Futility Closet

In 1946, Australian engineer Ben Carlin decided to circle the world in an amphibious jeep. He would spend 10 years in the attempt, which he called an "exercise in technology, masochism, and chance." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Carlin's unlikely odyssey and the determination that drove him. We'll also salute the Kentucky navy and puzzle over some surprising winners. Intro: During World War II a New Zealand duck served as sergeant in a U.S. Marine battalion. In 1938 H.P. Lovecraft wrote an acrostic sonnet to Edgar Allan Poe. Sources for our feature on Ben Carlin and the Half-Safe: Gordon Bass, The Last Great Australian Adventurer: Ben Carlin's Epic Journey Around the World by Amphibious Jeep, 2017. Boyé De Mente, Once a Fool -- From Tokyo to Alaska by Amphibious Jeep, 2005. William Longyard, A Speck on the Sea: Epic Voyages in the Most Improbable Vessels, 2004. Paula Grey, A History of Travel in 50 Vehicles, 2016. "Across the Atlantic by Jeep," Life 29:21 (Nov. 20, 1950