27 October 2026

Where does it belong?

the University of Bologna university in Bologna, Italy

4000 BC2000 BC02000

Stretched by how much of it anyone can name

2,140 years

2,571 years

the University of BolognaYour guess750 BC

the First Dynasty of Egyptdated 3150 BC, ended 2890 BC

Rutherford B. Hayeslived 1822 to 1893

Arrows nudge. Page Up and Page Down move in jumps. Home and End go to either end.

First Dynasty of Egypt dynasty of ancient Egypt

Rutherford B. Hayes president of the United States

Move the tag to where you think it belongs, then drop it.

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How to read this

Two dates are already on the line. A third is on the tag. Drag it to where you think it goes, then drop it.

The true date appears where it belongs, and a band opens between the two: its width is how far out you were. Every mark says what its date measures, because they are not all alike: a person is a lifespan, a mission is a launch, a town is when it was settled.

Once enough people have played, the crowd’s marker joins them, showing where most people put it. Those are people who chose to play a game about time, so read it as what history enthusiasts think rather than as what everyone thinks.

Most people place things too recently. The further back something is, the more it collapses toward everything else back there. It is called the telescoping effect, and it is what this is about.

Where does it belong?

What these are

First Dynasty of Egypt

Rutherford B. Hayes

University of Bologna