and Elizabeth Bisland and the race round the globe.
[laughs] What a race.
So Nellie Bly is the "fost"--the "fost" famous.
[laughs] - She's the "fost" famous.
- She's the--the "fost mamous"--
She's the most famous female journalist of her day.
And she's reading Jules Verne.
She's like, 80 days around the world,
well, I wonder if I could do that.
So she goes to her editors, and she says...
Not only did Jules Verne write a decent book,
but also I think I can beat the time
of 80 days around the world,
and you should pay for it.
And her editor's like, All right, gal.
You're a gal. And women--they can't travel
by themselves.
Can you imagine how much stuff
you're gonna have to bring
like curling irons or a lot of trunks of stuff?
She says, Listen, editor.
If you don't put this story out,
I'm gonna go to a competing paper.
So then the editor's like, Okay, well,
if you put it that way, you're leaving, like, tomorrow
or really soon or something like that.
And there is a gentleman, and he's saying to himself,
Well, look at this newspaper.
It says that Nellie Bly is gonna go around the world.
Well, I own "Cosmopolitan" magazine,
and we're just a little baby magazine.
We've only been around for three years.
So, like, what if we also sent a journalist,
and then she went around the world?
And it was definitely "she," because, like, fairness.
He thinks of Elizabeth Bisland.
She's their literary editor.
So she's mostly known for literary salon
and just kind of generally being hot.
He says, Would you like to go around the world?
You have to leave tonight?
And she's like,
Well, if my editor wants me to do it, I'll go.
And so, six hours after even learning of this idea,
Elizabeth Bisland starts heading west.
Nellie Bly's already on a ship,
so she has no idea this is happening.
She thinks she's racing a fictional character.
Well, it turns out she's racing a real woman,
and they're going in opposite directions.
So Nellie Bly lands in England.
Somebody says to her,
Jules Verne would like to meet you.
She's like, Yes, I would love to meet him.
I have time to go to France.
I'm, like, ahead of schedule, and I can totally do this.
So she goes to France,
and she meets up with Jules Verne.
And Jules Verne it totally cool.
And he's like, Nellie, I hope you make it
around the world in less than 80 days.
Here's a bunch of high fives.
My wife and I are chill for you.
Get out of here.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Bisland gets to Japan,
and she sees Mount Fuji, and she's like,
This is totally chill.
Nellie Bly goes to Italy,
and she's writing about the coastline and the pasta.
She goes to Egypt. Women are wearing burkas,
and she's totally blown away by this.
She goes to Sri Lanka. She's riding in rickshaws.
How did I get here?
I don't even speak this language.
What is the language of this place?
Sri Lankan. I'm making that up.
So the whole time Nellie Bly is traveling,
she's sending home these dispatches.
People are reading it,
and they can't take their eyes off of it.
They're following her the entire way around the world.
I mean, this is, like, clickbait stuff.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Bisland, she's ahead of schedule,
because she's following the wind.
So she's gonna win.
Nellie Bly is, like, dawdling at this point.
So she gets to Hong Kong,
'cause she, like, goes up to buy her ticket.
The guy is like, Oh, you're losing your race.
And she's like, What are you talking about?
'Cause I'm racing a fictional character.
'Cause she didn't even know Elizabeth Bisland ever left.
And he's like, No, no, no,
there's another woman in the race
named Elizabeth Bisland.
She was here, like, a while ago, and you're losing.
And so she figures out that she has to sail super fast.
She gets on a boat. She's going across the Pacific.
But where's Elizabeth Bisland?
That's a great question.
She was about to get on this super-fast...
S-speed steamboat. [laughs]
But this dude is-- who's like a fan of Nellie Bly--
is like, Ah...
I think you missed your boat.
Then Elizabeth Bisland was like,
Well, I guess that guy's telling the truth.
So Elizabeth Bisland gets on this very slow ship
to New York.
And so, on January 25th, Nellie Bly wins the race.
She wins it!
She gets there in 72 days,
which is 6 le-- [gurgles]
Which is 6 less than 80 days.
- 8. - And she--
- 72?
- So it'd be 8. - 6 less--You're right, yeah.
That's 8. Forgot how to do math.
- That's okay.
Elizabeth Bisland got there four days later,
still beating the 80 days.
both: Three, two, one, shots!
[majestic music]
♪ ♪
- Mm. You went back around the world.
- So hard did I win that. - Wait, but y--
- How's it feel? - I feel like a loser.
- Really? 'Cause I feel like that was very fun,
and even though I won, by a lot--
- [laughing]
- Both of these women transformed travel writing.
They traveled by themselves as women,
and that hadn't been done before.
And also, they put "Cosmopolitan" on the map,
which is the whole reason you know anything
about sex positions.
So, cheers, Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland.
- [chuckles]
in my book.
[sighs]