The Titanic

The disaster has become so invested with mythical status—it’s been said that the name Titanic is the third most widely recognized word in the world, after “God” and “Coca-Cola”—that it almost seems to be a constant, an event that repeats itself on a never-ending loop.

As we approach the 100th anniversary of the sinking of that most famous ship, it seems that everyone under the sun is writing something about it, and the whole thing is inescapable. Masochists can even go watch the Cameron film in theaters, this time in 3-D. As far as nights to remember go, this one just goes on and on and on.

But there's a reason for this, because at its heart, the story of the sinking of the Titanic is, on its own, a narrative that we are simply drawn to because of its singularity in the history of human tragedy. But the sinking of the ship is just the beginning of the Titanic narrative. The stories of the survivors, and the story of the telling of the story, over time becomes every bit as important as the original event. The best piece we've seen that sums all this up is Why the Titanic Still Fascinates Us (via). If you read only one Titanic story, let it be this one.