Fast

Fast · Patrick Collison

• BankAmericard -- Dee Hock successfully launched the BankAmericard card, which later became the Visa card, in just 90 days from scratch and managed to acquire over 100,000 customers during that time.
• P-80 Shooting Star -- Kelly Johnson and his team designed and delivered the P-80 Shooting Star, which was the first jet fighter used by the USAF, in just 143 days.
• Marinship -- Construction of the shipyard began promptly after the W. A. Bechtel Company received a telegram from the United States Maritime Commission on March 2, 1942. The Sausalito site was selected on March 3, and a proposal to build the shipyard was presented in Washington DC on March 9. During the presentation, U.S. Maritime Commission administrators instructed the W.A. Bechtel Company to build the shipyard, and physical construction began on March 28. However, the construction start was delayed for two weeks to allow the 42 families living on Pine Point, which was scheduled to be demolished to build the shipyard, to move. The first ship was completed on September 15 of that year, 197 days after receiving the telegram.
• The Spirit of St. Louis -- Back in 1927, Donald Hall and Charles Lindbergh collaborated to construct an aircraft named "Spirit" within a mere 60 days. To determine the required amount of fuel for the flight, Lindbergh and Hall visited the San Diego Public Library located at 820 E St. They utilized a globe and a piece of string to estimate the distance from New York to Paris, which turned out to be 3,600 statute miles. Hall calculated that this distance would necessitate 400 gallons of gasoline.
• Eiffel Tower -- Did you know that the Eiffel Tower was constructed in just 793 days, which is equivalent to 2 years and 2 months? Upon its completion in 1889, it became the world's tallest building and held this title for over four decades. In today's currency, the tower cost approximately $40 million in 2019 dollars.