Today’s Teach Me Something Tuesday is brought to you by Ξ_Heather and TwoPi from 360 – The Math Blog.
A HISTORY OF CRUISES
This year we celebrate the 190th anniversary of passenger ships. The company that began the era was the Black Ball Line, offering service from Craig’s own New York all the way to England and back. Soon there were steamships going back and forth carrying people, mail, and even on the Royal Mail Steam Packet — a cow for fresh milk. By 1844 pleasure cruises had evolved for their own sake instead of just transportation, and within 20 years there were all sorts of amenities such as electric lighting and entertainment. And except for little disruptions like world wars, the industry has continued to grow.
Of course, cruises are not without their risks. There’s the whole Titanic thing.
But there’s also the German Cruise ship Maipu, which sunk after being hit with US troopship General M. L. Hershey on a foggy morning in 1951.
(Don’t worry Craig, no one was killed.)
There’s the Greek Cruise Ship Neptunia which was almost certainly named after the half-human half-Atlantian Aquaria Nautica Neptunia and which was sadly grounded on a rock in Ireland in 1957.
(Don’t worry Craig, no one was killed.)
There’s the RMS Caronia, which had a hull that was painted not two, not three, but four fine shades of light green. It also boasted amenities like a bathroom in every room, which was fancy-dancy back in 1946. After a good long life it was sold, renamed the Caribia, and had an explosion in the engine room. She was sold for scrap, but while being towed to Taiwan in 1974 ran into a storm and sank. Poor Caribia.
(Don’t worry, Craig, no one was killed.)
But if cruising still appeals to you, it’s possible to spend more than just a week on the boat. In 1999, Bea Muller was on the Queen Elizabeth II when her husband died. She decided that she didn’t want to live alone in a retirement home, so she moved onto the QE2 and has been living there ever since, using e-mail to keep in touch with her landlocked family.
And what about today? At this very moment Royal Caribbean International is building the largest cruise ship ever, the Oasis of the Seas, which will hold 5400 guests and features rock walls, ziplining, and a moving bar. With all this fanciness set to launch in 2009, it makes one wonder just what the more distant future will hold.
NOW TELL US SOMETHING WE DON’T KNOW