"Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed."
[Cavett Robert]
Quote of the Day, from brainyquote.com (2026/08/11)
Article of the Day
The grey-cowled wood rail (Aramides cajaneus) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae, the rails. It lives primarily in the forests, mangroves, and swamps of Central and South America, usually from sea level up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). In some places, it is occasionally hunted and kept for food. Large for a wood rail, the bird has a grey head and neck, with olive-green to dark brown upperparts. The chest and flanks are a rufous colour, with the belly, rump, and tail being black. The legs are coral red, the bill is a bright greenish-yellow, and the eyes are red. The subspecies avicenniae can be differentiated by its smaller size and the lack of a brown patch on the back of the head. From March to August, nests can be found on flat branches and in thickets with three to seven eggs that are incubated by the monogamous pair. The chicks can move soon after hatching. This rail feeds on a wide range of foods, from molluscs to seeds. The species is not threatened. (Full article...)
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Image of the Day
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
On this day: August 11
- 106 – The region of Dacia, comprising parts of modern Romania, became a province of the Roman Empire.
- 1952 – King Talal of Jordan was forced to abdicate due to mental illness and was succeeded by his eldest son, Hussein.
- 1975 – The Timorese Democratic Union launched a coup in Portuguese Timor, starting the East Timorese civil war.
- 1977 – The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into the alleged vulnerability of the Ford Pinto to fuel leakage and fire in a rear-end collision.
- 1992 – The Mall of America (pictured) in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened as the largest shopping mall in the United States.
- Benjamin Franklin Mudge (b. 1817)
- Andreas Vogt (b. 1880)
- Úrsula Corberó (b. 1989)
- Terry A. Davis (d. 2018)
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].
Daily Knowledge