id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
4l6wpl | From the 70s to the '83 crash, what did the average working American think of video games as a whole? | [
{
"answer": "Finally, a topic I can actually answer! First things first, I'm not quite sure what \"an average working American\" would think or know, or even who that might refer to. In lieu of responding to that, then, I'll instead briefly summarize some popular press articles on the subject, presuming that th... | null |
92p6h1 | how do red blood cells know when/where to release its oxygen and how does that oxygen find it's way into a cell rather than staying in the blood stream? | [
{
"answer": "Conditions in the body are different than conditions in the lungs. In the body Oxygen and hemoglobin become less sticky so oxygen is released. Oxygen also flows from high concentration to low concentration. Oxygen is low in the cells because it has been used up, and high in the blood because it has... | null |
4nk6wj | How did the armed forces in anarchist territories such as Revolutionary Catalonia and the Free Territory work? | [
{
"answer": "It really depended on which Trade Union was in charge. In the CNT, for example, the militias democratically elected leaders, but their authority was temporary. It might be best to think of it like a temporary task force commander who can be replaced after the conclusion of an operation, though even... | null |
6snq97 | Who would be King of Britain if Catholics were allowed? | [
{
"answer": "The likely heir would have been James Francis Edward Stuart. His father was the last Catholic king of the United Kingdom, King James II in England and Ireland and known as James VII in Scotland. He fathered a son, James Francis, who was baptized and raised as a Catholic. This birth sparked fears of... | null |
1r3wa9 | Why is fluorine more electronegative than nitrogen? Than bromine? Why is hydrogen so weird? | [
{
"answer": "Electronegativity is how strongly a particular atom attracts electrons. \n\nTo understand what that means, you need to know what attracts electrons, and what factors can affect that.\n\nElectron orbitals have very specific shapes in 3 dimensions, and can be thought of as a waveform. These waveforms... | null |
32deck | During US Segregation, were Whites free to use Black facilities without legal penalty? | [
{
"answer": "In his book *The Land Where Blues Began*, folklorist Alan Lomax says he was arrested for shaking hands with Robert Johnson's mother in the 1940s. Alan Lomax was white and Robert Johnson (and his mother) were black. There's also an interview of Alan Lomax collected by the Association for Cultural Eq... | null |
ss69l | Pre-modern Political Parties | [
{
"answer": "The Greens and Blues weren't really political parties, although they evolved a political dimension. They began as the Byzantine equivalent of English soccer hooligans, but due to the importance of guanxi (there is no better term for it) in the ancient world, every organization had a political and s... | null |
3eho5c | why must class action lawsuit commercials have to stress "i'm a non-attorney spokes person" | [
{
"answer": "Giving legal advice without a license is a crime, and paying people to speak for you without disclosing it is a violation of legal ethics.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "15584252",
"title": "Florida Bar v. Went For ... | null |
dc0a5x | What was day to day life like for European sailors en route to America around 1500? | [
{
"answer": "Check out some of my old posts on ships of that exact period:\n\n#### Portuguese ships questions \n\n* [Crew to a 15th century caravel](_URL_20_) \n* [How did they steer (cog) ships before the steering wheel?](_URL_16_)\n* [Traveling to India in early 16th century by Carreira de India](_URL_5_... | null |
2na751 | how come radio is free with advertisements, but tv has a paid subscription but still has commercial advertisements? | [
{
"answer": "Television was originally free with advertising, before the predominance of cable. In fact, you could hook up an antenna to your TV right now and still get the network broadcasts and local PBS stations for free. (Probably some Spanish language channels, too)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"a... | null |
4d8dqm | ELI4: "curled up" dimensions? | [
{
"answer": "Imagine that you lived on a cylinder, and you could move up and down along the cylinder, or around it. Then imagine that the radius of the cylinder gets smaller and smaller, until you don't even notice that it's curved anymore, all you notice is the ability to move up and down along the length and ... | null |
3mnvuw | do bald people wash their heads with shampoo or body wash? | [
{
"answer": "Well, I can't speak for the other bald guys, but I just go with water. That seems to do the trick just fine. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I wash my head with a special shampoo to reduce the excess of brightness produced by my sweat. Sounds funny but it's true.",
"provenance... | null |
4cwb2m | why would anyone get a credit card with an annual fee when so many cards have no annual fee? | [
{
"answer": "it depends if the \"value added bonus\" you get for the fee is worth the added fee. \n\nfor example many fee credit cards give free travel insurance, or a concierge service. \n\nif you think that that's worth the extra fee, then it's worth it. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Often... | null |
40pgyc | how do cold sores go from lying dormant for weeks or months, to breaking out and spreading, seemingly in a matter of seconds?! | [
{
"answer": "Cold Sores are herpes. Two types, HSV-1 and HSV-2. Type 1 does cold sores, Type 2 usualNo fear though, in the United States, 57.7% of the population has it. This causes cold sores. HSV-2 is usually genital ones, 16.2% in the US have this.\n\nType 1 is no big deal, just cold sores. Usually give... | null |
183kzo | how can you hold a sparkler up to your hand and not get burned? | [
{
"answer": "The spark of a sparkler is a very concentrated point of heat, so it dissipates rather more efficiently than larger sources of heat such as a naked flame on a candle (for example). The amount of heat it can put out is relatively smothered by the volume of air around it.\n\nRest assured, if you touch... | null |
60gxme | what's preventing the us from just not paying their debt to china? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not sure I understand the question. The U.S. is paying its debt to China (and everyone else). Outside of a few post-revolution and reconstruction-era hiccups, I don't think the U.S. has ever missed a bond payment.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "If the US doesn't pay the debt, ... | null |
3zoklq | how los angeles flourished despite being built in a desert | [
{
"answer": "In the early 1900's, Los Angeles built a 400 mile long aqueduct to carry water from the north to the city. This allowed the population to boom without any concern for water. Right now, we only have water concerns because the entire state is under a severe drought. But with normal rain and snowpack,... | null |
1km9uq | While the USSR existed, were there any Russian towns that were unaffected by Soviet Russian policies? | [
{
"answer": "There was the story of the [family that didn't know World War II happened](_URL_0_).\n\nThere are some places in Siberia that are very isolated and populated with indigenous peoples, that probably are aware of who is in power, but just continue some degree of subsistence living. ",
"provenance"... | null |
40qx84 | life before clocks/alarm clocks. | [
{
"answer": "The roosters crowed on the farm. The sun rose in the east. Our bodies have a pretty strong natural clock. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "In the cities at least, you had [knocker-uppers](_URL_0_), which is a great name for as job. Outside of that you pretty much had to rely on som... | null |
1e2gyv | Since other animals have different nutritional requirements from humans, does meat taste sweet to dogs? | [
{
"answer": "Dogs have the same ability to taste the basic 4 flavor components that we do (salt, sour, sweet, bitter). Their ability to taste might be somewhat diminished in comparison to us because they have only around 2000 taste buds to a human's 9000. Their senses are wired up somewhat analogously to ours s... | null |
3yzbpp | why do some sites require you to enter your age to confirm if you're an adult if it's so easily circumventable? | [
{
"answer": "just a legal formality. Its so if they get asked about it by the law they can say \"well we tried to keep underage people out, its on them for lying about their age\", otherwise they dont deeply care. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's a requirement by law that the website must ... | null |
6mzos1 | why do some fruits vary in taste such as watermelon and cantaloupe? | [
{
"answer": "Your Red Delicious apple was selected from thousands of varieties of apples to survive the transportation journey from the orchard to the store yet remain ripe and delicious. Many other of the apple varieties would not do this. Some varieties were grown specially to survive an ocean trip on a saili... | null |
fci3d | Followup to: What is the distribution of numbers picked at random by people? | [
{
"answer": "There's something in game theory call a beauty contest, where you tell people to pick a number between 1 and 100 and that a prize will be awarded to whomever picks closest to two thirds of the average of all the numbers. If you assume everyone is an idiot and guesses randomly then the average shoul... | null |
6wm5zc | what happens to the flooded cars after a major flood? | [
{
"answer": "They are a complete loss in most cases, cleaning and reselling them usually gives pretty big title flaws. If people don't check, some unscrupulous dealer might sell a few of them, but most people check.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "From what I remember after hurricane Sandy, th... | null |
71x64l | how did it happen that the population of oman upwards of age 25 contains a lot more men than women? | [
{
"answer": "Lots of migrant workers. Oman is a rich country thanks to oil. Lots of people from other countries come to work there and send money back home. It is usually men that do this.\n\nOver 40% of the population are migrants, mostly from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.\n\nOther gulf countries have a male... | null |
8d05or | why does an extremely bright source of light cause the surrounding area to appear dark? | [
{
"answer": "Yes, this is exactly it.\n\nYour pupils expand and contract according to the amount of light you receive. When you see something very bright your pupils contract, making everything darker. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The pupil thing. But...\n\nAlso we don't perceive color per ... | null |
1sb9l2 | how is it possible that the little birds are not all frozen solid right now? | [
{
"answer": "Birds can store a lot of air in their feathers, which insulates them from the cold air. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Penguins have special circulatory system in their feet where the cold blood flowing back to their bodies is warmed by the blood going to the feet.\n\nThe legs in... | null |
318rwi | why when i'm nervous do i have more bowl movements than normal? | [
{
"answer": "Voiding the bowels when under stress or danger is part of our evolutionary heritage, although the exact reason is unknown. One theory is that it \"lightens the load,\" allowing you to run or fight more effectively. This is unlikely however as the weight difference before and after is negligible. ",... | null |
7ij1a6 | Why do hard-boiled eggs explode loudly when microwaved? | [
{
"answer": "The shell is hard. When the contents are heated unevenly (more toward the centre) expansion occurs. The shell can't expand so... boom! Boiling an egg heats it more evenly, but even then the shell will still crack quite often.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "As others have mentione... | null |
1utjmc | what is a hacker and what differentiates a good hacker from a great one? | [
{
"answer": "A good hacker is one who gets good press coverage when they're caught. A great hacker is one noone knows exists.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It all depends on what you mean by \"hacker.\"\n\nTraditionally a hacker was a person that like to take things apart to figure out how th... | null |
aoxvsd | When do you cauterize a wound vs applying a tourniquet? Assuming the wound is on a limb where either could be applied. | [
{
"answer": "A tourniquet is more often used as a temporary way of stopping a wound bleeding until the damaged vessels can be repaired.\n\nCauterizing is generally used as a permanent way of sealing off a vessel, for example if something has been amputated.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
... | null |
1ris3t | how much does a cloud weigh and how does it defy gravity for so long? | [
{
"answer": "A cloud is made of many tiny, individual water drops. its total weight is huge, but since each drop is separate, they can all remain floating together, just like dust in a room. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The weight of a cloud all depends on the amount and types of molecules... | null |
1iqxam | eli: why do dogs eat grass when they're about to throw up? | [
{
"answer": "Dogs cannot digest grass so it irritates the stomach, working as an emetic, and causes them to vomit. \n\nIt is similar to humans using activated charcoal. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "617947",
"title": "Weather ... | null |
2gr7pv | To create artificial gravity in space, why cant the spaceship be rotated at high speeds generating centripetal forces that 'pull' the occupants to the edges? | [
{
"answer": " > why isn't this ever talked of as a possibility?\n\nIt is! It's a really common sci-fi trope, for a start. Recently, there was a proposal put to NASA in 2011 for a spacecraft called [Nautilus-X](_URL_0_), which had with a big spinning wheel. I'm sure it's just one design of many over the decades.... | null |
5ibmro | Have historians figured out how they will process and interpret teets and internet posts? | [
{
"answer": "I don't think any historian today knows, and I don't think the historical community of today will even make the decision. In my view, the decision will be made by archivists who have surprisingly little interest in anticipating the needs and future research interests of historians.\n\nAs of roughly... | null |
a25mtw | how my dash cam knows there are red light cameras ahead. | [
{
"answer": "All red light cameras must be of public knowledge. So if your dash cam is connected to gps, it has them marked on the “internal map.” My radar detector does the same. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "1094579",
"title... | null |
38n499 | We've advanced a lot in the last 500 years. What were the major changes and improvements in the 500 years before that? | [
{
"answer": "This is actually a quite tricky question. Of course you must specify which culture and types of innovations you are referring to. \n\nFor western and European culture there is of course the fact that much of the technology and knowledge of the Romans was practically lost after their decline: cement... | null |
6rl7gw | What is the earliest usage or mention of "shock troops"? | [
{
"answer": "The general idea of shock troops has been around pretty much forever. When you have a defending force that's dug in and an attacking force, just throwing your standard line infantry against the defenses is rarely effective. So, you need heavier, better trained soldiers that can crack the defensive ... | null |
rpkho | Can you improve your vision? | [
{
"answer": "Short answer, no. Your eyes are basically nerves (or outpouchings of the brain) that have muscles to help them move and to focus light. Here's how it works and there are several limiting steps. Light from an object goes toward your eye. The light is refracted at the cornea (tears then cornea), ... | null |
8iean5 | what caused the consistent physical attributes amongst different races? | [
{
"answer": "What if I told you there was only one race? \n\nEvery difference mentioned is environmental adaptation, Genetic mutation, and survival of the fittest.\n\n\nBeing a redheaded Caucasian with fair skin I can tell you I uptake vitamin D much more redily than other skin types. This is due to the fact ... | null |
37q5e5 | how can the recent droughts and floods in texas both be caused by climate change? | [
{
"answer": "The key word is change. Not necessarily \"drier\" or \"Wetter.\" The actual impact to a particular region's climate varies on a lot of factors, and climate change is becoming one of the players there, but it isn't the sole factor. As such, you can see differences in how climate change impacts a reg... | null |
45ddqx | Where to find reliable sources of Ancient Roman History, mainly about welfare? (Primary or secondary sources) | [
{
"answer": "Hi,\n\nour [homework policy](_URL_0_) requires some effort on your part:\n\n > If you do some research, come here and be honest about what your assignment is and give us a run down of what your research is showing you so far, you'll find users here being quite amenable to lending a hand and pointi... | null |
1kn1v7 | why women feel embarrassed if seen in their bra and under wear but completely content with a smaller bikini? | [
{
"answer": "Society can deem appropriate whatever it sees fit, given enough time.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "This is my opinion of it: \n\nUnderwear is usually only seen in intimate settings, with very few people around (so there's more focus on the individual). Bikinis are public clothes... | null |
2z9uio | why do certain trials, like james holmes, take years when they are essentially 100% guilty? | [
{
"answer": "Getting ready for trial takes time. There are numerous activities that need to be performed before either side is ready to argue their case (depositions, evidence gathering, pretrial motions, jury selection, etc.). Each one of these events involves coordination and preparation and it is rare that... | null |
cyaai3 | Eating Horse meat was made taboo by the Roman Catholic church in the 8th century CE, while this taboo was successfully implemented in almost all of Christian Europe it wasn't in Italy where horse meat is still eaten in great amounts today, why ? | [
{
"answer": "Taken from an earlier answer I had on Horses in Germanic cultures, if you have any follow up questions, please let me know.\n\n___\n\nDuring the conversion process to Christianity, among the practices that were outlawed or at least very harshly condemned, was the practice of horse consumption. Robi... | null |
2tw1ag | why is it that if i walking through a neighborhood that the smaller dogs are more likely to chase me than the bigger ones? | [
{
"answer": "Maybe they're just compensating for their small size. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Bigger dogs are more often than not reprimanded for acting aggressive whereas little dogs are just laughed at and is viewed as being \"cute.\" Therefor they weren't trained to not do it. ",
"... | null |
498czx | why is it harder to cup water with your non-dominant hand? | [
{
"answer": "Everything is more difficult in your non-dominant hand, you don't have the same level of fine motor control, dexterity and eye-hand coordination. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "7563411",
"title": "Water fight",
... | null |
6mwv17 | If you were to keep a bunch of cell phones within close proximity and call one of them, why does only that cell phone ring? | [
{
"answer": "In simple terms - The cell network sends a custom data packet, which will only be recognised by the (supposedly unique) SIM card in one phone - transfer that card to one of the other phones and that one will ring.\n\nFour identical (apart from the IMEI number) phones are just that - it's the SIM ca... | null |
8h4hc6 | what is a covered bond? and how do they work? | [
{
"answer": "Covered bonds are bonds that are secured by an underlying pool of assets, known as the cover pool. Investors buy covered bonds and so they have claim on the underlying pool. The underlying pool (typically mortgages or loans, but can also be ships, aircrafts, etc) generate cash flow, and that cash f... | null |
6vtqam | Could a person live normally only by sleeping small periods of time like 15 minutes if done correctly? | [
{
"answer": "I would also be interested to know. Over the years I've read reports of the \"Ubermensch\" sleep schedule that hews to this principle, but I've never seen any peer-reviewed research of it. I do know that inventors such as Edison are reputed to have slept only in short bursts, but I do not know if t... | null |
2wev4y | would i lose more weight on 1500 calories of healthy food or 1000 calories of junk food? | [
{
"answer": "1000 on junk food is faster however such a deficiency in calories would be a serious health risk.\n\n > Others say 100 calories of burgers and fries is VERY different from 100 calories of fruits and veggies\n\nThis is true, but not in terms of weight loss. They differ in how healthy you'd be.",
... | null |
1yz4ub | I'm searching for a book by one of the founding fathers. | [
{
"answer": "It sounds like you are talking about what is now commonly known as \"the Jefferson Bible.\" Jefferson called it *The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.* However, it isn't a book he wrote, in the sense of composing it. Rather, it is an edition of material from the canonical Christian gospels from... | null |
3rj0zz | is a strong us dollar good or bad for the economy? | [
{
"answer": "Good for imports bad for exports. The US is a net importer, so overall it's probably a net positive for the economy, but don't try telling that to export-oriented industries.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "A weak dollar is good for exports because it makes our goods/services cheap... | null |
ejvs9d | how come 500 million animals died in the australian fires? | [
{
"answer": "They took the density of all animals over certain areas (an estimate) (not including bugs/insects) x area affected by the fires then they got to that number. The actual number might be much higher or much lower.\n\nHere's a summary of how they got the density in the first place:\n\n[_URL_0_](_URL_0... | null |
31awv4 | Are there any special meanings behind Royal Crown designs? | [
{
"answer": "I'd like to ask a specific question in relation to this, the Hungarian crown with its \"tilded\" cross, did that actually exist, and did it have any meaning?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I think it depends on the crown. The [Austrian Imperial Crown](_URL_0_) for example even has... | null |
9c2eiu | how is an internal 3d representation of the video game world translated to what we see on screen? | [
{
"answer": "It’s usually done by multiplying together three different matrices. \nFirst a Model matrix which describes the orientation and translation of the object in relation to a fixed coordinate system.\n\nSecondly a View matrix which describes the Viewers (Cameras) orientation and translation in relation ... | null |
5kbi6v | How did Beach Landings occur in Medieval Times? | [
{
"answer": "Follow-up question, any examples of movies or television shows that have a realistic depiction of a medieval (or earlier) amphibious assault, assuming you agree with OP that *Robin Hood*'s scene was Hollywood rubbish?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I've been doing some research on... | null |
2i1a28 | Is it more fuel efficient for a car to accelerate more before going up a hill or maintain a constant speed before and during the climb? | [
{
"answer": "In order to maximize fuel efficiency, rather than keeping a constant speed, aim for a constant engine speed by looking at your tachometer (RPM gauge). Fuel efficiency is best at maximum torque, so keep your RPM's around 2500-3000 (the exact number isn't as important as keeping it constant) regardle... | null |
nrpn5 | Can two sound waves constructively interfere at an angle? | [
{
"answer": "Yes. Such situations are common in first‐year physics problems.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Get a used tube of wrapping paper. Xmas is over, it should be really easy to find. Have a friend sing a note/tone into the tube. Go on the other end and sing that same note just a hair ... | null |
8j0jky | 'Africans did not sell their own people into slavery' - how much of it is true? | [
{
"answer": "Thats not a very academic source. The author doesnt cite any evidence of their claims, makes some very broad claims (an example being that non-african wars always resulted in a genocide of the conquered, whereas african wars did not), and beyond that is a facebook article. Good rule of thumb is to ... | null |
1ajfpg | how common were young people who behaved in a stereotypically hippie like way (I.E travling, free love, drug taking) in 1970 America? | [
{
"answer": "In Canada in 1970 it was quite common to see young people who were hippie like. It wasn't mainstream but certainly common place. After expo67,young canadians saw what the rest of the world had to offer and took to travelling abroad and embracing the lifestyle. Some of us continue it to this day,alb... | null |
qn2gx | why do laptops run demanding programs smoother on ac as opposed to battery power. | [
{
"answer": "The people who design computers make them do lots of clever things to save power when they're running on battery power instead of AC. One of the things they do is run the processor more slowly, so that it uses less power. Just like driving your car at 130 miles per hour on the freeway will use more... | null |
9o3qak | Was Mao genuinely interested in hearing criticism during the Hundred Flowers Movement? | [
{
"answer": "I want to start by saying that this is a complex topic, and I am by no means an expert on the matter. Feel free to disagree; we can examine the matter further together.\n\nIt's conventional wisdom that the Hundred Flowers Campaign (百花齊放、百家爭鳴) of 1956 was in fact a scheme devised by Mao Zedong to dr... | null |
3sg7as | if a one time infection by certain viruses (e.g. chicken pox) usually leads to immunity, why can other viruses recur in the same person countless times? | [
{
"answer": "They can't, but what happens is that what we call the common cold for example isn't one virus. It's dozens and dozens of different strains of roughly the same virus. When you get sick and then heal from the cold, you have immunity against that particular strain. Not against the hundreds of others o... | null |
15y7k5 | What steps are taken after a period of hyperinflation to ensure that that no one who kept all of their physical money will suddenly be able more wealthy than they were before? | [
{
"answer": "The old currency would be declared invalid and exchanged for a new one at some fixed rate. So people weren't walking around Germany with trillion banknotes that could actually be used for anything :)\n\nYou can read about the German situation here:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nAs you see the old mark was exchange... | null |
3xukep | why are home games so important in sports, and why do analysts make a big deal when a team loses at home? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not an expert but here is my 2 cents. I can come up with two reasons;\n\nPlaying a home game, the crowd will most likely be in your favour. This is a huge mental boost and cannot be underestimated.\n\nIn some sports, like football (soccer .. ), there are no strict rules on the geometry of the t... | null |
1hs8pf | If every light in America turned off at once, would we immediately see the milky way or would it take time for the light pollution to wear off? | [
{
"answer": "Light travels at over 670 million miles per hour. It's fair to say that the glow would disappear instantly, just as it does when you turn off a lightbulb in a room.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "\"light pollution\" does not mean light trapped in the atmosphere like smog. ",
"... | null |
99uisb | how come there are still old us bills that look crisp, clean, and almost unused? | [
{
"answer": "Issued doesn't mean it goes around alot. You can take a freshly printed bill and withdraw it from the bank and just never spend it. Some people keep an emergency stash of money in their home. They don't touch it for years until they need it for an emergency.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
57m7f1 | the latest wikileaks email dump | [
{
"answer": "Long story short some key people in the Democratic party had their emails published publicly and what it showed was that the many in the media and the DNC have been in the tank for Hillary's campaign from the start. It shows what goes on behind the scenes in establishment politics and how the syst... | null |
rldww | How do scientists go about directly measuring entropy? | [
{
"answer": "I wrote [a brief PDF collecting ways to relate entropy and entropy changes to other, more easily measurable, thermodynamic quantities](_URL_0_). ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Entropy cannot be measured. Change in entropy can be. s=Cv*ln(T/To) where S in change in entropy per u... | null |
1pvtx1 | how some gifted humans are able to perform extremely difficult calculations in their head? | [
{
"answer": "Overly simple answer: A lot of math can be boiled down to simple procedures that the brain can more easily process. You already know a few of these tricks. One of the most basic is that when you multiply any whole number by 10 you just tack another 0 on the end. Most mathematical functions can b... | null |
4hb2o3 | how does high productivity mean lower unit costs? | [
{
"answer": "Pretend you need to earn $100 per day to live your life. \n\nIf you made 1 item a day, you'd have to sell that 1 item for perhaps $150, $50 for the materials, facilities, and other expenses, $100 for your labor.\n\nIf you were more productive, and made 2 items a day, you could perhaps sell them for... | null |
69uerr | why is it so easy to fall asleep watching the tv but radio or simply waiting to fall asleep don't have the same effect? | [
{
"answer": "Watching TV can help take your mind off the worries of the day. It takes your focus off the upcoming day, the stresses of the day you're wrapping up.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "i have always found this puzzling. I can never fall asleep if there's noise somewhere. While my fath... | null |
5vvg3e | how does getting rid of net neutrality improve competition in a way that benefits the consumer? | [
{
"answer": "This question cannot be answered because the premise is false. It does not improve competition in a way that benefits the consumer.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Getting rid of Net Neutrality does NOT benefit the consumer. \nCGP Grey have made a 3½ minute video about it, that is... | null |
3bnkx3 | What were some of the mathematical methods used before the discovery of calculus? | [
{
"answer": " > Surely they had to approximate derivatives and integrals for engineering applications before calculus was discovered and/or widely understood.\n\nNope. Engineering as a mathematics-based profession post-dates calculus. Math beyond arithmetic practically speaking wasn't used in \"engineering\" ... | null |
19mdo5 | what is the sequester and why is an issue right now? also, how can the us senate not have a budget 4 years in a row? | [
{
"answer": "The sequesters are a series of cuts across the board of US spending that were designed to be particularly painful for both parties so that they would actually agree to compromise to a less painful deal that would cut spending/raise money.\n\nHowever, this idea did not work out as proposed and both ... | null |
3jiwod | If planes flying in a V formation, like geese, save fuel, would this also be true for cars ? | [
{
"answer": "No.\n\nThe reason a V formation lowers drag for aircraft is [vortex shedding](_URL_0_) off the wings. Basically, it's a result of flow going around the wingtips resulting in a swirling air current. If another plane, bird, etc, hits the upward part of the swirl, it gets free lift. (Not really free, ... | null |
11wx2v | What would a laser "gun" sound like? What about other "future" weapons like plasma guns, photon cannons, energy blasts etc.? | [
{
"answer": "A simple 'photon cannon' exists in your home right now (I'm guessing), and is usually called a torch. What noise does it make when you switch it on?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Laser guns would likely not make a sound. Maybe a electrical hum of sorts depending on how the device... | null |
1x56eb | Do the Maori people have oral histories describing their arrival in New Zealand? | [
{
"answer": "You should ask this in the mega thread :) _URL_0_",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Ok, I agree with /u/TasfromTAS because /u/CrossyNZ's answers are amazing - you definitely want to get his input. But in the spirit of pointing you in the right direction: \n \nIn the oral tradition, ... | null |
5vikzn | how come we can capture video in slow motion, but not sound? | [
{
"answer": "We don't capture video in slow motion. We capture video in real life speed. However the video camera has such a high frame per second recording that if we slow down the footage your eyes still can't see the individual frames and it looks like a (slowmotion) video. \n\nWith sound we can do the same.... | null |
5r5syl | [Med] Is there a functional difference between "fresh" blood and "Stored" blood? | [
{
"answer": "1. Stored blood has things added to it so it stays fresh and lasts longer, don't know the exact time frame but it does store for a while\n\n2. Having someone wait around at the hospital all day hoping for someone to need them to give blood is EXTREMELY unrealistic, since the most you could draw fro... | null |
yc95i | What sort of sports did people in the era you study play? | [
{
"answer": "Ullamaliztli was one of the most popular games played by Aztec peoples. It involved a hard rubber ball. It was one of the first things set up in a new settlement and so it is surmised that the game was very important, and likely of religious importance.\n\nIt was popular amongst many peoples of mes... | null |
1q93nc | If you were floating out in deep space, would you get hotter or colder? | [
{
"answer": "You would get colder. There are three types of heat transfer, conduction, convection and radiation (_URL_0_). You are correct that in space there is nothing to transfer the energy to, so the first two mechanisms contribute nothing. However you can still radiate infrared light that will take away he... | null |
1gntpk | How did someone's social class and wealth in Britain affect their experience of rationing during and after World War Two? | [
{
"answer": "During the Second World War, working-class Britons ate better than they had in a long time. Rationing was a really good thing for them, because it provided a baseline of foods and nutrients that the market generally did not provide in the 1930s. This included things like orange juice, milk, and che... | null |
1jakrw | How fast would a fully-fueled Saturn V rocket be able to propel itself without any Apollo spacecraft payload? | [
{
"answer": "Well the S-IVB has a dry mass of about 10 tons, and fuelled mass of 119.9 tons. The CM/SM had a total mass of 30 tons and the LM had a mass of 14.5 tons for a total of about 45.5 tons of Apollo spacecraft payload.\n\nThe specific impulse of the S-IVB was 421 seconds.\n\nDelta V = Isp * g0 * ln(m0/m... | null |
18rgkz | If we breathe in O2 and exhale CO2, then do we lose mass just by breathing? | [
{
"answer": "Yup! You get the mass back by eating.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Exactly. CO2 is a product of cellular respiration which provides energy to cells. It is the way you lose net mass (net thereby ignoring transient material such as water and non-digested foodstuff).",
"prove... | null |
9ayi82 | human skin only varies from a light cream to a dark brown. is there a particular reason that there are no other variations of skin colour? i.e blue, red, green, etc. | [
{
"answer": "Other colors ARE possible, through genetic mutations. Look up the Kentucky Blue People.\n\nBasically, remember that for something to change biologically requires 2 things: a mutation, and then for that mutation to be advantageous enough for the individual to propagate themselves.\n\nA tribe of peop... | null |
2iv1ij | Best book for Central American wars during the 20th century? | [
{
"answer": "I'm currently working on an undergraduate research project on the Guatemalan Civil War from 1960 to 1976 or so. \nOne particularly useful primer has been Timothy P. Wickham-Crowley's Guerillas and Revolution in Latin America. \nHe notes marked similarities and differences between the revolutionary ... | null |
6bvpg7 | What is the oldest historical artefact still in use today? | [
{
"answer": "What precisely do you mean by \"artefact\" and \"in use\"?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "That's a poorly phrased question. At least without robust definitions of “artefact” “in use” and “historical”. \n\nAny precise answer is going to be fairly uninformative. “this artefact exist... | null |
vmtmn | How strong is an electromagnet when it's not on? | [
{
"answer": "It really depends on the magnet. From the sounds of it, you have a magnetic core wrapped in wire? In that case the iron core still has a magnetic field. Is it an MRI magnet? Is that case it should probably never be turned off",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [... | null |
33mzwf | my company's 401k, specifically the part where i become "fully vested" after a few years. | [
{
"answer": "So you put in money into your 401(k)... that money is yours.\n\nBut in your case, your company also puts in extra money that is not yours, presumably through \"matching\". That money is *not* your money... at least not immediately. Instead (to encourage people to stay with the company) it is \"ve... | null |
aqz2wy | how does youtube's algorithm work? | [
{
"answer": "YouTube uses machine learning to determine the best videos to recommend to you, based on several parameters, such as what you liked and disliked, view time, and probably other factors as well. Try watching a channel you're not subscribed to for a some time and you'll see those videos on your recomm... | null |
29zhpf | why does my body "get used to" cold water, but not cold air? | [
{
"answer": "Your body has a system (the limbic system to be precise) that, when you're cold, compresses the capillaries in your extremities that pushes the blood to your torso and head in order to keep your vital organs from being damaged by the cold. When this happens your fingers and toes go numb and your t... | null |
1b2c39 | what happened to all the giant land animals? | [
{
"answer": "Dinosaurs were doing great until the mass extinction brought on by an asteroid.\n\nSince then, millions of animal species of all shapes and sizes have come into being and gone extinct. Many of these species died out for reasons having nothing to do with their size. Others died out because they di... | null |
xo38t | How long have people been saying "good morning" throughout history? | [
{
"answer": "Hmm, good question. Don't know the answer but for sure, at least since around 600 CE (in the Arabian peninsula, anyway)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Old English for good morning is goodne morgen, so people have been saying it in English for well over 1000 years. ",
"provenan... | null |
8pvbu5 | Does a video of an empty, stationary room have a smaller file size than a video of things moving? | [
{
"answer": "Totally depends on the compression algorithm being used to compress the video. Also depends on what's in the room.\n\nEven if you're talking HEVC compression, it can be tuned in many ways, to optimize for a few moving objects or for a talking head situation. If you optimize incorrectly, you'll en... | null |
5eqb13 | During the 1960 U-2 incident, what kind of interrogation techniques did the Soviets use on Francis Gary Powers, the captured pilot? | [
{
"answer": "I'm no expert, but a basic response to your questions can be had.\n\n[Accounts](_URL_3_) agree that there was no physical torture; but interrogations were long and harsh(11+ hrs/day for 61 days leading up to his show trial) and included death threats. He was in solitary confinement in the Lubyanka ... | null |
6f9012 | raster over vector based graphics? | [
{
"answer": "Getting your display to show something involves a number of layers, each of them doing their own thing.\n\nThe display itself is rasters because that's the physical construction - you have LCD laid out in a rectangular grid. It directly renders those rasters from a highly parallel stream of data.\... | null |
m7yx1 | the market scene in "trading places" | [
{
"answer": "This is one of my favorite movies, so I can take a swing:\n\n\nEddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd work for Duke & Duke. Duke & Duke makes money by buying and selling commodities, such as pork bellies, gold, and frozen concentrated orange juice. For example, if they believe that pork belly prices wi... | null |
3qwcga | Euler's identity: Huge coincidence or deep connection? | [
{
"answer": "À more insightful derivation of the full identity, (e^ix = cos(x) + isin(x) ) \n\nI'm on a train so I can't do the full thing comfortably but I will give the highlights and add derails later. \n\nBasically e is *not* important because it relates to compound interest, it is important because it des... | null |
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