id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
1fpso6 | During the period of westward expansion, were there any U.S. or European leaders arguing against the appropriation of the land or taking up the cause of indigenous peoples? | [
{
"answer": "In the 1832 Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall, in the majority opinion, ruled that the Cherokee nation was its own distinct community and not subject to the laws of a particular state. How, Andrew Jackson chose not to enforce that ruling, thus paving the way for t... | null |
j3xs3 | how to buy a house, and what "refinancing a mortgage" is or "taking out a second mortgage". | [
{
"answer": "Refinancing a mortgage is when you talk with the bank who loaned you the money to buy your house and make a new deal with them about the money you still owe them. Usually you do this if you can get a lower interest rate (how much extra money you have to pay them for the service of loaning you mone... | null |
1qcosr | when looking at cell phone coverage maps, why is there always a drastic line that cuts vertically across the us? | [
{
"answer": "Population density. Notice the vertical line on [this map.](_URL_0_)\n\nIt's not cost effective to provide dense coverage where the population isn't also dense. Typically you'll see coverage over major roadways or cities or pockets of population. \n\nCoverage resumes on the west coast.",
"prove... | null |
35evcf | why does using cellular data have such a big hit on battery life? | [
{
"answer": "To get more data the radio needs to work harder, which takes more power. The radio is the second largest power consumer in your phone behind the screen, so if you're say streaming netflix you're killing your battery because you're asking the radio to do a ton of work and then using it to watch a mo... | null |
4ipmx5 | Are there any records of black people in medieval Prussia/Czech Republic? If so, are there any records of how they were treated? | [
{
"answer": "[There you go](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "37336286",
"title": "Jan Prosper Witkiewicz",
"section": "Section::::Imprisonment and exile.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 8,
"start_charact... | null |
1on64f | Folk, Baroque, Classical, Rock & Roll... how much have musical genres varied amongst any one culture throughout history? | [
{
"answer": "I'm only qualified to give a response for european music, so I hope there is someone out there who is learned in asian and african music who can contribute as well. There were definitely different \"genres\" of music as far back as the late medieval period. The split between sacred music and court ... | null |
7fmku3 | why is solar power quite common here in northern england when we have very low solar potential and are one of the windiest places on the planet? | [
{
"answer": "There was a time a few years ago the government has heavily subsidising solar power. The subsidy was so high that if you had a large enough roof you could not only get all your electricity for free but earn money by selling the surplus to the grid.\n\nWith house prices being very low in the North i... | null |
3d43wk | Can the internet be disabled, even temporarily? Does it have a hardware or software vulnerability that would shut it down everywhere? | [
{
"answer": "\"it's too distributed\", you have pretty much answered it yourself. The internet, in its simplest form, is just a collection of interconnected computers. A computer can be cut off or like in your article a large group can be cut off but the internet cannot be shut down.\n\nA worldwide power outtag... | null |
eaiw57 | if you punched someone hard enough to knock them out whilst they were sleeping, would they wake up and pass out or stay asleep through your punch? | [
{
"answer": "Typically if you hit someone hard enough to knock them out, it’s caused some degree of brain damage. Even if very mild, you definitely gave them a concussion. I’d wager they go into a sort of deeper sleep from their brain being jarred. Unconsciousness in that way is different from sleep.",
"pro... | null |
5xbg0c | the texas bill about wrongful births. | [
{
"answer": "In Texas (and maybe other states, I'm not sure) a mother can sue a doctor for failing to properly diagnose problems with a fetus. This started in a 1975 case where a pregnant woman sued her doctor. She got rubella while pregnant and claimed her doctor failed to properly diagnose her or warn her abo... | null |
3re73b | can dreams actually tell us something or are they just random head-noise | [
{
"answer": "Don't listen to some of the ignorant comments here. The only truth we know about dreams is that we don't really know what their exact purpose is. There are many interesting theories about it, but the true purpose of dreaming is not yet understood.\n\nThat being said, you can definitely choose to fi... | null |
a6xngd | how do lice see? | [
{
"answer": "They see with their eyes.\n\nUmm... I'm not sure what you really expected. They usually have two little eyes on their head which they use to look around, but they may also just navigate from the dead, cold bird towards the warm flesh of the girl who just picked it up.",
"provenance": null
},
... | null |
dwooy2 | - what is a solar/steller wind? | [
{
"answer": "Ok\n\nMost stars are basically giant fusion reactor which constantly spits out radiation and charged particles, \n\nAnd think there are trillions of them around the galaxy and universe doing that exactly, depending on the type of star they spit out different ranges of radiation and at different str... | null |
ega6yp | why does our brain stop us from biting down too hard on a finger, but will allow us to willingly kill ourselves? | [
{
"answer": "The brain does not allow us to willingly kill ourselves, on an instinctive level. If you jump headfirst out of a window, you'll be forced to try to save yourself during the fall. You will raise your arms to try and break the fall. This is analogous to preventing us from biting our fingers off.\n\nH... | null |
h0joq | Do we have the technology to "rewrite" someone's DNA? | [
{
"answer": "Allow me to parse your question into a few different ones (I'm going to interpret \"rewrite\" loosely, to include getting a cell or cells to express a single new gene. More complicated \"rewrites\" are possible using similar techniques, but may be disproportionately more complicated to carry out.):... | null |
2wjyy0 | military redditors: what is the point of announcing ahead of time where and when we will be mounting an attack against isis? doesn't this just help the other side prepare a defense? | [
{
"answer": "The announcement was more than likely made for political, not military reasons. There is obviously no military reason, other than misdirection, to announce plans in such an obvious way.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The warning is given so that civilians have an opportunity to ge... | null |
a861cy | Can we learn things while we sleep? | [
{
"answer": "It is pretty unlikely that you have the capability to learn while sleeping like that. It has been theorized that your brain spends your time sleeping to unpack the information from the day and store it, so it may not be able to learn additional information because it is already at capacity.\n\nHowe... | null |
21f877 | why do i get shivers when i take a shot of cheap whiskey? | [
{
"answer": "Please tell me you are not doing shots with single malt scotch?\n\nCheaper blended whiskys are mixed with grain alcohol (basically vodka), more expensive whisky will be just made with malt barley and pure spring water",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I think it is because it is chea... | null |
28vts8 | why is judge an elected position? | [
{
"answer": "Perhaps to help avoid overt corruption? If they were appointed or nominated by the justice system, it could look shady. Allowing citizens to vote for their own judges lends more legitimacy to the position.\n\nThis is just my guess. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Perhaps not th... | null |
2f29ib | What would a battle during World War II really be like? Do any video games actually simulate this? | [
{
"answer": " > there is a huge emphasis on the significance of infantry combat with troops engaging in combat only occasionally receiving support from armor, air, or artillery\n\nArtillery is in a completely different category from armor and air here and rare would be the battle in which neither side drew on ... | null |
5djpuq | When and why Viet Nam and Korea (both North and South) abandoned Chinese characters? | [
{
"answer": "North Korea made the shift starting in the late 1940s. 1949, officially.\n\nSouth Korea was still using them quite frequently as late as the 1990s, and you can still find plenty of examples of mixed script Korean in academic texts today. In the early 90's newspapers finally switched over to Hangeul... | null |
5yzdgt | why would the government classify alien activity ? | [
{
"answer": "Imagine how the public would react if intelligent life contacted earth. Pandemonium. Men In Black did a pretty good job of summing it up, \"A person is smart. People, however, are dumb, panicky, and stupid\"\n\nIf intelligent life was discovered people would freak out. We aren't ready for that as a... | null |
1kxcsr | why is it illegal to fight back on a "no knock warrant"? | [
{
"answer": "No knock warrants just mean they don't knock. They will loudly and repeatedly identify themselves as law enforcement agents, and they will be wearing vests with POLICE in large letters on both sides. So there's really no way you could legitimately not know if they are are law enforcement agents.",
... | null |
2sfkbv | Many technological advances in the past decades can be attributed to NASA. How much (if any) technological advances can be attributed to the Soviet space program? | [
{
"answer": "I know it may not be what your looking for but I think a lot of your answers will inevitably be in regards to rocketry. \n\nOn that front, the Soviets developed a number of advanced rocket engines, some of which are still some of the best in the world. The [RD-170](_URL_1_) for instance maintains t... | null |
46fvpp | Why is the myth that conscripted make up the bulk of medieval armies so prevalent? | [
{
"answer": "I have a theory that the reason for this is fairly simple: miscommunication.\n\n\"Medieval\" usually refers to the European Middle Ages, a period that stretched from the Fall of Rome in 476 until the Fall of Constantinople in ~~1492~~ 1453. There are about a thousand differing start and end dates, ... | null |
x4xwc | what stops cops from simply planting cocaine in your pocket and arresting you? | [
{
"answer": "nothing is stopping them. it happens all the time. sometimes a group of cops will walk into your house and throw a bag of coke on the table while arresting you. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It happens. Cops have been known to plant drugs on suspects to arrest them. \n\nWhy don'... | null |
nehwp | Can cancer go away on its own? | [
{
"answer": "[Coley's toxins](_URL_0_) were developed from when William Coley observed a small number of patients whose incurable cancers went into remission following sepsis caused by streptococcal infections. In this sense, the spontaneous remission followed infection, so it didn't go away \"on its own,\" but... | null |
1fq4tn | Is it possible to have a solid block of something floating in a gas? | [
{
"answer": "~~Yes! Here's a [video](_URL_0_) of an aluminium foil ship floating in sulphur hexaflouride.~~ \n \nWait, this isn't what you asked at all. Sorry, ignore.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "(I assume you mean a solid block of matter floating in a gas - not any trick such as floating... | null |
usj0f | Books about Diogenes of Sinope | [
{
"answer": "*Diogenes the Cynic*, L. Navia (2005)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "154997",
"title": "Lost work",
"section": "Section::::Lost works.:Classical world.:Unnamed works.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 273,
... | null |
h5ud7 | Is it true that the quantum states of two related electrons can be entangled, making it so that changes to one effect the other, regardless of distance? If so, why? [Layman Here] | [
{
"answer": "What quantum entanglement is about is measuring a correlated *system* of electrons. You need to measure both particles and communicate (classically) the results of those measurements to determine that system. \n\nYou can check out more of it on [this](_URL_0_) thread.",
"provenance": null
},
... | null |
3zdlx1 | why do some drinks like arnold palmer have a faint marijuana-like taste? | [
{
"answer": "Could be that ganga you just smoked? I personally haven't had this experience.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "2088462",
"title": "Arnold Palmer (drink)",
"section": "",
"start_paragraph_id": 1,
... | null |
f8at2a | why there's no algae over the surface of oceans ? | [
{
"answer": "There is. A lot of it. But constant turbulence of the surface prevents it from getting too clumped up. Additionally, there are a *lot* of things eating the algae, too, which keep algal populations manageable.\n\nSometimes those things get out of whack and you end up with [massive algal blooms](_URL... | null |
3310dz | Weapon ownership in Medieval Europe | [
{
"answer": "In Iceland it certainly, from a Saga perspective (from the viewpoint that they reflect society in the Sturlung period, that is from about 1200 onwards) does not seem uncommon for 'farmers' (in Medieval Iceland nearly everybody was a farmer, as there were not urbanised areas/ towns|), or lower class... | null |
2amzfe | Why didn't the Jews attempt to rebel or "rise up" in WW2 against their Nazi captors? | [
{
"answer": "You are right, it isn't that simple.\n\nFirst of all, the nazi persecution of the Jews happened incrementally, not all at once, and it was by no means clear that \"they were going to die anyway\". It is clear to us in hindsight, but you have to keep in mind that the concept of rounding up men, wome... | null |
1zx7iq | How well accepted is the theory that the Minoan civilization was devastated by a massive tsunami and that this event lead to the the myth of Atlantis? | [
{
"answer": "Not even a tiny little bit.\n\n* Just to be clear, strictly speaking \"Minoan\" is the name of a style of material culture. It is often dangerous, and often wrong, to equate that with a particular ethnic group, language, or political entity. Certainly by the historical period Crete had a very diver... | null |
6ofvuy | why haven't we researched more into tunnelling through the earth as a means of travel? | [
{
"answer": "It's simply far, far, far, far, far, faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar simpler to travel across the surface. \n\nMaintaining (for that matter, even creating) a tunnel through the earth is beyond our technological capabilities for the far forseeable future. Even if we could do it, it would be astronomically expe... | null |
40bycm | Why have the majority of governments adopted parliamentarian republicanism rather than presidential republicanism? | [
{
"answer": "The premise of this question is rather flawed. In democratic Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, Westminster-style systems are the distinct minority. Far more common in the aggregate are three other systems: strong Presidents (i.e., not only executive Presidents in the US sense but po... | null |
a9v4mu | Tell me about ANZAC soldiers roles in WWII | [
{
"answer": "ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) is actually mostly a WWI term which didn't have a whole lot of application to WWII. However, it is commonly used as a moniker for all Australian and NZ land forces in WWII.\n\nAs part of the British Empire, Australians and New Zealanders were deployed alongs... | null |
1vhv2a | is it more politically correct to say indian or native american? is one preferred by the race? | [
{
"answer": "Indians are from the Indian subcontinent. Native Americans were in the US before it was the US.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Indian is based on the incorrect assumption that Columbus had arrived in Asia. Most indigenous people prefer, NA, so I hear.",
"provenance": null
}... | null |
zajcv | Why is digital camouflage preferable to more traditional styles? | [
{
"answer": "Some references [here](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I'd just like to point out that camouflage has a variety of use cases with distinct considerations. Camouflaging is different for objects of different size, either still or active, in different environments and against... | null |
1wnrnv | why, in some videos i've seen recently, is the snow not melting and just turning black when people try to melt it with lighters? | [
{
"answer": "because the flame isnt hot enough, so it's basically just spitting the gas residue onto the snow.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The black stuff is soot from the lighter flame.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id"... | null |
2vu483 | according to the cdc, the transmission rate for hiv and other stds are statistically low. why exactly is this? | [
{
"answer": "The human immune system is pretty good.\n\nYou don't get a cold every times somebody sneezes around you. You don't get e.coli every time somebody undercooks a burger.\n\n...and you don't get HIV every time your dick touches somebody.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"prove... | null |
2xs5xg | why are buildings in australia and america not built with sturdier materials, to deal with the regular natural disasters? | [
{
"answer": "So, *nothing* holds up against tornadoes. You can build a tornado-resistant house, but it's extraordinarily expensive and frankly not worth it. You essentially need to build a missile-proof bunker. Bricks will not stand a chance against one.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Price... | null |
2h27r9 | Is there an animal who can control their digestive systems? | [
{
"answer": "Many animals including birds and insects have the ability to purge their stomach contents on command. Bird feedings and flies vomiting stomach acid is an example of this phenomena. Once it goes past the stomach there is usually in mammals at least a one way valve that prevents food from going in th... | null |
9qulgw | What makes James Dean an icon? | [
{
"answer": "You might get a good answer on r/truefilm as well.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "1934516",
"title": "Swizz Beatz",
"section": "",
"start_paragraph_id": 3,
"start_character": 0,
"end_... | null |
21t6qj | how do they measure the time a car needs to accelerate from 1 to 100 km/h? does this not heavily depend on the driver? | [
{
"answer": "It actually does depend on the driver, and other factors. Manufacturers are known to cheat a little bit with this, but usually not so severely that it results in a grossly inaccurate time. The following factors are important:\n\n1) Condition of the pavement or strip (wet, smooth?)\n\n2) Tempera... | null |
8m9iof | How do we know the age of the universe, specifically with a margin of error of 59 million years? | [
{
"answer": "By measuring it. There are so many contributing measurements that it is difficult to list them all in a reddit comment. [Wikipedia has an article](_URL_0_).\n\nThe small uncertainty is simply a result of very precise measurements.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There's a phenomena... | null |
1hfp5f | Would an object falling to Earth fall faster if it is in the Earth's path as it revolves around the Sun? | [
{
"answer": "Well that depends on where the object originated. For example, if it was simply floating in the space that the Earth is moving into, then yes. It will fall like a normal object with an initial downward velocity equal to the speed of the Earth. If the object originated from Earth's frame of referenc... | null |
6dmsp5 | How successful was Friedrich Engels as a businessman? And how were the living conditions of his employees? | [
{
"answer": "Engels was not in charge of the business he was sent to Manchester to join - a cotton thread factory. It was majority-owned, and run, by his father's business partner, Peter Ermen.\n\nErmen suspected that the younger Engels had been sent to spy on him, so he refused to place him in positions where ... | null |
5ax8bq | Was there ever an official reason as to why the Confederate Army chose not to invade Washington DC in the beginning days of the Civil War when the city was completely unprotected? | [
{
"answer": "Your question presupposes a couple of things that aren't necessarily true. First, the Confederates weren't in any better position to just storm \"Washington City\" (as it was known then) than the Union was to march straight into Richmond. The early months of the war saw both sides consolidating and... | null |
192nbq | What were the scale of the battles in both the world wars? I have a hard time imagining millions, plural, dying. | [
{
"answer": "OK, here are the top ten deadliest battles of both wars. You have to remember that these \"battles\" were often more like \"offensives\" or \"campaigns\" - they could last up to several weeks or months (in WWI), and weren't settled in a day like most medieval battles. People died in their thousands... | null |
2jf3cb | why do people keep saying 'splenda is poison' | [
{
"answer": "According to a friend who works for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and has to do air quality testing at the only Splenda plant in the United States, \n\nSucralose (splenda) is produced by treating Sucrose (sugar) with poisonous gasses to replace several of the OH groups in its ... | null |
dskelv | why don’t car manufacturers design cars that cannot be started without seatbelt being fastened | [
{
"answer": "Emergencies. What if there is some sort of accident while you’re driving and you can’t pull over? What if you want to pull over and sleep with the heat on? What if you need to jump start your car alone, hopping in and out. \n\nAlso it’s too easy to trick the car. It also creates another system that... | null |
d47bjz | how does sound work on a microscale? eg if i've shrunk myself to insect size could i hear a spider chew its food if i stood next to it? | [
{
"answer": "You can hear it without shrinking, you just need to get close with your ears. Maybe the spider has to sit in your ear chewing on its food.\n\nIt is not your size really that determines that, it is more that evolutionary your ear are not designed to hear something like that, since it was never impor... | null |
104x2v | coffee culture | [
{
"answer": "Hey there.\n\nWould this happen to be a Kaldi's in the St. Louis/Midwest area?\n\nI'll break it down as easy as I can, \n\nDepending the cafe you either have the choice of a 12oz, 160z or 20oz drink, or it's 8oz, 12oz or 16 oz. (Going through some changes, like getting rid of the 20oz size and the ... | null |
2acxkq | How does the intestinal flora re-establish? | [
{
"answer": "1) This would depend on the gut flora and how they respond to the treatment. A lot would die from the antibiotics, although some do survive. This can cause gastrointestinal distress because the antibiotics essentially change the biodiversity in the intestines. You end up having high abundance of so... | null |
32q80m | why is christianity in decline in the western world?. | [
{
"answer": "Religiosity in general is in decline in the West. The reasons why are a subject of considerable controversy, to say the least.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because people are beginning to think rationally about religion. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Expandin... | null |
1kexms | Is there any historical/archeological record regarding the beginnings of widespread hair styles? If so, where and when did it begin, and which gender was more likely to participate? | [
{
"answer": "It's not like people were putting together catalogs of what was in style for the season, but ideas and styles were communicated visually as well as aurally. Men and women would have both been interested in hair styles, but in the West women's styles were often more elaborate. There is actually a re... | null |
121l0c | How do babies get the essential bacteria in their large intestine, if the slightest infection will nearly or just outright kill them? | [
{
"answer": "I dont think the slightest infection will just outright kill them that seems extremely wrong, seeing as how as babies we are exposed to thousands of microbes and build immunities to them as they grow.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "They get it from mom.\n\nVaginal birthed babies a... | null |
126955 | Can a photo-realistic game be run on a super computer? | [
{
"answer": "Warning. I am not a graphics researcher so my answer is an educated guess. I would say that we aren't even close.\n\nPhoto realistic stills are still very difficult. Graphics research would be a lot less exciting if all they did was make existing systems render faster. Advances in the way we handle... | null |
4guufd | why is it so hard to remove pharmaceuticals from water? | [
{
"answer": "Molecules are really small and difficult to deal with on an individual basis. It isn't like you can just strain them out like with a sieve.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "359238",
"title": "Prescription drug",
... | null |
2hc8rp | AMA: The Economy of the Ancient Roman Empire | [
{
"answer": "Two questions:\n\n1) are you familiar with how prostitution and the economy of it worked in Rome? What would be the cost if a prostitute? Were they individuals or were they housed in a brothel?\n\n2) how would a poet go about seeing sponsors for his work? I'm thinking like Catullus or Virgil or the... | null |
2ko9zx | How did Michelin, a tire company, become the creators of the definitive guide to fine dining? | [
{
"answer": "As it should be when connecting tire companies with restaurant reviews, the Michelin Guide's popularity started to rise with the innovation of the \"motor tourist,\" the vehicle-toting traveler. The Michelin Tyre company made its first *Guide Michelin France* in 1900. The first Michelin Guides we... | null |
4dgddg | Tuesday Trivia | Where Are they Now? Surprising Legacies of Historic Places and Things | [
{
"answer": "On the main square of the old centre of the Sicilian city of Syracuse stands the [Duomo di Siracusa](_URL_0_). On the outside, it is a beautiful 18th century High Sicilian Baroque church. \n\nOn the inside, it is a [Greek temple](_URL_1_).\n\nThe columns that still support the roof of the church da... | null |
u0ku8 | Engineering/Environmental Science: How viable are solar panels when considering when material production concerns? | [
{
"answer": "Also how do they measure up as an alternative roofing material?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Depends on the type of panels. For crystalline Silicon (most common), energy payback times (how long it takes to produce the energy required to make it) are a few years. Silicon is the s... | null |
7ziu0o | does it take more energy to run with 4 legs than it does 2? | [
{
"answer": "Yes it takes more energy to run with 4 limbs vs 2. This is one reason that humans are such good endurance sprinters. Being able to run 15+ miles non stop is fairly uncommon in the animal kingdom, where as humans in good shape can do that fairly consistently. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"... | null |
2kcmn7 | What is the definition of Boiling Point? | [
{
"answer": "Ever try and do a push up with someone sitting on your back? (Don't do that.) It's kinda like that.\n\nExternal pressure modulates *where* the boiling point is, the mechanism is still the same, but it's where the thermodynamic scale tips in favor of phase change. A high pressure provides a lot of s... | null |
4lxx39 | If the brain is split, are some tasks harder if the input comes from just one eye/ear, or if the input moves from left to right eye/ear? | [
{
"answer": "Just to clarify, the thing that makes split-brain patients interesting is that they can highlight cognitive difficulties (things to do with thoughts being broken), which we were not aware of prior to these experiments. The reason we were not aware of these difficulties is that they do not manifest ... | null |
44dcxx | why did it change from chinese new year to 'lunar new year' if multiple other cultures have lunar calendars with different dates for new years (ie islam, judaism, etc)? | [
{
"answer": "It is technically called Lunar New Years because, as you know, the calender is based off the phases of the moon. It is commonly called Chinese New Years in the west because \"white people\" first heard of this from the Chinese immigrants who came during the California Gold Rush of 1849 to 1860s. Ch... | null |
7xqmz5 | My friend's farts always smell like death. Do people really have distinctive fart smells? | [
{
"answer": "The answer to both your questions is yes. People do have colonic bacterial ‘fingerprints’, but they are not static and change over time depending on a multitude of factors. The bacterial biome can change the odor of a persons flatulence but that is also dependent on diet, illness, etc. For example... | null |
9lb0h6 | why do conditioners make little to no foam unlike shampoos? | [
{
"answer": "It is about their purpose. The foam in soaps and shampoos is part of what makes it able to clean the dirt and oils from the hair and scalp. Conditioner is there to add back in some of what is lost since not all those oils are required to be stripped away as part of that cleaning, so they are made... | null |
2j4ayf | Why does both heating and cooling my house dry out the air? | [
{
"answer": "With very few exceptions, air has a certain level of water vapor in it, which is what we refer to as humidity. Air can only hold so much water vapor in it until it is completely saturated, and this is what we mean when we say the (relative) humidity is 40%: currently, the air has 40% of the maximu... | null |
7g3rua | Why did the Danube valley fail to produce a great early civilisation, like the Nile, the Euphrates, the Indus, the Yangtze etc. | [
{
"answer": "/u/cthulhushrugged is right on here. The question can't be answered, and if it could, it would be an anthropological question just as much as a geo-climactic one. \n\nA note on the latter, though: the Danube watersheds were largely primeval forests in prehistory (though this is a gigantic region ... | null |
537iqy | Besides Market Garden, what are some other notable and interesting Allied failures of World War 2? | [
{
"answer": "[Here's a great thread on this topic, which includes an answer from yours truly.](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "While this might be a bit of a stretch since in the end it is billed as an Allied military victory, I think the Battle of Anzio and its after effects failed t... | null |
67b3ed | if lava is melted rock, why is it so fertile when it cools down? | [
{
"answer": "It's not. Take a look at the [western coast of the island of Hawaii](_URL_0_). The land on the western coast is considerably more recent than the land on the eastern coast. The weather and mountain range plays a large role as well but the fresh land was so rocky and porous that it could not hold... | null |
2jj3d3 | What is wrong with the "Black Legend"? | [
{
"answer": "Here's three things:\n\n1. Most of the perpetrators of the Black Legend weren't simply saying \"the Spanish are very oppressive to indigenous peoples.\" The Pope called them \"the scum of the Earth.\" Immanuel Kant, in *Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime*, calls the Spaniard c... | null |
3za6g7 | asteroid belts and planetary rings | [
{
"answer": "Orbiting happens when you continuously fall towards the planet but keep missing. Missing the planet happens because of sideways motion, you drop towards the planet a bit, but your sideways motion has taken you so far the planet is still just as far away as it was before.\n\nIf you orbit too fast, y... | null |
1j9qfc | why can luxury restaurants charge $60 for a single ravioli on a white plate? | [
{
"answer": "Truffles. Truffles on everything.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Well, you said it in the question. It's a luxury restaurant. You don't eat their food because the food is good. You pay them for the atmosphere, service, and over-all treatment you receive. The food is just somethin... | null |
1g3ev9 | if the nsa can easily mine most/all data and circumvent encryption methods, why can't they easily locate groups like anonymous? | [
{
"answer": "They aren't allowed to. NSA's main goal is to investigate/surveillance foreign intelligence(foreign military threats to the US and since 9/11, terrorist plots and threats , Not *foreign intelligence services* ) And they can only investigate US citizens if they can find a link between that citizen ... | null |
2s0dgr | Why did the Japanese stop wearing kimonos? | [
{
"answer": "Well some people actually do still wear kimonos as a part of their everyday. \n\nBefore we start, we should define what kimono are. In Japanese, 着物 *kimono* literally means 'thing you wear'. In other words, for Japanese people, kimono literally just meant 'clothes'. Anything you wore was a kimono. ... | null |
7cfvm8 | Are different sections of our bodies different temperatures? Everyone talks about internal body temp, but how much variance do we normally see in the temperature in extremities and such? | [
{
"answer": "In humans the average internal temperature is 37.0 °C. However, we don't always has exactly the same temperature at every moment of the day. Temperatures cycle up and down, controlled by our circadian rhythm. The lowest temperature occurs about two hours before we normally wake up (Altough the circ... | null |
1lqixz | How (If at all) do rainstorms interfere with cellular phone reception? | [
{
"answer": "Rainfall certainly does; as well as interference caused by the leading edge of a storm front. The general phenomenon is called [rain fade](_URL_0_). \n \nRadio and TV are just colors of light that we can't perceive with the human eye. They can be affected by physical objects (like raindrops). ... | null |
3cpo5l | How/why did the tribes who took over areas of the old Roman empire go from speaking Germanic languages to Romance ones? And why not in England? | [
{
"answer": "One must remember that when Rome fell, the people in the provinces did not simply disappear. They, for the most part, stayed right where they were. The people of Gaul spoke a vulgar form of Latin, but it had become region specific, displacing much of the Celtic languages that were there before. \n\... | null |
1xyzd4 | how can someone survive a 3500ft fall and expect to make a full recovery? | [
{
"answer": "Perhaps the chute was partially open?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The article says the parachute malfuctioned, not that it didn't open at all. The full story is that the parachute partially opened and that she hit the ground at 50 mph instead of terminal velocity. Also, she lan... | null |
1jchu2 | How much would the Roman Colosseum cost if it were to be built today? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not qualified to answer this but are you asking what it would cost to build with modern equipment, techniques and resources or an exact replication of the way that the Romans did it(obviously without real slaves)? \n\nThere is also the added problem I believe of the exact formula used for the c... | null |
9fibn1 | how much of the sky do we see at any given moment in time? (lying on a beach on at night, what percentage of the sky am i currently seeing with a naked eye)? | [
{
"answer": "Human vision is 210 degrees wide and 150 degrees high. But if you lay on the ground you are on a flat plane so you can only see 180 degrees wide. 150 degrees is 150/360=0.41 of a circle. So you can see maximum of 41% of the sky without moving your eyes.\n\nA more complex question if that mound of ... | null |
5k9n6s | the sign on the utility pole says "we buy houses, cash" - who are these guys and why do they advertise this way? | [
{
"answer": "Rich investors with lots of cash buy houses for cheap, from desperate sellers who need the money fast. Then they can take their time, fix them up a bit, and sell them at full price when ready.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": ... | null |
b5gx62 | How stable is the planetary orbital structure of our system? | [
{
"answer": "Highly stable. Looking at the surface geology and chemical composition of the planets, there's no evidence that they've moved significantly in the past few billion years. All the movement happened at the very beginning of the solar system.\n\nWithout gravity, planets would move in straight lines.... | null |
3wmo73 | multiple life sentences. | [
{
"answer": "The murderer was charged with and convicted of two crimes each carrying a life imprisonment sentence. The sentencing judge ruled that the sentences not be served concurrently. \nThe two charges now exist independently of one another, and can be appealed and removed independently. This means that i... | null |
1e4ujc | Why was the center of the Arabian Peninsula ignored by so many conquerors? | [
{
"answer": "The other responses in this thread have it basically correct.\n\nThe interior of the Arabian peninsula is not a hospitable place. It is [very dry](_URL_0_), and isn't traversed by any permanent rivers. This affects both the *why* would people conquer it and the *how* would people conquer it.\n\nThe... | null |
3ewfin | why doesn't everyone keep their money in tax haven accounts? | [
{
"answer": "Generally speaking you aren't taxed on your savings, you are taxed on your income. The only advantage to moving it overseas is to prevent a garnishing of your assets. For the most part tax haven accounts are more for companies and corporations. The idea being if it is cheaper to do business in a... | null |
28doqs | Why do lipophilic molecules diffuse THROUGH membranes? | [
{
"answer": "If a molecule is too lypophilic it will get stuck in the membrane and won't come out. Certain membrane dyes used in molecular biology work this way and are used to label the membrane for imaging. A good drug has a balance of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups.\nIn general, a drugs preference for wh... | null |
1pm1dg | Why does burnt food like milk stick to the bottom of the pot and why is it almost impossible to remove? | [
{
"answer": "The bottom of your pan is actually semi porous with grooves, scrapes etc, and when food burns, it's carbonized or caramelized in those pores. Glass may be more forgiving. There's no replacement for scrubbing in my experience, but \"easy off\" oven cleaner has helped a shit ton for my stainless stee... | null |
1sec5n | Was Mao's "Let One Hundred Flowers Bloom" campaign a genuine attempt to engage the intellectual community, or a means to flush out dissidents? | [
{
"answer": "I'm cautious to comment, because my main impression of this period of Chinese history was formed through reading Jung Chang's autobiographical/biographical *Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China*, and her later work with Jon Halliday, *Mao: The Unknown Story* (both are available from Amazon). You ne... | null |
6knat3 | What is this weapon? Are there any historical records of it's usage?Any famous historical or mythological users? | [
{
"answer": "It looks like [a guandao](_URL_0_). According a legend it was invented Guan Yu (~200 AD), but there is no evidence it existed before the 11th century.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Yes, it is real. However, it's not sure if it's practical weapon or just ceremonial weapon like oth... | null |
bt9kb0 | why do flatscreen/lcd monitors display random colours and bizzare shapes or patterns upon being cracked? | [
{
"answer": "Like others have mentioned, it can be the glass breaking and causing rainbows (from diffraction). You asked specially about Liquid Crystal Displays, the liquid can flow around when the display is (more accurately, the pixels are) broken.\n\n“Flatscreen” is a physical shape and not a method of build... | null |
llqqh | the front page of reddit | [
{
"answer": "Your front page is made up of the top topics from the subreddits to which you subscribe. Each person starts with default subreddits to which they subscribe, but subscriptions can be changed simply by hitting subscribe or unsubscribe on the right side of a subreddit topic's screen. \n\nWhen someone... | null |
1zyjdo | Why do frogs hatch from eggs as tadpoles and not baby frogs? | [
{
"answer": " > I was never taught why frogs are born as tadpoles instead of miniature frogs.\n\nSome frogs do have direct development: \n_URL_1_\n\nMany salamanders do too, like many of the Plethodontid salamanders like Redbacks.\n\n > Other than insects such as butterflies\n\nThat \"other than\" covers [most ... | null |
1158g8 | Why do popping noises sound the way they do? | [
{
"answer": "There has been a [related investigation.](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The way certain things \"sound\" is known as timbre (pronounced \"tamber\"). The timbre of an instrument is determined by the which frequencies the instrument has. For example, plucking a properly tu... | null |
3af32j | how do squatters take over homes. | [
{
"answer": "You can evict them of course, but usually they just sneak in when nobody is there, in the middle of the night for example. \n\nAnd sometimes it is even legal and the squater has actual legal right, saying that you cant just evict them yourself, but first have to go to court. ",
"provenance": nu... | null |
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