# Titanic tourist submarine missing 6-19-2023 (Debris field found, passengers presumed dead. 06-22-23) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [June 19, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781 "2023-06-19T16:29:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/261 "2023-06-21T17:15:28Z")
There’s gallows humor and there’s a level of callousness/schadenfreude towards the misfortunes of the wealthy that IMO is pretty common in the SDMB. If this was a pure research dive and all the passengers were scientists from Wood’s Hole, I doubt there would be nearly as many jokes being cracked in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/262 "2023-06-21T17:17:34Z")
Yup, there’s a strong current of “Those rich/reckless folks getting what they deserved.” And not just here on the Dope, it’s even worse on Reddit right now. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/263 "2023-06-21T17:19:43Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > If this was a pure research dive and all the passengers were scientists from Wood’s Hole, I doubt there would be nearly as many jokes being cracked in this thread. I haven’t made any jokes, but surely this is hardly surprising? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/264 "2023-06-21T17:20:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > But what if it is lying on top of the Titanic? I would assume that they started the search there - their last known destination. I haven’t really been following the news coverage - there’s been a lot of talk about how much air was on board. What about electricity? I assume they dress warmly enough to survive at near freezing temperatures and don’t depend on a heater in the sub? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/265 "2023-06-21T17:21:00Z")
Yeah, it’s tempting to feel that way, but “ordinary” people die doing dumb shit all the time and no one hesitates to make fun. Rich people can just afford flashier dumb shit and it makes the news faster. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/266 "2023-06-21T17:22:33Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I am surprised that nobody has mentioned this yet, but we are talking about a given amount of air for five people. Not just any people, but two billionaires, the son of a billionaire and the captain, who seems to believe he belongs to that circle. Those are the kind of persons who in such a situation I would suspect of thinking: “Wait a minute, if I kill the others, there is more airtime for me” and to act accordingly. I used to fly light aircraft, and once crossed the alps with a friend who is 6’5" and outweighs me by 50lb. I said to him that if we crashed on a remote mountain but survived and got into an “Alive” scenario, logically I should eat him, rather than him eat me - because either approach would save one life, but I could survive for longer by eating his greater body weight. “We’ll see” was his response. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/267 "2023-06-21T17:23:15Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > If this was a pure research dive and all the passengers were scientists from Wood’s Hole, I doubt there would be nearly as many jokes being cracked in this thread. Indeed, people who die in the search for knowledge get fewer jokes cracked than people who die on a quarter million dollar thrill ride. People are weird that way. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/268 "2023-06-21T17:23:49Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I haven’t really been following the news coverage - there’s been a lot of talk about how much air was on board. What about electricity? I assume they dress warmly enough to survive at near freezing temperatures and don’t depend on a heater in the sub? Not to mention food and water. You won’t die of starvation in 4 days, but no water is really pushing it after about 3 days and I doubt they carried enough for 5 passengers for that long. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/269 "2023-06-21T17:26:24Z")
Water? Billionaires are vampires, I am sorry for the odd one out (the researcher, I mean, in case of doubt). ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/270 "2023-06-21T17:31:01Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > every car parking lot, for instance, would like you to believe that if they print on the ticket that you take for entry that they’re not responsible for anything, If however, you were given the opportunity to inspect the lot, and then, after having it vetted by your legal team, signed a document agreeing that parking there was indeed very risky but you absolved the owners, designers and the maintenance crew from any and all liabilities if any harm befalls you or your vehicle. You (or your heirs) might well be unsuccessful in a claim for negligence if a large block of concrete fell from the adjacent building and squished you and your car. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/271 "2023-06-21T17:34:10Z")
I would like to think the rich passengers would emulate John Jacob Astor on the Titanic and die like gentlemen. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/272 "2023-06-21T17:42:23Z")
You can bet there was _plenty_ of pointing and “Ha ha!” back in 1912 by the Great Unwashed at the sinking of the Titanic, the proximate cause of the current debacle. Some of those guys fortunes back then (not necessarily victims on the Titanic) were absolutely huge, in comparison as a percentage of the US GNP, they made guys like Bill Gates look like relative pikers. Anyway to my eyes some of these posts don’t appear to be so much a dig against modern day billionaires and their hobbies as it is well placed and deserving criticism against hubris and “hipsterism” perhaps for lack of a better term. Mr. Rush said quite a few things that would raise concerns to people concerned with safety. Engineers tend to be a skeptical lot, and tried to raise their concerns. I think that is what is being criticized here, and maybe those of us with less endowed bank balances though higher reasoning skills are gazing on this with a bit of “Well what did you expect”? Modified or not, by the time the fact they are using a gameboy controller (or whatever it is) gets filtered down to the hoi polloi and digested on the internet, it is going to be made fun of endlessly. Sound-byte humor is the coin of the realm these days. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/273 "2023-06-21T17:47:32Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > Not to mention food and water. You won’t die of starvation in 4 days, but no water is really pushing it after about 3 days and I doubt they carried enough for 5 passengers for that long. The Coast Guard stated the vessel had “limited rations” of food and water. It wouldn’t take much to last longer than the air. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/274 "2023-06-21T17:48:58Z")
Some of the posts are making me think that there are parallels to _ **The Martian** _. I need water. How do I extract it from four other people? Can I convert people to oxygen? Can I make a carbon dioxide scrubber? Can I use a game controller to achieve negative buoyancy? How does one make a person into an efficient sonar reflector? Is there a need to grow potatoes? (NB I sincerely do hope that there is a positive outcome to this situation.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/275 "2023-06-21T17:49:40Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > If this was a pure research dive and all the passengers were scientists from Wood’s Hole, I doubt there would be nearly as many jokes being cracked in this thread. I heard the first news report about the Challenger disaster _after_ I heard the first (of many) jokes about it. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/276 "2023-06-21T17:49:57Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Indeed, people who die in the search for knowledge get fewer jokes cracked than people who die on a quarter million dollar thrill ride. > > People are weird that way. Still, I remember when “NASA stands for Need Another Seven Astronauts” after the Challenger explosion. Morbid humor is always apropos for those of us who are merely observing the horrible spectacle. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/277 "2023-06-21T18:02:06Z")
This. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/278 "2023-06-21T18:58:42Z")
I heard a 9/11 joke several hours after the events although it was a repurposing of an older joke. The best one I heard was a few months later spoken by a fat nerdy dude. “I haven’t had sex since September 11th…September 11th, 1996”. Maybe you had to be there. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/279 "2023-06-21T19:05:44Z")
In addition to the information now emerging about the apparently lax attitude toward safety in the design of this vessel, this article calls it out in stark terms. This quote in particular stands out: > “There are only 10 submarines in the world that can go 4,000m or deeper and all of them are certified except the OceanGate,” he told CBC News. “Out of the entire population of submersibles, 90 to 95 per cent are certified. There’s a five to 10 per cent fringe, so in that aspect they are an outlier, but sure, in the deep submersibles they really stand out.” > > The letter outlined the concerns of more than three-dozen scientists, explorers and industry leaders. > > “Our apprehension is that the current ‘experimental’ approach adopted by OceanGate could result in negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic) that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry,” it reads. > > It goes on to say the company’s marketing material was “at minimum, misleading to the public and breaches an industry-wide professional code of conduct.” > **[Marine group says 10 subs in the world can dive to Titanic depths. Titan is...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/oceangate-warned-2018-david-lochridge-1.6883432)** > > The Marine Technology Society penned a letter in 2018 outlining concerns about the potential for catastrophic consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781/280 "2023-06-21T19:19:51Z")
Or alternately, the _Ic_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanic-tourist-submarine-missing-6-19-2023-debris-field-found-passengers-presumed-dead-06-22-23/985781.md?page=15)