Of Titanic Proportions

I am fascinated by the Titanic. Not just the boat itself, but the entire story, and the stories of those that lived through and died during this horrendous disaster. In all fairness, I think my sister might actually have cornered the market on anything "seafaring," but still - there is just something especially haunting about the Titanic.

I recently (and FINALLY) got the chance to visit the Titanic exhibit at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas (again, my sister beat me to it by a full year, but that was to be expected) and my anticipation of this visit was so great that I did not want to miss the opportunity to create a casual experiment with sensory replication...more specifically with the Ovilus. Technically speaking, it was the iOvilus application that my son downloaded onto his iPod, but the idea was the same. If there were ever a collection of artifacts that might have a message to deliver, I would have to lay odds on it being this one.

Smuggling our contraband into the exhibit was fairly easy, since nobody is going to question a 15-year-old with an iPod. He and I took turns listening and taking notes while simultaneously taking in every last artifact and storyboard.

Before I get to the part about what the iOvilus said, I just want to talk about the display itself. I have a feeling that paranormal enthusiasts and ghost hunters have a particular interest in any and all history. Not just the generic descriptions of the history that you read about in textbooks, but the REAL history. We don't want to hear a tour guide tell us some canned series of stories about who built a building or who's picture now hangs in a foyer. History for us is very tactile and three dimensional. When we run our hand along a centuries-old bannister, we want to know who else ascended and descended the staircase. We want to know their individual stories. We want to hear history from their perspective, and we do everything we can to be a receiver of that information.

The exhibit is set up to showcase the artifacts, as well as give you a sense of what it was like to be on the Titanic. Not just while it was going down, but just what it might have been like to be a passenger. There are exact replicas of state rooms, the upper deck, and - of course - the grand staircase. The artifacts are kept securely under glass, of course, with the temperature and lighting being carefully controlled. It is nearly impossible to give proper inflection to the overwhelming emotional montage that you feel walking through each part of the exhibit and seeing the personal effects of so many that were recovered from two-and-a-half miles beneath the surface of the ocean. Carefully chosen bits of glassware packed as souvenirs for family awaiting their return. Rings and necklaces meant to adorn and compliment their owners, separated from them as they made their final descent to a watery grave. Spectacles, pocketwatches, dishes, a pair of mens socks...any number of things that under any other circumstances would be unremarkable, but in this setting become something to be silently revered. The exhibit reaches its fulcrum with a 15-ton section of the hull, roughly the size of a movie screen, with its broken windows and twisted metal. There are no words to describe it, so I won't even try. I just stood there in the thick silence of the room, using every bit of fortitude to keep from openly sobbing. I am getting misty just writing about it. It is truly amazing.

ANYWAY...

So, if you aren't familiar with the Ovilus (of course you are, but I will give a brief rundown anyway), it is a device made by Digital Dowsing which uses some sort of algorithm to convert EMF into meaningful words and phrases. It's black box technology and it expressly states that it is for entertainment purposes only, however most people that have used one have been left scratching their heads at how it comes up with such specific and meaningful phrases. We were not using an Ovilus proper, but the iPod application. Not being too technically savvy, I assume that this version really operates more like a random word generator since it lacks the specific components of the original Ovilus, so if it works at all, it would have to be based on intention. That being said, we were still left scratching our heads.

Now, with all due deference to the fact that none of this can be mathematically or scientifically significant, it made my son and I stop and look at each other wide-eyed more than once, and it even got a gasp or two. Here is the list of words that it said that we felt were applicable:

Killed Father
Broken
Puncture
America
Children Fleeing
Steel
Cried
Large
1,000 Stranded (this one made us gasp a little)
Horrible
Casket
Death
Deep
Ocean
Angel (perhaps a spiritual reference, but there was also an angel statue)
Star (could indicate the starry night, or perhaps the White Star Line?)
Ticket
Window
Goodbye
Music Played

Again, I am not suggesting this indicates anything scientifically meaningful, but at the same time...HOLY CRAP. It was a great time, and I am glad that we did it because I am not sure anyone else has. The iOvilus application is only two dollars, and it's a LOT of fun, for sure.

If you're going to Vegas, don't miss this. You have until 2018, so you have plenty of time and NO excuses.