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A SECRET MISSION LED TO THE TITANIC DISCOVERY

Friday, September 1, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we revisit the discovery of the sunken Titanic, figure out a better way to dispose of used tennis balls, watch never-before-seen footage of a sperm whale birth ... and avoid the lethal fungi spreading across North America. Plus, a quiz!

Rusted prow (bow) of the R.M.S. Titanic ocean liner in the North Atlantic.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMORY KRISTOF, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

One part of the mission was secret. But what the undersea searchers found on this day 38 years ago was big news—the object of mystery for nearly seven decades.

Using new technology, they discovered, some 12,400 feet below the North Atlantic’s surface, the remains of the Titanic, the “unsinkable” luxury liner (above, the rusted bow of the ship).

But what brought them to the area in the first place? For more than two decades, they could not tell the full story.

HERE’S WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

In 1986, Bob Ballard and the Explorers Club left a commemorative plaque on the sunken deck of the Titanic.

Before the movie: Oceanographer Bob Ballard, a Nat Geo Explorer at Large, returned to the site a year after its discovery to leave this commemorative plaque on the sunken deck. The full story of its discovery wouldn’t come out until 2008. Read more.

Titanic-related stories:
—Flawed design led to this summer’s Titanic submersible disaster
—Warnings weren’t heeded in luxury liner’s final hours
—How the Titanic was lost and found

Unlock this article with Nat Geo Premium! Get access now to exclusive stories, plus a century of archives, photos, and videos. See subscription options starting at just $19/yr.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

tennis balls

PHOTOGRAPH BY REBECCA HALE

Millions of tennis balls (some pictured above) are tossed out each year. Here's how to recycle them.

10 million enslaved Americans' names are missing from history. Will we find them?

Inside the race to kill an invasive menace—before it gets to a town near you

The world's first recorded nightmare—and it’s scary!

How big tides magnify the damage of hurricanes like Idalia

This bird survived Maui’s fires—but it could soon vanish

How the 'wickedest city on Earth' was sunk by an earthquake

What gives the Mediterranean diet such life-extending power?

Why aren’t more people using the “V” word? It could be the label.

On this date: The biggest solar superstorm ever recorded

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

This 2,900-year-old brick, fashioned from mud and baked in the sun, bears the cuneiform inscription of its ownership by Neo-Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II.

PHOTOGRAPH BY THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DENMARK

DNA discovery: The 2,900-year-old brick inscription above reads “The property of the palace of Ashurnasirpal, king of Assyria.” It also holds DNA clues to the ancient vegetation that once grew around the palace near Mosul in what is now Iraq. Do you know what once grew there?

A. Butter lettuce
B. Cabbage
C. Strawberries
D. Asparagus

CLICK FOR THE ANSWER

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The newborn sperm whale is still "floppy" so adult whales stay close to keep the calf afloat.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID GRUBER, CETI

Awe-inspiring birth: The researchers were out on a routine observation of sperm whales off the Caribbean island of Dominica when they came upon a group of 11 all aligned in rows facing the same way, apparently trying to be quiet.

Then the head of a little whale emerged, and microphones picked up a sudden chorus of codas, or clicks, from the adult whales. The rare scene and sounds of the birth were captured with the use of drones and microphones—providing the first such scientific recording.

Astonished researchers watched with unabated excitement as the cetaceans took turns lifting the calf to the surface to breathe (as seen above).

"It was pretty awe-inspiring,” Nat Geo Explorer Shane Gero tells us. Find out what more this new data is likely to reveal about the species.

LAST GLIMPSE

a death cap mushroom

PHOTOGRAPH BY YVES LANCEAU/NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

The most lethal fungi: After a dinner party in Australia, three people were found dead—and the suspected culprits were death cap mushrooms (one pictured above). Responsible for 90 percent of mushroom-related fatalities, these mushrooms reportedly smell and taste delicious, and are spreading across North America, although scientists don’t know why. Here’s what we know.

AVOID DEATH BY DEATH CAP

Today’s soundtrack: Why’d You Want To Live Here? Death Cab for Cutie

Happy Friday! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. We’d love to hear from you: [email protected].

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