I don't thinks statements like this are meant to be read literally in American English.
IE US English speakers always fond of telling me how they work X hours in a day, or they went N days without sleep. Which used to really impress me, until I realised "wait... do they just exaggerate as matter of course"? And then I realised - of course they do; these are people for whom every purchase is an "upgrade"; where a bicycle for commuting in a city is an "urban assault vehicle", rich creamery butter, rich creamery type systems, etc etc.
So no, I sincerely doubt they actually worked 18 hour days for a year straight. I'm sure they worked hard, but it's just the way Americans talk.
IE US English speakers always fond of telling me how they work X hours in a day, or they went N days without sleep. Which used to really impress me, until I realised "wait... do they just exaggerate as matter of course"? And then I realised - of course they do; these are people for whom every purchase is an "upgrade"; where a bicycle for commuting in a city is an "urban assault vehicle", rich creamery butter, rich creamery type systems, etc etc.
So no, I sincerely doubt they actually worked 18 hour days for a year straight. I'm sure they worked hard, but it's just the way Americans talk.