SortStack #1002 — 2029-03-07

By speed · Order from slowest to fastest.

1. The growth of a cave stalactite 0.1 mm/year

   Most stalactites lengthen by less than a tenth of a millimetre a year, dripping mineral by mineral over millennia.

2. The drift of a tectonic plate 21.9 mm/year

   Plates move about as fast as your fingernails grow, yet over millions of years they have rearranged whole continents.

3. A sprinting cockroach 5.8 km/h

   A cockroach can survive for weeks without its head, breathing through tiny holes along its body.

4. A person jogging 10.8 km/h

   Humans are among the best endurance runners on Earth, able to outlast horses over very long distances in heat.

5. A Category 5 hurricane's winds 300 km/h

   A single mature hurricane can release more energy in a day than the world uses in electricity all year.

6. A peregrine falcon in a dive 410 km/h

   The peregrine is the fastest animal on Earth, diving so fast it has baffles in its nostrils to breathe.

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