# Ruin a Superpower **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034 "2021-03-16T16:30:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/62 "2021-03-17T17:11:45Z")
Your artistic ability is so vastly improved that your every drawing or painting of what you can see is indistinguishable from a cellphone photo. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/63 "2021-03-17T17:17:52Z")
OK, then, if you can move as fast as The Flash, then you’d need the ability to somehow stick to the ground as you go, else you’d go ballistic and end up flying up in the air (moving fast in a straight line on a curved earth). So when using your superfast superpower, you always end up way up in the air…and need a parachute to get down safely. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/64 "2021-03-17T17:24:42Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > So when using your superfast superpower, you always end up way up in the air…and need a parachute to get down safely Only when you exceeded 7 miles per second. There is plenty of room for super speed below the escape velocity threshold. It would only take an hour to run around the earth and you would still be plenty fast enough to run on water. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/65 "2021-03-17T17:50:35Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Only when you exceeded 7 miles per second. There is plenty of room for super speed below the escape velocity threshold. It would only take an hour to run around the earth and you would still be plenty fast enough to run on water. Don’t need escape velocity to get off the surface of the earth; orbital velocity (4.83 miles per second) will do it. It’ll be 90 minutes to get around the earth. Agree though that this is still enough to run on water. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/66 "2021-03-17T17:56:00Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Don’t need escape velocity to get off the surface of the earth; Huh, I though you had to go faster to get off the earth but then only had to maintain orbital to keep from touching back down. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/67 "2021-03-17T18:03:36Z")
Right. Exceeding this “orbital speed at ground level” is what would raise you into the air. Appreciate the numerical clarification! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/68 "2021-03-17T18:08:02Z")
And well before you got to orbital speed you’d have a hard time running, I suspect. The weight holding your feet to the ground would be much smaller than usual, so it would be like trying to run on the Moon or worse. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/69 "2021-03-17T18:09:46Z")
Yes! Hence my first sentence “…you’d need the ability to somehow stick to the ground as you go…” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/70 "2021-03-17T18:11:28Z")
Sorry - I lost that part of the context. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/71 "2021-03-17T18:15:48Z")
If I wanted to become a super villain I wouldn’t mind. Thick German Accent. “I am Baron Manfred Von Swastika.” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/72 "2021-03-17T19:30:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Generally birds are real rare much about 5000 AGL and only really common below about 1000 AGL. There is that one species of goose that migrates _over_ (rather than around) Mt. Everest… But yeah, not too common to find birds over 30,000 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/73 "2021-03-17T19:34:20Z")
> [@blabbermeister](#): > > Even if humans could fly, we probably wouldn’t do it, or we’d complain about it. My friend pointed out that even though most of us can walk we avoid it whenever possible, often driving or waiting 20 minutes for a bus just to avoid doing it. What makes us think we would actually fly if we could, especially if it took physical effort? If I could super-hero fly myself to work and back I probably would on good weather days, because it’s not that far. Crappy weather? Yep, that’s what the car/pick-up are for. I do know my pet parrots like to be carried as opposed to flying themselves around all the time. For birds, flying is exercise and they’re just as lazy as mammals. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/74 "2021-03-17T21:45:38Z")
I was going to post some stuff about teleportation, but Tom Scott can say it better than me: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zJt8yzR2aoY/maxresdefault.jpg "So You've Learned To Teleport") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJt8yzR2aoY) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/75 "2021-03-17T22:19:05Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > There is that one species of goose that migrates _over_ (rather than around) Mt. Everest… But yeah, not too common to find birds over 30,000 feet. Those are some insane geese. One of the nature channels (Nat Geo? Discovery?) has an episode on long-haul migratory birds with a segment on them that’s well worth hunting up. Still, I’d bet those birds aren’t more than a couple thousand **AGL** most of the way up to the top of the Himalayas. St. Louis is directly on the > **[Central Flyway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Flyway)** > > The Central Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Great Plains in the United States and Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include the Canadian Prairies and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico; the migration route tends to narrow considerably in the Platte River and Missouri River valleys of central and eastern Nebraska, which accounts for the high number of bird species found there. Some birds even use this flyway to migrate from the Arctic Ocean to Patag The o... and loaded with wetlands. When I lived there in the heaviest part of the migrations you’d see flocks of hundreds of geese at what looked like 4 or even 6 thousand. I actually killed a pair of geese with a jet at 8000 MSL ~= 7400 AGL one night. Had they hit a little bit higher on our nose I might well have been killed that night too. Getting back to the topic of the thread. Superman flying always looked pretty effortless. Three quick steps and a jump and away we go! I’d be all over that. Staying warm would be the hardest part. I’ve flown open cockpit and ridden motorcycles underdressed for occasion; both sucketh mightily. Flapping bird-style looks like hard work. Although jet propulsion via repeated farting might also be real hard work. What?!? Makes as much sense as anything for Superman’s propulsion. 😉 > [@JohnnyEcks](#): > > Precognition … or is useless because the butterfly effect means it’s constantly changing and unpredictable. I’d bet it’d be just a _much_ better version of current forecasting of whatever. The error bars are small at first and grow with time. But for the short term it’d be super accurate. A superpower able to predict tomorrow’s closing stock prices to within a few pennies would be a very valuable skill even if SuperTrader’s best guess about prices 6 months from now was no better than mine (i.e. LoserTrader’s!!!) ---
**Author:** ![blabbermeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@blabbermeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blabbermeister)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/76 "2021-03-17T23:03:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Flapping bird-style looks like hard work. Even the birds that soar - looks effortless but how long can _you_ hold your arms straight out? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/77 "2021-03-17T23:14:40Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > St. Louis is directly on the > > [Central Flyway - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Flyway) Thanks for posting that. I noticed an error in the article and fixed it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/78 "2021-03-17T23:23:26Z")
Little discussed in comics is the involuntary use of super powers while dreaming. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/79 "2021-03-17T23:26:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > St. Louis is directly on the > > > > [Central Flyway - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Flyway) > > Thanks for posting that. I noticed an error in the article and fixed it. Of _course_ I screwed that up. D’oh! St. Louis is actually on the next flyway to the east, the > **[Mississippi Flyway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Flyway)** > > The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi, Missouri, and Lower Ohio Rivers in the United States across the western Great Lakes to the Mackenzie River and Hudson Bay in Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. The migration route tends to narrow considerably in the lower Mississippi River valley in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, which accounts for t Ty... Maybe you can find something to fix in that wiki too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/80 "2021-03-17T23:29:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Little discussed in comics is the involuntary use of super powers while dreaming. Holy Nocturnal Emissions, Bat-Man! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034/81 "2021-03-17T23:33:21Z")
Storm having to explain lightning damage in the bedroom to the landlord. Nightcrawler waking up in strange beds…or the middle of a freeway. Kitty Pride ending up who knows where. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-a-superpower/938034.md?page=5)