id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
vgbnm | Is it possible that a virus could act as a vaccine for several other worse viruses? | [
{
"answer": "You might be thinking of the development of the smallpox vaccine, in which scientists noted that milkmaids who were exposed to cowpox did not develop smallpox. They initially used the cowpox virus as a vaccine for smallpox since it induced an immune response against smallpox antigens. Now, they u... | null |
3cfenn | according to einstein's theory of relativity, events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another. what does this mean? what are some eli5 examples? | [
{
"answer": "If you want to do further research on this, a good specific search phrase is the relativity of simultaneity. \n\nA common example is called the train and platform. \n\nImagine there is a box car, with open sides, and a shuttered lantern in the middle. There's a guy standing by the lantern, ready to... | null |
8v73wr | How does consuming caffeine compare to absorbing it through your skin? | [
{
"answer": "We can change this question to \"How does swallowing Drug X compare to absorbing it through your skin?\"\n\nFirst of all, it's important to remember that our skin is pretty amazing at keeping things out. It is not a great absorber of substances, period. Most ointments and creams that you apply will... | null |
58o51w | who writes the stuff that goes in fortune cookies? | [
{
"answer": "Apparently, the [CFO of the company who manufactures the fortune cookies](_URL_0_). Maybe that's why they so often refer to wealth?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "49592",
"title": "Fortune cookie",
"section"... | null |
2vq8jz | If a curveball was thrown in an obstacle-free, zero-gravity environment, would it follow a spiral pattern or return to the pitcher? If it's a spiral - does it curve inwards or outwards? | [
{
"answer": "The curve of the ball is dependant on the resistance of the air to the spinning motion. All pitches take advantage of such resistance. A ball will even rise once it catches the air just right. A spinning ball in an space with air but without gravity would move in a curve until the air resistance st... | null |
57gi6g | How were voters made aware of U.S. presidential candidates before radio and television? | [
{
"answer": "I've [written about this before](_URL_0_), but essentially, newspapers both shaped and were shaped by early political parties, and a national network of subsidized distribution through the postal service meant that most towns had access to multiple newspaper titles. To quote from that earlier answe... | null |
54ryjb | Sex positions names in the last centuries (1200-1800) | [
{
"answer": "Let me offer a small window into the names of sex positions as one guide called them c. 1500.\n\nIn the summer of 1524, an artist named Giulio Romano was working on painting saints in the Vatican. In the spirit of bored workers and doodling schoolchildren everywhere, he decided to dash off 16 sketc... | null |
6e9goo | why are some roofs shaped like this ? (northern france so not a snow area) | [
{
"answer": "Might want to check that link again. I'm not seeing any roof there. It just shows random stuff every time it loads.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "What I'm interested in is why the gradient changes and not just stays constant like it does in other areas... ",
"provenance": nul... | null |
fcjx3p | what is a brokered convention and what would that mean for the u.s. democratic primary? | [
{
"answer": "In simplest terms, the nominees do not have a majority to become the \"Democratic Nominee.\"\n\nA convention occurs where negotiations go on behind the scenes to try to get other nominees to drop out while delegates continue to vote and revote until a majority occurs. For instance, perhaps one nomi... | null |
axavw7 | What is rocket fuel and how do we get it? | [
{
"answer": "You’re not entirely wrong on the gasoline thing, believe it or not. IIRC, the first stage of the Saturn V was powered by a mixture of liquid oxygen (LOX) and kerosene. You’re also right about ice: you can electrolyse water into its base components, hydrogen and oxygen, and use that as fuel. Granted... | null |
1q7y2t | Is it easier to slow a car by holding the brakes, or by pressing and releasing them? | [
{
"answer": "a few things.\n\nfirstly you're not 'creating more inertia'. inertia is a property of all bodies with mass which is just a consequence of Newton's Laws: a body will maintain its motion unless acted upon by a force, and the force required to achieve a certain change in velocity (i.e. acceleration = ... | null |
5b6dkl | Did Hispanics go to segregated schools in the southwest prior to brown v. Board? | [
{
"answer": "Yes. But Brown v. Board of Education was not the ruling that ended the segregation. There are two types of segregation. One is \"de jure\" or by law segregation, meaning segregation based on laws on the books. The other is \"customary\" segregation, or segregation that was not based on laws but... | null |
349tf0 | Does the earth rotating have any effect on us seeing the clouds move? | [
{
"answer": "Directly? No. It's *not* like the clouds are holding still while the surface of the Earth rotates beneath them. The entire planet and the atmosphere rotate together, conserving angular momentum. However...\n\nIndirectly? Yes. Unlike the surface, the atmosphere is free to move north and south. As th... | null |
3tdz29 | How were illegitimate children viewed in medieval China? | [
{
"answer": "It depends on situation to situation. However, since your character is a female, she would be suffering a fair bit.\n_________\n\nIt ancient China, bloodlines are very important, and it links directly to the status of a person (as well as the inheritance that may come with it).\n\nA son born to the... | null |
1klyog | how do physicists shoot beams of small particles, like electrons, protons, and neutrons? | [
{
"answer": "Electrons are easy; they're the social butterflies of the subatomic realm. They flit about very promiscuously. And because they have electric charge, they're easy to manipulate with electric fields.\n\nThe general process by which electron beams are created involves passing an electric current (whi... | null |
ve8lx | Could a holographic monitor exist? Is it even possible? | [
{
"answer": "I can't remember what the technology is or called, sorry. But I remember recently reading about a system using very very small mirrors on micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) to create a real \"hologram\" (of the kind formed by the interference of light)\n\nHere we go: _URL_0_",
"provenance":... | null |
3dg8r5 | what is to be gained from this trip to pluto? | [
{
"answer": "The objective is \"Curiosity\". If you're looking for a reason like Pluto is made up entirely of gold or vanilla ice cream, which is possible, than you're missing the point. The biggest point of all satellites is to sustain our appetite for curiosity. Humans are naturally curious, and exploring ... | null |
1k5fz7 | Baghdad was one of the biggest centers of learning of its time. Because of items like the Baghdad Battery recently being found, how advanced was this city before the Mongols burned it to the ground? | [
{
"answer": "I terms of macro technology, and the technology most people had access to Baghdad would have been about equal to most of the other cities around. Technology spreads quickly. It is likely that various things would have been more prevalent there because it was an extremely wealthy city as well as a t... | null |
17akvw | What's the oldest prepared drink that could still be safely consumed? What's the oldest food? | [
{
"answer": "The oldest food? 36,000 year old bison, if Dale Guthrie is to be believed (*Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe*, 1990). That is however an anomalous condition--fast-frozen in ice, and only a few morsels edible.\n\n[edit: and no, we have no reputable accounts of people actually eating unfrozen mam... | null |
5igdia | sound doesn't travel through space. it's a wavelength. light travels infinitely without degrading and it's a wavelength. what gives? | [
{
"answer": " > we'd hear sound, then microwave and radio frequency then eventually colors\n\nThat was bullshit.\n\nSound is the vibration of a medium with non-zero mass.\n\nLight is transmitted by photons, massless particles.\n\nThem being waves is the only commonality between them.",
"provenance": null
... | null |
118ihd | There's Planck Length, Planck Time, and Planck Temperature, each of which corresponds to a universal maximum of minimum(unless i am mistaken). Does this mean there can be such thing as a "Planck Number?" | [
{
"answer": "The Planck length/time/temperature/mass etc. are not the largest/smallest quantity you can write down, nor are they necessarily the largest/smallest quantity of that type that you can write down. What they represent is the scale at which one must pay attention to both quantum mechanics and general... | null |
36cl0v | What strategic threat did Nazi Germany actually pose to the United States before December 7, 1941? | [
{
"answer": "Hitler's immediate aim was dominance of the continent; however, once this had been achieved, it us unlikely that Germany would have tolerated the United States as a rival for 'weltmacht', or world power. Between the u-boat menace, the German naval plan Z, and other potential threats (ie Amerika Bom... | null |
6a90uz | Why do babies frequently wake up in the middle of the night? | [
{
"answer": "We all wake up during the night. That is normal during certain sleep stages. Unlike infants, we have learned to go back to sleep. These waking moments are usually short and we forget about them afterwards, or we actually be awake and go to the toilet, etc. The 'half-awake' state can cause sleepwalk... | null |
5om0cw | How do we know about 1,700 planets? | [
{
"answer": "Except in a [handful of cases](_URL_1_), we do not have direct images of those planets.\n\nRather, we detect the planets by their effects. Planets can be detected by slight changes in the wavelength of light of the host star; as the planet orbits the star, it pulls the star first one way and then ... | null |
6i3x9n | how do the denotations of words change so much over time? like gay meaning happy but now homosexual, or faggot meaning bundle of sticks to a derogatory term for homosexual. | [
{
"answer": "[**Etymology of the word 'Gay'**](_URL_0_):\n\nIn the world's earliest meanings, going back to the 12th centry, it meant joyful, carefree, uninhibited, bright and showy, etc.\n\nBy the early 1800's, the word's implication of uninhibited pleasure had become euphemistically associated with immorality... | null |
350eha | Why did European explorers translate the titles of the rulers of China and Japan as "emperor" but translate titles of the rulers of other East Asian countries as "King"? | [
{
"answer": "hi! not discouraging other responses, but you might get something out of these earlier threads\n\n* [Why the title of the Japanese monarch is translated as \"Emperor\", and the Thai monarch is called \"King\"?](_URL_2_)\n\n* [What is the difference between a king and an emperor? Why were there empi... | null |
e3coih | how can something made of mostly empty space be “sharp”? | [
{
"answer": "Imagine you took thousands of pingpong balls and superglued them together in to the shape of a knife blade, where the cutting edge has only one row of balls then gets progressively denser as it goes back.\n\nNow imagine you took a bunch more balls and glued them together in to a big block but only ... | null |
1bavtt | Why can't we see in colour in a dark room? | [
{
"answer": "Your retina has two types of cells: rods and cones. Cones see in colour, but their number is much smaller and they aren't very sensitive. Rods are much more numerous and sensitive, but they don't see colour.\n\nTherefore, when you're in the dark you only see with your rods: you can make out shapes ... | null |
1qvvds | Who would like to discuss Foucault to me? | [
{
"answer": "Interesting!\n\nFoucault essentially suggests that we can use history and 'genealogy' to study certain institutions of contemporary/modern society and that this can give us a sense of their true purpose. One claim is that there is a distinction between truth and appearances, though this is as ancie... | null |
38ms50 | why don't our bodies have long term storage for air like we do with food? | [
{
"answer": "Humans very rarely are in situations where they don't have easy access to air. Humans were until recently often in situations where they didn't have easy access to food. Hence we evolved to store fat, and not air.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
... | null |
1re0dp | what would happen if i play a negative mold of a record? | [
{
"answer": "The needle would ride in a large flat groove between two peaks that would make the groove on a record.\n\nIf you could play it, it would play from the end to the beginning because the groove would go in the opposite direction. \n\nAny sound you hear, besides the sound of the needle scratching on t... | null |
ajwr4y | the difference between amortization and depreciation | [
{
"answer": "Amortization is an accounting technique used to lower the cost value of a finite-life or intangible asset incrementally through scheduled charges to income. Amortization is the paying off of debt with a fixed repayment schedule in regular installments over time like with a mortgage or a car loan.\n... | null |
vvlcz | Why didn't the indigenous Australian's have domesticated animals? Especially dogs? | [
{
"answer": "They did. Not dogs because dogs aren't native to Australia but we used to have similar animals called dingos, which have been bred with dogs to the extent there are no pure breed dingos left, which were domesticated by the Aboriginals.\n\nAs for the other animals, the Aboriginals were a nomadic peo... | null |
2bycgj | why do some porn sites not need 18+ proof, but some do? | [
{
"answer": "perhaps the one that needs no proof isn't operating in the US or a country that requires proof of age",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "1133408",
"title": "Pornography laws by region",
"section": "Section::::Af... | null |
3n577p | In the Game of Thrones TV series (and book) bastards from different regions all share a common surname to identify them, Snow or Flowers for example. Does this system have any evidence in history or was it invented by the author? | [
{
"answer": "Responses covering more regions/cultures of Medieval Europe are welcome; meanwhile you may be interested in these\n\n* [Bastard names](_URL_0_)\n\n* [During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, how was the surname of illegitimate children determined?](_URL_1_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
23e4ur | When was music viewed as a popular way of protesting government actions? | [
{
"answer": "One of the first instances I can think of is the [Carmina Burana](_URL_1_) - no, not Carl Orff's 1936 work, but rather the 11th and 12th century text that he drew his lyrics from. The Carmina Burana contains songs by the Goliards, a sect of the clergy who we see were very critical of the Catholic C... | null |
excbir | how does a bread making machine work? | [
{
"answer": "It automates the process of kneading (by mashing the ingredients with a rotating paddle, usually) then lets the dough sit (and beeps at you to remove the paddle so it doesn't get stuck), then bakes it.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Making bread is not that complicated. You take f... | null |
427mp1 | The Roman Republic and Greek(Athenian) Democracy are traditionally dated to 509 BC and 508 BC respectively. Is this a coincidence or could they have possibly drawn inspiration from the same root cause? | [
{
"answer": "It's not a coincidence at all, but not for the reason that you think. The traditional date if the expulsion of the Tarquins *must* be a later tradition attempting to imitate the Athenian one. That Rome had kings and that some of these kings were probably Etruscan is pretty certain, but the precise ... | null |
1ne3hs | Did the Mongols leave any long-term institutional or cultural legacy in the places they conquered? | [
{
"answer": "one point of reference: in his book \"Russia and the Golden Horde\", Halperin concludes that while the Mongols had a traumatic effect on the Russians, they left surprisingly few traces of their culture or language, considering that they were the overlords of Russia for centuries. the Russians had t... | null |
6i2ajp | in mmos, what stops a game from having large scale battles? | [
{
"answer": "Technology.\n\n\nLarge battles require lots of network battle and actions from the game engines. Animating that much on a large scale is difficult as well even with 3d technology.\n\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "For starters everyone's pc would have to be capable of rendering t... | null |
hem8k | What percentage of the human genome defines our body and what percentage defines our brain? | [
{
"answer": "that is not how it works. many of the areas of the genome which code for \"body\" also code for brain structure.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "To give a rough idea of the actual proprtion of brain-important DNA/ non brain-important DNA (important meaning not essential for forming... | null |
9l2xeu | How are space probes like Cassini protected from colliding with asteroids and space scrap? | [
{
"answer": "There really isn't much in space, it's not like the movies. For example when we say \"asteroid field\", we mean that there is a 1km or larger asteroid every 2million miles or so, which is further than the distance from the earth to the moon. [Source is stackexchange](_URL_0_) but it's simple math.\... | null |
1c75lz | How does the body maintain itself without correct nutrients? (example inside) | [
{
"answer": "She doesn't, and that causes all kinds of problems. Quoting the article you linked\n\n\"Readman could not be reached for comment but according to her doctors, she is malnourished and has the health of an 80 year old. \n\n\"That sounds like an accurate assessment,\" says Lisa Kaufman, a pediatrician... | null |
3747g1 | What's the best source to obtain scientific papers regarding a particular subject? | [
{
"answer": "In physics, math and astronomy, the [arXiv](_URL_0_) is a free pre-print server you can use. When scientists in these fields write papers that become accepted for publication, they often post their papers on this archive. All papers are free access, so you don't need to worry about being trapped be... | null |
6v7x16 | what is nat and what does it do / what is static nat? | [
{
"answer": "You have a single Internet connection, and you only get a single address from your Internet Service Provider, but you have multiple devices that you want to connect to the Internet- your laptop, your phone, your game console, and so on.\n\n One way to connect multiple devices through a single conne... | null |
4xlv9x | why are distance runners so skinny? | [
{
"answer": "The more you weigh, the more work you have to do to move yourself over a long distance. Sprinters need to be muscular since short distance events are more about accelerating to your top speed quickly and maintaining that speed for a few seconds while distance events are about maintaining a moderate... | null |
65jgod | why did canada get rid of the penny? | [
{
"answer": "Because it's not necessary, and stopping the manufacture and distribution saved the Crown a lot of money. We just round prices up or down after tax, and it balances out in the end.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Canada got rid of the penny because the penny costs more to make than... | null |
1605bz | i hope everyone here knows about the simple english wikipedia (url in text) | [
{
"answer": "This is amazing! My brother will love this!",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "407869",
"title": "Simple English Wikipedia",
"section": "",
"start_paragraph_id": 1,
"start_character": 0,
... | null |
3k0sp3 | Isn't it an evolutionary advantage for a living disease not to be fatal to us? | [
{
"answer": "Not necessarily, though logically you would think so since it makes all kinds of sense. While some viruses or other diseases do evolve toward lower lethality, it appears to be more of a special occurrence, rather than the rule. Take the [rabies virus](_URL_3_), for instance. It causes a disease whi... | null |
ephz2a | why does it feel good to talk badly about someone who’s wronged us? | [
{
"answer": "When we talk badly about someone who’s wronged us, we are contrasting their behavior to ours; making us feel entirely separated from ‘wrong’ behavior. When we can view ourselves (and help others to view us) as separate from wrong behavior, we feel better. This is similar to watching TV shows such a... | null |
5tcfmd | can churches in the united states of america offer sanctuary? | [
{
"answer": "No, churches in the US do not have the legal authority to prevent the police from entering to make an arrest.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "They don't have any special protections from search warrants. They are somewhat reluctant to storm a church given the optics, but when push ... | null |
3kwu1y | How does the evidence support the fact that photons are particles? | [
{
"answer": "No, because the ionization happens depending the frequency, not the total energy of incident radiation (intensity, proportional to amplitude^2 × frequency). If the thing was purely wave-like, any wavelength of light should be able to ionize the atom, given an amplitude high enough. This does not ha... | null |
5qcevk | assuming weight loss is purely about "calories in vs. calories out," how is it possible for the body to go into "starvation mode" and temporarily prevent weight loss from occurring | [
{
"answer": "Short answer... It doesn't.\n\nLong answer, it stores a bunch of water.\n\nSo, your body has fat cells. Those cells store fat. When they're full of fat, that's it. They're 100% full fat cells. However, as you start losing weight and using those fat stores, those cells start getting smaller. So at s... | null |
14tyk0 | When/How did the idea of citizenship first develop in (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong) Athens? | [
{
"answer": "Unfortunately, Athenian/Attic identity develops during a period of time when our sources are scant. However, most scholarship today tend to emphasize the role of the Peisistratids of forging the disparate regions of Attica into a single entity. Archaeological evidence shows that period as one of re... | null |
1ozdme | When did doctors and psychologists begin to see sex as part of a healthy lifestyle and even necessary? Was there open debate about it? | [
{
"answer": "The one time there's a question I can tanswer, and I do not have my sources on hand, curses. With that said, there are actually a few names like Kinsey, Masters & Johnson, and a few others that come up, with Kinsey and Johnsons making the claim the claim that sex was not just for procreation. Kin... | null |
6gmlcb | how does the atm count and verify cash inserted in envelopes? | [
{
"answer": " > How do machines count cash in envelopes?\n\nThey don't. They record the transaction and when the drop box is transferred to a bank later on the bank employees manually count and verify the amount of money was correct.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "If it's all in an envelope, ... | null |
1ayx9l | How devastating would a kinetic weapon (projectile dropped from orbit) actually be? | [
{
"answer": "By increasing distance from earth and mass, you could scale them up to the size of the impact that created the moon. The question is why you would do that. Much easier to pack explosives into a vehicle that doesn't have to travel that far.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Popular sc... | null |
3ho6t7 | META: Can we talk about the clear increase in "throughout history" or trivia-seeking questions? | [
{
"answer": "You're becoming more popular. The more casual people that join the group, the more superficial questions it receives. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "nsdwight has the gist of it. As the sub grows, we attract a larger audience, an audience that, unfortunately, contains more people ... | null |
8jk8ta | What is the minimum amount of gravity of a planet needed to sustain a breathing atmosphere? | [
{
"answer": "Don’t know the math for this, but Saturn’s moon, Titan has a very thick atmosphere but only has about 2% the mass of Earth. Other factors play into a planet having an atmosphere, though. A good magnetic field prevents solar wind and deadly cosmic rays from stripping one away.",
"provenance": nu... | null |
1gj1m7 | Can you feed a bird so that it gets too fat to fly? Or would it die from health complications before it ever reached that point? | [
{
"answer": "There you go. This [kookaburra](_URL_0_) ate way too much bbq and could no longer fly.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Not birds, but there was an interesting study where they increased the mass of bats by injecting saline into their peritoneal cavities and studied their flight cha... | null |
1hq93f | Can an ant find its way home? | [
{
"answer": "Depends... the Argentine ants have a mega-colony in CA that stretches over 560miles.\n\nThe long and short of it is that ants are blind without chemical scent trails. So unless his home colony has ants that have made it a mile away into your yard, the ant will not find its way back.\n\nIt would in ... | null |
10t6ge | Istanbul to Ankara: What factors were involved in the switch? | [
{
"answer": "Ankara became the capital because it was used by Atatürk as his headquarters while Constantinople/Istanbul was occupied by the Allies. The Grand National Assembly was established there. That's the main reason.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "In addition Istanbul (or Konstantiniyy... | null |
805noh | Questions regarding nicknames | [
{
"answer": "The Viet Cong were referred to using the military phonetic alphabet (V-C = Victor Charlie) shortened to Charlie.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "53430",
"title": "Nickname",
"section": "Section::::People.:Phy... | null |
3bxlcw | how is it legal to have tinted license plate covers? | [
{
"answer": "The ones I've seen leave the license plates readable, the idea is if a speed trap camera takes a picture it'll make the plate unreadable in the photo. Fortunately they don't actually work, so no one really cares.\n\nIf your plate is obscured to the point where you can't read it with the naked eye, ... | null |
2nn05r | vampires might not be real, but how exactly does the internal anatomy work of creatures that live strictly off of blood? | [
{
"answer": "Their anatomy isn't that different from other similar animals. They drink blood which goes into their stomach and is digested to get nutrition. There is a lot of energy to be gained from eating blood just like eating other parts of an animal.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
... | null |
1sntkh | why are tv cooking shows allowed to kill live animals but other tv/movies can't harm animals? | [
{
"answer": "Any TV/movie can kill animals they just choose not to. In Pink Flamingo they kill a chicken for example. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Besides lobsters I don't think I've seen any live animals being killed on cooking shows in the US. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"an... | null |
5k35nw | What was the mindset for veterans who lived through both WW1 and WW2 | [
{
"answer": "What was the \"mindset\" for them? And are you looking for generalities, because there were a LOT of veterans with a lot of different thoughts about a lot of different things. What does your question actually mean? I don't think you can possibly get a substantive answer to this question, as vaguely... | null |
3ccn25 | what is the theoretical limit to wireless communication transmission speed? what is the limiting factor? | [
{
"answer": "There's two factors:\n\nThere's the speed of light, which limits the *latency* — the delay between sending and receiving.\n\nThe second is *bandwidth*, which is how much data can be sent in a certain amount of time with a certain amount of power.\n\nThe Pluto probe currently has a bandwidth of abou... | null |
45lpvg | is there any solid reason why we view/record videos and pictures in a rectangular way. and why not just a square? | [
{
"answer": "This has been asked in various ways before though I'm pressed to think up good search terms. \n\nA simple answer is that our field of vision of wider than tall so it makes sense for video to be the same.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "If you close one eye, you'll see a round field... | null |
46q0gi | Are all the particles in the universe quantum entangled or does that only happen under specific conditions? | [
{
"answer": "I would argue yes as entanglement as well as superposition are intrinsic aspects of a quantum world, but saying that 'everything is entangled' is not a particularly useful or helpful notion. The reason for this is that entanglement happens too much and too easily killing all the delicate quantum ef... | null |
blr6rs | how does the weather change so drastically for just a few days and then go back? | [
{
"answer": "If you have ever listened to the weather man you've probably heard the term \"Cold front\" or \"Warm front\" as they tell you the weather. These fronts are masses of air with various attributes, they could be cold & moist, warm & dry, warm & moist, etc. The leading edges of these fronts are p... | null |
3v3cbl | why is being transgender not considered sexist? | [
{
"answer": "imagine you were in the other gender's body, but had all the exact same thoughts and interests as you do now. that is a bit different than just a boy who likes dolls.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It isn't about the things you like to do, it's about who you feel you are. These th... | null |
sk543 | If forced to spin, whether for a game or as a contest, what is the most effective way to avoid sever dizziness? | [
{
"answer": "Do what ballerinas do. Keep your head in one position and turn it fast and stop, fast and stop, fast and stop. This is precisely why they do this - to not get dizzy.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "29947",
"title": ... | null |
zxa7f | Wondering about the origins of current Japanese cultural norms | [
{
"answer": "Japanese people show emotion... they're just more subdued about it, and you need to look for non-verbal clues a bit more than you're probably used to.\n\nIt was considered a loss of face to show strong emotions in public, if you're asking about the origin of this.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
35gcv2 | Looking to learn more about Canadian History | [
{
"answer": "From my perspective — and it's biased toward the Yukon/Alaska — I'd recommend working your way through Pierre Berton's bibliography. While he wrote some duds here and there, most of his 50 titles are pretty good.\n\nI'd recommend *The Klondike Fever*, *The Promised Land: Settling the West* and *Mar... | null |
1hrt0o | why as seen on tv products are sold in "3 payments of $19.95" or something like that. | [
{
"answer": "Primarily for two reasons: \n\n1) Splitting up the cost of a product over multiple payments gives the potential buyer the impression that the product is actually cheaper than it is. Ex. One payment of $60 vs three payments of $19.99. The fact that the sellers do not round up is also by intention. E... | null |
calzmf | Were wolves domesticated only once, with all dogs descended from that single progenitor population, or did the process of domesticating wolves occur independently in different societies? | [
{
"answer": "While we have a fair bit of overlap, given that this predates written history, you may want to consider X-posting this to /r/AskAnthropology as well as this falls within their purview. And for that matter, I would note that /r/AskScience would also be an appropriate venue given the biological scien... | null |
47q8uf | Are fields real or just a mathematical tool? | [
{
"answer": "The strongest statement physics can ever make is \"this model makes accurate predictions.\" It cannot tell you whether the model is what's \"really\" going on or not, because there is no other way to test the model.\n\nWhether something is \"real\" or not is a matter of philosophy. You could argue ... | null |
4bp8ad | why is it more common for employers to provide health insurance plans as opposed to individuals getting their own insurance? why doesn't this group approach differ from other types of insurance, like home, life and auto, where customers often get insurance directly with an insurance company? | [
{
"answer": "This is an accidental remnant of wage controls during the world war. Certain industries could only offer so much salary, ao they started offering healthcare as an artificial raise. Then that became expected. Then it started to become law. Businesses could negotiate good rates, and paying 5k for som... | null |
ucekg | How do fields form, especially those right next to densely wooded areas? | [
{
"answer": "Can you give an example of this?\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "10432337",
"title": "Farmer-managed natural regeneration",
"section": "Section::::In practice.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 28,
... | null |
6uy3oz | why does it sound odd shortening "you are" to "you're" in the sentence "i'm ready when you are"? | [
{
"answer": "Because in this form the word *you* is emphasized, spoken more loudly. So also emphasizing the *are* leaves the listener wondering: *are* what?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "60309669",
"title": "Latin tenses",
... | null |
lkors | Do arteries unclog eventually? Or is plaque build up permanent? | [
{
"answer": "HDL participates in a process called [reverse cholesterol transport](_URL_0_) that can remove ~~plaque~~ cholesterol from peripheral tissue. As qxrt points out, this might not remove the plaque itself.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "HDL carries lipids back to the liver and can re... | null |
47bw1b | Can anyone please explain the difference between LUMENS and candela per square meter (CD/sqm) (In human language) as a measure of light brightness? | [
{
"answer": "A lumen gives the *total* amount of human-visible light given out. How bright the light actually is will depend on how wide the beam is. A very wide beam with a lot of lumens is as bright as a very narrow beam with a few lumens.\n\nA candela is maybe a more useful unit here. A candela tells you how... | null |
7uy952 | What were the predominant armor types worn in ancient southwest Asia? | [
{
"answer": "The most common armour was scale body armour with a helmet of approximately conical or hemispherical shape. Surviving scales are commonly bronze, but bronze has an advantage in survival over rawhide and iron, which were also used. Descriptions of metal armour often describe it \"gold\" or \"silver\... | null |
3gdrv0 | why does raw seafood smell so much stronger than other animal proteins? | [
{
"answer": " I'm definitely not an expert - but as there are no comments o will add my two cents.\n\nI think humans evolved to notice bad smells like raw meat, feaces, sour milk etc... as a defence mechanism.\n\nAlso some fish in markets and shops still have sea slime on them (normal thing for fish) this stuf... | null |
2d1h2q | How did knights poop? | [
{
"answer": "I'd like to make it clear before I post that I'm not an academic historian, however I've done a fair bit of reading on medieval arms and armour as I'm a practitioner of HEMA and re-enactment - I've also worn, sparred and occasionally even pooped in various types and combinations of chain and plate.... | null |
1ve10k | When we mix two colors, do we create a new pigment, or are the colors still separate, just impossible to distinguish? | [
{
"answer": "Tiny spots of yellow and green. Paint mixtures aren't chemical reactions, there is no bonding. I mean, I can't speak to all paints, but oil, watercolour, and acrylic at least are all distinct pigments suspended in various solutions.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "When the visible ... | null |
34s6m7 | Would you feel yourself spinning in absolutely empty space? If not, how is this possible? | [
{
"answer": "Since spinning is a constant acceleration (constant change in velocity vector) the fluids in your ears should be displaced, and thus you should still be able to feel that you are spinning and get nauseous. If the spin is slow enough, I'd imagine that with zero reference points and a nearly non-exis... | null |
10re9m | How long does light last for? | [
{
"answer": " > What is light,\n\nLight is what you perceive when a photon of light hits a photo-receptor protein in one of the cells in your eye. The protein gets energy from the light that prompts a conformaitonal change (it wiggles), and this wiggle causes a change in the rate-of-fire of the neurons in your ... | null |
2ahoyc | Is it possible to have multiple earth like planets in a planetary system? | [
{
"answer": "It really depends on the planets. Venus and Mars are both within the \"Goldilocks zone\" for Sol. Depending on who's math they are right on the edge though. Venus ended up with a runaway greenhouse effect and now has an acid atmosphere, Mars lost its magnetic field and was stripped of its atmosp... | null |
cczczz | how come seedless cherries aren’t a thing like seedless grapes and oranges? | [
{
"answer": "The \"seed\" in a cherry is called a pit, and if I'm not mistaken, it's where the juicy part of the cherry came from. Similar to dates and plums. In contrast, the seeds of grapes and oranges are intended to produce more grapevines/orange trees",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Becau... | null |
1uvbja | The maya treated the lower classes extremely poorly for over 2000 years, why was there no successful rebellion? | [
{
"answer": "Can you elaborate? In what way do you think the Maya lower class was mistreated (and consistently for so long at that)? Is there some particular piece of evidence that led you to that conclusion?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id... | null |
37eyzz | Is temperature vary based on the point of reference? | [
{
"answer": "Good question, and yes. We understand the asymptotic Hawking temperature, it becomes a constant for sufficiently distant observers at rest. In simplified units it takes on the form, \n\n T = k/2pi \n k = surface gravity at event horizon \n\nLet's look at Schwarzschild coordinates, \n\n ... | null |
14atnx | Why can't we run 64 bit applications in a 32 bit operating system, even if the CPU supports 64 bit? | [
{
"answer": "A 32 bit operating system running on an x64 processor causes the processor to run in a 32-bit mode. For example, it uses 32-bit addressing in its virtual memory system.\nSee for example: _URL_0_",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The application (64-bit) has to go through the softwar... | null |
1p6vm1 | Why do rivers meander? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not an expert but...\n\nWater takes the path of least resistance. So if the ground is lower in one spot vs another, that is the direction the river will take. Or if the ground is softer or more prone to erosion, that will help to guide the path of the river.\n\n\nOnce the river is bent, the e... | null |
9rzw9h | why is a vehicle released in (for example) 2018 called a 2019? | [
{
"answer": "Because retail products need to appear new. Since the 2019 model will be the \"new\" model for some portion of the 2019 year, you don't want people asking, \"this is last year's model, where is this year's?\" If it's marked 2018 as it may disincentivize them from buying.",
"provenance": null
... | null |
5k4y3c | who controls the internet? | [
{
"answer": "Officially, no, no one controls the internet. With no primary head server & formal control of the internet now ceded to ICANN (a non-for-profit private company) instead of the US government, the US government is relatively lacking in direct methods to police the whole thing.\n\nHowever, plenty of... | null |
4rs97q | What elements/compounds give Jupiter its colors? | [
{
"answer": "**The short answer**: Hydrocarbon hazes, Rayleigh scattering, and some unknown compound.\n\n**The long answer**: For the primary whites and browns that cover most of the planet, you need to realize that almost everything you see when you look at Jupiter is ammonia clouds, which on their own are bri... | null |
2pulaz | how did spacex develop rocket technology so quickly? | [
{
"answer": "It's not like they're starting with the same technology as nasa when it was founded.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "SpaceX was working directly with space agencies, building on top of the technology and knowledge-base that had already been developed over many decades. Rather than ... | null |
95yjal | Why were the Turkish states able to assimilate Anatolia so quickly? Why didn't Persia or the Balkans assimilate? | [
{
"answer": "I'll start off my answer by pointing out that significant parts of Iran and Afghanistan were in fact Turkified; Azerbaijan, parts of Fars, northeastern Iran, and northern and central Afghanistan. The main reason this happened, I would argue, is that the climate and habitat of these regions were (si... | null |
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