SortStack #879 — 2028-11-04

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. An average human's reaction to a starting gun 252 ms

   Athletics rules treat any sprint start faster than 100 milliseconds as a false start — it's considered humanly impossible to react that quickly.

2. Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' 5.9 min

   Radio executives told Freddie Mercury it was far too long to ever get airplay. It topped the UK charts twice, 16 years apart.

3. The film 'Gone with the Wind', with overture and intermission 4 h

   Still the longest film ever to win Best Picture — and adjusted for inflation, it remains the highest-grossing film of all time.

4. An African elephant's pregnancy 1.8 years

   The longest gestation of any land mammal produces a 100 kg calf that can walk within hours — and is looked after by the whole herd.

5. A frilled shark's pregnancy 3.5 years

   At an estimated three and a half years, it's the longest known gestation of any vertebrate — embryos grow just over a centimetre a month.

6. The time since Neanderthals went extinct 39.9K years

   They never fully vanished: most people outside Africa carry around 2% Neanderthal DNA, influencing skin, immunity, and even sleep patterns.

← All puzzles · Play today’s SortStack