query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why is ice cream always harder the second time you open it? | [
"When opened ice cream is kept in the freezer, a lot of water content starts turning to ice which makes it considerable harder. If you were to put it in an air tight container and then store, it won't become harder :)"
] | [
"Sometimes it's out of ice cream and we just say it's down. Sometimes the whole store is out of ice cream and we say it's down. Sometimes the machine is broken and we say it's down. Sometimes it's overheated and we say it's down. Sometimes we don't feel like serving ice cream so we say it's down."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does sucking on your cut make it feel better? | [
"Your nerves are like the internet... You only get so much bandwidth. Activating multiple touch receptors surrounding the injury distracts you, because the pain signals have to compete with the other signals going to the brain."
] | [
"Why do the glands in my neck burn like high hell when I'm holding back tears?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What do they do with the patient after administering narcan? | [
"It is not possible to cure most overdoses, including opioid overdoses. The best thing you can do is to manage the symptoms until the body have broken down the substances enough to reach safe levels. With opioid overdose you can give multiple narcan doses. The issue is that narcan is broken down in the body much fa... | [
"Do they use this in an emergency room when someone is suffering from some form of toxicity? Nope."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
how do woodpeckers not get headaches? | [
"Woodpeckers actually have an extremely long tongue that wraps around their brain while they peck at the tree. The tongue cushions the brain enough to avoid concussions."
] | [
"do they squirm when you squeeze them? if so yes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
If your stomach is in the upper left quadrant of your abdomen, why is it that your lower abdomen becomes distended after you eat a full meal? | [
"Full stomach and upper intestine pushing down on a load of more squishy intestines, probably. The weight has to be supported somehow."
] | [
"Acid from your stomach, for varying reasons (choice and quantity of ingested food, stomach valve problems, etc), splashes back into the esophagus. Since the stomach is really the only organ that can fully handle the acidity of gastric juices, the esophagus gets heavily irritated and delivers a \"burning\" sensatio... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does the morning light look and feel so different from the evening light? | [
"In the evening, there are far more particles in the air, like dust and pollen. The more particles the air contains, the more light is reflected and the warmer the light looks. During the night, these particles tend to sink to earth, as the air is cooling and more moisture becomes available, which weighs them down... | [
"It may be the lighting! Try to see how you feel with natural light versus the light from your lamps. It can make a big difference."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why are some jobs less strenuous and higher paying than other jobs? | [
"Jobs are paid largely according to supply and demand. Some strenuous jobs, like the stereotypical job of digging ditches or similar kinds of unskilled manual labor, have a huge amount of labor supply. Most able-bodied people of working age are able to dig a ditch reasonably well, so you don't have to pay very much... | [
"Statistically yes, but only because more men tend to do more hazardous and strenuous jobs than women do."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How can a plane measure it's altitude (and how was it done a 100 years ago without our current modern tools)? | [
"100 years ago was the age of biplanes. The primary methods for determining position were \"look at the ground\". Not long after, planes started using barometers to determine altitude. In the modern day, radar is also an option."
] | [
"There are two types of altimeters in use today: 1) Pressure Altimeters measure the air pressure outside the plane. In order for this to be accurate, you need to know the ground pressure of the airport you are landing at. This led to airports having accurate weather stations and recording the pressure change regula... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What causes stomach ulcers and after they are healed, what causes flare-ups? | [
"There's a type of bacteria that can cause them, can't remember the exact name, heliobactorpylori or some such. Otherwise excessive alcohol, coffee, energy drinks, soda etc can all cause them I believe, and can cause them to flare up."
] | [
"The stress negatively affects you immune system and mucus membranes in your mouth, which leads to the initial canker sore. After it starts it take quite a long time to heal. Stress can also cause other health problems."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How does a stainless steel soap remove the fish or garlic scent from your hands? | [
"What the hell is a stainless steel soap?"
] | [
"For: wash off pesticides, dirt. Against: why the hell would there be anything against washing your fruit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How did Mormons develop their beliefs? | [
"Someone wrote a whole new book in the US, said it was buried there by ancient Jews and was the next part of the Bible. Some people believed him and here we are."
] | [
"Mormons are not even considered Christian by most other Christians because they have a different scriptural text that they use to run their religion with the book of Mormon. It is very similar as to how Christians are not Jewish because we have a different scriptural text that we base our religion on."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does THC have such a long half life while other drugs such as meth have a much shorter half-life? | [
"THC is fat-soluble. Meaning when you smoke weed THC is stored in the fat cells, meth and many other drugs are water-soluble. You could drink enough water to flush meth out of your system for good. With THC, water only dilutes it for a short amount of time and cannot flush your system because it is stored in the fa... | [
"Half-life and duration of action are both very specific to the drug/compound and the person. There is no One-size-fits-all with regards to half life and activity. For instance, if I take aspirin to thin my blood, that effect lasts about 7 days because my body takes 7 days to replenish my blood cells that were affe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does our noses run when we eat spicy food? | [
"We are crying because the food is so awesome its emotionally overwhelming. (Sorry, could not help myself) Spicy food made with peppers has capsaicin. Capsaicin irritates the mucous membranes and turns on the snot faucet. Your body is trying to neutralize an irritant. Anecdotally, my ex once bet me 100 bucks that ... | [
"Do you also cough when eating popsicles and frankfurters/hot dogs? If so, it might be your technique."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why has a country such as England not adopted "no fault divorce"? | [
"We kinda are doing, but this Brexit thing is taking up all of the parliamentary time. [_URL_0_](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"They certainly can do this, in which case they may end up in a military prison unless their country allows the notion of a *conscientious objector.*"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
the difference of iMessage and other messaging apps? | [
"The advantage of iMessage is that it is an integrated messaging app and SMS client installed by default. If the person you are messaging also has iMessage, the app automatically detects it (via the phone number or email) and uses the iMessage format by default. If they do not (or for some reason it can not send th... | [
"Pinging someone usually needs context. It depends on the most frequent medium of instant communication involved and therefore can be sending a message on any one (or more) of the following: * text based SMS * whatsapp * google chat ping You get the drift."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why cancer seems so widespread in the older population these days? | [
"The odds of dying overall are 100%. So if you reduce the odds of dying of one cause you necessarily increase the odds of dying of another cause. So a person that would have died of polio or the flu instead lives long enough to fall victim to something else. Cancer (in general) is a pretty inevitable thing on the l... | [
"Compare mortality rates to those with chronic illness 100 years ago. Now make the same comparison today. You will find that a very large number of people who are sick today would have been dead 100 years ago. Peanut allergy 100 years ago: Billy mysteriously fell over dead, end of story."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Health:"
} |
how do contact lenses work to help you see? | [
"Normal sight is made possible partly because of the part of your eye called the lens. It is an oblong shaped piece of clear tissue that bends light. It is shaped in such a way that light entering from various angles is all bent so that they hit the same spot on the retina on the back of your eye. Eye sight problem... | [
"I don't have glasses but have an indent. Does this mean I will need glasses?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How does prioritising traffic lights work? Those that priorities ex. buses over private cars | [
"You have active radio transponder on the buses or some other way to detect them and change the switching of the light so it let them trough first. So the the idea is if a buss is detected on road A then next road that will have a green light will be A and leave it green until the buss has passed trough the inters... | [
"Traffic lights have more to do with this than anything else; red lights separating groups of vehicles."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Is there any difference between forcing a computer shutdown with the power button vs manually clicking shut down? | [
"Yes there is a difference! Imagine falling asleep, this is like clicking shutdown, your brain stores all the information from the day and you remember it when you wake up. The computer does the same thing, before it turns off it stores all the information so that it can be remembered the next time it turns on. Fo... | [
"Adding to this if allowed; does it make a difference whether you restart a phone or turn it off and then on again"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is hunger satisfied almost instantly? | [
"Hunger is the feeling of an empty stomach, it has nothingvto do with nutrients or digestion. You could put anything in there, a rock, a sponge, a balloon. Just not liquids, they go straight throigh the stomach to the gut, that doesn't help. That's how you can drink 2000 calories of alcohol and stll be super hungry... | [
"So what is it about human physiology that makes this work differently for us?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How does the face determine where to form the next pimple? | [
"Your face is full of pores, which are little holes in the skin that work in many forms. These holes can be clogged with materials such as dirt and sometimes your body thinks of it as an infection and activates it defense mechanism to stop it. It seals the pore and sends in the fleet which causes inflammation and t... | [
"Brains are associative: for singing you strongly learn the word before leads to the word after, and with a given pitch. You can also learn muscle movements instead of what exactly you are moving to: for example close your eyes and tell me the left-to-right, top-to-bottom order of your keyboard without using your f... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Education:"
} |
What’s the difference between hardware, firmware, and software? | [
"Hardware is the stuff you can physically see and hold. Eg, your phone. Software is the apps that you download. Firmware is software which is programmed into chips, which you can't (easily) change."
] | [
"Umm...kinda? Internet of things is the idea of connecting small devices to the internet that normally wouldn't have an internet connection. For example, smart light bulbs are an IoT device. All of these things require some programming which is in the domain of Computer Science. What are you trying to figure out, e... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why do some cows have nose rings? | [
"you can use that to lead them or tie them. The nose is tender and the bull (typically) won't yank hard against the rope that is attached to a nose ring"
] | [
"Why do you have so many lips and chins?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Biology:"
} |
How can you remove an object from a photo and there be more of the photo behind it? | [
"There's a clone stamp tool, that allows you to \"clone\" the background from next to the object over the place, some cleaning up and smoothing and then you have \"removed\" the object."
] | [
"The blue screen only needs to cover the transition from a character or part of the scenery which is to be cut out. It is the junction which is important, they can easily just wipe out a chunk of the frame beyond that edge."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about technology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about technology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When almost all of them have 16:9/18.5:9/21:9 screen ratios, why do smartphones still mostly have 4:3 camera sensors? | [
"It makes sense to capture essentially a near square image with as much information as possible (i.e. high pixel density) and then allow the devices/users to crop and render these images however they want."
] | [
"Wait a second. Fullscreen is just the proportion of the screen you bought. Old TVs are a 4 wide by 3 high format, widescreen TV are 16:9. Cinema used even wider screens, decades ago."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why do animals like to be petted? | [
"*social* animals like petting, since they use grooming and other contact to reinforce social bonds. Most mammals and birds are at least semi-social and will react positively to contact from an individual they know. Non-social animals are typically less receptive, although some can be trained to tolerate it. Do not... | [
"Because people are warm. Cats (and some other pets) like to be warm."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why do drinks like Pedialyte/Electrolit hydrate our bodies more than water? | [
"Our body doesn't just need water. It needs a balance of water to salts (this is why drinking sea water is bad. It's way too salty, so our body, in an effort to get rid of the salts will use water to flush it out). Our kidneys regulate this. If you have too much water and not enough salt, you pee a lot (and it's mo... | [
"Yes, of course it does. Caffeine is a diuretic (spelling?) however, which requires a lot of water to process and can dehydrate, but most beverages aside from Coke and energy drinks have a net positive effect on your hydration level."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does your body "give up" sometimes when lifting something heavy? | [
"Let's say your body is a huge factory that does things (in this case - lifting a battery). Your consciousness is the boss that decides what the factory actually does and how. Your muscles are regular workers, who actually do stuff according to boss's orders. They would not know what to do without him. But suddenly... | [
"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 document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why when we mix pigment colours they give off a different colour than when we mix the same light (photon) colours? | [
"Pigments are subtractive, they work by absorbing light. So if you mix a red and green pigment, you're not creating more red and green light, you're absorbing some non-red light and some non-green light, so they \"cancel eachother out\". Compare that to adding light together, which (not counting edge cases of destr... | [
"Rainbows do not represent all of the colors the human eye can see, it represents all the spectral colors, that is, the colors that can be represented by a single wavelength of light. Your eyes can see many different mixtures and combinations of these different wavelengths. Pink is simply a washed-out form of red o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why were area codes issued such that 512 is Austin, TX; 513 is Cincinnati, OH; 514 is Montreal, QC, and so on? Does it not make sense to go east to west? | [
"The numbers have nothing to do with being sequential, it was never intended as such, it was done for ease of use on rotary phones. Early area codes, such as NYC (212), Los Angeles (213), Chicago (312) were made that because they were large population centers which needed an area code and these were very short and ... | [
"Flying across Canada or the US is a greater distance than flying places within Europe. For instance New York City is 2,789 miles ( ~4488 km) from Los Angeles while London, England is only 1158 miles (~1864 km) from Rome. Another way to look at is London is closer to Newfoundland Canada than New York City is to Los... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Economics:"
} |
How does an IRA or Roth IRA make money? Is the broker using my money to invest then I'm just getting a cut of what they make? | [
"> Is the broker using my money to invest then I'm just getting a cut of what they make? Close, its: The broker uses your money to invest, then they are just getting a cut of what they make, you keep the rest. > Why can't I just do this myself? You can, but managing your money to the extent they do is a full time ... | [
"It's not that hard to make money if you already have lots of money. You just let other people use it and either charge interest or a share of the profits."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What problem do digital certificates solve in public key encryption? | [
"Public key cryptography doesn't require certificates, certificates are only there to ensure that Alice is actually talking to Bob Without certificates Alice asks Bob for his public key to send him a message, but Bob's evil twin Rob intercepts the message and gives Alice his key instead. He still passes all her mes... | [
"All of modern Encryption. Which means your ability to make internet purchases, do online banking, send any kind of private information on the internet. Amazon, PayPal, etc"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about Mathematics:"
} |
Why does it hurt so much more and longer, after ripping skin off near your finger nail compared to your toe nail? | [
"You have more nerve ending in your fingers. You also actively use your finger more than your toes. This means you are more likely to hit/bump/touch sore area, prolonging its healing."
] | [
"The white part is the part thats not completely attached to the finger underneath. It keeps coming back because your nails grow and that part separates from the skin again."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Biology:"
} |
How breaking the sound barrier was such a technological feat, that failed many times before success, but things seemingly irregular in shape like the space shuttle or SpaceX rocket boosters (on return to earth as well) break the sound barrier with seemingly no issue? | [
"Be aware that the German V-2 rockets of WW2 flew several times faster than the speed of sound; they were close to being hypersonic. A large part of the problem of going supersonic is simply the power required and rockets are much more powerful than jet engines. Part of the reason for the early Soviet lead in space... | [
"Sundays landing is just one of seven successful landings although it was the first landing on land during daylight so it makes for impressive footage. The landings is just one step towards cheap reusable rockets. Previously we have intentionally crashed the rockets after their use as there have not been any way to... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Aerospace Engineering:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Aerospace Engineering:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why exactly do tornadoes occur so much over the US? | [
"It takes more than a cold front, it's a mix of a lot of warm and cold air. The US happens to be where cold polar air coming from the north meets warm air coming from the south. In addition to that, much of the US is flat and wide open, so there are no obstacles to stop the flow of air."
] | [
"There just aren't a lot of big cities in the same places where tornadoes are common -- it's physically possible, and it does happen, just not often."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If a bigamist marries identical twins and has children with both spouses, are there any genetic differences between the two sets offspring when compared to two kids by the same two parents? Genetically, are they essentially the same as full siblings as opposed to half-siblings? | [
"They would be full siblings. This is also the same answer if identical twins had children with identical twins. The children between the two couples would have the same genetic similarities as siblings (rather than cousins which is what the children would be if their parents werent twins)"
] | [
"They are more like fraternal twins, so they have as much in common genetically as normal siblings. Dogs release multiple eggs during ovulation, whereas humans usually release only one, which is why multiple births are the norm in dogs and not humans. It's also possible for there to be two or more fathers to a litt... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What causes the penis to stop growing? | [
"But wait. How has no one simply said, \"hormones?\" Hormones told my boobs to stop growing. I'm guessing they tell a dude's penis when it's done as well. Granted, there is a *huge* age range wherein this can happen, but it is the simplest biological answer. If you're still a teenager, I'll tell you this. 15:1, co... | [
"It is actually very rare for a penis to be perfectly straight. But as long as there is no pain, it's not a big deal. The slight curve usually is a result of the tissue in one particular area growing slightly more or less rapidly than the other areas during puberty. How much of a bend are we talking here? Are you ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why does the wind seem to drop in the evening after a windy day? Its never as windy when it gets dark | [
"The Santa Ana winds here in SoCal are picking up tonight just after dark... so I’m gonna have to agree with the others here that you may be noticing regional trends, since the very real weather here seems to disagree with your observation."
] | [
"Pressure change indicates changing weather. Whether it's getting worse or better, it'll be preceded with a pressure change. My joints tell me when the weather is changing. Shoulders and knees feel like they're going to explode when we go from sunny and nice, to cold and snowy in a few hours"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why can human eyes rotate quickly together, but not when going or returning from being cross-eyed? | [
"Our eye muscles are designed to work in tandem, and we are constantly strengthening that uniformity through usage (just think of how often you move your eyes together). Just as it’s sometimes difficult to move other body parts in an unusual way (like rolling your tongue or making your fingers do a Vulcan salute), ... | [
"If you take your arm and stick it straight to your right, you can probably see it way out to the side. Directly in front of them they still have peripheral vision, but their vision is more suited to seeing as many predators around them as possible."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If fire requires oxygen to burn, then how does the sun burn with no oxygen in space? | [
"The sun isn't on fire. Fire is oxidation, where fuel + oxygen + energy = reaction (fire and the fuel changes composition). & #x200B; The sun is fusing elements into new elements (for now it's Hydrogen into Helium), and when you smash elements together, they release energy in a process called Nuclear Fusion."
] | [
"The flame needs oxygen to burn. There isn't enough oxygen in the pipe for it to keep burning."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When having an organ transplant why don’t surgeons remove the fat built up on the organ before putting it into the recipients body? | [
"Second question; having a transplant done by taking from an older person to a younger person.... doesn’t that mean the organ will have to work for likely over 100 years? Does this have any negative effects?"
] | [
"It will always be the donor's cells. It can be possible to wean off of antirejection drugs as your body gets used to the new organ, but if your whole liver is replaced by a donor liver, you do not have any of your own liver cells to replicate and replace the donor cells."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
If the sponge is dirty, how do your dishes become clean? | [
"Plenty of studies on the bacteria levels in sponges, and the ways to sanitizer them such as putting a squeezed out sponge in a microwave for 10-15 seconds to superheat the bacteria. A sponge mostly works to mechanically remove food particles from the plate, the soap will break up proteins and fats, the hot water w... | [
"Towels are designed to absorb the water on your body after a shower. Even though the water itself is clean, and your body is clean too, the towel will be wet and will need to dry up during that process the towel is moist, if you took a hot shower, your bathroom is probably relatively hot and humid too these are th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do Flys, Bees and other small insects not get completely deafened by the noises all the giant things are making around them? | [
"Insects etc do not have ears in the sense that we have. They have organs scattered about them. It's safe to say that those organs' sensitivity has evolved to react appropriately."
] | [
"Because they have a better chance of not being eaten by birds, most of which sleep at night."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How does creating artificial gravity using centrifugal force work? | [
"It depends on the initial conditions. If they are not touching the ship when it starts spinning they should experience weightlessness. If they are spun with the ship they have the same forces acting upon them and it will appear that gravity is acting on them."
] | [
"It depends what you count as \"artificial gravity\". You could theoretically create such a dense layer of matter that it would create a noticeable amount of gravity, but that's not really artificial, and it's impractical to use in spaceships. A common design for space stations or large spacecraft would be to have ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How do brands like Smartfood pop their popcorn so that it's so much fluffier than what I make at home? | [
"I think it also has to do with the variety of popcorn they use. I remember a Food Network show (Unwrapped I think) that one explained there are two varieties of popcorn “butterfly” and “puffball” the difference being the shape. Butterfly tends to be used for everyday popcorn while puffball popcorn tends to get use... | [
"At it's most basic level (without any additives or flavouring) popcorn is literally popped corn. Where I live you can buy unpopped kernals in a bag like you would get rice or pasta and heat them in a pan to make popcorn. Corn isn't a vegetable. It's a grain."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
When your nose runs endlessly because of allergies/sinuses how does it produce so much fluid/snot, and what exactly is it made of? | [
"Life is so confusing sometimes. I have a cold and this morning (~5h ago) while i was blowing my nose with 100 napkins after i woke up i tought: “hmmm where the fuck is this neverending mucus coming from?! I could ask reddit!”. Of course my lazy ass didn’t do it. And NOW I wait in front of Dr.’s door and i see this... | [
"When you aren't sick, mucus acts as sort of a fly paper catching bacteria and dust and the like to keep it our of your lungs. The increase of mucus production is likely your body's attempt to flush out all of the crap in your system. No its not possible to get it ALL out as even where you're healthy you'll make so... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Health:"
} |
What is it exactly that we see behind our eyelids when we close our eyes? The patterns, colors, etc. | [
"TIL that not everyone experiences this. I've always seen this and figured everyone did too."
] | [
"The spots you see in your eyes are almost certainly not microorganisms, but floaters, which are tiny bits of dead tissue from inside the eye ball. The fast moving blobs you see, most often when you look at a blue sky, are probably the blood cells moving through the network of blood vessels on your retina. The blue... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why are ticks so hard/impossible to squish? Are their shells really that strong? | [
"It's more that your fingers are soft and squishy. Also, ticks are very small, so the force you're applying is most likely spread over their entire body. If you just try to step on one, they can fit between the treads of your shoe."
] | [
"Your skin is mainly made of living things. So it's soft, but can self repair. Your teeth are made mainly of minerals. So it's hard, hard enough to rip through skin and flesh, but there isn't really enough living things on the surface to repair much."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why does more sleep make me more tired? | [
"I do not know the cause in your specific situation HOWEVER, the feeling of grogginess when you wake up is due to interrupting REM sleep (or \"deep sleep\", if you will). There are apps that claim to monitor your sleep movements and try to wake you up when you're not in REM sleep, thus keeping you from feeling grog... | [
"Because being deprived of sleep has the same effects on the brain as alcohol does. You give fewer fucks so you're a little more outgoing. It happens to me all the damn time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Psychology:"
} |
Why didn't New World diseases devastate Europe? | [
"[CGP Grey did a pretty good video on this question](_URL_0_) Short version: Europe had a lot more people and animals crammed into close proximity in filthy cities, and that's a breeding ground for all kinds of nasty. America was more sparsely populated, and had many fewer domesticated animals living with humans. S... | [
"There were few native domesticable species of animals and plants. Because of this, early societies there were not able to progress beyond hunter-gatherer tribes. Read *Guns, Germs and Steel*, by Jared Diamond."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
how do apps share data with other apps? | [
"Typically app writers make a deal with an advertising service. When you do certain things, they send a description of what you did to that service, so the app can show you relevant ads. However, that service in turn may also be working with additional apps, so the ads show up on multiple apps."
] | [
"If you are logged onto Google or other services on multiple devices, ads on those services will carry over. Works with Facebook too."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why don’t toilet drains go straight down? Wouldn’t that make blockages less frequent? | [
"If they did, sewer gases would also come straight up. The p trap is an intentional block using the toilet water to stop sewer gases from coming into your house."
] | [
"They run the pump one way when circulating the water to wash the dishes - this way round it sucks water against the filter. When it's time to empty the water out, it runs the pump the other way, flushing all the stuff - even quite big things like peas - down the waste. At least, that's European dishwashers. I've n... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do formula 1 racecars not have windshields? Doesn't that make it less aerodynamic to just have the driver exposed? | [
"I believe it’s a safety thing - to make it easier to get out in a crash and they do crash a fair bit. It certainly would be more aero to have an enclosed cockpit."
] | [
"Cars in real life have a max speed, its determined by the power of the engine and the aerodynamics of the car. Eventually the wind resistance equals the power from the engine and you can't go any faster Depending on the car, you can also hit a lift off point where any small bump will lift the chassis of the car, l... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
If your skin is constantly replacing itself through cell division and replication, shouldn’t tattoos eventually just fade away? What makes them stay on your skin forever? | [
"Tattoos don't stay on your skin forever, they naturally fade over time, as can be seen on [this](_URL_0_) picture. But tattoos sit deep in your skin, and therefore takes longer to fade than the outer layer of your skin."
] | [
"Short answer: The same way bad haircuts do. Longer answer: The human body is an amazing bit of engineering. It's constantly repairing itself, protecting the more vital organs from harm, and adapting to the environment as best it can in a way that human beings haven't even come close to replicating with technology.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do you feel the need to swallow more than usual when you have a sore throat? | [
"Swallowing is an automatic function, like breathing. You don’t realize how often you swallow until it hurts. I don’t know if we do swallow more when we have a sore throat, but my guess would be that it’s simply more noticeable because you don’t want to."
] | [
"Your body starts to react when you haven’t had the necessary amount of nutrients or other important necessities. How long has your throat been hurting for? How long has it been since you’ve eaten that makes your throat sore. Basically your body is telling you that you need to maintain a healthy eating routine. Al... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
why most people that collapse in a race/marathon often do it in the final sprint and when the goal-line is visible? | [
"1) Most people that collapse in a race *don't* do it in the final sprint. You just *see* more people collapse near the end, because nobody's paying attention -- or making videos! -- when people collapse at, say, mile 8.8 or 15.2 or whatever. 2) Many people who have made it to, say, the last mile or half-mile in a... | [
"While this is anecdotal anyway, I think the best comparison is a long distance race. You run 9k, and you're exhausted and want to quit, but you're 1k away and hear a cheering crowd and see the finish line. You can kind of gut it out and finish, then collapse once yer there. There's a limit...you can't run 20k more... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do moving air feels colder than stationary air? | [
"Because it is. Air is sticky. It clings to your skin and gets heated up by it. When that layer of sticky clingy heated air gets pushed away and replaced by moving air, that heat is lost to you and you become colder."
] | [
"Water is a much better conductor of heat than air. As a result you lose body heat much quicker in cold water than in cold air."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it that the more we think about or say a certain word the faker it sounds? | [
"This sensation is called Jamais vu (the same family as deja vu). Repetition makes your brain fatigued and if you repeat it enough, your brain is too tired to recognise that a certain word is an actual word. > Jamais vu is most commonly experienced when a person momentarily does not recognise a word or, less commo... | [
"Familiarity breeds contempt? The more you hear it the more familiar you get with it. The initial hook of the song is less of a hook and you lose interest in it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Language and cognition:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Language and cognition:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why does it get almost impossible to talk, if you are close to crying? | [
"I’m guessing you’re referring the “lump in your throat” or “getting choked up”. The lump you feel isn’t actually a lump, but the feeling of opposing muscles in your throat—specifically the glottis, or the opening between your vocal chords—working against each other. It’s known as the globus sensation, which relate... | [
"I laugh out loud when I'm alone? Have you considered the possibility that you might be dead inside, OP?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it possible in the US to convict someone for several consecutive life-sentences? | [
"It's so they're guaranteed to die in prison essentially. With multiple life sentences you're almost certain to not get out on good behavior, or if your conviction is overturned I believe. Get rid of one life sentence? Cool, you still have another to go. Or maybe more like you stated they do."
] | [
"These sentences are generally passed down to those convicted of particularly heinous crimes in the eyes of the state. These usually include homicides and the like."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Law and Justice:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Law and Justice:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Law and Justice:"
} |
Why you shouldn't vomit after accidentally ingesting chemical products? | [
"First of all, that's not an absolute, sometimes you should. Secondly, when you don't have to. What you want to avoid is the chemicals to injure you further going again thorough the trachea and throat that is much less protected than the stomach. Add to that the fact that you also throw up chloridic acid which can ... | [
"The bad taste is intentional in many medications, in order to discourage kids from drinking the medicine accidentally."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When do you use the different gears with an Automatic Transmission? | [
"This article explains it pretty flawlessly if you have a few minutes _URL_0_ Essentially, if you have 4,3,2, and L, then your gearbox has 6 gears to choose from (not counting reverse). L (low range) will hold the gears much lower than they would be if in D(rive), allowing the engine to provide more torque, for t... | [
"Speed, terrain, level of comfort all causes different niches. Example: Single Speed and Fixie Do you like driving automatic cars? Example: Multi-gear and mountain bikes Do you like driving on mountains and shifting gears? Do you like a high-end expensive, but extremely comfortable car? Cruiser it is Do not give a ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Wouldn't passwords be exponentially more secure if websites let us select them without restriction? | [
"I mean saying (password must contain a number/uppercase letter) isn’t gonna give anyone much of a “starting point”😂 stop being paranoid man, HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING.... it’s much easier to guess “yaga” than SuckMyLeftNut69"
] | [
"That's an inefficient way to crack passwords, for the reason you specified. I'd imagine the strike limit is to stop people from actually trying passwords via guessing. How you normally crack a password is by stealing the encrypted password table from the server and then cracking it \"offline\". This is countered b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How do people take these amazing detailed pictures of the sky... | [
"It will be a combination of good equipment and, in some cases, overlaying multiple photographs. That's how images of the night sky are generally created - multiple exposures layered to enhance detail and contrast in specific areas of the resulting image. Often this can be done by taking two photos with different f... | [
"How do you even take a picture of the center of a tornado?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how do websites and search engines show results by "relevance"? How does the computer learn that? | [
"Bob Page, the guy who Google's \"page rank\" is named after, came up with a way of tracking how many other web pages link to a particular page, as well as how many times a particular term appears and/or is used as a paragraph title.. In other words if you search for \"Brian Addams\", you're going to get his Wikip... | [
"Google's index of Reddit is likely better than Reddit's own index and google also has a better search algorithm. Search algorithms are trade secrets and you also have to keep in mind that Google has a profile on you that helps finding the things that are most relevant to you (the main purpose of this being ads of ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Information Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the passage about Information Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
When organizations say they're looking for a cure to cancer, is it for something better than chemo and current remedies? Are those just not very effective, or only useful for specific types of cancer? | [
"Chemo is often effective but its like carpet bombing your system. Yes it kills cancer but its a pretty awful process. They are looking for more targeted less destructive (and preferably more effective) solutions"
] | [
"There is no such thing as a \"cure for cancer.\" Cancer is an entire class of different diseases. Lung cancer is different from brain cancer which is different from stomach, throat, liver, colon, prostate, skin, etc. etc. etc. The prognoses and treatments differ from one to the other. These T cells, as far as I ca... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Medicine:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Medicine:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How do they determine the speed at which extinct animals used to walk? | [
"This was actually explained in the original post you linked to. It's determined by the depth of the prints across their length, and the distance between the prints. If a print is deep, it means the impact was heavier; if there's a long distance between prints, it means the creature was going faster. This is all ba... | [
"Because large animals like elephants move more slowly than small animals like dogs. If an elephant moved at the speed of a dog, the forces involved would exceed the strength of the materials an elephant is made from."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How do PC games detect which serial keys are valid and are used when installing them? | [
"Modern games will require an internet connection to install, and will check against a remote database that's continuously updated based on activations."
] | [
"The catch is that they're volume lisence keys or stolen or cracked and not real. Grey market sites are a huge risk in terms of whether or not the key is even real, much less functional."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Computer Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Computer Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
- If North America is now the world's largest crude oil supplier, why has the price of gasoline gone up 30 cents in two weeks? | [
"Gas prices tend to rise at the start of spring/summer, both because demand is higher (many many more people on the roads) and because the potential for summer storms means it's possible that supply will drop soon. The domestic supply of crude oil is one variable in an extremely complex system which leads to determ... | [
"Gas prices are down 30 cents in the last month and are the lowest they've been since November 2010. To reach the low gas prices of 2008, the price of a barrel of oil still needs to fall over $30."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Economics:"
} |
Why paintings in museums don't have protective glass in front of the painting? | [
"Glass can interfere aesthetically by creating glare. And as others have said, vandalism or damage is rare. A person could vandalize a painting by breaking the glass and ripping the painting, too. But paintings like the Mona Lisa are in a glass case to protect it since it attracts lots of loonies. I could see stand... | [
"There are paints which are not particularly adhesive. Watercolors for example. All he would need to do is use one of those kinds of paint for the ends of the paper sheets."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If paracetamol reduces your fever, and makes you feel better, does that mean you are less contagious (for instance if you suffer from a cold) after swallowing paracetamol? | [
"Answer: No. It just reduces the fever via targeting the mechanism that makes your body temperature rise. It doesn't remove the source of the illness that's causing the fever. If your clothes washer over-flows due to a fault, and you mop it up, the mop cleans up the water but doesn't fix the washer."
] | [
"Drugs don't just work on the one thing they are prescribed for but the main effect they have is helping with the issue you have. Antibiotics might kill the bacteria in the infection but they also damage bacteria in your digestive system which can make you feel worse and introduce symptoms like say diarrhea. I rai... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
If the brain doesn’t have nerve endings, how do we feel headaches? | [
"The brain itself doesn't have any nerve endings, but the tissue between the brain and the skull does. When pressure increases inside your head or various other problems occur, those bits get squished or otherwise activated and generate pain signals."
] | [
"You have different receptors in your body that send messages to your brain. Like receptors for pain, pressure, chemicals, and temperature. So your eyes don't feel cold because they don't have the right kind of receptors."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Black Hole Photography questions | [
"/u/andromeda321 provided [this excellent comment in r/pics as well](_URL_0_)."
] | [
"Yes to both your questions. See: Spy satellites."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How units of time (seconds, minutes, hours, etc) became seemingly universal around the world while other units like weight or distance did not? | [
"Weights and measures were independently developed all over the world. Timekeeping, on the other hand, with accuracy beyond \"mid day\" or \"late afternoon\" only got serious with the advent of precision clocks, almost all of which were developed and spread from Europe during exploration. Since everyone was trying ... | [
"Perception of time is relative. If you ever get into a car accident or other life-or-death scenario, you will know what I mean. Time, on its own, has no rate, because there are no units to define the rate. We defined the rate to be one second per second, or a year per year. Our units are fairly arbitrary (exceptin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why is honey dangerous to toddlers and infants? | [
"Honey often contains botulism spores, growth of botulism is suppressed when there is low water activity (such as in honey), and it's suppressed when the pH is low. It needs to get 125'C to kill the spores. Botulism produces one of the most toxic poisons known to man when it grows. The temperature to kill botulism ... | [
"The bad taste is intentional in many medications, in order to discourage kids from drinking the medicine accidentally."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How are my odds of winning the lottery impacted if I buy 10 tickets as opposed to 1 ticket? | [
"You're odds go up by a factor of 10, but it's such a minuscule amount to begin with it's still effectively 0. You go from a 0.0000003% chance of winning to a 0.000003%. For comparison your odds of being struck by lightning at some point in your life is about 0.03%. In other words you'd need to buy about 100,000 ti... | [
"Powerball has about 175 million possible combinations. So, if you bought 175 million tickets you would be guaranteed that one of them would win. When the jackpot gets this high you are going to have a lot of people buying tickets. They may not sell 175 million this week, but they will probably sell at least 100 mi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
What is hawking radiation? | [
"What is it? COOL AS FUCK! The first thing you need to know is that there is an edge around every black hole called an \"event horizon.\" It's a point of no return -- one teensy bit past it, and you're sucked in for good. The second thing you need to know is that matter (and anti-matter) are spontaneously created ... | [
"While we wait for an answer to your question, could you give me an ELI5 on what Marjorana fermion is?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
how the bones of martial artists (e.g. Muay Thai ) are conditioned through kicking hard objects. | [
"Similar to the process that muscles go through to get larger. They develop micro fractures and heal harder and tougher"
] | [
"karate is precise movements in hand and feet, as is taekwondo. Kung fu is a bit more concentrated on body flow, aka how you position your body for what you want. Muai thai is about sweep kicks to shins and punching mainly, although they will use head kicks occasionally. Aikido is about using your enemy's force aga... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
when we get a sunburn, why does it take 1-2 weeks for the skin to start peeling? | [
"The radiation from the sun damages cell DNA. This by itself does not automatically kill the cell. Cells go through phases during its reproduction. Several phases include checkpoints where it checks everything to make sure it's ready to divide. If things aren't in order like the dna is damaged then the cell kills i... | [
"It's not the scab that is itching actually, it's the skin underneath it; The scab is there originally more to keep you from bleeding, the itching is your skin (which has nerve endings) breaking down so it can repair itself. This process uses digestive enzymes, that piss off the nerve endings, making you itchy. It'... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why does AC in the car feel colder than air outside, when external temperature is colder than AC setting? | [
"Setting the A/C to 66 means it is trying to get the overall internal temp of the vehicle to 66, but to do this means using much cooler than 66 degree air to mix with the warmer air until it drops to the desired 66. Additionally, you fell the moving air, vs. more calm air outside, and moving air feels colder -- rea... | [
"Warm=keeping room temp above set temp Cool=keeping room temp below set temp The temp you set the thermostat to isn't necessarily going to be the room temp, it's just the temp that activates the system."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How do scientists know that blind people can't see in their dreams ? | [
"> **ELI5: How do scientists know that blind people can't see in their dreams ?** They ask the blind people: \"Do you see in your dreams?\""
] | [
"The people who are blind from birth do not have a visual sense at all. Hard for us to understand, but that's how it is. They don't see black - they don't SEE anything at all. People who lose their vision later in life also say that it's an absence of vision rather than blackness."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Is the alcohol in mouthwash the same type as found in wine and beer? | [
"The alcohol in mouthwash is indeed food grade ethanol, there are some alcoholic people who do consume it to get drunk as sometimes it's cheaper and more accessible than regular alcohol. It's not a great idea to drink it though because the high concentration of fluoride and other tooth strengthening/cleaning and br... | [
"Hard drinks have alcohol, soft drinks don't. To be considered a soft drink the alcohol content must be less than half of a percent of the volume."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do women need to be awake during childbirth? | [
"Anesthesiologist here. 1) The pushing for a vaginal delivery, as mentioned previously. 2) Any systemic sedation or anesthetic that the mom gets, the baby gets too. A sedated baby has a higher risk of respiratory complications. 3) It's safer. Less women die in childbirth (vaginal or cesarean section) receiving sp... | [
"Because childbirth is an extremely traumatic event for the human body. Complications can and do arise regularly. While we are pretty good at performing them nowadays a caesarean section is major abdominal surgery."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why won’t “old phone” be able to work in a 5G network? Do we have to get new phones when 5G becomes a more prominent thing? | [
"The way I like to explain it: Think of network technologies like languages. 5G speaks Arabic. 4G speaks Chinese. 3G speaks English. Your phone now only speaks Chinese and English. You will need a new one to understand Arabic. It gets more complex than this, in a technical sense, but the concept is the same."
] | [
"LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, meaning that they are putting the technology in place that will be the groundwork for faster communication networks. You will be able to use your LTE phone on networks as they become faster and faster, you won't have to go out and purchase the next \"4G phone\"."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about Technology:"
} |
Why don't microwaves use multiple wavelengths of radiation to achieve more even heating? | [
"No, and you are overestimating the benefit. The microwave ovens we have today stimulate one particular kind of molecule, the water molecule, which is often found in food. To use another band, you'd need to find another molecule that's as common in food as water, and stimulate that. The effect would still depend on... | [
"That's because of how electromagnetic radiation works. The frequency at which a microwave operates is such that the length of the electromagnetic waves is a few centimeters. Inside the microwave oven are many such waves, and some of them overlap. Where they do, they can either amplify eachother (if they're the sam... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How come invasive species are so successful in the habitats they infiltrate? | [
"When something new appears in an ecosystem, something evolves to kill it and the system returns to balance. What we call \"invasive\" have only arrived in the last instant of ecologic time, so they don't have a defined check mechanism, yet. It takes thousands to millions of years for a predator to evolve to exploi... | [
"Here's an idea. When we remove an organism from an ecosystem, we don't know what will show up to fill that niche. What if it's something worse than mosquitoes?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do humans have earlobes? | [
"No reason remains apparent. Maybe back in our evolutionary past there was a reason for something else that degenerated into the earlobe when we didn't need it anymore. A popular theory is greater blood flow, warming the ear to prevent frostbite."
] | [
"Why are noses different in size, why are people different heights, why do we have different hair colors?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Biology:"
} |
Why does the taste of water change depending on your level of thirst? | [
"I heard it has something to do with your brain sending out signals to the rest of your body, taste buds included. Your body need water to live, to survive. When you are super thirsty, water mostly taste sweet. Your taste buds trick you so you would drink more water."
] | [
"Something else to consider aside from the other good points here: Your body may be more or less hydrated on a given day. Personal hydration can affect how quickly and/or sensitive you are to a given amount of caffeine."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
does friction happen inside a black hole? | [
"Talking about what is happening \"right now\" inside a black hole makes no sense. Time stops, as far as we're concerned, at event horizon, nothing ever passes that point. If you were to go through the event horizon, it would be a different story. Energy won't come from nothing. Black hole increases in size as it e... | [
"they use an electro magnetic field to “send” electricity over a small gap when electricity flows through a coil it creates a temporary magnetic field. when another coil enters this field, current will start flowing through it allowing a device to be charged wirelessly. hope that explains it well enough."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do some songs make us feel happy, while others make us feel sad? | [
"This can be partially from cultural conditioning. Some sounds are considered happy or joyous to some cultures which others would consider cacophonous or frightening. In western music we consider songs in major keys to be happy, joyous, adventurous, pretty, or ecstatic, and songs in minor keys to be sad, scary, dep... | [
"When you are feeling down, your body does two things. 1 - It tries to reverse this with happy feelings, caused by dopamine and serotonin. People who can't do this suffer from clinical depression. 2 - Because you feel sad, your happy moments feel nicer. If we never felt lonely, then being with friends wouldn't be a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why did the Wii U flop? | [
"Marketing. They promoted it as essentially an advanced Wii, and people didnt feel the need to upgrade from a system that worked fine already and had better controllers."
] | [
"Console exclusives that make you want to buy the console."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about gaming:"
} |
How are Formula One cars so fast with a V6 turbo engine? | [
"F1 cars are some if not the most extreme cars on the planet. The cars generate tons of aerodynamic downforce which pushes them against the track to massively increase grip. This prevents the cars from skidding and flying off the track at those speeds and helps in acceleration and breaking. The tires are slicks wit... | [
"Inline engines are easier and cheaper to produce than V engines. But, larger inline engines such as 6's and 8' are too relatively large, so manufacturers opt for a V engine to save space. An inline 4 can easily fit in most automobile engine compartments, so they opt for the cheaper to produce inline 4 over a more ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
how do dishwashers work? | [
"They spray a lot of hot water around (and some soap) through small moving nozzles which builds up slightly pressurized jets of water. A little bit like a small army of Smurfs armed with power washers. It does this for usually about half an hour to an hour depending on your model and settings, then it dries everyth... | [
"the dishwater does a water cycle to wash off those chemicals. same with your laundry thing"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What actually IS feeling sick? Where do we feel that sensation and what is the physiology behind it? Why can that sensation persist for hours without causing vomiting? | [
"Interleukin 1 and tumor necrosing factor alpha. It's in our bloodstream and produces both a general and a local sensation. It persists as long as there is reactivity of the immune system to some activating agent."
] | [
"An illness is when you feel bad. You have pain, soreness, dizziness, you might feel tired, etc. You are not sure why you fell bad, you just do. Basically, illnesses are feelings, a list of complaints. A disease is when there is something actually wrong with you physically or mentally, whether you feel it or not. T... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How are global fast-food chains such as McDonalds and KFC able to maintain the same taste and quality around the world? | [
"McDonald’s tastes different depending on where you are. When I was in Germany the Big Mac was a bit different from the ones in the U.K."
] | [
"The evolution of Fast Food is actually fairly interesting but the term is applied to any food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do people without teeth gnash their jaws like they’re chewing all the time? | [
"The smacking motion is often a neurological response to the lack of teeth. When our mouth is closed, our teeth are resting together, without this, it can be difficult to find a real position of closed mouth. Without teeth your upper and lower jaw doesn’t really lay correctly making it hard to keep lips and mouth c... | [
"To get that jacked jaw look that's all the rage nowadays, you need to progressively chew harder things. Start with almonds, work your way up to diamonds. You'll have the jaw of your dreams in no time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do humans subconsciously detect the key of a piece of music? | [
"Is your question about musicology or neurology? & #x200B; *Neurology answer*: The brain is magic. If you are not satisfied with this answer, you are welcome to study it for 20 years only to find out you still don't have anything better than \"it's magic\". & #x200B; *Musicology answer*: The common notes used are... | [
"It activates the same neurological pathways that are activated through speech. That's why only some music has this effect. The music that has an effect on us tends to have a certain cadence and tone much like speech. Sad music is a lot like someone who is sad speaking; e.g. Gestures descending in pitch, nasal timb... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Science:"
} |
How come on the inside of a bus you can see through the window while there is an ad on the other side of the bus? | [
"They use a sheet of vinyl, with a bunch of small holes in it (like 40-50% is holes). If you are outside your eyes focus on the well lit surface, instead of the relative darkness of the inside of the bus. When you are inside the bus, the outside tends to be brighter and your eyes focus on that. (it also helps that ... | [
"They just put a big picture of outdoors on a board that's placed a few feet from the window"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What causes stage fright (the phenomenon of not being able to pee when standing next to another guy)? | [
"Funny, that's not the definition of \"stage fright\" I knew. I think it's mostly learned behavior: from a very young age, you are trained to only use the toilet when you are alone. Basic potty training can create a link between \"being next to another person\" and \"don't pee\". A simple rule that is internalized... | [
"performance anxiety probably the same reason you can read a speech to yourself just fine, but shut down when trying to give the speech in front of other people"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Health:"
} |
If matter can effect space and time, and every action has an equal and opposite reaction, does that mean everything we see and are effects time, and is everything we experience an affect of our experience with time? | [
"\"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction\" does not refer to matter affecting time. It refers to matter exerting force against other matter. Unless an object has very high mass (or, equivalently, is traveling at super high speed), it has little effect on space or time. Some, just not much."
] | [
"Maybe this is why it's called freezing time, eh? But actually, if you think about what you mean by freezing time, you realise it isn't a good concept to begin with. Time is the marker of entropy. To say that time is still, usually what is meant is that an instant in time begins to last for eternity -- but what is ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.