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Why do our eyes "burn" when we wake up without enough sleep?
[ "As you get more tired, your body tries to shut down so you'll go to sleep. That affects the amount of tears that are released by your tear (lacrimal) gland. So, less tears flowing, eyes dry out, and it burns. What's your body's solution to that? Close your eyes to cover the dry surface. Which, when you close your ...
If it is illegal to melt down pennies, how is it legal to press them?
[ "Are you talking about how it's legal for the US Mint to press them? Because they're authorized by law to do so.\n\nIf you're asking about those novelty machines that strech out a penny, it's because defacing the currency for non-fraudulent purposes isn't illegal." ]
Why does twisting something make it easier to go in?
[ "Not 100% sure, but I believe it could be due to static friction vs kinetic friction. Friction coefficient for stationary objects (static) is higher than for moving objects (kinetic), meaning that if something is already moving there is a lower friction force. Basically any object that is put in motion is easier to...
how does adderall, vivans, and ritalin affect the brain?
[ "Unlike many medications, these actually cross the [blood/brain barrier](_URL_0_) which means they can actually manipulate things going on in the brain. When there, they tickle certain areas and make the brain release chemicals, which change your mood, etc." ]
When a fan cools my body down by blowing air on it, is it just slowly evaporating all the water out of my body? How can there be new water to evaporate from my skin each time the fan swings past me? Seems like something else is going on (?).
[ "Sweat evaporating is very much a method by which your body cools itself, but that only works as long as you're sweating. \n\nThe other method is this: Air is not that good at conducting heat. This is why when you stick your hand in an oven that's at 200C it's hot but bearable, but if you touch one of the shelves, ...
What are the risks and benefits of GMOs?
[ "Risks? About the same as \"letting nature take it's course\". \n\nSpecifically, since we tend to use the same strain for growing everything (even before GMO), if there is a disease, mold, etc that attacks the plants, it's bad news, period. GMO's don't really increase this risk. \n\nAlso, one can argue that the l...
What would happen to all our electrical infrastructure if the Earth experienced another Carrington Event like it did in 1859?
[ "I am a HV technician and have 10 years experience\n\nThe big risk is to HV plant at the transmission level. The grid is surprisingly easy to bring down if you know what you're doing. We had a situation in Australia just recently that the public wouldn't know about where 30000 customers were relying on one single p...
How does this plastic surgery net thing work?
[ "I found [this article](_URL_0_) which explains that scar tissue has a different collagenous matrix than regular skin. Whereas scar tissue has collagen fibers that are arranged longitudinally, normal skin has fibers that are arranged in a \"basket weave\". This net that you speak of is possibly a \"scaffolding\" of...
Why do cartoons decide to change art directions every season?
[ "It's most likely just that they're adapting to changing quality and aspect ratio of television (like Family Guy did when they made the change to 16:9 aspect in HD) and that they're finding easier ways and making more money to make better quality productions, as is the case with South Park." ]
How does music from your phone go through a metal wire and come out as music at the other end?
[ "The wires end in little coils inside the earbuds which also contain a small magnet. When current flows threw a coil, it generates a magnetic field which moves the coil against the magnet. Attached to the coil is a thin membrane that makes the air in front of it vibrate. Essentially inside your earbuds are tiny spe...
Why do cats/kittens do the "butt wiggle?"
[ "It's the pre-pounce balance and foothold assessment. From an evolutionary standpoint, an accurate but partly telegraphed pounce probably infers survival benefits greater than a silent miss." ]
What does it mean to be non-sentient?
[ "Sentience is loosely defined, with a vast number of people disagreeing on both what it is and what is included.\n\nThe most common definition is the ability to perceive and be influenced by outside stimuli. Basically, the ability to feel (have emotions).\n\nThis definition would include many animals.\n\nIntelligen...
feeling the presence or stare of someone nearby
[ "It's a combination of picking up signals you're not conscious about and confirmation bias. Humans do not have some magical ability to sense other humans.", "Great Through the Wormhole episode about experiments exploring this:\n\n[s02e05 \"Is There a Sixth Sense?\"](_URL_0_)", "Someone in another Eli5 answered ...
Why are most republicans anti-decriminalization of drugs? Don't they favor less government power?
[ "Speaking in broad generalizations, republicans are against less regulation of business and enterprise, but more regulation of the individual. Someone who is for less regulation across the board would usually be called a libertarian. One way (not by any means the only or best way) is that a republican is someone wh...
Why is it that people with diabetes are not allergic to sugar.
[ "When a person allergic to peanuts has a peanut, that persons immune system goes all haywire attacking the peanut, and ends up attacking the whole body as collateral damage. \n\nWhen a diabetic has sugar, it enters the bloodstream but their body is missing the \"key\" to get it into cells, so It just sits there in ...
Where do companies like Winco/other grocery stores get their own brand of milk? Do they have cows?
[ "Grocers often have their own brand of *many* foods and drinks. They simply pay the factory to make extra packages with the store's name on them. They rarely own that factory.", "Some large chains like HEB or Walmart will have their own factories, or in the case of milk Dairies. Others will simply make contracts ...
2 men responsible for wildfire are being billed $37 million, the cost to put it out. How are they expected to pay this?
[ "If they cannot pay it all now their wages will be garnished from now until the point that the debt is paid. Not all debts can garnish your wages, but governmental debts and legal fines can. These types of debts cannot be discharged via bankruptcy either. \n\nOdds are they will be paying for this crime for the rest...
Why do so many cigarette smokers find it ok to litter their butts?
[ "The same reason why other people litter or do things that in general only poorly educated people would do.\n\nThe world is full of assholes, smokers who just throw the butt anywhere are a good example.", "When I've asked in the past, the general response has been \"They're biodegradable; they'll go away eventual...
17 and need to know how taxes work?
[ "Ask them what you have to do to have the most amount withheld (probably have to use `0`). \n\nHow do taxes work? I'd say they don't. But to answer your question, an amount gets withheld from your salary each pay check and gets sent to the government every quarter. Then, at the end of the year you file your returns...
Why, if the majority of people are right handed, are laptop trackpads usually on the left?
[ "Of all the laptops I've used, the trackpads are either centered with the laptop as a whole (e.g. a Macbook) or centered between the home row bumps. Sometimes, this introduces an offset to the left to make room for numerical keys on the right side (in the case of a 15\" laptop). Moreover, the spacebar is likely not...
How is not being attracted to a race, racist?
[ "a lot of what determines our initial attraction to someone is completely subconscious. your body smells pheromones and other things like facial symmetry because your body wants to create healthy offspring (and gene diversity helps keep kids healthy). for some people it is psychological and could be based on a cert...
How can an undocumented immigrant speak at the DNC and not be arrested?
[ "The choice to begin deportation proceedings against any alien is at the discretion of the executive. Being in the U.S. illegally is not a crime, but the situation with crime is similar: the prosecutor isn't *required* to charge anyone with anything. The Obama administration, like most before him, isn't actively de...
If spicy substance is supposed to burn calories, does eating spicy candies help you lose or gain weight?
[ "If by spicy substance you mean something like hot sauce, not totally true. My understanding is that the flavor of a food doesn't affect how many calories you burn, it's what they're actually composed of." ]
Why are humans innately "scared" or "creeped out" by insects and arachnids?
[ "This trait is believed to have originated while we were still Humanoids or even \"Apes\" (if you agree with Darwin's theory). A lot of the insects, snakes, spiders etc are venomous and if we were to survive as a species, we had to prevent dying and going instinct from bugs (I know it sounds ridiculously). So, an i...
Why are there so many different programming languages, and what's the difference?
[ "This is because everybody is free to develop a programming language. Besides that everybody has his own taste and requirements. There are languages which are for example more suited for web or standard applications, others may be more low-level to build more specialized stuff.\n\nLanguages can evolve or fork into ...
How do people use stars for navigation?
[ "Source: Officer of the Watch in the RNZN, Astronavigation qualified.\n\nCelestial Navigation is as much art as it is science at the end of the day. When it comes to navigation by the stars, it is essentially using the scientific principle of the celestial sphere and the art of terrestrial navigation techniques.\n\...
"OP is a faggot"
[ "It's a meme that comes from 4chan. [Here](_URL_0_) is the Know Your Meme article on it.", "OP means Original Poster. So if I said \"OP is a faggot\" I would be implying that you as the one who made this thread is a faggot." ]
Why do Australians Love the Word "Cunt"
[ "We use it casually in the UK too, when I moved to the U.S. I quickly discovered how easy it was to offend an entire store full of people when addressing my friend as a cunt on the phone." ]
Why is sin of (pi minus an angle) equal to sin of that angle?
[ "The easiest way to visualize it is probably to look at a picture like [this](_URL_0_ ). (sorry, it's hard to explain using just trig without pictures).\n\nSo, your normal sin(theta) would be like the triangle in quadrant1 (top right). Now go look what happens if you to to pi-theta (i'd recommend going to pi, and t...
why certain isotopes of chemical elements become radioactive, and why they have varying half-lives
[ "So inside the nucleus of atoms there are protons and neutrons.\n\nThere is a certain ratio of neutrons:protons which is stable. It's close to 1:1, though as elements get heavier the ratio shifts in favor of neutrons.\n\nThis stable configuration minimizes potential energy of the nucleus.\n\nAnything outside this s...
Illegal Evidence
[ "> Since he didn't have a warrant that evidence is illegal and can't be used in court... Does that mean the rapist gets off Scott free?\n\nYep. Unless some other evidence can be found by going through legal channels. And it should be noted that any search warrant issued because of the illegally-gathered evidence ...
The saying "easy as pie"
[ "Googling this would have been a piece of cake!", "Much better than the saying \"have your cake and eat it too\". Why the fuck would I not eat my cake", "i dont think some people understand the purpose of this subreddit" ]
Some stars appear to twinkle red and blue very clearly on a dark, moonless night.
[ "Have you ever seen the air shimmer on a hot day? When light passes through air of different temperatures it is refracted, just like when it passes through water or glass. When you see stars twinkle it is the light being refracted as it passes through our atmosphere" ]
Computer, phone, etc. batteries lose longevitiy when a charger is connected for extended periods of time while already at 100 percent charge
[ "It really depends on the chemistry of the battery and any safety circuitry built into it. \n\nLeaving a device plugged in at 100% isn't really a problem for average users any more as the combination of lithium ion batteries and protection circuits in batteries, chargers and devices is unlikely to reduce the life...
Why haven't undocumented immigrants that are protected under DACA gotten green cards or become citizens?
[ "Because those who are covered under DACA aren't made any more eligible for Green Cards or citizenship than they were before. They entered the country illegally because they couldn't do so legally; why do you think arriving by breaking the law would make them any more eligible?" ]
I need to understand servers well enough to explain the concept to my boss...
[ "On the technical side, you *can* run the database management software and the web server on the same server. But it makes the database too accessible, so it's considered a pretty big security risk. \n\nSpeaking loosely, a web server is supposed to accept connections from everybody in the world. A database server ...
Why is the majority of Africa still so underdeveloped?
[ "[Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond](_URL_0_) does a great job of explaining this. \n\nSome of it is poor nutrition. There's also hundreds of years of oppression, terrible soil for cultivation, exploitation by developed nations, religious and cultural customs that insist upon living in the same manner of thei...
Why do people view the movie 'Birdman' as pretentious? What makes movies pretentious in general?
[ "To me, it felt like the movie's main theme was about how it's \"so hard being an actor.\" It felt like a bunch of actors stroking their own egos. Also, it felt like they were saying that actors are above playing comic book characters and superhero roles because they're somehow better than that, or they're too impo...
Why are things (cars) reflected on the road?
[ "When the air gets hot, it bends light in a different manner to create the illusion of water on the road or vehicle reflections" ]
What do human accountants do that computers can't?
[ "They can’t make assessments on if something is or isn’t. Most are programmed as if true= and if false=. They won’t consider if it’s an odd one off where false doesn’t mean X", "Accounting has a lot more interpretations involved that require human cognition then you might think. Computers are very bad at this." ]
Why do we make a "Ssshhh" sound to tell people to be quiet ?
[ "Well, this thread turned into a colossal fuckfest. \n\nThanks for the answers guys but the mods seemed to have deleted the majority of them and I saw a lot of different answers so for the moment I'm gonna have to leave this one as \"unexplained\" for the time being.", "I feel like the mod is trying to make some ...
the impact of the European fiscal treaty on Ireland
[ "A yes vote means that Ireland, like the rest of Europe, is slowly moving toward a federation. Basically Euro countries don't have monetary sovereignty, which means they have no national control over their currency, as we do in America with the Federal Reserve. With the fiscal treaty they will give up fiscal sovere...
How does the Plumbing on a Rotating Building/Tower Work?
[ "The center of the building is stationary, which you can see an example of [here](_URL_0_)\n\nAll the pipes from the floor would flow to the center of the stationary part, where they'd connect to a piece that can constantly spin (like /u/friend1949 mentioned).\n\n[Here](_URL_1_) is an article about the architech fr...
Why does my face look super puffy when I wake up?
[ "Cause you drank loads of booze the night before?" ]
Why is it that some gay women are attracted by other gay women that are very masculine in behavior and in looks that they almost look like men? Is there a grey area?
[ "Gender and attraction are not black and white. Some people are attracted to masculine women some to feminine men. Everybody is different and has what they're in to. So to answer your question of if there is a gray area; yes absolutely, a whole lot of gray area." ]
What is the difference between the phoneme /th/ (as in ‘think’) and /th/ (as in 'leather')?
[ "The first is an unvoiced fricative, as in the sound can be sustained and the vocal folds don’t vibrate. Air just passed through your mouth to make the sound. The second is a voiced fricative. Your vocal folds vibrate and you can sustain the sound on a specific pitch. The position of your tongue and teeth is the sa...
Why were the mongols so successful?
[ "Because they have excellent military tactics. \n\nThe Mongols had vast vanguard units, so they could go ahead of the main troops and spy on what lies ahead. these fast, mobile units were also extremely deceiving to enemies who were often lured by their low numbers and pursued to hunt them, only to be surrounded an...
Why are medication and surgical operations so much more expansive in America compared to other countries?
[ "Our healthcare is among the best on Earth, but our insurance industry is very big and powerful, and they like profit, so they set high prices for products and services. We missed the chance after WWII to nationalize healthcare like with the NHS in the UK, and that let insurance companies get as big as they are tod...
Why does symmetry make people look more attractive?
[ "Not 100% sure about this but I think that it is in our genes. \n\nSymmetry is associated with healthiness. Back then when it was \"only the strongest survive\" symmetry was (and is) a sign of a healthy individual with good genes.\n\nIf you have a healthy partner, you and that person are more likely to create a str...
The difference between Black Metal and Death Metal
[ "Stylistic: Black metal vocals are distinctly higher pitched, while death metal vocals tend to have a lower, more gutteral sound. Black metal guitars are also often higher pitched, and the play style creates a more ambient droning sound compared to the slightly more melodic sound offered by many death metal bands.\...
What does today's interest rate change mean for me as a homeowner? Does it affect non-home owners? What real effect will regular people see?
[ "If you have adjustable rate debt - mortgages, credit cards, car loans - your interest rate will go up slightly. If you are \"locked in\" at a fixed rate, it won't affect you. If you have savings, you *might* also see a slight increase in the interest paid to you. \n\nPeople who want fixed rates in the future w...
For the people that answer ELI5 questions: A Challenge!
[ "[link](_URL_0_) for the lazy - and i'll give it a try.", "This has been done on ELI5 a hundred times already, use the search function" ]
How an engine works, and how it dies?
[ "I'm assuming you mean an internal combustion engine, like the ones found in most cars, here. The basic working unit of such an engine is the piston/cylinder arrangement. The cylinder is a hollow space within a metal alloy block. The piston is somewhat mushroom-shaped, with the head of the mushroom filling the c...
Why is it considered offensive to respond to an accusation of bigotry with "Some of my best friends are gay/black/whatever"?
[ "Because before, you are advocating bigotry by yourself. Once you invoke the gay friend excuse, it sounds as if you are claiming that the gays have somehow given you permission to advocate bigotry." ]
Why is some handsoap labeled 'Antibacterial' and some aren't? Isn't all soap antibacterial? Isn't that the point of soap?
[ "No, most soaps are just \"release agents\" which just help remove particulates without actually killing bacteria. Antibacterial soaps actually contain an antibiotic that kills the bacteria.\n\nAlso you shouldn't use antibacterial soap all the time, it's bad for your immune system." ]
Differences in responsibilities between Sec. of Defense and the Joint Chiefs
[ "The Joint Chiefs is a group of military advisors to the President. They have no operational authority or ability to command troops. \n\nThe Secretary of Defense is the second in command of the United States military, after the president. They are the head (think CEO) of the Department of Defense." ]
If the (US) police arrest someone who is unconscious, would the arrest automatically be invalid because they weren't read their Miranda rights? Why or why not?
[ "No. It's a common misconception that you have to be read your Miranda rights at the time of arrest. This isn't true.\n\nYou have to be advised of your rights before you are _interogated_ by police, not arrested. If you are not, anything you say in that interrogation may not be admissible in court. In this case...
we went to the zoo today in the United States and there was a machine there where you put in 51 cents and turn the wheel to flatten your penny with an imprint on it. I thought it was against federal law to deface currency?
[ "It's only against the law if you are doing it with the intent to commit fraud (i.e. trying to pass off that flattened thing as a 300 cent piece, actual currency). You may deface currency all you want as long as you destroy it, or don't try to pass it off as money.", "The law does not prohibit the defacing of co...
How are there more dimensions than 3?
[ "What you have to do is completely disavow yourself of the idea that dimensionality implies space.\n\nDone? Okay, good.\n\nA dimension is, very roughly, a quality that allows us to distinguish between things. If I have two objects that are *utterly identical*, but they're in different places, I can tell them apart ...
How do sharks and other sealife smell blood from miles away even if the blood itself doesn't cover that distance?
[ "They do not. The *only* way they can smell blood is if at least some particles of that blood have traveled all the way to where they are.", "secondary question: \n\nHow long would it take for around 1 litre of blood to be detectable by a shark from a mile away?\n\n\nor how long for a particle of blood from 1 lit...
Why do many people look down on "Blue Collar" work?
[ "A generation or two back, it became a thing for parents to want their kids to go to college so that they \"can do better than they did.\" A lot of these people worked difficult and laborious jobs before a lot of OSHA rules were put in place. Also before modern tools made some jobs easier.\n \nNow you've got a s...
Why do our voices sound different on recordings then they do when we hear ourselves speak?
[ "Than?\n\nBasically, when you talk, you are mostly hearing what you sound like when the sound travels through your body..composed of bone, fat and meat. When you listen to a recording, you are hearing what your voice sounds like when it is traveling through air.", "When you hear yourself speak, most of what you h...
Why fogs from distance look very dense but when we are moving towards it we can see clearly to a certain extent?
[ "When you're looking at things that are farther away, there's more fog to look through. Closer things don't have as much stuff in front of them to block your vision." ]
If I don't eat breakfast, I don't even get hungry for a while, but if I do, I get hungry before 11.
[ "During a fast, such as the one that most of us enter during our nights sleep, the liver is basically providing the brain with glucose, fuel. When you wake up, your hormones dont change until you eat something. If you dont eat, glucagon stays high and your liver continues fasting state metabolism. When you do eat, ...
If the Democrats are now down to 3 Presidential Candidates, whilst the Republicans are still at 14. Would whoever gets the Democrat nomination not have a huge leg up on the Republican one in the campaign process?
[ "Yes, they will most likely have an advantage in the national election. And, being honest, it means Hillary is going to have an advantage in the national election because she's not really had to campaign much against her fellow Democrats. \n\nPay attention to her stump speeches, what she says when she gives a talk ...
Why do humans have eyebrows? If they served a purpose, what was it?
[ "They shade your eyes from the sun, help reduce glare off of objects, aid in communication by being expressive when we speak, and help to keep sweat out of your eyes." ]
Why is female toplessness considered nudity, when male toplessness is pretty much acceptable?
[ "There is a documentary on reddit somewhere that shows a man undergoing a sex operation to become a woman. I think the video was hosted on youtube. The video shows the surgeon making the female breasts. At a apparently random point during the operation youtube censors the, now, female nipple. It's the same nipple! ...
Do you sweat underwater?
[ "Yes, as long as your body is trying to shed heat it will sweat. You just won't notice because you are wet.", "People sweat because their body is trying to cool down. So if you are in a cold water your body don't need to sweat as the water itself do that for you, but if it is in hot water, it starts to sweat (Eve...
How can Alphabet make Google's life easier
[ "It's basically taking all of Google's current child companies (like Calico, a biotech company) and moving them up a level, alongside Google rather than under it. So the old management structure may have looked like this: \n\n_URL_0_\n\nWhich doesn't make much sense if you think about it. Why should a biotech compa...
Why did the endless cascading of windows (such as the 'not responding' window)on older operating systems occur?
[ "Windows didn't cache a windows pixels when something is placed above it. It simply asked the message handler to render that area of the window when the area was returned to the window. When the message handler is unable to execute this it keeps the pixels that were last rendered.\n\nA message handler can fail to h...
Rainbows with missing colors
[ "The other colors should be there, but maybe with a quite low intensity so you cannot see them with your bare eye. \nSince the light comes from the sun the only missing wave lengths should be the [Frauenhofer lines](_URL_0_)." ]
How do cicadas "count out" their 17 year cycles?
[ "They're not hibernating for 17 years, they're actively living underground and just reach maturity in 17 years.", "They aren't counting anything, so it's not behavior related at all. It takes them 17 years for the egg to grow up and become an adult cicada, then those lay eggs before they die and it takes another ...
Could a quantum supercomputer brute force 128 or 256 bit keys?
[ "Quantum computers are fast because for certain kinds of computation, they can perform it with essentially infinite parallelism. In other words, instead of trying all 2^128 possible keys one at a time to brute force the correct key, a quantum computer could try all keys simultaneously. So current the current encryp...
What is a Half Life (not the game)
[ "It's the time it takes for a radioactive sample to decay to half of its original amount.\n\nIt's also sometimes used as the amount of time it takes for half of a certain drug or chemical to leave your body." ]
Darfur
[ "Like a lot of race wars in Africa it has been overshadowed by things in the middle east. The conflict is still there. It's just not a priority for major governments. \n\nI don't know a ton on the subject, I'm sure someone will explain it better. Just reciting something I heard in class." ]
Why haven't any car manufacturers made a hybrid or "earth-friendly" vehicles that are appealing when it comes to looks/design?
[ "Have you looked into the [Tesla Model S](_URL_0_)?", "What \"looks cool\" is a matter of personal preference. What looks cool to you, may not look cool to me. On that note, Tesla makes some very aesthetically pleasing electric cars.", "Several manufacturers are now making hybrid versions of previously non-hybr...
Why when looking out at the ocean from an airplane do the waves appear to not be moving at all, while other objects like cars are still in motion?
[ "It's because your brain needs something relative to base the wave speed on. A car will look like it is moving relative to a road/landscape. Waves in an ocean have nothing for the brain to base the motion from, unlike waves on the shore. So unless there is a rock or something to break up the area and show motion, w...
Why does it matter that the NSA has access to private information?
[ "there are many reasons, but one is that technology has advanced to the point where they can collect and keep massive amounts of data indefinitely. They get to collect all this information on you throughout your life. It doesn't require much effort to store all of this information.\n\nYou may say, fine. I'm an upst...
Why do humans form bonds with animals so easily?
[ "we're social animals, forming bonds with members of our tribe is important to survival. those mechanisms aren't so strict that it only works for humans.", "About 40,000 years ago, our ancestors and wolves started working together. They were faster and had better senses, but we were smarter and capable of taking ...
Why are there things I want to do, but can't make myself do?
[ "I guess it's a light form of procrastination: you're not actively resisting cleaning up, but subconsciously you're finding other things to do that would bring faster satisfaction: watch a movie, read a book, etc.\n\nTo really get started on something you have to do, break it down into smallest steps, like in the c...
Why are insects so annoyingly good at avoiding my swat attempts?
[ "The species & offspring whose nervous systems didn't emphasize maneuverability and fast reflexes were swatted into extinction long ago.", "They actually aren't. What they're good at is escaping as you hit them. The impact doesnt hurt at all if they're in the air, and then they just fly out of the way.\n\nYou c...
Please explain how it's possible to 'go dark'. So, if I wanted to, I couldn't be traceable?
[ "In short, \"going dark\" (or a variety of other terms, \"off the grid\" etc) refer to making yourself unavailable via traditional means of communication. You relinquish all electronics, internet, radios, so forth so that you can't be reached by text, Facebook or otherwise. In order to live completely \"in the dark...
Why can't we make a painkiller that isn't addictive?
[ "We don't really understand addiction, lots of recent research suggests that addiction is not just a physical issue. Thousand of soldiers in Vietnam were using heroin, but stopped, did not go through withdrawal, when they came home. Plenty of people get high doses of pain killers in the hospital yet have no issues....
why alcohol can have commercials and not tobacco
[ "In Sweden you can't advertise alcohol or tobacco so...", "If you watch an alcohol advertisement closely you'll notice that they never actually show the product being consumed. They will show it being poured or people toasting but no one actually drinks it." ]
What would happen if all the bees were to extinct? How would that effect our food source?
[ "Beekeeper here, this infact did happen in a region is china known for growing pears (thank the big ag fertilizer giants for that). All the blossoms must now be pollinated by hand. In short most fruits and veggies would disappear, many nuts. Many grasses used in Animal feed is similarly have trouble. There are a fe...
What Did Aleister Crowley mean by "Do what Thou wilt" ?
[ "Crowley believed that human beings each have an intrinsic purpose - a 'will' - and that the pursuit of this purpose was the only constraint on action. When he says \"Do what Thou wilt\", he is saying that you need to act in accordance with your purpose.\n\nNote that it does *not* mean \"do whatever you feel like\...
What are the financial advantages for video game developers to make their game for one system only?
[ "Generally, they get a bucketload of money from some platform's parent company to release exclusively on that platform for some period of time, then they use that time to develop the versions for the other platforms.", "It's almost always because of deal between the platform owner and the developer. There are a ...
Why (and when) did mint become associated with holidays, mainly Christmas?
[ "Mint is a hardy herb that can survive frost and even snow. I remember people keeping mint alive in Michigan winters just by clearing back the snow. I'm guessing this is connected to your answer.", "First time i here of this. Usually cinnamon is associated with Christmas." ]
Why the MLB does not have a salary cap
[ "Because the rich teams like to treat the rest of the league as their farm system, and the players like being showered in money. \n\nSince a salary cap has to be part of the union agreement, they work together to make sure that never happens.", "If a baseball team is run like a company, the company is in its rig...
What has been happening in the Middle East for the past 20 years?
[ "The current situation in the middle east dates back to the first world war.\n\nThe Ottoman empire controlled most of the territory in the region. The Ottoman Empire fell at the end of the war and split into many smaller countries.\n\nSince it was mainly the British and French who beat them they gained a huge influ...
At what point does a knife become a sword?
[ "The transitions are a bit muddy and have shifted through history but a dagger is a double edged knife, a dirk is a dagger that is 6\"-12\" and a short sword is 1'-2' in length. Then you have numerous kinds of longer swords. \n\nBut the answer to your question is 1'.", "No expert, but I would consider a blade to ...
Why is "empire" spelled with an "E" when the latin root is "imperator"
[ "There is no international authority on how words are said or spelled. Dictionary spellings and definitions are merely accepted conventions that evolved organically over time and often there is no hard and fast answer for why a word is spelled or pronounced the way it is. People just did it that way.\n\nAs for why ...
If I drive 5 miles going 40 mph vs. the same 5 miles going 80 mph, will one require more gas than the other?
[ "The short answer is that at those speeds yes, air resistance increases and going 80 will take more fuel. If you stick your hand out of the car window when doing both of those speeds you will notice that the air pushes harder on your hand at 80mph. The car engine needs to output more power to hold the speed because...
How much is a human actually worth?
[ "Yes. Healthy, working organs go for a nice chunk of change on the black market. The black market thrives due to people needing an organ donation but not wanting to wait on a list for years and years, because not enough people donate organs.\n\nThe extent of how much this happens is... unknown. It does happen, b...
Where did the Native American Indians that actually discovered our part of the world come from?
[ "They were descendents from a group of humans that crossed from what is now Russia over to what is now Alaska. This happened 16k to 11k years ago. Eventually as the ice age ended sea levels rose leading to the land they crossed to end up under water. This meant the humans being able to populate the New World wit...
What's the difference between a trademark, copyright and patent? Could they not just be one broader thing?
[ "A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or other imagery that identifies the source or ownership of some set of goods. They do not expire. Other people are allowed to use or reference your trademark, so long as they are not trying to deceptively claim to be or be sponsored by the trademarking organization.\n\nA pate...
when a sudden cold gust of wind robs me of my breath, what's actually happening?
[ "The cold gust of wind is stimulating the [mammalian diving reflex](_URL_0_). This is a autonomic nervous system response present in all mammals that slows the heart rate and breathing rate when your face is submerged in cold water. But a blast of very cold air can have the same effect." ]
In June 2016, how exactly can there be 94,708,000 able-bodied Americans between ages 18-65 who are not in the labor force? Can there actually be this many people who gave up after being unable to find a job after X years?
[ "Stay-at-home parents, students, early retirees, the self-employed, and those who work off the books. There are plenty of reasons a person without a job to not be actively seeking one.\n\nIf you continue to read the article:\n > The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 5,923,000 people in May as \"persons who cur...
It is recommended that you don't sit on a toilet for a long time but I sit in a chair all day at work, what's the difference?
[ "While it is recommended that you don't sit down all day *at all*, a toilet seat is especially bad because your weight is concentrated on a relatively thin strip across your legs. This compresses the blood vessels and results in much worse blood flow compared to sitting in a normal chair.", "Because when you are ...
How come movies and TV shows don't film at actual locations? Why do they use different locations and make it look like the intended location?
[ "Money and convenience.\n\nIt's much cheaper to build a set that looks like a snowy tundra than to actually fly out cast, crew, etc. to a *real* snowy tundra. Not to mention that then you'd have to deal with the weather. And your cast and crew would not be so happy about spending months away from their families. \n...