The superhuman qualities of superheroes that appear in fiction, whether in cinema, television or comics, are responsible for surprising us and, why not, making us imagine what life would be like if we had superpowers.
Whether you’re looking to scale skyscrapers like Spider-Man, you wish you had Wolverine’s incredible self-healing abilities, Hulk’s brute strength, Magneto’s power (if you’re into villains), Flash’s blazing speed, Superman’s multiple abilities , Storm’s ability to manipulate weather or the spectacular abilities of Captain America , scientists around the world are developing ideas to bring these extraordinary abilities to the average mortal human.
We have found exceptions in history, such as the case of Daniel Browning Smith, as he perfectly embodies one of the Magnificent Four, Mr. Fantastic, since he has received several Guinness records for being the most flexible person in the world. Also known as ‘The Rubber Man’, he is capable of stretching his torso 180 degrees.
Another curious case is that of Roy Sullivan , a man who was struck by lightning up to a total of 7 times throughout his life. Thus, things, this ‘rival’ of X-Men Storm existed in the real world, because on none of the occasions that the lightning struck him did he die. He was popularly known as the ‘Lightning Rod Man’. Surprisingly, he ended his days by committing suicide.
Also striking is Malaysia’s nicknamed ‘Magneto’ , a man, Liew Thow Lin , with the ability to stick metal objects to his body. The ‘Magnetic Man’ has a defect in his skin that causes a special suction effect that causes the metal to stick to it. Your children and grandchildren also possess this curious ability.
And from ‘The Magnetic Man’ we go on to the ‘ Ice Man’ . This is Wim Hof , a stuntman who has climbed Everest and Kilimanjaro in shorts. This Dutchman takes ice baths for hours without flinching. According to Hof himself, the key is to control your own mind thanks to a breathing technique.
There is also a Charles Xavier in reality. The human counterpart to the legendary X-Men teacher and coach is Stephen Witshire, an autistic man with a prodigious visual memory and a great talent for drawing. It is known as the human camera and thanks to its ability it can memorize landscapes and cities with the smallest of details and then reproduce them in illustrations drawn with a marker pen.
We are not exaggerating; some of these amazing technologies can make you feel like a real life Superhero. Who has not imagined being a superhero?
