Why Abbas Effendi (aka Abdu'l-Baha) didn't sail on the Titantic

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No mythos overtones here, none at all.

As we've been reminded innumerable times over the past few weeks, one hundred years ago the "unsinkable" Titanic sank into the North Atlantic, taking with her more than 1,500 lives. The tragedy has made for some epic storytelling.

Of all the stories, one of the most extraordinary is that of a 68-year-old Persian who wasn't, it turns out, actually on the ill-fated vessel, but was supposed to be.

Abbas Effendi -- known as Abdu'l-Baha or "the Servant of God" -- was feted by the press in both Europe and the U.S. as a philosopher, a peace apostle, even the return of Christ. His American admirers had sent him thousands of dollars for a ticket on the Titanic, and begged him to ride in the greatest of opulence. He declined and gave the money to charity.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rainn-...6pLid%3D151487

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In related news, a haunted model ship -

It’s been 100 years since the RMS Titantic struck an iceberg and sent more than 1,500 souls to their watery graves. In 2004, a Portsmouth man completed a replica of the ship – nine feet long, weighing more than 200 pounds.

But according to the builder — the museum quality replica has recently acquired something that may now qualify it as a ‘ghost ship’. Who knows what lurks inside this replica of the ill fated RMS Titanic?

http://wtkr.com/2012/06/14/portsmout...ld-be-haunted/