At the time she was launched in 1858, the SS Great Eastern was by far the largest ship

ever built.

So big, it needed six masks to carry sale.

Plus the world's biggest steam-powered propeller, plus the two biggest paddle wheels ever

fit to a ship.

But it became known best for a tragic and ghoulish story.

And upon its scrapping more than 30 years later, the skeletons of a welder and his assistant

were found trapped between its double iron hulls.

Today we have the story of just how we go about trying to determine if this legend is true.

The skeletons of the Great Eastern is coming up next on Skeptoid.

The skeletons of the Great Eastern.

There's an old story which you've certainly heard in one form or another about an unfortunate

riveter who found himself sealed inside the hull of a ship under construction, only

to be finally released decades later when the ship gets broken up for scrap.

His skeletonized remains spilled out before the surprised workers.

In some versions, it's one skeleton, sometimes two.

Often this story is misattributed to a more famous ship like the Titanic.

But the origin of the tale actually comes from a ship that's perhaps less famous but

is one of the most important ships in the history of shipbuilding.

The Great Eastern.

Launched in 1858, she was at 211 meters by far the largest ship in the world, by volume

eight times larger than any other.

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