r/interestingasfuck • u/ThugLeeVoguee • 1d ago

The implosion of the Titan submarine (OceanGate) was so rapid that the pain wasn't even registered by the brain. They didn't feel anything at all. Utterly instantaneous.

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1.8k

u/Inaccurate93 1d ago

Pay millions of dollars to be locked into a can with 6 other men with only a PS1 joystick to control the tin can, oh and it's a one way trip.

429

u/Visible_Analysis_893 1d ago

To go look at the titanic wreckage lol

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u/whingingcackle 1d ago edited 21h ago

There was a graph going around that shows how many lives the Titanic has claimed and the timeline, and there’s obviously a bump in 1912 when it sank, but then another small bump in 2023 💀

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u/iekather 1d ago

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u/AbeRego 1d ago

Why does it start out low?

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u/QuittingToLive 1d ago

Some people died while building the ship

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u/AbeRego 1d ago

facepalm

I read "depths"....

Come to think of it, that doesn't even make sense at all, so I don't know what I was really thinking lol

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u/QuittingToLive 16h ago

Lmao you’re good, King

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u/LastStar007 1d ago

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u/kaci3po 1d ago

Not only does that already exist, but James Cameron is an actual expert in deep sea exploration and uses his Hollywood money to fund actually safe explorations and studies. He basically directs movies to fund his deep sea exploration hobby, but he goes about it the smart, safe way unlike the OceanGate people. 

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u/FightMilk4Bodyguards 19h ago

Yes, we know about James Cameron's deep sea exploration. But Titanic 2 was not his doing and is not a sequel to his movie.

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u/IAmAfraidCommaMan 10h ago

Hopefully he never find Cameronium.

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u/Random_Effecks 1d ago

This move exists already.

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u/LastStar007 23h ago

I know, but it wasn't his and wasn't based on a real ship.

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u/Marsuello 1d ago

Buddy, I hope you’re sitting down cuz I have some news for you

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u/LastStar007 23h ago

(I know, but it wasn't his, it wasn't even a sequel to his movie, and it wasn't even based on a real ship.)

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u/Wiochmen 1d ago

There was a bump in 1912?

Dude, spoilers, man. Not cool.

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u/Objective-Light-9019 1d ago

I thought they all made it out in 1912, dang it!

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u/AirconGuyUK 22h ago

Jack dies. Rose survives.

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u/whogivesashirtdotca 22h ago

A literal bump.

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u/farter-kit 1d ago

What happened in 1912?

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u/ejabno 1d ago

Someone painted a lady like one of another dude's French girls

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u/ClearChocobo 21h ago

How long do you think it will be until we get a 3rd bump when somebody tries to visit the wreckage of the Titanic and the Titan. If the pattern holds, that vessel should be named the Tit.

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u/HealthyMaximum 21h ago

Guilty chuckle.

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u/lCarbonCopyl 1d ago

Someone did a tiktak that was just a descending view to the Titanic and a bunch of CoD hitmarkers appear with the +++ assist scrolling text

I think about that clip often, it was hilarious

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u/ben_woah 1d ago

In a tin full of farts

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u/subjectmatterexport 1d ago

For heeeeeeeeeeeere am I farting in a tin can

Faaaaaaaart underrrr the seeeaaa

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u/oskarw85 1d ago

Fart control to major Tom

Fart control to major Tom

Take seasickness pills

And pull your diapers on

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u/Jiggle_Tester 1d ago

Who farts inside a sub under the sea.

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u/HerbReathstinx 1d ago

Spongebob square pants!

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u/MyLifeIsAWasteland 1d ago

William Murderface

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u/strumthebuilding 1d ago

We have tin full of farts at home

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u/Affectionate_Ebb8351 1d ago

I have a jar fukl of farts...oh a mean hearts

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u/rwags2024 1d ago

You do, why

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u/panamaspace 1d ago

Artisanal is best. The store stuff is just repackaged cow methane,total scam.

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u/ilikechillisauce 1d ago

Artiswhatnow?

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u/OneTrueCosmos 1d ago

The final crack, in more ways than one.

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u/text_fish 1d ago

Best Christina Perri song.

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u/MaroonTrojan 1d ago

On a screen.

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u/JM665 1d ago

To look at a screen of the wreckage from a camera…

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u/mbh223 1d ago

Right. What was the best-case scenario?

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u/funnyha_ha 1d ago

Thru a monitor

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u/Initial-Advice3914 1d ago

They didn’t even get to see it lol

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u/DeathbyBambii 1d ago

I can’t imagine how much it’d cost to go look at the Titanic wreckage and OceanGate implosion…😬

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u/DerSchattenJager 1d ago

You best start believing in Titanic wreckage stories, Mr. Rush. You’re in one.

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u/DropEnvironmental539 1d ago

And not even see it through a window with your eyes...but see it on a screen. WHY EVEN GO DOWN

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u/MayMeadow 1d ago

To go become a titanic wreckage

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u/rdiss 1d ago

I can look at the wreckage from just about anywhere. No need to go there.

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u/Chpgmr 22h ago

Through a tiny tiny window in absolute darkness.

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u/AirconGuyUK 22h ago

Think I'll just watch it on youtube for free.

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u/SilverMetalist 20h ago

On video lol

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u/boromeer3 16h ago

You don't even get to look at the wreckage! You look at a TV screen showing a camera feed! You're a lot closer to the wreck, but I could see what they saw from my desk.

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u/ares7 8h ago

They didn't even get to see the wreckage? I'd be asking for a refund.

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u/duderos 1d ago

I'll never understand this obsession with the titanic sinking. So many other ships have been lost but no one seems to care.

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u/SookiSwann 1d ago

That movie did a number on people whew.

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u/redlancer_1987 1d ago

uh, I think you mean a Logitech F710 controller. It'd be crazy to use a Sony, that wouldn't be considered safe.

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u/yeahright17 1d ago edited 1d ago

I've always thought the hate for the controller was pretty stupid. Using a preexisting controller to control the thing was fine. That's not why it failed.

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u/Teslapromt 1d ago

It is dumb. People who are making fun of it, even though it's just input controls, which can be anything, and Logitech controllers are generally decently reliable. It shouldn't be the only way of controlling the sub, but it can be one of them, but that's an issue of error prevention. People making fun of controller would be shocked to learn what US military (and other militaries) use on the regular to control machines of war.

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u/yeahright17 1d ago

Literally just commented to a different reply that the US military uses xbox controllers all the time.

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u/WingerRules 1d ago edited 1d ago

I guarantee somewhere on the market there are input devices designed for no fail situations.

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u/CricketPinata 1d ago

Most controller options are bespoke and expensive if you want one designed for a purpose. USB controllers are universal, easy to find well-made versions, and easily replaceable.

It is cheaper and more reliable to just use off-the-shelf USB controllers, than to have someone engineer one in a garage for you.

The Controller wasn't the issue, it was the hull and design of the sub.

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u/WingerRules 1d ago

He went with the cheap option because the entire design of the sub was cost cutting, they even used carbon fiber that was basically expired junk carbon fiber. I can't tell you how many gaming controllers I've had have faults and I've had to replace, but I basically stopped buying games on the PS5 because I'm on my 4th controller now on that system alone.

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u/CricketPinata 1d ago

Right, but using an off-the-shelf USB controller wasn't the failure point, or the concern. USB controllers are very common for controlling nautical equipment that doesn't suck.

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u/MikeW86 1d ago

It's a thing that does everything you need it to do and is designed to survive hundreds of thousands of cycles on all its inputs. You could easily keep 2 more backups on board if you felt paranoid. Of allllll the terrible design decisions this one was completely justified and had precisely zero influence on the failure.

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u/Busy_Phase8285 19h ago

Thing is, that controller was designed and manufactured to "playing video game" standards. If some component breaks, you can just get another one. It's simply an inconvenience. It was NOT designed and manufactured to "human-rated safety critical" standards. And they still used it as the only way to control the vehicle. If it craps out, then in the immortal words if Richard Pryor, "that's your ass".

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u/vemundveien 8h ago

and Logitech controllers are generally decently reliable

Honestly I would spring for an original Xbox controller at least. Logitech controllers are former Saitek controllers, and as someone who has owned several Saitek HOTAS controllers, reliability is not the reason for why I have owned so many.

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u/Horknut1 1d ago

I blame all my losses on the controller.

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u/yeahright17 1d ago

touche.

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u/Sitty_Shitty 1d ago

It's especially stupid because they use Xbox controllers on US submarines to operate the periscopes (digital photonics mast). There's plenty of dumb shit the guy was doing but the controller thing everyone keeps mentioning is just their own ignorance on display.

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u/Vienna_The_Aeronaut 1d ago

Its more "They weren't even willing to splurge for a high quality control or proper driving system, where else were they cutting costs?"

Of course the answer was "Everywhere."

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u/yeahright17 1d ago

What is a "proper driving system" for a little submarine? Of course cutting cost elsewhere was the issue it failed. But, for example, the Navy swapped out $40k controllers for $30 xbox controllers in submarines to control periscopes and unmanned submersibles and sailors couldn't be happier. There's no reason an off the shelf controller was inherently the wrong way to control the sub. (As I said in another response, it definitely should have been wired though).

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u/Blasphemy4kidz 1d ago

No but it goes to show what a cheap POS the owner was to not even bother getting a top notch controller. Instead he uses a used Logitech controller for $20.

Just like he skimped out on everything else, including the hull material.

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u/SuperSatanOverdrive 1d ago

Yup, the controller was absolutely not the problem.

The problem was cutting costs on the material for the hull

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u/mr-singularity 1d ago

Arguably the controller was probably one of better choices they made. Being market tested means empirical evidence unlike their theoretically possible hull design like you implied.

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u/topological_rabbit 1d ago

For me, it's the fact they were using a wireless controller. That's just some insane decisionmaking there.

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u/abigdickbat 1d ago

Not why it failed, but it’s also one of the cheapest controllers, like you couldn’t spend $80 on a Microsoft? A very easy-to-grasp example of the number of corners this guy was willing to cut.

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u/nonpuissant 1d ago

eh if it works it works. It was a dumb thing for people to get hung up on. It just got a lot of attention because it was easy clickbait for the masses. 

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u/abigdickbat 23h ago

“Eh if it works it works” is the kinda B minus mentality that doesn’t belong in an industry like deep submarines, as clearly displayed. If an extra $40 provides even an incremental increase in quality or redundancy, you pay it. The controller exposes that he likely got the cheaper bolts, the cheaper resin, the fewer welds, etc.

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u/astro65 22h ago

The thing is you're assuming an Xbox controller would work better for their setup without even knowing the computer system being used. We don't know if it was windows, Linux, Mac, or even some esp32/fpga setup to the motors. 

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u/nonpuissant 20h ago

The controller exposes that he likely got the cheaper bolts, the cheaper resin, the fewer welds, etc.  

Not really, that's just speculation and hindsight.  

There were plenty of warning signs about them cutting corners, but the controller choice wasn't one of them. 

If an extra $40 provides even an incremental increase in quality or redundancy, you pay it. 

Sure, if it does. But does it though? Do Microsoft controllers have some special built-in redundancy features they just never bothered to advertise? 

Redundancy in this case would be bringing an extra controller or two. Extra cables, batteries, having a back up method of control, etc.  Having a name brand controller doesn't make a lick of difference there. 

Same when it comes to "quality". If both controllers can reliably perform the needed functions within the parameters required then there is no material difference. 

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u/FatTim48 1d ago

Tell that to the guys who throw their controller when they lose a game

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u/pablothe 23h ago

People think sophisticated devices or industries use some magical different technology. Is also why you can sell "Military Grade" stuff to people.

They think the button on a spacecraft and their car will be some magically different things.

What people usually need is redundancy more than some magical material.

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u/marr 20h ago

That depends: Wired or Bluetooth?

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u/qtpss 1d ago

Could you see NASA using one on a space mission? Using a consumer off the shelf controller just speaks to a lack of greater concern about detail for the entire project.

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u/imlegos 1d ago

Admittedly, yes. A generic video game controller scheme is rather effective. You'd only need something more complex if there was other mechanisms aboard the thing (And that could just be handled by other controllers)

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u/DeusVultSaracen 1d ago

Exactly. It really shouldn't be surprising that a human interface device developed with millions of dollars in R&D over the course of decades—by competing tech giants like Sony, Microsoft, Logitech, Nintendo, and more—trumped any in-house solution a startup submarine company could devise.

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u/NameToUseOnReddit 1d ago

Just don't forget to disable the start button on the controller. Nobody needs someone to go and switch the controller settings in the middle of a mission.

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u/spoonybum 1d ago

Don’t the US military use Xbox controllers for drones and shit? I could be completely making that up but swear I’ve seen them being used in war videos.

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u/wpoot 1d ago

Pretty sure the Navy adapted Xbox controller schemes to some controls in submarines (maybe periscopes?) because of how familiar everyone is with them.

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u/yeahright17 1d ago

Could you see NASA using one on a space mission?

No. But the US military uses xbox controllers for a ton of different things because they're intuitive and functional.

Did using a cheap controller hint at a systematic issue with how the Titan was engineered? Sure. But there's no reason a game controller wouldn't be a fine controller for a submarine like the Titan. Granted, it definitely should have been wired.

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u/Captain_Futile 1d ago

US Navy uses XBox controllers with periscopes on Virginia class nuclear subs…

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u/qtpss 1d ago

To control video cameras on the periscope but not to drive the boat.

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u/da_Aresinger 1d ago

Yes. I can. Assuming the control scheme matches needs of the mission. Which I doubt is the case for most Space missions, because you can't just fly rockets like spaceships in a videogame.

Using of the shelf controlers whenever possible is OBJECTIVELY THE BEST CHOICE YOU CAN MAKE.

You only design your own shit when existing products aren't feasible.

Commercial game controllers are well tested, easily integrated, well supported and most importantly: 100% replaceable. Bring 3 or 4 PS/XBox controllers on your mission and you will never have a problem.

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u/the_gr8_one 1d ago

they should have used an xbox duke controller that thing is more dense than a black hole it would have saved them

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u/rjcarr 1d ago edited 1d ago

I know the guys that worked on this; pretty sure it was an xbox controller, but not 100% sure. It was definitely a first party mainstream console controller, though, unless they changed it later.

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u/redlancer_1987 1d ago

I mean maybe. Most of the links I found pointed to the Logitech being used. Maybe the media stories just called an XBox or PlayStation controller because in their mind any controller you can buy falls into one of those two categories.

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u/SimpleBar9995 1d ago

Billionaires dieing because the other billionaire cut costs on their trip.

Smh that's supposed to be reserved for the poors.

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u/backhand_english 1d ago

Everyone saying "oh, they took a joystick from a game console" and saying thats a bad thing...

It's not. If the pilots were familiar with it, its fine.

The U.S. Navy uses standard Xbox 360 controllers to operate the high-tech photonics masts (digital camera systems that replaced traditional periscopes) on Virginia-class attack submarines like the USS Colorado.

Familiarity: Younger sailors grew up playing video games, which cuts training time for the periscope controls from hours down to minutes.

Better Ergonomics: The original heavy, helicopter-style joysticks were clunky and unpopular with crews, whereas gamepads feel natural and comfortable.

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u/SimpleBar9995 1d ago

I'm more so referring to the fact that they got told their submersible wasn't up to code and fired the guy who told them.

The game controller is just funny but not important 

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u/backhand_english 1d ago

Oh yeah, they were deluded idiots with thick wallets, for sure...

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u/OdinsCuriousRaven 1d ago

There's always someone like you that likes to bring up the fucking Navy. They used controllers to operate periscopes...not completely control and pilot the whole goddamn vessel. For fuck's sake, that is a massive difference.

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u/jdubyahyp 1d ago

Also the navy has mechanical backups for everything. For ya know, when your controller runs out of batteries or something.

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u/OdinsCuriousRaven 1d ago

Exactly. Every single time this conversation pops up it is the same sequence, with the "hurr durr the navy uses controllers durrrr" person feeling smug in having mentioned it without realizing how little they know about anything.

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u/Mercuryblade18 1d ago

Also these devices are stress tested and likely significantly more reliable than anything built from scratch.

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u/FriskyDingoOMG 1d ago

The familiarity definitely helps. You’re adding a 3rd dimension to the mix, but it would be easier to learn to control Z axis with a familiar controller.

Plus, literally billions of these controllers exist. They’ve been pressure tested (pun intended) for decades.

I think it’s a good idea to use the controllers if feasible.

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u/King_Roberts_Bastard 1d ago

Also, why spend hundreds of millions of dollars and years doing R&D when Sony and Microsoft have already done that

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u/ScissrMeTimbrs 1d ago

It was Logitech though. One of the cheap ones.

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u/Heiferoni 23h ago

Yeah , but don't use an Xbox controller to drive the submarine lol

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u/TheDude4269 1d ago

Nobody on board was a billionaire, though? Out of 3 tourists, maybe one was close to 1B net worth? There were also two crew members on board, including Stockton Rush (who was a dangerous lunatic, ignored every piece of evidence that suggested his design was shite. But also, nowhere near a billionaire).

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u/bradygilg 1d ago

Nobody on this ship was a billionaire.

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u/Kingkongcrapper 1d ago

I gotta say, if you’re terminal and looking for a nice easy way to go, this might be it. Get into a pod set to implode after reaching a deep enough depth and tomato sauce it.

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u/im_a_sam 1d ago

Nah, then your last few minutes are spent anxiously waiting for it to happen. When it's my time to go just fill me up with Dilaudid and I'll be too happy to care about an OD.

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u/carebear101 1d ago

Random unknown timer. Maybe 10 seconds maybe 10 hours. Good luck.

But real answer is to dose up with sedatives and stuff and float into the abyss

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u/DouchecraftCarrier 22h ago

Reminds me of the paradox about the prisoner who is told his execution will be a surprise to him and so surmises he will never be executed.

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u/BathedInDeepFog 1d ago

Fill me up with Dilaudid, make a stew out of my ass.

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u/SSP100244 1d ago

I think while it isn't acknowledged this is pretty common in hospice care once it's certain the person is going to and choosing to die. My grandma was 97 when she stopped eating and the night before she died they had her on a ton of pain meds. It's not quite 1:1 with giving her a fatal overdose but it surely helped her along the way. I don't really object. She was done and this helped her go less painfully.

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u/gmoss101 1d ago

My plan to go is carbon monoxide poisoning

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u/toungespasm 19h ago

I thought the same thing. Especially with the drugged up version as commenters have added. Great suicide machine. Just expensive.

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u/Good_Air_7192 1d ago

A bonding experience 

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u/sawsawjim 1d ago

Underrated comment 👍🏼

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u/glytxh 1d ago

It wasn’t millions of dollars. His whole niche was doing everything on the cheap, deeply undercutting professional submarine operations in an attempt to broach a unique market.

Now it still cost more than most of us could reasonably afford, but this wasn’t millionaire shit.

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u/FantasticFinance6906 1d ago

What could go wrong? Umm…

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u/FrancisCStuyvesant 1d ago

4 other men. 5 total

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u/BARDE18 1d ago

Pay respect to the PS1 controller, they were using a far worse controller lol

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u/Old_Leshen 1d ago

Well there were 6 other joysticks to play with.

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u/PuzzleheadedResult69 1d ago

To be fair, it was actually a Logitech usb joystick 

1

u/TheUndertows 1d ago

Stick drift with a Switch controller in this thing is going to be rough 

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u/FlatOut1986 1d ago

A Logitech joystick

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u/adaminjapan 1d ago

At least it wasn’t a Madcatz controller.

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u/Magic_mousie 1d ago

Excuse me, my 1997 PS1 joystick is still in perfect working order thank you very much.

Now if it was a PS5 controller, that would be a concern.

(yes, I know it was Logitech but my PS5 just got stick drift and I'm salty)

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u/09Trollhunter09 1d ago

Not even wired, it was Bluetooth

1

u/Squidking1000 1d ago

with only a PS1 joystick with only a knock-off PS1 joystick.

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u/Litlirein 1d ago

Mentioning the joystick makes no sense, it was ome of the very few (maybe the only) things that were actually fine and safe to use

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u/Significant_Web_4162 1d ago

To get painless death.

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u/Versitonic 1d ago

Hey don't desrespect the F710 controller. That thing has better structural integrity than that sub. Mine still works.

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u/yARIC009 1d ago

Wasn’t even a tin can, it was a glued together paper roll.

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u/Apexnanoman 1d ago

If memory serves it wasn't even anything that good. It was a bottom of the barrel Logitech controller.

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u/rokybronson 1d ago

That's where youre wrong, the sub didn't even cost half a millie. They were idiots.

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u/BattIeBoss 1d ago

If it was a ps3 controller, even a bootleg one, it wouldve been fine lmal

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u/Electrifying2017 1d ago

It’s the one way trip I have an issue with.

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u/lando-bailando 1d ago

To be fair if you've ever served in the US navy, gamepads are more common than you think

Here's a Virginia Class nuclear sub and an Xbox controller:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0StWrXoN8nI

around 8:50 timestamp

It doesn't fly the sub but still...

Edit: source

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u/lotny 1d ago

The issue wasn't the controller, but the carbon fiber hull.

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u/JJHall_ID 1d ago

Of all the things to complain about, I always laugh at the Playstation controller being one of them. It was off-the-shelf hardware they used as an interface. I watched a docu-series a bunch of years back about an explosive ordnance team over in the middle east, and their bomb robot used an XBox controller. In my opinion there's nothing wrong with using a readily available controller, it was probably the most reliable system in the whole thing. It wasn't the controller that caused the implosion.

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u/Sirpattycakes 1d ago

Don't forget the "rudimentary toilet", which sounds suspiciously like a five gallon bucket.

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u/Synchro_Shoukan 1d ago

Xbox 360 style pc controller.

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u/CTPABA_KPABA 1d ago

You can't even see shit. It would be same if you looked on monitor after or remotely

1

u/vctrn-carajillo 1d ago

When you put it like that

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u/King_Roberts_Bastard 1d ago

The controller wasnt the issue. The US Navy uses Xbox controllers on their nuclear powered subs.

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u/aqualink4eva 23h ago

Bet the controller had stick drift too

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u/drunk-raven 23h ago

Hey, have some apreciation to Dualshock 1. They had a shitty logitek controller

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u/GunShowZero 22h ago

It was a VERY generic Logitech iirc

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u/felemiah 22h ago

Funnily enough they found the Logitech controller that was used during the trip on the seabed still fully intact, so it might have been the sturdiest thing on the trip lol

1

u/NimRodelle 22h ago

Excuse me sir, that was actually a PC controller. 🤓

1

u/pharoh-king 22h ago

only a PS1 joystick

Using a custom controller is idiotic compared to using one that has been used and abused for 3 decades.

when you're building something, having to invent as few new parts as possible is almost always better. You only invent when the parts on the market don't exist.

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u/TheEpicRedCape 22h ago

A PS1 controller would’ve been better this was an off brand wireless bargain bin logitech pad.

Not going wired bare minimum is insane to me, why even introduce the possibility of disconnection or interference for such an important part?

1

u/Doobledorf 19h ago

Hey now, I bought one of those joycons in a Hong Kong market back in 2014 and that shit lasted practically a decade.

The sub was moronic but let's not be shitting in the best of controllers.

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u/zardoz73 18h ago

Well it's safe to say they got a refund. Just didn't go to the divers. More like their families.

1

u/djongafrett 16h ago

And the toilet is by the window/door I believe. With only a curtain to separate you from others on board...

•

u/Regicyde_93 10h ago

That sounds cool until you realize that Virginia class subs are partially controlled with an Xbox controller. Lot more familiar and less training.