"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
[Rudyard Kipling]
Quote of the Day, from brainyquote.com (2026/04/02)
Article of the Day
The pied butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis) is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is 28 to 32 cm (11 to 12.5 in) long. It has a pale hooked bill and a black head, throat and mantle. Much of the tail and wings is also black, and the neck, underparts and outer wing feathers are white. The juvenile and immature birds are predominantly brown and white. There are two recognised subspecies. Within its large range, the pied butcherbird is generally non-migratory. Common in woodlands and in urban environments, it is carnivorous, eating insects and small vertebrates, including birds. A tame and inquisitive bird, the pied butcherbird has been known to accept food from humans. It nests in trees, constructing a cup-shaped structure out of sticks and laying two to five eggs. Some mated pairs benefit from cooperative breeding, in which other birds help feed the young and defend the nest. (Full article...)
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Image of the Day
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
On this day: April 2
April 2: World Autism Awareness Day; Malvinas Day in Argentina (1982) ; First Day of Passover (Judaism, 2026)
- 1513 – Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León sighted land in North America, naming the area La Florida.
- 1871 – Creatures of Impulse, by W. S. Gilbert (pictured), premiered at the Court Theatre in London.
- 1911 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the first national census of the country.
- 2015 – Gunmen attacked Garissa University College in Kenya, killing 148 people and wounding 79 others.
- Jack Brabham (b. 1926)
- Emmylou Harris (b. 1947)
- Caroline Dean (b. 1957)
- Charles Daudelin (d. 2001)
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