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History

The First Hot Air Balloon

In 1783, French brothers Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier launched the world’s first successful hot air balloon. Their invention carried a sheep, duck, and rooster before later taking humans into the sky for the first time in history — marking the beginning of human flight decades before airplanes existed.

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Science

Light Speed

Light speed is the fastest speed anything can travel in the universe. Light moves at roughly 300,000 kilometres per second, meaning it could travel around Earth about 7.5 times in just one second.

For a real-world example, sunlight takes about 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth — meaning when you look at the Sun, you’re actually seeing it as it was 8 minutes ago.

Tech & Engineering

How Rollercoasters Work

Rollercoasters use a mix of gravity, momentum, and carefully engineered tracks to create speed and movement. The train is usually pulled to the top of the first hill by a chain or launch system, then gravity does most of the work as it races through drops, loops, and turns. Engineers carefully design each section to control speed and the forces felt by riders, keeping the ride both exciting and safe.

Some modern rollercoasters can reach speeds of over 240 km/h, faster than many small airplanes during takeoff.

Sport

Long Jump

Is a track and field event where athletes sprint down a runway before launching themselves as far as possible into a sand pit. The current men’s world record is held by Mike Powell, who jumped an incredible 8.95 metres in 1991 — a record that still stands today.

Watch it here

Nature & Geography

Movile Cave

Hidden in Romania and sealed off for over 5 million years, Movile Cave hosts a bizarre ecosystem that survives without sunlight. Instead of photosynthesis, life here relies on chemosynthetic bacteria that feed on toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide.

Discovered in 1986, the cave is home to dozens of unique species found nowhere else—like blind spiders and strange worms. It’s one of Earth’s most alien environments, offering clues to how life might exist on other planets.

* This topic has been previously featured. Spaced repetition improves your learning by helping you retain information for longer.

Business & Politics

Countries With Some of the Highest Tax Burdens

Some countries collect large amounts of tax through income tax, sales tax (VAT/GST), fuel taxes, property taxes, and social contributions to fund services like healthcare, education, and public transport.

  1. Denmark

  2. France

  3. Belgium

  4. Sweden

  5. Finland

Many of these countries also rank highly in quality of life, with taxes helping fund extensive public services and social welfare systems.

Arts & Literature

Crime and Punishment

Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky in 1866, it follows Raskolnikov, a man who believes he can get away with murder. The novel explores his guilt, morality, and search for redemption. It’s a classic psychological study of crime and conscience.

* This topic has been previously featured. Spaced repetition improves your learning by helping you retain information for longer.

Entertainment

The Biggest Music Tours of All Time (by revenue)

  1. Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour
    Became the first tour in history to surpass $2 billion USD in ticket sales, with shows across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

  2. Coldplay – Music of the Spheres Tour
    One of the highest-attended tours ever, drawing millions of fans worldwide with a focus on sustainability and massive stadium performances.

  3. Elton John – Farewell Yellow Brick Road
    Elton John’s retirement tour became one of the highest-grossing tours ever after running for over 300 shows across multiple years.

Test your knowledge

If you have been following us for longer then a week, then it is time to find out how much you remember 😄 Answer these multi choice questions below! (Answers below)

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  1. Michael Jackson died in?

    A - 2004

    B - 2007

    C - 2009

  2. URL stands for?

    A - Uniform resource locator

    B - Uniform resource link

    C - Uniform related link

  3. The 2018 Australian cricket sandpaper scandal took place during a tour to which country?

    A - Bangladesh

    B - England

    C - South Africa

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  1. C (2009)

  2. A (Uniform resource locator)

  3. C (South Africa)

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