query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
When jump starting a car, why do instructions say attach the jumped cars negative cable to the frame? | [
"It's mostly for liability purposes. By jumping directly to the positive and negative terminals, you increase the risk of igniting potentially flammable gasses coming from the battery via the spark that often happens during the connection. These gasses can occur in certain scenarios, though is much more rare in thi... | [
"If your call dies on the highway and needs a jump while driving then it probably isnt a battery problem, but instead an alternator issue. Jumping a car with a bad alternator will work until you disconnect the working vehicle, as the battery in the jumped car will die from the alternator failing to charge it. Also,... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How do scammy for-profit schools stay in business? | [
"They have access to enough funding (in large part due to student loans being so easy to obtain) to maintain high profile advertising campaigns. They also heavily target those who, for various reasons, struggle to get into other schools and see something like ITT Tech or University of Phoenix as better than their l... | [
"A lot of private schools are for profit corporations...vocational schools, tech schools, beauty academies, basically anything you see advertised on TV. A lot of people feel these schools have been abusing the student loan program, letting people pay $15K for 8 months of school that lets them earn $10 an hour inste... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does putting a wooden spoon over a boiling pot of water prevent it from boiling over? | [
"It won't in all cases. But the cooler surface of the spoon along with its porous surface allows the bubbles to rapidly cool on contact and as the spoon is constantly cooling from the ambient air it will remain cooler than the bottom of the pot. Two dynamic forces; one exciting the atoms and one relaxing them."
] | [
"Most water has oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases dissolved into it, but its ability to hold these gases decrease as its temperature goes up, so the bubbling you hear before the boiling begins is all of those gases being liberated from the water and forming bubbles that float to the surface and then pop. Near... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is lumber sold based the size it was before it went into the planer? | [
"Just a side note to your comment, but a quarter pound hamburger is the amount of hamburger that was put on the grill. The patty you end up eating won’t weigh 4 oz anymore. So your example actually is closer to the same than an opposite."
] | [
"Is it homework time again? If a tree grows in the forest it is there. If you cut it down, drag it to the road, cut it up into fire logs, load it, and take it to the city to sell as firewood you expect to sell the tree for more than it was worth standing in the forest. You did work to produce the fireplace logs. Y... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How come symbols for interpunction are (largely) universal, even though languages can have completely different alphabets/word-symbols? | [
"Modern globalization. Plenty of languages (those read right to left in particular) historically didn’t use any punctuation."
] | [
"Korean and Arabic are actually very simple, because they are both phonetic alphabets, the way Latin (our alphabet) is. Chinese and Japanese have various ways of handling input, varying from limiting the number of characters in a standardised subset of the language, able to be input with a complicated keyboard mapp... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does code writing work? | [
"You can write code for high level languages in a text editor like notepad. There are editors that have extra functions for code writing to make it a little easier. At the top end for ease of use are Integrated Development Environments (IDE) that combine text editors, code assembly where necessary, program running,... | [
"Are you asking how a wheel works ?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
why is it so difficult to"get the heat" out of a burn? | [
"The cold numbs the nerves. If you stop applying that which makes the numbness then the nerves will start hurting again. It's pysiological pain, so physical or chemical processes are required to deal with it."
] | [
"i just drop like a sack of potatoes. So if there is such a mechanism i want to ask the follow up question why mine doesn't work?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why Does it Seem Like Plants Grow Dramatically Overnight? | [
"The seed comes with whatever nutrients the plant needs in the correct ratios because the seed was grown purposefully to get the next plant started. And since the seedling can't get any nutrients unless it gets access to the sun, water, and soil, it has to grow fast to get the roots and leaves out, or it will use a... | [
"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 question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do flies have so much trouble finding an open door/window to exit? | [
"Their eyes are god awful. It would be like trying to find the exit while drunk and looking through a kaleidoscope"
] | [
"Insects don't need to use doors, any crack will do to enter and exit. Ever had a roach knock on your door?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
if you are born abroad at your country’s embassy are you your home countries nationality then? Do traveling people try to be born in the jurisdiction of their home/other country? Is that even a thing. I imagine pregnant women trying to give birth in embassy offices. Help. | [
"Most nations grant citizenship based on blood, not geography. In fact outside of the Vatican I cannot think of a single country that doesn't grant automatic citizenship to newborn children of their citizens - assuming the paperwork will be filled out eventually. If your parents have the citizenship of a country y... | [
"Yes you can. Depends on whether each country you're a citizen of allows it. But if they do, and you are eligible for citizenship, there's no particular reason you can't have any number of citizenships."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How do you distinguish artificial diamonds from natural? | [
"You don't. The literal only difference between the two is that, by law, artificial diamonds have to have \"lab made\" engraved on the stone (usually on the girdle). Usually lab-made stones are better in terms of clarity and color, are larger, have more fire, and are all-around better than mined stones."
] | [
"Diamonds aren't particularly rare. Most diamonds are held by a cartel named DeBeers which only releases as many diamonds per year as they choose to, so as to ensure an artificial scarcity to keep prices up. The rest of the price is in marketing. Besides, it's now possible to have lab-created diamonds that are func... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What is actually happening when your body has a big twitch? | [
"If you just have one twitch, probably a hypnic jerk, if you have single twitch’s every 30-40secs for a while then maybe periodic limb movement disorder."
] | [
"Your brain is telling your body to make room."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is it difficult for us to breathe air that is being driven into our face? | [
"2 concepts are needed: how you breathe and the Bernoulli principle. The driving force for air to get into your lungs is pressure. When you breathe in, you are using your muscles to increase the volume inside your lungs. This increase in volume means a decrease in pressure. Because now the pressure outside your l... | [
"Supposedly: The sun is blasting us with not only heat and light but also with a wind. Where we live we are surrounded by a type of shield, like in Star Wars, that keeps the wind from hitting us and also keeps our air from blowing away. They say that on Mars they they lost their shield and all their air blew away a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What is the difference between being found guilty and being convicted? | [
"A conditional discharge is a type of plea deal. Essentially, you admit that you committed the crime in question and, in exchange, the judge agrees that if you fulfill certain conditions (typically completing a rehabilitation or therapy program) then the charges will be dismissed. If you don't fulfill the condition... | [
"And indictment is being charged/accused of a crime after an arrest. And indictment will lead to a trial to determine whether you are guilty of the crime for which you were indicted."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why can’t soaps and cleaning supplies get the last bit of bacteria or germs? | [
"It’s to insure that they are not liable for false advertising if some germs remain on the surface. They can just use the excuse that they never said it would kill everything."
] | [
"When you're washing glasses, you're trying to get rid of more than just old liquids. There could be bacteria or other invisible substances stuck to the glass, for example."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the comment about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why is the penis dark if it's the organ least exposed to sunlight? | [
"melanocyte cells. Cells that are in skin and hair responsible for releasing melanin, When you hit puberty these cells get released at larger rates, thus why the darkening as a young adult. And why babies have a uniform color across their bodies and genitals."
] | [
"because they aren't exposed to direct sunlight very often. If you lay out with your palms up/lay face down with the soles of your feet directed at the sun for a prolonged period of time, they would get burnt, just like any other part of your skin."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
The difference between a fetish and a sexual preference. | [
"A kink is \"unusual\" sexual behavior that arouses you. A fetish is a behavior or object or something that arouses you to such a degree that it becomes a dependence. You can't typically get aroused without it. So if you are **only** turned on by plus size women, that could be a fetish. But if you are turned on by ... | [
"Not everything is a result of evolution. This is a good example of one such thing."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Psychology:"
} |
what's the difference between dish soap and hand soap? | [
"Dish soap has stronger detergents and more foaming agents (unless you're getting foaming hand soap). The stronger detergents break down grease better but also strip the oil out of your skin more."
] | [
"It's all just soap, feel free to read the ingredients. Girls have crazy high standards for not being disgusting, apparently you can't pee down the shower drain either... Of course, they add some extra stuff to the soap depending on the use. Body wash has moisturizers and maybe even those \"scrubbing micro beads\" ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are Judaism, Christianity and Islam consider different religions, but e.g. Catholic and Protestism are both considered part of the same religion, i.e. they're both Christian? | [
"Catholicism and Protestantism are based on the same primary belief. That God (Jehovah) is the Almighty and Jesus is his Son. Judaism believes that God (JHVH) is the Almighty, but doesn't believe that Jesus was his Son, just that he was a teacher. Islam believes that God (Allah) is the Almighty, believes Jesus was ... | [
"Sunni and Shiite are not tribes, they're sects of Islam. It's like the equivalent of Catholics and Protestants in Christianity."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
can you describe the muller report and who this Barr guy is? | [
"The Mueller report is the culmination of the Investigation Led by Special counsel Robert Mueller, appointed by US congress, to investigate whether the 2016 elections were messed with by an outside force. William Barr is the Current US Attorney General Nominated by Trump, and confirmed on Feb 14th, after the Last... | [
"we dont impeach them for sexual escapades we impeach them for lying about it in congress big difference, well documented, go read a little bit"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How does NASA prevent asteroids from hitting the Earth? | [
"They don't. Currently we have no systems to stop something that's big enough to be a threat, and everything else doesn't really matter or can't be spotted in time."
] | [
"There's no wind in space, but there's wind in Jupiter's atmosphere, just like there's wind here on Earth. The probe will reach Jupiter the same way that other probes have been sent to planets before."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does the injecting of local anesthetic hurt so much? | [
"Permeability of the active compound. Compounds with poor permeability essentially make their aqueous environment more viscous. Imagine injecting certain anesthetics as injecting maple syrup that makes you feel no pain once it permeates to your nerve endings. It would take a while for your blood and fluids to thin ... | [
"Shots typically come in two forms: Intravenous - Injected into your veins Intramuscular - Injected into your muscle fibers Typically a shot in the muscle fibers will induce soreness more often than an intravenous shot. However, the size (\"bore\") of the needle and the medicine being administered also play a facto... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are human babies so helpless compared to other babies in the animal kingdom? | [
"It's evolutionary advantageous. Babies take a lot of calories to grow. When they are still inside of the mother, the goal is to get the baby out as soon as possible. This requires a lot of calories and creates a lot of strain on the mother. Once born, the baby's systems are mostly self-sufficient, the toll on the ... | [
"Because the correlation between intelligence and brain size is actually the brain size relative to body size. Sperm whales are fucking huge, and require huge brains to control their huge bodies. However, relative to its body, a sperm whale's brain is pretty average for the animal world. However, a human has an eno... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about biology:",
"pos": "Represent the passage about biology:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
why does banging electronic devices such as calculators against the table revive dead batteries temporarily? | [
"It maybe the contacts touching the battery are loose or dirty rather than dead battery. Shaking it could make better connection"
] | [
"Electromagnetic interference from the signals going to the phone goof with the electronics that pulse the speakers and make little buzzing noises if it isn't shielded well."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why dies your throat hurt so badly after no food/ just tea for meal? | [
"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... | [
"Am i the only one who looses their appetite after drinking ? I tend to not even want food until like 3 pm the next day"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does night shift jobs affect our body differently to normal day job hours? | [
"Your circadian rhythm is responsible for this.. Its one of your biological rhythms . Basically, it releases sleep hormones to make you tired late evening. This causes drowsiness and makes you sleep. You have other signs like eating and pooping. So, at about 2 am this is when ure body is wanting you to sleep. It lo... | [
"There is a syndrome that many blind people suffer from call Non 24. They sometimes need medication to get adjusted to normal wake/sleep patterns."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why exactly do we see fire? And what makes it suddenly appear as visible? | [
"Fire isn't a *thing* on to itself. It doesn't exist as an object in the same way steel exists as an object. Fire is a description of a proces: The rapid reaction of fuel with oxygen. What you're seeing is that reaction: which releases enough energy to emit heat, light, in addition to the actual byproduct of the r... | [
"a rainbow is just a trick in how you're seeing light. So the answer could be the sun or it could be the water that's making it ... or the answer could be that it basically exists in your eyes. Like weeping angels."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How engineers can be sure that the hard shell of airbags won't hit someone during a crash? | [
"They're scored on the inside to allow them to tear predictably. Kinda like how some grenades have similar cuts to get even distribution ( looking at you takata)."
] | [
"Because they are built to do so, They are very compact and rugged and resistant to extreme heat. If they couldn't survive most crashes, there would be no reason to bother putting them on the planes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does your body maintain its temperature? | [
"Your brain has a thermostat that tells your body what temperature to set itself to. You gain heat by your brain motivating you to do things to warm up, shrinking blood vessels that go to the surface of your skin and making your hairs rise up (goosebumps) You lose heat by sweating and expanding vessels that go to y... | [
"You need to build up an ambient level in your body and keep it more or less stable at that level to notice changes. It takes about 2 weeks to reach the levels desired."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How dirty are coins? | [
"Coins are known to be some of the dirtiest objects on earth. No joke. There is a extremely fascinating episode of \"dirty jobs\" where Mike Rowe visits a hotel in California who offers coin cleaning free of charge. They started in the 1800s when women commonly wore gloves and the coins would tarnish them."
] | [
"Are all of your electronic made by Apple?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How come we don't throw away cancered part of body and transplant healthy one of dying person who's ok to donate his organs? | [
"We can and do remove and transplant cancerous organs when possible. The supply of suitable donor organs is limited though, and the operation is risky and carries lifelong problems. It's typically a last resort when other treatments have failed and the tumor is inextricably tangled into the organ. You need to spen... | [
"If we're talking about flawless transplant with no problems, then yes, people with younger organs have a certain chance of living longer. For example, if you have a new heart. But don't forget that your brain and the rest of your body will still be old and prone to various failure. And you can't transplant your co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If you were to oscillate a magnet could it radiate visible light? | [
"Yes, but no. :) That is to say: if you wiggle a magnet back and forth, you will absolutely generate EM waves that could be detected. But no, not in visible light. The frequency of (say) green light is around 560 terahertz. You cannot wiggle or spin a physical magnet 560 trillion times per second; there is no* mate... | [
"the atom is being held in place by a magnetic field, also the element chosen has light emitting properties. Without the light from inside the atom itself(absorbed from a high powered laser focused directly on it and set to our visible spectrum) it would not be visible, that's my basic understanding."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Science:"
} |
Unions and strikes. Why would an employer ever want their employees to be in a union? And why can't employers fire striking employees? How does this all work? | [
"> Why would an employer ever want their employees to be in a union? Management doesnt want unions ever. unions form to give the employees more power when talking raises and benefits > why can't employers fire striking employees? A strike is usually rare and its requires all employees to go with it. For example ... | [
"In a state without RTW laws, a business and a Union can come to an agreement that says that everyone who works for the company below management must be a member of the Union. Anyone who is hired after this agreement is signed must join the Union as a condition of their employment. Failing to do so means getting fi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
why do cops need to request vehicle registration and drivers licenses to give a fine, but bylaws can just write a parking ticket without all the identification? | [
"When a car is parked, it doesn't matter who drove it to that place -- all that matters is who owns it, which is linked to the license plate. A moving violation is written against the driver, who may not be the owner."
] | [
"They can see your record by searching your name and licence number. If the court wants to see you (outstanding warrant) or your car was reported stolen or doesn't match the plates, arrest. Doing something clearly dangerous or you've been warned in the past, ticket. Minor violation with no warnings, you'll just ge... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How is it that during the night every activity we make appears to be louder than during the day? | [
"During the day, there's a lot of background noises. Birds, traffic, people, televisions, etc. But we mostly tend to tune it out as it's unimportant. During the night, most of these noises are missing, so any noise sounds louder."
] | [
"Because you are waking up in the middle of it. If you have someone wake you in the middle of normal dreams you remember them better too."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is moss and how does it spread to other places? | [
"It’s a plant. A plant without proper roots or flowers, just lots of tiny leaves that absorb moisture and light. There are many different types, but depending on type they usually spread by dispersing spores (like mushrooms or ferns), or by sending out “runners” which stick to a new area and start to grow - a bit l... | [
"There are[ spores](_URL_0_)(think microscopic seeds) floating in the air around us all the time. When one of these lands in a place with favorable conditions, i.e water and a food source, it begins to grow, when it grows large enough we see it as mold. There are many different species so yes the one one your walls... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why are some compulsions so common yet so specific? | [
"The human brain is fond of patterns. It's as simple as that. & #x200B; We need patterns to filter out unimportant sensory data and focus on the relevant. Our brain evolved to become good at seeing and liking patterns to the extend that we see patterns where there are none (that are meaningful). We see a face in t... | [
"A paraphilia is something that is harmful to oneself or others and is needed to achieve orgasm. Paraphilias and fetishes are similar, but not every fetish is harmful, and all paraphilias are in some way. These disorders can cause distress or impairment (and those are the only kind recognized in the DSM), and are h... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When you want to aerate your home, why does a room ventilate better (or feel as though it does) when it is cold outside? | [
"Hot air particles move faster and hot air is less dense so cold will fill the void while heat escapes. As you see in storms when hot air meets cold it creates a lot of movement (tornadoes) - hot particles want to keep expanding and the cold ones “swirl” around it"
] | [
"A fan does not cool, it just moves air around which makes it seem cooler as it enhances evaporation/heat transfer. Depending on if it is warmer on the other side of the door it could thus make sense (if its cooler outside) or be actually bad (if its warmer)."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why is it so hard to dispose of trash? | [
"The problem with trash is that **nobody wants to spend any money on it**. There are fine, safe, approaches to recycling and storing it. However, none of those things makes money - except aluminum can recycling. So, somebody would have to pay. Local governments don't have money, and raising taxes to process trash m... | [
"Because it is worth a lot of money to the government!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do rooms full of loud conversation occasionally fall shockingly silent? | [
"Statistics of group actions include coincidences. People pause a conversation, so it is possible and normal (if rare) that several groups can pause at the same time. Or, at a cocktail party, somebody in a central location mentions hemorrhoids, and everybody else stops to look at him like the idiot he is."
] | [
"Ever hear a really loud cricket? You walk closer to the sound, it suddenly stops, and you can't locate the cricket. You give up, take two steps to walk away and it starts chirping again. I imagine they're very adept at knowing when threats are close and remaining silent in that time. Just my guess. EDIT: grammar"
... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
I know cracking your knuckles isn’t bad for you, but it seems like everyone has a different opinion on cracking your neck. Is it actually bad for you? Why/Why not? | [
"I believe why they suggest you don't do it, is because there are many other joints, bones, nerves around the neck area and not knowing how to do it correctly might cause injury."
] | [
"When you crack your knuckles, youre popping air bubbles in the synovial fluid between your joints. After you pop them, it takes a few minutes for air to join back up together and form bubbles again, at which point you can crack them again. And by the way, contrary to popular belief, cracking your knuckles doesn't ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Health and Anatomy:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Health and Anatomy:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
The Korean Cultural Concept of Han | [
"I took a class in university, and the teacher briefly touched on this. There were 3 different characteristics that make koreans Korean. 1 is han (한), the 2nd is heung (흥), and I forget the 3rd. I believe Han is the bond that koreans share due to the hardships their people have faced, as they have been attacked and... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
When you get something small stuck in your eye, like an eyelash, and you can't get it out it feels like it "disappears." What happens to it? | [
"Generally, it gets flushed out in either your sleep (That gunk in the corner of your eye in the morning.) or moves to an area where it won't irritate you and then flushed out when your eyes water next."
] | [
"It's because they itch. Itching is a sign that the healing process has begun, but it's frustrating because it's happening below this hard crust, so you can never quite satisfy it by scratching unless you scrape it off."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why does natural gas despite having a higher RON value, performs worse than petrol when used in a car engine? | [
"The RON represent the level of compression of the fuel, but natural gas is a gas and not a liquid like gasoline/petrol. & #x200B; So even if natural gas have an higher energy/mass than gasoline (about 15% more), it also have a terrible energy density or energy/volume (about 0.1% of gasoline). & #x200B; So ya you... | [
"Diesel is a different type of combustion to gasoline. Gasoline requires a spark plug while diesel uses the pressure to start combustion. Gassoline is a result of the first stage of purifying crude while diesel mainly get extracted in the later steps. Diesel tends to be more efficient than gasoline however it has m... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How did the nazis know who was a Jew and who wasn't? | [
"The Nazis knew who were Jewish through normal records kept by Germany. Nobody was really hiding that they were Jewish at this time. So the Nazis were able to get this information through tax returns, census records, synagogue membership lists, church records for Jews who had converted, etc. Not to mention, the Naz... | [
"Not sure about most of the world, other than people want scapegoats for their problems, and the Jews were an easy target. As for Germany, Hitler blamed the Jews for every problem Germany had. Failing economy? The Jews fault. Lost WW1? Jews fault. Horrible armistice that left Germany in an inhuman amount of poverty... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is following through a swing so important in racket sports, baseball or golf? Surely once the ball is hit, a follow through serves no real purpose? | [
"If you're expecting to stop as soon as the ball is hit, you change the mechanics of your swing and begin to decelerate earlier, etc. It's not about having any effect on the ball directly it's about not screwing yourself up in the events leading up to the contact."
] | [
"The cricket bat shape has evolved to be optimal for striking the ball when coming to you as it does from a bowler, and holding it as batsmen and women do. There is a \"sweet spot\" on a bat, more or less opposite the widest part (front to back) - hit a ball square on there and it will fly.... when you watch top ba... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Explain what a Discrete Fourier Transform is? | [
"A Fourier transform is a tool that lets us take a certain signal (function) and find the parts that make it (the frequencies). In ideal condition, like a math problem, we know the signal to an infinite amount of detail: we know exactly what was its value at every point in time. In real life signal analysis we are ... | [
"An algorithm is a sequence of steps. A formula, on the other hand, is an expression of information. For example: The volume of a sphere is represented by the formula: V = 4/3 π r3 That formula encodes the volume of a sphere based on it's radius. There are no steps in the formula, just information (The relationshi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How do apartment building fire alarms work? | [
"yes, most fire codes require that fire alarms be linked together. the smoke detector detects smoke. and it doesn't differentiate it from actual fire or burnt food. they work by running a current from one end to another and smoke blocks that flow of current and sets off the alarm. fire extinguishers work different... | [
"One of the most common ways is the use of a Knox Box. It's a small metal lock box. The first responder has a key to the box, and the keys to the building are inside. Google Knox Box, and you'll see what they look like, and you'll start seeing them everywhere you go."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What makes a tooth cavity hurt when you bite onto candy. | [
"Usually the nerves in the root of your tooth are protected by layers of material referred to as dentin. When a cavity develops it creates small holes in this protective layer, which exposes the nerves. The food you eat ends up touching the nerves and you get a pain response from your brain"
] | [
"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:"
} |
What's making my heart beat? | [
"Basically there are so called pacemaker cells around your heart that give the signal when to contract. Your heart is a muscle itself and muscle cells are able to contract, in this case to make your heart beat. The energy used in the contraction is the same as in the rest of your body (ATP), the pacemaker cells wo... | [
"One of these is not like the others."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
how does carbon dating work, and what is the degree of certainty and/or margin of error when scientists date an ancient artifact or bone? | [
"A particular radioactive isotope of Carbon, C14, starts to decay to Nitrogen once an organism dies. Since it decays at a constant rate, and we know what that rate is, we can use the remaining amount of C14 to determine an approximate date of death. These days they can date a bone to +/- a few decades. So while The... | [
"Well, that show was wrong. Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. But they use a combination of techniques, including radiometric dating, examination of geological position, and comparisons to other fossils. One common radiometric dating method is to check the levels of Uranium and Lead in a sample, which can gi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about Astronomy:"
} |
How can a baby scream for hours and be fine, but I yell for 30 minutes at a sporting event and lose my voice. | [
"Some babies develop problems due to screaming. See Emma Stone, for example, she got nodules and calluses on her vocal cords."
] | [
"A single dose doesn't get you high for days at a time. A single dose makes you ask yourself why you ever decided to be sober in the first place...At which point you fix your lawn mower while saving your marriage right before you vacuum your ceiling."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Babies and their crying behavior:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Babies and their crying behavior:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does the same speed feel much faster in narrower roads? | [
"It's about how quickly what is in your field of vision passes out of your field of vision. Imagine being on a narrow road. Now point at a tree that is 45° to the left. Let's say at your current speed it takes 1 second for that tree to be out of sight behind you. Now widen the road. Pick another tree still at 45°, ... | [
"The same distance is a lower percentage of your total field of view when it is far away. It's the same reason trees in the distance seem to move slower than close trees while driving."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why can we catch a slight buzz shortly after a sip of alcohol even though it hasn’t been digested yet? | [
"Most of the alcohol is absorbed through the small intestine. However, about 20% of each sip of alcohol is absorbed through the mouth, throat, and stomach. Also, alcohol is metabolized by the body, not digested. Source: I teach safe alcohol service to servers and bartenders for state certification."
] | [
"Why would you not? When you drink alcohol, it makes it to your small intestine and is then absorbed into your blood stream. It's this alcohol in your blood stream that makes you drunk Any method for getting alcohol into your blood stream will get you drunk but most are less controlled than just drinking as they hi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why is your weight lower in the morning than any other time of the day? | [
"You are constantly breathing out CO2 and water vapor (most of the weight loss) during the night which you are not replenishing."
] | [
"Because your body is off schedule. Until you are on schedule, it will be like this. Here is how you fix it: * Wake up at 6:00AM every morning (including weekends) * Do not nap during the day * Get a decent amount of exercise each week After you do this for a few weeks, you will magically have lots of energy during... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Sleep and fatigue:"
} |
How did x and y become the standard for unknown variables? | [
"Rene Descartes wrote a book [a book](_URL_0_) using them, it caught on."
] | [
"I don't think there is such thing. For example, there are several equally valid notations for derivative."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why don’t we have a better way to deal with trash than our current methods? | [
"Because it's not profitable. Companies will fight tooth and nail to gain an advantage over their competitors, whether it be cutting costs, researching new technologies or anything else that helps them sell better. But once their product is I the consumer's hands they simply don't care. It's not their responsibilit... | [
"Sure, we could do those things. But who will pay for it? The thing is, it's still cheaper to get water from our current sources than it is to do either of those things."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What would happen if all bees go extinct and how would this have a negative consequence on the planet? | [
"Generally. An event that would cause a mass extinction of bees would probably also do a lot of damage to human beings in term of environmental cause. But outside of the very, very, very unlikely chance just bees went extinct, It would cause massive ecological shock, while we have other forms of pollinating insect... | [
"Easy: our species, humans. But to give you some other really impactful things: if plankton disappeared, all of them, the ocean food chain would break entirely. If ants or bees disappeared it would break things. If pine trees disappeared it would break things. I'd still argue, though, that more of the world would b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why is it that long, straight, flat sections of paved roads can act like mirrors? | [
"When the ground is much hotter than the air, it creates a layer of very warm air just above the ground. The difference in density causes light passing from the cool air through the warm air to bend aka refract. Similar to how a pencil looks broken and larger when you put part of it in a cup of water. Same concept ... | [
"What is it about a curve that makes you think it would be more difficult to pull cars around?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is vomiting dangerous for your heart as opposed to, say, sprinting? | [
"Vomiting isn’t necessarily “bad for your heart” per say. When you vomit, that leads to dehydration, reduction of acid so your body’s metabolic reactions might shift a little bit, or sometimes, though extremely uncommon and definitely an exception, it might be a symptom of a heart attack (primarily) in older women ... | [
"It may be the result of some underlying medical problem like magnesium or potassium deficiency, but it might also be from something as simple as muscle inactivity. If I were you, I would just eat more fruits and vegetables and stretch every day. Are you an active person?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Why were prehistoric animals so much bigger than their present counterparts? | [
"As a general rule of thumb: animals gradually evolve to larger and larger sizes as the environment permits, until the a change in the environment occurs (drought, food source goes extinct, etc) and then that large animal goes extinct because it has evolved to a size that required all of the existing food and is ad... | [
"All dinosaurs didn't die. They just lost their position of dominance due to rapidly changing climates. The species which survived evolved into contemporary avians."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why are some batteries rechargeable and others aren't? | [
"All cells/batteries produce electricity through a chemical reaction between the chemical compounds inside them. The reaction only happens when the positive and negative are connected (or as they say, the 'circuit' is 'closed'). This causes a flow of charge between the two points, and the cell/battery gets 'expende... | [
"Phones use lithium batteries. Lithium batteries are terrible. AA batteries last 30+ years without being touched"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do the determine the 'origin' of the cancer if it has spread to multiple organs | [
"Most of the time the tumor source can be narrowed down to a specific body organ based on how the cells look under the microscope as well as using other clues like patient history or imaging such as CT scans/MRI/X-rays. When the source organ is not clear, special staining can help detect molecules which are only fo... | [
"No, they would need a centralized organ system for cancer to occur. However they can get abnormal tissue growth like fungi"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Biology:"
} |
What exactly is happening when you get sleep paralysis, and what causes it? | [
"Iirc basically the reason most people dont sleep walk and act out all their dreams physically is because our body releases a chemical throughout your body that effectively paralyzes you until you start to wake up. Sleep paralysis is when the chemical doesnt go away when you wake up for a long while. So you just si... | [
"A lot of nerves in your ear canal link to most of your body. Tickling them makes your blood pressure drop and thus leads to pleasure. At least that's what I read. Correct me if I'm wrong."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Health and wellness:"
} |
How are major tunnels made under water? | [
"Sometimes they use giant boring machines that work like a mole, digging the tunnel out, and sometimes they will pre-build the tunnel in sections, sink it, then connect it together / cover it."
] | [
"Does it matter if there is water instead of roads between a number of small towns? We have boats and bridges."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do air fryers work? Don't you need oil to fry foods? | [
"it's like a high powered convection oven. you still need some oil. your normal oven doesn't get hot enough to do it and circulate the air fast enough. it's like if you turn on the boiler setting you can get some crispiness from stuff, but now imagine that all around your food."
] | [
"Fried is just cooked in a pan, like you see people do with sausages or bacon. Deep-frying is when you have a pot or other vessel of heated oil, like you see in some food kitchens that do fried chicken or other fried foods (like McDonald's fries). The main differences is more even and consistent cooking with deep-f... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why can't we regulate pressure in an airplane to stop ears from popping? | [
"They can. The max pressure is equivalent to 8000ft of elevation, however most operate at or below 7000. Newer business class Jets pressurized to around 4,000 ft which makes the ear popping very very minimal. Pretty much cost is the driving factor. If you want a high pressure aircraft, you'll have to pay."
] | [
"Every few feet you (ELI5) pinch your nose and blow through your nose which balances the pressure in your ears. You can try it right now, outside of water. Divers also have timers and depth readers to make sure they do not descend or ascend too fast without balancing their ear pressure."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does getting hit in the head hard enough make one go unconscious? | [
"In a nutshell trauma to the brain. Long story. There is a \"pillow\" of liquid in between the brain and skull. When someone is hit hard enough not even that cushion can stop the impact of brain against skull which causes damage much like punching a wall. This impact causes our brain to sort of reset which is why ... | [
"Pro tip: If you ever stand up too fast that causes you to get lightheaded and sometimes makes your vision fucky or something, flexing your abdomen will actually make it stop. Not sure why, just learned it and it works for me."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Biology/Medicine:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Biology/Medicine:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
why is it so hard to rehydrate after drinking alcohol? | [
"Alcohol is what is called a \"diuretic\", a chemical that causes your kidneys to produce urine which expels water along with other waste product. It also takes a lot of energy to break alcohol down in your liver which can leave you fatigued because it becomes more difficult to regulate glucose levels and it also r... | [
"dehydration after sleeping too long. stretch your limbs when you get up and drink some water and eat something you'll be back in shape faster."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence about Sleep and its effects on the body:"
} |
why does online video (specifically YouTube) get so insanely blurry at lower resolutions? Why doesn’t the 240p option output a sharp and pixelated video? | [
"You could always use VLC to watch YouTube. Then you can go: Tools- > Preferences- > Video- > Show Settings- > All- > Video- > Filters- > Swscale And choose something like \"Nearest Neighbour\". I predict that you will quickly decide that this is worse to look at, unless the videos are of low-res video games or s... | [
"They don't, if you have a 1080p TV then everything is at most 1080p. They probably went out of their way to provide a *great* quality 1080p clip to try and convince you of the possible quality 4K can offer."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How come an unhealthy, calorie dense food such as a chocolate bar doesn’t give me as much energy as a full meal that has the same amount of calories? | [
"A full meal has fat, protein, and carbs, probably more complex carbs than simple carbs (like sugar). Simple carbs (including starch) convert to blood sugar quickly and the blood glucose spike causes an insulin spike which forces your fat cells to store the carbs as fat (a one-way trip). This crashes your blood sug... | [
"It sounds likely that you are eating a mix of vegetarian foods that are low in fat or low in protein. You can get very, very full on Indian vegetarian food which has plenty of both. However, some other vegetarian foods are so high in fiber and so relatively low in calories that your stomach is full before you have... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
I’m confused on how Jewish people are defined apart from the religion they practice | [
"For a long, long, long time, Jews only married other Jews and didn't proselytize (attempt to convert other people into Judaism). As a result, Jews because a relatively closed ethnic group - an [ethnoreligious group](_URL_0_). If you were born to Jewish parents, you were Jewish, no matter whether you actually belie... | [
"Part of it is that most of the Jewish faith is about belonging to a specific tribe, and doesn't translate well into a faith that redesigned itself as an evangelical one that accepts converts. Most of it was a desire to distance themselves from Judaism, to make them less of a weird Jewish reform group and more of a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How are sea links/sea bridges built? | [
"Bridges are typically built at the closest meeting of two bodies of land and with the most shallow floor. Planners and engineers will try to find the sweet spot. So no, they do not just pick a random location no matter the deepness; They choose carefully. We can only build so deep underwater. Caisson's and cofferd... | [
"Does it matter if there is water instead of roads between a number of small towns? We have boats and bridges."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how does cleaning up trash help the environment? | [
"Yes and no. A lot of material that can be recycled isn't, when it gets thrown away. Other material, such as plastic bags, might get eaten by fish and wind up in the his chain, whereas if it is in a sealed landfill, animals won't eat it."
] | [
"the chemicals used in plastics and other chemicals would be released into the air/atmosphere. 1. you don't want to breathe that shit in 2. its bad for the environment when other things breathe that shit in 3. bad because of global warming."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
why don’t we use whatever Pyrex glass is made out of in everything? It seems to be far superior to normal window glass. | [
"You would not want Pyrex glass for your house windows. Pyrex glass is much more rigid than regular window glass. One of the benefits of regular window glass is that it flexes based on the differential of barometric pressure. In order to do that with Pyrex, you would have to incorporate that flexibility into the ho... | [
"Glass is non-porus, flat, and not easily scratched with razors, credit cards, etc. I'm sure there are tons of other surfaces they could use, but glass is common and works."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
At what point does a substance become a drug? | [
"Caffeine actually is a drug, as are alcohol and nicotine. They are just culturally accepted. In terms of 'substances' they are generally chemicals with psychoactive effects - they have an effect on the brain. This includes a huge range of things from caffeine to paracetamol to anti-depressants to methamphetamine o... | [
"Nothing. There is no science indicating its bad for you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does some music sound so amazing at the first listen, when other songs grow on you and then slowly become amazing? | [
"I'm a huge music listener and at the end of the day, the only music that survives my playlists is the one that grew on me. I think music that is immediately accessible is in the end boring. Of course, with experience with particular genres and bands, you start to enjoy a lot any new music the first time you hear i... | [
"Over stimulation. You listen to so much music sometimes that it becomes predictable and therefore boring."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
why do people say water has no taste, if nothing else tastes like it? Wouldn't it have its own unique taste, becuase milk, juice, pop, and coffee taste different than water. | [
"Does water have a unique taste to you? I mean except for the texture and temperature change I can't really \"taste\" water. It's the same taste as air in my mouth tbh."
] | [
"Your taste buds can taste both sour and sweet things. Toothpaste has a compound in it whose name I forget, which stops the sweet tasting taste buds from working. So when you drink orange juice all you taste is the acidic sour taste which would normally be balanced out by the natural sugars and the like. Incidental... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is silicon used extensively in electronics and aerospace if it's a naturally bad conductor? | [
"As far as electronics goes, it's because it's a semiconductor and that's the desirable feature of it. It doesn't always conduct like gold or copper does. But it's not completely insulating either. You can usually control its conductivity to some degree with certain processes. Also worth noting is that unlike metal... | [
"Gold is an excellent electrical conductor, a very good thermal conductor, has relatively high reflectivity, doesn't corrode easily, and is relatively easy to melt or electroplate. This makes it useful for a lot of functions. The downside, of course, is that it is expensive, and it is fairly heavy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why did these metronomes eventually sync together? (see video) | [
"When they are started, they have a net momentum. Over time, the momentum is redistributed until each metronome has the same amount. They are coupled together by the board, and that's placed on the almost friction-less beer-can rollers. Each metronome has the average motion fed into them through their base, and thi... | [
"You're not going to believe this, but... we're not entirely sure. Right?! Bicycles! You'd think we'd have that figured out by now. However, last summer a group of scientists built a computer model of a bicycle and, one by one, digitally took away the advantages that people thought kept a bicycle up. And it didn't ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How does NASA find exo-planets that are hundreds of light years away? | [
"The main method they use (that I remember) is the transit method. Essentially, we can tell exactly how bright a star normally is. When a planet goes in front of that star, it then dims the star a little. When that happens, we're able to tell the difference and understand that a planet is there. This method only re... | [
"We are able to detect planets much further away, yes. But we are not able to take a picture of them. We have no pictures what so ever of planets outside our solar system."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence about astronomy:"
} |
Why can't we keep organs functional indefinitely by donating them, and when the recipient dies, donating them again? | [
"Cell degeneration, after a while the cells themselves will die. Doctors are on the edge of being able to influence cells to prosper instead of dieing but nobody has found the potion of immortality yet"
] | [
"No, because you need more organs than just a heart to keep the brain alive. You need lungs to cycle the O2/CO2, you need a stomach and intestines to process nutrients, you need kidneys/liver to filter the blood, etc. Now, if you were able to provide all of those things for the blood stream - basically creating an ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text about biology:"
} |
If truth serums like Sodium Thiopental exist, why aren't they used in courts to find out who's guilty? | [
"So called \"truth serums\" don't make you tell the truth, they just lower your inhibitions to make you stop caring about concealing the truth. It still takes a skilled interrogator to direct the conversation in a meaningful direction and it takes a whole lot more than that to determine the truth from the rambling.... | [
"If the evidence was obtained illegally, there's good cause to suspect that it's been tampered with otherwise, or processed incorrectly, or perhaps not even valid evidence to the crime in the first place. Another way to look at it is that if the officer was willing to break the law to get the evidence, who's to say... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do girls and guys have different shoe size measurement scales? | [
"Depends on the area, really. Many areas use the same scale for both males and females. Europe, for example."
] | [
"Why are noses different in size, why are people different heights, why do we have different hair colors?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Biology:"
} |
How would the common cold kill me if I didn't have an immune system? | [
"The cold virus uses the surface tissues in your upper respiratory system to reproduce. Like most viruses, this means hijacking a cell and instructing it to crank out virus copies until it dies. Those copies then infect nearby cells and repeat the process. Typically your immune system goes medieval on them before t... | [
"Because the mass majority of the bacteria are killed off in the first day and the survivors have a less chance of surviving the longer you pelt them with the drug. If you only take half the dose of the recommended amount, you are taking the chance that some of the bacteria will survive and will pass along its abil... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why would storing my previous passwords be more secure than letting me use whatever password I want indefinitely? | [
"As others have said, passwords are normally hashed. Password change requirements are typically only used in enterprise environments, in which a user may write down their password or share it with another employee. It's not necessary for the normal user, in fact, it's generally considered less secure to make passwo... | [
"You can't *see* the password you're typing, so entering it twice means it's less likely you entered it wrong when you set up the account. Of course, if you enter it wrong in exactly the same way twice, and then try to enter it correctly later, you won't be able to log in."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are most commercial solar panels only 25 % efficient? | [
"So r3dl3g gave a pretty good scientific explanation. An eli5 of why it isn't close to 100% is that if you consider that panel sitting out in the sun. It will get hot. That heat is lost energy. You can also see your reflection in it, which is a result of light bouncing off. Also lost energy. There are many more suc... | [
"It means 22% of the solar energy that hits the panel is turned into electricity. So, if if the percentage were greater, you'd get more electricity. Please note that watts aren't just a measurement of electricity, but a generic measurement of power. Let's say 1000 watts of sunlight hits the panel. If your panel is ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do we know that absolute zero occurs at -273.15°C (459.65°F/0K) | [
"Let's ignore quantum effects for now. Temperature = jiggliness of the molecules of something. The hotter something is, the faster and more vigorously its molecules are jiggling. So by this interpretation, we know that at some point, molecules just stop jiggling, right? There's simply no meaning to saying the tempe... | [
"Kelvin is a temperature scale that start with absolute zero and has uses the same degrees as Celsius. Celsius has water freeze at 0° and boil at 100° absolute zero is at -273.16° C. So in Kelvin absolute Zero is a 0 K, water freezes at 273.16 K and boils at 373.16 K There is a corresponding temperature scale that ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does living tissue, like ancient dinosaurs, eventually turn into stone over time? | [
"When burred fast enough, the decomposition process basically grinds to a halt. Instead, as water seeps into the crevices where a dead animal is, it slowly dissolves and washes the animal away. This process is incredibly slow, and certain body parts erode more slowly than others. As the tissues wash out, new minera... | [
"Your question has kind of an incorrect premise because it sounds like you're assuming all of the bones should be mixed together. The age of the fossils you find depends on the rock that they're embedded in. The reason we know fossils that we dig up are dinosaur fossils, or pre-dinosaur fossils, or post-dinosaur fo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is dentistry stressed as so important it needs to be regularly visited? | [
"You need to visit a dentist for an in-depth cleaning, which is a procedure which is difficult for individuals to do at home, unlike routine foot care. Oral health problems are relatively common, but can be very severe and irreversable (if you lose a tooth, there's no growing it back). Maintenance is relatively ine... | [
"They are required to recertify every now and then, as well as being mandated to attend seminars and conferences about the latest of medical science in their fields. Also, a doctor in a specific field is likely to want to learn about improvements in their field. They're clearly interested in whatever field they spe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do 3D environments render almost instantaneously in games but take multiple hours or days to render while making 3D animated videos? | [
"Long story short. 3D Animated movies are on a totally different scale of detail. 3D games are optimized for performance, 3D animated movies/shows are optimized for detail. & #x200B; Texture resolutions are much higher (And I don't think they compress them), animations have many more joints to deal with, physics a... | [
"Because you can do the whole thing on a computer instead of hunting for locations like you would have to if you made a live action movie. The advantage compared to 2d animation is that computers can fill in the gaps between positions of the model quite easily these days. That being said though, these movies usuall... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about videogame development:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about videogame development:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What’s the point of logarithmic dimming curve? | [
"A logarithmic dimming curve results in the perceived light level changing linearly You don't see 500 lumens as half as bright as 1000 lumens, you see it being 70% as bright, and 250 lumens as half as bright If you use a linear dimming curve and a rotary dimmer then half your perceived dimming range is in the highe... | [
"It has a few different meanings in different contexts. What setting are we talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about finance:"
} |
Zero Sugar products, how does they manage to have only a couple of calories per 100ml and are they still (maybe even more) bad for my body? | [
"First of all: Cal doesnt equal bad for your body. Second: Most sugary items with sugar alcohols are not that great for your digestion. Other than that, those products have no proven health detriments. Imo: if your body responds bad to it, why eat it? Keep a high variety in your table and dont get religuous over yo... | [
"Some people think, that artificial sweeteners are bad for you. However no one has yet presented a scientific study that would show that these additives are toxic or in any way harmful. As personal opinion: I think that normal soda will damage your health quicker, due to very high sugar content (IIRC it's 8 teaspo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
why don’t chimpanzees and other primates have buttcheeks like humans, but instead protruding buttholes? | [
"They do not walk upright on two legs, or at least do not do so often enough to develop glutes. The entire reason that we have butcheeks is that they are our glute muscles that allow us to control balance and power our walking and running on two legs."
] | [
"Because only mammals have breasts because they nurture their young with their mammary glands. Most mammals I can think of have breasts, they are called udders and they hang from the top. Cows, Pigs, Antelope, Cats, Dogs all have breats. Human breasts maybe unique in that we are bipedal and they hagd in front us ra... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about biology:"
} |
Why doe we feel like we're in a "fog" when we're sick? | [
"There's not really a better answer to 'what' other than 'the immune system'. Common viruses can't cross the blood-brain barrier, so what you're feeling is not the direct effect of the sickness. In fact, most of the symptoms - runny nose, sneezing, coughing - are really the effects of your immune system fighting of... | [
"How do you know you're blinking when they're closed?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Biology:"
} |
Do labcoats provide any different protection than normal clothes and if so what is it? | [
"Could you define *different*? They are not made of a special material that is \"more resistant\" to stuff as far as I know (although it might still be more resistant than your normal clothes, depending on what *they* are made of). The benefits of lab coats really come from other sources. Namely, they're very easil... | [
"Well to start with bleach kills most anything by destroying its cell membrane. And gels, sprays and wipes can have vastly different chemical makeup effecting not only how well they kill microbes, but what kind and how dangerous they are to human health and skin. Some gels do literally burn your skin off, others ar... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
The Game Show Paradox | [
"Simple. When you first pick a door, you have a 1/3 chance of picking the good door, and a 2/3 chance of picking a bad door. Therefore, for the best chance of being right, you should assume you picked a bad door at the beginning. Then, the host eliminates one door (assuming you picked a bad door, he ALWAYS eliminat... | [
"Star Wars Episode VII: The Jar Jar Binks Adventures"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
how are large flocks of birds and schools of fish able to stay so well coordinated? | [
"They follow their neighbour. If one on the outside gets spooked or just changes direction it'll spread throughout the flock/shoal. The V pattern geese/ducks fly in is pretty interesting. The strongest will fly at the tip of the V, followed by the next strongest (and so on). This breaks up the air making it easier ... | [
"They don't actually have a leader. Each fish is functioning with a set of rules or guidelines that creates a system where they move in coordination, which they've practiced all their lives. Sometimes, there will be a focal fish - not a leader, but near the center. This is the fish that a group will use as a base f... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why did Latin stop being commonly-spoken while its derivations remained? | [
"I'd say what key is that its not that its derivations remained, its that they developed. The roman empire was massive. But it feel, with Latin being the dominant language all over. Now when it collapsed it broke into separate kingdoms. With time comes change. However the kingdoms would not change uniformly. The co... | [
"Hebrew is the language of Jews in the Middle East and of Jewish religious texts, it's a semitic language close to Arabic and Aramaic. It had actually died out, before it was revived as the national language for the state of Israel. Yiddish, by contrast, is an amalgam of German and Hebrew (using Hebrew script most... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How accurate is identifying someone from their dental records/teeth really? | [
"It is certainly possible to make errors but usually people have a pretty good idea who someone is when checking dental records and the shape of such work is pretty distinct. The pool of records being checked is much smaller than with fingerprints; the police aren't looking for a match among millions of dental reco... | [
"If police series are relatively accurate, there are a few ways this can happen. 1) The body has some sort of identification on them (drivers license, passport,...) 2) Using specific body traits, like dental records, fingerprints, DNA, traceable implants,... But these require them being in a database. 3) Someone re... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
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