In the Future of the Fifties, everything was going to be pointy, finned, polyester, and atomic, even the US Merchant Marine.
In 1959 we launched the NS Savannah, a nuclear-powered technology demonstrator that was a cargo ship that also carried ninety passengers in space-age comfort.
Named for the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic (in 1819!), she had a checkered career. Her cargo holds were apparently a bear to load, and her operating costs sky high compared to conventional oil-powered ships, and she was eventually taken out of service in 1971...two years before the Arab Oil Embargo sent the price of fuel oil to the moon.
Ars Technica has a photo essay on it. Look at those cool accommodations, especially the bar. It was a harbinger of a future when groovy astro-couples could zip across the ocean in luxury, sitting at the poolside bar and washing filet mignon tablets down with space martinis.
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