Split (3)

train · 273k rows

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How does constantly mixing cement keep it from turning into stone?	[ "As pointed out before, it doesn't, however it does prolong the process.\n\nCement solidifies by basically turning itself (a paste of very specific particles and water) into a crystal. The particles pretty much combine with the water to form nice hard crystals (so saying you're waiting for the cement to \"dry-out\"...
How the hell does life insurance work?	[ "Source: I work for a life insurer in Australia (so am commenting on how life insurance works in Australia. I assume it would be similar globally).\n\nShort version:\nLife insurance expires so insurance companies do not pay out on every individual. For most insurers, this is generally between 65 and 70. Therefor...
Can any one explain r-value of insulation, like what I'd lose if I used R-19 instead of R21?	[ "The R-value describes how good the isolation is. \n\nThe formula is (T1-T2)/R*surface area = amount of heat lost per hour.\n\nFrom that, we can conclude that R-21 let's through about 10% less heat than R-19.", "Heat will leak out of your house at a certain rate with R-19 insulation when it's 19° colder outside. ...
How is the brain able to create images while reading that make it feel like I'm watching a movie?	[ "I'm no expert, but I would say it is because the writer uses words to describe things you've already seen in real life. For example, when I say mountain you start to think about a mountain in pictures, because you've seen a mountain and knows what it looks like. But if I were to say mountain to a person whom never...
what is the difference between Porter, Lager, Ale, Pale Ale, and what does the darkness of the color signify?	[ "Beer is made of a few things: Water, Yeast, a Grain (such as wheat or oats), and Hops.\n\nGenerally speaking, there's two kinds of beer: Ales and Lagers. Ales are brewed warm (ish) and their type of yeast floats to the top of the brew tanks. Lagers are brewed cold (ish) and their type of yeast sinks to the bottom....
Why and how do fungus grow on your body?	[ "It grows like it would any other place, with a dark and damp environment generally. Make sure to fully dry your ass and toes ladies and gents.\n\nAs for why it is simple, you have what it craves.", "They die by the millions from the bodies immune system, but they also multiply by the millions, and our bodies pr...
Why does Aloa Vera sting when you apply it to skin?	[ "As with many moisturizers, the probable answer is to look at all the ingredients of your lotion. Alcohol, acid, or sodium may be cause of stinging? Find a more pure formula if possible. \n\nFor minor burns & minor skin irritations, I just snip a portion of stem from an aloe vera plant and rub the inner juice rig...
Why don't bands tour and have 3+ hour shows where they play all their music?	[ "Because that would be absolutely exhausting and some of these bands are playing almost nightly during their tours.", "It's fucking exhausting to play any instrument for that length of time, even for professionals. And the biggest limiting factor is the vocalist, that kind of strain is asking for them to blow out...
Why did the Vietnam war happen?	[ "This goes way long, so bear with me.\n\nTLDR: The French created religious inequality and spawned resentment, the US mistook a nationalist revolt for a communist master plan, and then spent 20 years trying to fight popular opinion.\n\nIn the 1600s, France set up trading colonies in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Lao...
Why is not participating in the thread when coming from, say, r/bestof, important?	[ "If you come about a thread organically, or as part as a normal subscriber to a community, there is no issue.\n\nBut sometimes when some threads from one community are crosslinked to another, that can result in a group of people from the latter suddenly flooding to the former when they: A) are not otherwise involve...
Why so many prescription drugs lower your risk to fight infections	[ "Some diseases are caused by your immune system attacking your own body. The pills to treat these diseases weaken your immune system so it will cause less damage to your own body." ]
In terms of computer science, what exactly happens when malware is quarantined?	[ "It's moved out of its original directory structure and renamed, so attempts by external software to call/access that file result in failure. Also, software checks are put in place to specifically prevent that file from being executed or loaded into memory.", "Though different methods are applied, what usually ha...
Why do U.S. Supreme Court Justices keep such long appointments, often until they die?	[ "The reason Justices are appointed (or given the job) for life is to remove the possibility of undue influence over them by the executive (the President) or others. If a President were able to \"fire\" a justice, the Justices might make judgements that are biased based on their desire to keep their job. Many supr...
How does the Self Clean function on ovens work?	[ "It burns all the residue into ashes with very high temperatures, which usually reach the border of 4-digits in Fahrenheit. At this point, the ashes can be blown away. However, as many people will say so, the heat will destroy the oven quickly. The heat will completely ruin the coil, since it can't withstand the he...
Why has space flight advanced so slowly since the 1960's. Why don't we have a reusable rocket yet even though its been 50 years.	[ "At its post-1970 peak NASA's budget was half of what it was when the Apollo program was in full swing. It's less than that now. Most other space programs either didn't exist until the last 10-20 years, or more often existed but relied quite exclusively on the USSR/Russia or the USA to provide launch vehicles.\n\nA...
If a person is overweight, why isn't the body's 1st choice to use stored fat for energy, when it is hungry?	[ "Think of storing fat like building a battery. Would you plug a machine in in your basement that builds batteries and then put those batteries in each light fixture around your house you wanted to turn on? Why not?\n\n1. It'd be inefficient -- why convert AC power to battery to AC power would losing a little pow...
Is it realistically possible to save endangered species or is the planet definitely going to lose turtles, whales, sharks, elephants and many other endangered animals? What's stopping efforts to save them?	[ "It depends a great deal on the species. \nAs a few examples of highly recognizable success stories: \n \nThe American alligator was nearly extinct before it was listed as endangered. \nNow there are more than 5 million. \n \nThe bald eagle was reduced to around 450 mating pairs. \nNow it's ar...
How does an explorer know if he discovered a new animal species?	[ "The explorer, or whoever, sends them off to a museum, usually who compare them to other similar species; either in books, or other images, or the museums specimen collection (dead animals, bugs, plants, etc in jars of formeldahyde, or on pinboards, etc).\n\nThey try to narrow it down to a family or genus, and if i...
Why are the Beatles now treated like legends, when back then, they were seen as just some boy-band fad, soon to dissappear?	[ "That is not a fair likeness. While they might be considered such a phenomenon, what they are great by is that they took music and made something entirely new with it. It was simply new and scary and exciting as they released their albums. \n\nDouglas Adams, an outspoken fan of Beatles as he was, once said that whe...
We've just flown past Pluto and we're entering the age of the driverless car. Why hasn't air travel changed since the 1960's?	[ "Air travel has changed quite a bit in the last 50 years. We have much bigger jets than the 737 of the 60s, not to mention advances in avionics and, speaking of the driveless car, autopilot." ]
How does squinting eyes change this image?	[ "High and lo pass filtered images superimposed on each other.\n\nWhen you squint you lose the ability to see fine detail so the lo-pass filtered image stands out as the details (high pass filter) disappear. When you are not squinting you see the detail parts stand out because the brain likes to see fine detail more...
how does someone create a coding language like C++, python, or the protocols that govern Internet traffic out of essentially nothing?	[ "assembler, or machine code.\nsimplified, you might have a 40 lines of code in assembler that only job is to [put a letter on the screen](_URL_0_). \n\nnow that you have it, you can make an alias for that program, call it print for example.\n\nprint \"hello world\"\n\nthis uses the assembler program you cal...
Why does most body hair eventually stop growing if I leave it alone, but continues growing if I shave or trim? Also why doesn't the hair growing out of my head stop growing if I were to leave it alone as well?	[ "All hair has a terminal length and grows in a cycle. The hair will grow, stay at terminal length for a time, fall out, and a new hair will grow in its place. \n\nBody hair's terminal length is shorter than that of armpit or pubic hair, which is shorter than beard hair on men, which is shorter that head hair for bo...
Why is it that I don't have to pee, but then suddenly my bladder is about to explode?	[ "The bladder wall is made out of muscle which has waves of contractions just like your gut. These waves appear and disappear which may give you the feeling of urgency (feeling of wanting to let go). This should not normally happen unless you are holding your urine on purpose. The usual feeling of bladder fullness i...
Since purple does not exist - When something is purple, what color is it?	[ "Purple does exist, but only in your eye. Purple is what your brain tells you you're seeing when the eye receives both blue and red light at the same time.", "Colors do not work the way you think. White light is a mix of all wavelengths. Your eye cares about three particular groups of colors, red, blue, and green...
Why does getting hit in the head knock you out? I understand the force causing damage but why does the system shut down for non critical damage. Seems a design flaw when you're in a tight spot. Do all other mammals as well? Lizards? Insects?	[ "In many cases it's a consequence of the processes triggered by the trauma, a contusion will start a sweeping process which will increase intracranial pressure which in turn will compress blood vessels and reduce blood supply to the brain. The poor oxygen delivery in this case leads to dizziness, disorientation ...
Why does hold music over the phone sound so bad?	[ "Being specifically designed with speech in mind, the audio codec used to transmit audio over the phone is not suited for music. \n\nIt will perform fairly well in the human voice frequency range (100-300 Hz) and horribly bad outside of it.\n\nIf you hold your phone against a speaker you won’t get much better of an...
Neutral and Ground	[ "> Does the neutral and ground go to the same place?\n\nOftentimes, yes. And yes it can literally be the ground.\n\n > If so would it be bad news bears to connect your fan with just the hot and ground wires and skip the neutral altogether?\n\nMaybe, maybe not. You wouldn't want to do that if the exterior of the f...
How to set up an IRA	[ "Call Vanguard. They have low fees. And that's a huge difference in retirement accounts. \n\nIt's as easy as opening that Ameritrade account. If you already have a work retirement saving account like a 401(k) you might not be able to contribute to it, though. \n\nYou didn't ask, but...\n\nThere are two types of I...
Explain the Red Scare after WWI.	[ "So in 1917, there was the Bolshevik Revolution, and Lenin came to power in Russia. What this means in the United States is that Communism (or the bastardized political form) has some legitimacy. This is a serious problem for American politicians because it means that:\n\na) they could lose power, and \n\nb) more...
What happens when I get a random twitch/flinch?	[ "Essentially, its the result of phantom nerve signals that don't come from your brain. Something in the electrical system of the nerve responsible for one small bundle of muscle fibers goes haywire, and the nerve fires without being prompted. Most often some kind of local electrolyte imbalance is to blame (whole bo...
What was the "Reagan Era" and why do people consider it to be such a great time?	[ "The Reagan Era is basically when Ronald Reagan was president, from 1980 thru 1988 and was typified by the rise of social & religious conservatism in the Republican party based on a Christian platform.\n\nBy the mid-70s the U.S. had seen a lot of gains by secular (non-religious) groups in areas like women's right...
Why do most bipedal robots always keep their knees bent a bit when standing?	[ "I'm still an industrial electronics student but if I had to guess I would say that it is because when engineers program robots they are given a \"home position\" that the robot stays in. In this case the home position is the one that best allows the robot to react to varying conditions. Like if the robot were to ...
Why is the oil price is not going up over the years when it is limited resource	[ "General market laws of supply and demand.\n\nCurrently there is more supply due (at least in part) to the slowdown of the Chinese economy and the fact that [OPEC](_URL_0_) is pumping huge supplies of oil onto the world market. OPEC have demonstrated in the past that they have a very strong influence on oil prices...
The specs of a PC	[ "RAM: short-term memory. The more of this you have, the more stuff your computer can keep running at a time before getting sluggish. More tabs open, more applications running.\n\nHard Drive/Solid State Drive: long-term memory. The more you've got, the more stuff you can save - photos, applications, videos, document...
What is Marxism and how much does it differ from America's current system	[ "Marxism is a revolutionary form of socialism. No, I do not mean revolutionary as in \"new and different\" (Marx wrote his manifesto well over a hundred years ago), but as in \"it calls for violent revolution.\"\n\nMarxism is not simply an economic policy, but a philosophical one on human nature, a political one, a...
The Club Atmosphere	[ "Taking off your shirt, painting your face and body in a bright primary color and yelling at the top of your lungs will get you thrown out of any church, restaurant, doctor's office or shopping mall.\n\nBut you'd fit right in at a football game.\n\nBehaviors and customs are contextualized. Things that are entirely ...
How exactly does computer hacking work?	[ "In real life hacking there are two main phases, discovery of a weakness, and then exploiting that weakness. \n\nThe discovery phase involves researching how computer systems work and trying to find ways to interact with them that weren't intended. An example would be going to a site and experimenting with inputti...
Why does carbon dating work with man made objects?	[ "The issue is that, in the areas where carbon dating is effective, it's not telling you when the spear was fashioned, but when the thing the spear was fashioned out of died. \n\nA good analogy for carbon dating would be this: Imagine you come across a dead body. You want to know how long it's been dead, but there'...
Why bands perform with heaps of amps/speakers on stage instead of connecting to the venues PA system.	[ "My band uses both our own towers and the venue PA system:\n\nThe speakers (or rather, monitors) that are in front of us are used to hear ourselves play, in case our in-ear monitoring system fails. \n\nOptically and audibly, this constellation is a win/win situation, (but of course only if our system and the venu...
Why do tires on a car have air in them? Why not have them made out of solid rubber?	[ "Rubber compresses yes, but not as much as air. Very early cars had solid rubber tyres and the ride was very bumpy (albeit combined with very primative suspension). Also the solid rubber tires would \"bounce\" like a rubber ball, not ideal. Air inside tires however acts like a shock absorber... then once the tire...
Ketosis vs. Glycosis and how they both work.	[ "Ketogenic dieter here. I'll try to present both sides as objectively as I can. I will start off by saying that cutting carbs is not necessary for losing weight. Eating at a caloric deficit is, that is to burn more calories than you consume. Calories primarily come from four sources: Fat, protein, carbohydrates, an...
How do metals such as copper and zinc get into foods we pick from the ground?	[ "So most metals when found in nature are in some sort of salt. You know how you need ores to get iron, ore is basically the salt with oxygen, where copper gets into the plant in -probably- nitrate form. Basically they get another ion and then get dissolved into the ground water, where the plants pick them up." ]
Is water pressure from depth a "directional" force and therefore a downward force? Can it be alleviated? (illustrations included)	[ "Water pressure, just like air pressure, pushes in from all around, not just from above. Neither of those diagrams will alleviate the water pressure felt." ]
William Yeats Gyre	[ "Disclaimer: I am not an expert on Yeats; I just wrote a paper about one of his poems once.\n\nYeats believed that history was cyclical, with cataclysmic events roughly every 2000 years. IIRC, he thought that \"softer\" or \"Christian\" ages alternated with \"rougher\" or \"non-Christian\" ages. For example, the bi...
How does Ticketmaster get away with charging such insane fees? Why do they do this?	[ "> How does Ticketmaster get away with charging such insane fees?\n\nTicketmaster gets away with charging insane fees because there is no law that regulates how they price their product. The only way the government can interfere in pricing or a business model is if it becomes a monopoly but that's a whole different...
LI5: Could you explain to me what linux is and why it's so different from Windows or Mac OS	[ "Pretend that linux, windows, and mac are toy lego cars.\n\nThe windows car comes with all the pieces you need, and a standard set of instructions. It's pretty easy to put together, doesn't cost too much, and is really popular (you can easily get someone else to make a windows car for you). Because it is so...
Why does our stomach and or intestines dont eat itself?	[ "Our intestines have muscosals on the inside. That's a kind of slime between the stomach and the acid.\n\nSide-fact: When you die, the muscosals can't be regenerated, and then you \"eat\" yourself. (The acid dissolves you)" ]
Why do girls tend to have good handwriting and guys tend to have bad handwriting?	[ "Girls develop their fine motor skills earlier than boys, and it happens to coincide with the typical age around which children learn to write." ]
Why the sudden excitement after the Star Wars teaser?	[ "I do believe that people are incredibly hyped due to both nostalgia and hope. This is our new hope after the prequel disaster.", "Some people were having low expectations and are still catious, other are die-hard fans and will be excited about every single piece about new Star Wars movie. I don't think it change...
When you have two blocks, one made of metal and one made of wood, in the same room with a constant temperature, why does the metal block feel colder to the touch?	[ "The answer is difference in thermal conductivity ie how good a material is at conduct heat.\n\nHumans can't feel what the absolute temperature is of a object we touch but instead we sense the temperature change on our skin. So what we thing is a hot object is one that transfer a lot of heat to our skin per unit o...
Why are rest stops built with one on each side of a highway/interstate rather than one build in the middle?	[ "They are in the median in some places. The left exit and entry is problematic for slower vehicles/drivers. \n\nSpeaking of slow drivers, if you circle around looking for an open parking spot, eat, pee, and get gas, your internal compass may get confused and you could enter the highway going in the opposite directi...
why can't 32 bit or 64 bit Windows run 16 but apps?	[ "The difference isn't so much in the \"number of bits\", but rather in the fact that 16 bit apps are old and are designed for an entirely different runtime and file format and they require a completely different set of dependencies. They're now known as \"16 bit\", but the reality is the operating system's kernel w...
The sound barrier, and how you "break it"	[ "We're used to air behaving a certain way as we move through it. It flows out of the way as we move. However, it can only flow so quickly, and at a certain speed its ability to flow basically stops, and that's the speed of sound. \n\nAs you get closer to that speed, the air can't get out of your way quickly enough,...
Does putting a chair under a round door handle really stop it from being opened?	[ "Yes it works. The objective of putting the change under a round door handle is not to prevent the handle from being able to be turned it its to prevent the door from being opened by way of 'wedging' the door closed.\n\n\nSee [here](_URL_0_)", "Has nothing to do with turning the handle, more like a wedge to preve...
Why do things sound deeper when in slow motion?	[ "Pitch is determined by frequency. So higher pitch equals higher frequency and lower pitch equals lower frequency. Basically, if you capture sound at regular speed and slow it down, you are also slowing down the frequency of the tone.", "Pitch is determined by frequency. Imagine a sound wave with many hills and v...
what speed do nerve signals travel at? And do giant whales have a delay since they are huge?	[ "The speed is affected by a lot of factors such as age and gender. The impulse has to travel along the axons. Some axons can vary in diameter and can be more or less myelinated (think of it as rubber around an electric wire). There are a lot of types of fibers. The nerve signal can travel from 0.5 to 120 m/s (more ...
Speed limits	[ "Road structure, distance between intersections, visibility, and number of lanes. These are just a few factors that go into determining the speed limit." ]
Since the first quantum computer has already been built... what exactly does it do and why is it considered a paradigm shift? I understand that it uses quantum mechanics but I don't get it at all..	[ "First, a practical quantum computer has not been built. Scientists have made some in labs with a small number of qubits(the quantum version of bits), but those are not good enough to be useful. A company called dwave has claimed to built a quantum computer with a large number of qubits but their claim has been hea...
why do you become sexually attracted to someone once you develop feelings for them?	[ "Part of developing feelings for someone is caring about their needs and wants. If they want to have sex with you then fulfilling that need is making them happy. Of course you are allowed to enjoy it too. \n\nWhen you really want to have sex with them and they really want to have sex with you then you are providing...
Why do so many white, western liberals and progressives defend Islam?	[ "They tend to support freedom of religion. They tend to support civil rights for minorities. Seems strange to think of them as a minority but in the US and Western countries they are.", "I'm pretty sure you're not asking this in good faith but I'll play along.\n\nWhite western liberals and progressives **do not s...
Why do businesses store my credit card number, and why can't I opt out?	[ "Depending on the store, several factors are at play. Some of the reasons:\n\n1. Convenience - For instance, if you buy stuff from Best Buy, you don't need to store your receipts as long as you have the card you used for the purchase. This one time, I bought a camera in Phoenix and was browsing through a store i...
What's going on with Russia and Syria right now and how does it affect the rest of the world?	[ "Russia is allies with Syrian leader, Assad, due to a navy base there. Russia claims to enter Syria to fight ISIS but it appears they may have attacked Syrian Rebels that oppose both ISIS and Assad, Rebels that America is backing financially and with training, risking a proxy war with USA.\n\nEdit - to further clar...
Baseball: From pitch to hits	[ "**If a pitcher is throwing 98mph and the batter makes perfect contact (plus his strength index) the ball will be traveling close to 105mph. That lower speed or what some people would think is too low of a speed is due to the wooden bats used. If the MLB players used aluminum bats the ball would be traveling at nea...
The Visual Acuity AKA 20/20 system	[ "This is the way it was explained to me (And I may need to go check my facts). \nImagine someone is standing 20 feet away from a wall. Someone with 20/20 vision will be able to clearly read text written in letters that are 20 inches tall. 20/40 would be someone who needs text 40 inches all.\n\nEDIT:\nI was in...
Why is it considered immoral to outsource labor to workers in countries willing to work for very little money?	[ "Usually it's the working conditions that people are protesting. Factories in developing countries with little regulation and workers' rights can be downright abysmal to work in. They're not called \"sweatshops\" for nothing.\n\nIn addition to poor working conditions is also worker safety. A man might lose an arm o...
In simple terms, what does the mathematical constant "e" mean?	[ "e is special because of what happens when you take it to some exponent. Namely, if you graph y=e^x . [Here is a reference](_URL_0_). It's special because, at every point on that line, the slope of the graph is exactly equal to the y value of the graph. At y=1, y'=1. At y=2, y'=2. Turns out, that symmetry is very u...
Why are certain credit cards not accepted by certain buisinesses	[ "Very simply: every credit card company requires the business to \"subscribe\" to their service. The subscription lets the business accept that particular credit card.\n\nUnlike a magazine or MMO subscription, however, there's a charge per transaction (MasterCard, for instance, may charge 2.75% of the transacti...
How do people become addicted to smoking cigarettes when it is so awful the first few times?	[ "For many people, smoking isn't about cigarettes, but rather about a little social club you get to hang out with outside every few hours. \n\nIt's not always bad the first time. I liked the cigarettes the first time I smoked one. It just felt right, and the feeling of hot smoke in my lungs was pleasant. I only ...
Why do some games have huge modding communities (Minecraft, Skyrim), whereas others have none at all?	[ "Some games are easier to mod than others. Most have no official modding tools, unlike games like Skyrim or Valve games." ]
Can someone please explain LI5 what redshift is?	[ "Chris and Bob are playing with a slinky together. They're a little odd, so the best thing they can think of is to have each of them hold one end, and have Bob run away from Chris while he is standing still. The two notice that the slinky stretches out when Bob does this. A bit later, they decide to have Bob run to...
The concept of 'squatting' in a home that isn't yours and why it's so difficult to remove squatters from the premises in certain places. What stops people from kicking in the door to residence they own and throwing squatters out?	[ "Could be a number of reasons:\n\nThe owner of building is not aware of the squatters, or simply doesn't care. Remember, the owner of the building may be some nameless overseas corporation. Or, a rundown building is scheduled for demolition sometime next year. Do you think the owner cares what happens to the buildi...
Why do some people scream when they sneeze?	[ "Could be cultural ties. Even the way people sneeze is influenced. Culturally and ethnically. That's not the be all, end all reasoning... But it definitely influences it.", "It has to do with how much air is in your lungs when you sneeze. As a child I would sneeze uncontrollably loud, to the point where I would ...
How do people invest in stocks without going through a broker or brokerage firm?	[ "Do you mean just like \"how\"? I used Robinhood (iOS app). If you mean figuring out what stocks to buy - that's a personal choice, but there are tons of resources online." ]
Why do i always feel a bigger need to smoke when i drink alcohol? Is it purely the social part of smoking, or are there in fact other factors which are to blame?	[ "I think it's just being intoxicated in general. Why are you more hungry/horny/outgoing etc... when you're drunk? It's just easier to give in to your desires, whatever they may be." ]
Syrian Refugees are being housed in Fresno county (Central California). How are the crazies separated from the real refugees? Is there a screening process or something they have to go through? Very curious how the refugee thing works.	[ "Refugees have to be refereed either by the UN or from the individual Embassies overseas. Then they are screened and interviewed by officials from DHS and specifically Citizenship and Immigration Services, with cooperation from the Intelligence Community, and domestic and international law enforcement to spot eithe...
if muscles can work anaerobically, why do we need to breathe oxygen, on a biological level?	[ "Without oxygen we would lose about 94% of our capacity to convert glucose to energy usable for our body. It generally doesn't take too long for this to become a problem.", "The metabolism of sugar involves three steps, the first splitting up the sugar into two parts and producing some energy, and the second one ...
Why do we get to decide if Iran is allowed to make nuclear weapons?	[ "Iran is a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and has therefore agreed to not build nuclear weapons. \n\nSource:\n_URL_0_", "International relations is not about fairness. Its about various actors each trying to get what they believe is best for themselves done. Quite a few actors, including powerful on...
History of Reddit	[ "It sounds like you're wanting to look at _URL_0_." ]
Why did Canada get rid of the penny?	[ "Canada got rid of the penny because the penny costs more to make than it's worth. \n\nA good video: [Canada gets rid of the penny](_URL_0_)\n\nEdit: put in the right link", "Because it's not necessary, and stopping the manufacture and distribution saved the Crown a lot of money. We just round prices up or down a...
Is there a mechanical reason fan switches often go from off to full power, and then down? (Ordered "0,3,2,1" on the switch)	[ "Although the other answers may have some truth to them, one of the big reasons for this is that any electric motor will have a \"startup current\" that's much higher than the normal operating current. When the motor is physically rotating at a different speed than its electricity makes it \"want\" to rotate, it so...
Why does glue not harden when it's in the container, but harden when it is poured out?	[ "Glue only hardens when it is exposed to air, and the water inside it (which is what makes it fluid) evaporates.", "When glue is in a container, it's sealed from most air, but when released, gases are able to start diffusing in/out, which may be what causes the glue to cure." ]
If memories are so susceptible to change over time, how can I be sure an event that I remember actually happened?	[ "supporting evidence. Other people agree it happened, there are photos, diaries, souvenirs. There are lots of reasons to be trust your memories." ]
Why does it feel better to have feet elevated when you sit?	[ "Your feet take a lot of wear and tear, and are often in tight shoes and socks. Elevating them on a footstool repositions them so they're off the ground and not at the very bottom of your entire bloodstream's contents. It takes a little bit of the pressure off of them, meanwhile flexing the knees a bit so they're n...
What actually causes graphical artifact in a video game?	[ "What kind of artifact? Different graphic glitches can be caused by different things" ]
Does having a larger penis increase the likelihood of conception?	[ "No, just like a longer needle doesn't increase the effectiveness of a vaccine. As long as it's sufficient for injecting the genetic material in the correct hole, that's all that matters.", "Nope. The vaginal tube is only about 6-8\" in length, the only thing longer than average does is make it potentially painf...
Why are Computer Malware so obvious to detect for the victim?	[ "Some malware is obviously visible, like changing your browser's homepage to some ad-riddled horror show. Many casual computer users won't know what to do, so they'll just let it slide, and use the bloated crapshoot as their homepage, making the malware people advertisement money.\n\nHowever, just because you can s...
How does the on field screen work during the Superbowl halftime show?	[ "While I could be quite wrong, I am fairly certain that it works something like this:\nDuring the game, you'll notice that they put images onto the field, such as a marker indicating who has the ball, and the line they must cross before the end of the 4th down (Football is not my forte, so please excuse me if my te...
- Why some occupation titles have genders and some don't?	[ "It's because we've been slowly winnowing the gendered occupations out of English. \"Author\" is a good example -- until probably the early 20th century, the word \"authoress\" was used to refer to a woman, but that dropped out of fashion.\n\nThe same thing is happening with \"actress,\" and you can see the term \"...
Is there an evolutionary benefit for men having beards other than helping with the ladies?	[ "They actually have a surprising benefit if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the cold. At least for me, I shaved off about six months of beard growth in the middle of this winter, and my face felt much, much colder.\n\nIt's not a huge benefit, but it was the difference between having to wear a scarf or not.", ...
Difference Between Heat and Temperature	[ "You can think of temperature as being similar to the level of water in a bucket, and heat as being the actual amount of water in a bucket.\n\nIf you have two buckets, they might both be filled five inches deep with water. But if one bucket is much wider, that five inches represents a lot more water in the big buck...
Before college became a requirement for many jobs, how did employers screen and filter out candidates?	[ "Basically before the late 90s you got a job by 'knowing a guy'\n\nMost older people (over 50) you meet, if you ask them how they got into their career the story will start \"I knew this guy...\"", "Before the advent of the internet, it wasn't as common for employers to get bombarded with completely unqualified c...
When you have anxiety, why does your body feel weak or even have pain in your chest?	[ "Anxiety is not just mental, it also causes the \"fight or flight\" effect. In essence your body prepares to run/fight an entity, this involves increased or erratic heart rate and other associated factors. This leads to the chest pain from your heart and lungs prepping for but not being used, kinda like redlining a...
How does a phone's (specifically an IPhone) cooling system work? Since it's a smaller computer, is it essentially the same?	[ "Phones are designed to utilize passive cooling only. That being, they do not generate enough heat through standard operation to require a fan. This is due to the size, power, and space required for fans and various failure points introduced by them - and also any CPU that generated enough heat to require active co...
What happens to me if my province goes bankrupt?	[ "It means that the province won't pay back some of its debts/obligations. That can take many forms. For example, people own government bonds. It's basically an IOU that they bought. The government sold an IOU for $100 that they'd pay back $120 on some date, for example. That might not get paid in full or at al...
How does a plunger work?	[ "The plunger is bell shaped....so when you put it into the toilet, you are pushing a pocket of air down with it. When you compress the plunger, the air is pushed against the clog, and with enough pressure it can dislodge the clog and get it moving. Try blowing out your mouth with your lips pressed together...it's ...
Why does American use a Presidential system, rather than a Parliamentary one?	[ "Because we divide our government into separate branches and use them to limit the other branches. In a parliamentary system the legislative and executive branches are fused into one, which gives it more power, and in most parliamentary systems the judicial branch is partially fused as with it as well giving it eve...
Why is getting gold on Reddit such a big deal?	[ "People will often use gold as a kind of super upvote. The recipient takes it as a compliment and confirmation that their post or comment was in some way more valuable to people." ]
Why I can understand people speaking to me in my dreams, but when I try to read books or notes in my dreams the words are all gibberish.	[ "In your dreams, you brain has to do double duty...it makes the world you are perceiving, and then it perceives it. Some things, like complex and consistent visual details, are harder for it to make. Sound, on the other hand, is more reactive...you hear whether you want to or not, and it is more of a reflex.", ...
Music for studying	[ "I guess it depends on you. I myself don't listen to lyrics, but people who do could be distracted by them. So listening to instrumental music may benefit their concentration. \n\nMy bet would be to not listen to music that begs for your attention all the time by using high pitched sounds and quick patterns. Your b...

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