If you're one of those people who doesn't watch superhero movies because they're just
too far-fetched, then it might be time to think again.
Some of those caped crusaders' unbelievable powers might not be as impossible as you think.
While most of the 7 billion people on this planet don't exactly boast superhuman abilities,
the ones that do will make you wonder when your mischievous friends signed you up to
be an extra in an Avengers film.
Here are a few superpowers that actually exist out in the real world.
"Look — up in the sky!
It's a bird!
It's a plane!
It's Superman!"
Marathon man
"You are looking at Superman.
No, not Superman from the movies.
He's the real deal."
Dean Karnazes has what might be the closest thing to an actual superpower on this list.
Most famous for running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days, he's also run
350 miles nonstop on a running machine for over 80 hours.
Medical investigations have determined that his muscles suffer far less damage from sustained
running than they should.
If he could be kept fed and hydrated while on the move, he is capable of running at 7-10
miles per hour almost indefinitely.
Move over, Flash — there's a new guy in the running!
Mag-neat-o!
With all the metal we interact with on a daily basis, having magnetic skin is probably just
as much a liability as a superpower.
Liew Thow Lin of Malaysia, better known to the world as "Magneto Man," discovered his
superpower at the age of 60.
While he was a contractor, his work got very difficult when all of his tools started getting
stuck to his body.
Liew Thow Lin can stick any metal object to his skin, ranging from silverware to hammers
and metal plates with heavy objects hanging from them.
Scientists have taken to study Magneto Man but discovered he is not so aptly named as
no magnetic field is responsible for this weird quirk.
Instead, the best deduction scientists at the University of Technology in Malaysia could
come up with is that his skin has some kind of suction property.
Whatever may be the cause, we can be certain that it's genetic, as Liew Thow Lin's grandkids
can perform the same epic party trick as their grandpa.
He ain't lion
You couldn't pay most people enough to walk themselves into a lion's den, but "lion whisperer"
Kevin Richardson finds them to be great company, and they must agree, seeing how they don't
eat him.
With nothing but an understanding of lion behavior and instinct along with a couple
of lion noises he's picked up, Kevin just walks himself right up to these beasts and
is welcomed with open paws.
They pounce on him playfully without their claws drawn and even give him some love bites
that don't result in his guts being ripped out of his stomach.
He's learned to interact with these massive animals, and they've accepted him into their
pride.
It's not just lions, either.
During his time in South Africa, he's gained the acceptance of hyenas, snakes, and giraffes.
Kevin has gained quite a bit of fame for his super power, using it to create documentaries
to promote the protection of these animals from mankind and to show us that animals are
capable of love and friendship.
Ice ice baby
Humans can't survive for long without food, without water, or on Mount Everest in just
a pair of shorts—or so common sense would have you believe.
In the case of Dutchman Wim Hof, that third one can be struck off the list.
Exhibiting an almost inhuman ability to withstand the cold, Hof has repeatedly put himself in
situations that would have killed a less-prepared thrill-seeker, and come out of it none the
worse.
Most famously, he attempted to climb Mount Everest wearing nothing but a pair of shorts
and sandals.
Although he didn't make it to the top, he nevertheless survived in temperatures that
can drop as low as minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hof attributes his amazing abilities to a Buddhist meditation technique that allows
him to control his body temperature and immune responses.
"Let's do it — just breathe in.
And let go."
We're not exactly sure what role he'd play in a Marvel movie, but you gotta admit: his
abilities are pretty cool — pun most certainly intended.
Any stretch of the imagination
It must be tough for Garry Turner to avoid the Mr. Fantastic comparison — after all,
the dude has the stretchiest skin in the world.
Turner suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a group of disorders that affects the skin,
joints, and blood vessels.
Turner's strain is even rarer, resulting in his ultra-stretchy skin.
His abdominal skin is what snatched him the record for stretchiest skin, reaching 6 and
a quarter inches away from his body.
"He bends.
He stretches.
He even ties into knots.
But always returns to his original shape."
"How does he do that?"
Rather than hide his power, Turner loves showing off the novelty of his ability as part of
the circus.
Though his disease still causes him pain, his love of the stage keeps an extra big smile
on his face — when it's not hidden by his neck skin, that is...
Photographic phenomenon
While a lot of attention gets paid to physical superpowers, there are a few powers of the
mind that are no less remarkable.
Stephen Wiltshire is a British artist who has near-perfect visual memory.
His most remarkable demonstration involves taking a brief helicopter flight over a city
and later making a highly detailed large-scale drawing purely from memory.
In 2011, he made a 250-foot-long panoramic drawing of New York City from memory, and
he has also made drawings of London, Singapore, and Mexico City to name but a few.
His talent is so remarkable that it has been recognised by the British Government, who
appointed him a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2006.
Slicin' and Dicin'
Isao Machii should play in Major League Baseball — his batting average would be off the charts.
As it happens, his preferred tool is a Katana.
With his samurai-style sword, Machii cuts things into pieces really, really fast.
He actually holds a few world records, and he's even cut a BB in half.
And we're not talking a stationary BB pellet sitting on a table or something.
We're talking a BB travelling at 350 miles per hour, a speed so fast that it required
a high speed camera in order to prove that Machii sliced the metal pellet in two.
Experts are at a loss to explain Machii's abilities, as the BB is travelling so fast
that he should barely be able to see it, let alone predict its path, draw his sword, and
slice it in two — but he does, time and time again.
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