19 Ernest Hemingway survived, anthrax, pneumonia, dysentery, diabetes, high blood pressure, two successive plane crashes that resulted in ruptured kidney and liver, broken skull, second degree burns, and numerous other accidents. 

The American writer, journalist and Nobel laureate, Ernest Hemingway, went on a safari to Africa after the publication of his book The Old Man and the Sea. There he went on a sightseeing flight as a Christmas present to his wife, Mary. The plane struck an abandoned pole and landed injuring both him and his wife. The next day the plane they boarded to reach medical help at Entebbe exploded at take-off causing further serious injuries. When they finally reached Entebbe, the reporters were covering Hemingway’s death, with some newspapers even publishing his obituary. While recuperating, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he suspected the obituaries might have influenced the selection of winner.(source)

20 A sniper known as Simo Häyhä killed 505 soldiers during the Winter war without telescopic sight in temperatures between  -40⁰ C (-40⁰ F) and -20⁰ C (-4⁰ F). He had half his face blown off by an explosive bullet, but he survived and went on to live until 96.

Simo Häyhä joined the Finnish militia when he was 20 and soon became an expert at marksmanship. Häyhä served as a sniper against the Red Army during the Winter War that was fought between Finland and Soviet Union. Due to Stalin’s Great Purge, there was a lot of chaos in the Soviet Union and the Soviet troops were not issued white camouflage suits making them easily visible to snipers. Häyhä has been credited with 505 kills and holds the highest number of confirmed kills in any major war. In an effort by the Soviets to make a counter-attack at the snipers, he was hit by an explosive bullet by a Red Army soldier which blew his left cheek.(source)

21 In 1956, Thomas Fitzpatrick stole a plane and flew it from New Jersey to New York City neatly landing it in front of the bar as part of a drunk bet. He stole another plane again in 1958 landing it in front of a university building because someone didn’t believe he really did it the last time. 

Thomas Fitzpatrick, also known as Tommy Fitz, was a Marine during Korean War and an American pilot. His intoxicated bet about stealing a plane from Teterboro School of Aeronautics, New Jersey, happened on September 30, 1956 at 3.00 AM and the flight to New York City took 15 minutes. His next adventure, was on October 4, 1958 just before 1.00 AM from the same airfield to a private university.(source)

22 In 1983, a 61-year-old potato farmer ran an ultramarathon from Sydney to Melbourne and won the race by ten hours because he ran while the others slept, and broke the record for previous runs in that route by two days. 

The Australian potato farmer Cliff Young won the inaugural Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon which covered a distance of 875 kilometers. Young ran at a slow looping pace, just trailing the leading participants during the first day. But, he also ran while the others slept that night which put him in the lead and he maintained it throughout the race. He became so popular for his tortoise and hare technique that in the same year another race called Cliff Young Australian Six-Day Race was established and in 1984 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for long distance running.(source)

23 In January 2014, Molly Schuyler, a 125 lb woman, won Wing Bowl eating challenge by eating 363 chicken wings. The next day she won the IHOP Pancake Bowl contest, and the bacon-eating contest by eating 5 pounds of bacon in 3 minutes. The next year, she ate three 72-oz steak dinners in 20 minutes beating her own record and the restaurant’s.

Molly Schuyler has many food challenge victories to her name. In August 2012, she complete a food challenge at Stella’s Bar and Grill becoming the first woman to achieve the Stellanator. The same year, she also became the first woman to attempt Sinful Burger’s “Goliath” Challenge which included 5 pounds of varied items of food. Since then, she has been participating in many challenges and set a world record in 2015 by eating a four-pound sandwich and one pound of tater tots in 2 minutes and 55 seconds, and another world record for eating 5 pounds of bacon in 5 minutes and 2.1 seconds.(1, 2)

24 James Harrison who underwent a major surgery at the age of 14 requiring 13 liters of blood pledged to donate when he turned 18. It was discovered that his blood contained unusually strong antibodies that could fight Rhesus disease. So far he has made a record 1,000 donations and helped saved over 2.4 million babies, including his daughter. 

Harrison started donating his blood in 1954 when, after a few donations it was discovered that his blood has strong and persistent antibodies against D Rh group antigen. His donations helped to save thousands of children from dying of hemolytic disease of the newborn. The unique property of his blood was considered to be so important that his life was insured for one million dollars. His donations and the following research helped create commercial Anti-D immunoglobulin, commonly known as RhoGAM, that can prevent hemolytic disease in newborns.(source)