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where does thought come from | [
"Think of an equation (x+5 for example). The solution you get out of said equation is determined by two things. What the equation is (x+5), and what value you give x. Now lets apply that to a human brain, which is simply a large biological machine that runs according to complex chemical reactions. The brain is the ... |
Why do British accents seem to disappear when someone is singing? | [
"It's probably the way they learned it. There are a lot of British accents on singers like Robert Smith from The Cure, or Morrissey, pretty much all of the 80's brit pop (Duran Duran)."
] |
What happens to my booger when I try to pick my nose but push the booger in too far? | [
"It works it's way to your lungs and becomes cancer. Better pick that shit outta there."
] |
How do Dividends on Yahoo Work? | [
"A dividend is paid per share of stock, usually on a quarterly basis. For example, a 10 cent quarterly dividend = a 40 cent annual dividend. In general the dividend yield (expressed as a %) is the annual dividend divided by the price of the stock.",
"The 7.0 dividend was probably a one-time transaction, either ... |
Why is the "Censor Bleep" tone so consistent across most media? | [
"Traditionally audio equipment is tested by using a reference tone. This is just a generated sound wave, usually with a frequency of 1000 Hz, because that seems like a good enough number as any. Sometimes they'll also play a 100Hz and a 10,000Hz tone to test subwoofers and tweeters, but it's basically an easy way... |
Net Neutrality in the US. Go. | [
"you can only get 60 channels on cable.\n\nWithout net neutrality you may eventually be limited to 60 websites.",
"So, just to play devil's advocate, net neutrality also goes against the basics of the free market principle. The only way to enforce \"Net Neutrality\" is by using government regulations or laws, mea... |
How are there enough cows to supply the over 15k Macdonalds and Burger Kings in U.S. | [
"First, a single cow produces an awful lot of hamburgers. A grown steer produces about 500 pounds of beef, which is 2000 quarter-pound hambugers.\n\nSecond, there are enormous herds of cattle on ranches in the rural parts of the US, which you generally don't see because they're not along highways, but the US is en... |
How does the computer "know" how to control the current? | [
"First off, the [bootstrap](_URL_0_) problem. How does a computer read how to work, when it doesn't know how to work. It's basically a set of hardcoded operations that mak sure the machine actually knows how to handle storage, instructions etc. The computer \"knows\" this by having it as a specific hardware chip. O... |
What is the significance of the UK leaving the single market? | [
"The Single Market is essentially an agreement that we harmonise our laws and regulations so that everything is legal in all EU countries.\n\nWithout this, you can have conflicting laws in different countries, meaning some products are illegal in the other country.\n\nFor example, in the USA all eggs **must** be wa... |
Why can you smell the windshield cleaner fluid in the car? | [
"I used to be a Honda factory certified technician and worked for a Honda dealership for a couple of years.\n \nThe cabin air intake is almost always at the [base of the windshield](_URL_0_) or somewhere in vicinity of the windshield. There is a cabin air filter (usually a HEPA filter, especially in modern day ca... |
Why are social service systems in the US less efficient than in countries such as Sweden? | [
"\"Social service systems\" is probably too much of a generalization, since I've never seen any indication that things like pensions, unemployment insurance, or housing assistance are less efficient in American than elsewhere. In fact, [as Paul Krugman points out](_URL_0_), our Social Security system is actually v... |
Why do so many canned foods have that same "cat food" smell when opened? | [
"Um, can you elaborate on what canned foods, other than canned cat food itself, that you think smell like cat food?",
"> Most corned beef hash, refried beans, tuna, Spam.\n\nWhat you're smelling is overcooked meat and/or protein in a can (which is due to the canning process).\n\nCats require meat to live (no, the... |
Why are ribs called "Spare" ribs and not just ribs at Chinese places? | [
"Spare ribs are actually a different cut from what is just generally called \"ribs.\"\n\n[Here's the Wikipedia entry for pork ribs. It details all the different cuts.](_URL_0_)",
"From Wikipedia:\n\n > The term comes from Low German ribbesper (referring to pickled pork ribs, cooked on a spit), the parts of which... |
Police radios and how they keep the average citizen from talking on their signal. | [
"Well, for one they make it illegal for anyone else to broadcast on those frequencies. Agencies like the FCC (or the equivalent in your country) are in charge of allocating wireless communications spectrum and they will reserve certain frequencies for special / emergency use and the public can be fined or otherwise... |
Why do colds always seem to get worse at night? | [
"Depends if by night you mean, when you are to go to sleep or it is simply dark out.\n\nIf it is time you are to go to sleep and you are sick, your body is most likely tired and is now not working in top condition making it harder to fight the cold. \n\nIf it is because it is dark out only and not because you are t... |
Confederate flags in the midwest. IE: Wisconsin, Ohio, etc. I'm from a small town there but I don't get it. | [
"In the South, the Confederate flag has connotations with southern heritage and states' rights. In the North, the Confederate flag loses the southern heritage symbolism and is used as a symbol of resistance to the Federal government.\n\nThough, there may be other factors as to why some people fly Confederate flags:... |
Why does the ice cream machine in McDonald's/Burger King breakdown so often? | [
"Soft serve ice cream needs to be constantly stirred to keep it from hardening in the machine and to flow out when released, which means that the machine is constantly running for something like 18 hours a day. Because it needs to stir an enclosed canister of pressurized sugary milk, there need to be seals where th... |
Why is it that sometimes a post will say "5 comments" but when I click on it, it will show no comments? | [
"If a comment is deleted before it has any replies, then it won't appear at all, instead of as [deleted]."
] |
How does this paper saw burn the wood without even darkening the paper? | [
"the rim of the paper is getting darker and also this disk is wearing of so fast that the paper is gone before it is hot enough to burn."
] |
Why is wiretapping yourself illegal? | [
"She wasn't recording herself, she was recording others. And arrested != guilty of.",
"If you're talking to yourself there's no problem. However, if you're talking to someone else many states require that both parties must consent. If someone were taping YOU without your knowledge you might find this law a good... |
Why are plants green instead of being black? Wouldn't black allow for more energy absorption. | [
"Too much energy can actually kill the plant. It can lead to formation of what are called free radicals, highly reactive molecules that contain oxygen atoms that cause chain reactions in their chloroplasts, destroying them and thus stopping the plants from being able to photosynthesize. Some plants even contain spe... |
Why are pc games generally cheaper than their console counterpart | [
"The difference between PC and console games is that console games have a chunk of their cost go to the manufacturer of the console as a royalty fee. \n\nThis article may be useful:\n\n_URL_0_",
"There's many reasons and I probably don't fully understand them myself, but here's a few factors:\n\n* It's less cost... |
Subnetting and NAT Routing | [
"Would be helpful to have specifics as to what kind of NAT you are trying to do. 1:1, Overloading/PAT?\n\nThis is why my configuration looks like for my home router. Granted, I'm still working on it- I'm missing about 30 more rules to allow only certain traffic in and out. And for everyone else, don't worry, the IP... |
Why are people more inclined to vote for a certain political party rather than someone with more experience or with better ideas? | [
"People are most inclined to do what's easiest and whatever they think is best for them. Learning the candidates and what they bring to the table is (unfortunately) more work than a lot of people want to put into it -- and it's even harder when you can't filter out what's true, and what's BS.",
"People generally ... |
How does looking at light make it easier for me to sneeze? | [
"The nerve going from your eye is next to some of the ones going to your nose. A bright light can trigger some of the nearby nerve to trigger making your brain think your nose is being itched, thus triggering a sneeze"
] |
How would "The Homer" bankrupt Powell Motors? | [
"In the story, it seems there is a market segment in the automotive industry that hasn't existed for generations - a mid-sized car company. Herb is a millionaire, not a billionaire. We can assume that his company depends on at least modest success with each major new product to remain in business. A total disast... |
How does "colorizing" a picture work? With a picture recently posted at /r/oldschoolcool someone pointed out /r/colorizedhistory. How do they colorized pictures? How accurate are the colors or do they just pick colors they think look had with the times? | [
"Some things we know the colors of, either because we have documentation and/or surviving examples, such as military uniforms, or because they're the same color today, e.g. the sky, trees, roads, bricks, people's skin, etc. When such information isn't available, the artist just makes a guess or picks whichever colo... |
Why does swimming parallel to shore work better than swimming back to shore? | [
"You only do that to escape a riptide, a riptide is a stretch of ocean (and let's call it vertical), so swimming straight towards shore keeps you in the riptide, meaning you are getting pulled back out, so you swim parallel for a distance to escape it. \n[Image](_URL_0_) \n \n > and even had to do it once and i... |
How come males can ejaculate so voluntarily during a "wet dream" without physical activity, yet can't do so when they're awake? | [
"Ejaculating during a wet dream is not voluntary. That would mean it was done by the will of the person having the dream."
] |
Why do we need to sleep? Why haven't we come up with a way to prevent this need? | [
"Try checking out the results you'll find by searching before submitting. If you search, you'll find posts like [this one](_URL_0_) that answers your question quite nicely."
] |
Why doesn't North America use water to clean their butts? | [
"I am a Canadian who was introduced to the bidet by my European husband. We had one installed in our house. \nWhen people came to my home, or the subject came up with coworkers or friends, they were grossed out and I explained how much better it was. So it is in Canada too, except in Quebec, especially Montreal, wh... |
Watt, Volt, Amp. Go! | [
"I like the water analogy. Think of the flow of electricity like the flow of water: \n\nVoltage (Volts):Water pressure \nCurrent (Amps):Water flow rate \nPower (Watts): How fast you can make the water do work, = VxA Battery:Water tower \n\n \nOf course, like all analogies there are several flaws with these, b... |
What neurological processes are involved when "brainwashing" people? | [
"Brainwashing is not a scientifically accepted concept. It's an idea that was made up in the mid 20th century and that people found interesting, but is not supported by evidence. [source](_URL_0_)\n\nInstead, what is happening is ordinary training. People are learning what others believe, and what they are rewarde... |
Where does Okay originate? | [
"Nobody knows. There are probably a dozen different stories as to its origin, and no real evidence to support any of them.\n\nFor example, one theory is that it started as a humorous misspelling: \"Oll korrekt\" meaning \"All correct\". Some say that originated in the military, others that it had something to do wi... |
Why does it feel like there's less viruses on the internet nowadays? | [
"*Fewer\n\nAnd the purpose of viruses has shifted from being some piece of code that just fucks your system up, to being motivated by money. Modern malware is mostly targeted at businesses, websites, banks, etc. The home user isn't really a lucrative target. There are still viruses out there, but most end user AV s... |
Why do we pronounce "used" and "supposed" differently in different situations? | [
"They are technically different words.\n\nIn your particular example, \"used to\" is called a modal verb. \"Used\" however is just a regular verb.\nThe most common example of the same word, different pronunciation is read.\n\nI read that book last night.\n\nI like to read.\n\n\nEnglish is weird.",
"Most people th... |
What is happening (chemically) when you season a wok (or pizza stone, or cast iron skillet). | [
"Some metal is very porous, filled with tiny microscopic holes.\n\nWhen you season it, you are filling these holes with the residue of burned off oil. This makes the pan a much more flat and even surface, which makes the food less likely to stick.",
"Heat makes iron spread out. Makes small holes. Oils fill small ... |
Why your brain reads certain phrases in somebody else's voice? | [
"Good news everyone! I've just made an exciting post on *Reddit*, the popular internet site ^eheh .\n\nThe reason you often read in someone else's voice is a phenomenon known as *subvocalization*. This is basically reading the words out loud, but only in your mind. Try it: pay attention to it when you're reading, a... |
how does a HOA (home owners association) have any power? | [
"The buyer of the property was sold it under the condition they agreed to abide by the HOA. This agreement requires any new buyer to sign the agreement in kind.",
"When you purchase a house in an HOA area you sign papers that give them power.",
"Because you have sighed a contract giving them whatever power they... |
We can manipulate an organism's DNA to emphasize several traits. What would it take to make a DNA from scratch, creating an entirely new organism? | [
"For some definitions of \"scratch\", we have already done this.\n\nWe can build bacteria DNA from scratch, insert it into an existing bacterium, and have it use that DNA instead, building new bacterium as it divides.\n\nThat synthetic DNA is mostly just a copy of the original bacteria DNA, but they did intentional... |
Why do torrents for TV shows come out within hours of the episode, but for movies it often takes weeks? | [
"For TV shows, someone has the recording equipment and software all prepped and ready for the airing of the show. So all they have to do is record it, encode it, and create the torrent. In contrast, movies first show in a theater. Theaters have policies against recording, so whoever does it typically has to actuall... |
What do i have to do as a foreigner if i want to move to the US and live there permanently? | [
"From someone who has just recently done this. Basically it goes like this. Move here, file for residency, get permanent residency, hold that for at least 5 years, file for citizenship, go through that process, if you have kept a clean record and followed all laws and paid taxes you can be sworn in as a US citizen.... |
How does hair detangler work? | [
"The conditioner itself had a high moisture usually including some keratin protein, the same that's found in your hair, when the hair is moisturized (there's a difference between soft and moisture) it creates more slip in the hair so is easier to slide out of knots.",
"Lubricates the shafts of the hair so the kno... |
Why does fresh air make us feel less nauseous? | [
"It's the oxygen in the air that makes you feel better, not just the air. Fresh air has more oxygen than an unventilated room. The oxygen gets into your blood and makes everything run smoother, because we run on oxygen."
] |
When is a jury applicable in court and when does the judge decide? | [
"In the US, juries making findings of fact, and judges make rulings of law.\n\nA judge decides whether evidence is admissible, whether lawyers are asking proper questions, and runs the court.\n\nJuries decide whether witnesses are telling the truth and what the accused intentions were.",
"You didn't specify count... |
what Web analytics is and why it's important for today's business | [
"If you look at the [marketing material for Google Analytics it will probably help you a lot](_URL_0_).\n\nThe short version is that it lets you look at who comes to your site, where they come from & how long they stay there. It lets you decide important things like:\n\n* How much money should we spend making th... |
Why does a country downstream from a dam suffer a hit to its water supply? Doesn't the net water flow stay the same? | [
"One big factor is evaporation. A reservoir generally creates a greater water temperature in the upper layer and a larger surface area, which increases evaporation and reduces downstream water availability. Also infiltration can be a problem, with water becoming groundwater due to the fact that it's sitting in th... |
Where does ISIS get those orange jumpsuits for its hostages from? Is it manufactured within ISIS territory? | [
"There have probably been hundreds of millions of orange jumpsuits manufactured over the past few decades. I'm sure it's not hard for anyone to find a few for sale. Try the internet.",
"I would think they're stolen from prisons in territories they've taken over",
"The DailyMail of England run a story about sewi... |
Conception & Fertilization... what happens? | [
"1. Sperm enters the fallopian tube and swims towards the ovaries. Within the fallopian tube, the sperm is activated by a number of enzymes that make their heads able to breach the ovum (this is called capacitation).\n\n2. The ovum is released down the fallopian tubes starting from the ovaries. This takes about 2... |
Why does bond buying by the US Federal Reserve keep interest rates from going up (and why does that surge stocks and gold prices)? | [
"Imagine a bond as a promise to pay a fixed amount. To simplify, let's say any borrower just auctions off slips of paper that say \"I will pay you $100, 1 year from today.\" If the auction sells the slips of paper at $50 apiece, then the interest rate is 100% -- the borrower will have to repay twice what they got. ... |
Can space debris shadow stars? | [
"If the debris was large enough, sure it could momentarily block the light of a star. \n\nHowever, there are two reasons why we would never expect it to be completely blocking out our view of a star system.\n\n1) We look at space from many different places, both on earth and in space, like the Hubble telescope. It ... |
Zero Coupon Bonds | [
"Bonds that don't pay periodic interest, and instead only pay out on maturity. They're sold below par value, so the interest rate is implied from that."
] |
Why is AWD better than FWD and FWD better than RWD driving on snow? | [
"There is a video going around that shows a RWD car will do better with good tires than an AWD car will do with shit all seasons. \n\nBasically, it boils down to traction. Rear wheel drive powers only the rear wheels. This works amazing on dry pavement where the weight transfers to the rear. Whenever the pavement i... |
Mosquitos are key vectors in the spread of many (malaria, West Nile virus, dengue, etc.). How would wiping them off the face of the earth negatively affect various ecosystems? | [
"The biggest change will be allowing people to live longer and healthier lives. Problems like malaria, dengue and now zika virus are a major reason why many tropical areas are third world countries.\n\nThere are probably other species whose numbers are kept in check by mosquito-born diseases.\n\nAs for environment,... |
Why do masses attract? | [
"The more dense an object is, the more it indents in space-time. Think of it like placing a bowling ball on a trampoline, and then throwing marbles on the trampoline and watch them be 'attracted' to the bowling ball.\n\nWhen things exist they take up space they do not add space, therefore they will always indent an... |
Why is road kill most always off to the side of the road when it usually is hit within the middle of the road? | [
"Typically the animal is hit with the front/ side of the vehicle. Where it is knocked back to the side of the road. \n\nIf hit dead on 99% of the time somone will drag the animal to the side of the road so it isnt a danger to others.",
"The smaller animals that tend to get completely squished and killed instantly... |
What is telemetry in computer security? And why is it in the headlines in regards to Windows 10? | [
"Telemetry in Windows 10 allows Microsoft to access the metadata (Data of the data... i.e. what programs you have used, how much you've used them, but rarely any information regarding what you did within said program) of your machine and what you do. It's an attempt to more effectively combat the bugs and glitches ... |
how cancer starts and why it spreads at different speeds through different body parts | [
"Cancer is essentially a partially damaged cell that can replicate.\n\nNormally, tumor cells are removed via the lymphatic system. Some areas of the body don't have easy access to the lymphatic system, so they can't be removed. For example, brain tumors are inside the blood brain barrier and prostate tumors are dee... |
Why do Actors get paid so much? How is their pay structured? | [
"It depends on the money which can be generated. With shows the money comes from advertising. If the show producers know they can earn advertising dollars then they are willing to pay big bucks.",
"Rates are negotiated by the actor's agent. . They would have a contract for this many episodes for the price, but... |
if a person were to live in an environment with more intense gravity would they become stronger? | [
"Yes, you are correct.\n\nSince we aren't going to be traveling to a place with higher gravity any time soon (or manipulating gravity), a common way of replicating this phenomenon is to put on a weight vest. Now you suddenly have to move extra weight (exactly what having higher gravity would require) and thus would... |
Quintuplets, how does a woman hold that many babies all the way to term? | [
"They don't. Twins are usually born prematurely - the more twins, the earlier. The average pregnancy length for quintuplets is around 29 weeks, as opposed to the normal 40 weeks. Additionally, the last few weeks are when the fetus gains the most weight, so a fetus at week 29 only weighs about a third of what it wil... |
Why do pills come in different shapes? | [
"First of all, there are different kinds of pills.\n\n* There are pills containing mostly calcium - these doesn't taste bad, and are therefore uncovered.\n* Other pills are covered in a sugar to eliminate the bad flavor.\n* Some drugs need to work fast, and are therefore in powder shape, sealed in a thin shell that... |
. What's the difference in amps and volts? What do they do? | [
"Analogy:\nVoltage (measured in volts) is similar to pressure in a pipe, and the current (measured in amperes) is the flow of water in the pipe.\n\nReality:\nThe voltage pushes electric charge. All materials have some charge (such as electrons) -- and in a *conductive* material the charges can move around easily. W... |
What does an orchestra conductor do, and how is one better than another? | [
"There is a lot more to it. Orchestras play music written for large groups of acoustic instruments. Most of this music was written long before recordings could be made. So the speed of the music is indicated by word phrases.\n\nThe conductor provides the timing so all play together. Orchestra members have their mus... |
Why do objects that are far away appear to move slowly? | [
"Because the distance they need to travel in order to move to a different point on your visual arc is much larger.\n\nYour hand moving in front of your face very quickly will move from the right side of your vision to the left side, even if you move the hand itself slowly.\n\nBut a car going by at a racetrack might... |
How come glass can be a window, a mirror, or even one way mirror? | [
"The glass is not responsible for reflection in a mirror. Instead, there is a thin, metallic sheet backing the glass which reflects nearly all light. The glass just overlays the reflective sheet, keeping it flat and probably helping it's reflectivity in ways that I don't understand."
] |
What happens in my mouth while sleeping to get that gross smell, taste and feel? | [
"The bacteria that normally cycle through your mouth when you spit, swallow, etc. are instead basically allowed to sit and spread. \n\nIf you have ever gotten dry mouth, you will notice your mouth feels gross and your breath smells horrible. Same idea, no saliva circulating to clear out bacteria.",
"Your salivary... |
With potentially millions of different species available, why has humanity only fully domesticated a small handful? | [
"The book Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond outlined this pretty well. Animals have to have a certain set of characteristics in order to be domesticated. When you add up all these characteristics there are few animals that fit the bill. \n\n1. Their diet must be different than that of humans or they must be a... |
What has Benjamin Netanyahu actually accomplished? | [
"Well, he's done a marvelous job of increasing tension in the region and fanning the flames of an already bad situation.\n\nHowever, chicken hawk is not an apt designation. Unlike his ideological counterparts in the US, like Cheney and Rumsfeld, Netanyahu *did* enlist and fight in combat in the Israeli defense forc... |
Why do some people in the USA think there are magic phrases that put them outside the law? | [
"Part of the problem is that the legal system does have some very specific \"magic\" phrases that can make or break a claim in very particular circumstances. That, and the fact that lawyers have built up common ways of expressing things, make some people think that the entire thing is an elaborate system that just ... |
Why are suicide rates so high wealthy western countries, but in places like Africa, where people are starving and live in terrible conditions, the rates are low? | [
"The suicide rate is not accurate in most developing countries so it's hard to know. Some countries also deliberately understate the numbers.\n\nAlso there are forms of disguised suicide where a person will take extreme risks that may lead to fatal injury - for example a teen who join an armed militia, it may be dr... |
Why do my muscles start shaking/vibrating when I lift a weight heavier than I am capable of? | [
"Balancing muscles (fixator) that are used to stabilize the lift cannot carry the load. Lifting weights is not overall natural. There are a lot of balancing muscles used that get little to no use in everyday life especially modern life. An example of this is the bench press. Your triceps are doing a lot of balancin... |
The Rwanda genocide how did it happen and why? | [
"Im not going the five year old route since it really isn't that complicated:\n\nThere were two different cultural groups living in one country, the Hutu and the Tutsi. The Hutu were in the majority, but generally poorer, farmers, while the Tutsi minority were wealthy business owners. Before the 1950s, the countr... |
How is it possible that the wreckage of the USS Lexington along with its planes is still in such remarkable shape despite being under water for more than 75 years? | [
"There can be a lot of factors. The chemical makeup of the water, the salinity, the current flow, pollution level, all of those can have a bearing on how much anything that sinks deteriorates. \n\nFor an extreme example, look at the wreck of the [Vasa](_URL_0_). \n\nThat was a ship that went down in the 17th centur... |
Why do a dog's foot pads smell like popcorn? | [
"> This corn chips smell is usually caused by some bacteria that are completely natural yet give off a kind of yeasty odor, particularly the bacteria Proteus or Pseudomonas. Many pet owners say they actually ENJOY this smell, so you can relax.\n\n_URL_0_",
"A better question: Why does popcorn smell like a dog's ... |
How does my body know when it should wake up when I'm on the bus/train? | [
"Most times it doesn't. I've seen people sleep through the regular stops heaps of times.",
"Your body is very good at detecting a change in your environment. Thus, when you are on a train for a long time, you get used to the constant speed you are traveling at. When the train slows down to stop, your body recogn... |
Why is the Wounded Warrio Project needed, does our government not take care of these soldiers after sending them to war to get maimed? | [
"Not sufficiently. They get medical care, but help readjusting to life after severe injuries isn't covered by the Veterans Affairs office. Counseling, therapy, and advice on how to return to normal aren't given by the government. There's a reason why many veterans end up homeless. The government does the bare minim... |
How does the Moviepass business model work? How do they make money off of $10 a month when it's more than $10 a movie in some places? | [
"How do they make money? **They don't**. The company is subsidizing tickets using venture capital money. [They're hoping that if they get popular enough, theater owners will give them some money](_URL_0_):\n\n > Lowe acknowledges that his company is subsidizing ticket buyers and will lose money in the process. How... |
Who came up with the idea that dying in battle led to afterlife rewards? | [
"a crafty warlord that needed to rouse troops in order to fight under false pretenses in order to promote his sole agenda.",
"I doubt that cynical warlords invented this belief so as to get people to die for them; rather, I imagine it was a tribal belief from times immemorial, since tribes have apparently been pr... |
Why do most people don't care about privacy and surveillance? | [
"Most people do care about privacy and surveillance. But the *degree* to which they care varies greatly.\n\nCameras on public streets recording everything that goes by may bother some people, and others not in the least. A camera in the bathroom of someone's home, however, and pretty much everyone will be angry.\n\... |
Why can we easily distinguish between faces in photorealistic games and real faces? | [
"> Many photorealistic games are indistinguishable from actual photos, except when human faces are there. What exactly is the difference?\n\nThe difference is *you*. Humans are highly adapted to recognize slight differences in human faces because it is very useful for humans to tell humans apart. Crows for example... |
Why do our eyes get more dull as we age? | [
"Your body can not replace lost cells exactly the same every time. Over the years, our body's ability to replace cells is diminished, so our eyes will progressively get worse and worse.\n\nthis process can be slowed through being healthy and providing the proper nutrients your eyes need, but given enough time, they... |
Why haven’t we begun colonizing the moon? | [
"Cost > Benefit\n\nOr as per the conspiracy theory there is an alien observation post and we have a pact not to go there.",
"it's just a cost thing. functionally it's the same as a cold rocky desert. the excitement of Mars is a bigger draw for funds than an outpost on the moon \"for the hell of it\". we're u... |
I live in an apartment that has centrally controlled watery heating. When the water pipe is heating up, it pings loudly and repeatedly. Why does this happen? Is there anything I can do about it? | [
"The pinging is either the expansion/contraction of the pipes, or air in the pipes. There really is nothing that you can do unless you want to pay to replace all of the pipes with PVC pipes."
] |
does gum (like orbit advertises) actually clean our teeth? | [
"Gum that has sugar in it does not. Otherwise it can yes by removing crap off your teeths and also chewing makes your blood go to your teeth feeding them and making them stronger",
"The production of saliva is what protects and cleans your teeth not entirely the actual gum. Although the gum DOES have the ability ... |
What do I need to be looking at when switching Broadband packages/providers (ISP) | [
"Hmm, judging by your use of \"pounds\" you're probably in the UK, so I can't advise you on any specifics. But with Broadband, there's really only three things to look for:\n\n1. Cost\n2. Speed (GB/s)\n3. Company reliability and service\n\nAnything else is really just marketing addons, and can typically be ignored... |
If I bang my leg, I get a bruise. The same blow to the head results in a lump. Why does the same body react to the same accident in different ways dependent on the impact site? | [
"Two factors - first, your leg is squishier than your head when it gets bumped by the same object. You are likely hurt in different ways. If you hit a mattress or a table with a baseball bat, you get a different effect.\n\nSecond, your leg is again squishier than your head when you get swelling. The swelling makes ... |
Why is "drinking alone" stigmatized? | [
"I often drink, to get drunk, alone ,and don't care if it's stigmatized or celebrated. I would prefer to be drunk in my own home, with my own soundtrack, my own volume, and the comfort of my own couch. There's no risk of running into an asshole looking for trouble, there's no risk of getting bored of the people I'm... |
When we sing, why do our voices sound so much better to ourselves than when others hear them or we hear them on a recording? | [
"Read this to my 5 year old, he didnt understand a word of it. You have let my son down now he will never be president.",
"It's the same reason that your voice sounds different on a recording; because you don't actually hear your own voice as it is. You hear it only partly through your ears, but the tone of your ... |
Is the ending scene in Rush Hour, where Carter saves Lee from falling to his death by turning a giant curtain into a slide, actually possible? | [
"According to the description, \"Jackie Chan -- performing his own stunts as per his earlier films.\", and other sources back that up.\n\nSo, I'd say it's possible but it would depend on the material and the thickness of the fabric. \n\nI'm not 100% sure on the physics of it but since he's falling at more of a vert... |
Why do many websites not allow me to access them until I accept one or multiple cookies? | [
"In some countries/regions it's a law that users give permission for the site to use cookies. [Link Explanation](_URL_0_)\n\nIn addition, like @StrangelyTypes mentioned, a lot of sites won't function perfectly without the use of cookies, so it's best to ask the user/inform them to turn them on for the best experi... |
Compared to other East Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Vietnam, the Japanese have much longer names, often with 3+ syllables, while in Korea, China, and Vietnam people usually have one to two syllables in their name. Is there any cause for this, whether linguistically or culturally? | [
"It's funny you noticed that; I never had, but for other reasons entirely I just learned recently that the Japanese, for the most part, didn't have surnames at all until relatively recently in history. But around the turn of the last century, the government decreed that they all adopt formal surnames, and they got ... |
Why does fuel efficiency decline so quickly the faster you go? | [
"Because air resistance increases with the *square* of your vehicle speed. If you double your speed, you quadruple the wind force fighting you. That means your motor has to work four times as hard to keep you at that speed. So you have to burn a lot of fuel to keep it up."
] |
If wine experts can be fooled, is there no difference between good and bad wine? If there is, is the power of expectation something that affects all food and drink critics/experts? Or are other drinks/foods more discernible? | [
"There is a difference between wines. Some of the difference is very noticeable, like \"corked\" wine, which has a terrible smell and taste.\n\nThere is also a general difference in quality between cheaper wines and more expensive wines. If you taste for a while, you can usually differentiate a ten dollar bottle ... |
How come a mother's mother is called a grandmother, but a mother's aunt is called a great aunt and not a grand aunt? | [
"according to [this source](_URL_0_) Grand aunt is also acceptable. In this case grand and great are synonymous but grand is derived from French where great is derived from Old English"
] |
How is music imprinted onto a vinyl record? | [
"They make a master first. It's usually coated metal. I think acetate on aluminum is the current favorite. It has all of the grooves on it. But you don't want to ruin this by mashing it into vinyl over and over, so they make a \"mold\" from this master. I use quotes because mold sounds like something you do wi... |
What's that (monster) thing in American sinks? | [
"A grinder that chews up stuff to flush down the drain. So you can get rid of veggie peels and misc food garbage"
] |
What is hard-drive fragmentation and how do programs like defraggler work? | [
"Your hard drive is a disc divided into sectors that data can be written to. The segments are numbered. If you're on a windows machine, when your computer needs to write something, it counts up until it finds a sector with enough space to hold the data that needs to be written, fills that space, and then moves on t... |
Why is there a small portion of Russia between Lithuania and Poland? | [
"That little chunk of land, known now as the Kaliningrad oblast, used to be the easternmost part of Germany, as you can see [here](_URL_0_) in the red, and was known as Königsberg. After World War I, Königsberg, along with the city of Danzig, was separated from the rest of Germany, as you can see [here](_URL_1_), ... |
How is Friend of the Court, not considered a conflict of interest? | [
"I have seen lawyers act as a \"friend of the court\". From my experience it happens when a defendant does not have a lawyer present and the court needs a lawyer to explain a matter of law to the defendant or to stand in while the court address some sort of administrative issue, such as changing a court date or sch... |
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