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why does a word start to sound weird when heard or said too many times?
This phenomenon is known as *semantic satiation* and according to Wikipedia "is a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the speech as repeated meaningless sounds". The term was coined by Leon James, a professor of psychology...
Why does my microwave make my dishes (esp bowls) super hot, but only make the food in them luke warm?
The material that your bowls are made of simply has a much higher conductivity, or ability to conduct electricity than the actual food itself, therefore it heats up much quicker.
How is audio transformed into the grooves on a vinyl record?
Audio is encoded -physically- onto a record, not magnetically like a tape, by way of a groove in the surface. If you imagine the groove like a deep "V", each side of the V corresponds to a channel of audio and moves up and down independently of the other side. A tiny needle, or stylus, reads these vibrations by way of ...
Why/How are files compatible between file systems?
Files are just an arbitrary stream of bytes. NTFS and ext3 might store those bytes differently on the physical disk, but once the file system gets a request for a file it re-assembles them back to that stream of bytes for whichever application. you use to do Now there are some exceptions to this. For example windows su...
How did John Wilkes Booth know Lincoln was going to be at the Ford Theater?
Booth was an actor, worked at Ford's theatre and found out from Ford earlier in the day that Lincoln would be attending that evening.
Why is everyone's lower abdomen distended in old renaissance paintings?
I learned in school that back in the days when these paintings were the norm, the more plump you were meant you were more successful in life, considering you had enough money to make yourself chubby in the first place. Funny how society has done a complete 180 regarding this topic.Source for more info: _URL_0_Can you p...
What causes that “pureness” feeling after orgasm?
I think you'll find your answer in "prolactin," which is released after ejaculation. It suppresses dopamine, one of the arousal neurotransmitters that turns your brain all kink. _URL_0_ There is also more extreme versions of guilt and sadness that have been documented as lasting for a week. Imagine feeling sad and depr...
Oxygen levels In an orchard
> So if the atmosphere is 21% oxygen would there be an oxygen enriched environment in orchards or farms where huge amounts of trees or crops are planted in a large area? The effect would be very minor. Wind is more than sufficient to mix the gasses and the amount of exchange the plants are capable of performing over a ...
How do airplanes avoid fireworks?
It's illegal to set off fireworks near an airport and outside of take off and landing airplanes are far to high to be impacted by fireworks.
What is an itch and why do we get them?
When some dust or allergens land on your skin, you probably won't notice it at first. After a while, it'll rub against your skin which irritates the receptors in you skin. The receptors send a signal to your brain and your brain tells you to scratch the spot where the irritant is. When your skin receptors can't feel th...
Why does heat alter our perception and create a "wavy" effect.
Heat changes the refractive index of air , and as currents and eddies of air pass through a heater –\xa0or over a desert – there's an uneven heating effect, causing slight but visible waves of differing refraction.
Why are most of the herbivores mammals like elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffe, etc. so big in size? Even in the jurassic era the largest dinosaur was a herbivore.
It's a matter of resources, and how to obtain them. There is a lot of plant matter, which is relatively easy to renew; if an animal is adapted to grazing, the resources are plentiful, and once they get past a certain size, there is basically no carnivore that will prey on them . For carnivores, it's a different story: ...
The gender income gap.
If you *just* look at gender, then there is a wage gap. If you control for the fact that * Men tend to take jobs which are more strenuous * Women are less likely to ask for raises than men, and less likely to try to negotiate a higher starting salary * Women are more likely to take jobs which allow flexibility for fami...
Why is Jupiter so ridiculously radioactive?
Jupiter itself isn't radioactive, it just has a huge and powerful magnetosphere. This forms radiation belts much like Earth's own Van Allen belts, but they're way stronger because Jupiter is massive.
How Fast Does Gravity Move?
Gravity propagates at the speed of light, usually noted as *c*. If the sun were to magically vanish we wouldn't know for about eight minutes, but during that time we 'd continue moving along with its path. Imagine a collapsible funnel. The earth is a marble rolling around the inside of it toward the outer edge, the sun...
There is a new stock exchange in Mexico, what does it benefits to have 2 of these? And how can I take some advantage of this?
stock exchanges all have their only listing requirements, fees, and rules, etc. ie stock exchange one only deals with 100million dollar and above companies, they don't want to deal with the "little guys". but another stock exchange will accept anyone, etc. this new stock exchange would encourage more Mexican companies ...
What's stopping us from sending lichens, algae, and other extremophile bacteria to Mars and start trying to change the atmosphere now?
There's nothing stopping it from happening theoretically, but for now, NASA is trying very hard to prevent contaminating Mars with life from earth. Any kind of organisms that could be found on Mars should be studied, and if you just ship a bunch of extremophile bacteria from earth to Mars, you contaminate the planet wi...
At what rate do we regain energy while sleeping?
We don't regain energy, we spend energy. We only regain energy by eating food and drinking water. What we do, however, is repair any damage done during the day + let our brains organize all of the new info they learned in to more efficient systems.
What is "Brexit" and what impact has it had? What are some key points that help to summarize this event?
Brexit is the portmanto of "British Exit". It is the common news jargon term for the UK leaving the EU. The UK just recently started the process and it will take a year or more to happen. So far both the Euro and Pound have dropped in value, though both are improving slowly. The UK will have to renegotiate every trade ...
Why is it when we type the letter "A" in lower case it looks like this: "a", but when we write it, it looks like this: α?
Cursive was invented because back in the day, people used ink quills. Cursive's function was to minimize the amount of times you had to raise your quill because of ink dropping on paper. Actual fonts on typewriters were designed so they would be more legible at quick glances.Did you just ask this so you could show off ...
How did the person who came up with Pi understand that the number he was using turned out to be infinite?
Pi is not infinite. It is irrational. And, well pi is the ratio of the circle's circumference to it's diameter. It's not like anyone invented it. However, historically many people have made closer and closer approximations to the value of pi, but while some of these attempts date back to antiquity, pi was only proven t...
Freud's stages of psychosexual development
Just so you aware, Freud's theories are not supported on a scientific basis and thus are no longer accepted by Psychologists as having validity. * Stage 1: Oral | Up to 1 Year | Erogenous Zone = Mouth | Problems with oral fixation thought to lead to things like persistent chewing, smoking, kissing, oral sex, gullibilit...
Why don't Muslim Refugees go to Rich Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or UAE instead of Europe?
All of those countries are south of Syria, requiring that anyone fleeing cross ISIS territory and a true desert. Their populations are fractional - they're basically microstates. And they have not signed the convention on refugees, so there's no telling that they wouldn't just be shot crossing the border. Syria is clos...
Why do I care about other people's opinions?
Because we are pack animals by nature. This means we inherently realize that we must be accepted by the pack in order to maintain our individual survival. When others do not agree with us then that is a form of rejection that threatens our security within the pack, which ultimately threatens our chances of continued su...
Why certain foods stink up a microwave when heated up
Well a microwave works by using radiation energy to vibrate the molecules of WATER in your foods to warm them up. The warming water is what makes your food cook / heat up. And water of course evaporates off the food, and onto your microwave itself. With it, it brings particles of food, sometimes oil in your food will b...
What is preventing us to make more of the drug Quaaludes since it doesn't exist anymore? (Depicted in Wolf of Wallstreet)
It's mostly been replaced by better, safer, modern drugs. Benzodiazepines have less problems with addiction, drug interactions & are harder to overdose on. Additionally, there's a wide variety to choose from, with different strengths, onset times & durations. In parts of the world, clandestine drug chemists continue to...
Why can we see ultraviolet if it is outside the visible spectrum?
You can't. If you shine UV on some things, like liquid laundry detergent, it makes the substance glow brightly. This is not you seeing UV, it is a substance absorbing UV photons and re-radiating the energy as visible wavelength photons you can see.
Hermaphroditic and pre/post-op transgendered people
In LGBT theory, there's a distinction between sex and gender. Roughly, your *sex* is the physical traits you have, while your *gender* is the cultural gender role you identify with. That's important to understand the rest. Transgender people are simply those whose gender does not match their birth sex. So for instance,...
What is rooting your phone, using TWRP, and flashing a new OS?
Go to Xda-developers, much easier than explaining. It's different for every phone. Essentially, you unlock the bootloader, change the recovery then find a compatible ROM you like/that works and go for it Don't do any of the above without reading all you can read. Source: bricked phones in the past lol
How do Public Relations agencies have so much influence over the news?
Media needs content, and have people who do book reviews, movie reviews, etc. So they are going to cover some book/movie/etc. PR agencies get their particular book or movie in front of that person for consideration, by providing a copy of the book, or access to a screening, etc. as well as access to interview the autho...
Covelant bonds, hydrogen bonds, polar bonds, and ionic bonds
Chemistry and bonding has to do with electrons. Valence electrons are the velcro of chemistry. Ionic bonds are made with very unequal sharing of electrons. The ions gain or lose electrons, become ionized, and this causes them to be associated with one another. Covalent bonds describe a situation where both atoms have e...
How come some women get their period while being pregnant?
When an egg is fertilized, women produce a hormone called HCG which stops our periods. It's unknown really why some of us still bleed, imagine a false positive period. But only a doctor will able to determine wether that bleeding is safe. Edit: a lot of things also affect women, when it comes to monthly flo visits, suc...
When we look directly above outside, the sky appears to be a darker blue, however in the distance it looks more like a lighter blue/grey?
When you observe the sky by looking up 90 degrees you are observing it though less atmosphere. When you look at the sky in the distance, near the horizon, you're basically observing it through as much atmosphere as possible, that results in it seeming less bright and colorful.Looking up is viewing outer space through t...
The devices government and public officials wear at conferences with multiple languages.
It is basically a radio that connects to a translator who is translating what is said into a language they speakThese are small radios which transmit the audio from the room to a human translator. These human translators then translate the speech into a language understood by the diplomat. The diplomat is basically jus...
Why do different people have different tastes?
Some things are bad for us so the people that didn't like it survived, the rest died . Some things are good for us, so people who liked it survived , while the other people died out . The other part of the question, why do our tastes differ: There are many things that influence this. Most things don't really make us an...
Why do we (think) we look better in the mirror than in photos?
When you use a mirror, you aren't seeing the way you really look. You're seeing yourself flipped horizontally. If another person was standing in front of you and you both raised a left arm, the arms would be on opposite sides, rather than directly across. But your reflection raises the one directly across. You get so u...
Why does it help to "rock" a baby
Couple reasons. 1 - it simulates life in the womb, rocking swaying motion experienced as mom walks around. 2 - you ever get upset and want a hug? So do babies. They are comforted being held and knowing you are close.
Can someone explain musical interval ratio to me?
An 88-key piano could be a visual aid for interval ratios if you didn't mind that the lowest note would have to be attached to a string 152.21851072 times as long as that attached to the highest string. We don't like for our pianos to span *entire* concert halls, though, so we use thicker strings for them low notes. It...
Why do we use proof for alcohol on alcoholic drinks when we also use percentage of alcohol by volume?
I believe proof is a different measure stemming back to the days when you couldn't just accurately test the exact composition of the drink or consistently manufacture it to a standard. Its just stuck since then. If I remember how it works correctly, its a measure of how a mixture of the drink and gunpowder react when e...
Why does putting a slice of bread in a ziploc bag with cookies, make the cookies chewier?
The cookies absorb the moisture from the bread. You can do it with an apple, too. That's what my mom always does for her Xmas cookies.interesting side note: "why do biscuits get soggy and cakes get dry?". Its because they both tend towards the moisture in the air. biscuits start dryer than the air so get soggy as the m...
Why do pools have fifteen minute breaks?
Most states by law require it. This break is mainly for safety as it gives parents a chance to talk or see that their kids are still behaving well. On hot sunny days it is recommended that you grab shade and rest from direct sunlight. It's also a chance that lifeguards use to check out their areas thoroughly. Their job...
If your identity is stolen and credit fraud is committed, how does a person redeem their financial integrity?
There isn't really any financial integrity to redeem. You didn't make those charges, and so you're not responsible for them. You don't have to pay the money that the thief spent. Fill out a police report and notify the various lending companies to have them remove any charges you're not responsible for. If there's anyt...
what if Wikipedia doesn't get enough donations?
Change their policy and start getting revenue from ads. That's one possibility that they says will never happen, but I feel is always on the book. They will use ad before shutting down.They have a lot of money on book, so they will be able to truck on a while, but they might get vulnerable to being sued, without enough...
What about the sound of others chewing drives me absolutely insane?
As you've mentioned it's misophonia. One way of describing the emotion illicted by chewing, or whatever it is you react to is comparing it to a form of Synesthesia. In this sense it's because a specific action/sound is actually linked in your brain with your emotion of anger. > It has been suggested that there is a con...
Why does the standard layout in Word (2013) uses so much line spacing?
The default line spacing for Word is 1.15, which is generally good for most documents. Students will often need to increase this to 1.5 or 2.0, but for most printed material 1.15 to 1.35 is ideal. You can reset the defaults [here]Double-spaced is standard for many types of writing .The more recent versions of Word have...
9 times tables using your fingers...how does that work?
Because every time you multiply by 9, it's like adding 9 a certain number of times. What's unique about adding 9 is that it is the same as adding 10 and subtracting 1. So, when you go from 9 to 18, you put the first finger up and put the next finger down . You can't do this with 8 or any other numbers, because the numb...
The difference between England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom.
Best explanation: _URL_0_ **TL;DW:** United Kingdom contains Great Britain , which contains England Great Britain is an island which contains England, Scotland, and Wales. Ireland is another one of the British Isles, which contains Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is a sovereign sta...
Why is there so much nostalgia surrounding the Nintendo 64?
Well, there were a lot of great games for it, like Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Duke Nukem 64, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and so on. But for me, personally, I love it because it was my first console. All the memories of days too rainy to play outside, or just days when I wanted to be lazy, are tied ...
When my ex calls me and I suddenly feel a wave of discomfort, what is happening in my body that makes me feel this way?
Anxiety. Ending a relationship is usually a very stressful undertaking. Whether it is ends with a sudden betrayal, or a long period of unhappiness and conflict, there is usually a lot of pain, uncertainty and mistrust after it ends. Sudden contact can bring these feelings to the forefront, and make you anticipate exper...
Why does no amount of gel/spray/product keep my hair from standing back up but if I wear a hat or a hoodie for 5 minutes after I shower my hair stays flat all day?
because gel/spray/product binds your hairs together. It doesn't 'press' them down. Think about if we poured goop on some corn fields, and then drove through them with big trucks. They wouldn't necessarily lay all the way down. But if we sat big huge iron slabs on them for about 10 minutes, they would be flat as a panca...
Why does a good speaker cable increase the sound quality?
Most people will tell you that there's little to no difference between a fantastic speaker cable and an adequate one for most applications, but there's definitely a difference between an adequate one and a shitty one. There needs to be enough good copper or other conducting material to transfer the whole signal without...
Why are the primary colours we are taught red, yellow and blue whereas the primary colours of science are red ,blue and green?
There are two main methods of generating useful colors: additive and subtractive. The additive method would be like a TV or computer monitor, and combines red, green, and blue . The subtractive method is for pigments, like laser printers or painters and uses cyan, magenta, and yellow along with "key" which typically me...
I thought diplomats could not be arrested, or is diplomatic immunity a myth?
Diplomatic immunity in practice has qualifications and restrictions. Serious crimes or crimes unrelated to a person's diplomatic service, are often prosecuted. The punishment might still be permanent expulsion instead of imprisonment, in some cases. Also, the diplomat's own country can revoke their immunity if they bel...
How come astronauts can do space walks even though the temperature in space is -445C?
So, first, the temperature in space isn't -445 C. I believe absolute zero as defined by Kelvin is -273 C. Space has the background cosmic microwave radiation and that's at about 2.5 Kelvin or -270 C. Space is the closest thing we have to an actual vacuum. So there are no particles to carry away the heat. The only way t...
Why does AES encryption work, when the password gives away the key anyway?
[Key stretching]. The password you enter isn't used directly, instead it goes through another process which took relatively fast compared to user interaction, but slow enough to slowdown brute force attack.
What is computational lithography?
Nowadays, integrated circuits have feature sizes that are significantly smaller than the wavelength of light being used to define them . From a pure physics point of view, this was thought in the past to be impossible. But by using some tricks it can be done, and is done every day. One of the big tricks is by using pha...
Intelligence Quotient / IQ, what exactly is it and what are its criticisms? Why is it potentially wrong?
IQ is a measure of how 'intelligent' you are compared to the average person your age where you live. Having an IQ of 100 by definition means that you are exactly average for your age and area. A 20 year old and 12 year old writing the same test and marking the exact same answers would get different results. The 12 year...
Why does Alcohol bloc k our Memory?
So there's a couple things. Memory has two parts the short term memory and the long term memory. Short term memory is the stuff you remember for like 30 seconds , after that you forget. Long term memory lasts forever.For short-term memory get turned into long term memory you need to pay attention to it for a long perio...
Why is BIOS updating so dangerous to the computer?
The BIOS is responsible for the very lowest level of setup on your PC before the operating system is started. The processor knows how to talk to a BIOS, and the BIOS's main job is to find and load the operating system. The reason ruining the BIOS could brick your computer is that if the BIOS load fails or the image tha...
Why are Olympic swimming pools square, rather than a loop like a racetrack?
**TL;DR: Launching points, part of the tested skill is efficient turning, and sight.** Oval tracks have staggered starting points for short-distance runs like the 300 meter that involve having to traverse part of the oval's curve but less than a full lap. The intention there is to ensure everyone ends up in their lane ...
How does a radio turn waves into music
Music is just tones/sounds played in a pleasing pattern. Radios play sound. Sound is a variation in the pressure of air waves which becomes audio , with a microphone . Radio is transmitted with a carrier wave, with the audio signal modulating the carrier by strength or by frequency ', "There are many types of transmiss...
How is an antenna length calculated and why?
An antenna is made to a ratio of the wavelength of the frequency.Wavelength is just the speed of light constant, divided by frequency.Roughly, it is 300,000,000 m/s, so a 100,000,000 hz signal will have a 3m wavelength. An antenna usually is 1/4 or 1/2 that. Antennas not correctly "tuned" will not be as sensitive.
Why, after swallowing a pill, do I get the feeling that the pill is still somewhere in my throat when it isn't?
The ever-reliable [Yahoo answers] provides a plausible explanation: the pill irritates the lining of your throat as it goes down, causing a little bit of swelling.
Are police stakeouts really in a car? In plain sight? Like two idiots in a movie? And who's stupid enough not to notice something like this?
I would absolutely be stupid enough to not notice this. I live in the middle of a populous city. At any given time my street has 50 cars on it and a bunch of people milling around. Further, if you're not LOOKING for someone to be staking you out, you're just not going to notice.There used to be a show on Netflix called...
Why do humans have a "surge" through their body whenever feeling extreme emotions
I've never heard it called a 'frisson' in my life. Nice whoring out a subreddit though. Subtle. When you experience extreme emotions your body releases hormones such as adreneline.Your muscles, skin nerves, organs and blood vessels react to hormones. Your body releases chemicals. They act upon preprogrammed biological ...
How come hard pasta, once boiled, stays soft once cooled?
Because it water content in the cooked pasta doesn't go away when it cooled. "Hard" pasta is dried, cooking reintroduced moisture making it soft.
What are tax deductions and how do they work?
The government takes a cut from your income. But if you spend your income in specific ways, they'll decide not to take that cut, as a way to encourage that sort of spending. For example, they may take 10% of your income, but if you use a chunk of that income to donate to a charity, they'll let you donate all of it. So ...
Why do my headphones buzz when I have an electric blanket turned on top of me?
When an electric current runs through a wire, it produces a magnetic field. In turn, magnetic fields can induce current in nearby wires. If your headphone wire is near the blanket, the blanket could actually be inducing a current in that wire. That would cause a buzzing sound.
What's the point in buying secure USB flash drives that require you to have a password if you can encrypt a regular flash drive?
Because some people aren't that smart. They also might be hardened physically to be waterproof, shock resistant, or generally ruggedized so that'll cost more.
Why is it that if you are near-sighted and look into a mirror, the images at a distance are blurry even if the mirror is right in front of your face?
Images in a mirror have an apparent distance. We perceive this distance when looking in the mirror. You perceive objects in a mirror as being the distance from you eye to the mirror *plus* the distance from the object to the mirror away from you. So, you see the object at its apparent distance, and it's blurry because ...
How was the stereotype that 2LT are bad at navigating created?
Navigation is a skill that requires a lot of hands-on experience - its not something you easily learn from studying a book. A second lieutenant is generally of the 'fresh graduate' variety, which means they have little to no 'hands on' experience with a lot of things. Put A and ab together and you've got the stereotype...
Why did Adam West play fictional versions of himself in so many comedies (Fairly Oddparents, Family Guy, Simpsons)?
IMO, he was able to see himself as others saw him; campy, dry, witty, charming, and kinda strange. To name a few of my favorite things about him. If only we could all see ourselves in as clear of a mirror as his.
Why do the days go by faster the older that you get?
Imagine you have been alive for 10 minutes. 10% of your life and everything you've experienced is summed up in 1 minute. Now imagine you've been alive for 100 minutes. 1 of those minutes is now 1% of everything you know life to be. You perceive time to be flying by as you get older because you have a larger sample of e...
How come we can see the moon during the day when its only supposed to show at night?
Who says the moon is only supposed to be visible at night? When the moon is in first or third quarter- that is, when it's half full-, it's 90° away from the sun. At sunrise or sunset, it'll be in the sky, and it's bright enough to see during daylight.
In the US, how are private apartment designated / advertised as "senior living" able to lease to seniors without running up against age discrimination against the young?
> I thought that in the US / Seattle, it was illegal to deny housing on the basis of protected class, and age is a protected class. That's not quite accurate. The [Fair Housing Act] prevents discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Age isn't one of the protected classes that's incl...
Why are snowflakes always hexagonal?
Because ice crystals are hexagonal. Ice can actually form in different shapes depending on the pressure it's under when it freezes; but the one it forms in the atmosphere has hexagonal crystals. So, then the question is, why are ice crystals hexagonal? Well, you know how a water molecule is H2O, meaning "one oxygen ato...
If water goes down a plughole in opposite directions on opposite sides of the earth, is there a point/location where it switches? I.e. goes neither way and falls straight down
No it is a myth, this doesn't actually happen it has been perpetuated by many websites emails etc. but the Coriolis effect doesn't happen in plugholes .
Why does Coke (or any soda) taste a lot sweeter when it’s at room temperature, compared to when it’s cold?
Coldness numbs the taste receptors on the tongue and mouth. It can hide a variety of sins . It can hide sweetness , bitterness , etc. Also, room temperature soda gas less carbonation. Carbon dioxide forms an acid in solution that can balance sweetness. Flat soda at any temperature tastes sweeter than carbonated soda at...
Why is Greece so upset at Germany for its own debt problems - despite being bailed out numerous times? (I don't know enough about the financial system)
They're not mad because of their debt problems. They're mad because of the solutions Germany is proposing to their debt problems; specifically, that they should drastically cut social programs as a precondition of getting a loan. Cutting those social programs will hurt people, so many Greeks feel like the cuts shouldn'...
Why do things seem further away and smaller when I take a picture of them than when i am just looking at it?
Odds are your camera lens is wider than the lens on your eyeball. Most phones uses these to capture the widest amount of info without substantial distortion. However your eyeball sees at approximately a 50mm equivalent and zooms in even tighter on details of interest.
How does Reddit put what's on your front page? Is it a formula?
Yes, it is a formula. highly upvoted posts get put on the front page, with a bias for newer posts. you need more and more votes to stay on the front page. The exact formula is not known, though.
Why is it a "social faux pas" to talk about who you vote for?
Some of it is that a private ballot is seen as a protection against being forced to vote for a particular candidate. You may have an oppressive boss, spouse, parent, whatever but they never have to know which lever you pulled inside that little curtain. Some of it is just that politics tends to make a lot of people pas...
How is it that putting on too strong prescription glasses messes up your eyes, yet binoculars are completely fine?
They don't. Its a common myth that wearing glasses 'weaken' the eyes by making them lazy, and many optometrists used to under prescribe patients because of it. What does damage the eyes is not enough sun and focussing on one point too much. You should take regular breaks from working at a desk for example and look at s...
How is Morse code always accessible even when traditional radio communication is down?
Morse code is very simple, and has a very low data-rate, so it can get through even when reception is very poor. That said, it's a bit of a TV trope that communications can be restored using Morse. Were you starting to rebuild from scratch then it might be a waypoint but thinking that it's a common fallback is a bit un...
Why do people get knocked unconscious if they are hit hard enough in the head?
If you mean the immediate why, a blow to the carotid sinus nerves can cause an immediate drop in blood pressure that makes you faint. If you mean the teleological why, what benefit comes from it that evolution selected for this trait, we can only hypothesize: - If you're attacked by a predator / dangerous herbivore, ap...
the process of making meth. Is Breaking bad realistic?
From what I've read, they retained chemists to make sure it was realistic, but changed minor details here and there such that you couldn't actually make meth. So in broad strokes, w/r/t ingredients and general procedures, it was correct.
- I used to remember my dreams almost every morning. Now, I only remember one every few months. Why?
Do you smoke weed? I've noticed if I smoked the previous day I'm far more like to not have remembered my dreams. I've also heard apple juice promotes how vivid your dreams are. But I don't know how true that is.if you keep a dream diary next to your bed and write down what you were dreaming just before you woke up, you...
How does newly minted money enter circulation?
The answer depends on whether you're talking about newly minted money or the money supply increasing. I know you said newly minted money but sometimes people aren't entirely clear about the difference. Newly minted money just means fresh bills/coins. The money supply increasing means more dollars out there. **Newly min...
Why do companies continue to produce 3D Blu-Ray discs if 3D TVs have been out of production for a few years?
There are still movies being made in 3D, so it costs nothing extra to produce, there is an audience who will buy them who already own the TVs, so it's a way to make a few extra bucks.
why do lizards dart out into your path when you're walking by, thus making it really difficult NOT to step on them?
They assume you are trying to eat them and aiming at their starting location. Trying not to step on them isn't something they are adapted to deal with.
What is old people smell and where does it come from?
Their skin turns over much slower because the keratinocytes are not produced as quickly from stem cells. This leads to the skin kind of rotting a little bit . Life is kind of a bitch.
Why is affirmative action based on race and not family income?
First off: "White guilt" is a phrase coined by the KKK so I 'd try to avoid using it in such discussions in the future. I guess the concern is that a white kid whos parents earn less than 20k or something still has advantages over a kid who isn't. Also, how do you know this wouldn't make things worse? Like companies /c...
Why are students fresh out of highschool allowed to take out huge student loans without ever working or having credit?
While frankly kind of ridiculous, the current system helps to even out the playing field. Without access to some form of financial aid, intelligent but poor individuals would be unable to get a higher education from a good university. All that being said, our current system is completely broken because it encourages ev...
How are Professional Athletes paid for post Season play?
No, no, these don't wipe themselves without getting paid. They are paid a "prize" for each game, which gets larger as goes toward the championship. The money only seems good for regular people-- it is small for the superstarsNot exactly. They get bonuses depending how far the team goes. _URL_0_ They are motivated by no...
without ever looking in a mirror, how do animals know what species they belong to and not mistake themselves as for another one?
It depends on the animal. More complex creatures like mammals and birds learn it. Birds imprint on the creature that raises them. Mammals have a childhood and exposure to their parents and possibly siblings. From then on, anything that looks/smells kinda like that animal and acts about the same way gets treated like on...
what gets you to sneeze so much when you catch a cold?
This is the reaction the body has to attempt to get rid of virus, bacteria and pollen. This why you should wash your hands after blowing your nose.
Why do downloads stop and start?
Web servers process requests, and aim to answer them as quickly as possible. Depending on the server software and config, requests are either handled until finished, or handled round-robin so everyone had a chance. Downloads are big so it takes a lot of packets to complete. Therefore, in round-robin, you will have to t...
How do police recover "deleted files"?
Not usually. The bytes that make up your file's data are still there. All that get's deleted is the index to the start of the file. Its like in the library: you're looking for a book. You go to the computer and it tells you what floor/row/shelf its on. But if you destroyed that book's entry in the computer . for all in...
How does almond milk curdle?
It curdles like regular milk because it has fat, protein and sugar similar to regular milk. Bacteria in the almond milk eat the sugar and excrete acid. This acid causes the protein chains to shrivel up and form tight webs that trap fat globules and squeeze out the water. These lumps of fat globules trapped by protein w...
why are weapons used to hunt animals always piercing but those used to kill men could be hacking/slashing as well?
I'd say it's mostly to do with the distance factor. A spear or arrow can be used to kill an animal from about 25-50yds, give or take. A slashing or cutting weapon would require you to be less than a couple of feet away from the critter you're trying to slay. During war, you're trying to inflict damage in the most effic...