A Student Competition developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, Transportation & Development Institute (ASCE/T&DI).
Inspired by the 1873 adventure novel penned by Jules Verne, where the main character, Phileas Fogg of London, accepts a £20,000 wager (£2,221,600 in 2018) set by his friends to circumnavigate the world in 80 days. It was believed that with the completion of railroads in India and the United States, global
travel was possible in 80 days. Phileas accepted the challenge and so the adventure began.
The planned itinerary and selected modes of transportation provided in Verne’s story are provided below. My how times have changed. The automobile hadn’t made its debut yet, and flight hadn’t taken off yet.
Think about how quickly we can span the globe now. The world has truly gotten smaller, and advancements in technology have played a major role. With the industrial revolution first, ushering in automobiles and airplanes in the early 1900s, then the computer revolution followed by the network and communications revolution, there now are many modes of transportation to choose from. Trips can be planned to minimize time, minimize cost, minimize energy consumption, while at the same time maximizing the thrill of the adventure.