Skip to main content

Straight Up Crazy Awesome Things Dudes Have Done That Will Make You Raise a Glass

There are certain feats and accomplishments that may be wild, fraught, and beyond imagining for most of us, but that are impressive and inspiring nonetheless, and the motivation behind which makes at least a decent deal of sense. Maybe you would never have wished to be the first to reach the South or North Pole, the summit of Everest, or the surface of the moon, but you can surely understand why a person would strive for such. (Exhibit A: famed mountaineer George Mallory‘s retort when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest: “Because it’s there.”)

Then there are other things dudes have done for reasons that are all but inscrutable, but that are goddamned awesome just the same. And it’s at those that we’re looking today. Here are six things people have done that probably didn’t need to be done, but that are inarguably worth a toast and a tip of the cap.

The Highest Stratosphere Jump

The Highest Stratosphere Jump
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In 2014, Alan Eustace, a silicon valley computer scientist, broke the previous record for the highest ever skydive (which took place from approximately 24 miles up) when he jumped from a balloon some 26 miles above the surface of the earth, well into the stratosphere. And actually, Eustace didn’t jump so much as he used an explosive charge to blast himself separate from the balloon, below which he hung 135,889 feet above a southwestern desert. During the next four-and-a-half minutes of his fall, Eustace would break the sound barrier, reaching a top speed a bit over 822 miles per hour.

The Guy Who Went Deep In All 5 Oceans

Victor Vescovo
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s common knowledge that we know more about the surface of the moon than the bottom of the ocean, but ocean depths have long been calculated by scientists. But hey, why settle for knowing how deep something is when you can go there? With plenty of support, of course, explorer Victor Vescovo, who was evidently bored after summiting the tallest mountains on all seven continents, would, in the summer of 2019, become the first person to reach the deepest point in all five of the world’s oceans. These are the Atlantic’s Puerto Rico Trench, 27,480 feet down, the Southern Ocean’s South Sandwich Trench, 24,390 feet below sea level, the Indian Ocean’s Java Trench at 23,596 feet under, the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, at a staggering 35,843 feet underwater, and the Arctic’s Molloy Deep, at a paltry 18,209 of depth. Next, he’ll probably have to head to Mars to get excited.

The Man With the Longest Mustache

Image used with permission by copyright holder

In March of 2010, Ram Singh Chauhan was certified as having grown the longest mustache known to mankind. He had grown his whiskers out to a length of 4.29 meters, or 14 feet. But he didn’t stop there. As of the last time it was measured, his mustache was out past 18 feet. You’re probably wondering how long that took, and the answer is: A long time. Ram apparently began the ‘stache that would set the record in 1970.

The Guys Who Inscribed the Bible on a “Pinhead”

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Back in 2007, a group of Israeli scientists decided to see if they could inscribe the entire Hebrew Bible onto a really small surface. In fact, it was smaller than a pinhead; the actual little piece of silicon onto which their particle beam inscribed the 300,000-word book was a bit smaller than half the size of a grain of sugar. This time, though, it wasn’t entirely just a “let’s see if we can!” operation; in fact they were working on how to store massive amounts of data in very small spaces, looking to a future when we can inscribe data on DNA.

The Man Who Made and Flew In His Own Rockets

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Before flying aloft in his own homemade steam-powered rocket, “Mad” Mike Hughes had already set a record by jumping a 6,500 pound Lincoln Town Car stretch limousine a distance of 103 feet back in 2002. Hughes turned to rocketry apparently in a bid to get high enough to prove his Flat Earther views, and in one of the three launches he reached an altitude of 1,875 feet. That flight ended safely thanks to a successful parachute deployment. Sadly, a third flight ended in Hughes’ death because of a failed deployment of the chutes during the launch. Respectfully, commercial aviation may have been a better way to check for the curvature of the globe.

The Guy Who Made an Island

Richart Sowa
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Richart Sowa spent seven years building a floating island primarily out of recycled plastic bottles and he anchored his floating piece of paradise in a bay of Cancun. No mere stunt, the island became a permanent home where he resides with his partner and their dog in a three-story home complete with electricity (from solar power, of course), clean water (from rain), and even a decent internet connection. Oh, and also there are two ponds, a hot tub, a decorative waterfall, and presumably very little eco guilt.

Steven John
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven John is a writer and journalist living just outside New York City, by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, by way of…
Love Dune 2? The best Denis Villeneuve movies, ranked
Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve has had a very prolific career.
The official poster for Dune: Part Two.

Thanks to the box office success of Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve is now firmly established among the top directors in Hollywood. It's an overnight success story that only took 26 years to come to fruition. And over the past decade, Villeneuve has taken it upon himself to make some of the best science fiction movies of the century. But Villeneuve has already proven that he can do a lot more than sci-fi.

To celebrate the director's films, we've narrowed them down to the 7 best Denis Villeneuve movies ranked from seventh to first. And there is no "worst" among these Denis Villeneuve movies.

Read more
The Ghostbusters have a new ride in Frozen Empire, courtesy of Mercedes Benz
Mercedes Benz Sprinter plays a pivotal role in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
The ECTO-Z makes its debut in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Later this month, the Ghostbusters will be back on the big screen in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. And while three generations of the team are coming together, there is a big addition to the crew: The ECTO-Z. At an event in New York City, Mercedes-Benz officially unveiled the Ghostbusters' new ride, which is a customized Mercedes-Benz Sprinter that follows in the footsteps of the iconic ECTO-1 from the first three films.

Given the larger size of the second and third-generation Ghostbusters team, it was only natural that they would need a vehicle that could carry all of them to the scene of a haunting anywhere in NYC. As for the name, it comes from original team member Dr. Winston Zeddemore, as played by Ernie Hudson. Ghostbusters: Afterlife established that Zeddemore is now the financial backer of the Ghostbusters and the de facto leader of the team.

Read more
Everything points to Apple TV+ making a change you’re not going to like
Is an ad-supported tier coming to Apple TV+?
The Apple TV Plus Logo

It turns out that TV worked pretty well under its old model. According to a new report from Business Insider, Apple TV+ may be the latest streaming service that's set to introduce an ad-supported tier and charge those who don't stream with ads a premium fee to access their great shows and movies.

At this point, the report is still speculation, but Apple has made several recent hires in the advertising space that seem to suggest the direction they're planning to take. The company recently hired former NBCUniversal ad executive Joseph Cady to serve as executive vice president of advanced advertising and partnerships, a move that comes following the company's hiring of another former NBCUniversal executive, Jason Frum, who joined Apple's video ad sales team.

Read more