Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
is Nelson Mandela a terrorist or a hero?	[ "He certainly engaged in activities that would be considered terrorism if anybody did the same thing to a western power. And he was technically still on the US terrorist watchlist until 2008. But by doing these things he probably saved more people from death, torture, and other hardships than if he had done nothi...
Why does feeling lonely make you want to spend more time alone?	[ "Its an evolutionary trait. When we're feeling lonely, we experience a heightened sensitivity to danger and threats in a social context. \n\nThe reaction that makes us want to spend extended time alone is called \"preventative rejection\", and in theory is protecting us from further rejection and negative interacti...
why can't we reproduce the contitions or environment to make truffles?	[ "We can. Wikipedia says that people began to notice that truffles grew under certain trees and cultivation was common in France.\n\n_URL_0_", "Upvote because I need to know this too. I fucking love truffles, and life would be great if I could afford to buy them more than a sliver at a time.", "Truffles can be a...
How does Computer Vision work?	[ "The basic recognition algorithm that's typically used nowadays is something you can do by hand (slowly). The following is a bit simplified but it'll give you the gist.\n\nFirst, I give you a grid representing the pixel values numerically. Let's say it's 256x256 pixels, and make it black and white for ease of use...
ELI5: Why does it take 1 seconds for debit card companies to take money out of my account but 5 days or more for them to refund it?	[ "The same question, almost word for word has been posted before.\n\nTop answer from that post\n\n > Purchase:\n\n > 1. The customer buys something. The merchant's bank checks with the customer's bank to make sure the customer has funds in their account, and the customer's bank puts a hold on the account in the amou...
Why do videos run better than video games on computer?	[ "Lets say you get hired to do a job. This job involves taking papers and holding it up for people to see. Sometimes you get tasks where you're given a stack of papers with stuff on them and you just hold one up, then the next, then the next, etc. Fairly easy.\n\nNow lets say you get a task where you have to draw...
The ending to the movie "Source Code"	[ "It does not make sense, but the plot is not that important.\n\n(spoilers, venting, feel free to skip to the bullet points at the end)\n\nPlot, assuming that the movie is set in our future: The military can scan your brain after you have died, and collect the last 8 minutes of your experiences. These experiences ca...
If lenses are round, why are photos square?	[ "actually, squares are rectangles, but thats not important.\n\nFirst rule, you cant reasonably make a square lens. Its all easier round.\n\nOk, so now do you make a round film? round digital sensor? round pictures? round picture frames? \n\nNo its clear the end result will be a rectangle, and in the case of fi...
How do women use the john while wearing dresses, especially the long flowing variety?	[ "There are generally ~~two~~ three ways.\n\n1. If it's just a skirt or if the dress is easy enough to take off, you can just pull it down like you would with your pants. This is usually not a good idea in public restrooms, because it will result in having your skirt/dress pool on the likely very filthy floor. The m...
Why are higher values of money made with paper rather than coins, if coin money lasts longer?	[ "Paper is cheaper to make and people don't like carrying coins around. In the US the Sacajawea dollar was tried for awhile a few years ago but never caught on because most people still preferred paper bills.", "I'd assume because paper is harder to counterfeit. \n\nIf 100$ coins were steel, it would be easy to ma...
What's actually happening when we laugh so hard it hurts?	[ "You're causing a hypoxic (low oxygen) state in your diaphragm and other accessory respiratory muscles. Source: I'm a paramedic student." ]
Why does paper money have serial numbers but coins do not?	[ "Serial numbers are an anti-counterfeiting measure.\n\nThe US government is not seriously concerned about people counterfeiting coins because of the difficulty and extremely low reward for the risk.", "printing individual serials on paper is way easier than stamping them into a piece of metal" ]
What is that "hot blooded" feeling you get when you feel aggravated?	[ "Your pulse and blood-pressure rise to prepare yourself for a fight. That means more blood gets pumped into your head and face, too. Since blood is warm, you feel hotter." ]
Robotics/Computers	[ "Robotics are based on three main components: controller, sensors and actuators. Sensors are something like our senses: the robot \"senses\" the environment with sensors, such as microphones, gyroscopes, proximity sensors and so on. Actuators are things that enable something: an electrical motor, a hydraulic pump a...
What does pain feel like?	[ "Wow, thinking about it, this is a very loaded question. It's difficult to explain pain to someone that can't feel it.\n\nI imagine you've suffered some emotional pain at some point in your life. If I had to describe how physical pain compares to that, I'd say it's fairly different yet somehow similar. Personally, ...
Can someone explain ancient Greek city-states to me like I'm five?	[ "They were closer to cities today than countries. Perhaps the best modern analogue would be modern city-states (or just very small mostly metropolitan states) or semi-independent territories...Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc. A small population, but with a strong national identity.\n\nThese were the first state...
How to understand camera lens F numbers	[ "A 12 gauge shotgun is a larger barrel than a 20 gauge shotgun. \n\nA 6 gauge ear stud is bigger than a 14 gauge ear stud\n\nA F/2.8 aperture is bigger than a F/5.6 aperture. \n\nIf you think of photography like filling a bucket with water (light), then the aperture is how wide your hose is, and your shutter speed ...
what causes the White Cliffs of Dover, and other white cliffs to be white?	[ "The cliffs are made out of chalk. The same stuff you use to write on blackboards.\n\nThe cliffs are the result of lots of little organism dying in that place a long time ago." ]
why the US military can't deploy military police officers in areas of the country with little police presence or cities that can barely afford a functioning police force like Detroit?	[ "The US military is not allowed to operate on US soil save in the event of invasion or fighting those of treasonous disent (civil war). It is one of the protections that prevent the President from becoming a dictator.", "The Posse Comitatus Act severely limits the power of the US federal government to use the mil...
Why do waves in the ocean look frozen when you look at them from an airplane?	[ "They are continuously moving, but with nothing nearby as a reference point and at a great distance, it is hard to tell.\n\nIt's like how a plane in the sky looks like It's going real slow, when it's actually going like 600 mph." ]
how does file compression work? As in .zip, .rar, etc.	[ "To give a really simple example....\n\nSay you want to compress a text file that contains:\n\n\"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA\"\n\nOriginally that file is 20 characters long. You can compress it by doing this instead:\n\n\"Ax20\"\n\nYou've now reduced it to 4 characters with no loss of information.\n\nIn reality, compressi...
Volleyball offenses, specifically 4-2 and 6-2	[ "Hokey doke. No visual aids, but I'll see what I can do.\n\nThe numbers in 4-2 and 6-2 refer to how many hitters and setters you have, respectively. 4-2 has 4 hitters and 2 setters, 6-2 has 6 hitters and 2 setters. But there's only 6 people on the v-ball court.\n\nFirstly, I'll ignore the whole idea of people ha...
Supernovae, Neutron stars, and black holes.	[ "* Supernova: when a massive star blows up, initiated by the sudden (takes less than a second) collapse of it's core. The collapse of the core is initiated when the pressure from nuclear fusion can no longer hold up against the immense gravity pushing in. There are generally two types, Ia and II.\n* **Neutron...
Why would a three degree increase in the average global temperatures have such a devastating effect on sea levels?	[ "It doesn't take much to upset a balance. For example, if in the past the ice caps grew during the winter and melted during the summer at about equal rates, the water levels would not be affected. But increasing the temperature just a few degrees would mean that now every years the ice caps are melting more than th...
Why does flushing the toilet make the water in the shower hotter?	[ "Toilets use cold water to refill their tanks. Flushing causes the tank to refill. Showers mix cold and hot water to get the temperature you want. Cold water is diverted to the toilet leaving only/mostly hot water.\n\nMore modern plumbing systems don’t have this issue, but its prevalent in older houses." ]
Why do we make cars that easily go way faster than the speed limit?	[ "Well, all countries have different rules, the same goes for speed limits!\n\nThe best example is Germany, they are known to have roads with NO speedlimit, meaning you can go as fast as your car (and your bravery) will take you!.\n\nThat also explains why there are many sports cars in that country too.\n\nHow about...
Why do we get dopamine releases from completing a hard video game level or accomplishing a feat, but not from solving a math question?	[ "I actually get a huge rush from solving a math problem...\nYou get the dopamine rush from doing things you like, partially. If you don't like something, you won't get the rush. Something like flappy bird is easy for most people to enjoy, so you get the rush.", "The sense of achievement seems to be the shared fac...
Why are babies attracted to cartoons and not regular television shows (non-cartoons)?	[ "I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the soft shapes and simpler designs. That's why shows like blues clues are the way they are. I don't really know but I hope that helps." ]
Is fire just a chain reaction between the molecules?	[ "Molecules aren't igniting. Something burning is a chemical reaction where the molecules of the burned substance are increasing rapidly in kinetic energy (their movement is increasing). The \"chain reaction\" depends on the energy of the activation of the reaction and the amount of substance that is able to undergo...
the situation in Kashmir?	[ "Alright, let's go back a bit. This is the really short version, since there's tons of nuance to this subject that you easily can--and many have--write a book about.\n\nDuring the 19th and early 20th century, what we know know of as India and Pakistan were ruled by the British. There was no seperation between India...
Why are you not supposed to use cruise control while pulling heavy trailers?	[ "Say you get a speed wobble. You need to come off the throttle immediately and slow down to recover. Your cruise control obviously doesn't know a speed wobble started and staying on the throttle will make the wobble worse. \n\nSame thing can happen in slippery conditions. Cruise control can make the car slide more ...
How do they build those rickety rope bridges? I can't wrap my brain around it...	[ "Generally you take a thin rope that's a lot longer than the gap, secure one end and take the other end the long way, down through the valley or whatever. You pull it tight and secure it, then you can use that rope to pull across a bigger, heavier and stronger rope, and do that as many times as you need until you'v...
Why does a mobil's GPS need mobile data and data connection to work?	[ "Your phone doesn't need a mobile connection to receive GPS signals. As you rightly suggested, these are constantly transmitted from orbiting satellites, and no internet connection is necessary to receive that data.\n\nHowever your phone does need an internet connection to download the maps which it uses to display...
What is the evolutionary purpose of pine cones?	[ "The pine cone contains seeds, when it's wet the cone \"scales\" tighten up and close, and when it's dry they open. This means that when seeds get blown out it's drier, which means they travel further. The cone itself is just the bag for the seeds, it's not useful itself after the seeds are gone.", "Pine cones ...
Why can you just tag the base to get a runner out at first in baseball but it seems like you need to tag the runner himself all other times?	[ "It's an issue of \"forced\" or not. If the runner has an alternative destination then you have to tag them, if they do not...you can tag the base. In the case of a runner stealing from first to second, the runner could return to first base if they decided to do so, so...you must touch them. When the player has ...
What the difference is between The District of Columbia and a regular state in The US.	[ "In the United States there are levels of government. Federal Government, State Government, County (not important in some states), City/Town etc. Each state government has a lot of latitude in passing laws as they see fit, essentially free of Federal interference, as long as their laws abide by the Constitution and...
Can someone explain Venture Capital funding like I'm five?	[ "1. With smaller VCs the money may come from an individual that runs the fund with a fortune they've amassed from some other business, but in most cases it will come from \"limited partners\", these are the VC's investors. These will be organizations like pension funds who treat VCs as the \"high risk\" part of th...
Why is using "I have black friend(s)" not a valid rebuttal to being called racist?	[ "Having one black friend doesn't mean a person likes all black people, that one black friend could just be the exception to the rule. It'd be kind of like a man saying \"I'm not sexist I have a wife\" and then saying something like \"a woman's place is only in the home\"." ]
How do trees die? Do they have a life span and die from "old age", or do they only die when they become infected with a fungus/infested with termites/etc.?	[ "They die like anything else. Sure they can die of the causes you mentioned. Even if none of those happen to the tree, over time cells become less able to reproduce identical copies of themselves. Due to this, the tree will not be able to keep growing or replace its current cells, so it will die. Trees don’t need t...
When the leader of the country calls the leader of another country, how does it work?	[ "In the Case of the USA and Russia they have a dedicated connection for diplomatic communications. In general, though, communication is done via the respective ambassadors in each country. Acting as a representative of a state is what makes the ambassador the ambassador after all.\n\nVarious means of sending inform...
Why land masses who are somewhat close to Antarctica such as New Zealand don't get cold?	[ "New Zealand is somewhat close to Antarctica in roughly the same way as Paris is somewhat close to the Arctic, and has a broadly similar climate.", "Simple answer is that they aren't as close as you think they are. \n\nHouston Texas is closer to the Arctic circle than Sydney is to Antarctica by about 200 miles.",...
The whole thing about DRM and Ubisoft.	[ "Ubisoft is notorious for the DRM (Digital Rights Management) in the games they make. The most frequent example of it is the requirement to be connect to the internet at all times while you play. So if you wanted to play for example single player Assassins Creed but where offline no dice. \n\nThe reason for the DRM...
How does a medicine, like one to help quit smoking, develop into side effects like suicidal thoughts?	[ "Because it changes the chemical composition of your body, specifically your brain chemistry.\n\nThink of it like this: Medicine A works by causing your brain to produce lots of chemical A. Chemical A being present in your system helps to curb your desire to smoke, which is great. But chemical A does lots of thin...
What is communism?	[ "Communism is a moneyless, stateless, & classless envisioning of society. Under communism there is no \"private property\" as there is today. Instead communists believe in a form of \"personal property\" that is determined by use of an object (as opposed to abstract ownership).\n\nFor instance: a house. If you ea...
Why does hot air seem difficult to breathe?	[ "Hot air is less dense than cold air so there is actually less oxygen present in it for your lungs to pass into your bloodstream" ]
Squatters rights	[ "Think of it the other way around: you have an agreement with someone to rent a house, it's an under the table deal so you don't really have a lease, just the guys word. You live there for two months, and the guy decides he wants you out. So he calls the cops and days that you're squatting. \n\nCops show up, and si...
How does the website _URL_0_ predict gas prices?	[ "Future fuel prices are based on todays crude oil prices, so lets say on monday, a company buys enough crude oil to generate 100 gallons of fuel for $50, that they sell for $1 per gallon. They get a delivery every monday, wed, fri. On Wed's delivery, their price has risen to $52 for 100 gallons, so when they are le...
Can you please give me a couple sentences about each of the potential presidential candidates?	[ "I'll keep this down to the six really relevant candidates: Bachmann, Paul, Gingrich, Perry, Huntsman, and Romney. Gary Johnson will not be a factor and Rick Santorum is fading fast.\n\nThat being said,\n\n > Ron Paul\n\nYou may know him as the darling of the internet and Reddit in particular. A vehement libertaria...
If rotten smells (dead animals, rotting meat, etc) come from the bacteria that eat the rotting material, where do those bacteria come from and why can't we smell them all the time?	[ "Poop comes from our bodies but we don't smell like poop all the time.\n\nThose bacteria are everywhere, but we're not smelling the bacteria. We're smelling the things those bacteria give off when they eat. Of course, the bacteria are always eating and dividing, but we only pick up the smell when the bacteria f...
Why does sand harden when water touches it?	[ "Mostly because water likes to stick to things (and itself). Sand is a bunch of tiny rocks all sitting in a pile. When you pour water onto sand, the water gets into all the little cracks between the grains. Water, as I said above, likes to stick to itself moreso than than the air that used to be between those grain...
When I charge my phone through the USB port on my computer, does it charge slower than it would through a wall charger?	[ "The answer is, alas, \"maybe\".\n\nIf your PC was build before 2012, and your phone uses a 2A charger, then yes. Even if neither of these is true, then it still might be \"yes\".\n\nThe USB standard for peripheral devices specifies that power consumption can't exceed 100mA without negotiating a higher transfer ra...
How social security contributes to national debt	[ "Social Security was doing great. In fact, it was doing SO great that as the Baby Boomers entered the workforce, it took in WAY more than it needed. However in a rare event, Congress was smart and realized \"Yeah, but we're going to be needing this money when all these folks retire.\" So they decided to save it ...
Why is water in drawings portrayed as blue even though most rivers and lakes do not look blue?	[ "Large bodies of water like rivers, lakes, and oceans really are blue.\n\nPure water with nothing else in it is transparent. But large bodies of water are not remotely pure. (They may be clean and potable, but they're not \"pure\".)\n\nYou know how a bottle of maple syrup looks dark brown, but a small drop of it lo...
What exactly is the difference between Arab and Persian?	[ "I mean, this is kind of like asking \"what's the difference between French and German?\" Well, a lot.\n\nArabs speak Arabic, Persians speak Farsi\n\nArabs are principally from modern day Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia while Persians come from modern day Iran....
why pens appear 'bendy'	[ "Believe it or not, like a camera, our brain has a \"frame rate\" or amount of information we can take in per second and process. It's about 15 f/s. (Side note: any motion slower than that doesn't really seem smooth to us.)\n\nSince our minds take in information in this finite way, filling in spaces as it needs to ...
When watching a game/fight how do they and who is in charge of switching from camera to camera for the best shot.	[ "Former TV News station employee here. Your local station doesn't have any control of the game being aired. The network itself (NBC, ESPN, CBS, etc...) has their own crew at the game. Each camera is routed into a main control room, where there is a crew of people controlling what makes it on air. You have your audi...
What is "blue light" and why does filtering it on my phone help protect my eyes?	[ "The most important thing about filtering blue light from your electronic devices is that blue light keeps you awake at night. Light signals your body to stop the production of melatonin and destroy the melatonin in your body, and blue light is the most effective at causing this. Melatonin signals the rest of your ...
Why is the tenth month called October? Did it used to be the eighth of something?	[ "Yep. In the Roman calendar, the year started in spring -- that is, with March. They had ten months, and then just said \"aw, fuck winter, it's not worth months.\"\n\nThat didn't last, so two more months were added at the end of the (Roman) year -- January and February.", "The pre-Julian Roman calendar began in M...
why do root beer floats foam when you put the soda on the ice cream?	[ "The ice cream has a very rough surface and is cold. The level of dissolved carbon dioxide in the soda is a function of temperature; the colder the liquid, the less carbon dioxide it can hold. The cold temperature of the ice cream causes the soda to cool, forcing carbon dioxide to come out of solution and form bubb...
How did a piece of leather sharpen an olde timey razor when leather is softer than steel?	[ "The purpose of the leather isn't to \"sharpen\" it's to \"hone\". \n\nIn the first stage of getting dull the tip of the razor will bend. The leather strop is used to 'push' the tip back into the right alignment without removing any material. This process is called \"honing\", you should do it a lot, which is why y...
When a gun is fired in fully automatic mode, is the recoil pattern predictable or random?	[ "I've fired exactly two automatic rifles in my life, I was young and didn't know the type of one, the other was some hands on historical thing and I was allowed to shoot a tommy gun filled with blanks down range, but it was pretty \"predictable\" both times, every shot gives recoil, so as long as the shots are cons...
What gives art its value?	[ "We give art its value. \n\nIts primary value is in what the art says. In 1917, an art museum was running a promotion in which they advertised that they would accept any form of art in their museum. Duchamp challenged this notion by submitting a urinal, signing it, and submitting it as a piece. The museum tried to ...
What do doctors do with unnecessary body parts like an appendix?	[ "Biohazard waste (removed body parts and those disposable tools that come in contact with your blood, for instance) are destroyed in a way that is designed to make sure that no living cells could remain, such as dissolving in chemicals or burning to ash in an incinerator.\n\nI would like to point out that body part...
How can there be any hope of stabilizing CO2 emissions if they are still steadily increasing?	[ "First of all, let's make sure we all understand what we mean by stabilising CO2 emissions. Because of the long residence time of CO2 in the atmosphere, the figure that actually affects the climate is not annual CO2 emissions but cumulative CO2 emissions. This means that the problem is going to get increasingly w...
How come we can increase our muscle mass but not our bone density?	[ "We can increase our bone density. If it happens too much, it would result in osteopetrosis. Nutrition affects the bone density as well as other factors. Calcium helps bones grow stronger, which means denser." ]
How Mirrors Work	[ "Your eyes work by noticing light. The sun seems bright because you are noticing a LOT of light from it. Colours are because your eyes can also notice the difference between different kinds of light. \n\nA mirror has a special surface that makes light bounce off it, so when you look at a mirror, you're really notic...
As Christmas is around the corner, can someone please explain why Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate it?	[ "Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate Christmas because of a few reasons:\n\nJesus commanded to commemorate his death and not his birth.\n\nEarly apostles and disciples didn't celebrate Christmas.\n\nThere is no proof Jesus was born on December 25th.\n\nThey believe Christmas isn't approved by God as it is rooted in...
How did dinosaurs become oil?	[ "They didn't. It comes from small marine animals and other life that lived before the dinosaurs. When they decomposed mostly carbon and hydrogen was left over, as the oxygen was removed over time the left over remains were covered by layers of sediment. As they got deeper in he earth, around 3048 metres, or 10,000 ...
As I repeat a task, I get better and better at performing it. However, with enough repetitions, I'll suddenly lose the ability to perform well for a brief period of time. What is this phenomenon and why does it happen?	[ "As a musician, my own 2 cents is that becoming tired has a lot to do with it. Take learning a new song, for instance. When I first start out, I suck. Then I practice and get a little better. Practice a lot, and I get pretty good. But there is definitely a point where practicing too much does the opposite. I become...
3D Printers. How do they work? What's used for "ink?"	[ "They do work. It's kinda like a really precise hot glue gun. They use plastic that's melted down and then put in the shape that a computer tells it." ]
Why are there no international laws prohibiting excessive forms of capital punishment (stoning, crucifixion)	[ "Because countries have to agree to it just like war laws and the Geneva convention. \n\nWhy would a country that stones people to death agree to a law that says not to do so?", "The issue isn't \"we need a law...\", the issue really is \"who is willing to commit troops/money/time or risk money/economy to enforce...
how do precision induction cook tops work?	[ "Induction cooktops work by generating a powerful oscillating magnetic field that vibrates the molecules in the pot sitting on top, which in turn causes the metal the pot is made out of to heat up. Since they operate on pure magnetism, the pot or pan used has to be made out of a magnetic material - cast iron, steel...
What happens to your vocal cords when you sing falsetto?	[ "It's simplest to just show an animation:\n\n[Here's your vocal cords singing normally](_URL_1_)\n\n[Here's your vocal cords singing falsetto](_URL_0_)", "The concept of \"vocal cords\" is pretty misleading. What you have instead are \"vocal folds,\" which are two flaps that let air travel through your larynx, wh...
how does healing an injury work?	[ "It's a very complex process. In the case of bleeding, it goes something like so:\n\n1. You get an injury, your skin cells are loaded with stuff that that causes a bunch of responses in your body, pretty much crying out \"Emergency!\" to everything in the vicinity. Neurons also do stuff, but that's not directly rel...
How do banks know if a check has already been deposited?	[ "The bank that has to pay the check (the bank where the drafter's checking account is) usually has software to notice duplicate checks. Once a check is used once to withdraw money from the account the check info is saved and if the same check is used again it should be flagged. \n\nSay you use Check #1023 to pay me...
Do animals that utilize camouflage prove they're self aware?	[ "Usually when we use the term \"self aware\" we mean consciously aware of, and having the ability to reflect, on our self -- in particular our mind. However, no such self-reflection is actually needed for camouflage necessarily, as it can a subconscious reaction, honed in millenia of evolution's trial and error (ha...
how do I recognize an object?	[ "I don't know weather this could be explained fully at the moment. It's to do with rather complex processes and interactions between different parts of your brain.\n\nFirst your visual cortex puts together a picture of what you see. It turns all the signals from your eye and optic nerve into a picture.\n\nThe secon...
How do scientists know that they've found 90% of near earth asteroids?	[ "This is an estimate based on the number, density, and size distribution of the observable objects. Given that they have found X number of asteroids of different sizes, and that there are so many within a certain area of space, and that number is much less in other areas of space, they can estimate about how many ...
How can multiple people watch the same online video at once?	[ "While the video is being played back it's read into a server computer's memory chips temporarily. From there it can easily be read many times per second to serve multiple users. If huge numbers are playing it, multiple servers are used." ]
How will transmedia culture affect future careers?	[ "Career paths are almost never meaningfully affected by the introduction of technology. \n\nFor instance, the structure of the animation industry has stayed basically the same after the introduction of computers. People do months of horrible unpaid work and years of horrible badly paid work in the hopes that they w...
Why did the Soviet government change their opinion on Shostakovich after the 5th Symphony?	[ "Shostakovich fell out of favor with the Soviet government because his works were at odds with their notion of how classical music should sound. The Bolshevik authorities wanted artists to create works that could easily be appreciated by the masses, and Shostakovich wasn't doing that. His work was dissonant and not...
Why do printers STILL suck?	[ "Printers are the interaction between the digital world and the physical world. Sometimes the physical world of ink and paper doesn't work and you have to intervene. Usually more expensive printers ($150+) work very nicely and have no problems with jams and wifi. \nOn that note about ink however, that's just the c...
How do phones and cell-towers deal with the Doppler effect?	[ "It doesn't matter\n\nThe Radio waves are moving at 3x10^8 m/s, thats 300,000,000 m/s. If you travel towards a cell tower at Mach 10 you'll be moving 3,430 m/s and change the wavelength by 3,430/300,000,000 or 0.0011%. You're not traveling anywhere close to Mach 10 so the impact is truly insignificant", "?\n\ns...
The difference between deductive reasoning and making inferences?	[ "Nothing. Deductive logic involves starting with a set of premises/axioms/assumptions and then, using logical rules of inference deriving a conclusion from those starting points such that, if those premises are true, the conclusion is necessarily true.", "Inference is less rigidly defined but can be used to mea...
Why does the shower change temperatures if you flush the toilet while the shower is running?	[ "Because the temperature of your water is set by mixing hot water and cold water. The toilate and shower often share the same source of cold water, flushing the toilet means there's less cold water available to the shower.\n\nSo the nice mix that you had so carefully created, is all of a sudden has way to little c...
Would creating a matrix disprove the theory that we could be living in one?	[ "If anything it would add more credibility to the theory, as it proves that a lifelike universe is possible.\n\nAnd no, the new matrix citizens can create a simulation of their own matrix. Surely it won't be an exact simulation of their own universe, but neither can ours be (as that would require the computer simul...
Is it true that going to the hospital for major problems in the US is expensive as hell? Why?	[ "Health care in the US is a business, and not a basic right, so it tries to make as much money as it can.", "Our health care system in very difficult to navigate. For those that are too poor to afford basic necessities they get help from the govt but not all places will take those patients. For those that don't q...
What makes a great conductor great? and conversely what sets them apart from a random high school band teacher?	[ "It's important to keep in mind that a conductor is nearly always the leader of the orchestra, too. So for weeks and months before you see him/her waving a baton around, they were in charge of auditioning band members, selecting the music, organizing rehearsals, making artistic changes or interpretations to the pi...
How the FIFA world rankings work.	[ "The basic logic of these calculations is simple: any team that does well in world football wins points which enable it to climb the world ranking. \n\nA team’s total number of points over a four-year period is determined by adding: \n\n· the average number of points gained from matches during the past 12 months;...
Why does poop, urine, sweat, etc. smell bad?	[ "Many animals have evolved to not like the smell of poop because poop is not nutritious and is full of bacteria. The animals who didn't think poop smelled bad probably died from the bacteria. The animals who developed by mutation receptors in their noses that recognized toxins in poop avoided the poop and lived. Th...
It is generally common knowledge that psychics are scams, my question is how do they still make enough money to keep their business going?	[ "(1) Not everyone accepts the idea that they're scams.\n\n(2) Even some people who accept that they're scams find it fun.", "As P.T. Barnum said, there is a sucker born every minute. That is how.", "If you needed to appeal to the majority of the population, there would be no niche businesses at all.\n\nMost pe...
Sometimes when I click on an imgur link, it sends me to an unrelated image. Why is this?	[ "If you're clicking on an old imgur link, it could be that the original image has timed out. I believe imgur holds onto images for 6 months from the last time someone linked to it and then recycles the code.\n\nFor example, lets take [this image](_URL_0_) on the front page of imgur right now. It's coded **bDk9o2A...
What is McDonaldisation?	[ "Mcdonaldisation according to the author George Ritzer, who invented the term in his book, is characterized by 4 different \"factors\".\n\nEfficiency – the optimal method for accomplishing a task. In this context, Ritzer has a very specific meaning of \"efficiency\". In the example of McDonald's customers, it is th...
Why does a sniper need a spotter, when both of them are using scopes to look at the target? And how does the spotter know the wind speed if there are no moving objects like trees or a flag?	[ "They're both using devices that give them that information. \n\nA spotter is used because while a sniper is certainly capable of gathering all that information and calculating it, having someone to feed him/her numbers speeds up the calculation of a long shot significantly. \n\nThat's especially important if lives...
Why there is so much hate to Comcast?	[ "They have a near monopoly position on an 'essential' service. Their 'near-monopoly' is due to the way the US telecom/internet industry is structured. They lobby to keep it that way. They also abuse their position to maximize profits at the cost of customer well-being/satisfaction.\n\nThis works because (a lot/m...
How does distillation work?	[ "In order to distillation to work properly, you need two different liquids mixed together - one very common distillation is water + alcohol. Now water becomes gas at 100°C, but alcohol has a lower boiling point around 78°C. This means that if you heat the mixture to, say, 85°C, all the alcohol in it will become gas...
How's the calculator industry doing since the rise of the cell phone?	[ "Just fine. Most high schools still use the same TI graphing calculator I used 25 years ago and charge a shit load for them. Also, using a smartphone for rigorous calculation sucks." ]
why do dvds look so much better and crisp on CRT TVs then on HD flat screen TVs.	[ "The difference will be almost all down to HD flat screen TVs being bigger than CRT TVs. Tell us the size of the TVs you are comparing. Blowing up an image to a larger size will make it look more blurry and reveal other imperfections. If you could make a fair, side-by-side test with a CRT and an LCD panel of the...
What would happen if, the moment you were arrested for a serious crime, you refused to talk, forever.	[ "You never need to talk, you will be put on trial, the evidence presented and a verdict reached. Though its possible the judge and your lawyers may get pretty fucking pissed at you for refusing to acknowledge the court and authorities asking basic questions like \"do you understand the charges\" and may declare you...
How does the Monte-Carlo method work?	[ "Let's say you have a white piece of paper and a black marker, and you color some areas of the paper black. You ask me to figure out what fraction of the paper is colored black. Let's say I already know the area of the paper and that this doesn't change.\n\nOne way to figure this out would be to precisely measure...

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