Daily Knowledge "If you're alive, there's a purpose for your life."
[Rick Warren]
Quote of the Day, from brainyquote.com (2026/05/06)
Article of the Day
Hurricane Joaquin was a powerful tropical cyclone in 2015 and one of the strongest hurricanes on record to affect the Bahamas. It evolved from a non-tropical low to a tropical depression, becoming a Category 4 major hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale on October 1. On October 3, Joaquin acquired sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h). Between October 1 and 3, it caused extensive damage on Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador Island. Prolonged, intense winds brought down trees and power lines, and unroofed homes. Flooding persisted for days after the hurricane's departure. Relief efforts were hampered by heavy damage to airstrips and flooded roads. The Turks and Caicos Islands, Cuba, and Haiti were all severely affected. Over the Southeastern United States, a separate storm system drew tremendous moisture from the hurricane, leading to catastrophic flooding in South Carolina. Over its lifetime, Joaquin killed 34 people and caused US$120 million in damage. (Full article...)
Current Events
BBC One-minute World News
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Image of the Day
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
On this day: May 6
- 1536 – Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Sapa Inca emperor Manco Inca Yupanqui's army began a ten-month siege of Cusco.
- 1757 – English poet Christopher Smart (pictured) was admitted to St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement in mental asylums.
- 1801 – French Revolutionary Wars: The 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo was captured by the outmanned and outgunned HMS Speedy.
- 1941 – American entertainer Bob Hope performed his first show with the United Service Organizations, beginning a 50-year involvement with them.
- 1976 – An earthquake struck Northern Italy, killing 990 people and injuring up to 3,000.
- 2023 – King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.
- Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
- Mary Martha Sherwood (b. 1775)
- Dries Mertens (b. 1987)
- Lillian Asplund (d. 2006)
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].