Lewis Pugh, Arctic Swimmer, X-Man?

You've probably seen Lewis recently when he swam a kilometer at the North Pole in about 18 minutes to bring attention to the fact that you actually can swim a kilometer at the North Pole these days, due to polar melting.

What I find interesting, and what was hardly touched upon by the news when they reported on Lewis' recent swim, is the fact that he can raise his core temperature to 101 degrees just standing at the edge of the water.

Thanks to a conditioned response called anticipatory thermogenesis, the British swimmer can elevate his body temperature to 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) just by standing at water's edge.National Geographic

Is Lewis a step towards the beginning of X-Men type mutants with "special powers"?
Tim Noaks, director of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, says that this "conditioned response" is a "unique power" that Lewis has. Conditioned, I'm sure, through training, just like Prof. Xavier's mutants.

I know I can't jack my temperature up to 101 just thinking about it. Were I to try to match Lewis' feat, I would probably be dead in the first 10 minutes, assuming I didn't just have a stroke or heart attack as soon as I hit the water. This, in itself, I think classifies Lewis' ability to withstand freezing temperatures as superhuman.

In cold water, core temperature can drop to dangerous levels in a matter of minutes.Source

I wonder if, with suitable training, Lewis, or perhaps his grandchildren, will be able to raise their temp. enough to ,say, super heat the air between their hands to ignition point, creating a small fireball, or even ignite a scrap of paper held in the hand. I know this is long step from 101 degrees, but at least 101 is a step in the general direction.

Of course, this is all complete speculation. But it could be happening.

Any thoughts?

noooooooo.

whats with all these threads and comparing crap to comics and cartoons.

When does school start again?

seriuosly... no nothing to with becoming Xman... they don't exist.

Originally posted by elevatedone
noooooooo.

Spoooooooky.

whats with all these threads and comparing crap to comics and cartoons.

It's just a common frame of reference. You knew what I was talking about.

When does school start again?

Why, anxious to get back?

seriuosly... no nothing to with becoming Xman... they don't exist.

Not yet, that we know of. But evolution and the relatively high level of natural radiation this planet has could potentially change that.