SortStack #3091 — 2034-11-25

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. An average human's reaction to a starting gun 252 ms

   Athletics rules treat any sprint start faster than 100 milliseconds as a false start — it's considered humanly impossible to react that quickly.

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. 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. La Tomatina, Spain's giant tomato fight 60 min

   Around 120 tonnes of overripe tomatoes are hurled in Buñol each August; a firework marks the end and the streets are hosed down within hours.

5. The Apollo 13 mission, launch to splashdown 6 days

   After the oxygen tank exploded, the crew used the lunar module as a lifeboat and slingshotted around the Moon — NASA's 'successful failure'.

6. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 25 days

   The world's largest arts festival stages over 3,000 shows — by ticket sales it trails only the Olympics and the football World Cup.

← All puzzles · Play today’s SortStack