[imglorp]

A location pinger would be a no brainer but like you say, it only helps if there's another sub with a grapple in range, in time.

I understand why oceanographers /might/ want to do this, but not in person when ROV tech is so good now, for biology and tourism. There are so many things that can happen to fragile humans in that complex machine: drowning, freezing, asphyxiating, crushing, oxygen narcosis, nitrogen narcosis, co2 poisoning, and the plain old bends.

So why do people risk all that, and pay 125k to do it? Why the titanic obsession? It's only the fourth worst maritime disaster (Doña Paz in 1987 had 4k deaths) and so what if someone made a movie about one.

[mannykannot]

Not that it appeals to me, but I would guess that the appeal of the Titanic lies in it being the canonical 'technological hubris' story and a contender in the 'if only...' category.

[ryanfreeborn]

And the fact that it sank on its maiden voyage. The tragic irony makes it obvious why humans bestow such significance upon it.

[nickmcc]

“I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel,” said Captain Edward Smith, commander of the Titanic.

[belorn]

It is one thing to do it in person and an other to see it on a screen. As a diver I can fully understand why they want to go down there, for the same reason astronauts want to visit space instead of just sending up a satellite with a video camera.

That said, yes, titanic might not have been my choice personally. It has a sister ship that lies at a more reasonable depth of ~100 meters, so divers can actually be in the water and explore the inside. It is also fairly intact in contrast to titanic which is broken in half with the stern being mostly destroyed.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

People do all sorts of risky things. We're human.

[sgjohnson]

> So why do people risk all that, and pay 125k to do it?

People enjoy casual risk-taking.

If I had the 125k to dish out for this experience, I probably would have done so myself.

[jacquesm]

Lucky you, then.

[swader999]

Trust in experts.