Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
Why do some people feel more comfortable in the city, while others are more at home in the country?	[ "preference.... I am not aware of any specific cause.\n\nThe human brain rebels against monotony and sameness so that might have something to do with it." ]
What is the difference between a Thesis/dissertation and a journal article?	[ "Thesis/Dissertation is a compilation of a scientific study or studies conducted by a Masters or PhD student. In order to complete their degree these students must follow the thesis guidelines set up by their department. A thesis is usually long, ~100 pages or more. A masters thesis in the USA/Canada takes 2-3 year...
Is there any risk in snooping around the darknet?	[ "By definition, you can't.\n\nThe darknets are networks that are no longer accessible to the public Internet. Cut off physically by changes in the network.\n\nIf we are talking about the Deep Web, probably not. A lot of the Deep Web is really standard stuff, like one time dynamic pages for buying plane tickets. As ...
Why did it take so long for FTC to accuse Vemma of creating a pyramid scheme?	[ "Many pyramid schemes masquerade as legitimate MLMs. The structure is identical, so just because it has that kind of structure isn't enough for the government to file charges. They need evidence that something illegal is happening." ]
Why does it feel normal to sit back down in your chair, but if you sit in someone else's it feels warm? Why can't we feel our own butt warms?	[ "When you sit in a chair it will change to the temperature of your body. So you wouldn't know the difference because the temperatures would get to the same degree as you currently are. Other people's body may be at a higher temperature at the time so you will notice the difference as the chair would be as warm as t...
How do Blimps work?	[ "Blimps will have a second gas bag in the envelope that can be filled with air, this increases the density of the helium making the blimp heavier. Helium can also be vented if the blimp needs to descend rapidly. \n\nBlimps can also have variable pitch engines that can be pointed up or down - some blimps are slightl...
If money or politics were no object, how would we best protect the power grid from a solar storm, EMP or attack?	[ "> No matter how remote the possibility, any chance is too high to leave it unprotected.\n\nReally? What about a chance smaller than the chance humanity just gets wiped out outright?\n\nBut to answer your question, burying it underground would protect against just about any currently available form of attack - exc...
Why are people able to get your IP from your Skype name but not from other things?	[ "If you've got a direct connection to someone (through a client like Skype), they can see the IP address you're using. Other things like Facebook aren't a direct connection between users; both people access the server to see what's been posted to it.\n\nIt's a question of who has access to the information. If I r...
How and when did the world universally agree to use the same basis for time (24 hours, each of 60 minutes, etc)	[ "The use of a 24 hour clock relates back to the Ancient Egyptians (and relates to why there are 60 minutes in an hour).\n\nThanks to documented evidence of the Egyptians' use of sundials, most historians credit them with being the first civilization to divide the day into smaller parts. The first sundials were simp...
Why don't politicians get charged with libel when many of them knowingly lie or misrepresent facts?	[ "For a start, lying isn't necessarily libellous. You can say all sorts of untruths without defaming anyone.\n\nSecond...if you sued a politician for lying, just thing of the exposure you'd be giving their arguments? Money couldn't buy that sort of airtime (well, OK, in the US it probably can).\n\nThird - some count...
How does the network know where my mobile phone is?	[ "Your cell phone connects to the local tower and identifies itself uniquely. Calls directed to your number go through that tower to you." ]
How come heat seeking missiles don't go straight to the sun?	[ "Older versions of the AIM-9 Sidewinder did routinely lock on to the Sun or clouds, sending them ballistic. Newer versions have corrected this by adding optical filters to the sensor to only allow certain bands of infrared energy into the sensor for detection. This same system is used to help defeat flare counterme...
Why don't countries apart from the US have manned moon landings?	[ "I think the US sent a man to the moon more for national pride than for any practical purpose. JFK declared America's intent to complete this mission in order to send a message to the Soviets and the world that the US was a superior nation. \n\nToday, it's less about pride and more about science. It makes no sens...
why our eyes create pink visual stains after we look at strong light?	[ "There are multiple ways that our eyes adapt to different light conditions. One of the ways this automatically occurs is due to the way the light receptors in the back of the eye work.\n\nIn each light receptor cells are molecules called retinal (with an A, not retinol), which are the ones that react with light and...
How do people hack into an intranet and why do we need anti-virus systems in an intranet?	[ "There are a lot of ways someone might \"hack into an intranet\" but a simple way to understand why something might get through the barriers surrounding an intranet is to consider USB thumb drives. A virus on a thumb drive might easily be introduced within the network even with the strongest of barriers between the...
Why do both of these images exist?	[ "They're both dishonest.\n\nThe first image takes the national-debt as a fixed amount -- probably the debt held by the public if I place the number correctly -- and says \"this is how much all presidents in history before Obama borrowed.\" That's blatently false; we have borrowed a good deal more than that but we'...
When property prices in NYC are as crazy as they are, how come there's so much social housing in prime areas? Can the occupants buy their homes at a discount? How does a person become eligible for social housing in uptown Manhattan/downtown Brooklyn?	[ "Laws on the books from the Great Depression era were set up to protect renters from huge rent increases. Many folks were renting apartments (think of the 1950's TV shows like the Honeymooners and I Love Lucy) and laws were put in place to protect the 'poor' and working class voting majority from the 'rich' propert...
Why are final seasons/episodes of shows often done/received poorly?	[ "Last seasons are often bad because the show has run out of ideas, their ratings are falling, so they have to try something new to breath new life into the show. When it works, you keep watching, when it doesn't, you get a bad last season.\n\nIt also has a lot to do with the cast. Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace w...
Explain how recording onto the old vinyl records works.	[ "Why should the vocals be different from the instrumental music? Vocals are made up of sound waves just the same. You are drawing a distinction which is physically meaningless." ]
I am trying to understand why the sun sets at different times all along the west coast of the US. Sunset was at 4:53 PM today in San Diego, 5:05 PM in San Francisco, and 4:43 PM in Seattle. I am baffled: why is SF the latest but it's in the middle of California?	[ "San Francisco is at 122.4194° W\n\nSan Diego is at 117.1611° W, so, way east of SF.\n\nSeattle is at 122.3321° W (about the same as SF) but also much farther north where winter days are shorter.", "> ELI5: I am trying to understand why the sun sets at different times all along the west coast of the US\n\nBecause...
What is Maoism? Why is Chairman Mao considered a great leader when he caused a lot of deaths?	[ "My family is Chinese and my parents grew up during this period and almost everyone in my family and relatives dislikes him for what he had done.\n\nMy parents are pretty outspoken about their dislike for him (after all, they're Americans now) and my relatives are still in China but they don't really praise him eit...
Why is there a northern and southern accent in the United States?	[ "There isn't a southern accent and a northern accent. There's a Boston accent, a couple different New York City accents, a Chicago accent that is similar to much of the Midwest, Minnesota has a distinct accent, Kentucky isn't quite the same as Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina sound a bit different...
Why do antidepressant often have depression as a side-effect?	[ "Anti-depressants are a guessing game as far as prescribing them. You're messing with the brain my friend. There's no telling exactly how they'll affect one particular person and how they feel.\n\nHaving used them, it's hard to tell exactly what feels different sometimes. You think a strange thought that you've nev...
Why does it always come down to "drink lots of fluids" when you tell the doc you gave the flu?	[ "There's no cure for influenza once you're sick. It's a self-limiting and mild infection that your immune system will fight off, all you have to do is keep your body working long enough for it to do so. That means sleep and fluids.", "You can take meds, but they largely tackle the symptoms of your immune system f...
What's a cellular automaton ?	[ "For starters, it's not really an essential part of understanding computing. The idea came about as more of an entertaining thing to do with computers. At best, they're a footnote in the history of computing.\n\nTake a grid. Each cell of that grid can either have a thing in it or not. Now, given some rule based...
How a "double bounce" or "super bounce" on a trampoline works	[ "Fred is going to double bounce George. As George comes down from a jump, Fred jumps in and lands right next to George. Their combined weight and momentum stretch the trampoline tighter than it would with just one of them. At the bottom, Fred hops off to the side, however the trampoline is still stretched very t...
What does 10th Cousin, once removed mean?	[ "First cousins have the same grandparents. Second cousins have the same great-grandparents. Third cousins have the same great-great-grandparents. And so on.\n\nSo 10th cousins have the same great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.\n\n\"Once removed\" means that you're of different generat...
Why do Jehovah Witnesses not celebrate Holidays?	[ "exJW here. We avoided Easter because we celebrate the last supper in form of The Memorial, instead of Jesus' resurrection.\n\nAs for the rest of the main holidays, we avoided Christmas due to its roots in paganism, Halloween due to its association with the occult, and birthdays because King Herod had John the Bapt...
Dietary Effect on Inflammation	[ "For one I imagine you're losing weight, which will help.\n\nCould also be improving your microbiota, our microbiota (particularly in the gut) isn't very well understood but it's been show in research it can affect you physically and mentally(depression, anxiety etc.)\n\n_URL_0_\n\nYour diet is also likely decreasi...
Why do people work more hours today than we did in the 50s and 60s? What has happened to cause this?	[ "I think it includes factors like the erosion of the middle class, stagnation in wage growth, predatory lending and insufficient welfare. I think people are over committed to debt, being paid less in real terms and are scared of losing their jobs partly due to the way the unemployed get treated.\n\nAnybody who blam...
Is North Korea a credible threat to the the US? Aren't these the same guys we mock mercilessly?	[ "North Korea is not a credible threat to the US. There are a bunch of US military stationed in South Korea who could be in danger if war broke out there. NK has a large but generally poorly equipped and trained army. They could potentially cause a decent sized mess in South Korea in the early days of a war, but the...
If computers have to follow direct commands, how can it choose things at random?	[ "Computers usually can't choose things at random. Instead, they have algorithms that can generate [psuedo-random numbers](_URL_0_). This often involves seeding the number generator with various \"random\" factors, such as mouse movements, the current time, and/or the contents of the computer's memory, which are...
Why do people say ouch even when something doesnt hurt.	[ "It's a learned response. Different languages have different words for \"ouch\". You expect something to hurt so you go through the learned response." ]
Why don't bands release instrumental tracks alongside their regular albums?	[ "In most cases there just isn't enough demand to justify an instrumental release alongside the standard album. In the rare cases that it does happen there's usually a proven demand for it, either that band or the genre as a whole do well with just instrumental releases." ]
Why can we digest salad (Leaves etc.) but not grass?	[ "Most of grass is made of cellulose and human digestive system is not equipped to extract energy from it. Unlike cows. Some parts of grasses can be eaten, like grains, where the glucose is stored.\n\nLeafs have less celluloce and the sugars are stored in a form more suitable for humans.", "Most grasses (and other...
What did they do before eye-glasses? What if people had horrible vision?	[ "They were said to be blind or have clouded vision. In some societies they were taken care of or depending on their vision could be mostly self sufficient. In others they were killed or left to die for being weak." ]
What makes a CD an EP and not an LP or album?	[ "EP and LP are terms that originated with the technology of vinyl records.\n\nAn LP is a 12\" vinyl record which when played at 33-1/3 rpm gave you ~22 minutes per side -- they were able to stretch that a little bit but not too much.\n\nA 'single' was a 7\" vinyl record with a bigger hole in the middle (it was deve...
Why are Camillia Bowles and Kate Middleton Duchesses and not Princesses?	[ "It's slightly complex. This is close, if I think, but maybe not exactly right.\n\nThere are basically two kinds of princes: A Prince of the United Kingdom is an honor granted by the sovereign to her sons and grandsons (and now, great-grandsons). They are addressed by their first names, and a 'the.' \"The Prince Wi...
Does cooling a sealed bottle/can of soda and then letting it come back to room temperature cause it to lose carbonation?	[ "No.\n\nThe sealed bottle or can is much closer to an enclosed system than an open container - it can stay very well carbonated for months. It would be a reasonable simplification to say that the carbonation hasn't changed at all.\n\nHowever, there is another property that is important, Solubility. When you open up...
How do dressmakers/tailors make garments bigger or take them out?	[ "Clothes are made from several pieces seamed together. Seams are usually created by folding the edges of the pieces over in a complicated way and sewed over. The way the pieces are folded on the edges depeond on what kind of seam you want to create (hold firmly / have a little flexibility / comfort on the inside / ...
When, why and how did Monday through Friday become a classic work week, with weekends Saturday and Sunday?	[ "Unions pushed for a standard 40 hour work week with 2 days off.", "Saturday is also a religious workless day. While most Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, Jews and some sects of Christianity celebrate it on Saturday. Until recently, there weren't weekends at all, in some careers (mostly labour jobs), b...
Farting during physical activities	[ "This is not a normal physiological state. You may have some abnormal intestinal flora which cause more gas, and the effect is potentially pronounced by the greater rate of metabolism your body experiences after physical exertion. You should consult a family doctor or gastroenterologist regarding these symptoms, ho...
Other then the large influx of cash from the IPO (I get that reason), what are other reasons a company would want to go public?	[ "I'll use Uber as an example and make up numbers.\n\nTwo guys start a company. The company really catches on, but it is expensive to grow and they really aren't making much or any profit. The two guys own this company that they could sell for $1 billion, but they live on $100K/year salaries. $100K might seem like g...
- Why do motorcycles only have manual transmission motors?	[ "Motorcycles with automatic transmissions exist. Perhaps you don't see as many as you live in a society where people who ride motorcycles are the sort who want power and control, or are cost-conscious, both of which manual transmissions have an advantage.\n\nAlso, there isn't anything about a standard motor which m...
Why scientists can date the age of Earth, but not the Egyptian pyramids or the Sphinx?	[ "Radiometric dating works by comparing the ratio of isotopes in an object now to a known reference ratio at the object's inception. Each element has a different useful range of applicability based on the half-life of the decaying isotope, with increasing error and eventually uselessness outside that range. C14, for...
Is there any biological significance to "dating your mother"?	[ "Not sure, but one could surmise there is an evolutionary aspect. \"I know my mother was able to support and rear a child so a woman similar to her would have a higher likelihood of doing the same\"." ]
Whats that feeling when you're about to fall asleep that everyrhing feels small and heavy?	[ "Could you be describing [Alice in Wonderland syndrome](_URL_1_)? I used to get this pretty often when I was a kid. Not sure if this is what you're describing but a \"fucked up\" feeling when on the brink of falling asleep meets the criteria.\n\nThe exact cause isn't known. Basically it's a disturbance in perceptio...
Why do we sometimes remember dreams days or even weeks later?	[ "That's probably a case of confabulation, where your brain makes plausible sounding lies to fill in a memory gap. The tricky part about confabulation is that you can only notice this when other people point out contradictory facts." ]
How did Lani Sarem and Handbook for Mortals "game" the NYT Bestseller list?	[ "Usually the author or publisher buys the copies. The trick used to be that the NYTimes (or other list makers) don't record every sale to create the best seller lists, rather they sampled certain bookstores and it wasn't too hard to figure out which ones were the sampled ones and then buy lots of copies of a certa...
why is the Scottish independence referendum positioned as neck and neck in the polls, whereas the bookmakers odds suggest the opposite?	[ "I expect that the odds are down to a significant number of people betting the outcome will be 'No'. Odds aren't just calculated by looking at what will probably happen, but also by the amount of money already taken in by people betting. If the odds were, say, both even (which is what the polls suggest), and a di...
Is there a difference legal or otherwise between "sponsoring" a politician or bill vs a bribe?	[ "Sponsoring legislation is the term for when a member of Congress introduces a bill, it has nothing to do with money, bribery or corruption.", "Well, these are kind of three different things.\n\nA campaign donation is simply donating any money to a candidate. Usually this would be done because one already support...
What exactly IS Citizen's United, and why is it bad?	[ "Citizens United itself is a nonprofit organization that helps conservative candidates win elections. That's not important. What is important is that when Citizens United tried to broadcast an anti Hillary video before the Democratic primary, they were told they weren't allowed. This started the Supreme Court case ...
How do all those many different anti-virus companies, even fairly obscure ones, have such huge but mostly similar databases of virus footprints? Do they get them from some common source?	[ "Unfortunately I have never been able to remember the correct name, but there is an agreement to share virus information between \"legitimate\" anti malware companies. The exact definition of what defines a legitimate company, and how quickly to share the files has been debated a lot so I used to just refer to it a...
zombies (computing)	[ "Zombies are DEAD processes. They can not be 'kill' (You cannot kill the DEAD). All processes eventually die, and when they do they become zombies. They consume almost no resources, which is to be expected because they are dead! The reason for zombies is so the zombie's parent (process) can retrieve the zombie's ex...
Humble bundles.. and how it works from the game developers' perspective. Also.. how much does each dev get from a bundle?	[ "Not sure about the first question, but the amount the developers get is determined by the buyers themselves. When you buy a bundle from the site you can choose how to split the money between all the developers, the charities and the humble bundle site." ]
Why is it that on most fans, the switch is ordered as off, high, medium, and low?	[ "When you turn the fan on, the motor that powers the fan is running at max speed. When you turn the fan to medium or low, the motor is slowed down. Running the fan at the maximum speed of the motor is more efficient and the fan will last longer since the motor does not have to adjust to the increased power flow as ...
Why does the Black Lives Matter movement not protest black on black violence in Chicago?	[ "Because the purpose of the movement is to bring attention to the high ratio of black victims of police brutality. Black victims of police violence are often overlooked and their stories disappear. The movement is geared toward bringing this issue to light and helping to end it. Not every organization can work o...
Why do east Asian adult actresses seem as if they don't enjoy the act in adult movies?	[ "This is primarily a Japanese thing rather than an Asia-wide thing. Making and distributing porn is technically illegal in Korea and China, but the stuff that does exist typically doesn't have the rapey feel to nearly the same degree (and they certainly don't make as high-pitched noises). Thai and Flip porn seems t...
The Horseshoe Theory.	[ "It is the theory that the further you go to the left or right, the more similar the practices go.\n\nLook at Nazi Germany vs Soviet Russia.\n\nThere is a lot of debate as to whether they were truly opposing forces. The Nazis began as National Socialists, the USSR was Communist, both were associated with the left w...
Why are manholes located in the middle of the road?	[ "It's best for city planning for them to run directly under the roads. After all, closer to the sidewalks, and you run into domestic gas lines, internet/phone cables, and maybe buried power lines.\n\nSewers are very spacious, large pipes. It makes sense to put them under a wide, uninterrupted path with no other cab...
Why didn't people see "the dress" in the original colors of the photograph?	[ "The lighting had a lot to do with it. Our perception of colors are based not only on the actual color of the object itself, but also on the object's visual environment (e.g adjacent colors and lighting). The dress in question appeared back-lit in the photo, so instead of merely perceiving the actual colors a lot o...
What happens with excess electricity from a generator?	[ "If there really was excess electricity because the motor speed was too high, the voltage would rise. Voltage fluctuation is acceptable within certain limits, but past a certain point it could damage the devices attached to it. Generators you can buy have regulators to prevent this from happening - see [here] (_URL...
What do the numbers in your blood pressure mean?	[ "There are two measurments of blood pressure. Systolic is a measure of blood pressure when your heart actually beats and pumps blood. Diastolic is the blood pressure between each individual pump. They are measured in units of mm Hg. This unit of measurement is basically saying \"if mercury in a tube were under this...
The difference between CAR and TCR therapies.	[ "Both CAR and TCR therapies are use T cells for treatment of cancers directed against specific targets known as antigens.\n\nThe difference, from what I've seen are:\n\nCAR (chimeric antigens receptor) are usually used against antigens expressed on the surface of the cancer cell. The CAR itself is not a naturally o...
Motion Sickness caused by Virtual Reality	[ "Motion sickness happens when one of your senses perceives movement but the others don't. For example, when you're in the cabin of a boat, your inner ear senses that the boat is rocking, but your vision doesn't corroborate. In your case, your vision is perceiving motion when you are wearing the VR headset, but y...
why so many banks have the name "First National Bank of ..." in the title.	[ "A national bank has a national charter, as opposed to a state charter. Hence there are lots of first national banks of ( name your state, city, county, etc.).", "I've never heard of this. where do you live?" ]
If California is so dry, why is so much food grown there? Why not just grow it elsewhere?	[ "Dry climates tend to have very rich soil because little rain leeches nutrients from the soil (but they need irrigation to make the soil productive). \n\nCalifornia also has a very mild climate that features a very long growing season allowing a large of variety of agricultural products to be grown (many are quite...
Reason for genital mutilation in several African nations	[ "FGM is carried out for cultural, religious and social reasons within families and communities. For example, it is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly, and as a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. FGM is often motivated by the belief that it is beneficial for the girl or woman. ...
Why do my eyes water every time I yawn?	[ "The tear film has three layers. The bottom layer is called mucin and acts very much like a glue to keep the tears from simply rolling off your eyes. The middle layer is the aqueous and is mostly salt water. The outermost layer is the lipid and is oily. The lipid oil keeps the tears from immediately evaporating. \n...
what would happen if man had two Y-chromosomes instead of XY?	[ "Y chromosomes are tiny, they have very few genes on them, mostly a couple proteins the testicles need. \n\nWoman have two X chromosomes, but each cell only uses one in every cell one X chromosome forms what's called a barr body, its basically inactivated and put aside not used for anything that cell does. Which ...
How can some groups argue Nationalized Military "protects us, makes our lives, better, allows us to be "free", etc" while also arguing nationalized medicine is a disaster?	[ "Just because one good has a clear case for being provisioned by the government doesn't mean that's true of all goods.\n\nYou're basically saying you have to believe that all goods and services should be privatized or believe that all have to be publicly provided.\n\nPeople against public healthcare believe that ma...
Is "High Mileage" or "Synthetic" motor oil actually worth it? Or is it just BS	[ "Sure, if you happen to have the needs that the oil is designed to address. High Mileage oil is designed to deal with seals and bearing clearances that are generally wider than originally designed. Synthetic oil is a lubricant that was formulated not simply by purifying crude oil, but by a chemist selectively bui...
Why are minorities overrepresented in commercials?	[ "If it was only majority members being portrayed, the minorities would see what's being advertised as being mainly for majority members and would be less likely to spend money with that company. So showing minorities in the ads is to assure minorities that they are welcomed to be part of the culture being portrayed...
Why are Arizona Iced Tea drinks allowed to place a price on its product?	[ "Why wouldn't they be allowed? There's no law forbidding the printing of a suggested price on a product. In fact, lots of companies do it, including many different brands of potato chips, [like these](_URL_0_).\n\nGenerally, the company that produces the food item will only sell their product to retailer who si...
Why are windshield wipers sold as singles not pairs? Do people often replace them one at a time?	[ "Not every car has the same size blade for each side. \n\nFor example, my Ford Focus uses a 22 inch driver and 19 inch passenger. \n\nMy Nissan Versa uses a 26 inch driver and a 16 inch passenger. \n\nYou should replace all wipers each season or two depending on quality. \n\nAlso, buying the most expensive blade is...
Why aren't high rise office fires more common/unsurvivable?	[ "They used to, then builders got wise to it. Now we build high rises out of concrete and glass, which don't catch on fire. We restrict how much flammable material is used on the floors of high rises and don't allow anything flammable at all in the stairwells (that's why the stairs are pretty much always barren conc...
How Does milk make people grow taller	[ "Milk does not increase your growth potential, but this belief is probably so prevalent because milk is a very nutritious food. If a child is malnourished, they will have stunted growth, and you can clearly see this in impoverished countries. So milk itself doesn't make you taller, but having adequate nutrition doe...
In a dark room, why can I see something better when I look just to the side of it, instead of directly at it?	[ "As you probably know, your eyes have rods and cones that receive light. The cones pick up color, but the rods are highly light sensitive (and don't see color). Your cones are bunched in the middle of your eye (opposite your pupils) while the rods are lining around the cones. Long story short: you are looking at th...
; Why is it, that when we don't eat for a long period of time, we feel sick and repulsed by food but eating is what makes us feel better?	[ "Not sure if I can explain this properly but here goes. Not eating for a long time can cause stomach acids and digestive juices to build up . Juices like bile in excess cause some mild nausea , this maybe what you experienced when you tried not to gag. But as soon as you eat , these juices get put to work digesting...
how Ipods work and play music	[ "First off, iPods don't produce the songs out of no where and it doesn't 'remember' to play them. You put the songs on there yourself and then later on you tell it which one to play.\n\nThe main part of an iPod is the hard drive which works just like your computer's does in the sense that you choose what you want t...
Why do military planes like the AC-130 have their wings attached at the top of the fuselage, whereas most other civilian planes have their wings attached near the bottom?	[ "Few key reasons:\n\nHigh wing aircraft are easier for ground support vehicles to maneuver around, and engine clearance over the ground is greater making their overall fuselage profile closer to the ground and hence easier to load/unload. \n\nAlso, greater engine-ground clearance mean less chance of debris being in...
Why does the government tax income much more heavily than spending?	[ "Because the economy runs on spending not on earning. So we want to reward spending and encourage it.\n\nThere is no reason for the government to encourage earning more money. People want to do that already.", "Because at the end of the day it's still a regressive tax, burdening the poor substantially more than...
How can wrist-scan age tests determine your age?	[ "Since the auto moderator won't allow an efficient answer here's a slightly longer one.\n\nThey can't. Wrist scans are discredited everywhere. You can't tell the difference between a 17 year old and an 18 year old via a wrist scan. You can't even tell a 15 year old or a 19 year old.\n\nYou can determine whether the...
Why don't we use counties as congressional districts?	[ "Because many states have a lot more counties than congressional districts, especially in the East. Illinois has about 100 counties, and 18 congressional districts.", "Texas has 254 counties. We would control half of the House, and nobody wants that. There are plenty of counties in West Texas with more cattle t...
Why do "forever storms" seem to exist in some planets like Jupiter (And now Stars)? How do they stay "forever" and not die?	[ "They're not forever. Jupiter's storm is losing it's energy and will die out eventually. I think it's been overdue for almost a decade, but I'll let someone else find the literature on it.", "Forever storms survive by eating smaller storms. There was a good video a few months ago, can't find it now though." ]
How does rust harbor tetanus?	[ "And it's not the rust per se that necessarily harbors the tetanus. Tetanus is in the dirt. When you impale or puncture yourself on something dirty, you are sticking the dirt particles into your flesh into a place where air can't get to it. Tetanus is caused by Clostridium tetani, a spore-forming bacterium that...
How do products and services my wife searches for on her devices become targeted ads on mine moments or days later?	[ "I agree with /u/KapteeniJ regarding Facebook, they’ve developed proprietary tech to connect your social graph to their advertising, which gets really fuzzy and creepy. To make it worse, they are Nielsen’s partner for demographic measurement across major websites across the web. That means Nielsen gets to ask them ...
How does walking long distances help raise fund?	[ "It's an organized publicity event for the charity. Each person who will be walking gets sponsors to agree to donate $X to the charity for each mile that they walk. Walking is done - is a great social event, and the donations are made by those who agreed to sponsor a walker. \n \nFor walks done around town, indiv...
what is zoroastrianism?	[ "It is an ancient religion that shared many elements with the later Jewish/Christian/Muslim religions. It has its origin and was practiced in the past in what is today Iran.\n\nToday there are few Zoroastrians or Mazdayasna as they call themselves left. Less than 200,000 by some counts.", "Zoroastrianism is a mon...
How is it that cannabis has so many different 'strains' which change the appearance and other characteristics of a particular plant? Do other plants share similar significant genetic variations?	[ "Cannabis have been cultivated for many different uses over the years which have resulted in a lot of genetic variation. This is not unusual with cultivated plants. Take for instance the mustard plant which not only is prominent in the spices section in the grocery store but also consists of about half the vegetabl...
How can $25 provide someone clean water for life?	[ "It might not be the case with water, but sometimes when you see charities being like \"$5 can feed kids in Africa for 10 years\", what you're actually paying for is shipping fees to transport goods that have already been allocated to African children, but aren't at the desired destination.\n\nThe world produces mo...
Why in Boxing/MMA, does the timer disappear in the last 10 seconds.	[ "That's because the clock on screen is not the \"official\" clock. There is a timekeeper on-site that is tracking the actual time left in a round. The one on screen is more of a close guess.\n\nBy hiding the timer in the last 10 seconds, it prevents people from going \"Hey you ended the round too early!\" Or some o...
How does resistance of an earbud affect the quality of the sound (eg: 32 ohm vs 150 ohm)	[ "Essentially, when audio is played through a speaker, an analogue signal is sent to the speaker which causes the wire attached to a membrane to gain a magnetic charge and oscillate due to being very close to a permanent magnet.\n\nThe higher the impedance rating of the speaker, the more voltage is required to drive...
Why is immigration such a hot button topic in UK politics at the moment? What effects are immigration having on the economy right now?	[ "Mostly, it's a non-issue. However, trying to remove freedom of movement is an effective way for parties to appeal to their more authoritarian supporters.", "London and the Home Counties really are very densely populated: flying over that area at night is a real eye-opener.\n\nBut it's an issue for a number of co...
What is the meaning of "rareness" in meat and why are "rarer" meats preferred?	[ "Ah Grasshopper. I was once like you. Raised by savages who thought all meat had to be cooked to a degree of dry grayness to be edible. \n\nNow, in my time of Enlightenment, I eat my steak medium rare. My counsel to you is to take this gradually. Move from well done to medium, then keep stepping down the scale ...
What happens when we crack our bones?	[ "so between your bones, like the knuckles in your hands, there is fluid. In the fluid there are bubbles. When you crack your knuckles, you're hearing those bubbles popping." ]
Why is my dog ecstatic to see me when I come home after going out for a couple of hours?	[ "Dogs do not like being alone. [In the wild wolves tend to live in packs of 5-11,](_URL_0_) so it is not normal for one of them to be alone for that long. They get lonely. Also, this trait was selected for when breading. A dog that is ecstatic to see you after a brief separation is more likely to do what you wa...
Why is opening many restaurants in a short amount of time bad?	[ "Most restaurants, and businesses generally, will fail within a couple years. You need to be prepared financially for the entire investment to disappear.", "1) Opening a restaurant (or any small business, really) is highly risky. Just because 1, 2 or 5 locations are profitable doesn't mean 10 are. If you're a sma...
Why are teachers paid so little?	[ "For the most part, teachers are 'public servants'. They work for the local governmental department of education....rather than working for a business.\n\nA business usually gets money by selling a product or a service. If they sell a lot (or sell for a lot) then they might have lots of money to pay their employe...
Why does health care in the United States cost more than twice as much as other similar, developed nations?	[ "There's several aspects to it. First, Americans consume a lot of care--people are too often on prescription medication, for example, and many people get expensive tests when the circumstances do not warrant it. One way that countries with centralized healthcare monopolies keep costs low is that they restrict acces...

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