Split (2)

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question stringlengths 3 301	answer stringlengths 9 26.1k	context list
An injured caterpillar pupates. Will the butterfly be injured?	It would depend largely on what portion of the insect was damaged, assuming it didn't lose enough hemolymph to die outright. For instance, if it suffered a substantial brain injury - one that inhibits the prothoracic glands, the corpus cardiacum, etc. - then even if it makes it to the pupal stage, the insect will not...	[ "This butterfly has no protective coloration and is not toxic to predators. It is the victim of predation by many bird, lizard, frog, and arthropod species. However, this butterfly is so ubiquitous that losses from predation do not cause endangerment of the species.\n", "The caterpillar is regarded as a dangerous...
why does my brain resist exercise until i feel shitty for not exercising? why doesn't my brain crave exercise, knowing i'll feel better for it after?	Because for most of our existence we had to fight very, very hard to survive. That meant eating the food with the most calories because we didn't know when we'd be eating again, and not expending extra energy if we didn't need to. So now that our lives are very different, we haven't changed our DNA. Exercise is not so...	[ "Protecting the brain from even minor disruption is important since exercise depends upon motor control, and particularly, because humans are bipeds, the motor control needed for keeping balance. Indeed, for this reason, brain energy consumption is increased during intense physical exercise due to the demands in th...
Why does cornstarch dissolve better in cold water?	The thing is, it doesn't. You're right that things dissolve more quickly and usually reach a higher concentration at higher temperatures. This is especially true when you talk about small molecules like sugars or ionic substances like salts. The thing that makes starch different than these substances is that it is ...	[ "In this process, the corn is hydrated in order to loosen starch granules from the protein matrix and to make germ resilient to milling. This process reduces the germ density and softens the kernel making the milling easy. Chemicals like sulphur dioxide and lactic acid are added to the water too. Lactic acid breaks...
when a person or corporation "pledges" a dollar amount to disaster relief, what exactly do they do with that amount of money (typically)?	Often, they'll just give the amount to a big, general relief charity like the Red Cross or perhaps a government agency handling the purchase or relief goods. Or if they have a product that is useful, they may donate that amount of the product (say Huggies donating diapers). A pledge is just a public announcement of in...	[ "BULLET::::- Loans for up to $2 million for small business, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes that have suffered disaster related cash flow problems and need funds for working capital to recover from the disaster's adverse economic impact. This loan in combinati...
Can the brain/consciousness be effected by electromagnetism?	If you stick your head in a 0.5 tesla magnet and shake it around (I don't really recommend this) you will see sparkly hallucinations. Generally speaking you won't develop any intense desire to go on a shooting rampage. Transcranial magnetic stimulation uses fields of 1.5 teslas or so, in a gun-shaped thing jammed righ...	[ "Electromagnetic theories of consciousness propose that consciousness can be understood as an electromagnetic phenomenon that occurs when a brain produces an electromagnetic field with specific characteristics. Some electromagnetic theories are also quantum mind theories of consciousness; examples include quantum b...
why do police who do horrible things in the media seem never to get punished? what's actually going on?	According to a recent post on reddit, what actually happens (in the US at least) is that they go on paid leave while two investigations (a criminal and then an administrative one) take place, only after which will any charges be brought against them. This is additionally complicated by the fact that evidence gained du...	[ "Judges and magistrates then come under public pressure to deal out harsher sentences and politicians pass new laws to increase their popularity by giving the impression that they are dealing with the perceived threat. The responses by those in authority tend to reinforce the public's fear, while the media continue...
how do scientists know that a rock is from space and not of earthly origin?	depends on what it's made of. [meteoric iron](_URL_0_) is unique because metal doesn't naturally make that kind of pattern on earth. certain elements and compounds are reactive in earth conditions. metallic aluminum famously doesn't exist naturally on earth. if we found a hunk of it that wasn't man made, we'd know it ...	[ "Prior to Biot's thorough investigation of the meteorites that fell near l'Aigle, France in 1803, very few truly believed that rocks found on Earth could have extraterrestrial origins. There were anecdotal tales of unusual rocks found on the ground after fireballs had been seen in the sky, but such stories were oft...
What kind of toxins (such as pesticides) are found to be stored in our adipose tissue?	Assuming you've been exposed to a given compound, this depends on the polarity of the compound and its metabolites. Lipophilic molecules are more likely to accumulate in adipose tissue, whereas hydrophilic ones are more easily excreted. Lipophilic ones can get stuck in enterohepatic circulation and are therefore more...	[ "Many of these chemical residues, especially derivatives of chlorinated pesticides, exhibit bioaccumulation which could build up to harmful levels in the body as well as in the environment. Persistent chemicals can be magnified through the food chain and have been detected in products ranging from meat, poultry, an...
Did Wilson intend for the League of Nations to have an army?	Actually, the League of Nations wasn't just Wilson's idea, he just happened to be in a position of great power at the time of its formation. So at the Paris Peace Conference, when the Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted, > "President Woodrow Wilson instructed Edward House to draft a US plan which reflect...	[ "In pursuit of his League of Nations, Wilson conceded several points to the other powers present at the conference. France pressed for the dismemberment of Germany and the payment of a huge sum in war reparations. Wilson resisted these ideas, but Germany was still required to pay war reparations and subjected to mi...
where will the potentially $18 billion volkswagen fines go?	Governments. It is theoretically to go towards the costs of similar, future enforcement actions.	[ "In June 2015, the German Federal Cartel Office imposed fines totaling 75 million euros on five automotive suppliers, including the German subsidiary of Autoneum due to illegal price fixing in the period from 2005 to 2013. Autoneum paid a fine of 29.5 million euros.\n", "On 28 June 2016, Volkswagen agreed to pay ...
how does ice actually burn the skin?	I'm not a doctor, but: To my knowledge, a burn is when heat (or a chemical) causes tissue damage by denaturing proteins. Think of what happens to an egg when you cook it. The change you see is due to proteins unfolding or "denaturing." Similarly, heat and chemicals can damage our tissues by denaturing proteins. The...	[ "Ice is excellent at reducing the inflammatory response and pain associated with heat generated by increased blood flow and/or blood loss. A good method is apply ice for 20 minutes of each hour. Other recommendations are an alternation of ice and no-ice for 15–20 minutes each, for a 48-hour period. To prevent local...
What is the chemical reaction pertaining to the fermentation of grape juice?	C6H12O6 → 2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2	[ "BULLET::::- Fermentation – catalyst function that turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol.\n", "Since grape juice begins naturally fermenting upon pressing, opponents of wine utilized alternate me...
How do museums decide which artifacts to display?	Most museums only display a small fraction of their artifacts, and only a fraction of those are on display at any given time. At even medium-sized institutions, it's usually less that 5%. First, the easy stuff: Rare items directly related to the mission of the museum will nearly always be displayed, if they can be sho...	[ "Museums vary in their approach to interpretation ranging from traditional museums that display collections of artefacts behind glass, with labels identifying each item and giving provenance, to living museums which attempt to recreate a historical place or period so that people can experience it. \n", "Most U.S....
what exactly is happening when you hold your nose and blow to help relieve your ears during pressure changes in an airplane?	Your middle ear is connected to the nasal cavity by a [eustachian tube](_URL_0_) and as the animated gif shows, you make the tympanic membrane go back to normal when you hold your nose and force air up the tube.	[ "When rapid ambient pressure increase occurs as in diving or aircraft descent, this pressure tends to hold the Eustachian tubes closed, preventing pressure equalization across the ear drum, with painful results. To avoid this painful situation, divers, caisson workers and aircrew attempt to open the Eustachian tube...
saudi arabia says it's rejection of a unsc seat is a "message for the us, not the un." how does this make sense?	If Saudi Arabia accepts the UNSC seat, then they do have more power, but they also give up some power because they are now part of this body and have to play by some new rules. Having given it up, they are telling the United States (and the world) that they are going to go their own route and do whatever they want. T...	[ "Following the vote, Saudi Arabia, despite winning, declined to take the seat citing the UNSC's \"double standards\" in being allegedly ineffective in regards to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, nuclear disarmament in the Middle East and putting an end to the Syrian civil war. This was the first time a state had r...
How large of an impact did the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull have on the CO2 levels in our atmosphere?	Not a whole lot. The wikipedia page which describes the various [effects of the eruption](_URL_1_) estimates ~0.15 million tons of CO2 were put into the atmosphere. That seems like a lot, but it is nicely put into perspective by the immediately following line that the disruption in air travel caused by the volcano caus...	[ "The Lomagundi Excursion Event is considered to be the most prominent carbon isotope event in Earth's history and can provide evidence for this large increase and subsequent decline in O. For this event, a release of 10 to 20 times the current atmospheric oxygen is predicted based on levels found in the carbonate δ...
Does an average snowflake have more or less water than an average raindrop?	An individual snowflake has mass ~1-3 milligrams (_URL_1_). Raindrops have mass from 4-100 milligrams (_URL_0_). So, an average snowflake has less mass (and therefore water) than an average raindrop. However, there is great variability in the mass of raindrops depending on weather conditions. Very large snowflakes ...	[ "Scientists traditionally thought that the variation in the size of raindrops was due to collisions on the way down to the ground. In 2009 French researchers succeeded in showing that the distribution of sizes is due to the drops' interaction with air, which deforms larger drops and causes them to fragment into sma...
At what point in human evolution did we develop a dominant hand? Is this a trait found in other primates as well?	Scientists (myself included) are still trying to figure this out. The current evidence suggests Neanderthals exhibited handedness and it appears to be roughly the same ratio as most modern humans: ~ 90% right handed. However, hand preference, that is consistently using one hand or the other for a particular behavior, h...	[ "The prehensile hands and feet of primates evolved from the mobile hands of semi-arboreal tree shrews that lived about . This development has been accompanied by important changes in the brain and the relocation of the eyes to the front of the face, together allowing the muscle control and stereoscopic vision neces...
the difference between pop and imap email protocol	The biggest difference is that POP simply allows you to view or retrieve messages stored in a flat list on the server. You can order them by date, but that's about it. POP is useful if you want to organize and manage email messages entirely on the client side - so, you download messages from the server, then delete the...	[ "The POP protocol requires the currently connected client to be the only client connected to the mailbox. In contrast, the IMAP protocol specifically allows simultaneous access by multiple clients and provides mechanisms for clients to detect changes made to the mailbox by other, concurrently connected, clients. Se...
Why did the UK and France support Finland in the Winter War but not the Continuation War?	The simple answer is simply because Finland allied itself with Germany and fought against their ally, the Soviet Union. During the Winter War, UK and France had not yet allied themselves with the Soviet Union (due to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact).	[ "During the early stages of World War II, the British and French Allies made a series of proposals to send troops to assist Finland against the Soviet Union in the Winter War, which started on 30 November 1939. The war was a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which put Finland into the Soviet sphere of inf...
We are told not to reuse the plastic bottles from bottled water because chemicals from the plastic will be leeched into the new water. What is different between the plastic/water from an unopened bottle and the plastic/water when the plastic bottle is refilled?	The chemical you're most likely referring to is Bisphenol A or BPA for short. The chemical can be leached into water or food that has been stored in the plastic bottle or container especially when heated. This is why you shouldn't microwave plastic containers or bottles. As of 2012 all baby bottles and sippy cups were...	[ "Studies show that the plastics used for bottles contain chemicals having estrogenic activity, even when they claim otherwise. Although some of the bottled water contained in glass were found polluted with chemicals as well, the researchers believe some of the contamination of water in the plastic containers may ha...
It is often heard that drinking small amounts of alcohol is good for you, but what if you binge on Friday night then have the recommended 1-2 glasses a day the rest of the week. Does the binge make the daily alcohol worse for you?	Could somebody explain how, if true, small amounts of alcohol is good for you?	[ "Alcohol consumption: Studies suggest that light-to-moderate alcohol intake is associated with lower risk (once or twice a week or three or four times a week), as were frequent drinking in earlier life is identified as a risk factor for cognitive decline in later life.\n", "A study found that moderate consumption...
Will there be an eventual limit to physical/athletic world records? It seems every year we run/pitch/jump/swim a mph/second faster/ foot higher. Will humans continue to become bigger stronger faster or will the body hit a point where it becomes physiologically impossible?	Please everyone this is not the place for speculation or answers that start with "I'm not a scientist but. .. " or " I heard somewhere that. . . ". This is asking for certain biological and biomechanical factors that may limit mobility. All answers should be sourced and scientific.	[ "A peak of five world records came at the 1993 World Championships in Athletics. The most recent world record was in the women's 50 kilometres race walk, which Portugal's Inês Henriques finished in 4:05:56 in 2017. World records have become less common as the history of the event has expanded, with no world records...
how a midi guitar works	The guitar is just a controller, like for an xbox or playstation. Let's take a simple case, where the strings are only used to tell the guitar if they were hit or not. In this case, the guitar checks to see which string is hit, and the highest fret that is being held down on that string. It codifies this somehow, and ...	[ "MIDI converters use a hexaphonic guitar signal to determine pitch, duration, attack, and decay characteristics. The MIDI sends the note information to an internal or external sound bank device. The resulting sound closely mimics numerous instruments. The MIDI setup can also let the guitar be used as a game control...
What are the colorful lines in NASA's Pale Blue Dot image?	Sunlight reflected in the camera. [The Wikipedia article explains it in more detail](_URL_0_). The Sun was just something like 1-2 degrees away from Earth as seen by Voyager.	[ "Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken on February 14, 1990, by the \"Voyager 1\" space probe from a record distance of about kilometers ( miles, 40.5 AU), as part of that day's \"Family Portrait\" series of images of the Solar System.\n", "Red color images are 20,264 pixels across ( wide), and B-G ...
What do historians think of Eric Williams book 'Capitalism and Slavery'?	Capitalism and Slavery is one of the seminal works on modern slavery and its relationship to Capitalism. Many historiographical traditions saw slavery as a kind of throwback to pre-Modern social and economic institutions and not a part of Capitalist development as such. Marxists in particular tended to use a narrow...	[ "Williams specialised in the study of slavery. Many Western academics focus on his chapter on the abolition of the slave trade, but that is just a small part of his work. In 1944 his book \"Capitalism and Slavery\" argued that the British abolition of their Atlantic slave trade in 1807 was motivated primarily by ec...
Was Tuol Sleng the only prison in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge?	On her visit to Democratic Kampuchea in 1978, Elizabeth Becker asked one of the top members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) ‘Standing Committee’; Ieng Sary, whether her and the small delegation she was travelling with could see the prisons of the country. He replied that ‘there were no prisons in Democratic K...	[ "The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum () is a museum in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, chronicling the Cambodian genocide. The site is a former secondary school which was used as Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. From 1976 to 1979, an estimated 2...
why do scientists research commonly known stuff?	Actually if you read the article it does next to nothing. It reduces soreness by between half a point and one point on a 100 point scale. So if you normally get soreness of 41/100 after going for a run, you could stretch and change that to 40.5, or maybe to 40. So essentially the time spent stretching is not worth the ...	[ "Scientific research is very important for any university. It enables professors to combine pedagogical skills with science activity. The result of the research is the Collection of Scientific Articles issued since 1971, which was reissued in 2004 as a Yearbook. Other than that, in 2013 a Fine Arts Academy Yearbook...
Could a current be induced in plasma to make the matter expand instead of contract?	I assume you're talking about pinch devices like the [Z machine](_URL_0_) at Sandia National Laboratories? These machines operate by sending a very large current through a conductor called a liner. When this happens, a magnetic field is formed and the magnetic pressure compresses the liner to very high temperature. I...	[ "BULLET::::- The plasma was an unstructured Gaussian sphere, with a strongly converged core that represented a small (~1%) part of the total volume. Nevins challenged this assumption, stating that the particles would build up angular momentum, causing the dense core to degrade. The loss of density inside the core w...
since mars has no magnetic field, could we ever restore the atmosphere there?	The dissipation of an atmosphere is an incredibly long process. Mars still has an atmosphere, so its not like it would just vanish. The main issue would be the creation of enough greenhouse and other gasses to counteract the dissipation.	[ "The loss of the Martian magnetic field strongly affected surface environments through atmospheric loss and increased radiation; this change significantly degraded surface habitability. When there was a magnetic field, the atmosphere would have been protected from erosion by the solar wind, which would ensure the m...
Why do things tear more easily once you get started?	Just some speculation, while waiting for a material scientist: I would think it has to do with concentrating the stress in the material. If the edge is intact, when you pull it, the entire edge is in tension, and the force is distributed. If the edge is nicked, this becomes a place for the stress to concentrate. That...	[ "Materials vary in their susceptibility to tearing. Some materials may be quite resistant to tearing when they are in their full form, but when a small cut or tear is made, the material becomes compromised, and the effort needed to continue tearing along that line becomes less.\n", "Tearing is the act of breaking...
Could Native Americans take advantage of the Homestead Act of 1862?	Hmm. Hopefully someone will know of specific instances of indigenous people doing this, or attempting to, but it seems to me that it would theoretically be possible. Here's the relevant portion of [the act](_URL_0_): > Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congres...	[ "In 1887, the United States Congress passed the General Allotment Act, which is considered one of the earliest attempts aimed toward assimilation of Native tribes. This act intended to give Natives a sense of land ownership as well as integrate an agricultural lifestyle with the tribes, much like that of the Americ...
Is there any primary evidence that exists that speaks of a trend of suicides and shifts in character as a result of the emotional and physical trauma of battle fatigue in ancient and medieval military veterans?	Ok, this is an interesting one - I can offer an excellent article discussing the role of social support in post-event PTSD mitigation: _URL_0_ Generally, based on current understanding, you'd expect to see a variation in PTSD severity and duration coming in based on whether the returning veteran came back to support o...	[ "Indications from all studies that have considered the question of severity have indicated that symptoms tend to be more severe for those who have killed than for other causes of traumatization. One study using the U.S. government data base of American veterans of Vietnam has suggested that the pattern of symptoms ...
what exactly happens in the stomach when you bend over/lay over on your stomach right after eating?	What do you mean? What should happen?	[ "The stomach twists around the longitudinal axis of the digestive tract, also known as \"volvulus\". Gas distension may occur prior to or after the stomach twists. The most common direction for rotation is clockwise, viewing the animal from behind. The stomach can rotate up to 360° in this direction and 90° counter...
Is listening to relaxing meditative music during study a help or a hindrance?	Being relaxed has been shown to have amazing effects on memory. We remember our relaxed moments way better and in more detail than stressed moments, which are often not really recorded at all, but some jumbled mess of half made up things. This is why eyewitness testimonial is often crap. Personally, I like listening t...	[ "Some relaxation methods can also be used during other activities, for example, autosuggestion and prayer. At least one study has suggested that listening to certain types of music, particularly new-age music and classical music, can increase feelings associated with relaxation, such as peacefulness and a sense of ...
Why did post-WW1 Hungary maintain a monarchy?	TL;DR There was no concensus on who should be the king, the political landscape was split roughly in two factions, one that wanted Charles back and one that wanted the right to freely elect a king; as sort of a compromise, after Charles failed to gain the throne the second time, this question was shelved indefinitely f...	[ "The Compromise of 1867, which created the Dual Monarchy, gave the Hungarian government more control of its domestic affairs than it had possessed at any time since the Battle of Mohács (see fig. 4). However, the new government faced severe economic problems and the growing restiveness of ethnic minorities. The Fir...
why is it that we use petrol as fuel when alcohol is both cheaper and easier to produce?	* It isn't as energy-dense; 20 liters of petrol is about equal to 30 liters of ethanol. This means cars either can't travel as far on existing tanks, or would need bigger tanks (and thus need to lug around more heavy fuel, reducing fuel economy) * Ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs water from the air. Water...	[ "One advantage shared by the four major alcohol fuels is their high octane rating. This tends to increase their fuel efficiency and largely offsets the lower energy density of vehicular alcohol fuels (as compared to petrol/gasoline and diesel fuels), thus resulting in comparable \"fuel economy\" in terms of distanc...
History of History	I feel like I recommend this book all the time, but it is almost sui generis, and very excellent: Peter Novick, That Noble Dream: The “Objectivity Question” and the American Historical Profession (Cambridge University Press, 1988). Not only does Novick tell the story of how "Historian" became a profession, rather t...	[ "The short history chronicles human development from the inventions of cavemen to the results of the First World War. Additionally, the book describes the beliefs of many major world religions, including Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, and incorporates these ideas into its narrative presentati...
how can there be gas in space ?	Hydrogen has a melting point of 14 K at atmospheric pressure. When there's hardly any pressure (i.e. in space), things can remain a gas at lower temperatures. In the same fashion, a glass of water would boil in space.	[ "Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or compound molecules made from a variety of atoms (e.g. carbon dioxide). A gas...
how did people study the human body?	The truth is that this is something that humanity was really, really bad at for a really long time and we had a lot of weird ideas about how things worked. Some people still believe weird stuff about the body to this day. It didn't help that people kept mixing in supernatural/spiritual theories about body parts. But ov...	[ "Anatomical studies of the human body were also executed by medical doctors. The physician Andreas Vesalius work of anatomical studies ‘‘De humani corporis fabrica\" (\"On the fabric of the human body\"), published 1543, was a pioneering work of human anatomy illustrated by Titian's pupil Jan Stephen van Calcar.\n"...
why do people celebrate guy fawkes night? i mean, he was a terrorist.	They celebrate the fact that he was stopped, not the fact that he acted.	[ "Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in the United Kingdom. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the pl...
How were train-mounted guns/cannons used during WW1? Were they to be used while the train was stopped, to shoot at stationary targets while moving, or to prevent people from chasing it down?	The response you want on this question is probably this comment chain by /u/Georgy_K_Zhukov _URL_0_	[ "After the American entry into World War I on 6 April 1917, the US Army considered converting coast artillery weapons to railway mounts for use on the Western Front. Railway guns were in use by all the major belligerents in the war by that time. Among the weapons that could be spared from fixed defenses were 150 12...
What was the purpose of the Junkers JU 87 (Stuka Bomber) siren?	Found an older post here asking this question - the answers given are accurate by my recollection: [_URL_0_](_URL_1_) & #x200B; Edit: The first answer was provided by an account that has since been deleted - sorry mods. An insightful follow-up response about a contributing factor to the sirens being eventually remo...	[ "The main purpose of the siren was to warn the public in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviets during the Cold War. The operator's job was to start the engine and bring it up to operating speed, then to pull and release the transmission handle to start the wailing signal generation. The Chrysler air raid sir...
does gravity decrease at a constant rate the farther away from the surface you get?	This is a good question because it illustrates a very common misunderstanding about space travel. The answer to your question is "yes" - gravity decreases at a very specific, steady rate the farther away you get from an object. But here's the thing: The ISS is only 260ish miles away from Earth - the gravity up there...	[ "The acceleration due to Earth’s gravity (see \"standard gravity\") at its surface is 976 to 983 Gal, the variation being due mainly to differences in latitude and elevation. Mountains and masses of lesser density within the Earth's crust typically cause variations in gravitational acceleration of tens to hundreds ...
why do depressed people have a harder time getting things done? why are "normal" people so much better at getting things started than us?	Your brain is entirely based on chemical reactions. When you do something rewarding (even mildly, like getting a chore done) your brain releases dopamine, a reward chemical. It makes you feel good, it’s your brain training itself to be like “if we do this thing, we get cookie!” Depression, in part, reduces the release...	[ "Depressed people view their lives as devoid of pleasure or reward, presenting insuperable obstacles to achieving their important goals. This is often manifested as a lack of motivation and leads to the depressed person feeling further withdrawal and isolation as they may be seen as lazy by others. Everything seems...
in order to determine traffic, how does google maps distinguish between phones being in cars on the street (actually traffic) and phones that are used by people in their homes right next to the road (no traffic)?	I’d think they’d have a window and if it didn’t move for X seconds then it’s a pretty good guess that it’s not in a car. But for all we know they have some other profile/method to determine with great accuracy what we’re doing. I’d be interested in a more exactly answer. Good question!	[ "Some connected cars have mobile apps associated with the in-car system, that can locate the car or indicate the last place it was parked. Cars with Internavi communicate to each other indicating recently vacated spots.\n", "A small number of cars (typically fleet vehicles such as courier services and taxi driver...
why can't we cut our body fat directly?	Fat is difficult for the body to process because it isn't water soluble, but stores energy very efficiently (compared to glucose, it stores about twice the energy per gram). It is stored in adipose tissue, whose purpose is to store fat and cushion/insulate organs. Because of those things, fat doesn't want to leave adip...	[ "Ripping is the stage that people, mainly bodybuilders, go through in order to lose body fat to a very low percentage. The idea is that if one's body fat is low, then muscle tissue will be more visible and therefore a better-looking body will emerge.\n", "The cutting phase entails remaining in a net negative ener...
If I were an average citizen in East Germany around 1985, could I get to West Germany in any legal way?	Previously raised questions are certainly allowed. Mentioning previous answers are intended to be a starting point, not to discourage discussion. Follow-on questions, data, and debate are welcome. I PMed to ask what "get to" meant: "visit" or "emigrate to"? I just got an answer: "Either". For legal emigration, I f...	[ "According to an East German passport law in 1957, East German citizens needed a visa to travel abroad, including West Germany and West Berlin. The penalty for making an unauthorized journey outside East Germany was imprisonment.\n", "There was no formal legal basis under which a citizen could emigrate from East ...
as a kid i hated the taste of broccoli, but as an adult i love it, how does that work?	Children have a lot more taste buds than adults and those are a lot more sensitive to bitter sensations. Which makes Broccoli pretty much their mortal enemy. Over the years the amount of tastebuds reduces as does their sensitivity. That's why broccoli (and spinach) are a lot more enjoyable once you grow older.	[ "The oldest of the kids who is nerdy in appearance and has a vast knowledge of Broccoli Punch. He also got really upset over the ending of the episode \"Don't Read the Comments\" because the message of the episode was preferred over the backstory of the entire plot, complaining that the creators have no idea what t...
Is it normal to never get sick?	It's actually quite common for young people. It also depends a lot on self-perception and one's concept of sickness. Some people consider two liquid stools diarrhea or a two day cough a cold and think "omg I'm sick". Others just think "shouldn't have eaten that taco" or "should have worn a sweater" and expect to be fin...	[ "Most religions grant exceptions from religious duties to people who are sick. For example, one whose life would be endangered by fasting on Yom Kippur or during Ramadan is exempted from the requirement, or even forbidden from participating. People who are sick are also exempted from social duties. For example, ill...
how do you fry ice cream.	You superchill the Cream first, coat it in a tempura batter and fry it at a very high temperature. The outer tempura crust is what actually "fries" and it insullates the soft icecream inside a nice perfect crunchy shell. in theory at least...	[ "Ice cream (derived from earlier iced cream or cream ice) is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from dairy milk or cream, or soy, cashew, coconut or almond milk, and is flavored with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and any spice, such as cocoa or vanilla. Colo...
what exactly can workplace it staff see, besides my browsing history?	ELI5 answer: Depending on the company, yes to all of those. More in-depth answer: Obviously, most websites where you enter a password are SSL encrypted, so the data being transferred can't be seen. However, modern firewalls (they call them next-gen) have the ability to automatically do man-in-the middle decryption by ...	[ "Many objects that may be found at a usual workplace can be exploited to retrieve information on a computer's display by an outsider. Particularly good results were obtained from reflections in a user's eyeglasses or a tea pot located on the desk next to the screen. Reflections that stem from the eye of the user al...
everytime i see a shark swimming on tv, there are tiny fish swimming alongside and under it. why is it so?	Those fish you see are in a mutualistic relationship with the shark. Most commonly they are Remora fish. A mutualistic relationship basically means they benefit each other. These fish clean the shark by eating small build up on the body as well as small scraps in and around the mouth/jaws, so the shark provides nuris...	[ "Sharks tend to be seen quite often in cartoons whenever a scene involves the ocean. Such examples include the \"Tom and Jerry\" cartoons, \"Jabberjaw\", and other shows produced by Hanna-Barbera. They also are used commonly as a clichéd means of killing off a character that is held up by a rope or some similar obj...
What is the theoretical maximum for wind speed?	_URL_0_ > The winds in the planets' wide equatorial jet streams rip along at speeds of up to 450 miles an hour on Uranus and as high as 1,300 miles an hour on more-distant Neptune. > The planets beyond Mars exhibit the highest winds speeds of any other planets in the solar system. Yet from Jupiter on out, wind spee...	[ "Currently, the second-highest surface wind speed ever officially recorded is 372 km/h (231 mph; 103 m/s) at the Mount Washington (New Hampshire) Observatory: 6,288 ft (1917 m) above sea level in the US on 12 April 1934, using a heated anemometer. The anemometer, specifically designed for use on Mount Washington wa...
What was the relationship with Israel and the surrounding Arab neighbors like prior to the 1967 Six-Day war?	Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and some other Arab states and Israel were still at war, there was just a cease-fire. There was somewhat less tension with Jordan--the governments had been talking in secret. But they were still at war, and there were cross-border raids going on there, too. But elsewhere, pretty much as frosty ...	[ "Since Israel's declaration of independence in 1948 this state has found itself in nearly continual conflict with the Arab world and some other predominantly Muslim countries. The animosity between the Arabs and the Israelis became a global issue during the 1970s. The Yom Kippur War of 1973, with the supplying of I...
When trying to find theoretical particles or forces, etc, how do scientists figure out what experiments would give the best chance at discovery?	Well if you have a new kind of particle you will generally try to figure out how it would interact with other particles. If, for instance your new particle has an electric charge, a good way to see it would be trying to place it in a magnetic field and watch it bend. The bubble chamber works, simply put, by taking a g...	[ "A typical experiment involves the observation of particles, often photons, in an apparatus designed to produce entangled pairs and allow for the measurement of some characteristic of each, such as their spin. The results of the experiment could then be compared to what was predicted by local realism and those pred...
Why does an electric charge make neon and other noble gases glow? Why the distinct colors?	if an electron passes its kinetic energy to an atom within its ground state, the energy will be transformed into potential energy of the atom. The atom then wants to lose this additional energy which is only possible through emission of light. The distinct colors are because there are only certain energy states which a...	[ "The blue glow of a criticality accident can result from the fluorescence of the excited ions, atoms and molecules of air (mostly oxygen and nitrogen) falling back to unexcited states, which produces an abundance of blue light. This is also the reason electrical sparks in air, including lightning, appear electric b...
why does language change over generations / geography? i speak the same way my parents and grandparents do, so why do we speak differently from folks 200 years ago? also, in the us, why do people in different areas have different accents if we all came from england and spoke the same way?	I would also add that, although you think you speak the same as your grandparents and parents, it's likely that there is a, say, 3% difference in words commonly used. Simple phrases like "oh my heavens!" or "holy Toledo!" that my gam gam uses are pretty rare. You see where I'm going with this. Over 200 years, if lang...	[ "American immigrants often end their pursuit of heritage language learning after two or three generations in the United States, and it is now becoming more common to shift into English within two generations. The decision to end heritage language learning can stem from a variety of factors, but often includes socie...
What would happen if you uniformly increased the pressure inside a perfect sphere of perfectly consistent material?	In a thought experiment like this where everything is perfect and smooth, and there is no outside interference from anything, what you're describing is termed an unstable equilibrium. The simplest analogy of this is [a ball on top of a hill.](_URL_0_) It's in equilibrium because it will stay where it is so long as no...	[ "The problem is that a sphere formed by such a membrane and filled with incompressible liquid (water) cannot be indented or applanated even when the pressure inside is zero, because a sphere contains the maximum volume with the minimum surface area. Any deformation necessarily increases surface area, which is impos...
Why was Rome able to replace the losses of 50,000 soldiers after Cannae, but the loss of three legions (20,000 men) meant the end of Rome's ambitions to conquer transalpine Gaul?	The three legions lost were in Germany, not Gaul. Gaul had been conquered some fifty years earlier and the Gallic nobility was already in contention for senatorial positions. I don't think there's really a lot to say here. Regardless of the issues of Roman manpower (which increased many, many times over the course of...	[ "Rome's victory broke up the coalition it had defeated. The Etruscans, Umbrians and Senone Gauls pulled out of the war. The Samnites, besides losing their allies, suffered heavy casualties. The Romans went on to win other battles against the Samnites. In the final stage of the war, which ended five years later, the...
why can someone get used to strong alcohol?	You're cells have an organelle called the Smooth ER that detoxifies the cell from drugs and alcohol. The more often you ingest it the more efficient this organelle becomes at detoxifying. Since it detoxifies faster when you drink a lot you would need more of that substance to create the same effect. However when you st...	[ "These varying capacities do not, however, avoid all health risks inherent in heavy alcohol consumption. Alcohol abuse is associated with a variety of negative health and safety outcomes. This is true no matter the individual's or the ethnic group's perceived ability to \"handle alcohol\". Persons who believe thems...
why does a brown ring form around the inside of my coffee cup after it has been sitting? the ring only forms on the mug at the top level of the liquid. why isn't the whole submerged part of the mug turn brown?	Capillary action draws the coffee at the edge a little bit up the wall of the mug. Then the water evaporates, leaving coffee residue.	[ "In physics, a \"coffee ring\" is a pattern left by a puddle of particle-laden liquid after it evaporates. The phenomenon is named for the characteristic ring-like deposit along the perimeter of a spill of coffee. It is also commonly seen after spilling red wine. The mechanism behind the formation of these and simi...
What is switching the Gate of a transistor?	The gates of transistors in modern digital ICs (MOSFETs) do not draw any current (apart from leakage). They are controlled by gate voltage not current. See [this video](_URL_0_) for an illustration of its working principle. Also [check this](_URL_1_) site for some interactive experiment.	[ "The circuit works by rapidly switching the transistor. Initially, current begins to flow through the resistor, secondary winding, and base-emitter junction (see diagram) which causes the transistor to begin conducting collector current through the primary winding. Since the two windings are connected in opposing d...
What happens at either end of the electromagnetic spectrum?	There is a misconception that the amplitude of an electromagnetic wave is a length in the transverse dimension. The amplitude is that of the electric and magnetic fields that make up the waves, as measured along its direction of propagation. There is no upper or lower limit to the wavelength of an EM wave, you can hav...	[ "The region of the spectrum where a particular observed electromagnetic radiation falls, is reference frame-dependent (due to the Doppler shift for light), so EM radiation that one observer would say is in one region of the spectrum could appear to an observer moving at a substantial fraction of the speed of light ...
How practical is harvesting geothermal energy as a significant renewable energy source?	It really depends on where you are. [Iceland](_URL_0_) generates about a quarter of its electricity from geothermal - but it's also a really volcanically active region.	[ "Geothermal power is considered to be a sustainable, renewable source of energy because the heat extraction is small compared with the Earth's heat content. The greenhouse gas emissions of geothermal electric stations are on average 45 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of electricity, or less than 5 percent...
why are advertisers allowed to make text so small that is literally unreadable (on video), or talk so fast that no one can understand a word (radio/video) regarding "fine print"	There are lots of laws around how you're allowed to present a product in an advertisement. This includes things you have to say about a product (side effects of a medicine etc). Sometime those things they have to say make the product look worse, and they don't like that. So a "loophole" to get around this as much as ...	[ "Printed media is the most basic form of media advertising. It is the most challenging to create strong imagery with, due to its lack of sensory stimulation, but can be effective in efficient, clear information communication and message delivery. Where a consumer may miss a message in video or audio (perhaps a loud...
How did ancient governments and economies interact? (talking up to about ~0AD)	I'm sorry you've not gotten many answers--it's a rather broad topic. I can only really help with a pretty narrow chunk of it, using biblical sources. While it's not a historical text in that the events described are necessarily accurate, it is really old and was written with ancient thinking about government. So: *...	[ "The Ancient Economy is a book about the economic system of classical antiquity written by the classicist Moses I. Finley. It was originally published in 1973. Finley interprets the economy from 1000 BC to 500 AD sociologically, instead of using economic models (like for example Michael Rostovtzeff). Finley attempt...
why does mcdonalds have limited time flavors if they are popular?	To create artificial scarcity so when they bring it back, there's a frenzy for them. One of the first tools of salesmanship is to create urgency. "Time is running out, act now!" Source: Former salesman.	[ "Because Kline's makes their ice cream every morning and it takes so long to make, they have one special flavor a week. They always make chocolate and vanilla, and rotate in this special flavor. This creates a way for them to compete with the chain ice cream sellers. They choose not to mix flavors but to keep these...
Why did the Yongle Emperor move the capital to Beijing? And how associated was Beijing with the Yuan dynasty?	> Why did the Yongle Emperor move the capital to Beijing? There are several different reasons why the capital was relocated: * Yongle was sent to garrison Beijing in 1380 and lived there for more than two decades. Beijing was his base of power from which he launched the military campaign that toppled his nephew. H...	[ "In 1421, Yongle moved the \"Jingshi\" of the Ming to Beijing, which made Beijing the main capital of the Ming dynasty. From Beijing, Yongle launched multiple campaigns against the Mongols. After he died in 1424, his son, the Hongxi Emperor, ordered the capital be moved back to Nanjing, but died of illness in 1425....
What's the history of the suburb?	The origin of the term suburb is from the Latin suburbium, which is a compound word combining "sub" (below) and "urbs" (city). Rome was built on the famous seven hills, and suburbium meant the area outside the city walls. The furthest edges of the suburbs became a place where the wealthy built country homes. Catullu...	[ "The history of suburbia is part of the study of urban history, which focuses on the origins, growth, diverse typologies, culture, and politics of suburbs, as well as on the gendered and family-oriented nature of suburban space. Many people have assumed that early-20th-century suburbs were enclaves for middle-class...
We are all 'star stuff'. But are we all stuff from the just one star or many?	The Sun is not a first generation star. Though I had been taught it was a fourth generation star, some poking about to verify that just now suggests there are credible arguments for the idea that it is a third generation star. In either case, my point is that most of our mass traces back to a series of stellar predec...	[ "A star is an astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance ...
why is martial law in a country such a big deal and important news all over the world?	Martial law is the act of the government suspending certain rights of citizens for a period of time. There are two big reasons that this is such a big deal and they are sort of circular; 1) Martial law is usually a last resort by governments (see number 2 for why) to control a situation. So the first reason that it i...	[ "Martial law can be used by governments to enforce their rule over the public, as seen in multiple countries listed below. Such incidents may occur after a coup d'état (Thailand in 2006 and 2014, and Egypt in 2013); when threatened by popular protest (China, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, 2009's Iranian Green M...
Is there a "universal speed limit" lower than the speed of light for an object of a given mass?	An object of non-zero mass can in principle attain any speed less than the speed of light. In fact, since velocity has only a relative meaning, there are frames of reference in which an object of non-zero mass has whatever speed less than c you wish.	[ "According to special relativity, the energy of an object with rest mass \"m\" and speed \"v\" is given by , where \"γ\" is the Lorentz factor defined above. When \"v\" is zero, \"γ\" is equal to one, giving rise to the famous formula for mass–energy equivalence. The \"γ\" factor approaches infinity as \"v\" approa...
How would Laws of Thermodynamics effect an Infinitely long row of Dominos?	In the initial set-up every domino is put in a state which is not it’s lowest energy state - that is, by standing on one edge it has some gravitational potential energy which the laws of thermodynamics ‘wants’ it to release (by falling over), but the careful act of balancing them on an edge is preventing the release. ...	[ "This example assumes that dominoes toppling into each other behave deterministically. Even the above-mentioned external forces which might interrupt the system are causes which the system did not consider, but which could be explained by cause and effect in a larger deterministic system.\n", "Michael Lind has ar...
home come drinking salt water makes you vomit, but having something like chicken broth doesn’t? even though it has water and salt in it	Salt water? 🤔 Like drinking water from the ocean?	[ "They ask the cook how he made the oatmeal that morning and he explains how he uses dry cereal, water and a handful of salt. The cereal is a generic brand and the water is municipal; these are ruled out as sources of the poison, as more people would be sick if this were the case. That leaves the salt.\n", "As a h...
Could you get PTSD from something that you didn't personally experience?	Yes, this is actually listed in the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD. The first criterion involves exposure to a traumatic event that causes intense fear, horror, or helplessness, and this event can be experienced directly, witnessed, or indirectly experienced by hearing about someone close to you experiencing trauma. The key e...	[ "Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after exposure to horrific events, or after a terrifying ordeal where there is immense physical harm that directly or indirectly affects a person. When the memories of these traumas do not subside, a person may begin to avoid anything that...
what is core strength?	Put your finger on the middle of your waistline. It should be a few cm below your navel. If you go halfway through your body from there, you will be at a place that is roughly the center of mass for your entire body. Or to put it more ELI5ly you're at the place around which the rest of your body spins when you move aro...	[ "Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS), ultimate strength, or Ftu within equations, is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to elongate, as opposed to compressive strength, which withstands loads tending to reduce size. In other words, tensile streng...
What does it mean for a body to be radioactive?	Marie Curie and her contemporaries worked a lot with radioactive materials, in particular radium which is particularly nasty. In fact she and her husband Pierre didn't just work with it but more or less sacrificed their bodies to see what it did to the human body (along with lots of other groundbreaking work). The rea...	[ "Radioactive contamination can be ingested into the human body if it is airborne or is taken in as contamination of food or drink, and will irradiate the body internally. The art and science of assessing internally generated radiation dose is Internal dosimetry.\n", "Some human-made radiation sources affect the b...
Are there any possible neolithic or prehistoric stories, myths, legends, events that pre-dated recorded history but was passed down orally long enough to finally be preserved in writing?	Homer's stories, most Greek plays. One could argue those fit the bill. Off the top of my head, all those were orally preserved and now we can (and should) read them. I'm sure someone else will give a more in depth answer.	[ "There are no extant textual sources from the Neolithic era, the most recent available dating from the Bronze Age, and therefore all statements about any belief systems Neolithic societies may have possessed are glimpsed from archaeology.\n", "Various civilizations over the course of Mesopotamian history had many...
In Egil's Saga, the protagonist buries a horde of silver in the ground and then kills the slave who helped him bury it. Are there other examples of deliberately buried treasure in Europe or the Americas?	In Britain there have been numerous [Roman hoards](_URL_0_) discovered, one of the largest being the recently discovered [Seaton Hoard](_URL_2_). A good example of a more recent hoard is the [Cheapside Hoard](_URL_1_), discovered under a London Cellar and thought to have been buried around the time of the English Civil...	[ "After killing Regin, Sigurd mounts Grani, and rides to Fafnir's lair, where he finds \"an enormous store of gold\" from which he takes \"many precious things\" including the helm of terror and the sword Hrotti specifically. Sigurd loads large chests with the treasure onto Grani, despite expecting that it would be ...
what can your average u.s. citizen do to change congress?	One average citizen alone can do nothing. So the way to institute change is to join, or help create, an organization of many people. These people can vote for a different candidate, or raise money to help a different candidate advertise, or write letters telling members of Congress how they wish to see them behave.	[ "United States Congress and citizens describes the relation between the public and lawmakers. Essentially, American citizens elect members of Congress every two years who have the duty to represent their interests in the national legislature of the United States.\n", "The people, by their Constitution, affirmativ...
what's happening when i exercise	Okay! Here we go. Let's see. Body turning food or fat into fuel! Let's talk about food, and we'll get the fat part in there. That's digestion. Basics of digestion are that you chew up food and break it down, then it sits in your stomach and it gets broken down further. What 'breaking down' actually means is that...	[ "Exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, preventing aging, developing muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, improving hea...
depositing a check with your mobile device?	I would like to add that, as far as the bank is concerned, an image of the check is the same as the physical check. The other replies have done a good job answering your other questions.	[ "Genuine cashier's checks deposited into a bank account are usually cleared the next day. The customer can request \"next-day availability\" when depositing a cashier's check in person. Forged cashier's checks may bounce 2 weeks after being deposited.\n", "Electronic checks allow funds to be withdrawn directly fr...
If the surrounding temperature is higher than a surface's temperature, does radiation occur ?	That equation is about the net radiation from a surface. If the right side is positive, the surface has more radiation leaving it than it is absorbing. If it is negative, there is more radiation being absorbed than emitted. In the negative case, there is still radiation leaving the surface in the form of photons le...	[ "Heat transfer by radiation is a function of both the heat sink temperature, and the temperature of the surroundings that the heat sink is optically coupled with. When both of these temperatures are on the order of 0 °C to 100 °C, the contribution of radiation compared to convection is generally small, and this fac...
why humans get relief when scratching a bug bite and why the feeling of the relief doesn't last for long?	Bugs like mosquitoes release an enzyme in their saliva that dulls pain receptors and allows them a chance they feed undetected. Your body releases histamines to attack the foreign enzymes and a wheal or bump due to excess histamine. When you scratch the nerves are stimulated with a stronger stimulus/signal than the his...	[ "Individual responses to bites vary, ranging from no visible effect (in about 20–70%), to small macular spots, to prominent wheals and bullae formations along with intense itching that may last several days. The bites often occur in a line. A central spot of bleeding may also occur due to the release of anticoagula...
what do ambassadors do? why are countries removing syria's ambassadors?	1. Ambassadors present in a country means that you have diplomatic relations of some sort with that country and can communicate directly with it via the ambassador. It generally signals a net positive relationship between two countries. 2. The building the ambassador resides in is considered to be sovereign territory ...	[ "The Syrian ambassador to Cyprus, Lamia al-Hariri, defected to the opposition bringing the total number of ambassadors to defect publicly to 3. She is the niece of Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa. The former ambassador to Sweden, Bassam Imadi said that the envoys to Germany, the Czech Republic, and Belarus, ...
Do depressants change how “efficient” your sleep is?	So first let me say that studying sleep quality is very hard We can measure how long you sleep for, how much time you spend in each stage, the presence of certain typical wave forms of electrical activity (at least is the accessible parts of the brain, more deep structures are hard to access, and that is not a trivial...	[ "Short-acting sleep medications can be used to improve sleep quality and timing, and stimulating substances such as caffeine can be used to promote wakefulness, though research results on their success at adapting to jet lag are inconsistent.\n", "BULLET::::- Although pilots are often given layovers with ample ti...
why in some countries people just wipe but in some countries they use a bidet and wipe?	There's a large number of contributors. Origin point and time of the bidet. They were invented in the 17th century in Europe, and thus they would have spread to regional areas as a custom. Generally when people get used to a bidet (particularly one with warm water), they'll stick with it if it's possible and convenie...	[ "Since the mid-2000s, wet wipes such as baby wipes have become more common for use as an alternative to toilet paper in affluent countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. This usage has in some cases been encouraged by manufacturers, who have labelled some wet wipe brands as \"flushable\". Wet ...
How old is our ocean?	the water in the oceans is the same water that had always been there. Sure there are some reactions that break the water down or form new water, but for the most part it's the same water.	[ "The last estimate Thomson gave, in 1897, was: \"that it was more than 20 and less than 40 million year old, and probably much nearer 20 than 40\". In 1899 and 1900, John Joly calculated the rate at which the oceans should have accumulated salt from erosion processes, and determined that the oceans were about 80 to...
why does the lid start to cave in on a plastic container after i've microwaved it's contents?	Is it possible that the plastic is softening a bit and that's why it's drooping? Also, this is the first I've heard of someone leaving the lid on when microwaving.	[ "Closed containers, such as eggs, can explode when heated in a microwave oven due to the increased pressure from steam. Intact fresh egg yolks outside the shell will also explode, as a result of superheating. Insulating plastic foams of all types generally contain closed air pockets, and are generally not recommend...
Why does water not lubricate our eyes?	Water is very hydrophilic, whereas our tear film is a combination of an outer lipophilic layer that prevents evaporation, a larger middle portion that is primarily aqueous and therefore hydrophilic, and an inner layer that is actually both hydrophilic AND lipophilic. Water mostly disrupts this outer lipophilic laye...	[ "Water in the eye can alter the optical properties of the eye and blur vision. It can also wash away the tear fluid—along with it the protective lipid layer—and can alter corneal physiology, due to osmotic differences between tear fluid and freshwater. Osmotic effects are made apparent when swimming in freshwater p...
For most of history, most people have made their own clothes. Did people use this as a form of personal expression like we see in clothing today, or was clothing similar and generic among social groups? Do we have pictures?	The most obvious example of a group of people using clothing as a statement and form of personal expression are the [sans-culotes](_URL_1_) of the French Revolution, who neglected the fashionable knee-breeches of the nobility in favor of practical, workmanlike pants. The distinctive dress of the sans-culotes served...	[ "The development of attire and fashion is an exclusively human characteristic and is a feature of most human societies. Clothing made of materials such as animal skins and vegetation was initially used by early humans to protect their bodies from the elements. The usage of clothing and textiles across the ages refl...
why do i use my hands to talk? why is it more difficult for me to form my thoughts if i try to not use my hands?	Communication largely was/is body language. For example understanding pointing is a good intelligence indicator.	[ "Both self-talk, the propensity to engage in verbal or mental self-directed conversation and thought, and social support can be used as instruments of self-improvement, often by empowering, action-promoting messages. Psychologists have designed series of experiments that are intended to shed light into how self-tal...
how to overclock a cpu	If you're looking to overclock your laptop or a prebuilt desktop system from Dell, chances are that the motherboard's BIOS doesn't support it. In order to overclock a CPU, you'll likely need to have a higher-end motherboard installed in a PC that you've built yourself. I've only done it once, but here's my take: Usu...	[ "Computer processors generally are overclocked by manipulating the CPU multiplier if that option is available, but the processor and other components can also be overclocked by increasing the base speed of the bus clock. Some systems allow additional tuning of other clocks (such as a system clock) that influence th...
Were medieval royal women ever flat out ugly?	Not medieval but Catherine of Braganza, the wife of Charles II of England was described rather unflatteringly by members of his court as looking like a large bat when she first arrived in England. While other descriptions of her do tend to paint a more flattering picture, she was known to have larger front teeth and to...	[ "Geofrey Chaucer's \"Canterbury Tales\" give an illuminating picture of many of the different people who made up medieval society, although these portraits are limited mainly to the middle classes. The Wife of Bath is one particularly vibrant character within the Tales and a few years later a real-world equivalent,...
I'm in a bad mood. Physiologically speaking, what's going on? Are there well-understood neuro-biological factors keeping me from enjoying my work? Is there a theory about the evolutionary benefits of being surly?	First: your question and subquestions are all buzzwords and things that don't belong. Evolutionarily whatever is not required. Physiologically is pretty hard to answer (individual differences). Neuro-biological blah blahs. You're in a bad mood: that's emotion. There is a wealth of knowledge on emotion from psych, neu...	[ "Heuristics are simple strategies to form judgments and make decisions by focusing on the most relevant aspects of a complex problem. As far as we know, animals have always relied on heuristics to solve adaptive problems, and so have humans.\n", "One of the main ethical controversies regarding neuroprivacy is rel...
how come astronauts would burn up in atmosphere upon re-entry from space without a landing craft but felix baumgartner was able to jump from the edge of space without getting singed?	To borrow [from xkcd](_URL_0_): Space is not like [this](_URL_2_) Rather, it is like [this](_URL_1_) Space is not very far away, and falling from it is survivable with limited equipment as Baumgartner demonstrated. But if you want to stay in space (i.e. make orbits) you have to move so fast that's not an option ...	[ "It took five minutes for the pad workers to open all three hatch layers, and they could not drop the inner hatch to the cabin floor as intended, so they pushed it out of the way to one side. Although the cabin lights remained lit, they were at first unable to find the astronauts through the dense smoke. As the smo...
How does the depletion region form in semiconductors?	A semiconductor is, as the name might suggest, not a very good conductor. This is because it lacks free charge carriers, as the electrons are all bound in the crystal lattice and it takes some energy to tear them out of that lattice to form a current. By doping the semiconductor p-type, we create holes in the lattice ...	[ "In semiconductor physics, the depletion region, also called depletion layer, depletion zone, junction region, space charge region or space charge layer, is an insulating region within a conductive, doped semiconductor material where the mobile charge carriers have been diffused away, or have been forced away by an...
How fast is lightning in a vacuum?	Lightning doesn't propagate in a vacuum. In any case, lightning is the phenomenon of a current of charged particles propagating through a thin conducting channel within an otherwise non-conducting medium. Since the particles moving around have non-zero mass, they will never propagate at the speed of light, regardless ...	[ "The most noticeable aspect of lightning and thunder is that the lightning is seen before the thunder is heard. This is a consequence of the much greater speed of light than of sound. The speed of sound in dry air is approximately 343 m/s or 1,127 ft/s or at 20 °C (68 °F). This translates to approximately 3 seconds...
how do world leaders call each other?	It's probably quite different from country-to-country and will differ based on what kind of relationship the two leaders have, but the model is that an adviser/aide will contact an adviser/aide in the other leader's office and say 'Hi, we should arrange for a call between my boss and your boss because x y z'. If the tw...	[ "The leaders of the four countries usually have a series of joint video conference calls with the US president (see NATO Quint), or with other leaders, on international issues. With Barack Obama they discussed for example the TTIP, the Syrian civil war and the use of chemical weapons during the conflict, the Crimea...

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