query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why is it that borders between countries aren’t straight lines, instead they’re jagged? Are there any political reasons behind this? | [
"Political borders tend to follow natural borders. Rivers, valleys, mountains. Straight-line sections of border happen when the people dividing the land tend to have never seen it. For example, the US state of Colorado is nearly a prefect rectangle because its borders were decided by the US Congress on the other si... | [
"This is purely a guess, but I'd say because most cities are near bodies of water and many state borders are formed by rivers."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How far up into space must one go before a compass stops working, and what do they use at that point for navigation? | [
"In the sense of it being a tool for navigation it would stop working pretty quickly, like before you leave the atmosphere. it might point north but that doesn't help you in a space ship. Once it leaves earths magnetic field it wouldn't do anything at all (no idea how big earths magnetic field is but farther than t... | [
"Technically, there should be a difference in gravity at any given point on earth since they are all at different distances from the center of earth. There is also a phenomenon we're the needle of a compass will supposedly spin around in circles. I have yet to test this personally so I cannot be certain."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
what does "power cycling" a modem actually do? Why is it always 10-15 minutes? | [
"Part of is resetting the modem, and part of it is resetting the connection. Resetting the modem is obvious - it's a computer, and sometimes computers have bugs which corrupt a portion of memory. Turning them off and on restores the defaults. Resetting the connection is a bit more complex. The ISP maintains some am... | [
"your modem/router may be restarting once per 24h and that may be the case. Restart them at the hour you'r not using them and see if it helps"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about Technology:"
} |
How do glowsticks work? | [
"Glows ticks contain two primary chemicals; a base catalyst (which is used to speed up the reaction) and a dye such as fluorophor. The small glass capsule you can see in an unlit glowstick typically contains both phenyl oxylate and the aforementioned fluorescent dye. When you 'crack' a glowstick what you are really... | [
"If magnets are magic, is gravity magic too? Fundamental forces, yo. They run the universe."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How were years originally created and how did they know which year it was? | [
"A year is the time it takes for the Earth to go around the sun. Long before this was known, observations had been made about the angle of the sun in the sky. In the winter solstice, the midday shadow is longest, in the summer solstice it is the shortest. The time between one summer solstice and the next is a year.... | [
"First, it is BCE for \"Before the Common Era\" and CE for \"Common Era\". Or prior to that it was BC for \"Before Christ\" and AD for \"Anno Domini\" or \"in the year of the Lord\". AC is for air conditioning or alternating current. > but how did they measure the years at the time? It depends on who you were talk... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What's that rough, vibrating sound when you cough too hard? | [
"Hey, I am a doctor, but you can’t verify that so still take this as advice from a random redditor, but yes it’s probably in part your phlegm turbulently blowing up your airway. A big enough cough might cause a little rattle of your thorax too. Just like if you slap your belly and there’s a little jiggle, if you co... | [
"And why do I have the urge to cough when using them?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
What leads to procrastination? | [
"A common reason is that the brain chooses to procrastinate as a defense mechanism. Contrary to popular belief, there are 3 responses to threats: fight, flight, and freeze. Sometimes the brain perceives the threat as so severe, it thinks the best way to deal with it is to not. It’s got something to do with stress... | [
"How do you define your hints of schizophrenia?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease cause pain if the intestine doesn't have pain receptors? | [
"The bowel has nerves which are stretch receptors. Stimulating those creates a \"pain\" interpretation in the brain, which is why gas in the gut can be very \"painful.\" IBS and IBD conditions produce gases in the intestines which cause distention, which stimulates stretch receptors, which the brain perceives as pa... | [
"For instance, a bacteria could begin to cause damage to the lining of your digestive tract. This leads to inflammation of the digestive tract, like gastritis or gastroenteritis, similar to how your tissues can become inflamed around an infected skin wound. The body is responding to the damage with an immune respon... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can there be thousands of satellites around Earth, if there are only a handful of rocket launches every year? | [
"a.) You can launch more than one satellite on a single rocket, but also b.) There are a lot more than a handful of rocket launches each year: there are between 75 and 150 orbital launches most of the time, and have been over the past 50 years. We're at 13 so far in 2019, carrying 24 different satellites."
] | [
"The farthest we've ever been from the surface of the earth is 248,655 miles, and that was by accident (Apollo 13). The closest Mars gets to Earth is 33,900,000 miles. The escape velocity of a planet is much higher than that of the Moon. We would need to send down a landing device that would have the capability of ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Science and Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the comment about Science and Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why does temperature drop as altitude increases? | [
"As you increase in elevation, there's less air above you and the air pressure decreases which causes air molecules to spread out further and the subsequent temperature decreases"
] | [
"It would probably boil off and freeze at the same time because of the absence of atmospheric pressure. Our common intuition about phases is incomplete, since we assume atmospheric pressure. This is analogous to why the liquid water in a pressure cooker can exceed 100 deg c. In the opposite sense, the boiling point... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Science:"
} |
Why can't we see white or black in a rainbow? | [
"White isn't a colour on thr spectrum. It is what we experience when we see all colours of visible light at the same time. It is why white light turns into a rainbow when it goes through a prism in the first place. And black is what we experience when we don't see any light at all. The rainbow also doesn't include ... | [
"They don't. It's your stupid human brain tricking you into seeing black. In fact, the lack of a real black is one of the problems with projectors."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
if it is truly possible to sleep with your eyes open, how would one accomplish this task and would you see darkness? | [
"I don’t know if it would be possible, but if it was you woudn’t see anything. The part of your brain that processes images would still be shut down."
] | [
"it's conditioning, you've likely done it your whole life so you're used to it. there's nothing preventing you from sleeping in other positions, other than it feeling unnatural, so you'd rather not do it"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Health and Wellness:"
} |
How does the shared ownership scheme work when buying a home in the UK? | [
"Basically you own a proportion of the house, often one half, and a housing association or developer owns the rest. Since you are buying only one half of the house you buy it for one half of the value and pay rent on the other half (again one half of the rent you would pay otherwise). Usually you have the option to... | [
"The bank sends you money every month, depending on the terms you work out and based on what your house is worth. Then, the bank owns the house when the last person on the contract moves out or dies. Then they can sell it and get their money back. Hope that helps. And this isn't universal, but it's my general under... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why, or how, does music evoke emotion? Especially sadness. | [
"Emotions are thoughts that we feel. Tones match with feelings and intuitions (heart rate, breathing patterns, speaking patterns, memories of other sounds and feelings, instincts, etc.) \"Neurons that fire together wire together\". Ergo, how you feel when you hear a sound will be remembered along with the sound and... | [
"Humans enjoy music for a variety of reasons: 1) Nostalgia -- The human memory associates sounds and events, and as most people know, humans tend to think that events in the past are better than they actually were because we usually focus on the good parts and not the bad parts. This in essence is nostalgia. So whe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
Why do electrical appliances such as alarm clocks have so few buttons, wouldn't it make more sense (and simplify setting up) to have a button to activate each feature (brightness, alarms, time, date, radio)? | [
"I actually work on the automotive industry, so not actually appliances but I believe the reasons are the same. Quick answer: saving money Long answer: most of the appliances we use at home are produced in large quantities and believe it or not, currently the most expensive items on an electronic device bill-of-ma... | [
"When you turn off the phone, the clock will keep using the phone's battery. Phones will lose their time is you take out the battery. In older phones you had to reset the time when you put the battery back in, but nowadays the phone is synchronized with your cellular network's clock. Computers have a [small battery... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How come my fingertips feel so "stuffed" after a change in temperature? | [
"this happens to me too. from what i understand, the cold essentially causes your blood vessels in your fingers and hands to constrict and become smaller, thus not allowing as much blood flow to your fingers."
] | [
"Sometimes it feels nice, does anybody know why it feels nice occasionally (Feels like a massage) and sometimes it feels nasty like somebody stabbing you with needles?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What's the difference between Centripetal force and Centrifugal force? | [
"Centripetal force is a force toward the center of a circle or curve a body is going in. A constant centripetal force results in something moving in a circle. Centrifugal force isn't a force but rather a consequence of inertia when moving in a circle as the moving body wants to continue going straight per Newton's ... | [
"Same reason water stays in a bucket when you swing it over your head. Centrifugal force."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:"
} |
Why do children prefer drawn movies/series over live action movies/series? | [
"Many reasons. More vibrant colors, and creative character designs helps keep their attention for longer. Animation also means it's easier to have a kid be the protagonist, which is appealing for obvious reasons. Animation also makes it easier for slapstick comedy to be a focus, which really appeals to kids. And si... | [
"It's actually really straight-forward and simple: In Japan, cartoons are all called \"anime\", short for \"animation\". When they export animation to other countries, they still call it \"anime\" instead of using each country's colloquial terms. That's ... pretty much it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why is an exit wound a good thing when getting shot? | [
"Usually because that means someone doesn’t have to root around in your body cavity to find a horribly dirty bullet. Or worse, that the bullet shattered and now you’re filled with an unknown number of fragments."
] | [
"Let me answer your question with another question: if you tape a grenade to the back of someone's head and pull the pin, what happens to the front of their head? Same thing, more or less."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does cancer that originates in different parts of the body behave so differently and have drastically different outcomes/life expectancies? | [
"It's the stage that matters. Pancreatic cancer has no symptoms and no way to diagnose until after it spreads, whereas colon cancer will show symptoms early on and get treated before a spread. Stage 4 only means the cancer spread."
] | [
"both chemotherapy and radiation therapy work by killing quickly dividing cells in your body, including both cancer cells as well as things like hair follicles, intestinal lining and immune system cells. This is what causes many of the side effects. They choose chemo or radiation depending on the type and location(... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about Medicine:"
} |
How did sending messages on birds work? | [
"The birds only fly home. They can navigate to their home from thousands of miles away. So you raise them in one particular place, and take them with you in a little cage when you go off to invade some other country, and when you needed to send a message you tied it to the bird and let it go, and it flew *home*, w... | [
"What if you want a printed version of what was said?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do experts believe superintelligence will emerge and engage with humanity? | [
"**Short answer**: There is no answer. The moment that a superintelligence exists is also the moment that we cannot predict beyond. **Long answer**: The idea of the \"technological singularity\" says that as soon as an AI superintelligence comes into existence it will immediately figure out how to make itself more ... | [
"Because they work in different ways to a human brain. Computers (currently) are only good at number crunching, not at intuitively using the information. An analogy might be that an axe cuts wood better than your hand. That doesn't make an axe a more intelligent woodcutter. If you look up the idea of the 'singulari... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is big data clustering? | [
"First, big data is just a buzz word, and just means any large amount of information. Suppose you have information about a few objects, some apples, fire trucks, and tangerines. We could take two pieces of information about these objects, the color (red or orange) and the shape (round or square) and use them to det... | [
"Programmer is to construction worker as software engineer is to architect."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
When people say dinosaur's vision was based on movement, but what does that really mean? If they can't see small objects not moving doesn't that just mean they have bad eyesight?? | [
"It's horseshit, I love Jurassic Park but it lied to us. & #x200B; Most experts believe that dinosaurs had fantastic eyesight."
] | [
"Basically we can't because our primordial ancestors couldn't. The mechanism to do so doesn't exist in humans, apes, or most other mammals for that matter. While it might be a benefit to chameleons and some birds (who may or may not be capable of it, I don't know for sure) our brains just aren't set up to process t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Biology:"
} |
What’s the difference between a big powerful engine that makes a car go fast, and a big powerful engine that makes a truck able to pull heavy things. What’s fundamentally different about them. | [
"A couple of things the truck one will usually be a diesel and will normally be tuned to have a more broad power curve (peak power is over a large rpm range and usually at lower rpms) to prevent you from having to shift gear so much, a side effect of this is they should be slightly more fuel efficient. & #x200B; T... | [
"Depends on what you mean by smarter. Your brain has billions of little engines that are all talking to each other, as well as gas tanks to pull out stored information. The better these engines are at communicating with each other, the more gas tanks that are supplying fuel, the more horse power you are going to ge... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why are shots not administered intravenously? | [
"Vaccinations contain small, benign particles of whatever pathogen they're trying to protect you from. The easiest way to protect you is to have your body build it's own army trained specifically for that. If you give a vaccine in the vein, your body isn't looking for badness there much. It's looking for it in skin... | [
"It depends on how the drug can be absorbed and if it will cause inflammation. Some drugs can be given either intramuscular (IM) or intravenous (IV), while some can only be IV because they would cause inflammation and severe pain if injected IM. There is also the option of subcutaneous injection, where a short need... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do companies have limited "enrollment periods" for employee benefit sign ups rather than just allowing employees to change benefits at any time? | [
"A lot of benefits are based on a certain block of time. For example most health insurance plans have deductibles the apply for an entire year. Allowing you to change plans at any time would mess that all up. This is why the only allow you to change at a certain time or if you have change jobs or have another \"qua... | [
"You can only apply for insurance during \"open enrollment periods\" (the 2015 one ends February 15th) or under certain specific circumstances called \"qualifying life events\" (get married, be born, change jobs, things that might require you to change health insurance basically). If it's not an open enrollment per... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How does your phone not get into a sound-feedback loop when on speakerphone? | [
"There's a process called \"echo cancelling\". Basically, the sound that's being sent out is also flipped 180 degrees out of phase and fed into the microphone circuit. There it cancels out the sound from the speaker that's being picked up by the microphone."
] | [
"Some kind of electromagnetic interference most likely. Same reason why speakers sometimes start making weird noises when you have the phone right next to them and receive a text message/call."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why does Google Chrome have ~10 or more processes running at all times even if I don’t have many tabs open? | [
"Chrome uses different processes not just for tabs, each extension also gets its own process and there are a couple of additional utility processes. You can see which processes are running by opening the Chrome task manager (Chrome menu > More tools > Task manager)."
] | [
"Your computer has a list of programs to run on startup (you can actually add or remove some to this list). When you log in it tries to simultaneously run these programs, some of which are Windows services (your wifi connection for instance), others are software you've installed yourself (steam, msn, whatever you'v... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the anti-trust paradox? | [
"Basically the theory that anti trust protections preventing monopolies in the US create a world where inefficient businesses are able to survive because of the laws preventing a more efficient larger business from taking over. It argues that by regulating the free market to keep away monopolies, we go too far and ... | [
"Monopoly or Oligopoly and Cartel behaviors along with a broken copyright system."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do they create bullet holes and make glass shatter for movies? TO my knowledge some are real and not CGI? | [
"There are \"squibs\" which simulate bullet hits on people or surfaces. They don't fire live ammunition for movies. Safety glass can be made to shatter - often it is made out of materials other than glass."
] | [
"JP used a combination of CGI and \"practical\" effects, meaning real effects. A LOT of what you see is puppets. Most of its CGI is just the combination of the two shots or enhancements to them. Modern CGI doesn't quite have the same effect. One of the major problems is lighting. Animators never seem to get it quit... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do muscles feel sore after stretching in the same way that they do after working out? | [
"I’m not sure what you mean by this but; When you exercise you create tears in the muscle fibres and the DOMS (direct onset muscle soreness) is a result of these tears but as they repair they become stronger to prevent tearing again. Stretching will never prevent DOMS or this pain associated with exercise completel... | [
"Because you weren't moving and gripping things (at least not much) while you were asleep. So your muscles are colder and more stiff because of the lack of movement. However once you do start moving, and your muscles warm up, you'll be able to do things normally. This is the same reason as to why your legs or arms ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why must some medications be taken with food, some without food, and others don't matter | [
"There are two main reasons for why one takes medication with food or without: some medications irritate your stomach, some medications effectiveness is reduced by stomach acid. Usually the ones that you take with food would either irritate an empty stomach or need something else in your stomach so it isn't destroy... | [
"Some of the salt is replaced with potassium chloride which has a similar taste and the benefit of potassium which can be difficult to get in your diet. There might be other substitutions that I'm not aware of."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How does propulsion work in outer space without atmosphere? | [
"Rockets don't push against an atmosphere. They work by their exhaust basically pushing away from themselves propelling them forward. It's an action/reaction thing."
] | [
"Fighter jets are air breathing. There is no air in space. For the same reason, there's no sonic boom in space either."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why would you age differently than people on Earth when you move at a very high speed in a spaceship. | [
"While not really scientific conceptually this works. Think of the difference between how fast you move and the speed of light as the speed of time. So your speed + 'speed of time' = speed of light. So people on Earth move so slow compared to the speed of light that the 'speed of time' basically makes of up all of ... | [
"Yes, but unless they're traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light or going somewhere inside a massive gravitational well, it'll be such a tiny difference that for in every practical sense it's doesn't matter. For example, if an astronaut synchronized 2 clocks and went on a 2 year mission to Mars wh... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why does food become more edible and tastier when it is heated? | [
"Short answer, protein denaturing. When exposed to things like heat or salt, proteins, which are normally tightly coiled together, uncoil, this allows the amino group of the proteins to bind with carbohydrates making them taste better"
] | [
"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.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why do you not puke when you take fatal levels of caffeine? | [
"Caffeine pills are made specifically to be rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, by the time poisoning occurs there is nothing in the stomach to throw up. You would however throw up if you ate or drank anywhere near toxic levels of a more slowly absorbed foodstuff."
] | [
"If you are constantly using different drugs from a different class that don't have the same method of action then yes, kinda. You will not have a chemical dependency and will not build up a resistance, as quickly. But you will still have a psychological addiction to drug use. For instance, you can't switch between... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why does denser housing construction seem to make housing prices go up? Shouldn't the opposite happen? | [
"It's still supply vs. demand. And you've probably heard the saying, the three most important criteria for real estate are Location, Location, and Location. & #x200B; In the case of what you're talking about the price is going up because more people want to live there, necessitating a higher density of people. &... | [
"Considering the geography and the industries associated? It will be difficult. Manhattan is an island. It has a very high population density already. It has been a major economic and cultural center for a long time. The demand to live there will not decrease unless some novel change in transportation were to happ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are there no flying animals large enough for humans to ride? | [
"Why don't they exist? Because there is no evolutionary advantage for birds to be massive enough and carry enough weight for humans to ride them. Why isn't it practical? Weight. The largest flying birds in the world are a couple varieties of albatross, with wingspans around 10 feet and they weigh a mere 19 pounds.... | [
"Actually, when it comes to covering long distances quickly, humans are second only to horses believe it or not. So we got that going for us."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about biology:"
} |
How does seasoning the outside of meat (ex. Rubbing the outside of a rump roast with salt, pepper, garlic and soy sauce) make the meat in the center taste better? | [
"It's the salt that does it. Salt helps pull flavorless moisture out of the center of the steak and creates a better protein layer on the surface. This isn't drying out your steak, just making what's left over more efficient. Salt also affects your sense of taste which makes other flavors like sweats more pronounce... | [
"Texture plays a large part in how we taste things. Would you want to drink a steak through a straw? Me neither. In addition - usually steaks are made from the leaner cuts of meat, while ground beef is ground from the harder working muscles in a cow which will tend to have more beefy flavor. And most of the flavor ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How does too much caffeine kill a person? | [
"The LD50 of Caffeine in Humans is [about 150 to 200 milligrams ](_URL_0_) per kilogram of body mass, varying wildly based on genetics, tolerance, and other individual factors. For a 200lb human, that's about 13,600mg of Caffeine, or 136 servings Coffee or Caffinated drinks. LD50 is the amount of a material, give... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
what really causes your stomach to rumble and how does your body make the rumbling noise | [
"Sometimes when your stomach is empty it will still start reacting as if there is food on the way (like, usually you're thinking of food when it happens). So it starts producing peptin (the digestive enzyme) and hydrochloric acid, ready to break down food. With these sloshing about inside you, mixed with the small ... | [
"Farting releases pressure buildup on your intestinal walls. This makes farting feel good. So every time you fart you feel better and smell your fart. The two are associated with each other and you start to kind of like the smell Also, as my roommate with Crohn's Disease explained to me, pressure on intestinal wall... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do electronic devices (phones/smartwatches) keep track of time when their batteries die? | [
"They have a second battery. Many electronic devices like computer motherboards have circular watch batteries for the sole purpose of keeping time and a few basic configuration settings when the power is off."
] | [
"These devices are always \"waiting\" for the cue to turn on and be used, so they never really \"power off\" completely. Your laptop is waiting for the lid to open or the power button to get pressed, and your headphones are just waiting for a signal, so a tiny bit of power is getting used 100% of the time (unless t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Technology:"
} |
If our eyes don't see in frames per second, why can car wheels seem or other spinning objects appear to have framerate-like effects? | [
"Our eyes don't see at a *fixed* frame rate. However, your brain still needs to compose images into frames to parse them. As a result, you can shift how fast/slow you track images. Moreover, your brain automatically wants to parse images in a 'simple' fashion - and this creates a tendency to focus in on frame rates... | [
"It basically cuts your vision into many short lived, rapid \"frames\", similar to an old camera, only at a slower frame rate. You only get to see quick flashes around you, so you only see a portion of what you normally would. It appears slower because your brain has only a fraction of a second to process this info... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why does a cd/DVD reflect rainbow colours when it is placed under sunlight? | [
"Because the way light bounces off of it (because of the foil the data pattern is engraved on stck to the clear plastic spine or whatever) the light is scattered revealing the various notes (colors, more or less) enclosed in white light"
] | [
"Short answer: because moisture (water) scatters light particles, so that more of it ends up getting absorbed/going through the material and less of it gets reflected back to your eyes. EDIT: Fun fact - if you have a wet spot on a piece of fabric and there is a light source behind it, the spot will actually look *b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do people know if their infant has poor vision and how do doctors create the prescription to correct the deficiency | [
"Since your eye is a lens, it works both ways. They can measure the optics of a baby's eyes and determine if they are in need of correction. This isn't perfect - going through a classic eye exam will always yield superior results, but until the child is old enough, they can at least get close(er) this way."
] | [
"It can cause short-term eye strain, but as long as you aren't deficient in any vitamins or other nutrients that keep your vision at it's best, you won't have any long-term vision problems."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
. Is there a maximum number of calories your body can consume in one day and then the rest is eliminated as waste? | [
"You will store a lot, but not all of it. These people are crazy if they think our bodies are 100% efficient at removing the energy from food. Have you never seen corn in your shit? That being said you will be hard pressed to fit enough in that you won't process most of it. Also I have a family member with Chrones,... | [
"Lets break this down a bit because the main problem is duplicate names Fats in foods are lipids, fats on you are adipose tissue. Everything you eat gets broken down into its basic blocks which get used for energy(calories). If you're consuming more calories than you burn then your body will pack some away in adipo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are peanut allergies so prevalent? | [
"Ironically it's because people were told to not expose young children to peanuts out of fear that they could get sick, and because they were not exposed they never built a tolerance. It's basically one consequence of nerfing everything."
] | [
"Because pizza is delicious and lactose intolerance isn't that prevalent."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the practical use of the stapler setting that makes the staple prongs go outwards instead of inwards? | [
"the correct answer is that the outward setting makes the papers easier to pull apart than the inward setting. it's a temporary attachment rather than a permanent one"
] | [
"[From a yahoo answer post; I couldn't explain it better] the right-handed scissors have the bottom handle (the one with the large opening) in such a way that when you use it it forces the top blade BOTH downward AND tight against the bottom blade. When you switch hands the left hand still forces the top blade down... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
if an electron is a field surrounding a nucleus instead of a particle orbiting a nucleus, what does an atom with multiple electrons look like? | [
"It's more like a shell. Think of those [clear balloons with a colored balloon inside](_URL_7_ ). The colored balloon contains the nucleus, and the electrons are in a thin layer like the outer balloon. Each orbital can have two electrons, think of it as one on each side of the clear balloon. This innermost balloon/... | [
"Saying that an \"electron\" moves around an atom is inaccurate. You know that pretty picture of the electrons orbiting the atom? Completely wrong The electron orbitals are more like clouds. The electron exists somewhere in that cloud and everywhere in that cloud. You can't follow it going in a circle because you c... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Can the U.S. DOT ban a specific model car from the roadways like the FAA can ban the 737 from the airways? | [
"It's more likely to require car manufacturers to recall and repair a defect, like those exploding air bags. The grounding of aircraft is a government- > business directive, and in a very highly regulated industry like aviation, the government regulators have a lot of power. Cars are mostly not owned by businesses,... | [
"They are currently in the middle of safety testing in several States. They will likely be street legal within 5, but will require driver's licenses still. It will probably be 10-20 years for it to allow people without licenses to ride in one solo."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
if cathedrals have such a significant architecture, why aren't we building memorable like that anymore? | [
"Well, it’s about what a society values. We are building complex and beautiful buildings around the world, but they are mostly museums and skyscrapers (and sports stadiums). Religion just isn’t the focus any more."
] | [
"the world is big, buildings are not see through, and the stores may not be as centralized as you think"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How come we begin to sweat when eating spicy food, even when the food isn’t necessarily hot temperature wise? | [
"The food contains what is known as capsaicin. Capsaicinoids bind to the TRPV1 receptor in mammals to simulate the body's response to overheating, resulting in sweating and other cooling attempts. However because birds don't have the TRPV1 protein they are generally immune from the effects of capsaicin. - _URL_0_"
... | [
"Cold numbs your taste buds. So it's not less spicy your mouth just doesn't register the capsaicin like it would if the wings were hot."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why does the need to have a bowel movement sometimes pass if we don’t choose to sit on the toilet at that very moment? | [
"The need for a bowel movement happens when stool passes into your rectum. This is a chamber just above your anus. When the rectum is stretched, because stool is inside, you get the urge to poo. However, if it's not a suitable time to do it, it would not make much sense for us to have the constant need to go. So we... | [
"Chances are you've actually become conditioned to pee when you come home. Unlike in classical conditioning (where an unintentional reaction is trained with rewards and punishments), in this case it's probably just that your body has learned that when you get home it's pee time. The same thing happens to me any ti... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Health:"
} |
What happens if you hit your funny bone too hard? | [
"The \"funny bone\" is actually a nerve cluster that runs up your arm. Hitting that hard will sort of stun the nerves which is why you get that really funny feeling. Hitting it really, really hard I suppose could sever it, but I actually hit mine pretty hard in an accident. In my case the tip of my elbow broke off.... | [
"Why do they randomly twitch just once? I dunno. Why do you get a twitch that won't go away? Potassium deficiency. I used to get eye twitches all the time before I figured it out."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Why rainbows are always circular // arch shaped. | [
"A rainbow occurs as [light is refracted](_URL_0_) in raindrops. This occurs at a specific angle, however, so in order to observe a rainbow you must be located as to make a 40-42 degree angle between the sun, the raindrop, and you. This condition is satisfied along a curved path, creating the curved rainbow. [Here'... | [
"because there are rotating .. if you spin a transparent ball with water inside you will have the same 2d shape. phisics first class"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Physics:"
} |
When you are hungry, what causes your stomach to make a churning/grumbling noise and why is it so loud? | [
"If I remember correctly from high school anatomy, the inside of your stomach is covered with ridges or wrinkles called rugae. When there is food in your stomach, these help to churn the slurry to aid digestion. As the stomach empties, however, the stomach constricts and the rugae rub together, causing a gurgling o... | [
"Well that's just appetite versus hunger. I'd say hunger is generally felt in the stomach as a pain, whereas appetite isn't painful, to just have a craving for something and it's on your tongue"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how does one way glass work | [
"The glass is a partial mirror; the shiny finish on it reflects MOST of the light, but allows some of it to pass through. The trick is for the police or observers to stay in a dark room; if they turn on the lights the person on the other side will be able to see them, because the mirror lets some light through."
] | [
"nothing is 100% transparent otherwis you would not be able to see it"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why is paying a chartable organization money to pay staff/people to allow your child into a college a crime, but donating directly to that college to allow your child to attend not? | [
"If you're talking about the recent scandal, they didn't donate to a charitable organization to get their children in. What happened in the current scandal is various bribes were paid to people at the college, as well as others who helped manipulate or fabricate test results and false academic credentials. That's f... | [
"A lot of people say a lot of silly, confused, or out-right false things. Just because someone says something, doesn't mean it is true. Unless they shows you the paper work and you verify it, don't believe someone who says the US government is paying them $90k a year to come to school here. It is entirely possible ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How was R Kelly’s bail set at $100,000 versus Lori at $1,000,000? Is sexual assault a minor offense versus mail fraud in the judicial system? I don’t know the context to relate values towards charges. Curious how one can be 10x the other with the actual actions that may have taken place. | [
"Flight risk is a big part of setting bail. How much money a person has when they are arrested effects their ability to flee justice."
] | [
"Excessive means in relation to the crime, not in relation to their ability to pay. Bail is insurance that you will show up to court on the dates you are supposed to. If you are required to show up for a traffic ticket, 1 million dollar bail is highly excessive, which is why your signature in the presence of the co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text about Law and Criminal Justice:"
} |
If DJs have to wear earplugs why is the music so loud? | [
"Exposure to loud sounds can damage hearing, but it makes a difference how loud and for how long. Some severely loud sounds can cause immediate hearing damage after one exposure, while other sounds cause lesser or no damage immediately, but cause damage when a person is exposed for an extended period of time. The D... | [
"That just means it's so loud it's causing your whole body to reverberate. It's not harmful, but I certainly hope you have some kind of ear protection."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why do some countries like Namibia, Western Australia, Libya, Somalia, etc. Have such baron looking climates (satellite pictures show no green) despite being exposed to the ocean. | [
"Barren* and Ocean water is useless for growing plants and irrigation due to the high salt content in it. They need fresh water access in order to grow green"
] | [
"1) Most of Australia's region is Australia so it has incredible influence within its region, so I have no clue what you are talking about with that statement. 2) As to why the population is fairly small, that is because a very large portion of the continent is desert or semi arid land. That means that there is no... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why if I play blackjack against the house, with the same exact rules as the house, that I am still at a disadvantage. | [
"Simplest explanation may be that you go first, and if you bust you lose immediately regardless of what happens to the dealer."
] | [
"The odds of winning any gambling are set out so the house always has an advantage. This is usually just a few points of a percentage (0.verylittle) but over tens of millions of dollars pouring through a casino, this leads to millions in profit. You basically have like a 49% chance of winning, so over thousands of... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does soil liquefaction work? | [
"Soil is little grains. It's firm because when you press it the grains push against each other to resist you. Water can mix in with the grains, increasing the space between the grains. A little water lets the grains shift a little, until they can't get past each other, and they lock up to resist you. If too much wa... | [
"Asphalt softens in high temperatures. Concrete cracks in cold temperatures. That should tell you everything you need to know."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why is it that just the act of lying down makes you so tired? | [
"Conditioning. You’ve trained your body over the years that when you lay down it’s time to fall asleep."
] | [
"This is called Malaise. You don't feel so bad that the effort required to feel better is obviously worth it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
if cold viruses are changing constantly then what is cold medicine actually doing? | [
"Treating the symptoms. The cold virus may change, but treating a stuffy nose and headaches doesn’t."
] | [
"1. We don't have a cure for the flu 2. The flu is quite big if you think about it. 3. Because each time Ebola is transmitted (like in plague inc) it evolves making it harder to cure as it where. The evolving isn't adding bad things to it. It's jus changing its chemical formula. So each cure will be unique."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Medical:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Medical:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about News and current events:"
} |
How come I'm too hot, or warm, when in bed with the covers up to my waist or higher, but as soon as my foot sticks out the bottom, I feel... better? (Cooler?) | [
"Simply put, much of a person’s body heat is released at the extremities. This includes your feet, hands, and your head. When those places are covered, your radiant body heat is contained underneath the blanket, bouncing back at you, keeping you warm. When parts of the body (especially the extremities) are exposed ... | [
"As a canadian, I can tell you that I absolutely get used to the cold. I guess it depends on how cold, but if it's hovering around freezing, I can usually bear it with pants, a t-shirt and an un-zipped sweater. It feels kinda cold at first, then I don't usually notice it until I get back inside and feel the warmth.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What’s so special about a Tesla Coil? | [
"It raises the voltage of an electric current. This allows the electricity to jump out to other objects. This creates flashy lightning. Humans tend to be interested in flashy shiny things."
] | [
"Well when else would you buy a Toblerone?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does skipping stones work/happen? | [
"Liquids do not compress much, so if you give enough energy to the stone it is equivalent to bouncing a stone down an asphalt street. Once the stone loses enough energy (velocity) the water will have sufficient time to move out of the way and the stone stops skipping."
] | [
"If magnets are magic, is gravity magic too? Fundamental forces, yo. They run the universe."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What’s the difference between being charged and being indicted? | [
"Being charged with a crime means the prosecutor filed charges. An indictment means the grand jury filed charges against the defendant."
] | [
"When you get arrested, you will be taken to jail. You'll be booked and charged with a crime. You will sit in jail until you either bond out or get your court date. Once you go to court, you will be sentenced. Assuming you are convicted of a crime that carries a prison sentence, you will be sent to prison, where yo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is panic and fear experiend during sleep paralysis? | [
"Because instinctively if we can't move we can't escape danger"
] | [
"You usually wake up when you're about to die in bad dreams, it's a survival thing. We have bad dreams more often when we are in this semi conscious state shortly before we wake up, so bad dreams aren't bad dreams at all, they're hallucinations."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Psychology:"
} |
How do things you ingest (pills, specific foods like fish, etc) make their way up to the brain? | [
"Your stomach acid breaks down the food you eat. The broken down food next goes to the intestines. The intestines absorb nutrients from broken down food. The microscopic nutrients pass through microscopic channels in the intestines to enter the blood stream. The blood carries the nutrients all through the body. Som... | [
"Chemicals dissolve in the mucus which coats most of the surface in the nose/back of throat. It can diffuse through the cells and enter your bloodstream directly. Same thing when you put something under your tongue, like lsd."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How were languages created | [
"Ugh ugh. Grr. *Points at something* Also we have a special ability to make highly different sounds and a brain capable of interpreting patterns. We are so good at patterns that we see them when they don't even exist."
] | [
"Because it is comprised solely of 5 of the most important numbers in mathematics."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is there an option for bail for criminal offenses? | [
"People are assumed innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the law. Holding innocent people in jail cannot be taken lightly. Bail is a compromise to reduce flight risk and still adhere to that principle."
] | [
"Mainly, if you have any warrants out for your arrest. Also, to verify the information on your license."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why do some foods have an after taste - And what causes the after taste? | [
"There are two things you need to know; how taste buds work, and how saliva works Saliva is the first part of digestion, believe it or not. The food is actually being broken down at a molecular level before you even swallow it! Taste buds are sort of similar to the nerves you have on your skin. Your hands are reall... | [
"Its your taste buds that pick up certain chemicals in your food. Your taste buds then send electric pulses to your brain and tells it this is what this thing tastes like, and this is the sensation you should release. That's why the natural human reaction is to pull away from spicy food."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
why does tuberculosis appear as a warning for many medications? | [
"Most people with TB have latent TB, meaning they are infected but not experiencing symptoms and not contagious. Many drugs that affect the immune system can cause latent TB to develop into active TB."
] | [
"it's one of the body's defenses against infection - namely a UTI in this case or even STD."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What exactly do game studios have to do to port a game made for console to PC? | [
"It's all about the **Game Engine** these days. The engine is what runs the game, it handles things like drawing the geometry, adding the lighting, taking user input, moving the character, animating the enemies etc. Very few games are written without a game engine. So if the game engine exists on the new platform, ... | [
"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 Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why do people use the color 'green' for greenscreen and not any other color? | [
"Green screen effect it actually called Chroma Key. Green is most often used because it does not match any natural hair or skin color, so it's the safest bet for not keying out any part of your actor."
] | [
"Red blue and yellow are the primary colors for paint and the such, red blue and green are the primary colors of light. Edit: I suppose technically magenta cyan and yellow"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage about Computer Science:"
} |
How every pixel of a display is controlled individually? | [
"> I mean how the system controls every single pixel is controlled without using millions of different cable going each pixel? It does uses \"millions\" of different cables. They are just very short and tiny. And it is the same with OLED, LCD, AMOLED etc."
] | [
"What you see on a screen, like on TV or your cell phone, are not real objects. What you see is light created by tiny lightbulbs, called pixels."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Science:"
} |
What makes greenscreens work and why exactly they are green? | [
"You simply hide every pixel that has that green color. Make it transparent. Green is used because it has a nice contrast to humans. But really any color can be used. Blue is also seen often, orange and red are more rare since human skin is to close to it."
] | [
"Because it's cheap, easy to use, and gets results. We totally are able to have all of that fancy equipment. But it's just more logical to go the cheaper route if it works well."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why do you add ”-gate” at the end of the associated word around a current news event/scandal? | [
"Because once there was a Watergate scandal and subsequent scandals were named similarly to remind people of the original scandal and how bad it had been to get them to think the one they were talking about was similary bad. Why was the original scandal named Watergate, because it was a scandal about how President ... | [
"As with the rest of the English language, lol no. Historic/historical: if something is historic, it is unique, interesting, noteworthy, as in historic landmark, historic event, historic peace treaty, whereas historical simply means it exists in history, as in historical event, historical marker, historical literat... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why do noises you hear at night seem louder, even in the same conditions as the day? eg. silent house with nobody there. | [
"I'm not good at breaking things down to ELI5 levels but AFAIK sound is a wave that requires a medium to travel through in this case air is that medium. Sound will travel further in a more dense medium meaning the apparent volume will be higher. Air at night is colder than air during the day because the sun isn't d... | [
"ambient noise from the environment is much louder during the day. traffic noises, people, planes, etc. In a city, anyway. Are you in a city or populated area, can you hear road noise form your tv watching space? edit, unless you mean something like, does it take time to hear quiet sounds when I move from a loud en... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How is it possible to wake up (day after day) within 5minutes before my alarm goes of in the morning? | [
"There's a bunch of nerves in the center of your brain that controls your circadian rhythm, your body clock. When you fall asleep and wake up consistently (even as little as 3 days), your body begins to \"help you out\" with that by releasing a protein that gradually increase your blood pressure and heart rate befo... | [
"Depends. What kind of waking up are you talking about? The one where you have no chance to go to sleep again (insomnia style) or more like waking up, realizing it’s still bed time, rolling to the side and going back to sleep?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Biology:"
} |
what are the effects of antidepressants on a person without depression? and what is the chemistry/biology behind it? | [
"Massively antiquated information in this thread among the comments referring to SSRIs. As is unfortunately too often the case with these sorts of things, the most correct answer is “we don’t know for sure”. But it doesn’t seem to be the case that depression and anxiety is simply “not enough serotonin”, or that ser... | [
"It is a mental disorder just like depression, ADD, etc and mental disorders are considered diseases. There are chemical imbalances in the brain."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does soap lose its soapiness the smaller the bar gets? | [
"It might be the water in the shower. Hard water can prevent soap from lathering as much. Five minutes on google and here's what I've come to understand: The soap works by mixing with the oils in your skin allowing things to get rinsed away easier. Hard water has a lot of ions (calcium in particular) in it that rea... | [
"Rinse, yes. Wash, no. For the detergent to work properly it needs residues to stick on to and wash off."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How is mathematical research done? Is it just putting equations together until you get something new? | [
"This is not far off what is being done. However it is often with the goal of solving a specific problem. This problem may be just made up for fun or it might come from a real world application. Some of the biggest breakthrough in mathematics is from people trying to solve a problem and then getting into a tangent ... | [
"Okay, mathematician here. Others aren't really answering your question correctly. What do we do? We basically take some statement (called a conjecture) and show that you can logically deduce the statement via valid logical steps. In our terminology, we prove conjectures, which are just mathematical statements, via... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Opportunity cost of paying off low interest rate mortgage early. | [
"When you pay your loan off, you're getting a 3-4% return on your investment. This isn't an awesome return. It's also an investment with low liquidity, there are high fees to borrow against your house and selling it to liquidate your investment - that's a super-sized hassle. On the other hand, a low cost ( < 0.2%) ... | [
"> Also, can I buy my own loan and forgive the debt? That's called paying off your loan."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do baked goods like cookies and brownies made with marijuana retain the medicinal properties without it getting "cooked out" due to the high temperature of the oven? | [
"The thc start to vaporize at 315°f (157°c), not a pro cookie baker but i bet the temps of the cookies doesnt get that hot in the oven."
] | [
"Baked goods do expire. Food goes bad because of bacteria and mould. Milk has no natural preservatives. Baked goods tend to either have natural preservatives, or preservatives added, which slows the rate at which bacteria can grow. In addition, baked goods go through a heating process - obviously - which if done fo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Food Science:"
} |
Every time a ambulance passess to our road, when a ambulance is approaching. I hear siren loudly. When its going away, i hear siren noise less. | [
"It is *not* the Doppler Effect like most other posters are saying. The doppler effect applies to the pitch of the siren, not the loudness. & #x200B; As one other poster said, it's louder when it's approaching because the siren is pointed towards the front of the ambulance. It produces much louder sound from it's ... | [
"tornado hit my house a little over a month ago and yes, id say it sounds like the rumbling a train makes as it passes. It sounds like youre standing right next to the tracks and can hear the train \"roar\" and shaking about. although the shaking sound was probably my actual house. then a tree came crashing into ou... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do digital devices slow down when they get old? | [
"The main reason is that programms and apps require better hardware as they get updated. It’s not really the digital device that slows down, but the updated software is just to heavy to run on the outdated hardware"
] | [
"Mostly it has to do with how much software you have installed on your device. The more stuff you have running the more computing power each application takes. When you first open your phone it has very few things running in the background. But, after you install Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. those p... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does a fitbit step counter feature know when you're walking compared to just moving your arms? | [
"It doesn’t. Step counters are all just best guesses based on sensor reading run through an algorithm."
] | [
"You could, but it would feel exactly like working out. It's basically just a machine that forces you to work out whether you like it or not."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
On programs such as photoshop, increasing the size of a picture beyond what it already is lowers the quality of it. How do small projectors manage to create a relatively high quality picture from such a small display? | [
"Projectors have lenses that designed to create high quality images at a certain distance. If you try to project smaller or larger the image starts to go out of focus. On professional projectors designed for large live events you can swap in a different lens but increasing the size of the projected image will cause... | [
"[Here is a high res picture of the Joker from The Dark Knight](_URL_0_) Take the following image for example, the resolution is larger than my monitor so I can make the image fit by zooming out, or display it at its native resolution but only some of the image is on my screen at once. The point is that there is m... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does gerrymandering work? | [
"To gerrymander, you need to start with a large area and then sub-divide it into winner-take-all districts. Your goal with this sub-division is to make sure that all your preferred candidates barely win their elections while all of you disfavored candidates win in a landslide. Let's say you've got 10 districts, 50 ... | [
"They can and do. Illinois' 4th and Florida's 5th are prime examples of the dems gerrymandering. Unfortunately the only way our government tries to fix gerrymandering is with more gerrymandering. Edit: got my districts mixed up"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How is the average disposable income ratio currently 174%? | [
"If I take home $1000/month and I spend $1500/month due to credit cards then I have a debt/income ratio of 150%."
] | [
"Not a huge strain. The total cost to the country is about $182 Billion per year, a bit under 1% of our annual productivity."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What laws are actually broken when a parent bribes someone to get their kid into a prestigious school? | [
"The main thing here was that the company that they were paying to help get their kids into better colleges was illegally posing as a charity, so that the parents appeared to be donating to charity and getting tax writeoffs at the same time that they were cheating to get their kids into a prestigious school. That's... | [
"The Ivy League is a historically prestigious collection of 8 universities in the Northeastern US. You do not have to be rich to get in, but in most cases you have to be exceptional academically. Basically, they are the American counterparts to Oxford and Cambridge."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is orange juice opaque, but apple juice translucent? | [
"Apple juice is filtered, it would be cloudy otherwise although not as cloudy as orange juice."
] | [
"I also want to know this. I went to the store one day because I wanted juice that didn't taste like cranberry. So naturally I tried to find juice without cranberry in it. The only one I could find was cherry juice mixed with apple juice. Guess what. That mix tasted exactly like cranberry juice."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Food and Beverage:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Food and Beverage:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How do plants and trees "know what to do" | [
"They don't have a central nervous system - their cells are largely autonomous and just act according to simple instructions. For instance, when the cells in a grass-like plant receive sufficient amounts of nutrients, water and sugar energy (from sunlight) they will initiate seed production. Much like the human bod... | [
"Seeds don't know when it is autumn, when it is winter, or when it is spring. What they do is react to various environmental triggers, such as temperature, moisture, available nutrients, sunlight, etc. They will remain dormant until the triggers they are \"programmed\" to react to reach a sufficient level to trigge... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Botany:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Botany:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Botany:"
} |
How a plane with both engines which are completely destroyed can still fly and change direction on the sky? | [
"Contrary to what Hollywood would show you, planes don't just fall out of the sky when their engines stop working. Instead, they turn into gliders, which can travel for long distances as long as they're okay with slowly descending towards the ground. If the plane was high up in the air, and traveling at cruising sp... | [
"Define relatively successful. There aren't a whole lot of plane crashes to begin with, let alone ones over water. The last one I can think of was the one in the Hudson, and I'd consider that to be as successful as a crash landing can go. You're right, a plane will continue to fly without power, but it will slowly... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
If an STD is transmitted from person to person, where, or who, did the first case come from? | [
"STDs are, for the most part, viruses or bacteria (some are larger parasites like lice). Bacteria evolve like all life; when they reproduce, there's a chance their children will be genetically different from the parents. Over long periods of time, this will result in a bacteria which could be called a new species a... | [
"If the person contracted HIV/AIDs through another source, say sharing dirty needles. While HIV can be spread sexually that is not the only way it can spread."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
why does talcum powder cause cancer? | [
"When it is mined, there can also be asbestos in it. Many people currently believe that the talcum that has been sold for decades had an unacceptable level of asbestos in it. The companies that sold the talcum dispute this. & #x200B; Asbestos has been known to cause cancer."
] | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
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