SortStack #1131 — 2029-07-14

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. A main-stage TED talk at its maximum allowed length 18 min

   TED's curator calls it 'long enough to be serious, short enough to hold attention' — even Bill Gates and presidents get cut off at the limit.

3. An episode of The Simpsons, without adverts 22 min

   The Simpsons is the longest-running scripted primetime series in US history — Bart has been ten years old for over three and a half decades.

4. A flight from London to New York 8.2 h

   Flying west against the jet stream adds about an hour versus the return leg — eastbound flights have surfed the tailwind to under 5 hours.

5. One orbit of Pluto around the Sun 247.9 years

   Pluto hasn't completed a single orbit since its discovery in 1930 — it won't finish its first 'observed year' until 2178.

6. The Western Roman Empire, from Augustus to its fall 501.9 years

   After the West fell in AD 476, the Eastern half carried on for nearly a thousand more years as the Byzantine Empire.

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