SortStack #1593 — 2030-10-19

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. A single sneeze, from sharp inhale to achoo 1.5 sec

   A sneeze can launch droplets several metres, and you can't sneeze with your eyes open without effort — the blink is part of the reflex.

2. A proper hand wash, by WHO guidelines 19.8 sec

   The recommended scrub lasts about as long as singing 'Happy Birthday' twice — most people manage barely a third of it.

3. A standard television commercial 30 sec

   A single Super Bowl slot of this length has sold for over US$7 million — more than US$230,000 per second of airtime.

4. Half-time in a football (soccer) match 15 min

   The break exists partly thanks to early English schools with different rules — teams switched codes at the interval when playing each other.

5. The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 38 min

   History's shortest war: the Royal Navy shelled the palace at 9:02 am, the sultan fled to the German consulate, and it was all over before 10.

6. 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.

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