After fifteen months of traveling around the world, Annie Cohen Kopchovsky was touted as having achieved “the most extraordinary journey ever undertaken by a woman.” However, this was no ordinary journey. In June 1894, Annie began a 15 month trip around the world on a bicycle - collecting $5000.00 in her travels. Even by today's standards, this was an extraordinary feat which would test the physical and mental mettle of any human. But even more importantly, Annie's successful accomplishment of the task, was a footnote in the history of women's achievements, and helped to dissolve the perception of women being the weaker sex.
Annie's adventure started as a bet with two wealthy men, in which she was challenged to circle the world in 15 months on a bicycle, and to earn $5000.00 dollars during the journey. Annie, who was a housewife and mother, had never ridden a bicycle before, but
…show more content…
She became quite the celebrity across the globe, and businesses wanted to take advantage of the celebrity on wheels for their own exposure. Annie was able to earn the $5000.00 by various means: carrying advertising signs, making appearances in stores, and selling pictures of herself. Londonderry Lithia Spring Water Company not only paid her to advertise their company, but to adopt their name. Henceforth, Annie became known as Annie Londonderry; a name which became synonymous with a woman's great strength, courage, and independence – or, the “new woman.”
Not only did Annie win the wager and fulfill all the conditions of the bet, she addressed and shattered a perception held by the world. Annie's achievements proved that women were not just possessions, but indeed possessed the same mental and physical attributes their male counterparts. Annie took a road that had never been traveled before, and in doing so, set the wheels in motion in promoting gender equality, and declaring women's place in the