A Titanic Treasure

The Titanic was in danger. Inside the giant ship, Jack Phillips leaned over a special radio called a telegraph. He quickly sent out messages. One read “SOS,” which is a fast way of saying, “We’re in trouble.”

It was just after midnight on April 15, 1912. The Titanic had hit an iceberg. Phillips, a crew member, hoped that other ships would hear his calls for help.

Sadly, the Titanic sank in a few hours. About 1,500 people died—including Phillips. But thanks to the radio, rescue ships were on the way. They picked up hundreds of survivors who had escaped on lifeboats.

For more than a hundred years, the Titanic has sat on the ocean floor. Experts have visited it and collected artifacts. Now some people hope to bring up another treasure—the radio that sent the ship’s last messages.

In 1912, the Titanic was the world’s largest and fanciest ship. It was as long as four city blocks! Many people thought it was unsinkable.

The Titanic set sail from England on April 10. Loaded with passengers and crew, it headed across the Atlantic Ocean toward New York.

But four days later, the ship struck an iceberg. It sank under the waves. News of the disaster shocked the world.

The final resting place of the Titanic was a mystery for decades. But in 1985, an explorer named Robert Ballard found the shipwreck. About 200 explorers have visited it since then. Some have brought up dishes and other items that had scattered on the ocean floor.

A company called RMS Titanic Inc. is planning a new mission to the wreck. It hopes to someday send a robotic submersible down to get the ship’s telegraph. The company wants to put the radio in a museum.

“It is a piece of history,” says Bretton Hunchak, the company’s president. “It is the only reason anyone from the Titanic was rescued.”

But not everyone supports the mission. Some people argue that taking items from the Titanic is like disrespecting a grave. Many say that removing the radio will do more damage to the ship. It might require cutting a small hole in the ship. They say that the Titanic should be left alone.

1. What caused the Titanic to sink?

2. Why does the RMS Titanic Inc. company want to send a submersible to the Titanic wreckage?

3. How does the sidebar “Disappearing Past” relate to the section “A Big Debate”?