Split (2)

train · 226k rows

question stringlengths 3 301	answer stringlengths 9 26.1k	context list
how does water from the wet roads gets onto the car's rear windows while driving?	Unless the car is perfectly aerodynamic, air flow around the car and especially at the back of the car will be turbulent (not smooth). So the air is quickly swirling all around in many directions at once, which means that some of the water drops kicked up by the tires gets swirled around too, and hit the rear window (a...	[ "Water-repellent glass (WRG) is a superhydrophobic coating film that is baked into the factory-fitted glass on the front, rear, and side windows of a vehicle to maintain proper visibility in wet weather. It is produced and patented by Volvo Cars and was first available on late-2005 vehicles. WRG claims to take wate...
How much heat does the earth lose to space?	The rate of heat lost by Earth is given by the Stefan-Boltzmann law. It states that the rate is proportional to the fourth power of temperature of Earth’s surface, multiplied by a constant and a physical quantity called emissivity, which is the ratio of energy radiated compared to a “perfect” object. With an average te...	[ "In theory, the loss of energy through gravitational radiation could eventually drop the Earth into the Sun. However, the total energy of the Earth orbiting the Sun (kinetic energy + gravitational potential energy) is about 1.14 joules of which only 200 watts (joules per second) is lost through gravitational radiat...
why does eating something crunchy sound so loud and overpower other sound?	because the sound is generated inside your mouth and the vibrations travel through your jawbone / skull to your auditory canal/ ear drum/inner ear.	[ "Staring at another diner's plate is also considered rude. It is inappropriate to make sounds while chewing. Certain Indian food items can create sounds, so it is important to close the mouth and chew at a moderate pace.\n", "Crispiness or crispness is one of the most common food texture attributes. Crispiness re...
Why is the Payload to LEO of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy 4 times that of the Falcon 9, when it is only 3 times the size?	> to quadruple your payload to orbit, you have to MORE that quadruple your starting mass Actually no. Payload is linear with mass. To get twice the payload into orbit you could just launch two identical rockets. Why Falcon Heavy then gets more payload to LEO than what the ratio of masses would suggest probably has t...	[ "The Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX. It is derived from the Falcon 9 vehicle and consists of a strengthened Falcon 9 first stage as the center core with two additional first stages as strap-on boosters. The Falcon Heavy has the highest payload capa...
Why does nature match Fibonacci spirals?	Many processes in nature are iterative and additive with present outcome depending on prior outcomes. In such a situation, you will commonly see an emergent property that matches Fib. processes. In short, Fib. stuff shows up because nature constructs a ton of stuff using the same kind of rules with which one makes Fibo...	[ "Spirals are common in plants and in some animals, notably molluscs. For example, in the nautilus, a cephalopod mollusc, each chamber of its shell is an approximate copy of the next one, scaled by a constant factor and arranged in a logarithmic spiral. Given a modern understanding of fractals, a growth spiral can b...
what is silicon valley and why are countries like china trying to replicate it?	Silicon Valley is the nickname for an area in California, south of San Francisco. It's the location of the headquarters of a large portion of the technology industry, including well-known names like Google, Apple, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Nvidia, Oracle, and Yahoo. Because so many of the top tech companies are...	[ "Silicon Valley has a social and business ethos that supports innovation and entrepreneurship. Attempts to create \"Silicon Valleys\" in environments where disruptive innovation does not go over well have a poor track record.\n", "Xu is a producer of the first Chinese TV documentary on Silicon Valley's unique his...
How prevalent was pre-marriage casual sex for Medieval royalties?	Posting again because I just want to know why it’s been 20 hours and there is not a single answer. Is it because this subject was not particularly well documented? Or are there other reasons? Anyway, I see reddit says this thread has 2 comments but I can’t see any of them. I wonder what’s going on?	[ "During the Middle Ages, sexual activity was regulated very differently from now. The medieval Catholic Church regulated sex and all matters relating to sex very carefully, and often imposed harsh penances to punish wrong doers. Penances varied according to severity of the act committed, and also according to who c...
why has internet speed increased over the years if the medium of delivery has always been the same?	Mainly because of new methods of compressing data to fit into the limited bandwidth of those copper wires. Also by expanding and bringing high bandwidth fiber networks closer to the home. I'm getting 100mbps over the same cable I used to watch scrambled porn on when I was a teenager.	[ "The increasing worldwide demand for rapid, low-latency and high-volume communication of information to homes and businesses has made economical information distribution and delivery increasingly important. As demand has escalated, particularly fueled by the widespread adoption of the Internet, the need for economi...
To what extent did the March On Washington and "I Have a Dream" speech change public opinion about Civil Rights? Was this really integral to the success of the Civil Rights movement?	Oh yay, public opinion is a bitch but is fun to me, so let's get started. 99% of historical topics that will come to your mind lack any form of public polling and measure public opinion. For some context, I did my capstone work on Anglo-Irish press during 1845-52 regarding the famine and the respective Press from...	[ "The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was partly intended to demonstrate mass support for the civil rights legislation proposed by President Kennedy in June. Martin Luther King and other leaders therefore agreed to keep their speeches calm, also, to avoid provoking the civil disobedience which had become th...
Is it better to stay awake all night or get up early the next day to get back on a normal sleep schedule?	Well, I can't find the article in question, but this one right here is fairly well cited and gives the same information and quotes. _URL_0_ Basically, don't eat for about twelve hours before when you want to wake up. When that time arrives, whether you were asleep or not beforehand, eat something. This "breakfast" help...	[ "Among lifestyle practices, going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day can create a steady pattern which may help to prevent insomnia. Avoidance of vigorous exercise and caffeinated drinks a few hours before going to sleep is recommended, while exercise earlier in the day may be beneficial. Other practi...
how is bamboo turned into pillows, clothing, and other textiles?	Just got done cutting some bamboo fleece. Oversimplified, they crush the bamboo, use enzymes to break it down to a pulp. Mechanically separate the fibers from the pulp. Fibers are then spun into yarn. Yarn is turned into linen/fleece/some type of fabric. The bamboo fabric is sent to the apparel manufacturer which wi...	[ "Bamboo can be cut and laminated into sheets and planks. This process involves cutting stalks into thin strips, planing them flat, and boiling and drying the strips; they are then glued, pressed, and finished. Long used in China and Japan, entrepreneurs started developing and selling laminated bamboo flooring in th...
Did colonialism leave any positive influences?	Well, I think we have to start off with the caveat that "positive influences" is a subjective term, and what we consider to be positive is often informed by the culture we live in. Very frequently, ideas of "modernity" expressed as resembling current Western societies and economies is regarded as a positive things, b...	[ "One variant of neocolonialism theory critiques \"cultural colonialism\", the desire of wealthy nations to control other nations' values and perceptions through cultural means such as media, language, education and religion, ultimately for economic reasons. One impact of this is \"colonial mentality\", feelings of ...
how can the potus be so close to people in some events when he is usually guarded by an insane amount of security?	Most likely, the army of Jason Bournes is there, just not in the picture. What you see in frame is just a fraction of what is going on. Also everyone in the room/building/area has probably been thoroughly searched before being able to be with the president.	[ "Most important public figures, such as heads of state, heads of government, and governors are protected by several bodyguards or by a team of bodyguards from a government agency, security forces, or police forces (e.g., in the U.S., the United States Secret Service or the State Department's Diplomatic Security Ser...
What was the reaction of the Eastern Romans to the fall of Rome itself in 476?	It wasn't really a watershed moment. Odoacer, the "barbarian" warlord who deposed Romulus Augustus, actually sent an embassy to the East Roman emperor Zeno asking permission to do so. While that may have simply been a courtesy, Odoacer did explain that the Roman Empire no longer needed two emperors and that one emperor...	[ "There are contradicting opinions whether the fall of the Western Roman Empire was a result or a cause of these onvasions, or both. The Eastern Roman Empire was less affected by invasions and survived until the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453. In the modern period, the Migration Period was increasing...
static vs dynamic ip address, and how an ip address differs from a mac address	Mac address is an identifying number hard coded onto the hardware by the manufacturer. Dynamic addresses are IP addresses automatically assigned and re-assigned by a DHCP server. Static addresses are IP addresses assigned by the person installing the system in the IP configuration options and do not change unless som...	[ "Dynamic IP addresses are assigned by network using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). DHCP is the most frequently used technology for assigning addresses. It avoids the administrative burden of assigning specific static addresses to each device on a network. It also allows devices to share the limited add...
Why can you hold your breath for longer if you exhale at the end?	The limiting factor in holding your breath is not a build up of CO2, rather it is the impulse of the diaphragm to contract. _URL_0_	[ "Narrowing of the airways occurs due to inflammation and scarring within them. This contributes to the inability to breathe out fully. The greatest reduction in air flow occurs when breathing out, as the pressure in the chest is compressing the airways at this time. This can result in more air from the previous bre...
why are screen refresh rates most commonly divisible by 30?	The electrical grid in the US is alternating current at 60Hz. This made it much easier for CRT displays to cycle at 60Hz or multiples.	[ "Refresh rate or the temporal resolution of an LCD is the number of times per second in which the display draws the data it is being given. Since activated LCD pixels do not flash on/off between frames, LCD monitors exhibit no refresh-induced flicker, no matter how low the refresh rate. However, high refresh rates ...
Why did Rome not seek to return to a republic after Nero?	The last century of the Roman Republic had seen constant strife and the civil wars of first Marius vs Sulla, then Caesar vs Pompey, and finally Antony vs Octavian. Quiet Simply nobody wanted to go back to that. Additionally you will find that after the death of Caligula, and before Claudius was acclaimed, the Senate de...	[ "Dio Chrysostom (c. 40–120), a Greek philosopher and historian, wrote the Roman people were very happy with Nero and would have allowed him to rule indefinitely. They longed for his rule once he was gone and embraced imposters when they appeared:\n", "In response, Nero fled Rome with the intention of going to the...
Why did some post-Communist countries see a rise in religious observance while others continued to drop?	The USSR only fell in 1990, and this sub's jurisdiction ends in mid '96. < 6 years can't provide much data to go on.	[ "People continued to convert to religion to the frustration of the government, and it tenaciously remained widespread among the Soviet population. Some scholars have speculated that the Soviet attempt to eliminate religion was unachievable because religion was an intrinsic need of humans and communism was not a via...
What was crime like in 18th century London, England? What were the most common crimes and which how did these relate to any social or economic problems?	18th century London was dogged by crime, the Bow Street Runners were established in 1750 as a professional police force. Penalties for crime were harsh, with the death penalty being applied for fairly minor crimes. Public hangings were common in London, and were popular public events. Dark, circuitous alleys coupled w...	[ "During the eighteenth century, the pursuit of criminals, involved common people to a lesser extent due to a series of factors. At the end of the seventeenth century population in London was incredibly growing and the city borders expanding thanks to the favorable economic situation that attracted a great number of...
how do badgers transfer tb between cows?	It's actually passed on indirectly, not through direct contact at all but through contaminated dung and forage. What's problematic is that TB can survive in this way for months- and obviously not just from badgers but also from cattle.	[ "Once an animal has contracted bTB, the disease can be spread through the sett via the exhalations or excretions of infected individuals. Modern cattle housing, which has good ventilation, makes this process relatively less effective, but in older-style cattle housing or in badger setts, the disease can spread more...
how can nightmares be so shockingly scary when our minds are creating them	At the end of the day the answer to most sleep related questions is simply "we don't know yet." If anyone claims they know with certainty why dreams happen and how our brains generate dreams, they're probably bullshitting. With that said, the prevailing theory is that dreams are a way to process subconscious emotional...	[ "Nightmares portray some of our most deeply held fears, especially about family, according to the famous American horror observer, Joseph Maddrey. For example, he explains the huge appeal of the \"Nightmare on Elm Street\" franchise (1984 original directed by Wes Craven) as a result of its exploiting these fears. I...
why are people who have had broken bones able to “feel it when it’s raining?”	It's not a matter of having broken bones, it just varies from person to person. Sometimes people who have never broken a bone can feel it, sometimes people who have broken bones can't feel it. It just depends on the person, like whether they can easily whistle or whether they can wiggle their ears. The reason is bec...	[ "\"Out of My Bones\" is a song recorded by American country music singer Randy Travis. It was released in March 1998 as the lead-off single from his CD \"You and You Alone\". The song peaked at number two on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart, while it was a number-one hit in Canada. It ...
What would be the fate of prisoners after ancient battles?	This question is a big too vague, since 'ancient' accounts for a timespan of thousands of years. Different polities handled this differently. Is there one in particular you were interested in knowing about?	[ "Prisoners of war were a regular occurrence in the ancient Nile Valley and Africa. During times of conquest and after winning battles, the ancient Nubians took Egyptian slaves. In turn, the ancient Egyptians took slaves after winning battles with the Libyans, Canaanites, and Nubians. \n", "The main function of im...
eczema tendency.	Eczema often will form in areas where there is more 'friction' and hence you are likely to itch, and once you start itching it will probably be an eczema spot you keep itching! Steroid cream should be used for flare ups but shouldn't be the only thing you use. You want to have a good moisturiser you use regularly. Try...	[ "The term \"eczema\" refers to a set of clinical characteristics. Classification of the underlying diseases has been haphazard with numerous different classification systems, and many synonyms being used to describe the same condition.\n", "Eczema is another cause of chronic irritation and affects millions of ind...
how does it work, when you flip the connector to the outlet 180°, it still works even when + and - are flipped?	That's because the current that comes into our homes is AC(Alternating current) which means that the polarity or flow of current changes from positive to negative and negative to positive after every specific interval. As the polarity of the points keep changing after fixed time intervals, The polarity of the switch bo...	[ "The pin out is detailed in the info box. However, each pin on the reverse side of the connector is connected to its directly opposite twin on the other side. Part of the processor's job is to route the power and data signals correctly whichever way up the connector is inserted.\n", "The electronic central switch...
How do we see a reflection of a shadow?	Think about how it is that you see a shadow at all. You see because your eyes respond to incoming light, so how can you see an absence of light? The answer is that you see a shadow when your eyes respond to the light around it. When you hold up your hand in front of a light, you see a dark area in the shape of yo...	[ "A shadow is a dark (real image) area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or a reverse projection of the object blocking the light.\n...
In England, many of the 'wackier' beliefs associated with the European witch craze are largely absent from the trial records. Why was this the case? Is there any evidence that English authorities thought such beliefs were ridiculous?	The first thing worth considering is that the Europeans on the continent did not find the elements you're describing as "wacky" at all. They were genuine experiences thought to have occurred; there were certainly skeptics, but it hinders our understanding if we start partitioning off elements of witchcraft trials that ...	[ "The English historian Hugh Trevor-Roper advocated the idea that the witch trials emerged as part of the conflicts between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Early Modern Europe. This theory has, however, received little support from other experts in the subject. This is because there is little evidence that either...
Why does volcanic ash stay up for so long? Isn’t it relatively heavy?	For a full treatment I'd refer you to Sparks et al. 1997 but I'll summarise some of the main reasons here. Firstly, the settling velocity of a particle suspended in a fluid depends largely on two factors - the density difference between the particle and the fluid, and the particle radius. Ash is obviously denser than...	[ "Volcanic ash originates from processes resulting in explosive eruptions into the atmosphere or pyroclastic flows oozing from the surface and discharging ash as they cool, or some combination thereof. Under any plausible condition, the ash will have had hours to days to react with the oxygen and water vapor of the ...
When was the first recorded contact between black and white people? What was the nature of their interaction?	This question is tricky to answer because the concept of race as a division into 3 4 or 5 large racial groups is a 18th century notion, something of a follow-on from Linnaean grouping of other species. This was also the time of the development of the African slave trade. The Egyptian [Book of Gates](_URL_0_) from the...	[ "It is believed that the first contact with whites occurred on 26 February 1818 during the explorer Phillip Parker King's first voyage in , which took him to the north-western coast of Australia. King describes the scene:\n", "The first white visitors did not arrive until 1798, when George Bass and Matthew Flinde...
how do new medical techniques spread?	Doctors often consult with someone who actually has experience of the previous use of a new technique. Also, a research institution may do a dedicated study to test the procedure's effectiveness, if possible. But a doctor who "discovers" a new procedure will write it up so that others could, in theory, work from the...	[ "Several physicians began using his technique, including Norman Jolliffe at Bellevue Hospital in New York, Edward Strecker at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, and Merrill Moore at Boston City Hospital.\n", "Up until the use of anesthesia became established, surgeries involving healthy tissu...
if we spend so much money on sewage treatment, and gray water requires so much less, why don't we throw our poop out with the garbage and treat all water with simple gray water methods?	Because humans poop alot and poop is full of pathogens and bacteria that want to kill you. By "simple grey water methods" I assume you mean septic tanks and cesspools which require a lot of time and area to get the job done. Modern day treatment plants create the perfect conditions for nature to take its course (with ...	[ "In the US, non-potable forms of wastewater generated by humans may be referred to as greywater, which is treatable and thus easily able to be made potable again, and blackwater, which generally contains sewage and other forms of waste which require further treatment in order to be made reusable. Greywater composes...
why is the dutch oven dutch ?	Back in the old days, (early 1700s), everyone's cooking pots were made out of brass, which was kind of expensive. At that time an Englishman named Abraham Darby visited the Netherlands and saw them casting pots in molds of sand, instead of the usual English way, which used molds of clay. Darby realized that if he cast ...	[ "A Dutch oven is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminium, or ceramic. Some metal varieties are enameled rather than being seasoned. Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds...
Did the proletariat of the Russian population support the October Revolution when it occurred?	This is a bit of a difficult question really. Firstly the October Revolution wasn't so much a revolution the way we understand the word. It was rather a coup performed very rapidly by soldiers loyal to the Bolsheviks and it all happened rather fast. The scenes portrayed by the Bolsheviks of huge crowds storming the Win...	[ "The April Crisis – a series of demonstrations against Russia's continued participation in the war and a note to the Allied powers affirming that Russia was still interested in annexing Constantinople – nearly led to the downfall of the Provisional Government, and it survived mainly due to negotiations with the Sov...
people on the internet replacing "lose" with "loose" in almost every scenario	Very similar to how people also mix up their, there, and they're consistently. Took me until I was 22 years old to actually understand the difference between "Then," and "Than" and even now I still get it wrong.	[ "\"New York Magazine\" Brian Feldman declared it as \"the Internet's Longest-Running Miscarriage 'Joke. Aryehi Bhushan from student newspaper \"Varsity\" wrote about \"Loss\" as a meme, praising its longevity compared to other memes that have short lifespans. In 2016, the podcast \"Reply All\" discussed the strip d...
why is it that, for example, after skiing for an entire day i can constantly feel the boots on my feet?	Like, even after you take them off? What you may be experiencing is the Tetris Effect. Basically, after spending a long time doing something repetitive, your body will often still feel like you're doing it, particularly when you're falling asleep. For instance, in high school I would sometimes spend the weekend on my f...	[ "-Ski Boots that are too big: If your ski boots are too large your foot and ankle is able to slide forward and backward. When this motion happens, intermittent contact between the shin and the tongue/upper cuff of the ski boot takes place. This intermittent contact usually continues through the duration of your ski...
why does a runny nose cause a burning sensation on the upper lip and skin around the nostrils?	That's mostly after you've wiped because after so many times your skin gets irritated. At least that's what a doctor told me once, it's not the runny nose it's just the constant wiping	[ "Inhaling the vapor causes symptoms that begin in the upper airway and expand to the lower airway. Increased concentrations cause worse symptoms. Mild inhalation exposure causes rhinorrhea (runny nose), sneezing, barking cough (a harsh cough that sounds somewhat like a dog barking), epistaxis (nosebleed), dyspnea (...
what is hormone exactly? how did the first people discover the existence of hormones? [biology]	Hormones are chemical signals. Every cell contains a variety of proteins. Proteins are the things in the cell that do things. They break down some chemicals, build other chemicals, break down some things to build other things, release energy, store energy... Proteins generally work by passive activity. Keep in mind t...	[ "A hormone is any of a class of signaling molecules produced by glands in multicellular organisms that are transported by the circulatory system to target distant organs to regulate physiology and behaviour. Hormones have diverse chemical structures, mainly of 3 classes: eicosanoids, steroids, and amino acid/protei...
if your car is constantly running with gasoline in it why is it dangerous to gas up with the car running?	Gasoline is flammable, gasoline vapors are explosive. There is a risk of static electricity when you’re filling up your car and the air from the fuel tank is voided when the tank is filled. This air/vapor could explode although it’s unlikely. Most fuel pumps have a vapor return system to prevent emissions and it sucks ...	[ "The company also said that conventional gasoline-powered cars were much more vulnerable to such a situation, because they have less underbody protection. It also noted that the battery pack holds only about 10% of the energy contained in a gasoline tank and is spread across 16 firewalled modules, meaning that the ...
cults and how people get actually get persuaded to join one. i just don't get it.	They prey on people who are depressed, friendless, and feel like they don't belong, and they give them something to believe in and be an important part of. They make them feel welcome, which is something that all human beings desperately need. When you are already lonely and have bad social skills, your bullshit detec...	[ "By sociological typology, \"cults\" are, like sects, new religious groups. But, unlike sects, they can form without breaking off from another religious group, though this is by no means always the case. The characteristic that most distinguishes cults from sects is that they are not advocating a return to \"pure\"...
Was "Boob Armour" ever a real thing?	If it was ever used in real combat, it would have been quite uncommon. To my understanding, accentuating the breasts in armor creates a large weak point in the cleavage which can be punctured easily. However, there is one example of "boob plate" I could find, dating from the 17th century in India. _URL_0_ It would ap...	[ "The Boogey Man is prominently featured as the main villain in the television movie \"Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure\" where he testified against Grim in front of the Underworld Court. After getting his old nemesis fired from his position as reaper, he volunteers to take Grim and his accomplices out for a sai...
To what extent can a psychosomatic disorder make you physically ill?	Walter Cannon made some research on "voodoo deaths", cases of psychosomatic symptoms so severe that they cause death. It seems from the [Wikipedia article](_URL_1_) that there is some merit to this, but the only [paper of his](_URL_0_) that I could find seems to be behind some kind of geographical/pay wall. It seems h...	[ "The strongest perspective on psychosomatic disorders is that attempting to distinguish between purely physical and mixed psychosomatic disorders is increasingly obsolete as almost all physical illness have mental factors that determine their onset, presentation, maintenance, susceptibility to treatment, and resolu...
Can electricity arc in a vacuum?	Arcing is what happens when you ionise a chain of molecules (separate one or more of the electrons from the rest of the atom) and electricity can flow through the now conductive medium. As air pressure drops arcing changes character. The lower the pressure the more time any electron that is separated from either the e...	[ "A vacuum arc can arise when the surfaces of metal electrodes in contact with a good vacuum begin to emit electrons either through heating (thermionic emission) or in an electric field that is sufficient to cause field electron emission. Once initiated, a vacuum arc can persist, since the freed particles gain kinet...
if panic attacks contract muscles, which lead to unwanted chest pain and other ghost pains, would muscle relaxants be a viable counter to panic attacks?	They’d probably only help with some of the physical symptoms. Even then, they take a little while to kick in, while panic attacks can have very different lengths. Benzos are better since they relax both the mind and the body, instead of just the body, and also take effect quicker (depending on the specific medication, ...	[ "Treatment of panic attacks should be directed at the underlying cause. In those with frequent attacks, counselling or medications may be used. Breathing training and muscle relaxation techniques may also help. Those affected are at a higher risk of suicide.\n", "Comparative clinical studies suggest that muscle r...
when a game gets remastered do they completely rebuild it in a new engine or do they use the old game files and simply update the graphics?	Former game developer here, & #x200B; There is the dream that they will repurpose as much material as possible. But consider an older game on an older, different platform was likely written specifically for that platform. Portability would approach zero. The studio would likely start with an engine that already runs...	[ "Development on \"Remastered\" began shortly following the release of \"The Last of Us\" in June 2013. Though initially under light development, the team began working harder on \"Remastered\" when they saw the demand for it; work on the game's code did not begin until a larger team was introduced to \"Remastered\"...
marginal benefit vs marginal cost	Any time you are talking about something happening "at the margin" or being "marginal" you are basically talking about the very last one in a series. For example, imagine you run a toy factory. To do that, you need to pay $100 a day in rent and utilities. You run the machines yourself, so there is no labor cost, and...	[ "In economics, marginal cost is the change in the total cost that arises when the quantity produced is incremented by one unit; that is, it is the cost of producing one more unit of a good. Intuitively, marginal cost at each level of production includes the cost of any additional inputs required to produce the next...
why are nutritional facts based on a 2,000 calorie diet when that's well below the average for humans?	That is the nutritional need for the average medium activity person to maintain a healthy weight. If you are highly physically active or need to put on weight or muscle you will have higher needs, and if you are trying to lose weight or are highly inactive you will have smaller needs. So in example: a soldier, high p...	[ "Scientists have discovered that foods differ considerably in their expected satiety. One estimate suggests that there may be a six-fold difference in commonly consumed foods (in the UK), when they are compared calorie for calorie. This range of variation is important because expected satiety is thought to be a goo...
Do widespread large forest fires cool the earth similarly to a volcanic eruption?	The reason volcanoes cause temporary (sometimes global) cooling is pyroclastic ash being shot vertically all of the way into the stratosphere blocks some of the sun's incoming solar radiation. Volcanoes that blow their sides out upon eruption, effusive eruptions, or forest fires would likely not reach the stratosphere...	[ "In dense forests (e.g., tropical rainforests), land use change and deforestation sharply increase the risk of wildfire by opening the forest canopy and thus reducing humidity and fuel moisture of surface fuels, and by targeted ignitions during otherwise low-lightning dry periods. This has been clearly demonstrated...
Outside of Fecal Transplants, Is There Any Recorded Evidence of Permanent Recolonization of The Gut With So-Called 'Good Bacteria'?	The opinion article from the journal Nature that the OP's article cites is speaking specifically about the consequences of antibiotic treatment in children. Interestingly, work published in Anaerobe in December 2011 ([Pubmed link](_URL_3_)) found that infants that are formula fed have a more diverse gut microbiota...	[ "One hypothesis behind fecal microbiota transplant rests on the concept of bacterial interference, i.e., using harmless bacteria to displace pathogenic organisms, such as by competitive niche exclusion. In the case of CDI, the \"C. difficile\" pathogen is identifiable. Recently, in a pilot study of five patients, s...
why media can produce news with out double checking the source or just spread misleading information?	Because we have freedom of expression. The ultimate decider is the public. If they don't like how a news outlet does business, they won't go there for news any more, and soon that outlet will be out of business.	[ "BULLET::::- Explanation: Spread of information has become viral today, because of the Internet. This also means that false news or rumors can spread speedily through social networking sites or emails. Being involved in the circulation of incorrect information is unethical. Mails and pop-ups are commonly used to sp...
Gun laws in Prussia?	It depends a lot on when in time you want to have an answer from - you have to realise that Prussia existed 1701-1871, with Brandenburg and Ducal Prussia/the Teutonic Order as predecessors and Prussa as a state in the Empire of Germany as a successor. Most people in Prussia were serfs (until 1807) or tenants (after 180...	[ "The result, the \"Regulation about use of weapons by the military and its participation in suppression of domestic unrest\", was issued by the Kaiser on March 19. It forbade the Prussian army from intervening without authorization in areas of civilian responsibility. Instead, the civilian authorities had to reques...
how does an aircraft carrier store enough food and water to feed 6,000 crewman and still have room for other military related hardware?	1. they are _gigantic_. 2. they get resupplied. 3. nuclear aircraft carriers use their nuclear power to desalinate sea water.	[ "The \"General Frank S. Besson\"-class Logistics Support Vessels (LSV) are the largest powered watercraft in the United States Army, and are designed to give the Army a global strategic capability to deliver its vehicles and cargo.\n", "The ships have a capacity to transport up to 48 TEU or 2,280 tons vehicles/ge...
why did the wars of the ancient times happen, like the why did they do battling. why?	To use an analogy: Let's say you and some other kids are on the playground. You tend to stay in one place, and everyone else tends to stay in their place. This should work out, right? Well, the first problem is when this one kid decides he wants to build a big sand castle. But he doesn't have enough sand in his littl...	[ "Ancient warfare is war as conducted from the beginnings of recorded history to the end of the ancient period. In Europe and the Near East, the end of antiquity is often equated with the Fall of Rome in 476 AD, the wars of the Eastern Roman Empire on its Southwestern Asian and North African borders, and the beginni...
How does rabies "travel along nerves"?	I'm a biochemist in an unrelated field, but your question piqued my interest, so I went to PubMed while I am waiting on the autoclave. Maybe these can add to the discussion before someone more familiar with rabies sees this thread. I found a really interesting recent paper about using part of the virus to deliver drug...	[ "From the wound of entry, \"Rabies lyssavirus\" travels quickly along the neural pathways of the peripheral nervous system. The retrograde axonal transport of \"Rabies lyssavirus\" to the CNS (Central Nervous System) is the key step of pathogenesis during natural infection. The exact molecular mechanism of this tra...
Can 5 Hour Energy Be Used on a day to day basis instead of coffee?	My guess is that there have been no major peer-reviewed studies on the effects of a specific energy drink. Even for a major beverage like, coffee its difficult to quickly list health dangers (and potentially even health benefits). A very quick (under 5 minute) literature search, shows some studies that indicate mild ...	[ "In December 2012, Consumer Reports published an article on 27 energy drinks including 5-hour Energy, which compared the caffeine content of the 27 drinks. Caffeine levels in 5-hour Energy are: Decaf (6 mg), Original (215 mg), and Extra Strength (242 mg). The publication also reviewed a double blind study and repor...
Is it common to have a different hair and facial hair colours?	Hey, I have the same exact thing! Dutch by-chance?	[ "A study from 2013 for prediction of hair and eye colour from DNA of the Greek people showed that the self-reported phenotype frequencies according to hair and eye colour categories was as follows: 119 individuals – hair colour, 11 blond, 45 dark blond/light brown, 49 dark brown, 3 brown red/auburn and 11 had black...
Can you prevent a sonic boom when travelling supersonic?	To some extent, yes! While you can't completely eliminate the sonic boom created by an object moving at supersonic speeds, you can reduce its impact though something called Sonic Boom Shaping. NASA has [already demonstrated that the concept is viable](_URL_1_) with a test flight in 2003, and [commercial aircraft ...	[ "Sonic booms due to large supersonic aircraft can be particularly loud and startling, tend to awaken people, and may cause minor damage to some structures. They led to prohibition of routine supersonic flight over land. Although they cannot be completely prevented, research suggests that with careful shaping of the...
What's with elements 113-118 on Periodic Table of Elements? Why do some have 3 letters and start with "Unun-"?	When a newly-discovered element has not been properly named yet, it's given a temporary name which is just a "Latin-ish" statement of the atomic number. For example "ununoctium" is element 118.	[ "The oldest periodic table is the short form table (columns I–VIII) by Dmitri Mendeleev, which shows secondary chemical kinships. For example, the alkali metals and the coinage metals (copper, silver, gold) are in the same column because both groups tend to have a valence of one. This format is still used by many, ...
Can birth control "save up" eggs and extend the menopausal age?	[Women who use oral contraception $or those with multiple pregnancies$](_URL_2_) do tend to have slightly d[elayed onset of menopause](_URL_0_) - however, this is [not the direct 1:1, dose response relationship you might expect](_URL_1_). This is because onset of menopause is due to more factors than just the number...	[ "In teenagers, pregnancies are at greater risk of poor outcomes. Comprehensive sex education and access to birth control decreases the rate of unwanted pregnancies in this age group. While all forms of birth control can generally be used by young people, long-acting reversible birth control such as implants, IUDs, ...
A recent /r/BestOf submission claims that snowshoes made roughly 100 years ago in the Native American tradition are better than modern snowshoes - is this true? How do they compare to tools brought to North America by immigrants from other snowy regions?	Nope. It's not true. They're beautiful, and you will find folks singing their praises-- they're elegant like a wooden canoe, or a cedar strip kayak > Sometimes, the Ancients design the perfect piece of gear that cannot be improved upon. Traditional snowshoes are an exquisite functional thing of beauty, and they ar...	[ "Outside of indigenous populations and some competitions such as Arctic Winter Games, very few of the old-fashioned snowshoes are actually used by enthusiasts anymore, although some value them for the artisanship involved in their construction. They are sometimes seen as decorations, mounted on walls or on mantels ...
Does the volume of excess solvent affect the rate at which a solute is dissolved?	Yes. Diffusion is driven by a chemical potential gradient. The larger the gradient the faster the diffusion. In the case of excess solvent, as compared to less solvent, the concentration of solute in solution is small so the chemical potential gradient is high. Since the gradient is high, the rate of mass transfer...	[ "When a solute dissolves, it may form several species in the solution. For example, an aqueous suspension of ferrous hydroxide, , will contain the series [(OH)] as well as other species. Furthermore, the solubility of ferrous hydroxide and the composition of its soluble components depend on pH. In general, solubili...
Why is the definition of mass not "quantity of matter"?	The prototype kilogram isn't meant to be a fundamental definition of mass, but rather something that is easily reproducible (you just need a copy of the brick). You could define a kilogram as a certain number of silicon atoms , but that's harder to reproduce. For most purposes, the mass of an object is just the sum of...	[ "In the context of relativity, mass is not an additive quantity, in the sense that one can not add the rest masses of particles in a system to get the total rest mass of the system. Thus, in relativity usually a more general view is that it is not the sum of rest masses, but the energy–momentum tensor that quantifi...
If gold is so heavy why didn't all of it end up in the core when the Earth was formed?	Actually, the density of the inner core is around 12.8-13.1 g/cm^3 , which is higher than either of it's two main constituents nickel and iron. This leads us to think that the core has heavier components like gold, platinum, and other [siderophile](_URL_0_) elements. The important thing to note here is the differen...	[ "The vast majority of the Earth's gold and other heavy metals are locked up in the earth's core. Evidence from tungsten isotope studies indicates that most gold in the crust is derived from gold in the mantle which resulted from a meteorite bombardment some 3900 million years ago (i.e. at approximately the time tha...
What are the reasons for the lack of certain armaments in Feudal Japanese warfare?	Well the reason is the same for all three actually. Prior to the Sengoku period, most of the warring done in Japan was done by professional warriors who fought as horse mounted archers. Up close and personal fighting was incredibly rare and you need two hands to fire the bow, so that eliminates the Javelin and the shi...	[ "The Mongol invasions of Japan in the 13th century spurred further evolution of the Japanese sword. Often forced to abandon traditional mounted archery for hand-to-hand combat, many samurai found that their swords were too delicate and prone to damage when used against the thick leather armor of the invaders. In re...
What causes phosphorescence in the ocean?	It's bioluminescent algae. Dinoflagelates, more precisely. They're little critters floating in the water that emit light when disturbed. Very awesome to see in person and very much not an optical illusion. _URL_0_ Phosphorescence is not quite the right term as it requires an input of light to release a different...	[ "A pycnocline is the cline or layer where the density gradient () is greatest within a body of water. An ocean current is generated by the forces such as breaking waves, temperature and salinity differences, wind, Coriolis effect, and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun. In addition, the ...
Are there more types of electromagnetic radiation that we are incapable of detecting?	The longest wavelength radiation ever detected is known as [Shumann resonances.](_URL_1_) They can occur as low at 8Hz, which corresponds to a wavelength of about 3 times the diameter of Earth. On the other end of the spectrum, cosmic ray particles have been detected with energies up to 10^20 eV, which corresponds to...	[ "There are several ground-based methods of detecting cosmic rays currently in use, which can be divided in two main categories: the detection of secondary particles forming extensive air showers (EAS) by various types of particle detectors, and the detection of electromagnetic radiation emitted by EAS in the atmosp...
Why do pure elements reflect only certain wavelengths of light?	You are asking a more specific version of a rather general question. Wikipedia will not lead you astray. _URL_0_	[ "The selective absorption of infrared (IR) light by a particular material occurs because the selected frequency of the light wave matches the frequency (or an integer multiple of the frequency) at which the particles of that material vibrate. Since different atoms and molecules have different natural frequencies of...
do planes have to keep tilting down for long flights to make up for the earth's curvature?	No. Gravity is pulling them down while the lift from the wings is pushing them up. They stay at a constant height above the surface of the planet.	[ "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...
What happened to the Caucasians in Central Asia?	'Mongoloid' people migrated into Central Asia from further east, and mixed with the native 'Caucasoid' people. Most Central Asians have essentially become a mixed-race people, and so in all the Stans, as well as in Xinjiang, you will see both 'Mongoloid'-looking people and 'Caucasoid'-looking people.	[ "Today, many Central Asian populations are an amalgamation of various peoples such as Mongols, Turkics, and Iranians. The Mongol invasion of Central Asia in 13th century resulted in the massacre of the population of Iranians and other Indo-European peoples as well as a large degree of intermarriage and assimilation...
how can websites offer a free stream for (e.g.) a sports game without it being taken offline	They do get taken out and the pirates keep hosting them on different servers.	[ "The website is free due to advertising sponsorships but during a game, it produces commercials that can last up to 20 seconds. Players are strongly encouraged to sign up for Club Pogo, a subscription service. The enticement to do so is the offer of premium benefits and the omission of the advertisements that would...
Has any society in the last 1000 years ever successfully operated as a "cashless" society?	There are entire regions today that don't use currency. All of the Amazon that is still left to indigenous peoples, for instance. Before the 19th century moneyless economies were very widespread indeed. When European administrators and anthropologists started exploring new their new colonies they often ran into the ...	[ "A cashless society describes an economic state whereby financial transactions are not conducted with money in the form of physical banknotes or coins, but rather through the transfer of digital information (usually an electronic representation of money) between the transacting parties. Cashless societies have exis...
the explanation of basic logic	For really really basic logic: Things can be true or not true. Forget about maybes for now. Sometimes statements are assigned a variable letter - by convention, a capital letter. This can make them easier to reference. For example, we might have the sentence "Reddit is a website" = A or "Websites are on the inter...	[ "Logic models are hypothesized descriptions of the chain of causes and effects (see Causality) leading to an outcome of interest (e.g. prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, annual traffic collision, etc). While they can be in a narrative form, logic model usually take form in a graphical depiction of the \"if-then...
Was the Second Amendment unique to the US in the 1700s or did other countries in Europe have similar constitutional amendments?	England had a Bill of Rights that had a similar provision to the Second Amendment. In 1689, the English Parilament made a law in resopnse to the acts of King James the Second. James was a Catholic (and as of the time of writing was the last Catholic King of England) in the mostly Protestant England. In his short reign,...	[ "Four of the next five states to ratify, including New Hampshire, Virginia, and New York, included similar language in their ratification instruments. As a result, once the Constitution became operative in 1789, Congress sent a set of twelve amendments to the states. Ten of these amendments were immediately ratifie...
why are personal aircraft so expensive? is it parts/construction or is it because it's a luxury item?	A few reasons, the main one being FAA certification and relatively low volume. Similar to like how all cars must be crash tested on the road and how safety items on your car must have NHTSA certification all the expensive parts of an airplane who's failure could lead to a crash require FAA certification. This is one ...	[ "Luxury cars costing over (as of 2007) can be considered as \"ultra-luxury cars\". Examples include the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Maybach 57 and Bentley Arnage. Exotic cars which are targeted towards performance rather than luxury are not usually classified as ultra-luxury cars, even when their cost is greater than .\n"...
Why does the partial pressure of water vapor not decrease in line with atmospheric pressure?	The actual pressure of a vapor above a liquid is dependent on temperature (thermodynamic/equilibrium) and also on kinetics and mass availability. In the upper atmosphere the partial pressure of oxygen is controlled by the mass available. If you cut the total pressure in half, then the partial pressure of oxygen will al...	[ "When water vapor pressure is increased, the oxide growth rate is increased. According to the model of Deal and Grove[4], the growth rate of the oxide layer is directly related to the effective diffusion coefficient of the water molecules into the oxide layer and the equilibrium concentration in the immediate area....
Was Franco's Spain considered Fascist by most historians?	There is a debate on the subject. It generally comes down to how one defines "fascist." One thing that isn't up for debate is that Franco was supported by Spain's fascist party--the Falange. While the Falange's election returns in 1936 were abysmal (I don't recall the percentage that Preston gave, [this wikipedia ...	[ "Although Franco and Spain under his rule adopted some trappings of fascism, he, and Spain under his rule, are generally not considered to be fascist; among the distinctions, fascism entails a revolutionary aim to transform society, where Franco did not seek to do so, and, to the contrary, although authoritarian, h...
why do lights that are out of focus in a camera appear to be polygons?	The blades of the aperture diaphragm form the shape (typically 6-9 sides), and the effects grow as lights go out of focus. Good lenses have more blades which are curved, giving a (nearly) round shape instead. This is a significant factor in fast SLR lenses.	[ "There are artifacts that can occur when using an anamorphic camera lens that do not occur when using an ordinary spherical lens. One is a kind of lens flare that has a long horizontal line, usually with a blue tint, and is most often visible when there is a bright light in the frame, such as from car headlights, i...
Do fish go pee?	Yes they do. They have an excretory system including kidneys and excretory ducts but it fuctions differently from land animals. For example fishes excrete ammonia while land animals mostly excrete urea or uric acid because they don't have to worry about dilute ammonia since fishes are already surrounding with water. A...	[ "This species of fish was once used for human pregnancy tests. Female specimens were injected with the urine of the woman to be tested. If the woman was pregnant, the hormones in the urine would cause the fish's ovipositors to protrude.\n", "Physostomes are fishes that have a pneumatic duct connecting the gas bla...
Louis XVI's execution... why was it necessary?	The real repression aimed at royalists wouldn't start for a few months, but generally those who were elected to the national convention were more republican than royalist. After all, they did condemn him unanimously. If he had been inactive, I don't think anyone would have bothered with him. He wouldn't have been rem...	[ "The execution of Louis XVI by means of the guillotine, a major event of the French Revolution, took place on 21 January 1793 at the \"Place de la Révolution\" (\"Revolution Square\", formerly \"Place Louis XV\", and renamed \"Place de la Concorde\" in 1795) in Paris. The National Convention had convicted the king ...
why is the island of oahu the most developed island in the hawaiian chain? why not the big island?	The first king to unite all the islands, Kamehameha the Great moved to Honolulu after conquering Oahu. The nearby harbor was a hub for trade and whaling. In the middle of the 1800s, Kamehameha the 3rd moved the capitol of Hawaii from Maui to Honolulu on Oahu. The establishment of the Naval base at Pearl Harbor and its ...	[ "The Island of Oahu in Hawaii is often nicknamed (or translated as) \"\"The Gathering Place\"\". This makes sense because Oahu is the most populated Hawaiian Island. In ancient times, however, Oahu was not populous and was outranked by the status of other islands. The translation of \"\"gathering place\"\" was sugg...
how do cpu transistors physically read data?	Not exactly an ELI5, but I did watch a great youtube series of a guy making an 8bit computer from basic logic gates, and it really helped me understand at a more basic level how computers work. Ben Eater on youtube, or _URL_0_ might be worth looking into.	[ "Media Auxiliary Memory or Medium Auxiliary Memory (MAM) refers to a chip embedded into a digital media device (usually a tape cartridge) that stores a small amount of data or metadata that a computer can read without having to read the actual tape.\n", "The main memory of modern computers is constructed from one...
when starting a diet/exercise regimen, why do you lose the first few pounds much quicker than the later ones?	Usually "water weight" comes off first. People tend to cut carbs and sugars, which causes your body to use up glycogen, which is stored with water. Also, I think people have a tendency to be very rigid trackers with their diet and exercise in the beginning, then regulate their approach a bit as they move on.	[ "Fad diets tend to result in losing small amounts of weight, usually mostly water, in the first few days or weeks. Afterwards, the weight is almost invariably regained. According to Boston University School of Medicine, 98% of people who lose weight regain it within 5 years. Many diets fail to produce lasting weigh...
how exactly do campaign donations to politicians get used? where does that money actually go?	The expenses of the campaign include paying staffers, running ads on tv, radio and internet, travel expenses for the candidate and staff, renting venues for rallies, and all expenses associated with said rallies. I expect there is more that they have to pay for, but there's a start.	[ "Funds for party activity (be it campaigning or routine operations) can be solicited via \"grassroots fundraising\" as party membership dues or other voluntary contributions from individuals (e.g. direct mail fundraising) or as \"plutocratic funding\" from wealthy people and/ or the business community as corporate ...
when my usps tracking info doesn't update for days at a time, what is my package actually doing? is it really just sitting in a mail room somewhere? why can't they just throw it on a mail truck/plane heading my direction?	There's no good way to tell. The tracking info only updates when someone scans it at a location. If they forget to scan it, or there is some delay in getting that info posted to the tracking info, it may appear to be stationary. Or it may actually be stationary. If it's scheduled to take a week or more to ship it to yo...	[ "To identify the location of the mail, two methods have been used. One approach involves reporting the arrival or departure of the package and recording the identity of the package, the location, the time, and the status. This approach has been used for package tracking provided by the delivery companies, such as D...
How many WW1 veteranes served in the beginning of WW2?	I don't think people realize just how close both World Wars were to one another. After WWI came to an end, Europe was thrust back into war after only 21 years, while the United States managed to avoid another war for 23 years. Imagine another World War erupting in 1987 then another one erupting in 2010. But to answer y...	[ "This is a list of the last World War I veterans to die by country. The last living veteran of World War I was Florence Green, a British citizen who served in the Allied armed forces, and who died 4 February 2012, aged 110. The last combat veteran was Claude Choules who served in the British Royal Navy (and later t...
do animals such as dogs or cats that can see in the dark just assume that humans can too?	My cats look at me like I stepped on them on purpose.	[ "Nocturnal creatures are having an arms race. Their weapons are not offensive or defensive, but espionage equipment. Some use night vision and take full advantage of the moon and the stars in low light, while others use fine-tuned smell and touch senses. There are animals whose ears are more sensitive than any micr...
why do we cry/tear up when our eyebrows/eyelashes/nosehairs are plucked?	There are many nerves in the face, this picture has parts sized according to how sensitive they are: _URL_0_ The nose clearly isn't that big but nonetheless the entire face has far more nerves than parts of the torso. A hair being pulled is registered as painful but on the torso there aren't as many nerves as on the f...	[ "Tears are produced by the lacrimal gland, situated just outside the eye. Blinking the eyelids distributes the tears to keep the eyes moist, clean and lubricated. Excess tears are drained via the punctum through the tiny channels called canaliculi located on the inner side of the eyes into the tear sac, from there ...
Can someone explain what "familial risk" means in terms of cancer?	Familial risk means the chance of the bad thing happening above regular rates because it "runs" in the family somehow. Really, this means that family members get the bad thing at a higher than normal rate, as a group. The incidence for family members is high compared to people in general. It is not at all obvious why...	[ "As PNP is ultimately caused by the presence of a tumor, it is not contagious. There is no known way to predict who will become afflicted with it. Patients with cancer are therefore a group at risk. Although PNP has been known to affect all age groups, it is more likely to afflict middle-aged to older patients.\n",...
If our sun were in a dwarf galaxy orbiting a much larger spiral galaxy, would the main galaxy appear like a Hubble image in the night sky?	Yes, but it would not be as bright as the picture you linked. It would have a brightness similar to that of the Milkyway.	[ "Further study using the Hubble Space Telescope has shown it to be a solitary irregular dwarf galaxy. The galaxy is between 22 and 24 million light years from Earth, and so is not close to the Andromeda Galaxy at all. The galaxy is severely isolated. The Holmberg diameter is 1880 parsecs, but neutral atomic hydroge...
Are the nucleuses of a particular element structurally identical?	Two carbon-12 nuclei in the ground state (or the same excited state) are fundamentally indistinguishable. However if you have one nucleus at some energy level E1 and another nucleus of the same species in energy level E2 (where E1 =/= E2), you will be able to tell them apart. For example they will have different masses...	[ "The composition of an atomic nucleus is determined by the number of protons \"Z\" and the number of neutrons \"N\", which sum to mass number \"A\". The atomic number \"Z\" determines the position of an element in the periodic table, but the more than 3000 nuclides are commonly represented in a chart with \"Z\" and...
what's all this lately with chris christie and "bridgegate"?	Christie was expected to win an election. A town mayor didn't endorse him. Christie won anyway, as expected. Christie staffers jammed up a townie bridge to "get back" at that town mayor who didn't endorse Christie. eMail messages got leaked out. Christie fired a few people. On the sidelines... Some folks want Christi...	[ "Since his retirement, Christie worked as a presenter on the BBC programmes \"Record Breakers\" and \"Garden Invaders\", and also had a contract with BBC Sport. He has spent less time as a public figure and has devoted most of his time to managing his company. In 2000 he made his acting debut in the BBC programme \...
In Europe, there are currently 12 monarchies. Two questions: (i) How did the larger ones (the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain) move from absolute monarchs to effectively powerless monarchs (ii) Why did they not get rid of monarchs entirely like other states had done?	The very, very short answer to why they're still around is because no one saw fit to overthrow them. The English monarch lost power gradually but England still has a significant aristocratic faction. In the odd man out case, the Spanish monarch was reinstated in a fit of historical pride following fascism. On the other...	[ "During the nineteenth century many small monarchies in Europe merged with other territories to form larger entities, and following World War I and World War II, many monarchies were abolished, but of those remaining all except Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Vatican City and Monaco were headed by a king or que...
at this point, could we just recycle 100% of our materials such as plastic and paper instead of producing new stuff?	No, most materials don't recycle perfectly, in that the recycled material is of lower quality than new material. For example, paper is made of wood mashed into lots of little fibers that are pressed into sheets, and the intertwining of those fibers holds the paper together. Each time some paper is recycled, a bunch of ...	[ "Some researchers have proposed incinerating plastics to use as energy, which is known as energy recovery. As opposed to losing the energy from plastics into the atmosphere in landfills, this process turns some of the plastics back into energy that can be used. However, as opposed to recycling, this method does not...
What is the objective consensus about Jesus actually existing and miracles claimed to be performed in Biblical times?	Hi, fyi, you can get started with a few posts here * FAQ section [Did Jesus exist?](_URL_0_)	[ "Christians in general believe that Jesus' miracles were actual historical events and that his miraculous works were an important part of his life, attesting to his divinity and the Hypostatic union, i.e., the dual natures of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis. Christians believe that while Jesus' exp...
methods used by scientists to come close to absolute zero.	When scientists talk about cooling something to really really close to absolute zero, they are almost always talking about lowering the average energy in a bunch of atoms. On the scales, we're talking about, the "temperature" is really just a measurement of how much shaking and moving the individual atoms are doing, ...	[ "Absolute zero cannot be achieved, although it is possible to reach temperatures close to it through the use of cryocoolers, dilution refrigerators, and nuclear adiabatic demagnetization. The use of laser cooling has produced temperatures less than a billionth of a kelvin. At very low temperatures in the vicinity o...
Why is sucralose not recognised as a carbohydrate by the body?	The body doesn't really 'recognize' anything as a 'carbohydrate'. The body does recognize sucralose as something structurally similar to sucrose, as it tastes sweet. So obviously, the sweetness receptor is able to bind sucralose. However, it is also true that sucrase is not able to enzymatically promote the hydrolys...	[ "Carbohydrases are produced in the pancreas and salivary glands, breaking down polysaccharides. This is because complex sugars are often insoluble (such as starch), and therefore breaking them down will make it easier for the sugars to be absorbed into the blood, through the wall of the small intestine. A carbohydr...
why guys with diesel pickup trucks leave them idling all the time vs. turning them off.	Diesel engines works best when warm and may even refuse to start in even mildly cold weather. The diesel fuel is ignited by the heat generated by compression instead of a spark. So if the engine is cold and the fuel is cold then it will take more heat to ignite it causing it to run rough. Most diesel engines will not e...	[ "Diesel Truckers is a studio album by American hip hop duo the Diesel Truckers, composed of New York-based rapper and producer Kool Keith and Californian DJ/producer KutMasta Kurt. It was released on August 10, 2004 via Dmaft Records and was produced by Keith and Kurt themselves. The project spawned three singles: ...
how does a pond get stocked with fish, snails, eels and all the flora to assist in a healthy aquatic environment?	Most ponds form with a water source going into them and a water source heading out. Fish can travel along this water source into the pond, and leave it in the same manner. There are also species of fish, such as the lungfish, can “walk” over land from one pond to another. That’s not to say all ponds have that aquatic e...	[ "To tap all available food sources in the pond, the aquaculturist chooses fish species that occupy different places in the pond ecosystem, e.g., a filter algae feeder such as tilapia, a benthic feeder such as carp or [catfish, and a zooplankton feeder (various carps) or submerged weeds feeder such as grass carp.\n"...
What were the effects on the Volga River basin due to the easy access to Iran?	Interesting question. To be honest, I don't have a good answer. There are some things I'd like to add though: * The Rus' were known to raid the Iranian Caspian coast. I know it's Wikipedia but [this article](_URL_0_) is surprisingly good. * Volga Bulgaria, a state that existed in what is today part of the Russian Re...	[ "The Russian government's interest in improvement of the waterways between the Caspian basin and that of the Azov and Black Seas - which may or may not involve the Eurasia Canal route - is due to the increasing volume of cargo traffic between the Volga-Caspian basin and European countries, as well as the inadequacy...
flair:Physics If colliding matter and antimatter can annihilate each other to produce a photon, how is momentum conserved when photons are massless?	Photons still have momentum, despite not having mass. In fact, all their energy is due to momentum. Momentum=mass x velocity is just a low velocity approximation that breaks down in relativistic cases.	[ "To illustrate the significance of these formulae, the annihilation of a particle with its antiparticle in free space must result in the creation of at least \"two\" photons for the following reason. In the center of momentum frame, the colliding antiparticles have no net momentum, whereas a single photon always ha...

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