SortStack #949 — 2029-01-13

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. A Formula 1 qualifying lap of Monaco 1.2 min

   Monaco is F1's slowest lap by average speed, yet drivers call it the hardest 78 corners-per-race of the year — the barriers forgive nothing.

2. The Epsom Derby, Britain's most famous horse race 2.5 min

   Workforce's 2010 record run covered the mile and a half at over 56 km/h — and the race has been run every year since 1780, even through both World Wars.

3. Jeff Bezos' first Blue Origin spaceflight, launch to landing 10.2 min

   The 2021 flight carried both the oldest and youngest people to reach space at the time: 82-year-old Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen.

4. NASA's Perseverance rover travelling from Earth to Mars 203 days

   The 480-million-km cruise ended with the 'seven minutes of terror' landing — and the rover carried a small helicopter, Ingenuity, strapped to its belly.

5. The first circumnavigation of the globe (Magellan's expedition) 3 years

   Magellan himself never made it — he was killed in the Philippines. Just 18 of the original ~270 crew limped home aboard one remaining ship.

6. The construction of the Sydney Opera House 14 years

   Planned as a four-year, $7 million project, it took fourteen years and $102 million — and its architect left Australia before it opened, never returning.

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