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2r12w6 | can an fm signal be received thousands of miles away? | A long time ago (well, 1990) I moved from my home country Bulgaria to the UK. At the time I was 12, and although the signs of geekness were for a trained eye to recognise, I was not aware of how FM radio worked.
At the time I had a Walkman with an analogue tuner FM radio. Upon landing in Heathrow, I thought I'd check out the local radio. I distinctly remember switching on the Walkman and hearing absolutely crystal clear Sofia FM radio (a station 2,500km away) - the same station to which the Walkman was tuned to in Bulgaria before taking off. I thought that wasn't right and kept on listening to be really sure it was Sofia radio, and it really was. I tried to think of an explanation of how this could be and just couldn't. But I thought that if you can tune the Walkman once, you can tune it again, and so I moved the dial and the Sofia radio disappeared never to be found again.
To this day, I don't know whether there is any feasible way for this to have occurred of whether I was hallucinating. The best way I can explain it is that if there was some super precise way the tuner was tuned which moving the dial one atom one direction or the other lost the signal. On the other hand, everything I've since learned about energy propagation and FM radio signals not bending around anything would point more towards some psychological hallucination. Can anyone ELI5 this for me? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2r12w6/eli5_can_an_fm_signal_be_received_thousands_of/ | {
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"Everything i learned about radio tells me it can't happen even super precise receivers have their limits and at that range the receiver probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between signal and noise. And tuning it more precise doesn't make it more likely, usually radios have some kind of mechanism (FLL - frequency locked loop or a phase lock loop) that corrects small differences anyway.\n\n\nSome considerations:\n*Given that google maps gives me 2500km distance for driving the distance is probably a bit/a lot less if you measure straight between the two places. Seems to be more like 2000km ish. And i just did some research that told me the strongest radio transmitter in Europe used 8 million watt transmission power. With that power it would be possible to get a -80dbm signal 2000km away. That would be good enough of a signal to listen to radio. A radio receiver could probably work with -90dbm so it could maybe work. So it may have been your imagination or just a really lucky day with the most perfect conditions that gave you a last chance to listen to your home countrys radio one last time, you will probably never know.*\n\n*BUT usually FM needs a line of sight connection to work. If there's a mountain or anything else between you and the transmitting antenna it shouldn't work. And sadly i'm not familiar with laws about transmitting power in Bulgaria and i couldn't find more information about sofia radio, but usually more than 100kw transmitting power seems just unreasonable and i don't think they tried to send a signal to the UK (which would be the only reason i could think of why anyone would point a antenna towards the UK and use a shitload of power to get a signal out there).*\n\n*So to be honest - i don't think it's possible with a reasonable transmitter, a crappy antenna on your Walkman and the alps between the two places.* \n\n*TL;DR If someone really wanted to get sofia radio in the UK and used a shitload of power to get the signal there it could work in theory (but even in theory it won't work very good).*"
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cw0kqm | why do so many old people develop diabetes? | Every old person I know has developed diabetes later in life, it almost seems inevitable. Is this a normal part of life and becomes more likely the older you get? If yes, why? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cw0kqm/eli5_why_do_so_many_old_people_develop_diabetes/ | {
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"It’s because the modern diet in many developed countries is incredibly high in sugar and other carbohydrates, which leads to constant blood sugar spikes, which leads to the body needing to release more and more insulin to cope, which leads to decreased insulin sensitivity, which leads to diabetes.\n\nIt’s not inevitable. In fact, it’s a relatively recent trend.",
"Your pancreas is in charge of keeping insulin at the correct level in your body, and just like any other organ, it can fail. If it's not running properly, you end up diabetic. \nIt's really no different than any other organ, your heart fails you have a heart attack, if your liver fails you have cirrhosis, if your brain fails you have a stroke. So everything has problems when you get old.\n\nBut being overweight and having an unhealthy lifestyle with no exercise seems to bring it on quicker than normal."
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8bpy7n | why is it that after batteries die, if i wait like a day the machine still has more power than it did before dying again? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8bpy7n/eli5_why_is_it_that_after_batteries_die_if_i_wait/ | {
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"So, the way a battery works is there are 3 parts. Two electrodes, a positive one, and a negative one, and a divider between the electrodes that insulates the two electrodes but allows ions (atoms or molecules with either extra electrons or a deficit of electrons compared to their protons) to pass from one terminal to another.\n\nIn an ELI5 sense, for every electron that leaves the battery, an equivalent amount of charge needs to cross the divider to maintain the voltage. What happens is the rate of Ion movement isn't high enough with old batteries, but even though it isn't fast enough to maintain battery life, over time, it gets there and brings the voltage back up.",
"Sometimes, depending on the chemistry, batteries will \"recover\" a bit after discharging. The battery isn't completely empty, but is below the device's cut-off level. Once the battery recovers past this cut-off, it will work again.",
"batteries don't store electricity, they're tiny chemical power plants. once the battery dies and you turn off the device, the reaction continues. it's slow, but given some time it can be enough to power the device again.",
"The charge in a battery isn't entirely consistent throughout the battery. When you place a battery under load, the charge from around the electrodes depletes first, lowers the voltage, and can be low enough to cutoff. The higher charge disperses to the areas around the electrodes and the battery can work again.\n\nIt's like drinking a milkshake or slurpee through a straw. You can hit the bottom and get air while there is still shake in the cup. Then you wait a bit until the shake reaches the straw and you get a bit more."
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2iacgy | what is the progression of schooling and how does it work? | For example, middle school, then high school, then a post secondary option. But then after that you get your "Masters", so does it matter where you do your post secondary option? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2iacgy/eli5_what_is_the_progression_of_schooling_and_how/ | {
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"For the US, it looks like this: \nPreschool - Usually for children 2-4 years old. Almost like day-care with some very basic education. \n\nKindergarten - For 4-5 year-olds where they taught letters, numbers, and basic colors. This is the first compulsory attendance for US children. \n\nElementary School - 1st-5th or 6th grade, usually ranging from 6-12 years old. Many elementary schools will also have Kindergarten. Most students will be with the same class under the same teacher for the entire year, with some other teachers for specialties such as art, music, and physical education (gym). \n\nJunior High School - 6th/7th-8th/9th grades, sometimes 9th grade as well. This is where students will begin to have schedules tailored to them, with differing teachers for each subject. \n\nHigh School 9th/10th-12th - Students each have a schedule tailored to them based on their desires, with certain requirements based on the school. Students will have a variety of options for each subject (different types of communications, math, science, social, art). This is the last set of compulsory education required in the US. Students who complete all of the requirements of the high school graduate with a high school diploma. \n\nCollege/University - For high school graduates; students choose a \"major,\" or field of study, and are given a program with requirements to graduate in that major. The major consists of \"core\" and \"elective\" classes. Core classes are those specific to the field of study; if you're majoring in Computer Science, your core classes would be heavily computing based, with classes in computing, programming, and system architecture. Electives are additional classes that a student can take based on their interest. Most schools will also have general education requirements, requiring students to take so many classes in social fields, English, humanities (art), math, science, and speech. After two years, or roughly 60 credit hours, students may be awarded an Associate's degree. After completing four years or 120ish credit hours, students will be awarded a Bachelor's degree and be considered \"Graduates.\" \nMilitary academies will perform the same function as a college while adding military leadership training and a regimented lifestyle. Graduates earn a commission as Officers in the service of the academy they attended and will be committed to serve a certain amount of time in that military service.\n\nGraduate School - Students may then continue their education by pursuing a Master's degree in their field. These degrees are more focused and higher level than Associate's or Bachelor's degrees and will usually involve a major research project in order to be awarded the Master's degree. \n\nStudents with a Master's degree may go on to try and earn a Doctorate or PhD in their field. This is another 2-year course of study involving massive research project and presentation delivered to a committee at the Doctorate-granting institution. \n\nThat's what it looks like for most conventional degrees. Folks going into the legal or medical fields will have different experiences at the college level and beyond. Medical students may have to attend clinical trials or residencies at a local hospital during their studies, while legal students may need to intern at a local law firm."
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1uiyr6 | what makes matte screen protectors fingerprint proof? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1uiyr6/eli5_what_makes_matte_screen_protectors/ | {
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"Finger prints are visible because the make the glossy screen appear more matte. A matte screen is already matte, so the effect of fingerprint oils is not so visible. "
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2zfgc7 | why do police tasers have no effect on some people? | Lets assume that you have a proper connection of the taser to a persons skin. Does being on drugs or a persons size effect the results? Is it willpower? How so? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zfgc7/eli5_why_do_police_tasers_have_no_effect_on_some/ | {
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"What a taser does is provide an electrical current through your muscles. Your muscles work partially off of electricity so this essentially tightens them. Think of the pain you receive with sudden muscle contraction. The end result of a taser is tightened muscles making it hard to move and intense pain. Drugs and other methods of pain reduction can inhibit the pain aspect and allow people to remain relatively un-phased. The other aspect, muscle tightening, can be lessened by actively or consciously flexing. So if your muscles are in an \"off\" position at rest, a taser flips them \"on\" against your will. If you flip them \"on\" yourself it's much easier to control. "
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1rj2x3 | whenever i'm browsing the internet or streaming a movie, i get flooded with ads. i hate these ads and despise everything they are selling. how does that translate into making them money? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rj2x3/eli5_whenever_im_browsing_the_internet_or/ | {
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"They don't make money by showing you an ad. They make money by showing thousands or millions of people an ad. ",
"People pay for people to see the ads; exposure is almost always good even if the perception is bad. Whilst an advertisement for product X may annoy you, if you need a product like product X it still may be the one you think of and buy because the annoyance caused by the ad < your need for the product.",
"Let's say I'm in the store and I'm buying something with three possible brands: X, Y, and Z. The only brand I've even heard of is brand X, but I don't really remember where I know it from. I'm more likely to buy brand X than Y or Z.\n\nSo how can I use to sell my product? Get people to recognize the name. This can be achieved by shouting it on every medium out there. It's called brand recognition and \"selling the brand.\" Some companies rebrand to get rid of bad reputations or to make their name easier to remember. In any case, they're not losing out by advertising like this, they're just manipulating you in a novel way."
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6bqowm | if whiskey only ages in wooden barrels, why aren't whiskey bottles made out of wood instead of glass? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6bqowm/eli5_if_whiskey_only_ages_in_wooden_barrels_why/ | {
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"One key reason is you lose alcohol from spirits aging in the barrel, especially in relatively dry, air conditioned homes. In production this is called the \"angel's share\". Most people don't want to buy an 80 proof liquor and drink perhaps 60 or 70 proof liquor. \n\nFurther, many distilled spirits involve blends from several batches or barrels, to even the bottle to bottle and year to year product differences. Selling the spirit in a barrel would greatly increase the difference. \n\nFinally, cost of tiny barrels (barrels work by fitting wood strips together tightly enough to not significantly leak) is substantially higher than the cost of bottles. Even large barrels are fairly expensive. ",
"For one reason, wooden bottles aren't very practical. They're harder to seal and more expensive.\n\nFor another, the whiskey wouldn't necessarily age the same. A big part of what makes whiskey age is temperature fluctuations. As the temperature warms up, the wood absorbs some whiskey into it and flavors it. When the temperature cools down, the wood releases the liquid and the flavors return to the rest of the barrel. So you would have to keep your wooden bottles outside or at least somewhere that isn't climate controlled like your house or the store. You also lose some whiskey in the process and consumers might not like it if their wooden bottles aren't full when they open them.\n\nYou would also run into quality control issues. Quality brands wouldn't want people aging their whiskey incorrectly and then have it taste bad. They would want to control the aging process, then bottle the whiskey when it's just right.\n\nSo basically, it's easier for manufacturers to store big barrels of the stuff where they need to be stored for aging for years and then ship it to you in glass rather than having you try to find a place to store your own small bottles for years and then messing it up.\n\nEdit: Forgot that manufacturers also often test whiskey and blend batches. That's hard to do when you only have a couple small bottles.",
"Alcohol ages in having the alcohol seep into the wood of the barrel and dissolving out wood complex molecules. Once it's bottled, it effectively stops aging. During the process, you also lose a small amount of the alcohol. ",
"I have a small barrel that I've used to age spirits. A wooden whisky bottle is undesirable for many reasons:\n\n1. Cost. Barrels are expensive. You wouldn't want to buy a $20 bottle of whiskey in a $50 barrel when a $0.50 bottle would do the trick.\n\n2. Rate of ageing. Whiskey is aged in barrels that are tens of gallons. It's sold in bottles that are less than half a gallon. That means relatively more barrel surface area per gallon of whiskey. This is important because of point 3...\n\n3. Overageing. More isn't always better. Different flavors come out of the wood at different rates and you want some flavors more than others. If you leave the whiskey in a barrel too long then it'll pick up the wrong flavors. With a tiny barrel this can happen much much faster. \n\n4. Sediment. Some of the barrel flakes off; it's been charred on the inside and then soaked in alcohol. Bottled whiskey has had this removed, either by settling or by filtering.\n\n5. Volume loss. Barrels don't seal tight. They lose some alcohol and water to the air which changes the alcohol content of the contained spirits. \n\nWhen you buy a bottle of whiskey you're paying for the stuff that went into the unaged spirits, the time and space it took to age it, and the expertise of those who aged it, making sure that it picked up the right flavors and made it to the right alcohol content.\n\nIf you turn around and stuff it into a barrel to sell then that expertise goes right out the window and the price goes through the roof. "
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cyknxn | how do pain relief spray work? what are the differences between those used by athletes and normal people? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cyknxn/eli5_how_do_pain_relief_spray_work_what_are_the/ | {
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"* There are a couple of different \"families\" of painkillers. (i.e. NSAIDS is one, opioids is another)\n* **N**on-**s**teroidal **a**nti-**i**nflammatory **d**rugs\n * block certain enzymes in the body that help make chemicals that signal pain. When these enzymes are blocked, you feel less pain.\n * Examples are Ibuprofen and aspirin\n* Opioids work the other way around\n * They block the receptors so less of the 'pain chemical' reaches your brain, much like earplugs\n * Examples are morphine and oxycodon\n\nedit: The spray is just a matter of transport\n\nInstead of swallowing a pill you can put the medicine in a transdermal spray, meaning the liquid goes through the skin. This way the medicine 'hitchhikes' with the spray to the painful location.\n\n I'm not sure if athletes have something stronger than us the common folk : > ",
"Here's an article about ice sprays used by athletes. \n\n_URL_0_"
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r5ol7 | chemistry question. why don't the concentrations of solids or pure liquids change in an equilibrium equation? | This may be a question for a different subreddit, but my stubborn brain just will NOT understand this concept. For example, C(s) + CO2 (g) --- > 2CO(g)
When writing the equilibrium equation, the carbon is "not included" aka counted as a constant. I understand how to write the equation and do the math, but why doesn't the concentration of carbon change?
Seriously, I've asked my teacher to explain it several times and he is about ready to crazy murder me.
Please help my stubborn, childish brain understand!! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/r5ol7/eli5_chemistry_question_why_dont_the/ | {
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"If you think about the concentration as being the amount of something in a particular volume, a solid will have the same amount of stuff relative to the volume. In other words, as the amount of carbon increases, so does the amount of space it takes up, so the concentration doesn't change. Likewise as it gets used up, both the amount of carbon and the volume of carbon decrease, leaving the concentration the same.\n\nIt's sort of the same for pure liquids. There is only the liquid so as you add or take away some of the liquid, the volume increases or decreases accordingly.",
"Well, you can't measure concentration for solids. Concentration is given in (mol/L) or (mol/kg solvent), and solids just have mass, not concentration, when they're not in solution.\n\nAs for why you count it as a constant in equilibrium and gas equations, it's because the amount that a pile of a solid substance contributes to the pressure in a container full of gases is negligible.\n\nYou do end up with less solid carbon when the reaction reaches completion/equilibrium, but since you can't have a measured concentration or pressure for it, you treat it as constant. Imagine if I gave you a handful of table salt, NaCl, and asked you what the concentration of that salt was. There isn't one because it's not in solution. Same handful, but now I ask you what the pressure of it is if I put it into a rigid 5L container at 25*C. Same idea - it doesn't contribute to the pressure of the vessel."
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1rx9zk | why does aids keep getting cured like once a week? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rx9zk/eli5why_does_aids_keep_getting_cured_like_once_a/ | {
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"There's lots of things that may kill/destroy a virus. The trick is finding something that doesn't also kill/destroy *you*."
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6mqy97 | how have we been able to determine so much about things we can’t see at all (like how the human body works at a molecular level or wireless technology - or even how the components of an atom work)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6mqy97/eli5_how_have_we_been_able_to_determine_so_much/ | {
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"Scientists design experiments that would only work if a given theory is true. Then they try the experiments.\n\nFor example you can't see a radio wave. But if you design a radio based on how you *think* radio waves work, and the radio functions correctly, you figure your idea may be right. Now keep doing a thousand other things that rely on your idea -- and if *everything* works, you feel your idea is a pretty good model of how that bit of the universe actually works."
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91rinf | why did t-rex's have such tiny arms, they were so small there's no way they could have served any purpose | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/91rinf/eli5_why_did_trexs_have_such_tiny_arms_they_were/ | {
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"That’s actually the popular opinion these days, however, in the past there has been thoughts about possibly holding its mate or prey in place, or even providing lift to the upper body to get off the ground, IF they ever sat. They are working on muscle reconstruction and 3D modeling to try and figure out what they could have been used for. ",
"65 million years later, it's hard to say.\n\nEverything we know about the T-Rex comes from just a handful of quality fossil finds. With nothing but a pile of fossilized bones, there's only so much you can infer about the animal's actual behavior and appearance.\n\nMaybe they were totally vestigial. Maybe they had fabulous feathered maying displays on them. Maybe they all played tiny ukuleles.\n\nThe purpose and utility of the T-Rex arms is still a bit of a mystery.",
"To flip that question -- how much muscle and size would a T-rex have to devote to the arms (and therefore away from other body parts in terms of energy expenditure) in order for them to be useful? They might have to be really big, at which point their energy expenditure is not worth it. \n\nAnother way to think about it -- we don't see reptiles like alligators using their front limbs to feed themselves or do much of anything besides locomote. If a reptile goes bipedal, you would naturally expect those limbs to get smaller/vestigial, not bigger. (Unless some strong evolutionary pressure favored growing the front limbs larger into something useful). ",
"They would have been suitable for moving around or manipulating a carcass at eating ranges. Its thought the T-Rex was a scavenger and not a hunter, so they would have actually worked decently for scavenging.",
"Paleontologist Robert Bakker theorized that the tiny arms were perfect for mating rituals. They could help hold the female in place. Keep in mind that these arms may seem tiny but each one as packed with enough muscle to curl a 200 pound barbell. They make have looked tiny but they must have had some sort of function.",
"We know they were used for something, otherwise they wouldn’t have kept them around. But we don’t know what for sure. _URL_0_ this video goes into some details about the theories.",
"T-Rex evolved from a line of dinosaurs that, instead of using their forelimbs to walk or to hunt, they just developed larger and more powerful jaws. They also didn't need their limbs for balance because they had rigid tails. Large arms would actually have been a disadvantage because they would swing around when T-Rex ran. Most people thought that T-Rex held their arms in tight to their body to prevent this swinging around. \n\nWatch this.\n_URL_0_",
"They were only small in relation to its body. The arms themselves were over 3 ft long and they could bicep curl 430 lbs, plus they had claws on the end. So in reality, these “tiny” arms could easily rip you apart. \n\nThe exact function is unknown, but they have been proposed to be involved in mating, pushing itself to a standing position, slashing prey, and/or holding down prey while the jaws finished it off. ",
"They're small for it's size sure but they were well attached to *massive* chest muscles giving it a surprising amount of strength in them, they were *not* vestigial, though the exact use (mating, display, grappling) is an ongoing debate.\n\nIf you want to see totally useless arms look at something like a Carnotaurus, that's what useless theropod arms look like.",
"Are you asking this because of that BBC T-rex gif which has been all over Reddit today??",
"According to scientificly accurate Barney the dinosaur \" ripping flesh is what his arms are used for\"",
"You try eating ribs without your hands. You dont need them to be strong just need them there to stabilize the meat.",
"_URL_0_\n\nThis video from PBS Eons does a masterfull job of explaining the T-Rex's tiny, but not completely disappeared, arms.",
"Wtf I was literally thinking about this last night as I was about to sleep, and today an ELI5. Spooky",
"Short version, probably they didn't do very much. Tyrannosaurs were around for 100 million years and over that time the arms proportionally shrank across the lineage, the claws got less curved, and the strength of the grip in the fingers reduced. That points to an organ that has little function and is slowly being selected against.\n\nIt has been suggested that these were used to help grasp prey, to hold on during mating, or to help them stand up but none of these have good fucntional support and don't match with the pattern we see above. Tarbosaurus, the nearest relative of T. rex had even more reduced arms, so it looks like given a few more million years they may have reduced even further. The away arms and shoulders develop it may have been impossible for the limbs to reduce much more without issues in the neck so this might have been about the limit of what they could reduce to.\n\nSource: am tyrannosaur evolution expert. :) ",
"What if they were vestigial like a whales legs and were actually inside the T-Rex’s body. Just a big head on legs. Of coarse this would be easily disproved as there’s probably evidence of wear on their claws",
"A relatively new theory is that they were actually very powerful and used to viciously slash prey. These wounds would have been fatal to the victims.\n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_1_\n\n“The precise purpose of T. rex’s relatively tiny arms has long been mysterious. Over the years, scientists have suggested that they might have been used to grasp struggling prey, to help resting dinosaurs push themselves up from the ground, or to grip tight to mates during sex.\n\nWhatever their limited use, the consensus in recent years seemed to be that they were vestigial, hanging around as an evolutionary remnant from T. rex’s ancestors, a little like the wings of flightless birds. Perhaps, some scientists even suggested, small arms were a necessary trade-off in order to support such huge and powerful head and neck muscles.\n\nBut now one researcher argues that we’ve got it all wrong. Steven Stanley, a paleontologist at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, believes Tyrannosaurus’ arms were well-adapted for “vicious slashing” at close quarters, making use of four-inch-long claws to inflict deep wounds on unfortunate prey.\n\n“Its short, strong forelimbs and large claws would have permitted T. rex, whether mounted on a victim’s back or grasping it with its jaws, to inflict four gashes a meter [three feet] or more long and several centimeters [more than an inch] deep within a few seconds,” said Stanley. “And it could have repeated this multiple times in rapid succession.””",
"They were well over 3 feet long. And they have attachment points for heavy, heavy muscles. Yes, they were tiny in comparison to their bodies, but they were hugely powerful. Today's estimates are that the biceps alone were capable of lifting over 450 pounds each, and that doesn't count any of the other muscles that contribute to elbow flexion. \n\nThere are several ideas as to what they were used for. The three main ones are: 1) they were used to push the T-Rex from a sitting/laying position into a standing position, 2) they were used to hold a big prey animal in one place while the jaws worked on taking chunks out of it, or 3) they were used to grasp mating partners.\n\nIt could be any of these or a combination. Personally, I think it's unlikely that they would primarily be used for mating because we don't see any sexual dimorphism with regards to arm size. ",
"During evolution, natural selection chooses the advancement of certain parts of an organism’s body so that they can stand a better chance in surviving in their environment. For example, humans species evolving to become upright and walking mainly with their hind limbs. \n\nTherefore, Natural selection chooses the direction that an organism evolves and sometimes it works so fast it ignores parts that do not inhibit the pace of evolution. \n\nThat’s a theory to why the T-Rex has small arms. They probably evolved so fast that their arms were ignored. They’re not inhibiting them in any why, they’re just there and some times they may have been actually used. \n\nHere’s something to compare: we still have a tailbone but it’s of no use to us, as we are bipedal and no longer live in trees and need balance to swing from branch to branch, much less hang from them. But we evolved so fast that it was ignored and it’s not doing any harm so it’s still present in our body. \n\nSome of us also still grow wisdom teeth that now have no use and are usually removed by dental procedure. \n\nEdit: Grammar and spelling ",
"Imagine if a Trex tripped and fell how would it ever stand back up?"
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4pkdzc | why are airport fire trucks so different from "regular" fire trucks? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4pkdzc/eli5_why_are_airport_fire_trucks_so_different/ | {
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"A regular fire engine or ladder truck doesn't need the same level of equipment or face the same threats. \n\nA regular fire engine only needs to carry about 500 gal of water, is going to be reasonably close to a hydrant or can call out for a water tanker truck. Most fire department call outs are for medical issues, vehicle accidents, with only the occasional residential structure, vehicle or brush fires. \n\nAn airport fire truck has to handle a crashed airplane, which may have sprayed about 50,000 gal of fuel over a wide area, all of which is burning at once. Hundreds of wounded and panicked passengers who may be trapped inside puddles of fuel. \n\nNot to mention the most direct route to the crash site might not be paved. So you need a truck that can park in the middle of a fire and not burn up, carry sufficient water/foam to quickly knock down the fire, and do this all over labyrinth of paved roads, patches of dirt and grass.\n\nThe airport fire truck is pretty much the first responder kind of truck regular fire trucks from nearby stations will arrive several minutes later to assist, bring more water, equipment and crew.",
"Also must think of what air plains are made of magnesium alloys and many other things that plain water wont put out. Most trucks at airport use chemical foam "
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1emvxn | why are helicopters difficult to fly? | Great responses, thanks!
It turns out whirlybirds are hard to fly because of the constant adjustments that must be made by the pilot. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1emvxn/eli5_why_are_helicopters_difficult_to_fly/ | {
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"Helicopters are difficult to fly because they are unstable.\n\nIn an aeroplane, if you raise the nose momentarily then let go of the controls, it will return back to where it started. It may take a bit of time, it may overshoot and oscillate a bit, but it will go back the right way.\n\nIn a helicopter, this doesn't happen. If something changes, the pilot needs to put it right.\n\nBecause the air is rarely completely smooth and people move around inside the aircraft and lots of other things might cause a momentary change in the way an aircraft flies, helicopters need to be constantly corrected. Whereas aeroplanes will correct themselves, and can be flown \"hands-off\" much of the time.",
"One of the main reasons that helicopters are hard to fly is torque. With the rotor blades spinning counter clockwise the helicopter itself wants to spin in the opposite direction because of the torque. What prevents this from happening is the tail rotor compensating for this torque effect by pushing the tail of the helicopter in the same direction as the rotors are turning. the problem is, that the pilot must constantly adjust the tail rotor blade pitch to compensate for the torque. So the pilot must constantly control the helicopter lift (collective handle stick), direction (Cyclic handle stick), and torque control (Rotor pedals)., all at the same time. ....Not easy",
"Flying a helicopter is a bit like balancing an upside-down broom on the palm of your hand. It requires constant small corrections or else it's going to fall. That's because it's inherently unstable.\n\n\nIn comparison, flying most planes is like holding a broom by the top of the stick. If you leave it alone, it'll return to its natural resting position. Or in the case of the plane, stable flight."
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5y1hnh | why do certain food, for example like fast food causes acne? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5y1hnh/eli5why_do_certain_food_for_example_like_fast/ | {
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"Carbohydrates are the main issue. Many fast foods and processed snacks contain ingredients that have a high \"glycemic load\". The glycemic load refers to how quickly those carbs convert to blood sugar. Sugar in soda, potato starch in french fries/chips, and white bread from hamburger buns all have high glycemic load.\n\nYour body responds to spikes in blood sugar by releasing insulin (high blood sugar is toxic). Insulin shoves the sugar into your cells. However, your skin cells react to more sugar by producing more skin oils which can clog your pores and cause acne.\n\nEating fats does not cause the same issues. However, working in environments with fat in the air (for example, flipping burgers) can have those fats clog your pores.\n\nSome other people get acne from dairy consumption. It's uncertain why this occurs but it may be due to dairy affecting the balance of body hormones.",
"Actually, most dermatologists will tell you that your diet doesn't affect your acne, unless you're bad about washing the extra grease off your face. \n\nSource: I've been to a dermatologist ",
"It doesn't, diet dose not have any real effect on acne. Unless you are rubbing the oil from the fries all over your face what you eat will not effect your acne ",
"Fast food does not cause acne. If it did everyone who ate fast food would have acne. This is not the case. Acne is a medical condition."
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2rijgx | streaming video. is it stored in ram or on the hard disk? | When you're streaming video files (YouTube etc.), does it store the data on the HDD or in RAM? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2rijgx/eli5streaming_video_is_it_stored_in_ram_or_on_the/ | {
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"Hard Disk. If you are using Chrome, they go into your user cache folder.\n\n%localappdata%\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data\\Default\\Cache",
"I'd imagine both. When you buffer a video, it downloads the video (same goes for webpages and such) as temporary files, which are usually automatically deleted when they're no longer needed. But things are also stored in the RAM; things like the current time in the video, the current frame being viewed, etc,."
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fthump | how does a bottle of water taken from a fridge just above freezing, when introduced to warmer air immediately freeze? | I assume its the formation of ice crystals, but I thought that only happened when agitating or shaking the bottle. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fthump/eli5_how_does_a_bottle_of_water_taken_from_a/ | {
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"Maybe you are talking about a bottle below freezing? In that case it is possible for the water to be cold enough to freeze, but if its container is smooth enough there are no nucleation sites. A nucleation site provides a spot for a crystal to start growing and can be something like a rough patch of material, an air bubble or some dust. Thus, when you move it around you create nucleation sites by introducing air bubbles and other irregularities.\n\nProtip: when you're scared a drink might fizz too much, tap all sides of the can with your knuckle. This will loosen the bubbles attached to the site, so they can't act as nucleation sites. Consequently there will be way less fizzing. There are still sites of course, just less. When there are many, and bubbles form, those bubbles create new sites, so it's a runaway process that can speed up.\n\nExtra info: nucleation will be slow closer to freezing, so this effect becomes easier to see, but for really instant freezing you'll want very cold water in a very smooth container. You can then just insert a finger to make it instantly freeze over."
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f6k651 | why does adding salt while/before cooking not make a dish salty like adding in the salt after cooking does? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f6k651/eli5_why_does_adding_salt_whilebefore_cooking_not/ | {
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"Most human senses work by contrast (one notable exception being that about 4% of humans seem to have a mutation that lets them determine sound frequencies in absolute terms, but I digress). \n\nPossibly as a result of that, the sensation of having a tiny grain of salt land directly on your taste buds is much more significant than having a similar (or even larger) amount of salt distributed evenly across a mouthful of food, and adding the salt during cooking gives it much more time to distribute itself evenly. \n\nSame thing applies to any other taste, so adding small sour berries, to use my grandmother's cooking as an example, to a cooked meal gives a far greater effect than putting those same berries in the meal during cooking.",
"The salt “cooks out” so to speak. \nNot evaporation necessarily, more like mixing. For example, when cooking eggs, I always mix the salt in before I put the egg/milk mixture in the skillet, because it evens out the flavor more. Rather than having all the salt be on the surface (creating a really salty first bite) it’s evenly distributed. \nOr for example with steak, if you put the salt in WHILE it’s cooking instead of after, it mixes with the juices (some of which evaporate) and evenly seasons the meat. Where as if you put it afterwards, you’re just applying salt to the finished product. \nI hope this makes sense, it’s based off of my own experience."
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1o1saj | how do drug dealers get customers if they have to stay hidden? | If drug-buyers can find the dealer why can't the authorities? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1o1saj/eli5_how_do_drug_dealers_get_customers_if_they/ | {
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"Sell to friends. Underground parties. Or get people referred to you by previous customers, both have to prove that they're legit. Some dealers have codes of honor or rules they abide by",
"Also, now days It's easy for cops and people to find new school dealers. Some kids are dumb enough to want to be known as \"that guy\" a.k.a. the guy with the goods. Those kids have big mouths and are the first to rat out people. Those youngins typically don't last too long in that world. They either get scared and quit or get caught and rat people out and you know what happens to people like that"
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bn73wt | if corn has no nutritional value, then how did culture's in south america/mexico thrive because of it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bn73wt/eli5_if_corn_has_no_nutritional_value_then_how/ | {
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"It is not the case that corn has no nutritional value.\n\nIn 100 grams of corn, there is 18.7 grams of carbohydrates, 1.35 grams of fat and 3.27 grams of protein, and a good quantity of vitamins B1, B3, B5 and phosphorus.\n\n_URL_0_",
"[It has nutritional value](_URL_0_), otherwise [we wouldn't feed it to so many livestock animals](_URL_1_). It's a grain that natives use to make breads, porridge, soup, and other foods.\n\nWhere did you get such an idea?"
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5gl172 | how and why do megacities form and why are there so many in asia? | We talked about this at school but I really don't get it.
Help, Reddit! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5gl172/eli5how_and_why_do_megacities_form_and_why_are/ | {
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"Nobody really planas a megacity. \n\nThey are mostly in Asia because that is where the highest number of people live in the high density areas.\n\nMegacities form from individual decisions made by people to move to a location where they can do a little better than where they lived before. If you are in school you may not understand the concept that many people live on a very small income every day.\n\nClinton knew this. Obama knows this. I don't think Trump does.\n\nCity planners, those in city government who make decisions on the things cities control, roads, sewerage, water supplies, electricity, natural gas if available, garbage pickup, etc. try to make the best decisions possible given the funding available.\n\nThese decisions enable megacities to exist. But it does not mean that there are not huge areas of squalor. There may be no sewer systems. Roads can be very poor. Electricity may be unavailable or stolen by illegal and dangerous taps. Water may only be available blocks awaY."
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60r3bt | how the accents and signs denoting how to pronounce words work. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/60r3bt/eli5how_the_accents_and_signs_denoting_how_to/ | {
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"Do you mean the International Phonetic Alphabetic (IPA)? Stuff like: `ˌɪn tərˈnæʃ ə nl` `fəˈnɛt ɪk` `ˈæl fəˌbɛt`\n\nThe IPA is a standardized way to ~~right~~ write all the different sounds that are used in all known languages. It is also a phonetic alphabet, which (more or less) means that a symbol always represents the same sound, and each distinct sound is represented by a different symbol.\n\nWhen I say distinct, I mean that if any known language distinguishes between two sounds, then the IPA has different way of writing those sounds. For example, English doesn't usually distinguish between aspirated and unaspirated consonants, but many other ~~langues~~ languages do. So IPA has a way of distinguishing aspiration, specifically a superscript h: [p] vs [p^(h)].\n\nThe IPA is mostly based on the Latin (and Greek) alphabet, so many of the symbols you'll see are similar to English letters.",
"Your physical dictionary should have a pronunciation key that uses other words as examples to show you how the phonetic spellings should be pronounced. Most online dictionaries will have links to something similar. Google uses the New Oxford American Dictionary version of pronunciation respelling, which can be found [here](_URL_0_) under 'NOAD.'",
"Merriam-Webster (one of the top American English dictionaries) has a [quick guide to their pronunciation symbols](_URL_1_) with audio clips, and the [full guide](_URL_0_) as printed in the published dictionary."
]
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"https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/pronunciation-key"
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3f1fj3 | the theory that universes might exist inside black holes. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3f1fj3/eli5_the_theory_that_universes_might_exist_inside/ | {
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"Could you be a bit more specific about what exactly you want to know?\n\nInside the event horizon of a black hole, our conventional knowledge of physics breaks down, so we really don't know what's going on in there. According to relativity, a black hole is so dense it basically punctures the fabric of spacetime, so theoretically there could be some sort of output at the \"other end\" of the black hole. Whether this is just a white hole (purely theoretical, they've never been observed) releasing things into another part of the universe, or some sort of path to a completely different universe or something along those lines is all speculation.\n\nBasically there are a lot of different ideas about what goes on inside the event horizon of a black hole, but when it really comes down to it we don't know much because they're so difficult to observe and study.",
"According to the new equations, the matter black holes absorb and seemingly destroy is actually expelled and becomes the building blocks for galaxies, stars, and planets in another reality. [source!](_URL_0_)"
]
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4mxurc | why are there so many different calibers of ammunition? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4mxurc/eli5_why_are_there_so_many_different_calibers_of/ | {
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"There was a lot of trial and error back when the first fire arms were developed, different gun smiths experimented with different ammunition looking for the best for their purpose.\n\nThis created a huge array of ammo types.\n\nAs time went on, newer ammunition are refined or standardized to suit modern needs with modern technologies but the previously existing ammunition still had hundreds of thousands of guns that use them, and so there still is demand for them.\n\nThe classics especially, keep alive ammo that is long since obsolete.",
"Okie doke. Let me offer a few reasons that may help. \n\nSo, a lot of ammunition variance comes simply from different people, countries, so on, producing them. Simple geographical location may help their own build of ammunition thrive. \n\nSecond, to add to your answer you didn't want, there is truth to it. A decent firearm will be a one-time purchase and last many, many years. Ammunition typically is a constant source of profit.\n\nThird, trendiness plays a HUGE part of it. Take the .300BLK that was introduced (read: Repackaged) several years ago. It blew up, and is still very popular without any required reason for it to be. \n\nFourth, with the 5.56/.223, while there are pressure differences - the reason they exist was due to the military/civilian introduction. 5.56x45 was developed for the military during the experimentation of the early M16 platforms, while the .223 was considered a civilian designation round. \n\nFifth, standardized calibers aren't because of trademark dispute, but because firearms come from all over the world and were developed in many different cultures and times where the requirements for the rounds were to suit different needs. It would be easy to say \"Yes, let's make everyone use X,\" but each country or backing would say they have the superior ammunition - so on. It'd cost a lot of money to get rid of current stock, rebuild factories and so on for new stock, and then hope firearms that suit those weapons are developed... so on. In other words, there is as little a reason to make them standardized as there is not to do so.\n\nHope any of this helped.\n\n",
"I don't think it has anything to do with trying to keep a monopoly. There's far too much to explain in a single EIL5 post, so I'll just try to explain why there are so many different .22 cartridges:\n\n.22lr is small and very, very cheap. Good for shooting small game and target practice. Not nearly powerful enough for big game or war.\n\n.223 is a much more powerful cartridge. The bullet is the same diameter as .22lr but it has much more gunpowder, so it goes almost three times as fast. It's useful for killing larger animals or people.\n\n5.56x45mm is the same thing as .223. The military likes to use the metric system, so they renamed it when they adopted it for use in assault rifles.\n\n5.45x39mm is Russia's version of 5.56x45mm. It's different because they developed it independently and wanted to use the same factories as an older, bigger cartridge. Slightly less powerful, but it serves the same purpose.\n\n5.7x28mm is basically a version of 5.56x45mm (.223) meant for pistols. 5.56x45 is too big to fit in a handgun, so somebody made a shorter version of it. Less powerful, but it fits in a small gun.\n\n.220 Swift (a.k.a. 5.56x56mmSR) is a beefed-up version of .223 that people use if they want more power with the same bullet."
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36hf1j | what are the actual pros and cons of marijuana and its legalization? health benefits, economic benefits, social benefits, etc. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/36hf1j/eli5_what_are_the_actual_pros_and_cons_of/ | {
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"Pros: Prison population decreased, US Government saves hundreds of millions of dollars, buying and selling marijuana becomes much safer, cartels lose profits, US Government gains hundreds of millions in tax revenue, economy benefits and jobs are created, people with chronic anxiety gain new non addicting medication, it becomes easier to prevent marijuana sellers from selling to kids, hemp industry blossoms leading to even more economic gain.\n\nCons: Private prison industry loses profits, stupid people create moral panic."
]
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||
cda463 | how does a propane refrigerator work? | Went camping this weekend with my father in-law who had a fifth wheel. We got into a debate on which was more efficient; running the generator or letting the fridge run off propane. We both have no idea how a propane refrigerator works and I was hoping someone might be able to explain it to me. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cda463/eli5_how_does_a_propane_refrigerator_work/ | {
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"Others have explained it. Now I'll add that using a propane powered fridge is always more fuel efficient than running a generator:\n\nPropane fridge: Small propane heating unit, uses about as much gas a pilot lights on a stove. Most only burn gas when actively running the cooling cycle\n\nGenerator: uses (typically) gasoline to drive a engine, which then spins what amounts to an electric motor running backwards. Generator has to run at all times to make sure there is power available for the electric fridge. (which uses another electric motor to drive a compressor to perform cooling)\n\nThings are a little better if the generator is powering a battery bank and only comes on when the bank is depleted. But the bottom line is that a generator converts energy through a lot more steps and no energy conversion can ever be 100% ('cause physics) so there is power loss at each step. Plus the generator is going to be running all the time, not just when cooling is needed.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nAs a bonus, a propane fridge is virtually silent compared to the combination of small 4 stroke engine and compressor motor.",
"Ammonia is very soluble in cold water, but not very soluble in hot water. So heating the water (by burning the propane) expels ammonia from it at high pressure in one part of the system. Cooling the water back down (by a radiator) while it moves someplace else allows it to reabsorb low-pressure ammonia from a different part of the system. Put them together, you have a compressor which has no moving solid parts. Of course water wants to move rapidly from the high pressure side to the low pressure side, so to prevent that you add hydrogen to the low pressure side to bring up the total pressure (so it is really low pressure only when looking at the partial pressure of ammonia gas)\n\nOnce you have this odd kind of compressor, it fits into the refrigeration process the same way a mechanical compressor would."
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9elp9g | what causes you to get “salt sweats”? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9elp9g/eli5_what_causes_you_to_get_salt_sweats/ | {
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"So salt is very beneficial for your body to stay hydrated, and is a form of electrolyte, also needed to keep your body hydrated, and so the salt and water mix. When you sweat, obviously your body is pushing out water already in your body, so if there’s a high concentration of salt in your body, or if you just sweat a lot, enough salt is going to be pushed out with the water. Sweat then likes to stay in certain clothes better than others, especially cotton. When the sweat drys, the salt stays, and you get salt stains"
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2x2m92 | what is a dog's thought process like? | How do they comprehend happiness or sadness? What's the thought process like when they know are in trouble or they did something wrong? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2x2m92/eli5_what_is_a_dogs_thought_process_like/ | {
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"They feed me, they give me shelter, they love me....they must be god!\n\nAnd a cats thought process: They feed me, they give me shelter, they love me....I must be god!",
"I love YOU! SQUIRREL! NOISE NOISE!!! ATTACK NOISE WITH MY NOISE! BARK! BARK! WOOF!....no sound...victory!",
"This is probably a better question for /r/AskScience. The only responses you'll get here will be jokes and wild speculation.",
"You will only get speculation here, but it won't entirely be baseless. The fact is, there are no dogs answering your question and, even if there were, they might not understand the human thought process enough to be able to highlight the difference. \n\nDisclaimer aside, they probably have a thought process that is somewhat similar to ours in some respects. They, like us, react to stimuli. The stimulus goes through a process in the nervous system and brain that develops a response. Let's call this the \"thought process.\"\n\nFor parts of our nervous system that evolved a long time ago (the parts that we sometimes refer to as the \"lizard brain\"), their thoughts could resemble ours quite a lot. This isn't limited to involuntary reactions to things like pain. It actually covers quite a lot of emotional responses too. The fact is, your dog can be excited, happy, sad, or lonely and its emotions might resemble ours quite a lot.\n\nWhere dogs are likely to differ from us quite a lot, however, is in the rational and linguistic side of things. The parts of our brains that govern rational decisions are, by and large, operated by parts of our brain that are a lot smaller in other mammals. It seems likely, therefore, that they evolved recently and only in our evolutionary line. \n\nSo while we see dogs naturally do calculus (throw a stick at an angle into the water and your dog will run diagonally on land and then swim almost, but not quite, the shortest distance possible to the stick in such a way that he minimizes his total travel time based on his relative running and swimming speeds), we don't think that they have constructed/solved mathematical equations in their head. We don't think they have a sophisticated language nor do we think that they attack problems or construct models in their heads. They also likely make fewer decisions to delay gratification, instead relying on instinct, trial and error, and memory. \n\nSo what does all this mean?\n\nIt means that if you were to try to imagine what it might be to think like a dog, try to think without any words (only images and emotions without syntax), allow a basic level of direct association (e.g. a specific person with a feeling of love), assume you have to solve every problem through trial and error, and assume you have the memory of a 2-year old child. \n\nMaybe, just maybe, that will be slightly like how a dog thinks, but as described above, this is wild speculation since every dog I know refuses to answer my questions in succinct, correct English. "
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b4owir | how do you count the number of protestors? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b4owir/eli5_how_do_you_count_the_number_of_protestors/ | {
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"Count the number of people in a small area. Then multiply that by how many of that small area can fit in the overall area.\n\nThat will give you a rough amount of people."
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3b8vs4 | if we attach certain personalty traits/ skills and abilities to particular breeds of dogs, then why are we wrong to attach them to particular groups of people? | Aren't we just different breeds of people? The "black" breed tends to be more athletic, the "white" breed tends to be more curious about other species, etc...
We even say that generally certain dogs are smarter than others. Why can't we say Asians are generally smarter than other humans?
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3b8vs4/eli5_if_we_attach_certain_personalty_traits/ | {
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"We aren't different breeds of people. There are very few \"purebread\" people, and once you go back about a thousand years, there basically aren't any. \n\nAnd, even to the extent that there might in some sense be \"breeds\" of people, dogs are a bad analogy. Because, \"black\" is not a group the way that Cockerspaniel is a group. We don't say that all dogs with brown fur have certain traits. Or that all dogs with certain shaped tails have some other trait. Even if you wanted to make an argument that there were \"breeds\" of people, you' need to drill down much, much more than the standard \"races.\"\n\nThis video might interest you: _URL_0_",
"Dogs are a particularly plastic species in unusual ways. For example compare the cat to the dog. There are a lot of \"cat breeds\" but they're all basically the same size & shape and are mostly distinguished by hair length and color. There's no housecat analog to the miniature schnauzer vs. the St. Bernard.\n\nDomesticated animals are also under an evolutionary selection pressure that humans aren't (at least, that we know of). Humans select animals for desired traits and actively work to enhance the things we like and degrade the things we don't, even if those things would under uncontrolled circumstances have the opposite effect on the chances a given animal would reproduce. We've effectively replaced \"survival of the fittest\" with \"survival of what Humans like best\".\n\nThat doesn't happen with humans. Outside of extremely rare circumstances humans are not bred and culled like domesticated animals, and it's never been done long enough for enough generations to have much meaningful effect. We do of course have this weird social/cultural thing that overlays simple \"survival of the fittest\" evolution but it's typically not likely to produce the kind of alterations on behavior that we see in domesticated animals like dogs.\n\n(Although I would argue that the human propensity to obey figures of authority based on cultural endorsement has certainly been strongly reinforced at least over the past 5,000 years, but that's a nonscientific opinion.)"
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6rzm46 | how does a radio dj know when the song vocals start. | When a radio DJ is introducing a song, they always seem to stop talking right as the song vocals start, sometimes it seems like the vocals are being delayed. Is there a mechanism for this, like a looping tool, or is it just skill and knowledge? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6rzm46/eli5_how_does_a_radio_dj_know_when_the_song/ | {
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"He sees how long the invoice is on the song. So he knows long he can talk, it counts down the seconds until the vocals start, or heavier beats. ",
"Depends... you listen to the songs before. But if you want to make a longer intro, you can loop the instrumental intro of the song. We did this several times. So, a live show requires hours of preparation, you don't just go there and unmute the mic :) source: i worked in a radio station ",
"The system I've seen used. Shows the first few seconds of the song in a wave format. Is you can pretty much pick where the song starts. It does take some practice to get exactly right though. ",
"Radio intern here! As some have strayed already, there are wav formats of songs and you can see where the voices start. There is also a program that I've seen where the song starts and a time counts down to when the vocals begin. \n\nPlus DJs know songs, if you've heard a song before you'd know when the vocals start as well"
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4hcgp4 | how does a country recover from an economic collapse? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4hcgp4/eli5_how_does_a_country_recover_from_an_economic/ | {
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"The best example would probably be the economic recovery of the United States during the great depression. \n\nI'm no specialist, but FDR was. He implemented a system of deficit spending, a system were the government would purposely put themselves into debt to promote public spending. This increased circulation of money.\n\nOf course, war is also an option. WWII assisted in pulling the USA out of debt in. \n\nSorry for the lack of information. If you want to learn more, google \"deficit spending\".",
"The best way is to restore rule of law, free markets, and strong property rights. But a country that could do that probably wouldn't have an economic collapse in the first place.\n\nIn a case like Venezuela, where decades of Big Government has taken its toll, the current government will have to fail, and someone slightly less terrible will be put in charge. When a government fails that badly, it usually takes many decades to restore confidence to the point that the economy can rebuild."
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1c7icn | why my allergies don't bother me when i'm sleeping | but, as soon as I wake up my eyes water, my nose runs and I get congested. Since most allergies are auto-immune responses, wouldn't it affect me just as bad when I'm sleeping? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1c7icn/eli5_why_my_allergies_dont_bother_me_when_im/ | {
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"Your breathing is much shallower while you sleep. Also, unless you have insomnia, your brain tries to compensate for things it can work around in order to let you stay asleep. You may be mouthbreathing in your sleep if your allergies get bad. It doesn't require much to breathe through your mouth, especially the sort of breathing you do while sleeping, so you might not even notice it when you wake up.\n\nThere is also the distinct possibility that your allergies are psychosomatic or otherwise influenced by your mental state..."
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1xitr1 | how do you know you're in a coma? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xitr1/eli5_how_do_you_know_youre_in_a_coma/ | {
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"\"You\" the person in the coma have no way of knowing. A coma is basically the same as being asleep, just for a lot longer. ",
"by waking up and being told."
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5cwq7v | how does electricity "know" what is the path of least resistance? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5cwq7v/eli5_how_does_electricity_know_what_is_the_path/ | {
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"Because it isn't resisted.\n\nThink of trying to move through a crowd. You can try to push past the 300lb biker with LOVE tattooed across the knuckles of one hand and HATE across the other; or you could slip past the 22 year old hipster kid who weighs less than 100lbs because he eats exclusively lentils and kale. One of these options is much easier than the other, and you can tell simply by trying both.\n\nSo, of course, you're going to end up going past the biker because he isn't going to lecture you about GMOs and the beef industry.",
"To put it another way, if there's two routes to take, some amount of electricity will take each route. Without getting really complicated, the electrons will start \"backing up\" more along the high resistance path, and since electrons repel each other, they will prevent some of the other electrons from moving along that path.",
"It doesn't \"Know.\"\n\nImagine a crowd of people in a building like [this](_URL_0_)\n\nNow, there are two paths -- through the auditorium, or around the hallway.\n\nLets say the bell has just rung ending period one, and the class from the bottom left room has to get to the classroom in the bottom right.\n\nNow, some of them are going to go through the hallway, but they'll be slowed down by all the thing in the way (other student, teachers yelling to not run in the hallways, etc). Some students will go through the auditorium. Since the students going through the auditorium move more quickly and easily through it, there will be room for more students to go through as well. Therefore, more of the students from the classroom on the bottom left go through the auditorium.\n\nNot because they know it's faster, but just because there is more space available to do so.",
"Electricity takes all paths... the one with the least resistance draws the most amps...\nSource: am electrician.",
"It doesn't only follow the path of least resistance. Two resistors which are in parallel always have the same potential (voltage) across each of them. The current in each can be calculated independently using Ohm's Law (current=voltage/resistance).",
"Think of it as being in line for a couple slides at a water park. When you get to the front of the line, you get in the first open slide. One slide is short, so lots of people get that one. One slide is average, so a smaller number of people get to use that one. Finally one slide is really long, so only a few get to use it. They all go, but only so many go a specific direction. ",
"IT doesnt, it just ...doesnt have resistance. Its basically like water, no matter what you put water in, if there are any weak points or even the smallest of holes anywhere, itll find it.",
"Electricity takes ALL paths, INCLUDING the path of least resistance. Which means, if your leaning against a solid copper bar a foot in diameter and a thousand feet tall, if lightning strikes the top of the bar, it will go to ground AND it will go thru you too; the difference being if it's a thousand times easier to go thru the copper, a thousand times as much electricity will go thru the copper than will go thru you. This means of course, you can still get a hefty shock, depending on how big a voltage you're getting hit by the remains of...",
"The same way a river does. It's literally the same concept. \n\nPour a bucket of water onto the beach and watch the water form a few little rivers flowing down to the ocean. How did it 'know' those were the best routes? It didn't. It just kept moving in whatever directions resisted it the least, and by doing it constantly, moment to moment, a path is formed.",
"Electricity (electrons collectively) takes all paths, on the path of least resistance there isn't a backlog of electricity pushing back.\n\nSo \"voltage\" is the unit name for \"electromotive force\", which at the electromagnetic inter-operation level is identical to pressure.\n\nLower resistance means less back-pressure.\n\nSo imagine two big tanks, one is full of water and one is empty.\n\nBetween the two tanks are two pipes running in parallel. One is very wide and one is very narrow.\n\nIf we open both pipes, to let the water move from one tank to the other, some will go through the small pipe, but most will move through the larger pipe.\n\nIt's not that any one molecule of water \"knew\" about the choice and picked the bigger pipe. Each molecule pushed on all the other molecules and some went left and some went right. If the left pipe is the bigger pipe, then more can get pushed that way.\n\nAs with water, so electricity. The electrons are shoving each other around because \"like charges repel\" (e.g. like charges can shove each other).\n\nSo the electricity is shoving on all paths, and more just happens to go through the easier route because it's easier."
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31la6q | why is there still such restrictive dvd/bd copy protection | When i buy a CD in the store i can just put it in my PC and make MP3s out Of it and then listen to it on my Phone or tablet
Why isnt there the same easy (and legal) way for DVDs/BluRays? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/31la6q/eli5_why_is_there_still_such_restrictive_dvdbd/ | {
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"Because the companies releasing the discs don't want you to be able to. Simple as that.\n\nCDs are coming up on 35 years old; at the time of their release, home computers were uncommon, and home computers capable of reading CDs non-existent. They didn't come up with a copy protection scheme for them. By the time of DVDs, they had started protecting the discs.\n\nHas they been able to at the time, they would have done the same for CDs; the largest companies in the music industry heavily opposed MP3s and MP3 players (lobbying to ban them) and were unhappy about people being able to rip the MP3s you mention.",
"Your ripping CDs to MP3 is illegal, at least, in the opinion of the lawyers paid by the record industry. The recording industry has been careful to keep that question out of the courts, who would probably side with the rest of the planet, and sanity, making an exception to copyright law - even though a strict reading of the letter of the law might well support the recording industry's viewpoint.\n\nWith that in mind, the movie industry argued for strong technological protection of recorded digital video, or they promised to not release video without it. Of course, it is impossible to give the public access to video for one purpose (display on a TV) and not for another (record in another format, make publicly available). You can only do stuff to make doing so a little more annoying. So they got passed (paid for, in most people's opinion) laws that made techniques for using the video in any way they hadn't blessed illegal (the DMCA's 'anti circumvention' provisions).\n\nAnd that is where we are now."
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4d6osv | what is preventing modern countries like russia, south africa, and brazil from becoming first world? | Yes technically second world is former communist bloc nations and third world is all the rest, but nowadays third world simply means "poor, undeveloped country" and first world is "civilized country with all the common rights, amenities, etc."
For potential naysayers, I use Russia in my example because by and large only its largest cities can be considered first world by impression, and even then, barely so. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4d6osv/eli5_what_is_preventing_modern_countries_like/ | {
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"Here in brasil, it's the corruption. We have one of the highest taxes in the world, but one of the worst educations in it. Just look at the recent scandals, 20 billion reais stolen..."
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2f6h4n | why is closing the laptop to finally try to go asleep, or the literal drive to the gym harder than the actual thing.. | For the sake of clarity, sleep seems so far away, and so hard to come by for me, but I have my Macbook open at 2 am, watching something trivial, and the act of closing the Macbook to try and go to sleep seems staggeringly hard to do, and I'm thinking that hours are slipping away, and I need sleep. Now once I close the Macbook, I usually fall asleep quiet quickly.
The same goes for the gym, I don't mind the gym, and once I'm there, I'll do my routine, but I absolutely hate the drive *to* the gym. It's the biggest obstacle for my mind. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2f6h4n/eli5_why_is_closing_the_laptop_to_finally_try_to/ | {
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"Inertia: the current state is pleasant, so your mind discourages you from changing things. Once you force the change, go through with putting things into a new system, more than likely it'll be a new pleasant state and your mind will be satisfied with it then, too. That's how most procrastination happens."
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29pq6s | how is 'old faithful' so reliably on time with eruptions? | Could someone describe to me the logistics of geyser eruptions and why Old Faithful is so... well... *faithful*?
^sorry.
Is it just the constant temperature it stays at? Is there an underground cistern that fills with air from boiling water? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29pq6s/eli5_how_is_old_faithful_so_reliably_on_time_with/ | {
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"Old faithful is so reliable because of the fact that it is not connected to any other thermal features in the park like many other geysers are."
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9d77mv | why is the abbreviation of example "eg." while others are derived from the letters of the word | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9d77mv/eli5_why_is_the_abbreviation_of_example_eg_while/ | {
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"It's a Latin abbreviation, \"exempli gratia.\" Which means the same thing, of course, but since it's not a literal English abbreviation, it has different letters.",
"It's an abbreviation of Latin *exempli gratia* \"for the sake of example.\"\n\nTraditional academic writing used to use a bit more Latin than necessary.",
"e.g. is not an abbreviation of example, it is a shortened form of the Latin phrase *exempli gratia* which does roughly translate to \"for example\" but it's the Latin that is abbreviated not the English\n\nThe same is true for i.e., etc, Q.E.D., and most other abbreviations that don't seem to line up with their English words.",
"That is because \"e.g.\" is actually Latin. It comes from \"exempli gratia\", which literally means \"for example\". This is more obvious with other abbreviations, like \"etc.\" (coming from \"et cetera\", \"cetera\" being \"the remaining\".\nSo, to answer your question that is the case because those abbreviations are Latin or Greek.",
"We use e.g. as shorthand for \"for example\". It comes from the Latin phrase \"exempli gratia\" which means, well, \"for example\".\n\nThere are many abbreviations that are Latin in origin, such as \"etc.\" for et cetera.",
"It is derived from letters of a phrase; e.g. is \"exempli gratia,\" meaning \"for the sake of example.\" It's similar to i.e. (\"id est\" - \"in other words\"), but they do differ slightly. You use e.g. when you're just giving examples for the sake of giving examples, and you use i.e. when you want to give a *specific* example that's related to whatever you're talking about. "
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40jng6 | why isn't everyone suffering a vitamin deficiency? | i'm making a few assumptions here but i don't seem to know anyone who was hospitalized or anything from a vitamin deficiency.
but i've been keeping track of what i've been eating (which seems about normal to me) and it seems to me that a normal diet contains much less than the RDA of vitamins A, C and K and some of the B vitamins (basically everything).
are the reccomended daily amounts super high? do many of my friends secretly have vitamin deficiencies (but maybe minor ones)? or is everyone else eating way more veggies (or some other miracle food/supplement) than i am? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/40jng6/eli5_why_isnt_everyone_suffering_a_vitamin/ | {
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"The majority of people are suffering vitamin deficiencies, but most aren't drastic enough to kill you or even harm you"
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9e1fye | panspermia and life on earth | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9e1fye/eli5_panspermia_and_life_on_earth/ | {
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"Life could have, or the right ingredients could have been ejected, preserved and entered earth. ",
" \n\nArchaea, (one life form that may have sparked life on Earth according to the theory) could have traveled on a comet or asteroid and impacted Earth. No need for contact with Mars. It's just a matter of which theory you subscribe to. It's kind of a \"Chicken or the egg\" type thing."
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3g74u8 | why is taking adderall so frowned upon? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3g74u8/eli5_why_is_taking_adderall_so_frowned_upon/ | {
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"I think it has to do with doctors over-prescribing all drugs in general over the last 20-30 years. Kids who don't really have ADD are being prescribed it. Everyone has ADD to some degree, but some worse than others. People also abuse it, especially around college campuses to either drink longer or stay up all night for tests. I'm prescribed it and I can say I abused it in both those ways. At the same time, it helped me graduate because of those all-nighters studying and typing papers. Personally, I believe in moderation it is a great drug. ",
"I don't have ADHD/ADD, so I can not talk from personal experience, but a very good friend of mine is prescribed a higher dosage of adderall (30mg) because of her ADD. \n\nThroughout highschool she struggled to get large quantities of studying done for classes, and did not address this issue until her upperclassman years. After taking adderall, she was able to focus more on her work and catch up with the rest of the students who take it for granted when they spend an hour on a reading assignment compared to several hours for my friend. \n\nShe needs ADD to function in college and do well in her classes. She is not abusing the drug; she is taking it so she can be on the same level as other students that do not have severe ADHD/ADD. It's not an unfair advantage for her, rather playing catchup when dealing with a condition she had no control over. \n\nWhat she hates most about the casual abuse of adderall among students and other adults is that people who don't need it use it to get an advantage over their non ADD peers. Imagine taking a drug to have a fair chance at competing with others in your class, but then they are taking it too to reach a new level of work efficiency that you are not capable of achieving. \n\nShe also does not like how she is dependent on this drug, but it makes school possible and she has no other option. In some ways, she lets it define her (in a negative sense). Seeing people take it casually is demeaning, and although it's not entirely their fault, it can damage a person's self confidence. \n\nMy other friend is also prescribed 30mg adderall for his ADHD, but does not care much about others taking it to do better on tests and such. I don't think much can be done with the current drug culture on college campuses, but it's also worth acknowledging that there are ethical violations being committed when someone not prescribed adderall takes it to gain an advantage. "
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a28uz9 | why don’t dental mirrors fog up when in your mouth? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a28uz9/eli5_why_dont_dental_mirrors_fog_up_when_in_your/ | {
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"Theres several ways to ensure they dont fog up.\n\n1. They can put a thin coat of oil *(like flavorless vaseline)\n\n2. They can put little tiny ridges\n\n3. They can leave the thin plastic film. \n\nOtherways",
"As a dental assistant for many years, they DO fog up. Most dentists swipe them on the i side of your cheek to coat them with your warm saliva to stop it. \n\n"
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eiz6h3 | can living creatures become radioactive? how/how not? | I just finished watching the Chernobyl miniseries on HBO last night. I was very curious about how big a deal the Russian Authorities were making about ensuring that minimal contact be made with the accident victims out of fear of further contaminating other people. Additionally, they tried to shoot and kill as many animals living in the irradiated zone as possible. I wasn't able to find anything supporting this fear online, so was this all just show theatrics or can a living being become a walking radiation hazard? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eiz6h3/eli5_can_living_creatures_become_radioactive/ | {
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"Well, I think that fallout is more what they were worried about. When an accident like that happens, either via a bomb or an industrial accident, there is tons of radioactive stuff thrown into the air, some is big chunks, but there is also a lot of radioactive dust. So the radioactive dust could travel on animals outside the containment zone. Same with humans covered with it. Since it's too small to be seen, the best thing to do is to avoid all contact with someone who possibly could be covered in the stuff.",
"You become radioactive by integration the radioactive substance in your body. Either by ingestion, inhalation, injection, or just getting dust and such stuck in your hair or skin. If you walk out of the region and someone touches you or is breathed on by you or vomited on etc, they may or may not also get some negligible radioactive dose. And then they spread it. Of course the dose transmitted is getting less and less radioactive as you spread it. But the main concern is to just restrict the radioactivity zone you don't want it to expand. If you're super radioactive you may even cause radiation damage on those around you (but this is a game of probability, because if too high, it can kill you with radiation poisoning before it can kill those around you).",
"If you ingest/inhale a radioactive substance, it will still emit radiation inside you. That’s how many cancers start - alpha particles will be blocked by your skin, but if they’re on you, you’ll just be spreading them around. Other radiation (betta/gamma etc) from particle decay will continue the emissions, whether on or in you",
"The firefighter scene that you're referencing is actually inaccurate. While the firefighters' clothes were (and still are) radioactive to an incredibly dangerous degree, the firefighters themselves were not. After washing off any radioactive residue from the skin, they were perfectly safe to be around. They were still incredibly sick, but not in a contagious way.\n\nThe amount of radiation exposure you'd need to become an appreciable radiation source yourself is many orders of magnitude more than the amount that would kill you.\n\nHere's a Forbes article with more info: _URL_0_\n\nEDIT: Made a little easier to read",
"Living things already are radioactive. Radioactive isotopes occur naturally, and they're incorporated into all organisms. Radiocarbon dating wouldn't work otherwise.\n\nThat's being said, it's very weak. Most of the people in Chernobyl weren't dangerously radioactive. They were contaminated with radioactive dust on their skin and that they had ingested. Once their skin is washed off, they're safe to touch.",
"A living thing can become contaminated with radioactive materials, dust-sized particles that if ingested can remain in your body for years, emitting radiation and damaging cells. The living thing's body itself isn't radioactive, but the material it carries can be a danger to others. One deer could travel miles and miles, fall sick, and contaminate an entire water supply."
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b7vekq | cvt transmissions? | What are they and how do they differ from other automatic transmissions? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b7vekq/eli5_cvt_transmissions/ | {
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"CVT are continuously variable transmissions - the ratio between the speed going into the transmission and the speed coming out isn't limited to 3 (as with a 3-speed) or 4 (as with a 4-speed) or any other discrete number of values - instead it is anywhere within a continuous range. ",
"A normal transmission has a set number of pairs of gears, with fixed ratios, for you (or an onboard computer) to pick from.\n\nA Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) uses one of several techniques to continuously change the ratio, allowing more precise control over the ratio than a standard transmission could offer.",
"At their most basic, a CVT is two cones attached together with a belt. Moving the cones in and out allows you to change your gear ratio. So if the belt on the engine side is on the fat part of the cone, and on the skinny part of the wheel cone, you'll be in high gear.\n\nThe advantage with CVT is you can get pretty much an infinite number of gear ratios. So the engine can always be turning at its optimal speed for power or fuel efficiency, depending on the application. They also offer smooth, uninterrupted power like an electric car. \n\nThe disadvantage is they're less durable than a traditional transmission. It's basically a skinny metal belt connecting the two ends of the power train, as opposed to thick, solid steel gears. So they're not often used for high torque applications like performance and commercial vehicles. \n\nOther transmissions use gears. A conventional automatic has a planetary gear set with fixed ratios, and a torque converter. That's a fluid coupling that has basically two turbines suspended in oil. DCTs have two alternating sets of gears with dual computer controlled clutches, allowing for very rapid gear changes. \n\n"
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bt955a | why is it so hard to imagine 4d objects | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bt955a/eli5_why_is_it_so_hard_to_imagine_4d_objects/ | {
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"Because we see the world mostly in 2D. We infer 3D from context and to a minor degree by stereoscopic vision (seeing slightly different images from our two eyes lets us determine how far things are). 4D objects require us to really SEE 3D- to know what’s inside a closed box just by looking at it. To see the form of an object and not just its exterior. This is tough to wrap our minds around. \n\nTry reading FLATLAND by Edwin A. Abbott for the classic book trying to understand dimensions",
"Because you have no reference frame. You can make out the 3D object from a 2D Shadow because you've seen 3D objects projected onto a 2D plain. But you've never seen a 4D object so your brain can't imagine how a 4D object should look like based on a 3D Shadow",
"Simply because we don't experience it on a day-to-day basis. \n\nIt would not be dissimilar to trying to explain 3D to a 2D stick figure. Say there is a stick figure who lived his whole life on a piece of paper. He can go up, down, left, and right, but his world ceases to exist past the front and back of that piece of paper. Now try to explain a 3D object to him. If you could pass a 3D object through the paper, such as a pencil, he could see the \"slice\" of that pencil that is currently in the paper, but there is no way for him to actually see the whole pencil in 3 dimensions at once, and it would be very difficult for him to accurately imagine it, let alone explain it to someone else. \n\nWe are like that 2D stick figure trying to figure out the 3rd dimension. Since we are 3D and have never seen or experienced 4D, it's very difficult to imagine it, and any representations we come up with of a 4D object are only in 3D, just like the 2D \"slice\" of a 3D pencil would be to a stick figure.",
"I like think of it this way. Think of a point representing 0D object. Now draw a 1D line. You can fit an infinite amount of 0D points on a 1D line no matter how short you make that line. Now draw a 2D surface. No matter how small that surface you drew, you could fit a 1D line of any length by folding it into that surface. Now imagine a 3D object. Every 2D surface can be folded into that 3D object. Now imagine a 4D object - no matter how small you think that object is, it can hold everything in this universe within it. \n\nThis is what makes it hard for me, anyway, to imagine."
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7mvp76 | why is it that nebulas or certain parts of galaxies are pink, blue, green, etc... | Also, if you were inside one would the "sky" be pink (or whatever color it is) if you looked up? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7mvp76/eli5_why_is_it_that_nebulas_or_certain_parts_of/ | {
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"They aren’t, in reality you can’t see nebulae with the naked eye, most photos you see from Hubble are in various infrared and different scan types\n\nEdit: spelling ",
"They're digitally colored. they don't really look like that",
"They have no visible color up close.\n\nThe images you've seen are false-color images composited from infrared, visible, and ultraviolet of *huge* gas structures many hundreds of light years across. The gas is denser there than the typical interstellar void, but only a miniscule fraction of what a planet's atmosphere would be. For all practical purposes, a nebula is still a vacuum.\n\nDenser debris clouds do form around protostars and dying stars, and these have some visible color to them, but they're far more local."
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j3v6b | can someone explain what a lawyer does? | All I ever hear about them doing is sueing people but I can't imagine that being all there is to a job. What do lawyers do?
Particularly, are there lawyers that work with programmers, engineers, and stuff like that? What do THEY do? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/j3v6b/can_someone_explain_what_a_lawyer_does/ | {
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"If you were really five I would explain it like this:\n\nYou know when your sister blames you for knocking over the vase when she really did it?\n\nThe Judge would be the parent.\n\nThe Lawyer would be the person making the argument to the parent in place of the child. While you or your sister can both say what you think happened, having someone who understands how your parents think (aka: the law) will be able to persuade them to believe their side.",
"The law is complicated, and can be really hard to understand. Plus, we are always changing the way we interpret or understand the laws that we already have, or making new laws that change the way things work. A lawyer's job is to understand the law to the best of his ability on behalf of his clients, and help them navigate through the legal system in all its many facets.\n\n*Criminal law* is the kind that many people think of first with lawyers. Lawyers in criminal law are responsible for arguing in front of a judge on behalf of their clients, in the hopes that the judge (or jury) will find their arguments most compelling and decide in their favor. Lawyers for the defense have as their clients anyone who is accused of breaking a law; a defense attorney's job is to defend his client's actions under the law and make sure that the law is applied fairly to his client (for example, a defense attorney ensures that his client is not forced to make a confession, and that the police follow the law when looking for evidence of a crime). Lawyers for the prosecution, on the other hand, have a special client: the state and the people in it. The prosecution's job is to ensure the law is applied fairly and justly, and that people who break laws are punished appropriately, because that serves the best interest of their client (all of us).\n\n*Civil law* is the kind you're likely thinking of with lawsuits. Under the law, you can accuse me of harming you in some way, and try to get me to give you something to make up for it. If what I did to you was illegal, your accusation falls under criminal law (I broke a law). If what I did wasn't illegal but still hurt you (for example, I damaged something that belonged to you and wouldn't pay you for it), it falls under civil law. Here again, the lawyer's job is the same, to try to help his client get what he feels is reasonable.\n\nThere are lots of other kinds of law, many of which don't involve dealing with courtrooms at all: *real estate law*, for example, deals with aspects of the law dealing with land purchases or buildings, *tax law* deals with interpreting tax codes and legal requirements for paying taxes, and so forth. There is even *Constitutional law* (something our current president specialized in), which deals with interpreting the laws written in our Constitution. That may seem simple, but a lot of a lawyer's job deals with figuring out how to interpret sentences like, \"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.\" Seems obvious on first read, but what exactly does \"well regulated Militia\" really mean today? What do we mean by the word \"infringed\"? These are problems lawyers wrestle with all the time, which occasionally leads them to argue silly-sounding things like, \"Well, it all depends on what the meaning of the word 'is,' is.\"\n\nYou asked about lawyers that work with engineers and programmers: those are typically lawyers in *intellectual property* (IP) law. IP lawyers are skilled at helping companies identify and defend their right to control ideas and products they come up with, which includes lawyers that file lawsuits against companies or people that are copying or leaking your designs, but also lawyers that are good at filing patents, copyrights, and trademarks on ideas and designs so that you get legal protection for them.\n\nHope that helps!",
"Real lawyer here. In the olden days, or in England (same thing?), there were two types of lawyers. They were called \"barristers\" and \"soliciters.\" Today, just to make this extra-special complicated (and because England is dangerously close to France), we started calling barristers \"litigators.\" Television pretends that litigators are the ONLY type of lawyer, since they do all that fun courtroom drama: Litigators are the lawyers who stand up in court and argue with the judge (kind of like a soccer referree) and the jury (kind of like classmates who have the power to sentence you to death -- which is why you should be happy there's a soccer referree there to make sure they follow the rules). When most people think of lawyers, they're thinking of litigators. But litigators -- the lawyers who stand up in court -- don't even make up HALF of the lawyers out there.\n\nSo what do the OTHER lawyers do, the ones we used to call \"solicitors\"?\n\nWhen your Mommy and Daddy die, possibly (but hopefully not!) painfully and tragically, all of their property -- their home and car, your bed and XBox, and all of their money, will have to go somewhere. Your Mommy and Daddy are smart, so they made a \"will\" with the help of a different kind of lawyer, one you never see on TV: a lawyer who never planned on seeing the inside of a courtroom, but instead became an expert on writing wills VERY carefully, so that your bratty brothers and sisters can't use their OWN lawyers to steal what your parents wanted you to have for yourself.\n\nWhenever big companies meet each other and want to work together, they have a problem. Big companies are COMPLICATED. They have lots of people, lots of rules, and lots of laws they need to follow! So, they hire ARMIES of lawyers -- \"corporate\" lawyers -- to figure out all the terribly boring details, and write up all the terribly boring pieces of paper that make sure these complicated companies can work together without getting into trouble. These lawyers rarely go to court either, though they are among the most common lawyers in the \"BigLaw\" firms.\n\nWhen a company runs out of money -- and that happens a lot now-a-days -- they need a different kind of lawyer: a \"bankruptcy\" lawyer. Long ago, smart (?) people decided that it was best to give companies a \"get out of jail\" card when they ran out of money, instead of forcing them to shut down and fire all their workers (many of them Mommies and Daddies themselves!). If a company owes five apples, but only has three, you need bankruptcy lawyers to figure out who gets the three apples, and who gets nothing. (Then, the people who get nothing call in the litigators to fight over that third apple in front of a judge---today, bankruptcy lawyers and litigators very often work hand-in-hand.)\n\nMoney is also very complicated, and lawyers are good at two things: making things less complicated, and making things MORE complicated. Both are useful, depending on what side you're on. If you don't have any apples, you'll want some lawyers to help you figure out how to make it less complicated to grow your own. But if you already own all the apples in your town, you'll want to hire lawyers who will make it MORE complicated for others to grow apples for themselves. We call these lawyers \"finance\" lawyers (they play on both sides).\n\nThe government needs money, too, or Afghanistan would invade us with camels and poppy seeds. They get this money from \"taxes.\" Taxes are a very specific price everyone needs to pay, unless you have a very good team of \"tax\" lawyers, who are experts on how taxes work. Good tax lawyers can help big companies save one dollar for every single person on the entire planet, every year, without ever going to court. This is... not always a good thing.\n\nMoney isn't the only complicated thing, of course. The law itself -- believe it or not -- can be VERY complicated. If you want to send a big machine into space on a rocket, or build a railroad or a pipe that travels through many countries, you need to get permission from the people in charge. Lawyers help with that, and we call these lawyers \"transportation and space\" lawyers, which is pretty much the coolest name for a lawyer ever.\n\nI am a lawyer who does two things: I'm a litigator, so I go to court and get to argue, but I'm also an \"intellectual property\" lawyer. IP lawyers work with programmers, engineers, inventors, authors, writers, artists and other creators of IDEAS. Ideas are very valuable, perhaps the most valuable resource we have, so we obviously want to encourage people to have ideas, and to share them with others. We also know that MONEY is a very good way to do this, and let's be honest with ourselves and admit that the people who come up with the good ideas should be first in line to get paid for them. IP lawyers do what they can to make sure that these people are rewarded for their inventions and ideas. \n\nThere is a problem here, though: Ideas are not like apples. If I take your apple, then you have one less apple. But, if I copy your idea, it's not like I've taken it from you and made you forget it. Unfortunately, many intellectual property lawyers like to pretend that ideas ARE like apples. They play make-believe, pretending that I can \"steal\" a thought right out of your head, robbing you of it forever! These lawyers are what I like to call, \"wrong.\" Now, it IS important to make sure that real creators ARE rewarded for the things they create, or else we would have less creators. (Would YOU spend hours on a class project if you knew everyone else would copy your work before school in the morning?) If you invent a brand new rocket engine in your backyard, it would be TERRIBLE if your nosy neighbour took some pictures and sold them to someone else's rocket company! But, at the same time, it's wrong to pretend that taking pictures is the same as actually stealing your rocket. So, intellectual property lawyers have to be very careful, and make sure that we're protecting and encouraging inventors and innovators WITHOUT pretending that \"taking a picture\" is the same thing as \"stealing.\"\n\nIntellectual property lawyers come in three flavors. \"Patent\" lawyers protect inventions; they're the ones you want if you're a programmer or an engineer, as they'll secure your claim to your invention, and make sure you're compensated for it. \"Copyright\" lawyers protect the \"expression\" of your ideas -- you can't copyright an idea itself (this is why a billion movies about vampires are made every summer), but you can protect your personal EXPRESSION of that idea (which is why there is only one \"Twilight\" vampire movie, only one \"Let The Right One In\" vampire movie, and only one \"30 Days Of Night\" vampire movie, which was the best of the three, unless you count the Swedish version of the second... but I digress). The third type of intellectual property lawyer is a \"trademark\" lawyer, who protects the logos and identities of companies. Trademark lawyers protect McDonald's' golden arches, Microsoft's Windows flag logo, Apple's bitten-apple logo, and so on. Without Trademark lawyers, you'd have a hundred M\"A\"cDonald's wannabes confusing everybody with golden arches on every street corner.\n\nIn short, for every lawyer you hear about or see in court, there are a dozen lawyers behind the scenes doing both good and bad, but (usually) following the rules. And a great deal work very closely with engineers, programmers and other valuable contributors to society, protecting not so much their ideas, but at least one very important reason for them to bring those ideas into the light of day: We make sure they get the money they deserve. We swear an oath to do it as zealously as we can, because we know the lawyers on the other side swore the same oath. This is called the \"adversarial system,\" which forces both sides to fight each other. Why do you want that? Because if both sides are zealously fighting for their clients, then everyone knows what everyone is doing, and why. Everybody's motives are known, which makes it easier for the judge to sift through the spin and (hopefully) figure out the truth! (The alternative is mediation, which requires trust -- and, since we all live in the real world, trust is ... impractical when you're fighting someone with conflicting interests, to say the least.)",
"Lawyer here.\n\nLife has lots of rules. Because life is complicated, the rules have to be complicated too, and there are a lot of them. Lawyers are trained to know what the rules are, and if they don't know their training means they can easily find out.\n\nWhen people are thinking of doing something important (such as where they might make or lose a lot of money) they talk to a lawyer to make sure that they are not about to break a rule.\n\nOr where you think someone has broken a rule, you can talk to a lawyer to make sure, and the lawyer can help you put things right. This might mean that the lawyer talks to the other person and threatens them so they make things right, or maybe the lawyer will sue the person on your behalf and the Court will decide who is right.\n\nThere are two main situations when you use a lawyer:\n\n1) In advance, so that you do everything right and don't get into trouble (such as making sure that when you enter into a contract, the wording of the contract doesn't let the other person do something you don't want them to do), or\n\n2) When you have a dispute, such as where someone is saying that you did something wrong, or where you think that someone has done something wrong to you.",
"A long, long time ago, when people didn't agree with each other, they could decide who was right by fighting about it. We don't do this anymore, so no you may not hit your sister.\n\nSometimes when people would fight things out, they were too afraid or bad at fighting to do it themselves. So, they could hire someone else to fight for them instead. They called them champions and would understand fighting very well.\n\nYou can think of a lawyer as a champion when people have to decide things in court. But, instead of knowing fighting, they know how the law works. The law is all the rules that we have to live by. You think we have a lot of rules in this house? Wait until you're Daddy's age.\n\nThere are so many laws, in fact, that lawyers usually choose one group of laws to know really well. Some of these lawyers do help other people sue each other (get back money or stuff that they believe others have taken from them).\n\nSome other lawyers, like the ones that work with people in other jobs are trying to help them stay out of fights (going to court). They use their understanding of the laws and rules to help people like engineers avoid accidentally breaking the law. Like when you ask your older brother if it's okay to do something.\n\nLawyers are also good at writing and understanding papers such as contracts. Contracts are special promises that people have with each other that they want to have in writing so there is proof. Like when we agreed that if you do all your chores each week, you get an allowance. We could write all this down and have Mommy sign it so we both have to keep our end of the deal.\n\nLawyers do lots of things, but it's usually about people making and keeping promises to each other or following the law.\n\nAlso, I'm proud of you for using particularily in a sentence. Did you have any other questions about lawyers?",
"A lawyer is someone whose job it is to protect you from others like him\n\n(not sure if practicing my troll dad or just being honest)"
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2343be | what various religions envision "heaven" being like. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2343be/eli5_what_various_religions_envision_heaven_being/ | {
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"Am going to try and keep this from being a redundant wall of text as much as possible because even in different religions they tend to have the same (or similar ) versions of heaven especially the Abrahamic religions[^1](_URL_2_).\n\nLast note: i want to state that I'm going to quote some articles.\n \n\nFirst we start with Islam[^2](_URL_4_):\n\nHeaven is called in Arabic \"*Jannah*\".\n\n* The greatest reward in Heaven is receiving Allah's pleasure and mercy. *Above all the greatest reward is heaven is seeing god himself.*\n\n* Those who enter Heaven will be greeted by angels with words of peace. In Heaven, one will have only positive emotions and experiences; there will be no hatred, anger, or upset of any kind, ill speech or commission of sin, hunger or excrement.\n\n* The most significant description of heaven is as a beautiful garden, filled with greenery and flowing water. In fact the Arabic word, *jannah*, means \"garden.\" \n\n* Both men and women will be admitted to Heaven, and many families will reunite.\n\n* In Heaven, every comfort will be afforded. Gold, silk, food, mansions, you name it and it's there. \n\n* **Heaven is understood to be a place of everlasting life.**\n\n* **72 Virgins, wide and lovely eyes, hairless body except for the eyebrows and head hair, eternally young. Hymen unbroken, Voluptuous/full-breasted, With large, round breasts which are not inclined to hang, pure.**\n\n* Seeing and meeting all prophets in heaven, especially prophet Mohammad.\n____________________\nNext is Christianity[^3](_URL_0_):\n\n* Seeing God as He is; sharing in his life—1 Jn 3:2; 1 Cor 13:12; Jn 17:24\n\n* Eternal Rule by a Messiah–King—Ps. 72, Jer 31:33–34, Zech 2:10–11, 8:3, 14:9, Matt 16:27, Jude 2:3 4 \n\n* Bodily perfection—No hunger, thirst, death, or sickness; a pure language, etc.—Is. 1:25, 4:4, 33:24, 35:5–6, 49:10, 65:20–24, Jer. 31:12–13, Ez. 34:29, 36:29–30, Micah 4:6–7, Zeph. 3:9–19, Matt 13:43\n\n* Ruined cities inhabited by people and flocks of sheep—Is. 32:14, 61:4–5, Ez. 36:10,33–38, Amos 9:14\n_____________________\nFinally in Abrahimic religions, Judaism[^4](_URL_1_):\n\nThis one is different from the other Abrahimic religions, because we will be using \"some believe this...\" and \"some believe that...\".\n\n* the most controversial belief – reincarnation. It may sound surprising, but Jewish beliefs do include reincarnation but not in every case. In the Jewish religion there is a belief that we all have a purpose on earth and we will live until we fulfill our purpose. This does not mean we are immortal until we have done what we are set on earth to do. What this means is we will reincarnate as many times as necessary until our purpose has been served. If you can complete what God has planned for you within one lifetime there is no reason to reincarnate.\n\n* Jews believe there is a place where people are reunited with others that have passed. This place is called Gan Eden, which means Garden of Eden. This is where people who are not evil go after they have spent their time in Gehinnom. From a spiritual perspective, this is the place everyone longs to go.\n\n* Reaching Gan Eden is not the end of our afterlife. The ending is yet to come. It is called Olam Ha-Ba. It is considered the messianic age, and means the world to come or when the Messiah comes. Everyone who has proven righteousness will get to experience this. This experience is supposed to be perfect.\n\nThat's all i can find on Heaven (or afterlife).\n____________________\nHinduism[^5](_URL_5_):\n\nHeaven and hell are just a group of planets, each group containing 7 planets. Earth is the lowest planet of the group heaven.\n\nHeaven are planets where the devatas live, Indra is the devaraj. Hell is the group where the demons(Rakshas) live. There was a war between devatas and rakshasas which is related to \"Samudra Manthan\" and Vishnu's 2nd avatar - Kurma. Kurma helped the devatas win and Indra was made the king. So heaven is the abode of the devatas, and a heaven dweller lives with the devatas for sometime, since stay in heaven is not considered eternal. There are no virgins in heaven because the pleasure of heaven is way beyond the sexual pleasure enjoyed by perverts on Earth.\n\nMoreover no human from Kali Yuga is believed to go to heaven. Everyone will be reincarnated after spending sometime in a less hellish planet. Only the worst of sinners are condemned with the torments of hell. So people don't need to think about heaven and concentrate on Karma. \n_____________________\nBuddhist[^6](_URL_3_):\n\nBuddhist heavens are not final, eternal resting places. Hells and heavens are just links on the wheel of samsara, the almost eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Like Buddhist hell, Buddhist heavens are not ends to the journey. In fact, there are many heavens and many hells within which karma and merit are balanced.\n_____________________\nThese are the descriptions of heaven found in many religions, the most believed. \n"
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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism"
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2q6l1m | why softcore porn, or porn with nudity is shown on tv, but anything with penetration and genital visibility isn't? | Is it repulsive to show the genitals but it isn't to show everything else and the motions to accompany the eroticism? Sometimes the genitals are shown too, the vagina and the penis (though flaccid). Why?
Title edit: I meant movies with sex scenes/nudity | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2q6l1m/eli5_why_softcore_porn_or_porn_with_nudity_is/ | {
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"I don't know from which country you are posting, but here's an answer from an American. \n \nIn movies they can show anything they want, up to and including full-on porn. They will receive a rating from the MPAA, which can often be detrimental to ticket sales, so film makers have learned exactly how far they can push the limits while still getting the rating they want. If you're making a movie aimed at teenagers, you don't put anything in it that will restrict them from being allowed to buy a ticket. It's all about knowing your audience and what they will go see. \n \nOn TV, I think you must be watching something like HBO (Game of Thrones comes to mind), which can show whatever they want. Regular broadcast TV doesn't show the genitals. The most I've ever seen on regular TV is fully clothed people \"making out\" or couples laying under the covers with implied nudity (and the sheets pulled up over the woman's breasts but down to the man's waist).",
"Hardcore is defined by genital penetration. If genital penetration is shown, it's ruled hardcore, and rated and restricted appropriately, NC-17/X/AO (adults only).\n\nYou can show non-penetrative genitals, and nudity, on a MA (tv) or R (movie) ratings. Both are restricted by air time (late night) and channel (must be opt-in or paid for, nothing \"basic\". Movies have more freedom (see Team America), TV is generally restricted to \"normal\" sex. Showing crazy positions, or implying something strange (anal, strange fetishes) is generally not permitted.\n\nIf non-nude (no female nipples or genitals), the show can be rated PG-13 (movie) or TV14 (tv). Things can be pretty explicit so long as it's \"normal\" sex and no one is \"naked\". Watch any daytime soap opera, you'll see this soon enough.\n\nThe panel has drawn some strange lines in the sand to determine what's allowed and what isnt. If you have Netflix, check out the documentary \"This Film is Not Yet Rated\" for some more info.\n\n",
"In the UK, there are restrictions set by the BBFC the doesn't allow certain sexual acts even in 18's (the highest rating we have). These restrictions have also been applied to porn too, so any new British porn will be watered down now.",
"* Premium cable channels (HBO, Showtime) can show whatever they want. They choose to draw the line at explicit sex, out of fear providers would label as porn, and refuse to carry or promote them.\n* Basic cable channels can also show whatever they want. In addition to the concerns premium channels have, they have to keep their advertisers happy, and usually keep things to a PG-13 or soft R level.\n* Broadcast TV has to comply with FCC regulations, which means no nudity or profanity, although FCC interpretations of this have softened over the years.",
"Several reasons:\n\nIn the US the FCC forbids it on public airwaves. \n\nAlso, keep in mind when shows like Game of Thrones depicts sex, the actors are not actually having sex, they're just pretending. \n\nIf you were to have the actors literally have sex with each other, well that brings up STD testing for actors, they can demand higher pay for having to do that, and they would be considered porn stars which many actors do not want. \n\nIt's really just not a necessary thing to show. Like a woman giving birth, there isn't really a need to depict an infant emerging from the vagina to get the point across a woman is giving birth. \n\nAlso, a lot of people find it offensive. ",
"As Sir Laurence Olivier would say to damsel actresses he romanced during love scenes, \"Please forgive me if I become aroused, and please forgive me if I do not.\"\n\n"
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5dhnpm | how do people own nice properties and vehicles and remain either out of debt or have very little debt. | I live in Ontario and in my work I frequently go through big cities like Toronto and Brampton and I always see very well off people. My question is how do they get to that stage where they can own a nice property in toronto and an exotic Porsche while remaining out of debt. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5dhnpm/eli5_how_do_people_own_nice_properties_and/ | {
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"How do you know they're out of debt? Almost everyone is in some sort of debt, but it's not hard to keep your debt manageable with smart decisions.",
"Let's consider this problem logically. Here's our givens: people have expensive things and these people don't have debt. So logically, how can a person own something expensive and not have debt? I am going to assume that these people aren't criminals. A criminal could steal a Porsche and not go into debt. I see two options which seem to be most likely. Again, I'm trying to use logic and deductive reasoning here.\n\n1) The people *were* in debt, but aren't in debt any longer. They took a loan to buy something nice and over time repaid the loan. \n\n2) The people have lots of money. If I have $200k and want to buy something worth $100k, I can simply spend my own money rather than going into debt to purchase the thing.",
"It's possible following some tough but ultimately common sense principles.\n\nIf you're already in debt:\n\n* Save away at least $1000 for emergencies\n* Do not take on any other kind of debt, this includes financing a car. NO MORE DEBT!\n* Make a budget stick to it. This will take several months to fine tune.\n* Take every single extra dime left over from budget and apply towards debt.\n* Once out of debt save up much larger emergency fund to cover 8 months to 1 year of expenses in case you lose your job.\n* Start putting 15% of your pay check into retirement accounts.\n* If you want a house, save up 25% of total cost as down-payment. Home loan on a house is the only kind of debt you should ever take on.\n* Put every extra penny towards mortgage payments. \n* Once house is paid off start putting money into goo mutual fund investments. \n* Soon enough your investment income will exceed your work income\n* You are now wealthy.\n\n",
"Staying out of debt is not hard. Simply spend less than you make.\n\nNow to answer YOUR question my guess is many of those you describe are probably up to their eyeballs in debt. Not because it isn't possible to own nice stuff if you sacrifice when much younger by not buying stuff you do not need and saving that money but rather many of those you speak of care more about what others think of them versus them thinking about themselves. You are correct that many I have met that have the Porsche, house on the water, and boat are so deep in debt that sometimes cannot even buy furniture for their houses.",
"Debt management is a conscious decision. I'm of those folks you speak of. Nice house, nice cars and private school for the kids. I can't speak for others but banks are very good at giving credit to people who don't need it. If you have a good income, you can often borrow a multiple of that on a credit line. We only take on debt for specific purposes and pay it off quickly. It absolutely not true that everybody you see with nice things are a paycheck away from ruin. Good tax and cashflow management goes a long way."
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219usm | if i stood at the very edge of the universe, and i would jump in my spaceship and fly towards it faster then the speed of its expansion, what would happen? | What would it even look like? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/219usm/eli5_if_i_stood_at_the_very_edge_of_the_universe/ | {
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"That is a moot question because it asks for parameters that are not possible, i.e. being at the edge of the universe or travelling faster than the speed of its expansion.\n\nIt's like asking somebody to explain what would be farther north of the northpole.",
"There is no edge to the universe.\n\nNo edge."
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2fua6l | those giant switches found in horror films to turn their devices on or like on electric chairs, once the circuit was completed when flipping the switch wouldn't there be a shock hazard if you touched the metal part of the switch? | Correct me if I am wrong but the circuit is completed by the metal switch touching the metal contacts above it? Like a modern switch but a modern switch all that is inside the wall and encased in the switches plastic body. Being outside of the wall and in the open should pose a risk o shock. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fua6l/eli5_those_giant_switches_found_in_horror_films/ | {
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"Knife switches have exposed live parts, which are a shock hazard if the circuit voltage is above the Safety Extra Low Voltage range. That is why you only see them on horror films. You can't beat them for dramatic effect, and you can throw in visible sparks as they are actuated.\n\nAn exception is to be found in high-voltage distribution. Look at the transformer on a pole near the bottom of your garden (North Americans only) and you will see a knife-type isolating switch. It is regarded as OK 'cos it is out of reach of the kiddies. ",
"Yes, there is a shock hazard there.\n\n_URL_0_"
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5uwn7m | how deep can aquatic life survive? is there a limit before it becomes impossible? | For example, the Mariana Trench is about 7 miles deep. Compare that to possible life on Europa. The theoretical ocean sits under 10 miles of ice and the ocean "should" be roughly 62 miles deep under the ice shell. Could life survive, for instance, at the bottom of that ocean? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5uwn7m/eli5_how_deep_can_aquatic_life_survive_is_there_a/ | {
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"There is no answer to your question. Is it possible? Absolutely. We've found life at the lowest possible point on Earth, so we cannot compare it to anything lower. We don't know what the potential moons/planets have in scale what we understand because we haven't been there yet."
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7d43kp | how come a few feet can make a difference in signal strength even when the signal is coming from miles away? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7d43kp/eli5_how_come_a_few_feet_can_make_a_difference_in/ | {
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"The signal is reflecting off some items, blocked by others. And the reflections can collide with each other, creating complex patterns of interference over very short distances.",
"It's like the sun, it's millions of miles away but a few feet can mean the difference between glaring brightness and significant darkness. Much in the same way cell phone towers can have very small dark spots (like shadows).",
"Think about the sun. You already know shadows exist. You may even cast a shadow yourself. Radio signals are just another kind of light. Actually, they are exactly the same kind of light, but we don't call them light because we can't see them.\n\n\nFadings and destructing interferences are the same kind of thing the light you can see does in front of your eyes. Nothing different.",
"Think of the cell tower as a giant lamp that illuminates an area. The signals behave a lot like light (In fact, they are light, just not visible to our eyes). In some cases there's a glass box that is illuminated by the light. On the other side of it you can still see the light. Other times there's a giant concrete box and on the other side you can't see the light. Other times there might be a mirror that will reflect the light from one side of the concrete block to the other. Your signal could be weak because you're standing in a place that is in the shadow of something else and there's no mirrors reflecting the light to get rid of the shadow.\n\nAnother factor is interference from other signals. The signal is used to convey information by changing its frequency (FM). If the signal was visible, you might use red to convey a 1 and blue to convey a 0. red and blue are two different frequencies of visible light. If you are shining a blue light to indicate a 0, and someone flashes a red light at the same time, the person at the other end wouldn't know if you were going for a 1 or a 0. "
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6gzfxd | what is exactly lower back pain and why does even a small injury sometimes take years to heal fully? | I hurt my lower back after years of bad posture, volleyball, sitting on the bus weird to school everyday, whatever , somehow.
I went to the doctors but they just said it's a muscle issue, not a disc or anything, but they also told me it would take 6 months - 2 years to heal.
How come? Also does anyone have any tips on getting better quicker as a bonus answer? Thanks!! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6gzfxd/eli5_what_is_exactly_lower_back_pain_and_why_does/ | {
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"In short, it's an issue with weak core muscles. I bought a ballo and never looked back after years of suffering through episodes of \"throwing my back out\". ",
"When I was younger (14)I hit a wall by accident while boxing Indoors with friends and it twisted my lower back so bad I would cry the next few days even having to get out of bed to take a piss the pain was that bad. I went to the doctors and got xrays and catscans and all that jazz, he ended up telling me the Same thing except didn't tell me how long my back would be sore for. Just that it was muscle and not a slipped disk. After the initial injury healed what I dealt with for years, and I mean 4-5 years, Was a burning sensation in the muscle. If I laid in bed for to long it would burn, sat the same way for to long, burn, move wrong, even just standing still it would burn. In the end the real best cure was like a month of taking it easy and icing it with a giant ice pad and getting the elctrotro pad therapy, where it's a continuous current to your back muscles. That and ice every day and you'll heal. one doctor said the injury is like small inflamed tears so even eating food that triggers inflammation could cause it to hurt but as long as you keep the inflammation down it can heal But if you work everyday and stay active, like most people, It will never heal.",
"Short answer 10 leg lifts for 20 seconds each followed by 10 stomach crunch's for 10 seconds each. \n\nNot a medical anything, speaking of my own personal experience. 50 yr male. I've had multiple x-rays and exams and been told by multiple doctors that all my disc's look good nothing misaligned and that my pain is soft tissue damage. So I have to do physical therapy, not every day but couple times a week. I lay flat on the floor and do 10 leg lifts for 20 seconds each and then I do 10 crunch holds for 10 seconds each, just enough to get the shoulders off the floor and the stomach hard. I am breathing normally while doing each exorcise. And that keeps my pain at bay. if I go longer than a month without doing these the pain does come back. It was explained to me that a weak stomach leads to a weak back, and the leg lifts are for the lower abdominal and the crunches are for the upper abdominal. I've been 3 years straight with not a hint of pain. but I know from past experience if I don't exorcise for longer than a month the pain does come back. and it's a white hot shooting pain down the back of my legs, especially if I sneeze... I have to bend my knees or the pain is too much during a sneeze. ",
"Old Chinese way to feel better. Don't sleep on a soft mattress. Sleep on a super firm or even a padded wood board on the bed.",
"Ok, guys. Everyone who has a definitive answer to this does not know enough about low back pain.\n\nThe thing is that we don't actually know what causes a lot of low back pain (LBP). You have some like discus injuries where (in theory) the nucleus is pushed out of the center and puts pressure on the nerves, but the thing is that, as far as i can recall, 50% of the people who walk around with a bulged disc does not experience pain. So the theory is not exactly bullet proof.\n\n\n\nThen you have non-specific LBP, which is what most people encounter. And we don't know shit about it. There are studies that show that general exercise is even better than specific back exercises, so those saying weak core (which in most theories would be weak core stability and not a weak core - there is a difference) is the cause is also wrong. Or could be wrong.\n\nWe don't know enough about this subject. And maybe we don't even know how to diagnosis it correctly. Which the term non-specific LBP also kind of gives away.\n\nI'm a physiotherapist and you have a lot of theories, ways to diagnose and treatments. Some works, some have been proven to work (McKenzie is backed up a lot by studies), and then newer studies have shown that too much focus on having a correct posture actually gives chronic non-specific pain (read up on newer O'sullivan and cognitive therapy).\n\nWE DON'T KNOW SHIT ABOUT BACK PAIN!",
"One thing that is kind of important to realize is that nothing in the spine is ever \"just a muscle issue\" or realistically \"just a bone issue\" but both. If you \"throw your back out\" by damaging/straining a muscle or a disk your muscles around it will freak out and try and hold it PERFECTLY still, to prevent any further issues... This eventually causes your muscles to tighten up (forming knots) which can then cause pain on their own, or disrupt blood flow to/from an area which can also cause pain. This is why there are so many different \"kinds\" of back pain. For your issue it is more likely that the bad posture/habits has now lead your body to compensate in weird/bad ways.... basically everywhere from the base of your skull down to your tailbone are used to a certain zig-zag of issues to compensate for your habits... in order to fix that they all sort of need to be reset.\n\nBonus answer: Don't try and rush your body, but help it heal itself. The body is pretty freaking awesome deep down, so help it out. Gentle stretching and exercises are great, low impact exercise also great (running/walking in a pool, or swimming, stretching/yoga etc) and also healthy habits will do wonders. Additionally after exercising don't forget to prevent further issues by either icing whatever area you worked on or OCCASIONALLY taking NSAIDs. I'm a doc (not an orthopedist nor a surgeon, but I am a D.O.) and this is the advice I give all my patients. "
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4qo4rq | why is fast forward and rewind so poor on video media stored on a flash drive? | I have a smart TV which can record onto a flash drive. Pic quality is great, but ff/rw and pause is very hit and miss. Progs recorded onto my DVR hard drive don't have this problem. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4qo4rq/eli5why_is_fast_forward_and_rewind_so_poor_on/ | {
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"I have a feeling it depends on your flash drive and how fast it can load data. I use a 256Gb USB 3.0 drive to play movies through my PS4 and it can fast forward and rewind very smoothly. Most likely your device/port are a USB 2.0 type, and as such has much slower transfer speeds, not great for rapid loading of video data.",
"Have you tried other flash drives? My TV doesn't have any issues controlling playback from a flash drive",
"Depends on the file type and bit rate, too. My Sony Blu-Ray fast forwards .mkv really well, .mp4 fairly well, but wmv playback is spotty at best. It's an older player though. ",
"There is several ways to store a video in a file. The most common and smaller way is to use some kind of \"lossy\" compression system where each frame is compressed based on the previous image.\nThis way you could only have 10 or less images stored per seconds and all others are reconstructed progressively based on the previous one. \nLet's take an example, you have a video stream that play 30 frames per seconds but store only 5 full frames per second. The first image is stored with the full frame and you can display it on its own. The second frame is calculated based on the previous frame plus some changes stored after the first image. The third frame is reconstructed using the second frame and the changes between 2nd and 3rd , etc... etc... \n\nThis system works well on regular forward speed playback. As soon as you introduce fast forward and rewind, the file does not contain the information to go backward or skip forward and the program has to scan the file for the nearest full frame storage and calculate all the frame in between. \nFurthermore, ~~all~~ **most** type of live recording don't have a piece of information you'll find on DVD or bluray streams. This piece of information is call a time-code sub stream. This piece is a way to speed up forward and rewind that is placed into the data at regular intervals to enable the appliance to do it quickly.\n \nSo basically, the flash drive is not to blame, the way the video is encoded into the media is the culprit. \n"
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350sxs | why do we 'value' the life of one individual so much? | With 7 Billion people in this world and growing rapidly, Why do we 'value' the life of one individual so much when they can easily be replaced? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/350sxs/eli5_why_do_we_value_the_life_of_one_individual/ | {
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"When you say 'We', you are referring to many westernized countries. There are some countries in the world that don't value life as much as \"we\" do. I don't think it's a matter of us valuing each and every person, but more for the fact that if we didn't value every single person, it would be hard for society to be structured when we can't even maintain the basic function of life.",
"There are seven billion humans, but most people are not merely humans. Most people care about some hundred or thousand friends, family, and neighbors. This has always been the case. ",
"I'd say at the most basic level we pay lip service to the idea that *every* individual life is valuable because we are all on some level aware that one day that individual life in question could be be either us or one of the (100-200) people we feel directly connected to, and at that time we would like to be able to expect some assistance from society at large.\n\nThat or blah blah blah moral arguments."
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1wsp6i | why is it that when my xbox 360 controller dies from lack of battery power, i can turn it back on and get another half an hour or so of power out of it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1wsp6i/eli5_why_is_it_that_when_my_xbox_360_controller/ | {
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"Many batteries have a property called rebound. When a battery is being used, the voltage of the battery is depressed, as the chemistry inside the cell has to happen. You can think of it like this - the active chemicals near the electrodes are depleted. When you turn it off, the chemicals spread out in the cell, and there is now more active chemical near the electrodes, so the voltage is a bit higher and the device works. This can allow you to scavenge the last bits of active chemicals within the battery."
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2tyuaz | what, if any, evolutionary reason is there for pms? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2tyuaz/eli5_what_if_any_evolutionary_reason_is_there_for/ | {
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"I'm of the opinion that PMS is just a side-effect of the menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle itself is absolutely necessary evolutionarily, but PMS is not, and more or less just along for the ride. Reason being, during menstruation, the female is already going to have a hard time mating, being angry/emotional/in pain isn't really going to help or hurt the odds of that happening. \n\nThere have been theories, however, saying that PMS is a way of directing hostility from the female towards an infertile male. In this sense the PMS is a way of chasing away men who couldn't get her pregnant in the hopes that next month there will be another male who can impregnate her. I don't necessarily agree with this view, but I figured I'd at least include it.",
"Not everything has an evolutionary reason.\n\nThere is an evolutionary reason for humans to have a menstrual cycle We are able to get pregnant at any point during the year. Additionally, having a menstrual cycle means women have more frequent sex (animals with an oestrus cycle only have sex during heat) which can help with pair bonding. \n\nPMS is just a side effect of the menstrual cycle due to the fluctuations in hormones that are present in the Lutual phase of menstruation. PMS doesn't keep us from conceiving, so there is no evolutionary mechanism to eliminate this. ",
"Ok, well with PMS it isn't actually a particular hormone(s) that makes us irritable and emotional, it's the sudden drop in hormones that makes us feel that way. Throughout the month different hormones are released that make us feel good. Leading up to ovulation, we have a lot of estrogen building up, which makes us feel invincible and horny. Right after ovulation, estrogen levels drop and some people feel slightly irritable when that happens (I know I do) because one day you feel on top of the world, the next you're back to normal. Its no wear near as bad as PMS though and doesn't last as long. After ovulation, progesterone (not sure about the spelling, or of it's even the right word!) levels start to rise and that hormone gives you a calmer, more nurturing feeling. Then right before menstration, the progesterone (I'm not sure that is the right word for it but I'm on my phone and too lazy to look it up) levels completely drop to prepare our bodies for menstration and we end up feeling like shit. \n\nBasically PMS is what happens when our bodies don't have the higher levels of hormones. During most of the menstral cycle, we have hormones that make us feel better and when those hormones stop, we crash and feel crap. \n\nPMS itself have no evolutionary benefits but the hormones that are released earlier on in the menstral cycle do. Estrogen makes us horny leading up to ovulation to prepare us for baby-making, progesterone makes us feel nurturing to prepare us for pregnancy. When you don't get pregnant, your body realizes that it doesn't need those hormones until the beginning of the next menstral cycle, do they drop and you are left feeling like shit. "
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cgnshz | why is turbulence no big deal for an aircraft the vast majority of the time, even though it feels like a big deal inside of the plane? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cgnshz/eli5_why_is_turbulence_no_big_deal_for_an/ | {
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"Because the plane is built to tolerate much stronger shaking than the human body's comfort level. Basically, no wind less than flying into a tornado should break the plane up.",
"Planes are designed with a substantial safety factor, where its wings can hold some multiple of its normal weight. Normally, we experience one gee of acceleration due to gravity, so planes are designed to withstand 5,6,7 gees in order to cope with turbulence and other unexpected phenomena. Not only this, but we as humans don't mind acceleration itself (anything between 0.5 and 1.5 gees feels okay), but sudden changes in acceleration startle and scare us. This is why many car drivers apply the brakes slowly, instead of suddenly; it makes the ride feel smoother even if the peak acceleration is higher. Planes, meanwhile, don't really mind sudden changes in acceleration - it makes no difference to the plane what direction it is being thrown, so long as it isn't being thrown too hard."
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3prqm8 | what exactly is cisa? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3prqm8/eli5_what_exactly_is_cisa/ | {
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"Pretty much the same reason you wouldn't want cameras installed in your house, even though you're doing nothing illegal - privacy. ",
"It's the same as \"I don't need the right to free speech, because I don't have anything to say\" "
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zv9qt | what does "the federal reserve is buying $40-billion of mortgage-backed debt" mean? and what impact will it have? | I have no idea what this means: _URL_0_
I assume it's controversial. What are the reasons for doing it and reasons against doing it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zv9qt/eli5_what_does_the_federal_reserve_is_buying/ | {
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"First: mortgages; they're when you loan money from a bank to buy a house. Then, if you don't pay it back, the bank comes and takes your house to sell it to somebody else.\n\nIt used to be that houses generally became more expensive over time, so if somebody did pay back his loan, the bank made money, but if they didn't pay back the loan, the bank sold their house and they *still made money*. It seemed like the banks simply couldn't lose, so they started giving mortgages to anybody who would ask, because they figured the bank would make money one way or the other, and didn't really care if somebody could afford the mortgage.\n\nThen the crisis started. This meant two things: lots of people stopped paying back their mortgages, and houses started dropping in value. This means the banks suddenly could lose money on the deal, and did lose money on these deals. Lots of money. Banks ended up almost going bankrupt, to the point where they needed the government to help them out.\n\nRight now, there's still a lot of mortgages of which banks suspect that people could stop paying at any moment, which means they're preparing themselves for the consequences of losing a load of additional money, but this stops them from investing in other things, which in turn prevents job creation. This is not just a problem because unemployment sucks, but also because unemployed people are less likely to pay back their mortgages.\n\nIf all goes well, the idea is that the banks make a little money on the mortgages by selling them, so they're happy, the people get jobs and make a little money so they're happy, and they pay back their mortgages that the Fed just bought, so the Fed makes a little money and everybody's happy.\n\nThere's three big objections: firstly, what if not all goes well? Then taxpayers are on the hook for the part of that $40 billion per month that didn't get paid back. Secondly, there's the principled question of whether guaranteeing the banks make a little money on the mortgages doesn't set a bad precedent. Thirdly, there's the question with what money exactly the Fed is buying those mortgages to begin with. The Fed can essentially make money out of thin air, but people are afraid that if they do that, everybody else's money becomes worth just a little less. The Fed says this is okay, because through the economic growth this causes it all evens out in the end, but there's a group of people who say \"Fuck you, it's *my* money, I don't want it to be worth less, especially because it might not even out!\""
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69e5ie | how come water will break your phone, and how do companies make the phone completely water proof? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/69e5ie/eli5_how_come_water_will_break_your_phone_and_how/ | {
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"Your phone contains a printed circuit board. Basically a piece of silicon with wires embedded in it. When water gets on this board electrical connections can be created between two of those wires that were never meant to touch. This can wreak all sorts of havoc on your phone. That's why they tell you to remove the battery and keep it off until it dries out.\n\nEdit -fixed typo",
"Phones work by electricity.\n\nWater conducts electricity, which means the electricity can get into the wrong places, and in the wrong amounts!\n\nTo make something waterproof can be tricky, but the basic principle isn't very complicated. You just need to close all of the gaps. This might mean putting a rubber gasket around the edges of the device, and providing rubber plugs for the ports. ",
"Think of the circuit board inside your phone as a complex system of roads, streets,and highways. In your car there are lines on the road to say where to go, stop signs, traffic lights, and such. Water conducts electricity which are the cars in this metaphor. Now imagine what it would be like if there were no roads everywhere, just a giant sheet of pavement spanning entire cities and you just go wherever you feel like going. Boom suddenly a whole bunch of accidents are occurring and cars are going everywhere and exploding.\n\nThat's why :)"
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1vx6wr | why is ukraine so interested in a deal with russia economic wise when the european union gdp dwarfs the russian gdp? | Germany GDP= 3.6 trillion, France GDP=2.77 trillion UK GDP= 2.44 trillion Italy GDP= 2.19 trillion Russia GDP= 1.85 trillion.
I'm sure the European union can give Ukraine a very good deal. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1vx6wr/eli5_why_is_ukraine_so_interested_in_a_deal_with/ | {
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"Its all about washing money, they are more interested in corruption then anything else.\n\nThe Ukrainian government is almost completely run by gangsters from the 90's\n\nWhile Putin is also quite the Angel, trained to be a spy and kill people.\nA few things that come to mind are.\nHim putting a Chechnian war hero who was particularly good at killing Russian soldiers as the head of that region.\nThen there's the guy who sold Fake armored vests to the Russian army which may have caused up to 10K casualties in Putin's party, often seen with him in pictures when there are political meetings.\n\nThe last deal between Russia and Ukraine was something like 10B dollars of bonds baught by Russia and gas at 1/3rd the price.\nNote, the people will not see a penny of that 10B and the gas will once again somehow poof into thin air.\n\nIts rumored that Putin was outright investing into important pieces of land possibly for mining/military bases and just strategically good land to start businesses on.\n\nTheres more but that's kind of the heart of why the Ukrainians are pissed off to this point.",
"There are multiple factors here that all come in to play:\n\n1) Potential revenue vs current revenue.\n\nThe EU GDP may be huge, but it's currently spread across 28 countries who effectively compete with each other for resources and clients. This means that Ukraine would have to be on a competitive level with countries like Germany and Great Britain, which it simply isn't in terms of product quality and services, and it would take years of investment to get to that level. In contrast, their current economic output goes almost wholesale to Russia, which accepts lower-quality goods for lower prices. So if Ukraine focuses more on serving the EU market, Russia simply declares that it won't buy Ukraine products any more, putting thousands of factories and millions of workers out of business.\n\n2) Energy Security\n\nEurope is still heavily dependent on Russia for energy, primarily gas. Germany has a direct gas pipeline to Russia across the Baltic sea, bypassing Ukraine and Poland. A few years ago, when Ukraine couldn't pay its gas bill, Russia turned off their supply, which also cut off parts of Poland. If Ukraine moves to the EU, Russia will turn off this pipe again, and Ukraine will have to buy its gas from Germany, who bought it off the Russians, and then pay Poland to transport it to Ukraine. This makes the cost of gas exorbitantly expensive for the average Ukrainian. Remember that it's minus 20 Celsius there at the moment - they need this gas to live.\n\n3) Corruption\n\nThe people who are currently rich in Ukraine got there through their dodgy deals with Russia, and its in their interest to keep things that way. Of course, the opposition aren't exactly white as snow, and the EU isn't a bastion of clean business and human rights either, but at present the corrupt capitalists in the West don't have the same influence in Ukraine as the corrupt capitalists from the East. \n\n4) Loss of sovereignity\n\nJoining the EU isn't some swanky gentleman's club where you sip brandy while reading the Financial Times. It is a two-tier system where top members like France dominate entire sectors of policy-making, such as the Common Agricultural Policy. Therefore, if Ukraine joins it will be forced to acquiesce to the demands of the EU Councils; grow this, don't grow that, don't make this much, don't use those chemicals, stop selling things that cheap, blah blah blah. A country as poor as Ukraine will have a huge amount of rights taken away from it by the EU courts in the name of \"reforms\", which Ukrainians might not actually appreciate. \n\nAs an example, when Poland joined in 2004 there were lots of talks about the huge economical reform that would happen thanks to the EU funds; all the roads and factories and houses that would be built, which would particularly help the impoverished eastern side of the country (bordering Ukraine). Then people read the small print and saw the 2000 new \"protected nature lands\" created by the EU that completely prevent any new development in order to preserve Poland's natural beauty. So the poor people in the countryside will never, ever benefit from the billions of euros pouring into the country, because they're legally prohibited from developing their region. Residents there simply see the EU as fat-cat tycoons helping rich people get richer, while poor people get shafted as always. \n\n\n5) Some people actually liked Communism\n\nUnder the old system, you were guaranteed a job and a flat until death. If you did well at school, university was free and you left with a Masters degree. You didn't worry about healthcare or pensions because the State would provide all of that for you. In fact, from the moment you were born, you didn't really have to worry because you knew the State would provide. Sure, you'd never have plasma TVs and holidays to Disneyland, but you'd have warm meals and a roof over your head - something that even today, millions of Americans either don't have access to, or live in fear of losing on a daily basis. \n\nThe 1990s transition to a free economy was disastrous for these people. Sure, some people got rich and moved up the social ladder, but equally many suddenly found themselves without work, without money, without heating, without a pension or healthcare. Their kids had seen their parents being given an apartment and an education, but this new generation were deprived of that; they had to fight, to compete, to work for slave wages or no wages at all to try and gain access to the basic standard their parents were afforded. For them, Capitalism was a huge cheat, and Russia's promise of an \"economic bloc\" that will offer the rewards their parents enjoyed seems much better than the EU's pipe dream of a wealthy, middle-class Ukraine. This is the prevailing attitude in the Eastern half of Ukraine.\n\nSummary:\n\nEven if Ukraine joined the EU, the end result for many people will be no different; they'll still be poor and their jobs will be at risk, but by staying with Russia at least it's \"better the devil you know.\"\n\n"
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c3fc9k | with slow internet, why do ads load without fail but content is stagnant? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c3fc9k/eli5_with_slow_internet_why_do_ads_load_without/ | {
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"Because ads are stored on seperate special servers, requiring less time to load and search for the video ID. Source- a post from a few days ago where this same question was asked.",
"A website might prioritize loading the ad over loading the actual content. They might also be stored on special servers that are more suited for quickly uploading such content.",
"Also, sites have pretty strict (or used to) specs for advertisers. One of them being a very small file size."
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6ptufg | according to the fda, you are not supposed to wash chicken. why? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ptufg/eli5_according_to_the_fda_you_are_not_supposed_to/ | {
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"The cooking temperature should've [killed all the bacteria](_URL_0_), while washing will just spread the bacteria all over the kitchen which will spread to other food & utensils. It might even spread to the chicken right after cooking. "
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"https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/safe-food-handling/washing-food-does-it-promote-food-safety/washing-food"
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2s6bsy | what's happening mentally that causes us to flub up words? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2s6bsy/eli5_whats_happening_mentally_that_causes_us_to/ | {
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"Imagine your brain is a factory producing parts (words) that are placed on trucks that deliver to a construction site (speech or idea you're talking about).\n\nNormally, the parts arrive in an orderly manner one after the other so that the building can be built floor by floor.\n\nHowever, sometimes, the parts are sent too fast and clog up the construction site. Then it's very difficult to sort out what part is needed and the site is in disarray.\n\nSometimes, the trucks are lost in shipping or the wrong parts are shipped which stops the building production until a replacement can be found.",
"I'm guessing you mean spoonerisms and malapropisms and the like.\n\nSpoonerism: \"Explain this section!\" becomes \"Sexplain this extion!\"\n\nMalapropism: \"The cake is a lie.\" becomes \"The fake is a lie.\"\n\nRefer to this thread: _URL_0_\n\nBasically, it's just your brain fucking up the neuronal firing."
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4ifg7j | what happens if a country recalls its currency in an effort to re distribute it within its boarders? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ifg7j/eli5_what_happens_if_a_country_recalls_its/ | {
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"I have never heard of this actually occurring. Can you please provide a link to an article about such an event so that readers can answer your question better?\n\n(Remember that under [Rule 2](_URL_0_) hypotheticals aren't valid ELI5 topics.)",
"Currency outside the country tends to be held by banks and other investors. If the country wanted its currency back, it would have to *buy* it back with other currencies. "
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65bml3 | saturated fats | How bad are these for weightloss? Does it have any effect on physical appearance? Calories in/out > Saturated fats? Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/65bml3/eli5_saturated_fats/ | {
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"Saturated fats have little to nothing to do with weight loss besides being fat and as such providing calories.\n\nThere is however some controversy about saturated fat being linked to cardiovascular disease as with trans fats which are indeed linked with a higher risk as consumption of trans fats raises blood cholesterol levels."
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a248u4 | what causes a static shock when touching an object? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a248u4/eli5_what_causes_a_static_shock_when_touching_an/ | {
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"Static electricity is caused when you have a build-up of either positive or negative charge on the surface of something. The easiest way to do that is to brush against something that will easily give up electrons like the carpet or a piece of synthetic cloth.\n\nWhen you next touch something that is electrically conductive (like a metal door handle) the charge will seek to equalize and a spark will jump between your hand and the object. This spark is the shock you feel."
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xrttv | how were they able to get curiosity to land on mars? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/xrttv/eli5_how_were_they_able_to_get_curiosity_to_land/ | {
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"Here's a [NASA video of the whole process](_URL_0_).",
"Epic amounts of math. "
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4ne8zv | how does the doomsday clock work? | I know that the closer to midnight the "time" shown is, the more in danger we, as a species and a society are, but how is the risk actually calculated? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ne8zv/eli5_how_does_the_doomsday_clock_work/ | {
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"They are using the same techniques employed by parents to demonstrate to their obnoxious kid with thumb and forefinger exactly how close they are to receiving a smack upside the head.\n\nI'm not kidding, it's mostly just opinion.",
"The Doomsday Clock is operated by the *Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists*, an academic journal founded by Manhattan Project atomic scientists. It's not \"calculated\" per se. It's basically just their opinion. The purpose of the clock is to educate and warn people about the dangers of nuclear war.",
"In essence, pretty much, every time a major act of aggression is done by a nation that has nukes or could obtain them, you add time. Every time an act removes the likelihood of the use of nukes, you take away time.\n\nThe fear is that if one nuke is used, more will be used potentially leading to a global nuclear war and holocaust.\n",
"There is a committee of scientists who make an subjective estimate. \n\nIn the end, it is only opinion, there is no robust mathematics behind it.\n\nHere is [another](_URL_0_), albeit sillier doomsday index, every bit as subjective.",
"Lol i work in the nuke field. Believe me, the doomsday clock is not worth an ELI5. Its a fun gimic for a somewhat respected journal - nothing to think too deeply about :)"
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1myc1r | why is putin a "bad guy"? | A lot of people in the West and Russia seem to dislike Putin and are against him rule. To me it appears that he's done a lot of good for Russia. After Yeltsen privatized most of Russia's economy to the mafia and damaged the economy, Russian economy hasn't grown at a rate before in recent times as it has under Putin's rule. He has managed to bring Russia out of the ruins of the cold war into an economic superpower once again.
So why is it that so many people dislike him and say he's a bad guy? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1myc1r/eli5_why_is_putin_a_bad_guy/ | {
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"He's not - you just buy into Western propaganda.",
"Putin acts like Hitler:\nAfter 1936 Berlin Olympic Games Hitler made himself the advocate of ethnic Germans living in Sudetes (Czechoslovakia), triggering the \"Sudeten Crisis\", agitated for autonomy and annexed the region...",
"Everything you're talking abut is true. \n\nHad Putin left after his first term, he would have been one of the greatest russian politicians ever. He was literally a russian economic savoir. \n\nProblem was what he did after that first term. Essentially, he continued to take economic power from the entrenched old oligarchs and transferred them a new oligarch loyal to him. He implemented a bunch of policies that made the country less democratic. He pretty much consolidated power and turned himself into as much of a modern day Tsar as he could get away with. People had issues with that. \n\nInternationally, he started having russia acting like a superpower again through economic and military actions both. That stepped on toes. While the western powers tended to at least try on the surface to be aligned with the right ideals like promotion of democracy and human rights etc, Putin tended to go with \"russia first, russia forever, fuck eveything else\"\n\nAll that aside, he has been in power for 13 years (lol @ Medvedev). while his initial years has had a huge great to russian economy, his policies in latter years have been less beneficial. His policies latter on, in many people's views, crippled its growth while benefiting himself (i.e what i said about him giving economic power to his own allies). Russia's economy is great now compared to what it was before he took power, but thats kind of a low yardstick to compare against for 13 years. If he had rooted out corruption instead of facilitated it and done things in other ways (that would have resulted in less economic control by his own faction), the overall economy might even be better today.",
"For one thing the fact that he's been in power for so long pisses people off.\n\n > President of Russia, a position he has held since 7 May 2012. He previously served as President from 2000 to 2008, and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. During that last stint (2008 to 2012) he was also the Chairman of the United Russia political party.\n\nWhen he couldn't run for president anymore he ran for prime minister, and there's speculation of vote rigging and the like. \n\n_URL_1_\n\nEdit: He didn't run for Prime Minister;[ it's a position appointed by the President of Russia](_URL_0_) \n\n > Due to the central role of the President of Russia in the political system, the activities of the executive branch (including the Prime Minister) are significantly influenced by the head of state (for example, it is the President who appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and other members of the Government; the President may chair the meetings of the cabinet and give obligatory orders to the Prime Minister and other members of the Government, the President may also revoke any act of the Government).\n\nHe was appointed PM in August 1991, then acting President in December that same year, won reelection the next year. He was reelected in 2004 and quickly appointed as PM under the new President. A law change in 2011 made it so that Presidential term limits are extended to 6 years, after which he announced he was running again. He was elected amid protest and is now President.",
"Well, he is guy who has never had a private sector job in his life but somehow ammassed at 70 Billion Dollar portfolio. \n\nHe has also had a strangle hold on power in Russia for the entire 21st century. After being appointed Prime Minister, he was elected president twice and barred constitutionally from a third term. But that was ok because in a very sketchy election, his political ally Dmitry Medyedev,(who was now Prime Minister) \"won\" the presidency and then appointed him Prime Minister. He is again president and guess who he has appointed as prime minister? Anyone...anyone,,,Beuler....Beuler? Dimitry Medyedev! I can see this cycle going on for a while. \nHe fronts a government that sends women to hard labor camps for making bad videos, has criminalized talking to children about homosexuality and imprisions his political enemies. \nIgnore his blocking of punishment of Syria, the utter destruction of Grozny in the Chechin War and his general thuggishness and he is really not so bad.",
"Isn't Russia's GDP per capita ranked like 40th in the world? And their total GDP ranked like 10th, behind Italy and India? I'm not sure \"economic superpower\" is exactly the right term.....\n\nEdit: Not sure why I was downvoted. Here is the list of countries by GDP per capita, Russia is #43, right behind such economic powerhouses as Slovakia, Greece, and Trinidad and Tobago: _URL_0_ ",
"When you say people dislike him there are two kind that do.\n\n* Internaly he made some solid moves bringing the shit toigether and saving Russia at a certain moment from collapsing futher into chaos. **BUT** to do so he monopolised all the power, got control over all the main industries. Nowadays the need in Putin for Russia is long gone but he maintains a steel grip on the country. Why is it bad? He puts people in charge who are not good specialists in their field but rather just loyal to him. If you are loyal to him you can steal from the government without any problems. Massive corruption and inefficency of governmental insitutes are the main problems that rise because of that.\n\n* Internationaly he is disliked for several reasons. Mostly because he tries to make Russia back into international player thus he challanges US and EU interests across the globe. European and States media then proceed to bash him jut like Russian media bashes US Presidents or some EU leaders. Since common people get their news from mainsteam media the image of a bad guy is there for you. (News a much more interesting if you have this \"conflict\" good vs. bad).\n\nAlso about the international aspect of Putin's hate - USSR consisted of lots of small Republics around massive Russia. Just like in every county where folks dislkie rich snubs from the capital these countries disliked Russia (not only for that reason, some of them were brutaly conquered at certain moment in history). After the fall of the USSR many of small states made anti-Russia stance some sort of local religion (looking at you, Baltik states). Even today lots of politicians stive on anti-Russian rethoric.\n\nAnd the last but not least in the resons for international fear-hate for Vladimir is the fact that because of todays high oil prices Russia is somewhat on the rise and does indeed broadens it's sphere of influence usuing all the means at their disposal.",
"What some posters here are misunderstanding is that doing **some** good doesn't make you a great guy especially if your other actions speak otherwise. I mean Hezbollah builds schools and hospitals but that doesn't excuse their other behavior, correct? \n \nJust look at someone like Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once the richest man in Russia and now sitting in prison for speaking out against the Kremlin. ",
"Repression of homosexuals, repression of the free press, undemocratic actions, policies detrimental to well-being of orphans.",
"Because he is everything you would expect of someone who dislikes democracy but puts up a front for the people. Elections have been rigged, journalists are sent to prison (or killed), minorities and political opposition are persecuted.\n\nPutin tolerates democracy and worms his way through any legal stopgaps meant to stop someone like him.",
"He is very corrupt. He steals money for his friends and himself. He secretly [built a giant palace with state money.](_URL_0_) He puts anybody [who disagrees with him in jail.](_URL_1_)",
"Putin's alignment is Lawful Evil. He follows the letter of the law, but works around it to get everything he wants. \nEdited for clarity. ",
"None of the top comments mention the assassinations of journalists under his rule and former party members",
"Don't forget that he apparently STOLE a superbowl ring from Patriot's owner Robert Kraft. \n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_1_",
"im amazed at the types of people reddit attracts, the same people who bash america's government are praising putin's regime in russia? explain that to me like i'm five.",
"I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned here (as far as I can see) but there were some bombings in Russia just prior to his rise that drastically increased his popularity and that he may have been involved with.\n\n_URL_0_",
"Just because he is bad guy doesn't mean he is *bad* guy",
"If Putin liked gay people reddit would love him, even if he had people ripped apart by lions for his amusement.",
"Ask any Russian if they have a democracy any more. \n\nDo they live in a nation where they can have the religion, sexual orientation, and political voice they would prefer.\n\nThat is why Putin is a bad guy. ",
"Ask Kasparov, Pussy Riot and that Russian millionaire how \"great\" he is lol.",
" > Russian economy hasn't grown at a rate before in recent times as it has under Putin's rule. He has managed to bring Russia out of the ruins of the cold war into an economic superpower once again.\n\nJust like Hitler did for Germany before WWII... Where on Earth did you get the silly idea that doing good for the economy means he can't also be a shitty person with shitty policies?\n\n > After Yeltsen privatized most of Russia's economy to the mafia and damaged the economy\n\nPutin, on the other hand, has as good as made the government *into* the mafia. He has retained his power through an array of wildly illegal means.\n\nHe has made homosexuality as good as illegal, to the extent that Russian laws violate international law, and his government endorses fascist hate groups as 'public interest groups'.\n\nThe prison system is rife with human rights abuses.\n\nThe preparation for the Winter Olympics has also had controversies relating to human rights violations.\n\nThey harass, imprison, and likely even assassinate political activists and opposition.",
"Hold on while I systematically upvote all the people with legitimate questions and comments who each received what appears to be 10-30 downvotes for no reason. Good job Scumbag Reddit, mash the dissenters into oblivion while criticizing a political official for suppressing dissenting opinions.\n\n > let the irony flow through you",
"_URL_0_\n\nNumber 3.",
"why is Putin a bad guy? well lets see. \n\n1. In the 2011 election the official figure for voter turnout was 140%.\n\n2. He hates gay people and anyone who hates a group of people that much has some issues going on.\n\n3. When he was in the KGB, German intelligence files described him as a ’philanderer and a wifebeater’.\n\n4. Alexander Litvinenko was killed in a James Bond style radiation poisoning in London after releasing an anti-Putin Book. Things that make you go hmmmmm\n\n5. Last year Russia ranked 143rd, joint with Nigeria and Uganda, on Transparency International’s annual list of the 182 most corrupt nations.\n\n6. He is backing Assads blood soaked regime in Syria by supplying them with weapons aircraft etc\n\n",
"Does nobody remember the corrupt 140% of the votes anymore? ",
"There is no such thing as an ex-KGB man.",
"Not enough cuddles as a child.",
"Because he lets his police fire upon crowds of peaceful protesters -_-",
"Putin has worked his entire life as a public servant.\n\nPutin has a net worth in the billions USD.\n\nYou figure it out.\n\n",
"He's not bad... He's badass!!",
"After the USSR collapsed, the country was run by the mafia and gangs. Putin helped put a stop to that and tald Russians to be proud of their motherland. \n\nCrime has dropped, people are confident that their jobs won't vanish, and Putin hasn't been a pussy - in the minds of Russians - when it comes to using the military.\n\nRussia needed a strong guiding hand to get through the chaos of the 1990s, and Putin was it.\n\nBut as things get more peaceful, Putin has become scarier. He used to run the KGB, so he kills or jails journalists, political enemies, people that \"offend\" him or his supporters. He also gives a lot of money and power to his friends - the ones who put Russia back together - but that means most of Russia is still dirt-poor, while Putin's friends buy diamonds, take trips around the world, and drive fancy cars.\n\nFinally, he always puts Russia first. After the USSR, that's still scary to the Europe and America. He's also not very cooperative, taking a \"help me, or fuck off\" approach to talks with Europe and America.\n\nFinally, Russia has been building it's own version of the EU (while refusing to join the EU), and supports a lot of shady countries because it's profitable to sell them weapons when Europe/USA refuse.\n\nEdit: To be fair, I don't really believe that Russia is any less corrupt than it was before. It's just centralized and overseen by the government, which was not the case 10 years ago. So let me say this: this is a \"popular\" understanding of what Putin did for Russia. A lot of Russians believe most, or at least bits and pieces of this.",
"I find it interesting the mods didn't call this a loaded question. Because it is. ",
"Hi, I actually wrote my college thesis on this guy! I can give it to you if you really want to read it, but I can give the condensed version of just one reason why I think that Putin is a bad guy. Now this is just one aspect of the way that Putin has systematically returned control away from the people of Russia to the government, but basically Putin has taken the right of freedom of expression away from the Russian people. Important note: This is not to say that the right of free speech does not exist within the Russian Federation, I am merely suggesting that Putin and the Russian government has systematically suppressed that ability, but not necessarily eliminated that. \n\nThe first way that Putin does this is through government ownership of the media, the Russian federation owns almost every television statement, radio station, national newspapers, and a vast amount of local newspapers. The government does this through two main means, direct and indirect ownership. The government will either directly own a company, or through proxy companies such as Gazprom (I think, I'm at work so i cant pull up my thesis so my name might be a little wrong). So basically, the government can control what exactly goes TO the Russian populous in terms of information. The government also goes out of its way to suppress any information that might be seen as \"unfavorable\" to the Russian government. This usually occurs through several avenues, this has occurred through manipulation of the judicial system to put journalist and dissenters in jail, using dirty business deals to purchase more liberal newspapers, tv stations etc, and probably most notoriously while not directly attacking journalists outright, the government will frequently let their attackers or killers go free without jail time, or attackers of journalists will get little to no jail time, or will be pardoned. (a good case study of this was the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist and well-known Putin dissenter that was murdered in broad daylight, and what followed was a poorly run investigation performed by the police dept and the eventual acquittal of all her suspected killers, her real killers were never charged.) \n\nAll of this compound into one pretty simple thing, The government is able to maintain a dictatorship level of control over the flow of information within the Russian Federation, through direct and indirect government control of information, manipulation of laws in order to arrest and intimidate journalists and media outlets that might challenge govt control, and through allowing the blatant attacks on journalists to happen with impunity, which has notably reduced the availability of alternative information within the Russian Federation. \n\nI know there is a whole lot more to this than what I just posted, and I could go on forever and ever, and I'm willing to do so if you guys want a follow up post or something of that nature, I spent about 6-7 months researching this all day every day, so It feels good to talk about. I can also send you my thesis if you are interested. \n\nAlso, a quick page I can put up so you have some proof, i can give more when I get home from work. \n\n_URL_1_\n(shows that Russia is currently ranked 152 on the Freedom Index, which is pretty damn low) \n\nTL;DR Can't say shit when Putin's around\n\n\nEdit:thanks so much for the gold! You guys are great. Ill be also linking a copy of my thesis in my post via edit tomorrow morning as well as pming to all those who are requesting it via PM\n\nEdit:_URL_0_ Here is my thesis. I hope you guys enjoy it. Please do not steal my work, I worked very hard on it. If you want to know where I got some info I can just tell you where I found it. Also, if you have any ideas for an edit please let me know. \n",
"As somebody who doesn't follow Russian politics, I feel most people have taken a strong dislike to Putin because he hates the gays. Considering the massive push for equality in sexuality, he has set himself up to be a mainstream pariah.",
"He rides shirtless through the Russian wilderness, fishing, hunting, and stealing superbowl rings. Thats it. Thats all the needs to be said.",
"Nice try Putin. ",
"He's not true to himself; he's always Putin on a front...",
"Putin would make a great Bond villain!",
"I believe there are many concrete reasons why the West shows Putin as a bad guy, but probably the biggest reason I think is because the USA has not shaken its Cold War mentality of \"Russia/the USSR is The Enemy\". \n\nIn the early 90s, Russia was extremely pro-West and very open to building a new relationship. Europe and the USA rejected Russia and failed to extend a meaningful helping hand (like the Marshall Plan for Germany after WWII, for instance). \n\nInstead of turning a foe into a friend, the West concentrated on other enemies or ignored Russia or even gloated. Now we have to deal with the consequences of those decisions. \n\nHowever, Russia does not want to be the enemy of the West. Russia is a member of a ton of Western trade organizations and really does want closer integration. But the thing is, they want it on their terms, fair and equal. Russia will absolutely not be dictated to by the West. Particularly not morally. They are perfectly aware of American and Western hypocrisy and double standards when it comes to foreign policy. \n\nRussia is, and always has been, a Great Power. And they are really quite touchy about being treated like a 2nd or 3rd tier nation. They want to have their voice, and their voice will be independent. They are not going to parrot the US/EU line. Their decisions make sense in their own context, and really all they want is to be treated respectfully and listened to. \n\nBut because they insist on doing things their own way, the West really has a hard time. This is why all the negative things about Putin are highlighted and nothing positive about Russia is ever shown in the West. Because Russia doesn't \"play along\". \n\nI think all the talk about WHAT Putin has done is secondary to the question of WHY he's being shown in such a negative light, and by whom, and to what ends. Sure he's done bad things. He's also done good things. But we should be discussing WHY he's always portrayed as a bad guy. That's the meat of the question, I think.\n\nSource: I'm an American living in Russia right now, going to grad school for this very thing. Sorry for going on so long. \n\n",
"Because he challenges the USA's sovereignty in foreign matters.",
"Because he wants to make everyone think that homosexuals are evil terrible people. I think it's illegal there to even mention that gay people exist, let alone support them.",
"He has dissidents (people who disagree with him) killed or locked up or surpressed in various ways.",
"Hahaha nice try Putin! You know Reddit loves and hates you! ",
"All considered in contrast with other world powers, It seems you gotta be this badass and cruel to keep up, or the other dogs will just eat you.",
"You can [see here](_URL_0_) that he's about to break this child's arm.",
"It's called propaganda and it runs on both sides, not just the bad one.",
"If you're in the US (and probably a lot of other Western European-y nations), your country tends to be at odds diplomatically with Russia, so you're bound to see most reporting on Russia and Putin in a negative light, and for those anti-Putin voices in Russia to be amplified over pro-Putin Russians. So on top of what he and his government have done (which others can and have answered way better than I could), he's probably portrayed as more of a \"bad guy\" than he actually is because of this bias.",
"Don't listen to this media bullshit, he is a good guy for Russia",
"Some \"bad\" things which they say about him are true, while others are propaganda BS and exaggerations. \n\nHating gays? He didn't author and introduce that law - just signed it. If he didn't, Duma had enough votes to overturn his veto. Killing Litvinenko? There's zero proof linking him to it and the whole thing did more damage to Putin's and Russia's rep than anything in a long, long time. Honestly, Litvinenko was a pathetic worm - not credible or important enough for Putin to \"whack\". Supporting oppressive dictators? Yes. Russia does prefer secular autocrats like Hussein, Assad and Qaddafi running the Arab world, as opposed to the Al Queda/Islamist types turning these countries into chaotic, terrorist-infested shit-holes. I can't blame them - Syria is only 200 km away from the Russian border. Using gas supply as a political weapon? Well, if you want a nice discount from your power company, you better stay nice to them, no? Otherwise, you should expect to pay the standard market price. Chechnya? Maybe if they behaved: didn't kidnap 1100 Russians from the neighboring regions in the inter-war years, turn their country into a terrorist training camp and didn't try to spread their \"jihad\" to Dagestan via an open invasion, they would still have their independence. Pussy riot? Those girls are giant Cs, with zero respect for the rules and laws of society and they did a lot more than the Western press likes to report, including sexual acts in front of children. \n\nYeltsin was 10x worse in every way, yet, the West had no problems with him, because he was their bitch, made Russia weak and let the Western companies and their oligarch buddies pillage the Russian resources. Putin told of those people to fuck off.\n\nPutin was the right man for the right time, but I do hope that he goes when the time comes. I believe that Russia might actually be ready for a real democracy pretty soon.",
"just because Putin is bad guy, does not mean he is a bad, guy.\n\n_URL_0_",
"the problem with Putin is that after Yeltsin privatized most of Russia's economy to the mafia, Putin replaced that mafia (not even all of it, some stayed) with his own buddies\n\neconomic growth of Russia is tied to export of gas/oil\n\nof course many of those who dislike him and say he's a bad guy do it because they are involved in the fight for power. see Navalny, Kasparov - the so-called opposition. Russia is a big piece of pie, they want to get into power because they are smart fellas and understand the profit of it",
"Quite simply hes not a bad guy and he deserves the peace prize for his actions over Syria. ",
"Putin kills me inside, after all his great accomplishments he goes and does stupid shit. Just look at this:\n\nDuring Putin's eight years in office\n \n- Industry grew by 75%\n- Investments increased by 125%\n- Real incomes more than doubled \n- Average salary increased eightfold from $80 to $640\n- The volume of consumer credit between 2000–2006 increased 45 times and during that same time period, the middle class grew from 8 million to 55 million, an increase of 7 times. \n- The number of people living below the poverty line also decreased from 30% in 2000 to 14% in 2008.\n\nI suppose he is too good to be true.\n\nSource: _URL_0_\n\n[Edit] This is not even mentioning other things like giant drop in crime & social reforms (i.e. pensions & healthcare) \n",
"Putin is one of the very best World Leaders, at this time.",
"There are some [human rights issues](_URL_0_). Just some, though. Like murdering journalists, beating dissidents, disappearing people, probably rigged elections, ...",
"[Here's an essay I wrote nearly 2 years ago on pretty much the subject. It was before his re-election as president, but its still relevant I believe. Can't remember how good it is (I've grown up a lot since then) but hopefully it should add something to this thread.](_URL_0_) Seems a shame that I wrote it for a shitty intro module and its just sitting on my harddrive now.\n\nIf anyone wants a dl of the word document so you can check the sources, feel free to ask, but this thread is already pretty popular, so not sure how many people will see this, so cba.\n\nEdit: just looked at some of the dates in the bibliography, apparently it wasn't that long ago. Sure feels like longer.\n\nEdit2: lol i cited Wikipedia in this essay. Writing essays as a fresher was so much easier....",
"Hey, can we play why Putin is a \"good guy\" too? I'll start:\n\n1. Not a drunk.\n\n2. Turned on his evil handler - the oligarch mobster Boris Berezovsky, kicking him and the rest of the worst oligarchs, as well as their Western \"benefactors\", to the curb.\n\n3. Brought Chechnya under federal control (with a great degree of autonomy), destroying terrorist bases of operation, restoring peace, stability and rebuilding the war-ravaged country: _URL_0_ Also, steadily winning the war on terrorism in Dagestan and Ingushetia, effectively containing the radical Islamization (via Wahhabism) of the North Caucasus region. In addition, tried to prevent the Boston Marathon Bombing, by warming the US about the psycho Tsarnaeyev Bros, multiple times.\n\n4. Helped overthrow the Taliban, by arming the Northern Alliance and providing vital intelligence to the NATO forces.\n\n5. Overhauled the tax code, introducing a 13% flat tax, which has greatly simplified tax payment and collection, significantly increasing the government revenue.\n\n6. Great environmentalist record - implemented economically-sound environmental reforms, supports green energy and is passionate about protecting endangered species, and habitats.\n\n7. Nationalized the natural resource industries - using Russia's \"oil money\" to pay off all of the country's Soviet era international debt and then putting it in a \"stabilization fund\", which helped Russia weather the 2008 Economic Crisis better than most. Also, accumulated some of the largest gold and currency reserves in the world. \n\n8. Very effective economic reforms - average monthly wages up from $150 to $850, poverty down from 38% to 12%, middle class up from 12 to 70 million, seven-fold growth in domestic services industries, 75% growth in industrial production, etc. GDP (PPP) per capita went up from 78th place in the world, to 43th (according to the World Bank). GDP (PPP) nominal went from 17th place to 5th, overtaking Germany this year (according to the World Bank). \n\n9. Murders and other violent crimes cut in half, due to increased stability, living standards and effective police reforms.\n\n10. Average life expectancy for males brought up from 54 to 68, due to increasing living standards and effective measures combating alcohol, tobacco and drug use.\n\n11. Reversed the population decline trend, with such measures as great subsidies for women who choose to have more than two kids. \n\n12. Promoted inter-ethnic and religious tolerance, passing many laws which protect the right of ethnic and religious minorities.\n\n13. Is a staunch supported of world peace and the concept national sovereignty/self-determination, acting as a counter-balance to America's war-mongering and interventionism, backing secular, socialist and anti-Islamist leaders in the Middle East, who fight Al Qaeda and other Islamists via heavy-handed, but necessary means. \n\n14. Prevented Obomber from attacking Syria, helping the cause of WMD non-proliferation in the process.\n\n15. Saved Ossetians and Abkasians from yet another ethnic cleansing attempt by the Georgians, crippling the madman Saakashvilli's war machine. \n\n16. Oversaw effective anti-corruption reforms of the Russian police force, implementing measures such as combating cronyism, by making the police officials responsible for the performance of the people which they promote.\n\n17. Restored Russia as a major player on the world stage and as a counter-balance to US' hegemony. Also, restored the Russians' sense of national pride and hope.\n\n18. Tried to reach out with a hand of friendship to the West, seeking partnership on various issues, only to be turned down.\n\n19. Is a black belt in Judo and is very fit and healthy for his age, setting the right example for the Russian men to follow.\n\n20. Did not hand over Eddy Snowden.",
"Has anyone mentioned the state-funded Putin nationalist summer camps for kids? White water rafting, archery, camp outs....and fanatically pro-Putin indoctrination. Nashi youth groups. \n\n_URL_0_\n\nHowever, the staged Putin photo ops of him doing \"macho\" things like hunting and scuba diving is comedy gold. I want one where he's wrestling a bear, but because the bear is Russia's national animal, Putin and the bear are actually friends. When they stop wrestling, he and the bear go fishing and drink vodka. ",
"This is probably going to get buried because it's not pro-American (it's not pro-Putin either, I would like to stress), but fuck it.\n\nThere are actually two questions here. One is about morality, and the other is about rhetoric and the media. And, as it happens, in relative terms, Putin is not a \"bad guy\" by the standards of many politicians. Obviously, that is exactly the same as saying human faeces (or poo poo for the 5 year olds) are delicious when everyone else is stuck eating deer's excrement (kaka). However, compared to Obama, he actually stacks up pretty evenly. Here's a helpful list:\n\n1). Extra-judicial assassination? Check. Bin Laden vs. Litvinenko-I'm perfectly aware of the difference between the two of them, but from a strictly legal standpoint, both of these were illegal operations carried out in foreign countries. \n\n2). Illegal incursions into foreign countries? Check. Chechnya vs. Pakistan, and presumably Obama is continuing the work of his predecessors in South America and the Middle East. However, Pakistan is the best example, as it's been well documented that drones have been sent across the border with Afghanistan to target militants based there.\n\n3). Cronyism. Check. Putin's record on this is so extensive it doesn't need examples vs. (for example) Obama giving ambassadorial positions to campaign donors (_URL_0_)\n\n4). Anti-democratic practices. Check. Putin's whole 13 year reign vs. Obama's extension of surveillance and police powers (which, to be fair, he merely didn't interfere with as those wheels had been turning for a long time), and also his signing off on the Monsanto Act.\n\nTo answer the second part of your question: the rhetorical one. Why is Putin a \"bad guy\"? He's incredibly popular in Russia-the overwhelming majority of Russians adore him. Also While Putin's reclamation of power is autocratic and anti-democratic, the leaders in the West have no fundamental problem with it. The thing is, he's trying to re-assert Russian hegemony (in political parlance, \"influence\") over its traditional \"sphere of interest\"-Eastern Europe and the Afghan, Tajik, Uzbek region.This doesn't sit well with Western powers, who would much prefer the Russians to be absorbed by the European Union (the best case scenario) or collapse (the second best case scenario) in order that its resources could be profitably exploited. \n\nIn order to divert questions about their own policies as well as shore up support for their governements, the Russians are continually castigated by the Western media, and Putin as a politician is subjected to the kind of forensic analysis that Western leaders simply aren't. Even if he does something that can possibly be construed as \"good\", e.g. giving Snowden limited asylum, it's presented as being a means to extract as much information as possible. It should be pretty obvious that if the shoe was on the other foot (i.e. the American government was sheltering a Russian whistleblower) then the important message would be \"valuing freedom\", \"protecting freedom\", and other freedom related terms.\n\ntl;dr Putin isn't a \"bad guy\" by relative standards, but he is portrayed as such by Western media for political reasons.\n",
"Putin isn't a bad guy, I would love to meet him and talk.",
"he is bad guy, but this does not mean he is \"bad guy\".\n\n:)",
"I find the top comments to be simply ignorant, one sided, naive and offensive. Western Democratic values, poor and oppressed Chechens, Russian position on Syria, Russian self-interest, etc... Come on people, anything besides the Western propaganda? ",
"The notion of \"Good or Bad Guys\" is great for people that model the world along Hollywood story lines. It is too simplistic a way to view the world. There are always two sides to a story and good or bad is always relative to your interests.",
"You should check out the BBC documentary Putin, Russia and the West.",
"Because he stopped US from killing Brown people. Christ, do we love killing Brown people. ",
"Not personally sure why Russians would hate him aside from what the news focus on these days e.g.: his fight against the gay...etc., which, imo, doesn't mean the man is a bad leader of a superpower, but for the west its probably he refuses to shake his ass whenever the west demands like the (the french president) Holland does.",
"Whatever said and done, I love this man. He being opposed to many assholish things American government do is more than enough for me. And I have every right to say it because I live in a country which is constantly harassed by USA led Westerners and Russia and China has always got our back. I know they don't do it out of love but its great to know that there's an opposing power. ",
"Ask Pussy Riot",
"Forced his way back into power - in some areas 140% of the population voted. Yup, not at all corrupt. ",
"He isn't. Redditors and American press are idiots\n\nSure he's fundamentally conservative so the gays/lesbian pop culture girl bands don't like him so much. But, on the other hand, he's started no fucking wars since he took office..",
"There are two Putin. One real, which you do not tell. We Russians are voting in elections for this Putin. The second - the image that created the Western media and the so-called \"Russian opposition\", which pays the West. Demonize Putin plays the role bogey for a Western man in the street. Why do you need to scare the Western public - this is the second question. For example, because we Siberia is rich in natural resources, and sparsely populated. Take away these resources from the \"bad guy\" is easier than good, agree?",
"He has bypassed the Jews in the control of Russia ergo he is a bad guy."
]
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[],
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[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Russia",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin"
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[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putin's_Palace",
"http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/12/19/111219fa_fact_remnick"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://nypost.com/2013/06/21/putin-denies-stealing-krafts-super-bowl-ring-and-claims-to-not-remember-meeting-but-offers-to-create-fake-version-of-valuable-bling/",
"http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/4/sen-john-mccain-president-putin-give-back-super-bo/"
],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_apartment_bombings"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.theguardian.com/world/german-elections-blog-2013/2013/sep/10/angela-merkel-origins-germany-election"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VOs_rn-a6pZIz7tiljPXlHqBcAJ1zGq16DP05M50CNY/edit?usp=sharing",
"http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html"
],
[],
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[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
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[
"http://i.imgur.com/ml8nj2X.jpg"
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[
"http://static.tumblr.com/hefyqjc/f3Dmeupa9/tumblr_mdo9vspece1qbu7lgo1_500.gif"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Russia#Putin.27s_first_presidency"
],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Russia"
],
[
"http://pastebin.com/sBEf3V6t"
],
[
"http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4614/81807755.42/0_66607_f2a9248e_XXL"
],
[
"http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/11/world/la-fg-russia-youth-camp-20110811"
],
[
"http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/10/obama-donors-top-embassy-jobs-rewards"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
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|
2j5uhn | why and how does ambient sound help you concentrate or fall asleep? | Saw this link on reddit to an ambient sound mixer, and the description says it helps you concentrate. I've seen a few other apps before, but how does it actually help? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2j5uhn/eli5_why_and_how_does_ambient_sound_help_you/ | {
"a_id": [
"cl8t7qz"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Just a guess:\n\nIt's something to listen to without paying attention. Put another way, silence alone is distracting. Also when it's quiet, any small noise is going to get your attention. Turn on some white noise, rain sounds, etc. and you can basically stop listening to anything. There's nothing for your brain to lock on to. Yet also no crushing silence where your brain goes into overdrive trying to focus on everything, searching for something to get it's attention.\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
r4eax | what's the no boundary theory? | What is it and what is it trying to state? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/r4eax/eli5_whats_the_no_boundary_theory/ | {
"a_id": [
"c42v1c8"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"pretty solid, albeit ELI12, explanation: _URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://everythingforever.com/hawking.htm"
]
] |
|
1xqmyt | how can i see the back of my head in a black hole? | From [strange facts about black holes](_URL_0_):
> Light bends so much near black holes that if you were near one and looking away from the hole, you would see multiple images of every star in the universe, and could actually see the back of your own head! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xqmyt/eli5_how_can_i_see_the_back_of_my_head_in_a_black/ | {
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"That whole statement makes no sense."
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] |
|
c0701h | what are t cells and b cells in medical or anatomy terms and how are they different when dealing with viruses | Also are there any other cells related to these that I have not specifically mentioned? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c0701h/eli5_what_are_t_cells_and_b_cells_in_medical_or/ | {
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"B cells and T cells are part of the adaptive immune system. They are lymphocytes with different roles and are activated to fight an infection. T cells can be divided into three main kinds: cytotoxic T cells, which recognize and kill infected cells, T helper cells, which produce molecules called cytokines to control the immune response to a pathogen, and T reg cells, which inhibit the immune response. B cells instead only produce antibodies, which can neutralize a pathogen and help macrophages in killing it. \nWhen it comes to viruses, usually all of these cells are involved and many more (Th1, T cytotoxic, Treg, B lymphocytes, Natural Killer cells, Macrophages, Dendritic Cells). Some of these belong to innate immunity, others belong to the adaptive immunity, while others allow an intersection between the two. \n\nThe human immune system is really fascinating, so, if you are interested, i suggest you pick up a short book about it and give it a quick read. There are actually a ton of different cells involved in different mechanisms, it would definitely be a worthwhile read. I’m gonna leave a link here of what i just found with a quick google search.\n_URL_0_"
]
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"http://www.imgt.org/IMGTeducation/Tutorials/ImmuneSystem/UK/the_immune_system.pdf"
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137qpc | gaza vs. israel. i'm seeing reports that gaza fired 120 rockets towards israel and i don't know what to think about the whole conflict. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/137qpc/eli5_gaza_vs_israel_im_seeing_reports_that_gaza/ | {
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"I don't have an answer but I just came to ask the same thing. What is going on in Israel?",
" > **No bias.** Discussion of politics and other controversial topics is allowed and often necessary, but try to remain textbook-level fair to all sides, for both questions and answers.",
"This is a very, very complex issue that would take me a very long time to write up, if there's enough interest/if I get any homework I'll do it.",
"Ok... the thing goes like this (might be a bit israeli bias).\n\nDuring the ariel sharon goverment there was a plan called disengagement, \n\nThe idea was that if they cant reach a negotiated treaty with the palestinians they would just retreat from gaza and the west bank exclusing settlements too big to take apart, build a large wall and let the palestinians find their own way, the palestinians didnt like the idea becuase israel would keep east jerusalem and some large colonies in the west bank aswell as that as soon as they are independent it becomes a border dispute and they lose the \"poor oppressed underdog\" status, and the israely extreme right didnt like it becuase it would be the end of colonization of the west bank and removing colonists from smaller settlements, \n\nThe first step went forward, all israeli settlements in gaza were dismantled, the infastructre was left intact for use by the palestinians, israel removed all its millitary forces from gaza but retained maritimal and air control, gaza had 2 crossing points, one with israel another with egypt meaning it wasnt landlocked, it was hoped that the lessening of pressure on the people of gaza and the removal of all settlements there would be taken as a mesure of good will for negotiations, and if not, close the border and let them sort themselfs off. \n\nThe problem came that soon after the palestinians held elections, the Palestinian authority lead by fatah lost badly, its corruption and lack of advancements getting results from israel in the peace proceses mixed with hamas bolstering that the retreat from gaza was actually a millitary victory for the palestinian people lead to a hamas majority goverment, \n\nhamas took its controling position in gaza soon afterwards and started millitary actions against israel \"to liberate the rest of palestine\", in a cross border raid they killed 3 soldiers and kidnapped another, aswell as started shooting home made missles and mortars in to israel, \n\nIsrael as any other country which is reciving fire from a neighburing terretory closed the border and imposed a blockade, \n\nAlot of people say that the blockade is there becuase hamas rules the terretory, its not exactly true, the blockade is there becuase once elected hamas used its political gains to use gaza as a plataform to attack israel, Israel has stated on many occasions that the blockade could be gone tommorow if hamas put down its weapons and recognized israel has a right to exist. \n\nI find it funny becuase a couple of months back a document leaked about dietry conditions in gaza with the headline \"israel planned to starve gaza with 2250 calories a day\", it was actually a report to avoid malnutrition in gaza by making sure each person in gaza gets atleast an avarage 2250 calories a day, the recomended calorie count by the FDA is 2000 for women and 2500 for men, an avarage of 2250, but they tried to sell it as \"starving the poor palestinians\" when its the recomemded diatery figured for most of the world. \n\nSo be very carefull with what you hear, many sources distort information becuase they all love the underdog, but at the end of the day, if someone was tossing rockets on your place every day and the police wouldnt do anything, wouldnt you eventualy beat the shit out of him ?",
"I am sure if all of us were alive in 2050 and Reddit were to still exist - we would be discussing the same thing. \n\nI am not being pessimistic at all and I think I am being fairly realistic. I now sympathize more with Palestinians than with the Israelis but at times I just don't even see how this conflict is going to end. \n\nWhat is really needed is moderates from both sides to come forward and work constructively but it seems unlikely when there is so much angst on both sides. "
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3z69if | why is the birthplace of ted cruz not an issue for his presidential campaign? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3z69if/eli5_why_is_the_birthplace_of_ted_cruz_not_an/ | {
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"text": [
"It is an issue for some people. But his mother was an American citizen when Cruz was born, thus making Cruz an American citizen. Ted Cruz's father became a Canadian citizen after fleeing Cuba and his student visa in the US expiring. Rafael became a US citizen in 2005."
]
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1r485c | if there are bacteria that live in hot and cold environments, why are we told to wash our hands with warm water? | You always see the signs telling you to wash your hands for 20 seconds under warm water, why not cold?
Also if I poured Liquid Nitrogen on my hands, other that it freezing my hand, wouldn't that sterilize it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1r485c/eli5_if_there_are_bacteria_that_live_in_hot_and/ | {
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"text": [
"The warm water is for dirt and grime (it'll dissolve more easily in warm water than cold) and as you're unlikely to have been touching a thermal vent on the ocean floor most of the bacteria you encounter will die from 70C to 80C water, which is hot enough to severely burn you."
]
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wbdhi | this xkcd | [I just don't understand it at all...](_URL_0_)
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wbdhi/eli5_this_xkcd/ | {
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"Einstein came up with relativity while he was a Swiss patent clerk.",
"Albert Einstein worked as a patent clerk in Switzerland when he developed his theory of relativity. So, the joke is that now everyone expects all the patent clerks in Switzerland to come up with world-changing amazing scientific discoveries.",
"Thanks guys! It was hard to even determine where to look from the comic and the scroll over caption.",
"[This](_URL_0_) site is very helpful.\n\n"
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7xt649 | why does food poisoning take up to 12 hours rather than immediately? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7xt649/eli5_why_does_food_poisoning_take_up_to_12_hours/ | {
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"When you first eat the contaminated food, there may only be a few harmful bacteria. There simply isn't enough of them to secrete enough harmful chemicals for your body to react to. But given time in your gut, they multiply. At which point their collective secretions are enough to trigger your digestive system to react and transition into purge mode."
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50800m | how do certain security systems recognize credit cards, key fobs and id cards by a "magnetic identity"? | How do certain security systems recognize credit cards, key fobs and ID cards by a magnetic identity?
How can a magnetic strip be so unique that a scanner can read it different than millions of others? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/50800m/eli5_how_do_certain_security_systems_recognize/ | {
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"You just need 6 digits to give a million different cards unique numbers. The magnetic strip on a normal card is as long as a few seconds of VHS tape. In theory you could store your entire credit card history on the magnetic stripe. A handful of digits have no problems fitting on the card. The same is true for any other identification. You can get a 16GB thumb drive small enough to get lost in the USB port and cryptographic computers at the same size. Cards and key fobs are quite large in comparison and hardly needs to do anything. Even the chipset for RFID is about the size of a grain of sand.\n\nOnce the reader on the security system have read the ID number on your token, and depending on system cryptographically verified that it is genuine, it will look up the ID in a security database. You may be granted access, denied, security might be called or you have to enter your PIN number for two factor verification. The pin number is also stored in the same database."
]
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4pd17r | what prevents a business owner from selling the company then starting a similar company? | I don't own a company nor intend to sell one anytime soon but what prevents this from occurring if you do not hire any employee from the previous one? Is it a breach of contract if you do? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4pd17r/eli5_what_prevents_a_business_owner_from_selling/ | {
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"Any halfway competent lawyer drawing up the contracts for the sale of a company is going to include noncompete language to prohibit precisely that sort of shenanigans.\n\nIt'll include poaching employees, or clients, and probably also include the old owner running a similar business anywhere within, say, 100 miles.",
"Most business sales will include some form of non compete provision to prevent exactly that outcome. ",
"I'm confused. You phrased that like it would be some great deal. Why do you think business owners would want to do that? In many cases, business owners can do exactly what you said, but there's no much advantage to having to start a business from scratch vs keeping the business you already have. Are you interested in why those startup costs are higher?\n\nE: oh, I guess you meant from the new owners perspective. If they are worried they will create non-compete clauses in the purchasing contract.",
"sadly it isn't allowed since it will be a clause in some sort of contract that you sign stating that competition of a similar business isn't allowed within a certain range or in that strip mall etc. There are even some companies that if you are an employee of and say you quit.. you can't join a direct competitors company for a certain amount of time. This is usually to do with technology.",
"Imagine I spend five years creating the perfect water park. It's the only one in my town and everyone loves it. It makes me lots and lots of money every year which is great! \n\nLet's say it stops earning me lots and lots of money but I still need to pay all the staff who work there. Now this business is costing me money to operate - so I might get rid of some slides or workers. \n\nI now decide to sell my water park after 6 years of building it up from nothing (bank loans, effort, research, development, branding, marketing, advertising). \n\nNow Geoffrey owns my water park and he's restructured it in a way that means it is making some money for him. And I have a really big bag full of money. \n\nAt no point would I sell my business if it is making me money every year.\n\nDue to the investment of time and other hidden costs like interest on loans, money spent on services like marketing or simply paying my staff; at no point will selling a business give the owner more money than they have put into it. You never get your time back, sadly. \n\nOnce you sell a business it would be rather silly to immediately open another one just like it. The two businesses would then compete with each other for customers (and profits). Unless you relocated which is quite a big thing to do. \n\nLawyers also get involved when business entities are sold. Non-compete clauses are a legal way to prevent exactly what you are talking about. Imagine I was a highly successful doctor but I sell my business. All my clients would still belong to the old business and a non-compete clause would stop me from approaching them from my new business. ",
"The only thing that stops you is if the contract for the sale includes a requirement that you don't (often called a \"no-compete\" clause). In general, most people buying a business where competition may be a problem will put a no-compete clause in the contract, or their lawyers will.\n\nHowever, no-compete clauses aren't permanent, but are usually for a period a few years. After all, if you tried to put a permanent no-compete in, you may well find that the seller won't sign.\n\nFor example, a guy called Mark Goddard-Watts founded a UK company called screwfix specialising in selling light construction materials and tools to trades and the general public. They worked on the basis of warehouses with a trade counter where you could turn up with a list of item numbers from a catalogue and your items would be picked while you waited. Using this model, they could undercut proper shops, but were super convenient for tradesmen, because they could just pop in and pick up a tool or materials if they ran short. The public liked it too, because they got trade prices on basic home improvement materials.\n\nThe company was purchased by a major retail group, and Goddard-Watts spent a few year just sitting on the cash he'd made from the sale.\n\nThen after 4 years, he set up another company called toolstation - which, you guessed it, has a chain of warehouses with counter service where you pick items from a catalogue. If you go down to one of these stores, you literally can't tell the difference apart from the name above the door, and the name on the catalogue.",
"So there are a number of blockades that usually prevent this.\n\n\nThe first one is a non compete clause that will exist in almost any standard sale of business deal. Most deals will hinge on the seller not being able to simply take that idea to another company, whether they start it or not. There's usually a limit on these clauses, measured in years in most cases. Technically you could do this after the clause is over, but by then the buying company should already be to market with your idea.\n\n\nThe second big block would be the sale of IP along with the company. If you started the company, your intellectual property is almost always under that company, not under the creator. When the company is sold, so is the IP. You know have to respect any patents, copyrights, etc of the company as if you never had the ideas or products in the 1st place.",
"The previous company owns all the IP on the projects they were doing so if the companies are too similar then you can run into intellectual property issues ",
"It has happened before. For example, Leo Fender sold the Fender Electric Instrument Company he founded to CBS in 1965, for health reasons. The sale included a 10 year non-compete clause, but Leo's health improved and he found he was still interested in making guitars and amps. By 1971 he was involved in a new company started by an ex-Fender manager (which later became Music Man); officially as a silent partner and financial backer, but unofficially working on designs too. When the non-compete clause expired in 1975, he was appointed President of the company. ",
"For small businesses very very little.\n\nNon compete clauses? Simply have the business in the name of your wife or run it as a Ltd company so that it has a different identity.",
"Most of the time when you sell a business a non-compete clause will be a part of the sale. This prevents exactly what you are talking about.\n\nPlus you have the fact that a businessman has no reason to do that most of the time. If they wanted to still work in that field why would they spend the money and effort to build a new business from scratch when they have one that is already up and running with customers and the like. ",
"Desire. If you want to sell a business, it is probably because you want to get out of that business. Otherwise, you would rebrand or restructure; getting additional capital from investors or loans if necessary. Starting a business is difficult, and it takes time to build the reputation of a brand. Presumably if you are selling the brand and somebody is willing to buy it, as opposed to liquidating the assets, the brand you are selling already has value.\n\nA sales contract may contain a non-compete as other people have said, but if the business is a corporation than it will almost certainly not. Since a corporation is its own legal entity, who would the non-compete apply to? The corporation itself? The stockholders?",
"The non-compete was already brought up a lot of times.\n\nAlso, think of this. Take Coca-Cola, or Pepsi. They both have cola drinks. What's to stop you from starting your own cola company, and taking on either one or both of them? They have the brand recognition. Coca-Cola's \"secret\" recipe doesn't matter. A good flavorist can reproduce that in no time. But there's no point in selling a product that tastes like Coca-Cola, because you can never compete with Coca-Cola marketing.\n\nAlso, if it was cheaper to start a new company, why wouldn't the other company start it instead of buying yours? What benefit could you get from selling your company, and then starting one exactly like it? Sure it has happened, but there have usually been some very special circumstances.",
"Many times when business are bought outa non compete clause is included in the agreement. This means that the owner of the business is not allowed to create a competing business within a specified time frame. For example the owner of Starbucks sold his company, waited for the non complete clause to end (I think it was 10 years) and opened David's tea"
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6mleuu | why is gentrification a modern phenomenon? why did it take off in the last two decades in the us and western europe and not earlier? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6mleuu/eli5_why_is_gentrification_a_modern_phenomenon/ | {
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"text": [
"It's not a modern phenomenon at all, what makes you think it's only been happening for the last 20 years?"
]
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46vrqg | how do the "get rich quick" and related scams get away with it? are there no laws against these types of fake advertisements? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/46vrqg/eli5_how_do_the_get_rich_quick_and_related_scams/ | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"There is in America, but circumventing American law on the Internet is as easy as not basing your company in America. Seriously that's how they get away with it, it's still going to get to you and Americans can't do anything about it, because it's not theirs. "
]
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1z625s | eili5: why do i get totally dehydrated when i drink a ton of beer? | I drink a lot, I piss a lot, I wake up feeling like I'm made of sandpaper. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1z625s/eili5_why_do_i_get_totally_dehydrated_when_i/ | {
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"text": [
"Beer is a diuretic. What diuretics do is, quite simply, make you urinate more. This leads to dehydration as you continue to urinate, eventually leading to that nasty hangover in the morning. Drinking water will help to prevent those hangovers!",
"There is a molecule released by your adrenal medulla that tells your kidneys to retain water. Alcohol inhibits this molecule, so your kidneys don't retain water and you piss it out. This leads to huge water lose and dehydration. "
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7i1nj9 | how does your body know what to process from the food you eat and what is waste? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7i1nj9/eli5_how_does_your_body_know_what_to_process_from/ | {
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"It doesn't *know*. It's what it's *able* to process. What it *can't* process is waste. ",
"imagine you have a bunch of lego constructions, but they are missing parts.\n\nyou go and take an already completed lego model, and completely tear it apart piece by piece.\n\nyou use these constructed pieces to complete all of your lego constructions, and use some of it to start to build more. and then some of it is just no good, and you poop those lego parts out of ur butthole",
"First, let's talk about the \"know\" part. Your body uses microscopic structures called \"enzymes\" that grab ahold of other molecules and (for our purposes) breaks them down into other molecules. Each of these enzymes are specific to what they break down, so an enzyme won't just break down anything, it will only work on specific molecules. This has to do with the enzymes structure, round enzyme requires a round peg or, the enzyme is a lock and the molecule it breaks down is a key.\n\nThere are three main types of molecules that can be broken down for energy: carbs, fats and protein. For the most part, the energy is being carried by a molecule called ATP. Think of ATP as your bodies 20 dollar bill, there are other molecules that carry energy, but we're just going to talk about ATP, because it's your bodies favorite.\n\nThe process starts in your mouth where you chew up your food into smaller molecules, and then break it down even further by enzymes in your saliva, you swallow it, it goes down into your stomach where it's broken down into a liquid by the acid in your stomach and the proteins are broken down into smaller molecules call \"amino acids\". The liquified food then makes its way to the small intestines where the good stuff is absorbed through the walls of your intestines and into your blood.\n\nThis is where our discussion of the specific nature of enzymes becomes important, as these molecules are brought into the cell from the blood and meet a bunch of enzymes that break them down depending on what they are. There's a whole chain of enzymes that react with each one, we can put these enzymes into groups based on the original food. So there's glycolysis that breaks down carbs and Beta-Oxidation that breaks down fats and then amino acid degradation. \n\nSo, each of these foods requires a different group of enzymes to break them down and anything that doesn't have enzymes to break it down is excreted as waste."
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69rvzz | why does "walking it off" seem to help us recover from some types of minor injury more quickly? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/69rvzz/eli5_why_does_walking_it_off_seem_to_help_us/ | {
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"When you walk, your blood pumps faster and that helps heal the wound faster. It also distracts you from the pain since your brain cannot waste time on pain if it has something physical to do. \n\nHowever, don't strain yourself too much or the healing process may actually be put on hold since your body focuses entirely on the exercise. \n\nTLDR: don't benchpress, just walk it off",
"The healing process begins nearly immediately, but you'd have to be Wolverine to notice any actual healing in the moments you spend walking it off.\n\nWhat is happening here is a bit of distraction. Some injuries (depending on the type and severity) are more jarring/painful initially and the pain subsides a bit shortly after. When you hit your shin for instance the pain is intense but after a minute or so it has dulled to become manageable.\n\nWalking it off is simply trying to distract yourself while the initial pain subsides. This strategy isn't very useful for true injuries and often makes the injury worse. "
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15sy9r | what if two people involved in a car accident go to court, and they both have the same insurance company? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15sy9r/eli5_what_if_two_people_involved_in_a_car/ | {
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"Usually this doesn't happen because it is in the insurance company's best interest to resolve the matter before it gets to court. But, if they insisted then the insurance company would hire lawyers for both sides."
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1q86cs | why is bank of america considered a scam/bad company? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1q86cs/eli5_why_is_bank_of_america_considered_a_scambad/ | {
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"Banks only care about their shareholders. Shareholders want all the money now, but there is a finite market for financing, not everyone is capable of handling credit or loans, that's what a credit score is supposed to show. If I loan a guy with zero or bad credit $10,000 for a car, when I try to sell the debt to someone else they're going to see that the debt is very likely to default. But if I loan to hundreds of guys with bad credit and then cut up the debt and bundle it together, I hide the bad scores and make it seem like the debts might not default: at least not all of them, right? This is what banks like Bank of America did to get their shareholders money, they screwed everyone else as much as possible and it's still their MO.\n\nBanks have conflicts of interest against their customers, both their basic customers and the owners of property they are financing, as well as heavy collusion with their partner institutions, the FED from which they borrow tons of money at great rates makes them invaluable to the US government, which in turn bails them out if they fail. Their incentive to do risky, borderline illegal stuff is high and it has not changed. Their rates are pretty terrible, their customer service is near non-existent, and they are toxic partners that know they can't be replaced by many other financial institutions they are leeched upon.\n\nBy contrast, a Credit Union does not borrow from the FED and does not have a select group of shareholders that hire shady CEO's to work against it's own customers. The customers are the shareholders, so there is little conflict of interest, the service is remarkable by comparison, and the rates are often very fair, especially with things like CDs.\n\nBank of America is convenient and familiar, there are ATM's everywhere, and while Credit Unions often offer complete reimbursement on ATM fees, they 'trust' big brands more."
]
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c1rr65 | how is a word created? how does it become a generally accepted term by a population? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c1rr65/eli5_how_is_a_word_created_how_does_it_become_a/ | {
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"I feel like this phenomenon is a bit too complicated to eli5 but here's the best I've got.\n\nWe know there are different shades of red. For a long time though, we only had one way to describe the different shades so they were all red. The some day, some one said something like \"burgundy\" or \"crimson\". \n\nWe find a new way to describe something so that ideas become more robust and easier to picture for others.",
"There can be existing words that are modified (eg. magestical) or made up words (like today’s slang) .\nMainly these words need to be said a lot and then they sort of become offical.\nThat’s the best explaination I have.",
"In addition to everything said here, dictionaries can also “just” add words. It’s always interesting to see what Mariam Webster adds year by year.\n\n[new words 2019](_URL_0_)",
"Not a language expert. But i assume that our earliest ancestors needed to communicate. What started off as grunts or sounds needed to become more complex to actually describe what they were trying to communicate to each other. Eventually rules were made to help everybody understand each other and language developed from there.\n\nEnglish as a language is a mash up of many different languages, with words that have their origin in all sorts of ancient and more modern languages.\n\nNowadays words are either made my mashing words together or modifying already existent words (think spork) or just making up a new word and if enough people use it and it catches on, then that's a word.\n\nScientific words are often based on latin or Greek origins, or named after the discoverer or something important to the discoverer.",
"It's a popularity contest, literally. If I decide to use a new word to describe something, people around me will either no use it or start to use that word too. Maybe it's a convenient word, maybe it describe something that they didn't know about, maybe it just sound better than the word they used in the past, or maybe there is a word already existing, but they don't know about it. No matter the reason, if more and more people start to use my word is become a popular word and that's it. \n\n & #x200B;\n\nNow at that point, a linguist could look at that word and classify it a certain way, a group of people in charge of a dictionary can decide to include it, or maybe a standardisation office of the language can accept it officially, but that just give legitimacy to the word, but doesn't change the fact that word was used by a lot of people and part of the common language.",
"Most English words started as Latin or Greek. They were spoken in Latin or Greek by English speakers until people 1) misspelled them more frequently (both on purpose and accidentally) and the misspelling became a more common English word, or 2) purposely added the Latin or Greek word to another part of another word to create a brand new word, or 3) existed unchanged until today, still to be spoken by English speakers. \n\nExamples of each of those:\n\n1) The Latin word *pictura* was eventually changed to the English word *picture*. \n\n2) The Latin words *corna* (which means *horn*) and *copia* (which means *plenty*) were combined to make the English word *cornucopia*. \n\n3) The Latin words *villa* and *aqua* meaning *house* and *water* still mean the same things today.",
"From POV of a schizophreniac with perhaps thousands of neologisms... a fellow will find making the word is the easy part. Harder is to to get them to overcome their miscalors unto him and to use the words themselves.\n\nTo that end, more acceptable than the purest neologisms, such as *quark* or whatever keyboard spam, easier are the derivations, the lowest liberties, the *neologoses*. For example, as the dominant does dominate, the *complicant* does complicate. Shouldn't they? Wouldn't you be more willing to use that word than, say, *schlarf* for that purpose? Did you even need a definition?\n\nThere is something which when tasteful is called poetry, and when tasteless and helplessly overdone is called psychiatric *clanging*. To put words together satisfied only that at the intersection of sound and feeling, they're *right* together. It is a schizophrenicē, if not as quantifiable as its direct consequence in the plurality of neologisms that schizophrenics produce.\n\nBut quantifiable or not, it may helps them produce the best words of all.",
"Have you ever read the book, Frindle? It's a cute story and the main character asks this exact same question."
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"https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary"
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3n0t83 | why is turning your assets into cash called "liquidating"? | Because I mean, and correct me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked, money wasn't liquid. Anyone have any insight on this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3n0t83/eli5_why_is_turning_your_assets_into_cash_called/ | {
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"This is known as a \"metaphor\". \n\nMoney isn't literally liquid, but we *do* refer to it as \"cash flow\". Basically, having your assets liquid means you can easily move them from place to place. ",
"Liquidity in the world of finance refers to how easy it is to trade an asset. If i want to buy groceries and pay for it with my house or my car, things would be pretty difficult. Cash is, almost by definition, the easiest asset to trade and is therefore called the most liquid."
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dkgm4h | on infrared night vision cameras, why do black clothes look white, but my black dog stays black? | We have at home cctv cameras, and at night time, when the infrared night vision mode activates, our black clothes look white on the video. But one of our dogs is black, and she stays looking black.
Why is that? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dkgm4h/eli5_on_infrared_night_vision_cameras_why_do/ | {
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"It might be cause your black cloth doesn't absorb light from IR spectrum while the dog's fur doesn't. It's sorta like the cloth isn't truly black in the sense that it'd absorb light in any spectra.",
"Infra-red (IR) is just another colour, like red, green and blue. It's possible for something to reflect or shine in IR so that it shows up white on IR cameras even if it looks black to us. It sounds like the black clothes you're talking about are like that. On the other hand, it's possible for your black dog to not shine in IR."
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185iwp | what is hermeticism? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/185iwp/eli5_what_is_hermeticism/ | {
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"A sort-of religious magic thing where people try to influence the world through contacting and making deals with heavenly beings.",
"Hermeticism is a style of magic that was decended from greek and egyptian sources, based on the teachings of a mythical guy named Hermes Trismegistus. This man was seen as an avatar of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. He supposedly authored some quasi philosophical/ metaphysical texts called the Corpus Hermeticum.\n\nMost Occult traditions that existed during the 18th 19th and 20th centuries were based in part on hermetic principals as well as christianized Kabbalistic principals.",
"Alester Crowley had more fun."
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7i2pzd | how does martial law get retracted? what value does it have for citizens? | I found info on how it can get called upon, but not ended. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7i2pzd/eli5_how_does_martial_law_get_retracted_what/ | {
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"The answer if going to be 'it depends'. It will depend on the constitution of the country and whether or not it is being followed. Some countries have provisions in the constitution for the army to step in at certain times, usually with the aim of restoring order and having fresh elections.\n\nMost countries do not, so whenever martial law is declared, the army are essentially freestyling an intervention, and are making up the rules as they go along. In those cases, martial law ends when the army decides it ends - again usually after elections and a handover to civilian power.\n\nValue for citizens - mainly that martial law can quell large scale rioting and disorder, plus possibly remove a corrupt government, but generally mainly of benefit to whoever backed the army to do it.",
"When used appropriately, martial law means a certain portion of the country is under military control, but the country at large remains under civilian control. Those civilian authorities decide when it should end.\n\nAs for value, it allows military resources to be better used it emergency situations, typically a war. If Canada invaded the US and had seized International Falls, a good part of northern Minnesota would likely fall under martial law. The US also declared martial law after the San Francisco fire of 1906, so soldiers could blow up buildings to make firebreaks.\n\nHowever, it is more often used abusively. For most of World War II, Hawaii was under martial law, mostly to suspend the rights of Japanese-Americans living there. One multiple occasionas, state governors used martial law as a pretense to break strikes, and the last time it was used, 1961, the Alabama Governor used it as a pretext to harass civil rights protestors.",
"It can mean different things. In some circumstances it can mean the military is now serving a law enforcement function over civilians, while the civilian Government is still in control. An example of this would be the Los Angeles Riots of 1992. President George H.W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807 via Executive Order, federalizing the existing California National Guard troops already in place, and then sent in 1,500 Marines and elements of the US Army's 40th Infantry division to restore order. In other circumstances Martial Law could be declared by the military themselves as part of a coup attempt. In this case the military is running the show, and they'll end it when they feel like it, because it's an extrajudicial action.",
"Martial Law = Ternary of the Government over the people.\nFor as long and as hard as they want to make it. Essentially your civil rights are suspended."
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2ciz6f | what is the significance of the numbers that come after the dash in processors? | For example, say there is an Intel Core i5-3570K or a Intel Core i7-2600K. What does the 3570K and the 2600K mean?
Also, how do you determine the relative rankings of each processor based on their full names? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ciz6f/eli5_what_is_the_significance_of_the_numbers_that/ | {
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"That number is just a model identifier and doesn't match any actual metric of the CPU. There are so many different factors that go into what makes one CPU faster than another (cores, clock speed, cache size, pipeline architecture, etc.) that as /u/riconquer says you should just look at benchmarking scores."
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Subsets and Splits