SortStack #3644 — 2036-05-31

By duration · Order from shortest to longest.

1. The Wright brothers' first powered flight 12 sec

   The 1903 flight covered just 36.5 metres — shorter than the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Within 66 years, humans were on the Moon.

2. A standard university lecture 50 min

   Attention research suggests student focus starts lapsing after 10-15 minutes — which is roughly when most lecturers are just warming up.

3. Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, official festival period 5 days

   Around two million people hit the streets per day, and the samba school parade is a fierce contest judged on dozens of criteria.

4. The record-winning Vendée Globe solo sail around the world 64.8 days

   Charlie Dalin's 2025 run was nonstop, alone, and unassisted — skippers sleep in 20-minute bursts for the entire circumnavigation.

5. The first circumnavigation of the globe (Magellan's expedition) 3 years

   Magellan himself never made it — he was killed in the Philippines. Just 18 of the original ~270 crew limped home aboard one remaining ship.

6. The Republic of Venice 1.1K years

   The 1,100-year republic elected 120 doges using a bizarre multi-round lottery system specifically designed to prevent vote-rigging.

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