In 1908 six cars lined up for the longest, most demanding race the world had ever seen. Their goal was to race, by automobile, from New York City to Paris, France. The route crossed three continents, was just under 22,000 miles (over 35,000 kilometers) long and, of course, nothing went as panned.
Was this ridiculous attempt at a half-thought through idea an impossible task at a time when horses were more reliable than cars? Yes. Did they do it anyway? Kind of.
Join me as we travel back to 1908 for the greatest road trip of all time.
Let’s go for a drive.
Leadbelly Part 1: Prodigy
Irena Sendler, the Titanic Engineers, Invisible Hands, and Stubby the War Dog
The Prehistory of Compassion and the Search for Human Happiness
John Robert Fox, Buffalo Soldier
Miep Gies, the Dutch Resistance, and a Girl Who Changed the World
The Elephant Angel of Belfast
A Heroic Goat, an Angry Cat, and a Graveyard Full of Daredevils
The Edmund Fitzgerald
Olympias Part 3: The Rise and Fall of a Legend
Olympias Part 2: Mother of Empire
Olympias Part 1: Witch of Epirus, Mother of Alexander the Great
The First Robot
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The Lost Voyage of Shackleton: The Edge of Human Endurance Part 5 of 5
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Père Lachaise Cemetery: A History of Death in Paris
The Screaming Mummies of Guanajuato and a Horde of Egyptian Cats
The First Monsters
The Lost Voyage of Shackleton: The Edge of Human Endurance Part 2 of 5
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Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
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