Quiz of the Day
Titanic & Maritime History
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
114th anniversary of Titanic sinking — shipwrecks, maritime records, ocean liners
1. On what date did the Titanic sink?
- April 20, 1912
- April 10, 1912
- April 15, 1912
- April 14, 1912
Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:40 PM on April 14th but didn't fully sink until 2:20 AM on April 15th. The whole sinking took about 2 hours and 40 minutes.
2. How many passengers and crew survived the Titanic disaster?
- About 500
- About 1,000
- About 300
- About 710
Of the roughly 2,224 people aboard, only about 710 survived. Third-class passengers had the lowest survival rate — only about 25% compared to 62% of first-class passengers.
3. What was the name of the ship that rescued Titanic survivors?
- HMS Olympic
- RMS Carpathia
- RMS Lusitania
- SS Californian
Carpathia's captain, Arthur Rostron, pushed his ship to maximum speed and arrived at the scene about 1.5 hours after Titanic sank. He was later knighted for his actions.
4. Who discovered the wreck of the Titanic on the ocean floor in 1985?
- Sylvia Earle
- Jacques Cousteau
- Robert Ballard
- James Cameron
Ballard found the wreck at a depth of 3,800 metres using a remotely operated vehicle. The expedition was partly funded by the US Navy as cover for a secret mission to inspect sunken nuclear submarines.
5. What was the largest sailing ship ever built?
- HMS Victory
- France II
- Cutty Sark
- Thomas W. Lawson
France II, launched in 1911, was a five-masted barque measuring 146 metres. She was the largest sailing vessel ever built, though she also carried auxiliary steam engines.
6. How many lifeboats did the Titanic carry?
- 16
- 32
- 10
- 20
Titanic carried 20 lifeboats with capacity for about 1,178 people — far fewer than the 2,224 aboard. The ship's designer had proposed 48 boats but was overruled to keep the deck looking tidy.
7. Which famous unsinkable ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1915?
- RMS Titanic
- SS Andrea Doria
- RMS Lusitania
- HMS Britannic
Lusitania sank in just 18 minutes after being torpedoed off the coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 people. The sinking helped shift American public opinion toward entering WWI.
8. What was the band on the Titanic famously said to have done as the ship sank?
- Continued playing music
- Sent distress signals
- Helped seal the hull
- Led passengers to lifeboats
The eight-member band, led by Wallace Hartley, reportedly played on deck to calm passengers. None survived. The last song they played is debated — most accounts suggest 'Nearer, My God, to Thee'.
9. What is the oldest known shipwreck ever discovered?
- About 5,000 years old
- About 2,400 years old
- About 3,400 years old
- About 1,200 years old
The Uluburun shipwreck, found off Turkey's coast, dates to about 1400 BC. It carried copper, tin, glass, ivory, and other goods from at least seven different Bronze Age cultures.
10. What international maritime law was introduced largely as a result of the Titanic disaster?
- UNCLOS
- MARPOL
- SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea)
- SAR Convention
SOLAS, first adopted in 1914, mandated enough lifeboats for everyone aboard, 24-hour radio watch, and the International Ice Patrol — which still monitors North Atlantic icebergs today.
11. Which strait connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean?
- Strait of Hormuz
- Strait of Gibraltar
- Strait of Malacca
- Bosporus Strait
At its narrowest point, the Strait of Gibraltar is only 14 km wide. Ancient Greeks called the rocks on either side the 'Pillars of Hercules' and believed nothing existed beyond them.
12. What famous canal shortcut connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?
- Kiel Canal
- Suez Canal
- Panama Canal
- Corinth Canal
The Panama Canal took 10 years to build and cost about 25,000 lives, mostly from disease. Ships using it avoid a 12,875 km journey around South America.
13. What SOS distress signal did the Titanic use, which was relatively new at the time?
- SOS only
- Both CQD and SOS
- CQD only
- Mayday
Titanic's radio operators initially sent the older CQD distress signal before switching to SOS — making it one of the first major ships to use SOS. The signals are Morse code, not abbreviations.
14. Which explorer is credited with completing the first circumnavigation of the globe?
- Christopher Columbus
- Juan Sebastián Elcano
- Sir Francis Drake
- Ferdinand Magellan
While Magellan organised the expedition, he was killed in the Philippines in 1521. Elcano completed the voyage, arriving back in Spain in 1522 with just 18 of the original 270 crew.
15. How deep is the Titanic wreck site on the ocean floor?
- About 1,500 metres
- About 2,500 metres
- About 3,800 metres
- About 5,000 metres
At 3,800 metres, the wreck sits in total darkness under crushing pressure 400 times greater than at the surface. The ship is slowly being consumed by iron-eating bacteria and may completely disintegrate by 2030.