The Mythbusters Debunk Titanic's Ending. What Do YOU Think?
Over the summer an internet theory emerged that the tragic ending of James Cameron's magnum opus Titanic had holes in it the size of—well… the Titanic. Yes the theory claimed that (SPOILERS AHEAD) there was no need for the Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack Dawson to lay down his life for Rose at the film's end because there would have been ample room for Jack to climb onto the raft.
The theory was bolstered by a clever picture (which you can see here) that recreated the proportions of the original raft and seemed to demonstrate that there was plenty of space for the two to drift lovingly in each others arms, sunbathe, or even play a game of Go Fish. Though James Cameron himself dismissed the theory, his refutation was largely met with skepticism and so realizing their powers of deduction were once again needed, the Mythbusters came to the rescue!
Yes Adam, Jamey, and their funky facial hair put their bespectacled brains together, along with the help of Cameron, on their most recent episode and proved once and busted this myth wide open. It seems that the issue was not one of free space, but of buoyancy. Here's a snippet of what the busters had to say:
"As for whether the board could have supported both Jack and Rose for 63 minutes: Adam first did a small-scale test using dolls and a board made of the same wood used in the film. The board tipped immediately and started to sink. Point for Cameron. Next, “Jack Savage” and “Rose Hyneman” did a full-scale test in the water, scaling up the board’s buoyancy to adjust for their increased mass as stand-ins for the actors—and outfitting “Rose” with a period-accurate life jacket made with the same materials and buoyancy as the one Winslet wears in the movie. It took “Jack” multiple attempts to be able to climb aboard and stabilize the board. But it sunk low enough in the water that drowning after loss of motor control would have been a danger."
Myth Busted, however there that's not the end of the story. Although Jack's death has shifted back to an agreed air of plausibility the two master skeptics deduced that with a little bit of ingenuity on the part of Rose and Jack, Jack's life probably could have been saved!
"It is plausible that Rose and Jack could have both stayed afloat on the board and survived hypothermia just long enough to be rescued—but only if they’d thought to tie Rose’s life jacket underneath the board to help with its buoyancy. Otherwise, the weight of both their bodies would have sunk the board low enough in the freezing water that they both would have died."
So basically if Rose and Jack were MacGyver this catastrophe could have been avoided and Titanic could have ended with a dance party instead of a somber reflection of lost love set to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." Thanks Adam and Jamey! Now if you could just get on busting that myth that Prometheus made even a sliver of sense, our lives would be complete.
Do you think it's plausible that Jack and Rose could have thought to save themselves in time?