World’s fastest talking man sings Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ in 20 seconds

While some of you might dream of having MENSA-level intelligence or an incredible photographic memory, others are just after a neat party trick – which is something this guy definitely has.

John Moschitta Jr became the world’s fastest talking man after rattling through several hundred words per minute, having previously sung his way through Michael Jackson hit ‘Bad’ in just 20 seconds:

Moschitta Jr, also known as ‘Motormouth’ John Moschitta or ‘The Fast Talking Guy’ is an American actor and singer who formerly held the Guinness World Record title for World’s Fastest Talker.

He has the ability to articulate an incredible 586 words per minute – a skill that led to fast-talking acting gigs in adverts for the likes of Federal Express and Minute Rice.

Speaking to reporter Marcus Jones, of Boston’s 10 O’Clock News, back in 1987, Moschitta Jr explained how it all began when he was a kid.

“When I was 12 years old growing up on Long Island, there was a cerebral palsy therapy group a few blocks away from my house,” he said.

WGBH

“And they’d asked if they would donate $2,000 to cerebral palsy for anyone that broke a Guinness Record.

“First I wanted to ride a rollercoaster in Coney Island, so I called Coney Island and they said, ‘Hey kid, take a hike. You’re 12 years old, we’re not going to let you strap yourself into The Cyclone for two weeks straight.”

Moschitta Jr went home and started flicking through the Guinness Book of World Records for inspiration, eventually settling on the ‘next best thing’: teaching himself to talk fast.

He added: “I also grew up in a family with five sisters, so to get a word in edgeways was self-defence!”

Minute Rice

To win the world record, he gave a rendition of ‘You Got Trouble’ from The Music Man, but Jones challenged him to try reciting ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson.

Moschitta Jr wasn’t too impressed with his ‘very sloppy’ performance, but agreed it wasn’t ‘bad’, having managed to get through one minute and eight seconds of the song in just 20 seconds.

Moschitta Jr later lost his title in 1990 to Steve Woodmore, who spoke 637 words per minute.

Now, however, the crown belongs to Canadian Steve Shannon, who recited the 260 words to Hamlet's soliloquy ‘To be or not to be' in 23.8 seconds on 30 August 1995, marking a rate of 655 words per minute.