Phileas Fogg and His Wager

Phileas Fogg rightly suspected that his departure from London would create a lively sensation at the West End. The news of the bet spread through the Reform Club. It was an exciting topic of conversation among its members.

From the club, it soon got into the papers throughout England. The boasted "tour of the world" was heavily debated. Some took sides with Phileas Fogg. But the large majority shook their heads and declared their opposition. Most felt it was absurd, even impossible. They didn’t think the tour of the world could be made in so short a time. It was only theoretically and on paper that you could go around the world in 80 days with the existing means of traveling.