id stringlengths 5 6 | input stringlengths 3 301 | output list | meta null |
|---|---|---|---|
lgcbr | How does current flow in two phases from a three phase system without a neutral? | [
{
"answer": "The 120V refers to [RMS](_URL_3_) rather than peak voltage. For sinusoidal electrical power, they are related as follows:\n\n V_RMS = V_peak / sqrt(2)\n\nwhere *sqrt(2)* is the square root of 2. So a 120V phase actually has a peak of around 170V with respect to ground.\n\nWhen you have two phase... | null |
23dls7 | Why did the practice of Astrology go from being practiced by Popes and Kings to considered witchcraft in the Christian world? | [
{
"answer": "The phrasing of the question makes an argument which is not true: that astrology 'equaled' witchcraft at some point in time. This was never the case, at least in a European-North American context.\n\nThe first point, about witchcraft: astrology was never considered witchcraft in and of itself at an... | null |
2jbb2o | why is task manager more effective and faster rather than pressing the x or alt + f4 when something freezes? | [
{
"answer": "Because being able to end a program that won't exit by normal means is one of the features of the Task Manager. \n\nWhether you hit X on a program window or press alt+f4 you are essentially asking the program: \"will you please exit?\". Under normal circumstances the program will then go through wh... | null |
5kyqy9 | How good of a military leader was Pancho Villa? | [
{
"answer": "Villa had a lot of success early on with enthusiastic cavalry charges. He brought a lot of charisma to his command, was an excellent horseman and an excellent judge of horses, and could add mobility to his already mobile troops by putting them on trains. It worked well against demoralized, badly-... | null |
2gzx18 | When an atom undergoes alpha decay, does it lose electrons and stay neutral or keep them and become an anion? | [
{
"answer": "I came here with the idea that I was gonna answer your question, but then I thought about it and realised I didnt know the answer! \n\nIt is a very good question and something that most people would never consider (myself included). So I did a quick google and found this helpful site: _URL_0_\n\nSo... | null |
45z0j4 | Are there any potential ways to modify the human eye to see more of the electromagnetic spectrum? | [
{
"answer": "Theoretically, this is absolutely possible. You take an opsin protein from another species, or one engineered to respond to a specific wavelength, you find out it's genetic code, you package it with a correct promoter into an appropriate virus, and you inject it into the eye. In theory, it is somet... | null |
4aq1w5 | why do we have state troopers and municipal cops? | [
{
"answer": "They have different jurisdictions and enforce different laws. \n\nMuni cops are responsible for the city and enforcing city ordinances. They'll pull you over for speeding on a city street, for example.\n\nState cops enforce state laws on highways and unincorporated areas of the state. They'll pull ... | null |
7h2wy8 | can cycling in a well insulated room noticeably heat up the room? | [
{
"answer": "Yes. This is clearly evident when you get a large number of people exercising in an enclosed, insulated space.\n\nI remember Basic Training, ~40 people in a room doing Iron Mike's until the walls dripped with the excess moisture. Very clear increase of several degrees Fahrenheit.",
"provenance"... | null |
3z8woo | how propeller aircraft engines with different horsepowers but same rev speed make difference? | [
{
"answer": "If you put the same propeller on two engines with different power, it will run at two different rpm's (speeds).\n\nTo run the weaker engine at the same rpm as the stronger engine, you must mount a less forceful propeller -- one that pushes less air per rotation.\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
456iub | how does emptying the recycle bin on your computer work? | [
{
"answer": "They stay right where they are! Sort of anyway. When you have a file on your computer, there is sort of a flag for the sector of memory containing that file saying \"do not write here. This bit contains a file\". When you empty your recycling bin, the flag just goes away, making it okay to write ne... | null |
eysvz8 | [NSFW] - Did sexual positions evolve independently across multiple cultures, or can we trace certain positions from one culture to the next? | [
{
"answer": "Hi there! After some discussion among the mods, we've removed your question. It's not a bad question - just one that's going to be difficult to answer as you're asking about multiple historical periods. (We think of these as \"throughout history\" questions) You're welcome to rephrase and ask about... | null |
2bcuw1 | what kind of consequences will russia face if they are held legally responsible for the downing of mh17? | [
{
"answer": "The sanctions will be decided by some kind of UN vote most likely, and then individual countries can pursue whatever sanctions they wish. There's talk in the US already of not even waiting, they're convinced Russia did it and they want to push unilateral sanctions on Russia, especially for the Russ... | null |
1g6uzg | Why don't we wet the bed after we're toilet trained? | [
{
"answer": "Nocturnal emissions have no bearing on bowel and bladder. completely unrelated. As a side note, daily sex and/or masturbation will prevent nocturnal emissions\n\n\nWhile the toiler per-se is not instinctive, it is natural for many mammals to have bathroom control. Dogs and cats would be two species... | null |
4zeal7 | what are the specific ingredients in beer that make it high in calories and carbs? | [
{
"answer": "To make beer you let barley or other types of grain go through a process that extracts its starch and makes it into sugar. The wort you end up with have been sold as sweet energy drinks and is comparable to soda. The wort is then further put through a fermentation process where the sugar is being c... | null |
3ok7vn | why is the menstrual cycle the same as a calendar month? | [
{
"answer": "It is not. It is much closer to a lunar month, with a twenty eight day cycle. Everybody is a little different of course, and birth control can be used to regulate a woman's cycle to some degree. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's coincidental. See this specific part of the Wik... | null |
45jzvy | equinox isn't equal | [
{
"answer": "The equinox isn't necessarily defined by when the days are most even where you live (rise vs set time) but rather when the sun crosses the celestial equator and appears in the north hemisphere in the sky. (For the north hemisphere) The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun crosses in the other direc... | null |
1qonx6 | Did the Germans count on being able to use the Czech tanks? | [
{
"answer": "Opening a can of worms here. There was actually no such thing as the Blitzkrieg so it'd be a bit hard for something to be an essential part of it. Blitzkrieg was more of a media term to explain things that they didn't understand and the whole idea that it was some well developed doctrinal way of ... | null |
2l8nfb | why do softer tires have better grip than harder tires? | [
{
"answer": "Because softer things deform and grip the imperfections in a surface. This isn't just tires, you'll probably notice that a softer a surface is, the easier it grips other surfaces. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "1022",
... | null |
g1cmv | When my candle is lit, why does dust caught in the wax gather around the base of the wick? | [
{
"answer": "When the candle is burning, the capillary forces in the wick are drawing in the molten wax. So the dust gets carried there by the flow. That's my guess at least, I haven't researched it.\n",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The wick is pulling up wax, the dust is caught in the flow",
... | null |
1rv910 | what is hdr, and why do "we" hate it? | [
{
"answer": "HDR is a technique that combines photos taken at different exposures to get the most detail out of each.\n\n\n\nThis used to be done I image editing tools like photo shop but many cameras and phones can do it on the fly now.\n\n\n\nSome people hate it because the result looks artificial to them or ... | null |
5oet4i | what has to happen to our recycled items before they actually get repurposed/what does the cleaning process of these items look like? | [
{
"answer": "Newspapers: de-inking facilities separate ink from the newspaper fibers through a chemical washing process.\n\nGlass: A mechanical processing system breaks the glass into small pieces called cullet. Magnets, screens and vacuum systems remove metals, labels, bits of plastic, and caps.\n\nAny water e... | null |
2hnwpk | why are led headlights so bright? | [
{
"answer": "LED lights are more efficient at turning electricity into light. Most other lights use a lot of the energy in creating heat. \n \nLights that are too bright can be dangerous, but there's not a lot of standardisation for them. Some lights can have something on the front to diffuse or spread out th... | null |
8gwhwn | why do batteries in parallel have a stronger current than batteries in sequence? | [
{
"answer": "Let's say that I have an entrance to a building with two doors that guests have to pass through to get in. Each one can let 1 person through every 2 seconds. If I put them in series, each guest goes through one, and then the next. The total rate at which people get through is still the same as each... | null |
b1sv7v | How do zygotes gain totipotency? | [
{
"answer": "Activation of a few enzymes returns the cell to totipotency. Adding these enzymes to regular cells can make them pluripotent, this the existence of ipsc: induced pluripotent stem cells, which can be stem cells that were skin cells with the enzymes added. I don't remember all of them but there is Na... | null |
j4ohk | explain the p=np problem li5. | [
{
"answer": "The P=NP problem is basically asking \"Is it just as fast to solve a math problem as it is to check the answer?\" P and NP are a couple ways mathematicians talk about how fast certain kinds of math can be done. Some think these might be just as fast as each other, but they haven't managed to prove ... | null |
28shuz | Are we any closer to resurrecting humans from cryostasis yet? | [
{
"answer": "No. The freezing process damages cells, as water turns to ice and expands. So they try to use different types of antifreeze, but [these are toxic](_URL_2_). And on top of that [not all cells are equally permeable](_URL_1_), especially in a state of reduced biological activity (or even none at all).... | null |
kxdi9 | Why aren't animals that can see in the dark blinded by daylight? | [
{
"answer": "Pupils dilate and contract so that the current light level is not overwhelming to whatever the eyes belongs to.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "For starters, some species *are* 'day blind'. Mostly species that sleep during the day and are only active at night. So the question reall... | null |
2ago42 | eli: how can a country simply write off debt of another country? wouldn't it put the country itself in deeper debt? | [
{
"answer": "Say I owe Bob $10. Say it's been years since I paid Bob and keep telling him I'll repay him later. Bob can write of my debt by telling me to forget about the $10 altogether, so that I no longer owe him the $10.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
... | null |
362r3f | Mathematical History | [
{
"answer": "You're in luck, Cajori's History of Mathematical Notations is available online:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nThe partial derivative symbol was used here and there before 1841 when it was popularized by Jacobi (of Jacobian, or matrix of partials, fame).",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "The curly ∂ ... | null |
3m0mrh | how is the ceo of turing pharmaceuticals able to raise the price of daraprim (the aids drug) and make people pay the increase, without it being considered a monopoly? | [
{
"answer": "Monopolies are not per se illegal. There is arguably nothing wrong here because anyone who wants to spend the time and money to manufacture a generic can do so. This is also not the only drug that can treat toxoplasmosis. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "It's not a monopoly beca... | null |
uu25v | Why do some people snap better/louder with their non-dominant hand? | [
{
"answer": "The snapping sound is caused by your middle finger hitting your ring finger. If you haven't practiced this with your hand your middle finger will hit your palm and make a much quiter noise. However I don't know why you would only be able to do this with one hand and not the other.",
"provenance... | null |
9b1hw0 | why are some electrical plugs so huge that they cover the outlets next to them? what is taking up all that space? | [
{
"answer": "Many devices integrate a converter from mains-voltage Alternating current to a much lower direct current voltage in the wall plug as opposed to a block in the middle of the cable or into the decice itself.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Circuitry and electrical components that tur... | null |
9el2xs | how does creatinine work in the body? | [
{
"answer": "Creatinine is a metabolic byproduct that is produced in muscle tissue. Specifically it is used as an indicator of kidney function because the kidneys are the only organs that filter it out of the blood. It is formed in the body, usually at a fairly set rate and the kidneys will remove it at a set... | null |
1omiz9 | Why are the people of a land as big as China relatively so culturally similar while Europe and the Middle East are so full of different people and cultures? | [
{
"answer": "That's because China is considered one nation, despite the fact that it encompasses such a huge geographic area. \n\nEthnically, it is comprised of a lot of different groups and there are many small differences between them. But they are still 'Chinese' because that is more of a national identity. ... | null |
8cfy4f | What's the difference between the effects on the heart due to aerobic exercise and due to amphetamine use? | [
{
"answer": "The heart is a muscle. When you exercise, the increased demand for blood to skeletal muscles cause the heart to pump harder and faster. Over time, the muscle in the heart is trained to more efficiently deliver blood by increasing the thickness of the muscle. So resting heart rate in athletes decrea... | null |
60bfmy | why do gas companies ever bother lowering their prices? | [
{
"answer": "If your competitor buys gas for a little less, they can sell it for a little less and make identical profits per volume. If they sell it for less, more people will buy gas there instead, which means more profits in the long run. \n\nTiny changes, sure they might not add up quickly, but if over a ye... | null |
1mdqbr | If the world's population became completely vegetarian would the amount of farmland decrease or increase? | [
{
"answer": "It would decrease. Most farmland is dedicated to growing livestock feed. However, if you want to use the least possible amount of land, the way to go would be a \"farm-animal free\" diet which would include fish, so it wouldn't be vegetarian.\n\nEDIT: [Here I actually found a source.](_URL_0_) \"Mo... | null |
13odrb | How does changing the tire pressure affect the car's traction? | [
{
"answer": "More lateral force can be applied through a larger contact patch given the same downforce because the contact pressure will be lower.\n\nTherefore the shear stress between the tire and the road can be greater before losing traction.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Actually traction... | null |
4zm611 | why can an american go off to war and vote at age 18, but cannot buy a beer or a pistol until age 21? | [
{
"answer": "Mothers Against Drunk Driving heavily lobbied the federal government to withhold federal highway funding from states that refuse to set the drinking age to 21. They caved. 18-21 year olds are easy to beat in a lobbying/political influence fight because so few of them vote and virtually none of them... | null |
4uz5z6 | how do people get in the music industry? | [
{
"answer": "Some really do get discovered on YouTube etc. But much more often, they ask to perform at bars and other public locations, where they play hundreds of times, working on their skills in front of a real audience and gradually improving (and moving to better venues). Once they get decent, some hire an... | null |
3rosp0 | what is so special about henrietta lacks and why is she contaminating things? | [
{
"answer": "Henreitta Lacks died of cervical cancer back in the 50s. \n\nThe cancer that killed her made her cervical cells immortal. Almost every other cell we know about stops dividing after about 500 divisions. This is known as the [Hayflick limit](_URL_0_). \n\nHer cancer cells don't stop dividing. This ma... | null |
2jvueg | what is "bad gas" (or "bad diesel" in my case) and what are the complications it can cause for a motor vehicle? | [
{
"answer": "There are a few forms of bad diesel. Water or possible algea contamination being most common. Most diesels have a water trap that needs to be emptied every oil change. If the water is allowed to remain I've seen it rust out the fuel system internally. Diesel fuel has a lubricant in it and due to th... | null |
bkcdjn | what was the original purpose of the invention of the internet? | [
{
"answer": "The internet has taken a lot of forms over the years. It began with the developement of ARPANET ( Advanced Research Project Agency Network) which was funded by DARPA (Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency) for the sole purpose of having a defense network that could function in the time of a nuc... | null |
1e6evw | What was the nightlife like during the weimar republic? | [
{
"answer": "This is a question I would be very happy to answer, but to my utter shock and horror, my personal library has virtually no sources regarding pre-1900s German literature and culture. So, I will have to rely on my memory and wait for someone with more reference material to come along. That said, I do... | null |
3hvfob | What are historians' assessment of Jimmy Carter's legacy, both of his presidency and his post-presidential activity? | [
{
"answer": "In Nancy Gibb's and Michael Duffy's [The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity](_URL_0_), they describe his problems with his presidency as a result of his technocratic background from serving under Admiral Rickover in the Navy. Not only was he a Washington outsider, but his... | null |
34iamd | why do people from low social classes tend to be conservative? | [
{
"answer": "Where do you get this from? I dont think the data transfered for example it is proven the poor areas of america almost always vote Democrat. Blacks also always vote Democrat. Highly populated areas typically poor inner cities always vote democrat. I dont think I understand .... ",
"provenance":... | null |
1gwjz8 | Why do beards get itchy? | [
{
"answer": "When you shave your hair you cut it off flat. Those flat edges are sharp enough that they grab onto the skin as they grow back out. You usually also pull on the skin as you're shaving to get a \"closer\" shave. This can result in the hair being cut back to below the level of your skin once you stop... | null |
7m0edd | why are schools strict on females showing shoulders and exposing skin? | [
{
"answer": "Because they seem to believe the archaic and stupid notion that all teenage boys are slavering hormonal beasts and the mere sight of even the tiniest bit of skin will put them into a lust filled rage and they won't be able to learn. You know, since the only education that matters is the male's.",
... | null |
ekggc5 | why does the same water feel a different temperature to your body than it does to your head? for example when in the shower? | [
{
"answer": "Nerves are distributed unevenly over our whole body, google human homunculus and you'll get the idea",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because some parts of the body have more nerves in one area than others. The hands/feet and face are notable ones because they are used quite often."... | null |
9y4lgl | what does 4k oled mean, and how does it differ from regular 4k? | [
{
"answer": "it is a 4k tv but with a better screen. The screen is better because with oled the pixels can turn off. This means that you get better blacks. Instead of there being a glow from the backlight even on a black screen the screen is actually just off on any part of the screen not displaying something. ... | null |
169lq4 | why does 'water' keep coming out of my nose when i have a cold? what's the purpose? | [
{
"answer": "This question actually has a really cool answer. The stuff that's coming out is a result of your nasal mucus membranes going into overdrive. These membranes regularly generate a little bit of mucus to help flush dirt and things out of your nasal passages. However, when you have a cold, they go a... | null |
yt6jx | as a non-american, what exactly are electoral colleges and how do they affect the us presidential election? | [
{
"answer": "In the US the president is not elected by popular vote, instead he is elected by the electoral college. The representatives to the electoral college are decided by each state. Each state get's one electoral college member per member of congress they have (so the smallest states have 3 members, wh... | null |
1ecdbj | why human immune systems cannot adapt to diseases like cancer, aids, etc. but can adapt/evolve to other illnesses that would've otherwise killed us centuries ago? | [
{
"answer": "The main way the immune system recognizes threats is through the presentation of antigens. Antigens are proteins on the surface of cells. With most disease-causing things, the body can react to the antigens and recognize it as a threat. \n\nCancer is a large group of diseases where the body's ow... | null |
3so9um | why don't companies bring back those discontinued products people miss so much? | [
{
"answer": "You assume that they haven't already considered and ruled out doing so behind closed doors. And sometimes they do, sometimes even on a recurring (annual/seasonal) basis.\n\nBut the bottom line is that the product was discontinued for a reason, and that reason was money. The hypothetical \"right mar... | null |
3bgew7 | What's the limiting factor in making bipedal robots? | [
{
"answer": "If you just need it to move on an infinite plane, it would be easy. Walking up stairs and over obstacles is more complicated than just walking normally and trying to balance. And if the robot can't walk up stairs and over obstacles, wheels would be better.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"ans... | null |
bha4dc | what makes a meat "processed" | [
{
"answer": "Processed meat is any meat that is preserved by any of a number of methods, such as smoking, curing, salting, or addition of chemical preservatives. Examples of processed meat are bacon, salami, pepperoni, obviously bologna and hot dogs, most lunch meats, etc.",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
aj1hip | the difference between a pun and a play on words. | [
{
"answer": "A pun is specifically a joke made using the multiple meanings of a word or exploiting that some words with different meanings sound the same. A play on words is much more broad as an exercise of wit where words are the main focus. It encompasses puns as well as double entendres, phonetic mix up, et... | null |
3w2ncx | why do actors fake eating on tv and movies, rather than just eating the food? | [
{
"answer": "Cos they have many takes to get a scene right and the food is cold by the time they get to it. Or theyre tired of eating it by take 20",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "I'm no expert, but I assume they'll need to re-do every act tons of times and they don't want to buy a dozen banan... | null |
4xwjzh | what causes major isp's (brighthouse, comcast, etc) have frequent service outages? | [
{
"answer": "Simple. It's out dated technology that can't keep up with the demands of the country. Before anyone starts downvoting, let me explain. Coaxial cable have been delivering signal into our homes since before the internet was even invented. Then companies learned how to delivery internet using a in... | null |
8ju0hy | why is our immediate response to pleasure closing our eyes? | [
{
"answer": "By closing our eyes, we increase the sensation by limiting distractions so we can focus on the pleasure more. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "For perspective, vision is typically 90 of incoming sensory bandwidth. Your example if not the only time people do this. Watch for someon... | null |
mv2v8 | the positions and opinions of the candidates of the 2012 us election to a non-american. | [
{
"answer": "If you could clarify which posts you're most interested in it would be much easier. There's quite a long litany of positions each candidate holds.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "If you could clarify which posts you're most interested in it would be much easier. There's quite a lon... | null |
a88ja9 | Will my phone charge faster/more if my portable battery is in a higher position than my phone? | [
{
"answer": "No. Or at least not noticeably so. The electricity uses the electromagnetic force to move, and the wire is built to take advantage of that fact. The force carriers (electrons) are affected by gravity, but the force at that scale is so miniscule that you would need extremely sensitive equipment to e... | null |
1xaes9 | why is it that internet routers seem to "go bad" after a few years? | [
{
"answer": "Little of both. You gotta remember that thing is working 24/7 365 days a year unless you unplug it or lose power. Eventually the components inside just warp and burn out from usage ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Planned Obsolesce. In industrial design is a policy of planning or... | null |
2yjpo2 | shouldn't bi-weekly mean twice in the same week instead of once in two weeks? | [
{
"answer": "Yes, it should. Look at bi-annual vs biennial. The former means twice a year, the latter means every other year.\n\nThough it seems as though bi-weekly can actually mean either twice a week or every other week _URL_0_ which is even more confusing.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Go... | null |
52a6ui | What caused the Age of Battles? | [
{
"answer": "There wasn't an Age of Battles, to put it pithily. Battle has always been a part of war, but by their very nature, decisive battles are rare things. Siege, raid, and pitched battle are all tools available to a commander, and there are many problems in defining an age by one of them.\n\nBeyond the... | null |
47ms94 | why hasn't the leaning tower of pisa fallen over? will it eventually fall? | [
{
"answer": "Because engineers have anchored it. They drove a ton of steel piles into the ground and connected them to the tower with steel cables.\n\nIt won't fall any time soon. With enough money, material and care, anything can stand forever. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "it might have, b... | null |
63ov95 | what does it mean to unlock your phone to another service provider? and why, depending on the brand, does it cost so much and take so long? | [
{
"answer": "Most phones are *capable* of talking to other carriers that use the same networking technology. For example, in the USA, AT & T T-Mobile and I think a couple others all use the same GSM system. \n\nHowever, if you buy a phone through one of those carriers, they put a piece of software in place that... | null |
3b9x2a | how does 1080i work? | [
{
"answer": "The i for \"interlaced\" means first your TV draws the even-numbered lines for the whole screen, then the odd-numbered lines. \n\nBy contrast in p for \"progressive\" mode your TV draws all the lines in order.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Interlaced video is to save size / bandw... | null |
a5q3a4 | why does the stomach flu (norovirus, rotavirus) present such intense, violent symptoms in most people? | [
{
"answer": "Both. The pain is caused by the virus to basically make you immobile, noone wants to move much when in a lot of pain, vomiting and diarrhoea are two great ways to spread the virus to those taking care of you because you yourself are too sick to do anything. The Diarrhoea is most likely due to the v... | null |
1zac39 | If stars have more planets than previously thought, would this "add " enough mass to galaxies so we don't need dark matter for explaining their dynamics? | [
{
"answer": "This can't explain astronomical observations. There is about 4-5 times as much mass as we can see in star form, and planets typically weigh at most a few tens of a percent of their stars, but often much less. If planets weighed more than stars, we wouldn't see the orbits that we do.\n\nThere was an... | null |
8ibmp3 | What separates the historical method from journalism? | [
{
"answer": "I trained as an historian to doctoral level, but spent six years working professionally as a journalist and have continued to freelance since that time, so I hope that I'm in a decent position to draw some lines for you here. I should stress that these lines are not hard-and-fast, but I do think th... | null |
v7ufk | What is AskScience's opinion on /r/NoFap? Is there actual evidence that not masturbating will positively affect a person's energy and motivation? | [
{
"answer": "I want to know if there's any negative effects of masturbation. i.e. is it worth giving up? What are the health benefits to masturbation, if any?",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "[A potentially relevant TEDx Talk on the subject of porn and the effects of not watching it/not masturba... | null |
9ms1o2 | what is title insurance | [
{
"answer": "title insurance protects you from any financial loss due to problems with title. \n\nwhen you buy a house, it's recorded in public records. anyone that has a claim on the house is recorded as well. however, mistakes happen, reports get lost, public records might not be complete, etc. \n\nso if ... | null |
6aorma | how are hummingbirds able to hover and fly in any direction? to clarify, what is going on aerodynamically that allows this to happen? | [
{
"answer": "The little wings flap in such a way that there is more turbulence above the bird than below it. \n\nThere's a general aerodynamic principle (bernoulli effect) that means that quickly moving air is at a lower pressure than the air around it. \n\nThis means that the difference in air pressure holds t... | null |
3vi2nz | What did Roman legionnaires actually do with the land they got after their tour of duty, and could it actually sustain their owners? | [
{
"answer": "I'm not 100% sure if this really counts as a follow up question, but somewhat related to this I guess. It's my understanding that giving land to soldiers was practiced by the Successor kingdoms too. Was that any different than the Roman system in how the land was distributed or used?",
"provena... | null |
3j1kte | why are new smartphone processors hexa and octa-core, while consumer desktop cpus are still often quad-core? | [
{
"answer": "its 2 quad cores working together\n\n\nwhen your phone needs high power (for gaming, etc), it reaches in for the red bull pack (the powerful 4 cores) \n\nwhen your phone doesn't need power (music playback, browsing), it just sips the coffee (the 4 weaker cores)",
"provenance": null
},
{
... | null |
bdftu7 | how do bike/car stuntmen learn to do it without dying? | [
{
"answer": "Firstly, they can practice with safety equipment. You can have mats and nets and other things to soften the landing of a failed attempt.\n\nAlso, they start with smaller, safer types of tricks and work their way up.\n\nLastly, failing isn't necessarily a death sentence. Just broken bones and stuff.... | null |
3zc5fe | Were any African countries positively impacted by the colonial era? | [
{
"answer": "There is really no measure of whether a country was overall Positively or Negatively affected by the colonial era. Rather, there were positive effects and negative effects in different areas and to different peoples. A Black officer in the King's African Rifles could certainly consider himself posi... | null |
6c391u | What is the cause of diffusion and osmosis? How does it work? | [
{
"answer": "Diffusion is caused by the random movement of particles; anything with energy moves and shakes a little. From this random moving and shaking, it is much more likely that things get further apart from each other, so they do. This is simply because if they _can_ move in all possible directions, what ... | null |
1zo6ma | Is there a search engine (of sorts) where you can search for the earliest recorded use of a certain word? | [
{
"answer": "Unless I'm mistaken, I believe that's what the Oxford English Dictionary is supposed to do. I'd check there first.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "18046649",
"title": "Compound-term processing",
"section": "S... | null |
3ornqs | What is the most widely accepted explanation for the Late Bronze Age collapse? | [
{
"answer": "Well, the consensus is generally something like \"it was the Sea People, but it was also a bit more complex\". The Sea People raids leading to the collapse captures the imagination, yet the view of raids in the Levant being the sole reason is starting to fade a little. \n\nCline's recent book deals... | null |
2rv1fh | how do chinese people alphabetize? | [
{
"answer": "I don't know that much chinese, but spoken chinese has a phonetic alphabet, and it has characters to represent the sounds. From there, there's some convention to organize which sounds go first.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "They use the Pinyin system to \"collate\" a series of wo... | null |
3yczko | What happened/happens to military dead on the losing side? | [
{
"answer": "You should narrow it down to a time period, specific war or countries. This is too broad to give a good answer.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": null,
"provenance": [
{
"wikipedia_id": "3008938",
"title": "Casualty (person)",
"section": "Section::::M... | null |
9rf4ad | why do so many water droplets stay in place on a glass shower door after you are done? | [
{
"answer": "Water molecules would kinda prefer to be close to other water molecules rather than to air molecules so they gather together in drops (you can Google water surface tension if you like). While the shower glass may look smooth to us its tiny bumps seem rough to the little water droplets so they cling... | null |
3su47v | Any background info on this Greek artifact? | [
{
"answer": "Probably a krater, illustrated with satyrs. Here they are pouring wine ( or, more precisely, likely wine mixed with water, from just such a krater). As satyrs were supposed to be constantly looking for sex ( therefore hypersexuality in men was once called satyriasis) it is perhaps a humorous comm... | null |
f2gktp | whats the difference between sugar in fruits, sugar in sweets, sugar in normal food (like potatoes, meat) and raw white sugar that i buy in supermarket? which one is worse for my health? | [
{
"answer": "They are all sugar. \n\nThe only difference is that some foods (fruit for example) also have fiber in them, which very slightly slows down the rate at which your body absorbs the sugar. But that hardly matters unless you are diabetic. \n\nAlso some foods like fruits and potatoes have vitamins and m... | null |
30o9pc | why are med schools and residencies so selective when there is a national shortage of doctors? | [
{
"answer": "Because lowering the standards causes more harm to society than the shortage does. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Because a sudden influx of tons of shitty doctors doesn't really help the problem of a shortage of competent doctors.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": ... | null |
1lp9mt | why don't companies like boeing and rolls-royce use robots in their manufacturing processes? | [
{
"answer": "While every industry has different manufacturing challenges, in complex and technically difficult builds I imagine having robots would be difficult for a few reasons. A robot why automated and efficient, may not always perform the best job. An analogy would be a robot grilling steaks, while it may ... | null |
94zye7 | why is plastic so bad for the environment if it's raw material literally comes out of earth ? | [
{
"answer": "Plutonium literally comes from the earth, too.\n\nEverything item we use comes from the earth. Some, however, are toxic.\n\nPlastic is made from petroleum, and petroleum isn't good for the environment. ",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "it is difficult for it to decompose, it can be ... | null |
5a3crr | why are large objects cgi in a normally 2-d animated movie or tv show? | [
{
"answer": "It's cheaper to animate. The hardest thing to animate is movement so that takes time and time=money. Why the giant is a cgi model is because it's easy to make it a 3D it model. Robots, cars and aircrafts are the things that mostly gets to be cgi in 2D animations because their movements are much eas... | null |
2fospf | How does chlorine gas kill you? | [
{
"answer": "Chlorine is a reactive chemical, quite like oxygen actually (actually not as bad as oxygen), but our bodies are designed to deal with oxygen so we don't get poisoned by it. What chlorine does is it corrodes moist surfaces (like the inside of your lungs) by getting into the water and forming acids. ... | null |
yxod1 | What are the physics behind surviving a fall from 3km up without a parachute? | [
{
"answer": "Soft earth, aka lots of decaying matter could be enough. Generally not hitting anything overly rigid would increase your chances. \n\nPeople have occasionally survived falls from great heights over the years\n\n_URL_3_\n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_2_\n\n_URL_1_",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer"... | null |
1ud7vr | why do reditors get so upset over reposts? | [
{
"answer": "Usually it's not the repost itself that upsets people, it's the reposter trying to take credit for a repost as original work.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Search before submitting with keywords from your topic. The search box is in the upper right corner of the subreddit.\n\nTha... | null |
16pgg1 | If any of the planets orbiting stars that we have discovered had lights similar to earth (city lights that can be seen from space) could we see it with our telescopes? | [
{
"answer": "Nope, not at present. Right now, we really can't distinguish the light from a planet remotely precise enough to do that. to tell that, you'd either want to have a way to uniquely identify that its a light, which would require a lot of light collected, or resolve the planet to see the patterns and t... | null |
1agohz | how old is that story about Alexander crying salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer? | [
{
"answer": "It doesn't appear in any ancient texts! \n\nSegrais writes that Greek Historians claimed that Alexander wept at hearing the legend of Achilles, Plutarch has Julius Ceaser weeping because he can't match up to Alexander's accomplishments. But no where does Alexander weep because 'he has no more world... | null |
2rvjlw | what is a purchase order? | [
{
"answer": "It's basically a contract. A company or government agency issues a purchase order when they have approved the purchase of a product or service from a certain vendor for a specific price. It's like saying, \"We agree on the terms of this purchase and we will pay the price in this purchase order upon... | null |
d0e9ii | How do you differentiate between history and mythology? | [
{
"answer": "This encroaches on a difficult topic because it implies an evaluation of a range of religious texts that are approached with faith rather than academic scrutiny. Most people tell legends (narratives generally told to be believed) that deal with past times. These historical legends include etiologic... | null |
18qp79 | A question about artificial limbs. | [
{
"answer": "The problem you mention is an open research question, and lots of people are working on how such an artificial limb may work.\n\nA researcher at the University of Pittsburgh named [Andy Schwartz](_URL_1_) recently made headlines and [a 60 Minutes special](_URL_3_) on a brain machine interface for p... | null |
i9fmk | Has there ever been any experiments showing any kind of seemingly paranormal activity, such as objects floating on their own, with no visible explanation in sight, or episodes of mental illness with no known diagnosis? | [
{
"answer": "No double blind study has ever produced plausible paranormal activity.\n\nThere have been lots of episodes of mental illness with no know diagnosis, but that really is just reflective of how complex and imprecise mental illnesses are.",
"provenance": null
},
{
"answer": "Nope. The Rand... | null |
2k15au | US/Israel before and after Suez | [
{
"answer": " > 1) What was the US stance on Israel at its inception? I imagine the US would try to win the favor of the whole Middle East (gaining foundational regional influence over the Soviets) but when the Soviets won the social favor of anti-imperialist Arabs, the US made an anchor out of Israel\n\nThe or... | null |
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