id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
d1jj22 | It is commonly said that in the colonial era, the colonists used infected blankets with diseases unknown to the natives, making them effectively bio weapons, did the opposite also occur? | [
{
"answer": "/u/anthropology_nerd has previously answered [When Europeans brought diseases to the New World, how come Europeans themselves didn't get sick from diseases specific to the New World?](_URL_0_)\n\nThis topic was addressed broadly during anthropology\\_nerd's series MYTHS OF CONQUEST for /r/badhistor... | null |
54pp0w | Is there evidence to support that the British Empire manufactured famines? | [
{
"answer": "Thanks for this reply.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Irish writer and historian, Tim Pat Coogan has written a great book about Britains role in the Irish famine, The Famine Plot. Although some points are disputed by other Irish historians, most of the book is well cited and sourc... | null |
1v5r7h | How is the brain protected from damage once a hemispherectomy is performed? | [
{
"answer": "There is a really good answer about this provided by [The Naked Scientists](_URL_0_). There are a lot of factors, including structures, that provide stability to the brain after a hemispherectomy. These include, according to my source, the tentorium cerebelli and the falx cerebri. These two structu... | null |
2ytlrb | What is the history of the cigar? | [
{
"answer": "What in particular? The history of the cigar or at least it's origins from what I recall are a tad hard to pin down given that there aren't too many sources that I can find that are reliable. So I'll do my best with my passing interest in cigars and the one book I've read about the history of cigar... | null |
2gref9 | How did bilge pumps work in the old sailing ships? | [
{
"answer": "I have a book at home which has diagrams, if nobody's posted any by the time I get home I'll get you some pictures. But for now, [this is the best I can find](_URL_0_) (Source: _URL_2_)\n\nElm tree pumps, also known as chain pumps, were one sort of bilge pump used. You can see one in HMS Victory in... | null |
68bkmw | what causes those static-like patches of white pixels when watching films on a disc that's been scratched? | [
{
"answer": "Imagine it like this,\n\nYoi stretched out the dvd into one line, here you can see all the code for the laser which is etched into the dvd, if it gets scratched off the laser will see nothing an percieve it as zero and leave the screen white in places.\n\nHowever sometines when scratched the laser ... | null |
axm5ng | Why is Pluto's (and other dwarf planets) orbit so unusual? | [
{
"answer": "One reason is \"chaotic\" gravity. The dwarf planets beyond Neptune (and other objects in that region) can experience tumultuous gravitational influence from the outer planets and from each other. As an example, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Pluto's orbit is in resonance wi... | null |
9t1sh9 | when someone’s metabolism speeds up where does the extra energy go? | [
{
"answer": "The extra energy is used, primarily for movement. People with a fast metabolism tend to be a lot more active.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Your body is in a constant state of two processes: \n[Gluconeogenesis](_URL_0_)- the building up of sugar chains in order to store and tran... | null |
1d7q16 | The history of Feminism. | [
{
"answer": "Well...in the spirit of our rules about homework (since I assume this is a school assignment?):\n\nI would direct you over to /r/askfeminists. They could be helpful.\n\nFeminism is generally recognized by feminist historians as operating in \"waves.\" The 1st Wave were the suffragettes. The 2nd ... | null |
117vvb | Hi, Historians! Can you please tell me what the diet was like of an average person of your respective eras of expertise? I have so many questions! | [
{
"answer": "Pork and Rice! And a whole lot of it. These were essentially the staple foods for the lower and middle class.\n\nThe upper class in the Song Dynasty (in case the tag didn't make it clear which time period I am referring to) were able to import all kinds of food from around China, and neighbouring c... | null |
ez8dab | where does our bodily energy go when we don't use it? | [
{
"answer": "You're conflating the physical concept of energy with the abstract human feeling of being energetic. They are not the same at all. Being riled up doesn't mean your body contains more energy, it's just how you feel. Your body isn't a vessel that stores energy until it reaches some peak and explodes.... | null |
19z34c | When you record sound on your phone at a concert, why does it pick up the sound of everyone around you over the speakers, but your ears pick up the soundsystem? | [
{
"answer": "Humans have the ability to focus on a single source and mentally filter out background noises. Your phone does not. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "1560437",
"title": "Portable media player",
"section": "Sec... | null |
2tkbjm | I keep hearing about outbreaks of measles and whatnot due to people not vaccinating their children. Aren't the only ones at danger of catching a disease like measles the ones who do not get vaccinated? | [
{
"answer": "Sadly, no. Unvaccinated people are indeed at the highest risk, however, while vaccines are very effective, no vaccine is 100% effective. Most childhood vaccines protect between 85 and 99 percent of the population. For some reason, [a small percentage of folks who are vaccinated do not develop immun... | null |
2x1e6b | why do cables that plug into phones such as the iphone cable have multiple pins going out but ultimately its a 4 pin usb connection on the others end? | [
{
"answer": "The iPhone dock connector was designed to provide multiple types of control & power. If you plug the phone into certain types of docks, it carries audio data & lets you control the device (play/pause, stop, next/previous track), along with providing power.\n\nWhen you connect it to USB, you're... | null |
1e79j9 | why do people want obama impeached over the benghazi attack? | [
{
"answer": "Actually just covered this in a different thread. It's not necessairly ELI5-ready, but I think I did a good job.\n\n[Link](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The accusation is that Obama used Susan Rice to cover up that there was a terrorist involvement in the Benghazi attack... | null |
69uosl | why is planter's trail mix allowed to use real m & ms? | [
{
"answer": "Because they have a deal with Mars. It's mutually beneficial for the two companies since they don't directly compete. If you pay attention you can find this sort of thing all over the snack aisle.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia... | null |
6p11v8 | why is planting trees so important when farmers plant millions of plants every year? | [
{
"answer": "Many reasons.\n\nTrees are much larger than what a farmer plants. When they grow they provide homes for many animals and one tree is better for the environment than an acre of a crop.\n\nTrees provide shade, they can live for many years, cleaning the air..\n\nTrees have deep roots which are good f... | null |
zz66g | why does my voice sounds weird on video/audio? | [
{
"answer": "When you speak, you hear two things. You hear the sound of your own voice carried through the air back to your ears (having bounced off the walls or something), and you also hear the sound of your voice resonating inside your own body, in your chest cavity and your sinuses and all that. Both of the... | null |
t716j | What can cause a person to change the language they are speaking, mid sentence, and not realize it? | [
{
"answer": "It's entirely possible that this man has a form of aphasia (language impairment). [Here is an interesting study](_URL_0_) on the effects of aphasia on bilinguals (note: \"L1\" means \"native language\" or \"first language\" and \"L2\" means \"second language\" or \"language learned later in life\")... | null |
3vyd4x | the difference between hate crime and terrorism | [
{
"answer": "The difference is in the intended audience. Terrorism is done in a very public way, in order to terrorize as many people as possible. A hate crime is simply a crime where the victim was chosen because of their race / religion / etc.\n\nSo, for example, here in Pittsburgh a cab driver was shot in th... | null |
22q40o | Is there anywhere on Earth which has experienced no conflicts in the past? | [
{
"answer": "Well, every place on earth has seen some sort of conflict, military or not.\n\nGreenland was (and still is) a colony of Denmark. In World War 2, Denmark was annexed by Nazi Germany, and Greenland came with it. It was only until the allies established minor bases on it that it was secured by the a... | null |
50mviu | if you throw a die you have a 1-in-6 (16.7%) chance of landing the desired number, but if you throw it six times you don't have a 100% chance of landing it. | [
{
"answer": "For independent events like die rolls, probabilities don't add, they multiply. So the chance of getting a 2nd roll the same as the first is 1/6. And the chance of getting a 2nd roll the same as the first AND a 3rd roll the same as the second is 1/6 * 1/6, or 1/36.",
"provenance": null
},
... | null |
20xblf | how instant hot water showers work | [
{
"answer": "In the US, at least, we have a Water Heater Tank.\n\nThink of a big tank of water that is kept at a relatively constant temperature. When you turn on the hot water pipe, hot water is pumped out of the hot water tank.\n\nIt's usually electric or gas heated. \n\nIn other countries I've been to, there... | null |
zfukn | how do government agencies/big companies track internet usage of users, especially if there are hundreds of people using it at the same time? | [
{
"answer": "The places sending you the information have to track you anyway in order to send it. All the government/companies have to do is copy and organize this data; when you have lots of very big servers, that's not particularly hard.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": ... | null |
4mlfuj | if everyone stopped dying altogether, right this moment, how long do we have before the earth is completely overpopulated? | [
{
"answer": "I believe 14B is an accepted maximum capacity. For every 8 worldwide deaths, there are 19 births (2.375x). Around 55.3M people die every year. Since the population is currently ~7.4B, that means we need 6.6B more, so just under 116 years.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"p... | null |
2rpab2 | why is it that as we get older, we find it harder to enjoy new things (ie. music) and instead focus on things that remind us of the past? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not really sure that this is the case. \n\nIf it is, though, I would think the answer is in the question: since the very young have comparatively less of *anything* to remind them of good things in the past, they cling to whatever's current just by default, whereas anyone who's even 20 or olde... | null |
19ixn1 | Why was Christianity so widely adopted by Europeans? Is there a reason for why Islam spread throughout the Middle East more than Christianity? | [
{
"answer": "Not sure about the first part of your question (Constantine and his conversion definitely had a part, but how did Christianity even reach him? Trade routes?), but Islam spread through the Middle East because the people who conquered it were Muslims and allowed for easy conversion, at least accordin... | null |
8qjbqp | why are viruses so difficult to get rid of? if they mutate too quickly, how do they retain their orignal side effect? (common cold, hiv, herpes) | [
{
"answer": "Two different questions, two different responses:\n\nDifficulty of removal could fall into two camps, eradication of a given virus, or clearing of all viruses from a given area. Both are difficult due to different reasons.\n\nViruses aren't alive per se, they need a cell to reproduce (of which they... | null |
2azizu | What are the earliest examples of people putting collars on pets? Was there ever a significantly different way of identifying personal pets? | [
{
"answer": "Egyptian art from the 4th millennium BC depicts dogs wearing collars and some of those have been discovered by archaeologists. We know the types of names they gave their dogs because of inscriptions on surviving collars. Names like 'Brave One, Reliable, Good Herdsman and North-Wind' \n\n_URL_0_ ",
... | null |
3ib2ks | if one country gets fined by another, how is the fine enforced? | [
{
"answer": "I don't understand. It is impossible to fine other countries. If you are referring to reparations for war, that is different. It if you are referring to fines imposed by a treaty organization (I.e. UN, NATO, etc) that is also different. Can you please clarify.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
e73v6p | how do stops in a pipe organ work? | [
{
"answer": "Those are literally valves that direct air to different sets of pipes. Depending on the material, shape, length, etc., of the pipes, you can get different sounds. If you pull a stop, it opens a valve, and when you push it back in, it closes it.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Organ... | null |
qydch | why are there print and television advertisements for things like cotton, plastic, clean coal or eggs. | [
{
"answer": "Those campaigns are put on usually by lobbies for the entire industry. Their purpose is to influence and raise people opinion of the item in question so that people both buy it more/vote for proposal that they feel are in their interest. That's partially why you'll fine that those ads seem to be mo... | null |
9xhayc | What the heck happened after the American Revolutionary war? | [
{
"answer": "This time is known generally as the Articles of Confederation period. The same agreements that unified the 13 colonies to fight the Revolutionary War pretty much continued, along with the Continental Congress. As the states acted more as independent countries, most governance was within the states-... | null |
62x7u5 | What happens to you physiologically when exposed to radiation from a nuclear bomb detonating? Sources? | [
{
"answer": "The type of radiation emitted from a nuclear blast is ionizing radiation. These high energy particles interact with the molecules of your DNA and can cause breaks or can cause an alteration of the DNA conformity. Most ionizing radiation you come into contact with is such a low dose that the natural... | null |
a2zq1o | During the time of the 13 colonies/Europe what was the literacy rate? And with the population that wasn’t literate, did that understand the concept of percentages? | [
{
"answer": "I'll defer to others regarding the literacy rate in Europe but can speak to the American colonies. Pinning down exactly what we mean by \"literacy\" is complicated and has changed over time. The definition wouldn't be standardized until the late 1800's and the rise of literacy tests for voters. Som... | null |
459jfj | the implications of the detection of gravitational waves by the ligo team | [
{
"answer": "\"Well, gravitational waves give us another way to observe space. For example, waves from the Big Bang would tell us a little more about how the universe formed. Waves also form when black holes collide, supernovae explode, and massive neutron stars wobble. So detecting these waves would give us a ... | null |
blgeu5 | How does ingesting sodium/potassium affect the "sodium-potassium pump"? | [
{
"answer": "This is only a partial answer to your question but is still worth noting. Increased sodium intake increases your blood pressure because it pulls water into the blood stream from the interstitial space (space in between cells) and other cells. This is why you feel dehydrated after eating a high salt... | null |
5u3xwi | Vikings are famous for raping and pillaging, and undoubtedly more than one woman must have given birth to a half-Viking child who was a product of rape. How did societies treat these children? | [
{
"answer": "Rape was the fear, expectation, the weapon, the reward for soldiers, and the terrible reality of medieval (ancient, early modern, *modern*) warfare. And by warfare, we're talking about short raids, longer \"campout\" raids that could last a week or a month, the stereotypical protracted siege culmin... | null |
8ny8aj | do other animals actually have “human” facial expressions (smiles, frowns, furrowed brows) or is it just our minds wanting to see facial expressions in animals? | [
{
"answer": "I believe it somewhat has to do with a cognitive phenomena called Pareidolia - in which our brains responds to certain visual stimuli that evokes the recognition of some pattern (like a anthropomorphic expression) where none exists. Please take a look at this article in Wikipedia. \n\n_URL_0_",
... | null |
558zl3 | why was the native american code during ww2 so hard to break? | [
{
"answer": "Languages are organized in families. English is part of the Indo-European family, so almost all European languages are from that family. There are lots of loanwords too.\n\nThe Native American languages were from their own family, so the linguists in Germany and Japan didn't have experience with th... | null |
1pvlfl | Why do fabrics become more resistant to tearing when wet, while other materials, like paper, become more prone to it. | [
{
"answer": "Simply put because the wetness softens the fibers.\n\nIn a woven fabric, the fibers are basically going the entire width of the item in one strand. So when they become softer, they tend to stretch or slide past each other, and they still need the same amount of force applied to break each fiber, bu... | null |
42nv43 | why does windows sometimes estimate copying time super incorrectly? | [
{
"answer": "It takes longer to copy many smaller files than one large file. Sometimes you may be copying a combination of the two so windows thinks all the files are small and since the average copying speed has dropped copying the smaller files it increases the expected time to complete the rest of the files ... | null |
butafk | how does air move across a room? | [
{
"answer": " > just closed a window (...) the door rattled\n\nThat shouldn't happen, unless you're leaving something out or missed the sequence of events.\n\nUsually, shutting a door can rattle a window, but not the other way around, because doors swing and windows merely close.\n\nIt's air pressure. When a ... | null |
4humyc | how is dubai able to build so much infrastructure so quickly without much political opposition? | [
{
"answer": "Dubai is an absolute monarchy: there *is* no political opposition. That doesn't mean that the ruling family does whatever they feel like doing without consultation, but they could. The largest property developers have state connections e.g. the founder of Emaar Properties, Mohamed Alabbar, was also... | null |
1zggyo | how do open source projects compete with for profit alternatives? | [
{
"answer": "Poorly. They really cannot advertise, for the consumer market which is mostly free, nor compete much with Microsoft for being included on sold PCs.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "2266366",
"title": "Multi-licensing"... | null |
1rl7tw | if suicide by subway train is prevalent, why don't the subway trains slow down enough to make a quick stop before they get to the platform? | [
{
"answer": "Trains have poor stopping distances. The value of a subway system is rapid mass transit. Slow travel times undermine its use as competition with driving/walking. \n\nSuicide by train is not that common in fact it's so rare that its often international news when it happens. Even if it were a pro... | null |
6b6th8 | why does the tail rotor on a helicopter spin on an axis perpendicular to the main rotor on top of the helicopter? | [
{
"answer": "Because the main rotor's spinning generates a net torque that twists the helicopter around. The tail rotor cancels the torque. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The purpose of the tail rotor is not to create lift but to counter the torque produced by the main rotor, which would othe... | null |
3720rd | what is preventing us to make more of the drug quaaludes since it doesn't exist anymore? (depicted in wolf of wallstreet) | [
{
"answer": "Quaaludes must be manufactured in a lab. The DEA was able to find the labs making it and shut them down. Simple answer it's hard to make Quaaludes.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's mostly been replaced by better, safer, modern drugs. Benzodiazepines (eg - Xanax & Valium) hav... | null |
60k6eh | how did "aww" become a standard reply upon seeing/hearing something cute? | [
{
"answer": "Perhaps it's because it sounds like what one says when they see or hear something cute. Basically a moan.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "2240362",
"title": "Panchira",
"section": "Section::::Origins.\n",
... | null |
2kspe1 | What will airlines do when fossil fuels run out? | [
{
"answer": " > So, are aviation-grade biofuels possible? Is it feasible/possible to have a jet engine capable of running on 100% biofuel?\n\nAbsolutely. It's a huge focus in engineering R & D by all the major aircraft/engine manufacturers. [You can read about it here.](_URL_0_) There have been many commercial ... | null |
5jxoke | why is it that the stock market generally continues to go up forever? | [
{
"answer": "I run a company. I made some profits. I use those profits to build new factory. I didn't have to go steal that factory from some other country or company, I just **made** it. (Or hired people to.) The stock value of the company I run has gone up, because now I have another factory which is a... | null |
26y69f | why are certain things interesting? | [
{
"answer": "My source for this is the book 'A Theory Of Fun' by Raph Koster in which he asks this question to neuroscientists but...\n\nThe human brain is constantly trying to identify patterns in everything, and it rewards us with dopamine for doing so. When we manage to discern a new pattern and get that dop... | null |
b9ac1k | if an atom is mostly empty space, how are we able to touch anything, and how do atoms combine to make something solid? | [
{
"answer": "Everything is mostly empty space because it is made of atoms. The nature of protons, neutrons and electrons is that they can't be pushed together more than a certain amount. The reason why is \"quantum stuff\", a bit beyond ELI5, but roughly because they can't be confined into a smaller space.\n\nW... | null |
4lhk53 | Would spraying boiling water over a fire put it out as effectively as room temp water? | [
{
"answer": "The main mechanism of water to put out a fire is via evaporation. There are two reasons for this:\n\n1) The latent heat of vaporization--converting water from liquid to gas at 100 degrees Celsius--requires about 2.2MJ per kg. That means, every kilogram of water on the fire will absorb 2.2MJ of ener... | null |
4vvkm5 | How much does Solar Maximums and Minimums affect temperature here on earth? | [
{
"answer": "To first order, we can talk about the difference in temperature caused by the difference in sunlight during solar maxima and minima. Note that this ignores more subtle effects, such as a slight increase in cloudy days due to increased particle flux at solar maximum.\n\nWe've observed that the avera... | null |
3b9xjc | how does putting a lawyer on retainer work? what are the advantages of doing this versus just hiring/consulting a lawyer when you need one? | [
{
"answer": "TV shows do not represent real life. The reason some gets a Lawyer on retainer is because it is *cheaper*. It is essentially buying in bulk. Someone pays the lawyer to be on retainer so that they can consult with them whenever they want/often. This is cheaper than paying the lawyer each time the p... | null |
8zsbk7 | how do batteries (aa, aaa, b, c, d, etc.) get their names? what do they mean? | [
{
"answer": "Every time you step up a letter, the batteries get bigger. Because we don’t have a letter smaller than A, we repeat the letter.\n\nAAAA < AAA < AA < A < B < C < D\n\nEdit:\nYes, there’s an A battery. Yes, there’s a B battery. No, they didn’t name them after bra sizes. No, that joke you s... | null |
9z948y | glass that is more scratch resistant is more brittle and prone to shattering. | [
{
"answer": "It is more scratch resistant because it is harder, and in some materials more hardness means more brittleness. You see the same thing in machine tooling, tungsten carbide is well-regarded because it is hard and can cut through many materials, but one bad move and it shatters much more easily than s... | null |
1p2t01 | why do cops use fatal guns instead of tranquilizer guns just like used in animals? | [
{
"answer": "They carry non-lethal tazers for tranquilizing purposes.\nGuns are for extreme cases, from self-defense to saving others' lives.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I would not want to shot a tranquilizer dart into someone and wait 10-30 sec for them to stop shooting a gun at me...",
... | null |
1o2mq9 | Why are there no "of" or "from"s in English surnames? (Similar to Von, Da, De, Van) | [
{
"answer": "Isn't the Irish O' short of ''of''?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "To clarify your question some: there are location-based surnames in English (for example Sean Salisbury and Thom Yorke) but that doesn't explain why the \"from\" was dropped, when it isn't in other languages.",
... | null |
1dgbth | how cannabinoid receptors are affected when we consume marijuana | [
{
"answer": "Do you remember the toys you played with as a kid where you would try to put the square peg in the round hole? This is vaguely kind of how neurotransmitters work. The cannabinoids from pot will travel to your brain through your blood from your lungs or stomach and look for places where they fit. On... | null |
2endzm | Did the Italian Establishment, together with NATO and/or the CIA sponsored far-right terrorism to stop Communism during the Cold War? | [
{
"answer": "To be sure, the \"anni di piombo\" period is usually associated with left wing terrorism, of which the chronicles of the time are full. They culminated with the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro (at the time the head of the major christian democratic party) in 1978, and in the kidnapping and subse... | null |
b03j62 | Why is meat, specifically bacon described as lasting days or up to a week without refrigeration in older books, but these days it’s recommended to throw out bacon left at room temp for more than two hours? | [
{
"answer": "Keeping food over long periods of time was a great challenge in the pre-industrial world, before refrigeration. Even things like ice boxes ( and icemen to fill them) didn't become a common thing until the later 19th c. , after ice was developed as a commodity. The methods were few: but most still ... | null |
65soun | when we say a list of names, how come some sound better in a specific order? | [
{
"answer": "Like 60% of the time, when someone asks why a certain phrase sounds better in a certain order, the answer is rhythm. Phrases with repetition seem to make people happy.\n\n\"Evan and Emily\" sounds good because it repeats the same pattern twice: a stressed syllable with an \"e\" sound follow by two ... | null |
79hqa6 | Does Quantum Field Theory imply that the idea of "Four Fundamental Forces" is an incorrect simplification? | [
{
"answer": "Each kind of particle is an excitation of its corresponding field, but each field does not correspond to a fundamental force. The Standard Model of particle physics has 12 \"force carrier\" particles, divided between three fundamental forces (one photon, three weak vector bosons, and eight gluons).... | null |
5w9vkz | why does copper powder not give a high conductivity when in water? | [
{
"answer": "The path of current does not go THRU it to convey current. The water by itself is the pathway for current. If the pure elemental copper was combined as a salt, it would then be conductive in the water and aid in passing the electrical current.\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,... | null |
1mhjcc | is it actually bad for your brain to fall asleep to tv/music? | [
{
"answer": "My personal story about sleeping with the TV on. I used to fall asleep with PBS on (Public TV for you non-Yanks). I would then have some really bizarre dreams about the subject of whatever was being shown. A couple of the more odd dreams I had were one about math (the PBS channel in my city used... | null |
2djfif | why don't politicians ever take contributions then act counter to the contributors wishes? | [
{
"answer": "Most likely because whoever gave the contribution will go to their rival and make sure that person does not get re-elected. You typically don't bite the hand that feeds you. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There is also the fact that most people don't contribute to campaigns of pe... | null |
19wzx4 | how do jpeg/jpg images get so pixelated and messed up? | [
{
"answer": "In an effort to reduce the size of the image, JPEGs will reduce the quality (kind of like how MP3s work). Sometimes it's noticeable, sometimes it's not, depending on the image and the level of compression.\n\nPNG files don't reduce the quality, but they are also larger than JPEGs.",
"provenance... | null |
2pqt1b | Does the propagation of a gravity wave through a massive object encounter resistance from the mass of said object? | [
{
"answer": "We have never observed gravity to slow down or gravitational waves to scatter from matter interactions. Theory states that at least the former does not occur, but we haven't really had the facilities to perform the necessary experiments to verify this to any certainty. The fact that our galaxy is v... | null |
1ojuqj | why is it that car insurance companies are telling me i am responsible for my children until they are 21, even though they are adults at 18? | [
{
"answer": "Are they driving vehicles insured by you, or are you guarantor under the policy?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's because of psychology and human development. This is under the topic of \"emerging adulthood\". Basically most 18‑20 year olds in the United States don't see them... | null |
70qojw | why does the cia sometimes refer to osama bin laden as "usama bin laden"? | [
{
"answer": "Because his first name is spelled \"أسامة\", which doesn't have an exact representation in the Latin alphabet. Both \"Osama\" and \"Usama\" are correct. As are \"Oussama\" and \"Usamah\".",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Transliterating Arabic words or names into English (converti... | null |
2u0fgz | why a billion dollar gaming industry hasn't produced a "gaming" operating system? | [
{
"answer": "Unless you count steam's os. Which shouldn't count because it can only run steam games (As far as I know).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "So, what would happen if someone wanted to use PC hardware and write an optimized OS for it?\n\nWell, they'd want to standardize on some certai... | null |
1puxg7 | how can judges dismiss evidence that isn't "submitted correctly" such as videos that incriminate the accused? | [
{
"answer": "[Here](_URL_0_) is part of the Illustrated Guide to Law that explains this with comics.\n\nBasically, it's to protect citizens from police investigators overstepping their boundaries. The Constitution, which states the fundamental rights belonging to Americans, makes it clear that the government i... | null |
47stpk | Why were Italian and Irish immigrants to America given such a hard time? Was this typical of every immigrant, and the Italians and Irish had just arrived in greater numbers? Or was there something unique about these immigrants that made them "lower-class"? | [
{
"answer": "I can think of four things that distinguished Italians and Irish from other immigrant groups (bearing in mind that Chinese and Jewish immigrants faced different, and in some ways more severe, forms of discrimination):\n\n1. They were predominantly Roman Catholic. The United States had long defined ... | null |
6uqegg | The Franks became Christian much earlier than many other Germanic groups. Why is this? When/where were the last Frankish pagans? | [
{
"answer": "I'm going to do my best in answering this question as I feel it falls in my wheel house and I'm actually reading two books on the Gothic and Frankish peoples. \n\nStarting off with the first part of your question I just want to make a minor correction. \n\n > The Franks became Christian much earlie... | null |
4ycmrk | why are some people well written but not well spoken? (myself included) | [
{
"answer": "To be well spoken you need to construct well phrased sentences in a fraction of the time you have when you are writing something. This requires a lot more practice as you can't do it if you have to use a lot of your brains capacity for it. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Speaking ... | null |
328q8g | what is the medical condition s.t. depression? | [
{
"answer": "There are about 11 different serious medical conditions that can cause a cardiac ST depression. \n\n***I highly suggest you or your mom call her cardiologist and tell them you don't understand his/her explanation and would like to meet to talk about it again. If they aren't willing to do that, the... | null |
a8l2vw | In the US, did any of the founding fathers have thoughts about the Salem witch trials that happened within living memory? | [
{
"answer": "Related question: when did the Salem witch trials become 'common knowledge' in America, for lack of a better term, and why the Salem witch trials as opposed to any other sort of tale of hysteria/superstition gone awry?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "\"Living memory\" means a time ... | null |
1ecc0p | Do animals experience menstrual cramps? | [
{
"answer": "Yes. However, not many animals menstruate. Humans and old-world primates are about the only animals that undergo menses with the exception of bats. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Are you specifically asking just about cramps or general menstruation?",
"provenance": null
},
... | null |
1r7kc7 | what would we experience on earth if another earth-like planet were to collide with us? | [
{
"answer": "We would all die in a matter of seconds. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "4422561",
"title": "Collision Course (Space: 1999)",
"section": "Section::::Story.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 21,
"star... | null |
21i4g2 | If there was no official "Emperor" position in the Roman Empire, or in its early days at least, what exactly did the new Emperor inherit from his predecessor? What official title or position did the new Emperor inherit that gave him absolute rule? | [
{
"answer": "The successor inherited nothing de jure. It was up to the Senate to grant him the same powers as his predecessor. What became common practice was that the current ruler would groom his successor, including him in the government and having him take bigger responsibilities. He would thus be granted o... | null |
1hgude | Now that summer is upon us: Is there any real conclusive evidence about sunscreen being bad for us? | [
{
"answer": "I am a bit uncomfortable with this question, as the last paragraph makes it clear you are asking for medical advice (which we are not allowed to give). Please see [this post](_URL_0_).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "3902499... | null |
6kt7nh | Poisoning wells is a common espionage activity in fiction based in medieval times. Was well poisoning actually something spies would do? What would the exact goals of a well-poisoning be? | [
{
"answer": "To ad on to OPs question; what would an attacking army do to clear a Well? What were other sabatoge methods used by medieval spies? \n\nThis is an interesting post op",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Hello everyone, \n\nThis thread is starting to become besieged by poor responses. P... | null |
3va3es | why are bathroom hot air hand dryers better for the environment when they are using a non-renewable resource (fossil fuels) to save a renewable one (trees)? | [
{
"answer": "To answer that question we need to know how much energy that particular dryer uses to dry your hands, what percentage of that energy is coming from burning fossil fuels, how much energy was used to produce the paper towel, and what resources were used to produce the paper towel. I have often ponder... | null |
oxbsk | Is it possible to put enough perfluocarbons into a lake or large body of water for people to be able to breathe underwater? | [
{
"answer": "Interesting question, i'd guess that it has to be a very high cocentration if even possible. Anyway, a nice article: _URL_0_\n\nPD: The Abyss is one of the most underrated sci fi out there.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Well the most widely used fluorocarbon for 'liquid breathing... | null |
5lrjgz | Is there a reason all the planets orbit the sun in approximately the same plane and direction? | [
{
"answer": "Yes. Conservation of angular momentum. Our solar system started out as a rotating gas cloud. Over time, this cloud collapsed and denser regions formed the sun and the planets. But due to conservation of angular momentum, the rotation had to remain, which means that the solar system as a whole rotat... | null |
1qsmvm | how do top chess players look so many moves ahead? | [
{
"answer": "When the top chess players began playing chess, they only looked 1 or 2 moves ahead. It was all they knew how to do, because they were new to the game.\nAfter beating some other players, having some close games, and becoming familiar with different combinations of moves, the top chess player was ab... | null |
1511rd | what's the difference between "assault" and "battery"? | [
{
"answer": "Assault is the threat of the violence, Battery is the actual violence.\n\nFrom Wikipedia:\n\nAssault and battery is the combination of two violent crimes: assault (the threat of violence) and battery (physical violence). This legal distinction exists only in jurisdictions that distinguish assault a... | null |
2i5snr | has the olympics always (since 1896) been a major expense and drain to the host city/country? | [
{
"answer": "The Olympic events themselves are, economically speaking, beneficial for a country. They attract a lot of visitors who will spend money at local establishments.\n\nThe burden comes from the infrastructure. Unless a city has hosted the Olympics before, they're very unlikely to have all of the facili... | null |
3ezvrm | What were the main reasons the Russians lost WW1, and what were the consequences on their society and economic and military strength? | [
{
"answer": "Well to start off' when the war broke out Russia was in no way prepared for a major conflict. They had been thrashed by the Japanese in 1904-1905 in the Russo-Japanese war, which left the economy in shambles, and Russia dangerously unstable. Even though Russia had the largest army in the world at t... | null |
8civgw | why does earth's armosphere glow blue in pictures taken from space? | [
{
"answer": "It is the same reson that the sky is blue from the ground. The atmosphere scatter the blue light more then the other colors so it looks blue. The amount of scattering depend on the wavelength of light. Blue scatter most and red on the others side of the spectrum scatter the least.\n\nIs is the same... | null |
2m4gxm | Can anyone help me interpret this political cartoon? All I know about it is that it is related to the Algerian War. | [
{
"answer": "My knowledge of the Algerian war is limited, but I can tell you that the image is a visual reference to [the three wise monkeys](_URL_0_), which in turn refer to the saying \"see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.\" The cartoon is accusing someone of turning a blind eye to unethical behavior, th... | null |
1x0v2j | why is red hair so much more rare than other hair colors? | [
{
"answer": "Because red hair is the most recessive of the hair colors. So if you look at a punnet square it'll be easy to see that unless both parents have red hair then there is only a 25% chance of the child having red hair at best and since there are multiple hair colors when red heads mate with non red he... | null |
agkdyf | How were/are native peoples affected by the establishment of the US/Canada border? | [
{
"answer": "There was no law or settlements in the Western Canadian prairies until the Northwest Mounted Police, newly established in 1873, arrived at Fort Whoop-up in 1874. Up until then there was no law nor any federal protection for the Indian tribes living in the Canadian side of the border and the US Cav... | null |
16lp9f | What are some great examples of military deception throughout history? | [
{
"answer": "There are others, like the [Dazzle Camouflage](_URL_1_), but for my money, the best ever were the [fake Sniper trees of World War 1](_URL_0_). ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "During WW2 the Australian Prime Minister kept speaking of the Japanese pushing south and Australia being i... | null |
7nb2mh | what is mk ultra? | [
{
"answer": "It was a CIA project that started in the 50s and lasted the the 70s. It's goal was to identify drugs and techniques used for interrogation and counter intelligence. It included a lot of messed up experiments like daily LSD dosage on unknowing patients. It was illegal and didn't yield any real resul... | null |
1im12k | Was there anything like the American "temperance movement" in Europe in the 19th or 20th century? | [
{
"answer": "There was a fairly strong temperance movement in Scandinavia. A number of both open and closed organisations were involved. An attempt was made in 1918 in Denmark to partially ban certain sorts of alcoholic drinks. A general drive to collect signatures for this managed 722,280 signatures (out of a ... | null |
8zbqkm | What’s the difference between sleep and just laying down/resting? | [
{
"answer": "Frankly, nobody knows for sure. It's one of the great unresolved questions in psychology and neurology. Hypotheses for the function of sleeping range from consolidating new memories to cleaning up metabolic waste products accrued in the brain. All we know that deprivation of sleep eventually incapa... | null |
3527m9 | why do most americans seem to be suspicious of the federal government? | [
{
"answer": "Sadly, most Americans really aren't, and I wish that they were. It's not really suspicious, because that implies some level of mystery. I'm completely soured on them. They're power-hungry dicks who will use any and every tool at their disposal to control everyone's lives as much as they can. ",... | null |
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