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why some boys hate girls before hitting puberty? Is there a biological reason or purely social and learned behavior? | They don't understand or see the point of them yet. They seem different and useless for no good reason. EDIT: ? |
Why haven't humans gone back to the moon? | The moon kinda sucks. It's barren and uninhabitable. And dull. It's really quite dangerous and expensive to go there. The cost/benefit ratio tips heavily in favour of staying on earth and sending robots there if we feel like exploring. |
why does traveling by train cost more than other transport? | I went to Germany this summer and we went by train just because it seemed to be the most convenient for a group like ours. No leaving early and waiting in airports, easy for the 8-10 of us to sit relatively close, can get up and move around easily, relatively few delays. I honestly don't know if it was cheaper - we got... |
How do technicians determine the cause of a fire? Eg. to a cigarette stub when everything is burned out. | My brothers house caught fire due to a shorted electrical wire in his 4 year old son's room. His son woke the whole family up and saved everyone in the house. Whole story was on CNN and all the news networks. Local fire investigators confirmed it was electrical fire. Insurance company sends their own investigator out .... |
How is war footage taken and who does so? | You should read My War Gone By, I Miss it So. It's an amazing book about war journalists in the Bosnian/Serbian/Yugoslavian/Croatian clusterfk of a war. It's an autobiography where one of the journalists is basically outlining his decent into drugs, heavily caused by the insanity of things that he saw during the war. |
What exactly are the 'toxins' people talk about getting rid of from your body? | Aside from /u/stochassticpuppy, this thread is depressing. It's like a bunch of people feel qualified to answer this question because they are fed up with snake oil.South Park explains it in [Cherokee Hair Tampons]. |
Gasoline is finite, consumable, and its supply is rapidly decreasing. How can its price ever go down? | > It also happens to be used up at astonishing rates. This is your opinion. I, for example, am unastonished. > And the Middle East, where there's a lot of oil, isn't necessarily getting along too well with the United States at the moment. There is also a lot of oil in Texas, North Dakota, Alaska, California, Canada, an... |
How did the Abrahamic Religions become such a behemoth? Why aren't we all going to temples to pray to Odin or Zeus? | Christianity spread slowly by word of mouth for awhile, it was just another cult, and not a particularly important one. Nobody really paid them much attention, and the stories about Romans persecuting Christians, throwing them to the lions and so forth are mostly bullshit, made up by the Christians later to paint the e... |
Is sleep after a meal good or bad or neither? | From what I've read, there's no way your body produces fats/energy differently in sleep. However it can impact your sleep. Your body puts a lot of energy into breaking down your food and converting that to energy. When you sleep, your body needs to rest, not process your digestive system. |
tooth-brushing, flossing, mouthwash, tongue-brushing. What's the correct order to do these, and why? Can you chew sugar-free gum after your dental hygiene routine? | My buddy who's in dental school currently says: Floss- > Brush- > Tongue Scrape- > Mouthwash for maximum freshness of breath. Explained: Flossing before brushing will help get any gunk out of your teeth crevices that allows for maximum coverage. Brushing should be done at a controlled speed; not too fast/too slow, mini... |
Why is it that we think of mirrors as being silver colored, even though they reflect the exact colors of objects around them? | Because mirrors were quite literally silver. They're made of steel or aluminum now, but they were silver colored for the longest time. There's also that mirrors are silver colored when the angle isn't right to reflect anything, just like any other piece of well polished metal. |
How is this the solution to the Monty Hall Problem? | Mathematics. Each door had a 1/3 of being correct, right? So the first door you pick doesn't matter. You have a 1/3 of being right no matter what you pick. So let's pick Door 1. I know have a 1/3 chance of being right, while Doors 2 and 3, together, have a 2/3 of being right. Now's when one of the doors is eliminated. ... |
Does legalization of a illicit drug increase usage? | Metrics are tough to come by because lots of people don't answer questions like that honestly. Even where legalization has passed there may be a social stigma to admitting you smoke weed especially to a random person who could be a cop/federal agent. However CO has [seen increases] but is it *really* an increase or are... |
What is the story behind Hitler's moustache? What made him choose that distinct style? | The pencil eraser mustache was very popular. It's not just Hitler that wore it. any people did before hitler |
If lobbying doesn't involve bribery, why does it cost so much? | It is expensive because there are rules, and the people who aren't being bribed already have high salaries and expensive tastes. Instead of outright bribes, lobbyists have to be creative about how they give politicians experiences that make them happy and get their attention while dangling the threat of moving their su... |
How do radioactive atoms "cooperate" with each other? As in, how is it that any given amount of carbon-14, 1g or 10kg, will definitively leave behind 1/2 in 5730 years? | A half-life of 5730 years doesn't really mean that a given amount of C-14 decays in that period It means that a single atom of C-14 has a 50% chance of decaying over a time span of 5730 years. In a time span of 11460 years, it has a 75% chance of decaying In 22920 years, 82.5% chance of decaying And so on. Now, when yo... |
Why can US state governments pass unconstitutional laws? Wouldn't these be illegal and therefore ineffective? | They can pass whatever laws they want. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to have an automatic 'is this legal or not' check due to the twisty morass that is US law. Furthermore, the courts aren't empowered to go out and put a stop to unenforceable laws. Instead, what happens is once a law is made, it can be chal... |
Why do YouTube URLs contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters if URLs aren't case-sensitive? | the Youtube video id's can have the following characters in the url: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789-_ That's 26+26+10+2 = 64 possibilities per character, and Youtube Video URLs are 11 characters long. This means that there are 64^11, so more than 7.37 * 10^19 possibilities. If there were... |
Why the government can't print more money? | All of the value - the 'worth' - produced by a country in a year is their GDP . This is value that is actually *created* out of nothing. A tree has some value, a house has more. If you turn a tree into a house, the difference between their values adds to the GDP. The country needs a way to represent all of this value i... |
Why do some people grow out their pinky nail really long but keep the rest of their nails trimmed? | Because I was in an industrial accident. It shattered my hand, pinkie got it the worst. It's completely deformed compared to my other hand. It's super sensitive on the very tip if I touch the tip with anything I scream in pain. That includes getting close with a clipper. Also, the nail doesn't clip like normal. When cl... |
Why do we need the Moon? | Great answers in here so far! Just wanted to add that the moon has also acted as an asteroid shield for the earth . This may have been crucial to the survival of life depending on when the moon took a hit for for us. You da real MVP, moon. |
How is it there is no police at festivals, where drug use, underage drinking and alcohol abuse is commonplace. | Depending on the size of the venue. If it's big they would be under cover as a police officer in uniform stands out amongst a crowd of 100's, throw in the concoction of drug use, alcohol and a backdrop sense of police brutality police are sitting ducks. A mass of full uniformed officers is usely perceived and used as a... |
Would it kill/hurt me if I only ate cereal for the rest of my life? If so, how and why? | source: am almost MD. Depends on a few things, but if you're eating that cereal with milk you'll largely do just fine for a long long time, if you keep the calorie intake reasonable and don't gain weight as a result. The biggest deficiency would be protein if you're on a cereal-only diet, but with milk it wouldn't be t... |
How is kanye 53 million dollars in debt? | He's not in debt at all and he stated this. He can still buy basically whatever he wants. He wants more money to do things to save the world, whatever the eff that means.It's difficult to say what he is talking about really. However, simmilar to how I'm in debt for hundreds of thousands of dollars for my house he may b... |
Why does no one care about the Chinese / North Korean border? | China has normal, if not friendly relations with North Korea. More importantly, if they catch someone sneaking over the border into china then they send them straight back to NK. China is a large country so crossing the border isn't as hard as simply getting out of china. |
I just bought a whole cooked chicken at Wal-Mart for $2.50. Does that mean raising a chicken from birth to slaughter costs less than $2.50? | NOPE. It costs WAYYY more than that. The reason it has a low price tag is because it's heavily subsidized. Your tax dollars pay a lot of money towards animal agriculture. It's one reason why public health experts are concerned with food subsidies . The US also subsidizes corn and soy heavily since animals eat them. |
Why is the Canadian Dollar so low and still dropping? | The Canadian dollar is essentially directly related to the price of oil, its key economic resource. With the price of oil so low, Canada's economy is struggling and it turn, its currency is devalued. As for oil prices dropping, its a more complicated question. It boils down to the key economic ideas of supply and deman... |
Why do calories matter when losing weight but the weight of the food doesn't? | Your body stores the energy from the food you eat that it doesn't use. Some foods have higher amounts of energy than others. A pound of chocolate has more energy than a pound of celery. |
Why is mold acceptable in some foods, such as cheese, but not in anything else? | Mold isn't 1 species. It basically describes a fungus. So, think of it in the same way as mushrooms: Some are safe to eat, while others will release toxins which harm your body. Penicillin is another safe fungus / mold, but it still releases toxins to your body, but they typically won't harm you. Also, the earliest for... |
What happens inside the brain when we're feeling nostalgic? Also, what causes nostalgia? | Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.You have come in contact with a thing that you associated with other things that used to make you feel a certain wayWhy explain it when I can... |
Why do we smile and laugh when being tickled if it's so unpleasant? | It causes a pleasurable feeling neurologically but in excess. It's too much of a good thing. Source: asked my bio teacher that exact question a few weeks ago", 'Smiling and laughing are thought to have been derived from a "fear face"- the face animals use when they are afraid or defensive, where they bare their teeth. ... |
Where do different tastes in music come from? | The basic factors are ;exposure - what music gets played to you, education - what level of music theory and concepts you understand, projected identity - music you listen to to confirm/project your identity within a groupRelatable - music which discusses themes or issues which relate to your lifeFirst response - the em... |
Why is there an explosion when something breaks the speed of sound? | You just call the sonic boom 'boom' because it sounds like an explosion and an explosion sounds like that because it accelerates gases beyond the speed of sound. That boom though is merely the overlapping of sound waves created separately but synchronized by a fast moving object amounting to one very high amplitude wav... |
Why is a perfectly polite "Sorry, I was stuck in traffic" never considered as a reasonable response? | Last year, I had to go to a meeting with the dean of the graduate school at my university because I had taken more than the allotted 6 years to finish my PhD. The meeting was more than a formality, since its purpose was for the dean to ascertain whether or not I had any chance of finishing within the upcoming semester.... |
Why don't we (adults) use baby wipes anymore in favor of toilet paper? | Because we're cheap bastards! Baby wipes are awesome! I'm also sad my country isn't down with the bidet :( |
Why do we get ticketed for not wearing seat belts even though we're not hurting anyone but ourselves? | Because there are many other people you can hurt. Here, enjoy one of the more memorable UK PSAs I've ever seen:_URL_0_ |
Why is Mexico so poor? | > Mexico has been a country longer than the U.S. Not really. Mexico was bigger than the US at one point, but it legally achieved independence in 1821 from Spain, and in 1867 from France, and then went through major internal revolutions in early 20th century. > Why don't they try to emulate the U.S. to increase their ec... |
From an evolutionary standpoint, why is childbirth painful? | Well look at it from the standpoint that evolution doesn't care so much about how painful something like childbirth is, we don't evolve out of comfort near as much as out of necessity to live. Something that may want to consider is the fact that we evolved from another species that didn't stand on 2 legs all the time l... |
Why aren't all automobile fuel caps on the driver side of the car? | European originating car designs aren't always going to flip everything. Plus any number of other reasons mentioned here. Pro tip: the fuel gauge symbol on the dash will have a triangle pointing to the fill side. |
How does masturbation work in space? | Eh? Unless I'm doing it wrong, I think it works the same. As long as you have whatever protection you need for a trip to space you should still be able to peel your eel in the traditional earthly way. When you blow your stack you may need to swim/fly away from it. I have a feeling I've missed your point.What about it w... |
Why isn't there regenerative keyboarding on our laptop keyboards, in order to prolong battery life? | You couldn't get enough energy out of it to be practical. Most laptops consume less than 100 Watts of electricity. Most people could power this using a bicycle and generator, producing 100-500 Watts, depending on speed/fitness. Consider now how much easier it is to type than to pedal a bike. Remembering too that the mu... |
Why do we suddendly lose motivation when close to finishing a task? The last 20% is always the hardest to me. | ITT: Nobody knows. For me, I'm ADHD, so motivation is like gold to me. I only really have it for free when a particular task is new and sexy. Most tasks are only new for the first 10% and are almost always done being sexy by the 80th percent. Beyond that, the only thing that gets you through to 100 percent is disciplin... |
Why does oil fry food and make them crispy while water boils food and makes it soggy? | If the oil isn't hot enough it will also make the food soggy. If the oil is hot enough it will flash fry the outside preventing more oil from entering the food. |
Why can we randomly feel our pulses in parts of our body for a few seconds? | I'm pretty much constantly aware of my heartbeat, I'm not sure where exactly I'm feeling it though. Any time I'm sitting still, I can just feel the pulsing throughout my whole body. I think it's a little more severe than what you're talking about, so I wonder if I'm just weird. |
Why do cats show their bellies in a show of trust, then mercilessly attack you when you try to pet them? | I have a weird cat that is addicted to belly rubs. He's a Tonkinese and he'll let you do it all day also, he's never hissed, bit or scratched anyone. Best cat ever! |
If It's possible to SLI two GPUs, why is it not possible to SLI two CPUs? | If you have multiple CPU cores, which you almost certainly do, you're sort of already doing 'SLI'. Each core acts like its own separate CPU. |
Why is it normal to give all of our money to banks? Why are people who keep their cash looked at as 'odd'? | In America, banks for a long time weren't trusted after the Great Depression. It is normal to see older people keeping more cash on hand than money in the bank. After bank accounts started being insured, people born after the Depression started to trusted them again. Today, banks are considered a more protected means o... |
Why does basically everyone in a hospital get an IV regardless of their situation? | My patients don't always get them, but most of the time they do. If I have to draw your blood, I'd rather do it while placing an IV, because otherwise it's one needlestick for the blood draw and then a 2nd for the IV later. It's nicer to you to just put in the IV. Plus in the ED, we don't really know much about our pat... |
What would happen if there was a material that absorbed 100% light? | The only thing that would tip you off to the fact that the object was there, is that there would be light all around it, and an abrupt blackness where the object is. You wouldn't see an object, just an area of complete blackness. Blacker than anything you've ever experienced. |
Why do most penises hang to the left instead of the right? | Because most guys are right handed and thus use their right hand. The thumb is thus on the left with the other 4 fingers on the right side creating more pressure overall on the right side pressing to the left. Over time, you end with a hand to the left due to that. I'd predict that most lefties who use their left hand ... |
Why do mobile devices have autocorrect implementation, but almost no computers do? | Browsers like Chrome have spell check integrated. But OS-wide autocorrect isn't necessary because keyboards are much more precise than mobile screens; the autocorrect is for fat-fingering something and not because they assume most people are illiterate. You also really don't want autocorrect when you are entering comma... |
How is it that I receive spam emails trying to get me to open a file, but if I try and send a reply to the address, it gets rejected? | When you send regular mail, you can write whatever you want on the enveloppe as the return address. It's basically the same thing with email. |
Where would air go if you would release some in space? Eli5 | It disperses or spreads out. It's like the smoke from your cars tailpipe, it comes out in a group but quickly thins out. |
What makes our brains go "that was funny, now let's laugh"? | @OP It's not your brain that makes you laugh, its part of your skeleton, the funny bone to be precise.I read an interesting theory somewhere, probably in a Neal Stephenson novel. It suggested that laughter in a social context could be, in part, an error checking mechanism for the way we perceive and understand the worl... |
My sister in law takes antibiotics when people around her are sick so she doesn't get sick. What kind of damage is she doing? | A public health professional would probably say that, if everyone would do the same, the world's population would be in very big trouble. Advances in antibiotic research are not coming as fast as resistance to the current medications is growing. Soon there would be no effective medications left. Lots of people would di... |
Do animals lose things the same way we lose our car keys or our phones? | Squirrels lose nuts that they bury in the winter. So basically they're planting trees with their absentmindedness. |
What's the difference between ethnicity, nationality, and race? | Race is like breed of dog. They're all dogs, but have different characteristics, and can produce offspring. Species is like wolf and lion, they are so far apart they cannot produce offspring, but a wolf and a coyote can, since they are closely enough related. With humans, as species, there are pure Africans, Australian... |
Why don't Probiotic Supplements "colonize" the gut and remain as a permanent benefit, as opposed to only being transient and thus useless shortly after using them? | I was put on antibiotics when I absolutely didn't need to be, but I didn't consider there would be any consequences to such a common treatment. It killed bacteria in my gut, and for the next 2 weeks I had the runs. I kept hoping it would just clear up like it normally does until I realised I needed to repopulate my gut... |
How are internet sites allowed to possibly provide adult content that minors could watch by simply placing a button on their site that says "yes, I am over 18?" | It's the internet. There is way too much content to police and even if you could it would be replaced faster than you could take it down. |
I'm concerned that ELI5 is essentially becoming AskReddit | Just picking on the metaphorical aspect and comparing the two examples you provided. I feel that AskReddit is for advice and discussion whereas ELI5 seems to be heading exactly in the right direction: simple answers and explanations. What's wrong with the metaphorical aspect of ELI5? I don't think it should mean that E... |
Why do humans cry during emotional distress? Is there an evolutionary advantage to crying when sad? | I have no real scientific background to explain why people cry, but I think there may be something behind the theory that we cry for stress relief. When I cry, *even when I'm not sad*, I start to feel better just by letting it out. I will sometimes watch a sad movie when I had a bad day, and all it takes are just a few... |
How do people who get fired for doing such a bad job as CEO that their former company is suing them for millions can still get a CEO position at another company | It's like an NFL quarterback who gets cut from the roster after a couple of bad seasons. Might be a bad to mediocre quarterback in the NFL. But he is still an NFL qb and has at least two seasons experience Which is just what a different team is looking for. So the quarterback gets signed to this new team with the expec... |
how are archaeological sites located? Treasure maps and clues like the movies, or does technology like ground penetrating radar have a bigger role now? | Long ago, I put together a survey plan for a small mountain range. We had a smattering of sites known. Broke up the topography into logical types , determined where we found and did not find sites in the literature. Then went out and surveyed a selection of the various units on foot. That refined the likelihood of find... |
What makes some people more susceptible to be addicts than others? | When I was younger my mom told me that I should be careful because addiction runs in our family. After comparing notes with my friends I have realized that a lot of their moms gave them the same warning. I think most families have at least a couple alcoholics in them though. Then again maybe I should make more friends ... |
Before the internet was popular, how did gaming companies address or fix bugs & glitches found in their games after release? | They didn't. They had simpler code which was less prone to having bugs, and they had a more thorough testing that caught them before release. Since companies can fix bugs after release they are not as thorough anymore.They wrote strongly worded letters to the developer team. |
What stops underground sewer water from freezing during outdoor sub-zero temperatures? | Earth is a decent heat insulator and without convection, the temperature just a few feet underground doesn't change much year in and year out. You have to be in arctic or alpine conditions before you have to worry about buried pipes freezing. In addition to that, sewage starts out pretty warm, keeps moving, and has com... |
Why are hospital buildings (in the US) generally built taller than surrounding city property? | Hotels are often built taller than surrounding buildings. It's about efficiency of space, movement of patients and having the resources to build taller. |
What determines the ending of road names? (Ave, St, Rd, Trl, Blvd, etc...) | The exact meanings vary with region, and are often used inconsistently, or become incorrect as roads change. But in general: * **road** - most generic name, often a older, pre-automobile thoroughfare connecting two points of interest* **street/avenue** - roads within a city that are part of a grid system* **drive/parkw... |
Why wouldn't getting rid of minimum wage laws and unemployment insurance work for the United States and work for other countries like Singapore? | Just a point the other aren't mentioning: Singapore isn't one of the richest countries in the world as a result of the lack of minimum wage and employment insurance. If it were, much of the third world would be well ahead of the US economically. Singapore has greater income inequality, which might make your average inc... |
How can something be "more hydrating" than water? | As someone with DI, allow me to explain. Diabetes insipidus is an issue with your kidneys having problems flushing out electrolytes in the right concentration. Essentially, you urinate more than you should and excrete more water than you should. In my case, I take electrolytes to retain water. Without something with el... |
Whats the catch in buying these homes that apparently costs "less than $100" in Detroit? | That they are in Detroit? Actually, I'd like to know, too. Could you post a link?", 'The only catch is you have to live in Detroit1) The house isnt worth $100 2) You will owe back taxes typically 3) The neighborhood may not be one you want to live in.So my question is is the whole city of Detroit fucked up? Like I've s... |
How come when people are sick symptoms can almost stop during a day but when an evening comes they start to feel really bad again? | There isn't a good solid answer to this. Most likely it is related to a number of factors. Some studies suggest that the immune system is more active at night. This could lead to an increase in symptoms that your immune system is responsible for . We know that you are more sensitive to pain at night. Gravity plays a ro... |
Why women feel embarrassed if seen in their bra and under wear but completely content with a smaller bikini? | Well Situation: A woman is caught in her underwear. She might be uncomfortable because 1) she would not be comfortable with her body at all 2) you've caught her unprepared 3) she's not in a situation where revealing clothing is appropriate and 4) she's not comfortable around you! If you walked in on a woman changing, t... |
Where do improperly classified waste items end up when you put the wrong thing in the recycling bin? | They are either sorted on the spot by the drivers or are sorted at the facility. Either way, they're typically picked out and removed from the pile before the rest is recycled |
How do we know not to roll out of the bed when asleep? | When people are dreaming, their muscles do not move, even if they in their dream they are moving. This is a natural process which prevents that people actually perform the movements they do in their sleep. In general, people are not aware of this inabilty to move, as it usually stops as soon as they wake up. Physiologi... |
What happens to things that go down the garbage disposal? | The garbage disposal is a blender under the sink. It blends stuff so it'll go down the pipe nicely. |
How is Windows compatible with Mac? And why does Windows allow the use of their operating system on their main competitor's computers? | When it comes to operating systems alone, Windows considers apple a competitor like an Olympic runner thinks of a soccer mom that jogs on weekends as competition. Windows completely dominates that market. Pretty much every computer in an office has windows installed. However, Apple is far more profitable . They don't s... |
Why would we want to do the Mars One mission and how is it possibly ethical? | You're right that there's a bunch of ethical questions with it, but they don't arise unless the mission meets with some kind of disaster. Basically, it's fully ethical to send people to live out the rest of their lives on Mars, if you can pull it off. However, if you send someone to Mars knowing full well that there's ... |
How do doctors piece your circulatory system back together after loss of a limb? | IIRC, surgeons will graft major arteries and veins to one another when a limb is lost, but otherwise the body is left to reorganize it's blood vessels through angiogenesis. |
Why is it so easy to suffer identity theft if you lose your social security number? ELI5 to non americans. | The biggest scam has been the renaming of 'Bank Fraud' into 'Identity Theft' If a someone lends money to someone without sufficient proof of that persons identity, it should be the lenders fault and liability, not the random person who the lendee claimed to be, and the lender negligently failed to verify completely.Fro... |
If our country has freedom of religion, why are gay rights even an issue? | I thought I'd just add this to the discussion. Freedom of religion is freedom of choice/ the government can not oppress your religion nor make you have a religion. I'm kinda confused as to your apples and oranges question. Although both are issues in the current culture war in the US either one doesn't effect the other... |
When dogs/pets sit their looking guilty after being yelled at do they what they are actually in trouble for, or do they know just looking cute and ashamed is what you want? | They can't make long term associations. So if you get on to your dog for peeing in the house an hour ago, he or she literally has no idea why you are mad at them.I know with dogs, they are able to notice the smallest dilations in your eyes which are avid descriptors of emotion. |
How come it is normal to eat animals and birds in our culture, but eating insects is seen as gross? | Europe doesn't really have the right kind of insects to eat. Catching individual ants or flies to make a meal is a huge bother for little return. The cultures that do eat insects generally eat very large ones. Note that you probably do eat 'insects' in the form of crustaceans. While these aren't technically the same as... |
Franz Kafka and the meaning of "Kafkaesque". | You know when Spot is lying peacefully in the sun and your Mom turns on the vacuum cleaner? Spot goes nuts. He's scared, he feels threatened and he has no idea why. Kafka liked to talk about things we can't understand, and will never understand, and how that makes us feel. Basically, God is playing a game with you, but... |
If bacteria grow well in warm environments and we use cold environments to slow bacteria growth, then why must we use hot water along with soap to wash dishes, etc.? | Bacteria are living things and they need food to reproduce. We wash away the food. You don't even need soap if you are using water hot enough to wash away all the oils. Bacterial and mold spores are literally floating around in the air right now. You're inhaling them. They're on your skin, in your hair, on the plates d... |
When a threat is made against a plane, what use is a military jet escort? | Potentially to shoot it down if they have to, if it becomes clear that that's preferable to what someone on board has planned. Less dramatically, to get eyes on the plane while they know where to find it. Suppose there is a plot, and the pilot cuts communications and turns off course, then the jets can follow and repor... |
How can things like speed of light and gravity be considered universal constants? | You don't need to do experiments on a distant planet to measure G, the gravitational constant there. It's easier to look at the path that distant objects take around their galaxy center. From that you can measure the average G in that galaxy. Whenever we do this, we get the same answer 6.67408 x 10^-11 m^3 / kg•sec^2 |
How can people create working CPU's and Hard Drives inside Minecraft? | Computer are basically nothing but billions and billions of interconnected on/off switches. All you need to build a computer is a switching mechanism which can affect the state of a similar switching mechanism. Connect enough of those in the right way, and you've got yourself a computer. |
What is a manic pixie dream girl? | She is the female version of Prince Charming. The average, uninteresting main female protagonist encounters Prince Charming who suddenly rides in and sweeps her off her feet and away from her initial circumstances. Then Prince Charming spends all his efforts to make life better for the female protagonist. Likewise, a m... |
Why is macaroni and cheese such a big thing in America? | It's a relatively cheap and easy to prepare food . For college students, that's pretty ideal.This is like asking why is rice popular is so many parts of the world. The ingredients are cheap, easily available, and with a few tweaks can provide a relatively healthy calorie count and fat that help with the feeling of sati... |
Why do we get jealous and how can we overcome it? | Sorry about my English, I'm doing my best! Some of the biology behind jealousy : As a man, you would want to make sure the child you're bringing up is your own, so you're actually benefiting your own genes and not somebody else's. Thus, you want to prevent your partner from mating with somebody else.As a woman, you of ... |
How come celebrities like Snoop don't get arrested for smoking weed? | I don't think cops want to be spending their time and resources hunting down people for smoking pot when there are still crackheads and meth heads targeting children. plus im sure most of them realize it might be illegal but it's not dangerous |
Why is the War on Drugs considered to be a failure? | Now that there are more choices to use than ever we can see how a top down system of punishment fails our social needs. It sounds obvious to say it, but drugs are often used to address problems, social, physical, personal. Punishing\u200b people who have a poor solution to problems they don't always start hasn't proved... |
Why are torrent sites and it's torrenters not being attacked/arrested? | One reason might be because there are legitimate uses for these systems. Not all files shared are illegal movies or music. And it's really difficult, maybe impossible, to know what the file content is from the packets in the torrent. |
- How prescription medications cost what they do. The same thing I got one year ago for $20 is tonight $200. | This isn't an answer to your question, but I do have a tip. Call all the pharmacies in your area and get a price check on your prescription. They all have different prices on the same medications. After I lost my insurance I started calling the pharmacies to get a price check and I'm paying less for prescriptions than ... |
How do turbine engines work? | Turbine engines are actually simpler that conventional piston engines. The first section has blades that spin and compress the air. The air enters a combustion chamber which is constantly adding fuel and burning with the compressed air. The hot gas then goes into a second set of blades that powers the compressor blades... |
How does the extinction of the northern white rhino actually impacts the planet? | I'm a conservationist, but let's remember that extinction is the rule and survival is the exception throughout history. Attempting and expecting to keep the planet in stasis is absurd. |
Why courts don't use polygraph tests (lie detector tests). | For the same resons palm-reading or 'psychic visions' wouldn't be admissable in court. It's a nonsense pseudo-science: _URL_2_ [Penn & Teller] |
Is it possible for a human to accurately measure distance/angles just by looking at something? Is there anyone in the world who can do that? | Just riffing here, but I'm going to assume eyeballing angles isn't nearly as difficult as straight distance. The frame of reference is right there. You have two things lining up to set the angle, and most of us can picture 90, 45, 30, 60, so getting relatively accurate on some smaller scales is probably not all that im... |
How does Netflix and other services know I am using a VPN? | Speculation, but they might record IP history with your ID. If you bounce from Chicago to Malaysia a lot that's a pretty big red flag. |
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