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1tv4ch | How can mass change in the Mass Energy Equivalence in regards to the Universe? | So recently a thought popped into my head regarding this:
**E = mc^2**
Where E must be constant as a result of the Conservation of Energy, and c must be constant as it is the speed of light.
How exactly can relativistic mass change? It is commonly accepted that as an object approaches the speed of light, its mass increases towards infinity. Could anyone possibly clarify these thoughts?
Thanks in advance! | explainlikeimfive | {
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"I think the problem here comes from lack of specificity in quoting Einstein's mass-energy equivalence. The equation that you have quoted tells us the REST energy, E, of a particle. I.e. The energy the particle has purely due to the fact it is matter, E = mc^2 , where m is the rest mass - not just 'mass'. Now 'at rest' on its own doesn't really mean anything, the particle must be 'at rest' relative to something There is no absolute reference frame.\nThe complete equation is E^2 = (mc^2)^2 + (pc)^2 , where p is the momentum of the particle and here E is the TOTAL energy of the particle. So I think you were getting confused because there are subtleties in the equation that you have quoted that by definition remove the issue you are having.\n\nHowever, I am still not sure quite what you mean when you say \"Where E must be constant as a result of the Conservation of Energy...\", we say energy is conserved in the universe overall - with some uncertainty as shown by Heisenberg - but observationally, energy is only conserved when we measure from an unchanging reference frame. \nNow if we follow Einstein through from his theory of Special relativity, to his theory of General Relativity, whether or not we define energy as 'conserved' depends on our definitions of both 'energy' and 'conservation'. This [I think] is because if we have a 'non-Special' case then we must call take into account of curved space-time and gravitational waves.\nAs just a lowly 1st year undergrad I am not in the slightest qualified to go into further detail...\n\nEDIT: Formatting and grammar."
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} | train_eli5 | How can mass change in the Mass Energy Equivalence in regards to the Universe?
So recently a thought popped into my head regarding this: **E = mc^2** Where E must be constant as a result of the Conservation of Energy, and c must be constant as it is the speed of light. How exactly can relativistic mass change? It is commonly accepted that as an object approaches the speed of light, its mass increases towards infinity. Could anyone possibly clarify these thoughts? Thanks in advance! | [
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1yanxr | the Austro-Prussian War | no loaded questions!! | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Before the modern nation of Germany developed, Prussia and Austria were the two largest and most powerful German states. There was a certain amount of rivalry between them to lead the other German states, even though they would sometimes cooperate. In one episode of cooperation, they went to war together against Denmark to gain the area called Schleswig-Holstein. They won the war and split the territories, but soon afterwards, Prussia and Austria went to war against each other, and Prussia won. So the other German states began to look towards Prussia as the most powerful German state and the one most capable of uniting them together."
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} | train_eli5 | the Austro-Prussian War
no loaded questions!! | [
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33u3cy | Why do we see fruits growing in the wild but never any vegetables? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"You probably do, but you don't recognise them. Vegetables look like they do because they have been bred to have large edible parts and their wild equivalents look just like random weeds.\n\n[Comparison of a crop carrot and a wild carrot](_URL_1_)\n\n[Wild cabbage](_URL_0_)\n\nMeanwhile fruits evolved naturally to entice animals to eat them and spread their seeds, so they look tasty and edible even in the wild.",
"There are wild vegetables growing in many places. They just don't look like what we see in the grocery store. There are many species of [wild potato](_URL_4_) and [wild onion](_URL_3_) that look nothing like the sweet onions or Yukon gold potatoes in the produce section. We've breed them to have the characteristics we like - larger, tastier edible parts that can grow in a cultivated setting and will handle being shipped and stored.\n\nAnd it's the same with fruits. You can find [wild grapes](_URL_4_) but they don't have the same growth habits of the grapes you find in the store.",
"And for the best example: corn \n\nCorn cannot and would not exist w/o humans. _URL_5_\n\nSo much of what you think of as normal, wouldn't exist w/o intervention at some point in the past \n\nLeft is still a cultivated version of the original teosinte that corn started from",
"Here are some examples from western North Carolina, USA: [Ramps](_URL_7_), [Brook Lettuce](_URL_6_), [Dandelion](_URL_8_). I'm sure you can find more!",
"The same reason you rarely see wild dogs (not stray dogs btw). Most dogs, like vegetables, have been bred to keep certain characteristics we find useful, or enjoyable\n\nThey're all still dogs, but over thousands of years, we've, changed then so much, that some are virtually unrecognizable from the original, wild, dog.\n\nIf you want, you can look up the history of the mustard plant, since from this one single plant, we've grown brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, radishes, watercress, etc.\n\nFrom one plant! Which, if you saw it in the wild, would look *nothing* like any of those vegetables I mentioned.\n\nTl;Dr - because evolution, and artificial selection.",
"There are a lot of root vegetables which grow underground like carrots or potatoes so you wouldn't even see them unless you knew exactly what their respective above ground plant parts looked like. On the other hand fruit grows on trees and bushes and often has a vibrant colour so they're easily visible and much more noticable.",
"I see vegetibles in the wild all the time. Carrots are pretty common as are onions, clover, asparagus, chicory, cactus and so many other edible wild vegetables. They look completely different than the store bought ones though because they havent been bred for the traits consumers desire.",
"They do grow wild, but you'd probably never recognize them because we have artificially selected the ones we like best. Those ones you're familiar with have characteristics which are well suited to farming and human consumption, but are no longer subject to natural birds and bees style procreation."
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} | train_eli5 | Why do we see fruits growing in the wild but never any vegetables?
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25qvhe | Shadow Banking | I just read an article in the Economist about shadow banking and how it's dangerous; but I don't quite understand what shadow baking is exactly and how it rivals regular banking. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"A regular bank is what your mom goes to after she picks you up from school; a shadow bank is that kid who lends you money on the playground if you promise to pay him back tomorrow and give him your juice box, too. It's dangerous because your mom's bank is regulated; the promise you make with that kid is not regulated."
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} | train_eli5 | Shadow Banking
I just read an article in the Economist about shadow banking and how it's dangerous; but I don't quite understand what shadow baking is exactly and how it rivals regular banking. | [
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3wck0x | What happens when an Uber Driver gets T-Boned and the passenger dies? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Exactly the same as any other circumstances.\n\nThe person who caused the collision will hopefully have insurance which would offer some form of compensation to the family.\n\nIf that person doesn't have insurance, then the Uber driver's insurance will offer compensation.\n\nAnd if the Uber driver doesn't have insurance, which I suspect would be against their terms and conditions but I don't know for sure (and might depend on the country), the family might choose to bring a legal case against whomever they felt was at fault.",
"If the accident was their fault they will be held accountable for the death, generally being found guilty of negligent homicide or vehicular manslaughter. If they other person is responsible then they are the ones responsible, and if it is a true accident no one is responsible. \n\nThe relatives could also sue the driver, and/or Uber as a whole for wrongful death. They may or may not win the lawsuit."
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[deleted] | [
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z9jr3 | What dictates of the value of currency between countries? | Why does an American dollar equal 1.5 Euros etc. What/how is this decided? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"In most cases, supply and demand. No one decides what the dollar/Euro ratio is - it is much better understood as an auction where at 1.5, there is a roughly the same number of people buying as selling Euros.\n\nIn some other cases, for example the Hong Kong Dollar, the ratio is determined by the Hong Kong government.",
"This is a somewhat complicated question, but in short, each country has a net amount of crap that its citizens and government own. Your money is a coupon to be able to buy some of that crap. Each country decides how many coupons they have, and the value of their currency is equal to the amount of crap they have divided by the amount of coupons that they've printed.\n\nThere is some regulation, but in general the prices are set by people that buy and sell lots of crap and exchange currency to do so. If one country's coupons can buy twice as much crap as another's, that country can sell that coupon for two of the other country's coupons -- but not three, because nobody would buy them at that price. So the value of the currency tends to balance on what it's actually worth in crap.",
"There is a global currency exchange market. At that market, people can basically making a post saying \"hey, I would like to buy this many dollars at this price in Euros\". If someone else has already said \"Hey I would like to sell this many dollars at the same price\", then they get together and can make the transaction and both posts disappear. If there is nobody out there to take your offer to buy or sell, then that offer just stays up there and anyone can choose to take you up on it.\n\nThe market price is the line between between the open buying and selling offers that nobody has taken. There will always actually be a very small range between the lowest selling price and the highest buying price.",
"In a nutshell: *It depends on which currencies and which countries*. \n\nSome countries have \"floating\" currencies where the value of the currency, relative to others, is determined by free market. Dollars are Euros are both floating currencies.\n\nSome countries have pegged rates, where the government or central bank decides how much the currency is worth, often relative to [US Dollars for historical reasons.](_URL_0_) The Chinese Yuan is an example of this. \n\nFinally, some countries use another country's currency altogether. Panama and El Salvador, for instance, use US Dollars as their official currency."
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} | train_eli5 | What dictates of the value of currency between countries?
Why does an American dollar equal 1.5 Euros etc. What/how is this decided? | [
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416ziy | Has there ever been a person that has flown over Area 51 and got shot down? | [removed] | explainlikeimfive | {
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"There aren't any credible reports of it ever happening.\n\nAircraft intruding into restricted airspace will be denied entry by controllers, and if they persist will be escorted down by military aircraft and the pilot arrested. The military is, for obvious reasons, pretty hesitant to actually shoot down civilian aircraft."
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} | train_eli5 | Has there ever been a person that has flown over Area 51 and got shot down?
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5qrbr3 | How do they install plumbing, internet and electricity in old structures and homes that are centuries or millennia old? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"I can only speak for plumbing on this issue. \n\nFirst, the contractor or plumber will go to the DPW and request a permit for the job. \n\nNext, you need to have your plan in order. A big job requires detailed plans including being up to code. This is the big problem with old houses. It can require lots of renovation to bring old buildings up to code. \n\nAfter you have your plans set up, someone from the DPW will meet you at the property and review the building and your plans. If approved, you do it. \n\nBasically, plumbing needs to be the same in any building, new or old. This requires tapping into the main water line, running pipe, branching it off to various rooms and fixtures, installing toilets, fixtures, etc. When you're finished, you get another inspection. \n\nThe big difference between new and old plumbing is the lead issue. The word 'plumbing' comes from the Latin word for 'lead'. I forgot what the Latin word is... Anyway, current plumbing codes require no lead whatsoever. Old plumbing had lead in the pipes, the solder, and the fixtures. No good.",
"We are currently in the process of renovating our 1865 farm house. The structure is made of limestone rocks held together with mortar. There was no insulation in the walls. It's much like building a whole new house... on the skeleton",
"Sometimes for electric they will surface mount everything if the wall space is inaccessible or nonexistent.\n\nThis means you would see all the pipe and boxes, similar to [this](_URL_0_).\n\nThey can surface mount plumbing and internet cable the same way. It's not pretty, but if you can't access the walls it's sometimes the only option.",
"Typically- any truly old buildings would be covered by a type of preservation law. Depending on the country, there might be codes to which a house is renovated. For example- in America, private property trumps all, unless the deed includes an easement- meaning the legal documents for the property include rules about what changes can happen. \n\nAlso in America, some concessions are made that allow historic buildings to not follow all modern codes, provided there is no effect on public safety. This is why house museums often are not ADA accessible, even though it typically is mandatory for public buildings. This allows the house to have small corridors and no ramps- as those additions would greatly alter the property.\n\nSo long story short- When dealing with historic properties, it is always important to know what laws apply to the renovation. It is always expected that plumbing, wiring, etc. MUST be updated. Therefore a contractor can receive permission to move forward with these updates.then these updates occur as they would with any renovation, doing what must happen to assure safety and such, demo-ing as little as possible. \n\nBut for updates that are not \"necessary\" - like heated bathroom floors for example, depending on where you are- often times the government will request/demand that these changes not be made to preserve the historic quality of the house.\n\nSource: my degree from an American graduate school of historic preservation",
"The symbol for lead is Pb from the latin word for lead. Plumbing. There is a theory that the aristocracy of Rome, the rich ones, living in homes with plumbing, loss their mental acuity from the lead in the pipes.\n\nIf necessary a false wall can be built next to the original one. Inside that space all electricity, pipes and wires can be run. Naturally they try to stack these false wall one on top of the other.",
"Internet is ez.....Just like they do with a modern house,. Drill a hole in the exterior wall for the wire,. Plop a bunch of sealant afterwards.\n\nWhat you have to be careful is that 100 years ago, they used exposed live wires with no plastic insulation. So you need to make sure you don't touch those with your drill."
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} | train_eli5 | How do they install plumbing, internet and electricity in old structures and homes that are centuries or millennia old?
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1mqm11 | Laughing | Why do we laugh? Why the physical and vocal response to humor? Why do we laugh more in groups then when we are alone? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"I read once somewhere that its a... almost an irony radar. When we see something that we did not expect, we laugh. \n\nThis irony detector, for lack of a better name, is useful for group communication of threats. For instance, the year is 200,000 BCE, you and your 15 closest humans are sitting in a circle around the campfire doing caveman things, when you all hear a noise. A twig breaking, behind you in the trees. One of you goes to look. The rest expect him to be eaten by a gigantic moose-bear-pig. He secretly expects so himself. He reaches the tree, lifts a branch out of the way and sees... a deer. The deer sees him, turns and runs. Caveman guy laughs, signaling to the group that 'oh, hey. its cool. we're not all gonna die'.\n\n\n\nOr it could be something else.",
"I have no idea :D but if I had to guess I would say its part of our heightened intellect. I have never known an animal to laugh. And funny things can only really be funny if you have the intelligence to understand why its funny. Comedy has a huge tie into unexpectedness. In fact I find /r/unexpected a lot funnier than /r/funny most of the time.\n\nThe usual response for something joyful is a smile or grin and the usual response for something unexpected is often a gasp or quick inhalation or exhalation of air for whatever reason. If you mix the two together you get something similar to a laugh. Is that where it comes from? I dont know. But its something to consider."
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} | train_eli5 | Laughing
Why do we laugh? Why the physical and vocal response to humor? Why do we laugh more in groups then when we are alone? | [
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3a5eot | the differences between Chairman, Secretary General, President and CEO. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"The Chairman (of the board) is the head of the board of directors. The Board of directors generally doesn't run operations at a company but makes really big, long term decisions, such as choosing the executives that do run the company. The Chairman generally doesn't have any more power per se than any other voting member of the board, except the power to run board meetings.\n\nThe Chief Executive Officer is the senior ranking person in an organization, answering only to board. He makes all the decissions of running the company in real time.\n\nThe CEO may also be the president and the terms may be interchangeable depending on the business. However, if both terms are used in a company it is likely because the organization has multiple subsidiaries doing different things. In this case the CEO is in charge of the entire umbrella organization and a president runs each individual subsidiary answering to the CEO.\n\nSecretary General (also General Secretary) is a term basically meaning the same thing as a CEO but is favored by multinational, non-profit, and political organizations."
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} | train_eli5 | the differences between Chairman, Secretary General, President and CEO.
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4l9pa1 | Why is it recommended to drink lots of milk after swallowing bleach ? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"There is a protein in milk, one protein structure called lactase (kind of like a microscopic arm made of legos) is responsible for making bleach less harmful when swallowed.\n\n This protein \"lego arm\" binds onto the highly reactive chlorine atom and the highly reactive OH (hydroxide) molecule in the basic bleach, when it does this it, the protein transforms (like a transformer, except its final form is shitty ...and turns into sort of a \"homo gangbang\" ... i.e.: homogeneous cluster of protein). The protein molecules then combine and coagulates with the above dangerous stuff... This allows your body to SHIT it out rather than being absorbed into your system.\n\nSo milk helps by having its lactase bind onto the \"bad\" particles and allows you to shit out the homo. gangbang of lego arms.",
"OMG I KNOW THIS! But [here]( _URL_0_) is a blog that can explain it much better than me! \n \n > Milk contains a sugar called lactose that the human body is unable to digest by itself. Lactose is a disaccharide (sugar made up of two units) consisting of one glucose unit and one galactose unit connected by a beta linkage. Lactose is digested in mammals (like humans) only with the help of an enzyme called lactase which cleaves the lactose in half, allowing the individual sugars to be absorbed by the body. The problem here is that there is a limited amount of lactase produced, and as humans age, many stop producing it altogether, making it harder and harder to digest the lactose sugars in milk. Eventually, many adults become lactose intolerant, meaning that they are unable to digest a significant amount of lactose. \n \n\n > Even someone with the ability to digest lactose only has a limited amount of the lactase enzyme with which to process the sugar. Once all available enzymes are put to work breaking up lactose, additional incoming lactose molecules are put on a waiting list. While they’re waiting for a lactase spot to open up, your incredibly acidic gastric juices start doing a number on the milk that is just sitting in your stomach. The hydrochloric acid in your stomach turns the milk into hard-to-digest cards - sort of like what milk looks like when you leave it out for a few days. These curds end up coating your stomach and your intestines, and give you a case of indigestion. And if you’ve just swallowed a poison, indigestion is exactly what you want! \n \n\n > So there’s the answer… by drinking milk, you not only dilute the detergent (or other poison), you overwhelm the lactase enzymes, allowing your stomach’s hydrochloric acid to curdle the milk, which coats your stomach and intestines, slowing down the rate with which your body absorbs the poison. \n \n > So why not just induce vomiting? Well, you could choke, your stomach acid will erode your esophagus, the substance you swallowed could be harmful to your lungs or esophagus, and you’ll become severely dehydrated, which could actually be worse for you than the poison you ingested. The milk just “pauses” your digestion until you can seek proper medical care. \n \nHowever, you should not try to feed the patient milk if s/he's having symptoms such as convulsions, seizures, etc that indicate a difficulty in swallowing.",
"This actually happened to a family friend of ours. She was cleaning her kitchen and was drinking water while tidying up, but didn't notice that she left the water next to the bleach. So she reaches for the water but instead drank bleach.\nIf this ever happens drink milk as SOON as possible. She realized her mistake and chugged some milk before going to the hospital, and thankfully she's okay."
],
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27,
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://txfx.net/2005/10/20/in-case-of-poison-ingestion-drink-milk/"
]
} | train_eli5 | Why is it recommended to drink lots of milk after swallowing bleach ?
| [
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1ctbk4 | Meteor showers | In light of the Lyrid meteor shower tonight, what's the deal with meteor showers? Why do they happen? How come they are better on certain nights, and better in certain areas? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"c9js29h"
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"text": [
"It's basically the earth travling through a debris trail left by a comet, see [illustration](_URL_1_) and [this as well](_URL_0_).\n\nSo a particular meteor shower occurs at same time each year because the debris trail stays pretty much in the same place. And when the trail is the densest we can see more of the meteor showers (and it's nighttime of course)."
],
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} | {
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"url": [
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"http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/comet-quest/comet_orbit-lrg.en.jpg"
]
} | train_eli5 | Meteor showers
In light of the Lyrid meteor shower tonight, what's the deal with meteor showers? Why do they happen? How come they are better on certain nights, and better in certain areas? | [
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5az0ya | Why do lights for your bicycle have an option to flash/blink? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"A Flashing light will get more notice than a solid on one, which is exactly the point of a light on your bike."
],
"score": [
3
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do lights for your bicycle have an option to flash/blink?
| [
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1iafrz | What is a multireddit exactly? | I was given Reddit gold recently, and can't seem to find a simple explanation for what this new beta feature is. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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],
"text": [
"I don't have Gold but let me explain what I understand from what I read from Admin announcement of this feature. \n\nYou have one front page and you see hot posts from all sub-reddits that you have subscribed to (that is if you are logged in, else you see posts from default sub-reddits).\n\nWith multi-reddit, you create a custom page with a group of similar sub-reddits. For e.g. you can club /r/fitness, /r/running and /r/cycling under a custom title Fitness. Or club /r/jokes, /r/meanjokes and /r/antijokes under Jokes. \n\nI recall there are some predefined multireddits already available. \n\nSide note: Non Gold members can mimic this feature by using + operator e.g. /r/wallpaper+wallpapers. They can bookmark it and manage them as separate bookmarks while with multireddit, these can be managed within reddit itself.\n\nFeel free to correct me if something mentioned here is wrong."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What is a multireddit exactly?
I was given Reddit gold recently, and can't seem to find a simple explanation for what this new beta feature is. | [
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3csvzy | What causes my hands to stick to ice when they are wet? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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],
"text": [
"The ice is causing the water on your hands to start freezing. You're actually being frozen to the ice when you touch ice with wet hands."
],
"score": [
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What causes my hands to stick to ice when they are wet?
| [
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3jstlg | How can Kim Davis establish a defense fund when the Liberty Counsel is supplying her defense pro bono? What will happen to the 3+ million if it is not used? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cusg8w5"
],
"text": [
"She'll keep it and be \"rich\" thanks to these mindless mofos that sunk $$$ into it. Maybe we make a o_shrub sspacemansspiff defense fund??"
],
"score": [
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How can Kim Davis establish a defense fund when the Liberty Counsel is supplying her defense pro bono? What will happen to the 3+ million if it is not used?
| [
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2pxpip | Why are gas cans so expensive? | This seems to be more recent. I recall them being like $5 at a hardware stores for the plastic ones. Now they are $20 and up.
You know the red ones that are:
-1 gallon
-2 gallon
-5 gallon
Tried searching online and yet to find an answer. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cn0xzyx",
"cn0yb4o"
],
"text": [
"Long story short, it seems to be caused by different types of plastic being used due to government regulations. \n \n_URL_0_ \n_URL_1_",
"A few years ago I unexpectedly ran out of gas...I had to walk about a mile and a half to the nearest station for gas and a gas can....at that point I didn't care how much the can costs because I was desperate for one. I feel like most people aren't going to go store to store shopping for a can because they are in need of one right now, thus making the buyer less price sensitive."
],
"score": [
5,
2
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://lfb.org/how-government-wrecked-the-gas-can/",
"http://www.lawnsite.com/archive/index.php/t-97513.html"
]
} | train_eli5 | Why are gas cans so expensive?
This seems to be more recent. I recall them being like $5 at a hardware stores for the plastic ones. Now they are $20 and up. You know the red ones that are: -1 gallon -2 gallon -5 gallon Tried searching online and yet to find an answer. | [
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5qyh72 | Why do we intentionally seek out depressing music when we are sad? | [removed] | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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],
"text": [
"Misery loves company. When you're hurting, it helps to know that other people have gone through the same thing and know how you feel. Probably the person who wrote the music was sad or depressed when they wrote it and getting it out helped them feel better. Maybe listening to the music they produced has the same cathartic effect on people who listen to it."
],
"score": [
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do we intentionally seek out depressing music when we are sad?
[removed] | [
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2rf2a6 | If humans are natural predators, why don't most possess a natural desire to hunt? And why do some feel remorse after taking an animals life? | My conclusion might be because we can fulfill our desires at the grocery store, but I'm curious what others might think. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"Predators don't hunt because they can. They hunt because they must.\n\nFeed a lion every day and it won't go hunting just for the sake of it.",
"If OP doesn't think humans are still a predatory species, he/she has obviously never gone Christmas shopping right before the holidays.",
"Safari Club International is a large hunting organization in the US and around the world. About 15-18 years ago it did a survey to see what factors gave people the desire to hunt. \n\nWhat they found out in their survey was that if you take young children out hunting with their friends or family, a majority of these people will grow up with a love of the sport and will continue to hunt and be a hunter for the rest of their lives. When they become adults they will go hunting by themselves and will take their children along with them as well.\n\nBut if you take a somebody out who is in their 20's or older who has never gone out hunting before in their lives the SCI found a different result. Their findings showed that only a small portion of these people would become dedicated hunters afterwards. Instead they learned that the majority of these people will generally remain indifferent towards the sport. Although most of them said that they would go out hunting again if it were with a group of their friends, they did not have the desire or dedication to go on a hunt by themselves.\n\n\nThe SCI also included fishing in their study and found out that a person will become hooked on fishing no matter what age or who they go out fishing with for their first time. A person who goes fishing as a child with his family is just as likely to become a dedicated fisherman as someone who went fishing for the first time in his life while in his 20's, 30's or even 60's.",
"Why dont we posses a natural desire to hunt? Because we actually do?\n\nWe play games like tag, soldier, small children instinctively chase animals and moving things.\n\nWe have evolved from hunter gatherers, so a part of us is also about savaging. Saying we dont have a dont have a natural desire to hunt is bullshit, because we posses a lot of signature predator traits and behaviours.\n\nThe reason we dont actively chase prey is because we have found easier ways to get food in our world. Ever looked at lions or cats? They are predators, but laze around as much as possible. This is because hunting prey you cannot eat is wasteful of resources (and dangerous, in addition to limiting time to find a mate)",
"Because most of us don't need to hunt any more, and we have empathy."
],
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2,
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | If humans are natural predators, why don't most possess a natural desire to hunt? And why do some feel remorse after taking an animals life?
My conclusion might be because we can fulfill our desires at the grocery store, but I'm curious what others might think. | [
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3tuf1t | what specifically happens to your eyes when you stare at a light, or the sun for a long period of time? | It's very clear to me you will go blind, what happens to your pupils? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cx99tpq"
],
"text": [
"The way you detect light is that the photon comes in and is absorbed by a pigment, this breaks part of the pigment down in order for it to send an electrical signal back through the optic nerve to the brain. If you stare at an intense source of light like the sun, then the pigment and the complex arrangement that lets you see gets bombarded by photons, destroying all the pigment and so can't repair the damage, then you're blind."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | what specifically happens to your eyes when you stare at a light, or the sun for a long period of time?
It's very clear to me you will go blind, what happens to your pupils? | [
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1pnqvq | how does the body regenerate blood after donating? | Also when the blood that has been donated is regenerated why/how does the body know it is back to its needed amount? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cd46r3k",
"cd47vo4",
"cd4a53z"
],
"text": [
"After you donate blood, the number of red blood cells in your blood decreases. Red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen and this decreased oxygen in the blood is a stimulus for the kidney to secrete the hormone erythropoietin. This then travels to the bone marrow and stimulates the production of more red blood cells. This is a great example of a negative feedback loop.",
"Most people answered correctly regarding the kidney sensing it. Just wanted to add that red blood cells, as well as white blood cells and platelets, are *constantly* being regenerated and sent out of the bone marrow and into the systemic circulation. Red blood cells have no nucleus in mammals, so over time oxidative stress and trauma cause the red blood cell to die and/or be eaten by a white blood cell/phagocyte after 100-120 days. So your body responds to both maintenance levels of red blood cell turnover, as well as when blood loss occurs (either traumatically or with donation).",
"So lets first define what's happening when you donate blood. \n\nBefore you enter the donation center you have a closed system of blood vessels in your body (provided you're not currently bleeding from some type of wound... which if you are, I'll have to insist you stop reading and address that situation) called the cardiovascular system. That system is filled with a liquid (aka blood) containing numerous chemicals and biological structures. As this liquid is squeezed by the heart muscle, pressure builds in the arteries and the liquid moves away from the heart. The reverse happens in the veins which moves the liquid back to the heart. \n\nThe technicians at the clinic will then use a sharpened metal tube (i.e. a needle) to puncture the veins of the closed system and gain access to the contents. When the needle is pushed into the vein the volume of the needle, tubing, and collection bag becomes part of the closed system. The cardiovascular system, as a whole, now has more volume to work with. This increase in volume will immediately cause a decrease in pressure throughout the system.\n\nThe first organ to notice this drop in pressure is the kidney. This organ has baroreceptors that response differently in the presence of different pressures. When the baroreceptors sense a drop in overall pressure, they trigger the secretion of an enzyme called renin. This enzyme moves into the blood stream and begins breaking down angiotensinogen, which is released by the liver, to angiotensin I. This is then broken down further to angiotensin II. Angiotensin II causes blood vessels to constrict (not all vessels but, for simplicities sake, let's just call it all vessels). This constriction causes the volume of the system to decrease and the pressure to increase again. \n\nNow you're sitting in the clinic and some of your blood vessels are constricting to increase your blood pressure and accommodate the extra volume in the system. This response is necessary to ensure your blood pressure doesn't drop too low and cause vital organs (e.g. your brain) to lose blood flow. \n\nBut so far, we've only discussed how the body keeps you alive throughout the blood donation process. How does the body know to refill the system???\n\nWell, the renin is traveling through the blood so it's spreading across the body. When it reaches the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland, the adrenal cortex releases aldosterone. This chemical travels into the blood stream and circulates around to the kidneys. The kidneys react to the aldosterone by absorbing more water from the urine. This will begin to increase the volume of liquid in your cardiovascular system. \n\nOnce the donation is completed, the needle and attached bag will be removed and the volume of your cardiovascular system will return to normal. However, the volume of liquid in the system was reduced by the donation and remains too low, despite the added volume from the increased absorption of liquid by the kidneys. This lower volume of liquid will keep the pressure in the system below the optimal range and your kidneys will continue to produce renin, which will continue to stimulate water absorption by the kidneys. This will continue until the system equalizes. \n\nNow, we've considered how the volume of the liquid portion of blood is restored, but all the chemicals and biological compounds found in the blood (e.g. blood cells, electrolytes, etc) have been diluted by the added water. Each of these chemicals are monitored and controlled by different systems throughout the body. These systems cause the chemicals to be absorbed and the biological structures to be recreated when their concentrations are below the optimal point. I could go on for hours about how each system works but I believe the basic question has been answered. \n\nTL:DR - The cardiovascular system has pressure sensing cells. The pressure in your veins decrease when a needle is used to puncture it and the blood drains out. When the kidneys notice the pressure dropping, they start producing enzymes which in turn produce hormones. The hormones tell the kidney to absorb more water from your urine and this causes your system to \"fills back up\" with water. \n\nThings like electrolytes and red blood cells are monitored by their own biological systems and are created or absorbed when their concentration falls below a certain level. \n\nThe water from the kidneys mixed with the chemicals and cells created by various biological systems forms new blood."
],
"score": [
112,
17,
16
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | how does the body regenerate blood after donating?
Also when the blood that has been donated is regenerated why/how does the body know it is back to its needed amount? | [
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2m6w97 | How do radios that tell you what song is on the radio work? | Was just wondering how my radio knows what song is playing on a given station | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cm1g3xv"
],
"text": [
"There's a data channel that the station uses to send that info as well as the call letters of the station and whatever else they feel like broadcasting. If your radio is equipped to decode and display it, it pops up.\n\n_URL_0_"
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Data_System"
]
} | train_eli5 | How do radios that tell you what song is on the radio work?
Was just wondering how my radio knows what song is playing on a given station | [
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rkpls | What is really happening when I "jump" a dead car battery? | Bonus: Why should I connect the black clamp to whatever a "ground" is instead of the dead battery? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"c46lq1n",
"c46lfgr"
],
"text": [
"The reason you are not supposed to attach the black connection to a ground* is that batteries sometimes leak hydrogren gas, which is highly flammable, and the last connection usually causes a spark as the circuit is formed. Spark + hydrogen gas = bad. A ground is simply any piece of unpainted, uncovered metal that is part of the car and attached to the chassis. It could be part of the engine block, a bolt somewhere, etc. Attaching to somewhere other than the battery keeps sparks away from the battery.",
"You're using the other car's battery to provide the energy needed to start your car. If your alternator works, then you can let your car charge the battery up again as normal, and it should take a half to three quarters of an hour or so of normal driving (without turning the engine off). If your battery died because the alternator died and so is not charging your battery anymore then you'll find the car won't start the time after that. There could be other reasons too, but at this point you ask a friend with a multimeter to check the voltage across the battery with your engine running. It should be 14 volts with the engine running, 12 without.\n\nI don't know why you would need to clamp to a ground - the ground is connected to the negative terminal on the battery, so you shouldn't be getting much of a difference between the two."
],
"score": [
26,
12
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What is really happening when I "jump" a dead car battery?
Bonus: Why should I connect the black clamp to whatever a "ground" is instead of the dead battery? | [
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3n8jxu | When an artist releases a new album, one or two songs may become popular. How is it that in a couple of weeks or months, another song in the same album suddenly gets really popular? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Let's take Taylor Swift's new album as an example. All the songs (except the version of Bad Blood with Kendrick) were available since the album was released. Radio stations don't know which song they should pick, so instead, songs the artists/record company likes are released as singles, and then the radio plays it, then another single is released, and then that gets played. I forget how many have been released (6 singles I think if you count both versions of Bad Blood). \n \nThey space out the releases so that just as the public is getting sick of the current song, another single is released.",
"What others have said - basically, singles pushed in a certain order.\n\nThis is going off on a tangent, but...I like talking about this so tl;dr: things that took a longer time to chart, and why.\n\nOccasionally, it works the other way, like the story of UB40's [Red Red Wine.](_URL_1_) A Phoenix disc jockey put it into heavy rotation five years after the album was released, and it became popular locally, and this spread across the US, [with the song becoming a Billboard number 1 hit.](_URL_0_) \n\nThis also sometimes occurs with a song featured in a commercial, movie or TV show that is then reissued. _URL_2_",
"they basically make the song popular by releasing the single first then the radio stations continue to play it over and over \n\nif your a big enough artist like lady gaga anything any single release will become popular"
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/red-red-wine-revisited-the-ub40-phoenix-connection-6615296",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXt56MB-3vc",
"http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/06/28/196678642/the-slow-hit-movement-year-old-songs-on-the-pop-charts"
]
} | train_eli5 | When an artist releases a new album, one or two songs may become popular. How is it that in a couple of weeks or months, another song in the same album suddenly gets really popular?
| [
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33qes2 | If I got a head transplant and my immune system was not cool with it, would my immune system reject my head or my body? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"The body would reject the head. Immune cells are produced in the bone marrow, and would match the previous owner's immune phenotype. These cells would attack the cells in the new head, which would be perceived as foreign.",
"Can you get a head transplant, or would it be a body transplant?",
"Your head. The bulk of you're immune infrastructure is not in your head."
],
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12,
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} | {
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"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | If I got a head transplant and my immune system was not cool with it, would my immune system reject my head or my body?
| [
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26bpih | How the stock market affects someone who has no money in it | Why is the stock market's ups and downs considered to be so important? I feel like I'm missing something here. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Stock market is allocation of resources. People with money give their money to companies making money in return for ownership. When stock market is up that means people with money believe a lot of companies are making money. When a lot of companies are making money that mean they will need to expend, hiring more people, buy more equipment, rent more spaces. When they hire more people that means they will need to pay higher wages.",
"The stock market affects almost everyone because:\n\n- its behavior affects bond market prices, which affect how much you pay for a mortgage or how difficult it is for you to get a loan and the interest you pay on that loan\n\n- companies with growing stock prices can more easily attract financing or use equity financing, making it easier for them to hire and expand. Companies with falling stocks often slash jobs to try to become more profitable\n\n- even if you don't own stocks, if you or one of your family members has a pension plan, that pension is partially invested in stocks, meaning its solvency may depend on stocks. This includes public pensions which we taxpayers are responsible for\n\n- stock returns create investment taxes which increase government receipts and decrease debt & deficits, allowing for more social programs"
],
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} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How the stock market affects someone who has no money in it
Why is the stock market's ups and downs considered to be so important? I feel like I'm missing something here. | [
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42vcsn | why is a 4k or ultrawide monitor considerably more expensive than a much larger 4k tv? | I've recently been looking for a new monitor for my pc, and I've been looking at either a ultrawide display or possibly a 4k display around the 30" mark (as my current monitor is 1080p 30" widescreen and I'mnot a fan of sitting only a desk width away from 40inch +), but when looking i realised that for considerably less than i could find either of those options i could get a 40 inch+ 4k tv, why is that? Surely if i want a smaller 4k display or even a smaller non 4k display like an ultrawide it should be less than a much larger 4k tv? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Monitors have low input lag. This is why you should always buy a monitor if you're a competitive gamer and play games where lag matters. A tv typically has 100ms-300ms of input lag (meaning it takes a tenth to a third of a second for the signal sent to the TV to produce the image on the screen), while computer monitors typically have under 50ms of input lag (high quality monitors will have input lags of under 10ms).",
"There are a many number of different reasons but I'll list the main ones here.\n\nA little background is needed here first, typically the LCD panel used inside the tv is from only a select few manufactures and the control circuitry (handles input, image processing, on-screen display/menues etc).\n\nFirstly the actual panels used in TV's aren't as high quality as computer monitors, meaning ther may be more backlight bleed, colours may not be uniform accross the display and gamma/whitepoint will be off.\n\nSecondly the control circuitry in a TV is usually very cheap, and you may find that certain colours look blocky or lower resolution than others, this is called chroma subsampling (Tv's typically use 2:2:4 whereas monitors MUST use 4:4:4), meaning that some colors are only half resolution. You also have input latency and other issues that don't matter on a tv, but would be unacceptable for a monitor.\n\nThirdly, TV's have image processing to enhance the picture or insert frames to prevent juddering, this really helps bring out the picture on a TV set but would completely ruin the picture on a monitor. some TV's may also only support a refresh rate of 24 - 30hz and this is unusable on a monitor, most monitors use 60hz or more.\n\nLastly computer monitors are usually smaller than TV's and thus the pixels are packed in closer togethger with less 'black space' between them, this process along with picking/making better panels really bumps up the costs.\n\nThe gap between TV's and monitors is shrinking and some good quality TV's can actually be used as monitors.",
"monitors these days (especially with 4K) targets gamers. plus it would make sense that monitors are expensive because there are features added on the monitor such as display port adapters for tri-screen setup what not. how a typical gamer should shop is to prioritize the features, not the specs :)",
"Lower response times and higher quality image with better color reproduction and contrast ratios are the main reasons but there's also the fact that they have greater pixel density since you have to for 4k's worth of pixels into a smaller space.",
"The pixels are physically smaller due to the fact that one has to reach 4K from across the room while the other has to reach 4K from a foot away from your face."
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} | {
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"url": []
} | train_eli5 | why is a 4k or ultrawide monitor considerably more expensive than a much larger 4k tv?
I've recently been looking for a new monitor for my pc, and I've been looking at either a ultrawide display or possibly a 4k display around the 30" mark (as my current monitor is 1080p 30" widescreen and I'mnot a fan of sitting only a desk width away from 40inch +), but when looking i realised that for considerably less than i could find either of those options i could get a 40 inch+ 4k tv, why is that? Surely if i want a smaller 4k display or even a smaller non 4k display like an ultrawide it should be less than a much larger 4k tv? | [
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1t8bea | Why do things die? | I know that things get old, but why do they even get old? Could humans figure out a way to stop it from happening? What would happen if they did? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"There are many ways you can die. Your body needs basic things for whats called homeostasis, which is the process of staying alive. For example you need oxygen and energy for your cells to function. Anything that prevents you from getting the materials needed for homeostasis will kill you. (IE: blood loss preventing enough oxygen from reaching your brain)\n\nNow in terms of things getting old, I only have a very basic understanding of the processes at work there. But my ELI5 understanding is that as your cells die (which happens naturally all the time) a new cell is created to replace the dead cell. However due to the cellular processes, the second cell is not a perfect copy. Which is fine for the first, second, or tenth generation of cell. However, each copy degrades a little more, similar to how copying the same CD over and over can reduce the quality.\n\nSo eventually what happens is that the cell copies can no longer perform the needed cellular function. (IE: the 100th copy of your hearts cells can't pump enough blood, and your heart fails.)\n\nRed wine is though to slow this process, but not enough to delay death very long.",
"Basically, your body is not perfect at expelling waste, nor is it perfect at copying DNA and proteins. Waste and errors build up over time causing various aging symptoms until one or more of them kill you.",
"There are some species that don't die of old age (search for \"immortal jellyfish\"). Reptiles don't experience nearly the physical decline that mammals do during old age.\n\nI heard somewhere that mammals tend to live for about 800 million heartbeats (smaller species have more rapid heart rates). I have always assumed that a relatively short life span might be advantageous to some species as it allowed them to evolve more quickly to adapt to changing environmental conditions.\n\nHumans are not the end goal of evolution. We are not \"ideally suited\" to our environment. Like most animals, our bodies are just good enough to pass along our genes to the next generation and raise our offspring to reproductive age (if we are lucky), before they really start to give out.\n\nI strongly believe that humans will figure out how to slow down the aging process and eventually reverse it. I don't think this will happen in the next 50 years, but it will almost certainly happen in the next 100 years.\n\nPersonally, I am glad I will not be around to see humans conquer old age. Reducing the negative effects of aging and slightly lengthening life span is fine, but indefinite natural lifespan would create serious problems. Here are a few:\n\n1. At first, only rich people will be able to afford to live indefinitely. This will create resentment, and could prompt many ultra-rich people to completely isolate themselves (and their money) from the rest of society.\n\n2. \"Immortal\" humans (at least the non-robotic ones) will still be susceptible to accidental death, violent crime, possibly certain virulent diseases, etc. This may lead to an aversion to dangerous activities and further separation between \"immortals\" and the general population.\n\n3. If the \"immortality treatment\" becomes affordable to the masses, the real problems begin. Future governments would either have to ban pregnancy or ban immortality in order to avoid overpopulation.\n\n4. The human mind may not be able to handle hundreds of years of life without becoming bored or burned out (or just plain crazy). There may be drugs or electronic implants (co-processors) to alleviate these problems, but the brain may be the one organ that cannot be solved.",
"In short: entropy.\nThe body eventually gets old, breaks down and dies. If we could replace everything then you could, essentially live forever. Like a car. You can replace the engine, body panels, etc when they wear out and it'll still look and act like it's brand new but at some point it will have no original parts which will bring up a whole new existential question."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do things die?
I know that things get old, but why do they even get old? Could humans figure out a way to stop it from happening? What would happen if they did? | [
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3v89nm | Why do seemingly all of the pigeons I see have a foot injury of some sort? | I live in San Francisco and work in the Financial District. There are pigeons everywhere! I have noticed that the vast majority have some type of a foot injury, from a nasty white growth to the loss of the foot altogether. Why is this the case? And are pigeons more susceptible to foot injuries than other birds? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"It's usually from those spikes that people put on things to stop birds from pooping everywhere, pigeons are pretty heavy and stupid, and there are a lot of them, so in urban areas you often see them with foot injuries from trying to land on the spikes.",
"I've noticed they often get strings and stuff tangled in their foot, maybe that's why they lose parts of it.",
"Pigeons aren't clever, and any other injury typically kills them. Plus, bird feet are surprisingly delicate.\n\nA loss of a foot - no big deal. A loss of an eye or a wing - much bigger deal."
],
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} | train_eli5 | Why do seemingly all of the pigeons I see have a foot injury of some sort?
I live in San Francisco and work in the Financial District. There are pigeons everywhere! I have noticed that the vast majority have some type of a foot injury, from a nasty white growth to the loss of the foot altogether. Why is this the case? And are pigeons more susceptible to foot injuries than other birds? | [
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2olm4d | Why is silicon used in computers? | What are its benefits and why did they think to first use it? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Silicon prevailed because it has superior physical and technological properties compared to the other semiconductor materials.\n-Silicon is abundant in the earth crest as an ore in the form of quartizite,\n-There are effective extraction and purification methods of silicon from its raw material.\n- there are effective and economical crystallization methods for silicon.\n-Silicon crystallizes in a diamond form with relatively strong bond gaining the crystals relatively strong mechanical properties which is advantageous for mechanical handling and processing.\n-The energy gap of silicon is moderate resulting in a an intrinsic concentration of about one 10^10/cm^3. Which is relatively low leading to small leakage currents.\n-The maximum solid solubility of dopants is about 10^21/cm3. Therefore one can change the carrier type and concentration in a very large range for optimum operation of the devices.\n- Easy doping by the suitable impurities . Development of powerful doping technologies\n-Silicon dioxide has very superior characteristics enabled the planar technology one of the marking stone in semiconductor industry.\n-Silicon dioxide is a building layer in the MOS devices which revolutionized the integrated circuits especially the digital ones.\n-Silicon dioxide is used also as an insulator and passivation layer.\n-Silicon has efficient response to solar radiation and light.\n-Silicon has relatively high dielectric strength and therefore is suitable for power devices."
],
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} | train_eli5 | Why is silicon used in computers?
What are its benefits and why did they think to first use it? | [
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1jk4ed | Why do doctors not amputate the paralyzed limbs of paraplegics? | I watched a video of a paralyzed woman whose son takes her surfing. She lost the use of her legs after an accident. After watching how she gets around, I started wondering if it would not be easier for her to do so if she did not have to move the dead weight of her paralyzed legs. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"I would think this mostly is the patients choice. I don't think I would like to chop off my legs even if they were useless.\n\nOne tends to get a little *attached* to them over the years... (:",
"A doctor is unlikely to risk a complicated surgery if that doesn't actually improve the situation much.\n\nA few pounds of dead weight are not much of a problem.\nTo most people, the loss of a limb - whether functional or not - would be a huge problem.",
"There's a chance that the nerves can be repaired with future surgery. Even if this weren't the case, it doesn't seem compelling to cut off a limb which is considered healthy,"
],
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} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do doctors not amputate the paralyzed limbs of paraplegics?
I watched a video of a paralyzed woman whose son takes her surfing. She lost the use of her legs after an accident. After watching how she gets around, I started wondering if it would not be easier for her to do so if she did not have to move the dead weight of her paralyzed legs. | [
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2cip32 | Why do companies like Intel and Lockheed Martin advertise on tv? | The products they offer are useless to most people, and the people who do need them already know who they are. What's the point of it? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"Its a mix of getting the attention of those few people that may actually be interested in buying their products, as well as advertising to those who would consider working for their companies (engineers, scientists, sometimes business majors or economists).",
"There is a business strategy called \"first in market advertising.\" It's been a while since my MBA, but the concept is to keep the momentum and lead over your rivals.\n\nI think the spirit of OP's question is, \"If they are so dominant, why bother?\" The strategy is to spend just enough money to convince the market that you are indeed the shop to beat. A consequence of this strategy as stated by /u/AgeGuess is business-to-business (B2B) sales, where the very selective market are key decision leaders who might be interested in a very large purchase of your product.\n\n/u/CatRelatedUsername reminded me of a secondary consequence, which is actually an ancillary human resources benefit. By advertising your dominance in the field, you drum up excitement for new talent to replenish the roles or drive growth.",
"They are advertising to other companies. The decision makers of those companies watch TV and the ads are targeted to them."
],
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"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do companies like Intel and Lockheed Martin advertise on tv?
The products they offer are useless to most people, and the people who do need them already know who they are. What's the point of it? | [
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144xmm | The difference between RAM, ROM, and System memory. | I know RAM is Random Access Memory and ROM is Run-Only Memory, but earlier today I found out that everything else I know about them is wrong. I thought Random Access Memory meant it was stored so that it could be randomly accessed at any time, and ROM was the amount of memory used to run programs. Apparently I have this backwards, but I don't know how they are related and their exact definitions. I don't know if System Memory is the same as either of these or slightly different. So... ELI5? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"Hello, five year old. Ok, so you're drawing a picture on your desk when you decide that you want to go pet your dog. You come back and continue drawing your picture.\n\nSo, the next day you decide to keep working on your picture, when mom comes in and says she wants to take you to the playground. You put your picture away in the cupboard so your dog doesn't eat it and head off.\n\nThe picture you're drawing is memory. RAM is basically the desk you're drawing your picture on, you can quickly get it at any time as long as you already had it out. But when you go out to the playground, you put your picture in the cupboard - ROM. You can go and grab it at any time but it takes a little longer because you've got to take time to go and get it.",
"RAM is like a computer's short term memory. A computer will store certain things within the RAM and uses it to access this data very quickly. ROM stands for Read Only Memory and this is used for certain data that is not usually meant to be changed. This type of data is generally only meant to be read (Read Only). An example will be your BIOS or any type of firmware. Your hard drive is the \"system memory\" that i think you are referring to.\n\nEdit: I can't spell."
],
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} | {
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} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | The difference between RAM, ROM, and System memory.
I know RAM is Random Access Memory and ROM is Run-Only Memory, but earlier today I found out that everything else I know about them is wrong. I thought Random Access Memory meant it was stored so that it could be randomly accessed at any time, and ROM was the amount of memory used to run programs. Apparently I have this backwards, but I don't know how they are related and their exact definitions. I don't know if System Memory is the same as either of these or slightly different. So... ELI5? | [
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1r5zyt | How do historians or linguists decode and translate an ancient language that hasn't been spoken in a long time? | I just don't even know where one would start. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"I suppose it depends on what the circumstances are. In cases like Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, there wasn't anything that could be done until we got our hands on the Rosetta Stone. \n\nBasically, we have two options depending on how ancient it is and if there is text surviving from it. \n\nIf we have some sorts of texts from the language, they are compared to languages that are children of that ancient language. We can see residual words, phrases, sounds, and grammar from the children that can be compared to the parent language. We can then piece together different translatable portions so we can use context to determine other portions. It's certainly a very difficult task, and it's near impossible to make a full reconstruction without something like the Rosetta Stone in which a language still in modern use (sort of) is directly translating the unknown language.\n\nThe more challenging alternative is reconstructing an ancient language with no existing language data. In this case, the only thing that can be done is reconstruct a theoretical proto-language since there is nothing existing that can prove anything. It involves painstaking analysis of data on words, sounds, and grammar of languages born from that hypothetical language. \n\nIt becomes a game of \"what words seem to look similar in most of these languages? how can we reconstruct a proto-form from the similarities in those similar words (fake example: wodar, wuter, woter= possibly woter?)? how can we explain places where not all languages share a similar pattern/word for something?\"\n\nProto-language construction is seriously a headache, and requires a lifetime dedication to something that can't be proven and may never truly be complete. \n\nRe-construction translation is also quite challenging, but fruitful and enriches our understanding of history in a big way. It's very similar to cryptology, since it's about decoding a system of coding (turning ideas/words in your head into words out loud/on paper) through puzzle-solving and looking at related codes to draw out similarities (which is why Navajo was such an uncrackable code during WWII...they couldn't draw on past codes' characteristics since it was built on nothing we were used to in codes OR in language grammar in real languages)\n\nTL;DR: Very patiently, with luck and a very problem-solving oriented mind. Also, wall of text. Apologies.",
"This is a really interesting question.\n\nI mean, I know some languages were decoded with Rosetta Stone equivalents. But what about extremely ancient languages like those spoken in Uruk? And, do we know how do they could be pronounced? How?"
],
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} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How do historians or linguists decode and translate an ancient language that hasn't been spoken in a long time?
I just don't even know where one would start. | [
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67ocmw | How do snails get their shells without being near the ocean? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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],
"text": [
"Shells don't simply come from the sea, they're grown by secreting their material. Snails grow their own shells.",
"You realize that it's hermit crabs that use preexisting shells that they find as their own shells, right? Not snails?",
"Snails grow their shells by a process similar to how you grow your fingernails. They eat stuff that contains the minerals required for the shells, and they have specialized cells that create the shell, a little bit at a time, like your fingernails.\n\nHermit crabs and other sea creatures may set up their nests in discarded shells (the snail has died and decomposed, leaving the shell behind)."
],
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"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How do snails get their shells without being near the ocean?
| [
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1ljtu7 | The UEFA Champions League... The format, structure, and anything else I need to know. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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],
"text": [
"I'll try this one.\nChampions League brings the top teams from around Europe together.\nDepending on the UEFA co-efficient [here](_URL_1_) decides how many places in the competition a country gets.\n\nFor example, England gets 4 places in the Champions League. But somewhere like Hungary gets less.\n\nIn England the top 3 teams get automatically put through to the group stage, with the 4th having to go through qualifiers. Co-efficients is also relevant to whether a team has to go through qualifying.\n\nOnce the qualifying has been done, the winning teams, and the teams already put through get seeded between 1 and 4 in relation to how good they are. I.e Man Utd would be seeded 1, someone like Anderlecht would be 4. Groups are drawn, there can't be 2 of 1 nation in a group, so Barcelona and Real couldn't face each other in the group stages, and in every group there would be someone seeded 1, 2, 3 and 4. A team seeded 1 also can't be in a group with another team seeded 1.\n\nThere are 8 groups of 4 teams, each play each other in their group home and away. This years groups can be found [here](_URL_0_)\n\nThe 2 teams with the highest points from the group get put through to the knockout rounds. Anyone can play anyone that advanced now regardless of nation. This is the round of 16. There are home and away legs for this stage.\n\nThe 8 teams advanced from the last round play now in the Quarter Finals, home and away games.\n\nThen the last 4 play in the Semi Final. These are generally the best teams. Last year was Barcelona vs Bayern and Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid. Also played twice, home and away.\n\nThen the final, and whoever wins gets the Champions League trophy. It's played at a Neutral venue. The Champions League Final is probably biggest game in club football. Whoever wins gets automatic re-entry to next years tournament."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/29/champions-league-groups-2013-14",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient"
]
} | train_eli5 | The UEFA Champions League... The format, structure, and anything else I need to know.
| [
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4bncy2 | Why do we put apostrophes on possessive words like something's thing but we don't put one on "its thing"? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"d1aoda6"
],
"text": [
"He - > his\n\nShe - > hers\n\nThey - > theirs\n\nIt - > its\n\n\"Its\" is a possessive pronoun, and follows the rules of other possessive pronouns. You only use apostrophe S with nouns and proper nouns, not pronouns. With the others it's obvious because they are so different (\"his\" and \"hers\" look nothing like \"he's\" or \"she's\". \"That book belongs to him. It is he's book\"). It just so happens that \"it\" doesn't change as it moves from subject to object (he - > him - > his), so it *seems* logical that you would use an apostrophe. That false impression is only made worse by the existence of the contraction \"it's\" for \"it is\" but despite their similarity, they are largely unrelated words.\n\nSorry, u/slash178 is mistaken, \"its\" is *not* a special case - quite the opposite, it matches the rules it is supposed to follow, we just commonly mistake which rules we're looking at. Which, to be fair, is easy to do. English has way too many homophones and homonyms.",
"\"Its\" is a special case. It doesn't have the apostrophe so that it is not confused with \"It's\" which is a contraction for \"it is\"."
],
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"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do we put apostrophes on possessive words like something's thing but we don't put one on "its thing"?
| [
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1bzdm3 | Why university fees trebled in the UK last year | Is it really because the government could just not afford it? Or were there other huge factors? And why couldn't they just let it gradually rise?
It's scared myself and a lot of my friends to not go to university, but there really isn't that many good alternatives. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"c9bivkh"
],
"text": [
"University fees have been increasing gradually from when they were first introduced in 1998 at £1000/year.\n\nHowever, in 2009/2010, there was a [review](_URL_0_) on the subject of higher education. The review was agreed when Labour objected to the previous round of increases in university fees, and the Tories said they would start this review in order to appease them. According to Lord Mandelson the review would consider \"balance of contributions to universities by taxpayers, students, graduates and employers\" to University finances. The review would consider how much students should be charged for attending University. The panel was told to take into account the goal of widening participation.\n\nThe review made a number of recommendations, many of them relating to the fact that the number of students attending university had been steadily increasing over the years (which is mostly a good thing, but does have side effects such as increased cost of funding all the extra students).\n\nOne of its suggestions was that there should be no cap on university fees. In order to mitigate this, students would not be required to repay student loans until they earn £21,000 or more.\n\nThe government rejected the recommendation to remove the cap completely, and instead decided on a cap of £9,000. However, they did accept the recommendation that students don't repay their loans until they earn £21,000.\n\nThe net effect, then, is that students will finish university with larger loans than before. Hopefully this will lead to well-paid jobs, and they will repay their loans, but if they are not successful in finding a well-paid job, they are less likely to have to repay their loan than before."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
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]
} | train_eli5 | Why university fees trebled in the UK last year
Is it really because the government could just not afford it? Or were there other huge factors? And why couldn't they just let it gradually rise? It's scared myself and a lot of my friends to not go to university, but there really isn't that many good alternatives. | [
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5l0wny | Why are there seat belt laws? | If I choose not to wear it shouldn't that be my choice? (My life my hands)? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"If you get into an accident and are paralyzed for life, how much will society have to contribute to your health, housing, food, rehabilitation for the rest of your life? Insurance won't pay for it all.",
"We have a society where other people- first responders, ER doctors and nurses, and the like, in this case- are obliged to work to help and protect you, even if you're not able to pay. But in order for that system to work, everybody has to put a certain minimum amount of effort into protecting themselves, to keep the amount of help- paid and unpaid- down.",
"Because many people don't realize how dangerous it is NOT to use one, and will never really understand until they're maimed and maybe paralyzed (assuming they don't die) in an accident. And in general that's not an acceptable way to learn. \n\nThe laws are protecting people from their own stubborn ignorance.",
"Because no one wants to see your body go flying through a windshield. It's safety, and even if you decide to go against common sense, your passengers should have the courtesy of something keeping them from hurtling through glass at 50 mph."
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} | train_eli5 | Why are there seat belt laws?
If I choose not to wear it shouldn't that be my choice? (My life my hands)? | [
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7l5y9n | How does lactic acid form and just disappear? Also how does it not harm any parts of our body? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"Lactic acid is produced in your muscles as a byproduct of prolonged anaerobic exercise. \n\nThe amounts produced are typically so small it can easily be removed through the bloodstream and processed in the kidneys, and do not present any danger.\n\nCertain disorders can cause lactic acid to build up faster than the body can remove it, and that can cause serious problems. Note there has to be something wrong with you for this to happen, it is not the result of too much exercise.",
"Cells make lactic acid when they don't receive enough energy. It is like the \"Plan B\" of the metabolism. \n\nFor example, during an intense workout, your muscles might make lactic acid to keep up. This is harmless in small amounts. \n\nThe problem is when there is too much lactic acid. This occurs in serious diseases such as sepsis (systemic infection). Too much acid in the body is dangerous and leads to a series of medical problems (metabolic acidosis)."
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} | train_eli5 | How does lactic acid form and just disappear? Also how does it not harm any parts of our body?
| [
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13q9hv | Why do married couples, civil unions, etcetera get benefits that legally separate couples don't get? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"c765znc"
],
"text": [
"Because the government needs some way to determine who gets those benefits and who doesn't. Civil marriage is a legal status change, analogous in some ways to legally adopting a child; it creates a legally-recognized family bond that otherwise does not exist."
],
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} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do married couples, civil unions, etcetera get benefits that legally separate couples don't get?
| [
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5fj32d | What creates that odd "burnt electronics"-smell? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"dakwu1v",
"daklflw"
],
"text": [
"Depends on exactly what you mean. \n\nThe characteristic smell of an electric motor is ozone gas. It's produced by the motor making tiny sparks.\n\nThe smell (and smoke) produced by failing electronics comes from burning plastic.",
"...new radio smells close to the smell?\n\nRight out of the box...that is probably some plastic off gassing in the box...like the smell of a schoolbus is really just the seats slowly blowing their -ahem- loads.\n\nI associate this burnt smell with power supplies and burnt chips and in the case of clearly burnt chips the smell is the burning epoxy package that hides the pixies as they do their work.",
"That smell is probably Ozone, or O3. It can be created from oxygen (O2) molecules when exposed to an electrical arc, such as that created by a circuit short.\n\nIt could also be burning plastic."
],
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} | train_eli5 | What creates that odd "burnt electronics"-smell?
| [
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21mp15 | If dealers sell a new car below invoice price, how are they making money? | I'm at $600 below invoice and most of that money is from "flex cash" (incentive) that the manufacturer is offering. Assuming I don't buy any other options, features, add-ons or warranties...how is the dealer making any money on the sale?!
BTW: they are all eagerly willing to do the sale, so I assume that means I have more room to negotiate....further adding to my ELI5 confusion. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cgeiv4g",
"cgeioao"
],
"text": [
"There are a few reasons that dealers can sell cars below invoice and still make money.\n\n* They usually get additional money from the manufacturer when they sell the car. It can vary, but is usually around 3% of MSRP. So for a $30,000 car, that's an extra $900.\n\n* There may be additional incentives that the manufacturer is giving out at any given time on particular models to help them sell. This is often split between the salesmen and the dealership. For example, if 2015 Honda Civics are about to come out and Honda realizes that many of their dealerships still have way too many 2014 Civics to sell in time, they may offer a bonus of $300 to the dealership and $150 to the salesman for every 2014 Civic sold in the next month.\n\n* They may be stealing your trade in. If you are trading in a car that they value at $6,000, but they've convinced you to accept $5,000 for it, that's an extra $1,000 that they're making on the deal.\n\n* They may be making enough on the financing to make the deal worth it. This part varies state to state, but in California, dealerships are legally allowed to mark the rate up 2%. That means they can run your credit, find a 2.5% Wells Fargo auto loan that you qualify for, and tell you that the rate is 4.5%. As long as you agree to the numbers, this is legal. The difference between what the bank is charging (2.5%) and what you are paying (4.5%) goes to the dealer.\n\n* You may be buying enough accessories (running boards, lojack, paint protection, etc) that they are making enough money on other parts of the deal to sell you the car at the price they are selling it at.\n\nSource: I used to work at a dealership.",
"also, all dealerships have incentives from the manufacturer called holdbacks which are paid to the dealer quarterly, or annually based on sales. those are what actually determine their profit."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | If dealers sell a new car below invoice price, how are they making money?
I'm at $600 below invoice and most of that money is from "flex cash" (incentive) that the manufacturer is offering. Assuming I don't buy any other options, features, add-ons or warranties...how is the dealer making any money on the sale?! BTW: they are all eagerly willing to do the sale, so I assume that means I have more room to negotiate....further adding to my ELI5 confusion. | [
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5en0yt | Why do we feel so exhausted after a long flight even though we basically did nothing. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dado6sl"
],
"text": [
"Our muscles are tired of sitting in one place, with no ability to stretch or move comfortably, for a very long period of time.\nOur bodies like to move! They like to lift things and stretch and sprawl out. Confining us to tight constrictions with little to do and less room to do it in is a recipe for soreness and exhaustion."
],
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} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do we feel so exhausted after a long flight even though we basically did nothing.
| [
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4z2ijc | What really happens when parts of our body "falls asleep" ? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"d6sx02t"
],
"text": [
"Many people seem to think it stems from a loss of bloodflow which simply isn't true. When a part of your body \"falls asleep\" it is typically from a nerve being compressed for a period of time such as sitting on your foot or laying down on your arm in a strange fashion. Think of your nerve as a highway, one half of the highway is sending orders to muscles(motor/autonomic) and the other half is relaying sensory signals to your brain. These sensory signals are always firing, it is why you are aware of your limbs at all time even if you aren't consciously thinking about it. If you compress these \"highways\" then traffic can't get through more specifically the sensory traffic. Therefore what you experience is very strange because you have stopped receiving sensory information from that limb and thus is feels \"asleep\". It works with motor function too. Ever wake up in a strange position and you can't move your arm because it's so \"asleep\"? It is because that nerve has been so compressed you aren't receiving sensory information and you can't send motor function to the muscles in that area either. Then after a short period the nerve is able to fire again normally and all returns to normal."
],
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} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
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} | train_eli5 | What really happens when parts of our body "falls asleep" ?
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2xkn1w | What is a spartan lifestyle? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cp0x42o"
],
"text": [
"In modern usage, it refers to minimalist accommodations with little to no luxuries.\n\nWho needs a king-sized bed? This cot is good enough for me.\n\nWho needs to hire a profession chef for all their meals? Oatmeal and boiled greens will keep you healthy.\n\nThat sort of thing.\n\nNote: I am not trying to give dietary or chiropractic advice."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What is a spartan lifestyle?
| [
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5uas5i | /r/popular | [removed] | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"ddsmheg",
"ddsmopz"
],
"text": [
"What would you like to know about /r/popular? The [top post on the front page](_URL_0_) has a very thorough explanation. Is there something else about it you'd like to know?",
"It's a special page meant to be something between /r/all and the front page. It replaces the front page for unregistered users. \n\n/r/all shows posts from every sub except for subs that opted out of it, while the front page shows posts only from subreddits you are subscribed to.\n\n/r/popular is similar to /r/all, except that it also filters out NSFW subreddits and subreddits that are commonly filtered by many users, such as /r/The_Donald and /r/EnoughTrumpSpam."
],
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} | {
"url": []
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1ht695 | Skyrim/the elder scrolls' story | I've recently begun playing skyrim and while it's a fun game to walk around in vast open landscapes, i haven't gotten to understand the story to the game. There is a lot of text and i feel so overwhelmed to learn everything. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Disclaimer: It's been awhile since I followed all this, so some information might be a bit off, but the gist of it is OK...\n\n\nSo, it's easier if you get this in 2 separate perspectives, so **here's the Nord perspective of Skyrim**:\n\nA long time ago the Nords of Skyrim worshipped pretty much everything around: Wolves, deer, bears, trees, and of course dragons. Dragons were bigger and smarter than everyone else, so dragons quickly decided that they were the best and should be rulers of all things. The dragons went to the people who worshiped them directly (dragon priests) and granted the minimal power so that they could \"sway\" people. This basically means the dragon priests, now with a lot of power, went down and used their magic to scary/intimidate people into giving them tribute. \n\nAs you would expect, eventually everyone got tired of this and banded together against the dragon priests...this didn't go to well with *most* of the dragons, and they began slaughtering nords en masse. This is the start of the Dragon Wars. Soon some dragons started having 2nd thoughts and started trying to help the humans. They taught the humans \"thu'um\" which is basically how to yell magical dragon words and use dragon magic against them. Eventually the dragons were either killed, or ran off into hiding.\n\nFrom the **Dragon perspective**:\nDragons are an ancient race created by, what is thought to be, the very first (of many) Gods: Akatosh. Akatosh himself is a big ol' dragon. Of Akatosh's creations his most powerful was Alduin. Aldiun came to call himself \"First-Born of Akatosh\" and became ruler of all dragons. It was Alduin's job to periodically cleanse the world and bring an end to all things. However, in the time just before the Dragon Wars Alduin decided he didn't want to destory the world anymore; he wanted to rule it. He instructed the dragons to empower some nords, and use that to rule over everything and achieve \"Godhood\". At this point his brother Paarthurnax really began second guessing Alduin since he'd abandoned his purpose and started trying to get people to worship him as a God. So when the human rose up against Alduin, Paarthurnax led a detachment of dragons to help the humans.\n\nSo that's the backstory. During the opening events of Skyrim Dragons start showing back up, and you eventually learn that Alduin has returned and has begun raising an army of dragons from those who have fallen in the past to once again rule over Skyrim. \n\nAnd then... the **Dragonborn / Dovakhiin**:\n\nThe dragon born historically is a mortal ~~nord~~ that is born with the soul of a dragon. The main point of this is that their \"thu'um\", or dragon voice for shouting dragon words, is way more power than others. They can also learn dragon words much easier. There is never more than 1 Dragonborn alive at any given time.\n\n The Dragonborn in Skyrim is the *last* Dragonborn. S/he not only has the a very powerful thu'um, but he also has the power to absorb dragon souls and further enhance his abilities. This isn't something most Dragonborn can do, and (as far as we know) only 1 other can. The last Dragonborn is the prophesied to return to Skyrim and, once and for all, defeat Alduin and end his tyranny.\n\nSo that's the story for Skyrim. The backstory for **all** of the Elder Scrolls is...expansive. There's a *lot* of Gods, and demigods, and falsegods, and races, and different religions...you get the idea.\n\nSo here's the, short, and admittedly unsatisfying answer to the \"big\" question:\nThe Elder Scrolls are magical scrolls that are believed to hold *all* knowledge (Like all knowledge ever past, present, and future). It is very difficult to read them, and anyone who tries to do so for an extended period of time will go blind. The scrolls are very...inconsistent in that they don't necessarily have to show everyone the same thing, they don't necessarily have to show everyone person everything on the scroll, we have no idea how many scrolls there are, and we have no idea where they came from.\n\nSoooooo tl;dr version of that: The Elder Scrolls are based on an infinite amount of scrolls that predict an infinite number of possibilities ensuring Bethesda will continue to profit off the series for a long time.",
"Basic Elder Scrolls plot: You are a prisoner who is secretly the prophesied hero who will save the world from impending doom.\n\nSkyrim time\n\nThe Elder Scrolls games take place on the continent of Tamriel, Tamriel has a number of different countries/provinces on it. One of these is Skyrim, home of the Nords. Long long ago a Nord named Talos created the Empire, taking on the name Tiber Septim. The Empire consisted of (IIRC) Cyrodil(Imperials), Skyrim(Nords), Highrock(Bretons/orcs), and Hammerfell(Redguards). When Tiber Septim died he was believed to have become a god, the Ninth Divine, Talos.\n\n~50 years before Skyrim the Empire went to war with the Aldmeri Dominon (a confederation of the Altmer and the Bosmer). The Empire basically lost that war and signed the \"White-Gold Concordat\" which brought peace on the condition that the worship of Talos was banned (since the Elves will be damned if they let a lowly human be a god).\n\nSkyrim is made up of nine holds, each ran by a Jarl. The Jarls elect a High-King who rules over all of Skyrim. Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak of Windhelm started a rebellion to free Skyrim from the Empire so that they can worship Talos, he did this by using the \"Thu'um\" to defeat High King Toryyg. This gets the Empire involved in Skyrim and brings us to the game start.\n\nYou are a prisoner who was picked up by the Empire for undisclosed reasons and setenced to death in Helgen. While waiting for your execution a Dragon attacks and you escape in the chaos.\n\nDragons have not been seen in Skyrim for many years, so you go to warn the Jarl of Whiterun (the nearest hold to Helgen) about the dragons. A dragon attacks and you kill it, when you kill it you are revealed to be \"dragonborn\" someone with the blood of dragons running through them which enables them to absorb a dragon's soul and master the Thu'um.\n\nThe Thu'um is a dragon shout, dragons are so powerful that their words have power to effect reality. When a dragon \"breathes\" fire they are giving a physical manifestation to the concept of fire.\n\nThe dragons have returned because a powerful dragon named Alduin has appeared, Alduin is also known as the \"World-Eater\", and his coming signifies the end of days. As Dragonborn you are the only one able to defeat Alduin and prevent the end of the world.",
"I think there was an eli5 to this a month or so ago with a great answer, try to search for it. I know it's ok to repost q's but there there was a really good answer in a previous thread.",
"The universe of TES is far too vast to explain in one sitting, but here's some of the basic history behind Skyrim specifically.\n\nSkyrim is a province in the continent of Tamriel on the planet of Nirn.\n\nThe Nords of Skyrim revere a legendary hero named Tiber Septim as Talos, the divine. Most of Tamriel worships nine divines with Talos included. The Aldmeri dominion (Or Thalmor, high elves) believe that Talos was only a man, and so worship the other eight divines.\n\nWhen the Aldmeri dominion fought a war on the empire, the Imperials ended it by signing a treaty which put an end to the war and made it illegal to worship Talos, much to the dismay of the Nords. \n\nThis is where Skyrim's civil war starts. Ulfric Stormcloak leads a rebellion fighting for their freedom to worship as they please. The Imperial army fights to keep peace between the nations, lest war break out again. One of the main quests is to choose which of these sides to be loyal to and be a key player in the civil war.\n\nMeanwhile, Alduin (An ancient dragon, \"The World-Eater\") has broken free of imprisonment for thousands of years. He's the dragon that attacks Helgen in the intro sequence. Another main quest is discovering why he's there and how to defeat him as he seeks to bring an end to the world.\n\nYour character is the Dragonborn of legend, able to speak the language of dragons and learn their Thu'ums (Or shouts). It's foretold that your destiny is to defeat Alduin and bring peace to Nirn.\n\nThis is just my understanding of a couple of the main aspects of TES:V. There's so much more at _URL_0_ where there's information about every game individually and the lore that ties it all together. If you find yourself with extra time, I highly recommend reading some articles there.",
"You could try asking over in /r/skyrim but [here's](_URL_1_) the prologue to a series of videos (long ones) that full explain the Elder Scrolls Lore. They are lengthy (about 20 min each) but explained simply and thoroughly. There's 9 or 10 of them and each chapter explains a certain topic (Daedric Princes, Guilds, Elves, Nords, etc.). If you have a couple hours to kill, they're interesting to watch consecutively. They helped my understanding of the ES world immensely."
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I've recently begun playing skyrim and while it's a fun game to walk around in vast open landscapes, i haven't gotten to understand the story to the game. There is a lot of text and i feel so overwhelmed to learn everything. | [
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2o49c9 | Why do so many abandoned building photos feature mental hospitals? Why are there so many of these? | Like 99% (exaggeration of course) of abandoned building photos always seem to feature psychiatric hospitals from yesteryear. It doesn't even really seem to matter if it's North America or Europe, either. Though, it does seem like more of them are in Europe.
Anyway, what changes have been made to mental health law in the past 100 or so years to leave dozens of hospitals completely abandoned? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"We used to have a bunch of mental institutions - partially because we thought that locking up crazy people was the best way to help them, partially because we just didn't know how else to take care of them.\n\nBack in the 80s, the government cut funding for them. Unfortunately, we just ended up putting many of these people out on the streets (which is why so many homeless people have mental issues).\n\nSince the institutions were often in remote places, nobody's bothered to come along an remodel them or build new stuff in their place.",
"Most of these places were deinstitutionalized after 1972. So they were phased out until the buildings became abandoned. They were all abandoned within the same time frame and it wasn't that long ago in history, so a lot of the buildings still stand. \n \nThe next contributing factor is that it's terribly interesting and creepy so that's where a lot of photographers find an interesting subject matter. We like to look at them because it's a system that most of us were not a part of or around when such a concept was prevalent. Mental health, specifically in a time where there was very little understanding of it, is fascinating when mixed with the images of foreign looking medical equipment and the unknown. Add the decay of a few decades and you have very interesting pics that a lot of people like to take and lots of people like to look at.",
"It used to be the common method of \"treatment\" for anyone remotely labeled insane. Hundreds of buildings were created and thus testing and attempts were created to find cures. Over time people started to realize the testing being conducted wasn't very ethical, the hospitals were severely understaffed and the living areas were becoming cesspools of filth due to the understaffing and no one wanted to clean up after the insane. The government shut them down shortly after the findings.",
"Pre social security era. Lots of itinerant people ended up \"crazy\".\n\nAlso where they stuffed people suffering from TB. \n\nAlso, the largest mental hospital in texas is now the Harris County jail..."
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Like 99% (exaggeration of course) of abandoned building photos always seem to feature psychiatric hospitals from yesteryear. It doesn't even really seem to matter if it's North America or Europe, either. Though, it does seem like more of them are in Europe. Anyway, what changes have been made to mental health law in the past 100 or so years to leave dozens of hospitals completely abandoned? | [
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1i4zdr | Why are there so many celebrities involved in the Church of Scientology? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Basically, Scientology tells you that being wealthy and famous is GOOD, in fact, it shows your spiritual development. Basically, it's a religion that fits most celebrities.",
"CoS has a policy of specifically recruiting celebs in order to make it appear to be a more legitimate organisation. People who follow celebs tend to emulate what they do, use the products they use, and yes - this extends to joining the cults they join.",
"I think of it as a pay-to-win game; only the rich play because only they can afford to do well.",
"Scientology says that giving more money increases spiritual wellness. Give enough money and you get an express pass on to the spaceship come the time of the rapture.\n\nMaking 18mil a movie means it's not too hard to get a ticket for this exciting spaceship ride, so you can continue paying for hookers and cocaine and still no that you're sorted for the afterlife. It's basically the same concept that the Catholic church used when one could pay their way out of purgatory for their sins.\n\nCheck out graphs of the levels of Scientology, and it may well end up making a lot more sense.",
"Scientology is 100% money driven. It's founder, a moderately successful fiction writer, stated that if you really wanted to make money start a religion. So he did. Because it is, at it's root, a profit driven organization they seek out people with large amounts of disposable income. That those people happen to be famous and/or celebrities has the added bonus of seemingly legitimizing the organization in the eyes of the masses."
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2lu9sl | Why does your nose seem to get used to smells? | After a while stink smells become less stink or candle smells become less strong. Whereas if you touch something hot it stays hot or if you eat spicy wings it keeps getting spicy etc. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Humans are meant to detect change. If you were noticing the scent of everything in the area, you would struggle to differentiate what is there and what individual things smell like. It is much more evolutionary prudent to be able to smell something new, like an animal approaching, than to smell everything all the time. Taste is much more temporary by nature as it is only in your mouth for a short duration. Aside from temperature, most touch works in a similar fashion. think about when you put on a soft sweatshirt. You feel the texture when you put it on, but your body becomes accustomed to it pretty quickly. You may notice it as it rubs against your skin, but if it was static, your body doesn't really notice it. Essentially, its important to detect what is changing not what is there, as changes are what present us with threats and dangers."
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} | train_eli5 | Why does your nose seem to get used to smells?
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sxuia | International law and the nationalization of Argentina's oil industry | The Argentine senate this week voted almost unanimously to nationalize the country's largest oil company YPF, following a great deal of support from the public, but anger and dissatisfaction from foreign investors, including the previous Spanish parent company Repsol.
Several articles I've read on the subject have said that the EU and Spain will be taking the move to the WTO. Can they do this? Does/can international law prevent a country from nationalizing it's own industries and resources? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"The WTO is not actually a \"legal\" entity at all. And, if you really want to get into it, anyone can make an argument against the existence of \"international law\" whatsoever as there is no uniform mechanism of enforcement. The WTO is more like a group of people that have agreed to try and be friendly with regard to trade agreements and not screw one-another over. The thing is, whenever the government of a country messes up and spends too much (balance of payments deficit), the population of that country (albeit, typically unknowingly) overwhelmingly supports action that, turns out, is actually a defection from WTO trade agreements. \n\nFrom a legal standpoint, there isn't any mechanism that could, in this case, oppose Argentina's decision to nationalize the resource. Argintina owned it before, and that hasn't changed. Internationally, it means that private investment will likely be much more restrictive and people operating in the private sector will not have the same ability to reap the benefits of having invested in the capitalization of such a resource. \n\nSpecifically regarding the WTO, there are a multitude of *escape* provisions that make it possible for signatory nations to go back on certain WTO agreements. The word *signatory* is significant here, because that is exactly what the WTO, at it's most basic level, concretely, accomplishes. The WTO is a group of nations that possess markets for goods, and agree to apply their standards of national production to other nations (or, typically, private-sector actors from those nations) that have also joined the WTO. \nFor example, if the United States decides to outlaw the import of bananas with a certain level of radioactivity, they accordingly agree to enforce the same restrictions domestically. This generally serves to keep countries from unfairly enacting restrictions against foreign, competitive firms, which could potentially outperform domestic producers. This is called \"protectionism,\" and, historically, there are many ways in which countries have tried to do this to foster the growth of their own nation's industries.\n\nBUT, by joining the WTO, a country \"ties its hands\" by agreeing to not enact such protectionist policies. In so doing, they also engineer a situation where domestic producers cannot oppose the market policies of their government, as their hands are \"tied\" by the trade agreement--so competition from foreign producers that might threaten domestic producers' abilities to thrive cannot really be a point of contention in that country's elections. \n\nMany argue that this makes for an efficient market, because according to the concept of comparative advantage, the countries that have the greatest strength in certain industries will come out on top, and inefficient industries will (really, it's Darwinian) be phased out.\n\nNow, back to Argentina. The EU and Spain can evoke a WTO dispute resolution mechanism to solve the issue at hand. However, such dispute processes establish a precedent that further restricts the economic liberties that everyone in the WTO currently enjoys. Therefore, most WTO disputes are functionally bluffs, and are ultimately settled privately before any official ruling is made.\n\nBut let's say the EU (which, actually includes Spain, although it isn't even a single entity in the WTO, so...it would have to be a group of EU nations) takes up an official dispute against the Argentine decision. In all likelihood, it will never be officially settled, the independent nations involved will negotiate an agreement that placates everyone involved before a conflict resolution board of the WTO has the opportunity to make a precedent-setting ruling for the situation at-hand.\n\nAnd, even if it were to go all the way through the system and the WTO conflict resolution board were to rule against Argentina, what would happen then? A world war against Argentina? NO.\n\nReally, they might enjoy fewer mutual free-trade benefits with other nations, but in the specific case of Argentina, they might not care: they might actually generate more revenue per capita for their population by nationalizing the resource than by trying to abide by WTO customs. Most importantly, there's no *actual* force to physically stop them."
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} | train_eli5 | International law and the nationalization of Argentina's oil industry
The Argentine senate this week voted almost unanimously to nationalize the country's largest oil company YPF, following a great deal of support from the public, but anger and dissatisfaction from foreign investors, including the previous Spanish parent company Repsol. Several articles I've read on the subject have said that the EU and Spain will be taking the move to the WTO. Can they do this? Does/can international law prevent a country from nationalizing it's own industries and resources? | [
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8ho3x8 | how can potting soil protect against both over and underwatering? | Potted some plants yesterday afternoon and purchase Miracle-Gro Moisture Control where the bag states that the soil helps protect against both over and under watering. What constituents in the potting mix help prevent/control both circumstances? The product specs on the manufacturer website are bare. Thanks. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Potting soil will have nodules in the soil that're made out of vermiculite, pumice stone or some sort of polymer. When you overwater, they absorb more water than the surrounding soil and thus preventing over-watering. Then as the moisture gets absorbed by roots or evaporates, the water slowly releases out of the nodules back into the medium, therefore preventing underwatering."
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2ygtef | What excactly is autotune and how does it work? | title: I was always wondering how autotune works excactly. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Auto-Tune users set a reference point – a scale or specific notes, for example – and a rate at which derivations from this point will be digitally corrected.\n\nThis rate can be carefully calibrated so a voice sounds \"natural,\" by tacking the voice smoothly back to the reference pitch. Or, artists can make the correction happen quickly and artificially, which results in the warbling, digitized voices now all the rage in pop, hip-hip, reggae and other types of music.\n\nAuto-Tune's invention sprung from a quite unrelated field: prospecting for oil underground using sound waves. Andy Hildebrand, a geophysicist who worked with Exxon, came up with a technique called autocorrelation to interpret these waves. During the 1990s, Hildebrand founded the company that later became Antares, and he applied his tools to voices."
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title: I was always wondering how autotune works excactly. | [
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40c6fx | Why is wearing a watch on the right hand considered religious? | Just wondering after seeing it in an article linked on the front page of reddit (it's the one on the "group" asking its followers to follow western values, I can't mention the group name here or link that thread or Automoderator will remove my post). | explainlikeimfive | {
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"I have never heard of this before, I've only heard that men were to wear a watch on the left hand and women on the right.",
"It's really not a religious thing so much as a cultural thing. In Arab countries, the left hand is considered to be \"unclean\", because it's the one that you wash yourself with after you use the toilet. So you don't eat with your left hand, and you don't touch other people with your left hand. Thus people will tend to avoid putting a nice, expensive watch on their \"unclean\" hand.",
"I had the impression that it was common to wear a watch on the less dominating hand so the watch does not get in the way."
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} | train_eli5 | Why is wearing a watch on the right hand considered religious?
Just wondering after seeing it in an article linked on the front page of reddit (it's the one on the "group" asking its followers to follow western values, I can't mention the group name here or link that thread or Automoderator will remove my post). | [
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jotxr | Why does extremely short contact with a hot object burn your skin? | I guess what I'm asking is why do your skin cells die instantly when they come into contact with something hot (e.g. metal at 100 C)? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"c2dwpow",
"c2dxd5i"
],
"text": [
"Think of your skin as a force-field on a space ship. It can take hits from lasers and missiles and mitigate them pretty well. When a huge torpedo hits the shield (hot metal), it damages it to the extent that it needs time to repair. (The hot metal transfers a large amount of energy very quickly to the skin because all that heat energy wants to escape into something at a lower temperature). The shield is split up into layers and compartments (cells). When one layer is damaged, another layer moves up to protect it. \n\nLets just say this shield sends feedback to the ship whenever it gets hit (nervous impulses). Your hand shield just took a huge hit from touching the stove. Your body immediately sends machines to repair it, these machines release a chemical (histamine) that causes more machines to flock to the area (increased blood flow). This causes the shield to swell (inflammation), which can actually damage it. \n\nThe shield can handle lasers all day (minor irritants, radiation, and temperature changes) because it has time to repair itself. This shield has tons of machines working day and night to keep it in good shape. However, the sudden shock of a huge torpedo (hot stove) releases so much energy so quickly, that the shield cannot repair itself at the same rate as the damage. \n\nAlso keep in mind that cells are mostly water, so energy in the form of heat can radiate through the cell very quickly, however these cells have taken on the role of being your body's force field, so the stove does not damage anything important. \n\nIt also takes a large amount of energy to repair your skin force-field, so your body uses the pain of the experience to remind you never to touch that hot stove again. \n\nMaybe next time that huge torpedo will be picked up on radar and get shot down before it reaches your shield.",
"also, much of the damage is not from the dead skin, but from your body's reaction to the dead skin. this is why after you burn yourself, 1 second later, you wont even notice that much of a difference on your skin. but 10 minutes later, your skin will get all throbby and red and stuff.\n\nthis is because when your skin gets burned, your body sends white blood cells to eat up all the old skin. body also sends other cells to cause blood vessels in the area to expand, so more blood and cells can get to the area (kind of like construction work). other cells also go to the area to demolish the old buildings and put up new roads and stuff.\n\nbasically, it's like if one building falls down, it's not too bad. but then for weeks later, there's construction work around it. that is why it ends up being all messed up and painful for longer than a few seconds."
],
"score": [
4,
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why does extremely short contact with a hot object burn your skin?
I guess what I'm asking is why do your skin cells die instantly when they come into contact with something hot (e.g. metal at 100 C)? | [
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2551nv | What is Oracle's lawsuit against Google claiming is copyrightable about the Java API? | The lawsuit is described here: _URL_0_
There was just an appeals ruling that reversed the lower court's decision (Google won original, Oracle has won the appeal).
So as a programmer, I know what APIs are but what exactly is it that Oracle is claiming that Google did which violates their copyright? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"chdr92n"
],
"text": [
"Copyright does not protect function of a source code. Basically, if you write an algorithm to carry out task A, you can copyright it. However, that only prevents people from copying your code verbatim. If I write a code that runs the same algorithm, I do not infringe your copyright. \n\nIn the case, Google copied a bunch of Oracle's APIs. Google's specific implementation code was not the same, however, they used the same declaring code and the structure, sequence, and organization. The district court said that those elements were functional and not protected by copyright. The Circuit court reversed the district court decision because how the APIs were structured wasn't entirely functional. There were many ways to implement the function of the APIs. Because Google copied the structure, they infringed the copyrights.\n\nIt is a little more complicated than that, but that's the general gist."
],
"score": [
5
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_v._Google"
]
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What is Oracle's lawsuit against Google claiming is copyrightable about the Java API?
The lawsuit is described here: _URL_0_ There was just an appeals ruling that reversed the lower court's decision (Google won original, Oracle has won the appeal). So as a programmer, I know what APIs are but what exactly is it that Oracle is claiming that Google did which violates their copyright? | [
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4whyy6 | How does nature ensure that humans are born at a (roughly) 50/50 balance between male and female? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"d6766b0"
],
"text": [
"This is due to the fact that it takes two parents, one male and one female, and explained by Fisher's Sex Ratio Theory, also called Fisher's Principle. Consider 3 generations. 1st generation has individuals which make more females than males. So the 2nd generation has lots of females, and few males. The second generation males have a lot of females to breed with. Which 1st generation genes are passed along the most to the 3rd generation? The ones from 1st generation parents who made more males. Eventually the genes for making more males will swing back to 50/50."
],
"score": [
3
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How does nature ensure that humans are born at a (roughly) 50/50 balance between male and female?
| [
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461d9a | How does smoking during pregnancy cause birth defects? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"d01oidn"
],
"text": [
"When a person smokes, the nasty chemicals in the cigarettes and cigars enter their lungs along with all the oxygen you breath in. Their lungs takes the nasty chemicals into their blood stream. For an adult, this isn't that big of a deal immediately (even though it will cause long term damage) as the nasty stuff is filtered out by your kidneys. However, the developing fetus, who barely has kidneys or other defenses, is connected to their mother's bloodstream through the umbilical cord.\n\nThe damage the adult body can shrug off is horrifical damaging to the fetus."
],
"score": [
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How does smoking during pregnancy cause birth defects?
[deleted] | [
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6yfm11 | How do we feel a weightlessness in there bottom of our stomach when we see videos of people falling even though we don't experience any of it physically? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dmn4bob"
],
"text": [
"This is due to a sympathetic nervous response, also known as a \"fight or flight\" response.\n\nSympathetic in this case doesn't mean a response that's sympathetic to the thing you are watching. Sympathetic is the name of a branch of the nervous system responsible for responding to stress. When a caveman needed to fight something or run from a predator, this is the part of his brain and nerves that helped him do it.\n\nWhen this happens the nerves send signals to your body to make your heart race, and blood vessels squeeze (to force blood to your important organs, and so that if you get injured, you don't bleed as much.) It also shunts blood away from you stomach and intestines. That's where the feeling you are talking about comes in.\n\nImagine the feeling you get called \"pins and needles\" if you lay on your arm. It's the same idea, bloodflow is restricted to your stomach and it feels those tingles. Because it's something you and your brain don't feel often it gets interpreted differently by different people. Some call it a \"pit\" in their stomach, some butterfly's, some falling (as you have.)\n\nAll that to say, a fight or flight response can be kicked off by many things. Watching someone in danger, being scared, being angry, all of those can result in this same feeling. People are susceptible to it from different things to different degrees though. Some people see a drop of blood and pass out and others have no issue being surgeons."
],
"score": [
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How do we feel a weightlessness in there bottom of our stomach when we see videos of people falling even though we don't experience any of it physically?
| [
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1phzxn | How come some artwork seems to be extremely simple, yet is highly touted? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cd2hrjb"
],
"text": [
"If a complex work of art invokes emotion or thoughtfulness in you it is a testament to the artists abilities and passion. If a simple work of art does the same thing, it shows that the artist is capable of making a statement in a much more subtle way. In some ways it can be more complicated to create a single line that it is to create a beautiful masterpiece."
],
"score": [
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How come some artwork seems to be extremely simple, yet is highly touted?
| [
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4jh7v3 | What is Blue Light and How does it affect our eyes? | I read a lot about blue and how it can prevent lucid dreaming and be bad when looked at at night. How is , say, yellow light any better? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"d36juqt"
],
"text": [
"Blue light is just light with a wavelength that makes it appear blue. They way our bodies work out time is partle based on light, during daytime there is a lot more light especially blue light than at night. This means looking at blue light (say from a screen) at night can make it harder to get to sleep."
],
"score": [
5
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What is Blue Light and How does it affect our eyes?
I read a lot about blue and how it can prevent lucid dreaming and be bad when looked at at night. How is , say, yellow light any better? | [
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8of8kg | Is it entirely impossible to image natural colors with telescopes? If it is not, why wouldn't we use that capability to image potential Earth-likes in search of green? | If it is possible but complicated, why wouldn't this be a priority. It could potentially prove that Earth is not alone. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"e02wzcn",
"e02x22e",
"e02x7qb"
],
"text": [
"It is possible, but it's not effective for things that are TOO far away. I'm talking cosmic scale distances. You can see Mars or Venus well enough, but it won't work for planets orbiting starts on other systems. \n\nThe reason is because light gets somewhat distorted when passing through lenses. Some wavelengths more than others, say it's easier to see infrared than visible light. One workaround is using curved mirrors instead of lenses, but that will only take you so far. \n\nWhen you're looking at stuff this far away, you just can't get a good enough level of detail to see small planets at all. What astronomists will do instead is try to detect them indirectly, for example look for its \"shadow\" when the planet passes in front of the start, see how big of a shadow it has so they can estimate its size. That's just one way, there are others. \n\nAnyway, this is just my take on it. I don't have any qualifications at all, I just know this stuff from some documentaries and stuff I watched a long time ago, and am on too much Adderall at the moment.",
"Astronomical images use 'false color' because 'real color' is often meaningless.\n\nFirst of all, the color we can perceive is a very tiny part of the complete spectrum. While it is useful from the standpoint of perceiving many terrestrial objects we perceive on a daily basis - we evolved to perceive those objects - it's often useless when you're talking about celestial bodies, where the colors aren't really based on 'what tastes good' or 'what looks to pretty' in a human context but rather energy levels.\n\nSecond of all, that color gets shifted one way or another by gravitational fields and stellar motion. So even if it started out 'green', it's not going to be 'green' by the time it reaches us.\n\nAlso, Earth doesn't look green - it looks blue and white. Even that is extremely hard to resolve at the distances we're talking about. An Earth-like planet is extremely small compared to most stellar objects and doesn't produce its own light. As a result, we tend to detect exo-planets mainly by how they block light from a star rather than by directly taking pictures of them.",
"It is certainly possible to image natural colors with telescopes. It just typically isn't done because it isn't very useful; how something looks to the naked eye doesn't give us as much information as say, isolating the spectra of hydrogen and oxygen separately.\n\nAs for why we don't image potential Earth-like planets in search of green, there are many reasons. First among which is that imaging on such a scale is simply not something we can do at all. Most of the planets we can discover simply cannot be resolved individually in visible light. Instead they are detected by methods such as looking for the dimming of the star as they pass in front, or closely examining the jiggle in a star as they orbit.\n\nAnother major problem with \"look for the green\" is that the green color of our planet comes from chlorophyll in plants. To see green would imply that the planet has evolved forms of life which employ an extremely specific pigment in metabolizing light energy and it has become widespread enough to be visible from space. That is way, *way*, ***way*** more narrow and unlikely an event than scientists are looking for. Scientists are more like a sailing ship lookout searching for land, any land, and your proposal is like asking them to look for someone on this supposed undiscovered land who happens to be your exact genetic twin who looks identical to you and is also mimicking your dress and movements at this precise moment."
],
"score": [
5,
3,
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Is it entirely impossible to image natural colors with telescopes? If it is not, why wouldn't we use that capability to image potential Earth-likes in search of green?
If it is possible but complicated, why wouldn't this be a priority. It could potentially prove that Earth is not alone. | [
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3v0p83 | Why can't felons own guns if the right to bare arms cannot be infringed? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cxja0a1",
"cxjb50d",
"cxjci1c"
],
"text": [
"None of the rights put forward in the constitution are absolute. All are conditional. You have a right to free speech, but the state is allowed to arrest you for speech that incites violence and court cases have repeatedly supported this exemption to free speech. You have a right to bear arms, but the state is allowed to restrict your right to arms based on criminal history and court cases have repeatedly supported this exemption.",
"Restrictions on felons owning guns have been challenged and upheld as constitutional. Often. Like, really, really often:\n\n > United States v. Torres-Rosario, 658 F.3d 110 (1st Cir. 2011), cert denied 2012 U.S. LEXIS 2204 (Mar. 19, 2012); United States v. Scroggins, 599 F.3d 433 (5th Cir. 2010), cert denied 131 S. Ct. 158 (2010); United States v. Moore, 326 Fed. Appx. 794 (5th Cir. 2009), cert denied 2009 U.S. LEXIS 6669 (2009); Triplett v. Roy, 326 Fed. Appx. 720 (5th Cir. 2009), cert denied 2009 U.S. LEXIS 6345 (Oct. 5, 2009); United States v. Anderson, 559 F.3d 348 (5th Cir. 2009), cert denied 129 S. Ct. 2814 (2009); United States v. Whisnant, 391 Fed. Appx. 426 (6th Cir. 2010), cert denied 131 S. Ct. 586 (2010); United States v. Khami, 362 Fed. Appx. 501 (6th Cir. 2010), cert denied 130 S. Ct. 3345 (2010); United States v. Hamer, 319 Fed. Appx. 366 (6th Cir. 2009), cert denied 2009 U.S. LEXIS 6742 (Oct. 5, 2009); United States v. Frazier, 314 Fed. Appx. 801 (6th Cir. 2008), cert denied 129 S. Ct. 1652 (2009); United States v. Williams, 616 F.3d 685 (7th Cir. 2010), cert denied 178 L. Ed. 2d 532 (2010); United States v. Brown, 436 Fed. Appx. 725 (8th Cir. 2011), cert denied 182 L. Ed. 2d 263 (2012); United States v. Duckett, 406 Fed. Appx. 185 (9th Cir. 2010), cert denied 2011 U.S. LEXIS 4849 (June 27, 2011); United States v. Schwindt, 378 Fed. Appx. 721 (9th Cir. 2010), cert denied 2010 U.S. LEXIS 7256 (Oct. 4, 2010); United States v. Parker, 371 Fed. Appx. 749 (9th Cir. 2010), cert denied 2010 U.S. LEXIS 8319 (Oct. 18, 2010); United States v. Vongxay, 594 F.3d 1111 (9th Cir. 2010), cert denied 2010 U.S. LEXIS 7235 (Oct. 4, 2010); United States v. Gieswein, 346 Fed. Appx. 293 (10th Cir. 2009), cert denied 2010 U.S. LEXIS 1462 (Feb. 22, 2010); United States v. McCane, 573 F.3d 1037 (10th Cir. 2009), cert denied 2010 U.S. LEXIS 2009 (Mar. 1, 2010); United States v. Nicoll, 400 Fed. Appx. 468 (11th Cir. 2010), cert denied 179 L. Ed. 2d 354 (2011); United States v. Feaster, 394 Fed. Appx. 561 (11th Cir. 2010), cert denied 178 L. Ed. 2d 796 (2011) (the court also rejected a Second Amendment challenge to a sentence enhancement for possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime); United States v. Rozier, 598 F.3d 768 (11th Cir. 2010), cert denied 177 L. Ed. 2d 313 (2010); State v. Whitaker, 201 N.C. App. 190 (N.C. Ct. App. 2009), cert denied 130 S. Ct. 3428 (2010).\n\n[Source.](_URL_0_)",
"Once you have been convicted of a crime, your rights can be restricted. Prisoners, for example, have very limited rights.\n\nFelons are an extension of this."
],
"score": [
6,
5,
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://smartgunlaws.org/protecting-strong-gun-laws-the-supreme-court-leaves-lower-court-victories-untouched/#footnote_2_24060"
]
} | train_eli5 | Why can't felons own guns if the right to bare arms cannot be infringed?
| [
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2iradv | In regards tothe Deep Web, what is the sort of content that requires you to go through additional security layers? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cl4p0yc"
],
"text": [
"The really nasty porn. I know, you're like \"I've seen the nastiest shit you'll ever even imagine\". No you haven't. Deep. Web."
],
"score": [
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | In regards tothe Deep Web, what is the sort of content that requires you to go through additional security layers?
| [
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3pftc1 | Why is it legal for gas stations to put huge holds on debit or credit cards? How is it legal to charge more money than you agreed to, even if it eventually gets charged for the right amount? | I have a $125 hold on my credit card from a $30 fill-up. If their intention is to ensure they get paid, why would they put a huge hold for such a large amount (that you may be unable to afford?). | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cw5yfnb",
"cw5ygdo",
"cw5y573",
"cw5y5yw"
],
"text": [
"Its not a charge. It's called a preauth. It's to make sure that the cards has enough funds to cover the purchase. Preauths are never charged.",
"> How is it legal to charge more money than you agreed to, even if it eventually gets charged for the right amount?\n\nA hold is not a charge. They're two different things.\n\n > If their intention is to ensure they get paid, why would they put a huge hold for such a large amount (that you may be unable to afford?).\n\nSince you're pumping before you pay, and since they don't know how much gas you're going to pump until you already have their product, they put a hold for the maximum amount that you can potentially pump in one session.\n\nIf you don't like that process, then you're free to pre-pay inside the gas station.",
"because maybe 125$ is the pump max. so they want to make sure you can pay for filling up to the max. becuase the gas station doesn't know how much you're going to fill up until you're done.",
"thats unusually high, but yeah, it is a charge to confirm the card is valid before it starts to fill up (as it cant take the gas back if it turns out to accept $1 and decline $30.\n\nIf its a problem for you, they should accept cash."
],
"score": [
6,
3,
3,
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why is it legal for gas stations to put huge holds on debit or credit cards? How is it legal to charge more money than you agreed to, even if it eventually gets charged for the right amount?
I have a $125 hold on my credit card from a $30 fill-up. If their intention is to ensure they get paid, why would they put a huge hold for such a large amount (that you may be unable to afford?). | [
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506n4z | How are elephants able to swim? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"d71kasf"
],
"text": [
"Elephants do not have stubby extremities, they have pretty long legs and their joint aren't inflexible. An aligator has stubby extremities and inflexible joints. \n\nElephants for one are fat, they're large and fat and round. They actually float pretty well, same kind of design old fashion ships used to have. Their legs just kick and propel them. It's actually not that hard for most mammals to swim."
],
"score": [
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How are elephants able to swim?
[deleted] | [
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6hcwf3 | Could you rig a game of darts if you had a large enough magnet, or would a magnet that strong be too big to pull to the bulls-eye? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | {
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"It's virtually impossible.\n\nDart tips are small, and you'd need a large neodymium (Molecularly designed to be magnetic) to even have the proper range to attract a magnet far enough away to change it's path. Too close to the board, and the angle would be too sharp to stick in the board. \n\nIf you somehow got an amazingly strong magnet the size of the bulls-eye, you'd need an *actually* steel tipped dart, made from real steel. Usually they are made from other metals, despite their name. The rest of the dart would need to be made of a metal with a similar density that isn't attracted to magnets, so the middle, larger part would not be attracted to the magnet more than the tip would, resulting in a sideways hit. This would absolutely fuck over the aerodynamics of the dart. \n\nSo no. It's not even remotely feasible.",
"This video might explain it, but it doesn't use magnets. Cool vid tho\n\n_URL_0_"
],
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} | {
"url": [
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} | train_eli5 | Could you rig a game of darts if you had a large enough magnet, or would a magnet that strong be too big to pull to the bulls-eye?
[deleted] | [
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jd3i1 | What I can do to speed up my pc. | Also anti-virus programs or any other programs I should have to help facilitate this process. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"There are probably a lot of programs installed and running on your computer that you don't use. These use up resources. \n\nIf you were five, you can think of it like bringing your toys in the sandbox. The things you need, like a shovel, pale, trucks, maybe a dinosaur or two are like antivirus and other programs you use every day. You wouldn't want to bring your crayons, cards, video games, or pogs. These are things you don't need and won't use in the sandbox. Bringing them is more work for you, as running programs you don't use is more work for your computer.\n\nSo my suggestion is that you don't need more programs, you need fewer. I'm not going to tell you to uninstall every program on your computer, since that would make things unstable, but I will recommend looking carefully through your installed programs and uninstalling ones you don't need."
],
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} | {
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} | train_eli5 | What I can do to speed up my pc.
Also anti-virus programs or any other programs I should have to help facilitate this process. | [
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20bqjc | How do (would) radio communications in real time work in space and / or at high speeds. | I can't get how real-time radio chat is possible in, for example, a space vehicle or plane exceeding the speed of sound. Assuming the vehicle is travelling away from the transmission the wave will never catch it. I know I'm wrong, but how? How did communications at epic space distances (think Apollo missions) work in real time? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Radio waves move at the speed of light. Which is far faster then sound.",
"Radiowaves travel at the speed of light.\n\n > I can't get how real-time radio chat is possible in, for example, a space vehicle or plane exceeding the speed of sound.\n\nThe speed of sound (1200 km/h) is tiny compared to the speed of light (300,000 km/s).\n\n > How did communications at epic space distances (think Apollo missions) work in real time?\n\nThe moon is, on average, 384,000 km away from Earth. This means that radiowaves take just over a second to travel between Earth and the Moon (or Earth and the Apollo spacecraft) - almost real time.\n\nSpace vehicles that are much further than that, for example the Mars probes or the the Voyager space probes are indeed a lot farther away, which is why we can't actually communicate with them in real time - the communications delay between Earth and Mars is between 3 and 21 minutes, and at its current distance, it takes the information sent by Voyager 1 probe over 17 hours to reach Earth.",
"Radio waves propagate much, much faster than the speed of sound. They travel at the speed of light, so it's physically impossible for any physical object to move away from the source faster than the radio waves it emits.\n\nThere is a delay when communicating with objects across space due to the vast distances. When communicating between Earth and Mars, the delay can be as little as 4 minutes when it's closest to us and as much as 24 minutes when it's furthest from us. Between Earth and the moon, the delay is about 1.3 seconds. There's even a delay when talking between ground stations and satellites orbiting Earth, and these are taken into account.",
"> Assuming the vehicle is travelling away from the transmission the wave will never catch it. I know I'm wrong, but how?\n\nRadio waves are a form of light, and so travel at light speed. That is much faster than sound.\n\nHowever it is not instant and communication at vast distances cannot be real-time."
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} | train_eli5 | How do (would) radio communications in real time work in space and / or at high speeds.
I can't get how real-time radio chat is possible in, for example, a space vehicle or plane exceeding the speed of sound. Assuming the vehicle is travelling away from the transmission the wave will never catch it. I know I'm wrong, but how? How did communications at epic space distances (think Apollo missions) work in real time? | [
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2z9c5u | Why aren't sites like Kayak and Priceline cheaper than the original airliner's prices anymore? What's their point then? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Airlines and travel agents used to rely on people not having direct access to fare information. They can't do that anymore, so their fares are usually going to match third party sites.\n\nKayak and sites like it are still useful, because it presents fairs from multiple airlines, and it has a better interface for comparing different times, dates, and destinations.",
"Keep in mind that many of these sites leave cookies on your computer, so the more you search.doe a ticket, the more it tends to increase in price. I had a teacher check the price every other day for a month and the average increase was like 15 dollars a week. But if you use a proxy or clear your cache you can get those original prices"
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} | {
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} | train_eli5 | Why aren't sites like Kayak and Priceline cheaper than the original airliner's prices anymore? What's their point then?
| [
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3vebj8 | Why do cats knock things over? | [removed] | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Cats are trying to 'interact' or play with everything. stuff we own tend to be on heights (tables,shelves), so they fall down as soon as cats touch them. \nThere are only a few things on the floor the cats can play with, so they've gotten bored. \nWhen the cats knock over things, we go to them running and screaming. They like that attention. (toddlers also do the same) \nedit: grammar & typo.",
"Honestly, they are assholes and just want to watch the world burn. I watched our cat jump off the arm of the couch straight ahead, and kick 90 degrees to the side to knock over the lamp. I watched him do it, it was 100% unnecessary and 100% on purpose.",
"Imagine some fuckwit takes you from your family at the tender age of 12 weeks.\n\nThis thing feeds you, looks after you, pets you etc.\n\nThis thing loves you, and you do your best to keep it that way but you can't keep that resentment down indefinitely...\n\nYou do your best but every now and then FUCK YOU HUMAN",
"All animals love to play, even joke around. The more intelligent the animal, the more they play and cat's are no exception. So basically it's their idea of having a great time.",
"[I think everyone wants to see this after reading these comments](_URL_0_)",
"I'm not sure how the top comment is at the top but the answer is fairly simple. Nature has shown us that all felines are quite similar even between housecats and lions. They're inherently assholes.",
"My cat likes drawing my attention by doing the burying move the cats do when they are about to go to the toilet or after they've finished doing it. This started back when she was a small kitten and I was teaching her to go to the toilet. Whenever I heard her burying stuff I knew that she was either about to do something she shouldn't have or has already done it, so I dragged her immediately to her toilet. She understood that she can draw my attention that way, so she started doing this whenever she is bored. Cats are annoyingly smart.",
"Perching. People seem to forget that cats naturally seek out high points - trees, fences, gateposts, window ledges. This gives them a vantage point for hunting and assessing danger. Often, cats are knocking things from places where they perch - they're clearing their safe space. It's also likely that in a household they view these spots as their territory as humans do not sit there - stack things in places where the cat rarely goes, or is afraid to go (say an office chair they've been trained / scared into not sitting on), and most likely they won't exhibit this bold behaviour with objects in that space.\n\nThe current top 'play' comment - kind of. Cats exhibit very little play behaviour the way humans would think of play. They certainly interact - by sniffing things out, or prodding them. But most cat behaviour we interpret as 'play' activity is based around practice for useful components of their world - usually hunting, sometimes dominance / submission with hand biting etc. True, often the 'play' is pretend hunting, ripping things to shreds, or pushing things away so they can then pounce on it.\n\n* Edit - also the comment on communication is very valid (getting attention) but likely limited to those cats who have learned to illicit a reaction, rather than more universally across cats.",
"I have one cat that has never done this, at least on purpose. The few times she's knocked things over she has scared herself to death and run in terror.\n\nI have a different cat; this one didn't learn to meow until she was 6 years old. She found other ways to communicate. \n\nShe will jump on the dresser and nimbly thread her way between pairs of loose earrings, change, tiny trinkets, etc. She demonstrates her own appreciation for her delicacy, but mostly so that I know when she DOES knock things over, she clearly chose to do so. \n\nBecause she wanted to, that's why.",
"Mine do it to tell us they want food. And because there's two of the devils, they get caught up in play and every movable object becomes a potential \"victim\" to knock to the floor and push around. \n\nCups with water? Theirs. If they can't reach inside, tip it over!\n\nVases with flowers? Also theirs. For maximum destruction of crinkly flower bits, tip it over, too, or stand on the top. \n\nCoins and jewellery? Definitely theirs. Prime for pushing along the floor until they lose it under the fridge.",
"A cat has multiple scent glands (_URL_1_)\nWhen they rub against stuff, like furniture or your legs, they are claiming it. Some stuff are just not suitable for those little strokes, like your vases.",
"They just traveled through a different universe/dimension and they're just testing the laws of physics. OR they just want attention. :|",
"I think the real question is, why are cat owners always trying to block cat's paths? The cats are tired of people always putting crap in the way!"
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} | train_eli5 | Why do cats knock things over?
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832gyd | Is their a psychological or neurological explanation for why fun times seem shorter to time spent doing things you don't want to do? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"In my experience, It isn't actually about the activity being fun or not. Its just about whether you bother to take a look at the time that you have spent while doing the activity. For example, while doing a fun activity, we tend to not look at the time too often as we are too involved. On the other hand, when we are doing a boring activity, You tend to look at the clock every now and then. You mostly look at it every minute on average (according to my experience atleast) and that is why we see the clock has barely moved past that 4:20 you saw a minute ago. Trust me, If you dont think about the time while doing a boring activity, It will have the same effect as when you are doing a fun activity."
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} | train_eli5 | Is their a psychological or neurological explanation for why fun times seem shorter to time spent doing things you don't want to do?
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20xhzm | What exactly are "Chemtrails" and on what grounds are the conspiracies based on? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Nobody has responded to the question regarding 'what grounds are the conspiracies based on'.\n\nThe answer is: general stupidity and lack of education.",
"Chemtrails are what the people who believe in the conspiracy call the contrails that airplanes leave behind. Contrails are just composed of water vapor, but the conspiracy theorists say that those trails are chemicals that the planes are dispersing into the air. The exact chemicals and their affects vary, as there are different versions of the conspiracy. Usually it's something like they're to make the population calm and docile.\n\nThere are some arguments they give for why they must be chemtrails and not contrails. For example, planes don't leave contrails while taking off or landing. But that has to do with the speed of the plane and atmospheric density at low altitudes.",
"There's a few variations in beliefs in this conspiracy. \n\nThe general idea is that jets and planes are being used as a vehicle to disperse chemicals among the population. These chemicals may for mood altering, mind control, physical sickness etc... basically some means to weild control over the general public. Or sometimes it's particles that charge up energy for a secret super weapon. Or sometimes it's particles to influence/control weather. \n\nThe conspiracy seems to have been born out of nowhere in the 90s. The main 'evidence' is based mostly on the fact that sometimes the contrails (condensation trail) look different and unusual as compared to... other times. If you usually see them straight and thick, wispy curly trails look suspicious, right? Plus sometimes the trails last a long time or form into clouds! These differences are of course due to factors such as current weather, altitude etc.\n\nContrails are a normal result of hot air/water vapor from the plane exhaust being blasted into the cold air of the high atmosphere.\n\nOther 'evidence' has to do with traces of aluminum (and possibly other elements) in rain being much higher than normal in some flight path areas. If this is true it's probably an accidental, not intended, effect of mechanical flight. (Burning jet fuel at a billion degrees in metal containers, I'm guessing some particles will come out with the exhaust.)\n\nAnti-evidence to this conspiracy is, well, logic. For one thing if someone wanted to disperse a chemical agent among the masses, doing so at air-travel altitudes is the worst idea. The substance will stay up there, get really spread out, and if it comes down in rain it won't be in the same/intended area or amount.\n\nIf any of this conspiracy theory warrants a second look, it's the idea that high-altitude metal particles can influence weather patterns by changing air temperatures where clouds form, and other possible effects... whether accidental or intentional. Most of North America's devastating storms and hurricanes are born in the air above Alaska months in advance. One small factor can start a chain of events that changes where and when that storm ends up and how bad it is. Not that it's *controllable* but if there's an evil mastermind behind it maybe he's ok with chaos."
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} | train_eli5 | What exactly are "Chemtrails" and on what grounds are the conspiracies based on?
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216645 | As a girl who loses TONS of hair in the shower and in brushes, how am I not bald?! | explainlikeimfive | {
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"You lose around 100 hairs a day naturally, and of course you start growing around 100 hairs a day. If your hair is long, the hair that falls out naturally probably just gets held in by your other hair until you shower or brush it out, so if you don't shower or brush your hair for a day or two, when you finally do it will look like you lost an ungodly amount of hair, but in reality it's just your scalp doing its thing.\n\n_URL_0_",
"All hair has a natural life cycle.\n\n - Growth (2 - 6 years)\n - Transition (follicle shrinks by a factor of six)\n - Resting (does nothing for 5 - 6 weeks)\n\nThen a new growth cycle with a new hair begins in the follicle, pushing the old one out."
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} | train_eli5 | As a girl who loses TONS of hair in the shower and in brushes, how am I not bald?!
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52j25b | What is the difference between limited liability and unlimited liability in business? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Limited liability means if the company ends up owing an assload of money it can't pay, either because they company had bad luck, was mismanaged, or got sued, or whatever, the owners of the company can't be on the hook for personally paying out more than their share of the value of the company. If it's non limited, the owners can get stuck having to pay everything the company owes."
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} | train_eli5 | What is the difference between limited liability and unlimited liability in business?
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zem3q | Why are MRI's so huge? why didn't they get smaller in size like computers did?. | Computers went from the size of a room to fit in our pockets, so why are MRI's any different?. | explainlikeimfive | {
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"MRI's require a strong magnetic field around your body. Making a strong magnetic field requires a large magnet. In some cases, the technology has gotten better and there are \"open MRI\" machines where what can be made smaller has been, and you no longer travel through a tunnel to get scanned. At the very least though the machine must be able to generate a magnetic field around whatever is being scanned (such as your body)."
],
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} | train_eli5 | Why are MRI's so huge? why didn't they get smaller in size like computers did?.
Computers went from the size of a room to fit in our pockets, so why are MRI's any different?. | [
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3m4mup | What happened in Iran since the 70's that caused radical Islam to take control.? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"In the 50s, the CIA infiltrated Iran, collapsed their government, and installed the Shah, who instituted some education reforms, but also was a brutal dictator. This isn't a wild conspiracy theory, this is something that our government actually did. Eventually, the Shah made his subjects so angry that a student revolt led to his ouster in the late 70s, and these students took the government in the complete opposite direction, from secular to Sharia.",
"The 70's were what caused the Islamic regime to take control. The Shah of Iran was essentially a totalitarian dictator that took all wealth of the nation and distributed amongst his inner circle. The CIA propped up the Shah (which means \"king\"), and once the people found this out they were not fond of the US. One person took control of all this anger: Ayatollah Khomeini. The Ayatollah got everyone in a state of rage to the point where they stormed the US embassy, deposed the Shah, and took over the country. The reason Islam and Sharia law became prominent is because these were the Ayatollah's personal beliefs, and once he was in a position of power, imposing it was a great way for him to hold on to his power.\n\nIf you want to watch a thrill while learning about the revolution and the hostage crisis, the movie Argo is great."
],
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} | train_eli5 | What happened in Iran since the 70's that caused radical Islam to take control.?
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39z30j | Why aren't subscription services like your ISP, Netflix, Xbox Live, etc. required to reimburse you for downtime? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"it's in their terms of service that service isn't guaranteed 100%. you don't have a SLA with them.",
"Because in the contract you agreed to, it was never mentioned that they are required to have a 100% uptime.",
"When I have had significant downtime from my ISP, they have credited me for the downtime. All I had to do was call and ask.\n\nI've never encountered a downtime on Netflix, and haven't used XBox Live in years, but really, you should read the terms of service of all of these. They don't offer uptime guarantees.\n\nYou *can* get a guarantee for Internet service. But, not at residential rates. At that point it's a commercial account and you'll pay much more. Honestly, I am OK with not having a four-digit monthly bill from my ISP."
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} | train_eli5 | Why aren't subscription services like your ISP, Netflix, Xbox Live, etc. required to reimburse you for downtime?
| [
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3lxo84 | How does the gravitational pull/hold in the solar system/space actually work? | Obviously the objects with greater mass like the sun have a farther reach, but on a smaller scale, how does the gravity of the earth not bring the ISS crashing into us? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"It's called \"uniform circular motion\" and might seem strange. \n\nTake a string and tie it to a heavy object. Now take the other end of the string and start spinning with a constant velocity. \nThe object should lift from the ground and end up at a constant distance from your body. This distance depends on your spinning velocity. \n\nNow, let's talk about forces: \nForces have both a magnitude and a direction. The magnitude of a force is defined as: Acceleration times mass. This means that any accelerating object has a force acting upon it.\nYou might also notice that it takes a little work to stop spinning.\n\nNow, there is a force acting on your spinning object is called the centripetal force (the center seeking force). This force goes FROM the object TO you. The force comes from the string which you tied between you and the object.\n\nIt might seem a little strange that the force is pointed towards you since it felt like the object was pulling away from you while spinning - but if your string didn't slip in you hands or break you noticed that the distance between the object and you was constant. \n\nThe same thing applies to ISS and any other artificial satellite. \nThe satellite is brought into rotation around the earth by a rocket like you brought the object into rotation around you. \n\nAt the right distance from earth (depending on the speed of the rocket) the rocket will release the satellite and let gravity take care of the rest. Gravity will act like the string did and hold the satellite at the desired distance. \n\nSo now you have a satellite moving with a constant magnitude of speed and with a constant magnitude of force acting upon it.\nThe direction of the speed isn't constant. The direction will constantly be pulled toward the earth due to the force (acceleration). \nThis will cause the [following situation](_URL_0_).\n\nNotice that the speed (red arrow's magnitude) doesn't change but the direction changes due to the centripetal force. \nThe satellite is held in place just like your string held your object in place. \n\nThere's actually a lot of math involved here (mainly periodical functions and calculus) and that's just the \"uniform circular motion\" which is just a simplified example of the \"circular motion\" where the speed's magnitude can change.\n\nIn real life other factor's need to be taken into account. This is why the distance between earth and the ISS isn't constant, nor is the speed nor gravity (and thus acceleration)."
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} | train_eli5 | How does the gravitational pull/hold in the solar system/space actually work?
Obviously the objects with greater mass like the sun have a farther reach, but on a smaller scale, how does the gravity of the earth not bring the ISS crashing into us? | [
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6miz6o | Why are computer monitors, TV screens etc. generally in a landscape orientation whilst smartphones are generally in a portrait orientation? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Is it hard to use one hand on landscape orientation? Yea."
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} | train_eli5 | Why are computer monitors, TV screens etc. generally in a landscape orientation whilst smartphones are generally in a portrait orientation?
| [
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1z7z0u | Why are graves dug 6' deep? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"it is the approximate depth that prevents wildlife from digging it up. both as a matter of moving 6 feet of earth and because the gasses from the body will not filter up quickly enough to be detected by scavengers.\n\nit's also the approximate height of a human being. a digger could easily assess his depth and also get out of the hole under his own power were it necessary.",
"During the outbreak of a plague in England, the Mayor of London decided that was the depth needed to prevent infection of others. It was the 17th century, so it probably wasn't very scientific, but just a number chosen to ensure it was deep enough.",
"From my experience, working in a funeral home, this is more of an expression from older days. They are often not usually dug to be six feet deep because it is not necessary. There is a vault that goes around the casket and is not much bigger than a casket, so that should help provide an example of how much is actually going in to the ground, which is probably around 3 1/2 feet in height (a guesstimate). \n\nI have been told that they use to be dug that deep to help protect bodies from wild animals and grave robbers. Vaults protect that casket, thus a body is not really exposed, at least for decades. Plus grave robbing is no longer an issue. \n\nThe people posting about flooding.. That might be true in certain instances but I do not think that is really the case. New Orleans has a lot of flooding and their cemeteries have a bunch of above ground mausoleums to prevent caskets from having this problem, not deep holes. Interesting sight if you ever get the chance to see it by the way. \n\nThus graves really aren't dug that deep anymore and is more of an old expression about six feet deep. Though things in funerals are regional and thus it could be different somewhere else. \n\nEdit: Added information about the purpose of a vault.",
"I suspect it has to do with staying below the frost line. If below frost is 42\" you need to dig an additional 24\" to accommodate the height of the coffin. It may not make any difference in warm climate, but where it snows, I bet a coffin buried any less than 42\" could potentially heave.",
"Damn you reddit for making me interested in the answer to a question I never knew I cared about.",
"All these reasons are wrong. Graves are 6' deep because that's the minimum cover of soil which will hold back a zombie.",
"Minimum depth to keep zombies from digging themselves out.",
"Look at it this way. Even before Katrina New Orleans has had caskets floating down the street during floods due to an inability to bury the dead deep enough due to a very high water table. Macabre, and not in a good way.",
"It also can be traced back to when the black plague occurred, there were to many bodies to bury and they had to double up burial plots with multiple caskets.",
"The funerals I've been to, the graves are way deeper than 6ft. More like 8 to 10 ft. This is in West Texas.",
"I'll bet it's because of congeliturbation - aka the freeze thaw cycle that brings up rocks in fields.",
"its mainly so animals can not smell the body and dig them up.",
"So we have time to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.",
"iirc it's partly so animals don't dig them up",
"So the zombies can't dig themselves out, of course..."
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} | train_eli5 | Why are graves dug 6' deep?
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1w3t4r | What happens to a prisoner's possessions when they're serving their sentence? | Say you're in jail for committing a crime. What happens to your house, your car and everything else you own? Does this change if you're only serving a short sentence? What about if you live with someone else? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"US Answer:\n\nYour property is still yours; you just can't physically be by its side. However, you can still give someone power of attorney (the right to act in your name) so they can manage your affairs, and you can hire a lawyer and sue in court. Aside from your physical presence, your legal standing remains the same.\n\nThe exceptions are 1) the property on your person right before incarceration; these usually stay in the prison, and you pick them up when you leave, and 2) property or money that was either used in a crime or is part of the proceeds of a crime; what happens to these is usually up to statute or a ruling, but you generally don't get them back.\n\n**EDIT:** As Pandromeda pointed out, your property is still your responsibility. If you own a house, you must still pay utilities and property tax; if you own a car, you still need to pay insurance and get inspections; etc. The upside is that you don't personally have to do these, but they still need to get done by someone on the outside, and getting it done is your problem."
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} | train_eli5 | What happens to a prisoner's possessions when they're serving their sentence?
Say you're in jail for committing a crime. What happens to your house, your car and everything else you own? Does this change if you're only serving a short sentence? What about if you live with someone else? | [
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5cyx89 | How do antidepressants like Celexa prevent orgasm? | It's a really common side effect for people on meds like Celexa to not being able to finish.
Now meds causing impotence I can kinda guess what might make sense there, but this one baffles me.
What is being affected to prevent a guy from ejaculating? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"I don't remember the exact details now (and I'm on my phone so it's hard to look up) but we actually discussed this in my behavioral neuroscience class. Hopefully the details are enough, but do note this is a very simplistic account of what exactly is happening.\n\nEssentially, we've found out that SSRI's affect more than just serotonin, they also affect dopamine levels in the brain. This has something to do with dopamine receptors \"cosignaling\" and developing an affinity to serotonin, and then also beginning to affect the reuptake of serotonin.\n\nWhen males have orgasms, the D3 receptors (specialized dopamine receptors) have to be stimulated. But these dopamine receptors are less efficient because of the SSRI's, so to reach the orgasm \"threshold\" it takes longer time. And that's a fairly common side effect of taking SSRI's, needing a lot of time to ejaculate / reach orgasm.\n\nI can't vouch for sexual interest and arousal, as those actually are probably associated with different brain areas. But the previous information can at least account for why SSRI antisepressants prolong time taken to orgasm."
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} | train_eli5 | How do antidepressants like Celexa prevent orgasm?
It's a really common side effect for people on meds like Celexa to not being able to finish. Now meds causing impotence I can kinda guess what might make sense there, but this one baffles me. What is being affected to prevent a guy from ejaculating? | [
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2k5keb | How does one judge have the power to change a law, such as gay marriage, if it is against the will of the majority? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Because a judge must uphold established law, not political opinion.",
"Because that is not how democracy works. [Democracy is not about just majority rule](_URL_0_). In fact, democracy works best when the minorities are properly represented. \n \nHypothetically, what if the majority wanted to encamp any citizen practicing a particular religion? Would that law be just simply because majority thought it would be a good idea? What if 90% of the population decided that everyone with the last name \"smith\" should be subjected to gas chambers? I mean its not like this hasn't happened before. The adage \"what is right is not always popular, and what is popular is not always right\" explains democratic rule in a nutshell.\n\nObviously these are extreme examples when compared to laws regarding marriage but the underlying principle is the same - majority rule isn't how democracy works. That is why one person, or group of persons, working within the confines of the law has the ability to stand against the majority in favour of protecting the minority.",
"they do not have the ability to actually change a law per se. What they CAN do is rule that a law or part of a law is illegal under the constitution. The people cannot just pass any old law they want, even if 100% of the constituents and legislators want it, and 100% of the legislators vote yes for it.\n\n\nMuch of the constitution can be thought of as \"lswa for laws\" - and in fact the constitution makes it illegal to pass certain laws. ALL the supreme court really does for most cases is decide if pre existing a law breaks constitutional laws or not. By law passed by the states or congress is legal or valid unless it complies with the bill of rights and all subsequent amendments.\n\n\n\nFor instance if my state tried to pass a law that outlawed people of a certain religion from residing there, it would rather quickly be shot down at a very low level (WAY before getting to the supreme court) as being a law that is illegal under the freedom of religion clause of the first amendment.",
"Basically, the judicial branch reviews laws and if they believe it violates the constitution, they're allowed to strike it down. They get this power from the system of checks and balances that keep the US government balanced in all 3 tiers.",
"Because laws can't violate the Constitution, and it's the job of the Judicial Branch of the government to interpret what the Constitution means.",
"Our laws were written specifically to provide balance against the popular opinion and protect the minority voices."
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} | train_eli5 | How does one judge have the power to change a law, such as gay marriage, if it is against the will of the majority?
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3rfpmu | Why the U.S. government decided to throw Osama Bin Laden's body into the ocean | explainlikeimfive | {
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"They didn't want to bury him on land and create a \"shrine\" for radicalists.\n\nNot many nations would have even been willing to accept the remains.",
"Technically it's a \"burial at sea,\" and it was done in accordance with Muslim law.\n\nThey didn't want to keep his body and put it on display somewhere since that would only make bin Laden's supporters angrier and would probably lead to more reprisal attacks.\n\nThey also didn't want to bury him on land because they were afraid of al-Qaeda using his gravesite as a propaganda tool. Not to mention that no nation would accept his remains, and burying him on U.S. soil would seem inappropriate.",
"I think I read somewhere that it was dumped into the ocean because that was a custom with his culture and the government didn't want to offend and radical islamist. Go figure",
"They thought that if they buried him, there was potential for extremists to make his grave into some kind of sacred site. By throwing him into the ocean, they avoided that possibility."
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} | train_eli5 | Why the U.S. government decided to throw Osama Bin Laden's body into the ocean
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215898 | What is the G8 and why could Russia be excluded from it? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"The G7 was created as a way for the finance ministers or equivalent from the top seven most industrialized and advanced countries to workshop and settle outstanding issues in economic (and sometimes foreign) policy. The G8 was created purely because it was felt that Russia should have a seat at the table, since it was still a military superpower after all, and the other members wanted to encourage them in continuing to reform their economy after the collapse of the USSR.\n\nThe G7 still exists and meets regularly. Removing Russia wouldn't affect the group all that much.",
"The G8 is a group of the worlds leading 8 economies and the EU (but there membership is a little different to the rest) that attempts to tackle global issues like climate change and poverty.They don't have any official power over any other countries but as a group they have over half the worlds wealth so people tend to listen to them. I imagine it has something to do with getting all invadey",
"G8 consists of USA, Canada, The Uk, France, Italy, Germany, Russia and Japan. They are the worlds 'superpowers'. They make big economic and environmental decisions that affect the rest of the world as well as themselves. Russia could be excluded as they are attacking Ukraine, which has been frowned upon by the rest of the world."
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} | train_eli5 | What is the G8 and why could Russia be excluded from it?
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1iwww5 | How do we have the technology to see nebulae and other features in our galaxy with some degree of clarity, but not enough to get a clear picture of Pluto? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"* most galaxies are brighter\n* most galaxies are bigger\n* galaxies don't move, so you can take very long exposures...Pluto rotates, so things get smeary after a few hours",
"The average nebula is 100 light years (9.4605284 × 10^14 kilometers) across. Pluto is around 1161 km across.",
"Pluto is really tiny, but nebulae are gigantic. Trying to get a clear picture of Pluto is like trying to get a clear picture of an ant through a telescope. If you zoom in, it's out of focus, if you zoom out, you can't see it.",
"I don't think the brightness affects this so much (not that it doesn't have an affect, just less of an affect).\n\nIn my opinion the two key factors are the size of the object at what distance and the angular resolution of the camera taking the picture. \n\nFor the first you have to consider how big the object is versus how far away it is. If you divide the size of Pluto versus its distance the ratio is much smaller than the ratio of a galaxy versus how far away it is. This ratio tells us how big an object looks in the sky.\nNow you take this ratio (how big something looks in the sky) and divide it by how detailed of a resolution the camera can detect and you find your problem.\n\nThe beautiful pictures you see of galaxies are taking up 3000+ pixels. Given Pluto's size and distance it would be less than 150 pixels and we all know low pixel count = bad!!!",
"On top of thejennadaisy's point about size, in astronomy there is a value called apparent magnitude. Apparent magnitude measures how bright a celestial object is (lower being brighter). The apparent magnitude of the Eagle Nebula (just picked at random) is 8.24, while the apparent magnitude of Pluto is 13.65, which means it's roughly 100 times brighter than Pluto."
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} | train_eli5 | How do we have the technology to see nebulae and other features in our galaxy with some degree of clarity, but not enough to get a clear picture of Pluto?
| [
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5r56qq | How come some products made with dairy products (like milk in cookies) don't go bad like dairy products do? | title | explainlikeimfive | {
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"The majority of cookie recipes do not contain milk. But cakes do, and cakes do not need to be refrigerated. The baking along with the sugar are enough to preserve it for a few days without refrigeration provided you're storing it properly.",
"We cook cookies. This is far different than just having milk out and exposed to bacteria. \n\nThe cooking of things makes it far less harmful."
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} | train_eli5 | How come some products made with dairy products (like milk in cookies) don't go bad like dairy products do?
title | [
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1sncau | How come I can take control of my breathing just by thinking about it but can't do the same with my heartbeat or body temperature? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"You can consciously control your heart rate to some extent. As for temperature, it's not a single muscle or process, it's the sum of all your cell's metabolism",
"You can control your heartbeat with a process of biofeedback.",
"It's based on the type of nerves innervating the tissue. The diaphragm (primary breathing muscle) is skeletal, so it is under conscious control, though there is some autonomic involvement for when your sleeping and such (an area called the pons, in the brain stem, if you're interested).\n\nThe hear belongs to a unique muscle tissue type, and is solely innervated by autonomic systems, though you can influence the rate indirectly through breathing and the like. In fact, the heart can be completely autonomous (in some heart transplants, the nerves are not reattached. The heart will continue to maintain a pulse and respond to activity regardless of nervous control).\n\nBody temperature maintenance is pretty complex. Talking about why you can't control that one thing is like asking why you can't control digestion: there's a lot of parts. A lot of which comes from the control of blood blow to capillary beds in the skin. When they're engorged, a lot of blood flows close to the skin's surface, and allows for greater heat loss (think flushing). To keep warm, blood flow is restricted. However, this is controlled by a third type of muscle tissue, called smooth muscle. Smooth muscle is completely autonomic, with the conscious mind having no involvement. It's the same type of muscle that controls swallowing, intestinal movement, and various other activities.\n\nThis is, of course, a gross generalization. These systems have more going on than merely innervation and muscle types. There's also various hormones, receptors, and the like that are involved. But this is ELI5, right?",
"Aside from the possible ability to sort of control those things consciously, I'd imagine it is largely an evolutionary advantage. Being able to hold your breath is important when, say, under water. You can hold your breath for even a couple minutes and be fine, so it's not that dangerous. Plus, you probably can't hold your breath until you die, as other stuff kicks and in forces you to take a breath. If you miss even a single heart beat, or if you change your core body temp by even a few degrees, you can die. It is best that we don't have complete control over those things."
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} | train_eli5 | How come I can take control of my breathing just by thinking about it but can't do the same with my heartbeat or body temperature?
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6gdbht | How is it physically possible to get all the bowling pins except the center one? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"The 5 pin is a common leave because, usually, the 1,2,3(for righties),4(or 6 for right handers) 5 8(9 for right handers) pins are meant to be taken out by the ball. When the ball hits the pocket (the 1+2 or 1+3 pins) it can deflect because the pins are heavy. It diverts the ball to one side or the other, and the pins that did get hit take out everything else. \n\nTl;dr - if you leave the 5, it means you didn't hit the pocket at the correct angle or with enough force."
],
"score": [
3
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | How is it physically possible to get all the bowling pins except the center one?
| [
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2vwhqq | Is being in possession of a hard drive full of torrented media illegal? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Technically no. Distributing it, removing copy protection on it, and downloading it, or anything like that is though. Giving the drive to someone else is illegal, and the ways to fill it are illegal, someone giving it to you is illegal, but actually having it isn't.",
"Torrents are necessarily copyrighted material. There's plenty of completely legal media available through torrents, and torrents aren't per se illegal themselves, so of course.\n\nWhether a torrented copyrighted track is illegal depends on jurisdiction."
],
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3
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Is being in possession of a hard drive full of torrented media illegal?
| [
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5ohk3i | Why do humans laugh? and why does it sound like it does? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | {
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"If I remember correctly then laughing is meant as a way of signaling others that you're okay with what is happening and aren't getting hurt. Like a baby getting tickled or being playfully chased. This also happens with animals that playfully chase each other.\n\nSo if you feel schadenfreude (meaning someone else got hurt and you laugh about it) it's more about signaling that you or someone close to you or in your group weren't hurt.\n\nA lot of jokes use that unexpected twist to make you laugh and in the end you think it's funny to tell others that this unexpected event didn't hurt you. This of course stems from thousands if not millions of years ago when you had to express to your hunting party for instance that that thing coming out of the bushes and right at you was a harmless mouse and not a deadly snake or boar."
],
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2
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do humans laugh? and why does it sound like it does?
[deleted] | [
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z1r41 | Super PACs, Citizens United, etc. | Thanks for any explanations! | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"Under federal election law, only certain people are allowed to contribute to campaigns. [Here's a neat table that explains who can give what to whom.](_URL_0_) Corporations, foreign nationals, and a few other categories are not allowed to contribute directly to campaigns. What they are allowed to do is create organizations that can advocate on their behalf. There's a number of different laws and terms for these organizations, but by and large they're PACs (Political Action Committees). You're also allowed to donate to these if you've met your individual campaign contribution limit.\n\nA PAC is allowed to donate some money to candidates, but not substantially more than an individual person could. What they are allowed to do that individuals can't is take out advertisements either for or against a candidate. PACs can spend pretty much however much they want on these advertisements, however *they are not allowed to discuss these advertisements with candidates in any capacity.* A lot of people are concerned about PACs because candidates are required to disclose where they get their donations from and the same isn't necessarily true for PACs. \n\nWhere Citizens United comes in (as I understand it, I could be wrong on this) is that it legally recognizes the rights of corporations to contribute to PACs and as a result help finance campaign ads. To understand the Citizen's ruling you need to understand that a corporation is legally speaking an entity created to represent the business interests of its shareholders. The Supreme Court concluded (once again, IANAL and this is all based on a lay understanding of the verdict, feel free to correct me if this is wrong) that prohibiting corporations from donating to political advocacy groups (these would be PACs) is illegal because if you prohibit corporations from advocating certain policies as representatives of their shareholders, then you're taking away the right of the shareholders to advocate for those policies by proxy."
],
"score": [
2
]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/contriblimits.shtml"
]
} | train_eli5 | Super PACs, Citizens United, etc.
Thanks for any explanations! | [
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6esikc | Is the research definitive? Does cannabis abuse cause emphysema? Where is this decisive research located? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Chronic smoke inhalation can lead to respiratory problems. We didn't evolve to breathe smoke. Cannabis isn't an exception.",
"Here is a review of many different research papers \n_URL_0_\n\nIt appears that emphysema itself has only a small risk increase by smoking cannabis however it has a cumulative effect if smoked with tobacco, and it causes many other respiratory problems instead, for example a Swedish study found the risk of lung cancer double. Other risks are chronic bronchitis, increased incidence of cough, sputum production, shortness of breath, nocturnal wakening with chest tightness, etc.",
"There is no research because for the better part of the last century the substance and any research relating to it has been illegal within most First World Nations.\n\nThere just isn't any reliable data going one way or the other.",
"It doesn't really matter what it is you're smoking, inhaling smoke into the lungs will damage the lungs over a period of time. Smoke is full of carcinogens, heat, and various other substances (depending on what you're smoking) that injures healthy lung tissue."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
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} | {
"url": [
"https://www.nature.com/articles/npjpcrm201671"
]
} | train_eli5 | Is the research definitive? Does cannabis abuse cause emphysema? Where is this decisive research located?
| [
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2ylaex | Why is it legal for organizations like the MPAA to exist? Isn't that collusion? | Doesn't it violate some sort of antitrust act or other? I thought only employees could unionize, not employers... | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"cpamld2"
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"Businesses are allowed to work together, as long as it's not about defrauding consumers, price fixing & stuff like that. There's nothing wrong with forming a trade association to promote their collective interests, allow standards to form and stuff that isn't anticompetitive.\n\nThe MPAA was formed to help the studios agree on what acceptable content was so that they could avoid government censors forcing standards on them. This gives us movie ratings, a perfect example of an industry working together while still competing."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
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} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why is it legal for organizations like the MPAA to exist? Isn't that collusion?
Doesn't it violate some sort of antitrust act or other? I thought only employees could unionize, not employers... | [
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2yek45 | Why do suits have a bottom button which you are never supposed to button up? | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"It is tradition attributed to King Edward VII, who was too fat to button the bottom button.\n\nIn order to not out-do or offend the kind, people in power started to do the same. Eventually it just became a thing that all people are expected to do.",
"Around 1900 in Great Britain, King Edward VII always left the bottom button undone. He was a rather large man. One he did it it became the fashion. Lots of fashion starts with royalty or the famous then becomes standard over time.",
"It's traditional mostly. Like how the cuff buttons on most suits are just decorative. Looking for logic in men's fashion is a losing battle."
],
"score": [
10,
6,
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]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | Why do suits have a bottom button which you are never supposed to button up?
| [
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1hn8q6 | What happens when someone who's taking antibiotics drinks alcohol and why is it a bad thing? | I've always wondered it and although I know I shouldn't do it, it's harder for me not to since I don't know why I can't. | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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],
"text": [
"It's not. \n\nThis is just a scare story that doctors used to tell servicemen who they were treating for gonorrhoea, in order to prevent them drinking and whoring until they were cured, thereby slowing the spread of the disease. \n\nIt's one of those ideas that have been repeated so much that they've stuck.",
"There are drugs that can kill you when mixed with alcohol (sedatives mostly). Most people can't be expected to tell which drugs are ok and which are not, and for a good bunch of drugs it's not really known at all, so doctors tend to tell people not to drink alcohol with *any* drugs, because it's a much simplier rule. Better be safe than sorry. If you're sick enough to take antibiotics you have no business drinking anyway.",
"It's bad because when antibiotics are going through FDA (insert your national drug administration here) approval, they are not tested for the effects of alcohol. Any antibiotic that interferes with kidney function will have an even worse affect due to alcohol putting a strain on the kidneys.",
"Antibiotics kill bacteria. There are some bacteria in you gut that are helpful with digestion that die too. Drinking heavily when your gut flora are compromised can give you the shits. It's not gonna kill you but you'll spend extra time on the toilet."
],
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3,
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What happens when someone who's taking antibiotics drinks alcohol and why is it a bad thing?
I've always wondered it and although I know I shouldn't do it, it's harder for me not to since I don't know why I can't. | [
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2rwo0n | How do they take the caffeine out of tea and coffee to make decaffeinated versions? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"cnjz0j2"
],
"text": [
"Most caffeine free teas are already caffeine free. Herbal teas are usually free from caffeine (like peppermint, green, and chamomile). Black teas usually have caffeine.\n\nCoffee on the other hand goes through a chemical treatment process called \"decaffeinating\" (and some teas do have this too). Usually a solvent is used on a whole bean that leaves the rest of the makeup in tact but leeches the caffeine from the beans. \n\n[Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation of the various processes](_URL_0_)\n\nAs a staunch coffee drinker I've always thought that decaf was unnatural, this just proves I'm right, haha.",
"Carbon dioxide (the same gas that makes people worry about the planet), if squished hard enough becomes a liquid (it doesn't do this just because it's cold, you need pressure). This liquid is a really good solvent for caffeine, but (unlike water) doesn't also dissolve the stuff in coffee which gives it a great flavour. So the CO2 is forced through the coffee beans at high pressure, dissolving the caffeine as it goes.\n\nThe CO2 is allowed to boil away, and the caffeine is sold to be turned into pep pills.\n\nCheap, nasty decaf is made with water. Expensive, tasty decaf is made with CO2. Real coffee worth drinking is made with steam by an Italian guy, comes in a 1oz cup and contains enough caffeine to make you vibrate.",
"They repeatedly wash the beans or leaves with a solvent that dissolves the caffeine, until the level is as low as desired."
],
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]
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": [
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination"
]
} | train_eli5 | How do they take the caffeine out of tea and coffee to make decaffeinated versions?
| [
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19tveb | What is post-structuralism? | I'm unfamiliar with it, and all of the information I can find uses an entire vocabulary with which I'm unfamiliar, so I cannot seem to make sense of what it actually is.
Could someone explain it like I'm 5? | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"Post-structuralism is not as much a unified movement, but rather it is pretty much anyone who rejects structuralism. Structuralism is the belief that humanity can be understood by studying anything that could be called \"structure,\" including stuff like politics, social order, villages, and abstract stuff like myths. The idea was to study things systematically to find their \"meanings.\" Meaning, then, would be some solid consistent thing that is being represented. We'll use zombies as an example: zombies are not real, but people talk about them like they are, so the structuralist would assume that \"zombie\" is some static concept because even if it isn't real, there must be something real about the zombie that makes people's concept of them so structured. Maybe the zombie represents something else, like fear of the dead. A post-structuralist would say that zombies are structured because we want them to be structured, and the idea is self-purpetuating, but not necessarily constant or unchanging. Zombie's used to be cursed, but in new zombie stories, they have a disease, but we still call them zombies because the specific detail doesn't matter, so if zombies can change and still be called zombies, then there is not meaning beyond what is on the surface, and the idea of a \"real zombie\" is just an illusion. Once the basis for zombie stories is established, they keep being told not because zombies are real on some level, but because the last story was cool, so we want to tell another one like it.\n\nThis gets applied to gender a lot, too: a structuralist would say that gender is a real, biological, constant thing, and that the way we describe it (the structure of gendered terminology) is just describing that thing. A post-structuralist would say that we, at least partly, if not entirely, assume gender as part of fitting in. The idea of \"a woman,\" then, is not real, but what is real is everyone going around acting like it is real. Sort of like asking if little girls \"naturally\" like pink, or if they are \"supposed\" to like pink.\n\nWe could also look at American two party politics. Is there some real reason why they lump together small government and fundamental Christians on the right? Or do people who feel they should be Republican's adapt their opinions to be more consistent with other Republicans?",
"Well, there are some good points on the other posts but I think they missed a spot or two.\n\nBy the end of the XIX century, naturalist and positivist doctrines were very popular around the world and social and human sciences were being developed around those ideas. In this way, they operated under the assumption that there was a \"truth\", and there was \"natural progress\" and most sciences worked with this concept in a historical matrix, believing they could understand different societies and cultures and technologies having modern europe as a parameter, as if it were \"the end of history\" and everyone else was \"evolving\" in that direction.\n\nAt the same time language studies were becoming very popular and people who were studying language started questioning that certainty about the \"naturalness\" of european culture and languages. Structuralism was born with linguistics as it decided to understand languages for what they were at a given time, and not in terms of an evolution torwards an end. That happened in very different ways in the US - with Bloomfeld - and in Europe - with Saussure, and since european structuralism was the one that influenced post-structuralism the most, we'll concentrate on that. In time, structuralism influenced many other fields, but we can still understand language as the main model for structure.\n\nSaussure realized that, although a language had a history and related to other parts of human experience, it could be described and studied as a somewhat isolated system at one particular time. It was organized according to an internal dynamic and it's parts (the signs) were defined in terms of other signs (or better yet, of what other signs weren't). And since signs are arbitrary and not naturally related to real things (that's why there are very different words for different things in different languages), language could be studied in itself, without making reference to other things or to it's historical \"evolution\".\n\nSo a structure, for structuralists, is a system which parts are defined according to other parts inside the system. And it has a working of it's own, that can be studied and described. These ideas influenced social sciences, psychology and many other fields of study.\n\nPost-structuralism denies a little bit of structuralism, in the sense that it believes that a synchronical description cannot be enough to explain and understand systems, but it actually learns a lot from structuralism and extends it's ideas to encompass history. (In a different way that was done before since they didn't think about the evolution of signs, but the organic transformations within the structures)\n\nSo, post-structuralism understands that signs and meanings are defined within structures (a word means what other words don't) but it extends this concept to understand how meanings have developed within discusive games through history, since all discourse should obey these laws too. So, Foucault, for example, a notable and central thinker for post-structuralism, will describe how concepts such as \"madness\", \"crime\" or sexuality have developed within discursive matrixes through history. More importantly, he'll pay attention to all the things that were said about those things but didn't make it to modern institutions. He wants to understand what are the laws of exclusion for discourses. (And this takes him to power games and relations, another main topic in his discussions)\n\nIn literature, structuralism and post-structuralism will lead to things like the \"death\" of the author (Barthes will ask: who writes? the person, the narrator, comon-sense? And he answers: no, it's language who writes, the writer is a vessel, a machine, a vector for language) and the study of the text itself, and it's relations with other texts even when the writers didn't know of those texts - that is no longer so important, since all texts relate to each other within epistemic structures.\n\nIt also takes us to recent gender studies and post-colonialism. Since we don't have to describe things in relation to a normative parameter anymore (male men bring food home, female women cook; metropolis is good and developed, colony is lame and primitive) but within discousive structures and power games. We can try to understand how things came to be the way they are today, and can think about ways to change them too.\n\ntl,dr: post-structuralism develops structuralist take on language and extends it to discourses througout history",
"Post-structuralists came after structuralists, as someone else noted. Structrualists liked categories - man and woman, black and white. Stuff you could put in groups.\n\nPost-structuralists rejected that idea. They wanted to know why we put things in categories and what those categories said about our culture. So in other words, instead of saying \"Here's where this goes and how it is\" post-structuralists said \"Why might these categories be this way? How might they change?\"\n\nExtreme ELI5: Structuralists think in black and white. Post-structuralists see gray."
],
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} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | {
"url": []
} | train_eli5 | What is post-structuralism?
I'm unfamiliar with it, and all of the information I can find uses an entire vocabulary with which I'm unfamiliar, so I cannot seem to make sense of what it actually is. Could someone explain it like I'm 5? | [
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