Monday, Nov. 26, 2012

Felix Baumgartner

Higher. Faster. These have been two of the most primal goals of humans, the source of much of their creativity and innovation. Austrian daredevil, skydiver and pilot Felix Baumgartner, 43, set a new benchmark this year when he jumped from a greater height than humans had ever attempted: 24 miles (39 km), the edge of space. And as he fell, he reached a faster speed than humans had ever moved without artificial propulsion: 834 m.p.h. (1,342 km/h), exceeding even the speed of sound. He broke another record too: 8 million people watched the jump live on YouTube.