"The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe."
[Gustave Flaubert]
Quote of the Day, from brainyquote.com (2026/03/09)
Article of the Day
The Zungeni Mountain skirmish took place on 5 June 1879 between British and Zulu forces in what is now South Africa during the later stages of the Anglo-Zulu War. British irregular cavalry discovered a force of 300 Zulus at the settlement of eZulaneni near Zungeni Mountain. The horsemen charged and scattered the Zulus, burnt the settlement, and withdrew after coming under fire from Zulus who threatened to surround them. Reinforced by more irregulars and a force of regular cavalry, two British squadrons approached the Zulu position, but could not close as the Zulus were in an area of bushes and long grass. Zulu fire killed a British officer; the British withdrew after the Zulus moved to outflank them. British casualties were one killed and two wounded; two months later, the remains of 25 Zulus were found on the battlefield. After the skirmish the British paused before proceeding further into Zululand, where they decisively defeated the Zulus at the 4 July Battle of Ulundi. (Full article...)
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Image of the Day
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
On this day: March 9
March 9: Commonwealth Day in the Commonwealth of Nations (2026); National Heroes and Benefactors Day in Belize (2026)
- 1776 – Scottish philosopher Adam Smith publishes his book The Wealth of Nations, the first classical treatise on political economy.
- 1891 – Kaʻiulani (pictured) was appointed the heir apparent to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
- 1925 – The Royal Air Force began a bombardment and strafing campaign against the mountain strongholds of Mahsud tribesmen in South Waziristan, present-day Pakistan.
- 1956 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, soldiers suppressed mass demonstrations against Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's policy of de-Stalinization.
- 1957 – The Andreanof Islands earthquake struck Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands, causing more than $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami.
- Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (d. 886)
- Catherine of Bologna (d. 1463)
- Friederike Caroline Neuber (b. 1697)
- Dick Walker (b. 1938)
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