The fastest time to solve a Square-1 (Rubik’s Cube) is 8.65 sec and was set by Bingliang Li (China) at the Guangdong Open 2010 held in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, on 3-4 October 2010.

The fastest time to tear 5 metal basins in half with the hands is 1 minute 44 seconds and was achieved by Ding Zhaohai (China) on the set of Zheng Da Zong Yi – Guinness World Records Special in Beijing, China, on 20 June 2009. The metal basins were made from tin. Further specifications can be found in the guidelines.

The fastest time to walk 10 m backwards in iron shoes is 34 seconds, shared by Zhang Zhenghui and Kan Yong (both China), who went head to head on the set of Zheng Da Zong Yi – Guinness World Records Special in Beijing, China, on 21 December 2010.

At the 2008 Games in Beijing, China, Austrian wheelchair athlete Thomas Geierspichler won gold in the men’s T52-class marathon (no lower limb function), setting a world-record time of 1 hr 40 min 7 sec on 17 September 2008.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China, Usain Bolt (Jamaica) achieved world-beating times in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 x 100 m relay, becoming the first Olympian to do so in the history of the Games. Bolt won the 100 m in 9.69 seconds, the 200 m in 19.30 seconds and the relay in 37.10 seconds, the latter alongside team-mates Asafa Powell, Nesta Carter and Michael Frater.

On 8 July 2002, a team of Chinese and US scientists announced their discovery of rocks indicating that plate tectonics were active on Earth some 2.5 billion years ago. This is around 500 million years earlier than previously thought. The evidence comes from a belt of highly-folded rock, not far from the Great Wall of China. The 2.5 billion-year-old rock contains the mineral chromite (iron chromium oxide), which is only normally found in rocks from the deep ocean floor. The chromite and other minerals have Continue reading →

Gunpowder may have been invented in China, India, Arabia or Europe in the 13th century. Although it cannot be accepted as proven, it is believed that the earliest guns were constructed both in China and in Northern Africa c. 1250. The invention of the gun certainly dates from before 1326 for which there is documentary evidence, and references thereafter become more frequent. The earliest known example of a gun was found in the ruins of the castle of Monte Varino in Italy. The castle was Continue reading →

The earliest mechanical clock, i.e. one with an escapement, was completed in China in AD 725 by Yi Xing and Liang Lingzan. Information from Archives (e.e. 1994). Submitted for use in Scholastic’s Modern Marvels.

The earliest prehistoric salamanders date back 165 million years. Fossilised remains of thousands of individuals have been discovered in volcanic ash beds in China and Mongolia. As well as their skeletons, impressions of soft tissue of Chunerpeton tianyiensis, and stomach contents have been preserved. Previously, the earliest known salamanders dated back around 65 million years. These animals are related to salamanders which currently inhabit North America and Asia. The discoveries are part of an ongoing programme of research by the University of Chicago, US, and Continue reading →

In November 2005, Chan Nai-Ming (China) was jailed for three months for uploading Hollywood movies, using BitTorrent technology on to the Internet. Although the movie industry began targeting BitTorrent sites in December 2004, Chan Nai-Ming’s case is the first in the world to lead to a prison sentence.