Most people of a certain age also remember OJ Simpson's famous highway chase and the subsequent murder trial. A nationwide, shared cultural memory doesn't even

Most people of a certain age also remember OJ Simpson's famous highway chase and the subsequent murder trial. A nationwide, shared cultural memory doesn't even require large scale tragedy, let alone innocence. As others have suggested, I would think interest in the Titanic had much to do with the celebrity status of its victims and the ship itself.