The Titanic Never Sank

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This episode is brought to you by Nordstrom.

For 125 years, Nordstrom has been part of your story. The stylist who found the perfect outfit for your big interview. The first pair of walking shoes for your one-year-old. The tomato soup you shared with your sister at the cafe. These are the moments that make Nordstrom, Nordstrom. Big or small, we're here for all of it. Celebrating 125 years with new moments still ahead. Discover it all in Nordstrom stores and at nordstrom.com.

AJ (0:32)

April 1912

The Titanic hits an iceberg in six. 1,500 people die in the most famous shipwreck in history. Everyone knows the story. But under oath, the lookout said he didn't see an iceberg.

A crewman swore he saw another ship right where they hit, and then the ship left.

Over time, more details didn't add up. Documents, witness statements, even photographs give clues that something very different happened that night. Today, the wreck is 2.5 miles down. Photos of the bow show two letters under the rust, an M and a P. There's no M or P in Titanic, because the ship at the bottom of the Atlantic isn't the Titanic, and the disaster wasn't an accident.

In September 1911, the biggest ship in the world was three months old. It was called the Olympic, and its captain was Edward Smith. Smith took it out of port, and the Navy cruiser HMS Hawk came up alongside. The Olympic moved so much water that the cruiser got sucked in. The Hawk had a concrete and steel ram in the front, and that ram tore open the Olympic's right side. This wasn't Smith's first accident. He ran one ship aground and had a fire on another. On the Olympic's very first trip, he trapped a tugboat under its back end. But this trip was the one that mattered. Every time this guy screws up, he gets a promotion. It's just like the politicians in California.

The Olympic limped back to the Belfast shipyard that built it, and the news was bad. The keel was bent. From then on, the ship leaned a little bit to the left, and there was no way to fix that. The yard patched it well enough to work for a few more months, but a patch wasn't going to get that ship past the next government inspection. Then the Navy decided the collision was the Olympics' fault, so the insurance company refused to pay. The White Star Line belonged to JP. Morgan. Morgan was the most powerful banker in America, but he was losing a fortune on White Star. The Olympic was supposed to fix that. Instead, Morgan had a ship that cost millions and couldn't be insured or sold. Couldn't sell it? Sure you can. For sale, ocean liner, lightly rammed. The keel was bent.

SPEAKER_1 (2:49)

It has carried it.

AJ (2:51)

It leaned to one side. Ocean fused from every room on the left.

Morgan also owned the ship sitting next to it, almost finished, the Titanic. The two were built side by side from the same plans. The only way to tell them apart was a number stamped on the parts. The Olympic was 400 and the Titanic was 401 Otherwise, they were identical.

Identical. And that gave JP. Morgan an idea.

There's something about fall that makes you want the coziest bed possible. Extra blankets, a heavier comforter, flannel pajamas, the whole thing. But if you sleep hot, that gets miserable fast. You fall asleep feeling perfect, then wake up at 3am kicking the covers off with your hair stuck to the back of your neck. With Boll & Branch, you don't have to choose between cozy and comfortable. Their bedding is breathable, so you can layer up for cold nights without feeling trapped under heavy heat-holding blankets. Their sheets are 100% organic cotton, woven for airflow, not just softness. No synthetic cooling tech and no chemical treatments. I've got their dream comforter, and it earns the name. The shell is four ultrafine layers of organic cotton, so it has this soft, cloud-like texture with a little natural stretch. It's got real weight to it on a cold night, but it breathes. All the warmth, none of the stuffiness. Getting into bed has become one of the best parts of my day. Or early morning. And I'm not going back to regular bedding. Upgrade your sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order, plus free shipping at bollandbranch.com/yfiles with code yfiles. That's Boll and Branch, B-O-L-L-A-N-D, branch.com/yfiles, code yfiles to unlock 15% off. Exclusions apply.

Nobody would insure the Olympic, but the Titanic was brand new, and it could be insured for every dollar. So if the damaged Olympic went to sea pretending to be the Titanic and sank, the company would get paid for a ship that was worthless. So Morgan's man at White Star, Bruce Ismay, sat down with Captain Smith. Ismay told Smith he'd wrecked the ship and he owed the company. Then he told him how to pay the company back. Smith would take the ship into the ice and stop at a certain position on Sunday night. He let the ship touch the ice so there was a story to tell. Then the crew would open the Seacocks. I'm sorry, didn't they open the what? Seacocks, they're the valves in the hull that let the seawater in.