question stringlengths 3 301 | answer stringlengths 9 26.1k | context list |
|---|---|---|
does beating a cold infection make you less likely to get sick? why? | Generally when your body is exposed to infection, it learns to fight it off. Say you are exposed to the flu. It enters your body and your white blood cells come to the rescue. Our body's temperature it almost a perfect temperature for germs to breed, and so when you have an infection, you get a fever in order to kill o... | [
"Antibiotics have no effect against viral infections or against the viruses that cause the common cold. Due to their side effects, antibiotics cause overall harm but are still frequently prescribed. Some of the reasons that antibiotics are so commonly prescribed include people's expectations for them, physicians' d... |
How did the Taliban come to power in Afghanistan during the 1980's and 1990's? Who were their backers and opponents? What allowed them to pull ahead and not only dominate the nation, but create a symbiotic relationship with Islamic Extremists such as Al Qaeda? | This is my first post here, so apologies in advance. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, a symbiotic relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda developed out of necessity due to historically and geographically specific factors. Factors such as the struggle to create a government in Afghanistan after the collapse of the ... | [
"From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban held power over roughly three quarters of Afghanistan, and enforced there a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. The Taliban emerged in 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War and largely consisted of students (\"talib\") from the Pashtun areas of ea... |
Funniest April Fool's papers in your field | This was a good one from a few years ago: _URL_0_ | [
"The Papers of Ian Serraillier held at the University of Reading largely comprise manuscripts, typescripts, and galley proofs, including \"Fight for Freedom\", \"The Clashing Rocks\", \"The Cave of Death\", \"Havelock the Dane\", \"They Raced for Treasure\", \"Flight to Adventure\", and \"The Silver Sword\". They a... |
why are we using a loud, obnoxious *beep* to censor curse words? | I was thinking the beeps are used for a humorous effect. If we can't have curse words out in the open in case there's children watching, we can at least have a laugh at the obnoxious beeping. | [
"BULLET::::- Censorship of foul language – All foul words contain the ability to cause various effects (the wilting of plants (negative), removal of curse burrs (positive), etc.). These are automatically bleeped when said in the presence of someone who has yet to be inducted.\n",
"The use of profanity and offensi... |
What did a typical Nazi Soldier who was present in the beaches of Normandy feel or think when the amphibious landings occurred? | Well the typical Nazi soldier wasn't present at the beaches of Normandy other than in a commanding role. Due to the spectacular failure of operation Barbarossa a large majority of the best trained Wehrmacht and SS troops were stationed in the east.
A large majority of the fighting units at Normandy consisted of Ostba... | [
"Twelve days later, on the June 18 edition of CBS World News Today, LeSueur gave his account of landing at Normandy and witnessing the Allied bombings across the beaches, the surrenders of Nazi soldiers, and his eventual arrival to the skirmish in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont just hours after the landings.\n",
"On June 6... |
A bullet is fired in a vacuum towards a piece of paper, perfectly perpendicular to it. How will it rip? | I'm not sure what the answer is, but you might want to consider using a circular or infinite sheet of paper. Making it square is going to introduce some extra complexities (unless that's what you want to find out about). | [
"BULLET::::3. The blades are inserted into the right side of the box. It appears as if the blades take up more space; when inserted, the handle fills up the width of the box on the outside: but the blade inside only slices a portion of the box.\n",
"BULLET::::- Roll: Contains captive metal ball (similar to a trac... |
how someone who is obviously in the wrong can win in court. | Can you cite an actual case where this has happened? [Most of the cases circulating on the internet were false](_URL_0_). Actual lawsuits of similar nature either have more story behind it (McDonald coffee lady was served coffee so hot that she received second and third degree burn requiring skin graft and she only wan... | [
"A no contest plea prevents the court from eliciting a defendant's admission of guilt, but the result of the defendant's plea not to contest the charges against him or her is the same as if the defendant had admitted guilt. If a defendant pleads no contest to a charged offense, with the exception of questioning the... |
Are there any "foods" that actually take more energy to digest than they impart once digested? | Celery is an often-cited example, but this whole negative calorie food thing is widely regarded as a myth.
It depends on the definition of food, though. Eating undigestible plant matter would certainly yield a negative energy balance. If I have a glass of cold water with some fiber supplement mixed in, it won't provid... | [
"After an animal has digested eaten material, the remains of that material are discharged from its body as waste. Although it is lower in energy than the food from which it is derived, feces may retain a large amount of energy, often 50% of that of the original food. This means that of all food eaten, a significant... |
Why can't I think rationally in my dreams? | You can't think rationally in your dreams because the conscious part of your brain isn't controlling your dreams. The **pineal gland** is what is known to cause your dreams, and sights. The pineal gland is said to produce Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) which causes the "visions" during your dreams. The conscious part of the ... | [
"Descartes hypothesized that due to the possibility of very realistic dreams humans can only believe that we're awake. Through the systematic procedure of 'phenomenological reduction', one is thought to be able to suspend judgment regarding the general or naive philosophical belief in the existence of the external ... |
when you buy software, the source code usually is not made public, but doesn’t your computer still have to run the code to use the software? how can it run the code without allowing the user to see the code? | Say you have some source code... in your source code is the line "if playerhealth < 0, gameover = true." Seems pretty easy to understand.
Now the compiler will convert that into binary. It will look something like this "010111000101010010."
You can decompile it, but the compiler through out all of the variable na... | [
"BULLET::::2. Source Code The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not distributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code for no more than a reasonable reproduction cost pr... |
why is earth's terminal velocity around 120 mph rather than 9.8 m/s? | You've made two false assumptions in this query. First, 9.8m/s has no meaning in this context. The acceleration of Earth's gravitational field is 9.8m/s^2, meaning that for each second an object with no resistance will accelerate an additional 9.8m/s. Second, not all objects have the same terminal velocity. The only re... | [
"Using the figure of 56 m/s for the terminal velocity of a human, one finds that after 10 seconds he will have fallen 348 metres and attained 94% of terminal velocity, and after 12 seconds he will have fallen 455 metres and will have attained 97% of terminal velocity. However, when the air density cannot be assumed... |
How well does the Poetic Edda portray popular viking beliefs? | /u/Aerandir provides us with his/her usual superior work with the comment you cite. The specific comment was as follows: "Note that we definitely can not just use the Edda (or other Icelandic literature) to find easy answers. This is not representative of popular belief, but a highly personal, warped account by Christi... | [
"The \"Younger Edda\" or \"Prose Edda\" was written by Snorri Sturluson, and it is the main source of modern understanding of Norse mythology and also of some features of medieval Icelandic poetics, as it contains many mythological stories and also several kennings. In fact, its main purpose was to use it as a manu... |
why is it hard to read books, but easy to surf the web for hours? | A constant term that pops around about why the internet is so entertaining is “instant feedback” or “instant gratification”, something among those lines.
Essentially, browsing the internet and going on Facebook or Twitter gives immediate feedback and reward to small actions like simply clicking on an article or loadin... | [
"The biggest contribution of the internet in the book industry would be to digitize books and grant them a wider readership. A number of online websites have sprung up in the last few decades. Quite a lot of these sites are free and others charge a very nominal fee and provide unlimited access to ebooks. They can e... |
When Vietnam invaded Cambodia and overthrew Pol Pot, where they aware of the level of atrocities he was carrying out and did they have any humanitarian motivations? |
While some broad strokes answers have highlighted some of the issues relating to this question, I feel the question itself – awareness of atrocities and the ‘humanitarian-ness’ – has not been answered.
So, firstly some context.
The prickly relationship between the two ‘hereditary enemies’, as alluded to... | [
"Fearing a Vietnamese attack, Pol Pot ordered a pre-emptive invasion of Vietnam on 18 April 1978. His Cambodian forces crossed the border and looted nearby villages, mostly in the border town of Ba Chúc. Of the 3,157 civilians who had lived in Ba Chúc, only two survived the massacre. These Cambodian forces were rep... |
The 4 fundamental forces of nature are well known, but how far can they be condensed? | The residual strong force, or "nuclear force" is more of an indirect knockoff force, in much the same way [Van der Walls forces](_URL_1_) are a residual effect of electromagnetism.
~~Electromagnetism and the Weak Interaction are separate at low energies, but at hot enough temperatures they are the same fundamental int... | [
"Another kind of fifth force, which arises in Kaluza–Klein theory, where the universe has extra dimensions, or in supergravity or string theory is the Yukawa force, which is transmitted by a light scalar field (i.e. a scalar field with a long Compton wavelength, which determines the range). This has prompted a lot ... |
what is the advantage of spending more money to buy an unlocked phone? | The only advantages are that you can choose any provider and you can get a prepaid plan. If you text/ring a lot, it's better to not get an unlocked phone and just get a contract. | [
"Handset manufacturers have economic incentives both to strengthen SIM lock security (which placates network providers and enables exclusivity deals) and to weaken it (broadening a handset's appeal to customers who are not interested in the service provider that offers it). Also, making it too difficult to unlock a... |
Academic historians: how can I make myself as employable as possible? | Read this article: _URL_0_
There is some debate to be had as to *why* the study says what it does, but the take-away is very clear: students from schools outside the top-20 have next to no academic job prospects. Use the conclusions (and the ranking they provide) to help you pick the PhD programs you apply to. **Where... | [
"Fink's third book, 1998's \"Progressive Intellectuals and the Dilemmas of Democratic Commitment,\" drew attention in the field of history for its focus on the tension which arises when educated historians study relatively uneducated workers. Using biographies of some of the top labor historians and intellectuals i... |
why shouldn't iran be allowed to have nuclear weapons? | Basically its to do with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which almost all countries signed.
You're right that it basically says "No-one is allowed to get nuclear weapons if they didn't already have them when they signed the treaty", which seems a little unfair. However, the treaty is what it is, and every country... | [
"On 26 September, former United States President Bill Clinton announced that the world needs to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, noting that the Iranian government has a record of \"supporting terror and if they had nuclear weapon, it would be (too dangerous), even if you believe they never use\". Clin... |
How did wristwatches assist in military maneuvers in WWI? SFW | The importance of the wristwatch to the Creeping Barrage cannot be understated. Creeping Barrages were an artillery tactic that laid down a wall of shrapnel and high explosive shells across a battlefield just about parallel to the enemy trenches. The barrage would initially be sighted to come down in No Man’s Land and ... | [
"When the First World War broke out in 1914, a tactic known as the Creeping Artillery Barrage was frequently used. This involved artillery fire moving forward in stages just ahead of the advancing infantry and required perfect timing to avoid friendly fire. . As a result of this, 1/4 of all soldiers were wearing wr... |
When did flags get the form they now have? Are there countries with round flags or flags with different proportions than the standard ones? | The flag of the Vatican and Switzerland are actually square instead of rectangular. The flag of Nepal is two pennants. | [
"Officially the first flag was created in 1855 by King Mongkut (Rama IV), showing a white elephant (a royal symbol) on red ground, as the plain coloured flag was not distinct enough for international relations.\n",
"Five different flags were used during the period from 1139 until 1415. As seen below, they evolved... |
why do humans fear rejection? | We are social creatures which means we are evolved to be a part of a group. Rejection means we are not a part of the group we attempted to be in (or that we failed to get our mat, a biological imperative). Not being in the group for most of our history as a species meant that the individual was most likely going to die... | [
"Although humans are social beings, some level of rejection is an inevitable part of life. Nevertheless, rejection can become a problem when it is prolonged or consistent, when the relationship is important, or when the individual is highly sensitive to rejection. Rejection by an entire group of people can have esp... |
why is a living wage such a bad idea? | I think a lot of the pressure against living wages comes from companies who argue that it will cut into their profit margin, force them to raise prices, or drive them out of business. I'd say most people working on minimum wage are in favor of it being raised but the people who employ them are against it. | [
"Another issue that has emerged is that living wages may be a less effective anti-poverty tool than other measures. Authors point to living wages as being only a limited way of addressing the problems of rising economic inequality, the increase of long-term low-wage jobs, and a decline of unions and legal protectio... |
How often did hunter-gatherer societies feast? | Yes. This was first recognized by Marcel Mauss in his book "The Gift" (1925) where he discusses the role of the "potlatch" among hunter-gatherer groups in Northern California (drawing from fieldwork by Franz Boaz the father of US anthropology). Structurally it's more important to have celebrations when the people are u... | [
"Hunting and gathering was presumably the subsistence strategy employed by human societies beginning some 1.8 million years ago, by \"Homo erectus\", and from its appearance some 0.2 million years ago by \"Homo sapiens\". Prehistoric hunter-gatherers lived in groups that consisted of several families resulting in a... |
why do people get more upset when for example a dog dies than if an ant dies, even if they have no attachment to either animal? | Empathy. Dogs show similar emotional and behavioral traits to us so we relate to their experiences, their pain, the excitement etc. An ant has no behaviours or notable reactions that we can relate to so we are not able to put ourselves in their shoes. Basically, we see a dog die and picture ourselves in their position.... | [
"Animals do not like Dexter, which can cause noise problems when Dexter stalks a victim with pets. He is quoted as having once had a dog that barked and growled at Dexter until he was forced to get rid of it, and a turtle, which hid in its shell until it died of starvation rather than have to deal with Dexter.\n",
... |
Why were the extermination camps Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor barely mentioned during the Nuremberg trials? | Expanded from [an earlier answer of mine](_URL_1_)
One of the common misconceptions about the postwar tribunal system is that German war crimes such as the Holocaust were the central focus of the the famous Nuremberg International Military Tribunal (IMT) that tried the surviving Nazi elite like Göring. As important as... | [
"Camp Westerbork was utilized as a staging ground for the deportation of Jews. Only one-half square kilometer (119 acres) in area, the camp was not built for the purpose of industrial murder as were Nazi extermination camps. Indeed, Westerbork was seen as “humane” by Nazi standards. Jewish inmates with families wer... |
is a ripped up contract still legally binding? | Lawyer here. Generally speaking, yes. There's nothing magic about paper in the law.
That said, there's something called the "statute of frauds" that requires that certain types of agreements be memorialized in a writing (not necessarily a contract) in order to be enforceable. For example, if you leased me your house f... | [
"A contract is a legally binding agreement which recognises and governs the rights and duties of the parties to the agreement. A contract is legally enforceable because it meets the requirements and approval of the law. An agreement typically involves the exchange of goods, services, money, or promises of any of th... |
To what degree did Inter-Nation cooperation and resistance exist between Native American groups against the US Army in the American West c. 1860-1890? | When white settlement of the Gold Rush period in northwest California and southwest Oregon commenced to the point that it virtually ended traditional native subsistence practices, native groups began cooperating and coordinating in war against the US military and militia forces. A decent example of this is a series of ... | [
"Future Native American resistance movements were unable to form a union matching the size or capability seen during the Northwest Indian War. In 1805, Tenskwatawa began a traditionalist movement that rejected United States practices. His followers settled at Prophetstown in Indiana Territory, leading to Tecumseh's... |
why are hover boards so impossible to make? | First, you'd need millions of extremely powerful magnets to lift another magnet and a PERSON. We're talking rip lights out of the ceiling and screw up every computer in the zip code strong.
Second, if you got all those magnets, the boards would all just flip over as soon as they became tilted at all and get pulled to... | [
"Roller screens are preferred to trommel screens when the feed rate required is high. They also cause less noise than trommel screens and require less head room. Viscous and sticky materials are easier to be separated using a roller screen than with a trommel screen.\n",
"Some boards are designed to be flexible. ... |
Is there a limit to how small a star can be? If so, what is the theoretically smallest star possible and why? | About 80 times the mass of Jupiter. Below that, they don't have enough mass to get the intense heat and pressure in the core required to fuse hydrogen. These objects are called "brown dwarfs", and generally look more like ~~a enormous~~ Jupiter than a star. The line between a small brown dwarf and a large gas giant is ... | [
"Finding no star bigger than 200 solar masses, Oey and her colleagues at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor have found evidence for a size limit in a survey of other clusters within our galaxy and in the nearby satellite galaxy, Magellanic clouds. \"It is not clear whether the size is limited by the physics of... |
Is there an unlimited supply of dark energy in the universe? | One way to interpret dark energy is as the constant background [energy of the vacuum](_URL_0_) itself. If so, then that means as space expands, since the density is constant, you get more energy in the Universe. People have difficulty with this so I usually try to point them to Sean Carroll's [blog post](_URL_1_) on th... | [
"The nature of dark energy is more hypothetical than that of dark matter, and many things about it remain in the realm of speculation. Dark energy is thought to be very homogeneous and not very dense, and is not known to interact through any of the fundamental forces other than gravity. Since it is quite rarefied a... |
why is it that a human brain doesn't fully develop until age 25, even though that would have been around (or even past) middle aged for most humans throughout history? | This is actually a really common misconception, just because life expectancy was around 30 throughout most of history, doesn't mean that most people lived to be about 30. Infant mortality was extremely high at the time, greatly bringing down the life expectancy, which is an average of how old people are when they die.... | [
"The human brain is not fully developed by the time a person reaches puberty. Between the ages of 10 and 25, the brain undergoes changes that have important implications for behavior (see Cognitive development below). The brain reaches 90% of its adult size by the time a person is six years of age. Thus, the brain ... |
Was the Soviet Union/Eastern Blocc doctrine during the Cold War really focused on overwhelming NATO forces? | Yes, the sources can be hard to come by because most of them are old military/govt cables and hearings documents, but here is a good one from the Department of Defense Congressional Hearings in 1980 [where the US govt was discussing how they were worried that the Soviet Union could use a saturation attack to destroy ou... | [
"When the division of Europe into two opposing camps became considered unavoidable, the threat of the USSR became much more important than the threat of German rearmament. Western Europe, therefore, sought a new mutual defence pact involving the United States, a powerful military force for such an alliance. The Uni... |
why is is that at fast food restaurants (mcdonald's, starbucks, etc.) that they only give 10 minute breaks when all other places of work give 15? | You are incorrect, California only requires 10 minute breaks. [Here](_URL_0_) are the relevant laws.
While many places give more than what is required by law (like 15 minute breaks) 10 is all that is required. | [
"Meal breaks, tea breaks, coffee breaks, or lunch breaks usually range from ten minutes to one hour. Their purpose is to allow the employee to have a meal that is regularly scheduled during the work day. For a typical daytime job, this is lunch, but this may vary for those with other work hours. Lunch breaks allow ... |
why do movie producers continue to put lengthy credits at the end of every movie when they know the audience won't watch them? | Because people like recognition for the work they put into something. In a way, the credits are there for the people who are listed in the credits more than the people watching the movie. | [
"Some movies come to a formal ending, followed by the rolling of the credits, which is almost universally used to indicate that the film has ended, only to have the actors reappear in one or more mid-credits scenes. In comedy films, these sequences may be bloopers or outtakes. In other types of films, the mid-credi... |
what purification process does water undergo when you open the tap? | Sediments are removed from drinking water by flocculation (a process where a chemical like alum is added that makes sediments clump together) and gravity settling (these clumps sink to the bottom of large tanks and are mechanically removed). The water is later trickled down through a large filter of sand, coal, and roc... | [
"For this reason, water used in hemodialysis is carefully purified before use. Initially it is filtered and temperature-adjusted and its pH is corrected by adding an acid or base. Then it is softened. Next the water is run through a tank containing activated charcoal to adsorb organic contaminants. Primary purifica... |
since both light and sound could be measured by their frequencies, does that mean they are essentially the same, only that sound is in the audible frequency range and light in the visible frequency range? | No, though both sound and light are types of waves, they are fundamentally two different type of waves. Sound waves are compression waves; they involve atoms physically moving and interacting with each other. The atoms "push" each other, so to say, like people in a crowd. This also means that sound requires a medium; t... | [
"Many systems are characterized by the range of frequencies to which they respond. Musical instruments produce different ranges of notes within the hearing range. The electromagnetic spectrum can be divided into many different ranges such as visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation, radio waves, X-rays and ... |
To what degree was Islamic theology influenced by Christian and Neo-Platonic thinkers in former Roman provinces? | This question of Christian and Greek influence in Islamic philosophy and theology is a very touchy subject. A number of books will preface any discussion of this with the point that question itself often presumes that nothing in Islamic philosophy and theology could, itself, be original. That guys like Ibn Sina and Al-... | [
"Medieval Islamic philosophy was steeped in both Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism from its 9th-century beginnings with Al-Kindi, but the influence of Neoplatonism becomes more clearly visible in the 10th and 11th centuries with Al-Farabi and Avicenna. Al-Farabi expanded on Plato’s concept of an ideal city ruled by ... |
why does it feel good to prove someone wrong? | Knowledge is power, everyone loves power. It gives you more weight in the balance of power between two relative equals | [
"... with respect to the term \"wrong\", a person lacks substantial capacity to know or appreciate that conduct is wrong if that person, as a result of mental disease or defect, lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate either that the conduct was against the law or that it was against commonly held moral p... |
what are chocolate diamonds? | Diamonds that have a dark brown tint to them. They used to be considered pretty worthless for jewelry use until the diamond industry figured out a way to market them and make them sought after. | [
"In 2000, the fine jewelry company Le Vian trademarked the term \"chocolate diamond\" and introduced a new brown jewelry line. Le Vian worked with the supplier Rio Tinto and partnered with the retailer, Signet Jewelers. The brand heavily advertised the 'chocolate diamond' line including a massive TV media spend. Th... |
Do we know how, and over what timescales, humanity populated the islands of the pacific ocean? | /r/askhistorians might be a better place for this question. | [
"During Post-classical Times the Micronesian and the Polynesian peoples constructed cities in some areas such as Nan Madol and Mu'a. Around 1200 AD the Tu'i Tonga Empire spread its influence far and wide throughout the South Pacific Islands, being described by academics as a maritime chiefdom which used trade netwo... |
Why were the Roman survivors of Cannae sent to Sicily? | I'll start with your second question first. No, Rome did not need *every* available soldier in the defense of Rome. Immediately after Cannae, two legions were formed from the survivors under command of the consul Varro. (Varro received a hero's welcome in Rome for organising the survivors and not giving up.) These two ... | [
"The forces stationed in Sicily at this time included a variety of forces. The Romans had for a long time used service in Sicily as a punishment, with the result that the garrison in Sicily contained survivors from many of the greatest Roman military fiascos in the war, such as the Battle of Cannae. Having served w... |
why dogs are so finicky about where they poo? | Poop has a very distinct smell depending on the diet and predators can smell it from a long ways away. He couldn't find a spot that would be safe, and therefore he did not poop. It's why dogs eat the poop that their pups make. | [
"Flatulence can be a problem for some dogs, which may be diet-related or a sign of gastrointestinal disease. This, in fact, may be the most commonly noticed source of odor from dogs fed cereal-based dog foods.\n",
"A dog with an anal gland problem may drag their bottom along the floor (scoot) or try to bite at th... |
what is lift and drag, and how does it apply to planes? | Gravity pulls a plane down.
Lift is the upwards force generated by the wings. Wings generate lifting force because they're shaped like an [airfoil](_URL_0_), and as the air passes around the shape of the wing, the pressure under the wing is higher than the pressure above the wing.
Drag is the force that pull the air... | [
"In aerodynamics, lift-induced drag, induced drag, vortex drag, or sometimes drag due to lift, is an aerodynamic drag force that occurs whenever a moving object redirects the airflow coming at it. This drag force occurs in airplanes due to wings or a lifting body redirecting air to cause lift and also in cars with ... |
What would happen if we created a spherical magnet? | "Would it still have a defined north and south like all magnets?"
Yes. In fact, spherical magnets with uniform magnetization act just like perfect magnetic dipoles. Cylindrical and rectangular magnets only behave like magnetic dipoles as an approximation (their magnetic fields actually have higher order multipole comp... | [
"Higher fields are possible by optimising the spherical design to take account of the fact that it is composed of point dipoles (and not line dipoles). This results in the stretching of the sphere to an elliptical shape and having a non-uniform distribution of magnetization over the component parts of the sphere. U... |
If I were standing on the surface of the moon, and shot a gun parallel to the ground, how fast would the bullet have to go so that it fully orbited the moon just above the ground level? | The speed of a low orbit around the Moon would be about 1700 m/s. Not sure if a rifle can reach this speed, but most bullets are slower, some of them even subsonic ( < 340 m/s).
But orbiting the Moon just above ground level is unrealistic because it's a very rough terrain with lots of craters and mountains. The bullet... | [
"BULLET::::- (~3 meters in diameter) may have passed as close as 0.97 lunar distances (371,000 km) from Earth (0.68 lunar distances (261,000 km) from the Moon on either April 14 or 15th, 2014, but the nominal orbit calculates an approach of 1.29 lunar distances (495,000 km) from Earth (1.23 lunar distances (473,000... |
how does a "board of directors" work? | Board members don't have to be employees of the company and do its day to day decision making, like a CEO.
They can be independent business figures appointed by shareholders to have a say in the strategic direction of the company. They sign certain documents for the company, call meetings of shareholders, and give dir... | [
"A board of directors is a group of people who jointly supervise the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit business, nonprofit organization, or a government agency. Such a board's powers, duties, and responsibilities are determined by government regulations (including the jurisdiction's co... |
Why didn't the British re-colonize the US? | From the UK's perspective--what's the point? Peaceful trade with the US was giving them nearly all the same benefits as having America as a colony had, only they no longer had to deal with a bunch of uppity American colonists getting pissed about London's taxes.
Also, from Britain's perspective, they had bigger fish t... | [
"The British Empire was \"built on waves of migration overseas by British people\", who left Great Britain, later the United Kingdom, and reached across the globe and permanently affected population structures in three continents. As a result of the British colonisation of the Americas, what became the United State... |
Why is pork rarely consumed in India even by those who are non-vegetarian or non-Muslim? | I can not speak to India specifically, but raising pigs generally can involve issues of resourse allocation. Cows can eat grass, humans can't, so we don't compete directly for food. Pigs however, while they can and do graze for a portion of their feed, have a digestive system very similar to humans, and eat many of t... | [
"Common meats include lamb, goat, fish, chicken and Beef. Beef is less common in India than in other SouthAsian cuisines because cattle have a special place in Hinduism. Prohibitions against beef extend to the meat of (water) buffalo and yaks to some extent. Pork is considered as a taboo food item by all Muslims an... |
If humans eventually visit Europa and don't find life, but do find an environment that can support life is it ethical to seed life there? | I'm sorry but ethics is not really on topic here. Maybe try [/r/philosophy](_URL_0_)? | [
"So far, there is no evidence that life exists on Europa, but Europa has emerged as one of the most likely locations in the Solar System for potential habitability. Life could exist in its under-ice ocean, perhaps in an environment similar to Earth's deep-ocean hydrothermal vents. Even if Europa lacks volcanic hydr... |
how does repetition of failure lead to improvement? | You learn what you shouldn't do. Everytime you fail you try to do somthing different until you succeed. | [
"Over time, as more is understood about a failure, the failure cause evolves from a description of symptoms and outcomes (that is, effects) to a systematic and relatively abstract model of how, when, and why the failure comes about (that is, causes).\n",
"Failure is statistical. There is a random chance that the ... |
Crystal Identification | Alternate Hypothesis: Your resident mathematician is screwing with you. | [
"An ionic crystal is a crystal consisting of ions bound together by their electrostatic attraction. Examples of such crystals are the alkali halides, including potassium fluoride, potassium chloride, potassium bromide, potassium iodide, sodium fluoride, and other combinations of sodium, caesium, rubidium, or lithiu... |
What happens to entanglement relationships when you split pairs of entangled photons? | Entangled photon pairs are most commonly created in the process of [spontaneous parametric downconversion](_URL_1_). You pass photons from a strong pump laser through a nonlinear crystal and with a very low probability, photons from the pump will indeed "split" and produce a photon pair at twice the wavelength (half th... | [
"Then on one of these modes, a projective measurement onto the basis formula_25 is performed. If the measurement is successful, i.e. if it detects anything, then the detected photon is destroyed, but the remaining photons from the Bell pairs become entangled. Failure to detect anything results in an effective loss ... |
why does my car continue to rool for a short time after i put it in park?(usually happens on a sloped surface) | When you put the car in park, what you're doing is engaging a "peg" that fits into grooves on the transmission's output. When the peg fits into the grooves, the output can't turn, which means the wheels can't spin.
When you step on the brake pedal, you aren't affecting the transmission - you're affecting the wheels th... | [
"BULLET::::- Park (P): This selection mechanically locks the output shaft of transmission, restricting the vehicle from moving in any direction. A parking pawl prevents the transmission from rotating, and therefore the vehicle from moving. However, the vehicle's non-driven wheels are still free to rotate, and the d... |
why are there so many complaints about how formula 1 is run? | F1 is supposed to be the highest level of motorsports: the fastest drivers in the fastest cars on the best tracks.
It is run by the FIA (who are the world motorsports governing body), but Bernie Ecclestone, who is the commercial rights holder (i.e. he has the rights to *sell* F1 across the world) also has a say. Many ... | [
"Formula One motor racing is an example of strict and changing regulation, where the regulating body appears to control rather than to simply define the sport. There have been major changes in the rules of F1 recently, almost on an annual basis, and more are planned. Sometimes this is done for safety reasons, somet... |
If I were to instantly freeze water, would it have the usual crystaline structure? | Maybe not. Water can form glassy (or amorphous) solids, if it's cooled fast enough.
It must be cooled rapidly enough that the water molecules don't have time to start aligning before they become too slow to move. This means that it needs to reach it's "glass transition temperature" within milliseconds.
You can also g... | [
"Clathrate hydrates, or gas clathrates, gas hydrates, clathrates, hydrates, etc., are crystalline water-based solids physically resembling ice, in which small non-polar molecules (typically gases) or polar molecules with large hydrophobic moieties are trapped inside \"cages\" of hydrogen bonded, frozen water molecu... |
How much energy/heat does the moon block from reaching the Earth during a solar eclipse? | If the eclipsed area has a radius of 100 km and lasts 7 minutes, and the sun gives 1460 watts/m^2 , that's about 2 x 10^16 joules blocked.
If it blocks a 100x100x10 km region of the atmosphere, according to my rough calculations it should drop about 6 degrees, but I'm not sure that's accurate. | [
"Solar radiation would normally strip any free water or water ice from the lunar surface, splitting it into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen, which then escape to space. However, because of the only very slight axial tilt of the Moon's spin axis to the ecliptic plane (1.5 °), some deep craters near the... |
what regulations do banks have to follow that credit unions do not? why are credit unions not fdic insurance? | Credit unions are taxed as not-for-profit institutions and parlay some of the savings from the lower taxes into better rates for customers.
Banks don't like this because they see it as unfair competition--I tend to agree, but opinions may vary. The "disadvantage" of credit unions is that you have to be part of a discr... | [
"In the United States, federal credit unions are chartered by and overseen by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which also provides deposit insurance similar to the manner in which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provides deposit insurance to banks. State-chartered credit unions are ... |
Was a midevil peasants work week shorter than our 40 hour work week? | hi! This is a very broad question covering a lot of time and geography. Do you have a particular time & place that an expert could zoom in on?
In the meantime, there have been several posts on Medieval farming & work vs leisure time, so you can get started on these
* [Medieval agriculture](_URL_0_)
* [How much... | [
"In the United States in the first part of the 19th century, although the day was long, the doffers only worked for about four hours each day. Memoirs from writers such as Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson Robinson describe the long hours, but also the leisurely pace of work and the opportunities for social interactio... |
this whole x86, x64, win32 thing... | The "Instruction Set Architecture" (ISA) of CPU is the definition of the patterns of bits that the CPU understands and executes. Over time Intel had a bunch of CPUs that ended with the number 86 (e.g. 286, 386, 486), and the ISA of these CPUs became known as x86. The x86 ISA was a 32 bit ISA meaning that the size of... | [
"BULLET::::- Win64 is the variant of the API implemented on 64-bit platforms of the Windows architecture ( x86-64 and IA-64). Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of an application can be still compiled from one codebase, although some older APIs have been deprecated, and some of the APIs that were already deprecated in... |
Can you hit a ball somewhere on a pooltable that no matter how many times is bounces it never finds a pocket? | Yes. If you hit a ball directly into any bumper at 90 degrees, it will return to the bumper parallel to it, which in turn will send the ball back to the original bumper.
Repeat for infinity assuming a perfect 90 degree aim, zero loss, and perfect material that would not send the ball in a different direction. | [
"One Bounce One Out: In this version of the game players are allowed one bounce to make it to the ball and hit it before it bounces a second time. If the player fails to make the ball back to the wall they are out for the game. This is mainly popular at High Schools on Long Island.\n",
"BULLET::::- The ball may b... |
Why can cracking a joint release muscle tension? | To be straight, there is no answer backed with scientific evidence to answer this question of yours but there are many theories.
I am a D.O. (osteopathic) medical student. One technique we do is called HVLA and involves "popping" or as we say gapping a restricted joint. The current running theory is that restricted ti... | [
"When tensional stresses stretch a body or layer of rock such that its tensile strength is exceeded, it breaks. When this happens the rock fractures in a plane parallel to the maximum principal stress and perpendicular to the minimum principal stress (the direction in which the rock is being stretched). This leads ... |
why haven't black holes sucked up everything in the universe yet? | Black holes don't "suck", in that they don't reach out and grab things. They just have a lot of matter packed into a small area, which creates very strong localized gravity. Their gravitational force does extend infinitely, but it drops off in power very quickly. But in order to get trapped by a black hole, matter has ... | [
"Black holes are talked about in this chapter. Black holes are stars that have collapsed into one very small point. This small point is called a \"singularity\". Black holes suck things into their center because they have very strong gravity. Some of the things it can suck in are light and stars. Only very large st... |
. how do you bring back a species from from near extinction? | Serious inbreeding can be avoided with 200 animals. That's enough to introduce enough genetic mixup without causing too much of a problem (if there were only 2 rhinos, and the whole population had to stem from that, you'd have potential problems).
There is something called the 50/500 rule made in 1980 by Australian g... | [
"Reintroductions involve restoring a species to its native range. The species may no longer be found there due to any number of reasons, though most common is often the introduction of predators or habitat loss due to either climate change or other human factors. This is generally done to broaden the range of threa... |
why do some coins get rejected in vending machines? | There can be a couple reasons, depending on how the machine identifies coins and what money's inside it. It might try to look at the coin's face and think it's not real (too damaged to look authentic, etc). It might try to weigh the coin to see if it's as heavy as a proper, 'standard' coin of a denomination. A valid... | [
"The coins were never very popular, primarily due to their large size and weight which made them inconvenient to carry and the fact that very few vending machines were designed to accept them. They saw the greatest use in casinos, and one-dollar tokens in many United States casinos still approximate the size and we... |
Is there any validity to the arguments of AIDS deniers? | I'm completely biased as my research is on HIV transmission, but no, there is not. There's as much validity to this argument as there is in the "vaccines cause autism" argument.
HIV does **not** always cause AIDS, but AIDS always has a pre-existing HIV infection. And HIV exists, I have the electron micrographs, and tu... | [
"Discrimination: Even the most optimistic AIDS patients write in their messages about the ostracism they have encountered due to the public's prejudices about the disease. In the late 1980s, little was known about the virus other than it was a certain death sentence. Due to its association with sodomy and intraveno... |
why won't most websites let you use spaces in usernames? | Way back in the day, there were computers that didn't have graphics. Everything was controlled by typing commands. For example, let's say I own a music file stairway-to-heaven and I want transfer ownership of the file to my wife, whose username is "LauraY." I would type this command:
chown LauraY StairwayToHeaven
... | [
"In computer programming, namespaces are typically employed for the purpose of grouping symbols and identifiers around a particular functionality and to avoid name collisions between multiple identifiers that share the same name.\n",
"Starting in 2008, TinyURL allowed users to create custom, more meaningful alias... |
Why do poisonous berries exist? Didn't berries evolve to be eaten? | Some poisonous berries aren't poisonous to many animals, just humans happen to be one of the unlucky species. Many species of birds can eat a variety of poisonous (to human) berries.
The poison can also acts as a defense for the plant as to not get destroyed by animals when eaten. Berries are a strong source of nutrie... | [
"All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing compounds that decompose to produce hydrogen cyanide, and could be fatal if ingested. The plant is placed in Toxicity Category 4, the category \"generally considered non-toxic to humans\", but the berries are considered toxic to cats and grazing animals. Excessive c... |
why is a fly swatter so much more effective than anything else? | The holes allow the air to flow through them. If it was flat, the air that builds up on the face would push the fly out of the way. At least that's how I understand it. | [
"An advantage over conventional flyswatters is that the electrical models do not have to mechanically crush the fly against a hard surface to kill it, avoiding the smeared mess this can create. Also, the electrical grid can be relatively open, reducing air resistance and a rush of air that often deflects smaller in... |
"Ethic/honored" generals ( especialy medieval period). | Sorry, we don't allow ["example seeking" questions](_URL_1_). It's not that your question was bad; it's that these kinds of questions tend to produce threads that are collections of disjointed, partial responses. That makes a lot of work for moderators, and we just don't have the staff to cope. If you have a question a... | [
"The supreme military commanders of the Late Empire was the Master of the Soldiers (\"\"Magister Militum\"\"). There were seven such Masters throughout the Empire (two in the West and five in the East). The establishment of solely military officials provided for a more professional military leadership. The Masters ... |
Why is Cthulhu the most widely worshiped Great Old One? Does he simply fit the modern American values? | Part of it has to do with indigenous maritime roots of Anglo American civilization. Active thriving coastal communities such as Y'ha Nthlei and Ahu Y'loa, along with their shore side antecedents of Innsmouth and Dunwich (UK) have ensure a strong popularity for the Lord Beneath the Waves, along with his lieutenants Dago... | [
"There, the cult of Cthulhu built monuments to their be-tentacled god, threw a planet-wide barbecue that decimated the dinosaurs, and, in spite, forced the Old Ones further and further towards the Antarctic. Hating the cold, the Old Ones retaliated by bringing Earth closer to the sun, once again submerging Cthulhu ... |
how to multiply very large integers in programming ? | The simplest solution is BigNum or LibGMP. These are libraries of all the routines you need to do these operations.
Essentially, the "numbers" are stored as a structure, like a string. Then the algorithms go through the structures, digit by digit, and do the operation. Want to multiply by a 50 digit number, do 50... | [
"The fastest known algorithms for the multiplication of very large integers use the polynomial multiplication method outlined above. Integers can be treated as the value of a polynomial evaluated specifically at the number base, with the coefficients of the polynomial corresponding to the digits in that base (ex. f... |
how do developers of games and movies create directional audio so that you are able to tell if a sound is coming from in front of, or behind you when using a headset that just has a speaker in your left ear and a speaker in your right ear, and similarly with vertical sound? | I work in the field, specifically on these kinds of systems. Wall of text incoming.
The most basic method is called panning. It usually as one knob controlling direction by altering the level of the signal in each channel. Something to the left will have a higher volume in the left speaker than the right, and vice ve... | [
"Directional sound perception is based on the delay between the same sound reaching a person's left and right ears. In stereo speakers, the sound from one speaker reaches both ears, although at different levels, and with a delay between one ear and another, since the speaker is placed away from the center. In headp... |
language - can someone explain aspect and tense, and the difference between them? | Generally, tense refers to the the relative position in time of an action.
Does this verb form refer to things that happenned before now? Its in the past tense. Things that will happen sometime in the future? The future tense. Things that happened before now or are happening right now? The nonfuture tense. Things that... | [
"Tenses generally express time relative to the moment of speaking. In some contexts, however, their meaning may be relativized to a point in the past or future which is established in the discourse (the moment being spoken about). This is called \"relative\" (as opposed to \"absolute\") tense. Some languages have d... |
Native americans and math | There's always room for discussion, but perhaps this previous topic will answer your inquiry.
* [In 1450 how sophisticated was the Aztec empire's understanding of mathematics? how do they compare to Europe, the islamic world and China in the same period?](_URL_0_) by /u/Ucumu | [
"The invention of the numeral system showed Alaskan-native students that math was embedded in their culture and not just a product of western culture. Those students going on to college saw studying mathematics as a necessity to get into college. Also, non-native students can see a practical example of a different ... |
[big bang q] if the universe originated from a single point, why is it (and everything in it) not more symmetrically distributed? | Putting aside the misconception that the universe originated from a single point, here's a simple layman's explanation:
At the beginning of the universe, everything was as evenly distributed as possible. However, due to the quirky laws of physics, 'as evenly distributed as possible' still isn't perfectly uniform. From... | [
"In standard Big Bang cosmology, the universe has no center and no edge. A third idea for potentially solving the distant starlight problem, put forward by Russell Humphreys in 1994 and refined by others since, sets this assumption aside and proposes that the Earth is located near the center of a finite and bounded... |
If the universe is found to be discrete with a finite value for the smallest length possible, would there be an actual finite value for pi? | Pi is not a fundamental constant of nature. That is, it is not derived from or dependent on some natural process. It is a specific real number, and so its value or its representation in any fixed number system (e.g., decimal) doesn't care about any feature of the actual universe. | [
"(Alternatively, this proves that if were rational, no \"smallest\" representation as a fraction could exist, as any attempt to find a \"smallest\" representation \"p\"/\"q\" would imply a smaller one existed, which is a similar contradiction).\n",
"Also, the non-representability of π (and π/2) means that an atte... |
why is australia so desolate when it is the same relative longitude as african and south american rain forests? | It's really Papua New Guinea that's around the same longitude as the rain forests - that's why it has so many rain forests. That being said, there were a lot more rain forests in Australia than what's left in the northeast of the country, but many of them were burned away for agriculture.
_URL_0_ | [
"In Australia, shifting sand dunes covered half the continent, whilst the Chaco and Pampas in South America became similarly dry. Present-day subtropical regions also lost most of their forest cover, notably in eastern Australia, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and southern China, where open woodland became dominant... |
how do athletes play with broken bones and serious injuries? | Adrenaline, painkillers, and a level of competetiveness the average person can't fully comprehend. | [
"Players must handle their own treatments and carry their own medical insurance, which is opposite of the norm with professional sports teams. Since most esports play requires many actions per minute, some players may get repetitive strain injuries, causing hand or wrist pain.\n",
"Sports injuries are injuries th... |
The blog _URL_0_ asserts that Black people were common for essentially all of European history. Is this true? | Since the other comment has been knocked below the threshold, let me just answer you by saying that this is not really a question anyone should feel confident in being able to answer. Race is a sociological construct, and there exist no good methods of mapping modern ideas of race to those in the distant past.
As seve... | [
"Hundreds of Polish Facebook groups such as \"Stop White Genocide\" have produced and disseminated images depicting African and Middle eastern people as belonging to separate \"primitive\" species, lacking the human intelligence of White Europeans. Websites such as \"Conspiracy Files\" have fabricated allegations o... |
WWII historians -- how long did it take for Japan to realize the degree of damage done by the atomic bombs once they had been dropped? Did they understand what had happened and if not, how did they find out? | A few hours after the bombing of Hiroshima, the US sent out propaganda/press releases that explained what they had done, how they had done it, etc.
The Japanese high command sent a team of scientists to investigate Hiroshima at this point, to confirm whether the US accounts were accurate and to get a sense of the act... | [
"In Europe and America the effects of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not fully understood. The photos produced by Masao Horino contributed to the world wide cry for the bombs to never be used again.\n",
"The 1946 United States Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan, whose members included Paul Nitze... |
how are women sexually stimulated by anal sex? | Women have just as many sensitive nerves around the entry to anus as men, the only thing they do not have is a prostrate.
As far as why one enjoys it more then another ...is like asking why do you like Coke over Pepsi...it is just a preference. I am a gay male who enjoys giving and receiving, I have had partners who ... | [
"For women, penile-anal penetration may also indirectly stimulate the clitoris by the shared sensory nerves, especially the pudendal nerve, which gives off the inferior anal nerves and divides into the perineal nerve and the dorsal nerve of the clitoris. The G-spot area, which is considered to be interconnected wit... |
How do crab species that change shells know if a new shell is the proper size for them or not? | It's simple. When a hermit crab outgrows its old shell and finds a potential replacement it tries the new one on. Usually they'll go back and forth between their old shell and the potential new one a few times before deciding. If they find the new shell comfortable and to their liking they move. If not, they go back to... | [
"As the hermit crab grows in size, it must find a larger shell and abandon the previous one. Several hermit crab species, both terrestrial and marine, have been observed forming a vacancy chain to exchange shells. When an individual crab finds a new empty shell it will leave its own shell and inspect the vacant she... |
imagine a small (less than 250 people) settlement in Japan (southern Honshu, if that's too broad) in 1717. imagine a small settlement in China (Hebei, if that's too broad) in 1717. how would the common diets of the the people in the two communities, likely be different from each other? | They would largely be the same with minor differences. For an overview on Japanese diet in the 18th century, I wrote a huge post [here](_URL_1_).
In both areas, the average meal would consist of rice/millet as the main, with a soup dish and generally 3 side dishes (assuming one could afford it). One would be vegetabl... | [
"The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony was made up of a group of 22 samurai and one woman during the Boshin Civil War (1868–69) in Japan preceding the Meiji Restoration. They are believed to be the first permanent Japanese settlement in North America and the only settlement by samurai outside of Japan. The group p... |
Why did the traditionally (relatively) religiously tolerant Roman Republic/Empire institute a state religion when Christianity became the dominant religion of the ruling class in the 4th century? Was it because Christianity replaced the Imperial Cult? | For us today, religion is a matter of conscience, but in the Roman empire religion was public and political. The official sacrifices to Jupter and the emperor were meant to ensure the health of the empire, and citizens participated as an act of civic duty rather than from personal conviction, deeply held beliefs, or 'f... | [
"When Christianity became a world-religion and spread in all directions throughout the Roman Empire, it was at first tolerated, and enjoyed Government protection, along with many other cults in vogue. Religions had to receive licence from the State, which was jealous to secure itself against the danger of conspirac... |
Why are Marinique, French Guiana, Reunion, etc. integral parts of the French Republic today; whilst all other colonial powers have either given up their colonies, or given then significant autonomy? | The question in itself is an argument... did other colonies give up all their colonies. No, not really. You can find both Britain and USA in ownership of a few isles around the world, Falklands and Guam coming to mind right away. The question implies that France is somehow special retaining a few colonies, but it did i... | [
"\"Summary:\" France has overseas 6 autonomous collectivities and 2 uninhabited territories (one of which includes an Antarctic \"dependency claim\"). This does not include its “standard” overseas regions (which are also overseas departments) of Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and Mayotte—although a... |
in the united states why do kids under the age of 18 still have to pay taxes when the country was almost built on the motto "no taxation without representation" | Well, for one, I'll point out that felons also have to pay taxes despite not getting the vote. There are legal restrictions to the vote that we've agreed on. One of them is that you have to be 18.
Second, there is far more government spending supporting those under 18 (schools, etc.) than those 18 and up, so it's not... | [
"\"Why are Americans so willing to pay taxes in order to support a world-girdling national security establishment,\" asked Walt in 2013, \"yet so reluctant to pay taxes to have better schools, health care, roads, bridges, subways, parks, museums, libraries, and all the other trappings of a wealthy and successful so... |
why do we draw hearts as ❤ when real hearts look so different? | If i remember correctly, it's because of a plant that was used during the roman empire as a contraceptive. it was more effective than "natural" alternatives, and was used so often it became extinct. Roman's used it was a symbol of love, which we've continued to do.
edit: _URL_0_ | [
"Eye shape and size can be exaggerated or changed altogether. Love-hearts and doe-eyes indicate an infatuation, while stars indicate that the character is star-struck. Spirals indicate confusion or dizziness, while flames or wide empty semicircles indicate that the character is angry or vengeful. When dead, unconsc... |
What would happen if an object gained more energy beyond the Planck Temperature? Would its wavelength still get smaller than that of The Planck Length? | > As according to quantum mechanics The Planck Length is the shortest distance possible in the universe.
No it isn't. [See here](_URL_0_). However, it's an interesting question regardless. That is roughly the temperature at which quantum gravitational effects have to be taken into account. You can imagine thermal col... | [
"As with most of the Planck units, a Planck temperature of 1 (unity) is a fundamental limit of quantum theory, in combination with gravitation, as presently understood. In other words, the wavelength of light emitted by an object can be calculated by its temperature. If an object were to reach the temperature of (\... |
how can a plane fly upside down without the crew noticing? | It's a condition called spatial disorientation, usually temporary and resulting from flight into poor weather conditions with low or no visibility. When affected, the pilot may be deprived of an external visual horizon, and lose the correct sense of up and down while flying, specially if he isn't used (or trained) to f... | [
"Anyone in an aircraft that is making a coordinated turn, no matter how steep, will have little or no sensation of being tilted in the air unless the horizon is visible. Similarly, it is possible to gradually climb or descend without a noticeable change in pressure against the seat. In some aircraft, it is possible... |
Was the transcontinental railroad in the US mostly single track? Why do I always see pics of laborers digging tunnels for just one track? | Yes, only one track was built, and the majority of the route from Omaha to Sacramento remains single-track today.
Only a few trains each day were expected on most of the line, and double-tracking would require twice as much work. The two companies were racing against time and creditors to build as much mileage as po... | [
"After it was completed, the tunnel was used for freight trains until 1980, when regular operations ended. The railroad favored using yards in the Bronx and New Jersey, and increased use of trucking led to the demise of the West Side Line. The giant, man-made caverns became a haven for homeless people. At its heigh... |
is there more specialized treatment for certain viruses besides treating the symptoms | There are lots of things! *BUUUUT* they can be very specific to each virus. For example, my favourite virus, rabies, has two viable treatments. The first is a pre-exposure vaccine, which is given to dogs and wildlife workers (not the *same* vaccine; there's one for dogs and a different one for people) - basically, thos... | [
"Infection prevention is the most efficient strategy of prevention of an infection with a MDR organism within a hospital, because there are few alternatives to antibiotics in the case of an extensively resistant or panresistant infection; if an infection is localized, removal or excision can be attempted (with MDR-... |
is drinking 3 3% alcohol beers in 3 hours the same as drinking 2 4.5% alcohol beers in the same time span? | In terms of alcohol content, yes.
But you'd feel more bloated after drinking the greater number of lower-alcohol beers. Because of that, you'd probably not want to drink so much. | [
"Beer ranges from less than 3% alcohol by volume (abv) to around 14% abv, though this strength can be increased to around 20% by re-pitching with champagne yeast, and to 55% abv by the freeze-distilling process. The alcohol content of beer varies by local practice or beer style. The pale lagers that most consumers ... |
When did duels stop to be an acceptable way of saving one's honor in Europe ? | So as you're reading War and Peace, I'm going to really just concentrate on Russia. For a time in 19th Century Russia, dueling was not only *an* acceptable way to defend honor, but it was practically the only way for a military officer, or a man of societal standing. Refusal to do so might mean social ostracization for... | [
"Dueling went into sharp decline after World War I, following the wartime deaths of many members of the classes that practiced it, and the social changes following the war's mass carnage. After World War II, dueling went out of use in Europe except for rare exceptions. Training for a duel, once almost mandatory for... |
Why do countries have national birds? How did the practice come to be? | Not every country does. Many nations use the Eagle as a symbol, but others use Lions, Flowers, or mythical creatures instead. | [
"Initially, birdwatching was a hobby undertaken in developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Since the second half of the 20th century an increasing number of people in developing countries have engaged in this activity, such as in the Degua Tembien district of Ethiopia. Trans... |
Is a geosynchronous planet such as this even possible? (In addition; binary star systems) | IF you are asking about the stability of the orbits then Yes,
If we have the White Dwarf orbiting the Red Giant, then of the WhiteDwarf-RedGiant system some points called Lagrangian points, where objects would feel a slight pull from both which means the orbital speed around the Red-Giant would match the White Dwarf.... | [
"Planets that orbit just one star in a binary pair are said to have \"S-type\" orbits, whereas those that orbit around both stars have \"P-type\" or \"circumbinary\" orbits. It is estimated that 50–60% of binary stars are capable of supporting habitable terrestrial planets within stable orbital ranges.\n",
"The d... |
Much has been made about the growing income inequality in America and its implications with nary a word on possible fixes. What, if any, economic solutions exist that might work to reverse this process? | Hi, I am last year MSc student in Scandinavia, so you know where I'm coming from.
From the viewpoint of economics there's quite a few solutions. The bigger question is the feasibility of them all.
* Redistribute. In principle, the state can take all income and divide it equally. In fact, I think some kind of redestri... | [
"A 2014 report by Standard and Poor's concluded that diverging income inequality has slowed the economic recovery and could contribute to boom-and-bust cycles in the future as more and more Americans take on debt in order to consume. Higher levels of income inequality increase political pressures, discouraging trad... |
What were the effects of using leaded gas? | It releases lead into the air, where is is taken in by people through respiration. This is not much of a health hazard for adults, but was particularly dangerous in children's developing brains. Lead poisoning in children leads to [learning disabilities](_URL_0_), sociopathic behavior, mental health issues later in lif... | [
"Kettering and colleagues' development of leaded gasoline ultimately caused the release of large quantities of lead into the atmosphere as a result of the combustion of leaded gasoline all over the world. Due to the neurotoxic effects of lead, leaded gasoline has been widely banned since the late 1990s. The develop... |
Why do humans drink water differently from other animals? | Dogs (and also cats and some other animals) cannot close their lips like we do, so they cannot suck the water (create underpressure in their mouths). As far as I know, it has to do with them being carnivores, with a less "closed up" mouth, they can put more teeth in their prey while hunting. | [
"BULLET::::- There have been relatively few studies on the preferences of wild animals. A recent study has shown that feral pigeons do not discriminate drinking water according to its content of metabolic wastes, such as uric acid or urea (mimicking faeces- or urine-pollution by birds or mammals respectively).\n",
... |
In Europe 1000 years ago were magical creatures viewed as accepted fact, or would they be more analogous to something like UFOs or ghosts in modern times? | Yes, definitely, absolutely. The amount of time, effort, and consideration given to the supernatural by pre-modern Europeans is astounding, and consistent well into the 16th and 17th centuries. A wonderful source for discussion on this topic is *Peasant Fires: The Drummer of Niklashausen*, by Richard Wunderli.
The sup... | [
"In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits (sometimes referred to simply as \"familiars\" or \"animal guides\") were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to the records of the time,... |
how can we not listen to a song for years but as soon as it comes on the radio boom we still know every line? | Memory can be tied pretty closely to emotions, and music can be pretty emotional. I personally enjoy the beat of the music more than the words, so I can't remember most lines of the music I listen to unless I listen to the same stuff daily for awhile. | [
"I don't know how the people who made this record ever got through it. I mean I've some idea of how you record a song, and usually it requires several million listens to the same three minutes, adding bits, taking bits away, polishing, until it's finally perfect. I only have to review the thing and by my tally I've... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.