The Most Exciting Room on the Titanic

Who's bringing the sour cream?

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Welcome to Fun Fact Friyay! This newsletter is all about keeping things brief and sending you off into the world smarter, wiser, and happier.

The Titanic had an entire room dedicated to potatoes.

Ever since it sank 111 years ago, the Titanic has always been a fascinating topic of discussion for people. This summer, the ship made headlines again for sadder reasons.

I also heard one person compare the hype around Barbie to the excitement around Titanic (the movie), though I don’t recall Barbie offering us an intermission to go use the bathroom.

The Titanic’s history is also shrouded with lore and some fictional embellishment. However, thanks to a copy of the blueprints, we know there was a room whose sole purpose was to house potatoes.

Let’s take a look, courtesy of Encyclopedia Titanica:

There it is, clear as day, in the top left corner. And there’s even an entire area just for washing that collection of potatoes.

Potatoes (and things made from potatoes) were staples on the Titanic’s menu. So, perhaps it’s no surprise that an Irish ship was heavy with ‘em. Even so, it’s wild that the potato room appears to be larger than just about any other room on the entire ship.

As Kramer would say, “That’s a lot of potatoes!”

The list of staff down below could be a fun food-themed group of superheroes, too. Surely there’s some mish-mash of Whose Line Is It Anyway? that’s used “Pastry Man,” “Poultry Man,” and/or “Pantryman” during the Superheroes game. And why is there no space between “Pantry” and “Man?”

We won’t ever know that linguistical conundrum. At least it’s comforting to think that even the non-first class passengers of Titanic got to experience some luxury the first few days of the trip.

Thanks for reading! Did you know if you refer friends to this newsletter, you get super cool prizes, including a song written for you? Tap the button below to make your dreams come true.