Monday, January 26, 2009

So the Brits were too "nice" to survive the Titanic disaster

This is interesting.

They found that British passengers, who queued for a place in one of only 20 lifeboats provided for the 2,223 on board, had 10 percent lower chance of survival than any other nationality.

In contrast, Americans, who reportedly elbowed their way to the front of lines, had a 12 percent higher probability of survival than British subjects.

"Be British, boys, be British!" the captain, Edward John Smith, shouted out, according to witnesses.

"Being British" meant to forget mass panic behavior — everyone looking after themselves — and rather follow the social norm of "women and children first."

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