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.
#1 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.
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31points
#2 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.
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25points
#3 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.
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25points
#4 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.
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21points
#5 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.
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21points
#6 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.
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20points
#7 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.
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19points
#8 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.
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19points
#9 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.
17points
#10 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.
15points
#11 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).
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13points
#12 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.
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13points
#13 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.
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13points
#14 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.
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13points
#15 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).
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13points
#16 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.
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12points
#17 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.
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12points
#18 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.
12points
#19 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.
12points
#20 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).
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12points