SortStack #1019 — 2029-03-24
By duration · Order from shortest to longest.
- One full revolution of a helicopter's main rotor 150 ms
Main rotors spin at only a few hundred rpm, but the blade tips travel so fast they approach the speed of sound — the source of that thudding chop.
- 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.
- Cooking a perfect soft-boiled egg 4.5 min
At high altitude it takes noticeably longer — water boils below 100°C up a mountain, which is why mountaineers complain about their eggs.
- A performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony 74 min
Legend says the CD was designed to hold 74 minutes specifically so the Ninth would fit on a single disc — a Sony executive's favourite piece.
- Holi, the Hindu festival of colours 2 days
It opens with the Holika bonfire at night and erupts into colour-throwing the next day — the powders were traditionally made from flowers and herbs.
- The era of the Crusades, from the first to the fall of Acre 194.9 years
Nine major crusades spanned 195 years — and the Fourth never reached the Holy Land at all, sacking Christian Constantinople instead.