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IQ tests. How can someone of average or higher than average intelligence design puzzles or problems that only geniuses can solve. | Psychology degree here. Truly 5 year old explanation: It's not that only a genius could solve such a puzzle, it's how quickly and accurately such a puzzle is solved. Given enough time and scratch paper anyone could solve even the most complex math problem. The faster one does so accurately the more 'intelligent' they a... |
Why do video games play smoothly in real time but animations can take hours or days to render, even if the game is more graphically pleasing? | Films are mostly ray traced. Ray tracing looks at each pixel in each frame and traces the light ray for each pixel back to its source to figure out what color and how bright that pixel should be. Ray tracing produces the highest quality and most realistic results but at a tremendous computational cost. Last I heard, it... |
Why is having an asynchronous snapshot of an object either quite ineffective or costly, to keep up to date algorithm-wise? | Tom bought a $5 item" assumes that those two things happened in order, if the snapshot missed the "Tom deposited $20" but recorded "Tom bought a $5 item", when the snapshot was restored it would look like Tom had a negative balance. So, to fix this, you need a more sophisticated transaction. Maybe one that keeps track ... |
How are we to tell which nutrition recommendations are true when there are numerous contradictory reports every few years? | As a layperson you probably can't. You'll need to rely on an expert, such as a nutritionist that you hire to make a meal plan that's a perfect fit just for you. If you can't afford that, a number of countries around the world have hired a team to create a 'one size fits all' meal plans. [Here is a variety of resources ... |
What is RAM and why is it important for computers? | Random Access Memory, also known as RAM. Essentially it works like really fast memory. Old hard drives and even their newer faster counter parts, SSDs, are somewhat slow at writing, the CPU on a computer, the device that does all the math in computers, need access to data fast in order to crunch numbers, far faster tha... |
Why are fuel prices in the uk so high compared to america? | While price per barrel is set by opec, the us has a larger refining infrastructure and doesn't have to spend as much as on importing. |
Why don't they put solar panels on the top of electric cars to increase their driving range/battery life? | As everyone else has already pointed out the amount of electricity that solar cells the size of a car roof produce compares poorly to the amount of electricity a normal electric car consumes. Having a solar cell on the roof of your electric car will only increase its range by a tiny and negligible amount and trying to ... |
If I were nearsighted, would my vision be blurred when looking in a mirror at something in the distance? | Yes, there's no difference to your eye between focusing on an object 12 feet away and focusing on a reflection of an object that is 6 feet away from the mirror when the mirror is 6 feet from you. The reflected light is still traveling 12 feet. |
Why does the window of my oven have thousands of black dots? | I'm assuming you're talking about a microwave. In that case, since microwave radiation is good at heating things up and cooking flesh, it can also cook your flesh. Microwaves can travel through any solid object too. So if you had a clear window on your microwave, you would be getting exposed to some pretty strong radia... |
Why are (seemingly) all primes +/- 1 away from a product of 6? | Let's go a step back first. Do you remember when you first learned primes in school? Many teachers like to show it with a 10x10 grid that's have the numbers from 1 to 100 on it. The teacher then proceeds to tell you to cross everything out that can be divided by 2, then what can be divided by 3, and so on. After the fi... |
Why is the Hunger Games so popular? | Is this the first time you've read a book series you only semi-liked which turned into a move franchise? I read all of the twilight books and slightly enjoyed them. They weren't great, but they were entertaining. The movies are shit and people go apeshit over them. It's because it's marketed really well and get's young... |
Why do most female athletes wear revealing clothes compared to male athletes of the same sport. | I'm not sure which sports you have in mind, since I do not believe your comparison is accurate. At the elite level of international sports, they are in it to win it. Sports governing bodies often have very strict rules on what players may or may not wear during competition. Sometimes this is a matter for the organisers... |
Why are so many people from the Middle-East bitter towards Western civilization? | Because we've fucked them up pretty good. Many of the nations, and their boundaries were created by The West with little regard to the history of the region. The US supported at least two despots, Saddam Hussein and the Shah of Iran. Bin Laden's stated reason for the attacks of 9/11 was the presence of US troops in Sau... |
Why was it a bad idea of America to be backed up by the Gold Coin? | One of the biggest problems with it is how inflexible it is. It removes a lot of the techniques used to combat recession and depression. It prevents running deficits, which are necessary for state-wide economies. Price stability for gold was extremely volatile, which lead to markets that were very volatile - another ma... |
Why is it that One World Trade Center has less floor area than even one of the two Twin Towers? | Because it's not as big? How many stories is each building? How big around? Also, there may be a distinction between physical size and usable space once you account for supports, stairwells, etc. |
Why doesn't the American Military do something to stop the Mexican Drug Cartels? | If that's a topic you're interested in, Tom Clancy's *Clear and Present Danger* is a very entertaining read about a joint Army/CIA operation against the Columbian drug cartel. |
Why is it so hard to maintain eye contact when speaking with someone? | It's good to maintain eye contact. If you aren't feeling comfortable, you might have some issues with social interactions. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you might find people will see you as less trustworthy if you can't maintain eye contact. Just keep at it and push yourself to make eye contact. If you stare... |
What's the explanation for physically recoiling when we see something really odd or disturbing? | Possibly not the answer you're looking for, but relevant: VSauce made a video touching on things that are creepy or disturbing, and why it makes us unsettled. _URL_0_ Edit: Upon rewatching this video, I almost want to tag this NSFL, because I get creeped out every goddamn time. |
Why does Java need or get such an incredible, stupendous number of updates? | Wow, none of you have come close to the real answer. When you get that pop-up from Java, it's asking for the permissions it needs to run its installer and perform the update . Now, this is the important part: that didn't actually start the update process. You have to manually go to the icon on your taskbar and click in... |
Why are some morning people and others more of a night owl? | Basically it has to do with how long your internal clock thinks a day is. Nobody's is exactly 24 hours. if your internal clock is slightly more than 24 hours you are still going late at night. If your internal clock is slightly less than 24 hours you are ready to go in the morning.I believe it has everything to do with... |
Why does our depth perception get so bad while covering one eye or wearing an eye patch? | Depth perception comes as a result of seeing something from two slightly different angles-- one from your left eye and one from your right. In essence a person sort of triangulates the position of an object to estimate how far away it is. When you see something with one eye, you can't do that, so the image appears a li... |
Why are eggs such a common ingredient in many baked goods? What do they do? Are there any alternatives that work just as well or better? | Baked Goods and Eggs: What Do They Do? Do They Do Things?? Let's Find Out! |
Turbo in an Engine. And the difference between Turbo, Turbo-charger and super-charger and how these differ from just a regular old combustion engine. | Your car has to suck in air, or breathe in order to run. Just like how air comes out of the exhaust, air must go in first. Boost is where air pressure is applied to the engine instead of the engine just using it's own vacuum to suck in the air. Its kind of like if you were breathing off of a tube that forced the air in... |
If all the cells in our body are replaced every ~month. Why do we keep things like scars and wrinkles if they're not in our DNA? | Because scars and wrinkles aren't cells. They may contain cells, but what they really are are collections of protein fibers. Skin is normally a mixed collection of fibers, collagen for strength, elastin for elasticity, and others which connect these together and to the cells. Scars are a collection of hastily laid down... |
Why not just Google your question to find the answer instead of posting it on here? | Because,if you're anything like me,you end up staring bleary eyed at 15 Wiki tabs at 10am with a dual grip on a mug of coffee.Because: u/imfive: [Search] What the hell is the benefit of an ionizer and why should I buy a **fan** with one. Google: So, you want to buy a **fan**? Here are 1,003,044,734 results for **fans**... |
Why do presidential nominees in the United States get briefed on top secret national security information? | Things start happening months in advance. Its the idea of hitting the ground running. A soldier doesn't immediately go off to war. They first require training. |
Why does the moon not rotate? | It does rotate. In fact, it rotates at almost exactly the same rate as it rotates around the earth - that's why the same face always faces the earth. |
Why does Windows use file extensions everywhere (like .exe or .txt) and Linux usually doesn't need them? | > The UNIX-like filesystems use a different model without the segregated extension metadata. The dot character is just another character in the main filename, and filenames can have multiple extensions, usually representing nested transformations, such as files.tar.gz. Programs transforming or creating files may add th... |
How does counting cards work in blackjack? | Basically, you're not actually keeping track of every card. You're usually keeping track of when there are more high cards than lower cards as higher cards benefit the player more than the dealer. When you've seen a lot of low cards, you increase your bet to take advantage of the better odds. It's usually not worth the... |
How come minors have to pay taxes in the US? Since they can't vote, shouldn't they be tax exempt regardless of their income? | Ignoring the question entirely, I can't even begin to understand why you would think that being unable to vote should/would make you exempt from paying taxes non-citizens can't vote, but they still pay taxes. Taxes are paid for upkeep of the country. |
Why do we have two separate machines for washer and dryer? Is it not possible to combine them? | It's possible, and currently being done. _URL_0_ Why did it take so long? That's the real question. |
What is the point of accumulating wealth beyond of what you can spend in a lifetime? | They're either trying to ensure their families will be taken care of for however many generations after they're gone, or hoping to establish something that will have a lasting impact. Or sometimes I guess they're just competing with the other rich people.Some of the people on the list agree that they have too much weal... |
Why do people only fill half the glass when pouring wine? | Part of drinking wine is the smell. If you fill the glass, aroma can't accumulate for you to smell as you drink. |
How is plumbing fully functional during a power outage? | I'm not a plumber, but its because it doesn't rely on electricity. Just the pressure of the water coming from a pumping station to you.Water is fed by gravity to your house from a water tower if you are on a public system. Municipalities use electric pumps to get the water up into the tower, then gravity is used to fee... |
When my cell phone is limited to making emergency calls only, why can't I use the signal for other things? | Your cell phone doesn't have a registered account with the phone company that owns the tower that provides the signal. That means that they are unable to send a bill anywhere for services used over that signal. They let you make emergency calls because that's just a good idea , but nothing else because they can't make ... |
Are airplanes flying as fast as they can? | Landing earlier usually results from tailwinds or routing changes, or it's a Jedi mind trick because they pad the gate-to-gate times for delays. Commercial jets can fly a bit faster but don't for reasons of fuel economy. Also, flight gets unstable as it approaches the speed of sound. |
How can a medication cause such a specific side effect as thoughts of suicide? | You can be SO depressed that you can't bring yourself to do anything, including suicide. Certain medications will lift you out of that depth to where you're still depressed, but now motivated to kill yourself. |
why do we sometimes sweat excessively when sleeping? | Sometimes if you enter a deep sleep you won't wake up to take the blankets off if you're too hot |
If mosquito's are attracted to light. Why don't they all fly to the sun and leave us alone? | this is by far the **best** thing i've ever heard on reddit! get my upvote sir", 'Insufficient delta-v. They would need mosquito boosters in order to conquer space.Isn't it the infrared light that we emit that marks us at food? |
How can turtles eat food underwater without swallowing too much water? | How can you eat something under air without swallowing too much air? It's the exact same mechanism. When you close your mouth you squeeze out the air while holding the food in with your teeth, tongue and lips.I cant say for all of them but i know the lether back turtle has a load of spiky things in its mouth that point... |
how sharks can smell blood from such far distances away underwater | We don't know. Something else equally mysterious is how they seemingly can tell when another great white has been killed hundred of miles away. When it happens, all great whites in the vicinity pretty much take off for the other side of the ocean. _URL_1_ |
How are those glass decorational items made? The ones that are just a solid glass blocl, but with some kind of 3-D image inside of it? | Hmm I would have thought they were a special kind of laser: ultrafast lasers, or femtosecond lasers. They have extremely short pulses with huge amounts of peak power. Unlike 'normal' lasers that machine or mill material away by boiling and vaporising, these lasers machine or mill by 'cold ablation': the huge light fiel... |
Why are computer error messages a mixture of numbers and letters instead of an actual useful and understandable message? | the OS doesn't know why the program _URL_0_ only knows that it has crashed. And anyway even if it did know why the program crashed it would be impossible to have an error message for every possible reason that a progran crashes |
Why do dentist have the highest suicide rates? | While I would like to say it's because they're tired of telling you to floss more, it's probably more complicated than that. |
What's the difference between "Professional Photography" and something you would see on instagram? | It's like the difference between a professional chef, and a college kid making macaroni and cheese from a box. Yes, they both make food, but the similarity ends there. Or between a professional artist, and a kid doodling in his notepad. Professional photographers do use much more advanced equipment than a smartphone. H... |
Why is "If man evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?" not a good argument against evolution? | Say you want to do a little selective breeding. You take 2 golden retrievers that each have a specific trait you want to breed into a new animal, like unusually coloured fur or whatever. Once your dogs breed, they'll have a litter of puppies, some of which will have the differently coloured fur, but most will just be r... |
What is it about the hiring process that leaves many recent grads unemployed? | no" or "a little". THANK YOU! Was that so hard? SOOO much easier to train someone who is ready to learn and not someone who is looking for a way to make their previous experience relevant. I'm not hating on older workers in general, just this one little area. Willing to learn means admitting you don't already know. |
How does the justice system compel a defendant to participate in a civil case? If someone wants to sue, what stops the other party from just saying no | I can only speak for the U.S., but you're not compelled to participate as a defendant in a civil case any more than you are in a criminal case. You don't have to say or do anything. The case will proceed and since you haven't done anything to defend yourself, the court will find for the plaintiff. You don't have to agr... |
How do theoretical physicists find solutions to the biggest and smallest answers to the universe using math alone? | Theoretical physicists make models, not solutions to answers. In practice the models are much more complicated than my example, but the idea is very much so the same. Say you're playing a game and what to know your win rate. You know how many games you won and how many games you played. The formula for your win rate /=... |
Why can't they make a flat, rectangular map of the world without severely distorting the actual size of land masses further from the equator? | You can't project the surface on a sphere onto a flat surface without stretching. This is a result of [Gauss's Theorema Egregium] which defines a quantity or measure of curvature at each point on a surface and says that bending a surface without stretching can be done only when the measure of curvature does not change.... |
Why are we comfortable in 95 degree water, but not 95 degree air? | You shed heat faster in water. In really dry 95° F weather you can be comfy in the shade, so long as there's a little breeze. You'll perspire enough to avoid overheating.I 've got a relevant followup: Why is it that 85 degrees OUTSIDE is "a nice day" but 85 degrees INSIDE is "omfg turn on the Air Conditioner"?The body ... |
Why do carriers care if you tether? | the same reason why Hollywood cared about VCRs or the music industry cared about cassette tapes. with tethering, you'll only need to subscribe to their service once instead of multiple times .Money. It's a "service" they can otherwise charge more for. Why would they give something away when they can charge you for the ... |
Why does Ron Paul seem to be doing leaps and bounds better recently? | Ron Paul is the only alternative to Romney and he's stacked his supporters in leadership positions and the race is over and Romney has won so no one apart from his supporters are bothering to turn up. He's using loopholes in the rules to get delegates despite consistently losing the popular vote. |
Hydraulic lifts. How can I (80kg) lift my car (1600 kg) by simply stepping on the pedal on my hydraulic lift? | The hydraulic fluid which drives the lift can't be compressed, so as you step down on the pedal and force the fluid down, it forces the fluid underneath the lift up. This has the effect of raising whatever is sitting on the lift. This video might help, for me it's a lot easier to understand when visualized: _URL_1_ |
"Obamacare" Point-By-Point - Part 3 | Since you've read so much of this I'm curious if you can point to any of your summary sections that you think are probably not good ideas. I think it's likely a bill this large has many downsides even for those in support of it but I haven't personally seen them, I'd love to hear what you think thus far. ", 'Just wante... |
why are the European branches of American companies usually run from Northern Ireland? | There are several reasons: 1) As mentioned by other users there are many tax loopholes that companies can take advantage of and save billions. 2) Ireland has a lot of people who speak English as a first language and so they can communicate fairly well with people in North America 3) Ireland is one of the countries at t... |
How was Beethoven able to write all that music without hearing it? | Early in Beethoven's career he apparently had normal, healthy hearing. And during this time he developed his skill with perfect pitch. What this means was that he could hear a note being played and identify the key, and whether or not it was being played sharp or flat. And it also means that he could *accurately* imagi... |
How is it possible that no two people have the same fingerprint? And who discovered this and how did they do this? | It hasn't been discovered. We don't *know* that no two people have the same fingerprint, we're just kinda assuming that it's true. |
Why is wifi free in cheap hotels, but paid in expensive ones? | Couple of things: If you can afford to stay at the expensive hotel, you're probably not going to balk at a $10 wifi charge. Also, the expensive hotels are often more focused on business travelers, who need the internet to work, so they don't have a choice. Also, they don't care if it costs $10, because they're getting ... |
Why it is so common for people to misunderstand freedom of speech? | Because most people don't understand the Constitution at all. If you stop the average US citizen on the street and ask them the purpose of the Constitution, most people will tell you that it is the document that grants us our rights. This is the exact opposite of what the Constitution actually does. The founding princi... |
Submariners, from the point of view of the crew aboard. Once submerged, do subs ever experience "rough seas"? | Not a submariner but an aircraft carrier doesn't experience many weather effects either. When dodging a hurricane, we only had 5 degree rolls. |
Why do I have hair in my ass crack? | I think it has to do with keeping bugs and dust and shit out of your body's holes. Same reason we have eyelashes, nose/ear hair, and pubic hair. Bugs and other things find it harder to find their way through a thick forest of hair. Pubic lice must have evolved to exploit this however, but on the evolutionary scale, shi... |
What takes more energy, to maintain the house at a temperature while I'm gone for a few hours or to turn off the ac and turn it back on when I come back? | Your AC uses less energy when it's off than when it's on. Period. However, comfort may dictate that you don't turn it completely off when you're gone. Your AC may not have the capacity to quickly return a very hot home to comfortable conditions, especially when it's very hot outside. In fact it may take hours of contin... |
What does the court's recent decision regarding net neutrality actually mean? | I'm completely pro-net neutrality, but since the lines really are owned by those particular companies, isn't it their right to do what they want with them? Isn't it essentially the government taking over their infrastructure? I mean, I suppose other utilities like gas and electric also own the infrastructure but have r... |
Why are some appliances made to work on only one voltage, while others work on any voltage? Why not make all appliances work on all voltages? | The things that run on any voltage have a switching power supply to make low voltage DC to power their circuits. Things like a toaster can't work that way, making heat from electric current requires larger power levels than can be handled economically that way. Thus things with powerful motors or heating elements need ... |
The idea of “mental competence” in or in avoidance of court cases. | > How is it determined whether someone is mentally capable of standing trial in court The judge will make that determination after hearing legal arguments made by attorneys for both prosecution and defense, supported by the opinions of psychiatric experts who have evaluated the defendant. > what is the underlying idea ... |
How does the second Ammendment protect against tyranny? Wouldn't want civil war or uprising devastate the country beyond repair? | Fear. You just answered the question. It's the same reason we don't use nuclear weapons.Plus, it's another check and balance on the government. The government can't just do whatever they want. If they become tyrannical, the common man can defend himself. |
Why do fighter jets refuel other fighter jets instead of using a tanker or bringing another external fuel tank? | It's known as a buddy store and allows carrier based fighters to extend their range while carrying more munitions. _URL_0_ |
If I came from a planet with much higher gravity than Earth and came to Earth, would I be stronger and faster than everyone, also, what would the drawbacks be? | I would think that if you grew up on a higher gravity planet, you would be shorter than other humans, your bones would be denser, and your legs would probably be a lot stronger. You'd look like a dwarf, really But you would be stronger than the average human. Now, if you were a creature from that planet and weren't jus... |
Why is tooth pain so unbearable compared to other areas? | Sensitivity is why. Let somebody touch your finger. No problem. Now let them touch your toes, whoa, very sensitive and ticklesh right? Our hands are exposed. We bump them into things all the time and our minds are used to sensations from those nerves. But our feet are inside shoes and socks most of the time, and especi... |
Why are fruits and vegetables considered healthier than multivitamins? | It has to do with a lot more than only the vitamin counts, you have to factor in the lack of bad things. You could get plenty satisfaction by eating an apple, with a very low intake of bad cholesterol and fat, while also getting vitamins and other important nutrients. So yeah, getting a full stomach on food with low qu... |
Why does food stick so strongly to plates or frying pans after its sat out a few hours compared to when it's fresh? | Unfortunately I don't have an answer to what causes this, but a pro-tip I can give you is to let your dishes soak if you aren't going to wash them right away.Heat has a lot to do with it in my experience. Wash something with very hot water compared to cold. |
Why do the tips of our fingers and toes need a covering such as our nails? | Claws are used for traction and as weapons. Nail plates such as ours evolved as social grooming became increasingly important. It's much easier to grab a parasite with nail plates than it is with claws. |
How did ancient people know when the summer and winter solstices were, and why was it important to them? | In ancient times as well as today, understanding the cycle of the seasons was a matter of life or death. Agriculture was in it's infancy and mis-judging the right time to plant seeds or harvest your crop would be the difference between your family living another season or dying of starvation. The sun told you what part... |
why breathing out doesn’t work when we’re choking ? | You can if you have enough air in your lungs to push it out with enough force. But chances are when you are choking, you won't have that kind of luxury. |
How Al Sharpton owes over 3 million in taxes, but is on public tv all the time. | My understanding is not deep, but legally speaking, Al Sharpton doesn't necessarily owe the taxes, but his 'business' or 'organization' does. If I'm remembering correctly, the pattern is that an organization 'goes out of business', and a new organization might be formed later on. It may or may not be shady dealings, an... |
"Second cousin twice removed" | I'm a Viriginian with a complex family tree -- nothing disreputable, but one set of great-grandparents had two children shortly after marriage, then a second set of two children 15 years later, effectively dropping the second set into a new generation. Suddenly the children of the first set were about the same age as t... |
Why is it LEGALLY ok for nightclubs to charge male patrons more than women (free admission for women, ladies night drink specials)? | It may or may not be legal. But this kind of pratice rests in a gray area of law. So what happens is that someone challanges the law, takes a nightclub to cort and the courts decide. In almost all cases the courts decide that it's unfair. but because the prize is so small, there is very rarely any kind of settlement fo... |
Is it society or genetics that makes humans view other human lives as more important than an animals? | Genetics. Every social mammal engages in some form of kin selection. It's a fundamental principle of evolution. All animals judge how important helping someone is based on how closely related they are. For example squirrels only give alarm calls to squirrels that are related to them. Preferring your species over anothe... |
Why do people claim that Fluoride is harmful? | Because it is harmful, just not in the quantities we are exposed to - people really like to exaggerate. A lot of substances are harmful/toxic in large quantities but we use products containing those substances all the time because the amount we get from those products is not anywhere near the unsafe levels. Unless you ... |
Why in biological context is it typically more difficult for women to reach orgasm? | It's been said that the female orgasm is not necessary for reproduction. This is somewhat true, but childbirth is far more difficult for humans than other mammals. Women really need that incentive to have sex or we'd die out because childbirth is so painful. Also, it's a pretty common thing for female social animals to... |
The controversey surrounding the Netflix Documentary Making A Murderer. | A bad crime happened. Steve was sent to prison. 18 years later the police found that he didn't do it. He was released. A few years after that there was another bad crime. Steven was sent to prison again for it, this time forever. Some people say that the police didn't have enough evidence for sending him to prison for ... |
Why don't more people in the US hold the same opinion as Morgan Freeman that the best way to end Racism is to stop talking about it? | Do you really think that's all it takes? Or are you saying most Americans already reduce their positions to a catchy slogan, so why not this one too? |
Why do some birds hop and others walk? | Smaller birds tend to be hoppers, while larger birds tend to be walkers. In short, it takes less energy to hop when you're small, then it is to be bipedal when you are big. And there are reasons gravity affects you differently when you are smaller, instead of if you were the same shape but bigger. Imagine that bug you ... |
Why do my tear ducts leak every morning when I wake up? | This is a good question. I think it's because I'm allergic to the cat, but it might be my existentialist crisis as I wake and wonder if I have become a large insect.Because you have to face the horror of another fucking dayIts because your eyes use tears to seal up. When you wake up, your eyes are still making lots of ... |
Why is killing fish not recognized as animal cruelty? | fish are not warm fuzzy animals. The general public doesn't outcry for animals that are not universally considered cute. If it is warm blooded and has fluffiness people care. Scales, shells, slime? There isn't enough people that see value in these animals to move politicians to action and classify these animals under t... |
What do computer components do? | Excellent ELI5, just one note: > Faster more expensive CPUs will result in faster executing programs. Not necessarily. CPU performance is measured by execution time, NOT speed. It's a common misconception that I see all too often. Your super fast but poorly optimized CPU will be no better than a slow CPU that is highly... |
Origin of "$X.99" - where did this convention come from? | The first known instance of setting prices at $X.99 was in 1876 in Chicago. Melville E. Stone produced a newspaper that cost a single penny to compete with the standard nickel newspapers of the day, but most people didn't carry pennies around, so business wasn't good. Prices for goods were typically sold in whole dolla... |
Why are most songs about three to five minutes long, and movies about two hours long? | Movies are mainly because that's just a good length to tell a story and not have your audience get bored. Movies used to be about an hour shorter, they were hovering around one hour for a long long time. However when we had better projection technologies we started making longer movies that required an intermission. Ov... |
Why can't we hold our breath to death? | Because you'll go unconscious before dying. When you go unconscious the muscles that you use to choke yourself loosen up and breathing resumes as normal. |
Why don't casinos shuffle the deck frequently during Blackjack to avoid card counting? | Casinos are all about giving you the illusion that you can beat them. A player that doesn't count cards doesn't realize exactly how shuffling more often will hurt them but they know that it makes it harder for them to win so they won't play, and then the casino won't make money. If a casino paid out 30-1 instead of 35-... |
Why is the new nuclear fusion success of Germany important? | The nuclear power plants of today basically take radioactive rods which get very hot by themselves and we throw lots of water at them to make steam and then we use that steam to turn big turbines. Then later you have the nuclear waste to deal with and there is limit amounts of nuclear material and there's obviously lot... |
Why is it so cheap to buy items in America vs other areas of the world | 1. US produces everything. I mean everything. Meat, produce, diary, beer, wine, cars, clothing, electronics, you name it. This includes stuff made in other countries. Those clothes made in China? Well, you can't buy them in China. They are for export only. iPhone is made in China? You pay import tax if you buy it there... |
Why is it legal for a cop to lie to you, but it's illegal to lie to a cop? | Same reason why they can speed, look on their phones while driving and be on their computers while driving. Because they're better than all of us. |
You get arrested and taken to the police station. You say "I want to talk to my lawyer." How exactly does this work? | Usually officers will simply quit questioning you. If they have charges you will be arrested and taken to jail. If not, and not enough evidence is present, you will be released. Public defenders just don't show up and usually cops don't have time to wait on lawyers if one is contacted so the conversation is abruptly st... |
How smarter is a person with a 160-170 IQ than the average person? | Every test is different and the IQ value itself doesn't mean much, the only figure that matters is how many standard deviations or percentile it measures. For example, to qualify for MENSA , you must score at least the 98th percentile on one of two tests. One of them is a fairly standard IQ test, with a score of 140 pl... |
If sea mammals breathe air normally, why does getting stuck on land result in a swift death? | I've read many of the great posts in this thread; that made me curious: if getting on land crushes, dehydrates and sunburns sea animals, how did they manage the general crossing from oceans to land millions of years ago?", 'A lot of mammals require their skin to be wet so when outside of the water they can die of dehyd... |
Why do many men have red in their beards, even if they don't have any red hair elsewhere? | I fit this category.I have light brown top of head hair, blonde arm hair, black chest hair, and red as an irishman beard hair. What's extra odd is that you can't tell my beard is red unless I let it grow out for about a week.Hey I have this too. Is it that common? Im gonna go wild and say genetics.Edit- Also you will n... |
Why do people wake up with morning wood/morning dew? | It's the coccygeus muscle, the same one you'd exercise when doing Kegels. It's what helps you hold it in when you have to urinate, and it works for men and women. |
Why aren't personal finance classes required courses? | It IS required at some schools. I had to take one to graduate High School . At places it isn't, it's because the state board of education sets most of the required classes, and after a certain point they get worried about adding too much to the required list and looking like they don't care about the basics, like Math ... |
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