SortStack #1047 — 2029-04-21

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. An amber traffic light before it turns red 4 sec

   Amber phases are tuned to road speed — typically 3 seconds in town and up to 6 on fast roads, calculated from braking distance physics.

2. A standard university lecture 50 min

   Attention research suggests student focus starts lapsing after 10-15 minutes — which is roughly when most lecturers are just warming up.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. The Hundred Years' War between England and France 116.6 years

   Despite the name, it lasted 116 years (1337-1453), punctuated by long truces — and technically England and France stayed at war on paper even longer.

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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