Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
Why does it not take long for money to be taken out of my account, but if I'm getting money from PayPal or something similar, it takes days to process?	[ "The way it works is like this. When you make a bill payment or a purchase, let's say the money is going to Apple, the funds are taken from your account and put in the Apple account at your bank where they are kept until they are processed. These funds are then sent in a big chunk to Apple at some predetermined tim...
Why is it that the hot water is the left knob and cold water is on the right knob for sinks?	[ "Simple. Because the majority of people are right handed, and will reach for the tap with their right hand first. It is safer and more practical to turn on the cold tap first.\n\nAs a left hander, I hate you all every time I am half asleep and scald my hands." ]
Why when I move large files from one HDD to another, in the beginning of transfer speed sometimes tops 100 mb/s, but after several seconds drops to more or less average speed?	[ "HDD Have little bit of cache on them - which means that when you write file on them, it goes first to RAM in disk and then it gets written on platter later. With small files, HDD can store them completelly in cache and write then down in downtime.\n\n---\n\nIt is as if you want to empty bucket of water into sewage...
Every human on the planet spontaneously vanishes, and a hundred years later, aliens arrive. Would they be able to find out about the internet?	[ "Sure, there would be an \"Internet for Dummies\" book someplace on a library shelf. They could learn all about what the Internet was. They could go to the places where the computers were, and maybe fix up the Wikipedia servers so they could learn all we know.", "Unless they were TRULY alien in some extreme and...
what exactly causes pins and needles and what's the best method of getting rid of them? Are some people more prone to pins and needles	[ "Pins and needles are caused by nerves which have been deprived of blood supply by pressure \"waking up\" and complaining about their previous condition. The best way to avoid them is to avoid putting them under such pressure in the first place.\n\nProbably some people are more susceptible to the sensation due to t...
From an evolutionary standpoint why do human babies grow temporary teeth only to be replaced later by permanent ones?	[ "We are not the only species that has that. I know dogs and cats do, too. \n\nI think I remember reading it's about size. When we're small our jaws don't have enough room for the big permanent teeth we end up with. We still need teeth, though, so we get little mini-teeth. Then, as we grow older (and bigger) they ge...
Why do we look up when we are thinking?	[ "It has to do with how we access memories and thoughts. Our eyes unconsciously look in certain directions depending on your thought process. Every hear someone say they can tell if you're lying by your eyes? It's often because of the direction your eyes look before answering. For example, looking up and to the left...
A deer can eat poisonous plants like rhoderdendrons because they don't have a gall bladder. When a doctor removes a humans gall bladder, are they too able to eat poison without feeling ill?	[ "It depends on the 'poison' you're talking about. A lot of toxicity in humans is caused not by the chemical itself, but by what the liver breaks it down into. For example, ethanol(drinking alcohol) is converted to acetaldehyde in the liver while isopropanol(rubbing alcohol) is converted to acetone. One of these(eth...
Why are generic alkaline batteries not as "good" as name brand alkaline batteries?	[ "Cheaper materials, usually, or because they intentionally made them hold less charge so they'd sell more of the name brand version.\n\nA better question is why you are using alkaline batteries in the first place. You can get a rechargable for only a little more that holds just as much charge and is reusable." ]
If race doesn't exist what is the correct name of the attribute that we used to call race?	[ "When people say \"race doesn't exist\", they don't mean the name of the attribute is wrong. They mean the attribute doesn't really make much biological sense in the first place.\n\nFor example, two random Africans are likely to be more genetically different from each other than a random European and a random East...
Why when there is a medical 'breakthrough' that seems like it will treat or cure a huge disease or illness, does nothing change?	[ "Largely because news stories sensationalize science without fully understanding it. \n\nThere is a relevant XKCD comic that has a guy in a lab coat standing over a petri dish with a gun that says, \"When you see a claim that a common drug or vitamin 'kills cancer cells in a petri dish', keep in mind: so does a han...
Why does it hurt to read green text on red background and vice versa? What happens to our eyes/brain?	[ "The lens in your eye tries to focus the light on you retina but light of different wave lenght is bending differently (rainbowlike) so your eyes and brain will be confused about what color to make sharp and what to make blurry. You will get this effect with any color combination with large enough difference in wav...
How do navigation systems manage to pronounce roads correctly, even the ones that are hard to pronounce? What exactly do the companies do so that the voices are able to pronounce the seemingly infinite number of names of roads?	[ "Well, user reports are one way. I used to live in Honolulu until 5 years ago and a lot of roads were mispronounced by Garmin and the like, even simple roads like \"Oahu street\", it's the name of hue island, and it was pronounces \"oh-why-hu\" or something like that, it's better now.", "I work for a navigation c...
What happens to our feces in the sewers?	[ "Vice had a nice video about [this](_URL_0_).\n\nSlightly NSFW I guess, contains a lot of fecal images right from the start.\n\n\nIn short, it gets separated from water and other stuff, like toilet paper, gets tested if it doesn't contain poisons or dangerous material and is dried and made into a compost.", "Gene...
When did asking for autographs from celebrities become popular?	[ "1920's. That's when baseball started becoming very popular in the US and also when film stars really started appearing", "In recent times collecting autographs has become very popular as they can be sold over the internet [like this](_URL_0_) at ridiculous prices", "romans and greeks collected the manuscripts ...
why can we just pump water into deserts to solve rising sea levels?	[ "The surface of the oceans across the world is about 500 million square kilometers (roughly two hundred million square miles).\n\nTo reduce the level of the earth's oceans by one millimeter (about one 25th of an inch), you'd have to pump five hundred thousand cubic kilometers - or about 120000 cubic miles of water ...
What is the purpose of human beings having emotions?	[ "Almost all animals have some level of emotion, whether it be how we interpret it as emotion or simply forms of communication. \n\nIt is a sort of communication - If someone doesn't look happy they tend to show it (especially anger). \n\nThe emotions we have, although sometimes annoying, help us be closer together ...
How does an inverted switch 12v dc to 110v ac? Where does the extra 98 volts come from?	[ "Some of the inverters use a circuit called boost converter, a boost converter uses solid state switches (transistors or MOSFETs) to charge an inductor. When the power to the inductor is removed, the collapsing magnetic field generates a higher voltage.\n\nTo make it AC some inverters use multiple boost circuits an...
Why is it not safe to freeze food that's been frozen and thawed once already?	[ "I believe it actually is relatively safe - the problem is more with it's quality. Freezing forms ice crystals, which puncture and damage structures in the food (cell walls, etc.). Doing it once can be a problem (freezer burn, etc.), doing it twice is twice as bad." ]
'The-Dream wrote Umbrella by Rihanna' — what does that mean?	[ "[The-Dream](_URL_0_) Is both a producer and a performer. In this case, he wrote the song- all Rihanna did was sing his lyrics. \n\nIn pop music the majority of music is created this way. The producers craft the actual song and the \"stars\" do little more than look good and sing what they are told to sing.", "Ye...
Why do we always portray extraterrestrial life as way more advanced than us?	[ "Yes, but primitive life wouldn't find us. The only way we would find primitive life is if we advanced enough to search for them.\n\nEdit: it should be noted that loads of sci-fi presents ETs that are less advanced than we are.", "It's all to do with who finds who.\n\nAny extraterrestrial life that finds us must...
- What are "3g", "4g", and "4glte" and how are they different?	[ "Think of it like roads or highways. \n2G is like being on a two-way dirt road, no matter what kind of car (phone) you have you're limited as to how fast you can go.\n3G is like having a paved two-way road, because of the nice pavement you can go a lot faster than you could with 2G, but it is still limited by traff...
I understand why it takes so long for our bodies to 'wake up' after we finish sleeping. How come it takes so long for our brains to be fully operational in the morning?	[ "If you wake up naturally - that is, you wake up without an alarm or an annoying parent, then your brain is pretty much ready to go. \n\nBut if you are in a deep sleep and something external wakes you, then your brain is still asleep and needs time to wake up. That is, unless you get the person to wake you with som...
Is the steam that comes out of nuclear power plants irradiated?	[ "> But then that means the water comes into contact with the uranium(?) in order to be heated?\n\nNo. There is a fluid that passes through the reactor to pick up the heat and then passes through a heat exchanger which transfers the heat to the actual working fluid that turns the turbines. The steam going through t...
Why does your eye sometimes go black when your standing up?	[ "Your blood pressure drops because your body was optimized to move blood around while you were lying down. Quickly changing position causes blood to drain from your upper extremities lowering your blood pressure. This causes a brief dizzy spell occasionally." ]
If an electrical outlet (120 volts) can kill you, how come a taser (50,000) can't?	[ "ELI5 version:\n\nVoltage is like the speed of a projectile. Current is the weight of it.\n\nA pea from a pea shooter may have the same speed as a cannon ball, but the cannon ball will hit harder.\n\nSo, the taser can deliver a lot of voltage, but not much current. So, basically, it's a pea shooter with an extreme ...
How come having a shower in the morning magically stops me feeling like trash?	[ "Hey friend, this is just speculation on my part, but I would guess there are a combination of things going on here. I completely know what you mean - I hate waking up early. But the shower makes it a bit nicer.\n\nPartly it is just a nice feeling, to be clean, and feel the warm water. Moving around, and the sudd...
Do skeletons of similar sizes or shapes have different masses? Can one be "big-boned?"	[ "There can be small differences in bone structure. Generally not enough to be statistically significant. Sex, race and occupation can all play into general bone weight. As far as people carrying extra weight being \"big boned\" as a reason. No, they are just eating too much and exercising too little." ]
Why is the new My Little Pony show so popular?	[ "I'm still not sure if a big portion of the internet is fucking with me", "I think it was one of those \"ironic to like\" things at first. Especially since the internet following is mostly adult males that claim to be \"bronies\" and bros liking little girl things is comical. But, once you watch it, it's actually...
Why is it that AA batteries can have a small form factor and hold 2700mAh while my phone battery is huge and stores less?	[ "mAh or mili Amp Hour isn't a measurement of energy.\n\nAmps measure the amount of electrons flow per second, but does not take into account the \"Pressure\" behind those electrons\n\nEnergy(Watt Hours) is Amp Hours X Volts. Volts is the \"Pressure\" behind those electrons.\n\nAA batteries are either 1.5V(alkaline)...
Why is it that when I get a cold, I feel cold.	[ "Your hypothalamus usually tells your body to be around 98.6 degrees (more or less). That's what your thermostat is set to. If your body is less than 98.6 degrees, you feel cold. Now when you get a fever, your hypothalamus tells your body to get hotter, so it sets the \"thermostat\" to 102 degrees or so. So now, if...
what is the correlation between light being refracted in a lens and also slowing down within the lens?	[ "They're not unrelated at all, the slowing down of light is what causes the bending. They're both described by a property of the material called the refractive index." ]
If I eat a huge breakfast, can I be full for the whole day?	[ "No, you cannot be full for the day. \n\nFeeling full has to do with blood sugar levels being over a certain baseline, hormones released as you absorb nutrients from your intestines, and your stomach being physically filled. You will process food out of your stomach within 1-3 hours and total digesting between 6-12...
- Why do Cuban-Americans actively lobby against US-Cuba relations?	[ "Most of them are from the population which was forced to flee or expelled from Cuba when Fidel Castro took over, or have since escaped.\n\nTheir big thing is that it is still the Castro's in charge of a still very much communist and unitary political party system of government.", "The big guy in Cuba threw them ...
How many mega pixels are our eyes?	[ "It's not really an answerable question - the human eye and the interpretation of what is seen by the eye in the brain don't act like a camera. \n\nAlthough we do have a certain number of photo-receptors in the eyes that can detect light of different colours we can't just use that as a measure because often enough ...
Why does food or drink sometimes randomly irritate your throat, prompting a coughing fit?	[ "It happens when you try to breath and swallow at the same time. There is a flap of skin called epiglottis that prevents food/liquid from entering the trachea. When the swallowing and breathing don't sync up well, a particle of food might stick to the epiglottis, causing you that irritation you feel. Cough is a n...
Now that people can pay to get YouTube Premium and avoid ads, how does YouTube pay creators? Does it check the ones you, as a Premium user, watch and treat them as if you were a normal user or are we going to see a decrease in YouTubers' revenue?	[ "A portion of what you pay YouTube gets split between the creators of the videos you watch depending on how much time you spend on each. \n\nIt's supposedly vastly more profitable for creators of long videos, while very short ones might see a net loss." ]
Why do electric utility companies (in the US) subsidize the cost of LED light bulbs?	[ "(I work for a private regulated monopoly utility company)\n\nSo being a monopoly power provider has many obvious benefits. You don't have competition, and basically as long as there are people, you'll have customers.\n\nThe reason the government sets up these situations is that they believe that it is cheaper to ...
How is it that i sometimes 'know' what will happen with me or with some of the people in my life?	[ "You are magic. ;)\n\nNot an expert here, but this area is one of my favorite playgrounds for thought experimentation. Here's my take:\n\nWhat you're experiencing is the action of your subconscious called intuition. From what I've read, and observed, your subconscious takes in a huge amount of data constantly. It s...
ELI14: Pornhub vs. Youporn vs. Redtube vs ...	[ "The best part of being a default subreddit is that finally new questions are being asked. Thanks, OP.", "A lot of the tube sites were started independently of each other and then bought up by one company (who bought a bunch of subscription sites as well). \n\nAs to why they kept the original names, I'd imagine ...
Where does electricity go when it goes into the "ground"	[ "In electrical circuits, \"ground\" often means a big, low resistance path back to the power source. In many cars, for example, ground is simply the body of the car providing a return path back to the battery.\n\nIn other cases, like household electrical, the ground is literally the ground. Electrons are not comp...
What's the big deal about Jackson Pollack?	[ "Great art is not a competition about who is the most skillful. To most non-artists, they tend to associate great art with great skill, and in some cases this is true (Michaelango's David is an example of this...tremendous skill and a wonderful piece of art), however, art is subjective by nature. And many \"eras\" ...
Why do dogs bark violently at other dogs when you walk them?	[ "It could be over territory as many dogs are very territorial. It could also be that they are being protective. Dogs are extremely protective and often love you unconditionally.", "A behavioral expert could probably shed more light on this, but in my limited observation there tend to be many different types of b...
Why does Forbes consider someone like Bill Gates "self-made" when he grew up in wealth and could afford to attend Harvard?	[ "Because the money he has is money he made, himself, through his business. It isn't money he inherited from a family member or something. \"Self-made\" isn't about where you came from, it's about how you got here.", "Because he did not inherit any significant wealth. He was born in a fairly rich family, but nothi...
Why do women usually live longer then men?	[ "It mostly comes down to work.\n\nThe life expectancy for males is slightly lower than women because dangerous jobs are usually done by men, and men generally work longer than women. Soldiers, lumberjacks, miners, are pretty much only done by males and so will bring the average life expectancy down. Males are more...
Why do some casinos won't allow a person to join a game or take home the money after a big winning?	[ "The casino doesnt ever have to let you play at any specific table if for some reason they dont want to. They can kick you out for any reason as its a private establishment. That said they absolutely CANNOT keep you from leaving any time you want and taking your winnings with you, but it is their job to make money,...
Scorekeeping of boxing	[ "It wouldve been wonky, \n\nboth shoudlve had deductions for behavior after the bell, and connor had some hammer fists that werent floyds fault.\n\nIt works on a 10 point must system: _URL_0_\n\n10 points go to each fighter. Winner of the round gets 10 while the loser gets 9 (that number changes if there were knock...
Why does licking a popsicle stick make my skin crawl?	[ "I have no clue why you have that but I can tell you: reading about it alone made me shudder, too. I know exactly what you mean. It's....uuuurgh... the thought of biting on that piece of wood... I can hardly even write about it. Yuck!\n\nSo yeah, I need an explanation for this, too!", "I get this too. Only it's n...
What is a Master's Degree and What Does it Signify?	[ "Elementary school - is general. You learn what everyone else learns.\n\nHigh school - still general. You learn mostly what everyone else learns, but you get to choose a little bit in what you're interested in.\n\nBachelors - you start to specialize.\n\nMasters - ok, now you're an expert and people would acknowledg...
How can we keep growing seedless mandarins if there are no seeds in them to grow more?	[ "Most trees are not grown from seed. Most trees, particularly commercial fruit/nut trees, are grown by snipping a stem from a highly desirable tree and rooting it or grafting it into a desirable root stock. These trees are clones, rather than new genetic mixes.\n\nFor example, if you plant an apple you won't get ...
Why do clothing manufacturers make female pants without pockets?	[ "For various reasons, women's fashions have favored appearance while men's have been more about utility.\n\nThat has led to the use of lighter fabrics in tighter fitting cuts, where pockets, especially occupied pockets, would lead to unsightly bulges.\n\nIn part because of this, most women carry purses, rendering p...
Having an intensely realistic dream that wakes me up via my heart is beating out of my chest.	[ "I'd be a little concerned actually. Heart beating out of your chest while waking up from a dream probably means you have sleep apnea. I'd visit a sleep doctor. It's a serious, but easily treatable condition.\n\nI'm not kidding about that." ]
How did Facebook get the information to generate an ad on my girlfriend's feed (on her laptop) regarding very specific art prints I was browsing on my PC? I dont have a FB account and shes never logged into FB on my pc.	[ "Because Facebook does a creepy amount of tracking all across the web. Every time you see Facebook integrated with another site (even just a share on FB button), it can use that to track things about the visitor to that site, including your IP address (like a mailing address for your computer on the internet) even ...
Why does African Americans are seen more likely to vote for democrats than republicans?	[ "Yes, in the pre-Great Depression days in the South blacks voted Republican and whites voted Democrat because of Republicans part in the Civil War as well as the fact that the Republican Party was founded on abolitionism.\n\nWhen FDR was elected he put a lot of money into social services. Blacks in the South had be...
Why do you go noseblind to things you smell all the time but not eyeblind to things you see all the time?	[ "Going nose-blind has evolutionary basis, and scents that are 'normal' to you get filtered out so that you can smell new things like potential dangers (e.g. rotting meat smell so that you don't accidentally eat/drink contaminated food or water).\n\nYou can't really go eye-blind to things like spreadsheets because y...
Why am I starting to go bald on the top of my head while growing a healthy mane on my balls?	[ "If you're 5, and going bald with ball hair, DOCTOR, NOW.", "The simple answer is testosterone .\nTestosterone makes the hair on your head go on a permanent vacation to other areas of your body . Specifically , it's androgenic testosterone that does this .\nAs you age , your body goes through stages of testoster...
Are Emojis and smileys the same thing? If not what exactly is an emoji?	[ "A smiley is a type of emoji but not all emojis are smileys." ]
How come in aquariums the predators don’t gobble up the prey? Are they trained not to do so?	[ "Many fish will only attack when they are hungry, or won't attack fish they the don't recognize as food.\n\nA good aquarium will be curated to take both these into account, and will only contain well fed, mutually compatible species.", "In large enough tanks, where there is a large variety of species, they someti...
Intoxication and Rape	[ "Let's put it in a way that would make it more relevant to a guy. Let's say you are drunk and feeling pretty good. You wander into a bar where there are a lot of guys. You meet this great guy who is funny and likes a lot of the same things you do. You keep drinking together. You walk out of the bar together and you...
Is pre-historic worldwide flood actually plausible?	[ "A worldwide flood is highly dubious. However, remember that to ancient people, the \"world\" was very limited to their local area. Any number of floods could have inundated thousands of square miles of land, leading people to believe that nearly the whole world was underwater.", "[This](_URL_0_) is a map of wh...
Capacitors	[ "The way to think about any circuit components is in terms of currents and voltages.\n\nOne thing that's important to remember about circuits is that each wire has a constant voltage. Thus, if you have a wire going from the positive terminal of your battery to one plate of your capacitor and another wire going grom...
why is suicide generally not accepted?	[ "It's a permanent solution to a temporary problem. \n\nIt's a messy thing for loved ones to try and understand.", "Suicide was always seen as a last means. Whether it was to exonerate your family name (see Ajax or the ritual of seppukku) or to help end your suffering (this has all sorts of extensions I won't get ...
Why do hammer head sharks have hammer heads? What is so evolutionarily favorable about that? (Not trying to argue evolution, I'm a biologist)	[ "I saw on TV that it aids in finding fish. Sharks and other fish can detect electromagnetic fields in water, which are created by an animal's heartbeat, brain, etc. Somehow the hammer shape increase the accuracy of this. [citation needed]" ]
Why do antihistamines make me so tired? And why does it effect others differently?	[ "Many of the common anti-histamine drugs work by blocking histamine receptors in your body. Basically, it stops chemicals that would cause an allergic reaction from reacting with your body. However, a lot of these drugs also cause other chemical receptors from working correctly. The one we care about here is called...
Triangle offense in basketball	[ "You should look at the search bar. There is 5 great post in the top10 if you type triangle offence.\n\nTLDR. The 4 corners of the paint area ,the top of the 3pt line , the corner 3s and the elbow 3s are considered stations. \n\nUsing these stations, 3 players use 1 side of the court( and 5 of those stations) to ma...
Why are the edges of my potato chips sometimes green?	[ "It's from a very mildly poisonous compound found in potatoes called solanine that turns green when potatoes are exposed to the sun. Small amounts of it won't hurt you." ]
Why do people still use handkerchiefs	[ "People with bad hay fever have near constant drainage. This basically water. The handkerchief doesn't even get crusty half of the time. When your nose is constantly running, the cost of tissues gets ridiculous.\n\nAs for sanitary, I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse explicitly for this, but frankly, my h...
Why does mint taste the way it does? Mint is such a unique taste that it's more of a sensation than a flavor. What gives it "cooling sensation" properties?	[ "Mint has a chemical in it, called menthol. Menthol chemically triggers the cold sensitive receptors called TRPM8. TRMP8 is what produces a feeling of cold. So, when you eat mints, you trigger those cold receptors that give you the feeling of cold." ]
Why is it so important that I finish my course of antibiotics? What happens if I don't?	[ "Some of the bacteria survive. And because you didn't kill them all the way, they adapt and become more resistant to antibiotics. Then they keep spreading and soon we have more bacteria that's resistant, and eventually antibiotics stop working and then a lot of people get really, really sick and (potentially) die. ...
why does drinking coffee make me slightly nauseous and hungry?	[ "Coffee is very acidic. Consming acidic foods on an empty stomach can often lead to gastric pain and/or feeling nauseated. Adding milk or cream can help. Also try waiting for your first cup of coffee until after you've consumed something non-acidic. For example, eat a yogurt first, or a bowl of oatmeal.\n\nAlso rea...
how does a hearing aid differ from normal earbuds?	[ "A hearing aid has a microphone and the amplifier built in, whereas plain earbuds are just speakers.\nA hearing aid may also be programmed for the individual user, based on their hearing range. Some people have mid-range hearing loss, others have high frequency loss, so the hearing aid may be programmed to amplify...
What is a "dry socket", and why is it painful?	[ "dry sockets are when blood clots that form after a tooth is pulled out become dislodged from the hole in the gums. If the clot comes out,the nerve that was connected to your tooth is now exposed and constantly getting poked and proded by your tongue,saliva,air,food,drink(cold and hot) and any other stuff it comes ...
If a Reddit user (or admin) alter or delete the content of a post how do other users "dig up" the original so quickly?	[ "Depending on the sub, there are plenty of ways. Some subs have public moderation logs, where everyone would be able to see the changes. Some automatically make offsite archives of the threads. There are also sites that keep track of almost everything that happens on Reddit automatically, allowing you to see delete...
What do they mean in a restaurant when they say "all day"	[ "All day is what you say when you're giving other cooks the rundown of EVERYTHING they have, say you have 5 orders in and across all 5 orders you have 7 chicken dinners. In that case, youd call \"7 chicken dinners all day\"\n\nIn my experience an all day is something a cook requests when he's getting swamped and ne...
How come I feel the need to swallow food if I chew long enough but not gum?	[ "When chewing food, it is broken into smaller pieces as u chew. Ur tongue then automatically moves the chewed pieces to ur esophagus once the pieces are small enough. Gum on the other hand changes shape but not size, u actually need to make an effort to swallow it, because even after chewing the size is still abnor...
What does a music conductor actually do?	[ "Your assumption is not very accurate. \n\n1) Keeping the beat is fine when it does not change and you have a small group of musicians. It is not fine when it will change, sometimes often in a piece and you are dealing with 80+ musicians. Minor differences and sheer distances from one side to the other will lead to...
Why don't birds mate with other breeds of birds like dogs do?	[ "Because those birds are from different species, not different breeds. Some bird species might have different breeds (mainly birds that also get used for shows like canaries) but birds like pigeons, rooks, sparrows etc are all different species, often belonging to very different families too. \n\nDifferent species ...
What Happened During the Hungarian Revolution (1956)? What was the Catalyst?	[ "It was more or less a revolt against the U.S.S.R policies and control of the Hungarian republic. \n\nIt began from a student protest (23rd October), they marched through Budapest to parliament. Some students went to a radio station to make known what they were protesting for and what they wanted but they were deta...
How can ISIS make money from selling oil? Who do they sell it to and how is it possible to smuggle oil when you're in focus all the time?	[ "\"Most of the oil is bought by local traders and covers the domestic needs of rebel-held areas in northern Syria. But some low-quality crude has been smuggled to Turkey where prices of over $350 a barrel, three times the local rate, have nurtured a lucrative cross-border trade.\"\n_URL_0_\n\nBasically by selling i...
why is tax money used to build sports stadiums?	[ "Beyond what /u/desertravenwy said, having professional sports teams in the city increases the city's presence, makes the city a desirable location for people (and businesses) to move to, and makes citizens happier.\n\nWhen you couple that with the problem that \"City Next Door\" will offer the team a nice shiny ...
Why is the coin grading system a scale of 60-70? That seems like a rather odd range.	[ "The scale was originally proposed by William H Sheldon. Since no such scale was widely in use at the time he had a very wide amount of leeway in choosing what the scale would look like. Ideally the scale should have enough different grades that you could have a good idea of how worn a coin is, but few enough gra...
How do Electricity Shortages Work?	[ "The electric grid has to remain in balance, energy in = energy out. If you can't provide enough input to satisfy the demand then everyone gets less power than they want. What exactly happens after that is complicated but the ELI5 is nobody is happy and extremely expensive machinery can breakdown.\n\n > (Or is i...
How scientists recognise what gene is responsible for.	[ "You genetically sequence a normal version of the organism. Then you mutate or breed the organism until its progeny express abnormalities in the trait you're interested in. Then you sequence the progeny and compare how their genetic codes differ from the \"natural\" parent. You look for sequences within their genom...
Why do electric machines seem to suffer in performance under cold conditions?	[ "Many electric machines are battery powered. Batteries produce electricity through chemical reactions, which slow down when it is cold, thus reducing power production.\n\nMachines, in general, need oil for lubrication. When the oil gets cold, it becomes more viscous. This increases drag/friction, and thus reduce...
Why does "inflation" happen, and why can't we set up policies to encourage deinflation instead?	[ "the opposite of inflation is called deflation. Deflation is kinda dangerous for an economy, as people will save up money instead of spending it. Why should you buy a TV for 1000$ today when you can get it for 800$ in half a year? (exaggerated, but you should get what I mean)", "> why can't we just try to stop or...
Why is everyone stepping down from their positions in government?	[ "Could you be more specific? From what I can see \"everyone\" isn't." ]
Why do humans cry "tears of joy" when we're happy?	[ "To start this off, let me tell you about the hypothalamus...i.e a tiny little part of your brain that controls pretty important stuff like body temperature and hunger.\nNext, the amygdala, little groups of nuclei that are important when processing memory, and emotional reactions.\n\nWhether you're happy or sad, th...
How do we fill tanks of pure gases like helium on a large scale? Where does the gas come from? How do we separate it and get it into the tanks?	[ "air seperation and industrial gas liquefaction is done by compressing, cooling, then expanding the gas. Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, and a few other noble gases are produced by distilling air- the gases all have different boiling points.\n\nHelium comes from natural gas wells. one mode of radioactive decay releases he...
The cultural difference between "You can't say that because it offends me," and "You can't say that because it offends my God."	[ "You're trying to understand a combination of insanity and power mongering masquerading itself as morally superior. In the US we're all supposed to get along, but in older parts of the world they openly hate other groups of people. Having an enemy with a different religion is an excellent excuse to murder them.",...
Why is it hard to walk in the same direction as the train is accelerating?	[ "Walking forward requires force. When the train is accelerating, it is forcing you forward (by moving your feet). This is like walking up hill, where you not only have to move yourself forward but you also have to lift yourself up. On the train you not only have to move yourself forward, but you also have to acc...
Why do some high pitched sounds (ex. screeching of a chalkboard) cause some to cringe uncomfortably, while others are seemingly unaffected?	[ "It is said that the ear is particularly tuned to the frequencies of human speech, you know, for obvious reasons. The screeching \"fingernails on a chalkboard\" frequency seems to be approximate to the same frequency as a large bit of human speech, but is at a higher volume level, thereby triggering a very uncomfor...
If Saudi Arabia has $650bn +/- in cash left reserves, why are they borrowing $4bn from banks?	[ "Just because they have cash not not mean they have cash to spend, they want to make it go as far as possible so as to avoid being caught with their pants down. Business as usual." ]
Where does all the internet comes from and why the speed isn't the same everywhere?	[ "The Internet is just a bunch of servers and networks that are connected to each other, think of old school telephone operators, you pick up the phone, tell them who you want to talk to, and they connect you to them. This is basically what happens when you are connecting to a website. \n \nThe speeds aren't the s...
How does photo identification work for Muslim women who wear the full face veils?	[ "They take them off and presumably, smile. \n\nIn airport security or anywhere where they are required to show their face, it isn't really convoluted: they go to a private room where a female officer identifies her. \n\nThe keyword is female. \n\nI live in a country with a native Muslim population and the issue h...
Why is the snow not melting when being lit on fire?	[ "Soot from the lighter is black which gets on the snow so when it does melt. It has the contaminants from the lighter in it.", "Soot from the lighter makes it black. Reason it doesn't melt much is it takes around 300-350 Joules to melt about 1 gram ice at 0°C.\nA typical lighter flame might give off 900 Joules pr...
Why do we, as people, like winning so much?	[ "We like what winning means: attention, prizes, power, etc.\n\n\"Winning\" is meaningless on its own, but people might pay more attention to you if you won \"the big game,\" or you might want a monetary prize, or you might just like the feeling of power you get having triumphed over the other players--or any other ...
Why does a Fridge/Freezer sometimes become really hard to open after just closing it?	[ "When you shut the door hard, you squeezed the rubber seal, raising the air pressure slightly so a little air leaked out. Then the rubber seal rebounds slightly, the volume in the fridge increases slightly, so the air pressure inside goes down. This is a partial vacuum, so outside air is pressing slightly harder o...
Does every language and/or culture have a word for love that is a big deal to say to your partner the first time?	[ "so, this is pretty on the fly, but theres a list of human universals, found in every culture somwhere on wikipedia (I am currently on mobile) I am pretty sure that your claimed one is not in there, but please check it out yourself.\n\nEDIT: This was bugging me and I knew that Pinker got it in the appendix of 'The ...
Why do persons in the military wear their uniform outside of work?	[ "In my case, only time I wore my uniform outside of work was for quick tasks on the way to or from work such as stopping for gas, grocery, food, etc. With that, if you spot a guy in uniform at a bar or a club(which I've personally witnessed) chances are he's most likely an asshole milking the uniform.", "Military...
if you look at yourself in a mirror from 15 feet away, are you looking 30 feet?	[ "Yes. Your reflection is 30 feet away. When you see things, you are really seeing the light that bounces off of them. The light that makes up your reflection first bounces off you and then travels the 15 feet until it hits the mirror. Then it travels another 15 feet from the mirror and back to your eyes for a tot...

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