Charles W. Oldrieve stepped into the Ohio River at Cincinnati on January 1, 1907, and wore a pair of oversized wooden shoes that looked more like tiny canoes than footwear. He had set himself a 40-day challenge of travelling down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and reaching New Orleans. The route covered nearly 1,600 miles, which Oldrieve completed on February 10, after arriving in New Orleans about an hour ahead of the deadline. A contemporary newspaper report said that he covered the distance in 40 days, and finished 45 minutes inside the agreed limit.
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