Matters of record
German skydiver Felix Baumgartner attempted to become the first man to break the sound barrier outside an aircraft when he dropped from a balloon at 120,000 feet over Mexico, reaching 690mph 40 seconds later. Other feats still to be achieved:
—Climbing Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan, at 24,836 feet the highest mountain never climbed. But attempts have been banned since 1994 for religious reasons.
— Swim the Pacific, if you can beat Benoit Lecomte to it. He swam the Atlantic (in eight-hour stages) in 1998, and is about to embark on a crossing from Tokyo to San Francisco in a shark cage.
— Run a marathon in under two hours – the current record, held by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, is 2 hrs, 3 mins, 59 seconds.
Working to rule
The Chancellor, George Osborne, suggested that employees be offered free shares in their companies if they agree to give up employment rights.
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