Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
When you're hungover, why does your body feel the need to puke even if there's nothing left in your stomach?	[ "The feeling of nausea is not necessarily related to having something in the stomach. Direct stimulation of the [Chemoreceptor Trigger Zone](_URL_0_), by alcohol and its metabolites in this case, is the likely cause for the nausea.\n\nEDIT - nausea when actually drunk, not hungover, can be caused by alcohol messing...
How do the Japanese not smudge their letters when writing from top to bottom and right to left?	[ "Keep in mind that it's top to bottom first. One column is analogous to one line in western text. So by the time you get to a new column the ink at the top has dried.\n\nOn top of that, traditional style top to bottom writing is usually reserved for formal situations (and manga for some reason, but that's mostly pr...
Why does the brain tend to constantly play music on its own ?	[ "From the experience of a musician, it's always there. It never leaves. But then again, we want it there. There's no \"Maybe if I complete the song instead of turning it off in between, it will stop.\" I guess we have to always make sure it's something we like.\n\nIt can be bad though, like when you are talking to ...
Biologically, why are some people naturally better singers than other?	[ "The difference lies in the brain and vocal aptitude. Different people have different levels of understanding harmony and other aspects of music. Also, some people have greater levels of pitch discrimination, which allows them to sing more on-key.\n\nThe diaphragm (the muscle under your ribs) and larynx (voice box)...
Why cant we colonize the moon?	[ "Because there's no point. There are no resources there to sustain life, and thus everything would need to be shipped from earth which is very costly and incredibly inefficient." ]
What are the different kinds of lightbulbs?	[ "There are [incandescent lightbulbs](_URL_0_). These have a bulb-shape and get hot. They work by putting electricity through a thin wire made of tungsten, which gets really really hot: hot enough that it shines brightly. \n\nThe other main type is [fluorescent](_URL_1_). These usually have a more spiral shape, al...
How do 3d printers work and what are the limitations to what they can or can’t make?	[ "There are several technologies behind various 3d printers, but the most common one uses a nozzle to melt hot plastic into a line, sort of like icing a cake. The 3D object is sliced into layers by software and the printer draws each layer one on top of the other. As the plastic melts together and cools, you gradual...
How is the heat energy released by the burning fuel is converted to the mechanical energy of a car’s motion?	[ "_URL_0_\n\nThe key is that when you burn fuel, hot gases expand.\n\nYou have a piston that goes back and forth in a cylinder. When it goes down, making more room in the cylinder, it sucks a fuel/air mixture in. On the way up, it compresses that mixture. A spark ignites the mixture and the resulting gasses *take...
Why do we perceive those who don't speak the same language as us to be less intelligent?	[ "I don't think that's a given. Perhaps the inability to communicate makes it harder to sympathize with what they're saying. But I know personally I don't perceive foreign language speakers to be less intelligent.", "Your native language seems so easy to you. We humans don't remember the first four or five years ...
How come "mother" and "father" are always some variation of the M and P sound, regardless of language?	[ "They are some of the oldest words in any language. They are almost as old as language itself. They are [15,000 years old](_URL_0_).\n\nWords are preserved by use. The more you use a word, the harder it is to change that word. If you don't ever use a word much, it might be possible that your children won't hear...
How did the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 come about?	[ "* Housing prices were going up for a very long time creating a bubble.\n\n* Lenders decided that they'd take advantage of the increasing values by selling loans to people who couldn't normally afford them (using potentially dangerous terms like adjustable rates, balloon payments, and interest-only loans)\n\n* This...
Why is it that the lottery has reached a records high this year and the year before that ect. It it purely by chance or are there other factors involved?	[ "The organizers of the lottery have changed the [odds of winning a few times](_URL_0_) (most recently rising from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292 million) and since the top prize grows when there's no winner the odds increases mean the pot can get much larger than in the past." ]
Republican and Democrat ideas	[ "Not to sound like a troll, but you're not going to get good answers on here. Not only because people are biased and will answer that way, but because it's actually a pretty hard thing to nail down with any certainty. For example, if you go to each party's website and look at their official platforms, you'll noti...
why is the earth so hot on the inside?	[ "There are three main sources of heat in the deep earth: (1) heat from when the planet formed and accreted, which has not yet been lost; (2) frictional heating, caused by denser core material sinking to the center of the planet; and (3) heat from the decay of radioactive elements.", "A few reasons.\n\nOne, and th...
Why do islands like these form?	[ "Those are called barrier islands, and they are caused by receding tides dropping sediment on the oceanbed a few hundred feet to a few miles offshore. As the tide recedes into open water, the movement becomes slower, and the slower water is no longer able to keep moving the sediment. Over very long times, you get u...
How can car insurance companies legally charge men more than women?	[ "There are no laws that make it illegal. The Civil Rights Act forbids gender discrimination by places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, hotels, etc. It isn't applicable in this case.\n\nStates could pass laws to make it illegal, but they have not. Montana is an exception and I believe it is illegal t...
Why are there so many checkout lines in grocery stores but never enough employees to fill them?	[ "A few reasons.\n\nRedundancy: if a lane goes down, you can just shut it down and move to the next one in line while tech support fixes it, rather than holding up customers.\n\nPeak use: A couple times a year, all of those lanes will be needed, mostly for big holidays. (Thanksgiving and a few others for grocery sto...
The President of the United States and what he actually DOES.	[ "> Shouldn't he, as the supposed leader of the country, be able to say \"Gay marriage is now legal in America and you gotta deal with it\"?\n\nNo, definitely not. Well, at least that was the philosophy of the Founders. The executive branch, which the President is in charge of, enforces laws. It doesn't create them ...
Does the text in the Quran justify Muslim extremists' suicide bombings and other attacks?	[ "Considering suicide is expressly forbidden, and killing innocents is as well, not really, but extremists of any religion will find a way to justify what they want to do using whatever mental gymnastics they can.", "Not really, it's all in how you interpret it. It's the same as how certain verses in the Bible can...
Why are some people picky eaters?	[ "As a behaviorist and a picky eater (ketchup is the worst), I can help with the exposure therapy bit. Forced eating will likely make the problem worse, as the food is now associated with an even worse outcome (involuntary consumption of an aversive food). Exposure therapy, which requires consent, will likely make...
Instead of raising the minimum wage, why not try and reduce the cost of living?	[ "Because the wage is a lot easier to manipulate.\n\nHow would they control cost of living? Force companies to charge less? That would break many businesses in half and encourage others to stop doing business in the US (where I assume we are discussing this).", "A lot of commenters here are saying that basically...
How Getty Images owns the rights to so many pictures.	[ "For myself they just sent me an email that basically 'we want to sell these, if we do we will send you wads of cash. Please sign this contract if you agree'", "Both, it depends on the picture. I actually worked for Getty once as a SA and then as a PA to the CEO of the company. There are RF pics, royalty free, an...
Why do people flame each other over their political philosophy?	[ "The success or failure of any political philosophy depends on it's popularity. So when someone disagrees with you on politics, they are by definition preventing you from doing what you think will help the world.\n\nIt's frustrating. But you're right of course, anger is not a helpful emotion and reason must prevail...
Why can we easily pour a lot of booze into ourselves during a party but two cups of tea/water/etc. in a row makes us feel full?	[ "I think this is a little subjective? I mean, I can easily drink 2 liters of soda (the fizzy kind) in a sitting and I don't necessarily feel full. It depends on what you ate/drank before, I guess. Also, drinking beer never makes you feel bloated? It's pretty frequent for me. This would depend on how much it takes t...
Holocaust denial	[ "I think everyone is missing the point here. The majority of holocaust deniers do not flat out disbelieve in the holocaust; they believe that the numbers/events have been exaggerated. For instance, some 'holocaust deniers' will claim that the number of jewish people killed is vastly overestimated and that the labor...
The Montreal Screwjob	[ "I'll type everything out so you don't have to watch that video if you don't want to.\n\nThe results of WWE/F matches are predetermined.\n\nBret Hart was WWF Champion and signed a deal to leave WWF and go to WCW.\n\nVince McMahaon wanted Bret to lose the title to Shawn Michaels at the Survivor Series in Montreal, f...
How DSLR cameras can record videos	[ "the reflex mirror is lifted and the light from the lens is allowed to hit the sensor continuously. in video mode, a DSLR is no different than a camcorder.", "The physical shutter and mirror are moved out of the way, allowing light to continuously hit the sensor. The software on the camera then employs what's...
What Negative Effects Does Ecstacy Have on Your Brain/Life?	[ "As with most soft drugs, we are not completely sure.\n\nThere are some studies linking ecstasy with long term dependence and altered brain chemistry, but as with all studies like this, it suffers a fatal flaw...the subjects are drug users.\n\nDrug users are willing to break the law to get high. That puts them i...
Why is sleep absolutely necessary?	[ "Sleep is a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems.\n\nessentially, we heal our psyche and our body when we sleep", "We don't know. A recent study suggests that out brain needs sleep to destroy toxic waste inside us, but meh. I don...
Why are companies like Google and Microsoft always under Anti-Competition scrutiny, but Apple is not?	[ "Apple is constantly under anti-competition scrutiny.\n\nThey just won a $1B suit over their iTunes software in December.\n\nThey just lost a case in Taiwan in June over their pricing schemes for hardware. \n\nIn the US, they're currently under investigation for anti-competition violations with their Apple Music se...
How do anchors work?	[ "The anchor works both via its weight and its hooks. The hooks only hold in the direction of the seabed. That means, if the boat is directly above the anchor (\"up and down\"), you can usually just pull it out. If that doesn't work, the ship might have to do some manoeuvering or in the worst case cut the line, atta...
What ever happened to all those cash for gold companies?	[ "_URL_0_\n\nThe value of gold was climbing until 2012, when the market suddenly trended downwards, and it's predicted to get worse. Since gold isn't as valuable anymore, there's less incentive to run a business that collects it." ]
What stops cells from producing too many cells	[ "The answer is really complicated and involves a lot of things (like telomeres), but one thing here that hasn’t been mentioned is that cells balance proliferative signals that tell them to survive and divide vs quiescent signals that tell them to chill. It’s really finely linked to the cell cycle, the process by wh...
Why do cases like the Jodi Arias trial and the Casey Anthony trial blow and get so much media attention?	[ "Who the victim is makes a big difference too. If someone kills a homeless person, nobody cares. People take it harder when the victim's family are people we think deserve more sympathy.\n\nEdit: and lets never forget social issues. If a murder can also be used as proof for claims someone was already making, it wi...
Why are American Express cards not accepted everywhere?	[ "American Express charges higher fees on the businesses, which is why they have better cardholder benefits." ]
Why do certain Ethnicities give off a stronger odor when they sweat?	[ "basicaly, \n\nWe all stink if we dont shower, but differences in diet and genetics make it that the smell is different, \n\nYou reek too but\n\n- you´re use to it and since you mostly hang out with people of your own etnicity you dont notice it. \n\n- Most deodorant sticks in western countries are designed for whi...
Why does my vision seemingly improve when I squint?	[ "This is how I believe it works based on my experience with traditional lenses:\n\nSpherically shaped lenses do not diffract light perfectly. Light hitting the corner of the lens will \"over-bend\" the light that hits the center, causing the light from the object to be spread out, creating a fuzzy image.\nSpherical...
lock- on missiles and/or heat-seeking missiles...what does the computer program do to lock onto a figure or heat?	[ "Modern missiles use potentially complex computer algorithms to convert sensor input into commands for the fins to steer the missile. The oldest heat-seeking missiles use a much more elegant system that is all analog—there's no computer doing math.\n\nThis analog setup has two main parts. The first part is a head...
What happens in a car when you press the button to put it in 'Sport' mode?	[ "This varies by vehicle and manufacturer, but generally it changes the shift points in an automatic transmission. It may also make the ABS and traction control less aggressive and (if applicable) stiffen the suspension.\n\nYou'll have to look up your car specifically to see what your sport mode does." ]
Cassette Tape Skips	[ "Some fancy tape players could skip to the next track by fastforwarding whilr still reading the tape - when it detected 3 seconds of silence they'd revert to normal speed." ]
Why are Fingerprints valid?	[ "> is it NOT POSSIBLE to have matching fingerprints?\n\nOf course it is possible, just fairly improbable. It is reasonably likely that you share fingerprints that are close enough to be difficult if not impossible to distinguish with a couple living people today.\n\nBut the way they are used in legal trials or ide...
Why do we accidentally bite the insides of our mouths?	[ "Because it's like the walls of a shredder being loose hanging meat. Eventually you're gonna have some collateral damage." ]
How do planes charge electronic devices?	[ "Planes use a generator driven by the engines to produce electrical power. The load of passengers charging electronic devices is very small compared to the plane's normal demand for electricity, so adding chargers doesn't significantly change anything.", "The same way your car does. The plane has batteries that ...
why do you wake up sometimes and feel like you're paralyzed and can't move, even though you're aware you're awake?	[ "It's basically because your head is awake, yet your body is still asleep. [Sleep paralysis](_URL_0_)", "Why you dream you enter a state called REM sleep. During REM sleep to prevent your body from moving when your dreaming you body goes into a state called REM atonia, an almost complete paralysis of the body.\n\...
What is it about the filming procedure for soap operas that makes them appear so different visually?	[ "They're filmed and shown at a higher framerate which makes the motion look more smooth. Ironically, even though it's closer to how you perceive motion in real life (not on a screen), it somehow looks \"less real\" because you're so used to watching other TV at a lower framerate.", "Soap operas have been turned r...
What is Karma on Reddit?	[ "A measure of how well you jive with the hive.", "Nothing more than a means of recognizing the good (read: popular) posts/comments from the bad (read: unpopular)." ]
What's the difference between whole wheat, whole grain, multigrain, and ancient grains?	[ "Whole wheat is a controlled term that can only be used when the bread is made with 100% whole wheat flour (you'll frequently see that term as well). \n\nThe [rest essentially](_URL_0_) are puffery (meaningless terms) signifying different things from different producers.", "It's all marketing. Other grains are a...
What a trust is in terms of business.	[ "A trust is a small partnership among businesses that operates like a third-party without actually being it's own company.\n\nTwo businesses want to buy up some land and resell it for profit ten years from now. They make a contract saying \"We agree to make XYZ trust which is the group that will buy the land and r...
How was The Rule of 70 discovered/derived?	[ "The natural log of 2 is 0.693. It's a lot easier to remember 70. Lots of folks use 72 (because it has more factors), which is often close enough.\n\nThe real formula is T = ln(2)/ln(1+r).\n\nThe ln(2) is for \"doubling\", you could use ln(3) for tripling.\n\nIf you work in percent you use 9% = 0.09, so rather th...
The Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon	[ "Memory has three levels to it. Encoding, where you create the memory and then store it. Storage, where the memory stays until you need to recall it, and Retrieval, where you pull the memory out of storage and use it for some action. \n\nThe TOT happens because there is a breakdown in your ability to pull the memor...
What's the difference between heat lightning and storm lightning?	[ "They are exactly the same phenomenon. In the middle of a big storm there is reduced visibility, so you can't generally see lightning unless you're close enough to also hear the thunder. In some situations, though, like when there is a distant storm but clear air between you and it, you can see lightning much far...
Why Don't Word Processors like MS Word have Extensive Autocorrect like Smartphone Keyboards Do?	[ "Extensive autocorrect on smartphones exists because typing on them is hard for most people. When you have a full keyboard, and in a word processor for desktop you are expected to, it's more annoying than helpful for the program to make guesses about what you meant." ]
Why do people buy houses instead of rent?	[ "When you rent a house, you get the benefit of not being tied to the place any longer than your lease and the landlord being responsible to fix things that break. This makes things cheaper and simpler on a month to month basis.\n\nWhen you buy a house, it's a lot more expensive. You're responsible for fixing anythi...
Why do men and women orgasm so differently?	[ "Because each sex has a different goal during the act of reproduction. A man's role is to achieve climax and deposit the sperm before other males can potentially interfere, while the female's is to achieve a convulsion of the vaginal walls to facilitate the sperm's movement towards the potential egg and future offs...
How/Why do traffic jams occur on roads without traffic lights or other obstructions? It seems like traffic should continue as normal because there is nothing to stop it in the road, but nope, it doesn't.	[ "Because crap like [this](_URL_0_) happens. Small things you do build up or the lag between stupid/indecisive/terrible drivers builds up." ]
Some questions about electricity and electrical power.	[ "Electrons have a negative charge. When something is said to have a positive charge, it means that the material is missing electrons from the outer shell of its atoms- or it has electron \"holes\", which mean that it wants to fill those holes with electrons to reach a neutral charge.\n\nElectricity means the flow o...
why does chewing sound so loud while wearing head phones?	[ "Your headphones block the environment sounds. However, your mouth is connected to your ear channels internally, so the chewing sound is not impacted. It then sounds louder compared to other sounds." ]
Why don't we have an international currency?	[ "I want to expand a little bit on the stuff with the Euro, which is the prime example of an international currency, and why multiple nations having the same currency can be a little problematic.\n\nThere are two main reasons: monetary policy, and trade imbalances. I'll start with the first one.\n\nMonetary policy ...
What is heat and why does it hurt ?	[ "In Physics, Heat is a transfer of energy from one substance to another, due to a differential in temperature. Colloquially, we also commonly use it to refer to a higher temperature, which is the measure of an object's kinetic and potential energy. \n\nIt hurts you because, above a certain temperature (about 44 Cel...
why don't the laws against opening others' mail apply to digital content?	[ "The laws were put in place before things such as text messaging and e mail were even invented, they are outdated and have loopholes to exploit", "The Constitution specifically says papers and effects. But the government REALLY doesn't like the Fourth and \"forgets\".", "18 U.S. Code § 1702 - Obstruction of co...
Whats happening to your body when you get a surge of adrenaline? What makes it so effective that people are able to inflict huge amounts self harm, or walk away from terribles accident seemingly in no pain?	[ "Your heart rate and heart contraction force increases, allowing it to pump more blood. You breathe faster, getting more oxygen into your blood.\n\nThe vessels to your less immediately important organs (like stomach, intestines, skin) is diverted to your muscles and brain and heart. This constriction of vessels als...
What exactly does a Soundbar do that a home theater cant? why the sudden boom?	[ "Be set up super easily and for cheaper. A true sound system is going to sound better but sound bars are simple attractive and require very little set up", "Nothing, they just act as the center channel for surround sound and the left/right sound for stereo. \n \nThe only reason to get a soundbar is if you don't...
The difference between Kung Fu and Tai Chi	[ "Simply put: Kung Fu is the kind that break things and fight people with, Tai Chi is like yoga where you meditate." ]
How are buildings over 2,000 ft in height structurally safe?	[ "It's mostly about how they are designed. Back then before computers were this powerful and available, you weren't able to simulate how the structure would fare under conditions such as wind, earthquakes, the ground it will be built on, and how the building will act being under its own weight. Nowadays, we can easi...
If we lose approximately 100 hairs a day, why are we not all slowly going bald?	[ "I am slowly going bald. What are you talking about?", "Because your body is constantly replenishing your supply of hairs. Lost in this case means that the hair is shed. Hairs are naturally shed, and then replaced with another hair, excepting conditions like balding or damage.\n\nIt does not mean 'poof, you now h...
What's the deal with Somalia? Does it have a government or not?	[ "Somalia has an official national government, but that government seems to have limited control over the country. There are various militant groups active in the country, and a big chunk of Somalia is part of a de facto country called Somaliland. What is now Somalia was originally divided between a British colony...
Why do heavily massed vehicles run on diesel and faster tighter sports cars run on gas?	[ "I'm no expert so I can't explain you the combustion process differences. However I can tell you that there are indeed diesel sports car, like Audi's racing cars at Le Mans for example.[ Audi R18](_URL_0_)s are extremely powerful, and successful, being powered by turbo-diesel engines.", "A Gasoline engine works b...
If toxic and edible mushrooms are so easy to confuse, then why are poisonings from market-bought mushrooms so rare?	[ "1. They're not so easy for experts to confuse.\n2. Most of the ones at markets are farmed, not found in the wild.\n3. Most of the popular market species aren't the ones that look very similar to poisonous species.", "Edible muschrooms are cultivated in mines, as standard and regulated as any major food product...
Why is Agnes Martin (subject of today's Google Doodle) considered a great artist?	[ "There's really nothing mysterious about art, although it tends to irk those people who want to quantify everything. Granted, there's been a lot of philosophical debate over what constitutes art, high art, etc, but what I'm going to cover here is pretty much uncontrovercial.\n\nBasically art works like this: we a...
Why do some websites restrict the use of symbols (like %) in passwords?	[ "If a website ever limits the type of symbols you can use in your password, it's a very bad sign. It's generally an indication that they are not implementing best practices (industry accepted standards) for password handling and security.\n\nFor example, it can sometimes indicate that the password may be stored une...
Jury Nullification.	[ "It's pretty simple, actually.\n\nA jury delivers either a guilty or a not guilty verdict. Jury Nullification is where the jury returns a not guilty verdict even though they believe the defendant is actually guilty.\n\nSo say Jimmy and Jane love each other very much, but he's 19 and she's 16. So, like many teenag...
Last year ExxonMobil made 486 billion dollars, Walmart made 443 billion, BP made 375 billion. Where the hell does this money go? Scrooge McDuck's money bin?	[ "Running their businesses. You are looking at revenues, not profits.", "1mfa0 is right, those numbers are revenues, not profits. However, your question is still valid. Companies like these make huge profits and the money does pile up over time. They have four options and they use all four at various times.\n\n...
the Fibonacci sequence, please.	[ "Fibonacci was an italian mathematician that realized that a sequence of numbers (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc.) is found extremely often in nature, a lot like [the golden ratio](_URL_0_). He originally observed the sequence in breeding patterns of rabbits, but quickly found many other instances of the sequence (flower an...
would it be possible to reverse a DDoS by sending too many responses?	[ "Well, here's problem #1 for you; You have too many \"D's\" in your question.\n\nWhat I'm saying is, DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. 95% of the time, that means that the guy doing it has a zombie net, say, a thousand virus-infected computers that are actually doing the DOS for him. The second \...
Why has a part of black culture tried to reject white culture but maintained its steadfast faith in a religion that stems from that same culture?	[ "Christianity wasn't ever associated with slavery. Yes, white slave owner used it to justify slavery, but white abolitionists also used it to condemn slavery. Christianity isn't slave-owning culture, it's not white-people culture, it's American culture. The slaves were just as devout as their owners, often even mor...
(serious) how come arm sweat smells different than taint sweat?	[ "Bacteria that live and grow and die in the sweat pores and hair follicles of those areas are different species. Lot lots of different species. Giving each area a nice and unique, but eerily similar smell. That's that smell, dead bacteria. Its perfectly normal." ]
Why are objects in my car mirror closer than they appear? What's the point of that?	[ "if your side-view mirror was a traditional flat mirror, you wouldn't be able to see very much because of its small size and distance from your eyes. Instead, a convex mirror is used, which means it is curved. This allows you to see a greater field of view, showing you more of the cars that are off to your side a...
Explain like I've been living under a rock, different types of alcohol? (connotations, major brands, etc)	[ "Well, most people learn this over many years, so really the best advice is to just try each drink once (probably not all on the same night!) and see what you like!\n\nBut here's a start, at least:\n\nBeer: made from hops. Traditionally drunk in pint glasses. This could be broken down again into lager or bitter, wh...
Why do electrical companies want you to conserve energy?	[ "1. the electrical company makes much of it's money selling you access to electricity and only some in charging for actual electricity. For example, I generate more power than I use with my solar panels, but...i'm still on the grid and I pay for that every month. That fee that both you and I pay is a profitable p...
Do we see differences in intelligence within species of animals as large as those seen in humans?	[ "I'm not sure how many studies have been conducted, but simple answer is yes. There are smart and dumb animals of the same species, breed, etc. I have known two dogs of the same breed, raised in the same house and one is as dumb as a brick, the other figured out that if he wanted to jump the electric fence, the ins...
Why is pink pork considered delicious but pink chicken awful?	[ "Chicken has a very high chance to carry things like e.coli and salmonella so it is imperative that it is cooked thoroughly. Pork can be cooked thru and still be pink. Different meat, different rules, and different behaviour.", "Chicken and pork cook differently.\n\nPork can be pink and still cooked, while pink c...
The purpose of the turbines you see in the top areas of road tunnels	[ "It's likely an exhaust or intake for ventilation. Road tunnels are full of cars that give off toxic fumes, this can prevent build ups.\n\nBut without knowing specifically what you're talking about that's my best answer.", "The large turbine-like fans are there to generate air flow through the tunnel. This is so ...
Difference between Photographic and Eidetic memory or is it the same thing?	[ "Same thing, and extremely rare. 'Eidetic Memory' is the formal term for 'photographic memory'." ]
Why everyone loves The Beatles so much...?	[ "One night when I was eight years old, my parents couldn't find a babysitter on short notice, so I was home alone. Excited, I took out my parents' Beatles albums and danced for 3 hours. That's the last time I can remember dancing and enjoying it[.](_URL_0_)", "The Beatles weren't just musicians, they were innovat...
Why are movie ticket sales numbers done in dollars, while virtually everything else is done in number of units sold?	[ "Because it's in relation to the budget of the film. Number of tickets sold is meaningless, 200 million dollars gross versus 50 million budget is a big deal. Other products don't have their budget publicized often, and their success is not as directly related to it.", "In almost every situation in the world, the ...
What was Michael Vick's degree of involvement with dog fighting? What exactly was he doing with the operation, the dogs, etc. What types of charity work has he been involved in since?	[ "He was accused of financing the dogfighting, directly participating in the fights and executing dogs, and handling some of the gambling money. He pled guilty to a Viriginia felony charge for dog fighting which means that he admitted to using one or more dogs in a dog fight. As far as charity work, he has his own c...
Why do people care about karma? What's the point in being a karma whore?	[ "Because everyone craves validation. Some people get it from the friends, some people get it from their parents, others get it from Facebook likes, some get it from themselves, and some get it from imaginary Internet points.", "Same reason that people complete game achievements even if they're useless. One, it f...
Why are presidents who are giving speeches not afraid of getting assassinated?	[ "They are afraid.\n\nSo they do it in front of 4 inch thick bullet proof glass at things like the inauguration:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nYou just can't see it because of camera angles or the cameras are within the glass barrier.", "Lots of security surrounding them and multiple snipers perched around. You're pretty much gu...
How do different screenwriters on the same crew manage to keep the same tone and atmosphere throughout a whole series?	[ "For television there is a job called \"show runner\" that is responsible for the overall tone and story. They will work closely with each episode's writer and director to keep them within the vision of the show." ]
How did humanity assign words to things? For example, why was the brain called 'brain' and not some other word?	[ "It's all completely made up. That's as simple as it gets. When we talk about translating between languages it's really just looking at the same thing (like a tree) and finding out what word Chinese people made for it, etc. By the way, your name was completely made up too.", "You're deep in language theory. For e...
why does John Wayne refer to people as "pilgrims" in his films?	[ "Not the kind we think about this week, with the turkeys and the buckles on their hats. Pilgrim just means a person on pilgrimage -- a religious voyage of fulfillment and redemption. More generally, it means a wandering traveler from a distant place, or just a foreigner.\n\nWayne (and other characters in Westerns) ...
Why is it that whenever a new car is announced, it's released ahead of it's model year number? (E.g. the new 2016 Smart Fortwo is coming out in Europe this year)	[ "this has already been answered here: \n\n_URL_0_\n\n\nThough here is the answer I gave:\n\nIt was GM that first started using production dates on their cars. ( _URL_3_ ) Although originally new models were released in January at the start of the year.\nAccording to a post on Yahoo! Answers Ford was the first compa...
. Why do we experience DeJaVu?	[ "The ELI5 version of the most believable theory I've heard is, the brain has a glitch and stores new memories in an old memory slot making it feel like you experienced it in the past.", "As it was explained to me, and forgive the fact that I am just a normal person not a neuro-specialist, there are two basic kind...
Why is there a stronger breeze coming from my window when the door is open as opposed to closed?	[ "You're allowing greater airflow. With the door closed, inflowing air just piles up in your room, and quickly reaches a pressure that stops much more inflow. When the door's open, there's no such bottleneck." ]
Why does your body gasp for air when exposed to sudden contact with freezing water? It seems a bit counterproductive to inhale when wet (e.g falling through a frozen lake)	[ "It makes you breathe in quickly because you are potentially about to be entirely submerged in cold water so it makes sense to take as big a breath as you are able.\n\nThis typically won't occur if your head is the first thing to enter the water.", "> it doesn't make much sense that your body would make you gasp...
why do you have to sign after using a credit card at some places and not others?	[ "It varies based on store policy really. Some places require a signature if it’s over a certain dollar amount. Some places require a signature period, and some don’t care at all. It’s just a matter of what they want to do. \nI can go to Walmart and don’t have to sign if it’s under $50 but if I go to the local tobac...
Why isn't every person entitled to food, water, and shelter?	[ "What level would they be entitled to? \n\nHow much food? Just enough to survive? \n\nWhy should the government provide this instead of citizens providing this for themselves whenever possible?", "Bc if the government provides all of this at no cost, what is the incentive to do anything to better your life? Why w...
why/how does almost every nation have different languages, measurements, etc but the whole world uses same measurements of time (seconds, minutes, hours)	[ "Not _everyone_ uses the same measurements of time. There are indigenous tribes which do not measure time at all.\n\nLanguages are simply rooted too deeply in our social structure to simply replace.\n\nAs for measurements of things except time, most everyone uses [SI units](_URL_0_).\n\nMoney quote: _Black indicate...
how does the sex change surgery work?	[ "Before this kind of surgery, there is stuff like hormone therapy, mastectomy, hair removal, etc. So really the surgery is just one part of the major sex reassignment. \n\nPeople getting sex reassignment surgery from male-to-female have better changes of being able to retain feeling/orgasm. This is because they und...
Why internet providers (like Verizon now) are throttling certain websites and streams	[ "Simply because they can. The FCC hasn't set out a good guideline for internet providers to follow. This lets them throttle and speed up certain \"high paying\" peoples." ]

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