The world’s most popular YouTuber, MrBeast, tweeted he got an invitation to ride the Oceangate submarine. On June 15, 2023, Jimmy Donaldson tweeted, “I was invited earlier this month to ride the Titanic submarine. I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it.” Moreover, he shared a screenshot of an iMessage he received:
“Also, I’m going to the Titanic in a submarine late this month. The team would be stoked to have you along,” it said.” Another cut-off line of text followed, saying, “I’m sure you’re also welcome to join.” Donaldson’s tweet is a grim reminder of the Oceangate craft’s grisly fate and a warning to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
This article will discuss further MrBeast’s statement regarding the Titanic submersible. Then, I will cover the people he would have joined in the murky depths had he accepted the invitation. Later, I will explain why the submarine imploded.
Why do people doubt MrBeast’s statement?
MrBeast, a.k.a. Jimmy Donaldson, has roughly 163 million YouTube subscribers at the time of writing. His popularity skyrocketed him to becoming one of the world’s wealthiest content creators. It is easy to assume he would receive an invitation to the Oceangate submarine.
After all, it charged $250,000 per trip, so only the richest would be interested in it. Yet, it seems many people doubted his sigh of relief. According to Kotaku, folks wondered why MrBeast’s iMessage was blue instead of green.
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The Verge correspondent Tom Warren tweeted, “How did you manage to receive a blue message on iMessage?” Another Twitter user named pudding person said, “Wait, why is the text receipt blue? Why are you making this up?”
MrBeast replied, “My friend sent me the screenshot of when he invited me. Didn’t think to scroll up and screenshot our old texts myself.” In response, another user said, “Scroll up and post! Wouldn’t take long to search the entire text on iPhone.”
Jimmy Donaldson did not identify who this “friend” was or provide additional context. Also, he has not shared more details about his message at the time of writing.
Who were the five Oceangate passengers?
On June 22, 2023, the United States Coast Guard confirmed the Oceangate submarine experienced a “catastrophic implosion.” If MrBeast truly declined to ride the vessel, he avoided joining these passengers under the murky deep:
- Hamish Harding was the chairman of Action Aviation, which supplies aircraft to Fortune 100 companies. CBS News reports he was a well-known adventurer with several Guinness World Records. For example, he and his team achieved the “fastest circumnavigation of Earth via both the geographic poles” via airplane.
- Shahzada Dawood was the vice chairman of Dawood Hercules, an investment and holding firm in Karachi, Pakistan. Also, Dawood had a master’s degree in global textile marketing from Philadelphia University in the US.
- Suleman Dawood is Shahzada Dawood’s 19-year-old son who enjoys playing volleyball and solving Rubik’s Cubes. National Post says he felt “terrified” about riding Oceangate but obliged his dad because it was Father’s Day.
- Paul-Henri Nargeolet is “Titanic’s Greatest Explorer, according to CBS News. Moreover, he was the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic, a US company that holds salvage rights to the Titanic wreck.
- Stockton Rush was OceanGate’s CEO and the submarine’s pilot. Daily Mail reported he declined to hire “a whole bunch of 50-year-old white guys” to oversee the construction of his seacraft. Instead, Rush explained, “I wanted our team to be younger and to be inspirational.”
Why did the Oceangate vessel implode?
The Oceangate submarine’s voyage to the Titanic seems cool at first. Fortunately, MrBeast did not ride the vessel because its hull used inappropriate materials.
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Arun Bansil, a distinguished professor of physics at Northeastern University, said the submarine used carbon fiber. According to Northeastern Global News, this material is lighter than steel and titanium, allowing the Titan to accommodate more passengers.
However, carbon fiber’s deep sea applications lack enough research. It can break and crack suddenly, which would have contributed to hull fatigue and catastrophic failure.
Conclusion
MrBeast says he received an invitation to ride the crashed Oceangate submersible. Days after its implosion, Donaldson shared a screenshot of that invitation, saying he felt relieved for declining it.
However, many people doubt the authenticity of his story and screenshot. At the time of writing, the YouTuber has not shared further information.
The Titan submarine promotes exploring the unknown for learning. However, we should not take unnecessary risks by ignoring safety measures.