Daredevil Diva: 14 Amazing Fun Facts About Nellie Bly You Won't Believe

1. Sexist Article Sparks Fierce Journalist

Hold on to your petticoats, because Nellie Bly took the term "pen is mightier than the sword" to a whole new level: She burst onto the journalism scene in response to a sexist newspaper article and swiftly metamorphosed into a trailblazing investigative journalist and suffrage advocate in the late 19th century.
Source => blogs.loc.gov

2. Victorian Wonder Woman Circles Globe

Who does one call to win a Jules Verne-inspired bet or contest? Nellie Bly, the Pioneering Globetrotter with a penchant for proving naysayers wrong and smashing records like a Victorian-era Wonder Woman: In 1889, undaunted by an editor who suggested sending a man instead, Nellie embarked on a whirlwind adventure to circle the globe in under 80 days, beginning her epic journey aboard the SS Augusta Victoria and forever etching her name in the annals of round-the-world travel supremacy.
Source => heinzhistorycenter.org

Did you know the real-life "Moses" was a fearless woman named Harriet Tubman? She led 19 daring trips to free around 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad! Discover her astonishing story 🚂💪🔗

=> Fun Facts about Harriet-Tubman

3. Carmen Sandiego of Journalism

Monkeys, lepers, and newsprint, oh my! Nellie Bly took the world by storm, playing a real-life Carmen Sandiego with a journalistic twist: her globetrotting adventure not only shattered glass ceilings for women in the field, but also led her to visit a leper colony in China and adopt a pet monkey in Singapore.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Pioneering Undercover Boss

Before "undercover boss" was a thing, and disguises were all the rage: Nellie Bly, also known as Elizabeth Jane Cochran, bravely posed as a mental patient for 10 days to uncover and expose the horrifying and corrupt practices taking place at an asylum, ultimately leading to its closure and significant improvements in patient care.
Source => blogs.loc.gov

5. Crushing Competition in Global Race

Who said women can't compete in the race of life? Nellie Bly laughed in the face of her doubting editor and circled the globe faster than a world-class game of Duck, Duck, Goose: Bly completed her trip around the world in just 72 days, smashing records, and leaving her competitor, Elizabeth Bisland, in the dust of her trailblazing footsteps.
Source => smithsonianmag.com

6. Detective Nellie Bly's Daring Investigations

In a world where Teddy Roosevelt and Sherlock Holmes collide, one daring journalist rises to the occasion, donning her detective hat and outsmarting criminals: Nellie Bly played a crucial role in the investigation of an assassination attempt on Roosevelt, working alongside his adviser George Cortelyou and detective John Hay, and ultimately ensuring that justice was served.
Source => bookmarks.reviews

7. Nellie the Madwoman Infiltrates Asylum

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the craziest of them all? Why, that would be Nellie Bly, doing anything to get the story: This intrepid journalist spent her nights perfecting her "insane face" before posing as a Cuban woman in search of her lost trunks to get admitted into a 19th-century asylum. Once inside Blackwell's Island, Bly spent 10 days rubbing elbows with the truly disturbed and the totally sane – who had been wrongly committed – learning the horrifying, insane truth.
Source => washingtonpost.com

8. Investing in Adventures and Stocks

While most folks plot how to slowly crawl around the world in 80 days, our dear Nellie Bly had other plans and circled the globe with both her eyes on bigger pies: As a journalist and adventurer, she cleverly invested her earnings from her well-known escapade in the New York World's stocks and became one of the highest paid reporters of her era.
Source => blog.zombiesrungame.com

9. Method Acting Journalist Breaks Boundaries

Who said method acting started with Brando? Nellie Bly channeled her inner madwoman way before Hollywood made it cool: This audacious journalist faked insanity in the late 1800s to uncover the brutal conditions of mental asylums, ultimately leading to major reforms and changing the face of investigative journalism with her expose, "Ten Days in a Mad-House."
Source => blogs.loc.gov

10. Stunt Girl Journalist Advocates Social Justice

From daring disguises to articles that'll make you go "batty": Nellie Bly earned her "stunt girl" journalist title and became an advocate for social justice after undercover escapades in a mental asylum for 10 days, ultimately exposing baby-selling rackets and worker injustices through her eye-opening articles.
Source => washingtonpost.com

11. Time-Traveling Journalist Uncovers Hidden Truths

Who needs a DeLorean when you've got Nellie the time-traveling journalist, bravely venturing into the underbelly of society to uncover hidden truths for our enlightenment: Nellie Bly kick-started the world of investigative journalism by fearlessly reporting on social injustices and exposing the harsh conditions of a women's asylum, after spending ten days there undercover in her now-iconic exposé, "Ten Days in a Mad-House."
Source => heinzhistorycenter.org

12. Bly Out-Sherlocks Holmes in Asylum Exposé

In a move that would make Sherlock Holmes tip his hat and rethink his career choices, Nellie Bly went full-on detective mode and joined the ranks of New York City's "crazies": This tenacious journalist went undercover for ten days at an insane asylum, exposing its abuses in a shocking exposé that led to a grand jury investigation and a much-needed increase in funding for the beleaguered institution.
Source => washingtonpost.com

13. Crazy like a Fox-Driven Change

Who knew being "crazy like a fox" could lead to monumental change?: Nellie Bly's daring undercover stint at Blackwell's Island insane asylum brought to light the appalling conditions therein, prompting New York State to boost funding for mental health care and improve oversight, effectively kick-starting the investigative journalism movement – especially for women.
Source => washingtonpost.com

14. Oil Company Fiasco of Intrepid Journalist

Oil's well that ends well, except when it doesn't: Nellie Bly, the intrepid journalist, moonlighted as an inventor with multiple patents in oil manufacturing, generously provided health care and fun perks for her employees, but ultimately fell prey to fraudster minions, going belly up with a bankrupt company.
Source => womenshistory.org