The last we hear of Contiki in these ancient legends

is that he was banished from Peru and disappeared with his people across the Pacific.

In the Polynesian Islands too, people speak of the great Tiki,

who brought their ancestors to the islands.

We were now going to follow in his footsteps.

We were on our own, afloat on our nine balsa woods.

The nearest archipelago lay some 5,000 miles ahead of us.

That is to say, the same distance as from Cayao to San Francisco,

or from San Francisco to Iceland,

or from Iceland to Ethiopia.

That's an excerpt from the Academy Award-winning 1950 documentary, Contiki, the epic raft journey

across the Pacific.

In this episode, we'll trace the treacherous ocean route that Norwegian adventurer

Tor Hairedoll and his crew took in their attempt to prove a theory about ancient migration

patterns, and we'll look at the kind of team that it takes to survive and thrive in the

middle of the ocean, with no hope of rescue, for months on end.

I'm Dr. Katie Milkman, and this is Choiceology, an original podcast from Charles Schwab.

It's a show about the psychology and economics behind our decisions.

We bring you true and surprising stories about high-stakes choices,

and then we examine how these stories connect to the latest research in behavioral science.

We do it all to help you make better judgments and avoid costly mistakes. If you walk around the raft and you go behind it, you will see those huge locks. They're just being helped together by normal rope made from hemp, all-natural

material.

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