Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
Are colas as bad for your teeth as people say?	[ "Yes, sodas really are that bad. Not just the sugar, but the highly acidic environment it creates in the mouth." ]
Brownian Motion	[ "Molecules in a fluid are always moving around. They bounce off of each other, and they bounce off of anything solid that they hit.\n\nAt any given moment, a solid object will have more molecules bouncing off of one side than the other. For something big like a person, the difference is insignificant, but for somet...
Why did Facebook's IPO fail so badly?	[ "Whether or not it was a failure is arguable. \n\nGenerally speaking, the issue is that the value of the stock was greatly over-estimated and over-hyped. Facebook had been such a huge media giant for so long and was so inaccessible to investors that people were REALLY excited to buy stock when it was first availabl...
how can those car re-map boxes improve both power AND fuel efficiency at the same time?	[ "Increasing the pressure in the cylinders will lead to a general increase in fuel efficiency. The theoretical fuel efficiency is\n\n1-1/e^(k -1)\n\nk is ~ 1.4 for air, and e is the compression ratio. So the higher the pressure the better the efficiency. \nMore pressure means more power as well. So theoreticall it ...
The difference between fur and hair.	[ "Plenty of animals have hair rather than fur - dogs and horses come to mind right away.\n\nHair is thicker, individual fibers, provides little insulation - but usually some water protection, and while not part of the definition, can be easily combed, cut, and groomed.\n\nFur is far more dense and finer. It provide...
why is it now code to install outlets upside down?	[ "If a conductive object falls accidentally across the main two prongs of a \"right side up\" (😮) plug that isn't completely flush against the outlet, it will close the circuit. If it's your finger you get shocked. If it's metal there could be a spark. If there's a spark there could be a fire. Building codes are de...
Does getting vaccinated for the flu each year (if you're not elderly, a child, or someone with an autoimmune disorder, etc) encourage the virus to mutate into something stronger? Why or why not?	[ "No, not really.\n\nInfluenza is a fast-reproducing virus, and all fast-reproducing organisms evolve quickly. That's why geneticists use things like fruit flies to observe the evolution and inheritance of genetic material across many generations. Fruit flies have a 30 day life cycle, so you can observe 12 full ge...
Silicon gate/circuit line width	[ "In general, yes. The smaller they are, the more you can put in a given area. \n \nA MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) has three major parts...a source, a drain, and a gate. The current between the source and the drain is controlled by the gate voltage. The distance between the source ...
Why are click-bait, buzzfeedy titles so effective?	[ "Much the same as any other marketing. Clever people study what works, and hone it until it works better.\n\nIn a way it's like evolution - click-bait sites that don't have the knack of attracting visitors die out, those that succeed - grow.", "Just read my article called \"9 reasons click-bait works. #3 will Sho...
Why does inflation have to be a thing? Why can't we all just agree to keep the value of currency the same regardless of how much we have?	[ "> Why can't we all just agree to keep the value of currency the same regardless of how much we have?\n\nBecause the value of currency isn't something that people set. All of the money in a country is equal to the total value of that country's economy, because that's what a national currency is. \n\nSo if the v...
Why am I able to set the date on my phone back to 1970?	[ "Linux kernels (as other UNIX-like systems) [count dates from 1 January 1970.](_URL_0_)\nAndroid is running a Linux kernel.", "_URL_1_\n\nEssentially, your phone counts \"time\" as \"how many seconds since 1-1-1970\". Going before 1970 would mean negative numbers, which would confuse the system.", "Computers no...
Why is it that a part of your body getting hurt enough (like getting kicked in the shin) will sometimes give you a taste of blood in your mouth?	[ "I've never heard of this phenomenon but perhaps you're hurt so bad without realizing it you're biting your lip or inner cheeks or what have you and draw blood?", "It's a side effect of hitting a nerve. It's kinda like cross-talk. So the nerves that control your taste sensation are being impacted.\n\nEdit: Unl...
How did the jews seem to recover so well from the Holocaust while blacks didnt recover from slavery?	[ "The Holocaust was an event exclusive to Europe, instituted by a single regime (Nazi Germany) and their subordinate regimes. When the Nazis fell, the Holocaust ended.\n\nThe oppression of black people in the United States was the result of hundreds of years of systemic hatred and discrimination from others. Stoppin...
If new stars are born from the remnants of old stars, are the stars gradually getting smaller?	[ "It's not that gradual. Pop III stars were 1000 times bigger than the stars we call \"main sequence\". Without heavy elements in the dust clouds around them their cooling was less efficient. NASA has a satellite called WMAP that's looking for data to try and understand these processes better.", "No, but it doe...
Why do radio stations always give away money, and where does this money come from?	[ "You know those annoying ads for hair removal that they play every six minutes? The hair removal company pays the radio station for that. This is where the money comes from.\n\nOh, and the hair removal companies get it from people who think their body hair must be removed at great expense.\n\nEdit: and the people...
Why do damaged joints hurt whenever it rains?	[ "I believe it is because of the pressure change that occurs when the weather changes, but I'm not an expert by any means!" ]
I saw a post earlier on r/gifs of a multi-car pile up on a snowy highway. Does insurance cover damage like this, and how would they determine whose insurance to use/whose more at fault?	[ "Yes insurance does cover stuff like that, and it's usually a huge mess.\n\nGenerally (if you have full coverage) you pay the guy you hit, the guy who hits you pays you, and so on and so on. It turns into a pile of insurance companies trying to hash out with each other who owes what after all the claims are paid." ...
What permits do you have to get to drive a police car or dress as a police officer for a 'prank' video?	[ "_URL_0_\n\n > Dressing up as a police officer in costume, or pretending to be a police officer for the purpose of play or a harmless prank toward an acquaintance is generally not considered a crime, provided that those involved recognize the imposter is not a real police officer, and the imposter is not trying to ...
Why does TV make a crackling sound while turned off?	[ "I would guess thermal expansion for the led tv. It takes a while for things to cool down. Also add in the fact it is usually cooler at night. As it cools, the plastic will shift a little.", "They had a lot of static buildup on those old screens. Maybe that. Ever run your fingers across then right after they wen...
Why do my ears start ringing at random times and then slowly stop again?	[ "Sounds like you might have _URL_0_\n\n > Tinnitus is the hearing of sound when no external sound is present. While often described as a ringing, it may also sound like a clicking, hiss or roaring. Rarely, unclear voices or music are heard. The sound may be soft or loud, low pitched or high pitched and appear to be...
When did time start being recorded? Why does it start with Jesus' birth day?	[ "It doesn't. There are, and have been, many different calendars. Many are older than the calendar which starts at year 1 (AD or CE) with the birth of Jesus. Human civilisations that had calendars date back thousands of years before the birth of Jesus. There are calendars in use in today's world that don't use t...
What's the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web?	[ "The internet is a series of interconnected computer networks. The world wide web is where webpages and documents reside and can be accessed. You can have internet without the WWW but you can't have the WWW without the internet.", "The internet actually existed before the things that make up the WWW did. Initiall...
Rush-hour traffic jams	[ "First of all, there are always choke-points. Maybe a place where three lanes turn to two lanes. Maybe a bunch of on-ramps where a lot of cars are pouring in. When roads aren't busy it's not a big deal, but when there are tons more cars on there, that'll be a problem.\n\nAlso, even if people can go at the same,...
Why do the LHC need to be so big? Would we get better "results" if it were the size of Australia?	[ "As well as accelerating the beam up to really high speeds, it needs to bend the beam around into a circle. The tighter the circle, the more energy it takes to steer the beam. A bigger circle lets us control a more powerful beam with the available magnets, and produce higher-energy collisions than if we had a small...
Why do websites have to be taken down for maintenance?	[ "Well, It can be a lot of things, but here are a few I know off (there are more, no doubt about that).\n\n1. It could be a major redesign of the website, and if you just \"push the next code in\" you will be putting code on your server that depends on other things, which might not have been submitted yet and you do...
How are Chinese companies on eBay/Amazon able to sell cables and such for 1.50 shipped to the USA?	[ "ManiacalShen may be on to something, but it's not all a marketing gimmick by any means. It is actually quite logical, if only you have all the pieces that is.\n\nFirst of all, as you pointed out, the quality of the cables are usually \"garbage\" - it doesn't cost much to make crappy products.\n\nSecondly, the exch...
Are dogs aware of differences in their breeds?	[ "I don't think they do. It's kind of like if we lived in a non judgemental non racist world. Dogs don't care if one is overweight or a purebred. They will try to play, sniff, and lick them either way. \n\nOn a small note, I believe they do act differently around dogs that are older. Every time I see an old dog walk...
What happens anatomically when a voice changes during puberty?	[ "The vocal folds grow and thicken due to the presence of androgens. For most males, there are more androgens present which causes the vocal tone to deepen. Females typically do not have as many androgens present thus, only have a slight alteration in vocal tone." ]
Why is putting your hands up and showing your palms the universal sign of "I surrender", and why is it instinctual?	[ "It shows empty hands; no weapons, no tricks. I'm vulnerable and harmless, don't hurt me. Military salutes, handshakes, etc. all supposedly originate from the same concept.", "You raise your hands to make it clear that they are empty, and it also leaves your body unprotected as a sign of submission. It cannot be ...
After the initial sleepiness feeling, why do we suddenly feel more alert after a few hours pass your normal sleeping time before you suddenly feel lethargic and sleepy again?	[ "A certain sleep writer suggests it's because there is a metabolitic release timed to coincide with the early part of sleep intended to for the heavy lifting your lymphatic and endocrine systems will do in the early part of sleep. Apparently this is the \"second wind\" we feel at approximately 10pm, and being aslee...
What percentage of my money goes to the Japanese economy when buying a Japanese brand car in America?	[ "So, there's a couple of parts to this: \n1) Wages: there's people working for the Japanese car firm in America, and people working for the Japanese car firm in Japan. The Americans' wages go to the American economy. The Japanese's wages go to the Japanese economy. \n\n \n2) Operating costs: The overhead f...
The meaning behind the popular philosophical phrase, "I think, therefore I am."	[ "You are thinking. If you did not exist in some manner or fashion, you could not think.\n\nTherefore, regardless of the truth or falseness of your sensory input, the action of thinking necessarily proves that you specifically, exist as a thinking being.", "It means that because of the fact that you can think ...
Your immune system causes symptoms like fever, swelling, etc, when fighting an infection. I usually get more mild symptoms than my wife when we both get sick. Does this mean my immune system is weaker or stronger?	[ "That's an awesome question, but unfortunately it doesn't have a clear answer, as there are so many variables that can change the response.\n\nThere are 2 components to your immune system: the innate and adaptive. The innate just travels around and freaks out at everything it doesn't recognize. It doesn't matter if...
Bigger muscles v. Stronger muscles	[ "There are three types of muscle fibers in humans. \n\n1. Fast Glycolytic: These are built up in weight lifting. They are fast and strong, but they get tired very fast.\n\n2. Fast Oxidative: These are fast and strong, but not as fast and strong as the glycolytic muscles. They are built up in endurance events such a...
Why don't gas pumps take cash?	[ "I've seen a few gas stations that do have a cash-accepting machine. It's for models where the individual pumps don't accept money, you have to go to a central automated kiosk to pay.\n\nThat being said, there's very little incentive for gas stations to want to make the pumps accept cash. Not only would that requir...
How can some refugees travel without a passport? (or defectors)	[ "When you show up at customs state you're intention to seek refuge. What country you showed up in decides what happens next.\n\nThey may deport you, or they may accept you temporarily to review your case.", "If there in active danger they usually are giving a pass. But they have to prove they are in active danger...
what the brick on a power cord is / does.	[ "its converts the 120v AC current to DC at the voltage that your delicate electronics crave.", "There are a few reasons.\n\nSome devices need less power than the wall provides, but they will pull all the power they possibly can, even if it burns them out. So you need a device between them to reduce the power.\n\n...
Why do people drink?	[ "A lot of alcoholic beverages actually taste good. Being a little tipsy is (I find) a pleasant experience. Some reports indicate that moderate levels of alcohol consumption is good for adults. Having a drink can help to relax people. Drinking is a very sociable way to spend a few hours.\n\nThe problem is that alcoh...
- Why do all the cows lie down when it's about to rain? How can they sense this? Coming from Indiana, I was surrounded by farms and cornfields, so I saw this all the time. If you drive past a farm and all the cows are lying down, you can guarantee it's about to rain. What's the explanation?	[ "Cows are more likely to lay down when they get cold, as rain fall is preceded by a drop in atmospheric pressure-- it gets colder before the rain. Cow lay down as the storm front approches, giving the illusion that they lay down for the rain, when they are just keeping warm" ]
Why isn't chewing tobacco a big thing in countries like USA, England and ?	[ "If you're talking about nicotine gum, it can have help benefits if it helps a smoker quit. \n\nIf you talk about chewing tobbaco, it destroys your teeth and is linked to mouth / tongue cancer.\n\nAs to why it isn't popular ? It's less addictive than a cigarette (nicotine reaches your brain faster and blood level n...
Why Are Farm Subsidies Necessary?	[ "The original intent was to smooth out supply, since agriculture is so important to society.\n\nFarming is a business where one bad year, or a string of bad years, could put you out of business. Also, a business where the end price of the product you produce could vary wildly.\n\nSo farming is hard! But it's essent...
If the Earth stopped spinning, would we feel it?	[ "Only if you count us and everything that's not superbly secured underground flung into the cold depths of space \"feeling it\".", "It depends how quickly it stopped spinning, and where you are on Earth. \n\nImagine moving quickly in a car. Your body moves with the car, and if you're not accelerating, then you d...
Why does it hurt to pee with an erection?	[ "Uh, it does? Last time I did it it wasn't uncomfortable. I always sit down in that case though, maybe that's why.", "Because the vascular system around the urethra is constrained and causes the flow out to be restricted, and thus potentially painful or burning. Basically the erection causes the same symptoms of...
Why are some chicken mcnuggets shapped like boots, some like fish, and some are round?	[ "Short: Because McDonald's Inc thought that those shapes would make them look more \"natural\" than all being identical lumps.\n\nLong: Before the get nugget'd, the chicken used in McNuggets first gets ground up, like beef is for hamburgers. They do this so the flavor and texture is consistent...and so they...
What exactly is being done in the process of remastering a music album?	[ "I'm gonna explain the concept of remastering first and then directly answer your question at the end:\n\n*Most remastered albums are re-releases of very old music, usually from the analogue tape era. When the music was first recorded onto tape and properly mixed, it was then \"mastered\" (finalized) and that maste...
How are bombs (especially the atomic bomb during the Manhattan project) built safely without worrying about it going off?	[ "uranium and plutonium aren't like gunpowder. It's not like a stray spark would make them explode. They're arguably safer to work with than conventional explosives in most respects.\n\nNuclear material will only actually explode under very specific conditions. Building a machine that actually was able to create the...
How does a traffic light work and how complex its "computer" is?	[ "it depends, some of these have city/synchronization control, traffic measurement and traffic cameras ... but ill limit myself to a 'stand alone' system\n\nSo...\n\n > how complex its \"computer\" is?\n\nI wrote a 4 way traffic light system including pedestrian crossing in the late 1980's on a simple microprocesso...
Where did the stereotype of black people liking fried chicken come from?	[ "It was a popular dish among slaves, partially because they weren't allowed to keep any animals other than chickens. For a lot of people, Fried Chicken, watermelon, and chitterlings were the best food they were even able to have, so it's only natural that they become fond of it. But since whites were used to far ...
The difference between Chairman, President, and CEO.	[ "The short answer is, it depends on the company's governance structure. No two companies are alike in how they divide up responsibilities.\n\nGenerally speaking though:\n\nChairman refers to the chairman of the board of directors. The board of directors is elected by the shareholders and is the body responsible...
What exactly makes different type of animal meat taste different than the other animals?	[ "I am an avid meat eater and in my humble opinion I would think that the difference in taste is related to how the muscle tissue is held together. I agree w Dawwy in that it has to do with fats and the such as well as diet but I think that way that the muscles develop that also affects the taste, such as veal. Th...
How do scientists design a medication to treat certain diseases/illnesses/ailments?	[ "The collective body of herbalists, doctors, chemists, and witch doctors from the past two to three thousand years have been documenting findings and studying effects of substances on the human body. \n\nLets work out an easy example. In our tribe of neanderthals, everyone knows if you eat the red berries from th...
Why is necrophilia so much more taboo than murder?	[ "Victorian dogma about fear and revilement of death/respect for the dead that has lingered on. If we lived in a purely rational society, it would probably be possible to donate your body to necrophilia, because you are correct. Burying a dead body is throwing away a full set of valuable organs and tissues. It's a w...
Why are clothes with reflector stripes really bright in the dark when in contact with weak light sources, while they just appear grey in daylight?	[ "The reflector stripes contain many small [Retroreflectors](_URL_0_), which reflect light back in the direction of the light source. At night it reflects the light from the car headlight back to the car it came from, and looks bright to the person driving the car.", "The sun is legitimately that bright. \n\nSame ...
Difference between Hinduism and Buddhism?	[ "Buddhism doesn't have any god. Just a way of living. Hinduism has million and millions of gods, every creek has their own god. How many gods do they have exactly? As many as there are stars." ]
Why do most smartphones not have built-in FM receivers? (When they have many other technologies like WiFi, GPS, 4G, etc.)	[ "This is probably for a number of reasons. For one, people care less about FM radio than before. Second, device manufacturers might have a profit motive in selling audio content and other sources of media rather than FM radio.\n\nThere are some unique complications with FM, though, compared to the other radio tec...
What distinguishes good acting from phenomenal, award-winning acting?	[ "The illusion that no acting is taking place is always a good one.", "I would say it has to come down to believability and consistency. If an actor/actress can perform, convincingly, different characters in different situations, they are good. Some actors play the same role in every movie they're in, with minor v...
How does Coca-Cola have a secret formula when all the ingredients are in the nutrition facts?	[ "Its the ratios and the prep that you dont know. I could give you a list of ingredients for my World famous apple pie but if you dont know how much of each or when to use each then your screwed.", "Because the amounts of each ingredient are not in the nutrition facts. In addition to this, the flavoring ingredient...
Why are so many more people allergic to gluten or have celiac disease than in the past? Or if this is not the case, how did they live?	[ "I've not seen anything to suggest that more people have celiac disease than in the past. What we do have now are far more gluten-free options for people who do have the disease, and a lot of people who don't have the condition but who seem to think (with little basis) that gluten is inherently bad for them.\n\nIn ...
how does that switch on my rearview mirror that helps dim headlights at night work?	[ "There's two types. The old style is positional; the new style is electronic.\n\nThe positional ones came first and have been around for decades. These type of car mirrors are actually two main parts - a true reflective \"mirror\" and a plain piece of transparent glass, mounted at a different angle, that's just in ...
What will happen, in general, if something travelled faster than light?	[ "Light itself doesnt have anything to do with it. The speed of light is really just the upper speed limit of the universe. \n\nSpace and time arent separate things the are actually one thing called spacetime. The faster you move through space the slower you move through time as the two speeds together have to add u...
Why are there so many specific words for different groups of animals? Herd of cows, murder of crows. Business of ferrets, etc..	[ "I've searched tha seven seas fer an answer. Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained:\n\n1. [Why are there so many different words for groups of animals? Are there real differences in the way a < insert fancy name > behaves vs how < insert other fancy name > does? ](_URL_5_) ^(_._)\n1. [ELI5:...
Why does ice expand instead of contracting?	[ "I think scientists are still trying to figure out exactly why this happens exclusively with water, but in a liquid state, water molecules are allowed to freely flow around each other. When they freeze, though, they form a crystal structure which, by the nature of its shape, takes up more room.\n\nIn other substanc...
Why does cracking your joints get easier if you do it a lot?	[ "My mom used to be a medical researcher. From what she explained to me, the most negative side effect is that when you pop any joint, you overextend the connective tissue surrounding the joint. Which I guess would eventually make it easier to pop your joints the more you do it. This overextension wouldn't cause to ...
Why do our voices get higher pitch when something exciting happens?	[ "Increased airflow, and tightening of the vocal cords themselves. Excitement can be related to many things, but speaking biologically it implies that extra physical capability could be useful - adrenaline, deeper breaths (feed muscles more oxygen), and tightening of muscles to prepare to spring." ]
The Chinese Governments side of the situation in Tibet.	[ "While I would debate your initial premise as a little shaky, i'll try to answer anyway. Governments must often make decisions which they see as the lesser of two evils. The Chinese justification consists mainly of the idea that Tibet is a part of China and should remain such, but I think think if you dug a littl...
How is fetanyl becoming so widely available?	[ "> Where's it coming from?\n\nThe largest suppliers appear to be in China, shipping both the tools of production and the raw fentanyl to the US and Mexican cartels." ]
Why does our vision flash black when we get hit in the head?	[ "When the head gets hit hard, the brain goes into a lapse of shock and trauma. (It has been a while since I have studied this, so please forgive my mistakes) The brain cannot send signals properly at that moment in time and things sort of stop (not really, just that the brain is trying to maintain itself and canno...
How are TV and Radio ratings are calculated?	[ "[Nielsen Ratings](_URL_0_) are the primary method, especially for broadcast TV. Households are randomly selected to become paid participants in a survey of what they watch. Some are simply asked to write down what they watch on a diary, others receive a box they connect to their TV that notes what they watch and t...
How are data stored/burned into DVDs/CDs, and also how are the information read?	[ "Lasers!\n\nInformation is read from optical media discs with a laser. The disk reflects the laser or not and that is a 1 or a zero for that particular point.\n\nWriteable optical media allow you to use lasers to manipulate the disc in such a way as to burn into them wether a certain spot reflects the laser or not....
why are a lot of cooked dishes like salmon or meat high on protein if most of the proteins denature at ~40 degree Celsius?	[ "Proteins denature at high temperatures which means their shape changes to the point where they can no longer do their purpose but they still exist as molecules which can be used for nutrition" ]
how do serrated blades work? What about the serration makes them better than flat edge blades?	[ "The reason a knife is good at all at cutting something is down to pressure. The narrower and sharper an edge, the more pressure it puts on whatever is being cut. The blunter it is, the wider an area the force you're applying is spread so the less pressure there is at the point of the cut. \n\nA serrated edge lifts...
- Why does extended exposure to water dry your hands rather than moisturize it?	[ "Osmosis is the diffusion of water.\n\nWhen you overflow your hands or any body parts or almost any tissue/organism with water, the net flow of water will be wherever there is a higher concentration of solute. When you put water on your hands, it flows in because there is more solute like salt in your blood and in...
How do we have Skype and telephone calls that provide instant voice transfer but news stations have that slight delay when they interview people at different locations?	[ "TV stations are using satellite links. Satellites are considerably farther away than the closest cell tower is. This causes a slight delay in both directions of the conversation.", "A slight delay exists in all forms of electronic communication. The signal can only travel (at most) the speed of light. For rel...
Why do websites need to ask for your city, country, and state, when they can figure it all out through your zipcode?	[ "That pretty much is a thing of \"laziness\" (also known as \"costs\"): Its much cheaper to put multiple inputs there instead of maintaining (or at least buying) a catalogue of all zips mapping to the required information.\n\nEDIT: Source: I work in software development", "There are edge cases where they actually...
Is Erdogan really that powerful as he is presented in western media? If so, how did he become it?	[ "He's hardly represented in western media in the US. He is an extremist, rather than centrist, politician. While that seems fashionable today, political fashions vary year by year. When warm and fuzzy collaborative politicians become fashionable in a few years, he's going to look like a throwback to the region's...
Why can't I "unbake" a cake?	[ "There are differences between certain actions (or you might call them \"reactions\"). For instance with a cake, you might mix egg and flour, and whatever other ingredients, together. This is what's called a physical reaction - one that can be reversed. It would be a pain in the arse to reverse it, but technicall...
Why are mammals (seemingly) so much more intelligent than other animals?	[ "I think your premise is wrong. There are families of birds -- mostly the parrots and corvids (crow & jay family) - that display higher or even much higher intelligence than a large number of mammals. In fact, there are fish (I can think of several groups like member of the freshwater cichlids and some marine fam...
Are content updates in videogames a bad business strategy?	[ "A game developer doesn't release a single game in a vacuum. Its competing against other game developers, and it most likely intends to release more than one game. \n\nSo it could publish and then leave it and never touch it again, but if his competition then proceeds to publish a game, and delivers a steady stream...
Why do companies care about the price of their stocks?	[ "A share of stock is literally a small piece of the company. If the stock value is high, the company is worth a lot of money, meaning the company has leverage to buy things, build offices, take over other companies, and borrow money. \n\nAlso, executives typically own a lot of stock, so it makes them richer." ]
What is it about Chemotherapy that causes hair loss? Why aren't eyebrows and eyelashes affected?	[ "Chemotherapy attacks fast dividing/growing/feeding cells. This is normally targeting a tumor, but because hair is a fast growing item, that gets taken out as a side effect sometimes.\n\nYour eyelashes and eyebrows can indeed fall out, but they're not as fast growing, or you'd be going to get eyebrow cuts all the ...
Why do people cry?	[ "There are a few reasons. I know of two. When we cry we obviously outwardly express our sadness to other people who are then likely to come and help or comfort you. The second, when you cry we shed hormones in our tears which make us feel sad. Hence we feel better 'after a good cry' because we have shed some of the...
What is the difference between a "Creative Commons" license and a "All Rights Reserved" license?	[ "[All Rights Reserved](_URL_0_) means that the copyright holder is giving notice that at any time they may decide to enforce copyright on the property.\n\nThe designation is defunct, as of the ending of the Buenos Aires Convention and the full enactment of the Berne Convention, and is replaced with the standard and...
If we colonised another planet (e.g. Mars) how would the date/time work in conjunction with Earth?	[ "Seconds, minutes and hours would be the same. Days would need to be adjusted since a sidereal day is 24 hours 37 minutes. This would affect things like months and years, slowly becoming more and more out of sync. I imagine some sort of earth year would be used for certain aspects, while the martian year would be u...
the little pi thing on the bottom of every page on reddit	[ "This has been asked before but it is hard to search for. \n\nReddit as a whole has a lot of people visiting the website at any given time. That many people would be too much for just one computer, so there's a special computer that moves each visitor to another computer (in a bank of computers) so each individual ...
How does data corruption work	[ "Computers are incredibly fast and incredibly stupid. They expect their data (which boil down to individual bits) to be highly ordered.\n\nIf that order is changed for any reason (a software bug, faulty hardware, a huge magnet next to a harddrive, etc...), the computer can no longer make sense of the data.\n\nHere...
What would I die of (first) if I was suddenly exposed to deep space conditions? For example if my spaceship collapses...	[ "If you are in the spaceship, you will be crushed. If you suddenly get exposed to the vacuum of space, the lack of air. The pressure in your body will expand and you will blow up like a cartoon balloon. If you survive that, you suffocate. Contrary to common belief you won't instantly freeze, as heat needs a medium...
What is postmodernism in layman's terms?	[ "The best way to understand post-modernism is first to understand modernism.\n\nThis was an early C20th movement that insisted on \"honesty\" in all aspects of design and creativity. In architecture for example it required that \"form follows function\" so that you could tell from a building how it was constructe...
How does glue actually work?	[ "It depends on the glue. \n\nPVC glue actually melts the PVC that you apply it to and then the two melted sections that you're gluing harden and form together into a solid joint. \n\nCyanoacrylate (superglue) reacts with water in the air to form a polymer. Since this polymer started as a liquid it can seep into the...
If you killed someone on the Four Corners Monument, which state's laws would you be prosecuted with?	[ "[Slightly NSFW.](_URL_0_) \n \nSince it's a serious crime that is inter-state, the federal government will likely step in. \n \nAlso, it's a national monument and in Indian Reservation territory, even more reason for it to be the FBI. \n \nDouble also, simply searching Google about this (\"four corners juri...
how a boxer is crowned best pound for pound fighter, and how Pacquiao is considered higher "rank" than Mayweather?	[ "It's basically a very subjective ranking system.\n\nLet's give ourselves Pacquiao vs Mayweather. Bear in mind that I'm not much of a boxing fan, I just know how it's measured. Anyway, Pacquiao has been against many others of his weight division with impressive w/l/d/ records. Their records are matched against each...
Why are modern computers still having trouble with editing large-ish (20-50MB) text files?	[ "it is the limitations of the software not your computer(usually). \n\nif you want to push 1000 balloons up a chimney they still need to go one at a time, more cores and ram = more chimneys. but if you have 100,000,000 balloons it will always bottleneck while the program tries to sort the next lot of data so the ba...
Why don't car companies like Ford and GM make technologically advanced replicas of some of the classics instead of ugly modern cars?	[ "Remember what happened last time they tried that? The Chevy HHR and the PT Cruiser were created. Horrifying.", "they were incredibly unsafe shapes, impossible to make as safe as the newer ones without a complete redesign of the shape which would defy the point of remaking the old car\n\nalso you overestimate how...
In reference to Phillip Hughes' accidental death, explain a vertebral artery dissection from such a relatively small object.	[ "An arterial dissection is a tearing of the inner lining of an artery.\n\nBasically, an artery is composed of multiple layers of tissue. In a dissection, which can happen spontaneously or be caused by trauma, the innermost layer gets torn. Blood then gets underneath this torn layer and begins to push the two layers...
Why does CO2 increase world temperature but a big enough Volcanic eruption lowers it?	[ "CO2 acts like an invisible blanket, or more accurately like the glass in a greenhouse. It's a \"greenhouse gas\", which traps radiant heat close to the planet.\n\nA huge cloud of dust and smoke from a volcano isn't invisible. While it will also insulate, it's also quite reflective, bouncing sunlight back into spac...
Static Electricity and it’s connection to objects	[ "It’s been a while since this lecture, so forgive me if I mess up a few points.\n\nFrom what I remember, every object on the planet has sort of a key number of electrons it likes to have. Objects that are known to be great conductors of electricity (copper for example) have a much higher key number than say humans ...
Why does WinRAR never actually require payment?	[ "From _URL_1_\n\n > Winrar is licensed as \"shareware\", the license type is mostly outdated now, but back in the 90's you would see most software marketed as either freeware (free to use), shareware (free to try, pay to use), or just plain paid software. These days we see more software released in the demo/full ve...
you know how people do crazy stunts like unicycling through the Amazon for charity? How does that actually raise money?	[ "Basically people just donate money because they either think the stunt is cool, or the stunt gets their attention and then they learn about the cause (where they otherwise would not have) and donate because they think it's righteous.\n\nThe stunt is about getting attention. Nothing more." ]
Why do people swap languages while talking?	[ "i do this, switching languages after sentences/in the middle of a sentence/or whatever. the reason i do this is is because sometimes things just don't translate well. some words/phrases in another language or in English, just doesn't have an equivalent that will give you the full effect of what you're trying to ...
If meds are always eliminated in half by the body, how is it ever completely eliminated?	[ "First, the half life of a medicine is more of a general rule to follow when considering dosages, and it's not like exactly half is left after each half life.\n\nAlso, unlike pure math, in the physical world an object can't be cut in half infinitely. Eventually you would get down to a single molecule and at the...
Plea bargains	[ "Explanation provided by my prosecutor friend when I asked him this same question on day:\n\nPlea bargains guarantee the suspect goes to jail if even for a little bit as opposed to taking a chance on a jury trial where the suspect might not get convicted at all. Most plea bargains include a lengthy time of parole a...

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