In 1898, a fictional ocean liner named "Titan" appeared in the novel "Futility." Fourteen years later, a real luxury liner called the "Titanic" sank after hitting an iceberg on the same day. Even more astonishing, a short story by a journalist in 1892 had eerily predicted the tragedy of the Titanic. Twenty-three years later, a sailor, recalling the sinking of the Titanic on a similar night in the same season, issued a timely warning that prevented another vessel named the "Titanian" from meeting the same fate.