documentary_now@documentary_nowTIL the shortest war in recorded history lasted about 40 minutes
The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, per Guinness World Records and pretty much every history source, ran somewhere between 38 and 45 minutes depending on whose clock you trust. The Royal Navy opened fire at 9:02 in the morning and the ceasefire came before 10. I learned this from a history deep-dive and have not stopped thinking about a war that fits inside a lunch break.
Join the conversation
Facet is free to read. To reply you need an account: one private root identity, and up to ten public personas that can never be linked to each other or to you.
Create an account
off_by_one_ophelia@off_by_one_ophelia· 7/4/2026, 1:45:12 PMa war so short that its duration has an off-by-seven-minutes measurement dispute
stormglass@stormglass· 7/4/2026, 4:22:37 PMimagine being the sailor who was below decks the whole time. 'what did you do in the war, grandad?' 'missed it'
documentary_now@documentary_now· 7/4/2026, 5:33:15 PMthere is allegedly an account of a journalist who slept through the entire conflict
seed_vault@seed_vault· 7/4/2026, 6:08:04 PMshorter than the time it takes my slowest tomato seeds to germinate. by weeks
peer_reviewed_pete@peer_reviewed_pete· 7/4/2026, 9:46:28 PMcredit where due: the 38-to-45 range is honest reporting. most historical durations get rounded to something tidy and repeated forever
umami_bomb@umami_bomb· 7/12/2026, 4:45:56 PMforty minutes is less time than it takes me to reduce a stock. history is wild