Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
In footage of nuclear explosions, what are the white vertical stripes?	[ "Those are rocket trails. Just before launch small rockets are launched which leave those plumes of white smoke as they go up. Scientists can watch how the plumes behave in the vicinity of the blast and get a nice visualization of how the air around the fireball is behaving.\n\nIt is possible that the specks of whi...
how do contact lenses stick to your eyes?	[ "The surface tension of the liquid (mostly water) on your eye keeps them in place, but it doesn't really stop them from rotating.\n\nFor most people - those without astigmatism - it doesn't really matter if it does rotate. Your eye is pretty much symmetric thought the center (from your pupil to the back). Astigmati...
Why does United states and Japan have a good relationship now even after Hiroshima?	[ "Hiroshima was part of World War 2. After the war ended, Japan surrendered unconditionally, and the US basically came in and completely remade the Japanese state. This laid a new foundation for Japan's extraordinary growth through most of the rest of the 20th Century, and basically reset ties between the two countr...
Stars at nighttime.	[ "It depends on where you live. Go [here](_URL_0_) to see where you can see the best stars. \n\nAs for the reason, it's not so much the smog as it is the light pollution. It's like being in a loud room and trying to hear a pin drop. It gets drowned out by all the other noise. Not even the best, high quality microp...
If food is sanatized in an oven or any heating device at a certain temperature, why do we take so many precautions beforehand with germs and bacteria?	[ "Bacteria poop.\n\nEven if you kill all the bacteria & viruses (which you can't be sure of) the bacteria might release chemicals that aren't healthy.\n\nA great example is botulism - it's not the bacteria that make you sick, it's the toxins they release while they're reproducing that kill you.", "It's all about...
How did us mammals evolve into having emotions and specifically love?	[ "Emotions evolved from communication. For example wolf who was able to bark when danger occured saved its pack members thus increasing it own chance of survival. Wolfs who didn't react / understand to react to danger more likely perished.\n\nI think love is more primitive thing. It is just feeling that one should m...
How are idols and idol culture so popular in Japan? What are the inner workings?	[ "Idols are basically boy bands.\n\nExcept girls, and for guys.\n\nBut it amounts to the same thing, get a bunch of attractive young ladies, with some dancing, some singing and the right attitude.\n\nAnd if you can get the right publicity at the right time, they become famous." ]
Seduction	[ "You can approach this from a whole plethora of sciences, but here's a very 5 year old version of how it works. Humans have drives, which are a sort of chemical potential in the brain. If you have a really big potential, that means there is a better chance you'll do whatever the activity is. \n\nSay you are a 5 yea...
Why do most surveillance cameras have such low quality? I understand that it is expensive to have high quality cameras which will cost a lot of money, but if low-quality cameras fail to catch criminals, then they are worthless and a waste of money from the start anyways which would defeat the	[ "There are a number of reasons.\n\nFirstly, cost. A high quality system is hugely expensive. IT takes good quality optics and highly sensitive cameras to work well in low light conditions, and high definition is very memory intensive, meaning you need large arrays of hard discs. Whilst some organisations are willin...
What is the difference between a router and a modem?	[ "The modem is the device that converts input signals such as cable or land line phone signals from your ISP into digital data useable by a computer or similar device.\n\nA router is a device that manages the flow of data to multiple connected devices.\n\nSo in your standard home, the outfacing connection (such as a...
How can games on the same console have gradually better graphics all the time if it's the same hardware? Why don't they just make the graphics that good when the console first comes out? Is there a max to how good graphics can get on a console?	[ "Experience.\n\nDevelopers learn the ins and outs of the system. Each subsequent project builds on that knowledge. There are some amazing new Atari 2600 games being written now, for example, that would have blown minds in 1984.\n\nEach new console is usually so different from any other console or pc that it takes...
Intended Immigrant	[ "There is tremendous competition to get a limited number of work visa in the US, so there is a big problem with people entering on tourist visas then just staying. So when someone who has just been denied a work visa suddenly wants to be a tourist, the US doesn't trust their intentions.\n\nAlso, many states have l...
Limits and derivatives	[ "How well do you want to understand it? Is your intention so be able to do your homework? Or just to have a feeling of what the words mean?\n\nA limit is what happens when you get close. An extreme example imagine something is constant, never changing, like a value that is always 1, except at one exactly time, say ...
"cannabis is killing my apetite, I only eat after smoking, other than that I could go days without eating at all. which ends up with me feeling very tired/sleepy"	[ "This isn't really an eli5 question. It probably isn't the weed \"killing\" your appetite when you don't smoke. It's just that marijuana stimulates your appetite when you are using it. I know a guy who has the exact same thing happen. Just doesn't eat really regularly if he doesn't take his medicine. \n\nLack of ...
Why is coming in under budget in the business world generally a bad thing?	[ "Because forecasts are done under a certain logic with many objectives dictating. The idea is that a budget is there for a reason, and if all budgets are used correctly, then your overall business goals as a company will be met. If you aren't using your entire budget, the idea is that you're not 'planting enough se...
Why does entering *67 before your phone number block caller ID? What is the practical purpose of this?	[ "The practical purpose is to provide privacy for the calling party by blocking the display of their number on the recipients phone.", "I used to use it a lot before this was just a toggle on the phone. Let's say you have a bunch of service techs (computers, fridges etc...) who go on the road. They call the cli...
Who invented the ringing sound that is heard waiting for a person to pick up?	[ "That's the [ringback tone](_URL_0_) to indicate that a connection has been established and the phone you're calling is ringing. You can see the first people to patent it there, but that does not mean they were the first people to actually impement it. I tried to find when it was first used, but no luck." ]
The phenomenon of when you are trying to think of the name of an actor/actress or song lyric and can't in the moment, but after you stop thinking of the answer, it comes automatically at some random point.	[ "I think that there is a lot going on in your brain besides your conscious thinking process. It's as if your brain was two people. The conscious mind really wants to know the answer to a question and keeps asking and asking, and the other guy keeps saying \"I don't know.\" When the asker finally shuts up, then the ...
Why aren't Democratic candidates proposing defense spending cuts?	[ "Politicians are terrified still (post 9/11 thing, but also kinda always) of being seen as soft on \"defense.\" Any proposed cuts to our military budget wil be portrayed as such, mostly by those pols who get lots of $$$ from military contractors, and the ever-compliant \"liberal\" media.", "> I feel like cuts to...
Does CISPA violate the 4th amendment?	[ "That's currently up for debate, and I'm sure those who are more politically aware than I am could explain it better. Personally, I believe it is.", "As a rule of thumb, assume that every single thing the government does is violating your rights, the constitution, and the rights of being a human being. This way y...
Why is Obamacare/Affordable Care Act so harshly criticized?	[ "Some people are against the philosophy of it, i.e. having the government involved in their health. Others have practical issues with introducing a new bureaucracy to our ever-growing government/deficit. Others still have both philosophical and practical problems with many aspects of the act. And then some people j...
If a venomous snake is injected with its own venom into its bloodstream, what will happen?	[ "Depends on the snake. Many of them build up immunity in order to protect themselves in the case of an accidental bite.", "this is from an askscience thread with the same question.--Many snake venoms - including coral snake and cobra - activate the mammalian complement system, part of the body's innate defenses ...
What are the basics of x ray diffraction and what kind of information does it give you?	[ "A diffraction pattern is the shape light makes when it passes through objects that have \"holes\" or \"slits\" in them. Google image search \"diffraction pattern\" or \"double slit experiment\" to see what I mean. Basically, as light waves pass through the different gaps in an object, the waves recombine on the ot...
What is this "International law" that Obama and the US say Russia is breaking by annexing Crimea?	[ "Well if you want something specific, there's the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that the Ukraine and the nuclear powers of the world signed. One of the tenets was that the other nations, in exchange for Ukraine giving up their nuclear weapons, was to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine's territories and refrain from usin...
Why does gigabit even matter?	[ "A home network is used for things other than downloading from the internet. If you copy files between two computers over the network or stream video, you'll be working at gigabit speeds. More importantly, if you're trying to copy files and stream video, you're sharing that gigabit between both jobs.\n\nIt ma...
How did people deal with Asthama before we invented inhalers?	[ "Generally they died pretty young. If you have a bad enough attack with no way to treat it, you do what you can, but for the most part, there's not a whole lot they could do.", "Before we found medications to treat asthma people would generally die from it if they had anything close to a severe case." ]
Why are old recipes so vague?	[ "Recipes were vague for 3 reasons.\n\n1. No standard measurements existed.\n2. Ingredients were of widely variable quality and availability.\n3. The people making them were expected to know how to cook.\n\nModern recipes are mostly aimed at people who don't really know cooking that well, and are made simple enough ...
what's the difference between Subjective Vs. Objective?	[ "Subjective = opinion, not factual. \n\nObjective = factual and thus cannot be argued with. \n\nEdit: words" ]
How does the human body build up a tolerance to something?	[ "One of the things that detoxifies alcohol is the smooth ER in cells. When you drink, for example, you increase the rate of produced smooth ER, this in turn will build tolerance for the next drug / alcohol you consume. It’s like training a muscle, the first time you lift 45s on ea side you’ll be tired, but subconsc...
ELI5: If someone is born Deaf and Blind, would they have dreams when sleeping? If so what would the dreams consist of: taste, smell, feeling something? Would be interesting to know.	[ "They dream, but only dream in their known senses. So like you said, a collage of smell, touch, feelings, ideas, etc. \n\n_URL_0_", "Not an answer directly to your question, but I found it interesting.\n\nMy grandmother lost her hearing before she turned two. When she dreams, she still dreams that she talks and h...
Is drinking an orange juice the same as eating an orange from a nutritional point of view?	[ "No, orange juice lacks the nutritional fiber that whole fruit has. Fiber helps slow down sucrose absorption into your bloodstream. Because of this, drinking fruit juice increases blood sugar levels comparable to soda." ]
Why do boys have "boy handwriting" and girls have "girl handwriting" ?	[ "First of, we are talking averages and generalizations here. I´ve seen boys writing neat like it was printed, as well as girls writing in hieroglyphes.\n\nThe stereotype suggests, that girls are silent, obidient and put more effort into what they do than boys. They also are a lot better when it comes to fine motori...
The difference between horsepower and torque.	[ "The power an engine produces is called horsepower. In mathematical terms, one horsepower is the power needed to move 550 pounds one foot in one second, or the power needed to move 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute. Power, in physics, is defined simply as the rate of doing work.\n\nEngine horsepower is measured ...
Why do we have over 18,000 unaffiliated police departments in the United States? Why isn't there a single government agency that unites them?	[ "Because there are lots of levels of legal authority in the US, and they are largely independent of each other (by Constitutional design). Federal laws are not the same as state laws, which are different from county or city ordinances. And sometimes they conflict. No single agency has the authority to enforce all t...
How are the stars always in the same spot in the sky?	[ "First, stars are really, really far away. So from our perspective it looks like they're in the same place every night...\n\nBut that's not true. Over thousands of years, stars do change position even from our perspective. They have in the past and will in the future. It's just that these time scales are vastly...
How can our eyes properly view both bright and dark areas, but a camera can only set exposure for one?	[ "Filmmaker here. /u/Porrridginal is on the right track. Camera lenses are built like the human eye but camera bodies aren't built like the human brain. The aperture of a lens [(like that logo!)](_URL_0_) acts just like an iris. It expands and contracts to let specific amounts of light through. \n\nSay you're ...
What bodily/survival function does crying fulfill?	[ "It may not have a hunter/gatherer purpose, but I'm quite confident it has a purpose. At the very least, as children, it's a way to signal to our parents that something is wrong.\n\nI don't know about you, but when I see someone cry, I feel bad for them and I want to help. Crying is a signal of emotional or physica...
What's the difference between kcal and kJ?	[ "About 4\n\n 1 Kcal = 4.1868 KJ\n\nor\n\n 1 cal = 4.1868 J\n\nBoth Joule and calorie are different units measuring the same thing. like yards and meters.\n\nJoule is the SI (metric) measurement of energy while calories is an older unit also related to the SI-units but not part of it.\n\nThe amount of energy...
Why does all the research suggest that cats are indifferent to humans when my cat is clearly very affectionate beyond his basic feline needs?	[ "Same here. When I'm upset, my cat comes sauntering up to me purring like a motorboat to comfort me. If I'm crying, he curls up next to me and wipes away my tears with his cheek. The purring is very soothing. If he didn't care about me, he wouldn't bother to do any of this. I think it just depends on the temperamen...
Why do some men gain weight all over while others gain it only on their belly?	[ "It's genetic. Your genes determine where your body places fat. There's other factors that get involved, mainly age and hormone levels, but beyond that, some folks just get fat all over, others just get fat in specific areas.", "While this does not explain the differences between specific men, men in general ten...
Why can't a computer program, program itself?	[ "Here's one reason (among many). Human languages are very imprecise. If you tell a computer program what sort of program you want just by speaking to it in your natural language, it could only have a very vague idea of what you want. It's hard enough to tell a human what program you want.\n\nYou'd need a very advan...
Why when a crazy event the isps slowdown but when millions watch the superbowl the cable stream isn't effected?	[ "Cable broadcasts are one-way communication which just means copying a single data stream and sending it down a bunch of wires. Internet communication is two-way communication with each exchange being unique to the user.\n\nAn analogy would be using a megaphone to give a message to 10,000 people, vs. holding an ind...
How does the clock on my computer keep track of time and know the correct time even after it has been shut down?	[ "It has a [real-time clock](_URL_0_) chip which is powered by a battery (and, generally, the computer can check what time it is when it has a network connection to adjust that clock)." ]
what 'alternative rock' is.	[ "The easiest way of thinking of alternative rock is the \"none of the above option\".\n\n What genre is your rock band?\n [] Punk rock\n [] Funk rock\n [] Jazz rock\n ... etc. etc.\n [X] None of the above (alternative)\n\nReally this means that there really isn't any common sty...
Can both polar and non-polar molecules have london-dispersion forces?	[ "A London-Dispersion force is just a simple case of a Van der Waals force. So, what you may be referring to is that. The attraction between a polar molecule and an induced dipole is called a Debeye force. What's cool about London dispersion is that it is what is responsible for inert materials having a freezing poi...
Why isn't Horse meat popular/eaten in America?	[ "European here (Dutch). Even though horsemeat is legal it is not as common here as pork, chicken or beef. Big supermarkets usually have thin smoked slices of it for sale, for on bread, but not steak. For that you'd have to go to a butcher.\n\nI personally know some people who don't like the idea of eating horse bec...
What is the psychology behind acquired taste; How does it work?	[ "There are probably some other types of more physiological answers that would be appropriate, but I believe it is mediated mainly through social psychological mechanisms.\n\nThe current social psychological understanding of how we come into a new value or belief (unless anyone wants to correct my take on this) is t...
Why can't people smell their own breath?	[ "They definitely can, at least I can. Try breathing out of your mouth and nose at the same time slowly. Then move your lips to close them, but don't change anything with your throat. \n\nAs to why you don't smell it as strongly, you get used to the taste of your own mouth, and smell is strongly tied to taste." ]
How can dreams that seem lengthy, actually be only a few minutes?	[ "There is also the factor that the chemical released by your brain, dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, in more mild quantities when you dream is known for it's temporal dilation perceptual effect. The substance can be used recreationally, in concentrated form, where users have reported the sensation of being gone for year...
Torrents	[ "> What is a \"swarm\" (for example, saying 15 out of 15 seeds are connected when there's 150 in the swarm; why can't I connect to those other 135?)?\n\nThere are multiple factors at play here. They may include:\n\n* The particular configuration of your torrent software. All clients have a limit of the number of p...
Could the Hubble Telescope locate the picture left on the moon by Charles Duke?	[ "As impressive as hubble is, it doesn't have the sort of resolution that would pickup tiny objects. \n\nA more interesting question is what sort of detail could the latest military satellites resolve - but only those working with them know that one :) Suffice to say they would be significantly superior to hubble, w...
North Korea vs. South Korea	[ "Japan conquered Korea in 1910. In 1945, as World War II was ending, the US took the southern part of Korea from the Japanese while our allies the Russians invaded it from the north. When that war ended, neither the US nor Russia wanted to give up territory the other might benefit from, and so Korea was split into ...
How do weekly awards like the ones I see for $5000 a week for life work?	[ "It's an annuity, which is kind of like a reverse loan. The contest has enough money to purchase an annuity, and when they have a winner, that's what they do. They will purchase it from a financial institution like a bank or insurance company. They pay them the money, and the institution uses the interest (and some...
Where has all of the rubber missing from the tread of our billions of worn tires gone to over the years?	[ "Non-snarky answer - it ends up in the soil, the groundwater, the rivers, lakes and seas and from there up the food chain. Bon appetit!", "It ends up mixed in with the roadside dirt where it is broken down by bacteria, fungi, and decomposition from exposure to sunlight and oxygen.", "Bacteria both on the road s...
Why do shroom clouds form after a nuke hits the ground?	[ "It happens with any large enough explosion, not necessarily nuclear. The explosion pushes a lot of air out of the way, leaving a large, low-pressure zone filled with smoke. As air rushes back in from the sides, and hot air rises off the heated ground, the smoke cloud collapses into the \"cap\" of the mushroom.\n...
How does an AI learn?	[ "Your parents install a big green light in your bedroom, and inform you that you want to make the light turn on. You have no idea how to make the light turn on, but you start trying things. You fiddle with every single thing in the room, even flipping off and on the light switch. You try thousands of combinations o...
Why is it that eating a lot of sour Skittles or other sour candy makes your tongue hurt?	[ "They have citric acid. Eating a lot at a time will make your tongue hurt because your tongue's pH levels are compromised. Your nerve signals say \"ow\" so your tongue can do its thing back to a normal pH and heal those taste buds." ]
Why is sugar bad for me and what does it actually DO to our health?	[ "[This](_URL_2_) is the Long version. It's about 90 minutes\n\n[This](_URL_1_) and [this](_URL_0_) if TL:DL on the first. It's about 20 minutes." ]
Why are Netflix Original sitcoms not exactly 30 mintues?	[ "Netflix doesn't have their own studios. They finance and greenlight these new series, and as a result, they get the exclusive rights for a period of time to them -- pretty much the exact same way a traditional television network works.\n\nBut after that time, the studio can sell the show to others, and most of the...
Is it a defense to the crime of Contempt of Court that the Court Order that the Defendant is accused of violating was unlawful or unconstitutional?	[ "Yes, and there are two means of contesting this: An interlocutory (ie during the trial) appeal to a higher court can attempt to cancel an unlawful court order before they violate it or a habeas corpus petition afterwards." ]
Why do ISPs charge for different levels of bandwidth while cell phone companies charge for different levels of data usage?	[ "because they can. \n\nback in the day, AOL network access was also charged by the kb of usage as well as online time. \n\nif cable/dsl providers could charge for the usage and still be competitive, they would gladly do it." ]
How does the saying "buy low sell high" actually translate into business?	[ "It really has to do specifically with Stocks.\n\nIn the stock market, you want to spend the least amount of money, and make the most possble. You do this by buying stock when it's at a low price, and sell it at its highest.\n\nHowever with companies like Apple, Facebook, Google, etc, their price (at least for the ...
why do nightmares cause you to snap awake quickly instead of waking up normally?	[ "Nightmares are dreams that cause the stress response, otherwise known as “fight or flight”.\n\n\nWhen you’re awake, the stress response is triggered because a threat is perceived through the senses (you see a car coming toward you, or hear a wolf howling in the woods at night). When you’re dreaming, your brain, a...
Why do genes want to reproduce?	[ "They don't \"care\" about anything at all.\n\nBut if you have a gene that just tended to reproduce, an done that didn't, the one that didn't would die off and all you would have are genes that reproduce. This same principle goes all the way back to the stuff that floated around in oceans before \"genes\" even exi...
How do houses and estates get named?	[ "You decide to name it and then insist that everyone refer to it by that name. You can do the same if you want to. Whether others will go along with it is another matter of course." ]
If, say, a moon came too close to a planet, why does it get broken apart instead of colliding with the surface?	[ "Gravity. When you are dealing with planets and moons, gravity is huge.\n\nGravity is stronger the closer the two bodies, the moon and the planet, get. When they get very close, then the forces on the parts of the moon nearest the planet are much greater than the parts further away. This tears the moon apart.\n\nIf...
Why does it seem like bees are attracted to plastic children playgrounds?	[ "Probably because bees are attracted to bright coloured flowers, therefore also attracted the bright colours of the plastic." ]
Why is that families in the 1950's seemed to be more financially stable with only one parent working, while today many two income households are struggling to get by?	[ "So imagine you have Owner and Twenty Employees.\n\nThe enterprise makes 30,000.\n\nOwner pays himself 10,000.\nHe pays each employee 1,000.\n\n\nNext year, they make 35,000.\n\nOwner takes 1,000 and splits the difference to his employees. This is fairly normal way of doing things.\n\nBut, communications and shippi...
What exactly happens in your body when you lose your voice?	[ "Your voice is created by two flaps of tissue in your throat called vocal folds. Their primary functions are keeping food out of your lungs, phonation (making noise), and increasing thoracic pressure for lifting/shitting. These flaps are very small; only as big as your pinky nail. When they become swollen through i...
why is a building like the Sagrada Familia taking so long to finish despite the availability of modern engineering techniques?	[ "Gaudi died, and then a fire and anarchists destroyed the plans and some models Gaudi had built. There's also that it's a really bizarre piece of architecture. Most of the problem is figuring out what it's supposed to look like.\n\nIt's also currently in use, which probably places a limit on how fast work can be do...
Why hotdogs called “hotdogs”?	[ "These immigrants brought not only sausages to America, but dachshund dogs. The name most likely began as a joke about the Germans' small, long, thin dogs. In fact, even Germans called the frankfurter a \"little-dog\" or \"dachshund\" sausage, thus linking the word \"dog\" to their popular concoction.\n\nHot Dog Hi...
Why is paper white when trees are brown?	[ "The color of paper has to do with how it is processed at the plant and for what purpose.\n\nWhen wood arrives at a paper plant, it is first shredded up ahead of pulping. Pulping is a process by which wood is dissolved into goop and cooked until only wood pulp remains. For ordinary printer paper, this stage also in...
Modern history of Ireland, the IRA, Catholics vs. Protestants, etc.	[ "I'm British, not Irish, and I have no specific education in Irish history, but this is (very, very roughly) how I understand it. I'll try to keep it at a level roughly suitable for a 5-10 year old, but this is going to be a long story and it requires at least some understanding of politics and national identity.\n...
How does this person not die after all this?	[ "_URL_0_\n\nPeople can be incredibly resilient. No doubt he felt a bit crappy for a while afterwards. Provided he didn't overstretch his stomach, he's just got one hell of a bowel movement waiting down the line." ]
why does eating certain foods after a heavy night of drinking help prevent a hangover?	[ "Fatty foods especially will help because fat, a complex molecule that takes longer to digest than carbs or protein, keeps your duodenal sphincter closed off for longer, which keeps the alcohol in your stomach longer. This helps because the enzymes that help your body neutralize alcohol are pretty much exclusively ...
What's the difference between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam, and why is there so much hostility between them?	[ "The Shiite group believes that only descendants of Muhammed should be leaders in/of the religion. The Sunni group believes that \"good\" (\"good\" meaning following the Quran and doing their religious duties well, etc.) should be the elected leaders in/of the religion. That's the main difference between the two, h...
How does Google keep their map updated?	[ "There are a lot of sources that Google can pull from, and obviously they don't really disclose all of them. They own Waze so a lot of the closure data is sourced from the users submitting real time info there. Users running Maps on mobile devices or in Android Auto that are still opted in to data sharing will al...
Oracle v. Google Law Suit	[ "Oracle bought a company called Sun. Sun had developed a programming language called Java. Google had introduced an operating system for mobile phones called Andorid. Android is built on top of a variant of Java. Android started to become very valuable and Oracle wanted to get some of that money. Oracle claimed tha...
Can a substances toxicity be determined by its chemical structure?	[ "Yes and no. \n\nIf you were to give a PhD in human toxicology a brand new molecule they'd never seen before and asked them \"could this be harmful to a human\", they could probably make a fairly educated guess. They may have to ask some qualifying questions first, like:\n\n* How much of it?\n* What form is it in? ...
Why is the air blown from a fan cooler then the air in the room it occupies?	[ "It isn't. You feel cooler, for two reasons: (a) it blows away the thin layer of air around your body that has been warmed by your body heat and (b) it increases evaporation from your skin, which cools you off." ]
Workers Comp	[ "If you are actually injured while doing your job your employer has paid into an insurance fund that is either a government run program or privately funded. The company I work for is \"Self Insured\" and if someone is injured our specific store has a fine of up to $32,000 (depending on circumstance) deducted from o...
In quantum physics, how does witnessing (or observing) something cause you interfere with it?	[ "\"Observed\" in science doesn't necessarily mean \"seen,\" but it can also mean measured. Often times, trying to take a measurement of something means that you have to interact with it. On a larger scale, it's like putting a temperature probe in a glass of water. Unless the probe was the exact temperature as th...
on a flight I was on today, the pikot asked all passengers to shut their phone off, not just airplane mode but completely off, for the "specific type of landing necessary." What type of landing was this? Why was shutting phones off requested?	[ "Was it foggy? It might have been an auto-land, which requires more protection than other approaches (there's a bigger area on the ground which must be kept clear of vehicles and other aircraft).\n\nIf it wasn't foggy, then it was probably just a way of getting your attention and making it more likely you'd turn ev...
Why don't dogs have a belly button?	[ "They do - but they are usually much smaller than human navels, and usually hidden by fur.", "I am going to explain it to you like I would to my 5yo.. Dogs do have belly buttons. They are just not like people belly buttons because doggies are much different. That's just how nature made it.", "Every single mamma...
Can someone explain Post-Modernism like I'm 5, please?	[ "What does it even matter? Nothing has any meaning anyhow. Even the meaning we project on things is a construct of the mind and the only thing that is worthy of attention is the richness of the individual experience, each of which differs from every other.", "Postmodernism is what follows modernism, and perhaps...
Why is deep frying so much faster than baking?	[ "Heat transfers faster through liquids then through gasses. You can be in a sauna without any harm to your body, but if you get covered with boiling water for a few minuites you at best will be covered in scar tissue and in pain for the rest of your life.", "Hot oil carries much more energy than hot air, and that...
the positive and negative effects of the privatization of Medicare.	[ "It's hard to imagine something that would impact today's seniors.\n\nFuture seniors (today's young people) might have an option (or get forced) to get their Medicare benefits from a private insurance company. That company would get a cut of the taxes that fund Medicare in exchange for providing coverage for a chu...
why does the outlier exist in many languages that the number 11-19 follow a different pattern of construction that doesn't fall in line with 21-29, 31-39 and etc?	[ "> Like 11-19 aren't said Onety-one, onety-two, onety-three and so forth\n\n11-19 do follow the same pattern of construction, it's just the order that isn't quite the same. The suffix '-teen' comes from the same etymological root as 'ten'; 'teen' means 'ten'. 'Thirteen' quite literally just means \"three (and) te...
What does the 'plastic' mean in "plastic surgery"?	[ "\"Rhinoplasty\" from the greek rhis: nose & plassein: to shape", "Plastic in general means \"moldable\". Nowadays it's mostly used for materials made from certain organic molecules, but there are a few cases (plastic explosives being another) where the old general meaning still applies." ]
How can Obama unilaterally change a law	[ "The law actually allows insurers to continue offering some plans as long as they aren't changed. And those that are changed can be kept for another year (til 2015). But most insurers are just cancelling plans instead of extending them for another year to simplify their own process.\n\nBut he can't \"change a law...
What would happen if you blocked the little equalizing hole in airplane windows?	[ "A small crack could develop in the inner pane, which was not designed to handle the pressure load. (The outer pane is supposed to.) But probably not even that." ]
What exactly is buying debt, and how did Occupy Wall Street just do it?	[ "Say I have a deadbeat friend who owes me $300 for rent money. He keeps saying he's gonna pay me, but he never does. After a while, I sort of give up on the idea that he'll ever pay me back for the full amount. I consider that $300 to be \"bad debt,\" as in a debt that will never actually get paid. For all intents ...
Why aren't there ever any windows at bowling alleys or casinos?	[ "Bowling alley: the ones windowless I know are underground, plus I think it reduces noise. Casinos, that's actually funny and sad. Imagine yourself immerse in a game, you won't be looking at your watch or phone. So, how do you know it's already night? If you have a window you'll see the light contrast. However, ins...
safe to eat raw chicken.	[ "Most meat is fairly sterile immediately after slaughter, but the slaughter environment quickly taints the meat. Beef slaughter is not quite as dirty because you get so much off a single animal that you can afford some overhead. Chickens are notoriously dirty animals ( I own 20). And worse they are omnivores. Whi...
Negative effects of raising the U.S. minimum wage?	[ "When labor costs go up costs for everything goes up. This is called inflation. You can raise minimum wage all you want, at the end of the day there are only so many resources on earth. A maximum wage would be more effective. It would also be un-American. Our society is based on capitalism. If you want to make more...
Please explain to me the mythos created by HP Lovecraft	[ "The point of Cthulhu and the rest of Love craft works is about the fear of the unknown. Nothing is ever fully explained which is kind of the point.\n\nI would suggest getting a hold of the penguin publication \"Call of Cthulu and other weird stories\". Because the stories were written at the turn of the century it...
Why can't shows like NCIS, Law and Order SVU, and Criminal Minds reference real world things?	[ "Either to avoid it looking like a paid product placement, or to avoid the owner of the trademark complaining or even suing.\n\nFor example, if a show revolves around a terrorist attack which was organized by the terrorists using, say, WhatsApp, then the makers of WhatsApp might not be too happy about their tradema...
What causes random hairs to grow so long and fast overnight and that are not normal hair color.	[ "I know that in women it's sometimes hormones. I am not hairy in any way shape or form but when I was pregnant I had a super fine blonde strand of hair on my cheek. It never came back but I was obsessed about it. Hopefully someone has a better answer because I want to know as well!" ]
Why does a cat seemingly "turn off" when the back of their neck is pinched?	[ "It's instinct. Mother cats will use the skin on the back of a kitten's neck to carry it (in her teeth) if she needs to move it. Cats instinctually go limp when this happens (which prevents it from potentially hurting one cat or the other), and you're triggering that same instinctual response when you grab a cat th...
Why do dogs, with their amazing sense of smell, choose butts, old socks, and urine to smell?	[ "It's not just a unique smell or marking territory. Specifically for butts, in other dogs there is a little gland there right near the anus that secretes the unique odors they use to identify each other. That is why they specifically smell in that area on other dogs. As for humans, they do it because that's how the...

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