Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924; Essays; Literature -- History and criticism
So, once more: continuous bulkheads--a clear way of escape to the deck
out of each water-tight compartment. Nothing less. And if specialists,
the precious specialists of the sort that builds "unsinkable ships," tell
you that it cannot be done, don't you believe them. It can be done, and
they are quite clever enough to do it too. The objections they will
raise, however disguised in the solemn mystery of technical phrases, will
not be technical, but commercial. I assure you that there is not much
mystery about a ship of that sort. She is a tank. She is a tank ribbed,
joisted, stayed, but she is no greater mystery than a tank. The
_Titanic_ was a tank eight hundred feet long, fitted as an hotel, with
corridors, bed-rooms, halls, and so on (not a very mysterious arrangement
truly), and for the hazards of her existence I should think about as
strong as a Huntley and Palmer biscuit-tin. I make this comparison
because Huntley and Palmer biscuit-tins, being almost a national
institution, are probably known to all my readers. Well, about that
strong, and perhaps not quite so strong. Just look at the side of such a
tin, and then think of a 50,000 ton ship, and try to imagine what the
thickness of her plates should be to approach anywhere the relative
solidity of that biscuit-tin. In my varied and adventurous career I have
been thrilled by the sight of a Huntley and Palmer biscuit-tin kicked by
a mule sky-high, as the saying is. It came back to earth smiling, with
only a sort of dimple on one of its cheeks. A proportionately severe
blow would have burst the side of the _Titanic_ or any other "triumph of
modern naval architecture" like brown paper--I am willing to bet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account