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8wxqyk | Why can’t we stop urinating for more than a short period of time when we start? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"e1zf492"
] | [
"Urine is held in the bladder. The bladder has muscles that can squeeze it (to empty it) but they stay relaxed until you decide to pee. You also have a sphincter in the urethra that's usually tightened so your pee doesn't flow out. You relax this sphincter when you decide to pee. So, to pee, your bladder starts squeezing the pee out, and your sphincter relaxes. If you decide to interrupt, the sphincter muscle reacts immediately and stops the flow, but the bladder muscles still squeeze for a while, so there's some pressure build-up. This is why it feels like you can't stop for long; in fact if you make an effort to \"hold it\" eventually the bladder will stop squeezing, reducing the pressure, and resetting you back to \"ok I can hold it for a while now.\""
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7p8gl4 | How do atoms join together | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"dsfay03",
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"An atom consists of a \"cloud\" of electrons around a core of protons and neutrons. The electrons are divided over shells. It is most stable for atoms to have 8 electrons on their outermost shell, the valence shell. This configuration is called the \"noble gass configuration\" since noble gasses always have this configuration and are very stable. Not all atoms can obtain that configuration on their own, so they will exchange electrons with other atoms. There are 3 main bonds atoms can form to reach a noble gass configuration: * Ionic bond. Here a metal (which usually has 1 or 2 valence electrons) will give his electrons to a non-metal (4 to 7 valence electrons). The metal has an underlying layer which is complete, and the non-metal has an outer layer that is now completed. Kitchen salt (NaCl) is such bond. * Covalent bond. Two non-metals (with 4 to 7 valence electrons) will share some of their electrons so that they both can count the shared pair. Cl2 is such bond. * Metallic bond. Metals (1 or 2 valence electrons) will form a roster structure without their valence electrons. Those electrons float in a cloud through the structure and don't really belong to a specific atom anymore. Now you see why metals are often good electricity conductors: there are lots of free electrons!"
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6iz9qj | Did women really faint or get hysterical in emotional or shocking situations during the Victorian era? | Culture | explainlikeimfive | [
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"In addition to physiological causes such as constricting garments, it was also *socially expected* for women to faint in certain situations. Consequentially, to a woman who felt dizzy, the idea to try and \"pull herself together\" simply didn't occur - clearly she was fainting, so she did what she had seen others do. Furthermore, since it was considered normal, fainting could be faked and used to one's advantage, e.g. to get out of an uncomfortable situation, or to be caught by a young gentlemen one wished to get closer to - some considered this an important skill to be practiced."
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ad5tl5 | What's Protein Folding and how is it done? | Is it a "brute force" search, trying all possible combinations? Or is there a special algorythm? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"eddw8fo",
"eddtwlr"
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"PhD biochemist here. This is a tricky one to ELY5, but I'll give it a go. Proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids. Each of these amino acids can be broken down into two parts: the core, and the side part. All amino acids have identical core parts, but different side parts (which is why there are different types of amino acids). The physical being of a protein is like a long rope, where all of those core parts of the building blocks (amino acids) are linked together in a specific sequence, and the differing side parts dangle off the rope. So now we have this rope... And how do you most efficiently 'store' a rope? Well, you don't leave it completely straightened out on the floor, you wrap it up or coil it up. This is sort of like folding a protein. Now, there are multiple different sub-types of protein fold... I won't get into the specifics at this point. But since the protein rope that we built has tiny side pieces hanging off... Parts of the rope are sticky, parts are slippery, and some parts may even be a little bit sharp. Because of these details, we can't just wrap up the rope any normal way. There is a specific pattern that will yield the most happy and stable rope. The goal of a folding protein is to wrap itself up in such a way that all of the parts on the \"outside\" of the rope pile are slippery. The inside of the pile of rope needs to have almost all of the sticky parts, and if there are sharp parts... They need to end up at nearly the center of the pile (regardless of what segment of the rope they occur at). The act of folding is random and somewhat brute forced. It starts as a fully extended rope in solution (basically the water that's in your cells, it's got some other stuff in it like salt and various ions), and then coils up little by little until it's a happy rope that's tucked in all of its sticky stuff and exposed all of its slippery stuff. This way, it can slide around in the cells of your body without getting caught on anything. This is a gross oversimplification, but truly ELI5 in nature. Hopefully this was insightful. Edit: fixing things, typing on mobile is horrid. Edit2: you seem to be interested in the computational part, which is what I actually did my dissertation on. Computational protein folding experiments calculate a base energy value for an unfolded protein, and then energy values for various possible folded states of a protein... There are MANY factors that contribute to the total energy of the system. But these are the primary three: 1. Location of sticky things vs. slippery things 2. Surface area of the whole folded protein 3. Localized geometry of the folded structure (using the rope example again, you can't fold a piece of rope flat on top of itself... It kinks where you bend it to relieve the strain, proteins do the same sort of thing.) Computers calculate the total energy of a folded system and compare it to the unfolded system to calculate the \"net gain\" in energy from folding. If that value is big enough, it's a plausible conformation... Too small, and the protein would never realistically stay in that state for very long."
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18
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gc1u2c | Why does jerking awake happen when there is no noise or outright cause to wake? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fp8t37e",
"fp8ssj5"
] | [
"It’s called a hypnic jerk, it’s a response to your body thinking you’re dying because your heart rate is slowing down too fast, so it jerks you awake. The falling feeling however, is the feeling of “dying” according to your body"
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5mupr7 | Why are there no parachutes in planes as a security measure? | Repost | explainlikeimfive | [
"dc6hxkf",
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"because it's kind of hard to have 300 people that don't know jack about putting a parachute on try to do it with the plane falling out of the air. and it's pretty lethal to jump out of an airliner going 500mph, even if you're a professional skydiver. and if the pilot was in control enough to slow the plane down to under 100mph, when it's safe to jump out....he might as well just guide it in for a landing."
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36
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a05bjh | How is it that CO2 can kill you, but adding it to water to make soda and then consuming it is perfectly safe. | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"eaep8ot",
"eaep8r3",
"eaer07f"
] | [
"Water is perfectly safe to drink (in fact you will die without it), yet it can also kill you. Plenty of things are safe in one form or amount, and dangerous in some other form or amount."
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9tvm3w | What do I need to do (legally) once I've acquired a job (USA, VA)? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"e8zjeb8",
"e8zfhsx"
] | [
"When you started your job, you'll have filled out Form W-4 (asking about your marital status, SSN, etc.) and Form I-9 (asking for your passport or drivers license plus social security card). Form I-9 establishes your identity and right to work (i.e., you're not an illegal immigrant). Form W-4 gives your employer the necessary information to tax you properly. The IRS preemptively taxes you. This is called withholding. Your employer automatically sends a portion of your paycheck to the government, preemptively paying your taxes for you. At the end of the year, your employer sends you Form W-2, which is a statement of how much you worked, your total pay, and how much pay they withheld. Now, even though a company has 100 employees paid the same, their tax situations are different. One person may be married and subject to different rules. Another person may have three jobs. That's why most people are required to file a tax return (aka \"filing taxes\" or \"doing your taxes\"), called Form 1040. They take the W-2 that their employer gave them and use it to fill out the 1040, which describes their financial situation in full and all other jobs they have. Then they will either pay the government more money, if the withheld amount is less than the taxes they owe, or they get a refund, if the withheld amount is more than taxes owed. This is what people mean when they talk about their tax refund check. Depending on your situation, it may not be required for you to file Form 1040 (\"do your taxes\"), however if you want a refund you'll have to do it. It's also usually a good idea to do because it creates a record of yourself, and sometimes you'll need tax records for various things. If you're a teenager, you'll probably be able to do taxes yourself using a Form 1040EZ (a one page, simplified version of Form 1040), unless you have significant assets like stocks or trust income, in which case your parents would have already hired accountants for your previous tax returns, so just ask them. Tax returns are due on April 15 the year after you worked. So all the money you made in 2018 is reported on the 2018 Form 1040, which is actually due on April 15, 2019."
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5rmhyh | How and what triggers gall bladder stones formation? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dd8rgt6"
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"I'm going to take the long way around the barn just to make sure I explain it well. I hope it makes sense, but if not let me know. I'm not so great at responses yet because I normally just lurk. So you know how if you put oil and water together, it separates into two layers? But if you put a soap or a detergent with it, you can get the two to sort of mix? That's important. It's something called solubility. Solubility is just what will dissolve in something else, like sugar in water. But fats aren't water soluble. They won't be a part of water. Fats are something called lipid soluble. (Lipid is a fancy way to say fat.) They're like oil. In order to absorb things that have fat in them (think greasy foods but also lots of other stuff) you have to be able to absorb fats, but fats are sort of spectators on the side because the body absorbs water soluble stuff. Another reason this is important is because many vitamins are fat-soluble. So if you don't absorb your fats, you miss out on your vitamins especially vitamins A, D, E, and K. The way to solve this problem is to make the fats water soluble instead of fat soluble (like the oil, water, and soap earlier). This is done in a process called emulsification. Emulsification basically takes the entire layer of fat and puts it in tiny tiny droplets in the water layer thus making it relatively water water-soluble. The emulsifier, or the thing breaking it down into little droplets (think: the role of soap in the example), here is bile. Bile comes from the liver. It is made by hepatocytes (fancy for liver cell) and cholangiocytes (fancy for bile duct cells. Bile has all kinds of things in it, but the ones responsible for emulsifying fats are bile salts (BS) and bile acids (BA). They can get complicated so that's what we'll call them right now. When Bob comes from the liver between meals 50% goes to the gallbladder to be stored and concentrated while the other 50% makes its way down the duct system into the small intestine. In the gallbladder cells of the gallbladder called cholecystocytes concentrate the bile 100x. The reason it concentrates the bile is so that when you eat next time, the bile is more effective or more potent. Another reason is simply practical because the gallbladder only holds 40-50 mL. But when bile is concentrated there is another problem. When anything is concentrated it can be difficult to keep it dissolved. Can you think of a time where you put too much sugar in a drink and could not get it all to dissolve? This is the same concept. It refers to saturation points of a solution. The idea is essentially how much stuff can a liquid solution hold in it. When something becomes very very concentrated or potent, the liquid says it cannot hold it anymore. This increases the likelihood of dropping it just like a person carrying heavier and heavier weight. This is called precipitation in a solution. When bile salts precipitate out of the bile in the gallbladder they can undergo a chemical process called chelation with something called calcium. That's all fancy talk for how to make a calcium salt. Calcium salts are not soluble. Large clumps of these calcium salts are called gallstones. So why doesn't this happen to everyone? To solve this problem the gallbladder normally makes the bile acidic in order to keep the bile salts soluble. But this stops working when people eat more fat than they should because the gallbladder is overworked as it has to empty itself and start over more times than normal. So when the gallbladder stops working, you no longer get the acidic bile with better solubility. Now you have calcium salts and gallstones. Source: I have a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, and I am working on my M.S. in Biology with a focus in medical science. We went over this yesterday in class."
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lo73kr | Why when one of your headphones stops working does it feel so weird but when you take out one headphone it doesn’t sound weird at all? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"go48tx7",
"go4cy8t"
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"Here are two of the possible explanations. Your dead earbud it blocking sound so it sounds really weird to be nearly completely deaf in that ear. You pull the earbud out and you get ambient noise back. Or it could be a pseudo effect that doesn't have a reason other than you think it sounds weird to have one sided sound unless you take an earbud out."
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o5g6pn | Is zero a number or the absence of a number? | I have looked at several different articles/explanations but they either have contradictory statements or they use esoteric language that I cant wrap my head around. pls help | Mathematics | explainlikeimfive | [
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"From a programmer perspective zero is a number: for example if you have 1+0 the result will still be a number. But if you have 1+NaN(not a number) the results will be NaN. From a mathematical point of view 0 is also a number, because it respect all the requirements to be one. You know exactly where to find 0, you can use 0 in operations and 0 is a valid result. But let's think that 0 is not a number for a second. If you have the equation x=1-1 I would say that x=0 but if 0 is just the absence of a number, I should probably say that x does not have a value"
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a6pc55 | Why is the house market so inflationary? | Will it ever be possible again for an ordinary earner to buy a home or is our generation doomed to live in rented flats? | Economics | explainlikeimfive | [
"ebwyam4",
"ebwtbtz"
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"Population has grown, landmass hasn't. People want to live near work as to limit their commute. Most work is in and near the big cities. This further limits available landmass. Commuting hasn't become faster since the 70s so attractive space around cities hasn't grown. This leads to high demand in a select few areas, obviously this drives up the price in those areas. Most if not all countries have also become more urbanized so this further drives up demand in urban areas (obviously.) There are still plenty of cheap places left, if you become an electrician and move to a rustbelt or flyover state I'm 101% sure you'll be able to afford a house. An 800 sqft house in detroit only has to cost 11 thousand, even if renovating costs 40 thousand that's still very cheap. Although I understand why you'd prefer not to live in Detroit. (it's just an example) Attractive areas have become more expensive due to demand, there's still plenty cheap left. But obviously they're less expensive for a reason. You can have a cheap house or live in a hip and attractive place like the bay area. You can't have both*. *Unless you're a lucky one who bought a cheap house in an area that later grew to become hip and prosperous. Edit: My post is a bit Americentric and I see you're not an American. It's the same in the super tiny country where I live. Everything near Amsterdam has high housing prices while the Eastern part of the country is much cheaper. But even near Amsterdam the housing prices can differ massively, popular parts like Centrum are extremely expensive while (less attractive) De Bijlmer is very cheap.(partly because of enormous crime issues in the past and partly because of xenophobia)"
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lykn3h | how are the ears related to balance? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"gpt92n2",
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"Inside the ear are three fluid filled rings, one ring is flat like a floor, the 2nd is straight up and down, and the 3rd is on an angle between the first two. The rings are filled with a fluid and lined with tiny hairs. As you move around the fluid swishes in the rings and moves the hairs, like grass in the wind, which send \"I'm Moving!\" signals to the brain. The brain uses those signals, along with input from the eyes, to compile the sensation we call \"Balance\". Problems can arise when the hair-moving signals don't line up with our eye signals, for example if we spin around in a circle a lot and then stop moving. Our eyes say we're standing still but the fluid is still spinning in our ears which confuses our brains and make us dizzy."
] | [
20
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miguln | Are the nerves for touch, pain, etc.. the same that allow me to move ? | I mean are the nerves which allows me to move my muscles and my entire body the same than the ones which allows me to feel something ? Are the ones which send informations the same which receives informations? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"gt4jskp"
] | [
"No, they are different nerve endings. The feeling nerves have endings in your skin. The motor nerves have endings in your muscles. They are attached to different places in your brain or spinal cord."
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6spyz6 | Why is the kilogram the only standard unit of measurement with a prefix? The name makes it seem like the gram is standard which is not the case, why is this? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dlepy8d"
] | [
"The original plan was to use the gram as the base unit. But they realized this was not very practical for everyday use, as it is so small. So they changed it to the kilogram as the base. Changing the name would have been pretty awkward at that point, as the names were already being widely used."
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jdco7r | what do washers actually *do* in the fastening process? | I’m about to have a baby in a few months, so I’m putting together a ton of furniture and things. I cannot understand why some things have washers with the screws, nuts, and bolts, but some don’t. What’s the point of using washers, and why would you choose to use one or not use one? | Engineering | explainlikeimfive | [
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"In general, a washer is used when the material you're fastening is softer than the material you're fastening with... Eg a metal bolt on the wooden leg of a table, and its purpose is to spread the pressure of the bolt across a broader area, so you can tighten more without the bolt just sinking into the soft wood Edit: you do also see rubber or plastic washers for metal on metal fastenings, this is usual to prevent vibration from loosening the bolt over time. Edit 2: wow - thanks everyone! Many people have pointed out other reasons why washers are used in addition to the above including to prevent certain types of corrosion, to carry the wear for fastenings which are frequently used (like on access panels) and to seal against moisture. There have also been comments about the validity of the anti-vibration washers (both polymer and \"anti-lock\") so I guess do your research if this is a concern for you! There are many many great links and comments in this thread."
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5wijo8 | Why are chemical weapons considered particularly heinous? | So much so that there are special treaties signed to ban their use. It seems odd that they would stand out - given the mass killing abilities of nuclear weapons that are not similarly banned. Governments don't seem to have a problem with killing tens of thousands - unless its by chemical weapons. Why? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
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"Yup which is why nuclear weapons are detonated every week right? /s Chemical weapons generally kill in horrible ways, indiscriminately and with little regard to battle lines or combatants vs. non-combatants. They also tend to kill the environment and in general just ruin things. Simply put... they are so nasty that even humans (which are generally horrible to each other) are like \"nah... it's k... we don't need that.\" Nuclear Weapons (while not officially banned) are de facto banned which is why *nobody has used them since 1945*."
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5of55f | Females vs. Women | I've noticed on Reddit people tend to think of the word females as having a negative connotation when referring to women. They often tell other redditors to use the word women instead. Could someone explain to me the proper usage for each? And also why the word female has such a bad rap? I'm just a bit curious. If I think about it, I always use the word men when referring to men. Males sounds.....odd. | Culture | explainlikeimfive | [
"dciw0dj"
] | [
"\"Females\" is generally thought of as being cold, clinical language. It'd be like using the word \"Humans\" in place of \"People\". Like, don't you think it'd be weird if your friend said to you, \"Hey, look at those humans over there\" instead of \"Hey, look at those people over there.\" \"Females\" isn't grammatically incorrect and it's not \"wrong\", it just sounds weird and awkward. It's also strangely broad, like, a group of female cows can also be called \"females\" and so can a group of female snakes, or female insects. Calling a group of female humans \"females\" isn't wrong, but like... We HAVE a word for \"female humans\". The word is \"women.\""
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l9b84v | What's the difference between an accountant and an actuary? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"glh3im4"
] | [
"**TL;DR:** Accountants look at *today*'s financial numbers, like debt and revenue and profit and taxes owed. Actuaries look at what financial numbers *might* become *in the future*, and help to protect the company or person from risks that might end up hurting them. An accountant is someone who does up the math that describes the state of money for your business or organization, or your personal wealth or taxes. They are trained to *calculate financial numbers* in a very specific way, and put them in standard documents or computer systems that the government can look at and understand, and that can be \"audited\" (checked by a different accountant) to ensure they're honest. An actuary is someone that turns those and other numbers into an *understanding of risk*. They're super important in personal or business insurance. Life insurance depends on things like how many people of a certain age are expected to die or get sick, or whether young men have more car accidents than young women, and actuaries help to figure that out. In business, they look at things like what could go wrong, and what are the odds of something going wrong. Examples are when one company is thinking of buying another, or whether a company's actions might leave it open to a lawsuit."
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7ii3bs | Why can some autistic people seem neurotypical? | I have autism and I know the tendencies I have and why I have autism but most people tell me that I don't seem autistic and I actually notice it in friends who have it as well. I find myself actually questioning if some of my friends have autism even though I can detect autistic tendencies in people who aren't diagnosed. I have actually helped several people get diagnosed. | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dqyykog"
] | [
"Autism comes in several types and a wide range of severity. It's possible that the \"autistic people who don't seem autistic\" are either mildly affected, have a non-classical type, or both. Another possibility is that they seemed \"more autistic\" when they were younger, but have learned strategies to try to appear more normal in everyday situations, ie hide their autistic tendencies when possible."
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9xqmrp | What is that high pitched sound you hear when an explosive goes on near you or you get slapped really hard and why/how does it happen? | It's often seen in movies and such. A brief explanation would be appreciated:) | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"e9ufwtj",
"e9udxbh"
] | [
"Your ears process sound by tiny hairs called celia. The hearing canal is a coiled shape... longer hairs at the beginning of the coil hear low frequencies... Shorter hairs further in the coil process higher frequencies. When the celia experience loud noises they get flattened and touch eachother in the smaller tighter section of the coil and your brain processes that as hearing high frequencies. The louder the noise the wider frequency of ringing will occur. It is called tinnitus and in some cases can cause permanent damage."
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atg57c | My friend does not think the physical constants will always be true and he argues that we know nothin for sure. Can you explain to him why he is wrong? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
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"eh0upjq"
] | [
"Your friend is working off of the logical fallacy that something that is unfalsifiable (there's no way to prove false) must also be incorrect. A classic example of this is the Russell's teapot thought experiment. If I were to assert, without offering proof, that a teapot too small to be seen by telescopes orbits the Sun somewhere between Earth and Mars, I could not expect anyone to believe me solely because my assertion could not be proven wrong. This kind of logically fallacy obviously has no part in rational discourse. Science doesn't work off of untested and unproven assumptions. We have zero evidence that fundamental constants of the universe will change, have changed, or are different in different locations. We have staggering amounts of evidence to the contrary. While it's technically true that we can't 100% prove it, it doesn't matter. I also can't conclusively prove that I won't turn into a purple rhinoceros at exactly noon tomorrow. Someone making such a random claim is making an asserting that is not supported by any evidence or is impossible to test, and that's not how science works. The onus isn't on science to prove someone else's unfalsifiable claim. If you make that claim, you prove it. I'm also going to take a wild guess and say that your friend doesn't know the first thing about any of this as has no idea what he's talking about in general."
] | [
11
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
a1icmc | What stops police from obtaining evidence however they want, then publishing it anonymously or submitting it as an anonymous tip to make it admissable? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"eapyvsy",
"eaq0e5o"
] | [
"Can you explain a little bit more how that would work? I'm not sure what could be submitted as an anonymous tip that would end up as admissible evidence. Tips aren't admissible in court, they lead to evidence, usually."
] | [
5
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
f6rmd6 | Why our body instantly feel less sleepy when drinking coffee? Don't caffeine takes 10-20 minutes to act in the system? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fi6k5f6"
] | [
"Placebo effect. It's a very common effect where your mind alters your perception of how you are feeling based on what you expect you should feel like. Your brain knows you just drank the go go juice, so it knows you're supposed to feel more awake."
] | [
5
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
hbdy6v | How do companies fill glass bottles with carbonated drinks with bottlecaps without the bottle breaking from air pressure within? | Engineering | explainlikeimfive | [
"fv89nbk"
] | [
"The glass is simply so thick that is can sustain the pressure inside. Glass is a surprising stong material. Glas is brittle so do not get deformed a lot but shatter when you apply a lot of force. A material that gets deformed is ductile. If you compare to steel you can have both softer that get deformed or very hard and shatter. A common example of brittle steel is a drillbit the does not bend but shatter. You do not add the carbon dioxide after you have the liquid in the bottle like in a soda streamer. The carbon dioxide is added in another container and is in the liquid when you fill the bottle. You fill it with a tube inserted in the bottle almost to the bottom so you fill it from the bottom to top so the air can escape."
] | [
3
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
5vv5x3 | How does (1/2)! = (√π/2) | How are you able to derive PI from 1/2 factorial? | Mathematics | explainlikeimfive | [
"de563yp"
] | [
"There's something called [the gamma function]( URL_0 ) which extends the idea of factorials to things over than whole positive numbers. I can't think of a way to ELI5-ify the answer beyond \"If you run the math, that's what you get\"."
] | [
4
] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_function"
]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
6qqrtd | How do (and did) composers test their orchestral works before giving them to an orchestra? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dkzamug"
] | [
"Composers know the tone of the instrument they compose for very well. They most likely write the tunes on a piano, but in their head they know how they will sound different. I'd imagine they're relatively proficient on one or two instruments as well. They might pick up a violin or trumpet just to play a couple notes and see how it comes out."
] | [
4
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
616ojv | What do movie directors actually do that makes them garners them more recognition than other crew? | Culture | explainlikeimfive | [
"dfc5qup",
"dfctuxk",
"dfc66t1"
] | [
"Think of the Director of a movie as a super hands on, micro manger CEO of a company, and in this situation, the company is a movie. They are in charge of everything. They work on everything, they have a say on everything, nothing gets past them, they are in charge. They reap the benefits of being in charge of a great movie, and are saddled with the burdens of a failure. All signs point to the guy (or gal) in charge."
] | [
9
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
il07ov | I don't know if it's only me but why do you always get "butterflies in your stomach" when your stressed or before a roller coaster or something. What is that tingly feeling, why does it happen, and how does it happen. | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"g3omu09"
] | [
"Its actually a part of your nervous system reacting to the outside stresses. And tied into your natural Fight if Flight response. Your nervous system detects a \"stressful\" situation and starts working. One of the first thing it does is redirect bloodflow. Away from less important systems, like your gut and digestive system, and into more important areas like your legs, incase you need to run. Your stomach reads this lack of bloodflow, and sends the signal to your brain. Causing the butterflies feeling."
] | [
17
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
5o3kcj | What is the difference between being declared clinically dead, and being actually dead? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dcgh5td"
] | [
"There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do. Go through his clothes and look for loose change."
] | [
23
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
65n9f7 | in chemistry, what's the difference between "-ite", "-ide", and "-ate"? | AFAIK they're all salts, but what is the significance of the different suffixes? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"dgbne0v",
"dgbnzj8"
] | [
"-ide is typically nonmetal compoundes (sodium chlorIDE). -ate is an ion with the largest number of oxygen ions, while -ite is used for a smaller number of oxygen ions (NO2 = nitrite NO3 = Nitrate) For more fun, lets look at chloride: Cl = Chloride ClO = HYPOchlorITE ClO2 = chlorITE ClO3 = ChlorATE ClO4 = PERchlorATE EDIT: A silly way to remember this is that the hungry hippo -ATE the one with more oxygens (substitute any rediculous animal to assist in making a mental image)"
] | [
81
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
jy493q | Why is the web CAPTCHA necessary? | What would happen if they all disappeared? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"gd0jmui",
"gd0jzel"
] | [
"To prevent web bots. It’s harder to code something to click submit web forms with a captcha."
] | [
6
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5slhqv | In these sanctuary cities, Why are the Mayor and city council not being charged with aiding and abetting a criminal, and harboring a fugitive? | Repost | explainlikeimfive | [
"ddfwxl4",
"ddfx7nb"
] | [
"They aren't actually breaking any laws or (legally speaking) aiding and abetting anyone. They're just refusing to do the Federal Government's job for them. It's not up to individual local governments to enforce federal law and they can't be forced to if they don't want to. If they were actively preventing federal officials from entering their cities that would be a different story, but that's not what they are doing."
] | [
8
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
8udgj1 | Skilled vs unskilled labor | What is the difference between these two? From what I understand unskilled just means you have no formal education, but I'm not really sure because I've heard differing answers | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"e1ej7kk",
"e1ejfej"
] | [
"ELI5 you say? Can you juggle? If so you took time to develop that skill. Can you tape a box shut? Yeah, most people can."
] | [
8
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
mmowjo | What makes ‘permanent’ markers more permanent than regular markers? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"gtso6sl",
"gttosro",
"gtsq2py",
"gttlgt8",
"gttht4t",
"gtthvpc",
"gttptj7"
] | [
"It’s based on how you make the marker ink. Permanent markers have something in the ink that makes the ink stick to surfaces better and hard to remove with water. Non-permanent markers don’t have that extra sticky solution and is made in a way where you can clean it easily with water. An ELI15 answer is that markers are made with a dye dissolved in an organic solvent. If the solvent is water-soluble, it’s not permanent. If the solvent is made with a non-water-soluble solution, it’s “permanent”. Sometimes, to make it more permanent, they also include a polymer in the mixture that binds the ink to the surface better."
] | [
6975
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
gxxbgu | How does restricting password length or repeating characters make a password more secure? If it doesn't, why do some companies enforce it? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"ft67jj4",
"ft67u1r",
"ft7t4kq",
"ft685vo",
"ft67kdc"
] | [
"Minimum length makes minimum complexity more likely. Maximum length is harder to justify nowadays. Passwords are cracked by brute force, using most likely sequences first to spend less time and then going to less frequent and eventually random. No resorting characters makes complexity a bit higher but if the result is in a cracked database it doesn’t matter. Companies enforce it by history and sometimes laziness. My ex company forced us to change passwords every 3 months. Meaning everyone had a sort of increment in their password making the measure moot."
] | [
40
] | [
[],
[
"https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/password_strength.png"
],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
66isfc | Every human on the planet spontaneously vanishes, and a hundred years later, aliens arrive. Would they be able to find out about the internet? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dgissjk",
"dgit7am",
"dgirrjl"
] | [
"Sure, there would be an \"Internet for Dummies\" book someplace on a library shelf. They could learn all about what the Internet was. They could go to the places where the computers were, and maybe fix up the Wikipedia servers so they could learn all we know."
] | [
20
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
63655a | Do essential oils really work like advertised? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dfrm56t",
"dfrm0q6",
"dfrn6lw"
] | [
"Well that depends very strongly on what you mean by \"as advertised\" Do they smell nice and those smells can influence your mood? Yes Do some of them have health benefits or are they good for skin and hair care? Yes Are they some magical cure-all that that can be used instead of real medicine? Absolutely not."
] | [
6
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
67j977 | How does shorting a stock work? | Economics | explainlikeimfive | [
"dgqtgfl",
"dgqu0xo",
"dgqvhr6"
] | [
"You think the share price is going to go down. So you borrow some shares from the bank and you sell them for $100. Later on, you're happy to see that you were right, and the price did go down. So you buy the shares back for $80, and you return them to the bank. The bank charges you $2 for the privilege of borrowing the shares. And all in all, you were able to pocket $18. ($100 - $80 - $2)."
] | [
7
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
82zhf1 | What does the ‘101’ mean written on educational books and said to mean easy? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dvdxg8w",
"dvdxjv8",
"dvejwct",
"dvdxb9i",
"dvdxmfu"
] | [
"101 is the introductory level course in a college or university. Usually it goes 100-level classes, 200-level classes, 300-level, and 400-level in a four-year institute with a specialized major. It means they assume you have no prior knowledge of the subject and that this course is going to be your gateway introducing you to the basics of that subject. For example, Sociology 101 as a class would begin with a definition of the word “sociology”. Very introductory stuff. It’s the same idea in book form. It’s a way of saying “this is the beginner book for you who have no idea about this subject but are looking to learn”."
] | [
77
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
hxmjne | Why do we have toe nails? | I can understand why we still have finger nails but shouldn't toe nails be already gone because I can't think of a single use they have. | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fz75h2y",
"fz76zzh",
"fz71g12",
"fz70j6o"
] | [
"Because there is no evolutionary reason to get rid of them. Genes are pack-rats, and keep everything in potentia, vestigial structures, just in case. Hoarders are us."
] | [
14
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5mbs3o | Why does prolonged screen time make me feel so drained? | I loooove reading stuff on Reddit and the interwebs. I'm constantly looking things up and reading on my smart phone or computer. You can learn so many things with the internet. The more time I spend in front of a screen reading,gaming or whatever, the more I feel like complete shit. If I have a really slow day at work where I'm on my phone piddling around most of the day, I will feel drained and irritable afterward. It's not a tired feeling either it's more of just being mentally drained. Is it something to do with electronics or is it because my brain is processing so much information? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dc2eqgt",
"dc2gs3g"
] | [
"A lot of the tiredness comes from your posture. When we sit in front of a screen (or lay down in the same posture for a long time), our muscles strain and tense up. There needs to be movement in our muscles for proper blood flow. The strain in muscles is why we feel tired."
] | [
8
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
cg4t99 | why are housecats terrified of getting wet, when their instincts include catching fish? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"euem6d6",
"euepqga",
"euf9a3e"
] | [
"They are generally just not used to it. Most cats love water, housecats included, if they are introduced to it when they're young and have been around it for a while."
] | [
13
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
jhyyva | Why can't dentists fill up the small nooks and crannies on your teeth - especially molars - prophylactically in order to make them a bit more hole-proof? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"ga3adrn"
] | [
"They do if the crevices in your teeth are naturally deep enough. I believe they call it sealing. I was told that it is not done more often because there needs to be a certain amount of the sealing material or else it will simply come out or pop off."
] | [
5
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
by6esm | why do some events that happened a year ago feel like they were yesterday while others feel like they were years ago? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"eqdujvz",
"eqftka6"
] | [
"Emotion affects memory formation Example - dangerous situations or anytime your adrenaline spikes, your mind makes sure to remember those things with as much clarity as possible, because it's a survival instinct - adrenaline means you are in danger and thus remembering what is happening in that moment could save you the next time it happens."
] | [
10
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
a9n0jy | How do drywall anchors work? | Engineering | explainlikeimfive | [
"eckrdkq"
] | [
"Different anchors work a bit differently. However the main concept is that when you put the fastener inn the anchor will expand so that it does not fit through the hole in the drywall any more. Some drywall anchors will expand as you put the fastener inn and some will first expand as you tighten the fastener in the anchor."
] | [
3
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
61ko1k | What's the difference between a pulmonary oedema and a pulmonary effusion? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dff9qjq",
"dffik6t",
"dffadkr"
] | [
"Imagine that the lungs are kind of like sponges that fill the space inside your rib cage. Usually the sponges are wrung out so that they are still a bit moist, but not really wet. Pulmonary edema would be like if the sponge was not wrung out- it is more full of water, which decreases the amount of space for the air that is breathed. A pleural effusion would be like if the sponge was floating in a puddle of water- the sponge might still be relatively dry, and able to breathe, but the puddle of water is taking up some of the space that the sponge should be occupying."
] | [
12
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
j7bcos | What does a high stock price do for a company? Like, does it give it more funds to expand or to reinvest in the business? | If the answer to above is yes, then how does a stock price generate that money for the company to spend? It feels like a high stock price only benefits to people to sell their stock? | Economics | explainlikeimfive | [
"g83lmoh",
"g83loec"
] | [
"A high stock price does not make a company money on its own. Essentially, the price shows how much \"the market\" is willing to pay for a share. This is, in a way, a measurement of confidence in the company. If the company itself holds stocks of their own, they could capitalise on high stock prices, but this is unlikely."
] | [
5
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
62fbw5 | What actually happens to our skin when we apply lotion? How deep does the lotion go? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dfm67rn"
] | [
"Your skin is made up of two layers. The epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the outer layer. Which is what we're dealing with when it comes to lotion and applying product. Your epidermis is covered in pores. The lotion sinks into your pores and is distributed throughout the epidermis making your skin feel more soft and supple. The top layer contains a lot of keratin which is a thick and hard substance. It prevents it from going much deeper- but a very minimal amount will likely sink down into the dermis and enter the bloodstream. Though it's not enough to harm us. Also located in these pores are the sebaceous glands. They produce sebum, or oil. They are more commonly known as your oil glands. People with very active oil glands have oily skin. As you age- your oil glands become less active, which causes the skin to become dryer with age. A good lotion mimics the properties of sebum. A lot of lotions have fillers and alcohol in them, which causes it to sit on top of the skin or evaporate-and only feel like it's absorbed. Fun fact: the reason eye creams are so much more expensive than regular lotions are because we don't have pores under our eyes. That means the molecules have to be so small they absorb right through the skin without the help of pores. They use nanotechnology to alter the molecular structure of the proteins and fatty acids so they will be small enough to penetrate through. That's an expensive and extensive process so they have to charge more. If you aren't satisfied yet- I'll keep going: The top layer of your epidermis is composed of fatty and waxy substances, some of which are called \"lipids\". If something is lipid-soluble, it will be able to permeate the top layer of your skin. That's why the active ingredients in lotions are oils and fats. They contain lipid-soluble components. Which is why things like lotions and oils will absorb into your skin more than other substances. Source: I am an esthetician."
] | [
76
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
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? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fdb2hf3",
"fdat0q8",
"fdc7mq9",
"fdbv3tr",
"fdamcaa",
"fdd0h35",
"fdb2wpf",
"fdanm5h",
"fdc37ts",
"fdc5ldo",
"fdc5lk5"
] | [
"Fun fact: you can’t actually sense temperature; not in the way we usually think of it. Instead, you sense the transfer of heat into or out of your skin. If different parts of your body are different temperatures, they will feel the same temperature differently. There are a couple of experiments you can run to illustrate this: 1. Get three bowls of water, big enough to stick your hands into. Fill one with icy-cold water, one with hot water, and one with luke-warm water. Put one hand in the cold water and one in the hot water, and hold them there for a minute or so. Then put both hands in the medium water at the same time, and notice how each hand reports the temperature of that water differently. 2. Leave a block of wood, a piece of metal, and a plastic object in a room for a while, so they end up being the same temperature. When you feel them, they will feel different temperatures, because the different materials transfer heat more or less efficiently."
] | [
6022
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
8x25rs | Why don’t most major tollways accept credit cards? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"e2083ui",
"e20atk0",
"e208ej6"
] | [
"Newer ones do but it's by way of purchasing a scannable window or plate tag and then they bill you later. I'm only familiar with the system used near me and it is a huge mess. Massive under/over billing. Tons of disputed charges. High speed cameras take a pic of every car. When tag is detected it's added to the bill. If no tag is detected it's reported and you get a bigger bill."
] | [
8
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
hygbsf | How can a PCP detect breast cancer with just a pat? | I got a lump between my boob and my armpit. Went for my first annual PCP to get it checked out and after doctor patted me, she told me it was not breast cancer but an inflamed gland. I'm wondering, how did she know so easily? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fzcjori",
"fzcssmr"
] | [
"Experience mostly. In the body there are many glands, lymph nodes, etc. Medical professionals know the locations of these and therefore if something appears in those locations, they know it’s possibly that gland or node. The feel of the lump itself is one of the major giveaways. Some lumps are hard while others are soft. Some are smooth on the edges while others may feel bumpy. And some lumps will move under the skin while others remain in place. A combination of location, movement, firmness, and smoothness can tell a lot about what the lump or mass may be. If you have enough experience feeling these, you can get a pretty accurate judgement of what it is without doing any invasive tests or imaging."
] | [
10
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
k1hnf2 | Why are fight scenes and music so loud compared to dialogue? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"gdobp66",
"gdoc8zb",
"gdofuqt",
"gdoc0zz",
"gdoh58q",
"gdojcfx",
"gdoil2y",
"gdol5tk",
"gdohux9"
] | [
"They are mixed for movie theaters and then not modified for the sound setups most people have at home. I don't get it either but it IS incredibly frustrating"
] | [
462
] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://www.indiewire.com/2020/11/christopher-nolan-directors-complain-sound-mix-1234598386/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
ik01bz | How does infrared work in mapping the heat of things (like with thermal goggles) since it's just a form of light? | I know IR is used for things like cameras (CCTVs), or remotes. And that IR is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, just another form of light. But why does infrared also seen to overlap with the amount of thermal energy something has? Is it coincidental? We don't use radio waves or ultraviolet to determine how hot something is. What's so special about infrared? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
"g3h72c3",
"g3h76p5",
"g3h7orl"
] | [
"All objects glow. The amount and 'color' of their glow depends on how hot they are. Really hot things can glow red or even white. At room temperature, things glow mostly in the far-infrared range instead. By measuring this glow, which is invisible to humans, we can measure the temperature of a thing. Edit: We actually do use visible and UV light to measure how hot something is. Even x-rays. It just has to be way hotter than most things on Earth are."
] | [
10
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
8m9mbv | if black is the absence of light how do phone screens produce it. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"dzltn0x"
] | [
"They don't produce it. They simply turn off all pixels in the area. They can't go any darker. But it seems darker because adjacent pixels are lit."
] | [
6
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
93fpnb | where does the smoke go? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"e3cyrym"
] | [
"The inside of the lungs have a very high surface area of wet mucous membrane, which is great at capturing all kinds of things. Some of it (insoluble) just stays there, some of it gets coughed back up in mucus, and some of it is very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. Nicotine and THC are a few of the things that get absorbed quickly, which is why you feel the hit so quickly. One of the benefits of vaping is that the cloud ostensibly contains no insoluble components, so the whole thing eventually gets absorbed into your bloodstream and eventually processed by your body, instead of staying in your lungs like ash and soot."
] | [
15
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
7x1pgl | Why does food taste bad when we are sick | It doesnt make sense to me. Even If we are eating something that is healthy and can help the body overcome sickness, why would our bodies make those taste bad? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"du4rqx7"
] | [
"A huge portion of what we think of as taste is actually the smell of food. When you’re sick, a lot of times your nose gets really congested and your sense of smell is severely diminished, leading to changes in the taste of food"
] | [
14
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
msiv9p | Why do things blur when in motion? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"gut82mh"
] | [
"Think of your mind's eye like a canvas where your brain is constantly painting on it by continuously gathering light via the eyes. But whatever it paints, it fades really fast. You can see this effect by closing your eyes and observing how everything kinda fades out instead of disapering instantly. So your brain has to constantly paint to maintain a stable image. But if an object moves around too fast, the latest instant that the brian paints is smeared over that disapering afterimage of the previous moment, resulting in a blurred image."
] | [
4
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
5mv4m0 | what is happening when we "pop our knuckles" | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dc6l8pd"
] | [
"When you “crack” your knuckles, or any other joint, it expands the space between your bones, creating negative pressure that draws synovial fluid into the new gap. This influx of synovial fluid is what causes the popping sound and feeling when you crack a knuckle"
] | [
6
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
awu0md | Why is it so much easier to get sick when it's cold outside? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"ehp4lz5",
"ehp49pp"
] | [
"The air is drier when it's colder. The air is especially dry indoors because furnaces remove a lot of moisture from the air. The dry air weakens the mucous barrier in your nose, throat and lungs, and exposes the respiratory system directly to viruses. Even in a dry climate in the summer, the air will typically have much more moisture than in the winter."
] | [
11
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
e5cc5m | Why is it so much more difficult to chug cold water vs room temperature? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"f9j0qgf",
"f9j0lwt"
] | [
"Because it will make your mouth and throat cold and the human body doesn’t like that?"
] | [
3
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
9sqr65 | How do bugs, especially WASPS come out so fast after a cold period. | I live in Tennessee, its been pretty weird weather wise here for a bit, just on Saturday and Sunday it dropped to a high of 43 and a low of 28. But today and yesterday its been a high of 75 and a low of 60. But wasps are EVERYWHERE! They were NONEXISTANT on those cold days and a nest I had in my backyard was basically abandoned. But now it’s FULL! How do these little fuckers come back SO FAST? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"e8qp2um",
"e8qqbzw"
] | [
"I'd guess they're all in their nest while it's cold, and then when it's warm they come out to stretch their wings and piss people off"
] | [
5
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9of1jh | the difference between pipe tobacco and the tobacco that is in cigarettes. | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"e7tjkh7",
"e7tuhpx",
"e7u14te",
"e7tv36v",
"e7u4gbm",
"e7u4y4m"
] | [
"1. A cigarette is made of dried and fine tobacco leaves wrapped in thin paper while pipe tobacco is made of coarse tobacco leaves placed in pipes for smoking. 2. A cigarette has two flavors, regular and menthol while pipe tobacco has many flavors, ranging from spicy to fruity to sweet. 3. The flavor and aroma of cigarettes are added chemically while the flavor and aroma of pipe tobacco are added while the plant is still growing by spraying them on the leaves. 4. Pipe tobacco is more natural and is safer to smoke than cigarettes which have added chemicals. However they can both cause lung and mouth cancer from exposure to chemicals and carbon monoxide in the smoke. 5. Vape is better. 6. Quitting is best."
] | [
308
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
fr42in | why do screens often have odd pixel amounts like 1080 or 1440? Why not even number like 1000 or 1400? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fltoqfx",
"fltq39y",
"fltyv8g",
"flu5l9w",
"flu3k6t",
"flu7yqa"
] | [
"> There are historical reasons: > Back in the day, analogue television had limited bandwidth. They used that bandwidth as well as they could and came up with a standard to transmit luminace and chrominance plus audio in that limited bandwidth. Later, when color TV was invented, they had to retrofit more chrominance information into the same bandwidth. The number of lines per second they had to transmit was also constrained by further historical reasons: electricity frequency, which goes back all the way to Tesla, the beginnings of AC, and electric motors. So, NTSC (used in the US) settled for using their 6mhz of bandwidth to transmit a 720x480 image at 29.97FPS. Other standards, PAL and SECAM, for instance, used a higher resolution at a lower framerate (720x576 @25FPS). Again, this was constrained by the fact the US uses 60hz AC, while PAL/SECAM countries (Europe, South America) used 50hz. This where interlaced signals (each frame is actually split in two and transmitted odd / even), that's why framerate is half the electricity frequency. > With the advent of digital, this same resolutions where used as a starting point. VGA was based on NTSC (640x480). As LCD screens became the norm, progressive video replaced interlaced, and 480p became the standard. Since video needs to keep its aspect ratio, both width and heigh will grow proportionally. > So, 720p is simply 1.5 times 480p, and 1080p is simply 1.5 times 720. > 480 * 1.5 = 720 720 * 1.5 = 1080 CREDIT: /u/gnualmafuerte who answered a similar question 6 years ago. I thought it was an interesting question. I had an idea of an answer that was wrong. It is not because of binary or hexadecimal numbers. In the course of fact checking myself I came across this answer which is muy fuerte. He is quoted in full above."
] | [
267
] | [
[],
[
"https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vector_Video_Standards2.svg"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy0tKL1T7wFoYcxCe0xjN6Q"
]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
lpanqm | How do spacecrafts send images from millions of kilometers away to the Earth? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"goab4my",
"goabao1"
] | [
"Radio signals. Just like the Internet, the image is collected digitally, in an image sensor (= camera). Then it's broken into packets and sent over a digital radio network."
] | [
4
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
hli8gp | How do emulators save games? | OK bear with me here, I suck at computers. How do emulators save my game? Where is the saved data stored? Let's say I want to move my data of gameX to another laptop. Is there a file I can shove in a hard drive, plug into laptop 2, and continue where I left off? Also, after dragging the downloaded game into the application, it runs like magic. If I were to delete the game from my folder, will it get deleted from the application as well? Sorry for the question spam, but I never really got this, and the paranoia of suddenly losing my saved games is eating into me. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fwz7opt"
] | [
"Emulators in addition to emulating the hardware can also emulate however the original game system saves data. SNES emulators where the save data is on the cartridge will typically store save data as a separate file in the same folder and with the same name as the ROM but with a different file extension. Save states where you can save at any point are done by saving the entire state of any memory that the hardware has. Things like the state of CPU registers, and RAM contents, and saves this in a format specific to the emulator in a file. As to where these files are, it depends on the emulator, and you'll have to look for the specific folder on the emulators website or Google. Places it could be are usually the same folder the ROM is in, in %AppData% on Windows, or in a folder where the emulator is installed. But yes, after you figure out where the files are you can back them up to an external drive. Oh right, dragging the ROM onto the emulator shortcut is just a common shortcut that opens the emulator and tells it the location of the ROM at the same time. Or dragging it into the open application is a similar shortcut that opens the rom. Nothing is actually copied (usually), so don't delete the ROM."
] | [
6
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
n8hdzn | Why do when rockets re-enters the atmosphere from space get burn up, but rockets that is going to space don't? | The title is pretty self-explanatory. | Earth Science | explainlikeimfive | [
"gxih0p0"
] | [
"Rockets leaving the Earth aren't actually travelling all that fast while they are still within the dense part of the atmosphere. In order to achieve orbit, a rocket is shot straight up initially in order to get through the densest air that is the source of a lot of drag, but then they are pitched over so that they are eventually travelling sideways, parallel to the Earth's surface. They continue to accelerate for a long part of that manouver, because objects in orbit are basically falling just like anything else would - it's just that they are travelling so far horizontally during their fall that the Earth's surface curves away from the object at the same rate that the object is falling toward the Earth, resulting in net zero altitude difference. An object in orbit is simply just travelling sideways really, really fast. In order to slow down a spacecraft from orbital velocity, theoretically you could turn to face the opposite direction and thrust for the same amount of time to get back to zero horizontal velocity, but this would be extremely expensive in terms of fuel consumption and the upstream effects on rocket design to carry all that fuel and get it up to orbit in the first place. Instead, rockets make use of the atmosphere to slow them down. A short initial burn in the direction opposite of travel is used initially to cause the spacecraft to fall out of orbit, but then aerodynamic braking in the atmospheric air is actually used to take off most of the speed. The thing is, a deorbiting spacecraft is travelling so fast that air simply can't move out of the way fast enough, so instead it compresses in front of the advancing spacecraft, forming a shockwave some distance in front of the physical hull surface. This adiabatic compression generates an immense amount of heat that the spacecraft must be protected from, which is what heat shielding tiles are for. The attitude of the reentering spacecraft is controlled, and the shielding oriented properly during the reentry to protect the vehicle until it slows down sufficiently to land or deploy a parachute. If the vehicle is not controlled or sufficiently protected from the reentry heat, it burns up."
] | [
21
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
93ryx9 | Why can hot things of any kind get colder than room temperature? | I just cant think of how that can happen. If the entire surrounding is like 24°C how can get stuff like food get colder than that? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
"e3fhqxd",
"e3fi26g",
"e3figd4",
"e3fhuej"
] | [
"They don't. They might FEEL colder due to their thermal conductivity (air is a poor heat conductor). But their temperature should bottom out at the same as the environment."
] | [
19
] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_temperature"
],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
942cwd | How can we see Venus on the night sky ? | The Venus is between Earth and the Sun, and during nighttime we're faced away from the Sun, how come we can see it ? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
"e3hqefo",
"e3hqehi"
] | [
"Venus is always closer to the Sun that Earth is, but Venus is not always in between the Earth and the Sun. If Venus is directly in between or directly behind the Sun, you cannot see it, but if Venus is on the side (in its orbital position), then you will have a great view of Venus during dawn and dusk. Here is a [diagram]( URL_0 )."
] | [
13
] | [
[
"http://www.skymarvels.com/infopages/images/InferiorPlanets001.jpg"
],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
705ymt | How is a nuclear missile flying over another sovereign nation's airspace not deemed an act of war? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dn0o3al",
"dn0o375",
"dn0vi2y",
"dn0rrgw",
"dn0oiap",
"dn15gfd",
"dn15mu8",
"dn17bjs",
"dn15oao",
"dn1fj9e",
"dn1il4j",
"dn16j0s"
] | [
"It could certainly be provocation for a war that other states see as reasonable. What matters isn't the act itself, it is how others respond to it. If nobody wants to make war over it, then it doesn't matter what some legalistic definition might say."
] | [
104
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
cvvxwp | Why do people require less sleep the older they get? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"ey6rprh"
] | [
"Well, for one thing, that's not the case. Elderly people require as much sleep as a toddler, about 12 hrs. But as we reach adulthood, our bodies stop growing larger and our brains are developing new neural pathways at a much slower rate. We require less sleep because we do not need as many hours of rest for producing the large volume of hormones and their resultant tissue formation. As we age, our bodies are less efficient at producing hormones and tissues, and we require more tissue repair, so we need more sleep to maintain our bodies."
] | [
4
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
ajn7yu | Why do people have the strength of the hand grip proportionate to their body weight/fat, even though they have never worked out. | This is something I noticed about several of my friends, who are overweight but do not exercise, they have greater strength in their grip than a lot others, amongst which some exercise greatly. I also wonder as to why some folk who lift a lot of weights regularly have really weak grips, as I was under the impression that holding weights so much and often would strengthen one's forearms. | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"eewvdix"
] | [
"Because they’re lugging around all this fat, 24/7. It’s like carrying a heavy weight around everywhere. After people go through surgery and shed a majority of the fat, their legs are *ripped*. They’ve been working out every waking minute they have, albeit in an extremely unhealthy way. First time poster so not sure if this meets the requirement of the sub, feel free to correct me."
] | [
8
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
jl27f0 | Why is the skin on our lips different from the rest of our skin? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"gamnpun",
"gamjr4r"
] | [
"It’s a mucus membrane! The same type of skin as inside of your mouth, inside the vagina, and under the foreskin, but it’s open to the air so it doesn’t stay wet and feels slightly different. The exact reason why our lips are a mucus membrane isn’t entirely agreed upon, but the skin looks different because it’s a different type of skin. It’s almost definitely a sex thing, but whether we have noticeable lips because they’re attractive and have selected for the trait with our sexual preferences, or because they make the mouth a more sensitive erogenous zone and that got our ancestors with noticeable lips more play, isn’t 100% agreed upon."
] | [
50
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
9uk2if | What actually happens when you “tweek” your neck and it hurts to turn it in one direction? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"e94v7ny"
] | [
"This is a \"neck spasm\" - the muscles which move your neck involuntarily contract, and may remain tense and partially or fully contracted for several days. Other spasms include foot/hand cramps, abdominal muscle cramps, and charlie horses. These don't tend to last as long as neck spasms. This is very often your muscles attempting to prevent damage to your spinal cord. Poor posture, sleeping weird, or rapid head movement can trigger your body's reflex that says \"uh oh, the spine is moving in a way that could cause serious injury!\" Your muscles tense up as a way to immobilize you - just like a neck brace worn after an injury. Muscles can also spasm for other reasons, like fatigue or potassium deficiency. Movement is difficult and painful because you're trying to use your muscle when it's already trying very hard to not move."
] | [
61
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
bhokh6 | Why is the brain stored in the head? | Surely it would be better if it was in the chest like every other major organ? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"eluf9od",
"elugoyc",
"elugazp"
] | [
"I figure it's because it needs to be close to all of your sensory organs for maximum efficiency, that, and there isn't much room"
] | [
16
] | [
[],
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/qxljr/why_is_our_brain_in_our_head_and_not_our_chest/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/16wyl5/why_is_the_animals_brain_usually_located_in_the/",
"https://np.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7ddan7/eli5_why_are_brains_in_the_vulnerable_head_rather/",
"https://np.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aamwbh/eli5_why_is_our_brain_in_our_heads_and_not/",
"https://np.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/s3tbk/eli5_why_are_our_brains_located_in_our_heads_and/"
],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
9r8gvv | Why is it that when putting somebody on speaker phone when calling them, the microphone doesn't pick up their voice - resulting in them hearing themselves talk? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"e8ezpb7",
"e8f0xhl",
"e8f6qop",
"e8f1kdq",
"e8f8lkv"
] | [
"There's a circuit or software in speakerphones that does *echo cancellation*. The details get a bit complicated because it has to handle things like different-sized rooms and distortion, but basically the idea is that the system looks at what the speaker is playing and then attempts to cancel that same sound out of what's being picked up by the microphone."
] | [
35
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
5m9myw | - An Air Duct Company is using my cell phone number as "a mask" to call hundreds of people. Im now receiving hundreds of calls from these people. What should I do? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dc1vegl",
"dc1vt04"
] | [
"Report them to the police and contact a lawyer to sue them. You should also call your phone company and tell them what is going on."
] | [
11
] | [
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
n3vbro | How do wireless chargers work? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"gws1lq0",
"gws0con",
"gwt76xm"
] | [
"There are two metal spirals: one in your phone and one in the wireless charger. The one in your wiresless charger spins the electricity around the spiral, which creates a strong magnetic charge because electricity and magnetism are inseparable. Since the spiral in your phone is close enough, it causes a \"sympathetic\" electrical charge in your phones spiral, since the magnetic charge also makes an electrical charge. This is why they're pretty inefficient: they need to hop between a bunch of material and the transfer of electricity this way requires way more power that a traditional charger."
] | [
16
] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://cdn.comsol.com/release/51/electrical/acdc/tutorialSpiral.png",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQp6bmJPU_0",
"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41Hw7naVLBL.jpg",
"https://www.mouser.com/images/marketingid/2012/img/115867879_WurthElectronics_QiWirelessPowerChargingCoils1.png?v=040721.1130"
]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
5m46ua | Why do some people find things like dolls and clowns scary? | Many people I know (usually including me) get "eery vibes" from typically harmless things like dolls, clowns and abandoned buildings. Is there a specific reason why these things appear creepy to people? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"dc0repu"
] | [
"As far as dolls and clowns go, the scary feeling might be due to the \"uncanny valley\". This refers to the observation that the more an inanimate object has human characteristics (in appearance and movement), the more an observer feels an affinity for it. For example, a stuffed animal elicits feelings of warmth and cuteness. A robot that looks more human inspires people to think of it as more human and feel more comfortable with it, even to like it more. But: there's a limit. At some point, when the thing starts to look very close to human, but slightly off, the feelings of affinity turn to feelings of revulsion, disgust, and fear. This is likely because it starts to look like it's *wrong*, that it's a diseased or menacing person. Things that this applies to are said to fall into the uncanny valley. \"Valley\" comes from imagining these ideas as a chart. On the X axis, the further right means the more human-looking. On the Y axis, the higher numbers mean greater affinity and feelings of warmth. The line thus charted rises as it goes to the right, until it abruptly falls down to its lowest point. Then it soon rises to its highest point as you get to the maximum of looking human and the maximum of feelings of affinity --for those who actually *are* human. Thus there's visually a valley in the data points. You can google \"uncanny valley\" and it will probably be easier to see this chart than for me to have explained this. So, clowns look human, but slightly wrong. Same with dolls--feelings of cuteness arise and are then snuffed out as you realize you're not looking at an actual baby, and the dead doll eyes evoke corpse more than cuteness. Zombies do this too -- it's one reason why the shuffling zombie gait is disturbing. At a distance it seems like a person, but as it approaches, you realize there's something wrong, and tense up to judge what it could be, only to realize that it's a dead thing. Another hypothesis as to why clowns may be scary is that, with a face covered in makeup, including a huge fake grin, you can't accurately assess what emotions the person dressed as the clown are actually feeling. You can't see if there's a danger to you that is being obscured by a mask."
] | [
15
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
e06o2f | What is the difference between good bacteria and bad bacteria and how does one make you sick but not the other? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"f8c9fdp",
"f8cjvpu",
"f8ca3t8"
] | [
"Bacteria are incredibly diverse. Each one produces different chemicals and enzymes and proteins, eats different things and is killed by different things. Bad bacteria are actually a relatively small portion of all bacteria - they are the ones that attempt to 'eat' parts of your cells or live in parts of your body where they get in the way. Most of them either can't live long enough in your body to be a problem or become a problem."
] | [
8
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
ciaab5 | How are sea creatures that live with little/no sunlight affected by the flashlights of submarines? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"ev4sgy8",
"ev4nhv1"
] | [
"[ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) It appears that these bright lights do permanently blind some deep sea creatures. At one vent, visited for the first time a month earlier, many shrimp eyes were a healthy pink. However, the eyes of most shrimp from the other site--heavily visited over the years--were a chalky white. Their pigmented light-sensing layers were completely destroyed."
] | [
78
] | [
[
"https://www.sciencemag.org/news/1999/03/deep-sea-shrimp-blinded-science"
],
[
"https://youtu.be/XQSr0ShYPio"
]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
hca6fh | Why is it that planets closer to the sun are solid, and planets further from the sun are gaseous? Even though a gas takes more heat, and solids need to be cold enough, yet Mercury, which is closest to the sun, is a solid planet. | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
"fvdura6",
"fvdu9ev",
"fve24mh"
] | [
"The temperature and lifecycle of stars isn't constant, and the planets form as the star changes. Before the sun reached it's current state, the temperatures surrounded it were different. Everything close enough was vaporized so only materials with extremely high melting/vaporizing temperatures survived. Those materials formed into solid planets, while the materials that vaporized at lower temperatures formed into gaseous planets at survivable distances. I'm probably oversimplifying, but yeah, that."
] | [
10
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
dqegeu | How does matchmaking actually work in AAA games? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"f62mdwb"
] | [
"Every player has a number. That number goes up when you win and down when you lose. Typically, when you start playing, you are assigned either 0 or whatever the average number is for the player base. As you win more, your number goes up, so you play against people with higher numbers. Those people also win more, so they should be better. The same is true in the reverse as players get worse. In other words, the game isn’t tracking how “good” you are, it’s tracking how often you win/lose, how well you do in those wins/losses, and who you win/lose against."
] | [
7
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
87pmhe | Why does yellow urine smell worse than white urine? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"dwenlcn"
] | [
"The more dehydrated you are, the more concentrated the urine becomes, giving it the yellow color. And since it is more concentrated with toxic waste, it smells more. White or clear urine means you have drunk enough water. And as a result you have to go pee more often and the toxic waste is released from the body over a course of multiple pees and is relatively more diluted each time than if you were dehydrated. At times a UTI, urinary tract infection could also be the reason for this smell."
] | [
7
] | [
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
bqq93b | How did monogamy become so normalized across almost all cultures and religions? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"eo6nqcd",
"eo6zl64",
"eo6qlnl"
] | [
"Humans are a pair bonding species that forms monogamous pairings naturally in order to raise offspring. It is an evolved trait that has existed for all of recorded human history and likely extends far into pre-history."
] | [
8
] | [
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
mv2k23 | Why does an 'off' lightbulb seem to glow more when I'm not looking directly at it? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
"gv9gsa9",
"gv9gra0",
"gv9h4jl",
"gvaa7p6"
] | [
"You have two kinds of vision. The retina at the back of your eyeball has to kinds of light receptors: cones that see color in bright light, and rods that see black-gray-white in dark conditions. The very center of your vision is almost entirely cones to give you very good image quality for whatever you're looking at. However, your cones only work for bright light. When it's dark, you have a sort of \"blind spot\" right in the middle of your vision because you have very few rods there. Airplane pilots are taught specifically to use \"averted vision\" at night. Whatever they want to see, they look off to the side so that they can see it with their rods. You've just discovered this technique. :)"
] | [
150
] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
|
7o3xjw | Why can't I pump water up over 10m by changing the column shape? | Brain not working today. If a column of water is pumped from the top (by drawing out the air above it), the maximum height it can reach is when the all the air is removed, and the weight of the column balances out the force from the bottom pushing it up - I understand that. And if the water at the bottom is open to atmosphere, the force is atmospheric pressure, and the height is about 10m. So why can't I (say) simply double the cross-section of the intake at the bottom (leaving the rest of the column the same), and support twice the column weight - and therefore "suck it up" to twice the height? It FEELS like, if the intake area is twice as big, given that the pressure per unit area is constant, the total force pushing the column up ought to be twice as big, so able to support twice the height of column. I know that's NOT the case - I wouldn't expect anything as obvious as that to escape attention, and didn't trust my gut feel, so I got some plastic tubing out and tried it. But my brain isn't doing what it needs to, to understand why - even when I stare at the maths. What (doubtless really basic) thing am I missing? ("Tried it!": I used an auto pipeline T-connector I had lying around to spilt one piece of 5mm clear plastic tubing (P, say) into two (A & B, say), then another to split B into two again - giving B an intake twice the area of that for A. Stuck the three bottom ends into water; sucked through P, drawing water up both sides. IF B were getting a boost, it should rise faster that side once it passes the intake split. It didn't - or not to any degree that I could detect, anyway; water rose to the same height in A & B. Which is what I've been taught, so what I rather expected to happen - but not what my intuition says.) | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
"ds6r4o2",
"ds6r6yl"
] | [
"It has to do with the weight of the water and the force of the atmosphere pushing down on the water at the end of the column. At sea level 1 atm = 14.7 psi, the vacuum at 0 psi can't lift more than 14.7 lbs of water per square inch of the column. The shape of the column doesn't matter, only the cross sectional area. The only way to go beyond the 33.9 foot limit is to pressurized the bottom of the column ."
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6
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i9d6jv | why does being drunk make you want to get more drunk? | You go into a night knowing a rational amount of booze to have, and you say you won't go over that limit, but once you're drunk you want MORE! Why is that? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"g1eb719",
"g1eb92p",
"g1ebxfv",
"g1ef5wl"
] | [
"Alcohol is known to inhibit your higher thinking. So it keeps you from obeying the rule you made in the beginning of the night because following that rule actually requires a lot of brain power"
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10
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[],
[],
[],
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c4w3vz | what happens to deleted items on a computer? Where does all that data go? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | [
"erym7tq"
] | [
"It is marked as deleted by the operating system, and is then considered free space. It will be overwritten by other data later. Which is why if you want to undelete something you need to do it quickly."
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3
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a4hydc | how does it work when you are awarded a large amount in a lawsuit against an individual who isn't "high asset"? | I understand how a company or high asset individual can be made to pay an individual 1M$ or more, but what about if the plaintiff is a "normal individual" without that much in assets? Would the plaintiff in the case never receive the money if the defendant has to declare bankruptcy? Or would they receive the money slowly over time in garnished wages? And are then most large settlements like this never actually received in full (minus the plaintiff's lawyers fees of course)? & #x200B; By a "normal individual", please refer to something like this case where $1.08 million was awarded and the defendants are a newlywed couple: [ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"ebelcke",
"ebem10j"
] | [
"This would depend highly on your jurisdiction, but the options are: 1. They have insurance that pays out, this would be the best outcome for everyone. 2. They have to pay as much as they can now, and will have their wages garnished until everything else is paid off or they die, whatever happens first. 3. They have to pay as much as they can now, and will have their wages garnished until everything else is paid off, but if it's something that can be discharged in bankruptcy, they might declare bankruptcy and you'll get part of the estate depending on how high in the hierarchy you are."
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6
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g4tr9x | why can't animals recognise that they are looking at themselves in mirrors? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"fnzidu7",
"fnzhgas",
"fnzii5i"
] | [
"Consciousness and its origins (even its definition) is an open question. Nobody knows exactly what makes you or I conscious, much less whether consciousness is a binary or a continuum (continuum seems more likely to me, personally) or even how to test for consciousness. The mirror test is just one of many proposed tests for consciousness, but it has its downsides. The little we know about consciousness: it seems to be rooted in the brain (disrupting the brain disrupts consciousness and meddling with inputs can change consciousness) and it seems to be generally correlated with brain to body size ratio - the bigger the brain in relation to body size, generally the more conscious an organism seems to be. A plausible explanation is that some of the brain is needed to order and coordinate basic functions like breathing, movement, etc. and this scales with body size/number of nerves. Having a bigger brain in relation to your body gives you more \"extra\" to maintain consciousness. But there are exceptions to this rule."
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9
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heiskk | why do the same food products of different brands have different nutrition facts on them? | For example: blackstrap molasses is suggested to people with anemia all the time because it has a lot of iron, but I've looked at the nutrition labels and some brands have 15% of your daily value of iron, while others say 0%, but they both claim to be blackstrap molasses. If they're both the same food, shouldnt their nutritional quality be the same? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"fvrhw12"
] | [
"Different companies use different ingredients and different techniques to make food, even simple things like molasses. They might use ingredients that have been heavily processed, or they might substitute something cheap in place of something more expensive (for example, using high-fructose corn syrup instead of cane sugar). Different cooking methods can leech out more nutrients than others. For instance, boiling vegetables is an awful idea and removes a ton of nutrients - steaming them is better, even though the end result is similar enough that nobody can tell the difference without a whole battery of tests to figure out the exact molecular structure."
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4
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j7x6op | How come we can see a source of light extremely far away when the source only illuminates the area much closer to it? | For example, I'm sitting on my front porch which overlooks the town. Miles away I can see streetlights, signs, etc. How does the source project light to my location, yet doesn't illuminate my location? Holy moly friends, thanks for the awards and stuff. I didn't think this question would spark so much interest, lol. I am thoroughly grateful for all your replies. | Physics | explainlikeimfive | [
"g87g1dz",
"g87odw2",
"g87mpk9",
"g87z68v",
"g87g5z0",
"g87plqb",
"g8829ks",
"g8805kh",
"g88787a"
] | [
"Absorption and scattering. Unless your location is a perfect white, some of the light hitting it will be absorbed, reducing its intensity. Then, unless your location is a perfect mirror perfectly angled to redirect the light to your eye, the light is scattered in every direction, further reducing its intensity. The light *is* still illuminating your location, and if you could somehow turn off all the other lights illuminating your location, turn around to look away from the last distant street light, wait a while for your eyes to adjust, and then start flipping that streetlight on and off you should be able to see a difference (depending on just how far away the streetlight is). But in the real world, turning off all other sources of light isn't really possible, most of the time."
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3855
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9852zz | Why is a full eye transplant still not possible? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"e4dbux9",
"e4ddlu3",
"e4dmi3m"
] | [
"Once the optic nerve has been severed, there is (currently) no way to reattach them all. The optic nerve is comprised of over **one million** nerve fibers, all smaller than 1mm in diameter. It just has too many parts that are way too small. A team of doctors and scientists over at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is hopeful that they'll be able to do it within the next decade, but it just isn't possible at present."
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ldllng | Why does a glass of water left out overnight have bubbles in it the next morning? | Is it to do with the glass? Does the H2O split (and if so, what gas is in the bubbles)? What is the cause? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | [
"gm6n90x",
"gm6nwca",
"gm6okr2",
"gm6pem6"
] | [
"Water from the tap has some amount of gasses dissolved in it, mostly oxygen and nitrogen picked up from the air at some point between the water treatment plant and your house. Gasses have an easier time staying dissolved in cold liquids than in warm liquids, so when the water warms from the cold temperature out of the tap up to room temp, some of the gas can't stay dissolved anymore and forms those little bubbles of gas instead"
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87
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cb7bb2 | How do fish swallow other fish whole and not get cut up from the inside by their sharp fins? | I saw a video of a grouper swallowing a shark and it made me question why the shark wouldn’t just rip its way out. | Biology | explainlikeimfive | [
"etdmf4i",
"etduz0q"
] | [
"The inside of the stomach is very compacted and there's no flow of oxygenated water into it. As a result, the shark has little to no room to move to try to bite its way out and is dying of hypoxia. Meanwhile, the walls of the stomach are thick and lined with mucus that protect it against sharp fins."
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10
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6agbq9 | Why did the caste system develop ONLY in India and Hinduism, but not anywhere else in the world? | Culture | explainlikeimfive | [
"dhebg9u"
] | [
"Europe also had a caste system. That is what the feudal system was. You had serfs (peasants) who worked in physical labor, Craftsmen (eventually merchants) who had a slightly higher standing, then guards/soldiers, then Knights, then Nobility, then Royalty, then the sitting monarch. For the most part you were born into the level you lived in for your life thought there was some movement up (and down) depending on special circumstances. China likewise had a caste system, and it was even in the US being based on race."
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8kt2ty | In the US how does construction scams like "no shows" work and how does it tie in with unions? | Context: I'm not from the US but in a lot of US mediums like TV shows (The Sopranos) and video games (like Fallout 4) there are lot of talks and references to construction scams. I was wondering what these mostly are and how they work, and how/why they always seem to tie in with unions. The one I read/hear the most about are non-shows, what does that entail? I can't imagine it being as simple as someone paying for a construction job in advance and noone appearing to do the work on it (noone would get away with that in my country so certainly not in the US?) | Economics | explainlikeimfive | [
"dza9rvk",
"dzacx6t",
"dzck33e"
] | [
"What the shows are talking about is someone getting out of prison, the have to get a real job. The mafia family wants them back doing what they were before going inside so they create a fake job for them on a construction site that is legitimate but have them go back to doing what they did before. It's just a job on paper is all."
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17
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75ai55 | Why does the moon maintain the same shape during the day as night | I have tried to research this on other sites as well as look through the previous posts on the moon here and while some answer the question I am just not getting it. If the moon phase/shape is the shadow of the earth on the moon why then during the day does the moon keep the same shape it had at night? If the sun is in the same sky as the moon during the day why is the moon not a full moon during the day? | Other | explainlikeimfive | [
"do4moxp",
"do4nhut",
"do4n978",
"do4mwcx"
] | [
"> If the moon phase/shape is the shadow of the earth on the moon **It isn’t.** That would be a lunar eclipse. The shadow on the moon is the shadow of the moon, because it is a sphere lit from one direction."
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7iox9z | Why is smoking so common amongst the Asian population at my college? | Culture | explainlikeimfive | [
"dr0c23z",
"dr0ay1d"
] | [
"Smoking is socially acceptable in Asia (for men, not women). For example, around 70% of Chinese men are smokers. Furthermore, cigarettes are cheap. Cigarette companies bank on volume, and rising prices are usually a result of government pressure as a disincentive to smoking."
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