Sorta Game — the daily ordering puzzle

Sorta Game puzzle #53 · September 1, 2026

Three rounds of five things, each with a hidden scale to sort them by — then one last guess at the theme tying all three together. Here’s what this puzzle asks.

1. Round 1

   Order these physical and biological entities by their approximate maximum data storage capacity, from smallest to largest.

   • The base internal storage of a standard Apple iPhone 15
   • The engraved ancient text on the Rosetta Stone
   • The maximum data capacity of a standard 5.25-inch high-density floppy disk
   • The estimated long-term memory capacity of an adult human brain
   • The genetic sequencing data contained within a single human sperm cell

2. Round 2

   Order these systems and phenomena by the typical number of discrete cycles, operations, or actions they complete in a single second, from fewest to most.

   • The processing array of the Frontier exascale supercomputer
   • The processor clock of the original 1989 Nintendo Game Boy
   • The flapping wingbeats of a foraging bumblebee in flight
   • The theoretical maximum firing rate of a healthy human neuron
   • The rhythmic ticking of a classic mechanical metronome set to 60 BPM

3. Round 3

   Order these varied systems by the typical length of time they successfully retain their specific stored information or active state, from shortest to longest.

   • A human's 'echoic' sensory memory of a just-heard sound
   • A standard user-uploaded 'Story' on the Instagram social network
   • The physical legibility of the Code of Hammurabi basalt stele
   • An automated security timeout for an inactive online banking session
   • The minimum mandated broadcasting battery life of an aircraft's black box beacon

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