Subset (10)

eli5 · 25k rows

Split (1)

train · 25k rows

query stringlengths 20 300	positive listlengths 1 1	negative listlengths 1 1
How does flossing prevent heart disease or is that a misconception accepted after a few studies or opinions?	[ "Typed \"gum disease and heart disease\" in google. This is what i found... _URL_0_" ]	[ "Yep - Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes died last November when a ball hit his neck and caused a vertebral artery dissection. The artery was compressed from the impact, causing it to split and leading to a massive bleed into the brain." ]
Did the households of English kings have ranking members of the nobility as servants?	[ "While I haven't seen the Tudors, so I don't know exactly how the positions are represented, there were a number of positions within the Royal Household that were exclusively populated by nobles. For example, the Lord Chamberlain was the senior official in the Household and was invariably a peer (normally an Earl o...	[ "If it's okay, I'd like to ask an add-on question: could anyone, theoretically, do the exam, or was it restricted to the middle classes? I mean, clearly a peasant would probably fail because of their poor education, but were they allowed to try?" ]
the fact there is better than 20/20 vision	[ "the 20/ system is a subjective system. 20/20 means that you can see objects at 20ft (first 20) can see as clearly as a person with \"good\" eyesight can see at 20ft (the second 20) 20/100 means that you can only see the object at 20ft what a \"good eyesight\" person can see at 100ft. the other end of scale is be...	[ "Totally winging this, but I'm guessing it just wasn't diagnosed much before reading small text became a part of daily life. If you learned to read when younger but need bifocals at 40, who cares if you already know everything you need to know?" ]
Won't the moon eventually fly off into space since it is getting 1.5" away from Earth every year ?	[ "No. The moon's orbit is being raised via tidal pumping. The energy to do so comes from the earth's rotation, slowing it down and lengthening the day. The earth will ultimately out of angular momentum, with one side of the earth always facing the moon and a day as long as a month (\"tidally locked\"). This will hap...	[ "Newton's second law is that force equals mass * acceleration. Flies don't have much mass, so even if they really quickly change speed (like suddenly stopping when they hit a mirror) there isn't that much force. Things like this are often called \"laws of scale\". Basically, as you change the size of something, d...
How do dogs and cats easily determine each other's sex?	[ "A lot of it would be smell and pheromones wouldn't it? That's why male dogs go nuts when female dogs are in heat - they can smell the pheromones they're giving off (from some distance away I might add)." ]	[ "Mischeviousness is ignorance of social norms. They'll do things because they haven't learned what other animals or people see as acceptable within the in-group. Once you do learn these things, most people will conform to them to be part of the ingroup. That's why kids do things that are inappropriate. They haven't...
Why do men seemingly take longer to start urinating than women?	[ "I think you're making assumptions here. There's no link between gender and time to start peeing. Maybe you have a shy bladder." ]	[ "It's to do with the spaces between the cars. At the lights there's only a small gap, and if all the cars started together then the gap wouldn't grow and if someone hits the breaks there would be an accident. By waiting a second for the car in front to move, you create a safe gap between your car and the car in fro...
What makes something bouncy? What makes an object bounce more than others?	[ "Molecular structure which is allowed to stretch or bend without breaking the intermolecular bonds. Think of a thin wooden stick where you can put pressure on one end in a longitudinal direction. The stick will bend. Release, and the stick will return to its original length. Now imagine the molecules of a bouncy th...	[ "Food Scientist here: Looked up the ingredients online but could not find the exact ingredients for the icing. However I will give it my best shot. It has too do with the amount of solids that is in the icing (mainly sugar and corn starch). The sugar will bind to the water, and will keep the water from forming very...
How much does at-home recycling actually help the environment? I have heard the actual benefit is pretty much nil, is this true?	[ "I can only speak for paper/cardboard as I did a dissertation on it but in general it can make a HUGE difference if you compare the efficiency of countries with a recycling infrastructure to those without the environmental/energy differences in the life cycle are very noticeable ." ]	[ "When you add a file to your computer, it gets put in the first available space - even if that space isn't big enough to fit the entire file in. If the space isn't big enough, the file gets SPLIT into several pieces and put in different places. Over time, constantly adding and deleting things means that all the stu...
why does the drive to a destination feels longer than the drive back.	[ "Dude, I typically experience the opposite, usually you're wiped out before making the trip back, and energized and active on the way there." ]	[ "It's called the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon -- your brain wants to look for patterns in things, so when it learns something new, it gets to make all sorts of new patterns appear." ]
I'm lost and starving. There are tons of bugs around. Will I get a bunch of diseases/parasites if I eat them?	[ "Go for the grasshoppers. There are poisonous caterpillars but grasshoppers are kosher (literally)" ]	[ "Not sure if this helps but what you describe is common for two things. A pan can be old, usually passed down through generations having been seasoned over the years from every meal that was cooked in it. Usually cast iron. The other thing that seems more likely to your question is when someone uses a traditional s...
Why do things "hurt so good?"	[ "The body releases endorphins, or pleasure hormones, to help counter pain. Some people are more receptive to that than the pain itself." ]	[ "Yes. Someone please explain why I actually enjoy Ke$ha despite every instinct telling me not to." ]
If the Soviet Union had veto power in the United Nations, how was the UN allowed to intervene in the Korean War on the side of the South?	[ "The USSR did not vote in the resolution to launch a military expedition to relieve the South Koreans because they had chosen to [boycott the UN earlier in the year](_URL_0_) as a result of their anger in the Security Council's refusal to hand over the Republic of China's (Taiwan) permanent seat over to the People'...	[ "There was no need to because: - Sweden already produced and sold iron ore. - Shipping is by far the cheapest means of transportation. Kiruna (the place where most of the ore comes from) is nearer to Narvik than to any other navable port/waterway. - Baltic sea tends to freeze. In the end, it would have been a total...
How humans are able to run such long. distances without tiring.	[ "Our bodies are very good at maintaining a normal body temperature in high heat thanks to sweat. Dogs for example can only pant to cool their tongue in order to lower their body temperature. We have sweat glands all over our bodies. The sweat evaporates and takes heat with it. This is why we can run for long distan...	[ "It's just in their DNA. Even now, science can't fully explain the phenomena we call \"instincts\", even though we can see them in action, and have them ourselves." ]
How can a skunks spray be so powerful over such a large distance? Is it a trick of the mind, or do they really saturate the air?	[ "I have no idea about the actual air saturation, but the skunk's spray is composed of chemicals known as mercaptans (thiols) that can be detected by humans at really low concentrations (i.e., 10 parts per billion)." ]	[ "The chemistry is described [here] (_URL_0_): the sulphur compounds in smelly substances react with the steel and are neutralised." ]
Why don't lakes all have unique collections of fish species?	[ "One theory: [Birds](_URL_2_) > Some wading birds relocate fish eggs that get stuck to their legs, thereby aiding in fish dispersal to other parts of a river or marsh." ]	[ "If you were to build a 'super' car, would it be the fastest? The car that uses the least fuel? The one that can carry the most cargo? The one with the most amounts of seats? The one that fits in every parking space because its small? Different people create different languages for different reasons. Some are supe...
When did the black population in the Western US get so large? My racist uncle said it was because LA was a large city, and that's where all the public benefits were. That didn't sound right, so I'm asking here. More specifically, why is it smaller in Arizona?	[ "It's called the Second Great Migration and it started after the U.S. entered World War II. I think this counts as general knowledge on this sub, [but here is an essay](_URL_0_). Basically, the US was making ships and planes and other armaments on the West Coast and the factories and shipyards were hiring African-...	[ "Most of the time they are playing at the largest venue in the area." ]
Why do people still run around chaotically on the floor of the NY Stock Exchange every day? Why don't they just do it from computers in the offices?	[ "Mainly symbolic. I remember watching a video of the floor traders complaining they were losing jobs to technology and capitalism. EDIT: people keep suggesting movies, even though i posted the title. [link](_URL_0_)" ]	[ "Each builder is going to do what they want. Google pictures of Beijing some time, they have entire large blocks of buildings the same style and height. They also are far more regulated about how they build. I imagine in a more free market economy, each builder wants their building to be \"their building\" and not ...
Why is it when the batteries are dying in a TV remote if you spin them it works like new again?	[ "It's due to a thin, invisible film of oxidation that forms on the metal contacts. As the remote doesn't draw much current, when the oxide layer builds up, it increases resistance until the remote no longer works. On items that draw more current (cameras for example), the current that is drawn from the battery is e...	[ "Your body has no way of knowing that you are going straight back to bed when you move sleeping locales. This means that it interprets any increase in activity as most likely a long term thing because in most cases it is true (i.e you must have gotten out of bed because you saw a lion in the corner of your living r...
What would happen if you aspirated liquid oxygen?	[ "You would die quickly as liquid oxygen is -187 Celsius at atmospheric pressure." ]	[ "It increses the osmolarity of your blood: _URL_0_" ]
Where does the term “horsepower” come from?	[ "1 [horsepower](_URL_0_) = 746 watts. One horse (an average kind of horse) can generate about that much pulling power. The term was used by James Watt (engineer) to compare the power of his steam engines to the draft horses used at the time (1781)." ]	[ "> how it really amounts to a bunch of bologna I don't have an answer, but I do need to point out that bologna = lunch meat. Baloney = nonsense." ]
Why is taking an aspirin before the surgery harmful?	[ "It prevents your blood from clotting properly! Hence, if you want to walk out of the surgery without blood gushing from your wounds you shouldn't take an aspirin right before it :) EDIT: words" ]	[ "Hospitals, like most services in the U.S., are a business. It is hospital policy to not perform such operations unless some form of payment is secured. This payment could be credit, of course, where the person then pays their credit debt; or in some cases, a payment plan can be established where that patient is in...
Why do the continents of the Earth seem to be tapering downwards (top is fatter, bottom is thinner)?	[ "The fact that North America, Africa, and India all get narrower as you move South is (as far as I know) just a coincidence. The reasons for why landmasses are shaped the way they are at present is very complex and varies from continent to continent. We happen to live in a time when most of the worlds landmasses ar...	[ "This is a fun question. And it mostly has to do with cartographers and how they built /drew maps. Plus a little bit of British imperialism. Most of the early cartographers were employed by the rich Northern European countries to make maps of their country and the new world. So they put their native/home country fr...
If cats are lactose-intolerant, how did we come to the belief that giving cats milk = good? Or asked differently; how is it that cats (seemingly) enjoy - to the level of demanding it - milk?	[ "I work at a local pet food store and the best thing for cats is unpasteurized goats milk. It does have lactose in it, but also lactase, which breaks down lactose. Here is a link for more information: _URL_0_" ]	[ "Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5: how do metal detectors work? ](_URL_2_) 1. [ELI5: How do metal detectors work? ](_URL_1_) 1. [ELI5 how do metal detectors work? ](_URL_3_) 1. [ELI5: How does a metal detector work? ](_URL_5_) 1. [ELI5: How do metal detectors work? ](_URL_7_) 1. ...
In the chess games between Google's AlphaZero and Stockfish 8, why is each game different? Why isn't each game just the same every time	[ "Ahoy, matey! Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5: Why a chess computer doesn't respond the same way every time to the same attack pattern. ](_URL_0_) ^(_5 comments_) 1. [ELI5: Why does a computer use different openings when playing chess? ](_URL_2_) ^(_7 comments_) 1. [ELI5: If I l...	[ "Markov chains model sequential events. Think of it like getting up in the morning. You may think \"I am hungry,\" or \"I need to get dressed,\" and as such you will address those concerns next. After you either eat food or put on clothes, you are going to decide what to do next. This is mathematically what a mark...
What native societies made it through the "scramble for Africa" without much traumatic change? Why?	[ "Not sure if this answers your question, but the African country of Ethiopia remained independent for several centuries until four years before the outbreak of World War II, much after the Scramble for Africa (and even then, regained independence shortly after World War II began). In the 1890s, [Italy tried to gain...	[ "I'm really frustrated that all my books are in storage right now. The author you want to find is [Henry Reynolds](_URL_1_). If you're in university you may be able to access some of his books & papers for free. He's famous for his work on frontier conflict, but he covers non-violent contact as well. This is one of...
Why is it that the larger dominoes fall slower?	[ "The bigger something is, the more inertia it has. That is to say, the harder it is to get it to stop doing one thing and start doing another. In this case it would be stopping it from just sitting there and making it fall over." ]	[ "The harder you set it, the more time the computer gives itself to examine every possible future situation -- what you might do next, then what it might do in response, then what you might do after that, etc. On low difficulty it won't look too far ahead." ]
Can high amount of concentrated electromagnetic waves warp space like gravity does?	[ "The warping of space-time is gravity. Gravity doesn't just warp space, it is that the warping of space time by momentum and energy causes gravitation. So everything that contributes to energy or momentum can cause the warping of space-time. The hard part with the question is that an electromagnetic wave does no...	[ "When a lot of stuff floats around it tends to group up... as those groups form they get more and more attracted to eachother. The more stuff there is the more gets attracted (gravety). Eventually there is so much stuff that the middle gets very hot! Everything there turns into this super dense ball. it keeps pulli...
Why and how are stem cells so useful?	[ "If I cut off your hand Darth Vader style and it falls out of cloud city, you're just out a hand. Tough luck. That's because some types of cells don't recover. Your bones can mend, but you will not be able to replace the missing nerves, joints, and other bits necessary to have a fully functioning hand again. With...	[ "This is a very common question. You can use search to find [all the other really good answers](_URL_0_ ). This is instant, and faster than ust typing in your question every time. It's a way of cheating elections. Read the others, and then ask a more specific question." ]
Why are the sprockets and the chain of a bicycle always on the right side?	[ "~~Flywheels~~ Freewheels are usually threaded with a typical right-handed threading, so that the applied force of the chain tightens the freewheel. You could put the chain on the left side, but then right-handed threading would cause the freewheel to loosen instead of tighten, so the freewheel would need to be thr...	[ "The super super simple version is this: Rulers and clocks change based on where the observer is located. But the laws of physics do not change, and are the same in every frame of reference. A slightly more complex (but still accessible) explanation can be found [here](_URL_0_)." ]
What was the Government of the United Kingdom's plan if Britain fell to Nazi Germany in World War 2?	[ "I can't speak for the rest of their planning, but part of the military plan for the Fall of Britain was for as much of the Royal Navy as remained to flee across the Atlantic to Canadian(or in a pinch, American-controlled Icelandic) ports. The Royal Navy still(especially by 1941) vastly outclassed any force the Ger...	[ "I read a great book for my Ancient History major work on the Roman Military which helped me extensively as it includes detailed figures of military formations and the strategy behind the generals thoughts and step by step drawings of the different stages of major battles. I highly recommend this book as most of my...
How is it that Nazi war criminals have evaded prosecution for so long and/or why did prosecutors wait so long to take them to trial?	[ "It's pretty straightforward. A lot of the really bad ones, the men in charge, were able to amass personal fortunes either during the war or before. As things started to collapse for the Reich, they made preparations to flee. Fake documents, hidden stores of cash. They've been living under false names in South Am...	[ "Because there are no laws that govern the entirety of the internet. There are laws in countries that limit what the people living inside of its borders can do with the internet, but those laws dont apply if you arent in that country. All pirate bay has to do to stay operational is to find a country that doesn't ca...
How do we know how to adjust our stride/change legs before jumps to take-off on the preferred foot?	[ "Just like how we learn to walk by putting one foot in front of the other as babies/toddlers. Eventually your motor functions get so good at these \"menial\" tasks from repeating them so much that you don't need to think about every individual step, just where you want to end up. I'm no expert though." ]	[ "Same for the whole Earth. Remember, the Earth spins on its axis once a day, so your longitude doesn't really matter in terms of a multi-week launch window. There's a discussion of all this [here](_URL_0_), with a chart that even shows different countries launching spacecraft to Mars at around the same time." ]
Why is the brain designed so that it controls/processes most aspects of the opposite side of the body?	[ "Okay, this question really interested me so I tried my google-fu. I can see why you didn't find anything; all the search results are about lateral specialization of the cerebral hemispheres. But I finally figured out that the technical term for this is decussation and the theory is that originally the neural cor...	[ "It's arbitrary. Before cars were invented, there wasn't a set way to go --- on a super-busy street in a big city, lanes would naturally tend to develop. But otherwise it was pretty much a free-for all, because horses are smart enough not to crash into each other 99.9 percent of the time. You can check out old pict...
At what point does something become a ripoff rather than an homage or just being similar?	[ "An homage gives credit to the originator. A rip off does not give credit for the originator and tries to convince people that they invented \"it\", whatever \"it\" may be." ]	[ "The reason they can post footage from Star Wars is [Fair Use](_URL_0_). \"Examples of fair use include commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship\" Because they are providing commentary, criticism and arguably teaching they are allowed to use the copyrighted work...
What did the average colonial soldier believe he was fighting for during the Revolutionary War?	[ "It had a lot to do with the personal circumstances that the soldier was recruited from. For some it was merely a job, as is true of a certain number of soldiers in virtually every army in every conflict throughout human history. There were many who were inspired by exaggerated notions of what the conflict was trul...	[ "For starters, sometimes long shots make it. Eight years ago a freshman senator was a longshot against a well-financed established party member, a spouse of a former president. That longshot is now president. Besides that, there are reason people will run, even if they don't have a great chance of winning. The camp...
What a microchip is and how it works?	[ "A microchip is just an electrical circuit that has been put onto a small piece of Silicon (or some other semiconductor). There are lots of different types, and they all work in different ways. Maybe you want to know about CPU's, the microchip which does most of the computations on your computer?" ]	[ "_URL_0_ The wikipedia article is excellent and better than any of the answers in here so far. If you have specific parts you don't understand, ask away and I can help explain them to you." ]
Why are animal foods so often cheaper than plant foods?	[ "Because the vegetation that animals can eat is much easier to grow in bulk than the vegetation that humans will eat. Also, if you're buying groceries, produce is often going to be a ton less expensive than meats. It's just the restaurant business that vastly overcharges for salads, and that's so they can make up...	[ "A lot of companies use a bullshit markdown tactic. You have seen it originally $120 now $25. They planned at selling it at $25 the whole time. If it isn't \"marked down\" odds are you are really getting screwed. Take a coat a recently bought for example. I'm in the Midwest USA. Yes we have had a mild winter but th...
Why isn't Google Fiber expanding faster? Is it not performing? Are people not switching service as fast as they anticipated?	[ "The point of Google Fiber is not for Google to be the nation's largest ISP. It's to push and pull the monopolistic telecoms to improve their products and give customer's satisfactory service (thereby improving Google's market position as a web company)." ]	[ "The best way to understand relativity is that it explains the why of gravity (and motion in general) better than Newtonian physics. In general relativity (GR), all objects which have no forces on them (gravity is no longer considered a force) move in straight lines called geodesics. However, the caveat here is tha...
Is it possible to vary the energy of an electromagnetic wave using its amplitude instead of the frequency?	[ "Frequency dictates the energy per photon. Amplitude is related to intensity of the wave: more intense = greater number of photons (and vice versa). You can vary the amplitude to change the number of photons and hence the total energy. However, you will not be able to change the energy each photon carries by chang...	[ "We do. For instance, any dam on a river that generates electricity is utilizing gravity to get the job done. The trick is, we're letting the water cycle do the heavy lifting of moving an object 'uphill' (our river water). So there's still an energy input, it's just that we humans don't have to supply it. If we wa...
What the effects would be if humidity went above 100% and went to let's say, 200%.	[ "Humidity is how much water is in the air, as a measure of the total capacity it can store before rain happens. Once it gets to 100%, it should start raining. (there are some odd incidents that it doesn't happen quite when our instruments read 100%, but what's really happening is our instruments are not precise, an...	[ "Badly... People would use it as an excuse to do stupid things like steal, kill and commit other crimes." ]
How do felines know when they are fighting or just playing around?	[ "By response of said stimuli. When it goes too far a, say, kitten will signal it with body language and sound. And their partner will respond by licking the damaged area and going on a little less violently. If you have a kitten at home you can easily try this. If your kitten scratches or bites too hard, let out a...	[ "[Here's a strike in slow motion](_URL_0_). The initial \"feelers\" follow randomish paths determined by which nearby bit of air happens to have the least resistance. As soon as one of those paths reaches the ground, it becomes the path of least resistance to the ground because it has left behind a trail of ionised...
How do creatures like birds and butterflies know when/where/how to migrate?	[ "As far as my studies have gone, it's instinctual. Some birds use the earth's magnetic field, some use their parents and follow them and learn the path, others are genetically engineered to just know where to go. There's a term in ecology that we borrowed from German - zugunruhe. It's basically how animals exhibit ...	[ "If you lived a few thousand years ago, you could make a good map of the constellations of the zodiac piece-by-piece at night. Then, at sunrise or sunset, you could measure the angle between the sun and celestial objects that are visible even in daylight: the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter are the best choices. You then ...
Why is there no such thing as an E# or B# note/chord?	[ "There are! We just normally call them F and C, since there's no natural flat/sharp notes for E and B (they lie on the half steps of the c major scale). Some keys actually have B# and E# written into them, mainly because they also use C# and F# and you can't write F and F# into a key signature. The C# major scale...	[ "> What is Broadband Accessibility Act of 2017? Basically? It's a $45 million bribe being paid to AT & T and Comcast to get them to stop blocking EPB expansion in Tennessee. EPB is an electric power cooperative in Tennessee that started offering gigabit internet service to customers in Chattanooga, but has subseque...
Can elements with low atomic number (say less than 83) emit alpha particles?	[ "Some of them can. If you look at [this chart](_URL_0_), it's got all of the nuclides listed by Z and N, and the color indicates the Q-value for alpha decay. This is the amount of energy released by an alpha decay. Any nuclide which have a positive alpha Q-value can in principle decay by alpha emission. You can see...	[ "[Little Boy](_URL_1_) was the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It was detonated using a timed \"gun method\" where a piece of Uranium 235 was shot into a large piece of U235 to created the reaction. [Fat Man](_URL_2_) was the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Instead of the method used in Little Boy, Fat Man employed the \"impl...
Why do basic cable stations air the same movie each month and then switch to a new movie the next month and repeat the cycle?	[ "I wondered the same thing last time I had basic cable (thankfully I've wised up), and my conclusion was that they purchase the rights to air a certain movie for a certain amount of time, and thus get all the airtime they can out of it, thus creating customer loyalty to their brand (channel) in the form of giving t...	[ "It's a joke. I first heard it on Saturday Night Live when they did a skit called \"the change bank\". Basically it was a bank that gave you change for your money. Say you have a fifty dollar bill and you want 2 twenties and a ten, they can do that for you. At the end of the skit the bank CEO says, \"You may ask h...
Would holding in your urine longer than was comfortable, when repeated over an extended period of time, stretch the bladder and make you have to urinate less often?	[ "Yes it will stretch the bladder allowingyou to go longer between bathroom breaks. Though it will eventually lead to incontinence due to over stretching of the muscle tissue that makes up your bladder." ]	[ "Your eye has muscles that adjust the shape of the lens. This changes the focal point, optimally so that the light coming from part of an object converges on part of the retina, the image is 'in focus.' These muscles can essentially focus automatically, but you can control them. So if you are relaxing those muscles...
Why did early human tribes raise livestock for food if it was so inefficient?	[ "> Why did early human tribes raise livestock for food if it was so inefficient? Raising livestock is only inefficient when when its fodder must be produced agriculturally. > One of the concerns you hear today is that meat consumption is extremely taxing on resources because it takes so much more food to raise...	[ "Relate it to Coke bottles: 20oz bottle: $1.50 -Easy to carry and drink quickly -Fit in cup holders -Convenient -Good for on the go 68oz (2liters): $1.09 -Large, bulky -Unconventional for casual drinking -Better for taking home Both of the bottles have the same product, but the have different markets, or who they a...
Why do games come out later in Europe even if that's where they were developed?	[ "A lot of it will come down to the translation. For a game to be released in the whole of Europe, the game has to be translated into many, many different languages. Whereas in America, you maybe have just Spanish and French alongside the English. Another interesting trend to note is that games are often released on...	[ "Because 10pm to 8am is 10 hours, and 4am to noon is only 8 hours. That's pretty much all there is to it. 10 hours and 8 hours are different." ]
What was life in the USSR really like?	[ "This is a hugely broad question. The USSR of 1917 was vastly different than that of 1941/1970/1989. Moreover, in 1989, life in Moscow was vastly different than life in Samarkand. Narrow it up, and I'll try to answer." ]	[ "This question is getting a lot of traffic after being [tweeted by @reddit](_URL_5_), so I thought I'd welcome those of you that haven't visited /r/AskHistorians before to the subreddit. Please do bear in mind that in order to keep the quality of answers here high we have [strict rules on comments](/r/AskHistorians...
Where does that weird sadness come from after some orgasms?	[ "Post-coital tristesse is the term you are looking for! Do a google search and surf around, there are several perspectives, but the most fascinating to me is that the Greeks characterized this phenomenon and discussed it. Aka I don’t have a simple hard and fast answer for you, but that’s the name." ]	[ "Lol what do you mean \"we?\" I'm pretty accepting of what I get off to." ]
What happens when a gun is shot in zero-gravity?	[ "It shoots like it would anywhere else, if I had to guess the outcome. Bullets move via force, not gravity." ]	[ "Yes, this is a problem that time machine stories ignore. Still, when you're writing pretend stories, and you go so far as to pretend time travel is possible, it's not that big of a deal to pretend that the time machine can also transport you in space to whatever place on Earth you need to go to. It's just a tiny b...
What is the anatomical difference between an achy pain and sharp pain?	[ "Sharp pains and achy type pains are carried to the brain for interpretation by different types of nerves. Sharp pain is carried over Type A-delta nerve fibers which are much thinner than Type C fibers which carry, achy, dull and chronic types of pain." ]	[ "Ask Reddit is for personal opinions, stories, and the like. Essentially subjective answers to questions without hard answers. Something like \"whats your favorite food\" is a good post there ELI5 is for getting a simplified answer or explanation to a question that you don't understand. A good thread here would som...
During WWII specifically, were there any individual casualties due to falling bullet cases from fighter planes?	[ "Hi, hopefully someone will be able to address your specific questions, but to get you started, you may find these of interest * /u/Georgy_K_Zhukov in [Were the effects of WWII AA/flak rounds falling back to earth ever documented? One might assume that there exist today areas that are or were littered with all the ...	[ "Offhand, I have no idea what their lives would have been like, but I can recommend a book. Check out Empire Families by Elizabeth Beuttner, it's about the families of imperial civil servants and other administrators, and how they dealt with living in India. If you want to research them in particular, your best ...
🍄Why do we have the impulse to step on certain things, like mushrooms? Why is the need to destroy it so strong, and why is it so satisfying to do?	[ "I've never heard of someone impulsively stepping on mushrooms or other growing things. Are you sure it's not just you?" ]	[ "and why does an itch feel so good?" ]
Why most world religions, or most Abrahamic religions, seem to involve doom and gloom, and obsession with the apocalypse?	[ "Because there are only 3 major Abrahamic religions, and only 2 have \"End Times\" as part of their dogma. The most recent one borrowed a lot (natually) from the previous 2. Judaism, the original Abrahamic religion does not feature an \"end times\" in their belief. They have a Messiah that will lead their people to...	[ "Hi OP, this is a cultural question, so it would greatly assist anyone considering answering if you could specify which culture you're asking about. For example, the name of a cultural group / country / geographic region, plus a rough time period. Otherwise, this question is simply too broad, as it encompasses almo...
How does the medicine I take only impact certain parts and seemingly know where to go	[ "It doesn't know where to go. When you take pain meds, the medication goes all over your body via your bloodstream. It only works if it latches on to specific receptors in your brain and the painful areas which cause pain, blocking them or otherwise preventing them from being able to tell you \"hey doofus, this hur...	[ "You might get an answer to this question, but imho the question is borderline asking for medical advice. Asking for medical advice is frowned upon here and giving medical advice is against the guidelines for this sub." ]
Why is it that homosexuals are considered to be born gay while pedophiles are considered to have a mental disorder?	[ "Those aren't mutually exclusive options. To be considered a disorder a condition must cause some sort of difficulty that would be improved if it were somehow treated or removed. So homosexuality is not considered to be one by the medical profession as a whole. That has no real bearing on whether it has a biologic...	[ "Well it depends on who we're talking about. People with DSPD need to do everything they can to keep their clocks advanced relative to their baseline, which to society looks like a normal rhythm. People with weak clocks, like those with bipolar, are more susceptible to changes in zeitgeibers like exercise, wake u...
I'm a Roman merchant living in London/Londinium during the reign of Trajan. How long would it take me to get to Alexandria?	[ "I have exactly what you need: _URL_0_ That website is truly awesome if you are interested in such things. You can even take into account different weather etc. It's by Standford and is considered accurate." ]	[ "Unfortunately, this isn't a subject area which I can talk specifically about, hence I felt making a comment would be uncouth, however, all the same, for the sake of other responders, I though it'd be useful to say that I think you'll have to be more specific here (for the sake of getting the response you want) . F...
What are DJs doing when they have their headphones half on and half off? Does that serve a purpose or are they trying to look cool?	[ "The ear without the headphone is listening to the live mix, what the audience hears. And the ear with the headphone is listening to a track that hasn't yet been mixed in -- usually for the purpose of matching the tempo to the live mix so when it's faded in the live mix the transition is smooth and natural." ]	[ "Many mating displays are a way of showing off how much extra energy you have to spend. Generally, having good genes means you hunt better and get sick less often; only creatures with strong genes can spend the time and energy doing a mating dance. Thus, by watching to see who does the best mating dance, potential ...
Double Jeopardy, Can it be overturned if obvious evidence is produced?	[ "There are a few, very narrow exceptions, where a new trial is allowed even though the defendant was previously acquitted. The chief such exception is in cases where the judge or jury has been improperly influenced: you can't bribe the jury to acquit you and get away with it that way. The reasoning in such cases is...	[ "> If you could preserve a single file on say a partition that could not be over written and you knew the exact location of an identical file that was over written could the two files be used as Rosetta Stone to decrypt the whole computer? In principle, maybe. In practice, usually not. What you're describing is (ba...
I have read that Crete produced some of the best quality archers in the ancient Mediterranean, what was it that set them apart from other archers of the time?	[ "I believe you may be interested in [this post](_URL_2_) by one of our moderators /u/Iphikrates, who comprehensively answers a similar question, but in a bit larger scope - concerning also the Rhodians and Balearics. In their conclusion, they state that Cretans are not necessarily better archers, but had branded th...	[ "I'm only familiar with the [Connecticut Western Reserve](_URL_0_) (which includes Cleveland) as that's where I hail from, but maybe it'll answer your question to an extent for at least the particular region. The Western Reserve was a large chunk of Northeast Ohio, owned by Connecticut in the 1700's. Right before t...
Why don't countries invade other countries to take over land anymore?	[ "What do you mean by 'anymore'? The USSR was a little grabby and Russia continues to be. Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Iran-Iraq war prior that was a pretty fucking big war. India and Pakistan skirmish for land presently. Israel continues to fight the Palestinians as well as an entire region, although not in an...	[ "Hi, I've approved the post, but just a note to you and potential respondents: this subreddit has a 20-year rule against discussing current events, so any answers will have to cut off at 1997. If you're looking for answers that can include 1998-2012, do consider x-posting elsewhere, eg. a foreign affairs sub like /...
When we play back sounds in our heads, are they really sounds?	[ "No. You are activating memory cells in your brain, which recall the perception of hearing the sounds, but no actual sound is created in this process." ]	[ "You've got a tube that connects your inner ear to your throat called a Eustachian tube. Normally this tube is pretty much open, except for a 'door' on the throat end to keep stuff out. When you've got a cold, the tube can get infected and it gets swollen, so even if the 'door' opens it can't equalize pressure bet...
Why were the Revolutions of 1848 a failure?	[ "Depends on how you frame it. On the one hand it was absolutely successful because it really brought the point of the revolutions to the forefront for a number of countries (or at least regions)- France, Germany, Poland, Italy, and the Austrian Empire. Nationalism in a number of these countries would play critic...	[ "This question is getting a lot of traffic after being [tweeted by @reddit](_URL_5_), so I thought I'd welcome those of you that haven't visited /r/AskHistorians before to the subreddit. Please do bear in mind that in order to keep the quality of answers here high we have [strict rules on comments](/r/AskHistorians...
What kinds of ancient structures are still in use today?	[ "They still use the arena of Nimes for concerts. Not as old as some of the other examples (70 ad), but they treat as if it was a modern arena which is quite impressive." ]	[ "Round here (Telford, UK) the local one stores salt for de-icing roads in winter. There's another one around which has a riding school in it." ]
Why are there feminine/masculine words in many European languages?	[ "The languages you are talking about are the Indo-European languages. Almost all languages in Europe are part of this language family. The original language that all of these descended from (Proto-Indo-European) had gendered words like that, so almost all of the languages that came from it also have it. Originally,...	[ "I looked this up in the 1959 edition of Brewers (reprinted from 1870) and they state that British pink and white complexions remind one of the pomegranate. This is the only explanation given - no mention of POHM or anything like that." ]
How does AC travel further than DC?	[ "Tesla did not discover or invent AC at all. That done well before he was even born, and he learned about AC studying electrical engineering at university. Nor did he build the first full AC generator or [transformer](_URL_0_), motor (Ferraris) or distribution network. (Dolivo-Dobrovolsky) AC does not \"travel furt...	[ "One big reason is map design. No road that goes north is straight. They are all designed to be curvy. This gives the impression that the map is larger because it takes longer to traverse." ]
Why militaries don't use railguns	[ "As CaptainObviousMC points out, they are looking into it, but part of the reason they aren't more serious about it is simply that the concept of a battleship is dying. Massive armored ships are no match for modern anti-ship missiles, and at the same time, you can load up a much smaller destroyer with more power th...	[ "Costs money to build and maintain the facilities, some countries don't feel like taking on the burden of that cost." ]
Were there any interesting moments of history that were caused by the literal, failed structural integrity of important buildings [Outside of bombardment/siege], whether random/accidental or planned?	[ "In 446 AD, Atilla the Hun was busy shaking down city after city in the Roman Empire. The people of Constantinople counted themselves incredibly lucky to be blessed with impenetrable city walls, ensuring their eternal safety. Except that in 447, Constantinople was hit by an earthquake that managed to make *gaping h...	[ "Is this a homework question? It says in our [rules](_URL_2_): Our users aren't here to do your homework for you, but they might be willing to help. Remember: AskHistorians helps those who help themselves. Don't just give us your essay/assignment topic and ask us for ideas. Do some research of your own, then come t...
Why do some people want to abolish minimum wage?	[ "The idea is that in free-market capitalism an employer should be able to pay whatever they want to somebody to work in a particular position and if that wage is too low, then the person would find a job that pays better somewhere else. The \"effective\" minimum wage would be wherever the market of employers and po...	[ "The more money that is in circulation the lower the value of each denomination of that money. So a dollar today may get you a candy bar, but after the government prints a whole bunch of money that same candy bar may cost you three dollars." ]
What do animals hear when music is playing?	[ "I would imagine they're head pretty similar thing to us, although they wouldn't be able to comprehend the meaning behind the song. Most animals are able to detect patterns, so it would be interesting to see what kind of experiments you could test out with music. What if you play a certain song every time you feed ...	[ "How do you know a year has passed without looking at a calendar? I imagine they sense the temperature/climate changes like anything else." ]
Why do white things turn yellow if they stay in light?	[ "It's not that they're white, it's that they're made of a type of plastic that, after prolong exposure to light, will degrade, becoming yellowed and brittle. UV is bad for that type of plastic, so the more time it spends in direct sunlight, the more it yellows." ]	[ "The chemicals of life only work well in very specific environments. If a chemical is forced too far outside of the environment it is meant to work in, they can break apart. The main chemical in bleach has the same effect on many of the chemicals of life as extreme heat, causing many of them to break down. This kil...
Do leaves change color around man-made light for nutritional value or are we actually harming trees?	[ "I've done a little bit of reading and it seems that most artificial lighting applications are too dim to really affect photosynthesis in the gross, but will definitely be enough to mess with the plants regulation of growth and other responses such as the dropping of leaves in the fall, because they expect a certai...	[ "It varies, but not much individually. The problem is when everyone does it. It's kind of like why you're taught not to pick a flower from a garden when growing up. You alone, picking one flower, is not going to be noticed, it's not going to affect the plant or garden overall, but if everyone picks just 1, very s...
Any geologists able to weigh in on whether or not hills all over the Wyoming prairie are dinosaurs?	[ "That makes no sense whatsoever. Dinosaur bones are found in sedimentary rock, so if anything you wouldn't find them in rolling hills (which would indicate they are buried in a more resistant lithology). The rolling hills could be due to old metamorphic/volcanic/igneous intrusions, or some of them might be till mou...	[ "Hau is a Lakota greeting from males to other males. Apparently it means [\"yes\"](_URL_1_), as well. One way that Northern Plains cultures became the quintessential Indian culture in Western minds is through the [Wild West Shows](_URL_0_) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These traveling shows predated ...
What mechanic/s does Clear Eyes use to reduce/remove redness in the eyes?	[ "The active ingredient in Clear Eyes is Naphazoline which is a [vasoconstrictor](_URL_0_). This chemical constricts the blood vessels in the eye, causing less blood to flow through them, making the blood vessels less visible and reducing the apparent redness of the eye." ]	[ "You're seeing condensation trails from the rocket exhaust. As the rocket fuel burns, it creates water vapor. That water vapor condenses and freezes in the upper atmosphere. It happened to show up very well in this launch because of the time of the launch. It was past sunset & dark on the ground, but the sunlight ...
How do Microwaves and TVs continue to hold lethal levels of electricity after they have been unplugged for a long time?	[ "Capacitors. Most electronic devices have some capacitors in them that can hold and discharge electricity. You can think of them as sort of like batteries. In some devices the charge in the capacitors can hold lethal levels. It is a good idea to be careful when dealing with electronic devices. electricity can lurk ...	[ "> I think it's just a delay in the OS's process to update the display And you are almost correct. It's not the display (which can be updated immediately), it's the OS that takes a little time trying to reconnect to the network before deciding it is really down. Your roommate doesn't know what he/she is talking abo...
How are movies made into HD that were never filmed with HD cameras?	[ "The media in which the film's where originally captured in has higher quality then the old video tapes or even digital copies could produce. High definition releases of old movies captured on actual film (none of this applies to film captured digitally) do actually capture more detail then older methods could." ]	[ "My guess? When you're dealing with a lot of makeup, prosthesis, special effects its easier to hide flaws. You can see acne under makeup in high def, you couldn't really see that back in the day. Just a guess." ]
Why do I get carsick as a passenger but not as a driver?	[ "I believe motion-sickness comes about because the brain senses that we are moving (through the inner ear, our in-built motion sensor), but our eyes tell the brain that there is no motion (or at least different/less motion). The brain, upon noticing this disagreement in senses, assumes that one of them is under the...	[ "You have probably been lucky, and not been exposed to as many contagious people. Do you have much contact with children?" ]
How does a chirp frequency in a radar work, and how does it improve resolution?	[ "Chriping in radar technology works by sending a radar chirp (i.e. a longer pulse with ever changing frequency) and then working some black engineering magic on the receiver for create a single sharp pulse from the chirp (this works if you know for what kind of signal you are looking/filtering for). This improves...	[ "The ionosphere has a different composition at night then during the day due to the sun's rays not hitting it at night. Finland is very far North, and being the winter time the ionosphere is hit by very limited sun rays. The Ionosphere reflects certain radio waves, thus allowing you to hear stations from much farth...
On SNL (and similar shows) how is the live audience's laughing timed with the camera cuts we're seeing at home, when they can see everything happening on stage?	[ "There are several staging areas in studio 8H in Rockefeller center, most of the time the audience isn't straight on, meaning the soundstage isn't directly in front of them. So the only way they can watch many sketches is on the TV(s) mounted on the walls and rails. Other times when the cut happens for the joke for...	[ "Audio in film is made of a number of different \"tracks.\" One contains all of the actors voices recorded by the on-set mic or during the dubbing process, while others contain music, sound effects recorded on set, and other audio put into the film. When they replace the voice acting of a film, all they have to do ...
This exchange between a Muslim college student and Jewish professor.	[ "He said that the Muslim Student Association was affiliated with a terrorist group. She said that wasn't true because they never received support from said group. He said that, if they aren't affiliated, then does she condemn their actions. She refused. He continued pressing that point, eventually stating one of th...	[ "/u/idjet has done great (and patient!) work with his/her [AMA](_URL_0_) on medieval witchcraft, heresy, and the inquisition. He/she deserves our thanks." ]
Why do tv shows use identical twins to portray one character?	[ "There's a lot of laws around child labor. It's largely banned in many industries but exceptions are made where it's unavoidable, like child actors. Even there, there's a lot of requirements & regulations about working hours & conditions. There's no good way to deal with limited working hours & make a child a major...	[ "Their claim hasn't been verified in any scientific way. If I gave 10000 people a sugar pill and 1000 of them lost weight I could legally claim that the pill helps with weight loss. It wouldn't make the claim true, and the results might not be repeated in a larger sample population. The disclaimer would keep people...
If a pupil is a hole, why can't we see inside it?	[ "if 1+1 is 2, why can't I have ice cream for dinner?" ]	[ "In physics there is rarely such a thing as \"100% precisely\" - in theory a photon could always 'tunnel', only that the probability is so small that it's not worth taking that into account." ]
Why is debt for businesses a good thing?	[ "The type and reasons for debt determine if it's good or not. Debt from re-investment means the company is trying to grow and thinks it has a strong model. Debt from over-extending resources, or not selling product, is bad, and means a company could be in it's decline." ]	[ "Firstly, possibly most importantly, it distracts and focuses the mind. Our minds are a bit like dogs, in that redirecting them distracts them. Secondly, it saturates the brain with oxygen, which is the opposite of what stress/distress does." ]
Can the human body have too much blood?	[ "In addition to polycythaemia, which is mentioned above, you can also be given too much blood! If you give too much blood [product] via transfusion to someone they can get Transfusion Associated Circulatory Overload (TACO)." ]	[ "Every time you make a copy of a cell, there is a chance for errors. For example when you photocopy a first print, it is pretty crisp and close to the original, but there are a few minor discrepencies. Now if you photocopy the copy, it gets more distorted, and so on until some letters get hard to read, it gets diff...
Why do Pain Medications or Muscle Relaxers make you tired?	[ "Opioids such as morphine, heroin, or oxycodone, have action on the Mu opioid receptor. This receptor, when bound to by an agonist, causes pain relief, sedation, nausea, and respiratory depression mainly. It has other effects such as itching and reduced blood pressure which typically aren't that big of a deal (exce...	[ "We associate cold moving air with invigoration and warm still air with nappy-time. The human animal has evolved to have a preferred avoidance when possible of being really active when it's really warm. A lot of societies in warmer climates have a \"siesta\", or mid-day nap time, to dodge the hottest sun and heat....
Why is the Heroin and Pain med "epidemic" considered a bigger deal than Alcohol consumption.	[ "Sure, but thats pretty useless information. I'm sure as a percentage the data would be much more meaningful. The issues with heroin are not just to do with it's effects on the body as a controlled substance; but how it is sourced; how the profits are used in criminal activity, the health factors of dealers cuttin...	[ "Horse meat isn't rare at all. You can get it in many parts of europe. Tastes ok too. Anyway, that's culture. The same reason we think that bacon and eggs is a breakfast food, and don't eat grasshoppers." ]
IP Addresses and Public Wifi Networks	[ "I do monitor multiple sign ups from the same IP on websites. We trigger a flag for the admins when we get 50+ signups in the same day from that IP. Then it is reviewed by humans because for all we know it could be a school." ]	[ "Sometimes they do. Especially at universities who are often required to try to prevent piracy to a higher degree than normal ISP." ]
Does memory store experiences or information?	[ "Some suggest that everything you experience is, in some way, encoded in your brain. The issue is recall. Most people do not have perfect recall but there are some very few people who can. They consider it a burden. [Total recall: the people who never forget](_URL_1_) < -- Very interesting article It is hard to t...	[ "I gona mention 2 potentially viable arguments but that are quite a few 1: It takes technology to make technology. Its like an exponential growth that has taken a long time to build up. A modern example would be for our modern computers to work we had to figure out analog transistors and before that we had have to...
Is there a brain chemical/hormone change that occurs when a person loses, say in sports, that can cause a losing streak?	[ "There is more than one study looking at this, in fact! In Neuropsychology, this is a component of \"Learned Helplessness\" theory. When chronically exposed to a situation where they are helpless, animals develop behavioral symptoms similar to what we see in humans with anxiety and depression. Hyperactive serotonin...	[ "It's going to depend a lot on league rules, country and state laws, etc. Generally the all stars - like LeBron - would be allowed to determine how they want to receive payment so that they can minimize taxes or whatever. This means, yeah, he could say I want it all up front. Or he could say, break this up weekly ...
Earliest Peoples in North America	[ "Don't wish to stifle any discussion but you Might be interested in [Clovis Culture and the First People in America](_URL_6_) by /u/RioAbajo in our FAQs." ]	[ "It is certainly our diet. Meso-paleolithic humans survived on a diet of huge amounts of fiber (which cleans teeth when chewed) small amounts of sugar, absolutely no processed foods, etc." ]
How are old films restored?	[ "I’d guess they probably scan the individual frames from the film reel, then re-color and touch them up before assembling them into a video file. Or they might scan the film into a digital format, then edit the video directly. Or maybe even run it through a neural network to re-color and restore the images automati...	[ "They play the music at the same % as how fast they plan to sped up/slow down the video and have the singers lip-sync to that version." ]
what determines how powerful and what specs a computer needs to be to run games/programs?	[ "Former game dev here, The studio chooses a target hardware spec and builds the game to run on that as the reference minimum. If the game is too slow and they need to optimize, they optimize until it runs adequately on that machine. Everything that is determined to be \"not good enough\" is targeted to be improved ...	[ "There essentially isn't one. Within an individual product line from a given manufacturer the numbers may mean something, but mostly they are just the name the manufacturer gave to that video card. It's all about marketing. The first number in most cards indicates the \"generation\" of video card they belong to, bu...
When my bladder is full, why does drinking water immediately make it worse (since water doesn't go directly to my bladder at the time)?	[ "The water fills your stomach, which expands and puts pressure on surrounding organs. Or, it could just be a placebo effect." ]	[ "Think of your brain like a billion streams of water that flow over the surface of a rock. The more you use a certain stream, the more \"powerful\" that stream becomes by digging away that rock. Now even if you have a nice dug place for a stream, sometimes randomly that stream won't have needed to flow for a while ...
Photons bend due to curved space-time, does that mean our visual perception of things are slightly warped.	[ "Absolutely, but the affect even from the Earth would be undetectable, so it doesn't really make sense to talk about it. Edit - To show just how small it is from the Earth, a simple calculation of the deflection angle, with the ray passing just over Earth's surface (and only being deflected by gravitational means) ...	[ "It's the same as the [pinhole effect](_URL_1_). When light rays pass through a lens, the rays through the very center of the lens are [not deviated](_URL_0_). By limiting the incoming light rays to only the very center of the lens or lens system (which is what your eye is), you cut down on much of the blur that wo...
when we heat up metal, it melts and then vaporizes. When we heat up wood, it catches alight and then turns to ash. What causes the difference?	[ "Metal is pretty chemically stable, ie, it won't react with other elements or reduce itself to a more stable state. (This isn't entirely true; if you heat up metal in an majority oxygen atmosphere, it will form a oxide powder just like wood. Usually though there isn't enough oxygen for this to happen) Wood is diffe...	[ "Because the problem with sunlight is not the heat, but the exposure to UV radiation, which damages skin cells and their DNA, leading to sunburn in the short term, and to melanoma and other problems in the long term. Melanin, the pigment responsible for the darkening of the skin, is placed above the DNA of skin cel...
Why would you make child car seat straps/webbing out of a material that you cannot wash by submerging the straps in water?	[ "As a parent who had been through more seats than I care to count, my guess would be... so you buy another one. While you can wash parts of most seats, the straps are generally not removable to wash (probably for safety reasons that could result from potential wear or unsafe installation of re-attached after remova...	[ "High coercivity vs. low coercivity. You're never going to need to re-write the information on the magnetic stripe of your credit card, so its stripe has high coercivity. That means it took a lot of energy to produce, but will take a lot of energy to erase. Hotel keys need to be re-written almost daily, so their st...
Why do gunshots burn?	[ "A bullet is propelled from a gun by a controlled explosion. It travels down a tube really, really fast, making contact with the sides. Yes, bullets are really hot for a minute or two after being shot. If you get hit by a bullet, yes, it can burn you. Yes, it will feel like it's burning you." ]	[ "Wasabi, as with mustard and horseradish, has enzymes that break down compounds called glucosinolates that are present in these plants. The reaction produces isothiocynates, which are the 'hot' compounds you notice when eating those. The glucosinolates and the enzymes producing them are water-soluble, so drinking w...
Would 100 degree steam really burn you worse than 100 degree water?	[ "[This question was asked elsewhere](_URL_0_). The answers given come down to the heat of vaporization. Basically, it takes a lot of energy for water to change phase from liquid to gas. Conversely, changing from gas to liquid gives off a significant amount of energy. When your body absorbs the energy (has to go som...	[ "Because the nerves that bring sensations like pressure, heat and cold to your brain get the info from special structures around nerve endings that are deep in your skin. If you touch an open wound you stimulate directly your nerves and give them a much greater stress. The other case where this happens is when your...
How come cars are able to go up to 220 km/h but highways only allow speeds of up to 110 km/h. Wouldn't it be wiser to have cars max out at 110 km/h-ish and reduce the engine capabilities?	[ "How long do you want to take to accelerate? Merging onto the highway in a reasonable time takes far more power than maintaining a constant speed. There are plenty of 1.0 l cars for sale in Europe. They take about 17 +/- seconds to reach 100 kph, but they are very fuel efficient. No one would buy them here in the U...	[ "Your body is a house, pathogens are a thousand and thousand of cockroaches ramping on the floor. Fever is basically the house habitant (immune system) being like \"Oh fuck it, let's burn the fucking house down\". It's super effective but it can be very damaging, when a fever isn't really high, doctors usually advi...

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