Nellie Bly, on the fly

In honor of International Women's Day -- which was yesterday, but hey, it's still March 8 in California -- we present Nelly Bly Trading Cards.

Nelly Bly was an inner bitch of the finest water. She pioneered undercover journalism in 1888 when she had herself committed to an insane asylum for 10 days so that she could write an expose. Here's the full text. Interestingly, she describes a group of violently insane women as "busy on their individual freaks"; I hadn't thought the word "freak" was in use in the nineteenth century.

Nearly all night long I listened to a woman cry about the cold and beg for God to let her die. Another one yelled "Murder!" at frequent intervals and "Police!" at others until my flesh felt creepy.
[..]
One middle-aged woman, who used to sit always in the corner of the room, was very strangely affected. She had a piece of newspaper, and from it she continually read the most wonderful things I ever heard. I often sat close by her and listened. History and romance fell equally well from her lips.

In 1889, she traveled around the world in 72 days, beating Phileas Fogg's fictional record by nearly 8 days. After her husband's death she managed his multimillion-dollar companies. And when World War I erupted all over her European vacation, she reported on the war from the eastern front; at one point, she was arrested by the Hungarian police, who mistook her for a British spy.

Nellie Bly was a Pittsburgh girl, born in Cochran's Mills, near Vandergrift. Her real name was Elizabeth Jane Cochran, but I'm convinced that she wouldn't have trading cards if she had published under her real name; you can't work "Elizabeth Jane Cochran" into cutesy doggerel. Hence the lack of stylish trading cards for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

When Nellie Bly went on the fly
To show what courage dared to try
She made the startled world confess
Men don't monopolize success.

Compliments of Commonwealth Clothing Co.
122 Front Street, Worcester, Mass.

Damn straight. Happy belated girly day, everybody.