What Can You Do in Ten Minutes?

ITASCA, Ill., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Can't get much done because you're short on time? Think again. In less than 10 minutes, the winner of this year's OfficeMax Hustle Up the Hancock race on February 27 will run up 94 floors of Chicago's John Hancock building. That's about the same time it takes to buy a mocha latte at the coffee shop or sit through coming attractions at the movies.

"Not to make the rest of us feel bad, but we're talking a mere 600 seconds to climb 1,632 steps -- about a third of a second per step," said Dave Goudge, OfficeMax executive VP of marketing, and participant in the Hancock climb.

This amazing physical feat inspired OfficeMax(R) Incorporated , one of the nation's largest office supply distributors, to take a fresh look at exactly what can be done in 10 minutes or less. Here's a sample:

-- Memorize 312 playing cards, in order, as was done by a World Federation of Memory Sports record-holder. -- Make $4,000. That's nearly how much money Mel Gibson made in 10 minutes based on his estimated annual income of $210 million, according to Forbes magazine. -- Sharpen 300 pencils with an electronic sharpener. -- Wait at O'Hare International Airport Terminal 3 security checkpoint on a Monday morning at 7 a.m. (If you were at Juneau International Airport in Alaska? No waiting.) -- Perform 23 aerial somersaults on skis.* -- Eat 432 oysters. A 105-pound woman holds this distinction from the International Federation of Competitive Eating. -- Listen to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" nearly two times. You would only be able to listen to the Beatle's seven-minute-plus "Hey, Jude" or Don McLean's "American Pie" (8:36) a little over one time. At just over 17 minutes, you might as well forget catching all of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." -- Shred 6,240 sheets of paper, using a professional shredder that shreds 26 sheets at once. -- Get married in a Las Vegas drive-through chapel. (Actually, it can take much less than 10 minutes.) -- Type 700 words (based on the skills of a better-than-average typist). -- Ride Chicago's John Hancock building elevator up and down 7.5 times. (The Hancock's elevators take 40 seconds to reach the top at a speed of 20 miles per hour.)

With 1,632 stairs, the OfficeMax Hustle Up the Hancock is the third- tallest vertical stair climb in the country, behind the Go Vertical Sears Tower race and Step Up for Kids race at the Aon Center, both in Chicago. All proceeds from the race benefit the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago's efforts in education, research and advocacy programs aimed at preventing asthma and lung disease.

A few facts regarding the 2004 Hustle Up the Hancock: -- Winning time: 9 minutes, 47 seconds, by Terry Purcell -- Average number of seconds it took the winner to tackle each flight of stairs: 6.3 seconds -- Number of runners: 3,702 (2,776 ran the 94 floor challenge; 926 ran the 42 floor) -- Runners were 54% men; 46% women -- Oldest climber: 74 -- Youngest climber: 9 -- Money raised from event: $568,506 -- Amount of water served during the Hustle: 1,393 gallons About OfficeMax(R) Incorporated

OfficeMax(R) Incorporated is a leader in both business-to-business office product solutions and retail office products. OfficeMax delivers an unparalleled customer experience -- in service, in product, in time savings, and in value -- through a relentless focus on its customers. The company provides office supplies and paper, print and document services, technology products and solutions, and furniture to large, medium and small businesses and consumers. OfficeMax customers are served by more than 40,000 associates through direct sales, catalogs, Internet and nearly 1,000 superstores. OfficeMax trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OMX. To find the nearest OfficeMax, call 1-877-OFFICEMAX or more information can be found at http://www.officemax.com/ .

*Based on information provided by Guinness World Records(TM) OfficeMax Contact Media Contact Bill Bonner Nicole Miller, Bader Rutter & Associates 630 438 8584 262 784 7200, ext. 425