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Why is fog transparent at close distances but opaque at long ones? | It's the same as a forest. A group of trees 50 feet long you could probably see someone on the other side. Increase that with more trees and you're not able to see the other side. |
What does "going bankrupt" actually mean? Why can companies still conduct business as usual after going bankrupt? Doesn't going bankrupt mean that you have to cease all operations? | No there are different types of bankruptcy. Chapter 11 means roughly that there isn't enough money to pay the creditors so debts to them are renegotiated and the business continues. Chapter 7 means the company is going out of business and liquidating all of their assets. |
I sprained my finger over 8 years ago, and to this day it still hurts if I try to crack it a certain way. Why is this? | It is possible that when you sprained it, you inadvertently stretched some of the ligaments that keep the bones in their proper places in the joint. That's part of what a strain is - stretching ligaments beyond their limits. Ligaments typically don't return to normal after they've been stretched too far, so when you go... |
How are criminals able to make fake yet usable identities and passports to get around (onto airplanes etc.)? | Creating a fake passport good enough to pass scrutiny at a major western airport would range from extremely difficult to impossible, especially with the introduction of passports containing RFID chips and computers to verify the information on them. So if someone wants to travel under a false identity the most likely t... |
If we want powerful processors, why we don't just make them bigger? | We do. Intel have some enormous 20-core processors, for example. Why those chips don't sell in the consumer segment of the market is that their size makes them very probe to poor yields and requires much more raw materials to construct the chips, making them very expensive.Power = speed . Distance within a processor is... |
How can diabetes cause someone to lose their foot? | Diabetes is a condition where there is usually a high amount of sugar in the blood for a long period of time, a level that can not be corrected because you either do not produce insulin or your body can not respond to a normal level of insulin. If these sugar levels are not treated with medication, they can cause a who... |
Evolution, Mutations, and DNA | DNA is like a story of how to put a living thing together. Sometimes when you're telling a story, you make a mistake and change part of it. Most of the time, that mistake ruins the story, but sometimes, that mistake ends up making the story better or more exciting. That's how mutation works too. Sometimes when the DNA ... |
When I go to bed and there is total silence. Why does is there a "loud" noise in my head? | And then there's [the hum.]I became aware of this phenomenon after reading [this article.]I don't hear it myself, not sure if it is relevant to you. |
How is eminent domain constitutional? | What part of the Constitution do you believe it violates? The Constitution lays out pretty specific rules, powers and rights. Just because something doesn't seem just or moral or cool doesn't mean it's automatically unconstitutional. |
I have had call display at home for over a decade that shows the name and number of who is calling, why in 2016 this feature is still not on my cell phone? | In the States anyway, that feature IS there so long as it's a landline phone. Here, cell phone numbers are not public information like landlines are, so there is no way for a third party to access a name/number combination without a court order, and that's not likely to happen just for Caller ID. Third-party apps get a... |
the arguments against "Guns, Germs, and Steel" | Every one I've ever seen has been either:A) a slight nuance to add to something in the book B) an argument that is actually addressed in the book itself, indicating that the person making the argument probably didn't read GGandS very closely C) poorly researched bs meant to get attention It's like a top comment with a ... |
How do people who work for services like Uber eats make profit? | Uber takes a percentage of the cost of the meal and uses part of that to supplement the drivers pay. For Uber Eats, your car can be much older, so you don't have to worry about depreciation due to mileage as much. Additionally, if you're in a populated city and only work during boost hours, you can make decent money. D... |
how do we know how much a currency is worth at a given moment? What's the primary source? | The Foreign Exchange market. Its basically a market of stock exchanges but for currencies instead of corporate stock or commodities. To my knowledge, most quoted exchange rates are the current price on the London market, which is the largest. The markets aren't actually connected, but because of the way markets worth t... |
Why is it that when I open a bottle of water for the first time, a bit of water vapor comes out? | The bottles are pressurized to prevent bending or denting during transportation, it's a little bit of air-pressure that's escaping. |
How is it not a HIPPA violation for the front desk at the doctors office to ask me what I'm there for out loud with tons of people around? | Well technically it's not the doctor saying what you are there for, so I don't see any way it could conflict with confidentiality. I don't think anyone would complain of you asked to give that information via a note |
Why is it some vegetarians look the other way on eating fish, while they won't eat other kinds of meat? | People become vegetarians for all kinds of reason. Someone who does it for ethical reason might feel that fish aren't exposed to the same inhumane conditions that exist on factory farms. Someone who does it for health reason might feel that seafood doesn't care the same health risks as meat or poultry. |
If large buildings are made of concrete, shouldn't they be able to build it so a fire can't spread from one floor to another? | We simply cannot make a building 100% fireproof. Even with concrete and steel, there is plenty of flammable material inside a building. We rate materials in time, meaning how much time they can resist fire. Over time we developed norms that tell you how much time different elements should be able to resist depending on... |
Why am I so much more vascular after a hot bath or shower? | You're hot. Your internal temperature is higher than your body wants it to be. It dilates the veins near your skin so that blood, which is carrying some of the heat from your body, can move up near your skin where it can give off some of that heat. |
Aren't "Gambler's Fallacy" and "The Rule of Averages" at odds with each other? | In the short term, yes. But you're making a mistake if you apply law of average in the short term. Eg, if you flip a coin 5 times and get all heads and assume that will average out over the next 20 flips. Applying it to the short term is essentially the gambler's fallacy. If you do flip 5 heads in a row, the expected v... |
Why does the "the big red truck" sound normal, while "the red big truck" sounds weird? | It is all about what is normal. It is actually one of the big problems when learning Dutch. In Dutch the order of words is much more set than in English. People who try to learn Dutch have a lot of trouble getting the hang of this. They can't understand why the order is wrong, but to a Dutch native speaker it will just... |
Can you just direct any private ship to help with a search and rescue operation? Do they get reimbursed? | Ex Merchant Navy.If the coastguard get a distress call they'll call up any merchant ship with enough fuel and survivor capacity and tell you to go get them if they can't respond immediately themselves. I was on big box boats so we could hold about 80 people if push came to shove. All officers have SAR training as a req... |
how does the same hormone exert different effects in different target cells? | It depends on the cell and the hormone. Some types of hormones bind to receptors on the cell surface. Others can passively diffuse through the cell membrane and bind to receptors inside of the cell. Different hormones have different effects at different receptors. Exactly what a receptor does depends on the proteins th... |
Why do animals seem to easily get asleep no matter the noise, smell or light conditions? | well dog never have to go to sleep it's not like your dog has to set an alarm to get up early and dog the next morning. Humans would have a lot less trouble going to sleep if we only had to do it when we actually felt like it. Also who would we ever know if they are having trouble sleeping? |
ELI5: Why is there a flu season? Surely the flu is around all the time. | Vitamin D is important for your immune system. We get it by exposing our skin to sunlight and during cold season we don't get enough of it. This leads to weaker immune system, compared to hot season. Cold air leads to drier nose, preventing body from effectively defending against virus infections in our respiratory sys... |
Given how selfies have become so popular, why aren't phone manufacturers making phones with front cameras as powerful as their back cameras? | It's more expensive, it's not needed, it takes up precious space, it's not in demand, it's more expensive, it's more expensive |
Why did Carnivores evolve if there is so much less energy at the top of the food chain/web? | What do you mean, there's less energy at the top of the food chain? There is much, much more energy at the top of the food chain. When a wolf eats a cow, they get weeks worth of energy from grass, processed by the cow, all in one meal. There was a discovery documentary about a decade ago that was all about this relatio... |
Why are people eating Tide balls? | For the same reason people used to put banana peels in their bong in the 70's, or throw sharp daggers at each other , or dance the Macarena. Humans see a behavior, then it gets attention, so more people do it to get attention. |
How do trees in cities get water when the ground surrounding them is covered by concrete for miles around? | Asphalt is semi-porous so a bit of water gets through. Most street trees manage to get roots into pipes or something. There is soil under all that hardscape for some trees but trees in urban environments usually last an average of 13 years. That's the tip of the iceberg that is urban forestry. There are lots of people ... |
If a self driving car hits and kills someone in a freak accident, who is held responsible? Would google be paying damages for every wreck? How will insurance work if drivers dont matter? | Depends on the circumstances of the accident. Also, there's soooooo many cameras on the vehicle, that it'd be fairly easy to work out the cause and responsibility |
Why do companies allow piracy to varying degrees? Why do they tolerate being ripped off? | Some software companies, like Microsoft, Adobe and Autodesk, tolerate it because they don't sell *just* the product. They also sell a costumer service and also is better for them if everyone knows how to use **their** software instead the competence's. |
why do people who are quitting smoking sometimes get sick/ get pneumonia? | Many doctors say that there is no such link, and that if it happens it's just a coincidence. There seems to be some debate about it even among doctors, though. |
- Why is it that we can hold our bladders for hours, but as we get closer to a toilet it becomes uncontrollable? | Definitely psychological association with the toilet being where we can actually relieve ourselves. I remember as a child I would wet the bed when I dreamed about being in a bathroom stall. So glad that doesn't happen to me anymore ", 'As a kid I used to hold my breath while we were driving in a tunnel, no matter the r... |
How does being poor cause failure in school? | As a student who lives with a poor parent. I'll explain my situation. First of all I live in a 2 bedroom apartment with 4 other people. My mother, older sister, little brother and myself. As you could imagine space is one of the bigger issues. There is no area where I can sit and focus by myself in a room, as I share m... |
Why do baby car seats expire after 5 years? | Just liability. They don't want it resold and reused then have to deal with any problems the second hand consumer has.Reminds me of bike helmets. Those expire as soon as you have a significant accident even If no damage is showing', "It has more to do with the way safety regulations change and progress. Also, recalls. ... |
How come the super moon appears bigger like in some pictures but it looks like it barely changed size where I am? | so while the moon is 14% wider, the main part of the super moon is something called the Moon Illusion. You'll notice that most of the really large moons you see in those awesome photos is when the moon is just on the horizon, now this illusion plays off of linear perspective and works in the same way as the [Ponzo Illu... |
Why do so many things seem to be subject to the Iron Triangle ((Good, Fast, Cheap), pick two)? | Thinking in terms of building a game character helps here: You have 10 build points to create your item, be it an engine or a network or a kitchen table. There are 3 variables you can put those points into: Good, Fast, Cheap. Each variable can have a value between 1 and 5 and 3 being average. You can go with Good = 3, ... |
If you go light speed for twenty years and came back to earth, why would you only age 5 days? | Let's clarify things. You in your space shuttle saw only 5 days pass. Those of us you left behind on earth saw 20 years pass. |
why must I first dial 1 before calling this number? | They do. See why you can dial local numbers without the area code. Source: 8 years running softpbx's", 'You'll note that of the "sets" of data in a phone number -- the three of the area code, or the 7-digit phone number itself -- don't ever start with a one. The one tells the phone system that "the next three digits ar... |
Why don't people use emojis on reddit? | Because you can't see them on *most* desktop browsers. Most traffic on reddit is *not* mobile. e: without extensions |
Why do most grocery/shopping carts work terribly? | It's not like they have a person tuning them up every so often. They pretty get used and abused until their wheels fall off.Carts are left out in all sorts of weather. Rain/snow/sleet/ice/sun .whatever can add wear and tear |
If padlocks are mass produced, how do they make sure that each key is different from the other? | Haven't checked with padlocks, but fun fact: when a retailer like Lowe's gets a shipment of keyed entry lock sets, each box they get are keyed the same throughout - it's easier to manufacture that way, it's convenient for people wanting to have the same key for each lock on their house, and the security risk is minimal... |
How is it that scientists were able to completely eradicate smallpox, but they cant do that with other diseases? | As others have said, there are a number of factors. People have mentioned the cost and the effectiveness of the vaccine, which are both hugely important. Another big factor is whether or not the disease has an animal reservoir - if it can survive outside of humans, it can always come back. Another thing that I don't th... |
What exactly does it mean to put sanctions on Russia? | Basically means they will make it illegal to export and import certain things from Russia. Or only import and export a certain number of things. > Is this breaking trade agreements? Not really you can go around trade agreements. Say something like ball bearings. Its something you don't think of but without it its VERY ... |
Why is it that someone with depression can't just choose to "cheer up"? | Depression is a chemical imbalance in your brain. Telling someone to cheer up is like telling someone with chronic pain to just get over it because it's all in their head. Think of something in your life that you just can't understand - like a really difficult math problem. You're looking over the formula and trying yo... |
How do homeplug/powerline home networking solutions work? The mains socket Ethernet things that make use of a house's mains electric. | It's actually more similar to Wi-Fi than to traditional ethernet over twisted pair. The data you send over it is modulated onto carrier waves, similar to how music is modulated using FM for radio . But then, instead of sending that data into the ether with an antenna, you inject it into your home's electrical wiring. P... |
Why do we laugh when other people get hurt | The examples you described have a *surprise* element that makes them comedic--an element that's critical to many forms of comedy. It's much harder to imagine a funny, non-surprising example. Like someone being tortured slowly, for example. Hehe.I really want to know the answer to this. I always laugh when people are in... |
Rooting an Android phone - What exactly does it mean, why do it, and how is it done? | The Android operating system is based on an operating system called linux, commonly used on servers and supercomputers as well as all manner of other computers. This in turn is based on the UNIX system, a venerable server and mainframe system. In Linux and UNIX systems, there are two types of users: regular users and t... |
Explain the science behind how the victims of Pompeii were able to be preserved in a plaster instead of being completely disintegrated. | The ash falling isn't necessarily burning hot. [Here's an example] from an eruption in Chile. Notice that leaves are still in trees. The ash is just very heavy, as it is basically stone dust. When the ash falls and buries a person, it's kind of like being buried in snow. It compresses and sort of solidifies so that whe... |
Why does the microwave make food soft but the oven makes food crispy? | I can imagine that it has to do with the types of heat that each appliance uses. Ovens use dry heat. Microwaves heat water molecules inside of food. So it's kind of like toasting vs. steaming or something like that. I'm not an expert thought. This is just based off of my limited knowledge. |
How do people afford the lifestyle of an extreme adventure enthusiast? | My girlfriend knows someone who is a nurse and extreme sports/travel enthusiast. She saves up all the money she needs for a long trip, then quits her job and goes. In order to support this lifestyle, she owns very little. She rents a crap $500/mo apartment, and doesn't own a car. When she had enough money, she just qui... |
Why are cars either right or left hand drive? | It *might* be better for the driver to sit in the middle, but then there wouldn't be room for passengers. And historically, vehicles were narrow enough that judgement and control weren't an issue. |
What's going on when i get the pins and needles feeling in my hands and/or feet? | It happens you put pressure on parts of the body that cut off blood supply to the nerves. The pressure closes the tiny blood vessels that the blood comes from on the way to the nerve. Nerves require high energy consumption so if they can't get their blood the fibres start to deactiviate, and the first ones to go are th... |
While swimming in the ocean I noticed that when a wave comes, many people will raise their arms up so they don't get wet, even though they already are. Why is this? | OK, so this is pure speculation, but I am guessing that it has nothing to do with keeping their arms dry and everything to do with keeping their balance when getting hit in the chest by the wave. See pictures of people trying to maintain their balance on icy surfaces and you'll see the same pose. |
How did Alexander the Great conquer so much land? How did Greece end up losing it? | Greek here. He won, let's use that word, so much land through better strategy mostly and good supply lines. He lost it because we murdered him because he was such a bastard at a personal level that even aristotle his teacher ended up hating him. And us the atheneans Oh boy did we hate him. When he died his generals did... |
David Blane's card trick where the card the victim guessed ends up in pocket, wallet, etc. | Street magicians were pretty famous for using plants. I don't know if they still do however. And I don't know if Blane does either. |
Why do so many people think that evolution and God are mutually exclusive? | The people who think it's mutually exclusive are the ones who interpret creation stories as literal. Meaning God literally took seven days to create the earth around 10,000 years ago or so. Other religious people who accept that creation myths are metaphorical tend not to have as much of a problem with evolution, once ... |
Why do I get sleepy when I read? | I once asked this question to my optometrist. The answer he gave was that eye strain caused your eyes to get the tired feeling that you associate with sleep, meaning you feel sleepy. As for why you can read the internet for hours and hours, I don't know about eye strain there , but there is connection with blue-based l... |
Why do men sweat more (visibly) than women? | Men are usually hotter because of higher muscle density and activity. Also women don't want to be caught with sweat stains, so they'd rather be late to work than show up unpresentable. My mum thought me this |
Why do most fans, humidifiers, etc, seem to go from off, to the highest setting and then down from there? | Humidifiers and the like do it because they contain a fan. In all of these cases, it's a safety feature. Fans run at different speeds by using different sets of windings in the motor. These are literally wires that are wound to form a coil, which is part of how an electric motor works. Using more or fewer windings in a... |
Why do news stations not turn off candidates' microphones if they don't want them to talk over each other or go over time limits at debates? | Journalism is supposed to serve free expression and objectivity as ideals of the profession. As little as 15 or 20 years ago, it would be inconceivable for any kind of news-type show to consider cutting a guest's mic unless they became profane or completely out of control and it had to be done in order to preserve comm... |
If penny's hold 1.7¢ of copper how come I don't hear about people melting and reselling the copper? | The time, effort, and expense of melting pennies for scrap sale isn't enough to justify doing it. Let's assume your number is right and you could get .7 extra cents for every penny. In order to make $100, which is not a large amount of money in real life standards, you would need to melt 15,000 pennies. So you would ha... |
Why is lymphoma one of the cancers with the highest cure rates, but when other cancers (colon/lung/whatever) spread to the lymph nodes prognosis drops considerably? | THe lymph system allows a metastasizing cancer to spread all over the body, so if it reaches there it's a very bad sign. Lymphoma hasn't necessarily metastasized. If it does though, and starts to spread outside out of the lymph nodes themselves or reaches multiple lymph nodes then prognosis drops just like with other m... |
Is there really such a thing as a friendly/mean drunk? What causes this disparity? | Speaking from my own experience as an angry drunk: I hate to admit the fact that I am an angry drunk, but it is what it is. The reason I am an angry drunk is because I am a sad angry person inside. The other guys are right. Alcohol doesn't change who you are it just brings your true self to the surface with no filters.... |
Could we inject rods and cones into a human subject's eyes to expand what we can see of colors? | Answer? Probably. The procedure is a *long* way from FDA approval, though. [Here's] a radiolab story where they interview the scientist who did the monkey thing. |
How does an app like Whatsapp (which is free and doesn't include advertisement) make profit? | If you're not paying for a product, you are the product. Whether or not they have started yet or not, I do not know as I do not use WhatsApp, but either your data will be used to sell ads or some other way, you and your data will be the product that is sold for money. |
Why do public schools require teachers to be certified, but private schools do not? | Every private school that I know of requires you to be certified. In fact every one that I know of holds a higher standard for being hired so what you have experienced may not be the norm for private schools. The reason for this is that Private schools are not in direct control of the State the way that Public schools ... |
Please ELI5: What are the harmful effects of marijuana? What does marijuana actually do to your brain? | I was about to post the same thing, thank you search button.However I was going to add to it this. Why are there so many articles and discussions of how it is so harmful and effects productivity negatively? I have used it for many years, on and off at times to test it. I have done semesters in university with using it ... |
Why is there such a negative connotation with "flip-flopping" in politics? | When someone is elected, its usually because they said that they would do certain things, or because they believed certain things. It is understood among constituents who voted for that person that they are going to office with those values in mind. Changing your mind once in office is often seen by those constituents ... |
Why don't we dump our chemical waste into volcanos and magma instead of the ocean? | Why don't we dump everything in outer space? Seriously, I know it's impractical to get it all up there right now- but if we figured out a way. In 100 years, there won't be many places to just dump or burn waste. Outer space seems like a perfect place to leave it. I'm pretty stoned right now.Volcanic eruptions are very ... |
Why do singers lip-sync? | Another reason not mentioned here: Some artists have some pretty hard dances. Dancing and singing isn't easy. Making it sound perfect while dancing, is almost impossible. |
Why do we not feel our eyeballs rubbing against our eyelids? | When I had eye surgery they told me they used to do cataract surgery with no anesthesia, because there aren't many nerves in your eyeballs. I did have drugs but it was not much, I think mostly to relax me and keep me still. I was totally awake and talking to the surgeon the whole time. And a week before that, I had a l... |
Why is North Korea still allowed to exist and operate as it does? Why hasn't anyone done anything?! | Who's going to stop it? The whole situation is a complete clusterfuck, and the only way to change it is going to be by sending in soldiers, dismantling the government, and reeducating the brainwashed populace. Even if China could be convinced to allow it , it would be an incredibly dangerous venture. Best Korea has an ... |
If I swat at a mosquito and miss, will it remember/fear me? Or does it just dodge on instinct and go back to its usual buzzing around/hunting? | Why would they fear you for? You've already shown that your aim is shit, so why bother? Those who fail will be trampled to the dust by the succesful.have YOU only ever needed to swat at a mosquito only once?', "I've wondered about this with flies. It seems like if you shoo a fly away the first time, it will circle arou... |
As someone graduating high school soon, I'm still not completely sure how the process of getting into an apartment works. Please help. | Well, you'll need to find an apartment complex that you want to live in that you can afford. There are a few websites that can help, but you will have to go tour some complexes to see what you like. When you've found one you like,you'll have to fill out an application and provide pay stubs proving that you can afford r... |
Why, after nearly 85 years of knowing it existed--approximately 35 of them with the technology to do so--do we have no good photos of Pluto? | Because it's a very distant rock in space. It's herder to get to than many far more interesting places. |
What did "The Breakfast Club" do that made it such a milestone of a movie? Also, why was it called "The Breakfast Club"? | The other thing about it is that John Hughes made a movie about high school kids being high school kids. They weren't running in gangs. The kids weren't being arrested, spotting alien spacecraft that were about to destroy the world. The actors were portrayed as normal kids you would meet in high school. The kids at tha... |
How come pictures of objects in space never include vibrant stars? | The stars are very dim compared to the Earth. In order to see them, you'd have to let in a lot more light . This would, in turn, let in a proportional amount more light from the Earth. Thus it would appear brighter still, and basically be a huge white smear instead of an attractive photograph. |
How come 4chan (specifically) has that much effect on modern day internet? | It was one of the first uncensored forums for counter-culture activity, with lax signup rules and a focus on anonymity that helped keep them from getting shut down when other similar groups were. With the advent of Anonymous' actions on the world stage, they're now more than internet famous. |
why are we so careful to not spread earth microbes in space? Would it be so bad to plant life? | Yes. We want to know what's already there and how it got there. Can't do that if it gets contaminated with Earth microbes. |
Gas is dropping in price significantly, but airline ticket prices aren't changing.. Why? | Because they'd lose money and they like to make money. They much prefer to keep prices high and pocket the savings from low fuel costs. |
If church attendence is declining so fast why are there still churches everywhere? | I had a long in-depth rambling on this, but who reads all that.. Simple answer: Churches don't have a huge overhead. They Don't get taxes for property, nor for income. They have other benefits . Many get donations. |
How is it that the overall wealth of the Earth is increasing over centuries though the resources are the same as what it was before? | For one, gold in the ground doesn't have any value, it doesn't give you any wealth. It's only after someone dig it up that it gain it's value. Over time, human dig more and more resources from the ground. In addition, work can add wealth to a resource. Let say that you cut down a tree. That tree have some value, you ca... |
What is the point of humanoid robots like Atlas? | Autonomy. Making robots as complex as possible means they can replace human beings in anything from a job on an assembly line to a job as a barista. If you don't have to pay human beings, you can make more money. |
Why are kids naturally mean to each other? | A big bunch of various reasons. How often do you feel the urge to just slap somebody in the face as hard as you can? Exactly. However, you don't because your upringing has taught you that hitting people usually isn't a good thing or at least you have learned that there might be serious consequences. A kid has not yet l... |
Wouldn't it be very easy for someone working at one of those restaurants inside airport terminals to hand a passenger a sharp knife to bring on a plane? What is there to prevent it? | Nothing at all, but knives should be the least of your worries. See, while you're stripping down to your underwear and having your shampoo confiscated at the Security Theater checkpoint, the janitor is pushing a big-ass cart right past the checkpoint. And he does that 50 times a day. The UPS guy delivering packages to ... |
Why can't currencies with high denominations (like the peso or won) just divide their currency by 10, 100 or 1000? | It's much more of a hassle to reprint all the money and reestablish all the prices street everyone gets used to what the value of their money is. It helps if you think of the people and the yen as pennies. Mexico already renormalized their currency back in the 80s or 90s.France did it in the sixties. To this day a few ... |
Why do hotels put a Bible in every room? | As far as I know the hotels dont put them there, they allow some religious organization to put them there. I don't think hotel owners care one way or the other, unless they're reiglious too, and it was just a way to be friendly and get free advertizing. Then they all started doing it and it became tradition. |
Why can't Hospitals simply tell us the prices of things, like a construction contractor could? | They can, but they usually don't. As I understand it, hospitals overcharge to make sure they get paid, since most patients won't fight it. I've never yet been a hospital patient without having insurance, so I don't know how true that is. That said, I'm all for a single-payer system in the US. Better access to care for ... |
Why don't Richard Branson and Elon Musk join forces to make their mirrored goals a single reality instead of a race to the same goal? | Because then we wouldn't know who had biggest dick. I mean ego. Not dick.Both of them are very passionate about competing and winning. Sure they could reduce some costs in the short term by joining forces. By keeping forces separated they compete with each other, they battle with each other, and no matter what else we,... |
Why aren't things in orbit constantly accelerating? | They are accelerating. If you move in a circle, you're accelerating, even if you move at the same speed the whole time. Acceleration is the change in *velocity*, and velocity has a direction. When you're moving in a circle, you're always changing direction, thus always changing velocity, and accelerating. |
Why is the human gestation period so long compared to other animals? Will it ever be shortened? | Please, someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I remember reading/seeing that human's have a very short gestation period compared to other animals mainly because of our brain size. I've read that we need a larger cranium to hold our brains and mothers simply cannot let the baby grow older than 9 months because if so, the... |
I live in the UK and see nothing but complaints about the company Comcast. So why do people keep using their services? | Sometimes they are the only provider available. Sometimes they are the best provider available. I use it because it's the most fastest, cheapest, and most reliable option available. I've never had a problem with it. In the past couple years I think it's briefly been down twice? And that was during heavy storm-time. Com... |
Why do dentists pull the wisdom teeth instead of older molars? | Did a little research and learned a few things. Here is what I've found. I hope it expands on the answers that others gave. Wisdom teeth are a vestige of a previous form in human evolution. The prevailing theory as to why we still grow them even though most people don't have room for them is due to a mutation of the ge... |
Why is it bad to eat the ground up bones/eyes/skin etc., that is present in things like chicken nuggets? | When it comes to food, US culture is downright schizophrenic. Bones are not acceptable food, yet what is stock made from? Half the appeal of osso bucco is the nugat of marrow in the middle of the dish. Organs are looked down on, except when they're part of your grandma's cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving. We really d... |
How do watches keep accurate time as their batteries lose power? Flashlights dim as their batteries grown old/weak, but watches don't slow down, they just stop ticking one day. | The part of the watch that keeps track of time is all or nothing. You run a current through it, and it vibrates at a certain rate. Something else counts this rate and updates your watch display as it counts. Running less current through the crystal doesn't make it vibrate slower, but at some point there just wont be en... |
What’s the point of hiccups? Does it serve a purpose for humans to have them. | I have heard it's a evolutionary reflex from when our bodies still had gills and could switch between using lungs or gills. I'm not a doctor so this could be total nonsense |
In Monopoly why does it feel like people hit certain places more than others? | Because you do. Take for example the number of ways you can go to jail. Roll three doubles, draw a card, land on the 'Go to Jail' square.Then remember that the average roll on two die is seven. So seven squares from jail is the most landed on square .Then there are cards which send you to specific squares, thus bypassi... |
Since Republicans are strongly against both, Why does Obama manages to get the sanctions against Iran lifted, but doesn't manage to change the gun laws? | There is also a constitutional argument to be had that treaties is the president's business and congress should ratify. Gun legislation is a limitation of a constitutional right. A republican congressman coukd make a strong internal or public argument that allowimg the first and opposing the second situation is upholdi... |
Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, dies. ELI5 discussion about Apartheid, South African politics past and present. | I was sad at first. Then came the rage. The rage that this is already being used as a tool. A tool to garner votes for a ruling party that is stealing from its citizens left right and center. A corrupt group of people who think that the public owe something to them. We want our country back, the country that Mandela fo... |
How come spacecraft are able to take advantage of the rotational speed of Earth, but airplanes aren't? | Spacecraft don't have to fly through the atmosphere in orbit; the higher they go up the less atmosphere they have to fight. Airplanes can take advantage of the rotation of the earth indirectly by using the jet stream. That's why it's normally faster to fly east to west than west to east. |
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