Subset (10)

eli5 · 25k rows

Split (1)

train · 25k rows

query stringlengths 20 300	positive listlengths 1 1	negative listlengths 1 1
Why is the outline of Africa in the 1502 Cantino Planisphere map seemingly so much more accurate than other parts of the known world (including parts of Europe)?	[ "There are a lot of lines on this map. What is their purpose?" ]	[ "They probably didn't. [Sweet potatoes, a south american crop, are found in Polynesia](_URL_0_), and [chicken, an Asian bird, is found in south america](_URL_1_), both pre-contact. Also, [Polynesia DNA is found in south america](_URL_2_)." ]
How come wet clothing dries pretty quickly, but water in a cup doesn't just evaporate away?	[ "For one, spreading a cup over the entire surface of a shirt will give you a much larger surface area, so water can evaporate from everywhere at once. In a cup, only the water on top can evaporate, so the rest of the water has to sit in wait until the top layer evaporates." ]	[ "temperature and heat transfer are not the same thing. convection is a phenomena where air flow increases heat transfer. if it feels like 40 when its 50, all that means is that roughly the same amount of heat transfer from a person to the outside is happening if it was 40 and no wind. also because a themometer meas...
Knowing that water expands when either boiling or freezing, is there a temperature at which it takes up as little volume as possible?	[ "+4C. Above that, it expands with heat. Below that, it expands as it starts to form into crystal lattices." ]	[ "This is related to the [enthalpy of fusion](_URL_1_) related to phase transitions. Basically, the temperature of a fluid as energy is removed follows a [linear curve](_URL_3_) during the liquid state. This rate of temperature change is related to the [specific heat capacity](_URL_2_). Once the temperature reaches...
How is voting in the US safeguarded against rigging?	[ "Well, it isn't really. There are systemic safeguards, but in the end the US electoral system depends on the honesty and integrity of the people involved in the process." ]	[ "Because most people who do not live in a cave realized decades ago that this has been going on. Very few people and/ or countries are that naive, not to know that this is going on in every country in the world" ]
Why eating late or eating a big dinner leaves me hungrier than usual in the morning	[ "Digesting food takes roughly 4-6 hrs. Digesting food is very energy intensive, from releasing acids in the stomach, and digestive enzymes in the gut. When you take up nutrients, your insulin levels spike up from baseline and gradually decrease by the time you wake up you're feeling hungry because the insulin level...	[ "It takes much water for your body to digest all the fats and sugar. It will first draw this from your stomach and intestines (from your bloodstream, ultimately). Thirst is your body telling you to drink water - in this case, just to replenish what was used to break down the fats and sugar." ]
CUDA cores and how are they different from VRAM	[ "They're wildly different CUDA cores do the math, VRAM holds the numbers An nVidia GPU has a lot of small CUDA cores in it, these do the math necessary to draw something on the screen, they function like hundreds of tiny CPUs. The VRAM holds the numbers that these cores take for input like the textures for the surf...	[ "Psychologically, we are \"programmed\" to accumulate rather than divest. As such, we start with accumulating and then learn to take away. Algorithmically, i.e., arithmetically, there is no difference." ]
Why is it easier to count 1-1000 backwards than to sing ABC song backwards?	[ "Numbers have a logical sequence, and it's a sequence which makes sense whether you go forwards, backwards, count in twos, etc. Letters don't have anything logical about their sequence at all. The only reason they have a sequence is because we assigned one, and called it the \"alphabet\". We learned the alphabet by...	[ "You know how authors write long stories using letters and words and the rules of grammar and writing? Its just like that. With enough knowledge of how to read (math), these kinds of explanations make sense. Dont feel bad that you cant read it. Its just like if you tried to read a story in a language you dont know....
During the Gulf War, did TV Broadcasts aid the Iraqi army in aiming their missiles?	[ "I don't know about the Gulf War, but a fox news correspondent was [kicked out of iraq](_URL_0_) for compromising troop locations." ]	[ "TV Stations actually don't really \"pick\" commercials. Stations have advertising slots open for anyone who is willing to pay to advertise there. Now for the advertiser that slot must be worth the money they are paying to sell their product. That's why is you were to watch Nick, Disney or Cartoonnetwork you see a ...
How can a one gas station in my town sell diesel for $2.59 per gallon, but another gas station less than two miles away can charge $3.49 per gallon?	[ "They each can charge what the market will bear. Maybe the expensive place has more traffic from the Interstate, who effectively pay for the convenience." ]	[ "Say you're in class, and good work provides results in jelly beans from the teacher. These are super jelly beans, and you need 10 beans a day to survive. So any amount of 10 beans is luxury. You work hard and you earn 20 beans, but in order to get those beans you used pencils and paper provided to you. Therefore ...
Why do auctioneers talk so weird when actioning?	[ "It's called an auction chant and it's intended to fill up dead space between actual bids and make it seem like there's lots of action happening so that people feel compelled to make bids. So, instead of \"The current bid is $40... $45, anyone? ... Any bids for $45? ... Okay, a bid for $45 from... number 42...\" t...	[ "It's completely cultural. Some languages are tonal, which means that a word's tone is an inherent part of its pronunciation. If you change the tone from a falling one to a rising tone, you've mispronounced it and have likely said a different word entirely. In Mandarin questions are indicated by adding the word \"m...
Professor Kevin MacDonald claims that "early 20th century Jews tried to get as many other Jews to come over so they could influence US politics. Is this completely false? If so, why is MacDonald considered a respected scholar?	[ "Even if every Jew in the world pre-holocaust had moved to the US that would still be only a small fraction of the total US population; anyone capable of basic math can see the proposition is ludicrous. Unless you wish to assert that the leaders of some worldwide conspiracy couldn't do simple arithmetic. edit: not ...	[ "Some people are responding with saying it's just Shakespeare. Can I just say as a Shakespeare specialist, this is not an acceptable answer? Shakespeare did not invent these things (and it is an open question how much of our modern Macbeth was written by Shakespeare any ways *EDIT: please note /u/texpeare dis...
Why is it that I don't have to pee, but then suddenly my bladder is about to explode?	[ "The bladder wall is made out of muscle which has waves of contractions just like your gut. These waves appear and disappear which may give you the feeling of urgency (feeling of wanting to let go). This should not normally happen unless you are holding your urine on purpose. The usual feeling of bladder fullness i...	[ "The inner ear and outer ear are seperated by a layer of issue impermeable to the outside atmosphere called the ear drum, aka tympanic membrane. When the air pressure changes by a large amount, the air in the inner ear and the air outside the ear are not at equilibrium. To re-establish that equilibrium of pressure,...
Is the concept of "dog years" in any way scientifically accurate?	[ "No. For one, different dog breeds have drastically different lifespans. Also, the rate dogs mature at isn't linearly related to how humans mature. The \"one dog year = 7 human years\" is basically just an estimate." ]	[ "> 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 do you always see the remains of truck tires on the highway?	[ "Highway trucks tend to do a ridiculous amount of mileage in a year. Upwards of 80,000 miles even. Before going into any more detail its just good to know that the truck(where the driver is) is the tractor and the trailer is just the trailer. Now everyday before the driver gets onto the road he/she must to a pre tr...	[ "When they release it back to nature, they want the micro-organisms to have a head start, so that it is digested as soon as possible. Air lines are a really cheap way to increase this effect." ]
Why does the frequency of peeing increase during our presence in swimming pools?	[ "There's a lot of wild guessing here with no references, as per usual. Cold diuresis - When you enter a pool, more often than not the water will be cooler than your internal temperature. Your body detects this change in temperature and in order to protect from hypothermia it constricts your blood vessels and divert...	[ "This is called the [Cheerios Effect](_URL_1_). I find this amusing. Basically, when something is floating in a liquid, a [meniscus](_URL_0_) forms around it. (In the case of the bubbles, it's a concave meniscus.) Since the bubbles float, they want to be at the highest point achievable on the surface of the liquid,...
Why do so many people that suffer from sleep paralysis have similar experiences such as a strange being in the room with them or static noises?	[ "A theory I've been seeing a lot is that your brain doesn't understand what the hell is going on, why is your body unable to move, so it tries to make something up to answer this. So the hallucinations would make it look like you're paralized because of fear and your brain is happy because it has its answer." ]	[ "\"You're sitting in a chair\" and \"I know you're sitting in a chair\" don't mean the same thing, of course. The former is entirely a statement about you; the latter includes that statement, but also makes a statement about me. Now let's introduce Jane. Jane is staring at you from a hidden camera because she's a...
How is the transit method of exoplanet detection used to determine the planet's volume?	[ "> A planet orbiting 0.5 AU from its star would have a much smaller drop than a planet orbiting at 50 AU, correct? So why is this not taken into consideration when calculating the planet's radius? The difference between 0.5 AU, 5AU, or 50AU are geometrically insignificant when you're observing the system from 10's...	[ "I don't know the specifics of this launch, but generally they take a few days to get unmanned vehicles there so they can check out the systems and make sure everything's working well, then use the most efficient transfer burns to get to the station. You don't want an uncontrollable or poorly-controlled vehicle get...
What can the average person take daily to help them stay healthy?	[ "It is best to check out [r/fitness](_URL_0_) for this sort of information." ]	[ "This is an extremely broad question, but I'll attempt to tackle it from a personal computer perspective: In theory, anything on your computer can be accessed by anyone with an external connection to your computer. They do this using a variety of means, but it usually involves a: + Virus, or other malicious code (e...
Is a Dyson Sphere possible and if so feasible?	[ "More plausible than a dyson sphere is a dyson swarm or a dyson ring. In a sphere the poles are not subject to centrifugal force to counter the gravitational pull so the structure will suffer extreme tension. A dyson ring or rings can be put around a star at diferent inclinations and they will have the advantage of...	[ "I'd be simpler just to build a [fusor](_URL_1_) with deuterium. _URL_0_" ]
the Republican Party in the US	[ "The Republican party in the US represents the right-wing side of American politics. Given the electoral system in the US, which is not parliamentary, almost all elected officials come from one of the two major parties. The Republicans' constituents largely include: - Economic conservatives, who believe that minima...	[ "This falls completely out of the realm of this subreddit considering it's policy about issues within the last twenty years, so this will probably be deleted." ]
Westboro Baptist Church and all the hate associated towards it. As I am an Indian living in India, I have no knowledge about it.	[ "They are a radical group of far far far right wing (conservative) activists. They regularly protest things like soldier's funerals claiming that its \"good\" that they are dead because they are defending a country that supports things like \"equal rights for gay citizens\". In general, they are a very small group...	[ "The simple answer is to ask another question: what would you allow through this firewall and what would you block? A firewall isn't automatic and it isn't magic. You can't get a firewall which blocks \"bad stuff\". It works on rules. You tell it what to block and what to let through. China has made one which block...
Wednesday What's New in History \| April 13, 2016	[ "The first 100 issues of an important UK archaeology monograph series, East Anglian Archaeology, were recently made available [for free on their website](_URL_0_). These are site reports - publications of archaeological data - for the UK counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and parts of Cambridgeshire. The series includes...	[ "Hi everyone. Since this is the kind of question that can attract non-expert responses, just a friendly reminder that all responses must comply with [sub rules](_URL_0_), and that [personal anecdotes](_URL_1_) are explicitly not permitted in /r/AskHistorians." ]
How does the body choose what fat to burn when losing weight? Is it like first in first out?	[ "Fat is constantly being released from adipocytes and taken up by them. It's released as ~~HDL (high density lipoproteins)~~ free fatty acids bound to albumin, taken up by the liver, and reprocessed and released as VLDL (very low density lipoproteins). What this means is that the fat in your body is constantly movi...	[ "Your employer takes money out of your paycheck throughout the year to pay your local, state, and federal taxes. The amount they take out, however, is just an estimate how much tax you will probably owe at the end of the year. There's no way for the state, local, and federal governments to know what you actually do...
why are we able to be tickled?	[ "Not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure it's a defense mechanism. When you get poked in the ribs or stomach, your natural instinct is to jump or flinch because just under the ribs are all of your vital organs that need protection. This is also why you can't really tickle yourself, you don't need to defend yourself ...	[ "your body releases a chemical to help you fall asleep, when you wake up you are still under it's effects for a few minutes." ]
What causes gravity to increase in strength during a free fall, as opposed to just sitting in a chair?	[ "Gravity never increases. It accelerates objects with the same unchanging amount of force. When you are sitting in your chair, gravity is pulling down on you at 9.8 m/s/s. Your chair is pushing up with the exact same amount of force. When in free fall, gravity is accelerating you until the force of gravity equals t...	[ "Well, there are a couple of things. First, there's the cumulative stress of the environment over time. Things like oxygen oxidizing things it's not supposed to and all sorts of other minor things that just add up over time. Second, there's the fact that it's built into our genetics. As a defense against cancer, ou...
Question: What will happen to sea life in an ocean that has irradiated water spilling into it everyday?	[ "Fukushima is literally not even a drop in the ocean. The ocean is massive, and incredibly deep. It would take a LONG time before it accumulated." ]	[ "There was a lot more than \"literally nothing\" left over after the bomb. But the places were in shambles. It took a lot of work to rebuild, just as it did all of the other +67 Japanese cities that were destroyed from strategic bombing during the war. There was little radiation on the ground because the bombs were...
Does light that barely escapes the gravitational field of a black hole have decreased wave length meaning different color?	[ "Yes. In particular, shifted towards the red, or... redshifted. That's gravitational redshift. That's for going up; going down it's blueshift. You don't need a black hole, btw, you can do it in Earth's gravitational field, read up on the Pound-Rebka experiment." ]	[ "Nice idea, but it won't work. There are a few reasons: (1) We know dark matter does not feel the electromagnetic force. If the dark matter were Dyson spheres, from absorbing the energy of the stars they surround, they would radiate in the infrared, and so we'd detect this. In fact, people have looked, and [no Dyso...
What happens to entangled unstable particles?	[ "No, there is no reason that both muons would have to decay at the same time. Say we have two muons that are spin-entangled, such that if the first is spin up, then the second must be spin down (spin entanglement is the most common form). Then, your one muon decays, into two neutrinos and one electron/positron. Now...	[ "I have a longer comment as an add on to Mediumtim's comment, but I just wanted to add one more thing that didn't fit in my other comment. > Heisenberg stated that absolute position and absolute momentum together have no meaning in nature In the mathematics of QM, an absolute position or momentum (even on there ow...
If the Dark Ages never happened, what would our present look like? Would we be much more advanced or would we be similar to what we are today.	[ "Most historians reject the idea of a 'Dark Age', it doesn't make any sense and is entirely Eurocentric." ]	[ "Back then people still needed jobs, now they dont and can practice harder for longer. And science helps by showing then methods on improving motions. You cam find cool videos on youtube" ]
What would happen to the atmosphere if the oceans level raised hundreds of feet?	[ "The local atmospheric pressure change due to a very sudden sea level rise would be very small, and indistinguishable from normal variation. & #x200B; \"Barometric altimeter\" isn't a thing underwater. But, if you mean it measures \"the pressure at this distance from the surface\" then you could have a point to ch...	[ "To add to the other answer. We also have fossils and sediment layers which show us that some parts of the earth were once covered in water. We also know that mountains were flat land and have been pushed up. The Rocky Mountains are still growing (I believe) and people have found fossils to show that they were once...
Why cant respiratory alkalosis be corrected by hypoventilating?	[ "Remember, a respiratory alkalosis is pathological. You can't correct the alkalosis via the lungs because that's the cause of it. The renal system must compensate. However, if you were to hyperventilate consciously (mimic a resp alk) and then relax, you DO in fact hypoventilate (obviously there'll also be a co...	[ "Diver here. The amount of air in an uncompressed bottle won't be enough to make the effort worthwhile. You would be better off taking the time and energy to get to either the surface or a reliable air source like a partner's backup regulator. For short vs long, either one would deplete in a matter of 1 breath any...
I know I don't drink enough water. If you're supposed to drink 6-8 glasses a day, why am I not dead or severely ill?	[ "8 glasses a day is a myth. You need as much water as you need. If you live in a cold climate you'd need less. If you lived in a desert just having 8 a day would kill you from dehydration." ]	[ "The temperature sensors in your skin can only detect relative changes in temperature. Not absolute temperature. You can show this by doing a simple experiment with three cups of water. one cup of ice water, one cup of room temperature water, and one cup of hot water. Place a finger of your right hand in the ice w...
Why do you get really bad cramps before diarrhea?	[ "That's your large intestine muscles contracting to try and move the poop along. This is thought to be controlled (at least somewhat) by stretch receptors in the gut. Under normal circumstances a group of muscles contract when stretched by solid poop, the poop moves down the tube, and then that group of muscles re...	[ "I don't know, but I suggest you stop eating at White Castle." ]
What was the average day like for a woman in ancient Greece? Specifically the Classical Era	[ "Where in Greece? It could differ very widely depending on the place. A good example is comparing Spartan women to Athenian. In Athens, the general preference was that women not leave the house. Whether they should be educated was a matter of debate. In Sparta, women were educated, and ran much of spartan business....	[ "Sorry, we don't allow [throughout history questions](_URL_0_). These tend to produce threads which are collections of trivia, not the in-depth discussions about a particular topic we're looking for. If you have a specific question about a historical event or period or person, please feel free to re-compose your qu...
Why is Fluoride in bottled water displayed as if it is a good thing?	[ "From what you have heard or researched? Water fluoridation is a good thing and drastically prevents tooth decay in modern countries. Literally anything is bad to swallow in certain dosages, including water which can kill you if you drink enough. The fluoride level in your water is low enough to be healthy to inge...	[ "They don't. It's a marketing ~~lie~~ gimmick. I used to work for a company that did a similar thing by mail. New customers were supposed to sign up by a certain time for special rates but as a specific matter of policy we'd give those rates to anyone who mailed back the special offer." ]
how do they convert old movies into HD?	[ "Generally speaking, film that movies were recorded on has a higher resolution even than HD (1080p). They just re-scan the film at the higher resolution." ]	[ "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." ]
With more Roman artifacts being destroyed in Palmyra, what views have Islamic civilizations typically had towards pre-Islamic architecture? Have any civilizations shared ISIL's view that these structures represent heresy?	[ "Hi there -- your submission is fine here, but I wanted to drop in a note to let people know that, as always, we do not allow discussion of [modern politics](_URL_0_) on this subreddit. Thanks!" ]	[ "The Nazis were obsessed with not only the purity of the Aryan race but also culture. The documentary [Architecture of Doom](_URL_0_) goes into a lot of detail about the Nazis and their obsession with art. The whole thing is available on YouTube and is a really interesting examination of Hitler's obsession with art...
why Facebook's valuation at $100 billion is not a bubble (like MySpace).	[ "I'm sure people said MySpace wasn't a bubble, or the property market either. Bubbles are only bubbles when they burst." ]	[ "Hmm ... good question. Let me tell you where I think the answer lies: food. If you adjust for inflation, the prices of many basic foods is less today than it was in 1900. Take flour for example. Page 213 (document page 31) of [this U.S. Census document](_URL_1_) has the prices of many basic foodstuffs betwee...
. How is salvia legal?	[ "Probably because it is self governing. You take it once, you'll never willingly do it again." ]	[ "[Actually, you can get a full DNA genotype from about 3ml of saliva.](_URL_0_)" ]
What was the political response from nations other than the The United States and Japan after the US dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.	[ "When Truman informed Stalin of the bomb, Stalin merely smiled and said a few words. Most present at the exchange just assumed that Stalin didn't understand the implications of such a weapon on geopolitics. Stalin, however, knew of the bomb through his spies at Los Alamos and had already begun his nuclear weapons p...	[ "Sorry, we don't allow [\"example seeking\" questions](_URL_0_). It's not that your question was bad; it's that these kinds of questions tend to produce threads that are collections of disjointed, partial, inadequate responses. If you have a question about a specific historical event, period, or person, feel free t...
How does my rear-view mirror in my car reflect off of the ceiling when I flip it up at night?	[ "The shiny metal part of the rearview mirror is at an angle to the glass that covers it. This creates two reflections - a bright one off of the shiny metal, and a dim one off of the glass. During the day time, you have the mirror assembly adjusted so that you're seeing the bright reflection off the shiny metal. Whe...	[ "Light travels at different speeds through different mediums, and as the density of the mediums vary. The air is being heated at different rates between you and the horizon creating different air densities, like ripples on the surface of a river. Light from the horizon refracts as is passes through the different bo...
How effective are phorid flies against fire ant colonies? Are they capable of actually killing an entire colony or do they only keep the ants 'contained'?	[ "Phorids don't seem to actually destroy entire colonies, that would disadvantage the flies as well as they've just destroyed their own food source. The main benefit of introducing flies is that in areas where fire ants are not native there are basically no setbacks to these outrageously huge colonies. Introducing t...	[ "Like many things in history, this is the subject of interpretation. Many dynasties in history have had a similar destiny, being puppets and legitimizers of true rulers. However, the Abbasids didn't give up so easily. Caliph an-Nāṣir made a final attempt to restore the Caliphate to its original power: the Ayyubids ...
If a man gets his sister pregnant, why CAN the child be born with disabilities?	[ "This is usually a problem in families with rare disorders Assuming green eyes are bad..... If one of your parents has brown (dominant) eyes & another has green (recessive) then you could have Bg (and have brown eyes), & so could your sister....Now if you have kids, each of you will donate one of those genes to the...	[ "There are a couple things going on here. First, there are lots and lots and lots and lots of ants. There are probably more ant _colonies_ of a typical ant species per square mile than there are individuals of a typical mammal species. I mean think about it. How many anthills are in your back yard? Now, how many de...
How do scientists make money?	[ "People that fund research: A Company looking to make a product, Universities, The Government in General, The Military in Specific, NASA in Specific, and people who donate to research funds." ]	[ "Advertising. Those who qualify can become YouTube partners and receive a cut of the ad revenue their videos generate for YouTube." ]
Why do your pupils dilate when on physedellics?	[ "It's purely neurological thing, they just have some centres of brain interact in the manner brain usually doesn't and along many side-effects, this is one." ]	[ "as far as I understand it, it's because there is no actual proof that they are doing drugs. it's a production to show drugs, made to be as realistic as possible. think about it this way... star wars is proof that hyperspace travel is possible because it's a video proof as such." ]
How come scientists haven't created a device that notices a heart attack and sends a distress signal to the authorties?	[ "They have. It's a little bulky and uncomfortable so you wouldn't wear one if you're healthy." ]	[ "Not enough energy to. It's like lighting a match in a snow storm and expecting it to melt everything. Sure, the match is hot, but theres a lot more cold than there is hot." ]
why do passports expire?	[ "I am 47 years old. The passport photo I had when I was 18 wouldn't be of much use now. By having passports expire every ten years, it means that I update my passport photo every ten years." ]	[ "This CGP Grey video does a really good job of explaining it all. _URL_3_" ]
Why is it that we can see some comets that are not near misses (i.e. Halley's, Hale-bopp) with the naked eye, but we can not see huge near misses like the asteroid that passed by today?	[ "a comet has a cloud of highly reflective gas and ice around it called a coma. the comas extreme reflectiveness and size make it easier to see." ]	[ "> Does a full moon actually mean we can see 50% of its surface? Also, does the relative \"fullness\" change from month to month? Very close to 50%-- actually about 49% or so. The Moon's orbit is elliptical, so depending how close it is to the Earth, we can see a tiny bit more or less of it. In addition, that ellip...
Why has there not been a mass shooting event in Australia since the Port Arthur Massacre?	[ "I would say it just makes sense: Less guns and harder accessibility to them = less shootings. The easier it is to get your hands on a gun, and the more the use of guns is promoted as normal in everyday life, the more likely it is you will choose a gun as a weapon. This counts for attacks planned well ahead, and wh...	[ "Churchill had arranged operation Fish, having all the wealth of the UK (gold, securities) moved to Canada. The gold was to be kept in Ottawa and the securities under the Sun life building in Montréal. The British thought that Canada was a safest place for their gold. One might speculate that in case of imminent in...
What is the exact moment a marriage becomes official?	[ "Well, if we’re splitting hairs, I believe it’s when the state recognizes the marriage and issues the certificate." ]	[ "If I am not misstanke the reason it the [Analemma](_URL_0_) of the sun. If you take a picture of the sun at the same time during a year is move in a figure 8 like in this picture _URL_0_#/media/File:Analemma_fishburn.tif The sun will be at the lowers location it location on the sky more a lot horizontally at the t...
How is my brain able to make the most beautiful scenery, full of details, in my dreams and when I try to do the same while being awake I have the hardest time.	[ "Parts of your brain, which remain active while you sleep, interpret the \"mess\" the rest of your sleeping brain makes. That part of your brain is already in use by perceiving the real world around you while you are awake. If you deprive yourself of outside stimuli, you will start to hallucinate (Ganzfeld effect)...	[ "Soooo many things. Temperature, current water AND salt levels in your body, your diet (not just week-to-week, but also day-to-day, and sometimes meal-to-meal), hormones, exercise, current and previous health routines, sleep patterns, and the consistency of all of these factors. If you want to start having more \"g...
Why are the oceans salty, when salt deposits don’t seem abundant on dry land?	[ "> Why are the oceans salty, when salt deposits don’t seem abundant on dry land? It rains and salt dissolves into the runoff. That water goes down through rivers and lakes, eventually making its way to the ocean. When water evaporates into clouds it doesn't take the salt with it, and fresh water again rains down on...	[ "Our skin contains sebaceous glands that produces oil naturally. And the surfaces which are smooth enough for the oils in the ridges of our fingers i.e., fingerprint to transfer onto, then the surface would retain fingerprints better. For instance, a phone with a glass back retains more fingerprints than that with ...
Do children who are delivered via cesarean have a different type of microbial makeup than those who are delivered naturally?	[ "There was a 2006 [article](_URL_0_) that found that \"infants born through cesarean section had lower numbers of bifidobacteria and Bacteroides, whereas they were more often colonized with C difficile, compared with vaginally born infants.\" Increased counts of C difficile was correlated with higher hospitalizatio...	[ "In [Plague, Fear, and Politics in San Francisco's Chinatown](_URL_0_), Risse provides the following in reference to practices and attitudes in China at the time: > Most villagers, however still practiced the instillation of a powder made from dried smallpox scabs. Instead of conferring immunity, this strategy o...
If a bullet were fired downwards towards the earth from a rifle, would it continue to accelerate due to gravity or would it slow down after it leaves the muzzle?	[ "If it's not in a vacuum, it will slow down due to air resistance and will reach terminal velocity. If it is in a vacuum, the force of gravity acting on it will continue to speed it up until it reaches the center of the earth. I'm assuming you mean that it's not going through any medium (including the crust of the ...	[ "Point a flashlight at the wall and turn it on. See the small circle? Now, let's say your flashlight is delivering xyz power to the wall. So xyz power is landing in that circle, right? Tilt the flashlight in any direction. The circle spreads out across the wall doesn't it? But you didn't change the batteries or any...
What happens if someone claims they are guilty of a crime, after been found not guilty?	[ "If there is new evidence that has been found the case could be re-opened but in general they get away free due to the principle of Double Jeopardy preventing you from being tried for the same crime twice." ]	[ "Imagine country A has laws that are intended to encourage new businesses, and so the laws there make is hard for old businesses to claim \"Hey we did that first!\" or \"Hey, that almost the same as what we do!\" Suppose country B has laws that are meant to protect that country's companies, and stop cheap-o foreign...
Is the magnetic field, caused by permanent magnets, literally just a giant dipole of all the atoms combined?	[ "More or less, yes. The fact that the magnetic moments of the electrons are pointing in (mostly) the same direction doesn't imply that the electrons are standing still. It just means that they're all \"spinning\" in the same direction." ]	[ "Look at [this picture](_URL_0_). Pretty much gets the idea across. The lines in the picture represent magentic field lines. Note how the disk is sorta \"pinched\" between them. In that fashion the disk is held in place." ]
Why does mint flavored stuff taste fresh?	[ "The receptors in our mouths that sense cold are also triggered by menthol, an organic compound found in mint. So basically menthol makes you think your mouth is cold. Similarly, spicy food triggers the same receptors the sense heat." ]	[ "[This](_URL_0_) previous thread explains it as [entrainment](_URL_2_). When changing the diameter of your lips, the airflow is subject to the [Bernoulli effect](_URL_1_) where it speeds up. When the air moves faster, it draws in more surrounding air which is cooler than your body temperature, thus making it feel c...
When watching a movie or playing a videogame on my TV, the people sound like they speak in whispers but the anything that isn't talking is loud enough to break my eardrums?	[ "Sounds like you have a mismatch between your audio configuration and your actual speakers, or your center channel is turned way down. If, for example, you're set up for 5.1 but only have stereo speakers, the dialog is being sent to a center channel speaker that doesn't exist." ]	[ "Adjusting the vlume in software changes the signal-to-noise ratio going to your speakers. Increase the volume in software, and you increase the SNR (sometimes too much.) My recommendation would be to turn down the hardware volume to minimum (but not all the way down to 0), then turn up the software volume until th...
Who makes malware, viruses, and trojans?	[ "Pretty much anyone with a knowledge of computer programming and code. As to why they make viruses/malware/trojans and their motivations really varies from person to person and could be for a multitude of reasons (everything from politics to \"lulz\")." ]	[ "Same way google survives. Advertisements. Even if you just go to tube sites like most internet savey people they have adds. And not just easily blocked adds either, you will notice many have the advertisements worked into the actual video player. The porn industry stays on the cutting edge of tech to keep making...
If I am allegic to house cats, am I also allergic to big cats (lions, tigers, pumas, etc)?	[ "According to [this](_URL_0_) test of IgE and IgG4 reaction to Fel D 1 from many of the big cats - it looks like your answer is yes...you can say \"Get that Beast away from me! I am allergic to its relative Lions, Pumas & Siberian Tigers!\"" ]	[ "Airplanes do get struck by lighting while in the air and while inside clouds. The airplane is reasonably well protected by the skin effect which pushes all the current around the edge of the plane and not through the middle, it helps that the middle of the plane is also not very conductive compared to the outside ...
Pangea: How do we know that there wasn't anything else on the other side of the planet?	[ "We know how much land there is now. We know the processes and rates that new land is created and destroyed. We know where every current continent fit into the super continent when they were all together. So with all of that, we can say with near certainty that there was not another continent at the time of Pangaea...	[ "Because things build up around the old portions of the city, so that the older, small parts are less noticible in a larger overview of the city. If you explore a city locally, you'll find the older portions, but the sky line will be dominated by all the new things." ]
Can humans receive blood from chimps ?	[ "Xenotransfusion has been attempted in the 1600s, with mixed results, with sheep blood. Ape and chimp blood might work, as would pig blood as they all have similar Rh factors. Source: _URL_0_ Also, dog to cat transfusions can be done, bit only once as the cat will make antibodies to the blood. Also, apes, dogs, ca...	[ "This has been done before, with animals. Here is a video allegedly showing an old Russian experiment done with a dog. It looks real to me, but, then so did The Wizard of Oz. Warning, it might be disturbing and upsetting to watch. _URL_0_" ]
how does an onion grow?	[ "The onion bulb grows below the surface. The whole thing is white or green. Before harvesting the bulb is excavated and exposed to air for a couple of weeks, which hardens off the outer skin so it goes paper like and dry for storage." ]	[ "Fuck the downvotes, this blew my mind. I have no idea how this happens." ]
How did English become one of the most commonly used languages for international business when it can be quite difficult to learn?	[ "The British Empire being the most widespread empire in world history followed by the US economic hegemony being the largest in the world. We are looking at English Speaking countries being the one of the most if not the most powerful nations for the better part of 4 centuries." ]	[ "The best explanation I've heard is this: During World War I and WWII, the rest of the industrialized world exploded and killed itself while we kept all of our infrastructure intact, despite our participating in those wars. So, we got all the benefits of economic stimulus from war spending and little of the destruc...
Why does closing my eyes burn when I'm really tired?	[ "I think it is because your eyes become dry when open for a long time so your eyes burn in order to cause you to tear up, rehydrating your eyes" ]	[ "Our brains didn't evolve with cars in mind. They evolved with, like, being hunted by a jaguar (or whatever) in mind. So your brain doesn't know what to do with a car. It thinks hey, we're sitting, our body's not really doing anything physical, there's very little activity or stimulus... this seems like a good time...
Can long term sleep deprivation cause any permanent damage?	[ "I've been told by a psychologist that a few days without sleep and you start risking psychosis. While that psychosis may not be permanent, it could start a big snowball of problems." ]	[ "Two social psychological concepts come to mind here. State dependent memory encoding and Erickson Arousal theory of learning. State dependent learning states that what ever state of mind you are in during encoding is the state of mind where recall would be optimal. Erickson arousal theory states that learning is m...
If certain animals like the lobster can live forever, What is currently stopping scientists from genetically engineering humans to do the same?	[ "You've got to find a creature with a complex brain structure that live forever. We can keep the body going but eventually the mind just doesn't work anymore and you can get a plethora of degenerative brain diseases" ]	[ "Let's say you have a 7 lane interstate. At each end there is a toll booth. In the past payments were processed manually and there was a receipt that had to print, but the printers were slow. Only do much traffic could get through. Fast forward to the future where you pay with the touch of a button and get an insta...
What's the difference between an anti-hero and a villain?	[ "A villain is an inherently bad or evil character. He exists to do bad things, that is his goal. An anti-hero is someone who is not inherently a \"good guy\" - he does not have \"heroic\" traits, he might not even have good morals. An example of that might be a drug dealer (immoral and engaged in illegal activities...	[ "VPN creates a 'tunnel' between 2 computers. Everyone can see where the tunnel goes, but no one can look inside. TOR is a series of relay stations, where the station only know the previous and next station, so no single station knows the whole route." ]
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes but our distant ancestors don't. How does the number of chromosomes change over multiple generations?	[ "In particular, the 24 - > 23 chromosome shift that occurred in humans is due to the fusion of two ape chromosomes at their telomeres to form human chromosome 2. [Here is a paper](_URL_0_) on this fusion." ]	[ "Some very back-of-the-envelope math follows: This is a really interesting question. Day-to-day weather at the mid-latitudes is generally dictated by the ridges and troughs of Rossby waves moving west-to-east. While our atmosphere is strongly non-linear, wavenumber 6 - i.e. six waves packed around the globe - is o...
Does the common cold and flu virus infect vaginal fluids and/or semen?	[ "by and large, no, influenza and rhinovirus (for arguments sake the most common cold virus) don't exist in the blood of an affected patient. It is possible to develop a viraemia where the virus does infect the bloodstream - however this is the vast minority of cases. In this case sexual secretions could very well b...	[ "The moment a man clumsily drops his load inside a woman, he forfeits his right to abandon any children that messy load might produce. The moment a woman lets a man drop his load inside her, she also forfeits her right to abandon any children that messy load might produce. *However...* Between the the time s...
If it was possible to know every state of every particle in existence, and have a machine capable of processing the data could you predict the future? In theory?	[ "[If the universe was purely deterministic and information could never be destroyed - yes.](_URL_2_) (talks about it around 6:00) However, quantum mechanics and one-way functions such as black holes may throw a wrench into this. At this point we simply don't know whether [information is conserved](_URL_1_) or how q...	[ "Imagine you grew up flying in a plane. The ground looks like different colors. There's a green area over here, and a brown area over there. When you land for the first time, you're surprised that the green area is actually made up of large trees, and the brown area is made of rocks and shrubs. There are thousands ...
Why is it that repeated coughing can quickly cause light-headedness and dizziness, but holding one's breath does not?	[ "Repeated coughing can cause [hyperventilation](_URL_1_), which can cause dizziness and light-headedness. Hyperventilation is actually the result of getting rid of too much CO2. Holding your breath does the opposite, and causes [hypoventilation](_URL_0_), which results in excess CO2 build up in your lungs, which...	[ "Your sinuses and ears are connected via a thin tube called the eustachion tube. Sometimes the tube gets kinked like a hose and the free flow of air is blocked. A change in pressure outside your head, like flying in a plane, can make the air stuck in your head seem pressured. Yawning aligns the tube, allowing the e...
Why didn't the Vikings establish a permanent colony on Greenland or North America?	[ "[They did](_URL_1_). Unfortunately, the colony only lasted a few hundred years; here are a couple of previous posts on the mysterious demise of the Greenland settlements: [Monday Mysteries \| Decline and Fall](_URL_0_) [Monday Mysteries \| Notable Disappearances](_URL_0_)" ]	[ "Short answer, volcanoes. Even though everything on the surface of the earth was frozen, the mantel was just as hot if not hotter than today, and plate tectonics still took place. All these volcanoes still dumped massive amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere. A green house effect ensued and warmed everything back up. Ov...
If you get a skin graft onto your face, will it take on the properties of the skin around it (oily, dry), or be a different skin type?	[ "I remember a post on r/wtf where a guy used skin from his foreskin to put on a burn on his finger or something when he was a child. Lo and behold, when he reached puberty the finger grew pubes. That answer your question? Edit:clarification" ]	[ "Simple organs, like a trachea, have already been [made and transplanted](_URL_0_) into people. A [beating rat heart](_URL_1_) was made from a rat stem cells seeded into the leftover extracellular matrix from a dead rat's heart -- a similar process to what was done in my first example, except not quite as advanced...
Why is there a 'point' where water begins to freeze? Why doesn't it gradually turn into a sludge and then a solid?	[ "This is related to the [enthalpy of fusion](_URL_1_) related to phase transitions. Basically, the temperature of a fluid as energy is removed follows a [linear curve](_URL_3_) during the liquid state. This rate of temperature change is related to the [specific heat capacity](_URL_2_). Once the temperature reaches...	[ "The bigger you make something, the weaker it gets, because as you increase the size, mass grows faster than strength. Say you have an ice cube that's 1 cm x 1 cm x 1 cm. That's one cubic centimeter in volume, and it has a footprint of one square centimeter. If you make this cube 10 times larger in all dimensions,...
what causes a 120v residential power line to fluctuate between 118v and 122v?	[ "Things are constantly being turned on and off. The response of the power grid is not always instantaneous. Turn on something like an air compressor and the voltage will sag some. Turn it off and it will spike. Most electronics are built to accept voltage within a fairly broad tolerance, so the fluctuations don't a...	[ "Yay, I get to be relevant today! Usually these are locates. Before you start digging, you're supposed to call a locate service. The service is completely free for anyone, and is paid for the utility companies. They pay for it because it's in their best interest that you don't accidentally run into it with your equ...
How come smart phone cameras can achieve F1.5 aperture while being so cost effective while the DSLR camera can not achieve that in the similar price point.	[ "> My simple logic would think that making the DSLR lens would be comparatively cheaper because you would not be working with miniature lens and components which will give you more flexibility in design and selecting components. An iPhone has a 4.15 mm lens diameter. A DSLR probably has a 35mm diameter lens. Why wo...	[ "Your son is basically describing the theory known as \"Tired Light.\" The reason we don't think tired light is true is that we've never been able to come up with a mechanism that would cause energy loss in photons, yet still match our observed data. For a tired light phenomenon to be true, it would have to: 1) Exp...
Why don't radio receivers pick up light?	[ "They are not on the same scale. Visible light is a much higher frequency, 400-700nm wavelength, versus 500-2000 kHz for AM and 88-108 MHz for FM. I don't have a calculator in front of me, but visible light works out to be in the terahertz range of frequency, and radio works out to be several meters wavelength. Edi...	[ "Well if we know how the hypothetical particle should react, we can build a detector based on that. If we still don't detect the particle, that's a clue that the model is incorrect. And this is what happened, if Wiki is to be believed." ]
In 1897 Greece was beaten by the Ottomans, and then in 1912/13 they defeated them: What sort of reforms did the Greek military implement in the decade-and-a-half period between the two conflicts?	[ "While there were factors specific to Greece as /u/dimtriant points out, there were a couple other major factors worth noting, the big one being that while the 1897 war was indeed Ottomans vs Greeks, the 1912 war was Ottomans vs Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. Most of the fighting was actually done by the ...	[ "While I wouldn't know where to start looking for an answer to this question, I'd like to point out that the historical calendar of Japan was not nearly as stable as that of the Western world. The calendar in official use underwent four revisions between 1685 and the Meiji Revolution. The last of them prior to the ...
What is a Nebula, and why is it not absorbed into some stronger source of gravity?	[ "A nebula is a cloud of dust that is often the early stages of a solar system forming. If conditions are right it will eventually collapse on itself and form a star and planets. If there is a strong source of gravity nearby, then yes it would get drawn into that, but space is huge and mostly empty. There's usually ...	[ "Of course he was fed, otherwise he would of died :P Nasogastric intubation is a medical process involving the insertion of a plastic tube (nasogastric tube or NG tube) through the nose, past the throat, and down into the stomach. For patients who are thought likely to need very long term support, nasogastric tubes...
Does cord length affect charge time?	[ "TL;DR theoretically yes. practically no. for every transmission line, there is an attenuation coefficient per unit of length. this means that double the cord length = double the losses but (and my numbers are arbitrary here, we're just interested in the order of magnitude) If a 1m cable has 0.1% loss, a 3m cable h...	[ "The power going into your phone via usb is DC format. The power from the wall is AC format. It needs to be transformed to go into your phone. That big plug is a transformer. It never had anything to do with the need for a grounding plug. Despite it being 2017 those still take up space to function and the basic rul...
Why doesn't Egypt restore the Pyramids or the Great Sphynx like they do with paintings and statues?	[ "They do: * The Sphinx's head and paws were repaired. [1](_URL_0_), [2](_URL_1_) * The Great Pyramid had internal graffiti removed and chamber walls cleaned. [1](_URL_3_) * The mastaba of Seshemnefer has been restored [1](_URL_2_) * Sand is constantly removed from many sites of the plateau. But restoring the pyrami...	[ "In the UK when you buy a plot you have a lease on it. Usually for at least one hundred years, often longer. So until at least one hundred years after the last person is buried in the cemetery all the graves remain intact. It is often longer. Eventually the graveyard will be left to get overgrown. In cities where t...
Can you drive a normal gasoline powered car on the moon?	[ "No, the moon has very little oxygen gas, which is required for gasoline combustion." ]	[ "Indeed, it has been done many times. The suits are known as shuttles. It's theoretically possible to do it with a more compact suit, but I doubt we're there technologically yet." ]
What happens after someone loses/gets their credit card stolen?	[ "The law in the US is that any amount over 50 dollars isn't the responsibility of the card holder if the loss is reported in a timely manner. Most card issuers waive the 50 dollars. They make so much money off merchant fees it's just part of the cost of doing business." ]	[ "It is not the number to the police station. It is the number of the emergency call center. The local phone company knows where your phone is and what ECC serves that area. When you dial 911, they route your call to that location. You can get police, fire, and other emergency services by talking to a trained operat...
how does New York have a service economy when the rent is so high?	[ "They don't live in Manhattan or Brooklyn... they live in the less expensive boroughs like the Bronx or Queens. And they cram more people/family members into apartments than elsewhere." ]	[ "AnnaLee Saxenian explored this in her book [Regional Advantage](_URL_1_) in which she compared Silicon Valley to Boston and discovered that the illegality of non-compete agreements in California gave Silicon Valley a huge advantage. Tech businesses in California were dynamic because employees were free to go where...
The AskHistorians Book Club - 2nd Discussion	[ "Is there anyone here that could elaborate on terra petra? The article makes it sound like it was just the sour-dough equivalent of soil, but the book describes it as so much more than that. There was a process of doing a prolonged controlled burn of the jungle (it wasn't just simple slash and burn), and it was fil...	[ "This submission has been removed because it is [soapboxing](_URL_1_.), [promoting a political agenda, or moralizing](_URL_0_). We don't allow content that does these things because they are detrimental to unbiased and academic discussion of history." ]
Hinduism has many powerful women role models (Sita, Draupadi and Kali), but India has become a patriarchal society with a lot of disrespect towards women. Why, when and how?	[ "In most of the Hindu epics the role of women is greatly diminished and already subservient to men. In the Mahabharata, written somewhere around 1000 BC, descent is traced paternally, dynastic succession goes to male sons, and most of the heroic figures are men (with the exception of Draupadi, who receives more tha...	[ "What exactly do you mean by \"harness fire\"? Regarding the fire that didn't go out, I believe you are referring to the fire the Vestal Virgins were charged with keeping aflame. The Vestal Virgins were priestesses of the goddess of the hearth, and were chosen around 12 years old or younger and made 30 year vows of...
Do "non-water rainbows" exist and (if yes) what do they look like?	[ "The main difference between different liquids boils down to their indices of refraction and their dispersion. Changes in the index of refraction would alter the size of the rainbow arc, while changes in their dispersion would change how wide the actual rainbow band is. If the dispersion is negative, it would also ...	[ "I like the dry ice and water idea, and then put a balloon in the water too (underwater). Then all you need is a mechanism to pop the balloon, the water will muffle the pop into a poof, and you should get a nice burst of vapor along with it." ]
Why does my microwave use interfere with my WIFI?	[ "Wifi works on the 2.4 GHz band. Microwave ovens work on the same band as well. The reason why WiFi uses it is because due to microwaves and such it's an unlicensed band, and anybody can use it (within limits). The downside of that is that there's plenty intereference. Normally I don't think a microwave oven should...	[ "Electromagnetic waves travel on the background we call spacetime. Simplistically, you can imagine it like cars and trucks (EM waves) on the highway (spacetime). Here's the most succinct statement of Einstein's gravitation, > Spacetime tells matter how to move; matter tells spacetime how to curve. - John Wheeler ...
Would hot metal cool faster if it’s sitting on a metal table or if it’s suspended in air?	[ "It’s a comparison between conducting the heat away (on table) and radiating it away (though air but air also conducts a little) if the table is large and metal it will be an excellent conductor so more often than not it will cool faster on the table than still air, assuming that both are roughly the same temperatu...	[ "Intermolecular forces! In a solid, the atoms are close together, kept in place by attractions to the other atoms in the sample. In a liquid the atoms are still close together, but have more room to move. In a gas the atoms are free to fly away from each other, feeling minimal attraction to each other. When boiling...
If government surveillance isn't actually for counter-terrorism, what is it for?	[ "Surveillance is done now for the very same reason it has been throughout human history; control. Advertisers, governments and the blackhat community are not interested in your DOTA/illicit substance use just to get to know you better. They don't even really care what YOU do individually (most of the time), but rat...	[ "There are genetic markers in DNA known as SNPs (Single nucleotide polymorphisms), essentially single letter changes in DNA. Certain populations and ethnic groups have a makeup of genetic markers that are unique to the ancestry and history of a population. By looking at which markers you have and which markers are ...
water needs to reach boiling temperature to turn into a gas, so how does the sun evaporate water since it doesnt bring it near its boiling point	[ "Think of temperature as an \"average energy\" of a liquid. Some of the particles are higher energy than others, and are able to escape into the gas phase. There are like 1,000,000 other threads on this sub that discuss this in more detail." ]	[ "You need the heat from the boiling to cook the starch/flour which is an ingredient of the pasta. Try this at home. Take some flour and mix it with cold water. do the same with boiling water. you'll notice the difference. only by cooking the pasta gets soft but still sticks together." ]
why the hell is North Korea being so aggressive in the first place?	[ "Simply put their country is in a shambles! When people get unhappy they rebel, so their glorious leader must keep another enemy in sight so that the people direct their energies outwards." ]	[ "Greetings everyone. In the few minutes this sub has been up, it's attracting sub-standard responses. Just a reminder of a few of the rules: * no responses covering events/conditions post-1994, per this sub's \"20-year rule\" prohibiting discussion of current events * no anecdotes * no speculation OP: your question...
Why is it bad to defrost/heat up meat twice?	[ "Commercially frozen meat is often flash frozen, this means that the ice crystals formed are small and don't damage the meat cells very much. If you freeze meat at home it's a much slower process, Large ice crystals form an like little spears puncture the cell walls of the meat. This means that when it defrosts the...	[ "It's about novelty. When it's new, we cherish it and want to take care of it. Novelty eventually becomes familiarity. We see this a lot with cars. That new car, the owner is so careful. At some point, however, it becomes OK to toss that empty Big Mac box in the back seat." ]
Why is it that some containers tell me to remove the lid before I microwave the contents?	[ "They're preventing the liability of you burning your hand with the hot lid after microwaving. The drops of water below the lid that will inevitably be really hot - making the lid really hot. If they put the instruction to remove the lid, you can't sue them if you burn yourself thay way." ]	[ "Your whole high school is in the gym for an assembly. The presentation comes to an end and everyone needs to leave all at once. If you never open the doors, people will never leave. If you open one door, how long will it take for everyone to leave? If you open all the doors, how long will it take for everyone t...
What is a Master's Degree and What Does it Signify?	[ "Elementary school - is general. You learn what everyone else learns. High school - still general. You learn mostly what everyone else learns, but you get to choose a little bit in what you're interested in. Bachelors - you start to specialize. Masters - ok, now you're an expert and people would acknowledge that yo...	[ "I'm going to go early 5 year old on this one. You have more than one way to get to something on the network. Spanning tree picks the best way, and blocks the other ways so things don't just go around in circles. Then when your best way breaks, it opens one of those other paths." ]
Why are commercials for coca cola before movies so damn awful?	[ "I haven't been to the movies in a while, but AFAIK those shorts are all created by novice film enthusiasts. Coke has a contest, and chooses which one(s) to play." ]	[ "Turn off the motion smoothing function. It drives me nuts too. _URL_0_" ]
Why Do We Get Bored?	[ "Attempt at a serious answer: I think \"boredom\" is the conscious acknowledgement of a deeper, subconscious terror that \"things are not enough\", that we will not be provided for, that life is meaningless. I think it's an existential issue. That's just my opinion." ]	[ "That's easy. Before vehicles, the fastest you could go was pretty much limited to how fast your feet could carry you. However, there have always been heights deadly enough kill a person, so we evolved to be scared of those, and not how fast we could run." ]
Why does Great Britain compete as a country in the Olympics and not as England, Scotland and Wales.	[ "For the same reason that the United States competes as a country and you don't see people from New York competing against those from Florida- sovereignty. In the United States, each state is, on some level, its own country- it makes its own laws, it taxes its citizens, and so on. However, the Federal government...	[ "The Albanians don't call themselves \"Albanians.\" Their word for themselves is \"Shqiptarët,\" and their name for their nation is \"Shqipëri.\" This isn't uncommon, really. The Koreans don't call themselves Koreans. That name is derived from the name of one dynasty, the Goguryeo. Their name for themselves is \"Ha...
Why do canned beans (kidney, chick peas, etc.) bubble/suds up when I rinse them?	[ "Oligosaccharides (complex sugar chain) reacting to being partially dissolved in the water. This is what happens in the stomach/intestine, except the gas in those bubbles have to be released. This is how farts are born." ]	[ "They're already cooked and just need to be rehydrated. Think like a chicken breast...You can boil it and it'll take 20 minutes to cook, but if it's already cooked you just need to warm it through and it takes 5...Same concept different medium." ]

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