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WTF is fracking and why are half of my FB friends against it? | fracing", or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of putting fractures in rocks, to release petroleum, natural gas , or other substances for extractionThis is a pretty good video put out by an oil company: _URL_0_', "Texan here. LOTS of fracking in my area. We've had small earthquakes become much more frequent in the p... |
Why are the worst positions for your joints/muscles the most comfortable? | Habitualization. Modern life, whether computer work or sitting at home predisposes you to bad posture. It takes effort to keep your posture correct. Effort requires work. Work is hard. Therefore, people default to bad posture. After a lifetime of bad posture, it's just easier. Not exerting effort is easier than giving ... |
How does a box of baking soda keep my fridge fresh? | The concept is that volatile organic chemicals react irreversibly with sodium bicarbonate. Butyric acid would react with sodium bicarbonate to produce carbon dioxide and sodium butyrate which is non-volatile and consequently doesn't smell. Many stinks are caused by organic amines and would not react with baking soda. M... |
Why not print MORE money? I understand half of this question. | There is a common misconception that money IS value, however, this is not the case, money is in fact simply an IOU from the government stating that they owe you [dollar value] amount of VALUE. Because these 'IOUs' are universal across the nation, people will accept them in exchange for goods and services because they k... |
Self-checkout machines have existed for at least a decade now. Why has the technology not improved at all over that span of time? | Profit margins are also tiny in supermarkets. I'm not sure enhancing their POS systems to be more consumer friendly would be worth the hit to their bottom line to upgrade them every ten years. |
If your heart randomly stopped beating, would you be able to recognize that it stopped beating before you die? | I imagine it depends on the context. Several years ago I had a 5-inch tumor wrapped around my heart. There is not a lot of room under the breastbone and due to the pressure I felt my heartbeat *all the time*. The few weeks before I started chemo if I leaned against my left side in certain ways my heart would skip beats... |
Why do American conservatives generally support Israel so much? | not all do. Ron Paul and the libertarian wing for example want to be less involved with the situation and he's even been critical of Israel at times. Anyway though, the main wing of the party I believe supports them because they are 'our only friend in the region' of the middle-east.Conservatives? What about the majori... |
Is pedophilia caused by biology or culture? | It's a taboo question with a complicated answer. All I can contribute is that nobody called the colonists or ancient greeks and romans pedophiles. |
As a kid I was taught in school that weed is bad for our health .Is weed as bad as they teach it in elementary school? | It's definitely not bad for you as long as, like all things, you use it in moderation. It's far far FAR less bad for you than alcohol or tobacco. |
why is Mexico poor? | Mexico really isn't poor. The GDP per person is higher than China or India. $19,500 a year. |
What happens to your car if you die while on vacation? | Dark thing to be thinking. Don't worry about it mate. It won't affect you either way. Have a nice holiday and try to be positive. |
Who is rioting and what is the cause of the riots in Stockholm? | Like you're 5? Okay. Some people in Stockholm are angry because they feel like other people in Sweden don't care about them. And instead of just saying to the other people in Sweden that they're angry, they burn things. |
Caucusing and why it was ok to decide a winner by a simple coin toss. | I think people are getting a bit too caught up on the coin tosses. Say a precinct is set to send 7 delegates to the state convention. Clinton and Sanders get the same votes in the room. That means each side gets 3 delegates, but there's that one left over. A coin flip was used to decide who gets *that* last delegate. I... |
Why do Brits and Commonwealth nations have such a deep passion for national pride and the Royal Family? | Speaking as a Canadian, it often seems that there's much more public fascination with all things royal in the US than here. I'm not sure your premise is valid. Australia nearly voted to become a republic a while back too. In the UK, the tabloids love them because they are celebrities whose family actually holds politic... |
Does "air" have a weight? | It may seem like it's not affected by gravity because it's just there, not actively moving towards the ground. It's just sitting on top of all the other air, so it's the same as us sitting on a couch.if i recall correctly, going 33ft under water is the pressure equivalent of adding another atmosphere on top of you. so ... |
Why do we refrigerate mustard, if the base ingredients are all non-perishables like vinegar, water, mustard seed, salt, turmeric, and paprika? | I'm pretty sure here in the UK most people don't, it is certainly not something I would put in the fridge. |
How does the Quartz in a clock keep accurate time? It's a dumb rock! | So there's this thing called piezoelectricty, where you apply a voltage and it bends a little. So you apply a voltage to quartz and it bends. If you make a long narrow crystal, it will wiggle back and forth at a frequency that I think only depends on the size of the crystal, if it's stimulated. Like a guitar string. Th... |
Why does writing have stricter rules for grammar than speaking? | Most speaking isn't as formal as writing, but if you're giving a formal presentation or making a pitch, you'll certainly be expected to use proper grammar and syntax. |
If Israel is where Jewish people originated, why do the majority of them appear European in genetic origin? | On the risk of being downvoted, there's an *Israeli* scholar who might give you a different answer: it's cause they never originated from there. So basically, they *are* Europeans etc. Here's the [Wiki page] about his book. There seems to be no other written history about the exile other than the biblical records, whic... |
How can Uber, giving 1bn rides since 2009 be worth $62bn as a company? | Imagine I have a magical rabbit that shits dollar bills. Stay with me here. So this rabbit is 5 years old. When he was a baby, he only shit like once a day. As he grew he ate more and started shitting more per day. Hes now shitting about $4k per year, but since it grew over time, it's only been like $10,000 total over ... |
What's the case for voting for the presidential candidate most in line with your values vs one with the most in common with your values and a real chance to win? | OP's question is an artifact of a poorly designed election system. If the United States had [alternate voting] you could always vote for the candidate you like best without worrying about a spoiler effect. |
Why are so many people interested in unboxing videos? Doesn't this defeat the element of surprise? | I watch videos like this on things I can't afford. Like when the new generation of video game systems came out. Still wanted one but know I won't get one for a few years so resort to living vicariously through someone on the internet. |
What is a “knot” and how is it that a person can physically feel it in their back? | Let me ELI you are 5: muscles are like threads lying squished and bundled up together. A knot feels like when these threads are criss-crossed or lying across over each other instead of in a neat bundle. This could happen if you've overworked yourself or done some strenuous work. Massaging the threads or muscles, straig... |
why do we have a different shoe sizes for men and women? | I'm guessing this is an american thing? I'm sure in the UK a 7 women's shoe is the same size as a 7 men's shoe |
Why is NPR ad-free? | Because of listeners like me who support their local public radio by donating 5 dollars a month to get in on the vacation drawing and the free retro style mug. You're telling me your local station is Not currently slamming you with pleas for donations? Cause theyd answer you real quick. Funded by the listener and grant... |
How does the lymphatic system work? | Your heart pumps blood through tubes that are a little bit leaky, like when you leave a paper to-go cup in the car all day and there's a puddle in the cupholder. The liquid that leaks out has to go somewhere, so your body has drains, like the storm drains by the sidewalk that keep streets from getting too full of rain.... |
Why are e-cigarette commercials allowed when regular cigarettes commercials are illegal? | E cigs aren't proven to be dangerous yet. The government shouldn't ban things that aren't dangerous |
Why did the US drop two atomic bombs in Japan? | I this topic is of interest then have a good read of Alex Wellerstein's blog [Restricted Data: The Nuclear Secrecy Blog] and perhaps start with his discussion entitled [Why Nagasaki?]. Answers offered include: 1. The second bomb was necessary to prove that the United States could manufacture atomic weapons in quantity.... |
Why do western countries "scramble" Fighter jets when russia flies close? | First, you would need to understand why Russia flies close or into UK's airspace. They do it to test and measure reaction time and to let that nation know that Russia is capable of reaching, and therefore attacking that point. Scrambling fighters shows:1) That Russian/enemy/unidentified aircraft will be intercepted, an... |
How can India launch a mission to Mars, yet have so much poverty etc | It's not really like the money is the issue. Basically every country has millions and millions of debt, yet you have countries that spend money into infrastructure etc. and others don't so much. It's depending on your countries agenda set but the government / lobbyists. I believe the thing with India is mostly that eve... |
How do nature documentaries get such good sound? Do they use foley artists? | Small time indie film maker here. I would imagine its very similar to setting up a film shoot in a small diner . You scope out the spot. So for a lion documentary, you find a den where you know the lions will return. While they are gone, place microphones everywhere you can. Film crew sets up and lie in wait with telep... |
In Youtube, why do I see a difference between the 720p setting and the 1440p setting even though I have a 720p monitor? | It has a higher bitrate=it's less compressed. That's because you need higher bitrate at higher resolution. |
If the look of classic automobiles from the 50s and earlier is so well-loved, then why aren't modern vehicles made to look like them? | They kind of are using styling cues as throwbacks. Examples: Mustang Camaro Chevy HHR :edit: there are also full fiberglass bodies made of mustangs, Camaro's, ac cobra's, etc That one ugly chevy pickup Challenger |
Why are time zones still a thing? | Time zones are more of a tradition. The time zones are generally designed to have the highest point of the sun at noon. Until it became normal to travel , each village maintained its own time 'zone'. When the countries became more connected, some uniformisation took place. For instance, until the Second World War, time... |
How can open source software be secure if the source code is visible? | They CAN look for flaws and weaknesses. Then they exploit them, then the software is fixed. If the source was unavailable, they will STILL look for flaws and weaknesses, but it might take them longer to find them since they're operating somewhat blind. So at the beginning, having source available probably makes it more... |
How come sharks have survived from the time of dinosaurs, but other large sea creatures such as Mosasaurs and Plesiosaurs did not? | I'm no paleontologist, but one reason might be they aren't all fish. Mosasaurs and plesiosaurs were reptiles. Perhaps something in the atmosphere caused problems for animals with lungs while those with gills survived. Purely speculation of course. Good question. |
If testicles are so crucial for procreation, why are they so vulnerable and not inside the male abdomen like ovaries? | It's not really unprotected. It's between your legs, a fairly protected place. It's even more so on 4 legged mammals.if humans are so important why is it so easy to kill them', "Evolution isn't perfect thus while it evolved to keep the sperm temperature; it didn't account for protection because it happened to survive t... |
Why is it that some vegans don't consume/use products made from animals but don't consider fuel/oils an animal product? | It's not. It's mostly material from plant life that used to live in thick bogs. The animals at the time didn't have that much carbon in them so would not have turned into usable gasoline. |
If I am listening to two audio streams, what is happening when our brain switches from focusing on on stream to another | If you guys don't mind a follow up question, I actually can't focus on only one audio stream. What is wrong with me?", 'This was covered in one of my cognition classed for psychology. When listening to two audiotracks simultaneously we can only attend to one source. Participants can however determine if the voice in th... |
Won't the Oculus Rift and other VR systems effectively half the graphics processing speed since it needs to render two images from distinct angles? | I'm a VR developer. Yes, it does. Actually, VR is even more graphical demanding than you think, for a number of reasons. Here are some of the big ones: * You have to render the game once for each eye* Due to the uneven magnification of the lenses, you have to render at a much higher resolution overall to ensure that th... |
If holding elections entirely online would be less costly, more eco-friendly, more accurate, and yield a higher number of voters, why doesn't the US government do it that way? | Actual cryptanalyst, so I have a far better understanding than most. It is not about securing the central servers those are not the weak points. The week point is right in front of you, your computer. So here is how I would design the attack. Given that there is a lot of money to be made, there is a lot of money to be ... |
Why do people think the moon landing was faked? | Some of the reasons I've heard: - The technology to actually land on the moon didn't exist at the time. - The US wanted to beat the USSR to the moon both because the US feared what the USSR would do if they got there first and to show dominance in rocketry and space technology. Faking it achieves the second of these go... |
Given a constant stream of oxygenated blood, can a brain think by itself (with no body attached)? | There's an Italian doctor preparing to do the first head transplant on a Russian client in a hospital in China in 2017. What can go wrong.. _URL_0_ |
how are we supposed to keep our ears clean if q tips are bad? | They're for cleaning your ears, not your ear canals like many people assume. You need that wax in your ear canal Q-tips aren't bad - stupidity is! |
What is the real world significance/ benefit of calculus? | A very long time ago I took an accounting class . There was a chapter in the text about inventory management, that had a formula for calculating the least cost ordering strategy. IIRC, given a fixed cost per order, any discount for bulk, and storage costs, the formula calculated the order size to get the lowest unit co... |
Why is the discredited Laffer curve still so prevalent in conservative economics? | The laffer curve is perfectly credible, it just isn't actually useful. We don't understand economic systems well enough to determine what the real shape of the curve is, so people just use it to argue for whatever position they already believed, in the case of conservatives: lower taxes are better. |
Why are soap operas/daytime television shows aired at a much higher frame rate than other shows/movies? | Because they're filmed at a higher frame rate. Soap Operas, being fairly low budget, are filmed on video and not filmstock. Video records at a higher frame rate, but is much cheaper than filmstock, so they used a higher frame rate. Video would be like recording directly onto a VHS tape rather than onto 35 mm film. It's... |
Why does breathing suddenly seem to become "voluntary" the moment we think about how involuntary it is? | I was taught in biology that there are three types of action: voluntary , involuntary , and actions which can be automatic or manually controlled. Unconscious breathing is controled by clusters in your brainstem, but it's not really understood how the switch works, nor exactly where the conscious breathing is controlle... |
Why are police lights sometimes only visible from behind the vehicle? | Former cop here:Sometimes cops only turn the rear lights on when theyre backing up another officer. First car makes the stop, second unit pulls in behind him, shuts off headlights and activates rear emergency lights. That way, your fellow officer is extra blinded. We'd also turn off the front lights when performing fie... |
Why do some people constantly sway side to side when standing in one spot? | I have no idea but I hope someone knows. I do this and get on my own nerves. But I literally can't stop. It's like laying in bed without switching sides or positions only more constant. I've wondered if it's related to spine/nervous system because I'm not an otherwise antsy person. I can sit without fidgeting for long ... |
Why do people posting pictures of cars black out license plate numbers? If you've ever parked your car in public thousands of people have seen it | Nobody cares if their license plate is one of a thousand in the parking lot; opinions change when they're the car singled out in a photo shared on the internet. |
The importance in the increase of NASA's funding | They're doing some very important work if you consider the survival of the human race to be important. It's pretty clear that we will eventually overcrowd this old ball of mud. We will need somewhere else to go and who else is working on that? [Please don't reply 'the guy with the Mars reality show' pretty hard to take... |
Why is men's fashion so much more limited than women's? | A variety of reasons. First, more expensive places and lines of clothing will have a lot more variety because someone who's willing to spend more actually cares what they look like. The value lines usually cater to the larger majority of men who don't want or need to care how they look.Secondly and more importantly, ev... |
"Hearing" my own thoughts | I don't actually think in any audible way. I form sentences and think of the words, but nothing is 'heard'. My guess is that when you hear speech, the same cognitive functions in your brain are firing that understand and interpret those words as when you are forming word based thoughts. When you think those thoughts it... |
Why/how distinct gear upshift sound with CVT? | It is used to mimic a geared transmission so that drivers don't get confused thinking they have a slipping trans or that there is a problem. Too radical a shift from geared to completely gearless. Our '16 Impreza has the CVT and does the 'gear shift' thing. I don't get it - if it's a CVT then be a CVT - don't fake out ... |
Doesn't Guaranteed Basic Income just cause crazy inflation? Is there any evidence that GBI actually works in the long term? | No one can say for sure yet, but I think that it won't cause inflation. Or at least, it won't be too bad. The total money supply will remain roughly the same, as will the purchasing power . Of course, it all depends on what is the GBI. It can't be too high . It certainly shouldn't be higher than the minimum wage. All i... |
What would happen to the US economy if traditional businesses switched from 5-day work weeks to 4-day work weeks? | All the studies I've seen that talk about the benefits, seem to focus on white collar jobs. I haven't seen too much done on blue collar or the service industry. So it's hard to say from a macro view what would occur.This was actually trialled in Utah. They found that as long as you could guarantee employees a three-day... |
Why is Singapore so successful when it's democracy index is 6.14 and oil industry is responsible just for 5 percent of the GDP? | Geography and diplomacy, with a hint of the good kind of totalitarianism. Even before colonial times Singapore was a local trading hub and friend of China. They even sent ships to defend Singapore from the Majapahit Empire. We were extremely lucky to have had a great team of people at the nation's birth who weren't cor... |
If people are wired for survival, why is it fun to live reckless (skydiving, motorcycles, surfing, rollercoasters, etc)? | Humans are an oxymoronic people. We value safety/security but we are also risk takers. Why do you think ancient people got on a raft and set out onto the ocean just to reach land they can't see (those islands off the South American coasts for example. |
Why the Boston bombers are considered 'terrorists' while the shooter from the Wisconsin Gurdwara shooting is just a 'white supremacist'? | Basically one is an action and one is a political ideology. A terrorist is someone who's general aim is to inflict fear and violence on people , whereas white supremacy is really just an ideology. Terrorism evolves as a response to a political ideology whereas white supremacy is an ideology itself. |
Why america is focused on the race issue when the rest of the word has class issues. | Because our upper classes fuel our race issues, so they don't face unified opposition from the lower class. It began with strike breaking ownership pitting one cultural or racial group against one another with blacks being the strike breakers of last resort. But more recently the phenomenon has emerged of wealthy Ameri... |
EI5 Why would it be a bad idea to raise children as gender neutral? | Think of it like speaking a different language. There is no problem/difficulty with it as long as you stay within that group, but when you venture outside of that group you may have issues. I think it's very progressive, but things like this are incredibly hard to implement on a big enough scale to make a difference. I... |
What's the difference between a civil war and a revolution? | A civil war is a war all within one country. It may or may not be a revolution. A revolution is the **successful** overthrowing of a government. It doesn't have to be a war, it can be a coup. Where it gets confusing is revolution is **also** used to describe a colony, territory, or otherwise subordinate portion of a co... |
Why is it racist/closed-minded to find people of a race unattractive? | If you happen to not be attracted to certain features, and those features tend to be present in black women, then you're not racist. If you're not attracted to certain features *because* they tend to be present in black women, that's racist. Problem is, it's not always clear to a third party like the two black women wh... |
Why are so many video games requiring the user to be Online, even if they want to play a single player mode? | Long story short; the modern gaming industry does not give a *shit* about their customers. This is why they release unfinished games, this is why they release day one DLCs, this is why they develop newer and more terrible DRM and anti-piracy tactics. They just couldn't care less. And do you want to know why? No matter ... |
Why do we know Jeb Bush is running for POTUS when he won't "officially" announce it until the 15th? | Most candidates do this. If they just say 'hey guys, I'm going to have a press conference on friday', they won't get a lot of attention. If they go 'hey, I'm going to have a press conference on friday to announce that I am running for president', suddenly they get a lot more attention. Which means there will be a lot m... |
Why does CO2 make a drink like Coke feel 'fizzy' while nitrogen gas makes a drink like beer/ale feel smother? | I haven't seen yet addressed much the effect of saliva. Saliva contains a catalyst called carbonic anhydrase. What it does is very quickly degas the dissolved carbon dioxide in the soda and speed up the reaction that turns it into carbonic acid. This is why the cola stays gassed up in the bottle but isn't really gassy ... |
Why does a wet washcloth stick to things, even a fairly smooth tiled shower wall? | Water is made out of water molecules, just like a lego house is made out of lego bricks. Water molecules are positively charged at one point, and negatively at another point. So basically water molecules are like tiny magnets. When you stick a wet washcloth on the wall, water molecules in the wet washcloth will be attr... |
How is that in basketball, where everyone agrees taller is better, we repeatedly hear about teams (such as the Golden State Warriors) getting an advantage by "going small?" | The NBA has adopted into positionless basketball where you have players like Andre Igoudala playing power forward as opposed to his traditional role as a small forward. Playing small and positionless allows for teams to have better floor spacing, speed and quickness at power forward/center. Another reason teams go smal... |
How could a small group of protesters shut down a rally attended by thousands? | Anyone can make reasonable conversation impossible by shouting over the person trying to speak. If you're in a public place, there aren't property rights that let you solve that by throwing people off your property.They were not able to shut down the rally. These were just empty threats. The reason they were not remove... |
What would happen if I was to fill a air mattress with helium, would it be able to lift my weight or would it fail to even lift itself? | If you're talking about those cheap little air mattresses that you use at the beach, it might lift itself, but not you. A higher quality air mattress would probably be too heavy to lift itself.Having actually done this, the answer is no. We bought a large tank of helium one time to inflate a large number of balloons fo... |
There are 1 Billion Hindus also from relatively poor countries. Why dont they have any terrorist incidents against the West like Islamic terrorists? | Three religions fall under the same origin story, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. All three of these religions have an underlying tenet embedded into their belief structure, which is that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Judaism dropped conversion and war fare thing a long time ago. But Christianity and Isl... |
Why are mice seen as cute yet rats are universally hated and feared? | Rats have creepy tails and they seem enormous. That's why I didn't like them before I had one as a pet. |
If Hydrogen and Oxygen are both gases, then how come when combined they form a liquid? | Chemical compounds aren't just mixtures of their component elements. The elements are bound together in ways that change their properties. In fact, the properties of compounds are often the *opposite* of those of their component elements: fluorine, for example, is very reactive but fluorine compounds like Teflon are ve... |
Will someone explain why the election in France is so globally important? | Pretty sure that it has to do with the EU. France has the number two economy in the EU after Germany with the U.K. already out of the mix. A lot of French people seem disenchanted with the main political parties and have shown so by going with the two that have been chosen for their run-off. If they were to leave the E... |
Why do hiccups occur, what causes it to stop, and why does it sometimes hurt? | What I've found to work exceptionally well and immediately, is forcing a burp. I feel the force and the burp around where the adam's apple would be . It's just a tiny little pop in your adam's apple area if you put your finger there. I don't drink fizzy drinks, you have to force it from nothing and it'll come. Then vio... |
Why is the ozone layer higher up than oxygen gas? Should not ozone(O3) weigh more than oxygen gas(O2) and therefore closer to the earth? | Gonna be quoting this [site]. It's not that there isn't ozone near ground level because you're right it has a higher density. It's that ozone is typically formed in the upper levels of the atomsphere due to O^2 reacting with free radicals of oxygen which are generally formed from the solar radiation that is constantly ... |
what made jimi hendrix arguably one of the best rock players of all time? | He had his own unique sound and voice. A style which many other musicians studied and used to discover their own voice. He is part of the bridge between blues and the later classic rock. As a musician his ideas are just beautiful; out of this world. Songs like Little Wing, The Wind Cries Mary, etc. As a guitarist, his ... |
Why do people randomly twitch for a bit when they first fall asleep? | I like to think that it's the body's way of roll call for body parts and to create a manifest of issues to fix for the night.Simply put, your brain wants to make sure your limbs are still there as you fall asleepNot known for sure. There is a theory that this is a tensing up muscles, primal instict to protect us from f... |
Why have main stream computers stopped at 3 ghz? What stops us from making 100ghz or even 500ghz | Computers have stopped at 3ghz mostly for practical engineering reasons. A computer than runs at 100ghz would melt because of issues with heat and power. There are overclocking competitions where people can get computers up to double or triple their natural speeds, but it pretty much always involves cooling with someth... |
Why are disposable coffee lids designed in the shape that they are? | There are tons of different designs. Most of them are designed like that to stay on the cup to prevent spilling but allow consuming. The little holes are there to let air in so there won't be vacuum causing the bubbly effect like pouring from a bottle. |
What is the difference between a starting pitcher, a relief pitcher, and a closer (baseball)? | Starter - The first pitcher for each team. He generally has a lot of stamina and can through for many innings. In the old days, starters would pitch the entire game. Nowadays, they generally are in the game for perhaps 5-7 innings, depending on how well they do. Each team usually carries 5 starters on the team. Relieve... |
What's the difference between bits and bytes, and is there an easy way to remember? | Bytes are 8 bits, by eight = byte. That's how I learned it, apparently my previous answer was too short so yeah.8 Bits = 1 Byte 1 Bit is either a 1 or a 0 For example, the binary code of the ASCII letter "A" is 01000001 Each of these these letters is 1 byte made up of 8 bitsA bit is a zero or one in binary; by itself, ... |
How in the hell does quicksort work? | The pivot point can essentially be chosen at random. Obviously it's most efficient if the pivot divides the list into as nearly equal parts as possible , but since it's not sorted in the first place we can't actually know where that midpoint would be, so we don't bother. The visual demonstration on [the Wikipedia page ... |
How do people find complicated Easter Eggs in games? | Not really Easter Egg hunting, but my brother and I would mess with the power switch on our Atari 2600. If you turn the console on/off/on very quickly, you can get some truly epic ROM loading errors. The game is playable, but different. /Yars Revenge yeah, I'm old.Most of the CoD eggs are hinted at in gameplay. Especia... |
What is going on with Isreal and why are we talking about them so much lately? | The US, and other countries, are talking with Iran, working towards a deal about Iran's nuclear program. Israel is worried about this because they don't trust Iran, and there is a real fear that if Iran develops nuclear weapons, they will use them to attack Israel. Because Israel doesn't trust Iran, they've been more h... |
Why hiphop artists/fans are so obsessed with the Illuminati? | I don't think I have ever heard any of that. Also look at Old rock n roll it is filled with references to the Ocoult and stuff. |
Why does sleep paralysis occur? | When you're in REM sleep you are usually dreaming. Dreaming requires motor function like moving your arms and walking. Your body knows that this can be dangerous in a multitude of ways, and therefor, prohibits movement while in REM sleep. For some people, sometimes the paralysis occurs slightly before or slightly after... |
What does cancer benefit from developing? If it kills the host, doesn't it kill itself? | Cancer is not a pathogen. It's not like a virus or anything that's survives within its host. Rather, it's some cells which have screwed up and multiply rapidly, producing a tumor.That's my ELI5 explanation to go with my ELI5 understanding. |
Throughout history plenty of buildings made of stone/marble have apparently "burned down". How is that even possible? | Marble breaks down as heat drives the carbon out of it to form carbon dioxide. It's made of calcium carbonate so there is plenty of it to be released. Brick doesn't combust exactly, but fire weakens it and thermal shocks will shatter them. |
Why are some shows allowed to show people doing illegal things? | Vice can because it's Journalism. They don't take part in the activities but they do document it. |
Why do high-end fashion designers make those ridiculous outfits for runway models that no one will ever wear? | Other people have made great points about artistic expression, but I think there's another aspect to it as well. Various elements of the clothes from big names that go down the runway—shapes, patterns, colors, fabrics, etc—start showing up in other collections. Trends become clear, elements get watered down to a certai... |
How does gun spinning work? | Several reasons has already been mentioned, but once hasn't yet: The balance of the gun. The force isn't spread uniformly in all directions, you spin with the finger resting on the side opposite to the heavy side. Hold a gun by hanging it on the trigger guard. It will hang roughly upside down, with a slight tilt to the... |
Why are mammals never brightly coloured? | Mammals generally have bad eyesight compared to birds or fish. This is a generalization, it also is a question of how you define 'good'. Depth perception is more important for a hunter than colour eg. but colorwise - fish, insects and birds can generally see more of. Early mammals evolved as nocturnal creatures that mo... |
Why do people cringe at certain sounds while others don't get bothered? I am fine with nails on a chalkboard but metal clanking makes me cringe. | Try reading [this]. It's some of the best research in this field to date.Markers on paper. Gets me every time. Actually, it makes me want to vomit. So to further the question, is it just high pitched sounds, or are there cases of low frequencies as well?Thinking of the sound teeth would make smacking concrete makes me ... |
All the different kinds of alcohol, what they are, how they're different, what each one kinda tastes like, etc. etc. | **Mead** This is a very old and often forgotten drink. It is believed to be one of the first alcohols, beer would be it's contender. Mead is made from honey, with the addition of other botanicals as well. Many people refer to it as honey wine because of its taste and i would agree. It is usually sweet, but with a littl... |
What is the science behind birthmarks. How do we get it? Why do we have different birthmarks? | I'm not sure if this is pertinent or not but there is more than just one type of birthmark, there are port wine stains that are more of a vascular/ blood vessel abnormality that frequently leads to other vascular complications around the affected area. I'd be more than happy to answer any question to the best of my abi... |
What are the negative effects of LSD? | Maybe it's mentioned and I don't see it, but the greatest danger when taking LSD is that it isn't LSD. LSD is often augmented with speed and other stuff like that which means the drug you think you're buying is often not the drug you're buying. So like with all drugs that have a high risk of being stepped on or just mi... |
Why is the consistency of my ice cream different when it melts and I refreeze it? | Ice cream is frozen foam. That's a big reason why it tastes so creamy. When it melts and refreezes, all the bubbles that made it foam had time to escape, so it refreezes more like ice, and the texture is completely different. |
Why are organic transplants much more common than synthetic transplants? | Evolution has honed biological organs for billions of years. Artificial replacements are very rarely even as good as biological ones. Viable artificial implants are primarily stuff like cornea and simple joints whose main purpose is just to not fall apart. Biological transplants don't last forever, but as anyone who ha... |
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