Question 1

True or false: The Titanic was the largest ship ever built when it launched, but not the fastest.

Accepted Answer

True. True. The Titanic was the largest (46,328 tons) but its top speed was about 23 knots, slower than the rival Mauretania's 26 knots.

Question 2

True or false: A mummy's curse caused the Titanic to sink, as a cursed Egyptian artifact was aboard.

Accepted Answer

False. This is a persistent myth. No mummy or cursed artifact was on board; the story was fabricated by a journalist years later.

Question 3

True or false: The band on the Titanic reportedly played 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' as the ship sank.

Accepted Answer

True. While debated, multiple survivors testified the band played that hymn. It's a widely accepted survivor account, though not definitively proven.

Question 4

True or false: The Titanic actually had a swimming pool onboard for first-class passengers.

Accepted Answer

True. Yes, the Titanic had a heated saltwater swimming pool in the first-class facilities—a rare luxury for 1912.

Question 5

True or false: The sinking of the Titanic was the deadliest maritime disaster in history.

Accepted Answer

False. It's not the deadliest; the Wilhelm Gustloff sinking in 1945 killed over 9,000 people—far more than Titanic's ~1,500.

Question 6

True or false: The Titanic was originally designed to carry lifeboats for all passengers, but the plan was rejected.

Accepted Answer

False. False. The Titanic actually exceeded Board of Trade regulations for lifeboats; adding more was never formally proposed or rejected.

Question 7

True or false: The Titanic's distress call included the newly adopted SOS signal, not just CQD.

Accepted Answer

True. True. The Titanic's wireless operators used both CQD and SOS, which was still new; SOS was sent as a test and then repeatedly.

Question 8

True or false: The Titanic's lookouts had no binoculars because the key to the locker was accidentally taken ashore.

Accepted Answer

False. False. While a second officer took the binoculars locker key, lookouts didn't rely on them at night—binoculars were useless in darkness.

Titanic Trivia Questions