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computer viruses
[ "I'm going to start with an oldskool definition of various types of \"malware\" bad programs that get onto your computer. The names of these tend to get a bit mixed up and used interchangeably these days, but I'll try to explain the 'correct usage'. Then we'll go on to ctaching stuff from Webpages.\n\n1. **Malware*...
why is "bloody" a bad word for the Britisher types? NSFW ? (Not my work)
[ "It's not that bad of a word and I've never seen it censored on British television.", "As an Australian, bloody can be used in the same way that \"fucking\" can be. Eg. My bloody golf club is bent.\n\nI've never seen in censored, but I remember that in school it was considered a curse word since that is how we us...
What things did Microsoft do to miss out on mobile so badly and drop so far from 1st?
[ "The internal structure of the company installed by Ballmer is toxic and pits MS employees against each other. They are given career incentives to destroy each other's projects. They were incapable of mounting multiple large projects like a mobile OS, parent apps, hardware designs, or a supply chain for the parts."...
why do we have such a strong urge to scream out when we're injured. It seems like the last thing we'd want to do from a survival standpoint is to alert others of our weakness.
[ "Humans are communal animals. Screaming alerts the rest of the tribe to the danger. It may or may not save the injured individual, but it definitely helps the group as a whole. Since genes are what matters, not individual survival, behavior that makes other close relatives more likely to survive is more likely to g...
why after I have an orgasam do I think so much more clearly and see the world so much more differently?
[ "Orgasms release large amounts of the neurotransmitter called Dopamine, which affects you in many different ways. Dopamine is also released with many recreational drugs, excercising, and eating a satisfying meal." ]
Can we see other dimensions?
[ "Lets go all the way back - we dont exist in \"dimension number three\". Dimensions in the scientific term aren't like a separate area you can be in.\n\n Instead we exits in what we perceive to be a 3 dimensional space, physically.\n\nDimensions are really just ways to define a set of coordinates for something in ...
In 'Sherlock', Sherlock Holmes describes himself as a high-functioning sociopath. Is this really what he is?
[ "Sociopath and Psychopath are interchangeable terms that both refer to the same DSM IV diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder. With the new DSM V i believe they switched the name to Antisocial/Psychopathic Personality Disorder. \n\nThere's no difference between the terms to medical health professionals. Only ...
When my laptop is on and I put my hand on the lid I don't feel anything as long as I don't move my hand. As soon as I move it along the lid I feel a buzzing. Why is this?
[ "I'm guessing this is a brushed silver macbook, because the same thing happens with mine. Turn it off, and you'll find it still happens, because the \"buzzing\" is from the friction of your hand rubbing across the surface, not from the computer itself. Basically it feels smooth, but you're causing a low vibration w...
What causes a "buzz" after consume nicotine? And why does the buzz go away after you build a tolerance?
[ "The \"buzz\" is the rush of specific neurotransmitters that nicotine naturally engages.\n\nThe tolerance comes in when your body \"expects\" to have nicotine. If you are smoking regularly, a single cigarette will not recruit the same amount of neurotransmitters that it once did. Spend years away from it, and a c...
Why do I feel different types of pain? How do the reactions in my body differ?
[ "I have a related question as well ...\n\nWhy does our body have such incredibly high ranges for pain, that often seem to exceed the level of danger?" ]
Does rinsing a fruit or vegetable actually do anything to prevent disease?
[ "It's not about preventing disease so much as it is to wash off dirt and, more importantly, pesticides/herbicides.", "Yes. Stuff is often hanging on the outside of fruits and veggies if they weren't previously washed correctly or were later contaminated. Some examples from the literature, showing how washing corr...
Why doesn't Facebook have gif support?
[ "The core feature of Facebook is its Newsfeed (even in recent years, Mark Zuckerberg is said to review every code release for this portion of the product/service). Animated GIFs are known for continuous animation, often with large file sizes. Their cause for their omission is 2-fold:\n\n1. The Newsfeed would be tum...
How online advertising pays for the maintenance of a website like facebook or reddit.
[ "it pays like any advertising pays. company A wants product B to be seen by a certain demographic. A pays agency C to place those ads in that demographic's eyesite. search engine optomization (SEO) algorythmically determines which sites suit best. you click that site, you see the ad, website gets paid." ]
What does "skinny fat" actually mean?
[ "\"Skinny Fat\" basically means that although you are skiny and have a low Body Mass Index, your body doesn't have a muscle in it to balance it out leaving you with more fat that is less visable. It's called being Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside. \n\nSkinny Fat is unhealthy and there are risks to being Skinn...
Why aren't people attracted to family members?
[ "I mean they can be, incest is a thing. But if you want an evolutionary explanation, incest can often lead to severe birth defects in children and as a result, it is evolutionarily beneficial to have a hardwired response to avoid that. And that is likely what happened (I say likely because all current evidence seem...
Why can't I use certain characters (such as / \ : * ? etc.) when naming a file?
[ "Windows has a huge directory of all files on your machine and when it tries to find a file it goes to c:\\users\\tybre\\documents\\notporn\\seriouslydontlook\\nostop\\pleasestahp\\porn\\grandmadontlook.wmv. If you have grandma\\dontlook.wmv as the filename it might get confused and think that grandma is another fo...
Why does rubbing your eyes feel so good when you're tired?
[ "The LI5 version is that the response serves three purposes: \n\n1. You massage the muscles around your eyes, which can relieve tension that builds up after a long computer session or some such. \n\n2. Your eyes can stop producing enough fluid, and rubbing them stimulates the productio...
Why self posts don't get karma
[ "It's a minor precaution against direct stroking of the hive-mind's collective cock in exchange for karma (figuratively jizz). Instead of posting \"Hey Reddit, those [members of a group] sure are [negative adjective for group]\" with no source they have to find an article from a semi-reputable source that may or ma...
why is it when you directly shine a laser pointer onto itself in a mirror, it's reflected into your eye
[ "These other replies aren't really understanding your question, OP. Here's why it reflects into your eye...\n\nWhen you say \"shine a laser pointer onto itself in a mirror,\" I take it you mean that you're aiming it such that the laser hits the mirror at the exact point where the reflection of the laser pointer app...
What exactly does the Electoral College do?
[ "In America you can think of the president being elected by the states, not the people directly. States have a varying number of votes which can give smaller, less populous states a magnified importance in the final vote.\n\nThe electors in the various states are chosen by the popular vote of each state's citizens....
Why do most websites' search features suck so much?
[ "There are two main reasons. \n\nFirst is code re-use. Most websites are either built on a popular platform with a built-in search function (like WordPress), or implement a common search function downloaded from an internet repository (like GitHub). So most search functions suck because they mostly come from a shor...
Why does the skin get sticky after contact with sugary substances?
[ "Hydrogen bonds! Pure sugar is a solid made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. When the crystals are intact, the atoms are fine staying where they are. When water is added those strong oxygen-hydrogen bonds in the sugar start to break, and those loose hydrogen atoms will look for something else to stick to." ]
How do services boost Facebook likes or Twitter/Instagram followers so quickly?
[ "They build fake accounts and have them vote/like. The account credentials (login and password) are added to a script that logs in and then votes using each account. You forgot to include reddit in your list." ]
If Mars' atmosphere is predominantly CO2, why has a greenhouse gas effect not significantly increased the Martian surface temperature?
[ "Because Mars' atmosphere is insignificant; the surface pressure is only 600 pascals. By comparison, Earth's surface pressure is 101,000 pascals.", "Because the atmosphere is extremely thin. When Mars lost its magnetosphere it was no longer protected from solar winds and they blew away its atmosphere over the mil...
Why do we sometimes have the urge to smile when reprimanded (even when not at all happy)?
[ "It's a coping mechanism. My 7 year old boy does it all the time when I am scolding him. It infuriates me. Seems to be for emotional pain protection\n\nEdit: fixed Gboard auto correct errors." ]
Why do we talk to babies, pets, and old people with the same cooing high-pitched voice?
[ "Babies learn speech faster if they're spoken to with baby-talk - It is slower and more repetitive.\n\nI expect we use it with animals simply because they're childlike in some ways - they have a lack of communication skills." ]
If the human skin completely replaces itself every 7 years, why do older people have wrinkly skin, that looks 80 years old, and not skin that looks 7 years old
[ "Skin renews. Collagen that keeps skin adhered is what weakens and thus gives that wrinkly look" ]
how does metamorphosis evolve?
[ "Evolution does not only allow for beneficial mutations but also those that are not significantly detrimental. \n\nAny way, that said, there is no definitive answer answer for how metamorphosis came to be, but there are some reasonably convincing explanations. [This article](_URL_0_) explains them very well. Basica...
Why youth unemployment is so important (especially in the EU)
[ "To be blunt, it's usually the youth that has the stamina and political idealism to foment dissent. Having a lot of them out on their asses where they have the free time to get angry at the gov't can very well lead to a situation where they're angry enough to start organizing.\n\nOlder and more affluent demographic...
Why does the General Lee (A Dodge Charger) on the Dukes of Hazzard have its doors welded shut?
[ "It's explained early on in the series that the car is meant to be used as a stock car. The doors are often wielded shut in those cars to increase to help maintain the integrity of the vehicle even after being hit a few times.", "To stiffen the chassis. Not allowing the car to flex at those places makes it handle...
How did Japan completely change their culture from a militaristic, fanatical country (complete with suicide bombers), to a normal industrialized, peaceful country in less than a generation after WW2?
[ "The culture wasn't militaristic, the government was.\n\nThe Japanese population was basically deceived by propaganda from the military.\n\nAfter the military lost all control over the government (with the help of the United States), the mentality aspect changed.", "after ww2, they were basically forbidden from m...
Why can't we figure out the sex of a fetus at conception?
[ "Pregnancy tests are designed to tell if your urine or blood contains the hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which is released right after the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall. The only way to check the gender of the fetus before an ultrasound can detect it is to extract the DNA from one o...
Why are medical professionals so against being quarantined after possibly being exposed to Ebola?
[ "A quarantine is a good idea for diseases that can be spread by someone who is not showing symptoms. When you don't know whether someone may be contagious, it makes sense to keep them away from other people. But Ebola can only be spread by a person who is showing symptoms, and the symptoms are not subtle.\n\nEvery ...
Who determines the speed in curves when people first make the roads?
[ "The drivers, mostly.\n\nA lot of people don't realize that speed limits in most areas are determined by checking the speed of cars on a roadway or curve and using the speed that approx 85% of drivers use.\n\nThe theory is that 85% of drivers are going to go the speed roadway conditions allow. If the speed limit is...
Why is gingrich's affair being downplayed, while Clinton was impeached for the same thing.
[ "Clinton was accused of *perjury* and *obstruction of justice*.\n\nYou cannot legislate morality hence Gingrich walks on the affair charge.", "Clinton wasn't impeached for having an affair, he was impeached for lying about it under oath, which is perjury.\n\nWhat actually happened was this: he was asked whether h...
How was Felix Baumgartner able to stop himself from spinning so violently? Shouldn't he have just continued to spin uncontrollably?
[ "The question is more of why he couldn't gain control when he was spinning violently. The reason for that was the low air density. The fact that there was less resistance in the air for his arms being spread out to slow his spinning. Once the air density increased his spinning decreased and he gained control.", "...
How are suffixes for Nationalities decided? Why is it Japanese and Korean and not Japanean or Koreaese?
[ "The main reason is because those would be a pain in the ass to say.", "We pretty much just pick whatever sounds good. We tend to pick -n/-an/-ean/-ian when it works, and use something else when it doesn't. Some older ones (France- > French) are historical and there's little hope of actually finding out where t...
The plot of "Gravity's Rainbow"
[ "The whole point is that the plot is virtually indecipherable. There is one, or two, or three, or..." ]
- How do exactly do electronics work?
[ "The most basic answer is switches. Lots, and lots, and lots of switches. More than you can even imagine. Switches so small you can't see them on a microscope, and millions of them are packed into computer chips and wired together. \n\nThese switches also have different types of behaviors. For example, some type of...
How are some albums "Mastered for iTunes"?
[ "Mastered for iTunes is essentially a set of guidelines for peeps (primarily mastering engineers) to follow... it recommends a preferred format for submitting \"higher fidelity\" music to iTunes (currently 256k aac, v lossy but hey).\n\nIt's a bit of a marketing tool IMO, but it'll pave the way for Apple to push fu...
Why do dogs like the smell of cheese so much?
[ "Cheese, that is, REAL, unprocessed cheese (although some types of pasteurized cheese included as well,) is naturally very pungent. Cut up a bit of Brie or aged white cheddar and tell me this isn't so. If we humans think cheese is very pungent, imagine how much more so dogs would be able to smell it. Dogs tend to h...
Potentially Stupid Question - How do the immensely wealthy and billionaires of the world actually pay for things? Where is the "money" portion coming from?
[ "> Do they just sell stock as needed?\n\nYes, basically that. They wouldn't sell it all from the same company to limit the impact though, as their wealth is distributed among many different things.", "You basically have it answered above. Typically the wealthy still take out loans to make large purchases. As l...
Why is it that the younger generation sets the standard for what is deemed "cool" by society?
[ "Because they're the only ones who think it's important.", "There's a few things going on.\n\nTeenagers and those in their early twenties tend to care a lot more about being accepted by people their own age. People in their 30's, 40's, and on don't so much. So setting the standard for \"cool\" around people who c...
If your boss makes you commit plagiarism who is liable?
[ "just save the emails where you pointed this out and he told you to carry on, then you can prove it later.", "Well, plagiarism isn't illegal anywhere, so it doesn't really matter. It's extremely immoral, but nobody's going to come after you unless you've violated copyright." ]
Why does the police in situation like the Ukranian revolution keep following orders? Can't a policeman join his people?
[ "I guess its because they need a pay cheque" ]
Why are internet speeds measured in megabits or gigabits, but storage space (Hard Drive, Flash Drive, etc.) Measured in Megabytes or Gigabytes?
[ "There are at least two reasons: 1. It makes the number sound bigger, 2. History.\n\nHistorically, data transfer was measured in bits per second because the data was being sent as individual bits. Memory tends to be indexed in bytes, so measuring that in bytes made sense, but data was sent bit by bit. \n\nAnd of ...
How do dogs predict seizures?
[ "It **is** a thing! But we're not *entirely* sure how they do it. We're reasonably sure that it has something to do with chemical markers in your blood. The idea is that, as your body ramps up for a seizure, there are very small changes in your body chemistry as a side-effect, which subtly affects your scent. T...
How did Adobe gain their monopoly on photo editing and digital art and design software?
[ "They didn't. There are plenty of alternatives such as GIMP or Coral Draw or a bunch of others. They just happen to produce the very best in the category so they're the most popular.", "There isn't a monopoly. Adobe just makes great software that everyone likes to use\n\n* Corel has Corel Draw / Paint Shop Pro fo...
Would it be possible to clone a dinosaur?
[ "You can use frog DNA to fill in the gene sequence gaps!\n\nEdit: the Michio Kaku video that actually explains a real answer:\n_URL_0_", "[I cant explain better than Michio Kaku. (Very recent video- Sep 20th, 2012)](_URL_1_)", "There was actually a link in /r/bestof recently that touched on dinosaur cloning (it...
How do disc brakes work?
[ "Not an engineer, but to break pads get push together with a viceclamp (lack of a better term) and they squeeze the rotating disk that turns your tire. Creating a bunch of friction until the car vehicle comes to a stop.", "They function better because the heat can be transfered to the surrounding air better than...
Why are people protesting the World Cup in Brazil?
[ "Because the Brazilian government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on an event that will bring in zero profit to the country when some of the largest slums on the planet exist within their borders.\n\n[John Oliver explains this pretty well.] (_URL_0_) Humorous, but still depressing.", "Education, health ...
Why does Steam/Valve insist that Linux is the future of gaming?
[ "There are several reasons for Valve pushing Linux or specifically SteamOS.\n\nFirst reason is streamlined PC gaming, providing a more console like experience where everything just (usually) works. I.e. by taking all the weird crap people often have installed on their Windows machines out of the loop and instead ju...
Where did curse words originate from? How did they start, and why are they considered "bad words"?
[ "Most of what we consider curse words are based on old term that morph over time to convey certain feelings/meanings. Usually when one of these term describes something negative or inappropriate it could be considered a curse.\n\nFor example. The origin of 'shit':\n\nThe word is likely derived from Old English, hav...
What is the science behind a “second wind” at night?
[ "From an evolutionary perspective, your second wind was useful because if something was keeping you up for that long after your normal bedtime it must have been life-threatening and you need that second wind to keep from being eaten by the thing keeping you up.", "I have difficulty every night going to sleep if I...
Leechers and seeders
[ "Seeders have the entire file and are only uploading to others.\n\nLeechers are people downloading and uploading the file at the same time (though they tend to do more downloading than uploading).", "Leech-- > you suck on/download the content without giving anything back\n\nSeed-- > You upload/\"seed\"/\"plant\"...
Why do I get "butterflies" in my stomach when falling from a great height in video games such as Minecraft?
[ "You get butterflies when your brain thinks your sense of balance is all wonky. \n\nThere are two inputs to your brain's sense of balance: your inner ear, and your visual view of the horizon. Both of these play into your balance, but different people use them different amounts. Some people can balance entirely by e...
When a person is morbidly obese, why do doctors treat it by surgically shrinking the stomach instead of surgically removing the fat?
[ "They do that too. It's called [liposuction](_URL_0_).\n\nBut the root cause of that fatness is the person's excessive appetite. Stomach stapling fixes the cause, liposuction just temporarily relieves the effect.", "If you remove the fat, and they still need to eat the same amount to not be hungry, eventually the...
Why is is that the human brain can't comprehend anything over the third dimension?
[ "Imagine it like this, if a person on a playing card theoretically could see, and they saw a sphere, they would recognize it as a circle without its' 3D properties. So if we saw a 4D, or a higher dimensional object, we would see it as 3D, and nothing more. I apologize if that wasn't clear\r\n\r\nEdit: Grammar", "...
if the deepest depth drilled by man is about 8 miles, and the crust is nearly 20 miles deep, how were scientists able to discover that there is an upper and lower mantel and inner and outer core?
[ "The same way you are able to tell what's in the box your grandmother sent you at Christmas. When you shake it, a sweater sounds different from a PS4 controller. Obviously scientists can't shake the earth, but the earth shakes itself sometimes, and scientists in different places are always listening (or rather th...
Why would someone sell their service on Fiverr
[ "$5 is the base price though. People can charge more depending on the amount of time/work it takes them to do the task. Also the attractive thing is that you are earning money in time that maybe you wouldn't be earning anything at all. Weekends and free time or just plain unemployed. And $5 is attractive enough for...
If I replace every part of my car when does it become a new car?
[ "To my knowledge the odometer never legally resets. What people do note though is if you put a new engine in they will tell you how many miles are on that engine. So you could have a car with 400,000 on the odometer but an engine that only has 100,000 on it. Only problem with this is there is no meter that shows...
Political Leaders Salaries
[ "In the U.S., Congress decides their own salaries, as well as the salary of the President, Vice President, etc. It's their job to decide how the government's money is spent, and salaries are a part of that.\n\nThe most recent constitutional amendment, ratified in 1992, made it so that no salary increase that affect...
What is the meaning of the phrase "you can kill yourself with good intentions?"
[ "I'm not sure what context you're coming from but there is such a thing as **compassion fatigue** and is a well known issue with anybody who tries to help anybody else on a regular basis. So people who deliver healthcare and who take care of sick family members are the usual ones we think about. It really is a form...
How can animals like amphibians or marine mammals see clearly in both air and water?
[ "Humans see poorly in water mainly due to our eyes not being used to a large quantity of water, hence the stinging and the want to keep eyes closed.\nIf you open your eyes in fresh water (pH7) you find you can see fine.\n\nAmphibians have protective membranes on their eyes which allows a greater range of water puri...
Doppler Shift
[ "When the source of a wave is moving away from you, the wave appears to be \"longer\". When it's coming towards you, it appears to be \"shorter\". In the visible spectrum, red waves are longer and blue waves are shorter, hence \"redshift\" and \"blueshift\"", "Imagine you've got a stationary object emitting pulse...
How can Madonna say "she's though a lot about blowing up the white house" and not be arrested on site?
[ "Thinking isn't a crime, especially in the US. In the US, freedom of speech allows you to say \"I think the country would be better off if someone blew up the White House.\"\n\nEven saying \"I plan to blow up the White House\" could be taken to mean \"on Twitter\", and you'd get questioned, not SWATed. Hollywood ...
How do we know what is at the bottom of the ocean (e.g. Anglerfish)?
[ "Deep sea probing using submarines that are able to withstand the pressure (typically remote controlled with a camera on them). Also sometimes miraculously corpses from deep sea creatures survive all the predatory and scavenger fish and floats to the surface where someone catches sight of it. \n\nThere's still a to...
Do 2 sound waves bounce off of each other?
[ "No, they [pass through each other](_URL_0_), just like waves in water." ]
What the difference is between a galaxy, a cluster, and a galaxy cluster.
[ "Cluster: Quite a few star systems close together Galaxy: Lots of stars orbiting a black hole \nGalaxy cluster: Same as cluster but with galaxies" ]
How do new species originate?
[ "So speciation is a very complex process, and there are many **many** forms of it. I'll cover some of them here the best way I can. \n\nSo it's incredibly difficult to actual define a species, and it's usually a mixture of several different concepts with the main one being:\n\n-The biological species concept-which ...
Why do scientists look for life on planets only similar to our own? Couldn't there be life not based on carbon?
[ "Well, you can't rule it out, but we've never seen non-carbon life before, so we wouldn't even know what to look for.\n\nBecause we know what carbon-based life is, we know to look for things like Methane in the atmosphere, organic molecules, etc.", "There may be forms of life completely unrecognizable to us. But ...
What is the science behind the saying "Red Sky in Morning, Sailor's Warning. Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight"
[ "The colors seen in the sky are due to the sunlight passing through the atmosphere and ricocheting off the water vapor and particles in the atmosphere. The amounts of water vapor and dust particles in the atmosphere are good indicators of weather conditions and determine what colors we see in the sky.\n\nA red sky ...
Why do ballsacks vary in sagginess? What causes them to sag as well?
[ "It's temperature control. The process by which your spunk is generated and maintained is highly dependent on staying in a pretty small temperature range, so your ballsack expands and contracts to get your testicles closer to, or further from, your body's core, where it generates most of your body heat." ]
How does video game anticheat like Vac detect external cheat software on their games?
[ "While they can check for things like modified game files or memory hacking, anti-cheat software often doesn't limit itself to monitoring the game. As a simple method many programs check what processes you are currently running against a list of known cheat software, for example. Depending on the game there may be ...
The controversy surrounding the term TERF
[ "> From a modern mainstream-feminist point of view, isn't it right to silence those who regard trans people as not being women? \n\nWell yeah, but TERFs *aren't* mainstream. They're a small and hateful side group, sort of the Westboro Baptist of feminism.\n\nThe reason they call it \"misogynist\" is that they see ...
I already have the latest version of DirectX. Why does it have to be installed every time I install a game?
[ "Most DirectX installs that come bundled with games and are only a specific distribution tailored for that game. They will install only the specific packs or DLLs that game needs. Since each game is made differently these bundles vary widely. In general i like to grab what's called a \"redistributable package\" fro...
Why do we raise/lower our voice at the end of a question?
[ "We do that in English. There are other languages that do things differently. Some languages are pretty flat, and do the voice raise at the beginning of the question.", "To signify that we're asking a question.\n\nHave you ever talked to someone who speaks with a completely flat tone? It's damn near impossible to...
In movies, how do they achieve the effect of a camera looking directly in to a bathroom mirror without it being seen in the reflection?
[ "It's done with an axial adjustment inside the movie camera. If you shift the focal plane away from perpendicular to the axis of the lens, the scene is distorted in an effect called keystoning. It makes things like a rectangle look like a trapezoid. It turns out, this is the opposite of the effect you get by fil...
How can a company like "Snapchat" be valued at $3 billion USD (WSJ Figure) with no revenue?
[ "It's valued at that because of the potential of future monetization and ad revenue.\n\nIt would be the same as investing in a gold mining operation. You're investing under the assumption there is gold in the mountain and that the team you invest in will reach it eventually.", "One thing I didn't understand last ...
Why is it perfectly legal to make and sell knockoffs of foods and other household items, but highly illegal to do with technology?
[ "Several reasons. Sometimes the generic brands are actually produced by the name brand, but its just repackaged and sold under the generic one. \n\nMore importantly, you need a legal standpoint to sue. What law is Dr. Publix? None. Dr. Pepper does not have an exclusive right to make that kind of a drink. In te...
If the person before me gets regular gas, and I need premium, how does the pump clear the gas that was in the hose?
[ "It doesn't. It isn't going to make a difference to your car for that small amount to end up in the tank", "Only one pump? What crazy as country would do this?", "Here in Australia each petrol sub-type has it's own hose. Unleaded / diesel / unleaded premium etc..", "I had a friend in NJ who was a pump jockey...
How does the brain encode sounds and music such that you can "hear" an almost perfect recording in your head, from memory, as if it's digitally encoded
[ "Scientists have started to zero in on the way the brain stores and encodes information, called sparse distributed representation. This encoding mechanism is in fact digital. Large groupings of neuronal columns and micro-columns connected to sensory pathways are activated sparsely, and unique clusters of connected ...
Increasing minimum wage, are we just buying time until the inevitable which is technology and capital replacing menial labour/knowledge jobs?
[ "You and I may not go very far here, as this isn't a true ELI5 question. But you bothered to write it and I bothered to read it, so I'm gonna offer my pointless opinion.\r\rLow skill, fast paced jobs have been threatened by technology for a long time. Now, it looks like we are getting closer a time when computers a...
How would tuition "free" Universities benefit the school?
[ "The underlying idea is not to benefit the school, but to benefit *society.* I know that's a radical notion in a country that still values the greed of individuals over the general good of society, but there we are.\n\nEventually, schools and teachers DO benefit, because making university education universal create...
What was the point of the Cold War
[ "The main issue at play was sphere of influence in the world. From the side of the West (US, Canada, UK, and many other nations), it felt that communism was a threat to the way things are done here. That if it allowed the USSR to expand, the influence will expand into their own nations. For the East, it had the ...
Why does stuffing your mouth with a handkerchief stifle the scream, when you're actually making noise from your throat?
[ "The source waveform for a vocal sound comes from the throat, yes. However, there are two factors at play:\n\n1. Your mouth and nose act as a resonant cavity for the sound. That means the sound will appear subjectively 'louder' coming from the mouth.\n2. The flesh of your throat is not as good at conducting sound a...
If so many places and products claim to only use "100% Chicken Breast", where does the rest of the chicken go?
[ "Nuggets, Chicken-based sausage products, stuff like that. The meat is almost always ground up so it has a consistent texture.\n\nYou can use ground chicken in a product and still call it 100% chicken, cause it is, but in order to say 100% chicken *breast* it better be breast meat.", "[Russia](_URL_0_).\n\nSeriou...
Why can I socialize with individuals and enjoy public speaking, but get nervous in smaller groups?
[ "Small group dynamics.\n\nMy guess is that you're afraid of standing out in a small group, for some reason or another. Be it fear of coming off as snobbish, offensive, weird, stupid, awkward, rude, elitist...etc.\n\nOne on one you can read your target, and quickly adapt.\n\nAs a presenter, you and your message is ...
What would the logistics of global nuclear disarmament be?
[ "If you hold the greatest diplomatic bargaining chip the wolrd has ever seen (which pretty much ensures that no one will ever invade your country again*), why would you want to get rid of it?\n\n*It's probably fair to say that Russia would not be annexing Crimea now if Ukraine has kept it's Soviet nukes." ]
; What's that throbbing on the side of our heads when we chew?
[ "That is your jaw muscles.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nIf the throbbing is painful you should see a doctor.", "What do you mean by throbbing? Do you mean a physical sensation, a visual effect, a sound?\n\n\nIf you mean a sound, you have a muscle in your ear that's activated when you chew or yawn that makes you [hear a low rumb...
Levels of clearance and security classification. Who has access to stuff? How is that stuff 'labeled' to know who can have access?
[ "**General Primer on Clearance and Classification:**\n\nIt works simply. You *classify* information according to some methodology. You then assign *clearances* to people which defines (according to your methodology) which levels of classification they theoretically have access to.\n\nI say \"theoretically\" because...
Why Australians sound so much more like British people than Americans.
[ "I'm going to assume you're American. As an American you are very familiar with your own dialect and can detect differences to a foreign dialect very easily. However, with Australian and British dialects you aren't terribly familiar with either and so differences are harder to detect.\n\nAs a British person, I woul...
Why are alcohol bottles not required to have nutritional labels? (like calories, carbohydrates, sodium, etc...)
[ "The main reason, as others have pointed out, is because alcohol is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, but rather by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and, to a lesser extent, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). FDA has very spe...
What are those pillars of light on the horizon during wintertime?
[ "On cold nights little tiny droplets of water in the air turn into ice crystals. Those crystals reflect moon or sunlight, forming what you see as a light pillar. It is kinda like the formation of rainbow, but without refraction." ]
What are food stamps?
[ "Poor people get money from the government to buy food (this is also, in part, a subsidy to farmers). To make sure they spend the money on food, they used to get special slips of paper that they would use at the store. These days, it's all done electronically, just like a credit/debit card, using a system generic...
how do any thing that lay eggs fertilize them?
[ "Eggs that don't have shells, such as those laid by fishes and frogs, are usually fertilised after being laid. The female produces the eggs and then the male covers them in sperm. It's an inefficient method, which is one reason why these creatures usually lay large numbers of eggs.\n\nEggs in shells, however, such ...
Why is it that when you lay down and lay as still as possible, you can hear a pillow compressing no matter how still you lay?
[ "I'm no scientist, but I would assume it's because there are hundreds of thousands of little fibers in a pillow and even though a human thinks they are laying perfectly still, they are still constantly moving (breathing, cardiovascular processes, etc.), which in return causes the fibers to constantly be moving in r...
Why dialup internet had to make that crazy noise when turning on
[ "Phone lines can only carry sound. In order to send data over a phone line, you need to convert it to sound and have a device on the other side that converts the sound back to data.\n\nThese devices are called **modems**.\n\nThe history of modems goes back decades, with different models & standards for *how* the...
[Biology] what keeps or gut flora from drunkening us?
[ "You're mistaking \"air\" for \"oxygen\". We don't have many air pockets in our bodies. We do have a great deal of oxygen. We wouldn't survive without it." ]
why do people apologize for being white and having white privilege?
[ "I can't speak to what your cousin posted, but generally speaking, people aren't APOLOGIZING for being white. The entire point is, to be aware of and acknowledge the things that come to you automatically/don't come to you automatically on account of your race. This builds both personal awareness of the world around...