10 of the bravest and most desperate people in the world

Some people live for adrenaline surges. This includes those who are engaged in extreme sports, but there are also those who simply do very dangerous things. It's hard to believe in the madness of some people — but it's all true. Here is a list of the most desperate, brave and reckless people in the world.

It is he who inspires skydivers. In order to create a new design of parachutes, Kittinger made jumps from a very high altitude. In 1960, he made a jump from a height of 31.3 kilometers. When Kittinger reached an altitude of 13 kilometers, the pneumatic shutter on his right glove failed, as a result of which his hand was exposed and began to swell. After landing, the tumor subsided.

Reinhold Messner is the world's most famous mountaineer. He was the first to climb all the peaks above 8 thousand meters. In 1978, he committed an act that many equated with suicide: he climbed Mount Everest without oxygen tanks. In 1980, he did the same thing alone. Since then, no one has ever tried to conquer such peaks without oxygen tanks.

The best freediver in the world. Freediving is scuba diving while holding your breath. Freedivers rely only on their lungs. Trubridge dived to a depth of 101 meters without assistance, just holding his breath.

John Stapp subjected himself to very strong dynamic overloads countless times — and survived. John passed a number of tests of the American Air Force for negative overloads. After the last test, his ribs were broken, and his eyes were bleeding, but he was still alive. John was one of those who promoted the mandatory seat belt while riding in a car.

Philippe Petit is a French tightrope walker, he starred in the documentary film "The Man on the Tightrope". In 1974, it passed between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. He and his team managed to bypass the guards and pull a rope from one roof to another. Petit danced on the rope for about 45 minutes, and then he was detained. After the artist agreed to perform in Central Park, all charges were dropped.

One of the best climbers in the world who climbed Mount Everest. The most amazing thing is that he climbed there for the first time at the age of 14, setting a record. After his act, a wave of discussions began — whether it is possible or not to make such dangerous ascents at such a young age. Later, the Chinese government banned people under the age of 18 from climbing Mount Everest.

Martin Strel is a Slovenian long-distance swimmer. He swam across many of the world's largest rivers: the Danube, the Mississippi, the Yangtze and the Amazon. He not only swam up to eight and a half kilometers a day, but also suffered from sunburn, rough currents, tropical fever and bites of the blood-sucking vandellia fish. The Arrow team poured buckets of blood into the water to distract the attention of piranhas, and Martin himself drank up to two bottles of wine a day to relieve stress from large-scale swims.

Alain Bombard is a French doctor who crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the rubber dinghy "Heretic". He had a sextant, oars, and the works of Shakespeare and Montaigne-so as not to be bored. Bombar studied the limits of human capabilities: he ate fish and plankton, which he caught with nets. After a 65-day trip, he reached Barbados having lost 25 kilograms.

Recently, Felicity Aston became the first woman to cross the Antarctic alone. She carried all her equipment on a sledge. The journey took 59 days, Felicity covered 1,700 kilometers. On the way, she described her impressions on Twitter. Felicity lost more than eight kilograms, and after returning, she had to adapt for a long time to the fact that she was no longer alone.

Lewis Pugh is the only person who has completed ultra-long distance swims in all the world's oceans, and this is not his most amazing achievement. In 2005 and 2007, he swam a kilometer at the North Pole and off the coast of Antarctica in one swimming cap, swimming trunks and glasses! Pugh uses a unique technique called "preliminary thermogenesis": before swimming in icy water, he raises his body temperature to 38.3 degrees Celsius. After swimming in the Antarctic, his body temperature dropped to 33 degrees Celsius. Unlike other swimmers who are afraid of sharks, Pugh is afraid of sea leopards — this is a kind of seal.