He might not have the superhuman running speed of The Flash, but violonist Ben Lee can play Flight of the Bumblebee note perfect on the electric violin in just 58.03 seconds, which makes him the fastest human alive. Usain Bolt’s not going to like this, but a panel of judges and researchers working on the Discover Channel show Superhuman Showdown have unanimously declared 32-year-old violin player Ben Lee the fastest human on Earth. Ben and several other competitors were tested in a controlled environment and researchers used magnetic electrical pulses to measure their brain activity during their tasks. “It’s taken tens of thousands of hours of practice to reach this speed but it definitely helped that my parents were musical and encouraged me to play,” said Lee, who has been playing the violin since he was five. Now, he hits about 15 notes per second and says he can only get faster. The four-time world violin-speed record holder was the best of a handful of contestants specially selected from hundreds of fast performing humans around the world.Among Lee’s competitors were world base race champion Frode Johannessen, who can ‘fly’ unassisted at 170pm, and Jerry Miculek, a speed shooter who can fire eight rounds on four targets in 1.06 seconds. Read More »

Twelve luthiers, from Markneukirchen, eastern Germany, are working around the clock, adding the final details to what could be the world’s largest violin. Markneukirchen is already famous for the quality violins made there, but this extraordinary instrument will definitely get its name into the record books. The world’s largest violin will be 4.28 meters tall, 1.45 meters wide, and weigh over 100 kilograms. It’s an exceptional achievement, but there’s just one problem: who’s going to play this thing? Even Sultan Kosen, the world’s tallest man, will have a tough time handling this giant instrument, especially since he’s not a very talented violin player. Photos by AFP via Xinhua Read More »