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Round the World with Nellie Bly—Board Game, 1890
By Cheryl Dellecese
In 1887, Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane, 1864–1922), a pioneering investigative reporter for the New York World, made a name for herself when she went undercover as a mentally ill patient for Ten Days in a Mad-House, a six-part exposé on life in an asylum. Her next big project, in 1889, was a record-setting trip around the world in 72 days (inspired by Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in 80 Days), during which Bly sent daily dispatches to the New York World from far-flung locations around the globe. Ever the feminist, she also used the trip to dispel the stereotypical image of the female traveler laden with luggage by traveling light, taking only the dress she wore, an overcoat, several changes of underwear, a small bag of toiletries, and a sack of English and American currency tied around her neck. By the time she returned to America, she was a bona fide celebrity, and her image appeared on all sorts of products from playing cards to the Round the World with Nellie Bly board game manufactured by McLoughlin Bros. The board consisted of 72 illustrated squares that described Bly’s location on each day of her journey. Players used a spinner to determine how many squares to move forward or backward. (Specifically, players used the “McLoughlin Bros.’ Indicator,” described as a “Complete and Unobjectionable Substitute for, and Improvement upon Dice, Teetotums, &c.”) The first player to arrive at square 73—which represented a return home to New Jersey—was the winner.
You Had To Be There
In October, dozens of Smithies traveled from around the world to attend a four-day Smith in Asia gathering. The event’s highlights included a visit to the historic Baek In-je House in Seoul, where Smithies wore traditional hanbok dresses; a candlelit dinner at a restaurant coincidentally named Smith Hanok; a Korean makeup tutorial at Jung Saem Mool Beauty; and a talk on the global rise of Korean pop culture hosted by Hyo-Won Lee ’05. During a stop at Seoul’s famous Gwangjang Market, from left, Başak Kocaman ’02, Mahbina Waheed ’95, Habiba Hussain ’17, and Aamena Gilani ’17 sat down to enjoy a bounty of freshly prepared street food. “I wish I could go back,” Kocaman says. “It was the best trip ever.”
Puzzle: A Feminist Icon Turns 90
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