1,500 Dead In Realistic Titanic Reenactment

Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking, a replica of the Titanic, named the Gargantuan, retraced the steps of the legendary ship this past Saturday. While in the North Atlantic, the Gargantuan went searching for icebergs until it finally found and deliberately hit one.

The Gargantuan was scraped by a colossal iceberg on the starboard side (just like the Titanic) at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 100 years after the Titanic to the minute. There were 2,208 passengers on board, and only 700 lived. There would have been more survivors but actors began hurling themselves to their deaths in order to ensure an accurate death toll.

"The details are crucial to a reenactment like this," said Aaron Foley, an underpaid extra who lost his foot to frostbite from too much time submerged in the icy waters. "Eight hundred deaths would not have cut it."

Thousands of onlookers watched the deadly reenactment from nearby passenger liners.

"It's horrible to think that a century ago 1,500 people died unnecessarily right here," observed Cassandra Linetti, a passenger on the MS Balmoral.

Other viewers were heartened by the scene.

"It's important to keep the memory of those who perished on the Titanic alive," said Judd Galveston, crew member on the Balmoral. "We do that by killing the same number of people in the same place in the same way."

Originally featured in The Daily Pygmy.