The article said that it was now possible to complete the circumnavigation in 80 days, with the following itinerary: Paris to Port Said, railway and steamer.6 days A periodical called Le Tour du Monde carried an article on the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, when I was but a wee lad. William Butcher's 1995 translation of Verne's book includes an appendix that provides details of contemporary sources that had information regarding quick circumnavigations, both theoretical and actual. The difficulty of the task accounts for the substantial amount of the bet: £20,000 in 1873 is worth about £2,000,000 or more than US $2.5 million today. It flatters the British pride, and that certainly didn't hurt its popularity. It's also worth noting that Around the World celebrates the technological marvels and political influence of the world-spanning British Empire. The deadline lent extra urgency to the dangers the characters encountered. The popularity of Around the World, then, was more about the reputation and skill of the author and his depiction of the dangers encountered on the journey, than about the feasibility of the feat itself. (For more information on both women, I recommend Jason Porath's excellent Rejected Princesses.) A few months later George Train did it again and hit 67 days, then beat his own record a third time with 60 days in 1892. Both met with hardship on the way, but each beat the semi-fictional 80-day record: Bly did it in 72 days, Bisland in 76 the difference was largely a matter of which newspaper was willing to spend more money on the stunt. There was no question that they could do it.
Sixteen years after Around the World was published, Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland competed on behalf of the Cosmopolitan and the New York World to see who could do the circumnavigation faster. It was ridiculously expensive to go around the world quickly, but given sufficient money the big obstacle was unrest in the areas one traveled rather than the speed of one's mode of travel (again, reflected relatively accurately-albeit sensationally-in the novel). Recent global infrastructure improvements also meant the world was ripe for speedy circumnavigation: In 1870 George Train made the journey in 80 days (minus two months spent in France his 80-day record is just counting the travel time). Thomas Cook ran a leisurely circumnavigation group tour in 1872, a few months before Around the World was published.Īround the World opens with a discussion of just how trivial circumnavigation had become for a man with sufficient resources, and Verne isn't exaggerating (see above). Circumnavigations became both more common and faster in the 1800s. People had been circumnavigating the globe for centuries-the first known successful attempt was in the early 1500s and the feat was repeated several times in the following three hundred years. Verne's claim is probably not precisely true, but whether it's an error of his memory or of the newspaper item we can't know-see verbose's answer for speculation on what article he might have read. Verne himself claims to have been inspired by an early 1860s newspaper item which said that a man could in fact go around the world in 80 days and someone had done so already. It's a story celebrating what the British Empire had already accomplished, not postulating what might be possible in the future. Speedy circumnavigation was new, but not unheard of, and Around the World wasn't positing anything outlandish or even vaguely sci-fi. When you travel as independent travelers, nothing ever goes as planned, so fortunately, we share the same travel philosophy." The duo also has an Instagram page with over 20,000 followers, where they keep sharing about their travels.Circumnavigation was nothing new. Instead, they find 'real value in experience over comfort.' They further wrote in their blog, "Our greatest joy is mingling with the locals. Their trips aren't planned by a travel agent, nor do they believe in staying at luxurious hotels or having gourmet food. Ellie Hamby and Sandy Hazelip outside Taj to their blog, the duo has travelled to several countries and had many adventures. Ellie Hamby, a documentary photographer, and Sandy Hazelip, a physician, and lecturer from US's Texas, are on a mission to explore the world. Many of us have heard about Around the World In 80 Days, but have you ever heard of around the world at 80? If not, allow us to introduce you to two 81-year-old friends travelling worldwide.
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