Re: bipedalism and AAH

David DeGusta (degusta@uclink.berkeley.edu)
Sat, 06 May 1995 19:07:38 -0800

In article <60.1402.7295.0N1E00ED@canrem.com>, j#d#.moore@canrem.com (J.
Moore) wrote:

> ... and the fastest Olympic athletes can only manage a little over 5 mph
> (5.1048 mph in the 1992 Olympic Games 50 meters to be exact)

Your stat is total bullshit. First off, there was no 50m dash in the 1992
Olympics, or any Olympics---the 50 meter dash is NOT an Olympic event, and
is very rarely run at all! But even if you just THINK about your stat,
you'll realize how ridiculous it is. The current world record for the mile
is about 3:45 (3 minutes, 45 seconds). That translates to a an average
speed of about 16mph. Hell, even marathoners (a 26+ mile race) average
five minute miles, which is about 12 mph. "5.1048 mph" is equivalent to
running about a 12 minute mile, just for comparision. So even if you
weren't up on the latest results in track and field, I think most everyone
knows that humans can run a mile in less than 12 minutes.

Since most world-class sprinters can cover 100m (the shortest distance
contested at the Olympics and all other major outdoor championships) in
about 10 seconds flat, this makes their average speed to be about 22 miles
per hour.

So, what other "information" that you've been handing out came from the
same place as the 5.1048 mph?

David DeGusta

P.S. I would've stayed in my perpetual lurk mode, except for all those
extra decimal places you tacked on to make it look more impressive.

P.P.S. Take heart, though, the AAH is still even more bogus than your stat.