SortStack #2566 — 2033-06-18

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. One heartbeat of a hummingbird in flight 48 ms

   Hummingbird hearts can hit 1,260 beats per minute in flight, then crash to about 50 at night when the bird enters a hibernation-like torpor.

2. The men's 100 m freestyle world record swim 46.4 sec

   Pan Zhanle's 46.40 at Paris 2024 stunned the field — he won by over a second, an eternity in a sprint event decided by fingernails.

3. 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.

4. One full rotation of the London Eye 30 min

   It moves so slowly — about 0.9 km/h — that it usually doesn't stop to let passengers on; you simply step into the moving capsule.

5. Munich's Oktoberfest 17 days

   Despite the name, most of it happens in September — and visitors drink roughly six to seven million litres of beer before it ends.

6. 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.

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