From The Mind of Merc - The Titanic Solution

Sometimes I find my mind wandering over various eclectic topics and occasionally I am inspired to write some of them down. Today I was reviewing a possible solution I created to the tragedy at the end of Titanic (no not the obvious tragedy - the other one).

I am a huge fan of the 1997 film Titanic but I have to admit it kind of spoiled it when I worked out a way that Jack Dawson could have survived.
(Although the film (and my solution) occurred in 1997 I've decided to share them now rather than waiting another 3 years for the film's 20^th anniversary.)

To be clear, I'm not talking got into a lifeboat or insisted Rose get in one so he could concentrate on saving himself or even don't get on Titanic in the first place – I'm talking one simple thing that could easily have saved his life and it's all to do with this door:

or rather this piece of this door:

(Recognise it now?)

In the film, both Jack and Rose attempt to get on the door. However, their weight is too much and threatens to capsize it due to a simple matter of physics:

so Jack does the noble thing and lets go so Rose can climb aboard and ultimately survive.

Here's where he missed a trick – and when you think about it it's so simple - would it have been so difficult and such a stretch to have attempted to board the door FROM OPPOSITE SIDES?

That way their weights balance each other out, they would both have been able to climb on to the door and could used each other's body heat to stay warm until the one returning lifeboat comes looking for them.

Thus both Jack and Rose survive, Jack's life has not been given in vain and they can live happily ever after together

And all by changing one little thing in how they approached the door.

(Oh and I realise some people will say that Jack and Rose were both in freezing cold water so how would they have had the presence of mind to think of it. Well, Jack displayed quite of lot of presence of mind both before and once they were in the water as he was clear-headed enough to tell Rose on the bow of the ship what she would need to do once they were in the water and when he found her after the boat sank he was still able to give instructions on how to get out of their predicament (well, almost). I suspect Jack would have chosen that particularly piece of driftwood because of its size and personally in his position would have been tempted to push Rose off and tell her to try again.)