The biggest grossing film of all time is 1987's The Brave Little Toaster, directed by Jerry Rees.
Nah, I'm kidding. The highest grossing film of all time is 1997's Titanic, directed by James Cameron (The Terminator, True Lies, Aliens). Its domestic gross is over $600 Million. It won numerous awards, including Best Picture & Best Director. It brought Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet into the spotlight. And It also brought us that GOD AWFUL song "My Heat Will Go On" by Celine Dion (which was originally written in secret; Cameron didn't want any songs with singing in the movie)
The world would have never been "blessed" with such a film had the RMS Titanic made it to New York City (the "RMS" stands for Royal Mail Ship, which means that the vessel carries mail under the contract of Royal Mail). Of course, the lives of 1,517 people would have not been lost had that happened.
The Titanic hit an iceberg the night before (April 14), and it took roughly 2 hours and forty minutes to sink, placing the sinking of the Titanic on this day, April 15th, 1912.
Some things that you may not know about the Titanic:
Fully loaded, the ship had 3547 people
Despite what is popularly known, the Titanic was never truly described as "unsinkable" prior to the tragedy.
There were 8 members in the famous band that played music as the ship sank (led by Wallace Hartley).
The voyage started at Southampton, England.
As The Titanic left, it nearly collided with another liner, City of New York, causing a four hour delay.
For more information about the Titanic, including accounts from survivors, click here or here.
DUH OTHERS:
The publisher Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas in 1924 (but men still don't end up asking for directions)
The Brooklyn Dodgers get a new team member: Jackie Robinson in 1947 (batting down the color barrier in baseball)
General Electric is formed in 1892 (ironically by flipping a switch)
SERVICES ACTIVATED:
Italian Renaissance Polymath Leonardo da Vinci (painting of the Mona Lisa) in 1452
French Physiologist Jean Pierre Flourens (anesthesia pioneer) in 1794
American Actress Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha Stevens on Bewitched) in 1933
American Voice Actor Lou Romano (Alfredo Linguini in Ratatouille) in 1972
SERVICES TERMINATED:
Russian Scientist Mikhail Lomonosov (discovered the atmosphere of Venus) in 1765
American Actor Richard Conte (Don Barzini in The Godfather) in 1975
American Musician Joey Ramone (from The Ramones) in 2001
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White (appointed by JFK) in 2002
HOLIDAZE:
Happy Baisakhi!: an ancient harvest festival celebrated in Punjab. It also marks the beginning of a new solar year, as well as a new harvest season.
(Don't forget: if you live in the U.S., and you make money legitimately, your taxes are due today.)
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