SortStack #2251 — 2032-08-07

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. 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.

3. Randy Gardner's world record for staying awake 11 days

   The 17-year-old's 1964 science-fair stunt of 11 sleepless days still stands — Guinness stopped certifying attempts as too dangerous.

4. Roman rule over Britain 366.9 years

   Rome governed Britain for 367 years — longer than the entire history of the United States — before abandoning it to defend Italy.

5. The time since humans invented the wheel 5.5K years

   Potter's wheels came before wheels for transport — and the oldest wooden wheel ever found, near Ljubljana, is about 5,150 years old.

6. How long Jericho has been continuously inhabited 10.8K years

   Among the world's oldest cities, Jericho's stone tower predates pottery itself — people built monuments before they made bowls.

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