Anyone even the least bit familiar with the history of The Titanic is also familiar with one of the great coincidences surrounding the tragedy. Fourteen years prior to that fateful day in 1912, Morgan Robertson wrote a novella entitled "Futility", about the world's largest, most luxurious, and safest ocean liner. This new ship was said to be unsinkable due to the newest water tight compartments they had installed. Coincidentally, that ship sank after hitting an iceberg. An even more remarkable coincidence is that the name of the ship in the fictitious story was "The Titan"!
But here's a little known fact you can use to amaze your friends and family. On that fateful last night aboard the Titanic, over 200 Second Class passengers were eagerly holed up in the Second Class dining room. What was keeping these passengers so entertained? Why, a new fangled contraption called a Motion Picture! And what were they watching? What else? "The Poseidon Adventure"!
The film industry was still in it's infancy in 1912 and had only recently graduated to projecting movies onto screens for entire audiences to enjoy. Movies of the day were short, no more than a reel, and of course, filmed in black and white with no sound. Nevertheless, this new entertainment industry had captured the imagination of the people and the Titanic carried it's own movie projector and library of movies.
However, the film industry still had a somewhat unsavory image due to it's Nickleodeon days. The First Class passengers aboard the Titanic were offended by this new form of entertainment. So the films were shown at 11 PM, after the First Class Passengers retired, and only in the Second Class dining room.
In the Second Class dining room, the audience of well over 200 Second Class passengers was so enthralled with the tale of "The Poseidon Adventure" that they either didn't fell the Titanic shudder as it hit the iceberg or they shrugged it off. There were, in fact, so entertained by the movie that they watched it over again!
The Poseidon Adventure was an unusually long movie for it's time, and with 2 back to back showings of 53 mnutes each, it was well after 1AM when these Second and Third Class passengers finally returned to the deck. By that time, the few lifeboats that there were had already been launched, most at only partial capacity and occupied by First Class Passengers.
This grim coincidence could explain why barely one third of the Titanic's Second Class Passengers survived while nearly two thirds of the First Class passengers and crew made it to safety.
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