query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why do our noses run when it gets cold outside? | [
"Our nose produce mucus which add moisture to the air we breathe. When we breathe cold and dry air, it starts producing more mucus to humidify the dry air resulting into running nose in chilly winters."
] | [
"You're sneezing because something is irritating your nasal passages, not the other way around."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
What are tax write-offs, and how do they work? | [
"The Government wants to encourage some behavior, like donating to charity or operating a business. So they allow you to deduct things from your taxable income like the value of those donations or business losses. So let's say you made 1000 dollars and would be taxed 20% of that (I'm not bothering with marginal tax... | [
"Traditional vs Roth IRA. The difference is when you pay taxes on the money. In a Traditional IRA the money you put in is tax-deductible but when you take money out (when you're in retirement) you have to pay income tax on it. Essentially, you're delaying taxation. With a Roth IRA the money you put in is not tax-de... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How does an extension cord overheat? | [
"When electricity moves it creates heat. The more electricity is being moved, the more heat is made. The smaller the thickness of the cord, or the longer the cord, the more heat it creates. If a smaller cord that is also long (like an extension cord) is used to power something that needs a lot of electricity (the s... | [
"Chargers work by making electricity available to the device. The device determines how much it takes. If the device stops taking power, the electricity stops flowing. It's similar to what happens when you unplug a device from the wall."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why do anti-biotic medications require a prescription? | [
"Irresponsible use of antibiotics creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a problem that we are [currently on the cusp of having with several strains of bacteria](_URL_0_) and which some are saying could bring us back to the 1800s or earlier as far as medicine is concerned. There are some strains of some very nasty ... | [
"Because over use of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistant bacteria like MRSA. Doctors already prescribe them too much, imagine what a layperson with no medical knowledge whatsoever would do. By the way, the flu is a virus; antibiotics have absolutely no effect on them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do stretching routines put so much emphasis on lower body stretches? | [
"Your leg and core muscles are by far the biggest and used in almost every movement you make, which means they're more susceptible to cramps so they should be stretched more."
] | [
"In the medical field the opinions on stretching divided, some people say it helps some people say it doesn't make a difference. But I would say that a proper warming up and cooling down are more important to injury prevention than stretching is."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Not trying to be offensive or rude but where do homeless people go during extreme weather events (extreme cold, extreme heat, hurricanes, etc). | [
"They hide in public places with heat, for instance hanging out in shopping malls. Most cities have shelters and hospices they can go to. Churches will also take some of them in. ER's also get packed with the homeless on really cold nights, they often make excuses that they need medical help but more often than not... | [
"Every area is susceptible to some kind of disaster. We still need access to ports/ vacation areas (hurricanes/tsunamis), timber (forest fires), agriculture (tornadoes), movies and computer parts (earthquakes/forest fires/droughts/mudslides). It's just \"the cost of doing business.\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why can you feel your pulse beating in a painful wound? | [
"Inflammation is a big part of what causes pain. Inflammation also causes your arteries to constrict, raising blood pressure in the area. Higher blood pressure makes your pulse easier to feel. Up to and including perceiving it passively (typically as a throb)."
] | [
"The coldness causes your blood vessels going to the brain to constrict, resulting in the brain getting less blood and oxygen. Protip: press your tongue against the soft part of the top of your mouth to make it go away quicker."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why are you not hungry after performing excercise | [
"Don't know about you, but actually I am usually more hungry and do eat more after exercising."
] | [
"They don't adjust their calories when their lifestyle becomes more sedentary."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
With so much free online now, be it legal or illegal. How do professional porn stars/directors make any money. | [
"I mean, I'm assuming the same way most free to play games work: Paid for content and shit tons of advertising."
] | [
"A lot of porn sites are free any more because of ads. Even a site that is free can pull in enough money to pay for advertising on other sites. Also, because these sites all vary in content, they help each other out, or as another poster said, are simply branches of the same parent company. Also, not much else but ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
when someone breaks their neck, what determines weather or not they become paralyzed or die? | [
"Breaking your neck is the fracturing of a bone. That in itself will not paralyze or kill you. If the event that causes the bone to break also severs the spinal cord, you can be paralyzed or killed. So it's actually an **indirect** effect of the broken neck, not the broken neck itself."
] | [
"you can be handicapped and still drive, might have a bad hip or knee. the physical is to make sure they're not going to pass out behind the wheel from a seizure, heart attack etc i believe"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How do goats and sheep not walk around in a constant state of concusion with all the headbutting they do? | [
"They're brains are pretty small and their bodies pump their heads with lots more blood which cushions against impacts. It's called the bubble wrap effect. They also have very dense, strong bones in their heads."
] | [
"I'm not 100% sure but I think it's sort of an evolutionary feature. One is lower so it doesn't knock into the other in various activities like running, swimming, and even just sitting. Basically, if one wasn't lower, your balls would probably hurt a lot."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does the sun kill bacteria? | [
"Ultraviolet light from the Sun can trigger a lot of different reactions, (notably free radical reactions) that can disrupt the normal activity of cells that aren't evolved to deal with UV-triggered reactions. This disruption kills the cells, including a lot of bacteria."
] | [
"The heat of the car is just hot enough to create a perfect environment for bacteria to multiply like crazy. Boiling the milk kills all the bacteria."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
'Feel' when someone is watching you | [
"It’s a natural evolutionary process called “gaze detection.” We subconsciously pick up where people are looking constantly - this was important so that we could detect danger - seeing someone poised in a threat mode while staring a specific direction is very important to survive. So, if the person is staring a li... | [
"Any data your phone is capable of recording. Went on Amazon and put extra large dildos in your cart then remove them? You must be in the market for extra large dildos and are still searching Dildos 'r Us is having a sale today. You're visiting your friend and he's shopping for gifts but he doesn't know what to get... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do you programm a computer without a computer? (e.g. first computer) | [
"The first computers were operated with switches. Those switches were manually flipped to indicate the input into the computer. Later on there were things like memory which allowed a set of switches to be set, a button pressed to enter them into a \"register\" or set of memory values, then the switches flipped to a... | [
"In binary, then people built programs to convert other code into binary."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do humans feel hot when they get angry? | [
"Nurse here: an increase in sympathetic nervous response (fight or flight). This increases heart rate and blood pressure. Blood vessels constrict to increase this pressure causing a retention in heat that would have otherwise been dissipated by blood vessels closer to the skin. The increase in heart rate only adds ... | [
"Why do the glands in my neck burn like high hell when I'm holding back tears?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does a decoder work? | [
"A decoder takes a code and undoes it. Without any more context there isn't any way to answer your question as decoders mean different things in various fields and applications."
] | [
"Are you asking how a wheel works ?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does ice melt slower in a glass of water than it does in a glass of soft drink (soda)? | [
"Salt. Salt causes ice and snow to melt, and many places use it on roads. Despite its obvious sweetness, soda contains salt. Ice melts faster in liquids with salt. So, ice would melt faster in a glass of water from the ocean, as opposed to a glass of water from a lake, as opposed to filtered tap water, even if the ... | [
"Most substances have increased solubility in hot water compared to cold water. For example, you can dissolve more salt in hot water than cold water."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Chemistry:"
} |
How do game companies make a game engine that requires more power than contemporary computers can make? | [
"Game devs want their games to look good for as long as possible. One way to accomplish this is to design the game with the assumption that technology will improve, and designing the game so the specs are better than what currently exists on the market. Crisis is an oddball because it was designed to run on specs t... | [
"Many reasons: * Gamers often tends to have powerful PCs so they can run all types of games. Gamedevs may choose to exploit this extra power (depending on market) to flesh out their games a bit more. * The Switch runs switch games. When you create a Switch game, you know exactly what it will run on making performa... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about videogame development:",
"pos": "Represent the post about videogame development:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How did the solar system begin spinning? | [
"So the solar system began as a ball of gas, with some point in the middle. Eventually, the gas began to coalesce under the force of gravity towards that point in the middle. All of the gas particles were moving around that middle point... some were going clockwise, some going counterclockwise, etc. Just by random ... | [
"One solar day is the time it takes the planet to perform 1 full revolution on its axis. The real question should be why do planets revolve on their axis at different rates."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is "shelf stable" milk only good for four months? | [
"It’s *good* for four months. It’s *sterile* until some aspect of the packaging degrades (plastic lasts a long time, but not forever) or is breached. You’ll notice that lots of foods have dates on them, but the vast majority are not “use or freeze by” but instead are “best before”. Dried herbs don’t taste nearly as... | [
"It's the extra pasteurization that does it. By pasteurizing it at a higher temperature, they give it a longer shelf life. However, that's only before opening. After you open it, it has the same fridge life as other milk that has just been opened."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is the difference between civil and criminal cases? | [
"Criminal means the state is pressing charges against you and the punishment is jailtime. Civil matters are matters that can be resolved with cash (or equivalent) payments. If you're fighting a Civil matter, jailtime and loss of freedom is never on the menu."
] | [
"The main reason is because of the religious background of the United States."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
why are only certain buildings burned in wildfires but not trees and other buildings? (ps sorry if this is the wrong flair, i wasn't sure which one to add!) | [
"Those trees are a species that's evolved to have fire as part of it's life cycle. They are alive, and thus full of water. They also have thick bark that protects them from fire for a little while. A forest fire is hot, but fast moving. Even better, after it burns away all the small saplings, there is more light fo... | [
"Ok im gonna try to explain this the best way possible. Your tears are made of water, mucin, lipids, lysozyme, lactoferrin, lipocalin, lacritin, immunoglobulins, glucose, urea, sodium, and potassium. The effect of the potassium are long term (thats why you can tell kids have been crying) so it will usually make you... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Biology:"
} |
Why does ice cream in a store (Cold Stone, Baskin-Robbins, etc.) not get "freezer burn"/accumulate ice over its surface when sitting in the freezer? | [
"Freezer burn is the result of air coming into contact with food. When food is frozen, a bunch of water molecules within the food form ice crystals. One of the reasons why you are experiencing this while the ice-cream shop is not is likely due to the ice cream slightly defrosting on its journey from the store to y... | [
"It's actually a deliberate feature from the manufacturing process. They basically take the popsicle solution and mix it while freezing until it forms a thick slush, mold the slush into whatever form they want, and then send it to the hard freezer. This prevents large ice crystals from forming and makes the popsicl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
how do animals like squirrels survive in the polar vortex temperatures? | [
"Most small rodents dig burrows in the snow. It’s called the subnivean(subnivian?) zone and uses the snow as an insulating layer that keeps anything below it at ~32 degrees Fahrenheit even when surface temperatures are much lower."
] | [
"Animals hibernate to survive winter(most of the time) before hibernating they eat a ton of food, while hibernation takes place the heart beat and the amount it breaths decreases to conserve energy, the body temperature also decreases to almost freezing and the brain goes into a form of sleep. While hibernating the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How does game streaming work on the Nintendo switch - resident evil 7 | [
"So how it works is this There is a device somewhere in the world that has a copy of resident evil 7. This can be a pc or a PS4. Now what's happening is that machine is running the game. What is happening is that the video of that machine is being sent to your switch. Your inputs are being sent to that machine over... | [
"Costlier to put a 360 or PS3 emulator on the system."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do some soap bubbles pop midair despite not touching anything? | [
"Gravity. It's still liquid soap holding the bubble together, as it runs to the bottom of the bubble, it's thinner towards the top, which causes that weakness there and anything micro in the air can pop it"
] | [
"You're creating pockets of air in the water that you're peeing into. These form the bubbles, and there is enough surface tension to hold the bubble's shape. The same thing happens with water, but unless there's something in it (like soap), the surface tension is too weak and the bubbles won't last for very long. D... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Science:"
} |
Explain key signatures to me. | [
"All **Major scales** follow this exact pattern: W W H W W W H (**whole**, **whole**, **half**, **whole**, **whole**, **whole**, **half**). Look at a piano keyboard. To start on any given note and play a major scale, you sometimes (lots of times) have to play black keys in order to follow that pattern. The key sign... | [
"Can you explain the question like I’m five?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Continuous Distillation | [
"A continuous distillation column is simply a distillation column that works continuously. So instead of having a distillation column where you take a 500mL bottle of liquid and put it on, run the distillation, and then remove the bottle and add a new one, you might have a 5L tank that adds the liquid to the column... | [
"High Crime + Dwindling Population + Crumbling Infrastructure + Diminishing Jobs = Perceived Shithole."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What was the Michelson–Morley experiment about? How was it done? | [
"Before scientists knew how light worked and what is was, there was a thought that maybe it was like sound. That it was just a wave moving through a medium, like sound waves in air or water. So an experiment was made. They would send light at a set up of mirrors. First there would be a semi-mirror, that would let h... | [
"It does not. Einstein made some extremely important contributions to physics, but predicting the Big Bang was not among them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does jamming your thumb on a basketball hurt so much? | [
"Well, think about what happens. & #x200B; When you jam any digit, you are literally trying to compress something that will not compress(bone). The only way for it to give at all is to either bend in an awkward way, stretching muscles and tendons, or move the joint, both of which are quite painful, or break the bo... | [
"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 Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Science:"
} |
Why does tap water taste different, stale, if it sits out for a while? | [
"There are a few reasons it might taste different. First is temperature. Water coming out of the tap will usually be a little cool. And cold can help mask the metallic flavor of the minerals in your tap water. Leaving a glass of water out lets the water warm up and changes its flavor. Next is aeration. Water coming... | [
"Hot water heaters hold water for long periods of time, and as such they often have buildup of various sediments and other contaminants that you really don't want to be ingesting on a regular basis. Also, it fouls the flavor of the water. Especially if you have scale issues. Take two cups. Fill one with hot water, ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
why does food taste different at different temperatures? | [
"Certain flavors are enhanced or dulled by temperature. Cold makes it hard to taste sweet. This is why melted ice cream or warm soda taste too sweet. Heat makes bitter less noticeable. This is why cold coffee tastes bad. And why cold vegetables can taste bad. Also changes in temperatures can cause fats to solidify.... | [
"why do we yawn when we read about yawning?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How did people from earlier times get clean drinking water without our modern methods? | [
"The simplest response: booze! Back then, there was a very poor to limited understanding of water quality leading to illness. There would not have been attempts to purify the water, since it was not understood that this needed to be done to have potable water. The concept simply didn't exist. However, it was noted ... | [
"Water is more than a basic human right, it's essential for your survival. However, clean water piped directly in to your home is not a human right, and when you pay for water, that's what you're paying for: the convenience. You can dig a well and get fresh water that way. What if you live somewhere you can't do th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
NY’s new abortion law | [
"Abortions are legal if one of the follow occur: 1. The fetus is less than 24 weeks gestation. 2. The fetus is not viable. 3. The mother's life or health is at risk."
] | [
"Lower taxes. Arbitration rules that favor the companies."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the Fitzgerald-Lorenz contradiction? How is it related to the Michel-Morelson Experiment? | [
"If you're talking about Fitzgerald-Lorenz *contraction* it is another term for [length contraction](_URL_0_), which is the phenomenon that when an object is moving quickly relative to you, you observe its length to be shorter than if it were stationary. It is related to the *Michelson-Morley* experiment because, i... | [
"A mathematical description of the spaces where string theory is valid."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
why does room temperature water feel so hot when your hands are freezing cold? | [
"The temperature sensors in your skin do not sense *absolute* temperature, they send *relative* temperature. When your skin is 7 degrees, 40 degree water feels like 70 degree water, which is scalding."
] | [
"Because when youre out in the warm air the pee in your body gets the same temperature as the air and when you get home the air is cold and the pee is then more pressurized than the air around it and will therefore expand and make you feel like you need to pee ."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Health:"
} |
When asking about ethnic ancestry, why do most forms ask "Are you Hispanic/Latino" ? | [
"People of Latino origins run the gamut of ancestries from Europe, to Africa, to indigenous Americans. So most US forms ask people if they identify as Latino as well as what their ancestry is. This helps make statistics more accurate because there are issues within the Latino community that cross the boundaries of ... | [
"US definitions: Latino: Anyone from a former colony of a European nation whose language is derived from Latin who speak said language as their official or primary language. (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French). Hispanic: Those former colonies specifically owned by Spain. Non-Hispanic/Non-Latino White: Those peo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
100+ years ago how did they manage candles on Christmas trees safely? | [
"Not very safely. Christmas trees were often just a one-day affair, at least the fully-lit display. People were familiar with candles and the fire hazards they posed, from a very young age. They were careful; and they had some fires."
] | [
"They don't eat that way all the time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
why "for sale"/"for rent" signs for real estate usually don't show a price? | [
"The numbers are much bigger, and much more negotiable. Sometimes house flyers have a listing price, but that just invites obsolescence."
] | [
"Ignore the Zillow estimates. They're almost always wrong...and by wrong I mean low. If the realtor doesn't bring over estimates based on the \"solds\" from the local MLS, they're not worth their marketing weight. Also, realtors worth their weight, will have featured advertising on Zillow, Trulia and _URL_0_.... ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What causes gravity? Like why does it happen? | [
"The short answer is we don't really know yet. The long answer is that there's some fundamental relationship between mass and space-time. One of the consequences of this relationship is that mass sort of \"bends\" space-time. You can think of space-time like a giant trampoline. If you set something on the trampoli... | [
"Because that's not how gravity works. Gravity has nothing to do with magnets. It's like asking, why can't our lungs breathe water. Or why Hydrogen has the lowest atomic mass. ie. Why it has the amount of neutrons/protons that it has. It just does."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How do computers create pseudorandom numbers, and what are the different ways? | [
"The usual way is to use a simple formula that looks like this: Xₙ₊₁ = (A⋅Xₙ + C) modulo M Where A, C and M are well-chosen constants. You start with a first number you choose (Xₙ), then you can generate (Xₙ₊₁) from it; you reuse (Xₙ₊₁) to generate (Xₙ₊₂), and so on. A set of values in the wild (used by the GNU C... | [
"The Mersenne Twister does not generate random numbers. In fact, the sequence generated repeats every 4.3x10^6001 numbers. The numbers generated are *pseudorandom*, which is to say they are deterministic but have the appearance of being random to the casual observer. For most practical purposes, pseudorandom is con... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is it that we are still discovering galaxies that are relatively close to our own galaxy when we’ve discovered millions of galaxies that are much farther away? | [
"So... look at the sky. Now. With your hand make a circle Now through that circle, focus on only the sky you can see in the perimeters of your hand. Imagine zooming in almost endlessly, finding millions of different cosmic clusters just in those small confines. Now pick another random part of sky. Do it again and... | [
"Not every single one, but the vast majority. Some are planets in our solar system, some are other solar system bodies like asteroids or comets, or even satellites we put up. A rare few are actually galaxies that are bright enough or near enough to be visible. Also not every star has planets, but we're learning now... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about astronomy:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about astronomy:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How does Earth have a magnetic field? | [
"The Earth isn't a permanent magnet so the curie temperature isn't at play here, instead the motion determines the direction and strength of the magnetic field"
] | [
"Moon's gravity too weak to keep an atmosphere Moon has little resources other than hydrogen 2 isotope Moon has next to zero potential for terraforming"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how polarized sunglasses work. | [
"As you may know, light travels as a wave. Generally, natural light is randomly oriented, with some waves oscillating in every direction. We can make filters that only allow light oscillating in a particular direction (the closer that direction is to the desired direction, the more light gets through). This is usef... | [
"sane reason sunglasses are tinted dark or a color instead of white. It aborbing the light prevents it from coming in. Also if it was white it would reflect on the inside too. Possibly making glare which is opposite of the point. (car light lamp or otherwise)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why are records read from the outside in, and CDs/DVDs read from the inside out? Why did it change? | [
"Audio files stored on CDs sort of made it somewhat standard for cds to read inside out. Although seemingly rare, Cds did not come in standard sizes and data is sort of stamped in so you could use the same stamp for several sizes of CD. Circumference of a circle gets larger as the radius gets bigger so more of the ... | [
"The problem arises from the fact that the DVD is a form of physical media. Data is written sequentially to the disc and when it reaches the end of the menu track it has to seek back to the beginning. This causes the playback to stop while the laser moves back to the appropriate position. This is the exact same rea... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
If the first airplane was flown in 1903 in South Carolina, how was it possible that by the start of WW1 (1914) so many countries already had reliable fighting aircrafts? | [
"In a nut shell, your timeline is wrong. [Wikipeida has a lot of data](_URL_0_) that might be useful but the good parts version is WW1 started with planes and pilots as Reconnaissance roles. over the next couple months the technology got better, because it was initially you know.. Pistol shots at each other. It de... | [
"WW2 ended in a period of hyper-rapid aircraft development. New high tech fighters and bombers were practically obsolete by the time they were deployed. A new front line fighter type could be expected to serve for only a few years before it was obsolete. Old planes were surplus, a drain on resources, and after a fe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Look-elsewhere effect | [
"Basically, in an effort to get a better sampling size, they may have gone too large and accidentally supported their theories with outlier data."
] | [
"Same difference between color and colour. Continent-based spelling differences."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why would big CEOs funnel money into hiring new employees/investing in local infrastructure/supporting the economy for tax write offs? | [
"> If I know I'm going to be taxed, why go out and spend more money to be taxed less? Wouldn't it just be redundant? If you spend money, you get something for it. If you get taxed, the money is gone. If the government was gonna tax my $1 unless I spent it, I could spend it on a hot dog, and now I'm down one dollar ... | [
"To further confuse you, should you also include corporate welfare? Tax breaks for successful companies, subsidies to unsuccessful ones, etc, etc."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are dirty restaurants seen in popular TV shows like Kitchen Nightmares not visited by local food safety departments before they end up on TV? | [
"It's super easy to pass the health inspector. As long as you don't have dead bodies hanging from the ceiling your ok"
] | [
"Batshit-crazy woman and her husband spend millions opening a restaurant, the husband is a control-freak and the wife can't cook. Neither can manage a restaurant. When anyone points out anything they do wrong (online or in-person) they flip their shit, and abuse the person making the complaint. Said restaurant was ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
why is the eastern half of the United States so flat? | [
"Tectonic plates are a thing. When Pangea broke up and formed our current continents (very ELI5 overview here) the plates that smashed into each other did so on 2 fronts in the US. These 2 just happen to be Appalachia (Which IIRC is connected to mountain ranges in europe) and the Rocky Mountains. These 2 mountain r... | [
"They're really not that close. South Africa is as close to the south pole as southern USA is to the north pole."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How are televisions in showroom in perfect sync ? | [
"There is a huge difference between having multiple monitors on a computer with different output on each like if you use a computer compared to duplicate a signal to multiple display. There are HDMI splitter boxes that take the input from one cable and send out the same signal to multiple monitors. A quick search ... | [
"A TV has equipment inside of it to pick up radio broadcasts of TV stations & speakers to play sounds. A monitor is just a display."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Do adults feel less pain then children or are they just more used to it? | [
"The most significant difference between a child and an adult experiencing physical pain is the emotional reaction. Pain can cause fear, which in turn may increase the sensation of pain. Tl;dr: We were wimps when we were wee."
] | [
"There hasn't been scientific consensus on the idea why or even if it exists yet, but it's generally known in pop culture that men take the hit harder than women. This could possibly be because: 1. Women deal with a monthly period, so they are much more accustomed to feeling like crap and pushing through. 2. Men a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
why smart phone producers are not able to make phone battery last longer than 3 days? | [
"They can, it just would be a very large battery and few consumers want a very thick/large phone."
] | [
"Not really, most modern phones have a feature where they deactivate charging until they drop to like 97%. Since most phones have a decent standby time, it doesn't get charged for more than like 20min in 8hr."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why, although I speak good English and am able to understand regular conversations, movies and album skits etc. do I struggle so much to understand lyrics in English songs? | [
"Lots of native English speakers also have *some* trouble with song lyrics. So much of the experience of a song has to do with the melodies that perfectly understandable lyrics aren't really a priority for singers."
] | [
"Absolutely. Speaking another language is more difficult for me than listening to it, and easier still is reading it. For example, if I'm reading written french, thanks to me speaking spanish, I can get the gist of what they're saying. I'd have a very hard time understanding someone speaking french, however, and th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
how a Keto diet works? | [
"You reduce the carb intake low enough that the body starts to burn fat for energy instead of using carbohydrates as the main source of energy. This increases fat burn which means you lose weight faster but still have the energy to do things."
] | [
"Chemical addiction withdrawal, For a part, at least."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is the "star shape" referred to as such? Aren't all stars just circles of light in the night sky? | [
"The Egyptian heiroglyphic for “star” was a five-pointed figure similar to the asterisk. It got into our culture from there."
] | [
"You mean like why they form concentric rings on the same plane instead of just a random orbital sphere of junk, right? I'd like to know as well. To piggyback a related question off OP, does anyone know how the \"layers\" are formed within the rings, considering that up close it's just a bunch of individual particl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
how does high amounts of radiation kill someone quickly? | [
"The worse incident of this was a Japanese scientist who fell into a chamber which had insane amounts of radiation. They essentially kept him alive for a few months and they were condemned because it was essentially torture in the name of science and research (ie the effects of high Level radiation) Can anyone remi... | [
"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 Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What stops the weight of the top floors of a skyscraper from crushing the lower floors? | [
"Simply put, they are strong enough to hold themselves up. Proper structural design with proper materials will go a long way. The fact that there is so much stress on the structure is why when sky scrapers fail they tend to do so completely. They are designed to hold up the weight of the floors above them, but not ... | [
"Thermal energies and tall buildings, heated air from the lowest levels of a building rise to the highest levels (through the elevator shafts mostly ) as such the suction of the air flow is so great that revolving doors had to be put it in tall buildings to keep the strong incoming winds from pushing people over , ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
why do lemons last so long while most fruit rots within a week? | [
"Because they are full of citric acid, which is a preserving agent."
] | [
"It's been canned. Even without artificial preservatives, they can seal it in an airtight container after superheating it to kill all the microorganisms that would lead to it rotting. This makes it shelf stable for quite some time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Food storage:"
} |
If atoms are 99.99999% empty space, how can matrer interact without simply passing through one another because there's virtually nothing there? | [
"To say an atom is mostly empty is an oversimplification. Our understanding of how things work breaks down when you get to atomic levels. Our intuition tells us that an object is made up of atoms, like a stack of billions of billiard balls. That is not the case. Instead there are weird quantum effects going on. At ... | [
"They are just really small elementary particles that are released during certain types of radioactive decays. They have no charge, dont interact with any thing through the strong nuclear force, and are so small their gravity is almost inconsequential. The main reason they go through things is do to the complete la... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did medieval era people cut their toenails when there were no nail-cutters? | [
"Nail grooming as a practice goes back to at least the ancient Romans, although for most of history, this only applied to those of high socioeconomic status. Mostly everyone else was engaged in some form of manual labor which kept nails short from wear and tear. There were plenty of devices available for trimming n... | [
"Our nails aren't used for anything much anymore. Before we had tools to cut them humans did a lot more manual labor. Digging, scraping bark off of trees to look for bugs, climbing things, all wore our nails down. Animals don't have to cut their nails in the wild because they're using them often enough that minor b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Biology:"
} |
- Please explain the difference between decriminalization and legalization. | [
"Decriminalization means it’s still illegal, but in the way a speeding ticket or parking ticket is. You get a ticket for the offense, you pay a fine, and go on with your life... no criminal record."
] | [
"Typically, it is not the *use* of the substance that is criminalized, but the possession. Also: prosecutorial discretion."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how the part of the human brain that controls concentration and problem solving works on concert with the part that looks for instance gratification and procrastination. | [
"I think you might want to find the article, since the language you're using isn't very precise. There's no part of your brain that controls \"concentration and problem solving,\" and there's no part of your brain that \"looks for instant gratification and procrastination.\" These are high level, abstract concepts,... | [
"So your brain has a part of it dedicated to conversation this is called the conversional lambiroia majoris. When this area of your brain is stimulated you are able to follow conversations and contribute. When you \"zone out\" this area of your brain is busy processing other information. Sort of like when your comp... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
stars/galaxies that are light years away | [
"That is the case for many stars that we see. They are long gone, and we just see their light as they were millions/billions of years ago."
] | [
"They are very active centers of galaxies which have black holes at the middle. They are far away because other galaxies are really far away."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
When you first light a candle, it oftentimes makes a “pop” sound and the flame flares up a lot before dying down and leveling off. What causes this? | [
"For the candle to light there must be wax evaporating from the wick. As you heat up the wick to that point, you can get a small cloud of unburnt wax vapor around the wick. When that cloud ignites you get a teeny tiny FAE (Fuel Air Explosion) that produces the POP!, and the overheated wick continues to boil off exc... | [
"That's not smoke. Its vaporized parrafin wax. It is to wax as steam is to water. You see, when a candle burns its not the string that is burning, but rather the wax of the candle. Candle wax is quite flammable, but only when vaporized. The melted wax is absorbed by the candle wick, and then burned. When you blow t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Science:"
} |
What does a cold virus actually ‘get’ from infecting us? | [
"It uses your cells to produce more of itself, which then go on to infect others. They continue to exist because they do this well enough that not all of the viruses are wiped out by your body before spreading elsewhere. If you're asking \"what do they get\" in a sort of \"what are their goals\" sense, they don't ... | [
"Bacteria is a tiny, single-celled organism. Bacteria can exist on its own in the world, or inside of other living things: plants, animals, you, me. Not all bacteria are bad, though, and we have beneficial bacteria living inside our bodies every day. Whereas Viruses are also microscopic beings, but they behave diff... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Medical:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Medical:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is the INF treaty so important for Europe? | [
"Because the treaty is about intermediate nuclear missiles and Europe is at intermediate range from Russia. Many eastern European countries furthermore have bad memories about the Soviet Union so obviously feel strongly about this."
] | [
"Russia does not have a good track record when it comes to telling the truth. Why start believing them now?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why is it acceptable to say "I'm going home" but not "I'm going work" or any other location ("I'm going supermarket", "I'm going Paris")? | [
"In the context of \"I'm going home\", \"home\" functions as an adverb modifying the verb \"going.\" Compare with other adverbs such as: \"I'm going now.\" \"I'm going quickly.\" It is not functioning as a noun in that sentence unlike \"work\", \"supermarket\" or \"Paris\" which require the addition of a prepositio... | [
"Generally, you would add the article if you're describing a specific, often physical, act, while you would omit the article if you're describing a wider act. For example, take the sentences: I am going to jail / I am going to **the** jail. The first one say you're going to be locked up in a jail, while the second ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do Americans continually vote for Democrats and Republicans | [
"Because people would rather have the lesser of two evils NOW, over and over and over, than better outcomes long-term. People get scared into voting for the least bad of the two big parties because the other big party, if they get into power, will spell certain destruction for us all."
] | [
"In addition, the Koch Brothers, aka big oil billionaires, contribute to the Republican campaigns all over the country, claiming they are promoting \"family values\" (anti-abortion, etc.). The conservative voters don't have a choice but to believe what their party is telling them. Otherwise, they feel like they are... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How can hand sanitizer only kill 99.99% of germs? | [
"The company producing/reselling the sanitiser cannot guarantee it kills 100% of all germs, because there's no way to know if it has or not."
] | [
"It isn't. It is commonly believed that washing your hands with warm water will \"kill\" the bacteria on your hands. This is false. You would have to wash your hands with almost boiling water in order to reduce the bacteria on your skin. It's the anti-bacteria soap that will \"kill\" bacteria. EDIT: I should clarif... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How can salt have less Sodium? | [
"You're thinking of sodium chloride, which is what most salt is. Sodium on its own is a silvery gray metal that explodes when it gets wet. I'm guessing if you have a salt package with \"less sodium\" then some of the sodium chloride has been replaced by potassium chloride."
] | [
"Distilled water should be H2O. Regular water has other things in it. For example NaCl, Ca, ..."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What causes muscle cramps like “Charlie horses” to randomly occur and what is actually happening to the muscle during one? | [
"A Charlie horse is a sustained contraction of a muscle. Usually they happen due to dehydration or electrolyte disturbances. We call this tetany in medicine. It has to do with your muscles being stuck in the \"on\" position and unable to relax due to an imbalance of electrolytes like calcium or potassium. That is d... | [
"You're probably feeling a muscle fasciculation. Which is just a few fibers in the muscle twitching. It's so small you won't see on a big scale, but you will be able to feel it. Most of the time it's normal. If you've sustained a nerve injury due to trauma, the muscle can twitch as well, and you'll need to do speci... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What does it really mean to be sister/twin cities? Is it just symbolic or do cities get something else out of it? | [
"The Town of [Boring, Oregon](_URL_1_), is part of *a \"League of Extraordinary Communities\" grouping [Dull](_URL_0_), Boring and [Bland](_URL_2_) as a means of encouraging travel, promoting all three communities.* Tourism, awareness, and merchandising. Also community building internationally; Boring is in the US,... | [
"It is an award given to people who have contributed, in a positive way, to the betterment of the city. It’s really just symbolic and dates back to when cities used to be walled."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
how are fossils formed and how is the age of them determined? | [
"It wasn’t a literal cannonball, but a naturally occurring rock that resembles a cannonball. Generally speaking, fossils occur when minerals in the soil replace organic matter over very long periods of time, creating an exact replica of the original organic matter that won’t decay."
] | [
"We use a method called radiometric dating. Basically, we use the time it takes for certain elements to 'decay' as a benchmark for how long the Earth has been around. This explaination is extremely simplified."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post about Astronomy:"
} |
If the universe is 13.772 billion years old, how could it have time to expand to be 93 billion light-years across? | [
"The expansion of the universe is not matter moving through space, it's space becoming more space, which is not something that involves a speed limit, since nothing's actually *moving*. So the most distant objects we can see are further now than they would be if they were simply receding from us very quickly."
] | [
"It's impossible to know for sure if the universe is infinite or not. The *observable* universe certainly isn't, it's only about 90 billion light years across."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about astronomy:",
"pos": "Represent the passage about astronomy:",
"neg": "Represent the passage about Mathematics:"
} |
If we can produce phone screens that are 6" in diameter with a full HD resolution, whats stopping us from making 16K TVs? | [
"Nothing is stopping us. Theres just no market value. Even 4k is limited by content creators actually making their products 4k in resolution, most of the market for media consumption is for 2k displays."
] | [
"its the other way around. Computer monitor LEDs/LCDs have a way higher pixel and screen resolution density than any television on the market, excluding 4k TV's"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
certain animals can communicate verbally with each other. Why can’t we as humans learn and understand what they are saying in the way that we understand our language? | [
"We have tried. A recent [study](_URL_0_ ) decoded quite a bit of dog/wolf communication sounds. It turns out, like humans, that they have different language/dialect in different geographic areas."
] | [
"Cats know how to comunicate properly without vocalisation, they just have to dumb it down to get their point across to humans"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do certain dry erase markers leave stains on a whiteboard when others don’t? | [
"While I can't ELI5 this one, I have noticed this too. There are two types of dry erase markers: those that smell terrible but erase easily, and those that do not smell at all but are impossible to completely erase. Choose one."
] | [
"9 year elementary teacher here to share some knowledge. I use black Expos daily and the best way to keep the whiteboard clean and easy to erase is to not wash it. I know, sounds strange, but it works. The black will erase much easier and will not appear as messy as it does when you erase a freshly washed board. I ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How are underwater tunnels built? How do they know where to dig (so it'actually under water ) and how do they calculate so that the ceiling doesnt crumble and flood everything? | [
"The short answer is \"very carefully\" It isn't as simple as \"go did a hole there\". You have engineers and geologists that examine the ground to know exactly what it is made of and ensure it can withstand having the tunnel dug. You have other engineers and materials scientists that determine what to make the sup... | [
"Student Civil Engineer here. To put it as if you are actually 5. Imagine there is a road, now underneath that road there is soil. Over time water can erode (takes away) bits of soil. Over a period of time there is now no more soil under the road since the water has eroded it and there is just a big hole. Eventuall... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do phone mics filter audio based on source (like YouTube vs me talking using the loudspeaker) | [
"Assuming you're playing the YouTube video on the same phone you're using for the video call, it's relatively easy: the phone knows what sound it's outputting from the speakers, so it can simply subtract that sound from what it's receiving through the microphone before sending it. Any phone that can be used as a sp... | [
"This depends on the software used. The program can cancel out the audio it knows it's making, but not all programs do this, especially if they're designed with headset use in mind. I know for a fact that i never get feedback when using skype on my laptop, even if i don't use a headset."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment about Technology:"
} |
How do some kids under age 12 get into college/university? | [
"The program I know of is the University of Washington's Robinson Center, that attracts young students who participate in the [Center for Talented Youth](_URL_0_)'s Talent Search (students with 99th percentile standardized scores are allowed to take the SAT starting at 12). Students who get a high enough score (it ... | [
"12 years plus kindergarten means most people are around 18 when they graduate and at that age you are legally considered an adult at least in the US."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
how tax brackets work | [
"Think of it more as a pocket than a bracket. Let's say you pay 0% taxes between $0-999, 10% from $1000-9999, 20% from $10,000-99,999 and 30% from $100,000+ If you earn $999, you pay 0% taxes. If then you earn $1000, you pay 0% taxes on the first $999, and then 10% taxes on everything remaining ($1) Similarly, if y... | [
"reward system wants now reward, not the end of long work reward."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why do the metal tools used in dental cleanings not damage your teeth? | [
"Remember the hardness scale back in Middle School Geology? You had diamonds at the top, rubies were up there and lead was at the bottom? Diamonds can scratch a ruby but a ruby (being less hard) cannot scratch a diamond. Well it's the same principal. The metal in dental tools is not as hard as your teeth. So it wo... | [
"It's easier and less expensive to just brush and floss, but even if you could encase your teeth in a protective shell, you would still need to brush and floss to protect your gums from disease. People with crowns, which cover the exposed tooth and cannot get cavities, can still develop cavities around the edge of ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
How does language translation work? | [
"They aren't 1:1. To be a good translator you have to be very fluent in both languages - otherwise you miss subtleties, idioms, context, etc. This is why people who translate books do it professionally. You can't just plug it into a translator and have it carry the same nuanced presentation, mood, or clever word ch... | [
"Which language do you think would be the best to switch to?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why are you generally able to use a VR headset without discomfort, but if you hold a phone 2" from your eyes for any length of time it becomes very uncomfortable and headache-inducing? | [
"The VR headset has lenses in it that change the eye relief distance to the focal plane of the image/smartphone. Your eye focuses at a larger distance, reducing eyestrain."
] | [
"Your eyes are constantly adjusting and getting used tonnes stimulus. Put on a pair of someone else's glasses and the image gets all distorted, so your eyes refocus to try and undo the effect. This strains your eyes, which is uncomfortable, and your eyes may struggle for a few minutes after taking them off, but it ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why can't we simply suck the excess fat from out bodies, like with a syringe? | [
"We can. That's more or less what liposuction is."
] | [
"We need water to flush out toxic crap from our body. Think of the issues with trying to pee out a thick sludge!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How does alcohol get to the brain? | [
"[Here is a really good description of how it works.](_URL_0_) Oil and water don't mix. So things that are nonpolar tend to stick to oil and fat. Things that are polar tend to stick to water. Alcohol is a small molecule and can do both. It gets in the watery environment of the blood, floats up to the brain, and the... | [
"The alcohol's been absorbed by the time it hits the large intestine."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Microbiology:"
} |
How can it be so cold in the USA and so hot in Australia at the same time ? | [
"That's not what winter means at all. Winter is when your part of Earth is tilted away from the Sun, which means the other part (say, the Southern Hemisphere) is tilted toward the sun."
] | [
"They're really not that close. South Africa is as close to the south pole as southern USA is to the north pole."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why can’t we prove theories through brute-force? | [
"Well, for example: If you take the amount of prime numbers that are less or equal to an integer, and take that as a function, it seems (for the first few million or something of integers iirc) that it is bounded by some logarithmic function (i believe x/ln(x)), however at some random integer the prime counting fun... | [
"We don't. But it doesn't matter. The mathematical models that describe these things allow us to predict observable outcomes that are incredibly accurate. Everything could be a quantum probably field or a vivid hallucination of the mind. But until a more accurate model exist to explain what we experience we'll keep... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage about Science:"
} |
If light from the andromeda galaxy tookbillions of light years to come to Earth, would this mean the galaxy is closer to us than seen? | [
"It has indeed been in motion since the version you are now seeing. Yes, as it happens, Andromeda is moving toward us at something like 400,000 km/h so it's now a bit closer than what we see."
] | [
"It is \"observable right now from earth.\" It takes light time to travel. If thigs in the universe are so far away that they haven't been in existance long enough for their light to get to us, then when we look their direction there is nothing to observe. And the kicker is that it appears that space is expandingat... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it so hard for game consoles to include backwards compatibility? | [
"Because they were reinventing the wheel with every generation of console instead of using a standardized architecture. If we're talking about PlayStation, CPU and GPU in every console before PS4 had different architectures, they weren't using standard \"computer\" x86-64 architecture that can run any standard comp... | [
"Old games are built on old platforms and need to be re-engineered to work on modern platforms. Game devs do release old content all the time. You can go on your phone right now and download a ton of Square Enix's old games that have been ported to Android and iOS, but there has to be a financial incentive for them... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do apartments generate leasing prices? They seem to change daily without any reason. | [
"Like most other pricing ... supply and demand combined with competition and the most the owner feels the market will bear. People move out they may offer deals. Almost full up, less need to. Competition goes up or down? Follow suit. In the end, like every other profit making business ever created, it is about ge... | [
"A company wants to earn as much money as possible, so they change their website, selection etc. to earn as much money as possible."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can somebody explain to me the photoacoustic effect? | [
"Sound is created by having different spots in the air that are at different pressures, that is, there's more air molecules, then next to that there's less air molecules (or possibly more/less pressure due to heat), etc. That's what the sound wave is, a series of high-low-high-low bits of air coming towards your ea... | [
"I am not familiar with this phenomenon. Could you go into some more detail about that?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Science:"
} |
Why do most piracy websites have ..tv or .eu and never .com or .net? | [
"Because .com and .net are being controlled by the US and those websites don't want to deal with US laws since US copyright law is pretty strict."
] | [
"* .com is user for *com*mercial purpose websites. * .net was basically used for organizations providing networking facilities. Like Internet service providers. * .org is mainly used for non-profit organizations. These days .org is used for any kind of organizations. The specifications are not enforced, hence they ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:"
} |
If a woman is born with millions of eggs, why do women go through menopause? Shouldn’t there be a lot of eggs left? | [
"Women are born with approximately two million eggs in their ovaries, but about eleven thousand of them die every month prior to puberty. Even after that, they steadily die off in addition to the ones that are ovulated."
] | [
"Because the people who receive them want healthy eggs to produce healthy children, especially since they're paying for them. Messing up the eggs with drugs, excessive alcohol, and other unhealthy habits isn't fair to anyone involved. Egg donors may be held to higher standards than sperm donors because sperm are co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why is it that we can’t superduper charge our batteries with a super «shock» like one of those heart rescue thingies and it’ll be full? | [
"Because you charge a battery by triggering a chemical reaction with an electrical current as the energy source. High voltage or amperage will just cause it to heat up too quickly and explode/catch fire. Kind of like if you fill up a container with water through a sieve from a tap, the container will slowly fill up... | [
"The thumper? It is a really low tone that deaf people can feel approaching."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What's the difference between garbage and trash? | [
"It sounds like a joke, as those two words are synonyms (they mean the same thing). The word *garbage* possibly came from Anglo-French/French and *trash* probably came from a Scandinavian language, but that's basically the only difference."
] | [
"It has a few different meanings in different contexts. What setting are we talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about finance:"
} |
Why is it that people think of different things when double negatives are used compared to positives? For example, "not insignificant" and "significant" sound like two different levels of significance to me (with "significant" being more). | [
"You are correct. The reason is that \"not un-x\" doesn't automatically mean \"x,\" it can also mean \"medium.\" So a woman who's \"not unattractive\" is medium, or vaguely maybe somewhat attractive."
] | [
"\"I couldn't care less\". \"I could not care less\". means that you are at the bare minimum of caring. saying \"I could care less\" implies that you care at least a small amount, as it would be possible for you to care less. Both are accepted colloquially, but \"couldn't\" is correct."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Language:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Language:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What would stop the billionaires to move to other countries, if the 70% marginal tax rate becomes reality in US? | [
"Nothing really, but most other countries they would want to move to either already tax at a same or higher rate. There are also visa applications to handle and many countries won’t grant a long term visa without work, again at least those that they would want to move to. Plus, it would depend on where they make th... | [
"Finland has a population that thinks its a good idea and will vote for people who put it in place. Basic income is expensive (the equivalent plan in the US would cost about 6% of the current federal budget), but certainly not impossible. The key difference between Finland and countries that don't have a basic inco... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why do overhead power lines need to be de-iced in cold weather? | [
"Ice is heavy. If power lines get covered with too much ice, the weight could cause damage to either the lines or the supporting poles. A bunch of overhanging icicles on power lines is also a serious danger for pedestrians and motorists below."
] | [
"Electricity can be transported underground. It costs a lot more to dig up the streets and lay the lines. In some cities' downtowns all of the lines are underground though, Portland, OR for one."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
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