Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
If pain occurs when something is going wrong in my body, why doesn't losing feeling in a limb (limb falling asleep) hurt?	[ "The nerves have blocked, your body is trying, but the telephone lines have been cut. The tingling after is the nerves comming back online", "An interesting tangent I would recommend going on would be to look up \"phantom limb pain.\" It's basically what you're talking about, but more extreme. People who have los...
Why aren't we constantly terrified about dying or knowing how insignificant we are?	[ "Some of us are, this is a very real & common problem. It keeps the anti-anxiety med makers & the shrinks in business." ]
why are the Japanese dying at 110 when southern Utah Summers easily hit 115-120 and everybody's fine?	[ "1) Acclimatization. They are not used to the weather and so the abnormality of it can cause their body to overreact. They also do not know what to do to handle it, such as drink extra water. \n\n2) Much of Japan is far enough north that they do not use AC in their homes or buildings. Many literally have no place t...
Why is there so little research on the effects of Marijuana compared to other drugs when it is not only the most common drug, but one we are actually thinking of legalizing?	[ "Well, it's very very difficult to ask the public to volunteer to help test the effects of a drug that can, as silly as it is, ruin your life. This has kept any studies from happening - a schedule 1 drug cannot be studied. Hell, as far as the DEA and many people are concerned, the very fact that it's schedule 1 me...
- The problems with economy/business regulation or: the advantages of deregulation	[ "regulation is corrupting. regulation reduces competition. regulation enshrines obsolete business practices in law. regulation is expensive.", "Very simply:\n\nToo little regulation: What if the private sector messes up!\n\nToo much regulation: What if the government messes up!\n\nMiddle of the road regulation...
How does the U.S. use NATO to intervene with other countries?	[ "NATO (and this isn't hyperbole) is the single most powerful global military alliance in history including 11 of the 20 largest militaries. It started as a way to have a \"united front\" against the Soviets, but the decades of working closely together has made it the easiest way for the developed world to work toge...
If the Taliban has spokespeople and twitter accounts, why doesn't we just track them down and end them?	[ "Press confidentiality. A journalist who meets with the Taliban is both blindfolded so as not to reveal their location and can't reveal their sources.", "The Taliban are not as shadowy and secretive as you think they are (you're confusing them with Al-Qaeda). The Taliban governed Afghanistan for ~ 5 years (1996-2...
If cooler conductors transfer electricity better, why would cold on a sore muscle block pain receptors?	[ "Because pain receptors work mainly on chemical reactions, with electricity playing a secondary role. Cold slows chemical reactions." ]
Why air moves in planet earth?	[ "Air does move in a box! It just have to be a big box before you'll notice. \n\nThe reason is that hot air is lighter than cold air, so if one part of the box is heated faster than another part, the air at the hot part will start moving up, which leaves space for the cold air to move to the hot area, which lets air...
Why do we kiss?	[ "Good question! Short answer is, no one's really sure. My favorite, and the leading theory, is that it's an evolutionary way for us to tell who's a good match.\n\nWhat happens is, evolution wants us to make the strongest babies possible. The babies that have the best immune system. How do we get these super babie...
What is the point of a "smart" credit card (with the chip)?	[ "The main benefit is that in order to clone the chip, you need to get access to the private encryption keys on the chip itself. Short of breaking into the bank/credit union's computer systems, you're not getting those. Meanwhile, cloning the magnetic stripe on the back is a simple matter of buying $150 worth of equ...
How do protons stay bonded together. I thought 2 positively charged particles pushed away from each other like magnets.	[ "They do. In the universe, physics has established that there are 4 fundamental forces; gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak. You likely heard of gravitational and electromagnetic, but the force responsible for holding together the nucleus of an atom is called the strong force. As its name implies, it i...
Why can I eat salt and drink water, but not drink saltwater?	[ "You can drink salt water. There's no law against it. You don't die if you drink it. It's just that salt water (at least ocean water) has enough salt in it that it doesn't hydrate you. In fact, it dehydrates you. (and can make you sick for other reasons). If you drank nothing but salt water, you'd get too much sal...
How do anti-satellite missiles work?	[ "These missiles work a lot like the rockets used to launch satellites into space, except that they don't go as high and the payload isn't a satellite, but a kill vehicle. The kill vehicle is typically just a mass with a very complicated guidance system on it. It doesn't carry explosives because when it hits the tar...
How do animals such as chameleons and some squid know which colour to change to?	[ "I can't answer for squid, but chameleons don't know what colour they're changing into: it's more of a signalling of mood, temperature and probably a few other things I'm forgetting", "If I recall correctly, they perceive the background colours through their eyes and also foto receptors in their skin. However, we...
why do we have a crack underneath the skin on our chins	[ "Because it is the tendon site for two facial muscles, which are symmetrical across the face _URL_0_" ]
How does cheese get its flavor? What differentiates cheddar cheese from american cheese? Is it ingredients or something in the process of it being made?	[ "Cheese is made by adding colonies of certain types of bacteria to milk. The bacteria eat proteins and sugars from the milk and produce new compounds that make the milk thicker until it becomes cheese. Depending on what types of bacteria are used, the byproducts will be different and the resulting cheese will have ...
Whats the physics behind pumping your arms when you run?	[ "Your arms counterbalance the swing of your legs. Try running with your arms down Fred Flinstone style and you'll notice it is actually more difficult." ]
why whites are excluded from being able to have race specific media and events when other races do the same without being called out as racist.	[ "Because everything that is not explicitly minority media or event, is by definition white media or event. That is what it means to be a majority.", "[If you aren't just trying to make a point, and you really want to know the answer, click here...](_URL_0_)\n\nA few important points:\n\n\"The very notion of white...
Why are American police generally despised while the military is very highly regarded?	[ "The military don't take actions against the citizens of the country, they're regarded as protecting the interests of the nation as a whole.\n\nThe police are active in the community to serve and protect, this leads them to having more contact with the individual citizens and the perception that they're the enemy b...
Why does heat hurt more than cold?	[ "I think it's just personal experience. Cold hurts me more than heat. It hurts my body parts like my nose and hands, whereas heat doesn't hurt me, it's just annoying and bothers me", "This is how I see it:\n\nThink about what heat and cold actually are.\nHeat is essential molecules that are moving around at a mor...
Why does YouTube buffer but TV doesn't?	[ "Cable sends the exact signal you need for a tv show and has been optimized for that functionality. The show actually comes through the cable in a direct signal and is pretty much a direct line to your cable provider. Each channel has its own signal coming from the provider so all you have to do is tune to that sig...
How/Why do dryer balls work?	[ "Theoretically, the dryer ball stops the fabric from sticking to itself, so when you run it through the dryer, it fluffs up instead of just flopping around stuck together. Whether it actually does lead to softer clothes is still under debate.\n\nPopular Mechanics ran an article on this that you can read here: _URL_...
If we breathe in O2, and breathe out CO2, why can't we find a way to pull the Carbon from the O2 to eliminate the need to carry extra air in space or underwater?	[ "The problem is the energy required to break the C from the 02. This is essentially what photosynthesis does and we don't have a more efficient system than \"grow a plant\". Because the energy required is so high it's not practical to do it on a scale big enough to produce breathable air.", "Another budding che...
why Argentina wants the Falkland Islands so badly?	[ "Argentinian desire for the Falklands is inversely proportional to how well their economy is doing.", "Proximity, they think because its closer to them they have more right to it than the people living there.", "Argentina thinks the islands are theirs, and that the British stole them. They don't read reddit com...
The current drought situation in California.	[ "California is naturally susceptible to droughts and has its history of droughts. Actions taken are that we 'steal' other regions' water and ration our usage.", "What caused it:\n\nI'm probably oversimplifying but AFAIK the most important precipitation is during the winter. \"The annual snowpack normally pro...
Why wasn't the world settled West to East?	[ "There were actually people in the Americas before Europeans came over the atlantic and evidence suggests that they came over the Bering Straight land bridge from russia to alaska when the sea was lower due to half the world being covered in glaciers." ]
why is it, that when you take any body part out from underneath a blanket, you become freezing. But when you have your head out the whole night, your fine?	[ "Your temperature sensors can only measure change in temperature. That is why metal feels cold (or hot if it is out of an oven), you are feeling the rate in which that heat is transferred to or from your body.\n\nYour body under the covers would be warmer, so when you remove the blanket, it cools quickly, feeling c...
If my skin never touches my eyeglasses, where does the oil on my glasses come from?	[ "They do contact skin at points and by putting them on when you touch them.\n\nOR from frying bacon" ]
How can I wipe 30-times after taking a dump and it just never gets clean?	[ "I would imagine the composition of your feces has something to do with it. A normal, healthy, and regular bowel movement should be one or possibly two solid masses that hold themselves together in such a way that smearing does not occur. Those optimal turds that result in the one-and-done wipe with the toilet pape...
When an insect or similar gets stuck in a fast moving vehicle, do they just have to start a new life or would they try and find where they were previously?	[ "Insects do not know where they are to begin with, so it doesn't bother them. Insects don't really know anything. They simply don't have a complex enough nervous system for that sort of thing.", "I always think about that when a bee gets stuck in my car. Like they have a hive and home and stuff. Do they fly bac...
What would happen if you were swimming in a body of water struck by lightning?	[ "It depends on how close you are. Pretty sure I read it's something like either 30 yards or feet is still potentially deadly in water.", "You might find these previous posts helpful:\n\n_URL_0_" ]
Why when we squint our eyes do we see a squiggly line?	[ "Sweet. I love this question. I used to tell my doctors I could see these but he always said they were 'floaters' I was like no! they are cells, I can not directly look at them.. Okay.. So.. This is a thing known quite commonly as the [Blue Field Entoptic phenomenon](_URL_0_). You can click the link there and see a...
Why is it so expensive to go to college in the United States?	[ "Because US schools are built on the foundation of \"Better Research Better Education\" which is generally saying the better the schools research department is, the better the school will be, the rarer the degree and the better it will look if you attended.\n\nTherefore we have an economical arms race where every s...
How safe are parachutes exactly? How often do they fail?	[ "Parachute failing, yes. Close call, no. There are some complete mishaps, but if well maintained, well inspected and packed property, they're safe." ]
Why do headphones label each earbud?	[ "There are two reasons:\n\nReason 1: Some ear buds are designed to fit a specific ear. They might be shaped such that they only really fit in the proper ear.\n\nReason 2: Most audio is mixed in stereo so that the audio isn't exactly the same going to each ear. For music it doesn't really matter if you mix up the le...
Why is the term "God-fearing people" seen as a compliment? Why not replace it with something like "God-loving"?	[ "In this case, \"fear\" is being used in it's older, more general sense, referring to showing respect or awe. So, God-fearing people aren't afraid of God, they respect him.", "God was explicit in his desire for you to fear him, for him to be revered and have great impact on our lives." ]
What do modern Russian spies sent to live in the west, actually spy on?	[ "Defense contractors. Getting the designs for missiles, submarines, and similar weapons of strategic importance can help a spying country in two ways: (1) copy the ideas rather than doing their own R & D, (2) figuring out how to defend against or defeat those weapons in a war.", "Pretty much what you'd think, I'd...
Does coffee actually stunt growth in children and teens? If so, how does this work?	[ "It's been studied pretty well that there caffeine cannot stunt your growth, so you can rest assured that your height is just genetics. I've been drinking coffee since I was 5 and I'm 6'. Enjoy the caffeine! Embrace your height.", "Coffee doesn't stunt your growth. That is just a myth. You should still watch your...
#Kill All Men	[ "When people want attention they make extreme statements that catch the eye, get discussed on Reddit and in the media, and make people angry. It's the MO behind Trump's success, it's how that flat-earth rapper guy started selling albums, it's how many celebrities continue to remain on the front page of everything....
how does a thermostat switch things (AC, header, lights) on/off?	[ "If you have your own heating system, you should already have one. IF your heat is by radiator, then you control the heat at the radiator.\n\nIf you have some other whole-building heating system, then it's likely you won't be able to install your own thermostat, unless the system can handle it, but most apartment m...
How do film actors do two films at once?	[ "Voice acting and on-camera acting are usually handled differently. Generally, for a feature-length Hollywood film, there will be a chunk of time (days, weeks) where the actors are full time dedicated to this movie. This approach usually is the most cost-effective when it comes to crew (easier to keep everyone on-s...
Why do I and professional athletes pull hamstrings all the time but you never see a cheetah or a gazelle pull up lame with a strained calf or something?	[ "You know, if I was a cheetah, I'd probably enjoy a little strained calf every once in a while.\n\nI'm not a cheetah, but it still sounds pretty good. Maybe with some sourdough toast?", "Cheatahs and gazelles do not have the same fan club. They also suffer from physical injuries, such as appendicitis, heart disea...
why do people walk in a circle when they're in a fistfight?	[ "I'm no professional boxer, but I spar once a week. Constantly moving is good for three things:\n\n* It makes you harder to hit\n* It makes looking for openings of your opponent easier, since people can only protect their front and not their side\n* It hides your attack movements. Good power comes from low in the b...
Why do gas stoves start at the highest heat setting instead of the lowest?	[ "For lighting. The gas comes out at maximum so it will reach the pilot flame and ignite right away." ]
If my son is highly allergic to eggs, why is he not allergic to chicken?	[ "Egg is made out of egg stuff, which you can be allergic to. As the chicken grows, it eats the egg stuff and turns it into chicken stuff. Once the chicken is ready to hatch, the egg stuff has been completely used up. All that remains is delicious chicken stuff.", "Because an egg has all these different protein...
How do those machines in gas stations work? Like, where do they store the gas? Why do they require us to turn off our cellphones? What's the calibration for?	[ "Gas is stored in underground in large tanks. You can see where the tanks are by large, round, often slightly raised fill ports that will be off in an otherwise empty corner of the gas station. They are filled by tanker trucks, you will occasionally see them parked at odd angles surrounded by orange pylons. The ...
Why does drinking water after a workout make it easier to breathe?	[ "It is not because water contains oxygen molecules. We cannot breathe the oxygen presented to us in that manner. We breathe O2 molecules, which are 2 oxygen atoms bonded together, whereas water is 1 oxygen and 2 hydrogen atoms bonded together. \n\nRemember we can't breathe underwater!\n\nAnyway, while I'm not sure ...
How are memories stored in your brain and accessed? Is it a chemical reaction? Can a memory be copied and pasted to another brain?	[ "It is a huge set of chemical reactions, and many things are not clear yet. The brain is a huge network of neurons where the \"strength\" of the connections in between (and also the question which connections exist at all) is variable. This strength determines how a cell reacts if one of the cells it is connected t...
Why does one aching tooth cause other teeth that are healthy to hurt as well.	[ "Referred pain. Basically, pain in one area causes nerves to fire, and the chemical and biological processes from that can spread slightly, causing other, unaffected nerves to fire." ]
How is snow formed?	[ "way up in the clouds, it's very cold. Water vapour begins freezing piece by piece to tiny particles of dust (or something) called a \"Nucleus.\" \n\nOnce those particles get too big and heavy, they fall to the ground. If the temperature is high enough, that snow will warm and melt as it falls to become rain.\n\nIf...
what's the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist?	[ "Psychiatrists are MDs. Psychologists aren't.\n\nWhat that means is that psychiatrists have been to medical school, gotten their doctorates of medicine, then spent four years (in at least most cases) in residency training before getting a state-board-administered license to practice psychiatric medicine.\n\nPsychol...
how does dry heat cause nose bleeds?	[ "I believe that since the skin inside of your nostril is usually kept wet with lubricating mucus to at least some degree, drying it out would cause it to contract and crack more easily, causing a nosebleed." ]
How can a small amount of medicine (like a pill) affect my whole body?	[ "It's not unreasonable that small amounts of things can have a dramatic effect on the body. A tiny thorn only effects a very small number of nerves (compared to your entire body) which sends a small number of signals to your brain. Yet it can overwhelm your senses. A small amount of poison from a sting can effect...
Why do nut packages display the warning "May contain nuts" instead "Do contain nuts"?	[ "I assume you mean packets of peanuts.\n\nPeanuts [aren't actually nuts](_URL_0_). Someone with a nut allergy may not be allergic to peanuts, and vice versa.\n\nSo if you had an allergy to nuts, but could eat peanuts fine, it is important to know if the packet may contain traces of nuts.", "The warning is mandate...
why did UK sign up to the China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and USA was so object to it?	[ "Because there is soft movement in Europe to attempt to remove some of the influence that the US government and corporations are abusing in the world.." ]
This one should be tricky: Aristotle's unmoved mover argument.	[ "it's fairly hard to explain, but I'll try my best. The basic Greek View was that everything the world was cause and effect. As a result, the universe is the effect of some cause. So, what was the cause? Nut what caused this cause? Following this train of logic you either have an infinite chain of cause and effect,...
What exactly is it in water that we need to live?	[ "Water is used as a solution fluid, lubrication, as a cooling agent, and many others. It is not broken down.", "The most significant thing about water is its hydrogen bonding capacity. Closely behind that is its neutral pH and then comes abundance. \n\nVery few things hydrogen bond like water does. This allows it...
Why do we bite our nails? It is a completely useless function, but is still embarassingly addictive.	[ "Humans also pick our noses and scrape wax from our ears. It's not useless, it's grooming, and despite being gross it's essential for hygiene.\n\nImagine if you NEVER picked your nose. Tissues don't do much for really stubborn dried blobs.", "In the old caveman days our nails would be naturally worn down by work....
Why is it that when I'm under mental duress, physical pain helps it go away?	[ "Pain causes your brain to release dopamine. It's why cutters cut etc. Also physical pain can be a pretty good distraction from stress so you momentarily change focus as well.", "I was just thinking about this. Yesterday I was so unbelievably stressed due to work and instead of the usual bottle solution, I ran...
Why does the concept of 'urban gentrification' typically seem to have a negative connotation?	[ "If a neighborhood gains a higher standard of living, then it will generally displace the lower economic strata that were already there. A neighborhood that had a certain economic class of people will often lose those people in order to gentrify. \n\nTo some, this looks like a reshuffling of the problem. Rather t...
What happens if you listen to a looped song all night while sleeping?	[ "You have to be awake to learn things like songs, languages, or new skills. \n\n[But you might be able to learn smells while sleeping](_URL_0_).", "There aren't--generally speaking--any shortcuts for learning complex stuff without effort. What you're referring to is a form of subliminal stimuli. Subliminal stim...
E: Is it theoretically possible to manipulate genes in their early stages to produce an endomorph, mesomorph or ectomorph?	[ "First off, it's worth mentioning that Sheldon defined discrete somatotypes for the purpose of using them to draw conclusions about personality. Nowadays it's pretty widely accepted that body type isn't a reliable gauge of personality.\n\nCould you theoretically manipulate genes In utero to control bone struc...
how does cloning animals work?	[ "Here's an analogy:\n\nImagine every person has an apple which define them (46 chromosomes) and sex cells (sperm and eggs) are half-apples (23 chromosomes). When sperm and eggs merge; there are now a whole apple (fetus). Now imagine the egg as a basket with a half-apple (nucleus with 23 chromosomes). The ...
Could you separate an electron completely from an atom?	[ "Certainly. If you excite the atom enough, an electron flies off. If you pump enough electrons into metal they bunch up on the surface and start to fly off. This is the principle of the electron gun inside the cathode ray tube (that's a \"TV screen\", back in the day) - at one end of the tube is the gun, which fir...
How is my radio's reception affected by my physical position around it?	[ "Same way that when you stand in front of a light you make a shadow. When you stand between the radio source and the radio receiver, it blocks the signal. \n\nHard mode: radio waves don't act like light and they actually bounce around a lot. As long as the antenna gets hit \"enough\", the signal is strong. So depe...
Why can I "feel" things about to touch my skin without having actually made contact yet?	[ "1. hair.\n2. it might be hot or cold (different than you)\n3. it can block wind, draft.\n4. you see it and your brain tricks you\n5. you know it's there and your brain tricks you.\n\nSorta related, I suggest you test this theory in a truly dark environment (underground cave or specially built room). I once though...
Archaeologists, how do you know that damage to bones was done prior to death?	[ "When a bone is injured, it heals, even if badly. Signs of that healing can be seen, The healing signs alter over time, thus a deduction can be made of how long before death that the injury occurred." ]
how do turbo diesel motors create such insane amounts of torque with such low horsepower whereas petrol/gas engines are pretty much within realm of each other in terms of hp/torque	[ "HP = torq * rpm / 5252\n\nDiesels run at much lower RPMs than gasoline engines. Most diesels don't rev past 3k.", "Heavily complicated, but here is a start...\n\nStroke length, turbocharger boost, and average effective cylinder pressure.\n\nBasically stroke length involves the piston. It has a longer stroke len...
What exactly causes hiccups that seem to last forever?	[ "Hiccups are caused by the irregular, uncontrollable movement of the large, sheet-like muscle between your chest and belly called the diaphragm.\n\nThe main reason the muscle suddenly acts up is because of irritation to the muscle. Blood, a full stomach, hard to swallow food, reflux from the stomach and sometimes a...
Would fire be considered matter or energy?	[ "Fire is matter releasing enough energy to become red hot, like a stove is red hot. It's just air that is as hot as a stove is." ]
Why is it so socially acceptable to refer to someone as 'white' or 'black', but never 'yellow' or 'red'?	[ "Language just develops in different ways, the ways that race is presented in colour is very interesting.\r\rFor example Chinese people thought of themselves as white for years. When what we now know as \"white\" people first visited china then in Chinese they were known as \"purple\" people and thought of as barba...
How do game engines or physics engines for video games work or how are they actually made?	[ "Most games have several main components: Graphics, audio, input(How you control the game), physics(including how to handle objects running into each other and gravity), AI, and logic(various other things that are more game specific)\n\nA game engine helps automate many of these tasks. For example, the graphics sec...
Why did the population of a lot of large cities decline between 1970 and 1980.	[ "The largest factor is that many of these cities were industrial giants. Manufacturing was huge. To save money, many of these jobs went overseas. Electronics, motor vehicles, steel, textiles - all started to be produced elsewhere. When these jobs left, so did the people. They moved to cheaper, less developed areas ...
What is "Clearing" and how does it work? (Finance)	[ "Do you mean clearing as when money has to clear to close out a transaction? Clearing is the process of verifying that the payment interest that has been proposed to cover off a transaction is valid. E.g. when an electronic transfer takes place it is only when the bank with whom the money is lodged transfer the m...
Why the venus project (or zeitgeist if they're both the same) is a bad thing	[ "OK, I have only given this a brief overview, but I think I get the concept, which seems to be very optimistic and utopian, with tech/robots replacing manual labor.\n\nThe problem with this idea, and with communism, is that humans don't work like that, and if you try to herd them into doing so, the system breaks do...
What makes 50 the magic number when it comes to the number of states in the US? Is there potential to add more someday?	[ "Mostly coincidence, the US happened to run out of territories suitable for statehood at 50 (Puerto Rico is still in the mix, but they don't really want to be a state).\n\nIt is possible the desire to reach an even number accelerated the push for new states, and once reached, sapped enthusiasm for additional states...
Why do we still feel the waves the night after being in a wavepool/ocean?	[ "Actually, there's no definitive answer to this one although it's a regularly reported phenomenon.\n\nIt could be because you are still feeling the effect from the frequency of previous stimulation, or it could be because you've got used to adjusting your gait or posture while at sea and then don't modify it when y...
Why is it it legal for a P.I. to do their job (follow, take photos, rummage through trash etc	[ "They are regulated by a branch of the state government. The process and requirements vary by state, usually requires relevant experience but not always, usually involves a testing process, always involves paperwork and fees paid. Not cops by any stretch, but licensed and given specific powers, with penalties...
How a language like Japanese reads and is written	[ "Depends on the language, Chinese primarily uses characters to represent ideas, concepts, nouns, etc. which can be formed into sentences. Japanese uses three different writing systems Hirigana for spelling out their words and particles (mostly simple looking ones あいうえお), katakana for foreign words (square looking ...
eBay, Amazon (to name just two of many) make billions in the UK but pay hardly any tax in the UK, why doesn't any government do anything about it?	[ "Example:\n\nCompany has to pay more taxes.\n\nCompany pays more taxes for the first year. (time to relocate)\n\nCompany relocates, 1000s of jobs lost.\n\nCompany no longer in the country, so no longer paying taxes.\n\nThe jobs are also source of tax money, as all employees would pay income tax, so the country woul...
How can they "confirm" a Tornado and the intensity after the fact?	[ "> How can they know there was a tornado?\n\nI'm sure all of the visual sightings and reports and path of destruction is a big clue. Unless it was a tornado-shaped herd of rampaging elephants.\n\n > Then, how can they deduce the level from that?\n\nThe basic tornado intensity scale - the Fujita scale - is measure...
Who is Snowden and what did he do?	[ "_URL_0_\n\n30 individual threads about Snowden.\n\nDoes none answer your question?" ]
How do batteries in series work?	[ "You can skip trying to think of electrons in the circuit, or whether the poles are electrically insulated. The + and - ends of an AA battery, for instance, are at a 1.5V potential difference. \n\nWhen you connect two terminals with a wire, you essentially make them have the same potential (well, there will be a sm...
Why do I sweat so much at night?	[ "I don't want to alarm you but this was one of the symptoms I had before getting severely ill. \n\nDo you get quickly tired ? For example, after running for a bit ? \nDoes your face seem a little fatter than before ?\nDo you cough without any apparent reason ?", "I assume your sleeping conditions haven't chanced ...
How does a country -test- a long range missile	[ "> Do they launch an actual rocket?\n\nYes, this is perhaps the most important part of a \"rocket test\".\n\n > Do they just launch something with gps on it?\n\nThey launch a rocket with some method of tracking it, but without a live warhead. The tracking method probably will not be GPS unless it is the US or a U...
Why do some formerly obese people have a lot of skin to remove and some don't?	[ "It's all a matter of how fast you lose the weight. Gaining weight is a natural process. The body is meant to gain weight when it receives excess energy that it does not use. Just as gaining weight is natural, so is losing weight. When you lose weight in a healthy way (I believe it is supposed to be no more than 2 ...
Why do many programmers/technical people prefer Macs over PCs?	[ "It varies based on industry too, there are definitely a lot of developers who prefer Windows-based dev tools. The real deciding factor is where your code is ultimately going to run: because it's probably not going to run on just your personal machine.\n\n & nbsp;\n\nIf you're say, a video game developer, you're pr...
Why did we shift from calling computer "programs" to calling them "applications?"	[ "Mac OS had been calling them applications for a long time. Their application file type is .app while Windows uses .exe (which stands for executable). There are technical difference but I’d argue this is MOSTLY a tradition/preference. Maybe Apple liked that name since it reminds you of Apple and these Applicati...
how photons work...	[ "Light seems to behave very strangely. If, for example, you take a flashlight and shine it on a piece of stiff cardboard, you'll notice that the emitted light doesn't bend around the cardboard. In this case the beam of light acts as a stream of particles moving from the source and smacking into the piece of cardb...
What exactly does the outcome of the Turkey referendum mean?	[ "Turkey is a mixed political system, with a president and a parliament headed by a Prime Minster, balancing power (sort of similar to France). Recep Tayyip Erdoğan served as Turkey's Prime Minister beginning in 2003 and then President since 2014. During his time in power, he's tried to consolidate power within his ...
CERN's testing next week to find Parallel Dimensions	[ "The imminent testing is recommissioning with beam. Collisions won't happen for a few months.\n\nThere's no magic way of trying to do something exotic with the LHC. It just collides beams of protons (and heavy ions), and the detectors measure what happens. No one says \"this week we'll try to make black holes\" or ...
How long could the infrastructure (gas, water, power, internet) run on auto-pilot in a developed country, and what factors would influence it?	[ "Discovery did an interesting show called \"Life After Humans\" that discussed this in the event all humans just disappeared.", "The lynch pin would be power plants. Once the electricity goes down, everything goes down, gas pumps, municipal water plants, natural gas storage facilities, oil pipelines, etc... power...
Why did Vietnam invade Cambodia in 1978?	[ "At the time the Khmer Rouge dominated Cambodia and we're led by the ever insane Pol Pot. Pol Pot killed anywhere from a quarter to nearly half of his people in a brutal genocide. Not only that but he also feared the Vietnamese were attempting to dominate Indochina, so he began raiding into Vietnam and massacred th...
Why do fingers hurt, when they warm up after being cold?	[ "It's because it's a low level Frostbite. Basically it is quite close to a burn. but because of the low temperature your nervous system is not very active in the first phase. to quote the wikipedia articcle that is pretty good on the subject \"At or below 0 °C (32 °F), blood vessels close to the skin start to cons...
How does the price of gold and petroleum fluctuate in market?	[ "The way a market (whether for stocks or commodity futures or whatever) works is that there's a list of people who want to buy or sell, called the order book, along with the amounts and prices they want to buy or sell at. All the prices for the pending buy orders will be below the prices for the pending sell ord...
Why do puppies tilt their heads so much at like everything?	[ "A dogs ears are symmetrical, which means that while hearing sounds left or right is easy, up or down is more difficult. A humans ear by contrast has a lot of curvatures that bounce sounds around and give us the ability to locate sounds coming from any direction that a dog can't. \n\nWhen they cock their head to th...
. Why is the term "tumblr feminist" being thrown around and what does it mean?	[ "True, academic feminism approaches issues like gender equality in a concise, analytical manner. While it does involve the idea of a 'patriarchy' (that is, a set of gender roles that affect both men and women by forcing men into a 'superior' role and women into an 'inferior role'), it generally approaches all iss...
What's the difference between animal fur and animal skin?	[ "Ultimately, there is no real ethical difference between using an animal skin and using animal fur. They both involve killing an animal and skinning it.\n\nThe major argument I know of is that cowhide - the major animal skin used for fashion, which is converted into leather and suede - is more acceptable because co...
Why does a PC take so long to boot? Or at least a windows operating system. IT takes So long from button press to desktop arrival. Especially in today's ever-increasing speedy technology.	[ "There are a lot of factors that contribute to startup time\n\n* Speed/quality of the drive - SSD provides a huge advantage here\n* Amount of shit in your startup - the more windows has to do when it starts up, the longer it takes\n* Memory/CPU - lesser importance, but having a good CPU/RAM helps\n\nUsually I find ...

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.