Real-Life Race Around the World

Back in 1889, reporter Nellie Bly came up with an exciting idea: She wanted to attempt Phileas Fogg’s fictional 80-day journey in real life! In fact, Bly believed that she could complete the trip faster than Fogg did.

At the time, there were very few women working in journalism. Bly was one of the world’s first investigative journalists. She had written stories on what it was like to be a servant, a theater performer, and more.

 When Bly proposed the idea to her editor at the New York World, he didn’t want to give her the assignment. As a woman, she shouldn’t travel alone, he said. He also thought she would need to carry too much baggage, preventing her from moving quickly. According to Bly, her editor claimed that “no one but a man [could] do this.” A few months later, he changed his mind and offered her the job.

Bly packed her belongings in a single handbag—two caps, three veils, an overcoat, slippers, and toiletries, plus other essentials. Unlike the endlessly wealthy Fogg, she carried only about 200 pounds (worth about $41,000 today).

On November 14, 1889, she started on her tour around the world. First, Bly took a steamship from New Jersey to London. In France, she met with author Jules Verne himself! As she traveled, Bly sent progress reports back to New York, which were published in the New York World. People around the world followed her journey closely.

 Bly completed her trip around the world in only 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds—turning Verne’s fictional story into fact and setting a new world record in the process!