Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
How exactly do designer babies work?	[ "DNA is a series of molecules strung together, somewhat like how letters are strung together to form words. With those words you can write a screenplay. Eventually the screenplay is turned into a movie. If you don't like part of the screenplay, you can take those words out and put different words in it's place. If ...
Is picking and eating the contents of your nostril genetic? Also, is there a reason "we" do this?	[ "I suspect this behavior is quite common, and that it's similar to when animals lick to groom themselves. Eating boogers could provide information as to whether one is sick, or perhaps help avoid leaving that information for predators.", "My psychology teacher would always use nose picking as an example of beh...
How can Penn Jillette and Kevin Smith lose more than 1 pound a day if most advice is that only 1-2 lbs a week can be safely lost?	[ "Not a physician here but I think one variable to consider into the equation is the amount of weight to lose until you reach your \"healthy\" weight. If you're 300 pounds and do even just a small change to your lifestyle you can easily crush that 2 pounds per week (been there done that). Also, this amount of fat lo...
Why does the last half of a tank of gas never last as long as the first half?	[ "Most car's I've had don't accurately measure the \"true\" last half. The level sender measures depth only, but the shape of the tank changes. Also I've noticed that if you check the manual for the tank capacity and the amount required for a fill, you can't fit that much. Even when the dash computer in my last two ...
how do photos of scenery from r/earthporn and photos from r/spaceporn get these amazing photos that look different from what we see with the naked eye.	[ "Very long exposures allow you to have a very small aperture. The smaller the aperture, the more the depth of field. Long depth of field allows objects near and far from the camera to be in focus at the same time. A deep focus field is one of the things that makes some of these landscape photos fantastic.", "F...
How do we know we 'discovered a new species' when it might just be a deformed reject?	[ "Deformed rejects are rare. Fossils are rare. The chances of getting both at once are practically zero. Also, dinosaurs didn't have humans to take care of them if they were deformed, so the deformed ones didn't tend to last long.", "Survival is hard, and severely deformed animals don't survive long out of infancy...
Why don't college football games aired on TV ever show the marching band?	[ "Because the halftime shows have a greater appeal (and advertising/sponsorship revenue) than the marching band, which appeals to fewer people." ]
what can the president go to jail for?	[ "The President of the United States of America is in general immune from both criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits, although there are limits to that immunity and some unresolved legal questions.\n\nHowever, the President may be \"impeached\" by Congress. This is a way for Congress to remove the President from o...
Why do our face or ear turns red when we are embarrassed?	[ "I'm not sure anybody knows for certain, but I've heard that it's essentially an involuntary reflex to show submission.\n\nWhen your face turns red, it's essentially showing \"I'm vulnerable, so please don't hurt me\". But I'm not totally sure." ]
How do submarines go underwater and come back up?	[ "They are designed to be buoyant (lighter than the weight of the water they displace, up to a certain depth), and they pump in seawater to internal ballast tanks to increase their weight until they start to sink. To rise, they pump the ballast water back out again.", "Former submariner here.\n\nEveryone here is ...
Is sound physical or chemical?	[ "Sound is energy converted into vibration through air. Technically the physical stimulation of air hitting your eardrum. Therefore, it's a physical thing. All chemicals are physical, but not all physical things are chemical. \nBut here's my question(s):\n1. Why would sound of all things be chemical?\n2. In what w...
Combustible vs. Flammable liquids	[ "Combustible will burn, but you must ignite it with an open flame. Flammable (inflammable is actually more correct) can be ignited by a tiny spark." ]
how to computers go from 1's and 0's to logic?	[ "You know wires can conduct electricity. To make logic gates you need 1 extra component: a way to interrupt the signal traveling through a wire that also runs on electricity.\n\nLet's say you have 2 wires. One wire has a current constantly running through it. The other wire is your input. Sometimes a current runs t...
How does an entire country block individual websites?	[ "Simple. The internet is connected by wires. A country can control all the incoming and outgoing wires from their country. With the networking equipment connected to those wires, they can say \"don't allow any data to be sent to or from _URL_0_\".", "You go to the ISP that delivers internet service to the people ...
why are we bombing the islamic state with aircrafts and not sending any troops on the ground?	[ "Dead soldiers make for bad PR.\n\nAlso, locals often will often blame the western devils them for their shitty situation, increasing the risk of a civil insurgency in any regained territory.", "Military\n\nThey can shoot our troops with AK-47's. \n\nThey don't really have anything that can shoot down our pl...
How is a person's IQ measured?	[ "IQ test scores are normalized, that is ranked on a normal distribution with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15 or 16. Mean is average, while standard deviation is basically a measure of how spread out the values are in a distribution.\n\nYour IQ score tells you where in this population you lie. The news ...
Why do people say "an historical..." instead of "a historical...?"	[ "The rule with \"h\" is that, if the \"h\" is silent (Such as in hour), you use \"an\" (ie 'an hour') but if the \"h\" isn't (Such as in hippopotamus), you use \"a\" ('ie a hippo').\n\nHistorical is kinda a weird one because it's kinda silent, especially depending on your accent (Another example of a word like this...
Why is it that heat helps abdominal pains, and sore and knotted muscles but it doesn't help with headaches?	[ "Headaches are not muscle related. Heat, a lot of times helps muscles to contract/relax. Many times, headaches are caused by dehydration, an issue that applying heat would not help at all." ]
Does water have a taste? If so, what does it taste like? How could you describe it t someone with ageusia (A.K.A. loss of the sense of taste)	[ "Water doesn't have a taste, or I guess I should say, we can't detect the taste of water. I think there are some animals who can.\n\nWhen people describe the taste of water, they are typically describing the taste of things dissolved in the water, mostly minerals.", "Water itself doesn't have a taste. The taste ...
Why are "bad words" considered bad?	[ "Because in society certain rules are applied in order to keep some sense of peace and routine within the singular culture. this includes things like art, social gatherings, languages, laws...etc anything that makes up a society's culture is bound by the taboos an mores of the construct of that particular society. ...
when we spin around in circles, why does it look like we're going much quicker than we actually are?	[ "Because all forms of rotation are slow at the center and fast at the edge. Your body is at the center, but your eyes see the edge." ]
What does the Islamic State want?	[ "They want the world to submit to Islam and have their chief as the caliph. Unfortunately, many ISIS fighters are now begging for jail time in their home country because it is not the life they were promised." ]
What happens if a sports team suffers so many injuries they can't field a team?	[ "What sport? Different sports have different rules regarding the same issue.", "Most large professional sports teams, at least in the US, would just bring in some players from AAA, minor league, etc." ]
Why it is impossible (or is it?) to describe colors and what that says about language and ourselves.	[ "Language, as in purposely formed sounds coming out of your mouth, is really only useful because of its ability to draw forth memories and combine them in the listener's head. \n\nSounds that you hear only have meaning because your brain connects them to things that has already experienced. Your brain can modify th...
How to understand Mathematics if i'm scared of it.	[ "Trust me when I say that anyone can do maths. And I mean ANYONE. You could probably get the crazy lady with a cloudy eye down the street to solve complex calculus, given enough time.\n\nNo-body is 'naturally good at maths'. Maths simply takes time to learn, no matter how talented you are, the best mathematicians a...
Why does music sound louder when I'm drinking alcohol compared to when I'm sober?	[ "Very briefly: alcohol interacts with your neurons in a way that inhibits glutamate secretion. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that binds to excitatory receptors. So, that's why you've most likely heard that alcohol is a depressant; because it inhibits excitatory transmissions in your neurons. \n\nNow, it roughly a...
The OJ Simpson Trial.	[ "\"If the glove doesn't fit...\" let this guy get away with it.\n\nA good lawyer and terrible police work will get a man out of a lot." ]
Why we use chip readers.	[ "The magnetic stripes on the back of payment cards are easy to read and easy to program, making them extremely easy to clone. An attacker only needs about 2 seconds with your card to read the data off the mag stripe, which can then be programmed on to a card of theirs and they can make payments with your (cloned) c...
What are water stains made of and how do they form?	[ "liquid water contains dissolved minerals. once the water evaporates, the minerals stay. that's what you see." ]
how do pilots eject at speeds ⩾ Mach 1	[ "If you're asking how they get out of the plane when they are going so fast, the bottom of the ejector seat has a rocket that launches the pilot out of the aircraft." ]
Why am I able to crinkle up aluminum foil without immediately burning my hand after it's been in the oven for an extended period of time?	[ "It cools off extremely fast since its so thin. \n \n_URL_0_", "Aluminum foil has limited mass and density, so the amount of heat it can hold and transfer to you is also limited.", "I'm more interested as to why your hand has been in the oven for an extended period." ]
How does St Jude hospital continue to operate while remaining free to patients and families?	[ "Heavy donations of not only money, but time from the workers. Alk of the research they do they share freely with anyone who it could help, so people gladly donate." ]
When will the new US healthcare plan, the Affordable Care Act, start?	[ "It doesn't have a single start date. Some parts took effect the same year it passed, some didn't start until this year, some don't take effect until 2014." ]
The current state of the 2012 election race	[ "As far as the Republican primary polls go:\n\nPerry (29.9%) is in the lead, despite being a complete idiot. This goes for most of the other candidates, too.\n\nRomney (19.4%) is in second place.\n\nPalin (11.3%) is in third place, despite not running.\n\nRon Paul (8.8%) is far back, because he has had a few reason...
what is a horoscope?	[ "Like it was already mentioned, it is about how the constellations of astronomical bodies (stars, planets...) at our birth influence our life and personalities (e.g. it is said that people with the starsign(?) Leo (or lion) are rather bullish. \n\nAstrology (The study of how the position of celestial bodies influen...
Why TV shows and movies can get the rights to show certain video games, but never the actual sounds/ music.	[ "A lot of music, especially, is licensed from someone else for the game. So if they're showing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, they have permission to show the video game. If they want to play the music (\"When Worlds Collide\" - Powerman 5000), then they have to get permission from Powerman 5000 or their agent/record la...
Why is there one section of the audience at Obama's State of the Union that never stands up or applauds when everyone else does?	[ "There are three groups in the chamber:\n\nThe democrats - they will rise in support of anything the president says, that they agree with (which is pretty much all of it)\n\nThe republicans - they will rise once or twice when Obama is talking about something they agree with\n\nThe supreme court - they will not rise...
The difference between Top and Best comments on Reddit.	[ "There's a lot of statistical math behind it but basically:\n\nTop just means the posts that have the highest karma score are at the top. If a post has 100 up and 50 down, basically it has 50 points and will be near the top. However, posts near the top have more visibility, and so they get more votes up and down. I...
When & how do we develop our sense of humour?	[ "Your sense of humor is particular to the way your mind works, and has a lot to do with how you were socialized." ]
Lately, I've been getting crank calls where, whether I pick up or not, the caller hangs up immediately leaving no message or insistance that I call someone else or anything. What is the purpose of telemarketing like that?	[ "One reason an organization or entity would do that is to identify what numbers are \"live\". Suppose you are setting up a robo-calling operation and want to call everyone in Texas with your message. You can look up the area codes easily but if you called a random number the chances are it isn't valid. All you woul...
If North Korea actually launches a nuclear capable missle, and it gets shot down over the pacific, what impact will the nuclear waste have on the sea life, and could the tides spread radiation to populated shorelines?	[ "Nuclear capable doesn't mean it has a nuclear warhead. It just means it CAN carry a nuclear warhead. \n\nIf they actually fired a nuclear warhead at anything the rest of the world would wipe them out.", "There are about 3 parts per billion of uranium in sea water. A cubic kilometre of sea water is a billion tonn...
Why do so many big corporations attempt to look like small companies?	[ "The usual belief is that big corporations are just after profit, because they're too big to have genuine concern for all their customers throughout the entire corporate chain.\n\nBy trying to look smaller they look more relateable, they look like people not faceless corporate drones." ]
Impedance Rating for headphones	[ "Not really, as long as the headphone impedance rating is within the permitted range for whatever will be driving them. The frequency response and efficiency are the important parameters (along with things like price, weight, and how they feel/fit on your head). \n \nThe impedance can tell something about how eff...
How does a ground detector work on an ungrounded system?	[ "The electronic type superimposes a signal with reference to ground on the phase conductors, and measures how much signal current flows. \n\nThe panel meter style creates a high impedance path to ground and measures the current flow. If no ground faults exist it will be zero. As ground faults occur, the current val...
WTF is going on in Chicago?!	[ "> gang-related, drug-related\n\nThese two. The city is highly de facto segregated by income (and often race as well) with poverty concentrated in particular parts of the city generally on the West and South sides. Gang violence has become endemic in these areas and others generally because gangs offer a way to ma...
Why can pizza delivery drivers have light up signs on their cars, but my after market lights are considered a 'distraction'?	[ "There are strict requirements around how the signs can be set up. Your lights don't meet the requirements set forth in the applicable laws regulating vehicle lighting." ]
Why is there a groove on the remote control?	[ "Hold the remote, the groove is for your middle finger." ]
Can someone help my wrap my brain around a double and triple agent? Is there such thing as a quadruple agent?	[ "A double agent is someone who is undercover with one group, while secretly reporting to the group they're against. If you've ever seen the Departed, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon are both double agents. One works for the mafia and spies on the cops, and the other works for the cops and spies on the mafia, both ...
What is the point of filibustering?	[ "In general, it's not a way to get your agenda across, it's a way to block a vote or speech from someone you disagree with.\n\nIf the schedule says \"You have until midnight tonight to vote on this, or it goes in the trash\" you can stand up at 7pm and just start talking and refuse to give up the podium until 12:01...
How does extreme couponing work?	[ "a lot of time and patience. my wife coupons (although I wouldn't call her extreme) she spends about 4 hrs a week on it. she only does CVS and RiteAid, but we have walked out of both with 3-4 bags of shaving products, feminine products, medicines, and sometimes cokes/2liters for cents on the dollar. Southern Savers...
Why does .5 round up?	[ "because 0,1,2,3,4 round down. 5,6,7,8,9 round up.\n\nwhat else you gonna do? it's 1/2 up 1/2 down. makes perfect sense.", "It illustrate it a little more, X.00000000... to X.499999999... round down, and X.500000... to X.9999999... round up. It's .4999999999... (.5) for both that way. The 5/.5 is the cutoff poi...
Can somebody explain computer specs to me, and what to look for when purchasing a new machine?	[ "I'm going to assume that you're planning on building a PC. You can buy pre-built if you want, but be aware that if you do, you're spending 30-50% of your money on a shiny \"Alienware\" or \"HP\" label or whatever, not on parts. Build it yourself, it's not hard, and there's a billion guides on how to do it.\n\n**CP...
Is it ok to "waste" electricity in the winter in most circumstances?	[ "Some of it certainly turns into heat and does warm your house, but for most appliances the effects would likely be barely noticeable if that. And as you note, efficiency is also a concern. Relatively speaking, by and large you'll spend more money to heat your house with equipment not designed for the purposes of h...
Why is finding water on Mars such a big deal to the general public?	[ "Because a scientifically-illiterate mass media took a report of modest scientific interest and sexed it up. \n\nNASA kinda egged the deception on by holding a press conference to announce the findings like it was some major, Earth-shaking thing. And I'm sure the fact that they're announcing this in the same week...
What does Power of Attorney mean and what does it stand for?	[ "A Power of Attorney is a document that a person signs giving another person the legal authority to make decisions for her. This is often done by elderly people who foresee that for health/dementia/alzheimers etc reasons won't be able to make decisions for themselves about, for example, healthcare, finances etc.\n...
Why does sleep does sleep depravation make you stupid?	[ "> I lose the ability to write grammatically correct sentences. \n\n > Why does sleep does sleep...\n\nI see what you did there.", "This is strange. \n\nI find that when I am sleep deprived I am more alert, awake, and can think faster." ]
What's the logical theory behind lock down procedures in public buildings?	[ "They want to control access to areas of the building because ti is easy to end the situation. If everyone is locked in classrooms, the shooter cannot get into them, and they are a lot less people running around so the police can find the person who is causing the issue.", "Locking down prevents the intruder from...
Why do we only learn out multiplications up to 12?	[ "I can't speak for the rest of the world, but in Britain multiplication tables up to 12 used to be taught because pre-decimalisation, our currency was divided into shillings each of which had twelve pennies. Being able to multiply in units of (up to) twelve was therefore an essential life skill -- you simply wouldn...
Why are there 4 bases in DNA?	[ "It just so happened that those particular 4 chemicals fit together in a way that strings of pairs of them can form a double helix that protects the information stored by their order.", "Using four bases is a compromise between content fidelity and the amount of information you can store; with only two units (lik...
What exactly happens when a voice cracks?	[ "There are numerous muscles in one's voice box that control the pitch and tone of one's voice. While you can consciously alter the tone and pitch of your voice, you don't have conscious control over this musculature. Voice cracks occur when the brain hasn't learned to correctly modulate these muscles to produce a c...
If the "we only use a certain percentage of our brain" myth has been debunked, how come we can't do things like autistic savants?	[ "When I was a kid, I picked up some human calculator tricks, and got pretty good at it. It is about 25% talent, 25% knowing some tricks, and 50% practice, practice, practice. \n\nIf you have a condition like autism with OCD tendencies, and those tendencies lead you to practice math tricks all the time, you are go...
why is passing out a concern for pilots and not climbers at high altitudes?	[ "Pilots don't require oxygen unless they are flying at an altitude of at least 14000 ft. Most mountains are not 14000 ft above sea level. Climbers who climb the tallest mountains in the world do require supplemental oxygen once they reach a certain altitude.", "In a plane, you can gain altitude fairly quickly, ...
What is a W-4?	[ "Essentially, the government requires that your employer collect your income tax on your wages and send that to the government. \n\nIn order to do that, your employer needs some way to estimate how much you'll pay in taxes. To do that, they need information from you about how much you expect to pay in taxes. \n...
Why does mint or peppermint flavour make water taste colder?	[ "It activates the wrong neurons (the ones that detect a loss of heat, AKA cold) by lowering their activation threshold. When the cold water touches your tongue, it makes the oversensitive neurons react and flood your brain with incorrect cold signals." ]
Why do actors often have very dilated pupils while filming?	[ "They're not looking into light, they're looking into a relatively dark area, while being lit. You can actually see that in the picture you posted." ]
Why don't humans produce the enzyme required to digest cellulose?	[ "Because we instead produce the enzymes and have a digestive system capable of digesting meat. The critters that can eat cellulose generally are full herbivores and can't do that, because their digestive systems are entirely geared around digesting cellulose.", "We do however these bacteria are located in the cae...
Why is it a social convention for females to have long hair and males short?	[ "Long hair on women has always been fashionable, with short styles really only becoming acceptable in the 1920s. \n\nMen's styles have changed pretty drastically across cultures and time periods. In ancient Judaic culture, long hair on men was attractive and suggested power, health, and riches; whereas being bald w...
Why is water 'harder than concrete' if you fall into it from a great height?	[ "It is not harder, but at high enought speed the effect is the same. You die.\n\nImagine for example what happens when you slowly soak your hand in water, there is no resistance. Slap the water and you will feel the impact. Slap it hard enought and you will feel pain.\n\nThis happens because when you go slow the wa...
What is Raspberry Pi?	[ "It's essentially just a very small computer running a version on linux, the reason its incredibly popular/amazing is mostly the size and what you can do with a full computer that can fit in the palm of your hand. It has all the ports that any desktop computer/laptop uses on a daily basis.", "I'd love to see thi...
Is magic and wizardry theoretically possible?	[ "I think what people are driving at is that \"magic\" is based on your perspective. Invisibilty was once considered magic but now through science we have created structures that are invisible to particular wavelengths of light.\n\nAn iPhone would be considered magical to a culture of humans who do not know what ele...
Why do comedians repeat phrases of their jokes/stories every so often while performing on stage?	[ "If the audience is busy laughing, a good comedian will repeat the sentence they were busy laughing at so the audience has a chance to refocus and not miss the end of that sentence or the beginning of the enxy.\n\nI've seen some bad comedians that just can't read their audience and they keep going through their rou...
What would happen if I hooked myself up to a blood pack?	[ "It would enter in to your bloodstream as long as the blood pack was higher up than your body (above you). This is due to the higher pressure in the pack as opposed to your circulation.\n\nYou would be adding red blood cells and liquid to your system. The red blood cells would stay in your circulation and increase ...
For electric trains, why does the friction from the part on top of the train that contacts the power cables not cause the cables to wear out and need frequent replacement?	[ "The friction does wear metal but contacts on the train's antennas are made of a softer metal and this is the one that wears out. The pads as easily replaceable.", "The [pantograph](_URL_1_) contacts are made of graphite, which is very soft and doesn't significantly wear out the [caternaries](_URL_0_)." ]
Why is age so important with stringed instruments like the bass and violin?	[ "With the more expensive instruments, they let the wood rest for up to 30 years before even making the instrument. Because the wood keeps on stretching and bulging(changing shape) after it is de-rooted. If you would make an instrument from \"fresh\" wood, it would lose the quality of the sound overtime. But yes I a...
How we know that some animal's see or hear differently to humans?	[ "You can train animals to find food based on sight and then use that to administer eye tests. For example you can train a dog to find food at the image with horizontal stripes and not at the image with vertical stripes. And then you do a series of tests with different images of stripes where you vary the width of t...
Why do planes at major airports sometimes take off in the opposite direction than they usually do?	[ "They take off into the wind. If the wind shifts, they take off the other direction.", "Its easier to takeoff into the wind, less fuel needed as the plane can take off at lower speeds. For 1 takeoff its an extremely small gain but all over the world combined this saves billions of $ in fuel and a substansial amou...
Why does Valium act as a stimulant for some people instead of a tranquilizer?	[ "Some are so crippled by anxiety that they can only \"let loose\" when their nerves have been suppressed and smoothed out by anxiolytics." ]
Why don't police officers have some type of malpractice insurance like healthcare practitioners do?	[ "Most local governments do have insurance policies for this sort of thing, which is why they are the targets of lawsuits, not the individual officers. I suppose a few high profile lawsuits directed at the officers themselves might change this." ]
How could police be overruled by Scientologists once let alone 161 times as mentioned on TIL?	[ "Scientology has a shitload of money and a shitload of lawyers and basically runs Clearwater, FL like a company town.", "I have been a resident of Clearwater for over 15 years, and while the Scientologists are creepy as all hell, for the most part they stay out of your way. They are like ants, they work non stop,...
Why is it that after a night of drinking, I can't sleep past 7:30 usually, however the norm seems to be that others "sleep it off"?	[ "With any kind of drug, after the drug leaves your system, for a period of time, you experience an effect that is essentially opposite of what the drug caused (I want to say this is called the Paradox Effect, but I think I would be wrong. This is really bugging me.) With alcohol, a depressant that dulls your sense...
How is it normally cold at a higher elevation (on top of mountains), even though you are closer to the sun?	[ "The sun is over 93 million miles away, going up a few hundred feet is pretty much no closer.", "Thinner athmosphere.\n\nThe perfect gas law dictates that PV = RTN \n\nP = Pressure\n\nV = Volume\n\nR = A constant not really related to this ELi5, but it basically acts as a unit converter.\n\nN = The number of ...
How can China copy so many products like cars , cellphones etc. without getting in trouble/infringing patents?	[ "Its not \"China\" as in the government officially doing it. It is individuals doing it with the government turning a blind eye to it. Since a connection to the government can't be proved to a level that would allow any World Trade Commission action, about all people can do is demand action from the government &...
Why is the camera recording quality noticeably worse when the same broadcast is reporting news outside of North America or Europe?	[ "Not every country has the necessary electronic and technological infrastructure to transmit and receive the crisp video and audio that's most easily found in such countries as you named.", "Europe uses a video standard called PAL. North America uses NTSC; the conversion between the two is what causes the picture...
Why are some people "morning people" and some "evening people"?	[ "Because your body needs to produces various enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, etc. throughout the day in order to keep you functioning. The timing of their production is pretty important as many of these processes can interfere with each other, or are only needed at certain times like when you are eating, waki...
What exactly is management consulting?	[ "In short you're correct: a management consultancy does spend a lot of time investigating a company, then makes a number of recommendations to senior staff on how to improve their business.\n\nNot all management consultants are equal. The senior consultants and partners spend a lot of time with senior members of th...
What is a prefecture?	[ "In modern Japan a prefecture is an administrative district that is similar to a state or province in other countries.", "Hong Kong is a good example of a literal prefecture. It is part of China, but is allowed it's own set of laws and rules, making it like a city-state." ]
Why do you rarely come across dollar bills with rips in them even though they are really easy to rip?	[ "When banks come across damaged bills, of any denomination, they send them back to the federal reserve, which takes them out of circulation and replaces it with a new bill." ]
The Byford Dolphin explosive decompression accident.	[ "There is a practice called saturation diving where commercial divers working at great depth, usually on oil drilling installations, stay at the pressure of their seafloor work site for weeks at a time since decompressing safely from those depths takes > 12 hours, which would be hugely inefficient if you had to do...
Why can US citizens be fined for having an untidy lawn?	[ "The local government doesn't want people not taking care of their lawn and letting it get overgrown, likely lowering property values for the surrounding houses/community.", "The answer I use is the same answer I use when anyone ever asks why a law is a law. It's something I once saw on reddit, and helps make a l...
- From my 4 year-old: "Why don't numbers end?"	[ "Think of the biggest number you can imagine. Now add 1 to it. You can do this forever. So, the numbers never end.", "The problem is more \"why can we not count to the end of the numbers?\" and the reason is that we can always keep counting so we can never get there. So (talking to a 4 year old) the numbers may ...
How does a bone regenerate when you break it?	[ "It's not that it regenerates. But rather that the cells in your body builds new bones between the existing break and they all fuse together.\n\nThe downfall is... this is enormously taxing on the body to do, and its extremely limited. It also can cause problems as well because its not always on point when growing ...
Thai food spice levels.	[ "They generally add more Thai chilles to hotter dishes. \n\nFun fact: you can ask for your dishes to be Thai hot at most Thai restaurants, and they will serve it to you as hot as if you were from Thailand. I always do this because spicy foods have little effect on me, but be warned ahead of time that this is not ...
How is regular motor oil different than synthetic expensive stuff. Is it really worth it to spend extra money buying more expensive motor oil?	[ "Former mechanic here. \n\nIs it a good buy? Yes and no. It depends on the car. \n\nEasiest ways to explain this is to think of jar of golf balls. These will represent the synthetic oil, and a jar of tennis balls mix with rubber bouncing balls which will represent the standard oil. These will both represent ...
5: Why in Britain do they use the metric system yet they use MPH for speed measurements?	[ "We began moving to the metric system around 40-50 years ago. When I was a child, shops still used to show weights in imperial - but a European directive that shops need to sell in metric really sped up the transition.\n\nThere are a couple of things which we still use imperial measurements for though. They are dis...
How do we know what elements and chemical reactions exist inside of the Sun, the planets, and other celestial bodies?	[ "I'll keep this short. Essentially, chemical and nuclear reactions release light, however, its not all the same generic white light. Every reaction has a light signature or spectrum that is often very specific to that reaction, i.e. a certain wavelength of light. For example, if you pass electricity through hydroge...
How is a company able to force an employee to retire?	[ "\"Retire willingly, and we'll give you a generous severance package. Refuse, and we'll fire you and you'll get nothing.\"", "\"Retire or we'll fire you\"\n\nRetiring is considered a better way to go out because that sounds like your own choice. Getting fired is always negative.", "You say \"If you show up, w...
What is/what causes that annoying thumping sort of sound that occurs when only one window is opened while driving on the freeway?	[ "This is something called [Resonance](_URL_0_). It works the same way as a whistle, or a flute. It takes many other forms including electrical, light, and mechanical.\n\n\nIn this case the wind rushes in through the window and the cabin builds up pressure. Once the pressure reaches a maximum, the air starts rushing...
Why do we often feel tired after low-energy activities such as sitting on a plane?	[ "Well, that particular example inflicts quite a bit of stress, both emotional (lines and such, even assuming you aren't afraid of heights), and biological (altitude change, uncomfortable seats and restricted ability to move, persistent noise, and the like). Driving is another good example, again emotional stresses ...
Why is there a physical pain in your chest when you experience emotional pain i.e. heartbreak?	[ "Emotional stress induced things like muscle tightness, increased heart rate, abnormal stomach activity. There is also an empathy phenomenon that has been observed in mice where pain sensitivity increases when observing someone else who is in pain, so normal sensations of pain are amplified." ]
How close was America to launching a nuclear attack over the Cuban Missile Crisis?	[ "Our understanding of how close were were has changed a lot since the time of the crisis. It's a fascinating topic and one that I think should be taught much more thoroughly in history. Here are some things to consider:\n\n1. at the time of the crisis the U.S. was blockading Cuba in the hopes of keeping nuclear w...

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