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question stringlengths 3 301	answer stringlengths 9 26.1k	context list
How did belief in Greek Mythology die out and what replaced them ?	The basic answer for the broader definition of Greek Myth/Religion is Christianity, but I think that broad definition isn't necessarily what most people think of when they say "Greek Mythology" today. The storybook version of 12 Olympian gods and series of concrete stories about each of them never existed. There were a...	[ "Some scholars see a gap between the existing mythical and the new rational way of thought which is the main characteristic of the archaic period (8th to 6th century BC) in the Greek city-states. This has given rise to the phrase \"Greek miracle\". But if we follow carefully the course of Anaximander's ideas, we wi...
When I am all alone, and there is no noise in the room, and it is all still and quiet, there is a sound in my ears/head that is similar to a ringing of the ears, but it's not quite the same. What causes that?	[Tinnitus](_URL_0_): "the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound". Causes are varied, so check the ~~Zelda~~ link for more on that.	[ "It's like, all the electric wires in the house are plugged into my brain. And every one has a different noise, so I can't think. Some of the wires have voices in them and they tell me things like what to do and that people are watching me. I know there really aren't any voices, but I feel that there are, and that ...
How was Garibaldi able to conquer Southern Italy with only 1000 or so volunteers?	You're asking a lot of questions, which is understandable; Wikipedia is not a complete source of information by any stretch of the imagination. Let's begin in the beginning. After the eighth century, Southern Italy was contested three ways between Arabs, the Byzantine Empire, and "Lombards," who were originally Germa...	[ "Having conquered Sicily, he crossed the Strait of Messina and marched north. Garibaldi's progress was met with more celebration than resistance, and on 7 September he entered the capital city of Naples, by train. Despite taking Naples, however, he had not to this point defeated the Neapolitan army. Garibaldi's vol...
- if hiv can take up to 6 months to show up on a blood test, how do they know donated blood is safe?	They generally eliminate high risk classes from donating blood. There are a lot of reports that confirm that HIV transmits faster from certain ways over others. They make sure to ask people questions about their lifestyle to figure out whether they represent one of those high risk classes. For example my wife is a v...	[ "BULLET::::- Every single blood donation is tested for HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) and Hepatitis B and C. Infected blood is not used in transfusions but tests may not always detect the early stages of viral infection.\n", "In the US, the Food and Drug Administration requires that all donated blood be screene...
AMA - 20th Century American Popular Culture	Thank you so much for arranging this very interesting panel! My question is the following: When did the cinema become a common sight in the towns and cities of the United States? Was it something that was targeted for a specific audience or was it like today where everyone ranging from teenage couples to families can ...	[ "Published in 2009 by W.W. Norton & Company, Dickstein’s cultural history of the U.S. in the 1930s considers the complicated dynamic between art and entertainment in the decade, suggesting that the era produced a wide array of popular culture that shares an interest in how “ordinary people lived, how they suffered,...
How do you think someone in a coma would react to psychedelics?	[This question was asked a few years ago](_URL_1_) and didn't get much of an answer. I don't know if you'll be able to get much more than that, but good luck to you. I had a look on Google Scholar for you for any reports linking use of psychoactive or psychedelic drugs with [locked-in syndrome](_URL_2_), [persistent v...	[ "The effects of psychedelics vary widely from one individual to the next, and from one experience to the next. Sometimes individuals under the influence of such drugs do not understand that they have taken a drug and believe that they will never return to their ordinary, sober perception, though some can be reminde...
When is a species no longer considered invasive?	I don't like the first answer to that question in the link you posted. Invasions happen all the time. In fact, it's why biogeography is such a fun field to get into. Species expand outwards and encroach on other ranges ALL the time. However, the truth is that the definition gets tenuous. I'll be the one to start a...	[ "Invasive species, also called invasive exotics or simply exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions. The first definition, the most used, applies to introduced species (also cal...
how'd the yahoo "hacking" happen?	According to [the post from Yahoo](_URL_0_) > For potentially affected accounts, the stolen user account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (using MD5) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The investigation ...	[ "A simple matter had sparked a controversy over Yahoo!. The controversy was sparked because of Yahoo!'s silence about the data breach. After the servers were hacked, Yahoo! did not mail the affected victims, although it was promised earlier. There was no site-wide notifications about the hack, nor did any victim ge...
Are there any known examples of jump discontinuities occurring in the natural world, (not related to manmade systems)?	Phase transitions, shock waves, electric/magnetic fields at boundaries where there is a surface charge/current density, just to name a few.	[ "A jumpgate has been discovered in the Typheous system, and eight Earth corporations want to control it. Each of them therefore starts up a branch in the system, and begin to battle it out with the latest in military technology.\n", "Jumpstyle, originally known simply as jump, was created in Belgium. It was a sho...
Why don't we and other animals have eyes in the backs of our heads? Wouldn't having a 360 vision be a massive benefit?	Many "prey animals" have upwards of 270 degree vision with eyes on the sides of their heads. Deer, rabbets, chickens. We have binocular vision to prey better. Most predators have binocular vision. Owls, tigers, men. Many insects have nearly 360, and most are prey to anything bigger. Size matters more. As animals ...	[ "Some predator animals, particularly large ones such as sperm whales and killer whales, have their two eyes positioned on opposite sides of their heads, although it is possible they have some binocular visual field.\n", "Other animals that are not necessarily predators, such as fruit bats and a number of primates...
Why were there so few German-American organized crime groups?	It's hard to say something didn't happen, but we can say why other groups did turn to organized crime. Ethnic groups who were blocked from traditional employment often attempt to break out and make it by turning to crime. We can see this in the heavily discriminated against groups of the Italians, Irish, Jews, and Blac...	[ "In Germany federal authorities have largely failed to provide sufficient resistance to ethnic organized crime gangs (German: \"Clankriminalität\") as fear of stigmatizing and discriminating minorities takes precedence. All ethnic crime gangs are collectively treated as organized crime.\n", "The same large and po...
Would it be possible for a human to stand on an asteroid or comet as it speeds through space?	If the asteroid in question had enough mass for it's gravity to hold you down, yes.	[ "If such a crew is to be summoned to a distant asteroid, there may be less risky ways to divert the asteroid. Another promising asteroid mitigation strategy is to land a crew on the asteroid well ahead of its impact date and to begin diverting some its mass into space to slowly alter its trajectory. This is a form ...
why do we find the natural human odor to be so offensive? are there other animals who are put off by the smell of their own species?	Well, that's not "natural human odor" you're smelling. What you're smelling are actually mostly the chemical byproducts of bacteria eating all the oils and things in your sweat. These bacterial byproducts are actually some of the same chemicals that make some cheese smelly and even some of the same ones that make rott...	[ "There is also a specific anosmia to the odor in some humans; they are unable to smell specific odors, but have, otherwise, a normal sense of smell. However, this should, by no means, be regarded as indicative for being labeled as a pheromone, as it is true of over 80 olfactory compounds.\n", "The role of smell h...
Any good book on history of education?	Hi, a while ago I commented on a similar question. [You could have a look here](_URL_0_), perhaps it could be useful to you as well?	[ "\"The Education\" is an important work of American literary nonfiction. It provides a penetrating glimpse into the intellectual and political life of the late 19th century. The Modern Library placed it first in a list of the top 100 English-language nonfiction books of the 20th century.\n", "The history of educa...
Why are salts of hydrochloric acid and organic bases called "hydrochlorides" instead of "chlorides"?	Acid-base reactions don't necessarily result in water being produced, that is only true for the simplest case of Arrhenius theory in which the acid always provides a proton and the base a hydroxyl group. A more general theory of acid base reactions is [Bronsted theory](_URL_0_), which still defines an acid as a group t...	[ "Rather than being neutral (as some other salts), alkali salts are bases as their name suggests. What makes these compounds basic is that the conjugate base from the weak acid hydrolyzes to form a basic solution. In sodium carbonate, for example, the carbonate from the carbonic acid hydrolyzes to form a basic solut...
security codes on credit cards	It makes it harder to use stolen credit card data for online purchases without the physical card. The 3 digit code is not stored on the cards magnetic strip, it's only printed on the card itself, so if the card's data is surreptitiously stolen using a card skimmer, they don't get the code, and theoretically it should b...	[ "Both of these standards are maintained and further developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17/WG 1. Credit cards have a magnetic stripe conforming to the ISO/IEC 7813. Many modern credit cards have a computer chip embedded in them as a security feature.\n", "The card security code is typically the last three or four digit...
I've heard there was hand-to-hand fighting in Stalingrad. Is this true? If so, why weren't guns sufficient?	Hand-to-hand can be something of a misnomer, in that it is often used as an example of hyperbole to indicate the ferocity of urban combat, and is not necessarily literal. That being said, urban warfare gets up close and personal, and Stalingrad is in the running for most brutal urban combat of all time, and there are ...	[ "The Stalingrad counteroffensive, Operation Uranus, exposed the Red Army's urgent need for mobile heavy guns. Primary targets for these guns were German fortifications in and around Stalingrad. At the time Soviet front-line ground units did not possess sufficient firepower to deal with pillboxes and other fortifica...
Was Greek civilization derived from Egypt	Civilisation is one of those loose terms that, the more we think about it, the harder it is to define. I'm assuming you mean the general sense of identity/values/aesthetics/social structures and so on that we consider to be 'Greek.' The answer really isn't simple. Firstly, to say there was a single Greek civilisation ...	[ "Archaeological evidence suggests that the history of the ancient Greeks in Egypt dates back at least to Mycenaean times ( 1600-1100 BC) and more likely even further back into the proto-Greek Minoan age. This history is strictly one of commerce as no permanent Greek settlements have been found of these cultures to ...
how can a baseball player throw 95 mph baseball when a boxer's top punching speed is around 25 mph?	Because the speed of a pitch comes from the whip of the arm accelerating the ball. The punch is just arm movement. The two are not connected when it comes to speed.	[ "Scientists contend that the theoretical maximum speed that a pitcher can throw is slightly above . Beyond that the pitcher would cause himself a serious injury. There is no doubt that a pitcher who can throw at 100 mph+ is rare, with only a small handful of pitchers every generation being capable of this feat.\n",...
when and why will the current tech boom end? what are the implications for the overall economy?	"Tech" is a very big field with many sub genres if you like. The 70-90s boom was the personal computer, 00s-10s was the the internet era and to a certain extent it's still going. The next few years will see lots of wearables, IoT and all things 3D printing related. We expect to see interesting developments and changes ...	[ "A report published in 2013 looked at the effect of new technologies on the structure of the labour market, with repetitive jobs being replaced by automation. It predicted that over two decades, 45 percent of all jobs in the United States were at risk of replacement. A report published in early 2016, \"Industrial R...
How long did it take to Christianise the people of Denmark and other parts of the Viking world (Norway, Sweden, Iceland etc)?	It depends on the region; The Jelling Stone in Denmark announcing the establishment of Christianity as the religion by Harald was still significant even if it didn't mean the whole country was converted yet. As did the Icelandic þing decision of 1000 and Saint Olaf's supposed completion of christening of Norway a few d...	[ "The history of Christianity in Norway started in the Viking Age in the 9th century. Trade, plundering raids and travel brought the Norsemen into close contacts with Christian communities, but their conversion only started after powerful chieftains decided to receive baptism during their stay in England or Normandy...
why do games nowadays get sold at normal price unfinished? is it just for money, or is the gaming industry creating such massive games they can't release all the content at once?	I'm 33 years old and was heavily involved in gaming when I was a teenager. I'm not the most OG guy around, but I remember a "back in the day" story or two. You are remembering with rose colored glasses what "then" was like. Back then games were routinely released with game killing bugs. While we did not see the DLC...	[ "However, many users stated that this is the biggest push factor to inflate, as the sellers now demand higher prices before selling an item (in order to make up for the loss of in-game money through tax system). Also, some users state that the inflation will eventually stop without the interference of the game deve...
How does a bit in a computer turn on or off (1 / 0) without something to do it manually?	To add a little context to it computer memory used to be wires and magnets as in [this picture](_URL_0_). So imagine on the left the wires are 1, 2, 3, 4, etc and at the bottom the wires are a, b, c, d, etc. If you run current through wires 1 and a the memory location 1a would be on, or 1. As /u/ramk13 noted today...	[ "So far the article has covered how to turn bits on and turn bits off, but not both at once. Sometimes it does not really matter what the value is, but it must be made the opposite of what it currently is. This can be achieved using the codice_21 (exclusive or) operation. codice_21 returns codice_1 if and only if a...
Did Sweden out of fear cooperate/facilitate the invasion and conquest of Norway by Nazi Germany?	There's a lot of myths about this and I've [previous debunked](_URL_0_) some of them, for more reading. So, to try to keep this short: Invasion of Norway Sweden most certainly did not aid the _invasion and conquest_ of Norway. Sweden was no more aware of the impending invasion than Norway was, so they couldn't if...	[ "Overall the operation appeared to meet few of its initial aims. The political approach did lead to an increased discussion amongst the lower levels of Swedish officialdom as to the possibility of an invasion in Norway. However, it failed to convince the higher levels of government (with the exception of Nordenskiö...
need some physics help to explain why or how this works? (xpost from r/lifehacks)	> ...mainly just the idea as to whether the flower pots actually do help generate more heat and faster. Definitely not. The flower pots are only insulating the heat given off by the candles, so it won't dissipate as fast (the same way a thermos works, essentially). Since the room is so small, and his desk is right ne...	[ "Following Latour (Latour, 2007: 139), the materiality-turn is related to \"the way we move knowledge forward in order to access things that are far away or otherwise inaccessible\" (materiality) or \"the way things move to keep themselves in existence.\" We propose to call this 'matter-iality', to emphasise how th...
why is it that when you quit smoking you get sick and cough so much.	Nicotine is a physically addictive drug meaning that your body developed a physical dependence on the drug being in your system. Without the nicotine your body starts to go through withdrawal symptoms until your nicotine dependence is gone.	[ "Like other physically addictive drugs, nicotine addiction causes a down-regulation of the production of dopamine and other stimulatory neurotransmitters as the brain attempts to compensate for the artificial stimulation caused by smoking. Therefore, when people stop smoking, depressive symptoms such as suicidal te...
If the sun suddenly disappeared from the center of the solar system, how long would it take the Earth to freeze and for life on Earth to die off? Minutes? Days? Weeks?	There would be no gravitational interaction with the Sun, for the planets to orbi, so they would continue in a straight line in the velocity direction of when the gravitation interaction stopped, they would no longer be "falling" towards the Sun. Though if any of the planet's got close enough to eachother they could cr...	[ "In roughly 5 billion years, the Sun will cool and expand outward to many times its current diameter (becoming a red giant), before casting off its outer layers as a planetary nebula and leaving behind a stellar remnant known as a white dwarf. In the far distant future, the gravity of passing stars will gradually r...
Why is it that I can see both Venus and Jupiter in the night sky at the same time?	You may enjoy [this.](_URL_0_)	[ "Because the inner moons of Jupiter are in synchronous rotation around Jupiter, the planet always appears in nearly the same spot in their skies (Jupiter would wiggle a bit because of the non-zero eccentricities). Observers on the sides of the Galilean satellites facing away from the planet would never see Jupiter,...
how is the price of a book determined?	Supply and demand. Books with small publishers and high demand are expensive. Famous authors are expensive. Books that are considered up-and-coming stars are given better jackets and priced higher than new books that the publisher has deemed serviceable but not amazing. However, new books cost more than old books becau...	[ "Book prices generally depend on the demand for a given book, the number of copies available for purchase, and the condition of a given copy. As with other collectibles, prices rise and fall with the popularity of a given author, title, or subject.\n", "The price of an item is also called the \"price point\", esp...
Why are face transplants so rough?	There are so many nerve endings. Not like with most plastic surgery, where it's one area of the face that is fixed. This is an entire face. I would assume there's a lot of tissue damage/tissue death involved as well. It's just a really difficult task.	[ "An alternative to a face transplant is facial reconstruction, which typically involves moving the patient's own skin from their back, buttocks, thighs, or chest to their face in a series of as many as 50 operations to regain even limited functionality, and a face that is often likened to a mask or a living quilt.\...
How effective were ironclad warships?	As /u/Superplaner pointed out, the lack of many notable clashes in the short span where Ironclad Battleships were the Queen of the Seas makes judging their effectiveness a little hard to manage. One of the few we have is the Battle of Hampton Roads, and all the evidence points to the Union Fleet's Dahlgren guns being e...	[ "They were very large and fast warships for their time, displacing over 15,000 tons at full load; could make , while could achieve . Other ironclads of the era could not make more than . Their high speed, powerful main battery, and thin armor protection has led to many naval historians to characterize the ships as ...
At roughly what time in history did European weapons become technologically superior to those found in the rest of the world?	So, apparently the people who answered you removed all their comments. So I'll try and give you some basic guidelines, but this is pretty far from my expertise: 1) First of all, the level of technology did and still does vary drastically across the world. An important thing to realise is that technology is not just k...	[ "Along with advancements in communication, Europe also continued to advance in military technology. European chemists made new explosives that made artillery much more deadly. By the 1880s, the machine gun had become a reliable battlefield weapon. This technology gave European armies an advantage over their opponen...
what are the major differences between aerobic and anaerobic exercise?	Aerobic exercises are often classified as cardio and endurance work outs. They focus on doing light exercises for long periods of time to help the blood flow and help muscle groups learn to work for extended periods of time. This is what's most often recommended for people who are working out just to lose weight, becau...	[ "Aerobic exercise (also known as cardio) is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. \"Aerobic\" means \"relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen\", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobi...
please explain me why some people believe the world trade center catastrophy was a conspiracy act	No one here actually explained anything about why people believe its a conspiracy act. I, myself, do not believe any of this, but this is what is said. Whether any of it is true, I do not know. 1. There have been only 6 times in history that a steel building has fallen due to fires. 4 of them happened the WTC b...	[ "The most prominent conspiracy theory is that the collapse of the Twin Towers and 7 World Trade Center were the result of controlled demolitions rather than structural failure due to impact and fire. Another prominent belief is that the Pentagon was hit by a missile launched by elements from inside the U.S. governm...
My uncles were born identical twins, yet their personalities seem to contrast each other. Is this a known thing?	If they're identical (monozygotic) twins then technically they were the same ball of cells at some point. Monoamniotic/monochorionic monozygotic twins split at around day 10ish post-fertilization (just past the blastocyst stage), but most other twins split prior to that. Depending on when you define the start of life...	[ "Conjoined twin brothers are born in a royal family, but are separated at birth. Though they are twins, one has a blood disorder so his skin discolors and his left arm is paralyzed. Years later they discover each other and unite to free their kingdom from the traitors.\n", "In terms of appearances, the twins are ...
if older cartoons and animated movies were drawn by hand, how did they get the coloring so even and clean, unlike paintings for example?	You mean how they stay perfectly inside the lines? It's because the sheets the animation is drawn on are transparent. They draw the lines on one side, then paint on the backside, so even if they're off slightly, filmed from the front, the color is perfectly inside the lines. If you mean how uniform the colors are... Y...	[ "Ub Iwerks adapted xerography to eliminate the hand-inking stage in the animation process by printing the animator's drawings directly to the cels. The first animated feature film to use this process was \"One Hundred and One Dalmatians\" (1961), although the technique was already tested in \"Sleeping Beauty\", rel...
why does tea taste sweeter after it cools down?	You generally tastes less when drinking really hot things or really cold things, partially due to how fast you tend to move it to parts of your mouth that are less sensitive, and others are signals being mixed with how hot/cold/pain you are feeling.	[ "Sweet tea is tea that is brewed very strong with a large amount of sugar added while the tea is hot. The mixture of sugar and tea is then diluted with water, served over ice, and occasionally garnished with lemon. Sometimes the diluted mixture is allowed to cool to room temperature. Other times the sugar and tea m...
What would happen if two faults on opposite sides of a tectonic plate shifted simultaneously?	First, the Cascadia subduction zone is on the western edge of the North American plate, but the New Madrid seismic zone is an intra-continental feature, i.e. it is in the middle of the North American plate. The eastern edge of the North American plate is the [Mid-Atlantic Ridge](_URL_1_). Going with the spirit of the...	[ "Tectonic earthquakes occur anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. The sides of a fault move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the fault surface that increase the ...
canadian's election are really close. can you explain what we should know? (young guy that knows nothing and want to make the best decision)	Read through the party platforms and websites to see which party you most agree with. Personally I won't vote conservative, because they have blocked research scientist from speaking about publicly funded research results without political approval. They also closed many research libraries, getting rid of decades w...	[ "\"Choosing Wisely Canada\" leads an international community, made up of nations who are implementing similar programs in their respective countries. At present, this community includes representation from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Z...
why can't we build a car that generates its power from the wheels turn like a windmill	Because energy transfer isn't perfect, and the energy you'd expend getting the wheels to turn is WAYYY more than the energy you'd get back trying to use the spinning wheels to turn a generator.	[ "On the ground, the propeller and rotor are stopped and power is diverted to the wheels, allowing it to travel as a three-wheeled car. Unusually, it leans into turns like a motorcycle, a solution pioneered by the Carver vehicle, also produced by a Dutch company.\n", "Electric motors, when used in reverse function...
In medieval Europe how often would you encounter people who carry either a sword or bow?	Medieval Europe is a vast area and time. People you could meet in England in the 1100s would be different than France in the 1250s, and Italy in the 1300s. Can you narrow it down a bit?	[ "BULLET::::- Spadonari di Venaus: Sword dance from Venaus in the Val di Susa done for the feast of San Biagio. Four men clothed in a fastastic imitation of medieval warriors perform with large two-handed swords. The dance lasts about an hour and has only a few figures: raising the sword in salute, circling the swor...
why are illicit drugs cut with dangerous chemicals?	When you're making drugs "at home' (ie - not a professional lab), you tend to cut corners and not buy everything from the most reputable chemical suppliers. Maybe you need a strong acid, why not grab battery acid or concrete cleaner? A strong base means you use lye-based drain cleaner. A solvent has you use gasoline...	[ "Historically, chemicals critical to the synthesis or manufacture of illicit drugs are introduced into various venues via legitimate purchases by companies that are registered and licensed to do business as chemical importers or handlers. Once in a country or state, the chemicals are diverted by rogue importers or ...
Why does the temperature drop just before sunrise?	I'm not sure what you mean. Excluding outside factors like cold fronts, the temperature doesn't suddenly drop just before sunrise. Just before sunrise is the coldest part of the day because cooling takes place throughout the night while the sun is not up (again, excluding fronts), but there's no sudden drop just befo...	[ "Temperature inversions occur most frequently along coastal areas bordering large bodies of water. This is the result of natural onshore movement of cool, humid air shortly after sunset when the ground air cools more quickly than the upper air layers. The same action may take place in the morning when the rising su...
How Do I find out who is buried on my parents' old property when some of the graves are marked only with stones?	Not asking you to dox yourself at all, but depending on the county it might be worth contacting the county historical society and/or the local newspaper, to see if they have archives going back to the early era of when the area was settled. If I remember correctly, UNC in Chapel Hill has a newspaper archive, and some o...	[ "The oldest recorded stones in the cemetery have been there since the early 1800s. Some graves have no headstone and there are no records of who is buried there, just a little X marking a burial spot. The most common symbols found on the headstones are religious crosses. The two mausoleums people visit are the ones...
Was there ever a more global language than English?	English is widely spoken throughout the world, but isn't nearly as dominant as you might think. It's second to Mandarin in terms of total speakers, and Spanish (a very global language), Arabic, and Russian aren't very far behind. A solid tip in the economy that lasted a few generations could totally upset our perceptio...	[ "Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca, is also regarded as the first world language. English is the world's most widely used language in newspaper publishing, book publishing, international telecommunications, scientific publishing, international trade, mass entertainment, and diplo...
What are the origins of playing cards?	Follow-up question: How did certain cards in various games gather their names, such as the left and right "bauers" of Euchre or the "vixer" and "old lady" of Solo? If I understand correctly, the games I gave as example are historically of German origin, which could have a role in the naming of the specific cards. In f...	[ "Playing cards may have been invented during the Tang dynasty around the 9th century AD as a result of the usage of woodblock printing technology. The first possible reference to card games comes from a 9th-century text known as the \"Collection of Miscellanea at Duyang\", written by Tang dynasty writer Su E. It de...
what happens to fines paid to government?	Broadly speaking, it's treated as income. In that respect, you can think of it like cutting Uncle Sam a check; it's no different than paying taxes. It might help to think of the government^1 as a big corporation: there's a highly visible point person, a 538-person board of directors, and a whole bunch of subsidiary co...	[ "One common example of a fine is money paid for violations of traffic laws. Currently in English common law, relatively small fines are used either in place of or alongside community service orders for low-level criminal offences. Larger fines are also given independently or alongside shorter prison sentences when ...
I read that caffeine in coffee has a half life of about 4 hours. It's this true? If so, why dies it only decay at this rate after the coffee is brewed?	4-5 hours. The half life is only in regards to the metabolic half life inside the body. A lot of enzymes break down caffeine into other compounds and this process takes time. Some is also expelled through the urine. Natural degrading of compounds does not happen in the same way. It is a totally different process and ...	[ "The structure of caffeine allows the molecule to pass freely through biological membranes including the blood-brain barrier. Absorption in the gastrointestinal tract reaches near completion at about 99% after only 45 minutes. Half-life of caffeine for most adults is between 2.5 and 4.5 hours when consumption is li...
How can Orcas jump so high?	It's all about velocity, the faster you can approach the surface of the water, the higher you can jump. However it's not an issue of being better swimmers in general, sharks are neutral buoyancy, orcas are positive buoyancy. This means orcas store energy as they dive, and this gets converted into velocity as they asce...	[ "Taiwan serows can jump as high as 2 m and run as fast as 20 km per hour. Among all mammals in Taiwan, they are the best high jumpers. They can be found at an elevation as low as 50 meters, but are mostly seen at 1000 meters and as high as 3500 meters. Their habitats include conifer forest, mixed broad-leaved fores...
how do the rsa securids work?	Imagine you had two matched devices that generated a series of numbers, 1 every minute, based on a secret formula. You give me one, and keep one for yourself. Later on, I text you, but you aren't sure that it is me, so you ask for the number on my device. If it matches yours, you can be pretty sure it is really me. ...	[ "RSA SecurID, formerly referred to as SecurID, is a mechanism developed by Security Dynamics (later RSA Security and now RSA, The Security Division of EMC) for performing two-factor authentication for a user to a network resource.\n", "RSA is most known for its SecurID product that provides two-factor authenticat...
why are the french riots with the yellow vest protestors not being reported at all in u.s. media?	A combination of the fact that many people in the US don't care about foreign affairs to begin with and don't understand the reason for the Yellow Vest protests / riots and are therefore not interested, and that even if people did understand what the protests were about, they've been going on for so long that the media...	[ "Earlier in the week, France's highest court denied a request to ban police from using \"flash balls\" or \"defensive ball launchers\", known as LBDs, that shoot rubber projectiles, which have been blamed for a number of serious injuries. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner admitted in media interviews tha...
during the war of the currents, tesla and edison battled over superiority between alternating current (ac) and direct current (dc). why is alternating current regarded as more superior than direct current?	It is not really superior. Automobiles use direct current. The one really important difference up to now is that transformers can be used to step up and down the voltage with alternating current. At the power plant the voltage is stepped up tremendously to be carried on high overhead wires. High voltage means low cur...	[ "In the US the competition between direct current and alternating current took a personal turn in the late 1880s in the form of a \"War of Currents\" when Thomas Edison started attacking George Westinghouse and his development of the first US AC transformer systems, pointing out all the deaths caused by high voltag...
Are there any measurable differences between two hydrogen atoms?	No. :) That's a quite significant feature of quantum mechanics. They are completely indistinguishable. And this is a relevant feature when doing calculations in thermodynamics (more precisely in statistical mechanics).	[ "A single hydrogen atom can participate in two hydrogen bonds, rather than one. This type of bonding is called \"bifurcated\" (split in two or \"two-forked\"). It can exist, for instance, in complex natural or synthetic organic molecules. It has been suggested that a bifurcated hydrogen atom is an essential step in...
a breakdown of the marvel universe leading up to avengers: age of ultron.	They were once all separate heroes but they were eventually all recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D., a US government agency dedicated to detecting and neutralizing threats, both on earth and elsewhere. It is a lot to go into so I agree with homeboi in saying check out /r/marvel or /r/marvelstudios	[ "Avengers: Age of Ultron is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2012's \"The Avengers\" and the eleventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was...
Is CBD oil effective at treating anxiety/depression?	Neuroscience PhD here. It might be useful for anxiety, but the evidence is nowhere near as clear as people are making it out to be in this thread. More importantly, the side effects and long term effects of chronic is are completely un-studied. If anxiety is inhibiting your ability to live the way you would like, p...	[ "Emerging evidence suggests a possible role for CBT in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); hypochondriasis; coping with the impact of multiple sclerosis; sleep disturbances related to aging; dysmenorrhea; and bipolar disorder, but more study is needed and results should be interpreted ...
How did hunting wild animals in Africa change after the introduction of firearms?	Well, first I should note that there was quite a bit of variation. Firearms were being traded to the states of West Africa in the early 1600s, but in interior Central Africa they were still fairly rare and recent introductions in the 1830s. By the same token, use of firearms for hunting varied in different societies. ...	[ "As former European colonies in Africa gained independence, safari hunting on the continent began a slow decline due to resource mismanagement and political factors. This, in turn, led to a decline in interest in big bore rifles and cartridges used to hunt dangerous African game species. However, by the 1980s Afric...
what is this warm feeling that starts from the top of my face and goes down towards my body.	Are you an alcoholic by any chance?	[ "Hot flashes, a common symptom of menopause and perimenopause, are typically experienced as a feeling of intense heat with sweating and rapid heartbeat, and may typically last from two to thirty minutes for each occurrence, ending just as rapidly as they began. The sensation of heat usually begins in the face or ch...
Why do some stars produce four lines that protrude from the star whenever a photograph is taken from them?	This is actually because the telescope that images the star has a secondary mirror that is held in place with four support beams, and that causes an interference pattern that looks like what you're describing. [See here](_URL_0_)	[ "Star trail photographs are possible because of the rotation of Earth about its axis. The apparent motion of the stars is recorded as mostly curved streaks on the film or detector. For observers in the Northern Hemisphere, aiming the camera northward creates an image with concentric circular arcs centered on the no...
how is it possible that the world collective debt is bigger than world collective wealth? can't we just annul all of the debt that shouldn't be there and go on?	I think that debt IS wealth. If you got rid of the debt, it would remove all the wealth, because the wealth is made up of receivables. That’s one reason why you wouldn’t get a lot of support for this idea from the wealthy.	[ "There is much debate about whether the richer countries should be asked for money which has to be repaid. The Jubilee Debt Campaign gives six reasons why the third world debts should be cancelled. Firstly, several governments want to spend more money on poverty reduction but they lose that money in paying off thei...
How long does it actually take to form a 'habit'? (Or, is there any truth to the '21 days to form a habit' axiom?)	Habit formation for eating, drinking, and exercise behaviors [has been shown to vary greatly](_URL_0_), taking anywhere from 18 to 254 days. Moreover, in this study, it tended to follow an asymptotic curve, and "the median time to reach 95% of asymptote was 66 days." While this isn't neuroscience, the study nonethele...	[ "There is a theory that it takes an average of 66 days to break a habit. The amount of time it takes to break a habit is generally between 18 and 254 days. This should often be repeated once or maybe twice depending on what the habit is, something small like chewing fingernail should only have to be done once. Larg...
In medicine can 400mg vs. 600mg of some medicine actually mean they are stronger, not just quantity ?	The activity of the drug molecule is unchanged. I think the biggest concern is accidental overdose - doubling up on a 600 mg pill has a bigger impact than doubling up on a 400 mg pill. On the flip side of things, I can see 3x 400 mg pills dissolving much faster than 2x 600 mg pill, even though the total amount is ide...	[ "At the same time, only limited number of the middle-weight compounds with a molecular weight from 500 to 2000 Da is used as the therapeutics or is now under study as potent chemical compounds for drug therapy and diagnostics.\n", "Solubility class boundaries are based on the highest dose strength of an immediate...
how does an old hospital get sanitized before being turned into another kind of institution?	Would I be correct in understanding that you feel hospitals are DIRTIER than restaurants? This seems to be a pretty strange thought, could you explain why you believe there needs to be extra steps taken other than the cleaning they do anyway?	[ "A hospital is an institution for healthcare typically providing specialized treatment for inpatient (or overnight) stays. Some hospitals primarily admit patients suffering from a specific disease or affliction, or are reserved for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting a specific age group. Others hav...
Is there ever a case where a noble gas does react with something?	Sure. It's more common for the ones with higher atomic number. The outer electrons are shielded by the inner ones, so they're more free to form bonds. Wikipedia has its own article on [noble gas compounds](_URL_0_)	[ "Unlike noble gases, an inert gas is not necessarily elemental and is often a compound gas. Like the noble gases the tendency for non-reactivity is due to the valence, the outermost electron shell, being complete in all the inert gases. This is a tendency, not a rule, as noble gases and other \"inert\" gases can re...
Why will two pendulum clocks mounted on a common wall synchronise? i.e. How does coupled oscillation work?	The second pendulum will make the wall move slightly, this movement is transmitted to the first pendulum. It's broadly like [two pendulums joined by a spring](_URL_0_) (a coupled oscillator), but with the wall playing the role of an extremely stiff "spring". The fact that pendulums are "inanimate" has absolutely no...	[ "The cause of this behavior was that the two pendulums were affecting each other through slight motions of the supporting mantlepiece. This process is called entrainment or mode locking in physics and is observed in other coupled oscillators. Synchronized pendulums have been used in clocks and were widely used in g...
Why wasn't Australia conquered and split by European powers as Africa was?	You may find this thread useful, particularly the response from /u/agentdcf: _URL_0_	[ "With the exception of further Dutch visits to the west, however, Australia remained largely unvisited by Europeans until the first British explorations. John Callander put forward a proposal in 1766 for Britain to found a colony of banished convicts in the South Sea or in Terra Australis to enable the mother count...
why can't spinal discs be "re-hydrated" later in life?	If your doctor didn't explain why, get a new one. He/she obviously doesn't care	[ "This water loss makes the discs less flexible and results in the gradual collapse and narrowing of the gap in the spinal column. As the space between vertebrae gets smaller, extra pressure can be placed on the discs causing tiny cracks or tears to appear in the anulus. If enough pressure is exerted, it's possible ...
how does this .jpg file move like a .gif but when downloaded shows up as a .jpeg	It's lies. The filetype isn't determined by the extension - not in this context anyway - it's determined by metadata in the file that says it's a gif. My image reader on the desktop chokes trying to read it because it naively trusts file extensions, but the file utility shows clearly it's marked as a GIF in the metad...	[ "A JPEG image consists of a sequence of \"segments\", each beginning with a \"marker\", each of which begins with a 0xFF byte, followed by a byte indicating what kind of marker it is. Some markers consist of just those two bytes; others are followed by two bytes (high then low), indicating the length of marker-spec...
Can somebody build up a tolerance to electricity?	There is a difference between "not being in pain from x" and "being immune to x." Pain tolerance is one thing, but a taser works by using electricity to create physical convulsions. This is direct stimulation of the muscles we're talking about. Adapting to THAT would require evolution to provide us with electrical ins...	[ "To some degree, g-tolerance can be trainable, and there is also considerable variation in innate ability between individuals. In addition, some illnesses, particularly cardiovascular problems, reduce g-tolerance.\n", "Zero tolerance policies violate principles of health and human services, and standards of the e...
difference between nightmares and night terrors	The basics are that nightmares you wake up from and remember. Night Terrors you don't wake up, can call out / yell in your sleep, yet you won't remember that particular dream ( although you can remember the feeling the dream gave you ) Source: Have had both Nightmares and Night Terrors consistently for years. I was...	[ "A night terror, also known as a sleep terror or \"pavor nocturnus\", is a parasomnia disorder that predominantly affects children, causing feelings of terror or dread. Night terrors should not be confused with nightmares, which are bad dreams that cause the feeling of horror or fear.\n", "We have to distinguish ...
how do we know that gravity curves spacetime and is not a force?	The theory which describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime (Einstein's general theory of relativity) makes a lot of predictions. And many of those predictions [have been verified](_URL_0_), which lends support to the theory.	[ "In general relativity, gravity can be regarded as not a force but a consequence of a curved spacetime geometry where the source of curvature is the stress–energy tensor (representing matter, for instance). Thus, for example, the path of a planet orbiting a star is the projection of a geodesic of the curved 4-D spa...
How similar are modern day version of the Torah when compared to the oldest known versions?	Let me clarify a few terms: (1) by "Torah" I am going to assume you mean the entire Hebrew Bible/Old Testament rather than only the Pentateuch, (2) by "versions" I'm assuming you either mean "manuscripts" or a more esoteric scholarly concept of "the earliest attainable text" - I'll address both, and (3) I don't know wh...	[ "The oldest complete Torah scroll was discovered stored in an academic library in Bolonia, Italy by Professor Mauro Perani in 2013. It had been mislabeled in 1889 as dating from the 17th century, but Perani suspected it was actually older as it was written in an earlier Babylonian script. Two tests conducted by lab...
what do doctors do with the empty space after a half brain removing surgery	The procedure is called a hemispherectomy (hemi = half, sphere, ectomy = removal) and they don't do anything with the empty space. It ends up filling up with cerebrospinal fluid. It's not like they are going to put a prosthetic brain in there for cosmetic purposes, haha.	[ "Another way a lobectomy can be performed is through a video assisted surgery. With this type the surgeon does not need to pry the two ribs open in order to get in. A few small incisions are made and surgical tools are inserted into the chest cavity. A small camera with a light will then be inserted. What the camer...
the different types of pencils 2b,b,whatever else there is	Pencil leads come in a variety of hardnesses, obtained by altering the ratio of clay to graphite in the pencil. More clay makes the lead harder, but also means it makes a lighter mark. They are often used for engineering drawings because they produce a sharp, clean line without much variation in the darkness of the lin...	[ "Dixon Ticonderoga makes a variety of pencils, including the Classic, Black, Noir, Tri-Conderoga, Microban, Laddie, My First (formerly Beginners), SenseMatic, and colored pencils. The pencils are available in different grades: #1 (Extra Soft), #2 (Soft), #2½ (Medium), #3 (Hard), and #4 (Extra Hard).\n", "A mechan...
LCD screens and Duck Hunt	As you already know, light guns need a CRT to work. Using a silicon (or any other covering) sadly wouldn't help at all. When a CRT screen draws the image, it draws each pixel at a time - usually starting at the top, working left to right and then down a line until the whole screen is drawn. It then starts again. The w...	[ "\"Duck Hunt\" is a shooter game in which the objective is to shoot moving targets on the television screen in mid-flight. The game is played from a first-person perspective and requires the NES Zapper light gun, which the player aims and fires at the screen. It also requires a CRT television screen since the Zappe...
How do you tell how long has a person been dead?	One way is by measuring body temperature. Given someone's weight and the temperature of their surroundings and their current temperature one can extrapolate how long the body has been cooling down from normal body temperature. Hopefully others can step in and explain other methods.	[ "In some cases, a person will be declared dead even without any remains or doctor's declaration. This is under one of two circumstances. First, if a person was known to be in mortal peril when last seen, they can often be declared dead shortly after. Examples would be the passengers of the \"Titanic\" that were not...
What's the difference between Deep Blue's algorithm and Monte Carlo Tree Search?	The difference is in how they decide which move to take. Deep Blue has a function to tell how good the board is for him. He uses this function to decide which move to take. On the other hand, for some games no well working function to rate a board is known (like go). For such one uses the MCTS. Each legal play is do...	[ "In computer science, Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) is a heuristic search algorithm for some kinds of decision processes, most notably those employed in game play. MCTS was introduced in 2006 for computer Go. It has been used in other board games like chess and shogi, games with incomplete information such as brid...
given the fragmented instant messaging market and the failure to create a standard protocol, why aren't there email clients that make using email more like instant messaging?	Huh? Email essentially already is instant messaging, if the user utilizes it in that way. You can get notifications that pop up on your computer that tell you that you just got an email, and it's essentially instance. Your phone can tell you that you just got an email, and it's essentially instant. I sometimes use ...	[ "Empirical studies demonstrated that all team members on a software development team used this tool effectively. Unlike instant messaging, email messages are intended to be more stand-alone and less sensitive to the context of communication, and thus producing email messages requires more time than traditional IM m...
Zebras in the middle east?	There are some zebra-like fossils known from Asia, but it's obviously hard to know if they had stripes!	[ "The plains zebra's range stops short of the Sahara from South Sudan and southern Ethiopia extending south along eastern Africa, as far as Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi, before spreading into most southern African countries. They may have lived in Algeria in the Neolithic era. Plains zebras generally live in treel...
Is it better for a computer to never turn it off, or to turn it off regularly?	The TL;DR on all of the responses is essentially "If you build a System correctly, it doesn't matter whether you leave it on or off, it will outlive its usefulness long before it stops working".	[ "Modern interactive computers require that the computer constantly be monitoring for user input or device activity, so at some fundamental level there is an infinite processing [[idle loop]] that must continue until the device is turned off or reset. In the [[Apollo Guidance Computer]], for example, this outer loop...
why are saltwater aquariums so hard to maintain, but the fish can live in the ocean with a lot more variables?	It's largely because there are so many variables that are typically present in the ocean, but not in an aquarium. There are a million different chemicals that are present in the ocean in specific concentrations that won't be present in the aquarium, often because we don't know which of them is important or not. Eve...	[ "Home aquaria and inland commercial aquariums are a form of RAS where the water quality is very carefully controlled and the stocking density of fish is relatively low. In these systems the goal is to display the fish rather than producing food. However, biofilters and other forms of water treatment are still used ...
what is an elementary function?	The elementary functions are a set of well known functions such as powers of x, roots of x, exponentials, trigonometric functions and their inverses, and most importantly any combinations of them, for example e^sinx + x^(2). Non elementary functions are those that can't be written like that. For example if I define th...	[ "In mathematics, an elementary function is a function of one variable which is the composition of a finite number of arithmetic operations , exponentials, logarithms, constants, trigonometric functions, and solutions of algebraic equations (a generalization of \"n\"th roots).\n", "Elementary Functions- a study of...
if temperature affects air pressure, would the temperature on a planet with a thinner atmosphere feel different than the same temperature on a planet with a thicker atmosphere?	How temperature feels is subjective because it is a feeling. Factors such as humidity may impact how temperature feels but humidity is related to much more than how thick the atmosphere is and its quite localized.	[ "In the field of planetary atmospheres, David Catling and Tyler Robinson have proposed a general explanation for a curious observation: the minimum air temperature between the troposphere (the lowest atmospheric layer where temperature declines with altitude) and stratosphere (where temperature increases with altit...
where does water pressure come from?	I'll just try to elaborate a bit. There are only 2 common ways to increase the pressure of any fluid (including water). Pressure is equal to the density of the liquid times the height, it doesn't matter how wide or deep the pipe is, the water pressure at the bottom of a 2 inch diameter tube that's 100 feet tall will ...	[ "The perception of water pressure is actually the speed of the water as it hits a surface, (the hands, in the case of hand washing). When an aerator is added to the faucet (or fluid stream), there is a region of high pressure created behind the aerator. Because of the higher pressure behind the aerator and the low ...
why does an emergency door have a grill / bars inside its window?	> I'm almost certain that every emergency door have a window and a grill in it. Many do not, but it is a common feature in such doors to allow some vision of what is past them. You can avoid walking into a fire or smoke hazard with such a feature. > Why does it have those? It doesn't mean like the grill will make...	[ "The U.S. State Department often uses steel grillwork much like a jail to seal off parts of a home used by U.S. Foreign Service members overseas when they are living in cities with a high crime threat. In some cities, the entire upstairs area is grilled off, as well as every window and door to the home. Other homes...
- the recent hate on nbc	From the sounds of it, their coverage has been somewhat uneven, between cuts, camerawork and adverts. However it seems the most notable culmination that has got people riled is the replacement a tribute to victims of a terrorist incident in the UK on the 7th of July in 2005 that took place during the opening ceremony...	[ "General manager Mike Pumo refused to elaborate on the decision, other than the show's content did not \"raise the red flag\" during pre-screening. Stratton Pollitzer, deputy director of Equality Florida, considered the show hate speech, saying, \"I think this program is a piece of homophobic propaganda and it has ...
Why can't people with O-Negative blood donate platelets?	O- is in short supply due to the demand as universal donor. B- is just an insanely rare blood type, less than 1% in caucasians if I remember right. Important because the only 2 types this type can receive (without risking sensitization to D) is b neg and o neg. Theres no reason they couldnt donate platelets, but sin...	[ "Platelets are the clotting cells of the blood, and when donated, frequently go to cancer patients, because due to chemotherapy many cancer patients are unable to generate enough platelets of their own.\n", "Problems with apheresis include the expense of the equipment used for collection. Whole blood platelets al...
If you can't hear thunder (but can see distant bolts of lightning) are you still in danger?	The odds of getting hit by lightning are pretty low no matter the conditions, but if you're super scared of things, it is very remotely possible to be struck by a [bolt from the blue](_URL_0_) 15 or 20 miles from a thunderhead. I've been a lightning watcher all my life (56 y) and so was my dad. Neither of us ever even...	[ "The U.S. National Lightning Safety Institute advises American citizens to have a plan for their safety when a thunderstorm occurs and to commence it as soon as the first lightning is seen or thunder heard. This is important as lightning can strike without rain actually falling. If thunder can be heard at all, then...
Why did some areas of Africa quickly convert to Islam, some convert slowly to Christianity, and others keep worshipping tribal gods?	The answer is that they didn't convert all that quickly at all. Those areas that did convert to Islam did so quite gradually. Much of Northern Africa, as former Roman provinces, were Christian during the Arab conquests, but gradually became more Muslim over time, often thanks in part to economic pressures. Similarly, n...	[ "Islam came to North Africa at a moment when there was nothing of a calibre sufficient to oppose it, while there were many native elements favourable to its advance. The Romans were largely obliterated except in Berenice and the rest of the small area under Byzantine rule. Civilisation in Berenice was almost extinc...
what happens to the human body when it experiences spontaneous decompression? does it just pop?	"Coward, Lucas and Bergersen were exposed to the effects of explosive decompression and died in the positions indicated by the diagram. Subsequent investigation by forensic pathologists determined Hellevik, being exposed to the highest pressure gradient, violently exploded due to the rapid and massive expansion of inte...	[ "The term \"decompression\" derives from the reduction in ambient pressure experienced by the organism and refers to both the reduction in pressure and the process of allowing dissolved inert gases to be eliminated from the tissues during and after this reduction in pressure. The uptake of gas by the tissues is in ...
Why can't I cleanly wipe the condensation off my bathroom mirror after a shower?	Condensation is caused by the relatively cool surface of the mirror pulling moisture out of the air. The water vapor in the air essentially loses energy, that is, cools off and phase changes into water, when it encounters this surface. When you wipe it, you get rid of the droplets that have formed on the surface of...	[ "The simplest version of a mirror coating is a single layer of a deposited thin film of a suitable metal, usually prepared by ion beam deposition, sputter deposition or vapor deposition. However, this kind of coating is very prone to scratching, and degrades, especially in a corrosive environment like salt water.\n...
During timeperiods with more oxygen in the atmosphere, did fires burn faster/hotter?	Yes. And during periods with lower oxygen levels, fires burned more slowly or not at all. Some natural fuels will burn at high oxygen concentrations but not low. [This article](_URL_0_) examines these relationships. Wildfires may actually act to stabilize atmospheric oxygen levels. If the concentration increases, ...	[ "It is not necessary but highly likely that this kindling phase took place in an oxidising atmosphere: an oxygen-rich fire is likely in any case, since it is much more effective in producing heat. Further, the fact that reducing fires are extremely smoky would probably have been considered as undesirable, and was t...
How accurate is the information that Leif Erickson actually discovered North America?	Hi, not discouraging others from answering here, but you may be interested in a few earlier posts * /u/400-Rabbits in [Did Vikings ever make contact with North America before Christopher Columbus?](_URL_2_) * /u/textandtrowel in [What do we know about Vinland?](_URL_3_) * /u/A_Crazy_Canadian in [What information abo...	[ "After quitting Hanover Beamish devoted much attention to Norse antiquities, and in 1841 published a summary of the researches of Professor Carl Christian Rafn, relative to the discovery of America by the Northmen in the tenth century. Although the fact had been notified as early as 1828 (in a letter in Niles' Regi...
why fat forms where it does	I'm sorry if the answer is incorrect but my lecturer told me that it has to do with gender. Male: The stomach. Female: Buttocks.	[ "Adipose tissue, commonly known as fat, is a depository for energy in order to conserve metabolic homeostasis. As the body takes in energy in the form of glucose, some is expended, and the rest is stored as glycogen primarily in the liver, muscle cells, or fat.\n", "Fat body (\"Corpus adiposum\") is a loosely org...
When (and why) did capital punishment start being carried out by lethal injection?	The history of lethal injection is an interesting and horrible one. Lethal injection was first suggested as a procedure in 1888, by an American doctor, incidentally a year after the abolition of capital punishment in Maine. In some ways, lethal injection has always been a very American thing. At the time, victims wer...	[ "The methods for execution at San Quentin have changed over time. Prior to 1893, the counties executed convicts. Between 1893 and 1937, 215 people were executed at San Quentin by hanging, after which 196 prisoners died in the gas chamber. In 1995, the use of gas for execution was ruled \"cruel and unusual punishmen...
What are the differences in the metabolisms of someone who can't get fat and someone who gains weight easily?	While this doesn't quite answer your question, perhaps it will give you some information that is part of the answer. Human microbiota (all the microbes in and on you) work has exploded in the last 10 years. One huge piece of research to come out of this is that [lean people and obese](_URL_0_) people harbor differen...	[ "All body shapes are different, meaning, people carry fat in different places. Some locations on the body are more metabolically active than others, and those areas will lose weight quicker than those that are not as metabolically active. For many people, abdominal fat is more metabolically active, and can be reduc...
how does a build up of lactic acid in an athlete's muscles cause them to sometimes thow up	Throwing up is one of a few things the body just defaults to when it senses something is geberally wrong. Better safe than sorry, maybe it's something you ate, let's throw up just to be sure. Makes sense from an evolutionary stand point. Also, when so much lactic acid is built up, it'll sometimes end up in your actual...	[ "The presence of lactic acid has an inhibitory effect on ATP generation within the muscle; though not producing fatigue, it can inhibit or even stop performance if the intracellular concentration becomes too high. However, long-term training causes neovascularization within the muscle, increasing the ability to mov...
is paying off a mortgage like paying rent?	...Sort of? It is a regular bill which needs to be paid so it seems similar. However a major difference is that the money paid into the mortgage isn't really gone in the same way as rent. You are gaining equity or ownership of the property so when it is sold you get that money back. You can even sell before the mortgag...	[ "Some mortgage companies also charge early payment penalties if the homeowner pays more than is due in order to reduce the interest owed and to shorten the remaining term of the loan. The fees typically negate this advantage at least in part.\n", "The mortgage part was typically on an interest only basis, while t...
why are veterans held in such high regard in america and why do some veterans walk around in uniform when not on duty?	Because they fought for our country. They risked their lives for us. I think they deserve a little damn respect.	[ "Because of intense group solidarity and unique daily hardships brought by combat, many veterans feel alienated from citizens, family, and friends when they return. They often feel they have little in common with civilian peers; issues that concern friends and family seem trivial after combat. There is a clarity of...
How did kingdoms with two simultaneous kings come about and how did it work?	On your tangent: "state" is just a generic (and somewhat ill-defined) word for a sovereign political entity, it doesn't imply anything about the form of government. Kingdoms are states.	[ "For years both kingdoms were involved in wars until the kingdom of Tallo was defeated. During the reign of King of Gowa X, \"I Manriwagau Daeng Bonto Karaeng Lakiung Tunipalangga Ulaweng\" (1512-1546), the two kingdoms were reunified to become twin kingdoms under a deal called \"Rua Kareng se're ata\" (\"dual king...
Could a planet theoretically exist which is much larger than earth but made of less dense materials and therefore still have earth gravity?	The important thing to remember is that the force of gravity from an object is dependent mainly on two things; the mass of that object, and your distance from its center of gravity. So, laying aside your requirement for solid ground for now, the simple answer is yes. We just have to have our hypothetical planet fulfil...	[ "Recent discoveries have uncovered planets that are thought to be similar in size or mass to Earth. \"Earth-sized\" ranges are typically defined by mass. The lower range used in many definitions of the super-Earth class is 1.9 Earth masses; likewise, sub-Earths range up to the size of Venus (~0.815 Earth masses). A...

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