Split (2)

train · 226k rows

question stringlengths 3 301	answer stringlengths 9 26.1k	context list
How feasible would it be to build machines to "suck" CO2 and other greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere to curb global warming?	A big issue is where you put it. The reason the CO2 is there is because we use ~10TW of fossil fuel energy to power our society. That energy is released because CO2 is a much higher entropy state than complex hydrocarbons. Turning CO2 back into carbon and storing it requires energy, and defeats the purpose of burning h...	[ "BULLET::::- According to an American Physical Society report, technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are unlikely to offer an economically feasible way to slow human-driven climate change for several decades. (\"New York Times\") (APS)\n", "Professor Klaus Lackner of the Environmental Engin...
Why didn't Thomas Jefferson ever free his slaves?	I would start by pointing you to the following article, which describes his view in how abolition should take place (note it was in stages, and not ending slavery over night) and that he believed freed slaves would become a burden on society. I think this would help to show you his reasoning, even if we see it today as...	[ "Thomas Jefferson's views on slavery are complex. Jefferson consistently spoke out against the turpitude of slavery and worked gradually to end the practice of slavery while he owned over 600 African-American people throughout his adult life and freed only seven. \n", "Jefferson died deeply in debt, unable to pas...
Are there any major cases of speciation/evolution in invasive species that we know of?	I am not sure if you find it a "major case", but just in a few decades the Spanish slug(invasive land slug in much of Europe) have changed colour quite dramatically here in Denmark. When it first invaded in the late 90's it was [bright orange](_URL_0_), but just over the last 15-20 years it has changed to a more [darke...	[ "The abundance in any area of \"P. setosa\" and other mezo-zooplankton, can be easily disturbed by the introduction of an alien species. The arrival of the siphonophore \"Muggiaea atlantica\" in the North Sea and of the comb jelly \"Mnemiopsis leidyi\" in the Black Sea in the 1980s both had dramatic effects. In the...
what’s the difference between sweating during exercise and sweating in a sauna?	It's bullshit. You don't sweat out toxins. Toxins are handled by your internal organs such as the liver and kidneys.	[ "A sauna suit is commonly worn during physical exercise as an aid to weight loss, for example by boxers, MMA fighters or wrestlers, who wish to qualify for a specific weight class. The body temperature elevation and the profuse sweating induced by wearing the suit cause a rapid loss in body weight by loss of water....
why in old television footage do you sometimes see a ghost effect where the background is visible through the actors?	How old are we talking here? Before digital video editing was a thing, they did the editing on the physical films. They literally put a cutout of whatever they wanted to add into the scene, over the frame on the reel. Naturally whatever was superimposed over the film had to be semi-transparent because that's how film w...	[ "The ghost effect was done by draping the set in black velvet after the main action had been shot, and then re-exposing the negative with the actor playing the ghost going through the actions at the appropriate point. Likewise, the vision, which appeared within a circular vignette or matte, was similarly superimpos...
The handover of Hong Kong is seen as a landmark moment in international relations and is considered by some to be "the end of the British Empire". Why then is the handover of Macau, a colony that existed centuries before Hong Kong was handed over two years later, viewed with much more nonchalance?	The short answer is that the handover of Macau was far less of a break between colonialism and native rule. Since 1966 and the 12.3 incident (when leftist activists stormed Macau), Macau was a colony only on paper—the Portuguese colonial administration failed to handle the leftist riots and acquiesced to Chinese influe...	[ "Consequently, because ceding Hong Kong came at the end of half a century of decolonisation, and because the handover meant that the United Kingdom became without significant overseas territories, dominions, or colonies for the first time in its history (Great Britain, having been bequeathed the incipient domains o...
why do people get pumped up from others cheering?	I'll take the down vote, but I've read a lot about this. People emulate others around them. The temperament and emotions of a group of people transmit easily because of an individual's need to fit in. If you take a very confident person and throw them in a mob, the confident person, who does not rely on the emotions...	[ "Listeners may also respond to emotional music through action. Throughout history music was composed to inspire people into specific action - to march, dance, sing or fight. Consequently, heightening the emotions in all these events. In fact, many people report being unable to sit still when certain rhythms are pla...
If Voyager I engine was to be cut off right now, would it orbit the Sun ?	Its engine was cut off a long time ago. It is on a trajectory that takes it beyond the solar system.	[ "\"Voyager 1\"s launch almost failed because Titan's second stage shut down too early, leaving of propellant unburned. To compensate, the Centaur's on-board computers ordered a burn that was far longer than planned. At cutoff, the Centaur was only 3.4 seconds from propellant exhaustion. If the same failure had occu...
how do plants make proteins?	You're not quite correct. Plants and animals derive many of their amino acids through amino acid synthesis using compounds derived from their diet (in the case of animals) and from soil nutrients and photosynthesis (in the case of plants). Not all organisms are capable of making all of the amino acids that they requi...	[ "Protein synthesis takes place in cytosolic ribosomes, mitochondria (mitoribosomes), and in plants, the plastids (chloroplast ribosomes). Each of these compartments requires a complete set of functional tRNAs to carry out protein synthesis. The production of mature tRNAs requires processing and modification steps s...
how are manufacturers able to ensure that no two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle are the same?	While there are sophisticated math techniques that could have been used to design non-repeating shapes, and while there are computer programs that could be used to verify no duplicate shapes exist, in practice these are not done. The existence of identical or near-identical pieces is a real possibility. It's part ...	[ "There is also a subtle difference between the original version of the puzzle and the version mass-produced by other companies. The original puzzle has an internal mechanism which prevents an isolated edge piece from turning - i.e. an edge piece may only twist if there is at least one corner piece adjacent to it. T...
why do we have good days and bad days in sports?	A combination of many factors, including hydration, sleep, stress, muscle fatigue, energy levels, and even weather have an effect on your ability in any activity. One day you may have been properly hydrated, gotten a good night sleep, and felt ready to go because your life was great and you were solely focused on perfo...	[ "Kerry LePage wrote in his 2004 book \"Some Day Never Comes\" that he chooses to have a nice day based on his own choice, not that of another person. J. Broad wrote in his 2007 book \"Some Day Never Comes\" that the phrase causes people to feel they have an obligation to have a nice day. Mike Royko wrote in his 200...
Why have Turks historically been considered a dark skinned people, despite being racially closer to Europeans than Middle Eastern peoples?	I'm leaving this thread up for a little bit, but please note that our subreddit deals with history, and all answers discussing current racial classifications will be deleted. To anyone considering posting a reply: please restrict yourself to historical perspectives on the Turkish people only.	[ "Turks are \"the most prominent ethnic minority group in contemporary Germany\", and discrimination and violence against them are common. In public discourse and popular jokes, they are often portrayed as \"ludicrously different in their food tastes, dress, names, and even in their ability to develop survival techn...
Why didn't King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy stop Mussolini's power grab?	When we talk about Fascism, we look back at a political phenomenon that we more or less understand but that still defies a unifying definition. Many of the features displayed by the Fascist Regime were not only peculiar but in fact entirely new - the role of the masses, the cult of the leader, the role of the new media...	[ "Despite pressure from the opposition, Victor Emmanuel III refused to dismiss Mussolini, since the Government was supported by a large majority of the Chamber of Deputies and almost all the Senate of the Kingdom. Moreover, he feared that compelling Mussolini to resign could be considered a \"coup d'état\", that eve...
How to improve vision	[_URL_0_](_URL_0_). Key quote: "A 2005 review of scientific papers on the subject concluded that there was "no clear scientific evidence" that eye exercises were effective in treating myopia"	[ "The fact that optical powers are approximately additive enables an eye care professional to prescribe corrective lenses as a simple correction to the eye's optical power, rather than doing a detailed analysis of the entire optical system (the eye and the lens). Optical power can also be used to adjust a basic pres...
what causes the different atmospheric pressures in our atmosphere?	Uneven heating/cooling of water mostly. If the sun heats one portion of ocean a bit more than another, the air above it also warms up. That creates higher pressure directly over that water.	[ "Atmospheric pressure is caused by the gravitational attraction of the planet on the atmospheric gases above the surface, and is a function of the mass of the planet, the radius of the surface, and the amount and composition of the gases and their vertical distribution in the atmosphere. It is modified by the plane...
What is Christmas?	You may want to ask more specific questions, as each tradition will have a different origin.	[ "Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season ...
Can we explicitly see what Atomic and Subatomic particles exactly look like, Such as Atoms, Electrons, Protons, Neutrons, Quarks, etc, And if so, Are there any images of them?	There are... not photographs per say, but images of electron densities generated by electron microscopes, and images have been generated using something called an atomic force microscope, but it's not technically light bouncing off the atoms that is being mapped to an image. [Further reading](_URL_0_)	[ "It may not be possible to observe every atom in the asymmetric unit. In many cases, Crystallographic disorder smears the electron density map. Weakly scattering atoms such as hydrogen are routinely invisible. It is also possible for a single atom to appear multiple times in an electron density map, e.g., if a prot...
why do hippos in captivity always seem so friendly and docile, while wild hippos all seem like savage murders with nothing to lose?	Captive hippos are pampered. They have grown more docile because of human interaction and involvement. Their day is predictable and consistent. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Done. Don't be fooled though.... They are still wild at heart and therefore incredibly dangerous. Wild hippos are exactly as you described. Savage...	[ "Most specimens are docile, seldom attempting to bite unless severely provoked. is quoted in Pitman (1938) as saying that, in captivity, they \"become so tame that you may allow them to creep, climb and slither round your neck and inside your garments.\" Others, however, are more temperamental.\n", "Small monkeys...
What evidence (if any) of Humans will exist in 65 million years if we suddenly died out?	There is a good book called "The world without us" which details this. > In this far-reaching narrative, Weisman explains how our massive infrastructure would collapse and finally vanish without human presence; what of our everyday stuff may become immortalized as fossils; how copper pipes and wiring would be crush...	[ "BULLET::::- Humanity has a 95% probability of being extinct in 7,800,000 years, according to J. Richard Gott's formulation of the controversial Doomsday argument, which argues that we have probably already lived through half the duration of human history.\n", "The revised 2016 dating of 50,000 years ago is close...
How does a species' genome mutate to include additional chromosomes?	The answers thus far are good and have dealt with diseases like Down's syndrome, and the underlying mechanisms like nondisjunction. However I'm not entirely convinced this is what you meant (possibly you meant "how do we go from 14 chromosomes to 23?"), so I will explain how this other possible interpretation of your q...	[ "The second chromosome is determined to be different from a plasmid or megaplasmid due to the inclusion of housekeeping and other essential genes in the genome, including essential genes for metabolism, heat-shock proteins, and 16S rRNA genes, which are ribosomal subunit genes used to track evolutionary relationshi...
the riots in paris	They are upset that the president have lowered taxes for the rich and increased the fuel taxes. How justified they are to be upset is up for debate. But it does not help that a lot of the people who have joined in the protests are just joining due to the hooliganism and robbing they can potentially get away with. The y...	[ "The 2017 French riots refer to two separate unrelated incidents of unrest in France following claimed abuse of power by police. The first of these riots began on 4 February 2017, in suburbs of Paris, following the alleged rape of a black man named Théo L. by police with a baton. These protests continued until 15 F...
how is it possible women can have periods when they’re pregnant?	Women don't get their period when pregnant. There are some things that cause bleeding when pregnant but as far as I know, any thing that looks like a period while being pregnant would be a reason to get to a doctor very very quickly.	[ "Female vervets do not have external signs indicating a menstruation period, thus there are not elaborate social behaviors involving reproduction. Typically, a female gives birth once a year, between September to February, after a gestation period of about 165 days. Usually only one infant is born at a time, though...
what is the purpose and rules of mosh pits and a wall of death?	The mosh pit is based on the idea that if you are listening to high-energy, aggressive music it makes no sense to be sitting or just standing around. It's a time and place where you and your peers can let yourselves go and move to the music. Clapping, singing along, and head-banging are fine but if the band is feeding ...	[ "\"Blackhole\" is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle-platformer. The player's task is to collect \"selfburns.\" At least one must be collected in each level to move on. If all selfburns are collected in the level, the time is saved. The player can also try to get a better time once he collects all of them. To finish the ga...
why americans still have as much apprehension towards russians? isn't the cold war over?	Yes, the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union dissolved. That said, we've been at odds with Russia for a while now, given that much of the country's leadership is still a holdover from the Cold War. So why are we currently at odds with them? They tried and failed to invade Georgia in 2008. They successfully took a p...	[ "The 2016 surveys independently conducted by the Chicago Council and Russia′s Levada Center showed that mutual perceptions between Russians and Americans were at levels not seen since the Cold War, indicating considerable mutual distrust. \n", "Russia has a long history of anti-Americanism, dating back to the ear...
I found a Soviet pin at a thrift store. Any idea what it means? Is it legit?	This pin commemorates city of Leningrad (St Petersburg) as a "cradle of revolution". 1967 was 50^th anniversary of Great October revolution (official name for coup d'etat of 7^th November, 1917 - 25^th October by Old Russian calendar style). In the background you see a map of streets around Winter palace, which was s...	[ "\"Box\" was the unofficial name of a secret Soviet facility much like the closed city, but smaller, usually the size of a factory. The \"box\" name was usually classified, as were the activities there. Incoming mail was addressed to \"mailbox #XXXX\", thus the name of \"box\". Most Soviet design bureaus for weapon...
Were programs like Social Security and Medicare met with the same level of opposition as the Affordable Care Act?	Social Security? No. Not at all. It was passed by overwhelming margins in both houses of Congress. Also, you have to consider the fact that the Democrats won both Houses of Congress during the 1930 midterms and didn't lose them until 1946 (and would regain them both in 1948 and keep them for all but two years until the...	[ "Giest was not the only opposing voice to the Social Security Act of 1965; Edward R. Annis of the AMA also predicted that Medicare and Medicaid would have future problems. Annis predicted that Medicare and Medicaid would interfere with the patient and physician relationship. With the expansion of convenient care cl...
Why do some animals mate for life, and how does it benefit their survival?	Monogamy is most common in bird species. Monogamy in this case is beneficial to the survival of the offspring. This is very important due to the fact that many species that participate in monogamous behaviors often have a low reproductive rate (1-4). However, even in monogamous animal relationships individuals can some...	[ "Ultimately, animals were created solely for the purpose of reproduction, therefore, choosing distinctive attractive qualities is the most important factor in their quest for choosing the perfect mate. Attraction among animals is based mostly on what will give the females the best chance of having the most and heal...
Why did the US oppose the Israeli occupation of the Suez canal, which was supported by its strongest allies Britain and France?	The Suez Crisis was basically a culmination of several historical/political factors which were Cold War containment policy, the formal end of British and French power, and ideological concerns over colonialism. Firstly, Egypt as an Arab state was the most influential country in the Middle East. For this reason the US ...	[ "The British strongly protested the nationalization, and formed a plan with France and Israel to capture the canal. Eisenhower opposed military intervention, and he repeatedly told British Prime Minister Anthony Eden that the U.S. would not tolerate an invasion. Though opposed to the nationalization of the canal, E...
the implications, if any, for the rest of the us, of puerto rico voting to become a state.	Our flag would be unbalanced, and our nation would spiral into total chaos with an uneven amount of stars per row. Other than that, not too much	[ "In the November 2012 U.S. election, Puerto Rico voted to become a U.S. state. However, the legitimacy of the result of this election was disputed. On June 11, 2017, another referendum was held, this time with the result that 97% of voters in Puerto Rico voted for statehood, but it had a turnout of only 23%. Simila...
why does sound get tinny when slowed down?	Like tinny like it's being played through a tin can, I hear ya. So when you take a picture a make it bigger than you took it, it looks fuzzier ya? Well sound does the same thing, the recorder records 1000's of samples per second, but you can't hear a thousand different things in a second. So when you record something t...	[ "Reverberation will further distort these already faint sounds, often beyond recognition, by introducing complex patterns of peaks and nulls in their frequency spectrum, and blurring their temporal characteristics. Finally, sound absorption can cause high frequencies to be rolled off, dulling the sound further.\n",...
Did Mongol Empire actually exist?	Complete nonsense, I'm afraid. The existence of the Mongol Empire and its successor khanates cannot seriously be questioned. To address the author's points in order (briefly, as I'm not an expert in this area): 1. [The Secret History of the Mongols](_URL_0_), dated from 1240, is the defining contemporary source on ...	[ "The Mongol Empire at its greatest extent included all of modern-day Mongolia, China, much or all of Russia, Ukraine, Cilicia, Anatolia, Georgia, Armenia, Persia, Iraq, Korea, and Central Asia, parts of Burma, Romania and Pakistan. In the meantime, many countries became vassals or tributary states of the Mongol Emp...
the difference between lifting free weights and lifting on the machine.	Free weights work out the stabilizing muscles while machines often isolate the muscle you're focusing on. You get more "complete" workouts with free weights.	[ "A weight machine is an exercise machine used for weight training that uses gravity as the primary source of resistance and a combination of simple machines to convey that resistance to the person using the machine. Each of the simple machines (pulley, lever, wheel, incline) changes the mechanical advantage of the ...
what would happen if a antibacterial soap was added to a large pool of bacteria.	More likely than not (obviously depending on the soap and the strain of bacteria used) some of the bacteria would survive. Honestly, the soap/detergent part is probably going to kill more than the antibacterial part of the soap. Antibacterial soaps use low doses of an antibacterial agent, but the low dose and constant ...	[ "To make antibacterial soap, compounds such as triclosan or triclocarban can be added. There is some concern that use of antibacterial soaps and other products might encourage antibiotic resistance in microorganisms.\n", "Claims that antibacterial soap is effective stem from the long-standing knowledge that tricl...
If O.J. Simpson committed the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, why did Mark Fuhrman plead the Fifth when asked if he had planted evidence?	In the early stages of the trial, when Mark Fuhrman took to the witness stand, one of OJ's lawyers, Francis Lee Bailey, under oath, asked him if he ever said the word "nigger" over the past ten years, to which he said no. Later in the trial, OJ's legal defense team found tapes of Fuhrman being interviewed about female...	[ "In the 1995 murder trial of O. J. Simpson, the defense argued that Los Angeles Police Department detective Mark Fuhrman had planted evidence at the crime scene. Although Fuhrman denied the allegations, Simpson was found not guilty, although he was later held liable for the deaths in a civil suit filed by the famil...
Can objects orbit around me?	In theory, yes. The orbital velocity of a simple circular orbit of an object orbiting a much more massive object is the square root of the mass of the central object times the constant of gravity (G) divided by the radius of the orbit. For a human of 80 kg, that means that an object orbiting at a distance of 10 m wou...	[ "It can be said that two objects in space orbiting each other in the absence of other forces are in free fall around each other, e.g. that the Moon or an artificial satellite \"falls around\" the Earth, or a planet \"falls around\" the Sun. Assuming spherical objects means that the equation of motion is governed by...
the chinese market crash.	Please remember to search before posting.	[ "The 2015–16 Chinese stock market turbulence slowed the growth of the economy in China, restraining its demand for oil and other industrial commodities. China’s fast rising debt pile, especially since 2008, has also led to concerns about a Chinese financial crisis and/or Chinese recession, which led to significant ...
Do the physical properties of ice change at different temperatures?	Under the right conditions, ice can take on different crystalline forms called "solid phases." Parameters like [temperature, pressure, and volume](_URL_3_) govern these varying morphological regimes (image from [Wikipedia:Ice/Phases](_URL_1_), which features an excellent summary table). [This University page](_URL_0_) ...	[ "Ice XI is the hydrogen-ordered form of I, the ordinary form of ice. Different phases of ice, from ice II to ice XVI, have been created in the laboratory at different temperatures and pressures. The total internal energy of ice XI is about one sixth lower than ice I, so in principle it should naturally form when ic...
why is it so hard for manufacturers to switch to usb type c, despite all of its benefits over type a/b?	They have stockpiles of A/B and years old designs. Keep in mind your brand new shiny phone coming out this year was first designed probably 1+ years ago.	[ "An increasing number of motherboards, notebooks, tablet computers, smartphones, hard disk drives, USB hubs and other devices released from 2014 onwards feature USB-C receptacles. However, further adoption of USB-C is limited by the comparatively high cost of USB-C cables and connectors.\n", "If faster connection...
Was the attack on Pearl Harbour a gamble by the Japanese Empire, or did they truly believed such a attack would cripple the US to the point of not winning the war?	The Japanese high command was not stupid nor were they blind, they could see the massive disparity in terms of military resources and industrial capacity that existed between the USA and Japan. Pearl Harbor was not necessarily intended to cripple the USA in the long term but rather it was intended to buy time. The Japa...	[ "In the long term, the attack on Pearl Harbor was a grand strategic blunder for Japan. Indeed, Admiral Yamamoto, who conceived it, predicted even success here could not win a war with the United States, because American productive capacity was too large. It spurred the United States into a determination to fight to...
if the house always wins, how come most casinos go broke?	Casinos have tremendous fixed costs. They are in A+ locations that require huge loans for land and building. They have to purchase furniture, televisions etc. They also have to purchase gaming tables, electronics, and systems. They also have to pay more labor than most service industries. There is cleaning staff, manag...	[ "In February 2013, the casino was found to be in violation of state regulations, as its minimum bankroll was $25,706 short, which could have prevented it from paying off potential customer winnings. As a result, the casino's table games were removed and its number of slot machines was decreased from 300 to 65. The ...
When and why did Sparta cease to become a military power?	Edit: This is concerned with Sparta's immediate fall from Hegemonic power in the early 4th century BCE. For the continual decline into the Roman era, please see /u/edXcitizen87539319's terrific reply below! Okay, so it all starts in 404 BC at the end of the Peloponnesian War. Sparta has finally beaten Athens after ne...	[ "As a result of the war, Sparta lost its position as a major power in Greece. Subsequent Spartan attempts to recover the losses failed and Nabis, the last sovereign ruler, was eventually murdered. Soon after, Sparta was forcibly made a member of its former rival, the Achaean League, ending several centuries of fier...
how do proteins in cells move?	Saying that there are new chemical bonds forming/breaking all the time is actually pretty close to being an accurate description of what’s going on here! This lil guy is called a motor protein. They walk along tracks in your cells called microtubules carrying important cargo by forming an interaction called a hydrogen...	[ "A proteins direct cellular response when it reaches its destination is to begin to alter the behavior of the cell. The cell can respond in an array of ways, depending on the molecules involved in the signaling. A signal activates an enzyme that disassembles a larger molecule. A signal can also direct a vesicle to ...
why is it that all big space ships, from the space shuttle to the saturn v rockets, were painted white.	They sit out all day in the sun, and they are huge. It keeps them from getting hot. This is important because the fuel and oxidizer in the on-board tanks needs to be kept very cold.	[ "STS-2 was the last shuttle flight to have its external fuel tank (ET) painted white. In an effort to reduce the Shuttle's overall weight, STS-3 and all subsequent missions used an unpainted tank, saving approximately of launch weight. This lack of paint gave the ET a distinctive orange-brown color, which eventuall...
why would instantaneous communication create a paradox/violate causality?	I am in the Death Star, about the push the button to destroy a planet. Let's call this event A. You are on the planet, about to send message saying "We surrender, will give you the droids!". That's event B. Now if A happens too soon, B doesn't happen. And if B happens soon enough, A doesn't happen. Now according ...	[ "Nevertheless, the fact that causality is preserved in quantum mechanics is a rigorous result in modern quantum field theories, and therefore modern theories do not allow for time travel or FTL communication. In any specific instance where FTL has been claimed, more detailed analysis has proven that to get a signal...
What is the effect of pH on ion mobility?	In a broad idea, ions dissipate in 2 ways: via a concentration gradient or via a charge gradient. pH can easily effect the charge gradient by either adding positive charges in acidic conditions or removing them in basic conditions.	[ "A decrease in pH (increase in ion concentration) shifts the standard curve to the right, while an increase shifts it to the left. This occurs because at greater ion concentration, various amino acid residues, such as Histidine 146 exist predominantly in their protonated form allowing them to form ion pairs that st...
What causes an ice age, and is it possible for us to have another one/when could the nearest one be?	We are technically still in an ice age, called the Holocene, which started 2.6Mya. That 3 massive ice sheets (Arctic, Greenland, Antarctic) still exist, and that year round alpine glaciers still exist, is the reason why. Once they are all gone, you could say the ice age was over. We are in a warm period of that ice a...	[ "In the history of the Earth, many ice ages are known to have occurred. An ice age would have a serious impact on civilization because vast areas of land (mainly in North America, Europe, and Asia) could become uninhabitable. Currently, the world is in an interglacial period within a much older glacial event. The l...
Are there galaxies that are so far away that we can't see them yet?	Yes, there are galaxies which are too far away for their light to have reached us. Many of them also are far enough away that their light will never reach us, because the metric expansion of the universe causes the distance between them and us to increase by more than 299,792,458 meters every second. Assuming no decr...	[ "The galaxy is located slightly more than 11 million light-years from Earth. It is difficult to observe due to galaxies situated behind ESO 540-030, and five bright stars between the galaxy and the Solar System.\n", "The list aims to reflect current knowledge: not all galaxies within the 3.59 Mpc radius have been...
what is it that makes water-boarding so psychologically and/or physically terrifying?	There are a few things that instinctively terrify any living thing. Falling from great heights is one. Drowning is another big one. When you waterboard somebody, it tricks the body into "thinking" it's drowning & they lose rational control. When you add in the fact that you're strapped down and completely unable ...	[ "Waterboarding refers to a technique involving water poured over the face or head of the subject, in order to evoke the instinctive fear of drowning. Often a wet cloth is placed in the subject's mouth, giving them the impression that they are drowning.\n", "Boarding is used in wartime as a way to seize a vessel w...
What are some minorities that were never really discriminated against in the United States?	Jews were certainly discriminated against in the USA, though perhaps not as much as in Europe. Some organizations, like the Ku Klux Klan were openly anti-Semitic. A 2005 survey found there were still considerable anti-semitic attitudes in the USA, with 9% of whites had strongly anti-semitic attitudes, 29% of Hispanic...	[ "A 2016 poll found that 38% of US citizens thought that Whites faced a lot of discrimination. Among Democrats, 29% thought there was some discrimination against Whites in the United States, while 49% of Republicans thought the same. Similarly, another poll conducted earlier in the year found that 41% of US citizens...
Why do fast-moving things appear as a blur? Theoretically what would it take for us to increase our visual "framerate"?	It's not a property of light but of our eyes and visual cortices. Different animals can perceive events that happen in smaller instances of time. Dogs and cats for example would require a higher frame rate to experience smooth motion. There are studies you can read that talk more about this. [This link](_URL_0_) seems ...	[ "Conversely, extra motion blur can unavoidably occur on displays when it is not desired. This occurs with some video displays (especially LCD) that exhibits motion blur during fast motion. This can lead to more perceived motion blurring above and beyond the preexisting motion blur in the video material. See display...
Why do people sometimes have "lines" on their skin?	When you flex your wrist, the skin in that area either needs to stretch or fold. Constant repetition of the same movement causes those creases to stay indefinitely. If you hunch over you should see a crease develop somewhere on your stomach. Stay in that position long enough and even when you stand up straight you'll s...	[ "The appearance of the line depends on skin pigmentation. On lighter-skinned people, the transverse nasal crease is lighter in color than the surrounding skin, and may appear white. This is due to hypopigmentation resulting from the low level of melanin present in the damaged skin. In darker-skinned people, the lin...
How popular has historical fiction been throughout history? Has a historian ever mistaken such a work for a factual account, only for it to later be found out as fiction?	Published in 1820, Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe was so wildly popular that Alice Chandler asserts in "Sir Walter Scott and the Medieval Revival" that the 19th century interest in the middle ages, which has continued until the present day, began because of this book. There was a newfound European interest in chivalry and ...	[ "A 20th-century variant of the historical novel is documentary fiction, which incorporates \"not only historical characters and events, but also reports of everyday events\" found in contemporary newspapers. Examples of this variant form of historical novel include \"U.S.A.\" (1938), and \"Ragtime\" (1975) by E.L. ...
why do toilets tend to be made out of porcelain?	Porcelain is hard, waterproof, and easily sterilised. It's easy to produce and is glazed to be non-porous meaning it's tough for bacteria to take hold. Plastic is not strong enough and it's prohibitively expensive to produce vacuum formed toilets , and stainless steel is cold and not appealing en-mass (from a design ...	[ "Porcelain is much harder than ordinary ceramic tiles and is usually selected, despite its higher price, for its hard wearing nature. Porcelain can be used in both wet and dry areas such as bathrooms, showers and kitchens.\n", "Porcelain fillings are hard, but can cause wear on opposing teeth. They are brittle an...
how can investigators find incriminating e-mails?	Well, first of all, people are not as keen on deleting email as you may think. Personally, I have every single one of mine since 1997. And, really, not everyone is comfortable enough around technology to understand that an email that is moved to the trash folder will stay there for a while before being deleted. Added...	[ "On the internet many users give away a lot of information about themselves: unencrypted e-mails can be read by the administrators of an e-mail server, if the connection is not encrypted (no HTTPS), and also the internet service provider and other parties sniffing the network traffic of that connection are able to ...
what is wire fraud in the us?	Any crime in which the defendant voluntarily and intentionally devised or participated in a scheme to defraud another out of money; the defendant did so with the intent to defraud; it was reasonably foreseeable that interstate wire communications would be used; and interstate wire communications were in fact used.	[ "Fraudsters often falsely claim that the purported Federal Reserve notes or bonds that they hold are somehow very special and are not known to the public because they are so secret. Fraudsters have attempted to sell these worthless instruments, or to redeem or exchange them at banks and other financial institutions...
Can a discharged lithium battery explode?	It depends on what you mean by "discharge". Lithium batteries undergo irreversible chemical change if they are discharged too much, so most of the ones you can get today include protection circuitry that cuts off the battery to prevent it from discharging too much. This means that they never discharge fully, and there...	[ "Lithium batteries can provide extremely high currents and can discharge very rapidly when short-circuited. Although this is useful in applications where high currents are required, a too-rapid discharge of a lithium battery can result in overheating of the battery, rupture, and even an explosion. Lithium-thionyl c...
why turntables and records have different speeds.	The groove on the record has small bumps in it. As the needle traces the groove, the bumps shake the needle up and down. The needle shakes the turntable's speaker, which shakes the air, which shakes your ear---sound! If the record turns too fast, the song will play too fast. It will also shake the needle faster than i...	[ "The records were played on turntables, but since the timing – the clock synchronization – between the two SIGSALY terminals had to be precise, the turntables were by no means just ordinary record-players. The rotation rate of the turntables was carefully controlled, and the records were started at highly specific ...
why are people against bill nye all of a sudden?	Mostly because he went out of his way (out of physics) into another areas of expertise (such as human sciences) in a very condescending way, while at the same time not being accurate in his descriptions. [An easy example of him being condescending while wrong.](_URL_0_) He clearly does not give an answer to the topic,...	[ "McKeown has also taken on other conservative pundits, such as Fox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly, whom he accused of lying and distorting facts, while trying to convey the news to the American people. McKeown used O'Reilly's reference to what he called the \"Paris Business Review\" and the billions of dollars Fra...
What was Japanese military culture like between the Meiji Restoration and the rise of the militarist faction before WWII?	So I don't know of a way to answer this question without drastic oversimplification, since it requires summarizing almost 100 years or political history. The basic reason is the relation of politics to the Army. In the Meiji period, the feudal system was being replaced with a successful modern state. Culturally this...	[ "In modern summaries, the Meiji Restoration is often described as a \"bloodless revolution\" leading to the sudden modernization of Japan. The facts of the Boshin War, however, clearly show that the conflict was quite violent: about 120,000 troops were mobilized altogether with roughly 3,500 known casualties during...
Why do ion engines use ionized particles?	Neutral gas can't be accelerated using electromagnetic fields.	[ "An ion propulsion system is a type of engine that generates thrust by the means of electron bombardment or the acceleration of ions. By shooting high-energy electrons to a propellant atom (neutrally charge), it removes electrons from the propellant atom and this results the propellant atom becoming a positively ch...
why do our eyes “click” in place when we look around? (ex. looking at a wall and tracing it left and right)	That's called saccadic masking. When you move your eyes to look around it's less 'real time camera' and more 'individual photos stitched together to make a panorama'. As your eyes move from point A to point B, your brain switches off image processing, making you functionally blind (for up to an hour a day IIRC). Your e...	[ "Bell's phenomenon (also known as the palpebral oculogyric reflex) is a medical sign that allows observers to notice an upward and outward movement of the eye, when an attempt is made to close the eyes. The upward movement of the eye is present in the majority of the population, and is a defensive mechanism. The ph...
why do some countries favor protectionist policies when its obvious that it harms their consumers.	The high prices of iPhones and foreign cars are intentional, they don't want Argentines to buy foreign products when there are domestic alternatives. That's the point of protectionism.	[ "Protectionism is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. Proponents claim that protectionist policies shield the producers, businesses, and workers of the import-competing sector...
biologically, exactly what is happening when you die from exposure?	There's a number of things related to death from exposure: * Dehydration: your body does not have the minimum required water content to facilitate waste filtration and excretion, brain function and organ operation. * Hypothermia: your body is unable to produce enough heat to maintain the minimum required body tempera...	[ "Toxicants can alter the enzymes or ions present in an organism. If this alteration does not directly cause death, but impacts the behavior or physiology of the organism, it can also lead to ecological death.\n", "Toxicants can affect an organism’s physiology which may impact its growth, reproduction, and/or deve...
how does the fuel in the planes that fly around antarctica not freeze?	Firstly, they'll use the jet fuel called "Jet B" - it has the lowest freezing point of any of the commonly made fuels at about -60C. That's pretty low. Then, jet fuel retains temperature pretty well so with a large volume of it it takes a while to change the temperature of it. Note that this is much colder than the ...	[ "An aircraft can most easily avoid freezing rain by moving into warmer air — under most conditions, this would require aircraft to descend, which it can usually do safely and easily even with a moderate accumulation of structural ice. However, freezing rain is accompanied by a temperature inversion aloft, meaning t...
How did we figure out mining, anyway?	First of all, mining predates excavations for metal-bearing ore. Evidence of prehistoric mining for [flint nodules](_URL_0_) and for [salt](_URL_3_) is clearly documented, so it is wrong to think that a need for metals spawned mining. Rather, the need for other things inspired people to dig in and beneath the ground. P...	[ "Mining was typically left to professionals, craftsmen and experts who were not eager to share their knowledge. Much experiential knowledge had been accumulated over the course of time. This knowledge was consecutively handed down orally within a small group of technicians and mining overseers. In the Middle Ages t...
How much did feminism contribute to women entering the work force, versus pressures from industry for more workers, or other factors?	The early (WWI/WWII) feminist movements did in fact lead to women entering the voting system, this can namely be attributed to men going off to war and seeing a large increase in the amount of women working in factories and having to perform the duties of the men who where absent. However women have been working (for ...	[ "Women's participation in work has been increasing globally, but women are still faced with wage discrepancies and differences compared to what men earn. This is true globally even in the agricultural and rural sector in developed as well as developing countries. Structural impediments to women's ability to pursue ...
what nato is, who controls it, and why it is in libyra right now?	NATO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a very large military alliance. This page lists the members: _URL_0_ Essentially they all agree to defend one another if attacked. They also sometimes take part in more offensive measures against other nations, like currently in Libya.	[ "The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (), abbreviated to NSPA, is the main logistics and procurement agency of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and is the executive branch of the \"NATO Support and Procurement Organisation\" (NSPO), formerly \"NATO Maintenance and Supply Organization\" (NAMSO).\n", ...
During the Ottoman rule over Lebanon, how come did the French Christian missions succeed in opening schools, monasteries, etc.?	France fought to defend the Ottomon Empire in the Crimean war, indeed one of the causes of the war was France gaining authority over the Christian parts of Jerusalem from Russia. I don't know much about this area but that may be a point to lead off on if you want to look at this further.	[ "The end of Ottoman rule in Lebanon began in September 1918 when French forces landed on the Lebanese coast, and the British moved into Palestine, opening the way for the liberation of Syria and Lebanon from Turkish rule. At the San Remo Conference in Italy in April 1920, the Allies gave France a mandate over Great...
song shuffling	Yes, and No It is pseudorandom. If it was actually random you could have an entire album play end to end because that can statistically happen. Since people get pissy about that the algorithms that run your shuffle are designed to give the appearance of randomness while avoiding the above example. Some will even ...	[ "Shuffle play is a mode of music playback in which songs are played in a randomized order that is decided upon for all tracks at once. It is commonly found on CD players, digital audio players and media player software. Shuffle playback prevents repeated tracks, which makes it distinct from random playback, in whic...
how. the. hell. did myotonic (fainting) goats make it through natural selection?	Fainting goats are not a product of natural selection. The genes mutated in a livestock animal, and did not pose a problem for farmers, who thought it was hilarious and kept breeding them.	[ "It has been reported that some sheep have apparently shown problem-solving abilities; a flock in West Yorkshire, England allegedly found a way to get over cattle grids by rolling on their backs, although documentation of this has relied on anecdotal accounts.\n", "The first sheepgoat chimeras were created by res...
how does border control validate passports?	I've read that (at least in the Shengen part of Europe) passeport scanner automatically check the interpol database (for wanted criminals). Each country might check it's own police database but they are not that much shared (that's how people under surveillance by the counter terrorism could go to Syria after taking a ...	[ "A Border Crossing Card (BCC) is an identity document as well as a B1/B2 visa that allows entry into the United States by Mexican citizens. As a standalone document, the BCC allows Mexican citizens to visit the border areas of the U.S. when entering by land or sea directly from Mexico for less than 72 hours. The do...
what exactly is a "platinum record"	It's an album that sells a certain (large) number of copies - the US, it's 1,000,000, in the UK, it's 300,000.	[ "Platinum is the title of the third studio album recorded, but only the second to be released, by American country music artist Dean Miller. It was released in 2005 on Koch Records. It followed an unreleased second album, \"Just Me\", which he recorded in 2002 for Universal South Records. \"Platinum\" produced only...
This Japanese flag was found with my great grandfather’s (US) WWII Navy uniform. Can anyone help me figure out what the characters mean?	You're supposed to rotate it 90 degrees counter-clockwise. As the image appears, the words at the bottom (supposed to be right hand side going up to down) is "Prayer/Hope for continuing/long lasting military fortunes" The words surrounding the sun seem to be names, though the marking at about the 12:30 mark (between ...	[ "In addition to the flags used by the military, several other flag designs were inspired by the national flag. The former Japan Post flag consisted of the \"Hinomaru\" with a red horizontal bar placed in the center of the flag. There was also a thin white ring around the red sun. It was later replaced by a flag tha...
When particles collide in an accelerator, is a visual or audible event produced that can be observed without instrumentation?	The stuff happens in vacuum, so no sound. If you did it in air, the particles that you want to work with with be bouncing around colliding with air molecules, like a dozen random people trying to perform a ballet in Times Square on New Year's Eve. As for light, there are lots of collisions that produce photons, but yo...	[ "In the old bubble chambers and cloud chambers, \"events\" could be seen by observing charged particle tracks emerging from the region of the event before they curl due to the magnetic field through the chamber acting on the particles. At modern particle accelerators, events are the result of the interactions which...
why, if i shower and wash my dick every day, is the bottom half of my cock darker than the top half?	Maybe you're half black?	[ "Scalds can be more severe when steam impinges on the naked skin, because steam can reach higher temperatures than water and transfers latent heat by condensation. On the other hand when clothes are soaked with hot water the heat transfer is often of a longer duration since the body part can not be removed from the...
How did people explain 'getting a shock' (from a door knob, standing on a rug, etc.) before they knew the true scientific causes?	Hi there, you may be interested in [this section of our FAQ](_URL_0_) while you wait for a new answer.	[ "Thomas and Blalock did groundbreaking research into the causes of hemorrhagic and traumatic shock. This work later evolved into research on crush syndrome and saved the lives of thousands of soldiers on the battlefields of World War II. In hundreds of experiments, the two disproved traditional theories which held ...
how do "king", "queen" and "prince" titles really work?	You start with the monarch, the person who actually holds the power. They are known as the King Regnant or the Queen Regnant. When a King Regnant marries, his wife becomes a Queen Consort. She holds no real power for being a Queen Consort, she is just the King's wife. When a Queen Regnant marries, it is a bit more ...	[ "Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles – king or queen, prince or princess (e.g., Sovereign Prince of Monaco), emperor or empress (e.g., Emperor of China, Emperor of Ethiopia, Emperor of Japan, Emperor of India), archduke, duke or grand duke (e.g., Grand Duke of Luxembourg), emir (e.g., Emir of Qatar), sultan...
why does sleeping without dreaming feel like it flies by between when you go to sleep and when you wake up, but when you dream it feels like you were sleeping longer?	Just because you don't remember dreaming doesn't mean that you didn't dream, but when you do remember a dream when you wake up that memory makes it seem like you were productive since you put your head down on your pillow as opposed to when your last memory is of trying to fall asleep.	[ "There is a difference between being just asleep and in a state of mind called dreaming. Sleeping can be described as the lack of conscious awareness of the outside world, meaning large portions of the brain that receive and interpret signals are deactivated during this time, while dreaming is a specific state of s...
creating electricity	There is a strage effect in nature, where everything that has a charge encounters a force when it moves inside the field of a magnet (or the magnet's field moves around). This force is called [Lorentz force](_URL_0_). If you look at your loop of wire, there are millions of small particles there, called electrons. They...	[ "Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utilities in the electric power industry, it is the first stage in the delivery of electricity to end users, the other stages being transmission, distribution, energy storage and recovery, using the pump...
if machines can do what used to be a full week's worth of work in a few hours, why is it still necessary to work full time to sustain oneself?	It's not. For most people, full time work used to be 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. In developed countries, a full time job is now close to half that much.	[ "Most of the workers were between 20 and 22 years of age. They attended training sessions to get more familiar with the machines, how they operate and the maintenance procedures. The working shifts could last up to 70 hours per week because many machines kept running all the time and there were few people who knew ...
why do really good questions only get 3-5 stupid comments on it when a stupid as hell question gets to the front page with over 10,000 comments?	Democracy of fools.	[ "The questions asked are often deliberately misleading or very difficult to answer, and sometimes they are very simple questions about something everyone thinks they know the answer, when in fact the obvious answer is incorrect. Panellists can earn one point by giving the correct answer or one point for an answer w...
pingback	It's basically an automated comment signalling the blog post has been linked to by another website. I believe its origin is from back in the day when it used to be polite to provide backlinks if someone did it for you, in order to improve the Google Page Rank of both sites, and thus score higher in searches.	[ "Essentially, a pingback is an XML-RPC request (not to be confused with an ICMP ping) sent from Site A to Site B, when an author of the blog at Site A writes a post that links to Site B. The request includes the URI of the linking page. When Site B receives the notification signal, it automatically goes back to Sit...
what is happening in the brain when you die?	What you're asking is an extremely complicated question that we still don't know for certain yet, but I'll try to explain as best I can. The brain works by neurons sending chemicals called neurotransmitters (dopamine, seratonin, and ACh are a few examples) to each other. Basically, these chemicals control everything a...	[ "Brain death is the irreversible end of all brain activity, and function (including involuntary activity necessary to sustain life). The main cause is total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation. After brain death the patient lacks any sense of awareness; sleep-wake cycles or behavior...
World war 1 casualties.	I can, in fact! Just give me a moment to dig up some tables I saw earlier this week and I'll return with numbers shortly. EDIT: It turns out I can't, or at least not perfectly. The tables I recalled were fine, but they don't give the precise statistic you're after. I include their data below, though, in the hop...	[ "A second publication, \"Casualties and Medical Statistics\" (1931), the final volume of the \"Official Medical History of the War\", gives British Empire Army losses by cause of death. The total losses in combat from 1914 to 1918 were 876,084, which included 418,361 killed, 167,172 died of wounds, 113,173 died of ...
How does mold grow inside ice machines?	Unless you're using chemically pure water to make your ice, there's nutrients in there which bacteria and molds can grow on. The presence of water is pretty much the worst possible thing if you want an absence of contamination. In fact, if you want a source of water to be bug-free you basically have to filter it, zap...	[ "Although molds can grow on dead organic matter everywhere in nature, their presence is visible to the unaided eye only when they form large colonies. A mold colony does not consist of discrete organisms but is an interconnected network of hyphae called a mycelium. All growth occurs at hyphal tips, with cytoplasm a...
Is there any known way for people to improve their working memory capacity or general intelligence (g factor)?	Ok so first "g" and to a lesser extent WMC, are theoretical constructs that can't be measured. To measure them we use a set of specific tests, like the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), or the digit span task. We theorize that there's some underlying thing that we're measuring called g or WMC and that that ma...	[ "Other studies have looked at improving intelligence and preventing cognitive decline by using cognition enhancing substances known as nootropics. One such study gave participants a number of known nootropics in combination in the hopes of targeting numerous cellular mechanisms and increasing the effects on cogniti...
What happened to all the "von" names in Germany? Why did they largely disappear after WWII?	Nobility was abolished as a legal class in 1919. At that time, titles became surnames (differenced for gender). They haven't disappeared but some families have gone extinct in the male line. Many people today choose to simplify their names in everyday life (Facebook, etc) and omit the preposition. Source: Article 109 ...	[ "Many members returned to Germany after the end of WWII, after having fled Germany in 1918 after the German defeat in WWI. The Federal German Republic no longer recognizes any hereditary titles. In 1920 many branches of the family dropped the precursor “von” and styled the name as it is known today. \n", "In 1938...
If earth was completely covered in water, would it be a even sphere shape?	No, because the Earth is rotating it would be a ~~prolate~~ oblate ellipsoid. This would further be purturbed by the tides from the moon and sun. Ignoring the tides, it would take the shape of the [geoid](_URL_0_), but that picture is massively exaggerated.	[ "If that perfect sphere were then covered in water, the water would not be the same height everywhere. Instead, the water level would be higher or lower depending on the particular strength of gravity in that location.\n", "The sphere has the smallest surface area of all surfaces that enclose a given volume, and ...
with the advancement of driverless cars and other autonomous aspects growing daily, what exactly stops somebody from hacking into the network and controlling it?	billion dollars industries spend a lot on security. the answer is the same as if you'd have asked "now that all money is digital, how come someone just doesn't hack millions of dollars into their account"	[ "As cars become more interconnected and autonomous, the potential for hacking a car system to acquire data and cause harm poses a serious risk. For manufacturers and developers of autonomous technology, liability exposures arise from the collection and storage of data and personal information in the vehicle and in ...
Is there a way for us to know what the population of any given species of dinosaur was during their time on earth? And if so, how?	Certainly not. In a field where we aren't sure what are separate species, there is little chance of being able to make such precise observations. We can estimate that X dinosaur was more numerous than Y dinosaur for a given period, but anything more would be too poorly supported.	[ "The estimation of the abundance of populations (such as terrestrial mammal species) can be achieved using a number of different types of transect methods, such as strip transects, line transects, belt transects, point transects and curved line transects.\n", "Some estimates on the number of Earth's current speci...
What would be the ideal shape of a high velocity space ship?	You still have to worry about the people inside which puts g limits well below what our technology can handle. Space ship design is dominated by fuel storage and radiation shielding, not mechanical stress from accelleration.	[ "One disadvantage of the ship's design is instability in rough seas and at high speeds. At 10 knots in calm sea states, the hull can roll up to four degrees to each side, while conventional ships would roll very little, which would increase if the ship goes faster in rougher conditions, raising the possibility of s...
what would happen if everyone used adblock	If ads were no longer profitable, then sites would have the option of begging for donations like Wikipedia or reddit, or just flat-out charging for many of the services that are free now. The only other option is to take a loss.	[ "Ad blocking, or ad filtering, means the ads do not appear to the user because the user uses technology to screen out ads. Many browsers block unsolicited pop-up ads by default. Other software programs or browser add-ons may also block the loading of ads, or block elements on a page with behaviors characteristic of...
what's wrong with suicide?	For many religious it is a sin, and one that cannot be atoned for. For many it is sign of mental illness as no one in their right mind would consider or attempt suicide. For many it is seen as a selfish thing as you do not consider the harm you do to family and friends.	[ "Suicide is often committed in response to a cause of depression, such as the cessation of a romantic relationship, serious illness or injury (like the loss of a limb or blindness), the death of a loved one, financial problems or poverty, guilt or fear of getting caught for something the person did, drug abuse, old...
if i was falling from the sky with a car, and jump on top of the car right before hitting the ground, will i survive?	Freefalling in/on a car you would probably hit a terminal velocity around 200mph or so. How fast can you jump? 10mph? OK so you hit the ground going 190mph, splat. (ignoring that some of your jumping force would actually be absorbed by the car)	[ "A cause for the crash could not be determined, though probable causes include passenger interference, fuel exhaustion in one tank, flying below a safe altitude, and/or the co-pilot somehow being alone at the controls.\n", "Crashes may be caused by loss of control, particularly on curves and inaccurate landings a...
why is it perfectly legal to make and sell knockoffs of foods and other household items, but highly illegal to do with technology?	Several reasons. Sometimes the generic brands are actually produced by the name brand, but its just repackaged and sold under the generic one. More importantly, you need a legal standpoint to sue. What law is Dr. Publix? None. Dr. Pepper does not have an exclusive right to make that kind of a drink. In terms of ...	[ "An argument put forth for this case is that few to zero customers are actually stolen through knock off retailing. Knockoffs are targeted at a market of consumers who would not be buying the original pieces anyway. The degree of difference in price points from the original to the knock off means that the lower pri...
how do fragrance companies know if the smell they are creating is already taken or not?	It doesn't matter. You cannot patent a fragrance. However, this may be of interest _URL_0_	[ "The company uses olfactometers, gas chromatographs, and mass spectrometers to isolate and identify the prevalence of odors in a given environment. They also use trained professionals to identify odors. In certain cases, the company may be asked to simply identify the source of an odor. For instance, in 2003, Irela...
Primary source showing Xerxes defeat at Greece	The defeat of Xerxes' fleet at Salamis is described in Herodotos [book 8](_URL_0_), specifically 8.83-95. The defeat of his army at Plataia and Mykale is the subject of book 9. There is a great deal of text, so it would help if you could say specifically what sort of quote you're looking for.	[ "The previous year, the Persian invasion force, led by Xerxes himself, had scored victories at the battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium, and conquered Thessaly, Boeotia and Attica; however, at the ensuing Battle of Salamis, the allied Greek navies had won an unlikely victory, and therefore prevented the conquest o...
Was tattooing practiced in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and if so to what extent?	I only know of one instance of confirmed tattooing in Mesoamerica, but perhaps my flaired colleagues could also jump in and comment. That being said, here is the one case I know of. In 1889, Mexican archaeologist [Leopoldo Batres](_URL_4_) was contacted about the find of a “Toltec Mummy” in a cave near Santa María Cam...	[ "At least one Chinchorro mummy bears remarkable witness to the antiquity of tattooing in the region. The remains of a male with a mustache-like dotted line tattooed above his upper lip and dating to 1880 +/- 100 BC (2563–1972 cal BC) is believed to represent the oldest direct evidence of tattooing in the Americas a...
data centers vs servers?	A data centre is where servers physically live. The game company would rent space for their servers in a data centre. Using different data centres allows you to have servers in different locations. Benefits being resilience to problems at a specific data centre and allowing you to put servers closer to their users. A...	[ "Some of the servers at the data center are used for running the basic Internet and intranet services needed by internal users in the organization, e.g., e-mail servers, proxy servers, and DNS servers.\n", "A \"server farm\" or \"server cluster\" is a collection of computer servers maintained by an organization t...
When people say the body is "shutting down", what exactly is happening? Is one organ's failure creating a chain reaction, or is there something in the body telling multiple organs to cease functioning at the same time?	A little of both, in a way. It depends on the nature of the injury that caused the shut down to start. If you've got major damage to your circulatory system, then your cells are being starved for oxygen (and are building up dangerous levels of waste) and begin to die off rapidly, leading to massive organ failure. If...	[ "Breakdown is a disease, colloquially known as Dorian Gray's Disease. It reverts artificial bodily programming which has stopped the body from aging. After a certain amount of time the whole body goes into chaos and the victim dies within days. There is no cure.\n", "The chain reaction can be terminated in many w...

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.