query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1
value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Who decided on the continents? Who decided Australia would be one instead of another part of Asia? | [
"No one decides. What a continent is just loosely defined and there is no official list of what is and isn't a continent. _URL_0_"
] | [
"Cultural reasons. You could argue that Africa also belongs to the same continent, as it is actually connected to Asia by land so it is also part of that land mass. Humans just arbitrarily chose to separate them into different continents. Same reason Greenland is not it's own continent, but Australia is."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
- Why are college loan rates so high? | [
"A) Education loans have one of the highest default rates, making them very poor investment potentials, so they end up getting a higher rate because of that. B) Refinancing a car/house means there is a real property to be held a collateral if the loanee fails to pay properly. No such option on n education loan. Sad... | [
"why are their tax rates so much higher?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Education:"
} |
How do vending machines know which dollar bills you put in? | [
"Cited from \"eHow\". Paper money printed in the United States contains, in addition to a plethora of visible security features, some very elaborate methods to assist in automated denomination recognition. The primary method vending machines use to recognize the denomination of paper money is through a magnetic sc... | [
"They pour them into coin sorters. The coin sorters feed coin rollers. The rolled coins are sold to merchants. The merchants put them in the cash registers and use them to make change for you."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why are acid attacks so prevalent in the middle east/asia? | [
"Follow up: If you can get these chemicals in the US and other Western countries, why are these attacks not as common here as they are in the east?"
] | [
"A follow-up and related question: how about young people in other parts of the world in this time period? I.e. South Asia, China, West Africa, South America?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why are Americans so much stricter about drinking laws than any other country? | [
"Because we are, largely, a superficially puritan group. Because of this, we withold things completely causing a \"dog off the leash\" reaction to them when exposed. Sure, alcoholics happen in more open societies, but part of our problem is brought about by good intentions."
] | [
"Why does Thailand make such a big deal about drugs compared to America? Edit: research the drug laws in some APAC countries like Indonesia, Thailand, etc and you will find that America's drug laws are actually very relaxed in comparison."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how does movie dubbing work? How can you still hear (e.g. background noises) but not the original voice of the actor on the background? how do they cancel it? | [
"They are recorded on separate audio tracks. The actors voices and all dialogue is recorded from the microphones, while other microphones record the ambient sounds separately. These are then mixed back together to create the finished product. To dub it, the dialogue is recorded again separately in a different lan... | [
"If the movie has a Russian dub, it could be a transcript of the dub (not a translation of the English). The reverse happens a lot in anime. Where the English subtitles are translated from the Japanese, not a transcript of the English dubbing. It's also possible that the person hired to translate the movie isn't pe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How does a 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner work | [
"Not very well, is the short answer. Cosmetics companies did find conditioning chemicals that stay on the hair when used in a 2-in-1, possibly they're more resistant to the cleaning chemicals than natural oils. But they're still not able to match what a separate shampoo and conditioner can do, and product buildup i... | [
"Different ingredients to do different things. Face soap usually had an anti acne/blackhead ingredient. Getting that on your junk would burn. Shampoo can be used as body wash. Body wash should not be used as a shampoo because it doesn't have the right stuff to strip mineral build up from hair. They do make All In O... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How is iTunes not considered a monopoly? | [
"Because there are a multitude of other, similar services that work with the same or similar devices and have the same content. You don't HAVE to buy an iPod and shop iTunes."
] | [
"Who told you they're not a monopoly? They clearly are. Note, though, that it's not illegal for a company to be a monopoly."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
why is Pi (3.1415 etc) this magical number that can be used to find out everything about circles and other circular shapes | [
"Because it is. More or less. It helps way more to think of it as the answer to a question rather than the magical number. 1+1=2, kind of thing, where you are calling 2 a magical number. It's not really magic, it's just he answer to that equation. In this case, pi is the answer to the question what is A/R^2, or (... | [
"Infinity is a concept, an idea. It is not a number and it follows its own rules which are not always consistent depending on the infinity type in question. You cannot remove a finite number of 1 and get infinity down to a finite number. By definition there are an never ending stream of '1' that make up your infini... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is the NFL still considered a non-profit organization when they make billions of dollars? | [
"The teams make the money and do not have this status - but the NFL itself as an organization is treated as a trade organization."
] | [
"Because despite their big salaries, the celebrities are often not the top dog in the chain, they're just employees of someone making even more money. It might seem crazy that an NFL player is getting paid $14 million for a year, but in the current agreement with the owners, all of the players combined only get 47... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How are businesses held accountable to make up the difference towards minimum wage for tipped employees in the US? | [
"You are usually supposed to report your tips to your employer anyway so they can withhold the proper amount of taxes. The employer already knows your hours, so they can calculate the average themselves."
] | [
"The way that is written it's not clear if the $6.75 an hour wage is at either of those airports or just *somewhere* nationwide. That said, it's important to note that some states have a training wage that is lower than the minimum wage, that's applicable to young workers for the early parts of their employment wit... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
If I give someone $1 million, why do I have to pay a gift tax? | [
"In what jurisdiction? There're a lot of them. One justification for it would be that it's an exorbitant amount of money to just receive for no real point of merit so it's acceptable to take a cut to help subsidize various government services and reduce the tax burden on people that came across their income themsel... | [
"Their best bet would be to donate the winning lottery ticket to the charity before the ticket is turned in to the lottery. Once they accept the prize, they create a taxable income, and I believe the max they can deduct is 50% of your Adjusted Gross Income. Of course, it goes without saying you should consult tax a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why doesn't every male grow the same amount of body hair? | [
"Same reason males are not all the same height, or many other differences...variations in genetics"
] | [
"They take androgenic hormones. Men don't grow hair on their face because of the Y chromosome, they grow it because of testosterone. So if you give a woman testosterone, she'll start growing hair too."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
The phenomenon in which you see a car you just bought all over | [
"It's a form of confirmation/selection bias, colloquially known as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon. Basically, you're not seeing any more of the car than you already were, but you're *noticing* them because you are likewise driving one. The frequency of encountering the cars isn't changing, your attention to that fre... | [
"You don't. You just only notice the times you look up and see someone looking back. Your brain doesn't remember the thousands of other times you looked up and there was nothing. It's the same effect that when you buy a car and now see a ton of them. Those cars were always there. You just didn't notice until you bo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When Google search shows no results for a phrase or question, does that mean that the word or phrase does not exist on the Internet AT ALL? or is there a place with new information? | [
"Google tabulates it's data by links that are being clicked. Say, for example, I have a blog on wordpress set to private. Google will never see anything on that page, so therefore, it will not show up in google search. However, if it is not private, and we are using the word Blingaring a lot and it gets linked by o... | [
"Google is constantly scanning every static web page (ones where you don't need to log in to see content), indexing them based on the words they contain. When you enter your search terms, it looks for pages in its database that contain all the words you searched for, preferably in the same order you asked. If there... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do soap operas always look different than other shows on TV? | [
"It's cheaper that way. They are often set up to shoot with multiple cameras running at the same time capturing the same take from different points of view. This requires generous lighting from *all* angles. This is called \"flat lighting\". Film is generally shot with one camera, and when they need to shoot the cl... | [
"Reality television is what people were wanting so the network did what any smart business does, they gave the consumer what they wanted. Business is all about the money, and there was just more money and viewers available through reality television and such instead of music videos. If I want to watch a music video... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
what is 'wrong' with GM crops? | [
"As well as what haikuginger said there's also the concern that GM foods don't undergo enough testing before they're left into the food supply. As in, someone might make GM oat that produces a bigger yield than regular oats, making it a more efficient crop. A large portion of the available oats switches over to thi... | [
"Can someone also explain what's \"love\" got to do with it?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How do erasers work on a molecular level? | [
"rub eraser on paper. friction roughens the paper fibres and creates heat. Heat makes rubber sticky. Sticky the rubber picks up the graphite"
] | [
"Why do some parts of the world call gasoline petrol?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
How Pets/Animals Know To Look Into Our Eyes. | [
"Every animal has a different behavior pattern. For example, Dogs look away if you look them in the eye because they believe you are the pack leader and the Alpha male/female and dont want to display dominance. Cats on the other hand display affection by looking at you, if they squint their eyes it means they cons... | [
"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 Reddit question about Animal behavior:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Animal behavior:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
1080p vs 1080i. What's the difference? | [
"Difference: Progressive versus Interlaced. Progressive: paint the first 1920 pixel line proceed to the next 1920 pixel line, until you get to the 1080th line, go back to line number one and do it all again. Do this 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, and 60 times a second. Interlaced: paint odd lines starting wi... | [
"480 is the resolution of SD 480 * 1.5 = 720 720 * 1.5 = 1080"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What does 'austerity' mean? | [
"Austerity comes from the word austere, meaning self-disciplined, solemn, and/or without luxury. In the context of the Greece issue, austerity measures are designed to limit the amount of money the government of Greece can spend, and also to encourage the government to raise more money through taxes. The Greek gove... | [
"See brexit? See the US elections? That's what didn't happen this evening :p"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In the first gen of Pokemon games, why do you need a game shark to catch Mew? Why was he even in the game if it requires using a 3rd party cheat/glitch. | [
"He was supposed to be a special prize for some Nintendo events. If you went to the event or won the event, I forget which, you would get Mew as a prize. Therefor he had to be in the program there is just no traditional way to get him. Also there is a Nugget Bridge glitch that allows you to catch one."
] | [
"1) You have to release every fainted pokemon 2) You have to catch the first pokemon in every area. If it faints or flees, you can't try to catch another. To make the game more difficult I presume"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do you sometimes have to use the bathroom immediately after you eat or drink even if you didn’t need to before? | [
"To make room for what you're just after consuming. (This may sound like a joke, but it's actually fairly accurate.)"
] | [
"Speaking from personal experience, I usually wake up in the middle of the night if I drink a lot of water or otherwise don't pee before going to bed. If you're very young, you probably just wet the bed."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why do vehicles on the highway travel in packs? | [
"Because if there is any point where people need to drive slower than anywhere else, they will catch up to that point and bunch up. For example, if you have a street with lights, eventually it will turn red and several cars will drive up to the light and stop. When it turns green they will all star moving together ... | [
"Aside from technical reasons that cause cars to run most efficiently when they're way below their max speed, you're also allowed to drive whatever speed you want on private property."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are mansions often sold for very cheap price? | [
"A mansion is not necessarily a house in high demand, there are only a handful of people who could potentially buy one. There are tons of people who are looking for a two-bedroom apartment, maybe four looking for a big mansion. Maintaining one is also relatively expensive. Maybe you have your mansion on the market ... | [
"Have you ever seen a home in foreclosure? Many of them are trashed. This is like asking why someone would buy a new car from a dealer instead of a car from Bubba down at the trailer park. It's not what the buyer wants. Also, \"full price\" isn't really the opposite of \"foreclosure\", since many foreclosure houses... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Since the major network channels are already free with an antenna, why are they so restrictive for streaming? | [
"Your local NBC station pays a fuckton of money to NBC to be the exclusive provider of those shows in your area. So, no other NBC station can legally stream to your area. It's really a matter of not being able to prove where the person is. IP geolocation is notoriously unreliable (mine, for instance, regularly ide... | [
"Comcast pays ESPN for the right to carry the channel. Sometimes, this leads to disputes on the price and a carrier winding up dropping a channel when they can't get a contract agreed to in time. That said, it's important to note that most of the revenue for these channels comes from the advertising they run, and n... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
How do vacuum tubes work to make a computer? | [
"You use vacuum tubes to build the circuity of several logic functions (OR, AND, XOR, NOT), called [logic gates](_URL_5_),     connect those gates in a way that makes them do the 4 basic calculation operations (+,-,·,/). For a adder you built an single bit ... | [
"Semiconductors are non conducting(electric current can't pass through them) in their default state but can changed so that they become conducting by introducing impurities into their crystal structure(doping). If you dope a semiconductor to where it is very close to becoming conducting than you can apply a control... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do different alcohols (beer vs wine vs hard liquor) seem to produce different "styles" of drunkenness? | [
"This gets asked a lot. Try searching using a phrase like \"different drunk\" and you'll find many of the threads. The short answer is that it's all in your head. And \"in your head\" is affected by things like expectation, environment, amount consumed, mixer, etc. The type of alcohol only matters insofar as you mi... | [
"> Why drinking different spirits makes you more drunk than sticking to one? It doesn't. There's definitely a psychosomatic effect at play: If you think you're supposed to be more drunk, you'll actually feel more drunk. But mixing different types of alcohol has no impact on your actual level of inebriation (assumin... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about alcohol and behavior:",
"pos": "Represent the comment about alcohol and behavior:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about alcohol and behavior:"
} |
why are cpus/processors so small? | [
"If they were big they would consume more power and be slower."
] | [
"_URL_0_ Theres a few reasons, cpus can definitely go kver 5 ghz, some have gotten up to 8 ghz, but you need a lot of cooling, much more than a standard PC (issue 1) The second major issue is on CPU design. CPUs are mad eof a bunch of really tiny transistors. For a CPU to operate faster, these transistors need to w... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What happens when you're eating or drinking and suddenly it "goes down the wrong side" and you start coughing? | [
"In your throat, just below your mouth, is an area called the [pharynx](_URL_0_). This is the place where your digestive and respiratory systems split. So your pharynx is connected to your stomach via the esophagus, and to your lungs via the trachea. There's a flap of skin called the epiglottis that moves to close ... | [
"It gives you the chance to hold something and breath without swallowing. Imagine if the substance was blood, poison, or saltwater: would you really want to swallow? By the same token, say your mouth is full of water and you try to breathe through your nose; do you want that water going into your lungs? It's all to... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does time pass at much different rate when dreaming? | [
"From Quora b/c I'm a legend > This is an interesting phenomenon. Time of course continues to pass at the normal pace while we sleep, but our perception of time is temporarily suspended. This can be attributed to the altered state of consciousness associated with sleep. We are kept unaware of our surroundings, whi... | [
"There is a complex, scientific way to explain it, but I'll just go the simple route. Essentially, your heightened sense of awareness makes you take in more information than you normally would, hence creating the illusion that time is actually slowing down."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What causes the limit on how far humans can see? | [
"Resolution. If you are not nearsighted, your eyes can focus 1000 km away the same as they can focus 100 m away. So focusing isn't the problem. But as objects are farther away, they are smaller in your sight. Eventually so small that their image only hits a few retina cells, or even just one retina cell. So you can... | [
"Why would the attraction of a black hole make anything travel faster than light?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Physics:"
} |
Why are we not offended by our own smells (body odour, farts, etc)? | [
"I disagree, I'm offended by my own body odor, et al, from time to time. Especially after a day at work if I forgot deodorant. I just smell disgusting at that point and rush to take a shower."
] | [
"Everyone's sneeze smells are different. Some people that have sweet smelling honey or floral smell are due to the ketones in your bloodstream. (sometimes a sign of diabetes or liver disease if it smells like ammonia). Others might have a foul smell due to smelly saliva. Since saliva is forced out of your nose and ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What does the 9/10 mean in gas prices? Ex: $2.38 9/10 | [
"One extra cent you pay. Or 90% of a cent. Psychological effect of paying less and to squeeze a fraction of a penny out of you."
] | [
"Gas was $2.18 per gallon on January 6th 2006 here in NJ. I filled up last night for $1.84 a gallon."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about Economics:"
} |
Who, or what, is Citizens United, and why have they all of a sudden been in the news so much lately? | [
"Citizens United refers to a court decision *Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission*. Citizens United was making a movie that was critical of Hillary Clinton and wanted to advertise it before the 2008 democratic national convention. Before the ruling, it would have been illegal to do so within 80 days of an... | [
"The benghazi hearings were about an attack on the American embassy in benghazi that resulted in some Americans being killed. Hillary Clinton was secretary of state at the time, and took responsibility. In the United States, politics is divided between two major political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats.... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What is the difference between 2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz wireless and when should I care about it for my home network? | [
"It's describing the wavelength of the signal. 2.4Ghz is a longer wave, so it ls slower, but can travel through objects much better than 5Ghz, which is a shorter and faster wave. Unless you have a bunch of walls restricting your router, 5Ghz is generally better. Edit: longer, not shorter"
] | [
"Portable WiFi hotspots use a cellular radio to access the Internet and a WiFi radio to form a local WiFi network. Is this the device you were asking about?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why is glass considered a liquid? | [
"It's not a liquid. The urban legend got started because people found older glass windows were thicker at the bottom than at the top, which made people think the glass had flowed. But actually, it was due to the way those panes were manufactured."
] | [
"It's all about density. Such a material is possible. Look into white dwarfs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What ever happened to the Space Opera science fiction? | [
"Viewers got a bit burned out on them, because there were a good number of them around for a while. I imagine that they're relatively expensive to shoot compared to many other types of shows. They're usually heavy on special effects/makeup/etc. so they're probably a bit riskier, which probably makes it tougher for... | [
"And to hijack this in a related way, what were the alternatives to \"America.\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why can't we build a massive building with an elevator that takes you into space? | [
"Because no material exists that can support that kind of weight (there are many, many other engineering challenges as well, but that's the easy one)."
] | [
"I think you have an odd perspective on how easy it is to build giant glass wires running everywhere compared to just building one satellite."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What's the point of /r/meirl? | [
"It's basically /r/funny, but with a focus on self-deprecating humour, like you said. The hook is that, since all of the titles are the same, content succeeds based on its own quality rather than title formatting, or title baiting, etc. Plus the little culture that has built up in the comments is adorable af."
] | [
"Are you sure new users should be exposed to /r/all?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What's really happening inside our heads when we suddenly don't remember driving somewhere (space out), but we still made it just fine without crashing? | [
"People haven't mentioned one thing. It's only the *unremarkable* journey you forget. You arrive somewhere, have no recollection of the drive and think \"oh my god, what if something had happened? I wasn't even aware!\". The whole point is that if something had happened you would be aware. The autopilot and lack of... | [
"I have anterograde amnesia from getting hit by a pre-teen who was texting. I only remember that because the memory happened after the fact. My memories are much more clear and vivid, but someone could be talking to me and I'll just \"blank out\" and have no idea what was just said. It isn't until a day or two late... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Psychology:",
"pos": "Represent the text about Psychology:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why do so many Star Wars fans hate Return of the Jedi? | [
"Yes. Giant galactic empire overthrown by little bitty fur balls. Bullshit."
] | [
"Rogue One will tell the story of how the Rebellion stole the Death Star plans that Princess Leia was transporting in the beginning of *A New Hope.* So it fits into the few months or so immediately before Episode IV."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How bad are things in the rest of the world right now? From the Arab Spring to the riots in Barcelona and the recent riots in London. Are we (the world) really close to a full fledged revolt from the lower class? | [
"I just read that the state of the Earth right now is much more peaceful than it has ever been."
] | [
"Long story short, it all started with high gas prices, then expanded to everything else that is highly taxed and expensive, along with corruption on many levels, so people can't take it anymore. Also, it's not just Paris, it's all over France."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Is shifting into a low gear (L, 2L, 3L) from Drive while moving in an automatic transmission damaging to the transmission? | [
"No its not damaging to the transmission, under the right conditions. When you shift down the transmission is forced into a lower gear which means the engine has to run faster to keep the same speed. If the speed your traveling is too high for the gear your moving toward then the engine will rev extremely high at o... | [
"The numbers correspond to the gear. Automatic gearboxes have gears just like manual gearboxes. So slipping the gear shift from D to 4 would be down shifting (assuming you’re on the highway above say 50mph). Same thing for gears 2 and 3. If you try this, you’ll notice your engine will rev higher. If you take your f... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What separates the sky from space? | [
"Gravity keeps most of it hanging around, but some does get blown away by solar activity or whatever. I believe mars used to have a similar atmosphere but due to its lesser gravity it couldn't hold onto it."
] | [
"Its really hard to believe nothing existed. Even with all these theories."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In the U.S., why are there only two major political parties, and why don't the other parties get equal time in the media? Has it always been like this? | [
"The way elections work in the US is tailored to only work properly when there are 2 leading candidates. Over time, this has lead to the two most popular parties completely overshadowing the rest. The media is not owned by the government; it is privately owned. Thus, it will tend to do whatever generates the most p... | [
"When you register to vote, you can choose which political party you want to be affiliated with. Those lists are sent to the party organizations so they can contact you, and in some states they qualify you to vote in the primary elections for those parties. It's mostly just a convenient time to sign up for party me... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Political Science:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Political Science:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What makes us have an epiphany or suddenly realize something? Have we subconsciously reached a "border" or how could one describe it? | [
"You could say that. The way I view this is that a window exists between your subconscious and conscious brain of which the size depends on your cognitive activity. Your subconscious processes are always hard at work, processing all the stimuli and impressions that your brain gets bombarded with every day. It comes... | [
"Awesome question! The brain is exactly the same as before, you didn't fathom and you still don't fathom. The unfathomable stays as a question or incomplete set of ideas that perhaps one day will make sense."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does the American government hate Cuba so much? | [
"There is a constituency of Cuban immigrants, mostly in Florida, who have a bit of power and hate the government of Cuba."
] | [
"The American government does not care what the rest of the world thinks."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does something like Brexit impact my interest rate for buying a car or a home in the USA? | [
"England is a significant worldwide economic power. Imagine you're an incredibly exclusive golf course. You can get by on 20 members that are very influential. If one of those members has something happen to them (you don't know what the full consequences of it is, but you know something life-altering happened to t... | [
"You will be paying off a lot of credit card debt while living in a different country."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do meteorites get their intricate patterns? | [
"when molten lava is ejected from a planet, due to an impact (big one). it crystallizes in the cold vacuum of space. like water, and shit. ice cold."
] | [
"By looking at the stuff that bubbles up through features like volcanoes. We can also use data from seismic measurements around the world. As the energy produced by earthquakes moves it will deflect as it goes through areas of different density. By collecting data from all over the world we can get a pretty good id... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why do legal documents and government notices use legalese instead of wording people can actually understand? | [
"10% of the time, it is because lawyers need very specific drawn-out language to eliminate aaaaaany potential misunderstanding. Another 10% of the time, it is because words that carry legal significance from loooong time ago in England are still in use today. Words like \"replevin\" are ancient as fuck, but still u... | [
"Most of them do speak English. At the very least, broken English. Those that don't will likely just memorize keywords without actually knowing what they mean."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
How Stephen Hawking speaks through his computer | [
"That's the gist of it, although Steven Hawking can no longer type since he lost the use of his hands. As I recall, he uses a muscle in his cheek to \"type\" but can only do it at about one word per minute. When you see Stephen Hawking in interviews or public events, he's not actually communicating in real time; ev... | [
"Because it was done by humans rather than by the forces of nature"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
I've heard that DMT is a naturally occuring chemical in the body. When people smoke DMT are they ingesting the chemical DMT or are they smoking an agent that activates the pre-existing DMT in the body? | [
"DMT naturally occurs in the body in small amounts. DMT also naturally occurs in many species of plants in higher amounts. When people smoke DMT they are smoking the chemical, often extracted from plants, and getting a much larger quantity of DMT into the body than is present naturally. Edit: /u/Skydvrr is also cor... | [
"The Pineal Gland is a small gland in the brain that primarily produces melatonin, a chemical used by the body to regulate sleep and act as an antioxidant for the nervous system. I assume you mean the drug DMT, which is a psychedelic drug that is structurally somewhat similar to melatonin which is present in very s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How does being tired lead to irritableness? | [
"One of the more \"evolutionary modern\" functions of the brain is restraint. We can suppress primary reactions like irritation and anger because we can reason why that would benefit us. However, it takes some energy to use this function of the brain and when energy is low or your brain is tired from not getting to... | [
"A lot probably has to do with stress. Stress can lower a body's ability to fight of common illness. On top of that, severe stress can cause many of the same symptoms as illness - nausea/vomiting, fatigue, sleeplessness, even fever."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How do we know that distant galaxies are not made of antimatter? | [
"Because then there would be some region between them and us where antimatter and matter would meet, and this border would be *extremely* visible to us, due to the matter-antimatter reaction generating a *lot* of energy as the matter and antimatter annihilate each other. We do not detect any such matter-antimatter ... | [
"It is an immense gravitational anomaly that our galaxy and hundreds of thousands of our neighboring galaxies appear to be attracted towards. We don't know what causes it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
the difference between Software Engineer(ing) and Software Developer(ment), if there is one. | [
"In general the two terms are fairly interchangeable, and the work done by a \"software developer\" at one company might be identical to the work done by a \"software engineer\" at another. If there is a difference it's that Software Engineering might try to put a greater emphasis on trying to adhere to industry be... | [
"Honestly this is one of those things that'll change depending on where you're trying to get a job. Some places will call the position \"Software Engineer\" and some will call it \"Software Developer\" and yet other will call it \"Software Specialist\" and yet *others* will call it \"Application Programming Enginee... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What exactly is a major in Women's and Gender Studies? | [
"There is a perception, particularly among feminist groups in the West, that a female perspective on all subjects (history, philosophy, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, geography, etc.) is lacking. Women's studies is a broad category of studies that reinterprets these subjects and others through... | [
"*Junior College* and *Community College* are basically the same thing - They are colleges that provide two year degrees called associate degrees *Bachelor's Degrees* are what you get when you complete your *Undergraduate* program which is a four year program given by a college *Universities* are a group of college... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
EL5 - if methane based life lives on the moon Titan how likely are we to be able to discover it with our current level of tech and national space budgets? Also how complex would it be realistically? | [
"If life exists on Titan (in bacterial form) we would likely find it quickly if we ever sent a rover like we did to Mars. It is unlikely anything big could develop there without our knowledge based on our current understanding of biology. Simple organisms tend to be the strongest and most resilient and they would ... | [
"When NASA talks about the SETI (search for extra-terrestrial intelligence) project, what they are talking about is detecting signs of life that has advanced far enough in terms of intelligence to be able to send signs of their existence (e.g. radiowaves) far enough into space for us to be able to detect them. As o... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How are IQs determined? | [
"The IQ is just a standard distribution with 100 being the mean and the Std Dev set to 15 (usually). Basically, it's all about how you scored relative to everyone else that took the test. If you did better than 98% of people, you would have and IQ of 130. That said, IQ tests tend to be given to subsets of the popu... | [
"What's to explain? Why we have it? How it works?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
So there are lots of types of wine (e.g. Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet etc.) so what makes different from one another? | [
"All those names you mentioned are grape strands or races. How does one make wine? Get a bunch of grapes, mash em, let em ferment. The sugar is turned into alcohol. Et voila, wine is made. To make a wine red, leave the skin on, for white wine take the skin off, for pink wine, leave some skin on. Recent studies show... | [
"Try this sexy infographic: _URL_0_ My suggestion would be to start with one wine from each of the 4 major types: sweet white, dry white, light red, and bold red. From there, you can decide if you like the tannins that you find in reds, or if you want a sweeter or not sweet (dry) wine. After that, just start trying... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Where do nicknames for enemy soldiers come from? | [
"> In the US the bad guys are \"Charlie\" No they aren't. That specifically refers to Vietnamese forces in the Vietnam war. The Vietcong (VC) is \"Victor Charlie\" in radio speak. That's where the charlie comes from. > in the UK they are \"Jerry\" Again, it refers to just Germans. Not just any aggressor. Jerry is ... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why was Nazi Germany able to defeat France so easily but not Britain durinf WWII in 1940? | [
"It being an Island was critical, since the British could build up their coastal defenses to repel any but the most ardent of invasions."
] | [
"Alliances. A guy from Serbia shot the heir to the Austrian throne. Despite the man having to affiliation to the government whatsoever, Austria declared war on Serbia. Serbia's ally, Russia, declares war on Austria. Austria's ally, Germany, declares war on Russia. Russia's ally, France, declares war on Germany. Ge... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How Pokemon GO works. | [
"The basics of it are fairly simple. It uses your phone's GPS to know your location, and it makes polimon appear when you \"look around\" using the phone camera. The locations to find pokemon are culled from a list of public interest locations the same as any GPS program does. So it knows where public parks and th... | [
"Bot explained how bots work. Thank you Internet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
The shift away from 3D and vividly colored graphics to flatter more geometric designs. | [
"I'm pretty sure there is precedent in psychology that I can find but I think it relates to us wanting to make these things as simple as possible so we don't have to think about it at all. You want a person to use your phone with as little work as possible and then you want them to forget that they used it until th... | [
"Video game graphics are optimized to render fast, use shortcuts, and are typically lower resolution than what Maya produces."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
how are nun chucks actually used? Are they good weapons? | [
"Developed in Okinawa (based, some claim, on the Chinese sectioned staff), the Nunchaku was never intended as a weapon of war, but as a training device. Practicing with it was meant to improve posture and hand-eye coordination, and for those reasons it's use was taught alongside other martial arts on the island. Th... | [
"karate is precise movements in hand and feet, as is taekwondo. Kung fu is a bit more concentrated on body flow, aka how you position your body for what you want. Muai thai is about sweep kicks to shins and punching mainly, although they will use head kicks occasionally. Aikido is about using your enemy's force aga... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
During sleep, how does our body know to suddenly wake when there is a disturbance in the environment such as a loud noise? | [
"Because you’re still conscious, to be more specific you’re not full unconscious or unresponsive. The parts of your brain that detect threat and keep your body at the right temperatures are still awake and if they feel like something is wrong they will wake you up."
] | [
"Possibly because REM, the stage of sleep where you dream, is the \"thinnest\" state of sleep, meaning you are closest to being awake. Your brain interprets the external stimuli such as your alarm clock or your name being called as part of the dream, it just slips seamlessly in. Same reason that if you are dreaming... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Psychology:"
} |
Why are so many products more expensive in Canada for seemingly no reason? | [
"Canada is a smaller market than the US, and shipping things across the border to sell is complicated."
] | [
"The simplest explanation is, because they can. The price of things has nothing to do with how much it costs to make the thing; it has everything to do with mow much people will pay for it. The US is an affluent market where people have access to money, even if it's in the form of student loans. Indian customers, h... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Economics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Economics:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
I want to build my own cell phone tower. is anyone aware of specific laws that would keep me from doing this or any good resources regarding CRTC regulations or laws surrounding private telecommunications networks? | [
"Countries regulate their radio communications and the towers constructed above a certain height. It is your government. The cost of this is generally prohibitive. So you need a lot of money, licenses to operate, permission to construct the tower, and of course power to the tower. Do you own the land?"
] | [
"Could be zoning laws, the availability or lack of infrastructure such as water and sewage or electrical. Property owners refusing to build or allow businesses to be built on their property, legal restrictions...it could be any huge amount of reasons."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why does the mass media present or exclude information as they see fit? | [
"It is for the same reason that buzzfeed uses clickbait titles. Revenue. Merely reporting on an event does not polarize viewers to be interested in hearing more about it. If information was presented once in a clear, concise, and objective manner there would be no reason for viewers to \"remain engaged\" and stay g... | [
"There is a strong hate for media which is biased against your viewpoint. It appears that the majority of people enjoy and want more media which is biased towards **their** viewpoint."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
In urgent situations, why are your bowels harder to control the closer you get to the toilet? | [
"Think of it like Christmas, The closer you get the more excited you become, 3-4 days before( a couple of minutes in the toilet scenario) you barely feel much you just know its happening. The night before(Walking towards the bathroom door) You become so excited you can barely sleep, AKA Your body realises that it's... | [
"They forget both unfortunately. Towards the end of their life they need assistance and supervision even for basic tasks like going to the toilet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Fast little water jet is expeled from under my tongue? | [
"From wikipedia: **Gleeking** occurs when an accumulation of saliva in the submandibular gland is propelled out in a stream when the gland is compressed by the tongue"
] | [
"It breaking your structure with its more cohesively bonded structure. Imagine a boat in the water. That displacement is your cut. I think."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What would happen if a blind person took LSD? | [
"[There was actually a study done on this, source here[1] Full study here[2] 13 of the 24 subjects experienced visual alteration and the normal retina is not need for visual hallucination.](_URL_0_) > [Being blind since birth, I have actually taken LSD. One of my friends back when I was a teenager gave one to me, ... | [
"The same way that you'd know who won if you got into a physical fight with another human."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can nightmares be so shockingly scary when our minds are creating them | [
"At the end of the day the answer to most sleep related questions is simply \"we don't know yet.\" If anyone claims they know with certainty why dreams happen and how our brains generate dreams, they're probably bullshitting. With that said, the prevailing theory is that dreams are a way to process subconscious emo... | [
"While dreaming, the part of your brain that determines if things are obscure and unrealistic is operating at a diminished capacity. In a sense, you are just not smart enough to realize there is anything wrong with an illogical situation."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Psychology:"
} |
What would happen if a service like steam went bankrupt? how would everyone get their games they paid for? | [
"Valve has said if they go under they would release an update to steam which would remove the need for steam to run to play the games"
] | [
"DRM stands for digital rights management, it is meant to prevent piracy and restrict your access to your game. Examples: * Requiring a constant internet connection * Limited number of installs, back ups, etc. * Linked to services (Steam) * Verification checkpoints There are other forms of DRM but these are the mos... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does it hurt more to accidentally bump something with my fingers when my hands are really cold? | [
"Colder temperatures cause your blood vessels to constrict. This is to help preserve core temperature. Constricted blood flow = lower volume of blood in the extremities. Because of this, the nerves are closer to the surface and therefore more sensitive."
] | [
"I'm not certain that it hurts any worse than any other injury, per se; instead, you are just more likely to stub your toe badly than you are to do a lot of other painful things. You need a hammer to hit your finger with a hammer. You can stub your toe at any time, if you don't have closed toed shoes on. Does stubb... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does the refractive index of water have an inverse relationship with its temperature? | [
"Hi, I found [this paper](_URL_0_) which has a section that talks about how crystalline solids and amorphous solids have an inverse relationship of refractive index to temperature. If I understand the paper correctly, they say the electric polarizability of the material decreases with temperature. They say the ele... | [
"See the table linked. Ice like all materials increases in density (contracts) as it is cooled. _URL_0_ The decrease in density (expansion) from water to ice happens as the crystalline structure of the ice forms. The change of state, not the temperature is the dominant factor in solid water being less dense than l... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
how a quartz watch works (as opposed to a mechanical) | [
"Quartz clocks, use something called an electric oscillator, or crystal oscillator that is regulated by a Quartz crystal. Basically, the crystal, or piezoelectric material (a solid material which has accumulated electric charge due to mechanical stress), vibrates at a very specific frequency when in an electric fie... | [
"Note that mechanical watches predate watches with batteries, and check this old timey video out. _URL_0_ My understanding of the evolution was that it began with big ass church or town clocks and worked its way down to clocks, pocket watches, and then wrist watches. It took a while."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
why is it so hard for some people to gain weight? | [
"They simply don't intake enough food. If you find your stable at a certain weight then increasing your calories will allow you to put on additional mass. Eating less will cause you to lose weight. Many people offer excuses but it's thermodynamics. You eat more you gain, you eat less you lose. Metabolism plays a sm... | [
"whats the point of hospitals if we are all going to die anyway"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why do pregnant women crave weird foods/food combinations? | [
"A woman normally needs nutrients to fulfill her own body's requirements, but when she's pregnant, she needs to eat for herself and the baby. Her body (being amazing) will react to this in the form of cravings. Her body senses that it needs more of a certain substance and will have a particular craving for it. For ... | [
"Do you also cough when eating popsicles and frankfurters/hot dogs? If so, it might be your technique."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
why aren't there any other species that are as smart and advanced as we are on earth? | [
"Nerve cells use a tremendous amount of energy, more than other cells. They use the energy all the time and not just when being used as it costs energy to maintain the potential to fire. So a large brain is an enormous drain on energy, human brains use around 25% of all the energy we consume. So an animal needs to ... | [
"Humans as we know them? Er, ourselves? Nope. We're human. So we have human limitations. If we go back far enough on the evolution charts to an animal that we branched off from, then maybe that could have happened, but we wouldn't be \"human\". So the answer is still no. It's not just vitamin D. That's important, s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
How do two languages, when meeting for the first time, learn each other's language? | [
"It starts with non-verbal communication. If I pick up a piece of food, bring it to my mouth and make a chewing motion, its pretty obvious I am telling you to eat it. If I then keep saying the word \"eat\" over and over again while doing that gesture, you'll figure out what the word \"eat\" means. Rinse and repeat.... | [
"Consider this: what language did you speak when you were born? Unless you were a very special baby, you eventually learned to understand and speak a language that was totally foreign to you, without the aid of translations or grammar laws. Humans don't need translations to learn a language. It makes things faster,... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
What will life on Earth be like when the continents rejoin? | [
"One aspect would be a concentration of arable areas around the coastline. Large land masses tend to have reduced precipitation the further they are from the sea. Unless the human population was dramatically reduced, we might see a cultural split between desert-dwellers and wet-landers. Water wars!"
] | [
"It's random. The continents drift over time. We happen to be living in a historical moment where most of the landmass is in the Northern Hemisphere, but in a couple hundred millions years it'll look totally different, just as it looked totally different a few hundred million years ago."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is coffee so much more expensive than tea? | [
"Imagine how many grams of tea leaves are on a tea tree, vs how many grams of coffee beans are on a coffee tree. As there are far more leaves than beans on a tree, gram for gram, it is easier to cultivate leaves than beans. The greater supply makes them cheaper. Added to that, you'd probably get an increase in pric... | [
"I highly recommend against smoking coffee. It's possibly much worse for you than drinking it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
So metal feels cold because the heat transfer index is higher, even though the temperature of all materials match that of the environment. But what exactly is going on between my fingers and things I touch to make different materials feel a different temperature? | [
"Heat flows out of your fingers, lowering the temperature of the skin. Your thermoceptors — specialized cells in your skin — respond to this heat flux, giving you the sensation of touching a cold thing."
] | [
"You'd get freezer burn. The heat in your finger would try to flow into the absolute zero object and this would cool your finger below the temperature cells work well at. No different than touching liquid air of any other really cold thing."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why when making a new product (food most of the times) advertised as limited edition companies sell it for very, very long time and it becomes available permanently? | [
"They are implying scarcity, which makes people want to buy more of it or not put off purchasing it. It's USUALLY but not always a marketing tactic, and a highly effective one. Simply by implying something will only be available in limited quantities and/or for a limited time. That being said, there are also cases ... | [
"They are well thought and confusing on purpose: 1) they don't want you to be able to compare their product to the competition. 2) they try to give a sense of urgency \"buy now\" even the product is on the shelves for a long time. They frequently create fake sales, fooling people into believing they get a great dea... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why are world leaders tolerating Kim Jong-un? | [
"[This is Seoul](_URL_1_). It's a fucking huge city, with 25 million people in the metro area. For comparison, that's a city with a larger population than Australia. [This is a map of South Korea](_URL_0_). The first thing you might notice is that Seoul is close to North Korea. Really close. Artillery range close. ... | [
"North Korea is on a whole 'nother level compared to Saudi Arabia and Qatar."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is ethanol "safe" to drink but not methanol when they are so similiar? | [
"**TL;DR:** alcohols are broken down in your liver. Methanol gives more toxic products which remain in your body for longer. There's an enzyme in your liver called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). This metabolises alcohol after you drink it. ADH converts ethanol into acetaldehyde, a toxin; however, your body metaboli... | [
"The alcohol in mouthwash is indeed food grade ethanol, there are some alcoholic people who do consume it to get drunk as sometimes it's cheaper and more accessible than regular alcohol. It's not a great idea to drink it though because the high concentration of fluoride and other tooth strengthening/cleaning and br... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Where does the fish go in large groceries/markets? Is it thrown away or do they use it somehow? It cannot possibly all be sold, right? | [
"Thrown away. They shrink it (account for that specific type/amount/etc. being thrown out) then toss it. Expected shrink is accounted for in the price of the product. As a grocery store employee, you'd be disgusted how much food gets thrown away on the daily."
] | [
"Those fast food restaurants buy ingredients in such huge bulk that they pay very low prices. Also much of that food is highly processed and as a result it keeps for a long time. Much of the produce that grocery stores buy doesn't get purchased before it goes bad and has to be thrown out. And so the cost of all of... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do Australian and New Zealand accents sound more British than the American accent? | [
"Accents are complex. First off, Australians, New Zealanders, and Brits have a variety of different accents. A posh Kiwi probably sounds more like a posh Brit than a Cockney does, but a Maori Kiwi will sound totally different. That said, taking your question at face value, the simple answer is that Australia and N... | [
"What happened to the Canadian/American accents is the same thing that happened to the British accent. Both of them changed over time, as people started pronouncing things slightly differently. The current Canadian/American accent is not an offshoot of the current British accent, and the current British accent has ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why some metals glow brightly when hot (i.e., steel or iron) when others just look like liquid metal (i.e., Aluminum or mercury)? | [
"Aluminum and mercury will glow too if you get them hot enough. Pretty much everything glows (incandesces) at the same temperature, aluminum and mercury just happen to melt before that temperature whereas steel melts at a higher temperature."
] | [
"Burning things while they’re exposed to the air, i.e. oxygen is termed “combustion”. When something gets smaller from burning, it is typically because it is composed of organic matter. For example, candle wax is composed of organic material, and combusting it gradually releases carbon dioxide and water. However, ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How does split (segmented) file downloads work? | [
"Most web servers support resuming broken downloads, this is the basis for multi-threaded downloading. The software can request the file from byte 0 (start) or anywhere else, so it interrogates the server for the file size, splits the file into chunks then requests a data stream from the start location of each chun... | [
"Without having a large amount of technical developer knowledge, I would assume it has to do with either the servers, matchmaking system, or both"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why are people in some countries much friendlier than people in other countries? | [
"I don't think there's a simple explanation. It's a case of various factors such as: * Is there a recent history of conflict with other countries? This affects how locals treat foreign visitors. * Is there internal conflict - civil war, ethnic conflict, etc. * Do people feel secure? * Is the climate conducive ... | [
"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 comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Where does 'money' come from, as in, who introduces additional money than what's currently in rotation? | [
"This is a surprisingly tricky problem and economists don't entirely agree on how best to explain it. To try and be as uncontroversial as possible, the modern money supply is based largely or entirely on debt. The more debt there is, the more money people think they have. One way of describing it is if you deposit ... | [
"No there is not a \"real\" as in physical dollar for everyone you bank online. However that has little to do with the internet and stated long before we had online banking. Money existed in theory only and without any physical coins or banknotes to back it up for long before computer banking came along. This is ho... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Technology:"
} |
Why do HD movies go blurry when paused? | [
"They don't always go blurry when paused. It depends on what that specific frame looks like. Often when movies are filmed they have blurry frames because that's what naturally happens when something on-screen is moving or when the camera is moving."
] | [
"Some parameters that might be different: * Brightness. A TV that's not bright enough will be difficult to watch in brightly lit environments, like a sunlit room. * Contrast. The difference between the brightest and darkest color the TV can display. Higher contrast means deeper blacks and brighter whites. * Color r... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why does the milk at the grocery store expire in 1-2 weeks but the milk at fast food places are good for over one month? | [
"It's a different type of milk. You can get UHT milk/long life milk. It lasts longer and is fine for coffee etc but doesn't have the same taste as fresh milk."
] | [
"because you're going to eat it. Cooked meat can be dangerous if you leave it in the fridge for a few weeks. Just like raw meat. The difference is that if you put raw meat in the freezer, you can save it for a few months. Cooked meat can be left in the fridge for a couple days, but still is subject to rotting. Bein... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How is "To Catch A Predator" legally allowed to expose the predators on National Television before they are convicted of their crimes? | [
"It is journalism. Disclaimers indicate to viewers that the predators caught are not convicted of crimes. What the program shows is the process of baiting predators, who are always given the opportunity to explain their presence at the sting house. The journalistic fact that the program uncovers, most of the time, ... | [
"Generally, it is not legal. There are two reasons people get away with it: 1. The cops aren't patrolling Craigslist, so they get away with it because nobody knows it went on. Although, more and more cops are starting to use Craigslist to hunt down Prostitutes and Johns, so this is becoming less frequent. 2. The co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
How my brain made a dream about my alarm going off | [
"Your alarm had probably already been going off for a short while. It's like the kicker in Inception. Noises from the real world can seep into your dream world and then your brain just uses that sound for whatever it feels like. I have the same thing sometimes. Like my alarm is the sound of a bomb about to explode... | [
"But why does your heart feel that way"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Biology:"
} |
What steps do I take to protect an idea I have for a phone app? | [
"You don't need to protect ideas. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Tons of people have ideas for apps. What you need to protect is the execution of the idea, the actual practical design. And yes, you need an actual practical design to get a patent. Just saying \"An app that lets people send a picture they've just taken t... | [
"Copyrights - I own this body of work and can give you the right to copy it. Think any Disney movie. Trademark - I own this brand and people associate things with it. If you try to use it I will destroy before you destroy my brand. Think Mickey Mouse. Patent - I did a lot of science/engineering/brain powering to co... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why the US government cares about steroid use in sports. | [
"The idea that problems can be lined up in some sort of rank order and we need to work through them from most to least important is really dumb and would not work as a system of government. Steroids are bad in sports because sports are competitive so either no one can be allowed to take them or everyone is defacto... | [
"Because China cares less about footie than the USA does."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Suggestion: when a post is marked "answered" the OP should be able to highlight the comment(s) that answered it. | [
"A few things to bear in mind: 1. This cannot be accomplished through CSS, and is pretty much impossible for now unless someone is *very* creative 2. Sometimes the mods mark a post as answered if it is very sufficiently answered and understandable (and has received a lot of attention/comments), or of OP said \"I ge... | [
"1. It is a Reddit Guideline : _URL_0_ 1. It helps when someone has already read/responded to a comment and it has changed (Maybe they highlighted your mistake) 1. If you edit after 3 minutes your post will be tagged as edited and people will wonder why."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
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