"A good Englishman never jokes when so serious a matter as a wager is in question," replied Phileas Fogg.
Jules Verne: Around the World in 80 Days It was enough to titillate the great storyteller's ghost. The wackiest ocean race of all time, it started in a cozy English club, the consequence of a five-bob (70¢) wager between a balding ex-commando and a bespectacled manufacturer of pocket maps. The wager made, War Hero H. G. ("Blondie") Hasler and Mapmaker Francis Chichester approached the prestigious Royal Western Yacht Club for official sanction. Their casual proposition:...
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