SortStack #197 — 2026-12-23

By speed · Order from slowest to fastest.

1. A slowly marching sand dune 20161.8 mm/year

   Wind pushes desert dunes forward grain by grain, swallowing roads and even villages over the decades.

2. A charging African elephant 28 km/h

   Despite their bulk, elephants are the only animals that cannot jump, keeping at least one foot down at all times.

3. A running pronghorn antelope 97 km/h

   The pronghorn can run far faster than any predator alive today, likely escaping a cheetah that went extinct in America.

4. A bullet train at full speed 330 km/h

   Japan's bullet trains have a near-perfect safety record, with average delays measured in seconds, not minutes.

5. A maglev train at record speed 460 km/h

   Maglev trains float on magnets with no wheels, so the only friction left to overcome is the air itself.

6. The land-speed record car 1.2K km/h

   ThrustSSC became the first car to break the sound barrier, its twin jet engines kicking up a desert dust storm.

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