British Courtesy Cost Lives on the Titanic

LONDON, Jan. 21, 2009 — -- New research has suggested that a lot of the poor souls who drowned in the infamous 1912 Titanic sinking died because of good manners, while many Americans survived because they were pushy.

A study conducted by Swiss and Australian researchers showed that Britons were more likely to have died than any other nationality in the tragedy because they patiently stood in long queues while waiting to board lifeboats. They were too polite to rush and board the limited lifeboats.

Prof. Bruno Frey, who conducted the study from the University of Zurich, said there were several factors in the findings, but a big one was that Britons' civilized behavior was their downfall.

"They [Brits] followed the moral norm that women and children are to be saved first," Frey told ABC News. "They did so despite the fact that they were in a situation of life or death."

"They [Brits] would have been more likely to stand in a queue and wait their turn for boarding the lifeboats than Americans," he said. The study also made reference to the famed British "stiff upper lip."

Frey's conclusions are backed up to a degree with eyewitness accounts from that night. The captain, Edward John Smith, reportedly shouted out: "Be British, boys, be British!" as the Titanic went down, according to witnesses.

One wealthy passenger, Benjamin Guggenheim, accepting he was doomed and, acknowledging his tuxedo, was heard to remark "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen."

Also, the orchestra that carried on playing as the ship sank was a band that consisted of a majority of British citizens. The latter two incidents were recreated in scenes in the smash hit Hollywood film "Titanic."

Frey went on to tell ABC News that he came to the conclusions after studying the people who were saved, including looking at their ages, genders, whether they traveled first, second or third class, their nationalities, and whether they traveled alone or with friends or family.

"The goal of our research is to find out how people behave under extreme duress, especially in situations of life or death," Frey said. "Do they become more selfish, or do they still follow moral norms. In the case of the Titanic it was the latter."