id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
2k0383 | how are bills able to be changed last minute with other members of congress seemingly being out of the loop? | [
{
"answer": "It doesn't happen with most bills. \n\nWhen it does tend to happen is when there is a particularly complicated bill that has to be passed immediately (e.g. a bill that keeps the government funding from shutting down, or deal with some national emergency). In those situations, the bill can be doze... | null |
2wklyn | At what point does matter (mass/size) follow quantum physics as opposed to standard physics? | [
{
"answer": "At every point. QM is the correct theory. \"Standard Physics\" is the short-wavelength approximation to QM. Which method you use depends on how accurate you need to be in your prediction.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Classical physics emerges when the action (literally time int... | null |
2j6qsy | what does it mean that there is a 2,500 square-mile cloud of methane over the southwest? | [
{
"answer": "Methane is much more efficient at trapping radiation than CO2 - about 20 times more so. As far as greenhouse gases go, it's (one of) the killer(s).\n\nEdit: some reading - \n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_1_\n\nEdit 2: The stuff in parentheses.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "To add... What is ke... | null |
1zo0z0 | why is 100 degrees celsius the "boiling point", when water can boil below 100 degrees? | [
{
"answer": "Water without impurities boils at 100degrees c at sea level",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's the boiling point at sea level.\n\nDepending on altitude, that boiling point changes, but you have to set the standard somewhere.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": " > I m... | null |
175fb9 | How strong were relations between the USA and Liberia over time politically, economically, and culturally? | [
{
"answer": "This question has been up for a while without a single response. I am not a historian, but I will try to provide good sources from what I've searched up.\n\nEarly advocates for resettlement included [Paul Cuffee](_URL_1_), a Quaker abolitionist of mixed descent. The American Colonization Society wo... | null |
7y9d6s | why do seniors/children pay less for movie tickets when they still take the same amount of space ? | [
{
"answer": "Its a way to get them into the thester. If no seniors are willing to spend $10 to go to the thester, then profit is $0. If lowering the price will cause at least a few seniors to come, then profit is made.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Marketing. Take for example a restaurant. Sa... | null |
bj99ba | why is lumber sold based the size it was before it went into the planer? | [
{
"answer": "A couple of points to add, and this from a former NELMA Lumber Inspector. They use 'green lumber' sizes{i.e. that from the saw first into a plank or? to use a reference point. The sizes have changed over the years, I think they are getting smaller now- tho I have been retired for some years. The s... | null |
7gozqf | What happens to the kinetic energy of a moving radioactive particle when it decays? | [
{
"answer": "Energy and momentum are conserved for any decay, in any frame of reference. If you carefully keep track of the energies and momenta of all particles in a decay where the parent particle is moving, you'll find that they are both conserved.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"p... | null |
6guc94 | Did Confederate symbols disappear after the Civil War? Did people still display the Confederate flag after the war? If, not when did it come back in fashion? | [
{
"answer": "Hi there -- this is a question that's come up here a few times before. Not to discourage new answers, but you may be interested in these previous links on the topic: \n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_1_\n\n_URL_2_\n\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wiki... | null |
7oaf44 | why do products with double the amount/content don't nearly cost double the price? | [
{
"answer": "Smaller products have more packaging costs, more transaction overhead & more customer service issues. When you make something, you just want to focus on making that thing so you sell it off in big lots so you don't need to worry about running stores & dealing with customers.",
"provenance"... | null |
1soln3 | what causes the menstruation cycle to be regular? | [
{
"answer": "Mother fucking biological clock, every 28 days that shit needs to be refreshed.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "[Additional info](_URL_0_) \n\nThe menstrual cycle is caused by hormones that fluctuate in level throughout the cycle. A hormone called follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)... | null |
17b31y | i can always find a deal on most electronics if i look hard enough. why do the prices of certain products never seem to vary more than a few bucks? | [
{
"answer": "Apple will only supply to retailers if the retailer agrees to very strict conditions. Those conditions include that the retailer only sells Apple products at pre-agreed prices. Which is why you will never be able to find a deal on a new iPhone or iPad.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer"... | null |
8m7ezj | What causes different materials to expand or contract at different rates? | [
{
"answer": "Intermolecular bonding energy. Heat is atomic kinetic energy, right? Well, if a material is bonded to itself really strongly (tungsten), it will take a lot of energy (heat) to force them to spread out. If they are weak (plastic), they will spread out a lot further with application of the same amoun... | null |
1mfmqk | the concept of a t-test in statistics | [
{
"answer": "A t-test is used to compare two sets of data gathered independently of each other to see how similar they are. In my job (biochemistry) it's sometimes used during method validation to test how well a particular test will give a 100% result when conducted multiple times.\nThe difference between one-... | null |
12xuv0 | when is the veil of beyond which the historian can't look, the age that that must be left to the archaeologists? | [
{
"answer": "An archaeologist works in the field, studying primarily by excavating remains and recovering objects from the place of history. Historians typically write and study about the subject, but don't necessarily have to be archaeologists. There isn't any sort of time divider, though.",
"provenance": ... | null |
4takl9 | where there is a uterus or another female organ in a woman's body, what is in that exact spot in a man's body? | [
{
"answer": "No, the woman's bladder is just smaller when empty and is located more forward in the body, creating a space behind it, where the womb is located.\nAn important thing about the womb is that, when the woman is not pregnant, it's pretty small organ. It only gets huge and cumbersome when there's a hug... | null |
60dm6o | how can a distance be infinitely smaller | [
{
"answer": "Between the numbers 1 and 2, there is 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. But between 1.1 and 1.2 there is 1.11, 1.12, 1.13, etc. And between 1.11 and 1.12 there is 1.121, 1.122, 1.123, etc. So there can always be more numbers in between two other numbers. It is infinite, you can keep going smaller and smaller.\n\... | null |
3k3sk6 | when people make supercuts, where do they get all the footage, and how do they find all the clips? | [
{
"answer": "There are places on the internet where you can easily and quickly acquire just about every episode of these shows... For free. After that it's just up to you to piece it together. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "In addition to pirating/purchasing the episodes, the person could hav... | null |
3x7mqv | In which direction is spacetime "curved"? | [
{
"answer": "The classic example that you refer to does frequently seem to lead to exactly the confusion you mention. It's frustrating because it easy to understand, and is 'morally' correct, although of course it's really just a cartoon and isn't meant to be an accurate description of what curvature is.\n\nThe... | null |
2nwzuj | anarchy vs libertarian | [
{
"answer": "A libertarian philosophy is laissez-faire (minimal interference from the government) advocating only minimal state intervention in the lives of citizens.\n\nAn anarchist philosophy is based on the absence of government, and we are self-governed.\n\nSo one has a government that works minimally, and ... | null |
2z5abg | Stereotypically, we see Ancient Greeks as toga-wearing. How did they dress for winter? | [
{
"answer": "Just for clarification, the Greeks did not wear togas, rather himations, chitons, and peplos. Togas were an Etruscan-influenced Roman style, and differed from the green garb both in fastening, drape, and style.\n\nThe met has a nice overview of Greek attire here, which includes an overview of how t... | null |
crk29t | what happens to an eyeball after it's removed from a body and loses its moisture? | [
{
"answer": "Well, it would definitely depend upon the environment around the eyeball, but since you're particularly curious about it being dried out; in an arid environment (say under a heat lamp or something) yeah, it would turn into basically an eyeball raisin. But under most conditions, it'd basically just ... | null |
1vrzls | What color would Radon glow when excited? | [
{
"answer": "Based on [this](_URL_0_) emission spectrum, it appears that radon would fluoresce with a deep bluish-violet color. Obviously it's intense radioactivity prevents this experiment from being easily accomplished. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
... | null |
tjirt | History of Satanism?
| [
{
"answer": "You might want to investigate the exploits of the Hellfire Club of the eighteenth-century, it is a predecessor of Bohemian Grove. The Hellfire Club attracted 'gentlemen' of various high political circles, from politicians and landowners in Britain to foreign diplomats such as Benjamin Franklin. The... | null |
3d7xh2 | "complexes" in terms of psychology | [
{
"answer": "The psych meaning of complex is a bit different than the dictionary. In the field, complex refers to a group of attitudes, forms, or personality traits that define whatever word is placed in front of it. Example: \"superiority complex\" refers to the traits in a given person that makes them feel su... | null |
6gctlw | why are there not many artistic depictions of heaven within christian religious art traditionally? | [
{
"answer": "perhaps depicting perfection was thought impossible and hence avoided. My theory, though, is that they thought it offensive to draw holy things back then",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Aside from being depicted as 'beyond' the sky in renaissance art, it's never really described in... | null |
7a6qr8 | What is the difference between 208/220/240/277v in a 3 phase system and how is each voltage achieved? | [
{
"answer": "You are, I believe, talking about a power supply setup used in North America, known as [high-leg delta](_URL_0_).\n\nIn this setup, voltage between any two phases is 240V.\n\nThe neutral is connected to midpoint between two phases, which results in neutral-to-phase voltage of 120V for those two pha... | null |
ajyscc | why is dietary fibre important? | [
{
"answer": "Fiber is made of complex sugars that makes up the cell walls of plants, such as cellulose, or other sugars such as chitin. Although some animals can digest it, humans can't. Since it is not digested, it makes it into the large intestine, where it absorbs water and makes pooping easier. There are ot... | null |
9ho0y0 | why is it that modern body armor, like the kind used by the military and police, is very rarely of high enough strength to stop rounds from rifle caliber weapons? especially in a military context, aren't rifle caliber weapons exceedingly common? | [
{
"answer": "The speed of a rifle bullet is much more than a pistol. The amount of armor that would be required to stop a rifle bullet with the same effectiveness as a pistol round would be too heavy and bulky for the wearer to be able to do anything else effectively. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"a... | null |
302aaf | what made the beatles so revolutionary for the music industry? and why are they regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time? | [
{
"answer": "Oh, my. A number of things.\n\n1 The Beatles wrote their own songs. Before, most Pop acts were given songs to sing by their producers. After The Beatles, it was more expected that a band would create its own music. I may be wrong, but I understand that the current model has drifted back to a \"You ... | null |
ta4or | charter schools, good/bad side to them | [
{
"answer": "Good: Less oversight\n\nBad: Less oversight ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "They're basically publicly funded private schools. They can be selective in who they admit as a student, often offer better facilities and better trained faculty, and in many cases are \"specialized\" scho... | null |
6mzoqo | how do some citrus food products contain 0% dv of vitamin c, when they contain 'orange puree' and 'lemon juice concentrate'? | [
{
"answer": "The same reason that it's possible for a banana peel to have 0% banana in it anymore. Those fruits are usually vehicles for vitamin c but it's processing removes it. Taste, texture and color don't equal the presence of nutrients",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance"... | null |
6mmapn | how can it be some people die after 1 shot but others, like emmett dalton gets shot 23 times in the late 19th century without great medical care and live? | [
{
"answer": "There are youtube videos on the effects of handguns. Generally handguns are less powerful than rifles.\n\nYes there are specific deadly areas. Being shot in the heart, head or a major artery is generally fatal.\n\nThe existence of guardian angels is not proven and is suspect. Do not rely on one.\n\... | null |
2o64ur | how do big companies hire lawyers to avoid lawsuits? | [
{
"answer": "Basically, the more money you have to defend yourself, the higher probability you'll get away with things (i.e. OJ Simpson). So, let's say you're a petroleum company and you have a spill. Now, you try to blame that on a third party who put the rig together but people still sue you directly of cou... | null |
6uh6he | What role did the potato play in Enligthenment ideology in Europe? | [
{
"answer": "Maybe not specifically related to your question, but I can give a bit of background on the introduction of the potato in french cuisine.\n\nThe main figure in this is Antione Augustin Parmentier, who you will see on his wiki page that even though he was an acknowledged pharmacist, he is most famous... | null |
20fd9b | how does a star trek styled economy work "where all of humanity is equal and can spend their time creating art, exploring, researching, reading, gardening and raising their family" ? | [
{
"answer": "They have the advantage of having replicators, and in a world where they are commonplace, there is no need to work in order to merely survive. All of their basic needs are already cared for.\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's essentially Marxist Communism; people are all given ... | null |
39nfbz | why looking at gruesome pictures of people/animals gross us so much? | [
{
"answer": "Empathy. When you see an image of something you consider to have human emotions in pain, your brain actually simulates that pain in order to determine how you should feel about it. This simulation of pain is the root of all of our morality and feelings that other humans are worthwhile, because it a... | null |
we36e | Is it possible to 'reverse engineer' a secret food ingredient? | [
{
"answer": "You could get a qualititative analysis using a [Mass Spectrometer](_URL_0_), but that wouldn't give you the ratios of each ingredient. It'd be a start",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Yes, and it has been done. For example, the [Merory formulation](_URL_1_) is said to be very close... | null |
etplsy | why you can still whisper if you have lost your voice but if you try to talk nothing come out? | [
{
"answer": "Talking uses vibrations of your vocal cords.\n\nWhispering uses the same jaw, lip, and tongue movements to create speech, but only pushing air through open vocal cords. No vibrations = no voice.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id"... | null |
19jn59 | Is there a physical limit on a car's 0-60 time? | [
{
"answer": "Read up on [top fuel dragsters](_URL_0_). They're as fast as we can do right now with a tire-driven car, accelerating from 0-100mph in around 0.7s. We could do better if there weren't such stringent rules in place regarding engine design. \n\nWe can also do better with jet- or rocket-powered vehicl... | null |
7he5h1 | how do the foam cutouts in a recording studio mute out sound? | [
{
"answer": "sound waves are just vibrations at different frequencies, a dense material like foam absorbs those vibrations more effectively that a harder surface like concrete, thus reducing reverb..",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "They don't mute the sound they absorb it. Picture this: throw a... | null |
bvvq33 | how does the un work? | [
{
"answer": "All the countries that are members of the United Nations send representatives to the council, and they have meetings, discussions, and hopefully agreements over all the subjects that are important to people all over the planet.\n\n\"The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization tasked wit... | null |
c84nen | what’s the difference between a mountain’s height and its prominence? how are each measured? | [
{
"answer": "Height usually refers to the height of the mountain above sea level; basically, what is the difference in height between the peak of the mountain and the average sea level below.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nProminence refers to how much the peak of a mountain stands out from the surrounding landscape. Technic... | null |
evmkdg | why do digital clocks slowly become inaccurate? (follow-up: but something like a car turn signal always blinks at the same frequency?) | [
{
"answer": "Digital clocks use a crystal oscillator circuit to keep time, if there is a flaw in that circuit, where the pulse is not consistent or a small change in resistance over the circuit it will gain or loose time. In a perfect circuit this would not happen however there are just so many potential inroad... | null |
5kv3er | why can't you use your phone when it's out of juice and you just plugged it in? | [
{
"answer": "The battery charge system won't let the phone power up until there is a small reserve of charge on the battery. If you have a tiny charge on the battery, just enough to boot the phone, the phone will boot and the CPU/Display/Everything will start using more juice. This increase will cause the bat... | null |
4x9zd8 | Napoleon's Marriage Ambitions | [
{
"answer": "By 1809, it was clear to Napoleon that he had a problem: he had no direct heir. Rumors of his death in Spain in 1808 encouraged an embryonic conspiracy in circles around Fouche and Talleyrand, and the hard-fought 1809 campaign actually gave Napoleon his only serious wound in a lifetime of soldierin... | null |
f1v8sl | Can a baby inside the womb have an allergic reaction? If so how would it be treated? | [
{
"answer": "Not really, because fetuses don't really have the B-cell diversity an infant has. They have some, but they are a yolk-sac derived alternative that is unique to mature B-cells. I also feel like they won't have many, if any, resident, mature mast cells throughout their body yet, which is necessary fo... | null |
498dcc | how do terrestrial ant colonies survive torrential downpours without flooding in and drowning them? | [
{
"answer": "Water does flood in. However, ants usually dig colonies at least a foot deep. That creates a lot of surface area relative to the tiny entrance hole, so the dirt absorbs the rain quickly. Ants also build chambers at the top of upward sloping tunnels, so water can't flow in.\n\nAs a last-ditch eff... | null |
ciha6a | what is the difference between adrenaline and noradrenaline? | [
{
"answer": "Two different neurotransmitters which signal in different way. Noradrenaline doesn’t have a direct action on the heart. Instead it increases vascular tone. Also, adrenaline has a methyl group on it!",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia... | null |
36pgo3 | How well can a chemist predict the properties of a chemical before it is synthesized? | [
{
"answer": "Chemical is very vague. You could be talking about things as simple as an element or as complicated as a protein. \n\nThe truth is, chemists simply don't have the ability to determine the properties of *any and all* chemicals before actually seeing them work. Breaking this into different categories... | null |
1bbz9n | how does an excess of democracy in a society lead to civil war or dictatorship? | [
{
"answer": "It doesn't. Democracy just means people getting to vote on the rules they live by. What would an excess of that look like? Wars and dictators are caused by a *lack* of democracy. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "182612",
... | null |
6mbyw3 | what are the usa's immigration policies goals? | [
{
"answer": "To simplify it, the US is wanting to implement a system that can \"weed out\" the people that have connections to bad people or bad organizations that might not be so friendly to people in America.\n\nEssentially, the US wants to prevent a \"Trojan Horse\" immigration, where people come in under fa... | null |
24klu5 | Did Pharaoh Akhenaten renounce godhood in his pursuit of a monotheistic Egypt? | [
{
"answer": "It is not necessarily clear for many reasons. First of all there is the extent to which each pharaoh was seen as divine versus there being a divine spirit of royal authority which each ruler had as an attribute. I find the argument for the latter to be very convincing since in the New Kingdom th... | null |
35ft48 | Can Tsar Nicholas II's personality be blamed for the decline and fall of the Romanov dynasty? | [
{
"answer": "Part of it according to Robert Massie's book Nicholas and Alexandra has to do with the fact that his father Alexander III died at a relatively young age and was not really preparing his son for the responsibilities. He had the tutoring, but didn't get the sit-ins and was basically allowed to enjoy ... | null |
jn8im | What are the problems surrounding human cryogenises (with prospect of later resuscitation), and does anybody in the field have any insight on the steps being taken to improve the process? | [
{
"answer": "i don't have any experience with freezing people/animals, but in the lab we can't freeze mammalian cells the way we do with bacteria. you see, with bacteria, we just add some cryoprotectant and throw them in a bucket of liquid nitrogen. they freeze instantly. you can't do that with mammalian cells,... | null |
6pb1fm | What affects whether rain comes down hard or soft? | [
{
"answer": "The atmosphere everywhere (even outside the cloud) contains lots and lots and lots of water. And under a stable combination of temperature, pressure, and humidity, all that moisture is perfectly happy to exist in a completely gaseous state. But as differing air masses start to collide, the local at... | null |
14w8f5 | Do identical twins have a higher chance of having identical twins? | [
{
"answer": "Fraternal (non-identical) twins occur when, during ovulation in a female, two or more separate eggs are released, and more than one egg becomes fertilized. Since they have different DNA, the twins are not identical. There is a gene that increases the likelihood of having fraternal twins. Women with... | null |
1t6mvq | why are humans attracted to bright and shiney things? | [
{
"answer": "Most mammals are. \n\nI once read it's because pure, clean water is naturally reflective, so that way we are more attracted to the shiny clean water than to the murky one. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "189429",
"t... | null |
2a2udl | How effective of a fuel source was Whale Oil? | [
{
"answer": "\"Whale oil\", or the triglyceride derived from adipose tissues \"blubbler\" of whales, usually contains a large amount of unsaturated fatty acids which burns poorly and produces a lot of soot; poor grades of oil derived from whale guts also had a awful smell, making them a poor choice for indoor u... | null |
z3t4v | if colors are defined by wavelengths of light, how do they combine to form new colors? | [
{
"answer": "Colours are not _purely_ defined by wavelengths of light. In fact, colours are entirely the result of _perception_.\n\nThat means there are some monochromatic colours - light of one wavelength that makes you see a particular colour - and there's polychromatic colour - light with different wavelengt... | null |
7px86s | If you were drafted into WWII or Vietnam, did the armed forces take into account your desires or skill set when deciding where to place you, or was it completely by chance? | [
{
"answer": "[This response I wrote on the USMC mobilization might be of interest for you.](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "54374448",
"title": "History of the US Army National Guard",
"section": "Section::::Viet... | null |
25oez2 | if someone used a flashlight in a closed container traveling close to the speed of light, would the waves of light leaving the flashlight, be traveling faster than the speed of light? | [
{
"answer": "No.\n\nA common misconception is that you just add velocities to get a resultant velocity, which is why you think that your scenario would unfold this way.\n\n[The actual way to add velocities](_URL_1_) will give you, more or less, the same velocity you would get just by adding them in an every day... | null |
61bffm | what is the differences between a bill getting pulled in congress versus it going to a vote and failing? | [
{
"answer": "In other words, what future consequences does pulling a bill have, rather than if it had failed to get a majority of votes. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "When you realize your constituents support something you've sworn to repeal, you no longer have to face the backlash that wou... | null |
e710uq | During the oxidation of a metal tool, what makes certain areas rust faster than others? | [
{
"answer": "The presence of moisture on those parts of the tool as well as a lack of other oxidation. \n\nIron tools rust what elemental iron is in contact with Oxygen in the air and water. A tiny droplet of water on a surface is enough.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Areas with a rough surf... | null |
f09gsv | The first bicycles seem to have been eccentricities to be enjoyed by the rich. When was their potential for cheap, reliable transportation recognised, and when and how did they proliferate among the general population? | [
{
"answer": "Bicycles really started to become popular during the athletics boom of the late nineteenth century. \n\nThroughout the Industrial Revolution, the middle classes (and to some extent the working classes as well) tended to acquire more and more machine-made goods and participate in more activities tha... | null |
2kgkce | are you a criminal if you deliberately choose not to prevent someone from committing suicide? | [
{
"answer": "I think for the most part you can't be charged with anything for letting someone commit suicide. I'm sure their are exceptions like if you are legally responsible for the person for whatever reason. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I'd say it depends on whether the country you are ... | null |
2gjffe | why do we "shush" people to try to quiet them? | [
{
"answer": "The \"S\" sound is very high frequency, so is easier to place in three dimensional space. The purpose of \"Shush\" is to draw attention to your face, so that you can convey to the noisy person your displeasure in their conduct (via the means of a stern gaze).\n\nThe need for a high frequency sound ... | null |
136stc | Is it possible that the speed of light has been decreasing over time? The decrease of c within our margin of error (measurement precision) over the last 100 years? | [
{
"answer": "As far as I'm aware, there has been no experimental detection of a change in c. Observations of the [Cosmic Microwave Background](_URL_0_), light emitted in the very early universe when the universe became transparent, strongly suggest that c has been constant for the history of the universe. \n\nE... | null |
bcoxyd | What is the functional difference between an Induction phone charger and an Induction cooktop? | [
{
"answer": "With phone chargers there is a digital control loop which also talks back to the charger and requests power. Wireless charging can go in both directions like with the Galaxy 10 it can charge other devices by sending power. Your regular cooking pan cannot transmit power to other devices since it's ... | null |
dqxnff | why does the age of consent tend to increase in more modern societies and vice versa? | [
{
"answer": "The key part is modern. Like it or not, it really requires around 12 years of basic education (generally speaking, there are many exceptions) to become a somewhat productive member of society. Many people aspire to 16 years of education for a basic college degree. Most modern societies have average... | null |
35v879 | how do you teach a deafblind person to a good level of education? (think helen keller level of education) | [
{
"answer": "I'd recommend reading about Helen Keller. Basically it involves lots of patience and repetition. In a way, it's like listening to someone speak a language until you start to pick up on what they're saying. In the case of Helen Keller, she learned through letters being drawn on her palm. It took a l... | null |
15smyz | When and why did dancing stop being about set pieces and more about 'freestyling'? | [
{
"answer": "Related to OP's question, \n\nHow many dances was the average person expected to know in europe? ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I'm not sure that's a fair comparison. The more courtly dances would have been performed in courts and ballrooms, largely by wealthy people trying to im... | null |
2gbyxx | Calculating ancestors paradox? | [
{
"answer": "Small villages used to be pretty much one big family. If you lived in one, you might marry your 2nd / 3rd cousin. Occassionally, somebody from the next village over might marry into your village, and somebody from your village might marry into another village, but that usually didn't spread too f... | null |
1if5x7 | what's the point of studying art? | [
{
"answer": "There have been a lot of different art styles around the world throughout history. Studying art holistically can lead to a new understanding of art and can even result in insights into other areas of study like human cognition and psychology.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Why st... | null |
1kccz3 | why is email treated differently than snail mail when it comes to privacy? | [
{
"answer": "Because there are specific laws written for how paper mail is to be handled, mainly because the post office is run by the government and it was already bound in part during it's creation by the constitution (4th Amendment, unless they have a good reason to look at your mail, the government can't).\... | null |
qkjoq | Total energy is finite, universe is expanding: does everything have decreasing energy over time? | [
{
"answer": "[Q & A](_URL_0_) about energy from Department of Physics University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There's a great article published in June of 2010 in Scientific American that very adequately answers your question. Here's the link: \n\n_URL_0_\n\... | null |
en79xn | Why might UTIs (urinary tract infections) have a drastic affect on mental health? What is the link? | [
{
"answer": "Although I don’t know the a answer I do know there is a link that is scientifically being considered. Coincidentally I unfortunately happen to be close with an older woman with anti-NMDAR encephalitis who currently displays symptoms of psychosis that can indicate a possible relapse one of the thing... | null |
7arzvv | How did humans figure out that salt was good on food? Did they just grind up different rocks on their food until they found one that tasted good? | [
{
"answer": "You may want to post this in /r/askanthropology since your question pertains to behaviors that date back to prehistory.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "1605200",
"title": "Salt",
"section": "Section::::Edible... | null |
dcspvi | it is so easy to reconnect a torn wire, any person with some duct tape can do it. how come it’s so difficult and often impossible to fix/reconnect a torn nerve? | [
{
"answer": "A nerve isn't a solid or stranded piece of metal with some insulation where simply twisting two broken ends together will do.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "396056",
"title": "Wire recording",
"section": "Se... | null |
944nf4 | What (if any) progress is being made on exploring if electrons and quarks have component parts or are truly elementary particles? | [
{
"answer": "The progress is that any possible substructure is getting pushed to smaller and smaller lengthscales by experiments, from the Large Hadron Collider and others. For example, [this analysis](_URL_0_), which can probably (or has been?) improved upon with newer data. Another quantity of interest is the... | null |
125uk5 | Say we were able to create a hole through the centre of the earth. | [
{
"answer": "[This video should have your answer](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The NDT/NOVA video posted by doctorfeelgood21 is good, but it doesn't say what would actually happen.\n\nDuring the first half of the jump, gravity would cause you to accelerate (although at a decreasing ... | null |
zivdp | how much turbulence can a plane take before there is a critical failure somewhere | [
{
"answer": "Airframe loading is generally measured in g's, 1.0g is the force exerted by gravity. The world's most popular commercial airline, the 737, has g limits of +2.5g and -1.0g. This figure is worst case, at full load with a belly full of passengers, cargo, and fuel. \n\nTo prove that figure, Boeing ... | null |
7mgeg0 | Is there any evidence of diseases that existed in the past, but aren't around today (eradicated naturally, not through vaccinations)? | [
{
"answer": "I wish I could give you more details about this, but there are a few diseases that historians have no been able to identify. Some of these are because of vague symptoms in records, but some of these may truly be diseases that are no longer present in humans (and possibly not in animal reservoirs ei... | null |
1jpcul | How did the original pharoahs, kings and emperors of ancient civilizations establish their power/become chosen for their role? | [
{
"answer": "Each civilisation has different reasons for their particular monarch being on the throne. Since I only really know about them, I'll talk about the Spartans. This is coming from a Classics course, so I really hope someone more qualified could expand.\n\nUnlike most other monarchies I can think of, t... | null |
3d4l65 | why is heating for homes standard but cooling isn't? | [
{
"answer": "That depends on the climate you live in.\n\nWhere I live both are standard on homes. In places where it never gets very hot then there's no point in installing an AC unit on a house, and the same goes for heating systems on homes in year-round not climates.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"an... | null |
f573yd | Was the existence of the 'underground railroad' common knowledge? Was there a difference in awareness of it between the north and the south? How did it work? | [
{
"answer": "From the 1840s on, yes. While abolitionist white people had been helping black people escape the South for some time, the term \"underground railroad\" for this loose, informal network of people willing to help didn't exist until about that time. The main reason for that, of course, is that railroa... | null |
1xm0rq | why is female toplessness considered nudity, when male toplessness is pretty much acceptable? | [
{
"answer": "Breasts are primarily sexual characteristics, believe it or not. Prominent breasts have no bearing on lactation:chimps and other primates manage just fine without them. In fact, they are for sexual 'display'. Our female ape-like ancestors probably displayed sexual readiness by presenting their geni... | null |
rn5ih | Besides being the tallest mountain on earth, is Everest also the highest topological point? | [
{
"answer": " > If you evened out the earths crust\n\nCan you say what you mean, exactly?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "If I understand what you're asking correctly, [Mauna Kea](_URL_0_) is actually the tallest mountain. Everest is the highest mountain (elevation above sea level), but Mauna K... | null |
ajdjot | Is it possible to design a supersonic aircraft which doesn't produce sonic boom? | [
{
"answer": "Not really no, if air is pushed to try to go faster than its speed of sound, then it will create a sonic boom and it's pretty much inevitable that a aircraft interacts with the atmosphere it is in accelerating some of the air to the speed of the vehicle (and slightly above since it must make way fo... | null |
dxeonc | if making images larger decreases quality, why doesn’t the same go for sound? | [
{
"answer": "Increasing pixels is by definition increasing quality. Making an image larger by increasing the size of the pixels is what decreases the perceived quality.\n\nAnd sound is nothing at all like an image, at least in terms of loudness. More decibels just means more amplitude (strength) on the wave. Th... | null |
2ui7u5 | how does google buy and renew domains for their main site? | [
{
"answer": "It looks like Google uses _URL_0_ as their domain registrar. MarkMonitor is a \"brand protection\" oriented domain registration service. And, I'm pretty sure, they write a check.\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "3152572",
... | null |
7cjaea | Why is our current understanding of gravity unable to explain the rotational speed of galaxies without adding unseen mass (via dark matter) to the equation? | [
{
"answer": "An orbit is a balance between an object's inertia carrying it outward and gravity pulling it in. If an object is moving fast enough, its inertia will carry it outwards fast enough that the cumulative effect of its parent body's gravity will never be enough to pull it back in. This speed is the esca... | null |
1bqlhv | google chrome is dropping support for webkit and adding support for blink. what does this mean and how will it affect me? | [
{
"answer": "WebKit and Blink are rendering engines. They are responsible for interpreting the HTML code of a website (which describes its layout and content), and transforming it into the page you see in front of you.\n\nGoogle have decided to \"fork\" WebKit (take the existing stuff, but branch off in a new d... | null |
2ik69e | Tuesday Trivia | Fascinating Family History | [
{
"answer": "Traditionally, when a Jewish child is deathly ill, the family might change the child's name so that the Angel of Death will be confused and unable to find him.\n\nMy father's father's uncle's was sick on the crossing from Europe to America in the 1880s. So the family changed his name.\n\nBearing in... | null |
2ret8i | how do songwriter and musicians ensure that their new creations are unique and not a ripoff? | [
{
"answer": "If you write the lyrics they will likely be original - it's hard to \"forget\" that you heard a full poem somewhere before. Melodies are a bit harder. You're unlikely to reproduce one that's exactly the same, but it might be very similar to something you've heard before but aren't actively thinking... | null |
6n1q96 | How do blood/plasma recipients not get serious viral infections? | [
{
"answer": "They can, and do. \nDuring the eighties, there were scandals across US and Europe where blood recipients where given blood from HIV+ donors, contracting the disease and dying. This often happened to haemophiliacs as they need donations quite regularly, upping the chances of getting a contaminated ... | null |
n8mkx | Why is the moon completely gray? If it got ripped from earth by some collision, shouldn't it have more color to it? | [
{
"answer": "It's all gray because it's made up of a very distinct type of rock. Specifically anorthosite (in the whiter regions) and basalt (in the darker regions). This is because it used to be a giant ball of magma and slowly separated. Either way, igneous rocks aren't all that colorful, and planets without ... | null |
1hl94t | why is everyone mad at the us government over the nsa scandal, but not the companies like google and facebook, verizon, etc. for allowing the government to use their information? especially when companies such as these, especially google, usually promote internet freedom and privacy? | [
{
"answer": "Because government is court-ordering these companies to comply. They don't have a choice.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I have a follow up question. \n\nGoogle especially, but other companies too, collect a lot of the same info that the NSA does. They even collect more in some ca... | null |
1p8e51 | why do car windows get covered in ice and not the body panels? | [
{
"answer": "I think that more of the reason is because metal is more conductive for heat meaning that it heats up much faster than if the same amount of sun energy is aimed at the windows. Much of the energy focused at the windows will pass through it without ever converting into heat where as most energy that... | null |
3wnira | what are lasik and lasek surgeries? | [
{
"answer": "They are subtly different surgeries to correct for irregular vision - the difference lies in the execution of the surgery and techniques used, but the overall goal to correct vision is the same. Some people that might not be good candidates for LASIK might inquire about LASEK though, because of th... | null |
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