SortStack #914 — 2028-12-09

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. An average swim across the English Channel 13.5 h

   Fewer people have swum the Channel than have climbed Everest — and rules forbid wetsuits, allowing only goggles, a cap, and grease.

2. The Second World War 6 years

   From the invasion of Poland to Japan's surrender, it remains history's deadliest conflict — fighting officially ended on a battleship in Tokyo Bay.

3. The Ottoman Empire 622.7 years

   Founded before the printing press, it ended after the airplane — the empire spanned 623 years and three continents at its height.

4. The Republic of Venice 1.1K years

   The 1,100-year republic elected 120 doges using a bizarre multi-round lottery system specifically designed to prevent vote-rigging.

5. How long the Parthenon has been standing 2.5K years

   It survived largely intact for over 2,000 years — until 1687, when a Venetian shell hit the gunpowder the Ottomans had stored inside.

6. Ancient Egyptian civilization, from unification to Cleopatra 3.1K years

   It ran so long that Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the building of the Great Pyramid.

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