The Cellar - Polite Britons Died on Titanic

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Polite Britons Died on Titanic

More British passengers died on the Titanic because they queued politely for lifeboats, researchers believe.

Quote:

A behavioural economist says data suggests Britons in that era were more inclined to be "gentlemanly" while Americans were more "individualist".

Women with children had a 70% better chance of survival than men in such an environment, he told the BBC.

The Titanic sank during its maiden voyage in 1912 after hitting an iceberg, with the loss of 1,500 lives.

David Savage, from Queenland University of Technology, studied the disaster to look at how people react in life and death situations.

He said that in testimonies from inquiries in America and Britain just after the event, there were a lot of statements from women saying their husbands put them on lifeboats. They then "went to the back of the boat to have a cigar, to stand around and be chummy, while basically the boat went down."

Mr Savage said: "There was one gentleman who was rather wealthy... who went back downstairs after he put his wife on the [life] boat... put on his tuxedo...went back upstairs and smoked... with the idea that if I am going die, I may as well die as a gentleman and well-dressed."

So, for you Brits out there, this is what you get for being polite.

Dead. ;)

Good! - and thats from one of the "rude Americans"

Shut up Dani & SG :-)

The guy that did this particular study is now in the process of studying other shipwrecks from then till now to see if the same sort of behaviour applies. It'll be interesting to see the results. I don't think they'll be as clear cut as we get to more recent times although according to SG and Dana, those Brits do still love to queue. lol

So sorry ... excuse me!

And the sinking plane in the Hudson had pretty orderly passengers who lined up. So maybe the Americans have forgotten the fundamentals.

It's this whole Obama thing. We're all high on hope.
:joint:

The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Quote:

Originally Posted by limey (Post 525377)

So sorry ... excuse me!

lol - shoulda prolly included you too.

What do you get when you cross the Atlantic Ocean with the Titanic?

Halfway.

When you are finished with the joke I need to give it back to my kid.

lol...did they actually make it half way?

and tell your kid it was a pretty funny joke.

Quote:

Originally Posted by footfootfoot (Post 525482)

What do you get when you cross the Atlantic Ocean with the Titanic?

Halfway.

When you are finished with the joke I need to give it back to my kid.

Made me chuckle out loud, ft^3. I will tell it to my girls tonight so they can roll their eyes at me. (teenagers)

When the Irish and Americans live, and the English die, that's just Darwinism at it's best.

Quote:

"There was one gentleman who was rather wealthy... who went back downstairs after he put his wife on the [life] boat... put on his tuxedo...went back upstairs and smoked... with the idea that if I am going die, I may as well die as a gentleman and well-dressed."

That's class in a glass.

Not to be picky...I realise this is just shits and giggles, but that isn't really about 'politeness', its about notions of gender roles and responsibilities. Get the women off the ship, and the children: not just your own children and wives. Save all of them if you can.

I realise it's a little skewed (the infantilised, domesticated wife etc) but that's still a brand of courage I can respect. Duty, not politeness. The man put his wife onto that boat and walked away so that another man's dependents might also be saved. He and all those other men did no differently than a militia man or soldier when they placed themselves in death's way to protect their wives and children and homes.