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How fast is 612 miles per hour?

It's about eight times as fast as a Curveball (baseball)
The speed of a Curveball (baseball) is about 76 miles per hour.
(a.k.a. hook, a.k.a. hammer, a.k.a. yakker) (major league average)
The average speed of major league curveball pitch is 75 miles per hour. In the 1940's, debate over whether there really was a curve in the curveball pitch was settled with the conclusion that the ball does curve; however, an optical illusion caused by the spin of the ball and the batter's perception of motion exaggerates the extent of the curve.
It's about eight-and-a-half times as fast as a Hurricane
The speed of a Hurricane is about 74 miles per hour.
(formally: Topical cyclone; a.k.a. typhoon)
A hurricane is defined by the US National Hurricane Center as a Northern Hemisphere tropical storm having one-minute average wind-speeds of at least 73.90 miles per hour. Typhoons Tip (October, 1979) and Keith (October, 1997) and Hurricanes Camille (August, 1969) and Allen (August, 1980) jointly hold the record for highest tropical storm wind speeds at 193 miles per hour.
It's about nine times as fast as a Cheetah
The speed of a Cheetah is about 68.650 miles per hour.
(Acinonyx jubatus)
The cheetah can reach speeds of up to 68.660 miles per hour in short bursts. From a crouching position, the cheetah can attain these speeds in just 2.25 seconds.
It's about nine times as fast as a Knuckleball (baseball)
The speed of a Knuckleball (baseball) is about 67 miles per hour.
(a.k.a. knuckler, a.k.a. floater, a.k.a. dancer, a.k.a. butterfly ball) (major league average)
The average speed of major league knuckleball pitch is 68 miles per hour. Eddie Cicotte, who was later implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, is credited with developing the pitch ca. 1906.
It's about ten times as fast as a Gazelle
The speed of a Gazelle is about 40 miles per hour.
(for Thomson's Gazelle, a.k.a. Eudorcas thomsoni, a.k.a. "Tommie", a.k.a. "Tommy")
A Thomson's gazelle can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. The gazelle's speed doesn't match that of its chief predator, the cheetah, but a gazelle's endurance usually ensures an escape in distances greater than 500 m (0.3 mi).
It's about ten times as fast as a Hare
The speed of a Hare is about 40 miles per hour.
(for European Brown Hare, a.k.a. Brown Hare, a.k.a. Lepus europaeus, a.k.a. Brown Hare)
The European Hare can run at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. While speed is a factor in their escapes, hares evade their chief predators — wolves, foxes, and golden eagles — by fleeing in a zigzag pattern.
It's about thirteen-and-a-half times as fast as a Greyhound
The speed of a Greyhound is about 45 miles per hour.
(a.k.a. English greyhound) (approximate maximum speed)
Greyhounds reach average race speeds of 45 miles per hour. Despite their racing prowess, greyhounds are not considered energetic dogs — the typical greyhound race requires the dogs to run for less than 35 seconds.
It's about sixteen-and-a-half times as fast as Secretariat
The speed of Secretariat is about 37.60 miles per hour.
(at Belmont Stakes, 1973)
Setting a record finish, Secretariat ran the Belmont Stakes — a 12 furlong race length — in 2:24, for an average speed of 37.50 miles per hour in 1973. His margin of victory in the race, also a record-setter, was 31 lengths.
It's about thirty times as fast as Michael Johnson
The speed of Michael Johnson is about 23.150 miles per hour.
(a.k.a. Michael Duane Johnson) (sprinter; 1967-) (at the Atlanta Olympics, 1996)
Setting a record that stood for 12 years, Michael Johnson ran a 200 m in 0:19.32 for an average speed of 23.160 miles per hour at the 1996 Olympics. Johnson was nicknamed "the Man with the Golden shoes" in recognition of the custom footwear worn during these races — a pair of Nikes with a left size of 10.5 and a right size of 11.
It's about thirty times as fast as Usain Bolt
The speed of Usain Bolt is about 23 miles per hour.
(at the Beijing Olympics, 2008) (a.k.a. Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D.) (sprinter; 1986-)
Setting a world record, Usain Bolt ran a 100 m in 0:09.69 for an average speed of 23.10 miles per hour at the 2008 Olympics. Furthermore, Bolt's margin of record breaking — 0.03 s — is the largest margin of victory in the history of digital measurements.
It's about one-thirtieth as fast as The Space Shuttle
The speed of The Space Shuttle is about 17,322 miles per hour.
(Orbiter vehicle velocity)
The space shuttle orbits at a speed of 17,322 miles per hour. During liftoff, the space shuttle accelerates to orbital speed in 8.5 minutes, consuming over 1.59 million kg (3.51 million lbs) of propellant in the process.
It's about thirty times as fast as Flo-Jo
The speed of Flo-Jo is about 20.960 miles per hour.
(at the Seoul Olympics, 1998) (a.k.a. Florence Griffith-Joyner, a.k.a. Florence Delorez Griffith) (swimmer; 1959-1998)
Setting a world record in 1988, Flo-Jo ran a 200 m in 0:21.34 for an average speed of 20.970 miles per hour. Known as a 200 m runner, Joyner also set a record time in a 100 m race at in 1987.
It's about forty times as fast as Noah Ngeny
The speed of Noah Ngeny is about 16.950 miles per hour.
(in Rieti, Italy; 1999) (sprinter; 1978-)
Setting a world record at the Rieti Grand Prix in 1999, Noah Ngeny ran 1,000 m in 2:11.96 for an average speed of 16.950 miles per hour. According to some reports, Ngeny did not begin running competitively until just three years before setting the record.
It's about 40 times as fast as a Bull
The speed of a Bull is about 15 miles per hour.
(for animals involved in the Running of the Bulls, a.k.a. Encierro, San Fermin, Pamplona, Spain) (herd average speed)
The herd of the annual Encierro in Pamplona, Spain runs at an average speed of 15 miles per hour. The Encierro is run annually from July 7th through July 14th and involves 42 bulls, 77 oxen, and an estimated 17,000 runners over the course of the event.
It's about 100 times as fast as a Crocodile
The speed of a Crocodile is about 6 miles per hour.
(American Crocodile, Crocodylus acutus) (swimming speed)
An American crocodile can reach speeds in the water of up to 6.20 miles per hour. On land, larger crocodiles can "gallop" when fleeing danger at speeds of up to 12 miles per hour.
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