#33: Whiskey Wasted
Do you remember the man drinking from a flask during the sinking scene in Titanic? Well, he wasn’t just some random guy added to the movie for dramatic effect. The character is based on a real-life survivor of the Titanic tragedy. Charles Joughin was the head baker of the Titanic, and when the ship began to sink, he sprang into action. Charles helped evacuate women and children off the ship, passed out food, and threw chairs overboard in hopes that they could act as floats.
During the course of the evening, he got absolutely hammered on alcohol. Honestly, we probably would do the same in the face of such a traumatic experience. Charles survived two to three hours of treading water in the freezing Atlantic before he was rescued. It’s believed that his blood alcohol level helped him survive because the alcohol lessened his sense of cold and fear. Charles Joughin lived to be 78 years old.