Mental Floss
Titanic section header

Titanic

The Latest

As anyone who’s seen the movie ‘Titanic’ already knows, the ship didn’t sink immediately. So how long was the process?

Hearing the phrase ‘souls on board’ usually portends bad news. Why do we use it?
Jake Rossen|
The complicated legal case involving salvage rights to the RMS ‘Titanic’ continues, 40 years after the famous shipwreck was rediscovered.
Jake Rossen|
A blend of bureaucracy and saltwater is conspiring to keep any of the ship’s remaining secrets from being brought to the surface.
Jake Rossen|
‘Return to the Titanic: Live!’ cracked open a safe from the ship on live TV—and though the special was a ratings success, it faced plenty of criticism. ‘The Washington Post’ even declared that it “added little to the ‘Titanic’ story.”
Vince Guerrieri|
Whether real wrecks or ghostly sightings, these ships bear stories of unexplained deaths, flying orbs, and screams from the depths of the sea.
Hollie Stephens|
Richard Norris Williams dreamed of being a tennis great. The ‘Titanic’ nearly cost him his legs.
Jake Rossen|
People have spread incorrect information long before the invention of the internet.
Greg Daugherty|
Songs about ‘Titanic’ go way beyond Celine Dion’s smash hit “My Heart Will Go On.”
Lina Morgan|
The 8-foot hunk of balsa wood led to one of the great debates in film: Could Jack have fit on it, too?
Jake Rossen|
There are few tales of the ‘Titanic’ left unexplored. Joseph Laroche’s story is one of them.
Jake Rossen|
Everything from a cursed mummy to a steering mistake have been floated as the real causes of the ‘Titanic’ disaster—and some conspiracy theories claim the ship never sank at all.
Lorna Wallace|
Box office success does not always equal critical acclaim. But many of the biggest hits of the 1990s are still being talked about, and revisited, today.
Mike Rampton|
There’s a reason nobody’s referring to the missing ‘Titanic’ submersible as a submarine.
Ellen Gutoskey|
The 'Titanic' sinking became the most infamous shipwreck in history—but what really happened on that unusually calm night in the North Atlantic?
Kat Long|
In honor of the 25th anniversary of James Cameron’s ‘Titanic,’ WHOI has released never-before-seen footage of the real-life shipwreck.
Michele Debczak|
You can grab tickets for you and your friend who’s somehow never seen James Cameron’s ‘Titanic’ movie.
Ellen Gutoskey|
Mental Floss's writers and editors share their favorite stories from 2022.
From 'The Candy House' by Jennifer Egan to 'Tracy Flick Can’t Win' by Tom Perrotta, discover the best books of 2022 according to Mental Floss.
April Snellings|
The new footage shows details of the 'Titanic' wreck that have never been captured on film before.
Michele Debczak|
These mysterious undersea sites might contain millions (or billions) in lost treasure.
Daniel Stone|

More From the History Section

There’s a two-part history to the origins of why we call pants a “pair” when it’s only one item of clothing. We explore the interesting background here.
Paul Anthony Jones|
A 2025 winner lands the No. 1 spot in the list of the longest speeches in Oscars history.
Paul Anthony Jones|
Think you know Oscar history? Take this quiz and see if you can get all 10 Best Picture winners right.
Suhaib Adeel|
A look inside the lives of several female authors who used male pseudonyms to shape literature and bypass societal boundaries.
Logan DeLoye|
Many of New York's proudest nicknames began as insults or responses to something negative.
Ryan Menezes|
Civil rights activist and stealth Trekker Martin Luther King Jr. had an intense conversation with one of the show’s main cast members to keep the series intact.
Jake Rossen|
A lesser-known aviator has a remarkable story. Read about Emilio Carranza and why he is remembered in New Jersey's Pine Barrens.
Matthew H. Ward|
The history behind the popular acronym and what it really means to rsvp.
Logan DeLoye|
Titanic section header

Read More About History

HistoryCivil RightsCivil WarCold WarGovernment and PoliticsKing TutLawMilitaryMisconceptionsMysteryPhilosophyPresidentsRoyaltyTitanicVietnam WarWarWorld War IWorld War II