MDBCs 02 Oct 2024

In the book, Phileas Fogg, the main character of the 1873 novel makes a wager of 20,000 pounds to circumnavigate the Earth in 80 days on October 2, 1872. This unofficial holiday celebrates the wager that set out one of the world's most famous adventure in motion.

Fiction with Real Places

Around the World in Eighty Days is a book that covers some of the biggest changes in the world of transportation and travel that were happening in the late 19th century. Some of these included the construction of the Suez Canal, the starting of the Indian Railways and the transcontinental railroad in the United States. The novel also follows the adventures Fogg has while circumnavigating the world.

The book was first published as a series in French. According to an introduction by William Butcher who translated the book to English, the closing date of the series, December 21, 1872 coincided with the last day of the wager. this made many people reading the series believe that the journey was actually taking place in real time

How to Celebrate?

Read the novel and find out if Phileas Fogg wins the wager.
Read the other works of Jules Verne including Journey to the Center of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Watch movie and TV adaptations of the book.

Did You Know…

…that Jules Verne is one of the world’s most translated authors?

***

I was getting into my car when I noticed a dent. On the windshield was a note and a phone number from the driver. "I feel terrible," the woman apologized when I called. "I hit your car as I was pulling into the next parking spot."

"Please, don't worry," I said to her. "I'm sure our insurance companies will take care of everything."

"Thank you for your understanding," she said. "You're so much nicer than the man I hit on the way out."

***

We purchased an old home in northern New York State from two elderly sisters. Winter was fast approaching, and I was concerned about the house's lack of insulation. "If they could live here all those years, so can we!" my husband confidently declared. One November night the temperature plunged to below zero, and we woke up to find interior walls covered with frost.

My husband called the sisters to ask how they had kept the house warm. After a brief conversation, he hung up.

"For the past 30 years," he muttered, "they've gone to Florida for the winter."

***

Which windshield wiper blade always quits first? That's right—the driver's side. This happened to me one day while driving home in the middle of a blinding storm. Unable to see, I pulled over and tried to figure out a quick fix. I found it in a yellow cotton work glove that was lying on the floor. I wedged the cloth hand under the wiper arm.

It did a great job keeping my windshield clear. Not only that— you'd be surprised at how many people waved back.

***

After trick-or-treating,  a teen takes a shortcut home  through the cemetery. Halfway across, he’s startled by a tapping noise coming from the misty shadows.

Trembling with fear, he spots  an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at a headstone.

“I thought you were a ghost,”  says the relieved teen. “What are you  doing working so late?”

“Oh, those idiots,” grumbles the old man. “They misspelled my name!”