Etc...

I'm just getting warmed up

Philip Rabinowitz is philosophical about about failing to win a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records. On Sunday, he crossed the finish line of the 100 meters in a Cape Town, South Africa, stadium a whopping 7.3 seconds faster than the old mark for the event. But the electronic clock failed, so his time of 28.7 seconds isn't official. Wait, you say, isn't the record 9.78 seconds? Yes, but then Rabinowitz is 100 and was trying to become the fastest centenarian to run that distance. "I will definitely try again," he said.

If you long to be able to hop out of bed and be at the office in no time, then perhaps you should move to Wichita, Kan. Commuters there, on average, spend fewer minutes getting to work (16.5) than in any other city of 250,000 or more people, according to Census Bureau data. By contrast, New Yorkers have the longest commute (38 minutes). The cities with the longest and shortest commutes, and the average number of minutes needed to get to work:

Shortest commutes
1. Wichita, Kan. 16.5
2. Tulsa, Okla. 16.8
3. Omaha, Neb. 17.3
4. Oklahoma City 17.8
5. Lexington, Ky. 18.0
Longest commutes
1. New York 38.4
2. Chicago 32.7
3. Philadelphia 30.3
4. Riverside, Calif. 29.8
5. Baltimore 29.7