Would you board a ship that people said could never sink? On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic left England on its first voyage to New York City. The ship was the largest vessel ever built at that time. It stretched 882 feet long and weighed over 46,000 tons. People called it unsinkable because its hull had sixteen watertight compartments. If water flooded a few, the rest would keep the ship afloat. More than 2,200 passengers and crew were aboard. First-class passengers enjoyed a swimming pool, a gym, and elegant dining rooms. Third-class passengers had simpler rooms below deck. Four days later, on the night of April 14, the Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The ice sliced open five compartments -- one more than the ship could survive. Water poured in faster than pumps could remove it. The crew discovered a terrible problem: the ship carried only twenty lifeboats, enough for about 1,178 people. That was less than half the people on board. The evacuation was chaotic. Many lifeboats launched only partly full. More than 1,500 people died in the freezing water. The disaster led to major changes in maritime law. New rules required every ship to carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard.