query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why do plants transpire the majority of the water they absorb (not use it) if them need that water to live? | [
"Water containing nutrients is pulled up from the roots. If the water did not have anywhere to go, then no more nutrients would be transported. The plant allows 90-95% of the water to evaporate to make room for new water with more nutrients."
] | [
"Plants, in most cases, do not generate their own heat. Reactions proceed faster at higher temperatures, and this includes any reaction they need to grow. As for plants that *do* generate their own heat, they don't use this to grow either because photosynthesis is not efficient enough for that. Instead they burn it... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
why does the way back always feel shorter than the way there? | [
"I don't know how to scientifically tell this, but it was told to me this way: You technically don't know first hand how much time something will take you (ex: going from city 1 to city 2) so you prepare for a non given period of time that could last ideally \"forever\". Since you have already experienced the trave... | [
"I don't know exactly but it sure as hell makes getting a blow job better."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why do our voices change and get higher when we talk to a baby or a cute animal (like a puppy)? | [
"We're not 100% sure on that one, but it is apparently a cultural thing. Not all cultures do this, some don't change tone of voice around children while others completely ignore babies and don't talk to them. So it appears to be a learned behavior. One theory states that we change our pitch around children because ... | [
"You squeal when you wake up? I'm not entirely sure that that's normal. Are you a sow or a dolphin or something?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why do our arms and legs, etc. twitch sometimes? | [
"Why do they randomly twitch just once? I dunno. Why do you get a twitch that won't go away? Potassium deficiency. I used to get eye twitches all the time before I figured it out."
] | [
"A buddy of mine says that when he is startled, sometimes there is a tingle in his penis. I wonder if this is caused by a rise in your heart beat, or something related? Edit: I don't jump out and scare my friend anymore."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What does a large snake do after it eats something very large, like a kangaroo or alligator? | [
"Snakes can still move with large meals in their stomach and will usually seek out a nice quiet place where the can lay in peace and digest. Because it does slow them down, they will want to avoid predators or a lot of movement. A big meal can be digested in a few days to a week or more and the snake may not eat ag... | [
"Who says we can't? Cover your eyes, zookeeper, I've eaten -- in real restaurants, not just some campsite -- alligator, snake, pigeon, quail, horse, octopus, squid, deer, bison, elk, rabbit. Not everything makes good eating. Generally, carnivorous birds are just not numerous enough to make a popular food, or they ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
; how is it that in 2019 we can be on the verge of curing HIV, but still have to suffer sometimes for months with influenza? | [
"Influenza is sorta a catchall for a massive range of bugs. These bugs are constantly changing finding new ways to spread as far and wide as possible. These little buggers are easy to stop, which is why we have a reasonably effective vaccine with the annual flu shot. However, because there is so many of them and th... | [
"the long term health risks, also have you ever been around someone on a cycle?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
if there are stars smaller than Jupiter, what determines whether something will become a star or a planet? | [
"Mass. The stars smaller than Jupiter are more massive, and denser, massive enough to actually start undergoing nuclear fusion. Jupiter just doesn't have the mass to do so."
] | [
"They fuse elements together until the core is too heavy. Think of fusion pushing out from the star, and gravity pulling the star together. Once the core gets too heavy the star collapses under its own weight and the remnants of that star are scattered into space. This has and dust can then coalesce and form other ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
When spacecrafts are in space, how can they speed up (if they is no oxygen, how can they use rockets fuel)? | [
"The rocket or rocket fuel will contain its own oxidizer if they even use an oxidation reaction. For example a common liquid fuel rocket design has a tank of liquid hydrogen which is burned by mixing it with a tank of liquid oxygen. Another method would be a solid chemical rocket that has a chemical composition tha... | [
"> Will astronauts free-floating in an orbiting space station eventually lose acceleration (velocity?) and slowly hit a wall? The astronauts are essentially in free fall along with the space station itself. This is disregarding factors like the station accelerating or internal air movement (someone really cranks th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment about Physics:"
} |
Why in movies do people breath in and out of a paper bag to calm themselves down? | [
"Breaking into a paper bag is a solution for someone who is hyperventilating. When you panic, one side effect can be a significant rise in breathing rate. If you breathe too rapidly you can remove *too much* CO2 from your bloodstream, which causes blood vessels to narrow and haemoglobin (the stuff that carries oxyg... | [
"> Are they able to close off their airways while they eat or do they have a separate process ? They close off their airway while they eat, much like how humans close our airway when we swallow. Get a cup of water, hold your breath, and take a drink while holding your breath. This is something you can do perfectly ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why aren't nootropics encouraged enough for research (and why is the government trying to ban it? Wouldn't nootropics accelerated society for growth and development?) | [
"> Why aren't nootropics encouraged enough for research There is research done on nootropics, and the research doesn't show that they work. Until there is some good reason to think that pouring money into researching a specific substance is likely to yield results it seems sort of a waste of time. > and why is the... | [
"Cancer is not a disease. Cancer is a symptom. There are many, many different kinds of cancer. The research and development of each cancer drug is very high (and testing has to be done for each type of cancer they want to use it for). The market size is effectively quite small because of how fragment cancer actuall... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
how does a propane refrigerator work? | [
"Ammonia is very soluble in cold water, but not very soluble in hot water. So heating the water (by burning the propane) expels ammonia from it at high pressure in one part of the system. Cooling the water back down (by a radiator) while it moves someplace else allows it to reabsorb low-pressure ammonia from a diff... | [
"the compressor (thing that makes the air cold) is powered by the engine. When the engine is off, the compressor cant work, and the air cant stay cold."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How much does it really matter where I buy my gas? Are “name brand” gas stations any different? | [
"Some \"name brand\" gas companies include fuel system cleaning additives, but you can buy an occasional bottle of fuel system cleaner at an auto parts store for pretty cheap, and it will do the same thing. Assuming that you use the correct octane level for your engine, fuel from just about any station should work ... | [
"High quality gas has detergents in it that can improve performance and engine lifespan. Low quality gas has poorer quality control and can lead to poor performance. Whether advertiser's claims match up to these, that's anyone's guess. But it is not impossible for one brand of gasoline to be better than another."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
If our atmosphere is blue when sun light hits it, why does the moon look white when it’s visible during the day and not blue? | [
"The moon is reflecting a lot of white light directly at you. The atmosphere between you and the moon is just as blue as other bits of sky, but this white light from the moon is also reaching you from that bit. The result is you have a lot of sky with no moon that looks blue, then a bit of sky *which also has the m... | [
"The moon can be seen because the light of the sun bounces off of it and travels to us. The amount of light bouncing off is sufficiently bright enough to be seen through the sky in the daytime. Why is the moon visible when the sun is up? It's all about relative angle. The moon is far enough away from us that even w... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does looking at a bright light cause a dark spot in your vision where you were looking? | [
"Imagine your eye's sensors are like a cymbal(the instrument). And when ever a specific light colour hits the correct cone cell in the eye the cymbal is hit a d a signal is sent. And then notice how the cymbal keeps ringing for a bit? It's the refractory period, its recovery, if you hit the cymbal lighter than befo... | [
"> What are these red dots? They are red blood cells zipping through the tiny capillaries on the surface of your retina. Usually our brains filter them out as noise but sometimes we can see them such as when our brains haven't adapted yet or when we trick it by looking into a featureless blue sky."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
Where does gravity even come from? | [
"Simple answer: nobody knows. We observe that gravity and mass are related, but nobody knows why they're related."
] | [
"Are you asking what caused the Big bang? No one knows."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how do flying insects change their direction while flying? | [
"With there wing. If you apply uneven force you turn. You can compare it to how you change direction when you swim. I physic a liquid and a gas is both a fluid with huge difference in viscosity. But how you can use the to move and control direction is quite similar. Propulsion and control of a ship and a aircraft ... | [
"The birds are stabilizing their vision while they walk. Basically the head is catching up with the body."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
When you see an oil refinery or something of the sorts. Why are they just burning off the excess into the air. Couldn't they use that fire to heat a boiler to make electricity?, | [
"For many plants what you're seeing being burned in the flare stack is hydrogen gas. It gets created as a byproduct in many chemical processes. In these processes it's hard or not economical for companies to capture/refine the hydrogen, and storing explosive gas is a bad idea. So the only option is to release it. B... | [
"Well there is. That is to say, we know how to make kinds of synthetic oil. The problem is, there's none of it lying around. And making it costs energy. Wich is exactly what we want to get from all that oil. There's a ton of energy in oil in an easy to transport shape. So, you'd have to make the artificial oil, whe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How does the golden ratio perfectly fit and work in the human body and plants? | [
"It doesn’t, really. The golden ratio’s appearance in nature has been greatly exaggerated. Humans are excellent at seeing patterns where none exist."
] | [
"Why is the Fibonacci sequence so special? Because it occurs in nature quite often. That's the real Q & A here, not the other way around. The sequence itself is not very mathematically useful (I think there's a way to check primes with Fibonacci?), but what's so special about it is that nature seems to like it, lik... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about mathematics:"
} |
Why does Europe have some better laws regarding health, education, social welfare than America? | [
"Europe has multiple, small nations with a handful of political parties all forming coalitions and blocs to help things go their way. This leads to more compromises, and more \"what works for the most folks?\" types of thinking. Since no one political entity can steer the entire EU \"their\" way, good ideas rise to... | [
"The money is used for other things such as education, healthcare, public transports etc.."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why does snot stay in your throat when you swallow it? | [
"It's sticky. Like glue. Evolved to stick to foreign agents in your nose, like dust and bacteria. Salt water dissolves it."
] | [
"Nope. It just runs down the back of your throat and you essentially swallow it. Ever have a bad cold and hack up \"phlegm\" from the back of your throat? Yeah, that's post-nasal drip."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why are we more susceptible to sicknesses and runny noses when we are cold? | [
"The cold has less to do with it than the fact that we tend to congregate together in rooms and buildings with little outside ventilation. In the Winter we're basically breathing in each other's germs for 4 months."
] | [
"People can and do catch the flu all year round. The reason winter is the peak season for the flu is debated, but it comes down to several major factors: * In winter, you will tend to spend more time indoors, in close proximity to others. This helps the spread of the virus. * Your immune system is already weakened ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about Medical:"
} |
Why can’t veterinarians work on humans? | [
"You know when iTunes, Facebook or your phone updates and how you know it's the same program as before but things have changed slightly and you are kind of lost. Well that's what it would be like going from animals to humans with the errors being death instead of frustration."
] | [
"I'm guessing that maybe some animals could use dental work but are extremely unlikely to make an appointment with the local dentist any time soon."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Dentistry:"
} |
we look at the sunlight to help us get a sneeze out, but why does it work? | [
"We're not really sure. We know that sneezing in general is caused by irritation in the nasal cavity, which causes nerve signals to propagate up through the *opthalmic* (of or relating to the eyes) and maxillary (relating to the upper jaw) section of the nerve that links to your face. Because of this proximity, the... | [
"Because when you're hot it's bad for you so when you go to the cool side it cools you down so it's better for you & feels good."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
how can wild animals go so long without tooth care and not get rotten teeth/gum diseases yet humans can't? | [
"Because they consume a fraction of the sugars we do, and their saliva is able to deal with the bacteria in their mouth because of it."
] | [
"salt water kills cells. you kill off more bacteria cells than your cells. your body will grow new cells to replace the dead ones. dead bacteria doesn't regrow."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Dentistry:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument about Dentistry:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
So what happens when every single star has died? | [
"The universe will not be dead. During the time, hundreds of trillions of years in the future when every star has collapsed, and every remnant of every star, such as pulsars, has decayed and the universe is too massive to allow for the creation of new stars, there will still be black holes, as well as stray particl... | [
"To confirm that you're ready. What if the game just started and something came along and killed your guy?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
in what way do anti depression pills change your Brain chemistry? | [
"So the most commonly prescribed kind of antidepressant is called an SSRI, or selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which helps with mood regulation (among a bunch of other stuff) and low levels are linked to depression. So when a neuron fires normally, it releases neurotransmitte... | [
"Because they mess with the levels of various chemicals in the brain(often dopamine), Messing with the balance of chemicals in the brain can lead to many strange behaviors. Nightmares are just one of them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Medicine:"
} |
If we saw (on the news) that Queen Elizabeth II was suddenly taking hula-hoop lessons, would the neurons that store everything we know about the Queen of England suddenly create a synaptic connection to the neurons that handle hula-hoop information? | [
"I think the Duke of Edinburgh is more into hula-hoops than the Queen, from what I read on The Onion."
] | [
"The leading hypothesis for the phenomenon you are talking about is this: repeated stimulation over a very short time of the tiny part in your brain's cortex where that word's memory is stored causes the few neurons involved in that memory to become 'exhausted' and you sorta temporary loose the memory of that word.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What do modern Chinese people think of Mao Zedong and why are there still statues of him throughout China? | [
"Deng Xiaoping, Mao's successor, described him as \"70% good, 30% bad.\" While some might view him as completely good or bad, most people on mainland China view it as some mix. His early actions are widely seen as heroic. The view is that without him, modern China wouldn't exist. However, most also recognize that h... | [
"China hasn't been communist for a very long time. We call it socialism with Chinese characteristics. A mixed market economy with enough room for both the government and the private sector. It's extraordinary, the sheer number of foreigners who think that China is communist because of the communist party. North Kor... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
The universe is “Infinite” and yet it’s “expanding”. How? | [
"Imaging an infinitely long ruler with divisions every 1cm. If you now stretch every point on this ruler so each division is 2cm you have caused an expansion but it still takes up the same amount of space, its length is still infinite. The universe is not expanding like a gas expands to fill a space, it is expand... | [
"e = mc^2, in other words matter is just concentrated energy But, space is also negative energy Because the matter and the space appeared simultaneously, nothing was created. Anyway, our present conception of whatever happened is necessarily an oversimplification, so if something doesn't seem to fit, don't be surpr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do thermometers in PCs for example work? | [
"They'll use either a thermistor or a thermocouple. A thermistor is a type of resistor (a circuit component that resists the flow of electricity) that has a resistance heavily dependent on the temperature. By running a known voltage through the thermistor and measuring the voltage at the other end (to get the volta... | [
"Follow up question, how do those little pressure areas on older AA batteries give a readout on the level??"
] | 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 Technology:"
} |
What technological advancements have occured for the 5G mobile network to be so much faster than it's predecessor? | [
"The max amount of data that can be transferred in a second increases as the frequency of the waves being used increases. 5G uses a significantly higher frequency than 4G, so can be faster. The downside is that around the radio and infrared spectra, increasing frequency also decreases the ability to penetrate objec... | [
"Computers weren't created all at once. It took baby steps and new technologies, like microtransitors, to be invented to progress them to where they are today."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the passage about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
When we run out of carbohydrates how does our organism decide whether to gather energy from protein or fat? | [
"It‘s regulated by how much and how quick you need that energy. It‘s easier to metabolize proteins than breaking down fat, but if you need the proteins because you do something physically exhausting the body will rather start metabolizing fat. Also important is how often you eat. As an example you did some sport, t... | [
"Body does priorities fat burning over muscle but in starvation mode your body will burn both muscles for protein and fat for energy, but mostly fat. That is one of the main reasons for holding body fat. The body will burn glucose first, once it runs out of glucose it will go for fatty acids, then amino acids for ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
- Why do our muscles "burn" when lifting? What causes that burning sensation? | [
"The short answer is, when you lift weights, the cells in your muscles are using a lot of energy. Usually they make this energy using the oxygen you breathe, but when there’s not enough available (for example, after strenuous activity like exercising) they resort to using a different method. This method still pro... | [
"There are two things that cause your muscles to ache. 1. Because the muscles have worked really hard, they tighten up 2. Because working out causes tiny microscopic tears in muscle fibres, the muscles get a little bit swollen The common, most well known treatment for achy muscles is heat, such as a hot bath. What... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is it when people are watching TV They feel so sleepy and then go straight to bed and feel wide awake? | [
"Blue light drains your eyes making them dry and tired. Also lots of times the brains wiring when it comes to going to bed is slightly off simply bc most people now play on their phone in bed or watch TV in bed making the brain think \"okay you're in bed still at least two hours of other things going on before slee... | [
"You can't fall asleep at night because you nap in the afternoon. Stop napping, as hard as it may be."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Sleep and boredom:"
} |
How is it possible that female athletes who train extensively don’t get their period? | [
"Main reason is those atheletes have such a low body fat percentage that their body shuts down a lot of the reproductive machinery. It's not worth trying to have a baby if you are in a starvation situation so if your body fat gets too low your body thinks food is scarce so stops trying to make little people."
] | [
"Actually it is. Lots of serious athletes have substantial wear-and-tear on their bodies. However, modern athletes have the ability to tune their workouts to minimize this, while when it's your job, you don't get to choose which activities to skip."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do animals, such as chameleons or some types of sea creatures, adjust their skin to blend in with their surroundings? | [
"If I remember right, there are cells that shrink or expand in reaction to various stimuli in the surroundings. These cells are filled with a type of pigment that reflects one type of light. When these cells shrink, less of that light is reflected. When they expand, more of that light is reflected. Cuttlefish are a... | [
"Bright colors in plants are to attract bees and insects for pollination. Bright colors in animals/insects make them easily spotted by predators, so these bright colored animals/insects die out - except for the very venomous/dangerous ones, i.e poison dart frog or those with low selective pressures, i.e birds where... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What causes a headache and what are we actually feeling when we feel our head ache? | [
"I've had a constant headache for 25 years. Took doctors 20 years to figure out muscles in my head, neck and shoulders are aggravating my nerves and making them inflamed. There's one answer :)"
] | [
"I get migraines and cluster headaches. First off there are different types and different causes. The type that makes you want to drill into your head is usually due to sinus pressure. it feels like something is pushing against your skull and opening a hole will release the pressure. Now, noone really wants to dril... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How do my solar power calculators that I never expose to direct sunlight work for so long. | [
"Artificial lights, such as florescent lights and incandescent bulbs, mimic the sun's spectrum. Therefore, the calculator doesn't know it is getting charged by artificial light and not natural."
] | [
"They dig a hole in the ground and install the equipment. You may want to find another way to ask that question if you want a more detailed answer. What cant something like this be done in Tokyo?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When videogames are in development for years on end and there's new generations of consoles, how the hell do they keep up with adjusting the quality and graphics? e.g : Kingdom Hearts 3, FF15, etc. Do those videogames just constantly rework their textures ? | [
"> do the devs just constantly rework or update the graphics of their game? No, they develop with the idea of what kind of graphics that will be possible in that time. When it comes to 3D models; they are made at the \"highest\" quality and then reworked to \"lower\" quality a game can support. You can do this your... | [
"Well thats actually something that has been happening a lot in the game industry recently. There have been quite a few remakes / remasters. This year alone we got a re-releases of the last of us, kingdom hearts 2 and 4 Halo games so it's a thing that is happening. I think though that you more asking why don't they... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about videogame development:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about videogame development:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How is air humidity measured and why is it measured in percent? | [
"Relative Humidity measures the amount of water vapor in the air as a percentage of the amount of water vapor that the air can hold. The amount of water vapor that the air can hold is strongly dependent on the temperature. So an absolute measure of water density is not very helpful. The percentage answers the ques... | [
"Stuffiness is usually associated with elevated humidity levels. In these cases, the air is actually heavier as humid air contains more water vapor. It is worth noting that as air temperature increases, it can hold more water vapor, which increases the stuffiness effect. For additional information on the properties... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
when shopping online at a store that has physical locations, why does it almost always not have the "closest store" correct? | [
"Because the website is looking at the address of your ISP, and the physical address for their hub is not normally in your backyard. It gets even worse when you are using mobile data, the last point in the chain of hubs between you and the store could be in another state."
] | [
"Most of the time they are not. Price shown is lower but when you are on the \"checkout\" page most of times there will be extra-fees. With these fees, your end price is higher than when booking the same flight directly from the airline. It's a trap."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How do animals with natural camouflage know the colors/patterns they have to adopt on each environment? | [
"If you camouflage well, you survive better and have more kids, and those kids will also inherit your good camouflage genes, and they will in turn survive better and have more kids. Conversely, if you don’t camouflage well, you die sooner and have fewer or no kids at all, and your bad camouflage genes don’t get pa... | [
"Chameleons change colour by altering the pigments in their skin via hormonal changes. Chameleons don't actually blend into whatever background you put them on. They change colour given what kind of mood they are in, and tend to find a background to fit it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
How do private prisons make a profit? | [
"They bill the government a whole bunch of money per prisoner and then do their damnest to do things as cheaply as possible. Shit food, shit pay for guards, barely functional housing. This is why \"Big Prison\" wants to keep simple things like weed illegal. Bust a pretty non-violent guy for weed, lock him up for 3 ... | [
"> ... should we worry about the future of privately owned prisons? I don't think you need to worry about the future, privately owned prisons are a concern **today**. Instead of working solely to rehabilitate inmates, the prison industrial complex is very involved in lobbying government to influence laws to the ben... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are silent letters a thing? | [
"Different silent letters are there for different reasons. Some are there because they didn't used to be silent. The K in knife and knight used to be pronounced, and the gh in knight used to be pronounced like the ch in loch or the h in Ahmed. In other cases, a silent letter was deliberately added to be more like t... | [
"Also, why are some people not ticklish at all?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
why does everyone want nuclear weapons when we know the devastating long lasting effects? | [
"The goal of war is to ~~win~~ kill the enemy with minimum risk to you. If you're a big, technologically advanced country, you can rely on superior numbers (big armies) or superior technology (carriers, guided missiles, satellite weapons) to achieve this. If you're a smaller country, you don't have the numbers to r... | [
"The tests have been conducted in mostly a select few, remote locations. You basically bombed what already was bombed. And most tests were conducted after the nations agreed to ban open air tests. Underwater and Underground tests create less fallout. Still the tests have indeed caused a lot of ecological damage, it... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How realistic is the phrase “that food went right through me”? In other words, when you eat really greasy food, does it actually go through your entire digestive system in under a half hour? | [
"no, there's really no way for this to happen. if something like that happened, then you got diarrhea and blamed it on that food but there's no way that food is out of your system so quickly. everyone is on a 12-48hr or so cycles. meaning what you poop out today is what you ate 12-48 hours ago."
] | [
"More than likely it's just the sheer amount of food that you're eating, not necessarily what it's composed of. You don't feel sluggish after eating broccoli and carrots because you aren't going to eat nearly as much. Your body just wants you to calm down for a bit while it works on digesting the giant pile of food... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How are we able to drink and eat upside down? | [
"There is musculature around the esophagus and GI system to push the food in the proper direction."
] | [
"Because it is hard to drink enough in one hour to wash the smell and taste of Corporate America off of you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the relief we feel after sneezing? | [
"Sneezing is good for you. Anything that is good for you is rewarded with a good sensation so you don't try to prevent it."
] | [
"How do you know that you don't sneeze in your sleep?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why aren't there many naturally occurring liquid substances on Earth? Does matter have a "preference" for being in a solid and gaseous state? | [
"It's largely a matter of temperature. Different substances change states at different temperatures. We are in the liquid water range, which is necessary for life as we know it."
] | [
"The molecules don't contract, it has to do with the ordered arrangement of the water molecules when water freezes that takes up a larger volume than when it is in its liquid phase."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Could humans alone affect the motion of the Earth whilst being on Earth? | [
"The short answer is yes, the long answer is \"not really\". Vsauce actually did a great video on this. Link bellow! _URL_0_"
] | [
"It is not possible. It is possible for the entire planet to be ice, and that has happened before. It is also possible for there to be no ice caps and for the poles to be rather temperate and that has also happened before, but due to the nature of the tilt of the Earth's Axis and the angle that the sun's light hit... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Climate science:"
} |
what is the point of sentencing someone to life + 100 years or more? | [
"\"Life\" doesn't mean \"Until the person dies\", and the length of a life sentence and it's terms and stipulations vary depending on the state and/or nation. Each of those sentences is for a different crime, and is charged as such to make sure that even if one of those crimes falls trough the person isn't going t... | [
"If they get a life sentence for one crime, and 14 years for another crime, their sentence is life plus 14 years. It wouldn't make sense to combine those penalties; then what happens if one of the sentences is overturned?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence about Law and Justice:"
} |
what does tax withholding mean? | [
"You get a paycheck from your job. They deduct a piece and pay that as taxes to the government. When taxes are due you get your total taxes owed. If they paid enough/too much (depends on your viewpoint) upfront you get money back. *Hooray* If they paid too little you have to pay taxes then. *BUMMER* *(my opinion)*... | [
"youre self employed. each country will generally have a limit on how much income you take in before you must declare taxes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
When a generator rotates it produces electricity, which is flow of electrons. From where is the generator getting unlimited source of electrons? | [
"It has to be a closed circuit so eletrons flow in a circle. Think of it as a bike chain where the pedal is the generator, the other gear is the load (device reciving power like a light bulb) and the bike chain are the electrons."
] | [
"The magnet has been imbued with energy in the manufacturing process. Electricity is passed through the metal aligning the atoms so that their poles (Pos, Neg) are pointing the same direction. The result is a magnetic field. If you measured the electrical output of the field over a the life of the magnet you would ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
the difference between heart failure, attack, and stopping | [
"Heart attack is a specific issue of blood being blocked to part of your heart. Heart failure is a more general issue when the heart is unable to pump enough blood through your body. It can be caused by a heart attack or any other issues. Depending on the degree of heart failure a patient might be functioning close... | [
"peoples blood pressure is lower when they first wake up. this makes them more sensitive to the cold."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What's with all the hate towards Nestle recently? | [
"They're objectively among the most evil corporations on the planet. Knowledge of what they've done--which includes, among other things, [deliberately socially engineering](_URL_0_) a market for baby formula over breastmilk in the third world, literally causing millions of babies to die from malnutrition, or the de... | [
"Am I out of the loop on something? Who hates Ringo?!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How and why does salt change the flavor of food so much? | [
"**Salt is** used **as** a universal **flavour** improver because at low concentrations it will reduce bitterness, but **increase** sweet, sour and umami, which **is** desirable for sweet recipes. But at higher concentrations it suppresses sweetness and enhances umami, which **is** good for savoury things. Source... | [
"Brown Sugar tends to add a distinct flavor to the foods its added to. White sugar simply dissolves more readily and affects the taste a little less. Both still sweeteners. I suggest trying both and seeing if there's a difference. Enjoy your coffee!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Food and cooking:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Food and cooking:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How the brain choose which memories to keep? | [
"Strongest path. Just like the paths that will last on a lawn are the ones most often used, and the most worn paths are the most likely to be used."
] | [
"The hippocampus is a brain structure that transfers information from short term memory to long term memory. People who have their hippocampus removed can no longer learn new things. During dreaming, your hippocampus is suppressed so that you will not form any long term memories of the dreams."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How does an automatic transmission work? I know how a manual (stick) works, but Autos ellude me. | [
"They shift gears like a manual, but use a torque converter instead of a clutch. The torque converter has hydraulic coupling between rotating halves to allow slippage between the input and output when at idle or changing gears. It also increases torque at low speed. The newer ones lock up at speed to avoid losing p... | [
"Because gears in a car's transmission take up way more space than gears on a bike, gears on a bike are actual gears that are different sizes while gears in a car's automatic or manual transmission are far more complex and each \"gear\" is comprised of several gears that convert the engine's power into power that c... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What happens when the cauterize veins for surgery? Does the person then have less blood flow to that area afterwards? | [
"The cauterized area is a wound that will heal and usually restore blood flow in some manner. It might not be the same path as before though."
] | [
"I believe it because the scar tissue that may have built up in the leg prevents the natural blood flow. as your get cold, blood vessels can constrict as well the body move blood to vitals to keep you alive. This may cause a pressure in your leg as the blood tries to move around the scar tissue in a timely manner."... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What is the difference between scotch, bourbon, and whiskey? | [
"Scotch and bourbon are whiskey. Scotch is whiskey made in Scotland. Bourbon is corn whiskey made in oak barrels. There’s other rules too but that’s basically it."
] | [
"Scotch whiskey is a type of whiskey that is made in Scotland (there's also Irish whiskey, bourbon like Jack Daniel's, Japanese whiskey like Suntory, and others). \"Scotch\" is just a shortened term for \"Scotch whiskey.\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When crying, where do tears come from? | [
"Tears enter the eye through ducts (small tubes) from the lacrimal glands. These glands are above your eye to the outside, under your eyelid. The glands don't \"hold on\" to water; they aren't like, for example, the bladder so they don't have an 'on/off' valve and they don't store any extra tears. Instead they are ... | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Health and wellness:"
} |
Why does liquid from plastic bottles taste worse than liquid from glass or can? | [
"I know a lot of people are sighting chemical reasons but there could be psychological ones too. In the book Blink they mention a study where scientists changed the logos and packaging of certain well know brands and found that people thought they tasted different. Stuff like sprite tasting more lemony because ther... | [
"Glass beer and wine bottles can be washed and re-used. Beer is stored in dark bottles because UV light can spoil the beer. It is more practical for soda companies to sell their product in cans because, not only are cans recyclable, soda is acidic. The CO2 tends to \"leak\" from a bottle much faster than a can, bec... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Assuming that official GDP figures are correct (big assumption), what is so bad about 6.2% GDP growth for China, which is well over 2x that of most developed countries? | [
"Markets don't like it when things change. Markets like to be able to predict what the future will be. China has been growing a lot faster than 6.2% for a long time. A quick drop to 6.2% is a huge change. It makes the market uneasy because it means there's something big happening."
] | [
"The entire GDP of Russia is about 2,000 Billion dollars (US). So...$50 billion investment is approximately 0.25% of that GDP - not a huge percentage, and it would be hard to defend the idea that it moved the needle compared to the decline in oil price since the energy sector accounts for more than 25% of that GDP.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do solids stay solid? | [
"Great topic! We are talking about intermolecular forces. Those are attractive forces that exist between molecules. These forces hold the molecules together when substances are liquid or solid. The strong intermolecular forces holds solid together, less strong ones are liquids, and gases mostly have broken these fo... | [
"If that was true, the bottom of the ocean would be nothing but salt. Things that are dissolved it water are different from things that are suspended in water."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why does punctuation go inside the quotation? | [
"/u/Laughatme13 is correct for American rules. Commas and periods go inside the quotes. Question marks and exclamation points go either inside or outside depending on if it's relevant to the original quote, e.g. put the question mark inside if the quote is a question. Finally, colons and semicolons go outside of th... | [
"Generally speaking, use a semicolon only where you would use a period. If a comma belongs there, a semicolon does not. Use a semicolon instead of a period if two sentences seem like they go together more so than usual. One example would be a sentence that shows one side of an argument coupled with another sentence... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Grammar:"
} |
What is the purpose of a USB killer? | [
"some people just want to watch the world burn. & #x200B; it's essentially taking a stun gun to the computer."
] | [
"They don't; you're thinking of a different kind of battery."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Does the human eye have a frame rate? | [
"The eye does not see in frames, because life does not come in frames. A frame is only a measurement of something that is created as a still image, and then played quickly enough to create the illusion of movement. Life does not happen like this, there is no \"frame\" of a moment of something in real life. & #x200... | [
"Persistance of vision because your eyes sense light not the lack of it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Electrical engineering:"
} |
What is real reason why the majority of Americans are struggling so hard to afford even the most basic human needs despite working 40+ hours a week? Why is there such a large gap between wages and the cost of living? | [
"Because every business is driven by profit , so they pay the least that they can legally .theres no incentive for companies to pay people livable wages , it just cuts their profit margin ."
] | [
"> How does raising min wage not hurt everyone else that is currently making more than min wage due to inflation? No, not at all. At the moment, greedy CEOs are making obscene salaries. The USA has the highest CEO to worker wage ratio in the world (it's 415 to one). While in countries like Japan and Germany, it's o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How do the "check to ensure you're not a robot" things actually work? what prevents computers from "clicking all pictures with a car"? I'm especially confused with the ones that dont require you to do anything except check the box. Does somebody have an explaination? | [
"It checks the way that the person clicks the button (path, speed, etc) to determine if the clicker is indeed a human"
] | [
"It doesn't generally have to \"click\". Your browser sends a message to the server saying \"I want to buy this\" and then does some other messaging to send payment info. A bot could do these things without a browser. A second option is to write scripts in your browser to do it. A webpage has a structure that a pro... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the answer about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Technology:"
} |
What are the cores and threads on a processor and why does it seem like more = better? | [
"In bare bare basic terms a core is like an office and a the threads workers. More cores more space for workers. Some processors are able to have 2 workers per office (hyperthreading Intel and multithreading amd). More workers more productivity. Although it is not always the case. And the new ryzen 3600 for 200 us ... | [
"Because core count isn't nearly as important as marketing would have you believe. Even the clock speed isn't a 100% reliable way to see which CPU is better. If you want to compare AMD and Intel CPUs in the same pricerange, google their benchmarks in various games. That'll give you a more accurate reading of how th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
. Why aren't women's clothing sizes labeled the same as men's in the U.S.? Ie size 6 instead of size 38" 60" 34" | [
"Vanity sizing is a really effective marketing strategy for women unfortunately because we are continually pitched that our value as people is tied to a number, preferably one that is small. For instance if I go into one store and I’m a size 10 but I go someplace else and I’m a size 8, which is my low self esteem r... | [
"It's all relative. The measurement under the bust is the band size. Cup size is a bit harder to figure out. The measurement around the largest part of the bust minus the band size measurement will give you the difference which you then translate to a letter. eg. 36 (bust) - 32 (band) = 4 A=1 B=2 C=3 D=4 DD= 5... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why are some bugs so determined to fly around your head even though you are literally trying to kill them. | [
"Bugs dont know youre trying to kill them. They fly around you because theyre attracted to the heat, moisture and smell of your body."
] | [
"There are a LOT of insects. Some are bound to get on on accident. You just don't notice all the ones outside, or even the ones that try to get in but fail"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Entomology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Entomology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why can't teeth repair and/or replace themselves just like skin does? What makes them not being able to, while being so vulnerable to eating sweets? | [
"Your skin is mainly made of living things. So it's soft, but can self repair. Your teeth are made mainly of minerals. So it's hard, hard enough to rip through skin and flesh, but there isn't really enough living things on the surface to repair much."
] | [
"The mouth heals so quickly because of 2 things. First, saliva is extremely full of antibacterial compounds and ezymes. The reason the bacteria that already live in our mouths don't cause a problem (even though they survive the saliva), is because they're not harmful to humans in the first place (unless you count m... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Health and Medicine:"
} |
Why isn’t every book advertised as a ”best seller”? And what’s the publisher’s criteria for choosing books that will be advertised as such? | [
"The New York Times is a news paper which publishes a list of the books that sold the most copies in the previous week. Any book that appears on this list of best selling books is a NYT Best-seller. If it appears on the first place in that list it is a #1 NYT best seller. If an author has previously written a book ... | [
"There is more than one New York Times bestseller list (the lists are split up into different genres/categories), so more than one book can be #1 at the same time, just not on the same list. Also, these lists are frequently updated (I believe weekly), but you get to claim the title forever. So a book may have been ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Belief can be manipulated. Only knowledge is dangerous.” ―Frank Herbert | [
"There is only one reality, regardless of what you believe. Nobody interprets reality perfectly. Belief defies reason, and sacrifices reality for comfort. This makes belief exploitable. Knowledge is more inline with reality, therefore less easily manipulated."
] | [
"One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic. -Josef Stalin"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does "bail" work in the USA? | [
"> Ray Diaz got prisoned for sexual assault No, he wasn't. He was **arrested and charged** with sexual assault. This is just the first step in the criminal justice process. He will eventually go to trial, where his lawyer and the prosecution lawyer will argue about the evidence against him in front of a **judge and... | [
"There is no such thing as guilt by association in the USA."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Law and Entertainment:"
} |
How does freezing your body/head work? Do your cells get frozen while alive? What is it for? | [
"The principle is that they do get frozen alive to be thawed at some other point in time when you could be brought back to life, however as far as I know it does not work since cells break down from the extreme temperatures. Cryogenetics it is called I think."
] | [
"Defrosted? Are you talking about hypothermia or being frozen? In the case of hypothermia a person can be revived from a pretty low temperature with varying odds of success. It gets difficult the lower you go because in general the biochemical process to make your cells and organs function only work efficiently (or... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why are “poetic” contractions such as (th’), (an’), and (o’) used, considering they’re not exactly easier to say nor write? | [
"Mostly to adjust the rhythm of the words, for example removing a syllable from the line."
] | [
"\"Insofar\" and \"inasmuch\" are early contractions of common phrases used in 16-17th century English. This phenomenon of compound words can be found in all Germanic languages (and incidentally, it's much more common in German) but there are several other examples I can think of off the top of my head: \"neverthel... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why nuclear explosions are so devastatingly destructive | [
"There's of course the radiation side of things to consider, but really, the main reason they're so effective is because they're so darn *powerful*. Splitting or combining atoms (which the most powerful nukes do both of) releases an awful lot of energy. The most powerful recorded nuclear test, the Soviet [Tsar Bom... | [
"Conventional weapons - if powerful enough - do create mushroom clouds as well. They're also visible around natural events, like volcanic eruptions."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why is it illegal for brands to sell less than 20 cigarettes a pack? | [
"Because smaller 10 packs were cheaper and so more accessible to underage or casual smokers they were banned."
] | [
"It's a convenient way for companies to make their products look healthier than they are. Why say a 20oz cola is 280 calories when you can split it into two servings and put a big ol 140 calories on the label."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How is an electromagnetic wave created and how does it propagate differently than mechanical waves? | [
"An accelerating charged particle is just a charged particle which has a changing velocity. An example would be a particle oscillating along one axis, which travels back and forth and thus has changing velocity - acceleration. Electromagnetic waves are *self-propagating* and does not require a medium to travel thro... | [
"No, they are radio waves. Sound waves are matter moving and compressing, just like a physical water wave. Light, radio waves, and the like, are electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Do animals have inner voices? | [
"Impossible to concretely discern but Iwould venture they have a form of it. Bear with me here. It's been shown in humans that the broader your vocabulary, the more capacity you have for complex thoughts. The idea here is that if you have a term for a concept, you have at least a basic underatanding of it. So lingu... | [
"Possibly because other animals don't have language or the cognitive processes associated with it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why couldn't a currency-less world where you barter for everything ever work? | [
"\"I need shoes.\" \" Ok what do you have to swap for them?\" \"Umm I can paint, work the cash register, clean. Or do you want a TV?\" \"Nah I don't need any of that stuff\" \"Oh\" It would be far too complicated and difficult"
] | [
"money is not arbitrary, it is the memory of services rendered in the past which has not yet been repaid. If they want to forgive that debt... sure. but they would never do so voluntarily. China has been exploiting its population to create a huge treasury, they arent going to willingly give that up. So assuming you... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
If we've discovered recently that modern humans are actually a mix of Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis and Homo Sapiens Sapiens DNA, why haven't we created a new classification for ourselves? | [
"Two subspecies that don't fully diverge into new species generally won't get a separate name if they then create a hybrid. Look to man's best friend: all dogs are *Canis Lupus Familiaris*, and a hybrid with the original *Canis Lupus* (a wolf) doesn't get a new third designation, it's either mostly wolf or mostly d... | [
"Homo Sapiens is what species we are. Homo Sapiens Sapiens is a subspecies - it's used to mean \"anatomically modern Homo sapiens\", ie people who's bodies look like ours. The subspecies H. Sapiens Sapiens, ie us, differentiates us from H. Sapiens Idaltu, arguably our direct ancestor. Note that in this hierarchy,... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does the carbonated foam from beer stay around so long but, the carbonated foam from soda is gone in an instant? | [
"there's a protein, which is a kind of molecule that makes up plants and animals, in the plant called barley that is used to make beer. this protein doesn't like water. it will grab carbon dioxide to try to keep itself away from water. there is a lot of carbon dioxide in beer; it's what makes the bubbles. this proc... | [
"It does. However, due to the different chemicals present in soda vs carbonated water, the bubbles that carbonated water produces are larger, thus they pop more easily. Soft drinks produce tiny bubbles, which take longer to pop and thus a foam is produced. Nonetheless, if you shake a bottle of carbonated water and ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
if Portuguese man of war are made up of multiple organism, how do they reproduce? | [
"They're not really fully specialized multicellular organisms like us, but they're not really fully free-living colonial organisms like algae either. The man-o-war occupies a bizzare evolutionary half-step where the cells are related and have a minor degree of specialization, but they are not yet truly linked toget... | [
"Yes, pollen is edible. A lot of health food stores sell it as a supplement. Yes, there is usually some pollen in honey. But, though pollen is a reproductive cell, it is rather far from semen. No: they lack a central nervous system. They can do things like turn towards light, but they can't process information on a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
how does a cut finger get resewn back on with full functionality? | [
"Using microsurgery. The surgeon uses very fine sutures to reattach nerves and blood vessels. For the surgery to be fully successful, the detached part of the finger must be kept cool an surgery must take place as soon as possible."
] | [
"If you chop a chunk of your finger there is no way your body regenerates a new fingertip. If you get a small cut then skin Bridges itself and starts to reproduce as always \"pushing\" any damage out. For a deep cut or a chopped limb the body just produces an ugly fiber which closes the wound in the shortest way po... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Medicine:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Medicine:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment about Biology:"
} |
why is morning sunlight “softer” than afternoon light even uf the sun is at the same angle in sky? | [
"Most simply put, no matter where you are, the air is likely to be cooler in be morning; meaning that the light, which doesn’t change, travels through a more densely packed atoms that filter or scatter the higher red frequencies of light. In the afternoon, evening, when the air is warmed up, there is more space tha... | [
"At mid day sunlight is coming from nearly directly above you, and goes through approximately 2 miles (4km) of atmosphere (air), as the photons - light particles from the sun hit air molecules like ozone and water, they absorb some of the radiation or energy of the sun light and also scatter some of them away from ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:"
} |
How does skin tan? Why is it so dangerous without proper sunscreen? | [
"When UV rays hit our skin, our cells produce a chemical called melanin. The melanin darkens the skin which protects from the dangerous UV rays. Without the proper sunscreen however, the skin may not produce enough melanin fast enough to protect itself and you'll get burned."
] | [
"Your genitals have more melanin, which protects against UV radiation. A long time ago, humans and their ancestors didn't wear clothes, so such sensitive parts did need more protection against the sun."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Songs Translated from English - Translate Words or Meanings? | [
"Usually the overall meaning will be kept but the words will change so they rhyme. As in 99 red balloons."
] | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What are the differences in the degrees of murder? | [
"1st degree means you planned ahead. You intended to kill this person, planned it out, and did it. 2nd degree means you didn't plan ahead, but you did intend to inflict serious harm or even kill the person. Typically denoted as a crime of passion when someone makes you so emotionally unstable that you kill them. Th... | [
"It has a few different meanings in different contexts. What setting are we talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about finance:"
} |
How can an insurance company deny a surgery/medication/etc? | [
"The healthcare contract doesn't say \"cover all medical expenses\". Some used to say things closer to that, but ObamaCare eliminated these \"Cadillac Policies\" as unfair and an obstacle to having minimal healthcare for all. You need to read the fine print. One piece of fine print that varies quite a bit is the p... | [
"Liability. The drug tests are to prove that the patient is actually taking the prescribed drug and not selling it, especially if it's a narcotic. If the patient is accused of selling their prescription narcotics, and the doctor has blood test results that support that accusation, the doctor can be charged with a ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How viagra works as an erectile dysfunction medicine and also to help with high blood pressure? | [
"The reason you don't have a boner all day every day is because the blood vessels are all constricted and blood can't get in. Viagra makes these vessels relax and open up, and blood goes in. This also lowers your blood pressure in your arteries because the arteries also relax and open up, and stop squeezing so hard... | [
"No offense, but your doctors there to field such questions. Your health matters, ask every question you can ask your doctor! It takes time to build up body levels of the active ingredients in your drugs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How do you store medicine properly when it's hot?. | [
"The perfect choice would be a small fridge that you can set to 15 to 20°C. Wine fridges can do that I believe. But realistically there isn't much you can do. Buying an AC would be so expensive that it'd be 10 times cheaper to just get new meds should they really break down. You can put them in a cold room. Maybe p... | [
"Why do I feel as though my bottles of water don't do this but instead just freeze normally in the freezer?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
what causes the phenomenon of ‘speed wobbles’ ? | [
"When the front wheel, which in motion wants to go in a straight line, hits a deviation in the road and changes direction from the direction of travel it will try and oscillate to find a straight line.... Often times it will over osscilate and try and correct back the other way which will cause a cascading series o... | [
"Because the heat causes your blood vessels to dilate, resulting in a drop in blood pressure, which leads to dizziness and nausea."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
does friction lead to entropy? | [
"In a tiny way sure, just like everything does to some degree. Friction causes heat, heat radiates out to somewhere else, which then transfers a little bit beyond that next medium. And so ad infinitum"
] | [
"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 post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do refrigerated canned beverages feel colder once you shake them? | [
"Well, one reason could be that you warm the liquid directly adjacent to your hand, then when you shake it you mix the liquid to expose different liquid to the surface you are heating. Just like how you flip the pillow to get the cold side. The pillow isn't any cooler, you're just now touching a cooler part of it. ... | [
"The ketchup at a restaurant is likely fresher than the ketchup you have at home, because they refill those bottles quite frequently. Also, restaurant ketchup is kept at room temperature. The flavor of ketchup goes bad in the refrigerator. You can test this by making some fries at home and comparing the taste of a ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
why do women have periods for 3-7 days, why can’t it just all bleed out at once? | [
"Period is uterine lining being disposed of from the body (this is not exactly blood). The purpose of the uterine lining is used to grow a baby in the womb. When the egg is released monthly and and not fertilized, the body gets rid of everything it would have been using to grow a baby. It’s not possible for it to h... | [
"Because Men also have fully functional mammary glands. give a man a few shots of prolactin, which is a hormone that pregnant women make so they can start nursing, and put some breast pumps on him, and a man will eventually begin lactating like a woman. it will probably be at least somewhat painful, though."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What's the phenomenon when reading subtitles helps us make out words from white noise? | [
"Your brain is really good at taking in information from everywhere it can to solve problems. We think of sensation and perception being as simple as detecting information that is available, but there's a ton of processing involved, and none of the processing happens 100% separately from the other senses. You sense... | [
"I think part of it is that it makes the brain work harder since we only hear one side of the conversation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What actually is a game engine, and how do they differ from one another? (e.g. Unreal Engine vs Cryengine) | [
"Think of the game engine like a medium, or a canvas, a computer world where the laws of physics have been made, but it's completely, or very nearly, empty. Even though it's called an engine, it's all just computer programming. Once you have your engine, the game developer then comes in to create the world within t... | [
"DirectX does have a competitor, called OpenGL. It's used on the PS3, as well as OSX, Linux, and Windows. It has it's pros and cons vs. DirectX. (Most notably, DirectX only works on Windows and Xbox.) Some examples of OpenGL games include Quake, Angry Birds, Amnesia, Minecraft, Unreal Tournament, KOTOR, and the Mac... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.