Though their skills and ingenuity are often underrated by more modern minds, our ancient forebears were quite adept at construction, building structures that have stood to this day. Here are 10 such examples.

10Saint Hripsime Church
AD 618

The first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion, Armenia is home to several revered sites of the religion. One such building is the Saint Hripsime Church, built in the seventh century. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and rightfully so, the church was commissioned to replace a mausoleum which had been erected in honor of Saint Hripsime.

Hripsime played an important role in Armenia’s Christian history, for she was a devout believer. Around AD 300, she lived in a Roman monastery as a hermit, along with 35 other women. Eventually, after fleeing the affections of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Hripsime ended up in Armenia, where her beauty caught the eye, and fury, of the pagan Armenian king Drtad. When she refused, King Drtad had Hripsime and all her female companions tortured and killed. Later, after he had successfully converted the Armenian king to Christianity, St. Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Apostolic Church, built the first chapel to honor Hripsime.

9The Jokhang
AD 639

Generally considered the most sacred temple in Tibet, the Jokhang is a Buddhist temple located in the capital city of Lhasa. Though the exact date of its construction is up for debate, AD 639 is as good an estimate as you’re going to find. According to Tibetan legend, their king at the time, a man named Songtsan Gampo, got married to two different women: Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and Princess Wencheng of China.

His new brides brought with them a statue of the Buddha, and Gampo was delighted and sought to build a temple to house the Chinese statue. Stoked by jealousy, Princess Bhrikuti demanded one for her statue, and the Jokhang was constructed. Further legends about the temple say it was built on the bed of a dried-up lake, itself above a sleeping demoness whose heart was imprisoned by the construction of the Jokhang. Though it has undergone significant expansion and renovation since it was first built, most of the core parts of the temple date back to its original construction.

8Arch Of Titus
AD 82

Like many of the greatest feats of early architecture, the Arch of Titus was built to honor a man and, in this case, that man was the Roman Emperor Titus. Though his reign was brief, lasting only two years, Titus was considered a good ruler, as well as a renowned military commander; he was responsible for capturing Jerusalem and destroying the Second Temple. The Arch of Titus commemorates that feat, with the south panel depicting Titus and his men taking spoils from the Jewish people. The north panel illustrates Titus’s own triumph granted to him thanks to his victory.

Located on the Via Sacra (“Sacred Road”), it was constructed by Titus’s younger brother Domitian after he succeeded his brother in AD 81, and the Arch of Titus became a model for future arches, most notably the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. And, although it’s known as a triumphal arch, many similar constructions honor things besides military victories, including the building of city infrastructure.

7Seokguram
AD 774

Seokguram, or the Seokguram Grotto, is a hermitage built on the slopes of Mount Toham in Korea, containing within its walls a rather large statue of the Buddha. Designated a World Heritage Site, it was built in the eighth century by Prime Minister Kim Dae-seong, who wished to honor his parents, both of his current life and his previous life. (The nearby Bulguksa Temple was built for the same reason, filial duty being what it is.)

Unfortunately, Kim died before either one of his projects was completed, missing out on the innate beauty of their design, especially the sculpted devas, bodhisattvas, and disciples, which are widely regarded as some of the finest examples of East Asian Buddhist art. Unfortunately, thanks to the deleterious effects of weather, as well as the constant threat of clumsy tourists, the interior of the grotto has been sealed off with a glass wall.

6Dhamek Stupa
AD 500

For centuries, rulers in ancient India had been honored by having their remains encompassed by a large rounded structure known as a stupa. Once the Buddha came around, he decreed that enlightened ones should be honored in the same way. One of the oldest in the entire country is the Dhamek Stupa, located just outside of Sarnath, a city in the northeast of India. (The word stupa is Sanskrit for “heap.”)

The Dhamek Stupa was built under the guidance of one of India’s greatest kings, Ashoka, a man responsible for the propagation of Buddhism across the continent. It’s also one of a handful of monuments built to honor the Buddha, with the Dhamek Stupa marking the spot believed to be where the Buddha gave one of his earliest sermons.

5The Royal Mausoleum Of Mauretania
3 BC

Located near the famed city of Algiers in Algeria, the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania was built for two of the last rulers of the ancient kingdom of Mauretania, Juba II and Cleopatra Selene II. (Their son Ptolemy was the last ruler.) It is no coincidence the mausoleum bears a striking resemblance to one built by the Roman Emperor Augustus, for Juba II wished to create a sign of his allegiance to Rome.

Known by several different names, including “the tomb of the Christian woman” thanks to a cross-like shape on a false door, the mausoleum has suffered a great deal of misfortune throughout the centuries. Vandals and thieves destroyed or stole much of the ornate decorations once littering the grounds, and various rulers have tried to destroy it. It wasn’t until Emperor Napoleon III declared it a site to be protected in 1866 that the mausoleum was finally safe. However, since it was declared a World Heritage site in 1982, several factors, including poor maintenance and endless vandalism, have put this marvel of early architecture at risk of being destroyed.

4Ponte Sant’Angelo
AD 134

Constructed under the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian, better known for the wall he had built to mark the northern limit of Britannia (as well as keeping out those darn Celts), the Ponte Sant’Angelo is a still-standing bridge located in Rome. Originally known as the Pons Aelius (“Bridge of Hadrian”), the name was changed sometime in the Middle Ages, after the Archangel Michael was said to have appeared to Pope Gregory the Great in AD 590.

One of the finest bridges still standing in all of Rome, the Ponte Sant’Angelo was built to connect the Campus Martius, a public square in ancient Rome, to Hadrian’s mausoleum, which is now known as Castel Sant’Angelo. In addition, the original Roman statues were replaced in the following centuries, with angelic statues designed and mounted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1688.

3Treasury Of Atreus
1250 BC

Sometimes called the Tomb of Agamemnon, the Treasury of Atreus is a tholos, a beehive tomb built in Mycenae, Greece. Perhaps the greatest feat of Mycenaean architecture still standing, the tomb’s builder is unknown, with the legendary Mycenaean king Atreus or his son Agamemnon commonly cited as ordering the construction.

The Treasury of Atreus, along with one other tomb at Orchomenus, is unique in that a side-chamber is connected to the main vaulted chamber. Though the true purpose may never be uncovered, a prevailing thought is that less illustrious family members had their bones collected there.

2Greensted Church
11th Century

Not only is the Greensted Church the oldest wooden church still standing, it might even be the oldest wooden structure in all of Europe. To be fair to buildings such as the House of Bethlehem in Switzerland, much of what is left of the Greensted Church is much newer than the original construction date. In fact, the only things that remain are the tree trunks which form the nave.

Its most prominent feature, the tower, was added sometime in the 1600s, with various construction and reconstruction happening in the centuries afterward. Though not particularly noteworthy when compared to other places of worship, the Greensted Church did host the body of Saint Edmund, England’s first patron saint, for a night.

1Brihadeeswarar Temple
AD 1010

One of the largest temples in India, Brihadeeswarar Temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and is located in Thanjavur in the eastern part of the country. The oldest temple made completely of granite (nearly 130,000 tons), the temple is also known as Rajarajeswaram, named for the Chola king Rajaraja I who is believed to be behind its construction.

A World Heritage Site, along with two other Chola temples, Brihadeeswarar Temple is an incredible feat of engineering. In fact, the Shikharam (“crown”) at the top of the temple was carved from a single stone and weighs over 80 tons and sits atop a tower 30 meters (100 ft) high.

+Further Reading

The accomplishments of our ancestors are made even more striking by our own seeming inability to build anything of quality these days! Here are some more lists from the archives that show off the amazing talents of those who have gone before us:

10 Mysterious And Enthralling Buildings Older Than Stonehenge
10 Awe-Inspiring Buildings You Won’t Believe We Tore Down
10 Intriguing Structures And Their Bizarre History
10 Most Famous Unfinished Buildings
10 Fascinating Historic Architectural Features

Sabine Hossenfelder is not a household name, but a recent article of hers has stirred up a host of debate among some scientific specialists. In her piece, published by the magazine New Scientist, the journalist and theoretical physicist argues against investing an enormous sum of money in a new particle collider. Research organization CERN has announced plans to build a €21 billion supercollider, a proposal that Hossenfelder says does not justify its hefty price tag.^[1]

Her article has split opinion among theoretical and particle physicists. Many agree with Hossenfelder’s well-reasoned conclusion. Others argue that investment is needed for the evolution of cutting-edge technology; without fresh areas of work, the research will simply dry up.

Whether or not the high-cost supercollider will be built remains to be seen. However, in the midst of this forward-thinking debate, we must not lose perspective on the here and now. The Large Hadron Collider, CERN’s main boast, opened only a decade ago. In that time, we have witnessed the discovery of gravitational waves, the Higgs boson, and various quantum mechanical phenomena.

These bold leaps forward have only been possible due to a wealth of state-of-the-art technology. The following are all incredible feats of engineering that have helped to revolutionize our understanding of the world around us.

10 Dark Energy Camera

What is dark energy? The brief answer is that nobody is really sure. In a sense, dark energy is the antithesis of gravity, exerting a negative, repulsive pressure that is believed to accelerate the expansion of the universe. The elusive energy form is said to account for around two thirds of the total mass-energy of the universe, the rest being mostly dark matter.

That said, the mystery of dark energy may not be a mystery for much longer. A group of researchers at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory is exploring dark energy in an attempt to understand the universe at a fundamental level. Situated high in the Chilean Andes, their Dark Energy Camera (DECam) captures high-definition images of the cosmos. It is one of the most sophisticated digital cameras on the planet.

It took scientists from six different countries over a decade of designing and testing to come up with DECam. The project has mapped out roughly an eighth of the sky in exceptional clarity, while also cataloguing 300 million galaxies. Experts are currently in the process of analyzing the images.^[2]

9 Einstein Tower

As extravagant to look at as it is scientifically vital, the Einstein Tower in Potsdam, Germany, has spent nearly a century studying the Sun. The observatory was opened in the 1920s with the aim of validating Einstein’s then-recently published theory of relativity. Housed in the tower is an unconventional style of telescope, immovable and bolt upright, that measures spectral shifts in solar rays.

Even more bizarre than the theory it was commissioned to verify is the building itself. The Einstein Tower is a renowned example of expressionist architecture that brought its creator, Erich Mendelsohn, to fame. Observatories are generally fronted by bland, purely functional exteriors, but Mendelsohn’s vision was far more avant-garde.

The outcome of this outlandish approach to architecture is a curvaceous, science fiction-esque structure that juts up out of the German landscape. The building’s namesake, Albert Einstein, is said to have disapproved of the futuristic design.^[3]

8 Stonehenge

By modern standards, it may be a prehistoric artifact, but when the rocks were first erected on Salisbury Plain some 5,000 years ago, Stonehenge was state-of-the-art technology. Historians have found strong evidence to suggest that the stone circle was a primitive sort of observatory used to monitor the sky.

In fact, some claim that the builders of Stonehenge must have used Pythagoras’s theorem, two millennia before the Greek philosopher was born. The original henge is said to have been surrounded by 56 wooden posts. Ancient astronomers would have used these to map out solar and lunar eclipse cycles.^[4]

7 Pierre Auger Observatory

Cosmology is brimming with mysteries. How did our universe come into being? What is it made of? How do you explain its unusual expansion?

One such mystery is cosmic rays. Our planet is being bombarded by a continuous stream of high-energy particles, hurtling toward Earth at close to light speed. This barrage of subatomic particles is a phenomenon known as cosmic rays. The lower-energy rays are known to be born out of stars dying in our Milky Way galaxy. Far less is known about the higher-energy rays. Thought to originate from far-off galaxies, their exact source has eluded scientists for decades.

Cosmic rays are also extremely rare. On average, a square kilometer (0.39 mi²) will be hit by just one high-energy particle per century. To combat this issue, researchers have constructed an enormous detector that spans for miles across Argentina. The Pierre Auger Observatory covers a detection area of around 3,000 square kilometers (1,200 mi²)—roughly 30 times the size of Paris. Completed in 2008, the observatory picks up the cosmic rays after they have struck the atmosphere and showered down to Earth in a cascade of various secondary particles.^[5]

6 Lovell Telescope

In a rural village in the heart of England, a renowned radio telescope has spent the last 60 years examining the cosmos. Found at Jodrell Bank, an observatory run by the University of Manchester, the Lovell Telescope is one of the most powerful radio telescopes ever built.

Its standout feature is the fully steerable white bowl, 76 meters (250 ft) in diameter, that adorns two motor-powered towers. This enormous bowl acts like a giant satellite dish, collecting and focusing radio waves from sources in the sky to be transformed into electrical signals.

Still the third largest of its kind over half a century since it was first assembled, Lovell has played a pivotal role in furthering our understanding of astronomy. The theories now being explored by Lovell were virtually unimaginable when it was first opened.^[6]

5 Super-Kamiokande

Neutrinos have been at the heart of a number of fascinating scientific discoveries in recent years. The minuscule subatomic particles are thought to be among the most abundant in the universe and also one of the most difficult to detect. In 2015, Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics after demonstrating that neutrinos change their intrinsic properties as they travel.

This fluctuation requires the particles to have some mass, contrary to the long-held belief that neutrinos are massless. Particle physicists now have to reassess their understanding of the nature of matter. It will likely lead to an expansion of numerous scientific theories.^[7]

Kajita’s groundbreaking discovery was only possible due to Super-Kamiokande (model pictured above), an enormous underground detector tank filled with 50,000 tons of water. As neutrinos sprint through the tank, the vast majority of them leave no trace, but a few emit dazzling bursts of Cherenkov light (the optical equivalent of a sonic boom). By analyzing the bursts, researchers are able to examine the properties of the neutrinos themselves.

4 Hubble Telescope

Orbiting 547 kilometers (340 mi) above our heads, the Hubble Space Telescope has been described by NASA as the most important step forward in astronomy since Galileo introduced his telescope in 1610. In April 1990, when Hubble was first launched and deployed; having a permanent telescope outside of the Earth’s atmosphere was seen as revolutionary. Almost three decades later, the technology remains right at the cutting edge of modern science.

Unlike traditional ground-based telescopes, Hubble surveys the depths of space unimpeded by Earth’s dense, distorting atmosphere. The telescope’s sophisticated cameras can view astronomical occurrences with better clarity and consistency than any observatory on the planet.

The steady stream of observations being fed back from Hubble has entirely altered our understanding of the universe around us. On average, around 150 scientific papers per day will cite research that in some way incorporates Hubble data. The telescope has enabled astronomers to explore all manner of topics in great depth, from supermassive black holes to dark energy. It’s a mammoth achievement, especially for a satellite that is only the size of a large bus.^[8]

3 Large Hadron Collider

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is, for the moment, at least, the most powerful particle accelerator ever built—although, as addressed at the start of the article, developers are currently debating whether to build another almost four times larger.

Inside the 27-kilometer (17 mi) magnetic ring, two beams of particles are thrust together at close to light speed. Researchers in Geneva have been smashing subatomic particles into one another since 2009. In 2012, after the LHC had been in operation for a only a few years, they made global headlines by confirming the existence of the Higgs boson.

It was initially hoped that the LHC might also be able to shed light on string theory and dark matter. As time passes on, with no evidence found, this is looking increasingly unlikely.

In order for the ring to maintain its magnetism, coils of superconducting cable need to be chilled with liquid nitrogen, which keeps them at a frosty minus 271.3 degrees Celsius (–456.3 °F). At these extremely low temperatures, the cable has an incredible ability to conduct electricity perfectly without losing any energy.^[9]

2 LIGO

Gravitational waves are distortions in the fabric of space and time that radiate from high-energy interstellar bodies. They emanate from accelerating objects and spread through the cosmos like ripples across a pond. The largest waves stem from massive, turbulent events like a supernova explosion or two black holes colliding. There is even believed to be some gravitational radiation still lingering from the birth of the universe.

Albert Einstein first imagined these celestial ripples in 1916 as part of his general theory of relativity. However, their existence was not proven until 1974. For the first gravitational wave to actually be detected, researchers at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Louisiana had to construct a style of high-precision instrument known as an interferometer. Interferometers are able to take minuscule measurements by comparing two near-identical beams of light. They are often used to determine small changes in position.

While interferometer technology has existed since the late 19th century, LIGO’s are the most sensitive ever built. The twin detectors are made from two 4-kilometer (2.5 mi) steel vacuum tubes and measure fluctuations thousands of times smaller than a proton.^[10]

The first gravitational waves to be sensed by LIGO came from two black holes crashing into each other almost 1.3 billion years ago. This momentous achievement earned three of LIGO’s researchers the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with mass acclaim from the media and their peers.

1 International Space Station

Around the same size as a football field, the International Space Station (ISS) is the largest artificial structure that we have ever put into space. Since November 2000, the station has been continuously inhabited, hosting over 200 individuals from 18 different countries. In a day, the distance traveled by the ISS is the equivalent of flying to the Moon and back.

Onboard the ISS, research projects are conducted into a wide array of various topics. On one mission, the crew was tasked with burning small, spherical droplets of fuel as part of a study into flames in microgravity. Another grew large crystals of protein in the name of medical research.

What’s more, the ISS is mounted with an exceptionally sensitive particle detector known as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). Unlike the Pierre Auger Observatory, this instrument is able to measure cosmic rays before they fragment in the atmosphere. Data from the AMS may help enlighten cosmologists as to the source of cosmic radiation, while also supporting some theories on the composition of dark matter.^[11]

Writer from Britain.

The octopus is one of the most recognizable and intriguing animals on Earth. They pull spectacular escapes and become social media darlings. Like famous people, some individuals even get their own movies and conspiracy theories.

They come with mysteries, too. From peculiar mass strandings to dreams revealed on octopus skin, there is still so much that scientists cannot explain about these cephalopods.

10 They Get Oxygen Blindness

During the day, several Pacific species hide in the depths from predators and the Sun. By night, they travel to the surface to feed. In 2019, researchers picked the larvae of such creatures, including octopuses, crabs, and squids. They wanted to test how oxygen levels affected their eyesight.

Oxygen is needed to turn light particles into sight. The deeper an octopus goes, the more deprived conditions become. Tests confirmed that oxygen was more critical to cephalopod vision than anyone had realized.

Researchers monitored the creatures in tanks by using tiny electrodes attached to their eyes and bright light as a visual cue. For 30 minutes, oxygen was reduced from 100 percent air saturation (water surface levels) to 20 percent (lower than the creatures’ habitat depths).^[1]

The results were worrisome. All the cephalopods and crustaceans suffered great vision loss, with some turning completely blind. An hour after higher oxygen levels were introduced, all the animals regained 60–100 percent of their vision. The findings are troubling because climate change is thinning the ocean’s oxygen. This predicts a blind and vulnerable future for such species.

9 The Farm Fight

A growing number of people love octopus on their plates. Capturing the cephalopods in the wild remains an unpredictable effort, and fishermen struggle to meet the global demand. For this reason, seafood companies want to farm octopuses.

Scientists and psychologists insist that octopus farming is a seriously bad idea. Humanity has largely thrived thanks to livestock, but this is one animal that would cause more problems than it’s worth. The babies only eat live foods, and adults need a lot of meaty chow. This would add too much pressure on already-struggling fisheries to provide food.

Scientists estimate that feeding captive octopuses for human consumption would ironically affect our food security, too. Such farms would cause pollution and most likely inbreeding, be a vector for disease, and traumatize creatures that are intelligent enough to recognize individual people and solve complex problems.^[2]

8 Male Murder

Octopuses are known for many remarkable skills, both physical and cognitive. But they have a dark side. Romantic males risk being strangled and eaten by the objects of their affection.

Depending on the species, the guys have evolved strategies to give them a fighting chance against females that are often bigger. To mate, a male must deliver sperm through a specialized mating arm (one of his eight arms).

Less aggressive species have evolved shorter arms, and they clasp a female with all their arms before mating. More aggressive species have longer tentacles and procreate at an arm’s length.

Algae octopuses have to deal with aggressive females and the larger males that guard them. The smaller males have a brilliant strategy. They pretend to be female, hiding their exceptionally long mating arm while cuddling up to the real female.

Other species take it to the extreme. The argonaut and blanket octopuses quickly amputate their mating arms inside the females and then run for their lives.^[3]

7 They Walk On Land

It is not unheard-of for an octopus to scuttle over land. Indeed, they have been filmed moving between landlocked pools. However, as octopuses are nocturnal, their land loping is rarely witnessed.

In 2017, an event took place that did not appear natural. Dolphin watchers in Wales returned to the beach at Ceredigion around 10:00 PM. They encountered over 20 octopuses strolling around in the sand.

There was something off about the whole thing. It is one thing for them to occasionally slip between pools, but for a large group to emerge on a beach was just dangerous behavior. Octopuses can survive on land but only for a few minutes.

The Ceredigion cephalopods did not go to pools or back into the sea. Indeed, the next day, a couple of them were found dead. Most had been rescued the previous night when they were found. Why this stranding happened remains unknown, but the likeliest scenarios include illness or something that disoriented them, like a storm.^[4]

6 World’s Most Adorable Octopus

In 2018, researchers from Hawaii’s Kaloko-Honokoohau National Historical Park decided to monitor nearby coral reefs. When they noticed a floating piece of plastic, they scooped up the trash only to discover that it had passengers. A pair of baby octopuses had somehow made it onto the plastic, and they were incredibly tiny.

One was adorable. It was the size of a pea and posed for photos near one of the researcher’s fingertips. After the pictures were shared on social media, the baby’s freckled arms and large eyes soon earned it many fans online.

The second was also tiny. But it probably did not make the social scene because it was being the opposite of adorable. When the park scientists found it, the minuscule baby was throttling an equally small baby crab to death. The cute and the cutthroat cephalopods were both released in an area described by officials as a “small protected space.”^[5]

5 The Kayak Incident

In 2018, two friends decided to take a kayak trip off the coast of New Zealand. One man filmed the other, which turned out to be a good thing. In a bizarre moment, a seal popped up next to the friend in the video and flung a sizable octopus at him. With uncanny accuracy, the cephalopod hit him straight in the face.

Why the octopus-battered man seemed to enjoy the experience might remain a mystery forevermore. (He yelled triumphantly.) But the reason for the seal’s behavior could be as simple as tenderizing a tough meal.

Octopuses are tough prey in the sense that they fight back and their suckers still cling to any surface after death. Not a good thing if those suckers must go down a seal’s throat.

However, roughing up a dead octopus damages the suckers enough to lose their grip. This usually happens in the form of smashing the prey against rocks or tossing them into the air. The seal probably considered the floating human as good a tenderizing surface as any other.^[6]

4 Paul’s Movie

During the 2010 World Cup, Paul the octopus became famous for predicting the winner of every match. When he died in October of that year, a filmmaker accused Paul’s keepers of a cover-up. Not that Paul was still alive, but that the psychic cephalopod had actually died three months earlier right before the final match.

Apparently, the German aquarium replaced him with a dead ringer to fool everybody. The filmmaker, Jiang Xiao, was the director of Who Killed Paul the Octopus? Probably not the title that the Oberhausen Sea Life Center (Paul’s home) saw coming when they agreed to work with Jiang.

As a believer that all octopuses look identical, Jiang said she thought the aquarium staff became “nervous” and “afraid” because the film probed the real story behind the miraculous octopus. This assessment baffled the aquarium as much as the claim that Paul had died months earlier.

Jiang declined to explain why she believed the creature was “killed.” Oberhausen Sea Life Center said that there was no squishy impostor. Paul had died of old age at around 2.5 years old, which is normal for octopuses. Then he was cremated. Visitors can view his urn and video clips and write in a condolence book.^[7]

3 The Space Report

In 2018, a study was released with decades of research behind it. Compiled by 33 authors, the work was peer-reviewed, well-cited, and published by Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology.

The problem?

It claimed that octopuses were from outer space. The authors did not suggest that the cephalopods had arrived in spaceships, but the researchers came close.

They pulled out all the stops to support the possibility that squids and octopuses had laid eggs somewhere in yonder space. Somehow, those eggs had ended up in comets, where the icy conditions put them into cryopreservation.

The theory then goes that the comets crashed into Earth hundreds of millions of years ago. The eggs survived and somehow hatched. Presto! The planet had smart cephalopods.^[8]

Although scholars are becoming more open to the idea that some of Earth’s life, elements, and chemicals were seeded by extraterrestrial objects, it will require more research and indisputable evidence before this report can be rescued from the lunatic fringe.

2 The Perfect Escape Plan

When a New Zealand fisherman raised his crayfish trap, he found that it contained an octopus. The scarred creature was about the size of a rugby ball and had shortened limbs. When the fisherman took the animal to the national aquarium, staff could see that the octopus had been in fights with fish, probably on the reef where he lived.

They called him Inky and gave him a tank. Inky’s charismatic personality soon made him a hit with the public. He was known for his exceptional intelligence, but it wasn’t until years later that it became clear how clever the guy was.

In 2016, the top of Inky’s aquarium was accidentally left open. That night, when the building was empty, the cephalopod crept through the tiny opening. He slid down the side and to the floor.

After undulating over an area spanning up to 4 meters (13 ft), the octopus reached a drainpipe. The 50-meter-long (164 ft) tube took Inky straight back to the ocean. Although nobody saw it happen, this was the likeliest scenario. Security was too tight for anyone to have stolen him. Octopuses are famous escape artists and, lacking bones, can squeeze through impossibly tight spaces.^[9]

1 Skin Dreams

Sometimes, octopuses do really strange things. In 2017, something was caught on camera that could beat the best of them. In Colorado, the Butterfly Pavilion is a zoo for invertebrates. One resident was a Caribbean two-spot octopus. Similar to other octopuses, it was capable of shifting colors.

Channeling their inner chameleons, these eight-armed wonders turn invisible to gain an advantage with predators and prey and to communicate with each other. In October, a zoo worker filmed the two-spot changing colors in a dramatic fashion.

At first, it was white. Then dark patterns began to pulse in sync with the animal’s breathing. Finally, a rush of near-black flooded its skin before fading to white again.

What made it so intriguing was that the animal was asleep. As octopuses deploy quick changes to deal with sudden alterations in their environment, it was possible that the two-spot was having a nightmare.

Scientists are seriously studying how cephalopods sleep and whether they dream. If they do, the process might be completely novel because they do not have brains like humans. Instead, they have neuron clusters in their limbs.^[10]

Our voices are amazing things. Starting with the grunts of early man, humans devised common vocal sounds to communicate knowledge – exponentially enhancing their ability to build upon each other’s accomplishments by eliminating the need to, for example, discover how fire is made all over again.

31,000 languages and countless more songs later, the human voice’s accomplishments span everything from opera to ornithology. Here are ten fascinating chords struck by our vocal cords.

Top 10 Incredible Recordings

10 A Solo Duet: The Throat Singers of Tuva

Part of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tuva^[1] is located in southern Siberia, just north of Mongolia. Tuvans have been living in birch-bark yurts and herding goats and yaks on the region’s vast plains since prehistoric times. The area is perhaps best known for its folk musicians’ “throat singing”,^[2] which relies upon seemingly impossible vocal control to emphasize the faint overtones of different aural frequencies.

Tuvan throat singers can produce as many as four pitches simultaneously, an effect that has been compared to a bagpipe (albeit more pleasant). The result is a singer that can effectively sing two or more notes at once – literally harmonizing with himself.

Starting with a low drone, throat singers subtly manipulate their vocal tracts to break up the original sound, amplifying one or more overtones enough that they are heard as additional pitches while the drone continues at a lower volume. Often, the singers are mimicking or interacting with sounds of their native outdoors — whistling birds, bubbling streams, blowing wind, or a camel’s deep growl.

Only recently did throat singing begin to be performed in indoor halls, where concerts are now popular with tourists. Here is a terrific example of Tuvan throat singing. Notice how many notes don’t segue into one another but rather actually overlap – instances where the performer is making two sounds simultaneously.

9 Click Languages

Click languages are a set of African tongues in which clicks function as certain letters or parts of letters. Originally an extensive feature of the Khoisan languages,^[3] clicks have proliferated into several additional languages of the Bantu and Cushitic groups. In all cases, clicks form only a portion of the total number of a language’s consonants, interwoven with more universally recognized verbal cues.

The clicks themselves are distinctive. When formed between the tongue and the roof of the mouth, the result is a sharp popping or smacking; when orienting the tongue between the lips – the so-called “kiss click” – the teeth, or the side of the mouth, the sound is more subtle.

Xhosa, a main language of Africa’s Eastern and Western Capes,^[4] is a prime example. As shown in this uber-optimistically titled video, “The Three Xhosa Clicks Taught Easy!” (above), the process usually involves generating one of the clicking sounds in unison with a more traditional linguistic component – meaning one produced by the vocal chords. Xhosa’s clicks are represented in writing by the letters x, c, and q. The clicks are then coupled with vowel sounds in a process that, after several minutes of practice, I can attest is a LOT harder than that guy in the video makes it look.

There is only one known example of a click language’s use outside of Africa: Damin,^[5] a now-extinct ceremonial vernacular of the aboriginal Lardil people of northern Queensland, Australia.

8 Taa

No, that wasn’t a typo. It’s a language – the most aurally diverse one in the world.

With five distinct variations of clicks, numerous tones and strident vowels often vocalized with a quick choking sound, the Taa language, which is utilized by just a few thousand people in Botswana and Namibia, is accredited by most linguists as having the widest sound inventory of any tongue on Earth.

Taa has two officially recognized dialects, per the locales of the people, the !Xoon (also not a typo) who speak them. Describing the language is as complicated as the language itself. While research is a bit muddled, it can be safely said that East !Xoon Taa has at least 58 consonants, 31 vowels, and four tones – high [á], mid [a], low [à], and mid-falling [â] – while West !Xoon Taa has at least 87 consonants, 20 vowels, and two tones.^[6]

7 Hooooooooooooooolding a Note

The length of time a person can hold a single, uninterrupted note is known as maximum phonation time,^[7] or MPT. The exercise provides an estimated measure of how closed that person’s vocal cords are. In this instance, closed is actually good: the more closed the vocal cords, the less air wasted and the longer a sound can be maintained.

MPT is more than just something to impress a concert audience. It’s also a diagnostic tool^[8] used by doctors in the fields of speech and respiration. For example, it can be a key prognostic indicator for someone suffering from partial vocal cord paralysis. Often, it is used in conjunction with MLPT – the maximum loudest phonation time – to gain insight into the overall strength of a patient’s voice.

Typically, healthy adult males can sustain a sound from 25 to 35 seconds, and women from 15-25. However, this can differ markedly. In 2017, a viral video showcased pop star Ariana Grande holding a high note for well over a minute.^[9] While impressive, claims that Grande had broken an MPT record were erroneous.

No, that record goes to Richard Fink IV, who in 2019 achieved the MPT version of the four-minute mile by holding the same note for two minutes and one second, shattering Turkish singer Alpaslan Durmus’s mark of one minute, 52 seconds.

6 ASMR

Often referred to as “the tingles,” ASMR – autonomous sensory meridian response – is a computer-age experience characterized by a pleasantly stimulating, sometimes static-like feeling, originating on the scalp and continuing down the neck and upper spine. Though the acronym was coined only a decade ago, ASMR has taken YouTube by storm; many practitioners, dubbed ASMRtists, enjoy millions of subscribers, and a handful even have become millionaires.^[10]

Aural triggers that typically cause ASMR’s shiver-esque sensation include soft vocalizations like humming, whispering and tongue clicking. Highly sensitive microphones often amplify and reverberate these vocalizations – a sort of ASMR autotune^[11] – and non-vocal elements like tapping, crinkling and dripping are also frequently utilized. Some people also have visual ASMR sensitivity – brought about, for example, by a calming hand gesture or lulling metronome.

ASMR may never have existed were it not for one man: PBS painter Bob Ross, whose The Joy of Painting attracted viewers less for his canvas technique that his rhythmic, shush-shush brushstrokes, gently scraping palate knife, and soothing, baritone narration. Many reported an inexplicable, tingly, euphoric sensation, a sort of blissful zoning out while Ross crafted his trademark majestic mountains and “happy little trees.”

Much of the science behind ASMR is still unknown, but studies show the phenomenon is a physical reaction rather than an emotional experience – making it a feat of the vocal chords rather than the heartstrings.

8 Incredible Resurrected Ancient Sounds

5 TEN Octaves?

The widest vocal range in recorded history belongs to American singer and composer Tim Storms, who was born in 1972 and is amazing. Storms holds the Guinness record through his ability to span a full 10 octaves — about twice as prolific as Mariah Carey’s famous range, and more than three times the standard singing range of three octaves.

Any singer with this distinction, of course, must also hold the record either for highest or lowest recorded note. Here, Storms’ prowess comes at the lower end of the scale – or rather, completely OFF the scale’s lower end. Storms has belted the lowest note ever sung: a G (-7) (0.189 hertz).^[12] That’s a full EIGHT OCTAVES below the lowest G on a piano. The note is, in fact, outside the range of human hearing; it was captured with a low-frequency microphone, then verified via precision sound analysis.

Storms’ unique talent was discovered when he sang in a Christian choir as a child. When his voice continued to deepen, he began to fascinate not only concertgoers but also the medical community: one ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist) was so intrigued that he stuck a video scope up Storms’ nose and down his throat. It was determined that Storms’ vocal chords are nearly twice the normal human length, and that the surrounding muscles, called arytenoids, have significantly above-average movement – lending to his rich reverberations.

4 Gimme a Break

The human voice can make the glass half… period. Many people – including this little boy – have the ability to shatter a glass with no tool other than their vocal cords.

Every object has a resonant frequency, a pitch at which it begins to vibrate. Hollow objects, such as wine glasses, are particularly resonant, as witnessed by running a damp dinger along its rim, or simply tapping it.

To shatter such a glass, a singer’s voice much match that frequency (it also helps mightily if the glass has microscopic defects, which many do). Loudness is also a factor, with a minimum of around 105 decibels – roughly twice the sound of conversational speech – needed to break the “sound break barrier.” A singer must strike – and hold – just the right note for several seconds to have a chance at pulling off the trick.

Still, luck is also a factor: Invisible cracks and chinks cover every material’s surface, but the size and locations of these mini-defects vary dramatically. For that reason, wine glasses that appear identical have radically different fracturing susceptibility. So while some glasses may succumb to human-generated sound, others may not, as evidenced by this compilation of even more little children.

3 Gone Pishin’

Pishing is the term birders use for luring birds from their treetop hiding places using nothing more than their own voice. According to Nicholas Lund, founder of The Birdist blog and a contributor for the Audubon Society’s website,^[13] those skilled at the craft create something akin to an Ace Ventura: Pet Detective effect.

“I’ve had big flocks of Pine Siskins completely surround me,“ writes Lund. “I’ve had warblers bounce around my feet. I’ve pished into a silent copse and summoned bird life like some kind of avian Aquaman. When pishing works, oh man, you’re on top of the world.”

The word “pishing” is an onomatopoeia;^[14] the word derives from the actual sound the act requires, a “psssshhhhh”-ing sound that mimics a vocalization many species of birds use to sound alarm to others. Birders place avian noises into a variety of categories – mating calls, short-burst flight chirps, etc. Pishing is intended to imitate a “scold,” basically a bird’s community alarm system. When a bird emits a scold, other birds commonly emerge to discover the nature of the emergency.

A boon for birders, scolds are typically recognized across bird species – meaning a successful scold can draw out a slew of different avian varieties. Here’s a video of pishing in action.

2 Pansori

Decidedly more substantive than K-Pop, Pansori is a South Korean form of musical storytelling. The term is a combination of the Korean words “pan,” meaning “a place where many people gather,” and “sori,” meaning “song.” The genre is characterized by expressive singing, stylized speech and gesture, and narratives evoking both elite and folk culture.

Pansori is a marathon rather than a sprint: performances can last up to eight hours, during which time a lone singer, typically clutching a fan and accompanied only by a single barrel drum, improvises on themes rooted in various rural and sophisticated stories and texts.

Pansori originated in the 1600s, and remained an oral tradition among commoners until the late 19th Century, when it started to become popular with more affluent Koreans. This educated audience began to infuse pansori with more sophisticated literary content. Subject matter^[15] now ranges from romantically tragic to anthropomorphized fantasy. The Ch’unhyangga portrays the difficult love between an upper-class man and the lower-class daughter of a female entertainer, while the satirical madang Sugungga recounts the exploits of a hare who finds himself in a sea kingdom – a reverse fish out of water motif.

Marginalized by modernization, Pansori was designated a National Intangible Cultural Property by the South Korean government in 1964, to ensure it remains in practice.

Pansori was the subject matter of a beautiful award winning Korean Film called Seopyeonje. It is well worth the watch. The trailer is here.

1 A Near-death Aural Experience

Klaus Sperber, known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor whose otherworldly stage persona was as remarkable as his wide vocal range. Nomi became an operatic and absurdist attraction rolled into one, staging bizarrely visionary theatrical performances in heavy make-up, eccentric costumes and a signature hairstyle that proudly flaunted his receding hairline.

His catalogue was just as unique, spanning synthesizer-laden interpretations of classical opera to pop-culture covers of Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”^[16] and Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.^[17] He also sang back up for rock legend David Bowie during a riveting 1979 performance of The Man Who Sold the World^[18] on Saturday Night Live.

Tragically, Nomi’s life was cut short by the emerging AIDS epidemic just beginning its spread in the early 1980s. Still, Nomi saved some of his best for last. Over the final few months of his life, he shifted gears to operatic pieces – including, per his penchant for pageantry, Baroque era opera garb complete with a full collar. The collar provided function as well as form, covering the outbreaks of AIDS-related cancerous lesions (called Kaposi’s sarcoma) on his neck.

One of Nomi’s final performances (above) shows that his voice was still brimming with life even as his body approached death.

Top 10 Eerie Recordings

About The Author: Christopher Dale (@ChrisDaleWriter) writes on politics, society, and sobriety issues. His work has appeared in Daily Beast, NY Daily News, NY Post, and Parents.com, among other outlets.

China is a powerhouse that thrives on progress. One multipurpose field seeing great strides from this country is genetics. In recent years, China’s studies have included many world firsts and incredible medical advances.

There exists a strange side, too. Scientists are creating things never seen in nature, rewriting the rules on reproduction, and keeping the rest of the world nervous with their penchant for controversial human editing.

10 Biggest Genetic Study

In 2018, a genome sequencing company based in Shenzhen was given access to a massive database. The genetic information of around seven million pregnant Chinese women was gathered while testing for a disorder linked to Down syndrome.

Only about 141,000 women were chosen, but it remains the biggest project examining Chinese genetics. The mothers represented nearly all provinces and even 36 of the 55 ethnic minority groups.

The findings were interesting. Certain genes were linked to height and body mass, the ability to have twins, and how severely herpesvirus 6 manifests. Even migrations left their mark on the Chinese genome. The largest wedge of the population is made up of the Han (92 percent).^[1]

The study found that this group had the same genetic structure, but differences hinged on where they lived. Their northern and southern origins reflected in migrations known to have happened after 1949, when work became more available to the east and west. Gene variations also cause different immune responses from northern and southern Han. Intriguingly, certain minority groups had more genetic diversity than the Han.

9 Unknown Giant Panda

The giant panda is iconic to China. Although these creatures are the subject of considerable studies, researchers still know very little about how they evolved. The only sure fact is that giant pandas split from other bears 20 million years ago.

Then, in 2018, a fossil turned up in Cizhutuo Cave in China. The creature died 22,000 years ago and looked a lot like a giant panda. To gauge what exactly it was, researchers accomplished an amazing feat—they pieced together 148,329 fragments of its DNA.

When the ancestry became clear, two things made the fossil unique. The DNA was the oldest ever found from a giant panda, but it also revealed a lineage nobody even knew existed. This panda split from its living cousins about 183,000 years ago. Its genetic code also revealed a great number of mutations that probably helped this species to survive the Ice Age in which it lived.^[2]

8 Dogs With More Muscle

In 2015, the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health saw the birth of several puppies. These were no ordinary beagles. They started their existence as 60 genetically modified embryos from which a single gene was removed.

Myostatin blocks muscle growth. Scientists deleted it to create what they claim are the world’s first designer dogs. Only 27 puppies were born, but not everything went according to plan.

Myostatin has two copies, and both were gone from only a single female pup. Another male puppy had one copy deactivated. He was more bulky than the rest but not as much as the female, which was designed to develop twice the normal amount of muscle. The project’s aim was to produce test animals on which to study diseases affecting human muscles, including Parkinson’s and muscular dystrophy.^[3]

The Chinese may have many firsts to their credit, but in this case, nature beat them. Belgian Blue cattle have jaw-dropping muscles, thanks to a natural lack of myostatin. In addition, a genetic disorder occasionally deletes the gene in whippets, producing freakishly muscled dogs.

7 Spider Silkworms

Upon learning that scientists tweaked the silkworm’s ability to produce silk, most would think of worms spinning better, more copious amounts. However, in the world of this satiny material, the silkworm is not king. Spiders beat them on several levels.

Arachnid silk promises incredibly useful applications in medicine, including microcapsules that deliver cancer drugs as well as the potential to fix damaged nerves. Researchers also discovered that it could strengthen bulletproof vests.

Unfortunately, spiders do not play along with idea of having their silk commercially farmed. Unlike the predictable silkworm, the arachnids are territorial and, worse yet, cannibalistic.

In 2018, a team affiliated with several Chinese institutions used gene editing and succeeded where many others have failed. They replaced a segment from the silkworm’s genetic code with DNA from a golden orb-web spider.^[4]

When the altered worms spun their cocoons, the silk was analyzed. It was 35.2 percent spider, the highest purity ever achieved. (Past attempts lagged at 5 percent.) The silk was ready to use the moment the silkworms released the threads, something no other team could manage.

6 First Blue Rose

Among the most sought-after things in the world of gardeners is the blue rose. It does not exist in nature, and for hundreds of years, rose enthusiasts failed to breed this ultimate color.

During a more recent project that lasted 20 years and involved selective breeding and genetic engineering, biotechnologists came the nearest. However, even this prize rose was more mauve than blue.

Chinese scientists found a novel way to reach the dream. They started with the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens, often used in bioengineering because it easily transfers foreign genetic material into plant DNA.^[5]

From another bacterium, the researchers picked two bacterial enzymes capable of turning the L-glutamine in rose petals into a blue pigment called indigoidine. A special strain of A. tumefaciens was created to carry the enzymes.

The bacteria were then injected into a white rose. The pigment genes entered the plant’s genome and caused blue to pool around the injection spot. The world’s first blue rose is not perfect as the technique only produces temporary blotches. However, Chinese scientists are already busy with the next step—engineering a rose that naturally produces the two enzymes and causes itself to turn blue.

5 The SARS Cave

In 2002, the world followed the lethal outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). It first bloomed in South China, infected 8,000 people, and killed nearly 800.

What caused the epidemic was never solved. In late 2017, scientists disclosed an unnerving clue in a cave in China’s Yunnan Province. For the past five years, they had investigated multiple SARS viruses present in the cave’s bats. There were 11 new strains, but none showed the genetic traits of the 2002 outbreak. SARS in bats has never been proven to cross the species barrier to humans, either.

However, a thorough analysis found something frightening. Together, the new strains carried enough genetic blocks to theoretically build a virus that could evolve to jump from bats to people. Secondly, three of the new strains showed a genetic predisposition to infect humans.^[6]

If the 2002 epidemic rose from the cave, it still does not explain how it traveled to Ground Zero in Guangdong Province 1,000 kilometers (621 mi) away.

4 China’s First Monkey Clones

In late 2017, two long-tailed macaques were born in the same Shanghai laboratory. Even though their births happened weeks apart, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua were identical “twins.”

They were created with the somatic cell nuclear transfer technique (SCNT), the same one that produced the historical sheep clone, Dolly, 20 years ago. The monkeys may be the first nonhuman primates created with SCNT, but the feat was not applauded by the entire international community.

Critics fear that the project might bring human cloning closer to reality without giving much regard to serious ethical concerns. Some researchers are entirely against SCNT, calling it “a very inefficient and hazardous procedure.”^[7]

Indeed, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua only happened after 79 previous failed attempts. Despite the criticism, Chinese scientists insist that identical monkeys can be a valuable way to study gene-based diseases in humans, including certain cancers.

3 HIV-Resistant Embryos

Gene editing in humans is the new frontier. While most governments stall to agree on protocols for ethically modifying human tissue, China went ahead and did it a few years ago.

The historic breakthrough just added more fuel to the debate. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, this did not stop Guangzhou Medical University from doing it again in 2016. They wanted to create HIV-resistant embryos.

Operating under strict guidelines, they used 26 fertilized human eggs. All had been donated to research because they were no longer viable and would not develop into living babies.

The next step involved a specific genetic mutation. People who naturally carry this mutation are immune to the HIV virus. Using a gene editing tool called CRISPR, the gene was inserted into the embryos’ genomes.^[8]

The tweak was successful, but only four became HIV-proof. The others showed why the rest of the world was slow to jump on the bandwagon. Unexpected mutations showed up—and not the good kind.

It would be impossible to predict the long-term effects on a CRISPR-created human (should it ever go that far). If anything, this second attempt showed that this type of gene editing was not safe. CRISPR was also used during the first modification years ago and also produced unwanted mutations.

2 Cancer-Fighting Robots

The dream of creating nanorobots capable of fighting cancer within the body is nothing new. It was in the way Chinese researchers recently managed this that bordered on the ingenious.

Tumors can only live for as long as they are fed by a person’s blood vessels. To create something to block the vessels, scientists began by borrowing DNA molecules from a virus called a phage. An origami-like technique folded the strand into a rectangular sheet. The “tumor killers” were added, which were basically molecules of the clotting enzyme thrombin.

Four were rolled up inside the sheet to form a tube-shaped nanorobot. Special proteins locked the four molecules inside. After injection, the nanorobot entered the blood vessels. There, tumors opened the proteins and released the enzyme thrombin. A clot formed in the vessels and starved the tumor.

Tests on mice showed that the robots were effective. The rodents suffered from cancers of the skin, lung, breast, and ovary. In a group of eight animals with melanoma, the tumors vanished completely in three mice. Their life expectancy also increased.^[9]

1 Mice With No Father

In 2018, Chinese scientists successfully bred two female mice. The 29 pups are the first mammals born from two mothers with no male involvement. The study tried to find out why two genders are essential for most species to reproduce. The answer rewrote the rules of reproduction.

As it turns out, during mammalian conception, there are about 100 genes where only genes from the female or male are switched on. Both genders are needed to activate all 100. The male covers the ones not switched on by female genes, and vice versa.^[10]

If two females could breed in nature, certain genes would stay dormant. Using gene editing on mouse stem cells, researchers bypassed this barrier by removing a small piece of genetic code in three places. The altered cells were injected into an egg from a second female mouse. Successful fertilization followed. The babies grew up healthy and had pups of their own.

A similar experiment with two fathers (and a surrogate mother) produced 12 pups, but they all died within 48 hours. The research offers a distant hope for same-sex human couples wanting their own families.

We all love superhero movies, and every time we go to the theatres, we are excited to see them doing incredible feats as they fight against threats to their worlds. Yet, movies use computers to tell fictional stories that could never be repeated or replicated in real life. But, did you know that there are real-life superhumans living with us?

Some of these humans with incredible capabilities were born with gifts, but others chose to train and perfect their abilities. As scientists try to discover what makes these humans special, let’s see the superhuman abilities they have. Do you agree that they deserve the superhero tag?

10 Real Samurai: Slicing Projectiles In Two

In the past, samurais were warriors whose skills in combat were legendary and feared by both friends and enemies. Isao Machii is a talented superhuman whose skills could rival those of any samurai from ancient stories. Machii can slice anything in two with his sword — even a pellet shot from a gun at 200 mph!

While most people might know how to use a sword, Isao Machii is different because of his great speed and accuracy that helps him break one incredible feat after another. In the Guinness World Book of record, Machii is credited for the fastest 1,000 martial arts sword cuts, most martial arts katana cuts, and the fastest tennis ball cuts with a sword. His skills are often compared to a robot since machines are the only things that can come close to his abilities.

Yet, Isao Machii was not born with the talent since it’s a product of hard work and training. For many years, the Japanese Iaido Master has honed his skills with the sword, and every day, he picks his favorite weapon and trains. Isao Machii gives a new meaning to the phrase, “Practice makes perfect.”

9 Real-Life Batman: Blind Man Sees With His Tongue

If you lost your eyes today, how would you move around? Daniel Kish is technically blind, but he has a superpower that enables him to move around and see objects around him. Using echolocation, the same ability that bats have, Kish can drive a bike in heavy traffic, camp in the wild, and even climb trees.

So, how does he do it? After losing his eyes to retina cancer when he was a kid, Daniel Kish taught himself how to use his tongue as a navigational technique. By clicking his tongue, Kish listens to the sound that bounces off objects in the surrounding environment. When the sound returns in different volumes, he estimates the size of the obstacle and how far it is.

Daniel Kish is just like “Daredevil,” the blind superhero from the comics who uses “radar sense” to perceive objects around him. Over time, Kish got so good in his ability that other blind people hire him to help them get around.

As an expert in human echolocation, Kish can describe places he has never seen before to prove that the human body is capable of magical feats. Truly, disability is not inability!

8 Photographic Memory: No Camera, No Problem!

Ever wished you could remember everything that you ever saw? Stephen Wiltshire is a superhuman with a photographic memory, with the ability to memorize and draw anything he sees in intricate details.

Stephen Wiltshire was born autistic and didn’t speak until age five. But when he finally did, his first words were “Pen” and “Paper.” As an adult, Wiltshire uses his powers for good, making impressions of skylines and street scenes with just one helicopter ride across.

One of the best achievements by Stephen Wiltshire was his “London Skyline in 360” painting, which was a panorama of major landmarks in London. The most astounding fact is that he did the painting without any sketches, photos, or notes. Every detail he captured was on point!

We might carry our cameras around, but they come nowhere close to matching Wiltshire’s superhuman abilities.

7 Head Balancer: My Head Can Carry Anything!

John Evans earned his fame as a strongman who can balance anything on his head, and for many, his talents are both astounding and entertaining. Evans’ achievements require no introduction, and from lifting pints of beer to a 352-pound (159.6 kg) car for 33 seconds, the superhuman can support anything with his head and neck.

John Evans, who holds 33 Guinness World Records for balancing items on his head, is not your everyday weightlifter, and he admits that he never goes to the gym! While working as a laborer in construction, Evans realized that balancing bricks on his head made him haul more bricks than he would with his hands. Over time, he developed a strong neck as the daily work kept him in shape.

Years later, Evans tested his capabilities only to discover that his bone density was just like that of a 20-year-old! While many people get weaker as they age, Evans’ body keeps getting stronger, an ability that makes it possible for him to support weights with his skeleton alone.

Other notable achievements by this superhuman include balancing motorcycles, two cyclists on their bikes, washing machines, and bunk beds. It is very probable that John Evans could carry the weight of the world on his head if he was big enough to hold it. 

6 Human Lightning Conductor: Lightning 7, Man 0

They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice, but one man from the US is an exception to this rule. Roy Cleveland Sullivan, a former US park ranger, earned the title of the “Spark Ranger” after being struck by lightning seven times in his life!

Roy, who holds the record for most lightning strikes for any human in history, was exposed to risks of lightning strikes in his job as a park ranger. By working out in the open, the ranger was at more risk of being hit by lightning, but the surprising thing was that with each incident, he survived exceptionally.

The first time he was hit, Roy walked away with a hole in his shoe, the second burned off his eyebrows and eyelashes, and the third time, it seared his left shoulder. Defying statistics that show that 10% of people who get struck by lightning die while 90% are left with disabilities, Roy never saw an emergency room after a lightning strike.

Yet, because Roy was a lightning magnet, many people avoided him for fear that they would also get struck if a storm hit. At the end of his life, Roy took his own life by suicide for unknown reasons that had many theorizing that he was tired of watching out for storm clouds.

5 Baby Superman: Strongest Toddler Ever

Liam Hoekstra shot to fame when he was just 5 years old, earning the title of the “world’s strongest toddler.” When he was 6 years old, his parents got curious about what made their special son strong and after a study, it became clear that Liam was stronger than 85% of other 6-year-old kids.

The condition that made Liam special was his myostatin deficiency, which led to a massive increase in body mass and double muscling. The lack of myostatin meant that Liam developed muscles easily, as they grew at a faster than normal rate without any exercise. Also, his body is completely unable to store body fat, no matter how much he ate.

After his biological mom gave up out of fear that she couldn’t take adequate care of him, Liam stood out from his peers from a young age. While other kids struggled with chin-ups, he could easily hold himself up for minutes, impressing many and shocking others.

The only side effect of Liam’s superpower was that he consumed more food than other kids since his body needed more energy to grow. In the end, with great power came great and delicious responsibilities.  

4 Spider-Man: Climbs Any Building With No Equipment!

Alain Robert, aka ‘The French Spiderman,’ is a professional rock climber, but mountains aren’t the only things he can scale! Name the tallest buildings in the world, and Roberts has likely climbed a few of them!

Alain Robert takes pride in being the most famous free climber in the world and he’s climbed over 100 buildings and he’s still going. In 2011, Robert proved why he’s the best when he climbed Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. In the 828-meter climb, Robert took just six hours, using nothing but his hands, feet, and an indomitable spirit.

What makes Alain Robert special? His technique, training, and physical conditioning enable him to scale buildings by latching on to small outcrops. Robert is a daredevil who believes that fear should not control our lives.

In the past, Robert has been arrested on multiple occasions for scaling buildings while wearing a spiderman outfit! For the athlete, being great has more to do with sacrifice and concentration, qualities he has mastered over many years.

3 Metal Bender: World’s Strongest Granny

Sakinat Khanapiyeva is not your average grandma and while she hasn’t entered any weight lifting event, she’s easily the strongest in her age group. When she was 10 years, Sakinat discovered that she was a superhuman when she moved a 661-pound (299 kg) grain container. For a scale, 661 pounds is equal to the weight of four grown men!

As she got older, Sakinat Khanapiyeva realized that she could still do some amazing things like twisting 2-inch steel rods and rip a phone-book in half! Think that is standard? In her 70s, Sakinat shocked everyone by lifting a 52-pound dumbbell while standing on nails!

What else can she do? She can also break a horseshoe in two like a cookie! Even Schwarzenegger couldn’t beat that! Truly, Sakinat Khanapiyeva from Daghestan, Russia, deserves her Guinness World Book record as the strongest grandma in the world.

2 The Flash: Legs that can’t stop running!

How many marathons can you run in a year? Dean Karnazes is an ultramarathon runner, but his greatest accomplishment was running 50 marathons in 50 days, back-to-back.

In 2005, Karzanes showed the world why he’s better than ‘Flash’ from the comics when he ran 350 miles (560 km) in 80 hours and 44 minutes across North Carolina! In the incredible display of both stamina and endurance, Karzanes didn’t stop to eat or sleep and for over 3 days, his legs just couldn’t stop running.

Other achievements by this legend include running a marathon to the South Pole in 2002 and a 199-mile (320 km) relay from Calistoga to Santa Cruz. According to ‘Men’s Fitness’, Dean Karzanes is one of the fittest men on the planet, and from his impressive resume, it’s clear why he deserves the title.

Like all the great runners, Karzanes has trained himself never to give up even when his body tells him to stop. But, as a superhuman, Karzanes’ muscles don’t ever get tired, an ability that makes it possible to keep moving where many would quit!

1 The Iceman: Real Life Snowman?

How much cold is too cold for you? Wim Hof entered the Guinness World Record for his unique ability to sit in an ice bath for 1 hour, 53 minutes, and 2 seconds!

Hof, famous for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures, is a daredevil who is always chasing the next world record. With over 26 records under his belt, Hof is always pushing the limits of the human body, and his accolades are even more impressive.

Some of the most notable achievements by “The Iceman” include running the fastest half marathon barefoot on ice/snow and attempting to climb Mt Everest wearing nothing but shorts and shoes! It seems that there’s nothing this real-life snowman won’t try. If it involves shocking acts of cold endurance, you can bet that Wim Hof has tried it.

As a fitness guru, Wim Hof credits his achievements to techniques such as the Buddhist Tummo meditation technique. The practice that was perfected by monks literally translates to ‘inner fire,’ a deep state of meditation achieved through breathing and visualization. Also, using his very own ‘Wim Hof Method’, the unstoppable man aims to change the world through breathing, meditation, and cold exposure.

Even though we are all built with the same complex combination of bones, muscles, ligaments, and nerves, some among us have a penchant for the superhuman.

In this list, you’ll learn about some of the most jaw-dropping modern-day acts of physical strength from strongmen and strongwomen alike. So sit back, relax, and let them do the heavy lifting.

Oh, and a friendly reminder: Don’t try this at home.

10 Amazing Strongman Feats of the Past

10 Mark Felix

 
Mark Felix has become a household name in strongman since he took up the sport professionally in 2004. Since then, he has competed at the World’s Strongest Man final an incredible 14 times and been a medalist at Britain’s Strongest Man six times. Yet the most amazing thing about the Grenadian-born athlete is that he didn’t start his career until he was 38 years old!

Now 54 and showing no signs of slowing down, Felix achieved his greatest feat of strength in 2019. Performing at the Giants Live show in Manchester, he took on the Hercules Hold. Each competitor must grip handles protruding from two massive steel pillars—each weighing 350 kilograms (772 lb)—and hold on for as long as possible while gravity attempts to pull the pillars away from him.

Taking the stage directly after the current World’s Strongest Man, Felix blew away the competition with a time of 83.62 seconds, smashing second place and cementing a new world record.^[1]

9 Eddie Hall

Eddie Hall, affectionately known as “The Beast,” is a now-retired English strongman. Despite being a competitive swimmer in his youth, Hall soon turned to strongman, expressing his desire to win World’s Strongest Man. This dream became a reality in 2017, although he had qualified in each of the previous five years.

And before winning the ultimate prize?

Hall had to make do with the measly haul of six consecutive UK’s Strongest Man titles and five consecutive Britain’s Strongest Man crowns. However, his ultimate achievement came in 2016 during the World Deadlift Championship.

After setting a joint world record earlier in the night with a 465-kilogram (1,025 lb) lift, Hall attempted the half-ton, which made him the first person in history to lift 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). However, blood vessels in his brain burst, sending blood cascading from his nose, ears, and tear ducts. He confessed to having problems with memory recall for weeks afterward and was unable to even remember his children’s names.

Now retired from strongman, Hall’s latest conquest is set for September 2021 when he engages Hafthor Julius Bjornsson inside the boxing ring.^[2] 

8 Hafthor Julius Bjornsson

When the word “strongman” comes to mind, you may imagine a huge being with rippling muscles—you know, the type to grind your bones into bread. Although the feats listed here are far from fairy tales, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson fits this description perfectly.

Standing a Herculean 206 centimeters (6’9″) and weighing in at 205 kilograms (452 lb), “Thor” truly is the epitome of an Icelandic giant. Just as well known for his time as “The Mountain” in Game of Thrones, Thor actually began his sporting career as a professional basketballer before focusing completely on lifting weights. This culminated in his 2018 win as World’s Strongest Man.

In 2020, Thor broke Eddie Hall’s deadlift world record by lifting 501 kilograms (1,104 lb) in his home gym in Iceland. This contributed to a history of bad blood between the two. Even though the attempt was recorded live and viewed by a professional referee, Hall and other members of the strongman community have been quick to dismiss the attempt as it was not completed during competition.

Despite the technicalities, though, it’s no surprise that Thor is widely regarded as one of the strongest men on the planet.^[3]

7 Julius Maddox

Anyone who has been to a gym will probably have come across (or had a go at) the bench press, which is one of the most iconic gym exercises. Many experts suggest that an average adult male should be able to press around 60 kilograms (132 lb). But Julius Maddox is not your average man.

An ex-convict who has reformed his life through God and his own passion for weights, Maddox has become the best “bench-presser” in the world. In 2019, he broke the raw bench press world record after lifting approximately 335 kilograms (739.6 lb).

Not content with this, Maddox went on to break his own world record only three months later by lifting around 338 kilograms (744.1 lb). Having decided that lifting just over the equivalent of two male gorillas wasn’t enough, Maddox then smashed his previous record with an incredible just-under-350-kilogram (770 lb) lift!

In June 2020, Maddox attempted an ambitious 363-kilogram (800 lb) lift. Unfortunately, the event proved unsuccessful through no fault of his own. Event organizers were heavily criticized after misloading the bar by putting an extra 25-kilogram (55 lb) plate on one side and unintentionally injuring the strongman.^[4]

Far from letting his anger get the better of him, Maddox conceded that everyone makes mistakes and vowed to come back even stronger.

6 Rob Kearney

Stepping away from the “traditional” stereotype of strongman for a second, we shall introduce Rob Kearney. The first thing that makes this American stand out is his size. At 178 centimeters (5’10”), Kearney looks positively tiny next to the giants Thor Bjornsson and Brian Shaw.

The second thing is his striking attire. Clad in multicolored compression shorts, bright socks, and a rainbow mohawk to match, Kearney is certainly not afraid to share his sexuality with the world. The self-proclaimed “World’s Strongest Gay,” Kearney has used his platform to inspire other LGBTQ members around the world after becoming the first openly gay strongman at the tender age of 22.

He certainly lives up to the title. Known for his prodigious shoulder strength, Kearney recently broke the American log lift record, which he had set in 2019. This created a new American record with a 215.8-kilogram (475.8 lb) press and firmly cemented his place as one of the best log lifters in the world.^[5]

10 Superhuman Heroic Feats

5 Kevin Fast

Kevin Fast is not a household name in the world of strongman. Yet this 57-year-old Canadian holds some of the most impressive Guinness World Records in the field of strength.

These include the most cars pulled by an individual (15), the heaviest vehicle pushed over 100 feet (weighing 11,080 kilograms (24,427 lb)), the heaviest vehicle pulled over 100 feet (99,060 kilograms (218,390 lb)), and the heaviest house pulled by an individual! The house weighed almost 40 tons and was pulled 11.95 meters (39 ft).

At this point, an important question arises. Who in their right mind decides to see how far they can pull a house? Perhaps a firefighter or a soldier? Not quite. Well, certainly a tradesman, someone who works with his hands? Wrong again. Kevin Fast is, in fact, a pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.^[6]

And if none of those records really scream “incredible feat of strength” for you, Fast also pulled a plane. It weighed 188.83 tons. Returning to our trusty measuring guide, this totals roughly 1,260 adult gorillas—just in case you were wondering.

4 Becca Swanson

The next spot on our list is held by a woman regarded by most as the strongest of all time. Even though she’s only 175 centimeters (5’9″) tall, Swanson has set multiple world records and competed in powerlifting, bodybuilding, and even professional wrestling.

She began competing in powerlifting in 2002 and has since firmly cemented her place in history. Her considerable list of accomplishments includes heaviest squat for a female (becoming the first woman to squat 318 kilograms (700 lb) and the only woman to squat 387.5 kilograms (854 lb)), heaviest bench press for a female at 272.5 kilograms (600.8 lb), heaviest deadlift for a female at 310 kilograms (683.4 lb), and heaviest total for a female in competition.

In 2005, her combined deadlift, bench press, and squat set, which totaled 930 kilograms (2,050.3 lb), made her the only woman in history to total 907 kilograms (2,000 lb) in competition. Swanson is a true trailblazer in the world of strongwoman.^[7]

3 Brian Shaw

Possibly the best-known name in strongman, Brian Shaw has created a legacy due to his prodigious strength and his indefatigable work ethic and attention to detail. Standing 203 centimeters (6’8″) tall and weighing in at around 200 kilograms (440 lb), Shaw might look intimidating, but he has the reputation of being one of the gentlest giants around.

In contrast to the other names on the list, Shaw’s “feat of strength” is his consistency through the years. He has won World’s Strongest Man an incredible four times, made it to 11 consecutive World’s Strongest Man finals (a record in itself), and won the Arnold Strongman Classic (named after the great Arnold Schwarzenegger) three times.^[8]

So what’s next for the 38-year-old?

In addition to running a YouTube channel with over one million subscribers and starring in various films and documentaries, Shaw recently founded his own strongman event, the Shaw Classic, which will hold its inaugural competition in December 2020. When World’s Strongest Man 2020 finally takes place, Shaw hopes to take home his fifth title and cement his place firmly in the record books for generations to come.
 

2 Martin Tye

If we told you that this military veteran and disabled strongman had completed a deadlift that eclipsed both Eddie Hall and Thor Bjornsson, it might be hard to believe. But for Martin Tye, who won World’s Strongest Disabled Man in 2018, it’s a reality. And his journey to strongman is far tougher than most.

On a tour in Afghanistan in 2009, Tye commanded a vehicle that was rammed by a suicide bomber. The resulting explosion left Tye wheelchair bound with no sensation from his knees down. With metalwork in both knees (which have also developed arthritis), severe nerve damage, and PTSD, the gym became an escape for the Englishman.

Tye has now established himself as a force in the strongman world. He first caught headlines when he broke the deadlift world record with a 505-kilogram (1,113 lb) lift and won 11 medals in the Invictus Games. As of this writing, his greatest achievement came during World’s Strongest Disabled Man 2019 when he set a new world record for a 520-kilogram (1,146 lb) deadlift!^[9]

1 Zydrunas Savickas

Finally, we come to the legend himself, known in strongman circles as “Big Z.”

The Lithuanian is widely considered the strongest man ever, with a list of records that almost defies belief. He has won Europe’s Strongest Man three times, the Arnold Classic eight times, and Lithuania’s Strongest Man an unprecedented 15 times. Oh, and he’s also been crowned the World’s Strongest Man on four occasions and finished second six times.

However, his showpiece has always been the log lift, believed to be one of the truest tests of pure strength. A competitor must lift a log from the floor (or a platform at knee height) to his chest before pressing it overhead and locking out at the top of the lift.

Big Z holds the world record, an astonishing 228 kilograms (502.6 lb), and has done so since 2015. His dominance in the event is clear when you take a look at the 10 heaviest log lifts in history and see Savickas accounting for eight of them. The closest anyone has gotten is 220 kilograms (485 lbs), which occurred in 2019. However, even at age 45, Savickas doesn’t have to worry that his record will be broken any time soon.^[10] 

10 Ancient Humans Who Could Beat Today’s Best Sports Stars

About The Author: Joseph has been writing since he was very young. Even though he’s only 19, he definitely thinks he’s wiser than his years. When he’s not running around a field or kicking a football, you’ll find him curled up with a good book or complaining that Australia is far too hot.

Whether it be getting a sub 10 second time in the 100m sprint or scoring three goals in a soccer match (a hat trick), there are many feats in the sporting world that can draw awe and adulation from fans. But there are a few select feats, a few ultra-rare accomplishments, that truly elevate sporting achievement to new plains of excellence in human endeavour.

The entries on this list are not world or national records – although exceptional, they will not be covered here – rather, these are examples of things that are possible to do but take an incredible amount of mastery, professionalism (and a good deal of luck) to successfully complete. Fewer ‘high scores’ and more ‘points for flare’ and ‘I cannot believe I just saw that!’. Enjoy.

Top 15 Worst Sports Moments of All Time

10 Winning A ‘Treble’ In Top European Club Soccer

It’s often said that ‘football’ is more a religion than a sport in much of Europe. Indeed, this sentiment may be as true (if not truer) in Latin American, and increasingly, globally. If we continue the religious analogy; if your favourite club end up winning the domestic league, the domestic cup and the top European cup (currently the Champions League, historically the ‘European Champions Clubs’ Cup’), then that is the sporting equivalent of a miracle… or a series of miracles – like Jesus walking on water whilst giving a piggy-back to a quickly resurrecting Lazarus whilst pulling some bread and fish out of his, uh, pockets (did His flowing robes have pockets?)

Only a handful of clubs have completed this—Bayern Munich (Germany) and Barcelona (Spain) have achieved the feat twice, followed by Celtic (Scotland), Ajax , PSV Eindhoven (both Netherlands), Inter Milan (Italy) and Manchester Utd. (England). Titans of European football like Real Madrid, Liverpool and Juventus haven’t done a treble, nor are there any teams from footy-mad nations like France (Paris Saint-Germain, Saint-Étienne, Marseille) or Portugal (Porto, Benfica) on the list.

Rest assured that if you happen to live in a town or a city where your local club manages to win the top domestic league, the domestic cup and the Champions League, there won’t be a drop of alcohol left in your area for about a month. So, get ready Bala Town, next year could be yours! Stock up now.

9 Landing A 1080 In Skateboarding

For those of you who cannot understand how a person can simply remain on a plank of wood with wheels for more than a few feet, the very idea of a person flying into the air from a ramp and completing a 1080? (three full revolutions) and landing successfully would border on science fiction. Add to this the fact that most successful completions of this Holy Grail in extreme sports are all under the age of 15 and you’ve basically got the plot for the next series of ‘Stanger Things’.

Words won’t do this justice. So, just watch the footage of these guys – unbelievable.

8 Getting An Unassisted Triple Play In Baseball

This rare event in “America’s Pastime” is even rarer than watching a player enter the hallowed ‘500 Club’—players who have hit 500 or more home runs during regular-seasons over the course of their career – a feat last achieved in 2015 by Boston Red Sox hitter David “Big Papi” Ortiz. The last person to get an unassisted triple play? Philadelphia Phillies’ second baseman Eric Bruntlett back in 2009.

So, what is this preternatural play? Put simply, it is when an outfield player makes 3 ‘outs’ (rendering an opposition player out of the game for that inning) all without any help from other teammates. Amazing!

Except, it rarely looks amazing. The average fan is often left thinking “what just happened?” The situation and circumstance required to achieve this is fleetingly rare, but completion of this feat doesn’t quite have the same razzle-dazzle as the other entries here (watch the videos for yourselves—meh).

Still, very rare.

7 Pick Up A 7-10 Split In 10-Pin Bowling. Or…

Hang on a sec, sports nerds, before you type: “Lol, did u even do ur research, bro? a Greek Church is the hardest shot in bowling”, let’s talk about this.

A 7-10 split is the hardest shot in bowling, the rarest to pick up and allows those who successfully smash the spare to consider themselves as cool as Otto Mann from The Simpsons, the single coolest character in cartoon history.

So what is a, a ‘Greek Church’, and why is there conjectural disagreements as to the ‘difficulty’?

Data analysis suggests that the ‘Greek Church’ (pins 7,4,6,9 and 10 left on the right or 4,7,8,6 and 10 on the left) is converted less than the 7-10 in pro-bowling. But this boils to strategy – if you miss the spare on a ‘Greek Church’, you’ll risk dropping serious points. If you land a 7-10, fans will write songs about you, fan you with palm fronds and feed you peeled grapes. So which is rarer? Technically, the ‘Greek Church’. Which is cooler? The 7-10, by miles.

6 Successfully Landing a Penalty From Within Your Own Half In Rugby Union

Rugby is a tough old game. One of the toughest skills, if not the most physically tasking in rugby, is the goal kicking. Some shots at goal are easy enough, a few yards out right in front of the posts – although, even then, not every kick is landed.

When a penalty is awarded, the recipient team can opt for a shot at goal. Successfully landing the kick scores your team 3-points (5 points is awarded for a try – the equivalent of a touch-down in American Football, and 2 points for the following conversion). A penalty kick is taken from where the infringement took place. Sometimes, teams will opt for a shot at goal from quite a way away from the posts, and it’s always impressive to see. But some kickers, a rare breed of half-human, half-bronco players, possess actual steel pistons rather than leg muscles, and can kick a rugby ball incredibly far.

The furthest recorded penalty kick was scored by Welshman Paul Thorburn in a match against Scotland back in 1986. Given that the ‘kicker’ is not a specialist position brought on just for that role (old Paul had to do all the running and tackling that the other 14 men on his team had to do) and given that the balls themselves were a good deal heavier back in the 80s, this 64.2meter kick will go down in history as one of rugby’s most amazing achievements. But whenever a player lands a shot at goal from over 50, you can guarantee that the crowd will go wild.

5 Completing A “Produnova” Vault In Women’s Gymnastics

This type of vault is so dangerous that it is actively discouraged. As a result, it is rare. The danger-factor, the active discouragement plus the actual difficulty means that seeing a gracefully landed ‘Produnova’ would be like seeing Halley’s Comet passing by a lunar eclipse whilst Jupiter and Saturn are aligned.

The vault consists of a front handspring onto the long vaulting horse followed by two tucked front somersaults. It is commonly referred to as a “Produnova” after Russian gymnast Yelena Produnova, the first woman to successfully land the move in 1999. It is also called “the vault of death” … yikes. Many have tried it, many have injured themselves in doing so, making the choice a highly controversial one for any athlete to make. You see, even if you land the move and stumble around like a drunken sailor after 40 shots of navy-grade rum, you’ll get credit for the landing by the judges, thus securing a super high score despite the poor execution. This has led to many women attempting the vault, only to land awkwardly, risking serious injury and even death.

In this regard, this entry may be purposely rare for a very good reason.

4 Become A “Quadruple Champion” In Boxing

Manny Pacquiao, Roy Jones Jr, Roberto Durán, Oscar De La Hoya, Thomas Hearns are all “once-in-a-generation” type boxers. They also share one amazing feat – they have all who have won 4 (or more) world titles in different weights and/or across different sanctioning bodies.

It’s hard enough to win a single world title – what sport could be considered more taxing for one’s health than boxing, still the most ardently followed and participated combat sport? – but to be so dominant as to take on all comers from different sanctioning bodies, and then to do it once more at a different weight? These warriors’ dominance truly ranks amongst the most incredible feats attained in sport – rare, gruelling, bloody and beautiful to behold.

3 Become a Yokozuna In Sumo Wrestling

Put it this way—the UFC, mixed martial arts’ premier franchise, has had 29 different Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champions since the competition began in 1993. From around the year 1600 until today there have been only 72 Yokozuna.

There is another key difference beyond their infrequency – Yokozuna are never demoted. Once you attain the rank, you are a living symbol of the sport itself, only retirement or death can relieve you of the title.

Of the legends that gained this highest honour, only 6 have been from outside Japan, and all these guys taking the title after 1993. One Hawaiian, one from American Samoa and 4 from Mongolia. There are currently 2 Yokozuna participating in sumo today – Kakury? and Hakuh?. The latter is widely considered the greatest sumo wrestler of all time.

The last wrestler to gain the rank was Kisinosato, who gained the title in 2017. He was a real fan favourite given he was the first Japanese-born Yokozuna since Wakanohana gained the title in 1998. But like Wakanohana, Kisinosato only lasted 2 more years in the sport. When will there be a new one? Who knows?

2 Hit A Break Above 147 In Snooker

Whoever first thought tapping a bunch of hard balls onto other balls with the tip of a stick, all on top of a fabric-covered table, having to proceed through a colour specific pattern in order to win, was simply a madman. And a genius.

The table is huge. The potting-order one must follow (red, colour, red, colour until all the reds are gone, then yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and end on the black) is devilishly hard to master. This is what makes hitting a 147-point ‘maximum break’ – an unbroken chain of shots that clears the table, scoring the maximum points tally for each ball sunk—so implausible, save for the most skilled players.

The first recorded 147-point break was in 1934, completed by player named Murt O’Donoghue. It took another 48 years for a wider audience to witness such a feat, when Steve Davis completed the first televised max break in 1982. But the so-called ‘Maximum Break’ can, in theory, be topped.

If the ref signals a foul, the next player can treat the coloured balls as reds, thus adding an extra ‘point’ to the table. This also means that the next shot, aimed at a coloured ball, could be 7 more free points (if you sink the black). After this, the player could go on to complete a traditional 147 – meaning a 155 break could occur. It never has… in an official competition.

One man has done it, though, in a witnessed practice frame. Jamie Cope scored a total of 16 reds and 16 blacks, a total of 155, the true maximum possible, back in 2005.

1 Hit A “Condor” In Golf

Surely hitting one little ball into one little hole can’t be as hard as the previous entry? How many more balls hitting other balls into different holes is that? A 147 in snooker must be way harder than getting a ‘condor’ in golf, right?

Think again.

Put more simply, a ‘condor’ is a score of 4-under par. This feat is only achievable on a par-5 (or longer) hole, which are usually the longest, hardest holes on any given course, making this achievement incredibly rare.

The first recorder ‘condor’ was struck by Larry Bruce in 1962, when he hit a hole-in-one on a par-5 hole at the Hope County Club in Arkansas. There have been 4 further ‘condors’ scored—never at a professionally sanctioned course and never at a major tournament. You have more chance seeing, catching, barbecuing and eating a ‘critically endangered’ Californian Condor than seeing a golfing ‘condor’… that’s not a dare, by the way. Don’t try this, Californians.

10 Origins Of Sports Balls

About The Author: CJ Phillips is a writer, actor and storyteller living in rural West Wales. He is a little obsessed with lists.