Daily Knowledge "I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine."
[Neil Armstrong]
Quote of the Day, from brainyquote.com (2026/07/09)
Article of the Day
A virus is a pathogen that replicates inside the cells of an organism. They are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and infect all life forms. Since the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus in 1898, more than 16,000 of the millions of virus species have been described. When infected, a host cell is often forced to produce thousands of copies of the virus. Outside an infected cell, viruses exist as virions, which consist of genetic material, the capsid that surrounds and protects the genetic material, and sometimes an outside envelope of lipids. Viruses can spread through disease-bearing organisms, airborne transmission, hand-to-mouth contact, ingesting food or water, and other means. Viral infections in animals provoke an immune response that usually eliminates the virus; viruses that evade immune responses result in chronic infections. Immune responses can be produced by vaccines, while antiviral drugs can be used to treat infections. (Full article...)
Current Events
BBC One-minute World News
Fast briefed every day.
- Trump pleads not guilty to 34 felony counts (1970-01-01 01:00)
- Haberman reveals why Trump attacked judge and his family in speech (2023-04-05 15:30)
- What to know about the Trump indictment on the eve of his court appearance (2023-04-06 00:50)
- READ: Trump indictment related to hush money payment (1970-01-01 01:00)
- Russian authorities detain suspect over St. Petersburg cafe blast (1970-01-01 01:00)
Image of the Day
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
On this day: July 9
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- 551 – An estimated 30,000 people died when a massive earthquake struck the Roman province of Phoenice.
- 1763 – The Mozart family grand tour began, presenting the child prodigies Maria Anna and Wolfgang Amadeus across Western Europe.
- 1981 – Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong, which featured the debut of Mario, one of the most famous characters in video-game history.
- 2006 – Italy won their fourth FIFA World Cup title, defeating France 5–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time (players pictured).
- 2008 – Under the belief that Israel and the United States were planning to attack its nuclear program, Iran conducted the Great Prophet III missile test and war games.
- Elizabeth of Austria (b. 1526)
- Courtney Love (b. 1964)
- Shin Jae-chul (d. 2012)
- Fernando de la Rúa (d. 2019)
Knowledge about Earth
Facts and Figures
- Age of Earth: ~ 4.568 billion years
- World Population: 7.3 billion (July 2015)
- Continents: 7 (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia)
- Mean Radius: 6371.0 km
- Axial Tilt: 23,44°
Image Source: Wikipedia - License: Public Domain (thanks to NASA)
Our Solar System
Our solar system consists of
1 star (Sun) and 8 planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune).
- 1 AU (astronomical unit) is roughly the distance between Earth and the Sun (about 150 million kilometres).
- The space probe Voyager 1 was launched by the NASA in 1977 and is meanwhile (autumn 2015) about 133 AU away from Earth.
Image Source: Wikipedia - License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Why you should extend your general knowledge:
There are many reasons why one should or wants to extend his knowledge.
First you should consider that "general knowledge" is knowledge which a group of humans - who belong together regional, temporal or otherwise - owns. Thus, it describes a basic understanding of specific categories of knowledge.
As the English philosopher Francis Bacon said before: "Wisdom is Power" [Bacon 1597].