Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
The movie American Beauty	[ "Regular message: People are happiest doing the things that make them happy, even if those things are simple or weird or unambitious. Much of modern suburban, upper-middle class life is designed to make us forget that fact, and the people most committed to keeping up appearances are in fact the least happy and most...
When my internet is super slow, why does restarting my modem/router fix it?	[ "Various different reasons cause this phenomenon.\n\nFirst and most common, when the router/modem are on for long periods of time, stored data (web addresses you have visited alongw ith tracking to make it easier to access those sites) builds up. Modems and routers have an onboard memory that stores and records dat...
what is the point of the whole "fifth world" subreddits	[ "This question might get better responses in /r/OutOfTheLoop." ]
How does Winrar get companies to pay for it when they could do exactly what we are doing?	[ "Why does anyone still use WinRAR when we could all just use 7-zip?", "WinRAR's license specifically allows you to keep trying it as long as you're merely an individual; however, if you're a company, you have to buy a license or you risk huge liability if caught, and since the software is so consistent in nagging...
When Windows first loads and everything is going extremely slowly for several minutes but task manager doesn't show anything taking up much CPU or RAM, what the hell is it doing?	[ "Look at your I/O (Disk usage), most of the time, that is what is slowing down your windows startup the most. \n\nThat's why so many people buy SSDs, they are much faster than regular hard drives (but obviously more expensive).", "The problem is that it doesn't show anything taking up much RAM\n\nUnused RAM is wa...
How do completely deaf people know what is being said after their cochlear implant is turned on?	[ "I had a had a friend growing up that was deaf and got a cochlear implant in second grade. She was out of school for a week afterwards but once she came back she could understand everything I said extremely well. Even if she couldn't see my lips she could easily understand me. She could already speak, sign, and rea...
In this advance of Information Technology, why we still rely solely on blackbox?	[ "We don't rely solely on the black box. It is, as you suggest, a last resort.\n\nModern aircraft broadcast their position, elevation, heading, and air speed almost continuously, and this information is made available in real-time (europe) or nearly so (US).\n\nUnfortunately, in a situation where any of this is need...
What makes super powers impossible?	[ "Most super powers violate the laws of physics. That's what makes them so \"super\", and it's also what makes them impossible. If there were possible, like the James Bond or Batman stuff, they wouldn't be super powers but just cool gadgets." ]
Why do couples that are having trouble getting pregnant want a biological child so much when there are many children in need of adoption?	[ "It is the innate human drive to carry on the individuals own genetic heritage. If you adopt, you and your partners DNA is not passed to future generations. This also plays into an individuals want/need to be genetically immortal via its offspring.", "This is a complex issue, but the short answer is biology, sent...
You hear about top executives and CEOs reducing their salary to $1 a year. How is this not against minimum-wage laws? And if it isn't, why not just cut the dollar out?	[ "These wage laws do not apply to [exempt workers, only non-exempt](_URL_0_). And...cutting the dollar out _would_ raise red flags since there would be value exchange without compensation.", "Simply: the CEO is not making minimum wage. He/She is also being compensated with stock and stock options, often worth mil...
How is blood pressure measured? Why do doctors measure it? What does it tell them?	[ "Blood pressure can be measured in many ways. Most commonly we use sphygmomanometers (you may know them as \"blood pressure cuffs\"). They wrap around your bicep to measure your radial pulse. On top of using the sphygmomanometer, we use a method called ausculatory method, which basically means inflating the sphygm...
Why do people find PDA uncomfortable?	[ "Swapping mouth juices is kinda gross. Other forms of PDA are less gross, but still can be pretty gross, especially if the two people are ALL OVER each other. Also, sometimes envy or jealousy play into it. Also, sometimes certain pairings of people/genders make people uncomfortable.", "As far as I understand, it'...
Where exactly does money from paid bails go to?	[ "If you show up for your trial, you get the money back. \n\nIf you don't show up for your trial, it goes into the general fund for the courts." ]
why can't bitcoins be cheated?	[ "So... Theres a lot of questions to answer, so I'll do my best:\n\nBitcoin has value because people give it value, not a government or a country. If no one accepted dollars or euros or zimbabwean dollars, then it would lose its \"value\". If no one was willing to pay for bitcoins or accept bitcoins in exchange f...
How (if at all) would the extinction of flies and/or mosquitoes affect the course of nature?	[ "An interesting question. Like you said in the description, it would make our lives happier. \n\nFirstly, there would be no Malaria being spread by Mosquitoes in third world countries, so, going back to your original point, less people will die and therefore more people will be happy.\n\nMoving onto flies. When fli...
Is alcoholism hereditary? If so, how?	[ "Alcoholism isn't hereditary so much as there is a gene that cause one to be prone to addiction. My dad was an alcoholic I never was, but i am a recovering meth addict. I have been clean for 4 years", "Yes and no. What is hereditary is a predisposition, like with so much in genetics. It's rarely a full trait ...
Why do people tend to get colds during the winter months, but not the summer months?	[ "Not exactly the cold, but there are some theories around flu transmission. Essentially the cold weather is believed to help the virus survive longer outside the host, while the lower humidity levels often found during winter may aid in aerosol transmission. \n\nLower humidity also dries out the mucus membranes, po...
How has Magic Johnson been able to live so long with HIV?	[ "HAART therapy combines a whole load of drugs that can reduce the rate at which HIV becomes aids. They target things like how the viruses genetic material becomes DNA, it can prevent binding of the virus to human cells, it can stop viral DNA from being integrated with our DNA so the building blocks of viruses can't...
The difference between Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Life.	[ "Coca Cola uses lots of sugar, and hence has lots of calories\n\nDiet Coke replaces the sugar with sweeteners such as aspartame, which are calorie-free. Therefore the drink is calorie-free. (It actually has a couple of calories, but it's so low that the rules allow these calories to be ignored.)\n\nSome people thin...
why is there still royalty in England	[ "Just to clarify, in the UK at present, we don't have a King, we have the Queen and her consort, the prince. \n\nAs doc_daneeka touched on, the Queen has an important role, although essentially ceremonial, in our parliamentary constitutional monarchy system as the head of state. \n\nIt's not a great comparison give...
Why is CNN so widely disrespected?	[ "Because they pretend to a serious news station, yet pander to the lowest common denominator US-centric gossip masquerading as news.\n\nFor example, in 2009, there were pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran at the same time as there was a coup in Honduras. CNN gave us a week of 24/7 coverage of Michael Jackson's de...
Why do different objects release different sounds when banged or tapped on?	[ "Because different materials have different makeups, crystaline or non-crystaline structures, densities, volumes, masses and chemical makeups.\n\nSound travels through an item based on all of these objectives, and the sound that you hear from an impact varies greatly between dropping a bowling ball, and a ball-poin...
What does checking/unchecking "Treat as an alias" do in gmail?	[ "When you add an email account to your gmail, you can send and receive messages as that email address. However, this can cause some issues when sending and receiving between your Gmail account and your Alternate account:\n\n1. If you send an email to yourself (e.g. from Gmail - > Alternate), that message will show...
When our pupils dilate, where does the surrounding iris retreat to if it's outer diameter doesn't change?	[ "There is a pupillary sphincter muscle that surrounds the pupil. It is this muscle constricting or relaxing that causes the pupil to constrict or dilate. The only part of the iris that moves is the part that is involved with the muscle.", "Look at a [close-up image](_URL_0_) of an iris and you'll see that it's co...
How does the heart receives blod for its cells, I know it is a pump, and it seems inneficient to use the one it is pumping	[ "The heart pumps blood out to the aorta. From there, some of the blood actually routes back to the heart via 3 major arteries. If any of these 3 get blocked, that is a heart attack.\n\nI'm not sure what you mean by inefficient to use the one it's pumping" ]
How can scientists create measuring tools more accurate than the tools we already have? Doesn't the accuracy of new tools depend on the accuracy of the tools used to make it?	[ "There are methods for creating accurate without already having an accurate thing.\n\nLike finding the mid-point between two points. Attach a pencil to a string and attach a string to a needle that you stick at point A. As long as the string is more than half the distance to the second point, you can can draw a lar...
Why were pants mainly for men and skirts for women back in the olden days?	[ "First off, many cultures around the world don't have this distinction - men and women in skirts is normal and they wouldn't understand the fuss. For the western world, trousers came about for practical reasons - they're easier to ride horses with is a big one. Women have kept skirts and dresses as western attitude...
If 0.1 amps can be lethal to a human, then why don't I die when touching the contacts of a phone battery, which is 3.8 V and 1500-3200 mA?	[ "When you touch the contacts of a battery, the current that flows through your body is governed by [Ohms law](_URL_0_).\n\nBecause your body, and in particular your skin, has a high electrical resitance, the current that results from a 3.8 Volt potential difference is in the range of micro Amperes, which typically ...
The universe either started at one point, or has always been there. How are either possible?	[ "> Point 1 seems illogical- it begs the question \"what allowed the universe into being\"\n\nYou are approaching this from a standpoint of absolute reliance on causality. Our brains are wired and designed to think of everything in terms of cause and effect - if there is an effect then we assume there must be a cau...
How does the UN General Assembly enforce its decisions?	[ "It doesn't. The power to enforce UN resolutions belongs to the UN Security Council, and any of the 5 permanent members (US, Russia, China, UK, and France) can veto any action the security council might take.", "It doesn't. In order to take any significant action these 5 members must agree as each has veto power...
What causes internet outages?	[ "From my personal experience as an internet tech support rep, there are several things that could go wrong. It could be a hardware issue at the central office, or hardware issue in one of the internet boxes for your neighbourhood (DSLAM), it could be the wiring running to your house, copper or fiber, being broken o...
Why does the USA send billions of dollars to other countries when it's public schools are broke, healthcare is hurting, and infrastructure is crumbling?	[ "Because humanity is important as a whole. We might have crumbled roads, but some places have none.", "It doesn't. The US spends less than 1% of the national budget on foreign aid.\n\n_URL_0_" ]
What was Hitlers final goal? Was it to conquer all of Europe or just prove that Germany is a superpower not to be dealt with?	[ "More than anything, Nazi Germany wanted space, or \"living room\" (aka in German: Lebensraum which translates to living space, but living room I think is easier to understand) to expand the German culture, heritage, and power.\n\nFrom a practical perspective this meant controlling continental Europe, North Africa,...
How do ATMs always dispense the crispiest of bills? Even if the bills are years old.	[ "They can dispense nice-looking bills because that's what they are filled with. ATMs are filled with money that comes from the bank, and the banks remove worn and damaged bills from circulation.", "Because if they had old and falling apart bills it would jam, and you don't want a box full money jamming.", "Ass...
People who can see other people's aura's.	[ "Little mix of crazy, too much pot, and some scammers in the mix as well.", "The Amazing Randi has done experiments with people who claim to read auras. The best one is having the person introduced to 10 random people and describing their aura then having the people stand behind a curtain and having the person i...
Can jury nullification work the other way too? As in, is it possible for a jury to purposely convict a provingly innocent person resulting in a legal conviction?	[ "No, not in the same way. When a jury rules a man innocent despite the evidence against him, the state can't do anything about it. The Constitution protects him from being tried again for the same crime. That is what creates the institution of \"jury nullification\"--the acquittal can't be second-guessed.\n\nBut wh...
Why did the Nazis house Jews and other minorities in concentration camps instead of simply killing them?	[ "Nazis housed them for experiments as well as free labor. Many camps also contained political prisoners or intellectuals that they could exploit for information.\n\nThis also ties in with the Final Solution, by gathering these undesirables, it made it easier for the Nazi's to systematically execute all of them. The...
Why does Israel spy on the US?	[ "Everyone spies on everyone as much as they are able if they are smart.\n\nMaking decisions requires information. If you don't have correct information then you are less capable of making the right decisions. Therefore if you value making the right decisions then you must also value pursuing accurate information, e...
How come some comments change when I upvote them?	[ "I think it is because if somebody alters the comment after you've loaded the page, the moment you vote it is selectively updated by javascript in the browser in order to get the vote counted right." ]
Why do fruits and vegetables always feel cold, even when they should be room temperature?	[ "How cold things feel to the touch is a reflection of their ability to conduct heat. Items which are better heat conductors will feel colder, whereas items that don't conduct heat well, will feel less cold.\n\nPut a glass cup, a plastic cup, and a metal cup on your counter and let them all come to room temperature...
Why does a bike balance while its moving?	[ "Bikes use multiple things that keep the bike up and prevent it from going left to right a lot. The way the front wheel is build it makes the bike turn when you drop towards a side. Now the bike went from falling to turning. And while turning the centrifugal force (which is basically the forward momentum/inertia yo...
How are nuclear reactions started?	[ "More or less. Fissile material constantly emits neutrons, but when you only have a small amount of the stuff, most neutrons escape the bulk of the material before meeting another nucleus and causing another fission event. In this case, the neutron emission is only due to spontaneous fission because the material is...
What is a SmartGrid and/or MicroGrid? How are they beneficial to the public?	[ "Microgrids (usually self-sustaining) can power a small area on its own, but also generate and store electricity (usually with large batteries/wind/solar power) and then use that stored energy to pump back into the rest of the large public grid. This means less power outages and more reliable electricity.\n\nYou c...
There are always campaigns to "stop global warming". Can we actually stop global warming, or are we just delaying it?	[ "If everyone in the world was to cooperate, we absolutely could fix it. There's two things that need to happen. One is to replenish our carbon sinks which convert CO2 into oxygen. Basically this means re-planting the world's forests and cleaning up the oceans so the photosynthesizing plankton and algae can return.\...
How are diamonds made from coal?	[ "Diamonds aren't made from coal and pressure + coal does not make diamonds. \n\nThey're both made from carbon but they are completely different. They don't even form in the same types of rock. \n\nCoal is dead plants turning into sedimentary rock whereas diamonds are from igneous rock and are formed in the mantl...
Why have elephants been tamed as war animals in the ancient world but never tamed for domestic things like farming?	[ "But they have. In certain areas, such as India and SE Asia, they are routinely used for logging in mountainous terrain.\nBut they eat a whole lot, and the upkeep is prohibitively high relative to the increased power available.\n\nAnd considering their size, it is much easier for them to do a lot of damage to peopl...
Why is eugenics in general considered such a bad thing.	[ "I'm not entirely sure what you mean, if you say \"eugenics\". The problems with it seem very obvious to me, if you share my definition, which is to steer human reproduction for the \"good of a healthier society\". I think my definition more or less fits the one Wikipedia is using. _URL_0_\n\nI guess nobody would b...
How are things named?	[ "There are a lot of ways things get named. \n\n1. Take its equivalent name in another language. This is what a lot of English is. Chair's origin was from the old french \"chaiere\".\n\n2. Name it based on its function or origin. \"Fireplace\", \"compact disc\", \"computer\" are named based on their functions or app...
How do I balance a checkbook?	[ "1) Start of the month - Figure out how much money is currently in your bank account\n\n2) Through out the month - Keep track of every expense you use your bank account for (including withdrawals) \n\n3) End of the Month - Figure out what your ending balance is and return to step 1.\n\nYour checkbook is now balance...
Why are we restricted by airport customs in the amount of cash we carry?	[ "There is no such limit. Above $10,000 you have to declare it to them and fill out a form. It is to fight money laundering; same as the reporting requirements for large cash transactions at banks.", "(In the US) You must declare amounts over $10,000, because large amounts of cash are frequently associated with...
How to read a woman's measurements?	[ "Your friend is correct. \n\nA woman with a bust of 37 inch means that the measurement of their chest going across their breasts is 37 in in circumference. \n\nThe Waist is measured at the belly button (on most people) and if it is 24 that means it is 24 inches in circumference. \n\nThe hips is measured at the full...
SPOILER ALERT: Why is "50 Shades of Grey" so controversial?	[ "It's a book based on a piece of Twilight fan fiction written by a random woman with no writing ability whatsoever. \n\nIt's controversial because it displays a serious misunderstanding of S & M, consent, and healthy romantic relationships, while at the same time is directed at teen girls or younger and has the ...
How Does Vinyl Work?	[ "As the needle goes around the track it follows a little groove, as it does it moves back and forth a little bit following the path of the groove. Those little movements create a small amount of voltage commonly using a piezoelectric crystal (a material that creates an electric field when deformed), those small ch...
How does the government track people downloading illegal music?	[ "I am not aware of any evidence of any western governments tracking 'illegal' downloads. Most file-sharing is not 'illegal' in the sense of committing a crime that harms society in general (such as theft or assault). But it does breach copyright laws. Breach of copyright is a tort, a civil crime in which an in...
When it comes to the topic of birth defects, what is the difference between a congenital and a genetic condition?	[ "Genetic describes the source or cause of a condition. Congenital describes the time of onset, that is, present at (or often before) birth.\n\nNote that a congenital condition is not necessarily genetic; it could also refer to an infection, a condition caused by a vitamin deficiency (e.g. spina bifida), exposure to...
Why do I feel tired after eating greasy food?	[ "More than likely it's just the sheer amount of food that you're eating, not necessarily what it's composed of. You don't feel sluggish after eating broccoli and carrots because you aren't going to eat nearly as much.\n\nYour body just wants you to calm down for a bit while it works on digesting the giant pile of f...
Why is altitude (in regards to aircraft) still measured in feet, rather than metres?	[ "Standardisation and inertia. The whole world basically agreed to the same sets of rules and measures and even language for flying. There's no real need to go to the expense and hassle of changing it. \n\nAnd no, there's no real benefit to measuring altitude in metres instead of feet. The benefit of the metric sys...
Non HD movies now in HD	[ "Movies used to be shot on film for better quality. There is not a lot of movies that was shot in SD as even when digital cameras were available they still used film. It is just relatively recently when you have HD and 4k digital cameras that movies have started shooting digitally. So the SD movies are usually SD s...
If Netflix runs much better over VPN, why doesn't Netflix offer VPN service to their customers?	[ "If traffic is being throttled from your provider to netflix, it doesn't matter if it is VPN traffic, it will still be throttled.\n\nThe point of using a VPN is that you are getting to netflix through a remote gateway on a provider that doesn't throttle netflix." ]
Why is it that when people shorten 'transgender,' they add an asterisk to it?	[ "This is a highly educated guess, but I believe it's because an * , in computer lingo, is also a \"wild card\", meaning that it can take the place of one, or several letters. In this case, the person could be talking about transGENDER or transSEXUAL people, so they shorten it, to trans*", "Actually trans person h...
The possibility of the world's nuclear powered submarines surviving an asteroid that would end humanity.	[ "The strike, sure.\n\nThe aftermath, like the loss of all higher life on the planet, not really. Where would they resupply? Where would they get more food? They would be fine, maybe for a year, but is that really \"winning\" this scenario?", "Submariner, not an astrophysicist, but really depends on alot of th...
When people become paralyzed, why does it seem common that they retain control of their eyes and eyelids?	[ "Paralysis is the result of a \"disconnect\" between your brain and your peripheral nervous system.\n\n[Here is a rear view of your body and major nerves](_URL_0_).\n\nThe majority of paralysis cases are the result of traumatic injury to the spinal cord, which severs nerve connections.\n\nAn injury to the lower tho...
P versus NP and the effect(s) on the world that would come from it being solved	[ "Without getting into theoretical computer science too much, P is the class of problems that are \"easy\" to solve, and NP is the class of problems that may or may not be easy to solve, but are at least easy to verify. And by \"easy\" we mean that the best-known algorithm (process) for doing it scales well with th...
What advantage to companies have for focusing on short term stock gains?	[ "From the perspective of the board of directors, and the \"company itself\" the single measure of success of the company is shareholder value. In fact, a focus on _anything other than that_ is a shirking of legal responsibility of a board member.\n\nSo...thats the starting point. If your shareholders are frustrate...
what causes nail biting and why is it such a difficult habit to break?	[ "Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the chewing action of the jaw (when biting nails) releases endorphins (not sure why), which causes a positive feeling in your brain - this mainly happens when you are anxious, so your body is trying to find a way to relieve or comfort itself. It's also why some people f...
Why are boneless wings even called wings?	[ "Because you can't walk into a restaurant and order 20 pieces of \"that bomb ass shit\".", "so they can charge a whole lot more for what are effectively chicken nuggets.", "It's all part of our expanding language. First there were wings: a clever re-use of an otherwise small, bony, tendon-filled bit of chicken...
How do people "fail" to commit suicide?	[ "Gun jams, rope snaps, they land into a truck of pillows and cake, etc.", "Most failed suicides are because the method used is ineffective (like poisoning) or the person is found and fixed by hospitals before they finish dying.", "You can jump in front of a bus but somehow miraculously survive (although you'll ...
why is cursive writing the default writing style in Russia but phasing out in English?	[ "It is easier to write Cyrillic in cursive than in print. Д for example is annoying as fuck to write in print for example. Some people write in a mixed fashion with some parts cursive and some parts written.\n\nSource: Know a Cyrillic language.", "Writing in general is phasing out in America. Kids younger and yo...
why are these hot ass teachers hooking up with funny looking kids?	[ "Because they are pedophiles and mentally ill. They are turned on not by the looks of the student, but by the teacher's position of authority over the student, and the innocence, naïveté, or \"freshness\" of the sexuality of a young teen." ]
Why is everyone cautions about Salmonella, but sushi is okay?	[ "Raw fish in sushi, called sashimi, can indeed contain bacteria or parasites. To get rid of parasites, some countries have laws saying that you must freeze the fish at [253 K](_URL_0_) for many hours. Many parasites freeze to death at such low temperatures. \n\nHowever, other foods, like ground beef, often do not...
Why is noon 12PM rather than being 12AM?	[ "AM means ante meridiem or before midday. So 12am is 12 hours before midday.\n\nPM means post meridiem or after midday.", "12:00 and 12:01 have the same suffix. Since 12:01 (1 minute after noon) is \"post meridian\" then 12:00 gets the p.m. suffix as well.", "Google Define PM; PMis defined as post meridiem i...
Computer Triggers	[ "It's very likely event driven: There's a complex system in the computer kind of like a post office.\n\nThe health pack sends mail to the post office. The post office decides what order to do things (usually in order) but can pause everything if needed.\n\nIf things go smoothly the post office sends mail to the pla...
What are viruses, exactly? Why do they exist?	[ "Viruses classically fall under a couple different vague families: trojans, adware, spyware and worms. Over time, it has become harder and harder to classify a virus under any one of these families, as they've grown in complexity to the point where they often are all of these things.\n\nThe first one was written to...
What is the difference between being intelligent and being intellectual?	[ "To be an intellectual you have to be interested in certain things: art, politics, philosophy, science. Plenty of smart people don't give a hoot about those things, but interest in them tends to track with intelligence." ]
Trying to understand vitamin D. There is a LOT of conflicting information out there. How many mins in sunlight do I need per day. Does it count if it comes in the window or if I am outside but in shade? I read somewhere that it washes off??? Please enlighten me!!!	[ "I cant answer your other questions, but you cant wash away vitamins absorbed by your skin. That would require some serious osmosis, and isnt achieved by a swim or a regular bath. No science to back up my claims. Always research trusted sources.", "From WebMD (whether you trust that site or not),\n\n > Sun expos...
Why do most cartoon characters have four fingers on each hand instead of five?	[ "Easier and faster to draw, and because early animators (Disney, Warner Bros) dit it, it was adopted as the style. Some cartoons do not do this, most recently noted in the AdultSwim show \"Rick and Morty\" where characters sport all 5 normal digits.\n\n*EDIT: I accidentally a words there.", "Four fingers are eas...
How do you make/manufacture glitter?	[ "Colored foil and lots of little kids with scissors in china.", "_URL_0_\n\n\nI can't believe someone is asking this. It isn't a very interesting manufacturing process. As you wouldn't imagine cutting plastic up in to little bits is." ]
If you got to build a machine that can throw coins the same way everytime, from the same height, in a controlled space, with no wind and with milimetric precission, would the coin always land the same face?	[ "A team at Stanford did exactly that while investigating how random a coin toss is, building a machine that tossed coins so that they always landed the way they started. Put the coin in the machine heads-up and it would land as heads 100% of the time (or at least in 100% of their tests).\n\nThey also concluded that...
Is there a difference in reading from a book and reading online material? why does it appear that people who read a lot of books have a deeper knowledge than people who spend time reading online?	[ "There's not going to be one definitive answer to this question---and a lot of the difference is based on outdated stereotypes about what it means to be smart. \n\nHowever, there is an important difference between spending a lot of time reading books and spending a lot of time \"reading\" online: focus. \n\nUnless ...
Why are streaming services offering such widely different content based on the country like netflix in Sweden vs usa.	[ "Streaming services have to pay the content providers a licensing fee for each separate market (country) so it's primarily an economic decision - will they make enough money out of having that particular show, etc available in that particular market to justify the cost.\n\nBut sometimes there are local laws that mi...
Why did my black goldfish turn orange?	[ "You could've just googled it, but here's my five cents. Source: Had lots of goldfish in my garden pond when I was younger. Goldfish hatch black and turn orange during the first years of their life. Some of them are \"early\" developers and turn gold within their second year, some of them take five years, occasiona...
Why do special effects and CGI cost so much money?	[ "It's not just a program. It's the team of people needed to use those programs. Within the CG world, people tend to specialize. There are modelers, animators, texture and lighting people, compositors who put effects into footage, and so on. Each of those elements is hugely difficult and typically requires years of ...
Why don't they make 2 liter soda bottles rectangular?	[ "Storage containers for items under pressure (soda, propane), are round because the items inside are pushing outward. Corners and seams are weak points, so a round shape minimizes those places, to help prevent blowouts.", "Because it would take more plastic, it would be more expensive to make and squares are not ...
How do scratch and sniff stickers work	[ "An adhesive mixed with an ester (a chemical that can smell like various organic substances, such as strawberries) is stuck onto a piece of paper. Then, the smelly area is sprayed with an easily-scratched substance, which also blocks the scent until the smelly patch is uncovered.", "I'm a print press operator and...
Why does sleeping feel so good shortly after waking up?	[ "During sleep, a horomone called melatonin is released throughout the night to induce a relaxing sensation throughout the body. Once the body is triggered to wake up (I.e. sunlight or an alarm clock) the body stops producing melatonin. The problem is that even though melatonin is not being produced anymore, the rem...
How does cat litter work	[ "It's also conditioning. We teach them that this is where they go and since they naturally want to bury their droppings it works for everyone" ]
A presidential pardon decades after death	[ "Basically it's just to officially acknowledge that the person was innocent. It brings some justice to the family", "Well, it officially acknowledges an injustice was done. Otherwise, there will be people out there who will still be insisting that the person is guilty, I guarantee it. For example--HUGE scandal i...
Why does blood go to someone's mouth when they're stabbed? Is this a real thing that happens?	[ "Well if they are stabbed in the lung it would fill with blood and they would be forced to cough it up, same if their intestines were punctured blood would eventually make it to the mouth" ]
How can American Airlines file for bankruptcy but continue to buy brand new planes?	[ "They're in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a Chapter 11, a business continues to operate as usual, it just goes through a judicial proceeding to create a \"plan\" to restructure its debt.\n\nThere are certain restrictions on what a business in Chapter 11 can or can't do, but for the most part it's business as usual." ]
What is the science behind ICBMs?	[ "The B stands for Ballistic, which means that the missile is boosted by rockets to a high altitude, then falls back down unpowered at an extremely high speed - something like 7 km (4.3 miles) per second. The sheer speed, combined with the lack of flames out the back, makes an ICBM extremely hard to track and inte...
Why U.S. conservatives are so against abortion but generally the first to gripe about families with multiple children on welfare.	[ "Because they are honoring a set of principles:\n\n1. the fetus deserves protection as a living thing.\n2. it's not fair to others to create economic advantage for some without the hard work put in by the rest of us.\n\nYou too have principles that result in \"tension\" - where upholding one leads to pushing agains...
How and why does fever cause dehydration?	[ "A fever is a consequence of the body fighting an invader. Many pathogens can thrive at normal body temperature, but they break down and die at slightly higher temperatures.\n\nMuch like when exercising, the energy used increases body temperature which causes sweating and water vapor to be exhaled from the lungs.\...
how long does foreclosure take?	[ "Depends on the state, the loan documents, and whether any payments/work out attempts were made. Typically, people don't just stop paying intitially, and when the bank starts the process, state law mandates how many times and how frequently the sale must be advertised. Further, some states require a judicial find...
The theory that drinking more alcohol will cure a hangover.	[ "Hair of the Dog, as it's called. It's simple. You get drunk enough to not feel the pain of the hangover. Physically, your brain stem is still dehydrated. You've addressed the symptoms, but not the cause.", "I've always heard this called \"hair of the dog\" (as in, hair of the dog that bit you - a reference to an...
How can states legalize marijuana when using/having it is a federal offence?	[ "Through the 10th amendment. Powers not expressly delegated to the federal government in the constitution are reserved for the states. The only way to (legally) grant the federal government additional powers is by constitutional amendment. States with marijuana initiatives are asserting that the federal drug laws a...
Why is so common in the NFL to make the Super Bowl or at least make the Playoffs without making the Playoffs the previous year as opposed to the NBA?	[ "1. Football is a more team oriented sport. A good Quarterback can't do much on his own, nor can a good Cornerback prevent an entire team from scoring.\n\n2. You're only competing against 3 other teams for an \"easy\" playoff spot, since the top teams from each division automatically make it to the playoffs. And th...
Why does the water pressure increase when a container of water is moved higher?	[ "Pressure is defined as Force / Area, or:\n\nP = F / A\n\nWhen you increase the force, that increases pressure (straightforward). But if you spread that same force out over a larger area, you decrease the force at any given point, meaning lower pressure.\n\nLet's assume for your question that you have a container ...
If Radio waves are omni-directional, why does a station go from clear to garbled and back again in a matter of inches?	[ "The cause is multipath interference.\n\nRadio waves reflect off of things like buildings and the ground. As the waves expand out from the transmitter, part of the signal gets reflected and part travels directly to your receiver. The reflected part travels a longer path than the direct part so it when it arrive...
Why are .jpg's so bad?	[ "Jpeg is good for for photographs or other things that have lots of subtly different color gradients, but aren't great for things like logos or line drawings, or other things with sharp color transitions, or things that require transparancy, which jpeg doesn't support.\n\nUse JPEG for photographs and PNG for logos ...
why can't we bring in sealed beverages through TSA checkpoints but we can buy those same beverages on the other side at 200% markup?	[ "For the fear that you might have sealed the beverage yourself and it might actually contain gasoline or other dangerous substances instead of an actual can of coke.", "I bring an empty water bottle from home and fill it up from a water fountain when I get through security.", "If you wanted to take out an aircr...

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