SortStack #3613 — 2036-04-30

By speed · Order from slowest to fastest.

1. The growth of human hair 175.3 mm/year

   Scalp hair grows roughly 1.25 centimetres a month, so a single strand reaching your shoulders is years old.

2. A mosquito in flight 2.4 km/h

   Only female mosquitoes bite; they need a blood meal to develop their eggs, while males sip flower nectar.

3. A gentoo penguin swimming 36 km/h

   Gentoos are the fastest underwater birds, porpoising in and out of the water to breathe without slowing down.

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. The SR-71 Blackbird 3.5K km/h

   The Blackbird leaked fuel on the ground because its panels only sealed once heat expanded them in flight.

6. A .220 Swift rifle bullet 4.4K km/h

   Among the fastest commercial rifle rounds, it leaves the barrel so quickly the bullet can melt slightly in flight.

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