I don't know either Lauri: I always have wondered too.
Is A Bullet faster than A Blitz ?!
Sort:
I have thought this matter only since 1998. 
- According to Wikipedia:
- Rapid or Quick: 15 to 60 minutes per player, sometimes with a small time increment per move (e.g. 10 seconds).[1]
- Blitz: 15 minutes or less per side. Usually sudden death (no increment), but may also be played with a small increment. More recently due to the influx of digital clocks, 3 minutes with a 2-second add is also preferred.[1]
- Bullet: 1 to 3 minutes per side. The time control for this setting is 2 minutes with a 1-second add or 1 minute with a 2-second add. The term "Lightning" can also be applied to this variant.
- Lightning is a term used for either Blitz or Bullet chess, and is a general term for extremely fast chess. It can also refer to games with a fixed time (e.g. ten seconds) for each move. This also can be used for 1-minute games.
- Armageddon: a game guaranteed to produce a result, because Black has draw odds (that is, for Black, a draw is equal to a victory). To compensate, White has more time on the clock. Common times are 6 minutes for White and 5 for Black, or 5 minutes for White and 4 for Black. This can also be played with a small increment. This is also known as "time odds" and it is used in various tie breaks for quick tournaments.
I should mention that I never know who declares themselves the authority and writes those things. Before reading the above, I would have guessed that blitz is under 10 minutes, and bullet under 2. I have never played bullet, as I would certainly lose to most anyone. Now, my guess is that the definitions are often regional and not standardized.
Here is a great article on the history of blitz chess from batgirl: http://www.chess.com/article/view/a-history-of-blitz
Thank You, Paul.
But that did not really solve this dilemma ! 
Batgirl writes some interesting stuff.
And Batgirl may be a good person to ask directly.
I think that among those who use both terms denoting separate speeds, bullet is virtually instantaneous and faster than blitz. However, I think many people only use one term, or use both interchangeably to denote any very fast game, including some clocks (haven't seen them since the 70s) which give only 10 seconds for each move and if you don't move before the bell, you lose instantly.
Still no answer.
Why is bullet faster than blitz ?
In nature, blitz is the faster one !
BULLET IS THE FASTER ONE ACCORDING TO LIVE CHESS
speed of
a bullet: max. 1,5km / sec.
a lightning (Blitz in German): probably min. 50km / sec.
(light: 300.000 km / sec.)
Good question! ~
Lightning is faster than bullet in chess, but the English form of blitz doesn't mean lightning but something more like a quick attack.
Blitz Krieg = A War, which goes forward like Lightning ! 
LA ... what ?!
hmm???? No, I won't tell you to .... this time 
A blitzkrieg is the tactic of making fast, hard strikes, rather than the more traditional slow push, is it not?
Yes indeed. Thanks to airplanes, cars, etc...
I think that they called it blitz-chess back in the days when you had no internet or even digital clocks. So three minutes/person over the board has been pretty fast. I remember playing three minute games otb in school and I hardly could do it ... because you had to move and touch the clock with the same hand ...
with the digital clocks and the internet they needed new words ... so lightning in it's meaning it's basically the same. And bullet ... one bullet, one minute??
Why are these speeds so in chess ???
Could someone clear this thing to me.
(Maybe to some others in the same time, too.)
Thank You.
- Lauri Aikio -