SortStack #1103 — 2029-06-16

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. A lightning flash from start to finish 198 ms

   What looks like one bolt is usually several return strokes in a row, heating the air to around 30,000°C — five times hotter than the Sun's surface.

2. The Wimbledon tennis championships 14 days

   The tournament's famous rest day, the 'Middle Sunday', was only abolished in 2022 after 145 years of tradition.

3. The construction of the Empire State Building 1.1 years

   Crews added roughly four and a half storeys per week, finishing ahead of schedule and under budget during the Great Depression.

4. The construction of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona (so far) 143.9 years

   Begun in 1882 and still unfinished, it only received an official building permit in 2019 — Gaudí said 'my client is not in a hurry'.

5. 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.

6. The time since Vesuvius buried Pompeii 1.9K years

   The AD 79 ash preserved loaves of bread still sitting in ovens — one carbonized loaf even bears its baker's stamp.

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