id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
71sqn9 | why does the human body become dependant on drugs that are not natural to it? | [
{
"answer": "It depends a lot on the drug as to what's happening in the body, but two general reactions is that the drug either induces a standard process in the body, or replaces a hormone in the body. In either case, the body learns to stop inducing or producing whatever process the drug supplements because ... | null |
hglp3 | The Eagle Nebula - what would it currently look like? | [
{
"answer": "Unless this is *very* recent news (i.e., the last day or so), then I don't think it's true. There hasn't been a supernova in the Milky Way for some time -- [they average at just a couple per century](_URL_0_) -- which is an interesting problem in itself. \n\nYou should be fine using the HST image. ... | null |
244efr | why is southern europe relatively lush compared to the deserts of north africa when they are both next to the mediterranean? | [
{
"answer": "The geography, I imagine. The Sahara is the top of a huge, vast expanse of Equator-straddling continent with a far less complex coastline, while Southern Europe is full of bays penetrating northwards into a smaller (which generally means a less stable climate), cooler \"continent\" (Eurasian penins... | null |
240sxx | I've heard that the Ancient Romans saw large penises as a sign of barbarism. To what extent is this the case? | [
{
"answer": "In general, the surviving sculptures, vases, and writings describing male beauty in the Greco-Roman world depict the ideal of beauty for men (especially young men) as being hairless, thin, athletic, and with a small penis with a tapering foreskin. Large penises are most often found on satyrs, ugly ... | null |
2wljvk | why does my dog smell differently when he comes inside from the cold? | [
{
"answer": "The air oxidizes the oils in his fur, changing the way it smells to us. It happens to people too. Try smelling yourself before and after you spend some time in a windy area.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "6281707",
... | null |
5tqjfl | What causes black holes to have an upper limit to their rotational speed? | [
{
"answer": "The *intuitive* reason is that angular momentum has an associated rotational energy. This energy increases the mass of the black hole (through E = Mc^(2)).\n\nNow, if you fix the total mass M, increasing the spin J then increases the fraction of M that is due to this rotational energy, and decrease... | null |
2rlq23 | How did arabic women dress during the abbasid caliphate? | [
{
"answer": "The actual cultural dress? No idea. But they were definitely not dressed like belly dancers. The average Muslim woman would have covered the majority of her body other than her face, hands, and feet. Muslim males would have covered the same area except for manual laborers who might have taken their... | null |
eg6gnj | how can humans survive a partial beheading? | [
{
"answer": "If that spinal cord isn’t cut, you won’t die instantly. Granted, you won’t live long with a severed carotid without immediate medical attention (even then it’s a crap shoot).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Some nerve endings may still be attached and still allow the brain to trans... | null |
1em9un | What are the differences between a mole and a freckle? | [
{
"answer": "Both are types of what are known as *melanocytic lesions* - basically areas with a greater amount of production of melanin than the rest of the skin. Melanin is the pigment that is responsible for difference in skin tone and also the colour of moles and freckles.\n\nMelanin is produced by cells cal... | null |
6uus6g | Do any wild organisms have a symbiotic relationship with another to babysit their young? | [
{
"answer": "There are functional relationships where one species invests itself in raising the young of another, although the examples I'm familiar with are completely one-sided, which makes them parasitic and not symbiotic. Consider for instance the cuckoo, which will lay its eggs in another birds nest and ju... | null |
1cu0ng | Can a wave's wavelength be smaller than Planck length? And why? | [
{
"answer": "No one knows the answer to this question.\n\nThe Planck length just represents the scale at which our current models break down, the scale at which a theory that combines gravity and quantum mechanics will be needed. What the new models that work at that scale will tell us about physics at that sc... | null |
3bgpfh | if companies like samsung and apple pay (m/b)illions in "patent wars" about violating design patents, how can companies easily create identical iphone or samsung device knockoffs commonly seen on ebay and amazon? | [
{
"answer": "They aren't in serious competition, for one; those are entirely different price points.\n\nAlso, China.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Most of the phones that area straight up copies are usually officially commercialized in countries where either U. S. patent laws don't apply or w... | null |
3am05w | How would people get phone messages during the 1930's? | [
{
"answer": "Not a silly question. There were two types of calls that could be made during this time: person-to-person and station-to-station. If you had a specific person you wanted to talk to you would request a person-to-person call. You wouldn't be billed for the long distance charges until that person came... | null |
2p2p2w | Why is the weight of a molecule in atomic mass units not exactly equal to the sum of the protons and neutrons? | [
{
"answer": "/u/RobusEtCeleritas has a good explanation. It is also important to know that the masses of atoms are measured in amu (atmic mass units), where 1 amu is 1/12 the mass of a carbon 12 atom. This takes into account some of the binding energy that was brought up, but not every atom has the same binding... | null |
3oj7sx | What race was Attila? | [
{
"answer": "Do you mean what race *would* be Attila today? Race as we know it today is an early modern construct that wouldn't have played the same role in his life, akin to saying was he a Christian or a Muslim. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipe... | null |
1jw65e | why are canker sores, ingrown toenails, and splinters so excrutiatingly painful? | [
{
"answer": "Hands, feet, the face, the mouth and the external genitals have a very large number of nerve endings that give a high level of the sense of touch in those parts. Other parts of the body are a lot less sensitive. Some internal organs sense no physical pain at all. It's pretty easy to see why the bod... | null |
2ystwr | What is the reason for China's relatively modest nuclear arsenal? Why is China the only nuclear weapons state to have given an unqualified security assurance to non-nuclear-weapon states? | [
{
"answer": "Can you provide a link to the article and a source for the \"unqualified assurance\"?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Under the theory of nuclear deterrence, most nuclear weapons states have little reason to build beyond that quantity of warheads. It's enough to effectively destroy... | null |
3curil | monte carlo simulation and markov chain or more specifically the setting up of the data. | [
{
"answer": " > BUT if you have a - day, theres a i dunno + 10% bonus that it will be a - day tomorrow too. \n\nThen it isn't a Markov chain. A Markov chain's defining property is that the future evolution of the system depends *only* on its current state - it is \"memoryless\". You could still do a Monte Carl... | null |
525p3e | What is the significance in electric and magnetic components of EM radiation being right angles to one another? | [
{
"answer": "The components of the electric and magnetic fields are different in different inertial reference frames.\n\nBut they can be written in terms of an object called the [electromagnetic field tensor](_URL_0_), which is relatively straightforward to transform between frames.\n\nFrom this tensor you can ... | null |
pkvnl | Is riding a bike muscle memory? | [
{
"answer": "**Edit, Source:** [I am on a course to acquire one of these in Physical Education.](_URL_0_) ~~There's no way to compare it to American qualifications, so I wouldn't bother trying if I were you.~~\n\n > If there's a corresponding track, it would have to be closer to [Advanced Placement](_URL_2_) l... | null |
2lvgyf | what it that feeling of horrible burning when water goes up your nose when diving into a pool or just taking a shower and reaching down for something? | [
{
"answer": "\nThe main reason why water burns when it goes up your nose is because the salinity of the water does not match the salinity of the cells in your body. The salinity of freshwater is much lower than your body, so when water gets into your nose and into your sinuses, some of the cells that line the s... | null |
ipzgs | What are the pros and cons of HDL, LDL, and omega-3 fatty acids? (Also what are omega-3 fatty acids?) | [
{
"answer": "Hi there. \n\n\nAfter digestion, your lipids are packed into droplets known as chylomicrons. From there, they are transported to the liver and re-packaged as lipoproteins (containing cholesterol, triglycerides, fatty acid etc). \n\n\nSo as these lipoproteins, fresh from the liver, transport fatty a... | null |
8z8aos | how does the air stay so hot in the nighttime when the sun isn’t even out? and how is it that the sun makes the temperature only like 5-10 degrees warmer during the daytime in the summer? | [
{
"answer": "The same reason the inside of an oven doesn't return to room temperature the instant you turn it off. Both the atmosphere and the ground absorb heat during the daytime. It takes time for this heat to dissipate after the sun sets. Furthermore, and this answers some of the second part of your questio... | null |
11cnbe | When does a comet stop moving? | [
{
"answer": "I can't answer all of this without doing more research, but the velocity is derived from its momentum - there is no new force or thrust being applied, the zero-resistance conditions in space simply allow it to go for a very, very long time on momentum. Where that momentum comes from isn't clear; sc... | null |
1mat1o | why is it racist to do an asian accent but not racist to to a british or an australian etc. one | [
{
"answer": "If you are a white American, it is because that is the same race. Brits and Australians speak the same language as you, just with different accents. An Asian has learned your language even though it is not their native tongue, and you would be mocking them.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"an... | null |
6ves50 | why are so many of the world's greatest classic rock bands from england? what were the influences at that time and when did their rising popularity start to decline? | [
{
"answer": "Two reasons.\n\n1. The Beatles. They were HUGE, and seemingly came from nowhere. They became the most popular band in history, and inspired many small time bands and musicians in England to try and go big as well.\n\n2. Empire. GB used to basically rule the world, and a lot of the world took up par... | null |
1uv9wz | Does the pull of gravity increase or decrease as you approach the center of a mass? | [
{
"answer": "I assume when you say \"approach the CoM\", you mean drilling a borehole.\n\nThe [Shell Theorem](_URL_0_) states that it decreases. Assuming the body in question is radially uniform, the gravity at a point inside the body is equal to the gravity pull as if the mass above you (i.e. the \"shell\" of ... | null |
a8w16k | how has the previous generation “ruined the housing market” for millennials? | [
{
"answer": "Blaming a generation is simplistic thinking. Blaming boomers for ruining housing is as silly as blaming millennials for killing Blockbuster Video. The world changes, people adapt no matter their age.\n\nThere are several factors that have made the cost of housing go up. The main one is the amount o... | null |
ednqph | why is it important to create credit and the benefits of it | [
{
"answer": "Essentially, \"building credit\" is just showing that if you borrow someone else's money, they can trust you to pay it back. If I'm a random stranger, you probably wouldn't want to lend me a bunch of money, but if a bunch of people you trust all vouch for me that they loaned me money and I paid th... | null |
qppwv | how i shock people/get shocked by touching things? (i.e. static electricity) | [
{
"answer": " > How does it get built up?\n\nEverything is made of charges of positive electricity and negative. The two kinds of electricity are carried by the protons and electrons of atoms. But usually an object is electrically \"neutral,\" because its own pos and neg charges are equal in number and cance... | null |
esp9s2 | if someone started wearing weights/ weighted clothing, increasing as they got used to it, what would the effects actually be if they went through having it on often? | [
{
"answer": "You will destroy your joints, your body is not Designed to have weight on the ends of your limbs and why we gain weight on our butts and bellies. Also the weights tend to flap around a bit when you move pulling in directions you don't want. \n\nPretty sure there is a 'because science' YouTube video... | null |
6p83n3 | how can large chains (target, walmart, etc) produce store brand versions of nearly every product imaginable while industry manufacturers only really produce a single type of item? | [
{
"answer": "They don't produce it themselves, they just pay some other company to make it and allow them to put their logo on the packages.\n\nOften times the store brand version of something is made in the same factory as the real brand stuff.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "They aren't made ... | null |
1shwcn | why are toilets round? | [
{
"answer": "Your ass is round.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "718833",
"title": "Chute (gravity)",
"section": "Section::::Building chute.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 6,
"start_character": 0,
"end_p... | null |
6ojg42 | how did other languages adopt the latin alphabet? | [
{
"answer": "Did a little search and found this, might interest you\n\n_URL_0_\n\nSeems that a major factor is the spread of Western Christianity and the roman empire.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "7286347",
"title": "History o... | null |
1otviw | what made concorde so fast compared to other commercial planes? | [
{
"answer": "It was built to go that fast. The market isn't really willing to deal with the costs and complications of a plane like as compared to 747s and other craft we'd now call conventional though, so the concorde failed.\n\nIt's just like how someone can build ships that go far faster than your average fr... | null |
3erq8b | Is it possible to make 100% pure alcohol? | [
{
"answer": "One thing to consider is the definition of purity, and the fact that it's essentially impossible for any macroscopic sample of a substance to be 100% pure at room temperature. \n\nI can confidently say that nobody has ever made a bottle of ethanol that contains no other molecule. We probably have... | null |
4nji2d | how would alien races communicate via mathematics? | [
{
"answer": "You could do this using a series of pulses from an electromagnetic beam.\n\nLet's say you send out a group of 5 pulses. After a pause, you send out 7 more. After another pause, you send out 12.\n\nIt doesn't matter what language the aliens speak and it doesn't matter what base their number system i... | null |
19zp74 | I stumbled across an image of the inside of the Hagia Sophia, it appears Christian imagery was not removed by the ottomans, why was this? | [
{
"answer": "These mosaics were painted over but not removed when the city was taken by Mehmed II. Minarets, minbar, and mihrab were added and it became a functional mosque. After the fall of the empire and the transformation of the Hagia Sophia from mosque into museum in the 1920s, restorationists removed some... | null |
59d1k4 | the zapatista movement | [
{
"answer": "Ooh, I was just looking into this! So basically, they are a guerrilla group of (mostly agricultural and ethnically Mayan) farmers that seek to limit government and foreign incursions into Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Their ideology is \"Neozapatism\", a blend of Marxism, anarchism and... | null |
6n5gye | why does american television show naked babies bottoms, but won't show a grown person's? | [
{
"answer": "one is sexualized, one isnt. Some people will be aroused by feet anyway, its just how it goes. our society has decided baby butts are ok as long as they arent used in a sexual theme. If the watcher wants to find it sexual, thats their business.\n\nwith that said, you can find plenty of adult but... | null |
1mcoke | Why do the Indian and Chinese depictions of Buddha differ so much? | [
{
"answer": "Are you referring to the fat Chinese Buddha? He's just a folklore deity named [Budai](_URL_2_), not a depiction of Siddhartha Gautama. \n\n[This is one of the largest Buddha statue in Sichuan, China](_URL_1_), [here's a Buddha statue in Shaolin Temple](_URL_0_), and [here's a generic mass-produced ... | null |
ec32z7 | how are dubbing voices replaced without messing with background noises? | [
{
"answer": "Basically, all the footage and sound effects are kept as separate files. These days there’s software that you can load these files into and then arrange and edit, and then the software will compile it all into the video that’s actually distributed to tv networks, streaming sites, or movie theaters.... | null |
5efuz8 | why are people with a latex allergy also allergic to bananas? what's the connection? | [
{
"answer": "The banana contains a protein which is very similar in chemical structure to latex. So if you're sensitive to one, there's about a 50% chance that you're sensitive to the other as well.\n\n_URL_0_",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_i... | null |
1p00hp | How does x-ray powder diffraction work (specifically as applied to mineralogy)? | [
{
"answer": "A powdered sample is still crystalline, and will still diffract x-rays to specific angles based on the lattice spacing. The size of the powder particles are still huge compared to the wavelength of x-rays. What powdering does is randomize your sample, so that all the different possible crystal face... | null |
4g7y7k | What's the difference between a tribe and an organized government in the medieval period? Why do we talk about the "Kingdom of Lombardy" or the "Duchy of Normandy", but at the same time we talk about the "Avars" or the "Aboriginal australians"? | [
{
"answer": "I'm going to give two very short, simple answers and then one somewhat more complex (but still pretty short) answer. First short answer is that we say \"Kingdom of Lombardy\" and \"Ducky or Normandy\" because that is what they called themselves. Nine times out of ten the best term to use for a part... | null |
2c66ro | can our brain switch it's perception of colors? | [
{
"answer": "I dont have an answer, but everytime i get a high fever (102 F+) the way I perceive colors gets screwed up. I.E. I see the red digital numbers on my alarm clock as green. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "_URL_0_\nGood link describing types of color blindness and causes.",
"prov... | null |
1ts371 | Map of History | [
{
"answer": "Is such a thing possible? No, not really. On a smaller scale, such a question has the problem of assuming defined states where there were none or where other arrangements would be more appropriate. On a larger scale, such a map would necessarily impose synchronous borders on areas that experienced... | null |
qvcnl | Ataturk and the Progressive Dictator | [
{
"answer": "First off, I highly, highly, highly recommend you read Şukru Hanioğlu's new book Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography if you haven't already. I think that the principles you've outlined as characteristic of Atatürk deserve some modification. Semi-official Kemalist doctrine has six \"arrows\": Repub... | null |
78949z | how does a thermoelectric generator work? | [
{
"answer": "What is really being asked is how the thermoelectric effect works, so I'll try and explain that. Imagine you had a metal wire that has either end held at a different temperature. The electrons in the metal act similar to a gas, where the electrons at the hotter end are moving faster and spreading o... | null |
u4pbk | the urge to scratch wounds | [
{
"answer": "The 'urge' is not evolutionary. It's a biological reaction to the wound. \n\nThe scab on the wound could be dry and cause an itch. Or the chemicals secreted by the body during the healing (histamines) could be the reason behind it.\n\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The body is qu... | null |
3xsjg4 | what is a tree made out of? | [
{
"answer": "It comes from the air. The tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, uses the carbon to build the majority of its mass, and expels oxygen.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Elementally tress are mostly hydrogen, oxygen and carbon.\n\nChemicals components are mostly water 50% by weigh... | null |
theam | eeg and erp | [
{
"answer": "First read [this other ELI5-type post](_URL_0_) I wrote about how the brain works a few weeks ago, then come back here...\n\nEEG is basically just a way of detecting which parts of the brain are active, moment-to-moment. They place these little \"electricity detectors\" all over your head. Now imag... | null |
4abphy | how does target make any money off their redcard debit? | [
{
"answer": "They actually save money by doing so, they don't make money. So when a guest comes in and uses a card, other than a RedCard, the provider (Visa for example) will charge them a fee. By signing up for a card, they can avoid the fee altogether (debit), or reduce it drastically because they made a deal... | null |
6s7idb | how is it physically possible for a mantis shrimp to punch so fast? | [
{
"answer": "The punch of a Mantis shrimp really is incredible. There is no way that a mantis shrimp can punch that powerfully by muscle strength. Another mechanism is needed.\n\nThis is an ELI5 over-simplification, but the shrimp \"cocks\" it's specially designed exoskeleton, elastic tissues, and linkage sys... | null |
341s7k | how is it possible for some foods to pass through my digestive system and come out whole. i.e. corn and certain small beans | [
{
"answer": "The brown (and the yellow in your pee, for that matter) are derived from byproducts of the breakdown of red blood cells in your body. \n\nAs far as corn, the outer shell of corn is cellulose, which our body is not good at breaking down. If you don't tear them apart with your teeth, then they can pa... | null |
8rf56l | How did the people of antiquity and medieval era record their music? | [
{
"answer": "There's always more to be said on the topic, but while you're waiting check a look at these previous threads:\n\n[*What did Roman music sound like and what form did the written notation take?*](_URL_3_) by u/racecar_ray\n\n[*What do we know about Roman music?*](_URL_2_) by u/casestudyhouse22\n\n[*W... | null |
549lcg | ramjet | [
{
"answer": "I have only a basic knowledge of engines but I'll be the first to chip in. Whereas standard turbofans (commonly found on airliners) use a fan to draw air into the combustion chamber, a ramjet relies purely on the force of air entering it, which is why they're extremely inefficient at low speeds. ",... | null |
7ht8n2 | how was the playstation 3 able to perform so well with only 256mb of ram? | [
{
"answer": "The RAM in PS3 is non-system RAM, meaning that it is only for the game. There is a system only RAM. The 'mean' experience on console is lower than PC. The PC release has more variations in NPC generation and other big calculations that the console release. You can choke down the PC release to run w... | null |
1g1x5h | How far does one blood cell travel with one beat of an average healthy human heart? | [
{
"answer": "Let's go with the typical (or not so typical) 70 kg man.\n\n\n- Blood volume = ~5 liters\n- Stroke volume (amount pumped with each beat) = ~70 mL\n- Heart rate = ~ 75 bpm\n- Cardiac output = ~5 liters/minute\n- Height = 1.75 m (5'9\")\n\nThe entire blood volume is circulated once a minute or so. I'... | null |
17786y | Why was there such a push to annex Texas in the 1840's? | [
{
"answer": "Let's go back a bit. \n\nThe Western Confederacy was beaten in the 1794 Northwest Indian War, and broken during the War of 1812. The Creeks collapsed into a brutal civil war in 1813, and Andrew Jackson razed the strongholds of the Creek and Seminole diehards during his 1816 invasion of Florida. The... | null |
6pw88q | you spray an ant with raid (or a similar product), what is actually happening to it while it is dying? | [
{
"answer": "Different products contain different chemicals, but the active ingredient in normal Raid interferes with sodium channels. It prevents nerve cells from building up electrical charge by \"breaking\" the mechanism they use to transport electrically-charged particles, therefore causing paralysis and po... | null |
j8rma | li5: could you please explain the phrase 'deus ex machina'? | [
{
"answer": "It comes from when they used statues to represent gods in plays a long time ago. The machine part is because they were often lowered onto the stage with ropes and pulleys. They would often bring these onto the stage when the plot got stuck. The god would do something magic that solved a problem or... | null |
7lrl5g | if men's body temperature is slightly higher than women's, why are men hairier? | [
{
"answer": "Men's body temperature is higher because they are hairier?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Women don't actually have a lower body temperature than men - the heat is just distributed differently. Women's bodies are better at maintaining core body temperature at the expense of body t... | null |
497bwk | how do airport scans actually work? | [
{
"answer": "Congratulations on making it onto a watch list! Without saying anything too classified, density. Density of materials is almost like a finger print. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The new full-body scanners use millimeter-wave radiation to detect items based on their density. An... | null |
8z2gjo | In several of his books journalist Mark Kurlansky claims that the Basques might have discovered America before Columbus. Is there any truth to this? | [
{
"answer": "I will quote a [post](_URL_0_) I wrote where I touched on Kurlansky's work:\n > \n > Mark Kurlansky in his pop-history (non-academic with no citations or references) works Cod and Basque History of the World for some reason strongly proposes the theories of Basque knowledge of North America, hims... | null |
1w5k4b | why don't countries invade other countries to take over land anymore? | [
{
"answer": "Mostly because there are enough countries out there who respect sovereign borders that they wouldn't allow it to happen. \n\nIt's not not happening, though. Ask Israel of South Korea if they feel like their borders are threatened by other countries. The first Gulf War was also a direct response to ... | null |
ojlco | differences between catholic and episcopalian. | [
{
"answer": "Episcopalian, barring from the basic beliefs (Belief in Jesus as God, Jesus will save you, Heaven and Hell) in general are very liberal.\n\nThings such as: The Bible was written \"under influence of God\" rather than direct words, leaving room for context and interpretation. \n\nGays and women are ... | null |
4h686u | why do we experience discomfort/pain when we are exposed to light after waking up in the morning? | [
{
"answer": "It's because of our pupils. Your eyes, even if they were closed while you were asleep, got used to the dark, so the pupils got big to allow more light in the event that you woke up in the dark, you could see better. \n\nWell if you wake up to bright lights, that's a TON of light coming in and you c... | null |
3anx5n | why do people hate country music with a passion? | [
{
"answer": "largely uncreative (not a large variety of topics), over produced, and i think most people hate the fans more than the music - similar to the emo hate. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because there's not any type of music that people don't hate with a passion? ",
"provenance":... | null |
37o6as | Did the Cold War ever end? | [
{
"answer": "This is a very interesting question. I'm not sure how helpful we can be, as the only people who'd be able to give you a decent answer don't exist yet. If you anticipate finding the secret to eternal life or passing your consciousness to a robot, and Reddit is still around several hundred years from... | null |
35i48h | why did the eli5 subreddit start off being full of extremely dumbed down, easy to digest, concise explanations when it started. now all the answers are like i'm reading doctoral thesis? what happened? | [
{
"answer": "Several things to consider.\n\n1) The easy and obvious questions have been asked to death. Simple questions are greeted by answers to just Google it.\n\n2) The expanding user base has brought in experts in many fields. These people are able to provide much more accurate answers, at a reading compre... | null |
n5wzr | why do duracell and energizer batteries last so much longer than the off brand batteries? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not sure this is true, but if it is, it is because they can afford more research on tech.\n\nYou can tell how long a battery will last by it's \"mAh\"(milliamp-hour) rating. A 2500 mAh battery will last for 2500 hours, if you only take 1mA (milliamp) from it. (In real life, it won't actual last... | null |
1mo9ay | Why was England so late in setting up colonies in the America's? Was it simple bad luck? Or something more political? | [
{
"answer": "What do you mean \"so late\"? Englands first colonies were only about 100 years after Colombus. When you consider initial voyages took a year to get here and back, that the value of what was here was in doubt(indeed what was here period was unclear), that who owned it was unclear etc. its understan... | null |
18y7ok | Why does splashing your eyes with water, when you're sleepy, suddenly makes you more awake? | [
{
"answer": "It's just a very minor cold shock response from your body.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "At first I was going to suggest that it is an example of the [mammalian diving reflex](_URL_0_), but after reviewing it I'm not so sure anymore. The effect you're referring to might be just ... | null |
2ze9kt | why is the audio in porn videos so often not in sync? (nsfw) | [
{
"answer": "Or better yet, is there a way to fix it? ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because the video has been shared, transfered, compressed so on so fourth. Chances are you aren't watching the original file",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "What is this \"porn\" you speak of... | null |
1bgnzu | My grandfather used to tell a story about WWII I always found interesting, does it have a basis in fact? | [
{
"answer": "If his story is true about the bombers being involved in the atomic bombings, then he would have been based around Tinian airfield, which was huge.\n\nWhat your grandfather is descirbing is \"bumping\" which is practising take-offs, landings and aborted landings... I find it extremely unlikely tha... | null |
37bjyv | how is a degree from a place like harvard or yale any different from a degree in the same subject from somewhere else? | [
{
"answer": "Im not a college graduate but if I may, I think it has to do with the reputation. Ideally a degree is a degree, but I think most would assume a harvard degree is way better than a local college degree. Also I think most people would assume that harvard can afford \"world class\" teachers, therefore... | null |
abseal | What is the longer-term background to Eritrean-Ethiopian tensions? | [
{
"answer": "This is a complex question. Here's an answer to it, as far back as I could go in order to explain the shared heritage between the states and the rivalry that followed. For reference - Habesha is a term used to describe some, not all, of the peoples who inhabit Ethiopia and Eritrea. They speak Afroa... | null |
233p7j | The brightness of the actual dark side of the moon? | [
{
"answer": "Not much darker than a \"dark sky\" spot on Earth.\n\nThe Earth's atmosphere mostly reflects back urban light. But go out in the desert, or out at sea, at least 100 km away from any city and town - it's a pretty dark place. Luna wouldn't be very different - a bit darker maybe, but not much.\n\nMost... | null |
3vcf8c | when that university shooting happened in oregon everyone made a huge deal about not mentioning or even sowing the shooters face, now with the current shootings in sb why is his name and picture all over the nation? | [
{
"answer": "If I was a news outlet I'd be plastering pictures of this guy all over the network. The shooters were of middle eastern ethnicity, thats fucking ratings right there. White and black people are not interesting shooters ... but a potential muslim terrorist! Jack-fucking-pot.\n\nbecause money",
"p... | null |
udogg | How soon after the Big Bang did stars begin to form? | [
{
"answer": "The first stars began to form about [150 million years](_URL_1_) after the Big Bang, during a period known as \"reionization.\" Prior to this period were the \"dark ages\" where the universe was fairly uniformly filled with neutral hydrogen; since there were basically no charged atoms during this ... | null |
20eud0 | Why did the various revolts of 1840's Europe fail? | [
{
"answer": "From Jonathan Sperber 'The European Revolutions, 1848-1851'\n\n\n-Revolution was heavily romanticized, revolutionary leaders often portrayed doing heroic deeds for the people. Lajos Kossuth from Hungary riding out and rallying peasantry or Giribaldi leading militias into battle.\n\n-Some revolu... | null |
3vk71b | why can little caesars afford to sell pizzas at a low price while places like papa john's sells their pizzas for about double the price? | [
{
"answer": " In every business there are some companies that focus on price, others that focus on making a better quality, and others that try to compromise. Little Caesars focus is very strongly on price, and they are willing to buy cheaper ingredients if that's what it takes. ",
"provenance": null
},
... | null |
1nywov | Has there ever been a government system that the majority of the population, across all economic divides, generally approved of? | [
{
"answer": "I don't think your question can be answered because it's not clear what data would allow us to answer it.\n\nPrior to modern times, we don't actually have the information to say whether the \"majority of the population\" \"across all economic divides\" approved of a particular government. We have i... | null |
fo0x9v | what are apis and why is "vulkan" apparently the next big thing for gaming? | [
{
"answer": "API stands for application programming interface, basically an API is a service provided by the creator of some program to allow other programmers to communicate with that program. \n\nIn the case of vulkan it makes accessing the graphics card much more efficient in certain areas, it's also availa... | null |
2h1182 | Why is it so difficult to find a unifying theory in physics and why is it necessary? Can't it all work separately? | [
{
"answer": " > Why is it so difficult\n\nI could go into details of examples of current difficulties but that would just lead us astray from the real answer, which is: why should it be easy? \n\n > Can't it all work separately?\n\nOften it can in practice. For example you could have a theory that works well f... | null |
4yaswu | Could the amount of static electricity that shocks humans when they touch a doorknob be enough to kill an insect or other tiny creatures? | [
{
"answer": "Static shocks have very high voltage (I remember reading somewhere that if you feel a shock, it's at least 10,000 Volts), but it has very little charge. You can think of it like trying to run a fire hose with an 8 oz glass of water; it might be at super high pressure, but it's not going to last ver... | null |
1ighlw | If my salt intake is too high, can I just drink a lot of water to cancel it out? | [
{
"answer": "I'd like to piggyback and ask if sweating a lot would work",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Salt (Sodium) makes you retain water.\n\nAdding water to a high salt diet means you'll be retaining lots of water.\n\nThis makes you hypertensive.\n\nHypertension (high blood pressure) is bad... | null |
23amfc | Was the Kansas/Missouri border war the start of the Civil War or just a precursor to it? | [
{
"answer": "In 1820 the U.S passed the Missouri compromise that stated that slavery could not extend above the 36' 30\" line. When Kansas and Nebraska were looking to join the union Stephen Douglas proposed a bill that would allow each state to vote on if they were going to be a slave state or a free state. Ne... | null |
8khbvr | why can we see ultraviolet if it is outside the visible spectrum? | [
{
"answer": "You can't.\n\nIf you shine UV on some things, like liquid laundry detergent, it makes the substance glow brightly. This is not you seeing UV, it is a substance absorbing UV photons and re-radiating the energy as visible wavelength photons you can see.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer"... | null |
drnt43 | What was the point of the invasion stripes on planes during D-day? | [
{
"answer": "They were identification aids for Allied pilots and gunners. Friendly fire was a persistent risk for aircraft, positive recognition being difficult in the heat of battle; the first Fighter Command losses of the war were in the \"Battle of Barking Creek\" during which two Hurricanes were shot down b... | null |
1d3aur | why do circuit boards need transistors/what do they do? | [
{
"answer": "You are thinking of capacitors.\n\nCapacitors are used to regulate the energy flowing through a board. Rarely will you have a 'clean' energy flow. There will be dips and spikes along the way. The capacitors help smooth that out and provide a little extra juice and buffers to prevent jolts on or off... | null |
26w5sh | why do particles behave so differently at the quantum level? | [
{
"answer": "Our universe operates on two scales: macro and micro. We, as humans, sit in an awkward middle ground where both effects can be demonstrated.\n\nThere is a scaling effect in physics and engineering, in which mass and momentum increases cubically, while resistance increases to the square -- this is t... | null |
18h33i | How advanced was Polynesian navigation compared to other civilizations? | [
{
"answer": "They presumably knew a great deal about stars, the movement of ocean currents and wave patterns, the air and sea interference patterns caused by islands and atolls, the flight of birds, the winds, and the weather. However, so did other navigators. It's still unclear how much of their exploration ... | null |
549g1i | How credible is Noam Chomsky on American History/foreign policy | [
{
"answer": "Questions about Chomsky's politics have been asked several times in both /r/AskHistorians and /r/AskSocialScience\n\nHere's one from /r/AskSocialScience that includes a second link to a post in /r/AskHistorians\n\n_URL_0_",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": " > I know his views on hist... | null |
4no1j2 | What sort of cosmetics did the women of royalty/aristocracy wear during Henry VIII's reign? | [
{
"answer": "Fashion, yes! Queen Catherine of Aragon (the first wife) is believed to have started the trend of wearing a farthingale (hoop skirt). The farthingale or verdugados in Spanish had been a staple of Spanish fashion for at least 20 years before Catherine came to England. When she got to England, i... | null |
358ref | the russian subdivision system? | [
{
"answer": "Russia is a union, much like the US is or the Soviet Union was. In fact, the official name of the country is not 'Russia', but the Russian Federation.\n\nRepublics are regions where the majority of the population is (or was, at the time of its creation) not ethnically Russian. They have partial aut... | null |
32hy6r | Does our brain have a equivalent of binary code or pixels? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not quite sure I understand your question. Neuronal firing can be thought of as a digital or binary process - they either fire or they do not. However, the relationship between input and output is non-linear. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "When a neuron fires an action potent... | null |
4hiua8 | how do we instinctively know if something is good for eating? | [
{
"answer": "It's not instinctive at all for humans. Look at babies, they put all sorts of non-edible items in their mouths.\n\nWhat's good for eating is a learned behavior. We learn from our parents/society what is edible and what isn't.\n\n > Give a dog and deer an apple. The deer will probably eat it as soon... | null |
4061zj | It seems that the Victorian Era distorted our view of history, especially of women. Is there evidence of this? | [
{
"answer": "What we think of as the modern discipline of history was born in the western 19th century. Historians always reflect the mores and concerns of their age. Both before and after Leopold von Ranke and his contemporaries, historians did not so much *actively suppress* women's lives so much as ignore th... | null |
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