Quick Quiz

Answer: Superman

While many superheroes have been influenced to a greater or lesser degree by Superman, it is only mild-mannered "Daily Planet" reporter Clark Kent's alter ego who is faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Like the Man of Steel, Mighty Mouse and Underdog, alter ego of the mild mannered Shoeshine Boy, fly with capes streaming behind them. By contrast, Captain Marvel (later known by his magic word of transformation, Shazam) can move with superhuman and occasionally superluminal speed, but he doesn't fly as literally and picturesquely as the others.

Answer: 1898 at Achères

On December 18, 1898, French driver Gaston Chasseloup-Laubat set the first officially recognized land speed record of 39.245 mph at Achères, Yvelines France in a Jeantaud powered by electricity.

The other choices represent later records. The French driver Leon Serpollet set the record on April 13, 1902 with 75.065 mph at Nice in a steam powered Serpollet. The United States' Henry Ford set the record driving on an ice track at Lake St Clair on January 12, 1904 with 91.371 mph in a Ford, while Barney Oldfield set the record on March 3, 1910 with a speed of 131.267 mph at Daytona in a Benz.

By contrast, as of February 2021 the current land speed record is 763.035 mph (1227.985 km/h) set in 1997 by Andy Greenin the ThrustSSC, a twin turbofan jet-powered car. This is the first supersonic land speed record, having exceeded the sound barrier at Mach 1.016. The course was only one mile but still, the speed is impressive. It's a far cry from 39 mph.

Answer: False

When we refer to the speed of light in common parlance, it's taken for granted that we mean the speed through a vacuum, as for instance the speed light reaches Earth from the Sun, 186,000 mps (3,000 mps). In actuality though, light has many speeds, and they depend on the index of refraction of the medium the light is passing through.

The higher the index of refraction (where refraction means 'bending'), the slower the speed of light. Light speed through water is approximately 140,000 miles per second, through glass, approximately 125,000 mps and through diamond, which has a very high index of refraction, it is approximately 77,000 mps.

Answer: South Dakota

Rapid City is in the western part of South Dakota, a state in the Great Plains region of the United States.

Maine is the northernmost state of New England, on the northern part of the Atlantic seaboard. Arkansas is situated in the south central U.S., bordering the Mississippi River. Wyoming is a western state.

Answer: quick

This is probably the most familiar pangram, a sentence that includes all twenty-six letters of the alphabet.

Answer: A photon

A photon, a quantum or particle of light, travels at the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second (3,000 kilometers per second). Since by definition nothing can travel faster than the speed of light (Science Fiction stories not withstanding), the photon is the fastest item on this list.

A racehorse runs at roughly 30 mph (48.28 km/h). The fastest racehorse of all time was American Triple Crown winner Secretariat, who ran the mile and a half race at the Belmont Stakes in 2 minutes, 24 seconds, thirty-one lengths in front of the runner up. Translated to miles per hour, this magnificent equine athlete's time would be 37.5 mph..

Anna's hummingbird, named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli, is native to western coastal regions of North America. No bigger than a pingpong ball and no heavier than a nickel, Anna's Hummingbird is, as All About Birds online guide notes, more like flying jewelry than a bird. With soft gray back and tail, the bird has a rosy pink throat and iridescent green wings with soft pinkish beige underneath and creamy breast. In flight this beautiful little bird achieves an astonishing 61 mph (98.17km/h).

In February 2021, the fastest commercial train in the world was the Shanghai Maglev with its maximum operational speed of 267 mph (431 km/h) and average speed of 251 km/h. The first commercially operated high-speed magnetic levitation line in the world, the 18.95 mi (30.5km) Shanghai Maglev Line extends from Longyang Road Station of Metro Line 2 on the outskirts of the city to Shanghai Pudong International Airport. It started commercial operations in April 2004. The fastest convdentional trains run in China too. The fastest scheduled trains are on the Beijing to Shanghai line, which opened in 2011. The line was designed for 236 mph (380 km/h), but is currently "limited" to 217 mph (350 km/h).

Answer: Sailfish

With a top speed of 68 mph (97 km/h), the sailfish is very possibly the fastest thing in the ocean other than Man with his powered craft. The sailfish, which is related to the marlin, the swordfish and the barracuda, lives in tropical and temperate waters and is sometimes divided into two species. The Atlantic sailfish lives in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the Indo-Pacific sailfish inhabits the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is an ocean fish, which is to say its habitat does not include coastal regions. Moreover, it lives within the epipelagic zone, the area from the ocean's surface to as deep as light penetrates, 656 ft. (200 m). Sailfish are piscivores, eating squid and small fish including anchovy, herring and mackerel. When they swim beneath the surface, the distinctive sail, or dorsal fin, folds down along the spine in order to make the fish more streamlined and aquadynamic.

Yellowfin and bluefin tuna are pretty zippy, with yellowfins clocking in at a top speed of 50mph and bluefins at 43mph. Using jet propulsion, the common octopus can achieve speeds up to 25 mph. Though penguins are not generally known for celerity, the fastest species, the gentoo, can reach top speeds of 22 mph in the water. These penguins live on beaches and in low cliffs on Subantarctic islands.

Answer: split

Likity-split and split-second

Webster's Dictionary defines the adverb lickity-split as "At great speed". It defines the noun split-second as ": a fractional part of a second : flash" and the adjective as "1: occurring in a split second 2: extremely precise".

Answer: A musician

Musical terms come from Italian. Allegro indicates a lively tempo, quick and bright. Allegretto is brisk but somewhat slower than allegro.

Answer: Lentamente

Lentamente is 'slowly' in Portuguese.

The phrase 'chop chop' is thought to have its origins in Chinese Pidgin English of the South China Sea region. It means 'hurry' or 'right away'. The French expression 'tout suite' and the Italian 'pronto' mean much the same.