The world as we know it is fairly explainable by science. However, there’s still an aspect of existence that blows the most brilliant of minds. There are things science simply doesn’t understand. And we’re not talking about the mysteries of time and space—we’re talking about people with abilities science can’t explain.
Some people seem to have superhuman capabilities. They do things that nobody else can do, often because they acquired these abilities at some point in life without working for them. The common trait in their super abilities is the brainpower these people have. The supernatural has gone over matter in the life of these super, paranormal incredible human beings. These are the ten people with abilities science can’t wrap its head around.
Related: 10 Times Artificial Intelligence Displayed Amazing Abilities
10 The Memory Man
Stephen Wiltshire’s specialty is drawing urban landscapes. But he’s not your typical artist. He once flew over New York in a helicopter for twenty minutes. He managed to recreate everything he saw on a twenty-foot piece of paper. Even the number of windows in the buildings is accurate.
How? He has a photographic memory and can reproduce anything he’s seen just as it is in real life.
When native-Londoner Wiltshire was growing up in the ’70s, he had trouble speaking and relating to others. An autism diagnosis helped to explain how he connected to the world. At school, teachers noticed how much he loved drawing. He started to draw animals, London buses, then buildings. They discovered he had a photographic memory and could reproduce anything he saw.
Stephen became fascinated with sketching London architecture when he was about seven. A year later, he received his first commission from the British Prime Minister to draw the Salisbury Cathedral. His realistic style was mind-blowing even for the most educated art critics. He’s currently one of the most famous artists in the UK.
9 Sleepless in Vietnam
According to science, the average person can’t spend more than a few days without sleep. You don’t sleep; you die. Right?
But somehow, Thai Ngoc, a 75-year-old Vietnamese man, claims he hasn’t slept in forty-two years. His body just doesn’t shut off. Thai Ngoc’s sleepless life story has been reported several times. Vietnamese television has interviewed him, and he was mentioned in a National Geographic magazine blog. Unfortunately, his condition hasn’t changed since 1974.
After getting sick, Ngoc found himself with the ultimate form of insomnia. Ngoc manages to carry on with his daily activities without any symptoms of sleep deprivation. He works hard on his farm and takes care of his pigs. Scientists still can’t explain why this man is still kicking. After a trip to the Danang Hospital, the only problem doctors found was an old war injury. He’s awake and still a mystery to modern medicine.
8 My Samurai Senses Are Tingling
It looks like a Hollywood movie special effect. But a modern-day samurai warrior was filmed in slow motion slicing a high-speed projectile in half with a sword at an LA shooting range in 2011. In a Guinness World Records video, we can see Isao Machii’s blade cutting a bullet, moving at 0.088 km/s (0.0547 mi/s), into two parts.
The organization had to film with a special camera that slowed down the footage 250 times to capture the moment. Machii became world-famous after setting the record for the most sword cuts to a tatami mat. He was also able to make 1000 cuts to a straw mat in just over 36 seconds. In 2004, Isao cut a mat seven times before hitting the ground. Eleven years later, he cut a standalone mat eight times while in the air. When the thing hit the ground, he had reduced it to rags and threads.
Scientists believe Machii has a sensory ability beyond good sight and motion. However, simple clinical and laboratory tests could not confirm this unusual condition. The fastest samurai on the face of the earth makes scientists scratch their heads.
7 The Ice Man Cometh
Wim Hof is a Dutchman with several records with Guinness World Records for showing remarkable resistance to extreme temperatures. He climbed mountains of ice in sneakers and shorts, ran in the desert at over 50°C without food or water, and was covered in ice for nearly two hours.
He managed to do all this without shivering, growing dehydrated, or getting sick. These temperatures would be lethal to any other human. It seems Hof can control his immune system, making his body increasingly resistant.
No, he’s not actually in the X-Men. In fact, anyone can gain the same abilities as long as they practice a series of activities known as the Hof Method. Scientists have conducted several studies with Hof and some of his pupils to establish whether the rumors of his super resistance were true. They could only prove that Hof and the group who performed like him were stronger and healthier than the control group.
6 Call Him Mr. Mistoffelees
The artist featured in number ten on this list isn’t the only human with a heart-warming ability science can’t explain. Kevin Richardson calls himself an animal behaviorist. He can interact with lions in an amicable, almost intimate way.
Richardson grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, away from the wildlife. He decided to study zoology but was unsuccessful at first and almost quit his career as a scientist. At twenty-three, he was a physiologist who curiously began working with lion cubs. This experience brought back his passion for working with animals.
Richardson is now a TV celebrity known to play with big cats, lions, hyenas, and leopards while commanding them to sit. He can put his forearm in the lion’s mouth without being attacked. Some believe that Richardson’s ability to communicate with dangerous animals is a tool for his real purpose as a wildlife activist. He owns a wildlife sanctuary in Africa to protect animals and raise awareness.
5 Real-Life Iron Man
Dean Karnazes has the ability of physical endurance. He has managed to run 350 miles without stopping, has completed fifty marathons in fifty days, and even ran in glacial weather in a race at the South Pole.
One day, the American soon-to-be ultramarathoner decided to test the limits of his body, so he started running, at the age of thirty, after having a tequila blast. He has been unstoppable ever since. He has a resilient, strong body with a metabolism science can’t explain. He can rapidly flush lactic acid from his system and has never had a cramp in his life.
When ordinary people exercise, the body converts glucose to energy, producing lactic acid as a by-product. As that builds up in the muscles, fatigue and cramps are inevitable as a signal from the body to stop. Karnazes never receives those signals. His ability to perform physically for an extended period under challenging conditions has impressed many sports fans worldwide and intrigued the minds of scientists.
They found that his body has a lower fat percentage than the average person due to a condition, but this is not the only reason he’s so strong. It’s like he’s made of iron. Can somebody get Tony Stark to weigh in on this?
4 Seider Sees Spot Run
Veronica Seider is a German dentist. But her “powers” have nothing to do with teeth. Seider didn’t know she had superhuman vision until she was in her early twenties when scientists at the university she attended discovered her phenomenal eyesight.
Seider can see clearly at the length of over a dozen football fields (1.09 kilometers or 1,200 yards) when you’re squinting at things a few meters or yards away. From a biological point of view, this should be impossible. However, Seider has taken several tests that showcase her miraculous sight. Her supervision ability was featured by Guinness World Records.
Now, Seider lives a quiet life as a dentist and helps people with her smile. Just imagine how well she can see your plaque.
3 Biba the Battery Man
Slavisa “Biba” Pajkic discovered his incredible ability when he was seventeen years old. Since then, he’s been demonstrating what seems to be an extraordinary power. The human body isn’t made to withstand high levels of electrical current, but Slavisa appears to be the exception. He first set a record with Guinness in 1983, when he took a 20,000-volt discharge.
His second record dates back to 2003 when he heated water to 97°C (206°F) in 1 minute and 37 seconds. So far, scientists haven’t been able to figure out exactly how he’s doing all these things. He can light a light bulb, cook sausages, and even ignite flammable material soaked in alcohol. Pajkict uses his abilities to conduct electricity and is known as the Battery Man.
Doctors said that Slavisa’s powers originate from a genetic defect. Slavisa Pajkic has no sweat and salivary glands. Scientists suspect the energy is not passing through his body but outside his skin, which acts as a natural insulator. Any person who hugs Biba is very brave.
2 The Monk with an Exoskeleton
Shaolin monks possess superhuman strength. Trained since childhood, they acquire skills that no normal person could have, such as walking on hot charcoal or taking several kicks without feeling any pain. In addition to the countless mysteries and secrets, showcasing strength is one of the monastery’s traditions. A video posted on YouTube shows the most shocking performance of a monk called Zhao Rui.
His ability to withstand pain or get hurt has made him famous as a man of impenetrable skin. Rui once held a power drill to his temple without breaking the skin for ten seconds. His performances include bending an iron bar against his throat, lying upon sharpened metal arrows, and breaking stones with his head.
Science can’t explain why he never gets injured. He credits his ability to face pain to his daily practices of deep meditations. Whether that is the case or not remains a mystery.
1 Uri Geller Bends Metal With His Mind
Psychokinesis is the ability to manipulate objects without touching them. Uri Geller can bend spoons, move things, and reveal details of objects hidden from his sight.
The Israeli psychic can bend a spoon upward with absolutely no force and demonstrated this ability during a visit to the U.S. Capitol. There is some speculation that Geller’s abilities were magic tricks based on scientific principles. However, he’s been doing it since he was five. That sounds like an evil genius origin story to me.