JUST HOW FAST

Many things around us move at different rates. Glaciers, which are frozen rivers of snow, move less than one foot in a day. A box turtle travels about ten feet per minute, while a snail travels five inches per hour. A chimney swift flies almost ninety miles per hour. This is the fastest speed recorded for any living creature.

A hydroplane skims across the top of the water at nearly 300 miles an hour. Some racing cars travel more than 500 miles per hour. The wind in a tornado may move at 600 miles per hour but sound waves are faster with a speed of up to 740 miles per hour.

The Earth moves around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour. At 186,000 miles per second, light is faster! Science has yet to discover anything that would surpass this speed.

Reference: Philippine Informal Reading Inventory 2008-2009 Edition