Why does Titanic still fascinate us?

After at least four movies, two plays, countless books and documentaries, the Titanic is still big box office. We went to see the exhibit of Titanic artifacts at the Tropicana Hotel in Vegas and I was surprised to find that at 9:00 PM on a Saturday night, there was a line.

There are many things to do in Vegas that aren't as sad as revisiting the ship that broke in two and sank to the bottom of the sea nearly a century ago, yet both my friend Karen and I wanted to go. Why?

This is the third time I've seen this particular exhibit over the last 10 years or so (Toronto, Chicago and now Vegas). Yes, I'm that geeky. It was my friend's first visit, but she was pretty well versed in the tale, too. Afterward we talked about why this was what we chose to do on our Saturday night out on the town.

She believes the Titanic story is compelling because so much went wrong, a convergence of mishaps, and if, at any step of the way, something could have happened that would have changed the outcome. Before the ship even launched, it was decided there should only be life boats for half the passengers (which was all that was required by law in those days), the lookouts forgot their binoculars onshore but didn't want to interrupt the big launch celebration by going back for them, one of the ships nearest the Titanic reportedly shut off their radio communications overnight, etc., etc., etc. That's why my friend believes this is one of the biggest "what if" stories of all time.

I think it's because it's so easy for us to put ourselves in everyone's shoes. How would I have felt if I'd spent years building a ship that sunk before completing her maiden voyage? If I lived then, would I be one of the first class passengers (60% survived) or one of those in third class, en route to the American dream (only 25% were saved)?

And then there's Kate and Leo and the big blockbuster movie. When I saw the replica of the main staircase, I could envision Jack and Rose. That movie is now and forever part of our culture.