The Write Stuff

They are remembered today as trailblazers for black athletes everywhere. But one man isn't as well known as them, though he should be. What he was able to accomplish in less than a week was history making, and it happened at one of the most famous venues in the world. It was eighteen eighty in New York City. The skyscraper

wouldn't make its debut for another several years. Over at Madison Square Garden, a crowd had gathered to see something incredible Before the garden had moved to its permanent home on thirty fourth Streets. It was a railroad station on the corner of East twenty six Streets and Madison Avenue. It was then converted into a venue for P. T. Barnum Circus, and by eighteen seventy nine it had become

a major entertainment center of all kinds of events. The first Westminster Keunnel Club Dog Show was held there on August tenth of eighteen eighty. However, the garden hosted the most popular spectator sport in America. Eighteen men had come to test their endurance in a six day long race. Fred Hitchborne was one of them. A black man originally from Haiti, Hitchborn had arrived in the United States years

earlier to build a new life for himself. He worked his way up slowly, getting a job at a local grocery store before running in races on the side. His performance impressed to sports promoter named Daniel O'Leary, who saw something special in Hitchborn and decided to sponsor him. However, the name Fred Hitchborne wasn't going to fly in the

wide world of professional sports. In eighteen eighty, it changed his name to the catchier Frank Hart instead, and heart was a wonder The press even described him that way in backhanded articles that dubbed him the Negro Wonder. No matter how many times he won or how popular he became, people never let him forget where he stood. He dealt with hostility from local competitors as well. They wouldn't shake his hand and often lobbed racial slurs at him before

and during each race. In one instance, it was believed that a spectator who had given Heart a cup of soda water before the race had actually poisoned him. He got sick almost immediately, but he didn't let the pain stop him. Heart ran and one Finally, in eighteen eighty, Heart entered the competition that would define his career. He was one of three black men going up against fifteen white men and what was called a six day go as you please race. Before baseball became America's national pastime,

crowds gathered to cheer on a sport called pedestrianism. In this particular race, competitors went around an oval track for six days by any means necessary. They could walk, run, crawl, or jump whatever they wanted to do as long as they went around the track as many times as possible. For the duration of the event. Cots were set up in the middle of the track for them to rest for a few hours before picking back up again, and the audience cheered the men on, especially Heart, who ran

well walked circles around the competition. Over the course of six days, frank Hart walked five hundred sixty five miles, which averages out to roughly ninety four miles A day. Before the event had started, Heart had wisely wagered thirty six dollars on himself, combined with the prize money he'd wont. After the race, Heart went home with almost twenty two dollars by today's standards, that made him one of the

wealthiest athletes in the country. Unfortunately, pedestrianism is popularity wouldn't last forever. An up and coming sport called baseball was gaining in popularity and would quickly overtake pedestrianism as the national pastime, and Frank Hart Well, he faded into obscurity along with the thing that made him famous. Today, collectors remember him thanks to the tobacco companies of the time.

They used to insert trading cards of famous pedestrians into their cigarette packs, making Hearts one of the first black athletes ever portrayed on a trading card a point of pride for a man who, despite his treatment both on and off the track, at every reason to walk tall. While the numbers aren't exact, it's been said that percent of people who start writing a novel never finish it. My you, it's a difficult task, inventing a brand new world full of fictional characters who are meant to feel

real to your readers. Writing a novel takes determination and a dedication to one's craft, and even if three percent actually do finish writing their first book, chances are it's going to be very bad. Travis was part of that three percent. He wanted to be a writer, and in two thousand four he set his eyes on a very specific prize. The publishing company Published America was looking for

manuscripts of a particularly high quality. They didn't bother with what they saw as low brow genres like science fiction or fantasy. Of the seventies submissions they received each day, almost of them were rejected. Published America wanted to sign only the best works of literary fiction. Travis believed that he was just such an author, and he finally saw his chance to be taken seriously. So he hunkered down at his computer and wrote for weeks on end, pouring

his heart and soul onto the page. When he had finished the final draft of his new book, titled Atlanta Nights, he sent it to publish America and waited for their response. He was hopeful, to say the least, they had to love it, after all, he had worked so hard to give them the kind of literary revelation they had asked for. On December seventh of that year, Travis finally got his response. Published America had read his novel and they loved it. They sent him a contract to review over the holidays

and to return to them after the new year. Travis brought the contract to his lawyer, who looked it over and decided it wouldn't be in his best interest to publish the novel. After all, Travis should have been crushed. His dream of seeing his book on a bookstore shelf had just been dashed. But he was okay with it. They all were. You see, Travis wasn't a real author. He was a persona created by a group of professional

authors with the grudge against Published America. The company had presented itself as a sophisticated publisher that only accepted books of the highest caliber in reality, though it operated more like a vanity press in that it made authors pay a handsome fee upfront to have copies of their manuscripts printed offended at their statements against certain genres of fiction, author James D. McDonald assembled a group of science fiction and fantasy writers to work together on a little scheme.

They wrote Atlanta Nights with the express purpose of creating something awful. There was almost no plot, spelling and grammar came and went with the breeze. Two chapters were written by two different authors based on one small piece of an outline they both shared, and one chapter was duplicated word for word and included as another separate chapter. Later, characters died and came back to life without explanation. Characters

changed roles and occupations. They even included an entire chapter that had been written completely by an artificial intelligence program which examined the previously written chapters and then spit out what it thought was the appropriate text. The authors then came up with the pseudonym Travis, who we met earlier. He was given the last name of Tea like the beverage, making him Travis t and then the team submitted the manuscript for review, and of course Published America accepted it.

They accepted almost everything as long as someone was willing to pay their fees. But after the company sent over the contract and the authors had a lawyer look it over, they decided they couldn't go through with publication. They let Publish America in on the joke, and the company immediately rescinded its acceptance of the manuscript. That wasn't a problem, though, The authors published it any way through a print on de man service and donated all proceeds to the Science

Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Emergency Medical Fund. Atlanta Knights got some pretty awful reviews, which is very understandable. After all, it was supposed to be terrible, which might just be the best example ever of the problem with design by committee. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey

in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show and you can learn all about it over at the world of lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Yeah,