id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
6dun97 | why aren't more uplifting, good news (the ones that put faith in humanity) shown in journalism? | [
{
"answer": "It is not really wanted by the public. Good news, while uplifting is not entertaining to the majority of people. If it is not entertaining then fewer people will buy the newspaper, watch the news broadcast, or click the internet link. The journalists simply do more business and therefore make more ... | null |
20q388 | How did Hezbollah go from a small militia to such an impressive paramilitary force? | [
{
"answer": "Quick answer: Support from Iran via Syria and stong social presence. More detail:\n\n* Hezbollah military men get trained in Iran. They also get weapons from Iran through Syria. Lots of weapon and artillery. They know the country and the villages and the inner streets so they are very well positio... | null |
b6x6m8 | how do you explain that depak chopra and other woo woo new age pseudo science/medicine is bogus to someone that is deeply invested in them? | [
{
"answer": "Sounds like it is trying to take advantage of the placebo effect, a real phenomenon. Honestly, people who are deeply invested in these pseudosciences usually will not listen to reason and they will reject any evidence that doesn’t support their belief, much like a person who is delusional with a ps... | null |
31mij4 | Do any ancient bibles/scriptures show that Jesus did not resurrect? | [
{
"answer": "Honestly, not really. Even in the earliest gospel (Mark), after women enter Jesus' tomb, an angel says\n\n > \"Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. *He has been raised; he is not here*.\"\n\nAnd the earliest sources that we have -- the epistles of Paul -- are... | null |
41v1vu | if we were to go extinct today, would earth be able to erase any evidence of us completely? | [
{
"answer": "From the surface, yes. All traces of us will either erode away or be buried. However, we have fossils of single celled organisms that are [3.5 billion years old](_URL_0_). That's a significant fraction of the age of the earth itself. It's at least plausible that we would leave fossils that would la... | null |
1mdbyj | why do humans feel shame? | [
{
"answer": "It's a social emotion similar to embarrassment. When you feel shame, it's usually from doing something not socially accepted and whatnot, so you feel a bad emotion to be discouraged from doing it again, as humans are social creatures, and we generally prefer to be accepted by our communities. ",
... | null |
3t9nev | why its carl's jr. on the western half of the u.s and hardee's on the midwestern/some eastern | [
{
"answer": "I know that burger king in Australia is called hungry jacks! This is due to naming rights for burger king in Australia. it could be something similar to this",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Carl's and Hardees were originally different restaurant chains. Back in 1997, the parent co... | null |
6l8v3i | how does lying to yourself work? | [
{
"answer": "I feel like this is a psychology question, and I am in no way an expert, but maybe this helps:\n\nYour every actions come from your brain, and every decision you make is made after considering your options.\n\nAs you get older and make a lot of similar decisions you get in a habit of reacting the s... | null |
3zyrz0 | what exactly is a bruised bone? | [
{
"answer": "A bone bruise, or a bone contusion, is an injury to bone typically caused by trauma that results in [microscopic fractures and the build-up of blood and fluid in the surrounding tissue and bone](_URL_0_). Bone bruises can be very painful but are much less severe than a fracture. While fractures can... | null |
2drx86 | why do people have pairs of chromosomes? what does that do? | [
{
"answer": "You get one chromosome from each parent. It increases genetic diversity by giving you one from each parent, rather than just one chromosome from one parent.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "312354",
"title": "Homologo... | null |
1amczl | Why does it hail in warm weather? | [
{
"answer": "It has to be cold very high up, and windy. Hailstones will rise and fall many times due to the wind, repeatedly picking up a new coating of water, then being carried to a higher, colder layer of air by the wind, where it freezes. The hail stone falls to Earth when the wind isn't strong enough to li... | null |
m9pmn | How are vaccination schedules determined? | [
{
"answer": "There's many things going on when deciding on vaccine schedules. From the top of my head, there's \n\n**Maternal antibodies** (The mother will transfer some antibodies to the infant that lasts for a couple of months and might interfere with the vaccine response)\n\n**Risk of side effects** of the v... | null |
14wz75 | Does soap attack or dissolve phospholipid bilayers? (cell membranes and such) | [
{
"answer": "It attacks *by* dissolving, so to speak. It doesn't destroy the individual phospholipids, it disrupts the membrane. \n\nEdit: And surfactants form micelles instead of bilayers because they only have one nonpolar tail, unlike phospholipids which have two tails. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
lifzy | How do Americans get 115V? | [
{
"answer": "most of us do get 240V to the home, as a single phase- but that phase is \"split\" - the transformer that supplies the house is center-tapped, that center is pinned to ground, so there's effectively a +120 and a -120. obviously not really positive and negative since it's a/c, but they're 180° out ... | null |
e71ssr | Why does the trait of skin color mix together into a shade rather than being one or the other, like eye color? | [
{
"answer": "Most interesting traits are polygenic - they are controlled by many different genes, not just one or two. \n\nWhen we’re taught introductory genetics, we’re taught inheritance with Mendelian diagrams showing how one dominant/recessive gene set is inherited. Later maybe we’re taught how two or three... | null |
1unpen | how do i perceive myself as a single entity, when i'm actually composed of a group of cells that are each self replicating blocks of life? | [
{
"answer": "Saving this, hoping for some kind of super deep answers...",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Although you are the composition of many \"moving parts\" so to speak the control center is your brain. This means all these parts report back to your brain and your brain acts as the represe... | null |
1lyc0u | What were the attitudes of the labour movements in New Zealand and Australia towards the indigenous populations? | [
{
"answer": "This question is made for /u/w2red and /u/Algernon_Asimov but I can answer for one union in particular... \n\nThe North Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) founded in the Northern Territory in around 1911.. Their history is covered in this doctoral thesis by Bernie Brian\n_URL_0_\n\nTo quote from there... | null |
7c3bth | Why do many people take sniper kill counts for granted? Can we really trust any of the offical numbers, some as high as 4-500? How reliable are the figures? | [
{
"answer": "Follow up question.\n\nWasn't the only way to \"confirm\" a kill to collect the dog tags? I highly doubt that snipers collected dog tags, especially when their targets would usually be surrounded by soldiers?\n\nEdit: had a little dig around online and found that some snipers in WW2 would claim a h... | null |
2a7kf3 | how do seasons work around the world? is it summer everywhere, or is it just summer on a part of the world? | [
{
"answer": "When it is summer in the northern hemisphere, it is winter in the southern hemisphere. When it is hot in the US, it is cold in Australia. When the days are long in the US, they are short in Australia. This is due to the tilted axis of the earth, resulting in the different hemispheres getting differ... | null |
e7wad4 | how can we recall memories and imagine scenarios and see them visually, while also seeing and observing the current environment? | [
{
"answer": "Your brain does lots of things simultaneously, if it didn't your heart would stop when you needed to take a breath, or when you thought about a math problem. \n\nNeedless to say, the thing you're seeing in actuality is based on stimulus coming from your optic nerve. That path only takes inputs fr... | null |
15da30 | It seems like every modern President of the US was a golfer. Were there any who weren't? | [
{
"answer": "Teddy Roosevelt, Hoover, Truman and Carter were the only US presidents not to play golf since McKinley, who introduced it to the White House. [Source](_URL_1_)\n\n[FDR considered himself a golfer even though he was physically unable to play.](_URL_0_) I'll leave it up to you whether or not to inclu... | null |
3pjj2g | Is there a timeline of the history of women's rights in ancient Greece between the 5th and 1st century BC? | [
{
"answer": "Is this a homework question? It says in our [rules](_URL_1_):\nOur users aren't here to do your homework for you, but they might be willing to help. Remember: AskHistorians helps those who help themselves. Don't just give us your essay/assignment topic and ask us for ideas. Do some research of your... | null |
1dfxzd | Why can i not see the exhaust from a bus, but i can see its shadow | [
{
"answer": "The reason is really because the light casting the shadow is collimated. I.E. it is all coming from the same direction. However, when you are simply looking at the exhaust, light is coming from multiple directions, so it hides the distortion. If you look closely, the exhaust will still blur whateve... | null |
127dj3 | How dangerous are dog bites? | [
{
"answer": "It depends on the severity and how it is treated. \nAs a veterinarian, I get bit often. Most of them heal fine with soap and water, but one started to cause intense pain and swelling that spread through my entire finger after 24hours. Without antibiotics, there is a real chance I would have lost ... | null |
643h6z | Iceland was one of the poorer countries in Europe 1980. How did it grow so quickly after that to become so wealthy today? | [
{
"answer": "I would like to preface this post by saying that I am not an economist and nor do I specialize in economic history. I am, however, somewhat acquainted with the economic development of Iceland as well as the historiography of this phenemenon due to being an Icelandic historian.\n\nIt is true that Ic... | null |
17v8kv | putin's government in russia and the quality of democracy that exists there. | [
{
"answer": "Since you haven't gotten a bite, try posting in /r/askpolitics\n\nYou'll prob get a great answer.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Well, I lived in Russia during Putin's primetime. And in all honesty, 10 years ago he was the best thing that happened in Russia. He made the country gr... | null |
72tjau | How much did scientists know about the makeup of other planets in our solar system prior to spectroscopy? | [
{
"answer": "Even though I don't have a clue, I'll take a stab at answering, since no one else has. I'm going to take it as sort of a running narrative of how I'm researching it... No particular reason why.\n\n[Wikipedia](_URL_4_) states astronomical spectroscopy dates back to the (rather unhelpful) \"early 180... | null |
69oj81 | what keeps a bowling lane from getting warped from thrown balls? | [
{
"answer": " Wood lanes are shaved down usually every 2 years. Also the lanes are not 1 continuous piece of wood. There are sections. The front part of the lane (where balls land) are made of a harder wood.\n\n Most lanes today are made of a synthetic material. Also in sections that can be replaced.",
"pro... | null |
1xsukw | I am looking for a Site which has a database of News Clippings of English Newspapers from 1900-1950?? | [
{
"answer": "[Proquest Historical Newspapers](_URL_0_) has the Guardian and the Observer. If you are member of a uni, library or other institution with a subscription, it's free.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Try some of [these](_URL_0_). (One of the rare moments in which answering with a Wik... | null |
adhakp | is there a reason why all or most ip addresses begin with 192.168..? | [
{
"answer": "These are internal IP addresses. If you are on a home network, you will have this IP address. Even if you have one computer on a wireless router connected to a modem, you are on a home network.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "192.168.x.x is reserved for [private networks](_URL_0_),... | null |
dcea88 | why are americans so obsessed with halloween? | [
{
"answer": "Why not, enjoy the holiday?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because Halloween is fun. The little kiddies dressed up in their costumes out getting candy. The harmless pranks people can play on others. Great movies on T.V. Everything about Halloween is just fun.",
"provenance... | null |
8yr9mc | Can you layer sun protection products and is their SP factor cumulative? | [
{
"answer": "You can layer but you will only get the higher protection. 15 + 15 does not equal spf 30. \n\nThey’re tested at a rate of coverage that equals about 1/4 teaspoon for the average male face too. It’s a good idea to measure it for a while to be sure you are getting enough. \n\nIt doesn’t last all day,... | null |
7a3oua | Which books of the Bible attributed to a single author (ex: first six books of Old Testament to Moses, Luke/Acts to Luke, John/Revelation to John, various letters by Peter and Paul) do scholars agree were really written by the same person? | [
{
"answer": "You might want to post this in /r/academicbiblical as well. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "12543111",
"title": "Development of the Christian biblical canon",
"section": "Section::::Development of the New Te... | null |
5fjq51 | why are some people great at abstract thinking but terrible at algebra which involves it? | [
{
"answer": "Math requires abstract thinking to understand why you're supposed to do certain things, but not to literally do them. You need abstract thinking to understand why you can divide two from both sides of 2x=4, but not to do it.\n\nThe people that are good at math before calculus are people that can do... | null |
3y8e2r | In fantasy it is common to read about colored or painted armor. Is there any historical basis for this? | [
{
"answer": "Oh yes. When I first read your question I thought of enameled armor but some poking around turned up [this wonderful article from The Met](_URL_0_). Depending on the fantasy story, I doubt armor was *quite* as colorful (at least anything that wasn't gold, silver, or bronze, but as the article detai... | null |
3w3q7w | the yahoo-alibaba spin-off | [
{
"answer": "Yahoo is doing terribly and its' core business is pretty much worthless. However, Yahoo owns a lot of shares in a company called Alibaba, which is actually very profitable. So they want to get rid of their actual business and make money on the shares instead.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"... | null |
37gbr2 | the bill of rights | [
{
"answer": "**First Amendment**\n\n*Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.*\n... | null |
zfmxv | the philosophical concept of epiphenomenal qualia and jackson's "mary" thought experiment. | [
{
"answer": "It's not open and shut because it's not demonstrable that Mary *has* learned anything new. [Mary's room](_URL_1_) has been argued by greater (or at least more singularly focused) minds than either of ours, and yet they still disagree.\n\nThis is how I see it: Suppose Mary *and Martha* work together... | null |
11m22d | Today I was in a 15 story building during an earthquake. If the building collapsed, would I have been safer on the first floor, 15th floor or somewhere in between? | [
{
"answer": "When a roof or building of multiple floors collapses, the safest place usually is usually where you have a sturdy floor beneath you (closer to weight bearing walls/pillars) and directly next to something incredibly sturdy. There is typically a right triangle of safety, for example, next to (but not... | null |
2nozip | the lake effect, as in what happened in buffalo. | [
{
"answer": "Basically, the Lake Effect is what happens when cold air moves over warmer water, picking up water vapor which freezes in the air, and then comes down as snow when the air moves downwind to land. Since Buffalo is right next to Lake Erie and Ontario, there is plenty of water for the cold air to move... | null |
s1yix | Is there any other way for life to develop besides cells? | [
{
"answer": "It seems like this question gets into the philosophical definition of \"what is life.\" Scientists are still debating whether or not viruses constitute a form of life, so realistically we haven't even nailed down a definition of life on earth. \n\nThat being said, I don't see why life on other plan... | null |
7xs78t | How are electrical signals traveling on neurons directed to its target? | [
{
"answer": "The textbooks don't explain it because there is nothing to explain. The cells don't differentiate anything, it's a one origin to one destination signal conduction.\n\nA single axon runs to one single area (say, a receptor on your toe) and nowhere else. It never splits into two and never merges with... | null |
yxdnd | what are the blue and orange/yellow lines that i see on the edges of everything when i have my glasses on? | [
{
"answer": "You are nearsighted, your eyeglass lenses are concave, and the outer edges act like prisms that split up light into its component colors. A white object, seen through the edge of your lenses, will appear to have a reddish halo that oozes out towards the outer edge of your lens, with a corresponding... | null |
42g4lm | Why is New York City named the same as the state? IE why do the city and state share the same name? Do any other places on earth do this? | [
{
"answer": " > Do any other places on earth do this?\n\nThere's one example in Germany: Bremen, Bremen. Bremen (the city) is part of Bremen (the state), together with another city called Bremerhaven (roughly translates to *Port of Bremen*). This is the only example in Germany, for Hamburg and Berlin, there is... | null |
5hhhd7 | does having a "will to live" help you overcome a severe illness or injury, and if so, how? | [
{
"answer": "Definetly. Someone who has given up on everything is less likely to think about his/hers well being. As someone who has a will to live will check up symptoms, have less anxiety. Some cures in life are really the pure basics like sleeping and eating well. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answ... | null |
69eom4 | when nuclear weapons were added to the us arsenal, why was the ability to launch them given to the president of the united states and not congress? | [
{
"answer": "Because the main purpose of a nuclear weapon is to retaliate if someone attack you. It serve as a deterrent, if you attack us, you will be destroyed.\n\nIf you need the approval of the congress, which could takes days at best, it would make the deterrent value of nuclear weapons useless. Someone co... | null |
1osowz | why are the baby boomers considered the worst generation? | [
{
"answer": "Obviously this is subjective, but there's a very strong case to be made that baby boomers are the most selfish generation. See [this](_URL_1_) and [this](_URL_0_) and [this](_URL_2_), for example. \n\nLong story short - unlike previous generations of Americans, the baby boomers inherited a very pro... | null |
21m6wj | why my car windows do this and how i can prevent it? mostly happens in rain. | [
{
"answer": "It's condensation because of the temperature/humidity difference between the cabin of your vehicle and outside.\n\nThey make antifogging coatings that you can use (rainx makes one, for instance) but for immediate relief, use the defrosting setting on your air conditioner.",
"provenance": null
... | null |
55sjzk | do those pedestrian button things at traffic lights actually do anything? how do they work? | [
{
"answer": "They simply activate the walk and don't walk lights.\n\nSome activate lights in high traffic areas. For instance, on a main road there might be a factory that employs a large amount of people. Parking is on the other side of the multi lane road. Lights may be put up, but they are only ever activ... | null |
2y2k5z | how does the common signature hold so much power confirming identity? anyone could copy it and there are much better tools available. | [
{
"answer": "Signatures don't confirm identity, they affirm it. When you sign something, you're making a promise that you're the person named in the document.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It doesn't prove identity, it proves intent. Notarizations are used to prove identity - a notary review... | null |
k43hb | copyright / trademarks. | [
{
"answer": "**Copyright:** You wrote something, and nobody else gets to make copies unless you say they can. Also they don't get to make a movie of your book, or a performance of your play, unless you say they can. There are some exceptions for people who are talking about your work, teaching, writing reviews ... | null |
3eoobm | why don't big companies get hitmen to off people who successfully sue them? | [
{
"answer": "It's not particularly easy to commit murder without leaving a trail to follow. It's too much of a risk for the company. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "12779402",
"title": "English criminal law",
"section": ... | null |
6jfxy4 | Why didn't the Roman Empire expand into Africa more then it did? | [
{
"answer": "Because of a little something called the Sahara Desert. The only real routes of expansion into Africa were along the southern Moroccan coast (which was desolate, sparsely inhabited all the way up to the late 18th century, when the Moroccan government began to encourage irrigation projects there) an... | null |
1s8ffp | the void | [
{
"answer": "Instructions were not clear. I hurt my back trying to shake my 27 inch CRT monitor.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Had no effect on me\rConclusion: I'm batman ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "841997",
... | null |
b26oz0 | How do plants get the material to grow so much from just a tiny seed? | [
{
"answer": "Carbon dioxide out of the air, water and nutrients out of the ground and energy from the sun. The carbon dioxide and nutrients make up the cell structures of the plant. The water helps move everything around and inflate the cells. The sun gives it the energy to do all of it.",
"provenance": nul... | null |
1ig72k | How do Historians use other Social Science disciplines in their research? | [
{
"answer": "I use sociology, LGBT studies, queer theory, gender studies, and even dance studies in my work. In my case it is largely out of necessity, as there are no true histories of the AIDS crisis and still fairly few about gay and lesbian history. Other disciplines can offer a different perspective when y... | null |
1ev13g | In 17th Century Europe, how were coffee and coffeehouses viewed? | [
{
"answer": "I'll have to make this brief as I'm about to go out (but I can explain (a lot!) more, if necessary).\n\nTo answer those three questions in a go, let's establish the 17th century coffee-house in general (funnily enough, I have a chapter more or less dedicated to this in my PhD):\n\nDuring the latter... | null |
8sb8mq | why does symmetry make people look more attractive? | [
{
"answer": "Not 100% sure about this but I think that it is in our genes. \n\nSymmetry is associated with healthiness. Back then when it was \"only the strongest survive\" symmetry was (and is) a sign of a healthy individual with good genes.\n\nIf you have a healthy partner, you and that person are more likely... | null |
38apug | what exactly happened in the olympic boycotts in 1980/84? | [
{
"answer": "That was the one Russia hosted right? Basically no one went there to spend money in Russia while they spent money to host it and sped up their financial collapse of the soviet union.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There were 4 significant Olympic boycotts, two in 1976 and one eac... | null |
9xkfkp | Following the Muslim conquests, many local languages, such as Berber or Coptic, were gradually replaced with Arabic and turned into minority languages. What allowed Persian to not share the same fate? | [
{
"answer": "I apologize that I mostly know about Coptic and Berber but I will try to demonstrate why this question is hard to answer and then introduce a recent theory into this particular subject. First, I would like to point out that when talking about \"Berber\" or \"the Berber\" one is actually talking abo... | null |
3qb4er | the who announcement regarding processed meats. | [
{
"answer": "So first off you really need to understand what the numbers look like here. We're talking about maybe 34,000 cases worldwide. Almost 13 million cases of cancer are diagnosed every year. So even if we take this announcement at face value, you're looking at about .002% of all cancer. Over the cou... | null |
393amq | when i eat apples my face sweats, why reddit | [
{
"answer": "Are you allergic to apples? I never had this happen or heard of it happening to anyone. Bot pls don't kill me :( Friend bot?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Sounds to me like an alergic reaction.\n\nDoes it happen with apple juice?\n\nstop eating apples. You risk tightening your es... | null |
5wi89i | what happens to water when it goes stale? | [
{
"answer": "Part of it has to do with some of the gasses inside the water evaporating out, like how when you leave water out for a while it starts developing little bubbles along the walls of the glass.\n\nThe rest, as you mentioned, is from the container itself reacting with the water and the minerals inside ... | null |
3b2oc4 | why hasn't a car company come up with a new better performing, more efficient air cooled engine? | [
{
"answer": "Ironic username is ironic. \n\nI think engineers like water cooling because it helps solve a number of problems. It quiets the engine, provides a reliable source of heat for the HVAC systems and allows the temperature of the engine to be contained to a narrower range, allowing it to run more effici... | null |
1xk0w2 | Do blind people have better short-term memory for auditory input? | [
{
"answer": "I might just be spitballin' here, but i'm pretty sure when someone is blind/deaf, they compensate for it through neuroplasticity. As some parts of the brain are lacking input and just using space (ie neurons in the visual cortex that are not in use due to being blind), your brain will develop conne... | null |
lj043 | time signatures | [
{
"answer": "Simply, a time signature is the number of beats in a measure.\n\nListen to a piece of popular modern music, and count the beats. You'll most likely notice that it goes BOOM dot dot dot BOOM dot dot dot or some variant on that. The most significant beat happens every fourth beat.\n\nIn music, these ... | null |
24c8aj | Why was Alfred the great viewed positively by later kings when they only came to power by taking the country from his dynasty? | [
{
"answer": "Alfred the Great was extremely popular. He established a model of kingship in England that was built upon by his successors, and copied by later conquerors. Alfred established fantastical roots both for his kingship, and for the Anglo-Saxon people, tying them together with Christianity as glue in t... | null |
2z7gxr | how come i wake up a minute or two before my bus stop more or less like clockwork when i fall asleep on the bus? | [
{
"answer": "Same here. I've always thought that it's about habit - even when you aren't fully conscious, so long as it's not a truly deep sleep, a body probably has to stay aware of its surroundings (in case of danger?), and therefore, through habit, the body knows when to wake you up, but I have no scientific... | null |
6b5bmz | How much urbanisation was there in South America, besides the Inca cities? | [
{
"answer": "Hey there! Are you asking about urbanization in *regions* other than that which the Inca controlled, or are you interested in cultures that inhabited the same areas before them and whose own urbanisms developed into the Inca's?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance":... | null |
cwr3gu | why is brown rice so much dryer than white rice? | [
{
"answer": "Brown rice is just white rice that hasn't been processed so it still has a thing called a bran layer. \n\nThe bran layer is a tough fiberous coating. It isn't very absorbent and it surrounds the outside of the rice grain, so when you feel it in your mouth, it feels drier and more coarse than regula... | null |
a9v9s3 | how do glow sticks light up when broken | [
{
"answer": "They contain two chemicals that, when mixed, produce light. One of these chemicals is stored in a thin glass vial. When you crack the stick, the chemicals start mixing & the reaction can take place.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There is an inner glass tube that when broken a... | null |
141cij | What kind of programs or movements existed to assist the homeless between the 19th century and the Great Depression? | [
{
"answer": "Unions, Churches and Ethnic clubs/General Community organizations. \n\nBefore Roosevelt, there was a strong mainstream belief that the poor should not rely on a government dole in order to get by. If they needed some help, then the community could help somebody when they were down. But this was tem... | null |
1nh9sq | how they change wedding rings size without cutting? | [
{
"answer": "The machine linked in the OP stretches the ring to make it larger, or compresses it in one of those dies around the base to make it smaller. Gold is pretty malleable, so it's not terribly hard to change its size this way. Yes, of course it will affect the overall thickness of the band. if you stret... | null |
fvpv99 | why do modern phones lack the soap opera effect of modern tvs? | [
{
"answer": "I think they r referring to that hyper realistic quality in the picture.. i dont like it..it does remind me of a soap opera..I thought i was high the first time i saw it on someones tv..",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The effect you’re talking about is the motion blending that tak... | null |
1wn5br | how do companies like primerica make you money? | [
{
"answer": "These companies are known as \"Multi-Level Marketing\" and have a structure *very* similar to that of a pyramid scheme (though legally, because they have a product they aren't classed as pyramid schemes).\n\nThe way it works is that someone recruits you to sell a product (in this case it's insuranc... | null |
29bgsr | For a peasant/farmer, how onerous was Roman taxation? Was it good value for the services provided? | [
{
"answer": "It really depended on where you were and when. Even in modern times there have been areas that could resist taxation with remoteness, despite modern states having considerably more coercive power. In general, however, taxation was collected by local authorities and folded into rent payment. This co... | null |
181nm9 | If Mitochondria exist as almost separate entities from the cell, does it always divide perfectly during mitosis? | [
{
"answer": "In mammals, mitochondria don't necessarily divide during mitosis; instead they divide when the host cell requires more energy and combine or die out when less energy is needed. During mitosis, the mitochondria present are split up between the two daughter cells. In single celled eukaryotes; the mit... | null |
4tlpo9 | why are fiber-optic connections faster? don't electrical signals move at the speed of light anyway, or close to it? | [
{
"answer": "It's not directly faster but indirectly it can be much faster than copper depending on what needs to be done. Fiber has the advantage of not having to deal with any kind of electro-magnetic interference along the wire, no matter how long it is or how many wires are bundled together. So you can ge... | null |
1zmdje | Has the privilege of knights to make knights ever been abolished? | [
{
"answer": "Alternatively I'd question the premise. Did common knights (as opposed to Barons, Earls, or other titled nobility) ever have the right to bestow knighthood upon others - particularly with regard to England, Great Britain, or the UK? If not, where did this idea arise?\n\nToday all knighthoods are be... | null |
60cvp0 | why do so many superhero origin stories involve parents dying? | [
{
"answer": "Parents are only there to cause angst for the hero. If they're loving and supportive they must die. If they're not then they're mean and abusive so the hero must run away bemoaning his fate.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because so many superhero writers are unimaginative hacks. ... | null |
236qf1 | what's the difference between cables that send power and cables that send data? how come phone cables can do both? | [
{
"answer": "At each end of every cable is a connector. Typically cables have a male connector that plugs into the female connector on a device. On every connector there are multiple \"pins\" or connection points. You solder a wire to each pin, and encase it into one cable. \n\nFor example, on an instrument/old... | null |
1yp57j | Are artistic traits, such as being able to draw exceptionally or excelling in the musical arts, dependent on one's genes? | [
{
"answer": "'Artistic' is probably not a genetic trait. But if you break it down into its component parts, then each of the following things are at least PARTLY genetic: hand-eye coordination, fine motor movement, gross motor movement, depth perception, color perception, tonal perception, dexterity, muscle com... | null |
j21g3 | A question from my 4yo son | [
{
"answer": "Is the Sun soft or hard? As explained to a 4 year old.\n\nGood question. What is hard or soft? Generally hardness is a property that only solids have, but under certain circumstances non-solids may have a similar reaction to stress. Hardness is the measure by which an external force permanently cha... | null |
9rmy0m | how do public policy think-tanks work? | [
{
"answer": "They get paid to think about problems and write reports of their conclusions. The analysts that work in these places combine expertise in the subject matter (economics, foreign policy, ...) with critical thinking and analysis skills to explore the problem, the solution space, and possible courses ... | null |
2gu714 | Were the Persians and the Chinese empires aware of each other's existence and did they frequently interact? | [
{
"answer": "The first known interaction was reported by Zhang Qian, a Chinese explorer. He wrote that they were an advanced civilization, and commented on their currency, wine, cultivation and walled cities and also of the amount of cities. This was in 126 BCE and the two people started trading embassies and m... | null |
2htcv7 | When and how did pop culture associate all things Nuclear with the color green? | [
{
"answer": "Radioactive materials are often portrayed as green because back in the mid 20th century, there was a trend of making glowing watch faces with radioactive paint mixed with phosphorus. As you say, radioactivity is impossible to see with the naked eye and if you have Cherenkov radiation, it's a visibl... | null |
4v3phu | why do you need to pay to get a divorce and pay to get married? | [
{
"answer": "Because it requires paperwork which your government has decided it will charge a fee to process.\n\nGenerally it is a nominal fee. Is ~$10 really stopping anyone from getting hitched?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Previous answers are correct.\n\nGovernments have to decide, for e... | null |
1k3r77 | How common was the surname 'Hitler' in Germany/Austria prior to the 1930s? Did people later drop it because of its connotations? | [
{
"answer": "This is some anecdotal evidence.\n\nThe name \"Adolf\" was a relatively common one in Belgium prior to World War II. One of the most famous 19th century Belgian politicians was [Adolf Daens](_URL_1_). After World War 2, the name died out. Parents stopped naming their babies Adolf, but I don't know ... | null |
9i5n8z | how can we drive for minutes, maybe even hours, without really paying attention to the road? i have daydreamed and come back and not known what has happened the past 15 minutes. | [
{
"answer": "Seriously, I kind of shutter every time it happens",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Driving involves a lot of habits and muscle memory. You do it so much your body just learns how to do it on it's own. Basically your subconcious kinda takes over the driving thing leaving you free ... | null |
82r2er | Would rain droplets on a lower gravity planet be larger, on average, compared to our own planet? | [
{
"answer": "Disregarding all of the minor/major changes that lowering gravity would do to atmospheric formation of clouds, etc., and we accepted for the sake of the question that identical precipitation clouds are forming on this planet in relation to what we experience here on Earth:\n\nI would think that wit... | null |
6st27k | How did Venice lose her maritime importance while the less-powerful Genoa maintained as Italy's largest port today? | [
{
"answer": "More to the point, why did Genoa become an industrial power, and Venice did not?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I can answer at least to the part about Venice's decline. What you said about the Ottomans wasn't entirely correct. When the Ottomans came into power, they were perceive... | null |
3q9ue1 | Since DNA is an acid, is there such thing as DNA salts? | [
{
"answer": "Not only can DNA exist as a salt, but this is pretty much its standard form in the solid state. In an aqueous medium, DNA exists as a conjugate base with negatively charged phosphate groups stabilized by a bunch of [counterions](_URL_1_) that are floating around in the solution such as Na^(+). When... | null |
23u67r | why is it impossible to stop thinking? | [
{
"answer": "Some kinds of meditation are the attempt to silence your thoughts. Through willpower and training you can silence the internal monologue of your thoughts. Of course your brain is still functioning and processing information, it does that even when you're asleep.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
2utq0y | During the American civil war Why weren't bayonet charges used often? | [
{
"answer": "it appears to be inexperience by these armies. in the beginning of the war, the armies grew in size, many times their normal peacetime strength and so you have inexperienced leaders at every level; and large numbers of raw recruits. Frank Vizetelly an English war correspondent makes mention of this... | null |
385405 | caitlyn jenner in vanity fair and the big deal of it? | [
{
"answer": "Caitlyn Jenner was formerly Bruce Jenner, an internationally renowned Olympic athlete who was the face of masculinity and athleticism in the 1970s. She recently came out as transgender. She is very likely the biggest celebrity in history to come out as trans.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"... | null |
2r6wzq | why is the credit card considered so secure if all the information required to make a purchase is on the card? | [
{
"answer": "Though chip/PIN aspect protects the cardholder and merchant from one type of fraud, the security procedures and insurance of the entire industry protects both from the other type of fraud.\n\nLet's say I have your credit card information. I can make a purchase online, but I generally need an addres... | null |
2qx085 | Is air indoors more polluted than outdoors? | [
{
"answer": "I think it seriously depends on the situation but the EPA suggests that particle levels are the same or lower than outdoors in houses without smoking ([source](_URL_1_)). The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (discovered via Google, see [source](_URL_0_)) suggests that indoor levels could b... | null |
1vw2s5 | why are most corporations considered evil? | [
{
"answer": "Most corporations aren't evil and just do useful things like make your bread for your breakfast toast or make wires for your house.\n\nOf those that are evil often their evilness can be often put down to either to outright corruption in management ranks, which is just the human condition.\n\nAnd se... | null |
vqmyu | Landing on Mars with a glider? | [
{
"answer": " > Does it have something to do with the 100 times thinner atmosphere\n\nProbably. NASA engineers are smart people and think of all the angles, and then go through rigorous math to compare the price and effectiveness of various techniques. When you're sending something up into space, often the mos... | null |
1cc400 | If you listen to music loudly (via earphones) in a very windy situation, where you can barely hear the music (for example in a convertible going fast), is the music still doing damage to your ears? | [
{
"answer": "One of the leading causes of hearing loss for motorcycle riders is \"wind noise.\" So playing music that is even louder than that most definitely has damaging potential. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Yep. Same thing with being at a bar or loud concert and yelling into your frien... | null |
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