id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
1iyb1z | How was construction in ancient cities prioritized? | [
{
"answer": "Dur Sharrukin was a brand new capital city built by Sargon II from 716 BC to 706 BC. The outer walls measured 1.76 km x 1.635 km, had 157 towers and seven gates. There was a large barracks, built in the south west quarter of the city. The palace and... | null |
2xxynm | why do most unknown calls i receive on my home phone end up having no one on the other end? | [
{
"answer": "They're usually from call centres where they have a machine automatically call numbers on a pre-assigned list. Then, when a voice is detected on your end, someone is connected on their end to talk to you. It saves them time, even if it does result it people going \"Huh. No one there\" and hanging u... | null |
1fl30u | Why is Zeta(0) equal to -1/2? | [
{
"answer": "This is because the zeta function is not defined to be equal to that sum on the entire complex plane; it is only given by the sum you're looking at when Re(s) > 1. The Riemann Zeta function is actually defined to be the analytic continuation of the function given by the sum in the half plane Re(s... | null |
28ij4p | Why does the metal from meteorites have such a distinctive zig-zag pattern? | [
{
"answer": "That pattern, called a [Widmanstatten pattern](_URL_1_) is due to the crystallization of iron and nickel minerals in the meteorite cooling very slowly. Here, 'very slowly' means a few hundred or thousand degrees C every *million years*. This slow cooling allows for large crystals of these mineral... | null |
1m4hkw | How does parasitism between a host and a parasite of different domains work? | [
{
"answer": "They aren't really tinkering with the code so much as producing an enviornment that induces the host to do something. It's more like instigating a pearl to form using a bead than genetic engineering (though the analogy isn't perfect).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": " > This might... | null |
pmz1a | We all used to eats boogers: what effect could/did that have? | [
{
"answer": "Unfortunately I can't find the study, but a while ago (2-3 years ago) I ran across an article suggesting that eating boogers was a pseudo-vaccination, killing whatever got caught and allowing the inert form to be ingested to create antibodies. However, due to the levels of pollution in most places,... | null |
4hjgas | when you jump into a cold lake (say 60°f or ~15°c) why does the water no longer feel cold after about 5 minutes? | [
{
"answer": "Your body has mechanisms in place to warm you up should you be in a cold environment. Dilated blood vessels provide a flush of warmth, and shivering also produces warmth. By doing this, your body can increase its internal temperature and keep you a bit more comfortable. Stay in too long though, and... | null |
4px5ja | what's the difference between nuclear and thermonuclear? | [
{
"answer": "Usuaully Nuclear weapons are basic uranium or plutonium based 1 stage nuclear bombs that function by triggering a single fission reaction which causes a highly radioactive material to \"break\" apart and release large ammounts of energy. \n\nThermonuclear is used to describe Fusion devices which us... | null |
1p7cxq | Do electric motors in cars have a limited lifespan? | [
{
"answer": "Not forever. Ac motors have bearings which will need periodic replacement, windings with relatively delicate insulation over many turns of thin wire, and a metal cage with a rotor. Stick all this in a bouncy box that accelerates and brakes constantly. Sure must of these issues can be minimized with... | null |
27stld | Were white British (and Dominion) troops' relationships with non-white troops from the colonies generally positive? | [
{
"answer": "I've read a decent amount lately about how the UK/Dominion troops and populations didn't take too well to the American forces' practice of segregation.\n\nI am curious as to how this was reconciled with the fact that the UK maintained a far flung empire at the time that was not necessarily progress... | null |
6en6ta | the science of coffee | [
{
"answer": "Coffee is a solution - in the same way that mixing salt with water gives you salt water, coffee is bits of coffee mixed in with water.\n\nWhen you grind a coffee bean, there are some parts of the bean that can dissolve in hot water, and other parts that can't. What you're tasting, then, is the bits... | null |
28llls | Does anyone have examples of national anthems that were later abolished/replaced? | [
{
"answer": "I believe the German National Anthem was during the Nazi era. \n\nThe Soviet anthem had the words replaced, but kept the rather stirring melody.\n\nS. Africa replaced \"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika\", but kept a verse of it in the new anthem.\n\nCanada stopped using God Save the Queen.\n\nCzechoslovaki... | null |
6ohm3e | During the Waco standoff in 1993, why did large segments of the American population rally around the leader of a doomsday cult who was sexually abusing young girls, rather than their own government? | [
{
"answer": "You said during, so I'll try to keep the focus as contemporary as possible to the siege. Nevertheless, I only found one opinion poll taken from before the lethal ending to the Waco Siege and that only polled Waco residents, a small and obviously not-representative sample of the US population. Furth... | null |
1upe0s | How did calibers in uneven numbers come about? Like 152mm, 37mm and 76mm? | [
{
"answer": "The general reason for these odd numbers is that they are conversions from before the metric system. 37mm is about 1.5 inches, 76mm is about 3 inches, 88mm is about 3.5 inches, 152mm is about 6 inches. Early tank and anti-tank guns are particularly prone because many were adopted from naval guns ... | null |
4if0lg | if the majority of people are right handed, why does the fork go on the left when setting a table? | [
{
"answer": "What are the origins of that being the case?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The knife requires more dexterity compares to the fork which works an anchor.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because you want to be manipulating the sharp, dangerous, pointy knife with yo... | null |
4l4wn6 | why do some people leak pee when they sneeze? | [
{
"answer": "The release of your bladder is controlled by muscles. Those muscles can, for a variety of reasons, be weakened. If those muscles are weak, a sudden jolt like a sneeze can dislodge them for a moment, releasing a small amount of pee.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenan... | null |
1c1ug0 | I'd want to understand how and why Scandinavia became Christianized. | [
{
"answer": "I'll yield to better historians, but my understanding was that it had more to do with trade and politics than natural spiritual inclinations. By the time it happened, Scandinavia had been increasingly in contact with Christian Europe and needed commercial contacts. The era of plunder and conquest w... | null |
93r4g2 | I discovered this seemingly well-researched video on Christopher Columbus, and why he wasn't as bad as everyone thinks he was. How accurate is it? | [
{
"answer": "I suspect everyone who watches this will see different things. I'll defer to experts on Columbus regarding the content in the first 2/3 but can point to some red flags in the last third related to how he talks about the people indigenous to North America that make me deeply suspicious of his work. ... | null |
ehqnmn | topology/topological manifold | [
{
"answer": "Topology: the study of the geometric properties of a space/surface and which properties are affected by changing that shape/space through a continuous deformation (i.e. no rips/tears and no gluing); or the rules governing a specific topological space or manifold. \n\nTopological Manifold: A surface... | null |
3sus9d | When did the concept of "refugees" arise? It seems that in the past if your country was at war and you were a male of fighting age you would stay. When did men start leaving their country's conflicts? Is this a modern concept or are there examples of this happening throughout history? | [
{
"answer": "This depends on your definition of 'refugees'.\n\nIn 1951, a convention was held in Geneva to give an official definition to the term, and from henceforth it was possible to declare whether a person was a refugee or not. [source: [UNHCR official site](_URL_0_) ]\n\nHowever, before that there were a... | null |
2umaj6 | In the US Civil War, how realistic is the idea that if the south had won a decisive military victory like capturing Washington, Britain and France could have been tempted to intervene on the side of the south, possibly causing a peace settlement? | [
{
"answer": "Well, the idea that the Confederacy could ever have successfully captured Washington by storm or siege is utterly unrealistic. By 1862 Washington was likely one of the most heavily defended cities in the world, by 1864 it was the most heavily fortified city in the world. Any attempt to take it by s... | null |
jubj4 | Violations of the equivalence principle? | [
{
"answer": "Spammy is a grumpy old man who has a taste for good submissions. He eats them up. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": " > Is this credible?\n\nYes, quite. It's a nice paper.\n\n > What does it mean if the equivalence principle really is violated?\n\nAbsolutely nothing. The equivalenc... | null |
3osfy2 | how come most 3d games render at 60 fps while it takes a few seconds to render a textureless cube in blender? | [
{
"answer": "The answer depends on what you're doing in Blender. Most likely, it's because you are using a different kind of rendering. When rendering a scene, there are a bunch of computations that *can* be done. 3D games have a (mostly) fixed set of computations they perform, and they're tuned for efficiency.... | null |
6ajfcq | how do lithium ion batteries work? | [
{
"answer": "A lithium ion battery uses charged lithium particles (ions) to move electricity from one end of the battery to another. As energy leaves the battery, these lithium ions move from the negative side of the battery to the positive side, forming a conductive lithium layer that releases electricity. Whe... | null |
22hkqx | i turned on my old guitar amp with nothing plugged in and it started playing a radio station. how is this happening? | [
{
"answer": "Radio waves are stupid easy to pick up on any basic consumer amplifier. I've picked up radio stations on PC speakers before. Somewhere along the lines, the radio signal is inadvertently translated to an electrical signal that your system can amplify. You don't need a loose wire; just an unshielded ... | null |
d1eos8 | what happens with the intellectual properties of a company when they close down? | [
{
"answer": "It gets sold off/liquidated, like physical assets (to take your example further, Disneylands, corporate headquarters, and other things like that).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Rights, like intellectual property rights, only really matter if there is someone to assert them. If no... | null |
51crhp | why do you see so many saabs and other out of production cars in movies? | [
{
"answer": "Those brands are/were all owned by GM, and GM has made it a point of pride that their vehicles have been showcased in many motion pictures. What you're seeing is product placement coupled with favorable rental rates for fleet vehicles to achieve that effect.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"a... | null |
ahsaz5 | how does a bike stay up when at faster speeds but will fall over when not going fast enough? | [
{
"answer": "The gyroscopic forces created by the wheels mass cause the wheel to fix itself on a plane in turn overcoming to forces of gravity stopping it just falling over",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Generally bikes have handlebars which have a centre of mass infront of their pivot. Meanin... | null |
698zak | what is infrasound and how can it cause panic attacks in humans? | [
{
"answer": "Human hearing works for tones in the frequency range of 20hz-20000hz. Everything below that is called infrasound, everything above is called ultrasound. \n\nThe resonant frequencies of a lot of human organs happen to be in the infrasound range, so a loud/powerful enough tone can cause them to vibra... | null |
dxl1yc | what would happen to a person when they cannot afford payment to a loan/debt. | [
{
"answer": "In the US, they may be able to file for bankruptcy protection, discharging the debt if the person has no way of paying the debt (except for selling off essential assets).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "This varies widely by what state you live in and what kind of debt.. Business d... | null |
60r3vt | how can a tiny amount of toxic chemical affect a person's entire body? | [
{
"answer": "Toxicity is determined by the dose and the rout of administration. Some substances are highly toxic in small quantities (like ricin and cyanide) while others take large quantities to have negative physiological effects (like table salt or even water). A substance doesn't need to be toxic to all tis... | null |
fhbspc | why the rear wheel in buses and trucks is close to centre? | [
{
"answer": "It's to increase manouverability. The further back the rear wheels are, the longer the wheelbase of the vehicle is, and therefore the wider any turns it will make will be. \n\nIf you move the rear wheels towards the front of the bus, then the bus can swing into tighter turns. The tradeoff is the ba... | null |
1uqhjs | how do first responders or hospital personnel know who to contact if you have had an accident and are unconscious? | [
{
"answer": "I believe this generally sorted out only after you get to the hospital.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Well, in my case when I was involved in a battery and knocked unconscious; someone found my phone and got my dad's number out of my contacts and called him. \n*Edited*",
"pro... | null |
49vlan | what ever happened to the sequestration? | [
{
"answer": "The simple answer is it happened and almost nothing has come of it. The people that said the sky would fall were wrong, and the people who said it would fix our deficit were wrong. That's it.\n\nSequestration is the exact prime example of why you cannot just listen to the news and \"experts\" to de... | null |
zaf6x | What effect does machine generated wind (i.e. a fan) have on sound waves? | [
{
"answer": "Sound travels at a speed relative to the medium it's in (the air). For example, in the cockpit of a fighter jet, no matter how fast you're going, sound will always travel away from you when you speak at about 340m/s (depending on air temperature/pressure etc) because the air is moving with the jet,... | null |
64dj5x | why does 101 mean the basics of something rather than just 1 or 001? | [
{
"answer": "It's based on a standard for how college classes are numbered. All the first-level classes are 1XX, second level are 2XX, etc. \nBased on that model, the basic beginner class on any subject would be *Subject 101*",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "In a college curriculum, courses ar... | null |
5d217t | I've read that in the 1800's, US military officers were drawn from the upper class. If so, was it possible that a lower class citizen could perform well in school, go to college and be commissioned regardless of his prior social status? | [
{
"answer": "Yes, it was possible. The prototypical example would be Andrew Jackson, the son of recent Irish immigrants (his older siblings were actually born in Ireland - that's how recent his parents had immigrated before his birth). Jackson rose to the rank of Major General in the Army and, of course, eventu... | null |
3106yu | Did the discovery of the Higgs particle actually prove or disprove either Super-symmetry or the Multiverse theories? | [
{
"answer": "Nope. It confirmed a prediction of the [Standard Model of Particle Physics](_URL_0_).\n\nThe Standard Model doesn't say anything about supersymmetry (often abbreviated to SuSy) or the multiverse.\n\nSuSy is a hypothetical extension to the Standard Model. It's a pretty extension, but to date there i... | null |
2iszqc | why are arabs and people from north africa (egypt, libya, morocco, tunisia, etc.) labeled as "white" or "caucasian" in the us census? | [
{
"answer": "Race is a construct. There was a time when Russians, Irish and Italians weren't considered white themselves. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Though race is a social construct, and colloquial speech generally equates \"Caucasian\" with \"white\", Caucasian includes people from Euro... | null |
2ilran | why do older tvs have a weird screen effect while being viewed on another camera? | [
{
"answer": "because the refresh rate of the TV screen collides with the frame rate of the video resulting in an \"animation\" of said refresh rate - the line moving up or down the screen. It's similar to the way rims on a car often look like they are going on the wrong direction on film, or how in a strobe en... | null |
9e4h4l | why do some offices have a pc connected to a virtual machine? | [
{
"answer": "In my organization, we dealt with a large amount of sensitive data. SSNs, DOBs, Names, Addresses etc. We are laptop heavy and our rules stated that we were never allowed to work with that type of data on our local machine, and must be signed into a remote server.\n\nThe idea behind that is to ensur... | null |
48jkk7 | how can a state be projected to be won by a candidate with only 1% of the polling reporting in? | [
{
"answer": "How can so many idiots ask the same question without reading the goddamn sub?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "37816935",
"title": "Statewide opinion polling for the 2016 United States presidential election",
... | null |
3ggbvt | why is democracy the go to political system despite its inherent instability with every election. what made it a better choice than something else? | [
{
"answer": "I'm probably paraphrasing here, but I always dug The old saying that \"Democracy is the worst form of government, followed by everything else.\"",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It is better to have a bit of instability every few years and the ability to peacefully replace the curre... | null |
nen8m | How many calories does the human brain consume in a day? | [
{
"answer": "Your brain requires a tenth of a calorie a minute. That's 6 calories an hour. A person thinking harder will burn up to 50% more calories. Although this is not a lot, you have to think about the relative mass of the brain compared to the rest of the body. \n\n_URL_0_\n_URL_1_",
"provenance": nul... | null |
5cobkg | Can a computer simulation create itself inside itself? | [
{
"answer": "A cellular automaton can simulate the rules of its own world with some slowdown. [Here's an example with Conway's Game of Life](_URL_0_). (If you aren't familiar with Conway's Game of Life, you can read [this](_URL_1_) for an intro.)\n\nA program written in a Turing-complete programming language li... | null |
1a9nab | Why does a curling rock turn the same direction the rock is spinning? Why does sweeping reduce the curl? | [
{
"answer": " > Why does a curling rock turn the same direction the rock is spinning?\n\nI could not find any conclusive evidence either. However, I will point out that the section in Wikipedia article mentioned several alternate explanations of increased friction as skating speed increases, including differen... | null |
6qp47b | Is damage of radiation linearly dependent of radiation exposure? | [
{
"answer": "No 10 hours today =/= 10 hours a month.\nIt's not the dose of radiation that would cause harm but the build up. \nThere is a limit to how much radiation our bodies can take before damage occurs.\n\nThat said 10 hours today will cause a significant level and can cause cell damage to chances of cance... | null |
17qijj | Flat or disc-shaped planet | [
{
"answer": "The shape of the object doesn't matter. There's no aerodynamics in space because there's no air. However, a naturally formed planet can't be any other shape due to the laws of gravity.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Shape makes absolutely no difference in space. There's no air to ... | null |
1oi99s | why more recently than ever do webpages refresh and not actually go back when you hit the back button? | [
{
"answer": "It is more and more common mispractice to include a 0 second redirect in a site, which as soon as you load a page, redirects you to a slightly different page they actually want you to see. So far, this isn't a bad thing, it helps site design. The problem is, if you hit the back button on most bro... | null |
2y5o1b | why do people tie shoe laces and toss them over power lines? | [
{
"answer": "Three reasons:\n\n1. Gang members do it to mark their territory ([supposedly](_URL_0_)).\n\n2. Bullies steal someone's sneakers and throw them over power lines to taunt their victim.\n\n3. People take their old sneakers and throw them over power lines because they are inspired by (1.) or just think... | null |
3hz57m | What is the difference between Enthalpy (H) and Heat (Q)? | [
{
"answer": "Enthalpy is a Legendre transform of internal energy. It's a state function, so the change in enthalpy between two states doesn't depend on the path you take between those two steps (in fancy words, it's an *exact differential*).\n\nHeat is not a state function; a system doesn't \"have\" a certain a... | null |
2i2qzn | Would the water pressure be the same at 100 metres under the surface, even if the water was located in a water tank on land? | [
{
"answer": "Yes.\nThe pressure at any point in the water body depends on three things given negligible air pressure changes. Density of liquid , gravitational constant and height below the surface. Given same g and density , at same depths no matter where kept, the pressure will be same.\n",
"provenance": ... | null |
1rzgfd | what's the possibility of puerto rico becoming the 51st state of the us? | [
{
"answer": "This is a complex issue so I failed miserably at ELI5 so I did an ELI15 instead. I hope that you're OK with this.\n\n---\n\nIn order for Puerto Rico to become a state two things would need to happen.\n\n1 - Puerto Ricans would need to reach a consensus. \n\nPresidential elections are periodic event... | null |
53q1r4 | would it be possible to replace all of your bones with some sort of metal replica? | [
{
"answer": "Short answer: no. For a couple reasons.\n\nFirstly, there's all the biological functions bone has in the body - as a store of calcium, a site for red and white blood cell production, a fat storage location, and probably more I'm forgetting.\n\nSecondly, there's the material reasons - bone is an ama... | null |
5y4l89 | who's in charge of coming up with street names and is there any approval by a committee? also, if you were someone that decided street names how did you come up with them? | [
{
"answer": "In private developments in Ohio, it's up to the discretion of the developer. For example, the development I live in AND the street I live ON are both named after the developer's grandson... who lived in the development. The development I used to live in was interesting because every street was na... | null |
2qz1dm | what happens to our mind when you spin around? | [
{
"answer": "Nothing happens to your brain. You have fluid in your ear that helps your brain recognize what is up and what is down. When you spin the fluid has to re-equilibrate and while this is happening your brain is confused and the result is nausea, vertigo, and that weird effect where your eyes continue t... | null |
263kwo | why is there two ways of writing "4" and "a" ? | [
{
"answer": "The '4' and 'a' you see on your screen right now (unless you're using an odd font) are the technically correct glyphs, which is why they appear that way in most typefaces unless it's specifically mimicking handwriting. The \"open 4\" is use in handwriting because it's easier to distinguish from a 9... | null |
4ou24s | how are movies that were recorded in a lower definition able to be released in higher definitions? | [
{
"answer": "They were recorded on film, which isn't limited to an amount of pixels- for the most part.\n\nRemember that they were broadcast on a huge screen.\n\nAs long as you can get the original print you can re-release the movie as HD.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There are two reasons. ... | null |
4oapyx | why does the us armed forces have an army, navy, marines, and coast guard, instead of just an army and navy. | [
{
"answer": "Coast guard is department of homeland security. It has a shit ton of missions... Search and rescue, aids to navigation, drug and migrant interdiction, waterways management, pollution response and prevention port security etc etc etc... The navy does their thing and the coast guard does theirs.",
... | null |
d0enst | What happens to bones when a big animal like a shark or an orca eats and swallows another whole animal? | [
{
"answer": "Sharks have a digestive system that's designed to primarily digest meat and fat, so larger bones, chunks of sea turtle shells, things like that are usually vomited back out. \n\n\nAnd orcas have a three-chambered stomach, so the food takes more times to pass through, and gives the stomach acid mor... | null |
e1txf4 | how do hooves make animals better at climbing mountains? | [
{
"answer": "Mountain goats have special hooves that are like a pirate's hook with soft padding to help adjust. They suck at running long distance running but are great at scaling verticle surfaces because of this.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "From what I’ve read the two hooves in the front... | null |
gbpm4 | Would phlegm be digested if swallowed? | [
{
"answer": "The mucous is digested further down in the gut by enzymes in the small bowel and bacteria in the large bowel. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "53223464",
"title": "Pharyngeal aspiration",
"section": "Section... | null |
8k7ok2 | Have there been periods of greater or lesser volcanic activity on earth, and if so, what causes this variation? | [
{
"answer": "In the past there have been more volcanic activities since the Earth was much hotter after accretion. The whole surface would have been a barely cooled crust covered in volcanic pustules. \n\nIt was much hotter and we have evidence of it from komatiiates which only form at higher temperatures than ... | null |
3vf6ts | Have there ever been memes similar to the modern memes? | [
{
"answer": "\"Kilroy was here\" is the only thing I can remember. Basically, during ww2 American soldiers would leave these marks on beaches they stormed, places they visited, etc.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "7929246",
"titl... | null |
5jzy0n | nuclear arms race | [
{
"answer": "they dont just stockpile the same type of nuke, with time other nations can come up with newer and better delivery methods that cant be stopped or intercepted or your older nukes become incapable of delivering/entering the target area so they make more nukes with better technology.\n\nsometimes the... | null |
utknx | Can any scientists comment on the debate in /r/science regarding a new Alzheimer's vaccine? | [
{
"answer": "Based on the abstract (for some reason my institution doesn't have access to the full paper) of the [Lancet Neurology paper](_URL_2_), I'm not too impressed. This was an extremely preliminary study establishing the side effect profile, as well as determining whether the vaccine actually induces an... | null |
1s9e2l | how are people/groups of people legally allowed to place "bounties" on others? | [
{
"answer": "They're not \"bounties\" like in the Boba Fett sense. They're rewards to turn over information which would lead to arrest/prosecution. Boba Fett bounties (\"Capture and/or kill this person\") are illegal.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wik... | null |
4306vm | lots of people barely eat vegetables and never take multivitamins, and still seem to be in good health. how is the daily recommended amount of micronutrients calculated, and why do people seem just fine even if they don't get it? | [
{
"answer": "Pretty much everyone in a developed country gets enough nutrients to stay reasonably healthy unless they are on some kind of super restrictive diet.\n\nThe RDA's are *very* conservative and you have to be *very* deficient for a long time before you'll start seeing serious health effects.",
"pro... | null |
dkmtri | If gravitons exist, then is it possible for anti-gravitons to exist and would that mean that the matter they interact with will gain negative gravity? | [
{
"answer": "The graviton would be its own antiparticle in the same way that the photon is also its own antiparticle. No negative gravity needed.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "12100",
"title": "Graviton",
"section": "",... | null |
rbr9i | How does a globe storm glass barometer work? | [
{
"answer": "It is open to the atmosphere! That glass pipe off to the side is open, and when the air pressure increases it pushes down on the fluid in the pipe. Through the wonderful nature of hydraulics, the water in the globe then rises. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance... | null |
vpfgg | What happens to a morbidly obese individual during hydrated starvation? | [
{
"answer": "Similar - and I emphasize SIMILAR things have been done, although I frankly don't know where to find the study. Googling might pull up something for you. \n\nThey took a fat dude, kept him supplied with fluids and vitamins and the like, and successfully kept him alive and relatively well. Think he... | null |
v9aqs | Is it possible for a planet to exist in our SS that we have yet to discover? | [
{
"answer": "No, any body large enough to be a real planet would leave a gravitational footprint that could be observed. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There was actually an idea that there might be a planet on the opposite side of the sun from the Earth, the estimated effects it would have o... | null |
2emmi2 | why do radio stations sometimes have two frequencies playing the same thing? | [
{
"answer": "They would probably be broadcasting from different locations, giving the station a wider range.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "804074",
"title": "Two-way radio",
"section": "Section::::Two-way radio frequenc... | null |
s5nyd | Is there any known species that can see other parts of the electro magnetic spectrum? | [
{
"answer": "Tarsiers and Chameleons can see in the Ultraviolet. Dragonflies can see polarized light (Not a different part of the spectrum, but still cool). The Mantis shrimp is my favorite though. It has the most complex eyes known in the animal kingdom. Like many flies the mantis shrimp has compound eyes, but... | null |
a9p29l | why do your lips peel when you’re sick? | [
{
"answer": "lip skin is different than regular sin & doesn't make it's own lipid.\n\nIt comes from the skin around your lips & those pores could be clogged. As an experiment you could try AHA cream on that skin, or just get good chapstick.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I think it may be ... | null |
yac4f | Japan was separated from their Axis allies by numerous Allied countries. How did they communicate with other Axis powers? | [
{
"answer": "The little country is Tuva.\n_URL_0_",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I read somewhere that Germany gave them an Enigma machine.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "For the most part, they didn't. Top axis and allied leaders met and hammered out agreements at conferenc... | null |
22hj74 | what is the purpose of so much pollen everywhere? | [
{
"answer": " > So why do plants give off so much pollen?\n\nTo make sure they have enough. Way out on the edges of the most distant spread of the pollen there may be just enough for fertilization, and the ground covered increases greatly as they put more and more out there. It isn't a group effort; each tree ... | null |
4rg48u | How can a counterexample to the Collatz(3n+1) conjecture be for a sequence to go towards infinity? | [
{
"answer": "You can't use statistics on math. For example, half of numbers are even, but there's only one odd power of two, and only one even prime. Similarly, you might end up getting (3n+1)/2 as being odd over and over again even though it statistically shouldn't happen.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
7n08xw | What did Vikings do with all their loot? Was the loot divided equally among the raiders, given to one man, or somewhere in between? | [
{
"answer": "It certainly did. I recently finished my masters on these lovely individuals and while I do not have all the sources handy with me, hopefully, someone else here will. \n\nTo give you a brief, non-cited explanation, there were several places that the loot from Viking raids/expeditions had a serious ... | null |
61qxca | we have a huge sea which is evapourating all the time which comes back to us in the form of rains. we can create artificial rains. why do we worry about water shortage in future? | [
{
"answer": "We can not create rain from nothing. We are able to seed rain clouds so that the water falls down before it normally would. The problem is that farms require water over a large area which increases evaporation before the rivers are able to get to the sea. If you were to create artificial rain over ... | null |
1n3odz | is artificial photosynthesis not viable? | [
{
"answer": "Photosynthesis (PS) involves harnessing light (photons) from the sun for energy to drive chemical reactions. Here's an abridged version of the process:\n\n1. A photon strikes an electron that is chilling in chlorophyll (or some other pigment depending on the wavelength of light the organism harve... | null |
rjvhh | Would a handful of marbles released in empty space exert enough gravity on each other to clump together or even orbit one another? | [
{
"answer": "If they were released in a perfect vacuum infinitely far from any other gravitational force, so that the only force any of them experienced was from the other marbles, then yes they would clump together. Depending on their distance it may take an obscene amount of time, but lacking any resistive fo... | null |
4btgkp | how can most low-end phone have a better processor speed than higher-end laptops? | [
{
"answer": "let me make this music analogy when comparing cpu's of vastly different architectures.\n\n1. cpu speed (aka mhz) is only used to synchronize the various components within a cpu. it is essentially a metronome. a faster or a slower metronome doesn't tell you anything except the beat of the music ak... | null |
2etedt | what's happening in my head when sound gets drowned out while falling asleep and then a minor disturbance "opens" up my ears? | [
{
"answer": "I think your mind slowly blocks out all common noise perceived as safe, and you wake when something unusual is heard",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Your brain differentiates between expected and unexpected noises. So the hum from the fridge or the music you left on is expected, b... | null |
7w1dua | why is e85 85% ethanol? | [
{
"answer": " > What makes that ratio so special?\n\nIt is about as much as every passenger vehicles can take without damaging the engine.\n\n > In fact, why don't they just sell pure ethanol and remove the reliance on petroleum all together?\n\nIn the winter you wouldn't be able to start your car. There are ... | null |
cg6jsu | why are nitrites toxic to tank fish, but nitrates are okay? | [
{
"answer": "That one oxygen atom changes the shape, structure, and function.\n\nFor example Nitrates are used in many fertilizers and explosives. Nitrites are used in food preservation.\n\nNitrates form strong acids and nitrates form weaker acids.\n\nThat one extra oxygen atom in Nitrates makes a huge differen... | null |
2s4ml7 | why is cancer the most common disease associated with dna mutations? | [
{
"answer": "Of all the things that mutations cause (that is, mutations that happen *after* a person has been born), most of them probably just end up with the mutated DNA getting repaired or removed, or the cell that contains it being destroyed through programmed cell death. Cancer is the result of a mutation ... | null |
dbk0mw | why are some drink powders white but then turn a bright/deep shade after adding water | [
{
"answer": "Artificial food coloring is extremely concentrated. A couple of granules, hidden among the white granules that make up most of the drink mix, are all it takes.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "5751925",
"title": "4-Am... | null |
6de844 | how and why are books like the great gatsby and of mice and men chosen for reading in english classes? | [
{
"answer": "Considered part of the canon of English literature (heavily read, written about, and esteemed) and are also both accessible, easy, and short compared to many classics.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "*Finally, my degree is useful for something!*\n\nSo educators are usually really *... | null |
r1ka1 | sarcasm and irony | [
{
"answer": "Irony: \nThe use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning or an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.\n\nSarcasm: A sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark\n\nSo sarcasm is an ironical remark used to taunt someone.\n\n[_URL_... | null |
20rx5r | Why are there tigers in Primorye and historically throughout Siberia, but none in the similar ecosystem of Alaska? | [
{
"answer": "There were a number of large cats that formerly inhabited North America, such as the American Lion: _URL_2_ And the Saber-toothed cat: _URL_1_\n\nThe only species to survive in North America into modern times is the Cougar. _URL_0_",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provena... | null |
194x8d | What does it mean for a substance to have 0 viscosity? | [
{
"answer": "It's been a few years since I last did matter at low temp, but IIRC there are a few things that characterise such a state:\n\n - Film flow: superfluids are capable of climbing out of open beakers, even against gravity. Here is a cool [video](_URL_2_)\n\n - Superleaks: Superfluids can leak through i... | null |
4vlhvk | Is there an infinite number of wavelengths on the EM spectrum between 2 wavelengths? | [
{
"answer": "No, it's infinite. All wavelengths are allowed.\n\nPlanck's constant cannot do that, and you can deduce that without knowing the physics. The theory of photons is free quantum electrodynamics, which has only two dimensionful constants: c and hbar, respectively from relativity and QM. c has units of... | null |
6rgvis | how come after only a couple days of not working out, i feel and look like i'm not in good shape anymore? | [
{
"answer": "It takes a lot of energy to maintain muscle mass. If you aren't using it your body thinks it's better off \"eating\" it. Bodies are built for survival, not peak performance.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's honestly a mental thing. If you think you look/feel good, then you wi... | null |
7j9st6 | how and why exactly does anxiety affect your whole body? (eg. digestive system, feeling cold, etc) | [
{
"answer": "Stress causes your adrenal glands to release adrenaline which causes a wide range of physical symptoms. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Anxiety evolved to deal with threats, so the body can respond accordingly. A lot of the physical symptoms are related to the hormones released to... | null |
2yh80p | Why was Portugal accepted into NATO? | [
{
"answer": "While both regimes shared very similar outlooks (Corporatist, authoritarian, conservative, anti-communist states) both had significantly different reputations after the 2nd world war. Salazar was an incredibly well regarded statesman, who had a great dislike for Hitler and who stayed neutral during... | null |
42asda | why do politicians owe favors to their donors? | [
{
"answer": "Let's look at it at a \"before presidency thing\", first. To get to that point you have held one office or another multiple times. You would not have gotten past the first if you were known not to \"repay favours\", as you would get no donors the second time. Now, to the presidency. Let's assume yo... | null |
2iwapf | How far can an ant be removed from the anthill and still find its way home? | [
{
"answer": "This has been asked a lot before so if you want deeper answers you can look them up. Basically if an ant doesn't know where it's trail home is it will start wandering around in random(ish) directions trying to find it. IIRC, they also have a good ability to remember landmarks, so that can help too.... | null |
333omt | why do planes take what seems like huge detours instead of straight lines to the destination? | [
{
"answer": "The flightpath of the plane looks curved on a flat map, but since the planet is curved that line is actually the shortest path.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Airplanes take [Great Circle paths](_URL_1_), the shortest distance between two points on a globe, effectively a straight ... | null |
wwv6e | seriously, how do cell phones work?! | [
{
"answer": "There are cell towers all over the place and each one covers a certain area on the ground, which is called the cell. When you travel into the next cell, that tower then picks up your signal and continues your call.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Sound energy becomes electricity an... | null |
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