id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
1ot469 | why cant we just send money to other countries to pay for their food? | [
{
"answer": "One thing to consider: the only reason gas is so cheap in Venezuela is that the government deliberately pays over 90 percent of the cost to keep prices down and avoid...well, at best rioting and at worst a full scale revolution. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I think in the futur... | null |
j35zh | li5: financial derivatives | [
{
"answer": "Here is an excellent answer to your question, which was asked a few hours ago: [Here](_URL_0_)",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "9135",
"title": "Derivative (finance)",
"section": "",
"start_paragraph_i... | null |
dtq6xe | how is there nothing in space? i get that there isn’t necessarily air like we have in our atmosphere on earth, but how can there be nothing? | [
{
"answer": "Most of matter is nothing, too. The actual stuff, subatomic particles and whatnot, are a small fraction of the actual space that matter takes up. Even if you treat an atom as a whole solid sphere, the most dense packing formation of atoms is (I think) like 74%? So that means that even in very sense... | null |
8rsovr | how does wii emulation work? | [
{
"answer": "Dolphin emulator has the option for using a mouse and keyboard in lieu of the wiimote. But it can also input through a wiimote, provided you buy a pc usb dongle that supports it.\n\nAnd if I am getting your question correct, you want to know how it does motion controls and how that translates to th... | null |
1zliz0 | how fast do airplanes fly? and why doesn't it seem like we are going that fast? | [
{
"answer": "Take off certainly feels impressive. That said i mean if you blindfold yourself and you are in a car and you put earplugs in you would not be able to tell how fast you were going at all. When you are in a cabin moving at a constant speed, no matter how fast, you cant tell at all how fast you are mo... | null |
2otbp0 | How fast/close/times can i use gravity to slingshot out to interstellar space? | [
{
"answer": "It only takes one pass by Jupiter to find yourself with enough speed to escape the solar system—Voyager 2 did it. See [this](_URL_3_) graph; once you're above the blue line you are leaving the solar system unless you do something about it. Interestingly, note that Voyager 2 got a negative assist ... | null |
6ot9n1 | How do animals like horseshoe crabs process information from so many eyes? | [
{
"answer": "I did not know the answer to your question bit started wondering myself as well. I am not sure what tour background is but these two links should provide accesible information:\n\n_URL_1_\n\nThis wiki contains a lot of information about the processing of compound eye information in insects\n\n\n_UR... | null |
1mzk30 | Naval history? These unique antique doors are from an inn in Wales, but nobody (including the owner) knows what they are. Are they gun doors? (x-post) | [
{
"answer": "It seems unlikely that they are from a ship at all. Those chains, assuming they're original to the \"lids\", would be an odd choice for shipboard use due to their weight. Ropes were much more the order of the day. These ropes, in turn, attached to eyebolts, which were usually integral to the metal ... | null |
3dgsi3 | how big a problem is all the debris in orbit around earth? what can be done about it? | [
{
"answer": "It already makes trips to space complicated. People need to be careful about space debris when putting up satellites and the like. And people are already working on the solutions to this problem. Many ideas have been thought of for how to clean up space. There are many ideas for cheap small crafts ... | null |
3qzh85 | Why did the US end up so much more economically successful than Brazil? | [
{
"answer": "Brazil's only capital rich land lies to the south, near the border with Uruguay. All other lands are more capital poor because of temperature and challenging geography. The United States is a massive power because it controls the mississippi river system, which is the largest interconnected river s... | null |
1jujk9 | What was the relationship like between Ptolemaic ancient Egypt and the Carthaginian Empire? | [
{
"answer": "The short answer is that Egypt had better things to worry about than sticking its nose into Western Mediterranean affairs.\n\nFor most of the First Punic War (264-241), it was hardly clear that Rome would be victorious. The larger issue was that the Ptolemaic Kingdom had much more immediate threats... | null |
9k63ku | When the weather report says the temperature is X, but it feels like Y because of the humidity, what is the relative humidity they're assuming for Y? | [
{
"answer": "Heat index (and wind chill, in areas where it's relevant) are a measure of how fast the body sheds heat in given conditions.\n\nThere are four ways for something to cool off: conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation. For the most part, we rely on convection and evaporation to cool our b... | null |
43k9jb | What was socialism before Marx? | [
{
"answer": "There was a form of Socialist thought prior to Marx, which he, along with Friedrich Engels, coined as \"Utopian Socialism,\" to contrast with the Marx and Engels interpretation of Socialism, which they coined as \"Scientific Socialism.\"\n\nIn short, the difference between the two classes of social... | null |
8sy2dx | What was the difference between women and men’s labor camps during Nazi Germany? | [
{
"answer": "Quite interested in this, waiting on a response also!",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "476841",
"title": "Female guards in Nazi concentration camps",
"section": "Section::::Camps, names and ranks.\n",
... | null |
47d97z | Do historians believe the Carthaginians, around the time of Hamilcar and Hannibal, were black/dark skinned or more fair skinned? | [
{
"answer": "They were more likely to be fairer skin. Carthage was founded as a Phoenician colony and the Phoenicians themselves were a Semitic people. The region that they settled (modern Tunisia) was populated by Libyans who bear more resemblance to modern day Berbers (group of people dispersed across much No... | null |
yzgfc | How does the "Stimulated Emission" part of a Laser work? | [
{
"answer": "(wrong answer, wasn't thinking, apologies)\n\n > Why does the presence of the first photon raise the probability of the second photon being released?\n\nin spontaneous emission, when a photon comes into contact with matter, it is absorbed by an electron, causing the electron to jump up in energy l... | null |
d82osj | why does a balance sheet always balance? | [
{
"answer": "Because you can't print or destroy money. If you're assets increased, you must have paid for those assets somehow - so you have less cash or more debt or whatever it took to get that asset.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The accounting equation is Assets = Liabilities + Equity. \n... | null |
sex6s | Why can rocket boosters have more than 100% thrust? | [
{
"answer": "100% thrust was the original specification for maximum output from the rocket. It was later determined it could handle more (up to 104% based on the original 100% definition).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "697793",
... | null |
413sue | How much water is there under the earths surface? Will springs ever stop producing water? | [
{
"answer": "Springs are not areas where water is generated, they are outlets for underground reservoirs of water known as [aquifers](_URL_2_). Aquifers are fed by rainwater and snowmelt that drain into porous ground at higher elevations. Springs are just lower-elevation areas where the aquifer flows out of the... | null |
a6npcl | How much did China contribute to the end of Imperial Japan | [
{
"answer": "I would direct you to my answer on a related question: [How significant was the Second Sino-Japanese War in World War II?](_URL_0_)\n\nIt must be emphasised that this is still very much a debated topic among scholars - Western and Japanese scholars tend to downplay the role of China in the larger P... | null |
6cxqoe | why are we told leave a pool during a thunder storm if the pool is grounded? | [
{
"answer": "Yes, the pool is grounded, so lightning will pass through it into the ground. You are mostly water. If you are in the water, some of those 1.21 Gigawatts are going to pass through you was well.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id... | null |
nf5d3 | What's that noise I hear when I shut my eyes really tightly? | [
{
"answer": "I can make this effect happen in my ears without closing my eyes. It feels like I'm trying to move my ear canal backward. It's a lower pitch than the eyes, FWIW",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Congratulations, there are not many people who can flex this muscle at will. I do it s... | null |
orszq | Any news on the attempt to photograph a black hole? | [
{
"answer": "_URL_0_\n\nIt's on the front page right now.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "60462526",
"title": "Katie Bouman",
"section": "",
"start_paragraph_id": 2,
"start_character": 0,
"end_para... | null |
21ehzb | Is it possible for an environment to be so cold, an existing fire would be extinguished? | [
{
"answer": "Absolutely. The fire needs to be hot enough to be self-sustaining. Each reaction has to give off enough energy to trigger the next reaction. If the surrounding environment absorbs this energy then it is not available to trigger the next reaction.\n\nJust for a simple example, if you've ever trie... | null |
c6r86e | why is going asleep on your stomach so bad for you but feel so good? | [
{
"answer": "If sleeping on your back is *uncomfortable*, maybe you just need a new mattress. If you want to sleep on your stomach, though, know that sleeping on your stomach can put your lower back in an awkward position. If stomach sleeping is more comfortable for you, try sleeping with a pillow under your st... | null |
1joe6p | Did early sailors believe the ocean was an entity that either A) Looked out for them or B) Was out to get them? | [
{
"answer": "What do you define as early? Because different cultures have very different starting points for naval exploration. Before Columbus was even born, Zheng He (China) was bringing back Giraffes from Africa. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Pre-Conversion Scandinavians saw the open ocea... | null |
1jv95v | why does stress result in prolonged muscle contractions? (i.e., chronic neck and shoulder pain) | [
{
"answer": "Goes back to the fight or flight instinct. \n\nStress puts an added toll on our bodies. When you feel fear or anxiousness, you are under stress as well. \n\nBasically its your instincts tensing your muscles to tell your body we need to move and move fast because the situation we're in is dangerous.... | null |
5r5uq5 | how does silicon and copper and the makeup of a chip ultimately store digital information? | [
{
"answer": "Electronic memory storage at it's most basic has to do with being able to either hold onto some amount of electrons, or get rid of those electrons.\n\nWe discovered that if you stick two slightly different types of silicon together in just the right pattern, you can create a little electrical gate.... | null |
1zn4mp | Decay related: does time (in any scale) have any significance to a stable atom? | [
{
"answer": "It depends on what kind of stable atom you're talking about and whether you mean just the nucleus of the atom or if you include the electrons in the atom.\n\nA large group of nuclei are theoretically stable forever as long as protons do not decay (we think they don't). Some \"stable\" nuclei are co... | null |
3x13f8 | Does The Endoplasmic Reticulum Transport ATP? | [
{
"answer": "Hi. The ER is used for the transport of proteins and other complex molecules as you mentioned, but that does not really include ATP. ATP, whether it's made by oxidative reactions (glycolysis -- > electron transport chain) or anaerobic respiration, is utilized instantly. Thus, a cell makes ATP *as ... | null |
1zmcjh | if bitcoins have a monetary value, and bitcoin mining earns you bitcoins, how does this mining create any value? | [
{
"answer": "Each newly mined coin slightly dilutes the value of all coins (inflation). It's the same as a government printing more currency.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The calculations that are being done secure the network. The cool thing about Bitcoin is that it is a monetary system t... | null |
2dhe7y | what makes software compatibility between mac or pc so difficult? | [
{
"answer": "Let's say PC is like building with lego, Mac is like building with k'nex. Sure they're both plastic, but lego doesn't fit with k'nex.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "345354",
"title": "System 7",
"section": ... | null |
330aov | What happens if mass defect equals or exceeds original rest mass? | [
{
"answer": "Actually from my understanding (read out of my ass and memory) the mass defect is the minimum energy needed to overcome other force and stay binded together, hence it's other name, binding energy. So this mass defect cannot be augmented by putting the nuclei closer together. \n\n > Any examples the... | null |
68qvkw | what's benefit do major powers get from donating to struggling countries? | [
{
"answer": "They get influence over that country. Take South Korea for example. After Korea helped their war o their behalf, the US is seen as a powerful country that every Korean highly respects. This country could help the US in the future.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Influence. \nEssen... | null |
cwnm8e | what is happening in britain's parliament and why did the queen "close" it. | [
{
"answer": "They are starting a new session of parliament after electing a new Prime Minister. In order to do this they have to end the old session and the only way to do that in their system for the Queen to order it.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"w... | null |
2475sa | What prevents a car/engine from surpassing its top-speed? What's happening when it is reaching that point? | [
{
"answer": "I assume you mean the maximum RPM of an engine? The maximum RPM of a car engine, usually called the redline, is based on a few physical factors.\n\nFirst, the rotating mass in the engine. High speed rotating things have lots of energy, causing high stresses. Spinning all those components too fas... | null |
6cpvjk | the difference between a pothole and a sinkhole | [
{
"answer": "A pothole is a hole that develops in the road. Roads wear over time. Cracks develop and connect, eventually the piece of asphalt becomes loose and falls out, leaving a big chunky hole in the road.\n\nA [Sinkhole](_URL_0_) happens when water erodes the earth below the surface. Eventually the cavi... | null |
3dwkbi | What exactly is Gnosticism and how does it differ from Christianity? | [
{
"answer": "Gnosticm isn't a single belief or religion. So it is hard to pin down how it differs from Christianity. Indeed there are even forms of Gnostic Christianity.\n\nIt was a general movement in the Mediterranean Basin in the first few centuries CE. The basic point of a gnostic belief, was that there was... | null |
hbl1h | How many scientists are religious? | [
{
"answer": "Amongst chemists, the percentage of non-religious people is quite high. There are some of everything, of course, but from personal experience there are more atheists than anything else.\n\nThere is a good [wiki page](_URL_0_) on the subject.\n\nMore than 70% of members of the National Academy of ... | null |
64fodq | Does anyone have information on Georgy Zhukov's service in WWI? | [
{
"answer": "You mean you need to give a speech on him, so, schoolwork? In that case, I'd like to simply point you in the right direction to research this. \"Stalins General\" by Geoffrey Roberts is the best English language biography on Zhukov. Roberts also is the editor for the most recent English edition of ... | null |
3wqycw | If two people held a string stretching from one side of the universe to the other, would it snap due to the expansion of the universe? | [
{
"answer": "Yes. There is a real tension on the string from the expansion.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Here you're venturing fairly deep into \"purely hypothetical\" territory. It'd be impossible to ever get to the \"side\" of the universe as it's expanding faster than we can possibly tra... | null |
acgy03 | is the time +12 hours or -12 hours in the opposite part of the world? | [
{
"answer": "If your at all into programming, this should help make the question as clear as mud. \n\n_URL_0_ (Tom Scott on timezones) ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": " > 24 timezones\n\nThere are more than that. Or less than that. In theory there can be 24 hours per day * 60 minutes per hour ... | null |
1hhxlq | why sometimes only the back end of the scissors work, sometimes the middle, and sometimes only the tip? | [
{
"answer": "The blades of the two sides of the scissors aren't perfectly parallel. If there's even a small gap, they won't cut very well. This could be due to the scissors themselves, or the blades being deformed slightly by the material you are trying to cut. The tips are easiest to splay apart. \n \nOr t... | null |
26abvm | the debate over whether the eu is good | [
{
"answer": "You want the *debate* explained?\n\nSome people think EU is good. Other people think it is not so good. This is the debate.\n\n[Edit] To make this post less worthless - the debate will depend mostly on what country are you talking about. Economically, it is generally considered that EU is more bene... | null |
cbyvv5 | why does the sound of poured water gets higher and higher as you keep pouring? | [
{
"answer": "Because the sound you're hearing is sound coming out of a round chamber. When the glass fills with water, the size of the chamber changes, so the pitch changes. Large chamber, low pitch. Small chamber, high pitch. It's why digieridoos are deep and rumbly while ocarinas are high pitched and whiny.",... | null |
16hdo4 | Do sentience and self-awareness have an evolutionary advantages? If so, what are they? If not, how did they become such predominant features in humans? | [
{
"answer": "You might not have any replies yet because I think you're asking about the [hard problem of consciousness](_URL_0_).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "_URL_0_\n\nBasic summary of the video: brains are for movement, consciousness/self-awareness for making better movements. ",
"pro... | null |
5v8bgw | What is the main source of protein for large herbivores? | [
{
"answer": "Many plants have a high protein content. Even grass has a decent amount. Grass seed like oats and barley have somewhere in the ballpark of 8%-10%. Other plants are higher than grass, clover and alfalfa spring to mind.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "There's a lot of misconceptions ... | null |
x33x4 | Is donated blood cleaned in any way to prevent the spread of disease? | [
{
"answer": "Blood is transfused (out of the donor and into the recipient) by the unit and each unit of blood is only from a single person. Also, it is all screened, in high income countries, anyhow, for a range of infectious disease including (These are what the Red Cross check for, other organizations test fo... | null |
6tos12 | why is it that a rocking motion or a car ride puts my baby to sleep but when i'm in a similar situation it doesn't make me sleepy? | [
{
"answer": "It's not just the rocking motion, it is the constriction of the car seat that doesn't allow him to move coupled with the sound of the car. A car's tires on the road would be a familiar sound to what a baby hears for the entire gestation period. For instance, cup your hands over your ears and you he... | null |
1jkhjp | why do so many homeless people talk to themselves out loud? | [
{
"answer": "They most likely are mentally ill.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "667980",
"title": "Homelessness in the United States",
"section": "Section::::Public attitudes.\n",
"start_paragraph_id": 138,
... | null |
a74wuc | what do they do with money found on/ around dead people at the scene of the crime?(after investigating it) | [
{
"answer": "Give it to the family if the money is “clean”. \n\nIf it’s “dirty”, meaning obtained illegally in one way or another, the police department seized it and typically spends it. I know in my area, any drug money seized is put into drug education for students or invested into the departments drug task ... | null |
pvc3e | Why does this flame look segmented? | [
{
"answer": "They're called shock diamonds i believe, and they occur at super-sonic speeds.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "12414930",
"title": "Oxy-fuel welding and cutting",
"section": "Section::::Types of flame.:Weldin... | null |
1fgg8z | What kind of lasting impact did the Civil War have on American citizens? How did they cope with such massive scale violence? | [
{
"answer": "I don't have a lot to offer you in terms of new sources, but I was immediately struck by how little you're including Civil War memory in your discussion. It may be that escapism played a role in how the Civil War was portrayed in subsequent decades and even to this day, but debates and interpretati... | null |
10htpn | The James Webb Space Telescope: Why the gold-coated beryllium reflector? | [
{
"answer": "_URL_0_\n\n > If the Hubble Space Telescope's 2.4 meter mirror were scaled to be large enough for Webb, it would be too heavy to launch into orbit. The Webb team had to find new ways to build the mirror so that it would be light enough - only one-tenth of the mass of Hubble's mirror per unit area ... | null |
2mqkjc | Why did the French Government regress back to bolt action rifles at the end of the first world war? | [
{
"answer": "The answer is one of doctrine\n\nthrough most of the second world war, the primary combat weapon for an infantry soldier in almost all armies was a bolt action rifle, in most cases supplemented by a squad/platoon level machine gun section (this varied drastically from formation to formation of cour... | null |
2m99cf | Why did the Australians unload their rifles before going 'over the top' at Gallipoli? | [
{
"answer": "They didn’t unload their weapons before “going over the top”. Why would you believe they did? A military rifle such as the .303 Lee-Enfield has the following degrees of readiness:\n\nUnloaded – No round in the chamber and no rounds in the magazine (or magazine removed),\n\nLoaded – No round in ... | null |
2z5ko0 | Who are the Rusyns? | [
{
"answer": "Interesting question, because I had the same question after reading about Roxelana wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnicent.\n\n\"the word Roxolania was used to refer to the province of Ruthenia (or Rutenia ) in the **Western Ukraine**, which was at different times known under the names of Red Rus , G... | null |
8hpa35 | Why are algal blooms bad? Wouldn't they be a major balancing force for rising CO2 levels? | [
{
"answer": "Algal blooms can cause oxygen depletion - which is actually a problem we have righ now around the Danish waters. I can’t really explain much, but [here is a good article explaining it.](_URL_0_) ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The problem with algal blooms is that they are short l... | null |
rkkcm | why text messages are limited to 160 characters while multimedia like pictures can be up to 1,000 | [
{
"answer": "Text messages are sent through a protocol called SMS, or Short Message Service. This protocol basically piggy backs on data signals like tower pings (if you've ever had your phone near some speakers that started making funny noises, that's a ping confirming that your phone is communicating with a ... | null |
3y554h | how is it legal tsa offering first class passengers a faster airport security lane? | [
{
"answer": "They pay more for their plane tickets. They get more consideration because they paid more money.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I guess a better way to think about it is why would it be illegal? I can't think of any law prohibiting it.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answe... | null |
4ku7zq | how can kid music be so annoying to adults while children love it? | [
{
"answer": "\"kid\" music has the same inherent problem as any other \"kid\" medium. Cartoons, music, books, food; it's all garishly colored, packed with stuff no body needs, and generally marketed to parents who have no clue what kids actually like.\n\nSpecifically in regards to music, it's very active and hi... | null |
cx2elx | How can volcanoes form where there are no plate boundaries? | [
{
"answer": "Couple of options:\n\n1) [Hotspot volcanism](_URL_0_) where volcanoes erupt above a localized zone of anomalously hot mantle. These are most likely related to [mantle plumes](_URL_2_), but a few holdouts still argue for alternative mechanisms. Regardless, hotspots can occur near plate boundaries (e... | null |
5ss6xa | Are human beings a particularly diverse species? It seems that we have a big range of physical characteristics and mental prowess while other species are much more homogeneous. | [
{
"answer": "No. We're not all that diverse. Not much more than other animals anyways. *We* see these differences, because those are differences we use to identify individuals, and many of those differences are a result of nurture, rather than nature.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Homo sapien... | null |
7jo8ac | how does a penis triple in size while erect? | [
{
"answer": "Human skin has a natural elasticity, like a rubber band, and can stretch a little, or a lot, depending on the area. The extra mass that fills the skin is blood within the veins and muscle. That’s what ‘engorged’ means. When you’re not excited there’s less blood flow to the area so it’s in the rest ... | null |
3o51c1 | ; why is theory of everything so elusive? | [
{
"answer": "If anyone actually knew the answer, they'd be spending the rest of their lives getting free sexual favors from every theoretical physicist on the planet. It's impossible to answer because no one knows.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikip... | null |
4m8h1k | why do ants take very roundabout routes to get from a food source to the colony? | [
{
"answer": "The new day dawns, and hordes of worker ants leave the colony to search for new sources of food. In this pursuit, a single ant(we'll call him Indiana) may stumble upon a half eaten sandwich. Oweing to the ant antennae working as both sensors and for communication. (Eyes and tongue)\n\nStemming from... | null |
2waqt1 | Where could I find a condensed history of the world? (perhaps not phrased very well) | [
{
"answer": "If you can get access to them, the [Cambridge Histories Series](_URL_0_) is generally very good and covers a wide variety of geographic regions, time periods and areas of study. It's worth checking to see if you can find a library that will provide you online or physical access, because they are qu... | null |
4o5kph | why are the gender divisions in choruses? wouldn't you get a fuller sound from integrated choruses? | [
{
"answer": "Think of the voices as instruments. Different combinations will provide a different sound/tone quality. Gender division is also used for many youth choirs because it gives the director a better chance to accommodate changing and growing voices. (And repertoire is generally easier...)",
"provena... | null |
19hy2y | If everyone in the world gave up smoking, what would be the impact on global pollution? | [
{
"answer": "Somewhat of a related follow-up:\n******\nAssuming a positive impact on the environment from the lack of smoking, would this essentially be offset by the carbon output by those smokers living longer lives?\n\nSort of like how the most \"environmental\" option is to simply not have children.",
"... | null |
1rn5lm | How the image of our galaxy is calculated and how accurate it is? | [
{
"answer": "Images [like this one](_URL_3_) are built from a mixture of things.\n\nFirst and foremost they are drawn under the assumption that the Milky Way is a lot like other nearby galaxies, so how they look is a useful guide to what the Milky Way would look like from outside.\n\nThen different known parts ... | null |
1sgo7g | why did we wait so long to draw attention to china's (and other countries') air pollution problems? | [
{
"answer": "They have been a problem for a while, don't you remember the 2008 olympics? Why do you think this is a new issue?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's been bad for a while now. However due to the easily offended and restrictive communist government, most other nations had to walk ... | null |
j7bvw | Do birds avoid clouds? | [
{
"answer": "I know that soaring birds (vultures, hawks, etc.) will often seek out the right sort of cloud because it indicates a thermal (rising column of air) that they can use to climb without much energy. However, in this case climbing into the cloud would be avoided since it is--very simplified--the mark... | null |
sqhxy | Could Hawking radiation cause black holes to stop being black? | [
{
"answer": " > gravitational field stops being greater than the speed of light?\n\nGravitational fields and speeds are not comparable quantities.\n\n > Or is space-time in black holes so skewed that this couldn't happen?\n\nInside the event horizon, there are no physically realizable directions that reduce you... | null |
3fd7d9 | why do we only get "infected" by bad bacteria? why aren't there positive infections? | [
{
"answer": "There are. In fact, by cell count, you are far more bacteria than you are human. Your stomach is full of bacteria that helps you digest, giving you more energy. Unfortunately, antibiotics are indiscriminate and hurt them too.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Sure, \"good\" bacter... | null |
3epzvn | Why doesn't the wavelength of light affect light speed? | [
{
"answer": "The wavelength is not the motion of a photon. It's the peak-to-peak distance of the maximum amplitude of the electric field (see [image](_URL_0_)). The motion is always perpendicular to both the electric and magnetic fields. So, the light wave is not moving up and down but along the red axis. The s... | null |
2tvcta | why does blizzard take _url_0_ offline every other tuesday for maintenance, yet most other game services never go down? | [
{
"answer": "Most major mmos go down regularly for patching. Most mobas do as well. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It gives them a chance to patch minor bugs and glitches that dont need to be addressed in actual patch notes. Also they restart servers let them cool down, etc..tons of stuff."... | null |
26sy8w | why do human eyes turn red when a flash is used but dog eyes turn green? | [
{
"answer": "We have slightly different retinas than dogs do. Dogs have the ability to see in very low lighting because what appears green is a layer in their eyes that reflects light within the eyeball in order to increase the amount of light that hits the photoreceptors. Humans lack this adaptation but many o... | null |
6a08vf | Was there any kind of precursor to the modern anti-vaxxer movement? | [
{
"answer": "Yes, anti-vaccination has a long history. After vaccination against smallpox was made compulsory in 1853 in the UK an anti-vaccination movement grew up calling for an end to compulsory vaccination. This movement was much more widespread than the anti-vaxxer movement of today, lasted for decades and... | null |
44ys7l | Willpower and ability to focus are finite resources. So is there anything I can do to "recharge" them faster? | [
{
"answer": "There has been some [research](_URL_1_) suggesting that l-theanine, which is found in green tea, when combined with caffiene can help increase focus. [Here is another abstract supporting that possibility](_URL_0_)\nSo, perhaps having a cup of green tea can help with the focus. As for willpower, I r... | null |
ut67j | Are some people actually 'big boned'? | [
{
"answer": "There is a condition, acromegaly, that literally makes you big-boned, but it's not very common. Far less common than the people who claim to be \"big boned\".",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "[I saw this image of an MRI scan a while ago comparing two frames](_URL_0_). \n\nThis line ... | null |
1pqm4o | Soviet POWs in Great Britain during WWII? | [
{
"answer": "According to the [plot summary on IMDB](_URL_0_) the character is a Russian who had been fighting for Germany, rather than a Soviet soldier, who apparently feared extradition to the USSR (can't say I blame him).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
... | null |
f7fn2b | Given the nature and quantity of Pompeii's graffiti, it is plausible to assume a high rate of literacy? | [
{
"answer": "Possibly, but not necessarily. If we look at the sheer number of graffiti and the fact that many of them are of vulgar (in the linguistic sense, not the weird way that contemporary English uses the word) and use those as more or less the sole criteria, sure. But there's a lot more that's implicit ... | null |
56lzaf | how do they program traffic lights? how do they coordinate a grid of traffic lights so traffic flows properly? | [
{
"answer": " You simply account for high traffic times (green/red light durations change at busy intersections depending on time of day), you account for turn lanes (they use metal sensors in the ground if they only want turn signals activated when there are cars), you account for pedestrian crossing on sidewa... | null |
1v8rrl | what is it about tomato based sauces that makes it a destroyer of tupperware in the microwave? | [
{
"answer": "They are getting stained by Lycopene that ends up in the porous plastic.\n\nYou can denature it with a soak in a peroxide solution, they will oxidise and become free of color.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "30916",
... | null |
778sid | Is it possible to see the moon become a new moon? | [
{
"answer": "A thin waning crescent Moon always rises during dawn twilight. It becomes a New Moon and waxing crescent once it passes through conjunction with the Sun. This always happens within 5° of the Sun, usually much closer. So the minimum crescent is razor thin and totally invisble in the glare of the ... | null |
f7h1au | how did teeth change throughout history? | [
{
"answer": "Forcing teeth straight, unless the situation is truly physically detrimental, is usually cosmetic. It's culturally pushed hard in North America. I've heard part of the stigma that British have bad teeth is just that they don't see the need for the massive expense of braces and over whitening their ... | null |
3nx6o7 | To reach speed of light you need crazy amount of energy so Does light actually travels with the speed of light or slightly less? | [
{
"answer": "This is the speed light travels at.\n\nFor an object with non-zero mass, it would take infinite energy to get it to the speed of light, which is one way to understand why that can't happen.\n\nBut for photons (the particles of which light is made), things are different. Photons have no mass, which... | null |
a4iqcz | why does poking a bruise sometimes feel good even though it’s painful? | [
{
"answer": "The pain and pleasure centers of the brain are right next to each other, and mild pain can cause them to get \"confused\" (as far as I understand it).\n\nIt's the same reason why some people like spicy foods and spanking in bed. I'm guessing that how masochistic you are is determined by how easily ... | null |
30y4dw | why, with the thousands and thousands of possible number/letter combos, would 2 license plates in the same area be even remotely similar? | [
{
"answer": "The numbers aren't random, there are patterns that relay certain informaiton about location, time registered, etc. Though its not universal, and I couldn't tell you what those patterns in canada mean, its likely there is a non-random code used to determine them.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
r1yco | can anyone explain what happened here on scientific level | [
{
"answer": "Air has weight, and there is miles of it. We have \"air pressure\" that is the air above is pushing on everything and the air at ground level is pushing back. \nIf you remove the air at ground level you suddenly get a few miles of air above that spot trying to crush something and just a fraction of... | null |
664d5u | when terminally ill patients want to be euthanized what substance is injected for them to pass away and why does it kill them? | [
{
"answer": "Secobarbitol as a capsule, pentobarbitol as a liquid. Both are barbiturates. \n\nLow does of secobarbitol is actually used for insomnia and anxiety. \n\nMakes you sleepy, then you sleep. Your central nervous system becomes depressed, leading to brachycardia and brain death. \n\nBasically everythi... | null |
3iyyjb | wrinkle-free clothing. | [
{
"answer": "Extremely short answer. Plasticity - some things can be bent over on themselves and some cannot. Wrinkle free material is not bothered by bending, like a rubber band. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Cross-linking agents like DMDHEU. Cotton fiber surfaces have hydroxyl groups stick... | null |
4rsetr | If I lived in western Africa during the height of the Atlantic slave trade, how likely is it that someone I know was captured and shipped to the Americas? Was there a drastic change in culture as a result of the massive loss in population? What societal impact was there? | [
{
"answer": "**The Atlantic slave trade had a catastrophic and permanent effect on western and central Africa.** One of the common misconceptions (and one repeated in a now-deleted comment) is that a slave trade already existed in Africa, so the trans-Atlantic trade couldn't have had significant negative effect... | null |
iw125 | If everything in the universe doubled in size instantly
would we notice? | [
{
"answer": "If *only* size changed, we would definitely be able to tell the difference. For one thing, we would be twice as far away from the center of the earth, and therefore experience 1/4 of the gravitational force we do now. Furthermore, we would also be twice our current size, so gravitational accelera... | null |
6s3rlb | what are essential tremors? what is the correlation with parkinsons disease if any? | [
{
"answer": "The \"essential\" in the name means it's something on its own - I'm sure you've looked up the history of the term - and it's idiopathic, meaning having no known cause.\n\nIt's only related to Parkinson's in that it's sometimes mistaken for it. Also I'm not a neurologist and you should listen to you... | null |
6ycolh | why is it so difficult to swallow when you look up, or tilt your head backwards? | [
{
"answer": "Because tilting your head back opens your airway and they can't both be open at the same time.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "54754604",
"title": "Latch (breastfeeding)",
"section": "Section::::Pain.\n",
... | null |
25kmzw | Can whales see in front of them? | [
{
"answer": "They likely have a blind spot a little beyond the snout but not much further. Its not uncommon for animals to have eyes on the sides of their heads rather than the front. This is usually seen in herbivores as it gives them a almost 360 degree view (better for spotting predators).\n\nThe whale proba... | null |
5fsbz9 | why does banana substitute the fat in baked goods successfully? | [
{
"answer": "The purpose of oil is to prevent water from reacting with the gluten in the flour (which tends to make your baked goods 'chewy'). \nApplesauce and bananas contain something called \"pectin\" which can also prevent gluten from doing its thing. \nThe mechanisms however are different - oil works by ... | null |
3khmd4 | How universal is the concept of religion in different cultures? | [
{
"answer": "hi! It may be worth x-posting this question to a few other subs for their input: r/AskReligion, r/AskSocialScience, perhaps r/AskAnthropology",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "25414",
"title": "Religion",
"sect... | null |
20drth | why do most sinks have that "u" shape at the bottom? i've seen it in some urinals and toilets too... | [
{
"answer": "Its called a trap and it prevents sewer gas from backing up the pipe into the sink or toilet/urinal. Water stays in that bend in the pipe to \"trap\" the gas behind it.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Follow up question: if it's for getting a hold of things that accidentally fell i... | null |
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