query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why can't vapes have healthy chemicals in them, like salbutamol, or something similar? | [
"Healthy vaping. Vitamins? Anti depressants? Medicines in general aren’t tested for how well they work by inhaling except thinks that are meant to help breathing like medicinal inhalers. Inhalers don’t heat meds and create vapor though. I would think that it’d be an fda nightmare."
] | [
"They don't \"put nicotine in,\" like it was caffeine in a soda or something - it's part of the tobacco leaves themselves."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Health:"
} |
How do you not internally bleed after a needle goes through your vein, and makes a hole in it (Donating Blood with those huge needles)? | [
"That cotton ball they make you press down over the hole, and then wrap in place with that sticks-to-itself tape, compresses the hole enough to allow the slit to reconnect. Sometimes there is a bruise (that's a blood leak), but usually not."
] | [
"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 title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is the brightness at the center of galaxies? | [
"The number of stars per unit of volume in a spiral galaxy is higher towards the center. This is due to the way galaxies form, which is a larger scale of how the solar system formed. A big ball of dust/gas/stuff starts spinning and flattens out on the edges as well as thinning out. You can see this process on a sma... | [
"Due to cosmic coincidence, the ratio of the size and distance to the sun and Moon are nearly identical."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can we edit DNA if it’s so small!? | [
"We use really small tools! & #x200B; Keep in mind that eventhough DNA is very small, it is absolutely necessary for an organism to have a full access to it and to manipulate it with critical accuracy. A single mistake, and the whole cell can become cancerous! (it usually commits suicide before that happens, it's ... | [
"If magnets are magic, is gravity magic too? Fundamental forces, yo. They run the universe."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is our horizontal peripheral vision larger than vertical? | [
"Because humans move horizontally across Earth's surface, and rarely move vertically, we benefit more from a large horizontal range than a large vertical one. Bonus point, most animals that could harm us are also land-based."
] | [
"They're not staring into empty space. They're using their peripheral vision. Their, and your, peripheral vision is more effective at seeing movement."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is it that bone is supposedly stronger than concrete and steel? | [
"Human **bone** is indeed **stronger than steel** but only if the two are compared in terms of weight. This is an important distinction because **steel** by nature is a denser material **than bone**. ... If human **bones** were as dense as **steel**, they would be much **stronger than** they are now but also make i... | [
"In what way do you mean? It's simply very durable and elastic so it doesn't break under the weight of the spider. The oft quoted thing is that the silk is stronger than steel of the same thickness."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why was the United States the only country to use semi-automatic rifles in significant numbers during WWII? | [
"Pretty much everyone had a semi-auto rifle in development or limited deployment by 1939, but the European powers were already at war by then, and trying to swap out millions of service rifles in the middle of a war is extremely expensive. The US had a few extra years to get the M1 Garand into production and get th... | [
"Follow up question: What other types of bootcamp training strategies would drill instructors use? Also what were training structures like when there was a massive influx of troops who needed to be trained quickly, such as when the US joined WWII after Pearl Harbor?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why do you feel pain when hearing about other people’s pain. | [
"Older then 5 explanation: This is called Couvade syndrome. There’s not a whole lot of research into it however it is documented as a psychosomatic condition. It is common know as “labor pain” because the majority of the reported incidents of it happen to a male partner of a female whom is pregnant or giving birth.... | [
"Because they can feel good about something and it distracts them from their regular lives."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why is oxygen the final electron acceptor in the ETC? | [
"In the bonds between O and H the electrons are pulled towards the oxygen because it‘s nucleus has a higher positive charge (it‘s more electronegativ) so the hydrogen doesn‘t really gain an electron when O2 and H+ react to form water."
] | [
"Out of the 36 ATP molecules (energy) made during aerobic respiration, 34 are made by the electron transport chain segment in the mitochondria. So in conclusion a lot of power."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What makes something antibacterial? | [
"Not sure what actually makes something antibacterial but I know that a lot of the stuff that’s labeled antibacterial is just for marketing. Like there’s no difference between antibacterial soap and regular soap. There’s no such thing as non-antibacterial soap. And as for the superbugs, it’s because these bacteria ... | [
"Stagnant Water is a breeding ground for bacteria."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What actually happens when you eat sour candy and it feels like each side of your jaw shocked? | [
"That's where some of your main saliva glands are located. They go into maximum power when you eat something very sour, and some people can really feel it."
] | [
"Carbonation is bubbles. Bubbles pop. That's why carbonated drinks feel tingly in your mouth. Have you ever blown bubbles outside, and had one pop close to you? Sometimes you get sprayed with the soapy water as the bubble pops. The same thing happens in your mouth. When the bubbles pop, the drink can spray the insi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does jumping on the trampoline just before someone lands make them launch way higher? | [
"It basically turns into the same effect as a see-saw. You when you land, it causes the restoration the trampoline to tighten to make up for the giant spot you just stretched. When it tightens, it makes other pits, such as ones people are standing in, to become smaller, thus pushing them upwards. Same thing as the ... | [
"Are you sure it's because they don't want to get wet? One of the reasons to raise your arms up (and jump up with the wave) is to have less of your surface area get pushed by it. You'll get hit with less total force."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What is the nature of the laws of physics? Are they independent from everything and always are the same? Or are they dependent on matter? | [
"The laws appear to be dependent on the structure of the Universe, particularly the quantum fields that spread across spacetime. Almost all the laws work equally well for matter and anti-matter, if that's your second question. Without matter, it's hard to demonstrate properties like mass and charge, but the laws ar... | [
"Metaphysics deals with all those things that are fundamentally unknowable and untestable. It goes beyond physics, where physics is the study of the universe to the extent that it can be known and modelled. Broadly, metaphysics aims to be the most general investigation possible into the nature of reality. Some exam... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why do fizzy drinks seem stay fizzy longer when cool or refrigerated? | [
"There are two parts to this question. First I'll start with liquids and gases. It is possible to force a little bit of gas to dissolve into a liquid by increasing the pressure of the container. When you release the pressure, some of the gas is forced out of the liquid and you get the fizz that everyone is familiar... | [
"Chewing gum is made of rubber. Rubber gets softer when heated, and harder when cooled. When you're chewing on your gum, it is pretty close to your body temperature (98.6°F), so it is fairly soft. When you drink something colder, like tap water or a refrigerated beverage, the gum cools down quickly and gets harder.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do you have to wait a few seconds after unplugging something before plugging it back in? | [
"It has to do with capacitance. When you unplug something for a reset you let it sit for 30 seconds so all power gets drained from the circuit and cache gets cleared."
] | [
"If there is nothing plugged in, then no it will not use any electricity. For electricity to flow, there must be a complete circuit, and to complete the circuit you must plug something in. Some devices draw current even when they are off if they are plugged in, that may be what she is thinking of."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why Are There "Dead Spots" On Paper When Attempting To Write With Ballpoint Pen? | [
"Ball point pens work by rolling a ball on a surface. This requires the surface have significant friction. Ball point pens don't work on glass. Paper at microscopic level isn't smooth. It s matted weave of fibers. Like a wool sweater. But if you iron a sweater flat, it won't be fluffy and soft and have friction."... | [
"Being Black Does Actually Have (Relatively Minor) Health Consequences, It's Just That They're Obviated By Modern Life. There's An Energy Cost To Have Extra Melanin, Even A Small One, So If You Don't Need It It Won't Be Selected For. Melanin Reduces Vitamin-D Uptake From The Sun If Sunlight Is Lower Than You're Ada... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Do postage stamps have any way of protecting against fraudulent duplication? | [
"Postage stamps aren't particularly difficult to counterfeit as you suspect, but they have stiff federal penalties for forgery. Given the potential penalty for faking a stamp it hasn't traditionally been a significant issue."
] | [
"Usually the dealer will take something of value from the customer and something which defines them, such as a credit card or something along those lines. Credit cards are checked with drivers licenses for verification."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why is there no way to get feedback about why you didn’t get the job? | [
"It is entirely acceptable to ask for feedback, and some employers will happily provide it. However, some will not. Here are some common reasons: * They're just too busy. They don't have the time or the energy to give feedback to every single person. * They want to avoid arguments. Or they don't want to deliver ba... | [
"It depends on a lot. What is your name, address, and link to the file you were downloading?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are some buildings not rectangular? Their tops are L shaped | [
"There can be regulation needs. Or simply aesthetic desire for more visibility (imagine all the buildings in a row arw 40 stories - they have good views front and back but nothing to the side. Make half the building 20 stories high and now three sides of the top half have good views - can charge more! There may not... | [
"We can, quite easily, but we don't because it's not an efficient use of space. If you're going to set a building down on X metres^2 of ground, and make it y metres tall, then a pyramid will give you half of the volume that you would get out of a box with the same footprint and height. That's why our buildings are ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How come strengthening your hamstrings feels like stretching (deadlifts, for example), but strengthening all your other muscles feels like shaking/burning? | [
"Because on deadlift you are forced to stretch to get the weight off the floor. If you do a bicep curl and dont do a full extension, you wont feel the strectch but if you go all the way down, you’ll feel it. I personally feel the stretch much more doing strict bicep curls than deadlift. Actually, straight leg deadl... | [
"Well if your referring to the soreness that your get approx 2-4 days after exercise, then your talking about DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). When you workout, you're physically damaging muscle fibers. In response to this there is inflammation. Also, lactic acid builds up as a byproduct of the energy it takes... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
how does animal age works and why its different than our age? | [
"Different animals have different lifespans. A dog, depending on the breed, may live 12 years, but human lifespan is about 85 years. Seven times as long. A middle aged dog is 7 years old. A middle aged person is 42 years old. That's 7 in dog years."
] | [
"This isnt true for all animals. Many animals when domesticated have much longer lives. Could you clarify what animal you are talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why do people have 'a drink' when having conversations? | [
"Psychological analgesia. It makes one more comfortable and lowers the stress of small talk. Plus it opens the door to share a vice and bond over getting blind drunk together after business is settled."
] | [
"I do it because I have an anxiety disorder linked to talking on the phone. Maybe you do too."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How do marine animals get their fresh water? | [
"There's a large variety of different techniques that animals use to preserve their water balance. Most marine fish reverse the osmotic pressure of the water so that it actually diffuses into them. Other animals actually \"drink\" the water but get rid of the excess salt through specialized salt glands like turtles... | [
"The produce a type of oil in the tips of their legs that helps them not get caugth in their own webs"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Keeping the balance while riding a bike is not hard. Why is it so difficult when the bike is standing still? | [
"A spinning object will always resist a torque that tries to change the direction in which it is spinning. This is a product of the conservation of angular momentum. Google 'gyroscopic effect' and you will see many examples of bycicle wheels being used in weird balancing tricks. In plainer terms: If a bike wheel is... | [
"They have four legs instead of two, which is way more stable. On top of that, they get a lot more practice than most people, so they are better at deciding where to place their feet. They do slip occasionally though, and people can improve considerably, which is evident if you ever spend time around people who pra... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why does honey never go bad? | [
"Honey contains more sugar than saturated water. This means that if you drop some water on it, it will be absorbed. For fungi/bacteria, it means there is no water available... So honey basically has the same properties as dried up food. Besides, it contains some components that actively destroy bacterias; the most ... | [
"They remove the Platelets (Coagulating Agent) from the Plasma before putting it on the Market. They don't add anything to the taste, so there's no reason to keep them. Then you just keep the blood cold and prevent it from contacting air and you're golden. It wouldn't be able to function inside of the animal anymo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
I have terrible sight. Today i was messing around and discovered that if i look through a really tiny hole (like a pencil hole in a piece of paper, or by doing a really tight 👌, i could (almost) see as good as with my glasses. Wby does this happen? | [
"If your eye had no lens at all, and your retina was just pointing at the outside world, light from everywhere in front of you would hit every point on your retina and you'd see nothing but white, most likely. What a lens does is make it so the light from a specific point in your view hits a specific point on your... | [
"No science background, but I'll explain like I (the explainer) was 5: imagine if you had to balance your eyes on the top of a stick that sat on top of your head and then a large gust of wind kept smashing them around to the point where you couldn't focus on anything except hoping to keep your eye-sensor things int... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
In general, does glue expand or contract when it dries? | [
"It varies with the chemical nature. Many glues contract because they lose liquid as they dry, water or solvent based ones, pastes and children's glue sticks. Hot melt glue contracts a very small amount as it cools and thermal expansion reverses. Things like two-part epoxy glues just chemically react together and d... | [
"Glue hardens when the water that's mixed with the polymers evaporates. It's much much harder for water to evaporate from inside of a bottle."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do we have photos of galaxies so far far away? | [
"We get a lens that can focus on an incredibly small area of the sky, pick a spot, do some math to make sure nothing is going to fly across the camera's sight path for the whole process, and let that light from billions of years ago gradually get detected and captured to produce an artfully artificially coloured ph... | [
"There are more stars more densely packed in the center. We can't see them individually because they are so far away."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about astronomy:",
"pos": "Represent the text about astronomy:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Does washing your face more often really makes your face tend to be more oily? | [
"Yo skin needs some of the oil it produces so over washing your face removes that and makes it dry. But not washing it enough is leaving excess oil, sweat and daily scum to build up which clogs shit up and isn't good either. It depends on your skin type how often you should wash and with what. A hot flannel wash on... | [
"Facewash does not contain soap, which is the point. First off, soap has a pH-level way above your skin, which screws up the balance and can make bacterial growth increase and in turn cause acne. It also contains a fair range of thickeners which clog pores, also leading to acne. Lastly soap will get rid of so much ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Science:"
} |
Why did the Germans send people to camps instead of just shooting them, during WWII? | [
"They actually did. But it was so traumatizing for the soldiers who had to do it and way to slow, so they started looking at other options. After a lot of crazy ideas they ended up with the gas chambers. Crazy ideas? Yes. Like blowing people up with TNT in a forrest. Safe to say the people who had to perform this ... | [
"Also, would her military experience be any useful in finding a job? Did women serve in the British military during World War 1 and if so, did they go back into the workforce afterwards?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Please explain what a non-Newtonian fluid is? | [
"I believe a non-newtonian fluid is one which solidifies as you put more force into it. The prime example is some slime you can make. Basically if you walked on a pool of it you would sink like quicksand, but if you ran on it then it would be like concrete because you are placing more force onto each step and so it... | [
"Because in a vacuum a moving object has no resistance acting on it. Clarify the second part of the question please."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If theres a infinite amount of numbers between 0 and 1, does that mean theres double the amount of infinite numbers between 0 and 2? | [
"No. When you start dealing with infinities you can't really treat them like normal numbers, such that you can neatly do arithmetic operations like adding and multiplying. If you try, you just end up with weirdness and contradictions and such. When comparing the sizes of these two sets (the set of all numbers from ... | [
". 9999999...(repeating on forever) and 1 are equal. . 3333...=1/3 1/3 x 3 = 1 .3333... X 3 =.99999...=1 One of the reason this is true is because there can not be a number between them. You can't tack a 1 on the end because that would mean there is an end, which there is not. And two numbers with nothing between... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why did Ecuador terminate Assange diplomatic asylum? | [
"WikiLeaks recently released a leak that was highly embarrassing to the Ecuadorean government. Ecuador is also looking to improve relations with the USA, who would very much like to get hold of Assange."
] | [
"1. He would be arrested by British police and extradited to Sweden to face rape charges. 2. Ecuador could try that, if they wanted him to be arrested anyway when their entire diplomatic mission was ejected from the UK. That sort of thing is a definite no-no in diplomatic procedure."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What did Julian Assange actually do and why did the Ecuadorean Embassy help him? | [
"What Assange actually did, in a legal sense: Skipped out on bail. Why Ecuador helped him: They didn't like what the US was doing. To go into some more details... Assange headed up Wikileaks, as everyone knows. Around 2010, they released some stuff that got the US government into hot water. Politicians were angry a... | [
"1. He would be arrested by British police and extradited to Sweden to face rape charges. 2. Ecuador could try that, if they wanted him to be arrested anyway when their entire diplomatic mission was ejected from the UK. That sort of thing is a definite no-no in diplomatic procedure."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What are non-Newtonian fluids? | [
"Things that you can either sink slowly into, or crush your fists if you punch them. Besides having some funny and very scientifically special properties, those also got huge surface tension, this is why you'd be able to run on them if you kick hard enough with every step, but as soon as you stop, you'd sink."
] | [
"1. Predicting the weather 2. Modelling nuclear explosions"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How does one take asylum in a foreign embassy like Julian Assange? | [
"No the Ecuadorian embassy was not prepared for him to live there and apparently he was a bad roomate. & #x200B; [_URL_0_](_URL_0_) & #x200B; But the Ecuadorian government did grant him permission to stay there until they rescinded it and invited the London Police inside to arrest him."
] | [
"Do you mean a Soviet embassy located in Washington, DC?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
how do we know something is X light years away? | [
"We use a group of techniques known as the cosmic distance ladder: _URL_1_ The idea of the cosmic ladder is to measure close stuff using techniques that work for close objects and then compare those measurements with the measurements from techniques that work a bit further away and work your way up from there. I b... | [
"that's the core of Einsteins work and the reason he is so important. Space/Matter and time are linked. as to the \"why\", no one can answer that, all physics can answer you there is \"how\". Why our universe is the way it is and not another way is a question for philosophy or religion. I highly recommend using the... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about astronomy:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about astronomy:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How can the US charge Julian Assange with a crime if he is not a citizen? | [
"Not being a citizen doesn’t exclude you from justice. It just means you’ll likely be expelled from the country after you serve your sentence. Assange committed crimes against the US government and thus they’re requesting he be extradited to US soil to face justice. Whether you and I believe Assange is innocent is... | [
"What Assange actually did, in a legal sense: Skipped out on bail. Why Ecuador helped him: They didn't like what the US was doing. To go into some more details... Assange headed up Wikileaks, as everyone knows. Around 2010, they released some stuff that got the US government into hot water. Politicians were angry a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How did congress set their salaries? | [
"Congress is in charge of the government's money, so they set their own salaries by passing the appropriate bill. The president still has veto power, of course, and any salary changes won't take place until after the next Congressional election. In terms of benefits and such, they're just like any other Federal Emp... | [
"Who is going to pass the constitutional amendment to limit congressional terms? Congress?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why did 3.5mm jack become a standard? | [
"Because when transistor radios was introduced in the 1950 a smaller connector the then the older 1/4 inch connector was needed when the radios was smaller. The older connector was developed for phone switches in the 1870s and is still used for instruments like electric guitars and even some headphones."
] | [
"It's not obsolete but each manufacturer has a huge incentive to take over the market. If you have a normal headphone jack you can buy any headphones. If you have to have it interface over a lightning port guess who is the only one who makes them? And if some Chinese manufacturer finds a way to make them, guess who... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How do historical artists know how to recolour black and white images? | [
"Its a bit of a guess but from my understanding each color produces a specific shade of gray so you can more or less make educated guesses of what the original color was. But you will find most coloration of black and white fill to have contrast and color saturation issues since its not an exact science."
] | [
"Because portraits weren't supposed to be realistic, they were supposed to make you look good. Think of it like Photoshop: artists were supposed to not only capture what you looked like, but hide unsightly blemishes. This is why no one has scars from smallpox, for example, even though lots of people did at the time... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does bone cancer occur | [
"Bones are alive! They are indeed connected to the blood stream and actually play an important role in the development of the immune system. But they also contain living cells, wich can sadly become cancerous with various consequences."
] | [
"It means that the food contains chemicals that can help to reduce inflammation. It will not make you harder to set on fire."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
If you keep turning on and off a light/lamp it may "break" and not work anymore. How does this happen exactly? | [
"Old lamps emit light by having electricity course through a very thin wire, heating it to extreme temperatures. This causes it to emit light. But heating/cooling it too much puts stress on it, and it can break. When it happens electricity can no longer circulate, and the lightbulb is broken."
] | [
"Plug in something where you can see it's \"on\" An alarm clock works really well. Now, quickly pull the plug, and watch how it takes a few seconds for the light to actually go off. If you unplug and replug fast enough, you won't even reset the time. It will be as if you did nothing at all. That's the idea. 30 seco... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Electrical engineering:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Electrical engineering:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Technology:"
} |
How do home satellite systems never lose connection to the satellite they communicate with? Does the satellite orbit the earth at the same rate it spins? Or are there multiple satellites that transfer the signal as they go by? | [
"Most satellites used for things like satellite TV are in geostationary orbit. They are over the equator and they go around the earth at the same rotational speed and in the same direction that the earth rotates, so they remain over the same \"spot\" of ground."
] | [
"I’m not a scientist, so I can’t explain like you’re 5. However, it’s a combination of a few things. Space is empty, so there’s nothing to interfere with the signal, unless a satellite momentarily dips behind a planet. Basically there’s a network of satellites around Mars that pick up a signal from the ground on M... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science and Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science and Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science and Technology:"
} |
Why do plastic wrappers and bags make so much noise when bent/crinkled? | [
"Since you got great answers I'll throw in a fun fact. Sun Chips released a bag design that had a 95 decibel opening noise. Reference, an alarm is ~85. 90 is a squeeze toy/subway car 100 is handheld drill/motorcycle riding"
] | [
"Take a ketchup packet, fold it, and squish it back and forth from side to side. Hear that? It's pretty much the same- the sounds come from gas and liquids getting squished through your intestines by peristalsis."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why does alcohol burn as you drink it? | [
"It locally lowers the detection threshold of the heat-sensing receptors of your nerves, so that instead of alerting you to dangerously high temperatures, they're now being triggered by your own body heat."
] | [
"You can get rid of alcohol in anything by simply boiling it off, ethanol has a lower boiling point than water. If you've ever seen someone light a shot on fire they are actually reducing the alcohol content of the drink the longer they leave it lit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How does a water tower work | [
"While the power is working, they pump a huge amount of water up into a tank, high in a tower (or on a hill). Gravity ensures that this water will flow down the pipes. And gravity never goes out! Until the tank is empty, you have guaranteed running water. The tank is usually big enough to last at least 24 hours."
] | [
"They don't; you're thinking of a different kind of battery."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If Sulfur can only have two covalent bonds, then how is something like SO3 possible? | [
"In school, they teach you that an atom can only form as many covalent bounds as it lacks electrons to obey the Octet law (2 for Oxygen, 4 for Carbon, 1 for Fluor, 0 for Helium, etc). This is only true for the first rows: when you get to bigger elements (like sulphur), you can encounter atoms with as many covalent ... | [
"What exactly do you mean by imperfect or defects? More or less protons? Those are different elements More or less neutrons? Those are different isotopes of the same element More or less electrons? Those are different ions of the same element. Some are natural (as in sodium missing one electron (Na^(+)) and chlorin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Do Honeybees know if they sting something they die? | [
"\"Know\" is hard to quantify for an insect. Does a baby \"know\" to start breathing or is this purely a mechanical reflex? Most of what insects do is reflexive, they don't have a lot of brain power to think and plan out behaviors. Bees are actually better than most and do exhibit some capacity to memorize and plan... | [
"Good rule of animal toxicity to remember: If you bite it, and you die: Poisonous. If it bites you and you die: Venomous."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What are the differences between copyrights, patents, trade marks, and restricted? | [
"Copyrights - I own this body of work and can give you the right to copy it. Think any Disney movie. Trademark - I own this brand and people associate things with it. If you try to use it I will destroy before you destroy my brand. Think Mickey Mouse. Patent - I did a lot of science/engineering/brain powering to co... | [
"A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or other imagery that identifies the source or ownership of some set of goods. They do not expire. Other people are allowed to use or reference your trademark, so long as they are not trying to deceptively claim to be or be sponsored by the trademarking organization. A patent ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do we use dogs instead of technology for smelling. They seem very unreliable. | [
"A well trained dog is both incredibly reliable and an incredibly sensitive instrument for picking up odors. Depending on the breed, a dog's olfactory sensors (smell receptors) outnumber humans by 50 times, and the part of their brain dedicated to analyzing information from the olfactory sensors is 40 times larger ... | [
"Others have explained that farming truffles is very expensive and slow. On the \"why pigs?\" question, mature truffles have a distinctive smell, and they can be located by their smell. Dogs have been trained and used, as dogs are humanity's go-to animal when it comes to scent tracking. It turns out that pigs are m... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How do people type in mandarin on normal-sized keyboards if it has thousands of unique characters? | [
"In japanese you type the phonetic sound of the character and the software gives a list of possible kanji you might want. There are also methods of free hand drawing the character if the one you want doesn't come up. It takes the drawn version and matches it to the character you want."
] | [
"One is copied from Chinese: a character for each word, essentially. The next is essentially an alphabet: necessary for Japanese words that don't have well-known characters. The third is merely a second copy of the alphabet, a bit like English upper-case and lower-case, though used for different reasons."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
why isn’t US Thanksgiving on the 21st this year? | [
"It can never be on the 21st because it's the fourth thursday of November. So it rolled over to the 28th which is the last day it can be."
] | [
"Why is election on weekdays instead of weekends?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do aircraft not collide midair while most use the same flight path and altitude? | [
"Air Traffic control maintains the flight corridors to ensure that airplanes are kept at a safe distance. ATC tries to keep aircraft flying in the same direction and speed at the same altitude. So the guy in front and behind you can't catch up. Aircraft flying in opposite directions are kept at different altitudes.... | [
"Many reasons. Jet engines operate most efficiently at higher altitudes, which means you use less fuel, which makes flying cheaper. If there is an emergency it is best to have as much altitude as possible underneath you, you have longer to sort out the problem or decide what to do while you are gliding. Also, ever ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why do Americans have to file their own taxes if they already pay tax on items they buy and money they earn? | [
"The Taxes tanken from our checks are estimates. Sometime people pay too much or too little. When doing our taxes we figure out how much we really owed. Some payed too much and get a refund. Some paid too little and need to make up the difference"
] | [
"They'd have to pay property taxes, sales taxes, etc. You don't need to pay income tax if you have no income. That money would be taxed as income the year it is received and never taxed again."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Who gives people the right to fence of a body of land on earth and sell it to others, and why couldn’t I do the same thing? | [
"Historically, land ownership was settled by the use of force. But once a society stabilizes, land ownership stabilizes too, even if the origin was distasteful."
] | [
"You have been raised to consider land ownership an untouchable right, people haven't been of the same opinion throughout history. Land is unique in that it is the ONLY commodity not created by human labour. That means all land has been taken at one point or another in history and that nobody actually has a moral r... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is damage in videogames (mostly RPGs) always spread a little instead of a set amount? E.g. fireball- 10-12 damage instead of set 11 | [
"It comes from the origins of video game RPGS: role-playing tabletop games, which often used dice to calculate damage, defense, etc. It's meant to incorporate a little bit of randomness and a little bit of luck into the adventure to keep the player guessing. And, of course, it's meant to help tell a story that the ... | [
"It depends entirely on the game. Simple ones will treat the \"bullet\" like a laser that instantly hits where you're aiming, more complex ones will treat the bullet like an individual projectile with a speed, and the most complex ones take other factors into consideration (projectile weight, wind speed and directi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Given that the Schwarzchild radius of the mass of the universe is more than 13 light years, and the universe was once smaller than that, how did everything not instantly collapse into a singularity at the beginning of time? | [
"We aren't 100% sure on this yet. But whatever force (Dark Energy) that is causing the universe to expand is likely what overcame the force of gravity from collapsing the universe back into a singularity."
] | [
"> If a black holes form as the result of stellar explosions, doesn't that mean the resulting black hole is lighter than the the original star? Some portion of the star's original mass gets blasted out faster than escape velocity, right? Yep > If that's the case, doesn't that imply that there's already a black hol... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
If the "Big Bang" created everything in our universe, then what existed before it and how was there even something there if nothing was in existence yet? | [
"We can’t know for sure. I’d suggest the series Before the Big Bang on YouTube. I throw it on in bed before I fall asleep. Pretty interesting."
] | [
"Simply put, they're not, and anyone who claims they are isn't a true scientist. What scientists, or more accurately, astrophysicists are certain about, is that ~13.7 billion years ago, the universe underwent a massive expansion, with new forces, particles, etc coming into existence. As for what happened in the mil... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how can some foods be 0 calories? | [
"they contain no materials your body can digest and use for energy, while also not containing any toxic materials, so they're safe to eat but nutritionally worthless. It's like swallowing gum. It'll just come out the other end. Also, in the US at least, you can call food zero calorie as long as it's 5 calories or l... | [
"artificial sweeteners are 0 calories, so if you're trying to lose weight i guess."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why do eyeglasses (or any glass) fog up? | [
"All air contains water vapour. The warmer the air, the more it holds (which is why hot climates are normally humid). Cool the water vapour down and it will turn back into liquid water in the form of droplets. When a person wearing glasses comes into a warm room from a cold outdoor environment, water vapour in the... | [
"1) smaller field of view. Contact lens only have to cover your iris. Glass lens are curved over the entire glass, so that you can still see clearly when you move your eyes around. 2) contacts are closer to your eyes, so the corrective portion also is smaller. 3) glass/plastic lens has to be of minimum thickness fo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
since there is nothing in space to slow us down, why do long distance space trips take so long if we can just accelerate a little faster and shorten the time? | [
"Acceleration through deep space requires two things: Fuel Enough fuel in reserve to decelerate later so you don't hit the target at 2800 m/s So you typically end up with a conundrum: past a certain target speed, the weight of fuel you need to carry to go faster requires exponentially more fuel to lift in the first... | [
"anything orbiting earth must be traveling that fast (the exact speed varies by orbiting height, lower you are, faster you need to go to orbit), infact reaching that speed is a substantial part of the rockets job. Its why we cant just float up on a balloon or plane and chill, once your at altitude, you still have t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is soda bad for you? | [
"All of its calories are from sugar, high consumption of which is associated with: weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, and possibly depression and even cancer. Sugar is also pure \"empty calories\" that contribute no nutrients that your body needs."
] | [
"What source says that alcohol is bad for your teeth?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
I Know sound doesn't travel through space, but what would the Sun sound like? | [
"[Here you are.](_URL_0_) You can listen to it for yourself. It's pretty interesting."
] | [
"They are both happening at the same time. But the speed of sound is slower than the speed of light. So you hear it after you see it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Whats the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee? | [
"Refugee refers to someone displaced from their homeland by a cause outsode their control - war, famine, acts of God, etc. An asylum seeker is a refugee petitioning the right to remain in a country due to valid concerns for their safety and wellbeing which would almost certainly be jeopardized by returning to their... | [
"Pregnant women qualify for Medicaid, which is paid for by the government, if they do not have insurance. The Medicaid cuts off for the woman after the child is born, but will continue to cover the child until it's 18 years old if the mother cannot get health insurance for the family from a private insurance compan... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
If you're in space, and gravity isn't weighing down on your limbs, if you raised your arm out, would it ever get tired? | [
"No, and this is actually a bad thing. The normal resistance your limbs experience due to gravity keeps your bones and muscles at a reasonable level of strength. Astronauts suffer muscle and bone loss from the lack of effort involved in moving. Unless you constantly flail your arms about, you aren't exerting yourse... | [
"It's no accurate but keep in mind that we unconsciously flex our muscles to work against the gravity of earth. So if gravity would change to 0 right now we would probably all start to slowly drift away from earth."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What is the hole near the top of a Lollipop stick for? | [
"So that some of the candy goes inside it and helps secure the candy to the stick. Otherwise they might separate too easily."
] | [
"There is a small capsule of water with a needle floating on top of it inside your phone. But seriously, it is a magnetic sensor."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Technology:"
} |
How does Aldi sell solid products for so cheap? | [
"The whole operation is set up to keep costs low. 1. Big barcodes for faster scanning, cashiers can serve more customers. 2. Low staffing. Store personnel is kept to a minimum reducing labor costs. They don't have to divert someone from other jobs to round the carts back up because customers have to use a coin to u... | [
"If it is a Dollar Tree in the US, then yes. They are a great retailer who work with suppliers specifically to develop products that can be sold for a low price. Might be a smaller size, or cheaper packaging, but is legitimate."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is pi so prominent in so many physics equations? | [
"A lot of things in physics are spherical/circular :planets, stars, orbits, particles etc. Often Pi is also used as an angle, for rotations. 2 pi being a full circle, so it can be used to describe waves. If you take a stick and let it move in a circle, while pulling the circle along in one direction makes a wave. Y... | [
"e is important in many applications as it is one of the most simple mathematical ways to express something where the rate at which it changes is proportional to its current size. There are a multitude of systems where this is the case, from physics to chemistry to economics to statistics, so e appears pretty regul... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Mathematics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Mathematics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it easy for eyes to track moving objects smoothly, but can't smoothly turn gaze without eyes snapping to multiple points? | [
"Mostly this is an artifact of perception. Yours eyes are never smoothly tracking anything. There are always moving around jerkily whether you are watching something moving, or if you are moving your head or eyes around. Your brain is really good at filling in the space between during those jumps so it doesn't seem... | [
"As a skater turns, “spotting” is performed by rotating the body and head at different rates. While the body rotates smoothly at a relatively constant speed, the head periodically rotates much faster and then stops, so as to fix the dancer's gaze on a single location, in order to enhance the skater’s control and pr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Can someone explain the following quote for me? | [
"I'm pretty sure the meaning behind the quote is basically a bunch of crab about how the special ingredient is love. In truth though, a recipe is a list of ingredients with general instructions on how to create a dish. There are a lot of technical pieces in some recipes that one must know to get the dish right. Eve... | [
"Can you explain the question like I’m five?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How did they convert petabytes of data into an image of a block hole? | [
"_URL_0_ So here is a ted talk by the computer scientist who did that part of the work. One of dozens of scientists who worked on this. I think she does a pretty good job of explaining it. The first thing you have to know is that the further away or smaller something is the more light you have to collect to be abl... | [
"When we need about two thousand petabytes of RAM."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
When you "suck in your stomach" where does it go? | [
"The inside of your body is a confined space so when you \"suck in your stomach\" its not like the organs and whatnot simply shrink in size, they simply get more squished together. This might not be the best analogy, but think of it as letting the air out of a Ziploc bag. Its not like you are changing the contents ... | [
"That's weightlessness. Your stomach has weight, so as you go about your day it presses down on the flesh below it. When you go over a hill on a rollercoaster, though, you (and everything inside you) suddenly become weightless. Your stomach no longer presses downward on that flesh. That tingly feeling is the nerves... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
If you stood in an empty room where the walls, the ceiling and the floor were all mirrors, what would it look like and what would you see? | [
"Do you have a light source? If not, nothing. it's going to be pitch black. If you *do* have a light source it might look something a [little like this.](_URL_0_). reflections of you and your light source for as far as the eye can see, reflections of reflections of reflections. Eventually the light gets absorbed b... | [
"Imagine you've just laid a big mirror on the floor. You're sitting there next to it and it's still a mirror but you could jump into it if you wanted to. You could jump through it being solid. But it's still a mirror. Everything that you can look at through the mirror is you seeing that mirror. Universal consciousn... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
- why do people actually feel sick when feeling guilty? | [
"It's the same sort of response that we get when we feel embarrassed. It means you did something wrong, something that others don't like, something that will get you rejected by the group, and deep in our caveman brain there's the instinct that tells you that means death. So when you're in a situation that causes t... | [
"The same reason why people with anxiety are anxious even though they know there is nothing to be anxious about. We're not always in control."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why is it that journalists need to cover the news in a specific place? For example an U.S journalist going all the way from L.A to Portugal in order to tell a story. | [
"Telling the story is a very small part of what journalists do. Most of what they do is track down information so they can get an objective, or at least as objective as they want to get and are willing to get, version of the facts. Often that means speaking with people close to the story's location, including offic... | [
"They are a news outlet that primarily focusses on reporting, not broadcasting. Similar to the associated press. Basically, every news outlet can't have people stationed all over the world, so these news agencies fill that void. They report from places like Romania, not much going on there that's in the world news,... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If the Earth is rotating on its axis and orbiting the sun, why don’t objects that leave its orbit just suddenly jettison into deep space at 108,000km/hr? | [
"Because the sun also has gravity so objects also orbit the sun so even if it leaves earth's orbit it still orbits the sun"
] | [
"Relative to the ground yes, provided you throw it in the direction you are moving. Relative to you no, it is traveling at 100mph. Relative to the sun it's probably closer to 67000mph"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Science and Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Science and Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why does a cavity hurt when you eat something sweet but not something salty? | [
"Bacteria in your mouth eat sugars and produce acids as a byproduct (this is why sugary foods cause tooth decay). When you have a cavity, your tooth's outer layer (enamel) is damaged, so these acids and such can get inside and irritate the sensitive nerves and such inside."
] | [
"Pour a bunch of sugar on a piece of paper. Put the sugar and paper in your mouth and chew it. Once you don't taste any more sugar, spit the paper out. Do you think you just consumed some calories even though you didn't eat any paper? The answer is yes. Same concept applies to gum."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why do we need lenses on cameras? What does a photo look like when taken without a lens? | [
"You can compare it to a box. The bottom is the sensor area, and the top is the opening pointed at the scene you want to capture. If you just simply open the box: all the light goes into the box from all angles. So a specific point on the bottom of the box receives light from a lot of different angles. The sensor ... | [
"A camera has two main parts: - A circular glass called a lens, which focuses light. - A rectangular light catcher, called a sensor. The first is a circle and so the angle does not change. The second is a rectangle. When you flip your phone sideways, you flip the rectangle sideways, too."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how does salt soften water? Why doesnt it taste salty? | [
"Hard water has calcium and magnesium salts dissolved in it, usually in the form of carbonates. The interior of a water softener is filled with resin particles that are saturated with sodium chloride. When the hard water flows over and through the particles, the sodium ions from the salt switch places with the calc... | [
"Several ways: Desalination: turn water into steam. Salt and dirt doesn't become steam. Steam is clean. Turn steam back into water. Water is clean and not salty. Reverse osmosis: force water through a tiny screen. Dirt and germs are too big and stay behind. Distillation: pretty much the same as desalination except ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How does a bong work? | [
"By sealing the gaps and creating a vacuum, your friend forces the smoke to pull down the pipe into the water, which it bubbles through in the same way air released under water bubbles to the surface *its lighter) Releasing the carb releases the vacuum and allows an influx of clean air to help clear the smoke out o... | [
"Are you asking how a wheel works ?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why don’t magnets affect Phone screens the same way they do television sets? | [
"Cathode ray tube televisions direct photons with magnetic fields. Changing that magnetic field changes where the light goes, and thus screws with the picture. LCD screens don't use magnets to control where the light goes, so magnets don't affect them. No modern computer monitors and televisions are CRT screens, s... | [
"There is actually a tiny bit of current flowing through your screen. When you touch the screen your finger makes contact and completes a circuit telling the processor that you touched it and due to the resistance or drop in current flow it can tell where you touched it. If you are wearing gloves it won't register ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do radio stations determine how many listeners they have? | [
"In the UK radio station listeners are polled by an organisation called RAJAR. Basically householders are sent a survey and asked about their listening habits such as when they listen, how long for, which stations and so on. This data is the compiled and sent back to the stations, for a fee of course. This tells th... | [
"The contest is actually a contest run across multiple stations in multiple markets. The radio station pays to be in the contest so they can advertise the contest to attract listeners who are trying to win."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
where does the blood come from when you get an erection? Does it make your other muscles weaker? | [
"Our bodies actually store extra blood in our spleens in order to use for things like vigorous exercise or sex. When a muscle or organ needs extra blood, that blood comes from the spleen. This is really useful because that means we don't have to \"lose blood\" from other organs/muscles when we need to get more oxyg... | [
"I know what youre talking about, and its not an allergic reaction. Not sure why, but maybe your body thinks you ingested a poison and is trying to sweat it out? Source: my imagination"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post about Biology:"
} |
Why are flights delayed or canceled during thunderstorms and snowstorms, even though planes are designed to be able to fly through rough weather? | [
"They gotta take off and land. The winds can be problematic, only partially because of raw saftey but you don't want to make your passengers sick and scared for their lives from a rough ride they plane is capable of."
] | [
"They can try to fly around it or change altitudes to fly below or above it, but that's not always possible if the airspace is crowded or the area of the turbulence is too large to avoid. Otherwise, they just fly thought it. Turbulence isn't a danger to the plane so avoiding it is for passenger comfort; avoid it if... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is the chip reader preferred over swiping your card? | [
"Chips in cards are more secure than swiping the magnetic strip. At this point the magnetic strip is trivially easy to read, but the chip sends a code that's only ever used once, so even if you can copy the chip you wouldn't necessarily be able to get the codes it would use."
] | [
"I can't remember the last time I swiped my card or signed a receipt. In the UK it's pretty much chip and pin or contactless."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence about technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Credit/debit card readers:"
} |
Why do the pianists always shake the hands of the first violinist in the orchestra when they are performing a piano concerto? | [
"The first violinist is the concertmaster/symbolic leader of the orchestra and it's a way to thank the entire orchestra."
] | [
"It's a bit where the orchestra stops playing so a soloist can do a solo, sometimes written by the composer, sometimes improvised."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
how casinos opening in Atlantic City destroyed Atlantic City | [
"Casinos are a very high profit industry. Some people like them, and other people avoid them. The people who like them spend their money in them, making them profitable, but not helping the other businesses. The people who avoid them don't spend money in AC, helping the other businesses. The result is a town that o... | [
"Also the warm weather and beaches attract people looking for easy money without putting in the hard effort. Why should I go to school in the northeast and bust my butt when I can mooch off the people at Pompano Beach?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
the difference between massive amounts of money. | [
"If you have a thousand dollars and you spend a dollar is the equivalent of someone with a million dollars spending 1000 and a billionaire spending a million."
] | [
"the idea is all that marketing makes a lot more people put money towards research."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why don’t my eyes adjust to brightness reflected off snow, but do to the brightness of the sun? | [
"Your eyes do adjust, but they simply are not capable of adjusting *enough.* Reflected light from the snow is a lot brighter than you might think. Adjusting to a sunny day is one thing, but when the light from the sunny day is *also* coming at your from the ground at the same time, it's too much. Your eyes adjust t... | [
"When there is a lot of light on the ground, some of it goes up and makes the sky look brighter by lighting up dust in the air. And just like seeing a flash light in a dark room is easier then in a bright room, stars are easier to see in a dark sky then a bright sky."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
- Why can't snowflakes be any bigger than they are? Why aren't there hand-sized snowflakes? | [
"Here’s a straight forward explanation of how snowflakes are formed. _URL_0_ In part, I think snowflakes are size limited by the distance they fall from the clouds. Snowflakes start out as a tiny crystal built around a dust particle. As they fall additional tiny crystals are formed at the edges. There’s a limit for... | [
"Hale is rain that freezes on its way down. Snow is tiny frozen water molecules that clump together to form fluffy flakes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why do supermarkets sell meats in a refrigerated space as opposed to a freezer where the meat would last longer? | [
"A lot of people want to cook the meat that day or the next and don't want to have to thaw it. Also, fresh meat vs frozen is preferred for most due to taste and texture that changes when frozen."
] | [
"Meat doesn't need to be frozen to keep. When you buy meat at the grocery store it's rarely frozen, and you can keep it in your fridge for several days before needing to use it. Also, fridge trucks and industrial fridges can have their temperatures extremely well regulated so that you can keep food just above freez... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why does fear freeze us? | [
"It's a holdover from when we were small mammals. A lot of predators track prey by movement and have a rapid, instinctual response to it, so when a threat is detected, the evolutionary response of prey became to freeze and try to 1) not trigger a chase instinct from the predator and 2) to make it harder for the pre... | [
"Of course not. Why would you think this?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why are guns with long barrels like rifles more accurate at long range than handguns? | [
"Three main reasons: 1. Sight radius: A longer distance between the front and rear sights allows for more precise aim. 2. Stabilization: Most modern firearms stabilize bullets by spinning them with grooves carved into the barrel (rifling). There is a certain minimum distance of rifling required to stabilize a bulle... | [
"The barrel is just a tube with a very particular shape. The cartridge can simply fall out if nothing holds it in. The bolt of a rifle is kind of like a key. By inserting and rotating, it locks. You can't rotate your house key 90 degrees in the lock and pull it back out again, and it's the same way with the rifle b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
All the frogs stopped singing at the same time! | [
"Well those are mating calls. They're long so the mate can find _URL_0_ their croak. Predator's can also use their long croak to find them. So a predator approaching could cause that sudden silence"
] | [
"See here Johnny boy the fog is on the inside of the window."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do SO4 -2 and SO3 -2 have the same charge? | [
"Because sulfur atoms in this two cases are in different energetic states. In sulfAtes it has 6 electrons engaging with oxygen, so its oxidation number is +6. In sulfItes only 4 electrons in sulfur atom are willing to form bonds with other atoms, other two formed a pair with themselves, so oxidation number is +4. N... | [
"There are two additional electron pairs on the oxygen. So two hydrogen's and two electron pairs forces a tetrahedron structure. Carbon dioxide is linear because there are no additional electron pairs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What makes bouncy things bounce? | [
"Things bounce because they are mauluable enough to to compress when struck but retain integrity so they expand back to there original shape. When bouncing a ball is strikes the ground and compresses then when it can't compress any more is expands repelling off the floor and bouncing. Any object that \"bounces\" wi... | [
"Like blowing balloons and your jaw feels sore?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does RedHat's business model work (i.e. software is free, but support cost money: why can't someone else charge less for support)? | [
"Others might be able to provide support for less, but are they going to be as good as the guys who wrote the software in the first place? Probably not."
] | [
"Think about this; Of the OS upgrades become free, how much work/effort do you have to do to make sure your other products still work on older OS versions? How many different codebases do you have to maintain when it comes to security vulnerabilities/etc? Microsoft is trying to move to the market that iOS and Andro... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What are cold sores? | [
"Well, yes, it's herpes. But around 90 percent of the population has it. It was overdramatized by drug companies trying to sell overpriced antivrial meds. Not a big deal."
] | [
"Do you have Diabetes? There is also something called Maple Syrup urine disease."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If there is a not guilty verdict in a murder trial but there's evidence of something that would cause a mistrial, is it treated the same way as someone wrongfully convicted? Is there such thing as wrongfully acquitted? | [
"The criminal justice system is intentionally stacked in favor of the defendant. They have to be proven \"beyond a reasonable doubt\" to be guilty of the crime they are being charged with, which is a significantly higher barrier than just \"they were likely the person who did it\". One of these other concepts is th... | [
"In the US, courts do not find individuals \"innocent.\" You are either \"guilty\" or \"not guilty.\" \"Not guilty\" doesn't mean \"innocent\", it simply means the government failed to meet the burden necessary to establish your guilt. You could very well still be guilty, it just couldn't be proven beyond reasonabl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
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