query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
What does offsides and icing mean? | [
"Offsides in hockey is when a player crosses the opponents blue line before the puck does. This is to avoid people sitting at the net waiting for a pass. Icing is when a team shoots the puck past the midline and blue line and no one touches if. This is to avoid being able to just shoot the puck down to the other en... | [
"A large area for discussion is how you tackle and intentionally hitting in ways to cause more pain. Lot rule bending in there."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What’s the purpose of a cork pea in a whistle? | [
"It jumps around inside the whistle, momentarily blocking the aperture, which has the effect of adding a trilling effect to the sound. Without it it would just sound like a single steady note."
] | [
"First things first, why would a 5 years old ask questions about cocaine?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Sports owners typically own real businesses outside of their actual team. Is there anything stopping them from underpaying one of their top players (for salary cap purposes) and then “employing” them in their real companies and making up for it? | [
"Yes -- Generally the leagues specifically have rules against this, so its quite as simple as that, its not allowed. In Europe, this gets even more wacky and complicated too. However, this wasn't always the case in every sport, for example a commonly known exception to this was the American Football player Hershel ... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
if time is relative how we can say how old the universe is? | [
"The simple answer is that we're measuring how old the universe is in relation to our reference frame here on Earth. Time doesn't increase just when gravity increases--it also dilates at relativistic speeds. You're right--that means that the age of the universe is going to look different to different places and ob... | [
"Einstein's relativity theory. He explains it as such > When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it's longer than any hour. That's relativity. Relativity says that as an object goes faster, the more globally bent timespace is round it,... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about astronomy:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post about astronomy:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
When you suck your stomach in, where does it go? | [
"How high are you? Lol (am also curious about this question)"
] | [
"When you are hungry, there is no food in your stomach except air. The walls of your stomach pull in so it can push the food down but since there is no food in there, it makes that growling sound. :)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
Why does airport security take things like bottles of water and sun lotion | [
"Security theatre - to make you feel safe. The whole thing is essentially pointless. There’s a reasonably good Adam ruins everything on it."
] | [
"I work in a hotel. We literally have an entire room full of amenities you wouldn't even think of asking for. Shaving cream, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mini sewing packs, hairspray, deodorant, combs, shower caps, q-tips, shoe polish, slippers, mouthwash, body wash, mini packs of aspirin, the list goes... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why could retro cartridge-based games not save player data without a battery backup? Why do modern cartridge-based systems not let you do this as well? | [
"None-volatile storage of that size did not at all exist back then. The best that existed were floppy drives which were not exactly something you could add into a cartridge. They could do something like that today, but it would add a bit to the cost of the cartridge potentially. Most modern gaming devices have th... | [
"Because then the computer's speed would be limited by how quickly the CD/DVD can read the disk. When the game is installed on the computer, the harddrive can be accessed much faster than a laser moving over spinning disk. Edit, furthermore: To reverse your question, why do consoles play games off the disk instead ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does mic feedback always present itself as high pitched ringing? | [
"Audio Engineer here: & #x200B; It doesn't always. Sometimes it's low end frequencies feeding back from a subwoofer into a mic stand or similar. & #x200B; The reason that *most of the time* it's high pitched is because: * The speakers are better at reproducing high pitches * The mics are better at picking up high... | [
"Tinnitus is permanent... you would hear it all the time. What you're describing is temporary and I'm pretty sure it happens to everyone. I don't know what it's called, but it was explained to me like Feedback in a microphone. Basically a sound loop in one ear that builds on itself until it swells into a high pitch... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the text about Health:"
} |
Does sleep debt exist? | [
"You can definitely become more tired and exhausted without sleep, and it seems roughly proportional to how much sleep you need to \"recover\", but only to a point. If you miss some sleep, your normal amount might be enough. But it isnt an hour-for hour tradeoff and there are diminishing returns to how long your r... | [
"I battled with insomnia all my life, so I had to learn a little bit about it. I don't think you need to compare it with drinking and smoking, but they key word is \"long term.\" Drinking and smoking are bad for you, worst than sleep loss, but the effects of poor sleep will be felt over decades. Several studies sho... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Signal. How does WiFi and mobile data pass through walls? | [
"Glass is solid, but transparent to light. Walls are solid but transparent to radio signals."
] | [
"The same way you can create a wifi hotspot on your phone. Phone/Bus/Train connects to either a the mobile network or a satellite system. Then uses that link to serve WiFi."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How they time the jets that fly over the stadium at the end of the national anthem during the SuperBowl | [
"It's a matter of timing. You know when the song starts, you know when the aeroplanes need to be there, you know how long it takes for them to get there from a certain location. Get the song started at the right time, get the planes at the right location to start with, get them to have the right speed and boom, you... | [
"I believe that it is because this weekend was the first weekend of the NFL playoffs. With Nfl playoff games on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening that they didn't want to compete with that. Placing the game on a Monday night does not compete with the Nfl. Also many football fans are used to watching Mo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is Roko’s Basilisk? | [
"Roko's Basilisk is an argument about AI. It argues that; a sufficiently powerful AI would have an incentive to punish people who had thought about the AI/known about efforts to create the AI, but that did not assist in the creation of the AI. These people could be seen as \"hampering the efforts to create the enti... | [
"Check out Robert E. May's *Manifest Destiny's Underworld*."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why after taking ibuprofen or simmilar pain relief drugs do i feel instant relief even if it hasnt done anything yet | [
"Its called the placebo effect. You believe that those pills will make you feel better, so your brain convinces you that you do feel better, and releases endorphins to improve your mood, even before the actual effects of the pill start. The interesting thing is that you will experience the same effect even if you t... | [
"it doesnt. everything you take goes to your bloodstream and is distributed to your whole body. Its just a matter of what that particular chemical does. For example, if you take painkiller for a headache, but you back kinda hurt too, both those pains would be alleviated by painkiller. This is why side effects are a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How do (non-flying) animals populate new islands? | [
"In a lot of cases the terrestrial animals on islands like Madagascar are endemic, and unique. They and their ancestors evolved on those islands since they split off from the mainland, in this case mainland africa. In other situations, there may once have been land bridges between continents and islands across whic... | [
"Because they evolved in different parts of the world that had different natural and sexual selection pressures."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
What are the sounds you hear when connecting on a dial-up modem? | [
"It is called the handshake. There are still used in technology but we seldom hear them any more. After a connection is made. The devices negotiate what protocol parameters, speed, error correct and compression will be used. _URL_0_"
] | [
"Because the standard telephone call is encoded with 8bits at 16kHz, while things like Skype can encoded with up to 40bits at 24kHz allowing for a much better and clearer sound. When you are making a normal call on your cellphone, you have a lot less bandwidth available then when making a call through WiFi (or thro... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
what is an eigenfunction and how does one work? | [
"A totally not mathy explanation for a five year old to (hopefully) understand. Imagine a magic box where you throw in different shapes. You can throw in anything, a cube, a ball, a pyramid shaped thing, anything that fits in the box. When you close and shake the box and open it back up, you will see another object... | [
"We do, its the derivative. I don’t know if you have taken calculus yet but finding the gradient of x^2 is usually one of the very first things they have you do. Or did you mean a specific technique to measure it?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How exactly are imaginary numbers useful? | [
"i is useful because sin and cos can be represented by e^(i*x) also known as Euler's equation. This makes calculus much more convenient. Also imaginary is a bit of misnomer. It's not that the number doesn't exist it just exists on another dimension of the number line. Normally you have just one axis say an x axis ... | [
"It has a few different meanings in different contexts. What setting are we talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about finance:"
} |
How does the Nikon P900 zoom so far - like all the way to the moon - whilst still not being bigger than a 200m+ lens...? | [
"That 200mm lens you're referring to is for 35mm film (36mm wide image) format. The p900 is a 1/2.3 inch format (6.17mm wide image). The smaller format means lenses can be smaller."
] | [
"Reasonablefocal length explanation here: _URL_2_ 14mm means it's a really really wide lens, suitable for stuff like broad, sweeping landscape photos. Pancake is the actual shape of the lens, it's a physically flat one. The 14mm doesn't actually indicate whether it will fit your camera or not. Best advice for a beg... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
CPU cores and threads | [
"CPU (as its name implies) refers to the actual processing unit or thing that does the various computation we want it to do. A CPU core is just referring to a distinct one of these units so when it says “quad core” there are 4 of those units inside. A thread is a theoretical programming concept of a “task” or some... | [
"HDR are done by shader who are calculated on the GPU. Invalid question."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How did Helen Keller learn to communicate? | [
"A sign language professional was brought in, who signed the names of objects into her hand after letting her feel the objects. After a very long and frustrating length of time where she didn't understand the point of the exercise, it finally clicked for her that she was being communicated with rather than just hav... | [
"What do you want to know about them exactly?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
how can kids fight off some diseases better than adults? | [
"So they aren't actually 100% sure why this seems to be the case, but two ideas seem to make the most sense. One idea is that as we get older, our immune systems send out less of these big cells called phagocytes that basically just eat up anything in our bodies that shouldn't be there. Another idea is that our bod... | [
"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 question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Does the set of all sets contain itself? | [
"In [naive set theory](_URL_0_), the set of all sets contains itself, because it is a set, so it must contain itself. However, naive set theory results in paradoxes, for example, does the set of all sets that do not contain themselves, contain itself? If it doesn't contain itself, then it must contain itself. But i... | [
"Yea, there are infinite questions that can be asked. Proof: Question 1: \"What is the 1st digit of pi?\" Question 2: \"What is the 2nd digit of pi?\" Question n: \"What is the nth digit of pi?\" Since pi is infinite, n must go to infinity. Thus, there are infinitely many possible questions about pi. Since the se... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do most U.S. (and probably all over the globe) people sleep in a bed that is held in the air by a frame? | [
"Keeps the bed off the ground, it's warmer, drier, less vermin, etc etc. Also easier to get in and out of if higher, and may as well use the under bed space as storage, so open frame. Some places they didn't, I think Japan had roll up or folding futons as a rule."
] | [
"For a while in the 20s-60s, they didn't. It's a practical matter; you need less space and one fewer bed. It's also because sleeping with someone is satisfying our needs for intimacy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are Americans annoyed about the Superbowl 1/2 time show? And why is it about SpongeBob? | [
"Stephen Hillenberg, the creator of Spongebob, passed away last year. In the show, there’s an episode where they perform the song Sweet Victory at the Super Bowl, and it’s considered one of the best moments of the show. There was a social media movement/meme thingy to have Sweet Victory played during halftime at th... | [
"The US public has the attention span of a grapefruit. They've moved on to Bill \"the rapist\" Cosby, Kimye, the Sony hack and the price of gas."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about News and current events:"
} |
Why does water expand when it freezes? | [
"When water freezes it forms a crystalline structure, which results in ice taking up more space then liquid water. When water gets colder it actually does become more dense up until the point it freezes, at which point the density will start to quickly decrease before increasing again."
] | [
"All drinks will explode in the freezer if there isn't enough room for the water in them to expand when it turns to ice."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
How come bacteria can acquire resistance/immunity to certain antibiotics, but humans can't acquire the same resistance to specific disease-carrying bacteria? | [
"> Can't our body's immune system just deal with antibiotic-resistant bacteria by also making us immune to them? Yes we can, to some degree. And that's what vaccines are for. Stuff like tuberculosis, tetanus, and whooping cough are all caused by bacteria and vaccines make our body produce antibodies to fight off th... | [
"No. Antibiotics are a chemical that is designed to kill bacteria on its own by breaking down their cell walls. Antivirals do the same for viruses, and antifungals do the same for fungi. They do not pump your body with antibodies."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Microbiology:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Microbiology:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
If anything is moving away with constant speed from each other, why distant objects appear faster? | [
"In what context does that happen? If you stand and look at moving objects the closer they are the faster they appear because the angular size changes faster. Angular size there size in your field of view. The size of a object approximate half in size at twine the distance so something that move from 200m to 100m... | [
"They all start at more or less the same place and travel at the same speed in different directions. By the time they've traveled a long way compared to the size of the suitcase, the suitcase doesn't matter and they might as well have all started at one place. Then they're circular because they are all the same dis... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Physics:"
} |
How do stars explode and create new stars if the reason they exploded was because they ran out of fuel? | [
"They fuse elements together until the core is too heavy. Think of fusion pushing out from the star, and gravity pulling the star together. Once the core gets too heavy the star collapses under its own weight and the remnants of that star are scattered into space. This has and dust can then coalesce and form other ... | [
"The universe is almost all hydrogen or helium (the two lightest particles). Gravity makes things pull together. When enough hydrogen pulls together, it ignites and makes a star. The star runs by fusion - that is when hydrogen comes together to make helium - and releases energy. Eventually all the hydrogen is used ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
At what point did the first cells decide that it was okay to eat each other? And why? Couldn’t they have kept dividing just as the first living cell did? Did they divide to survive or JUST to eat each other? Or both? What mechanism even decided those? | [
"They didn't \"decide\". That's a conscious motive that you're applying to the simplest organisms. The simple answer is that you need more stuff to make more cells. Just like building a house, you need to get more lumber, bricks, drywall...etc to build more houses. The easiest way to get the biological molecules a... | [
"Bacteria is the most successful thing on this planet with about 5*10^30 individuals. Some scientists estimate the total weight of bacteria exceeds that of both plants and animals. So a better question to ask would be why we are even here? You have to keep in mind that evolution is not a straight line. It is a bran... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do people feel more comfortable using bad posture (slouching,leaning) than good posture? | [
"Good posture generally uses muscles to hold you in a certain position, requiring effort. Slouching basically means relaxing these muscles and letting the weight of your body rest on ligaments and joints. It’s always easier to not put in effort. Also, slouching is only really bad if you do it for a long time with ... | [
"Long story short, because you're used to it. Since you sit with a hunch all the time that's naturally how you're the most comfortable. Your back isn't used to sitting up straight so when you do make an effort the muscles that aren't used to being used tired quickly, if you made a long term effort to correct your p... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why can fever go to dangerous levels if it's triggered in self-defense? | [
"My understanding is that unless there is an outside influence causing something to go wrong with the hypothalmic response, fever tops out below what would be considered life threatening. Your body will not cook itself to kill a flu for instance, but a degenerative disease that causes damage to the hypothalamus mig... | [
"Where I'm from it's recommended not to take any medicine that lowers fever, except if you go above 40C (104F). The explanation is that the fever is beneficial for you to a certain extent."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does a player cheat in football besides the obvious like paying off the refs? | [
"A large area for discussion is how you tackle and intentionally hitting in ways to cause more pain. Lot rule bending in there."
] | [
"Where there is money, there is everything.. There are literally thousands of ways sports can be fixed. Individual players can be contacted, offered huge sums of money and told to underperform or even do a harmless thing as clap 4 times after a goal! (Bookies bet on anything and everything... if there is a bet that... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How or when did Fedora's start getting such a bad reputation? | [
"Around the time that people started thinking that an old-timey hat would seriously make them look extra-classy and respectable. They definitely do look cool, but only in the same way that a necktie looks cool. You can't wear it with a gamer t-shirt and expect people to treat you like Frank Sinatra."
] | [
"To be fair to Microsoft (a first for me), they're not the only ones who have trouble with this."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why is the fridge door harder to open again right after you’ve closed it? Feels like there is extra suction holding it closed | [
"You are right. When you open the fridge you let hot air into the fridge. When you close it the hot air will cool down which means that the pressure gets lower sucking the door to the frame. There are small vents in the back which will let air into the fridge (these can freeze up with ice and should be checked from... | [
"These things are basically one huge example of shitty engineering. If I had to guess, I'd say that there is supposed to be more resistance against the button raising itself back up, taking a few seconds, but for some reason this wears out and the thing just shoots right back up before hands can be rinsed. That's... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do our memories take place in the Third Person perspective? | [
"Hmmm. Mine aren’t like that. Maybe I haven’t watched as much tv/movies as you? I have a friend who is a huge film buff. He dreams in the third person, and I always thought those things were connected."
] | [
"If you were two dimensional, how would I explain the third dimension to you?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why don’t we sound the way we think when we hear the playback of our voices? | [
"Because when you speak you hear yourself + your skull vibrating to the sound of your voice. So this causes you to hear a deeper voice than when you listen to the recording."
] | [
"I think part of it is that it makes the brain work harder since we only hear one side of the conversation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Language and Communication:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Language and Communication:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is it so common to be circumsiced in the US, and not in the rest of the world? | [
"It was popularised around 1900 by John Kellogg, the American businessman. He thought it would prevent the moral sin of masturbation."
] | [
"If you think treatment of animals is bad in China, you have to seriously look at the treatment of people in The Republic Of China."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Circumcision in the US:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about Circumcision in the US:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why it's not okay to eat raw eggs, but it's okay to eat cooked eggs that still have a runny yolk | [
"Technically, runny eggs are just as dangerous. It's just the fact that there is a LOT happening behind the scenes to reduce the overall risk - someone did a math, and if you ate 2 eggs every day, it would take you ~27 years on average to get exposed to a salmonella-infected egg. And while cooking the egg a little ... | [
"Commercial mayonnaise uses pasteurised eggs, making it safe. If you make mayonnaise at home then it's not much different from eating the same eggs raw without making them into mayonnaise. If they're fresh then it's mostly fine most of the time. Fresh raw eggs aren't inherently poisonous, but there's a risk they co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why slugs die to salt | [
"Slugs are mostly water. Salt absorbs that water and dehydrate the slug through a process called osmosis."
] | [
"Some do which is sometimes why bored dogs for instance destroy furniture"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are testicles so sensitive? | [
"It's an evolutionary advantage to protect your reproductive organs. Natural selection chose men whose testicles were sensitive so they were less likely to be sacrificed in any given scenario. Obviously women are a slightly different case."
] | [
"Also, why are some people not ticklish at all?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why is it called Latin America if they don’t speak Latin? | [
"There are two major language trees in Europe. Languages derived from Latin, such as Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and languages derived from Germanic, like German, Nordic, etc. Notice that I did not mention English which is its own mess but technically considered Germanic. In Latin America they speak mo... | [
"Let me put it this way, it couldn't hurt."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How can we catch colds in the rain? | [
"through the same virus that you would catch one in fair weather.. the rain is an old wives tale"
] | [
"Why do people in Western countries use forks?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What causes us to have a "sneeze number", where we normally sneeze only a certain amount of times in one go? | [
"Probably the mechanics - we sneeze because want to get something out of our nostrils. There's only so many times you need to sneeze to get it out - remember, the speed of air coming out of your nostril is comparable to the speed of a bullet train. Its a very, very strong air current. So the more times you sneeze, ... | [
"To sneeze, your nerves need a certain amount of stimulus. You can get to a point where the need to sneeze is almost triggered. If you notice, you usually move and then freeze in preparation of the sneeze. There is chance that these two actions relieve what is stimulating you need to sneeze, so the sensation relax... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Health:"
} |
why is cold water on the skin uncomfortable, but drinking cold water is highly refreshing? | [
"Depends on your definition of cold and personal preference. The only time I prefer cold water is when I'm exhausted and thirsty, usually from working out or something....at that point cold water helps cool me down and quench my thirst. Any other time I drink room temperature water and find it just as refreshing as... | [
"because the spices contain capsaicin. Capsaicin binds to your receptors, and literally makes your brain think youre on fire, which sets of all of these alarms, so your nose starts running, you start sweating alot more, you crave something to drink. Just remember, water doesnt work as its polar, while capsaicin is ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Food and Beverage:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Food and Beverage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
What has prevented scientists from making CO2 (carbon dioxide) powered vehicles? | [
"Our vehicles run on gasoline, a mixture of carbon molecules that we violently oxidize with atmospheric oxygen to release tremendous heat and pressure. This powers the vehicle. Carbon dioxide is the end product, a fully oxidized carbon atom. You can't oxidize it again without some particularly nasty chemicals, and ... | [
"You can, throw a log in the fire. When hydrocarbons like wood burn the major products are carbon dioxide and water vapor. Since the Earth's surface is mostly water there has never been a need to actually try and produce it chemically."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Considering all the talk of colonising Marss, wouldn't it be easier to just make a moon base? | [
"There are pros and cons either way, as I understand it. For instance: the moon is closer, but mars has enough gravity to be more comfortable (and healthier), enough atmosphere to make insulation a far simpler problem, and enough weather that erosion has made the dust similar enough that we can say with confidence ... | [
"There is stuff of worth up there. I recall reading about Helium3 in particular, and that if the surface of the moon had gold bars littered all over the place, it wouldn't be worth going, but H3 is worth the effort. The rocks are full of raw materials ready to be either shipped home to Earth or used right there. Fu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why do older PC games require to put Disc 2 on your PC while playing? | [
"Because older games would not fit on a single disc, and when you installed games you didn't install everything, some stuff remained on discs - both for performance's sake, and as an extra drm-like measure. When you are asked to put disc 2, its because you finished part of the game contained on disc 1, and it needs... | [
"Your 12 year old dvd \"Player\" ? Playing a DVD and ripping a DVD are two different things."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When breathing, how do our lungs stay "clean" from foreign objects in the air? | [
"> I am fairly certain that's not a thing that happens It kinda is. Depends on mold of course, but its a possibility. Overall however, your nose acts as a filter to get some random shit stuck (and come out with mucus). If you breathe through mouth however, or there's a lot of bad stuff in the air - it will absolute... | [
"The point of sinuses is: To warm up cold air before it gets into your body, reducing the amount of damage it can do to your lungs. To filter the air of toxins, infectious agents, and allergens (at least to some degree) before it gets into the body. Locking them in mucus, and then expelling them from the body. To... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
why dont we crack down on people hiring undocumented workers? | [
"Because the USA is actually dependent on immigrant labor for farms and restaurants and in some places construction or cleaning; but for political reasons the government is unable to come up with a coherent program for \"guest worker\" visas so we just tolerate their doing it illegally. It's hypocritical, and not h... | [
"Honestly i don't know but i think its bull shit how your government can just donate tax payer dollars to countrys without having a voting poll on it by the people."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are the switches that control outdoor lights often more "clicky" than the ones that control indoor lights, even though they're sometimes on the same switch panel? | [
"Normally outdoor switches are a little more weather proof. Tighter tolerances to allow less water/dirt/etc to get into the switch."
] | [
"> Why do so many living rooms not come with overhead lights? Instead you have to have many (floor) lamps around the room and have to turn all of those on rather than just flicking a switch. First there is a misconception that you can't turn on floor lamps just by flipping a switch on the wall. There is a handy inv... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Electrical engineering:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Electrical engineering:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How can boats have holes in the bottom to drop things into the ocean? | [
"They are kept afloat by other sections that *don't* have holes in them. Think of a twin-hulled catamaran: the whole middle is a giant hole, but each of the two closed hulls still floats."
] | [
"It is paint to help prevent the build up of algae and barnacles on the ship. If those build up, the ship no longer glides through the water as effectively. There's no point in painting the top part because it doesn't contact the water that much."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does wearing an energy bracelet with element stones help with balance and positive energy? | [
"It doesn’t. It’s all fake and to even think it’s real for a second is ignorant. Crystals don’t have any sort of power to make you “balance” better or make you “happier.” Everyone who buys these things is very gullible and/or plain dumb. If you want to improve balance go exercise and run."
] | [
"Aside from it being a way of dealing with anxiety and stress, it also helps the blood flow on your legs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
what are the differences between an exempt and non exempt salary employee? | [
"Exempt employees are \"exempt\" from overtime pay. That means you are not required to be paid overtime, ever. Exempt employees are generally white collar workers in management or professional (usually educated) positions and almost always paid on salary basis. If your position is primarily management and you're sa... | [
"Wage laws are for hourly workers, salaried workers are exempt."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
What keeps viruses that cause coughs from infecting your lungs? | [
"Rhinoviruses, the viruses responsible for most cases of the common cold, prefer to grow at temperatures of about 32°C. Being exposed to air coming from the outside, the nose and throat are at about that temperature. The lungs, however, are deeper down and get lots of blood flow, so they are at 37°C, which is less ... | [
"Certain diseases prefer to infect particular places, specifically particular *cells*. In oral herpes, for example, the virus infects the cells of a nerve in your cheek. Cold viruses like to infect your nose and throat cells. Strep throat likes to infect throat cells."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If you put a lit cigarette in an air tight container, and then reopen it in few hours, all the smoke seems to be gone. What happens to it ? | [
"smoke is a colloid of carbon rich particles in air. If it is confined in a glass bottle, the particles could coalesce and fall the the bottom, they could be attracted to the glass surface by the moisture there or with reaction free silica active sites. Other components of smoke such as steam/water vapour would sim... | [
"Imagine this. You have a piece of paper, and you have a really hot light. You move the paper close to the light but it doesn't touch the light. The heart from the light causes the paper to burn, thus releasing smoke. The E-Cig is essentially doing the same thing although instead of paper you have some sort of liqu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why is it that we get tornados in the summer when a cold front moves in and combines with the hot air, but we don't get tornados in the winter when warm air moves in to combine with the cold air? | [
"Basically, the difference is in the way the air masses move in the respective situations. Generally speaking, warm air rises, but with a warm front the warm air sort of rolls up and over the colder air and rises pretty gently, causing rain showers. With a cold front, however, the colder air mass moving in forces t... | [
"Rain is caused my warm air meeting cool air, which then causes humidity, and eventually rain. That's why it rains a lot near the equator or in areas where the Coriolis Effect shifts warm air to places that should be cold, like London. South Carolina is on a coast where cool air from the north shifts down and meet... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why is oil used for frying? | [
"Heat transfer through conduction (actually touching) is more effective than radiation or convection (heat radiation or hot air basically). So if you have your food in some oil it's increasing the amount of surface area that's actually in contact with a heat source helping it to heat faster. Oil can also get hotter... | [
"Where did you hear this? Black oil sunflower seeds are used mostly for bird seed or making sunflower oil which is then fed to people or used for cooking."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why do super dry rooms turn dust or particles into charged particles with electrostatic? | [
"Dust gets electrostatic charge when it bumps into other dust particles or surfaces due to airflow. However normally the humidity of the air allows them to discharge through the air at a low rate. However when there is low humidity the charges can build up to high levels."
] | [
"The electric current in the television ( especially in old CRT televisions) gives a small electric charge to the casing of the electronics, as well as to the air around it ( including the dust). The effect of which is any dust which happens to float by the tv sticks to it, in the same way as a balloon rubbed on yo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is it so much more natural to go from savoury to sweet than the other way around? | [
"Sweet is a stronger flavor, so by having it first you \"numb\" your senses to the more delicate savoury taste."
] | [
"The more distilled something is, the less the hangover hurts. The more sugar there is, the more the hangover hurts. Basically, the closer you get to pure alcohol, the less you will hurt the next day."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Food and Perception:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Food and Perception:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about alcohol and behavior:"
} |
The reactions we make when surprised(eyebrow raise, eyelids opening, jaw dropping etc) what are the benefits we have from doing it compared to animals who don't? | [
"It's all about communication. To be successful animals we had to learn to communicate with eachother and so a complicated mix of body language, facial expressions and speech evolved. Many animals communicate in similar ways and sometimes similar expressions mean the absolute opposite - smiling is a sign of friendl... | [
"The sad eyes usually don't blink a lot and lead to a glossy cover which we attribute with sickness or sadness. Sad people tend to stare off and look down and both are signs of *sad*. The muscles around the eyes are relaxed and the eyelids are droopy a well. When the person has happy eyes they are much more open an... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Are mental illnesses (depression, bipolar, schizophrenia) curable? | [
"Mental health is super complicated and difficult to measure with the same level of objectivity as other physiological diseases. Moreover, the complexity of experiential impacts on things like one's general mental state make it a real challenge to conclusively determine a great deal of the prognosis for mental issu... | [
"Neither Down Syndrome or Autism are mental illnesses. Could you clarify what you mean by this question? Do you mean disorders such as Down Syndrome or Autism, or mental illnesses, more along the lines of depression or schizophrenia?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why are so many video game maps based on NY & LA but almost none on other major cities like Atlanta, Detroit, or Seattle? | [
"NY and LA aren't just in video games... they are in everything. They have world-wide name recognition, world-wide monument recognition, and lots of amazing and unique areas with long, cool histories full of awesome stuff. These are iconic, world renown and known locations. Would you rather show the Statue of Liber... | [
"The stadium in NJ is considered to be culturally a part of NYC, in fact, both of NY's football teams, the Jets and Giants, play there. It's not the physical location of the facility, it's the region it's tied to. Following this logic you could consider about half of New Jersey to really be part of NYC, but that's ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why can't we use neuroimaging technologies like MRI for the diagnosis of mental disorders, like depression? | [
"A diagnostic test is only useful if it can reliably distinguish between people who have the condition and people who don't. For almost all mental conditions, there's no information that can be gained from neuroimaging that does this. There are some differences you can find between the brains of \"normal\" people a... | [
"Neither Down Syndrome or Autism are mental illnesses. Could you clarify what you mean by this question? Do you mean disorders such as Down Syndrome or Autism, or mental illnesses, more along the lines of depression or schizophrenia?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Healthcare:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Healthcare:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How do wireless charge pads charge your phone battery? | [
"The concept is called \"electrical induction\". A current in a conductor creates a magnetic field around it (you probably made an electromagnet in school with a coil around a nail) and in turn a changing magnetic field creates a current in nearby conductors. This is how electric generators turn physical movement i... | [
"You plug it in the laptop via a USB port, and in the mobile phone via a micro USB port. This means you use two different ports on the powerbank as well. This decides if you're charging the bank or the device."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
how do gardens work where there are no seasons/it is always warm? | [
"There's always a warmer and a cooler season, and there's accompanying variance in precipitation. So, farmers and gardeners will plan accordingly, growing different plants depending on the season. They just have a much longer growing season compared to, say, Canada."
] | [
"this isn't true weather is way to dynamic for generalizations like this plus I'd say you are going to notice a cold wind more than a warm one so you might think it's windier location, location, location is the biggest factor, in a desert, near a lake, in a valley, in the arctic, on a mountain, on a beach, i think ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Botany:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Botany:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence about Physics:"
} |
the basics of stoicism | [
"There's a nice summary statement in Meditations (as translated by Long): > If [you] are pained by any external thing, it is not this that disturbs [you], but [your] own judgment about it. And it is in [your] power to wipe out this judgment now.' That's a pretty good 30,000 foot summary of the philosophy."
] | [
"reward system wants now reward, not the end of long work reward."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How does banking for celebrities work? | [
"Depends how wealthy/smart they are. The smart and very wealthy likely have a team of financial advisors who work with separate teams that all manage different financial products that could be considered to be \"savings\", such as investment funds, private equity investments (ownership stakes in private companies),... | [
"That's exactly how car insurance works. Can you clarify your question?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why does cracking your back feel so good? Is it good or bad for your back? | [
"When you're cracking your back, you're stretching, which loosens up your muscles and relieves tension. Your mind associates the cracking sensation with the feeling of relaxation that comes from stretching, so you enjoy both as part of the experience."
] | [
"Because good posture is actually a bit of a work out for your back. Those muscles get tired and want to rest so that's where the pain comes from. Keep up the good posture and you won't notice anything after a bit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do spiders create such a large volume of silk so quickly? | [
"You are underestimating how thin the stuff is. It is incredibly thin, and if you were to take all the silk the spider made in the day and smooshed it into a ball, it would only take a very small volume of space. It's exceptionally strong for how thin it is, with the silk of some spiders being stronger than steel o... | [
"Not a scientist or a science major. But spiders produce 2 (or more) kinds of webs. Usually they have one that is sticky. That they get stuck in. And another one. That is stronger. It holds up the web. But isn't sticky. Spiders walk on those parts of the web"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
What process does a rape kit use to tell if someone has been raped or not? | [
"No, the kit can not measure consent. The kit looks for evidence of trauma and genetic material. The victim is the one who alleges facts regarding consent and then it is up to the investigators to build a case against the accused and up to the jury to decide if the evidence shows guilt or innocence of the accused"
... | [
"No they would ask a question like. Have you ever been raped and if so did you report it to the police? It does not matter if they reported to the person doing the survey."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What did people use to count years before AD/BC was invented? | [
"In general, they counted years from how long it had been since the most recent ruler had begun their reign. So saying \"It's been 20 years since King Such-And-Such took the throne\" would suffice for most people, who didn't really need to care about global history dating back centuries."
] | [
"The calendar system we use is split into B.C. and A.D. based off Christian tradition (Before Christ and Anno Domini, which means \"in the year of our Lord\"). The year 2012 A.D. just means it has supposedly been 2012 years since the birth of Christ, so that's what we're \"counting upward from.\" That's also why B.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How to distinguish spellings of schwa (Ə) in different words | [
"Can you explain the question like I’m five?"
] | [
"First, they're not an English alphabet — each symbol in IPA is meant to represent a distinct and unambiguous sound that humans make to communicate. There are *some* sounds used by humans that aren't represented in IPA yet — so, it isn't complete. Second: there are *hundreds* of symbols in IPA — far more than ther... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
- What is the story with this Spongebob/Maroon 5 controversy/joke/outrage/scandal/ordeal/blunder? | [
"Okay. So one of the most beloved Spongebob Squarepants episodes involves the cast having to perform a song at a football game (obviously intended to be the Super Bowl) where despite having been screw ups for the entire episode, they put on an amazing performance. Recently, there was word that there was going to be... | [
"I'd just like to thank the amazing Civil War, World War II, and related historians here who handled the firestorm of Confederacy/statue/fascism questions this week with Olympian endurance. Someone finally asked the equivalent of \"What did Hitler think about Confederate statues,\" and half of the mod team just abo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about News:"
} |
Explain how identical twins are actually a copy | [
"You can't. In her case it is not a matter of believing or not believing. She has decided to be willful ignorant about biology. There are of course two types of twins. One egg one sperm dividing to produce two separate entities. Or two sperm and two eggs producing two entities. Of course that number is not fixed at... | [
"No, you wouldn't be. If two eggs are fertilized at the same time (which happens, and gives rise to fraternal twins,) the resulting children are obviously siblings, but they won't necessarily look alike or even be the same gender. Granted, fraternal twins are two different sperm and two different eggs, but the poin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is inflation good for a country's economy and why is a 2% rate ideal? | [
"Inflation isn’t really good for an economy, but it’s better than deflation. In a deflationary economy, money is worth more in the future than it is in the present, which means people stop spending money and the economy tanks (because one person’s spending is another person’s income). High inflation is pretty bad,... | [
"The rate of the central bank is going to be very different from the rates offered to individuals by commercial banks. The Federal Reserve (US) kept its interest rate in a range of 0% to 0.25% for years, but commercial rates for, say, mortgages was in the range of ~3-6% during that period. But yes, you've got the b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
whats the differents between resolution, aspect ratio, and megapixels? | [
"Resolution is the number of pixels of the width and height. EG, 1920x1080 is 1920 pixels across, 1080 pixels tall. The aspect ratio is the ratio of those pixels. So, a widescreen format of 16:9 has 16 pixels width for every 9 pixels height. Megapixel is just a way to have a more impressive sounding numbers by the ... | [
"I'm not a camera pro, but basically: A smartphone camera lense or even a Go pro doest have 1/10th of a cinema camera quality. There is much more than resolution and megapixels when it comes to cameras. Why does some 8mp phone camera does a better job than some 13mp ones? Same stuff. Lense, picture processing, etc.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How do pilots know when to expect turbulence? | [
"Somebody will come around with a clearer answer, but I think pilots that have experienced unexpected turbulence just report it to ATC, and then ATC lets the other pilots know when they’re entering the area where turbulence was reported."
] | [
"A pothole in an airport Runway would have catastrophic results for a plane that strikes it while Landing. The runways are regularly checked year-round to make sure that there are no obstructions or surface damage that could potentially impact a plane as it takes off or lands"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is the Great British Bake Off called the Great British Baking Show in the US? | [
"Because in the US, the phrase \"Bake Off\" is already registered by Pillsbury, which has been using it since at least the 50s. And that's the actual answer."
] | [
"Question 1: Am I a celebrity? * Yes: Move onto question 2 * No: Who gives a shit about you? Question 2: Do I like to look terrific in photographs? * Yes: Move onto question 3 * No: Use your iPhone for nude selfies Question 3: Do I mind being raped? * Yes: Call Annie Leibovitz * No: Terry's your man!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why do antibiotics make some cancer patients feel better? | [
"Most likely the placebo effect. No one really knows why but your brain can be tricked, so long as it thinks you are getting medicine you will feel a bit better. Even if you got nothing but a starch pill. Very strangely it still has an effect even if you find out afterwards that you were taking a placebo."
] | [
"Inflammation from your immune response. It helps fight the infection but makes you feel pretty awful."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why large corporations get government bailouts, while small companies go under? | [
"I don't think we should ever bailout any companies but typically it's to save jobs and help the economy. A factory that hires thousands of workers in your state is more important economically for the region than one that hires a 100."
] | [
"You can't file bankruptcy on student debt. It's good for the banks, not you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why is it easier to see something in the dark when you’re not looking directly at it? | [
"Because the light sensitive cells in your eye are just slightly out of center. You have more color focused cells there instead."
] | [
"There are times in its orbit that the moon is slightly closer to earth. But what you are describing is an optical illusion. When on the horizon your eyes and brain can reference how its size compares to what it knows is big (a mountain, a certain stretch of the horizon, etc. When up in the sky there is no basis fo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why do most cell-phones have a higher resolution screen than most above average monitors and TV's? | [
"Because you look at your phone from a lot closer. That's where resolution matters and why a TV you sit 4-8 feet from doesn't need a higher resolution."
] | [
"You are meant to sit closer to your monitor than you are to your TV, therefore resolution matters more on a monitor than it does on a TV. That being said, there are several models of 32\" TVs that support 1080p perfectly fine. One that only goes up to 720p is a cheaper model, or several years old."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What is the Polar Vortex and how much longer will it last? | [
"its an effect of climate change. the north pole gets hotter than usual, the high pressure pushes the arctic cold air further south. this kind of unstable weather, and more frequent hot/cold extremes is only going to become more frequent unfortunately. get used to it."
] | [
"It simply means coming up with ideas to explain things we see. Those ideas then are put to the test and discarded or validated. - Deduction: Winter is cold. Winter starts next month. So it will be cold next month. - Induction: Last winter was cold, the one before was cold, and so on. So next winter is probably go... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do some food need to be refrigerated after opening even though they aren't when unopened? | [
"Bacteria and Fungi in Air. Sealed Package = > Bacteria and Fungi not in food. Opened Package = > Bacteria and Fungi now in food. Refrigerator makes Bacteria and Fungi grow much slower."
] | [
"Store bought mayonnaise is Pasteurized (heated above what bacteria can survive) so it's sterile until the seal is broken."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Food storage:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Food storage:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do thing always seem to move in slow motion when they are gigantic? Especially in movies, when the protagonist shrinks, all the huge things look super slow. | [
"Because we're mentally calibrating the speed according to the size of the object. Imagine it takes you 1 second to throw a punch. You move your fist maybe half a meter in that 1 second. So the objective speed of your fist is 0.5 m/s. If a giant were to throw a punch in that same 1 second, their fist would move may... | [
"> Especially in movies Kinda killed the question right there with that bullet. Movies tell stories. They very very seldom are perfectly representative of reality, and that really applies to action films where people are shot, because those people blow up BMW's by kicking their fenders, or jump from fifty foot buil... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Tapping beer makes it spray like sodapop? | [
"Beer salesguy here. Carbon dioxide in the beer pressurizes it's vessel, be it a keg or bottle or can. When you depressurize the vessel, co2 tries to find the fastest way out of the beer as possible which causes the foaming. It doesn't always happen, especially when cold, but if you have a warm beer, prepare for a ... | [
"CO2 trapped in the candy crackles when released last I knew. Same thing that makes soda fizz."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why does champagne fizz up so much more when poured into an empty glass than when it's poured into a glass with champagne already in it? | [
"The carbon dioxide, the bubbles, is a gas at RT. Pouring it into an empty glass means the liquid falls from a higher distance, when it hits the bottom of the glass the impact provides enough energy for the gas to escape. Not only does the liquid in there reduce the distance but also softens the impact. If you were... | [
"You're not \"losing\" soda when it foams up - you're just losing the carbon dioxide gas dissolved in it. It will eventually come to the same level in the glass whether you pour it carefully with no foam or dump it all in."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How exactly is the amount of rain measured? | [
"A container is set out in the rain that has straight walls. Rain accumulated is measured. It doesn't matter how big the container is as long as the walls of the container are straight. (more importantly the area of the mouth of the container is the same area as the cross section of the area where the water accumul... | [
"What if you want a printed version of what was said?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
how did Northern Ireland come to exist? | [
"Ireland was a part of the UK. After WWI they fought for independence but not everyone wanted to leave the UK. A compromise was made and the North Remained in the UK as the country of Northern Ireland, and the South became the Republic of Ireland."
] | [
"What about the people who live in N Ireland and LIKE being part of the UK?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What are stock buybacks and why are they controversial? | [
"The other answers are all correct, but I'll add that stock buybacks are controversial recently because the left wing in the Senate recently proposed a bill that would prevent the practice unless the company paid $15/hour to its employees. The idea being that it would force the benefits of things like tax cuts to f... | [
"Because the company's involvement ends after the first sale. So Stocks 101: There are two markets for stocks - the primary and secondary. The primary market is when a company sells shares for the first time (an IPO) or when they release new shares. The money investors pay goes directly into the company's bank acco... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can my vision become better if I didn’t wear my glasses? | [
"Not necessarily. Having glasses just aids your bad eyesight. Not wearing glasses will make your eyes work much harder and may cause eyestrain, headaches, and such."
] | [
"I don't have glasses but have an indent. Does this mean I will need glasses?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does a cooking thermometer or temperature probe get the temperature at the tip correct when the entire length is metal and rests in differing temperature layers? | [
"For most of the electric ones, they're what are called thermocouples. _URL_0_ basically, two metals connected together will create a tiny voltage when heated up. The non-electronic ones will usually operate on the principle of thermal expansion, where things expand when they heat up. To make it \"correct\" even th... | [
"Stoves heat a pan which in turn heats the pans contents. Even if you know the temperature of the heating element you don't necessarily know the temperature of the item you're cooking. Ambient temperature and the component of your pan will affect heat transfer. It also doesn't matter much for most foods. \"Hot\" a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does sleep help you recover from illness? | [
"The less your body has to deal with things while trying to fight off an infection, the better. Things like physical exertion, mental and emotional stresses, and just daily activity divert some of the body's resources away from the immune system. When you sleep, pretty much everything gets set to \"low power mode\... | [
"I'm going to bet that you're still pretty young (early 20s or so at the latest). In that case, the younger you are, the quicker your body is able to bounce back from a lack of sleep. That's why you can pull an all-nighter, and still feel good the next day. The older you get the harder this becomes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Sleep and its effects on the body:"
} |
why do remote controllers work when you hit it | [
"The remote has an infrared led light that pulses depending on what button you press. Example: Volume Up 2 quick pulses and volume down 1 long and one short pulse. Then that's picked up by an infrared receiver in your TV or whatever. That receiver only picks up infrared light. Using that the piece of equipment you ... | [
"You would need to add a transmitter to the tv and a repeater on your remote. And costs aside you usually lose your remote quite close to the TV, even though sometimes seems to have been sucked into another dimension."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If living in a low gravity environment for extended periods of time tends to make us weaker, would living in a slightly stronger gravity environment have the opposite effect and make us stronger? | [
"Physically it could. However, just as likely to happen, is muscles getting too dense and blocking arteries (people who lose a arm, or use of one, can over develop muscles blocking arteries. A family friend had to have some ribs cut up because of this) or for muscles like our heart to overwork, becoming enlarged fr... | [
"It would be alien scum and should be dealt with as such. Just kidding, but a baby would develop differently in space. Lack of proper pressure and gravity would lead to a weak baby. Naturally, someone who develops in different conditions would have a hard time walking and supporting themselves in earths gravity."
... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
When people reference "tax breaks for the rich", what do they mean? Are they being taxed less than us? | [
"Sort of. One of the big tax breaks is through capital gains. For instance, a normal income can be taxed up to 35%. However, if I sell a bunch of stocks/bonds, as an incentive to invest in the markets, they can be taxed as low as 15%. Since the wealthy have more capital to invest in stocks/bonds, they benefit from ... | [
"It's not the 1% people hate, is the tax system which favors them. Because the wealthiest 1% make money via capital gains their income is taxed at a lower rate than the average middle class American, creating a system where the wealthy retain more of what they make than an average working man or woman. Warren Buffe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
what does ping 127.0.0.1 do? | [
"The network stack processes the packet, and goes \"oh, that's for me! Better see what's inside. A ping request? Great, I'll send a ping response to the sender! Which is me.\" The packet is never physically transmitted over the wire. You can test this yourself by unplugging the Ethernet cable - ping 127.0.0.1 will ... | [
"What you can do to confirm /u/dev000's information is to: Run a ping to reddit: - Open the command prompt (Win + R), type cmd, then type: ping _URL_2_ Which should give you an output that on the first line has the ip you are resolving to [_URL_1_] Take that ip and plug it into any random ip location website (fro... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
why do your eyelids get puffed up when you cry a lot? | [
"You have little sacs on your eyes called a “lacrimal sac” that store and create tears 24/7 and it pushes out those tears constantly to your eyes so when you blink you are preventing your eyes from drying out. When you cry, you are suddenly making more tears than normal but they aren’t normal tears either, because... | [
"do they squirm when you squeeze them? if so yes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does the IRS handle everyone’s tax returns? How do they process returns filed through third parties like TurboTax? | [
"TurboTax just packages your return and files it the same way you would yourself. It doesn't change a thing. The sheer volume of returns means that the majority of them will not, in fact, be viewed. Not closely anyway. The IRS follows an algorithm to predict who is most likely to have filed incorrectly or falsely a... | [
"Filing is how you tell the government what you made and whatever other information they need to correctly assess your taxes. They get a copy of your W-2 and other tax sheets, but that doesn't tell the whole story most of the time. If it does, then all you need is the one-page 1040EZ to just confirm it. You also ne... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Do alcoholic drinks that are mostly water hydrate or help with your hangover in any way? | [
"As many have pointed out, drinking alcohol dehydrates you, so you shouldn't drink alcohol to hydrate yourself. But I think what you're getting at is the comparison between water content of different drinks. A 1.5 oz shot of vodka and a 12 oz beer have roughly the same alcohol content, but the beer has a lot more w... | [
"Alcohol is a diuretic. Basically it signals your kidneys to extract more water and for your bladder to loosen, therefore you pee. This causes dehydration which is the main source of a hangover and why you should drink plenty of water while drinking."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
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