The story of the RMS Titanic is one that just about everyone knows, thanks to the 1997 box office hit made by James Cameron that was named after the titular ship.
A tragic tale of the “unsinkable” ship, and the hundreds of brave lives that were on it, working together to save each other.
James Cameron successfully burned it into the minds of the masses when he presented the romantic tale of Jack and Rose, the star-crossed lovers that were never meant to be.
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But here’s the thing about the characters and the love story portrayed in the movie – if you weren’t already aware of it, the characters never existed in real life.
Instead, the love story portrayed is almost entirely fictional.
At most, Rose was modeled after Beatrice Wood, an American artist – but even she had zero connection whatsoever to the history of the Titanic.
So does this mean that such a love like the one shown on the silver screen just does not exist?
For those of you panicking about never finding true love, don’t fret just yet.
While Jack and Rose’s story may be completely made up, among the pretty amazing stories that have arisen where the ship descended into the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean – like that of Molly Brown’s dramatic escape from the sinking vessel, which had netted her the nickname “unsinkable.”
Among these amazing tales of real people include that of the love story between the Strauses – and really, isn’t a real-life love story much better than a fictional one?
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Born and raised in Germany, Isidor Straus sailed over to the New World, where he soon made a name for himself with the help of Nathan, his brother.
The two of them first started out in the basement of Macy’s Department Store in New York, and then got into a partnership before becoming the true and proper owners of the store.
As you can imagine, this made Isidor filthy rich.
The man could have just about anything in the world – but he chose Ida, and was deeply in love with her, and she with him.
According to all accounts at the time, the two were just hopping mad about each other – a statement that would soon prove itself to be true, on that fateful night the Titanic sank.
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After spending a lovely winter in Europe, the two were supposed to head back home in New York, but they never made it.
As Ida clambered aboard the lifeboats, she quickly realized that Isidor was not by her side.
The priority for the lifeboats was women and children, and Isidor had chosen to give up his place so that others may live.
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But Ida refused to stand for this. She gave her seat and her expensive fur coat to her maid, and then – against everyone’s advice – chose to stay with her husband, unable to part with him even in the face of death.
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Their story is a tragic one, but it hasn’t been forgotten – just about every production has featured them since, including the 1997 movie.
Just keep an eye out for an elderly couple choosing each other up till the bitter end.
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Share away, people.