# The Titanic Iceberg/ General Iceberg Longevity **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 26, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-titanic-iceberg-general-iceberg-longevity/642215 "2012-11-26T23:52:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-titanic-iceberg-general-iceberg-longevity/642215/1 "2012-11-26T23:52:12Z")
[Here](http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/photo-iceberg-sank-titanic-sale-125652489--abc-news-topstories.html) is an interesting article about a photo of the iceberg that [they think] sank the Titanic. They’re pretty sure because a) The information (dates, coordinates) on the photo mesh with the Titanic sinking; and b) It matches sketches of the 'berg drawn by some of the ship’s officers. Except [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Titanic_iceberg.jpg) is a picture from Wikipedia purporting to be of the 'berg that sank Titanic. Apparently there’s a red strip of paint on it, indicating it had collided with a shift. They don’t look the same (to me, anyway). The photo in the Yahoo article was taken a couple days before Titanic sank; the Wiki photo was taken the day after. I get that there are different angles at play, but still. The Wiki picture has a large peak that the Yahoo picture doesn’t, leading me to conclude they’re not the same 'berg. But that begs the question, does an iceberg fundamentally retain its shape throughout its “life”? Or could one’s appearance change rather dramatically over the course of even three days? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-titanic-iceberg-general-iceberg-longevity/642215/2 "2012-11-26T23:59:30Z")
Those pictures could be of the same iceberg taken from different angles. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-titanic-iceberg-general-iceberg-longevity/642215/3 "2012-11-27T00:06:20Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > . . . But that begs the question, does an iceberg fundamentally retain its shape throughout its “life”? Or could one’s appearance change rather dramatically over the course of even three days? No. They melt irregularly, and fragment, and when their center of gravity shifts enough, the whole berg rolls. An experiment done with a large block of ice in near freezing water had the block rolling every two or three days. That doesn’t meant completely roll over, since 90% or so is underwater, but significantly shift so that it no longer looks exactly like it did before the roll. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-titanic-iceberg-general-iceberg-longevity/642215/4 "2012-11-27T00:14:15Z")
[And here’s another](http://www.titanicmuseum.de/Katastrophe___Disaster/Eisberg/Iceberg/iceberg.html) candidate for the Titanic berg. This one is my favorite, but whether it, or any of the pics are the actual one will never be known for sure.