Split (3)

train · 273k rows

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how the website Kickstarter works and how it helps people who want to use it.	[ "ok, if someone has (what they think) is a good idea, but no money to fund creation or production of said idea. what they usually do is to find investors, people that will give you money to fund your project in return for a slice of your profits.\n\nwhat kickstarter lets you do is to get funding directly from the p...
If person A saves person B's life through CPR but person B's rib gets broken during chest compressions, why is person B able to sue person A? Why doesn't the judge through the case out of court?	[ "Person B can sue, but the judge will always throw the case out. Except in rare circumstances where evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that there was gross negligence or malicious intent. Which, let's be honest, if someone wanted someone dead all they'd have to do is NOT perform cpr.\n\nSource:EMT", "I kno...
How are professional rugby players able to tolerate such physical punishment seemingly with little injury where as soccer, basketball and protected American football players seem to have devastating injuries quite frequently?	[ "As a rugby player I'll give my thoughts but they aren't science backed or anything. When you play rugby you learn how to take an impact without getting injured. You learn how to fall correctly and brace before you get hit. If you watch some \"big hit compilations\" on YouTube you will see that there is plenty of i...
Why do companies trap the back button? How can making it very difficult to get off a page be good for their site?	[ "without running such a site, I assume that these overtly obtrusive sites are only in it to make a dime once. They dont expect you to return (atleast not intentionally) but they will get as many page loads as they can while you are there.", "One way would be to load a Web page after their home. So you go to _URL...
Why did Russia invade Ukraine?	[ "Ukraine had a pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych who sparked massive protests when he turned down a deal that would have brought Ukraine closer to the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia.\n\nAfter he fled the country, a new, more pro-Western government was elected that promptly signed that deal. Putin's re...
How it is made that cars speedometer's arrow shows the car's speed at crash moment?	[ "This isn't something speedometers do. Many cars now though do have black boxes that record the speed at moment of impact. It can do this because its a computer that records data as it happens and then can sense a crash via sensors." ]
Our cell phones update our pictures and contacts to the cloud, why can't a planes black box do the same?	[ "Because it lost contact. The point of the black box is to store information after the plane loses contact. All of the pertinent information prior to losing contact is already transmitted.", "Black boxes only record a certain amount of data before the over write existing data. About 4 hrs of recent data at al...
Public vs. Private Citizenship in America	[ "If you're talking about the sovereign citizen types, who claim that you aren't bound by tax or other laws, there isn't a way to do it, and trying it will get you fined or sent to jail when you break one of those laws they supposedly aren't bound by.\n\nIt's a scam, pure and simple. Up here in Canada, they cal...
Why do humans think other sentient beings would use radio signals to communicate with other intelligent life?	[ "Most of scientists who are looking for other species, accept that other species might use other methods of communication but since WE don't have access to those methods, radio is our best option.\n\nThe scientists looking for radio waves aren't expecting all other life to use radio waves but they are hoping that i...
Why are so many people dying building in Qatar?	[ "Largely because it is really really hot and while local regulations state that workers shouldn't work during the hottest hours of the day that has been forgotten regarding the workers from abroad. That combined with long hours and general hard labour is leading to lots of people dying of exhaustion.", "The death...
What happens to our social media accounts when we die?	[ "I can't speak for the others, but Facebook actually has a feature where you can have your account 'memorialized' or permanently deactivated in the event of death. With a memorialized account you can link another account, friend, relative, whatever, and they're given some control of your account; they can't read yo...
Why doesn't taxidermied animals rot like other dead animals?	[ "A) Because the gut is removed, which contains the bacteria that cause the body to rot in the first place and B) because the skin is embalmed to prevent it from rotting." ]
The drug levothyroxine for Hypothyroidism.	[ "Levothyroxine increases your overall metabolic rate and thus, helps your body manage fat better. It shouldn't have any effect on muscle gain, assuming you eat enough to ensure your body doesn't start metabolizing protein/muscle for energy. Having greater than normal amount of thyroxine in the body can have sever...
How do phones like the Nokia Lumia charge wirelessly?	[ "This is called '[Inductive Charging](_URL_0_)'.\n\nWhat happens is that the charging station uses electricity creates a vibrating magnetic field. In the phone (or other device), this vibrating magnetic field causes a electricity to flow within a coil. That electricity charges the batteries.\n\nThe principle is is...
Why aren't shampoos and soap used interchangeably, and how do those shampoo-body all-in-one soap work?	[ "IIRC shampoos and soaps have different levels of hardness. You CAN use regular soap on your hair, but it'll treat your hair more harshly than shampoo." ]
Why aren't more electronics waterproof?	[ "It is significant extra expense and engineering challenge for something most users don't need. Most of your life is in a dry environment, why spend a lot of work so you can dunk your laptop in the tub?", "Because it can cost a lot. Most electronics needs to be opened up to put new batteries in, for repair, or ea...
why is it more instinctual to hold our breaths while lifting something heavy, than it is to breath properly?	[ "when lifting an heavy object, your body needs to become rigid enough to lift such object. So you start tensing your muscles to create a strong enough structure capable to lift.\n\nBreathing involve the diaphragm to expand and retract the rib cage. in order to do so, the upper chest needs to be \"soft\" enough to a...
What is a citizens arrest?	[ "> Police Officer here. A citizen's arrest is when a misdemeanor, such as a battery, theft, or trespassing is not committed in an officer's presence, and the victim wishes to have the person arrested.\n\n > Misdemeanors are classified as crimes that carry a penalty of 1 year in jail or less, theft, battery, trespas...
How can animals tell the difference between play and attacking?	[ "I work at a dog daycare facility and a huge part of my job is breaking up play when it starts to border on fighting. Essentially it comes down to the energy or intensity level. Each animal has a level of intensity or roughhousing that they are comfortable with/ naturally bring to the table when they start to play....
Why does it seem like all of Africa is politically unstable?	[ "Many African countries are quite stable, but there are a lot of African countries so the number of unstable ones in Africa can seem high.\n\nMuch of Africa was also under colonial rule at some point until this century; as a result their borders got drawn somewhat arbitrarily, artificially dividing and grouping cul...
What happens--physiologically-speaking--when someone returning to riding a bicycle builds up immunity(?) to being saddle-sore?	[ "A few things. Just like you form calluses on your toes, heals, hands, etc. Your tissue also toughens in response to the added stress targeted in that area. Your sensory also becomes a bit dulled as use goes on just like you get used to wearing glasses for example.", "Mostly what's happening is in your legs. Earl...
Facebook application request limit reached	[ "Welp, i was just directed here after a search, glad to know, this is more of a widespread issue. Hoping it'll get fixed", "Really annoying. \n\nI've noticed my Facebook has been auto logging me out on the app for no reason for the past few days, and then this. \n\nI cleared the cache \nno fix \n\nDeleted the ap...
Why does a broken mirror show many tiny images instead of one image with lots of cracks?	[ "The glass is all pointing in slightly different directions, and so the light reflected off of each little surface is coming from a different place before being reflected to your eye." ]
What would happen if a nuke were to explode in space (not low atmosphere)?	[ "Let's assume we're dealing with an early Cold War ICBM for our nuke. The explosion would go off just fine. It wouldn't resemble a mushroom cloud, though. That has to do with gravity and air currents. It would look relatively spherical. Anything in the immediate blast radius would be damaged quite a bit, less than ...
Why do clouds turn black when they are about rain?	[ "Because they are holding a lot of water, so light can't get through them as easily." ]
The Abramovic Method. (Specifically, as used in the new Lady Gaga Video)	[ "It's Performance Art.\n\nIt doesn't sound like there's anything even remotely scientific about it; rather just her personal views on how to be 'more aware of your surroundings'.", "I would love to help but ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I don't quite understand it myself." ]
How does VOR aircraft navigation work?	[ "Oh dear, I'm being summoned now! Thanks, doc_daneeka!\n\nBut yes, this question is right up my street. Although I'm not clear on whether you're interested in the electrical workings of the VOR, or how the pilot actually uses it, so here's a bit of information on both, and you can ask for more detail if you need it...
Why Do Cars "Squat"	[ "Because by applying torque to the drive shaft, differential, and then the rear wheels. There is a secondary reaction in the car's rear springs. They are \"winding up\", or \"loading up\". So for example, if you had stiffer competition springs, you'd notice less squat. On a front wheel drive car, this whole scenari...
How do those gel heatpack work?	[ "They use a compound called sodium acetate - also sometimes known as 'hot ice'. \n\nIt is a material that can easily be supercooled - taken well below it's melting point without solidifying again. When you click the disc on the handwarmer, this starts the gel crystallising/solidifying. At temperatures colder than ...
How solar panels work	[ "2 layers of silicon crystals are laid on top of each other. One layer likes having extra electrons, the other layer likes giving up electrons. The sun's energy bounces electrons all over but in general they move towards the top layer causing a negative charge to build up and since it took those from the bottom, th...
Why can't I start my own nation?	[ "It becomes recognized whenever other countries recognize it. That's not a satisfying answer, but it's the truth. Just ask Palestine. \n\nThere are only two things stopping you from finding an island and starting the People's Democratic Free Opensource Republic of Doge: (1) finding an unclaimed island or (2) convin...
Why is such an emphasis placed on only a couple states during the U.S. presidential elections?	[ "The \"swing states\".\n\nMost states are typically majority conservative or liberal. It's a waste of resources to go campaigning there. The majority party wins all of the electoral votes. \n\nBut certain states are very close to 50/50 splits. These ones are worth a focus because a few points swing in voting mak...
What is chloride in a hydration IV and why do you need it to be hydrated instead of just water, sodium, potassium, etc?	[ "Simple answer is to maintain your blood's PH and isotonic balances. IV fluids are usually sodium chloride solution, .9 & #37;, which is the level that you would find in human blood.\n\nWIthout the right balance, water would be an irritant and change the electrolyte levels in your body, causing potential problems w...
Why is it that we can consume substantially more liquid by weight than we can food?	[ "Liquid is absorbed faster. Water fastest of all as it needs 0 digestion. Solid foods start chemical reactions and your body notices it and has to work before it can be advanced to the intestines.", "My understanding is that liquids leave the stomach within minutes, while solids take a few hours to break down e...
How did US voters figure out which presidential candidate was the best in the early days of America?	[ "Mostly, they didn't, that's why the electoral college is a thing. In Theory, you'd vote for the most intelligent/well informed guy from your county, and then he would go vote for the candidate he thought was best. In practice, you voted for the delegate from your political party, and he would vote for whomever t...
time dilation with an increase in speed	[ "What you're asking about has to do with Einstein's Relativity, so here's the short explanation.\n\nEinstein's theory of relativity states that time and velocity are relative to an observers point of view, or reference frame. His special theory is called such because it deals only with inertia reference frames whic...
What happens when you "keep forgetting that guy's name" ?	[ "You keep forgetting his name. That's it that's what happens." ]
What is going on with the top post on /r/wallstreetbets? What will the stream be about?	[ "There are two (main) ways to invest in stocks and shares - normally you buy them, and if the company makes a profit they give you a dividend, and you can sell the share if the compnay value goes up.\n\nYou can also 'short' a stock - that is bet that a share's value will go down. You do this by borrowing some shar...
if the cabin of a commercial airplane is pressurized why do I have to "pop" my ears while ascending and descending	[ "Because the cabin is not pressurised to the equivalent of surface level. It is pressurised (in most cases) to the equivalent of around 8000' - significantly different pressure to the surface, but not so low as to be dangerous. As you climb or descend, the pressure inside the cabin gradually changes between surface...
How do movies & music albums get leaked?	[ "Many times it is leaked by either a store who sells the CD's or by early reviewers. The stores will always receive their copies before the release date so at any point it's in the inventory, it's subject to leaking." ]
Is face blindness restricted to humans or is this something that's been observed in other species? Is it understood what causes it?	[ "Not many animals rely primarily on sight to recognize others, and fewer still rely primarily on facial features.\n\nI would imagine if it happens in animals, it is pretty uncommon and restricted to our closest animal relatives.", "It's due to a problem with a particular brain region, the fusiform gyrus, whether ...
The process of dry cleaning.	[ "Check out the (wikipedia article) [_URL_0_] if you want to know more specifics but here is a TL;DR for the lazy.\n\nThe process is basically the same, the only difference is dry cleaning doesn’t use soap and water as the medium for dissolving dirt. It instead uses another liquid that is equally as adept as dissolv...
How do digital cameras know when an object is in focus?	[ "You can tell if an image is in focus by looking for sharp edges. Out of focus objects that look blurry will not have sharp edges. \n\nThe camera looks for sharp edges by scanning through the photo pixels and comparing each pixel to its neighbours. If a pixel is very different to its neighbours it is an 'edge'.\n\n...
The origin of "your mom" jokes.	[ "according to recent archaeological finds, it seems to be from ancient Babylonian philosophy or writing students, about 3500 years ago. a tablet had a list of riddles, most condescending or conceptually funny at the time, such as:\n\nThe deflowered girl did not become pregnant. The undeflowered girl became pregnant...
If salt water is left alone does it separate into Na+ and Cl- ions?	[ "Yes they do. Most salts, including NaCl, naturally dissociate into cations and anions in water. \n\nLooks like this: _URL_0_" ]
What's so hard about taking CO2 out of the air and putting it in the ground?	[ "You know how you get energy when you burn carbon? Well, if you want to split CO2 into carbon and oxygen, you have to put that energy back. Plants get this energy from the Sun. [Methods for replicating this process artificially](_URL_0_) are still an active area of research, not economical for widespread use yet.",...
Why does every RV/Winnebago you see seem to be made by a different company? Is there like no consolidation in that sector?	[ "What you're seeing on the side of the RV is the \"brand\" not the manufacturer. There are probably 20-ish big manufacturers that make 80% of the brands you see on the road.\n\nEach manufacturer usually specializes in a particular \"class\" of RV, for instance Fleetwood makes almost exclusively Class A motor homes ...
Why do some vegetarians eat fish?	[ "They're not vegetarians, but because the term \"pescatarian\" isn't familiar to most people, they find it easier to describe themselves as vegetarians who eat fish. \n\nThe obvious followup question is why do they eat fish if they're against eating animals. Part of the answer is that some vegetarians aren't agai...
When burning a CD, does a 4x vs a 1x write speed change the quality of the end product? Is there anything different about a 4x vs any other speed other than, speed?	[ "I always thought this harkened back to the old days of CD burning, where buffer underruns occurred frequently. A buffer was created for the data being burned, and if the buffer emptied before the burning process is complete, it would fail.\n\n Burning at a slower speed (1x) meant you didn't empty the buffer and ...
How do copyright laws work? How heavily are they enforced?	[ "Copyright law is the idea that when people make creative content, they and they alone can decide who profits from it for a limited time. Generally, this means that if you want to use content from something with copyright, ask first or be prepared for a lawsuit. However, there is something called Fair Use in the ...
Is there a reason we ejaculate in spurts rather than a continuous stream like peeing?	[ "So imagine you have a turkey baster. You have a certain amount of fluid in there that you want to get out. If you squeeze it gently, you'll get a dribbling stream. It doesn't go very far and a bunch is still left inside.\n\nNow take that same turkey baster, and squeeze it hard. The fluid shoots out and goes fu...
When does a date become a girl/boyfriend?	[ "Probably when the individuals involved start calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend. I don't think there's a solid definition beyond that.", "When you stop dating other people and stop looking for others to date.", "This is determined largely cultural. Generally people become a couple if they agree on it.", ...
Why do people have different kinds of laughter?	[ "Lots of factors. Some of them are physical - people have different pitched voices, different body sizes and differently-shaped insides, and that changes the way anything that comes out of their mouths sounds. And some of it is psychological. Some people, perhaps through shyness or social convention or just a habit...
Why do things bounce instead of stopping?	[ "Atoms and molecules like each other only so much. \n\nDepending on the composition of the material they're forming, when they're placed under pressure they can do a number of things. Some materials crack and fracture. Others squeeze and compress. Some of the latter stay squeezed when you stop as long as there's so...
Lysenko's approach to agriculture, Lysenkoism	[ "Lysenkoism is the byword for bringing politics into science. Marxism-Leninism claims that any competition between individuals is a result of an unjust society with private property. If you allow a revolution to overthrow the bourgeoisie, and build a society of advanced socialism, you will produce the utopia of com...
Hate against Jewish people?	[ "Weird thing is most of it started because of money. You see, all three religions (Catholics, Jews and Islam) are strictly against interests on loans. Because they consider it unethical, making money with money. In their view only hard labour is allowed to make money. Now, the Islam is pretty strict about it, in th...
In extremely obese (~1,000lbs) individuals, why does fat tend to collect in uneven pockets, particularly favoring one area or another, instead of being more evenly distributed throughout the body?	[ "It may be because there hasn't really been any natural selection or sexual selection among humans regarding fat distribution. Being able to become obese at all has historically been rare enough that humans haven't evolved to favour fat being distributed symmetrically or evenly, so fat distribution is still very va...
How Does an Oven Cook Food Enough to Eat if It's Off for 2 Hours?	[ "Beef is a relatively \"clean\" meat. Because it's so dense, all the nasties tend to live in the outer layer, which of course cooks first. And an oven heated to 350 will maintain a good temp for quite some time so... It's a combination. I certainly wouldn't do the same thing with chicken or pork because they both n...
Why don't you feel the same way listening to a song like you do the first time after you've listened to it too many times?	[ "Just natural human reward center mechanics. Think about it like this. If I gave you a million dollars tomorrow you would feel great. Possibly the greatest day of your life. If I came back a week later with another million that would feel great too. But what if I came back the next week? And the next week. And the ...
what Flat Earth Theory is, and why believers are called crazy	[ "It's pretty self explanatory. Flat-Earthers believe that the earth is flat, that if you start walking in any direction, you will eventually fall off the edge. It's crazy because the evidence to the contrary is so convincing that no scientist has seriously considered it for over 2500 years." ]
Why poison frogs don't poison themselves	[ "Time for a little cellular biology.\n\nSo quick rule of thumb, a lot of what makes up biology is the shape of molecules. The reason why certain things act a certain way in biology is usually because a particular molecule is shaped in a useful way.\n\nSo toxins have their own shape. Likewise, the proteins they af...
What are the benefits to the United States in constructing the Keystone XL Pipeline?	[ "As a Canadian who works in the Oil Sands I have to say I strongly oppose the Keystone XL. The political message in Canada is that it will create jobs. In reality, our high paying refining jobs will move to the states, where the weather is more favourable, the standards more lax, and the lower wages make it more af...
How are fingerprints formed?	[ "You have 3 layers of skin - the epidermis, dermis, subcutis. Now the epidermis and dermis have to mesh together like a jigsaw puzzle - this is called interdigitation. This is done because you can't have your epidermis and your dermis sliding over each other as you touch stuff. \n\nYour body is a very well evolved ...
how do sports commentators know all the players and their backgrounds so readily? I realize they are fed the info beforehand but they seem to spit out the info at appropriate times and so easily.	[ "They typically have notes on hand during the broadcast, additionally they have a producer in the truck feeding them information.", "60 minutes did a feature on Chris Collinsworth a couple years ago. He does not just show up and announce the game. He spent over 60 hours a week preparing for the game he was going ...
how do you determine the 'pack years' of a smoker?	[ "1 pack = 20 cigs\n\nSo 10 cigs per day x 20 years = 1/2 pack x 20 yrs = 10 pack years", "If you smoke after the age of thirty, you are going to have a bad time.", "One pack year is one packet of cigarettes per day for a year. So 2 pack years could be 2 packs a day for 1 year or 1/2 a pack per day for 4 years. ...
How can a 500mg pill be the same size as a 10mg pill?	[ "The pills aren't 500mg, the dose of the drug is.\n\nSome drugs need to be buffered differently so they will be absorbed by your body properly without causing a reaction. That could very well make a 10mg dose require a bigger pill than a 500 mg dose of a different drug.", "Because that weight is the amount of ac...
I have allergies. Why do I get sneezing fits every time I get out of the shower?	[ "I'm no doctor, but it may be because the humidity in your shower loosens the particulates in your nose which causes a reaction.", "Personal anec-data, but with medical support: I was having ridiculous sneezing fits every morning with tons of excess mucus production and assumed I just had allergies. Went to the d...
The current European economic mess.	[ "The European Union is a collection of states that are integrated at a level never before seen in human history. Part of that integration is a shared currency and many other economic ties. \n\nSeveral of the European Union States are experiencing an aging population, which combined with very generous social benefit...
Why can't you prevent injury in a falling elevator by jumping at the last second?	[ "Let's say that you and the elevator are moving downward at a velocity of about 100 meters/second just before impact. You jump upwards at about 10 m/s. \n \nThis means that your final velocity at impact is 90 m/s downwards. If that won't hurt you, and the falling pieces of the elevator coming down on your head...
Why are Japanese game titles often just strings of arbitrary words?	[ "These are titles that were released in Japan with the title in English, so there is a bit lost in translation as they are trying to make their titles work with the way the game is. Here is the reasoning behind the titles in your example:\n\nBravely Default is an RPG where you have a \"special ability\" to either...
Why are passwords said to be safer if I use uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols?	[ "The longer the password, the more potential passwords a hacker or cracking program would have to try before guessing yours. Using more randomized passwords, increases the odds that it won't land on yours.\n\nIt depends on the program and goal. I have lists of passwords for different penetration testing that I am d...
Electromagnetic induction and Lenz's Law	[ "Metals are full of mobile electrons. That's because whenever metal atoms come together to form solid metal, their outer electrons leave the atoms and start orbiting among all the atoms. It's as if a metal block is an aquarium full of water, with no bubbles allowed. Physicists call this the \"ocean of charge\"...
Mariners of Reddit: What are the rules you have to follow to aid ships in distress/search and rescue operations?	[ "According to Regulation 33, Chapter V of the Convention of the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974 (SOLAS 74)\n\n > 1 The master of a ship at which is in position to be able to provide assistance, on receiving information from any source, that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their ...
How does my mobile phone know when there's an incoming call?	[ "Your phone constantly pings or sends information to cell towers for information. Cell towers route the call to you so when your phone says, \"hey, do I have anything?\" The Tower responds by giving your phone the call or a text message or just the time." ]
Why is it that when it's a really cold night outside, the sky is so much clearer & crisper to see the stars more clearly? [Serious]	[ "The sky isn't clear because it's cold, it's cold because the sky is clear. Clouds act like a blanket that keep the warmth radiating from the earth's surface escaping into the upper atmosphere so easily. Without the clouds, the heat escapes. This is why deserts are usually freezing cold at night - no moisture for c...
Why does our voice sound different in a recording than what we hear ?	[ "When you talk, you hear your voice both through vibrations in the air (which is the only thing that everyone else hears), as well as through vibrations in the bones of your skull (which only you can hear).\n\nA recording accurately recreates the part that everyone else hears (vibrations in the air).", "When you ...
Why do airplane staff have to open/close the windows at set parts of the flight?	[ "I actually asked a flight attendant this. She told me that it is a safety thing. They want people to be able to see if there are any hazards outside the plane. Also, keep in mind that a plane has no rear view mirrors. It is literally impossible for a pilot to see their wings. If some thing was wrong (like a f...
What does an investment banker do?	[ "If you want to sell your house, you may decide to hire a mortgage broker to help you figure out how much your house is worth on the market and then show your house to potential buyers. If you want to buy a house, you may decide to hire a mortgage broker to show you different houses based on what you want and can a...
Who do bruises turn blue?	[ "As you may know, your body contains a lot of small pipelines carrying blood to everywhere in your body. What happens if you bruise, is that one of these pipelines or veins burst and spill blood. Now you may wonder: Why is that stain blue, while blood is red?\n\nIt has everything to do with how we see colors. If wh...
What is the difference between using < tables > or < div > in webpage layout?	[ "Web development has moved towards more semantic markup. In a super small nutshell its kind of like the idea of using the right tool for the job.\n\nA table is supposed to be for tabular data, not layout -- this is why it is generally not used for layout anymore. It doesn't make semantic sense to. In other wor...
why do email clients on android require access to calls and calls details?	[ "The only explanation I could think of is so the app knows the phone is in use, and it won't attempt to transmit or recieve and fail unnecessarily. As for call logs... idk. \n\nBut it could all be for marketing purposes as well.", "If you tap a phone number in your email, it will send the number to your phone app...
The difference between a coma and being unconscious.	[ "> In medicine, a coma (from the Greek κῶμα koma, meaning deep sleep) is a state of unconsciousness:\n\n > 1) lasting more than six hours in which \n\n > 2) a person cannot be awakened, \n\n > 3) fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, sound, \n\n > 4) lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and \n\n > 5) ...
Why aren't there any fruit-bearing plants that grow underwater?	[ "Fruit is there for the plant to spread its seeds through fruit eaters' feces. In water, the seeds would float away once pooped out, so cut out the middle man and go straight to floating away. Submarine fruits aren't evolutionary beneficial.", "Most under water \"plants\" are actually algae, which never got aroun...
Why does the Japanese language use so many English words, even in cases when you know they must have an equivalent word in their language?	[ "While Japan does have inherently Japanese words, what they're translating is a franchise name, not a word. Trying to be faithful to the original name does have its advantages: firstly it shows some respect for the country's culture and secondly it increases cultural diffusion, and thus, globalisation. Japan, as yo...
if there's a garbage island the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean, why can't I find it on google maps?	[ "It's not an island in the typical sense of a chunk of land you can walk on.\n\nIt's a region of the ocean with a larger than expected concentration of microscopic plastic particles.\n\nThe existence of this \"island\" is a problem because of it's size and it's risk to ocean life, but you could only realize you wer...
Why are male nipples fine to show, but females are taboo?	[ "It depends on the culture. You're assuming a Western (mainly U.S) focus. It's much less taboo in Europe, and even less so in other parts of the world.\n\nThere's no real good answer beyond that. Culture doesn't really have to \"make sense\". A lot of it goes back to when showing any type of skin (even ankles! back...
Why is the divorce rate so high in the US?	[ "Who says it's high? It's higher than it used to be because nowadays we advocate divorce when relationships are abusive, dysfunctional, or unhappy. In the past, you were expected to stay married even they beat you, if they were a junkie, if they molested your kids, if you just weren't in love anymore and wanted t...
Who invented the internet and how is it owned by nobody?	[ "The inventors of the internet are Robert Kahn and Vint Cerf. \n\nInternet is not a single thing. It is a set of thousands of other things. No one owns it. A nice analogy would be agriculture. No one owns agriculture, agriculture is a set of techniques. \n\nThe parts of the internet are owned by various people an...
Why do companies wait till the Super Bowl to make good commercials?	[ "I suppose the best time to invest a lot of money into the production of an ad is when it is guaranteed to be seen by many, and be talked about later on. And in order to have the ad stand out in front of the others, so that the investment in the spot was worthwhile, it has to be very good. It's an ad competition.",...
When we crave certain foods, is it because our body knows we need it?	[ "My brother is a pediatrician and says the same thing. \n\nSome caveats though: sugar and fat (and possibly salt) is so scarce in nature that we are hardwired to want it when it is available - which is not good in today's society.\n\nMy brother does also refer to a theory that one of the reasons we have so many nut...
What would happen if u aimed the barrels of two guns directly against each other and pulled the triggers at exactly the same time?	[ "How far apart are they? if they are a modest distance a part, the bullets would collide (assuming everything is identical between the guns and the ammo used) in the middle either causing them to fall where they impact or more likely ricochet in some unknown direction due to minor flaws in each.\n\nIf the barrels a...
The difference between Sunni and Shiite Muslims	[ "* Sunni believe that the first four successors(caliphs) rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslim. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders.\n\n\n\n\n * The Shiite believe that only the heirs of the fourth caliph as the legitimate successor of Mohammed. \n\n\n\n\nBasica...
Why are kids forced to take a plethora of subjects in highschool regardless of their future college or job prospects?	[ "Because going to school is about more than getting a job.", "Can you imagine a world where nobody takes math classes just because 'I will never need it in my line of work'? 99% of people would opt out and then a whole generation of people wouldn't be able to do simple problems like finding five percent of 20.\n...
Can exposure to extremely high levels of radiation cause immediate death? How?	[ "\"Yes, high enough acute doses can prevent neurons from firing correctly and lead to instant death. If you were to pull out a fuel assembly from a nuclear power plant and place it on the wall and run at it from 50 feet away. You will die before touching it.\" \n\n_URL_0_", "Acute radiation syndrome effects chart...
Why are movies given different release dates for different countries?	[ "Most likely because there's another major release on Apr 22nd that they don't want to compete with. People choose 1 movie to purchase. They don't buy multiples" ]
Why are we asked to turn our phones and electronics off when taking off and landing a plane.	[ "Well everyone here appears to be a moron. The reason your phone needs to be off is because the flight crew doesn't want you to be distracted in case of emergency when they may need to tell you important information to, you know, not die. They just (used to) tell you the interference thing because airlines don't li...
Why do diabetics who have hypos act aggressively?	[ "If you are healthy you might be sitting around at like a blood sugar reading of 80. Normal is after you haven't eaten for a while that might start to go to like 70, and you start to get hungry as it keeps dropping a little more maybe you get that sort of cranky, irritable \"hey, I am not dealing with any of this t...
How can the federal government just "shut down?"	[ "Shut down is a little misleading, they whole government doesn't close it's doors on day one of the continuing resolution expiring.\n\nIn some ways the government does run like a business. It employs people and purchases materials from private companies to provide services. \n\nCongress has to agree on how to hand ...
why haven’t we built passengers airplanes with no windows but screen walls on the inside?	[ "The ability for passengers to use natural light from the windows to evacuate in case of an emergency, and for emergency crews to be able to see inside the aircraft, would be lost with screens.", "Windows are for safety of passengers. Helpers need to look inside an airplane in case of emergency. Also an airplane ...
So I've just begun Final Fantasy 13. I have never played any final fantasy games before. What on earth is going on?	[ "One important thing to know (if you don't already) is that all of the major versions (e.g. Final Fantasy 1-10, 12, 13) have independent stories that are completely different from each other.\n\nThere are some common features like music, recurring characters (Cid, a bit different in each game), and things like ride...

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