Monkey Man of the Day

Inspired by the running style of the wiry Patas monkey of Africa, 29-year-old Kenichi Ito is the world's fastest man on all fours.

"You know, my face and body kind of look like a monkey, so from a young age everybody used to tease me, saying 'monkey, monkey.' But I wasn't really bothered because I really liked them, and somewhere inside of me I had this ambition to adopt one of their traits. When I saw a monkey that could run fast, I knew I'd found it -- and from that point on I practiced running like a monkey every day."

Ito has developed six distinct forms of four-limbed movement, from a top-speed "gallop" to a leisurely walking pace. His speed at running 100 meters on all fours, just under 20 seconds, won him a Guinness record. [reuters]