Elections are like meals; most people prefer them done well rather than fast. But deciding who won the vote in 2000 has taken longer than a lot of other, almost equally important things:
--Four wars, combined: the 1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War (reportedly 45 minutes), the 1969 Soccer War between El Salvador and Honduras (four days), the Six-Day War and the U.S. invasion of Grenada (nine days)
--The creation of four works of art: Rob Nilsson's 1987 film Heat and Sunlight (60 hours), Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez's 1999 The Blair Witch Project (eight days), George A. Romero's 1968 Night of the Living...