Might be attempted any time, but ironically, the advent of air travel has made this harder, as it has replaced many of the old passenger ships and rail lines that Fogg relied on in his journey. Most notably because all trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights actually fly over the North Pole to minimize the time and distance of flight. A series of flights “around the world” will never actually circumnavigate the earth.
Referenced by...: Sunset Overdrive: An "Around The World In 80 Seconds" poster, one of which is left of the top-right Two-Hat Jack shop in the Old Factory District.
Technology Marches On: Mapmaking Marched On when the International Date Line was instituted in the early 20th century, rendering the climactic twist impossible. You set your clock back a day going east and forward a day going west. While the Date Line had not been defined at the time Verne was writing, it was effectively still there, presenting something of a Plot Hole. For the ending twist to work, Fogg would have had to never notice the date (or day of the week) all through his trip across America, while looking at train and ship schedules.Then again, Fogg may have been concerned with local time.
