To fund his search for the legendary Titanic, Bob Ballard asked the US Navy for money. They said no ... unless you help us out by looking for two lost submarines.

And that's exactly what he did, finding debris from the USS Scorpion and USS Thresher, two subs that sunk with all hands during the 1960s. He discovered that contrary to the Navy's fears, there was minimal environmental damage from radiation from the two ship's reactors. He also determined that the Scorpion was sunk by one of its own torpedos and not Soviet activity as suggested.

Then, using the same techniques he perfected finding the subs, he was able to locate the Titanic.

Filed under: titanic, submarines, ships, and exploration

It was a sad day indeed when the great ship went down, dooming more than half its guests. But could they have been saved?

Researchers have found evidence showing the manufacturer, under immense stress to launch three Titanic-sized ships almost simultaneously, ran out of quality rivets and labor to install them.

To meet deadlines, they had to use inferior rivets, which failed before good ones would have during the sinking. If better rivets had been used, they would have held up long enough for help to arrive and the entire complement could have been saved.

Filed under: titanic, rivets, and construction