q_id stringlengths 5 6 | title stringlengths 3 296 | selftext stringlengths 0 34k | document stringclasses 1 value | subreddit stringclasses 1 value | url stringlengths 4 110 | answers dict | title_urls list | selftext_urls list | answers_urls list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3pnaw8 | why do some clubs have drink minimums? | I was just in NYC over the weekend and went to two comedy clubs. Both had two-drink minimums. I can understand a drink minimum if there's no cover charge, but I paid cover charges for both these clubs. One was $20 and one was over $50. So why am I also required to buy drinks? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3pnaw8/eli5_why_do_some_clubs_have_drink_minimums/ | {
"a_id": [
"cw7pnix",
"cw7pofp",
"cw7pryy",
"cw7pw1x",
"cw7qlcm",
"cw7s0qv",
"cw7sgl5"
],
"score": [
2,
6,
19,
46,
3,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"The logical explanation is that they do it so they don't have to make the cover charge even higher. I've never been to a place with minimums and I wonder how they enforce it?",
"It's just a way of hiding how much the cover actually is. They could charge no cover and have an 8 drink minimum, or they could charge $30 cover and have a 2 drink minimum, or they could require no drinks and charge a $40 cover (assuming ~$5 per drink).\n\nThe first option requires people to buy an inordinate amount of drinks which could dissuade people from coming and could lead to too rowdy of a crowd. The last option makes the cover seem higher. The second option seems more palatable since many people would be planning to buy drinks anyway. If you wanted to buy two drinks no matter where you go then you'd go to the second club.\n\nThis helps weed out people not interested in buying drinks while encouraging that the club makes a certain minimum profit off of each person who comes. ",
"The drink minimum is usually so they make profits, since that is where the biggest margin is in their business.\n\nAlso, a lot of comedy clubs have many ways to get free tickets; they expect most visitors to be getting in free/reduced price.\n\n_URL_0_ ",
"The comedians get a cut of what they make from the cover charges. In order for the clubs to make money they charge for drinks/food. Not every comedian draws a \"drinking\" crowd. Therefore if they didn't charge the minimums they'd lose money.",
"It might just be an additional cover, or a way to get house money without sharing with talent...\n\nbut one more reason, if you have 2 drinks, you'll probably have more... You may also have a better time (or think you did atleast) which may prompt you to come back. a buzzed environment tends to be more fun and loose.",
"Are non-drinkers not permitted in these clubs/shows?",
"Over 50 for a cover charge? I get pissed when I have to pay more than 5"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://bestnewyorkcomedy.com/comedy-club-discounts/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
3qm7aw | - why don't polar bears change colors? | The way I understand it polar bears have black skin and their fur is transparent, and they only apper white because of the reflection of the snow. If this is true then why wouldn't they appear to be whatever color they are surrounded by? Why wouldn't a polar bear in a blue room look blue? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3qm7aw/eli5_why_dont_polar_bears_change_colors/ | {
"a_id": [
"cwgdy6c"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"it's not the reflection of the snow. the fur just appears white due to diffraction. their hair is pretty much fiber optic cable. and if you ever have seen a [bundle of cable](_URL_0_) it looks white . \n\nSame with the snow itself. Snow is transparent . diffracts light and looks white. \n\nAlso clouds, individual water droplets are transparent too but clouds look white not blue. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/optical-fiber-9034610.jpg"
]
] | |
38akln | how did they heal the wounded during the medieval times? | Let's say a soldier got hit with an arrow, how did they end up healing that wound? Or if someone got cut with the sword on their side? I think if the wound was bad on their limbs they would just cut it off, but how would they stop the bleeding? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/38akln/eli5how_did_they_heal_the_wounded_during_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"crtkvfk",
"crtkvvt",
"crtkwt4"
],
"score": [
6,
4,
3
],
"text": [
"Wrap it with rags and apply pressure for a long time, maybe get some stitches. After that just pray to your favorite God and hope the knowledge of the designated healer is enough so you don't die due to some nasty infection. \nBurning is also a very effective way to stop a bleeding, get some very hot piece of iron and burn the place where the blood is coming from. ",
"They knew enough to sew up wounds, or burn them shut with hot pokers. It had a high infection rate though.\n\nEven into the renaissance, many duels ended with both sides dead a few hours or even weeks later.",
"The short answer to your question is \"not well.\"\n\nThe germ theory of disease didn't exist, so sanitation didn't exist. Dying of infections after surgery was a very real risk.\n\nAmputation was indeed used for injuries too serious to fix. Also, cauterization was used quite commonly. Anaesthetic was virtually unheard of - so you might be given a piece of leather to chew on while your arm gets amputated (for instance). "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
1tuxag | how do companies like google able to get permission to put satellites into orbit? and what keeps satellites from hitting one another while in orbit? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1tuxag/how_do_companies_like_google_able_to_get/ | {
"a_id": [
"cebooz1",
"cebragm"
],
"score": [
12,
2
],
"text": [
"They get permission from the relevant body within whatever country they are launching from. In America that would be the [FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation](_URL_0_).\n\nThe answer as to how they avoid running into each other is twofold: \n\n1: International cooperation. If you have enough cash to fund a satellite you are going to cooperate with the big players in the field to make sure you don't step on anyone else's toes and lose your megabucks satellite in the process. NORAD tracks thousands of items orbiting earth for instance.\n\n2: As Douglas Adams said in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, \"Space is big. Really big. You just wouldn't believe how vastly, hugely, mind bogglingly big it is...\" The odds of two satellites hitting each other is something like two random hunters in a state park firing their guns and having the bullets hit each other. And that's only dealing with two dimensions (assuming they were firing more or less parallel to the earth). Space has three dimensions to work with.",
"along with what Pandromeda said, there are certain orbiting levels as well to prevent collisions. they still obviously happen, which is why you may have heard about all the space junk orbiting earth. To be honest, you should be more worried about flying into all the nails and smaller trash up there then another satellite."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/"
],
[]
] | ||
1uw8x4 | how do websites' ads know everything about me. | I got an email from my mother that recommended a certain product and now every web page advertisement is soliciting that particular product. How is this legal/ possible. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1uw8x4/eli5how_do_websites_ads_know_everything_about_me/ | {
"a_id": [
"cem9mag"
],
"score": [
7
],
"text": [
"Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe it has something to do with cookies. They store your search history and saved data (like when you ask a website to save your password, or when you search something in Google and something you searched before comes up as an option) and ad websites gain access to this so that they can cater their ads to your needs. Sometimes when you search up a product on Amazon, the second time you look at it, the price increases because they know you want it. I'm not really sure exactly *how* these ad companies access your companies though."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
1rhhuz | from an evolutionary point of view, why do we feel heartbreak when someone we love cheats/leaves us? | I don't know if love is a mechanic that guarantees reproduction or not [well, I would much rather have a child with someone I love rather than having a child with someone I don't] but why do we feel like crap whenever we break up with a girl/guy? Why does that happen? Why does our body feel like a hundred thousand bricks just hit us?
Hope I made myself clear. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rhhuz/eli5from_an_evolutionary_point_of_view_why_do_we/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdnbbml",
"cdnieje"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Do you understand why we get sad? If not think about how human interactions would be if no one ever got sad over anything. If so, you might understand that losing more important things makes us proportionally more sad. Enough sadness and we more or less shut down. Happened to me once, lost 60 pounds in 3 months after a horrible breakup. Not a entirely healthy manoeuvre. \n\nI like to see it as just a mere side effect of having emmotions, sometimes it backfires but that's not uncommon at all with traits that backfire in certain situations. One might ask why there's not a upper limit on how sad one can get. Guess we need to consult some kind of neurobiologist or something, but I can imagine that it's either complicated, doesn't serve that much purpose as few people get this depressed or that it might put a cap on other feelings. Looking how emotional disorders usually makes you more or less emotional, and I've never heard of one that makes you \"not sad\" and doesn't have any other bad effects I'd say it's very likely that isn't possible to avoid these kinds of problems.",
"Too many people think \"survival of the fittest\" means \"survival of the most physically fit\" or \"survival of the biggest, baddest, and meanest.\" In reality, being \"fit\" means that you are able to survive, that you \"fit\" into you environment. \n\nHuman beings are far from the most physically powerful animals. A human living alone in the wild is putting himself at great risk and has a statistically lower chance of surviving. So, our evolutionary survival strategy is cooperation. One human in the wild might be weak, but 150 humans? The chances of survival drastically increase. Throughout history we have seen countless examples of the society that cooperates more out competing societies that focus on the individual. It's how the Romans were able to defeat the Gauls so easily. A single roman soldier couldn't hope to defeat a single Gaul warrior. But put two or more of those discipined Romans together, and something happens. They become stronger than two individuals. They become a synergy: where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.\n\nThus, the people who have a natural inclination to cooperate with each other are more likely to survive and pass those traits to their offspring. Now to your question. \n\nIn order to survive and thrive, a stable home is needed. Our ancestors survived due to a stable home and family unit. The desire for a stable and lasting home was passed down to us. Nowadays it doesn't matter as much but for most of history having a permanent and stable home was crucial to your development. \n\nSo naturally, when someone we're close to violates our trust and breaks down the stable environment, we feel upset. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
52vxzs | when a person is "vaporized" by an atomic blast, what actually happens? | Is it primarily the temperature/radiation/blast wave or a combination?
How far away from something like a modern warhead would people be instantly vaporized instead of just horribly broken/burned
edit: It's not a school project. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/52vxzs/eli5_when_a_person_is_vaporized_by_an_atomic/ | {
"a_id": [
"d7npzji",
"d7nrf7i",
"d7ns2xz",
"d7nxc4u",
"d7nxvtu",
"d7ny1mc",
"d7nyq8u",
"d7nzeev",
"d7o0660",
"d7o15rx",
"d7o5qx3",
"d7o9856",
"d7ocsj7",
"d7oeelq",
"d7oggtl",
"d7okmf0",
"d7ol6st",
"d7opont",
"d7orfzv",
"d7otgrq",
"d7ou5lg",
"d7ov8nx"
],
"score": [
2378,
768,
16,
99,
2,
118,
2,
9,
3354,
57,
2,
2,
3,
7,
4,
8,
4,
2,
5,
2,
2,
13
],
"text": [
"It is the heat, basically it is like being cremated in an instant, all that is left once the water has evaporated is a small amount of fine powder.",
"Can anyone provide ballpark figures as to the energy requirements required for complete dissociation of a human body and the range at which a thermonuclear device could satisfy these conditions?\n\nThe thing I'm trying to get at here is that, colloquially, we all believe that there's a range at which a nuclear bomb just turns material to gas. This is true, for certain ranges. Obviously the bomb's casing is vaporized. However, I'm also aware that there are things called ablative shields (such as those used on spacecraft) these can be friction heated to very high temperatures (granted not as hot as a nuclear blast) but only lose maybe a few millimeters of depth because of the huge energy requirements to vaporize them.\n\nThe human body is mostly water which has a relatively high heat of vaporization. So the root of my question is really, given the relatively short duration of the nuclear blast, is it actually reasonable to assume a large radius ( > 500m) at which vaporization will occur, or is it actually much smaller than a layperson would normally assume?",
"There are 4 types of energy which will be released during the blast. \n\n1. The actual blast\n2. Thermal radiation\n3. Ionizing radiation\n4. Residual radiation\n\nObviously the effect of each bomb differs due to design and the environment. The blast effect is basically a cluster of various immense amout of energies. This expands the electromagnetic spectrum. For example denser medium like water will absorb more energy and hence create a more powerful shockwave. \n\nEnergy from a nuclear explosive is initially released in several forms of penetrating radiation. When there is something in the surrounding like water or rocks this radiation interacts and rapidly heats it to an equilibrium temp. Why? So that the surrounding is in the same temperature as the atomic bomb. This causes the **vaporization.**",
"I'd like to add to this question; what causes the person's shadow to be permanently transposed on the ground?",
"What if the bomb lands right on your dome? ",
"On the flip side, [these guys stood at ground zero under a nuclear blast](_URL_0_) and all six are either still alive or lived another 40 or 50 years, they kept on not dying of radiation poisoning or cancer from the blast.\n\nThat was a 2 kiloton nuclear bomb detonated in the atmosphere directly above them, but still some distance away. Naturally if you're standing right next to the thing when it explodes an immediate death is the expected result. \n\nAt Hiroshima and Nagasaki there were many people who were very close to the blast but somewhat shielded from the radiation who lived out long natural lives.\n\nThere are several things that COULD kill you. The concussion from the blast, the heat from the blast, the lack of air from the blast, the radiation that can sterilize your cells so you die from blood and other cells not reproducing. Many people in Japan died not from the bombs but from the fires that spread after the bombs.",
"In simple terms, the body is torn into into tiny particles. \n\nImagine a suicide vest exploding. It tears the body into pieces. The higher the explosive material, the smaller the pieces. With an atomic blast, it is tearing your body into so many tiny pieces that there is nothing discernable left. And in addition to that, the heat is so severe that all fluids are instantly evaporated. So there isn't even a \"splatter\". The body parts are still there, but you'd need a microscope to find them because they have been completely obliterated. ",
"Vaporization is largely fiction. Nuclear weapons are supposed to be used as airbursts to maximize the destructive radius, so there's no one within at least 1600ft, more for larger weapons.\n\nDue to the thickness, heating the surface, even with a great deal of heat, doesn't strongly affect tissue further down for some time. e.g. you can take a blowtorch to a steak and char the surface but not cook the middle for some time. The char is somewhat of an insulator and does not simply boil off and expose deeper layers.\n\nOverpressure is the \"certain, immediate death\" part. Overpressure can cause internal organ damage or rip a body apart instantly, depending on intensity. If a non-fragmenting artillery shell lands next to a person, it's overpressure which kills them. This is a relatively large radius in the context of an atomic blast. Anyone within the deadly overpressure radius will also be within the \"lethal prompt gamma\" radius as well as \"third degree burns or worse, if exposed to line-of-sight\" radius, but would be unlikely to survive the overpressure long enough to get radiation sickness.\n\nNo military use of a nuclear weapon exposes the ground to the fireball itself. The radius of destruction is much greater with an airburst, which puts the fireball at a higher altitude. This also reduces problems with fallout.\n\nWell unless you're talking about \"bunker busters\", but those haven't been used.\n\nThe \"human bomb shadows\" at Hiroshima/Nagasaki did not likely \"vaporize\" the persons who left them. They almost surely sustained lethal burns, but may have been killed by overpressure first, or even gamma injury. \n\nNear the epicenter, everything is destroyed by overpressure- buildings and people and trees, and mixed together, and charred by IR radiation. There may be no recognizable remains to find, but people did not likely turn to vapor.",
"These are quotes taken from the novel *The Last Train From Hiroshima* by Charles Pellegrino. It's a very lengthy explanation so I'll paraphrase and combine the parts to create a 'tl;dr' version. The following passage describes the untimely demise of one Mrs. Aoyama, who had the unfortunate distinction of being directly below the bomb as it detonated over the city of Hiroshima.\n\n & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp;*\"After only one-hundred-millionth of a second, the core (of the bomb) began to expand and the fission reaction began to run down. During this nanosecond interval, the first burst of light emerged with such intensity that even the green and yellow portions of the spectrum could be seen shining through the bomb's steel casing as if it were a bag of transparent cellophane. Directly below, Mrs. Aoyama was still alive and completely untouched by the flash. After one ten-thousandth of a second, the air began absorbing the burst and responding to it. Under the hypocenter (of the expanding neutron field created by the bomb's detonation), the blood in Mrs. Aoyama's brain was already beginning to vibrate, on the verge of flashing to vapor. What she experienced was one of the fastest deaths in all human history. Before a single nerve could begin to sense pain, she and her nerves ceased to be.*\n\n & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp;*\"Unlike the man leading a horse across the nearby \"T\" Bridge, Mrs. Aoyama could not possibly leave a permanent shadow on the ground. From the moment the rays began to pass through her bones, her marrow would begin vibrating at more than five times the boiling point of water. The bones themselves would become instantly incandescent, with all of her flesh trying simultaneously to explode away from her skeleton while being forced straight down into the ground as a compressed gas. Within the first three-tenths of a second following the bomb's detonation, most of the iron was going to be separated from Mrs. Aoyama's blood, as if by an atomic refinery.\"*\n\n & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp;In short, it is a combination of a great many factors. Radiation, heat, and the blast wave all combine to create an incredibly fast death. Assuming you're at ground zero.\n\n & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; The book itself is incredible, and absolutely worth a read if the subject interests you. ",
"There's the [rope trick effect](_URL_0_). \nTL;DR: The nuclear detonation sets off an immense amount of radiation (light), which will heat up all surrounding objects. The ropes holding the device in place was vaporized in less than 1ms. \nSo a person would be vaporized: He'd heat up so hot, that the whole body will become a gas.",
"Temperatures of a nuclear explosion reach those in the interior of the sun, about 100,000,000° Celsius, and produce a brilliant fireball.\n\n180,000,032 (F)\n\nTo put things into perspective the surface temperature of the sun is only 9,939°F. \n\n",
"Everything has a point at which it will boil and become vapor.\n\nA hot enough explosion can cause an entire body to boil super fast, turning completely into vapor.",
"It's the temperature, or in other words the energy, released by the blast that \"vaporizes\" the thing in the way - whether it be a human body or a tree or a pile of rocks, it all undergoes basically the same process. Things respond differently to increases in temperature as far as when and how they start to break down, but in the path of a release of energy as high as a nuclear explosion it's really of no use to differentiate between different objects. The only meaningful variable would be the distance from the epicenter of the blast to the object in question.\n\n\nWhatever the effective range to completely vaporize an object, the process is basically the same as when ice goes directly to gaseous water vapor without going through the liquid phase, which is known as sublimation. In the case of your question, the heat is enough to reduce the human body's composite chemicals and materials into their gaseous phases, and even strip the electrons off of those gaseous atoms and molecules which can then be considered a plasma. \n\n\nI wish I could give you some specific numbers, but after all this is ELI5. There is certainly a rational drop off of energy as you get further away from the epicenter, to the point where you will eventually just get a sunburn from the bright light and radiation emitted - but that's the simple answer of what is actually happening when you say something was vaporized. This also holds true for any explosion of sufficient energy. It's common to see a watermelon shot by a shotgun slug and say it was vaporized but you can still pick up all the pieces and say \"yep that was a watermelon\". In the case of explosions or other large releases of heat and energy, when something is vaporized it quite literally is completely broken down and it's components are changed to it's gaseous phase or at higher energies turned into a plasma.",
"The amount of energy involved flash boils every molecule of water in your body and the remaining dry organic material is instantly incinerated.",
"An atomic blast releases neutrons. These neutrons aren't reflected as they have no charge and they don't collide with most things as they have such a small mass. Hydrogen however has a mass small enough for a neutron to collide into it. This causes the hydrogen atom to lose its proton as the neutron collides into it, as it passes all its momentum onto the hydrogen atom, similarly to when a snooker ball collides directly into another snooker ball, the original ball will stop completely and the ball it hit will move. Therefore when neutrons come into contact with us humans, the hydrogen atoms in the water molecules of our living cells are lost, as it's single proton nucleus is replaced by a neutron, and without the hydrogen the water is more oxygen, (oxygen that can actually be deadly for humans), and without the water the living cells can't function properly, and without the living cells, well we're kinda screwed.",
"As far as Nuclear Weapons are concerned. Here is a neat little program that puts it ALL into perspective for people who need a benchmark. It's actually quite accurate and works anywhere in the world. Check it out for yourself. You can thank me ( or gold me ) whenever you like :-) _URL_0_\n",
"The air outside makes your body divide at an alarming rate. Until their shells cannot hold their insides in and that's when you explode. And you'll become silhouettes til your body finally goes.",
"They get hot so fast that their body and its mineral components get turned to gases. \nAll things have a boiling point where they will become vapor. So, even the iron in your blood boils.",
"I have a textbook with an entire chapter on weapons of mass destruction, mainly of the nuclear type. Would you like me to scan and post it? I don't see anything specific about vaporization but it does have a bunch of charts and graphs that I think you would find interesting.\n\nSample excerpt: For a 100 kT warhead, personnel may experience first-degree burns up to 5 miles from ground zero. Approximately 10 seconds is required before the fireball's surface cools sufficiently to stop being a significant source of thermal energy.",
"Ultimately, it is not tremendously different than a normal explosion. It is the pressure causes the most damage (especially if an airburst), then the heat, then ionizing radiation lastly. Nobody is 'vaporized'. severely burned? Certainly. But it is mostly the pressure shock wave that does the most damage. \n\nIf you want to read the definitive book on the effects of a nuclear blast by Glasstone and Dolan, here is a pdf copy of it (warning: large file)\n_URL_0_",
" You body is made up of atoms, which in turn are connected to other atoms. When atoms are connected together, it takes energy to seperate them. \n An atomic weapon releases a lot of energy in the form of light from all over the spectrum. Some types of light has more than enough energy to seperate any of the atoms in your body, this light is called ionizing radiation. If all of the atoms in your body are seperate, free to float around, then we would say your body has been vapourized.\n\nThere are definitely components of a shockwave crushing the body, however the mathematics to explain how we know what it would do to our bodies is too complicated for an ELI5. Besides light travels much faster than a shockwave can\n. ",
"Relevant [XKCD What if?](_URL_0_)\n\nTL;DR \"...you would obviously die pretty quickly. You wouldn't really die of anything, in the traditional sense. You would just stop being biology and start being physics.\""
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/07/16/156851175/five-men-agree-to-stand-directly-under-an-exploding-nuclear-bomb"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_trick_effect"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nuke... | |
1p213u | what did the canine species look like before man? | I understand that modern day creatures evolved from their prehistoric counterparts, but where did dogs and wolves and other canines come from? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1p213u/eli5_what_did_the_canine_species_look_like_before/ | {
"a_id": [
"ccxwwdi"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Dogs as we know them today came from mankind domesticating the gray wolf around 15,000 years ago, which in evolutionary terms was yesterday. Back at this point, the gray wolf would have looked pretty much like what it does today. Selective breeding over the past 15,000 years has taken the core of the gray wolf and turned it into all of the dog breeds which we know and love. \n\nTo go back beyond this point, the question becomes what is the origin of the gray wolf. It is believed that gray wolves as we know them today (or a close approximation of today) were wandering around up to 750,000 years ago. As for where did it come from before that, it seems that no one really knows - but there is some nice information here _URL_0_\n\n\"The Evolutionary history of the wolf is not totaly clear, but many biologists believe that the wolf developed from primitive carnivores known as miacids. Miacids ranged from gopher-sized to dog-sized animals, and appeared in the Lower Tertiary about fifty two million years ago. Miacids in turn had evolved from Cretaceous insectivores. The direct descendants of miacids today are animals called viverrids, which include the genet of Africa.\"\n\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfOrigins.html"
]
] | |
90ignp | why do farmers plant sunflowers around corn fields? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/90ignp/eli5_why_do_farmers_plant_sunflowers_around_corn/ | {
"a_id": [
"e2qm8yq",
"e2qnalo",
"e2qx7an",
"e2r807n"
],
"score": [
46,
25,
15,
4
],
"text": [
"Corn crops leave an excess of Nitrogen in the soil.\n\nSunflowers can be planted as a follow-up to take advantage of that. They like the nitrogen-rich soil.\n\nFarmers used to do this with soybeans as a pairing but found that the soybeans had various problems that the sunflowers do not have.\n\nBut the short short answer to this is \"because they found it to be most profitable to do.\" That at least speaks to the motivation. ",
"Companion gardening! When you plant anything, it likes a certain set of nutrients from the soil. Once they are done growing, the soil has less of that nutrient in it so you eventually run out of that nutrient if you keep planting the same plant in the same soil. You can amend the soil with nutes or you can plant plants/veggies/fruits that like different things than your initial plant and leave behind the things that your initial plant likes.",
"In our area (eastern Virginia) the only reason farmers plant sunflowers in small areas around corn fields is to attract doves for dove hunting. The sunflowers stay until they dry up, they aren't harvested at all, and seriously are only there to attract the doves. ",
"Illinois, we use them for both dove and crow hunting. Also plant several rows of sweet corn for ourselves just outside the feed corn. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
1obzv3 | what exactly does adobe acrobat do and why is it so expensive? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1obzv3/eli5what_exactly_does_adobe_acrobat_do_and_why_is/ | {
"a_id": [
"ccqm2pl",
"ccqn9ew"
],
"score": [
8,
4
],
"text": [
"It's software for creating/modifying PDF files.\n\nIt's expensive because it's primarily sold to businesses that need it & have no serious alternatives.",
"It is Adobe's software implementation of the PDF standard for editing and publishing, which you can use to make PDF in a similar form to a layout editor (Like Apple Pages and Illustrator). The high price is because it is in line with the rest of their commercial products (Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator), and is priced similarly."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
7pg51b | why aren't counties used for voting lines? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7pg51b/eli5_why_arent_counties_used_for_voting_lines/ | {
"a_id": [
"dsgxq97"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Districts are redrawn in response to the census to ensure proportional representation. This is not feasible for counties, which are political entities with their own governments and laws.\n\nYou'd have potentially thousands of people waking up one morning to a new set of laws and ordinances they'd have to obey. It'd be a logistical nightmare."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
4c0eeh | how do birds that migrate in a "v" formation decide who the leader is? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4c0eeh/eli5_how_do_birds_that_migrate_in_a_v_formation/ | {
"a_id": [
"d1dzkhr",
"d1dzohk",
"d1e2b6m",
"d1eagx5",
"d1eel61"
],
"score": [
24,
333,
11,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"They take turns. Depending on the species they may rotate out from the front to the back, or vice versa. At least that's what I remember from what I've read in the past.",
"They take turns. Flying in a V reduces wind drag and makes it easier. The birds in the back honk and make noises to encourage the first bird who remains silent as it has the most difficult flight. ",
"I recall hearing that there is an energy saving advantage to the formation they fly in. If that's true, it is to each bird's advantage to be behind another bird in that formation. \n\nThe one at the front is the one who didn't fly off to be behind another bird yet, until they do. Kind of like being volunteered when everyone else in a line takes one step backwards.\n\n",
"Similar to chain gangs in cycling. The riders behind the first man are using 15-20% less energy. By regularly switching the front rider you can maintain a faster pace for longer with the front rider dripping back to recuperate. ",
"I'd imagine that there are some flight efficiencies due to \"vortex surfing\"where vortex's created from the flapping wing tips can be used to increase lift. Similar to this perhaps?_URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a9257/vortex-surfing-formation-flying-could-save-the-air-force-millions-on-fuel-15703217/"
]
] | ||
2rtkc2 | when i rub my feet on the carpet and then shock someone, why is the shock more painful to them than myself? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2rtkc2/eli5when_i_rub_my_feet_on_the_carpet_and_then/ | {
"a_id": [
"cnj5rja",
"cnjatj1"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Alsk, why does this happen rarely, sometimes not even after I rub my feet on carpet for minutes? What are the variables here, is there a \"trick\" to it?",
"Stop using your knuckle to zap people on the eyeball."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
74aqnr | are there planets in interstellar/intergalactic space? | So, here's where I'm going with this. As I understand it, when a solar system is formed, dust turns into clumps, clumps turn into bigger clumps and so on until the sun and planets are formed. There's also a lot of collisions.
Could a planet size object (or bigger) get knocked into interstellar space or intergalactic space? I may be using the wrong terminology here.. I mean the space between solar systems and the space between galaxies.
If so, is it possible to detect one (or have we done that already)?
Lastly, (assuming this possible) with no sun, could there be life on them (for example, I've heard it's possible one of the moons around Jupiter could have liquid water because Jupiter's gravity is "flexing" it, or could the planet itself simply have a hot enough molten core for liquid water)?
-Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/74aqnr/eli5_are_there_planets_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"dnwsv0e",
"dnxs2vm",
"dnxt4yd"
],
"score": [
20,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Yes, and quite a few. It is not uncommon for planetary bodies to get a gravity assisted slingshot out of orbit of their star.\n\nThere are even brown dwarfs and other dark stellar-mass bodies floating around interstellar space (think binary stars where one gets flung).\n\nedit: They are known as Rogue Planets, here's the wikipedia: _URL_0_",
"One of the hypothesis for dark matter is the existence of massive compact object lying in the interstellar medium such as planet. \nSee _URL_0_\nHowever, astronomer looked for them and found out that if there is some there are not enough to be a significant part of dark matter (This is an example of experiment discovering nothing but contributing to the progress of science by excluding an option) ",
"Interstellar space - yes absolutely, for example if a star or a black hole \"pass by\" and pull the planet away from it's star.\nDetecting it would be almost impossible and to my knowledge none have been detected. (there are some candidates but those objects are all much heavier than Jupiter, i am assuming you were talking about \"rock planets\" like earth and not gas giants)\n\nIntergalactic space - not really imo, the energy required to leave the gravitational confinements of a galaxy would be too high. Or in other words - it might be theoretically possible but compared to the rogue planets between solar systems this would be incredibly rare.\n\n > Lastly, (assuming this possible) with no sun, could there be life on them (for example, I've heard it's possible one of the moons around Jupiter could have liquid water because Jupiter's gravity is \"flexing\" it, or could the planet itself simply have a hot enough molten core for liquid water)?\n\nTheoretically yes, but it would cool down \"fast\" without the gravitational pull from an object like jupiter or light from the sun.\nRadioactivity would be the only supply of heat besides the stored heat."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_planet"
],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_compact_halo_object"
],
[]
] | |
bkoemp | why does running for president of the us cost so much money and how does fundraising work (also, wtf are pac and super pacs) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bkoemp/eli5_why_does_running_for_president_of_the_us/ | {
"a_id": [
"emi9lf9",
"emiaytv",
"emibaub",
"emieu5n"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Because the more money you have, the more you can spend on campaign staff like advisers, assistants, and strategists. The more money you have, the more you can spend on polling. It also costs money to put on rallies, and fly yourself and your staff around the country to attend them. Plus, you need money to make money, because it costs a lot of money to organize fundraisers.\n\nSome spending is done by the actual, official campaign. But the amount of money you can donate to the campaign itself is limited. You can give more money to a political action committee (PAC). A PAC is not directly linked to a campaign, but it is allowed to advocate for a specific candidate. Donations to PACs are still pretty limited, with a lot of oversight.\n\nYou can give even more money to a Super PAC. But there are strict rules that prevent Super PACs from advocating for a specific candidate. Political candidates are not allowed to coordinate with Super PACs. Typically, Super PACS get around this by just running negative ads against the candidates opponents. They're technically not campaigning for that specific person - just *against* everyone else.",
"Advertising is the big money sink.\n\nThe candidate also has to pay staff working for them and there can be many of them (50 states * 10 staff each = 500 employees...500 * (say) $50,000/year = $25 million).",
"Why does it cost so much? Think of a political campaign as being just like a new-product rollout, like trying to get people to line up to buy an iPhone or to line up to see Avengers: Endgame. Except that unlike a new iPhone, which you're going to be selling for months after the roll-out? or even a movie, where a whole lot depends on your opening weekend sales but, really, you still make money on sales over the next couple of weeks? A national election is a product where you need tens of millions of people to stand in line to \"buy your product\" *all on the same day.* On the same day that your competitor is selling a competing product. On a weekday, no less!\n\nThis means a lot, and I mean a whole lot, of advertising. I can't tell how old you are, or even if you're an American, but if you are an American and you were around for the 2016 American presidential campaign, I guarantee that by election day you were really, really sick of campaign ads, no? But they've seen, over and over again, that they can't let the other side make any claim that doesn't get counter-claimed. If you let the other campaign \"dominate the airwaves,\" then no matter what else you do right, you lose.\n\nAnd worse, for the last couple of weeks, when it matters the most, they're all bidding against each other for the same TV advertising slots on the same broadcast (and a few cable) TV networks. And there are only so many advertising minutes per channel per day. So ad space that would have gone for a couple of hundred bucks to some used-car lot for a weekday 6:00 news ad slot suddenly sells for hundreds of dollars; in a key swing state, maybe over a thousand. Per ad.\n\nThere are other big-ticket expenditures, too. Candidates are flying to campaign appearances in up to four cities a day, by the end, all of it air travel, all booked at the last second based on yesterday's polling results. There's a thing called \"GOTV\" for \"get out the vote\" that's mostly done by volunteers, but, traditionally, those volunteers need a place to work out of, some kind of strip mall office space -- hundreds and hundreds of strip mall office spaces. Just getting your candidate on the ballot in all fifty states costs money in legal fees and filing fees. The kind of money they're handling calls for a small army of accountants to keep track of. They also spend what would look, to you, like real money on radio, direct mail, and Internet advertising.\n\nBut really? The big-dollar item is TV advertising.\n\n \\- - - - -\n\nSo, PACs and SuperPACs, not to mention bundlers and 501(c)(4)'s that you didn't even mention because you hadn't heard of them -- what's with all the entirely separate fund-raising groups? The shortest answer is that way back over 100 years ago, we knew for a fact that rich people were handing candidates huge sums of \"campaign money\" as bribes to get specific government favors. So long, long ago we made a law (that's gotten updated many times since then) that limits how much money one person can give any one candidate to an amount that's so low that no politician would think it was worth getting caught being bribed over such a tiny amount of money.\n\nIt took almost no time at all for rich people, who want to influence campaigns whether they get any direct return on their investment or not, just because they're rich and want to get their way, to find work-arounds. Because this is ELI5, I won't go into all of the specifics of each kind of work-around that's been found and are all still in use, but what they all have in common is (a) Mister Moneybags and all his rich friends give their money to someone else, then (b) that someone else gives the money to the candidate without ever telling them where it came from -- that way if Mister Moneybags calls the candidate, after they get elected, and asks for a favor, *in theory* the candidate isn't doing it in exchange for the money. It's a thin, tiny fig-leaf, though, because both before and after getting elected, the candidate spends hours and hours on the phone calling one rich person after another, asking them to donate to each and every one of these campaign-financing groups.",
"Questions about the US are generally better in r/askanamerican."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
4k786t | do people who do not put on weight but eat a lot of sugar/fat still put their lives in danger? or does their metabolism regulate it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4k786t/eli5do_people_who_do_not_put_on_weight_but_eat_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"d3coubt"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Yes. Taking in excess sugar will cause insulin resistance even if you're not obviously getting fat.\n\n\"Skinny-fat\" people, people who look thin but have high body fat percentage, tend to have worse outlooks for obesity-related health problems than regular fat people."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
c9xnvr | what are the differences between os systems like mac os, linux & windows? why would someone want to use one over the other? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c9xnvr/eli5_what_are_the_differences_between_os_systems/ | {
"a_id": [
"et40cq5",
"et41ss7"
],
"score": [
4,
7
],
"text": [
"They have different user interfaces, areas of learned expertise required and most important, software libraries available.",
"In short: Different ideas solving the same problem in different _URL_0_ operating system on a computer is basically a collection of base-functionality that makes up the bulk of what you want to do with a computer. Like reading and writing files to a storage device (like your harddrives) or accessing a network or displaying information on a screen and reading inputs from a mouse and keyboard, etc.\n\nAll those functions (and a whole lot more) are basically common functionality that all computers need to operate. An OS provides a pre-built set of those functionalities, hence it's called an \"Operating System\".\n\nMac OS and Linux are both based on an earlier OS called \"Unix\" while Windows is more of a self-contained concept. The main difference between the two would be that almost all Unix-based operating systems provide their base functionality in small and independent modules, where each module is designed to do only one specific job, (a so-called 'Modular' operating system) while Windows provides a more \"All-in-one\" approach to providing base functionalities in one, big, interconnected set of functionalities (A so-called 'Monolithic' operating system).\n\nThis means that in Unix-based operating systems, it is a lot easier to replace single modules with newer, better or simply more 'different' bits while leaving most of the rest of the OS in tact to continue it's operation, while in Windows it is not as trivial to replace single components since most of them are interdependent on each other by design.\n\nThere is no definitive answer to which OS is 'better' than the others, because this highly depends on what you expect of your OS and which needs you have. For example: Linux is highly adaptable, requires only little computing power to operate (at least generally) and generally handles text-based commands and interactions better than graphical applications.\n\nWindows is a lot less adaptable but generally handles everything graphical and everything Multi-Media way better than Linux does in my experience.\n\nI can't really speak for Mac OS in great detail since I have only very little experience with it, but from what I have seen of it, it is basically a mid-way point between Linux and Windows, since it aims to be modular (like Linux) while hiding away it's complicated details from inexperienced users in an attempt to provide ease of use and fault tolerance, just like Windows does."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"ways.An"
]
] | ||
3bty6n | the difference between capital gains tax and the corporation tax. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3bty6n/eli5_the_difference_between_capital_gains_tax_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"csphdeb"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Capital gains tax is a tax generally specific to investments, such as stock sales, dividend payments, and the like.\n\nThe corporation tax is mostly just like income tax for a person, but for a corporation\n\nThey are NOT related."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
aqmftp | [networking/computer science] does an online streaming video with static background images (like a slideshow presentation) consume less data than an actual video of the same resolution/quality and length? | Does the video still download each frame as an individual image or can it repeat use of an image in a previous frame in the case of a slideshow?
For example, would the following use the same amount of data?
* 10:00 long YouTube 1080p 30fps slideshow presentation with HQ audio
* 10:00 long 1080p 30fps video of PewDiePie's Meme Review also with HQ audio.
Also, subscribe to PewDiePie on YouTube! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aqmftp/eli5_networkingcomputer_science_does_an_online/ | {
"a_id": [
"eggzno4",
"egh0ht9"
],
"score": [
4,
3
],
"text": [
"depends on the codec. But yes this is a thing, the codec uses some \"vector math\" to try to save as much as possible!\n\nPretty much every codec online does that youtube twitch etc...",
"Many modern video file formats don't actually store the images for each frame. Instead they save the difference between the last frame. So if you'd have a black screen and then one frame later you turn one pixel to white, only that pixel would be stored and send. So unless you're going through your slideshow at 30 fps for 10 minutes, your slideshow is better in terms of resources."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
4qy4xe | how does dependent care flexible spending accounts work? | Hi,
I just started a new job and they are offering a dependent care flexible spending account, but I am completely lost on how it works. Please help me understand
As I understand it, I would set aside a certain amount of pre-tax money (up to 5,000/year). That money will be taken from my pay check and set aside in a separate account that I can only use for daycare or other services for my child that would allow me work. Then I have to make a claim to the IRS to get that money back. Is that correct?
Thanks | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4qy4xe/eli5_how_does_dependent_care_flexible_spending/ | {
"a_id": [
"d4ws5yt"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"This would best be asked in /r/tax?\n\nTypically you pay the daycare company and get reimbursed from this account. Sometimes they'll pay the day care directly. Any that you don't use is lost. Any that you withdraw and don't use for a qualifying purpose is taxed. \n\nThe amount you use from this account reduces the qualifying expenses for the day care credit. People in 25% and higher brackets are usually better off using this account. People in lower tax brackets are often better off not signing up for the account and claiming the tax credit instead. See your tax professional for your own analysis. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
2ork6x | is ttip good or bad for the eu? | It's difficult to find differentiated news sources on the internet. The picture painted is either black or white. As a German, I am aware of the benefits of open trade zones, but I also do feel strongly about our environmental standards and basic facilities being in public rather than private hands. Even if that means no or negligible profit.
So if anyone could shed some light on the pros and cons and some sources perhaps, that would be swell! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ork6x/eli5_is_ttip_good_or_bad_for_the_eu/ | {
"a_id": [
"cmpvtbv"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"No one knows. I don't know if the fine details of TTIP have been released yet, but I know for a fact that people were calling for the death of it long before anyone knew a damn thing about it. A most of the really loud voices on the matter, either for or against, are completely and utterly uninformed.Half truths, cherry picked ideas, and outright lies are all incredibly common in just about every conversation about it.\n\nAnd that's before we get into the complicated mess that is economics. There are lots of different economic models, and whether having more free trade and less government restriction between the US and EU will actually be beneficial is going to depend on a lot of uncertain factors. And then you need to ask \"who benefits from this?\" \"will the benefits spread equally?\" \"will there be unintended consequence?\" and so on.\n\nSo tl;dr, no one is going to know if TTIP is good until it goes into force. If it doesn't, then there's not going to be any way to if it would have worked."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
cf8bwc | the gun argument in the usa | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cf8bwc/eli5_the_gun_argument_in_the_usa/ | {
"a_id": [
"eu80sh1"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"These are not my personal feelings, just my observations of how some people in the US feel:\n\n & #x200B;\n\n* Some folks are worried that when we start to restrict guns, in any meaningful way, its the beginning of much stricter rules down the road.\n* It's far easier to slowly increase gun restrictions once some forms of restriction are already in place.\n* We do have restrictions in the US so some folks fight against *any* attempt to increase those restrictions.\n* The people who feel this way tend to worry that eventually no one will have any guns other than the government and that we will lose control over our democracy."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
9js4ne | why did we create litres (or other liquid measurements)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9js4ne/eli5_why_did_we_create_litres_or_other_liquid/ | {
"a_id": [
"e6ttk5u"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Liters measure *volume* - the amount of space an object takes up - not mass. One liter of water takes up the same amount of *space* as a liter of mercury, but one liter of mercury is much heavier."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
17ebd9 | the massive battle on eve online last night. | I saw the thread [here](_URL_0_) but I am not an EVE player and a lot of the jargon they use is completely unfamiliar with me. [Especially this comment.](_URL_0_c84jg9c)
As an outsider who has never played, I am interested in the game, but at the moment I do not have the ability to play it. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/17ebd9/eli5_the_massive_battle_on_eve_online_last_night/ | {
"a_id": [
"c8cl96k",
"c84qr31",
"c84qv2q",
"c84rny5",
"c84ui4i",
"c84v1gl",
"c84vmk9",
"c84vy4w",
"c84xjzw",
"c84zryp",
"c84zufy",
"c851diy",
"c851llj",
"c851ohs",
"c85dqar"
],
"score": [
2,
45,
764,
263,
22,
183,
15,
7,
3,
2,
8,
3,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"If anybody is considering starting, you should get a friend or someone to send you an invite because you'll get an extra week to try it out (21 instead of 14 days). If you don't know anybody, message anybody on /r/eve and they'll be glad to help (like me!).",
"Decoding that comment.\n\nHe was chilling drinking tead and listening to a korean girl pop band (this one if you are curious: _URL_6_)\n\nA fleet commander from a different alliance pops up. He is expecting some news about one or two high value ships tackled somewhere, which the other dude needs help killing.\n\nNow this other gentleman says that there is a trap being set for him, and he wants to set a trap for the people trying to trap him.\n\nNow the first trap is about to be sprung, the expectation being that only a couple medium-high value things will be caught and killed.\n\nPart of this trap is using the highest value ship in the game as a secret entrance to the place the fight potentially will be at.\n\nHe moves to spring the trap, but instead of letting everyone else move 'through' him. He jumps his super expensive thing in with no support.\n\nNow the poster makes a call for his alliance to assemble a specific fleet composition, so if the super expensive ship gets in trouble he can bail it out.\n\nHe then says that they organized quickly and the trap spring-er dude allows all of the Posters friends get to him. At this point the enemy had many high value things on the field, and one very high value thing.\n\nHowever at this point no one was stopping the super valuable thing from leaving so as soon as the allies showed up he left.\n\nThe allies start trying to kill the medium high-value things (carries), when they realize that super high value stuff is appearing to attack them. They attack the weakest of the super high value stuff and kill it. (_URL_5_)\n\nThe enemies however nearly killed an ally super valueble thing, but through luck it managed to escape. The second thing the enemies tried to kill wasn't lucky and died (_URL_4_)\n\nNow all the sides didn't have many of the type of thing they needed to keep the high value stuff from escaping, so all sides called their friends (all the following acronyms are names).\n\nThe allies were having great luck getting their valuable stuff in and out whenever the enemy tried to kill it. So they decided to stay around, and exploit a poor tactical decision on the enemies part to kill some medium-high value stuff that was doing most of the damage to them.\n\nAt this point more allies show up with many powerful ships. And the original trap spring-ers are bringing many of the ships needed to trap the high value stuff, despite losing many.\n\nThey trap and attack one of the super-high value things (_URL_1_) knowing that the person flying it is frequently the leader of the enemy.\n\nThe enemy realized they were losing, so they tried to get all of their super valuable things out, while killing the allies medium-high value things. They did this by telling people to kill them in alphabetical order.\n\nTime dilation was extremely high which represents the sever trying to compensate for lots of lag.\n\nThe number of people present in the location was 2800.\n\nThe allies trapped and killed another one of the super high value things (_URL_2_)\n\nThe enemies tried to get all of their high value things, all while their allies arrived in increasing numbers of small things.\n\nThey caught and killed another high value thing (_URL_0_)\n\nThe enemies managed to get almost all of their remaing things out, but one more was caught and killed (_URL_3_)\n\nAfter that it was 'clean up' of the remaining smaller things.\n\nAt this point the poster gives props to some allies who did good work (these names are individuals who commanded the fleet)\n\nHe then lists the casualties (of the high value stuff) on both sides\n\nIn order of value\n3 super high value killed\n6 high value killed, 1 high value lost\n44 medium high value killed, 4 lost\n29 other medium high value killed, 8 lost\n\n-----\n\nHope this helps, most of the acronyms are proper nouns (names of places, things, people, or groups) if you want any specifically translated I'll try to help",
"To put it most simply:\n\nOne guy accidentally pressed button A when he meant to press button B. This put him in a vulnerable position, and many other people decided to take advantage of the situation by attempting to kill him. \n\nSo he calls in some backup. Which causes everyone else to call in more backup. Rinse, repeat, until you have 3,000+ people having this massive battle. \n\nIt was essentially one of the largest PvP battles in the game's history, and all it took was one tiny mistake to get the ball rolling. This wasn't a scheduled event, or a part of some scripted quest chain. This was EVE players making and becoming EVE history. ",
"Eve is a game of internet spaceships. The largest and most valuable of these ships, the titan class, [is literally worth several thousand dollars](_URL_1_) (the numbers are somewhat out of date but the relative scale is still accurate). People go to great lengths to save titans.\n\nOne of the things titans can do is act as a gateway to random spots in space, allowing whole fleets to surprise the enemy. They usually stay behind and just send people in. In this case, the titan jumped in with the rest of his fleet. Once a titan jumps, there's a several minute delay before they can go back.\n\nOnce the titan showed up, the people that got jumped called all their friends in - people want to kill a titan just as much as the owners don't want to lose one. The guy in the titan called his friends in to save him. Things kept escalating. At the peak, there were over 2800 people involved, and nearly 60 titans on the field. [Total damage](_URL_0_) was 480 billion game credits - a real world value of about $15,000.",
"Can someone tell me how the battle ended? Who won?",
"Find via /r/depthhub, user Kiresays\n\nEssentially, there are two \"Mega\" coalitions in the game right now, the Clusterfuck Coalition (CFC) and the Honeybadger Coalition (HBC). A coalition is a group of alliances that band together. There are also 3-4 other smaller coalitions (Russian Bloc, N3), as well as some independent notable alliances (Black Legion in this case).\n\nThese are all Nullsec powers. The HBC's core alliance is TEST; an alliance that is based from and recruits out of your favorite website, Reddit (Shameless plug: go to /r/evedreddit to check out Reddit's corporation/alliance. The CFC's core alliance is Goonswarm, which is based in and recruits out of your least favorite website, SomethingAwful!\n\nNow, it would appear that these two alliances were born to be rivals, but it was not always this way. When the reddit corporation (alliances are composed over individual corporations) first joined EVE, they were attacked by the SA corporation, goonswarm; who were already very established in the EVE universe. Instead of becoming enemies, the Goons were taken aback by the adorableness of our attitude towards the game, and we became allies and soon to be best friends. They nurtured us, tought us, fought for us. Our current leader, Montolio, decided that he wanted to take a path of independence.\n\nWe met another group of players in an alliance called Pandemic Legion. They are considered the big bad guys of EVE. They posses hundreds of the Super Carriers and Titans; the most powerful ships in the game and which the pictures in the OP are mostly comprised of. Basically, these guys have a public mumble channel called OG mumble. Mumble is a program like teamspeak, if you didn't know. This was when Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was popular, and some of our guys joined their channel to play with them. They befriended them, and more people joined to play and more and more. Soon, their EVE alliance had invited us to go on campaign with them; and it was hella fun. They were a bunch of old players, and our raw enthusiasm of the game seemed to make it more fun for them, and their wealth, power and experience taught us a lot.\n\nThe problem is, that our new PL friends are direct enemies with our Goonswarm bros. These tensions were drawn down, and we eventually got both of them fighting for us to attack a new threat to us in the South. But that's another story.\n\nWhat's important to last night is that we chose to go with PL instead of goons, and we formed our own coalition; the HBC. Between PL's ability to drop many of the most powerful ships in the game, and our ability to rush in with hundreds of support ships to back them up, it's a potent force.\n\nLast night, a relatively small pirate alliance that controls a good bit of territory nearby Goon-land thought that the goons may try to attack them over a local moon; which holds mineral resources. They informed a fleet commander in Pandemic Legion that this may be happening, and PL set up to ambush goons.\n\nThe goonswarm Fleet commander (FC), Dabigredboat, is a prettty interesting character, who is loved or hated throughout the game, but that's another story. Anyways, he is flying a titan. These are the most powerful ships in the game, they do a lot of damage, can take a LOT of damage, and are ridiculously expensive. Additionally, they can move across the universe rapidly with a jump drive; but they can also move OTHER SHIPS across the universe rapidly by \"bridging\" them.\n\nSidebar: EVE has an interesting feature where people can buy game time cards (30/60 day) and sell them in game for in game money; allowing wealthy people to essentially play the game for free, and allowing people who are wealthy out of game to have the money to do what they want. This provides a rare insight to the actual value of in game item. And a titan, like dabigredboat's, would cost something like $3500 dollars to buy with out of game money.\n\nBack to the story. So basically, boat is in his titan getting ready to bridge a full fleet (~250 dudes) onto this small pirate alliance. Except he makes a mistake; he clicks JUMP instead of BRIDGE. That sends his $3,500 ship right into the middle of this pirate corporation with nobody nearby to support him. And then all hell breaks loose.\n\nIf you'll remember, PL was aware that something might be going down, and when the pirates inform them that a titan has jumped in, and not only a titan but Dabigredboat's titan, they jump in 3-4 supercarriers. Supercarriers do more damage than a titan, but don't take quite as much and aren't quite as expensive. Boat orders Goon and CFC supers to log in, and they drop a few more supers in to help boat. PL goes into hyperdrive and goes all in; they drop every supercarrier they have available, and are frantically calling everyone they know to get there as well.\n\nAnd then Boat makes a crucial mistake. He should have realized that his titan and the few supers he called in to support him were going to die, and cut his losses. But instead he panics, and calls in EVERYTHING the CFC has to help get him out of there. At this point, the battle transcends hell and goes into every god damn layer of Dante's Inferno. The CFC commits every supercarrier, titan, dreadnought (basically floating gun platforms that do a ton of damage) and regular carrier (which are basically \"healers\") that they can. PL does the same, and the rest of the HBC is in right behind them. My fleet, and the rest of the TEST fleet burned across the universe at best speed to get into the fight, and all of our capitals (dreads/carriers) and supercapitals jumped in ahead of us.\n\nAlso, goons are not well liked in the universe of EVE. They have fought against (and won against) pretty much every major player in the game. So the rest of the smaller coalitions also jump into the fray. And even though we're technically \"unfriendly\", they join ourside and the whole universe of EVE piles onto the CFC. My poor laptop crashed when there were 2800 people in the solar system (And there were hundreds more in surrounding systems), but it was epic.\n\nThe CFC lost a lot of shit. ~44 Dreads, 29 Carriers, 5 Supercarriers and 3 Titans. The HBC and the rest of EVE lost 10 Carriers, 6 Dreads, and one Supercarrier. It's a mind boggling amount of damage done, and money lost. But that's EVE.\n",
"I would like someone to ELI5 what consequences this will have, if any.",
"Any videos of this yet? Sounds like something to watch",
"This was really interesting. I'd love if there was a place to read about the in-game history/notable events for EVE and other MMOs for people that don't play them. Most of the stuff I know about different events are from _URL_0_ articles!",
"There's really no ELI5 for Eve, that's both the beauty and the horror of the game.",
" < extremely valuable ship... I mean like one of the best in the game > \n\n-only fantastically rich players and/or corporations (like guilds) can afford one\n\n-These ships are called \"titans\"\n\n-titans always have a large group of friendly ships flying to protect them and scout ahead for enemies.\n\n -Think of it like how an aircraft carrier always has a submarine, destroyer, and battle ships with it. \n\n-Each ship is another player, not just a ship.\n\n-\"naked\" titans are very tasty targets, if they don't have protection literally everyone who can will come to get in on the kill.\n\n\n\n < how space in EVE works > \n\n-EVE has \"systems\"\n\n-systems are connected by gates that let you jump system - > system\n\n-titan's can NOT use gates, too big. \n\n-Titan's have something called \"cynos\" (sigh-knows)\n\n\n < how cynos work > \n\n-rather than jumping from system - > system by gates (where gates can be guarded) cynos let you jump 10-12 systems away in one jump.\n\n-a ship must be in the destination system (usually a cheap scout) and \"light a cyno\", think of it like a beacon or road flare in space. This lets the titan jump straight there.\n\n\n < special abilities of titans > \n\n-\"doomsdays\" (nuclear laser beams of death in space)\n\n-cyno-jumping (explained earlier)\n\n-\"bridging\", instead of jumping just themselves, Titans can warp their *entire support fleet* to the cyno first (sometimes hundreds of players).\n\n\n < what happened > \n\n-titan chillen with his fleet\n\n-cyno gets lit by scout far away deep inside enemy territory\n\n-titan *accidentally* clicks \"jump\" instead of \"bridge\"\n\n-Naked titan jumps into far-away enemy territory, leaving it's entire support fleet stranded systems away.\n\n-enemies freak out, call for help to kill titan before it can escape. Thousands of people log on to get in on it.\n\n-owners of the titan scream for their memebers to log on to save the titan, bringing in dozens more titans, super carriers, and hundreds of battleships.\n\n-thousands of people brawl in one of the largest battles ever (3200 people at once)\n\n-$700 billion of in-game currency obliterated in a few hours\n\n\n\n(there are tons of more thing's I'm leaving out:\n\n-ongoing social dynamics between the groups involved\n\n-the fact that the fight took place in low-sec and not nul (different classes of space have limitations which limited the titan even more)\n\n-dynamics with the FC (fleet commander) involved being known to be a dumbass\n\n-conspiracy theory that this was an intentional \"pearl harbor\" moment by the owners of the titan\n\nBut that's not ELI5 :)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n",
"Reading all this makes me want to pick up the game. How noob-friendly is the game? How much time/effort am I going to spend getting to a point where I'm taking place in things like this, as opposed to hearing about them on reddit a few days later?",
"Damn, and there was me thinking I had deliberately unsubscribed from r/gaming. ",
"I don't understand how things are worth real money. Do people buy ships from others with real world currency? what creates the value? time spent in the game developing ships?",
"I ALMOST wish I was single so I could have the time to get into this game."
]
} | [] | [
"http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/17dohb/eve_online_a_compilation_of_the/",
"http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/17dohb/eve_online_a_compilation_of_the/c84jg9c"
] | [
[],
[
"http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=16069868",
"http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=16069454",
"http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=16070144",
"http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=16071218",
"http://eve-kill.net/?a=kill_detail&kll_id=16068387"... | |
2mairg | why are smoothbore cannons more prevalent in modern tanks when we previously hailed rifled guns as a large advancement | e.g. M1, AMX Leclrec, etc | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2mairg/eli5_why_are_smoothbore_cannons_more_prevalent_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"cm2e18h",
"cm2eedw",
"cm2ei0y",
"cm2hj1v",
"cm2hx05",
"cm2jo1z",
"cm2kjhk",
"cm2kqmv",
"cm2lnhf",
"cm2m8p4",
"cm2n68k",
"cm2ns7y",
"cm2olka"
],
"score": [
429,
4,
52,
6,
8,
3,
3,
3,
8,
17,
4,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Smooth bores allow the firing of complex projectiles that might pop out fins for example, or have aerodynamics which shouldn't be disturbed. Rifling actually cuts into the projectile and would cause harm to such a tank round. Instead modern rounds use sabots which allow a wide variety of projectile shapes.",
"Rifling is used to increase accuracy, by making the round spin. nowadays, the computers are advanced and rounds have fins, so rifling is not that big of a benefit. On the other hand, a rifled gun needs sliding rings to fire sabot rounds, and, more importantly, wears out much faster. A smoothbore gun is more reliable and easier to maintain.",
"The M1 actually originally used a rifled barrel before the A1 upgrade replaced it with a smoothbore system.\nThe British and Indian Main Battle Tanks still retain rifled barrels.\n\nSmoothbore barrels don't wear as fast as rifled barrels, so maintenance is a consideration but it depends largely on the ammunition you want to use.\n\nYour choice of munitions will be informed by who you expect to be fighting and what sort of fighting it will be - big open terrain tank battles (as envisaged taking place in W.Germany during the Cold War), or in-town anti-insurgency, anti-personnel fighting where the enemy have no tanks or heavy armour.\n\nIf you want to use fin-stabilised rounds for accurate long range shooting and some of the newer anti-personnel rounds (which are basically glorified shotgun cartridges that fire multiple projectiles simultaneously) then a smoothbore barrel is good.\n\nIf you want to use traditional spin-stabilised high explosive shells then a rifled barrel is required.\n\nThe invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was one of the reasons for the Americans to move to a smooth-bore barrel - the fighting there involved very little anti-tank activity and was mostly anti-personnel and anti-building, which called for munitions better served through a smooth-bore barrel.",
"Rifled guns are good because they cause projectiles to spin, stabilising them and increasing accuracy. But the typical modern armor-piercing tank round is in the form of a long, thin rod made of super-dense material. The thinner (in relation to length) the projectile, the lesser the stabilising effect of rotation, so the spin imparted by a rifled barrel doesn't work very well. They use fins instead.\n\n",
"Smoothbore \n-Less barrel wear \n-More reliable \n-Easy to maintain \n-Increased projectile velocity (shorter time of flight and more penetration) \n-Less variables (wear on rifling affects accuracy) \n-Cheap simple high performing ammunition \n-Can fire longer projectile in relation to its bore size \n-Accurate out to 3000m\n\nRifled \n-Accurate over 3000m \n-Can fire HESH rounds (overrated IMO)",
"US used 155mm cannons still use rifled barrels. ",
"rifled barrels improved accuracy on dumb bullets/shells.\n\nimproved projectile design has taken care of that, and a smoothbore allows for higher velocity, simpler maintenance, more durability, etc.",
"So the question has been answered. I have a new question:\n\nIf I went back in time to the reign of the cannon, could I design and build a more modern \"complex\" cannon bullet for those cannons and potentially change the course of an ancient war?",
"Do a search for cannon rounds or shot from prior to WWI. You'll be amazed at some of the stuff warfighters were jamming down the barrel of a cannon. Example) _URL_0_",
"So here's the thing about most technology breakthroughs; they're not really inventing new ideas, they're just using old ideas in a new way.\n\nSmooth bores were terrible when we had \"dumb\" projectiles, so we rifled the bores to correct for bad bullets. Well now, we invented complex bullets that do many things on their own, so a rifle bore gets in the way. Now we're back to smooth bores.\n\nAs the see-saw of innovation continues, technologies come in and out of usefulness, but never truly go away.",
"Could someone please eli5 this question?",
"Challenger 2 tank has a rifled bore and actually hits it's targets.",
"To actually explain it like your 5\n\nThe ammunition has changed and now spins itself so rifling isn't needed. With some types of ammo the rifling would wear down quickly making the gun useless and they want to use a whole bunch of different types to get the job done. \n\nHere is a picture of common ammo for tanks. \n\n_URL_0_ \n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.harryschenawolf.com/cannon-projectiles-during-the-revolutionary-war/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/120MMRDS.JPG"
]
] | |
9oll60 | is it possible for a country to create a nuclear weapon without telling anyone? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9oll60/eli5_is_it_possible_for_a_country_to_create_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"e7uxizu",
"e7uxji5",
"e7uy1u1",
"e7uyknv",
"e7v3cby"
],
"score": [
2,
5,
3,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Well if they did, how would we know? ",
"Yes and no. They don't have to tell anyone but it is unlikely that it would go completely undetected. Nuclear tests get detected by seismologists, buying uranium always gets attention and is regulated etc. ",
"Make? Yes. Test? No. It would be very difficult to make sure their design works without testing and very easy for everyone to know they made it if they do test it. ",
"I'm not even sure making it would be practical for most countries, without other people knowing. Enriching uranium is required for basic nuclear weapons, and that is not a process which is easy to hide. If we can figure out that it's going on in a nation as insular as North Korea, it's going to be hard to keep it from the world.\n\nBasically, the gas centrifuges and the sheer quantity of uranium required are going to give a nuclear program away. In order to make a Bomb, you have to separate U-235 from U-238, and since they are basically chemically identical, you need to exploit the tiny differences in atomic weight using high tech centrifuges.\n\nBut since the weight difference is so slight, it's still time consuming to do.... So you buy a lot of centrifuges. And house them in a big building. And then a military satellite takes a picture of your big building, various intelligence services pick up orders for the centrifuge components and track their delivery, and they notice all the yellow cake going into the big building....",
"Sure, it's been done several times. I assume you mean \"without telling anyone\" to mean \"and keep it secret.\"\n\nIsrael built nuclear weapons in the 1960s, and kept it pretty secret. The only reason we know for sure that they have them is that a whistleblower posted photographs of their program.\n\nSouth Africa built weapons in the 1970s, and is wasn't known for sure what they had accomplished until, in the 1990s, they disclosed it to the world (after destroying them).\n\nPakistan had nuclear weapons by the 1980s, without it being too known for sure, until they tested weapons in 1998. \n\nThere are degrees of \"knowing,\" of course — it was not hard to have suspicions that Israel, South Africa, and Pakistan had nuclear development programs, prior to the \"moments of revelation.\" It is hard to hide absolutely every sign that one might be doing such a thing. It is very hard to hide nuclear testing (though not impossible, if you go about it on a very small scale and under the right conditions). \n\nAnd, of course, the USA built the first bomb \"without telling anyone.\" Soviet spies knew, but few others did until the bombs were dropped on Japan."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
5e1bjb | why it's acceptable to eat meat or hunt certain animals but not animals that are considered typical pets? | I don't mean to offend anyone and really want to understand the difference between meat versus pets.
I just want to understand how animals are categorized as food/hunt/pet and why someone is deeply hurt when a pet is hurt but animals that are killed for food/products or hunted are not a big deal. What causes a differing emotional connection to certain animals/situations? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5e1bjb/why_its_acceptable_to_eat_meat_or_hunt_certain/ | {
"a_id": [
"da8zunm",
"da90276",
"da911ju",
"da92jyl",
"da935as",
"da94c2t",
"da99rvb",
"da9bmcn",
"da9dq8k"
],
"score": [
14,
25,
29,
4,
2,
2,
2,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"It's cultural. In Asian countries they eat cat and dog because they are animals. In India and other info-Asian countries they eat insects for protein. ",
"Vincent:\nWant some bacon?\n\nJules:\nNo man, I don't eat pork.\n\nVincent:\nAre you Jewish?\n\nJules:\nNah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.\n\nVincent:\nWhy not?\n\nJules:\nPigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.\n\nVincent:\nBacon tastes gooood. Pork chops taste gooood.\n\nJules:\nHey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherf***er. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eat nothin' that ain't got enough sense enough to disregard its own faeces.\n\nVincent:\nHow about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces.\n\nJules:\nI don't eat dog either.\n\nVincent:\nYeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?\n\nJules:\nI wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.\n\nVincent:\nAh, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?\n\nJules:\nWell we'd have to be talkin' about one charmin' motherf***in' pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charmin' than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm sayin'?",
"It is a purely cultural distinction. People often cite domestication as proof that some animals are more 'pet'-like, but that is just evidence of a long-standing cultural distinction (and might have more to do with the way *humans* have been domesticated by our cultural beliefs, and - possibly - by biological processes).\n\nTravelling to countries where people eat things that I did not consider to be *food* - cats, dogs, bugs, horrible Cthulhian nasties from the sea - I listened to many discussions about what is or isn't a pet and what is or isn't food, and nobody made a claim stronger than \"this is how it has always been done here\". Foreigners would often cite their emotional connections to pets, and how there was something inherently 'natural' dividing animals that should be pets and animals that should be food... but many of them disagreed about which animals went into which category.\n\nIn the US I have observed that many people don't really think of 'meat', as found in a grocery store, as being or coming from an 'animal', and numerous people have told me they eat meat, not animals. If the average person still lived with animals, still butchered their own meat, I suspect this weird abstraction could have never occurred. But what we eat and what we do to be able to eat are rarely connected by anything but money, for a lot of people.\n\n(In the US when people find out I don't eat meat the responses range from polite interest to being seriously offended. I don't know why they get offended. I don't care what anyone else eats, I just don't eat meat when I have other options. Among the people who get seriously offended, many have tried to explain to me that there are 'natural' reasons to eat some animals, like cows. \"It's not like we're eating cats or dogs!\", which would apparently be 'unnatural'.)",
"Also if you look to nature most animals who do eat other animals don't eat other carnivores (cats and dogs). They mostly eat vegetarians (cows, pigs, chickens). Just a thought as to why in many cultures they never thought to eat these animals. ",
"It mostly has to do with culture and societal norms. In America and (some) European countries, we tend to avoid animals that are too \"smart,\" \"cute,\" or \"gross.\" \n\nSo, we'll shy away from things like monkeys, dolphins, cats, dogs, insects, and rodents, but other cultures who don't have the same hangups will obviously choose differently. Consider the French with snails, the Chinese with cats and dogs, and the Japanese with squids and such.",
"There isn't any reason. Different cultures have different proximity to different animals. Some cultures consider dogs unclean. Some eat dogs. Some keep them as pegs. There's no \"reason\" other than how a culture developed.\n\nIt also depends on the type of meat. Horse meat is fantastic, but we eat cow meat because it's fattier and fat was important for a while. Horses could be ridden and had another purpose. Cows were quite fierce (well, bulls anyway) and couldn't.",
"It is a cultural distinction and it is because we add human attributes that do not really exist in the animal to our pets and so are disturbed to eat them. ",
"I'd say this comes down to two things.\n\nFirst, dietary taboos. Nearly every culture puts some animals off-limits for eating for one reason or another. I'd go so far as to say the tendency to do this is intrinsically human. Sometimes it's just to maintain cultural distinctiveness: sitting down and eating together is also a near universal method for human bonding, and dietary rules can make it pretty obvious who is or isn't in your group when you do this. Sometimes it's because while something may be edible, it's not generally wise to eat. For example, rats eat stored grain, cats eat rats, but if you eat a lot of cats there will be more rats and less grain. Not the best choice of foods in an agricultural society. Most pets were originally working animals, after all.\n\nSecond, people tend to alter their responses to things in a particular category based on their social relationship to those things. For example, nobody expects someone to have the same response to all children as to _their_ children. The university I attended treated me different than it treated similar students attending other universities. Soldiers treat soldiers in their own army differently than soldiers in the enemy army. Likewise, our pets are our pets. By mere virtue of having that relationship to our culture, animals of certain species are removed from the 'ok to eat' list. It's pretty much irrelevant that a dog and a deer are both animals and not that different in many ways: what matters is not so much what the dog _is_ biologically, but rather its relationship to western culture. Deer don't fill the role of companion or helper and we don't feel any specific obligation to not eat them. ",
"Well we don't make as big a distinction as you might think. Take rabbit for example.\n\nBut the distinctions between things like dogs and cows are just due to efficency. Dogs eat meat, it would be completely stupid to farm dog, because you would have to feed it meat, like beef. Might as well just eat the beef, and make upwards if a 90% efficency saving. Dogs instead serve uses like herding, which are more pet like. Cats catch mice. \n\nOver time people find these work animals cute, and keep them when the work is over because they care about them. Exactly how people can care about a dog but systematically execute cows is beyond me. I could understand caring about both, and I personaly care about neither, but caring about only one is something I have to put down to irrationality. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
14hyqb | hatch-waxman act | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/14hyqb/eli5_hatchwaxman_act/ | {
"a_id": [
"c7d7lft"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"There are things known as \"generic drugs\"; these are drugs usually sold under store brands, with the same active chemical as a brand name drug. They can't be sold as long as the brand name drug has a patent on it.\n\nIt used to be that generic drugs had to go through the same approval process as the original drug. But this process is very costly, and not really necessary, because the entire point of generic drugs is that they do the same thing as the original. The Hatch-Waxman Act changed the law, so that generic drugs could get approved just by showing they do act the same way as the original. To compensate for this, brand name drugs were given some additional time to have a guaranteed monopoly, on top of the 20 years guaranteed by the patent."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
25lxbl | why do some people mind if you change lanes in front of them, and attempt to move forward to prevent you from changing lanes? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/25lxbl/eli5_why_do_some_people_mind_if_you_change_lanes/ | {
"a_id": [
"chih0fo"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Some people are just selfish assholes. Welcome to the world we live in. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
2rvtbb | how would the completion of keystone xl reduce us dependence on foreign oil? | Canada would have no obligation to sell crude to the US at discounted rates in the event of an OPEC embargo, what am I missing? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2rvtbb/eli5_how_would_the_completion_of_keystone_xl/ | {
"a_id": [
"cnjq61i",
"cnjwaks"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"No, but we're nicer and more stable than some of our OPEC \"friends\".\n\nIts like if there are two gas stations across the street from one another. But one is owned by your friend. The price of gas is the same, but you go to your friend's gas station because, well, he's your friend. And sometimes he throws in a free Mars bar.\n\nCanada's really unlikely to be a jerk about supply and demand (like Saudia Arabia is being currently), because we need you guys as much as you need us. That and we're super polite and stuff.",
"The Keystone Pipeline is more about tapping Montana and North Dakota shale gas rather than hitting Alberta's oilsands gas. Currently production in Montana and North Dakota is tapped because they have absolutely no pipeline and are currently transporting it into Canada to be refined and then later re-sold into the US market. It would make so much more sense to send all of that gas to Texas.\n\nIf the shale market were to continue to expand (which currently it cannot because of aggressive Saudi Arabia trying to prevent it) America could become 100% independent of foreign oil. This year due to shale, America was for the first time ever an exporter of gas.\n\nThink about that for a second. In the entire history of the United States, 2014 was the first year America ever had enough gas. Before then America was always dependent on war torn countries, tinpot dictators, and Islamist kings to get their oil.\n\nThere is already a pipeline from Alberta to Texas called Keystone. This one Keystone XL looks to cut into Montana/North Dakota and across other regions that are rich in shale gas production from fracking.\n\nCanada sells America gas at about $10 less per barrel. There's absolutely no reason to believe that Canada will always play nice with their oil. But the pipeline is mostly about North Dakota/Montana. They only care about the segment between Montana and Texas because the other part has been done for quite some time.\n\nThere is also a future plan to build a northern gateway that would allow for gas from Alaska and the Northwest Territories to get pumped to Texas refineries."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
9864dm | why is it easier to swim in a cold pool than it is to take a cold shower? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9864dm/eli5_why_is_it_easier_to_swim_in_a_cold_pool_than/ | {
"a_id": [
"e4dk3wv",
"e4dkcid",
"e4doaws"
],
"score": [
21,
9,
3
],
"text": [
"I feel like it may have to do with your exposure to the air. In a pool, your body is completely submerged in water while in a shower, you’re only getting sprinkled which then allows any cold air that may have been in the room to hit you and make you feel even colder.",
"This is a guess, but I would say it's due to the fact that when you jump in a pool, a larger surface area of your body is being exposed to a lower temperature, so your body quickly comes to equilibrium with the water temperature. However, in a shower, you have a much smaller amount of water on your body at any one time and it's a constant flow of cold water, so your body reaches equilibrium much slower, and hence you feel cold as the heat is leaving you body. ",
"Water absorbs a lot of heat from your body when it evaporates. When your body is submerged it can't do this so you lose less body heat.\n\nSource: Something I heard a long time ago that may or may not be true"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
2bj1mf | why can't deep web/dark web websites be closed? | Curious. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2bj1mf/eli5_why_cant_deep_webdark_web_websites_be_closed/ | {
"a_id": [
"cj5sqxj",
"cj5t1ai"
],
"score": [
4,
3
],
"text": [
"They are operated by individuals hosting servers in various countries. And first, you need to find the server/website then find the person hosting/paying for it. It will usually be in some remote country with little jurisdiction. Now, they have to produce a court order in that country. \n\nTL;DR; It is a huge pain in the butt; Unless they have to, they don't bother with it.",
"The overwhelming majority of the \"dark web\" is composed of things you don't want to be closed down. Pages which are locked behind passwords, emails, things like that. The minority of the deep web which *is* composed of illegal stuff is not only hidden, but might also be hosted in a country which doesn't put much effort into cracking down on these kind of crimes. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
21fj6k | incest laws | I am aware that these laws exist in order to prevent genetic mishaps including deformation and recessive diseases. I am wondering what other reasons exist that make incestuous relationships a bad thing. In particular, I am wondering why the ban extends to homosexual incestuous relationships. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/21fj6k/eli5_incest_laws/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgcjk1e"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Surely it's for the same reason that relationships between teachers and students, professors and students, prison wardens and prisoners etc., are banned: there is the possibility of an abuse of power."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
wxq6e | what is sweat? | As in, what is it composed of and how exactly is it excreted from our bodies? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wxq6e/eli5_what_is_sweat/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5hd3st"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Body excretes water through your pores to cool you down.\n\nLots of dissolved salts are in sweat."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
8zc75q | why do the lesions from acne on my face take so long to heal while lesions on other parts of my body take a few days? | For example, I've gotten cuts in my mouth and get some on my hands as well. These cuts/lesions take about 2-4 days to clear up from redness and one can see repair happening to the area. Meanwhile on my face it takes weeks for inflammation to go down by itself and visible repair takes about the same time. Should I ice it down more often? Why is that? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8zc75q/eli5_why_do_the_lesions_from_acne_on_my_face_take/ | {
"a_id": [
"e2hle5h",
"e2hp39x",
"e2hshf9"
],
"score": [
7,
6,
3
],
"text": [
"I think it’s because the acne is caused by bacteria- and the cut isn’t. So, it’s an infection whereas the cut isn’t infected and should just heal from being cut.(unless it gets infected). The acne lesions on our face also are in contact with sweat, dirt, oil and bacteria on our fingers, where on other parts of our body, not nearly as much. One time I kept pouring hydrogen peroxide on one on my face, thinking it would heal faster- but hydrogen peroxide should only be used once, because it will eat away at your skin if used repeatedly. I can’t remember what the term is for it...Best thing to do is wash 2-3 times a day, exfoliate gently, and try not to mess with them. ",
"Also, saliva is naturally antibacterial, that's why animals licks their wounds \n[_URL_0_](_URL_1_)",
"As a former sufferer who is now older and wiser (hopefully), I can only say one thing that always works to minimize acne: Don't touch your face with your hands. \n\nIf you have to, use a cloth or the inside of your shirt or an inanimate object. Your fingers will introduce infextion to your pores."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound\\_licking",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_licking"
],
[]
] | |
fne4sm | what does it mean when a company spends money on a buy back? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fne4sm/eli5_what_does_it_mean_when_a_company_spends/ | {
"a_id": [
"fl92pku",
"fl92q3y"
],
"score": [
4,
4
],
"text": [
"Companies issue shares of ownership of the stuff the company owns, called stock. They sell these ownership shares to people. These sales give the firm money to do stuff. The value of those shares also reflects the value of the company. High share prices can make it easier for firms to borrow money when they need it. \n\nFirms with a lot of cash on hand are under intense pressure to find a use for it (as money just sitting around isn't doing anything). One of the big things they can do with that cash is to buy those shares of ownership back from people that hold them. This can raise the price of the remaining shares and, overall, make investment in the company look more attractive.",
"They bought their own stock back on the open market. It's a method of enriching the company and putting control in the hands of fewer stockholders."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
6fiovc | how does dialing 9-1-1 always call police station of the city you are in if they all have the same phone number? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6fiovc/eli5_how_does_dialing_911_always_call_police/ | {
"a_id": [
"diiguk0"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Phone calls are routed by telecom equipment, starting with switches that are relatively close to you. Call a regular phone number and your switch routes you on to the next switch and the next until you reach your destination. With 911 your local switch knows to route it to the local 911 dispatch center. \n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
3ye1k2 | what's sawn off on a sawn off shotgun? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ye1k2/eli5_whats_sawn_off_on_a_sawn_off_shotgun/ | {
"a_id": [
"cycnvc8",
"cycnzh1"
],
"score": [
2,
6
],
"text": [
"You saw the barrel of the gun down so the whole weapon is about half the size. You can now conceal it easier.\n\nThe film Bronson gives a great example.",
"A sawn off shotgun has one, but sometimes two features. The first being a sawed off barrel that is short and concealable. The second being a sawed off stock in order to make the shotgun a pistol grip which adds to the concealable nature of the sawed off.\n\nAn offset of a sawed off shotgun is decreased accuracy and range to the increased spread of the shot and a decrease in accuracy due to the fact that you can't shoulder the weapon and fire like a long gun.\n\nThe main thing that the sawed off has going for its element of surprise and when used in close quarters it proves to be an effective weapon against any living thing there."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
c68j5i | why does the color black go with everything? is there a scientific or color-theory explanation for this or....??? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c68j5i/eli5_why_does_the_color_black_go_with_everything/ | {
"a_id": [
"es6uvy2"
],
"score": [
10
],
"text": [
"Black is considered a neutral color. Grays, whites, browns and blacks are neutral and tend to go with most colors. Typically certain neutral values look best with either corresponding or completely opposed values, but since black is just one value, it can go with everything."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
3jdshv | - why is avid life media (parent company of ashley madison) not facing any federal charges for scamming its members with fake profiles? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3jdshv/eli5_why_is_avid_life_media_parent_company_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"cuodbak",
"cuokeuc",
"cuoktfz",
"cup0pxo"
],
"score": [
99,
2,
7,
2
],
"text": [
"It was in the EULA that those profiles existed for entertainment purposes. They signed the contract saying they read that part.",
"Give it time. Complicated crimes require months or longer for prosecutors to file charges. ",
"They might... for the \"paid delete.\" Litigation would be slow, and honestly, with $20 at issue per litigant, it wouldn't be worth it without class action certification, unless someone brings a huge case involving major damages like loss of employment/credit fraud from one of the \"deleted\" accounts. \n\nAs for their performance, they lucked out in that to avoid vice charges, they had to explicitly not guarantee relationships or encounters from use of the site. That said, their existence implied some level of success, regardless of the disclaimer- how much would be a thorny issue that sides are likely preparing for years-long litigation to sort out. ",
"For any kind of litigation, one would have to prove that those accounts were fake and intended to be fake. Unfortunately, it could be almost impossible to do that, since the hackers or whoever could have planted that info. Or the accounts in question could have been for debugging or some other form of testing. Basically any claim the company makes, no matter how ridiculous, would have to be proven false, and that is a horrible and laborius task for such a small reason."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
6ylndi | why in the english language do we use different letters or combinations of them to make the same sound | EG: Box / rocks...
Lei / lay | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ylndi/eli5_why_in_the_english_language_do_we_use/ | {
"a_id": [
"dmocizg",
"dmod13k"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"r/linguistics\n\nWhenever we talk about words in any language, we have to go study the etymology of the word to figure out why we pronounce, spell, or use that word in the modern fashion. As an example, the \"box/rocks\" question you've posed suggests two things. The first being different origin languages, and the second being different evolution from the origin language. \n\n\"Box\" comes from the Greek \"puxos\", whereas \"rock\" comes from the Medieval Latin \"rocca\". When words evolve over centuries, we tend to keep at least some of the original spelling, hence \"puxos\" becoming \"box\" to retain the \"x\", and \"rocca\" becoming \"rock\" to retain the hard \"c\". Adding \"s\" to pluralize \"rock\" comes from Modern English, so we're using a modern language rule to modify a Medieval language origin word. \n\n",
"\"Box\" is a word in its own right, but \"rocks\" is the word \"rock\" with an added \"s\". We don't respell the word \"rocks\" for the sake of efficiency.\n\n\"Lei\" is a word borrowed from Hawaiian, so follows the Hawaiian pronunciation as far as possible. The English word \"lay\", though, didn't start out sounding like \"lei\": in 1400, it would have sounded more like our word \"lie\", and \"lie\" would have sounded more like \"lee\".\n\nAll languages change over time, and between 1400 and 1600, the English language was affected by a profound change in pronunciation called the \"Great Vowel Shift\": most of the long vowels and some diphthongs (a sound made by blending two vowels together) changed, and some of them even merged so that we now have fewer vowel sounds than we used to. Even after the Great Vowel Shift itself, vowel sounds continued to change (this is a process of natural evolution, which never stops -- our language, like all languages, is still changing). However, we didn't change the way we spell the words.\n\nFor example, in 1400 the words \"see\" and \"sea\" were pronounced slightly differently from each other, a difference most modern English speakers probably wouldn't be able to detect. (Start saying the word \"said\", but instead of pronouncing the \"d\" just keep saying the vowel without moving any part of your mouth: that's the closest you're likely to get.) By 1700, the two sounds were being pronounced the same way -- but we didn't change the spelling. In effect, the way we spell our words is about 300 or 400 years behind the times.\n\nThis has totally messed up our vowel system, and is one of the reasons spelling is so difficult in English.\n\nAnother reason is that the alphabet we use wasn't developed for the English language: it's for the Latin language, and is perfect for that language. Before the Romans came we were using a different alphabet using letters called \"runes\", but then we just had to switch to the Latin alphabet. In many important ways, it's simply not a good match for the English language.\n\nAnd as vowels changed over time, so did consonants. Our language is littered with \"silent\" letters that were at one time pronounced, but no longer are -- but again, we didn't bother changing the spellings to keep up.\n\nOriginally, people just spelled words as they saw fit; it wasn't until the widespread introduction of printing that spellings became standardized. Unfortunately, different people had different ideas about whose spellings should become the standard, so we royally messed that one up. For example, we've ended up with \"disdain\" being the opposite of \"deign\" (the word is related to \"dignity\", which is where the \"g\" comes from).\n\nIn short, because there has never been a single authority regulating everything, and because English has never had a proper spelling reform, we've spent centuries making a pig's breakfast of our writing system."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
bgqknt | how does the 'recirculation' option work in car air cons? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bgqknt/eli5_how_does_the_recirculation_option_work_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"elmua02",
"eln9jp7"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"It pulls the already conditioned air in over by your feet, and recools that air, instead of cooling air from outside.",
"In the other setting the ventilation system takes air in from outside the car.\n\nIn recirculation, the air being fed to the aircon is air from inside the car cabin rather than air from outside.\n\nThis can be useful to heat or cool the car faster because it starts with the air it already partially heated or cooled, or can be very useful when driving through an area that has hazardous material in the air, like when passing near a big fire."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
wd2jq | what's r/fearme all about? | Can tell what it's really about. Does it extend beyond its subreddit? Or even anything else. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wd2jq/eli5_whats_rfearme_all_about/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5cjz9h"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Nope, just a bunch of creepy pics with creepy titles"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
1lsboa | when a tsunami hits power lines, why doesn't everything in the water become electrocuted? | I feel power lines have so much power in the lines at all times. I hear many stories on the news about someone working on a power line and turning into dust or having all the flesh of their entire body burned from the mass electricity surging through the body. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1lsboa/eli5_when_a_tsunami_hits_power_lines_why_doesnt/ | {
"a_id": [
"cc292hx",
"cc294xk",
"cc297c9",
"cc2cay6"
],
"score": [
17,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
" > I hear many stories on the news about someone working on a power line and turning into dust\n\nThat doesn't happen.\n\n > or having all the flesh of their entire body burned from the mass electricity surging through the body.\n\nThat can.\n\nNow to address your question:\n\n > When a tsunami hits power lines, why doesn't everything in the water become electrocuted?\n\nElectricity always takes the path of least resistance to the \"ground\" (a technical term meaning some sort of electron sink that can absorb electricity without becoming noticeably more negatively charged). Most of the time, this is the actual ground, hence the name. But in the case of a tsunami, the water itself can act as a ground.\n\nSecondly, you have to understand that power lines operate on AC (alternating current), where the electrons quickly \"jiggle\" back and forth rather than flowing continuously in the same direction.\n\nSo in the case of a tsunami hitting power lines (and presumably snapping the line, exposing the actual conductor), the electrons will simply dissipate a short distance into the water, until the electric field is too weak to make them move anymore. If you're right next to the power line, you might get electrocuted, but it won't do much if you're even a moderate distance away.",
"Ok pure water (distilled) does not conduct electricity and acts as an insulator; it's the impurities in water that conducts. When regular water hits a power source the electrons jump to the impurities and cause a current to jump from one impurity to another through arching. When electricity arches out it's voltage will diminish little by little because the electrons are slowing down from each impurity they hit and the water insulating until it's virtually harmless. Lighting hitting the ocean spreads out in a ball aura because of this before disappearing. In most tsunamis and other disasters the power lines will fall at some point and break the connection of power to the rest of the powerlines.",
"No this is not true. Electricity finds the fastest path to the ground. Since your body is not a very good conductor and salt water is, the electricity will flow through the water into the ground.\n\nHere is a similar question.\n\n_URL_0_",
"There's a lot of talk here about electricity taking the path of least resistance to the ground. It's more accurate to say that electric current takes the path of least resistance **back to its source**, because electric currents must flow in closed loops. Ever see a power transmission line with just one wire? They do exist, and they do use the ground as the return path, but they're only used at low power levels because the ground (dirt) is not a very good conductor! \n\nMost real-world power lines actually have two or more wires. The current flows down one wire and back through another. If the line gets flooded, the current now has a very low resistance path from one wire straight to the other. So most of the current is going to flow in a straight line between the wires, with the amount becoming less as you get further away from that straight path. Once you're several feet away, the amount of current will be small enough that it's imperceptible."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://wiki.answers.com/Q/If_lightning_strikes_the_ocean_while_you_are_in_it_how_close_does_the_strike_have_to_be_for_you_to_feel_it"
],
[]
] | |
6lez22 | torque in relation to a car's performance? | I've heard its something to do with rotatational force etc. but what does that actully mean. Is is the feeling of 'got some poke' when you accelerate in a decent car? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6lez22/eli5_torque_in_relation_to_a_cars_performance/ | {
"a_id": [
"djtabep",
"djtb3s7",
"djtdmma",
"djteixl",
"djtgv58",
"djtixpi",
"djtjix9",
"djtv81h"
],
"score": [
11,
5,
6,
2,
4,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"ELI5:\n\nTorque: acceleration\n\nHorsepower: Top speed.\n\nFor older than 5, It's a bit more complicated than that, there's a \"torque curve\" meaning how much torque you have at any given RPM. If you have torque at low RPM, you can feel the push coming off of a redlight. If you have good torque at high RPM, you can get a push once you're already moving, good for passing on a highway. If you have a \"fat torque curve\" you have good torque at both low and high RPM, a good car for driving on curvy roads.\n",
"In terms of performance not much. What's import is the total power put out and where the power is on the rpm range. \n\nBreaking it down to a formula you have Power = torque x rpm. Torque being a measure of how much force each rotation of the engine exerts and power being the force output per second.\n\nWhen people say that an engine with high torque is better what the are generally actually talking about is an engine where the power is available across a wide band usually lower down the rpm range this is useful for towing for example as it saves the need for a large number of gear ratios to keep the engine at the required power.\n\nIf you wanted to you could use a small high reving motorbike engine with all it's power concentrated in a narrow band at a high rpm. You would just need a hell of a lot of gears to keep the rotating at the optimal speed.\n\nThis video explains much better than i could _URL_0_\nAt 20:56 it even answers the exact question in your post.",
"The acceleration you feel is down to the torque at the wheels which is a product of the engine torque and the total gearing (gear and diff ratios, wheel size etc.). This means talking about engine torque isn't very useful in isolation as you need to know what gearing you can use which is dictated by what rev range the engine can produce torque over. In other words you could have a very low torque engine but if it revs twice as high as an engine with twice the torque, you could get the same wheel torque as you could gear it twice as low. Power is just the product of torque*revs/5252 so basically it takes the revs into account which makes it a useful figure for directly comparing vehicles as you don't need to know what the gearing is or anything else to get a feel for if it's a fast car (assuming it has \"appropriate\" gearing). Basically torque is transformed by gearing but power is an absolute figure that tells you how much work the engine can actually do. Perfect example being F1 vs Nascar, low torque/high revs/low gearing vs high torque/low revs/high gearing but both make similar power and perform similarly. You would predict that if you looked at their power:weight ratios but you wouldn't predict it from their engine torque:weight ratios. \n\nTL:DR \"got some poke\" comes from wheel torque which is not necessarily the result of a lot of *engine* torque...it could be due to very low gearing. Power figures cover off that issue...high power:weight ratio = fast car.\n\n",
"For the average driver, given similar power and vehicle weights, the only difference is that a car with more torque will be fast whenever you press the gas pedal, while one with less torque will need to rev before accelerating as fast. so you need to shift more. in reality, engines with more torque also have a broader torque curve relative to their overall operating range, meaning they require fewer gears to take full advantage of their power.",
"A scalar quantity is a number. For example 9.81 is a scalar quantity.\n\nA vector quantity has a direction and a magnitude, so imagine an arrow of a given direction and of a given length.\n\nVelocity is a rate of change in position, a vector quantity, and we call the magnitude \"speed\". For example, 30 mph going west.\n\nForce is a vector quantity, and we call it's magnitude \"acceleration\". Force applied to a mass over time will change it's velocity. So 30 mph going west and increasing west at 5 mph per second. Torque is force applied to an axis, so you can see how torque is important to acceleration.\n\nWork, force applied over a distance, will become important in a moment. The base unit is the joule. So applying 20 Newtons of force over 2 meters = 20 joules of energy. You can double the work by either doubling the weight and keeping the distance, or keeping the weight and doubling the distance.\n\nPower is work over time. The base unit is the Watt, and horsepower is a derived unit, so the two are convertible. In order to cross a room in half the time, you have to perform twice the work. So in order to go 200 mph, you need to apply torque (force) more frequently in the given period of time.\n\nSo torque will increase your *speed*, but if you want to increase your *acceleration*, you need horsepower. You can have lots of torque, there are 14 cylinder cargo ship engines with pistons over 3' wide that produce ~8m ft/lbs of torque, and if that thing were fit to a car, it would absolutely get you to whatever speed you want to go, provided you had the appropriate gearing, but that doesn't mean it will accelerate you *quickly*.\n\nAnd this is why torque and horsepower are confusing, they're interrelated and explain the rate of change of different things.",
"Torque is a force at a radius. Torque multiplied by RPM(and a scaling factor) is power. \n\nSay you have 1 N*M of torque at the axle, and your wheel has a radius of 50cm That means there is 2N of force pushing the wheel forward. Divide that force by mass and you get acceleration. \n\nNow, when people say a car has a lot of torque, what they usually mean the car accelerates quickly from a standing start. This has more to do with power to mass ratio, plus the gearing ratios and the shape of the engine's torque curve. You get the most torque at the axle when the engine is running at its maximum power RPM, and geared to whatever speed you're moving, but unless you have a continuously variable transmission you won't be able to keep the engine at its optimal RPM for maximum power, so trading max HP for a better torque curve may be worth it. ",
"Horsepower determines how fast you hit the wall, \nTorque determines how far you take the wall with you",
"It's easier to conceptualise with a bicycle.\n\nOn a bicycle, your legs are the \"engine\" providing the torque. When accelerating from a slow speed, your legs are putting a lot of work into turning the pedals quite slowly, because your legs have a lot of resistance (inertia) to overcome. You're applying a lot of force but at low speed turning the pedals (low RPM).\n\nAs you speed up, you don't have to push down so forcefully to get the pedals to move, but the pedals are moving much faster. The *amount of work your legs are doing* (torque) is more or less the same, but the work you're doing is spread out over more turns of the pedal per second (RPM). So you might be turning the pedals twice as fast, but pushing down on the pedals with half as much force.*\n\nYou want to go faster, problem is your legs can't really pedal any faster than they are currently going. The faster you pedal, the less actual oomph you can give it. Your legs are moving a lot but they aren't actually applying much push any more. So you switch to a higher gear. \n\nThe higher gear slows down the speed the pedals need to move at to keep the bicycle travelling at the same speed. This means your legs don't need to move so fast, and you can resume giving it oomph. You've decreased the RPM, and increased the force of your pedalling. This allows you to push harder with your legs to accelerate even faster. \n\n**The work (torque) your legs are doing hasn't changed, only the way that work is being used.** You're burning the same amount of calories, but those calories are going less into pushing hard with your legs and more into moving your legs quickly.\n\nOnce you slow down again, you'll need to switch to a lower gear. That's because you'll need a tremendous amount of push just to keep the bicycle moving in a high gear travelling at a low speed. \n\nCars work just the same. The engine's doing the work/torque, instead of your legs, the pistons turning \"pedals\" exactly as your legs were. When driving it's still a balancing act to get the right amount of push for a particular speed. \n\nDriving at 30mph, you might have a choice between 3rd or 4th gear. 3rd gear you're needing more torque/power (poke, or oomph), tending to put your foot down on the gas a bit to ensure there's enough to keep the speed up. It's a bit wasteful and inefficient, because you're really using more pushing power/oomph (think back to the pedals on the bicycle) fighting just to keep the speed up. In bicycle terms you're now using more calories than you need to. \n\nOr you can switch to 4th gear, and start taking your foot off the gas, but not too far or the engine just won't have enough oomph to keep the wheels turning at all and the engine will stall. \n\nAnd that's basically it. The only other thing to understand is that the gears are transferring the torque from the engine to the wheels, and some of the torque is lost along the way. Different cars have different gear ratios and losses, changing how much \"poke\" the car gives at different speeds. There are graphs and the like that show what those differences are for each car, but really you just need to drive it to get a feel for what's happening.\n\nEDIT:\n\n*for simplicity's sake"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQjyn95c-o"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
5mext2 | why do we count seconds, hours, days, and weeks in weird terms like 60, 24, 7 and 52 but once we get to years we go into base ten (decades, centuries, etc.)? | Seems odd. Never thought about it until now.
Edit: Thanks for all the input! Had no idea our system for timekeeping had so much history from so many cultures behind it. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5mext2/eli5_why_do_we_count_seconds_hours_days_and_weeks/ | {
"a_id": [
"dc30p5h",
"dc31c54",
"dc31ezs",
"dc31nzz",
"dc3fadg",
"dc3fe4g",
"dc3h1d3",
"dc3jog6",
"dc3l3ea",
"dc3u0jh",
"dc3vqv7",
"dc421fa",
"dc421oh"
],
"score": [
25,
33,
2355,
3,
5,
3,
29,
67,
3,
19,
2,
2,
6
],
"text": [
"24 and 60 are more easily divided into smaller amounts. With 10, you can divide by 5 and 2 but that's it. \n\nWe don't count anything by 52. It's just approx. How many weeks are in a year. \n\n",
"364/5 is defined by orbital mechanics.\n\nThe rest is courtesy of the Sumerian-Babylonian astronomers and mathematicians. Their commoners had rituals centered around the 7-day week but at the same time the mathematicians used a base-twelve arithmetic, creating favour for 5*12=60 minutes per hour.\n\nWhereas the roots for \"decade\", \"century\" and \"millennium\" all come from Latin, and Romans used baseless mathematics but favoured multiples of ten. \"Century\" for them basically meant \"a hundred dudes\", such as a unit of hundred Legionnaires led by a Centurion.",
"Putting 24 hours in a day came from the ancient Egyptians who split the day into 2 parts. Daytime was 10 hours with an hour of twilight on either side and nighttime was 12 hours. Nighttime was 12 hours based on 36 stars called \"decans\" that the Egyptians used to keep track of time based on when they rose in the sky. 18 decans would be visible at any given time of the year, but 3 were assigned to each side of twilight, so there 12 leftover for nighttime hours.\n\nThe 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute comes from the ancient Babylonians who liked to split things in base 60. They had a thing for the number 360 because they thought that's how many days there were in year. They also like 60 because, like 12, it can easily be divided into several other whole numbers (2, 3, 4, 6). \n\nThe 7-day week came up independently in a few ancient societies. It's unclear why exactly, but most likely because it's 1/4 of the lunar cycle. It just so happens that about 52 weeks fit in a year.\n\nPeople didn't start keeping track of years in their current form until significantly later on. The first person to start counting years from Jesus' birth was a Scythian monk named Dionysius Exiguus in 525 CE (and his system didn't become widespread until sometime later). Before that most people would count the number of years of the current king or other relevant ruler. So it would be something like the 10th year in the reign of King Virgo911. In Rome they would also sometimes count the number of years from the founding of the city. Most cultures around the world did this (counting years from a significant event or based on the ascension of a ruler or dynasty) and, in fact, that's what the current calendar does (counts years from a significant event, i.e. the birth of Jesus). We do it in base 10 because we're simply counting years from a reference point.\n\nEdit: Since this is picking up some steam, more fun facts. The Romans used an 8 day week during the Republic. They switched over to a 7 day week during the Empire (and officially adopted it in 321 CE).\n\nThe Mayans had two different length weeks. One of 13 days where the days were just numbered and one of 20 days where the days were named. I'm not really sure how that works in practice.\n\nThe Jews had a 7 day week because of the creation story taking place over 7 days. It's unclear where 7 came from.\n\nThe French tried to implement decimal time shortly after the French Revolution, but it never caught on. In decimal time there are 10 hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour, and 100 seconds in a minute.",
"Days to years is pretty obvious. Days to weeks, and weeks to years makes sense because it's an easy to subdivide portions of the year so that they divide nicely with both the solar (year) and lunar (monthly) calendars.\n\nSeconds, minutes, and hours are all a function of Babylonian and Sumerian timekeepers, who liked base 12 and base 60 number systems. For whatever reason, we never really tried to move on from that until the French revolution, when Metrification started, and when they tried to include a concept of metric time. It failed miserably, although the rest of the unit system *did* end up working.",
"Solid top explanation. Sixty is divisible by 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30. You divide an hour into 60 smaller, more 'minute' equal time periods (minutes), and then do it a second time into 60 (seconds).",
"The Babylonians used a base 60 system, so to them that was a very natural number, like 10 to us. Once you define a week as having 7 days, which has been considered a special number for a very long time, 52 is just how many weeks are in a solar year, so that number isn't really an invention.",
"Another fun, somewhat related fact for you.\nI was told that if you take a look at deck of cards, then that represents a year as well.\n4 suites - 4 seasons\n52 cards - 52 weeks.",
"I just want to emphasize that some of these divisions are physical; that is, that's just how they are. The length of the day is fixed -- it's how long it takes for the Sun to move *all* the way around the Earth. At noon on day 1, the Sun is at its highest point. At noon on day 2, the Sun is again at its highest point. The length of the day is the time between these two. How we measure it is another matter. Notice that I didn't say that it's the time that it takes for the Earth to spin around its axis. That's because it actually takes less than a day to do that. It's just that, by the time it has spun around, it's also moved a bit in its orbit, so the point that was directly facing the Sun is now a little bit behind. Also, since the Earth's orbit is elliptical, the length of the day we use is really more of an average.\n\nThe other physical quantity we use today is the solar year. That's how long it takes for the Earth to go all the way around the Sun. The year is actually *not* exactly 365 days but a bit longer, which is why we add a day every four years or so (the rule for leap years is that we add one day whenever the year is a multiple of 4, unless it's a multiple of 100, in which case we add it only if it's a multiple of 400). Nobody thought, hm, let's make the year 365 days. 365 (and a bit) is just how long it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun.\n\nThe 7-day week is just something that stuck with us from ancient cultures. The ancient Israelites, for example, used a 7-day week, in which the 7th day was the day of rest. In the Abrahamic traditions, that 7-day week was kept, though Christians and Muslims both changed the position of the day of rest within that week. Other cultures had different weeks. The Mayans, for example, had a 13-day week and a 20-day month, making a 260-day ritual year (that obviously didn't line up with the solar year; they used a different system for that). It just so happened that the 7-day week is the one we use today, thanks in large part to the spread of Christianity, and the fact that there are 52 weeks in a year (plus a day, or two in leap years) is just coincidental.\n\nAnother physical quantity we use, but a lot less often, is the lunar month. This is how long it takes for the Moon to make its way around the Earth, kinda. Just like with the length of the day, the actual measure is how long it takes between new moon and new moon, when the relative position of the Sun, Earth, and Moon are the same. This is some quantity between 29 and 30 days. Many cultures use it, including the Jews, the Muslims, and the Chinese; the phases of the moon are a fairly reliable way to mark time. Have you ever seen those moon calendars that tell you the phase of the moon on a given day? These are completely unnecessary in lunar calendars -- you always know the phase of the moon because it's the same every month! (The word \"month\" is even derived from \"Moon\" in English!) At some point, the Christians moved to a solar calendar, and they got rid of the lunar months. The thing we call a month now is kind of arbitrary. The fact is that there are a few days less than 12 turns of the Moon around the Earth in one turn of the Earth around the Sun, so they split the solar year into 12 non-lunar months like we have today, each one with 30 or 31 days (I don't know why they made February have fewer), and they no longer line up with the Moon. But the cultures that still use the lunar calendar have to work out ways to deal with the difference. The Muslims simply don't. Their year doesn't line up with the solar year at all and they're OK with that. The Jews, on the other hand, insert a leap *month* 7 years out of every 19, and there are a few other months that get an added day in some cases, mostly in order to make various holidays not fall on various days of the week (the 21st day of the 7th month, Hoshana Rabah, isn't allowed to fall on Saturday, for example). The main impetus here is to make sure that the 1st (Biblical) month is actually in the spring (note that long, long ago, Jews switched to a calendar that begins on the 7th month, which begins in the fall), so a month is added if the 12th month ends too early.\n\nIn addition to this, I should mention that the division sexagesimal (meaning 60) division of minutes and seconds isn't *actually* from the Babylonians. Before decimals were invented by [John Napier](_URL_0_) in the late 1500's/early 1600's, people actually measured everything in fractions of 60. This included degrees of a circle and parts of the hour. So a time might be 4 hours and a bit. How much was a bit? 26 60ths and a bit. The first 60th subdivision was tiny so it was called a minute subdivision, and the second subdivision was called... well, they ran out of fucks to give so it was just the second subdivision. So the time could be 4 hours, 26 minute subdivisions of an hour, and 5 second subdivisions of an hour. Of course, you could also have third subdivisions of things and fourth subdivisions and so on, but there wasn't much reason to use them once decimals caught on. On the other hand, hours kept their subdivisions because they were in common use by regular people, and degrees kept theirs because they were used in navigational star charts and such.\n\nThe only number I haven't explained here is the 24 hours in a day, but I think other people already have so I'll leave it at that!",
"Technically, the Second isn't even based on astronomical observations and movements anymore. Officially, the SI second is now 9,192,631,770 transitions of a cesium atom, which pretty closely approximates 1/31.5M of the time between vernal points ^(known on Earth as the First Point of Aries.... which is actually in Pisces currently).\n\nAdditionally, the current time of day (TAI) is measured by the number of those seconds or fractions thereof, averaged across ~400 atomic clocks, since some semi-arbitrary point in time that we call January 1st, 1977. We apply a number of leap seconds to that (currently 37) to get UTC time, then we can apply a time-zone correction, and that's how we know the time and date today, technically speaking.\n\nWhile seemingly pedantic, this method actually is critically important to a variety of things. For instance, computers and machinery use it to coordinate events and in some cases motion control across systems. In radio communications, it can be used to synchronize the transmissions of multiple transmitters to allow for proper operation (both cell phones and LMRs make use of this in some situations). Typically it's either determined through a GPS receiver, a local high precision clock, NTP, or PTP, or a combination of those.",
"Somewhat random comment: The calendar should be 13 months of 28 days each (364 days). Leap year should simply add a free day between December and January that isn't in a month. Just a free day for everyone. \r\n\r\nBut no, 31, 28/9, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31 is way easier and much more logical.",
"Because you can't group years based on any naturally occurring phenomena so you just do it on what's the easiest for us to comprehend in numbers. It's usually easier to think about numbers in 10s, 100s, 1000s, etc.",
"How we came to use Base 10 is obvious, but if you want to use your hands for counting to more than this, then it's easier to use the thumb of one hand to count the 'segments' of the fingers on the same hand to get to twelve. Use the fingers of the other hand to count off five sets of twelve to get to 60.\n\nBase 12 and Base 60 come up often in life. If humans had evolved to have just three fingers, maybe Base 9 and 27 would be more prevalent.",
"A lot of people have great historical information, but are missing why some of these cultures used non-base 10 systems. \"They liked a different base\" is insufficient. 24 and 60 are both [highly composite numbers](_URL_0_) which is a number that has more divisors than any other number smaller than it. 24, for example, has 8 divisors (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24), more than any lower number, such as 20, which only has 6 divisors (1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20). \n \nThe advantage of HCM's is their usability is better for general use due to their divisibility. You can divide an hour in half, or quarters, or fifths... in fact, you can divide it into up equal parts 12 different ways (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60). \n \nThe Imperial Number system also uses a large amount of HCM's. Using the Imperial System to build a shelf with equal sections is much easier than building a shelf in the metric system with equal sections. Some one once challenged me on this by trying to go to base 10 \"What if the shelf is 10 feet, that doesn't divide evenly into 3 parts!\"... it does, 120 inches is a HCM! "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Napier.html"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highly_composite_number"
]
] | |
2lbt2e | how can a porn star go atm without getting violently ill? | Going on the assumption that there is no magical cut scene where the actor washes his dick off before inserting it into her/his partner's mouth. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2lbt2e/eli5_how_can_a_porn_star_go_atm_without_getting/ | {
"a_id": [
"cltai39",
"cltaje5",
"cltak3r"
],
"score": [
5,
8,
3
],
"text": [
"You don't see the long, extensive, unsexy scene where she cleans out her asshole repeatedly with anti-bacterial soap.",
"Don't they get enemas first? So there's no shit in their for a good solid few inches.",
"Your assumption that there isn't a cut scene is why they don't get sick- there IS a cut scene involved. In fact, there's likely dozens of them. All kinds of stuff can happen. People watching porn don't want to see the blooper reel, so they edit out all the slips, banged knees, lost boners, etc."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
31sbc2 | if we already knew that mars had frozen ice caps, why is it such a big deal that we found water there? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/31sbc2/eli5if_we_already_knew_that_mars_had_frozen_ice/ | {
"a_id": [
"cq4i0zd",
"cq4i75m",
"cq4i7hn",
"cq4j8u7"
],
"score": [
4,
9,
77,
6
],
"text": [
"Liquid water can support life, while ice cannot. There being life on Mars opens up the possibility of life elsewhere! ",
"Must have missed the news, was there really liquid water found on mars? Or just a few molecules like before? ",
"It's important to understand the density of the water. Part of understanding the water on Mars is understanding where the hell it all went. \n\nWhat we're finding now is that there is water that is much heavier than Earth's that's still there. The lighter water has all since disappeared through the atmosphere, which would've likely been close to Earth's. Earth has H2O, as you lovingly know, but Mars has HDO (the D is for Deuterium - so Hydrogen Deuterium and Oxygen verses 2 Hydrogen atoms and Oxygen).\n\nThis also helps us understand the geology. It's likely most of the Martian water likely disappeared before Cumberland (a Martian rock) formed about 3.9 billion to 4.6 billion years ago.\n\nWhat we're also starting to learn is just how much water Mars may have because of these discoveries. It's possible it had around the same amount as our Arctic ocean. So we're estimating that it's lost about 87% of its water.\n\n[Decent article](_URL_0_). [NASA](_URL_1_)",
"One thing to maybe keep in mind here is also that the ice caps grow in the winter thanks to \"dry ice\" forming, frozen CO2, not H2O. The dry ice then sublimates as it gets warmer again. The permanent ones are made of water ice though, yes, but much smaller. _URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://www.space.com/28030-mars-water-curiosity-rover.html",
"http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-research-suggests-mars-once-had-more-water-than-earth-s-arctic-ocean/index.html#.VP4XRvnF9bK"
],
[
"http://image.slidesharecdn.com/marsplanet-120921115342-phpapp02/95/mars-planet-13... | ||
2bzoqu | how do websites like _url_0_ work? | I'm not sure the psychology about this website, similar to Coke's campaign for "clicking a button to give a Coke to a soldier".
---
If they have the ability to feed rice to millions of people, why do they need us to answer questions to get them to donate grains? Why don't they just do it?
**I'm not asking a loaded question, I'm honestly curious on how it works.** | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2bzoqu/eli5_how_do_websites_like_freericecom_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjagzi3"
],
"score": [
7
],
"text": [
"Hits (people visiting the page) generate a 'value' of a website for selling ad space. The more you click, the more money they make, thus being able to afford rice which is already relatively cheap. I think."
]
} | [
"freerice.com"
] | [] | [
[]
] | |
svtrz | what is the new particle that was discovered at cern? | I was reading this [article](_URL_0_) and frankly the majority went over my head. Could any one explain to me, like im 5, what exactly they discovered? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/svtrz/eli5_what_is_the_new_particle_that_was_discovered/ | {
"a_id": [
"c4hf5bi"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"There's basic particles of the universe that aren't made up of anything else. They're called quarks and they are: up, down, strange, and charm. They're four different types of quarks. Think of these as like Helium, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen.\n\nIf you combine them together in different ways, they make different particles. One of these are called a \"baryon\" that are made up of Up, Strange, and ~~Down~~ *Edit: I believe it's not Down but Bottom* quarks. Think of this as like H2O (water).\n\nCERN discovered a new state of a baryon that is kind of weird. It's like if you found some water molecules that can be heated to 10,000 degrees and not evaporate. \n\nIt's not that you discovered a new element, you just discovered a new form of a known compound (H2O)."
]
} | [] | [
"http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120427095621.htm"
] | [
[]
] | |
371xt2 | would it be possible to convert sex drive chemicals to drive you to do something else? | ^I'mprettysurethisisthestupidestquestioneveraskedbutimbored | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/371xt2/eli5would_it_be_possible_to_convert_sex_drive/ | {
"a_id": [
"crj52o7"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Who knows, probably. As a fun sidenote, the idea that your brain does this automatically is the core message behind Freudian psychology, so its a common idea."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
8cpx8l | if we removed a chunk of the sun (say like 1/4), what would happen? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8cpx8l/eli5_if_we_removed_a_chunk_of_the_sun_say_like_14/ | {
"a_id": [
"dxgtpw7",
"dxgu2av",
"dxgwxox"
],
"score": [
6,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Gravity would force the sun into a sphere again.\n\nIn the long run the sun would continue to shine, but less brightly and it would have a longer life. \n\nIn the short run the energy released by the sun collapsing back into a sphere would almost certainly kill everything on Earth.",
"Yes, no, and yes. The sun isn't solid, so it would become spherical again under gravity. It's... always exploding, and the size of the sun to begin with is a balance between gravity wanting to compress it down, and the constant \"explosion\" wanting to push it out. It'd be unstable for a while but I imagine it would find equilibrium again (there are stars this size out there). We on Earth would certainly notice a change in brightness and heat, and it would probably be enough to make Earth no longer habitable.",
"The sun loosing mass would change the gravitational effect it has on the planets as well causing there orbits to change."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
7div4d | why does stale food taste bad? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7div4d/eli5_why_does_stale_food_taste_bad/ | {
"a_id": [
"dpy5k19",
"dpyfpkv"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I’ll take a shot. \n\nMost of what makes food taste good are actually “volatile” compounds meaning they’ll leave or degrade in some form or fashion. Essential oils evaporate off, oxygen begins to affect various molecules and the net result is that the “flavor” (interpreted molecular makeup) of the food is altered. ",
"TL;DR: Taste is more related to our mental representation of something than to its actual chemical structure.\n\n\nI know you flagged your question as chemistry related and seemed to accept a chemistry answer, but I would actually argue this has more to do with biology.\n\nTaste is a subjective representation of the benefits/adverse effects something has on your body when eaten. This representation is directly inherited from experience (e.g. if you eat something bad you will get sick and remember), culture (i.e. in different countries, people are more or less likely to like, let's say, spicy food) and evolution through genetics (i.e. the \"code\" of your taste buds, making them react in different ways to different chemical compounds).\n\nTo come back to your question, I believe our disgust of stale food comes from the fact that through evolution, people who \"liked\" to eat it were more likely to die from eating something rotten and therefore not being able to reproduce. This is basically how our body has over the millennia \"learned\" to recognize stale food.\n\nSo, as taste is a subjective representation, I would say that the chemical structure of a compound has nothing to do with its qualitative tasting properties other than allowing our taste buds to differentiate it from another compound."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
43q03q | in nature, why is there no opposite to “disease”, for example, a kind of virus or pathogen (but the opposite) that mentally or physically enhances our abilities? | I've never heard of a pathogen type thing or other blood-transmitted affliction that instead improves the health of humans. For example, gives us bigger brains, or better eye-sight, or super powers. Why do these things always work against us? What is the opposite of disease? Is there anything? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/43q03q/eli5_in_nature_why_is_there_no_opposite_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"czk08m5",
"czk0cw2",
"czk158m",
"czk1gji",
"czk1gjv",
"czk7cmb",
"czk7fdf",
"czk7zs8",
"czk8p7x",
"czk9k50",
"czk9npa",
"czk9sob",
"czkagmn",
"czkbc83",
"czkc9m3",
"czkcd6r",
"czkcf8t",
"czkcmdz",
"czkcwdq",
"czkd4h5",
"czkdb6a",
"czkdft6",
"czkdfy0",
"czke8k9",
"czkefjw",
"czkemn7",
"czkeori",
"czkezwl",
"czkfd2q",
"czkff1h",
"czkfh6w",
"czkgn2e",
"czkgnhm",
"czkgqon",
"czkhai5",
"czkhbcv",
"czkhtyk",
"czki7jk",
"czkih3d",
"czkiqj1",
"czkiurd",
"czkivvk",
"czkj6fh",
"czkjmt8",
"czkjo99",
"czkjxsd",
"czkjyu3",
"czkkbt7",
"czkkgm7",
"czkkl4l",
"czklmto",
"czklrs4",
"czkm1pz",
"czkmfpb",
"czkmkh7",
"czkms3o",
"czkn8kw",
"czknwqe",
"czko99j",
"czkoe2z",
"czkok4d",
"czkoq89",
"czkozx8",
"czkp5tr",
"czkpgg3",
"czkpjw2",
"czkq1p2",
"czkq39d",
"czkq687",
"czkq8b3",
"czkqfqq",
"czkql6u",
"czkqo6x",
"czkqoom",
"czkqu4t",
"czkr25g",
"czks34i",
"czksa4i",
"czkskec",
"czksxa6",
"czktjae",
"czktsyd",
"czku4pa",
"czkulxp",
"czkv3b1",
"czkvenl",
"czkvlxt",
"czkw558",
"czkwzpn",
"czkxw8n",
"czky9ew",
"czkzk6s",
"czkzrbw",
"czl1sko",
"czl1syj",
"czl1zot",
"czl21py",
"czl24ly",
"czl25bg",
"czl2ho3",
"czl470c",
"czl5cyw",
"czla1f4"
],
"score": [
5203,
15,
669,
25,
6,
2,
2,
151,
576,
3,
7,
9,
21,
298,
2,
2,
3,
4,
27,
2,
2,
156,
5,
29,
2,
8,
2,
3,
2,
6,
3,
3,
3,
3,
2,
3,
7,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
17,
12,
9,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
4,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
4,
2,
7,
2,
3,
3,
2,
3,
2,
2,
4,
3,
3,
2,
2,
5,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
6,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
5,
3,
2,
3,
2,
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"There is, it is called mutualism. Our intestines are lined with millions of bacteria, they help us break down our food and make it easier to digest. Oral flora can, for some people, prevent cavities or plaque buildup. There are many other bacterium and parasites that can benefit us. If you're at the store, take a look at the \"probiotics\" section.\n\n_URL_0_",
"Our gut is host to thousands of bacteria and other organisms that help us digest our food. These bacteria also help us keep other harmful bacteria and organisms in check. Which is why antibiotics often lead to people suffering from yeast infections or diarrhoea: the antibiotics have wiped out the good bacteria keeping everything in check as well and until everything gets back into proper balance, things are a little unpleasant.\n\nSo, it is not like we don't also have positive relations with certain bacteria, it's just that we don't really *notice* it. Well, not until they aren't there, at least. ",
"A key thing to remember is that a lot of these viruses and diseases are competing with us for resources. There is little benefit for something to one-sidedly improve us. But taking our resources for itself is very useful. ",
"Termites can digest wood only because of the bacteria in their stomach. There are many other Symbiotic Relationships in nature. In fact people sell probiotics that help with digestion.\n\nThe reason there aren't \"diseases\" that do stuff like make you see better, is because changes at the macroscopic level would require an extraordinary amount of cooperation between millions of bacteria.",
"Somewhat tangential but not off-topic is lateral gene transfer: _URL_0_\n\nThat is a sort of \"something interesting\" article. The phenomenon occurs among all types of organisms, but is most common in bacteria and single-celled organisms. More info than that and you would probably do well to pose a query over in r/askscience. ",
"Not sure if this was mentioned yet either. \nBut there are plants and fungi known as adaptogens and they help balance and regulate many functions within the body. Memory, stress, immunity, etc. \nCommon examples would include: eleuthero root, reishi mushroom (ganoderma lucidum) and there are others you can search for.\nI read on this bottle that only 1/10,000 plants contain this adaptogen property - whether it is accurate or not, I do not know. However not all plants contain this and those that do are indeed special. \nI make my own tinctures using these herbs and try and take them daily. ",
"Does the symbiotic relationship between humans and domesticated animals count? I was thinking about this and having a dog help us hunt or riding on a horse basically give us the abilities of that animal. I know this isn't what you're thinking of but I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this. ",
"Probably already mentioned, and not a pathogen but a genetic defect, but sickle cell anemia gives its victims natural immunity to malaria. ",
"Viruses probably played a mayor role in kick starting the (placental) mammal branch. The infection of a virus millions of years ago made it possible to create a placenta to nourish and grow an embryo right inside your body instead of having to lay an egg. \n\n8% in our DNA are fragments from past virus infections of our ancestors. There is reason to believe that there are even more \"features\" we accidentally gained from viruses because of advantageous side effects. \n\nHere is an interesting read about the topic: _URL_0_\n\nEDIT: changed to \"(placental) mammal\" as /u/EntropyDream /u/GoogleMeDoodle correctly pointed out that there are also other mammals like marsupials and monotremes who don't have a placenta.",
"There are a multitude of possible effects from pathogens and in the sea of these random effects, relatively few would potentially \"good\" or enhancing.\n\nThink of it like this: say a t-shirt is placed randomly in a room. There's an infinite number of possibilities for the location, but very few would be considered correct or \"good.\" It could be bunched up in the corner, hanging from the fan, on top of the cat, etc. Or it could be folded up neatly on the dresser. Randomness tends toward disorder, and disorder tends to be bad for the body.\n(I also use this scenario to explain entropy in class)",
"Bigger brains, better eye-sight and super powers (as far as imagination and travel goes). Sounds like psilocybin mushrooms. Its a few steps removed from pathogens etc but spores and then shrooms... Its as natural as it gets anyway",
"Have you tried drugs before?",
"There are a few things that fit this description. \n\nFor one, viruses are believed to be one of the driving forces of evolution due to their ability to transfer genetic material into host cells. It is theorized that some parts of the invader's genome could be taken up into the host's genome. This is, however, far more likely to be damaging than beneficial. To understand this, you need to realize that very, very few mutations are beneficial to an organism. We only see the beneficial mutations because these organisms survived. In other words, it's much easier to cause disease than to add a benefit. \n\nAnother cool thing is phage therapy. This is where they modify viruses that attack bacterial cells to target a specific pathogen. This is an up and coming field of study due to antibiotic resistance becoming a major problem. It has even been used effectively against some cancers.\n\nI wish I could give you some specific links, but being on mobile makes it challenging. However, r/microbiology and r/everythingscience post quite a bit of stuff related to this. \n\nEDIT: May have been thinking of the 'Microbiology and Immunology' page on Facebook. Hard to remember where I see these articles when I'm subscribed to so many sources. ",
"Great answers here about mutualism. But an explanation as to why there are fare MORE pathogenic microorganisms is because it's simply far easier to break complicated machinery than to improve it. Same goes for why evolution occurs so slowly yet we observe genetic mutations that cause problems all the time. ",
"Natural mutations that block one or both of the genes that code for Myostatin will increase our muscle mass and decrease fat mass with no known problems. Adapted from [Wikipedia](_URL_1_):\n > A natural deficiency in Myostatin is a protein responsible for inhibiting muscle differentiation and growth. Removing the myostatin gene or otherwise limiting its expression leads to an increase in hypertrophy and power in muscles. A German boy with a mutation in both copies of the myostatin gene was born with well-developed muscles. The advanced muscle growth continued after birth, and the boy could lift weights of 3 kg at the age of 4. Reducing or eliminating myostatin expression is thus seen as a possible future candidate for increasing muscle growth for the sake of increasing athletic performance in humans.\n\n\nFeel free to read more here, as this page explains it better: _URL_0_",
"Parasites can regulate the immune system and thus revert allergies and other autoimmune diseases. google helminthic therapy",
"Your gut bacteria help you digest food. [Some people have really great gut bacteria and it's actually beneficial to transfer their bacteria to your digestive tract to help lose weight.](_URL_0_)",
"You just haven't eaten the right \n\n\"Fresh\" \nEgg Salad \nSandwich. \n25¢\n\n_URL_0_",
"Luck as a Virus explained....via Red Dwarf...\n\n_URL_0_",
"Well, as others mentioned, the pathogen is first and foremost stealing from us, so most of the time they are purely negative. Howevetr, just as flowering turned pollen thieves into pollinators, sometimes we use pests to our advantage. Gut bacteria has already been mentioned, but there are three more examples I know of. First, sometimes virus dna permanemtly becomes a part of the host species' dna. Usually it just becomes junk dna, but sometimes it works like a mutation, some of which are favorable! The coolest example of this are braconid viruses. The dna for the virus is merged with a wasp's dna. The wasp can produce thes viruses and inject them into its catepillar prey to attack theyre immune system. Another example is miochondria, now a depedent organelle in eukaryotes, is actually closely related to typhus bacteria. Im not sure if they started as pathogens or prey of our single celled organisms.",
"Humans have tons of organisms that live in our guts and allow us to digest food. Without them, we would die. \n\nThe ones that help us, we don't think too much about. The ones that hurt us are the ones we are fighting against. ",
"Psilocybin from \"Magic Mushrooms\" increases eyesight to a degree at low doses.\n\"In the Sixties, Roland Fisher at the National Institute of Mental Health gave graduate students psilocybin and then a battery of eye tests. His results indicated that edges were visually detected more readily if a bit of psilocybin was present in the student's body. Well, edge detection is exactly what hunting animals in the grassland environments use to observe distant prey! So here you have this chemical factor; when added to the diet, it results in greater success in hunting.\" -Terrence Mckenna",
"I'm pretty late to the thread, but I did hear a cool thing about this on a podcast. I think it was RadioLab. The gist is that we don't usually seek help, cure, or even notice positive benefits. It's entirely possible that there are viruses or bacteria improving us in ways we would never know or care to correct.",
"Like the worms from Futurama?",
"It's worth noting, since this is a semantic question, that a virus or pathogen isn't quite a disease: a disease is what is *caused* by (maybe) a virus or pathogen.\n\nAs others said, \"mutualist\" (or \"mutualistic symbiote\") probably works as an antonym to \"pathogen\". (\"Virus\", on the other hand, is specific enough that there won't be any good antonyms, kind of like how there are no antonyms for \"bird\" or \"Larry\".)\n\nAn antonym for \"disease\" would simply be \"health\" or \"wellness\", although that doesn't carry the connotations you want of *greater* than normal health. That's probably because we think of good health as being \"normal\", which would in turn be because all the microorganisms that make us healthier (e.g. gut bacteria) are always present in healthy humans. It would be an uncommon coincidence to find a microorganism that helps humans that isn't already around us, because most of the time, if a microorganism helps us, it's because we evolved next to that microorganism, so its benefits are assumed when we define \"health\".\n\nCome to think of it, there are lots of organisms that function as \"anti-pathogens\" that we didn't evolve with: consider plants, fungi, and other things from which we make medicines. Many of these make us healthier than we would be without them, and yet we still say that they make us \"healthy\" rather than having a word for \"healthier than healthy.\" I guess we're not very imaginative!",
"We wouldn't be anywhere without bacteria! Current scientific understanding is that the mitochondria in our cells originate from our cells merging with a bacterial cell. In turn we're able to gain energy from consumption of food instead of from photosynthesis.\nEdit: link\n_URL_0_",
"What about psychedelics / hallucinagenics? If you have the mental discipline and ability to control yourself during the process, then you begin to realize that your pretty much functioning and processing reality at a much faster, more in depth, and more creative type of way. These substances are all found in nature and do in multiple ways advance our \"normal\" capabilities. There are theories out there that suggest hallucinagenics (mushrooms, L.S.A. etc...) are what caused pre-humans (apes/monkeys) to rapidly evolve into what we are today due to brain stimulation, which caused higher self awareness and a greater conceptualizing abilities. Extremely interesting to think about.",
"A \"good virus\" would spread through the population without much resistance. Once it reaches 100% infection it just becomes normal. Let a couple generations pass and no one would even remember it.",
"Another cool thing is that sometimes some disease keep you from getting other ones. \n\nSickle cell anemia is a problem in Africa but if you have it you cannot contract malaria",
"There are! They are called symbiotes rather than parasites or pathogens. Cows and other ungulates can only digest grass and leaves because of them. Blow-fish get their toxin from them. You can breathe because of ancient symbiotes that we call 'mitochondria'. Plants can use photosynthesis because of ancient symbiotes called chloroplasts. But your question is actually a great question! Why do most pathogens cause 'harm' rather than 'good'?? One way to think about it is that the 'symptoms' of most pathogens, sneezing and coughing and such, are really just ways for them to spread themselves. But why shouldn't they spread themselves by making a super-stud? I like this question! I shall ponder it further. I suspect it has something to do with entropy and the 2nd law. But on my 4th glass of wine, that is as far as I can go at the moment....\n",
"Here are a 3 pretty important examples of what might be considered great benefits humans have derived from microbes, such as viruses and bacteria, throughout our evolutionary development. \n\n1. Transposable Elements are gene regions in our DNA which have the ability to transcribe and translate proteins which then will code genetic material and insert them in random genetic sites. This ability is thought to have resulted in genetic mutations and ultimately adaptations our species enjoyed and is thought to have originated from viruses. \n\n2. Mitochondria, or the power plants of our cells, are thought to have originated from symbiosis of bacteria and early eukaryotes. They even resemble bacteria on microscopes and without them we wouldn't exist. \n\n3. \"Commensal\" bacteria are bacteria present on and in our bodies which offer us great benefits. For example bacteria in our gut produce Vitamin K (which we require to synthesize blood clotting factors) and fatty acids. Further, commensal bacteria in our gut outnumber more dangerous pathogenic bacteria that could harm us and their balance is tightly coordinated by our immune system. ",
"Interesting question! In addition to the mutualism process already discussed, there's an almost universally accepted theory that states the mitochondria (you might know it as the powerplant of the cell) was once a bacterium that infected the cells of one of our primordial ancestors. Then, through mutual benefits to both, mitochondria slowly lost many genes necessary for their individual survival and became integrated into all of our cells as an indispensable organelle. \n\nInitially, you could have looked at the invading mitochondrial ancestors as a type of infection. There's a similar theory about peroxisomes as well.",
"Mitochondria and chloroplasts are probably the two best and most important examples of originally independent, foreign organisms making another organism's body their permanent homes and thereby vastly improving life for them both.",
"There are plenty of micro-organisms that help us. They don't give us super powers or anything, but they exist and we interact with them every day.",
"In fact, there are examples in humans, but it's kinda relative. This parasites give us a improve in FRIENDSHIP to women and I-LIKE-OLD-CLOTHES buff to men, but they debuff us in SELF-PRESERVATION WHEN DRIVING [which could be see as COURAGEOUS, or FEARFUL, don't know. ] . \n\nArticle: _URL_0_ \n\nSo it depends on what's a enchance! Shout to the people at /r/Outside!",
"One theory, Symbiogenesis, suggests that we only came to be because of pathogens. Important organelles, such as mitochondria, were thought to be once free-living prokaryotic organisms, but are now important in the productivity of cells.\n\nAlso as mentioned before a lot of our digestion is aided by commensal bacteria which is only present after birth.",
"We have a lot of critters that \"infect\" us that are not just beneficial but vital to our survival. We just don't think about them like that because it's normal amd all the time. If you sterilized your intestines of all bacterial colonies, you would get sick and could even die because they give you the superpower of digesting oligosaccharides and immunity to certain diseases, nit to mention their antiinflammatory effects. You specified \"in nature\" but it's important to note that many new advances in medicine may be from the use of genetically engineered viruses that can add genes to our cells even perhaps to cure congenital disorders and this research has already been tested to some extent. Also note that a huge part of your DNA is probably from viruses that have infected our ancestors from the beginnings of life.",
"There's a genetic disease that increases muscle mass. No real side affects and you could probably enter a strong man competitor at the age of 6. I forget the name of it though ",
"Well DNA itself can be viewed as a virus that made itself useful. Over the course of evolution viral induced mutations have been incorporated into DNA. The reason you don't see beneficial viruses is because you now include them.",
"Mitochondria were likely originally a bacterial infection. I would say that is a good example of an infection enhancing our abilities.",
"Op question - \"why isn't there the opposite of a disease?\"\n\nPredictable top answer - \"gut bacteria can break down some things that you can't. That's totally on the same level as \"opposite of a disease\". One separates a complex carbohydrate....the other eats holes in your brain until you die. Totally equally oposite.\"\n\nOp to answer your question WHY: any long-term beneficial diseases would become part of the reproduction of both species. For example mitochondria is a completely foreign set of dna, and it reproduces along with all babbies and lives in almost every cell.",
"The entire bases of evolution revolves around the concept of mutations that help increase fitness relative to environment are retained and passed on. It happens every day. It's just slow and not as apparent as awful life debilitating diseases which have an acute affect on the organism. ",
"There are many examples of this. Here are a few off the top of my head:\n\n* probiotics that have been mentioned already\n* intestinal parasites (like hookworm) modulate the immune system and [lower the risk of autoimmune disease](_URL_2_) and have even been [used to settle down autoimmune disease like inflammatory bowel disease](_URL_0_), all for the price of a drop or 2 of your blood!\n* syphilis, in its quest to get the host to have more sex and spread the disease, will disinhibit the person so shy people may become more outgoing in the early stages or a mild infection (there was [a story about this](_URL_5_) in one of Oliver Sacks' books). Of course, you don't want to let it go on too long...\n* Toxoplasmosis (a parasite that normally travels between cats and rats by infecting rats' brains so they [seek out cat urine smell](_URL_3_)) that infects humans [causes many changes to behavior](_URL_4_) including increasing thrill-seeking behavior. Sure, it also increases the risk of attempted and successful suicide and schizophrenia, but maybe those are all just degrees of the same same thing. After all, the difference between a drug and a poison is dose.\n* PCP (which used to known angel dust) makes one feel strong and not feel pain, so in a sense it does give super powers. Of course, it makes people crazy, too, but watch of [video](_URL_1_) of someone on it being taken down and you'll see how hard it is to control them.\n* Of course narcotics mask pain so someone could break some bones but keep going. Remember that narcotics come from things like poppies...",
"If I understand the question correctly, it's not doubting other organisms can help us, just why aren't these benefits as SUDDEN and IMMIDIATELY impactful as the dangerous microbes that pop up in the news. So essentially \"Why do beneficial microbes work subtly over time, while harmful microbes blow up out of nowhere\".\n\nI'm an engineer, not a biologist; but if I had to guess, I'd attribute it to the complexity of our bodies. When any microbe toys with our system, it can either disrupt our normal processes, make essentially no changes, or change something that is not only compatible with our body's current operations but actually enhances it. Because our bodies are built with such staggering complexity, the chances of a microbe disrupting it's delicate balance far exceeds the off chance of it being completely compatible AND happening to do our body's job better than before. And even less so that it could build enough beneficial complexity onto our existing systems to give us superpowers in such a small window of time.",
"Bacteria and viruses are about as complex, compared to humans, as a stick is compared to a bicycle.\n\nYou're asking why jamming a stick between the spokes of the wheel on a bicycle isn't sometimes beneficial.\n\nTo be detrimental to us, all something else has to do is interfere in some way -- pretty much ANY way. To enhance our eyesight (to use your example) they would have to entirely re-form our eyes and brains or insert additional structures or something. That kind of insane complexity that must necessarily come at a great cost for the organism doing it to us is not going to arise at random, given natural selection (such an organism would be out-competed LONG before it ever got to the point of such extreme waste).",
"Because any sufficiently helpful \"pathogen\" actually becomes integrated into the organism or that organism's behavior.\n\nSEE:\n\nMitochondria\n\nInter-species Mutualism\n\nSymbiosis",
"-Mitochondria started as independent organisms, we liked them so much we adopted them.\n-Same goes for Parietal cells, the things that secrete HCL in your stomach. \"Of interest is that 19% of the human H+,K(+)-ATPase (alpha-subunit) comprises amino acid residues identical to those of the H(+)-ATPase found in Neurospora crassa. In addition, the amino acid sequence in the ATP binding sites of animal Na+,K(+)-ATPase and yeast H(+)-ATPase with phosphorylated intermediates is highly conserved. These data appear to indicate that the parietal cell might have originated from a microorganism that was parabiosed in a separate origin, having digestive organs, that was later incorporated into a stem cell.\"\n_URL_0_\n",
"I might be late to the party but read up on macrophages. They eat bad bacteria and viruses AND heal you. Most underrated cell out there. There's also stem cell cord blood which will heal shit the moment it gets injected. The challenge is to keep it stored.",
"There are such things; they are called symbiotic relationships. We just don't notice them because they get very much ingrained in us due to the process of evolution actively encouraging them. For example, there are bacteria in your gut that helps you with digestion. ",
"What do you mean there isn't?\n\nmitochondria is practically a cousin that lounges forever in our cell. It's family alright, but not exactly \"us\". It invited itself to our cell. Granted this coevolution probably happens when human was mere multicellular creature.\n\n_URL_0_\n\n\nComplete sequences of numerous mitochondrial, many prokaryotic, and several nuclear genomes are now available. These data confirm that the mitochondrial genome originated from a eubacterial (specifically α-proteobacterial) ancestor but raise questions about the evolutionary antecedents of the mitochondrial proteome.\n\n.\n\nanother good example would be the entire bacterial ecosystem in out intestines. Try living without them... you'd be miserable.",
"The opposite of disease is called health. It comes from eating the correct nutrients, exercise and good genes. You could say all the nutrients, minerals and good bacteria are the opposite of pathogens. We have an incredible immune system which works well if supported by nutrients and exercise. Our immune system has a memory and never forgets a pathogen once stimulated by it. Disease is often the outcome of an impaired immune system.",
"H. Pylori, the bacteria which causes stomach ulcers, may protect against reflux disease, esophageal cancer, asthma, and other allergies.",
"Next time you open up the hood of your car, take a big wrench and hit it as hard as you can in a random place and tell me what happens. Did it get better or worse? 99.99% of the time it gets worse, because you're randomly fucking shit up. Maybe once in 10,000 hits you bend a pipe in such a way that the engine runs better, but chances are you're just fucking shit up. \n\nEvery once in a while we *do* get favorable diseases, and that's when evolution happens. We get favorable mutations, but 99.99% of mutations just fuck you up. We get favorable parasites (e.g. all those bacteria inside you that help you digest), and then the two species evolve together, but again, most parasites fuck you up or do nothing. We might get favorable viruses, but unless the DNA invades your gametes you won't be passing that on, so evolution doesn't happen, but there are examples out there of viruses that we get exposed to that immunize us against other, similar viruses. \n\nSo basically when you randomly fuck shit up, usually things get worse, but every once in a while it gets better, and really it's all tied into evolution.",
"What about the bacteria in our intestines that make vitamin k for us? It doesn't enhance us, but we require vitamin k to function and cannot produce it ourselves.",
"For the same reason there aren't car malfunctions that will accidentally make them better; it's not that it couldn't possibly happen, but it's very unlikely because it takes order and organization (less entropy) to make systems that do stuff, and breaking things tends to increase entropy.\n\nThis is gonna be buried anyway, but that's my take on it.",
"also look into the modern study of epigenics – most viruses are 'good' and make us into the superorganisms we are today. ",
"You know those deadly puffer fish? They're not deadly, a bacteria they allow to live in their body is deadly when in other animal's bodies.\n\nYou know those glow-in-the-dark squids? They're not, they have glow-in-the-dark microorganism living in them that they can turn on or off by providing them with nutrients (or oxygen, I forget the chemical details).\n\nYou know how you yourself have vitamin K in you? You can't digest vitamin K, a bacteria in your gut does, and you digest their dead bodies.\n\nWhen Russia was poor in the 90s and couldn't get the new and expensive antibiotics, they learned how to use viruses called phages that hunt and kill bacteria that is hurtfull to us, using that virus that isn't harful to us to kill what hurts us.\n\nEtc.",
"From some of the other Q & A going up and down the thread and new questions being asked...instead of buying it in a nested argument...\n\nThe thing about viruses and other infectious things is that, more or less, we are their food. They infect a cell, reprogram it to create more of itself. We lose enough cells, we get sick, we lose certain cells and we get sick really fast.\n\nWe eat part of a cow, 99.999999999999999999999999999% of the time it is going to be ultimately bad for it. That one time it's not, we're just castrating it and eating the nuts. The cow will never get super powers from any of that, for reasons that should be fairly obvious.\n\nThe virus or whatever isn't sentient, it is not trying to kill us. It is just doing it's best to reproduce. Arguably it doesn't even do that as it is a simple molecular reaction and not a purpose. EG crystals growing or even fire spreading, simple cause and effect when you get down to it. Bacteria are a bit more of a classic form of life as are other such single-cell organisms.",
"If you want an example of a 'disease' that is beneficial; the genetic disease known as sickle cell disease increases the resistance to another disease, malaria. This is why sickle cell disease is much more common in black populations. Malaria is much more common in Africa, and because of the natural resistance to Malaria, sickle cell disease remains in the gene pool. ",
"There is. Sickle Cell Anemia is a genetic disease, that has it's downsides. . . but it also protects people from malaria.",
"You're swimming in them mate. Your digestive tract is dependent on enslaved bacteria, fungi and even a few viruses for you to be healthy and properly digest your food. \n\nMethanobrevibacter smithii for example helps in the digestion of polysaccharides\n\nWhat you asked is in essence a description of your gut flora if they die out most likely so do you.",
"Ever heard of.... KOKAINE?!?!?",
"Not a pathogen but similar: native hunters in the Amazon use a number of natural drugs to help shoot spider monkeys. One is a caustic eyedrop that sharpens vision. ",
"Vitiligo could be useful camouflage?",
"Not humans, but plant viruses are being studied for their potential benefits to crops. \n\n_URL_0_",
"Viruses are very small and can lay dormant for years. Who knows, maybe there already are some beneficial viruses laying dormant in humans, or even benefiting us in ways we don't understand. I believe there is evidence that mitochondria were once bacteria that somehow integrated into the cell.",
"Isn't there some type of study being done about how viruses or virus like things have altered our DNA to make us who we are in evolution?\n\nThere's so much organic material in us that isn't us but is a part of us.",
"I have no reason for you to take anything I say as anything other than the blabbering of a stranger in the box because I didn't major in any scientific path so I offer nothing more than the average Joe. \n\nAren't we the summation of the opposite?",
"I'm going to take a different tack to the other commenters. This isn't a direct response to the pathogen part, but why we know so little about what makes normal people different from another.\n\n*Something* has to account for why certain people can do things at a much higher level than others. For example, maybe .01% of the population can reach Schwarzenegger's heyday physique, outmatch Einstein at physics, or can outdrink Ozzy (who is actually being studied to determine why he is not dead of alcohol poisoning). This lies in genes, which essentially sorta-determine your limits (terms and conditions may apply). \n\nThere are also idiot-savants (very rare) where altered brain chemistry results in some absolutely incredible abilities (at enormous losses). \n\nThe problem is that this area of research doesn't get nearly as much scientific attention as disease. Part of this is that it's much harder to study. We can give a mouse autism genes (break something) but making it speak (be smarter) is much harder. I'll expand on other causes of lack of scientific attention in the morning if anybody would like.",
"Not sure if it's already been suggested, but any change caused by an outside element is most likely a bad change. Our bodies are fairy complicated machines that have been finely tuned over countless generations by natural selection, and tinkering with it enough to get a noticable change will most likely not be an improvement. \n\nThere is no doubt symmetry in affects of different pathogens (some make your blood thinner, some make it thicker) but these don't result in a positive/negative symmetry in symptoms because more times than not, any deviation from the norm great enough to change the way we function will have a negative impact. Otherwise we would have adapted to have that change already.",
"They don't always work against us. It's estimated that [5-8% of the human genome is derived from retroviral infections. ](_URL_0_)",
"Part of this misconception is how the language and structure of modern medicine is designed around pathology. There is a vast history of the opposite happening. Such as the endosymbiosis theory between bacterial and human cells allowing for aerobic cellular respiration - a fundamental building block of multicellular organisms. ",
"I don't know any names off the top of my head, but sometimes I read articles on diseases that you can receive which seem to do nothing more than kill other diseases",
"I think there are though. There are symbiotic bacteria in our large intestines that make our shit not suck as much. ",
"What about steroids? They're not specifically a virus, but they do have almost the exact opposite effect of one. ",
"There are also advantageous mutations. These enable individuals to outperform other individuals in specific tasks and are often passed down via reproduction.",
"There is something called horizontal Gene Transfer that relates to your question.\n\n \"Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) refers to the transfer of genes between organisms in a manner other than traditional reproduction. Also termed lateral gene transfer (LGT), it contrasts with vertical transfer, the transmission of genes from the parental generation to offspring via sexual or asexual reproduction.\"\n\n\"Most thinking in genetics has focused upon vertical transfer, but there is a growing awareness that horizontal gene transfer is a highly significant phenomenon and among single-celled organisms perhaps the dominant form of genetic transfer.\"\n_URL_0_\n\nThis is often through virus or bacterial transfer of genetic material, but there are many interesting methods of transfer.",
"In short, when those systems exist, we generally incorporate them in to our structures. Gut bacteria is the best example as other people have pointed out. \n\nIf you caught a disease that made you super strong with no ill side effects, why would your body want to get rid of it? And why would you want to avoid the source? Eventually that'd just become a part of you as a human being rather than something like the flu. ",
"In yeast, a totivirus known as Yeast Killer Virus provides yeast with the ability to secrete toxin to kill other yeast and immunity from that toxin. These viruses, which provide hosts with a competitive edge, are quite common in single celled organisms. Shigella toxin is made by a virus that infects E coli. ",
"Well, at some point in evolution, it would appear but instead of it being a hindrance to procreation, it does the opposite. Soon enough, not having it, e.g. lacking a certain protein for digesting whatnot, becomes a 'defect'.",
"Well, absolutely not medically relevant but in the UK scifi show 'Red Dwarf' this is mentioned as 'positive viruses' (luck, hope,...).",
"A random wrench (pathogen) thrown into a fine-tuned machine (body) is far more likely to break something than make it better.",
"I mean, you can always try magic mushrooms and hop on a piano.\n\nAt the very least, you'll think you got good.",
"Yes, there is.. They re called probiotics. And therefore they are not considered pathogens anymore..",
"Not quite what you're looking for but...\nI used to teach epidemiology and in the first session we would discuss what disease is. We discussed that time, place and social standing can impact on how we define disease but ultimately it comes down to when you are not at ease - i.e. you are experiencing dis-ease for one reason or another. Maybe ease could be considered the opposite of disease?\n",
"I'm sure a few singers have contributed significantly to their career by recording a few songs with a cold.\n\nOh my mother fucking God. Coldplay. I am dying.\n\nEDIT: Nope, the Wikipedia article does *not* seem to say that this was the idea. But if you listen to the guy, how can't you be aware of some certain configuration in his general nose infrastructure?",
"Reminds me of an old Red Dwarf episode called Quarantine where luck is a virus that can be contracted! \n\n_URL_0_\nI'd of put a link on it, but the parenthesis cock it up.",
"There is. The gut flora in your intestinal track is made of billions of bacteria of many many different species. They help digest your food and work as part of your immune system. Without all those non-human cells, you'd be dead. ",
"This is exactly how genetic mutation and natural selection work. Most mutations are harmless and don't affect you either way, some are shitty and cause cancer or disease, but every once in a while... every once in a while there's a mutation that gives you a small edge over your neighbors. Not quite Cyclops' eye lasers but like... slightly denser retinal cells that sharpen your vision so you can avoid that lion in the distance.\n\nEvolution is the amassing of these small beneficial changes.\n\nYou don't notice the benefits because your scale is too small.",
"There is - mitochondria and for other species, chloroplasts. It's generally accepted fact that these started out as separate microbes that got eaten by our ancestor organisms and eventually decided it was a nice place to live forever. ",
"Whenever this question comes up, I feel like it's easiest to understand if we use balance (like a see saw) rather than up and down on a scale (like a thermometer) There are already a lot of terms used when talking about health that fit this view. Balanced diet, peak performance, etc. On a peak, any direction you go is down, same when balanced on a see saw. If something goes up, something else must go down.\n\nOk, so keeping that analogy in mind, we look at the whole body (macro) and the individual systems (micro). In the whole body, it's easy to question why diseases always bring us down in some way and why there aren't diseases that can bring us up. When you look at the micro level, like blood vessels for instance, it's a bit easier to see the effects of moving in opposing directions and how they're equally negative. Vasodialation (the expanding of blood vessels) decreases your blood pressure and can lead to all sorts of problems. Oppositely, vasoconstriction (the shrinking of blood vessels) raises blood pressure and causes all sorts of problems. There is a balance, in the \"middle\" so to speak, where things run optimally. This is the best place to be for blood to get where it needs to go, without causing your heart too much work.\n\nMany systems in your body work the same way. There is an optimal temperature for you to be, colder and you have issues, hotter and you have issues. Just right (Goldilocks?) and you survive. You can think of most of the systems in your body this way. It's the same when you think of water consumption. You have to drink water to be healthy, but you can even overdose on water. It's a wider margin than most things, but it's still relevant here. There is a balance that must be achieved to give your body what it needs to run optimally and not over work it. With so many systems in your body needing to be in balance for you to remain healthy, it's easy to see how throwing any one of them off, in any direction, can cause issues. \n\nThis is a very big generalization, but it's what I would tell a 5 year old when asked.",
"We have symbiotic relationships with all kinds of bacteria on our body. Some act as defensive agents that help fight off bad bacteria and things. Some aid us by digesting things that we cannot naturally digest and breaking them down giving us the nutrients we need from them. All of that is the opposite of disease. \n\n",
"Probiotics and healthy food? That stuff works wonders.",
"Probably because the whole mindset is \"things that make you sick\"....not bacteria, fungi, and viruses that are neutral or may in fact make things better. A parasite only survives if the host survives....we don't test for things that make us better...only worse. \n\nBTW, I've often wondered the same thing. Given our limited knowledge of all of the effects of all of the viruses and bacteria and fungi on earth upon the human condition, there have to be lots that actually do us some good, not just a handful of probiotics, for example. ",
"Isn't drugs like cocaine what you're looking for? Enhanced energy, resistant to pain, etc",
"A symbiotic relationship? We are who we are because of the mitochondria.",
"What about the mitochondria? It's got its own DNA and I always thought of it like a bacteria that got absorbed at some point and just stuck around.",
"Because our body and it's systems are in a highly ordered (low entropy) state. Almost all (99.99999999...pct) of deviations from this state are toward a less ordered, less functional configuration. ",
"Sci-fi movie/book/story: Virus gives people increased senses somehow (or something cool), and this is a major advantage to those that have been infected. But a good portion of the human population is naturally immune to the virus, and these people eventually form a sort of exploited under-class.",
"You mean like super powers?\n\nI would like this, although I think our imaginations have spoiled the real gifts that mother nature provides us through vitamins, minerals, protein, calcium, medicinal plants, etc.\n\nI guess what's important to understand in terms of perspective is how insanely hostile the universe is to life. Just for life to even exist, it requires extremely specific and rare conditions. And in order for life to sustain itself, it needs to consume other organic life. So every living thing is trying to bite off as much as it can chew from every other living thing that it is capable of digesting. A mutual symbiotic relationship is much less common thana parasitic one.",
"Build a house of cards.\n\nThen, throw a card at it. It's almost guaranteed that the card will knock it down, miss it completely, or bounce/slide off without knocking it over. It's very unlikely that the card will land in such a way to enhance the structure. It's possible, but highly unlikely. \n\nOur bodies are a like house of cards. In some ways, they're a house of cards that has been built by throwing cards over millions of years, and removing the ones that have just fallen over. In the highly unlikely situation that one provides structure to the house of cards, it has a chance to get copied, and have more cards thrown at it. \n\nThis analogy sounds a lot like genetic evolution, and it is, but it works similar with our relationship with viruses. As others have mentioned we have DNA that came from retroviruses, we have a host of \"good bacteria\" that help us to actually live. But these systems have grown over millions of years. Finding a new one is uncommon and might have only a marginally beneficial effect. The equivalent of adding a single new card in a helpful spot in our house of cards. On the other hand, one single card thrown at a support can take the whole structure down. ",
"Pretty simple, actually. If you randomly rearrange or substitute the gears in a clockwork, what are the chances that the clock will even work, much less keep accurate time?\n",
"Err, nutrients, vitamins, natural medicines, harmonious bacteria?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_(biology)"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.britannica.com/science/horizontal-gene-transfer"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2012/02/14/mammals-made-by-viruses"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wiki... | |
502dtw | to put this simply, why cant life exist on other planets in different conditions? | This might be where the education system failed me but i always thought that life on this planet came about because the conditions were right for the single celled organisms to thrive.
They adapted and grew etc etc until you have us.
Now, why cant life adapt to OTHER conditions that we couldnt survive in? For example, just because we cant breathe the air on a certain planet why couldnt (to qoute Jurassic PArk) 'life find a way'? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/502dtw/eli5to_put_this_simply_why_cant_life_exist_on/ | {
"a_id": [
"d70mgjq",
"d70n0ki",
"d70rzh3"
],
"score": [
12,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"There's no reason to believe that isn't the case. We look for Earth-like conditions in other places because we know for a fact that works. But nobody claims to have an exhaustive understanding of what forms life can take or what environments in which we may find it.\n\nA short story by Arthur C. Clarke talks about a fictional form of living matter that survived inside the sun, and once ejected in a solar flare into Earth's ocean, finds our environment to be deadly because it's so cold and dark.",
"Conditions were right for life **LIKE US**. Other places might have conditions favorable to forms of life that are very different from us. \n\nOf course, then you get into the question of what, exactly, is life? And almost every definition you can think of either excluded some things we think of as alive, or includes things we don't think of as alive. For instance, crystals in a matrix are self organizing and perpetuating anti entropic patterns, but most people don't think of them as being alive.\n\nIf you're looking for relatively similar forms of life, say, independent collections of matter that exist on the same time scale and size as human beings, then you pretty much need water or some other fluid, and a metabolic rate on the same order of magnitude, which implies roughly similar energy inputs and expenditures. \n\nBut in general, there's no theoretical limit. Stephen Baxter invented a race of intelligent patterns of mud bubbles that take over Earth, for instance.",
"They could have done just that.\n\nBut given that we only know of one set of parameters for life to exist (our own), those are the same criteria with which we judge other planets."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
4gh8v7 | why do nations make it so difficult for foreigners to get permanent residency and citizenship? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4gh8v7/eli5_why_do_nations_make_it_so_difficult_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2hjq3d",
"d2hjxo4",
"d2hk3bu"
],
"score": [
5,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Short answer: If it were different, everybody would flock to the US, Europe and other rich countries. \n\nHowever, if a country really wants/needs you, the process can be much shorter. If you are highly qualified and a European company really wants to employ you, you can get residency quite quickly. \n\nIt can also help to be rich. In some countries if you invest something like $5 million, your path to citizenship can be much shorter. ",
"Because countries don't want people who can't contribute economically to show up, stay, and be a draw on their social services.\n\nIn sounds harsh, and it isn't about laziness or dishonesty. If you are an illiterate subsistence farmer you just don't have many skills to offer a modern economy. And if you if you work hard and get training and manage do become productive, there are a billion guys just like you...a country can't take them all in.",
"Lots of countries have relatively easy processes to become permanent residents. Panama, which was in the news a lot recently has an especially easy process for this.\n\nThe issues which make it so difficult to get permanent residency or citizenship in most rich countries is that with residency and citizenship usually come a lot of rights and entitlements.\n\nYou have these huge social welfare nets which were paid for by the people who live there and it is naturally to want to keep outsiders from coming there and taking advantage of that unless they have a very good reason like being a refugee from war (and even then, if it gets too much, many object as can be seen in Europe).\n\nThis is why many countries have relatively simply rules for becoming a legal resident if you are rich enough. If you can prove that you have enough money in a local bank they don't fear that you will take advantage of the system and are likely to bring in taxes instead and welcome you in.\n\nAnother factor that comes up is xenophobia, ethnocentrism and wanting to protect ones own culture and religion. People don't want others who are not like them to come into the country for a number of reasons. Japan is perhaps one of the hardest countries to gain citizenship in for outsiders partly because of this.\n\nThere are also more complex things at work. For example in the US entire industries and ways of life have been built upon the supply of cheap disenfranchised illegal immigrant labor. Making it easier for people to immigrate legally would endanger that supply of labor and thus lots of people have a vested interest in keeping it as hard and complicated as possible."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
6jowlu | how do they match a single fingerprint against all the millions of fingerprints in the fingerprint database? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6jowlu/eli5_how_do_they_match_a_single_fingerprint/ | {
"a_id": [
"djfy3rg",
"djg4knx"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"There's different ways a computer can do image comparison. One way is basically break down a fingerprint onto something like [grid paper](_URL_1_) with x,y positions.\n\nThen my fingerprint will say something like: Black at (4,5), Black at (4,6), White at (4,7), Black at (4,8) etc. hundreds or thousands of times. Like [this](_URL_0_).\n\nThen you can compare all these grid co-ordinates to another fingerprint. If say 99% of the squares are filled the same (Black or White) that's a good match.\n\nThis is obviously a lot of work, but computers are great at doing millions of simple fixed logical comparisons in a very fast time.\n\nThere's other ways to tackle this. There's also surrounding problems programmers need to solve too, like \"centering\" images so that they aren't off by one, how do you handle a fingerprint that's \"bolder with thicker lines\", etc.",
"By classifying different shapes and patterns that appear in fingerprints and using them to narrow the search. Fingerprint systems where created back the days when fingerprints where searched manually in books.\n\nFor a moment think about searching for a face. You have a million mugshots and you want someone (without a computer) to search for one that matchs a particular suspect. So you start classifying the features of the face: What color is the skin, is the nose flat or pointy, is the head oval, rectangular, triangular, are the lips thin or thick and so on. You give a letter or number to each of those features so that it creates a code, like WO7SK. Now there will be hundreds of faces that are identified as WO7SK but it has narrowed down the search by a lot. If you organize your mugshots using this system (so you have a cabinet for codes starting with W, with a binder for codes starting with WO, etc) you can find someone with only a short search.\n\nThe same is done for fingerprints, originally with a paper system and now with computers. A fingerprint is identified as being in one of three categories, an arch, a loop or a whorl and then from there into one of several subcategories (like a tented arch or radial loop). Further features within the fingerprint like the number of ridges or the shape of a delta or core will further narrow down the classification. From there either a human or a computer can manually compare the fingerprint with others that match that classification."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b9/62/be/b962bea2598962a2df5119ca9293d227.jpg",
"http://www.math-aids.com/images/standard-graphing-paper.png"
],
[]
] | ||
ds5f7q | - what do people mean when they say that spring water is “filtered by the rocks”? how do you tell if water from a spring is good to drink without testing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ds5f7q/eli5_what_do_people_mean_when_they_say_that/ | {
"a_id": [
"f6nhdkb"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"There are a huge number of potential organisms that can contaminate water supplies - if it’s literally ‘welling up’ out of the ground, and surrounded by moss, then it’s usually fine, but in most of Europe (and now NZ) many of the previously safe streams are now infected with things like giardia (spelling?)\nThe other risk is fecal contamination by local fauna\n\nCarry a life straw with you, and you can filter out most contaminants and you will still get to enjoy the taste of really pure water - but use your best judgement."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
4kanhv | the unisex toilet situation in america | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4kanhv/eli5_the_unisex_toilet_situation_in_america/ | {
"a_id": [
"d3dh58e"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Nobody actually cares except a vocal minority for the purposes of misdirection. Nobody wants to report on the Panama Papers, CIA torture report mistakenly being destroyed, the situation in Brazil where we (the US) may have played a part.\n\nBut people can be uncomfortable if a person doesn't use the proper restroom"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
3fddke | what happens when drugs consume your body/mouth? | Multiple times I have seen pictures of drug addicts with awful mouths and body parts (including legs).
How does it work?
Is it a "chunk of meat" falling off?
How much time does it take until a change is seen?
Does it hurt?
P.S.: I don't use drugs. I'm just very curious. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3fddke/eli5_what_happens_when_drugs_consume_your/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctnlknq",
"ctnn2z4"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"I believe this is something to do with a combination of dehydration and a general lack of taking care of ones self. Can't confirm, but someone should be able to. \n\nI know that's what \"meth mouth\" comes from. ",
"1. Smoking anything will eat away at your teeth over time. Even tobacco cigarettes will give you yellow teeth. Meth-smoking is particularly known for this, giving people \"meth mouth\". Smoking also leads to dry mouth, which can worsen tooth decay. \n\n2. Heavy drug users will often spend long periods of time totally neglecting their personal hygiene. If you're strung out for days at a time, you're not going to be brushing your teeth.\n\n3. Many drugs can cause addicts to compulsively pick at their skin, either because they feel itches or have the sensation of insects crawling on or even *under* their skin. If you pick and scratch long enough you'll get nasty sores.\n\n4. A particularly fucked-up type of morphine is called \"krokodil\" which first started being used in Russia and Ukraine. It's laced with some pretty gnarly chemicals and can turn skin scaly and cause enormous open sores to form, often literally eating away at the flesh. This is probably where you've seen someone with legs that look like chunks were taken out of them. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
36l8l4 | how do tv broadcaster/tv show creator work? | Does the broadcast company pay the creators, or is it the other way around?
Bonus questions, who is getting the short end of the stick? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/36l8l4/eli5_how_do_tv_broadcastertv_show_creator_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"creyk3n"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Broadcast companies, think of these like channels, Discovery, NBC, etc make their money from advertising. So they seek out or have pitched to them show ideas , and hire production companies to create shows. They hire directors and writers to work on the show, so they are basically employed by the broadcast company. Who is getting the short end of the stick? Well, the entire cast and crew is at risk of getting cancelled if the show is doing poorly. The broadcast company very rarely ever gets the short end of the stick as they are the top dog and can basically make the staff do whatever they want. But these companies that make changes in the script or story for various reasons often run into push back from the creative staff. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
1jpbm6 | texas is running out of lethal injections- how/why, can't they order/make more? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1jpbm6/eli5_texas_is_running_out_of_lethal_injections/ | {
"a_id": [
"cbgy2i9",
"cbgy4f0",
"cbgznse",
"cbh07b7"
],
"score": [
4,
13,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Many companies are starting to refuse to sell drugs for executions. So they can't find anyone to order more from. (Drug manufacturing has huge startup costs, so it wouldn't make sense for Texas to start making their own.)",
"The pharmaceutical companies that make the drugs for lethal injections no longer are interested in continuing their production. Many see it as bad PR for the company as a whole or for some drugs that they sell since they can be used for legitimate medical purposes as well as in executions. Would you feel comfortable using a substance used in executions regardless of if your doctor ensured that it was ok at \"this level\"? That kind of association is bad for business. \n\nSome states are looking into hiring smaller firms to custom make the drugs for them. \n",
"Other people have given the gist of why they're running out, but they could easily 'make more' by changing their formulations... in theory. In practice it'd be a big hassle no doubt to try and work out legally that it's a sufficiently humane way to do it, sufficiently likely to kill everybody, etc.\n\nThere's nothing particularly special about the formulation used now, and there are plenty of drugs out there that can be very lethal but also have very valid uses and therefore are easy enough to find in a hospital. (Morphine for example.)",
"As the US constitution forbids cruel punishments, there are only a few drugs which may be used for lethal injections. The idea is that those drugs guarantee a „clean death”, which is, according to the Supreme Court, not a cruel or unusual punishment.\n\nThese drugs were chosen in the seventies, after the suspension of the death penalty. Quite a few of these drugs are obsolete for their original use by now, and so are no longer commercially viable to produce.\n\nOne of these drugs is only manufactured by a European company. European right sees capital punishment as unlawful, an infringement of the unalienable right to live. It is a serious crime to export substances or tools to countries that might used them to ~~murd~~ execute their citizen. Thus this European company no longer exports to the US.\n\nIt's noteworthy, however, that this law was not intended to prohibit exports to the US, and it is not tested before court whether it really would apply here."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
3p6dz0 | in baseball, why does the catcher call out pitches to the pitcher? what does the catcher know that the pitcher does not | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3p6dz0/eli5_in_baseball_why_does_the_catcher_call_out/ | {
"a_id": [
"cw3ipx6",
"cw3ivec",
"cw3lq83",
"cw3p2zf",
"cw3rbk6",
"cw3re2e",
"cw3rnji",
"cw3sre0"
],
"score": [
293,
23,
8,
12,
2,
3,
9,
2
],
"text": [
"The pitcher and the catcher both need to know the pitch. One of them has to call it out. The batter is looking directly at the pitcher, so it makes more sense for the catcher to call them out. The pitcher will then nod or shake his head to accept or reject the pitch suggestion.",
"The catcher needs to know the pitch so they know what is coming. That means there has to be some sort of communication, catcher to pitcher, or pitcher to catcher.\n\nHaving the catcher do it makes more sense, because the batter can't easily see it. The catcher also has a better view of the base runners, and can call pick offs and pitch outs.",
"There are a few parts to it. (1) The catcher needs to communicate with the pitcher so they both know whats coming. A curveball could mean a ball in the dirt so being prepared for that is very useful (2) The catcher has a better view of the field so he can alert the pitcher to keep certain base runners honest. (3) The batter cant see the pitches being called out by the catcher. (4) I think this is the most important one-- the catcher has the best idea of what the strike zone is and can align the pitcher to certain corners and spots to ensure accuracy. Plus they can talk to the umpire and help figure this one out since their both back their chilling together. (5) Note Most of the time coaches call pitches. That's the way it was when I played. When I got free reign it was rare. ",
"The other posts covered the primary reason, but one additional factor is that catchers at a higher levels of the sport can / do spend more to study the opponents, and their weaknesses at the plate. (And/or getting them relayed in from a coach). Pitchers have enough to worry about keeping their pitches accurate. ",
"Something not mentioned is how the catcher relays pitches from the coach to the pitcher. A guy I know who was a pitcher taken in the first round back in the 80s, but blew out his arm, said a bunch of coaches actually call every pitch for certain pitchers. He said it is more common than you think. ",
"High School and a lil bit of college catcher here. Me and the pitcher usually have a strategy set up for certain batters in the lineup and basically ill call the pitch and if he agrees hell nod so were on the same page as to whats coming. Also as a catcher, i sometimes took signs from the coach in the dugout to relay to the pitcher.",
"Explain like Im British?",
"Piggy backing off this what makes for a \"super star\" catcher? Like Buster Posey is supposed to be an amazing catcher in the league, what does he do that makes him so much better?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
2oacv5 | with oil prices plummeting, shouldn't gas prices be falling respectively? | Gas prices haven't budged considerably despite the significantly lower cost of crude... Is this just an old fashioned swindle?? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2oacv5/eli5_with_oil_prices_plummeting_shouldnt_gas/ | {
"a_id": [
"cml7mkf",
"cml7nku",
"cml7pvj",
"cml7ytg",
"cml7zi9"
],
"score": [
15,
6,
5,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Where do you live? Gas is extremely low in the US right now (at 4 year low).",
"Has it not? My local station is at 2.24 a gallon, down from 2.99 just last month. Was 3.22 just two months ago. ",
"First off, crude oil prices dont correlate directly to refined good retail price.\nIt depends wildly on where you live, but here in Canada, crude price is only half the cost of gas at the pump. [There's taxes, cost of transport to the gas station, refining costs (refineries are expensive to build and run).](_URL_0_)\n\nSecond part, gas prices only go up rapidly and only go down slowly with eventual competition on price between retailers. I mean what else are you going to do? Not drive? Switch to peanut oil? Not likely for most of us.",
" > haven't budged considerably\n\nWow, the gas stations near you are *fucked up*, then. Gas is down more than 25% here, at a rough guess. That's not as much as oil has dropped, but there are fixed costs in refining gas, and it takes time for the lower cost of oil to work its way through the supply chain anyway.",
"Not sure where you live but gas prices in my town have dropped quite a bit. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/fuelsavings/2139.aspx"
],
[],
[]
] | |
6x4acw | why atoms feel bad when they don't have 8 or 4 electrons in their outer shell, so theytry to get hid of electrons if they're 1, 2 or 3, or try to get more if 5,6 or 7 ? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6x4acw/eli5_why_atoms_feel_bad_when_they_dont_have_8_or/ | {
"a_id": [
"dmd26lq",
"dmd3dmp"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"So you've got an element with an incomplete outermost shell. Its greatest hope and desire is to have a complete outermost shell, by giving penny taking.\n\nSodium is so close to being perfect, it just got that one darn extra. Chlorine is so close too, it just needs one. They know which end they're closer too.\n\nCarbon? Carbon is really on the fence. Does it give four electrons away? Does it take four? Nothing sways it in either direction, because it's valence electrons are in the exact middle of the possible numbers of valence electrons.\n\nIf it were to take four, it'd take them from a metal, so you can get metal carbides, like calcium carbide. If it were to give four, it'd give them to a non-metal, but that's a covalent bond so it just shares instead.",
"Atoms don't really want a full shell, its just that the full shell is the maximum of bonding energy. When you consider an atom that has a single electron in its outer shell, and another one that has 1 less than is needed, those are completely fine by themselves. They might not be in the most stable electron configurations but if there is nothing to interact with they dont care. When you bring them together though, they need more energy in total to maintain their less than ideal states than they would if they were to share their electrons in a molecular orbital so there is potential energy waiting to be released and also end up with a more stable configuration.\n\nHow likely that is to happen at a given temperature depends on how big and attractive their respective positive nuclei are and also how many full shells they already have, as the higher energy shells are less attracted by the nuclei."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
3u2w9x | why do people of the uk oppose the investigatory powers bill (computer surveillance) with such zeal? (read text) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3u2w9x/eli5_why_do_people_of_the_uk_oppose_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxbdw0p",
"cxbdzta"
],
"score": [
2,
5
],
"text": [
"Because privacy. If you like being preemptively identified as a criminal, you can volunteer that information. If you trust your government with it. And they don't get hacked. And if no one evil gets elected.",
"A) ...until they decide that something you're into is wrong, or you jokingly set off a keyword monitor. \n\nB) This is bollocks. What they'll get is broad permission from the Home Secretary and abuse it. \n\nC) How much freedom are you willing to give up for your safety? And how much freedom do you think you can stand to lose before the terrorists have won? There's no real evidence that it will increase security or prevent terrorism and no evidence that there aren't better ways. \n\nD) They need a defendable cause and they need to obtain a warrant. In those cases there is nothing wrong with them searching your data - if they can show a need. What they *will actually* do is use it to dig for dirt as they have done so many times before. \n\nE) Watching what someone does in public is a lot different. They need to build a case and get permission for anything more than that, generally. \n\nF) Do you ever close your house/bedroom door? Do you lock the bathroom door? Do you own curtains? What are *you* trying to hide and why shouldn't you be investigated to find out why you are being so secretive and suspicious? \n\nThe right to personal privacy isn't something that needs to be justified, breaching it requires the justification. \n\nThere may be some use to the powers they're asking for but that is far from being proved and there has been enough historical abuse of police powers that people are right to feel nervous about being spied on."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
3gjex4 | why do scam websites that claim to sell "a revolutionary product" all look the same? | I think we've all at one point when using the internet encountered these websites. They claim to sell an undiscovered way to get fast abs, or a new, better and "cheap" alternative to viagra or some other kind of bullshit. But the thing about these websites is, why do they all look the same?
I'm talking about big flashy titles and quotes, a video about the product that auto-plays the second you visit the website, webpages that go on for 100 paragraphs containing the same bullshit sales-pitch over and over again on why you should buy their product. I can't find an example website at the moment but my question is: why don't they make a professional looking website so people actually buy the whole story? I mean, whenever I see one of these website, as a young person who knows how the internet works, I immediately know that these sites are a scam. Maybe some older people will fall for this, but I know that the internet-savvy person won't. So why don't these people put a little more effort into these sites to make it look legit?
Edit: I just found an example website: _URL_0_ You even get a pop-up when trying to leave their site... But it perfectly illustrates the examples of the website lay-out I've given. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3gjex4/eli5_why_do_scam_websites_that_claim_to_sell_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctyp7c8"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Because they work. Scam artists and lazy people see an idea that brings money for little work, and they emulate that idea. Why fix something that isnt broken, right? Similar idea to why there are a million different versions of Minecraft and Bejewelled. The people peddling these things aren't innovators. They don't desire to expand on previous formulas and improve the world. They just want quick cash, and the easiest way to do that is to do the exact same thing other people have done. "
]
} | [] | [
"http://makemoney-athome.com/"
] | [
[]
] | |
3pnur5 | how do fast chargers (like the one that comes with the galaxy s6) work? why don't we just use those for all phones/laptops/tablets? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3pnur5/eli5_how_do_fast_chargers_like_the_one_that_comes/ | {
"a_id": [
"cw7vodi"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The charger that came with my S6 has two different output modes listed: 5V 2A and 9V 1.67A. The default voltage is 5V, in accordance with USB power standards; phones can request the higher voltage mode, which sends more power across the cable. If you do the math, the default mode is capable of about 10 watts, the higher power mode sends just over 15 watts. More power means faster charge time.\n\nHigher voltage is necessary as USB cables aren't rated for higher currents."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
5s1w9c | what law guides the confessions in a r.catholic confessional?suppose a catholic priest decides to give data on a penitent to the cia?or the fbi puts its staff in the seminary? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5s1w9c/eli5what_law_guides_the_confessions_in_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"ddbteao",
"ddbymwg"
],
"score": [
9,
2
],
"text": [
"*Canon law*- the religious law of the Catholic Church (the Orthodox and Anglican churches have their own Canon law, too, I think)- provides for the immediate and automatic excommunication, which can only be lifted by the Pope, of any priest who reveals information obtained through confession.\n\nIn parallel to that, in the United States, there's a legal principle called *confessional privilege,* according to which priests (and officers of other religions with a role similar to priests) can't be forced to testify about what they know through confession or other private religious communications. The details of how this rule is applied are, unfortunately not ELI5 material: they're technical, and vary from state to state, because each state writes the Rules of Evidence for its own courts.\n\nAs for the last part of your question, *what if the government planted its own agent to pose as a priest,* well, all I can say is that there would be a spectacular legal fight about it that the government would almost certainly lose, either because of the First Amendment's establishment clause, or because of confessional privilege.",
"Ordinarily, if you have information that is relevant to a legal case, you can be compelled to provide that information. This is called a *subpoena* (suh-pee-na). But there are circumstances in which a person cannot be compelled to provide certain information. The most well-known is the right not to incriminate oneself — you cannot be compelled to provide information that could incriminate you. Invoking this right is often called “pleading the fifth”, after the Fifth Amendment which guarantees this right.\n\nBut there are other situations in which information could be deemed *privileged*. These situations are defined by law to preserve civil rights or to serve some other higher purpose:\n\n- *Priest-penitent* privilege prevents a court from compelling a member of the clergy to reveal information that was divulged under a religious guarantee of non-disclosure. The prime example is the Catholic sacrament of confession. To force a priest to break the seal of the confessional would violate both participants' freedom to practice their religion.\n- *Attorney-client* privilege protects conversations between a lawyer and their client. To force a lawyer to reveal information that their client divulged in confidence would compromise the client's right to due process.\n- *Physician-patient* privilege protects conversations between a doctor and patient. This is to guarantee that a patient can be totally honest with their doctor about drug use, criminal behavior, or embarrassing medical problems or personal habits without fear that these could be used against them.\n- *Marital* privilege protects private conversations between spouses.\n- *Executive* privilege protects confidential discussions between the President and their advisors. This is to guarantee that these discussions can be totally open and honest without any self-censorship.\n\nThese privileges all work differently and have different rules and exceptions. For example, married person may in many circumstances keep their spouse from testifying, even if the spouse wants to; however, when one spouse is suing the other, the privilege largely vanishes. Or, a doctor may be compelled to report that a patient intents to harm someone, even if this was confessed in confidence. Or, Nixon's attempt to invoke executive privilege to avoid handing over taped conversations was denied by the courts, and he was forced out of office when those conversations proved his guilt."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
3jso4l | why has pizza delivery in "30 minutes or less" become uncommon? | I've noticed when ordering pizza recently, even for carryout, I'm commonly told it will be 45 minutes or more. I just ordered online and my confirmation said the estimated delivery time is 55-65 minutes. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3jso4l/eli5_why_has_pizza_delivery_in_30_minutes_or_less/ | {
"a_id": [
"curxkhd"
],
"score": [
23
],
"text": [
"About 20 years ago, there was a multi-million dollar judgement against Domino's (who was most famous for the 30 minutes or less thing) when a woman was hit by a pizza delivery driver who was not operating the vehicle safely. This caused a lot of bad publicity for the \"fast pizza delivery\" deal, and as a result Domino's dropped it's \"30 minutes or free\" guarantee, and other pizza companies backed off delivery guarantees as well."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
666kfq | the news talking heads are freaking out about n. korea. what is different today vs the last 20+ years of threats from them? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/666kfq/eli5_the_news_talking_heads_are_freaking_out/ | {
"a_id": [
"dgg1tmy"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"This time there is a guy in charge who might actually take them seriously. Not because they are more serious then the last twenty years, but because the guy in charge doesnt know anything about how not seroius they have been for the last twenty years.\n\nAlso someone is desperate for a justifiable war. Any war. War time presidents are good right?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
177nun | gills | How do gills turn water into oxygen? How long does it take for the water to become usable oxygen? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/177nun/eli5_gills/ | {
"a_id": [
"c82yhz5",
"c82yjqb"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Gills don't turn water into oxygen. Nor do they extract the oxygen atom from water molecules. They filter out oxygen that is dissolved in the water.\n\nGills are essentially areas extremely densely packed with blood vessels. The water is usually 'pumped' over the gills by the organism by various mechanisms and the oxygen diffuses across into the blood vessels.",
"They don't turn water into oxygen. They *extract dissolved oxygen* from water.\n\nThink about your lungs for a second. One entirely reasonable way to think about the air you breathe is to imagine that it's oxygen dissolved in nitrogen. (A chemist would disagree strongly with that, but for reasons that, while valid, don't actually apply here.) Your lungs extract the \"dissolved\" oxygen from the nitrogen around you.\n\nGills, similarly, extract dissolved oxygen from water. That's why aquariums — aquaria? — include a way to oxygenate the water, dissolving oxygen in it so the fish and other aquatic animals can breathe. Without that, it'd be like sticking you in an airtight room full of nitrogen gas. You'd *breathe* just fine — in the sense that you'd move the air in and out of your lungs — but because there's no oxygen dissolved in it, you'd quickly expire."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
3i6e7c | the possibility/situation of a wwiii | I'm hearing some people say a WWIII is very likely to happen and that international laws in place are very weak/fragile and essentially useless... | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3i6e7c/eli5the_possibilitysituation_of_a_wwiii/ | {
"a_id": [
"cudqolm"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"I wouldn't say that WWIII is VERY likely to happen, well not any time soon, but I guess people in 1913 didn't think anything was going to happen either.\n\nIn very short terms (so this doesn't become an essay) there are resource problems especially in energy production which unless we go renewable in someway will only get worse and could cause resource wars.\n\nISIS are not a threat globally (as soon as they become one the big guns will come out) but instability could lead to external countries seeking gains in the Middle East (much like Russia-Ukraine atm) which sparks a domino affect. \n\nIt is clear by the current events in the Ukraine that international law is pathetic. Sanctions? pfft, they didn't help with Iran and they haven't helped this either. But then again maybe it is better to let Russia eat the Crimea then start WWIII as would probably have to happen.\n\nOther countries to look out for North and South Korea - they are tetchy all the time. Israel - serious long term problems. Iran and America for too many reasons to explain."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
1sjr76 | what's the mess with south africa's capital cities? | I have noticed that South Africa appears to have more than one capital city - Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Cape Town (maybe even more?). What's the difference? Why is that? Please :) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sjr76/eli5_whats_the_mess_with_south_africas_capital/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdy9if6"
],
"score": [
8
],
"text": [
"South Africa was created by unifying four colonies, and all of them wanted to host the capital. In Canada and Australia, which had similar situations, they solved the same problem by creating a new capital city. In South Africa they decided to split the government across multiple cities. The two biggest and most powerful colonies, the Transvaal and the Cape, got the two big branches of government - the executive in Pretoria and the legislature in Cape Town. The Orange Free State got the smaller judicial branch with the Appeals Court in Bloemfontein, while Natal got financial compensation.\n\nCalling Bloemfontein a capital is actually a bit silly now, because the Constitutional Court (in Johannesburg) which was created in 1994 is now superior to the Appeals Court in Bloemfontein."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
19ccoy | four-dimensional space. what would it "look" like? | Not related to time as a fourth dimension, I can't really wrap my head around how four-dimensional space would work. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/19ccoy/eli5_fourdimensional_space_what_would_it_look_like/ | {
"a_id": [
"c8mq796",
"c8mqd82",
"c8mrok0",
"c8mvv8x"
],
"score": [
2,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"You're not going to be able to. There *aren't* four spacelike dimensions. In order for there to be four spacelike dimensions, it'd have to be possible for four lines to intersect at mutual right angles. That can't happen.\n\nIt's kind of like trying to construct a mental picture of an elephant which isn't an elephant. You can't do it, because such a thing cannot exist.\n\nYou can do *math* on abstract geometries that can't actually exist, but it makes no sense to try to visualize them except in cross-section.",
"Ever draw a picture of a cube on a flat surface, like a piece of paper or a whiteboard? Notice how it looks something like [this](_URL_0_), and now look how none of the angles that you've drawn are actually 90 degrees - some are larger, some are smaller, but none of the angles in your sketched cube are exactly 90 degrees on paper. This is odd, because if you held an actual, three dimensional cube in your hands, you'd see that in fact, *all* of the angles on it are 90 degrees. How come a cube distorts its shape when you draw it on a 2D surface?\n\nWell, it's because of something called \"projection\". We can \"project\" the image of a 3D object onto a 2D surface, but in doing so, we distort the object somewhat to create an artificial illusion of depth. In the same way, you could project the image of a 4D object into 3D space, but it wouldn't look quite right. It would be a loose approximation at best, and wouldn't stand up to scrutiny. This is because there aren't enough dimensions in your display medium to accurately represent the original object. \n\nSo, to answer your question, it would \"look\" wrong. ",
"A mathematician was asked how they imagine a four-dimensional space and they replied \"First, I imagine an n-dimensional space, then let n = 4\"",
"I'll let Carl Sagan answer. [He does this so much better than any of us could.](_URL_0_)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://i.imgur.com/CudAjtO.jpg"
],
[],
[
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHhaDORZq_8"
]
] | |
bu0g3e | why does the enzyme catalase break down hydrogen peroxide? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bu0g3e/eli5_why_does_the_enzyme_catalase_break_down/ | {
"a_id": [
"ep5aw5g"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"It takes hydrogen peroxide and combines together to make oxygen and water! That's why your not supposed to but hydrogen peroxide on your cuts because the bacteria on your cut are already exposed to the air and use it to live and divide. If you put hydrogen peroxide on them, since they are aerobes, they effectively dilute it! That's why you see bubbles when you poor it on the skin, it's the oxygen! Also hydrogen peroxide acts as a mechanical cleaner of the skin so it can actually harm our skin by killing our fibroblast cells. Source: college medical microbiology"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
8p27mj | what is the purpose of all the different coloured lines on school gym floors? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8p27mj/eli5_what_is_the_purpose_of_all_the_different/ | {
"a_id": [
"e07twu1",
"e07tx8b",
"e07tzrb",
"e07u10h",
"e07u17t"
],
"score": [
12,
3,
2,
2,
6
],
"text": [
"Normally they are used for different sports, so you may have a basketball court outlined with red lines, 2 tennis/ volleyball courts outlined with green, and maybe something else like a soccer field or floor hockey set up. Each set of coloured lines represents it's own sport.",
"They indicate different playing fields.\n\nRed could be basketball court.\n\nBlue could be badminton.\n\nThere's not much space in a school and it's a way to maximize on space!\n\n\nRewrote as my first answer was deemed too simple. ",
"There are different lines for marking the playing areas for different sports and the colours are used to tell them apart. You might have black lines for a five-a-side football pitch with red lines on top splitting the area up into several badminton courts instead, for example.",
"Each color is for a different sport/activity. Blue lines might be for basketball, and white lines might be for volleyball. The main rule is that all lines that are the same color are for the same sport/activity. If blue lines are for basketball then ALL blue lines are for basketball. ",
"They are lines for different sports that may be played on that floor -- basketball, volleyball, etc. Typically different sports will be marked in different colors -- so basketball might be black, while volleyball is white, and badminton might be blue. In addition to different sports, there may also be different markings of same sport due to court size differences by age bracket, organization (ie. high school basketball court different from NCAA)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
31h4ti | how are radio stations and websites allowed to report the locations of speed cameras? | I notice that people slow down in these areas, and as soon as they're clear they put their foot down. To me, it defeats the purpose of speed cameras completely. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/31h4ti/eli5_how_are_radio_stations_and_websites_allowed/ | {
"a_id": [
"cq1hois",
"cq1hor5",
"cq1hte7",
"cq1jj5h"
],
"score": [
9,
5,
4,
3
],
"text": [
"Because it actually supports public safety by causing drivers to slow down in those areas.",
"The same way they are allowed to report the locations of accidents and general traffic conditions so that people can plan their trips.",
"The vast majority of speed cameras are a matter of public record. Knowledge of their locations also helps public safety as people will comply with laws more often when they know they are on camera. ",
"If you're talking about the US, don't you guys have some kind of constitution that covers this situation? This kind of thing isn't going to be affected by the same kind of limitation as, for example, your right to yell \"fire\" in a crowded room."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
639c2p | if we know that movies and shows are fake, then why so we still get teary-eyed or scared during certain scenes? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/639c2p/eli5_if_we_know_that_movies_and_shows_are_fake/ | {
"a_id": [
"dfsa1u5",
"dfsa4qh",
"dfsstke"
],
"score": [
8,
38,
4
],
"text": [
"There's a concept called \"suspension of disbelief.\" So we know it's not real, but if the movie is good, it can bypass our disbelief (suspend it, if you will) so that it sits on our mental back burner.\n\nBut then you could see the wire that is making the person fly through the air, and that ruins your suspension of disbelief.",
"One: because humans are storytelling creatures. Two: because humans possess empathy.\n\nFirstly, humans are evolutionarily accustomed to receiving important, even life-saving info, from other humans in the form of a story. Before the bard told us about the hero's fight with the werewolf, bob was telling us about how he got away from a bear. Stories are part of our past, thus we pay attention to ones that have a lot of emotional power.\n\nSecondly, humans can empathize with characters, because after suspension of disbelief the brain starts to think it's just watching an actual event unfold. We can put ourselves in characters' places and thus feel their emotions.",
"The human brain cannot distinguish between reality and that which is vividly imagined. This is why visualization works so well for rehearsal or skill practice. Ever made a mistake and thought someone wronged you? You react to your beliefs as if they are reality. Movies are often so well made that they act like our vivid imagination. Ever seen a poorly made movie? It takes you out of the 'vivid imagination' realm and then you just laugh, cringe, or turn it off. \n\nAnd the empathy thing"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
98vnlq | - why do potatoes get so hot? what makes the temperature inside a potato keep heat so high? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/98vnlq/eli5_why_do_potatoes_get_so_hot_what_makes_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"e4j159j"
],
"score": [
10
],
"text": [
"Potatoes are (according to Google) 80% water. Water takes more energy to heat (per gram per degree) than almost any other chemical known to man, and the ones that require more energy aren't edible. \n\nNow, in things like soup water cools down fairly quickly because it moves around a lot, letting hot water reach the surface for rapid cooling, but since the water in potatoes is trapped inside cells it can't do so. Instead, the potato has to slowly give off heat at the surface, allowing heat from deeper within to slowly make its way out. \n\nIn short, potatoes don't get any hotter than the water around them, it's just that they're a lot slower to give the heat away again. You can test this by grilling a whole tomato and trying to eat it without cutting it open and letting it cool for a while (but don't, you will burn yourself and be unable to taste what you're eating properly for days). "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
9uaens | where do the winds go? | After being generated, where do winds stop (other than hitting a barrier)? What makes them stop? What generates them?
Do they behave like individual ‘streaks of air’ or is it like one whole bunch of air that, like when hurricane winds hit a barrier like a series of mountains, gets weak against something? Or if some of that ‘streak of wind’ didn’t hit the barrier, will it continue to cover more distance until it hits another barrier?
I’m not sure if they are generally created due to differences in atmospheric pressure and temperature. I wanna know more. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9uaens/eli5_where_do_the_winds_go/ | {
"a_id": [
"e92wt3j"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Air moves due to a pressure difference. High pressure moves towards lower pressure. Wind isn’t an entity that is trying to go somewhere, there are no streaks of air that act independently, the air just wants to even out its pressure. So on a calm still day you’re in the middle of a patch of fairly even pressure and the air molecules have no great impetus to go anywhere. However squeeze that air between two areas of different pressure and suddenly you have higher winds as the molecules are being pushed together and there’s a pressure gradient for them to flow down (in a manner of speaking)."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
23rzl7 | how come i can do two hours of cardio non-stop in a fitness class type situation but i can't run outside for more than ten minutes without stopping? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/23rzl7/eli5_how_come_i_can_do_two_hours_of_cardio/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgzzmju",
"cgzzum9",
"cgzzv9n",
"ch05pdu"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"You're probably not working out as hard as you think you are in your fitness class.",
"It is definitely harder to run outside than it is to run (or do cardio) inside, because when you're outside you are not on flat ground and your muscles makes up for the different impacts you'll feel. Try running on sand and you'll see what I mean.\n\nAlso, in a class you have other people around that you are doing the exercise with which makes it more fun and you'll notice your exhaustion less. Plus you don't want to be the only person in class stopping from doing the exercise so you endure.\n\nThis is anecdotal.",
"psychological reason = you're motivated by others in your fitness class\n\nphysical reason = the routines in your fitness class vary the impact on your body; running jolts your body in the same way stride after stride\n\n\nps. why do you stop running? are you winded or do your legs hurt?...\n\n",
"Running is actually quite different from the types of exercise you do in a cardio class. Running works your joints and muscles in a different way because you're not only exerting force to propel yourself forward but also absorbing the shock of your feet hitting the pavement/track, stabilizing your core and keeping your balance, hitting wind resistance, etc. It's just more difficult than the types of in-place cardio stuff we tend to do indoors."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
1eiiam | why is radio still widely used for entertainment and communication? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1eiiam/eli5_why_is_radio_still_widely_used_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"ca0jrno",
"ca0jse2",
"ca0kidh",
"ca0lw6n"
],
"score": [
3,
9,
3,
4
],
"text": [
"It's well understood and reliable as a technology, propagates at the speed of light (since it **is** light), doesn't require much physical infrastructure to transmit or receive, and there's really nothing to replace it in cars.",
"As opposed to what?\n\nRadio is probably the only form of entertainment you can enjoy while driving, taking a bath, closing your eyes to go to sleep, mowing the lawn, and many other things. It's not going to go away any time soon!\n\nIt is going to change, though. Digital radio is gradually becoming more popular in the UK, I don't know about other places. I can switch my tv to my favourite radio station - and I often do, because I get better reception from my cable provider than through a radio aerial. This wouldn't have been possible a few years ago.",
"because sometimes your eyes have to be somewhere else. also, you dont need a tv to listen to music",
"Because nothing can replace it as of yet.\n\nYou don't have to pay for radio, unlike television.\nIt's accessible, it's cheap and it's extremely portable."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
8m5yb3 | why do car alarms have that one sound? | Is there any reason behind that weird consecutive combination of sounds car alarms make?
Does it symbolise or mean anything or is it just because of the simplicity of devices that create it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8m5yb3/eli5_why_do_car_alarms_have_that_one_sound/ | {
"a_id": [
"dzl20v2",
"dzl2qkv",
"dzlddfc",
"dzlqy71"
],
"score": [
5,
4,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"It's a collection of all the alarm sounds that were available for various things before that. What it tells *me* is that someone got an aftermarket alarm for their car that isn't particularly well designed/managed, and that I'm extremely unlikely to bother checking to see who set it off.\n\nThe OEM alarms that just use the car horn are almost as bad.\n\nThe GOOD ones are the ones that chirp a warning when movement is detected, and require persistent disturbance before they go off for exactly 1 minute with a shrill single warbling siren. After that, a tracking service is notified.\n\nThat's the only decent alarm system I've seen out there, but it's significantly more expensive than the useless ones most people install.",
"That sequence is actually from the ability to customize to just one of the available sounds. There were/are connections that can be cut inside to eliminate the unwanted sounds, playing only the connected sound(s).\n\nThe installation instructions told the dealers how to configure this option, but most dealers didn't explain that to the customers because of the additional time for deciding and the configuring what the customer had selected. \n\nI speak in the past tense, because I assume that those are a thing of the past now. ",
"Something to keep in mind: the vast majority of aftermarket alarms are made by the same company: Directed. Viper, Clifford, Python, Avitol, AutoMate are just a few of their brands. They are the Luxottica of aftermarket auto security. \n\nThey share a lot of technology and designs between their brands so that’s why that classic alarm sound seems so common. That setting is the default alarm sound for most of these systems. Most can be customized for one of those tones or just f’it play them all. ",
"My guess is that it is to alert everyone around that a car maybe is being robbed. If everyone had different car alarms, it would be hard for people to differentiate. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
5u068h | what is the purpose of the us marine corps? | what do they actually do that doesn't fall under the other branches' specialty? we have the army, specializing in ground war; the navy, specializing in water war; and the air force, specializing in air war. why do we have the marines? what do they even do? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5u068h/eli5_what_is_the_purpose_of_the_us_marine_corps/ | {
"a_id": [
"ddqadyz",
"ddqals9"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"They are for warfare at the boundary between ground and water:\nThey are used for amphibious landings, since ships have a hard time coming ashore and the army tanks can't really swim :)\n\nSame as paratroopers are for warfare at the boundary between air and ground.\n\nOnce they have a decent beachhead, the army comes in to take the fight further inland",
"Historically, marines were ground forces which operated from a naval base. They would deploy from naval vessels which allowed for surprise attacks, fast deployment and fast withdrawal, and the ability to stage ground operations far from land bases (ie overseas war). In fact, the first war the US engaged in (after the war for Independence) was the First Barbary War in which the marine corps invaded Tripoli in Northern Africa.\n\nOvertime, the mission of each branch of the military has evolved along with each branch's specialties. The marine corps is still nominally used to project US military presence abroad, deploying from naval ships, and using fast-strike tactics. They are still a part of the Navy, although the Commandant of the Marine Corps sits on the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
3bvnce | why do pretty much all take-out coffee cups (like starbucks, etc.) say "do not microwave" on them? what would happen if i heated up my coffee in that cup? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3bvnce/eli5_why_do_pretty_much_all_takeout_coffee_cups/ | {
"a_id": [
"cspwu7b",
"cspwvay"
],
"score": [
6,
24
],
"text": [
"You're also potentially introducing chemicals into your coffee by heating the treated plastic and paper up. If your coffee is soaking into the paper, then it's just as likely something else escaped.",
"The paper take-out cups have a layer of wax on the inside. It's what makes the cup waterproof so it doesn't get soggy while holding a liquid. As you might imagine, heating in a microwave can melt this wax. Now you have wax in your drink, and a soggy and potentially dangerous cup full of hot liquid.\n\nStyrofoam coffee cups simply melt in a microwave. I hope it's obvious why this isn't a good thing.\n\nFinally, it's a legal thing. Cups aren't dangerous, microwaving liquids inside until they are way too hot is the only reasonable way to hurt someone or something. By telling you not to do it (and controlling the temperature of liquids going in there on their end) they can prevent quite a few lawsuits."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | ||
di7l9h | why can we "think" along to songs in different languages, but we can't sing along to them aloud? | Even without music playing, I am able to seemingly perfectly recreate the vocals and phonetics to any song I'm familiar with in my head, even if the song is in a language I don't speak.
Granted: I wouldn't understand what I'm saying in terms of the linguistics, but shouldn't I be able to "pronounce" along to a song if I technically know how it sounds? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/di7l9h/eli5_why_can_we_think_along_to_songs_in_different/ | {
"a_id": [
"f3tsfzn",
"f3tss0w",
"f3uqfw4"
],
"score": [
10,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"It's because singing is done by a different part of the brain than speech, it's also why stutterers can often sing just fine. The part that does the singing isn't verbally minded, so it just cares for the sounds it needs to make (as it sees your voice as a musical instrument).",
"Sound \"recognition\" and language comprehension are separate abilities in the brain. Think about the sounds birds, dogs, cats etc make: we can clearly differentiate the tone and rhythm of the sounds, and scientists have shown that they use different sounds to express different ideas and emotions, and we can even mimic the sounds ourselves, but it does not mean that we understand what the animal is expressing or are able to create new expressions with those sounds that the animal would understand in the way we intend.",
"There is also the technical aspect of singing. \n\nI can hear Pavarotti’s voice in my head, but I can’t physically sing the notes with the same speed, fluidity, volume, range, musicality etc.\n\nIt’s similar to drawing where you can imagine vivid shapes but physically recreating them can be impossible without a lot of practice and skill development."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
7kblgp | haven't rockets always been reusable? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7kblgp/eli5_havent_rockets_always_been_reusable/ | {
"a_id": [
"drd1rli",
"drd21sz",
"drd2qvt"
],
"score": [
6,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"They *crash* land in the ocean and are obliterated on impact. Much of it sinks.\n\nTheoretically you could fish it up, piece the shattered husk back together, and reuse it, but it's cheaper and safer to build a new one.",
"You’re thinking of the Space Shuttle booster rockets. Those are the *only* rockets (or at least the only common ones) that were reusable in that way. For the most part, rockets are not built with parachutes to slow their descent or the robustness to survive a landing in salt water (which, among other things, is very corrosive). They just crash into the ground or into the ocean (the people launching them do know where they’ll crash and can make sure that they won’t go into an inhabited area).",
"Nope, they've almost always been disposable. They fly appart and crash land in the ocean or float around in space.\n\nElements of the space shuttle were reusable but that accounts for a very small fraction of total rocket flights and was revolutionary in its own right. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
dk0mfd | how can there be so much variation within the same species? | How come there are so much physical, chemical, and anatomical differences among humans but yet they are still considered of the same species? Are we just considering all humans to be of the same species for political reasons or is there something more behind it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dk0mfd/eli5_how_can_there_be_so_much_variation_within/ | {
"a_id": [
"f49ky4h",
"f49l4c3",
"f49uh6u"
],
"score": [
3,
12,
2
],
"text": [
"A species is usually defined as being able to interbreed however there are a few exception being animals such as lions and tigers. Also the physical look doesn’t matter as much as the genetic makeup",
"Genetically speaking humans have fairly small diversity compared to related species such as chimps or orangoutans. But we are adapted to seeing differences between each other. So we look amazingly different *to us*. A chimp would say we all look and smell the same.\n\nHowever, we are by definition the same species because every human group can have fertile children with each other. There is no biological reproductive barrier even between the most far flung people, just distance. Millennia of travel, trade and conquests have brought people from all over the globe in touch, and thus this has been thoroughly tested.\n\nSo that's got nothing to do with politics. True, political views for a long time insisted on playing up divisions between populations and dividing them into races, but biologically speaking those classifications have been found to be obsolete nonsense. They still retain some popularity with non scientists with particular political agendas.\n\n\nSource: I am an evolutionary biologist",
"Species have a biological definition - every human individual (non sterile) can mate with any other of the opposite sex and produce fertile offspring - of the same species. The genetic relatedness of humans is ridiculously low; humans outside of Africa have less genetic diversity than populations between themselves in Sub-Saharan Africa; and yet nucleotide diversity (the average portion of nucleotides different between two individuals) is 0.1-0.4%. For comparison, corn is about 20 times more genetically diverse than humans, and yet it is still all the same species."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | |
3jsl2i | how do companies like blue moon create beer with different alcoholic content to meet state standards yet maintain consistent flavor? | I live in Oklahoma were beer has to have less alcoholic content than regular beer. So Blue Moon beer has 3.2% alcoholic content in Oklahoma, but normally it contains 5.4%. How does Blue moon change their alcoholic content without changing the flavor of the beer.? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3jsl2i/eli5_how_do_companies_like_blue_moon_create_beer/ | {
"a_id": [
"curxgem"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
" > Available in cans, bottles and kegs, Blue Moon has 5.4% alcohol by volume.[5] In Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado and Utah, the alcohol content of all Blue Moon beers bought in grocery or convenience stores is 3.2% alcohol by weight (approximately 4.0% alcohol by volume).\n\n^ above from wikipedia\n\nThe 5.4 and 3.2 are in different systems.\n\nBlue moon goes from 5.4% to 4% alcohol by volume, or from about 3.9% alcohol by weight to 3.2 % alcohol by weight.\n\nSo it's really actually changing very little. It does affect the taste slightly, but usually not enough to really notice unless it was a very alcoholic beer. The taste is much more dominated by other factors at that level.\n\nif you had a 12 oz beer, the difference in the amount of alcohol you get is 0.168 fluid ounces\n\nin other words, If you took a normal can of beer and the reduced alcohol content can of beer, the different between them is one tenth of a normal small shotglass - pouring that much alcohol in would make them equal again."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
1sjvbe | what is a religion and why are there so many that exist? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sjvbe/what_is_a_religion_and_why_are_there_so_many_that/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdyaokg"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"According to Wikipedia, \"Religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence\"\n\nIn general, as humanity has grown out of the muck, stories such as oral traditions, mythos, legends, etc. have been an integral part of culture. In some cases, those traditions can become something more than just story, and take on a significance in the culture that is a way for a group of people to understand and interpret the happenings of life and death.\n\nFor instance, lets say we have a small village, of which a great warrior named Ug. Ug goes off and defends the village from many invaders, and eventually dies. They bury him, idolize him, and tell stories of him.\n\nPerhaps over time, the village considers the possibility (or perhaps such a concept already existed) that the soul/spirit of a person can remain behind, and so it is surmised that the spirit of Ug might still visit the village. Now the villagers begin to engage in simple rituals to honor/invoke Ug, either out of respect or in the hopes Ug's spirit will protect the village.\n\nAs more time passes, these original rituals may become more and more important, and the village may begin to craft a world view that holds Ug as central - things like the Weather, Crops, Health, enemy incursions, etc. all become associated with Ug.\n\nThe village has found Ug to be their way of interpreting the world around them. They have culture and history to support this, and Ug's worship becomes a part of their daily lives. Depending on how well the village does in the future, they may very well become an Empire founded on the shoulders of the Great Warrior Ug.\n\nAs far as 'why are there so many,' humans have a great many different cultures across the world, each with their own interpretations of how the 'world works,' so to speak. Depending on how that culture's oral/written traditions play out, the nature of a religious movement will vary. Sometimes as cultures intermix and intermingle, religious oral/written traditions become changed over time. For instance, in India, the Dravidian and Aryan cultures intermixed, and there are portions of both Dravidian and Aryan religious beliefs that can be found in Hindhuism today. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | ||
6hri3d | why as a teen do do you randomly get depressed for periods of time? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6hri3d/eli5_why_as_a_teen_do_do_you_randomly_get/ | {
"a_id": [
"dj0o2qc"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Talk to a doctor. Not reddit. Not your best facebook buddy, not anyone else on the internet. Medical concerns should be discussed with a DOCTOR."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] | |
1oku6t | how gifs work | I get the idea that they're a series of pictures, but how do they tell a computer how fast to play them? How are a bunch of different images saved as one file type? Also bonus question. Why can't I save on on my iPhone? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1oku6t/eli5_how_gifs_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"ccsxpzj",
"ccsynbb"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"You know how a zip file can contain several other files inside of it? Same kind of deal with gif files - they can contain multiple separate images inside the same container file. The gif header contains information about what delay to use between frames, and any decent web browser or image viewer comes with code specific for decoding gif files and playing the frames in the right order at the right speed. It's almost like an mpg or an avi file but without the audio stream (and with different compression, but that's not terribly important to the point of this).\n",
"GIF files actually have a [header on the beginning of the file](_URL_0_) that tell the images dimensions, color depth, and the delay that it should play at, if a GIF is animated and has a set of images.\n\nThe only bad thing about them is that most programs limit them to have up to 256 colors (even though True-Color can be achieved by [using multiple block GIFs with different color palates](_URL_1_)) and the compression is not good enough, so there are limitations to how long and how large a GIF can get before you can't go any further, which means no movies in a single GIF.\n\nContainer formats like Quicktime, Matroska, and MP4 behave similarly, with a header at the beginning and a set of video and audio streams."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://www.onicos.com/staff/iz/formats/gif.html#header",
"http://phil.ipal.org/tc.html"
]
] | |
7hrp1m | what is it about meat going bad that means it can no longer be eaten after being cooked? doesn't the heat just kill any bad bacteria? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7hrp1m/eli5_what_is_it_about_meat_going_bad_that_means/ | {
"a_id": [
"dqt8wjv",
"dqt91sr",
"dqt9enr"
],
"score": [
17,
4,
19
],
"text": [
"Heat might kill the bacteria, but it doesn't remove the toxic byproducts that the bacteria produced before they got killed. Eating all that bacteria-poop is also bad for you.",
"The live bacteria are not always the threat. In fact more often it is the toxins they produce as a waste product and as they die that are the threat. Once a certain volume of these toxins has been reached the food is no longer safe to consume. ",
"If you're having a difficult time wrapping your head around u/cdb03b or u/WRSaunders answers, try thinking about it more abstractly.\n\nWe use water to \"kill\" fire.\nIf a building catches on fire, we call the firemen.\nThe fireman puts out the fire with water.\n\nThe fireman/water does not also repair the damage already caused by the fire, it just kills the fire. The roof caved in and all the contents are utterly destroyed by the fire, but at least the fire is gone now."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | ||
1tnsxd | how do they make the sex scenes on shows like game of thrones look so real? [nsfw] | For example: the scene with Jamie and Cersei Lannister in the tower, or whenever Khal Drogo is humping Danaerys doggy style. It looks extremely real, and the obly way I could think of faking it would be just tucking the penis out of sight, but with them both being completely nude and so close that seems very unlikely to even be possible. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1tnsxd/eli5_how_do_they_make_the_sex_scenes_on_shows/ | {
"a_id": [
"ce9r9or",
"ce9rhkx",
"ce9rli2",
"ce9ssxs",
"ce9u0p0",
"ce9u4rz",
"ce9u5b2",
"ce9upjp",
"ce9uuqz",
"ce9uxsj",
"ce9uymo",
"ce9v0d7",
"ce9vv47",
"ce9wsru",
"ce9xm9q",
"ce9xyqt",
"ce9z4ns",
"ce9zbu3",
"ce9zc5p",
"ce9zh86",
"ce9zhug",
"ce9zq5p",
"ce9zvcs",
"cea06ye",
"cea0elp",
"cea1g4s",
"cea1rbg",
"cea3f0e",
"cea4030",
"cea4ez9",
"cea4p4i"
],
"score": [
104,
800,
627,
129,
80,
60,
460,
12,
1989,
1303,
16,
3,
3,
4,
2,
4,
2,
4,
2,
3,
4,
3,
2,
6,
2,
5,
3,
3,
6,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"They have very good underwear for these scenes. Merkins and whatnot.",
"The males wear small (they'll tell you huge) flesh coloured pouches for their penis. After that it's all camera angles. ",
"which brings me to wonder...\nwould it be unethical if they actually had sex for the scenes? I mean, people already kiss for movies. ",
"I always wonder if there's a scene where an actor fully disrobes, but has his or her back to the viewer but is facing a fellow actor (say, before a love scene) . We can only see their back, but the other actor can see all their junk right ?",
"One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that it's generally taken very very seriously by the crew. Often times the director (or would it be the producer) will run a skeleton crew for the sex scenes. Only the very bare minimum of staff needed to be onsite will shoot the scene. Actors are allowed to have their SO onsite for the shooting if that makes them more comfortable. Everything is taken very serious and great care is taken to make sure the actors are made as comfortable as possible during the potentially awkward scenes. \n\n",
"Different techniques are used. Usually, camera angles are placed to hide actual genitals but show everything else. Also, men wear flesh-colored underwear that is just enough to cover the actual peepee. Ladyparts are all covered by a perfectly placed hand or sheet or something.\n\nAlso, since both actors know what is expected beforehand by reading the script, they know what has to be done and they go along with the creative director and/or cinematographer's requirements. It is upto the editors and the camera crew/director to ensure the final output seems 'so real'.",
"Using a clever combination of flesh colored \"garments\" covering the genitals, perfectly choreographed movements, and tricky camera angles/lighting and shadows.\n\nEverything is intricately planned and edited, and very often sex scenes are the most difficult scene to film for the director, actors, editors, and cameramen.",
"There are two kinds: simulated and unsimulated or explicit sex scenes.\n\nSimulated sex scenes have everything from wearing flesh colored pouches(as mentioned before) with aesthetic camera angles (meaning they try not to focus too much on the parts they wish to hide using various techniques like light/dark contrasting) to having full on body doubles play out the scenes. These sex scenes are usually \"softcore\" as actors only *portray* it happening but it never does, also, barely features full frontal male nudity but it does for females. (Meaning they dont show the cock, it is kinda considered a turn-off for some reason..)\n\nUnsimulated scenes have actors, I shit you not, actually having sex on camera, and yes, they do retakes ;-) . Some examples ( Admit it!I know you want them. ) include 9 songs, All about Anna etc. google \"unsimulated sex\" and you'll find a huge list of these movies. They are usually hardcore/pornographic sex scenes featuring full frontal nudity for both genders.",
"Hey, I actually starred in a miniseries earlier this year that required me to act in two sex scenes, so I think I'm probably qualified to answer this one. \n\nI've also had to simulate a masturbation scene in a short film and during my acting degree at university students take a course called 'Sex & Violence' that has them simulating fight scenes and sex on camera (not at the same time... ^*unless you're into that*)to prepare them for the big bad world. \n\nSo you're going to have sex on camera.\n\nYou've auditioned, got the part, read your script and bam - there it is. Your agent warned you in advance but hey - it's part of the job, right?\n\nMonths before the scene is shot, usually during contractual negotiations several provisions are made for the actors involved - they stipulate how the set will be closed down for the scene, which basically means only absolutely essential crew are involved. If the director knows they want to just run a song over the top and don't require on set sounds, they might not even have a boom (sound) operator. In most cases no on set stills are to be taken. Nudity clauses are discussed. If you are a female, will you be topless? will bare breasts/nipples be seen? Is it full frontal with bush?\n\nIf you're a male, full frontal is a lot less likely, but will your bum be shown?\n\nOn the day of shooting, the actors go to makeup. If the scene in in bed with lots of sheets and has little on camera nudity/a lot of sheets, usually we'll be sporting underwear. If it's a little bit more risque, things get interesting. Flesh coloured tape and dick-pouch interesting. We call them modesty patches, and they are applied over a woman's genitals, and for men a flesh coloured sock is applied and sometimes taped down onto your leg or even awkwardly back towards your ass crack. It's pretty hilarious. \n\nYou are given robes at all times when the scene is not being shot, and they lock the set down removing all non-essential personel. The actors and directors then rehearse the scene, and it is usually choreographed much like a dance. We discuss what positions to use, who is on top, the actors can discuss their boundaries - 'Can I touch your breasts? Can I kiss your neck?' and for camera angles - 'Should I have my right hand on her hip? or maybe holding her hair...' etc. \n\nDuring the actual take, it is a very mechanical, technical exercise for the actors - if you are shooting on location and not in a studio (as I was) we weren't allowed to use airconditioning because it interfered with the sound. Within minutes, the room is unbearably hot, and you're trying to keep each take as spontaneous and real as you can whilst acting within the set parameters you discussed earlier. It's not as easy as it looks, and when it looks extremely real - you know how hard the actors and crew have worked to make it that way. \n\nOr you're watching Shortbus.\n\nHope that helps",
"I work in film, so I can shed some light on this actually happens. When a script calls for nudity or simulated sex, there is an additional contractual discussion about what can and cannot be shown, the way in which the scene will be filmed, and many other aspects (they basically go through everything line by line, shot by shot, which is why you want a good agent and lawyer). Unlike the stories you may hear about the seventies, or some indie films, Hollywood is very strict about these scenes, and there are no surprises. A lot of the guidelines are regulated by the guilds, such as having bathrobes standing by, etc. \n\nKeep in mind that you are not going to be filming anything real, because you couldn't show it anyway if you wanted to get an R rating or below. Everything you can get away with at the R level or below can be faked. NC-17 (formerly X rating) is the kiss of death, because most theaters refuse to screen NC-17 films. That is why some films will choose to be unrated, or get into a fight with the MPAA like Blue Valentine or more recently Charlie Countryman.\n\nIf the scene is showing a lot, like Game of Thrones, the actors are probably naked, and the man will wear a small skin colored sock. The set is designated a closed set while filming, which restricts the set to only essential personnel. That would include the actors, director, cinematographer, assistant director, assistant cameras (possibly only the 1st AC), hair/make-up, and wardrobe. A few other people may be on set, and then others may be watching from the monitor depending on the scene, like the production designer.\n\nThe Assistant Director (AD) team would lock the set up, despite the grips trying to get a peek. In between every take, the wardrobe team rushes onto the set with bathrobes for the actors. Then for the actual act they are touching naked on screen, and it is very awkward but most actors will tell you it is not romantic in the slightest. I seriously doubt many people would enjoy being naked in front of a dozen people, starting and stopping every few minutes for a few hours while people run out periodically to adjust a light. Every situation is different and I am sure some actors are comfortable crossing the lines of professionalism, but this is how the vast majority of major films handle these scenes.\n\n\nA few funny anecdotes:\n\nI cannot remember which actor it was, but a male actor was quoted telling the actress before a sex scene the following, \"I'm sorry if I do, and I'm sorry if I don't.\"\n\nMy mentor also told me about the day she was walking across a backlot and a grip came running out of a sound stage in his boxer shorts. Apparently, the actress said, if I have to take my pants off then everyone watching does too. So the entire crew removed their pants to make her more comfortable while filming.\n\nEDIT: Grammer & to say, what an interesting post to answer on Christmas.",
"Have you ever filmed yourself having sex or watched someone else (outside of porn)? Honestly, it doesn't look that great. That's Hollywood with unrealistic glorified images, even sex itself. Anything on the screen is supposed to attract the eye. In realty, it's more crude. \n\nFor a more parallel \"realistic\" view, compare porn scenes to TV sex scenes and see what might be different or lacking.",
"It's fake. I know it seems impossible but it is. \nEven kissing is faked quite often.\nThey have skincolored underwear or socks on their genitals and things like that. Clever camera angles.",
"On the Spartacus set, they used these skin coloured pillows beteween the performers and skin coloured underwear. Some of the guys wore a prothestetic penis called \"Kirk Douglas\".\n\nThere is a lot of practice before the scenes are taken. Sometimes the actors would giggle when trying to play their parts.",
"The real answer we are all wondering to hear... is what happens if the male actor gets an erection?",
"Because they are real",
"I don't we should explain this to a 5-year-old.",
"I see someone else has been marathoning GoT this Christmas break...",
"They hire a stunt cock to do the scenes",
"Copious amounts of naked, awkward thrusting?",
"Plot twist: they are having sex",
"I've **never** had sex that was anything like the sex they have on Game of Thrones.",
"Sarah Silverman said she was in a sex scene & the dude kept ramming his hard on onto (not into) her vag so hard that the next day she was sore. I guess he didn't get a cock sock. ",
"NSFW but right after he stops giving her doggy he \"pulls out\" and then you see this _URL_0_",
"AMA Request for Celebrity Scene camera operator?",
"I was hoping to see a nice actress modelling her vj patch. Then I thought I'd settle for the picture of a penis sock. Found none.",
" > look so real\n\nYour virginity is showing, OP.",
"cock sock or no, I'd prolly nut just grinding on some of them girls in GoT.",
"I'll tell you when you're older sweetie. ",
"I would not dare explain this to a five year old",
"HBU needs to make a show about a detective that smells crime. Full Penetration will be the twist. There is always a twist.",
"SO all in all they are just dry humping each other? how does he not pop a stiffy."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.tinynibbles.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Allen-Esme-GoT-0305.jpg"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
mscwo | youtube subscriber importance | Why is it that in many videos on youtube they always seem to emphasis to subscribe to them as if their life depends on it? Why is this so important to the poster?
"Don't forget to subscribe!"
"Please subscribe guys!"
"If you like this, subscribe!"
Are subscriber numbers some kind of popularity gauge? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/mscwo/eli5_youtube_subscriber_importance/ | {
"a_id": [
"c33gi3f",
"c33gi3f"
],
"score": [
4,
4
],
"text": [
"People can earn a living from it if they are popular enough on youtube. Subscribing helps remind people to watch their videos as they come out, and the more people watching = the more ads being served, which = more revenue for youtube + the youtuber. ",
"People can earn a living from it if they are popular enough on youtube. Subscribing helps remind people to watch their videos as they come out, and the more people watching = the more ads being served, which = more revenue for youtube + the youtuber. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
653uyf | how come when we exhale after holding our brearh we "get more air" | Weird title but, have you ever held your breath underwater as long as possible and noticed that when you exhale you can "Breath underwater longer"?
If you dont know what I mean just hold your breath right now and exhale when you just csnt hold it any longer. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/653uyf/eli5_how_come_when_we_exhale_after_holding_our/ | {
"a_id": [
"dg790rz",
"dg795aa"
],
"score": [
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Your lungs are filling up with waste CO2 (carbon dioxide) which you feel an urgent, instinctive need to expel before it reaches toxic levels. Once you get rid of it you feel some relief.\n\nThis relief doesn't last, because you still need to get some fresh O2 (oxygen).",
"When you inhale, you inhale oxygen. Then your body turns the oxygen into carbon dioxide. Then you exhale that carbon dioxide.\n\nYour body responds to excess carbon dioxide before it responds to low oxygen. That way you catch the problem early. It's better to start feeling out of breath when you have extra carbon dioxide building up than when you are already out of oxygen."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] | |
9n3vy1 | why are bullets bullet-shaped rather than football shaped? | I know that bullets are partially inside the shell prior to being fired. But wouldn’t having them be football shaped make them more aerodynamic, and this able to fly straighter for longer? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9n3vy1/eli5_why_are_bullets_bulletshaped_rather_than/ | {
"a_id": [
"e7jf265",
"e7jf4wu",
"e7jil4f",
"e7jljsg"
],
"score": [
13,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Theoretically, sure. But the thing you have to remember is the bullet is being propelled from the gun. WIthout the flat surface for pressure to build against you're gonna have a hard time with it actually leaving the barrel.",
"I think it has to do with the firing mechanism. You want all the force from the explosion firing the bullet in line with the direction of the barrel, so it needs a surface normal to that force to be pushed out of the gun with as much energy as possible.",
"A football shape isn't actually a particularly great shape for stability. What's usually meant by \"aerodynamic shape\" when talking about droplet shaped objects is the reduced pressure loss drag and not their stability.\n\nBullets from rifles and guns are usually spin stabilized. They are spun up through the rifling in the barrel resulting in a rotation around their axis when leaving the barrel. This has 2 effects. 1 rotating objects tend to resist changes to their rotational axis. Much like how a yoyo is stable when spinning. 2 any asymmetries in the bullet shape will not change the bullet path in a particular direction. The asymmetry is spun around the bullets axis and will cyclicly produce the same forces in all directions so that they cancel out and the bullet path is stable.\n\nBullets can also be drag stabilized. So additional drag at the tail end can actually be desired to increase stability. If the bullet starts to fly sideways the tail end will get hit by the oncoming wind. This results in a force acting on the tail end of the bullet which pushes it inward and the bullet will return to its orientation along the direction of the flight path.",
"The reason the back of a bullet is flat, instead of tapered, is to make sure the force of the explosion that drives the bullet is even and effective. \n\nIf the bullet was tapered at the back the explosion wouldn’t push evenly on the bullet. And more importantly not all of the force of the explosion would press the bullet out, some would squeeze the tapered end. \n\nFinally, while a tapered end can reduce your drag force, the weight and speed of a bullet makes aerodynamics less effective. Bullets are so light and traveling so fast that making them aerodynamic doesn’t increase their travel speed or distance as much as just increasing the power behind them. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | |
2p6yrc | when we toss/throw an object, what in our brains is telling us how hard/soft/hard to throw it? | Or is it a sight thing and just by looking at it we already know?
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2p6yrc/eli5_when_we_tossthrow_an_object_what_in_our/ | {
"a_id": [
"cmtwrjo",
"cmtx4yv"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I'm confused.\n\nOur brains don't tell us, we tell our brains. And that happens because of neurons and lots of complicated signals from our brain that then tells our muscles how much force to use, etc.",
"I have heard of something called [muscle memory](_URL_0_).\n\nI believe that this is what happens when people practice swinging a tennis racket over and over again, or standing and swinging a baseball bat at batting practice."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-muscle-memory.htm"
]
] | |
6h7zoo | is it possible to 'change' our voice permanently, like if i put on a voice 24/7 would that eventually become my 'real voice? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6h7zoo/eli5_is_it_possible_to_change_our_voice/ | {
"a_id": [
"diw6frq"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"its impossible to permanantly change your voice, \n\nThe only thing you could do is damage your vocal chords."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.