id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
1e5jox | warm fronts | [
{
"answer": "Warm air moves to an area where there is already cold air.\n\nAs the warm air moves into the new area, it gets pushed up on top of the cold air.\n\nUnlike cold fronts, the weather at warm fronts tends to be stable. In other words, as the warm air rises and cools, it becomes dense enough that it's n... | null |
lxo86 | How did Einstein 'discover' time-dilation? | [
{
"answer": "It was pretty well established by then that light acts like a wave. Now any other wave that we know about needs a medium to propagate through: ocean waves need water, sound waves need air. It was natural to assume that light needed a medium too, which they called the 'ether', but every experimenta... | null |
5mq0ag | why does a weak am/fm radio signal result in a consistent static/fuzzy sound while a weak satellite radio signal results in intermittent high quality sound? | [
{
"answer": "The simple answer is that AM/FM is an analog signal, which you can \"kind of\" pick up. Think of analog as a scale of 100-0 with the quality increasing or decreasing as you move from the transmitter.\n\nSatellite radio is a digital signal. Think 1 or 0. It's either there, or it's not. The same hold... | null |
1myhvz | why are anarchists and nihilists put on the same political wing as socialist and communists? | [
{
"answer": "If you look at it economically, anarchism has strong ties to socialist/communist theory. Anarchists are pretty misunderstood, it's not all about no rules and complete chaos. Early anarchists believed that you should grow food, and whatever extra you had you should give to your neighbours for free... | null |
a2qgfk | How long does it take for plant cells to grow? | [
{
"answer": "This varies greatly from plant to plant, and it will vary based on the conditions. You also need to define 'grow' because cells can expand or divide to grow. \n\nPlants that perform C4 photosynthesis (like grasses) tend to expand and divide rapidly under the right conditions, while plants that perf... | null |
12yesv | How thin is the surface of a bubble? | [
{
"answer": "Short Answer: Somewhere around 50-500 nano meters, depending on where you measure the bubble's thickness.\n\nLong Answer: This can be measured using a very clever natural phenomenon, [thin-flim interference](_URL_0_).\n\nSo a bubble has two sides, the outside and the inside. Light coming from the ... | null |
1fctpn | Did Romans really have those feathered things on top of their helmets? If so, why? | [
{
"answer": "The \"feathered thing\" is called a crest and its usage depends on the time period:\n\nIn the days of the early republic, it was not common.\n\nDuring the late republic (post 3rd century B.C.) it was very common among legionaries.\n\nAfter the reforms by Augustus, only centurions were wearing crest... | null |
6r5lln | how is something scientifically proven to be a fact? | [
{
"answer": "Scientists don't tend to use the word \"fact\" for any generalized statement.\n\nI dropped a ball from the top of a 100-meter building and I measured that it took 4.9 seconds to reach the ground. That's a *fact*. It's evidence consistent with the theory objects on Earth fall with an acceleration of... | null |
6l9pcx | feces being a major source of harmful germs,how is it the lower intestine isn't chronically infected. | [
{
"answer": "This has to do with the fact that our intestines are made up of microscopic nutrients collectors (imagine a fluffy rug and roll it) [i don't know how it's called in english.] So tiny that bacteria can't fit through them but the nutrients however can. \n\nBacteria decompose food in our intestines wh... | null |
5v06pi | What led to Sulla's retirement after being declared dictator for life? | [
{
"answer": "The sources are particularly lousy for this: the wretched Appian on the one hand, and on the other Plutarch, more interested in the morbid details of his wasting disease than any politics. Scullard and Keaveney both argued that Sulla simply got tired and decided that he'd done enough to ensure a r... | null |
2ccfui | Did the Romans ever face armies of horseback archers from the steppes or elsewhere? How did they fair? Did they ever experiment with or adopt the strategy? | [
{
"answer": "Yes, Roman armies faced armies primarily composed of horse archers more than once. The fellow under me has referenced Attila the Hun. The Romans did technically defeat him at Chalons, but I'll admit to a small working knowledge of the late Roman army, so I'll focus on the earlier armies of the Re... | null |
3g6oo4 | what are ghz and what do they mean when it comes to computer specs? | [
{
"answer": "Hz is a measure of frequency- the number of times something happens per second. If something has a frequency of 3GHz, it means that it happens three billion times per second. \n\nIn the case of computers, that's the speed of its internal clock. A single operation in a computer can take multiple ste... | null |
30mcr1 | Do rockets use fossil fuels? Is there danger of running out of rocket fuel as we deplete oil reserves in the next 50-200 years? If so, are there alternative fuels that have the necessary power to take us into space? | [
{
"answer": "We are in no danger of running out of liquid oxygen or liquid hydrogen, as they can be extracted from water. You can make a workable rocket with just those fuels, although a big fat first stage full of low density hydrogen has penalties. \n\nRealistically, if absolute supply of kerosene or methane ... | null |
8roqmg | when a hard drive sets aside space for a download, what is it filled with before it actually receives the data that takes up the space? | [
{
"answer": "Logically, the filesystem is told to reserve the physical space for the new file.\n\nPhysically, the space of a hard drive that are reserved still contain whatever data was last in that space.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": ... | null |
7nsvob | subjective vs. objective | [
{
"answer": "Subjective is a judgement or experience. Objective is a reliably reproducible measurement. Both can be scientific. A good example is flavor versus chemistry.\n\nA cherry is tangy, sweet. That's a subjective statement because everyone experiences flavor in a different way, but it's still important t... | null |
1tb2vw | Do we have any concept of "infinite" I terms of time and space? | [
{
"answer": "_URL_0_\n\n > We now know (as of 2013) that the universe is flat with only a 0.4% margin of error. This suggests that the Universe is infinite in extent; [...] All we can truly conclude is that the Universe is much larger than the volume we can directly observe.\n\n_URL_1_\n\n > The size of the U... | null |
bmixbr | how does trade between countries work in terms of currency? if country a buys millions of dollars worth of commodities from country b, how do they pay? do they give them cash? gold? bank transfer? | [
{
"answer": "Think of countries as regular companies for this case. \n\nCountries don't really buy things - it's state companies that are run (more or less) like private companies, think of train networks requiring trains, power grids require generators, water networks needing pumps, etc. - when they buy someth... | null |
fobgss | counterfeit vs fake vs forgery for items | [
{
"answer": "Counterfeit and forgery generally mean the same thing, although you might use forgery to refer to something more specific.\n\nSo like \"counterfeit money\" is a banal mass-produced object, that happens to be fake. But a \"forgery\" would be like a painting that someone claimed was painted by Picass... | null |
1no29f | How do you defend the purpose of Medieval History? | [
{
"answer": "... because times change. It's useful to study how people thought and lived and why things happened the way they did in eras very different from our own, so we gain insight into what might happen in future circumstances very different from our own.\n\nE.g., American History is only a few hundred ye... | null |
39rn8v | why do we still need sunscreen? why haven't we as humans adapted to the heat of the sun after all this time? | [
{
"answer": " > Why haven't we as humans adapted to the heat of the sun after all this time?\n\nIt's not the heat that's the problem. It's ultraviolet light, which damages cells and can lead to skin cancer. And we *have* adapted. Tanning is our body's response to excess sunlight, and it helps reduce (but doe... | null |
3z88eo | Why did America develop a stable republic while most of Latin America developed weak, unstable republic? | [
{
"answer": "Which Latin America? We all have different histories you know. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I don't know that I can answer the question as written for \"most of Latin America, from what appears to be independence to the present day\", but I think I can point to some important d... | null |
5uflnr | Why does water turn yellow when electric current passes through it for some time? | [
{
"answer": "It's a physical reaction, not chemical, the electricity is causing it not an interaction of chemicals. Ions (atoms missing bits) come off the anode (positive side). If you leave wires connected to a battery in water for long enough you'll see one of them will eventually disintegrate. That's why ... | null |
2vybkn | if i keep the calories down but it's all mtn dew & chocolate & chips, will i lose weight or stay fat from all the sugar? | [
{
"answer": "If you eat fewer calories than you use, you lose weight.\n\nIf all those calories come from soda, chocolate, and chips, you lose other things. Like muscle mass, hair, and vital signs.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "You will lose weight based on calories, but getting appropriate n... | null |
i8u2y | Let's be honest: Is interstellar/intergallactic space travel possible at all? | [
{
"answer": "You are pretty much correct in your analysis.\n\nLong-term generation ships using nuclear pulse propulsion (or similar) could perhaps reach another star, but that technology is too far away to even say how far away it is.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "**Possible**, yes. Just slow... | null |
nemvv | If we never see objects fall into black holes due to time dilation, how do black holes gain mass? | [
{
"answer": "It's a somewhat tricky question, actually.\n\nFrom the point of view of the infalling particle, time doesn't slow down at all as it approaches the horizon; in fact, it doesn't feel anything special at the horizon at all, and it continues to fall in as normal.\n\nTo the outside, however, it's true t... | null |
74b11b | why does traveling to new places generally make people happy? | [
{
"answer": "1. Humans have an instinctive desire to explore. Following our instincts feels good.\n2. It distracts us from our usual daily concerns, which aren't visible there.\n3. We don't have so many chores or work to do when on vacation.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance"... | null |
cth0kp | how the conversion rates between currencies are decided. who, or what, decides these? | [
{
"answer": "It works kind of like the stock market. Look up forex trading for details.\n\nBut basically a bunch of people make and take offers to trade one currency for another, and the rates those people are willing to trade at determine the exchange rate.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "\"Co... | null |
1tflmo | how does alka-seltzer work? | [
{
"answer": "It doesn't counteract the acid a whole lot, and you wouldn't take it if you felt fine anyway. If you eat a lot of acidic food or drinks, then the balance gets thrown off, and its too acidic. Then you would want take an alka seltzer to basify it just a little, to get the acid levels to where they sh... | null |
8zzujv | how does the opening bottle of wine in a shoe work? | [
{
"answer": "Liquids don't compress. Holding the bottle upside down and striking the heel sends shockwaves through the bottle, which terminate in the spongey cork, causing it to move. Since it can't move into the liquids, it moves out of the neck.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"prove... | null |
1635cu | Why are many diseases that are potentially lethal to animals harmless to humans (and vice versa)? | [
{
"answer": "A couple points:\n\n1) yes, the tree of life contains a wide spectrum of immune systems. The innate immune system (macrophages, granulocytes e.g. neutrophils, complement proteins, etc) varies across the animal clade. The adaptive immune system (T and B lymphocytes and the lymphoid organs) also beco... | null |
cfbac4 | How can exoplanets in systems whose planes do not allow transits visible to earth be detected? | [
{
"answer": "There's a lot more methods to detect exoplanets. I'll summarize them : \n\n1. Transit Photometry as you said. This detects only a tiny fraction of the exoplanets since you need aligned systems there could be tens of thousands of planets not seen because of misalignment. However this is the most suc... | null |
2vk2a8 | Why do we as humans often times feel he need to feed wild animals such as birds and fish when we get nothing in return? | [
{
"answer": "Bear with me on this:\n\nWhen our ancestors moved down from the trees and started to live in social groups out in the open this put selective pressure towards developing altruistic behavior. Some evolutionary biologists such as Robert Trivers argue that in humans this altruistic system is regulated... | null |
yfnqx | Can animals really predict disaster ahead? | [
{
"answer": "It's a numbers game. Let's say you have 1000 pet owners in a town. Every day, 10 random pets are going to behave oddly for some reason - not important which. The owners most likely will shrug or maybe tell their friends about it over dinner. \n\nNow let's say we have an earthquake. Of those 10 pet ... | null |
17yoil | What is the correlation between decibels and sound waves? | [
{
"answer": "I believe your confusion comes from thinking of decibels as being units used to measure sound waves. They aren't. The units typically used to measure sound waves are either micropascals RMS (for amplitude/pressure) or watts/meter^2 (for intensity). Decibels are, in general, just a convenient way... | null |
65acpr | Why does a wood stove burn more vigorously when the door is slightly ajar than when fully open? | [
{
"answer": "It's air pressure. When the stove is completely open, air pressure is roughly equalized so oxygen being burned is immediately replenished. When the door is only slightly open, the fire is using up the oxygen in the oven causing an area of low pressure, so the atmosphere outside of the oven \"rushes... | null |
5bilkk | Did any ancient civilisation ever actually build the kinds of complex mechanical puzzles you see in popular fiction like Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Uncharted, National Treasure etc? | [
{
"answer": "Hi, you may be interested in a couple of posts from [the FAQ](_URL_2_):\n\n* [Were the tombs of South American civilizations the booby-trapped nightmare we see in entertainment?](_URL_1_) - South & amp; Central America, Egypt\n\n* [Many fantasy/historical computer games and RPGs feature \"dungeons... | null |
rns0d | What can we make using the 6 elements in the /r/askscience logo? | [
{
"answer": "Pretty much none. Neon is a noble gas which won't form compounds with much and definitely not with all of these at any reasonable energy. You might be able to squeeze everything but Ne onto some long molecule all as substituted atoms, but even that would be a stretch. The only compound that stic... | null |
1793ho | When 'unlikely' animals tolerate the company of each other, what is happening at a psychological level? | [
{
"answer": "A polite reminder. This is AskScience. No layman speculation, no guessing, no anecdotes, no jokes. Please check the sidebar if you're unsure whether your answer should be here or not.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "How is it any different than the myriad of animals we've been able... | null |
t7vjv | Before their double-helixed DNA model, Watson and Crick made a "failed" model. What did this model look like? | [
{
"answer": "Apparently it was a triple helix with three sugar-phosphate backbones in the middle with the Nitrogen bases sticking out.\n\n\n_URL_0_\n\nThat is my google fu however not my expertise. I would not be a good person to describe what that would actually look like.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
e4m05u | Is remembering a dream the same mechanism as remembering something in real life? | [
{
"answer": "Memory isn't as perfect as we'd like to think it is to begin with. Then, on top of that, the altered state of consciousness the brain is in during sleep can (essentially) shut down parts of the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex. Since memory requires many neurons firing in concert, having f... | null |
s6d7w | If I shoot a car with an EMP gun, what would happen? | [
{
"answer": "Devices like this exist and are being marketed to police departments around the world as a means for terminating dangerous car chases. I believe there is some safety cost/benefit calculation at work. The burning out of all electronics will effectively destroy/total the car. The driver may in fact ... | null |
807n7b | why when there is a silent we often hear a beep sound? | [
{
"answer": " Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained that this is *tinnitus:*\n\n1. [ELI5: what is the ringing noise we hear when there's silence? ](_URL_3_) ^(_ > 100 comments_)\n1. [ELI5: Why do my ears ring in a quiet room? ](_URL_2_) ^(_12 comments_)\n1. [ELI5: What is the beeping sound ... | null |
5goq5i | how does the amazon go store figure out what you are purchasing exactly? | [
{
"answer": "Holy crud, this is a neat idea. Here's some speculation, until we can get a concrete answer from Ol' Amazon themselves.\n\n* since you need the app, and need to apparently launch it when walking in, that's probably how the store determines that you in particular are the person who just entered. Blu... | null |
5cd82h | how was the dnc primary "rigged"? | [
{
"answer": "So... the main thing is that the Democratic National Committee didn't want Bernie to win. We didn't need leaked e-mails to know this. Hillary had been the Democratic Party's plan for years, they had been preparing her. No one else was going to run against her as they knew that was the score. \n\nAn... | null |
57uk3c | why did slave owners/ traders feel it was necessary to convert slaves to christianity? if slaves were considered nothing more than property why was their salvation important? | [
{
"answer": "Back then, conversion was a big part of *your* salvation because it was your duty as a Christian to get more followers. Also, the bible condones slavery so that makes it a bit easier to control your slaves.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "* they wanted to prevent them practicing th... | null |
1jse01 | why there is a difference in the way medication is administered. specifically, what is the difference between pills and injections. | [
{
"answer": "Injections, if through an IV, go straight into the bloodstream. Pills have to be digested before entering the bloodstream, so generally less gets in (or if something is meant to work in the gastrointestinal tract it would be taken as a pill.)\n\nCertain injections might only have a local effect (li... | null |
6aewqg | What happens to the blood in an uterus during missed periods? | [
{
"answer": "Tl;dr the lining usually doesn't thicken in these cases\n\n\nThe causes of frequently irregular periods (oligomenorrhoea) or complete lack of them (amenorrhoea) are normally always hormones. \n\n To put this into context with an example, breastfeeding results in high levels of the hormone prolacti... | null |
81zvje | Why do some cameras get really grainy when taking photos or videos in low-light/no-light? | [
{
"answer": "Various kinds of noise. As the light goes down, you get less light (signal) but not less noise. \n\nBut what is the noise? One type of noise is read noise. Read noise is a constant caused by imperfections in the technology used to detect the light. For example, an amplifier might accidentally ampli... | null |
1067l5 | the phrase 'have your cake and eat it, too.' | [
{
"answer": "Once you eat the cake, it's gone. You don't have it anymore. You cannot have both",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The phrase makes more sense if worded as \"To eat your cake and have it too.\"",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "My dad applied this saying in relationsh... | null |
78gknv | How do large batteries work (like the Tesla house unit)? and What are the barriers around efficient large scale energy storage? | [
{
"answer": "\nThe tesla house battery is a basically a lithium Ion battery,same as yor phone just in Large. Here's a pretty good [link](_URL_0_) to how they work.\n\nBarriers are :the low engie density in these types of. I think the Tesla battery weighs 100KG an can store up to 13.5 Kw/H. That equates to ~4KG ... | null |
2mjh05 | why is testosterone legally prescribed for transgender but not bodybuilding/muscle gain? | [
{
"answer": "Because the trans man has a recognized medical condition and the dude just trying to bulk up doesn't. And because the trans man is only going to normal male levels of testosterone - which are relatively safe - not pushing it to dangerously high levels by adding more on top of typical male productio... | null |
1kbmz9 | Are there other cultures that have a long tradition of personal names appropriated from languages other than the ones primarily spoken by that culture? | [
{
"answer": "Late Ancient Hebrew did this a ton. Many names were Greek. Variants of \"Alexander\" were especially popular. Other names were Aramaic, but the two languages are so similar that distinguishing them in names is often difficult. Yiddish does this two. Many of the names are Hebrew names or Hebrew... | null |
41bgit | Why didn't any Ottoman Sultans perform Hajj when they declared themselves Caliphs of Islam? | [
{
"answer": "It's mostly logistical issues. A sultan traveling from Istanbul to Mekka would need a huge army for protection. Traveling there and back would take months even years with a massive entourage which would destabilize the government back home and probably any province they pass through.",
"provena... | null |
fvd2l2 | if the sun is on the other side of the earth at night, how does it stay so warm during the summer? | [
{
"answer": "Okay, the only difference between summer and winter as far as heat goes is the angle that the sun hits the earth. With the axis, the sun hits at a steeper angle (ie. Straight up/down) which means greater concentration of energy, think: smaller area, same heat energy. That being said, the world an... | null |
5x5a1s | how does the fourth amendment prevent government reach into government cell phones? | [
{
"answer": "Your quote provides the answer.\n\nThe constitution including the bill of rights defines what the government can, and can't, do. (It does not apply directly to private employers, of course.) \n\nYou don't automatically lose rights as a result of becoming a government employee; but you may waive t... | null |
2n1fc5 | why, in the event a hurricane or super storm heading for a vulnerable area, can't we launch and detonate explosives within the storm to disperse it? | [
{
"answer": "I think you've been watching too much Sharknado. It doesn't work that way in real life.\n\nBesides, hurricanes can be hundreds of miles across. There's no way enough explosives could be launched to affect that, especially without causing massive environmental damage.",
"provenance": null
},
... | null |
4ovy3f | Why is the star in the "star and crescent" symbol of Ottoman Empire/Islam not exactly upright geometrically? | [
{
"answer": "The design is specified by a 1930s law. The alignment of the star is such that one of the points of the star points directly left. So it's aligned \"exactly\" on a horizontal axis -- relative to the crescent -- rather than a vertical axis. See _URL_0_ and the sources cited therein.",
"provenanc... | null |
7yc7w5 | what makes soda taste so bad when you leave it out for some time? | [
{
"answer": "It doesn't taste bad at all, you're just losing the carbonation so there isn't that stimulating feeling. If soda was made without carbonation I'm sure there would be a lot less soda drinkers in the world",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wiki... | null |
1vp06c | why is it worthwhile to separate colors from whites in laundry? | [
{
"answer": "/r/nostupidquestions is better suited for this. \n\nI personally don't bother separating them. But most of my whites are socks or work shirts so they don't really matter to me.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "In the past, you would often add bleach to whites to help clean them. How... | null |
2h3wgk | why does peanut butter turn shiny after being spread? | [
{
"answer": "The oil is more visible when the peanut butter is spread thin",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "55602",
"title": "Peanut",
"section": "Section::::Food.:Peanut butter.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 50,
... | null |
2ckbbi | i saw a commercial for a car dealership offering you a car for $88 down and $88 per month even if you have bad or no credit. what's the catch? how can they do this? | [
{
"answer": "A guess: Read the fine print. The monthly payment likely goes up after 12 or 24 months. The other guess that I have is that your monthly interest comes to... $88. So yes, it's $88/month, but it's $88/month forever!",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "You will be paying interest on tha... | null |
3qq7lh | Do dissolved solids (I.E. sugar in coffee) have the same volume as their constituents? | [
{
"answer": "Generally, no. Archimedes does not apply when you're dissolving a solid.\n\nDepending on the nature of coordination in solution, a solid can dissolve and displace more or less volume than the solid would. If everything behaved like an ideal solution, this wouldn't be the case, but mixtures involve ... | null |
4zr6oe | When light is reflected off a surface, is that same photon being bounced back or is that photon absorbed and then another one emitted? | [
{
"answer": "To the extent I understand it, photons don't have an \"identity\", there is no way to know, and use whatever assumption works for the problem you are solving.\n\nIt is a very unsatisfying answer, but physics has a lot of that.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": ... | null |
2eoq3d | - if deadly viruses, like ebola, ultimately kill the host, how do they evolve, or persist to an epidemic level? | [
{
"answer": "It isn't a good way to spread a virus strain.\n\nThat's precisely why these epidemic diseases kill thousands and then burn out. They massacre their food supply and host by accident and die with them.\n\nThe most successful viruses have no symptoms. They live in you and transfer among humanity wit... | null |
2kma0f | In my high school history classes, the fate of the USS Maine is usually described as a boiler-room accident or a deliberate "false-flag attack" to provoke war with Spain. What is the current academic consensus on the disaster? | [
{
"answer": "Just to clarify, you took a high school history class where your instructor referred to it as a \"false flag attack?\"\n\nCan you elaborate on what your instructor said? Did he or she use an actual history book referencing this? Or was it mentioned as a theory in passing?",
"provenance": null
... | null |
bsjszm | why do tech manufacturers region lock their devices? | [
{
"answer": "Many reasons. Sometimes they need to lower their price point in order to sell into a poorer market. Sometimes they release content differently in some markets (think, censorship in China, for example). Other times it is easier to region lock than to meet all local regulations in all devices.",
... | null |
5w5jx0 | What are some unsolved problems in Computer Science? | [
{
"answer": "The biggest and probably the most famous problem is the P-NP problem. It concerns decision problems (problems that can be answered with a \"yes\" or a \"no\"). There are two important classes of decision problems - P and NP. P problems are those which can be decided in polynomial time. NP problems ... | null |
20i2uw | why did saber-tooth cats have such big fangs? | [
{
"answer": "I'm just guessing here, but maybe it preyed on larger animals. Those fangs would have sunk deep into flesh.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "No one really know but on of the reason is the instead of going for the throat it bit into the back/spine of an animal keeping it from running... | null |
7821hc | when people say how fast something in space is moving what reference point are they using? | [
{
"answer": "It is usually going to be with reference to the body that exerts the dominant gravitational force in the region.\n\nThe speed of a probe sent to orbit Europa would first be expressed with reference to the earth, then the sun, then Jupiter, then finally Europa. Possibly other planets or moons if a ... | null |
2d66rp | how do countries pay for maternity leave? | [
{
"answer": "In France it is payed by the Social security (healthcare etc..), not the employer.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Everyone says \"taxes\", and that might be true in some countries, but in most cases the right answer is \"insurance\".\n\nEven though it isn't mandated in the U.S., v... | null |
48n18i | What is the Eastern Front known as in Russia? | [
{
"answer": "This can be a bit confusing, so I will use *italics for Latinized Russian* and **bold for English translations**\n\nIf you're asking about the Eastern Front of WWII, the single massive continuous front (geographic area) is known by Russians as Великая Отечественная Война (*Velikaya Otechestvennaya ... | null |
1bf0m0 | How are new stars born following the death of old stars? Surely all the hydrogen has gone- or the previous star wouldn't have died? | [
{
"answer": "Stars can only fuse hydrogen (and in the latter stages other elements) in their cores, where the temperature is high enough to start fusion. The vast majority of the hydrogen is outside the core (90% orso) and gets blown away when the star is dieing. This forms the material for the next generation ... | null |
18wsy0 | When did "Right by conquest" stop being a thing? | [
{
"answer": "Actually way later, up until WW2 right by conquest was recognized as international law. \"War of aggression\" as a crime was only codified in the Nuermberg Principles after WW2 and made a UN resolution in 1974 (UN resolution 3314). \n\nThe principle of Right by Conquest was first diminished in the ... | null |
5o9cp2 | It is said that Benedict Arnold died wishing to wear his Continental Army uniform, expressing regret at his betrayal. This may be legend, but do we know how he really felt in his later years about what he did, or his attitude towards the United States? | [
{
"answer": "Not to discourage further discussion, but see /u/uncovered-history's answer in [this post](_URL_0_). He also addresses the Continental Army uniform question a little further down the comment chain.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I answer this exact question in the post that /u/For... | null |
2slmb0 | What is the relationship between C-reactive proteins and inflammation with depression? | [
{
"answer": "Some cytokines can cross/be actively transported across the blood brain barrier. There are also cytokine receptors that stimulate the vagus nerve, providing feedback to the brain. There was a study specifically investigating the use of an anti-inflammatory drug, infliximab, which antagonizes tumor ... | null |
3nnzdf | What Slows a Computer Down? | [
{
"answer": "This is a complicated question to answer. \n\nFirst and foremost -- Did you upgrade OS versions in the meantime or are you running the same OS and exact same software as before? \n\nIf you upgraded the OS, then that could be part of the problem. Newer versions of Windows and OSX often are design... | null |
4x0l22 | Are any mammals as sexually dimorphic as humans? | [
{
"answer": "Male gorillas are over twice the size of female gorillas, probably the largest sexual dimorphism among primates. The big [silverbacks](_URL_0_) you see in zoos are all males. Big differences like this are also seen in orangutans, mandrills, baboons, proboscis monkeys, hamadryas.\n\nSperm whale male... | null |
6s9sr2 | how do jets that are taxiing stop and start moving without trying their engines up or down ? | [
{
"answer": "To get moving again, they DO spin up their engines.... modern high bypass turbofans have ridiculous thrust, just bumping them up a little from idle is enough to get an airliner moving again. To stop, they have brakes. These brakes are ridiculously powerful, more than enough to stop an airliner mo... | null |
49hvxs | How were crimes by ordinary people punished in Ancient Rome? | [
{
"answer": "Roman law during the late Republic and most of the Principate made no distinction in punishment between free people of different social rank. By Roman law all Roman citizens were guaranteed the same legal rights, and the only important distinction in court was whether one was a Roman citizen or not... | null |
7awqkp | Can fish see color? And if not, why are they so colorful? | [
{
"answer": "I know for a fact that at least some fish do. Some fish have a trade-off feature where they have a red belly which females finds attractive, but they are more visible to predators. Some marine animals also get their color from their diet, so maybe it has something to do with that?",
"provenance... | null |
56c8i2 | How did the heavier metals on Earth end up in the Earth's crust and not all towards the Core? | [
{
"answer": "Here's a [recent post where I answered a very similar question](_URL_0_). Basically it comes down to two things: solubility in different materials (silicates versus metals, which is why there are Uranium ores on the surface of Earth) and meteor bombardment during the early history of the solar syst... | null |
24j8ur | Was there any indication for a genocide in the Bosnia war from 1992-1995? | [
{
"answer": "We're allowing this question despite our 20-year-rule, because the events straddle the 20-year line, and most of the time in OP is in-bounds. But it's particularly important to not let any answers get into current politics, or the situation closer to the present. Thanks!",
"provenance": null
... | null |
5j4i0u | How did the Allies supply their armies in France in WWII in 1944 and 1945? | [
{
"answer": "Most of the goods were shipped in to France. By 1944 German Naval power was not what it used to be and while there were still attacks on supply convoys the Allies did a decent job of establishing Naval dominance. As they moved forward they also established supply bases on the mainland so as not to ... | null |
38xu70 | Was there any study of economics pre-consumerism? | [
{
"answer": "Yes.\n\nConsumerism is generally linked to the rise of industrial production and wasn't a phenomenon (at least outside the upper class) until the late 19th century. Before then you had such figures as Adam Smith, David Hume, Ricardo, Marx, Quesnay, Colbert etc all writing on economics. Adam Smith i... | null |
1p0236 | What properties of charcoal cause it to be so useful in absorbing toxic compounds? | [
{
"answer": "Can anyone actually explain this though! Yes it becomes more porous, yes it has active binding sites. But what is actually occurring here. Are particulates getting trapped? Are aldehyde/ketones groups protonating with particulates? Or what is the actual chemical manipulation of this?",
"provena... | null |
mgzez | Are Neutrino's really faster than light? | [
{
"answer": "Because photons are light. To pass from the source to the detector, they are travelling through the earth. Light won't do that.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Does anyone know if they compensated for the difference in the distance to the GPS satellites used to sync the clocks an... | null |
bbrqha | why are there patterns and fractals in nature? | [
{
"answer": " > Why are there patterns and fractals in nature?\n\nPatterns and fractals are just the large scale result of simple repeating behaviors. Suppose you have a stem that will grow for a bit and then split, then those stems grow for a bit and split, etc. You end up with a branching pattern from simple... | null |
r2xqn | What was President William McKinley's reasoning for his views on the issue of the annexation of the Philippines? | [
{
"answer": "The Philippines were important as a strategic outpost in Asia. The US leaders saw China as a market for their goods and they didn't want the European powers to control it alone. Therefore, a base in Asia was important. McKinley probably thought along these lines too.\n\nEspecially McKinley depicted... | null |
2cz7h9 | Good books/movies/documentaries/websites/podcasts about Roman British history | [
{
"answer": "British History Podcast. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "40081338",
"title": "The History of Rome (podcast)",
"section": "Section::::Legacy and influence.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 31,
"start... | null |
5vd1jm | why do the ends of escalators and moving walkways have the blue or green light that shines through the cracks? | [
{
"answer": "I may be wrong but I think it's a light from a sensor that stops the escalator, moving sidewalk, etc. when it sees that there is something caught in the treads e.g. a pantleg, or a shoelace ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "2... | null |
3yuz02 | will we ever see the national debt start going down or will it keep raising forever? | [
{
"answer": "Basically, it depends:\n\nWill we ever see taxes start going up, or will they keep being lowered forever?\n\nMany countries balance their budgets, reduce their debts, and maintain positive ratios. It's possible to keep a healthy but ever increasing debt as well due to inflation. But some countries'... | null |
10b41s | What are some examples of small disciplined forces defeating larger forces? | [
{
"answer": "[The first Persian-Greco war. The Battle of Marathon.](_URL_0_). After their victory, the Athenians and their allies did something that they had never done before, turn the site of the battle into a memorial for all the dead to commemorate the bravery the dead had shown. Normally the dead would hav... | null |
201wzc | why some, but not all, acquisition prices are disclosed . | [
{
"answer": "In the USA, if a publicly traded company is acquired, the purchase price will have to be reported publicly in reports to the SEC. Acquisition of a private company won't have to be, although if it is bought by a public company then it will often show up in their SEC reports, although it may be obfu... | null |
rt9lx | How do you feel about John Brown? Terrorist or freedom fighter? | [
{
"answer": "He's both technically but in my biased opinion he's a freedom fighter. Though he could have planned the rebellion slightly more I believe, like asking a local slave in the dead of night on what he thought the slaves would do perhaps, but really Brown was never going to achieve the full liberation o... | null |
1rob7w | how does my computer know how much time is remaining for a program to be installed? | [
{
"answer": "It's an estimate based on how much data there is left to transfer and how fast it is currently getting done.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "6317096",
"title": "Time Machine (macOS)",
"section": "Section::::O... | null |
3w0cz1 | what does a company do with funds generated from selling stocks? | [
{
"answer": " An IPO (initial public offering) means that the company is raising cash by selling some of its shares to the public. after the IPO, yes the company keeps the money to fund their growth and make investments.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The go to various things, depending on the... | null |
5224lo | why old film clips, like ones of ww2 almost always seems sped up faster than 1x? | [
{
"answer": "As you probably know, the speed at which motion picture film runs through the camera determines its frame rate, given in frames per second (fps). When run through a projector (which you can think of as a backwards camera) at the same speed, the movement looks natural to us. If turned more slowly or... | null |
2kmhc5 | why doesn't north america see protests similar in size to other continents and countries? | [
{
"answer": "[We took part in the largest protest in human history](_URL_0_), in 1995 the Million Man March had between 400,000 and 837,000 people, in 1993 the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation had between 300,000 and 1,000,000 people, in 1992 the \"Save our Cities! Save ou... | null |
8f92pd | What is the best way to determine if an exoplanet is suitable to sustain human life? | [
{
"answer": "Part of the problem is we have a sample size of 1. Basically impossible to draw hard conclusions from. \n\nOne key metric I've seen talked about is the presence of free oxygen. Oxygen is very reactive, if it is present in large quantities in molecular form it seems reasonable to infer that a proces... | null |
4lz6gm | why do dogs like the smell of cheese so much? | [
{
"answer": "Cheese, that is, REAL, unprocessed cheese (although some types of pasteurized cheese included as well,) is naturally very pungent. Cut up a bit of Brie or aged white cheddar and tell me this isn't so. If we humans think cheese is very pungent, imagine how much more so dogs would be able to smell it... | null |
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