"Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress."
[Charles Kettering]

Quote of the Day, from brainyquote.com (2026/06/23)

Article of the Day

Map of the fleet movements prior to the Battle of Trapani
Map of the fleet movements prior to the Battle of Trapani

The Battle of Trapani took place on 23 June 1266 off Trapani, Sicily, between the fleets of the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice, as part of the War of Saint Sabas (1256–1270). The two fleets met near Trapani in Sicily on 22 June. After learning of the Venetian fleet's smaller size, the Genoese war council resolved to attack, but during the night Genoese commander Lanfranco Borbonino reversed the decision and instead ordered his ships to take up a defensive position, bound together with chains, near the shore. As the Venetian fleet attacked the next day, many of the Genoese crews, mostly hired foreigners, lost heart and abandoned their ships. The battle was a Venetian victory, as they sank or captured the entire Genoese fleet. On their return to Genoa, Borbonino and most of his captains were tried and fined large sums for cowardice. Genoa continued the war, in which neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage, until it was ended through French mediation in 1270. (Full article...)

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Source: Wikimedia Commons.

On this day: June 23

June 23: Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg

Autograph score of BWV 39
Autograph score of BWV 39

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].