id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
23v98e | What mechanisms are at play so that there are very precisely 50% males and 50% females? And is it the same mechanism among all animals? | [
{
"answer": "There's a very good answer to this question from evolutionary biology, called Fisher's Sex Ratio Theorem. It explains why in humans our sex ratio is about 50/50, and why it's different in some other species.\n\nSo imagine a population in which one sex predominates. Say there are way more girls than... | null |
7fwtp0 | How did Jim Crow laws effect Mexican Americans in the American Southwest? | [
{
"answer": "More of course can be said on this, but [this older answer](_URL_0_) on Jim Crow laws regarding other minorities might be of interest for you.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "1142431",
"title": "African-American hist... | null |
17l3ny | At what point during the process of snapping does the associated noise occur? | [
{
"answer": "It's the tip of the snapping finger striking the base of the thumb.\n\nThis was asked recently, although I can't find that post. It was also asked not so recently in the link below (and it's on [wikipedia](_URL_0_)). Please do a search next time before posting!\n\n_URL_1_",
"provenance": null... | null |
3l33cv | What is known about population dynamics of any American Indian tribes between years 1-1492? Birthrates, infant mortality, lifespans, cause of death, etc.? | [
{
"answer": "That is a rather broad time period spanning two continents. Is there a more specific time frame, group, and region you are interested in?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "21217",
"title": "Native Americans in the Unit... | null |
279oun | Where does the energy radiated by gravitational waves come from? | [
{
"answer": "It's the kinetic energy of the system. As gravitational radiation carries away energy, the decrease in kinetic energy causes the orbit of the binary system to decay. The [Hulse-Taylor pulsar](_URL_0_) was the first system where the predicted orbital decay was observed (and then in 1993 Hulse and Ta... | null |
13ceiu | Between Israel and Palestine, who has been the primary aggressor in modern history? Who will go down in the history books as the 'bad guys', and why? | [
{
"answer": "We won't know until the conflict reaches its resolution. However, I certainly hope academic history has moved on from silly distinctions like good and bad. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "45382320",
"title": "Alfred... | null |
5pa8w2 | Did the French Revolution have any influence on tsarist Russia? | [
{
"answer": "The immediate impact of the French Revolution upon the tsarist state and society is difficult to parse out. News of the events in Paris often happened at a distance, and in a *ancien regime* society with low levels of literacy and strong divisions between those who were literate, news of the Revolu... | null |
4ggd4j | is my reflection what others truly see? | [
{
"answer": "_URL_0_ watch this video, it will explain everything. VSauce is amazing and he explains in very great detail why we look different in pictures than mirrors!",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "25269475",
"title": "Sense... | null |
x42ep | Which military battle has the biggest whitewash? | [
{
"answer": "The one that occurred prior to 1992 that immediately comes to mind is Operation Desert Storm. Coalition forces had massive advantages in air power, technology, sea power, and supply. I don't remember the exact casualties but coalition forces suffered only a few hundred killed compared to tens of th... | null |
8jn7ef | how can shows like saturday night live use the names of real companies when other shows have to cover logos and make up fake names. | [
{
"answer": "Because it is considered Parody. A parody is a work that ridicules another, usually well-known work, by imitating it in a comic way. Judges understand that, by its nature, parody demands some taking from the original work being parodied. Unlike other forms of fair use, a fairly extensive use of the... | null |
80p47a | What issues led President Harry Truman to relieve General Douglas MacArthur of command in April 1951 | [
{
"answer": "Well, when you say \"not responsive to civilian control\" you're kind of glossing over a lot. MacArthur had given Harry Truman a string of deliberate insults, and repeatedly brushed up against insubordination. At the Wake Island conference he failed to salute the President, and generally treated... | null |
lu0j0 | If you cut your lips off and didn't open your mouth until they had healed, would they heal together? | [
{
"answer": "TL;DR: Yes.\n\nWhile I admire clessa's work at trying to explain why, he's missing a major element. Collagen forming is not a (physiologically) fast mechanism, and would be destroyed by minor movements of your mouth, so unless you moved less than a catatonic mime in a coma your mouth would not heal... | null |
6h11h4 | The new Assassins Creed game is set in Ptolemaic Egypt, and yet the Pyramids are shown in their pristine form with white slopes and gold caps. Is this an accurate representation? | [
{
"answer": "Herodotus indicates, in his *Histories* (c.430 BCE) that the casing stones were present and had inscriptions of strange characters on them. He doesn't seem to mention the presence or absence of a cap/capstone, which suggests that something may have been there but that it may not have been the orig... | null |
2khnt8 | Are there any reliable sources regarding the nature and extent of slavery in West Africa before the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade? | [
{
"answer": "Slave trading was already going on in West Africa by the time Portuguese Explorers began going on slave raids into the Senegambia coast in 1444. Keep in mind the \"slave trade\" we think of today, with a well assigned system, rules and way of treating slaves already in place. Slaves where gained by... | null |
1fawtz | Why can't we directly inject ourselves with Glucocorticoids to speed up weight loss? | [
{
"answer": "[Cushing's Syndrome](_URL_0_) would be the main reason. Not to mention that the muscle wasting is counter-productive. You'd probably get better effect with growth hormone, because it's both ketogenic and anabolic (which is why it's considered a PED).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": ... | null |
6ugyvw | Could there be ancient fauna in caves on Antarctica? | [
{
"answer": "Most of West Antarctica is igneous rock that doesn't readily form caves. The West-Antarctic Rift separates the two halves of the continent, and East Antarctica is mainly a continuous platform of crystalline basement (igneous and metamorphic rock) but it is thought to have a cover of sedimentary roc... | null |
1emny8 | What was the American reaction to the Argentine invasion of the Falklands? | [
{
"answer": "While this is not my area of expertise at all, IIRC the US was certainly less-than-thrilled to have to choose a side in that conflict. While with Gr. Britain the US had the \"Special Relationship\" and long-standing partnership, the Argentine military Junta was a nominal ally in the region. Further... | null |
2t8f0j | definition of parliamentary gov, totalitarian gov, and oligarchy gov? | [
{
"answer": "Parliament - The executive branch derives it's authority from the legislative branch (the parliament).\n\nTotalitarian - The Government has absolute control.\n\nOligarchy - Where power rests within a small group of people, whether it is Royalty, the Wealthy, the Educated, etc.\n\nNotice how one doe... | null |
3m5d8e | what would happen to airplanes during a massive power outage? | [
{
"answer": "Major airports have backup generators that would power them long enough for the planes to land.\n\nFailing that, planes can always talk to each other, and negotiate who is landing where. In fact, this is how it's done at small airports that don't have dedicated air traffic controllers. If there w... | null |
ahf3bf | Why don't WiFi routers interfere with one another? | [
{
"answer": "Thank you for your submission! Unfortunately, your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):\n\nYou can find the basic answer with a google / wiki search. Please start there and come back with a more specific question.\n\n\n\nIf you disagree with this decision, please send a [message... | null |
22o3c7 | What happens when microwaving a lit match? | [
{
"answer": "Fire produces ions and free electrons as chemical intermediaries. Plasma is conductive, microwave induces currents in plasma, creates more plasma. Now you have a cup of plasma. Fairly clever really.\n\nHeat makes objects expand. In the case of rigid, brittle objects like glass, uneven heating often... | null |
3zserj | In the LHC how are protons removed from the nucleus of an atom and kept together? | [
{
"answer": "The proton bundles in the LHC start out as hydrogen. To be more specific, they start out as hydrogen from the bottle shown in [this picture](_URL_0_).\n\nSince a hydrogen atom is just 1 proton and 1 electron, we don't have any pesky neutrons to worry about. So that's easy.\n\nWhat's also useful is ... | null |
5ptcez | How did copyright violation come to be known as "piracy"? | [
{
"answer": "The term \"pirate\" has long been used in a very broad sense for a private, illegal activity. \"Pirate buses\" existed in the 19th century (illegal, unlicensed, privately-run buses), and \"pirate radio\" in the 20th. The analogy here is about \"literary piracy\" or \"print piracy.\" The terminology... | null |
6ce0l3 | What would happen if the Earth's oceans were replaced with fresh water? | [
{
"answer": "Nearly every salt water ecosystem would die off. In the resulting food shortage and mass emigration from communities that relied on fish the original fresh water ecosystems would likely also be in danger due to fishing demands shifting to whats left. The sudden decrease in the amoubt of salt in the... | null |
71pw3p | why is it that we always see so many new awesome ways to fight cancer and yet it seems nothing of it is ever being used? | [
{
"answer": "How would you know they are not used? Do you work in the field? Follow closely current actual used methods?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There are three main factors here.\n\nOne is that medical treatments tend to get most of their news coverage when they're in early development... | null |
816gvj | Why does equilibrium maximize entropy and not some other quality? | [
{
"answer": "In a very large system, say a balloon full of gas, there are only a few numbers we use to describe it: pressure, temperature, volume. These define the macroscopic state, or macrostate, of the system. But there are many many possible microscopic states (microstates)---positions and velocities and ro... | null |
3in8x7 | what would happen if we detonated an atomic bomb in the eye of a hurricane | [
{
"answer": "It would have no noticeable effect. The energy released by the bomb is nothing compared to that in a hurricane.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "A hurricane gets its energy from warm ocean water, and in the process of water vapor condensing into rain droplets. The heat released duri... | null |
5qitw3 | why do we need discipline? | [
{
"answer": "First, you (and I'd say a lot of other people too) need to look up the definition. Second, self-discipline allows you to make the right decisions in your life using critical thinking and to make yourself better (in every aspect) even though you may not necessarily want to. Literally means: \"the ... | null |
dzlvck | how can the house pass a bill, but the senate refuses to vote on, or even look at, it? | [
{
"answer": "Senate Majority Leader (R-Mitch McConnel from Kentucky) gets to decide which laws to take up on a vote.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because the companies that pay them all kinds of extra moneys don't want them to pass those bills, so they push them to the side.",
"provenanc... | null |
4brs51 | how exactly do marathons/bike races "raise awareness" for certain causes? | [
{
"answer": "People are generally aware of the race to begin with, especially if it has TV/radio coverage. So if the organizers start saying they support cause \"X\", there are likely people watching or paying attention in some way that don't know about it. So by advertising their support for a charity or bre... | null |
2ox0wn | What happened to Arianism in North Africa? | [
{
"answer": "I would look at the Ecumenical Councils, particularly the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and the Second Council of Constantinople in 502. The First Council of Nicaea anathematized Arianism, making it pretty unpopular for fourth century Christians to harbor any sort of Arianism. This is when the dec... | null |
358u1r | how is it that the farmers almanac can predict long-range forecast so accurately? | [
{
"answer": "It always rains around then. All you really have to do is look at a bunch of years and figure out the trends, and then combine all of them into a comprehensive calendar for useful application. I'm sure the biggest part of the whole thing is just accounting for drift in the solar calendar compared t... | null |
4mzcv2 | Was Hannibal Barca black? | [
{
"answer": "Coins.\nWe have coins which are apparently presenting the image of Hamilcar (Hannibal's Father) and Hasdrubal (Hannibal's brother.) The coin presented does not appear to favor the features of either. Suggesting that the old coin depicts Hannibal simply because the back depicts and elephant seems li... | null |
1ogb97 | why i can spend a night drinking 20 standard drinks made of spirits (mixed and shots) and be fine, but if i drink a bottle of red wine at 8 standard drinks i'm really drunk and have a horrible hangover? | [
{
"answer": "Hangovers aren't just about the amount of ethanol you drink. They're also a function of other chemicals, like methanol, higher alcohols, and other volatiles. \n\nRed wine is full of volatiles, so even though its not as alcoholic, it still gives a murderous hangover.",
"provenance": null
},
... | null |
4qw7mf | What was the motivation behind American Indian boarding schools? | [
{
"answer": "Thank you for asking this question. Far too often I see people making the boarding schools out to be something they are not.\n\nFirst, let me inform you that they were, for the most part, **not** peaceful. The actual intention of these schools was as you stated in your first paragraph: a colonial e... | null |
2zho88 | Why is there no snow/glaciers in some areas of the far north of Greenland? | [
{
"answer": "Northern Greenland's climate is somewhat similar to Antarctica's. Antarctica is technically a desert in that it gets only 6.5in of precipication in a year. Northern Greenland gets just 8in of precipitation a year.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
... | null |
1c8l90 | Is there a point where too much muscle is bad for your body? | [
{
"answer": "By working hard to sustain a certain level of muscle, are you referring to the extra work the heart must do to deliver blood to the added muscle mass, or that extra muscle is still extra weight for your body to carry around, thus inherently requiring the heart to do extra work (or both)?",
"pro... | null |
28mmr7 | what makes unix/linux more stable and secure than windows? | [
{
"answer": "Unix had privilege levels because it's originally a multi user system. You need root access to do any real damage to the system",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "In UNIX/linux, the default security model has always been that normal users cannot mess with the system configuration. In ... | null |
6tcmm5 | why do flags that have the union jack in the corner have different field colors? | [
{
"answer": "It comes from the different ensigns used by the Royal Navy in the past. Different squadrons of the navy used different ensigns, so dependent on where the squadrons patrolled new colonies and institutions would use the flag familiar to them.\n\nIt's all explained in this link:\n_URL_0_",
"proven... | null |
339096 | if ice destroys dna, how do seeds germinate successfully after being trapped in permafrost for thousands of years? | [
{
"answer": "Ice doesn't destroy DNA; rapid freezing does. If you cool it slowly, it can survive.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There are two aspects to this. One is, as someone pointed out, a bit of luck. Having DNA or other tissue not be damaged by the freezing process is scattershot. Essen... | null |
48kfx5 | Historiography of Early Modern German Executioners | [
{
"answer": "Harrington's major secondary sources are nearly all in German (except Stuart). Still would be worth a perusal.\n\nSome stuff I can think of offhand in English:\n\n* Ulinka Rublack, *The Crimes of Women in Early Modern Germany* - bibliography is primarily German on Germany, but supplemented with Eng... | null |
3e5lot | why does the us distribute it's milk under refrigeration? | [
{
"answer": "mainly because of consumer acceptance. milk in usa has always come refrigerated. \n\nIn June 1993, Parmalat introduced its UHT milk to the United States.[12] In the American market, consumers are uneasy about consuming milk that is not delivered under refrigeration, and reluctant to buy it. To co... | null |
4tc25v | if x-rays and gamma rays are the only ionizing radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum, how does uv light damage cells/dna? | [
{
"answer": "Some UV light can be ionizing. But radiation does not have to be ionizing to cause problems. Non ionizing radiation can still catalyze chemical reactions. In the case of UV light, it stimulates the bonding of two parts of DNA in a way they shouldn't be (production of thymine dimers for the interest... | null |
1i8e5f | stocks please | [
{
"answer": "Some of the details you are asking about depend on the specific plan you have or on the company that manages it for your employer.\n\n > I understand you put a portion of your check into buying stock and you make money from interest I think but is it money that you could possibly lose over time?\n\... | null |
m3mp3 | A lot of questions about the flu vaccine | [
{
"answer": "Basically the WHO monitors flu strains around the world and predicts which ones will be the most prevalent. This is discussed [here with a video](_URL_2_) and this [PDF summary](_URL_1_).\n\nThe amount of change depends on whether the virus \"drifts or shifts.\" The CDC does a good job of explainin... | null |
3ml8iu | why does politics make people so hostile? | [
{
"answer": "Politicians are marketers of themselves. They use morality, religion, anti-patriotism, xenophobia, and fear to draw the public support. When you argue politics with someone, those issues get swept up in an otherwise normal conversation.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Politics plac... | null |
4i4o94 | Why are large primes so desirable and hard to calculate? | [
{
"answer": "Can you tell me if 1000000000001 is prime? Well, it's not, 73 is a factor. 10000000000001 is divisible by 11. 100000000000001 is divisible by 7. Can you tell me if 10^(10000)+1 is prime? Most numbers of the form 10^(n)+1 will not be prime. We have a couple like this that were made to find primes, l... | null |
4aoizv | when the large baby boomer generation begins to die and their homes flood the market, will real estate prices drop dramatically? | [
{
"answer": "No, because for the most part their homes will pass to their children (who are, for the most part, currently renting off other baby boomers)\n\nHopefully it will help to \"reset\" some of the mess the Baby Boomer generation has left the housing market in, where so many of them own multiple homes th... | null |
7n52i1 | What do you feel are the best books on modern Orientalism, other than Edward Said's? Also on that point, what is your view on his book? | [
{
"answer": "Among historians, Said's critiques were generally taken to heart, and actually a lot of historians were already working to correct the field along the lines of Said's criticisms before Said even published *Orientalism*. The introductory chapter of Marshall Hodgson's *The Venture of Islam* (publishe... | null |
7tvgf9 | why is using horses for consumer meat viewed so negatively? | [
{
"answer": "Humans have relied on horses for thousands of years to do work and for transportation. People have a lot of feelings about them and a lot of attachment, similar to dogs and cats. Thus, there isn't much market for it. I also don't think it tastes particularly good due to being so muscular with ve... | null |
4gpuf1 | why is it that insurance is worth more than the car itself in uk and in many other countries? | [
{
"answer": "Well, in many cases if you crash into someone with your car, your insurance company has to pay their medical bills, and/or pay to have their car repaired. If you kill someone, your insurance company may also need to pay legal fees, damages, etc. Or, if you damage public or private property, they mi... | null |
62lfsf | How much time, money, and effort, went into making the elaborate clothes of the Marie Antoinette period? | [
{
"answer": "\"Marguerite!\" Nicholas, Comte d'Ogeras, stalked into his wife's dressing room. She did not pause, continuing to apply pomatum as he came to stand next to her toilette. \"Marguerite, what is this bill?\"\n\n\"*Je n'ai aucune idée*,\" she murmured. \"You ought to show it to me before you demand tha... | null |
1rrkfw | record player | [
{
"answer": "I'll start from the vibrating needle...\n\nThe end of the needle in the cartridge (at the end of the record player's arm) vibrates in the presence of a coil in a magnetic field (like a guitar string vibrating over a pickup). The current that the vibration induces in the coil is an audio signal that... | null |
dtzj5x | how are humans able to focus at different depths even when one eye is shut? | [
{
"answer": "Each eye has its own lens that focuses like an autofocus camera lens. The only thing you lose with one eye is depth perception or stereoscopic vision. Hope that helps.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Focusing your eyes is done by little muscles inside your eye, stretching the lens... | null |
3x9vuo | how different are each and every sperm? everyone is unique, but would a different sperm from the same man really change child anything close to drastically? | [
{
"answer": "One sperm vs. another sperm would definitely change the child (as would one egg vs. another egg) but \"anything close to drastically\" is in the eye of the beholder.\n\nThe children produced from two different sperm from the same father would be very similar and have many of the same genes, but the... | null |
6qrz8y | what is the difference between taking medicine in capsule form versus pill form. for over the counter medicine, what is the reason to take one over the other if they have the same dosage? | [
{
"answer": "IIRC capsules work faster because the medicine inside them is in liquid form (?) and the gel on the outside breaks down faster than the solid pill form.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "4724514",
"title": "Rifampicin/... | null |
2od00e | how did blue and red become known as opposing colours? | [
{
"answer": "Blue and red aren't opposing, but bright basic blue and bright basic red are heavily visually contrasting. They're easy enough to differentiate in most visual situations.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Do you mean in Video games?\n\nI THINK it comes from the original Quake. One ... | null |
5b81qg | how are international laws enforced? by who? | [
{
"answer": "International law can be enforced in a few different ways, but the most common is through treaties. A treaty is basically a piece of paper that two or more countries sign that says \"We REALLY promise not to break the rules of this treaty\". There is no technical retribution like a police force cou... | null |
4t9zm9 | What were the "mystery religions" of antiquity, specifically those practiced in the Greco-Roman world? | [
{
"answer": "It's difficult to say anything definitive about mystery cults compared to other ancient religions like Christianity or Judaism, because these cults did not leave much documentary evidence behind. The mystery was a central part of the ritual, and so we have passing comments from ancients about them ... | null |
8qn79y | Could Ancient Greek women in Athens work as mercenaries? | [
{
"answer": "A simple answer would be that no they could not. Athenian women typically were always relegated to a domestic role in daily life. The Athenians were very conservative in regards to how they treated their women. Women were not allowed to be in public without male supervision nor allowed to attend pl... | null |
77wsgh | what did Victorian prostitutes wear or look like? | [
{
"answer": "One interesting account that answers your question, at least for London, at least for some time in the period c.1870, comes from the infamous work by \"Walter\", *My Secret Life*, which discusses the author's extensive experience with prostitutes in the Victorian period. The original work was print... | null |
emqrc3 | why do leds work as a light sensor? | [
{
"answer": "LEDs are photodiodes that emit light when electricity is passed through them. Because of this, they are also sensitive to wavelengths of light that are slightly shorter than or equal to the light they emit when voltage is applied. A Green LED for instance will be sensitive to Blue light and will em... | null |
1kzk9w | How did Carter's foreign policy on human rights increase tensions and undermine vital alliances? | [
{
"answer": "There was a thread about his attempts to keep the world peaceful. It should be a good jumping off point for you. \n\n[\"We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet. We never went to war\" - Jimmy Carter. Is Carter's assertion true? Was his administration as peaceful as he claims?\n](_URL_0_)"... | null |
324gvk | given the growing consensus on climate change - why has there not been an adverse impact on real estate proprotities prices in costal areas? | [
{
"answer": "Never underestimate the short sightedness of humans. China is set to suffer the most of any single country from global warming and they're one of the worst offenders. Florida will cease to exist but plenty of people who fully accept global warming move to Florida every year. The problem is even if ... | null |
yn0ep | trans genital surgery | [
{
"answer": "Which one? There are a bunch.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "517391",
"title": "Sex reassignment therapy",
"section": "Section::::Sex reassignment surgery.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 39,
"star... | null |
2p2rox | When were the economies of the USSR and the US most equal? | [
{
"answer": "Well, let's take a look at some graphs!\n\n[Here](_URL_1_) we have the USSR's economic history from 1970-1990. They peaked at ~1 trillion dollars ~1980.\n\nThis is lower than any point of the US during that same period. [Same source](_URL_0_).\n\nAt no point in time was the economy of the USSR cl... | null |
2zswr4 | why does the snow only accumulate in these parking spaces?? | [
{
"answer": "Cars haven't parked there. Where the main aisle for the spaces is (that dark patch between sets of spaces) the pavement is still very warm, so it just melts snow when it hits.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because there are no cars parked there and no one is driving though them."... | null |
11wx9x | Is it possible to translate an alien language like in prometheus? And if not, how would we communicate with them? | [
{
"answer": "Cryptographing is like find out a new language. Once you find out the structure and rules of the language you might be able to decode it. Also, they could have software that detects language on our computers.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "If I remember correctly, it's stated in t... | null |
1j8iy9 | Day of Reflection | July 22-28 | [
{
"answer": "Woo, Day of Reflection! I was waiting for this, cause I just found a new guy on here who's my new BFF! (Sorry Arty. I'm breaking up with you and taking the cat and the house and the car. You can have the couch though!) \n\nSo I noticed a user I'd never seen before in a [couple](_URL_1_) of [threads... | null |
2u31mg | why have i learned so much about the holocaust and the war crimes committed by the nazis, but i have never learned anything about the japanese war crimes during wwii? | [
{
"answer": "My understanding (in the US) is that post-war, Japan grew to become a vital trading partner with the US. As such, it would be better to avoid touching on \"controversial\" topics such as Japanese atrocities during the war, or the US's Japanese internment camps. \n\nOn the other hand, Germany kind o... | null |
51a5hl | why is not standing for the us national anthem so offensive? | [
{
"answer": "It isn't. There is no written rule, unless you are in the military, that you have to stand for the national anthem. \n\nThe day everyone is forced to stand for the flag/anthem is the day people should be worried.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because most baby boomers are arm cha... | null |
2gw184 | How long did it take the population of the USSR to recover after the Second World War? | [
{
"answer": "[Here](_URL_0_) is the data for the Soviet Union for the 20th century. (Second link in contents will take you to a graph and a spreadsheet)\nYou can see the effects of the Russian revolution and subsequent NKVD purges. And you can see the effect of WWII.\nHowever, the figures for recovery might not... | null |
eapdok | how are uk prime ministers chosen? | [
{
"answer": "The Prime Minister is normally the head of the largest party able to get the confidence of the house. They will still represent their constituents.\n\nThe UK does not have a written constitution so there's nothing saying what happens if the leader loses their seat. Bare in mind though that before t... | null |
6y5ti8 | the old testament, new testemant, and the koran all have passages denouncing and prohibiting the practice of collecting interest on loans, so when and how did this practice become accepted in society? | [
{
"answer": "It's not quite that extreme -- notably the Old Testament only said not to charge interest to the poor, or within the Jewish community. This left Jews free to charge interest to others.\n\nIt became more permissible over time, as the definition of usury moved from \"charging any interest\" to \"char... | null |
2k6ypw | why does the us currently not have a surgeon general? | [
{
"answer": "In name only, the acting Surgeon General is Boris Lushniak. The Senate must vote to confirm such an appointment and good luck on that these days.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "We do, just not a permanent one. The previous Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, resigned last year; curr... | null |
6wzxql | How will the waters actually recede from Harvey, and how do storms like these change the landscape? Will permanent rivers or lakes be made? | [
{
"answer": "I Googled this yesterday cause I was afraid to ask on here. I am curious of the actual paths it takes to get to the gulf. The only thing I can imagine is how a tsunami rapidly recedes back to the ocean but I know that isn't how this works. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I would l... | null |
1w9lvn | how did an oppressive nation get picked for the winter olympics? | [
{
"answer": "The IOC do not make hosting decisions lightly. Ru$$ia mu$t have had an excellent pre$entation. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "How the hell did China get picked for Summer Olympics? The same way, promising freedom and reforms at selection time, then letting the money filter throu... | null |
18k8lm | Is it actually possible to increase your alcohol tolerance? | [
{
"answer": "Sadly yes. Alcohol tolerance proceeds pretty slowly, and it can take years to build up an appreciable tolerance, unless drinking is very heavy. Tolerance occurs mostly because of a diminished number of GABA receptors. The worst part about this particular tolerance is that those receptors are respon... | null |
281mt1 | Why not 1024bit encryption or beyond? | [
{
"answer": "512 bit encryption gives you about 10^154 possible keys. If you took every single atom in the known universe and somehow turned every single one of them into the fastest supercomputer ever build, it would still take an unimaginable many times the age of the universe to try all possibilities. While ... | null |
2dhkhg | how do they film the scenes where an explosion-esque event happens, the movement pauses, and the camera moves through? | [
{
"answer": "Multiple cameras at different angles. If you set a bunch of cameras up in a row and record with all at once you can move to the same timestamp in each camera and have a different view of the same second.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Bullet time is great for orbiting an object.\n... | null |
14mrmi | Are the Bosnian pyramids man-made or nature-made? | [
{
"answer": "None of the actual experts take it seriously. It's a natural hill, and the people who in their ignorance refuse to accept this have wrecked genuine sites of archaeological interest in their random digging.\n\nThere's nothing to this claim, it is pseudo-archaeology of the rankest sort.\n\n",
"p... | null |
1tqt6u | How accurate is the history in the Master and Commander Series? | [
{
"answer": "hi! not discouraging anyone from contributing any more info - especially a general assessment - but FYI, there have been several questions on various aspects of this series. Check out these posts for previous responses\n\n[What would happen if you are a PoW during the Napoleonic wars and escape, go... | null |
2xj9pr | what does it mean to be jewish? | [
{
"answer": " > So my question is if it is a religion or an ethnic group?\n\nIt is both, and used interchangeably for either.\n\n > And what about people like Adam Sandler?\n\nHe is ethnically Jewish but not particularly religious.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
... | null |
bxtylw | what causes foods like radishes, horseradish, and ginger to taste spicy? | [
{
"answer": "Allyl isothiocyanate in radishes and zingerone, shogaol and various gingerols in in ginger.\n\nAll of them(and piperine from black pepper) act on the same receptors as capsaicin, but weaker and for a shorter time. This is why they don't have the same lasting heat feeling.",
"provenance": null
... | null |
q451w | Book/online resource request for learning historical evolution of technology and culture | [
{
"answer": "If you have specific interests in the History of Technology I would be happy to suggest things. Most of the very broad histories of technology I find to be severely lacking and I have little patience for these books that attempt to apply a sweeping theme to the technological history of a whole era.... | null |
6mc23b | why does science denialism appear to be on such an upswing lately? | [
{
"answer": "I think there's always been those kinds of people, but the information age has given them a loud voice",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "those who actually dont deny, wont shout out their lungs out like the people who deny on the internet. so you hear a lot about science denialism th... | null |
465sk0 | how does wireless data transfer works with so many devices receiving information from one source? | [
{
"answer": "In addition to UntitledDocument37's info on addressing, I would like to add some more information about how this complex process works.\n\nThe main thing to realize is that your phone can only \"yell\" so loud to the tower. There may only be a couple of towers that can even \"hear\" your phone near... | null |
atve3h | What is the process to fix deep and wide sinkholes? I'm thinking of the ones have hundreds of feet deep that simply can't be filled. | [
{
"answer": "Very often they are ignored. It's no something exactly hard to do, but is very expensive.\nBut if they are in a place that is convenient and worth enough to the huge cost to repair, they can use infills from three different resources.\n\nThe first, very common in my country (Brazil) is demolition d... | null |
aiuo9h | What methods are used by historians to answer counterfactuals? | [
{
"answer": "Historians generally do not try to answer such sweeping counterfactuals. There are too many \"variables\" in such approaches, and you end up in totally speculative territory.\n\nNarrow counterfactuals are much more common, and are arguably implicit in every statement of causation (if I say _X_ was ... | null |
fph9b5 | What, aside from knowledge of how to use/extract coal and oil, prevented an industrial revolution from occurring earlier in history? | [
{
"answer": "There's always more that can be said but while you wait you might enjoy some of these older posts on the topic. As you'll quickly see, its actually a pretty complicated discussion.\n\n/u/Daeres and a deleted user discuss [Why didn't we get an industrial revolution during Antiquity ?](_URL_2_)\n\n/u... | null |
3drr65 | why does an electrolyte solution like gatorade hydrate, while an electrolyte solution like salt water dehydrates? | [
{
"answer": "A solution with a higher concentration of electrolytes than your blood has will increase the concentration in your blood and draw water out of your cells to correct it. A solution with a lower concentration (or just water) will have the opposite effect. Something like Gatorade aims to have the same... | null |
87ep89 | why are bombs in cartoons always stylised to be the big, round black ones with a fuse and the word "bomb" written on them? | [
{
"answer": "\nThat's what old-timey artillery shells and grenades looked like. Black iron sphere with a fuse in one end. Light, launch, and hope it explodes near where you want it to explode.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because big black round balls with the word \"BOMB\" is funny, while a... | null |
3crcvv | why did i throw up the fish oil plastic capsule | [
{
"answer": "[Those aren't plastic](_URL_0_, that would be very bad. Chances are, the capsule broke and you simply brought it back up. Those things dissolve so it is likely that it never made it very far, but broke on the way down and released the oil. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
... | null |
bpbp8f | what is the difference between a carburated and fuel injection engine | [
{
"answer": "Carburated is basically fuel getting into the engine by vacuum from the intake which is a gravity type system since it doesnt work when your upside down and needs about 2-3psi to work and a fuel injected system has electric solenoid injectors that open precisely at the right time to spray fuel righ... | null |
9crp58 | why do some states disallow voters with no party affiliation to vote in primaries? | [
{
"answer": "Many states havd closed primaries: by law or decision of the political parties, only those with a registered party affiliation can vote in the partisan primary ballots. Those who have not registered affiliation can vote in closed primary election, but will be given a non partisan ticket (general... | null |
2e0298 | in a water drought, why don't supply/demand economics increase the price of water and, thus, incentivize us to use less? | [
{
"answer": "Public water supplies aren't part of the free market. Water districts are heavily subsidized through taxes & generally have hefty regulations placed on their rates. On top of that, they're generally monopolies.\n\nYou can't use public money to build a system then throw your hands up and say \"f... | null |
26w93p | spontaneous water glass explosion at dinner? | [
{
"answer": "My guess is thermal stress. Quick changes between hot and cold can stress some materials. Cheap glass in particular is often prone to this due to holding ice-cold beverages. If the glass was warm out of the washer then immediately filled with ice water, it will put some stress on the glass itself, ... | null |
64q92n | why is it that we don't overheat and die when the outside temperature is over 98 degrees, body temperature? shouldn't our body be unable to loose heat heat at those temperatures? | [
{
"answer": "In addition to sweat, the fact that air is a bad heat conductor also helps a lot because it takes people a while to actually heat up. If the temperature outside is 115 degrees you'll be fine. If the temperature inside is 115 degrees you will almost certainly die. Only one person has ever survived t... | null |
5fpq8v | Do solar systems have an electric charge? | [
{
"answer": "I feel like there are a couple of different questions blending together here. As to whether the solar system acts like an atomic system with the sun/planets/sundry stellar bodies acting as fundamental particles, the answer is essentially 'no' (or at least, it lacks many of the features of an atom).... | null |
543hhf | Question about Hungarian Military Uniforms of World War II | [
{
"answer": "Just to clarify your question, do you mean a Shako like [this](_URL_0_)?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "9354727",
"title": "Second Army (Hungary)",
"section": "Section::::On the Eastern Front.:The Don River,... | null |
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