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Why is the speed of light an absolute? Why is it considered the highest achievable speed? | It's considered absolute because to maintain the speed of light, an object would need to have an infinite amount of energy to do so. That is impossible, and as such, the speed of light is a constant/absolute, and the fastest something can move, ever. |
Both of my Parents are type O blood type. I am AB+ how is that possible? | Are your parents O + or O- ? Having an AB from an O is still impossible I'm just curious. The chimerism thing doesn't work because it means you have cells from one or more zygotes. But any of the DNA you have has to come from the sperm or the egg. Neither of your parents have any copies of A or B unless they are both c... |
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" | People used to judge a horse's value by looking at its teeth. I think the meaning of the saying is that you should just be grateful to get a gift and shouldn't worry about what its value is. |
How the Syrian group taking over a news outlet's twitter, and posting the President was injured mad the Dow drop 100 points? | The DOW is an aggregate of major drivers of the american economy. If the president was injured this would mean a weakening of the american government and by turn the american economy. An easy analogy is that the dow is a measure of your popularity in school as measured by other people. and the syrian group taking over ... |
What's in it for the federal government to have marijuana criminalized? | Originally it was a group of very wealthy men who earned their money from paper and paper products that really didn't want hemp to be legal. |
How did identity work before photo ID? | The world used to be much more local. People lived in one place and didn't move around much. It was likely anyone who you did business with knew you, knew where you lived, and new your reputation. If they didn't, a letter of introduction from a person of good reputation would often serve as an introduction. |
Why did China become a world power when the Soviet Union collapsed? | Because during the 1900s, Russia was a medium-large country that, because of its political situation, was punching above its weight, whereas China was an enormous country that was- temporarily, it turns out- anemic. When those conditions changed, Russia lost power and prestige while China gained them. |
Can you really say, "You can't fire me, I quit!"? and legitimately resign before you're fired. | People in this thread seem to think that quitting automatically disqualifies you for unemployment, so I want to clarify: It doesn't. While quitting will *usually* disqualify you, there are several valid reasons that will not. Some examples: 1. Quitting because of an ongoing hostile workplace.2. Quitting because the com... |
Why is there a sex offender registry? | If would be helpful to say why you were put on the list to begin with, if you can or want to discuss it, of course. **EDIT** I don't agree with this sort of registry mainly because it's guaranteed to destroy the lives of whoever is on that list and some of the people that are on it, are so because of moronic reasons li... |
If we pay for cable why do we have to watch advertisements? | Because the fees paid to cable companies and passed through to the networks aren't sufficient to pay for the programming. Nothing that prevents businesses from having multiple income sources. No different than magazines or newspapers having ads and subscription fees. No different than ads on subway trains or city buses... |
Why is the world just watching ISIS massacre people? | Start by reading as much as you can about what ISIS is and how they work. Next, identify the individual names of people you think should act, and what action you think they should take. Then ask the question again, and see if anyone can help you get a clear answer. Your question, as it is written, is too broad to answe... |
Why are there big cities in places like the American Southwest but not in the Australian desert? | [I think you're **severely** underestimating the size of Australia]. The interior of Australia is **huge** and there's not many sources of water. All the major cities in the US Southwest are near rivers. |
Why do sports teams have "home" and "away" jerseys that are different colors? | Generally you want one team to be wearing a really light Jersey and the other to be wearing a dark Jersey. Failing this, at least two very distinct colors. People with poor televisions, watching in black and white, or just colorblind or slightly poor vision can't easily tell two similar colors apart. Or maybe a quarter... |
Why does fresh air usually keep me from vomiting? | Oxygen and coolness can definitely quell nausea, idk why but it does. Many a time I've been sick a fan on my face and a cold washcloth helped loads.. and a couple popsicles sometimes :P Sometimes i did still puke if i was really really ill but most often that was enough. I just googled it and they pretty much said fres... |
How do i "sense" someone is staring at me? Is it just coincidental or is there an actual scientific reason this happens? | I can't cite anything, maybe someone could help me out, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that special forces people were trained to look just over the shoulder of targets they were sneaking up on to keep from triggering such a mechanism. |
Can someone explain the 'Aristocrats' joke LI5? | Here's an example of a joke that is not funny, and thats why its supposed to be funny: Your momma's so fat, she has to wear large clothes. The point is that it plays on your expectations. The aristocrat's joke puncline is this kind of humor. Its also a shaggy dog story, you can try to draw the joke out and make it as l... |
Why does packing a wound with gauze, effectively keeping it open, cause it heal faster? | Since no one else has mentioned it *Clostridium perfringens*, the causative agent behind gas gangrene, is an anaerobic bacteria. This isn't such a concern these days with knowledge of germ theory and aseptic techniques and antibiotics. But in WWI a lot of soldiers lost limbs or died because their wounds had been closed... |
Why don't toilets have an overflow hole to keep them from overflowing all over the floor? (Like sinks do) | You can use a European Toilet instead, I've never seen one overflow onto the floor. They work on a different principle, you siphon the water out of the tank at the top, which flows into the bowl, pushing all the waste round the U-bend. This is different to adding water to the bowl under it then siphons out, resulting i... |
Why can't we use Cellulase, an enzyme that can break down cellulose (wood and grass) into sugar, to eliminate world hunger? | People aren't starving from lack of calories anymore. They are dying from malnutrition: lack of vitamins and minerals. Producing tons of cheap sugar won't help. |
If a room has something that plays a sound, but nothing that can hear the sound is in the room - does the sound really exist? | The mechanical wave that we perceive as sound exists the same in every way whether it is heard or not. It only would not be 'a sound' insofar as your working definition of sound might specify the actual perception of said wave.Sound is a wave that vibrates particles in the air. That vibration can be detected, even if t... |
Why Don't Babies Just Sleep When They Are Tired? | Babies are stupid. They don't understand what they want or need, they just know they're uncomfortable and that crying for help usually makes the discomfort go away. |
Why can't I buy a ready made meal with all of the perfect amounts of nutrients and just eat that every day? | because there's really no demand for it. although some products like ensure, slimfast, health shakes, etc, come close but they aren't recommended for long term use. one guy is trying to make soylent, which is intended for long term use. |
Why are there so many movies made about the Vietnam war but so few about the Korean War? | To put it bluntly: because we disgraced ourselves in Vietnam and it's really important to tell that story. Also, Korea was a far more conventional war with no winners so instead of making a Korea film, might as well make a WWII movie instead; it has the benefit that we can weave in all the heroism of singlehandedly sav... |
why do we sometimes stick out our tongues slightly when we're concentrating hard on something? | I've read somewhere before that the nerves that run through our hands and the nerves that run through our mouth connect to the brain in the same spot. So when you are completing a fine motor task with your hands you will often stick your tongue out or bury it in your cheek as a kind of side effect. |
How does a touch screen know to only work with my finger and not with something like a pen? | I checked and it also works with my dog's paw", '_URL_0_ The comments on this are pretty exhaustive. |
Which kills us : Volts or Amps ? | Strictly speaking amps are what kill you, and volts are what you should worry about. Except for static electricity, which is a special case. Using the cliff analogy - it's hitting the ground that kills you, but it's falling off the cliff you should worry about. |
Does keeping someone "awake", keep them from dying like in movies? | No, but it's a lot harder for medics to diagnose your situation if you are unconscious. It's also a bad sign."Don't fucking die on me man!" "Oh shit, is that what I was about to do?"', "Well, you can't be awake and dead at the same time..If you keep someone awake they will not be dead. |
What makes eczema incurable? | I'm afraid I really can't answer this question, but I wish I could. I too suffer from eczema. The steroid creams don't work and I've changed my skin care habits frequently. I spend so much money on moisturisers and hand cream, it's unreal, and I moisturise my hands every hour or so. This is all impeded by the fact that... |
If a lightning strike is around 27,000 degrees Celsius, how do we survive being struck by it? | It's only an instant, and passes through us very quickly. Apparently only 1 in 10 lightning strikes are fatal. Most at most have burns on their feet. |
How come after a day of drinking I just want to go to sleep? | Alcohol can cause lethargy and sedation when you drink enough of it. It slows your reflexes and makes you tired. You don't need to have done any physical activity for that to take effect. |
Ronald Regan and his significance in politics today | Because he had the Balls to commit high treason to win the presede goal election against the Democrats. You don't see that kind of determination from today's Republicans. |
The difference between TCP and IP | IP is a protocol for a single packet's end to end communication. It's sort of like the mail system -- You address your letter properly, and you send it to the other end. There is no guarantee about it being received. TCP works a layer above IP. It is one of two protocols commonly used at that level, and it is used for ... |
Why in dreams do you punch slow or can't run? | I take it as a sign my brain is emphasizing what a huge, impotent failure I am, just in case I didn't already get the message from the previous 16 hours of self-hating criticism.I think it's because your brain wants to move your limbs but they don't respond so you feel "restricted" in a wayThink of dreams as being noth... |
What is the correct way to record time between 2am and 3am in the fall on DST day? | Move to Arizona so you don't have to deal with the stupidity that is daylight savings time.You use the timezone issued in accordance with UTC. For example, I just sailed from New Zealand Daylight time into Fiji time . Our ship log is split at the 1800 mark into the top half 1800NZDT and 1800M. In the end, Zulu time is ... |
if homosexuality is a genetic trait, why hasn't it died out? | Many people assume its because of [Kin Selection]. The jist of this argument is that having gay uncles, aunts, siblings, cousins etc, increase the likelihood of YOU passing on genes, therefore you will most likely have dormant versions of this gene yourself that you can pass on to your offspring, which may be expressed... |
Why are fracking companies not responsible for damaged property that is directly related to their drilling? | The laws allow runoff to happen and don't make the companies for responsible for the runoff responsible. It's really fucked up. |
Why does milk make your sinuses more congested when you've got a cold? | It doesn't. Mobile now so can't find the source but there was a scientific study that proved it doesn't. |
Why was age 18 the decided age for adulthood? | Would most people refer to an 18 y/o as an adult though? As you get older you realize, 'holy crap they are still kids'. But it is nice to set an age to where you can legally kick your kids out of the house and not feel too bad. Mostly just an arbitrary number, since back in the day you could get married at 14.My theory... |
[Serious] If I apply for health insurance through the Affordable Care program but cannot afford to make payments, what happens? | Anyone who's health care costs would exceed 8% of their annual income is exempt from the individual mandate. This is to prevent people for being punished if they can't find reasonably priced health care. Furthermore, those at 133% of the poverty level are eligible for medicaid, and anyone making less than 400% of the p... |
How does hunting preserve wildlife? | Most of the fees collected for hunting pay for habitat. Hunter groups also preserve a huge amount of habitat via private foundations. Many animals have no natural predators aside from humans. When was the last time you saw a wolf more than 300 miles from Yellowstone? Nature will keep deer populations in balance, but it... |
Why is prostitution illegal? If both parties are consenting why is there an objection to those that sell their bodies for sex and those that pay for it? | Sex, which is usually seen as an individualized and *intimate* expression of love between two consenting adults, becomes a market commodity. There's a tradition of keeping some things off the financial markets, for fear that it'd be used to abuse or totally destroy it's value in human culture by having a market value.~... |
Why does any food that's really healthy taste like cardboard and anything evil like gravy or bacon taste like heaven? | We are too successful at creating food. Back in the day, when starvation was a huge problem, those fatty rich foods were preferable, because they gave a lot of energy compared to fruit and grains. You may not get a meal in the next 2 or 3 days, so eat the most calorie dense stuff you can. Our bodies prefer it, because ... |
Why do shitty infomercials exist? Surely whoever makes them doesn't believe they work... | They do work. For certain types of products and markets, that's the best way to sell them", 'The end goal for infomercial products is to generate enough sales/interest to make it to retail stores. Plenty of successful products start out on infomercials, including the George Foreman Grill, shakeweight, slapchop, oxyclea... |
Why doesn't the United States print currency that will not enter circulation and use it to pay off foreign debt? | Foreign debt holders don't necessarily want to be paid back soon. They use that debt to leverage control over their own currency. Injecting cash into the country is done through a lending scheme in which the Federal Reserve buys bank bonds, the banks then use the money to fund loans and mortgages to individuals and bus... |
What does Walmart gain by not price-matching their own Websites prices? | Well, they likely want you to not visit the store more. That way they will need less employees. Eventually they likely plan to do away with most physical locations that aren't high volume and replace any person they can with automation. The more you buy online, the more they can do this. |
When we are born before we learn any speech, what language do we think in? | There isn't one. They link images, sounds, and sensations with each other and instincts such as pain, hunger, and curiosity drive the most basic needs. Eventually they start to notice that words are associated with certain things, such as who Mommy is. Ever wonder why nobody can remember anything from when they were a ... |
Why is the stereotypical political demographic of internet gaming culture far-right? | If this is a stereotype, it is only a stereotype in very limited social circles. If you've seen this become a stereotype somewhere, it is probably due to Gamergate. Most people, gamer or not, either don't know or don't care about Gamergate.People who heavily identify with gaming culture will have many traits that make ... |
What is the difference between roasting and baking? | The two terms overlap so much that there is no single agreed-up difference. Formally, you *roast* a solid object, while you *bake* a liquid that is going to form up into a solid when heated. But most people don't know or use this distinction."Roasting" is generally used when the item being cooked has very hot fat *on i... |
If mass shootings can be attributed to publicity, why not make it illegal to disclose the name of the shooter? | Fun fact, which may help illustrate why this isn't that simple: The Ancient Greeks tried this with [Herostratus]. He burnt down a Wonder of the World, the Temple of Artimus, for noteriety. They banned the mention of his name on penalty of death. Even then the name escaped and persisted.The reality is it's hard to tell ... |
Why is a high level of wealth inequality a bad thing? | TLDR: By itself, it's not. Imagine I could flip a switch, and everyone in the world would be gainfully employed enough wages to live comfortable. In the process of flipping that switch, the top 1% of earners would see their wealth triple. Most people would agree, flip the switch. Most people don't care about income ine... |
Shared networks. How can someone sharing an unsecured wifi connection view information from my computer? | The wifi on your computer is basically a radio, broadcasting to anyone who cares to listen. If the connection is secured, all anyone else will get is gibberish. But unsecured, anything your computers sends to the internet, passwords, credit card #'s, etc., anyone listening can grab those. Now the good news is, most web... |
How do heroin addicts "run out" of veins? | Vein tracks: start in one spot on the vein. If it's 'tar' heroin, the spot will develop a sore and not be reusable as another source to pump in vein. Next, user will go above or below the previous spot to find a vein. Develops tracks up the arm, hence 'trainspotting'. Eventually they run out of vein space on their arms... |
How can developers advertise for games with CGI trailers that resemble nothing like the actual game looks or plays? What makes it not classified as false advertising? | Well, if you think it's misleading nowadays, just have a quick look at [how games were advertised in the 80s] When you consider that most 80s games had graphics that [only the programmer could love] actually showing that would often put people off", 'A few of those advertisements use their cutscenes for ad material. Th... |
why do we use past tense when speaking hypothetically? For instance " I wish I was a millionaire" not "I wish I am a millionaire?" | 'was' is past tense. 'I wish I was a millionaire' says that you wish that at some point in the past you had a million dollars. 'were' is the subjunctive mood. It means that you're discussing something that is not factual. |
Why do people have crazy dreams when they fall asleep again after waking up in the morning? | You have crazy dreams all the time, but you're more prone to remembering your dreams if you wake up then sleep again instantly. It's a fairly effective way of lucid dreaming.This happens to me almost every morning! I have an alarm go off, then try to sleep for another half hour and always have weird lucid dreamsYou hav... |
Why can doctors to charge more for an appointment if it is being covered by insurance? | Work comp adjuster here. It's because they know they'll get paid, so they know they'll get laid. If someone doesn't have insurance, they know that person cannot afford medical treatment, so they will give a discount to get something for their services. Health insurance billing is insane. |
What was The Francesco Redi Experiment | He put meat in jars, half covered with cloth and half open. Those covered with cloth didn't get maggots. Thus he proved that the maggots didn't come from the meat, but from something getting into the jar. |
How does depression work in the brain? | The 'brain' and body in general is always trying to equalize a 'chemical normal' which is defined in real-time by your static DNA & dynamic RNA signatures. All incoming stimuli to the person is evaluated against long-term memory to match that 'normal' - in order to generate a 'key' which is compared to that person's li... |
Why are republicans and democrats so divided over health care? | It's complicated. It comes down to 2 issues. First is that the Republicans were out of power and decided to simply oppose everything Obama endorsed. Healthcare was the major first term Obama initiative and therefore the Republicans strongly opposed it. That opposition was so strong that they talked about it ALL THE TIM... |
What is the difference between PC monitors and HDTVs? | > but couldn't you get smaller HDTVs and connect it to you PC via HDMI cables and use that as a monitor? Yes, it's exactly what I do, though it's not ideal, since as others have said the pixel size is rather large and it makes the resolution look a bit bad. Saving for an actual monitor now. |
Why isn't every surface of an electric car covered in solar panels? | Toyota put a solar panel on the roof of the prius for a year or two.It was barely big enough to run the vent fan. Didn't do much else if I recall. The super efficient solar cars that are usually a joint project between a university and a few companies. They are experimental, made of super light weight materials, and ba... |
Why is everyone so afraid of NSA | If you have nothing to hide, can I see all your sexts to make sure you're not actually talking about terrorism? I just want to live in a country free from terrorists, really!", 'Because it reminds us of the domestic spying of communist governments which we have been taught to criticize, only much worse.how do you feel ... |
Why do little kids like sweet flavors so much more than adults do? | Another factor to consider is the fact that children's sweet foods are limited . For example, a child that can only have sweets after dinner, would probably enjoy it that much more because they don't get it as often as they would like to. The point is, to keep it like a treat, that way they get the happiness along with... |
How did cats develop an affinity for eating fish if many of them also dislike water? | Perhaps cat's don't actually like fish more than other food, but it's just that fish smells stronger. We then see cats fawning over fish because they notice it more often. |
Why do people smoke? In other words what do smokers feel when they smoke? | From the context of cigarettes, they BEGIN smoking for different reasons. It could be to look cool and feel accepted by other friends who smoke, or because it's standard in your society. After a while though, nicotene, an ingredient in tobacco cigarettes, is an addictive stimulant and people become addicted to it just ... |
Snapple cap real fact # 1003 - If two pieces of the same type of metal touch in outer space, they will bond together permanently. | I think the scenario needs some qualifying explanations, otherwise everything in the satellites and space labs would become welded together. Astronauts would need to be very careful not to allow any two instruments of the same type to touch which isn't realistic sounding.It's called cold welding. It occurs because meta... |
Why can't the UK just stop giving the EU money and just leave? | Generally, when you sign a contract, you have to abide by the terms of that contract and can't just choose to break it. Just like you can't sign a contract to loan money for a car and then just stop paying. They absolutely *can*, but there'll be repercussions. |
Why are lie detectors not used in courts? | They don't detect lies, they detect a person's reactions to questions. They can be easily fooled and really only work if you think they do. |
Why are house in America built so hollow with drywall and light wood, whereas homes in other countries like india, houses tend to be built with cement and brick? Which is stronger? | 1. Cost of raw materials2. Cost of labor3. Skill of labor4. Technology level and organization in using those raw materials Concrete is labor-intensive, resource-intensive, and requires little technology and little skill to build something sturdy. Building good wood houses out of drywall uses less resources, and less la... |
Why does a grease fire get worse when water is added? | The grease remains on fire. The water just spreads the grease around which also spreads the fire. Don't ever put water on a grease fire. Just makes it worse. |
How do traffic lights work? How are they coordinated with each other and why do some lights stay on for longer when there are more cars? | Many ways. Older ones may be on a mechanical time, modern ones electronic or computer controlled. Some programmed to act different based on time of day. Some have sensors under pavement, some have infrared sensors pointing down from beside light. Many have strobe light detectors to let emergency vehicles through. Most ... |
Why I can work a complex job for 8 hours but can't manage any sort of coherent thought after I'm off work and at home... | If you take a month off, you'll find within your first week that it's because you portion your mental resources almost completely to the work space. |
Are manufacturing jobs actually important, or are they just easy political points? | They're pretty important. Manufacturing contributes significantly to a country's balance of trade, which in turn influences the value of its currency on the foreign exchange market, which in turn influences the circulation of capital within that economy. |
What advantage can a revolver give over a pistol? | Revolvers have a much simpler mechanism, and a semi-automatic is more likely to jam than a revolver. Beyond that, it's really a matter of personal preference. |
Why can we hear ourselves think? | A friend once asked one of our multilingual friends what language she thinks in. This question blew my mind. Turns out it's whatever language she's using at the time, which just seems crazy to me. |
Why do commercial airplanes have to fly at around 35,000ft? Why can't they just fly at 1,000ft or so and save time on going up so high? | There are many reasons why this is the case. 1. Fuel economy as people said. Lower density air means engines are able to perform much better, as the air is thinner, less fuel is used to propel the flight. 2. Weather. Planes and hail are not a good mix and hail can be seriously damaging to aircraft. Certain wind pattern... |
Why do some animals reject their young if they are exposed to human scent? | Smell and taste form the maternity bonding between a mother and a child in the case of some mammals . If the baby loses his scent the mother doesn't recognize it anymore and can be left to die, depending on the behavior of the species/breed. Let's take sheep for example: if labor and delivery occurs in outdoor conditio... |
Why must I enter a CAPTCHA to pay a bill? Are they afraid a robot is going to enter a credit card on my behalf? | Yes. For the lulz, someone would write a simple bot that would use fictitious credit cards to pay everyone's bills, causing crazy amounts of havoc as the power company tries to reverse the reverses they gave everyone for overpaying on their bills, and figure out how much interest should have accrued when they mistakenl... |
why do I have to "restart computer to finish installing"? | As someone said, imagine you had a car driving along and you wanted to replace the engine. Well, the easiest thing to do is to stop the car, and put in a new engine, and restart it. You could design the car such that you can install a new engine in the back while the engine in the front is running, and have a device to... |
What is Toto's "Africa" about? | It's about that moment that happens whilst shopping in the grocery store when you realize that, on a cosmic level, suicide's an option: _URL_4_ |
If dreams only last 5 minutes and I wake up in the middle of my dreams, does that mean they only happen right before I wake up? | Don't sorry when you die you realize it was all a psychadelic trip when you look up and see your fellow grey aliens, then look down and see that bong you hit 50-90 years ago |
How do islands like Male survive storms/tsunamis/etc. when they are at Sea Level and packed with buildings/people? | I was there this summer and our guide told us around 10 years ago there was a giant tsunami around Christmas I believe? He said a lot of people died because the islands in the Maldives are so close to sea level, and that a few islands were completely destroyed. I'll tell you first hand though, the sea walls aren't THAT... |
How do we conjugate verbs in English? | it's a rule-less cagefight. there are a couple common patterns that many words follow , the rest is anarchy and you just have to remember 6 different forms for every verb |
I had a KFC yesterday with less calories than a healthy home-cooked meal, based on this, why isnt it beneficial just to eat KFC all the time? | You'd also have to think about factors such as the balance of macro- and micronutrients. Calories in vs. out seems to make sense when weight loss/gain is concerned, but health is not all about it.If you eat at a calorie negative diet you wont get fat. Its probably sensible though to eat a balanced diet for overall heal... |
why is facial hair a thing? | Old European cultures wore beardes to celebrate masculinity. Not to mention shaving before the advent of disposable razors and caned cream made shaving diffucult and costly. WW1 soldiers were made to shave because a gas mask couldn't hold a seal with a beard. The disposable razor was invented for this purpose.It is fai... |
[Gravitation]How did Newton know that the force of two objects is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them? | The principle of celestial bodies moving due to a gravitational force that was some formulation of an inverse square law was first proposed by [Ismaël Bullialdus] in 1645. Robert Hooke came to believe in this idea and communicated it in a letter to Newton in 1679. Newton was insightful enough to see that it was essenti... |
Why is genetically modified food considered a bad thing? | For the same reasons that vaccines are considered a bad thing .The green revolution was instrumental in saving millions around the world. Genetic modification is the future, and it won't just happen to crops, it's happening to other life forms .There will always be groups that consider genetic modification a bad thing. |
How would life change for the average American if we changed to a socialist economy. | The definition of a socialist economy is one where the people own the means of production. That means that all the factories, farms, etc would suddenly be under government management. Government bureaucrats would decide what products get made . |
What is electric flux? | You sound like the type of person that knows how to build a working flying object , light sabers, force fields, or even a way to levitate or fly like superman. You sound like someone I want to become. What did you first start learning or teaching yourself to get where you are today? I started by trying to understand ho... |
Why is it hard to like new (to me) music as I age? | Others have already mentioned about the connection between music and memory. Even if you don't associate a song with a particular memory, you may associate it with a period of time. It doesn't even have to be a good time in your life, but a time which was meaningful for you. Another example of connecting music with emo... |
Why does multiplying two negatives give you a positive? | Because the opposite of an opposite isn't not the same as the original. As an example, if I am walking backwards, backwards, then I am walking forwards. If there is a deficit of deficit , then there is a surplus . I hope that I haven't miscommunicated this concept, and that it now isn't unclear. Don't have a bad day. Y... |
Why aren't we using flash on smartphones or new technology anymore, when it used to be a good option for animation? | Short answer, it was never really a good option. The difference is that now we've actually got something better. |
How does Hawking radiation work? | The boundary of a black hole is its event horizon. At the event horizon, the force of gravity is so powerful that the escape velocity reaches the speed of light -- the escape velocity is the speed you have to be moving if you want to escape the gravitational pull. Since nothing can travel faster than the speed of light... |
What's the difference between alcohol that has only been distilled once versus triple distilled? | Degree of purity. Distillation is based on the two fluids -- water and alcohol -- having different boiling points. Heat a water/alcohol mix and you evaporate most of the alcohol, *plus a small amount of water*, because a liquid doesn't have to be boiling to evaporate. So now you have a mixture of *mostly* alcohol and *... |
How did people make ice before electricity? | You can burn a combustible, like natural gas or gasoline and use an absorption cycle to remove heat from a place. Exactly like and air conditioning, but without electricity. Nowadays in some rural areas that still doesn't have electricity, people use this kind of technology to cool and conserve food. Here more detail a... |
If someone were to commit a crime on the moon, what would happen to said individual? | Most space faring countries legally consider their own spacecraft and passengers to be subject to the own laws, so the general rule is that whenever you go into space you remain subject to the law of what ever country you departed from. Beyond that, generally all space activities are subject to International Law and if... |
Why do you sometimes get this feeling in the pit of your stomach, sort of like you're embarrassed or uncomfortable, out of nowhere at random times? | I also get this sometimes randomly. But it's the worst when the phone rings, it always happens then. |
Does anyone on ELI5 have a 5-year old that we can test to see if a 5-year old can actually understand the responses? | Most of my answers here are basically just me taking things as I've explained them to my daughter and reformatting/rephrasing them to accommodate the medium. |
How do modes in music work? | Modes are exactly like major scales, except starting on different notes. C Major is C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C. The interval pattern is Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half. Take the same notes and start on D and you will have D - E - F - G - A - B - C - D. The interval pattern for this configuration is Whole Hal... |
What is so "huge" about the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight, besides the money? | At this point, nothing. Mayweather was basically a huge pussy for not calling out Pacman at a time when both of them were at their peak, so now that Mayweather actually has a chance of winning they've arranged the fight to cash in on it. |
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