Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
[LI5] Savant syndrome	[ "Well, Autism has more to do with a brain that does not process social situations properly. Severely autistic kids may not even be able to understand that other people have feelings.\n\nSavants are different. They usually present themselves as mentally retarded, but absolutely excel in ways that most humans can not...
Why is that that some apps allow you to play music in the background whilst some apps turn the music off as soon as the app opens?	[ "What OS are we talking about here?\n\nRegardless, the answer is probably that the OS leaves it to individual app developers to decide whether they hog the whole audio system for themselves, or let background apps continue to play.\n\nThis makes sense in theory - apps that are audio-related need to shut everything ...
Why people in higher altitudes have to bake things at lower temperatures than normal.	[ "The first paragraph is fact, but the second is conjecture.\n\nWater boils much faster at lower temperatures when the air is not dense. (As an example, mountain climbers brewing tea in the Himalayas could only get it to lukewarm before the water boiled, so they never really had a good hot cup of tea near the apex.)...
How Do Wind Turbines Work (the turning part, not the electricity generation part)	[ "It's much like an airplane or helicopter propeller, but in reverse, so you don't need a ton of surface area to cause it to spin.\n\nAlso, the blades for wind turbines are very light, and huge. They can be up to 150 feet long. If you're American, you might better visualize that as being half the length of a f...
With the countless money donated to cancer research, how has our understanding advanced?	[ "We've developed greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms for why many of these cancers happen, who is at risk, who should be screened or work up, how to treat them, how to manage side effects of treatment. A new field is how to manage the long term effects of childhood cancer and treatments, since these...
Why is it much easier to balance on a bicycle that's in motion than it is to balance on a bicycle that is stationary?	[ "The short answer is that there's not a general consensus on all the factors and which matters most. There are some general ideas though. '\n\nOften asked, please use search and check out wikipedia.\n\n_URL_0_" ]
Why do they count movie sales in money made and not tickets sold?	[ "The movie industry is not about people viewing primarily, that's a consequence. The movie industry is about people making money. It's like a factory that turns out entertainment units. Those units cost and the return on investment is really what the investors care about. \n\nSo what about the people involved? Well...
Why do solar panels generate more power during an ending solar eclipse than during a normal day where the sun isn't partially covered by the moon?	[ "The solar eclipse occurred in the morning. During a normal morning the amount of solar energy generated would rise as the amount of daylight increases towards midday. Therefore the sunlight will provide more power after the eclipse than before it." ]
why are Caribbean temperatures so stagnant?	[ "The Caribbean is close to the equator. The closer you are to the equator the more stable your temperatures are year round. Additionally the closer a large body of water is the more stable temperatures are, as you recognize." ]
How does Hollywood avoid equal opportunity laws?	[ "Equal opportunity laws only count when the candidates for a position are equally qualified. If a character is supposed to be a particular race then requiring an actor to look & act as a member of that race is a [bonafide occupational qualification](_URL_0_) and it doesn't count as illegal discrimination. It'...
How is the Public school's internet speed across the street 1000 times faster than my in home internet speeds?	[ "Public schools tend to get funding from the government to help pay for a connection good enough to sustain hundreds of students.", "Well, you can, if you want to pay for it.\n\nThe school may well be linked up to a network supported by the state that has excellent bandwidth. You can get that, too, if you're will...
Why have I gotten immune to watching bad stuff happening to humans, but I can't even slightly handle animal cruelty?	[ "Animals aren't as fucked up. They're innocent. You shouldn't watch people die though. We shouldn't see that unless we have to. I just watched one for the first time, not even a bad one and I'm pretty frozen. Unnatural death to a human should not be any sort of spectacle.", "I feel the same way...but ill actually...
What should I be gathering from the DNC email leaks?	[ "That steps were taken from many different directions to give Bernie a slight to moderate uphill battle, and to give Hillary a slight to moderate downhill battle. \n\nIn theory (if not in reality) the DNC is supposed to be unbiased, and simply host the infrastructure of the Democratic primaries, not taking a side e...
how to make YouTube work like I want it to? Example; I want to watch a series in order, but I have to backtrack, backtrack, shut down, restart, up, up, left, right, left, right, AB, Start just to watch the next video.	[ "Whenever I watch a clip from an episode, as long as the episode number is in the title or description, YouTube has the next episode in the recommended section 80% of the time. \n \nThe easiest way is do it beforehand, if it's like a tv show search \"S#X Episode), if should show all the episodes for that season, ...
How come my feet will hurt after a while in flat shoes, but not when barefoot?	[ "The human foot isn't designed to be covered in a shoe. We are meant to walk barefoot. We invented shoes to protect our feet. If you look at the bottom of your foot you will see it is arched. The arch acts as a shock absorber and it also allows the muscles and joints in your feet to move freely. If you wear a ...
How do electric toothbrushes charge when there is no metal to metal contact between the toothbrush and the charging dock?	[ "Induction. A current within a conductor creates a magnetic field, and a changing magnetic field causes a current within a conductor.\n\nThis is why electromagnets are a thing, how generators turn movement into electricity, how electric motors turn electricity into movement, how radios and antennas transmit and rec...
How can a pancoast tumor of the lung cause no lung problems, but cause shoulder pain and paralyzed vocal cords. How can it be stage III b and take 3 months to figure out?	[ "How can it cause no lung problems despite being significantly progressed: Pancoast tumours are tumours of the superior pulmonary sulcus/apical pleuropulmonary groove. Essentially what this means is, they sit really high up at the [very top of your lung](_URL_0_). Since they're so out-of-the-way and only tend to af...
Can someone explain to me the benefits of Linkedin?	[ "I've been offered several job interviews from people who seemed to specifically care about things I referenced in my history, but plenty of people have said that it seems pointless to them. It really depends on how you use it. I only use it to connect to people I really know from business contacts, and I disable...
SLA printing.	[ "SLA 3D printing is done using the reaction between light and a photo sensitive polymer/resin. Using the form labs machines as an example. They have 4 main components. A laser, a vat, liquid resin in the vat, the a build plate. When starting a print the build plate goes into the resin pool and the laser (using mirr...
How could a human possibly die from the flu?	[ "The flu kills thousands of people every year even today. Many of these people are immunocompromised, i.e. babies, the elderly, people fighting cancer, etc. but some people are just very sensitive. \n\nThere are many strains of flu and occasionally there are very deadly ones. Despite the help of vaccinations, un...
Why does wine not need mixed or stirred? Is the alcohol distributed evenly or is it stronger at the bottom of the bottle?	[ "Interesting how many basically inaccurate guesses are here. I'll give my answer as an amateur wine maker and also a PH.D. scientist.\n\n1. Most wines do not contain sediments. These sediments such as the yeast and byproducts of fermentation are removed from wine either by filtration or by [fining](_URL_1_) a wine....
How can Disney own Snow White?	[ "Disclaimer: Have some legal training, but am not a lawyer, am not specialized in intellectual property law.\n\nGoing through their application and approval, Disney may have a trademark because they were able to establish that through long use, the name has become nearly synonymous in America with their product. So...
The crew for a movie.	[ "A producer funds the film and is one of the major voices in controlling what happens with a movie.\n\nAnd a writer is different than a screenwriter. A writer may come up with a story, JRR Tolkien was the writer of Lord of the Rings, but Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens were the screenwriters who made ...
Why does American Baseball have a "world series " when its only americans participating?	[ "It wasn't only Americans when the Toronto Blue Jays were contenders...", "Canadian here: we have a team too (and there used to be another as well), and Toronto has actually won the series twice...", "The teams are based in American cities but the athletes are assembled from all over the world.\n\nMajor League ...
Why is the Leaning Tower of Pisa so important if it's simply an engineering failure?	[ "Utilizing many columns and archs, this tower represents an advanced understanding of weight and load characteristics, showing the Italian architectures' knowledge.\n\nWhat the architect didn't account for however, was the base of the tower being built on a dense section of clay. In other words, the tower was not f...
Why is Tokyo the capital of Japan and not Kyoto?	[ "Japan has had a lot of capitals throughout it's history. \nKyoto was the previous capital, during 1180–1868. \nSince 1868 it's been Tokyo.\n[Source.](_URL_0_)", "> After World War II, the new Constitution of Japan transferred the state's sovereignty from the Emperor to the people. The people of Japan are represe...
Stock grants	[ "If you choose to sell your stock, you will sell it at whatever price you get, and be taxed on that.\n\nFor stocks in the US you will be taxed at the capital gains tax rate. You are not taxed until you sell, because until you sell your stock, the value is $0. Stock prices can change every millisecond. It could be $...
What Causes Physical Differences (Primarily their facial appearance) in individuals with severe autism?	[ "Autistic children are often stressed out all the time, and eat terrible diets, and are likely to develop unusual breathing and eating habits which affects the development of the jaw and sinuses. They often furrow their brows alot and have that 100 yard stare from feeling overstimulated all the time.\n\nI know wha...
How do journalists etc. get people that you wouldn't expect on video? i.e. Drug Dealers cutting up coke, Felons talking about stuff they've done, Gang Bangers recounting stories of murders.	[ "First of all, don't assume that just because the reporter is nicely dressed and well-spoken that he/she is \"out of their own subculture\". Reporters come from all walks of life. Second, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who or where the criminals are. The cops make their arrests public knowledge. C...
how do I know my smartphone/tablet/laptop's front-facing camera and microphone isn't secretly recording what I do/say and sending it to Apple/Google/Samsung/NSA/CIA/FBI/RCMP/MI6/whoever else	[ "By making yourself and your phone matching tin foil hats! \n\nBut in all seriousness, you don't. But let's be realistic, some giant company isn't gonna give two caps about what you do and it's not even worth their time, there are 300 million people in America alone.", "You don't really know. \n\nWhat you can def...
Why can't every country in the world be neutral?	[ "I believe some countries use war to allocate resources to benefit themselves so some countries will never stop being at war. I cant really cite that but its what I believe off of my life experiences.\n\nThere's also just wars on religion, politics, trade agreements, drug policies, ethics, resources,anything you co...
Why is it that only proteins, carbohydrates and fats are deemed to have caloric value?	[ "As opposed to...what? Do you have any particularly reasoning why this shouldn't or isn't the case?\n\nProtein, fats, and carbs are the sources of food energy that our body can utilize. If something can be digested for energy, then it can have a measured caloric value. \n\nEdit: To answer your clarification. You do...
What is the feeling that I experience when I go down a steep drop on a roller coaster?	[ "Essentially, you are feeling weightlessness. Your organs are not being kept in place by any force(gravity etc), so they basically float a bit (very small bit), but it is enough for your body to detect the change, and you feel \"your stomach drop\"." ]
If smartphones can see infrared light from remote controls, why can't they be used as thermal cameras?	[ "You can, you just need to build a filter to block the visible light: _URL_0_", "The other posts talk about using a smartphone camera as an IR camera. They are irrelevant for using it as a thermal camera. \n\nRemote controls and the IR light described here are called near infrared. Each wave is 700nm to 1,400nm l...
Why can news stations not delay the broadcast by a few seconds incase something goes wrong?	[ "They can and do. However, the process still has some dependency on human attention and reaction time. [Here](_URL_0_) is a relevant article.", "Th person holding the delay control on that Fox Broadcast probably felt safe with the presenters so was drinking coffee or updating facebook." ]
How is "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" grammatically correct?	[ "It's a grammatical combination known as [Present perfect](_URL_0_). Now you don't see something like 'I am become' very often anymore because it's from early modern English. \n\nTo put it in more recognizable meme form: \"It's an older grammar, sir, but it checks out.\"", "As others have said, it's a form of \"p...
why are people double jointed?	[ "Being double jointed is more often an issue with connective tissue than with bones. There are some connective tissue disorders that cause people to be double jointed, so yes, there's a higher incidence of such diseases among those who are double jointed.\n\nBeing double jointed happens because humans are super com...
Why has the USA not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?	[ "Originally, because it forbade both the death penalty and life imprisonment for children. The constitutionality of these punishments for children was not conclusively decided until 2005 and 2012 respectively.\n\nIt also contradicts US adoption laws in many states.\n\nNote that many countries that have adopted regu...
the 2008 financial crisis. What did the bankers and government do?	[ "Banking regulations were decreased over time. This, as other more partisan explanations here have said, allowed banks to make riskier investments with higher potential for both reward and detriment. \n\nOne of the big things that the rolling back of regulations allowed was the offering of a lot of \"subprime mortg...
why are children asked which foot they kick with?	[ "Because most people do have a dominant foot. If you want someone to play on the left side of the field, people with a strong and controlled left foot have a big advantage for passing towards the centre of the field, particularly a cross from the corner in towards the goal. A right-footed player will have to run r...
How do governments know how much cash is in circulation, when people destroy it, loose it and collect coins	[ "generaly 'cos banks tell em\n\nJust to expand. All currency transactions end up going through banks, from your corner shop to your wallmart sized companies, and from that a good estimate of monatery flow and demand can be followed\n\nalso the banks are the ones who generaly 'destroy' money by withholding it whe...
If there was a continuous steel rod that stretched from here to the furthest edge of the observable universe, would the expansion of spacetime pull the rod apart (or at least exert a measurable force on the rod	[ "I suspect this is an open question in cosmology. It might be complicated by the fact that a steel rod has mass and bends spacetime. \n\nBut, here's another way to think about it.\n\nIf you laid a 1 mile steel rod in a frictionless trough, fixed one end to bedrock and tried pulling the other end, how far could yo...
Why do boys voices crack when they go through puberty?	[ "During puberty, lots of parts of your body grow. For most people, this includes their vocal cords. The longer your vocal cord is, the lower your voice will be. During that growth, however, your body and mind are not yet used to speaking at a lower pitch. Sometimes, the brain or muscles get confused, and produce a ...
How can so many artists now produce incredible photorealism, when even the greatest Renaissance artists that saw that as a central aim couldn't come as close?	[ "The ability to work from a photograph (and to extrapolate the skills learned this way to drawing live models). A lot of renaissance work - particularly in portraits has the hallmarks of using a camera obscura (basically an image projected in a lightbox) which has a few issues in terms of scale (often the person's ...
When you’re sick with the cough, do you cough in your sleep or does it completely stop?	[ "It typically stops completely. We undergo a thing called sleep paralysis in which our bodies are typically incapable of moving in response to stimuli, which prevents the irritants that cause coughing from working." ]
Why do we rely so heavily on fuel and gas rather than electricity which is renewable? Wouldn't it be better idea to rely mainly on electricity?	[ "Where does the electricity come from? It's not free, it has to come from somewhere.\n\n2/3 of the US electrical production comes from coal and natural gas. Another 20% is nuclear. That's 86% of all electrical production right there that's coming from non-renewable resources.", "Petroleum is very easy to store...
why is it that when a bike is stationary it will fall over but when moving it will stay up?	[ "I just happened across this Minute Physics video the other day, titled [\"How do bikes stay up?\"](_URL_0_)" ]
How do tattoos last? Wouldn't they go away as the layers of skin are replenished?	[ "Tattooing causes an inflammatory process as you damage the skin, just like scraping your knee or cutting yourself. You get swelling, redness etc like any other injury. This trauma attracts cells of the immune system called macrophages from the blood and surrounding skin. Usually they absorb and breakdown bacteria ...
does a third party have any chance of actually winning an election?	[ "It would take a lot of circumstance such as the downfall of the party. Realistically, the most a candidate could get is about 15% in the general election." ]
Can anyone explain the rationale behind "thin privilege" and the fat acceptance movement?	[ "It comes from the belief that overweight people are treated unfairly - facing social inequality, discrimination, and ridicule - simply because they overweight.", "It's one thing for your Doctor to get on your case about being overweight. In pretty much every other aspect of your life, where it has no effect on ...
Do the data centers owned by Google and Amazon have a defense against EMP's? Would the Internet still be able to function if several EMP's targeted these facilities?	[ "Many data centers are in [some kind of bunker](_URL_2_). During the 50s, telecom companies built a lot of infrastructure [underground](_URL_0_) or in [literal fortresses](_URL_1_); with an eye to continue operations after a nuclear attack. Well, since the 50s, telecom equipment has shrunk in size by a huge degre...
Why are workers supposed to give a two weeks notice before quitting, but employers dont have to before firing someone?	[ "Generally speaking, you're under no obligation to give two weeks' notice to an employer. It's just something that people do to make sure they aren't burning their bridges when they quit.", "The two weeks notice is a gesture of good will. Its the polite way of leaving, a way to say \"I want to part on good term...
Why would Google Chrome get rid of all support for Java?	[ "Who uses it? I'm sure some folk do, but I and everybody I know can't recall using it at all in the past few years.\n\nJava has been the subject of a large list of security issues and phishing attempts, and for the average user it's doing nothing for them. \n\nIt generally makes more sense to take any current brows...
Does hot food give someone more energy than cold food?	[ "It does not. The body uses energy by breaking down sugar, not heat. \n\nIt’s like asking if a battery has more energy on hot days. The energy sources are fundamentally different, so no." ]
When you're downloading two files on your computer and your bandwidth is maxed out (limiting factor), how does your computer decide how much bandwidth to allocate to each download?	[ "The remote servers decide.\n\nThe computer has no control over what data arrives. Well, very little, anyway.\n\nComputers sending data rely on two things to know how fast they should keep sending data out. Firstly, when a router between the server and the client has more data than it can send on, it will start del...
Why do electronics affect pilots navigation on airplanes?	[ "No they don't. It's not a thing. It's a myth. Some electronics would (particularly things that transmit certain radio frequencies and/or radio jammers) but your consumer goods don't do anything that would affect aircraft electronics.", "There was some (scant) evidence that electronics could interfere with specif...
Why are onions toxic to dogs and some other animals, but not to humans?	[ "Onions contain an ingredient called thiosulphate which is toxic to cats and dogs. The ingestion of onions causes a condition called hemolytic anemia, which is characterized by damage to the red blood cells. Onion toxicity can cause the red blood cells circulating through your pet's body to burst." ]
How does water evaporate, such as in puddles, when its clearly not being heated to 100 degrees?	[ "200 Students in a class.\nSmart students who finish their work get to go to lunchtime, where there are donuts and toys. Normally, students finish one at a time, smartest first then not-so-smart, over the course of the day.\n\nIf every student now has a private tutor that helps them, they all finish much much quick...
What is it called if you stack negative effects?	[ "Well, a \"positive\" feedback loop would be an appropriate term.\n\nA positive feedback loop is a system where the output, in this case reduced hearing, creates an even larger input into the system, creating even worse hearing, etc.", "Usually it goes by \"vicious cycle\". But if you're asking about a general ra...
How Does Urination Work?	[ "You might want to give more detail as to what you wanna know about peeing. It basically is made in the kidneys travels through the ureters and is stored in the bladder. Here is where it changes depending on the sex. \n\nIf your a woman you have a small canal called the urethra that goes from the bladder to your to...
how do crane flies grow?	[ "I would guess that, besides variations between the different species of crane flys, variations between individuals of the same species can occur. Before they become adults they go through a larval stage in which they do eat, so presumably their size could be influenced by how much they ate during this stage of the...
What will happen when 75% of the work that was done by humans is now done with robots?	[ "when machines do 75% of today's jobs, humans will do other things. Machines, so far, are still tools, they do what we command them to and operate to the extent they are properly maintained. \n\nThe more important question is, what happens when/if no one really wants anything besides what software and mechanical ...
What causes increased turbulence when a plane goes through clouds?	[ "Clouds, in particular storm clouds, present strong upward winds (it's one of the formation mechanisms). In the atmosphere, winds are mainly in the horizontal, the vertical winds are usually very small, that's why you notice them in the clouds, that's where they happen to be stronger than usual." ]
The term "The House always wins"	[ "When gambling, the casino in which you're playing is referred to as \"the house\" and the odds are stacked WAAAAAAYYYY in favor of the casino winning on any given hand, so that overall, a casino almost literally cannot lose money. \n\nThat expression can be used similarly to \"home field advantage\" outside the ga...
Why do people touch their nose when saying something that makes them uncomfortable?	[ "Protecting your face with your hands is a defense mechanism. It happens whether the danger is real or perceived.", "Saying something uncomfortable creates stress and most have to do something to relieve it (like shaking leg, nodding head). Touching the face is one way some people do it. \n\nI will also agree wit...
Why does it seem like we don't hear a lot about North Africa in regard to WWII?	[ "The short answer is because the North African Campaign was a sideshow. It served no real tactical purpose for the Axis and it was theirs to lose, really. \n\nYou mostly hear about the North African Campaign because of Rommel's Afrika Korps and Montgomery's Desert Rats. Rommel fought a chivalrous war and is general...
Was/is there a reason there was Looney Tunes AND Merrie Melodies? Why didn't they just have one show?	[ "[The Straight Dope covered this](_URL_0_). Basically, they started out as being made by two different production teams, but after a certain point, they became essentially interchangeable, but they kept both names going.", "Merrie Melodies was originally produced by a separate company. It was later acquired by Wa...
Why are even totally lopsided boxing match scores always so close? (Often being decided by only one or two points)	[ "The judges use what's called the 10-Point Must System.\n\nThe guy they decide wins the round gets 10 points. If it's a draw then both guys get 10.\n\nThe loser receives 9 points for a close round, 8 points if he was knocked down or generally dominated, and 7 points if he was knocked down twice or mega-dominated.\n...
Why is it bad to drink diet sodas if I'm trying to lose weight?	[ "[It isn't](_URL_0_) - or at least it's not likely to be counterproductive to your weight loss. The idea that diet soda can make you gain weight is a myth, probably based on the fact that diet soda intake has been shown to be positively correlated with obesity. But correlation doesn't imply causation, and there's l...
Why do our voices become lower as we run out of breath?	[ "You are sending a much greater volume of air through when you are breathing hard and fast. This makes it difficult to control or excite the higher frequencies in your larynx. High frequencies are not as efficient when there is too much air mass being moved. Lower frequencies however have no problem with and eve...
How do the first people who invented the clock kept it precisely correct	[ "It took a long time before we had very precise clocks. _URL_0_" ]
Why do some companies go by different names in different parts of the world? (i.e. Lays in U.S., but Walkers in the U.K.)	[ "I'm not sure about your specific example, but I do know that the US company “Burger King” is called “Hungry Jack's” in Australia, because of one single shop owner in Australia whose restaurant is called Burger King. He didn't want to lose his intellectual property, so he sued BK and won. Thus, it's “Hungry Jack's”...
Why does fear paralyze some people?	[ "It's part of the fight or flight response. We've spent a million years or so evolving our reflexes and running, fighting or freezing are equally valid in different circumstances. Sometimes there's no feasible escape route and sometimes you are overwhelmed by what you are being attacked by and fighting will do no g...
as my batter dwindles.... what exactly happens to my chargers when they quit working?	[ "Ok, this can be happening due to a lot of reasons but the best explanation is that the supply voltage (from the socket) fluctuates a lot. \nIt could also be because the rating of the charger may not match the power supply you are using it with.\nBasically a charger mainly does two things:\n1. It changes the supply...
I am allergic against cats.Would I be allergic against tigers or lions too?	[ "Probably. You are not actually allergic to their fur, you are allergic to a protein in their saliva. When their saliva dries on their fur after grooming, it flakes off in chunks that are as small as motes of dust, and then you inhale them. Cue *ehuch huch huck HUACH HUACH HUACH HUACH KOFF KOFF KOFF KOFF ACH-HOOGA ...
How can ISIS continue to grow despite being bombed for months and fighting on multiple fronts?	[ "Because you can't kill ideas with bombs.\n\nEspecially if the idea is that America is the bad guy because they are bombing the place you live and your friends and relatives.", "ISIS has an aggressive recruitment strategy that actually involves \"getting bombed for months and fighting on multiple fronts.\" See, ...
Why do some thoughts processes differ between man and woman? Is it outside influence or is the brain different wired per gender?	[ "First, an important note: two random men or women can differ as much or more from each other in terms of thought processes than they do from a random person of the opposite sex, so we can't necessarily use those broad difference trends to make generalizations about individuals.\n\nThat said, to the extent those br...
Why can't manufacturers include a sturdy gps system inside of a plane's "black box"	[ "TV and the movies has lied to you about how GPS works.\n\nAll a GPS unit does is receive signals to tell it where it is.\n\nBy itself a GPS unit never tells anybody else where it is.\n\nIn order to find something's location you will need something that sends signals not receive ones.\n\nIf you put a GPS tracker on...
What exactly is the "voice in my head?"	[ "As far as I know your brain is doing everything you would do when you talk, but you just don't allow your mouth to get the signal to move. In people who don't learn to read until later, as well as children first learning to read, they will often move their lips as they read because the inhibition hasn't developed ...
If you found a screw in your can of tuna and wanted to sue the company, how would you prove that you didn't put the screw in the can yourself?	[ "Let's back up here a bit. Anyone can sue anyone for pretty much any reason. All you need to do is convince a lawyer that your lawsuit is frivolous. When you sue someone, you sue for damages, lime medical bills or intentional infliction of emotional distress.\n\nSo, let's say that you find a screw in your tuna. Wh...
Why have Canada & USA been more successful at integrating Muslims than Europe?	[ "Muslim immigrants to Europe were primarily unskilled labor, while Muslim immigrants to the U.S. were primarily professionals. So what happened is that Europe developed large, lower class Muslim communities while the U.S. tended to have scattered families of Muslims with a few middle-to-upper class Muslim communit...
Two-dimensional materials like graphene, what are they like to handle?	[ "Firstly, these aren't 2 dimensional materials. A 2d \"object\" of mathematics and physics is a theoretical construct, not for the real world. Graphene is 3d.\n\nGenerally speaking, the commercial graphen \"sheets\" are about 25 micrometers thick and are used as a conductive material. They feel like gold leaf, but...
Why do I (6'5" male) need to 2k calories a day to live, but so does someone half my size?	[ "It's an average. By definition, it doesn't apply to everyone. In fact, that precise number, because it's the average, applies to virtually no one. Fully half the people require more calories per day than the average to maintain homeostasis, while the other half require fewer.", "Not everything in the world s...
Why does February have 28-29 days when every other month has 30-31?	[ "> Why does February have 28-29 days when every other month has 30-31?\n\nIt's not completely clear, but it has likely to do with the fact that in the early Roman calendar, it was the last month of the year. So whenever they wanted to adjust the calendar, which happened frequently, they added or removed days at th...
What is Alternative Voting, and why would it be so difficult to implement in the U.S.?	[ "[Here's the animal kingdom explanation of First Past the Post and the problems we have with it.](_URL_0_)\n\n[Here's the Alternate Vote video made by the same person](_URL_1_)", "I would really suggest you watch the videos linked by HotRod though since they explain the process well. If you do you can skip my exp...
why do some vaccines confer life long immunity while others just a few years?	[ "Vaccines work by presenting an inactive version/element of a disease causing agent (antigen) to the patients immune system, allowing their immune system to develop antibodies against said antigen. This is analogous to police posting wanted posters of a criminal's face around a town the criminal is likely to hit. T...
what the difference between jihadist, islam and al-Qaeda is?	[ "Islam is a major religion with over a billion followers. I think it's pretty safe to say that most Muslims are just normal people without any particular violent intentions. So you could say they are often misunderstood because many people demonise Islam.\n\n\"Jihad\" is a concept in Islam which roughly translates ...
peripheral neuropathy	[ "Peripheral neuropathy is a malfunction of the nerves in the extremities, usually the arms or legs, but sometimes the face. It can cause numbness and tingling, or in some cases a very painful burning sensation or feelings like cold water being poured on the area." ]
The scandal behind Quiz Show, why it was such a big deal and the repercussions of it.	[ "In the USA, there is the Communications Act of 1934. In this act, it is illegal for broadcasters to rig a contest of intellectual skill with the intent to deceive the viewing public. Why people found it necessary to create this particular law, I don't really know.\n\nIn the game show Twenty One, the producers ...
How ISPs physically connect to the internet, and why an average guy like me can't skip the 'middle man' and just become my own ISP.	[ "The Internet is just a bunch of computers hooked up by a bunch of wires. Those big ISPs are the ones selling you access to that Internet because they own the wires that go up to your house. They paid a lot of money to put all those wires there.\n\nWhen you let people use your wifi at your house, you're doing the E...
Why is it near impossible to stop water flowing from a faucet by blocking it with your hand due to pressure, but there's no such buildup when you turn the faucet off?	[ "The water pressure in most home sin the US is around 30psi. This means that if you cut a 1 inch x 1 inch hole in the water pipes and had a 30 pound weight that fit right on that hole, it would be strong enough to hold the water in. If you were positioned above a similar hole and covered it with your hand and lea...
Why does it seem like US soldiers have more psychological damage in gulf wars compared to WWII?	[ "One huge reason is that a smaller number of troops are seeing much more combat.\n\nThe average combatant during WWII saw approximately 40 days of actual combat.\n\nTroops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan experienced over 310 days of combat.\n\n[Source](_URL_0_)", "It was called shell shock in WW2; the travesties ...
Why do headphones literally ALWAYS get tangled no matter how hard you try not to have that happen	[ "There's actually a physical explanation for this. It's called entropy. Entropy is the embodiment of disorder. The first law of thermodynamics in a nutshell states that entropy will always ever increase (disorder will only become more disorder). This is based on a number of possible states that are available and ac...
Why do onions make your breath smell like the pit of a thousand rotting souls	[ "Members of the plant family Allium, including onions, can cause unpleasant odors either in sweat or through bad breath, which can be attributed to the sulfuric compounds that they contain. The compounds get metabolized and take trine to fully excrete all the nasty smell", "Just like the alcohol that a Breathaly...
What is the difference between Marxism and socialsim?	[ "Marxism is a sociological principle created by Karl Marx. Basically, it's the idea that there are two classes, the proletariats and the bourgeois. In his theories, it is the bourgeois, who own the means of production, who actively exploit workers and reduce their standard of living. Marx thought that when the p...
How exactly does a car engine stop the combustion process when you turn the key to off?	[ "Pretty sure it just shuts off fuel and air flow and the spark plugs. It's a controlled stall.", "It shuts off the fuel flow.\nThe spark plugs and air flow have to continue until the engine is \"empty\".\nIf not empty of fuel, it could damage the engine or frighten you with little booms.\n\nThe electrics keep run...
Why is the press allowed in the courtroom for Oscar Pistorius' murder trial, yet they weren't allowed to film his testimony directly?	[ "[This news article](_URL_0_) sums it up nicely:\n\n > A South African high court ruled Tuesday that cameras will be allowed in court for part of athlete Oscar Pistorius' trial in the killing of his girlfriend.\n\n > Judge Dunstan Mlambo in Pretoria High Court delivered his ruling -- which will put cameras in a c...
Why do we see things better when we squint?	[ "Light passes trough your lens which focuses it on a part in the back of your eyes called the \"retina\".\n\nWhen you squint, you are letting less light trough your eyes, you are shielding of light coming from above, below, and from the sides. Now your eyes only get the (little) light coming from the front and can ...
Why is it that in all the video I've seen of the deep ocean, the sand seems loose? Shouldn't it be hard and compact do to the weight of the ocean water?	[ "The pressure of the ocean isn't directed downwards, it comes from all directions. That's why a diver doesn't get squeezed to the ocean floor, he feels a squeeze all over his body.", "Imagine a single grain of sand in deep water. The pressure is pushing on it from all sides. It experiences a compression, rather t...
The difference in legality between barbed wire topped fence and a pitfall mote on the inside of my fence, and why. Do they not accomplish the same thing?	[ "No, they don't accomplish the same thing.\n\nBarbed wire is obvious and visible and (generally) non-lethal and is not intended to kill, or even wound, but to deter.\n\nA pitfall is concealed and intended to kill.", "In most jurisdictions:\n\nYou are not allowed to kill or seriously injure people to protect prope...

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

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