SortStack #2528 — 2033-05-11

By speed · Order from slowest to fastest.

1. A king penguin waddling on land 2.8 km/h

   A penguin's waddle is surprisingly efficient, storing and releasing energy with each side-to-side rock.

2. A honeybee in flight 22 km/h

   Bees communicate the direction of flowers by dancing, encoding distance and angle in their waggling moves.

3. A bottlenose dolphin 60 km/h

   Dolphins sleep with half their brain at a time, keeping one eye open to breathe and watch for danger.

4. A helicopter at top speed 290 km/h

   A helicopter's top speed is capped because the blade tips would approach the sound barrier and lose lift.

5. NASA's X-43 scramjet 11.9K km/h

   The X-43 set an air-breathing speed record by burning fuel in a stream of air rushing through it many times faster than sound.

6. A meteor entering the atmosphere 50K km/h

   Most shooting stars are no bigger than a grain of sand, burning up bright from sheer speed alone.

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