At last weekend's International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup, Indonesia’s Aries Susanti Rahayu, aka "Spiderwoman," broke the women's speed climbing record previously set in April by her competitor, China’s Song Yiling. Rahayu bested Yiling's prior record by .106 seconds which, in this game, is a lot. Speed climbing. in which climbers race to scramble a 15-meter wall, will be a new addition to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Below, more highlights from the 2019 IFSC World Cup:
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Player 'Rizart' eliminated 35% of a solos lobby! Blasting through the previous record of 32 players eliminated, this video shows amazing skill!
The Dark Bomber skin with the creepy jack-o-lantern rocket launcher is great. Read the rest
Who isn’t fascinated by the idea of perpetual motion? Though I know it’s impossible, I’m always on the lookout for things that seem to come close.
Like most tops, Limbo is spun from your fingertips – but the hidden USB recharge-able gyroscope is what keeps it going. LIMBO just took the Guinness World Record title for Longest-Running Mechanical Spinning Top with a non-stop spinning time of 27 hours, 9 minutes and 24 seconds! Here is a lovely product shot with its protected secret exposed.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite games to play was a frantic board game called Battling Tops where you and your friends each spun a top into a playing field and the last one standing was the winner.
This was a ridiculously entertaining game but it gave me a completely different feeling than my LIMBO toy. Instead of a frenzied micro-war playing out in front of me, the goal of LIMBO is to simply stand upright and appear as still as possible.
For those who don’t actually know that it’s powered though, LIMBO defies logic. It seems to have the gift of perpetual motion — much like the liquid-filled, drinking glass birdies from my childhood.
If you have children and haven’t seen these in action, spend the 5 bucks on one right now. It’s basically a science experiment in a fancy blue top-hat!
The bird tips back and forth depending on whether his beak is moist or not. As water evaporates, the temperature in the bird's head lowers and creates a pressure change inside the body, which causes liquid to rise into its head, which makes him dip again. Read the rest
Maciej Czapiewski set the world record when he solved this 2x2x2 cube at the Grudziądz Open. At this size, there's a bit of luck of the draw, but the skill is undeniable. Read the rest
Two Nineteen Forty Four is Tristan Greszko's remarkable timelapse of last year's record-breaking ascent on The Nose at Yosemite's El Capitan. Read the rest
This is Mochi, a St. Bernard from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who set a Guinness Word Record for her impressive tongue. Mochi is a rescue dog now happily living with Carla and Craig Rickert. From Laughing Squid:
According to Carla, Mochi came to them as an abused and neglected two year old, but quickly became an integral part of the family. Carla also revealed that Mochi absolutely adores peanut butter.
Mo is resilient, comical, loving and eternally grateful and loyal to us – her forever family. This once abused and neglected pup has taught us that it’s okay to be different. We are proud of her unique feature… Officially measured by a vet at 18.58 cm (7.3 in) – the equivalent of two-and-a-half Jenga blocks in a row – Mochi’s was verified as the Longest tongue on a dog (current).
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Johanna Nordblad holds the world record for free diving under ice. This gorgeous film captures the beauty and danger. She can stay under for more than 6.5 minutes with no gear of any kind. Read the rest
This is Keon the Irish wolfhound from Westerlo, Belgium who broke the Guinness World Record for the longest on a dog. Keon's tail is 76.8 cm (30.2") long, beating the previous record-holder also a wolfhound, by 4.5 cm (1.7"). (Guinness World Records)
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Epic fail.
What is described as “America’s largest domino tower” collapses on camera, after 7 straight hours of building. Read the rest
Blosom, the world's tallest cow at 6'2" from hoof to withers, died in May at 13-years-old, according to Guinness World Records. Watch a touching tribute video below. Read the rest
Leilani Franco is in the new Guinness World Records 2014 Book for three records as a contortionist. "She's accomplished the most full body revolutions maintaining a chest stand in one minute (25), performed the fastest human backbend walk (20 meters in 10.05 sec), and traveled the fastest 20 meters in a contortion roll (17.47 sec)." Read the rest
"Physicists at the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences have achieved quantum teleportation over a record distance of 143 km. The experiment is a major step towards satellite-based quantum communication." Read the rest
Over at Discovery News, Emily Sohn asks the question I've been wondering for the last two weeks. Why are Olympians today better at their sports than Olympians of the past? Why do speed records keep getting broken? Why can gymnasts do more elaborate routines?
I mean, I have plenty of reasonable, speculative answers for those questions. But I hadn't seen them addressed in a factual way. This is great. And fascinating.
The answer, experts say, involves a combination of incremental technological improvements, as well as a growing population of people attempting a larger variety of sports that they start earlier and stick with longer. The mind plays a big role, too, especially when it comes to toppling seemingly insurmountable barriers, like the four-minute mile of the past or the two-hour marathon of the future.
"There is almost certainly a species limit in terms of physical capabilities, and I suspect we might be in the range of that," said Carl Foster, an exercise physiologist at the University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse. "But every time scientists say humans are not going to go any faster, they've been shown to be wrong. You can take that one to the bank."
Through calculations of maximum power output, oxygen use, heart function and other factors, some researchers have attempted to predict what the absolute limits of human ability will be. Much-debated estimates include 1:58 for the marathon (a five-minute improvement over the current men's record of 2:03.38), and 9.48 for the men's 100m.
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