q_id stringlengths 6 6 | title stringlengths 4 294 | selftext stringlengths 0 2.48k | category stringclasses 1
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67vdz7 | PC games typically allow custom key mapping for every in-game action, however console games typically only offer developer-created control schemes that do not allow for key remapping. Why do most console games only offer this type of limited customization? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Consoles generally thrive on uniformity and ease of use, much like iOS vs Android. Allowing the player to modify control settings seems like an obvious choice, but it can also be a bad thing at times. Players might not ever settle on a control scheme, but... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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67vnkd | Why can't a smartphone split 50/50 its wifi and cellular data in times of weakness? Why does it have to be EITHER wifi OR cellular data? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"It's possible to do, there's a few challenges. First of all, both your wifi and cellular i... | [
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67vwv3 | How can TOR protect my browsing history from my ISP now that browsing history is for sale, if my ISP knows I'm sending traffic through TOR? | I get that TOR is not super secure for illegal stuff - I don't want to do illegal stuff. However, I've read that TOR might help you mask your browsing history from your ISP so you can watch two girls go down on one another in peace. However, it would seem that since my ISP is the one providing me access to the internet... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgtmips",
"dgtm5y9"
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"text": [
"Tor uses something called \"onion routing\" which involves multiple layers of encryption being wrapped around what your computer sends out, which are then removed one at a time as your message makes its journey. So I'm going to use a letter analogy, becau... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
67w5r8 | How does a password get hashed? | I know what a hash is. It turns a password into a string of numbers and letters to protect it from hackers but how are those numbers and letters decided? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgtnylw"
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"text": [
"Using a hashing algorithm. There are plenty of them in existence and each works differently than the next, so if you want a specific answer you should look up the hashing information in question (f.i Sha256). A super simplified hashing algorithm would for instance be \"... | [
"url"
] | [
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67wdq5 | Why do mobile websites make me click to show the full article? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"dgtpslv"
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"text": [
"Most mobile websites are built for speed - they'll generate just as much content as they need to so you get the page immediately. Abandon rates (when you leave the page) are very high when pages don't load quickly. There are also metrics that people only tend to read a ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
67x45p | Lotion. How does it work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgtvufy"
],
"text": [
"Thin film on the surface of the skin to prevent loss of moisture. humectants: these attract water vapor from the air to moisturize the skin. Restoration of deficient materials these are more complex and try to restore natural moisturizing factors on the skin such as Ami... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
67x8uk | Why are the latest phones upwards of $700-$800, while the latest tablets are only around $200-$300 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Fitting the complexity of a phone into a body of its size is much harder than to fit basically the same internals into a device 4-6x the size. Also, phones typically are the more cutting edge technology and focus of innovatio... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
67yl7a | Hard Drives: How do the read/write heads read/write data on the platters if its spinning so fast? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgu8k4w"
],
"text": [
"To us it's spinning fast, but the integrated circuit processors that control the position of the heads and the platters are much faster, and can keep track of when to start and when to stop writing. Hard drive access time is 9-15 milliseconds (how long it takes to move ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
67yo4o | How is korea able to have the fastest internet? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgu97nv",
"dgubikr",
"dguim4i"
],
"text": [
"They put fiber into the home, rather than the cabinet. In the UK we have fiber to the cabinet (fttc) the last hop is made over the existing , and usually old copper phone lines. The south Koreans put fiber connections right up to the homes ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
67zujj | How do road painters ensure that road markings are perfectly aligned? | Not sure if this is a technology related flair, but I always wondered how.. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgum7yo"
],
"text": [
"Depends on the type of road. On city streets usually by measuring and making marks the length of the road. Once the marks are there it takes someone with experience to make adjustments based off of the position of the marks and the reality of how it will look. On highwa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6807li | Why does it take so long to download something but such a short amount of time to delete it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgun93x",
"dguue7g"
],
"text": [
"When you download something every individual byte of information has to travel down the line to your computer. So it has to sent that amount of information. For example maybe say 40 Gigabytes all down the line to your computer. When you delete that inform... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6813iu | What is Linux/Unix (in under 3 sentences?) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"dguvsfr",
"dguxgk1"
],
"text": [
"Linux is an operating system, like Windows or osx, but it's open source. It means everyone can contribute to it, fixing bugs, improving security etc. Because of this it's free, and in my experience very versatile, and it's pretty awesome. There's much mor... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
682u86 | How is it ensured that Wikipedia articles show correct information, and how is vandalism of articles prevented on it? | Are there some people who monitor certain articles at all times, or what? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgv775m"
],
"text": [
"There's no iron-clad guarantee that all of the information on Wikipedia is accurate. The prevailing pattern however is that there are more benevolent people adding correct information than vandals intentionally adding incorrect information. Some people take a personal a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6833w7 | How does Google's reCAPTCHA work on mobile devices where there is no cursor being tracked? | Edit: Another question: could a bot pretend to be a mobile device and get past reCAPTCHA? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgvb18l"
],
"text": [
"reCAPTCHA keeps track of a lot of stuff like time between touches, position of the touch, time pressed, etc. It just analyzes it in his own way. > Could a bot pretend to be a mobile device and get past reCAPTCHA? They could pretend to be mobile, but they would fail the ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
684r69 | how is reddit's search engine so bad? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgvnuqd",
"dgvqux5"
],
"text": [
"As I understand it, modern internet search engines tend to take advantage of links and user behavior in order to come up with top results. So, for example, Google can organize results not just by keyword hits and tricks relating to how the words are used ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6856il | Why do GIFs take longer to load than Youtube videos? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgvr9am",
"dgvrdlt"
],
"text": [
"YouTube videos can start playing immediately while the later part of the video is still loading while gifs require the entire gif to load before it's played. Also a good video encoder achieves greater compression than a gif.",
"Because gifs are larger... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
685hm8 | How does a proxy server actually work (its inner-workings)? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgw1ueu"
],
"text": [
"Like any other server, more or less. The simplified version is that, assume I want to connect to URL_0 , but I don't want anyone to know. So, I go to the Proxy server and tell it \"Give me access to URL_1 \". The proxy server then goes and visits URL_1 , get's the websi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
687rcb | Why have usually US semi trucks "nose" compared to European flat cabin semis? | It doesn't make sense to me especially considering fuel efficiency, since gas in US is cheaper and those with nose should be more aerodynamic. Or the ones with nose are more dangerous for other cars and US doesn't have so strict safety requirements? Or US has lower requirements on length of truck so they can waste spac... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgwdusc",
"dgwg575"
],
"text": [
"European roads were often designed for horse and wagon, not industrial vehicles. That means they are small and hard to maneuver in. As such they have to greatly limit the size of vehicles so they can maneuver. The US does not have this limitation often as... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
688buq | What is SDK?What is API? | Hello friends I would like to know what is SDK and what is an API and how they related or the difference between them. P.S. Noob question. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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],
"text": [
"When you walk into McDonalds, you can order a happy meal & get a nice pre-packaged meal (Burger, fries, toy, etc). But say you wanted to walk into the kitchen and make your own meal - you'd still have to use the ingredients t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
688f4v | What does the f/stop in a camera do? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgwjbmr",
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],
"text": [
"Building on the other two responses... The F/stop works with the shutter speed to get the appropriate amount of light on the film. The smaller the F/stop number, the more light is being let in at once, and the larger fraction on the shutter... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
689ih3 | what happens to a file when it is uninstalled from a computer? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgwqnju",
"dgwpxqi"
],
"text": [
"We tend to say the file is deleted. The computer has a disk that acts like a like a filing cabinet. The computer keeps a list or table that tells it where the files is stored on the disk - similar to which draw on hanger in the filing cabinet. So the tabl... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68afke | Serverless Computing | I hear all the IT folks saying that Serverless Computing is the future. I'm all confused. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgwx0tr"
],
"text": [
"Essentially it's a model where you no longer need to care which server your code is running on, making it entirely someone else's problem. In a traditional model, you buy a big computer, screw it into a rack, and its yours to look after. Perhaps you rent it instead of b... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68b4lt | What's the deal with Google Inc and Alphabet Inc? Why a holding company? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgx4v0d"
],
"text": [
"It breaks up the financial burdens and responsibilites of the company making it possible for the company to engage in outside endeavours without endangering its core products. Google is Google. However Google is becoming so big, that they can't manage everything under t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68ekfu | How can everybody's internet go through the same fiber optic cable at the same time? | I get that bits of data are transferred through fiber optic cables as pulses of light. How can the bits of a certain person not mix with another's? -------------------------------------- edit: Thanks for the great replies everyone. I can summarize what everyone said as follows: 1- Data are sent as packets of bits, each... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgxvkzy",
"dgxv7ts",
"dgxuu6p",
"dgy8f5j"
],
"text": [
"How do all the letters in the mailman's bag don't get mixed up? They are each in an envelope with a sender and recipient address.",
"Whether it's fibre optic or copper doesn't really matter. Whenever you visit a web page,... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68gii3 | why were tv and movies black and white? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgyagpt",
"dgya3l1"
],
"text": [
"Because the technology of how to create black and white photographs and moving pictures came first. Television at first was black and white too even though color movies already existed at that point. The technology to make color-tv was more expensive than... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68gikh | Why does Facebook feel the need to constantly switch the feed from "Most Recent" to "Top Stories?" It happens several times a day. How do they benefit from this? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgybpg0",
"dgyc5vx"
],
"text": [
"I can't stand \"top stories\". If I wanted to know what people were doing 3 days ago, I would've gotten on FB 3 days ago.",
"The reason facebook (and other social media) do this is to make the feed seem more active. If every time people check facebook... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68ip2j | Why are projector screens white instead of black? Wouldn't a black screen provide more contrast in all light conditions? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgyrc2s",
"dgyrfg8"
],
"text": [
"If they were black, they would absorb all of the light shined on them. The projector projects light, which is how it displays things. If the screen was black, you wouldn't see any of the projector's image. The screen needs to be white so that any of the l... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68j1ab | Why can my cellphone play high quality 3d games with a QHD display but my laptop struggles with better hardware and lower resolution? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgyua9c",
"dgyzbe2"
],
"text": [
"Your laptop is a rocket ship compared to your phone's being a bicycle. Your laptop could demolishly play any game on your phone But those makers dont make that game for the laptop, they make it for phone, if they made the same game for a laptop, it would ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68jup4 | why do phone batteries last longer in the cold, but suffer no battery loss in heat? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgz1t0w"
],
"text": [
"If batteries last longer cold then wouldn't then suffer batter loss while hot by definition? I mean if the batter lasts X minutes cold then it would last something less than X while warm. That is battery loss..."
],
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68mjv6 | Why do you need a ";" at the end of each line of code? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgzkbrg"
],
"text": [
"It's sort of like a period at the end of the sentence. Not strictly necessary in most cases, necessary in a small number, but in general really helpful to the compiler (and to other programmers, who have to read your code). In some languages like JavaScript, the semicol... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68mqv8 | "as a service" | In the IT world I see the "aaS" acronyms thrown around quite a bit: infrastructure as a service, HPC as a service, caching as a service, data as a service. What does it mean to have these as services and why is it beneficial? Edit: thanks for the replies. I see it is a subset of cloud computing and cloud storage. Can i... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgzlycp",
"dgzn0s8",
"dgzmpfv",
"dgzso5h"
],
"text": [
"So you know how \"Cloud\" used to be the big term? This just means using someone else's machines instead of your own. But clouds were passive. You store things on them but whatever you're doing on your end is the processing o... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68ntop | Why do websites push us to use their app? | What difference does it make to them which way we access the content? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dgzusnc",
"dgzvg4m"
],
"text": [
"They may hope to gather more data on you, push notifications, add microtransactions, etc. It can also be the result of a manager or VP or C-level thunder*cough* having a \"bright idea\" as often as not.",
"Your mobile phone can expose your name, numbe... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68pqdd | Why when websites are finished loading, the page scrolls up/down slightly so that you end up clicking on the wrong thing | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh0bhzj"
],
"text": [
"The last thing that loads on the page changes the location of the rest of the page. For example it might be an image which is of unknown size and the final configuration of the entire page isn't known. Once it loads everything jumps down to accommodate it."
],
"scor... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68q5fm | How do phones get certified for dolby atmos and the like with speakers the size of a cheerio? | When I had to spend thousands for atmos speakers in my entertainment room. Is it just marketing? Can anyone REALLY tell that it's dolby or beats or whatever? I mean to me, I don't see how these super tiny speakers do anything much more than just providing basic sound. Edit: punctuation | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh0f11d"
],
"text": [
"They'll tell you it has to do with the sample rate of the sound card/chip as well as the frequency range of the speaker. In my opinion it's just a label that a manufacturer can purchase as an alternative to beats audio or perhaps a third desirable brand scheme. It's not... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68qvc0 | When Reddit give a site the "Reddit hug of death" will it come back online by itself when traffic dies down or does it require human intervention? | And if the latter, what does it require? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh0lt5m",
"dh0n6cf"
],
"text": [
"Imagine someone wrote on a men's room wall: \"op's mom gives $2 blow jobs 555-555-5555\". So a bunch of guys call that number, and once one guy gets a proper suck-job, he tells his friends. They start calling and eventually the line is ringing non-stop. Y... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68r8cy | How does an EMP work? | How does an EMP knock out electronics? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh0pqye",
"dh0oonu"
],
"text": [
"Electricity, magnetism, and electromagnetic waves are all intimately related. Generally if you have one then you can produce either of the others, given the right arrangement and motion of your components. For example, a coiled wire with electric current ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68ro2e | In terms of polygons in animation and video games, why are triangles used more often over other shapes? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh0rz4g",
"dh0rtqc",
"dh0xgah",
"dh0spk7"
],
"text": [
"Because triangles are the most fundamental polygon. You need a rectangle? Just put two triangles together. You need a hexagon? ~~6~~ 4 triangles. But you can't make hexagons from rectangles. The problem with this is that it c... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68si49 | What happens if i accidentally put diesel in a gas car, and gas in a diesel car? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh0x24e"
],
"text": [
"Diesel won't destroy a gas engine per se. The problem is that it won't ignite with a spark plug so the engine dies and you need to flush the diesel out and clean everything including injectors and spark plugs. Do that and the engine will run again. You could maybe flood... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68taar | How can flash memory retain its data without power? Is it possible for it to lose data over extended period of time? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh18fr0",
"dh162j8"
],
"text": [
"Well, the thing about normal memory like the RAM in your computer is that information is stored based on whether electricity is flowing through the transistors within the memory chip. When electricity stops flowing through the transistors, they all reset ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68to39 | How do hard drives save data? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh15yrx"
],
"text": [
"the hard drive is composed of a metal disk that can rotate, and a \"head\" that can move over the surface of the metal disk. The hard drive \"writes\" data by using an electromagnet to magentize or de-magnetize spots on the surface of the metal disk. Later, to \"read\" ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68uqwb | If the TV stations get paid by the commercials they run so they can broadcast over antennas for free, why can't they also show their stations online for free? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh1gv9x"
],
"text": [
"The shows that they air are licensed from other companies -- television studios, the ones who actually make and own the shows. These licenses are geographically restrictive. A studio would license a network to air that show in only one country. So, any online streaming ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68veo4 | What is the use of Windows 10-S if there is allready a Windows 10-Education? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh1o9w7"
],
"text": [
"It seems like these two products are actually targeting two pretty different segments, even though both are \"for\" education. Based on what I'm seeing search-wise, Windows 10 Education is a better fit for desktop and \"real\" computers, especially those in a large netw... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68ywlc | What is the difference between a machine that uses a combination of a Neural Network and machine learning techniques, and "true AI"? | For bonus points, why haven't we got "true AI" yet, what's the largest hurdle? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh2h0wu",
"dh2fmo1"
],
"text": [
"When we talk about AI, this means all the attempts we've made to make a program or robot act or think like we do. # 1. Basic AI: rule based system For example, you can write a program to pretend to be a therapist (\"Everybody hates me\" / \"Why do you say... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
68zi91 | MSSQL Server vs. MySQl vs. PostgreSQL | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh2ij9u"
],
"text": [
"You might also take a look at MariaDB, SQLite and Oracle to complete your list of relational databases. The main differences is performance features, cost and footprint. Oracle and MsSQL is the most expensive, have a high minimum resource use but have a lot of performan... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
68zsxz | Why do some older PC programs not work on a 64 bit OS? | Shouldn't the newer OS be "smart" enough to make it work correctly? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh2kvpt"
],
"text": [
"There are all sorts of issues with making operating system compatible with software written for older version of it. 64-bit versions of Windows come with all the parts necessary to run software written for the 32-bit version of the OS. However when it comes to really ol... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
690nhq | Why do we use the current signal waves for wifi even though they can get disrupted by walls? Is there a better solution, if so why aren't we using it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh2t8mr"
],
"text": [
"I think there are 2 reasons for this. The first one is that you don't want your signal to be able to pass through walls indefinitely. The wifi signal can pass through a few walls before it gets too weak, which is fine for most houses. Imagine that they could pass throug... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
692syx | Why electric cars are not regular thing? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh3aayt",
"dh39jdh",
"dh39n0i",
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"text": [
"The biggest reasons are probably that they still cost more than regular cars, they rarely have as much range as a gas or diesel powered car (usually less than half) and it takes a lot longer to recharge a car than it does to ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
693zri | Why do radio stations that play pop music still say phrases like "80's 90's & Now" when the 90's was nearly 30 years ago? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh3kwn1",
"dh3l1ji"
],
"text": [
"Because we haven't ever settled on a label for the 2000s that doesn't sound silly. Some proposals have included: \"Nineties, Two-Thousands, and Now\" \"Nineties, Aughts, and Now\" \"Nineties, Zeros and Now\" Two-thousands is probably how most people refer... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6961ta | How does the new version of Google Earth create 3D images of places? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh464v7"
],
"text": [
"It's done using photogrammetry. An aircraft flies over the area to be mapped and takes lots of photographs from different angles. Then software processes the images and to identify points that appear in more than one image. From this, the 3D position of those points can... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6988k1 | Why is Spotify able to provide almost every artist and album out, yet Netflix is only able to provide a fraction of films? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh4o4nb",
"dh4hwzy",
"dh4lxoz"
],
"text": [
"There's the issue of recording company consolidation in music but not so much in movies, but there's also a secondary factor. The timing of revenue expectation differs for the 2 industries. With music, the vast majority of the revenue relat... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6992py | Why haven't humans visited the moon since 1972? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh4pp6d",
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],
"text": [
"[This article]( URL_0 ) covers it fairly well. The TLDR is that it comes down to budget restrictions, technological restrictions (current rockets aren't powerful enough to reach the Moon), a lack of political and public interest as well as NASA being more... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
699nes | Why have URLS got so long and complicated over the years? It used to be URL_0 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh4v5fb"
],
"text": [
"I remember back in 1993, my url was URL_1 An entire web history of stuff has happened since then. First of all, load balancers came into play, where the same domain actually pointed to multiple IPs. This simplified things further, such that we got to the URL_0 that you'... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69ahuf | Why is it so much easier to notice typos after you send a message, compared trying to proofread the message before you send it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh51w35"
],
"text": [
"Your brain makes all kinds of assumptions for you when it builds a picture of something. Your eyes even have a blind spot that you never noticed because your brain fills in what it thinks should be there. When you are proofreading something that you just wrote, your bra... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69atm6 | What's the difference between a formula and an algorithm? How does an algorithm work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh54mv2"
],
"text": [
"An algorithm is a sequence of steps. A formula, on the other hand, is an expression of information. For example: The volume of a sphere is represented by the formula: V = 4/3 π r3 That formula encodes the volume of a sphere based on it's radius. There are no steps in th... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69axge | What are the differences between mechanical keyboard switches? | It was my understanding that, in broad terms, cherry mx reds have the hardest actuation force, followed by browns, then blues, but after a couple years of going off this, this article makes it sound like there's essentially no difference between reds and browns: URL_0 So explain to me like I'm five! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh55l36"
],
"text": [
"Mechanical switches differ not only in actuation force, but also in the profile of that force. A switch might be designed to require a high force to begin moving, but then it lightens up. Or it can be made to get heavier as you push it. They can also differ in how much ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69chcv | How do LED thermometers work? | How can you get temperature information from lighting something with an LED? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh5imlp"
],
"text": [
"Op are you talking about Laser Temperature Guns/thermometers?? (That tell the temp after pointing the device and laser at an object) If you are: the laser doesn't have anything to do with the temp, it just aligns the sensor that is located right next to the laser on the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69e1kb | If an electricity line breaks under a river, how does the electricity company repair it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh5ufv6",
"dh646cj",
"dh67e0i",
"dh696om"
],
"text": [
"With a spice kit. The line is deenergized and divers will bring the cable up to surface and install a splice kit at the needed section. If too deep (typically ocean repairs) remotely operated vehicles will make the repair by ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69e68e | What is Uber's Greyball program? | I was reading the New York Times (Failing! SAD!) this morning, and saw where the Department of Justice is probing Uber due to their Greyball program. I couldn't grasp the concept of what Greyball is and why it may be illegal. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh5v9qm"
],
"text": [
"Greyball is a software tool designed to keep undesirables from successfully flagging down or tracking an Uber driver. An undesired user is shown a fake Uber app, which appears to present legitimate information on driver availability, but is in fact showing them nothing ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69ea9g | I still don't understand the "red eye effect" of cameras and sometimes even video cameras. | URL_0 Don't know if it still happens with smartphones and selfie culture, but I'm just curious why it happens in simplest of terms. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh5v9ds"
],
"text": [
"When the light from a camera flash goes off, the pupils do not have time to constrict, and so a large amount of light is reflected off of the Fundus (the interior surface of the eye). Due to the large amount of blood in the Choroid, the light picked up by the camera len... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69fnnb | Why does metal react so violently when microwaved? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh676h3"
],
"text": [
"The way microwaves work is through jiggling charged/polar particles in your food (the water primarily). This jiggling increases their temperature and that heats up the rest of your food. That's why you can't heat oil as easily as you can water. However, metals like iron... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69g1i4 | Why isn’t Linux as popular as Android? | Just as Android provides an open source OS for mobiles that manufacturers can modify to their liking, Linux can be used for PCs. Still today Windows and OSX are more popular, despite being paid/closed source. Why didn’t Linux gain more popularity? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh6ad39",
"dh6durb",
"dh6f861"
],
"text": [
"One *major* factor is that there are far more devices sold with Android preinstalled than there are with desktop Linux, and Android arrived at a time when there was no cross-manufacturer alternative, whereas desktop Linux has always had to ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69hjxu | How do mirrors in videogames work? | Obviously mirrors irl are based around actual reflections, but how does that translate into a digital format? Are games rendering secondary identical models that copy the original's every move, but flipped? Is there an entirely reversed area "behind" the "mirror", with the "mirror" being nothing more than an invisible ... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh6mrrm",
"dh6o3lk",
"dh6uyat"
],
"text": [
"A lot of games have a copy of the room on the other side and the mirror is just a window. Then it copies the player character in reverse.",
"Most modern computer games use the concept of objects (a wall, the players character and so on)... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69i8yp | Are the giant LED panels on every tough guy's pickup truck just the equivalent of a rack of roof beams, or is it something else? | Also, it has to be illegal to use them on the road, right? I drove past someone with one on last night on the other side of the freeway and I literally couldn't even see headlights beyond its glare. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh6s13t"
],
"text": [
"They're usually used by off-roaders and hunters, and you're right, they're not meant to be used on the road. AFAIK that would be entirely illegal in any state in the US, to run them on the road."
],
"score": [
3
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"text_urls": [
[]
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} | [
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69j7ue | a few short years ago 3G Internet used to be amazing. Why is it now barely functional? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh70h21",
"dh76i93",
"dh74e48",
"dh739f5"
],
"text": [
"The first computer that took hours to calculate a math problem and took up a whole room was amazing compared to someone having to do that same thing by hand. It's all based on what you are comparing it to. Now since we have m... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69k3zl | why does switching website players from flash to HTML5 take long time? | iirc twitch and crunchyroll are in the middle of this process isnt it basically just uninstalling/reinstalling plus writing some code changes? they dont need to remake their websites or anything right? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh77lc8",
"dh77jup"
],
"text": [
"A flash site is actually a large amount of custom-written software specifically designed to work with the flash system. It has to be completely rewritten to work with HTML5 instead; the two systems are not very similar. Consider switching a Shakespeare pl... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69l26g | How do vending machines recognize 'new' money when the design has changed? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh7fb4m",
"dh7sirq",
"dh7elpi",
"dh7ea1m",
"dh7rzgp",
"dh86lbf",
"dh7xin7",
"dh7dup7",
"dh7og82",
"dh7s2s0"
],
"text": [
"They don't. I work at a hospital in germany and for about a year, the parking lot machine didn't accept the new 10€ bills. Eventually s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69la18 | What when wrong in this ↓ video, that the arms of the girl appear weirdly thin and sometimes seem to disappear completely? | URL_0 | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh7f5p9",
"dh7n7ig"
],
"text": [
"She's not standing in a real room, but in front of a green screen. The software has troubles filtering the rapidly moving arms from the background.",
"I'm not sure is I agree with the other answer. I don't think the software should have much of a prob... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69leo2 | Why do battery operated objects not work when the cell is in the wrong way? | For example, a clock which has a battery in the opposite way does not work. Does any current flow in the circuit at all? And does the cell lose its charge when in this orientation? I would expect there to perhaps be a diode in the circuit, but what is the advantage of only allowing current in one direction (e.g. in a t... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh7g392"
],
"text": [
"Think of a battery like a water pump and wires like pipes (that are filled to begin with). The pipes aren't directional, so if you allowed water to flow in any way you want, you could get some unintended consequences, such as motors rolling backward, etc. Diodes are one... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69m6bo | with the advancements of technology, why do we still need cellular SIM cards? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh7m770"
],
"text": [
"SIM cards are basically passwords which gives you access to cellular data. So it's sort of like a key to a room, not a hallway to a room."
],
"score": [
3
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"text_urls": [
[]
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} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69n6gr | Why do new electric housewares smell like they are burning the first time you use them | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh7uagb",
"dh83oj6"
],
"text": [
"The varnish or insulation on motor windings and anything else that generates heat will outgas until it cures and sets. What you smell when it burns out is the resumption of the outgassing from the higher than normal heat from a failure.",
"Often heati... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69ot87 | Tactical equipment organization on a wearer | I know the gist of how the webbing on military vests or harnesses work and that pouches can be attached to it, and that magazine pouches for rifles generally go on the front of the abdomen. However, I'm wondering how the rest of the gear is organized? Is anything carried on the back? Or the chest? What items are usuall... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh8903g"
],
"text": [
"I may be able to shed some light on this. Different units have what are called SOPs ( standard operating procedures) and pretty much what that means is \"everyone is going to do things this way\". Sometimes the reasoning behind an SOP is obvious, sometimes, not so much.... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
69r1uu | Why do most videos for me load instantly, yet images may take 20-40 seconds at a time to load? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh8pqsq"
],
"text": [
"I'm no expert but it might be because when you load an image, you have load it at full resolution and when you load a YouTube video, it is given the ability to load each frame at a lower resolution. I find that GIFs and other videos which doesn't lower resolutions take ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69sn5j | Why is the quality of hold-music on a phone call so terrible? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh92x2h"
],
"text": [
"Sampling rate- telephone audio is 8 khz while mp3 is 44khz. You can consider sampling rate to be the bandwidth of the sound, so when it is compressed down by so much it must reduce the quality. More in depth, sampling rate is how frequently audio waves are converted int... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69ttk0 | Why can't checks be verified instantly either as good or fraudulent? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh9d2d8"
],
"text": [
"My bank here in Ireland has cheque deposit machines that read the cheque and run checks on it straight away, if it can. Cheques are rare here these days, but the last time I used one, the cheque was printed and the system handled it quickly. The bank's website says they... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69u3b5 | Why do Google search images appear as coloured squares before they load? | Here is an [example]( URL_0 ) of what I mean. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh9dzho"
],
"text": [
"to not present an empty screen or an meaningless spinner while the images are loading, instead it gives you a content preview, improving the usage. this user interface thecnique name is \"blank slate\"."
],
"score": [
7
],
"text_urls": [
[]
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} | [
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69vkxx | How/Where do Windows computers search for driver software when you click "automatically search the internet"? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dh9t1hq",
"dh9pkq7"
],
"text": [
"The hardware devices in your computer all have a Hardware ID that Windows keeps track of. Each driver has four set of IDs (Vendor, Device, Driver Version, Revision - if I recall correctly). When Windows is asked to search the internet it checks with a rep... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
69za0a | Why do monitors change colors when looking at a different/abnormal angle? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhajdxx"
],
"text": [
"The structure that makes up a normal LCD computer monitor isn't flat. If you were able to zoom in on it, and look at it from the perspective of something really really tiny, it's got depth to it, like looking at Manhattan from a helicopter. If you imagine the colours ar... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a0n91 | When two people share an mail account and communicate only via drafts, is it more secure than "sending" emails? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhaudfj"
],
"text": [
"No. It used to be because the actual text never moved from one server to another, but in today's technology the odds of you logging onto the exact same server that your partner logged onto are very remote - so any text you are sharing will have to go onto the wire (Inte... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a1g0z | How do those glasses that correct color blindness work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhb4pfq"
],
"text": [
"They don't \"correct\", really, but they do help differentiate shades. Our eye has three types of color sensors, or cones. One type mostly picks up blue, another green, and the last red. Note that I said \"mostly\", because they all overlap some. If someone with normal ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a2kkj | If I run a light bulb from a battery, it will eventually get dimmer and dimmer until it dwindles completely. My phone will retain full functionality until it just suddenly stops working. How is this? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhb8qh4",
"dhb8pkf"
],
"text": [
"The lightbulb gets dimmer and dimmer until it turns off, because the battery puts out lower and lower voltage as it drains. Your phone battery does the same thing, but your phone can operate over a range of voltages, and has regulators that prevent the ba... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a49b3 | What exactly happens in old video games when you hold a direction on a controller when you start the game? | I remember a rule of thumb to NEVER hold a joystick in any direction before you turn a console on to avoid a weird bug where a direction would always be being pushed, even if you weren't pressing anything What exactly was going on that made this bug occur? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhboq7o"
],
"text": [
"It's common to use [potentiometers]( URL_0 ) in analog sticks. The value coming from them can be off by a little bit. It's different for each device and can change as it ages. But with a self-centering stick, you can measure its apparent center. This is exactly what som... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6a4o5g | what stops people from "counterfeiting" digital currencies? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhbnuaw"
],
"text": [
"That is the genius of the invention of blockchain currencies. Satoshi Nakamoto developed a \"mining\"/\"proof of work\" system that solves the \"double spending\" problem. When a miner solves a puzzle (it can be a pool of a million individual miners acting as \"one\" mi... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a5cbv | Who knew what time it was when the first clock was made? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhbt6v4",
"dhbsc9k",
"dhbth9s"
],
"text": [
"In the early days of civilization, people needed to know the season because it would tell them when to plant crops and when to harvest. So some people started to keep careful track of the changing of the seasons, and they started noticing t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a5hln | How do air conditioners produce cold air? | I sound dumb when I ask this, but how do they produce cold air? I understand how they produce heat as that seems fairly obvious, but I'm clueless on them producing cold air. Thanks! | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhbxfzt",
"dhbthp7"
],
"text": [
"The fluid used in an AC unit turns into a liquid when under high pressure and back into a gas when under low pressure. the exchange from liquid to gas absorbs energy (think you need to heat water to get it to boil) and transforming from a gas to a liquid ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6a6fiw | Are incognito windows used for anything other than porn? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhc19u5",
"dhc1fyz",
"dhc1amw",
"dhc2651"
],
"text": [
"They're useful if you want to enter your credit card number on somebody else's computer browser for something without having it try to remember all your details. They're useful if you're doing travel booking, a lot of sites t... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a7nt8 | Why aren't we using IBM's Watson to help people suffering from Dementia? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhcbjwd",
"dhccnjm"
],
"text": [
"Help them in what way? Watson is very good at digesting large quantities of text and answering questions about it. There are several uses of Watson in the medical research community, to summarize and organize scientific papers. For Watson to get answers, ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6a85bm | How can a Credit card transaction over the phone be processed without the CVV? | Recently I ordered a Pizza from a new Pizzeria in the Canada via Phone call. The guy over the phone only asked my 16 digit VISA Credit card number and the expiry date and the transaction for Pizza delivery was processed. How would this work without the CVV code written back on the card? He never asked me for that. I am... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhcfst6"
],
"text": [
"The CVV code actually **isn't** required to run the purchase. It's primary purpose is to help reduce fraud and headaches for the credit card company to solve, by being one extra piece of information to keep track of. Amazingly, the expiration date technically isn't requ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6a8rkk | Why do rotating fans cool us off? I thought that speed of molecules was proportional to heat. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhcv13i"
],
"text": [
"Technically it doesn't. If you leave a fan in a room without AC long enough the room actually increases in heat because of thermodynamics--you are adding energy into the room. However it FEELS cooler because the flow of air removes any sweat on the outer layer of your s... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6ab8qo | How does Google know about traffic jams in real time? | I was going to work this morning and I got a notification from Google now saying to expect delays cause of a traffic jam. Now I'm wondering, how does that work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhd6cdq",
"dhd7kyt",
"dhdjabx"
],
"text": [
"All those android phones and iphones that have signed into chrome and gmail, they have geolocation turned on. This allows them to see where ids are and where they have been over what period of time. It's a good example of big data analytics... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6abr63 | Does temperature play into the performance of a computer and other similar machinery? | I was thinking about how a lot of servers are hosted in the bottom half of the US. Those places get hot! Could it affect the servers of they experienced a heatwave? Would it be smarter to house servers in a colder climate? Would a server in my Canadian shed work at peak efficiency during the winter (average of -20°C, p... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdhhsy"
],
"text": [
"Well a server farm would have some serious AC going on so unless the power goes out a heatwave shouldn't be a problem even then if there's a power outage the servers wont be on anyways. Computers also aren't affected performance wise but stability wise by heat so you re... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6aby9e | Why does Microsoft care so much about people using Edge? | I understand pushing Bing over Google due to revenue from advertisements, but what benefit does Microsoft gain from people using Edge over chrome? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdat0c",
"dhdaten",
"dhdfi16"
],
"text": [
"Your user data is a valuable advertising tool, directed ads are *worth money*. You may recall that a law was passed saying your isp gets to sell your browsing data.. **Google has been collecting that kind of data for years!** That's why you... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6ac5c5 | Why do most news sites for mobiles have a button along the lines of "click here to read the full article"? | I immediately thought it had something to do with advertising but I don't understand how. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdcni4",
"dhdbx1i"
],
"text": [
"It's an acknowledgement that you are actually viewing the site and you weren't just randomly redirected or accidently clicked a link. . It's a way to measure if the article is actually interesting to viewers and also verification that you are viewing thei... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6aca7x | How does the AUX cord on a cassette work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhddirk"
],
"text": [
"You mean a cassette adapter? It pretty much works like an embedded tape recorder inside a cassette, except the reels of tape are replaced with a single head, where the signal received from the AUX cord is recorded like it would on a tape. It also has a spinning wheel wh... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6ack8l | What is IGMP snooping? | I'm not that technically inept, but this stumps me. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? How and will it help me in life as a casual gamer. I saw it in my router settings and it got me curious. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdfcnu"
],
"text": [
"When a switch doesn't know what to do with a packet, it sends it to everyone on the switch. A multicast only sends it to the ports that needs it. IGMP snooping allows the switch to determine who is part of the multicast group, and only send it to those people. Since all... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6acqky | How does international phone calls have almost no delays(Zero ping) but internet voice chat lags a lot, and wouldn't even connect if the distance was big between the called and receiver. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdh3s1",
"dhdh0hz"
],
"text": [
"IP networks are packet-switched. This means that the data is broken down into packets, and each packet is individually routed. So some packets could take a different route based on congestion. This gives high reliability of the overall network traffic at ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6adreu | What causes that "ripple" effect when you touch a computer monitor? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdop6h"
],
"text": [
"LCD monitors are called LCDs because they are **L**iquid **C**rystal **D**isplays. When you touch the screen, you're compacting a part of that thin layer of liquid held up on the panel. So, similar to making ripples in water, you are making ripples in the liquid crystal... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6ae1qy | Browser war. Why did they care so much what browsers people used? They're free, and some are even opensource. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdrjtu",
"dheufe0",
"dhe0ftm",
"dhdt35i"
],
"text": [
"They're free, but they can still make the parent money, or serve some purpose. For example **Internet Explorer** - only available on Windows. Windows costs money, even if it comes with the computer the manufacturer had to pay... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6aeija | What is 'AI' in video games? | My brother is big on game design and has recently begun going to university to study it - can someone give me an explanation of what constitutes an 'AI' in a video game, or how that works? It was my understanding that AI hadn't been invented yet, or is this something different? I hear it referred to as 'Enemy AI' a lot... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhe0pr0",
"dhdvi4w",
"dhdxvip"
],
"text": [
"Former game developer here, [AI]( URL_10 ), in this case, is any of a number of [algorithms]( URL_2 ) that *[simulate]( URL_4 a virtual actor in a video game. That actor can be an opponent, an ally, or any sort of non-aggressor like NPCs, b... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6aewyf | Why do news websites insist on using terrible video players when it would be easier and more user friendly to embed Youtube videos? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dhdz15z",
"dhe1u7e",
"dhe0rux",
"dhe3xdi",
"dhe8j42",
"dhe973r",
"dhe9equ",
"dhe8sth",
"dhe910j",
"dhe9mj9",
"dhea1cg",
"dheaazd",
"dheat8d"
],
"text": [
"Youtube has an infamously crappy report system that can be abused, so a breaking news stor... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
6af15c | How do you use Bidet Toilet Attachments Effectively? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dheds3v"
],
"text": [
"there should be a non sexualized video of a beautiful woman teaching us how to use a bidet."
],
"score": [
3
],
"text_urls": [
[]
]
} | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
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