Feel free to add your own, folks.

The start of WWII was actually when that Serbian assassinated the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Yes, if it weren't for WWI, there would have been no WWII.

Are we moving back to the Big Bang in the chain of causation; if so let me short circuit it

Big Bang; therefore everything

Some people, of course, deny that there is anything because that would be stating a truth, but we can safely ignore them.

Wikipedia is not a scientific source and even to commom knowledge it was uncertain if you can consider a good source. Many articles are uncomplete or biased.

@rdrivera2005
Can you name a single source of knowledge that is complete or unbiased?

English is not the first language of every person in the world. This is another bit of common knowledge that I think we ought to keep in mind.

wikipedia has the advantage that you can mark the biased or incomplete articles as such. They then come with a big warning! at the top.

I must say it's a GREAT source of common knowledge, it's about as common as knowledge can get :P

'common knowledge' is a bit of a misnomer. it is supposed to be something that most people know. the problem with that is that most people dont know any single piece of information. it all depends on who youre asking. using acosmist's examples:

prime numbers is common knowledge as long as you've had enough math taught to you that you understand it (ie are past a certain grade level) and also requires that people retain that bit of knowledge.

the invasion of poland requires that people have certain knowledges about social studies and history and again, requires that people were taught it and retain that information as well as share that view point.

english not being the primary language of every person in the world is only common knowledge if you have been exposed to others that do not speak it thus ruling out small children, which is a large portion of the population. therefore, that is not common knowledge.
additionally, those with learning deficiencies and mental retardations would have to be excluded. a lot of things people consider 'common knowledge' requires that a person have all 5 senses in proper working order as well. thus, if we eliminate all of the people that wouldnt have certain bits of information, we wouuld have ruled out a majority of the population making common knowledge the minority.

ultimately, common knowlege doesnt really exist since it assumes information all people should know and theres no single piece of information that is common enough to be considered common.

Isnt funny how some people hate wikipedia? is it just hating something thats popular? or elitism? i think its a great idea and a good starting point, also a fun way to waste an hour jumping from topic to topic.

People hate wikipedia because it sucks?

Wikipedia does not suck. You just need to understand what kind of project it is.

In what way does wikipedia suck? and dont go telling me on one slow Wednesday afternoon 3 years ago someone wrote in some dodgy material in one particular article about weather patterns in the south east pacific weather corridor. sure it isnt perfect, no one is claiming that i think

St. Petersburg was the capital of Hungary in 1900
Moscow was not the capital of Russia in 1914
Czar Nicholas II wasn't a Czar
The official name of Austria-Hungary was "The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen"
France was the only Great Power that is not a monarchy in Europe in 1900 and 1914
Edinburgh is not in England
Clyde is not in England
Montenegro was not part of Albania in 1900 or 1914
Lepanto was not won by Italy, Austria-Hungary or Austria
Neutrals have militaries
Cyprus was not part of the Ottoman Empire in 1900 or 1914
Crete was part o the Ottoman Empire in 1900, but not 1914
Ireland cannot be associated with Liverpool
the Isle of Man can be associated with Liverpool only through the Archbishop of Liverpool
Iceland is not part of Clyde
Galacia is a common spelling of the Central-European Galicia
Canals are supposed to be shortcuts
Neither the Balearic Sea nor the Ligurian Sea form part of the Gulf of Lyons
Morocco was independent in 1900 but split between Spain and France in 1914
Algeria was French in 1900 and 1914
Tunis was French in 1900 and 1914
Gotland was Swedish in 1900 and 1914
Corsica is not in Tuscany
Helgoland Bight is an alternate spelling of Heligoland Bight
Helgoland is an island in the Helgoland Bight
1914 is not 1900