Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
How do some noises make your teeth feel weird?	[ "The only thing I can think of is [resonance frequencies](_URL_0_). Mythbusters did an episode on the myth that it was possible to break glass with the human voice, in which they studied how each object has a specific resonance frequency. Any time an object is affected by a sound or force at that frequency, it osci...
Why do Modern Art exhibitions showcase pieces that lack technical skill?	[ "Technical skill is not the sole criterion for judging the value of a piece of art. Look at the music world, bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones are considered greats, and you could play their songs with minimal training." ]
I've seen this more and more, but why do people put their cell phones on speaker and then hold the phone an inch from their mouth?	[ "I don't know about men that do this, but women do it so you don't end up with a phone covered in make-up and hair products. Also, depending of your earrings, you can get a clanking sound when your earrings hit the phone. Source: my wife.", "I think in some cases the earpiece isn't loud enough in some environme...
Why do many businesses, especially those with long term aspirations lease vs buy their buildings?	[ "Lease payments are deductible business expenses. Leasing property or equipment reduces a company's taxable income dollar-for-dollar.\n\nA building owned by the company is an asset. Depreciation reduces taxable income, as well as does interest on loans taken to acquire business assets, but in general leasing is t...
How astronauts digest food in space	[ "Astronauts eat three meals a day (plus periodic snacks), just as they do on Earth. Meals are organized by the order in which astronauts are going to eat them, and stored in locker trays held by a net so they won't float away. When mealtime rolls around, astronauts go into the galley area in the shuttle's middeck. ...
Why do Men Go bald on the top and sides of their heads but not in the "beard/mustache" areas?	[ "It has to do with the follicles on that part of the head. Men with male pattern baldness have follicles on the tops of their heads which react to a specific hormone that causes them to recede and eventually stop growing hair (that's why hair transplants take hair from the back of the neck area. Those follicles a...
- How is it that every 'picture' of the milky way shows a zoomed out version if we're inside the milky way?	[ "Those pictures will be either computer renderings/artist impressions or just other spiral galaxies." ]
Photo analysis/Face detection algorithms (snapchat face filters)	[ "I don't really have much experience in this field. But as far as I know it goes something like this:\n\nFirst of all the algorithm is trained on low-resolution images of faces from different angles. Several filters are applied to the training images to enhance facial features (I usually do something like: threshol...
How was Thomas Young's light wave theory proven?	[ "What was Young's experiment to prove the wave nature of light? The double slit experiment. If you don't already know what it is, two slits were made that were kept a very tiny distance from eachother, and using a single source, or two sources in phase, light was shone through both these slits (I tried this at home...
Why do rocket engines look so complicated if they're just an opening for a controlled explosion?	[ "Because it's a massive explosion and everything massive is complicated to control.\n\nYou need to be able to keep watch on (i.e. complicated sensors) and influence (i.e. complicated mechanics) massive ammounts of fuel flow. You have to be able to control the direction (\"gimbal\") somewhat (complicated mechanics)....
How do chocolates (during the late 1800s) survive in temperate climates like in the Philippines without refrigeration?	[ "[Ice box](_URL_0_) \n\nIt’s like a cabinet that has a huge area for one massive fucking ice block and then the other side has the storage area and below was water collection", "Now, for something that needs middling storage temperatures, like a modern chocolate bar, a cellar will likely keep it intact for some t...
Why does the government provide “stimulus” to banks rather than just larger returns to low to middle income earners?	[ "they did do that. _URL_0_\nalmost everyone got $600 cold hard cash.\n\nUnfortunately this money was quickly blown, often on imported goods that did nothing to support the US economy.\n\nQuantitative easing was a more direct route to not just subsidize spending, but to facilitate liquidity for the market to oper...
Why can I adore the smell of a certain food, but dislike the taste? Is there no connection between how a meal smells and tastes?	[ "Aromas are much more complex than taste. But what we perceive as flavor is the combination of the two. Our brain smells coffee and appreciates the complex hydrocarbons from the roasted beans. Our brain tastes hot water." ]
How were Double Role movies shot back in the day when their was no CGI	[ "This is my first time posting here, and I don't know if you can post links, but I just saw a great video by \"Crash Course\" explaining how early cameras created illusions. It should answer your question.\n\n_URL_0_" ]
How do we inherently know what notes to whistle?	[ "There's isn't any \"real\" notes. Even the idea that everyone \"should whistle the same notes\" is only around 200 years old. Before that, every place (even different city/towns) had different notes (hertz) they played on. The frequency \"C\" of today is absolutely arbitrary. Which means we don't need any prior in...
Why don't we put solar panels on wind turbines?	[ "Some panels are placed on the supporting structures but placing them on curved surfaces isn't that easy. Placing them on the blades isn't practical for a whole host of reasons.", "Because solar panels have to be very specifically angled to be efficient. For example tracking the sun is the best. If it is angled a...
Why some pre-modern societies developed base-2, base-12, or base-20 numbering systems, instead of base-10?	[ "Actually, 10 based system doesn't have any advantages. The only reason we use it is because we have 10 fingers. 2 based system is very comfortable for computing. 12 based system is comfortable because 12 can be divided by 2, 3, 4 and 6.\n\nAbout cycling - it is in any system. If you add 10 hex to 4 you get 14 hex....
Why are cats so fascinated by boxes?	[ "The safest place in nature is a hole or cave where you're protected on 5 sides and only exposed on one. Evolution favors safe behavior like this, so it has become instinct.\n\nAn open box is the modern equivalent-only open on one side, danger can only come from one direction, so they feel safe.\n\nIt's also the re...
Why do fly’s rub their hands together?	[ "The fly's mouth ([proboscis](_URL_0_)) extends straight down, so as a result flies usually stand ON the food they eat. And they like various liquids (from raw meat juice to anything sweet), which they suck up (flies don't chew). \n\nSo they rub their legs to clean them." ]
Why do some languages adopt new words for recently invented items?	[ "Quite often a word will be used that literally describes the object, or what the object does, this could be for convenience as sometimes the inventing country's word might be difficult to pronounce.\n\nIn a few countries it is common to adopt the inventing country's word though. In fact inventing a new word might ...
Why is the Linux OS so popular to use in science and research equipment?	[ "It's really flexible, so it can be used more efficiently for highly specialized tasks. \n\nAlso, a lot of research software is written for it.", "The thing about linux is that almost all of the code is open-source, meaning that anyone can access it and change it to their liking. That's why companies like Google...
Why my pubic hair grows so much faster than my facial hair.	[ "speak for yourself, its neck and neck over here", "Pubic hair is the same kind of hair you have in your armpits and to a lesser degree your eye brow/lash hair, your facial hair is the same kind as your normal head hair, so they grow in different ways and to different lengths." ]
In the UAE, the salaries for some professions can reach $20k a month and tend to start at $5k. Dubai has run out oil but can sustain these salaries. Why can't Londoners earn $5k starting salary?	[ "Dubai makes its money through financial services for the nearby petro-states that do have vast reserves of insane oil money.\n\nYou don't actually need barrels of oil to get rich on oil, you just need rich friends.", "Londoners can earn $5k/month starting salaries, if they are starting in the right fields and ...
how do we “forget” things? And where do those memories go?	[ "Memories are formed by connections between cells called neurons in your brain. Each memory is a unique wiring up of neurons. When electrical nerve signals pass through the wiring structure you remember the memory. \n\nYour brain has an amazing capacity but it is still finite in size and has to prioritise the ...
What is the difference between a Loner, an Introvert, and an Antisocial person?	[ "I think you might be confusing the terms asocial and antisocial. If you are antisocial you are being unkind or abusive towards other people. If you are shy you are being asocial.", "I'm would say a loner is happy in there own company but can handle groups fine.\nAn introvert does not necessarily want to be alone...
Would a modern version of Spartan way be more effective, in theory, than traditional military effectiveness?	[ "> easily the most effective fighting force in Greece\n\nPer unit, yes. As a whole, I highly doubt it.\n\nSpartans were badass as fuck. But there weren't very many of them. They only won the battle at Thermopylae because they had a terrain advantage.\n\nThere's a reason they mass produce modern soldiers the w...
how do game mods work?	[ "Let me try to answer at least some of this, though my knowledge is very rusty. In short, however, the answer is a big, fat, \"it depends.\" Specifically, it depends a great deal on the specific game, and the specific mod, and a lot of it deals with just how modular the game is and how much support the developers...
If conjoined twins share a stomach, do they both feel full or hungry at the same time?	[ "It's hard to make general statement about conjoined twins because literally every case is different, but the feeling of hunger is regulated by hormones, most importantly Leptin and Ghrelin, which circulate in the blood. So if the conjoined twins share their circulatory system (which they have to if they share a ...
Why are there so many different species of animals, yet we as humans are all one species?	[ "There have been many different species of \"humans\" that did coexist at times. This site has a list of some of our relatives that died out along the way, with approximate times of extinction so you can compare and see which ones lived alongside each other, if you like. _URL_0_ \n\nExactly why our line is the on...
How do you test something for randomness?	[ "Randomness usually means unpredictability. It's hard to prove that something is random. But, it's easy to show something is NOT truly random.\n\nLet's say someone shuffles a deck of cards and then shows you the top card. More specifically, let's say they do this a trillion times in a row. After each shuffle an...
If the primary colors are Red, Yellow, and Blue, then why are pixels made to only show Red, Blue, and Green?	[ "RYB are the subtractive color primaries, which works with paints and reflective surfaces where adding more tends to make things darker. \n\nRGB are the additive color primaries, used on screens and projections, working with light sources where adding more tends to make things brighter.", "Primary colors as RYB (...
Beveridge Model vs Single Payer system	[ "The answer to your question is written in black and white in the links you provided. From the Beveridge Model section:\n\n > The term 'Scandinavian model' of health care systems has a few common features: largely public providers, limited private health coverage, and regionally-run, devolved systems with limited i...
Why do we have fiction stories (books, movies, games)?	[ "Stories help us learn about the world and the values of our culture. Consider the movie Twelve Years A Slave. You could learn the details of slavery through a textbook and learn about the morality of slavery through moral treatises, but it won't have the same effect as watching a movie telling the story of a man...
Why does the barometric pressure drop when a storm is overhead?	[ "From what I understand, the pressure is not low because the storm is overhead. The storm is overhead because the pressure is low. Take a ziplock bag and fill it a quarter of the way up, the lay it on its side. If you apply pressure, the water moves out of the way to where there is less pressure. When pressure is l...
How can we sense someone behind us even if the person is dead quiet?	[ "You sensed it either through smell, sight, touch, or hearing. You may not have been consciously aware of it, but that's what happened. There's also a good deal of confirmation bias because you remember all the times you turned around and someone was there, but don't remember the times you turned and nobody was aro...
The Terminator series of movies	[ "I'll give it a go. \n \nPrequel) So, at the beginning of the first movie, the basic premise is that humanity, led by John Connor, has won the war against the machines. Skynet sends a single T-800 (Arnie) back in time as a last, desperate attempt to change history by killing Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) bef...
Why are peanut allergies so often really serious?	[ "Peanut allergens, since they are a food product, can come in direct contact with the internals of the body. The swelling they cause can cut off the ability to breathe. And let me tell you, suffocation is a very serious problem that can kill you quickly.", "Sampling bias. \n\nYou don't hear about the people wi...
Political leanings	[ "Anarchism: No body should regulate the cookies. I should have to go out and earn my cookies. If you take my cookies I'll kill you with a garbage can. \n\nCapitalism: People should get a number of cookies based on how much they work\n\nCommunism: Regardless of how much someone works, everyone should get the same nu...
How do two dimensional objects interact or "see" each other if there is no height?	[ "This may help conceptualise a three dimensional object passing through a two dimensional plane: imagine a basketball sinking through a sheet of paper. As the basketball sinks thru, all that would be visible on the surface of the paper (to Flatlanders who live on the sheet) would be a circle--the circumference of t...
Why is Belgium a really powerful and influential country given the size as they are home of the EU headquarters?	[ "It isn't... it fact quite the opposite.\n\nIt is such an irrelevant little country that it was perfect as the place for EU HQ. Putting it in Germany would have annoyed France... and having it in Paris would have pissed off Germany... and of course the UK would be pissed regardless....\n\nBut Belgium... well nob...
Why do all deaf people speak with that specific tone in their voice?	[ "They can't hear, so they can't hear the voice inflections that we all have. This means they have never learned how to properly use voice inflection. Instead they have just been instructed on how to properly form letters and words. This is difficult enough to teach someone who can't hear, and voice inflections aren...
; why is it that people snore when they are asleep, but don't have the same breathing pattern when awake?	[ "When people lie on their back the soft tissue (tongue, soft palate) hangs farther toward the back of the throat because of gravity, partially or completely closing off the airway. When people breathe in, the negative pressure flaps this tissue and causes noise, which is snoring. \n\nWhen people are awake gravity d...
What would happen if, after centuries of calculations, it was discovered that pi DOES have a definitive end?	[ "This won't happen. [Pi has been formally proved to be irrational.](_URL_0_)", "Even though it is irrational... if this were to happen (which it can't), there is no real reason for anything to actually change, for pi isn't used to the extent of whatever ending digit it may contain. It's shortened to 3.14159 or ...
What is the receipt of retired pay? "Would you be entitled to receive VA disability benefits but for the receipt of retired pay?"	[ "> \"Would you be entitled to receive VA disability benefits but for the receipt of retired pay?\"\n\nIn other words, would you be entitled to VA disability if you weren't receiving retirement benefits (a pension or the like) from a different source?" ]
Want to check if your answer is appropriate for a 5 year old audience? Use this simple tool to measure grade level of your writing.	[ "Thanks! Alternatively, you can calculate an actual grade level of readibility (e.g. 7th grade, 9th grade [US System]) by using the [Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula](_URL_0_). I don't know any good calculators for this online, but I do know you can calculate it instantly by pasting the text into Microsoft Office...
What happens in the engine if you put diesel in a petrol car?	[ "If you have some petrol in your car and put diesel in it, it will start but smoke heavily through the exhaust. Damage will not be great to the engine though.\n\nHowever, if you fill in an empty tank of a petrol car with diesel fuel it will never start. If you've ever compared gasoline to diesel fuel, you know tha...
How could a star be forced to explode?	[ "Since there's a lot of speculation and almost no one talking from a scientific perspective here, I figured I'd chime in with a basic overview of explosions, supernovae, and nuclear astrophysics. I'm going to ignore methods of destroying a start that would take more than a few weeks.\n\nSo, if you want something to...
How is it possible that I copied a file without copy all of its content?	[ "I would make another copy, and get the user to try to put more data into the file as they had done before - see if it shows up.\n\nMy brain goes to PICNIC error first here. If your system said the file copied successfully, then it most likely did (unless you mean that computer 1 died during the transfer?). It's ex...
is he show QI factual?	[ "Because your post isn't asking a simplified conceptual explanation, but rather for an answer, its been removed.\nYou should try /r/answers instead." ]
Why does it hurt getting water up your nose when swimming, yet having a runny nose isn't the least bit uncomfortable.	[ "First of all, if you think a runny nose \"isn't the least bit uncomfortable,\" you've not had a real runny nose! It can be extremely uncomfortable. \n\nNow, your nose is designed to let liquids drop out, not to take them back in. When you get water (or whatever) up your nose, it goes into all the nooks and crann...
Why do dark-skinned or black people have their palms and soles paler than the rest of their body?	[ "A layer of skin called the stratum lucidum is found in frequently used areas of the body, like your palms and the soles of your feet. The added protection of this extra layer means you don't need extra melanin in your palms or feet, so the skin is lighter.\n\nEDIT: To clarify. Melanin is what makes skin dark, and ...
How does taste work? Why does a person A like spinach, but person B does not?	[ "There could be a million reasons why someone doesn't like a food; maybe they ate it while feeling sick one time, and learned to associate the sickness with the taste. Perhaps they were made to eat something all the time as a kid so they're just totally opposed to eating it as an adult. The reasons could be either ...
Why do phone manufacturers make carrier specific phones when they could just make phones that work on all carriers and have the carriers lock them, wouldn't it be lower cost to just make one type of phone?	[ "They are generally the same phone locked by software. So there's no extra expense making them.\n\nAnd the whole point of making a phone for a specific carrier is because that carrier paid you a load of money for exclusivity. If you want the latest phone, and it's only on carrier X, then carrier X is going to get y...
How are ancient structures buried?	[ "In dry, dusty areas the wind blows in sand and sediment. Once someone stops living there to clean up it will build up.\n\nPeople also like to build on river banks and river deltas, very fertile for crops and easy access to water, but the river brings sediments and floods.\n\nIn some places a populated site persist...
Taxi Medallions, what is this system?	[ "There are large areas of NYC where only a taxi with a medallion can operate and they limit the number of medallions that they allow to operate in a given year. This registration system generates income for the city and ensures that there are not too many taxis on the roads of the overly congested city. \n\nUber by...
If English is a Germanic language, why is it so difficult to read texts/understand speech in other Germanic languages?	[ "English is the dirty bastard of Germanic languages.\n\nIt is not German, it is rooted in the same early language group that gave us modern German/Dutch/Icelandic and the rest.\n\nEnglish was heavily influenced by the Romance language group, particularly through old French, when the invading Normans brought it alon...
What would happen if the Earth suddenly started spinning the wrong way?	[ "If the earth stopped suddenly and started to spin the other way it would not matter because we would all be dead anyways.", "Suddenly? Everything would be killed/destroyed/flattened/thrown around from massive lateral G forces, Even if it takes a full second to reverse, going from 1670 km/h to -1670km/h at the pl...
Why do cigarettes have so many chemicals in them, why not just tobacco?	[ "Some of the chemicals are to ensure that the cigarettes stay lit once you light them. I know the first time I had a higher quality smoke after being used to \"factory cigarettes\" I was surprised that it went out when I left it unattended for a moment.\n\nEDIT: This comment has gotten a lot more attention than I e...
Do Alcoholic Anonymous (and its variations) meetings only involve standing up and sharing your story?	[ "No, there are different themes of meetings. There's speaker meetings, step meetings, big book studies, etc. The kind you describe are speaker meetings and yeah, it's a pretty popular format. And with a good speaker who knows how to tell a story, they can be a lot of fun. \n\nBut generally what happens is this: The...
What happens to all the confiscated drugs, such as marijuana, that the cops collect?	[ "/u/i_is_surf explained it in [this thread](_URL_0_):\n\n > Cop here. Short answer is, it depends.\n > \n > If it's a serious crime and the drugs and money were evidence, the drugs and money will be retained in evidence for 5-7 years for potential appeals, or longer, depending on the wishes of the prosecution.\n > ...
How do garbage collection services get caught up from taking federal holidays off? Same amount of weekly trash, collected in fewer days: they work longer hours? they run more trucks?	[ "In our city, they work 4-day weeks generally. (M-T-TH-F) \nFor Monday holidays, they move M-T collections to T-W", "Please read this entire message\n\n---\n\nYour submission has been removed for the following reason(s):\n\nELI5 is not for:\n\nStraightforward answers or facts - ELI5 is for requesting an ex...
Why is it that big semi trucks last for hundreds of thousands of miles, but some cars start breaking at just about 100,000?	[ "I myself work in the mining industry in australia. Recently was at a site near coober pedy in the middle of nowhere. Maintenance is a big part of it. The road trains we had are tri-drive kenworth 908s or something but would do 6 trips a day so close to 600kms a day from site to rail siding and back a few times but...
How can child-actors play in gruesome movies like Beasts of no Nation?	[ "There are two routes.\n\nDanny from The Shining did not know it was a horror movie. His scenes were edited so that he did not have an idea that he was supposed to be in a scary movie.\n\nIn Beasts of No Nation they went the opposite way. They were clear with the actors and explained what was happening. They made s...
Why do people in poverty stricken countries continue to reproduce even though they know their children are likely to starve to death?	[ "Because if you keep reproducing, maybe you will get lucky and some of your kids will grow up to adulthood, get a wife, and farm the scrap of land you own and provide for you when you are old and can't work anymore.\n\nYou know, like how people did for pretty much all of recorded history.", "I'm not an expert her...
What happened to all of the sweepstakes?	[ "They were replaced by online contests through web forms and social media, which are faster, easier, and cheaper to both organize and participate in.", "Don't know about the US, but in the UK, this generally stopped after it was discovered that the TV shows where rigging the contests. \n\n_URL_0_", "They ran ou...
Why do people not get electrocuted when touching a charger?	[ "There are two ways in which chargers prevent electrocution. \n\nThe first one is that everything that can be covered in plastic or rubber is covered in plastic or rubber. Electricity can't flow through plastic or rubber. \n\nIf something on the outside of the charger or device is metal, the charger (in Australia a...
Why does real life randomly feel like a dream?	[ "What you are experiencing may be some kind of dissociation, most likely depersonalization or derealization. It's neither good nor bad in and of itself, depends on what you make of the experience. As long as you are aware that these dreamlike feelings are just that, only fleeting feelings, you have nothing to worry...
Why is the word "'nother" so typically said after "whole"?	[ "This is an infix, a word inside a word to add emphasis (compare with prefix and suffix). It is placing \"whole\" inside of \"another,\" a-whole-nother.\n\nThe only other common infix in English is \"fucking,\" e.g. abso-fucking-lutely and god-fucking-dammit.", "it is an (american) English colloquialism (meaning ...
Why is deforestation such a large problem if it only affects the country where it takes place?	[ "First, it doesn't only affect that country; the entire earth benefits from having a healthy ecosystem. Second, the health of countries is intertwined; a desolate country that is economically desperate is going to affect adjacent countries." ]
how and why animals age differently to humans, and how we are able to calculate their age equivalence?	[ "If by \"Age equivalence\" you mean something like \"dog years\" that's simply a rough approximation. If a human lives 10 times longer than a dog, on average, then 1 'human year' is 10 'dog years.' It really has no particular accuracy beyond a rough demonstration of lifespan, and tends to be wildly off on things li...
Why don't invisible rays like wifi and satellite hurt humans or animals?	[ "Does shining a flashlight at you give you cancer? Because visible light is actually on the \"more dangerous\" side of radio waves.\n\nRadio waves, like Wi-Fi, are the same thing as beams of light. The only difference is that we have special chemicals in our eyes that react with the electromagnetic waves we call \"...
What causes my brain to associate metal music as good but pop music as bad, even though pop music is designed to sound good to the majority?	[ "Metal is also designed to sound good. A lot of sound engineers work to make the music pleasing to listen to for hours as opposed to fatiguing you with harsh frequencies. \nThe lyrical content can appeal to you. The groove of a certain musician can speak to you. The vibe created by the band can move you. The aggres...
RobinHood: SolarCity and Tesla merged. My SCTY shares vanished.	[ "Your SCTY shares will be replaced by Tesla shares (TSLA) at a rate determined by the conditions of the deal. \n\nIIRC it's 0.11 TSLA for every SCTY but I might be wrong." ]
Why do sitcoms have laughter tracks?	[ "People tend to laugh more when they hear other people laughing. Laughter is a pretty social phenomenon. Most people are more likely to laugh at a show if it has a laugh track. I don't know how that equates to viewership, but it obviously has some effect or they wouldn't do it.", "It encourages laughter and it ke...
Why does this appear to move?	[ "It's an illusion that happens because we're constantly moving. Our eyes are jumping around the page while our body is twitching. If you stop all the movement and just stare at the picture, you'll notice it stops moving, too. \n\n(It's also got to do with the colours. The combination of putting dark shades next to ...
Why do we have that uncomfortable feeling when sleeping with limbs uncovered or hanging out of the bed?	[ "Evolution. People who didn't get that weird feeling when dangling their limbs from the trees they were sleeping on were killed by cheetahs.", "I don't know but I would imagine it to be an evolutionary trait related to the idea of being exposed without you knowing what's going on is unsavoury, although a blank...
why can't we have something to measure chemical levels and then make them what they should be in cases of mental illness?	[ "Because mental illness is quite subjective and differences in chemical levels of one person may not/May do more to another person", "We do! For example, schizophrenia is measured by levels of dopamine and serotonin in the brain. However, correcting this is not always as simple as \"adding/removing\" neurotransmi...
why are most of the animals born with good enough insticts to survive at birth while humans are so helpless?	[ "Humans are building a biological supercomputer, that takes time.\n\nOur great ape cousins are also pretty useless at birth, as are a lot of other mammals and birds. They're developing complex brains and behavior systems that can't be completed as quickly as basic body development.", "Part of the reason is that ...
what do "C" executives (CEO, CIO, etc) do on a daily basis and why do they make so much money?	[ "I am the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of a privately-owned company. Admittedly, the responsibilities of a CFO for a publicly-owned company are somewhat different from my position, but the goal is the same - manage shareholder value. As a CFO, I oversee the accounting (history) and finance (future) functions. M...
Early American territories and colonies. Who owned what, and how did they get it, and how/why did they lose it? ie: the Lousiana purchase. Florida and Spain, etc etc.	[ "[This is a really good article, and quite readable.](_URL_0_) If, after you read it, there's something you don't understand, please reply and I'll help out." ]
How do police catch cars using false licence plates?	[ "if you get pulled over, they run your plate and its not listed/different than what your car is you get in a shitton of trouble. you have to be really smart about it, because getting caught with a fake licence plate is often worse than whatever crime you were hiding from", "They see a car and are suspicious for s...
Cthulhu	[ "In the early 1900's, H.P. Lovecraft wrote several fantasy/horror novels involving a mythology of his own creation. The main theme is gods are completely alien, non-anthropomorphic beings of unimaginable power and inscrutable motives, often with multiple tentacles. \n\nMerely trying to understand them leads to in...
How does a (particular) flock of migratory birds decide exactly when its time to go?	[ "I'm not an ornothologist but I'm a human, and all ornithologists are also human, so that's gotta count for something, right?\n\nI'm guessing all birds have a number of \"thresholds\", with some variation from one member of the flock to the next.\n\nA: the temperature/conditions at which the bird would rather stay,...
Can someone please explain the general ideas behind Healthcare Reform and why it is so controversial?	[ "Some people think every citizen in a rich country ought to get health care, even if other citizens must help pay for it. That would require the government to collect money and then spend it on health care. Other people think it isn't fair to make one person pay another person's health insurance bill, or that the g...
What does a volume knob physically do inside a speaker to increase/decrease the volume when you turn it?	[ "You're actually controlling a variable resistor, a.k.a. a potentiometer -- which can control the amount current in a circuit. Lower current = weaker sound, higher current = louder sound. Basically, when you turn up the volume, you're allowing more electricity to flow through the circuit that leads to the amplifier...
Why do people live in Places like Barrow, AK	[ "Some of them might be Native or just have grown up there.\n\nFor the most part, people live up there to harvest natural resources. Alaska produces a shitload of oil & has lots of mining. It's a rough place to live, so they make a lot of money.\n\nMany people that live in Alaska working those industries will wo...
If homeopathy does not work, why are there so many people and organisations that claim otherwise?	[ "The science is 100% saying it does not work.\n\nYou may have heard the term 'snake oil' at some point in your life. Homeopathy is a snake oil type product. People convince themselves that some product works because \"the establishment\" says it doesn't'. There is currently a large shift in Western thinking to go b...
Why do processed food comes with tag saying "xKcal". How would a bottle of 500ml of fruit juice have 43,0 00 calories(43,12 kcal ).	[ "Humans need 2400 Kcal per day\nThis Food probably has 43 Kcal per 100ml\n\nHumans are lazy and tend to say \"Calorie\" when they mean \"KiloCalorie\".", "Because there are [two \"calorie\" units of measurement](_URL_0_). The calorie (small c) is the energy that goes into one gram of water, and the gram is techn...
How did they get the resistivity from any material (example copper)?	[ "R= rhoL/A\n\nwhere R is resistance, rho is resitivity, L is length of your sample, A is your cross sectional area.\n\nSlightly oversimplified, you can think of it as the resistance is the resistivity L (because the longer your sample, the more \"crap\" it has to bump past), and divided by A (the wider pipe, the...
Why does my voice sound weird when I talk through the fan?	[ "Your voice is made of sound waves and the fan is chopping them up as you talk through it." ]
What was and is the purpose of the European Union and what happens when you leave it?	[ "The original idea for the EU came about after WW2, when the countries of continental Europe decided that the best way to avoid the dreadful wars that had devastated the continent from happening again would be to unite in \"ever closer union\" -- first a simple trading bloc, it would gradually become a close confed...
What's the difference between Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM) and Linear Introduction Motors (LIM) on launched roller coasters?	[ "\"Induction\" not introduction.\n\nThe synchronous motors (LSMs) generally know where the cars being accelerated are. The LIMs generally don't.\n\nLIMs are more grunty at the start, but can't generally get the cars going as fast by the end of the track. LSMs aren't as quick off the line, but can sustain higher spe...
What does DirectX12/11 etc. actually do? And what is Vulkan and what is its significance?	[ "DirectX (and Vulkan, and OpenGL, etc) are APIs. An API is a set of code that \"talks\" to other software/hardware for ease of use. These APIs in particular talk to GPUs.\n\nSee, those 3D environments you play through in a game are actually a result of a very large and complex set of mathematical instructions. It t...
Why NetFlix's "Recently Added" column has all the newest releases, while it's "New Releases" contains mostly movies that have been on NetFlix for months-years.	[ "It's based off of your recommended shows/movies so if you have a specific taste, the newest movie in that category might be a year old." ]
Why don't athletes who attack other athletes in the middle of games get arrested on the spot?	[ "Police are public servants and patrol public areas. There generally aren't police patrolling private stadiums and, where there are, their focus is more on the safety of the public/spectators, not the \"performers\"/athletes.\n\nSo if a police officer were to see an athlete harm another athlete in a way that was **...
How does Eye color play into attraction?	[ "Looking into someone's eyes can reveal a lot of information about how that person thinks of you. For example, if you look into your date's eyes and they dialate, you are much more likely to think they have pretty eyes. This is because eye dilation is a sign of arrousal in this context. \nSimilarly, pupil dila...
the difference between Tylenol and Advil and when you use them	[ "Tylenol's active ingredient is acetaminophen\n\nAdvil's is ibuprofen, a NSAID\n\nThey are similar, but NSAIDs help reduce inflammation. So if you your knee hurts due to inflammation, use ibuprofen", "tylenol causes more liver damage, advil causes more stomach ulcers" ]
Difference between Electro and Techno music.	[ "The most important EDM genres are: Trance, Hard dance, Techno, House Music, Electro, Trap, Chillout, 110, Glitch Hop, Complextro, Liquid Dubstep, Hard or Classic dubstep, Drumstep, DnB (Drum and bass), TnB (Trap and bass), Nu disco and Bounce.\n\nRespectively, I suggest you listen by yourself each, and that you no...
Why are AK47s and other Kalashnikov weapons so renowned? How do you make your weapons simpler and hardier than the other guy?	[ "The simplicity mostly comes in the form of HUGE tolerances (clearances... sorry) between parts inside the receiver. If you open an AK up, there's a ton of empty space inside the receiver, and very few moving parts in the trigger group. That allows you to put all kinds of dirt, gunk, snow, sand, pebbles, dust, et...
Where do emergency counselors come from?	[ "[This page](_URL_0_) from FEMA's website helps to answer your question. Crisis counselors are funded by FEMA but organized and implemented by the state. \n\n[Here](_URL_1_), for example, is New Jersey's Division of Mental Health Services page. Although most counselors have a counseling background, it isn't require...

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