Incredible Facts

Self-confidence is a vital key to a healthy and productive life.

To be self-confident, you need to master basic set skills to be a jack of all trades.

Contrary to what you may have been taught in school, the jack-of-all-trades is much more prepared to face the real life challenges than the highly specialized person.

This list is not exhaustive, however, the following 47 things everyone should be able to do.

life skills

1. Make a fire.

Fire is warmth and light, one of the basic human needs for life. At some point, this knowledge may save you.

2. Work with a computer.

Fundamental knowledge of the computer is simply necessary in our time. Please help your neighbor if necessary.

3. Know how to use Google.

This search engine knows everything. If you have a problem finding something using Google, then the problem is not in him, but in you.

4. Be able to do artificial respiration and the Heimlich maneuver.

Perhaps someday your child, wife, husband, or friend will need emergency help and you will miss precious seconds.

The Heimlich maneuver is a way to remove foreign bodies from the upper respiratory tract, especially effective when they are completely blocked.

5. Be able to drive a car with a manual transmission.

There will come a time when the lack of this skill will play a cruel joke on you.

6. Know the basics of cooking.

If you can’t cook a steak or scrambled eggs with your own hands, then rather learn how to do it, sooner or later, the lack of this skill will make itself felt.

7. Be able to speak in such a way as to attract people's attention.

8. Do not get into a fistfight if you are not sure of your victory, not only physical.

9. Know how to bring bad news.

Someone has to do it. Unfortunately, someday, at least once in your life, you will be that person.

10. Know how to change tires on a car.

11. Know how to behave with dignity in an interview.

Nervousness and sweat in three streams will definitely not bring you a good job.

Life Skills

12. Know how to manage your time.

Otherwise, you're wasting it. Sometimes it's good, but not permanently.

13. Learn to speed read.

Sometimes you need to urgently understand the main essence of the material, and you needed it five minutes ago.

14. Remember people's names.

It is unlikely that you will like it if, after you have introduced yourself, after some time they will turn to you: "Hey you!"

15. Change your living space.

Even though it is a bit more difficult than you might think, it is extremely beneficial for mental health.

16. Travel light.

Take only the essentials with you. It's both cheaper and easier.

17. Behave within the limits of the criminal code, because prison is not fun at all.

18. Learn to give the right directions.

Nobody likes to run in circles.

19. Be able to provide first aid.

You don't have to be a doctor or a genius to treat a wound.

20. Learn to swim.

71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in water, so being able to swim is a pretty good idea.

21. Learn to parallel park.

While parallel parking is a required skill to get driving license, many drivers have no idea how to do it.

22. Know your alcohol limit.

Otherwise, your life will end like this person's.

Vital Skills

23. Choose quality food.

Spoiled fruits and vegetables can tempt you with a low price, and in the end play a cruel joke on your health.

24. Know how to handle a hammer, an ax and a hacksaw.

Carpenters aren't the only people who need these tools. Every person should have a basic knowledge of basic hand tools.

25. Keep your budget.

Being in debt is not fun. Controlling your expenses is key.

26. Speak at least two common languages.

Approximately 300 million people in the world speak Russian (less than 5 percent), English is spoken by 25 percent of the population. It would be nice to be able to find a common language with English speakers and with the remaining 70 percent.

27. Push up and squat properly.

The wrong technique for performing these basic exercises will not only bring you nothing useful, but will also make your body hurt, and you will waste time.

28. Know how to compliment.

This is one of the biggest gifts you can give a person. And it's free.

29. Know how to negotiate.

30. Listen carefully to others.

The more you listen and the less you talk, the more you learn and the less you miss.

Vital Skills and Abilities

31. Know the basics of geography.

If you don't know anything about what is outside of your comfort zone, most people will assume that you don't know anything at all.

32. Learn to paint.

The cost of painting a room is 90 percent of the labor force. It makes no sense to overpay for something that you can do yourself.

33. Learn to give short, informative public speaking.

At the next meeting, when your boss asks you to share what you've been working on over the past month, keep it short, clear, and informative.

34. Learn to smile when you are photographed or filmed.

People who don't do this are associated with dull creatures.

35. Know how to flirt properly.

There is a fine line between successful flirting and complete failure. If you try too hard, you will lose. If you don't try too hard, you will be the loser.

36. Learn to extract useful and relevant information.

Useless notes are useless, and their absence dooms you to failure.

37. Be hospitable.

Otherwise, every time in a new place you will stay in hotels.

38. Learn how to make a good first impression.

Aristotle once said: "The one who started is already half done."

39. Know how to manage a map and compass.

What happens if the GPS suddenly stops working and you find yourself in the middle of nowhere?

40. Learn to sew on a button on a shirt.

It's cheaper than buying a new one.

41. Learn to type fast.

This skill will save you a total of several days over your lifetime.

42. Always protect personal information.

Identity theft can cost you dearly. Don't be careless.

43. Learn the basics of computer security.

You don't need to be a programmer to understand the basics of creating complex passwords and using firewalls. This will surely save you a lot of trouble one day.

44. Learn to recognize lies.

People will lie to you. This is a sad truth.

45. Know how to politely end dates without making any promises.

There are no excuses for promises you don't intend to keep. Just as there is no reason to make decisions on the fly about a person you barely know.

46. ​​Learn how to remove stubborn stains from clothes.

It's cheaper than buying a new one.

47. Keep the house clean.

Order in the house is organization in life.

List of required knowledge

1.Time

Time is a huge value for any person. Unfortunately, at school and higher educational institutions we are not taught this, so we have to rely only on self-development. In the process of which it is possible to learn how to properly distribute it so that it works for you. After all, those people who learned how to manage it became successful. They broke away from the daily routine, set up a workflow and at the same time have time to relax.

In life, it is important to appreciate every moment, because time flows irrevocably, and the inability to manage it is reflected in the form of unfulfilled needs and desires. Tell me, having spent minutes of your life aimlessly watching TV, what do you get? If nothing useful and resourceful, then I recommend reading my article. It describes in detail how to use every minute effectively to reach your goals and reach your potential.

2.Money

What else should I understand modern man? And how to use money properly. It is thanks to this skill that it is possible to accumulate a fortune, or at least reach the desired financial level. Have you heard the stories that when a poor person won a million in the lottery, for example, then after a year or two he again became a beggar? And all because he does not know how to handle money.

If you read the article, then you know that almost all of them were in great need in childhood. They starved and sometimes slept just on the floor, not having a bed. They managed to achieve tremendous success, taking a leading position in the list of the richest people in the world. Thanks to the fact that they had information about what to do with money, where to invest and how to save what they earned.

3.Health


To realize your needs, develop and advance in life, it is important to know how to maintain your health. In order not to spend the accumulated capital and free time for treatment, but to use all your abilities to prevent the development of any diseases, to keep the body in good shape, to save and increase the flow of energy.

Unfortunately, it often happens that people notice the value of health only when they encounter some physiological difficulties and limitations. Therefore, a modern person is simply obliged to know how to maintain his health, in addition to healthy lifestyle life, taking various vitamin complexes and playing sports, it is also important to pass medical examinations to be aware of the state of your body.

4.Communication

Also for general development is a very important, but at the same time very complex and capacious point - the psychology of communication, which is also not taught at school. I have already said in the article “What are human communication skills and why they are vital” that we are social creatures. Without communication, they simply would not be able to survive. Especially in modern world when the ability to formulate one's point of view, to be clear, interesting and active is the key to success and advancement.

No matter what sphere of life we ​​pay attention to, relationships with other people are everywhere, and the functionality of this sphere depends on the quality of their construction.

5. Self-awareness


Self-awareness is also important, because in order to set goals and achieve success, build collegial or, for example, family relationships, and in general to live qualitatively - it is important to develop awareness in yourself. Understand why and what exactly I do, what I am and how I react to various situations.

And if a person understands himself, has information about his resources, opportunities and limitations, he will better understand other people and how to deal with them. Recognize their intentions, and, for example, lies.

Conclusion

That's all, dear reader! I spoke about the main stages of development of modern man. They will help improve the quality of life, fill it with pleasure and achievements. Develop, take care of yourself and remember that you should never stop there. The acquisition of knowledge is a continuous process that should accompany us every day, regardless of the level of education and lifestyle.

Don't forget to subscribe to blog updates. New articles will help, on the way of your self-development. See you soon.

Today, not all people higher education they know how to behave if their nose bleeds, they are afraid to vaccinate their children so that they do not become autistic and try to get rid of a hangover with coffee.
However, this is not all misconceptions.

1. The wound can be licked

The mouth is a very dirty place filled with all kinds of bacteria. If you lick a cut, then it is quite possible to bring an infection into it.

2. Reading in dim light and vision



According to doctors, reading in dim light can only cause temporary eye fatigue, because the eye muscles tighten more to focus vision. There is no evidence that it harms vision in the long run.

3. Nuts, seeds, and popcorn stick to the stomach lining



If a person develops pouches along the intestinal wall, they have a condition called diverticulitis. It's not caused by seeds, nuts, or popcorn.

4. Coffee can be sobering



This is not true. There will only be a feeling that a person has become more sober, which is especially dangerous while driving. In principle, you should not drink coffee after alcohol.

5. Skin shrinks in water as it absorbs water.



In fact, the skin is waterproof and cannot absorb water. Wrinkles are simply vasoconstrictions caused by autonomic nervous system. Scientists don't know why this happens.

6. Orange juice cures colds



Orange juice does contain some vitamin C (but not as much as many people think), and vitamin C is good for the immune system. However, it is not a magic panacea and will not cure a cold at all.

7. Tilt your head back if your nose is bleeding.



This is actually quite stupid as the blood will go down the throat and into the stomach, which can lead to vomiting. It is better to try to pinch your nose, sit down and lean forward.

8. Heart attacks always hurt.



About 40-60 percent of heart attacks go unnoticed, especially in women. In fact, it is quite common to feel something like heartburn, toothache, etc. when having a heart attack.

9. Alcohol warms you up



Alcohol only makes a person feel warm, but this is only because the blood vessels near the surface of the skin dilate. Oddly enough, this actually leads to a decrease in body temperature.

10. Sweat removes toxins from the body



Sweat is made up of water, salt and electrolytes. Since the sweat glands are located in the skin, they cannot remove any toxins.

11. Going out in the cold with wet hair makes it easy to get sick.



This is not true. A person gets sick because of viruses, which do not care what the temperature is outside. In addition, the cold does not significantly affect the immune system, because the body maintains an internal temperature of about 37 ° C. If this temperature drops even a couple of degrees, the person will die. The reason that more people get sick in winter, is that they are more in indoors with other people and are therefore more likely to catch the virus.

12. Sugar makes kids hyperactive.



This is not true. Studies have shown that even when a child receives a placebo (which parents think is sugar water), parents report that their child becomes hyperactive.

13. You can not drink milk when you are sick, because more mucus will be produced.



Milk can thicken mucus, but not cause more of it. In any case, milk will not affect the healing process in any way.

14. Never Wake a Sleepwalker



As the popular myth says, if you wake up a sleepwalker, then he can happen heart attack Or he will go into a state of shock. The worst that can happen is having to personally bring him back to bed.

15. Vaccines cause autism



Although research has debunked this rumor as a scam, people still seem to believe it. In fact, vaccines cause autism no more than driving a car causes diarrhea.

20 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW: 1. The world wants you to stay dumb. The dumber you are, the easier it is for you to sell products and services. The diagonal size of the TV is inversely proportional to the IQ. 2. Do not blindly believe in educational system. Training program out of date on the first day you start learning. (The exception is fundamental programs, but only in exact sciences; the question of applying fundamental knowledge in ordinary life remains open.) 3. Read non-stop, read as much as you can. You never know when new knowledge and concepts will come in handy, but you will be much better prepared for life's surprises. 4. Learn to communicate with others. Avoiding people, considering them unworthy of your communication, means not finding clients, friends, or work in the future. 5. Being shy is a waste of time. Don't let emotions rule your decision-making processes. 6. If you don’t like something in a relationship with another person, in the event of your breakup, this “something” will be the reason. 7. As much as possible communicate with people older than you. Try to understand their value system, their outlook and the logical connections between the situation and the decisions made. 8. Find people to admire and try to outdo them. 9. Over time, people become more conservative. If you want to do risky things, do them while you are young. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that reformism is the result of a lack of knowledge, not a focus. 10. Don't spend money on nonsense: save it for something serious (including your startup). It will also teach you how to spend money in business: wisely and for a purpose. 11. When choosing between spending money on things or experiences, choose experiences. The joy of impressions and memories is higher. 12. After you have learned how to save, learn how to earn. 13. Learn to program. It is easier to make a prototype yourself than to spend time and money explaining it to someone else. If you don't want to code, learn how to do something with your hands so that you can produce something useful. 14. Don't dial excess weight in young age. This will shorten your active life for 10-20 years. 15. Learn how to cook food. Best time for thinking about something - when you cut the ingredients for a salad or soup. 16. Get enough sleep at night. Lack of sleep greatly affects the quality of decision making. 17. Write down your activities. Memory is not enough, no matter how fantastic it may be. 18. Have a big dream. Being flexible is great, but without dreams it can turn into running in circles. 19. Become an expert in your field before changing the field of activity. The point here is the 10,000 hour rule, and the fact that a good generalist must have been in the past a good specialist. 20. Don't try to fix people. Look for those who are not yet corrupted. Bonuses Learn 2-3 foreign languages. Knowing a language also provides an understanding of culture and an understanding of diverse points of view and values. Learn to speak culturally and write without mistakes. The ability to speak fluently and to the point will come in handy when you convey the company's point of view to consumers, as well as manage people. Learn to compete ethically in the areas of life you need. Life is a very competitive thing, and the inability to compete reduces your chances of changing your position or social status.

© Design, cover, illustrations by Integer LLC, 2017.

Cover design Rezko I.V.

© AST Publishing House LLC, 2017

* * *

1. Ten commandments according to the Synodal translation of the Bible:

"one. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

2. Do not make for yourself an idol or any image of what is in heaven above, and what is on the earth below, and what is in the water below the earth; do not worship them and do not serve them, for I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, punishing children for the guilt of their fathers up to the third and fourth generations that hate Me, and showing mercy to thousands of generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3. Do not pronounce the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who pronounces His name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; work for six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: do not do any work on it, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger who is in your dwellings; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.



5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

6. Don't kill.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Don't steal.

9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. Do not covet your neighbor's house; Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.


2. One of the seven wonders of the world - the pyramid of Cheops. It is considered the oldest miracle on the list - its construction is estimated around the XXVI century. BC e. Despite its antiquity, this is the only building of the seven old wonders of the world that has come down to our times. Its height is 137.2 m (originally - 146.6 m), the length of each side at the base is 230.38 m, it is composed of 2,340,000 limestone blocks, each of which weighs more than 50 centners and is supported by its own gravity, without any fasteners. During the construction, primitive tools were used (diorite hammers, copper saws and axes, tools made of polished stone), but the blocks were so skillfully processed that the gaps between them did not exceed 0.5 mm.



Location: Egypt, the city of Giza, the cemetery of ancient Memphis on the left bank of the Nile. Today it is part of Greater Cairo.


3. Nobel Prizes are awarded according to the will of Alfred Nobel, drawn up on November 27, 1895, which provided for the allocation of capital for the award of prizes in five areas: physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature and contribution to world peace.

For this purpose, in 1900, the Nobel Foundation was created - a private, independent, non-governmental organization with an initial capital of 31 million Swedish kronor. The first prizes were awarded on December 10, 1901. Since 1969, on the initiative of the Swedish Bank, a prize in economics has also been awarded ( official name- Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, awarded by the decision of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences).

4. Cyrillic (Cyrillic script) - the alphabet used to write the words of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian languages, as well as many languages ​​\u200b\u200bof non-Slavic peoples inhabiting Russia and neighboring states. In the Middle Ages, it was also used to write numbers. The Cyrillic alphabet is named after Cyril, the creator of the Glagolitic alphabet, the first Slavic alphabet. The authorship of the Cyrillic alphabet belongs to missionaries - followers of Cyril and Methodius. Ancient monuments Cyrillic letters belong to the turn of the 9th-10th centuries. Most likely, this letter was invented in Bulgaria. At first, it was the Greek alphabet, to the 24 letters of which 19 letters were added to indicate those missing in Greek sounds of the Slavic languages. From the 10th century Cyrillic began to write in Russia.




5. Anthem of the Russian Federation

Music by A. Alexandrov. Words by S. Mikhalkov.


Russia is our sacred power,
Russia is our beloved country.
Mighty will, great glory -
Yours forever!




From southern seas to the polar edge
Our forests and fields are spread out.
You are the only one in the world! One you are -
Protected by God native land!

Hail, our free Fatherland,
Fraternal peoples age-old union,
Ancestors given the wisdom of the people!
Hail country! We are proud of you!

Wide scope for dreams and for life
The coming years open up to us.
Our loyalty to the Motherland gives us strength.
So it was, so it is, and so it will always be!

Hail, our free Fatherland,
Fraternal peoples age-old union,
Ancestors given the wisdom of the people!
Hail country! We are proud of you!


6. Researchers are sure that the cosmos was formed after the so-called Big Bang, before which nothing existed: neither time, nor matter, nor light. And then an inexplicable expansion of energy (an explosion) happened, and a the greatest mystery- Universe. This explosion occurred in a matter of seconds, after which the Universe, which at first was fireball, began to grow rapidly and cool down. Since the Universe came into being as a result of an explosion, the most likely demise for it is the Big Freeze, scientists believe. And it will happen as a result of the fact that due to the constant movement and expansion of many galaxies, the Universe will eventually lose heat, that is, useful energy.




7. The most widespread of the world's religions is Christianity, whose followers are considered to be 1.6 billion people. It retains the strongest positions in Europe, America and Australia.

Christianity appeared at the beginning of our era as a development of biblical wisdom that had been built up over the previous 2000 years. The Bible teaches us to understand and fulfill the meaning of life. Biblical thinking gives decisive importance to the issue of life and death, the end of the world. Jesus Christ preached the ideas of brotherhood, diligence, non-acquisitiveness and peacefulness. The service to wealth was condemned and the superiority of spiritual values ​​over material ones was proclaimed. First Ecumenical Council, who gathered in Nicaea in 325, laid the dogmatic foundations of the One Holy Cathedral Apostolic Church for many centuries to come.


8. The human body is made up of various chemical elements, and the amount of these elements produced over a lifetime is amazing. So, the chlorine in our bodies is enough to disinfect six huge pools, and more than 200 matchboxes can be made from phosphorus. The strongest part of the human body is hair, it takes the longest time to break down. Archaeologists have found mummies buried millennia before the beginning of our era, and the only thing that has survived from living tissues, in addition to the skeleton, is hair. Human body produces a lot of thermal energy every day: for example, the heat generated by our body in a day is enough to boil 30 liters of cold water.

In an adult of average build skin covering is about 2 m 2. The skin is constantly renewed throughout life, our body sheds about 18 kg of skin in a lifetime in the form of keratinized and dead cells, which are replaced by new cells.




9. The first feat Hercules accomplished by strangling the huge Nemean lion, which was born by the monsters Typhon and Echidna and devastated in Argolis. The arrows of Hercules bounced off the thick skin of a lion, but the hero stunned the beast with a club and strangled it with his hands. In memory of his first feat, Hercules established the Nemean Games, which were held in the ancient Peloponnese every two years.


10. Countries of the world and their capitals









11. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - the great German composer and organist, a representative of the Baroque era. One of the greatest composers in the history of music. During his life, Bach wrote more than 1000 works. All significant genres of that time, except for opera, are represented in his work. He summarized the achievements of the musical art of the Baroque period. He is the ancestor of the most famous musical dynasty.



12. The Julian calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. e. It is believed that Egyptian astronomers developed it. And it was named after the Roman emperor. It acquired its final form in 8 AD. e.

The year began on January 1, since it was on this day that the elected consuls took office, and consisted of 12 months or 365 days, sometimes 366. It is this “sometimes” that distinguishes it from the Gregorian calendar.

The problem was that a full revolution around the Sun - a tropical year - the Earth makes in 365.24219878 days. The calendar has an integer number of days. It turns out that if there are 365 days in a year, then every year the calendar will go astray - go ahead by almost a quarter of a day. In the Julian calendar, they acted simply - to correct the discrepancy, it was assumed that every fourth year would become a leap year (annus bissextus) and would have 366 days. In this way, average duration The year in the Julian calendar is 365.25 days, which is already much closer to the real tropical year. However, the calendar began to lag behind every year by 11 minutes 14 seconds. For 128 years, it will be a day. This led to the fact that some dates associated with astronomical phenomena began to shift. As a result, there was a need for calendar reform.




13. Ten masterpieces of world cinema (according to directors):

1. "Tokyo Tale" - Yasujiro Ozu, 1953

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick, 1968

3. "Citizen Kane" - Orson Welles, 1941

4. "8 and a half" - Federico Fellini, 1963

5. "Taxi Driver" - Martin Scorsese, 1976

6. Apocalypse Now - Francis Ford Coppola, 1979

7. " Godfather- Francis Ford Coppola, 1972

8 Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock, 1958

9. "Mirror" - Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974

10 Bicycle Thieves - Vittorio De Sica, 1948



14. Darwinism is criticized by a number of representatives of religion, who believe that it contradicts the divine creation of man. The fact is that Darwinism explains the origin of man by a long evolution, and this, according to the literal reading of the sacred texts, runs counter to the relatively recent formation of the world. At the same time, the Catholic Church, in a special papal encyclical - Humani generis - recognized that the theory of evolution does not contradict the teachings of the Church and "can be considered as a hypothesis in the question of the origin of the human body."


15. Tsars and emperors of Russia:

Mikhail Fedorovich Krotkiy (1613–1645)

Alexey Mikhailovich the Quietest (1645–1676)

Fedor Alekseevich (1676–1682)

Sofia Alekseevna (1682–1689)

Peter I Alekseevich the Great (1689–1725)

Catherine I Alekseevna (1725–1727)

Peter II Alekseevich (1727–1730)

Anna Ioannovna (1730–1740)

Ivan VI Antonovich (1740–1741)

Elizaveta Petrovna (1741–1761)

Peter III Fedorovich (1761–1762)

Catherine II Alekseevna the Great (1762–1796)

Pavel I Petrovich (1796–1801)



Alexander I Pavlovich the Blessed (1801–1825)

Konstantin Pavlovich (1825)

Nicholas I Pavlovich (1825–1855)

Alexander II Nikolaevich (1855–1881)

Alexander III Alexandrovich (1881–1894)

Nicholas II Alexandrovich (1894–1917)


16. The Vatican is a dwarf state, the smallest in the world, located in Rome, the capital of Italy. IN international law The Vatican itself is only the territory on which it is located in this moment Holy See - the collective name of the Pope and the Roman Curia, one of the main administrative bodies catholic church. Thus, the embassies of other countries are not accredited to the Vatican, but to the Holy See. A significant part of the territory is occupied by St. Peter's Cathedral and the square of the same name, which are the center of worship for Catholics around the world. Almost the entire perimeter of the country (about 3,200 m) is limited by a wall preventing illegal entry. As befits a real state, the Vatican has everything: Railway and telegraph, telephone and television, radio station and treasury, rulers and subjects, guarded border.




17. Abstractionism (Latin abstractio - “removal, distraction”) is a direction of art that has abandoned the depiction of forms close to reality in painting and sculpture. By creating certain color combinations and geometric shapes, the viewer evokes a variety of associations. The main representatives of abstract art were: V. V. Kandinsky (1866-1944), P. Picasso (1881-1973).


18. Continent (mainland, part of the world) is a large piece of land or earth's crust. Much of it is above sea level.

There are seven continents on Earth - Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica. However, one can often find other opinions about the number, because in different traditions a different number of continents is accepted, hence the periodic confusion with numbers. For example, sometimes North and South America are considered to be a single continent, the Americas, since they are, in fact, not separated by water (the artificial Panama Canal is not taken into account). This interpretation is popular in Spanish-speaking countries. There is also an opinion that Europe, Asia and Africa are one continent - Afro-Eurasia - because they occupy an undivided landmass. Europe and Asia, which have an extremely implicit distinction, are often called Eurasia. Hence the results of the calculation, when there are from four to seven continents on Earth.

Asia is the largest continent. This applies both to the area (29 %), as well as the population (60 %). The smallest continent is Australia (5.14% and 0.54% respectively). The list does not include Antarctica because this ice continent unsuitable for a comfortable life and practically uninhabited.




19. Atlantis, according to the ancient Greeks, is the mainland, which supposedly occupied part Atlantic Ocean west of Pillars of Hercules(Strait of Gibraltar), and later sank into the sea without a trace.

The idea of ​​the legendary Atlantis most likely developed from the stories of Phoenician and Carthaginian merchants who sailed far to the west, but numerous attempts to geographically fix Atlantis have so far been unsuccessful. If you collect all the data on where Atlantis could be located, you would get a fascinating book in which you would have to tell about South America with which he identified Atlantis famous philosopher Francis Bacon in the utopia "New Atlantis", and about the North Sea, where, according to the German pastor Jürgen Spanut, there was a mysterious continent near the island of Helgoland, and about the search for it in early XIX in. from Yucatan to Mongolia and from Svalbard to Saint Helena. Atlantis was "prescribed" in Brazil, Scandinavia, Palestine, in the Pas de Calais, etc.



20. American astronauts July 20, 1969 landed on the surface of the moon. The first person to walk on the moon was Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong.

6 hours after the "landing" astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin put on spacesuits with a knapsack system, opened the hatch and descended to the lunar surface. Television broadcasts about landing a man on the moon were carried out by all countries except the USSR and China.

The first people on the moon paid tribute to all American and Soviet fallen colleagues: their medals, as well as a capsule with messages from the heads of 74 states (the USSR was not among them) were left on the moon. Attached to the landing stage was a map of the Earth and a sign that read: “Here, people from planet Earth first set foot on the moon. We come in peace from all mankind." These words were signed by the astronauts and the President of the United States.

After the flight, the crew members and samples of lunar rock underwent strict quarantine, which did not reveal any lunar microorganisms.

The successful completion of the Apollo 11 flight program meant the achievement of the national goal set by US President John F. Kennedy in May 1961 - to land on the moon before the end of the decade, and marked the victory of the United States in the "moon race" with the USSR.



21. The Gregorian calendar was the result of a reform julian calendar conducted by Pope Gregory XIII. The project was developed by Luigi Lilio, and according to this project, in the future, only those century years were to be considered leap years, the number of hundreds of years of which is divisible by 4 (1600, 2000, 2400), while others will be considered simple. Also, the accumulated from 8 AD was eliminated. e. an error of 10 days, and according to the papal decree of February 24, 1582, it was established that for October 4, 1582, October 15 should immediately come.

In the new Gregorian calendar the average length of the year was 365.2425 days. The error was only 26 s, and the discrepancy per day accumulated over about 3300 years. In the future, it will be possible to declare every year divisible by 4000 without a remainder as non-leap years, and then the average value of the year will be 365.24225 days, with an even smaller error.


22. hanging gardens Semiramis is included in the list of seven wonders of the world. Created in the VI century. BC e. by order of the king of the desert Babylon Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, these gardens were supposed to console her and remind her of her distant homeland. The name of Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, appeared here by mistake, but nevertheless firmly entrenched in history.

The tiers of gardens rose in ledges and were interconnected by staircases lined with slabs of pink and white stone. For watering the plants, water was pumped from the Euphrates all day long. Plants of near and far countries, trees, palms, flowers, raised on great height complex structures - all this made an indelible impression on the people of that time, gardens in dusty, arid Babylon seemed like a miracle. Location: Babylon, Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia), approximately 50 km south of modern Baghdad.



23. UNESCO World Heritage - natural or man-made sites, the priority tasks in relation to which, according to UNESCO, are their preservation and promotion due to their special cultural, historical or environmental significance. As of 2016 in the List world heritage 1031 objects are listed, of which 802 are cultural, 197 are natural and 32 are mixed.


24. The most ancient of the world religions is Buddhism, which arose in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. in India. After more than 15 centuries of dominance in India, Buddhism gave way to Hinduism. However, Buddhism spread widely throughout the countries South-East Asia, entered Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia. The number of its adherents is estimated at about 500 million people.



In Buddhism, all the social and moral tenets of Hinduism are preserved, but the requirements of caste and asceticism are weakened. Buddhism pays more attention to the current life.



25. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) - the great Austrian composer, instrumentalist and conductor, representative of the Viennese classical school, virtuoso violinist, harpsichordist, organist, conductor. He had a phenomenal musical ear, memory and ability to improvise. As a composer who excelled in every genre, Mozart is rightfully considered one of the greatest composers in the history of classical music.


26. Avant-gardism (French avant-garde - "vanguard") - a set of experimental, emphatically unusual, exploratory undertakings in the art of the 20th century. The avant-garde areas of painting include fauvism, cubism, futurism, expressionism, abstractionism, surrealism, actionism, pop art, and conceptual art.


27. The second feat of Hercules is the destruction of the Lernean hydra. This monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon crawled out of the swamp near the city of Lerna, killed people and destroyed entire herds. Hercules found the hydra in a cave and fought with her. In place of each hydra's head cut off by the hero, two new ones grew, until Hercules' assistant, Iolaus, began to burn the necks of the hydra with burning tree trunks. He also killed a giant cancer that crawled out of the swamp to help the hydra. In the poisonous bile of the Lernean hydra, Hercules soaked his arrows, making them deadly.




28. The holy book of Christians - the Bible - consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Old Testament was borrowed from Judaism and compiled over several centuries. He describes those events and facts that, in fact, led to the appearance of Jesus Christ. The texts of the New Testament tell about his life. They were combined into one book only at the beginning of the II century. The authorship of portions of the Testament is currently controversial issue. The texts of the Bible differ depending on the branches of Christianity, for example, the Protestant Bible contains several additional books of the Old Testament.


29. The statue of Zeus at Olympia is one of the seven wonders of the world. It was created for a temple in a large religious center Ancient Greece- Olympia. Giant Zeus sculptor Phidias struck local residents so much so that they decided that the god himself personally posed for the master. Time of creation - 440-435 years. BC e. Location: Greece, ancient city Olympia on west coast the Peloponnese peninsula, about 300 km west of Athens.



30. Cubism (fr. cube - “cube”) is a modernist trend in painting of the early 20th century, which highlighted the formal task of constructing a three-dimensional form on a plane, minimizing the figurative and cognitive functions of art. The name "Cubists" was first used in 1908 and 1909. by the French critic L. Vossel as a derisive nickname for a group of artists who depicted objects as a combination of geometric bodies or figures. The most famous artist of this trend is P. Picasso (1881–1973).