Four Failed Remasters and the Lessons Each Failure Teaches

Although costumes, sweets, and carved pumpkins are part of the modern image of Halloween, the celebration popularized in the United States has much older and distinct origins. The best-known link points to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival held at least 2,500 years ago in the regions that now correspond to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

For the Celtic peoples, Samhain was a crucial event on the calendar, occurring between late October and early November. This period symbolized the transition from the brightest phase of the year (spring and summer) to the arrival of winter, a season associated with darkness and death. According to tradition, on the night of October 31st, the boundary between the world of the living and the dead weakened, allowing spirits to circulate freely.

Ancient records suggest that the Celts believed that deceased individuals during the year migrated to another plane, while their spirits could return to visit the living. There was also the risk of someone accidentally entering this spiritual domain. Furthermore, the beliefs of the time mentioned the appearance of fairies emerging from mounds of earth, who enjoyed playing tricks on inhabitants.

To protect themselves from these supernatural entities, such as fairies, witches, and goblins, communities lit large bonfires. Some accounts indicate that they also used disguises to ward off these unwanted beings. It is possible that banquets, games, storytelling, and alcohol consumption were part of the Samhain festivities, serving to welcome back the deceased.

However, the veracity of this information remains uncertain, as the ancient Celts left few notes about Samhain. Much of the current knowledge comes from Christian writers from a period after the predominance of Christianity, or from observations of local customs made in more recent centuries.

It is observed that the Catholic Church may have influenced the celebration. Around the 8th century, Pope Gregory III changed the date of All Saints' Day, moving it from May 13th to November 1st, coinciding with Samhain. Some experts speculate that this change was deliberate, in an attempt to 'Christianize' Samhain, given that the Celts were a pagan people who worshipped various deities.

A historical milestone occurred between 1845 and 1852, when Europe faced a severe humanitarian crisis. In Ireland, a fungus called Phytophthora infestans devastated potato crops, which sustained a third of the population. With the loss of approximately one million lives and economic ruin, many Irish people were forced to emigrate to the United States.

In doing so, they brought their traditions with them, including Samhain. Consequently, the first mentions of Halloween emerged in North America shortly after this period. In 1870, for example, an American magazine published an article describing it as an 'English' holiday, as reported by the BBC.

The modern name, 'Halloween', is a combination of two terms: 'Hallow', an old word for 'holy', and 'eve', in English, meaning 'evening before'. Until the 16th century, this term referred to the night before All Saints' Day, celebrated on November 1st. Over time, people began to call the night of All Saints' Day (All Hallows’ Eve) 'Hallowe'en', which later simplified to 'Halloween.'

The celebration has undergone significant adaptations; many current Halloween practices originated in American culture. Examples include the tradition of 'trick-or-treating', pumpkin carving, the use of costumes, and the tradition of frightening. Currently, Halloween is the largest non-Christian holiday in the United States.

For adherents of pagan religions, the celebration of Samhain remains active. It has been incorporated and adapted into beliefs such as Wicca and Druidism, becoming a relevant festivity. Besides honoring ancestors, Samhain is seen as a moment of 'symbolic death', where people write down what they wish to leave behind on pieces of paper and burn them in bonfires to make way for a new cycle.

In 1984, Amyr Klink completed the first solo rowing crossing of the South Atlantic, departing from Namibia and arriving in Bahia. During this significant expedition, he remained isolated for one hundred days, dedicating approximately eight hours daily to rowing. Throughout the journey, he relied exclusively on star-based calculations to determine his location, communicating by radio only a few times a week, without the aid of GPS or the internet.

The preparation for this adventure was as complex as the crossing itself. Initially, Amyr needed to design a vessel suitable for his needs: it had to be light enough to facilitate rowing, yet robust enough to carry all the necessary supplies and water for the entire route. Furthermore, it was crucial that the boat be stable, as capsizing in the ocean would mean certain death.

He collaborated with naval engineer José Carlos Belford on the boat's design, who raised doubts about the possibility of a vessel completely immune to capsizing. The solution found was a mechanism that allowed the boat to automatically return to its original position after flipping, similar to a 'john boat.' During the voyage, Amyr experienced three capsizings near the African coast, and in all instances, the boat stabilized itself.

Food management also required creative solutions. Amyr transported 275 liters of water and had to restrict his consumption to less than three liters per day. To achieve this, he used dehydrated foods that could be prepared using seawater. Throughout the crossing, he faced physical and technical challenges, in addition to interacting with various marine animals, documenting everything in a diary that later served as the basis for the bestseller 'One Hundred Days Between Sky and Sea.'

More recently, the story has been adapted for the cinema in the film '100 Days,' directed by Carlos Saldanha and starring Filipe Bragança, who plays Amyr. The release of the movie is scheduled for October 29. In an interview given to Superinteressante, Amyr Klink shared other details of his historic crossing and commented on the cinematic adaptation.

Amyr Klink expressed appreciation for Carlos Saldanha, stating that during initial meetings, he made it clear that the director had complete creative freedom. He was extremely impressed by the historical rigor of the team, which sought to recreate details considered essential. Klink mentioned that although he himself did not wear body adornments, he wore a necklace with a gold cross gifted by Natália Falzoni during the crossing. In the film, Filipe Bragança received a chain and T-shirts identical to those worn on the trip.

The boat used in the production is a replica commissioned by Iphan (National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage), a faithful copy that undertakes voyages. Klink described the effort involved in the production, citing his visit to the set in Paraty and the pool built in São Paulo, classifying the process as an act of heroism due to the patience required.

He reflected that Filipe Bragança might have suffered more than him, as the production built a wave-generating machine, causing the actor to splash water on his face, something that did not happen to Klink.

Klink reported that the period of the crossing was personally complicated, as he had to hide his activity from his family; only his mother was aware and supported him, assisting with translating survival manuals into Swedish, German, and French. His relationship with his father was tense, as the father was described as a difficult and violent man. The father reacted with indignation upon reading in the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo about the intention of a Brazilian named Amyr to cross the Atlantic by rowboat, which led to a temporary rift. Reconciliation occurred in the middle of the Atlantic, facilitated by amateur radio operators who located the father.

Klink highlighted that while he admired failed attempts at crossing the North Atlantic, none had been made in the South Atlantic. He admitted to being afraid of dying at sea, which motivated him to plan everything meticulously. He observed that the errors of other rowers were often simple, related to malnutrition, lack of route planning, or ignorance of astronomy, and not to the distance or the 15-meter waves.

For Klink, the work was as rewarding as the journey, allowing him to learn astronomy and navigation without relying on GPS or the internet, transforming the initial project into a positive experience. He emphasized that the relentless pursuit of perfection is dangerous, but one must start. The greatest risks, according to him, did not come from the ocean, but rather from the bureaucratic obstacles imposed by the apartheid regime in South Africa and Namibia.

South African authorities showed disapproval upon learning of a Brazilian's attempt to leave Southern Africa heading towards Brazil without an engine or sail, resulting in a series of bureaucratic problems. Although he planned to take only the bare minimum, he prioritized comfort and efficiency, keeping supplies at about one-third of the boat's total weight. He received support from nutritionists from Paraná, who developed an innovative diet where he cooked with seawater, overcoming the challenge of excess salt through dehydrated and freeze-dried foods without sodium chloride.

Klink participated in the construction of the boat and brought photovoltaic panels, as well as technical navigation books, planks, and almanacs for astronomical calculations. However, while in Namibia, he received a copy of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez in English. This book was damaged by a shark that hit the rudder, an event that made him fear shipwreck.

By speaking with other sailors, such as Gérard d’Aboville, he learned about shark behavior. Initially, they just rubbed against the boat, but later began to attack it. Klink discovered that the problem was the hull's anti-fouling paint; the sharks removed this paint, allowing barnacles to grow, and started hitting them to attract golden fish, using them as bait. He had to invent a method to remove the crustaceans without damaging the paint.

Near the Brazilian coast, he spotted a group of beaked dolphins, which were actually protected humpback whale calves surrounded by a circle of adult whales—a moment he titled 'The Whale Nursery' in his book. After the crossing, Klink specialized in trips to Antarctica. In his early visits, he spent an entire summer there, and in more recent trips, suffered severe burns while bathing naked under the sun, highlighting the notable change in ultraviolet radiation action.

Bobo is a discreet and interactive companion device developed by Anushka Sawardekar as part of her diploma project at the Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. It is designed for users aged 8 to 16 and serves to record symptoms such as pain, nausea, bloating, or mood changes.

Users can log this data through a simple touch interface to then share it with healthcare professionals and support their health during menstruation. Often, young people ignore painful periods, considering them normal, and do not record or report many symptoms. For individuals suffering from conditions like endometriosis, this can lead to years of uncertainty before receiving a diagnosis. Bobo's goal is to bridge the gap between user experience and professional medical care.

The device has a soft, tactile form that can be attached to a school backpack, offering an alternative to using a smartphone. A pressure-sensitive sensor allows users to mark their level of discomfort simply by squeezing the device, providing an intuitive way to convey information. The system accumulates records throughout menstrual cycles, helping to identify patterns that can be presented to a doctor during an appointment.

After completing three or more cycles, Bobo generates a structured clinical report that can be transferred to a therapist with a single tap using NFC technology. Medical data is stored locally and encrypted, giving young users control over their information. Sawardekar emphasized personal experience in the design process, relying on interviews with doctors, parents, and youth. Bobo was named a national finalist for the James Dyson Award in 2026 and is intended to empower young people to advocate for their health.