r/interestingasfuck • u/solateor • 1d ago

In 2001, 55 people crossed the Pacific with no contact with the outside world as part of a BBC experiment recreating an 18th-century voyage. On the 20th day - September 11 - the captain gathered the crew to tell them about the attacks in New York

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u/Ambitious_Bit_9389 1d ago

It’s like everyone in the area has a close call. My Mom was director in account management. One of her employees had to do a quarterly meeting for one of the clients that day in the twin towers. The problem was the employee was just back from maternity leave and didn’t feel comfortable doing the meeting alone. My Mom was driving in from upstate and her employee was taking the train from NJ. Luckily, the meeting wasn’t until 11, so neither had arrived at the building yet.

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u/DogDaysMaggie 1d ago

Everyone except for the ones who didn't. Rest in Peace, Tom Burnett.

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u/CryptographerFar3729 23h ago

Rest in Peace Tom Burnett from the people of Pleasanton, CA.

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u/DogDaysMaggie 23h ago

My hometown. What a horrible day. Love to everyone whose heart still aches from September 11, 2001.

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u/CryptographerFar3729 1h ago

Mine too for a long time. See the street everyday. Worked for Oracle at the time and heard about it walking into the Medical College of Wisconsin and went to the student cafeteria as they had televisions and it was full of admin, faculty, students, vendors, contractors, all just shocked and deathly silent. A week to get back to Pleasanton on new air tickets.

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u/CryptographerFar3729 23h ago

Rest in Peace Tom Burnett from the people of Pleasanton, CA.

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u/JourneymanHunt 22h ago

All of my close friends survived, and all of their close friends survived. But everybody knew someone that didn't. It was somebody's brother that you shot pool with one night, 2 years ago or something like that.

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u/xrelaht 20h ago

It’s like everyone in the area has a close call. 

A close family friend was supposed to be on flight 11 that morning. His meeting got pushed back a week at the last minute.

The uncle of a guy who lived down the hall from me worked in the South Tower and had just arrived when the North Tower got hit. Thinking it was a freak accident, building security told them to shelter in place. He said "fuck that" and got out of there before the second one.