This one definitely falls under my Miscellaneous Thinking category and has nothing to do with the publishing business, but I was genuinely surprised to read this fact in the article “Lack of Backup Power Puts Cruise Passengers at the Ocean’s Mercy” in The New York Times today:

Massive new vessels like the Oasis of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean, can carry up to 5,400 passengers and 2,160 crew members… Experts say that evacuating any vessel is a dangerous, last-ditch procedure. And the prospect of doing so on a ship like the Oasis of the Seas is daunting. It carries enough lifeboats for 6,500 people; or 1,000 seats fewer than its maximum capacity.

I’ve read that section three times because I keep thinking I must be reading it wrong. Am I? Or is anyone else surprised to learn cruise ships aren’t required to have enough lifeboats for all of the passengers and crew? For some reason, I thought this issue had already been addressed after a terrible tragedy…