Fact files

Time spans

How long things lasted, in years, days or minutes.

Time questions ask how long something took or lasted: a building project, a government service record, an album, a shutdown. The unit (years, days, minutes) is shown with the keypad, and the note gives the dates behind the span.

Below are 24 questions from this category of the Catamount question bank, with the answer and the note that explains it. Figures are rounded, commonly cited values. Try guessing before you read the answer.

How many minutes long is the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)?

152 min · Standard theatrical runtime, rounded to the minute.

How many years did Nicholas II's reign in Russia last?

23 years · Rounded to whole years.

About how many years did it take to build the Florence Cathedral dome and nave?

140 years · Start of construction to completion.

About how many days did Valentina Tereshkova's Vostok 6 last?

3 days · 1963, first woman in space.

How many seconds long is the studio recording of Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run?

270 sec · Standard release length.

How many years did the US war in Afghanistan last?

20 years · 2001 to 2021.

How many minutes long is the film The Irishman (2019)?

209 min · Original theatrical runtime in minutes.

How long is The Return of the King, theatrical cut?

201 min · Runtime in minutes.

About how many minutes long is a sidereal day on Earth?

1,436 min · 23 hours 56 minutes.

About how many days did Columbia's final flight, STS-107, last?

16 days · Jan 2003.

How many days did Phileas Fogg have to circle the globe in Jules Verne's novel?

80 days · Around the World in 80 Days.

How many years did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart live?

35 years · Age at death, in whole years.

About how many Earth days does the Sun take to rotate at its equator?

25 days · Equatorial rotation is about 25 days.

How many minutes long is the film Dune: Part Two (2024)?

166 min · Original theatrical runtime in minutes.

How many minutes long is the film WALL-E (2008)?

98 min · Standard theatrical runtime, rounded to the minute.

How many seconds did Challenger fly before breaking apart in 1986?

73 sec · Launched January 28, 1986.

How many days was Edward VIII king of the United Kingdom?

326 days · January to December 1936.

How many years was Angela Merkel's time as German chancellor?

16 years · 2005 to 2021.

How many minutes long is the film Avatar (2009)?

162 min · Standard theatrical runtime, rounded to the minute.

How many seconds long is the studio recording of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean?

294 sec · Standard release length.

How many days does an ostrich egg take to hatch?

42 days · About six weeks.

How many minutes long is the film Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)?

120 min · Standard theatrical runtime, rounded to the minute.

About how many years does Earth's axial precession cycle take?

26,000 years · About 25,800 years.

How many minutes did Strom Thurmond's 1957 filibuster last?

1,458 min · 24 hours 18 minutes.