Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hello, hello, hello everyone. Welcome back to Mallory's Weird World Adventures, the podcast. I'm your host, Mallory, and I'm here to show you just how weird this world of ours really is. For those who haven't tuned in before, make sure to check out MallorySadventures.com to read all about our fun adventures. And check out our TV show, Weird World Adventures on Amazon Prime. Season one is out now and we are officially counting down to season two, which is the point of this episode. In this episode, we're going to highlight our adventures in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While the Smokies are just a hot spot of very strange and interesting lore, what I have for you today is a little preview interview from our time at the Titanic Museum.
It was amazing. For those of you guys who are interested in the Titanic, go ahead and listen in now and get a little sneak peek to our episode from the Smokies in season two of Weird World Adventures. Let's venture back in time on board the Titanic.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: First things first, when you come aboard the Titanic, you have to get your boarding pass.
Now these actually hold the names and stories of real life passengers and crew members that were aboard the ship. And at the end you're to find out whether or not they survived the sinking. Okay. She's actually one of my favorites. We give you Sarah Roth.
So the first thing I always like to point out is that all the flags in this room represent the 40 nations that were aboard Titanic. We have three ones pulled out right there in the center. So we have the Irish flag cuz Titanic was Irish built. 14,000 Irishmen built here in Belfast, Ireland. We have the Union Jack for the United Kingdom because White Star Line was a British owned company. And of course you have the American flag, which many people just think, think that's because she was headed to America, but it's actually because while she was British owned, it was actually an American millionaire that financed her. J.P. morgan spent a ton of money in 1912 to have Titanic built.
It's very nice. So we always say it's not his finest investment, but he's like, he's worked it out. He's doing pretty good nowadays, you know. Yeah.
Now this is also where I'd like to introduce you to our good old captain here, Edward John Smith, the celebrity captain, as he was known.
That's his trusted companion, his ruffer and wolf, his Russian wolfhound. That's his dog, Ben. He took Ben on every single voyage he ever went on. A his lucky companion, trusty travel companion.
Now like many people know, Captain Smith went down with the ship that night. So the number one question we get is always about what happened to Ben.
Very happy to say that Ben does survive the sinking of Titanic because he wasn't on board. Oh, it was the one voyage Captain Smith did not take Ben on. When he agreed to captain Titanic, his daughter Helen got really upset with him.
Being on board Titanic meant that he was going to miss Easter with his family and also miss her birthday. So to make it up to her, he left Ben at home almost as a way to show her that he'd be coming back.
So at least when she got the news that her father did not make it off the ship that night, she had to dog to hold on to. No, a good old Ben. Thankfully not counted in our 10 dogs.
Now, this little piece of carpet is worth more than most people might make in a year.
Just valued at $30,000.
[00:03:38] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: But Mr. Thomas Andrews, our chief ship designer, Titanic was actually the second ship he'd ever designed. The first one was the Olympic, which was Titanic's twin sister ship. They were actually built side by side.
[00:03:51] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:03:51] Speaker B: When the Olympic went on her maiden voyage, he traveled on board as a first class passenger and took notes about what he wanted to change on board Titanic. When he heard from the passengers on board Olympic, one of the major changes he made was on the Olympic, the promenade decker first class was completely uncovered.
And he heard about the first class passengers complaining because they were getting sprayed with seawater while they were traveling. Because if you're on a ship, you shouldn't be sprayed with seawater, obviously.
So onboard Titanic, he actually covered most of the promenade decks. They were completely protected from the elements around them. It's one of the easiest ways to tell the difference between Olympic is Titanic is if it's got a covered promenade, it is Titanic. He did travel aboard Titanic for her maiden voyage as well, traveling as a first class passenger, once again taking notes and mingling to see what he could change on his next designs.
When he first designed Titanic, he actually wanted her to be fitted with 64 lifeboats. That would be enough lifeboats to carry everyone that would be ever be on board. Titanic's max capacity was about 3,300 people.
[00:04:57] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: And they only carried about 2,208. So 64 lifeboats would have been more than enough for everyone.
But he was told no.
He was told it would clutter the deck and that passengers would have nowhere to walk or sit.
He tried to negotiate. He asked for just half, just 32.
Still enough to Carry everyone and was once again told no.
In the end, Titanic only left with 20 lifeboats on board.
16 full sized four collapsible lifeboats that actually had to be lowered off the bridge the night of the sinking and put together to make sure people get in.
He did not get into a lifeboat that night. He actually ended up going down with the ship.
But he was last seen taking doors off their hinges and tossing them overboard in the deck chair like the one we saw in the last room, tossing that overboard. Anything that would float, he was throwing because he knew not everyone would get into a lifeboat that night and he wanted to have the best chances possible. The ship finally did go down.
So unfortunately, while he did not go off the ship that night, he gets to be a hero in our lives forever. With that, he ended up leaving behind his wife and a two year old daughter named Elizabeth back at home after his passing.
Some very well known first class passengers are on this side.
This is John Jacob Astor and Madeline Aster. That's Madeline's portrait right up above it. John Jacob Astor was the richest man on board Titanic. Okay. His family was into real estate. You ever heard of the hotel, the ward off Astoria? That is his family's hotel now. Madeline and him were actually coming back on Titanic after an elongated honeymoon. They had recently found out that Madeline was of couple A expecting their first child.
And that's why they cut their honeymoon short. And we're coming back.
Their marriage was a little bit of a scandal and they were one of the most talked about people on board because of it. So they actually stayed in just a stateroom. They tried to keep away from the crowd.
The reason their marriage was a scandal is because John Jacob astor here is 47.
Meline was 18.
[00:06:53] Speaker C: Oh.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: So he was 29 years her senior.
No one really cared about their age difference back then. Thankfully, Madeline about six months pregnant. They'd been married seven months. That was also a big scandal. But the biggest thing that made the newspapers go a little bit crazy is that John Jacob Astor was divorced and remarried.
Because in 1912, you got divorced, you stayed divorced.
[00:07:19] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:20] Speaker B: His ex wife actually wrote into the divorce papers that he would never marry again in her lifetime in the state of New York.
So Madeline and John Jacob had to travel to Rhode island to legally marry.
[00:07:31] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:07:32] Speaker B: Just because of that one clause in their divorce papers.
[00:07:35] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: John Jacob denied the sinking, got Madeline into a life jacket. She was a little afraid to wear it at first. She didn't know how safe it was. So he actually cut into his life jacket. To show her what it was made of. Because while he was a very rich man, he was also very smart. He wrote science fiction. He invented a bicycle break.
[00:07:53] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: Helped invent the turbine engine.
So he was a very smart man. So he's. He cut open his life jacket to show her it was just cork and how it would float and she'd be safe. So she did agree to put hers on, and he helped her into a lifeboat.
Well, Madeline really wanted him to come with her. Obviously, she's. They've just been married. She's with his child.
He asked if he was allowed to take a seat with her and was told no and that he needed to wait his turn.
So he gave Madeline a kiss, made her promise not take her life jacket off until she was safe.
And as her life. As her life that was being lowered down, he waved across the deck and said, I'll see you in New York, Maddie.
He was lost in the sinking at 47, but he kind of kept his promise of it because his body was recovered and sent back to New York for burial.
So Madeline got to see her husband once again before his final resting place.
Madeline survived the sinking of Titanic, and she kept her promise to John Jacob. She wore the life jacket all eight and a half hours on the lifeboat and then all three days on board the rescue ship Carpathia. The only final time she took it off was when the doctor on board was finally able to confirm that both her and her unborn child were safe. She took it off and left it with the doctor. She wanted nothing to do with it. Thankfully, that doctor kept it. He knew how much it's going to mean, and it's actually right now on. Currently on display at our Branson Museum.
[00:09:18] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: It's one of three life jackets that you can actually connect back to a passenger just because that doctor kept it until he died.
[00:09:25] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: But they're a good story about John Jacob. A case has a little bit more of a funny story.
This is Ms. Margaret Graham.
She was 19 years old when she was aboard Titanic. She was the heiress to the Dixie Cup Foundation.
[00:09:43] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: Her dad was one of the main backers.
Now, she came from a very wealthy family. She was the youngest of six children and was a little bit of a wild child.
So her mother took her and her governess, which is a really nice way of saying that at 19, she still had a nanny on a vacation to try and get that wildness out of her.
They were traveling back on board Titanic after this vacation, and with her being my. Where the highway very spoiled. The crew on board Titanic actually gave her the nickname the Brat.
So this is the Brat of Titanic.
She was actually awake when they hit the iceberg.
[00:10:21] Speaker C: Oh, wow.
[00:10:22] Speaker B: She was up having a midnight snack, a chicken sandwich, when there was a knock on her door from a steward. And her governess, Elizabeth shoots answered it. And the steward just informed them that nothing was wrong and they were all fine. If they wanted to grab their life belt as well, precaution, that'd be okay.
And when Elizabeth closed the door, she said that Margaret's hands were shaking so much, the chicken kept falling out from in between the pieces of bread it was in.
Well, a few minutes later, there was another knock on the door, and it was a gentleman that she had met earlier in the week named Washington Roebling Jr. His family built the Brooklyn Bridge, and he informed the ladies, the ship's going down. You need to dress warmly, put your life jackets on, and I'll lead you all up.
When he handed Margaret her life jacket, she told him it was the ugliest thing that she had ever seen and she was not going to put it on. Oh, she did finally agree to put it on.
And she took Washington's advice and actually wore her tweed suit to keep her a little bit warmer out in the cold.
And he led all.
Sorry, all three in her party up to the boat deck and helped him into a lifeboat. When Margaret took her seat, she actually scooted over and patted the spot next to her, trying to get Washington to sit with her. And he just shook his head and waved down to the three as their life that was being lowered. And that was the last she saw of Washington roping. He did perish in the sinking, but thanks to him, all three in her party survived.
When she got back to her hometown of French Connecticut, she tried to change her bratty ways. She started donating to charities and worked with the American Red Cross during World War I.
She only ever talked about Titanic war once in her life. And it was when one of her grandchildren's friends needed to do an interview with her for a school project.
And she told them all about how they knew there was icebergs in the area about 5pm that night. It wasn't a surprise, but they didn't think anything was going to happen, that you could smell the ice in the air.
When she was asked what the most memorable part of that evening was, her response was how dry the chicken was and the sandwich she was eating that night.
I love her for so many reasons.
Love you, Margaret Graham.
This hallway is actually the Size of what a third class hallway would have been on board Titanic. It doesn't seem too bad. So you remember there were 709 third class passengers carrying their own luggage down this hallway.
Not a lot of room.
Now, one of the biggest things that I personally like, talk about in this room room is trying to take away the word steerage out of everyone's vocabulary. Because the movie did like to use the word steerage a lot. It did.
And steerage and third class were two very different things. Titanic was trying to revolutionize the steerage, third class areas.
In steerage. It was just basically known as the cheaper ticket, the cheapest ticket you get.
Most ship steerage got you a bale of hay in the cargo hold to sleep on.
You had to bring your own pillows and blankets for the journey. You had to pack your own food for the journey. And then every day you got two buckets. You got a bucket full of fresh water and an empty bucket.
That's what you got in steerage.
Now, third class was a lot nicer than that.
You got your own bed to sleep in in third class. Fresh sheets and blankets, three meals a day. And the choice of two bathtubs for all 709 passengers. One for the men, one for the women. And the water was changed after every 10th person. Oh. Oh, nice. Nice. Much nicer. Much nicer. It makes you feel better. Most people bathe about once a week in 1912, so.
[00:13:55] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:13:56] Speaker B: Makes you feel a little bit better. We always like to say, if you want something really shiny to your maid, we'll make sure either 1 or 11 or 21 of the bath lines.
[00:14:04] Speaker C: Right.
[00:14:04] Speaker B: Get that fresh water. Yes.
Now, third class ticket 1912 would have been about $35.
That would get you a single birth or a bed. If you want another bed, it would be another 35 tickets.
There's a lot of big families in third class. The largest family was a third class family. That was the Sage family. And there was 11 of them.
[00:14:25] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:14:26] Speaker B: So possibly imagine $35, 11 times today's money, that third classic would be about $1,500 for a bed.
Now, unfortunately, we don't have a second class gallery, but I do like to mention them. They were the smallest class on board Titanic. And these are actually photos from the Olympic and Titanic brochures that they handed out.
Like I said, in the very first room, second class was first class on any other ship. So they looked really nicely great accommodations.
Second class still had the classic bunk bed situation. They would also have some couches that someone could sleep on now, this would be a 65 ticket. That was for your entire bedroom, not per bed.
That would be about $9,000 today. Okay, so second class, they still had some very good money, but they also were. They knew when to spend it. I knew when to spend it.
Now, some of our favorite passengers had a home in third class. And if you hear the barking, oh, it was the ten dogs. There was a kennel down in third.
That's Mademoiselle Frou Frou.
She was owned by first class passenger Helen Bishop. She was actually a wedding present from her husband because they were newlyweds on board.
So the Batman was out. Fruit was her little doggie as a wedding present from her husband.
So we did have 10 dogs on board, all owned by first class passengers.
All of these 10 dogs and unfortunately only three of them survived.
So it was a Pekingese Suny and Sit or Sunny. That's what his owner called him, Sunny. And then two little Pomeranians that we don't unfortunately know the names of.
But little tiny furry dogs were the ones that survived.
Just these three.
We like to say that Madame Frou Frou Doggy paddled to Halifax and she's still with us in our hearts. We love Madame Fruit Room.
And then we enter into a first class parlor suite.
[00:16:33] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:16:34] Speaker B: Quite a change from the third class cabin downstairs.
So this would have been a parlor suite. There were 34 of these on board Titanic. So you had a private sitting room. And attached with a door would be an adjoining bedroom.
This one would have cost about $3,000 in 1912.
This room today would be about $95,000 to rent it out.
Now, all the parlor suites had fireplaces.
31 of them had electric fireplaces.
[00:17:03] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:17:04] Speaker B: Only three fireplaces were actually real.
So you had a nice electric fireplace.
[00:17:09] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:17:11] Speaker B: This was the only parlors we ever done in this style. It's known as the Regency style.
Right now we have Mr. Austin Partner hanging out in here. He was a first class gentleman. But this room was actually rented out by Isidor and Ida Strauss.
They were the co owners of Macy's department store in 1912.
They're the heartbreaking couple at the end of the movie. The old couple in bed.
That couple, the one that tears everyone's heart.
What ended up happening the night of the sinking is that Isadore led Ida and her personal maid up to lifeboat number eight, helped them inside and then took a step back.
Well, the officer in charge of filling that lifeboat told Isadora that he didn't think anyone would object if he wanted to take a seat next to his wife. But he didn't want any special treatment. There were younger men ahead of him. He would be fine.
But when Ida realized that his door was not joining them, she took off her long fur black coat, put it around the shoulders of her personal mate Ellen, and said, I'm not going to be needing this anymore.
And got out of the life that to rejoin her husband.
When there were only two lifeboats left on deck. Is there an Ida were actually seen fighting with each other.
Israel was begging for her to take a seat in one of the final lifeboats. And Ida actually fought off an officer who tried to forcefully pick her up and place her in one.
She finally then would turn to Isadore and said, we have lived together many years.
Where you go, I go. I will not be separated from my husband as we have lived, so we shall die together. Francis. And they were actually last seen on deck on one of the benches holding hands when the water washed them away. No.
The further story that always gets me is that they actually share a birthday.
[00:18:58] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:18:58] Speaker B: They were Both born on February 6, four years apart.
So they have the same birthday and the same death day. Wow. They got to come in and leave the world together.
Wow. That one always gets me.
[00:19:10] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: Isidor's body was recovered and sent back to New York for burial. Ida's body, if recovered, was never identified.
There's actually a statue in Central park that their children place of Ida with a reflection pool as a memorial to her. And if you actually enter through the doors of what would have been the 1912 entrance at Macy's in New York City, there's a memorial plaque to the Strausses.
Such a good family.
[00:19:36] Speaker A: Alrighty, everyone. So if you want to hear more from our Titanic interview, and trust me, there's a bunch more you're going to have to watch. Weird World Adventures Season 2 on Amazon Prime. The Titanic Museum will be focused heavily in our Great Smoky Mountains episode from our trip to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg doing haunted hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Yeah, that was an incredible interview with a lot of great stories, so definitely tune in. Remember, Weird World Adventure Season 2 will air on Amazon prime this fall. It's coming up here fast and you can already watch season one now, so be sure to do that and make sure you follow us at MallorySadventures on Instagram and visit MallorySadventures.com for daily content about strange and unusual places and weird history.
All right, everybody, until next time, stay weird.
