OnThe DL

Locating the Titanic with Dr. Robert D. Ballard

by Jessica Loughery

Tue., Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m., $10-$50 (students free), Hatboro-Horsham High School, 899 Horsham Rd., Horsham, 215-672-1023, www.hhef.org

Lillian Gertrud, the last Titanic survivor, died in May of this year. All that remains of the tragedy now are the stories of oceanographers like Dr. Robert Ballard, who followed a trail of debris across the floor of the North Atlantic to discover the infamous ship in 1985.

Ballard will share his account of taking the "Argo," a robotic submersible vehicle equipped with cameras, two miles beneath the ocean's surface to explore the massive, 882-foot ship. Having struck historic gold more than once, he'll also speak about the discovery of the battleships Bismarck and Andrea Doria, as well as his involvement in tying classroom oceanography to submarine technologies like video feed.

If you're among the many who were less than pleased with the astronomically sappy and wildly overexposed 1997 cinematic portrayal of the affair, try listening to a guy that's actually been there fo' real. We promise it'll be Celine-free.