A closer look

While American trains struggle to outpace a moderately motivated jogger, the French decided the landscape should simply be a blurred smear out the window. In 2007, a specially modified TGV train set the world speed record for wheeled rail by screaming across the countryside at an absurd 357 mph (574 km/h). It's the absolute fastest way to get your morning croissant delivered to a different time zone before the coffee gets cold.