query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
How do we know what planets are made from and their temperatures if we have never sent any data collecting instruments to them? | [
"One of the methods we use to tell what other planets are made of is [Spectrophotometry](_URL_0_), which is just a fancy way of saying \"we take a very hard look at what color and brightness something is\". This gives us a good idea of what, for example, the atmosphere of Venus is made up of. As soon as you get to ... | [
"The purpose is exploration and the testing our capabilities. If at some point in the far future we are going to harvest comets for resources (which would be more practical for building things in space as it takes far less energy to get resources off a comet as opposed to earth) this is the first step in a long pro... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
how does Costco sell gas so much cheaper? Don't all gas companies buy gas in bulk? | [
"I don't know where you're from, but from where I'm at Costco is rarely more than 5-10 cents a gallon cheaper than other gas stations in the area. They can get away with it because by people pay $50-$100 a year for the privilege of shopping there and pumping gas there. The $1-$2 savings per fill up isn't that big o... | [
"There are still what are called fixed costs involved in operating a business. The fixed costs don't fluctuate, they remain constant. In order to pay for those fixed costs, certain items need to remain at a certain price. If they lower the prices so they can no longer cover those fixed prices, they are losing money... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Economics:"
} |
Why does a paste like mix of Bicarbonate of soda and Vinegar remove red wine stains? | [
"Baking soda itself is sort of magic. It deodorizes, reacts smoothly with heavy acids, buffers well. Works as toothpaste, Hydrophilic, If there is a major chemical spill the first thing the government does is dump a literal ton baking soda on it. Vinegar is acidic and colorless, also polar. The way you remove somet... | [
"When they are cut you introduce oxygen into the cells which combines with an enzyme that oxidizes. You can counter this with acid like lemon juice. LPT: when you cut an apple in half rub some lemon juice on it to stop this from happening"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How does hypnosis work? Is it a myth and just acting when you watch a magic show or is it the real deal? | [
"Not a myth. It is an observed psychological phenomenon, and is an ability of the subject, not the hypnotist. People who can be hypnotized can be hypnotized by someone with little training. It is used to treat smoking addiction, nail biting, compulsive eating, stuff like that."
] | [
"Some people are more likely to get hypnotized. Have you ever tried to get the attention of someone that's really into a book? They might as well be living in those fantasy worlds! Well, those kind of people tend to be more easily hypnotizeable. So they're more likely to get \"into\" a hypnotized state, if you will... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
If the British ruled in many key places of the world, why did they not build homes there? | [
"Ever been to the United States? How bout Australia? South Africa? I think you'll find the British retained a fair population in those places. India is more the exception than the rule."
] | [
"Because England colonized huge amounts of the planet, and if you wanted to deal with them you learned English."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
How do Facebook "Meme" Pages get revenue from 'likes' and 'shares'? | [
"They don't, but if someone buys the page they can then post a status and get something in front of all of those people who liked it, and thats valuable to some people."
] | [
"Content creators past a certain subscriber count can apply for an AdSense account. If approved, Google places ads on their videos. Ads generate revenue per view, and bonus revenue for clicks. A content creator with a lot of views gets a lot of ad views/clicks, thus a lot of revenue. However, some content creators... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why when you look at objects in mirrors, they are backwards, but they're not also upside-down? | [
"Don't think of it as the mirror makes images backwards or reversing them. The mirror reflects the light from the side the object is on. Your left arm is on the left of the mirror and your head is at the top of the mirror, legs at the bottom etc. If the mirror did truly flip the image backwards then you would see ... | [
"No. When you look at the side of your face you see the same thing that everyone else does when they look at the side of your face. If people saw the side of your face/head when they looked you in the eye they would be looking you in the ear. That would be weird. It seems you're asking \"do people see me as attract... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Have there ever been any "good" computer viruses? | [
"Nachi worms patch vulnerabilities in Windows by exploiting those same vulnerabilities to get into the host PC. The Reaper virus was designed to seek out and delete he Creeper virus, making it the first known \"antivirus\""
] | [
"It's making fun of the people who believe that there are secret hidden \"internet levels\". There aren't really."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
what is the difference between .mp3 files and .wav files? | [
"An mp3 file is compressed by a factor of about 10 (75 to 95% reduction in size) while a wav file is raw sound data."
] | [
"A video codec is simply a way to compress video. Very much like like .zip and .rar are ways to compress files. Different codecs have different performances, some require a great CPU, but also greatly reduce the filesize of your movie. Others require very little, but hardly compress. Some require very little and co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How Tesla is able to compete against other huge companies (with huge R/D)? | [
"The basics of cars are pretty well known & don't take much R & D, it's just the electric drivetrain they need to work on. The big auto manufacturers aren't really interested in the all-electric market because it's too small for them to bother with. To put the numbers in context, Ford sells around 200,000 Focuses a... | [
"Many of the competitive industrial players are in the West so the best and brightest Asian students are drawn there. Likewise, a huge majority of scientific research and funding is in the West, so their scientists and STEM people are drawn there. However, the number of power global firms based in Asia is growing a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it unhealthy to remain unconscious for too long? | [
"It isn't unhealthy to remain unconcious for \"too long\". The problem is that if something renders someone unconscious such as a blow to the head, the longer they are out indicates greater levels of damage and disruption to the brain. You are confusing the cause and the symptom. It isn't bad to sit in a giant pool... | [
"You might be breathing through your mouth leading to it being dry. A humidifier might help by keeping the air more moist while you breathe. Have you spoken to your doctor or dentist about your perpetual dry mouth? If OTC treatments aren't helping, it's time to see one of your medical practitioners."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How can I multiply 2 digit numbers mentally | [
"That approach doesn't work because you are breaking the numbers apart wrong. Remember that what you are doing here is trying to add the number 36 together fifty three times. (36+36+36+36...). The way that you breaking apart that number doesn't get to that result. if you want to simplify numbers that you are mult... | [
"What so you mean by that? Like the 5th term is 5^5 = 3125? So you're looking for a way to find n^n for any n?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
It has been a cold week in Texas. Why are all of my neighbors covering their shrubbery with what appears to be cotton bedsheets? | [
"They are protecting their plants from frost. The covering allows the plants to get sunlight but prevents frost from penetrating. Even tropical plants can handle fairly low temperatures but frost will damage the plant cells and do them irreparable harm."
] | [
"If tigers could hang upside down in your bedroom and climb down on a rope coming out of their asses nobody would talk about spiders"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What do they do with all the dirt after building a subway? | [
"Often times it gets used as landfill -- not waste disposal, landfill mind you -- but \"landfill\" as in extending the coastlines of preexisting land. For example, look at a map of Manhattan from today, and compare it to a vintage map: the island was significantly smaller, and some portions of land didn't even exis... | [
"Sounds like a great plan. Mind if I dig up your yard to run the cables?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Technology:"
} |
Why does my body produce so much mucus when I'm sick? | [
"Your body produces mucus from mucous membranes which are present in the nasal passage, among other places. Mucus is mostly water and glycoproteins, which is why drinking water is important when you are sick to replace the lost water. The mucus also contains antiseptic enzymes and antibodies. It is a defensive tech... | [
"Why do the glands in my neck burn like high hell when I'm holding back tears?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do we get nightmares? | [
"Because we fall asleep watching Family Guy on Netflix and the automatic queue starts playing Stranger Things."
] | [
"Your body is telling you to quit smoking. Listen to it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why can't I stream cable to my TV wirelessly? | [
"I may not be understanding your question, but here goes. Some television programming providers already do this. AT & T's U-Verse uses set-top boxes that stream their programming over WiFi. Sure, the set-top box needs a cord going to the tv, but you don't need to run cables through walls/floors for each tv."
] | [
"A computer with a big harddrive to store movies and shows that you can then \"stream\" to your TV."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is it about raccoons and rats that have made them thrive in urban environments, but not other animals? | [
"The premise it not true. You have forgotten birds and insects among other thing. Many types of birds thrive in urban environments like pigeons. If is a seas side city Gulls of different kinds are common. Waterfowl can have a good place to live if there is the right kind of streams,canals or in parks. Rabbits also... | [
"As a rule, animals are afraid of the predators that have evolved in their area. Human-like things have been hunting animals all over the world for them to be scared of human-like things. The exceptions are the odd island here and there. Famously, dodos were not afraid of humans."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do products (like computer) keep track of time when they are shut down? | [
"> Most computers have a small battery. In many cases, the battery is soldered directly onto the motherboard, but the battery is usually in some sort of holder so it is easy to replace. Computers are not the only things that have a small battery like this -- camcorders and digital cameras often have them, too. Just... | [
"Most important/highly accessed parts of your system are loaded into ram. When you power your device off, the power stops getting supplied to your ram. Your ram is volatile, meaning it needs power to store things. So when you turn your device on, it needs to load it all to ram again. This takes time. Also, with com... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:"
} |
Why are braces socially acceptable while other cosmetic procedures such as nose jobs are more often looked down upon? | [
"Braces fix real problems. Other types of cosmetic surgeries like you mentioned seem to fix insecurities."
] | [
"It's like CGI in films. You don't notice a lot of it. You only notice what stands out. Tens of thousands of people undergo cosmetic surgeries every day, and you'd have no idea. It can be simple things like having protruding ears pinned back, eyelids changed, lip lifts, nose jobs etc etc.. if surgery is done well, ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why some colleges require you to live on campus. | [
"They can charge you room and board, make orientation easier, guarantee retention of the student who might transfer after their first year if the college isn't a fit because all of your friends go there who you met through living on campus, etc. If you move there to go to school and don't live on campus and wind up... | [
"Stay in the dorms the first year - figuring out where to live when you don't know the city is hard."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What causes computer components to heat up during use? | [
"Resistance. It's essentially the electrical equivalent of friction. Any current going through a wire is going to be less than 100% efficient - that loss happens as heat."
] | [
"This is assuming that your PC is properly maintained and cooled. Leaving it on at all times will wear out some parts faster, but in most PC's it's not fast enough to really matter. You'll probably end up upgrading parts or buying a new PC before it really matters. Some people leave their computers on all the time ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is sneezing involuntary? | [
"First we have to understand what sneezing does. It is an automatic reaction you develop when that particular area (your nose and eyes) is stimulated too much at once. It's sort of a survival instinct to push out all the toxic air you inhaled and force-shut your eyes exposed to the same toxic environment. The reaso... | [
"Dehydration is linked to involuntary nerve firing. So is Vitamin K deficiency."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why do spirits get better when aged? How does the taste change over time? | [
"The main effect takes place while the spirits are stored in wooden barrels (not yet moved to glass bottles). They are actually dissolving stuff out of the wood, which adds flavors to the liquid. You might say they are using toasted oak as a very slow-moving spice."
] | [
"Wine is usually sold right away after being made, and then \"aged\" to the preference of the owner. Hard alcohol is aged as part of the production process, and so it's important to know how long it aged before it was bottled. Think about it like this: You care about the year of the wine because you want to know i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why are YouTubers allowed to show video game content in their videos but not movies or songs? | [
"The content is still copyrighted and video game publishers could have it pulled but they mostly chose not to because it's good free advertising for them. They aren't afraid of losing sales if someone sees the game online because people buy games to play them, not just to watch them."
] | [
"Well they get ad revenue from their videos. They might get pennies per hundred clicks, but if you have millions of people lining up to watch your videos, that number adds up. In addition to that they start to do promotional things, either with YouTube or other companies. Things like YouTube conventions/events wher... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
If cellphones and other electronic devices may interfere with the plane´s navigation, why are we allowed to have them on board? can´t they just be taken from us as soon as we enter the plane and given back to us when we land? | [
"The answer is that they don't, they only tell you not to use phones during takeoff and landing because those are important times to be paying attention to what's going on in case there is an emergency and during takeoff they want you to listen to the safety brief."
] | [
"I've been told by a friend that is a pilot that the reason for the power down during take off and landing is that those are the most dangerous times when on an aircraft. Therefore, they are hoping that people won't be distracted by their electronics, or god-forbid, create numerous hard plastic and metal projectile... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What are those black cables they stretch across the road? | [
"They are counting cars and measuring how fast they are going for a traffic survey. If the traffic is heavy enough, they may install traffic lights or traffic calming devices like speed humps or chicanes, depending on the desired outcome."
] | [
"They are hollow. You walk up stairs or ride a small elevator. At the top there are handholds for climbing the last bit. Source: that's how they replace the light bulbs on the TV station tower I worked at."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why do computers start to slow down when they run out of hard drive storage? | [
"Because they write to the hard drive when processing data. When space on the drive becomes harder to find, the disk has to spin more, and that takes longer. Which is why this doesn't happen so much with solid state drives"
] | [
"All computers have 2 kinds of memory. RAM, which is very fast and is what the computer uses when its actively running a program, and mass storage or hard drives, which is much slower in general. Loading is usually the process of putting information from the hard drive or other storage into RAM so the computer can... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do suit cuffs have five buttons on them ? Who invented this norm? | [
"These are called surgeon cuffs (usually only 4 buttons), they were used on older jackets where surgeons in the military needed to unbutton and roll up their sleeves to work on patients. Then, the surgeons insisted on having them on suits as a status symbol so people knew they were wealthy doctors, and the trend st... | [
"This is historical. A long time ago, the buttons on women's clothing were set up for the servant to button, so they are on backwards. Thus, the buttons are used the same way as the men's buttons, but from a different perspective. The men could, apparently, button their own darn buttons."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why do broken bones hurt when it rains? | [
"When it rains, the pressure in the air will drop. This drop in pressure is often enough to cause physical changes in your body, such as the expansion of soft tissue and fluid around your joints. These minor changes may be noticeable in parts of your body that are already 'sensitive', like a broken bone or arthriti... | [
"EIL5: Why can't I stop sitting with my legs crossed, even though it hurts my knees, and why does it hurt my knees?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Health and Weather:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Health and Weather:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What information did a fog horn actually ever give shipping? | [
"Horns, bells and other noisemakers are vital for ships that operate in limited visibility such as fog, but also in curving channels or when in port. In a fog, listening for horns, bells or whistles tells you the approximate size, location and movement of other vessels. Because every boat's sound is unique and sou... | [
"they wait till the sub comes to the surface or periscope depth and all the remaining data is transmitted. When submerged there is no internet access. You do without."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Technology:"
} |
Noise Isolating headphones vs Noise Cancelling | [
"noise isolating. consider this ear plugs that have earbuds in them. THey block outside noise by providing a noise reducing barrier. In fact my isolation earbuds are so good I use them as Earplugs when using a circular saw or mowing the lawn. NO music and not even plugged in. Noise Cancelling Headphones that ... | [
"Open: Your ears sit in a cup which is open to the atmosphere. Advantages: Supposedly a more \"open and expansive sound\" Disadvantages: They leak noise a lot. (both ways) thus quiet details in music can get lost Closed: Your ears sit in a sealed cup not open to the atmosphere Advantages: Supposedly better bass and... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Technology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Technology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do plants avoid pollinating themselves? | [
"There are multiple techniques to avoid this. The first one that comes to mind is only activating one gamete at a time. A plant may choose to do it in 6 month cycles, say 6 months of pollen release with stigma closed and then 6 months of stigma open with pollen not being released (in actual fact the time will prob... | [
"There is a higher probability of beneficial mutation with sexual reproduction than with asexual reproduction."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why aren't there websites for renting tv seasons like there are for renting movies? | [
"Netflix as plenty of T.V series to watch. Like, what are you talking about really?"
] | [
"Well at the time blockbuster and mom and pop rental stores were really kinda the only way to rent videos. We didn't have streaming services yet. You could either buy a movie, rent a movie or maybe wait for it too show up on tv. Companies like blockbuster would actually buy the videos from the companies and then re... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why is the Sahara a desert when other places at the same latitude are tropical rainforests? | [
"Look across the United States, if you draw a band across the US centered around San Francisco, CA. Coastal community, fairly foggy and cool year round. Nothing like the climate in Salt Lake City, Denver, and so on. Latitude, geography, wind patterns, proximity to the ocean plus others are all factors in the weath... | [
"The reason why the climate appear to be different is because of the distribution of land. The southern hemisphere has a lot more water than the northern hemisphere. Since water temperature doesn't change too much throughout the year, the temperatures and climate in the south are more steady throughout the year. Al... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why do Nordic countries score so high in many qualities? Why can't other countries follow? | [
"A great deal of social security network, free school, low crime, low corruption and free healthcare. In Denmark, we got about 19 years in school, compared to the 16 of The US (CIA WorldFactbook), and we get a kind of pocket money from the state as a help while studying, after we turn 18. This means that everyone h... | [
"The United States are *not* the wealthiest or most advanced country on the planet. And what exactly do you mean by anxiety?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Plato's Theory of the Forms vs The Third Man | [
"Theory of the Forms is kind of like we have an idea of a perfect version of everything. Like the most perfectly pancakey pancake in the universe exists as an ideal of what kind of pancake we want all pancakes to be. The Third Man is a gotcha for this thought up by Plato himself, and later talked about more by Ari... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are AI's so difficult to create? | [
"> Why are AI's so difficult to create? Because we currently don't fully understand the nature of consciousness or self-awareness. It's hard to replicate what we don't understand. > Also - has an AI ever asked us a question in order to gain information it needs to solve a problem? No, because we've never created a... | [
"Relevant/expansion to the question: Why do we make noises when we feel pleasure in general? And pain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How does a kernel actually speak to the hardware? | [
"I'm not a huge expert on this, but I understand a lot of devices communicate using [memory-mapped i/o](_URL_1_). Basically a device has a certain address range in memory, and any data you put there gets sent to the device. Another way a device can communicate with the computer is via [interrupts](_URL_0_). These ... | [
"Please clarify what sort of operating systems you think there were before programming existed."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
if perfect white paint absorbs no lightwave at all, what is a mirror ? | [
"This is a great question, both of them reflect (almost) all the light that hits them, but obviously they look different. A mirror reflects light a the same angle it that came in. That means when you look at a mirror all of the light came from only one angle and you see an image. If you are directly across from a m... | [
"there are different gasses in the atmosphere when light goes through them the light changes color and there is mostly one kind of gas at the right spot that makes light green! (i don't remember which)"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does airplane internet (like Gogo wireless) work? | [
"For Gogo, there's a 3G cellular antenna that sticks out from the bottom of the plane and a network of cell towers that point up instead of out. Other providers are satellite based and are much faster. [Engadget](_URL_0_) did an overview earlier this year."
] | [
"They can, My in-laws don't have internet in their house, they just have a hotspot device that they turn on and off when they need internet. But generally, wi-fi is faster and more reliable than cellular data. Even 4G LTE is not as fast as AC internet speeds."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How does a small accident (such as a fender bender) cause so much traffic on the highway? | [
"Because once one car slows down a bit, the car behind that slows down a bit too. Came across this website that explains it pretty well a while ago: _URL_0_"
] | [
"They're to stop you when there is an incident up ahead so you don't become part of the incident."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
I've heard of Earth's "Radio Sphere," meaning, how far our radio signals have traveled since we discovered them. How "legible" would they be as we go further from Earth? | [
"Most of our signals would pretty well fade in to background noise within a few light years. This is due to the \"inverse square law\", which basically means that the signal gets weaker the further it gets from earth. At twice the distance to the source broadcast, you have 1/4 the strength, etc. The frequency does ... | [
"We do, it's called radio. We've been using patterns in light waves to communicate for almost a century now. Those radio (and other) waves have echoed out into space away from our planet. If other intelligent life is out there, close enough, and listening, they've already \"heard\" us"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Physics:"
} |
Why am I utterly terrified of death? | [
"I think the best explanation is the evolutionary one. Those people (and other animals) who weren't absolutely terrified of death didn't put out as much effort to avoid it and might have even welcomed it. It's better from a survival perspective to be scared and wrong (you're just embarrassed) than relaxed and wrong... | [
"I have no fear of your dog judging me for randomly walking up and talking to them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Do those “credit card-debt forgiveness” advertisements legitimately work? If so, how? | [
"I used one years ago, and it did work. But, it was also kind of a hassle. The way this one worked, they talked to all of my creditors, and made arrangements to help me pay them off as soon as possible (freeze account, cut interest, etc). The debt definitely did not \"vanish\", but I paid it off a little quicker wi... | [
"Bad credit can be very real indication you did not manage your finances and debt well. If i'm hiring someone to manage my company's money, and you can't handle your own finances, why should I trust you to handle mine?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How do cars not overheat when they cook outside in California/Miami/Texas heat for hours? | [
"Running temp for an engine is usually around 195 degrees. Even the hottest of summer days does not approach that."
] | [
"The desert and plains get hot during the day but they also get *cold as balls* during the night. The temperature drops a lot faster without stuff like large bodies of water to hold heat or mountain ranges to break up warmth-stripping winds. Source: I lived in Las Vegas for a couple years and it routinely drops fro... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
ELI5:How can goverments protect us from terrorism without encroaching on our freedoms, invading our privacy, etc etc. | [
"Not selling weapons to terrorists would be a pretty fucking good first step."
] | [
"Because if they started putting restrictions on what you can access and what you can't they are impeding on people's freedoms."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How is raising the debt ceiling not just a cop out? | [
"Remember that personal debt is not the same as sovereign (government) debt. That being said, most countries do not bother with a debt ceiling. So it is a cop out... but a pointless one. Most governments just borrow when they need too."
] | [
"That's pretty much correct. Democrats are upset that so much spending is being cut, particularly because in the past, the debt limit has been raised over 100 times without cuts attached to it. Some Republicans didn't want to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstances. They simply do not understand macroeconomi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why is my printer always fiddling with itself? | [
"It's \"cleaning\" itself so the ink doesn't get jammed."
] | [
"1. Printers aren't really an appliance. They're a computer peripheral. 2. In what ways are printers hard to configure? Sometimes drivers can be a pain, but again, that's a computer thing, not an appliance thing. Once installed they're fairly simple to utilize. Print. Change color settings if you feel like it or ju... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
why America's minimum wage is so low | [
"The cost of living in Australia is much higher than the US. As a result the minimum wage in Australia will most likely always be higher to make up for higher prices on goods on services. There has been talk of increasing the US minimum wage but even with legislation to do so it would still likely be much lower tha... | [
"The highest minimum wage is the lowest an employer can pay. When a state minimum wage is lower than federal wage, employers must still pay federal wages. The reason the state wage is lower is because everyone feels the federal wage is acceptable. Spending time and money passing a law that raises state wage to matc... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why is it OK to eat some meat pink or bloody like steak but you might be ill if you eat pink chicken_ | [
"Because beef has little supply, Of salmonella and E. Coli, It's easily cleaned, And very well screened, But raw chicken could make you die."
] | [
"It all depends on the quality. You can eat raw pork or steak (thats what tartar is), but if its not great quality you can get sick from it. Same goes for fish"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Doesn't 'trigger warning' trigger whatever memory you were trying not to trigger? | [
"From a realistic perspective? No. I personally have lived through some pretty traumatic shit, and there ARE things that will trigger flashbacks and anxiety attacks 20+ years after it all happened, but it requires something a hell of a lot more specific than somebody's trigger warning hashtag. Then again, I am not ... | [
"I don't wish to be disruptive here, please excuse me; I'm sure no limes were attacked in the making of this post, but for the life of me I don't know what that word in the title was actually intended to be. Lines, perhaps? Can someone please explain?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How does sound move onboard the International Spacestation? | [
"No, sound is not significantly affected by gravity. Sound on board the ISS is the same as it would be if the ISS were stationary on the ground. And as a side note, there is no lack of gravity on the ISS -- it's in *free fall* which creates an experience much like zero gravity, but as it's very close to Earth, ther... | [
"Can you not get an erection in space?!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does changing the speed of audio affect the pitch too? | [
"Pitch is a function of a soundwave's frequency as measured in hertz. Hertz is a measurement of cycles per second. If you take a soundwave of someone talking for 10 seconds and they are Ben Stein and talk in a monotone 150 hertz (I don't know if this is the frequency of Ben Stein's voice, but go with it) you have a... | [
"You are changing the volume of your mouth which changes the echo characteristics."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage about Physics:"
} |
Why is Oskar Groening a 94-year-old former bookkeeper & guard at Auschwitz Birkenau guilty of 300000 counts of accessory to murder in WWII But Bush Sr , Bush Jr Bill Clintion & Obama are not prosecuted for Iraq & Afghanistan wars they ordered that killed millions of innocent people ? | [
"Wars are terrible things. Civilians get killed in wars as a sad byproduct of violent attempts to resolve political differences. But while the atrocities that went on at Auschwitz happened during a war, they were not *part* of war. The killing of civilians there was not a byproduct of political struggles, it was a ... | [
"Because the Turks deny anything happened. 2 million Armenians just got \"lost\" in the shuffle after ww1/collapse of the Ottoman Empire Most everyone else isn't buying that story"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why do people associate the devil (of christianity) with torture/eternal pain? What are his motives for being torturous as opposed to just trying to make hell super awesome? | [
"The idea of the devil being empowered over hell, or some sort of anti-god with powers of punishment and torture is largely extra-biblical. In the bible, he's basically another punished inhabitant of Hell, who will be cast down to face punishment with other sinners. In older traditions he was seen less as a force ... | [
"From their perspective, other religions *are* evil. If you believe your immortal soul goes to heaven you believe the right stuff, and goes to hell if you believe the wrong stuff, other religions are Satan's trick to try to lead you into damnation. To you, they are literally the worst thing in the world."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Religion:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Religion:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can people torture other human beings? Why aren't they stopped by natural feelings such as compassion, pity, and guilt? | [
"Sometimes it's because of revenge. Imagine someone kidnapped your daughter and sold her away as a human trafficker, a lot of normal people would probably beat them to death. If it was something worse, I could see normal people torturing them."
] | [
"It is because of empathy, of the ability to put oneself in another's shoes. Most humans have an innate sense of empathy, but the degree varies depending on how much a person develops the thinking habits. By default, though, many humans will not like seeing embarrassing things due to empathetic embarrassment."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do some people so easily fall for "send mony to blankblankblankcountry" and you will be awarded with WAY more mony, and wife, sex slave, etc? | [
"I read an interesting article that talked about how these really obvious scams aren't written by dumb asses that can't make a better scam. The people doing it want the scam to be as super obvious as possible to help screen people for the scam. This is because if they made the scam more believable a lot of slightly... | [
"same way that i've paid freddy more than the amount of money I borrowed for my home. that's how lending works."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why does putting socks, which cover around 5% of my body, make me feel significantly warmer? | [
"Your hands and feet are also your body's \"temperature sensors\". Your feet are also far away from your core, which is where most of your body's heat comes from. You are also less likely to move your legs and feet compared to your arms and hands, resulting in less bloodflow. And while you don't move your hands the... | [
"because they aren't exposed to direct sunlight very often. If you lay out with your palms up/lay face down with the soles of your feet directed at the sun for a prolonged period of time, they would get burnt, just like any other part of your skin."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why are sports players referred to by their last name? | [
"And then bob passes it to Joe. Excellent reception as the other bob catches the ball"
] | [
"For the same reason that the rest of the world calls a sport \"football\" that is mostly people running alongside a ball and then pretending to hurt themselves. But the games have the same root. Once there was association football, rugby football and gridiron football. Now they are known (in the US) as soccer, rug... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Where does the saying "neck of the woods" come from? | [
"> \"Originally the neck of the woods was a narrow strip of woodland connecting a larger area of woodland.\" [Source](_URL_0_)"
] | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why is there so much automatic opposition to Hillary Clinton? | [
"From the left, there is a considerable sentiment that Clinton isn't far left enough - thus the support for Sanders and Warren. From the right, there's the analysis that she's a known quantity - and what we know isn't impressive. She's the wife of a popular politician who was essentially handed high offices where s... | [
"The FBI is investigating. Currently, the evidence for Hillary breaking federal law becomes stronger and clearer the more politically opposed people are to Hillary Clinton."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What is the process behind counting TV votes? (As seen in talent shows, etc) | [
"Normally you phone into a number which will play an automated message before ending the call. From the production side of things they can see the number of calls to each number. This is a pretty standard part of telephony technology and is used in virtually every call centre for recording stats. If required they c... | [
"As a follow up, what do historians of this board think of this channel (if you've seen any of it)? Edit: I mean in regards to historical accuracy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Does listening to music on headphones VS speakers hurt our ears more if played at the same volume? | [
"The thing to understand is that volume of a sound (in dB) is not an absolute constant but instead depends on how far away your eardrum is from the source of the sound; this makes sense, further things are quieter. If a speaker and headphones are emitting at the same volume, the speaker will do less damage because ... | [
"The unfortunate answer is that you would be able to hear it fine if your eardrums weren't so damaged from listening to it above that level. Listening to music, especially from in ear headphones can damage your eardrums and make you go deaf, and it begins slowly. So I'm sorry the recommended volume is so low for yo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
- Linguistics - What's the difference between the gerund and the present participle? | [
"Try replacing \"sleeping\" with something that is an obvious noun -- for example, bananas. In \"your job description does not include bananas,\" bananas is clearly a noun. When replaced by \"sleeping,\" it is still a noun -- it is the object of the verb \"to allow.\" How about \"Sleeping feels nice.\" Here, sleepi... | [
"It's the same as objective case, when a noun is the object of a verb or prepositional phrase. In English, all objects are part of the objective case. - Direct Object of a verb: I break **the lamp**. He hits **him**. - Indirect Object of a verb: Tell **her** now! Object of prepositional phrase: - I talk about *... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Area codes for US phone numbers | [
"Area codes were first set up a long time ago. They originally told the phone system which wires to send the signal along - this was obviously grouped by city. Originally, the 2nd digit of all area codes was either a 0 or a 1 - that's how you can tell which area codes were made more recently - such as Palo Alto (65... | [
"The fee pays to provide the service for free calls without paid service. Edit: More of an explanation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer about Telecommunications:"
} |
How can the US declare no fly zones over other countries (like Syria) besides America? | [
"It's pretty simple - because we can. The US has the most advanced and powerful air force in the world, which means when we declare a no-fly zone, the world knows we can enforce it. In international politics, the rules are usually written by whoever's carrying the biggest stick."
] | [
"They ask other countries' permission to fly over their territory. It's only considered hostile to fly fighter jets in another country's airspace **without** permission."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do we not have to actually "think" about moving parts of our body? | [
"To put it simply, there is something called your implicit memory. These are things your brain learns that you really can not explain or talk about (an example of explicit memory would be trivia questions). The first few times you try to type on your phone, drive a car, or sign your name, it takes lots of effort to... | [
"This would be easier to answer if we had any clue what happens inside our brain when we understand something."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why do good singers have a "wobbly" effect in their voices when they sing a pitch for an extended period of time? Is it something they do on purpose, or is it a side effect of pushing their vocals to the extreme? | [
"When I was singing, it was called [vibrato](_URL_0_). It's recommended in solo singing, not so much in multi-unison singing. I think it provides interest in what would otherwise be a long note. YMMV"
] | [
"Yes, the way our voice sounds to ourselves is not the same as how others hear it, but: 1. Pitch is basically unaffected. Imagine singing in the shower, in a large gymnasium, and then outside in your backyard. All are going to sound very different, but the pitch doesn't change. The timbre of the note changes - but ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Music:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Music:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is reddit so pro-gun when it seems to be much more liberal regarding other issues? | [
"Well first as someone with left-leaning political views, I'd describe reddit's collective bias as more like “techno-libertarian”. It has views that, from an American perspective, align a bit more with Democrats than with Republicans, but from a broader perspective aren't really leftist. Second, there's a self-rein... | [
"Because everyone *on reddit* seems to hate him. Reddit is extremely liberal overall while Trump is very conservative, so Reddit hates him. Never make the mistake of thinking reddit is an accurate cross-section of society as a whole, because there are a tremendous number of Americans who are politically very differ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How in the world did the NES light gun work? | [
"When the trigger is pressed, the entire screen turns black for one frame (~1/25th to 1/30th of a second depending on TV type), except any valid target on screen. The \"gun\" detects whether or not the part of the screen it is pointed at is dark or light, and the game gives you a hit or miss based off of that."
] | [
"Is this how the light in the fridge works?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Physics:"
} |
Why would E4 reruns of How I Met Your Mother/Big Bang Theory play the opening credits 5 beats per minute faster than the original? | [
"It's because in the USA tv shows have a refresh rate of 24 Hz, where as its 25 Hz in the UK. When U.S. tv shows are aired on UK channels, they are sped up slightly. So it's not just the opening, it's the whole show. Everyone has slightly higher pitched voices too."
] | [
"I work for a local subsidiary of one of the big three letter stations here in the states and the shows that we run usually have two episodes that run back to back and each are on their own timeline. Tonight I downloaded a show where the first episode was on season 1 and the second episode was on season 3. But both... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What was the purpose of the duck and cover method used during the cold war? Why would anybody think that would work? | [
"Because it **does** work. Obviously not if the bomb detonates right on top of you, but a bit further from the epicenter, duck & cover would shield you both from the intense heat and from flying debris once the blast front passes over you. There are terrible images of Hiroshima victims (no, I will not add links, ... | [
"The worse incident of this was a Japanese scientist who fell into a chamber which had insane amounts of radiation. They essentially kept him alive for a few months and they were condemned because it was essentially torture in the name of science and research (ie the effects of high Level radiation) Can anyone remi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
how data gets sent across a computer cable. | [
"Data in terms of fibre optic is sent through a refracting cable via a light wave that is either on or off. A device at the end of the cable that can determine whether the light is either on (1) or off (0) will interpret the data in binary. 101010100011100. If data gets sent in, say, 8 bits this will take 8 bits of... | [
"Its a way to separate your network from the big internet and get more IP addresses by rewriting net connections."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
If swelling is our body's way of coping with injury, why do we take anti-inflammatory medicine? | [
"This commonly held wisdom is actually changing. There was a study done by a researcher named Lan Zhou back in 2010 that found that cells inflamed by swelling actually produced IGF-1, a hormone that is essential in rapid repair of damaged tissues. This benefit was negated if you used the traditional RICE protocol f... | [
"That depends on what you are talking about. A specific drug to target nerve pain is going to be different than something specifically tailored toward rheumatoid arthritis. They aren't specifically always blocking the pain response. They may be stopping the thing that causes the pain or like opioids they may just d... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Caffeine Withdrawal Effects | [
"Genetics has a very strong role in determining how sensitive someone is to drugs. You'll find that with any medication, recreational drug (illegal or legal), and even many foods (basically anything you take into your body) affect people differently. We may all be human, but we are all unique humans. On the subject... | [
"Coke: Can Dr Pepper: Bottle Barq's (Root Beer): Bottle Mountain Dew: Can Source- Caffeine Addict"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Can someone explain public key encryption to me using numbers? | [
"The RSA algorithm is one of the most used public key encryption algorithms around. [This article](_URL_0_) explains it pretty well."
] | [
"Can someone explain the question to me like I'm five?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Earlier today I tripped and scraped my knee. The skin broke and bled but my tights remained intact. How does this happen? | [
"The surface you impacted wasn't responsible for puncturing your leg. The force/friction was likely transferred through your tights, to your leg."
] | [
"When you first scrape your knee, it’s the worst pain you’ve ever been in and you react accordingly. After a few tumbles you remember that it got better fast, and you have felt worse, so it’s not as big a deal. My two year old used to bawl every time he fell. Now he says “oh, I fell!” And gets back up."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What is the CISA bill that passed the House today? How will it affect Americans? | [
"For the vast majority of the population, nothing will change. If a company is subject to a cyber-attack they can bundle up data and send it to the government so that the relevant authorities are aware of the details (this is because attacks may be state-based from places like China and the Middle East so national ... | [
"Lobby your own government to put pressure on the United States or donate to groups within the United States that support causes that you support."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
if i eat 7000 calories in one sitting, do i immediately store 2 lbs of fat? | [
"Your body has an upper bound on how many calories (varies by source) it can absorb in a given timeframe so no, you won't put on 2 pounds of fat (even if you did absorb all the calories it would be nowhere near 2 lbs., btw)."
] | [
"calories are calories. but some calories come with vitamins and minerals and fiber whatnot etc that your body needs. if you eat 3500 calories vs drink 3500 calories and get the same vitamins and minerals and fiber whatnot etc it's exactly the same."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why and how does sodium/salt raise your blood pressure? | [
"If the amount is small, the body uses the sodium to build muscles and nerves and to absorb nutrients. If the amount is too much, more than 1000 mg to 3000 mg a day, the blood vessels must take in more fluid. Extra fluid increases the body's overall blood volume. This, in turn, causes the heart to increase its work... | [
"When you run a fever, your body tries to release sweat to cool itself. Your at risk for low fluid volume, especially if you have low body weight. Low fluid volume causes dehydration and may result in electrolyte imbalances Eli5: drink more water!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do tiny countries exist? | [
"San Marino exists because the city gave refuge to the guy who was conquering the rest of Italy at a time he needed it so he agreed not to conquer it. I don't know it's origin, but Monaco serves as a hand tax haven (think Camen Islands offshore accounts) for the wealthy, so there is little encouragement to invade. ... | [
"Why do people in Western countries use forks?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are blue eyes becoming increasingly rare in the U.S., even among Caucasians? | [
"There are more than one combination of genes that lead to green or brown eyes while only one leads to blue (at least that's as much as I recall, I think there's some ambiguity over which genes contribute to eye color). That means unless you have a population filled with blue eyed people, the more brown eyed folks... | [
"Asian men are far less attractive to White women than Asian women are to White men."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How easy/likely would it be for the government to sell National Parks or public lands to private companies? | [
"It'd be relatively easy. All it would take is an act of Congress to either repeal or amend the antiquities act and other statutes governing national parts and allow the land to be sold. It's *unlikely* that such a law will ever be passed. The benefits from it for the government are relatively small and there would... | [
"It's a land bank. Instead of releasing all the land in the country to the private sector, large tracts are withheld so that future generations have the option of what to do with it. It's a national resource. Keeping vast tracts of land free of development preserves wild spaces and natural beauty that can be shared... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Co-ordinates. Regarding Geography and maps. | [
"A minute is 1/60th of a degree. A second is 1/60th of a minute. (In other words, 60 seconds go in 1 minute, and 60 minutes go in 1 degree.) They have nothing to do with time."
] | [
"Short answer: The Illuminati. Long answer: Topography + windpatterns Have a look at: _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
how is Usain Bolt so fast? | [
"How could someone with the name Usain Bolt not be that fast?"
] | [
"ok ok ok, but how did Jesus do it?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do they make bamboo, which is circular, into flat flooring which looks like one piece? | [
"It's large bamboo, cut into strips, planed or steamed into rectangles, then edge-glued into sheets. If you look you can see the dark patches which are the nodes in the original bamboo - think of the \"knuckles\" in a piece of grass, which is essentially all bamboo is. Those dark patches stretch across just one str... | [
"Bamboo doesn't grow wide enough to make things like 2x4's or other structural beams used for house-sized construction. You can probably use bamboo after some processing (like you would pulp wood and compress it to make certain plywoods) but this would cost more time money equipment and effort than trimming down a ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why do vultures and other birds of prey circle dead animals instead of just going to eat them right away? | [
"For one thing, it actually doesn't waste that much energy. Birds of prey can glide great distances without flapping their wings, so by gliding in a circle they can linger around one position without exerting themselves too much. It's even better for them if there's a \"thermal\", an updraft of warm air - they can ... | [
"Some do, some don't. Elephants certainly do. Many times the herd will stand around the corpse for a day or more to stop any scavengers coming and feasting on it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
why when if you have a dvd with scratchs you used toothpaste to fix it | [
"There is a relatively thick layer of protection on the surface of the DVD. When a scratch occurs, it can deflect the light of the laser causing the DVD to be mis-read. Toothpaste has polishing agents in it that polish out the scratch, thus restoring the surface. Fun Fact: this protective layer is so strong that so... | [
"solid state drives work like digital memory. like your usb flash drivse and sdcards. traditional hard drives are like your grand's record player. to get to middle of the record, you have to lift the arm, move the arm to the middle of the record, then drop it down again. that takes time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do we get sleepy when we have eaten a lot of food, or filled up our stomachs? | [
"Before eating our energylevels are generally low. When eating it takes some energy to digest the food and convert it into energy. So when you just finished your food your energylevel is still really low and what remains is used to digest the newly eaten food and therefore you get sleepy (or food-coma as we call i... | [
"Try eating some food before hand. Some people experience pretty bad stomach aches when drinking water on an empty stomach."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
- If betting on sports is illegal in most states then how can high profile politicians (like governors and congress critters) publicly bet each other on the outcome of games? | [
"Most gambling laws in U.S. states don't attempt to regulate wagering between individuals. In most states, it's not illegal at all for a group of people to have a poker game, or to make private wagers on sports or anything else between themselves. However, in most states, it is illegal to run a poker room or a spor... | [
"Other reasons besides those listed. You gamble daily and don't want to drive 50 miles to place a bet. Also you can't place bets over the phone. You have to go in person. Your bookie has better odds. And the biggest reason of all when talking about \"placing bets with bookies\" is you are generally referring to ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
CPUs are very small, whereas my PC tower is rather large - why don't they just make CPUs 100 times bigger and merely 10 times more powerful? It seems that it would be more efficient, since they would be able to use so much larger(=cheaper) parts. | [
"The problem is that processors operate at speeds where distance between parts can be a limiting factor in how fast data gets moved from area to area. Even lines that go to pieces external to the CPU (like memory and the PCIe bus) are tightly controlled to make sure they can operate properly at very fast speeds. Pu... | [
"It's for the same reason a decent laptop costs $300 and a desktop with those same specs costs $200. Miniaturization is *expensive*. You not only have to figure out how to cram all of those same components in a smaller space, but you now also have to deal with heat dissipation. And in the case of a phone, you can't... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
- how do people solve Rubick's cubes so insanely fast? | [
"Rubiks cubes are pretty cool when it comes to how mixed up a cube can actually be. No matter how long you spend altering a cube it will never be more than 20 face turns away from being solved. This means that if you know all the rules to solving them, its just a matter of how fast your hands can move."
] | [
"Because an IQ test is a lot more than just answering questions. It's also about reaction timing, hand-eye-coordination, etc. When I took an IQ test (an actual one) I had to do jig saw puzzles, move coins from one tray to another, hear a story and recite it backwards. All while timed to see how well I did. This can... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How did early man manage to drink the recommended 2 litres of water a day without access to clean water and remain strong enough to maintain his active lifestyle? | [
"The \"recommended\" is a bullshit number brought on by lobbyists. Have you noticed how much you urinate when you drink so much water? Your body purges excess water. Drink when you're thirsty. Not because you're on a goddamn schedule."
] | [
"Because it is full of fat, sugars, and salt. All things vital to our survival but relatively hard to obtain in a natural setting. We evolved to seek them out and have only reliably had them in surplus for around 200 years. In moderation they are perfectly healthy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
What is the psychology behind microtransactions and how effective they are for the monetization of games? | [
"remember, the loot box system isn't designed to get money from EVERYBODY, just an extremely small minority. they are an extremely bad deal, but even with them being that predatory, a small minority will still buy them. and that small minority might buy $1,000's of dollars worth each, meaning that 1% of the populat... | [
"> How do webgames make money? Advertising & microtransactions are the two big ones."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do we use pigs to hunt truffles but dogs to sniff out most other things? | [
"It is in that specific type of pig's nature to seek out the truffles. Dog use is becoming more widespread though. From _URL_0_ > As truffles are usually found underground, you have to have a way to gather them! This is where detection animals come into play because of their superior olfactory capabilities. > Tra... | [
"Because we are prone to food poisoning, and need to identify when food is not fresh enough to eat or contaminated with faeces. Dogs do think there are bad smells, they just aren't the same as what you perceive to be a bad smell. Try offering a dog some fresh orange peel."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why does Internet service slow down or stop intermittently every day? Aren't we paying for X amount of meticulously controlled speed? | [
"If you have a residential Internet connection, you're not paying X amount for a meticulously controlled speed. You're paying X amount for Internet up to a certain speed. The lines are way oversubscribed- Comcast can't actually provide 100Mbps 24/7 to everyone on the block they offer it to, but since most people on... | [
"Your ISP is advertising Megabit (Mb) speed not Megabytes (MB or MBytes). Megabits/8=Megabytes. If you are sold 15Mb download, then expect ~1.9 Megabyte download. With my time warner cable, I pay for 15Mb and get 1.9 Megabyte. There isn't any need for overhead or requirements about other users being on the network.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Internet speed and service:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Internet speed and service:",
"neg": "Represent the text about Internet speed and service:"
} |
Why is it that when we urinate and it is yellow it represents dehydration, but when we urinate and it's clear it shows we are hydrated, even though the same amount of urine comes out each time? | [
"Color indicates the (lack of) water. Meaning you evacuated stuff that wasn't water. Meaning dehydration."
] | [
"The drink 2 litres of water a day is actually a bit of a myth; you only need to replenish what you lose. You will actually absorb a lot of water you need from your daily food intake (unless you were eating a lot of dried or salty/sugary food). You can actually die from drinking too much water, by flushing essentia... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How long before our brains catch up with the fact that we're no longer in the Stone Age? E.g that a lion is not going to come kill us and we don't need to overeat out of fear that it may be our last meal for a while. | [
"If there is no pressure, then there will be no to little change. Edit: Spelling"
] | [
"Probably so it doesn't have to waste the energy digest any food if you're in a stressful situation. This was helpful back when we still had to run from predators and the like."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Deodorant vs. anti perspirant | [
"*De-odor*-ant stops odor (smell) *Anti-perspire*-ant stops perspiration (sweating)"
] | [
"Bacteria lives in your sweat, and bacteria produces the smell. Antiperspirant deactivates/clogs up your sweat ducts. No sweat = no bacteria = no smell. Most antiperspirants also have a deodorant, which covers any smells that might remain with its own smell."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
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