It's a Fact #75, #76, & #77

100 random facts about the Titanic.

75. Titanic had three electric elevators for passenger use.

76. Steam whistles were fitted to the two forward funnels

77. No 4 funnel or the aftmost one was a dummy

February Excerpt of Violets Are Blue

And *cough* I do *cough* know that it's not technically February anymore. 

Here's this month's excerpt! I hope y'all enjoy it — it's one of my father's favorite scenes. :)

“Well, I’d best go take the children out,” I said quickly. “Come Grace.” I took her hand, and nodded for Henry to follow me.

“Watch out for automobiles as you cross the street!” Mum said.

“We will,” I promised. 

The street was crowded with the noisy automobiles, and it was quite dangerous, for they could easily run over a young child. Henry was fascinated with them, thinking it a wonder that people could travel from place to place without a horse and buggy, but I thought the whole business of them was silly. I much preferred riding a horse. Automobiles were one of the few things that always would bother me about the city; among others being the noise and the smells and the crowds.

“Watch out!” I cried, yanking Henry back by the collar of his shirt, to keep him from being hit by an automobile. The angry driver honked his horn at us as he screeched past us and on down the street.

“Take better care, Henry,” I scolded him, when we were safely on the sidewalk once more. 

“I wanted to see it…” he whined. “You never let me see automobiles up close.”

“That’s because they’re dangerous!” I snapped back. “Mum instructed me to take care of you, and I have no wish to repeat the incident that occurred with Helen and the harbor.”

“Do you have to bring that up again?” Henry asked, rolling his eyes. “It’s getting a little old. Helen fell into the harbor almost three months ago.”

“I don’t care—that doesn’t mean I’m going to be careless again!” I turned around and started walking backwards, facing Henry so that I could see his face.

“Violet…” Henry started to say.

“Listen to me,” I said. “You need to learn that it’s not good to run into—” 

“People?” 

I turned around instantly, realizing that I had just run into Ethan. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Ethan,” I stuttered, blushing. “I was just talking to Henry here about the seriousness of running into the street.”

“Ah,” Ethan said, leaning back on his heels with his hands in his pockets. “But it seems that, while you are giving excellent instruction to your brother about why you shouldn’t run into the street, you saw no harm in running into me.”

“It was an accident,” I protested quickly. “And I feel very remorseful of it.” 

“I know, Violet—I really am not that bothered.” He grinned. “Though… it was quite funny.”

I rolled my eyes. “For you, perhaps!” I retorted. 

“Fair enough,” he said quickly. “Now, where were you going?”

I love my brother's creative mind.

My seven year old brother, Ethan, loves creating things with Legos. From microwaves with spinning discs on the inside and a door that opens to a tour bus complete with bunk beds, he has one creative mind and a pair of very gifted hands. We all think he's going to be an engineer someday. :)

Here's one of his most recent creations, which especially made me smile . . . 

The R.M.S. Titanic {full view}

A lifeboat {please forgive the horrible quality!}

Propellors

Isn't that adorable? :)

It's A Fact #71, #72, #73, & #74

100 random facts about the Titanic.

71. Titanic had twelve water tight doors.

72. The doors would close automatically if water should reach them.

73. The doors could also be controlled electrically from the Bridge.

74. The time required to fully close the doors was between 25 and 30 seconds.

February - March Giveaway

I owe y'all a huge apology for how long I've delayed this giveaway. We've had some problems, our plans have shifted, and it took a while to figure everything out. But now that it has been figured out, I am at liberty to post the winner and this next giveaway. 

And the winner of the tea collection is . . . 

#17, Jessica! Congratulations! Please e-mail me at literarylaneblog[at]gmail[dot]com, and we'll get your tea collection to you ASAP. :)

And this month's giveaway, you ask? . . . 

The winner of the February - March giveaway will win a specially-designed ocean theme blog design, made by my sister, Bree, of Aeronautical Graphics. This is a package not offered in her shop and made exclusively for this giveaway, so you don't want to miss it!

Oh, the Ways You Can Win!

Please comment once for each entry (except the last two).

mandatory entry: Follow Unsinkable and leave a comment saying you do.

+1 extra entry: Follow Elizabeth's blog, Living on Literary Lane, and leave a comment saying you do.

+1 extra entry: Follow Bree's blog, He Designs My Life, and leave a comment saying you do.

+1 extra entry: Put the giveaway button (found on the sidebar) on your blog's sidebar.

+1 extra entry: Put the Unsinkable button (found on the sidebar) on your blog's sidebar.

+1 extra entry: Follow Aeronautical Graphics.

+3 extra entries: Post, tweet, or Facebook about this month's giveaway and leave a comment with the link (publish the comment 3 times so as to be entered the proper amount of times).

This giveaway will close on March 12th at 11:59 P.M. The winner and next month's giveaway will be posted on March 14th. 

Good luck, ladies! 

The Giveaway Is Closed!

Yes, I *am* aware this is late . . . I completely forgot to schedule the post I was feeling generous. 

This month's giveaway is officially closed! That means that as of now, no new entries will be accepted. Many thanks to all who entered; 'twas our most successful one yet! The winner, as well as the next giveaway, will be posted tomorrow. 

Blessings!

It's A Fact #66, #67, #68, #69, & #70

100 random facts about the Titanic.

66. The lifeboats were 2 wood cutters 25'2" long by 7'2" by 3'0" deep with a capacity of 40 persons each.

67. There were also 4 Englehardt collapsible boats 27'5" by 8'0" by 3'0" deep with a capacity of 47 persons each.

68. All lifeboats were fitted with Murrays disengaging gear to simultaneously free both ends.

69. The lifeboats were stowed on hinged wood chocks on the Boat Deck.

70. Titanic was equipped with eighteen compasses.