Split (3)

train · 273k rows

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Buckingham's pi theorem	[ "The Buckingham Pi Theorem is important in dimensional analysis, which is the key to understanding fluid and heat dynamics. Using the theorem gives us dimensionless groups - variables that have no units associated with them. You are already familiar with these through the concept of percentages.\n\nThis is impor...
If you have a pile of mulch/woodchips/etc and leave it long enough it can start to smoke. How?	[ "A large enough pile will be generating heat all through it, and the stuff in the middle has nowhere for the heat to go, so it builds up. Eventually, you'll hit the smoke point for something in the pile (the wood, the resins in the sap, small children, you know) and voila! Smoke!", "Happens to hay bales too. Ever...
How scientists determine the composition of each planet/ Star?	[ "Different elements have different light emissions, so by analyzing the light coming from a star or reflecting off a planet, you can tell what it is mostly composed of.\n\nEdit: the light spectrum analysis looks like this: _URL_0_" ]
What's going on in Scotland and the U.K. with regards to potential Scottish Independence?	[ "On the 18th of September 2014, people living in Scotland, and who are registered to vote, will be given the opportunity to answer a very simple question: \"Should Scotland be an independent country?\"\n\n50% +1 of those who have voted must have voted Yes for it to pass. On September 19th, the result will be announ...
Why haven't foreign Armies gone to stop the ISIS?	[ "I can't answer for either different countries or the United States government, since I'm not apart of either; but from the American people there is a huge sense of \"war-weariness\". The people are tired of fighting long, bloody, expensive, and often unnecessary wars on the other side of the globe. There is alread...
How can wood be "Fire-Hardened" without burning to ash?	[ "Fire-hardening involves removing moisture from the wood, then burning off an outer layer. The fibers are burned away from this section but much of the lignin, which is a complex repeating molecule (or polymer) is left behind. These tightly interlock to form a smooth, waterproof surface that can be deep enough to ...
How do colors work in space? Are the photos we see the true colors of planets, nebulae, etc. or is everything actually gray scale to the human eye?	[ "A little of both.\n\nThings in space really do have colors - Mars is red, Saturn is yellow-y, etc. Mostly depending on their dominant chemical makeup. (Mars, for example, is literally rusted, thus the red color.)\n\nHowever, many images from space telescopes and such are... well, not fake, but deliberately colored...
How does the Wayback Machine work? Do deactivated accounts and deleted posts still get stored even if you don't archive them in the _URL_0_ website?	[ "They have maaaaaaassive servers in the petabyte range. (It's a major source of funding stress for them I think – getting more and more storage) edit: [9 PB + 20 TB/mo](_URL_0_) i was wrong\n\nThey regularly crawl through the web (so your personal webserver won't be accessed unless you host a semi-popular forum or ...
How do builders/electricians lay overhead wires from distant buildings.	[ "They don't. 500m is rather long to not use a pole.\n\nThey don't use common wire either, they use wire rated for aerial exposure, plus contains a steel wire to take the weight of the cable without having to stress the conductors.\n\nNow, with that, they install an insulator to the structure, so as tension of the w...
Why is battery still required for the car's engine to keep running?	[ "During the operation, the battery just serves as energy storage in case electrical demands exceed the output of the alternator at any given time, which is rare. \n\nBut in most cars, the alternator (which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy) is connected to the belt. If the belt snaps, no electrici...
If Spider-Man is a mutant, why isn't he considered part of the X-Men? Does Magneto consider him on the mutant side?	[ "Spider-Man is not a mutant. He falls into the \"Altered Human\" category of Marvel Supers, along with other characters of similar age, like the Hulk, the members of the Fantastic Four, and the Silver Surfer.", "The 'X-Men' does not include ALL mutants. The X-Men is just a group of mutants, under the guidance of...
How knowing mathematics is important for learning how to code a computer	[ "As a web developer, I wouldn't say I use much mathematics, what I do use is logic. Maybe math is heavily suggested because it forces you to think logically?\n\nOn a side note, I know certain programming like motion (for games) and such does deal with math.", "First, because computers can't deal in subjective thi...
If the average human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, why does 98 degree weather feel so hot & have the potential to cause a heat stroke?	[ "because our bodies generate heat and need cooling. at 98 degrees it wouldn't be able to cool very well.", "Your car engine gets really hot, right? Too hot to touch.\n\nOn a hot day, it is more likely to overheat. Because it's harder to get rid of the heat that it generates.\n\nWe feel more comfortable at moder...
Why is burnt food a carcinogen?	[ "First, you have to understand what cancer is. Cancer is when some of the cells (tiny pieces) in your body start growing and making new cells much faster than they're supposed to. The part of the cell that tells it how to grow is called the DNA, and it looks like a long, curled up chain. The shape of the chain is l...
Why does my cat want to cuddle then suddenly attack me viciously?	[ "He doesn't want to cuddle, he wants warmth, just let him do his thing, then, pat his head, don't over stimulate him. \n\nYou'll want to know your cat well, after the Facebook thing..." ]
Explain like I am five the real life historical undertones of LOTR. Please.	[ "Tolkein himself was adamant that his work was about individual people standing up for what is right, not a veiled reference to any particular war. The most important chapter, according to the author and many readers, is the next to last- \"The Scouring of the Shire\", which was left out of the movie.\n\nAs to Pot...
how does bone marrow actually manufacture blood?	[ "Pharmacist -\n\nBone marrow contain a special type of stem cell. These divide and multiply. Under the influence of various hormones, some of them mature into the various cellular components of blood. While there are many types of such cells they are generally referred to as white or red blood cells.\n\nOne of t...
How did English surpass French as the "lingua franca" of the world?	[ "The UK's international influence from trade and colonization had eclipsed that of France by the mid 19th Century. At about the same time, US influence was on the rise, especially in the New World and the Asian Pacific.\n\nThen in the early 20th Century, multimedia took off with the US in the center of it. Music ...
how the Hawking Radiation was proved to be true and why it is so widely accepted, and how it actually works.	[ "If something is inside the event horizon of a black hole then it can never escape.\n\nIf something is just outside the event horizon then it can either move towards the blackhole and cross the event horizon, or it can be moving fast enough and escape.\n\nQuantum mechanics allows for the spontaneous creation of p...
In America, how do multimillionaires and billionaires store their money if they are only insured up to $250,000 according to the FDIC?	[ "Investments. And their cash assets are just spread over several banks...or just over the insured limit.\n\nMost people with net worth over $5 million have most of their wealth in growth or income-generating investments like stocks, companies or real estate." ]
How do passports work?	[ "There is a big database. Most countries share information about their citizens who hold passports with each other via that database, and some countries enhance the database for their border control agents with additional information. For example when you are entering the United States, your passport is verified ...
how do shopping cart anti-theft wheel locks work?	[ "There is a braking device inside the wheels which contains a radio receiver. Around the boundary of the store grounds is a transmitter loop, much like an invisible dog fence, putting out a signal.\n\nWhen the cart crosses the invisible fence, it receives the signal from the transmitter and triggers the brakes ins...
How do doctors, nurses, etc. tend to sick people constantly without getting sick all the time themselves?	[ "Hello! This is a great question, and something healthcare staff should always keep in mind when working around patients. Depending on what the patient's diagnosis is, different precautions are taken. Staff wear disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) based on protocol.\n\n & nbsp;\n \nA **standard or...
Why would anyone willingly take Fentanyl if it’s going to kill them outright, and why would a drug pusher would willingly kill his clients with it?	[ "The first reason is that people often think \"It will never happen to me.\" They take hard drugs believing they will be immune to the negative effects. They think they are stronger, smarter, less susceptible, whatever. Consider [the redditor who tried heroin](_URL_0_) \"just to see what it's like\" and ended up...
why doesn't rain always have the rain smell	[ "You're smelling chemicals and oils produced in dry soils being released into the air. These chemicals and oils are produced by certain bacteria and plants. So if you don't have dry soil or those certain plants/bacteria in abundance, you won't get the smell or it might not be strong enough to notice.", "I think...
What are the results of the Indian Elections, and what does it mean?	[ "The Bharitya Janta Party (BJP; rough meaning Indian People's Party) recorded a solid landslide, gaining a clear majority in their own right in the Lok Sabha (People's house, analogous to the House of Reps), and with their coalition partners control a solid majority of the 543 member lower house. The Congress party...
Why are so many people on /r/politics and /r/worldnews rooting for Chris Dorner?	[ "Because Reddit generally hates cops and the united states. It is the cool thing to do.", "The LAPD has are really bad history when it comes to civil rights abuses. Them being out to get a black cop isn't all that far fetched.\n\nBut in general, people tend to root for what makes the best story. Crazy guy snaps...
What exactly is meant when a company posts a quarterly loss or gain?	[ "It means that Amazon actually did not make a profit this quarter. To ELI5, publicly-traded companies add up their income and expenses, and the bottom line is a profit or loss statement for the month, quarter, or year." ]
What is the difference between a "good" quality watch and a "poor" quality watch?	[ "It's all style. High-end watches are [Veblen goods](_URL_0_): They're in demand because they're so expensive.\n\nA fancy mechanical Rolex will keep much less accurate time than any $10 Timex with a quartz crystal.", "Other than the materials the watch is made from, the movement of the watch is a large factor...
What's the logic behind the majority of dishes being round?	[ "This is likely due to durability and history of being made on a potters wheel.\n\nTo the first point, corners and points are the easiest pieces of a piece to snap off. Being round eleminates corners and makes all edges equally strong.\n\nTo the second point, a very common method of production of ceramic dishes is ...
What can one do to help the environment?	[ "Don't have children. Reducing the number of humans is a sure fire way to reduce humans impact on the planet.", "Eat less meat and imported food, don't fly and drive far all the time, support clean energy and conservation efforts, don't have more than one kid. Easy!", "Just in one's daily routine, recycling is...
What molecular attribute governs bouncy-ness	[ "Elasticity and electromagnetism. Basically, when the ball hits the floor, it deforms elastically. Atoms and molecules are pushed together, against their own repulsive forces. This stores energy. Once there is no more energy to store (the ball has stopped), the molecules use that stored energy to return the ball to...
United States "territories and possessions"	[ "A territory is a part of the United States that is not a state or the District of Columbia. People living there are US citizens, but typically do not have all the rights of people living in states, nor do they have all the obligations. Basically, they can't vote for president, they can't elect representatives, a...
Why does 60° water feel way colder than 60° air?	[ "So you're standing in your birthday suit in a 60 degree room. You're a little chilly, but there's a tiny pocket of air immediately around you that has been warmed up by your body, so you're comfortable. Unless a fan is turned on, which disturbs your warm air pocket.\n\nThat pocket is gone when you're in 60 degree ...
How did Michael Jackson change skin color?	[ "He had vitiligo, as confirmed from his autopsy, dozens of sources, pictures of his hands and legs, and by himself. He used make-up to even it out and some people claim he bleached his skin to speed up the process. In the end, his skin looked very pale and was very sensitive to the sun, that's why he wore clothes t...
Why not construct concrete homes in the tornado alley instead of rebuilding every time?	[ "Cost, odds, and aesthetics. The odds of being hit by a tornado are very small - they aren't that wide and only touch down for a few miles, usually. So odds are a house isn't going to get a direct hit by a tornado. \n\nThen it is a question of cost and aesthetics. Since home builders and buyers know their house is ...
What exactly is pain tolerance?	[ "It's exactly as you explained it. You have nerve signals that tell your brain when something isn't right (something is really hot or cold, or you've just had a sharp piece of glass cut through your skin) and if they are constantly sending signals to your brain saying things are painful, your brain starts ignoring ...
In regards to alcohol, what does proof and percent by volume really mean? Is one more important than the other?	[ "The term \"Proof\" is a holdover from less scientific days, where unscrupulous people might try to sell you watered down booze. You'd mix a bit of the liquid with some gun powder and drop a match. If it burned, that was \"proof\" that the beverage was not watered down. \n\nIn modern times \"proof\" is quantified...
the appeals process in the American court system.	[ "There are a ton of court cases, and everyone has to wait their turn in line, this just takes up a lot of time waiting for a court to hear your case. In addition, lawyers and prosecutors need time to build their cases, gather evidence and do a variety of administrative procedures to ensure everything is going ri...
why do airport security take sharp objects off you (safety razors, safety pins, nail scissors) and then allow you to buy them at the pharmacy in departures?	[ "The TSA exists mostly as a show of force to dissuade people from trying things in airport security zones. If a clever person really wanted to get something nefarious in, they probably could, but most people simply aren't that dedicated. By making everyone subtly hate the TSA, the mythos that they are unbeatable pe...
The difference between rar files and zip files	[ "One reminds you every time you use it that it hasn't been purchased; the other doesn't.", "Well, back in the day you did not compress files. All files were as they were and there was nothing you could do about it. If you wanted to put a 2 mb file onto a 1.44 mb disk you needed 2 disks. \n\nThen the idea of co...
Why do we use the color red for stop, yellow for caution/slow, and green for go?	[ "I know the answer to this, I just cant explain it that well because its been a while since I have heard the reason.\n\nBasically the red light that travels from the light can travel the farthest due to its longer wavelength. This means it is easier to see from farther away, even if its shady/cloudy/foggy, etc. Gre...
How do you "count" cards and why is it considered bad by casinos?	[ "As u/LordDivo said. \n\nIt's best to work in a team so you can kind of see what tables have the best odds for the players. \n\nIf you're going solo, the basic strategy is you sit down and start with 0 in your head. \n\nYou then have to watch every card. Lower cards are +1 (2,3,4,5,6). Higher cards are -1 (A,K,Q,J,...
Why do car batteries have a positive and negative side which need jumper cables to charge, rather than a simple plug system like most other batteries?	[ "Batteries all have a positive and a negative side. I am not quite sure what plug you are talking about that most other batteries use. The terminals are often standard but the location of the terminals is determined by the layout of the battery and can not be standardized across different types of batteries. Milita...
What is gas lighting?	[ "Maybe you're looking for a practical example? A good way to begin is by moving everyday objects into new places and pretending they have always been there. Move a lamp from one corner of a room to another. When they notice or comment say, \"What? No, that lamp has always been there.\" Act casual.", "A lot of the...
Does time pass at the same rate for 2 stationary objects 500 million light years apart?	[ "It depends on where in the universe you are. Time dilation occurs when spacetime is warped, and while relative motion is one way to cause this, perhaps the more common way is simply having mass. Everything that has mass distorts spacetime and causes time dilation, and the more mass the larger the distortion.\n\n...
Why do militaries paint missiles? Aren't they just going to explode and get destroyed anyway?	[ "Missiles spend most of their operational lifetime not exploding.\n\nThe paint is for those times.", "In addition to what's already been mentioned, stripes are painted different colors to differentiate dummy (inert) ordnance from live ordnance. You definitely don't want those mixed up.", "Mostly for maintenance...
What is the case for keeping the electoral college versus just using the popular vote?	[ "The Electoral College is a check on the electorate. The people could vote for a charismatic populist despot (like Hitler) and the supposedly well-informed and impartial Electors could cast faithless votes to either elect someone else, or send the Presidential Election to Congress.\n\nThis reflects the fear of pur...
If the FDA allows rounding in food labels, which allows food labels to say something has 0g of trans fat when it actually has > 0g, why don't we measure trans fat in milligrams like with sodium?	[ "Per a Prevention article from 3/NOV/2011, there isn't (wasn't) an ability to detect trans fast below 0.5g. \n\nDirect quote from the article:\n\n\"Barbara Schneeman, director of the Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements for the FDA said the reason the FDA is allowing foods under 0.5 gra...
Why is it when a body part falls asleep, we perceive it as a static-y feeling?	[ "The very short version is that you've restrictied the blood flow to a particular extremity. \n\nNerves being the nessicary sensitive bitches they are rely on lots of blood to function properly. If that's cut down, you get the \"jerking off hand of death\" for 5 - 20 minutes as the blood flow restores normal functi...
How a Turing Machine works and how it is important to computers	[ "A Turing machine is a very simple computer. It's just a long strip of \"paper\", combined with a machine that can write on the strip, read from the strip, and move the strip around.\n\nIt's important to computers because it's believed that Turing machines are equivalent to computers. So if you prove that somethi...
What happened to Mongolia?	[ "Genghis Khan's empire was huge but unstable. It broke apart almost immediately after his death. As time passed on the last remnants of the empire simply faded away. Most simply assimilated into local culture (like the mughals of India) and others were just conquered by more powerful and stable empires like in Chin...
Why does the word closet have two different meanings ?	[ "what are the two meanings you think it has?" ]
What happens to your body when it has a seizure?	[ "A seizure occurs when there is out-of-control electrical activity in your brain. A seizure can take many forms, ranging anywhere from an involuntary muscle twitch, to \"blanking out,\" to losing consciousness and convulsing on ground uncontrollably (which most people think of when they hear the word \"seizure\"). ...
How do indoor shooting range backstops work?	[ "I was going to write out a long post on this, but it turns out someone has done it before me and even has pretty pictures.\n\n[Here is a good rundown of indoor range backstop options in a PDF.](_URL_0_)\n\nThe two basic approaches are angled barriers that deflect bullets into a catchment area, or soft materials li...
how massive public companies go private. For example, Dell going private a few years ago and Michael Dell apparently banking off the transition. Follow-up: the Dell and EMC merger.	[ "so, in the specific instance of the Dell privatization, Michael Dell took out a giant loan from several financial institutions and made a deal with the major stockholders to purchase the stocks. He also used that money to buy a significant number of public stocks and use his newfound majority to 'purchase' the re...
How do gas masks work?	[ "There are 2 types. One type is a air purifying, the other is air supplying.\n\nAn air purifying would use filters of different types to \"clean\" the air you breath. For instance, a P100 air filter would clean out dust and debris, as well as some organic material.\n\nAir supplying is obviously, as it sounds, provi...
How are those metal soaps able to take off the smell of food from our hands? Like that of fish and other quite pungent food?	[ "It doesn't work. Here is a site that talks about it: _URL_0_ or you can do some more research online. There isn't much else to say." ]
The movement of long string-like things through the air/water	[ "It’s a ripple in the air-filled material propagating through the arms, a traveling wave of vibration. These waves originate from the movement of the larger body, which all the arms (which are all about the same) are connected to. So they all move in about the same way. \n\nThe light weight in air and the bulkiness...
I´ve been reading that Iceland didn´t bail out their banks but bailed out the people. What does that mean, and how did they do it?	[ "They basically said \"we will bail out domestic depositors, but not international investors\". Most of these international investors had already been bailed out through their own banks who expected Iceland to make good on its promises. When Iceland reneged on the deal, there was a lot of pressure on Iceland to mak...
Who uses Webmail and who uses things like POP and IMAP?	[ "Web mail is great of you always have an internet connection and hence can access your mail providers servers. You get to take advantage of things like mail folders and smart anti-spam filters as part of this.\n\nIf you find yourself without internet access (for example, someone with a laptop and travelling) but ne...
Why do we forget most of our dreams after waking up?	[ "Recalling dreams has a lot to do with mindfulness of one's conscience, your inner dialogue, imagination, etc. So I think we often forget our dreams because we just aren't trained to recall them. But then you might remember a dream that was intense or had an emotional response. I feel like the same thing is true fo...
Why does eating uncooked dough make your stomach sick?	[ "Most doughs have eggs in the ingredients. You can get sick from uncooked eggs / bacteria. regardless of eggs, bacteria tends to only go dormant when it's cold. Bacteria can pop right back to life at room temperature and even in your gut. It takes about 160 F to kill bacteria. Cook your food throughly first. ...
What's the difference between Spotify Radio and Pandora?	[ "The difference is mostly in their aim. Say you like the music of pink floyd, and go to pandora. Pandora will create a playlist of progressive rock, psychedelic stuff, and some pink floyd, with aims of showing you the varied musical world revolving around pink floyd, opening the proverbial pandora's box.\n\nNow say...
Why is it that you can feel like you're forgetting something?	[ "Simply put: Because you're remembering that you had to remember something, but you're not remembering what.\n\nHence, you feel like you're forgetting... something.", "This is because of how you memory works. Following is a transcribe from memory from popular science magazine I read few years ago.\n\nWhen you'r...
E: How come intangible assets (e.g. patents) do not depreciate even though they have an estimated useful life (i.e. they expire)?	[ "Accounting student here, about to graduate. They do depreciate but they give it a different name. Its called amortization.", "Accounting rules aside there is an economic explanation to this too...\n\nThat's because appreciation and depreciation can only occur if an asset is traded on a market and has money va...
depression among young people who are half asian and half white	[ "/r/hapas generally believes a significant portion, if not the majority, of Asian women who bear children with White men do not have a positive view of the Asian race. Sort of the opposite of Black pride. The sub calls these people \"White Worshippers.\" These women wish to erase or minimize their own Asian identit...
Economically, what would happen to the world if all of the Walmarts were to shut down?	[ "Their business would move to other companies. In time, another company (probably Target) would move into the space left by Walmart, and would become the new Walmart.\n\nSo, in essence, nothing substantive would happen, other than a name change." ]
How is it possible for female ducks to have evolved with protective vaginas?	[ "The female duck isn't abstinent; it wants to select the best drake (male duck) to mate with. Ducks only mate once a year, and often form monogamous pairs, so it may be \"beneficial\" for drakes to rape female ducks to increase the chance that the brood that is hatched that year contains the drake's DNA. However,...
how does the sit in that is going on in the House of Representatives work?	[ "The House is in recess right now (could be wrong though) so the representatives there are basically sitting in protest and to draw attention to their cause. The House can go ahead and try to put a bill to vote or they could convene in another location if the Speak of the House decides to. That is in the procedural...
Why modern cars have more of a whine/hum and older cars have roar/rumble.	[ "Older cars tend to have a larger and slower engine, while newer ones usually have small, fast running engines. Also, there wasn't really any insulation around the engine or in the actual muffler to stop sound. If you were to chop the muffler off basically any new car with a decent sized engine, you'd see it sounds...
Why next-generation consoles require massive (sometimes almost 100GB) downloads for games, both disc and virtual, while old consoles could survive with just 4GB of internal storage and could hold dozens of games	[ "Its mostly for high definition or UltraHD textures for all the surfaces, and cutscenes if they are video clips.\nSound and music also use up a significant amount of space, but that reached peak quality many years ago.\n\nAnd with the storage and bandwidth becoming less limited, the developers dont bother with comp...
What keeps fungal infections like athlete’s foot, angular cheilitis or scalp seborrhea from spreading to other parts of the body?	[ "These are local infections of fungi. The fungi are able to grow and reproduce in a specific microclimate. Outside of that area this ability does not help them enough.\n\nThe fungi for athlete's foot flourish inside shoes inside toes. The humidity is high. \n\nThey do not penetrate the skin or grow large. They surv...
So are mass shooters mentally ill or not?	[ "Not all of them. \n\nAnd mental illness is a subjective thing, a spectrum based partially on behaviour. One of the main things that'll get you a mental health diagnosis is going out and shooting a bunch of people, which is a kinda crazy thing to do.\n\nBut 26% of American adults are diagnosed with a mental illness...
Why do we "dance" when we have to pee really bad?	[ "Anything to take your mind off of the urgency. Alternately, you could slam a car door on your hand to take away the pee urge.", "Physiologically speaking, the 'dance' is your body trying to relieve some of the pressure by your stance and posture. And failing to find a 'comfortable' answer" ]
How does a infant's heart work in a transplant to a four year old?	[ "The heart is a very versatile organ! It can handle much more work than a normal heart would in a normal body. \n\nThe gap is a little short of 2 years so the development of the 18 mnth old heart and 4 yr old body isnt that much yet so the 18 mnth old heart can easily pump blood to the 4 yr old body.\n\nA normal ad...
What is that sensation where you hear something inside your own head when falling asleep sometimes?	[ "_URL_0_\n\nI experience this on a regular basis. Just wait until you are able to interact with the noise... Not a good time.", "_URL_1_\n\nI think you might be talking about this." ]
Why do we grunt when standing/bending?	[ "Breath in and then tense up your abs--while holding your breath in. You should feel the air pushing up against your closed throat. \n\nNow relax (you can start breathing again now, too.)\n\nTense up your abs again, this time without holding your breath. The air can escape now! When you grunt, you're simply using t...
How did the court come up with the punishments for crimes. eg. 15 years maximum for GBH.	[ "They make it up!\n\nWith the war on drugs came a big dick measuring contest with who's going to be \"tough on crime\". The 24 hour news cycle solidified this.\n\nLet's say youre a politician trying to make their mark and you hear about this new drug that the kids are using. Well marijuana carries a one year sent...
When I have a bad cold and lose my voice, why can I still whisper and it sound like a normal whisper?	[ "Because whispering is half of speaking. \n\nYour vocal chords generate a tone, which your mouth then shapes and filters into various sounds. But you can replace the tone with \"loud breathing\" - i.e. noise - and get a very similar effect to speech. This is what we call whispering. \n\nSo when you're sick, the par...
What long term damage does weed have on your body? (Assuming that you smoke 5-6 times per week)	[ "While many drugs have symptoms that appear rapidly weed has a longer span of time needed to produce effects. Some people can smoke weed for their entire life and have no issue similar to some people being able to handle other drugs. Only recently have scientists found results that weed (THC) has ill effects. The m...
Can animals develop a taste for music such as humans do?	[ "My cat will tap her tail to the beat of music playing on the stereo, I can't confirm if shes enjoying it or not though. \n\nMy grandmother has an African Grey parrot, he has the capacity to learn anything, but there are specific sounds he picks up immediately and uses often while other things it takes a lot of rep...
If there is no such thing as "zero gravity" but only things constantly falling, is the entirety of the Universe constantly falling towards somewhere or are things only constantly falling towards each other due to gravity?	[ "Yes they are, which is why you get spiral galaxies. However the falling towards each other is offset by the original expansion of the universe from the big bang." ]
How do our bodies create a vacuum to inhale air?	[ "Your diaphragm relaxes. Naturally your body wants to be full and your diaphragm contracts to push air out. Then it relaxes to pull it back in.", "The lungs expand increasing volume. Air rushes in to fill extra volume. Lungs contact air rushes out." ]
Why do sounds early in the morning appear much louder than they are during the day?	[ "Less ambient backround noise. The world is still asleep, so the normal noise of life (traffic, kids, electricity humming in lines etc) is not as loud as it would be during the day when the world is awake." ]
Why don't phone batteries limit charging after reaching some threshold charge percent?	[ "They do. Any device powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery has a charge controller. Batteries are charged by applying a voltage greater than the cell voltage of the battery. If lithium ion batteries are left with a higher voltage applied after they are finished, they could catch fire.", "They do, they jus...
Why exposing a company with factual information can end up getting you sued?	[ "They can sue you if they feel like it. They have the right to sue you. It might get thrown out in court by a judge, but it doesn't mean they can't sue you, make you rack up legal bills in your defense or whatever until a judge sees the case and makes a decision.\n\nSimply suing someone is generally a bigger threa...
Why are models usually stoic? Won't we find a smiling person more engaging, therefor attracting us more to the product?	[ "If the model is physically beautiful but the shot is moody, serious, and appears aloof and unrelateable to the viewer it creates a kind of mystique and unattainable vibe (cold, aka \"cool\"), which gives the product its own appeal. You don't want to be friends with the model, but you want to be them. \nRunway mod...
Why is it that most singers close their eyes when singing?	[ "Why do I stick my tongue out when learning new song on my guitar? No doubt the act of closing their eyes can be part of the performance, for show, but it is also part of getting into the moment, concentrating, and settling nerves. I don't know of any studies on the topic and a quick search didn't turn up anythin...
What is dabbing?	[ "Marijuana's active ingredient is delta-9 THC. This chemical is most concentrated in the flowers of the plant, and in turn in resin glads within the flowers. By using various chemical means, this resin can be extracted and concentrated into a thick substance called 'dabs.'\n\nDabbing is simply smoking this concentr...
Where does having a soul and spirituality fall on the religious spectrum?	[ "You're at least mildly spiritual and not likely very religious.\n\nGenerally I spiritual as a view that there is more to existence than first meets the eye. There is a deeper meaning or at least perspective going on that is hard to pinpoint.\n\nReligious is more often a set of beliefs or practices. Going to church...
"Who are you wearing?"	[ "The red carpet is basically a celebrity fashion show. The designers loan the celebrities clothing for free, in exchange for having their name mentioned. Reporters are interested because when someone wears a good-looking new design, they want to know who was the clever designer who made it. It is like appreciating ...
Why car manufacturers name their cars after the year after they are first released	[ "Marketing. \n\nWould you buy a 2010 Toyota when you could have the 2011 Ford?", "Back in the day, a car's model year matched the year they were released.\n\nSince a later model year was perceived as being better by consumers, manufacturers raced to get their model year out as soon as possible. Eventually, some...
How/why did Los Angeles, the second-largest US city, not have a home NFL team for 20+ years?	[ "3 primary reasons. 1 - The NFL has TV blackouts in the area if the local team doesn't sell out their home game. LA had two teams in two different divisions, so games would be blacked out all the time when one of the teams wasn't great and didn't sell out. So when the two teams left, and LA could watch all the foot...
A question from r/adviceanimals: Why do gifs load slower than HD video?	[ "A gif is a series of images played in succession, like a flipbook.\n\nVideos are encoded. Very smart people do fancy things to make it so that the file is smaller. For example, a lot of the time, most of the stuff on-screen isn't moving, so the computer doesn't bother drawing it again: the software just says \"yea...
Why do some wires, such as phone chargers, eventually become fussy and work only when placed into a very specific position?	[ "Cables like that are made up of a bunch of very thin wires inside. If you abuse your cables, such as by coiling them up very tightly, you can break the internal wires or the connections between the wire & the connector.\n\nTreat your cables well - don't coil them up tighter than they were when you bought them. ...
Why is it nearly impossible to move your eyes individually?	[ "You can move them separately as an infant, and lose the ability to do so around 4 months. The reason is because our eyesight is only in focus when we track with both eyes, and as an infant, there is no benefit to not seeing in focus. Infants' only goal is to develop as quick as possible, which means your brain ess...
Why is all life on earth based on RNA/DNA ?	[ "The simple answer is that it works so well. A system which works well has advantages of anything else. So there are more descendents using it than any other.\n\nOne interesting variant is mad cow disease and its relatives. This is not life as we know it but the proteins are copied. So the disease is propagated wit...
How can movies show little kids smoking cigarettes?	[ "The cigarettes are most likely vaporisers, with fake cigarettes so that it looks real. \n\nMost movies I've seen of kids smoking were from decades ago though, when smoking was thought of as normal. I actually haven't seen many recent films where children.are smoking." ]
Why is body odor usually confined to the armpit, even when a lot of people take extra measures to protect against it?	[ "The human body has two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Eccrine glands are present all over, and typically secrete sweat that is mostly made of water. Their purpose is to keep your body cool when you're exposed to heat or enduring intense exercise. Apocrine glands, however, are located in targeted area...

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