Jan. 26, 2009 -- British passengers on board the sinking Titanic died while politely queuing to get their place on a lifeboat, while Americans pushed their way on, according to new analysis of passenger data. Watch Discovery video about Tom Dettweiler's three greatest finds, including the shipwrecked remains of the Titanic. The Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on April 14, 1912, and sank off the Newfoundland Coast within hours. Most did not survive the disaster -- 1,517 perished while only 706 survived. David Savage, a behavioral economist at Queensland University of Technology, Australia, and Bruno Frey, of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, spent more than a year studying survival rates from one of the worst maritime disasters in history. The aim was to determine whether people reverted to a "survival of the fittest" mentality when it was a matter of life and death. Related Content: Get the Latest in Science and Tech News From Discovery Treasure Quest: Deep-Sea Treasure Hunting Last Titanic Survivor Sells Momentos to Pay for Health Care HowStuffWorks.com: 10 Items That Went Down With the Titanic "The Titanic was built in Great Britain, operated by British subjects, and manned by a British crew. It is to be expected that national ties were activated during the disaster and that the crew would give preference to British subjects, easily identified by their language," the researchers said. Savage and Frey realized that assumption was off after investigating passenger data. 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." This social norm was indeed followed on the Titanic, proving that altruism does make a difference in life and death situations. "Being female rather than male increased the probability of survival between 23.7 and 53.9 percentage points," the researchers wrote in the journal, CESifo Working Paper. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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