query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
When snakes shed their skin, they have skin over their eyes? | [
"Yes, this is known as the brille, or eye cap. The brille is essentially a piece of skin evolving from the upper and lower eyelid, that have fused together to form a protective layer over the snakes eye. When time comes to moult, this brille is removed with the skin (usually), and the new layer of brille is already... | [
"They will only regrow their legs if they are still in the process of shedding their skin a number of times to become an adult, in which case they get a new set of legs when they shed. Otherwise, if they're an adult, they're doomt."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why socialised medicine is considered the 'holy grail' of healthcare? | [
"Because human life should not be a profit vector."
] | [
"In Canada heath care is considered a human right. In the United States it's considered a commodity."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Explain me how a clock work in terms of it internal gears. | [
"So first you need power. A spring, a weight, a motor etc. This tries to turn a gear but the gear has essentially a ratchet on it. This ratchet is attached to some timing mechanism such as a pendum or another motor on a timer circuit. This moves back and forth and allows the gear to move forward once a second we'll... | [
"Because it get close to the center and at a certain angle a connection closes to start that action."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how come UPS and FedEx can operate nationwide with huge profits, but USPS hasnt profited in years? | [
"Private carriers can refuse service. They don't have to deliver packages to East Nowhere, Alaska if they don't feel like it. They can charge as much as they want. There is no service you can get from a commercial carrier for less than a dollar. The USPS is obligated to go pretty much everywhere in the US to delive... | [
"It's expanding more rapidly than it's making money, and it pays out to it's drivers more than it can afford. It's a bit of an infrastructure clusterfuck from what I understand. It stays afloat mainly because of investors, as apparently people believe that once Uber figures out how to balance it's books it'll net h... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How come flying pigs became the standard impossible thing? | [
"\"When pigs fly\" is a figure of speech that started a long time ago and started appearing in pop culture references and started to spread from there. In the 1976 movie \"The Eagle Has Landed\" an Irish secret agent working for the Nazis replies to a German general speaking of Germany's shortly winning WWII \"Pigs... | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What are the squiggly lines you see when you close your eyes and what causes them? | [
"Floaters are tiny pieces of the blood vessels that were in your eye as they developed when you were a fetus. There isn't really a good way for the body to remove them after the eye has been sealed shut, and no good reason to do so either, so they stay there pretty much forever. Most of the time they stay at the bo... | [
"Partly because this helps reduce distractions so your brain can relax more easily and partly because of protection so our eyes don't dry out if we are in deep sleep or accidently brush our had across our face and scratch then when we are in light sleep."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Biology:"
} |
Does leaning on elbows hurt shoulders in the long term? | [
"You can do serious damage. For example by leaning on your elbow for prolonged periods you compress the ulnar nerve (why some of your fingers go numb sometimes and why you end up with the funny bone sensation when that nerve in the elbow is struck), which can lead to permanent degradation of the nerve over a long ... | [
"Your teacher is an idiot. Talk to a doctor about the best way to beat a type of cancer. That being said, a diet high in vegetables and low in red meat would lower your chances of getting cancer in the first place."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Are humans the only animals that consists of vegetarians/herbivores within an omnivorous species? | [
"Pandas are either carnivores or omnivores technically (I can't remember which), they eat bamboo more or less out of laziness. When really hungry and in the absence of bamboo they may get motivated enough to hunt again. One of our rescue pandas was found half starved and just about managing to eat by killing and ea... | [
"Meat is a lot easier to digest than vegetables. Carnivores have way shorter intestines than herbivores, for exactly that reason."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do so many Australians idolize Ned Kelly? | [
"While he was a criminal, his story is much more in line with the likes of Robin Hood. Ned Kelly was a poor man who got the hell kicked out of him basically for being poor and decided to do something about it. The British dominated colonial government was basically just rich landowners beating the ever loving hell ... | [
"What's a Tory, and why do so many people seem to hate them?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why do our fingers randomly tingle sometimes? | [
"That sounds like a possible nerve condition, and is not normal. Now I don't know if this is so serious that you need to run to the emergency room, but you might bring it up the next time you see your doctor. I know I had a friend in school who had a nerve condition, and it caused his fingers, and his toes to tingl... | [
"Why do they randomly twitch just once? I dunno. Why do you get a twitch that won't go away? Potassium deficiency. I used to get eye twitches all the time before I figured it out."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Why are cities usually more left wing and rural areas usually more right wing? | [
"1. Age, more young people in cities 2. Collective resources, if you live in a country town you probably don't use the subway everyday. In a city you are absoletely dependent on a lot of collective things. 3. Age, rural areas have older people. 4. Education, education collarates with left wing views, universitie... | [
"Republican and Democrat refer to members of specific political parties. \"Liberal\" and \"conservative\" are socioeconomic and political ideologies. The Republican party tends to be more conservative than the Democratic party, but they're not always entirely conservative, or conservative on all issues. The Democra... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How come there is no issue about the possession of Nuclear warheads by India and the fact that they never signed any nuclear proliferation treaties? | [
"India doesn't have any history of being particularly belligerent and attacking other countries so it isn't seen as a pressing issue. They have an ongoing dispute with Pakistan, but neither side seems likely to start a major war over it."
] | [
"Nine countries in the world have nuclear weapons. That's a far cry from \"the rest of the world.\" Iran has also repeatedly stated its desire to deploy nuclear weapons against Israel and it's a signatory on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why doesn't the moon eventually collide with Earth or drift away? | [
"It is very slowly drifting away at like 4mm per year or something. We can measure this with lasers and what is essentially a mirror that was placed on the surface. Edit sorry > \"The Moon continues to spin away from the Earth, at the rate of 3.78cm (1.48in) per year, at about the same speed at which our fingernai... | [
"Regarding the orbit, the corpse would remain on whatever trajectory was put on by the ship it came from. Unless there was some kind of explosion those two trajectories won't be very different. If it was in orbit around Earth will continue to orbit the earth but it will slowly lose velocity due to the thin atmosphe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
Can a basic right be superseded by another basic right? | [
"Yes, a good example is the public's right to safety vs. a person's right to privacy. Generally in order to stop a person on the road a police officer has to have cause. AKA a traffic violation or an APB matching your car/person etc. However in the case of drunk driving checkpoints, the courts have generally ruled ... | [
"Because the one human right that is most sacred above all is the right to self-determination, including who to mate with. That's the biggest argument against eugenics in general."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What are those mysterious, white oval stickers, outlined in black, with 2-3 letters in a black font that I occassionally see on the back of cars? What do the letters mean? | [
"Each one means something completely different. Think of them as the car equivalent of those T shirts that say things like RON & HERMOINE & HARRY & DUMBLEDORE they're just slightly obscure so that fellow fans will recognize it. MOST often they're colleges or city abbreviations. ATL for example... but they've come t... | [
"Far left is a sticker for participating in a 10k run, mid-right is a turtle, far right appears to be an identification tag of some sort, and I don't know what mid-left is."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What stops pharmaceutical companies from slightly tweaking competitors medicines and selling them as their own? | [
"Patent protection often extends to what are called biosimilars. As the name implies, these are tweaked versions of the same drugs. _URL_0_"
] | [
"Patents are extremely important in fields with long and expensive R & D processes like pharmaceutical drug development. Companies spend hundred of millions of dollars in creating a drug and need the patent protection to recoup their costs. Otherwise, someone could just wait until after you discovered some new cure... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is menthol "cold"? | [
"If you combine menthol and capsaicin in water (so the pure forms of the molecule), is it possible to get to an exact ratio where the coldness feels the same as the hotness? Will your skin feel like it's both freezing and burning or will it feel normal?"
] | [
"They are to change the flavour of the smoke, keep it burning properly and to accelerate how quickly your body uptakes the nicotine - Absorbing the nicotine faster makes cigarettes even more addictive :( Bastards. _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What is the purpose of snot and earwax, and how are they formed? | [
"Earwax is to protect your inner ear from infection. So, unless you really have a ton of it, you should leave it there, as it acts as a barrier. Snot is used to carry germs and other unwanted such things outside of your body. This is why when you are sick, your nose is running like crazy, because the body sends the... | [
"When you breathe cold dry air the nose will release mucus to protect the sensitive spots on your lungs and some of that mucus will run out your nose which is what causes runny noses. On the other-hand your nose dries up because there is no need for this in the temperature you are used to. Hope that answers your qu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment about Health:"
} |
What exactly makes a suspicious package "suspicious?" | [
"Boxes sent through mail: Excessive tape, stains from liquids leaking inside, visible/exposed wiring, excessive postage, no return address, noise from inside package, no reason for recipient to be expecting delivery. Or, for example around the White House, any discarded package, box, or bag is deemed suspicious and... | [
"Illegal, yes. Chances of getting caught, practically non-existent."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why is DMT so life changing compared to other "drugs"? alternative question in comments | [
"You're not making contact with a different universe, you're simply coming closer to the one we all know and love!"
] | [
"Because MDMA is dangerous, and just because there's a handful of possible clinical uses doesn't outweigh the long-term damage that it can do. Human psychobiology of MDMA or ‘Ecstasy’: an overview of 25 years of empirical research by Parott is a good literature review available online."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In html, what is the difference between a div id and a class | [
"An id is a unique thing - an identifier for a specific object. A class is a name for multiple similar/identical objects. Imagine you create a long list of < person id=\"x\" class=\"y\" > tags. Values for id are social security numbers - values for class are \"student\", \"assistant\", \"professor\". Obviously you... | [
"Its not so much HTML5 that makes things so special but enhancements to the JavaScript and CSS3 supporting HTML5. HTML5 adds more tags making things like navigation bars, side links and content much easier to accomplish. Instead of typing < div id=\"nav\" > you can now just type < nav > and control the appearance ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What are Omega 3, 6 and 9, and why are they good for you? | [
"They are 3 different types of unsaturated fatty acids that you body needs to synthesize other types of fats. Fats are extremely important in your body. Not only are they used as an energy source, but all of the cell membranes of every cell in your body are composed of fats. Just for fun, the omega 3, 6, and 9 ref... | [
"Multivitamins are a dietary supplement of what's called micro nutrients that are essential to proper body function. Now, the best way to get these would be eating food based on your body's needs, however literally hundreds of independent dietary studies have shown that this simply doesn't happen in about 92% of Am... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How does Apple keep their products completely secret before they are announced? | [
"They don't. The iPhone 6 was described in almost complete detail before it was debuted by Tim Cook. Apple employees are pretty good at keeping secrets but the Chinese workers that make them aren't."
] | [
"It could be for a few reasons. It could be either that they are having a shortage of one of the components used in the phone, they want to release the phone as soon as they can so they don't have enough time to make a ton of them before it goes on sale, or it could be done on purpose. Some companies do this on pur... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What is happening when I gleek and why does it usually only happen during a yawn? | [
"You stretch and put pressure on your saliva glands."
] | [
"And why does it end up hurting? I don't hurt my arms by crossing them, why does a little pressure on the eyes slowly hurt more over time?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Science:"
} |
the term "fixed income" to mean "low income." | [
"You could change jobs and get a higher salary. You could get promoted and get a higher salary. You could get a raise and get a higher salary. You could do exceptional work and get a bonus. Elderly people living on a fixed income don't have any of those options. They get X amount of money per year and that is it."
... | [
"Just ownership and soft influence, not direct control of a specific fraction of the employees or business decisions. _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why is Scientology still considered a religion in the US and UK? | [
"The US doesn't draw a distinction between a cult & a religion. Getting registered as a religion, for tax purposes, is about showing that you're not trying to defraud the government to dodge taxes. There's no effort to evaluate the validity of your beliefs."
] | [
"ACLU possibly. Look them up. Support them if you care about freedom of speech, press, religion, etc. This assumes this happened in the US."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Religion and Crime:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument about Religion and Crime:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How do coins in a coin pusher always pile up on the edge but never fall off? | [
"There was a fantastic reply above, but one way to look at it is that you are pushing something into the middle of a pile. That pile will expand in all directions it can...forwards, to the left, and to the right. Only one of those three sides is positive for you. There are a ton of factors which will influence how... | [
"The wheels are bade of rubber, and there is often a spring system at the bottom of the feeder tray. So the spring pushes all the paper with just the right amount of pressure onto the rubber wheel that turns and slides just one sheet of paper into the printer system. Try it, stack alot of paper loosely on top of ea... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it so difficult for citizens to defend themselves in court if they killed out of self defense, but a police officer can get off the hook like nothing happened. | [
"Cops are issued firearms by the state for the specific reason to shoot people if needed. Plus people kill others in self defence all the time in various countries and don't see a single day of prison. You're just hearing about the ones who claimed self defence but there was enough evidence to convince a jury that... | [
"The point of a lawyer is to make sure his defendant receives a fair trial. Not to make him walks free, for example if the accuse is of intentional murder etc."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What is the difference between the FBI, the CIA, and the NSA? | [
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is sort of like a police force on the federal level, they are able to look at and deal with interstate crimes that cross a multiple of jurisdictions. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the US’s intelligence wing, our spies, they try to keep the government as informed... | [
"The Secret Service is in charge of investigating counterfeiters, and provide protection services for the President, Vice President, Senators, Congressmen, and various other Dignitaries and their families in the US. MI6 is the British Foreign intelligence Service. They spy on other countries, and attempt to counte... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why was the 1st Iraq war so successful? | [
"Assuming you mean \"relative to the second one\": The first war had very limited objectives. All the US did was push the Iraqi army out of Kuwait. The US, possessing by far the most powerful military force in the world, could do this quickly and easily. The second war involved two stages. The first, taking control... | [
"> Why isn’t the U.S. successful at rebuilding areas in the Middle East and North Africa? Because that was never the goal."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Politics:"
} |
What's the difference between consuming sugars and starch? | [
"well, after eating starches your body brakes down the usable from the not usable (fiber not usable), in this case the sugars will be extracted from the starch and the rest discarded , this process is called digestion and it takes time. if you ate straight sugars your body wouldn't need to brake down usable from no... | [
"Other way around. Sugar is only one kind of carbohydrate. There also carbohydrates that may be listed but not fully metabolized like sugar alcohols. There are also the soluble and insoluble fibers that are listed as carbs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How can clubs legally let women in for free but charge men for entry? | [
"Basically, it's accepted in many (but not all) areas because the intent isn't to punish men, but to encourage women to attend, something that men want the club to do. The idea behind it is to make a better time for men by having more women there, and it's better for women since they get in for free."
] | [
"Gets you out of the house. Can be social with friends and regulars. Potential to win money. No casinos in the area."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does Rebar work in concrete? | [
"Concrete is strong in compression, but weak in tension. Rebar is strong in tension. So combining the two you get the best of both."
] | [
"Are you asking how a wheel works ?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do malls get cars inside to be shown off/won in the middle of the building? | [
"They build the mall around them. Just kidding there's probably a big entrance which is also used for products"
] | [
"Because Amazon is a thing. Also, most stores have their own websites as well. Why go to the mall to go do clothes shopping when you can just order it online?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
alternating current versus direct current | [
"Direct current has current flowing in one direction only, with a more or less constant voltage. Alternating current has current that flows in both directions alternately, and has a voltage that varies along a sine wave. We use AC because it's easier to generate using rotating machinery, because motors that use it ... | [
"A lot of chemical reactions happen to give it charge and not overheat and melt this requires a slow charge fire is a fast change in energy producing light and heat in order to have low heat it needs a low energy transfer."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What would happen to Snowden if he just showed up to a random police station in the US? | [
"They would hold him until federal authorities arrived and transferred him into their custody."
] | [
"He had to go *somewhere*. Hong Kong had received an extradition request from the US but had rejected it on a technicality. Once they'd done that it was obvious the USA was going to come back with a second extradition request and this time they'd make damn sure it was 100% correct and valid. So if Snowden had remai... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why do white people generally have naturally straight hair and black people generally have naturally curly hair? | [
"Structurally the shape of the hair is different. Straight hair has a roundish cross-section. Flatten it a bit and you get wavy hair. A bit more and you get curly hair. When it is nearly flattened you get the very tight curls. From an evolutionary standpoint the theory is that the tightly curled hair evolved to pr... | [
"Because there isn't much sunlight that far north, so they need to produce less melanin to allow the UV light to create Vitamin D in their skin. Melanin is also what makes hair and eyes dark too, so they end up with pale skin, pale eyes, and pale hair."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Antibodies and Antigens. | [
"Immunology is one of those topics that can get extremely tedious and complicated. So, since I don't know how much detail you're looking for exactly, I'll just start with the basics and you can ask questions from there if you like! * Antigen (\"against life\") = anything that is harmful to you and triggers an immun... | [
"Sleep - Shake Unconscious - Splash Coma - Wait and Hope Vegetative State - Wait and Bury"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it customary to eat certain foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Why is a steak for breakfast considered strange? | [
"Is it strange? I live about 40 miles west of Boston and have been up and down the east coast from Maine to Florida and have had steak and eggs from many diners in between."
] | [
"It's just personal/cultural preference. In some places (such as in certain regions of India) you don't drink anything until you've finished your entire meal. Perhaps you eat a lot of salty foods?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
why do people turn down the radio when trying to locate an address driving (almost unknowingly) as if the reduction in sound helps to aid their vision? | [
"It has little to do with vision, and more to do with concentration. Any stimulus that is bombarding you while you are trying to focus on a particular thing will hinder your ability to focus on said thing. So, in this case, turning down the music allows you to focus on finding the address."
] | [
"Your brain can actually attenuate two different audio streams simultaniously. you can see this in crowds when you are listening to your friend talk to you with all the background noise here and able to pick up when someone called your name from across the room or makes a dangerous sound (gun shot). The attention n... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment about Neuroscience:"
} |
Why is the pythagorus theory only a theory if a2 + b2 is always equal to c2? | [
"It isn't a theory, it is a theorem, which is \"a statement that has been proven on the basis of previously established statements\" _URL_0_ It's true because of other things we know are true."
] | [
"A number which doesn't belong to the set of real numbers (negative infinity to infinity). More specifically a number which includes the square root of negative one. Since it is impossible to have the square root of a negative number, it is very useful for many fields which find themselves working with the square r... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
To the baseball experts, why do some say that it's better for the first baseman to be lefthanded? | [
"Lefties wear their gloves on their right hand. When you're standing on first base facing home plate, your right hand is on the second base side, and your left hand is near the foul line. If you're a lefty, that means any throw coming from the field is slightly quicker - because they don't have to throw quite as fa... | [
"There was a show on ESPN years ago about a company that gets all the obscure stats for them. Can't remember the name of the company. They did the crazy stuff, like in baseball when they tell you this is the first time in 17 years a left handed batter has hit a home run off an ambidextrous pitcher in the month of S... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
explain the Birthday Paradox to me. | [
"[Diagram for referene](_URL_2_) It all comes down to the fact that any day has an equal change at being someones birthday, right? The trick is that YOUR birthday doesnt have to match with someone elses, but that SOMEONE must match with someone elses, see the distinction? In this case, you are matching pairs up, no... | [
"Can you better explain what you are asking about? My google searching doesn't exactly explain what \"The Three Liars Paradox\" is."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Since all the oceans are connected how come there is so much variance in water color around the world? blue, green, clear, brown, etc.... It would seem everything has been around for so long it would have had time to "merge" | [
"The ocean isn't a stagnant pool, massive underwater currents constantly circulate the ocean. The different colors you see come from various sources, the depth of the water, temperate, algae, mineral content. Like you get that *gorgeous* light blue in the Caribbean because the water is shallow near the islands and ... | [
"Basically how transparent water is depends on how many particles there are floating in it. There are lots of different kinds of things you can find floating in water, but the main one is plankton. So generally speaking the more hostile to plankton water is (too hot, too cold, too acid, not enough food) the clearer... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why are car shows like Top Gear allowed to showcase driving at extremely illegal speeds on public roads? | [
"Well, most of the time, they are on closed tracks. The times that they aren't, most of the time, they have made prior arrangements with the local authorities to close off those parts of public roads to allow those very high speeds for the purposes of filming. The same thing is done with movies or TV shows."
] | [
"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."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why is condensation on a windshield in the morning so much harder than rain for the wipers to remove? | [
"What do you mean? The condensation should be on the inside of the screen, not the outside."
] | [
"Cold glass meets humid air. The water vapor in the air condenses on the glass. Like a cold drink on a hot day. As you drive along, the air hits your car at the speed you're driving into it, not letting the vapor have enough time to condense into water again. Your windscreen also heats up as the inside of the car h... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Healthcare laws in the U.S. Senate | [
"Rising costs due to a combination of a loss of government subsidies and the ability for insurers to separate people into higher and lower risk pools. If people can't afford it, they will effectively lose coverage."
] | [
"All of the appeals that are allowed before the sentence is carried out. Court costs"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
why can cancer cells keep on dividing? | [
"> Doesnt a normal cell die and stop dividing when the telomeres run out Not exactly. Fraying of telomeres can result in the cells stopping performing their function properly but that doesn't really stop cancer from being cancer; it could just be the difference between a tumor that creates a hormone or doesn't. Par... | [
"Viruses aren't considered living because they don't act the same way that living organisms do. * They have no energy metabolism * They do not react to stimuli * They do not grow * They do not reproduce on their own * They do not create waste products Antibiotics don't work, because antibiotics boost your immune s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Microbiology:"
} |
If you're knocked unconscious and thrown into a river, will you drown or will your bodies survival instincts kick in and wake you up? | [
"Drown. If youre unconcious your body wouldnt know what was going on around you enough to wake you up."
] | [
"Genetic instincts. Humans have them too. For example, if you were to put a new born baby completely submerged underwater, it would know to hold its' breath, even though it doesn't have the mental capacity to know inhaling liquid will kill it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why can the US not just create a system in which everyone gets their vote heard, and the we skip the delegate part? | [
"primary elections are a party decision. candidate selection used to be closed off decisions decided by party insiders, they've opened up the process and have given the public a voice in the selection process, but still want to maintain some control of who's going to run on their ticket. as far as the electoral c... | [
"There are historical reasons it was put in place, but in the modern day if we got rid of the electoral college small states would have less of an influence on the presidential election, this matters to small states."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Where is the software located on a circuit board? | [
"Software is stored in computer memory. Some memory is designed to last a long time like hard drives, solid state drives, CDs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks etc. And some memory requires power to stay active like RAM & nbsp; Software is a series of bits. A bit is anything that can be in one of two states. So RAM is... | [
"They're often loading from a different server than the rest of the website."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How do ears 'pop'? Does it mean our ear drums are perforated? How does liquid build up behind the ear drum, can they go through the ear drum? | [
"Do you mean like on an plane? This is caused by the pressure inside your ear being different from the pressure in the surrounding air. When you're on a plane or travelling to a higher altitude, the change in pressure is usually gradual, so you don't directly perceive the change in pressure. because the pressure on... | [
"Your ears have an outer part, the ear and the ear canal, and a middle ear, which has the ear drum connected to some small bones that transfer the vibrations to the inner ear, which detects them. For this to work right, it has to be the same pressure as the outside world. So there is a small passage from the middle... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When I blow my mouth up; why does a small pocket of air open up near my jawbone causing severe pain. | [
"Like blowing balloons and your jaw feels sore?"
] | [
"Can't speak for others but when I do it I catch it in my mouth. That is I use the back of my tongue to block off my throat so stuff actually gets caught in my mouth instead falling straight into my throat"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why do some people love rollercoasters and others would rather die then (than? sorry, german) going on one? | [
"I don't have an answer, but it's 'than' - 'then' indicates an order in time or logic, 'than' is a comparison."
] | [
"Side Note: I wouldn't have known you weren't a native speaker if you hadn't told us. When you get an adrenaline rush (sometimes called fight-or-flight), you sweat heavily. I get a LOT of anxiety every time I go to a doctor's office. And when I'm forced to sit there waiting for hours to see a doctor, I smell VERY b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Reddit LOVES foxes, wolves, skunks, red pandas, otters, and quokkas. What steps have to be taken to domesticate these animals? | [
"Selecting for reduction of agression/attachment to humans and time. There's a project in Russia (and before that the Soviet Union) domesticating foxes. You can actually buy one, I believe. _URL_0_"
] | [
"Because we haven't been trying for tens of thousands of years to breed elephants."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why athletes in the same Olympic event don't use the exact same equipmrnt? | [
"Whats most important to an athlete is being comfortable with their equipment that compliments their physique. A good example would be gloves in boxing. A knock out artist will usually wear harder gloves so they hit harder, Meanwhile a more defensive fighter will usually box with softer gloves to reduce the wear an... | [
"Because men and women are built differently and have different athletic abilities. So to keep things 100% fair men compete against men and women against women so that the only X factor is skill, not gender differences."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do I dream about people who I have never met before? | [
"Many would say you have seen that girl, somewhere before in your life, even for only a second. Because the brain can't make faces up and you can dream about something you haven't seen before"
] | [
"Is this a common thing? I don't think I've ever felt pain in a dream."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Psychology:"
} |
The Golden Corral uproar. | [
"The gist of it is that the workers at a location were using unsanitary practices (storing food outside near a garbage dumpster) to hide food that wouldn't pass inspection by the health department then returning it to the serving line after the inspectors left. It's really kind of stupid because they shouldn't hav... | [
"The restaurant just rents out the area from the store. Source: Walmart Sales Associate"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do we (still) need toe nails? | [
"It's like a vestigial thing leftover from back when we did need them. Basically, it doesn't hurt our odds for survival, so it just sticks around."
] | [
"Why do you have so many lips and chins?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Biology:"
} |
How do non-radio objects (eg fans, bed frames) pick up and play AM signals? | [
"They have metal parts in them that can act like an antenna. If exposed to a strong enough electromagnetic field, they'll begin to oscillate at whatever frequency that field's at. This is essentially how a crystal radio works. But you'd need to be really close to a really, really powerful transmitter to hear music... | [
"Are you sure it is a podcast? Your headphone cord (or other parts of your computer) can act like an antenna and pick up radio. AM radio broadcasts are the most likely thing to pick up."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can it be said that Bill Clinton presided over 4 years with a surplus when the national debt increased every year he was President? | [
"Because expenditure was less than revenue which is the definition of budget surplus. 1,721,728 1,652,458 69,270 1,827,452 1,701,842 125,610 2,025,191 1,788,950 236,241 1,991,082 1,862,846 128,236"
] | [
"People accuse Obama for a massive increase in spending in 2009, because he took office at the start of that year. However, budgets are approved the year before, so the increase in spending in 2009 is from the Bush administration. If you only count the years for which the Obama administration is actually responsibl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why is every internet related problem i encounter solved by unplugging the router then plugging it back in? | [
"It's doing the same thing as rebooting your computer. It clears out everything in memory and loads it \"fresh\" from storage. If you want to automate it to a degree, plug it into an outlet that's controlled via a home automation protocol, or one that's controlled by a wireless remote. Or hell, even a clapper if yo... | [
"Err ... if this is happening something is possibly wrong with the wiring inside the laptop. This shouldn't be happening. I would suggest turning off your laptop, and getting it serviced ASAP."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
The differences between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. | [
"psychologist. advanced degree in psychology. cannot prescribe meds. psychiatrist. degree in medicine. can prescribe meds. your results may vary."
] | [
"This question might be better answered by a trained physician."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Sleep and fatigue:"
} |
Why is American Culture so Dominant? | [
"Hollywood. American movies have spread far and wide, bringing American culture along with it."
] | [
"Where do you mean? Europe? The US? Middle East? Africa? Eastern Asia?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is the smell foul when things decompose?Why isn't it pleasant? | [
"Thinking about it logically, I would have to assume this is more biological instead of chemical (yes, there are chemical reactions taking place, but they are subsequent to biological processes). I don't know exactly what happens chemically, but I think that our bodies have evolved to find the smell of decompositi... | [
"It makes them so acidic, salty, or both, that bacteria cannot live in them. Thus they don't rot."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What is going on with the people 'healed' by Faith Healers, why are they apparently affected by 'the spirit' | [
"they arent, its a scam and thos people are in on it with the \"faith healer\"."
] | [
"They were misinformed that vaccinations cause children to become more likely to develop autism. I'm not aware that religion has anything to do with it, except for Christian Scientists, who believe that all illnesses can only be corrected by prayer."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How are anaesthetics made? | [
"There's a bunch of different, completely unrelated drugs used in anesthesia. Some are opiates, some are benzos, some are something completely different. Novocaine, a topical anesthetic, and its derivatives are based on cocaine. The term doesn't describe a mechanism of action but rather is a term to describe the en... | [
"Because it increases your heart rate and depending on the surgery, could be life threatening. We have much safer anaesthetics now."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how do they film the multi-camera scenes in Planet Earth without disrupting or alarming the animals? | [
"Lots of hours of footage taken from cameras with super telephoto lenses. I mean, it's a funny photo, but imagine the zoom on [these lenses](_URL_0_). [Here is a comparison](_URL_1_), take note that 50mm (on a full frame camera) is roughly the same \"zoom\" as our eyes."
] | [
"99% of the people you see in a movie are supposed to be there. Extras on set are most often required to stay quiet while the scene is being shot. Many times the sound they \"make\" is added in post production so that the volume is appropriate. Some times, actors and actresses will have to re-dub scenes because of ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What thoughts go on in the mind of a typical mentally handicapped person? | [
"There is no such thing as a \"typical mentally handicapped person\". Every individual is different and the brain is an extremely complex organ and development or injury affects every individual in different ways. A \"mental handicap\" may manifest completely different in two people depending on nature and/or nurtu... | [
"Because you are emotionally invested in that team."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
why office jobs pay so much more than retail despite being easier? | [
"Supply and demand. There are plenty of other people who can do your job, therefore the employers can afford to pay you less - if you quit they can just find someone else. Office jobs are usually jobs that require education, skill and training. Finding a replacement is difficult."
] | [
"There's an Adam Ruins Everything about it. Essentially its so companies can pay employees different wages for doing the same job."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why does a 4 legged table wobble whereas a 3 legged does not? | [
"Since any 3 points define a plane, it's guaranteed that the bottoms of any 3 legs can touch the floor at the same time. This cannot be said of any 4 legs."
] | [
"Because our eyelids are thin. Pull your t-shirt over your head and stare at a light bulb. Now drop a phone book on your face and look at the same light bulb. Phone book thicker than t-shirt, hand thicker than eyelid. If my 5 year old ever asks me this I'll send him back."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Science:"
} |
With some of the recent court decisions involving harmless children being charged with felonies, how is this legal or even possible? | [
"In some cases, the judges don't have a choice. That's sort of the point of mandatory minimum laws, although I don't know what specific cases you're referring to."
] | [
"In reality, you don't have as many rights as an adult. Even though its not constitutionally correct, that is how it is. The same issue arises with new student drug testing or locker searches."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How Does Damage to Skin Sprout Black Hairs, In Places That Otherwise Would Not? | [
"Skin reacts to large amounts of sunlight by producing melanin (the pigment that makes our skin and hair dark). This absorbs UV radiation, preventing more sunlight from damaging your DNA. Sometimes, UV radiation will knock out the bit of DNA that regulates melanin production in some skins cells, resulting in hyper... | [
"Being Black Does Actually Have (Relatively Minor) Health Consequences, It's Just That They're Obviated By Modern Life. There's An Energy Cost To Have Extra Melanin, Even A Small One, So If You Don't Need It It Won't Be Selected For. Melanin Reduces Vitamin-D Uptake From The Sun If Sunlight Is Lower Than You're Ada... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What are the differences between venoms and poisons? | [
"Poison is absorbed or ingested. A poisonous animal can poison another animal if it touches or eats it. (frogs) Venom is injected. A venomous animal has a mechanism to inject toxins directly into another animal. (snakes)"
] | [
"The term poison refers to any substance that is harmful to your body if consumed. Toxin is a specific branch of poison, defining naturally created poisons. For example, many household cleaning substances are poisonous, but are artificially made and are not toxins. Here is the Article my information came from: _URL... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are our lips a completely different color than the rest of our face? | [
"Lips have three cellular layers, just like the rest of our skin, but they are much thinner. Some things that are missing from lips are sebaceous glands--where we sweat from--, hair follicles, and, importantly, melanin, which gives skin much of its color. Lips are pink or red because blood vessels are close to the ... | [
"It's not staining, it's pigmentation. It isn't always brown either. It's the same sort of thing that causes the skin around nipples to be a different color than the rest of the skin."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Does the Quran's language seem old fashioned to modern Arabic speakers? The King James Bible seems old fashioned to modern English speakers (e.g. thou vs you). | [
"Not in the same way. You see the Quran, as any book, is written in Arabic \"Fus'ha\", kind of like a proper form of Arabic. It's what you study at school in grammar class and stuff like that. However, each Arabic country tends to have a dialect of Arabic that can be really different than Fus'ha (completely differe... | [
"\"Joy to the world, the Lord **is come**.\" \"Christ **is risen**. Christ will come again.\" \"I **am come** in the name of the father.\" It isn't poor grammar, it's an archaic use of to be as an auxiliary verb. Modern English uses the verb 'to have' instead: the Lord has come; Christ has risen, etc. The King ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can I as a common American citizen be reasonably assured that elections aren't rigged given non-audited, paper-trail-free electronic voting? | [
"Let's say that the 2008 election was rigged. Whoever rigged it must have really liked both Obama (who won the presidency), the Democrats (who won the senate), and the Republicans/Tea Party (who won the house). Rigged elections have completely one-sided results, predictably, year after year. You can tell an electio... | [
"Voting machines are *highly* accurate. Unless your state cheaps out and gets the touch-screen types. But optical scan ballots are quite accurate and have ways to independently validate the count, which touch-screen machines lack."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can we not feel any of our inner organs? Or better why do we only feel pain and no other feeling with them? | [
"I'd say for the same reason you don't see all the capillaries in your eyes (unless you [trick](_URL_0_) your eyes) Because your brain just tunes them out."
] | [
"Everything you feel is just your brains interpretation of the signals the body is sending it. The brain is still capable of interpreting feeling even if no singles are actually coming to it. So yes in theory your brain can make you feel anything, although how to make that happen is beyond our understanding at this... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why can I drink 8-10 500ml cans of beer in 4~ hours without a problem, but I can't drink more than one 330ml can of soda? | [
"Alcohol is a [Diuretic](_URL_0_) which causes an increased rate of water excretion and urination. So basically the water in the beer is practically going strait through you. This can also contribute to a hangover, since your body will continue to pull water out of your system while you're asleep. Finishing the nig... | [
"Yes. At least, if you consume the same volume of drink. 12 oz of 8% beer is like drinking 24 oz of 4%."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do some websites still use "www." before their domain name and some simply don't? What's the purpose of it anymore? | [
"The \"www\" is what's termed a \"subdomain\". Originally, the \"www\" (which stands for \"world wide web\") was used to indicate that you wanted the web server for the domain you entered in, as opposed to something like their FTP server. Subdomains are still used today. For example, you can go to \"_URL_1_\" to ge... | [
"A cookie is just a bit of data that the website stores on your computer so it can access it again later. Let's say I've made a simple web page that asks for your name, then says \"Hello, [name].\" That's pretty easy to do, but it will have to ask for your name every time you go to the site, which will get annoying... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When and why did athletes begin to get paid such high amounts? | [
"Generally when TV money started getting huge (as live sports became one of the better ways for advertisers to reach men and to not be time shifted/commercial skipped), the NFL is somewhat more TV driven than other sports, but TV revenues are a major revenue source for all sports. Essentially there's a huge pool o... | [
"Let me ask you this, what would you rather be done with the money? If the sport is making enormous sums of money, based on the efforts of the players, would you rather the money just go to the CEOs of the sports team? If you look at professional athlete's salary as a percentage of what the team makes, as oppose to... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do some businesses like comic book stores survive when it is such a niche market now? | [
"Comic book stores have *always* been a niche market. And in fact, comics are a lot more mainstream today than they were in the past, thanks to the advent of blockbuster superhero movies."
] | [
"It can be difficult for a store to expand into a new market if already dominated by competitors. For example Wal-Mart is also notably weak in Minnesota, because it's the home of Target who already dominated the department store market. Some chains have a huge following in their home region but haven't expanded lik... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What exactly are the "stricter" gun control laws people propose and how would they be enforced? | [
"I don't understand the argument that people have which is usually along the lines of 'people are breaking the law by murdering people so how will more laws help'. The evidence is plain to see in all of the countries were guns are banned. Fewer guns mean less chance for gun violence. The problem is is that gun cul... | [
"Politics, really. Some state legislatures are very, very against civilian gun ownership - good examples include New York and California. Representatives from these states would also howl the loudest if any legislation was put up that would force them to recognize licenses of other states."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
On devices where there is the thin layer of plastic you refreshingly get to peel off, how is that plastic applied? | [
"Usually en masse. The manufacturer will lay out their product in lines or big squares and just apply it all at once. Then they cut the excess. That plastic covering sticks due to static charge"
] | [
"the blowing removed dust and added moisture to the cartridges connectors helping conductivity. licking was also an option."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why are taxpayers always liable for lawsuits against government instead of holding individuals accountable? | [
"Because their jobs expose them to greater legal risks, and without some sort of gov't protection, no one would do them. My job doesn't put me in a position where I might have to decide whether or not to shoot someone. If it did, I would't do it without some reassurance they are not going to hang me if things to ba... | [
"That depends entirely on the country doing the fining. In some countries, that money would go to the country's Treasury, to be spent on whatever they need. In other countries, it goes to the regulatory agencies that issued the fine, and is used on their future investigations. Lastly, in other countries, the money ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why is hair growing out of moles thicker than other hair? | [
"Moles are basically a tumor. The unusual cell cluster pushes on the follicle, making it grow hair faster than usual. They're darker because of the extra melanin in the area from the mole. It's actually a good thing if your mole grows hair because that's a sign it's not cancerous."
] | [
"No seriously. Someone smart please answer this. Why is my genital skin darker than most all of my other skin. And darkening as I get older"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Why does Disney put their movies "in the vault" so that you can't buy or watch them? | [
"They are trying to create artificial scarcity. The reasoning is that when they take movies out of the vault for some new special edition anniversary remastered release, people will know it is a time limited offer, and be willing to spend more to own it. Whereas if it is always available, people will put off purcha... | [
"Netflix doesn't delete their movies and TV shows because they run out of room. They delete them because they don't own the content, and only rent it, basically. so when the contract is up with a certain show or movie, and Netflix either doens't want to pay again to keep showing it, or the two companies can't reach... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
how is it physically possible for a mantis shrimp to punch so fast? | [
"The punch of a Mantis shrimp really is incredible. There is no way that a mantis shrimp can punch that powerfully by muscle strength. Another mechanism is needed. This is an ELI5 over-simplification, but the shrimp \"cocks\" it's specially designed exoskeleton, elastic tissues, and linkage systems and stores energ... | [
"Wood peckers are designed to do this. It's just like a hummingbirds wings flapping. They have evolved to move this quickly with extreme efficiency. What you should really be asking is how can a hummingbird slam it's head into a solid object simulating hundreds of G forces without dying. Which is a way cooler quest... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
- Class A/B/C networks and how to ID them | [
"Look at the first number of an IP address (for example, 172.16.32.69): - if the first number is between 1-126, it's Class A - if the first number is between 128-191, it's Class B - if the first number is between 192-223, it's Class C - if the first number is between 224-239, it's Class D (multicast) Where are 127 ... | [
"Cs - writing code and algorithms IT - maintaining hardware and networks Is - design and maintaining data systems - how to collect and process data"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is there an instinct to preserve the species when it often forces creatures to completely ignore the instinct for survival? | [
"It doesn't give a shit about the species. It can't even conceive of the idea. Evolution selects for strategies that are effective at passing on genetic information. That octopus seems to have a highly effective strategy. If the most vulnerable period in the species' life cycle is egg and hatchling then it makes pe... | [
"They don't \"try\" to do anything. They simply follow their inate behavior, which is to reproduce as effectively as possibly. A more pertinent question might be why would something like humans, which *do* have influence over their thoughts and actions, actively destroy enormous areas of their host environment ever... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
if our brains can technically store almost every experience, why do we forget so much? | [
"Forgetting is a critical survival trait. We are able to think more rationally when we don't have to consider every single traumatic, exceptional experience. Also, it forces us to retain only information that is the most useful for our lives."
] | [
"your brain is such a troll because you troll during the day and so your brain is forced to relive your trolling at night, your brain uses sleep as a time to self clean and figure out what is important enough to keep, you have nightmares because the brain remembers danger more vividly then peaceful happy things. Yo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Psychology:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Psychology:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence about Psychology:"
} |
If fever raises body temperature and standing naked in snow lowers body temperature; why is it not healthy to stand naked in snow with fever? | [
"A fever isn't a bad thing unless it's too high for too long. The elevated temperature creates a less hospitable environment for whatever is making you ill."
] | [
"Your body temperature drops while sleeping, your entire body when you wake up is at rest, so even if the temperature is the same as the time you went to bed it feels colder."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why does vulva appearance vary so much from one female to another but men's penises are mostly the same - aside from size variation? | [
"You need to go look at more photos of penises if you think that is true!"
] | [
"> What causes this? There are a pair of spongy tissues called corpus cavernosum (collectively they are the corpora cavernosa) which inflate with blood to make the penis erect. If one developes to be slightly smaller than the other the penis will curve when erect. This is common and as long as it doesn't cause pai... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can a U.S. President be elected if they would not ordinarily qualify for a security clearance? | [
"The qualifications to be president are enumerated in be constitution. They include being thirty-five years old and having been born in the United States. There's no requirements for a security clearance or a background check in the constitution, so it's not required. The presumption is that if the voters choose yo... | [
"Federal jobs require a citizen. You also have to be a citizen to hold certain positions in the military."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is the rate of male suicide so much higher than it is for women? | [
"It's interesting, but women are more likely to attempt to commit suicide than men, but men are more likely to die from their attempt. The difference comes from the methods of attempted suicide. Men are much more likely to use methods that are immediately lethal, like jumping or shooting themselves, while women use... | [
"I don’t think we fully know. One likely contributor is the differences in sex hormones between men and women. The statistics we have right now suggest that migraine effects about 17% of women and 6% of men each year."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can we find a poll reliable when it claims to represent a population hundreds of thousands of times larger than the amount of people polled? | [
"Imagine you have a bowl with a million marbles in it, some red, some black. You want to estimate how many of each color there are without counting them all. So you randomly pick 100, and figure that will be pretty close. How close is it? It is *possible* you could accidentally pick all red, but it is ridiculously ... | [
"Online polls are easily gamed. Think of all the times you've seen a poll posted here with the line \"you know what to do\". And of course you can write software that bombards the server with votes. Thus, online polls don't really mean much. Straw polls do not tend to be representative of the general public. They d... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does coerced confession really work? | [
"In what way? Are you asking how it would play out legally? are you asking how to coerce a confession?"
] | [
"The idea is to make sure everything is done by the books so nothing is coerced or planted. The only way to do this fairly is to do it indiscriminately."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
The Australian and Tony Abbott government situation | [
"i have no clue what's happening, all i'm hearing is a lotta angry people and bad press. Hoping there's 2 sides to every story. Also who's australia in debt to anyways?"
] | [
"They don't? At least not all of them. Top Gear etc."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why does soda from a bottle or can into a glass of ice create a mountain of foam, but soda fountain soda does not? | [
"It has to do with the temperature differential. The CO2 cools the water, which in turn cools the mixed drink. If the bottle or can is refrigerated, there will be less foam."
] | [
"Well it has to do with pressure. Wine is put into the bottle and sealed so that no air goes in or out. Now if the wine is sparkling wine then that means none of the bubbles can come out so there is a slightly higher pressure inside the sealed bottle. That pressure is enough to slightly change the freezing point of... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How come New York City is so expensive yet 8,000,000 can live there? | [
"There's cheaper areas in New York City. It's bigger than you think. Manhattan is ridiculously expensive, Brooklyn is pretty expensive. Queens is somewhat reasonable. Staten Island and the Bronx aren't bad. Also people are willing to live in tiny places in Manhattan. So someone might pay $1200/month which is pretty... | [
"They don't live in nice houses. Most houses are around 1,700 per month in LA but the nice parts are mainly for rich people. Also tons of houses seem like they're owned by foreigner millionaires that rent them out."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
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