Remember this dude from the movie Titanic?
He was based off of the real life Charles Joughin, Titanic’s chief baker who survived for hours in the freezing water after the ship went down?
How did he do it? What was his secret?
His secret apparently was booze.
Born in England in 1878, Charles started working on ships at age 11.
He was in charge of the bread and pastry department on the Titanic, which meant he had to oversee 13 other bakers and make sure they baked enough bread for over 2,000 people every day.
On April 14, 1912, Joughin was sleeping in his cabin when he felt a huge jolt. He woke up and realized that the ship had hit an iceberg.
He didn't panic, though. He got dressed and went to his station. He told his bakers to bring 50 loaves of bread to the lifeboats, so that the passengers would have something to eat while they waited for rescue.
He then went back to his cabin and had a drink of whiskey.
He was a heavy drinker, and he probably thought that a little booze would help him stay warm and calm.
He then went to his assigned lifeboat, but instead of getting in, he helped other people get on board.
He even forced some women and children to get on the lifeboats, because they were too scared or reluctant to leave the ship.
He then went back to his cabin again and had another drink.
He also put on his warmest clothes and grabbed some money and papers. He then went to the deck and started throwing deck chairs overboard, hoping that they would float and help some people stay alive.
He then went back to his cabin for the third time and had another drink.
He also drank some water, because he was thirsty from all the whiskey.
He then heard a loud crash, which was the sound of the ship breaking in half.
He ran to the stern of the ship, which was still above water. He climbed over the railing and held on to it as the ship tilted up.
He stayed there until the very last moment, when the ship plunged into the ocean.
He let go of the railing and slid into the water without even getting his head wet.
He was now in the freezing water, surrounded by icebergs and debris.
He saw people screaming and drowning all around him. He also saw some lifeboats, but they were too far away or too crowded to help him.
He decided to swim away from the sinking ship, because he feared that it would suck him down with it.
He swam for about 200 yards, until he found an overturned collapsible lifeboat.
He climbed on top of it and joined a few other survivors who were clinging to it. He was still holding his flask of whiskey, which he shared with some of them.
He stayed on the lifeboat for about two hours, until another lifeboat came by and picked him up.
He was then transferred to another lifeboat, which had a fire going on board. He warmed himself by the fire and ate some biscuits.
He was finally rescued by the RMS Carpathia, which arrived at the scene around 4 a.m.
Charles was one of the last survivors to be taken on board.
He was examined by a perplexed doctor, who found that he had no signs of frostbite or hypothermia.
He was probably saved by his thick clothes, his alcohol intake, and his strong will to survive.
He later testified at the inquiries into the disaster, where he gave a detailed account of his actions and observations.
Within days, Charles returned to work as a baker on other ships, including the Titanic's sister ship, Britannic, which also sank after hitting a mine in 1916.
He retired from sea life in 1936 and settled in New Jersey with his wife. He died in 1956 at the age of 78.
Ironically getting drunk before going in the freezing water is not something you want to do.
Alcohol rushes the blood to the surface of the skin. Meaning in the freezing waters less blood towards vital organs.
What the enormous amount of alcohol probably gave Charles, was enormous amounts of life saving liquid courage.
He is remembered as one of the most remarkable survivors of the Titanic disaster, and as a hero who helped many others escape.
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