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question stringlengths 3 301	answer stringlengths 9 26.1k	context list
what are the limitations of genetic engineering in adults?	It is possible, in theory, to develop and administer a genetic treatment that would help an adult. There are a number of ways that this could be done, but in a certain sense CAR T cells are already a genetic treatment that is undergoing clinical trials. For a genetic treatment to work, you need to get that the followin...	[ "The kind of technology used in genetic engineering is also being developed to treat people with genetic disorders in an experimental medical technique called gene therapy. However, here the new gene is put in after the person has grown up and become ill, so any new gene is not inherited by their children. Gene the...
how do sites track my activity in incognito mode?	Incognito mode only affects your browser. It won't keep any history/cookies/other information on your browser but it still goes through all the same channels otherwise. You can see the traffic on your network, sites that use trackers can still track your IP and when you visited what pages, and accounts like youtube can...	[ "BULLET::::- Online Presence Detection provides tracking of online and offline status of users and devices in realtime. Presence events are triggered when a connected device subscribes or unsubscribes from a channel, or times out. The Presence API also includes a “state” feature allowing for the persistent tracking...
what role does federal reserve play in the economy?	> Are they responsible for debts and inflation that's going on in America? I wouldn't really say so for debts as that's more fiscal policy, but they do have an affect on inflation. They generally try and keep it around 2% or 3%. Their primary affect is on the money supply and interest rates. The Fed's official object...	[ "One of the functions of a central bank is to facilitate the transfer of funds through the economy, and the Federal Reserve System is largely responsible for the efficiency in the banking sector. There have also been specific instances which put the Federal Reserve in the spotlight of public attention. For instance...
Considering the length of time the Basque area was under Roman rule why is their culture/language so different from their neighbors?	In Mark Kurlansky's "The Basque History of the World" he argues that Basquelands were less fertile and less valuable to Romans and Basques were often rebellious. Therefore, he argues that the Romans were more accommodating of the Basques. Notably Basques didn't pay tribute and were allowed to govern themselves under th...	[ "Records of people and place names from Roman times indicate that the Basques occupied an area somewhat larger than that which they currently inhabit, and supported a claim by Sabino Arana, the traditional founder of Basque Nationalism, that the Basque homeland has been occupied by the Basques longer than any other...
Why is it difficult to find the exact cause of canker sores?	Its a relatively harmless phenomenon, that almost always resolves on its own, so there isn't a lot of money or effort spent on studying it. The cause was less straightforward than "its an infection by ______" and since nobody dies from it, it generally isn't worth the effort to look more deeply at it.	[ "TLP is a harmless problem. These bumps can become notably red or white and are quite tender for up to several days. While the cause of TLP is not known with certainty, most experts feel that local accidental trauma (rubbing, scraping or biting) is a major factor; however, contact reactions to things like certain f...
how to ensure anonymity online?	TL;DR yes by using a VPN (virtual private network). You connect to a private server using your personal IP address and then use that private server to connect to the internet using that private server's IP and not your own personal IP. The only way to track you is by tracing the private server's IP and checking who a...	[ "A sort of DIY option for privacy minded users is to use a software like Tor, which is an anonymity network. Tor functions by encrypting user data and routing queries through thousands of relays. While this process is effective at masking IP addresses, it can slow the speed of results. While Tor may work to mask IP...
why doesn't ups deliver all night long?	Because just like you, the drivers would like to sleep at night.	[ "FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS) directly compete with USPS Express Mail and package delivery services, making nationwide deliveries of urgent letters and packages. Due to the postal monopoly, they are not allowed to deliver non-urgent letters and may not directly ship to U.S. Mail boxes at residential and co...
Assistance wanted to help identify these WWI Australian ANZAC items [x-posted]	From first glance number 7 is an epaulette, and 2 and 12 are shoulder pips, which would be worn on the epaulette (one can even be seen on it) 4 is a rising sun badge, but It looks a little small for the slouch hat. so perhaps it was used on the tunic? It does look like the third pattern, used from 1904 to 1949. 8 se...	[ "The Kogarah ANZAC Memorial is a war memorial located in the town square, on Belgrave Street, of Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia. Located between St George Hospital and the Greek Orthodox Church, it was built to recognize the sacrifice of Australian nurses and the significance of Greek support towards the Austr...
why can't movies be offered on release date for more money at a premium for home viewing?	- You can lend it around and have an entire community see it within the first week. - You can rip it and seed it and have DVD HD versions flood the market within the first week of the movie's release. - The cinema chain that you have a deal with will lose out on ticket sales and food and beverage sales, which will c...	[ "BULLET::::- Needing a cheaper alternative to buying, such as renting a movie: a person is unwilling to pay the full price for a movie, so they rent it for a lesser price, but give up the chance to view it again later.\n", "Between 2010 until 2011, due to the substantial increase in value added tax applied to for...
Have humans evolved to the consumption of Alcohol over the last several millenniums?	Alcohol consumption by humans probably has origins in eating naturally fermented fruit. Many animals (elephants, monkeys, et al) become intoxicated this way. Human alcohol consumption became routine once we figured out how to "domesticate" the fermentation process--which was originally a means of preserving foods; int...	[ "Discovery of late Stone Age jugs suggest that intentionally fermented drinks existed at least as early as the Neolithic period (cir. 10,000 BC). Many animals also consume alcohol when given the opportunity and are affected in much the same way as humans, although humans are the only species known to produce alcoho...
If both parties viewed war as almost inevitable, why would they both accept the German–Soviet Commercial Agreement (1940); the sale of raw materials from the USSR to Germany?	I'll answer this looking moreso from the USSR's point of view. The main reason is neither side wanted to fight each other right away - they needed time to prepare or had other issues to deal with. Stalin reputedly told Kaganovich that he was only buying time by making the deal with Nazi Germany. There is also the argum...	[ "The agreement proved to be short lived. Just six months after it was signed, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and economic relations between the two countries came to an end. The raw materials imported by Germany from the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1941 played a major role in supporting the German war effort a...
why do plants growing in the wild not have to be watered like the same type of plant as a houseplant	Houseplants contain a small amount of soil. Even when the soil is fully saturated, it takes relatively little time to dry out. In nature, the soil is virtually limitless, and the plant's roots can reach deep down into the soil where there is much more water available	[ "Watering houseplants on a regular basis is necessary for the plant to remain healthy and thrive. They should not, however, be watered on a scheduled basis, because different plant species need different amounts of water and sunlight so it is important to know the specifics for the particular plants that are being ...
Why did crime drop in the middle of the great depression and onwards?	What's your source on crime rates during that time period?	[ "Scholars differ on the causes of the precipitous decline in crime in New York City (which also coincided with a nationwide drop in crime which some have termed the \"Great American Crime Decline\"). In a 2007 paper, economist Jessica Reyes attributes a 56% drop in nationwide violent crime in the 1990s to the remov...
have any nations with incredible debt (like america) ever paid off their debt?	The United States pays off its debt whenever its due. We just immediately go and accumulate more debt, because we will be able to pay it back and it grows our economy. We have never missed a debt payment and are an economic power house because of that debt.	[ "While the dangerous accumulation of foreign debt occurred over a number of years, the debt crisis began when the international capital markets became aware that Latin America would not be able to pay back its loans. This occurred in August 1982 when Mexico's Finance Minister, Jesús Silva-Herzog, declared that Mexi...
how did the english monarch come to be?	Here's a pretty good video about [History of the Royal Family](_URL_0_) from 1066 until today.	[ "Includes English monarchs from the installation of Alfred the Great as King of Wessex in 871 to Anne (House of Stuart) and the Acts of Union on 1 May 1707, when the crown became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain.\n", "There was no consistent title for the king of England before 1066, and monarchs chose to sty...
Were the Bohemian nobility treated differently within the Holy Roman Empire?	The Bohemian nobility were treated differently, yes. However, this treatment had nothing to do with their ethnicity, which was all but irrelevant, and everything to do with the unique religious and political privileges the Bohemian nobility earned over the centuries. The Bohemians, in fact, required that their king t...	[ "According to the Golden Bull of Sicily, the estates of Bohemia and Moravia were an autonomous and undivisible constituent of the Holy Roman Empire. The King of Bohemia was no longer subject to appointment by the Emperor, and was only required to attend Reichstag diets close to the Bohemian border. Although a subje...
why does cold metal feel wet?	The feeling of "wetness" isn't actually a sense, but more of a combination of senses. If you've ever touches water through gloves, your hand feels like it's wet, but you're not actually getting any water on you. This is because, even though you have gloves on, it's a combined triggering of your cold thermoreceptors and...	[ "Once oxides have been removed from the substrate surface, most liquid metals will wet to most metallic surfaces. Specifically though, room-temperature liquid metal can be very reactive with certain metals. Liquid metal can dissolve most metals; however, at moderate temperatures, only some are slightly soluble, suc...
- light, in terms of being a part of the electromagnetic (radioactive?!) spectrum... ?	There are three types of radiation: * Alpha radiation is helium nuclei emitted from certain radioactive materials. It is highly ionizing but does not penetrate very far - a sheet of paper will stop it. Because it can't penetrate very far, it's harmless if the source is outside your body, but if you ingest it it can be...	[ "Light is electromagnetic radiation within a certain portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The word usually refers to visible light, which is the visible spectrum that is visible to the human eye and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400...
what happens exactly to our bodies as we experience stress and anxiety? how does the body cope in positive and negative ways with this?	The body responds to stress by releasing the hormone cortisol. This is part of the bodies fight or flight response in order to raise blood sugar levels for our muscles to use. This is important to escape from potentially dangerous situations. When cortisol or stress hormones are elevated, or heart rate also increases a...	[ "Chronic stress and a lack of coping resources available or used by an individual can often lead to the development of psychological issues such as depression and anxiety (see below for further information). This is particularly true regarding chronic stressors. These are stressors that may not be as intense as an ...
how can a human possibly survive a headshot? what would the bullet have to miss?	As long as the bullet misses the Medulla Oblongata, a small section of your brain responsible for basic life support, you could in theory survive the gunshot if you were treated for the complications afterwards, such as internal bleeding. Obviously you'll suffer massive brain damage as the bullet rips through your sku...	[ "Her bones seem to be much more durable than normal; she had easily survived heavy hits in multiple areas of her body. For example, Flag-Smasher hit her twice on the head with his mace without much damage, and Sabertooth likewise threw her against a wall without harm. She also jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge twice (...
what would happen if i was charged for a crime that became legal?	Depends how it becomes legal. Most have guidelines on if or how they will release current incarcerated people.	[ "Any person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Therefore, a person charged with a crime should not be denied freedom unless there is a good reason.\n", "When a person is arrested for a serious crime, the defendant will have their picture taken and be held in ...
Guys... It sucks to admit, but I don't really understand evolution.	It doesn't suck to admit it. Stupidity isn't not knowing things. It's not knowing things and being content with not knowing.	[ "Evolution is a 2017 study guide to evolution written by Steve Jones and illustrated by Rowan Clifford. The volume, according to the publisher's website, explores the extraordinary diversity of life on our planet through the complex interactions of one very simple theory, and, according to its author, goes from fox...
What are some good academic books/articles to consider when looking at intellectual history?	Have you checked out [this section of our books list?](_URL_0_)	[ "The Journal of the History of Ideas is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering intellectual history and the history of ideas, including the histories of philosophy, literature and the arts, natural and social sciences, religion, and political thought.\n", "Partial Answers: Journal of Literature and t...
why are there so many conflicting views on taking large amounts of fat soluble vitamins?	It's fine if you're getting that much of a particular vitamin if it's from a natural source, like whole carrots, sweet potatoes, etc because your body has to process vitamin A, for example, from beta carotene into a form it can use. Vitamin A supplements (and that from liver) are already in a form your body can use, an...	[ "Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble or fat-soluble. In humans there are 13 vitamins: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E, and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C). Water-soluble vitamins dissolve easily in water and, in general, are readily excreted from the body, to the degree that urinary output is...
Why did the ancient Roman pantheon mostly consist of assimilated Greek gods?	The FAQ has answers to a [similar question](_URL_0_), courtesy of /u/idontplayoboe and /u/cleopatra_philopater	[ "The Roman pantheon had numerous deities, both Greek and non-Greek. The more famed deities, found in the mythologies and the 2nd millennium CE European arts, have been the anthropomorphic deities syncretized with the Greek deities. These include the six gods and six goddesses: Venus, Apollo, Mars, Diana, Minerva, C...
why does it feel different/better when you get a bj/hj from a different person than when you masterbate?	You can give yourself a bj?!	[ "Ed Cole (Haley Joel Osment) feels like he is letting his life go by without him. He leaves his job at a bagel shop and works as an after-school detention teacher after impressing the principal (Matt Walsh). He moves out of his apartment, allowing his roommate JT (Glen Powell) to engage in kinky sex with his girlfr...
why does the one cup of coffee i drink make me pee as if i drank 3 cups?	You probably already know this, but the active ingredient in coffee is a chemical called caffeine. People don't normally think of caffeine as a "drug", but it is in the technical sense of the word. The main effect of caffeine is that you'll feel more awake, but it's also a mild diuretic. So... caffeine makes you feel...	[ "Coffee is often served \"with great ceremony\", and it is customary to drink two or three cups to indicate your approval of the coffee. Cups are refilled unless a gesture—shaking your cup—is made to indicate you've had enough. It is considered good manners for a guest to eat heartily, and burping appreciatively \"...
why is french so complicated?	Chinese is horrid because you can't tell how to pronounce a new character. English is known for its bizzare amounts of homophones. French has lists and lists of conjugations to add to words when you want to refer to different subjects, i.e. he, she, they. Welsh just looks like the sign writer was sneezing or somethi...	[ "Spoken on all continents, French is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence, the academy, and diplomacy.\n", "Because of its international status, there was a desire to regulate the French lan...
Lou Gehrig's disease	the current hypothesis for how ALS works is dysfunction of the mitochondria in motor neurons resulting oxidative stress and therefore damage to the cell. It is caused is also unknown however around 5% of suffers have a known genetic involvement such as a mutation in the superoxide dismutase-1 gene. As a result of the...	[ "With Gehrig's 1939 diagnosis of A.L.S. (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes muscle weakness, paralysis, and ultimately, respiratory failure), Rennie remained close to the ballplayer and his wife Eleanor through Gehrig's retirement and downhill slide until Gehrig's dea...
[Serious] do we know if Jefferson raped "his" slaves at any point in his life?	One way of answering this question is in terms of consent as we understand it today. Thomas Jefferson literally owned the bodies of all his slaves. It's hard for modern people to conceive of that sort of power relation in any way, but that's what it was. He completely owned them; they had no power of consent over any...	[ "To Brodie, Jefferson's ambiguous posturings on slavery could be explained by his personal life. If he had been conducting a 28-year affair with a slave, then he could not free his slaves because once they were freed, Virginia law would force them from the state, unless he gained permission from the legislature for...
why do i sometimes get this ghost itch on the inside of my ear?	It's most likely wax moving toward the entrance of your ear and it hits a hair that tickles/itches the inner ear. At least that's what makes the most sense to me.	[ "Itch can originate in the peripheral nervous system (dermal or neuropathic) or in the central nervous system (neuropathic, neurogenic, or psychogenic). When there is no identifiable cause it is known as essential pruritus.\n", "\"D. gallinae\" is capable of infesting the ear canal, with symptoms including itchin...
How accurate is Chapter 1 of Inglorious Basterds?	I cannot answer the other questions but if you are curious about the pipe, that is a Calabash Pipe, popularized in media because of Sherlock Holmes. [Quentin Tarantino specifically used it for narrative purposes]( _URL_0_) to portray contrast against the farmer's smaller pipe and to accentuate his detective skills.	[ "\"Centigrade 232\" is a poem by Robert Calvert, published in a 1977 book and released as an album in 2007. The title alludes to \"Fahrenheit 451\" by its metric equivalent, \"signifying the writer destroying his rough drafts\".\n", "Here the novel ends abruptly. A short post-scriptural note, ostensibly written b...
how does plant life begin on an isolated island in the middle of the ocean?	Plants may drift on the ocean, or be carried by wildlife (birds) or the wind, in certain cases. Or, they may be barren, as some islands are.	[ "Aquatic plants live in both the benthic and pelagic zones and can be grouped according to their manner of growth: 1) emergent = rooted in the substrate but with leaves and flowers extending into the air, 2) floating-leaved = rooted in the substrate but with floating leaves, 3) submersed = growing beneath the surfa...
When was the first time an extensive/university education was available to anyone who was willing to pursue it and work for it (not just the elite)?	hi, this thread from the FAQ* may have some interesting information [How has admissions worked at historical universities and schools?](_URL_1_) and I believe there are more smatterings regarding admissions throughout this section in general [Life at University](_URL_0_) *see the "popular questions" link on the sid...	[ "The Franciscan friar Juan Antonio Liendo y Goicoechea reformed university education towards the end of the 18th century by introducing science; Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy and Mathematics; and technology studies.\n", "There were several advancements made in 17th-century Italian education systems. One example cou...
I've heard some say that the Arab slave trade was far larger and more damaging than the Atlantic slave trade ever was. Is this true, or a false/misleading statement to advance political ideology?	While you wait for an answer to your question you might be interest in [these](_URL_0_) [previous](_URL_1_) answers regarding the slave trade conducted by Arabs and others across the Sahara and the Indian Ocean. The first notes that many claims about the Arab slave trade beong larger or more damaging rely on distortion...	[ "But by the beginning of the eighteenth century, even slave trade dwindled, with the Dutch becoming a rather small player in the trans-Atlantic trade. Since globally this trade peaked in the 18th century, this meant that the Dutch contribution to the Atlantic slave trade only amounts to 5% of the grand total, equal...
A thought experiment from childhood. Convoluted question inside.	So imagine your LP. The drive from the hole pulls on the molecules on that inner edge. Those molecules pull their neighbors along and so on down the line. Essentialy the disc rotates because that force is transmitted at the speed of sound in the material. Now if you build a giant disc and rotate it very quickly you sti...	[ "As evidence, Wegner cites a series of experiments on magical thinking in which subjects were induced to think they had influenced external events. In one experiment, subjects watched a basketball player taking a series of free throws. When they were instructed to visualise him making his shots, they felt that they...
What wild animals have the best temperament towards humans?	Not many. Think about it, why do almost all animals (barring those that live off of our waste) avoid us? If they didn't, they'd likely be extinct. The notion of going to the grocery store for food and walking around in the wilderness to observe is very, very new. Even 500 years ago we pretty much ate whatever we cou...	[ "Aristotle primarily divided 'sensitive' biological organisms into animals and 'non-sensitive' biological organisms as plants. Unlike livestock, which have become tamed for at least a few century and have a much different appearance and character to their inhabitants in the wild, wild animals have intrinsic charact...
what’s to stop a bank from just making up money on their computer systems?	They get audited regularly and any discrepancies carry large penalties and potential criminal charges.	[ "As a result, banks have tended to buy in modern comprehensive software from large, specialist firms. This may be run by the bank itself or by an agency running the computing service on behalf of the bank.\n", "Banking software is used by millions of users across hundreds or thousands of branches. This means that...
After the conquest of Gaul by Rome why did none of the surviving tribe's try to rebel during the numerous civil wars following the conquest.	Roman influence was already significant before the Roman conquest, roughly since the late IInd century BCE (a bit before the conquest of the provincia).Treaties were passed with Gaulish states and coalitions, especially with Aiduoi who controlled not just their confederation and the road from Rhone to Seine but also ...	[ "The uprising was, however, merely the prelude to a much bigger campaign led by Vercingetorix, chief of the Arverni tribe of central Gaul, who united many Gallic tribes and states under his leadership. Recognizing that the Romans had an upper hand on the battlefield due to their panoply and training, he declined to...
What are the earliest End of Days/Apocalypse Myths?	Though I do not hold a lofty degree in history, social science or anything similar, I feel I may be able to add a small amount of perspective to this original question. The concept of the Apocalypse is very old and is mentioned a number of times throughout the old and new testament. [The book of Job mentions it, as we...	[ "BULLET::::- Apocalypse of Weeks (93:1–10, 91:11–17): this subsection, usually dated to the first half of the 2nd century BC, narrates the history of the world using a structure of ten periods (said \"weeks\"), of which seven regard the past and three regard future events (the final judgment). The climax is in the ...
Why do polar animals tend to be larger than their temperate/tropical counterparts?	[Bergmann's Rule](_URL_0_) Basically, larger animals have a lower surface area to volume ratio and thus radiate less heat	[ "Other ecogeographical rules include Bergmann's Rule, coined by Carl Bergmann in 1857, which states that homeotherms closer to the Equator tend to be smaller than their more northerly or southerly conspecifics. One of the proposed reasons for this cline is that larger animals have a relatively smaller surface area ...
Why does hypertension cause ocular blood vessels to narrow?	Baroreceptors, in this instance, likely have nothing to do with it...That's part of a autonomic circuit used to regulate heart rate and cardiac output relative to changes is BP. To my knowledge, there aren't any baroreceptors in the ocular arterioles. Ocular vessels narrow due to something called "myogenic tone", or "...	[ "Hypertension can also be produced by diseases of the renal arteries supplying the kidney. This is known as renovascular hypertension; it is thought that decreased perfusion of renal tissue due to stenosis of a main or branch renal artery activates the renin–angiotensin system.\n", "Although hypercholesterolemia ...
What did people use bread for before the sandwich was invented/became commonplace?	Bread was typically eaten with some kind of moistener, usually based on an oil or sugar. Bread or some other staple starch formed the foundation of the diet, and the term was sometimes used as a synecdoche, in which a part of something (bread) was used to refer to the whole (diet). "Give us this day our daily bread,"...	[ "The modern concept of a sandwich using slices of bread as found within the West can arguably be traced to 18th-century Europe. However, the use of some kind of bread or bread-like substance to lie under (or under \"and\" over) some other food, or used to scoop up and enclose or wrap some other type of food, long p...
How was Napoleon able to advance his rank in the French military so quickly?	The short and snippy answer to why Napoleon advanced so quickly is because of the French Revolution. But for all the brevity, such an answer is not facetious. The Revolution created a series of unique conditions that allowed a man of Napoleon's talents to vault quite high at a young age. First off, and most obviously...	[ "By 1820, Napoleon had completed his elementary studies and begun his military training, learning German, Italian and mathematics as well as receiving advanced physical training. His official army career began at age 12, in 1823, when he was made a cadet in the Austrian Army. Accounts from his tutors describe Napol...
the relationship between the saudi royal family and religion	Ok so this is gonna be a long one with sweeping overviews and very little specificites, but this is the basic breakdown. Towards the beginning of the 20th century, Arabia was still a collection of warring fiefdoms that couldn't really agree with one another. They had each been ruled by a sucession of rulers including...	[ "The alliance between the Saudi ruling dynasty and its extremist religious allies is at the heart of Saudi exclusion and mistreatment of women. The royal family has traditionally used a conservative brand of Sunni Islam (Wahhabism) to justify its rule. Present-day Saudi Arabia was founded by an alliance between Muh...
Did Hitler have any plans to eventually invade France and/or Britain if they did not declare war when he invaded Poland?	The memoirs of the German Foreign Ministry interpreter Paul Schmidt relates an illuminating anecdote about Hitler's reaction to Britain's war ultimatum delivered to Hitler on the morning of 3 September 1939. According to Schmidt, Hitler read the ultimatum and angrily turned to his Foreign Minister on Ribbentrop and sai...	[ "Hitler miscalculated Franco-British reactions to the invasion of Poland in September 1939, because he had not realised that a watershed in public opinion had occurred in mid-1939. May also wrote that the French and British could have defeated Germany in 1938 with Czechoslovakia as an ally and also in late 1939, wh...
in very remote places (e.g. 50km from your nearest neighbor, 2 hour drive to the nearest small village) in places like canada, scandinavia, alaska, etc, what jobs do people do to sustain themselves?	In Australia they are generally cattle stations, large areas of grazing country breeding cattle for export. In dry areas, there can easily be 50 km between station homesteads.	[ "Many people may go on road trips for recreational purpose (e.g. sightseeing or to reach a desired location, typically during a vacation period (e.g., in the US, driving to Disneyland from Oregon)). Other motivations for long distance travel by automobile include visitation of relatives, who may live far away, or r...
Can history be effectively taught by teaching effect before cause and slowly progressing backwards into history?	I have a bachelor's in history, and obtained a Master's in Teaching, and then focused on teaching mathematics rather than history. There's actually a lot of really good reasons, not so much the 'effects before cause', but because everyone who is born suffers from a necessary 'flattening' - the world that I was born i...	[ "\"The History of the World Backwards\" tells the story of the world, but in a world where time flows forwards whilst history told backwards. In other words, if you were born in 2007, you would be 60 years old in 1947. All the major historical events happen backwards, so for example, Nelson Mandela enters jail a Sp...
What prevents full on recovery of limb function?	Some types of tissue don’t heal on their own. These are usually tissues that have no blood flow to them. Tissues that do heal almost always leave scar tissue, which interferes with the natural shape and limits movement.	[ "Limb-sparing techniques, also known as limb-saving or limb-salvage techniques, are performed in order to give patients an alternative to amputation. There are many different types of limb-sparing techniques, including arthrodesis, arthroplasty, alloprosthetic composite, endoprosthetic reconstruction, prosthetic im...
dna replication, mitosis and meiosis?	Mitosis will replicate DNA and cell will divide creating two identical cells to form. 46 Chromosomes total (23 pairs) in starting and ending cells. Meiosis will replicate DNA and cell will divide. Then chromosomes will crosslink allowing for DNA to move between chromosome pairs. Cells will divide again (no DNA replic...	[ "In meiosis, DNA replication is followed by two rounds of cell division to produce four daughter cells, each with half the number of chromosomes as the original parent cell. The two meiotic divisions are known as Meiosis I and Meiosis II. Before meiosis begins, during S phase of the cell cycle, the DNA of each chro...
why is it that fat is removed with soap, yet soap is made from fat?	Things dissolve in water because water is a polar molecule. A water molecule is like the Disney mouse ears logo. A big circle with two smaller circles that favor one side. The area at the top of the mouse ears has a slightly more positive charge than the bottom of the mouse's chin. So water has a positive pole and a ne...	[ "Soaps are formed from the reaction of glycerides with sodium hydroxide. The product of the reaction is glycerol and salts of fatty acids. Fatty acids in the soap emulsify the oils in dirt, enabling the removal of oily dirt with water.\n", "Ordinary soap is a salt of a fatty acid. Soaps are mainly used as surfact...
how/why the wind blows	Because of the temperature differences. Hot air tends to go up and colder air comes down to take it's place. In larger scale the Coriolis force -it's a force asked to masses due to the earth's rotation- makes air flow in some large scale ["cells"](_URL_1_) In smaller scale is basically caused from temperature differ...	[ "\" Blowin 'in the Wind\" is a cover of the song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and released on his album \"The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan\" in 1963. The refrain \"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind\" has been described as \"impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or t...
what's going on with "black money" in india?	A bunch of people aren't reporting their income, mostly because it's gained through illegal means (like the black market). This income is kept hidden in their homes generally, and isn't stored in banks. In order to combat this, the Indian government surprised everyone by suddenly announcing that all their most common...	[ "In India, \"black money\" refers to funds earned on the black market, on which income and other taxes have not been paid. The black money market situation in India is epidemic. India currently tops the list for illegal monies in the entire world, estimated to be almost US$1,456 billion stored in Swiss banks in the...
Would we die if a supernova occurred?	If the closest star to sun 'proxima centauri' exoplodes as a supernova, the radiation reaching us will be the sixth of what we are constantly receiving from the sun, so basically no there is no close supernovas candidates.	[ "Supernovae can result from the death of an extremely massive star, many times heavier than the Sun. At the end of the life of this massive star, a non-fusible iron core is formed from fusion ashes. This iron core is pushed towards the Chandrasekhar limit till it surpasses it and therefore collapses.\n", "A near-...
what do the ows protesters want?	They want an end to economic injustice. As to what they want done about it, that's not the point. Angry mobs aren't there to set policy. They're there to show the people who set policy that they need to address a problem quickly, as they're losing the support of the governed.	[ "On 23 October 2011 Mahfouz held a teach-in at Liberty Plaza, in a show of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. When asked why she came to the OWS protest, she replied, \"Many of U.S. residents were in solidarity with us. So, we have to keep going all over the world, because another world is possible for al...
Were there any transgender people in the Holocaust?	From an older answer: Research into this area has only begun in recent years and very little is known at this point. The Weimar Republic had allowed people to officially change their sex officially. People who wished to do to had to appear before a judge, undergo psychiatric evaluation, an operative sex change and we...	[ "Although other gay men who survived the Holocaust are still alive, they were not known to the Nazis as homosexuals and were not deported as pink triangle internees. At least two gay men who were interned as Jews, for instance, have spoken publicly of their experiences.\n", "The most famous American transgender p...
how does a tiny cable like usb-c carry such an incredibly huge amount of data so fast? and why couldn't they do that before?	It all comes down to signal processing, encoding, and bigger better chips. I havn't looked at USB 3.1 spec closely but this is the case for every 'faster' connection that came before it. For example, by sending extra data that verifies the data you sent is correct, you can increase the speed that you send data at and ...	[ "BULLET::::4. USB cable - Small and light weight, has support for voltage source and most computers have extra ports available. The distance between the circuit to be programmed and the computer is limited by the length of USB cable - it must usually be less than 180 cm. This can make programming devices deep in ma...
Where does the term "Roma" for the ethnicity come from?	The term Roma is plural for man (Rom in Romani)	[ "Some claim that \"Romani people\" originated in parts of the Rajasthan. Indian origin was suggested on linguistic grounds as early as 200 years ago. The \"roma\" ultimately derives from a form \"ḍōmba\" (\"man living by singing and music\"), attested in Classical Sanskrit. Linguistic and genetic evidence indicates...
How extensive and fatal was Anti-Loyalist violence during the American Revolution?	I would not say that it was more bloody than the French Revolution, but there was more fighting than is popularly portrayed. T.H. Breen's American Insurgents, American Patriots offers a compelling read as to this issue.	[ "During the American Revolutionary War in 1776, a British loyalist, William Lounsbery, was attacked and killed by a group of revolutionaries led by John Flood. Several other skirmishes occurred that year between loyalists and revolutionaries.\n", "During the American Revolutionary War, Walter Butler, a New York L...
Do thermocouples take away heat when converting it to electricity? or does the heat not change at all?	In the case of Peltier devices, in which one side resides outside of the system of interest, heat is absorbed to create electricity. This occurs due to phonons (quanta of heat) being absorbed by electrons that are effectively pushed through the material. (The conditions that allow this are very limited.) For thermocou...	[ "A thermocouple can produce current to drive some processes directly, without the need for extra circuitry and power sources. For example, the power from a thermocouple can activate a valve when a temperature difference arises. The electrical energy generated by a thermocouple is converted from the heat which must ...
Do other animals experience optical illusions?	It has to do with visual processing in the nervous system, which varies between animals, and as such the perceptibility of illusions to different animals varies widely. [Kelley & Kelley (2013)](_URL_4_), for example, demonstrated that the [Ebbinghaus illusion](_URL_6_) is perceptible to bottlenose dolphins ([Murayama...	[ "Illusions may occur with any of the human senses, but visual illusions (optical illusions) are the best-known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses. For example, individuals watching a ventriloquist will perceive the voice is coming from the dummy s...
why vga connectors need to be screwed in when hdmi and others don't need to?	"Other" ports have their own locking mechanisms. HDMI, usb, etc rely on friction, and the fact they are flat surface to flat surface contacts. VGA, serial, and parallel ports are all pin and tube type connectors without enough friction to hold them secure, and highly susceptible to damage if bumped or tripped over	[ "9-pin connectors are used in graphics systems that feature the ability to input video as well as output it. Again, there is no standardization between manufacturers as to which pin does what, and there are two known variants of the connector in use. As can be seen from the diagram above, although the S-Video signa...
Were black people allowed to vote during segregation?	Officially, yes. Their right to vote was constitutionally protected, and could not be denied on the basis of race. However in practice, the right to vote is not actually that well defined under the Constitution, and there were many different ways that the white supremacist regimes in control of the segregationist sta...	[ "With control of the legislature, white Democrats passed Jim Crow laws establishing racial segregation in public facilities and transportation. African Americans worked for more than 60 years to regain full power to exercise the suffrage and other constitutional rights of citizens. Without the ability to vote, they...
why are there laws that you can not be convicted of different crimes after a certain amount of time has passed?	It becomes unreasonable to convict someone of some more petty crimes after a certain amount of time, when the case becomes stale and there could be a lack of evidence to prove or disprove. Also, the passing of a lot of time shows a lack of diligence in seeking such a conviction. Really heinous crimes like murder gen...	[ "Crimes considered heinous by society have no statute of limitations. Although there is usually no statute of limitations for murder (particularly first-degree murder), judges have been known to dismiss murder charges in cold cases if they feel the delay violates the defendant's right to a speedy trial. For example...
Since time is (sort of?) a fourth dimension along with the familiar three, does that mean time can be measured in meters, feet, etc.?	Yes, it can. The speed of light is the conversion between seconds and meters in this scenario. A meter of time is the length of time it takes light to travel 1m, which is a little over 3 nanoseconds. It's common for astronomers to do this in the other direction, expressing distances in terms of time (light years being ...	[ "A temporal dimension is a dimension of time. Time is often referred to as the \"fourth dimension\" for this reason, but that is not to imply that it is a spatial dimension. A temporal dimension is one way to measure physical change. It is perceived differently from the three spatial dimensions in that there is onl...
Would the royal women of the medieval ages really have the flawless features that we see in movies?	Echoing others here, generally not. [This is a great article](_URL_1_) on the history of cosmetics for a general overview. If nothing else, the long history of "corrective aids" to appearance suggests that very few people in any age believe they are naturally flawless. Pock-faced Elizabeth The most famous examp...	[ "The other type it relates to is Titian's series of \"belle donne\" half-length female figures from the mid-1510s, which also includes \"Lucretia and her Husband\", as well as the single figures of \"Flora\" at the Uffizi, the \"Woman with a Mirror\" at the Louvre, the \"Violante\" and \"Vanity\" in Munich. Most of...
can anyone be a great singer or is being a greater singer something you're born with?	As a singer i can say with utmost certainty that pretty much everyone can become a good singer in the same way that someone can become a good guitarist. But i'd say that it's more difficult if you don't already have an interest in music or aren't particularly interested. All it takes is teaching and practice. (But as ...	[ "In response to an informal study that named him the 'World's Greatest Singer\" based on a study of vocal ranges, Rose told \"Spin\" in 2014, \"If I had to say who I thought the best singers were, I'd say first that I don't know there's a definitive answer as in my opinion it's subjective, and second that my focus ...
i realize that i don't like my government that much, and i decide to break away from my country and create a sovereign state. what steps must i make for this to happen?	A state can still be sovereign without recognition, as long as the original state has no ability to project their power within the bounds of your country. In the case of Groklamivlevskanya, the first step is simply declaring your independence. It helps if you don't do this alone, but with a sizable group of people, but...	[ "A state may withdraw diplomatic recognition of another state, or simply refuse to deal with that other country, after withdrawing from all diplomatic relations with that country, such as embassies and consulates, and requiring the other country to do the same. The state will appoint a protecting power to represent...
where does the saying "cats have 9 lives" come from?	Easy explanation: Because they're really good with their reflexes. They jump and land from heights we would break apart from. More history: An old English saying goes "A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays". The first three are the times where the cat is young....	[ "According to a myth in many cultures, cats have multiple lives. In many countries, they are believed to have nine lives, but in Italy, Germany, Greece, Brazil and some Spanish-speaking regions, they are said to have seven lives, while in Turkish and Arabic traditions, the number of lives is six. The myth is attrib...
why old tvs can change instantly between stations but new flat screen tvs that can even connect to the internet can't?	Here's the process an analog TV goes through when changing channels: * Tune to new frequency, display signal. It's instantaneous, there are no processing steps required, it can just pipe the signal it receives directly to the screen. Here's the process a digital cable box or TV goes through when changing channels: 1...	[ "It was feared that the US switch-off would cause millions of non-cable- and non-satellite-connected TV sets to \"go dark\". Viewers who did not upgrade, either to a television with a digital tuner or a set-top box, ended up losing their only source of television, unless they relied only upon the aforementioned non...
why does congress have the power to completely alter a bill, changing the contents and even title, on its way through the house or senate? why was this power created? why has its apparent abuse not caused removal of the power?	Congress, and only Congress, has the power to choose each and every word of a bill. This includes the power to edit the bill before voting, and the power to vote on the final bill. If Congress couldn't do this, who would draft, edit, and pass laws?	[ "When, in the opinion of the House of Representatives, a Senate-introduced bill that raises revenue or appropriates money is passed by the Senate and sent to the House for its consideration, the House places a blue slip on the legislation that notes the House's constitutional prerogative and immediately returns it ...
how do animals in the wild figure out that poison ivy is something to stay away from when it takes days after for the rash to show up?	Most animals are not affected. Humans are simply allergic to their "poison" because it penetrates the skin and is identified by the body as foreign invaders.	[ "BULLET::::- Poison ivy and poison oak are still harmful when the leaves have fallen off, as the toxic residue is persistent, and exposure to any parts of plants containing urushiol can cause a rash at any time of the year.\n", "The pentadecylcatechols of the oleoresin within the sap of poison ivy and related pla...
How were Viking and Spartan warriors that survived battles and wars seen once they made home?	I'm not sure about Vikings but elderly Spartan men could be elected into the Gerousia, a council of elders made up of 30 men over 60 years old who typically held office for life. There were also the Ephors, 5 elected high officials who aside from the two kings held the most power. While I'm not sure if there was an ag...	[ "The Vikings are known to have fielded close to 1000 mail clad warriors. There is no mention of berserkers but a contingent of \"champions\" were noted as fighting from horseback. The rebel Irish, held in reserve, were swept away with the Viking rout after having played little or no part in the battle. Their leader...
how can we be certain that there isn't another 'earth' on the opposite side of the sun, always out of view of our telescopes?	Its gravity would have an effect on our planet, the other planets in the system, and even(on a very small scale) the sun, as well as all the comets and asteroids constantly cutting through our solar system. As we have not observed any such gravitic effects(and we'd notice, because it would screw up trajectories for in...	[ "The fact that the stars visible from the north and south poles do not overlap must mean that the two observation spots are on opposite sides of the Earth, which is not possible if the Earth is a single-sided disc, but is possible for other shapes (like a sphere, but also any other convex shape like a donut or dumb...
difference between serial killers and hitmen	Motivation. $ or power or sex etc. That's really it. And hitmen are typically serial killers after the third kill( I think). It like all Catholics are Christian but not all Christians are Catholics All hitmen are serial killers but not all serial killers are hitmen.	[ "A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. Different authorities apply different criteria when designating serial ki...
What percentage of the sky is covered by stars?	Short answer: If you don't count the sun, then basically zero. If you do count the sun, then it's about 0.0005% Long answer: You're hitting on a really interesting problem that astronomers had a hundred years ago, called [Olber's Paradox.](_URL_1_) "If the universe is static and eternal and infinite, then shou...	[ "Typically, when looking at an area of sky filled with stars, only stars that are brighter than a limiting apparent magnitude can be seen. As discussed above, the very luminous stars that are farther away will be seen, as well as luminous and faint stars that are closer. There will appear to be more luminous object...
if cold air can't hold much moisture, how come fog and mist exist?	That fog and mist is water condensing out of the air. The fog is water that has already separated out of the air and " clumped" together. It is just not quite heavy enough to fall thru the air to the ground.. The mist is actually heavy enough to fall	[ "Fog produced with liquid air does not present the hazards of carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen because the liquid air has the same composition as ordinary atmospheric air (including the same level of breathable oxygen).\n", "Fog begins to form when water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets that are s...
why is the "wizard of oz" so revolutionary in movie history?	Because it took a wildly popular book and applied new (maybe not original or first time) film making techniques to it to make a wildly popular film. Remember, it's not who does it first, it's who does it best first.	[ "BULLET::::- In \"The Muppets' Wizard of Oz\" (2005), the Wizard of Oz is portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor. This version is a former tour bus driver named Francis Cornfine from Hollywood, CA who came to the Land of Oz where the residents assumed he was an all-powerful figure. Cornfine's talent at manipulating his finger...
Why is the earth's crust thinner under the oceans?	[Oceanic crust, forming at mid ocean ridges and subducting at the trenches is like a conveyor belt](_URL_4_). It maintains a relatively constant thickness, 7km +/-, due to the melting/cooling/insulation as described by Sycosys. What he/she did not address is why there is a much [thicker continental crust](_URL_0_). ...	[ "The Earth's crust ranges from in depth and is the outermost layer. The thin parts are the oceanic crust, which underlie the ocean basins (5–10 km) and are composed of dense (mafic) iron magnesium silicate igneous rocks, like basalt. The thicker crust is continental crust, which is less dense and composed of (felsi...
can a mall cop arrest me if i'm in a store that's not in the mall?	I don't think mall cops can arrest, period. They're pretty much a liaison between the mall and the police. They're urged not to chase perpetrators and can even lose their job for doing so; reason 1 being it's dangerous and reason 2 is legal implications. If they're chasing a person across the street, and that person ge...	[ "Law enforcement officers are not prohibited from seizing any property from the premises. For example, in one 2010 case federal investigators broke into an Cleveland apartment, collected evidence, and then \"trashed the place to make it look like a burglary.\" According to a Department of Justice document, DEA agen...
Why are some roads made from concrete/cement rather than asphalt? What determines whether it should be one or the other? Why do a lot of the cement roads have grooves in them?	Cement roads are significantly more expensive. Asphalt is the cheaper option and actually has a better safety rating due to more traction. The grooves are used for better road traction or to extend the life of the road surface.	[ "Today, roadways are primarily asphalt or concrete. Both are based on McAdam's concept of stone aggregate in a binder, asphalt cement or Portland cement respectively. Asphalt is known as a flexible pavement, one which slowly will \"flow\" under the pounding of traffic. Concrete is a rigid pavement, which can take h...
why are fall colors coming early in north america this year?	They are not. The season of fall officially begins September 22 and it is not at all uncommon for the leaves to start to change as early as late August.	[ "Autumn in New England begins in Late September and ends in late December, it marks the transition from summer to winter and is known for its vibrant colors and picturesque beauty. The autumn color of the trees and flora in New England has been reported to be some of the most brilliant natural color in the United S...
if isis entirely ignores the rules of the geneva convention, why can't countries fighting them ignore the rules, too?	Because two wrongs don't make a right? We agreed to those conventions because we believe those are the right moral things to do in general - not only when our opponents agree. Why sink to their level?	[ "ISIS was founded on a belief that scientists have an obligation to participate actively in solving major problems of national and international security. ISIS focuses primarily on four parts: 1) prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and related technology to other nations and terrorists, 2) lead to greater transpa...
what happens exactly when it's chilly outside and i'm not wearing enough clothes to stay warm? later i feel the beginnings of a cold/flu.	Cold air causes your mucous membranes to swell and excrete mucous, hence the runnyy nose, etc. This could lead to sinus pressure and headaches too, which might make your eyes watery or "crusty" with mucous. Extended time in the cold also drains your body of heat, which is energy, so if you haven't eaten, your blood sug...	[ "Everyone has the essential right to life, as confirmed under Article 3 of the UDHR. However, if people are not adequately clothed, they are far more exposed to the elements. Without warm clothing, a person may well die from hypothermia during a cold winter; clothing that is inappropriately warm, on the other hand,...
it may seem dumb but... how do powerful telescopes see far into space without objects getting in the way.	Well, everything that's going to get in the way is in our own galaxy; beyond that space is vacant enough that it's not a problem. In order to get those mind-blowing Hubble Ultra Deep Field images that show thousands of distant galaxies, we had to point the Hubble towards the most vacant areas of sky we could find, and ...	[ "BULLET::::- The lenses used for the telescope were not manufactured for this purpose, so they're not able to achieve a sharp focus at high magnification across the whole field of view. For wide-field, low power views of the heavens these telescopes work well and low power Copyscopes can make good finder scopes whe...
why cant we artifically metabolize food to use as a renewable energy resource?	We can. That's basically what bio-diesel/corn-based ethanol fuel is. The problem is that food provides enough energy to power a human body handily, but when you want to start powering machines with it, you need a lot, more than there's really room to grow if you wanted to power a whole civilization. The other prob...	[ "BULLET::::- energy indirectly consumed is, as much as possible, renewable. Examples would be reducing either the amount or fossil carbon content of applied pest control chemicals and fertilizers, or accomplishing deliveries of farm inputs or of finished bioethanol fuel to market that minimize the use of fossil fue...
what do people mean when they say there are two china's?	There are two countries which claim to be "China". There's the "Republic of China" (ROC) and the "People's Republic of China" (PRC). The PRC is the one that actually controls what you'd normally call China. It controls that massive territory in mainland Asia, plus the Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong K...	[ "The term itself was brought up on April 2000 by Kuomintang politician Su Chi, who later in 2006 stated that he made up the term. The term, as described by some observers, means that, on the subject of the \"One China principle\", both sides recognize there is only one \"\"China\"\": both mainland China and Taiwan ...
How much communication and collaboration was there between American and Soviet scientists and academics during the Cold War?	It probably did vary based on the field. In linguistics, communication theory and anthropology, for example, there was little official communication, but some little did pass through. The Soviets often managed to smuggle in the most important works of Western scholars and unofficial translations circulated among secret...	[ "One of the biggest successes of Soviet foreign intelligence was the penetration of the American Manhattan Project, which was the code name for the effort during World War II to develop the first nuclear weapons of the United States with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada. Information gathered in the Uni...
(serious) the thought process that leads doctors to choose to become proctologists, gynecologists or urologists.	I can think of three reason: 1) Money - If these positions pay more money, doctors will follow. 2) Demand - Perhaps a lot of doctors do not want want to be urologists and such. However, since fewer doctors take these jobs, these positions will more available. So the doctor has the choice to compete against 100 othe...	[ "Urogynecologists are medical professionals who have been to medical school and achieved their basic medical degree, followed by postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OB-GYN). They then undertake further training in Urogynecology to achieve accreditation/board certification in this subspecialty. Trai...
how is a chicken made from liquid?	The yolk must be fertilized first. The rest of the egg is formed around the yolk. The embryo uses the nutrients in the eggwhite to survive and grow inside.	[ "Chicken and dumplings is a dish that consists of a chicken cooked in water, with the resulting chicken broth being used to cook the dumplings by boiling. A dumpling—in this context—is a biscuit dough, which is a mixture of flour, shortening, and liquid (water, milk, buttermilk, or chicken stock). The dumplings are...
What is the current historical understanding of how Native Americans developed corn (maize)?	Actually just this past February a study was [released](_URL_0_) in which the climate at the time of the end of the last Ice Age was recreated in a greenhouse. They discovered that teosinte looks remarkable more like maize in the past than it does today.	[ "The best archaeological evidence states that maize (corn) first entered the United States from Mexico around 800 CE. It quickly spread throughout the continent and created a full scale lifestyle shift for the prehistoric people of the area. The cultivation and harvest of maize would allow for the creation of perma...
what are the people in syria fleeing from?	When the Arab spring happened, many Arabs protested in their respective countries calling for freedom and the fact that they were unhappy with their governments. The Syrians started protesting calling to overthrow the government as it was a dictatorship and they wanted more freedom. However Assad refused to step down....	[ "The violence in Syria caused millions to flee their homes. As of March 2015, Al-Jazeera estimate 10.9 million Syrians, or almost half the population, have been displaced. 3.8 million have been made refugees. , 1 in 3 of Syrian refugees (about 667,000 people) sought safety in Lebanon (normally 4.8 million populatio...
Is solar power viable in the U.S.?	You roommate is making a blanket black and white statement. They are almost never correct. :) The truth is usually in the gray area. We don't have to only choose solar for the sole energy source of the USA. We can implement it where it will work and where it doesn't have to be transmitted too incredibly far and do o...	[ "A report by research and publishing firm Clean Edge and the nonprofit Co-op America found that solar power's contribution could grow to 10% of the nation's power needs by 2025, with nearly 2% of the nation's electricity coming from concentrating solar power systems, while solar photovoltaic systems would provide m...
what exactly makes a group of molecules alive?	There are a lot of definitions of what "life" is, but probably the best one that I've seen is that life is a system of chemical reactions that use outside energy to reduce their own entropy (versions of this were put forth by figures such as James Lovelock and Erwin Schroedinger).	[ "No single compound will prove life once existed. Rather, it will be distinctive patterns present in any organic compounds showing a process of selection. For example, membrane lipids left behind by degraded cells will be concentrated, have a limited size range, and comprise an even number of carbons. Similarly, li...
What is the craziest story from history you have encountered in your research?	Just a few small stupid castrato stories... * Pasquale "Pasqualino" Tiberti, born probably in the decade of 1710 in Citta Ducale, Italy, hired onto the Sistine Chapel in 1743, and fired 11 years later for stabbing a priest in a fight, the priest died of his injuries. Apparently suffered no real setbacks for this, as ...	[ "Some fascinating stories have been discovered. The most poignant is the case of William Barnes or Burn who, on 7 October 1765, was sentenced to be transported for 7 years to His Majesty’s colonies or plantations in America for obtaining the sum of 6d from John Savage of Bradmore by falsely pretending that he, Will...
why does it seem so hard for anyone to make a good usb-c cable?	The relevant thing that's different about USB-C is that it's designed to draw a lot more power. Previously a USB cable was insufficient to charge something like a laptop, but now it's designed to support that much power, if the device and power adapter support it. The problem isn't typically with a USB-C to USB-C cabl...	[ "The standard connectors were designed to be more robust than many past connectors. This is because USB is hot-pluggable, and the connectors would be used more frequently, and perhaps with less care, than previous connectors.\n", "Traditional USB Y-cables exist to enable one USB peripheral device to receive power...
Does the Milky Way Galaxy travel throughout the universe?	To describe "travel," or "motion," you need a reference point. When you say "the moon is orbiting the Earth," you are using Earth as the reference point for the Moon's motion. Then you use the Sun as the reference point for the Earth's motion, and so on. You could use different reference points if you wished, and the m...	[ "The Milky Way Galaxy is moving through space and many astronomers believe the velocity of this motion to be approximately relative to the observed locations of other nearby galaxies. Another reference frame is provided by the Cosmic microwave background. This frame of reference indicates that the Milky Way is movi...
what is logistics?	Logistics are generally the process of moving things around. Shipping things like cargo. Stuff like that. FedEx, UPS, the United States Postal Service, etc... are in the business of logistics.	[ "Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics is the management of the flow of things between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet requirements of customers or corporations. The resources managed in lo...
Does modern day cryogenics keep the body intact, or does it irreparably destroy the body?	modern day cryogenics is, sadly, something used to steal money from rich people such as Walt Disney. Like throwawydow has said, cells are damaged by freezing. In the laboratory we have products such as DMSO and glycerol which we use to stop cells from freezing conventionally when at very very low temperatures (such a...	[ "Cryonics, the practice of preserving organisms (either intact specimens or only their brains) for possible future revival by storing them at cryogenic temperatures where metabolism and decay are almost completely stopped, can be used to 'pause' for those who believe that life extension technologies will not develo...
Approximately how many people would Mark Antony have ruled over in his time as a triumvir?	I can't even guess the number but your map has problems. It lists 3 Triumvirs: Antonius (Marc Antony), Lepidus (Marcus Aemilius Lepidus) and Brutus? Who is this Brutus? The 3rd person in the 2nd Triumvirate was Octavian, later known as Augustus. Is it referring to Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Ceaser's assassins? If so ...	[ "Marcus Antonius, or Mark Antony, who is most well known for his civil war with Octavian, started off his political career in the position of quaestor after being a prefect in Syria and then one of Julius Caesar's legates in Gaul. Through a combination of Caesar's favor and his oratory skills defending the legacy o...

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