query stringlengths 8 249 | answer stringlengths 45 7.8k |
|---|---|
Why Ernest Hemingway was so influential, and what makes his work so good? | I heard he was also a pretty intense perfectionist. Like, rewrote some pages dozens of times. I think part of why he's considered a good writer is that a lot of his stories had an autobiographical component. He did a lot of interesting shit in his life, much of which was used for fodder in his books. I suppose you could argue having the experience on which to base his stories gives him a better perspective when writing them. |
There are so many stories of kickstarters taking the money and running out or don't even cone close to delivering. How is this any different from scams and why are people still funding them? | On top of the other reasons stated, what makes a scam a scam is the intent to defraud someone by lying or presenting false data. Kickstarter and the like are very open with the intentions, and you know there is a chance of it not working. It's like gambling, or buying stocks, you are putting money up front, you are aware it's not a sure thing, you are running the risk. If the companies were guarenteeing a return on investment, or something else equally flashy then there would be the concern of scams or theft. |
In Sleep Paralysis, why do some people have hallucinations, both visual and sound? | I too would like to know this, I get it once every few weeks. Usually I hear the sound of barking dogs or babies crying, moving shadows and a sense that I'm going to die. It's FUCKING terrifying. |
Why do we have inflation? | This isn't why we have inflation, but here's my explanation of why we *want* a little bit of inflation. I never buy a brand new TV model or the very latest computer technology. I wait because I know that in a few months or a year I will be able to get the same quality at a substantially cheaper price. When prices are falling on all goods across the board, it makes people reluctant to buy a while host of goods because they know it will be cheaper later. That brings down spending and puts a drag on the economy. Inflation creates a sense of urgency to buy products now while the prices are lower. |
Have species other than humans dealt with overpopulation? | Overpopulation, depletion of resources, move to another area, populate, over populate until the resources run dry. This cycle can only be repeated so many times until there are no more places to spread out too. Humans just haven't reached this point you. When overpopulation occurs, food runs out and stavation occurs, animals will have fewer offspring as a natural balance. While the over population occurs, natural predators will now have an abundance of food, allowing for more offspring to survive. The predator will essentially cull down its food supply until balance is restored. A certain place can only sustain so much of each species before overpopulation occurs and nature balances itself out. Human have no real natural predator anymore, technology has dealt with this issue. Science and medicine has been a major player in humanity avoiding over population, we have found ways to transform terrain, extract resources and develop regions where are biologically designed not to survive in. At some point, humanity will overpopulate the planet and our only counter will be if we are able to have technology develop faster. Genetically Modified Foods are an example, crops that grow faster, use less natural resources and have improved health benefits.Overpopulation has never been a problem on a global scale. On a local scale, migration is the easy solutionThey migrated somewhere else or starved until there was no more overpopulation. |
what does these commands do: ipconfig /flushdns, Ipconfig /release, ipconfig /renew. | ipconfig /flushdns clears out your computer's stored DNS records - essentially, information on the path from your computer to a website. Sometimes that information needs to be changed, so you clear it out and get it again from a server. ipconfig /release tells your DHCP server you're gicing up your current IP address, and /renew tells it to get you a new one. Your IP address is something like a street address; and the DHCP server is a computer responsible for giving out IP addresses to computers on a network, and making sure that they make sense. These three commands done together basically set you up with a fresh network connection. |
What would happen if everyone in America, on a whim, physically withdrew all of their liquid cash/assets and shredded the money? | This wouldn't be possible. Banks are only required to have a certain amount of liquid assets on hand to give out to depositers. The majority of the money at any given time is lent out to someone else. |
Could a Canadian billionaire just give 1 million to every person in canada, cure poverty, and still be filthy stinkin' rich or would it shatter the economy? | Good lord. I swear I went to school, and I am embarrassed to say I'm not intoxicated. Apparently my brain wasn't working with whatever crazy math was going through my head. Still was curious on the effect of in theory someone WERE able too. |
Why do we see same sex marriage being accepted globally so much recently? | We are seeing a tipping point on the issue. As more people come out, it becomes more likely that you know someone that is gay. Most people will be supportive of a gay friend or family member. It's no longer a person shaped container filled with gay but a part of a loved one. A natural extension of that is wanting them to be happy. After that, most people realize that the issue doesn't affect them, or they don't want to be on the wrong side of history. Then it just keeps gaining momentum until it's law. Just look at Republican senator Will Portman ; he now supports same-sex marriage. |
- The recent hate on NBC | Another thing that I hate about NBC's coverage is the media monopoly of universal. After merging with comcast, people with dishes or other cable carriers are SOL for coverage. My mom and I pay about the same amount of money for cable a month. I have comcast, she has dish. The only Olympic channels she can watch are NBC and CNBC. I have almost every channel. |
Why don't soldiers wear bullet proof masks? Or even head to toe bullet proof gear? | Going beyond his comment which do you see winning hearts and minds of countries while we battle an insurgency _URL_1URL_0_ They have their use for things like gunners that are exposed out of vehicles from frag from ieds, but having worn a helmet and NVGs you don't want more weight.Its been a while since I've shouldered a rifle in a promask but its a challenge doing it well and I imagine it is with this system as well.adding on to what everyone said before, the head and neck are extremely small targets. to hit them is more luck than anything else and cops and soldiers alike will tell you that they are trained to shoot for the body, as it is the biggest target edit: so while added protection is great, it adds more weight and restricts senses for something that is rarely going to be needed |
Why do I sometimes get this weird sensation like I'm falling through space when sleeping? | I think I understand what you are talking about. After laying pretty still for about 10-15 mins I get the sensation that the bed under me kinda drifts away and that I'm slowly sinking. It feels like I am slowly falling through space. Kinda cool feeling to just let happen but then you just snap back to reality :) |
why are greens screens always green or blue? Are other bright colours also usable for the same purpose. If not, why not. | That shade of green is hardly ever seen in nature on clothing or anywhere. So it's easier to edit it out and put, say, Godzilla there. |
How is it that disposable lighters have lighter fluid inside and it comes out as gas? | When it is compressed it turns to a liquid, the valve lets the fluid out slowly so turn back to a gas when it's uncompressed. |
Why are there no communist countries that are a democracy? | that's the nature of communism. There are plenty of socialist countries that are democratic. But communism does not equal socialism. |
If a police officer stops me in the street, what can I do/not do? | You have to identify yourself, verbally, and in many states, with ID if you have it. If you are in a car, you have get out if asked. You also have to show registration and proof of insurance. If there is reasonable suspicious , you may be detained on what is called a Terry stop. You can be patted down for weapons, but not searched without consent. The cop can then spend a reasonable time checking your information before releasing or arresting you. Beyond that, you don't have to do or say anything. It is a good idea to ask if you are being detained. If you are not being detained, you can leave at any time. Sometimes cops will try to be vague so they can keep you there without imposing a Terry stop, so ask multiple times and insist on a direct answer. If you are being detained, assume it is now an adversary situation, and refuse further cooperation. |
Why does insurance coverage drop significantly for ADHD meds for patients over 18? It's not like patients get cured on their 18th birthday is it? | I don't have any hard and fast answers here, but I can make a guess that I think is pretty good, and it's been a couple of hours with no strong answers. ADHD is often a childhood disease. That makes it limited in scope. It's only necessary to treat it until 18 or 22 . The cost to an insurance company for drugs under those circumstances are limited to the 6-8 years and then they're done with it. Once someone's an adult, and they're still saying they need it, that means the insurance company is looking at 40-50 years of treatment of a chronic illness rather than 6-8 years of an acute illness. It also means they don't just need the Adderall or Ritalin to do well in school, but rather cope with day-to-day life. That means they've got a more serious case of ADHD. Remember insurance companies don't pay for people's treatment individually, they treat people in the aggregate. When they're on the hook for paying for ADHD meds for 6 years for a covered dependent they know they're also going to be getting 1.85 healthy adults making little demand on the health care system for another 24-28 years, but paying into their system the whole time. For an adult, that means no healthy parents helping out, and an indefinite amount of time paying for the medication, which makes it in the aggregate more expensive, so they charge more. If someone who works in the insurance industry would chime in they'd probably have better answers, certainly more specific ones than I'm offering up here. |
How is my electricity bill calculated? Do I get charged less if I have burned out bulbs? | I just posted an explanation on another post about electricity! [Here's think link] if you're interested. You only get charged less in the sense that those bulbs aren't drawing any power, so they're not consuming electricity. There are lots of easy ways to use less electricity though. :) |
This shower thoughts post; "Somewhere in the galaxy, your childhood is still currently visible. Your past self still exists, traveling through space at the speed of light." | So the light won't disapate or be absorbed? Seems a bit far fetched for it to even be possible to catch a reflection 20 light years later |
Why is it acceptable for men to show their nipples in public/media but not women? | I know there are people out there blaming things like culture or religion, but that's not entirely it. The main thing is that women's breasts generally are much more sensitive then a man's, this was used since ancient times as a part of sexual acts. So over the years, a woman's breasts became associated with sex. A man's nipples weren't used hardly as much and never had the chance to be associated with sex. So basically a woman's breasts has become sexualized with a perfectly valid reason over a man's nipple", 'Female breasts are secondary sexual characteristics, male breast are not. In many societies, displaying both secondary and primary sexual characteristics is considered obscene. Secondary sexual characteristics being things that develop/appear during puberty, eg. breasts, wider hips, pubic hair, etc. |
Do police provide medical assistance immediately after shooting someone? | Once it has been determined that someone presents enough of a threat for deadly force to be needed, a policeman's first obligation is to protect themselves and those around them. Just because someone has been shot doesn't mean they no longer present a threat. Also note that police as a rule do not have the sort of medical training needed to care for a gunshot victim. Attempting to do so could make things worse, or expose them to legal action. |
Why are huge buildings concentrated in dense central areas of almost all major American cities and not more spread out? | Before easy travel with automobiles, businesses wanted to be closer to other businesses for convenience. The idea didn't go away when automobiles appeared, and as cities grew, people were accustomed to having everything in one place or nearby. |
When you drink water, does it dilute your stomach acid at all? How much? Affects? | I'm amazed America still uses the outdated and ancient imperial measuring systemIt's like driving a tractor when you could have ferrari |
What is the purpose of the tiny parachute that is usually on top of the large parachute | Called a pilot chute and it is attached to the deployment bag via a 7 to 9ft bridle and is located in a 'pocket' at the bottom of the container called a BOC. When deployed it inflates and extracts the closing pin which allows the container to open, then extracts the d-bag from the container and the lines unstow from the d-bag. As the last of the lines unstow it allows the bag to open and the canopy is extracted and inflates. The pilot chute then collapses to reduce drag when flying the canopy. This is for a solo rig. On a tandem rig it is called a drogue parachute and is much bigger. It's function then is also to help stabilise the tdm in freefall and slow down the freefall to approximately the freefall speed of a solo jumper flying flat. Without it deployed the tdm would accelerate to a much higher speed due to the much heavier combined weight of the instructor and passenger but due to them being one behind the other they only cause about the same drag as a single person and the faster you are travelling the faster the canopy deploys and inflates. Not good for the canopy or the people. It stays inflated through the entire freefall and doesn't begin the opening sequence until another deployment handle is pulled to extract the pin which opens the container. Then it works exactly as a pilot chute does. I am a full-time skydiver and Tdm instructor |
the Classes of ships and subs | Just to expand a bit. The other other explain it for western ships. For Soviet, Russian, Chinese and likely some other countries [NATO reporting name] They exist because the original names was not known when they are first observed and names in the local languages are hard to use if the common language is English. They are chooses so they are clear and distinct and the initial letter often designate the type like S for surface-to-surface weapons, F is a fighter aircraft For some reason that is not followed for ships and submarines. So a soviet Alfa-class submarine was project 705 known as Лира or Lyre in english. The Russian names are seldom used so everyone in the west think of it as a Alfa-class All types don't have a name som are just the project number a bit like the Primary US army firearm is the M4 Carbine and that name is not a name but mean that is was the 4th carbine accepted into service since that system started to be used. |
Why is dental care considered to be "separate" from other kinds of medical care? Is it this way outside the US/Canada? | In the UK it is separate as well. You can get **free** dental treatment on the NHS until you are 18, and we do have very good dental health because of this, despite the stereotype ;) EDIT: added 'free'", 'The logic seems to be that teeth weren't expected to "last a lifetime" and you had to plan for your dentures. |
Why is coffee at a nice restaurant so amazing and coffee at home garbage? | Use a french press. You can't go wrong with coffee made with a french press even if you were Oscar the grouch making it in a garbage can. |
Why are so many allergies common now? like to milk, peanuts, dust, etc? | One theory is that since we have been using so many disinfectants for about a generation now, that our systems don't ever get used to dealing with all the possible usual offenders. This is supported by the finding that households with dogs had a lower occurrence of asthma and allergies in general . Likewise, if the mother ate peanuts during pregnancy, the chances of a peanut allergy in the child went down. Rarely, peanut allergies also occur because an element of peanut butter is used in vaccines, . In some rare cases, the body ends up developing an immune response to the adjuvants in addition to the virus itself, thus including a peanut allergy. More commonly, the child ends up allergic to more than just peanuts for undetermined reasons. Some severe allergies occur because of introduction of a food too soon, before the baby's body is ready. Sometimes the body isn't ready for solid foods just yet, but the parent, with no way of knowing that, introduces food because the baby is old enough to handle solid food. There are many cases where the type of solid food first attempted tends to end up the most severe allergy. Rice is a frequent example, because a common starter baby food is rice based. Part of the problem is that the baby foods contain complex nutrient forms that the baby might not have the gut flora to handle yet. It's a tricky thing to predict though. Some of it is certainly genetic at least in part. Europeans tend to be more prone than say, Cubans. Various theories exist for this. Longer generational exposure to industrial contaminants, a genetic weakness somewhere, different cultural diets, etc.back in the dark ages, the people who had these disorders would be dead before they reached adulthood. |
In places where clean-running water is unavailable, why don't locals boil and filter water to make it safe? | How much energy would you need to heat water for a whole village or community? Is it cost effective?Are there pollutants in the water that will get worse with the heat? How would the water be collected after it evaporates? Are there containers to store and heat the water in? How long does this process take under minimal conditions? Those are just some of the questions that need to be answered for this to work to it's fullest potential. |
Why do some people get bit by mosquitos much more often than others? | Mosquitoes are attracted to estrogen. This is why most women get bit more than most men. In an ad, they show mosquitoes not biting skin, what they don't tell you is that the skin is on a man. Source: my FIL is an entomologist at a large university who works with a company producing different bug repellents. I get this lecture once a summer.Mosquitos are attracted primarily to CO2 and heat, but other factors such as your sex, whether you have been drinking alcohol or exercising, and even what you have eaten can subtly change how attractive you are ', "A friend's cat got fleas once, the cat was in my lap for a good 2 hours before I looked down and saw a little black dot jump off her back towards the floor. I was the first to spot the fleas. I was sure I'd be infested by the time I left. Turns out my friend and his Dad were the only ones to get bit , myself and his mom were flea-free. They ended up getting the house fumed. But I always found it wierd that only the women exposed were left untouched. They didn't even travel home in my clothes or backpack. I was always flea-free. :D My buddy was itchy though. He said it sucked. XD Edit: forgot to mention I almost never get bitten by mosquitos, and when I do they never swell or itch. |
Why is assisted suicide illegal but DNR's are legal? | In the UK at least, CPR is considered a medical treatment. And like other medical treatments, patients can refuse treatment but they cannot demand treatment. We, as doctors, are not under any obligation to give patients treatment that is considered futile. It's like giving antibiotics for a viral infection. Thus, if CPR is considered to be a futile treatment or to be of more harm than good, then we will issue a DNACPR order. Assisted suicide is helping someone die - actively, knowingly causing the death of one of our patients. |
Why do so many rich, old-money states vote blue? | There's a difference between the comfortably entrenched wealthy and people like the Koch brothers. Some of the biggest proponents of high taxes on the wealthy have been very wealthy people themselves. The people pushing conservative viewpoints are usually people with vested interests in industries that liberals would like to regulate, like fossil fuels and the finance sector. Maybe my bias is showing, but when the wealthy vote Republican it's usually more a decision of business strategy than principles. |
How do virus/parasites/etc thrive when they kill their hosts? Don't they need them to multiply? | Successful viruses and parasites don't kill their hosts before they're able to multiply and find another host. A lot of parasites weaken the host, but not so much that the host can't continue living. And some parasites will make their hosts do bizarre things in order to facilitate the parasites reproduction . Similarly, viruses tend to multiply a lot and get passed on before they kill their hosts. For example, HIV will kill its host if left unchecked, but the host won't display symptoms for several years in most cases, which is plenty of time to pass the virus on. |
Could we build a vertical tube that reaches to the seafloor? | It is possible but not trivial, mostly because of the very large water pressure. Assuming that the inside of the tube is just air, the tube will want to float. You need enough weight to keep it from floating up, or you need an anchor at the bottom. Then you need to be strong enough to resist the pressure of the water at the seafloor, which is huge. Ocean currents would need to be considered but that's manageable; modern deepwater oil rigs run tubes down through more than 2 miles of water so they've pretty much figured that part out. |
Why can't we dispose of all this waste by shooting it into space? | We can't afford to. The costs to lift a pound of matter to low earth orbit is over $1000. But that wouldn't be sufficient, we'd need to boost it to escape velocity so it's not cluttering up space around the planet. Earth produces 2.6 trillion pounds of garbage per year. Even if we take the $1000/lb estimate, it would cost 2.6 quadrillion dollars to shoot it all into space. In comparison, Gross World Product is about 80 trillion dollars.Because it costs roughly $10,000 to put 1 pound of stuff into low earth orbit. It would cost even more if you wanted to actually push it out of earth orbit . |
How come Comcast is not afraid of Google Fiber and instead of making their service better, they make it worse? | Because laying fiber optic cable that can serve an entire community is extraordinarily expensive and takes a long, long time. And until there's actual competition by the upstart, or until the local government attempts to regulate the quasi-monopoly that exists in cable internet in most communities, Comcast has no incentive to make their service better. |
Why are motorcycles so loud compared to cars? | Apart from necessarily smaller/shorter exhaust systems and air boxes a lot of the reason is the higher revs bike engines run at. I use a bike engine in a car so it has a decent length exhaust run and a big silencer on it but it's still very loud because the usable rev range is so high. I've actually been trying to get it quieter to meet race track noise limits and it's practically impossible to get it as quiet as a normal car. Induction noise is as big a problem as exhaust noise too by the way they're sucking in a lot of air at 13,000 rpm. |
Is Florida really going to be under water in 40 years? | I'd say no only because in the early 90s I remember them telling us much of Long Island would be under water by 2010. Well here we are 5yrs after their prediction and my backyard isn't an ocean yet. |
how does the metric system work out so convieniently ? 1 ml of water weighs 1 gram and takes up 1 cm^3 of space | people are doing a great job explaing it, so here's my side thought: as a euro having moved to the us, I sure miss it. I do however see more of my friends switching their apps to metric to learn, that I think is awesome! Logic will eventually prevail😃 |
Why do older people tend to drive so slowly? Is it because they are a product of a previous generation, or is just because that's what old people do? | crashes and accidents mean lots of cash in cars and/or insurance and wasted work days and overall aggravation , especially even if it wasn't your fault,. whereas getting there a few minutes slower means well . getting there a few minutes slower takes a few years life experience to understand that fully |
How can a hydrolic press break a diamond? | Diamonds are one of the hardest materials on the Mohs scale, which is defined by what materials are able to scratch other materials. So in that sense, the diamond would scratch the press metal, not the other way around. Hardness as represented by the Mohs scale doesn't capture the full picture, though. Even though it's difficult to scratch, diamond is decently brittle, meaning that it's fairly easy to apply enough force to cause it to shear along one of its crystalline planes. Believe it or not, it's possible to break a diamond by stepping on it on a hard floor - you don't even need a hydraulic press. |
After Obamacare, the insurance at my work became way more expensive with way higher co-pays and deductibles. What happened? | Your employer was previously paying a private company for a shitty plan. Now that private company does not offer than plan any more. You are probably best off getting rid of your employer's health coverage and signing on with one of the obamacare plans. |
Why is it that most Schizophrenics' voices tell them to do negative and violent things and not positive? | Not all voices say bad things. I think the thing with schizophrenia is that; people can distinguish the real from the disease. But if after a while you hear the same voices over and over that are indistinguishable from real voices, you start to think; maybe if I do what they say they will go away. I met a guy with it and he said he saw small men in white robes. I asked if he saw them now. He said yes but I just ignore. How fascinating and scary. I've seen some shows where people are treated for it any they turn into basket cases. Mental Illness is just in its infancy as far as been treated. Most doctors just listen to what the sales rep has to say. Oh Clausaril. Ok |
What exactly is the job of the President of the USA? What does he do? | I'd like to observe that the President actually enjoys only a modest salary--he's not paid outlandishly. Obviously his job comes with unique benefits, and while he is obviously one of the most distinguished people there is, I doubt he is technically rich. |
How do storms continually drop rain? Why does it not all drop at once, and how can storms keep a steady stream up? | Everything in the atmosphere during a rainstorm is in constant motion. The clouds, humidity, temperature, wind, and air pressure are all constantly changing. So while it may seem like a cloudy sky rains on you for hours, it really isn't the same sky. Rain is just the most obvious sign of change and in this complex system. |
What makes a "bad school" bad? | It's really easy to make a bad school. The question is what makes a good school 1. Good administrators who actually care, don't shift blame, and don't suck all the school's limited money into their own paycheck and benefits. This includes the on-premise administrators as well as the school district administrators. 2. Teachers that care about doing a good job. 3. A student population that isn't horribly, horrible broken due to poverty and substance abuse problems in the surrounding community. 4. Parents that care enough to be involved, but aren't knee-jerk lawyer-up blame shifters. 5. Money. Sufficient to teach the students and not wasted on iPads or new sports facilities when vital infrastructure is being neglected. If any one of those factors is bad, it can make a school bad. |
Why is Greece weighing so heavily on our economy and the world? | More like ELI15, but There's also the issue of bond holders. Lots of big institutional bond holders, like your grandma's pension company, have legal requirements to be invested in solid, conservative investment tools: government bonds. These conservative investments are the backstop against the crazy speculation. However, it turns out that even the conservative investments might have been crazy, too. Before the poop hit the fan, Greece was seen as being one of these safe investments. After all, it's a European country, right? It's in Europe, they use the Euro what could go wrong? So if Greece really does fall down, a whole bunch of people, banks and investment groups who thought they were investing in the solid, national debt of a modern European nation will find themselves holding a pile of nothing. |
How do planets stay in/on their orbital path? | Basically planets are constantly falling towards the sun on a curved path because it is so massive, but they are falling in this elliptical shape that causes them to keep going past the sun and never hit it. It's a very careful balance. If the earth's or another planets speed were to slow down they would fall into the sun . If a planet were to speed up it may break free from it's orbit and go off into space It would not escape the pull of the sun's gravity but the sun's gravitational pull would decrease until it would be negligible.Einstein had a though experiment explanation that I 've always liked. Imagine Space-Time as a larger rubber sheet. Gravitational masses are weighted balls in that sheet. In the middle, you place a very large, very heavy weighted mass , then take a bowling ball of lower mass, and "skim" it along the "dimple" created by the large mass, you'll see that it continues to travel along the rim of the dimple created by the mass. This is, of course, a classical explanation of gravity and doesn't talk about quantum mechanicsImagine a heavy ball attached to a long spring, and you are spinning it around . The spring wants to pull the ball in a straight line towards you. The ball wants to go in a straight line sideways from you. Both forces change the balls direction, constantly keeping it in a balanced orbit. If you change variables, like increase rotation speed, it settles at a wider orbit because the sideways force of ball is a little stronger than the springs force. |
What is Area 51 really? | No real proof of UFOs but it's mostly used as a bombing range and a place to test experimental aircraft. |
Is 'suing' someone as prevalent outside the U.S? If it is not, what is different about the law elsewhere that keeps suing from being so ridiculously abused? | Along that line: Is being insured for being sued likely to attract lawsuits? You can't squeeze blood from a turnip. |
China announces sanctions on North Korea, what does it mean? | I believe China is where N Korea gets most of it's money. The sanctions with keep NK from trading a lot of their exports so it will most likely throw NK into a bad depression. This is why they are expecting a bad famine and they are telling their people to 'get ready to eat roots again' like they did in the 90s famine from which about 300,000 people died. This is a big deal because unless China imposes & implements sanctions nothing will change as China has been keeping them afloat. |
How is electricity consumed, if it's only electrons that move from point A to B. I can't understand why we burn electricity? | We don't burn electricity so much as we turn its energy into other forms. Think about a lightbulb- they give off a lot of electricity energy as heat. No circuit is perfectly insulated, so usable electricity does get depleted. |
70 Years ago the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan. How did the US justify this use of force? | While there are many answers here that attempt to justify the bombing morally by saying it saved lives, or say it wasn't justified. The real reason is that the US wanted to see what happened when you dropped a nuke on a civ. pop center and as a show of force against the soviets.I think it was to scare the shit out the russians honestly. I think it was the beginning of the Cold War. We literally burned all of Japan with the fire bombs. I dobt think the invasion scenario holds up anymore The REALLY frightening idea is what might have happened if the JAPANESE had gotten that weapon first, given their previous wartime proclivities |
To all British redditors, why do all of you hate on the Daily Mail? | it's not a respectable publication. there is no journalism at DM. it's a sensationalist tabloid that publishes bullshit to sell papers. |
How is it that pornstars masturbate with long fingernails? Doesn't it hurt them? | If you have had regular sex, you know that IRL there's always some amount of OW! SHIT! WAIT THAT HURTS! In porn all that imperfect reality is edited out, so the illusion is of fine tuned sex machines banging with German precision. I guarantee there's footage of girls getting stabbed by fingernails. |
Why is the Pound worth so much more than the US Dollar? How does a currency degrade/change value? | It's like deciding whether to cut a pizza in 8, 10, or 12 slices. So the U.S. is a large pizza cut into 12 slices and Britain is a medium pizza cut into 8 slices. Each individual slice might be larger on the British pizza, but all the slices together are more on the American pizza. The percent in change in value over time is more important that the absolute numbers at a specific time. Each country can decide how much currency to issue, and that will impact its value. But is the size of the pizza growing or shrinking, vs. is it getting cut into more or fewer slices, is what's important. The growing or shrinking is determined by supply and demand for the various currencies, which is heavily influenced on trade. If the U.S. had more demand for imports from Britain, then the Pound will strengthen relative to the dollar. If the opposite is true, then the Dollar will strengthen. |
Why is a fly swatter controlled by my hand so much more effective than just my hand? | The tip of the fly swatter is likely moving faster than you hand. Also, the fly swatter is full of holes that allow air to flow through it .your palm doesn't have those holes, so you build up a cushion of air that alerts the fly and pushes it out of the way. |
how come pigeons have learned to not be afraid of humans, but other birds (like sparrows and robins) that have been around humans forever still are? | I live in Galway, Ireland and most of the birds there aren't afraid of humans. Crowe's, Pigeon's, Seagulls. Even one of my favourite coffee shops called The Secret Garden have 2 Robbin' s that live in the seating area out the back and regularly land on your table. |
Would it be legal for someone to build a spaceship in their backyard and fly to the moon? | Nope. Because at some point you'd need to get the fuel. It'd be impossible to get the explosive permits for your backyard", 'Astronaut Farmer _URL_5_ but then this would happen_URL_4_ and finally this _URL_3_The quantities of jet fuel alone would put you on some watchlists.Fueling it will be your biggest problem. If you're going to use fuel like the space shuttle does, you're going to need some really nasty stuff which will require far more regulatory hurdles than actually flying. Unless you manage to invent a new rocket that uses unregulated components.In their backyard, no. Too many explosive materials. However, if launched at an appropriate site, it could be approved, but it would take a lot of paperwork. [These guys] are attempting to put a man in space and are based in Denmarkof course not. you think those mother fuckers are gonna let you blast off into space?Even if you did you would kill anything living nearbyAs long as you remember to take your passport |
How is it that rich people's "net worth" is public, but average people's information is private? | It's estimated and badly. I have one wealthy friend. One of those websites had his net worth at $30M. I knew one deal where he made $30M. In his case it was way, way off. |
Why is there no law that requires people to take a breathalyzer before a car will start? It seems like a simple solution to a huge problem. | For the same reason we aren't legally required to be subject to a background check every single time we walk into a retail store. It would be massively inconvenient for the overwhelmingly vast majority of people who aren't thieves/drunk drivers. |
Why does tilt shift make things look miniature? | It's not just blur. A tilt-shift lens is used for more than just the miniature effect. To get this effect, the lens need to be looking down at the subject, the subject needs to be a bit of distance away, colors need to be saturated in post, etc. Because, when taking pictures of actual miniature sets, you have to get real close. And unless you are using a large f-stop, there will be a lot of blur on the objects not in focus. |
why do our hearts not get tired | From what I've learned in high school , heart doesn't actually pump/rest at once. A human heart has 4 separated chambers and they take turns to pump and rest, making a continuous sequence to pump blood around the body. Scientists realized that it takes more time for a chamber to rest than pumping, so basically heart muscles don't work all the time, have proper rest time so they don't get tired.Muscles do tire, as anything does. This one of the reasons many people die of heart related diseases. But in general heart is more durable than many other organs. |
Why is there disagreement from the left/right about the polar ice caps melting? Isn't it one of those 'it either is or is not' things? | Climate change denial is real. Some people feel guilty about it so they try to act like it doesn't exist, others lie because of money that the oil companies get for destroying our environment.Yes, it is, but the science is complicated, and there are business interests that make a lot of money from keeping things the way they are. The cigarette companies denied that smoking causes cancer for decades, because they made money selling cigarettes. There has been an intense organized effort to prevent action on global climate change. |
Why is dialogue in movies whisper quiet, then gunshots and explosions happen and damn near blow your speakers? | I'm half deaf, so this really sucks. Combined with tv manufacturers putting speakers in the back, I need fucking subtitles to understand the dialogue. Dynamic range is for the feel and experience of the scene, but the whole show/film is fucked if all I can hear is mumbles and whispers. It's nice of them to make most of this hushed talking some of the most important plot points. |
- Why are humans the only animals that seem to need toilet paper? | In addition to other comments, I've heard that it is because we have larger butts from evolving to stand upright. The larger butt muscles create the necessity for post dump wiping. |
How to drive stick shift. | Start out with the car in neutral and work the clutch in and out. Usually a little less than half way out you should feel a difference in resistance, this is where the clutch would engage if the car was in gear. Up to that point you can release the clutch as fast as you like and it'll have no effect on the motion of the car. Another way to practice is to find a flat parking lot and work on releasing the clutch very slowly while in first gear. If you're going slow enough the car will actually start going without stalling out even if you don't give it any gas. Once you're comfortable with that it should be very easy for you to start every time without any jerking motion. |
Why is it so difficult for governments to punish corporations who avoid paying billions in tax? | The problem is when the companies are multinationals and they operate in several different tax environments and set up divisions of the companies to make use of the tax status. Say I am a coffee company I operate in three countries Kenya, Switzerland and the USA. Division one operates in Kenya buys the coffee and processes it and sells it to division two. Because it sells the coffee cheaply to division two it makes no profits in Kenya so pays no tax in Kenya. Division two takes the cheap coffee from Kenya and packages it and sells it to division three for a very high price, division two makes a lot of profit, but the tax rate in Switzerland is low so it pays little tax on those profits. Division three in the USA takes the expensive packaged coffee and sells it in retail outlets, but because the coffee it is getting is so expensive it doesn't make any profit in the USA so pays no tax in the USA. |
Why w is double-u instead of double-v? | Looking like two v's is a more modern version . Originally it looked like two u's when written |
If you start off completely awake and energized but then start dozing off during a boring class or a study session, what exactly is happening physiologically to cause this ? | Fun fact: if you find yourself singing or humming on a regulaor basic, that means that the job is too easy and its not taking any effort. So if your mind is needing to preoccupy yourself, you'll find yourself humming/ singing .Basically, your brain is like: "okay, I'm safe, I'm well-fed, and there's nothing too interesting going on might as well sleep to save energy" That's basically it. Happens to me too; I get really tired if I'm bored and have nothing to do. |
If I were to lose every type of ID I own, how would I prove I'm me? | You could have witnesses swear out affidavits to your identity. Since those witnesses would be under penalty of perjury, the gov't will take what they have to say seriously. |
Why does beer taste SO much better when it's from the tap? | I don't know the answer to your question, but I feel the same way about fountain soda vs. soda from a bottle/can. |
What would happen if a morbidly obese person suddenly stopped eating at all | It happens to anybody, not just obese. Your body starts digesting its fat stores, then your organs. I had pneumonia back as a kid. Constant coughing, couldn't chew or swallow food. Soda and yogurt diet. Lost like 20 pounds in a few weeks. Was prob doing like 500 calorie daily intake.Before answer this question, let me just state that if these people of yours gained weight while eating healthy, they will most likely fall under one of the two following categories: they have a hormonal or digestive imbalance screwing up their metabolism -or- they have a weird perception of what "healthy" means. Note that "eating healthy" means different things to different people. And, sometimes, what's healthy for a person today might not be optimal for the same person tomorrow, and so forth. A person needing to lose weight will have one definition of "healthy" while a person needing to gain weight will have another definition . And now to your question: First off, not eating at all is dangerous and a very bad way of losing weight. Period. Secondly, assuming no diseases or imbalances are present, an obese person would definitely start to lose weight if stopping to eat, but not for very long. This is because the body's own metabolic rate also slows down if no food is coming in, making weight loss slower. I 'd say for an obese person some net weight loss would still be present , but a much slower one when compared to an intelligent weight loss diet + exercise. Anyway, eventually deficiencies would start to kick in - most notably water - but assuming your test person can at least drink water, then other deficiencies would start to be noticed after about a week or two , with the person suffering accordingly. In short: some weight loss yes, but an unnecessarily dangerous, gruelling, slow and unhealthy one. |
Why do LED/LCD screens have limited viewing angles? | It depends on the type of LCD panel used. There are many types, TN , PVA, IPS , etc . All with different strengths including viewing angle, response time, color gamut etc. Most common cheap panels are TN which are the type that have poor viewing angles. This is due to the polarization filters on the screen. Can't really explain it any further or in a more layman fashion. You could attempt to understand this article: _URL_1_ |
How can the power company direct renewable electricity to my meter but nonrenewable to the apartment upstairs with no new wires? | I'm guessing here, because I can't see the details of the offer from the power company, but you are probably buying renewable credits. The power that comes into your house doesn't change. In this case, the power company will generate their power from a mix of cheap fossil fuel and a more expensive renewable. A small group of people who agree to pay for renewable energy will make up the cost difference, so there is no overall price hike to the general population. In this situation, the power coming into your house won't be any different that the power going into your neighborhood's. However, you get a warm fuzzy that you're helping the power company move away from fossil fuel. |
How money "exists" if it's just an idea | Money is the tangible representation of a simple concept, the concept of exchanging things for other things. It's basically a big system of IOUs that would be incredibly complicated without currency in the middle.Money is a universal standard to which all other things can be compared. Roman soldiers were paid in salt, hence salary. Gold was used because it was universally used for ornamentation. Cast in standard shape with milled edges and images stamped on them, all of this to reduce With the concept of a univesal standard governments shifted to paper money promising exchange for an amount of precious metal. This has now morphed into standards valued by other comodities |
If the US government knows enough to audit, why can't they just specify how much tax someone has to pay? Does it even have to be exact? | The audit is a tool to scare people and make examples of tax evaders, it takes so much manpower to perform one that it isn't efficient. Think of audits like speeding tickets. |
Why do car companies spend time and money developing concept cars that you see at auto shows, but never release them for the public to buy? | It isn't just car companies.Research and Development departments are paid to push the envelop. It is their job to come up with new technologies. They then present their concepts to management and, in some cases, the public to present the image that the company is on the cutting edge.From there, a whole host of people get involved. Manufacturing engineers determine the cost of producing the parts and suggest more sensible solutions. Supply chain folks require changes so approved vendors can be used to make the parts. Businesses folks determine which features actually add enough value to justify their costs. Product engineers suggest practical alternatives that improve performance. Reliability engineers calculate the Mean Time Between Failure and Mean Time To Repair of all the parts and systems. Service folks look at the training required to support repairs. And, possibly most influential, Program Managers force compromises to ensure the product is finished on time and hopefully within budget. The car turns from something all about cool to something more practical. What you don't see is that much of the new technology that is ditched in the process is refined and slowly begins to appear in future models.It gauges interest. You can put a lot of stuff on a concept car and then see what kind of things the people viewing it like. The things that get the most reaction can then be integrated into current models. It can be something as simple as a taillight or a widget inside it, up to and including the body style or something more major.There is no such thing as bad publicity. If you're saying their brand name, they're winning sales. Companies produce concept cars so people, magazines, blogs, etc. have new things to talk about. The more you hear the name the more that name sticks in your head. Over time, with enough repetition, causes you to buy their products. |
why a small movement in earth's rotation makes a large difference in temperature at different times of the day. | Problem number one: you're talking to a flat-earther. Just so you know, he's probably not even serious. I have yet to meet someone that's both sane, and earnestly believes that hypothesis. I hate those guys my heart is beating a little faster in anxiety just thinking about them. I wish I could afford to round them all up, take them to the South Pole , just to make the point. The heat of the day is primarily due to how long it takes things to heat up. Just before daybreak is usually the coldest part of the day because it's had all night to cool. At noon, yes, the light is hitting more directly and the heat from it is most intense. It's *getting warmer* most quickly at this time, however, despite that, it's not the hottest part of the day. Rather, it's usually mid-afternoon, before sundown, that a given area sees its highest temperature, because it's been warming all day. If you want, check out an hourly weather forecast for a sunny day . 3-4pm is when it finally reaches its hottest. |
Why is it illegal to post a full movie online, but it isn't illegal to post a full video game online (like those "Let's Play"-style things on Youtube)? | The selling point of a movie is its viewing experience. The selling point of a game is its playing experience. You can view a movie on YouTube, but you can't play a game there--you can only view a game there, which isn't as fun. |
What the solution to this IQ-esque puzzle is | Where did you find this puzzle? EDIT: I give up. I just spent way too much time on this. I really hope you aren't trolling and that there actually is an answer. |
Why are air services separate branches within most nations militaries? | As a fun related fact, the US Air Force wasn't even founded until after WWII. All of the US air presence was as part of those other branches. |
What's it like to have Dementia? | For my grandmother, I could see it in her eyes. She is in her late 80's and has been showing signs for about 5 years. She lives in a different country, so I can't describe her progression, but she visited my family recently and she would sit for hours with a vacuous look on her face. There was a dimness in her eyes that would come and go. Sometimes she'd register a question, sometimes she wouldn't. It was like she was a battery-operated robot that was on its last bit of juice. In comparison, I regularly see two of my friends' grandmothers. They are 3-5 years older than my grandma and in their 90's. While they have trouble with their hips and back, their minds are still sharp. From week to week, they may share the same bit of advice they told me before, but their eyes make contact with mine when they speak. I'm able to see a range of emotions through their eyes. |
What does this cartoon mean? Is there some music related joke? | The notes in her response are a theme from Stravinsky's Petrushka. That story is a love triangle between 3 puppets – Petrushka loves the ballerina, but the ballerina rejects him for the Moor. To woo the Moor, she plays that theme on a toy trumpet. So there's a lot going on there – maybe she's saying that his playing is driving her away, but also that she's attracted to a black guy. |
Why was the economy so strong in the 90s, and what's different between then and now? | Walmart for one. Down vote me if you want, but they put a ton of places out of business. They sure don't put their money back into taking care of their employees, so they become a tax burden from welfare programs. |
Why are there no stars on the apollo moon landing photos? | It's daytime on the moon in the photos. You don't generally see stars in the daytime. Basically, the objects in the foreground, the moon surface and the astronauts, are much to bright for the camera to also pick up the stars. |
What is a Caucus and why do we have them? | Just adding to the question how can someone NOT be bias at a caucus. Whether it's the media today, or a drunk mob hundreds of years ago - someone is going to influence you. I don't get it, fundamentally. Couldn't one of the runners just implant a bunch of their incumbents?", 'In the politics of the United States, the concept of caucus have multiple meanings. One common meaning is: a gathering of members of a political party align with each new policy, or to nominate candidates for various political offices. The presidential caucus is one of the procedures to choose the candidate for the presidency. Most states use a primary to select the candidate. A difference between a primary and a caucus that present public vote voters in a caucus, while a primary is a secret ballot. A participant in a caucus must be a registered voter. Voters who are registered for a particular party, shall only participate in the caucus of that party. Voters who have registered as independent may choose which caucus they want to participate. During the meeting, everyone present gives the name of their preferred candidate. In some caucussen, for example those of the Democrats in Iowa, the meeting participants are trying each other in a second round to convince that they have made the wrong choice. The outcome of a caucus often proves that it is difficult to predict it.Why can't there just be like 20 D/R presidential hopefuls on the ballot and we vote for the one we want president? I understand the debates would be longer and more tedious with that many people but the voting process seems like it would be much simpler. |
Are dogs really "giving kisses" | One additional reason that hasn't yet been mentioned: they do it because their owner has reinforced it. I believe that many natural dog behaviors get trained to the point where the original meaning behind the behavior is no longer relevant. If you always respond to your dog licking your face in a way that he considers rewarding, he will lick your face more often to obtain that reward. The thing to remember is that **he** considers your response rewarding, not that you think you're rewarding him. If done incorrectly, pushing him away or trying to dodge/block the licks can be seen as a form of attention, which may be enough to encourage the behavior in some dogs. *Ninja edit: Formatting*", 'As an extension on this question, my dog gets really calm and contented when I kiss her head and neck. Do they realise that kissing is a sign of affection from us?', "Dogs lick your mouth because they watch you shovel food in there all day and they're hoping for scraps.Just a quick fact. It is fairly safe to let your dog kiss you. The germs in a dogs mouth are species specific, so they do no harm to humans. You are more likely to get sick from kissing another person than a dogDogs/wolves use this to communicate with each other and other animals . They could be trying to convey a message, reinforce their bond with you, or in many cases just doing it for the sake of licking youWhat about when my dog sticks her tongue 3 feet into my ear hole?Anyway according to them most of what comes out of his post and knit-picked his choice of words. |
If I become obese, say in the next month, or suddenly become obese to fit, would my genetic information alter and mirror the state of current condition of my body to my child? | If you are fit, than suddenly get fat, then not really, it wouldn't affect your kid all that much. However if you've been obese all your life, then something called Epigenetics comes into play. Essentially Epigenetics is a field of study into which genes are turned 'on' or 'off' when DNA is being created. If you're big and fat all your life, then when your child's DNA is being written, epigenetic markers can 'weaken' genes that affect impulse control and appetite, which can make your kid hungrier, and more likely to eat without thinking about it. Thats one of the many reasons that Fat parents tend to give birth to fat kids. And this is not only based on gender, the father actually has a fairly large effect on epigenetic markers, so whether one is male or female they should slim down before having kids. |
Why doesn't the metal walls of the microwave cause sparks but most every other metal does? | Microwaves jiggles the electrons of everything in the microwave. Things with lose electrons have a current induced, little eddy currents form. If the metal is smooth and forms a circuit the electrons just move around peacefully maybe heating the thing up. If it's wrinkled tin foil the electrons are getting shoved around up and down the peaks and all the nooks and crannies and things start sparking to jump across a fold or wrinkle where it provides less resistance. The metal walls for a circuit, are grounded, and are smooth. They end up reflecting the waves more than absorbing them. Fun fact, the holes in the window are related to the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation. If the holes are small enough the waves can't get through and bounce off. Same as with mesh satellite dishes. Light is just a high frequency it fits through the holes easily, but is blocked by much tinier holes on the molecular/atomic level. |
Why are MMA fighter told not to blow their nose when in a fight? | The only thing separating your nasal passage from the tissues around your eyes is a paper thin layer of bone. If this gets broken AND if you then blow your nose, air can escape through the broken bone into the tissues around your eye, causing it to swell up and block your vision. If your vision is impeded enough by eye swelling, the doctor can/should stop the fight. The best example of this I've seen is at the end of the first round of the Gilbert Melendez vs Eddie Alvarez fight in the UFC earlier this year. Alvarez blows his nose walking back to his corner at the end of round one and his eyelids blow up like a balloon. |
Redemption Theory - We can reclaim $630,000 from the U.S. Government? | > Seems like a crackpot conspiracy theory, but I am trying to understand any basis/reasoning for it. There isn't really any reasoning other than that Roger Elvick in the 1980s was either insane or a fraudster. |
Why do people say you don't have to wash jeans, just put them in the freezer or whatever, but I still supposedly have to wash all my other pants and clothes? | this is something that comes up when people are talking about selvedge denim. theoretically, you want to hold off on washing them so that they can get more wear before you rinse off the dye for the first time. this initial rinse will show the wear The idea with freezing them is that this will kill off the bacteria that are on the jeans that causes them to smell bad **EDIT:** I do not believe that freezing jeans will kill the bacteria. I am just answering OP's question of why some people think that freezing their jeans is a solution. |
Why do countries such as Korea have such insane internet speeds, yet countries such as the US don't have the same, if not better? | American companies have a tendency to 'milk the cow as long as she gives milk' seriously, most industry in the USA looks like Europe 30 years ago. |
Why do some animals kill their offspring (even eat) and some aggressively protect them? | Fathers do - most commonly in species where the father has no role in raising their offspring. But mothers doing so intentionally? I'm struggling to think of a sophisticated species where this happens. |
What makes the "I'm not a robot" captcha hard for bots? Can't spammers just create a program that clicks on the box? | accuracy of click", et cetera, to predict whether you're an automated software or an actual person.Sure, but the way that the bot clicks that box is very telling. If the mouse snaps exactly to that square, instead of moving to it like a human would, then it's a bot. If the whole page gets filled in at the same time the mouse is moving to the box, then it's probably a bot. Things like that. |
Why is political lobbying allowed in developed nations, especially by pro-government groups? | > I would imagine that a group in favour of a governmental institution lobbying the government for more funding, tools, etc., would be a conflict of interest. What would be the conflict? A [conflict on interest] occurs when there's potentially some competing obligation. An advocacy group has no other obligation than to lobby for it's cause, so I don't see what a second potentially competing interest would be. It doesn't say police officers are members, but even so, government employees retain the right to be politically active when they are not representing the government. Unions, public & private sector, also lobby the government for changes. The [right to petition] is guaranteed by the First Amendment. |
What happened to Google Glass and all the hype surrounding it? | Don't worry, you'll see it again in 3 years. Except it will have an Apple logo and be hailed as innovative and the first of its kind. You know, like all Apple products. |
I have heard that Grand Central Station has enough radioactivity to fail a nuclear power plant inspection. If this is true then why do we not feel the effects? | There are two simple reasons: * The requirements for nuclear power stations are very high, so being just over that is not really in a dangerous zone. They don't set the requirements right on the edge of the danger zone, for obvious reasons. * You don't feel the effects of low levels of radiation anyway, even if they are high enough to be bad for you in the long term. If you are exposed to a source of ionizing radiation high enough that you are going to feel it, [that would be a _very_ bad thing]. |
Why does the North Star appear to not move? | It's pretty much coincidence. We call it the North Star because its the star closest to the Northern pole of the planetary axis. There's also a South Star, but it's not very visible to the naked eye. basically, we got really lucky with such a bright axial indicator |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.