Light is not the only fastest thing in the world that holds this label. There are a lot of things in the world that go fast in other categories. From man-made machines to Eminem, who holds the record as the fastest rapper — even the speed of light has nothing against them. Some of these have even earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records! As with anything in this world, there are certain rules that the fastest things in the world must follow to earn that sweet “quick” label.
When something zooms past, it is fast. However, it’s important to determine what kind of object it is — man-made or natural — and where it is zooming around — on Earth or in space. If you look at the fastest man-made object, then that would be Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe. It travels through space fast enough to earn a record in the Guinness Book. Taking a step back and looking at people, Eminem — the man, the myth, the legend — is the fastest human in the world, rap-wise. Since rap requires you to speak a lot of words in a short period, the faster you are, the better you can perform. So, Eminem, the rap god himself, had to say a couple of hundred words in just 30 seconds.
From the Soviet K-222 submarine to the North American X-15 airplane, there are things that are fast enough to break world records and set a standard for others. To showcase just how many fast things are in the world, we have compiled some of them in the list below. Since some are faster and more interesting than others, be sure to upvote the ones you found interesting. On the other hand, if you have anything to share about the fastest thing in the world, do so in the comments below.
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Fastest Woman – Florence Griffith-Joyner
Usain Bolt is not the only one who can run fast in a short period. Florence Griffith-Joyner — an American athlete — holds several records in the sport of running and is seen as the fastest woman. Before landing several gold medals in the 1988 Olympic games, she set a new world record in the 100 m dash in the pre-trials.
Fastest Tornado – 1925 Tri-State Tornado
When it comes to the fastest tornado, people either calculate its forward speed or the momentum that the wind itself reaches. Many people would agree that the 1925 Tri-State Tornado was the fastest tornado, with forward speed in mind. This F-5 tornado reached 117 km/h (73 mph) speeds and is one of the deadliest in history.
Holy hell, fire up the Model T Dorothy! We're gonna try to outrun this thing!
Fastest Rapper – Eminem
Eminem might not run fast, but he sure does like to speak quickly, especially when it is his time to sing. With an average of 7.5 words per second, Eminem accomplished this feat with his 2020 no.1 single — Godzilla. In just a 30-second segment, Eminem said 225 words and made it look easy.
Fastest Hypothetical Particle – Tachyon
In theory, light is not the fastest thing in the world, and Tachyon, a hypothetical particle, could take its place. If this particle does exist, that would mean that we could send signals that beat the speed of light itself. Physicists say this particle would get faster as it loses energy and would be hard to stop.
Well that's just great. Maybe we (BP folks) can build a ship that can take us to another Earth somewhere!
Fastest Bird – Peregrine Falcon
When surviving in the wilderness, speed is the key that separates prey from apex predators. Swooping from the sky to grab their prey, a peregrine falcon can reach speeds of 389 km/h (242 mph). With this speed, the bird is the fastest among other birds and other animals, cheetahs included.
Fastest Female Car Racer – Jessi Combs
In the world of female racers, Jessi Combs' name holds a high place, especially when talking about world records. In 2013 Combs beat a 48-year-old record by traveling 632.40 km/h (392.954 mph) in a four-wheel vehicle. She went to reach a speed of 841.338 km/h (522.783 mph) in a four-wheel vehicle.
Fastest Man – Usain Bolt
Running — we partake in this activity from time to time, but some of us are better and can run rather fast. Usain Bolt — he has been memed on and praised — is the fastest man alive and has a list of awards to prove it. For example, he was able to run 100m in 2009 in just 9.58 seconds and achieve a triple treble in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games.
Fastest Land Animal – Cheetah
Cheetahs are known for their speed and danger as apex predators. This speed plays a part in their evolution as it helps them survive the dangerous situations in African nature. Because they are flexible, lightweight, and quick-thinking, cheetahs are known to reach 96.5606 km/h (60 mph) in just a couple of seconds.
This is incorrect. The fastest land animal is a kitten chasing his big sister's tail. Unfortunately for the tail, Bouche is merely the second - fastest cat.
Fastest Roller Coaster – Formula Rossa
Speed is the key factor in roller coasters, as it delivers fear and fun in this activity. For people that want to get the ultimate roller coaster experience, Formula Rossa might be the ride for them. Traveling at the speed of 239 km/h (149 mph), this roller coaster will keep you in your seat thanks to inertia.
Fastest Car Crash Survived – 610 Miles Per Hour
The bad thing about trying to break world records — accidents happen, and all we can do is hope that we are left with minimal scratches. While driving the Green Monster car, Art Arfons was traveling at the speed of 981.7 km/h (610 mph) when he crashed and luckily came out safe and sound from this ordeal.
Astonishingly, not only Afrons survived but came out with just minor burns and bruises. Considering that most modern vehicle safety tests are performed at speeds of 50-65 km/h to access the safety in road-legal cars, surviving at more than 15 times that speed is almost surreal.
Fastest Spacecraft – Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe
It's hard to calculate the speed of a thing that floats in space and is far away from Earth. However, calculations exist that help us calculate the speed of spacecraft that we send into space. Nasa's Parker Solar Probe, sent to study the Sun, holds the record of being the fastest spacecraft, reaching 586,865 km/h (364,661 mph).
Fastest Boat – Spirit Of Australia
Only the Australians, the people from the land down under, could be brave enough to set the record for the fastest boat. The Spirit of Australia, a wooden speed boat, reached 511.11 km/h (317.59 mph) on the water in 1978. As far as records go, this one is regarded as the most hazardous one.
I've been 121 mph (194 kmh) and that is some freaky stuff. Can't imagine riding in The Spirit of Australia
Fastest Computer – Frontier
The computing power of computers allows humans to do massive amounts of work in just a couple of seconds. So, the faster the computer, the quicker the correct answers will get found. Frontier, the fastest computer in the world, can reach the calculating speeds of 200 petaflops and do a lot of calculations in just a matter of seconds.
Fastest Baseball Pitch – Aroldis Chapman
Baseball is a game that is all about hitting the ball that gets thrown at you with a wooden bat. The faster the ball goes, the harder it will be for a person to react in time. Aroldis Chapman is known for throwing the fastest baseball pitch in recorded history. With around 179.27 km/h (105.8 mph), the ball that Chapman threw flew by in a matter of milliseconds.
Fastest Racket Sport – Badminton
Badminton — a game liked by adults and children alike — is one of the fastest sports you can partake in. However, most of that speed comes from the shuttlecock and the way it travels. If you were to hit the birdie at the right time with all your strength, you might reach speeds of 300 km/h (186 mph).
Fastest Train – Shanghai Maglev
Train travel has changed in many ways over the years to become faster and faster at traveling. Shanghai Maglev, the fastest train in the world, uses magnetic levitation to travel at high speeds. How fast does it go? This train can complete a 30 km (18.6 mi) journey in just 7 minutes and a couple of seconds.
Fastest Crash Test – Ford Focus (120mph)
Companies test their cars by crashing them at 64 km/h (40mph). However, Top Gear decided to test out a Ford Focus, one of the safest cars, by crashing it with a more drastic increase in speed. They crashed this car into a wall at the speed of 193 km/h (120 mph) and concluded that it is not safe.
Fastest Guitar Player – Dr. David Prabhakar Bandi
The faster you play the guitar, the cooler you will look, even if the notes you play sound like complete gibberish. Dr. David Prabhakar Bandi holds the record for the fastest guitar player in the world. He reached 1708 BPM in just 28 seconds when he played the song Flight of the Bumblebee.
Fastest Eater – Star Nosed Mole
Where Joey “Jaws” Chestnut holds the record for being the fastest hot dog eater, the star-nosed mole is in another league of its own. This mole, thanks to its biology, is a fast tracker. It holds the title of the fastest mammal eater, as it takes only, on average, 227 milliseconds to identify and eat its food.
Fastest Male Car Racer – Andy Green
Only some people can claim to have broken the speed of sound — but only Andy Green can say he was the first to do so on land. Using the ThrustSSC, Andy Green became the first person to break the barrier of sound while traveling on land. Currently, Green is working on Bloodhound LSR to reach speeds of 1,228 km/h (763 mph).
Fastest Non Production Car – Thrust SSC
Where the North American X-15 beats the speed record in the sky, the Thrust SSC did so on land. In 1997, on October 15th, Thrust SSC became the first car to break the sound barrier and reached a speed of 1,228 km/h (763 mph). Currently, another car is being designed to break this record and set a new one.
"Unofficially... 1979... Stan Barrett claims... Budweiser Rocket... 740 mph." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jetmobiles-try-to-go-supersonic/
Fastest Internet – South Korea
The internet is already one of the greatest things in the world, but some places are more blessed than others. If you are looking for the fastest internet in the world, then South Korea might be the place for you. There, the average speed of broadband internet reaches 245.5 Mb/s and 59.6 Mb/s on phones.
Fastest Speed
Light is fast, and only a few things can rival it speed-wise (practically nothing). The average speed of light is 300,000 km/s (186,000 mi/s). The only thing, theoretically, that could be faster than light is the particles of the big bang and Tachyon, a theoretical particle that is yet to be proven to exist.
I don't believe the speed of light is impossible to break. Can we do it now? No. Will someone figure it out in the future? Yes.
Fastest Eater – Joey “Jaws” Chestnut
Eating one hot dog in 10 minutes is already hard for a simple person, but eating 76 is practically impossible. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, an American fast eater, ate 76 hot dogs, with buns, in just 10 minutes, breaking a world record. He also won several Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contests and held the title of the fastest eater for many years.
Fastest Manned Plane – The North American X-15
Flight has opened the way for vehicles to fly at very high speeds, breaking sound barriers and setting new records. The North American X-15, a project plane created by the US government, is one of the fastest manned planes in the world. With the ability to travel at Mach 6.72, the X-15 was once used by Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon.
Fastest Helicopter – Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
After the Iran hostage rescue mission caused a headache for Americans, a decision was made to create a fast, vertically flying plane. Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey was created with speed, versatility, and utility in mind. With a top speed of 509 km/h (316 mph), this helicopter is one of the fastest helicopters in the world.
Fastest Fish – Sailfish
Where the cheetah runs around Africa at high speeds, the sailfish does the same, only in water because it’s a fish. It is the fastest fish to swim in the water, yet if you want to find one, you’re going to need to go to colder places. Clocking in at an impressive 110 km/h (68 mph), sailfish are fast and large at the same time.
Fastest Elevator – Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre
The problem with skyscrapers is the time needed to go up multiple flights of stairs. Luckily, elevators are present, and China has the fastest one in the world at the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre. Reaching speeds of 21 m/s (69 ft/s), the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre elevator uses magnets to get this speed.
Fastest Text Message – Marcel Filho
Since the start of the era of smartphones, text messages have become more and more popular among people. Marcel Fernandes Filho was able to send quite a complex message of 25 words in just 17 seconds. While trying to set a new record, Filho had to use correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.
Fastest Production Car – Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut
While Thrust SSC is the fastest car overall, it's not usable on the main road. Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut gets the award for being the fastest production car in the world. With a powerful engine, the manufacturer claims that this car can reach speeds of 531 km/h (330 mph) and more.
Fastest Running Insect – Australian Tiger Beetles
The smaller and faster a bug is, the bigger the chance you’re going to be afraid of it as it approaches you. The Australian tiger beetle uses its six legs to reach speeds of around 9 km/h (5.6 mph), but usually less. Discovered by Dutch researchers in 1996, it can run 120 of its body lengths per second.
Fastest Achievable Speed – Speed Of Light
The speed of light is the fastest achievable speed that scientists are trying to reach through theory and practice. Traveling at 299,792,458 m/s (186,282.397 mi/s), the speed of light is a constant that hardly changes. So, in theory, it is the maximum speed that all matter, particles, and signals can reach.
Fastest Internet Provider – Google Fiber
The speed of the internet depends a lot on the provider itself. However, marketing hands might take a stab and inflate some numbers. Google Fiber is advertised as being able to provide 1,000 – 2,000 Mbps fast internet, but people have reported that it is only 176.16 Mbps. Still, Google Fiber is the fastest internet provider in the world.
Fastest Submarine – Soviet K-222
We might not see submarines, but we know they are some of the fastest vessels out there. If we were to exclude secret government projects (since we don’t know about them), then the Soviet K-222 would be the fastest submarine in the world. Authorities claimed that this vessel reached speeds of 82.08 km/h (51.61 mph).
