An Astounding Fact

According to a recent poll, 45% of Americans did not know that the sun was a star. That sounds incredible to me. What have our schools been teaching? How can we expect to survive in a technologically global society if elementary science is neglected? I guess the water will settle at the level it deserves, and this is one more example of the country wide pessimism regarding America's future. No...I do not lose sleep over such things, merely observe the society around me and the lack of will-in both individuals and institutions- to do anything constructive. The corruption and bureaucracy in America are different in kind but not in scope from the corruption being protested currently in Egypt, so Egyptians are now fighting for the democracy that we have perverted by our mismanagement. I have no illusion that if things become worse here there will be more angry people in the streets-but I wonder what would replace democracy- a dictator who would rightly or wrongly impose his will?....so... yes my 45% neighbors, the sun is a star some 8.3 light minutes away from us, and the next closest star is about 4.2 light years away, which is the distance light-at around 186,000 miles per second-would travel in that time. Visible light would encircle the 25,000 mile diameter earth about 7.4 times in one second. Basic science is simple really, with truly astounding facts!