The fastest feet on the planet. - AP
Ten seconds may not look like much time, but it was more than enough for Usain Bolt to go from promising junior to 'big man' superstar.
It guaranteed that the young man is now the fastest man in the world. In comparison, other sports like football seem to be quite pedestrian. The fastest goal in a World Cup is a slouchy 11 seconds.
But sports aside, Bolt's 100-metre record got us thinking. Just how many things can you do in 9.69 seconds?
Chatting up a storm
Well, this here bastion of journalism on North Street can print 100 daily papers in that time. The Digicel call centre faces about eight calls every 9.69 seconds on average, while Cable and Wireless Jamaica's call centre reports 3.39 calls received every 9.69 seconds. Jamaicans sure can chat!
You might be able to drink a tall glass of water in under 10 seconds; that is, if the liquid isn't too cold or too hot for you to manage. Sticking to food, you might have trouble eating one chicken nugget, a favourite meal of the world's fastest man. You could even get more than one down, but that would mean a lack of chewing.
With the invention of the microwave, food takes little time to get heated. But even a box lunch, or just 'a piece a fowl' will take more than 10 seconds. Bolt was doing interviews before your meal was ready!
Sprint dressing
On the social side, it would take less than 10 seconds for a blind date to be over if one or both individuals think the other is disastrously ugly! When it comes to getting ready, a man needs less than 10 seconds to put on his shirt even if it's a buttoned shirt (he might not do all of them). Women putting on tight jeans, however, will take some time longer. That's more of a marathon than a sprint.
There aren't many effective exercises you can do in 10 seconds (maybe one set of ab crunches), but you might be able to get a decent stretch of the hamstring. Cellphones rule the world these days and text messaging is almost like breathing, especially for the younger generation. Ten seconds is an eternity to reply to SMS.
So spend your time wisely folks; it goes by so quickly!
