query stringlengths 19 300 | pos list | neg list | task stringclasses 1 value | instruction dict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
How do Jelly Fish avoid getting tangled with each other? | [
"\"_Jellyfish don’t get tangled up because the tentacles are slippery. Their stinging cells don’t fire when they come in contact with their own tentacles or other jellies from their own species._\" [Source](_URL_0_) Now imagine if they somehow applied this to earphones."
] | [
"Turtles... Turtles keep the jellyfish population in check. If there were more Jellyfish more species would evolve to eat them."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Is it possible to create artificial gravity? | [
"It depends what you count as \"artificial gravity\". You could theoretically create such a dense layer of matter that it would create a noticeable amount of gravity, but that's not really artificial, and it's impractical to use in spaceships. A common design for space stations or large spacecraft would be to have ... | [
"There are experiments going on to do exactly this, with various degrees of success."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about biology:"
} |
How does tickling work? | [
"Originaly when you feel the \"tickle\" feeling you look and you whip off the bug and whatever made you feel like it beacuse its you nerve system saying \"Hey,there is something weird over here clean it off\" when you tickle yourself you dont feel anything beacuse your brain and your nerve system know its you and t... | [
"Can you not get an erection in space?!"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Explain To Me Like I'm Five: Female Circumscision | [
"There's several different kinds. The least severe involves making a small ceremonial cut in the clitoris or clitoral hood. The most severe - known as *infibulation* - involves digging out the entire clitoris, cutting off both sets of labia, and sewing what's left up, leaving only a pea-sized hole for urine / men... | [
"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 query:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Why are so many YouTube accounts names like DuHJ5swkN5zrO6b9DFx7? | [
"Is that the name displayed in the URL bar? If that is what you are talking about - since youtube transitioned to a system where you can change your youtube name and multiple people can have the same one, they've started assigning random strings of numbers to the actual URL where previously a name would have been."... | [
"They wanted to do something different than the traditional random generated name. Example: j7G5fvs9JJag5g3a Simply to make things interesting they decided to go with: AdjectiveAdjectiveAnimal Source: _URL_0_"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
If I cycle for 6 hours in a day will I really burn 3,000+ calories? | [
"That's correct. Hardcore athletes have to eat an amazing amount just to maintain their stable weight. _URL_0_"
] | [
"That's over 24 hours. So that works out to 83 calories an hour. Walking two miles takes about 45 minutes, so that would 333 calories an hour, or 4 times more calories."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
Why is it that a rocking motion or a car ride puts my baby to sleep but when I'm in a similar situation it doesn't make me sleepy? | [
"It's not just the rocking motion, it is the constriction of the car seat that doesn't allow him to move coupled with the sound of the car. A car's tires on the road would be a familiar sound to what a baby hears for the entire gestation period. For instance, cup your hands over your ears and you hear the blood rus... | [
"It's probably a combination of reasons. Humans like to be awake all day and sleep all night. And we take our cues from the sun. If it's raining it's darker, so our bodies think, hey almost time for bed! Let's get sleepy! The other reason is ( I'm not to sure about this one so other redditors feel free to debunk me... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
How can a company like Vivendi take over a company without consent? | [
"A hostile takeover is when one company buys up the company's stock to gain control without their management agreeing to a merger. For example, Ubisoft is a public company with a total market cap of $3.82 Billion. So if Vivendi wants to take over badly enough, they can just start buying up the Ubisoft stock... once... | [
"In the real world why would anyone want to be a politician?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
If the pressure at the depths of the ocean can get up to 1,000kg, how can creautres survive without being crushed? (Or am I thinking about "pressure" incorrectly?) | [
"The pressure inside the animals is the same pressure as outside. They are breathing water that is at the same pressure, inside and outside are in equilibrium. Things get crushed when the pressure inside is less than the pressure outside."
] | [
"Squishing is mainly due to differences in pressure. For example, the air in a sub is much lower in pressure than the water inside, so the sub needs to be strong to hold back the water on its own. If you were to fill up a sub with water at the same pressure as the water outside, it would not need to be strong to ho... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
How is the Netherlands the world's second biggest exporter of food despite being so small and densely populated? | [
"> More than half of the Netherlands' total land surface of 4.15 million hectares is used as farmland. 56 percent if used for arable and horticultural crops, 42 percent is permanent grassland and 2 percent is used for permanent crops. Did not know this. Kinda blows my mind."
] | [
"> They aren't big in tourism, agriculture or have many exports at all really. Huh? Denmark has exports worth $14511 per capita, Sweden has $14429 per capita, and Norway has $19980 per capita. The US meanwhile has exports worth $3853 per capita, the UK is at $5968 per capita, Germany at $16197 per capita, and Franc... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Is it possible to block a specific frequency of sound | [
"You can cancel out any wave by sending an inverse wave to it so that all the peaks and troughs match up against each other. That's how noise cancellation headphones work. Now, if you don't want to have to spend any energy, you would need a substance with a resonant frequency that matches the one you want to cancel... | [
"It would be nice if there was someway to block these signals."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are weeds not considered regular plants? | [
"A weed is just a wild plant we don't want. \"wild plant\" is just one that a person hasn't planted. So they are considered plants, they're just unwanted and wild, so we use \"weed\" to refer to them."
] | [
"They act as invisible doors to keep bugs out."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
If an ATM machine breaks and gives you too much money or no money at all, what happens next? | [
"I've had an atm short me before. Transaction was processing and then the atm just kinda froze up and shut down. My account showed the money being withdrawn and the bank did an \"audit\" of the machine, which they of course said came back right on point. After a lot of headache and threats to sue I finally had my c... | [
"The bank won't know when you're making the deposit but as soon as they send the check information over to the bank that issued the check, it's going to come out that somebody's cheating the system. This seldom goes well for the cheater. It's illegal and you will get caught."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How can Apple products be smoother and faster than others with less hardware capability. | [
"On paper, Apple's laptops, desktops, but most importantly phones, appear to be weaker. Less cores, lower clockspeeds, and less RAM. But Apple controls everything about their phone's hardware and software. Software is designed in tandem with hardware teams, so optimization is the highest. This is why Apple's A7 equ... | [
"The ARM processors inside phones are designed to be energy efficient and produce much less heat. This makes them better suited to mobile devices. The heat of an ARM chip can be easily dissipated by the casing of the phone. The trade-off is that they are much less powerful and don't have all the bells and whistles ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Technology:"
} |
How does a nuclear reactor work? | [
"We fire little particles into very big atoms to make them split into much smaller atoms. This releases a bunch of energy, which we use to boil water, and drive the resulting steam through a turbine to actually generate electricity."
] | [
"Are you asking how a wheel works ?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do mirrors' reflections turn green when they're faced against one another? | [
"The glass itself must be slightly green. A single reflection through one layer of the glass won't have a noticeable color change, but bounce the image through more and more layers and it will."
] | [
"One side is concave, while the other is convex. The light from the concave side is directed down from the top and up from the bottom, meaning if you're looking at it from past a certain point, it will appear upside down. The light from the convex side goes up from the top and down from the bottom, so it doesn't do... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Physics:"
} |
How we find oil and then get it? | [
"Modern scientist use sensitive gravity meters to measure tiny changes in the Earth's gravitational field that could indicate flowing oil, as well as sensitive magnetometers to measure tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic field caused by flowing oil. They can detect the smell of hydrocarbons using sensitive electro... | [
"Being able to get more natural gas or crude oil out of the ground."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why melting ice DOESN'T overflow a cup? | [
"When ice is floating, it displaces its weight in water - so dropping some ice onto a glass of water causes the water level to raise proportional to the weight of the ice. When that ice melts, it turns into water, which technically still only displaces its weight in water, so the water level won't change. Sea level... | [
"It doesn't. The icebergs melting don't affect the water level. The issue is when the ice on land melts and goes into the ocean."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Science:"
} |
what causes the sound that we hear when a car passes by? And why does driving past stationary cars also make the same "whoosh" sound? | [
"The sound that gets higher as the car approaches and then gets lower as it drives away is caused by something called the Doppler effect. As the car is driving it always products some sounds, as it goes towards an observer the sound waves it produces get scrunched together slightly, causes the pitch to go up. As th... | [
"The sound you hear from the wind is the wind being picked up by your ears. If you turn your head in a way that your ears don't pick up the wind, you hear the noise a lot less."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why don't they fill my drinks up all the way at drive-throughs? | [
"Speed. It takes minute sometimes for the suds to subside in your Coke. A minute that people sit and fuss about and corporate takes notice"
] | [
"Because they're not allowed to use chewing tobacco in the dugouts anymore"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why a group of people sounds loud even if every single person is speaking at a normal volume? | [
"Because it is louder. At least some of the sounds create \"constructive interference\" resulting in the actual sound wave to your ear being louder than each individual voice."
] | [
"If you and another person are sitting on a couch having a conversation and a 3rd person comes in with leaf lower you suddenly can't hear each other even though you're sitting still and speaking at the same level as before. Outside interference can screw things up."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Technology:"
} |
Why is Barack Obama going to vote against any Palestinian move towards statehood? | [
"America has an influential Jewish/Israel lobby that can hurt any politician, including a President, who goes against Israel. More recently the pro-Israel base has expanded to include Christians who support Israel (people like Palin are very vocal about this). Added to this is 9/11 and the war on terror, which has ... | [
"On Tuesday there was a major election in Israel. In the lead up to the election, the sitting leader of Israel, Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu, did a number of things that strongly upset Obama personally and the Western world in general. He stated he no longer supports the creation of a Palestinian state (which he has s... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are babies seemingly unfazed by vomiting as compared to someone older? | [
"Babys do not yet possess the mental capacity to \"save all data\". They forget things that aren't to bad pretty fast. The same with little children. They stumble, fall, cry and 20 seconds later have forgotten they fell in the first place. For a baby its *puke, wonder what was that, forget what happened, drool*"
] | [
"Some off topic thing: I know at least two small kids that are very picky eaters and won't eat anything other than a couple of things. One of those kids even landed in the hospital because she would not eat anything for several days and became very weak and frail. How can a human actually be this kind of picky eate... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
What makes rejection cause the brain to desire a person more? In what ways can you combat this responsive behavior? | [
"It may help to be conscious of the fact that the brain is not a passive recipient of emotion. In fact, the brain doesn’t react to stimuli based on emotion at all, it is in a mode of constant prediction and then compares its prediction to the stimuli and adjusts or filters from there. It’s powerful to know that the... | [
"The brain releases chemicals as a response to emotional stimulus. These chemical not only affect the brain but also the body so broken hearts hurt, excitement gives you butterflies, anger makes you see red, etc From an evolutionary perspective a broken heart represents a failure to secure a mate (which has a negat... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post:"
} |
Why is seeing others having sex arousing? Is there some sort of evolutionary basis behind it? (NSFW) | [
"Yes. Group sex does different things for each gender. Group sex for males means they have a chance to pass their genes along when they otherwise wouldn't. For females it means their off-spring won't get killed. If an offspring isn't a males, then that male is likely to kill the offspring allowing more time for a f... | [
"With some exceptions sex is a healthy and integral part of any relationship. It’s kinda the whole point of seeking a mate, biologically speaking."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit sentence:"
} |
How common are traumatic 'triggers' in the general population? Are they really dangerous? | [
"About 60% of the population live through at least one traumatic life event. About 1 in 4 people develop PTSD after trauma. That's 15% of the population (assuming that everyone experiences only one trauma, and that traumas are even distributed equally across socio-economic groups, and that everyone has an equal lik... | [
"Aside from people with serious mental illness, there is no scientific evidence that it's anything other than cheap theatrics."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why do we like to bother our siblings much more than other human beings around us ? | [
"* familiarity - you know your sibling, what to expect from them in a way you don't with others * family bond - you are stuck with your siblings for the most part...friends might drift away, but you almost always will maintain a connection to close family * trust - you can \"fight\" with your siblings, knowing ther... | [
"Kids are more interested in playing/learning than they are in resting. It it was the other way around they'd rest all the time and never learn anything"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
Why did Lance Armstrong confess? | [
"From what I gather doing so may enable him to return to competition in other events that he cannot do with the ban. He's become a triathlon athlete and to go pro in it he needs the ban lifted."
] | [
"As a way to snub George W. Bush."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
How does the government of Eritrea work, and the current situation there? | [
"Eritrea is a one party state. Nominally their constitution allows for other political parties and elections, but since gaining their independence from Ethiopia in 1993, they've never had an election. The government claims that because of their ongoing border disputes with Ethiopia, that there are extraordinary cir... | [
"Military, intelligence, and foreign policy: virtually all of the power. Law enforcement and social issues: some power. Economic issues: practically no power at all."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
what really happens in court cases where the evidence is illegally obtained? | [
"Just because something was obtained illegally, doesn't mean it is automatically thrown out of court. Judges can consider factors like, \"would it have been found anyways?\" and \"what where the conditions of the search?\" when deciding to allow evidence."
] | [
"Being \"charged\" is what the police do so they can arrest you. Being \"indicted\" comes later if the grand jury thinks the evidence/information they receive is legitimate. Source - I follow the news pretty frequently."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
When you get hit hard, why does the pain take a few seconds to be felt? | [
"Think about it like this, our body is full of nerve ends that transmit signals from where they are being touched, like if we are holding something hot, they transmit the feeling to our brain which receives the signal, processes it and then sends the information it processed back to its respective area. So when you... | [
"When you rip it off fast, you feel all of the pain at once. When it's slow, you prolong the length of pain time."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
How is it that sites that offer paying with Bitcoin (like The Silkroad) can operate if the worth of Bitcoin can drop or jump tens of dollars in a matter of hours | [
"They don't. People who do business in Bitcoin almost always set the price according to the current conversion rate, and convert the money to dollars quickly."
] | [
"They aren't trust worthy. The entire value of bitcoins is an artificially inflated price point caused by the sudden massive popularity. If you've had any experience with the free market, you'll probably know that scarcity = increased price. There's only so many bitcoins \"mined\", so when lots of people want those... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How were wheel alignments performed on automobiles before the modern wheel alignment computer machines came out? | [
"You measure the space between the fronts of both tires and you measure the space between the backs and you adjust things until the two measurements line up"
] | [
"They didn't. The first check engine lights were introduced as a feature of the early computer controlled systems in cars during the early 80's."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
Why aren't the crazy cult pastors, who claim they've talked to god or are some sort of messias, placed in mental hospitals? | [
"because they are not considered, or have produced a credible threat they are a danger to themselves or others. you are allowed to be crazy and not be hospitalized as long as you are safe"
] | [
"I don't know about everyone, but when I was religious we had numerous sermons about how awful nonbelievers are. They're anti-american, addicted to all kinds of drugs, rape and murder anyone they can, they're all gay but still have abortions all the time somehow, they're communists and satanists who hate God and go... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Housing prices have dropped like a lead balloon but property taxes have not been lowered accordingly. Why? | [
"> Is there something I'm missing? Yeah, the government uses the *appraised* value of the house. Until someone pays to have an appraisal done on the house, the house's new lower value isn't \"official\", and the government continues to pretend like the old value is the correct one. The taxes stay high. > I ask bec... | [
"It’s because of the uncertainty in the stock market coupled with the stalling of the realty market; people are assuming that this is going to cause interest rates to climb while investment goes conservative. But it’s all projections and guesses."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Economics:"
} |
For a country that's emphasized education for so long, why is the majority of India still mired in poverty? | [
"because education only matters if you actually have a place to work where you can utilize what you learned. india simply has WAY too many people, there is just not enough work for everyone. beside that from my personal experiences in india people below your \"wealth level\" are treated poorly and its made extra ha... | [
"In the DR, the elite speak Spanish and the common man speaks Spanish. In Haiti, the elite speak French and the common man speaks Creole. Even schools are taught mostly in French. This creates a huge education gap, where the children who are supposed to run each generation spend so much time trying to learn French... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why can women experience multiple orgasms, but men just go limp after one? | [
"Evolutionarily, it is beneficial for a male to have a refractory period.the penis is shaped ina way that scoops out semen that is already in the vagina. if a man ejaculates and then immediately resumes intercourse, he will be removing his own semen from the _URL_0_ forcing the male to wait, the odds of this happen... | [
"Guy goes through a \"Refractory period\" after ejaculation. This period is meant to give the man time to recover and produce more seminal fluid. This time can vary but usually guys can pop a stiffy again after 15 to 30 minutes. If your heart is set on round 2, I'd spend that time cuddling and kissing, but NOT touc... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
Amish are famous for barn-raising, but how often do they actually need to raise one? | [
"Not often, it's just an interesting sight to see a hundred men build a barn in a day instead of the usual three men taking thirty days. Since they're not paying for the labor, they can pull of the brute force build that a typical construction firm cant."
] | [
"Building codes are set at the city and county level, not the State level. Since the Amish live in their own communities (small villages or collections of farms) they do not have any building codes that they have to comply to save the standards of craftsmanship they choose to hold themselves to. But seeing as they ... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
What is the typical economic model of an American police department? | [
"Get tax money from government. Spend it on people and equipment."
] | [
"It's a big system. It also carries a bit from state to state. Are you interested in the application process? Policy? Logistics?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
why do animals poop so fast, but some humans take forever? | [
"Try the squatting position. It just falls right out"
] | [
"They do have a lack of nutrition that's why they sleep 90% of the time, Its why they have to eat almost a ton of bamboo a day to survive, They don't have enough energy for sex which is part of the reason they are going extinct."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why is "100" the number we use for complete percentages? | [
"Because Per-cent means \"per hundred\". You used to occasionally see the percent symbol with two zeros underneath instead of one - meaning per thousand, but it's rare."
] | [
"It's kinda like how 99 is *so specifically* the highest two-digit decimal number. Only, since it's a binary number converted into decimal, you can't see the pattern."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Mathematics:"
} |
Why can't our normal speech be assigned musical pitch, e.g. C, C# and D? | [
"Normal speech does have pitch. Speaking with a single pitch throughout would sound very strange, so assigning a single pitch wouldn't work (monotone is a way to describe someone's speech for a reason), instead speech happens as a series of pitches. [Radiolab](_URL_0_) did a fun segment about how the spoken phrase ... | [
"But why are they in different keys and why are different notes called Bb? Isn't Bb a frequency? Shouldn't any note be called Bb if it's the same frequency as Bb?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the passage:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why does Star Wars transcend typical Sci-Fi fandom and hit home for so many people. | [
"Well it was first (sort of). Before Star Wars, Scifi in movies was very pulpy and bad. It was proof that it could be done well. It also has a lot of cultural significance beyond that. Since the success of Star Wars really was the moment when the 'summer blockbuster' aimed at the 15-20 male market became a thing. A... | [
"Because it was a Star Wars movie dressed up as Star Trek. The primary thing is that Star Trek has always been somewhat lower on action and bigger on science, even if both of those were highly fictionalized rather than practical. However the new movies are made less for people who want to watch the characters inter... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What is Nest and why did Google buy it? | [
"It is a company that makes a high end smart thermostat and also a smoke detector. Google"
] | [
"\"Shop with us it's more expensive than our competition! \" Are you interested?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Can you permanently lose feeling in your arm after sleeping on it? | [
"The circulation doesn't stop unless your heart isn't beating or you have something clogging the pipes. If you put enough pressure on your arm then yes there would no longer be circulation, this is seen in the use of tourniquets to stop blood flow in emergencies. Lack of blood flow to part of your body can cause ga... | [
"Are you on pain medication? Was anything else injured? Could also just be caused by inflammation in your body."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
In the US, why is it legal to brew beer and wine, but not legal to distill harder spirits? | [
"Distilled spirits are heavily taxed & always have been. In the oldest days of the country, whiskey was seen as an efficient way for remote farmers to concentrate their grain & move it to market. It can easily take 5-10 pounds of grain to make a single bottle of whiskey. The other thing is that, unlike homebrewing,... | [
"Decriminalization means \"we decline to prosecute you for having pot\", but not necessarily from selling it, growing it, distributing it across state lines, or from using it as a leapfrog to other charges. Marijuana is still an illegal drug. Legalization means... It's legal. Regulated, like alcohol, but you're al... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
Why does sudden temperature change make us feel ill? | [
"Your body needs to be at a fairly consistent temperature of 37C Your body has various mechanisms to control this temperature (such as restricting the size of blood vessels near the skin, increasing heart rate, sweating etc), as a result humans can survive in quite a range of temperatures, but your body will be beh... | [
"Sudden blood pressure change as you get up quickly can make you dizzy and potentially faint as a result."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Health and Wellness:"
} |
What's the problem with kids lifting weights? | [
"_URL_0_ > With both direct and indirect evidence suggesting that weightlifting may increase bone length and density, it seems as though this myth is untrue. Rather than stunt your growth, weightlifting when you are young may allow you to grow taller than you would without such exercise."
] | [
"Actually, ELI5, how the fuck are you relieving ear itches with your tongue?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
Why is it that our eyes cannot repair their vision? so we don't have to wear glasses or contacts etc... | [
"This isn't a complete answer but they can, some people when they get glasses say their natural vision improves after a while. That may only apply to minor eyesight issues though."
] | [
"That's what my ophthalmologist told me would happen. And indeed it did deteriorate very quickly after the first pair of glasses. But really, what are your options? Wear glasses and have your eyesight deteriorate and slowly stabilize at a degree of short-sightedness (or long-sightedness, etc.), or not do anything a... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Biology:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Biology:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
what actually happens when you die from the flu? | [
"Depends. Probably the simplest thing is viral pneumonia leading to severe respiratory failure leading to death. If you have other long term illnesses these can also be triggered (e.g. someone with coronary heart disease might possibly have a heart attack due to the various stresses of being very unwell). Sourc... | [
"whats the point of hospitals if we are all going to die anyway"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Does climate change lead to an increase in extreme cold weather as well as extreme warm weather? If so, why is the average yearly temperature continuing to get warmer? | [
"That's a little backwards. Global warming means all storm systems are larger, in addition to the obvious that average temperatures are very slightly higher. However, larger storm systems means that cold fronts that used to die out as they head south will go much farther, bringing freezing weather to places that in... | [
"It exists within a climate that has changed. Pointing to any specific climate event is not useful - there have been big weather events periodically throughout history. What climate change predicts is that the frequency of what we regard as 'abnormal' weather will increase. So...will we look back and see this storm... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Climate science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage about Climate science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about Climate science:"
} |
Difference between RAM and Cache Memory | [
"Cache is your fridge/pantry - it stores things you've recently used or intend to use soon, and has a relatively low amount of storage. You can grab things in nearly real-time while trying to cook. RAM is the grocery store that's a mile away. Lots of storage for things you may or may not use frequently, but it tak... | [
"Sure! * Monitor - Let's you see stuff the computer wants to show you * Keyboard/Mouse - Let's you put information into the computer, control things * Harddrive - Stores information in the medium/long term (SLOW) * RAM - Stores information in the short term (FAST) * Optical Drive - Let's you read from disks using l... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit post about Computer Science:"
} |
Women's excessive grunting in tennis | [
"Vocalizing while hitting the ball can help a player focus, and it can throw off their opponent's timing. Also, opponents can get clues about how the ball was hit based on the sound the racquet makes...grunting is supposed to obscure it. When there was no rule against it, tennis players have been gradually getting ... | [
"Genetic pre-disposition for more better or more efficient combinations of fast twitch and endurance muscle fibers helps a good bit. Also social environment and culture may create an environment that condones excelling at marathons."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument:"
} |
What is happening when we hit our funny bone? | [
"You have the [ulnar nerve](_URL_0_) (in yellow) passing just below the skin at the elbow with bone under and when you hit a nerve that exposed it hurts."
] | [
"How do you know that you don't sneeze in your sleep?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
What is a memory leak in the context of poorly optimized games? | [
"ELI5: Memory Leak: \"You go to a bar and ask for a glass of water, you drink the water but you never give up the glass, then you ask for another glass of water and so on until the bar runs out of glasses.\" Glasses = Block of memory Water = Whatever is in it. Accepted Behaviour: \"You go to a bar and ask for a g... | [
"Can you be a little more specific? My guess is what you're noticing is improvements to the layout and JavaScript engines of browsers, and not anything to do with HTML."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are some things invented (touchscreens for example, 40 years ago) but it takes so long for consumers to accept them? Price? | [
"Well the touch screen is kind of a bad example here. While it was invented in the 70s, there was nothing for it to be controlled with. Computers were mostly text based until 1992 when windows 3.1 was published. And even then the computers were mostly to slow to have a real benefit from touchscreens. Even today apa... | [
"I don't think most people do??? I'm an Apple fan. I have an iPhone, an iPad, and I'm typing this on a MacBook Pro. But I don't think they're revolutionary. What they are very good at, though, is taking existing technologies, and making them useful and therefore popular. They took the technology of using a mouse to... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do we get tired when we oversleep? | [
"Sleep is a cycle. If you wake up in the wrong part of the cycle, you will probably be VERY groggy and slow to wake up. If you're sleeping outside of your normal pattern, your body doesn't know how to plan the cycles. So you actually wake up more tired than you would have if you had woken up earlier. Generally spea... | [
"How do you know that you don't sneeze in your sleep?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit comment about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit comment:"
} |
I literally live in the other side of the American continent, explain me briefly about what's currently happening on America's politic. | [
"A fellow that quite a lot of people dislike is surprisingly in a position to upset a fellow that a lot of people dislike a bit less. You know sports movies? How there's always an underdog team, full of likable kids who band together to beat the odds and defeat the team full of jerks? In this case, the jerk is bot... | [
"What do you mean by downfall? This is still a dominant part of current culture."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title about Political Science:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Political Science:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
What is causing the current rise of authoritarian regimes in richer countries around the world? | [
"This is often attributed to *populism,* which basically means that average people believe the system is being rigged against them by the elites, so they want to create a super-elite (a powerful central government) that in theory shares their values and can stand up for their interests."
] | [
"There is much greater adoption of public transportation in Europe than in the US."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is alcohol and tobacco regulated by the same agency as firearms? Why aren't liquor and cigarettes regulated by the FDA? | [
"The ATF was formed to deal with gun running & smuggling of alcohol & tobacco. They were originally part of the Department of the Treasury and concerned with securing tax revenue, not safety or purity of the product."
] | [
"The 21st Amendment only repeals the 18th Amendment which made transportation, sale, and manufacturing of alcohol a crime. The 21st Amendment does NOT give you the constitutional right to transport, sell, or manufacture alcohol."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about Law:"
} |
How would a radio transmission from a planet with a significant gravitational field work? | [
"I haven't seen the movie. Was the planet the other crew was on in motion relative to the Earth to cause time dilation, or was it a difference in gravity? Either way, what they'd experience is some sort of \"redshift\" or \"blueshift.\" The radio message would not be lost, but its frequency would either be lower (p... | [
"Why would the attraction of a black hole make anything travel faster than light?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document about Physics:"
} |
Why in a room with 24 people do two people probably share the same birthday? | [
"First off there is 1 in 365 chance that two people share a birthday. That means there is a 364 in 365 chance they do not share a birthday. If you have a third man then the chance of him also having a different birthday then the two men is 363 in 365 so the combined chance is (364*363)/(365^2). You then continue ad... | [
"With electromagnetism, it's the laws of physics. With everything else, you're just more likely to notice when two people get together that have something different about them. You're not going to notice that they have 90% of the same likes and dislikes, just the places where things don't line up."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment:"
} |
Why do some people seem to retain "useless information" without effort, yet recalling someone's phone number can be so difficult while exerting effort to memorize it? | [
"We don't really live in the environment we evolved for. The things we find easy to memorize are the things we find 'cool'. Something like a phone number doesn't trip our primate senses into thinking it's information worth storing, but the destructive power of a photon torpedo? That's kind of like remembering how s... | [
"Its not that you're forgetting those huge chunks, its that you are not committing them to memory in the first place. You can tell someone is blacked out by asking them to remember something like a 7 digit number. Then ask them to repeat it a few minutes later. If they're blacked out, then they won't commit it to m... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Cognitive psychology:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Cognitive psychology:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
With virtually infinite time, could we use selective breeding to bring out crazy traits in animals? | [
"Provided that those traits appeared at some point, yes. We couldn't breed dogs to have horns unless at some point there was a dog who had the mutation to have horns. The same way that we can't breed humans to have gills, gills have to come around on their own, we can breed humans to all have gills once the mutatio... | [
"This question is sort of breaking into the realm of philosophy, but from the standpoint of natural selection, organisms with a natural impetus to survive are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those traits onto their offspring. It's just as true for humans as it is for any other living thing."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the argument:",
"neg": "Represent the argument:"
} |
what are once removed, and twice removed cousins | [
"The \"level\" of cousin (first cousin, second cousin, etc.) is dependent upon how many generations you are from your nearest common ancestor. So \"first cousins\" have 1 generation between them and their nearest common ancestor, that ancestor being their grandparents (cousins - parents - grandparents). \"Second co... | [
"no, consider this every mother and father who have more than 1 child are creating children from the same source of DNA, yet siblings arent identical"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why does it take at least 15 minutes to fill a prescription? What's going on back there? | [
"The pharmacist is ensuring that the prescribed medication is appropriate and safe before it is handed to you. Is it the right drug for the condition? Is the strength and regimen appropriate? Are there interactions with the patient's other medications to be aware of? Physicians also do make prescribing errors from... | [
"Checking with your doctor that the prescription is valid. Checking the dosage instructions for sanity. Checking other medications you are taking for interactions that could hurt or kill you. Checking that your insurance will cover the medication. Counting the pills. Recounting the pills. Having a second tech tripl... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
How come that when you go to bed at 11PM you have a hard time to leave your bed at 7AM, but when you go to bed at 3AM you dont have any problems waking up at 11AM while you had the same hours of sleep? | [
"Might be a number of things. 1) You aren't used to waking up early, so your body isn't ready for it. If you don't usually wake up at 7am and then suddenly do, it'll be hard. 2) It's often colder in the morning, especially in the winter. Getting out of bed in the cold is hard. 3) It's much brighter at 11am than ... | [
"Depends. What kind of waking up are you talking about? The one where you have no chance to go to sleep again (insomnia style) or more like waking up, realizing it’s still bed time, rolling to the side and going back to sleep?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph about Biology:"
} |
You know how car windshield glass doesn't shatter, it just cracks? And even then, you have to put a lot of force into it? Why not make kitchenware out of that type of glass? | [
"Kitchen glassware used to be almost indestructible (ie, FireKing, Pyrex). It was the same stuff they use in labs. They stopped selling it so durable, because people were using to cook meth."
] | [
"The glass in your phone has special coatings to make it slippery. You drag your finger across it constantly so it needs to be slippery. Window glass need to be glass. That’s it. Were you to make windows out of iPhone glass they would be prohibitively expensive."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit argument:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit argument about Technology:"
} |
The relevant differences between totalitarian and an authoritarian regimes. | [
"Authoritarian regimes want to consolidate and centralize power so that governments have all of it. They avoid checks and balances or anything to maintain the government's control. Totalitarianism goes further than that. In an totalitarian regime, checks and balances don't even exist. The state is all that really ... | [
"Robert Michel's concept of \"Iron Law of Oligarchy\" in his book *Political Parties* deals with the inevitability of a rule by a small elite within any organization, no matter how egalitarian and democratic it is in its design."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
How do music artists split the profit when featuring each other on a single track? | [
"Sometimes they don't. Smaller artists often want to be featured on larger artists tracks and are paid a flat fee. Other times, it is an exchange. (1 for 1) Nicki Minaj: \"50k for a verse, no album out\" implies that Kanye paid her $50,000 for her verse on Monster."
] | [
"The music label makes most of the money off a sale of music, with the artist usually getting a percentage, which is negotiated based on how big the artist is. Top 40 musicians make money at concerts and doing endorsement deals in addition to sales of music."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage about music industry:"
} |
How does propulsion work in a vacuum. For instance, how would a space craft propel itself when there's nothing to push against? | [
"Rocket engines in a vacuum operate based on conservation of momentum. The total momentum of any system must remain the same. So if you expel something with momentum in one direction, the rest of the mass *must* move in the other direction (or else the momentum of the ship-plus-exhaust will have changed). As a simp... | [
"Jets push air through them and out the back to go forward, kind of like how your car wheels push against the ground or an inflated balloon will fly around as the air is forced out. Also, the wings on an airplane use the air to translate forward motion into upward motion. When you go high enough, the air is too thi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query:",
"pos": "Represent the text:",
"neg": "Represent the text:"
} |
What makes Cape Horn so treacherous? | [
"High winds, strong currents, and large storms all combine to make for especially treacherous sailing. Keep in mind that treacherous seas were usually named when people forecast by *red in the morning sailor take warning red in the evenin' sailor a pleasin'* Imagine sailing through [seas like this](_URL_0_)."
] | [
"Where do you mean? Europe? The US? Middle East? Africa? Eastern Asia?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
When I was 5, those who were 10 looks old and mature. However, once I was 11, those who were 10 looks young and immature. Why? | [
"i have always wondered this i remember being like 5 or 6 and my brother who was 13 or 14 seemed like a grown ass man. and now a days 13 or 14 year olds look lile babies."
] | [
"My memories of being 10 are the same now as when I was 30. My memories of being 30 at my age now (62) are much clearer than the memories I had of being 10 when I was 30. However everyone is different and this might not be the experience you have."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why are there so many third world countries in Africa when the continent is considered the cradle of civilization? | [
"Bad climate, terrible leaders, heavily sought after resources, cultural barriers, foreign invaders taking sought after resources, constant border wars, lack of industrialization, anyone got any other reasons?"
] | [
"Many of them did. Egypt is in Africa and the Ancient Egyptians made many scientific advances for their time. Also, Africa is huuuuuge. There is quite a variable amount of climate and an abundance of resources. Africa is not just desert, it even has rain forests."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document about history:"
} |
why can my heaters easily keep my house at a nice 75 when its 15 degrees outside, but my AC struggles to dip below 70 when its 100 outside? | [
"Your heaters are a hell of a lot more powerful than your Air Conditioners An AC unit can move 4-10 watts of heat per watt of power used, but it'll only use a few hundred watts. A big window AC unit might be rated at 10,000 BTU/hour or about 2.9 kW of heat removal which sounds pretty good, until you consider that a... | [
"In most cases \"hot in winter\" in far colder that \"hot in summer\" With the heater on and the fireplace on, the temperature will be between 25 and 30°C. In summer at 2AM, you're fine if it's only 25°C you have a problem when it's 40°C"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit passage:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit passage:"
} |
How quad core (multi core?) works. | [
"It's like having more than one cook in a kitchen, instead of one really, really fast cook. Well, the problem is actually a little more complex: for years and years, they were training cooks just to work faster, but realized that they were getting towards the top of how fast one cook could work, so they decided the... | [
"Power consumption, caching, pipelining, multi-core and doing more in fewer clock cycles."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why do some restaurants charge a service fee for larger groups? | [
"Generally because big groups are poor tippers, and are more work for the servers, bussers, and kitchen. It's easier to take and prepare 20 orders from 10 tables spread out over 15 minutes than it is to deal with 20 orders from the same table all at the same time."
] | [
"The charge for using credit is to cover the fees the credit card companies charge the store to allow them to accept credit cards. This is called a merchant fee, and yes the stores were taking a hit to profits before they started charging the fee."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the answer:",
"neg": "Represent the answer:"
} |
Why do females on average, live longer than men? | [
"There's a few reasons. First men tend to do more risky jobs then women. I can't quote a source right now but I recall something like 98% of all workplace deaths being men. Secondly there seems to be an evolutionary aspect. It's related to the first reason. Men hunted and did dangerous things which got them killed... | [
"Asian men are far less attractive to White women than Asian women are to White men."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is fruit better for you than candy in terms of sugar (if it really is)? | [
"Sugar is sugar. However, a fruit has many other things: lots of water, some fiber, some vitamins, etc. These things fill you up and generally take a lot longer to eat. Candy is not filling, and basically pure sugar so if someone is pigging out on apples vs. candy, they can likely eat a TON more sugar eating candy.... | [
"\"Worse for you\" means different things for different people. Here are 2 ways of thinking of about based on your 2 drinks: 1. Amount of vitamins 2. Amount of sugar Juice and soda have about the same amount of sugar in them, but juice (in some cases) has more vitamins. If you consider something healthy that doesn'... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What would happen if the earth slowly began to rotate the other direction? | [
"Assuming the transition were slow enough to not throw everybody down (which would be pretty slow), the biggest difference I could see would be weather. All the prevailing winds would flip direction, rain shadows would move to the other side of mountains, and so on. You can see the effect [in South America](_URL_0_... | [
"It spins counter to all other planets, as if it was hit by an object and spun the other direction like two pool balls."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit query about writing:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit text about writing:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit text:"
} |
How is the average lifespan decided for newborns? | [
"Basically it's a best case scenario of statistical projection. So if people are easily living to their 80s/90s now and medicine is improving and other factors like access to food, water, hygiene are improving you can make a projection based off of that. The problem is they don't account for things like the emergen... | [
"So what is it about human physiology that makes this work differently for us?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why do donuts have holes in them? | [
"Well, the first thing to note is that not all donuts have holes. There are \"filled donuts\" which are essentially donuts without the hole (as well as some filling). As for why donuts with holes have holes, there are a number of explanations, but as far as I'm aware, noone actually knows for sure. One explanation ... | [
"So when and where did playing cards as we know them come into being anyways?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit answer:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit answer:"
} |
Why does my mouth feel cleaner the morning after eating something garlic heavy the night before? | [
"I think it's a coincidence. I'm a dentist. If you brushed properly before you slept you probably shouldn't have had much plaque in your mouth overnight which would 'grow'. It could be the fact your breath was very garlic strong, so you noticed you didn't have plaque when you investigated why."
] | [
"There's a chemical in most toothpaste that blocks your tongue's ability to taste sweet stuff. That's why orange juice tastes so bad after you brush your teeth."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Wikipedia says that the ISS orbits the Earth "at an altitude of between 330 and 435 km". Why is the altitude not fixed? | [
"At that altitude, there is actually still a little atmosphere and so the orbit will slowly degrade (get closer to the ground). Every once in a while they use boosters to raise it back into a higher orbit. The range of altitudes given are the range of altitudes that are considered okay. Plus, orbits are not perfect... | [
"Almost the same as it does on the ground. The force of gravity you feel is determined by how far you are from the centre of mass. There's not much difference between 6371km and 6800km. Edit - To go further, and I hope I'm remembering this right, to calculate the ISS's experience of gravity you'd divide the square... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post about Physics:",
"pos": "Represent the post about Physics:",
"neg": "Represent the post about Physics:"
} |
Why are some mathematical abstractions so much harder than others for humans to grasp? | [
"There are levels of abstraction, because certain abstract concepts rely on others, and thus must be presented later in schools. Can't do calculus without understanding numbers, operators, and algebra, basically. When you first learn an abstract concept, you translate. First few multiplications are indeed consecuti... | [
"Math is a language. The complex equations are just descriptions of the world written in the language of mathematics. So your question is very similar to \"How do people know/develop the words, sentences, and paragraphs they are using to describe things they observe in the natural world?\" English might seem intuit... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question about Education:",
"pos": "Represent the document about Education:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
What differences are there between male and female brains? Of those which (so far) have been tested to always been the case and which vary depending on the subjects? | [
"Here is a page describing some of the difference between male and female brains, specifically an very interesting brain structure call the anterior hypothalamus. _URL_0_ I think the differences are pretty well established,.. I recall this being discussed during my undergrad back in the 90's. The article explains... | [
"In the simplest terms extroverts are energized by social activities while introverts are exhausted by them, right. Neurobiological research suggests that there are plenty of differences in the brains of extroverts and introverts, and that it is at least to a certain degree a genetic thing. But as with all brain-re... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit post:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Bug people, what exactly is going on here? | [
"Dragonflies are predators. It looks like that one caught a fly and is feasting on its tasty inner goo."
] | [
"Is it me, or has this never happened to anyone else?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit paragraph:"
} |
why do some people have curly hair while others don't. | [
"It's just a gene trait, along with many others as far as skin tone, texture, facial composition, height, etc."
] | [
"> ELI5: Why do the nails on my ring fingers grow faster than the other nails? You're weird Just kidding. Most of it has to do with blood circulation. Some people's fingernails grow at different rates. Some people find that different fingernails on one hand grow at different rates . Some people find that their fi... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why doesn't air separate into layers of each of its individual components based on density? | [
"It would but air is far to volatile to stay separated. The sun heats the earth as the earth rotates on an axis as it orbits the sun. Everything is constantly changing as warm air rises creating winds that constantly mix the atmosphere."
] | [
"Empty space. That's why gasses need so much more space than an equal number of molecules in a liquid or solid form. There is a lot of space needed because of their high temperature."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What is true socialism, and why do people think it will save America? | [
"Socialism is a system of economics, not government. It's seen as preferable to capitalism (though not necessarily superior) because it allows for more even distribution of wealth and resources eg universal healthcare and tuition-free post-secondary education. This must obviously be funded somehow, and the solution... | [
"What's a Tory, and why do so many people seem to hate them?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why can some people sing well, but others can't hit a note to save their life? | [
"I would like to know why people always sound much better to themselves. I can *think* I'm singing along perfectly to a song, then hear a recording and it sounds like someone fisting a bull."
] | [
"Because the guitarist still needs a modicum of skill in order to move his fingers deftly, hit the right chords, get the bends right, and generally make the guitar sound good. Auto-tuning often covers up the obvious fact that a singer is off-key. Use too much auto tune, and most people will figure out that you actu... | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the document:",
"neg": "Represent the document:"
} |
Why my head gets foggy/buzzy for a few seconds after I have a really good stretch. | [
"Sounds like you're talking about head rush (orthostatic hypotension). Basically, if you've been sitting in one location for a while and then move, the blood pressure in your head drops because gravity pulls a lot of blood into your legs and feet when you stand. This takes a moment to correct itself, and during thi... | [
"Could be a large air bubble when gulping water, happens to me now and again if I drink in a hurry. Very painful for a few seconds then fine."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Health and Wellness:",
"pos": "Represent the passage about Health and Wellness:",
"neg": "Represent the passage:"
} |
Why does it "smell" like winter or rain | [
"Because the particles in the air change. spring smells like pollen. Winter cold will suppress a lot of lighter smells but you get smoke from chimneys."
] | [
"I'm not so sure this is a common problem. At least mine don't smell for a little while after showering"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
Why is it harder and harder to get a full night sleep the older you get? | [
"The cumulative effect of a life-time of alcohol, stimulants, sedentary life-style, overeating, rumination, rejection, heart break, loss, regret, humilation, meaninglessness, sadness, rage and the creeping fear of impending death."
] | [
"I'm no expert, but I do know it's harder for you to wake up and feel energized during the middle of REM sleep"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"pos": "Represent the argument about Sleep and its effects on the body:",
"neg": "Represent the argument about Health:"
} |
How are vitamins and supplements, that the body makes naturally, man-made? | [
"Firstly, your body doesn't naturally make vitamins, that's why you need to eat them. Secondly, most of them are just extracted. Most of the things we grow or produce for food, of necessity, have those vitamins in. Sometimes it's easier to just take them out. Thirdly, you can make almost all of them artificially,... | [
"Better protein sources that are complete and easier to obtain in volume, they would also have the ability to get vitamin B12 from the food itself and not from supplementation as is currently needed with vegetarianism."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the query about Science:",
"pos": "Represent the sentence about Science:",
"neg": "Represent the sentence:"
} |
What actually caused the Great Depression? | [
"A lot of things: * In the 1920's low food prices supported by WWI price floors caused a mass wave of farm foreclosures. * The crash of 1929 shook confidence for lenders (though the stock market recovered briefly before plunging again). * The Fed constrained liquidity rather than easing borrowing, so the economy ex... | [
"Are you asking what caused the Big bang? No one knows."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit question:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
Why is it ok to advertise alcohol on television, but not tobacco? | [
"Tobacco receives a lot of government oversight because its use, *as intended*, without any overuse or abuse, is *absolutely known* to cause any number of long-term health issues. Alcohol can also be dangerous, but moderate, responsible use has no long-lasting health effects, and it takes legitimate *abuse* of alco... | [
"Is the United States the only country in the world allowed to advertise prescription drugs on TV?"
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the Reddit title:",
"pos": "Represent the Reddit document:",
"neg": "Represent the Reddit document:"
} |
What does Russia (and other countries) gains from being part of the G8? | [
"G8 is basically a meeting of the most important industrial Nations to get together talk strategie make deals... So everyone benefits who is part of. But as far as I know it is less formal than the G20."
] | [
"Because the US, Russia, and Israel are powerful enough to get away with it."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the post:",
"pos": "Represent the paragraph:",
"neg": "Represent the paragraph:"
} |
the importance of landing a rocket on a barge | [
"You can launch it again without having to build a new one, or clean salt water residue out of it. It reduces the cost of going to space by a lot."
] | [
"The expense of building a giant slingshot would far outweigh the expense of just building a bigger rocket."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the question:",
"pos": "Represent the post:",
"neg": "Represent the post:"
} |
Why do we get dizzy when we spin around? | [
"Your orientation in space is detected by fluid and calcium deposit movements in your inner ear. When you spin around and then stop, the fluid and stuff in your inner ear keep moving for a little while. (like how water in a cup keeps moving after you stopped stirring it). So your inner ear is telling your brain tha... | [
"Sudden blood pressure change as you get up quickly can make you dizzy and potentially faint as a result."
] | eli5_question_answer | {
"query": "Represent the title:",
"pos": "Represent the comment:",
"neg": "Represent the comment about Health and Wellness:"
} |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.