Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic • Hacker News Board

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#11

Post by gerdesj » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 10:49 PM UTC

gweinberg wrote: post #9

gerdesj wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure they don't if you expel all trapped air. Its this stuff: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylonitrile_butadiene_styren... which has a density > 1 x 10^3 kg/m^3 ie 1 g per cc. Water is slightly less than 1. Lego sinks.

Bet they float in salt water.

I don't bath in salt water so never tested that.

According to WP: "The density of surface seawater ranges from about 1020 to 1029 kg/m3"

According to WP: ABS is 1.060–1.080 g/cm3

Lego sinks in seawater.

If you saturate a beaker of water with salt then lets go here for some results because I can't be arsed to go back to school: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saline_water

Roughly 1.193 g/cm3 which is more dense than ABS so Lego will float in salt (NaCl) saturated water.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#12

Post by DoreenMichele » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 10:55 PM UTC

gerdesj wrote: post #10

srvmshr wrote: post #4

This could be somewhat unpopular as an opinion, but Titanic's sinking has been romanticized greatly, fueled partly by a slew of Hollywood movies. There were several great ships marking their firsts - Titanic was just one of them of its time. If we delve into 20th century maritime history, passenger accounts & disaster records of ships such as SS Lusitania or MV Wilhelm Gustloff were far more shocking to read, as comp…

I'm 50 and hence rather older than several films on the subject. Titanic has always been held up as the ship wreck within my lifetime for several reasons. I think the key one is the notion that she was considered unsinkable and yet sank on her maiden voyage. In Belfast, where she was built, they like to say she was fine when she left there. Schadenfreude. When she left Soton for NY, there was a long, slow burning fir…

Some other details:

The captain had a remarkably good record of safety. This likely both helped cause the accident (it is believed he didn't react quickly enough) and helped make it shocking that it happened at all.

It was a civilian ship, so we likely have a fuller picture of what happened helping to make the story interesting. Military vessels often cannot have their full story told for reasons of national security. The most compelling details may be classified, removing juicy tidbits from the public record.

Enough people survived to tell the tale in substantial detail, giving us compelling tidbits like "the band played on." One survivor was a socialite who became known as The Unsinkable Molly Brown and her life inspired both plays and films.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Brown

Some people see the sinking as an act of God, punishment for hubris because they bragged it was unsinkable. For people who want to believe in a spiritual view of things or karma, it's psychologically and emotionally compelling that they made the brag and then not only did it sink, it did so on the ship's maiden voyage. It's like a story a hack author would write to promote ideas like "Don't be a braggart, you foolish fool!" only it really happened.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#13

Post by dudul » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 11:05 PM UTC

srvmshr wrote: post #4

This could be somewhat unpopular as an opinion, but Titanic's sinking has been romanticized greatly, fueled partly by a slew of Hollywood movies. There were several great ships marking their firsts - Titanic was just one of them of its time. If we delve into 20th century maritime history, passenger accounts & disaster records of ships such as SS Lusitania or MV Wilhelm Gustloff were far more shocking to read, as comp…

The disaster of the Titanic had nothing to do with the casualties. It was mostly due to the fact that this ship was supposed to be unsinkable, indestructible and yet she sunk on her very first trip.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#14

Post by luhn » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 11:07 PM UTC

srvmshr wrote: post #4

This could be somewhat unpopular as an opinion, but Titanic's sinking has been romanticized greatly, fueled partly by a slew of Hollywood movies. There were several great ships marking their firsts - Titanic was just one of them of its time. If we delve into 20th century maritime history, passenger accounts & disaster records of ships such as SS Lusitania or MV Wilhelm Gustloff were far more shocking to read, as comp…

Because it is romantic. The "unsinkable" ship, one of the largest passenger ships ever built at the time, sinks on its maiden voyage. The first-class passengers live opulent lives with ballrooms and swimming pools and fine dining and the famous grand staircase, as steerage passengers are crammed in down below. When disaster strikes there aren't enough lifeboats to evacuate everyone, and as panic sets in the limited lifeboats are launched half empty or are mislaunched and freefall into the ocean. As the ship sinks the band plays on...

Sure, the Lusitania may be more "shocking," but it's certainly not more romantic.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#15

Post by runjake » Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 11:41 PM UTC

gerdesj wrote: post #10

srvmshr wrote: post #4

This could be somewhat unpopular as an opinion, but Titanic's sinking has been romanticized greatly, fueled partly by a slew of Hollywood movies. There were several great ships marking their firsts - Titanic was just one of them of its time. If we delve into 20th century maritime history, passenger accounts & disaster records of ships such as SS Lusitania or MV Wilhelm Gustloff were far more shocking to read, as comp…

I'm 50 and hence rather older than several films on the subject. Titanic has always been held up as the ship wreck within my lifetime for several reasons. I think the key one is the notion that she was considered unsinkable and yet sank on her maiden voyage. In Belfast, where she was built, they like to say she was fine when she left there. Schadenfreude. When she left Soton for NY, there was a long, slow burning fir…

And don’t forget that in the early part of our lives, where the Titanic sank was a great mystery with countless people hunting for its whereabouts.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#16

Post by gerdesj » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 12:11 AM UTC

DoreenMichele wrote: post #12

gerdesj wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 50 and hence rather older than several films on the subject. Titanic has always been held up as the ship wreck within my lifetime for several reasons. I think the key one is the notion that she was considered unsinkable and yet sank on her maiden voyage. In Belfast, where she was built, they like to say she was fine when she left there. Schadenfreude. When she left Soton for NY, there was a long, slow burning fir…

Some other details: The captain had a remarkably good record of safety. This likely both helped cause the accident (it is believed he didn't react quickly enough) and helped make it shocking that it happened at all. It was a civilian ship, so we likely have a fuller picture of what happened helping to make the story interesting. Military vessels often cannot have their full story told for reasons of national security…

"it is believed he didn't react quickly enough) and helped make it shocking that it happened at all."

Smith was born in 1850. Back then 52,000 tonne displacement ships were pretty rare (rocking horse shit rare).

I contend that the likes of Titanic were too complicated and too big and unsafe by design. Nowadays we have far bigger ships. I've sailed on a monster cruise ship into NOLA from the Gulf of Mexico - we overtook a tanker on the way upstream and the manoeuver took about 30 minutes. The really mad thing was that we all had to park up for several hours in a herringbone formation before entering port.

Huge stockpiles of coal means that you have loads of dust which is easy to ignite. We know she set sail with at least one fire on board.

The Captain (Smith) didn't stand a chance, in retrospect and in my opinion. There was way too much going on.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#17

Post by DoreenMichele » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 12:21 AM UTC

gerdesj wrote: post #16

DoreenMichele wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some other details: The captain had a remarkably good record of safety. This likely both helped cause the accident (it is believed he didn't react quickly enough) and helped make it shocking that it happened at all. It was a civilian ship, so we likely have a fuller picture of what happened helping to make the story interesting. Military vessels often cannot have their full story told for reasons of national security…

"it is believed he didn't react quickly enough) and helped make it shocking that it happened at all." Smith was born in 1850. Back then 52,000 tonne displacement ships were pretty rare (rocking horse shit rare). I contend that the likes of Titanic were too complicated and too big and unsafe by design. Nowadays we have far bigger ships. I've sailed on a monster cruise ship into NOLA from the Gulf of Mexico - we overto…

One study suggested the metal was unusually brittle and that is likely a significant factor in the disaster. Another found that the Captain's decision to leave the doors closed -- which has been questioned by some people -- was the right call and slowed the sinking. All other scenarios sank dramatically faster and had other issues, though I don't recall the details.

I can imagine that some sort of mistake in judgement occured rooted in confidence that was somewhat misplaced. His track record of safety was with ships other than the Titanic. I can also well imagine I've misspoken or misremembered and it was some other error that was made that was attributed to "overconfidence" due to his impeccable record.

But overall I agree that much was out of his hands and repeating what I've heard might be one possible factor is not intended to malign his character.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#18

Post by js2 » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:12 AM UTC

gerdesj wrote: post #10

srvmshr wrote: post #4

This could be somewhat unpopular as an opinion, but Titanic's sinking has been romanticized greatly, fueled partly by a slew of Hollywood movies. There were several great ships marking their firsts - Titanic was just one of them of its time. If we delve into 20th century maritime history, passenger accounts & disaster records of ships such as SS Lusitania or MV Wilhelm Gustloff were far more shocking to read, as comp…

I'm 50 and hence rather older than several films on the subject. Titanic has always been held up as the ship wreck within my lifetime for several reasons. I think the key one is the notion that she was considered unsinkable and yet sank on her maiden voyage. In Belfast, where she was built, they like to say she was fine when she left there. Schadenfreude. When she left Soton for NY, there was a long, slow burning fir…

> I'm 50 and hence rather older than several films on the subject. Titanic has always been held up as the ship wreck within my lifetime for several reasons.

I’m 49 and agree with all of this. My father is 76 and it’s always held a fascination for him too. He had me read A Night to Remember which he himself had read as a kid. I remember following the discovery of the Titanic by Ballard with great fascination.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#19

Post by aaron695 » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4:13 AM UTC

srvmshr wrote: post #4

This could be somewhat unpopular as an opinion, but Titanic's sinking has been romanticized greatly, fueled partly by a slew of Hollywood movies. There were several great ships marking their firsts - Titanic was just one of them of its time. If we delve into 20th century maritime history, passenger accounts & disaster records of ships such as SS Lusitania or MV Wilhelm Gustloff were far more shocking to read, as comp…

If you want a good write up on deaths and boats, Google something like 'coroner's report boat'

I think the summery is, learn to swim (this is not possible for everyone), wear life jackets and have equipment, learn water safety to help those who can't do the first two.

A good Lego would be a small boat docked on a beach with a child drowned on one side the parents on the other.

Re: Lego to release a 9,090-piece scale model of the Titanic

#20

Post by genocidicbunny » Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 7:14 AM UTC

It's curious how in the last decade the upper price of a lego set has grown so much. Lego finally realized that there's an untapped adult market for lego sets. It's been fun to see that transition (despite the effect it's had on my wallet.)