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Page last updated at 09:26 GMT, Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Women and children first?

When the ship is sinking is it really women and children first, or every man for himself? The answer, it seems, may depend on how fast it is going down. New research compares survivors of the Titanic, which took two hours to sink, and the Lusitania, which went down in 18 minutes. Very few women and children made it out of the latter, leading to the conclusion that people look after themselves first under extreme duress. Professor Bruno Frey who led the research discusses the differences between the two historic shipwrecks.

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