query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Please ELI5: I know the military has access to tanker trucks, Why haven't the National Guard convoyed in Fuel from out of state to hurricane affected areas? | [
"The department of defense was deploying fuel trucks yesterday (Saturday) all over NYC (not sure about other places) with a 10 gal. limit on each vehicle. I am not sure what the plans are for expanding the program, but Obama is already on this and receiving great advice and is acting \"too quickly\" according to s... | [
"They are first responders like fire fighters and police officers, both local ones and ones that come in from a wider area to assist. They are also National Guard members/ and military reservists who have day jobs but can get called up and into duty for emergencies. Obviously those who are closer (ie. same state or... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why does Ohm's Law work? | [
"Three guys named Volta, Ohm and Ampere did some early discoveries on electricity. It was soon discovered that voltage, amps and ohms have a direct relationship to each other."
] | [
"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 question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why is the inside of my car colder/hotter than outside if it's been immobile for a period? | [
"The hotter temps are easy to explain. The sun shining through the windows allows radiative heating once it heats seats, etc., and then the hot air is trapped inside the vehicle, preventing air currents from dissipating it quickly. When it is really cold outside (it was -29C here last night, so I speak from recent ... | [
"Cold glass meets humid air. The water vapor in the air condenses on the glass. Like a cold drink on a hot day. As you drive along, the air hits your car at the speed you're driving into it, not letting the vapor have enough time to condense into water again. Your windscreen also heats up as the inside of the car h... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does an igloo stay warm? | [
"Snow is a really good insulator. Fires have a very localized area of heat. If you're in an area where you can actually build a viable igloo, chances are that it's so cold that the fire's heat will minimally affect the igloo's integrity."
] | [
"Do you know how a fan works? If so just turn it around"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How does /u/UnidanX, the new account of /u/Unidan, have almost 4000 C-Karma when his top posts add up to less than 200? | [
"Funny, lowest ranked comment got 4x gold :p"
] | [
"Reddit has vhanged vote fuzzing. This is why were seeing posts with 9000 upvotes rather than 5000. This means that old posts stay up longer"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What Scott Walker has done good/bad? | [
"(I'm a Democrat) A good thing he has done is taking the state from a $3.6 billion debt to $150 million surplus in a little over a year."
] | [
"Voting record! All Congressional votes are public, so you can see what he voted for or against in the past. Are there any bills you feel strongly about? Look them up!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why does sound from a television or other source not come through clearly during a phone call? | [
"Phones have multiple microphones to cancel out environmental noise. Typically you have one microphone near the mouth that picks up both your speech and background noise. Then there's another microphone placed on the back side of the phone or somewhere further away from the mouth. This mic mainly picks up backgroun... | [
"The amplifier in the speakers is picking up a part of the signal output by your phone, amplifying them and sending it to the speakers."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do upcoming movies still say “not yet rated” when it’s pretty obvious what the rating is gonna be? | [
"The movie producer doesn't have the authority to show a rating until the final cut of the movie has been reviewed. The trailer gets produced and edited before that, and even though they might know by the time the trailer is showing, there isn't time to edit another version and distribute it. Teaser trailers are sh... | [
"These previews are released before the movie is complete. They *think* it will be in the movie, but there's no guarantee that it will be."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Do to differences in cost of living, would it be cheaper to host the olympics in a poorer country compared to a richer one? | [
"Richer countries are likely to have all the infrastructure needed to host such huge crowds: airports, hotels, mass transit, roads, police, electric supply. Poor countries often have to build all that up."
] | [
"You didn't take into account total cost of living In the UK your healthcare is free or cheap (NHS), in the US it's freaking expensive. That teacher probably has student loans to pay off too, in the UK the cost of education used to be much cheaper so it doesn't factor much into the effect on median wage. With the r... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Do animals in a social setting with their peers feel embarrassment? | [
"I think they are continuing on with their day. I read an article not too long ago I think on a TIL thread, that said an animal like a dog cannot remember what emotions feel like. So if today he is sad, he can't be like \"I remember when I was happy yesterday.\" He just knows how he feels in that particular moment.... | [
"We have more empathy for creatures with high levels of awareness and intelligence. It is easier for us to see that they have emotions for us to empathize with."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If 1/∞ is equal to 0, why isn't 1/0 equal to ∞? | [
"what you are looking for is an operation called limes. lim (x- > ∞) 1/x = 0 [read: for x to ∞ 1/x equals 0] and your question: lim (x- > 0) 1/x - > ∞ [read: for x to 0 1/x is near ∞] the function lim(es) is only an approximation of the real solution. but as we dont know what ∞ is we can only asume what would happe... | [
"There are all different kinds of infinities, but they all have no limit. Between 0 and 1 there are infinite numbers, but they are uncountable. Same as between 0.54234972 and 0.54234973. All the natural numbers are countable, but infinite. The sum of 1/x (1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/4...) is infinite although the terms appr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Mathematics:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Mathematics:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Mathematics:"
} |
Why do new cars not have small solar panels built in standard to keep the battery charged? | [
"There's not really an engineering need for it on non-electric cars, and any car-sized solar panel would be far too small to provide a significant change for an electric car. There is a example of a hybrid car with a solar panel, the Fiskar Karma, and the solar panel was pretty universally panned as a useless gimmi... | [
"Such boats either have a generator or batteries (for smaller ones). In either case it all works in a closed loop contained within the ship. There are no grounding cables much the same way there aren't any in cars or airplanes that have power outlets on board."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
If white reflects all light and black absorbs all light, why does a white sheet over my window let in more light than a black sheet? | [
"The white sheet does reflect more light - into the room. It's not a completely solid barrier (like putting a mirror up over the window, which would reflect *all* light). The light hits the fibers and bounces around and through the sheet, because it's not completely opaque. This happens with the black material, too... | [
"It's really just a window with tiny flakes of something reflective (Aluminuim or silver, for example) in it. When the other room has very bright lighting (and the observation room very dim) the window looks like a mirror because so large portion of the light comes reflected from your side."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why do we like reading about stuff that angers us? | [
"Confirmation bias. If you read an article about something you really hate, and come away still hating that thing, you feel your hate is justified. Everyone likes feeling justified."
] | [
"A follow-up question: Why do some people love that feeling while others detest it?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
if missing someone triggers the same parts of your brain as actual physical pain would pain medication help you feel better? | [
"Yes. Narcotics can. But it's not worth it. Source: opiates addict"
] | [
"Because the physical pain often distracts them from their psychological pain. I also heard that depressed people do this to feel something at all."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Need explanation for some American and/or Reddit things I don't get | [
"1) Black people loving fried chicken is one example of a racist stereotype that is offensive enough to be edgy, while not being so offensive as to be seriously inflammatory. You could compare it to Asian people loving rice or white people loving WonderBread. Black people are also said to love watermelon. There is ... | [
"If this isn't the whitest ELI5 I've ever read than I don't know what is."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How we know we're not dreaming right now? | [
"Ask yourself a question. \"How did you get here?\""
] | [
"Spoiler alert: dreams mean nothing at all. Stop worrying about them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
can anyone explain "crossing the rubicon?" I've wiki'ed it, so I know it's a river in Italy. Everything else is a bit too dry for me to digest. | [
"In ancient Rome, generals weren't allowed to cross the Rubicon with their troops - the idea was that the generals would sort of disband their armies before officially entering Italy, making it impossible for a general to try leading his army in a civil war or a coup. Crossing the Rubicon with your army was punisha... | [
"you might be like me in that you don't know the best way to put what you are trying to say into words because of all the thoughts running through your head. that's my 2 sense"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Speech and Language:"
} |
Why are there 60 seconds in a minute? | [
"We get our time keeping system (or at least parts of it) from the Babylonians. They used a \"sexagesimal\" counting system. So we ended up with sixty-second minutes and sixty-minute hours, and 12 hour days. However, the 12 hours and sixty-minute/second structure is actually quite useful. 12 has five divisors (2, 3... | [
"One thing happens twice a day for 3 Minutes, the other thing twice a year for a few seconds. In total you are brushing your teeth more than 36 hours per year!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
When people talk about ballistics why do they use velocity instead of speed? | [
"> why would the bullet go faster in a longer barrel? To me, that defies the law of conservation of energy. The bullet is propelled by the force of expanding gas the entire time it is in the barrel. Once it leaves the barrel, the gas is no longer bottled up, and escapes into the atmosphere instead of pushing the bu... | [
"To actually calculate the answer, you will need to know the weight of the ball, the size of the ball, and the velocity at which it was fired. If you are just asking if objects slow down to their terminal velocity when their initial velocity is higher, then yes."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
If two mirrors facing each other reflect infinitely, at what point do I stop seeing my reflection repeat itself? | [
"Glass isn't 100% see through and no mirror is 100% reflective. With each reflection less light is reflected back so in the end the image will appear black."
] | [
"When you break a mirror, you multiple smaller mirrors. Unless those mirrors are oriented in exactly the same way, the light will bounce off of them at a different angle and give you a different mirrored image. If they *are* oriented the the same way, they will still reflect the same angle back at you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What is happening in your brain when a song "gets stuck" in your head? | [
"IIRC this is due to the Zeignark effect. It basically means our mind seems to think of unfinished things very often in an attempt to complete it and in this case the unfinished thing is the song. Try completing the song the next time its stuck in your head."
] | [
"How about when you wake up with a song stuck in your head that you haven't listened to in years? I woke up with the damn \"wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round\" song stuck in my head yesterday. It was a rough day."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about Science:"
} |
Why can't I have a fox or koala bear as a pet? | [
"In some countries, you can! But there are several reasons for why it would be illegal. 1. An exotic pet that posses little immediate risk to human life can still get loose and cause damage to crops/wildlife. 2. The animal is a protected species. 3. It has been ruled that such an animal would not thrive as a pet. 4... | [
"I'm sure a bear pelt is valuable but I dont want a bear in my yard"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why does your hair fall out when you lose a lot of weight? | [
"> Does the body just kind of freak out from the base loss of nutrients? The body is starving. There isn't enough nutrients to support the entire body so it starts to go into emergency mode, cannibalizing the body for nutrients to continue to operate. Some of that can be supplied by the fat which is trying to be lo... | [
"Question 1: Do you have a cat? Question 2: Do you floss? That might help. Question 3: Do you sleep with your mouth open? This can dry out your mouth which leads to bad breath."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Health:"
} |
Why are domestic cats so terrified of water but wild large cats aren't? | [
"Large cats in the wild depending on location use water not just to bathe but to cool off especially in hot climates. I think too large wild cats have less fur usually which probably makes the water experience not as bad. Not too sure about domestic cats I've heard if you start bathing young and start with a washcl... | [
"Fish is a popular example with cats, mainly because of house cats. If you were to talk about all \"FELINES\", you wouldn't associate fish with most of them. When was the last time you saw a Lion, Cheetah or Jaguar eat a fish in the wild? Most house cats are curios creatures and will want to play with the moving fi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why wouldn't some form of Marxism or Communism not fix the enormous wealth inequality problems our world faces? | [
"While strict communism has never really worked out (leaving the reasons and if its even been \"correctly\" implemented aside for now), mixing a more socialist approach with capitalism has worked extremely well for some countries. Take the Nordic model for instance. A mixed economy where free enterprise is more re... | [
"Partially because of Russia/USSR, but also because of China, Vietnam, NK, Cuba, and the few other remaining communist powers and the general poverty their countries are in/were in. Communism represents the *exact opposite* values that the US was founded upon -- namely free market enterprise and the ability to own ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What would happen if everyone in the U.S. stopped paying income tax? | [
"Well, it's not voluntary, it was ratified a century ago. But on to your question... For most people, the lion's share of their income taxes are paid through mandatory paycheck deductions. So, in order for everyone to stop paying income taxes completely, everyone would have to quit their jobs. But if you're talking... | [
"If we stop paying the fee, the terrorists win."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why after 7 iPhone launches Apple still can't properly supply the demand | [
"It could be for a few reasons. It could be either that they are having a shortage of one of the components used in the phone, they want to release the phone as soon as they can so they don't have enough time to make a ton of them before it goes on sale, or it could be done on purpose. Some companies do this on pur... | [
"They probably are testing out the waters to see how well the product does. In America where Apple has a dominance over what everyone thinks of when talking about tablets (sportscasters getting paid to advertise the Microsoft Surface and calling it an iPad on tv), they don't want to spend a bunch of money on advert... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How are video game exploits discovered? | [
"Are you referring to glitches? Most of them are discovered by accident. When you have millions of people playing the game and doing things the developers never thought of, some glitches will inevitably be found."
] | [
"If I can ask a follow-up: How did these companies respond to being targeted?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why manufactures for Flush-able wipes say that they are disposable while plumbers stated that they aren't. | [
"They say they are flushable, because that sells wipes. But the problem is, many are made of a non-woven spun fiber material, similar to that used in disposable diapers. They tend to get caught on the rusty protuberances of cast-iron drain pipes. Worse yet, I've heard from folks at sewage treatment plants that the... | [
"They do that so if it doesn't kill all the germs they can't be sued for false advertising."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Science:"
} |
The political philosophy of Ayn Rand? What exactly is objectivism? | [
"Less political, more centered on human nature... objective morality of \"rational self-interest.\" Political implications, though. Posits notion that humans shouldn't sacrifice happiness of selves for each other; should actively seek out what makes them happy, bettering themselves and furthering society in process... | [
"I think the idea that all intellectuals support socialism is really just a load of crap that socialists push. The have been a lot of brilliant men who support Austrian economics and anarcho-capitalism. EDIT: spelling"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
This video about fluid motion | [
"Imagine the dye not swirling and tumbling around like a normal liquid but moving in smooth simple strips, so you can imagine that after swirling it around one way then exactly copying it back the other way (this is important or it doesn't work) the first motion is undone. It works through laminar flow which is pro... | [
"[A fun and simple video explaining it](_URL_0_) It explains how it works and why the country uses this."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why aren't countries named universally in their native language? | [
"Most of the countries' names are that way for historical purposes. A prime example would be Georgia (the country). Georgians actually call their country Sakartvelo, which can be approximated with Latin characters just fine. But since they spoke a unique language and wrote in unique text ( საქართველო ), people jus... | [
"To be fair, we don't have a universally standardized way of writing English in English speaking countries."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How can satire shows (like the Daily Show) show clips from other news channels, and make fun of them without getting permission from the channels, or any financial compensation to them? | [
"There is something called \"[Fair use](_URL_0_)\" in US copyright law. It allows limited use of other people's work without prior permission or payment for the purpose of reporting on or making commentary on that work. There are other uses that qualify for \"Fair use\", but that's the relevant one here."
] | [
"Generally speaking, you can mention anything brand you want in a show, and its unlikely to cause issues. What you don't want to do is feature logos, as those are protected. When shows do feature logos, the company has paid the producer of the show to have that logo featured prominently. Many production companies h... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
In most European countries, family culture is a massive factor in life, why is it so different in the US? Why do people avoid it and hate it so much? | [
"I think op is asking why do a large amount of American (white/black) families kick their kids out at age 18. Or once the kid turns 18 s/he peaces the f out."
] | [
"It goes back to the old idea of morality that really became popular in the United States, and the fact that many people grew up with religious parents who didn't like to discuss sex and so when they grow up they don't like to discuss sex and so on . Its a cultural thing, in some countries it is taboo to discuss vi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do mountains have a gray, hazy appearance from a distance? | [
"Contrary to first appearance the air isn't perfectly transparant. Over large distances it starts to form a faint blue haze. Disturbances in the air or a heat current can further distort the view, which is why faint stars twinkle when viewed from earth. Their light gets slightly distorted as the athmosphere moves a... | [
"Storm clouds are much taller than normal clouds, so they more effectively block the sun and appear much darker from underneath."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
If a medicine has certain side effects (cancers or death) does that mean somebody has experienced these from the medicine? | [
"My mom has been in a few clinical trials for psoriasis medicine. In the study on 1000 people, lasting 2 years, 3 of them, all old men, had a heart attack. It could not be proven that the heart attack was a result of the medicine, but a warning must be given to patients of the potential side effects. By the way, th... | [
"Test studies on humans are very very expensive, and any symptom experienced by any of the humans tested is listed as a possible side effect. Time and statistics lets your doctor know which of them you actually have to worry about."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why was Elon Musk crying in that one interview? What happened? | [
"If your referring to the 60 minutes interview. It's because NASA astronauts that he regards as heroes growing up (Neil Armstrong and another I can't remember) basically don't approve of SpaceX and Elon's view of commercial space flight. Imagine doing research in Physics, only to have Issac Newton tell you that wha... | [
"I think someone just watched the wire for the first time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What Happens to Australia if the American Dollar Crashes? | [
"The US buys less Australian goods and Australians buy more American goods. That's one thing."
] | [
"1. The First Salute by Barbara Tuchman 2. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown 3. The Civil War by Shelby Foote 4. Reconstruction by Eric Foner 5. The Proud Tower by Barbara Tuchman 6. Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch 7. Brute Force: Allied Strategy and Tactics in the Second World War by John Ellis 8. The... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why don't we have hover craft yet? | [
"At the surface of the Earth, the Earth's magnetic field has a strength of 58 microteslas. For comparison your average fridge magnet has roughly 100 times that strength at around 5 militeslas. This means that there is simply not enough magnetic force available to push off. It doesn't matter how much strength the ... | [
"If it works, why don't we have tourists from the future visiting us?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why are Emergency Rooms so inefficient? Is there a way to make them see patients faster? | [
"They are efficient, for emergencies. Whatever is wrong with you, if you're healthy enough to be complaining on Reddit you shouldn't be in the **emergency** room."
] | [
"Making a standard and getting people on it costs money. And there's no profit for doing it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does bread harden if I don't cover it up | [
"The moisture in the bread evaporates into surrounding air if it's not sealed in by covering it. Unless you want a more detailed explanation of evaporation, it's just that. This comment will probably be deleted for not being long enough."
] | [
"The bag is open so the moisture can get out in case the bread just got out of the oven and is still releasing vapour. You are supposed to close the bag once you have started on eating the bread in order to conserve it well, or put it in a cloth bag or tea towel at home. If your un-started French bread gets stale a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How do you make a citizens arrest? | [
"You have to know they did it because otherwise you're kidnapping them. You need to not do more than use reasonable force or that's assault. Reasonable fits the crime. You can probably rugby tackle a mugger, hit a terrorist with a car, maybe dont do either to a litterer. But, basically you restrain them, and get a... | [
"In the real world why would anyone want to be a politician?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why are state-sponsored hackers so good, even when they come from places like North Korea? | [
"Because it's not one guy in his parent's basement working on it part time, it's a professional team in a modern datacenter with way more resources."
] | [
"For exactly the same reasons that the US keeps hacking, say, China, Iran, and Russia. Practice, gaining useful intelligence, demonstrating dominance in this new arena of conflict, etc. Make no mistake about it: the US is probably better and more effective at this stuff than anyone else out there, and officials ha... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
why can't we make up a number that is the result of a division by 0, just like we did with i? | [
"We could make up a number like that. The question is, does it unlock any interesting new mathematics? When we defined the square root of -1 to be *i*, it enabled very rich, new mathematical fields, with broad applications to not only other fields of math but also physics and engineering. Underpinning all of this w... | [
"> its a fixed length Absolutely correct > but yet it doesn't every really end? The decimal representation of it does not end. That's just a name that number has. The same as number 1 is called number one, in decimal square root of 2 is called 1.4142135623... it corresponds to a single, fixed number, but unfortuna... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do I have to download some version of directx everytime I buy a game and install it? | [
"You shouldn't have to actually install it. You just run the installer, which quits because you already have it. It's bundled with every game to guarantee that even new PC gamers can run the game."
] | [
"Doesn't windows have a compatibility mode? Right click on the program. select properties. Select Compatibility tab. Then roll back from the start until you find one that runs. Let me know if this works for you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is nuclear fusion considered the "holy grail" of nuclear power compared to fission? | [
"Fusion is controllable and sustainable. If your fusion reactor is getting too hot, shut off the fuel source. If your nuclear reactor is going critical and the safeties have failed, pray."
] | [
"Pros of thorium: * produces less dangerous nuclear waste * is not useful in producing nuclear weapons * is more plentiful than uranium * we can design new reactors from the ground up with modern technology Cons: * only on the drawing board at this point, we don't know what other kinds of problems might arise * we ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do string cheese sticks taste so much better when eaten in slivers vs. chunks? | [
"I'd guess that it's because the sliver has more exposed surface area per volume for the taste molecules to interact with the receptors on your tongue."
] | [
"From Huffington Post: > \"String cheese is just mozzarella cheese that has been heated to 140 degrees. At this temperature the cheese becomes very stretchy and the milk proteins move around and line up together in a row. It's this alignment that makes string cheese so stringy!\" Other cheese sticks are just cheese... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What is the deal with the whole Lebron James thing? | [
"LeBron is basically the supermodel that everyone wants to date. So he was together forever with Cleveland until he realized that he was dating a solid 4.5 when he could easily have a 10. So he bounces. In response, Cleveland digs their key into the side of his pretty little suped up four wheel drive and threw his... | [
"And to hijack this in a related way, what were the alternatives to \"America.\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
What would it be like to be in the bottom of the Mariana Trench if the ocean was drained? | [
"The air would be quite dense, about 4x that of sea level, and might result in a mild case of decompression sickness if an individual were returned to sea level without regular stops, but milder than an actual scuba dive. Breathing would be very efficient, though. It would be very cold, getting only a few hours of ... | [
"Well, it's hard to get there, takes very specialized equipment to do so, and there's a lot of ocean to explore besides just the bottom of a particular trench."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Whats the water situation in Cape Town? Was this expected? Will this happen to other cities? Should other countries be worried? | [
"They have been in a state of drought for years and the city population has not met the restriction goals to ration the water that they do have. As such they have been running out of water faster than they can build facilities to treat waste water or filter salt water. They have a number of plants in production to ... | [
"People in *some places* are running out of water. Las Vegas, for instance. Not humanity as a whole."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why does the USA spend so much money on its military? | [
"The US has over 820 military bases in over 70 countries worldwide. The maintenance of those bases takes up a large portion of the military budget alone. The US also has numerous submarines, radar facilities, battleships, aircraft carriers, etc. The budget for the military is huge now to 1. maintain current needs f... | [
"If that actually happened, there would probably be a lot of geopolitical chaos, but it's not that simple. The US wastes billions of dollars in wasteful spending contracts that ends up in the pockets of CEO's of military supply companies, rather than actually going toward defense. So cutting the defense budget and... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Earth's water in its natural form is 4.5 billion years old, but gets an expiration date when packaged | [
"The plastic bottle deteriorates after a long time and renders the water undrinkable. That's also why water in emergency kits come in cans, as they last longer."
] | [
"Sea water has gathered dissolved ions in it for billions of years. Thats why its salty. Those ions don't evaporate with the water and the don't fall as snow or rain that later becomes freshwater sources on Earth. The ice caps may be the largest source of fresh water on Earth at the moment, but the oceans have bee... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does a cell phone call from mainland US to Hawaii work? | [
"No, the cell network is plugged into fiber-optic cables that carry the traffic under the ocean. The cell network on the islands is plugged into the other end."
] | [
"So many of them are overseas using VOiP to make the call over the internet. If someone is in South Africa at a call center and calls Chicago, the call travel over the internet to say Arizona, where they are picked up by a local exchange and then sent on the plain ol telephone system to Chicago. Now Chicago police ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What happens to light after it is absorbed, like how black "absorbs" ~99% of light? | [
"> some kind of energy repository. It doesn't get to store the energy indefinitely. That energy in turn is exchanged with the environment, which is why the black object feels hot to the touch. If you remove the light source, the black object will reach equilibrium with its surroundings."
] | [
"The more light the object absorbs, the more heat absorbed since light is energy. If you consider it a color, black absorbs the most heat. A black object absorbs all wavelengths of light and reflects none. Objects that are white, on the other hand, reflect all wavelengths of light and therefore absorb the least hea... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How does the Theory of Evolution explain the development of adaptations, the intermediate stages of which are unlikely to be advantageous to the organism (e.g., winged flight)? | [
"The likely intermediate step was useful either for gliding (such as a flying squirrel), or as an extended jump (like a domestic chicken). Both of those are useful for quick bursts when fleeing from a predator. From there longer, more controlled, and powered flight are all beneficial improvements, but as pointed ou... | [
"Yes, it is still evolving. Evolution are simply heritable changes that are passed down, which can occur through a variety of causes, not least of which are errors in copying that occur. However, these are not guaranteed to be noticeable effects. There's no such thing as to 'stop evolving' for life, short of there ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
what exactly is Austrian economics? | [
"Austrian economics is a school of economic philosophy that sprang up in the early 20th century as a rejection of that era's increasing incorporation of empirical methods into economic study, like statistical analysis. Although Austrian economists made some important contributions to mainstream econ, the movement m... | [
"Are there any good introduction books to historiography in general? JFK in particular? Thank you"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can top american universities, all of which have computer science departments, still have abysmal web portals and online student services pages? | [
"Computer science is not graphic design. Computer science is not user experience design. Computer science is not even directly involved with the building of complex websites."
] | [
"Depends on the college- architecture, nursing, and business all have their own exclusive colleges that have some sort of barrier to entry. Others are simply a way to organize and regulate a group of related degree tracks."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why is there still a charge for video games that were made by developers that go out of business? | [
"When studios go under, or are forced to fold their IP usually gets auctioned out. The owners of the IP would receive profits from all sales of products the IP they bought covers."
] | [
"Incompatible programs, and no, you just rented it, you did not buy it. It can be taken away from you at anytime for almost any reason simply by closing your account."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
How does computer programming work in Practice? | [
"We had this (or similar questions) before: [thread 1](_URL_2_), [thread 2](_URL_2_)"
] | [
"Do you have any programming experience at all?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why do we use the letter "Z" to symbolize sleep? | [
"Because the sound of snoring can be described as a buzzing sound, and Z is just the letter that fits best."
] | [
"Why does the US represent one thousand as 1,000 and Europe use 1.000? Our phone numbers are 234-654-2345 and in Europe they are 234.654.2345 Why does Europe (including use metric and the US use English system of feet, ounces, etc. Why did English have a vowel shift so that we pronounce A and E like everyone else ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
If MRIs can detect Cancer and early detection is so important then why don't we all go for full body MRI scans every year or so? | [
"Another thing to keep in mind is that while early detection is good, yes, MRIs don't just detect cancer early. They detect a whole host of things that are 99% of the time completely benign, however each of those things would still need to be looked into. That means extra cost of running tests, extra stress for the... | [
"Your doctor is having a go at you. Allergy tests cost betwen $60-$1000, depending on whether bloodwork is required. Fire him and go to a different medical center."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why is it cheaper to add phone service to a bundle? | [
"It make their subscriber numbers look more impressive which helps their stock prices. It psychologically helps customers think they got a good deal, which makes them less likely to cancel service. It also makes it a bigger pain in the ass for you to cancel service because it adds hassle to you having to find repla... | [
"They've lost a lot of customers due to a lot of changes to their service. I know that I, for one, cancelled my service as soon as they jacked up the prices."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Who funds a radical group like ISIS? | [
"Three sources of funding: 1) They control most of the Iraqi Oil field and have been selling Oil on the black market at a discounted rate. If I recall correctly they make 2 million a day just off of this. 2) A lot of the people they kidnap they get ransoms for. The US and UK are in the minority when it comes to \... | [
"They want to establish an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. That's what ISIS stands for."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
"Super roots" or tetration in math | [
"You can group towers of exponents in (at least) two ways. One if from the base up, giving the old rule \"power to a power, multiply\" or you can group from the \"top down\". *See Examples* 5^2^3 might be read (if you are not careful) as (5^(2))^3 where you group terms from the base on up, and then use the rule \"... | [
"The use what is called noise, the most well known example is perlin noise. _URL_3_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
The stock exchange just hit 16000, why are we still in an "economic recession"? | [
"In the strictest sense of the term, we're not. A recession is defined in economics as [two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth](_URL_1_). As [you can see here](_URL_0_), the recession has been over since 2010. That doesn't mean the economy isn't still bad, though; wages and employment tend to lag behind GD... | [
"Recession actually has a definition \"two quarters of negative GDP growth\". On the other hand, a depression is \"a prolonged recession marked by a significant decline in income and employment\". There isn't a bright line, like -5% unemployment is just a garden variety recession and -6% unemployment is a Depressio... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How can someone have bad short term memory but good long term memory? | [
"Different pathways in the brain are associated with different 'memories' as such. Someone with a brilliant long-term but rubbish short-term will have stronger brain pathways going from their long-term memories to everything else. Make sense? :)"
] | [
"There are lots of different kinds of memory. One kind of memory is for remembering things that happened a long time ago. Another kind of memory is for remembering things that happened just a few seconds ago. Another kind of memory is for remembering how to *do* things like talk and drive a car. People with amnesia... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why is the 'QWERTY' keyboard not arranged in alphabetical order? | [
"The QWERTY layout originated with typewriters. They had mechanical arms which would swing up to place ink on the page. If two adjacent arms were hit in quick succession, there was a chance they would catch on each other and jam. So the layout was made to reduce the frequency of two adjacent arms being required whi... | [
"QWERTY keyboards were designed for typewriters, the design was made to avoid people from pressing two keys too quickly after one another to avoid the typewriter from getting jammed. QWERTY is what people got used to and now its what everyone uses. There's another type of keyboard that was designed to allow users t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Explain to me how vinyl records work | [
"Sound is vibration. Gently touch your throat while you talk and you can feel it. To make a record, that vibration is used to cut a tiny groove with sideways motion that copies the vibration. To play it back, you put the needle at the beginning of the grove, and as the record rotates, it travels along the ridges cr... | [
"All I've gotten from this thread is that there is no way a five year old could ever understand Bitcoins."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How far can the human eye see without any "help" (binoculars etcs) | [
"Our naked eye can actually see the Andromeda galaxy from a dark area, which is 2.6 million light years from Earth. That's considered the furthest object you can see with the naked eye I believe."
] | [
"In a simple, mirrors-only periscope a near-sighted person would need their glasses otherwise everything would appear blurry. However, more modern periscopes use lenses for focus and/or magnification, so they can be individually focused based on your eyesight like binoculars or a telescope."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How does the fire department find the origin from a big fire? | [
"Fire tends to burn upwards so start by looking for the lowest damage. Then reject anything that look as if was caused by burning debris falling down or flashover from radiation heating from above. Looking at [this image](_URL_0_) it is clear that the fire probably started low down on the left-hand side (assuming t... | [
"Just getting indoors, and away from windows will greatly reduce risk in the event of a large explosion."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Emergency preparedness:"
} |
Why can't two individuals have identical fingerprints? | [
"They can! Or at least they can have so similar prints that we can't tell the difference. That means that the case of the prosecution cannot be based solely on prints, but the prints can be strong supporting evidence. Suppose for example that there are twenty people in the country which could have similar enough pr... | [
"It has a few different meanings in different contexts. What setting are we talking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about finance:"
} |
why is pink considered a girl's color? | [
"It is purely a result of culture. There used to be a significant amount of people who thought blue was a more feminine colour. [More info!](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"in all seriousness, maybe dogs don't like the smell of our breath."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why can't humans survive off of only vitamins? | [
"Vitamins don't have calories, which humans use for energy. They also lack many of the micronutrients we need to survive (sodium, potassium, magnesium which we need a good amount of)."
] | [
"Some cultures have a very specific diet. The Inuit diet contains a lot of seal and they eat most of it, even the eyes. If you watch an animal hunt and eat something, they eat the guts first. The liver is packed with nutrients like vitamin A. Muscle, such as a steak, has a lot less nutritional value than organ meat... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why does Nebraska DNC have both a caucus AND a primary? What's the benefit of doing that for them? | [
"The state requires that primaries be held but the party decided to use a caucus for the presidential race. Essentially coming back to the whole 'political parties can decide things however they want' angle. However, while the Clinton/Sanders part is meaningless, the primary today still has local and state level vo... | [
"There's not a lot stopping people. The biggest legal obstacle is that some states have closed primaries where you have to be a registered member of that political party in order to vote in their primary. So, if Democrats wanted to vote in the Republican primary, they couldn't vote in the Democratic one as well. Bu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is the actual sound you hear coming out of a car exhaust, is it the sound of pistons moving, fuel being burnt or something else? | [
"It's essentially the sound of hot gas expanding out through the exhaust valves of the engine at very high speed, dozens to hundreds of times per second depending on the speed of the engine and the number of cylinders, with the frequency being decided by the engine speed due to some funky things about acoustics and... | [
"To understand the difference you must first understand the basics of how an internal combustion engine works. An internal combustion engine draws in air and mixes it with a fuel, in this case diesel or gasoline and then injected into the cylinder where it is compressed, ignited, exploded and exhausted. Harnessing ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Automotive:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Automotive:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
The current "Cold War" that's going on between USA and Russia | [
"Both sides want to have more influence in international affairs than the other is OK with. So, they to make each other look bad."
] | [
"So that US spys can operate in other countries. Good spying helps prevent misunderstandings. This is why the US relationship with adversaries like Russia and China is better than her relationship with closed countries like NK and Iran."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why can't I 'wrap my head' around certain ideas, such as space-time or the shape of the universe, when others can? | [
"It is not that people can 'wrap their heads around' these things. These things are all unintuitive, and no one really understands them. It is just that other people are fine with that - They recognize that these things are totally different from the 'normal world', and are OK with that. Reality isn't what you thi... | [
"With all due respect to this subreddit of which I am a huge fan, some things simply can not be broken down and explained in a way that a 5 year old could understand. In this case, you should read about [M Theory](_URL_0_) which brings together the multiple versions of string theory and Multiverse. If I were going ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does my speaker system make a noise every time I touch the tip of the auxiliary cord with my finger or some other object? | [
"its because your finger is at a different voltage differential compared to the cable. since analog audio is simply about changes in voltage over time, this creates a sound in your speakers. this is the loud pop you initially hear. your body also acts as a shitty antenna picking up the static noise in the electroma... | [
"Maybe your cable was acting as a (really bad) radio antenna. Have you tried this without the plug touching your skin?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why does this picture of computer pixels hurt my eyes? | [
"(just an unqualified guess) I think it's because our eyes + brain are good at finding patterns, and finding edges to determine what we are looking at. Without you trying, your eyes are searching for a pattern or recognizable shape - trying to make sense of what you are seeing. But with a repeating pattern like thi... | [
"Slightly offtopic, but why do my eyes leak when I yawn?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
I can't donate blood because I was born in the UK over 25 years ago. How do people in UK get blood donations? Are they shipped in from other countries? | [
"The reason why you can't give blood in the USA is due to Creuzfeldt-Jakob disease. This disease *can* be found in donated blood in the UK and the British Red Cross tests every single blood donation for this disease. _URL_0_ The American Red Cross has decided that it would be cheaper to not let people from the UK ... | [
"Iran allow this. The market is government regulated. Donors get paid between $2000 - $4000 for a kidney. If a donor ends up needing an organ transplant in the future they skip the waiting list of which there is virtually none anyway. Seems to be a great way to do it if you ask me!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do we choke on water or at least feel like we are choking? | [
"Edited for accuracy: Because there is a muscle that contracts to prevent things from going down the wrong tube. When you accidentally trigger it, you will feel like you are choking. Read this: _URL_0_"
] | [
"It gives you the chance to hold something and breath without swallowing. Imagine if the substance was blood, poison, or saltwater: would you really want to swallow? By the same token, say your mouth is full of water and you try to breathe through your nose; do you want that water going into your lungs? It's all to... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How come the POTUS security for one weekend at Mar A Lago costs 3.7million? | [
"Security is just one component of it. Dragging along multiple Secret Service agents is expensive. Food and lodging is another component. Now that the President brought his entourage with him, where will they stay and what will they eat? Travel is possibly the last component. It's not paying for tickets or such, bu... | [
"they bring in more money from tourism for us than we pay in tax. 200 million from tourism we give them 40 million."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are services like uber and airbnb considered by some to be disruptive to the economy? | [
"Hotels and cab companies are regulated and taxed, they have to follow certain rules in order to keep their operating license. If I rent you my house for a short stay or pick you up and drive you around the government doesn't get any tax revenue from that and I'm not bound by the same licensing requirements. Becaus... | [
"Such as? Tesla is doing really innovative things that have the potential to disrupt more than one multibillion dollar industries. That puts them in the crosshairs of those who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
In medical terms, when they say someone has, "lost a lot of blood," what does "a lot" mean? | [
"Try to picture 5 litres of blood. That's about 13 or so regular cans of Pepsi, and also roughly (give or take depending on gender/size/etc) the amount of blood in a person. Your average blood donation takes about 8% of that, so pretty much just one can of Pepsis worth. However... should you find yourself unlucky ... | [
"As a general rule, no. Most women won't lose more than about 35ml of blood during their menstruation, which isn't really enough to affect their physiology in a significant way - when you donate blood, you typically give 470ml, which is over 10x the amount with no real negative effects."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How do captcha systems prevent spam? | [
"They don't prevent it entirely, but they do cut way down on it by requiring human intervention to interpret the pictures. What makes them harder to break is that there are so many different pictures and formats used that it's not simple, practical, or profitable to code something that automates the process."
] | [
"A bot refers to a computer program doing something that's intended for humans to do, like playing games, visiting websites, registering for websites, writing comments or whatnot. Eliminating them is difficult because they are essentially pretending to be humans. Sometimes they use separate bot user interface, so i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Can electronic devices "overcool"? | [
"Yes, although it's less common because electronic devices tend to produce heat as they run. For example, I've caused a phone to shut off by keeping it in a cooler full of dry ice (it was a test to see if it would survive a trip to the upper atmosphere). Battteries can release less and less electricity the colder t... | [
"You actively suppress self-inflicted sensations. Fun fact: many schizophrenics *can* tickle themselves."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are extremist Islamic groups like ISIS targeting Christians in Iraq? | [
"ISIS is a radical group, their aim is to make the region (and eventually the whole world) exactly like them."
] | [
"The ISIS is an Islamic extremist group which was too radical even for Al Qaeda. The name stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Right now, the ISIS is taking over territory in Iraq and Syria, where it basically hopes to run those countries like how the Taliban used to run Afghanistan."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What were the different noises that dial-up internet used to make when connecting? | [
"That would be the two modems - the one at your end and the one you've dialled up to - connecting with each other, working out what each other's capabilities are, and agreeing how they're going to communicate - how fast they can communicate, what error checking they're going to use, etc. [This image](_URL_0_) shows... | [
"The computer sent data through the phone line. Since the phone line transmits sound data - the computer was literally generating sounds that could be interpreted as data - high and low pitched squeals that represent the data you are sending or receiving. It was like a very rapid morse code. If you picked up the ph... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Are there any long term implications of bruises, or is it a case of once they're gone they're gone. | [
"This depends on how easily you bruise and where the bruise is. I'm assuming you're talking about normal bruises. They usually don't mean anything serious. When they're gone, they're gone. Its just a small blood vessel that exploded underneath the skin, blood vessel closed, blood has been cleaned away by the body.... | [
"Because there was more there than just surface bruising. There is still underlying damage, hence the pain, even though the surface discoloration is gone. Bruising and other injuries can take a long time to heal. If it doesn't get better soon, I'd recommend a doctor visit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Health and Wellness:"
} |
- Why do ISP's broadband plans always give much lower upload than download speeds? | [
"Imagine driving a car downloading is going forward and uploading is reverse. You don't reverse often and most people don't care how fast you go in it. So you prioritize going forward and over time this causes this huge difference."
] | [
"I've never seen an ISP that advertises minimum speeds. The all advertise maximum speeds with the caveat that you might not actually achieve that maximum speed based on congestion. Does your ISP not say \"up to 50mbps\"?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Internet speed and service:"
} |
How are the Olive Garden servers able to hand burning hot plates to you? | [
"Working in a restaurant builds up a tolerance for hot items due to callused skin. They also are required to tell you the plate is hot due to liability, in many cases it's an over exaggeration."
] | [
"One prefers to fold their pizza; the other wants to tell you how you could get a gluten free slice down the street."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
In the US, is there a way to break up the two party system? | [
"The two-party system is an inevitable consequence of Plurality Voting, aka \"one man one vote.\" Smaller parties always either die off or get absorbed into one of the two biggest ones. If we switched to, say, Approval Voting (you can \"like\" as many candidates as you want, most likes wins) or Instant Runoff Votin... | [
"Basically from what I understand there's a few simple reasons. One, it's too make sure there is no risk of those people making money off of their IP. Two, that runs the risk of bad press."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What are we actually referring to when we say someone has “writer’s block”, and why does it occur? | [
"It's a euphemism for lack of inspiration. Source: Am a man that sometimes lacks inspiration"
] | [
"I cannot disagree with that limiting assertion enough. Or, should I call it a meme? Creativity is an essential part of who and what we all are. Actually, I've become a lot more creative as I've gotten older."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why does 2g network on my phone sometimes not load a picture at all, or will not load a Web page until I stop it from loading | [
"Your phone won't display the webpage until all the data is downloaded - telling it to stop forces it to render what you've already downloaded."
] | [
"Usually it's not any HTML, CSS, or static content that is failing to load, but some form of plugin that is either hanging or having issues maintaining a connection between clients. There's a lot of underlying technologies behind modern web pages, sometimes you won't see a page until it has completely loaded whatev... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Technology:"
} |
Why does some fashion shows have such ugly/impractical dresses that is sure to never sell to general public? | [
"That stuff isn't meant to sell to the general public. It's meant to show off how avant garde and creative the designer is. They have other lines of so-called \"ready to wear\" clothing that is a lot more conventional in style."
] | [
"When a model is on the runway, he or she must be seen by everyone. If she's short she will not display the clothes that well. And clothes generally look better on tall and skinny people. Also, model skinny is not so healthy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why are liberals so despised in American politics? | [
"You probably live in a mostly conservative area or are surrounded by some hardcore conservatives - or watch Fox News way too much. Liberals are not despised in American politics. They are despised by a significant minority of hard core Conservatives. In reality Conservatives and Liberals have equally valid, but di... | [
"Complicated question but the short answer is that US conservatives are far more conservative than their counterparts in the U.K."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is the purpose of bowling shoes? | [
"In order to bowl properly, you need to slide on the polished wood floor when releasing the ball. Regular shoes have too much traction and will not slide. You will just fall on your face. Bowling shoes have very little traction and will slide nicely."
] | [
"It's a big system. It also carries a bit from state to state. Are you interested in the application process? Policy? Logistics?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How is Reddit karma calculated? | [
"If you mean a user's karma: Comment Karma: how many people press upvote on your replies. Accumulates over all replies. Does NOT include submissions. Link Karma: How many people press upvote on your submissions that are links. Basically if someone clicks the title it brings them straight to another site."
] | [
"On your profile, mouse over the \"Redditor for X years\" text. A caption will appear that tells you the exact date you created your account. Yours is January 14th."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
The water bottle puzzle from Die Hard With a Vengeance | [
"(1) Fill the five gallon jug. Three gallon jug is empty. (2) Empty three gallons from the five gallon jug into the three gallon jug. (3) There remains two gallons in the five gallon jug. Empty the three gallon jug. (4) Pour the two gallons into the three gallon jug. (5) Fill the five gallon jug and pour one gallon... | [
"It sounds like Zero Punctuation's version of philosophy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
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