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"After reading in the Daily Telegraph that a new railroad in India had made it theoretically possible to travel around the world in 80 days, Phileas Fogg bet his fellow members at the Reform Club, London that he will make that journey in 80 days or less; the wager was for the princely sum of £20,000 (half his fortune). On the evening of 2nd October 1872, along with his valet Jean Passepartout he set out to win the wager."

The story began serialization in Le Temps, the Paris newspaper, on 6 November 1872. It was published in installments over the next 45 days, with its ending timed to synchronize Fogg's December 21st deadline with the real world. Chapter 35 appeared on 20th December; 21st December, the date upon which Fogg was due to appear back in London, did not include an installment of the story; on 22nd December, the final two chapters announced Fogg's success. As it was being published serially for the first time, some readers believed that the journey was actually taking place – bets were placed, and some railway companies and ship liner companies lobbied Jules Verne to appear in the book.

🎬 A 1956 movie staring David Niven, Cantinflas and Shirley MacLaine won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture. See music trailer below.

🌍 No idea when I saw this film but it must have certainly fired our young imaginations.  

The book was published in 1873. An 1874 stage version, written by Verne and French playwright Adolphe d’Ennery, was also wildly successful and ran for several decades.