query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
How do animals in the wild know what’s safe to eat? | [
"Some level of smell/taste (bitter for humans, for example, tends to be toxic) is in play, and probably some instinct, however many, say, dogs do occasionally eat very toxic organisms that either kill them or seriously make them ill. How much that happens in the wild is difficult to measure, but there are plenty of... | [
"What they eat, how active they are, where they live and millions of other factors go into the texture and taste of meat."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How do self cleaning ovens work? | [
"The self cleaning function heats the oven up really hot, usually around 470c. This causes any soil/debris/gunk to decompose into ash. This ash can be easily removed."
] | [
"Do you know how a fan works? If so just turn it around"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What’s the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized loans? | [
"A subsidized loan means the government pays the interest that your loan accumulates while you're still in school. With an unsubsidized loan, you're still on the hook for it."
] | [
"If you want to get coverage for 2016, the exchange should be open til December 10. The cost of coverage really depends on how much subsidies you're eligible for."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is car insurance cost calculated? | [
"I believe they look at the odds of paying out for certain characteristics, like age, sex, location, car type and what the average the claims cost the company and then they charge so that they make a profit after claims are paid."
] | [
"That's exactly how car insurance works. Can you clarify your question?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why does the moon have so many craters and the Earth doesn't? | [
"Two reasons: First, the earth's atmosphere burns up many small objects that would otherwise impact it. Since the moon has no atmosphere, everything on a path to hit it will impact the surface. Second, on earth craters will eventually be eroded by wind, water, or tectonic activity. The moon has none of those things... | [
"a day is how long it takes to spin in one spot. a year is how long it takes to go in a circle around a star if the planet takes longer to spin than it does to circle around its star, then it's day is longer than its year"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What causes those random, short, stabbing pains you feel sometimes? | [
"Compression injury of a nerve can cause these. Like if you're sitting in a certain position that squeezes the surrounding tissue of a nerve over a period of time. The part of you that's getting pinched will swell up later and put pressure back on the nerve."
] | [
"My least favourite random pain is a Precordial Catch. Such a sharp and unnecessarily intense pain for something so benign. (If you've ever gotten a very sharp, sudden pain in your chest that hurts more as you breathe and lasts a few seconds/ minutes, that's what that is)."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How can our eyelids stay open when we die? | [
"I'll answer your question with a different question: why would they close? Closing your eyes takes effort."
] | [
"There are a lot of nerves in our faces. Stimulating these nerves helps to keep you awake. This is why you see babies doing this a lot when they are tired and don't want to go to sleep yet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What’s the difference between highside and lowside in electrical functions? | [
"In DC systems, high side is connected to the positive side of the supply, low side to the negative. Typically, the negative side of a single-side supply will be the common ground, which gives high-side and low-side switches distinct advantages. A high-side switch will disconnect the positive supply, leaving the su... | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What is that electric shock that you get when you hit your elbow on a specific spot ? | [
"You have nerves running down your arm. When you hit your elbow just right, that force presses on the nerve causing it to send a bunch of signals to the brain. Normally, the nerve carries sensory information from your arm, so the burst of signals are interpreted in your brain as a wide variety of intense senses, ca... | [
"It also has to do with the nerves in that area. If you shake your hand when it gets hurt it activates the nerves in the hands and your brain can’t really differentiate between pain and the shaking sensation. Same reason we press on an injury like if you stub your toe or hit the side of a table with your hip."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does insurance not cover some medications? Isn't that what we pay them for? | [
"Imagine you invite your friend to a restaurant and say, \"I'll pay for one of your drinks!\" Then she comes back with [this monstrosity](_URL_0_). Most people would agree you would be right to refuse to pay for it. In a similar way, when insurance agrees to pay for medical care, that doesn't mean you can do whatev... | [
"I live in Canada and we have single payer health care. So it's a real world example of what health care looks like with a single payer: * Every Canadian citizen has access to health care. Full stop. It doesn't matter if you have a heart defect, cancer, or some \"pre-existing condition\". Everyone has coverage. * N... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
what causes/are the bits of skin that I have that just stays white and doesn't tan at all | [
"Probably a genetic skin defect. I have a genetic skin defect which causes white spots about the size of freckles that do not tan. A dermatologist looked at them and determined they were caused by a common genetic defect."
] | [
"Right below my nail, there is skin that will peel, it's no the cuticle but the skin below that, I have no idea why but I've always had it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why do humans flinch to specific noises like certain whistles or anything on a high frequency? | [
"Sudden loud noises can be an indication of something dangerous, high frequency noises can also damage your ears, so people tend to try to protect themselves from that. People also have wildly different tolerences for pain, so a high frequency noise to one may be an ear-bleeding noise to another."
] | [
"A doorbell makes a high-pitched, alarming sound. A dog reacts to that. Same goes for a whistle, a car horn, police siren etc."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What would a 4 dimensional object look like? | [
"Ugh, unfortunately theres no way to effectively explain it like you're 5. YouTube has some pretty good examples but even those are only guesses."
] | [
"How do you even take a picture of the center of a tornado?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
My physics teacher told us that transverse waves travel at right angles. What does that mean | [
"It just means that if (lets use compass points for this) the wave is traveling from South to North, then that direction of travel is perpendicular \"_|_\" to that direction. In the same way that an ocean wave moves (propagates) in a given direction across the ocean, the rise and fall of the wave itself is vertical... | [
"No, motion propagates at the speed of sound in an object. (I'll explain why in a minute, for now take it for granted.) Since the speed of sound is always lower than the speed of light, what you described will never happen. This means that if I took a rod and spun it around, the end of the rod will take time after... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
If you are you because you got half your DNA from each of your parents, why are older/younger siblings not physical carbon copies of each other? | [
"The half I get from one parent (say my mother), is not equal to the half my siblings got from my mother. Say my mother has {a,b,c,d} I could have gotten {a,b} from her, while my sister got {a,c}, and my brother got {b,d}. similarly for genes from my father, and you get completely different genomes for all of us."
... | [
"They are cousins, but because their parents have identical DNA, genetically they might be regarded as siblings, because any variation that one couple can make, could be made by the other couple. But they are legally, and factually cousins. Edit: this only applies for identical twins marrying identical twins offcou... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about biology:",
"pos": "Represent the post about biology:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why does fire always look disconnected from its source? | [
"This is because if the fire is being burnt off of wood, the wood is breaking down into a gas, which then fire will burn off of the gas coming off the wood a few millimeters off the wood. The burning of the wood itself creates embers which is the actual burning of the physical element of the wood."
] | [
"The flames are made of the combusting material. As the molecules heat up they glow and rise into the air, creating the look of the flame."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
why has a standard shower controls never caught on? | [
"Because people like different designs. Same reason a standard door handle, blind, window style, or anything else haven't caught on. There's definitely common ones in all of these categories and a few major types but again, whether you want a single control or separate knobs for hot or cold is a cost, installation,... | [
"Is short, maintenance. There were hoses to fill them, there were pumps to drain them, there were temperature control pads...also the weight and possibly of leaks. Many apartment building wouldn't even allow them. It was all a bit to much to overcome the novelty of the beds."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is a space rocket's weight supported while on the launch pad? | [
"Any rocket can support it's own weight many times over by design. The reason is that on the pad, only gravity is affecting the rocket, but once launched, the acceleration will typically be 10 to 20 times bigger than gravity. So if a rocket can handle the launch, than it can handle being on the pad without support... | [
"The moon's gravity is much weaker than the earth's, and there's no atmosphere to offer up any resistance, so they didn't need as much thrust to escape the moon's gravity well. Considering that, the lunar lander was designed to launch from the moon using its landing gear as its platform. once it was in orbit, the l... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What happens in our brains when we cry? | [
"I'm fairly sure crying is just a symptom of intense emotion. It's not just tears but your sinuses in general that start overproducing."
] | [
"Mirror neurons? The same reason happy movies make us happy, and the same reason we are more likely to yawn when we see others yawn, or feel sad when we see others cry. We empathize with the characters in horror movies."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
- Is there any truth to the expression, “Beer before liquor, never been sicker, liquor before beer, you’re in the clear”? | [
"If you drink beer before liquor, you are gradually ramping yourself up to an unknown BAC, therefore when you take shots, they hit you exponentially harder which could lead to getting drunker quicker. However, if you drink liquor first, you will ramp up exponentially from a 0% BAC to a possible tipsy or drunken sta... | [
"Different kinds of HARD alcohol aren't bad to mix (e.g. Tequila + Vodka is indeed going to the same place, and it doesn't matter.) The issue comes about when you mix \"soft\" alcohol like beer, wine, or champagne with hard alcohol like vodka, tequila, or gin. Ever heard the expression \"beer before liquor, never b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
When using sign language - is there a way to indicate you are just making a gesture as opposed to signing? Or is it just obvious? | [
"As you said. It is obvious. Its much like if someone who actually speaks saying one or two words that dont relate to something. You wouldnt assume they are actually trying to form a sentence ."
] | [
"When I make that gesture there is no sound associated with it. Are you referring to the people who click their tongue when they make this gesture? Or something else?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Clinical depression vs depression vs Major depression disorder what is difference? | [
"Clinical depression and Major Depressive Disorder are different ways to say the same thing. Both are defined by the crieria in the DSM-5. MDD is the formal name whereas clinical depression is the informal name. Depression just refers to an emotional state. You can be depressed without having a mental illness (like... | [
"Neither Down Syndrome or Autism are mental illnesses. Could you clarify what you mean by this question? Do you mean disorders such as Down Syndrome or Autism, or mental illnesses, more along the lines of depression or schizophrenia?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why can’t you open a plane door mid flight? | [
"Except that airplane doors open *inward* you have it correct. The pressure is much much greater inside the plane so the force required to overcome the internal pressure is simply too great. The pressure inside is what keeps the door closed."
] | [
"It's so you don't need to take it out of your handbag every time you want to do something."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why does crying make your nose run? | [
"when you cry your tears come out of the tear glands and also drain through the tear ducts that empty through your nasal passage. it makes the mucus in your nose more liquid and thus making it run. everything in that region is all connected."
] | [
"You have these pouches in your eyes called the tear ducts and they are used to lubricate your eyes all the time, not just when you cry When some people yawn, they squeeze their eyes, pushing the tears out of the tear ducts. Edit: my mistake"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Biology:"
} |
How do shows produced by streaming services like Netflix and Hulu make money? How does viewer count come into play? | [
"Subscription services, be it Netflix or or your mobile phone, or Ball Fondlers monthly all care about the exact same two things: (1) Getting new customers, and (2) Keeping the ones you have Getting new customers you need a reason for them to subscribe. Maybe its a new show, maybe its good service, maybe its some... | [
"Studios that sell content to Netflix want to maximize their profit. Because of copyright laws and agreements, Netlflix can negotiate with each studio to acquire specific streaming rights and agreements in each territory. Often, certain countries control territorial rights to content. So American networks can't sel... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can you make a brand new internet, like it would be completely empty with no data, no website no anything? | [
"Yes. And you'll have to keep it from connecting to current internet. Otherwise it'll just be part of the current internet. You'd have to get people to rerun millions of miles of cabling independently of all current connections. Not very cost effective"
] | [
"Have you ever logged in on the same account on any site that can have tracking cookies on both devices? It might be in the past and because of cookies the add server still know that you are the same individual."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does gum have calories if we don’t actually eat it? | [
"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."
] | [
"There's a lot of sugar in the gum itself that is dissolved in your saliva which you eventually swallow, yes. Fun experiment: weigh your gum before you chew and after you spit it out. You'll find that it's about half pure sugar."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why do our fingers naturally curl up at rest? | [
"You have muscles to extend them and muscles to retract them into a fist, when not doing either intentionally those muscles meet in the middle."
] | [
"EIL5: Why can't I stop sitting with my legs crossed, even though it hurts my knees, and why does it hurt my knees?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why doesnt the fire of a light lighter not go back in the lighter? | [
"To ignite, fire needs a mix of oxygen and fuel. The lighter works because the fuel is sprayed and mixed into the air, giving the right combination to keep the flame lit. However, the tube connecting to tank of the lighter to the outlet doesn't have oxygen and thus won't combust."
] | [
"because the flame isnt hot enough, so it's basically just spitting the gas residue onto the snow."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When you have a small chunk of skin removed, say you cut your fingertip off, how does the body know how much skin to replace to get it looking like it did before the injury? | [
"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... | [
"Because, typically, burns are just bigger and there's more damage to heal. For example: If you cut yourself while chopping up something for dinner, your body has that one line to, more or less, knit back together. But, if you accidentally put your had down on a hot stove, your entire palm plus multiple layers of s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Many of the Japanese anime are adapted from light novels or manga. Why is there so few Western cartoons adapted from books? | [
"1. Manga are already cartoons/illustrations. And the USA has had lots of animated superhero shows based on comic book stories & characters. 2. In the USA, animators like Dreamworks and Disney are given a lot of creative freedom to create original work, which takes particular advantage of the animation medium."
] | [
"Well popular is not equal to not childish. In Asia anime is also viewed as childish. It is popular, but still viewed childish. In the west, the major difference isn't if people think anime is mature. The difference is simply that Japanese anime aren't very popular in the west."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Entertainment:"
} |
How was 16-bit music created on different consoles? | [
"For those of us in the United States, the “Megadrive” is what the rest of the world (except South Korea, where it's the “Super Aladdin Boy”) calls Sega's “Genesis” console. Carry on."
] | [
"Emulation takes a lot of processing power (you need a very powerful processor to emulate a much weaker processor). As far as I know, computers are still not powerful enough to emulate the PS3 or Xbox360 properly."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Technology:"
} |
Sometimes I get a sudden really loud high pitched ringing in one ear, (can be any one) that fades away quickly. What is it and why does it happen? | [
"sounds are electrical impulses interpreted by your brain, and sometimes the tiny hairs deep inside your ear canal responsible for sending impulses get tripped (from air pressure changes, for example, which your inner ear is particularly sensitive to) resulting in neurological 'feedback.' sometimes this feedback la... | [
"I get these too. Anyone saying that this could be some underlying condition just doesn't properly understand. For me, it's not like it's associated with anything in particular. I can't say that the pain is my muscle or my bone. It just hurts really bad for a couple of seconds and then it's gone, just like you des... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What happens to the cells of meat when they are cooked? are they still the same or totally different? Like If I take a piece of paper and burn it, does the makeup of paper before it was burned transformed into carbon by the fire? Thanks | [
"Meat is mostly muscle fibers. Heating them up slowly will cause the fibers to contract and firm up. This contraction will also squeeze moisture out. This is why meat that has cooked for a long time tends to be dry and tough. Some cuts of meat also have a lot of fat and connective tissue. These will break down unde... | [
"There are differences between certain actions (or you might call them \"reactions\"). For instance with a cake, you might mix egg and flour, and whatever other ingredients, together. This is what's called a *physical* reaction - one that can be reversed. It would be a pain in the arse to reverse it, but technicall... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do heatwaves cause massive power outages? | [
"Air conditioning draws a lot of power. The grid stability is challenged, and once one part starts to fail e.g. brownouts, all the loads kicking back on at once when re-connected causes bigger disturbances. This is mitigated by having more capacity within the grid, and the ability to load follow (add electricity as... | [
"Prolonged hot conditions without rain means a whole lot of very dry vegetation, which is fuel for the fire. Hot weather also causes thunderstorms, and lightning is a major cause of wildfires."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How do Height Increasing Powders work? | [
"Oh, this is an easy question. They don't. Unless they contain Human Growth Hormone (which is generally available only by prescription), anything that promises to increase your height is a scam."
] | [
"Can someone explain the difference between Dementia and Alzheimer's, please?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can the price of food, school, cars, and consumer goods in general outpace inflation? Isn't that the definition of inflation? | [
"Rising prices can't outpace inflation, because they \\*are\\*, as you say, inflation. They can outpace the purchasing power of a dollar (or whatever monetary unit.) They can outpace income, or specifically the minimum wage, which is often a topic of discussion. People often use the word 'inflation' to mean 'the wh... | [
"Inflation is or can be a symptom of an increase in the money supply. Hence inflation. You can also think of the number of dollars it takes to buy something \"inflating\"."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
The U.S. debt ceiling, how it can just be raised willy nilly and how if it's not, what would happen? | [
"The US Debt Ceiling is one of the dumber (which is saying something) aspects of the US Government's Finances. Basically, the US is the only country in the developed world that places a limitation on how much money its government can borrow. In any other country the government borrows as much as it needs to pay its... | [
"That's pretty much correct. Democrats are upset that so much spending is being cut, particularly because in the past, the debt limit has been raised over 100 times without cuts attached to it. Some Republicans didn't want to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances. They simply do not understand macroeconomi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What's the difference between sorting by best and sorting by hot? | [
"Hot means they’re very active right now; best means they’re highly upvoted. Controversial means they’re highly up AND downvoted. And New means they’ve recently arrived."
] | [
"When sorting posts by 'hot' time is taken into account when ranking them. To see the posts with the most upvotes independent of time sort by 'top'. To more directly answer your question they slowly drop down as the time factor in the equation of their rankings increases."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How does aloe vera gel help heal sunburns? | [
"There's a compound in the clear gel of the liquid that has been shown to reduce the healing time of burns, as well as open wounds, and has antibacterial, fungal, and viral properties when applied to the area. These are from compounds that help the plant to heal itself after damage, also work on human skin. It has ... | [
"To kill the bacteria on your skin and prevent infection from the little nicks you may get. It also eases razor burn."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why is it when skin is wet, it makes dry skin conditions like eczema worse than if the skin was dry? | [
"Skin conditions like eczema are not the result of dry skin. They are an auto immune disease where your body is literally attacking itself. This can be aggravated by various things. Being too dry, being too wet, getting too much sunlight, being exposed to various chemicals such as chlorine from a pool, etc. Additi... | [
"When it's very cold out it is also very dry. The lack of humidity dries your hands and makes you skin feel tighter. When you get hurt this causes swelling, which combined with your tight dry skin causes you to feel a stronger throbbing sensation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
what is the difference between white meat and dark meat in a chicken? | [
"Breast is white because the fuel for these muscle fibers comes primarily from a carbohydrate called glycogen and doesn’t require as much oxygen from the blood. Glycogen is useful for short bursts of activity. Dark meat get their fuel primarily from fat, which provides a more sustainable energy (for the prolonged a... | [
"Related question: What color is human meat when it is cooked? Edit: cooked in the same manner as pork or beef or chicken or whatever"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why Nipples are sometimes erect and sometimes not | [
"The nerves in the nipple react to stimuli, both physical and psychological. So an arousing thought, change in temperature, or something as simple as the fabric of your shirt brushing against your skin can cause one or both of your nipples to become erect."
] | [
"Breasts are covered up because they are provocative. Breasts are provocative because they are covered up."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
why is turbulence no big deal for an aircraft the vast majority of the time, even though it feels like a big deal inside of the plane? | [
"Planes are designed with a substantial safety factor, where its wings can hold some multiple of its normal weight. Normally, we experience one gee of acceleration due to gravity, so planes are designed to withstand 5,6,7 gees in order to cope with turbulence and other unexpected phenomena. Not only this, but we as... | [
"Look at it like this. When a plane is off the ground, it's a plane. When it's on the ground rolling around, it's essentially a car. Given the extremely short duration of earthquakes, and the short amount of time planes spend in transitional flight, or even taxiing, it's like to not come up too often. When it do... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does our body temporarily cease managing its own temperature when we enter REM sleep? Why leave it up to the environment? | [
"The way I read it, it is the other way around: it's not that REM sleep turns thermal regulation off, it's that sleeping where we don't have to worry about thermal regulation (or predators) enables REM sleep. REM sleep is the effect, not the cause. REM sleep only occurs when we sleep in a warm-enough, safe-enough, ... | [
"Movement generates body heat, and so our body starts trembling to make us warmer. It's kind of similar to how you can warm yourself up through exercise, but on a smaller scale."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why do toddlers yell when they’re having fun? | [
"It isnt a matter of age. Its a matter of society. As adults we choose/learn that screaming is annoying, especially every time we are having fun. But some still scream whooo at appropriate times like at a party or amusment park."
] | [
"There are a lot of nerves in our faces. Stimulating these nerves helps to keep you awake. This is why you see babies doing this a lot when they are tired and don't want to go to sleep yet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can enlisted soldiers in the US get a degree while on active duty? For example, the U.S. Navy? | [
"The GI bill, part of the agreement they get for enlisting, pays for college tuition (or most of it) and many colleges offer online courses in modernity that you can take via the internet. This allows soldiers to take one or two classes at a time during their free time."
] | [
"The Marine Corps falls under the Department of the Navy. The US Naval Academy trains midshipmen to be Marine Corps officers as well."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If you own a small business and have paid your employees, taxes, and other costs. Are the money left (profits?) considered your income? And do you pay tax on that? Or do you assign yourself a salary and what is left belongs to the business and does it get taxed? | [
"It depends on how your company is set up. The easiest way is for the company to give you a paycheck that is taxed like you're a regular employee and the rest of the money gets put back into the business."
] | [
"Executive salaries can perhaps be the reason a company shows no profit. Say I run a company who profits $100 this tax year, but then I pay myself $100. The company now shows no profit and will not pay an income tax (assuming it's incorporated). This prevents a corporation from being taxed twice on the same income... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How are we able to see planets through the naked eye like we see stars? They don't shine or glow, so are we just seeing a reflection? | [
"Yup. Reflections from the sun They're much closer than stars (except our own sun of course)"
] | [
"No scientist, but I believe it has to do with our atmosphere. Our atmosphere is the reason stars twinkle in the first place. In space, most stars look white to the naked eye. **edit**: There are indeed different types of stars that appear different colors, but when you say \"twinkle different colors\" I believe yo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do you immigrate to the United States of America? | [
"Since it may be a while before you get a *serious* answer that goes into real detail, I'll give you what I know: You have to file for citizenship, take a test, pass a background check, and pay substantial fees every step of the way. This is a short explanation, but in reality the process takes many months and ofte... | [
"Are you willing to travel to Washington DC?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
When a large ship is launched into a body of water does it raise the water level? What about when that ship enters a new body of water ? Is it possible to calculate? Is it the same principle as sitting in a tub of water? | [
"it will raise the water level. the volume of the ship that is beneath the water is \"added\" to the water by displacing it. in total it raises the water level by the same amount as if you would add water of that volume. which happens to be the amount of water which weight is equal to the weight of the whole ship.... | [
"The same way a ship stays afloat in an ocean. The atmosphere of venus is far denser than our atmosphere here and will act just like water does in the ocean when you put a ship on it, ie: displacement makes the ship float because the weight of the volume of water displaced by the ship is equal to the weight of the ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
If drums produce sounds that correspond to certain frequencies (e.g., C#, F), how is it that drums, when played, do not clash with the songs in different keys? | [
"A two-dimensional surface like a drum skin doesn't give out a single note or series of simply related harmonics of a note (2 x frequency, 3x, 4x, etc) like a vibrating string or air column. There are a much more complicated set of vibrations that give out a mishmash of frequencies simultaneously. It also depends w... | [
"Pitch (the musical note) is unaffected while the color of the sound is affected. Imagine playing the same note on a violin in a closet vs playing it in a concert hall. The same note will have a different quality of sound based on the acoustics but the pitch will be the same. So we can match pitch. Likewise we can ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Aerospace has never been this big since Apollo, and rocket launches have never been this frequent,, How do nations not mistake another nation's rocket launches for a hostile action? And also, do nations conceal their "true intent" behind commercial launches? | [
"All nations publicly list whenever they're going to have a rocket launch, and that information is readily available to everyone that's concerned with detecting missile launches. You can't launch a space vehicle stealthily, so there's no point in trying to be coy about it, and it's in everyone's interest that nobod... | [
"Massive differences in the way they are launched. Space launches direct the craft upwards until the gravity turn which applies the force necessary to attain orbit. ICBM's, however, would never waste the fuel in doing such a maneuver as it would severely reduce the payload of the rocket. Even if a nation were to tr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why does thunder in the distance sound like a low-pitched but long duration kinda "rumble" akin to the sound of a jet overhead as opposed to the "CRACKBOOM" experienced when it's close? | [
"The lightning super heats the air ss it strikes. This causes a turbulent air column to collapse on itself, creating a sonic boom. But each branch and fork of the lightning is like its own mini sonic boom. When you are close, those are all so close together in happening, that you hear them all at once. Far away, t... | [
"Air cavitates behind bullets is my understanding. You can hear them pass (the hiss) but in order to hear the cavitation (the snap, quite literally the air behind the bullet \"slamming shut\") you need to be quite close. Hence the saying."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do insects like flies rub their eyes/heads with their legs ? What purpose does it serve ? | [
"They cannot blink so they clean their eyes with legs. Their legs also have brushy hair called setae which are very sensitive and inform the insect if anything is on them (mold, dust, whatever). They also have little hair on their entire body that acts as an advanced sensory organ. This also has to be clean."
] | [
"- They're not licking the air, they're licking their nose. - Your blowing air into their face dries up their highly sensitive nose, which is kept moist at all times. - Their reflex is to lick their nose and reapply the moisture. They can't avoid that reflex any more than you can avoid blinking when I blow air into... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
With the history of large ships being taken over by "Somali pirates" or whatnot, why aren't those vessels outfitted with mounted machine guns, and a couple GTFO rocket launchers? | [
"They aren't legal - even the USA doesn't allow non-military ships to have such weapons. The age pf piracy made sure all nations signed up to this. The high seas would be chaos if any ship could be armed to the teeth."
] | [
"The point of the airplanes is so they don't have to get in close. A Nimitz class carrier has 90 planes, for comparison the ENTIRE Swedish Airforce has just 98 fighters. Meaning the US can bring a force comparable to an entire airforce capable of dropping bombs anywhere that is 260 nautical miles from the ocean, ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
If I buy a 5 kwh solar system and the efficency of the panel is 20% do I only get 1khw? | [
"A 5kW panel will generate up to 5kW of electricity. Due to the sun rising and setting and the weather, you’ll only average about a seventh of that, even if the panels are ideally positioned. So 5kW times 24 hours divided by 7 gives around 17kWh per day, on average. In the summer it could be more than double and in... | [
"First you need to convert 12000mAh(miliamp hours) to Wh(watt hours) To do this, use this formula (mAh)*(voltage(typically 3.7v check back of power bank))/1000. (12000)*((3.7)/(1000)). This will get you 44.4 Wh. Convert 44.4 Wh to kWh which is .0444kWh. Now, take the cost of kWh and multiply it by the kWh used. .12... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why don’t we, as passengers, feel the speed of a plane whilst it is flying? | [
"The plane is cruising at a constant speed. You feel the accelaration at take off but once the speed of the plane (and your speed too) is constant you wont feel it just like in a car too."
] | [
"It takes very powerful engines to lift and propel tons of metal and people and luggage through open air. Powerful engines tend to be loud, and this is why most people prefer not to live near a major airport."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
why do some antidepressants have "suicidal thoughts" as a side effect? Is'nt it counterproductive to take these drugs and still have those tendencies? | [
"Nobody AFAIK has invented drugs to block specific types of thoughts. The problem as I understand it is that sometimes, in some people, the first lift in mood (from say, an SSRI starting to take effect) gives the person the energy/motivation to actually carry out a suicidal plan, whereas beforehand they couldn't m... | [
"Two potential reasons why medication could make someone suicidal: 1. Severely depressed people often have an extreme lack of motivation and energy. They may also be suicidal. That means, bizarrely, that the medication could give a suicidal person more energy and motivation for carrying out their goals....which in ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Medicine:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Medicine:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
why can we control some things our body does subconsciously like blinking and breathing. But why can we not control other things like making our hearts beat faster? | [
"We cannot directly control our heart beat because the heart only has autonomic nerves. These are involuntary. Breathing, blinking, swallowing all have muscles that have somatic nerves, meaning we can voluntarily move them. They are also autonomic responses, however we can control certain muscles that allow us to r... | [
"The body actually paralyzes you so when youre running or doing something in your dream you dont actually do it in real life and hurt yourself. Same thing is applied to when you cough. The body suppresses the physical aspect of it but reminds you of the mental aspect of it if that makes sense."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Psychology:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Psychology:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Health and Wellness:"
} |
why does a hot day or hot room make you so tired and weak? | [
"Scientists say that energy from the sun transfers heat to the body through electromagnetic radiation in the form of photons. This radiation causes body temperature to increase. When your body temperature changes more than .5 degrees, your body reacts by being sleepy, grump, or tired."
] | [
"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 Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Sleep and its effects on the body:"
} |
What is the academic reasoning behind believing we live in a simulation? | [
"IMHO, (layman here) is that there is not a \"belief\" that we live in a simulation. It is a philosophical position that we cannot rule out by our reasoning that we are not living in a simulation. There is nothing we know of (by observation or reasoning) that contradicts this position. This does not imply belief or... | [
"Lots of theories out there, but the simplest and most correct answer is that no one has a clue what may or may not have existed before the big bang."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How does fiber-optic internet work? | [
"We are next door neighbours and I have a red laser pointer. Whenever I bake cookies I want to invite you over to eat them. So I shine the red laser pointer at your house. You have a blue laser pointer. If you are busy and can’t come over to eat the bookies, you can shine the blue laser pointer and I will know to s... | [
"DSL is just a way of running broadband internet over traditional copper phone lines. U-Verse runs on fiber-optic lines, bringing high speed internet, 'cable' television & phone. Since it's on fiber, the internet can potentially be an order of magnitude faster than DSL."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why is it so hard to find a reading position that doesn’t become uncomfortable after five minutes? | [
"Because you're straining a particular set of (small) muscles continuously. Holding a small object still for a long time is not something humans evolved to do particularly."
] | [
"I was actually thinking about this the other day because I'm the kind of person seems to never get comfortable. I found out if you stretch and loosen up your muscles you'll have an easier time sitting still or even falling asleep at night."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do politicians resign from their government as a protest? Do they not have more power staying in their post to fight against what they don't like? [UK example inside] | [
"Like you say, jumping before he is pushed. The PM decides who's in the cabinet and what roles they have. If he fundamentally disagrees with the PMs approach, then he would be fired anyway. Chances are the new PM will change up who's in the cabinet anyway. He remains an MP and a member of the Conservatives. He has ... | [
"They purposely have appointment till death/choosing to step down so that they are less corrupted by politics. They do not have to worry about running for re-election thus needing the approval of the people, and they do not need to seek the approval of the President or Congress to keep their appointment. That means... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why light and the rest of electromagnetic waves don't interfere with each other? | [
"All your questions can be answered by understanding the concept of wavelength. Basically speaking, once you know what the wavelength of every radiation is, you can predict how it will interact with other things. I'll give you an example you probably didn't think about: Why do car radios start to have bad reception... | [
"Light is a particle and a wave because it has properties of both. The wave properties of light allow it to be split through a prism into the rainbow pattern we know, and allow there to be different kinds of like like UV, X-ray, and radio waves. It also allows light to move through the vacuum of space. Light is a ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What happens in your body when you’ve been constipated for days? | [
"It's [not good](_URL_1_). Poop is where everything your body doesn't want goes. If your intestines are packed too full of shit, they'll begin to rupture and leak poop into your blood stream which is life-threateningly-bad. If you haven't shit in a couple of days, drink some coffee until you do. If you're lactose... | [
"It can be a sign of diabetes but it can also be a sign of dehydration. Drink more water for a few days and see if it goes away. Or it could just mean you've eaten too much sugar, even if you're not diabetic."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How a bunch of moving electrons can power homes? | [
"A moving electrical current produces a magnetic field--so while the electrons aren't directly striking the rotors inside a fan, they *are* creating a magnetic field that is pushing against the rotors. That's the basis of any motor: a moving electrical current causes a magnetic field. If you put some pieces togethe... | [
"Volts: how badly electricity want to go from here to there. Current: How much electricity actually goes from here to there."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Sex workers in modern times have acces to many forms of birth control. It is also a well know fact that sex work is one of the oldest professions in the world. How did people prevent pregnancy before the invention of modern birth control methods? Was birth control even used? | [
"There are plants that can induce abortion/miscarriage; a woman could consume those. There were also medicines/mixtures/potions (whatever you want to call them) that would have the same affect. They couldn’t really ‘prevent’ it beyond not having sex when they were fertile; but they could end a pregnancy"
] | [
"There is no reasonable reason to stop people from having the contraceptive pill. The reason people are trying to stop people from using the contraceptive pill is because the church is against contraceptives."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why is staring at a solar eclipse deemed to be dangerous and what is the difference from just staring at the sun? | [
"When you look at the sun your eye goes \"Damn that's bright, I better do something\". This causes your pupil to shrink down REALLY small to not let much light in, and also causes a reaction to flinch away. Both of these protect your eye from damage. If you look at a not-quite-total eclipse your eye goes \"This ... | [
"A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the Earth's shadow. Much like the sun temporarily being blotted out by the moon, the moon will temporarily be dimmed as Earth passes between it and the sun. You should expect it to turn red and darken, then brighten over the course of about four hours. It is differen... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is some ice completely clear while other ice is opaque? | [
"A lot of it is dependant on how the water was frozen, where water that is slowly frozen will be more clear, as less air and impurities will be caught in the ice. This is why icicles are usually really clear"
] | [
"Large bodies of water like rivers, lakes, and oceans really are blue. Pure water with nothing else in it is transparent. But large bodies of water are not remotely pure. (They may be clean and potable, but they're not \"pure\".) You know how a bottle of maple syrup looks dark brown, but a small drop of it looks ve... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does the open refrigerator at the store with cheese, butter, etc. not spoil the food, but our refrigerators at home need to be closed? | [
"Fluid dynamics! The refrigerators at a store rely on something called \"laminar flow.\" There are fans at the top of the fridge that blow air along a straight path where all particles are moving in straight lines (\"laminar flow\", as opposed to \"turbulent flow\" where all the particles are moving in different di... | [
"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 title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why is it more devastating to detonate a nuclear bomb at a distance above ground, as opposed to directly at ground level (upon impact) ? | [
"If you detonate a bomb at ground level then a lot of the energy is spent digging a hole which is useless. You want the bomb to have a clear line of site to a large area for effective destruction It's also important to note that if a 10 PSI overpressure will collapse most reinforced concrete structures then there i... | [
"Those nuclear weapons weren't all detonated at the same time, which would put massive amount of dirt and debris into the atmosphere and block the sun, which causes the nuclear winter. Also, the nuclear weapons were of varying sizes, detonated in different areas of the world (including underground and under the oce... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are animal sounds different in different languages? How did their spellings originate? | [
"Different languages use different sets of sounds, and different ways of stringing sounds together, to make words. For example, the way an American would say the 'r' in \"red\" doesn't exist that way in Japanese. Another example, the way a Francophone would say the 'r' in \"rouge\" doesn't exist in English. The so... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why does Jupiter look black / invisible from this picture? | [
"That picture is taken from the shadow of Jupiter. You're seeing the \"night\" side of Jupiter, except for a tiny curve of \"twilight\" Jupiter."
] | [
"The picture was taken when the Sun was down. The Earth is brightest because it's the planet nearest to Mars, and it's lit up because of reflected light. The brightest object in our night sky (other than the Moon) is usually Venus for basically the same reasons."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How was Amazon able to pay $0 of Federal income tax on over $11 billion of profit | [
"Your parents give you $20 to start a lemonade stand, under the condition that for every dollar you make, you have to give them $0.10. After a full day of successful lemonade selling, you made $10 profit. This usually implies that you owe your parents $1, but instead, you use those $10 to buy a bigger pitcher, mak... | [
"Netflix has over 83 million subscribers. If each subscriber pays just $10 per month (= $120 per year), then they make nearly $10 billion a year, a lot more than $6 billion."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does food end up in your stomach even if you eat or drink upside down? | [
"Muscles in your esophagus squeeze it “down” the tube to your stomach. Kinda like trying to squeeze that last bit of toothpaste out of the tube."
] | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How is the British Prime Minister selected by such a small group of individuals? | [
"The conservative party are in power, and the conservative party members elect the leader of the party. It's that simple."
] | [
"Because the American governmental system consists of three branches, Executive (President), Legislative (Congress) and Judicial (Supreme Court). Each entity is separate, yet linked. I'm assuming that you're not an American and that your assumption is based off of an understanding of British-style parliamentary sys... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is particle movement considered random? | [
"You're mixing up two different things. You can \"move your hand\", because muscles connected to your rigid bones are articulated in a useful way. Your brain (where your \"will\" lives) can control those muscles to a certain extent. Each atom that makes up your hand moves randomly. This is usually called \"heat\" a... | [
"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 Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
since when and why do seagulls eat small animal, I recently saw a video of a seagul eating a small rabbit whole like a snake really freaked me out is that actually a seagulls normal diet? why do they eat small animals? | [
"They’ll eat anything, they are greedy greedy bastards. There’s a town called Whitby in the UK where they’ll just attack anyone who has food."
] | [
"Im guessing it has to do with how they are prepared in a culinary sense. Those sea creatures have exoskeletons protecting them, and when you remove that to cook the meat and cover them in butter and lemon (or roll them in sushi) it's easy to forget that they are bascially the cockroaches of the sea. Also, if you t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do humans have dominant hands? Why aren't we all ambidextrous? | [
"The neurons that control your left hand are not the same as the ones that control your right hand. If you taught one to write and not the other, then you made yourself one-handed as a writer. It's a parlor trick to teach yourself to write with both hands, but it takes hours that most people aren't willing to commi... | [
"I would personally give my left arm to be ambidextrous."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about science:",
"neg": "Represent the document about science:"
} |
why can animals drink out of a lake or body of water and be okay and we can't? | [
"well, you can, you just have to get used to it. BTW, if you've drunk clean water your whole life, drinking water in India or Mexico will usually make you very sick at first, but once you have developed the right gut bacteria from drinking that water, you'll be fine. Truth be told, some people never get to \"fine\"... | [
"If it comes down to life or death: dying of dehydration or ingesting a little carcinogens go for the long term killer. The absolute best indicator is wildlife. Watch for that. If you see animals using it as a drinking source it's cool. If you see it is surrounded by dead animals best leave it alone. If there is he... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Is there any purpose of nipples on men? How are they created? | [
"In the womb, we don’t start as male and female separately. We have a single starting template, that’s mostly female like, and then differentiate as we grow. Ovaries migrate downwards to become testicles, for example, and the genital ridge (the precursor to vaginas and penises) expands and grows into a penis. Nipp... | [
"Because breasts are a secondary sexual characteristic. Women develop breasts when as become sexually mature, and men are attracted to them as a sign of fertility. The same is not true about a man's chest."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why aren't there planes with solar panels on their top? | [
"Planes use fuel engines, not electric ones, so it wouldn't help generate more fuel. It might help powering the electronics without using the alternator or similar, but planes burn a lot more energy than would possibly be generated by solar panels of its size. For reference, a modern car might go 40 miles with 1 ga... | [
"Biplanes and triplanes were necessary at those times because the engines they had at the time weren't fast enough to generate the lift required to keep the plane in the air. As a drawback, biplanes generate more drag and are much slower than single-wing aircraft. Now that we have high-speed engines to put in plane... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why are insulated metal containers always hand wash only? What harm would the dishwasher do to metal? | [
"Some are simply because the dishwasher can damage the finish on the metal if it's colored/powder coated, etc. But the heat, etc. of a dishwasher can also break the vacuum seal on insulated contrainers, rendering them a lot less effective at keeping things hot/cold."
] | [
"The majority of dishwashers have the heating coil at the bottom. Putting items on the top rack puts them further away from the heating coil. Some plastics and ceramics can’t withstand the maximum temperature the dishwasher produces at the source and putting them on the top rack is just far enough to not cause dama... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why sometimes we only remember how to do something when we start doing it? | [
"Brains are associative: for singing you strongly learn the word before leads to the word after, and with a given pitch. You can also learn muscle movements instead of what exactly you are moving to: for example close your eyes and tell me the left-to-right, top-to-bottom order of your keyboard without using your f... | [
"I don't know exactly what the feeling means, but I used to have it too... It goes away when you have a plan for that morning and immediately get up and start to do it"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the passage about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
How does seeing a crush or a SO cause the feeling of lightheadedness and 'butterflies' in the stomach? What are the butterflies? | [
"I always associate it with anxiety. Similar to performance anxiety. Butterflies aren't a positive experience for me, but the attraction and excitement associated with a crush also combines with this anxiety making it a wonky feeling."
] | [
"It's adrenaline hitting receptors in your brain. There is nothing happening in your stomach, your brain just perceives it that way. I don't really know WHY you feel it in your stomach but adrenaline is the cause."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why do speakers get blown out when you play them too loud? | [
"The voice coil in a speaker is an electromagnet, it vibrates back and forth against a permenant magnet. The voice coil can overheat due to too much power being sent to it. Or damage from moving too far forward/back."
] | [
"The difference is the signal to noise ratio you end up with. Keeping the PC volume low and then cranking up the speaker is like recording someone speaking softly outside and then amplifying it: all the background noise gets amplified too. Keeping the PC volume high and turning down the speaker is like recording so... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
how are some flying animals (e.g - sparrows and house flies) able to fly at such a high speed without bumping into anything? | [
"The brains of flying animals are specifically evolved to handle the calculations and processes needed for flight. Humans bump into things when they move at ridiculous speeds because we evolved to move at medium and low speeds, dedicating more of our brainspace to things like language. When your entire brain is fly... | [
"Stability? The ability to glide, maybe? An example might be if the animal lives in an environment where there are poisonous snakes that may bite them. An animal without wings relies on its legs to dodge snake attacks. Perhaps an animal with wings can flutter and move away more quickly, even if it can't fly outrigh... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence about biology:"
} |
How did UDT navigate dark waters when visibility is nothing? | [
"Most of the time they did dead reckoning. That is to say that they went in a straight line until they either hit something or until they figure they have gone far enough. This did actually work sometimes but at least it brought you closer to your target. They would also pop their heads/periscope above the water fo... | [
"Why weren't they in the market before? Too costly, or was it another concern?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do generators and electricity in general make a buzzing sound? | [
"Alternating current is used for most electrical transmission, and it's also in the walls in your house. The North American standard is 60 Hz, which means that the current alternates 60 times per second. When you hear a hum - the mains hum - it's either caused by magnetic fields from the wires causing the metal of ... | [
"You know how you can drag a stick against a fence, and it'll make noise? Did you know there's two ways you can do it? One way is you can start at one end of the fence and run all the way along. Another way is you can stay in one spot and move your stick back and forth. Both of them make noise, but they're differen... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Is urine beneficial or aggravating to jelly stings? | [
"this is one of those cases where someone heard a fun factoid, and spreads it round without context and it now becomes a widely recognized \"myth\". There is a specific composition of urine that would work for specific types of stings but the chances that your/someone elses pee on the jellyfish that stung you would... | [
"I'm not sure, but white blood cells and antibodies in your plasma might attack the natural flora/bacteria, causing your gastric system to get irritated."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why is seawater green in some places, and clear/blue in other places? And why dont these colors mix? | [
"Green sea water is usually the presence of floating algae, diatoms and other plankton that feed on the nutrients in the water. Green water has more stuff alive in it, usually colder water. Colder water can hold more dissolved oxygen in it. Often colder because of upwelling of deeper nutrient rich water that's bein... | [
"Basically how transparent water is depends on how many particles there are floating in it. There are lots of different kinds of things you can find floating in water, but the main one is plankton. So generally speaking the more hostile to plankton water is (too hot, too cold, too acid, not enough food) the clearer... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can earthquakes be "predicted"? | [
"Earthquakes give off several different kinds of waves. Primary waves - the fastest wave, moves about 3 mi/sec in a horizontal motion, only causes slight movement Secondary waves - start at same time as primary waves but move at half the speed. Waves are vertical and horizontal. Cause light shaking. Surface waves ... | [
"Many traditional Native people today are good at observing animal behaviors to predict the weather. There's other things I won't get into online, but I would say Native people traditionally have an excellent understanding of weather. These previous related conversations might be of interest: * [How did native Amer... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why don’t our ring fingers have the same mobility as our other fingers? | [
"[_URL_0_](_URL_0_) Here's how the muscles connect to our fingers, I'll refer to that in the explanation here. & #x200B; If you look at the index, pinky, and thumb, you'll see that they have unique muscles attached to them that allow them to behave somewhat independently of the others. The ring finger doesn't, it... | [
"The snap comes from your finger hitting the palm of your hand. The middle finger has a better angle than the index or ring finger."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What is that feeling called "when a vehicle beside you is moving, but you’re stationary, however for a brief second it feels like you’re moving if you look at the other vehicle and why does it happen? | [
"A lot of the data your brain uses to control balance is visual. Try walking a balance beam with your eyes closed. This phenomenon happens sometimes because your brain doesn't realize that the object it is using as a stationary frame of reference for your movement, is itself moving. Your brain really thinks you ar... | [
"Confirmation bias. Usually when you are looking at a road, you're in a vehicle, which means a car is always approaching whatever is in front of you. There are lots of times when you're not looking at a road when squirrels cross."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Animals:"
} |
- Why is some lightning not accompanied by thunder? | [
"It is just lightning that is too far away for you to hear the thunder. It takes the right atmospheric conditions for you to see it. It is often called \"heat lightning\" but there is nothing different about it."
] | [
"Heat lightning is just regular lightning that's very far away. The sound created dissipates before it gets to your ears."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
what does it mean by space is a vacuum | [
"It means that a typical cubic meter of space has about 1 atom in it. The rest of it is emptiness."
] | [
"Because it has nothing to do with mass. It is the curvature of spacetime"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How does cardio decrease ones heart rate? | [
"With extensive training, your heart will eventually get stronger and become more efficient at transporting oxygen to the rest of your body, meaning it'll require less pumps and lower one's heart rate. I dunno about the second question, though."
] | [
"Do they both have side effects that include increased heart rate?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How do our bodies decide where to burn fat from after exercise? | [
"They don't really decide. The fat on the surface of each deposit is metabolized with fairly equal preference. This means that deposits with a higher amount of surface area will lose the most mass. Edit - In other words, it comes off in layers like peeling an onion. The top layer is burned wherever it is located o... | [
"After just a couple days your body runs out of easily accessible calories to burn. After that it begins to eat itself for calories and how long that takes depends on your body mass. More fat, more time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
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