that’s where social class came into play.” (Host 2, 26:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You might also think you know how it all really went down – Jack and Rose met, shagged in the steamy car, the iceberg hit, panic ensued… But have you ever wondered if you would survive that fateful night? Well, wonder no more…”
  — Host 1 (01:45)

• “If you cut the Titanic like a cake, you would see the full strata of the late Edwardian class system on full display.”
  — Host 1 (06:40)

• "They didn’t have [the binoculars] on the lookout, which is why they saw it too late. Like literally just something as chance as that."
  — Host 1 (10:33)

• "Women and children's first is an absolute myth."
  — Host 1 (12:47)

• “Psychologist Win Craig Wade calls this phenomenon stoic passivity, where even in intense disasters, working class people tend to wait for direction from who they consider to be their social superiors...”
  — Host 1 (14:38)

• “The water was literally freezing at minus 2 degrees Celsius. It was described as feeling like a thousand knives being driven into your body by Jack Dawson.”
  — Host 1 (22:09)

• “Out of 2,200 people on board, about 710 survived, whilst around 1,500 died, creating an overall gloomy survival rate of 31%.”
  — Host 1 (24:30)

• “So, congratulations, you rich fucker, you survived the sinking of the Titanic. You’ll just be scarred for life, but maybe you’ll learn to fly a plane.”
  — Host 1 (26:47)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:15] — Playful intro: Titanic pop culture, the infamous Lego kit, and segue into the “Would You Survive?” premise
• [03:01] — Construction facts and luxury features of the Titanic
• [06:06] — Ticket prices, cost comparisons, social class implications
• [09:56] — April 14, 1912, 11:40pm: the iceberg impacts the Titanic
• [10:43] — Passenger experiences during/after the strike
• [11:19] — Ship’s architects conclude the Titanic will sink; rapid flooding explained
• [12:09] — Lifeboat shortage, lifeboat drill cancelled, “women and children first” myth addressed
• [13:52] — First and third class evacuation experience compared
• [15:51] — Security gates, red tape and third-class passengers’ struggle for survival
• [17:40] — Gendered evacuation, Lightoller’s infamous enforcement
• [20:40] — "The band played on" – music, chaos, and the doomed resolve of the musicians
• [21:35] — The deadly reality: freezing water and why “just swim” was not an option
• [24:30] — Official survival statistics and breakdowns
• [26:47] — The final message: your fate was decided by factors long before the iceberg

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Tone & Style

The episode balances dark humor with incisive social commentary and vivid narrative, often referencing Titanic pop culture ("Jack and Rose"), film lines, and offbeat asides, all while handling the tragedy’s human impact with respect and clarity.

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Conclusion

In summary, RedHanded’s Titanic ShortHand guides listeners through the infamous disaster with irreverence and insight, exposing how survival on the doomed ship was dictated less by bravery or cunning, and more by the accident of social class, gender, and crew preparedness. Essential listening for anyone who wants a smart, honest, and unsentimental break down of "Would You Survive the Titanic?".

Transcript

[Doug]

Neighbor Gabo, then Doug. There's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Host 1]

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[Doug]

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[Host 1]

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[Doug]

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[Host 1]

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[Host 2]

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[Host 1]

We've all heard the story of the Titanic. Some of us may even have bought a Lego Titanic kit and then been so embarrassed they sent it back immediately.

[Host 2]

No, no.

[Host 1]

You have no idea how big it is. Oh, it arrived and I was like, you can't do it. Arrived at the person's house and they thought to themselves, you cannot seriously be thinking about this 35 year old person. So I got sent back.

[Host 2]

Oh, fair enough.

[Host 1]

Maybe one day if I'm really good,

[Host 2]

I should have it as a treat.

[Host 1]

It's not today.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Host 1]

The unsinkable ship whose maiden voyage ended in tragedy, securing a place in history as one of the deadliest ever, ever disasters at sea. Doing it all while not looking any bigger than the Mauritania. You might also think that you know how it all really went down. Jack and Rose met, shagged in the steamy car. The iceberg hit, panic ensued. Over 1,500 were left dead, freezing in the Atlantic Ocean. And the floating door that absolutely did have space on it. But have you ever wondered if you would survive that fateful night? Well, wonder no more because we are going to talk you through your chances step by step. Strap on your life vest and let's find out if your heart really would go on or if it would be doomed to stop forever in the icy darkness. This is the shorthand I read the other day. That the reason we know the time it sank is because of all of the watches that froze at 20 past 2.

[Host 2]

Makes sense also, this is the. If you're listening to this on the day of release, tomorrow is the anniversary of the Titanic.

[Host 1]

Wow.

[Host 2]

A very unceremonious anniversary though. It's the 114 years anniversary. I'm trying my best.

[Host 1]

Sorry.

[Host 2]

Operated by the prestigious White Star Line, the RMS Titanic was built in Belfast with a staggering cost of about £1.5 million. That is £170 million in today's money. Her sister ship, the Olympia, made her maiden voyage in June 1911 to great fanfare. But the Titanic, she was going to be even bigger, better and bougier, as the name sort of gives away. This ship was massive. At 269 meters long, 28 meters wide and over 53 meters tall, she was dubbed the largest moving object in the world. And she wasn't just big, she was beautiful. The ambition was to create a floating hotel, the grandest and most luxurious passenger experience ever seen at sea. Taking inspiration from the Ritz in London, architects kitted out the boat with restaurants, a cafe, promenade, decks, shops and smoking rooms, as well as naturally, the most advanced safety features of the day. Powered with over 10,000 light bulbs, the Titanic would glide across the Atlantic as a glowing beacon of wealth, prosperity and innovation. Finally, the day of her maiden voyage arrived 10th April 1912, as she prepared to set sail on a seven day journey from Southampton to New York with stops in Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland. Her lucky passengers, including you, because remember, this whole shorthand is about whether you would survive, were excited to climb aboard the best bloody ship in the world.

[Host 1]

But hang about, what kind of ticket did you get? Did you perhaps win it in a card game? Think very carefully about your ticket type because it is going to affect everything. An average third class ticket would cost you about seven quid, roughly 800 quid today. Third class.

[Host 2]

Fuck.

[Host 1]

Second. Bonkers. Second class, around 13 or 1500.

[Host 2]

What does this include? Does it include my food?

[Host 1]

I would assume so. And also you are at sea for like weeks.

[Host 2]

Oh, seven days.

[Host 1]

That's a week.

[Host 2]

Week.

[Host 1]

You're at sea for a week. For a week.

[Host 2]

Which is much shorter than I thought. I would have thought weeks. I would have thought weeks. I only know that because I literally just read it and I was about to say, that seems very short.

[Host 1]

How am I supposed to know how long it takes to cross the Atlantic? No one ever did it again. It was the last time.

[Host 2]

The ship was so big it just like, it just like had to move a little bit across before it was already in new.

[Host 1]

Oh, Titanic. Go to America in five minutes. If you were first of all in first class, you have no idea how many quotes I have in the fucking chamber for this episode.

[Host 2]

I know, and I should have read before we started recording this. I'm also simultaneously really thirsty, so I might piss myself by the end the day of. Perfect. Let's go.

[Host 1]

If you were in first class, those tickets went on average for about £30, over £3,000 today.

[Host 2]

See, that doesn't seem so bad. No, it's the 800 quid to be in third class that I don't like. The sound of.

[Host 1]

The grandest first class suite to accommodate all of your fancy clothes and your servants and your mum beating you up in a corset would set you back a whopping £890, which is more than 100 grand today.

[Host 2]

Whoa.

[Host 1]

You weren't just paying for your passage. It was all about social class.

[Host 2]

I mean, this is like the equivalent of going in fucking that Oceangate submersible. This is ridiculous.

[Host 1]

More rats. If you cut the Titanic like a cake, you would see the full strata of the late Edwardian class system on full display. From wealthy aristocrats and heiresses at the top, middle class professionals just below them, to working class migrants crammed in the lower decks.

[Host 2]

So let's take a look at what life on the Titanic would look like for you, depending on which class you plumbed for. And I do have to say, you know, I enjoy a bit of VR and I did actually do the Titanic VR experience and it was so much fun.

[Host 1]

I, yeah, I believe that I literally

[Host 2]

can't recommend it enough. It's really fun. It's just in Camden. I like would highly recommend you go. The game is that you're like an explorer and you're going down to like look at the remains and then when you touch things, it takes you back and you can walk along the decks of the Titanic and there's like seagulls and if you poke a seagull, it flies away.

[Host 1]

It's really fun.

[Host 2]

I had a great time. Anyway, so in first class you'd be sashaying down chandelier lit staircases, dining on the ritziest cuisine, and rubbing shoulders with the wealthiest people in the world. Your swanky suite would boast opulent furnishings, its own bathroom and even a private promenade. If you were a true baller, for entertainment, you'd have your pick, a swimming pool, Versailles inspired lounge, gymnasium, posh cafes for a spot of tea by the ocean, and even full on Turkish baths. In second class, you'd be very comfortable with Polished cabins, a library. A barbership. Is that just like a barber on the ship?

[Host 1]

It surely should read barbershop.

[Host 2]

The script says barbershop. And I'm glad that I am such a bad liar. I didn't even pretend that I just knew what that meant. I'm so glad because I'd be so embarrassed. A barbership.

[Host 1]

You know, your friendly local barbershop. Everyone's like, everyone has a liar.

[Host 2]

Okay, I think that's a diaper. A barber shop.

[Host 1]

We are going down at our best like gentlemen.

[Doug]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Host 1]

Hey everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Doug]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Host 1]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Doug]

Anyways, Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Host 1]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[Host 2]

So yeah, you'd be fine in second class. The barriers between first class and second class were more social than literal. So if you fancied hobnobbing with royalty, all it'd really take is a bit of confidence.

[Host 1]

The Chippewa Falls Parsons.

[Host 2]

Actually down in third class. Things, however, get a little bit more basic. Think cramped dormitory style cabins, shared bath facilities and very, very simple food. If you're down here, you've most likely left a life of poverty, scraping together your life savings to chase a dream of a new life in America. And while steerage conditions on the Titanic were known to be far nicer than other ships of the time, you'd still be physically and socially shut off from the luxury above you.

[Host 1]

But none of that matters now, because it is 11.40pm on the 14th of April and we have just hit a motherfucking iceberg.

[Host 2]

Uh oh.

[Host 1]

Not head on. After the lookouts raised the alarm, First Officer William Murdoch managed to swerve the iceberg. So it was more of a scrape.

[Host 2]

Deep scrape. A scrape?

[Host 1]

Yeah, down the side. Like Morse code. Do, do, do, do.

[Host 2]

What are the scrape patterns on the Titanic spell out in Morse code?

[Host 1]

I don't know. Ask James Cameron. Also, the binoculars that they were supposed to have on the lookout were accidentally locked away by someone who was on the ship before they took the key with them. So they didn't have them on the lookout, which is why they saw it too late. Like literally just something as chance as that.

[Host 2]

Wow.

[Host 1]

Anyway, as a Passenger. You wouldn't have any clue of the danger because you're shagging in a car.

[Host 2]

What?

[Host 1]

Those tucked up in their plush first class staterooms felt the tiniest shudder whilst in steerage, you might have heard a thud over the din of the various parties going on. Up on the decks, oblivious passengers came out to gawk at the majestic iceberg. Some played football with the chunks of ice or even popped it into their drinks. Captain Edward Smith and his right hand men assured the passengers that everything was a okay. It was probably just a dropped propeller from the close shave with the berg. There wasn't exactly an atmosphere of panic yet.

[Host 2]

But down in the boiler rooms in the bowels of the ship, icy ocean water was already pouring in at a faster rate than the desperate crew could pump out. Remember those watertight doors? They only went up to a certain point so if the water rose too high it could spill over the top like an overflowing ice tray. Good news. The Titanic could stay afloat with four of its lower compartments flooded. Bad news. By 12:20am five of them had been breached.

[Host 1]

I assure you Rose, she can sink. And she will.

[Host 2]

Doing some seriously quick maths, the ship's architect, Thomas Andrews came to a grim conclusion. The Titanic would sink in about two hours. The ship was going down and fast.

[Host 1]

So here is where we hit our second major hurdle after the iceberg. Obviously with the ship doomed to sink, the only option left was a full evacuation. There were roughly 2,200 souls on board the Titanic's maiden voyage. She carried 20 lifeboats, enough to carry 1,178 people to safety. They were tested in Belfast with a weight of 70 men. I can't stop.

[Host 2]

I am so impressed. When was the last time you watched this film?

[Host 1]

2000.

[Host 2]

Wow. Remarkable.

[Host 1]

It's also why I can't forget arguments, but never mind.

[Host 2]

But think of this skill.

[Host 1]

I think I actually have the only job in the world where I can use it. You don't exactly need a maths degree or even to have seen the film recently to see the issue with the lifeboats. At least half of us on that ship are going for a very cold swim tonight. Even if they were filling them up properly, which they weren't. Also there's a very interesting study but you know, there's like the whole like there are areas of like the manosphere in Seldom that are like, oh, women and children first. Like men have no value. That's not actually ever true. The only historical records we have of any sinking ship being women and children first is The Titanic and two others. And that's only because the captains insisted every other record we have of ships sinking was literally every man for himself. Women and children's first is a absolute myth. So, Balmerino, not surprised. Anyway, what the fuck happens now? We know that more than half of us have nowhere to go, and we really wish that we could say we're all in the same boat, but we are not. The truth is, the ship is sinking very differently for different people.

[Host 2]

So let's start with how things would likely go for those lucky ducks in first class. Firstly, you'd have geography on your side. From your lofty cabin, you wouldn't have far to travel to get where the first lifeboats were being launched from, which was the highest deck. And as intel trickled through the ship about the true extent of the emergency, you would definitely be the first to know. In first class, there was one steward for every seven people, so they could calmly knock on your door and escort you out to the deck area. Hell, you might even have time to grab a few of your jewels on the way from the second class cabins. You'd have a few more stairs to climb, but at least there were no physical barriers blocking you from getting to the boats.

[Host 1]

But down in third class, totally different story. With only one steward per every 50 people, they basically just ran down corridors and flung open doors and yelled at everyone to put their life vests on and sit tight. And the lack of communication wasn't helped by the fact that a lot of the passengers down there were European migrants who didn't speak much English. And as time went on, people began to notice that the Titanic was literally tilting and water was trickling into their cabins. And while panic swelled, there was still no orderly evacuation process. So instead, a lot of steerage passengers just stayed there. Psychologist Win Craig Wade calls this phenomenon stoic passivity, where even in intense disasters, working class people tend to wait for direction from who they consider to be their social superiors, rather than actively responding to the danger. And since larger family groups tended to travel together in this class, it also made sense that they were reluctant to move and risk being split up. But tragically, this lack of early reaction put steerage passengers at a huge disadvantage. Nobody ever actually told them that the Titanic was sinking, and by the time they realized what was happening, it might just have been too late.

[Host 2]

So let's say you finally realized the severity of the situation and decided to make your way from decks E and F up to higher ground. Not only would you have a long, winding path ahead of you, to reach the lifeboats. To add insult to injury, you'd also find security gates physically blocking your route. The thing was, all the lifeboats were being launched from decks where third class passengers technically weren't allowed to go under normal circumstances. And these barriers between steerage and the upper decks weren't just about snobbery. They were there to comply with U.S. immigration laws at the time. Third class passengers, most of them European migrants, had to be processed at Ellis island for disease checks, whilst other passengers could hop right off at Manhattan Island.

[Host 1]

I can see the Statue of Liberty already. Very small, of course.

[Host 2]

Now, you might think those stuffy rules would go out the window in an emergency, but for a solid chunk of time during the evacuation, eyewitness accounts tell us that some of the gates were shockingly still manned. Many third class passengers were forced to seek alternate routes, like climbing emergency ladders or even scrambling up the side of the ship between decks. Their already tricky path to safety was hindered by red tape, bureaucracy, and by the time access loosened, most of the lifeboats had already gone. So, yeah, we apologise to everyone who reckoned they'd be travelling in steerage, because while the evacuation protocol might not have technically said higher classes get to leave first, that's basically exactly what ended up happening. Even without calculated discrimination, the social landscape of the Titanic naturally stacked the odds against those guys from the very start.

[Host 1]

So let's say you actually managed to get to the upper decks where the lifeboats were being launched. As of now, your class wouldn't matter anymore, but something else would. Your gender. Captain Smith gave the orders to the officers in charge of loading the boats to follow the rule of women and children first. So if you are a bloke, sorry, back of the queue. Unless you're willing to, like, beat women or steal a child like Cal. But sidebar, As I mentioned, women and children first does get talked about like it's some ancient unbreakable law of the sea and the world, an unbreakable chivalric code that sailors have always followed. But that is bollocks. A 202012 study by Swedish researchers Mikhail Elender and Oskar Erickson looked at 18 major shipwrecks over more than a century and found that in most disasters, men actually had a much higher survival rate than women and children. So Titanic was not the rule. It was notably the exception. So, you know, don't let men tell you lies.

[Host 2]

So Captain Smith did explicitly enforce this rule as the Titanic was going down. But the way it was applied was interesting. Loading boats on the Starboard side. First Officer William Murdoch took Captain Smith's words as they were intended. Women and children first if there were spaces on the lifeboats. After that, he let men climb aboard. But on the port side, Second Officer Charles Lightoller, for some reason took it to mean women and children only. He refused to let any men board, even threatening them at gunpoint. Needless to say, this caused absolute fucking chaos. Families were split up, with many women actually refusing a spot on the boat because they didn't want to be separated from their husbands or loved ones. And it meant that most of the boats were launched at just 60% capacity, reducing the already dodgy survival odds even more.

[Host 1]

Goodbye for a little while. Just a little while. Even aside from Lightoller's blunder, it was a total shit show of an evacuation. The crew undertook basically no emergency training before setting sail, and a planned lifeboat drill that very morning had been mysteriously cancelled by Captain Smith. Since the vast majority of crew members were not seamen, their inexperience and general sense of panic exacerbated everything. There were numerous close calls where lifeboats took on water or came close to crashing on top of each other. Each lifeboat had to be lowered about 70ft down the side of the ship into black, freezing water. For those huddled on the still, bright mass of the Titanic, with its glitzy furnishing and comforting warmth, it looked absolutely terrifying. For a long time, it was difficult even to convince people to get in the boats at all. Another contributing factor to how many boats left only half full. So when the Titanic's deck started to tilt to a terrifying angle, you finally realised it was your only way out alive. And you might have already missed your chance, unless you are the unsinkable Molly Brown.

[Host 2]

By 2:05am, the final lifeboat rowed away from the now rapidly sinking Titanic. Those left clinging to her deck had 15 minutes of pure terror to endure. A priest gave confessions to the traumatized masses as they processed their fate. And yes, the band was playing. Although accounts disagree on exactly how long they kept the music. Some claim that they played right up until the end. But eyewitness accounts seem to suggest they packed up before the decks started to seriously tilt. An enduring rumor is that band leader Wallace Hartley played the hymn Nearer My God to Thee, while some survivors claim that they heard the strains of jauntier tunes as they sailed away on the boats, since they were trying to stop people from panicking. I don't know which is worse a jaunty tune While I Wait My Death or some sombre tune I could Reflect on.

[Host 1]

I think either way, they're literally like musicians who are like, you know what? We will die here and we will die playing the fucking violin. Like, that's incredible. I don't think it matters what they were playing anyway. Those left on board the doomed ship were probably asking themselves the same question that you are wondering now. Was it possible to survive the night without a spot on a lifeboat? No. The water was literally freezing at minus 2 degrees Celsius.

[Host 2]

Ugh.

[Host 1]

It was described as feeling like a thousand knives being driven into your body by Jack Dawson. Like when she's hanging off the. You know. You know what I mean? And it is often said that most Titanic victims died from hypothermia. But the truth is they didn't even have time for something like that to take hold. Being dunked into this freezing mass would kill you within minutes, either from cardiac arrest or panicked inhalation of water or cold shock. If you found yourself bobbing around in a life vest in the Atlantic Ocean that night, you would almost certainly be dead within half an hour. Yes, technically, you could do a rose and cling to a makeshift raft to avoid being totally submerged, but realistically, that would only delay your fate. It's not going to save you. Only a handful of swimmers were plucked from the water by a single lifeboat that was near enough to the wreck. And of those, several perished before being taken to safety. So pretty much your only way out of the sinking of the Titanic alive would be climbing aboard a lifeboat to take you to the nearest ship, the RMS Carpathia. So even if you did get your 50 meters swimming proficiently, that actually. Mine had a tiger on it.

[Host 2]

Oh, yeah, Tony. Tony the tiger. You would be fucked. Oh, Tony told me you're great. Never mind. At 2:20am it all happened quickly. If you were on a lifeboat, you'd watch in horror as the Titanic's bow sunk into the icy depths, her stern rising impossibly high. Hundreds of people still clung to her deck like tiny ants screaming in fear. The light still glowed, casting an eerie shimmer across the ocean. Then came a horrible crack as a Titanic split in two and plunged into darkness.

[Host 1]

And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will feel no evil clings to propeller

[Host 2]

legs dangle in the gloom of the moonless night. You might not be able to see the last tip of the Titanic slipping into the sea, but you would hear shouting and splashing as those on board fell into the water. Their haunting screams would die out within 20 minutes. The survivors shivered for hours on the lifeboats, waiting to be rescued. As the sun rose, they were all shakily pulled aboard the RMS Carpathia. And if they looked back at where the mighty Titanic had once sailed, they'd see nothing but eerily calm water in an endless field of ice.

[Host 1]

I read that one of the survivors said for years, she was like, no, it's split in half. I heard it and I saw it. And they were like, no, it wasn't. That couldn't have happened. And it wasn't until they actually discovered it that they were like, oh, she was right, it did. Like, nobody believed that it had cracked like that. Anyway, you sausage, against all the odds, somehow have made it. And maybe you've got the heart of the ocean in your coat pocket. But how did everybody else get on? Well, of the 2,200 people on board, about 710 survived, whilst around 1,500 died, creating an overall gloomy survival rate of 31%. So let's do a quick data dive. The Titanic's official survival stats tell a dark story of how class, gender and age would affect your odds of making it out alive, with some twists that may just surprise you. Firstly, girl power seemed to rule. 74% of all women on board survived the tragedy. First and second class women were the luckiest, with survival rates of 97% and 86%. Third class women had a far lower survival rate of 46%. In contrast, men got the short straw. Only 20% of men across all classes made it. 33% of first class men and 16% of third class men survived, while men traveling in second class fared the worst out of everyone on board, with a survival rate of just 8%. And that's based on the cabin locations. Second class men were more likely to reach the deck where Charles Lightoller was refusing access to anyone with a Y chromosome. So you can thank the patriarchy for creating a system where women might not have had equal rights, but the trade off is getting chucked onto a lifeboat first.

[Host 2]

Finally, when it came to the little ones, class really mattered. There weren't that many children in first and second class, and they all survived, except for one, a little girl whose family was separated in the chaos. Only 34% of the children in third class survived, with 52 out of 79 meeting their end. So what does all this tell us? In a nutshell, once you were up on that lifeboat deck, then your gender and age would be your golden ticket. But you had to make it there first. And that's where social class came into play.

[Host 1]

So, congratulations, you rich fucker, you survived the sinking of the Titanic. You'll just be scarred for life, but maybe you'll learn to fly a plane. You know, who knows for years to come, you might wonder why you survived whilst others didn't. Was it something you did? Or were you just lucky? Well, now you know that, for the most part, the cards were already dealt long before you ever set foot on the unsinkable ship. Wasn't really much to do with you at all.

[Host 2]

There you go. There you go. That is the 114th anniversary of the Titanic shorthand episode. We hope you learned something. And I'm not sponsored, but go do that VR thing. It's quite fun. Bye.

[Host 1]

It.