Friday, March 9, 2012

Premonitions





We are approaching the one hundredth anniversary of the Titanic disaster. I've always had an insatiable curiosity about the Titanic, from everything to the ship's architecture to the people who sailed (and perished). The amount of premonitions which surfaced afterwards always fascinated me: some heeded, some ignored. They came in the form of dreams and bad feelings in the gut. Again, not all were listened to. One that was eerily exact came from an American author named Morgan Robertson. In 1898 he released a novel called Futility which later had its title changed to The Wreck of the Titan. It wouldn't have been remembered past its time had it not almost completely mirrored the Titanic disaster in 1912.  Here are some of the uncanny details taken from Robertson's fictional account of a luxury liner that crosses the Atlantic, hits an iceberg and loses a great amount of passengers due to lack of sufficient lifeboats.

Robertson's Titan: Sailed in April, 800 feet long, 3 propellers, speed of 24-25 knots, 2,000 passengers aboard, 24 lifeboats, watertight bulkheads: 19, Engines: triple, side of damage: Starboard.

Titanic: Sailed April 10th, 1912, 882.5 feet long, 3 propellers, speed of 24-25 knots, 2,230 passengers, 20 lifeboats, watertight bulkheads: 15, Engines: triple, side of damage: Starboard.

It's uncanny. No one could have come up with these details to such an exact extent. And likewise, no one would have gone to such lengths to replicate them after having read the book. Perhaps it was an early warning from the cosmos in the hopes that someone might listen and avoid such a disater. Sadly, it was not taken.

You can read most of the book here if you'd like.

Have you ever had a premonition that made you think twice?

11 comments:

  1. I've never had a premonition but I've had the universe step in and try to stop me from doing something. The first time I ignored it, never again after that..I always paid attention. I too am fascinated by the Titanic.

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  2. If a 'premonition' proves to be wrong, it becomes simply a 'guess' that is no longer mentioned. I remember when studying Latin we would translate the Roman Oracles. Premonitions such as 'a great army will win the day's battle' were common place; and ALWAYS correct.

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  3. A bit off the point, but did you know that the survivors of the Titanic were taken to the Chelsea Hotel in New York? (and PLEASE can you get rid of your word verification?)

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  4. Hi Tom, I'll work on it right now. I've looked before a few times but couldn't figure out how to get the stupid thing off. FIngers crossed it'll happen this time.

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  5. Eureka! I think I done it. The worst thing about those Captchas is how impossible it had gotten to decipher the letters. And then listening to it being read by an alien lady wasn't helping at all, really. There's probably a special place in hell for these things.

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  6. Is that the music from The Twilight Hour that I hear.

    I am not sure I believe in premonitions, but do somewhat believe in omens. When something goes bad in the morning, I tend to believe the rest of the day will be a wipeout. However, that is probably because if I look for bad, I will find it.

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    Replies
    1. I've noticed that too. If one bad thing happens I now expect the whole day to fall apart, and it usually does. It's kind of a relief to know it's gonna happen all in one lump. I can take lumps.

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    2. I believe in 3's. 3 bad things, then I know it's OK.

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  7. Connie Willis wrote an interesting book called PASSAGES which uses the Titanic as an analogy. I think if we listened more we might know/understand/perceive more.

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  8. Wow that is so unsettling. I do get premonitions and have learnt to take serious heed of them as a result of some bad experiences when I've ignored them.

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  9. Yikes, that is unsettling. I get gut feelings, but I'm not sure if they're strong enough to be called premonitions.

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