query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Why do matches appear to produce a lot of smoke the moment they go out? | [
"When wood is heated, it produces a bunch of gasses and carbon particles that will catch fire if they're hot enough. If the gasses aren't hot enough, they'll show up as smoke instead. So what you're seeing is basically what fire looks like when it's not burning."
] | [
"Blowing on a fire, or more usually the embers to start it brings the oxygen that fire can use as fuel closer to it, which allows it to grow and burn more. This does only work to a certain degree though, if you blow too much air, or too hard at the fire, it'll blow it out if the fire's small enough; like when you b... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How do movies deal with casting overweight and ugly people? | [
"They put out a casting call for \"big\" or \"unconventional\" types. The actor knows they are going for the ugly role but also they will get paid decently. Plus, the fat/ugly character is usually made up and costumed especially unflattering so the actor can take solace in the fact that they don't actually look as... | [
"It's hard to find good actors who also happen to have the exact disability that the character has. It's not hard to find a good actor that is the same race as the character."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
When downloading a song and its is stopped halfway, why can you not listen to the audio until it's fully downloaded? | [
"The downloading happens in parts, not chronologically. For example, first the 400th of the 1000 parts is downloaded, after that the 900th and so on."
] | [
"By splitting up how much of the file get set at once. Say the movie you are downloading is marked into 3 different parts and you stop the download half way through the second part then, when you resume the download, a request is sent to the server to start the download from the start of part 2."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
In typical office-pen ink tubes, what is that yellow wax-like stuff at the top of the ink? | [
"Some sort of oil or other viscous substance that acts as a soft barrier between the ink, which dries when exposed to air, and the outside air. Also serves as a weight to push down the ink when it's low."
] | [
"It's a gel that stops the ink from drying up. It can't be a solid plug, the ink would stop coming out due to the partial vacuum created. So, basically it's a movable plug to stop air getting to the ink."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
- Why do I hear what I can only describe as a "high pitched tone" when it's extremely quiet? | [
"You might have tinnitus. In publishing and graphic design, lorem ipsum is a filler text commonly used to demonstrate the graphic elements of a document or visual presentation. This sentence and the one before it are here so that AutoModerator doesn't catch this as too short an answer."
] | [
"That is RFI (radio frequency interference). The transmitting antenna on the cell phone (this is particularly bad on my BlackBerry for some reason) is sending a very strong radio frequency signal. The wiring connected to the speaker (or the magnet itself) reacts to the energy in the radio signal, and turns it into ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Health:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Health:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Without animal testing, how do cosmetics and skin care companies determine that their products are safe? | [
"They test them on unsuspecting sub-Saharan African people who have very limited understanding of informed consent. Sadly, I'm not kidding."
] | [
"Taken from Burt's Bees own website FAQ: > I am allergic to bees. Can I still use your products? > We do not use actual bee venom in our products – only bee by products such as honey, beeswax, royal jelly and honey powder. However, if you are allergic to bee by products, then we do not suggest using our products. ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Does pumping oil out of the ground leave huge empty underground caverns? If so, why don't we wind up with enormous sinkholes? | [
"Oil generally doesn't form a full pocket of oil. Think of it like sand on the beach. If you dig a hole near the beach, the hole will fill up with water that leaches out of the near by sand. Depending on the type of oil being extracted, the oil can be inside porous rock, like [oil sands](_URL_0_), which looks and ... | [
"At this rate, we'll end up... sending trash into space. Joking aside, once the holes are filled, they pour some dirt, put some grass and trees above it and often it becomes a park. There's one near where I live, it used to be a gigantic garbage dump, now it's a gigantic park. There are well hidden tubes coming out... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
why are the numbers on a phone keypads and computers reversed? | [
"Computer keypads mimic adding machine keypads, as they were originally only used for offices. It allows the worker to input hundreds of numbers more quickly, because on average, the lower numbers are used more frequently. The lower numbers are closer to you, so you have to move less to input the sums. For most of ... | [
"Because it takes up less space in the gui. If the keyboard were layed out in one string, QWERTY-style, then no one would be able to find the letters they're looking for. We use QWERTY because we know where the letters are when arranged in three rows (four if you include the space bar). In order to show you more of... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Even if we know movies are fake, why do some disturb or scare us? | [
"YOU know it's fake, but your subconscious brain does not. It doesn't understand fiction or context as well as we do. So when you see a horror movie your subconscious brain thinks it's real and your are disturbed by it."
] | [
"There are people who are simply immune to it. I don't really want to find out if I'm one of them, although the idea does seem interesting."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are there so many different SIM card sizes when the 'chip' is always the same size? | [
"The \"standard\" in that picture is actually mini. A full sized SIM is the same as a credit card."
] | [
"SIM stands for Subscriber Identification Module and it's like your ID card for your phone. The data on it tells your carrier who you are and who to bill your usage to. Theoretically you can throw your SIM card in any compatible phone and you can use it just like you bought it from the carrier (some carriers don't ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does our brain decide that we like/dislike something? | [
"I'm not a brain expert, but I did study design in college. We were taught what aspects of design could create emotional responses... colour, shape, texture, balance etc etc.. You can play with these in different ways and create a design (purely aesthetic in my case) that causes the viewer to have an emotional resp... | [
"A follow-up question: Why do some people love that feeling while others detest it?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Can you get immunity to 'Bombay Belly'? | [
"You can. Otherwise everyone in Bombay would have it. But, like the common cold, there are many different strains of intestinal bugs in the world and they vary by location. So you may live that way in Bombay, then get it when you visit the Philippines for example. Westerners typically get it worse because we have ... | [
"Do you have Diabetes? There is also something called Maple Syrup urine disease."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How come it's recommended to wash your jeans as little as possible? | [
"The denim do not handle water very well and will start disintegrating if you wash them. However they do not accumulate much dust or dirt either so they do not get as dirty as other types of cloth. There is therefore no need to wash them regularly and this will only shorten their life."
] | [
"Hot water generally cleans better but ages the clothes faster. Unless it's stained, I wash cold/cold and hang all my good shirts, shorts, and pants to dry. Warm *should* wash fastest, since it should fill the washer faster. YMMV. If you follow the care labels on your clothing they will last a lot longer than if yo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why can people in certain states openly carry handguns, but knives are completely prohibited? | [
"Because America has a very strong gun lobby but it does not have a strong knife lobby."
] | [
"2nd amendment gives US citizens the right to bear arms. There are other laws in place that allow concealed or open carry for personal defense (depends on each state what the law is.) Plus hunting is a long established tradition in many areas of the US. Gun possession is very normal in the US, for better or worse. ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why does only 1 piece of fruit in the bunch get moldy? Is it still ok to eat the others? | [
"If it's black and/or shiny, don't risk it! But other than that, you can have the rest of the bunch of they're clean, and better yet, you can even have the moldy fruit if you cut off the contaminated part! (plus a few cm extra for a margin of safety, they can penetrate deeper than what you can see with your eyes) F... | [
"You can't reverse something from being rotten, to edible. The title is misleading. It's not a rotten banana, it's just a little bruised. If I ha to guess, I'd say all he's doing is removing the bruised look of the banana, but the taste and texture of the banana would likely remain the same. Softer and mushier than... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do stop lights work? | [
"I BELIEVE: Usually, there are sensors in the road under the pavement that sense the weight of the vehicle, and then that info goes to the stop light. At least that's how it is where I'm from."
] | [
"Are you asking how a wheel works ?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does the internet advertising model support obtrusive pop-ups instead of running the ad on page like traditional printed media? | [
"Almost all the people I know won't bother visiting certain sites that have those awful pop over ads, not the actual seperate windows but the in-browser popups that you can't click behind/off without finding a tiny X button. The worst for it is a website called 'Wired', they have 2 of those popups, 1 is an ad that ... | [
"TL;DR: No. The internet is a pull medium, not a push medium. By using adblock, we are simply refusing to accept the ads or -with certain other adblockers - replacing those ads with something we would rather the ad revenue go to. If it were illegal to refuse to accept ads, think of the implications that could put o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why is it that Muslims are often hesitant to condemn other Muslim terrorist organizations? | [
"Just last week there was a protest at 2000 mosques in Germany by Muslims and Muslim groups, condemning IS. Furthermore, plenty of normal Muslims see Islamic extremist groups as being so far away from their brand of Islam, that they feel no connection to them at all. The vast majority of Christians in America feel ... | [
"Your premise is flawed. Most people will regard both situations as blind adherence to ideology. What's different is how those ideologies are themselves broadly perceived, and that depends very much on cultural perspective. For example, very few people who are not themselves fascists or white supremacists would fin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Exposure to germs, viruses, etc. are good for an immune system to learn to fight them, but being very clean kills these things before our immune system learns to fight them? Is there an exposure level that's good? | [
"Vaccines are generally used for viruses, as bacteria can be treated with antibiotics. Exposure to everyday germs and viruses can make your immune system stronger than one that has extremely limited exposure because it stimulates the immune system; by having to fight less harmful organisms, the immune system stays... | [
"The issue with bacteria is that it gets resistant to the antibiotics. Obviously, it's still necessary if the bacteria is strong enough to kill you otherwise, but you should only take it when it's really necessary. But your immune system could still possibly fight it, just not well enough for whatever reason. Antib... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why are our ears shaped so wierd? | [
"The shape of our ears does two things. Firstly, it exaggerates the narrow band of sounds that make different parts of speech sound different. By allowing us to hear those parts louder, we are better able to understand speech. Secondly, they distort sounds that come from above or behind you. We use that distortion ... | [
"* Dogs crying are usually quieter than babies. * Dogs problems are easier to solve than babies. * Dogs are cuter than babies. * Babies cry over the stupidest shit."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
how come my sister got bitten five times by mosquitos on the way up the waterfall and I not once? | [
"EL5 answer:- because she smells ~~better~~ tastier _URL_0_"
] | [
"my baby did not cry when she arrived. she just looked around for a while then went to sleep. shees a teenager now and she crys like all the time. ill take it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why does the paradox of motion (ie. Achilles and the Tortoise) seem so plausible but still have no relevance in physical reality? | [
"The paradox is \"how can adding an infinite number of positive numbers be finite\". It turns out the solution is limits, but let's not get that complicated. Think of a stick. Now break it in half. Then take one half and break it in half. Keep going. If you do this forever, you will have an infinite number of parts... | [
"When people say \"technically not a paradox\" it usually means it is a veridical paradox, which basically means you only think it is a paradox because you do not really understand what is happening. A couple of famous ones are the Twin Paradox of General Relativity, the Birthday Paradox of probability, and the Mon... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how we know there are more then 3 dimensions and why we're limited to 10 | [
"The 10 dimension theory is part of [String Theory](_URL_2_), which is ludicrously complicated, not proven, and I can't even begin to ELI5 it. Here's a simplification that [UltraCulture made](_URL_3_). While we don't know for sure if there are higher spatial dimensions (which, by the way, are different from String ... | [
"Which articles? There is a study underway at the lhc to determine if there are more *dimensions* than those we know of, I don't know about 'parallel universes'."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Does a dog recognize an infant (by smell) as a combination of it's two masters? | [
"Babies have a scent all their own. There's something about the smell of a brand-new baby that makes me (a very content mother of older children) want to go out and have another. That said, it was amazing how quickly our dog decided it was her job to protect our new baby from 'intruders'. I had an aunt come to visi... | [
"Dogs have a scent gland in their behinds that can tell a lot about a dog. It can tell the sex, their general health and the dog's temperament. So, it's instinctual for a dog to smell another dog's behind. This extends to humans because we're part of their pack."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about Science:"
} |
Why does the American government classify groups like ISIS as a "terrorist organization" and how do the Mexican cartels not fit into that billet? | [
"Terrorism is more about the motive than about the acts themselves. To be defined as a terrorist organisation, a group has to use violence and fear to further a political agenda. ISIS, the IRA, AQ, they all had political motives. The Cartels are driven purely by moolah."
] | [
"They call themselves the islamic state. ISIS is not recognized as a legitimate state by any other world government. So while it's correct to call them \"The Islamic State\" in the sense that that's what they call themselves and people know what you're talking about when you say that, it's also not a state in an of... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are black Americans called African Americans and not just Americans? | [
"It's a \"politically correct\" term. It can be, ironically, offensive to non-Americans of African descent with darker skin or Americans with darker skin that do not consider themselves African at all. Generally speaking, you are just fine saying \"Black\" in America and few will be offended by it. Similarly, few g... | [
"Race really came from that time in history we were really wanted everything to fit into nice taxonomic groups. But the groups we choose are pretty damn arbitrary, even to this day. What does it mean to be white? European? How close are Italians to Finnish to Romanians to Spanish? What about Asian? Asian including ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Please explain some grammatical terms? | [
"Compound tense - a verb phrase that expresses more complex time than a simple present/perfect tense. *I go* is a simple present verb tense. *I have gone* is a compound tense. Auxiliary verb - in compound tense verb phrases described above, they change the duration or manner in which an action occurs. In English th... | [
"Mete, meat and meet are all pronounced the same way The short answer to your question is that the English language has as many exceptions as it has rules for spelling and pronunciation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does my bladder fill with urine? Is it like a empty balloon that fills up? Does it push other tissue out of the way when it fills up? | [
"Yes. Your bladder is very much like a balloon: it collapses when it is not full, but it also stretched to fill up. During an ultrasound, a full bladder is obvious as a large dark space, which becomes much harder to see if the bladder is empty. Yes, organs move around inside of you, as they are only loosely held in... | [
"Your urge to urine is caused by how much stretch is perceived by the bladder. You can think of the bladder as a balloon; the fuller it is, the more the balloon has to stretch to accommodate the increased volume. Normally, your urge to urinate comes when your bladder is full. Lots of urine = lots of stretch = find ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What's in between my organs? | [
"It depends on the organs you're talking about. There is usually just a sterile fluid that acts as a lubricant between different organs so they can rub together and not cause irritation. There's also connective tissue between some organs which is exactly what it sounds like and basically helps everything stay in th... | [
"> Is there anything more to it? Turn left."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How come when I put vodka in my slurpee, the slurpee immediately melts and the outside of the cup has ice forming on it? | [
"Because the slurpee now has alcohol in it, which has a freezing point much lower than water. But since it is still below the freezing point of water, ice forms on the outside of the cup, since the liquid inside is cooling the cup itself. It's the same reason that if you stick a bottle of rum or southern comfort in... | [
"The spoon is colder than the soup, so when the melted cheese touches it it partially solidifies and grabs onto the spoon."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How can internet speeds be 1GB+ when computer's write speed is no where close to that? | [
"1. You're conflating mega/giga BITS with mega/giga BYTES. 1 GigaBIT (if you had a gigabit connection) is 125 megaBYTES. 7200RPM hard drives can get 70-90MB/s so even without a SSD you'll get pretty close. SSDs can get ridiculously fast, even consumer ones. Example: Intel 750 series drives can get a sequential writ... | [
"bits vs bytes. Your internet suppler is measuring bits. That is, actual digits of 1 or 0. So your internet is able to send 1,048,576 bits for every mega bit. Using the bit as a measurement unit is common on the hardware side of computers. On the other hand, in software they mostly measure things in bytes. There ar... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text about Internet speed and service:"
} |
Why does electricity make a humming noise? | [
"The alternating current causes magnetic fields to shift back and forth quickly which causes metal enclosures to vibrate. This vibration produces a humming noise."
] | [
"Do you know how a fan works? If so just turn it around"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how do air raid sirens produce such a loud noise just by spinning? | [
"Honestly, I don't recall, but [this video](_URL_0_) on YT does some explanation --- as well as describing how to build one. It's pretty easy to fall down the rabbit hole of that guy's videos though."
] | [
"when a stereo creates sound it is creating vibrations that travels through a variety of different mediums. (in this case air/ that's why there is no sound in space because their is no way for the vibrations to be transmitted) so when a car stereo crates a loud enough sound the vibrations will be strong enough to h... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Birth Control. If you miss a day or take at the wrong time, you can become pregnant; but every month there is a 7 day placebo pill? | [
"It follows your menstrual cycle. The placebo pill is for the week you are on your period."
] | [
"Apart from stopping ovulation, it also inhibits implantation or can stop it all together by changing the way the eggs and sperm can travel. 72 hours is doctors being careful because with medicine the rule is better safe than sorry. The entire Plan B pill is just a large dose of the active chemical in standard birt... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
When something enters the sea does it make the seas level rise? | [
"Yes, but since the sea is extremely wide, the effect is too small to measure. If all the ice on Greenland fell into the sea, *that* would raise global sea levels by a few metres."
] | [
"Salt doesn't go up stream. All fresh water pools flow to the ocean at some point."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it that the effects of drugs like weed, pain pills, and benzos, can only be felt for hours while they can be detected in urine and blood screen for up to a month after ingestion? | [
"The residual non psychoactive chemicals from the marijuana metabolites are kept in your fat storage."
] | [
"Depends on how frequently you smoke marijuana. A single smoke will be detectable in blood for 1-2 days, but a regular smoker will need weeks of abstinence to get negative test results. Urine tests stay positive for longer, but follow the same pattern. They can't tell how long ago you smoked, just that it's in your... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How does the President keep up with his presidential duties properly while campaigning for re-election? | [
"congress is not on the hill during this time and thus he has no legislation to look at, and he can manage other day to day operations via his mobile office that is the various presidential vehicles"
] | [
"US President is the highest office in the nation. Once you've been President, you can command many thousands of dollars in speaking fees, you can open your library, you can publish your memoirs and make more money, you receive a pension of $200,000 per year - why would you want to stay in politics? Anyways, they d... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
What conditions cause snow, sleet, and freezing rain, respectively? | [
"Snow is caused by temperatures inside the clouds that are slightly below freezing, so the snow flakes can form gradually. Also, the exact structure of the cloud has to be right to ensure the snowflake forms at the correct rate, otherwise it will just fall as hail. Sleet is a mixture of rain and snow, and is caused... | [
"The main difference is the temperature. The warmer it is, the slushier the snow. Slushy snow is great for packing, so snow forts and snowballs. Powdery snow happens when it's colder, which is nice for winter sports. There are other atmospheric factors that can change how snow falls, but temperature generally has ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:"
} |
Why are computer monitors so much more expensive than TVs that are the same size? | [
"Computer monitors use a higher resolution than televisions, until you get to a true 4K television display, and of course those televisions cost more than computer monitors. Edit: There are 4K computer monitors, but I don't believe there are any 4K televisions that currently share the same size to give a fair price... | [
"Resolution isn't everything. Color accuracy, refresh rate, response time etc are all other factors that can affect how sharp or how good a screen looks. Otherwise the cheapest 1080p tv out there would look just as good as the nicest ones and thats not true at all."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why is it that when you go to museums, you must take pictures with no flash? What is the light from the flash doing to the pictures/art/images? Why is it more harmful than the light lighting the museum? | [
"Religious or social reasons. Detracts from the ambiance. Intellectual property or art. Ex: during a wedding you're encouraged to refrain from flash photography during the ceremony."
] | [
"Because it is a mirror, not a television. It is only reflecting the light it receives, so it is almost the same as just looking at the tree, except mirrored of course."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:"
} |
Sleep Paralysis & the shapes and shadows you see during the experience | [
"When asleep, you're paralyzed. However, you can wake up while being asleep. The thing is that your brain does not know that you woke up, so you will hallucinate. The hallucinations occur because the brain still produces the dream images, but combines them with the image of the world, hence you see monsters or cre... | [
"Your brain is superimposing the random firings of your dreams onto the real world around you, trying to make sense of the situation it is in. This is called hypnagogic hallucinations. Also, because the Night Hag is trying to eat your skin."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do guide dogs know where their owner wants to go? | [
"Guide dogs only know that the route is obstacle free. ( open manhole covers, low hanging trees , etc) it's up to the blind person to know \"i have to cross three streets and make a left\" it's called orientation and mobility skills (o & m) If a blind person does NOT have good o & m they could be refused a dog, as ... | [
"A trained guide dog won't poop in stores and libraries, so, there's no cleanup for them to worry about."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How are exit/opinion polls calculated during elections? | [
"They pollsters know the voting patterns of each constituency, based on decades of poll results. They can sample key locations, and use that as the basis for an analysis of how that area will vote."
] | [
"Why is election on weekdays instead of weekends?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why do soap operas always have such horrible acting? | [
"Everything about soap operas is terrible: * terrible writing - at 200+ episodes a year, there is just no way to keep up anything resembling quality * terrible preparation - actors typically only get a few hours to remember their lines before filming * terrible directing - episodes are typically filmed straight thr... | [
"imprinting. your first crush will usually set the pattern that you'll follow the rest of your life for example I used to watch the little mermaid a lot as a kid. now I can't see a fish without getting a boner"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Michele Bachmann's appeal | [
"Because it's a way to hate on gay people that is considered socially acceptable and not bigoted (even though it is)."
] | [
"So everybody knows that Paul Rosenberg has Slim's back"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
If elections are determined by electoral colleges and not regular people, what's the point of voting? | [
"Yes, your vote decides who your electoral college vote goes to. members of the electoral college never go against the votes from their constituents."
] | [
"A direct democracy is not meant to work in such a large country with a population of 313 million people. That's why representative democracy was a better choice for us, but since our population is also nowhere near what it was 200 years ago, it seems we may need a change in another direction now. An to elaborate o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do parents use jealousy tactics to make babies eat, how does this work? | [
"I don't think that it's jealousy tactics but merely making the baby feel comfortable to know that the food is safe to eat. Adults do it all the time when testing a foreign food. They hesistate until someone they know takes a bite and didn't throw up before they try it out themself."
] | [
"I don't think it is the default. I think it is learned behavior. Infants cry because they don't know how to speak, its all they can do. Adults respond to it teaching the lesson if you cry someone will help. As they grow older and learn more words we have to unteach that lesson and teach them to use those words whe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What's the deal with goofy-looking bowling shoes? Why can't they just look like regular shoes? | [
"IIRC, it's to prevent theft. They are ugly so no one will want to steal them, and readily identifiable so if someone does steal them, everyone will know they are a thief. And at one point many small towns only had one bowling alley, so if anyone wore those shoes, it was apparent where they had been stolen."
] | [
"If its hot enough that you're wearing open shoes, then why the hell are you wearing foot warmers? That's what I get from it anyway."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
why is monogamy the norm in most modern western societies? | [
"Monogamy is the norm in all human societies. Even those that currently allow polygamy tend to only have a small segment of society participate in it. As a species we evolved to be monogamous or at least serially monogamous as a strategy to rearing children. This is due to the amount of care a child needs and the ... | [
"It has been and is socially acceptably in a huge range of cultures, and not just Japan. From ancient Rome to the modern Netherlands, it has long been enshrined as acceptable in both law and custom in many different places and specific contexts. I humbly submit that you're confusing your own location with the rest ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why does tiredness fade away when you stay awake too much? | [
"Second wind (in regards to sleep) is the result of circadian rhythms cycling into a phase of wakefulness. [Source](_URL_0_"
] | [
"It's because you only try to fall asleep in an uncomfortable condition when you are exhausted, but you are rarely that exausted at the end of the day while relaxing in bed."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Sleep and boredom:"
} |
If Americans are legally adults at 18, that can drive, live on their own, join the military, consent for a child, vote, and make all kinds of other critical personal decisions, why can't they drink alcohol until they are 21? | [
"The reason the drinking age is 21 is because the department of transportation under the Reagan administration told states they would take away 10% of their federal transportation dollars unless the drinking age was increased to 21. Not all states went along with it- I believe the last hold out was New Orleans. It... | [
"Until a child is 18, they aren't considered developed enough to be making legal decisions. They can testify and favor a parent, but it doesn't make a definitive choice. Once that child hits 18, they're allowed to live with whoever they want."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How Facebook got my Amazon search history when all of my trackers are blocked. | [
"Are you accepting cookies from Amazon? It It could be as simple as that. There's plenty of other theoretical methods, such as your Amazon and Facebook accounts being linked by e-mail address, or first-party browser fingerprinting (which wouldn't typically be blocked)."
] | [
"Because HTTPS has nothing to do with being hacked or not."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why do older generations look more mature and older at "x" age than current generations at "x" age | [
"Are you talking about when you look at a picture of your dad (for example) when he was 20, and compared to 20 year olds today, he looks more mature? It's probably just because of his style... the type of clothes he wore, how he wore his hair, etc. You associate that style with older people because it's the style o... | [
"For the sake of simply classifying people based on the world in which they grew up, people are divided into various generational categories. Each so-called generation is the group of people born during a specified time frame, usually about 20 year longs. Definitions vary, but Millenials are usually defined as peop... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
[culinary custom] Why do people eat dessert after a meal? | [
"Eating sweet is introducing sense of fullness and you lose your appetite. That's why you get it at the end, to finish. Without a dessert I can eat 2 main dishes. After the first one there is still sense of hunger. I could go without the second one and eventually automatically lose appetite after half an hour, but ... | [
"It's just personal/cultural preference. In some places (such as in certain regions of India) you don't drink anything until you've finished your entire meal. Perhaps you eat a lot of salty foods?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why movies aren't filmed in chronological order. | [
"They don't need to be, everything can be put in the right order when it comes down to editing. If you're going to have a scene at the beginning of the movie and at the end in a house, it makes more sense to film them both at the same time so you don't have to haul in all the equipment for filming two times."
] | [
"Critics get to see review showings of movies before they're released to general audiences in the theaters."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why do schools specify "NO DIXON BRAND" pencils in the school supply list? | [
"Are you sure it isn't \"No. 2 Dixon Brand\"? And \"HB\" is the same as \"No. 2,\" (international vs. U.S. nomenclature) so it seems odd that a school would specify *not* bringing the most popular weight. Sounds more like the schools are *requiring* Dixon brand or at least No. 2/HB pencils. Could that be?"
] | [
"/u/deus_vult_a_cracker is probably correct. At my son's school they send home a blanket waiver for parents to sign allowing your child to be shown in media \"promoting the school, district or extra-curricular activity\"."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why does acne appear mostly on people's faces and not elsewhere? | [
"Acne is also common on the back and upper arms, many people suffer with acne there. But to answer your actual question, it's because the facial skin is more porous than skin in other places leaving it more susceptible to blockage which leads to a minor infection aka: acne."
] | [
"> is there a difference between pimples on the forehead or chin or cheeks? Not really. A pimple is pretty much a pimple, no matter where it is. There are certainly other kinds of skin lesion, to be sure, but those too are what they are no matter where they occur, e.g., blackheads aren't pimples, but a blackhead on... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Why are we fine being hot in the winter but not in the summer? | [
"In most cases \"hot in winter\" in far colder that \"hot in summer\" With the heater on and the fireplace on, the temperature will be between 25 and 30°C. In summer at 2AM, you're fine if it's only 25°C you have a problem when it's 40°C"
] | [
"Ever turned the heat on in your car?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is a degree from a place like Harvard or Yale any different from a degree in the same subject from somewhere else? | [
"For starters, many of these places have good reputations because they have cutting edge research and the best academics who are at the forefront of their respective fields. It should be noted that this doesn't always translate to the best *teaching*, but that might well be beside the point. Some economic theories ... | [
"For all practical purposes, your getting basically the same education. A bachelor's degree is a bachelor's degree. The difference between a bachelor of science and a bachelor of arts, OTOH, is significant. The different degree requirements of the schools will differ but that's nothing to do with the name. The univ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does it seem like guerrilla warfare is the only type of warfare nowadays? | [
"A) It's not. None of the western powers practice it for the majority of the time. B) Because that's the only option small militias have. Ever tried mounting a frontal assault on a government-backed fighting force with 30 people? Don't, it's a stupid, stupid idea. Stay hidden, strike only when you have every advan... | [
"Depends on what the goal of the military is. Bomb Texas into submission and kill everything that gets in the way? In a gloves-off scenario they wouldn't stand a chance in hell. If it's an occupation type scenario then yes, guerrilla warfare has always been the great equalizer."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
what's a mosquito bite look like from the inside? | [
"Mosquitoes drink blood^(citation needed) . To do this, they need to circumvent the body's natural response to a breached blood vessel, which is to clot the blood and block the opening. To keep the blood liquid, the mosquito injects saliva containing various proteins into the wound. These proteins, while serving as... | [
"stop poking your eye it isn't good for you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do head/scalp massages feel so intensely good? | [
"IIRC: It triggers a dopamine response that has a calming de-stressing effect. Mothers gently touching an infants head while nursing, then later washing and brushing their child's hair calms them and makes them feel safe. Animals do this with grooming their babies as well. The licking and grooming is key to the you... | [
"Why does stretching my hamstrings feel so unpleasant, while stretching my calves feels good?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Obama's spending in his first term. | [
"People accuse Obama for a massive increase in spending in 2009, because he took office at the start of that year. However, budgets are approved the year before, so the increase in spending in 2009 is from the Bush administration. If you only count the years for which the Obama administration is actually responsibl... | [
"Do you mean the election campaigns, or the policies of his office?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are card from a deck in just 2 colours and not 4? | [
"Not sure why it initially developed like that, but some card games rely on the two colors just as much as or more than they rely on the individual four suits. Four different colors would just confuse things too much. And solitaire would become a lot more difficult. Lol"
] | [
"because none of the original cards are present in the second set. ie. the second set is an entirely new set therefore \"your\" card will never be there."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
why can you eat a pound easier than you can drink a pound? | [
"Assuming your talking about the weight, not currency, I'd disagree and say chugging a large glass of liquid is easier than chewing on a plate of food"
] | [
"The easiest way is to cut down half a cup at a time and eat half a chocolate bar on the first day, a quarter the second and so forth. Also, get more sleep than normal - - it helps. Drink lots of water too."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is so great about the Dr Dre Beats headphones? | [
"> Why is everyone spending $150+ on these? Because marketing. > Are they really that great? No."
] | [
"Absolut Vodka Porsche Nokia Sony Nintendo Off the top of my head. Ever hear of any of them?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why doesn't Apple make iPhones that can use only one kind of headphone, thereby essentially forcing everyone to buy headphones made by Apple? | [
"The backlash would cost them sales and bad PR."
] | [
"> I don't that's worth taking something away from the customer. The mistake you're making is thinking anyone gives a shit about the customer. You're 100% right. Removing the headphone jack forces people to replace the stock headphones with another $65 set of stock headphones rather than some $5 earbuds."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Bail. Why is it acceptable that people can pay to leave jail before sentencing. Isn't that an opportunity to run for it? | [
"> Isn't that an opportunity to run for it? That's why they make you pay bail instead of just letting you go. You can run, but that's just another crime they will charge you with when they catch you, and they keep your money. Also, conditions can be put on your release, monitoring devices, surrendering passports, t... | [
"Obvious to whom? The point of a lawyer is to make sure that the government does everything correctly before they take away someone's freedom. So, do you want it to be easy for the government to throw you in jail? Or hard?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Law and Criminal Justice:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How does pulse oximetry work? | [
"The sensors are infrared. Oxygen absorbs IR. The amount of IR emitted and received are recorded. The difference tells how much oxygen there is. It is quick because they are using light waves. The difference is directly proportional to the oxygen in the blood. The IR sensors are responsive enough to take multiple m... | [
"Eventually your muscles would not receive enough oxygen and you would become lightheaded and possibly pass out. People with slow heart rates will have a permanent pacemaker put in to prevent this from happening. Permanent pacemakers often have accelerometers in them to detect vigorous activity and will increase th... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Can you walk on Mars with just a scuba tank? | [
"No. The key purpose of the space suit is not to provide you oxygen to breathe, but rather to maintain a safe air-pressure level. The pressure on Mars is extremely low, 0.6% of Earth's. This will cause the gasses in your bodies to expand. This is extremely uncomfortable and can quickly lead to death. If one is hol... | [
"There is a small capsule of water with a needle floating on top of it inside your phone. But seriously, it is a magnetic sensor."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Technology:"
} |
In ancient times when armies of 20,000+ would march/sail into battle how could they possibly afford to feed that many men for that long. | [
"Typically they would pillage food from the areas around them. Local farmers didn't appreciate it!"
] | [
"Because they were often the the most effective fighting force in the field of battle. Your typical commander was a noble, which meant: * they had ample food and medical care as a child, making them bigger and stronger than most men * they were trained in sword and horse almost from birth * they had the best equipm... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
How do LED lights work? How do they differ from fluorescent and incandescent lights, and why? | [
"LEDs use a chip of semiconductor material that has been chemically altered, or \"doped\", to have different regions acting in different ways. Two different regions that are touching each other will only allow electricity to flow through them in one direction; but more importantly, this junction also produces light... | [
"I assume you mean a fluorescent bulb. Yes, the energy you save will more than pay for the bulb. Also the bulb lasts longer than an incandescent bulb, so you win there too. Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury which is bad, but a very tiny amount. An incandescent bulb actually puts *more* mercury into the environment ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Lighting technology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Lighting technology:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Lighting technology:"
} |
Is there a reason other than that germany lost the war that the flight and expulsion of germans after WWII is not labelled a crime against humanity? | [
"> Is there a reason other than that germany lost the war that the flight and expulsion of germans after WWII is not labelled a crime against humanity? Not really. Many of the Germans fled from Eastern Europe as the Red Army advanced and the more organized expulsion that took place after the war was more or less ex... | [
"Because Japan has been horribly negligent regarding their atrocious behavior during WW2. From ridiculous and furious denials after the war to a refusal to teach their younger generations about their transgressions. If the debate still rages it is because Japan has yet to fully make amends...if it had China and Kor... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How do people develop their sense of who they find attractive? | [
"As most people have already said, it's probably based on a particular affection towards someone of a similar appearance, during one's late childhood/early teenage years."
] | [
"They know they are gay because they feel attracted to members of the same gender as themselves."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
on a hot day when we're thirsty, why do we crave things like soda over just water? | [
"You've trained yourself wrong. Also, try cold water. Warm or lukewarm water doesn't compare well to cold beverages when you're hot."
] | [
"First off, there aren't really any foods that are zero calories. We drink things that have zero calories because we like to taste good things but not get fat. As for filling you up, water has zero calories, but after a half gallon, you don't feel like eating, do you?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Food and Beverage:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Food and Beverage:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why does depression in young people seem so common now? | [
"Being diagnosed just means it's enough of a problem that it's medically concerning, not necessarily that they have a life-long mental illness. Plenty of psychiatrists are a bit dubious on given a diagnosis at all to teenagers that aren't showing severe symptoms being as teenagers are really prone to mood swings an... | [
"I studied brain science in university. This is not really the case. Many (like autism) are visible during childhood, and some (like schizophrenia) tend to emerge after age 20. Depression often appears in the teen years, and *stress* is a major reason why. Children are under less stress than teens. Even so, perhaps... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What is the double slit experiment, what was learned from the experiment, and what does it prove? | [
"It shows that light behaves like a particle and like a wave. I am not sure how I'd explain this easily, beyond maybe saying it shows that there is still a lot of mystery left in the world and this is something we can observe but not fully explain yet."
] | [
"You can't passively \"watch\" an electron in a double-slit experiment. It's not the animation used to explain the experiment, where there are these little white balls moving through the slits. That's just a visualization, not the actual experiment. In a real experiment, measurement requires interaction, and intera... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence about Physics:"
} |
why do so many game controllers use the button names ‘A, B, X, Y’? | [
"For the simplest reason of all; that's how the first 4-button game controller by Nintendo on the SNES was labelled, and other companies, trying to reach gamers used to Nintendo's consoles just adopted the convention on their systems as people were used to it."
] | [
"The Game Boy Color was programmed to recognise certain high-profile Game Boy games and apply a specific palette to them. The original Game Boy only had 4 shades of grey, so the GBC cleverly maps each of the 4 shades to a different colour *according to the type of object the graphic is*. So, for example, the 4 shad... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How come women's clothing sizes are 0, 00, 2, 4...etc, and men's clothing is just S, M, L, XL...etc? | [
"Because for many women, being a size 4 feels better than being a size L. An unholy amount of money is spent on behavioral psychology in retail in order to drive sales. Everything from the sound level of the music, to what color the floor is, 'encourages' you to buy. There's a whole field of study on this, it's act... | [
"The K does indeed stand for \"Kids\", and the Y is \"Youth\". Other letters commonly refer to the width. C, D, E, F, G, and H are more commonly used in the UK to denote different widths. In the US you'd usually see A, B, C, D, E, EE, EEE, EEEE, F, and G, with \"D\" being the medium. On brands with less variation y... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If a plane's engines stop working mid-flight would the plane descend uncontrollably or would the pilot be able to maintain some level of a controlled glide until crash? | [
"That depends a great deal on the plane and the circumstances of the engine power loss. For example, does the plane have electrical power sufficient to operate the flaps? How fast was the plane going and at what angle of attack? Some planes have the ability to glide a good deal, others (think fighter planes) glide... | [
"A decent number of people will pass out the first time they jump from a plane. Stress like a life or death situation only makes this worse. So a lot of people would never pull their chute and fall to their deaths. Compare this to a jet that, even without power, is designed with a 30:1 glide ratio. For every foot t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What is congress "gridlock" ? | [
"You hit the nail on the head about not budging. It tends to happen when the political atmosphere is a contrary one -- that is, you're voting for someone not because he has some great ideas, but because he's promising to \"stop the [fascist|socialist] agenda\" of that other party. When the political narrative chang... | [
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by the \"failure\" of Citizen Kane?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why if I approach any wild animal in the countryside on foot it sprints away, but when you're in a car they just sit in the middle of the road until you nearly, or do, run them over. | [
"A survival skill is the ability to recognize and react to movements of animals (such as people) differently than movements of objects (such as trees blowing in the wind) - you run when it's the former but the latter is just background noise to be ignored. But cars are something relatively new, something that looks... | [
"So if you're out jogging or something at night you'll be more visible and cars won't run you over"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Animals:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Animals:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
What do people gain from uploading or seeding torrents? | [
"The torrents you see every day (EZTV, xViD, etc) are part of [The Scene](_URL_1_) and do it mostly for pride and nerd cred for being the first to release something. Most of the initial seeders are affiliated with those groups, many on zombie botnets. From there, it goes into general P2P distribution. Basically, th... | [
"All it takes is one person with the digital file(s) and a way to distribute them. Best way to get something like that widespread is by making it into a torrent and giving it to as many people as possible. Highly wanted torrents grow exponentially, which spawn more torrents."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How did the selfie Ellen took at the Oscars generate so much money? ($3M) | [
"_URL_0_ Basically Samsung, having gotten tons of free publicity out of it decided to donate $3 million to two charities of Ellen's choice."
] | [
"Someone is willing to pay $50,000 for it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How and why do female's periods sync up when they spend time together. | [
"They don't. This comes up about once a week, and the answer is always the same. It's a myth based on confirmation bias."
] | [
"It's about pair bonding. If you fall asleep next to your partner you are likely to wake up next to them. It's to promote bonding."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
What's going on in Canada right now? | [
"It just happened today. It's literally the top story on /r/news, /r/worldnews, /r/canada, _URL_1_, _URL_2_, _URL_0_, _URL_3_ and pretty much every other source of news in the English speaking world. Some nut shot some random soldier on guard near the Canadian parliament. He was shot & killed. They suspect he may b... | [
"Where do you mean? Europe? The US? Middle East? Africa? Eastern Asia?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When watching a scary show or feeling fearful, why do I always think something is over my shoulder? | [
"Your body is going into Fight or Flight mode. Adrenaline is being pumped into your blood in preparation for a sudden and possibly life saving move. It's not that your senses are any \"better\" in that the blind can now see, it's just that they're heightened, moving quicker, and accepting more information than you ... | [
"To stop ourselves from screaming. If you notice in the horror movies, if they are terrified when hiding from a monster and dont want to be found out, they put their hand to their mouth."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage about Biology:"
} |
ELIaCompSciStudent: why is PHP so criticized? | [
"PHP encourages a lot of bad practices. Things like mixing your UI with your core business logic (bad for maintainability) and including a database driver that makes it hard to defend against SQL Injection attacks. Yes, I know that mysqli supports prepared statements. But they still have the old mysql functions whe... | [
"I'm assuming that this post from a few hours ago is about the same topic: _URL_0_ Summation of the answer: He is crazy and making stuff up."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If a semi-hard food item falls to a hard surface is the "five second rule" valid for recovery and safe consumption? | [
"The 5 second rule is invalid for all items."
] | [
"Yes. They will become less effective and can either deteriorate into a more or less dangerous product depending on the chemicals involved. Like food it is just a recommended date, and can likely be used a bit after as well."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why it was decided that Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 5:00 is considered a "standard work week". | [
"Law. It used to be much, much more. Children as young as 4 worked, if you were disabled at work you were fired, you were paid crap, you could die... Unions tried fighting for more, however union strength has declined with membership - and coincidentally, wages."
] | [
"1000 is only 2 hours off of noon. 1700 is 5 hours off if noon. The morning equivalent of 1700 would be 0700."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
The difference between SSDs and HDD drives | [
"HDD has mechanical parst. Such as [this](_URL_0_). The head (kinda like gramophone) will drive on the surface and write/read data through the electrical impulses. The partition of the disk will get magnetized. Which translates into the binary form as 1(magnetized), 0(demagnetized). Now SSD does not include a mecha... | [
"Capacity is what you really want, that's how much total storage the drive provides Density is about how much storage we can fit in one flash chip. Higher density chips enable higher capacity drives in the same size, or drives with the same capacity but fewer chips Density matters in the long run, it's what has ena... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why are many donut shops and dry cleaners run by Koreans? | [
"Because it doesn't take much credentials to run a dry cleaner or beauty salon or restaurant. All you need is funding and hard work by people"
] | [
"There are a lot of factors that come into play. I'm sure many people won't like what I have to say but here goes: - Immigrants typically have fewer skills than non-immigrants. It doesn't take a medical or engineering degree to run a franchise - Immigrants typically have a greater work ethic than non-immigrants. It... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is a 401K? (Non-American) | [
"401 is the section of the US tax code that deals qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans and some other stuff. A 401(k) is a subsection of that. It defines a type of retirement savings account, where an employee has a defined regular contribution taken from their paycheck automatically by the emp... | [
"Most is held by the following (from largest share to smallest): * Social Security Trust Fund * The Federal Reserve * China * US Households * Japan _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
the difference between normal and synthetic marijuana | [
"Marijuana is the flowers of the cannabis plant. They're grown because they contain large quantities of THC, a rather enjoyable drug (that may or may not have interesting properties). It's been used for hundreds/thousands of years & is known to be fairly safe. Unfortunately, it's quite illegal. Some clever chemists... | [
"Because caffeine is more addictive cheaper and safer in larger quantaties"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why is cutting a release for people with depression? | [
"Speaking from personal experience, I self-harmed for a few reasons. 1) Punishment, believing I deserved to be in pain and to have visible wounds on my body 2) Endorphin release, sometimes that was the only time I didn't feel numb 3) Build-up to suicide attempt, kind of working myself up to it (because killing your... | [
"More importantly, what's the difference between hot and best?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What a person in my family tree being 2 times removed means. | [
"x times removed refers to the generations between you. Your father's sister's (your aunt's) son is your cousin. Your father's sister's grandson is your cousin once removed.Your father's sister's son's grandson is your cousin twice removed."
] | [
"Comparing DNA with family members who are not as dastardly, I think."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why is it we feel very motivated towards the night and when waking up in the morning we don't have the same drive? | [
"So you're in bed about to sleep and you start thinking of things you want to do tomorrow. Let's just say that one of your goals is to read that book thats been sitting on your bookshelf. You'll feel really motivated and excited to read the book TOMORROW. But think of it this way, if you're so excited, why not just... | [
"When it's dark and quiet at night your senses like sight and hearing become kind of null, due to the lack of things to look at/listen to your mind starts to work overtime coming up with all these mind bending theories. As for future plans, it's easier to be in your nice, warm bed thinking about being a better pers... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Psychology:"
} |
Why Does Puppy Breath Smell so Distinct? | [
"There are things in this life so wonderful that you shouldn't question them. Puppy breath fits squarely into that category."
] | [
"Being Black Does Actually Have (Relatively Minor) Health Consequences, It's Just That They're Obviated By Modern Life. There's An Energy Cost To Have Extra Melanin, Even A Small One, So If You Don't Need It It Won't Be Selected For. Melanin Reduces Vitamin-D Uptake From The Sun If Sunlight Is Lower Than You're Ada... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why does the physical volume of food not reflect how much weight you gain by eating it? | [
"Some of the chemicals are burned by our cells and exhaled as gasses. Some of the water and other chemicals are released as sweat, oil, earwax and other bodily fluids. We constantly shed skin and hair. The rest is either stored (weight gain) or excreted."
] | [
"You won't gain weight if you eat fewer calories than your body burns, then you'd be creating new energy out of thin air. If eating less causes someone to gain weight then chances are the food is more dense in calories then one would think and/or they don't burn nearly as much as they think."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When it comes to computer parts, how does cpu/ram/ssd have "speed"? | [
"Speed comes down to things; how quickly the data can be read or written, and how quickly an instruction can me executed. RAM, ROM, SSD and hard drives all play on getting at sata while the cpu plays on speed of execution. Before you upgrade for speed you need to identify what is slowing your computer down. You can... | [
"It can up until the socket changes for the cpu you want to use. Ram and storage are generic ports. Cpus sockets are generation specific and changes every two years or so worth the newer generation of processors"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Computer Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about Computer Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
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