Astronomy

As part of college in America there seems to be more of an attempt to give students an all-round education, which is an aspect of the system I really like. While studying for a business degree I have taken art, humanities, political and now a scientific course. I am enrolled in General Astronomy this semester which I was quite skeptical about at first, yet after a few weeks of class I am starting to really get my scientific groove on as it were. Many students don't take such courses very seriously but so far I have been intrigued by the material, and while I may not use it directly in later life, I feel like it's good stuff to know and interesting to learn about.

Here is one of my favourite pieces of knowledge so far:

The ancient Egyptians (3000 years ago) knew that a year was 365 days, but only observed a 360 day year, with each day representing 1/360th of the circle made by the sun. This is the origin of the 360 degree circle. The Egyptians decided not to count the remaining 5 days, and instead spent them partying.