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Dear r/AskHistorians, if you were to create a timeline for the 20th century what events, discoveries, movements, etc, do you think would have to be included to give a proper representation of the century.	Here are some suggestions for a 20th century timeline. It majors on technology, economy, diplomacy and social movements. Does not cover wars, culture or arts. 1903 – First powered flight, the Wright Brothers 1905 – Einstein’s theory of special relativity 1908 – First Model T Ford – mass market motoring and the as...	[ "The 20th century was dominated by a chain of events that heralded significant changes in world history as to redefine the era: flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nuclear power and space exploration, nationalism and decolonization, the Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts; intergovernmental organizations a...
why are the moans of women such strong sexual triggers in men, and is it the same for women or the same sex?	the book Sex at Dawn (a good read) postulates that humans developed from a nomadic society that pretty much reproduced through massive orgies, essentially. The moaning of women developed to be a trigger to get other men turned on and get them in on the action, so to speak. I'm not sure what evidence they offered up to ...	[ "Gayle Brewer of the University of Central Lancashire and Colin Hendrie of the University of Leeds made a similar research with women, that shows that women also do scream often during intercourse as an encouragement for their partner to do \"a better job\".\n", "On the other hand, recent studies have indicated t...
Was there detailed ranks in the Roman Empire's armies? If so, what were they?	I'm assuming you're looking for ranks below the officer grades in the army under the Empire? A soldier would start as a recruit (tiro) for a period of 4 months at which point he took the oath and became a full soldier (miles). As a miles there were several grades that determined things like pay and fatigues:...	[ "Rank - Rank is an important factor in the Roman Army and one that is clearly visible in death. Examples exist showing the rank and file of the legions and auxiliary units, but also of centurions, standard-bearers, \"bene ficarii\" – units attached to the legatus's bodyguard and armourers,\n", "The use of formali...
Is there a root of eastern culture like we tend to think of the West with the Greeks?	Unfortunately, there's no answer to your question because "eastern culture" and "western culture" are not meaningful terms. When you say Eastern are you referring to South East Asia, the Middle East, Indonesia? The "east" is not a monolith and the culture is not universally shared by all of those regions of the world. ...	[ "Influenced by earlier Ancient Near Eastern civilizations, Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of many elements of Western culture, including the development of a democratic system of government and major advances in philosophy, science and mathematics. The expansion of Greek culture into the Hellenistic wo...
Does your metabolism speed up when you are injured (i.e. bruise, cut, broken bone)?	A wound or injury is far from a static thing. A lot of cells will be implicated, like macrophages that will mount the inflammatory reaction (which is highly beneficial to counter bacterial infections by the way) and cleaning the debris left by dead cells for example. You will have plaquettes that reform the blood vesse...	[ "Various organ systems respond to injury to restore homeostasis by maintaining perfusion to the heart and brain. Inflammation after injury occurs to protect against further damage and starts the healing process. Prolonged inflammation may cause multiple organ dysfunction syndrome or systemic inflammatory response s...
why is it so challenging for developed nations to completely eliminate poverty?	Poverty is a moving target. As a country's standard of living increases, the standard for what is considered poverty also increases. Poverty is often defined relative to national averages, which means mathematically it can never be eliminated.	[ "Grondona, Harrison, and Lindsay all feel that at least some aspects of development-resistant cultures need to change in order to allow under-developed nations (and cultural minorities within developed nations) to develop effectively. According to their argument, poverty is fueled by cultural characteristics within...
Did any culture, other than the Jews, practice circumcision independently?	Yes, a number of other cultures have historically practiced circumcision. Muslims of course circumcise, though they may have been influenced by Judaism. A number of sub-saharan african societies practice circumcision. And a number of Pacific Island locations also have traditionally circumcised. More radically, some soc...	[ "Although Greco-Roman writers view circumcision as an identifying characteristic of Jews, they believed the practice to have originated in Egypt, and recorded it among peoples they identified as Arab, Syrian, Phoenician, Colchian, and Ethiopian; circumcision was a marker of \"the Other\". Diaspora Jews might circum...
/Why/ exactly are we landing the Curiosity on Mars? Besides it being awesome.	It's to look for life. More specifically, it's to look for signs of life on Mars that may have been there before the planet died. You might find this interesting. _URL_0_	[ "Curiosity is a car-sized rover designed to explore the crater Gale on Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL). \"Curiosity\" was launched from Cape Canaveral on November 26, 2011, at 15:02 UTC and landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale on Mars on August 6, 2012, 05:17 UTC. The Bradbury Landing sit...
Is there currently any consensus among historians as to whether or not the Cathars and the Cathar Church actually existed?	I'm not sure there is much to add to the comment noted by /u/jschooltiger. The older view of 'Catharism' as some monolithic entity seems to be gone among most commentators. (I don't know, maybe some of the older historians like Bernard Hamilton still supports this sort of view... I'm pretty sure I read a recent introdu...	[ "What is known of the Cathars largely comes in what is preserved by the critics in the Catholic Church which later destroyed them in the Albigensian Crusade. Alain de Lille, c.1195, accused the Cathars of believing in two gods - one of light, one of darkness. Durand de Huesca, responding to a Cathar tract c.1220 in...
What is the current consensus about the characteristics of spectrum of antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy? Genetics or environmental?	ASPD and psychopathy (the distinction between the two has become a bit blurrier with the [latest version of the DSM](_URL_0_)), as with other psychiatric disorders, likely involve a confluence of factors, both genetic and environmental. In fact, there are some researchers that believe that [part of the etiology is epig...	[ "Research into genetic associations in antisocial personality disorder is suggestive that ASPD has some or even a strong genetic basis. Prevalence of ASPD is higher in people related to someone afflicted by the disorder. Twin studies, which are designed to discern between genetic and environmental effects, have rep...
What did the Nazis use hair for in the upholstery industry?	It would have been used as a filling for upholstery, yes. While there are textiles that are woven with hair, they utilize horse or goat because of it's heavy weight and resistance to bending. Those fabrics are used in upholstery as well as things like tailoring, but human hair would not have the same needed qualities. ...	[ "Curtained hair and undercuts went out of style in the early 2000s, but underwent a revival in the early 2010s among hipsters and skaters who imitated the 1930s and 1940s version: longer with pomade in or swept to one side on top and shaved or clipped at the sides. At the time, although the style had many different...
What kinds of people did the Vikings take for slaves/thralls?	1. Mostly lower-class serfs, tenants and farmers in countries raided by vikings. Irish were common in Iceland, for example. There are instances of priests, monks and preachers taken as slaves to be used as some kind of novelty jester at the court or house of great men, and a bit of evidence of skilled craftsmen, althou...	[ "In the Viking era beginning circa 793, the Norse raiders often captured and enslaved militarily weaker peoples they encountered. The Nordic countries called their slaves \"thralls\" (Old Norse: \"Þræll\"). The thralls were mostly from Western Europe, among them many Franks, Frisians, Anglo-Saxons, and both Irish a...
why does bacteria grow more in moisture?	It's a medium that makes it easier to survive and move around. The moisture allows them to break down food for absorption, thus providing energy for them to reproduce.	[ "Similarly, duration of exposure to a moist environment also has an effect on disease severity. With the increase in time that inoculated plants were kept in a saturated moist environment, the disease severity also increased in a linear relationship. Ideal moisture exposure is 72 hours, which suggests that it takes...
Why do we breath hard when we physically exert ourselves?	That we exhale fat is only sort of true, and it's true for this reason: Fat is a bunch of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) in a chain, with a little bit of oxygen (O) in there too. We use inhaled oxygen in the process of breaking down fat to produce energy. The breakdown products of fat include carbon dioxide (CO2) and wa...	[ "Humans, like most mammals, breathe by \"negative pressure\" breathing: the rib cage expands and the diaphragm contracts, expanding the chest cavity. This causes the pressure in the chest cavity to decrease, and the lungs expand to fill the space. This, in turn, causes the pressure of the air inside the lungs to de...
How historically accurate is the new Broadway musical "Hamilton"?	Hiya! A question like this will generally get more/ more in-depth responses if you can specify which aspects of the story you're curious about. Meanwhile, there have been several questions on the musical here which can get you started * [I'm currently listening to the Cast Recording for the musical 'Hamilton'. What hi...	[ "Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung-and-rapped through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the 2004 biography \"Alexander Hamilton\" by historian Ron Chernow. Incorporating hip hop, R&B, pop, soul, traditional-sty...
What's to prevent an economic crash like the one in 1929 to happen again?	Partly, the answer is "it's totally still possible: look at Spain, where unemployment is now over 25%". But on a global level, it's harder (not impossible) for a great depression to happen. A lot of things went wrong in 1929. There was a big recession, and on top of that there was a bank run and stock market collapse....	[ "The crash of 1929 evolved in a panic situation due to people losing their savings. Therefore, a massive withdrawal of deposits of the banks took place leading to the bankruptcy of many entities. In 1933, a young prosecutor named Ferdinand Pecora, who was a member of the US Senate's Monetary and Financial Affairs C...
Are there any viable options to fossil fuel for the use in commercial aviation?	Unfortunately, not really. You're right that air travel has a pretty enormous effect [you can read about a bit here.](_URL_0_) * Hydrogen: this is the closest thing to being realizable in the near future. Big problem with hydrogen powered aircraft is that the energy density per volume is pretty lousy (4x worse t...	[ "Fuels such as sustainable aviation fuel have the advantage that few or no modifications are necessary on the aircraft itself, provided that the fuel characteristics meet specifications for lubricity and density as well as adequately swelling elastomer seals in current aircraft fuel systems. Sustainable aviation fu...
Could you take a look at this link and tell me why he's wrong? (re: Darwinism and evolution)	1. False dichotomy. 2. Straw man. 3. Ditto. These aren't actually separate concepts in evolutionary biology, they're concepts made up by creationists who don't understand biology. 5. [There's no 'missing link'](_URL_0_) 6. Did he just seriously claim that hominid fossils are actually bigfoot? 7. Yes he did. 8. He...	[ "On 19 January 2018, Satya Pal Singh publicly defied Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution and he claimed that \"Darwin's theory is scientifically wrong. ... Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, have said they saw an ape turning into a man\". He insisted that Darwin was wrong about evolution and the ...
What are the major obstacles to developing hydrogen fuel cells	Several obstacles to widespread adoption! First off hydrogen fuel cells are very sensitive devices. They require not only high pressure hydrogen, but very pure hydrogen. The slightest bit of CO will call a stack to fail since CO will easily stick to the catalysts. Low temperature fuel cells also require platinum as...	[ "Due to its clean-burning characteristics, hydrogen is one of the most promising fuel alternatives in the automotive industry. Hydrogen based fuel could significantly reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO, SO and NO. The three limiting factor for the use of hydrogen fuel cells (HFC) include efficiency...
why is the sapir-whorf hypothesis wrong?	There are strong and weak versions of the hypothesis. The strong form, often attributed to Sapir and Whorf themselves, says that the way a language is structured puts hard limits on the ways people can think. This is the concept behind things like George Orwell's Newspeak. It's also nearly universally dismissed as ...	[ "The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis is the basis for ideologically motivated linguistic prescriptivism. The hypothesis states that language use significantly shapes perceptions of the world and forms ideological preconceptions.\n", "The term \"Sapir–Whorf hypothesis\" is considered a misnomer by linguists for several rea...
why do tv and radio signals have an almost instantaneous transmission time, but internet signals have delay?	TV is like having one very loud person talking to an entire room, you can all hear him pretty much instantly. The Internet is more like trying to have a conversation with somebody on the other side of a room by asking everyone in the middle to pass the messages between you. Everyone (switches, routers, and so on) in t...	[ "Program material, including time signals, that is transmitted digitally (e.g. DAB, Internet radio) can be delayed by tens of seconds due to buffering and error correction, making time signals received on a digital radio unreliable when accuracy is needed.\n", "In telecommunication, receive-after-transmit time de...
When beams of light come through clouds, why don't they create parallel lines?	The lines are actually (nearly) parallel, but perspective effects cause them to look like they converge. Without other visual cues, they look like they converge. _URL_0_	[ "When the cloud is thin the beam of light may penetrate into the cloud. The observer should read the scale where the light first enters the cloud and not at the top. However, a remark may be made as to how far into the cloud the light was able to penetrate as this may be useful. In the case of fog or blizzard condi...
What were Hitler's and his Generals biggest mistakes that lead to the defeat and retreat of Wehrmacht on the eastern front?	Logistics. There was a single track of railroad available for each of the three main axes of advance, which was inadequate to supply the requirements of an advancing army of the sizes employed. Further, each of the rail lines was of a different gauge (width) than the standard German design, necessitating a laborious ...	[ "On the Eastern Front, the Germans suffered a devastating defeat when the 6th Army was defeated during the Battle of Stalingrad. Hitler ordered the SS Panzer Corps back to the Eastern Front for a counter-attack with the city of Kharkiv as its objective. The SS Panzer Corps was in full retreat on 19 February, having...
during the 20 year patent period, does the pharmaceutical companies determine the price of the drug or is it regulated somehow?	It's not regulated. It's basically whatever the company thinks they can get while the patent is in force. I was reading an article about a cholesterol drug. They were making over $1 billion per year from the drug before the patent expired. That dropped to under $10 million per year after generics became available. As...	[ "In a market without price controls, competition is key to driving the price of drug products down. However, legal protection in the form of patents result in a government-approved monopoly on the sale of certain drugs. Typically, patents allow for market exclusivity for a maximum period of 20 years after patent ap...
what benefit are the zero g experiments on the iss to us on earth, where zero g is rarely (if ever) encountered?	Eventually we will need to explore space. A mars colony would be at much lower gravity than earth and we don’t think that would be a good thing for development of baby anythings. Another thing is we need to figure out what solar radiation will do to our food or other things we grow.	[ "The term micro-g environment (also µg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms \"weightlessness\" and \"zero-g\", but indicates that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the ISS, for example, the small g-forces come from tidal effects, gravity from objec...
how can our bodies utilize gigantic meals, can't we overload the 'processing' systems?	You can in fact eat so much your stomach explodes and you die. This has happened a few times, although it's extremely rare. As long as you don't do that, your stomach will hold the food until the rest of the digestive system is ready for it. And no, you're bodies not going to throw away calories. It's made for ...	[ "Some Bodybuilders often split their food intake into 5 to 7 meals of equal nutritional content and eat at regular intervals (e.g. every 2 to 3 hours). This approach serves two purposes: to limit overindulging in the cutting phase, and to allow for the consumption of large volumes of food during the bulking phase. ...
how would deflating a nfl football (ala the patriots) give you an advantage?	> An under-inflated football could be easier to grip and catch. It's in the article	[ "Statistics site Football Outsiders calculated that the Patriots 2010 offense was not only more efficient, play-for-play, than their record-setting 2007 offense, but was actually the best offense they calculated in their history. As of 2018, this is the last season the Patriots failed to reach the AFC Championship ...
why smartphone makers keep increasing resolution of displays beyond what the eye can see?	Look at 300ppi display next to a 500 before you decide that you can't distinguish the difference.	[ "Apple's Retina displays are not an absolute standard but vary depending on the size of the display on the device, and how close the user would typically be viewing the screen. Where users view the screen at a closer distance to their eyes, as on smaller devices with smaller displays, the displays have more PPI (Pi...
are there people that have 'advanced brain activity' like sherlock holmes? or is it possible for a human to function at the level?	Sherlock Holmes is fictional. There are people with unusual cognitive function, such as savants, who can process information in unusual ways (usually at the severe detriment of normal functioning) but aside from the variety in the range of general intellect, people like the fictional Sherlock Holmes who can see hundred...	[ "Maria Konnikova points out in an interview with D. J. Grothe that Holmes practices what is now called mindfulness, concentrating on one thing at a time, and almost never \"multitasks.\" She adds that in this he predates the science showing how helpful this is to the brain.\n", "He was challenged by a lecturer as...
Why isn't there a blimp design that uses hydrogen and helium?	I'm not an expert, unfortunately. Here are some objections that could come up against this idea though. Helium turns out to not be a great form of suspension. This site goes through the calculations for [multiple disadvantages](_URL_0_), including significantly restricted payload, and range as a result. Helium has less...	[ "Because it is lighter than air, airships and balloons are inflated with helium for lift. While hydrogen gas is more buoyant, and escapes permeating through a membrane at a lower rate, helium has the advantage of being non-flammable, and indeed fire-retardant. Another minor use is in rocketry, where helium is used ...
why have homework if they could just keep you into school for longer?	Teacher here- The basic framework of teaching a skill is this: Teacher led, group practice, then individual practice. This means you're gradually getting less and less support as you master the skill. Homework is the "individual practice" part- it's our way of letting you practice a skill or concept to reinforce it.	[ "Homework is problematic when teachers' observations from the independent phase are not employed when determining how much and what kinds of expectations will be placed on students to accomplish for the next class. There is a concern that homework tasks are assigned prematurely in the instructional process and as a...
are oilfields huge dinosaur graveyards?	No. Oil is purely formed from sediments deposited in (generally quite deep) marine environments, largely from plankton (microscopic plants and animals that float in the oceans). A lot of oilfields were formed around the time that dinosaurs existed, but they themselves wouldn't make up any significant proportion of the ...	[ "The Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry is situated in southwestern Colorado, United States, near the town of Delta. Its geology forms a part of the Morrison Formation and has famously yielded a great diversity of animal remains from the Jurassic Period, among them \"Ceratosaurus\", \"Supersaurus\", and \"Torvosaurus\". The ...
What about running water makes it less dangerous than stagnant water?	In stagnant water you get an incubator effect. If you take sterilized water, free of bacteria and running sterilized water and you compare them they will be exactly the same after a few days. The problem with stagnant water is a) because nothing moves, bacteria have a easy time feeding and b) it becomes a feeding gro...	[ "Stagnant water can be dangerous for drinking because it provides a better incubator than running water for many kinds of bacteria and parasites. Stagnant water is often contaminated with human and animal feces, particularly in deserts or other areas of low rain.\n", "Based on its high water solubility (0.5-0.6 g...
what is the difference between psychopathy and aspd?	Psychopathy is a term that the American psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley coined in 1976 that actually predates the DSM antisocial personality disorder. Hervey Cleckley's criteria for psychopathology, unlike the DSM diagnostic criteria for APD, refer more to the person's thoughts and feelings. Unlike APD, the criteria for p...	[ "Psychopathy is a series of behaviors that loosely correspond with the \"Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders\" diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder, or ASPD. Psychopathy is made up of two parts, aggressive narcissism and a parasitic lifestyle, while ASPD only accounts for the narcissistic ...
Why does light pass through your finger as if it is opaque when you put the source close enough?	Because your fingers are in fact ~~opaque~~ translucent. (thanks /u/mutatron for clarification!) This is i.e. used for puls oximeters, where the O2 saturation of your blood is measured optically. (_URL_0_) The reason you do not discover this experience in every day life is, that you need a very bright light source at ...	[ "Optical touch technology functions when a finger or an object touches the surface, causing the light to scatter, the reflection is caught with sensors or cameras that send the data to software which dictates response to the touch, depending on the type of reflection measured.\n", "Apart from trickery, there are ...
why is it that we put ice on some injuries (e.g. black eyes) but want heat on others (e.g. sprains)?	Because ice is used to reduce swelling while heat is used to bring more blood to the area. Bone injuries and muscle injuries also benefit from the different applications.	[ "Ice is often used to reduce swelling in cycles of 15–20 minutes on and 20–30 minutes off. Icing an ankle too long can cause cold injuries, indicated if the area turns white. Also, it is often recommended that ice not be applied directly to the skin, but should have a thin buffer between the ice and the affected ar...
Why were there swastikas at Woodstock?	Before the rise of German National Socialism in 1920s, the swastika was quite popular sign in the West. It was commonly used by aviators of various nations, it was the official sign of the Finnish and Latvian air forces (more on that topic can be read in [this](_URL_2_) response by u/Platypuskeeper), Carlsberg Brewery...	[ "A Chicago television investigative journalism report in July 2015 found numerous examples of swastikas in the city's architecture. \"A swastika is on the front of Chicago's most popular tourist attraction, Navy Pier, and seen at the one of Columbia College's South Loop buildings. It is embedded in marble floors at...
What happened to the Roman Army/Rome's ability to muster troops?	Hopefully someone will provide a more detailed response, but here is some of the core reasons in a nutshell: Firstly, and probably most importantly, as the Empire aged, more and more of the Roman military was made up of auxiliaries and in some cases outright mercenaries. Essentially, the Roman Army became less and les...	[ "In addition to the above, which gives further reasons to doubt the figures given about the size of the Roman forces at the Battle of the Allia, it has to be noted that the Romans did not have much time to prepare for the battle properly since after their embassy was rebuffed by the Romans, the Gauls immediately ma...
what's the appeal of blonde hair?	My guess is that its rarer than other colors so people tend to value it. Just like with precious metals and things like that.	[ "Blonde hair can have almost any proportion of pheomelanin and eumelanin, but has only small amounts of both. More pheomelanin creates a more golden or strawberry blonde color, and more eumelanin creates an ash or sandy blonde color. Many children born with blonde hair develop darker hair as they age, with the majo...
If the singularity that existed prior to the big bang had infinite mass, wouldn't that imply the universe contains infinite matter?	Singularities (including the one that lead to the universe) don't have infinite mass, but rather infinite density. And the reason their density is infinite is because they take up essentially no space, so it's one of those divide-by-zero problems. Also, prior to the big bang the concept of "mass" didn't really have...	[ "It is impossible to see the singularity or the actual Big Bang itself, as time and space did not exist inside the singularity and, therefore, there would be no way to transmit any radiation from before the Big Bang to the present day. Although there is no direct evidence for a singularity of infinite density, the ...
why are some movies on torrent sites before they actually release the dvd/bluray?	They were leaked copies. They were probably obtained by hackers, or someone who works for the company somehow released it on accident.	[ "Pirated movie release types are the different types of pirated movies that end up on the internet. They vary wildly in rarity and quality due to the different sources and methods used for acquiring the video content, in addition to encoding formats. Pirated movie releases may be derived from cams, which have disti...
if moon is visible during daytime, why does it affect tides during night?	The moon's gravity is what causes tides (so, its position), regardless of when we can see it. The moon takes about 28 days to go around its orbit-- its position in its orbit dictates how visible it is to us. If it's closer to the sun, we can only see it as a shadow. If it's away from the sun, it's a full moon. Meanwhi...	[ "Full moon is generally a suboptimal time for astronomical observation of the Moon because shadows vanish. It is a poor time for other observations because the bright sunlight reflected by the Moon, amplified by the opposition surge, then outshines many stars.\n", "In the night, the polarization of the moonlit sk...
What radical/fundamentalist Islam like before the rise of Al Qaeda?	I do not have a straight answer to this, but I don't believe there is one anyway. Islam is neither monolithic nor static. There have been different, evolving strands of Islam, both Shia, Sunni, or otherwise, that have been fundamentalist and/or radical over the many centuries of the history of Islam. Al-Qaeda has at...	[ "In a discussion hosted by \"The Globe and Mail\" in 2007, Fatah claimed that \"most of the Islamic radicalism that you see today stems from the empowering of Saudi based Jihad groups that were funded and backed by the U.S. and the CIA throughout the Afghan war against the Soviet Union.\"\n", "Fatah al-Islam (, m...
what are the primary limiting factors on the size of submarines?	A larger submarine creates a larger surface area that makes it more vulnerable to pressure, as well as increasing the time it takes to fully submerge / surface. Since submarines are rarely for commercial usage there really is no incentive to go a lot bigger.	[ "BULLET::::- Traditionally, submarines were called \"boats\", perhaps reflecting their cramped conditions: small size reduces the need for power, and thus the need to surface or snorkel for a supply of the air that running marine diesel engines requires; whereas, in contrast, nuclear-powered submarines' reactors su...
would it be legal for someone to build a spaceship in their backyard and fly to the moon?	I think they would need to notify air traffic so they don't interfere with other airborne objects while traveling because that could be dangerous.	[ "To get to the Moon, a spacecraft must first leave Earth's gravity well; currently, the only practical means is a rocket. Unlike airborne vehicles such as balloons and jets, a rocket can continue accelerating in the vacuum outside the atmosphere.\n", "Once a base had been built on the Moon it was hoped that a lun...
how are close elections called so definitively with such a low % of precincts reporting?	Having asked this before myself, it's the [Law of Large Numbers](_URL_0_).	[ "A 2017 study found that the opening and closing hours of polling places determines the age demographics of turnout: turnout among younger voters is higher the longer polling places are open and turnout among older voters decreases the later polling places open.\n", "The difference between EVEPs and media exit po...
This Week's Theme: "Shark Week: Monsters, Myths, and the High Seas"	> Monsters, Myths, and the High Seas I'm sorry, Mr. Zhukov, but your euphemism can't replace [the queen.] (_URL_0_)	[ "Shark Week is an annual, week-long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel, which features shark-based programming. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988. Featured annually, in July and/or early August, it was originally devoted to conservation efforts and correcting misconceptions about sharks. O...
Can the Universe be bigger than we think it is?	we know that it's bigger than the observable universe for sure. Most likely, it's infinite in size.	[ "The Universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. While the spatial size of the entire Universe is unknown, it is possible to measure the size of the observable universe, which is currently estimated to be 93 billion light years ...
why are there no laws against drinking and smoking while pregnant?	There's multiple problems. For one, many people would find that an unacceptable intrusion of the government into your life--adults must generally be assumed to make competent decisions for themselves. This means you must occasionally let them stray into poor decisions. A law of this nature would also deal in absolute...	[ "It is recommended for women planning pregnancy to stop smoking. It is important to examine these effects because smoking before, during and after pregnancy is not an unusual behavior among the general population and can have detrimental health impacts, especially among both mother and child as a result. In 2011, a...
after years of persecution and prosecution, why is marijuana suddenly ok now?	It's actually still illegal at the federal level and 48 of the 50 states (medical not included). This sounds like a really loaded question. If you want an answer to the legitimate parts of your question, re-ask them to the search bar.	[ "Arrests for marijuana have been steady in recent years. In 2016, the PDEA eradicated a total of 337 marijuana sites. In the first seven months of 2015, PDEA reported conducting 22 successful cannabis eradication operations, resulting in the destruction of 117 growing sites and the seizure of cannabis valued at app...
the first computers were mechanical, bulky and relatively simple. how do you jump from that to operating systems, light-up screens, programs and cursors?	You don't "jump" from one to the other. You do it in tiny steps. After mechanical computers, you move to electrical computers. They're still bulky. They take their input in the form of punched cards. They may have a handful of lights on the front for output, or they may produce punched cards as output. Then, you incr...	[ "BULLET::::- First generation computers used vacuum tubes such as the 6J6 or specially designed tubes - or even mechanical arrangements, and were relatively slow, energy-hungry and the earliest computers were less flexible in their programmability.\n", "Early computers were built to perform a series of single tas...
drug tests seem backward.	Alcohol goes into the blood. The blood goes into the lungs. The alcohol “evaporates” into the air in the lungs that you then breath out. We can measure this and using a ratio we can determine how drunk you are. THC is inhaled into the lungs. From the lungs it goes to your blood. The metabolites (left overs) of THC ar...	[ "Advocates of random drug testing argue that it is not just a punitive measure, but may deter drug use. Opponents, however, have argued that drugs commonly used by students, such as alcohol, MDMA, and prescription drugs are either not detected by the tests or are metabolized within a short period of time.\n", "In...
If different races aren't like different dog breeds, what are they and is "race" even real?	There are certain health conditions that are more prevalent in black people than white, such as certain blood conditions IIRC. I believe there are other examples of this, but outside of that the difference is just skin color, no different than extremely pale people from certain parts of europe.	[ "The term \"race\" in biology is used with caution because it can be ambiguous. Generally, when it is used it is effectively a synonym of \"subspecies\". (For animals, the only taxonomic unit below the species level is usually the subspecies; there are narrower infraspecific ranks in botany, and \"race\" does not c...
why did birds evolve the attributes needed for flying (hollow bones, feathers, etc) before the ability to fly?	A gliding animal like a flying squirrel or flying snake could benefit from many of the same adaptations.	[ "The most obvious adaptation to flight is the wing, but because flight is so energetically demanding birds have evolved several other adaptations to improve efficiency when flying. Birds' bodies are streamlined to help overcome air-resistance. Also, the bird skeleton is hollow to reduce weight, and many unnecessary...
how do websites like honey make money by finding discounts?	They make deals with companies to get special discounts that they can offer to their users. Then they can give part of the discount to the user so they'll use the service, and keep a referral fee from the company. Its worth it for companies to work with them like that because it helps them drive traffic and make sales....	[ "Honey's revenue comes from a commission made on user transactions with partnering retailers. When a member makes a purchase from select merchants, Honey shares part of its commission with the member in a cashback program.\n", "Pembrokeshire Produce Direct is a co-operative of around 70 food producers with their ...
How do we know that wooly mammoths were furry?	We have a clear answer on this one for once. The answer is because we've found several mammoth carcasses frozen in the permafrost of the Siberian tundra. Those carcasses have preserved soft tissue, and have well develloped pelts of coarse reddish brown to reddish blonde fur. This is also in line with a second source of...	[ "The woolly mammoth was probably the most specialised member of the family Elephantidae. They had lipopexia (fat storage) in their neck and withers, for times when food availability was insufficient during winter, and their first three molars grew more quickly than in the calves of modern elephants. The expansion i...
What made the Icelandic people such prolific writers compared to other Norse countries in the 13th century?	Hi! FYI there was a similar question a couple of months ago; check out the discussion so far, and - since the thread is still open - join in with follow-up questions if you like * [Iceland is remote and sparsely populated. Why does it have such a large medieval literary corpus?](_URL_2_) Perhaps tangentially, you may...	[ "Medieval Norwegian literature is closely tied with medieval Icelandic literature and considered together as Old Norse literature. The greatest Norse author of the 13th century was the Icelander Snorri Sturluson. He recorded Norse mythology in the form of the \"Prose Edda\", a book of poetic language providing an i...
What did King Menes do exactly to turn Egypt into a unified territory approximately 5000 years ago?	There are two parts to this question really, who was Menes and what, if anything, did he do: Who was Menes: It is not even entirely clear who Menes is. The name Menes is recorded by the historian Manetho who lived in the 3rd century BC and wrote in Greek. His source appears to have been the Abydos king list, wh...	[ "Middle Kingdom of Egypt arose when Mentuhotep II of Eleventh Dynasty unified Egypt once again between 2041 and 2016 BC beginning with his conquering of Tenth Dynasty in 2041 BC. Pyramid building resumed, long-distance trade re-emerged, and the center of power moved from Memphis to Thebes. Connections with the sout...
Is there any scientific basis to humans being comprised of more than one species?	From looking at the wikipedia page ([link](_URL_0_)) apparently the definition of species isn't quite as firm as I had thought it would be (should be?). The most common definition is that seperate species can't interbreed. From this simple definition, there is zero scientific basis for the theory that minor genetic d...	[ "Extant human populations have historically been divided into subspecies, but since around the 1980s all extant groups have tended to be subsumed into a single species, \"H. sapiens\", avoiding division into subspecies altogether.\n", "There is no consensus on the taxonomic delineation between human species, huma...
Is the USA fully/majority responsible for the destabilization of the middle east, or was it always a war torn area?	Contrary to popular belief, before they declared their support for Israel, the United States was viewed favorably by many Middle Eastern peoples. They were seen as nation that had overthrown their colonizer (something that deeply resonated with the Middle-Eastern nations). This relationship was born after WWI, when Wi...	[ "The Middle East is, of course, the most obvious place that comes to mind when we think of valuable resources that major nations may compete over when supplies begin to fall around the world. The first Gulf War was an example of the United States’ willingness to go to war to protect its access to the rich oilfields...
If dish sponges are so dirty and filled with bacteria how come we don't get sick more frequently from using them to wash our dishes everyday?	First, we use soap which actually works to lyse the cell membrane of bacteria (which kills them). Second, most bacteria we come in contact with don't actually make us sick.	[ "Dishcloths are often left damp and provide a breeding ground for bacteria. Since the kitchen sink is used to clean food, dishcloths are routinely infected with E. coli and salmonella. In 2007 a study from the \"Journal of Environmental Health\" found that putting a damp dishcloth (or sponge) in the microwave for 2...
what's the whole bill cosby scandal and does it seem like he's guilty?	Cosby had been accused of drugging and raping women several times, and in 2006 he paid a settlement to prevent a civil suit about it from going to trial. This was reported in the media at the time, but not widely reported, and it did not receive much attention until earlier this year. Comedian Hannibal Buress mention...	[ "Cosby has repeatedly denied the allegations and maintained his innocence. In November 2014, he responded to a question about the allegations and said: \"I don't talk about it.\" In past interviews that were made public, Cosby declined to discuss the accusations. However, he told \"Florida Today\", \"People shouldn...
At what point in your academic career are you a scientist?	Neil Degrass Tyson would probably say that your a scientist as soon as your born and you only stop being one when you stop seeking out knowledge.	[ "Computer Scientist (1550 job series) positions involve the application of, or research into, computer science methods and techniques to store, manipulate, transform or present information by means of computer systems. This involves the development, test, and evaluation of automated systems, programs, hardware and ...
why do some people say that diamonds aren't actually rare at all, but just that some company has a strangle hold on diamonds?	Because it's true. The De Beers company had a long history of having pretty much a monopoly on the world's diamond supply. With this control they decided that since the value of something is tied to supply vs demand they lowered supply by controlling how many diamonds they sold and drove up demand through advertising...	[ "There are several factors contributing to low liquidity of diamonds. One of the main factors is the lack of terminal market. Most commodities have terminal markets, and some form of commodities exchange, clearing house, and central storage facilities. Until recently this did not exist for diamonds. Diamonds are al...
If different frequencies of light have different energy values, then why doesn't gravity influence lower frequencies more than higher frequencies?	You wouldn't expect a different influence of gravity on the motion of light for different frequencies for the same reason why a feather and hammer fall at the same speed on the moon. It's called the [equivalence principle](_URL_0_).	[ "If one used Planck's energy quanta, and demanded that electromagnetic radiation at a given frequency could only transfer energy to matter in integer multiples of an energy quantum hν, then the photoelectric effect could be explained very simply. Low-frequency light only ejects low-energy electrons because each ele...
i'm thinking of something right before i fall asleep. i roll over and suddenly i can't remember what i was thinking about milliseconds before. why?	I would really like to know the answer to this...	[ "“I cannot recall my thoughts during that ride: I seem not to have thought at all. All I know is that in about an hour there came to my mind, as from a voice, the words: ‘Recreant! Fool!’ and I turned back.”\n", "\"But when I distinctly see where things come from and where and when they come to me, and when I can...
so when looking at a substance like water that is clear, are we looking at the atoms themselves or are we looking at the space between the atoms?	When you look AT the water, you see the photons that interact with the water molecules and are sent back to your eyes, so you're looking "at the atoms." But keep in mind that the way the photons of light interact with the molecules of water may not carry actual information ABOUT the molecules of water; there are plent...	[ "The earliest views on the shapes and connectivity of atoms was that proposed by Leucippus, Democritus, and Epicurus who reasoned that the solidness of the material corresponded to the shape of the atoms involved. Thus, iron atoms are solid and strong with hooks that lock them into a solid; water atoms are smooth a...
Why did service in the us military lose importance as a social status symbol?	To answer we might then have to consider when you might say it DID have such a place. For most of the nation's history, service in the peacetime military was far from desirable or at most a path fit for those not independently wealthy. It was years of dusty plains postings or the swamps and remote coasts. With little ...	[ "Throughout its existence, the Army was troubled by poor logistics, inadequate training, short-term enlistments, interstate rivalries, and Congress's inability to compel the states to provide food, money or supplies. In the beginning, soldiers enlisted for a year, largely motivated by patriotism; but as the war dra...
Is there any way to release dopamine at will?	Sure. Dopamine is the pleasure/reward chemical of the brain (in certain areas, in other areas of the brain it does other things as well, such as regulate movement. See Parkinson's disease). Anything that makes you happy releases dopamine in your brain. Think happy thoughts, dopamine will be released... simple as th...	[ "Dopamine is an endogenous compound that is used as a neurotransmitter to modulate reward expectation. Dopamine kills dopamine-producing neurons by interfering with the electron transport chain in neurons. This interference results in an inhibition of cellular respiration, leading to neuron death.\n", "Dopamine i...
please explain the joke in this webcomic	Middle elf has Santa's face so clearly Santa has been having some fun with the lady elves. I don't think this is cultural.	[ "The webcomic generally focuses on slice of life storylines involving the lives of the creators and their friends. Occasionally, it ventures into surrealist short fantasy stories. Each comic consists of a stand-alone, single page comic. Often, the inspiration for a comic comes from a simple conversation or occurren...
Relativity: What happens when distinct perceptions on an event yield contradictory results?	In any case, relativity preserves causality as long as nothing travels faster than light. The result will be the same Bob lives or dies in both reference frames, so the result is the same for Bob and Mary and only depends on the setup, the relative speed of the train, the principle length, etc... etc... Let's preten...	[ "The problem can be understood in terms of the relativity of simultaneity in special relativity, which says that different inertial reference frames will disagree on whether two events at different locations happened \"at the same time\" or not, and they can also disagree on the order of the two events (technically...
why do airlines and/or banks sped so much money marketing credit cards? what's the relationship between credit cards and the airlines?	Airlines love it because it puts passengers in seats, and there's nothing worse than flying a plane with empty seats. They get to place all sorts of restrictions on usage, and you typically pay extras like baggage handling charges on top of everything else even with a "free" ticket that air points purchased for you. So...	[ "Many credit card companies partner with airlines to offer a co-branded credit card or the ability to transfer points in their loyalty program to an airline's program. Large sign-up bonuses and other incentives are common. Accruing points via credit cards bonuses and spending allows infrequent travelers to benefit ...
why does shaving with hot water work better than shaving with cold water?	Hot water causes the pores of your skin to open, meaning the blade of your razor can cut closer to the root of the hair. It also softens the beard hair like in the pasta-beard example above.	[ "Before wet shaving, the area to be shaved is usually doused in warm to hot water by showering or bathing or covered for several minutes with a hot wet towel to soften the skin and hair. A lathering or lubricating agent such as cream, shaving soap, gel, foam or oil is normally applied after this. Lubricating and mo...
on what bases are scores awarded in gymnastics? why was nadia comaneci the first to get a perfect 10?	In general, most routines/exercises start with a "base score" of 10. Judges then deduct fractions of points from the score for various mistakes during the routine. The more severe the mistake, the larger the deduction. A score of "10" means the judges identified no mistakes in the execution of the routine. The diff...	[ "On 18 July 1976, Comăneci made history at the Montreal Olympics. During the team compulsory portion of the competition, she was awarded the first perfect 10 in Olympic gymnastics for her routine on the uneven bars. However, Omega SA—the traditional Olympics scoreboard manufacturer— was led to believe that it was i...
Why do bad neighborhoods exist? Why can't all neighborhoods be good neighborhoods?	People with the means to leave a bad neighborhood, typically do. This begins a downward spiral of reduced property values and auto segregation. While not always related to race, white flight is a good example: _URL_0_ Blockbusting was also prevalent in the 60s through 80s	[ "Neighborhoods of low socioeconomic status are associated with higher rates of intentional injuries (violent crime). Poor investment in community property, and the lack of private and semi-private space can lead to the inability of residents to properly or adequately maintain defensible space. A lack of “eyes of th...
martin shkreli: enough blind hatred, break down his points.	> Comparable drugs are priced similarly. The key here is his definition of "comparable" drugs. He's not comparing it to other 60-year-old drugs that cost almost nothing to produce. He's comparing it to other drugs that you'll die if you don't get, which are usually very new and for which the R & D has not yet been r...	[ "Financier Martin Shkreli's perp walk after his 2015 arrest on securities fraud charges led to another motive being acknowledged, especially in cases where a defendant had a strongly negative public perception, as Shkreli had since he had come to the public's attention several months earlier after dramatically rais...
Does the sun have geography like the Earth?	The sun is not a solid object it's mostly very hot hydrogen gas. The gas in the sun doesn't bind together like rock does on Earth so it won't form structures such as a mountain. There are some fleeting events that could be used as temporary landmarks such as solar flares, prominences and sunspots. It would be better to...	[ "The geocentric system is simpler, being smaller and involving few massive objects: that coordinate system defines its center as the center of mass of the Earth itself. The barycentric system can be loosely thought of as being centered on the Sun, but the Solar System is more complicated. Even the much smaller plan...
How Does Boltzmann's Constant fit in Quantum Mechanics?	Well, anytime you do statistical mechanics where quantum mechanics is important, Boltzmann's constant will pop up. Examples: [Fermi-Dirac Statistics](_URL_1_), [Bose-Einstein Statistics](_URL_2_). Perhaps what your friend is referring to is [Planck's law](_URL_0_)?	[ "The quantum Boltzmann equation is the quantum mechanical version of the Boltzmann equation, which gives the time evolution of a distribution of free particles out of equilibrium. Typically, the quantum Boltzmann equation is given as only the “collision term” of the full Boltzmann equation, giving the change of the...
how do parapalegics drive?	They have specially customized cars with speed controls on the steering wheels.	[ "Carva is a Lean Steer elliptical cross-trainer, human-powered, tricycle. Two wheels in the front and one in the back. Used to simulate outdoor walking or running without causing excessive pressure to the joints, hence decreasing the risk of impact injuries.\n", "The AutoPulse is an automated, portable, battery-p...
how do baseball pitchers throw those really dynamic breaking balls (curve, slider, cutter, etc)?	I'm not a pitcher, but my brother was. Most of it has to do with the position of your fingers on the ball.	[ "The amount of break on the ball depends on how hard the pitcher can snap the throw off, or how much forward spin can be put on the ball. The harder the snap, the more the pitch will break. Curveballs primarily break downwards, but can also break toward the pitcher's off hand to varying degrees. Unlike the fastball...
why is my gf cold when my body temp. is just right?	Metabolism=(catabolic and anabolic actions) Catabolic actions=breakdown of molecules to form a product Anabolic actions=formation of complex products from simple ones (ex:protein creation form simple molecules called amino acids) Edit Read milliamphour's responses below. My explanation is likely flawed. Males ...	[ "Negative G-force (pressure of the blood towards the head) is much more beneficial to the body than positive G-force (the blood runs toward the feet). Negative G-forces can be reached during bungee jumps during approximately a second when the jump is over a hundred meters high. These are less severe strains than th...
How would one join pirates in 1600s-1700s	This has been hit upon over the course of several other Frequently Asked Questions about Pirate History. I would suggest looking over there first, and if something more specific isn't answered there, post a follow up question: [r/AskHistorians's FAQ for Pirate History](_URL_0_)	[ "The famous pirates of the early 18th century were a completely illegal remnant of a golden buccaneering age, and their choices were limited to quick retirement or eventual capture. Contrast this with the earlier example of Henry Morgan, who for his privateering efforts was knighted by the English Crown and appoint...
When did wedding dresses become a thing?	I hope you don't mind if I copy and paste [a previous answer of mine](_URL_0_): You may be interested in the response I wrote some time ago to [How true is the claim that Queen Victoria is the reason why white is the usual color for Western wedding dresses today? Was white and unusual color before her?](_URL_1_) The a...	[ "In the 19th Century, weddings were typically small, intimate ceremonies at the home of either the parents of the bride or the parents of the groom. The announcement of the newly married couple took place at their church on the Sunday following the wedding. In the 1820s and 1830s, weddings became more elaborate, wh...
There were no publishing houses in ancient Greece & Rome, but Seneca, Xenophon, and Ovid became famous through their writing. How were ancient works distributed, and was anyone making money from the industry?	Follow up questions: was there any sort of tutelage against plagiarism, something like an ante litteram copyright law? How did people proved plagiarism, if possible?	[ "There have probably been pseudepigrapha almost from the invention of full writing. For example, ancient Greek authors often refer to texts which claimed to be by Orpheus or his pupil Musaeus of Athens but which attributions were generally disregarded. Already in Antiquity the collection known as the \"Homeric Hymn...
Is there any actual difference in battery technology or is it all marketing like "quantum" batteries from Duracell?	The basic idea of a battery is the [galvanic cell.](_URL_0_) Zinc and copper both form sulfates. Zinc has a somewhat stronger yearning to be with a sulfate anion than copper, so they arrange a trade. Zinc gets its sulfate, and copper gets some electrons in exchange. Humans place a barrier that allows ions to flow but ...	[ "Search for the Super Battery: Discover the Powerful World of Batteries is a 2017 American documentary film about energy storage and how it may help provide an environmentally friendly, or green, future. The basic mechanism of batteries, including lithium-ion types, is described. The benefits and limitations of var...
foucault's theories on sexuality	Foucault was mostly interested in the discourse of sex - rater than studying the actual history of sexuality, he looked at the way people talked about sexuality during history. So, in victorian times, the prevailing discussion was that sexuality was repressed and foucault looked at why people were saying that. In reali...	[ "BULLET::::- During the late 1980s, the influence of Michel Foucault’s writings led to the emergence of a social constructivist view of human sexuality which emphasised the historical and cultural specificity of sexual identities such as 'heterosexual' and 'homosexual'. Despite Boswell’s friendly relations with Fou...
Would a kidney transplant cure kidney stones? Is the kidney the problem or something else?	It depends! There are quite a few different types of kidney stones. _URL_0_ Some of these are the result of renal problems, whereas others are the result of... other problems. The kidney is essentially nothing more than an insanely complicated filter for the blood. It works by taking arterial blood (from the renal ...	[ "In patients with a history of kidney disease, intravenous ascorbic acid therapy has been shown to exacerbate symptoms and may cause kidney failure. Moreover, individuals with a high risk of kidney stones formation should not partake in intravenous ascorbic acid therapy. High doses of ascorbic acid has been shown t...
why is it referred to as the "self proclaimed" islamic state? why not just islamic state?	Oh! I sort of know this one! In international law, there are generally four criteria for being a state: 1. Exerting control 2. Over a territory 3. With a population 4. And the ability to conduct relations with other states. Nobody with any sense is disagreeing that ISIS meets the first three. Sure, their borders are...	[ "\"The Islamic State\", formerly known as the \"Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant\" and before that as the \"Islamic State of Iraq\", (also called by the Arabic acronym \"Daesh\"), is a Wahhabi/Salafi jihadist extremist militant group which is led by and mainly composed of Sunni Arabs from Syria and Iraq. In 201...
i jump feet first into a pool of lava. how long before my body is totally gone? what would be the last parts to melt?	Never, actually, boring as that sounds. First, you can't really jump into a pool of lava. It's LIQUID ROCK, and almost as dense as regular rock. You don't really sink into it, unless you're actually jumping into an actively erupting volcano or a strong flow that takes you along and sweeps you into a lava tube or somet...	[ "By using the Stefan–Boltzmann law and taking convection into account, University of Leicester scientists have calculated that a high stakes version of the game would not be playable with actual lava, as the air above the lava would have a temperature too high for humans to survive for more than a few seconds.\n", ...
what is fairtax? why is it bad?	Fair tax is a tax policy that would get rid of the income tax on people and corporations and move the tax entirely to a consumer tax on retail sales. People consider this kind of tax back because it tends to cause Rich people to get Taxed less and Poor people to get taxed. It also gives people a incentive to hoard mon...	[ "Retail forex trading has been promoted by some as an easy way to make profits and has thus been the focus for a number of foreign exchange frauds. In response, financial regulators in a number of countries have introduced restrictions or provided warnings about this type of trading as well as legal actions against...
Do both kidneys have the same chance of forming kidney stones?	Depends on the reason for the stones, chances are yes at the beginning if the stones are caused by a systemic factor. But once you have stones in one kidney you are more likely to have stones in the same kidney due to wall damage and presence of stone fragments which become a nidus for more stones to form	[ "Although kidney stones do not often occur in children, the incidence is increasing. These stones are in the kidney in two thirds of reported cases, and in the ureter in the remaining cases. Older children are at greater risk independent of sex.\n", "A supernumerary kidney is an additional kidney to the number us...
What were the roman stereotypes for the various regions of their empire?	Heres one: In Pliny and Trajan's Correspondence, Pliny writes about a huge Gymnasium which has been erected overbudget and over deadline, on soft ground, badly. He asks whether Trajan thinks it should be abandioned, pulled down, or finished. Trajan, amongst other things, says **"Those silly little Greeks cannot ke...	[ "The Roman Empire was remarkably multicultural, with \"a rather astonishing cohesive capacity\" to create a sense of shared identity while encompassing diverse peoples within its political system over a long span of time. The Roman attention to creating public monuments and communal spaces open to all—such as forum...
Why isn't lack of ability smell a common disability?	It's called anosmia. I don't know if or why it's uncommon. _URL_0_	[ "Many cases of congenital anosmia remain unreported and undiagnosed. Since the disorder is present from birth the individual may have little or no understanding of the sense of smell, hence is unaware of the deficit. It may also lead to reduction of appetite.\n", "Many cases of congenital anosmia remain unreporte...
How and when were brightly coloured uniforms phased out?	From my knowledge Bright colored uniforms started to be phased out by some just before the First World War. Finally when the war started many nations still had their bright colored uniform, the French even with large elaborate head ornaments. On the flip side the Germans wore a dull grey that blended in well to the...	[ "The long-standing white infantry uniforms were replaced in the later half of the 19th century with dark blue tunics, which in turn were replaced by a pike grey uniform used in the initial stages of World War I. In September 1915, field gray was adopted as the new official uniform colour.\n", "During a reorganiza...
Why does it hurt when you accidentally swallow air?	Distention of soft tissue in the esophagus is very painful and air is relatively incompressible and usually swallowed in addition to a food or liquid bolus.	[ "Aerophagia is associated with chewing gum, smoking, drinking carbonated drinks, eating too quickly, anxiety, CPAP air pressure (if it is too high) and wearing loose dentures. Aerophagia is also carried out deliberately to increase the length and volume of a belch, as any air successfully swallowed serves to increa...
How much impact did the church have on artists during the Renaissance?	The Church, along with a few wealthy nobles, were the main benefactors of artists during this period. Things like the Sistine Chapel, as well as countless famous paintings, were all sponsored by the Church to decorate chapels and celebrate God.	[ "The Renaissance saw an increase in monumental secular works, but until the Protestant Reformation Christian art continued to be produced in great quantities, both for churches and clergy and for the laity. During this time, Michelangelo Buonarroti painted the Sistine Chapel and carved the famous \"Pietà\", Gianlor...
drumlines	A standard drum line is made up of base and snare drums. Generally the snare drums play in unison while doing "street beat" (that's the music you hear when the band marches) each individual in the base line will generally play a certain number of beats that differs from the others. When played together, you'll get a re...	[ "A drumline is a section of percussion instruments usually played as part of a musical marching ensemble. A drumline can also be a section on their own competing against other marching drumlines. High school and college marching bands, drill and drum corps, drum and bugle corps, indoor percussion ensembles are some...
Does water emit an odor? If so, can any species smell it?	Odor isn't a property of a compound, it's a function of which chemoreceptors an organism has. Humans have notably lost a lot of olfactory receptors compared with other mammals, so a lot of things don't have odors to us that would to other species (and the sense isn't nearly as fine). A receptor for pure H2O could theo...	[ "Pure water is usually described as tasteless and odorless, although humans have specific sensors that can feel the presence of water in their mouths, and frogs are known to be able to smell it. However, water from ordinary sources (including bottled mineral water) usually has many dissolved substances, that may gi...
why does being outside in the cold cause a runny nose/other cold like symptoms? i was under the impression that cold weather causing a cold was a myth.	A runny nose due to the cold is not the same as having a cold... The purpose of your nose is to warm and humidify and warm I coming air before it gets to your lungs. When it's cold, your nose ramps up mucus production because cold air is dry and it needs more to achieve that goal.	[ "The common cold, also known simply as a cold, is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the nose. The throat, sinuses, and larynx may also be affected. Signs and symptoms may appear less than two days after exposure to the virus. These may include coughing, sore throat, ru...
What is the difference between supercritical fluid and plasma?	They are both 'phases' that something can exist in but they don't share much other than that. A supercritical fluid is a fluid at a particular temperature and pressure regime where it loses the distinctness of liquid and gas and instead takes on some properties from both. A plasma is a gas that has been given enough ...	[ "A supercritical fluid (SCF) is a gas whose temperature and pressure are above the critical temperature and critical pressure respectively. In this state, the distinction between liquid and gas disappears. A supercritical fluid has the physical properties of a gas, but its high density confers solvent properties in...

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