All language subtitles for The UnXplained Special Presentation S01E04 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A death-defying escape

performed by the world's
most daring magician.

A man who endures
below-freezing temperatures

using ancient
breathing techniques.

And a baffling crime
that was solved

by transcending space and time.

History is full of incredible
individuals who may seem

no different than the rest of
us, but have somehow managed

to transcend the limitations
of the human body.

How do they do it?

Does the secret lie
within the power of the mind?

Or is it possible
that some have learned

how to tap into forces
beyond our understanding

in order to achieve
the impossible?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

A little-known 25-year-old
Hungarian magician

and escape artist
by the name of Harry Houdini

makes an astonishing debut
at the Orpheum Opera House,

one of the country's
premiere vaudeville theaters.

one of the country's
premiere vaudeville theaters.

(audience murmuring)

FEMALE ANNOUNCER:
The Great Houdini.

Houdini's father was a rabbi,
and when he lost his job

in Appleton, Wisconsin,
the family moved

to Milwaukee
and later to New York.

And it was there he met a friend
who had a mutual interest

in magic, and they formed an
act, and they took the name

"Houdin" and they added
an "I" to the end: Houdini.

And that was really the
beginning of his magic career.

Houdini would come to town
and he would challenge

police officers and locksmiths
to bring their best locks.

He would put himself in these
locks and he would escape them

onstage in front
of a live audience.

Houdini's real power
and his gift was

his showmanship,
his presentation, his ability

to mesmerize an audience,
to connect with them.

Because here was
this small immigrant man

that conquered all his fears.

That could do things
that nobody else could do.

And so, he would have
this power over his audiences

in a way that's
never been achieved since.

SHATNER:
Over the course of his
career, Houdini performed

thousands of
death-defying escapes.

But of all his astounding
feats, one was considered

more dangerous and more
impossible than the rest.

Houdini depended on
publicity stunts to draw

people to the vaudeville
theater to see him.

The greatest
of those publicity stunts

was the overboard box escape.

He started it
in 1912 in New York.

COX:
He announced that he would
be doing this escape from a pier

and a massive crowd
assembled to watch this.

And Houdini showed
up with his assistants,

with the reporters,
with his packing crate.

And the police also showed up
and they said,

"You can't do that.
There's laws against that."

Houdini decided
to rent a tugboat on his own

out to the middle
of the East River.

There they started
the process of locking him up

in the handcuffs,
locking him up in the leg irons,

tying him up
with the heavy rope,

putting him inside this
escape-proof wooden crate.

Nailing the lid on
so it couldn't be opened.

And even that wasn't enough.

Then they tied
the packing crate up

with this heavy, strong rope.

Because the box
had a number of air holes

all around it, and
because it was weighted

on the outside
with 180 pounds of iron,

it would quickly
sink into the water.

The water would go
inside of the box,

and, of course, Houdini with it.

Everyone who worked
with him knew

that it was a dangerous feat.

The story was
that they used to hold

their breath with
him because they used to

anticipate how long
he would be under the water.

And about a minute later,

suddenly Houdini would
bob to the surface, free.

Completely free of the box
and the handcuffs.

And what's amazing about
the overboard box escape is

that when the box was hauled up,
it was still locked.

It was still nailed shut.

And when it was opened up,
the handcuffs were

found inside, also closed.

How did he escape from
this wooden packing crate

into the river and nothing was
touched, nothing was damaged?

All in less than 60 seconds.
That is beyond belief.

SHATNER:
It was indeed beyond belief.

Over the next several years,

Houdini would repeat
this incredible escape

countless times, and for
audiences all over the world.

How did he do it?

It was such a great escape,

and it mystified audiences
everywhere.

But Houdini had his skeptics.
They wanted to expose him.

They wanted to explain
how he did it.

They figured Houdini would
sneak in during

the middle of the night
and cut a little trap door.

Or have an escape panel
that he could

get out of it some way
that nobody knew about.

So let's just say for
the sake of argument that he did

use short nails or trick knots
to escape his contraption.

How is it possible that he got
out of his handcuffs,

out of his leg irons,
put the box back together again,

tied it all back up,
all within 57 seconds

while holding his breath?

Houdini would invite anyone
on stage to examine the nails,

to handle the nails,
to put in your own nails.

And you might also suggest,
was Houdini ever

in the packing crate
in the first place?

He was in that these
had the holes in them,

and he would poke his finger
out, and they would see.

And even as he would be raised,

he would poke a little
American flag or something out.

So you could see from the time
that it went under the waves

that there was someone
inside that packing crate.

SHATNER:
While there are many theories,

no one knows for certain
how Houdini pulled off

his overboard box escape.

Even master escape artists,
many of whom spent decades

studying Houdini's tricks
and techniques,

are still trying
to figure it out.

Often with deadly results.

GUNNARSON:
Many people have died
doing this escape.

I mean, I was one of them.

I'm living proof of
how dangerous this escape is.

In 1983 I decided
to do my variation of

the Houdini packing crate.

I got all chained up and locked,
I got put into a wooden coffin,

the lid was nailed on,
it was wrapped in chain,

and then the coffin was lowered
into an icy river in Canada.

And I didn't escape.
I couldn't get out.

I was underwater
for nearly four minutes.

They pulled the coffin out,
my cold, lifeless body

was still inside that coffin.

It was only
the dedicated paramedics

that were on standby
that saved my life.

I was a very lucky
young escape artist on that day.

SHATNER:
For nearly a century
since his death,

magicians have tried
and failed to figure out

just how Harry Houdini
managed this incredible escape.

But there are some who believe
that the reason

for their failure is simple:
they never considered

that Houdini was capable
of performing real magic.

One of Houdini's great friends
was Arthur Conan Doyle,

the author of Sherlock Holmes.

Conan Doyle believed
very strongly in spiritualism

and he saw a number of things
that he considered

evidence that Houdini
was actually a psychic

and was de-materializing
out of his escapes.

He always chided Houdini
that he should be honest with

his audience and tell them not
only that he has these powers,

but that these powers exist
for everyone to share.

Sir Arthur firmly believed
that Houdini was supernatural

and he could not be
talked out of this by Houdini.

But Houdini went out of his way
to say,

"There is nothing
supernatural about my feats.

My brain is the key
that sets me free."

That was what Houdini
would say over and over again.

SHATNER:
"My brain is the key
that sets me free."

Could the secret to
Houdini's incredible feats

really have been revealed
in that simple phrase?

Did the magician have
such an incredible control

over his mind that
he could command his body

to perform the impossible?

We may never know.

On October 31, 1926,
Harry Houdini died

of a ruptured appendix
at the age of 52, taking

many of his secrets
to his grave.

But whether
his astounding escapes

were made possible
by clever devices,

impressive physical skill,

or what some might call
"real magic,"

Harry Houdini remains
the most mysterious

and unexplained magician
in history.

SHATNER;
Here, not far from
a massive glacier,

where temperatures average
just above freezing,

a man has decided
to sit outside in the cold

for over an hour wearing
only a pair of shorts.

His name is Wim Hof, and
although most people would die

if they attempted such a feat,
he finds it quite relaxing.

Wim has made a great impression
on the world because

of his extraordinary ability to
withstand freezing temperatures.

His exploits have earned him
the nickname "the Iceman."

The most challenging aspect of

going into the cold
is your fear.

Control your fear
and let the body do what

the body is capable of.

All the doctors said,
"You are the Iceman.

"You are a freak of nature.

You are an abnormality.
You are a super human."

But I'm as human as any person,
only I am challenging

my body and mind in nature.

SHATNER:
Wim has performed
a number of feats that,

on the surface, seem impossible,

such as climbing Mount Everest
wearing nothing

but shorts and shoes,

and spending nearly two hours

fully immersed in an ice bath.

But what motivated Wim
to learn how to brave

the cold in the first place?

As a young kid, I was very
interested in anything that was

strange, and stories and deeds

of people going into
the unknown, so-called.

And when I was 17, I began
to go in freezing temperatures.

And there I found
a deep connection

with my body, with my God,
with a depth.

And that is now 45 years ago.

And since then,
I have never skipped a day

going into the cold.

COYNE:
In these ungodly, below-
freezing temperatures,

your average person
can freeze to death

in less than 30 minutes.

It's not an environment
that's suitable for humans.

So with Wim Hoff,
his ability to withstand cold

is really extraordinary.

It just makes
absolutely no sense.

SHATNER:
For an ordinary person,
attempting these feats

would result in almost
certain death.

And yet Wim Hof doesn't just
survive in frigid temperatures--

he seems to thrive in them.

But how?

Well, according to Wim Hof,

this ability
doesn't come from his body

but rather from his mind.

If we follow the breaths...

(breathing deeply)

...then the mind
begins to cease.

I learned
how to tap into my brain

to have a much greater control

than doctors
thought was possible.

When I go in a brain scan
or in a fMRI

and they put cold water
upon my skin

with a skin temperature
measurement device,

I'm able to raise

my skin temperature so much

that the cold water is making my
skin temperature not going down.

That means
through the psychology,

I caused something
physiologically.

MITCH HOROWITZ:
Wim Hof's work is being

widely studied right now
in academic settings.

And what's being found

is that he can get into a kind
of transpersonal mental state

where the body is freed
from perceived limitations,

making him more resilient

and capable of acts
of greater stamina.

We're coming
to a whole new realization

of the powers of the mind
over the body.

SHATNER:
Could Wim Hof's mind be able
to regulate his body's ability

to withstand
freezing temperatures?

Many experts believe
it's possible.

And as evidence,

they point to an ancient Tibetan
breathing technique

known as tummo,

which, if done properly,

can raise
a person's body temperature.

Tummo was first described
in the 11th century.

And what it-it translates to
is "inner fire."

(chanting)

And the practice is
meditation-guided breathing

where they literally imagine
that their spine is on fire

and they can feel this flame
going from their deep inside

all the way to the top
of their head.

And it's believed

that they can raise
their core body temperature

and feel that heat

by practicing this meditation
and breathing strategy.

Tummo gave them control
to be able to withstand elements

and inner control
amidst this external chaos.

AMIR HUSSAIN:
Through this
meditative practice,

you're literally able
to heat up your body

so you can withstand,
uh, cold temperatures.

But it's a technique
that anyone can use.

Anyone can be taught
how to do this.

(chanting)

SHATNER:
If tummo can unlock
the mind's capacity

to control body temperature,

then it naturally
begs the question,

what other incredible abilities
do our minds possess?

Well, in the case of Wim Hof,
it appears

that he has taken his
mental powers to the next level

in order to actually heal
his body.

JUSTIN ROSALES:
15 years ago, Wim ran a half
marathon barefoot in the snow.

After the half marathon,

one of the medics, um,
examined his foot

and said, "Hey, this is--
this is pretty bad."

And said,
"He has irreparable damage.

Third-degree frostbite."

And Wim just was so mad.

He just felt like he could do
something to heal it.

So Wim was able to start healing
his frostbitten foot

by doing his normal
breathing exercises

that he had been doing for years

and focusing and visualizing
his foot being healed.

And over a month and a half...

...it did get better.

The skin healed completely.

The "irreparable damage"

that he was not supposed
to come back from was gone.

(grunting)

SHATNER:
Is it really possible

that Wim Hof
is simply using his mind

to perform
these superhuman feats?

While that idea
may sound far-fetched,

Wim is just the latest
in a long line of people

possessing
such remarkable abilities.

HOF:
We have
a much more possible control

over our mind and body
than meets the eye.

We can learn to raise
our capacity to endure pain

and to tackle biological stress.

And that is there for anybody.

Through your mind,
you are able to go further

than you have ever been before.

SHATNER:
Lying within
the coastal mountains

of this frigid landscape
is Lake Qorlortoq.

Covered beneath
a million tons of ice,

its crystal blue waters hover

at a hypothermia-inducing
33 degrees Fahrenheit,

one degree above freezing.

Wearing only
a pair of swim trunks,

four-time world champion
free diver Stig Severinsen

plunges into the icy water

in an attempt
to set a new record

for the longest swim under ice.

Without an oxygen tank
and unable to surface,

he risks unconsciousness
and death

as he swims 250 feet underwater,

or nearly the length
of a football field.

SEVERINSEN:
When most people

jump in ice-cold water...
(gasping)

they start gasping
and they panic.

Within minutes,

you become icy-cold to the core.

And your body
can simply shut down.

I understand that people think
it's crazy or wild

or stupid even,
you know, unbelievable.

But I love to challenge science.

I love to challenge
the human physiology,

human potential.

(cheering)

SHATNER:
Stig's swim beneath the ice

wasn't the first time
he went to extremes.

(inhales deeply)

In May of 2012,

he also held his breath

for an astonishing 22 minutes.

But what would compel someone
to push themselves to the limit,

risking death
just to pull off a stunt?

HOROWITZ:
Some of us

seem to be hardwired
to push the limits.

Some of us seem to crave

excitement, intensity,

euphoria.

There seem to be
a certain fraction of people

in need of physical activities

or other kinds of activities
that push the limits

of safety or human possibility
or perseverance.

Now, it's a question
as to whether

these people
are seeking euphoria

or whether they're seeking
some...

greater, more visceral
connection with themselves.

Humans have this drive
and this need to seek novelty,

to see what's on the other side
of the unknown.

And it's something
that is incredibly dangerous

but also makes us able
to do insanely difficult things.

SHATNER: In the late 18th
and early 19th centuries,

a new breed of thrill-seekers
popularized the public display

of pushing the limits
of human ability,

risking life and limb
to perform death-defying feats

in pursuit of fame and fortune.

And the first
of these daredevils

was a man named Sam Patch.

DARRIN McMAHON:
Sam Patch was the Evel Knievel

of the early 19th century.

Uh, they called him
the Jersey Jumper,

the Yankee Leaper.

He-he liked to jump off things.

Famously, they had a platform
erected in Niagara Falls

so that he could jump
into the water

but from a really high level.

75 or 100 feet.

Unfortunately,
it's risky business.

And in 1829, on Friday the 13th,

he either slipped
or fell awkwardly

and didn't go in feetfirst
as he normally did.

The audience of several thousand
heard a splat,

and he was never seen from
again.

SHATNER:
But Sam Patch's tragic demise

did not deter
other would-be daredevils.

Over the next century,

countless more followed
in his footsteps,

increasing the danger
with every attempt...

...including one
who went to the next level

by taking to the skies.

SCOTT EDEN:
Clem Sohn was an aerialist,

one of the first,
maybe the first, to...

build for himself
a kind of gliding suit.

He would jump out of airplanes

with the wings attached

and a kind of tail structure.

McMAHON:
One of his nicknames
was the Birdman.

He would glide
for thousands of feet

and then eventually pull the rip
cord and parachute to safety.

And he did this
on both sides of the Atlantic.

Unfortunately,
outside of Paris in 1937,

in front of a crowd
of as many of 100,000 people,

he glided through the air

and then his first chute
failed to open...

(gasping, chattering)

...and then the second one

and then he plunged
to his death.

SHATNER:
The practice of performing
thrill-seeking feats

is alive and well today,

even if not all daredevils
survive their attempt

to push the limits.

But why do so many human beings
feel the need

to pursue incredible feats,

even if it means
risking their lives?

MAGNESS:
Pushing boundaries
and pushing limits

is part of our human nature.

You would think
that would be counterintuitive.

Seeking pain seems like
not the brightest thing to do,

because we're going
against our survival.

If you look at any animal
in the animal kingdom,

none of them really do things

that go
against survival instincts.

They just want to survive.

Human beings,
on the other hand...

...we will seek out things
that put us at immense risk.

And not for any external reward

but, really, for
the internal reward of doing it.

Seeking something difficult,
something hard

often makes people feel alive.

Does risking one's life
somehow push daredevils

beyond the limits of what
we consider physically possible?

It's an intriguing theory.

But what's even more incredible

is when people
are able to harness

the mysterious powers
of the human mind.

Like in the case of a murder

that was solved
not by conventional police work

but rather by using
a strange practice

that is known as...

remote viewing.

SHATNER:
Steven B. Williams,

a successful radio host
and deejay from Colorado,

has gone missing.

For the next two weeks, police
engage in a massive search.

But despite their efforts,
there's still no trace of him.

Desperate for answers,
a close friend of Williams

decides to enlist the help
of Angela Smith,

a woman with a unique talent:

remote viewing.

He didn't want to give me
any up-front information,

because in remote viewing,
often, that can contaminate

the viewing and lead
to imagination, et cetera.

The process I use
consists of sitting with

a pack of white paper and a pen,

a couple of letters and numbers,

and often, nothing more.

You go through accessing colors
and shapes

and smells and tastes
and going in your mind

to the location and perceiving,

and bringing back
the information.

I did a session and found
water, brackish water,

a land mass,
an event that happened...

...and it seemed that
the individual in question

had been killed,
was in the water,

and a lot of other
surrounding information.

In 2006, I was a commander

for the Los Angeles
Sheriff's Department,

and I'd been in law enforcement
about 31 years.

It was quite unusual,
to say the least,

that Angela Smith would pick out
a particular homicide

and provide detailed information
and then try to help solve it.

I called
the homicide investigator

and just said,
is he working on a case

with an anonymous body
found floating in the ocean?

By the fact that I had
that much information,

I immediately had his interest.

I says, "I've got
some information on this."

And I said,
"I've got to tell you

that it's gonna sound bizarre."

SHATNER:
Using the information
provided by Angela Smith,

the police were able
to identify a nameless body

that had been found off
the coast of Catalina Island.

It was that of
Steven B. Williams.

But it didn't end there.

Angela provided information

not only about the victim

but also about his killer.

After the body
had been identified,

I did a profile,
like an FBI profiler would do,

and that matched a profile
of an individual

that Williams
had been in contact with.

Um, he had actually swindled
Williams out of some money.

HEAL:
The homicide investigator

called me back
three or four days later

and said, "Hey, just so
you know, this stuff's legit."

They had a possible suspect,
and they even had a motive,

none of which they were getting

through the conventional
methods.

I thought, "Wow, maybe there
really is something to this."

SHATNER:
Steven B. Williams' killer

was eventually apprehended,
thanks, it seems,

to the incredible abilities
of Angela Smith.

The idea of remote viewing
has been around for a long time.

It-it's been around for,
actually, thousands of years.

And it's the idea
that you can transmit yourself

out of your body
and go and view other places

and-and get information and then
figure out what was going on

without ever having to go there.

SMITH:
What science has found so far,

they attach electrodes
to the brain

while somebody's doing
remote viewing.

Sometimes you're accessing
information

with the right brain,
reporting it,

writing it down
with the left brain.

So, there's a dance going on.

It's very much
a whole-brain activity.

SHATNER:
Can remote viewing really
provide visions of people,

places and things, no matter
where they are on Earth?

The very notion seems absurd.

And yet, there was a time
when some thought this practice

could be used
to win the Cold War.

WHITEHEAD:
The Russians during the Cold War

were investing millions
of dollars in parapsychology,

psychic phenomena,
remote viewing.

And the Americans felt
that they had to keep up

with the Russians,
and so they developed

their own classified program
and were basically trying

to train psychic spies.

JOE McMONEAGLE:
I was one of the first people

that was recruited
for the remote viewing program,

what's now being referred
to as the Stargate program.

I was recruited
in October of 1978.

WHITEHEAD:
In the late '70s,
there had just been

a revolution in Iran,
and in November of 1979,

a group of students
who were revolutionaries

took over the U.S. embassy

and took dozens
of American hostages.

So when this hostage situation
unfolded,

U.S. intelligence
had very little information

about how many hostages
they were,

where they were being held,
et cetera.

It was reported later
that there was a team

of remote viewers
that were actually working

out of a secret location
in Maryland,

just outside of D.C.,

and that they were trying
to find out

what was going on
inside the embassy.

McMONEAGLE:
They said, "We need to know
who's a hostage

in this place where
an embassy was taken over."

Some of the other things
we were asked to do

is describe
how they were being treated,

what they were being fed
and how they were being guarded,

other things like that.

In this case,
we were able to identify

pretty much
most of the hostages.

WHITEHEAD:
They actually based
legitimate intelligence efforts

on the information that they got

from many of these psychic
remote viewers.

And so, we know it works,

but we're still trying to figure
out exactly how it works.

SHATNER:
Espionage typically relies
on high-tech equipment

like satellites,

radio receivers and computers,

but according to those
who practice remote viewing,

this technology is no match

for the greatest computer
in the world:

the human brain.

McMONEAGLE:
I've been remote viewing now

for 42, 43 years, constantly.

People ask me, "Well, how do you
get information to come down?"

I go to a place in my mind
where it's very quiet

and I just open to whatever
information's gonna come.

SMITH:
I believe that everybody
has a natural intuitive ability.

So remote viewing training

focuses on that natural ability
and enhances it.

What it says about the brain
is that our brains are plastic.

They're able to adapt
and able to learn.

SHATNER:
In this small town
in the heart of Marin County

lives world-renowned
ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes.

And by all accounts,
he was born to run.

My earliest
childhood recollections

are running home from school
when I was in kindergarten.

Uh, literally, I remember
sitting in the classroom

just waiting for the bell
to ring.

And as soon as that jingle
went off, I was out of there.

I felt like when I was running,
I felt most alive,

like, most complete.

It's hard to describe,
but I just remember, uh,

the way the air
used to feel on my skin

and the leaves changing color.

I just started relating
to the world through running.

LUKE:
Dean's somewhat of an icon
in the running community

in the sense that he can
do things other people can't.

Dean's definitely a superman
in terms of being able

to run long distances
repetitive days, back-to-back.

SHATNER:
Among Dean's
many record-breaking

running achievements
are completing 50 marathons

in 50 consecutive days,

running 135 miles
across Death Valley--

one of the hottest regions
on Earth--

and accomplishing
a 75-day, 3,000-mile run

across the entire United States.

But perhaps his most
incredible achievement

occurred on October 12th, 2005,

when Dean ran 350 miles
without stopping.

I think I decided to run 350
miles nonstop out of curiosity.

I wanted to see how far I could
push my body and my mind.

And I completed it.

It took me 80 hours and 44
minutes of continuous running.

Three days straight without
stopping to eat or sleep.

SHATNER:
Dean's feats are astounding,

and he is arguably
the greatest athlete

in the history of what
is called ultra running.

MAGNESS:
Ultra running
is any distance running

that goes further
than the marathon.

So it could be anything
from 30 miles, all the way up

to races that are hundreds
or even thousands of miles.

The six-day race
was the precursor

to modern
ultramarathon running.

It originated
in the 1700s in England.

These athletes tried
to cover as much distance

as they possibly could
in six days,

so they would sleep
as little as possible,

often only getting an hour
or two of sleep during each day

to try and cover
as much distance as possible.

Early on, these athletes
would run 400 and 500 miles,

but in 1888, George Littlewood
set a new record

for the six-day challenge,
covering 623 miles.

So that's over 100 miles a day
of running or walking.

That was so good
that that record

almost stood 100 years,

until Yiannis Kouros,
a Greek runner,

who was one of the best
ultra runners in history,

finally broke it.

So that gives you an indication
of how good these athletes are.

SHATNER:
But it's not just athletes
who choose to run

such mind-boggling distances.

In fact,
there's an entire community

that runs just as far
as ultramarathoners do,

and they've been doing it
for thousands of years.

Here in this harsh region
of 10,000-foot plateaus,

far from modern civilization,

live a group of people
known as the Rarámuri.

Descended from a prehistoric
society of foragers and hunters,

the Rarámuri still live in
relatively primitive conditions.

But incredibly,
they possess a unique ability

to run for hundreds of miles
in a single day.

TOK THOMPSON:
The name Rarámuri
seems to be derived from

meaning, "those who run fast."

So, not surprisingly,
the Rarámuri are, uh, known

as exceptional
long-distance runners

far in excess
of what most people think

people should be able to do.

They have running competitions
and running rituals,

that would put a lot of other
long-distance runners to shame.

They don't have
the modern accoutrements

or modern sneakers, they tend
to run in either sandals

or barefoot.

And they do this
as a big part of their culture.

SHATNER:
Since the dawn of mankind,

our ability to run
for a long period of time

has given humans
a great advantage,

especially when it came to
hunting and searching for food.

Humans are one of the best
long-distance runners

in the entire animal kingdom.

We could actually run down
things like deer and antelope.

We're not as fast
in the short run,

but in terms
of long-distance running,

a human being could
theoretically, uh, run down

just about any animal on Earth.

SHATNER:
In ancient times,
running was not only used

as a means of stalking prey,

it was also a method
of long-range communication.

MAGNESS:
Running served a vital purpose
for the ancient Greeks.

They served as couriers
or messengers.

They were essentially
the ancient mail system

for the Greeks.

That was vital for military
strategy in particular.

RIC RADER:
In antiquity,

the best way to convey messages,

especially matters of war,

matters of religion
and so forth,

was to send a hemerodromos.

So that's the Greek word
for a "day runner."

It was a special class of people

specifically trained for this

and specifically equipped,
physiologically,

not only to deliver a message
in a timely fashion

but to do it
over very rugged terrain,

over several hundred miles.

So, in that regard, the extent
to which a hemerodromos

can perform these amazing feats
would suggest

that it requires
a kind of superhuman ability.

SHATNER:
In the case of Dean Karnazes,

his superhuman running ability

may be due to the fact that
he is actually of Greek descent.

KARNAZES:
I think my ability
to run long distances

is influenced, definitely,
by my Greek heritage.

I'm 100% Greek,
and Greece is the birthplace

of long distance-running, and
I've known that for a long time.

I think I have
the natural ability

to run long distances
from my heritage.

But having the will to do it
is another thing.

And I think I just
have the will to do it.

SHATNER:
Professional swordsman
Isao Machii,

is about to perform
an incredible demonstration.

He will attempt
to cut a baseball

traveling at 100 miles per hour
perfectly in half,

and from a distance
of only 30 feet away.

It seems impossible.

That is...

...until he does it.

When I first saw
the video of the samurai

cutting the ball in half,
I was absolutely amazed.

What I like about video
these days

is you can do
some simple physics.

You know, he's maybe
sort of 30 feet away,

the ball is roughly
100 miles an hour.

And that gives you
a reaction time

of, essentially,
0.2 seconds in this case.

Typical reaction times for
really elite baseball player

trying to hit a fastball
tend to be around 0.4 seconds.

Actually, this is
a more difficult task

than something like baseball
pitching, because clearly,

baseball pitching,
you pick up information

from the body shape
of the pitcher,

which tells you loosely

when the ball
is going to be released.

Whereas in this instance,

he seems to have
a wall in front of him.

There's a lot of uncertainty
in terms of when the ball

will begin its flight.

The fact that he can do
all these things

in 200 milliseconds
is obviously quite amazing.

SHATNER:
In this and in numerous
other demonstrations,

Machii has shown
a remarkable ability

to visually track
fast-moving objects

with an acuity
that few can even dream of.

But how did this swordsman

develop such
razor-thin reaction time?

Some experts believe
the answer lies

in the brain's capacity

to make exceptional feats
seem almost routine.

Someone who's an expert
swordsman, you know,

that's a highly-skilled ability.

It took years and years to get
to the level that he's at.

And what happens is when
you do that kind of training,

the better you get,

your brain at the cortex level
becomes quieter and quieter.

And one thing that
that gives you

is the ability
to do things more quickly.

The circuits are shorter,
they're faster.

The swordsman being able to cut

that baseball in half

in such a short, brief shot--

he had to have spent enough time
building up a program

that he'd just literally
unleashed that whole program.

The rest of us would
just be flailing around.

Whether it's split-second
reaction times,

surviving freezing temperatures

or performing feats
that seem like actual magic,

the potential that human beings
have for developing

extraordinary abilities
seems almost limitless.

But just how people acquire
these fascinating talents

is an enduring mystery

that remains unexplained.

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