query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
How did white men come to be dominant on earth? | [
"Just about every white race can be traced back to Europe. The east/west geography of Europe allows for easier travel and sharing of ideas. When different groups of people travel more and share ideas, they develop their technology better, and in turn can take over other groups of people more easily. In the Americas... | [
"White people are the true coloured people of the world,"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do peepholes work? | [
"So basically the peephole is fitted with a special type of convex lens, some call it a fish hook lens that takes a wide view on one side and condenses it. By nature a lens takes light rays and creates a fake image or real image depending on distance and other factors. The reason you are able to see clearly is beca... | [
"It's how dogs check each other's news feeds."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
On some electronic devices, it will say something like "16GB of internal, expandable to 32GB" with a microSD card. Why the cap? | [
"It's likely because they didn't bother writing the software to index to that much memory. Meaning, on any given operating system it takes some thought as to how to store things in memory and get them back our again. It's a bit more complicated than just putting someone in a bin and getting it back out. It's lik... | [
"If it works with a 64GB microSD, it will probably work any larger cards currently on the market (but is not guaranteed to work with future ones). If it's limited to a 32GB card, it won't work with a 64GB card or higher. The reason is that \"SDHC\" cards (up to 32GB) use a different file system format than \"SDXC\"... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why is CNN perceived as a bad network? | [
"CNN has a 24-hour news channel, and in order to get the ratings necessary to justify its existence, it has to do more than just repeat major headlines every ten minutes. So they try to find whatever they can to fill time and entice people to tune in multiple times a day for more than just a few minutes. What this ... | [
"Wait, are you asking about the major TV networks or the major news networks? Fox the TV station has very little to do with Fox the news network."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Media and Journalism:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Media and Journalism:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do voices and some instruments vibrato? | [
"Why? Vibrato adds a lot of warmth to a musical note. By very slightly fluctuating your pitch, you are able to include more audio frequencies than just the single note's frequency by itself. So, the note you're projecting sounds a lot louder, warmer, fuller, etc. Also, vibrato is a clever way for many singers to sl... | [
"Lower sound waves are larger (peaks and valleys are farther apart) so they vibrate objects more noticeably and travel farther. High voices vibrate things it's just so fast it isn't as noticeable. This is why bass seems to be heard from farther away than treble."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does a cold feel worse in the morning when you wake up? | [
"Mucus pooling in your head. Once you're upright it will start to drain out and your symptoms will diminish. Try sleeping on an incline (e.g. using a husband pillow) and it may mitigate some of the morning effect."
] | [
"Your face is swollen when you wake up from sleeping? You might want to stop sleeping hanging upside down, mate."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
how is "Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo." A correct sentence? | [
"First, it's \"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.\" The capitals are important. Buffalo has three meanings in American English; the adjunct noun \"Buffalo\" is the city in New York, the noun \"buffalo\" is the plural and singular name of the American bison, and the verb \"buffalo\" mea... | [
"Because it is a conjugate pronoun/adverb. If that makes any sense. \"Why aren't beds firmer\" \"Why are not beds firmer\" \"Why are beds not firmer\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about Language and grammar:"
} |
The Sects of Different Religions | [
"There are people who think god is the sun in the morning. They don't play with people who think god is the moon at night."
] | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How do Nyquil and other sleep aids work? | [
"NyQuil is not a sleep aid. ZzzQuil is a sleep aid, while Nyquil is intended to reduce pain, fever, cough, and histamine response. NyQuil does have a side effect of drowsiness due to the action of diphenhydramine that binds to the histamine H1 receptor in the brain and acts as an inverse agonist. This means it bind... | [
"SUDAFED is the name brand for the drug Pseudoephedrine (PSE for short). PSE is simply a nasal decongestant and does not fight any infections, it only helps relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion. So, whether you take the medication or not will not make a difference on your immune system. Check with your Doctor... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is the 2 party system so dominant in US politics? Will it change in the foreseeable future? | [
"The two party outcome is pretty much unavoidable in a \"first past the post\" system, and pretty much unavoidable when you have a small number of seats being contested (in this case, 1). CGP Grey to the rescue: _URL_0_"
] | [
"Big elections are in the fall and gas prices go up every summer and down every fall whether there's an election or not."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Economics:"
} |
Why/when did we start calling Emoticons Emojis? | [
"They're actually different! Emoticons are ~technically~ just these: :) :( < 3 etc. Made **just** with punctuation symbols. Some software **may** convert those symbols into pictures...but there is no defined standard. < 3 might become a heart, it might stay a less than three. Emojis have a defined standard in Uni... | [
"First glanced at the title and thought it said \"What are Hot Pockets and how dangerous are they?\" Extremely."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do car batteries last a long time, but go flat if you leave the lights on over night? | [
"It's a rechargeable battery. When the engine is running, the alternator is able to use the power from the gasoline engine to recharge the battery. If the engine if off, the alternator is off, and the battery drains without being recharged."
] | [
"Turning the lights off uses no power. Turning them on uses almost no power, except for some fluorescent models where it can use up to 30 seconds of power. Short answer: turn them off, especially if you're likely to be gone for much more than a minute."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why do professional fighters "hug"? Is that any kind of defense? Does that have something to do with any rule? | [
"I think you're referring to the clinch. In most forms of karate, the clinch is a position from which you perform a lot of throws or strikes (such as knees to the head, or elbows to the head). In boxing, it is a defensive move to make sure that you do not get an uppercut or hook to the face."
] | [
"Boxing has a smaller target zone, so more hits to the same area. Especially the head. Boxing uses big fat gloves to protect your hands so you can hit full force, even when punching the head which would ordinarily break your hand. Without those gloves, they have to hit lighter. They can also hit other areas like le... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why do we blink in response to loud sounds we anticipate? | [
"A loud, sudden noise would indicate something has fallen, exploded, or occurred that could possibly cause you harm, many of times from shards or debris. Your eyes are delicate, and that's your body's response to keeping your eyesight functioning as well as possible - which was even more essential to surviving and ... | [
"Mirror neurons? The same reason happy movies make us happy, and the same reason we are more likely to yawn when we see others yawn, or feel sad when we see others cry. We empathize with the characters in horror movies."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do physicists know that time exists? | [
"Thought experiment: if suddenly everything in the universe stopped moving, no atoms smashing into each other, no synaptic exchange in our minds -- would time still be moving? Probably not. Time is just a way to measure change. A label for motion."
] | [
"1. It is unclear whether the universe is infinite, though our best guess is that it is. 2. Why do you say that \"we know there is a fixed amount of energy\"? Who is asserting that? 3. Why does an infinite universe preclude a fixed amount of energy? All these points may be moot anyways since energy isn't conserved ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
What make heart muscles different from leg muscles, et al. so that they never get fatigued? | [
"Practice. Repetition. The heart muscles are accustomed to their regular activity -- they've been doing that all their life, and although it doesn't seem like much of a rest to us, they get a bit of rest between each and every beat. Heart muscles do fatigue when they're asked to do more than normal. When your heart... | [
"Maybe I will end this before someone posts something unnecessarily informative and winded. Eventually your body starts cannibalizing muscles to get protein and glucose. The body doesn't differentiate much between the muscles in your forearm and the muscles in your heart and digestive system. The lack of electrolyt... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence about nutrition:"
} |
Why is a repetitive motion, such as drumming a finger on the table, annoying for others but not for ourselves? | [
"Those type of actions are about soothing or entertaining yourself. You get positive feedback from the noise or motion. Other people just get an annoying click, tap, or track suit rustling as you bounce your leg up and down in 3rd period noise. Great for you as it works out your nerves, not for others because it's ... | [
"Typically the annoying sounds are harsh/sudden, like the beeping of an alarm clock. The visual equivalent would be a bright light flashing in your face incessantly. Non-annoying repeating sounds may be the sound of waves on a beach, which is actually relaxing for some people. As is the visual of waves crashing on ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do people like to lean backwards in a chair to just before the point of tipping over? | [
"When you lean back in your chair you change your center of gravity. At the point just before falling forwards or backwards you are perfectly balanced over the central part of your body. This makes us feel centered, balanced, and grounded. So ultimately we are chasing the feeling of being stable when we'll most lik... | [
"Huh? I have this the other way around. When I sit it's all good, but when I stand and start to walk I have to hurry to the bathroom."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why is the new World Central Airport Dubai expected to be the world's busiest airport? How and why does Emirates need 150 Airbus A380s? How and why are these Middle Eastern airlines so much more massive than Chinese airlines? | [
"Location, location, location. Dubai is more or less between the most populous parts of Europe and Asia. It's also located in a good spot on the Persian Gulf, a tremendously busy area for shipping. In addition, it's considered to be one of the more stable countries in the region, and the government is *extremely* c... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why did US Congress pass a law to ensure all helium in the US National Helium Reserve is sold by 2015? What benefit does this have? | [
"In 1995 We had gathered a stockpile of over 1 billion cubic meters but had also racked up a debt of $1.4 billion doing so. The law was not to sell off all stockpiles, it was to start selling off the stockpile until that debt was covered. It was all part of a plan to privatize the harvesting of helium and get the c... | [
"> How would the US nationalize oil/natural gas? They'd pass a law requiring the owners of oil and gas firms in the US to sell or turn over their assets to the government. > What would happen to the companies who are producing oil on US soil/waters. They'd be owned by the government rather than their private owner... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does hacking work? | [
"Hacking is like trying to get into house. First you ask for key then try to open doors, then you try windows, chimney, pizza delivery, newspaper, water pipes and so on. Thousands of different routes. Of course if there is not a single hole then you can't do nothing. But if you can sneak a little robot through pip... | [
"Bot explained how bots work. Thank you Internet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
If U.S. Currency isn't backed by anything, how does it hold any value? | [
"because we all agree it has value. at this point, no currency is backed by anything. not a single currency still in use that is backed by gold or anything tangible. They exist on the credibility of their govt and society. Its convenient to have an intangible unit of trade, and as long as you have critical mass o... | [
"Because the value of a country's currency has nothing to do with the strength of their economy. A country decides what their currency is worth. Wether it stays at that value or not is how you know it's a strong economy."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do objects, like my couch or a coin, feel bigger than they look if my eyes are closed? | [
"Your hands are not 'tricked' by distance, like your eyes. On top of that, your field of view tricks your mind into processing an object within an entire scene - a couch is viewed in the living room - which is larger."
] | [
"When you look into a mirror, the distance you are looking is the distance between your eyes and the mirror, and then the distance between the mirror and the object. Because of this, your eyes are trying to focus on something that is further away than it would be if you just spun around."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Physics:"
} |
Why is medical knowledge not part of the standard educational curriculum? | [
"Next you will want to teach them about budgets, savings, diets, exercise and sex. It is hard enough to get them to learn the basics like greek gods, cursive and algebra I am not sure we can squeeze in your pet projects. Sorry."
] | [
"Welcome to the one of the strongest arguments against the prohibition of firearms."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How were the pigeons that carried messages in the old days trained? How did they know where to go to deliver the message? | [
"You raise the birds at the destination. You have a roost for them, let them fly for exercise, etc. Then you carry them to the place you want to send messages from. When you let them go, they fly back to their roost."
] | [
"The only real messenger birds are birds that are able to find their way back home, so it's possible to take them with you on a trip elsewhere, then send messages back home on the bird. It won't work in the other direction, however, nor can you send a message to any other random location besides \"home\". The reaso... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post about Telecommunications:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about Telecommunications:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
I just got checked by a nurse practitioner and I looked up their schooling. Most of their programs are only 2 years online degree, how are they allowed to practice independently with so little schooling? | [
"You must be looking up the wrong info. A nurse practitioner must first earn their registered nursing (RN) license and have a 4-year bachelor's degree in Nursing. Then they must earn a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). Then they have to pass their certification exam. It's possible that there are accelerated 2-yea... | [
"Step one. Get a bachelor's degree. Normally in pre-med, biology, or chemistry but any degree will work if you can somehow pass the medical school entrance exam. This is a 4 year undergraduate degree. Step two is take the medical school entrance exam, pass it, and then go to medical school. This is a 4 year conden... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
In bright light, why is it easier to shut off one eye and have the other wide open? | [
"Your brain is basically just concerned about how much light your eyes are taking in. If you can halve the amount one way or another (some people squint, some close one eye, some block the light) then your brain's happy. Your brain doesn't particularly care how you go about it as long as the perceived amount of lig... | [
"In the back of your eye, in your retina, you have two types of light receptor cells, rods and cones. Rods detect light vs dark and cones detect color. In dim light, your cones are effectively blind and only your rods are working. You not only lose a sense of color but of sharpness. You also have more of a concentr... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why can we recognize so many celebrities and fictional characters if the human mind is only supposed to be able to know about 200-250 people? | [
"So the first thing you have to understand is that it's not about 'knowing who they are'. It's about maintaining a certain level of relationship with people. The numbers were actually 100-250 initially (150 on average) and were called Dunbar numbers named after the psychologist who studied the phenomenon later oth... | [
"There are certainly short term limits for the average person, eg \"How many random numbers can you memorize in order in 5 minutes?\" However, our theoretical long-term limits haven't been explored much yet. It would understandably be nearly impossible to study, and any upper limits are probably based on practicali... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why are mixed blacks in the US considered black no matter how much they are mixed while this does not apply to other races? | [
"The answer is all political. For some though, it depends on how they grow up. I had a friend who was half black but grew up with this mothers side of the family who is white. He didn't really identify as black. Currently its very political. Black community don't like when half black people identify with a differ... | [
"They're not different races, they just have different skin colors, not unlike people who have a different hair or eye color or are a different height than their sibling. If anything their case shows the absurdity of using skin color as defining factor for race."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Where did the stereotype that Canadians are always saying "sorry" come from? | [
"From Canadians saying sorry in places where it isn't needed. The Prime Minister just spent a week apologizing for accidentally brushing up against some member of Parliament. It dominated their news for the whole friggin' week. That is some serious 'Sorry' energy. Edit: typos."
] | [
"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 answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
If child molesters or killer of children have a tougher time once in prison, why can't they lie about what they when asked by inmates? | [
"Word gets around. Criminal convictions are public records in most places, and it's not hard to get a friend outside to look up what a guy is in for if you're suspicious of him. A lot of people do try to lie about it, but if anyone really gets suspicious, it won't work well."
] | [
"You ask them. How do you convince bodybuilders to get recorded? How do you victim's to get recorded? How do you convince anyone to get recorded? Most documentaries about freed criminal revolve around either their experience in prison or what led them to be in prison (and its usually something negative about the ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Law and Entertainment:"
} |
How can eating half a pound of chocolate make you gain 2 pounds of fat? | [
"> How can eating x weight in food produce a greater number of weight gained in fat. Fat is made up of cells, and those cells are filled with water in order for their bits to move around and function. The chocolate bar isn't going to be stored as a raw chocolate deposit in your flesh. Chocolate is pretty complex a ... | [
"Calories don't make you full! Fibre, protein, bulky food that takes longer to digest makes you full. Think about 100 calories of celery vs 100 calories of bacon. you'll eat a heck of a lot more celery."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why is it that when you speed a video up, it gets higher pitched? | [
"Sound is vibration of the air interpreted by your eardrum. Fast frequencies are interpreted as being high pitched. Low frequencies are interpreted as low pitch. Speeding up a video increases the frequency of vibration relative to unsped up and raises the pitch."
] | [
"They play the song twice as fast and lip sync to that while recording. Then slow it down in post and the lip sync matches up to real time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do they have to shut the subway down when there's a snowstorm, shouldn't the underground portions still be able to keep going? | [
"For one, you need people to drive the trains. You can't keep the subways running if you tell the drivers they can have the day off. For two, if you shut down the mass transit, you tend to keep people home. Keep people home, and you have less of a need to have cops, ambulance drivers, taxis, etc on the street."
] | [
"The subway has had water pumps since the 1920's, and they regularly pump water out of the system (it's underground and below sea level). However, this is more water then they've ever dealt with so no one is sure how long it will take or what damage was done by the water."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is happening to our bodies when we see something that makes us "cringe"? | [
"Cringing is a form of empathy. If you see a child crying on the street because he lost his parents you feel bad, sometimes even physically, because you can imagine how it feels for the child. Empathy is our instinct to put ourself in somebody else's position. Watching a movie where something incredibly sad can mak... | [
"It's a reaction, that scientist theorize, as a means of emotional self-regulation; a means of compensating when one emotion starts to get out of hand. We experience this when something is unbearably adorable, and you feel like you have to squish it; or when you get so happy, that you start to cry, or so mad that ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
...I saw a news story tonight where a child had a double hand transplant; as a Biochemistry major in college I struggle to understand how is this possible? | [
"Arm transplants have happened as well, in general we haven't done a lot of limb transplants but conceptually it's just the same technology that lets us do any organ transplant plus the technique we use to reattach severed limbs in accidents. It's unlikely we will do any foot transplants any time soon, because the... | [
"I'm not a surgeon or doctor of any sort, but I would think this sort of thing might hypothetically be possible. The risks would be that the body rejects the replacement skull or that it allows infections to get into the brain. But, there's no earthly reason to actually do this. When the NIH is handing out grant mo... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
4K quality (what seems to be the next step up from 1080p from what I have seen) | [
"It's the next-gen HD resolution. You had it right. Its not particularly important yet though as there is almost no 4K content being made, and very few things are capable of displaying 4K currently. In 5-10 years it'll probably be much more relevant."
] | [
"No, there was still a lot of film used in the 2000s. Even so, digitization for HD (1080) is very different from digitization for 4K (2160) because different bitrate limits are needed for the different formats. There might have been a 4K \"digital\" version for theaters with digital projectors in the 2000s, but tha... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What happens when we generate more electricity than the grid is using? | [
"When too much electricity is being produced one of the first things done is reducing the amount of electricity used by scaling back \"quick reacting\" plants. Imagine angling the blades of a windmill so they aren't catching the wind anymore and supply is reduced. There aren't traditional batteries big enough to ho... | [
"Air conditioning. A/C uses lots of power - as anyone who lives in a hot climate can tell you. Collectively that sometimes means that more power is needed than power plants can produce. If demand exceeds supply... someone stops getting power."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do different languages share the internet? Is there a Russian language internet, Chinese language internet, or is everything translated from one page? | [
"No, a website will be the same no matter where you load it (usually, and not talking about region specific sites like Google.ra or even _URL_0_ (Canada)). If you search through Reddit, you will find many subreddits where people communicate in their own languages, like Russian Cyrillic or Kanji. However, some sit... | [
"Because the internet was \"invented\" there. So the vast majority of the first websites were US focused. By the time things started to go international it was thought that the other countries might like a way to show a site is Canadian or from the UK. So those other top level domains were introduced."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How do people who fast/don't eat or drink for longer than usual people not die? | [
"> Eg: like that indian bloke that didn't eat for 70 years. Spoiler alert: He eats just like anyone else. He *claims* not to eat, but that claim is ridiculous. There were two \"tests\" performed, but the first showed that he lost weight during the 10 days that he was being monitored, and the second test allowed him... | [
"Because instinctively if we can't move we can't escape danger"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
how does someone like bill gates keep all of his money? | [
"His net worth is largely tied to his investment holdings with Microsoft, although he more than likely has investments elsewhere. As the share price of Microsoft fluctuates daily on the market, his net worth fluctuates with it. If Microsoft has a particularly bad quarter, he publicly lost a lot of money."
] | [
"what are you talking about? anybody can buy stock in the stock market. How is it only for rich people?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How are special effects (CGI) in movies created? | [
"What kind of effects, specifically? The eli5 version is that you use computers to animate something. There are very sophisticated programs that can help calculate exactly how those animations move to make them appear realistic. They don't draw it in frame by frame, they essentially animate all the parts and then u... | [
"Logistics is a big part. Building sets, moving costumes. Cars, props, people, supporting staff, etc. Is expensive. Modern movies like to skip practical effects and pay large digital firms to complete CGI elements, which is absurdly expensive. And is the reason some scenes are stripped down for cost."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
what is the process of going into shock? | [
"There's a lot of good comments here describing what medical shock is, but OP is almost certainly asking about what most people think i called shock, i.e. an acute stress reaction, or ASR. Actual medical shock is a lack of oxygenated blood perfusing to tissue, but that isn't what people think shock is. That's beca... | [
"Its expensive and probably won't eliminate the underlying cause of why they began drug use to begin with."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How effective was the Great Wall of China at keeping Mongolians out of China? | [
"The wall served two main purposes: stopping raids and providing warning of attacks. It wasn't really meant to hold back a large invading army. It was pretty easy for nomads to raid Chinese farming villages in the north with just a few men. The wall was someone effective in deterring that because it's hard to destr... | [
"This is probably kind of a dodge, but the Mongols managed to attack, conquer, and rule at least half a dozen empires that were vastly larger and more wealthy than they were. The Jin & Song dynasties of China, the Seljuks of Turkey/Persia, etc. The kicker, of course, is that by the time the Mongol empire was estab... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about History:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about History:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
What is the difference to my body if I eat 5000 calories one day and zero the next vs 2500 for two days? | [
"It has been suggested that the human metabolism has evolved two modes of operation, activated by calorie intake. The first is *grow mode* where plentiful nutrients are flung about the body and as suggested the body replenishes itself. The second is *repair mode.* Activated by a lack of calories, the body scavenges... | [
"Because they don't eat like that all the time. They binge, and eat a lot all at once, but then eat less afterwards and it balances out. It's not particularly healthy, but as long as your average calories consumed is at the right level, you won't gain weight in the long term. Let's say the average person needs to e... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How is NSA software undetectable? | [
"A properly designed root kit installs before the OS loads, so it controls everything the OS can see. It can perfectly disguise itself because it can block any information the OS might use to detect it."
] | [
"Because HTTPS has nothing to do with being hacked or not."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why aren't professional body builders who take steroids arrested? | [
"To be arrested on any kind of a drug charge requires possession or buying/selling. The fact of having taken an illegal drug is not something a person can be arrested for."
] | [
"Testosterone can be used for cheating in athletes, and has high potential for unsafe abuse. You might as well ask why steroids are illegal, its just as good a question."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
The New Internet Laws | [
"I don't know it in detail enough to write an entire explanation but from what I know they laws were written REALLY badly(Which at this point should not be a surprise) and as so broad that under them if say user43985734 submitted a copyrighted video to youtube, youtube would be the ones responsible for it. aka copy... | [
"The Art of War in the Western World - Archer Jones"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Education:"
} |
How Do Hand Warmers Work? | [
"I'll try again. Pure powdered iron when it is oxidized or \"rusts\" releases heat. Yup, rusting releases heat it's just we never notice because it's the surface area of things like a car bumper are relatively small and the rust occurs slowly over time. Hand warmers are physically small but since the iron is ve... | [
"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 post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Did NASA disprove or set back global warming? | [
"First of all, an article can link back to any trustworthy source it wants, but it doesn't mean that the article is using that source correctly. It seem to me that the article is trying to say that since CO2 is reflective, it must be cooling off the earth. Is CO2 reflective? Yes. Does it cool off the earth? Heck to... | [
"There are two main points that man-made climate change deniers usually make: 1. Climate change is a natural process and not man-made. The climate has been changing on this planet since it was created. 2. The climate prediction models are wrong. In the 1970s, everyone was afraid of the next ice age. In the 1990s, ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What makes it so that people with epilepsy cant look at rapidly flashing colors on a screen? | [
"Rapidly flashing lights cause a sort of \"short circuit\" in the brain, this produces a seizure. Its usually much faster rates than a flashing screen, but neurologists do tests with flashing lights to measure your tolerance to them in a sleep study. I know this since I've had epilepsy since I was 15 (now 23) and a... | [
"It MAY cause eye strain which could be a temporary annoyance, or cause a headache. But no long term damage can/will come of it. Simply put, your parents said that because if you were to close to the TV, it makes it harder for others to see."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why does meningitis always seem to kill people who are college aged and otherwise healthy? | [
"Bacterial meningitis is *extremely* deadly, able to kill in less than a day, often under 3 days. You often hear of it in college students simply because they are more exposed to the infection, as bacterial meningitis is usually transferred through saliva. Any age group can contract and die from it."
] | [
"The lifespan changes have to do with our health, not our biological makeup. 40-year olds of older times looked like 40-year olds of today, but were much more likely to die from sickness or violence."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Biology:"
} |
If I were to write the address of where I wanted to send a letter in the "from" area, and my address in the "to" area without a stamp, where would the letter go? | [
"Nowhere at all. The post man would pick it up, write \"No stamp\" on it, and put it back. Or, he might not even write anything. He would just leave it. If you did put a stamp on it, it would go to your local post office, be filed, and then sent right back with the next day's mail."
] | [
"Simpler explanation: I write you a letter that says \"This letter was sent from < my address > on < date > and < time > . Please send me a letter back as soon as you get this, with the exact time and date you received this. You follow the instruction and send the second letter back to me. When I get your letter, I... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why are some of the things that the horoscope says about some signs so accurate? | [
"Try reading some of the other signs and pretend they're yours. You'll find that they're written so generically that you can find something describing you in just about all of them. Short answer is Confirmation bias."
] | [
"Pretty much just throw it out there and hope. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but the portrayals of the practice in BC are largely inaccurate."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
Why is China still a developing country despite it's massive economy? | [
"Because most of its citizens are still poor, subsistence farmers or low skilled factory workers, etc. The economy is massive but their population is ALSO massive. Their per capita GDP is about 1/7 that of the U.S."
] | [
"China has 1.3 billion people, more than four times that of the U.S. (319 million). So it's not that strange to assume that the size of China's economy will surpass that of the U.S. The U.S. is not hugely in debt to China: less than 10% of total U.S. debt is owed to China. China also has debt to the U.S. In today's... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
After big plane crashes, do all pilots in the world learn from them? | [
"My father is a safety officer with the civil air patrol. He holds monthly safety meetings where they discuss the recent accidents and crashes(there are more than you might think) and how they could have been avoided. There was recently a crash that killed a man and his wife at our local airport, and just yesterday... | [
"First of all, who are you going to save with a few ships and a device dedicated to locating black boxes? These resources are designed for doing this job - it's not like you could take the same resources and end famine in Africa with them. Aside from that, knowing what happened to MH-370 is vital for the aviation i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about aviation:"
} |
How American Politics works. | [
"Large corporations send lobbyists to bribe people in Congress and the Senate to present and vote for bills that will be profitable to them. Politcians tell their base what they want to hear in order to get elected and then just continue to pander to corporate interests, because it's very profitable for them. All t... | [
"Next Week's Theme: 'Royalty, Nobility, and the Exercise of Power' To be followed by: \"Eastern Europe\""
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
why is plastic a good insulator? | [
"In that specific case, it's because plastic film is non-porous. That is, it's a solid membrane that doesn't let air through. Fabric on the other hand has all these tiny holes in it between the threads (unless is is very thick, very dense, and very tightly woven) that can let air through."
] | [
"pure ice or water does not conduct electricity. its actually the impurities that act as the conductor."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why is there such a high concentration of religious conservatives in the South in the US? | [
"The reasons are complex. [Here](_URL_0_) is /r/AskHistorians on the subject."
] | [
"There is no such thing as guilt by association in the USA."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer about Law and Entertainment:"
} |
What is Socialism? And why do people think America is coming to that? | [
"It's maybe worth saying in addition to the responses you've had, that *nobody* at all, outside the US, thinks that America is going socialist. That some Americans think they are, is pretty funny and the result of what Europeans, in various languages, used to call propaganda. Of course there's no such thing as pro... | [
"Left-wing answer: Not enough socialism Right-wing answer: Too much socialism"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why couldn't Verizon's network handle simultaneous voice and data until relatively recently? | [
"That was a limitation of their non-LTE technology. CDMA is a different technology than GSM (the radios work different) and I think CDMA was more voice optimized. Their 3G technology was unable to handle things simultaneously - likely since data browsing wasn't as big of a priority - GSM has wider adoption and thei... | [
"So they can up-sell you to a bigger package, and because if everyone had truly unlimited data there would be times when bandwidth can't meet demand. Imagine if everyone was running full HD video and torrents and who knows what else 24/7 on every cellular data network."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
What is the difference between the titles Great Britain, England and the United Kingdom and is it proper to refer to someone as English or British? | [
"England is, well, England; Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales; the United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."
] | [
"/u/cdb03b has answered the question well, so I'll just add something separately. The Queen has many titles and roles, but none of these include the \"Queen of England\" as England isn't a Kingdom on its own. That stopped back in 1707 when the thrones of England and Scotland were united to create the British throne... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Geography:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Geography:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Hindu deities, how are there so many versions of the same gods? | [
"All the Hindu deities are part of the same ultimate divine power, known as Brahman. There are three main divisions from there, known as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. These can be looked at in a similar way to the Christian Trinity. One being, three bodies. From there, it gets more complex and there are a thousand mor... | [
"First of all: Nataraj *is* Shiva. It's Shiva depicted in one of his famous roles, dancing the dance of the universe. It's Shiva in the same way that baby Jesus is Jesus. As to why they have it: the Indian government donated it to them. The felt that the dance of creation and destruction, as represented in the Nata... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
Why did Bill Clinton remain in office after being impeached? | [
"Impeachment just means that Clinton was officially accused of misconduct. It does not mean that he was actually found guilty of such misconduct. Remember, in the US, the House of Representatives determines if the President should be put on trial. If the House of Representatives determines that this is the case, t... | [
"Yes he was impeached for perjury (lying under oath) and obstruction of justice. Impeachment refers to any official being accused of illegal activity. So while impeached he was not removed from office. Richard Nixon was also impeached though he resigned before the trial."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
When I plug my headphones into the microphone port, why does it work? | [
"Headphones and microphones are remarkably similar in design. The headphone's speaker diaphragm moves in response to sound and this drives a current which moves through the cable. This is also how basic microphones are designed."
] | [
"If they're using speaker mode, both the mic and the sound from the other person are coming from the bottom of the phone. If it's not in speaker mode, either they're trying to speak directly into the mic so the other person can hear, or they're just weird."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What exactly is Nihilism? | [
"In general it is the belief that there is no inherent purpose or value in existence."
] | [
"Bot explained how bots work. Thank you Internet."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
I have to empty my 5 gallon dehumidifier in the basement every day. Where is all that water coming from? And if I didn't have a dehumidifier where would it all go? | [
"In the air. The air is full of water vapour. Water vapour is transparent to the human eye, so we can't see it. And no, the steam from the kettle is not vapour, it's tiny droplets of liquid water, that's why you see it. Same happens with the clouds, btw. So, the vapour is in the air. If you didn't have a dehumidifi... | [
"Well I've done it for a long while. It's actually a bit of a process. I collect the water that runs off the house. bird crap and just general stuff like leaves runs into the gutter so I built a bit of a strainer and a small filter in the actual drain, right before the containment unit (in this case a large bin. (N... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What was/is so special about the Vitruvian Man? | [
"It connects the \"natural\" with an idea of \"math and science\". This is significant as it represents a key concept in the renaissance - we begin to see a connection between the fabricated world of math and science and its ability to describe and model the real world."
] | [
"The creator of the typeface names it whatever they want."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why don't you wake up sleepwalker? | [
"A lot of people believe if you wake them up, they'll have a heart attack or something else horrible. These claims are overstated. A normal healthy person is very unlikely to have anything bad happen to them. It will probably confuse or disorient them. Depending on how they react, they might try to defend themselve... | [
"Shit I'm not ready for this talk. Ask your mother."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
What can the military do if the president attempts a hostile takeover? | [
"How would the president conduct a hostile takeover without the military? Also a takeover of what?"
] | [
"Yes, federal law enforcement agents could waltz in & arrest everyone. Currently, the president has issued an order prohibiting them from doing so Theoretically, that could be revoked at any time or when the next president comes into office."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How does one get college scholarships and how do they work? | [
"There are multiple kinds of scholarships. Many scholarships are applied for. If you google \"scholarship search\" it will pop up several tools that will help you locate scholarships that you may qualify for. These require you to fill out applications and say why you deserve the scholarship, but they can be quite h... | [
"They affect your ability to get into good colleges. Going to a good college can really help your future and make your life easier. More to the point, the skills you learn while earning good grades help make you better qualified for many jobs."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why does checking your credit score lower it? | [
"Merely checking your score for personal reasons does **not** lower it. That's what's known as a \"soft\" check and it harmless. When your score is checked for *purposes of lending you money*, that's a \"hard\" check and counts against you. The logic is that if you're asking lots of people for loans in a short peri... | [
"There certainly is a positive effect if you pay them on time. Over time, if you do not miss payments your credit score will start going back up."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
As a man, why does all sexual desire disappear after an orgasm? It's almost to the point where I think sex is disgusting for a while (NSFW) | [
"The part about this not being the same for women is not accurate. As a woman, I actually used to go through this exact same thing.. I always thought it was so strange- especially because I could be turned on by the simplest of things or the strangest of things and they all elicited the same response once I had org... | [
"I just had my operation in February and let me tell you the answer is a resounding yes. Also the orgasms are MUCH MUCH better then they ever were before the surgery. The first time I orgasmed after my surgery I was literally unable to walk for about 10 minutes afterwards. As for the how, basically only clitoral st... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Psychology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Psychology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
what black heads are made of, and why some people get them more than others | [
"Your skin has millions of glands on its surface that secrete an oily wax known as sebum. This is completely natural, and serves a natural lubricant for your skin to prevent chafing and dryness. Many plants have a similar waxy coating on their leaves, which helps prevent dehydration as well. These glands can someti... | [
"They aren't bad for your body, even if you habitually use them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are train tracks covered in stones? | [
"Not all are. A great deal are, but there are some areas where it's dirt, and other where it's cement. But it's because stone offer the most support. Dirt can get washed away as mud after a torrential downpour, stones don't do that as often. You even still see trains have trouble with areas that have a lot of dirt ... | [
"Does it matter if there is water instead of roads between a number of small towns? We have boats and bridges."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
ISIS seems to be growing every passing day, but it seems like no nation is obviously taking them seriously, why is that? | [
"We are not in an era of televised war. There's nobody on the ground filming western nations deploying troops because that's not how ISIS is being engaged. There's no warning for the press to get some great action shots of a drone strike, which is how the US primarily is fighting ISIS. Nobody wants a ground war af... | [
"Al-Qaeda think that ISIS are giving terrorists a bad name. They want to clean up the act of terrorism and make it a respectable career choice. Also because ISIS is doing what Al-Qaeda couldn't do. They are actually gaining some real support from both local people and from people in other countries who travel just ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about current affairs:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about current affairs:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How exactly do we know what human-based climate change is a major reason for heavier storm seasons, and not the planet heating up naturally? | [
"That is a pretty meaningless question. If you had to load up a shelf with 50 pounds of rocks and 50 pounds of jellybeans and then the shelf broke because it could only handle 75 pounds how can you be sure if it was the rocks or jellybeans that broke it? You can't, that doesn't mean anything. There is natural heati... | [
"Every scientist believes in climate change. It's climate change caused by human activity which some don't believe. Some scientists argue it's just part of the Earth's cycle, like how ice ages started and ended before humans existed."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Climate science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Climate science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What would happen to the body if it is continually electrocuted, like the guy from "Taken?" | [
"Electrocution, by definition, means \"death by electric shock\". So it is impossible to continually electrocute someone. Either they are electrocuted, or not."
] | [
"When was the last time you actually witnessed a human being decapitated? Where is your source for how a human body acts after a decapitation?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about biology:"
} |
Why does cheese go hard when you melt it then let it go cold? | [
"When you heat the cheese up past a certain point, moisture is released, which when it cools down, makes it harder as it is more dense. Water in cheese makes it softer."
] | [
"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 Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why was Spelling a Core subject in Elementary school but no longer in Middle and High school? | [
"Spelling never really gets any harder. Vocabulary just expands. It would be like having addition class."
] | [
"In the USA, it depends on what State the school is in, the School District and wether the district/school is public or private. The ages are approximate, again depending on individual district cutoff dates. For example: My friend and I were born 11 days apart and were different years in school. He entered High Sch... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How does a toilet actually flush from water being added to the bowl? | [
"[Toilet Crossview](_URL_0_) for reference. As water is added to the bowl, it rises up the pipe following that blue line. When enough water is added, it overflows the other side and gravity takes over. That water overflowing creates a chain of negative pressure and the remaining water/contents of the bowl are basic... | [
"They may have been designed and installed to avoid problems from idiots who put too much paper or other things in the bowel. A stopped up toilet is a mess and requires attendance. So a manager will buy a particularly good toilet to save money. They may also manage to have the building constructed so the sewer pipe... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How can North Korea treat it's people in such horrible conditions without the UN or another country intervening? | [
"There are many complexities involved in UN intervention or any global intervention. Many of these are political and economical in nature, but in North Korea's case, there is one single factor that trumps all of these: Less than 40 miles from a number of major North Korean military bases is a Seoul, South Korea's ... | [
"Because they are an economic and military superpower. They are also a sovereign state. Traditionally when a state is out of line, other economic superpowers would impose sanctions that hurt the state economically. China is so ingrained in the world economy that we can't really do that. Now, if they started genoc... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why hasn't David Miscavige (and the rest of Scientology for that matter) been investigated by the police yet? | [
"Scientology in the past have made it a point to go after people personally if they don't get what they want. (google how they got their tax exemption status). They even tried to infiltrate law enforcement (operation show white). This hasn't stopped the FBI though. However, since they are classed as a religious gro... | [
"Watch the documentary 'Going Clear'. That will explain everything you need to know about Scientology, most of which comes from the mouths of former members."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Religion and Crime:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Religion and Crime:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Why can't you be born with dark skin colour if your parents are white (and vice versa)? | [
"Skin color is genetic, like hair or eye color. If your parents aren't coded for it they can't pass it on to you."
] | [
"Your mother had the recessive gene for green eyes, and that mixed with your dads green eyes to make you. I don't know about rarity for non brown eyes, they should all be rarer than brown. Source: My hazel eyes mom and green eyed dad made blue eyed me."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
Timbre, or how I know the difference between the sound of a piano and the sound of a violin | [
"Ordinary musical sounds are actually quite complex. We think of a trumpet as playing one note at a time. But it really plays one \"fundamental tone\" (the lowest) with many \"overtones\" due to the way that it resonates. This gives a trumpet much of its distinctive sound...its \"timbre\". The overtones are multipl... | [
"They are struck with a hammer rather than being plucked. If you pluck a piano string the sound will be much closer to that of a guitar."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Is it just a coincidence that 'Who', 'What', 'When', 'Where', and 'Why' all start with 'Wh' or is there a reason? | [
"There is a reason. Specifically the grammar of PIE (the earliest ancestor language of modern English that we have a fair working knowledge of) marked interrogatives (words like who, what, when etc) with a prefix that sounded like 'kw'. (I'm no linguist, but I suppose this is kind of like the way English marks ques... | [
"For to/too, I say that if you're talking about someone doing a similar thing, it's too, and if you're talking about a destination/journey it's to. e.g. 'I'm going to the shops.' 'Me too.' For effect/affect, I use RAVEN (Remember, affect verb, effect noun). For who/whom, if you can replace it with 'he' or 'she' it'... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why can't the world have one currency? | [
"There is no reason we couldn't, it wouldn't even be hard to implement if we got 100% buy in from all countries. The problem is that having your own currency is awesome. You can manipulate it to control inflation, interest rates, and other economic factors. You are somewhat detached from other countries, so their e... | [
"In the real world why would anyone want to be a politician?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
shaped charges. I read a little about it but I just don't understand them | [
"An explosion is basically a shockwave. For a uniform, round explosive, the wave is more or less spherical. However, you can change the shape of the shockwave by changing the shape and material of the explosive. Just like light, shockwaves move slower through some materials. By creating a lens shape using a differe... | [
"Whew where to begin... this is not an easy issue and I damn sure wouldn't try to explain it to a five year old ...lol _URL_0_ b this explains it very well and I would be glad to explain anything you don't understand, but this should help you in on the long and short of it Edit: to clarify its not just one issue, i... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
My nearest major city has a road grid that is *slightly* angled off East West. Is there a practical reason for this? | [
"From what I can tell of the [article on the \"Hoddle Grid\"](_URL_0_), it's not a continuation of the original infrastructure, which has a different angle meant to match with the Yarra River. That same article implies that the *slightly* off angle of the rest of the city is aligned with what magnetic north used to... | [
"Where I live, Odd and Even correspond to cardinal directions. North sides of streets are odd, even is south; West sides of avenues are odd, even is east. Addresses are based on distance from the American border to the south and from the ocean to the west. It's really easy to figure out where any given house is eve... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
As a German with not much knowledge about the US, please explain why Florida is so often made fun of/spoken badly about | [
"There are laws in Florida that arrests are a matter of public record so they end up in the newspaper. Every state and country has idiots doing stupid things but in Florida if they get arrested it goes in the newspaper for everyone to see. This makes it seem like these things happen way more often in Florida when r... | [
"I'd say Irishfafnir is correct, the upsurge in anti-Americanism historically seems to go hand in hand with increasing power of the U.S. There was a lot of anti-British and anti-French sentiment before that, comes with being the most powerful and culturally most dominant group. Of course, it isn't helped with the f... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How are torrent-hosting sites simply not shut down for copyright violations? | [
"Generally because there is nothing hosted on a torrent site. The street equivalent is knowing a guy that can get access to anything. You walk up to him and say, I want some weed. He tells you to go into that red door. Someone else wants to buy booze. He tells them to go into that blue door. Cops come up and try to... | [
"Torrenting isn't illegal *per se*. Downloading copyrighted materials is a violation of copyright laws."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
. How do news organizations benefit from being biased? | [
"Being partisan can build them a loyal following. People like having their preconceived notions affirmed. Going to a news source where they have their notions affirmed over and over can gain them very loyal watchers. Plus, it allows advertisers to to very specifically target their advertisements. Go to Fox News and... | [
"If I can ask a follow-up: How did these companies respond to being targeted?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Media and Journalism:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer about Media and Journalism:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
If a sizable spacecraft was hovering over earth, would we be able to see it? | [
"You can spot satellites and the ISS from the ground already. They look like shooting stars, but you can see them."
] | [
"A catastrophe like that simply could not occur on that scale at that speed, and not at that 90-minute regularity. Apart from that, and a few other glaring physics mistakes, it was really quite an excellent film. Though space debris is a big problem for things in orbit. There's a lot of debris up there, and it coul... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph about writing:"
} |
Why does a hearing a recording of my voice sound different to me then when I hear myself talk? | [
"We hear sounds as vibrations hitting our ear drums. When we hear most sounds, these vibrations travel through the air and into the ear canal. Our own voices also vibrate through our bodies, creating a slightly lower pitch. When you hear a recording of your voice you are missing this extra level of vibration that l... | [
"We don't actually hate them. Our voice \"Spreads\" to our whole body through our bones. This means that when we talk, part of what we said goes to our ears through the bones and makes us believe that our voice is what we hear when we talk therefore when listening to it through a tape or video we disliked it becaus... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about Language and Communication:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Language and Communication:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
How did the asterisk end up being used for correcting an incorrectly spelled word? | [
"I think that relates to their use as footnotes. An asterisk* after a word refers to a passage at the bottom of the page which has clarification or extra information regarding the word. I think that with the advent of instant messaging, the method gained popularity as a corrective footnote. The first asterisk of th... | [
"In spoken English, it's usually clear when someone is stating numbers and when someone is stating letters. (This is not true in serial numbers or passwords, as you may have discovered! The ones that kill me are the official paperwork from a company where the password is given in a font not found anywhere else in t... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do most dogs seem to love beer? | [
"My dog isn't picky. She likes anything even vaguely edible, including paper. I've also known dogs that would eat dirt and rocks, so beer really isn't that weird in comparison."
] | [
"A follow-up question: Why do some people love that feeling while others detest it?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How does your brain change from when you are a kid to when you are an adult? | [
"Some recent studies have indicated that the prefrontal cortex does not finish it's development until much later than the rest of the brain, in young adulthood. This apparently has a lot to do with \"idiot teen syndrome\" (my term) where teenagers don't really understand their limitations and the consequences of th... | [
"Because when you're a kid, a year is a larger portion of your lifespan than when you're, say, 50."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What makes Cuban cigars so sought after? Can they not be grown on another Caribbean country? | [
"Some of it is the \"Coors Beer\" effect: when you couldn't get Coors Beer in the eastern US it was the best beer in the world. Now that it's everywhere it's just another beer. Cuban cigars were always available in the US by buying them in Canada. They are good cigars but Honduran cigars can be every bit as good or... | [
"Fair trade is mostly to protect international farmers. They get ripped off in third world countries. Coffee is grown in tropical areas, so there are not many places in America or first world nations in general where they can be grown. Coffee is native to Africa and much of it is still grown there. Jamaica is anoth... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How can you watch a video while you are still downloading it? | [
"Essentially a torrent is just downloading your file in lots of little fragments from other computers. If your torrenter is set up to request and download these fragments in order, assemble them, and then you play them almost immediately after that, then it does give the impression you're watching it as it's being ... | [
"So, I've read a lot of the answers, most of them are saying similar things. Where does it save the vide on your computer? For example, if I have less than a GB of space left on my computer, why can I still watch a several-minute HD video on YouTube without running out of space?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why does IT not have apprenticeship programs? | [
"There are. Germany introduced IT apprenticeship in 1997."
] | [
"Also, how many competitors do I have? Is there any regulation for quality, are there guilds I am a part of?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
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