Split (3)

train · 273k rows

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If this is the "explain like I'm 5" subreddit, and everyone here obviously knows that, why does everyone put "ELI5:" at the beginning of every post?	[ "Did you try readinng the rules?\n\n > Posts must begin with \"ELI5:\"\n\n > Posts only\n\n > Reported as: 10. Posts must begin with \"ELI5:\"\n\n > This is meant to help identify ELI5 posts on the frontpage or /r/all or any other collection.", "The title tags required by most subreddits do this to help viewer's ...
Why does my dog go around in circles before pooping?	[ "To find the best playce of course. He probably has to check, whether no other dog had the same idea before.", "five seconds of Googling later\n\n > It’s all starting to make sense. For years I wondered why my dog spins in a circle before depositing her daily double. But now I think I have a clue as to why. Sci...
Why TV shows like The Walking Dead can have extreme on screen violence but cannot air swear words?	[ "In America, foul language (and nudity, for that matter) tends to be much more heavily censored than violence is; in other areas (say, Europe), the opposite is often true. E.g., In Germany, graphic violence is more or less taboo.\n\nTo put it another way, there's Kyle's mom from the South Park movie (I'm paraphrasi...
Why does a runny nose (post nasal drip) irritate my throat?	[ "The mucous sliding out of your sinus cavity and down the back of your throat is drier and irritating. It can prevent moisture from reaching the tissues at the back of your throat. You should give nasal irrigation a try, using either a Neti pot or a squeeze bottle designed for the purpose. Neil-Med is the brand...
How exactly does building credit score work?	[ "Ahoy, matey! Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained:\n\n1. [ELI5: How do I build credit? ](_URL_7_)\n1. [ELI5: Credit Scores & Building A Good One ](_URL_0_)\n1. [ELI5: Credit scores, good/bad ranges, and how to obtain it easily. ](_URL_2_)\n1. [ELI5: What is credit score and how does it work...
How does the paint on the 2015 Bugatti change color?	[ "That is a video filter. The car doesn't actually change color. Had you not noticed that everything in the background also changes color?", "I think it's digitally edited. Everything else is in grey scale and the car is the only thing with any color. As though someone has edited the hue in certain parts.", "T...
Itchiness! Why do we feel "itchy" and why does scratching make the sensation go away?	[ "Your body is made of cells. Your brain, being part of your body, is also made of cells. Each cell has different things it can do. Cells in your brain let you think, feel, and experience.\n\nYour skin, another part of you body, is also made of cells. But there are different typed of cells in your skin. There are \"...
A priori and a posteriori with easy examples	[ "A priori means independent from experience, thus 2 plus 2 will always be 4 and can't be changed. It will always exist no matter what - we can't influence the answer.\n\nA poseriori means you have observed it happen. Like President Trump is the president of the US. That's based on what you observed. That knowledge ...
What Do ISPs Gain From Throttling Internet Speeds?	[ "It keeps them from having to upgrade their network. You could offer everyone the top speed but then if more than X number of people used it they would run out of bandwidth and it'd all come crashing down. They throttle in order to keep this from happening so everyone gets the speed they pay for ideally. Now they'v...
What do people mean when they say something "became a commodity".	[ "Commodities, generally speaking, are goods and services that have little to no differentiation across a market. Gold, for example, is a commodity because all gold is basically the same; there's no functional difference between gold mined in Colorado and gold mined in West Africa. Agricultural and mineral raw mater...
What's happening in North Korean government following the death of their leader, and how this impacts on South Korea + other affected countries.	[ "Short Answer: Nothing. The transition seems to have gone smoothly. North Korea is still just a dictatorial, backwards, and dear leader worshiping as ever.", "This has been asked several times, with some very good answers.\n\nPlease search the subreddit before posting." ]
How can goats climb near-vertical walls without falling?	[ "Their hooves have rubbery bottoms that help stick and the two halves can move somewhat independently that allow them to grip onto sheer surfaces.\n\nSource: [What If You Had Animal Feet!?](_URL_0_)" ]
What makes that distinct smell when you heat up an old toaster?	[ "Crumbs wouldn't smell different after a few weeks. \n\nIt's dust on the heating coils. Same smell you get when you first turn on central heating for the winter." ]
What are the protocols put in place if a country sends out a nuke?	[ "> I know there is the mutually assured destruction clause, \n\nMutually-assured destruction (with the entirely apt acronym MAD) is not a clause in any contract, it's just a philosophy, the idea being that they won't bomb us because we'll bomb them back. \n\nIt was never the actual intent of the US to engage in a...
What will happen on first contact? Who is in charge? Etc.	[ "I am not sure who is in charge, or what the response will be, however lots of people have developed Post-detection Policies (or PDPs).\n\nA post detection policy is a set of guidelines and rules put together that give us information on how to react if we meet extraterrestrial life.\n\nAt the moment, I am not sure ...
The Apocrypha and why it's not part of the current bible.	[ "There are many criteria used in determining what was to be considered \"cannon\" or not. It is a large topic which really is better studied in a Christian theology course, however, some of those criteria are along the lines of:\n\n1. No certain quotes are made from them by Jesus or any of the apostles.\n2. Not ac...
how carcinogens effect the body to increase the risk of cancer.	[ "There are three types of carcinogens; biological, physical and chemical. All of them can increase the risk of cancer in a couple of different ways. One is directly damaging DNA (like radiation), which causes mutations leading to tumours, these are called genotoxins. The other is making the cells divide at an incre...
What is the purpose of the propeller on current hologram projectors?	[ "> Wouldn't make more sense to have a screen, grid, or lens (as conventional projectors have) for the holographic object to project from?\n\nIn no case does an image \"project from\" the device. A spinning arm tries to fulfill the goal of having an image in an area where there doesn't appear to be a screen. When t...
Why does a bigger budget mean better CGI movie effects? Isn't it all made with software?	[ "Its made by people who know how to use the software. CGI is not easy. You need talented artists who know how to use 3D modeling software. Better artists cost more, but are able to make better visuals.", "It is, but making it well takes time and skill on the part of the effects team, which costs money. Addition...
I understand that calories in vs. calories out is the only thing to consider for weight loss, but what about for fat loss? Does what I eat matter if I want to predominantly lose fat and not much else?	[ "There are several theories on this with results. There are various diets.\n\nDo not fast to lose weight. Your body will use your muscle mass to feed your brain which needs sugar. Your weight loss will be fat loss.\n\nAny diet you cannot stay on forever will result in the yo yo effect with weight loss and gain. If ...
Why have analog records (vinyl) made such a strong popular resurgence in the last 3-4 years, and why do audiophiles often prefer them?	[ "There is this idea that digital audio can't represent all of the music, but analog music can, and the somewhat related idea that analog audio is \"warmer\" (or more \"organic\", there are plenty of variations) than digital music.\n\nFrom the scientific perspective, this is false. An in-depth but still fairly under...
Cthulus, HP Lovecraft. Is it real Mythology or is it just old horror books, is it actually good/scary/cool?	[ "They just old horror books. For the most part they were originally published in monthly magazines where the authors were paid by the word. Over the years of writing them, Lovecraft started to weave together a fictional history and collaborated via letter with other authors and swapped ideas. Although he wasn't sup...
Why do they call it Legend Of Zelda and not Legend Of Link?	[ "Because you are Link, and his name is whatever you put for him. His name doesn't matter, and for all the games history knows his name changes from game to game. The one constant is Zelda because after the first Zelda was cursed to sleep forever the king decreed, \"So that this tragedy would never be forgotten, he ...
What's the point of Whoaverse?	[ "It looks like it was created as a \"truereddit,\" so to speak. I imagine that some people were upset about the admins banning certain offensive subs and mods deleting comments in various subs (many claiming incorrectly that it violated their right to free speech). The main kick seems to have been from the vote cha...
How were Romans able to build fountains ?	[ "The fountain was located downhill from a river, and water from the river was delivered via a closed pipe, so that it arrived under natural pressure (from gravity).\n\nYo ho ho! Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained:\n\n1. [ELI5: How ancient Roman fountains worked ](_URL_6_) ^(_6 comments_)\n1....
Why does it seem like soap operas are filmed with different cameras than regular shows?	[ "Soap operas tend to be filmed on video with no post-processing to speak of, so the feeling is similar to news shows, reality shows, etc. They are also filmed in higher frame rates which, as it turns out, makes them seem less cinematic.", "30fps versus 24fps makes things look less professional.", "Originally, t...
Ninth Amendment	[ "It basically allows for the possibility that the founding fathers didn't account for 100% of the rights a person has and will always have and allows for \"common sense\" interpretations of those rights so that they don't need to be explicitly stated in the bill of rights for them to exist and be real.\n\nIt's basi...
People always go on about land-fill sites, for what reason can we not just chuck all the rubbish in Volcanoes?	[ "Fire does not destroy things. It changes them chemically sure, things go into the air and then there's the ash to deal with. Having said that, humanity does use incinerators to deal with trash (the logistics of trucking trash to an actual volcano would be a nightmare). But incenerators have to deal with the pro...
How do evolution deniers use the laws of thermodynamics to prove their case against evolution?	[ "They take the notion of entropy, and point out that current scientific knowledge points out two things. First, entropy is always rising. Second, complex biological organisms decrease entropy.\n\nThat sounds like a contradiction, right? That's the argument they make: there must be some divine intervention or, acc...
What are we hoping to learn from landing on an asteroid?	[ "One of the key investigations of Philae is the chemical composition of 67P. Philae has many sensors and gadgets on it that can collect and analyse samples from the surface. This data will be sent back to earth for the ESA and scientists to further analyse. \n\nThis information can help us understand the history of...
Even though birds can't taste the capsaicin in hot peppers, does it still burn like the core of a thousand suns when they defecate?	[ "Humans don't \"taste\" it either. Humans have receptors that register it as pain. Spice is literally a sensation, not a taste, which is why you feel it on the way out too. Birds dont have receptors sensitive to capsaicin anywhere in their body, so it doesn't burn coming or going" ]
How do we keep discovering new amazing things in astronomy when it takes millions of years for said discoveries to develop?	[ "The universe is very big, we estimate there are over 100 billion galaxies (each containing an average of 100 billion stars) in the observable universe. With that sort of number, it's almost guaranteed that somewhere, something interesting is happening at this moment.", "Because they started happening millions of...
Why does petting animals give us physical comfort?	[ "Most mammals have special sense receptors that respond favorably to gentle touch, which is why the vast majority of mammals will enjoy being pet (or petting something soft). So gentle stroking feels good to them, almost as much as it feels good for you to do it.\n\nWe also have a certain chemical in our body (oxyt...
Why are some people able to function on much less sleep than others?	[ "Very few people can actually function properly with a good amount of sleep debt. Most of those people just get used to it, like a high functioning alcoholic.", "Sleep is incredibly important to the longevity of our bodies, we do the majority of the recovery while sleeping for things like muscle repair, memory c...
why don't girls have Adam's apples	[ "Adam's apples are found on both women and men they just show up more prominently in men as a chunk of bony cartilage that's wrapped around the larynx.\n\nAlso known as the laryngeal prominence, the Adam's apple sits right on top of the thyroid gland, so the area is fittingly called the thyroid cartilage.\n\nGrown ...
the difference between a thrift store, a flea market, secondhand store, and a "goody store"	[ "Never heard of goody store. Either old people talk or her own lil saying- which is cute. \n\nIn my town (population 100k- somewhere MD USA) the thrift store is a non profit that accepts donations of all kinds and sells them at very low prices. In our thrift store, they employ individuals with disabilities. ( some ...
I often hear a deep rumbling noise that that last several minutes while outside, almost like thunder but on clear days or nights that seems to come from above me, is this a known phenomenon and what is it?	[ "Do you consistently hear it? Day after day? Are their times? I dread to post the following link because it feels to 'conspiracy theory' for my skeptic tastes, but it is not an unheard (ha) of phenomenon. _URL_0_ \n\nHowever, there have been cases where the deep hums that can last a while are actually minor tr...
If the U.S can use drones in foreign countries, how is it that these foreign countries aren't capable of doing the same thing to the US?	[ "The US would shoot it down. Most of the time, US drones operate in places were there aren't really ~~air-to-~~ air defenses, so the drone is fairly safe.\n\nAlso, very few countries that would want to operate drones have a base close enough to operate drones from, whereas the US has bases all over the world.\n\nED...
Munching Noises (More in Description)	[ "You don't? Really? I hate the noise my mouth produces when eating pop corns at the cinema, it doesn't let me hear the movie. \nAnyway, I guess is because we are not really able to be annoyed by something we do. For example, have you have tried to leave the toothpaste's cap open? Isn't that annoying as hell when so...
What exactly is Quantum Dot Technology for TVs supposed to do?	[ "The basic idea is that they're made of a material that absorbs a wide range of light, and then re-emits most of the absorbed energy as a very fine-tuned frequency of light. Being powered by light re-emission rather than electricity means that you can use them as passive filters to improve the light quality of the...
What is the difference between cheap shampoo and expensive shampoo?	[ "Source: I used to be a chemist for a private label cosmetics manufacturer. \n\nThe more expensive brands have higher quality fragrances and a higher surfactant to water ratio (lower priced ones are essentially watered down). Also, many have silicones to make hair shiny and silicones are expensive relative to other...
Which version of the bible is "the bible"	[ "None of them. Before Constantine the roman emperor made Christianity romes state religion there were different sects of Christians and hundreds of gospels competing for attention. When Constantine adopted it he called for the Christina elders to make one book everyone could rally around. Mark, Luke, Matthew, etc. ...
If we can build the Keystone XL pipeline, why don't we build a giant water pipeline from the Great Lakes to California to alleviate the drought problems there?	[ "Because keep your hands off our water.\n\nBut seriously, there's a whole ecosystem going on over there, and mass-draining the water will fuck with that. A ton of goods get shipped in and out of Detroit and other cities via freighters, and if the water level drops too low, it could cut off supply chains. Tourism wo...
How is outer-space relevant in modern warfare, what would space combat look like?	[ "It's where satellites are, and satellites are the backbone of modern communications and photo-reconnaissance technology. The GPS satellites, for example, allow the US military to guide vehicles and weapons to anywhere on the globe with a tiny margin of error. That's a HUGE advantage in a fight. Reconnaissance sa...
How does hitting hard surfaces with your fists make your knuckles stronger?	[ "The same way that walking barefoot for an extended period of time makes the sole of your foot more durable and tolerant to pain. The skin forms calluses (another example is callus formation at the finger tips in guitar players). \n\nAnother phenomenon is something called Wolff’s law. The link below explains this l...
Why are American houses often of such poor quality?	[ "But are they? I mean you are talking the dry wall in a house. There is no point of putting harder/heavier/more expensive materials on the inside of the house. As you have the studs in wall in case you need more support. Also take into consideration many houses in the US are built along the coast and made to withst...
why is there no thunder or lightning during a snowstorm?	[ "I've seen and heard lightning in a snowstorm. Worked at a ski resort as a lift operator, nothing more scary than lightning when you're sitting in a metal shack at the top of a mountain. The weather people call it thundersnow.", "It's possible. Meteorologists call it \"thundersnow\", but it's pretty rare. I'm...
How and why do spider webs become cobwebs?	[ "> How do the webs lose their \"stickiness\"?\n\nThey get covered in dust. Spiders frequently rebuild their webs in new locations. The old, abandoned web ends up collecting dust, which makes it less sticky, just like covering a piece of tape with dirt and debris makes it less sticky.", "i believe its an accumul...
Why does the raidio only play certain songs by an artist and not any song that is good by them? Even old artists with no albums to promote.	[ "To put it simple, it's been analysed that the audience stay on the station when the music is recognisable.", "A local radio morning show actually explained this a few weeks ago in my area. Basically, the stations quickly lose listeners if they play \"unknown\" music. Playing popular and recognizable songs is w...
How come it seems no one on the east-cost of America is able to handle and prepare for a snowstorm?	[ "I live in coastal New England. One thing to note is our winters are extremely unpredictable. Last year we had like 20 feet of snow, this year we haven't had any (and am only getting a few inches from this storm). How do you budget in something that can cost anywhere from five million to nothing. \n\nAnother thing ...
Why is it a bad idea to freeze food that's been defrosted?	[ "Freezing and unfreezing food can destroy the integrity of that food. When you freeze something whether it is meat, vegetables, a fully prepared meal, or bread the water in the food crystallizes. These crystals can ever so slightly damage the material/tissue around them. When you thaw the food the crystals disappea...
I’ve stood every single day of my life, so how are my legs and back still sore after a day of work when they should be used to the strain?	[ "Your body doesn't handle standing all day well . It didn't evolve that way. Standing and moving takes a lot of muscle effort for us to maintain and is very hard on our joints.", "You can only get used to it to a certain extent and then it starts to strain.\n\nIt'll take evolution over generations doing the same ...
Why is it sometimes so hard to remember someone’s exact face?	[ "I'll be mainly referencing How to Create a Mind by Ray Kurzweil.\n\nAccording to the book, the brain's working mechanism heavily relies on redundancy. The more you experience something, the brain creates more and more pattern recognizers for you to recognize.\n\nIn the case of faces, for people that you see often,...
Why does looking at a monitor from a sharp vertical angle change the color of the image on the screen?	[ "It's not the easiest question to answer, but basically because of light refraction.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nWhen the light from your monitor passes through layers of liquid crystals, polarizing filters and others, the light will bend if not viewed directly perpendicular to the surface. It will bend more the larger angle you...
Why is the United States giving up control of ICANN?	[ "It can help stave off employment off the \"nuclear option\" by other countries of building their own competing DNS servers. \n\nAccording to the World Bank (via Google), as of 2013 45% of China's population used the Internet, compared to 84% of the US. (Both figures seem low to me, which probably says something ab...
Why does soapy water pressurize a sealed container when I shake it?	[ "It's not the soap thats pressurizing it. It's the super hot water. The water is turning to steam in the carton and building pressure. You could watch it happen in a ziploc bag with hot water then sealing it!\n\nHope this helps!", "put very hot water in, let it sit for a couple of minutes to warm the air inside. ...
If California is in a drought, why not build water desalination plants by the Pacific Ocean to make water readily available for everyone?	[ "Because a large scale plant costs literally a billion dollars and takes years to design and build. It's extremely expensive and requires a lot of approvals, environmental assessments, etc. This isn't something you can do on a whim." ]
The mindset of very rich people that are trying to get even richer	[ "Some people decide that there is a direct connection between happiness and money. From their perspective, the more money you have, the happier you are. There is no limit to how much happiness money can create, as long as you keep having more money. These people might associate money with love, respect, power, free...
only because my son is five and I didn't have an answer. Where do primary colors come from? (We were mixing play doh)	[ "It's because each of your eyes is actually three eyes!\n\nYou have one eye which only sees red, one which sees green, and one for blue/violet. But they're all combined into one eye. (That's what they mean when they say that your retina contains cones for red, green and blue light.)\n\nBut actually your red eye c...
How am I able to sleep eight hours without having to take a piss yet I can't even last three or four hours on a long car ride?	[ "When you sleep, your body secretes anti-diuretic hormone (also called vasopressin), which instructs the kidneys to reduce urine production (the inability of some young children to produce this hormone at high enough levels is what causes bedwetting).\nWhen you are awake, this hormone is not produced, your body mak...
Do atoms or molecules have colour?	[ "When a photon interacts with the electrons on the outside of an atom, some of the interactions result in a photon of a different wavelength (= color). Certain molecules hold their atoms in a way that causes them to absorb all but one color and reflect that color, and we call these molecules pigments.", "Nothing...
Why do our public universities spend enormous sums of money on football/basketball coaches? Why do they need athletic teams at all? Universities should focus on education.	[ "Money. People watch sports, which earns them more money. Money they can then put into education." ]
How does the world look like to People with stereoblindness	[ "Every picture you see on the internet simulates stereoblindness. Another trick is to cover one eye and try to go about your normal activities." ]
EL5: Bill Nye and the irony of green plants.	[ "Plants can not absorb green light, it is reflected away and is why the plant looks green. The reason it is ironic is because \"green light\" is emitted from the sun more than any other color. Basically the plants excluded the most common wavelength of light from being part photosynthesis, which is rather ironic." ...
We can totally forget something and then remember it in an instant upon hearing a keyword/seeing something related to it. Does this mean that we essentially have EVERYTHİNG stored in our brain, and we just cant pull it out without a reminder?	[ "How exactly memory is stored in the brain is a fairly complex and vastly unknown process. There exists a hierarchy of information processing that will determine whether something is stored in short-memory, long-memory, working memory, that basically represents the amount of time you spend actively thinking about s...
What happens to neighborhoods when there is filming in that location?	[ "I read a book about an obscure but fairly recent TV adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma for an essay once. They said:\n\n\"in the weeks before filming, deals had to be negotiated with all the businesses that would lose trade. Each householder had to be approached about letting us change their curtains or door-knocker...
Why doesn't tin foil burn your fingers when its been in the oven for 15 minutes?	[ "Aluminum has a low [specific heat](_URL_0_) - the change in energy required for it to increase or decrease in temperature is relatively low. That is to say, not much energy is stored in a piece of hot aluminum (compared to, say, an equal mass of hot water). Since aluminum foil is so thin, you're talking about a ve...
Why do we take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for anxiety and depression, instead of just taking serotonin? ELI5ish.	[ "A very ~~convoluted~~ ELI5ish explanation.\n\nSerotonin is a messenger molecule that causes many different reactions. Let say that cells are like machines with switches, messenger molecules switch them on for some time before they switch back off. \n\nSerotonin works on many switches in different parts of the bo...
Why does it feel like every damn book is "#1 on new york times best seller list"?	[ "There is more than one New York Times bestseller list (the lists are split up into different genres/categories), so more than one book can be #1 at the same time, just not on the same list.\n\nAlso, these lists are frequently updated (I believe weekly), but you get to claim the title forever. So a book may have be...
Why were women's doubles badminton players deliberately trying to lose in the Olympics?	[ "Think of it in groups, where the top 2 teams in each group continue on to the next round. Let's assume, in the next round:\n\n* The Winner of Group A plays the 2nd place team of Group B\n* and\n* The Second place team in Group A plays the winner of Group B\n\nIf the 2nd placed team of Group A was a particularly st...
Why haven't scientists genetically engineered trees to grow faster than they do now?	[ "The thing about fast growing plants is that they usually have very little biomass compared to slower growing plants. Things that grow quickly would be things like corn and bamboo. \n Things that sequester more carbon are the things that grow more densely and more slowly. \n \nI'm no botanist, and wha...
How do things like Vending Machines know which paper Bills are being deposited?	[ "They use optical sensors to determine the location of markings on a bill. Since the markings on each form currency are unique to that specific amount, its very easy to set it up so it knows which markings correspond to a value.\n\nIts the same idea as bar code readers, at least as far as detection goes." ]
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Why are some people trying to add "Art" to STEM and calling it STEAM? Isn't that the exact opposite of the purpose of promoting STEM fields?	[ "The idea is that the arts are intertwined with STEM at this point, which becomes obvious if you think of something like product design or communication. \n\nI can tell you that I work for a software development company and I wish a lot more developers had some kind of background in the arts. Even something as ...
Why do scientists assume that without liquid water, a planet cannot have life? Why can't aliens function off a different substance, why must it be water?	[ "More about likelihood, then absolutes. Of course a planet without liquid water could sustain life, but in our experience, only planets that have life, to our knowledge, are those with liquid water, to which life is dependant.", "It is the only thing we know. Life on Earth depends on liquid water. \n\nThe assum...
Could Texas vote for Independence?	[ "We fought a war over that question, and the winning side was the 'no' side.", "They tried that back in 1861. You probably learned about it back in school. It did not end well for them, or for the rest of the Confederacy.", "This will explain it better than I can.\n\n_URL_0_", "Vote? Yes. Legally separate fro...
How can it be possible to be declared innocent of a crime when there is video and audio of the event?	[ "The point isn't to be declared \"innocent\", more \"not guilty\". The distinction is important because innocent means \"we know he didn't do it\" which is nearly impossible to know. \n\n\"Not guilty\" means there's not enough evidence to convict someone of a crime.", "Crimes are specific. For example, for murder...
If 10% of accidents are caused by wet roadways, why can't we create a tire type that doesnt hydroplane and is easily fitted for all vehicle types?	[ "Because we need to have tyres that work in all weather conditions, including completely dry roads. Producing a rubber compound that was super effective in wet conditions would likely involve a fairly soft tyre surface with loads of grooves to disperse water - if that tyre were driven on dry roads, it would introdu...
How can a negative emotional state create physical symptoms, such as depression causing you to become sick or sore ?	[ "Think about fight, flight, or freeze response. When do they usually kick in? When you perceive a threat. Your body physically responds to that emotion of fear. Adrenaline increases your heart rate, blood pressure, & energy supply to do what you need to.\n\nThere’s also this other hormone called cortisol. It’s kn...
Why do phones sound so much worse when on speaker?	[ "The energy in a sound signal dies off pretty fast the farther away you get from it. This is fine for really small speakers that you put very close to your ears like headphones, earbuds, and telephone speakers.\n\nWhen you switch to \"speaker\" mode on a phone the speakers used are still very small and the power ...
What exactly is a Diplomat and why do we have them?	[ "Trade agreements, negotiation of travel between boarders, military cooperation, cultural study, national security advisory....", "Diplomats are points of contact for official communication between countries, and are of particular importance in making agreements between governments. If you had a king for example ...
Why don't your palms grow hair?	[ "Animals evolved to not have hair on palms/soles of feet in order to have better traction for movement. Dogs, cats, primates, etc - all mammals have areas of hands/feet without hair.\n\nPrimate have broader palms instead of the pads you see on the feet of other mammals, so our entire palms are hair free for practi...
What causes the sound you hear when two people harmonize?	[ "Do this:\n\nCount in your head 1, 2, 3, 4, nice and even, over and over.\n\nNow tap your right foot on 1.\n\nNow tap your left foot on 1 and 3.\n\nPretty easy for you feet to fall into a nice pattern, right? That's what happens when you harmonize, the soundwaves fit together in a nice pattern.\n\nStart over.\n\nT...
what causes surges in a free flowing river?	[ "A few seconds seems to be a really small time scale for a surge, and could really only be caused by a couple things. First, as was mentioned, a flash storm upstream, in addition to a few really wide areas of the river could result in surges of that nature. Another reason could be groundwater pumping. If a well is ...
How can bird/predators eat bugs or insects that are venomous?	[ "There's a difference between poison and venom. Poison takes effect when eaten or inhaled. Venom takes effect when injected into the blood, typically through a bite or sting. Their predators may produce a natural anti-toxin or, in the case of those that prey on venomous creatures, are just really good at avoiding g...
Why do small dogs think they are big and big dogs think they are small?	[ "I believe it is discipline.\n\nLarger dogs are heavily disciplined - controlled from barking and mis-behaving. \n\nWhere as small dogs receive little discipline from barking or jumping because they are more harmless do to their size." ]
Why African Americans are not given the prefix of their country of origin while European's are?	[ "Because Black Americans who are descendants of slaves usually don't know their family's country of origin. Slave owners and traders were not interested in the ethnic origins of their slaves and kept only the most rudimentary records. Many Black Americans find it impossible to trace their families back more than a ...
What exactly is the Internet, where does it exist, how am I receiving it, and who is sending it?	[ "This is like asking where does mail exists. The Internet is a collection of devices all around the world that communicate using IP. There are major data centers for peering/etc but the answer is it's all around us.", "You know how connecting your phone to your computer through a cable lets you do all sorts of ...
If lower frequencies mean less energy, why does bass seem so much more powerful than treble?	[ "Because the described frequency/power relationship assumes the same amplitude.\n\nBass can be played at higher amplitude without being uncomfortable, and frequently has dedicated (large) speakers for it (woofers and subwoofers). Thus, the bass is played at a higher amplitude.\n\nThere is also the association of lo...
Does fire weigh anything?	[ "Fire is simply burning matter. The visible flame is basically plasma, which is when a gas gets hot enough to ionize giving it the distinctive appearance. Solids are the first state of matter, then liquids, gases and finally plasma. As such it has mass, but it's a very hot plasma (ionized gas). \n\nThink of the mol...
How do people (and pornstars) manage to fit so much stuff in their ass without doing crazy damage? Is everyone built like that?	[ "The same way you do anything. Practice. They start small and ease their way up over a few years (Crawl- > Walk- > Run). They also learn to control the 2nd sphincter which allows them to go deeper (Very dangerous if not done properly or with care). \n\nSource: Asked DirtyGardenGirl how she got to be the way she was...
with regards to vodka, how can something that has such a strong flavor, have such a weak smell?	[ "Smell happens when volatile compounds (that is, compounds that readily evaporate and enter the air) are clouding around an object and you inhale them. Vodka is mostly alcohol and water. Alcohol has a pretty distinctive smell but compared to something like rum with a bunch of other aromatic ingredients like sugar...
Why is WiFi loss measured in dB? and how does that work?	[ "Most people associate decibels (dB) with sound, but really decibel doesn't actually measure anything. A decibel is a way of comparing something to some reference point. Every 10 dB marks being 10 times larger or smaller than you were before. This scale is called a logarithmic scale, and basically involves scali...
How does this 64K algorithm generate a beautiful 6 minute long video with no resources?	[ "Most programme code nowadays is large because it has to be flexible and react to a variety of exceptions, test inputs, perform garbage collection, and play nice in an operating system with other programmes.\n\nThis code doesn't have to do any of that. It takes direct advantage of in-silicon data processing. It doe...
Scientists grow beating heart tissue from plants	[ "Scientists grow bigger by beating up the heart tissue from innocent plants?", "We can get cells to turn into heart tissue fairly well with our research. But we mix them up in a test tube and if we just grow them that way we get a lump of unorganized tissue rather than something we could hook into the blood suppl...
Inline Hockey	[ "Are you asking like, what is the sport of hockey I have no idea what this is? Or like what is the difference between inline and ice hockey?" ]
why is it generally taboo to ask someone how much they get paid even when you guys are friends?	[ "Generally because it can cause tension, if you work with that friend on they work in similar roles and you earn considerably more - while you might expect them to be happy for you - many people are simply annoyed by it.", "People often define themselves, or expect that others define them, by how much they make. ...
Why are television channels such as TruTV allowed to advertise that what they show is true, when it obviously isn't? Isn't this false advertising?	[ "I believe (though I could be incorrect) that a false advertisement claim can only be filed if the advertisement somehow put the plaintiff in some sort of danger or caused a financial, legal, or moral burden to them or their family. The use of \"or\" was rampant in that sentence, but in my sleepy state I can't thin...
What causes people to have fetishes, esp bizarre ones?	[ "Youi basically have something happen to you at some point during/close to puberty. Something that somehow combines sexual arousal with something normally not associated with it. I remember my Psych professor (it was only 101, I'm not a psychologists) told us a story of how a certain man came to have a fetish for c...
When couples get married, why does the wife take the last name of the husband?	[ "Historically women were, by today's standards, sold. Their original last name tells you that they are still 'possessed' by their father. The new last name tells you that they are now 'possessed' by the husband. Many of our marital traditions are carry-overs from this paradigm.", "Because in traditional culture s...
Why does sleep feel so good?	[ "Anything that you need to survive feels good when you need it. \n\nTry not breathing (for just a few seconds) and see how good that first breath feels. Or try not eating for several hours past mealtime. You feel very hungry, and the food tastes so good. Sleep is the same way. When you need sleep, it feels very g...

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