Daily Knowledge "When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves."
[William Arthur Ward]
Quote of the Day, from brainyquote.com (2026/08/31)
Article of the Day
Music Box is the third studio album by Mariah Carey (pictured), released on August 31, 1993, by Columbia Records. She adopted a radio-friendly approach for the album to appeal to a wider audience. Carey wrote and produced most of its tracks with Walter Afanasieff, though other songwriters and producers were involved. Music Box is a pop and R&B album consisting of sentimental ballads and uptempo dance tracks. Its five singles include the US Billboard Hot 100 number-ones "Dreamlover" and "Hero", as well as "Without You"—her most successful song worldwide at the time. On release, Music Box received mixed reviews from music critics, who praised her vocals but criticized the album's mellow, formulaic, and subdued lyricism. Retrospective reviews have been more positive, underscoring its significance in Carey's career. The album topped the charts in 15 countries and became Carey's bestseller and one of the best-selling albums in history, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. (Full article...)
Current Events
BBC One-minute World News
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Image of the Day
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Source: Wikimedia Commons.
On this day: August 31
August 31: Independence Day in Malaysia (1957); Romanian Language Day
- 1218 – Al-Kamil became the fourth sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt.
- 1814 – War of 1812: American militia forces repelled a British force at the Battle of Caulk's Field, killing 41 people including Captain Peter Parker of the Royal Navy.
- 1886 – The 7.0 Mw Charleston earthquake struck southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 60 people and causing damage worth an estimated $5–6 million.
- 1897 – Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope (pictured), a precursor to the modern movie projector.
- 2019 – A sightseeing helicopter crashed in the mountains of Skoddevarre in Alta, Norway, killing all six people on board.
- Jahangir (b. 1569)
- Charles Baudelaire (d. 1867)
- Dogsomyn Bodoo (d. 1922)
- Feng Tianwei (b. 1986)
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].