q_id stringlengths 6 6 | title stringlengths 3 299 | selftext stringlengths 0 4.44k | category stringclasses 9
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5lw3qo | Before modern counterfeit measures how could people tell if their currency was counterfeit? | Economics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Well if you go back far enough currency was a specific metal, like gold, silver or copper. These metals had a value in the metal itself that did not matter what country issued them, so there was not any issue of counterfeiting as we know it. However peopl... | [
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5lw55a | Why do some surgeries result in equipment being left behind in patients (e.g. scissors)? | How would a nurse or doctor forget that equipment is left behind? Doesn't the hospital check if equipment is lost at the operating theatre? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"This is very, very, very, nearly impossibly rare. I trained as an O R nurse in the US in the 1970's. We counted all the instruments before surgery and after. These numbers were written down both times. The patient's incision was not closed until the numbers were equal. ... | [
"url"
] | [
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5lw932 | Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem and why it is an argument against the Theory of Everything | Wikipedia has left me dazed to be honest. | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"First off, the incompleteness theorems have absolutely nothing to do with a \"theory of everything\". A ToE is an idea in physics, something that can explain all physical phenomena within the bounds of a single theory. Goedel's incompleteness theorems are entirely mathe... | [
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5lwfev | Why do all old movie trailers have narration in them? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Because people generally want to know what a movie is about before they go see it and in the ~2 minutes a trailer lasts voiceover narration is the best way to communicate to the viewers what the movie is about."
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5lwp25 | Both the sun and moon appear flat, with no cues that one is further away than the other. What is the maximum distance that variations in depth can be perceived at, and why? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"We don't have depth perception beyond about 10 meters. Anything further than that, your eyes are focused at infinity, and are pointing in the same direction. Beyond that, we use cues like its apparent size and brightness, or color shifts caused by the amount of air betw... | [
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5lwvjd | Both of my Parents are type O blood type. I am AB+ how is that possible? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Its possible, but extremely rare, for a person to have different blood type sperm/egg than their actual blood type (a chimera). The odds of both parents being chimer... | [
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5lwws3 | Why is ice less dense than water even though most solids are more dense than their liquid forms? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Water has a delightful property: when water solidifies it's bond angles extend and it aligns into a lattice usually. That does 2 things. It makes the solid less dense, because there's more space between molecules, and it makes it sort of see-through."
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... | [
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5lwz7p | How do people in war zones have access to Internet? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"One of the design goals for what became the Internet was to be tolerant of failure. If some lines get cut, the Internet just routes around them. As long as there is still power and one intact line connecting that area to the rest of the world (whether it's a physical ca... | [
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5lx71d | Why do we have imperial/metric units, and so many different languages, while time has a universally accepted measurement? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Historically, every culture had their own measurements. Over time, we developed organizations to standardize these. Except for one country, everyone in the world uses a single system (metric). Even in the US, many types of commerce are increasingly in metric. There have... | [
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5lxd0j | Why are nuclear bombs detonated in the air instead of on impact? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Because it has a wider impact range. Detonating on the ground has quite a bit of energy absorbed into the ground below it, instead of on the target location. Detonating in air allows it to spread out more, dealing more damage.",
"It's a bit like how a... | [
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5lxdu2 | Why do many word pairs sound "correct" in one order, but not when reversed? Is it just cultural, or is there a linguistic explanation? | Some examples: Comparing "apples and oranges" vs "oranges and apples." It's more correct chronologically to say you are putting on your "socks and shoes," but I've only ever said/heard "shoes and socks." When speaking of friends and family, I'll refer to couples by name in the same order every time. But it's not consis... | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Words that often appear together are called \"collocations\", and it's simply the way we've learned them. We tend to process them as indivisible units -- phrases, rather than separate words. For example, when we say \"apples and oranges\", we're not think... | [
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] | [
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5lxf0t | How are the quantity of standard SI units determined? | Is there some sort of worldwide agreement, or using an object, etc? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Well, *originally*, it mostly dates back to the French \"Age of Reason\" after the French Revolution. They decided that it was going to be a whole new civilization and this was their chance to start over and do everything right. IIRC, they even took a crack at redefinin... | [
"url"
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5lxo8s | Is silver a real color or just an optical property of certain materials? | I'm wondering if the color of silver is really a color at all, or just a weird visual consequence of our brain intercepting light waves bouncing off of the surface of reflective materials. This question was inspired by the earlier post asking about the color of mirrors, but I hope it's different enough to merit a respo... | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Everything you can see has a real color. Silver is just gray, but it's surface is also shiny. We decided to not call it \"shiny gray\" but \"silver.\" Because it's used often enough to need its own name.",
"If you're talking about like the shiny silve... | [
"url"
] | [
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5lxsep | How are new organs still being discovered? Shouldn't they have all been found with modern technology/direct surgical 'exploration'? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"[RT article]( URL_0 ) > It was previously thought that the organ was an unimportant group of structures, but it has now been classified as one single organ, which connects the abdomen to the intestine. It wasn't 'discovered' in the sense of some surgeon going 'Hey guys,... | [
"url"
] | [
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5lxub1 | How can airport scanners see through leather but not through skin? | I understand that the waves are not powerful enough or too short to not pass through human skin as to not hurt us. But how can they pass through leather? Is it part of the treating process of the cow hide that allows it to be seen or is leather not common enough to be an issue? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"The scanners would be dangerous to humans, if you went through the machine. That is why they make you put your carry on bags on the belt and walk you through the metal detector without bags. Different technologies. Trust me, they would rather just stick you on the belt.... | [
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] | [
"url"
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5lxukm | How do the military counts and confirms kills? | You often hear in documentaries for example "John Doe had x numbers of confirmed kills", how do they know? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"There is no formal procedure, nor an official record. It's essentially self-reporting. Most snipers operate with a spotter. The sniper says \"I killed 'em.\" The spotter either confirms (\"He killed 'em\") or doesn't (\"Couldn't see\"). This goes into after-action repor... | [
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5lxw21 | Does my stomach acid pass into the rest of my digestive tract when food leaves my stomach? | If not, how? If so, I don't think we have the same gut flora outside of our stomachs, so how am I not dead? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Your duodenum (the part after your stomach in the digestive tract) has Brunner glands which secrete a lot of HCO3- and neutralize the acid. This is necessary to prevent damage to the intestinal mucosa and to keep the pH under optimal conditions for the action of intesti... | [
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5ly506 | Why does fuel not ignite in cars? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Petrol itself is not very flammable. It's when the petrol gas is mixed with air at just the right concentration that ignition can happen.",
"For a fire you need 3 components: - Fuel - Heat - Oxygen In the fuel tank you're missing the heat. Only in the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5ly7q1 | How is it that we are able to remember a songs lyrics even when we haven't heard the song in a while? | I was in the car when a song came and immediately I was able to sing along without issue. So how is it possible that we can remember songs much easier than other memories? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"Because you associate the lyrics with a melody, and it's much easier for us to remember melodies than a sequence of text. Also because the lyrics rhyme and have a meter. A meter means a pattern of the number of syllables per line in a verse, with the stre... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5ly8oj | Why does nicotine enhance the realism of dreams? What are some other things that may have this effect? | If I dip right before I go to bed I have much more intense dreams. Likewise, there are instances all over the Internet of people falling asleep with nicotine patches on and having intense or easily remembered dreams. What causes this, and are there any other chemicals that would have the same effect? I would wager that... | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Vitamin B6 [certainly does]( URL_0 ) (I take it daily). I also happen to be wearing a nicotine patch to quit smoking and also take B12. Wow. This combination has added a realism to my dreams like none other. As to why nicotine aids in this, I can only find anecdotal rep... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5lyfmr | Why do we expect technologically advanced extraterrestrial life to broadcast radio signals into space? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Of all the artificial methods we know to transmit information through a vacuum, the electromagnetic spectrum is pretty much what we can both send and receive; there may be other theoretical concepts, but radio, and light, and various other points along the electromagnet... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5lyh18 | Country borders are huge, how do they prevent people from sneaking past along the entire border? | Borders go for miles, there must be unguarded territory in which people could travel across right? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Most of that territory is inaccessible. If you want to hike over mountains and through swamp, well, I guess we will catch you when you reach the town on the other end. A lot of borders actually do have some kind of fence all ... | [
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"url"
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5lyheh | The saying "feed a cold, starve a fever". Just an old wise tale or is it accurate? If so what is happening physically? | I ask because I currently have a cold and my girlfriend keeps reiterating this saying to me, but when I was younger my Grandma would also say this. I joined Reddit fairly recently and this is my favorite thread. Hoping some of you can help clarify! | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Its an old wife's tale. A fever is a natural response from your immune system. If you starve yourself during that you also starve your immune system. It just people have a tenancy to throw up and keep nothing down during a fever so they tend to feed them less/they eat l... | [
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5lyopu | Why does one person singing out of tune sound like ass, but 50,000 people singing out of tune sounds amazing? | Aside from the emotional impact of being together in a large group - do the different out-of-tune notes somehow cancel each other out, or combine to make new harmonics? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Because they all are randomly out of tune, but just slightly, so they add up around the proper notes. On average you get a sound that is more intense around the right notes and their harmonics (which makes it sound non-dissonant), and the o... | [
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5lz33j | Why do we like to raise two fingers (aka the "peace sign") when posing for a picture? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"dbzhwr5"
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"text": [
"Because people don't know what to do with their hands. They choose to \"strike a pose\" instead of perhaps appearing awkward. EDIT: The peace sign is just an example. People the world over use a variety of different signs but for the same purpose."
],
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... | [
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5lzdve | What rule of sound waves makes sounds that are 12 half steps away from each other read as the same note to us? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"The \"12 steps\" are arbitrary, but the relationship between the frequencies is not: at the distance which we call 'one octave' the higher of the two tones results from vibrations which are exactly twice as fast as the lower ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5lzpj3 | How is it possible to move a house/building? | I've come across [this picture]( URL_0 ) of a building being moved in Romania a few times now and have also seen movies where an entire house was moved by truck. It appears to be a somewhat normal occurrence in other countries, but I've never heard of such thing where I live. How is it normally done? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"So, we actually moved a house and the process is pretty cool. We bought a house at auction for less than 3000 dollars and moved it. This was about 15 years ago. Step 1 remove the roof. Labeling the pieces for easy reassembly. Step 2 depending on how many stories the hou... | [
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5lzr39 | Why do we laugh more when we are around people witnessing something funny as opposed to being alone? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Laughing is primarily a team building social activity so there's no real reason to laugh if no one else is in the room. It's similar to yawning in that when you laugh, others are more likely to feel good and laugh, and vice versa which makes group laughter a self reinfo... | [
"url"
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"url"
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5lzvwi | Why is processed "regular" pasta cheaper than whole grain? | Wouldn't whole grain actually be cheaper, since it doesn't have to go through additional steps during the processing? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Regular pasta is *much* more popular, so it is produced by many more factories, so there is more competition. Competition keeps the price down.",
"No experience with such pasta, but I live in a rice country. Brown rice, the less-processed kind, is les... | [
"url"
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"url"
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5lzyi5 | Why are economic ideas called theories? | Collectivist and classical | Economics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Generally speaking, in an academic setting a theory is a proposed explanation for a set of data points that provides insight into the underlying workings or at least underlying formula that produced that data. Hence the theory of plate tect... | [
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"url"
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5m08ap | Why do we cry? What is the connection of tears coming out of our eyes with sadness or even happiness. | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Humans are very social animals (i.e. social interactions are crucial to our survival), so we have lots of traits that exist only to act as signals in communication. As far as I know, we cry for t... | [
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] | [
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5m08ey | Why are theatrical movies 2.40:1 or a similar aspect ratio but our TVs are only 16:9? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"The 16:9 size was chosen as a compromise between the wider shape of most movies, and the narrower shape of older TV shows. This way neither one looks ridiculous.",
"In the beginning, Edison decided that movies should be 4:3. Then television was develo... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5m0c52 | What is a trust fund and how do trust funds work? | Economics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"A trust fund is money someone has set aside for your *benefit* but it is not under your *control.* The money is under the control of the *trustee* who invests or spends it for the benefit of the *beneficiary*. This is typically done so that people can pas... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5m0fqi | Why do some people sleep like rocks, while others wake up at the sound of a pin drop? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"There are stages of sleep where you take in next to no outside information--you are dead t... | [
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5m0h55 | Why does coconut oil and other oils soak into some people's skin, and sit on top of others? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Now that you mention it...Coconut oil will absorb on my upper body but just sits on my legs. It doesn't even help with the ash. You can see the ash under the oil if you look closely.",
"Do they? I have never heard of this",
"I figur... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5m0idi | Does the placebo effect prove that our minds have a lot more power than we can directly utilize? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"(Edit: I clarified my answer after many pointed out that it is misleading to say that the placebo effect *proves* wishful cures. Please... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5m0kdr | Why does a 2 hour movie take a year to make when a high quality TV show can make 45 minute ones every week. | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Most of the filming for a movie can be done in a couple of months, the rest of the time is editing, adding CG effects, marketing and waiting for the right time to release the movie. A lot of work is also done beforehand to write and edit the script, scout... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5m0l9n | How does the liver work? Like mechanically? | Say I eat some cyanide. Somehow that cyanide gets from my stomach to the places where it does that thing that it does that kills me. And somehow my liver does a thing where it gets to the cyanide and it turns the cyanide from dangerous cyanide into not dangerous cyanide. And then the cyanide leaves. What's happening he... | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dbzvmca"
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"text": [
"Poisons work in a lot of different ways. Cyanide. It doesn't get turned into a 'not poisonous' cyanide by the liver. There is no such thing. Cyanide works by blocking the cells ability to uptake oxygen. Very small amount, there's no issue, as the amount of cyanide can't... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m0n4w | Why is it impossible (very difficult) to reverse a password hash? | I understand that a lot of sites store password hashes rather than actual plain text passwords. And when the user types in their password, the plain text is put through a hashing process (like MD5 or SHA-256) and then the output (the hash) of that process is actually used to authenticate the user. So when someone hacks... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"Hashing is destructive. To take an easy example that's easier to wrap your head around, we can make our own hashing algorithm. For simplicity, imagine we have a password system where users have 4... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5m0r94 | The difference between hacking and guessing a password | I didn't really get the comments on the Shower Thoughts post | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Hacking generally means using a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system. So anything where you steal files from someone's computer is hacking. In most cases when people hack passwords from a database, they steal what are called the hashed passwords. To ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
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5m0sah | Why do the web addresses for subreddits need an /r/ before them? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"They don't \"need to\" necessarily, but that's just how Reddit has their site mapping set up"
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5m0z05 | Why do fish herd together into schools for protection? | Is this to appear larger and more formidable? It seems that individual fish still get caught by predators similarly to if they were alone in the first place. They don't seem to attack the predator once they're in schools; rather, they evade the predator together. The only reason I can think of is that being in a school... | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"If you are alone, what are your odds of being eaten when a predator comes along? 100% If you are in a school of 100 fish, what are the odds of being eaten when a predator comes along? 1%",
"Schooling provides two benefits: First, it red... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m12sb | What is a fiscal year and why do we need it. | Economics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"Fiscal years are used by government and some businesses (usually mid-to-large businesses) concerning money. As to why they don't use a traditional calendar year, [here is one reason]( URL_0 ): > December is a really bad month... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m12up | What makes Earth's core molten hot? | By the equation PV=nRT I understand that an increase in pressure without increasing the volume of the container will increase the heat of whatever is contained, but the pressure of the entire Earth compressing the core isn't enough to explain the heat. It's theorized that the core of a similar sized planet (Mars) is co... | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"> but the pressure of the entire Earth compressing the core isn't enough to explain the heat. Constant pressure doesn't cause an increase in heat either, so you are correct the pressure is irrelevant. The kinetic energy of the formation would have resulte... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m186k | How do we get headaches if the brain has no pain receptor? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
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"dbzzq3j",
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"text": [
"It's not your brain that hurts during a headache; it's the nerves and stuff around your head/scalp/skull that have pain receptors.",
"\"A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. ... The brain tissue itself is not se... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m18de | Why would a computer replace a simple character (') into a complicated series of nonsense ( & #39;) when copying and pasting certain text? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"Because the simple characters have special meaning in certain contexts. In a web page, for example, you use < > to tell the browser about the structure of the page. If I wanted to make a paragraph with red text, I would write < p style=\"co... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m18w3 | What is the circle of fifths and how do you read it? | I'm really into metal music and I hear this term thrown around a lot. I really wanna get into music theory and then learn to play an instrument and this fascinates me. | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"text": [
"[The wiki article may be a good general place to start]( URL_0 ). In music, any chord of two notes (or more, but we'll just stick with two here) can be described as augmented, major, minor, or diminished in terms of the sound produced. However, there are two special cho... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1cf6 | what do we actually see at the edge of the observable universe? | As far as I know, the structure of the observable universe is a 3D sphere which is a crosscut of 4 dimensional spacetime, such that as we look deeper into this "snapshot" of the universe, we're looking deeper into the past. So does this mean 14 billion light years away we can look at the big bang itself? Do we somehow ... | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
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"dc01fze",
"dc00wni",
"dc010la",
"dc0v7a5",
"dc01bux",
"dc012q7"
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"text": [
"What is the Big Bang? --- The origin of your confusion seems to be the very common misconception that the big bang originated from one point in space. That is not true. But let's back up a little... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1d7t | What is the point of SMS Short Codes? | I have read the basic about them [here]( URL_0 ). Is there any reason companies use them other than having a 5-6 digit number? Do they send bulk messages any faster? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc00j2h"
],
"text": [
"They're a lot easier for people to remember and to key in. Which are you more likely to do: text \"FREEGIFT\" to 66066, or text it to 2068794482?"
],
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4
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5m1gf6 | How does the U.S. government owe money to itself? | I can't quite grasp this based on stuff I am finding through Google. I am not savvy with economics. Thanks in advance. Edit: Thanks to everyone for your responses. I need to study up on bond markets apparently. | Economics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc02a0h",
"dc02pez"
],
"text": [
"The Federal Government \"borrows\" money from the people by issuing Federal Bonds and printing more cash, which devalues whatever money you have in your pocket. Hypothetical situation. 2017 budget rolls around, we have a $1 trillion deficit. The Fed issue... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1lss | Why is there an enzyme in the human body that breaks down methanol into formaldehyde? How does this enzyme exist in the first place? | Methanol would act like a super-potent grain alcohol, but then these enzymes come along and turn it into a deadly toxin right inside our own bodies. What gives? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc08ob6",
"dc09q4t"
],
"text": [
"I would assume that you are talking about Alcohol deydrogenase. enzymes can be specific for certain molecules up to a point in their active site(where the molecule of interest attaches), they just kinda look for certain parts on a molecule, like groups li... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1mdt | Why is Facebook advertising it's "Facebook Live" feature so heavily? | It seems like it's on TV a bunch and I get notifications for it all the time. & nbsp; It doesn't seem like they are currently monetizing it, are they setting it up to do that in the future? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc044yt",
"dc031wv"
],
"text": [
"If the social media market starts to gravitate towards Snapchats or livestreams, etc it means users could use other platforms to share content and information which means they become less relevant. They are also working on different ways to monetize the l... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1ncz | Why can a psychological condition/state (like stress) cause physiological effects? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc03172"
],
"text": [
"Your mind is not independent from your body. You \"feel\" stressed because your body is releasing chemicals, raising your heart rate, etc. Every emotion you have does something to your body. In some cases, like fear, your body causes the emotion before you have time to ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m1o9q | how did humans survive the ice age? | I'm sitting here typing this, in a thick Parker jacket, a hoodie and a t-shirt; I can barely feel my fingers to type and it's about 0 Celsius. When climbers frequently get frost bite from exposure for over 12 hours, how did humans survive the constantly freezing temperatures of the ice age? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc03u01"
],
"text": [
"Fur, fire and fat. Humans quickly learned that stealing the skin from furry animals makes a nice cozy coat. Even today, a traditional fur parka will work better than even the higher tech synthetic varieties. When humans are moving around, we're pretty good in the cold. ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1o9s | Why do colors combine to make other colors? | Why do we have colors and how does red and yellow make orange or other colors make other colors? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0b1h9"
],
"text": [
"Colors are a response your brain makes to picking up certain wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation striking receptor cells in your brain. When this happens, those cells send signals to your brain, and your brain creates the image. Certain combinations of stimulation ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1pi5 | How does internet speed affect online gaming experience | Been online gaming for years, but never really understood what , ping, upload and download really mean, and how it affects online. Currently, on speedtest, my ping is 15, download 37.18 Mbps, and upload 9.04 Mbps. How do each these numbers affect online gaming, mainly CoD, which is the most influential number. | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc051c5",
"dc03rit"
],
"text": [
"Long story short, bandwidth gets you fast downloads, low latency gets you fast gaming, and packet loss hurts both. Bandwidth is a limit of the network capacity, and data caps placed on your account by your network provider so that you get the speed you pa... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m1pm6 | what is that feeling when you stand up to fast | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc03odh"
],
"text": [
"I think you mean [orthostatic hypotension]( URL_0 ), which is basically just a quick drop in blood pressure while your heart catches up with the sudden need to work a bit harder now that you stood up. For the moment while it catches up, the low blood pressure in your br... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m1uj2 | what exactly does Obama care do? why do some people hate it so much and why do other people love it so much? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0650r",
"dc053zx"
],
"text": [
"\"Obamacare\" is actually called the \"Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act\", but was renamed \"Obamacare\" by Republicans in an attempt to make Republicans/Conservatives/Alt-Righters dislike the act before they knew what it was because is was bein... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m1vse | The Boltzmann Brain Theory. | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc06w5j"
],
"text": [
"Take a puzzle with 1000 pieces, throw them on the ground. You'll probably generate a huge mess. Repeat this often. Sometimes two pieces that fit together will land next to each other. Repeat this really, really often. Once in a while, all 1000 pieces will land at their ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m1w0k | How comedy YT channels can find and piece together words from people or movies to make a song | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc05hls"
],
"text": [
"You get the transcript and search them (or better yet, the captions for a video, since it's already time tagged). There are commercial services that have the transcripts for practically everything and there is software that can DVR shows and stuff with closed captions w... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m1xz9 | What's going on with "black money" in India? | Economics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc05rba",
"dc09a44",
"dc05yzk"
],
"text": [
"A bunch of people aren't reporting their income, mostly because it's gained through illegal means (like the black market). This income is kept hidden in their homes generally, and isn't stored in banks. In order to combat this, the Indian g... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m1z49 | Why does the military insist on saluting? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0ge8e",
"dc05x5e",
"dc05zb8"
],
"text": [
"Saluting has a long history that is actually not written in stone. However one explanation is that it was originally used as a greeting between two knights to show their face and thus not be seen as an enemy. Additionally it would take away... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m20v7 | Why does a website with a recipe often include a long preface before you get to the actual recipe? | Each time you find a recipe online, there will likely be a very very long preface to the recipe that is by the author-- which makes no difference to the dish (for example, "I first made this dish on a Saturday morning, when the leaves were falling on my porch...."). If it were ads, that would make some sense as part of... | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc068ww",
"dc06xx0",
"dc0659s"
],
"text": [
"Imma answer your question, but first let me tell you about this time I watered the lawn on a warm july afternoon, there were clouds in the sky and childrens laughter.... ok seriously, who knows, maybe they just like to hear themselves type,... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m21th | If I'm thinking of a song, are my brainwaves moving at the frequency of the notes? | So let's say I'm thinking of a song (or really even a note) I know really well, and am playing it consistently in my head. Are the neurons themselves replicating the song/note frequency? Would it be possible to scan for that frequency using some type of medical device (existing or theoretical)? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc08nj2"
],
"text": [
"The thing about brains is that there's always a lot of stuff happening all over, such that it's hard to tell what's going on at any given point. Getting useful data from them usually requires a lot of averaging; the colorful brain scans you often see really only represe... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m22kt | Why does scratching a bug bite feel so amazingly good when I'm obviously damaging my skin? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0tklx",
"dc0lub2"
],
"text": [
"URL_0 There's a link to the same question /u/js569 explains: There are two types of sensations, fine and crude. Pain is an example of a crude sensation and touch is an example of a fine sensation. Both crude and fine sensory pathways are activated togethe... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m23is | How can expired food grow mold/fungus on it if it's in a sealed container so any air carrying spores can't come into contact with it? | Mold and fungus come from air carrying fungi spores, so wouldn't placing a food item in a sealed container make it impossible for that to happen since new air can't come into contact with it? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc06vn5",
"dc0as3x",
"dc06tru"
],
"text": [
"The air doesn't have to be \"new.\" Mold spores can lay dormant for a significant amount of time before starting to grow. If there's mold growing inside a sealed container then the spores went in before it was sealed.",
"They are in the... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m272v | How exactly does an explosion kill you? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc07y2v",
"dc07m53"
],
"text": [
"There is a whole list of ways. Shrapnel- basically really sharp bits of things flying through your body and tearing you apart. Heat- explosions generate a lot of heat. If you are close to the explosion and survive everything else the heat will most likely... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m2a80 | Why does carbonated water (most notibly soda) build up pressure once shaked? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0a3bx"
],
"text": [
"Carbonated means that the liquid has Carbon Dioxide dissolved in it. When you shake a bottle of soda, the Carbon Dioxide is 'released' from the liquid and expands, building pressure in the bottle."
],
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4
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5m2c9s | Why is it that even though my car weighs almost 3,000 lbs it still gets blown around like a feather (mild exaggeration) when I'm driving on a windy day? | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0902d",
"dc0933i",
"dc0tz1a"
],
"text": [
"Because your car also has a big side profile and wind has a big force. 3000 pounds doesn't mean you're immovable. A gentle 10mph Wind can move sail ships tens of thousands of pounds given enough sail area.",
"wind hit the sides and gets... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m2fi3 | Can a planet stay hidden if it is placed in opposition of Earth in orbit and moving with the same speed ? | Like dis URL_0 | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc09ra2",
"dc09uvs"
],
"text": [
"It could stay hidden from direct observation from Earth, but it would be easy to detect with indirect methods. For example, its gravitational effects on other planets, asteroids, comets, and spacecraft would be immediately obvious.",
"No. The solar sy... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m2fqn | What is 4-dimensional space? | I read Wikipedia article about it, but still can't figure out what actually is the 4th dimension or how to imagine 4D space. | Physics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0a99t"
],
"text": [
"In three dimensional space, we can find three directions that are orthogonal to the other two direction. In four dimensional space, we can find four such directions. There really is no way for our three dimensional brains to visualize a four dimensional space, but is is... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m2ja9 | Why did motorcycle sidecars become less popular? | Or why have we not seen as many? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0c2oh"
],
"text": [
"Motorcycles used to be more common as a daily driver and even utility vehicle. People might not afford a car or a car driver license. Adding a side car makes a motorcycle much more useful as a daily driver. A worker might have lots of tools in the sidecar, you could go ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m2jnp | how and why did "Bee Movie" become a meme? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0axsi"
],
"text": [
"It's a bad movie with a bad script and, somehow, actors usually considered good. It's lameness, coupled with the effort taken to actually produce and distribute the thing, make it a unique candidate for recognition on an Internet that likes laughing at people who try to... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m2mc1 | Why are American postboxes/mailboxes usually detached from the house itself? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0b8on",
"dc0b6ro",
"dc0dbr7",
"dc0fw8v"
],
"text": [
"It can only be so the mail carrier doesn't have to get out and walk up to each house if they have extended lawns/driveways. With mailboxes right at the street they can drive straight down the line, saving tons of time and hit... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m2oom | Why do we (in the USA) never seem to hear about left-leaning survivalist groups seizing a facility or something of that nature? Do such groups not exist? Or are they simply not covered by the MSM? Been curious since the Bundy incident in Malheur County, Ore. | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0bu2l",
"dc0dac6"
],
"text": [
"All things considered, the US is a really right wing country. To the point that Hillary Clinton would have been the equivalent of a tea party candidate in most European countries. In that sense, your question asking about left wing extremism is kinda moot... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m2out | Why do cars only visible smoke while in idle when engine is cold? | When cars with cold engines are standing at the traffic light they create white smoke while in idle. When driving it doesnt smoke noticeable. How is this possible? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0fmi4"
],
"text": [
"It's not smoke, it's particles of water vapour that are condensing and sublimating into minuscule droplets and ice crystals. The most plentiful product of combustion is water. It looks like smoke for the same reason you can see your breath when you exhale in the cold. W... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m2zcx | Why are some video games or updates released with major problems instead of being delayed? | Even with a deadline, surely they would understand that releasing what they've got will only hurt, no? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0eaop",
"dc0tyaj"
],
"text": [
"Money. They need the income to fund the continued development of the game. This is a practice that software developers have been using for a very long time. It is not just games either but OS and network gear. They all do some amount of 'sell to fund' and... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m301z | How did Humans create perfectly flat objects prior to the invention of advanced tools/machinery? | If they used necessary contemporary tools, how did they create those tools to be flat? EDIT: How were these primitive methods of getting a flat surface applied to large-scale constructions and objects? (i.e. furniture, construction materials, etc.) | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0en27"
],
"text": [
"There are no *perfectly* flat objects being made today. Even the mirrors on giant telescopes have fluctuations on the surface. If one wanted to make a fairly flat stone surface with only stone tools available one could use water in a bucket and grind a disk (or whatever... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m32em | Why does our vision sometimes blackout when we stand up? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0f08v",
"dc0in9g"
],
"text": [
"When you are lying or sitting your blood pressure rises slightly due to position. When you stand the pressure drops. Blood can pool in your legs making it unavailable for your brain. If this is happening often you should probably see a doctor. This isn't ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m3al7 | How did they calculate votes in the early days of America without phones/Internet to convey the results. Wouldn't it lead to rigging? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0gvmt"
],
"text": [
"Votes were tabulated on paper in each local polling place. Then the results from each place (signed by local authorities) were gathered and taken to a regional capital for totaling. Then, if necessary, *these* signed totaling sheets were gathered and taken to a bigger c... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m3cn7 | How does our "new organ", the Mesentery, work? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0wtja",
"dc0oon6",
"dc106h0",
"dc11vg6",
"dc1159v",
"dc0mf9r",
"dc102s6"
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"text": [
"The mesentery got a promotion in name from supportive tissue (to the small and large intestines) to apparently the classification of organ. It's always been there. We've known abou... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m3eo0 | Why do humans like to kiss each other? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0lpr0",
"dc0ukjj"
],
"text": [
"It releases hormones that feel good, such as oxytocin. Why does it release hormones like that? Because a kiss is a good way to determine the health and immunological compatibility of a mate. If it is good, hormone are released and you want to do it again,... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m3rz7 | What allows heat to cast a shadow? | I stepped out into my garage and next to our heater, and I had the light on, and was looking at the wall and noticed the shadow being cast was barely visible, but it was there, and it was from the heat coming out. So, I'm just curious what of that is allowing it to cast a shadow. | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0m9px"
],
"text": [
"Light is bent or refracted by whatever it passes through. In a room of uniform temperature, the light is bent the same way everywhere so you see a uniform image. Heat causes turbulence in the air so the light is bent in a more chaotic manner. You're seeing this as a wav... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m3vr8 | What's the difference between a quicksave and a normal save in a video game? | Is there actually any difference? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0mq23",
"dc0tawz",
"dc12dih"
],
"text": [
"This is a huge generalisation and will work differently based on the game but generally a quick save on console will delete when you pick it back up whereas a normal save can be accessed at any time. On a pc a quick save would just mean you... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m3w4r | How long should one use bulb mode to get a good picture of the stars in a completely dark setting? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0mra5"
],
"text": [
"There is the 500/600 rule. Basically take 600 (500 to be safe) and divide it by your lens' focal length, that will tell you how many seconds you can expose for without getting star trails (where you see the stars move). Now, that is for full frame (35mm) sensors, I beli... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m3x63 | How can Sony make an XBONE equivalent while being significantly smaller AND without a power brick? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0mmtw"
],
"text": [
"Look up Ben Hecks ps4 and xbox teardowns on YouTube, the main difference as I remember is the xbox has an oversized heat sink as a precaution against the overheating issues of the 360"
],
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3
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5m41hp | Why do essential oils dissolve paint? | I put a drop of lemongrass essential oil on my wood, painted bedroom vanity to freshen up the room and returned to it a few hours later only to find out that the paint was nearly completely dissolved! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS ??? D: | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0ptvs",
"dc0voh5"
],
"text": [
"Paint is a liquid when you apply it and after a bit becomes a solid. What is happening is that the paint is dissolved in a solvent, which evaporates off as it is applied, allowing it to solidify. If you were to apply another solvent capable of dissolving ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m41lm | Why does being shot in the head actually kill a person | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0p71c",
"dc0r181",
"dc0o9as"
],
"text": [
"So I'm assuming what you're asking is: why is it that a gunshot to the brain is so catastrophically fatal, when it's been shown that you can damage that organ and come out of it alive? Pointing to the example of [Phineas Gage]( URL_0 ), who... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m41o5 | how do airline alliances work | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0olmp"
],
"text": [
"Imagine you run a taxi business that runs from Point A to Point B. You take passengers between only these two points. You overhear that some of your passengers mention they like to travel from Point C to Point D with another taxi business on occasion. So you strike an a... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m43bf | What are each programming language's real-world function? | Why use Java over C# or C++ in a specific scenario? This applies to even Python and Pascal as well Edit 1: I understand how software works and how a language is a different way to communicate to the computer. I understand that you can connect software languages to real-world languages (i.e. Grammar = Syntax) But I am w... | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0ocmb",
"dc0zd5o"
],
"text": [
"Programming languages are like real-life languages. There are times one may be easier to communicate in - like speaking French when you're in France - but for the most part they all communicate the same things. If you want to program a sensor to detect wh... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m45o8 | Why does starchy food stick so hard onto kitchenware? | Chemistry | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0u166"
],
"text": [
"Starch is used as poster glue. The gluten in wheat additionally makes the strands of starch molecules link together to make a tough solid."
],
"score": [
5
],
"text_urls": [
[]
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} | [
"url"
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"url"
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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 | {
"a_id": [
"dc0repu"
],
"text": [
"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, ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m473n | How does SSL Certificates work exactly? | How do they encrypt the data exactly and couldn't eventually be "crackable" Also, without the S. How would someone be able to gather the data once they're on your network / Host? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0x5ih",
"dc0upwf",
"dc11lhw"
],
"text": [
"Say a website is using an SSL certificate. That certificate is just something that says something like \"I am reddit and nobody can impersonate me\". Now obviously SSL certificates websites offer up can simply be copied, so to authenticate ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m474v | What is a Deep Space Radio Wave And How Does It Effect Us As A Species? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0upky"
],
"text": [
"A deep space radio wave is just what the name describes - a radio wave coming from deep space (one has recently been pinpointed to come from another galaxy some 3 billion light years away, which I assume is why you're asking this question). They're short, they're rare, ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m4h3t | How is Voyager 1 still sending NASA information from interstellar space, 39 years after it's launch? | Other | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0ujzk",
"dc0t8s4",
"dc0vg8u",
"dc0xoo4",
"dc0rb1e",
"dc0tfyq",
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"dc0yrd1"
],
"text": [
"Some other commenters have covered really well how it's still *transmitting*, so I'll cover a bit of how we're *receiving*. The signals Voyager transmits are really ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m4lnt | Where are everyone's passwords stored in websites? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0secu"
],
"text": [
"If you're asking about when your browser asks you if you want to save a password, it's saving it inside your browser's memory or inside your browser company's cloud-based databases. If you're asking about when you have an account on some website, they store all of your ... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m4mzf | How does an LED change colors? | Is there any mechanical or physical change? Are there multiple different colored LEDs in each "bulb" that are illuminated in various configurations to produce each color (similar to an RGB display)? Or can one unit actually produce light of variable wavelengths? | Technology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0tofc",
"dc0u2jt",
"dc1buyc",
"dc10e9v",
"dc0v6c4"
],
"text": [
"A color changing LED isn't one LED in a package but three LEDs along with a small computer to drive them. The LED is made up of red, green and blue LEDs each of which can be controlled by a microcontroller. Sin... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m4n2j | How does the golden ratio follow the fibonacci sequence? | Mathematics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0sugd",
"dc0xoxk"
],
"text": [
"Take two successive numbers of Fibonacci sequence, 13 and 21 for example. 21/13 will be close to golden ratio. Kepler proved that limit of ratio of two infinitely large successive Fibonacci numbers is golden ratio, or lim{n - > inf} F{n+1}/Fn = phi. EDIT:... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] | |
5m4t6n | What is an axiom? | Can axioms be proven to be false? (mathematical axioms for instance) | Mathematics | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0u42g"
],
"text": [
"Every theorem has a proof, an answer to the question of \"why is that true?\". For axioms, the \"why?\" is a non-provable value statement. It's true because we want it to be true, rather than due to any particular proof. In general, axioms will be so simple and fundamen... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
5m4ty2 | What causes irrational fear? | What causes people to feel irrationally afraid of certain things? Spiders, for example: small, mostly harmless and unobtrusive, yet just the sight of one can paralyze a grown man with fear. It makes no logical sense, so what's the origin/cause/purpose of it from a biological standpoint? | Biology | explainlikeimfive | {
"a_id": [
"dc0vwi6"
],
"text": [
"Anxiety is a good thing. It's what kept us alive and what gave us our fight or flight response. So it's extremely useful and vital. However in a world where sleeping with spiders and sleeping in trees no longer exist, our Anxiety still does. Our brains haven't really ca... | [
"url"
] | [
"url"
] |
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