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4zfjyb | how could being near or farsighted help us? what is the purpose of having nearsighted or farsighted vision? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4zfjyb/eli5_how_could_being_near_or_farsighted_help_us/ | {
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"There's not a purpose; it's a defect. It's just a defect we've learned to artificially correct so it won't get weeded out evolutionarily. "
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d14zjo | when something has sugars and carbs is that the same thing? | Yogurt for example has like 1gram of carbs and 1 gram of sugars for every tablesoon.. Does that mean the 1 gram of sugar COUNTS as the 1 gram of carbs. or do they count seperately? so like 1 gram of carbs AND 1 gram of sugar. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d14zjo/eli5when_something_has_sugars_and_carbs_is_that/ | {
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"In your example, it's the same thing. Sugars are carbohydrates but not all carbohydrates are sugars.",
"on the nutrient label, carbs accounts for all carbs: starch, sugar, and fiber..and sugar alcohol if it's in there."
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f4r95a | how can bread be both "whole wheat" and "gluten-free"? | Cause if its gluten-free, how can the wheat still be whole? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f4r95a/eli5_how_can_bread_be_both_whole_wheat_and/ | {
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"researchers showed that it’s possible to render wheat technically gluten-free when it undergoes a slow lacto-fermentation with specific lacto-bacilli and fungi. The wheat started out life with a normal 75,000 ppm (parts per million) of gluten, but after the sourdough fermentation process, gluten levels were only 12 ppm. under the gluten-free labeling laws, anything under 20 ppm is considered gluten free.\n\n_URL_0_\n\n\nbasically they ferment the gluten out of yhe grain without destroying any of it making it a gluten free whole grain."
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2shiqd | why have airships not made a return now that engineering has improved and a safer airship could be made since the hindenburg disaster? | You could travel in COMFORT flying for once, and how COOL would the sky look full of airships?
Why has no company offered airship flight services since the Hindenburg disaster? I am sure the public realizes there has been major advancements since those days that would ensure such an accident would not occur again.
Edit: People saying it is too slow:
trains are very slow to travel with as well yet there are still people who choose to do so, why is there no niche market with even 1 or 2 airships for people to travel on. I sure know if I had the chance to travel on an airship I would even if it is slow. Build a bar and a restaurant, with some nice rooms like a train on an airship to attract tourists. Make the journey about being on the ship its self, not about the source or destination / pretty much how trains are (at least in Canada / not europe I realize trains are actually a viable means of transportation in Europe / they however are not in Canada)
I'm not suggesting to use it as a main method of fast travel. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2shiqd/eli5_why_have_airships_not_made_a_return_now_that/ | {
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"The aesthetics of the sky hardly compensate for the otherwise pointless activity of spending vast amounts of money to move through the air at low speeds, subjected to the whims of the winds.",
"They're still dreadfully slow and require a massive amount of space per passenger, so it wouldn't be economical to have an aerodrome for them anywhere. \n\nThe main use-case for them has already been realized: A floating billboard or observational post.\n\nAlso helium, your best candidate for a gas, is a limited resource as much - if not more so - than petroleum is.",
"Two things,\n\nFirstly, no matter how much engineering you put in something there can always be accidents. Sure you could fill it with helium so it couldn't explode the same way but that doesn't mean it couldn't have its helium escape. I'm not in any way an expert on airships so I don't know where their weak points really are but you get my point.\n\nThe first point isn't the reason why, my second point, is that airships were popular before the age of huge commercial jets. Today if you want to get from NYC to Paris you take a plane and it takes around 6 hours. In contrast an airship could take around 100 hours at the speed they went when popular.\n\nSure you could market the airship as a new type of cruise but there's apparently little demand for it. An airship couldn't mirror the accommodation that people are used to in a sea cruise ship. For buoyancy on water you just need to displace more water than the weight of the boat. When you do that, you can still use that space.\n\nFor an airship to float, you need to weight less than air. This means you need a ton (or rather a lot of negative tons) of lighter than air gases. The space you need to put those lighter than air gases can't be used for anything else. This is why a goodyear blimp is huge yet has a relatively tiny cockpit. "
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3x6n5c | how do twin cities work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3x6n5c/eli5_how_do_twin_cities_work/ | {
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"You're mixing up *twin cities* and *sister cities*.\n\nSister cities are just a friendly way for cities to reach out to cities in another country to promote business, tourism & cultural exchanges.\n\n\"Twin cities\", at least in the US, are when you have two cities that are both the \"main\" city in a metropolitan area, rather than the usual situation where one city is the main & surrounded by a bunch of lesser suburbs.",
"In the UK we use 'twinned' in the same way you use 'sistered' in the U.S. So a town or city can be 'twinned' with one or more in another country, and its sort of like having a pen-pal/pen-friend. It's a good question though because I'd also like to know how it woks and how it starts.\n",
"Twin towns/twin cities have two meanings. In the US, it refers to two cities very close by - e.g. St Paul and Minneapolis. In Europe, it refers to two settlements normally in different countries which have agreed to be 'twinned', which is to say have a connection of some sort between them.\n\nTwin towns/cities in Europe have varying levels of connection, depending how the local council/people/organisations want to take them. The process involves decisions/resolutions by the town council of each place. The connection might be painting it on the 'welcome' sign then forgetting about it for thirty years, or it might be deeper, involving regular exchanges of schoolchildren, sports teams competing, chambers of commerce forming links & learning from each other, etc.\n\nThere was a big rush for twinning after WW2, in an effort to improve understanding & links between the peoples of Europe."
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5yqdux | how come eggs are not served with chicken and vice versa? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5yqdux/eli5_how_come_eggs_are_not_served_with_chicken/ | {
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"Which one do you make first? \n\n*Which one do you eat first?*\n\nNo really, you can do this. \n\nChicken sausage is a thing. Great with eggs.\n\nWaffles are made with eggs, and go well with chicken.\n\nYou can fry or bake chicken with a batter, which can be made with eggs. \n\nTry a cobb salad sometime. Aside from greens, the two key ingredients are grilled chicken and hard boiled egg.\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n",
"There's a very popular dish in Japan called \"Parent & Child\" (Oyako) which has chicken and eggs, chicken and egg breakfast burritos, chicken and egg breakfast sandwiches at Chic-Fil-A...",
"Let's say you're a peasant farmer with a few chickens. Your chickens lay eggs, and you eat the eggs. You could kill the chickens and eat chicken, but then you wouldn't have any eggs!\n\nSo, you either ate eggs OR you ate chicken. This would explain why it's so uncommon today, people just kept up a tradition without really thinking about the reason why.",
"Eggs and chicken are served together a lot. \n\nEggs are a part of a lot of batters used to fry foods, including fried chicken. \n\nCobb salad traditionally has grilled chicken and boiled eggs on it. \n\nOyako (parent and child) is a Japanese dish that is chicken and egg. \n\nChicken is sometimes used in breakfast tacos which use eggs too. \n\nThere are many more foods too. ",
"Also, why aren't eggs served with pork, lamb, beef, and other proteins?\n\nBecause most of our dishes use a single animal based protein as the star. \n\nAs other have mentioned, eggs often play a disguised supporting role. \n\n"
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1wwi4h | how come when someone dies, a lot of people become possessive of that person? | Just a trend I've notiched since social media started to become really big. Whenever someone dies, it seems like lots of people come out of the woodwork to make their claim on how much of a friend they were to the recently deceased. Why does this happen? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1wwi4h/eli5_how_come_when_someone_dies_a_lot_of_people/ | {
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"I think a couple of reasons are that it's a lot easier to romanticize who someone was once they're dead and lots of people make things about themselves without even realizing that's what they're doing. Have you seen world's greatest dad, starring Robin Williams? It's a good movie and quite relevant. ",
"people like attention and as soon as one opportunity presents well the rest you know it\n",
"I don't know but when that shooting happened in the Columbia MD mall a lot of people were posting on facebook about the guy Tyler that died. I knew the guy. Wasn't friends with him but saw him at parties occasionally. But when he died people were posting things about him like they were good friends with the guy. A lot of people were tagging him in their statuses for no other reason then to show other people on their friends list they were friends with him. My good friend for example, wasn't friends with him. Saw him a few times at a party or something like I did. Yet, there he was posting on his facebook as if he lost his best friend and tagging him so everybody knew he had him as a friend on facebook so they MUST have been close. I hate it when people all of a sudden pretend they were best friends with someone just because they died."
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9x2j2s | why can't two phones just automatically connect when they're calling each other at the same time? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9x2j2s/eli5_why_cant_two_phones_just_automatically/ | {
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"The short ELI5 answer is because that's not how they work. When calling it looks to ring and can't be rung. If they're both calling they're both looking to ring, and can't be rung, so it doesn't work. The system *could be* different, but isn't, and the odds of a major change to the underlying infrastructure like would be necessary are low. "
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2sv4im | what happens to an uninsured patient with catastrophic injuries in the u.s.? | For example: I can't afford health insurance - I make too much to qualify for assistance and too little to afford to pay out of pocket - and I get in a massive accident on my way home from work. Broken back and neck, internal injuries requiring a hospital stay, multiple surgeries and months of rehab therapy. What happens to me? What kind of care do I receive and how am I expected to pay hundreds of thousands in hospital bills? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2sv4im/eli5_what_happens_to_an_uninsured_patient_with/ | {
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"Everyone receives emergency care, regardless of their insurance. If you can't pay it, eventually the hospital will write it off. So ultimately the taxpayers pay for it, indirectly.\n\nOnce you're stable, don't expect stellar care, but hospitals don't typically kick people to the curb to die.",
"Federal law requires hospitals to care for you until you're stable enough to be released. Then you get $135,000 in medical bills. You declare bankruptcy, if you owned a home you don't anymore. As an added bonus US government under W made it harder for citizens, easier for corporations to file bankruptcy. ",
"Law requires that everyone gets emergency care, and additional care until they are stable enough for release. They will be billed for their care and they either have to pay it or file for bankruptcy ",
"As with any medical situation in the United States you will generally get care, people without insurance can go to free clinics or other charities or programs. The problem with the healthcare system isn't the healthcare, it is how we pay for it. \n\nYou come into any emergency room in any hospital in the United States and they will treat your life threatening injury. They will send you the bill later but even then you may not have to pay, let me give some examples \n\nLet's say uninsured Annie is 19 years old and homeless, one day she gets stabbed by bad guy Barry, victims services would help uninsured Annie pay for being the victim of a violent crime. Restitution may also be payed if bad guy Barry is caught. \n\nLet's use uninsured Annie again shall we? Uninsured Annie is walking one day in target and slips and falls in the ladies room, through a series of court decisions in the United States, because it happened on target's property, they MAY be at least partly responsible, but since lawyers cost more than settlements they may agree to pay off the medical bills. \n\nIninsured Annie is driving drunk when she crashes into a tree, her car is totaled, and uninsured Annie has a life threading wound, the paramedics arrive and drive her to the hospital where she makes a full recovery. Uninsured Annie has to pay for everything! The hospital room, the ambulance ride, the time of the doctors, the aspirin, the medication ect. There are government programs and charities that may help but Annie is gonna have to get a payment plan and pay what she owes to her debtors but that is what comes last. \n\nLet's contrast that situation to insured Isabelle, who has health insurance and is not low income. \n\nInsured Isabelle is going mountain climbing, she falls and has a life threatening injury. Insured Isabelle is taken by the paramedics to the hospital and is given a room and surgery. Insured Isabelle still has to pay deductibles but the amount she owes to her insurance will be far less than what is owed to the hospital. \n\nBoth insured Isabelle and uninsured Annie get medical care in every situation, but paying for it is different. ",
"We sacrifice them to the Republican party",
"IMO Michael Moore's Sicko explains that preety well. ",
"Basically their life is ruined by crippling debt.",
"In my uninsured experience (in NC 2009), the emergency care was good once we got to the hospital ER (the urgent care clinic would not take us without insurance) - We were at the hospital all night, but thankfully, the injury did not require anymore treatment than that. A week or so later, the hospital mailed us the bill, and I called to make payment arrangements. They were nice and very helpful. It took about 2 years to pay the bill. I think it's good that you're looking for information. I hope you can find a way to get insured. Best of luck to you and your family.\n",
"Medical bills are biggest cause for bankruptcy in U.S.\n\n[link](_URL_0_.)",
"This actually happened to my brother-in-law. He was uninsured and in a house fire. Three months in a burn unit racked up around a million in bills. We were all advised to not pay for ANYTHING medical he needed as apparently that can potentially get us tied up for the bill? We set up a fund to help out, but he didn't own it, so it wasn't part of what could be collected upon. Anyway, the state had a program that helped out a ton. It's specifically setup for this kind of thing. He's paying a portion of his income and after a certain time he's free and clear. No bankruptcy, no collections, and no substandard care. The maximum he'll end up paying will be less than a tenth of what was owed.",
"Generally each state has a publicly funded scheme to offer catastrophic insurance for exceptional situations. The parameters vary wildly state by state, so it's not uniform what will be covered, what is eligible, nor how much it will cost you. You may or, more likely, may not be covered in the scenario described, frequently they are meant for terminal patients. You're also probably not going to have access to anything more than basic care or management, so probably no out-of-town specialists, insanely costed recently developed wonder drugs, nor state-of-the-art specialty hospitals.\n\nIn that case you would end up in the emergency room, as the other posters have pointed out, and you would be admitted to the hospital and receive treatment and likely even some long term care and rehab. At the end you'd receive a bill for half a bajillion dollars, you'd likely declare bankruptcy since you have no chance of paying it or maybe the hospital would write it off in exchange for what you can pay (and charge the patients with insurance more as result, make no mistake we were already subsidizing the uninsured before Obamacare, and still do, just not via the government). ",
"This exact thing happened to me. My husband and I worked in the restaurant industry. I was in school. Neither of us were insured. I got into an accident that broke my back and paralyzed me.\n\nThey got me through emergent spine stabilization surgery, and then sent me to inpatient rehab. They just kept taking care of me knowing I couldn't pay. We just kept getting bills, upwards of 100k$ plus. They just got added to our \"bill\" coffee can with a laugh.\n\nReally long story short, after some major finagling, I got Medicaid. They back dated it to before my accident, so, all got paid for. Without this, we were talking to medical bankruptcy lawyers.\n\nedit: stupid fat finger typing...",
"How I love the Netherlands, pay 80 euros per month and everything is covered. No stupid 40k bills for staying in the hospital for one night. ",
"Republican healthcare plan:\n\n**If you are healthy don't get sick. If you get sick, die quickly.**",
"You go hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt.",
"Couldn't tell you. I recently got in an accident, shattered my arm, needed surgery, and now 15k+ in debt. So yeah, I guess I kinda got off lucky because it could have been way worse for me. But still. /sigh",
"They asked this question of the Republican candidates for president in 2011. Rand Paul said that he should get a large insurance policy. But the moderator pressed him and asked, \"Should he just die?\" \n\nThe entire audience erupted in applause for the idea that the guy should just drop dead.\n\nGo Republicans!",
"Best way I have heard it describe; the US has 'sick-care' not healthcare. ",
"They go bankrupt, but they will be stabilized.\n\n'We saved your life, and now will take everything you have.'\n\nWe have the worst healthcare system in the developed world.",
"So many of these comments aren't true and just harp on how it'll lead to bankruptcy. \n\nAt the hospital I'm at, and I would argue almost all academic medical centers, the hospital writes it off and the hit. What does that mean for folks with insurance, medical professionals, and hospital staff? We pay more than our share and take hits in our pay. ",
"I love Canada",
"Bankruptcy. I did it for my medical. I also had insurance but it didn't cover it all. Had no choice but to file. I've done my homework now and got good insurance.",
"Simple answer is, you don't and everyone does.\n\nYou can not be denied critical care. Term critical depends on the hospital and doctor. After you are treated, you are billed for emergency medical fee. \n\nWhich can be as little as 10K to 40K, if it is overnight stay without major surgery or tests or upwards to 200K easy.\n\nYou default or try to explain to them that you can not pay. The billing takes away about 80% of it and you end up just paying for the material cost / some services.\n\nThe rest which is time , insurance, liability, and other resources are covered by the hospital. Which in turn is paid for by the government. Hence, the reason why US spending on Healthcare is so astronomically high compared to other country that actually gets FREE healthcare via tax (cost of service also has a price ceiling or cap, so EKG, MRI, and others can not cost more than set amount across the board.)\n\n\nAmericans are already paying for other peoples hospital fee, they are just too stupid to realize that if they overcome their fear of socialism. They'd have full healthcare coverage for all their citizen, for what they are already paying. In fact, they'd save money in long run as cost of medical care will decrease. Everyone has insurance so hospital is getting paid, they don't need to foot the bill to paying customers nor government. Price ceiling puts most services at set price, but free market will guarantee that some clinics will be cheaper than others.\n\n",
"So this actually happened to my BIL. Not well off, no insurance, motorcycle accident with traumatic brain injury. Hospital helps get Medicaid, family declares bankruptcy and gets rid of most assets. I bealive they got a divorce to protect some assets. He is now permanently in a nursing home. 3 young kids, very sad.",
"As the saying goes, if you owe the hospital $50,000, you have a problem. If you owe the hospital $500,000, they have a problem.",
"We save their life so they can wish they were dead."
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658fha | why is calling someone "retarded" unacceptable, but calling someone "autistic" totally fine? | I see and hear people call others autistic all the time (see: autistic screeching), but the moment the word retard is spoken or written, people go crazy. Why? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/658fha/eli5_why_is_calling_someone_retarded_unacceptable/ | {
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"Both are equally offensive when used as to describe something in a negative way. I think retarded is used more frequently and that is why it seems less acceptable.",
"It isn't. People who are offended by one should also be offended by the other, and vice versa. Ask any of the people who complain.",
"Autistic is a simple description. You'll find a lot of people in the world who are quite proud of being autistic.\n\nThe r-word started off as a simple description of a person with learning difficulties, but seeing as how people immediately adopted it as an insult, now it serves purely as a reminder to learning disabled people that apparently the world thinks very little of them.",
"It's subjective. Taking offense is different for different people.\n\nSo when people get on ELI5 and ask \"Why is X bad while Y is okay?\" you have to answer the questions \"who is saying X is bad, and who is saying Y is okay?\" \n\nIf they're the same people, that's where you explore. But if they're different people, the two have no correlation.\n\nWhy does dad think hard R action films are okay for the kids, but mom thinks romantic comedies are not? Well, because they're two different people who have different lines in the sand on their own opinions about two totally different things.",
"Evolution of language. \"Retarded\" used to be an acceptable term to refer to someone with learning difficulties. As others have said it was applied as an insult both to people who really were retarded and those who were not. Someday \"autistic\" will probably also be considered offensive and the official term will be something else. \"Learning disabled\" and \"special needs\" were in there too."
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3ysktu | why do some tv shows block out manufacturer logos on cars when it's obvious the car is a volkswagen, toyota, ford, etc. same goes for drinks like budweiser or coca-cola, the name is either blocked or the logo facing away from the camera. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ysktu/eli5_why_do_some_tv_shows_block_out_manufacturer/ | {
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"Because the networks are in the business of selling advertising. It's harder to sell ads to Pepsi if the program shows Coke cans for free.",
"If you don't pay, they won't show it. Whenever you can see actual logos, they were paid for by their respective companies. It's built in advertising",
"There are several reasons:\n\n1. The brand might not want to be associated with the show.\n\n2. It's free brand recognition advertising for the brand.\n\n3. A sponsor (brand) of the show might require it.\n\n4. Advertising tobacco products is illegal in print and television/movies.",
"Because they don't have a contract with that company to advertise the product.\n\nIt's equal parts 'you haven't paid me to' and 'we don't want to be sued'\n\n(and some shows, like mythbusters, may also avoid showing brands and logos to avoid the appearance of bias)"
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ayzu3v | why do baby deer lose their spots as they grow older when the spots help with camoflage? why give up that advantage? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ayzu3v/eli5_why_do_baby_deer_lose_their_spots_as_they/ | {
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"A baby deer's defense mechanism is to lay low to blend with the ground. When looking down on the baby deer, the spots look like sunlight spots on the ground.\n\nWhen a deer gets older and larger, it loses its spots to help blend in with the background of dirt, bark, and tall grass when viewed from the side. an adult deer's defence mechanism is to remain still when standing, ready to bolt if needed. Floating spots would stick out too much."
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3fdbqn | what's the difference between coding for sony and coding for microsoft? | What would a programmer have to do to make a finished XBox 360 game into a PS3 game, assuming they had all of the tools and software available? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3fdbqn/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_coding_for_sony/ | {
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"Now adays, not much. Xbox 360 and PS3 both run on C++, so really all you need to change is the engine you built for a different CPU and GPU.\n\nCorrect me if I'm wrong about this. I don't know much about development because I just started."
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26uqu1 | why are some diseases more likely to happen to someone depending on their race/gender? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/26uqu1/eli5_why_are_some_diseases_more_likely_to_happen/ | {
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"The combinations of genetics that dictate your race or gender can also play a role on your immune system.\n\nNot to mention, certain diseases are only applicable to a specific sex (ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, etc).\n\nCombine that with the fact that they various combinations of genetics can result in differing amounts of each tissue type and such, and suddenly you have a lot of rates for diseases dependant on such circumstances changing, sometimes for the better or worse."
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3as6yp | why doesn't one petrol station just make their price really low to get all the other stations' business? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3as6yp/eli5_why_doesnt_one_petrol_station_just_make/ | {
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"Because gasoline/petrol is sold on razor thin margins. If they dropped the price significantly, they'd *lose* money for every sale (they'd effectively be paying for you to buy their product), so they'd quickly go out of business.",
"Many gas stations don't make any money off of selling gas (unless when people pay with cash and there is no lower cash price). Many gas stations make 100% of their profit from the convenience store, and car wash if it has one."
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48lz7w | why arent there any dark matter stars, planets or black holes? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/48lz7w/eli5_why_arent_there_any_dark_matter_stars/ | {
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"There could very well be Dark Matter Stars and Black Holes, perhaps much more massive than the \"regular ones\", but we wouldn't be able to know that at this point, since we can't really observe dark matter in any meaningful way, or even be sure it really exists at all."
]
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2qo98z | why is spam mail never realistic and always have weird fonts and spelling if they are trying to get people to click on them/do the service? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2qo98z/eli5_why_is_spam_mail_never_realistic_and_always/ | {
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"It's to get around the spam filters that email servers have built in.",
"Spam is about volume. I can spend hours tweaking the fake to look perfect or I can spend 5 minutes on it and crank out dozens of different fake company emails.\n\nIf you are dumb enough to fall for a fake email, you are too dumb to notice flaws in the email anyway.",
"Part of it is that they intentionally make those mistakes because they WANT the people who fall for it to be the dumb ones. They aren't necessarily interested in fooling smart people...they want the marks.\n\nThink about it. If you wanted to con someone, would you aim for super smart people, or would you aim for the not so smart ones?",
"Spam filters automatically discard any mail with common spam words. So if you write \"BUY VIAGRA\" in your email it'll never get to the receipient. But if you write BYU VAG1RA 4 CHEEP!! Then perhaps there is a spam filter that doesn't have that spelling in it. Humans are much better at figuring out what you mean than a computer. Also VIAGRA written in two different fonts may not be taken as one word. Then at the end of the email they write something reasonable in very small print, also to circumvent the spam filter."
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24o0zo | how does shaking a liquid mix its contents, while spinning a liquid (with a machine) separates? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/24o0zo/eli5_how_does_shaking_a_liquid_mix_its_contents/ | {
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"Shaking the liquid applies forces to its various components in an (essentially) random way, with forces acting in many directions. Spinning it applies the force in, as far as the liquid is concerned, one direction: outward. It's like subjecting it to a high gravitational field; the faster you spin it, the more force, the better the separation.",
"Shaking puts lots of random motion into the liquid, mixing the contents around.\n\nA centrifuge (the sort of spinning machine you're thinking of) spins things very fast, imparting a force in one direction (out). If you were in the tube of liquid, it would feel like gravity had gotten a LOT stronger. Normally, liquids that can separate do so slowly as more dense components fall towards gravity and less dense rise. With the large centrifugal force, the same thing happens, but much more quickly."
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2i4rpe | why do hotels provide little bottles of shampoo and shower gel or soap, but no toothpaste? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2i4rpe/eli5why_do_hotels_provide_little_bottles_of/ | {
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"I believe it is common to take a toothbrush and toothpaste along when going for a trip, so they save money. Almost no one takes soap and shampoo with them on a trip. I have been in one hotel that had a toothbrush and toothpaste for guests.",
"Because stuff you put in your mouth is more intimate and people typically carry their own. And....you can always just ask for it and they'll give it to you.",
"I work in a hotel. We literally have an entire room full of amenities you wouldn't even think of asking for. Shaving cream, razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mini sewing packs, hairspray, deodorant, combs, shower caps, q-tips, shoe polish, slippers, mouthwash, body wash, mini packs of aspirin, the list goes on. We don't supply rooms with all of it because it would cost way too much money. It's there if you need it, all you need to do is ask. So many times our guests luggage dont arrive and we provide them with an emergency amenity pack, which has all the toiletries and then some.",
"I'd agree with most of the other comments, and add that it's also a lot easier to bring toothpaste than shampoo etc, because your average shampoo bottle is way bigger than your average tube o' toothpaste. I know I don't usually have room in my suitcase for a bottle of shampoo and/or conditioner, I've got too many dildos to lug. "
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15mdcg | aspergers. | How does it happen, and what are the effects on it. What would a person with Aspergers do differently in life? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15mdcg/eli5_aspergers/ | {
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"[This video presentation](_URL_0_) should answer your first two questions.",
"It's a form of autism. A person with Aspergers would be socially awkward and would likely devote an unusually large amount of their attention to one thing. My nephew has it, he's 16 and he's like an encyclopedia for bass players from the 70's until now.",
"I work for an autism charity and we do have a few people Aspergers who use our services. It is considered, as Chester of Malley has said, a form of autism. This is controversial though and some see it as a completely separate condition.\n\nThere is no known cause for Aspergers, although like autism it does seem to be present from birth and does not seem to be caused by parenting or childhood experiences. Because people with Aspergers have no physical signs it is not usually diagnosed until the child is about 5 or 6, and sometimes even older. Sometimes people can even reach adulthood and not be diagnosed, especially if they have a milder case.\n\nPeople with Aspergers are likely to have difficulty relating to other people and understanding the emotions and wishes of others. This is also a feature of autism. However people with Aspergers tend to be a little more what we call \"high-functioning\" (in other words they do not have a major lack of intellectual ability), and most will be able to speak, read and write, do maths as well as (or even better than) you or I. This is not always a clear distinction between those with autism and aspergers though, because it is possible to be high-functioning autistic but not have Aspergers ([Temple Grandin](_URL_0_) is an example of a high-functioning autistic person).\n\nIn my experience one of the key features of Aspergers (as opposed to classical autism) is that, whereas autistic people tend to avoid lengthy contact with others, people with Aspergers are extremely talkative, but only when it comes to their area of interest. So, if one of them is interested in fighter planes they might suddenly start talking to a stranger at bus stop about fighter planes. Although they are not shy and would have a vast amount of knowledge, they would likely not be able to tell if the person they are talking to is not interested.",
"I'm 32 years old, I think, I was diagnosed with aspergers. I have co-morbid social anxiety and add. I don't like touching people or being touched except by a very small group of people. I can handle small groups of people for short periods of time, I reach a limit where meds are no longer sufficient and I start getting a pounding headache and suffer sound sensitivity. At that point I have to leave and be alone. I don't talking to people, I find they take too fucking long to get to the point. If you don't get to the point fast enough or I think you're retarded ill just walk away from you mid sentence. I have a very low bullshit tolerance. I don't understand or do small talk. This caused issues with my first marriage which ended in divorce after 9 months. I was recently re-married to a girl who also has diagnosed aspergers. AMA. ",
"Aspergers is a condition similar to autism. Autism involves extreme social anxiety/retardation, difficulty expressing emotions, repetitive actions and obsessive interests, and delays in speech and other developments (the IQ of autistic people ranges greatly, from profoundly disabled to above average intelligence). Aspergers is basically autism without the developmental delays. A person with aspergers develops normally, but basically has little to no social skills. They have to teach themselves how to develop relationships, which are skills that come naturally to a person without aspergers or autism.\n\nHow does it happen? We haven't QUITE figured it out yet, though it's most likely primarily genetic causes (with some speculation about environmental causes as well). ",
"You could repost to r/Autism, r/Aspergers, or r/Autistic; but it seems that Aspergers / ASD is an increased risk with any of 50-200 genes. There is some evidence that heavy metals or pre-natal assaults on the immune system contribute. The GI tract seems to be involved, such that the brain gets 'inflammed'. An aspie may suffer persistent anxiety and depression, be sensitive about at least some foods, or avoid socializing. There is wide variation, and it is considered hard to diagnose in adults. "
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1v7b15 | if dogs and cats are carnivores, why do we advertise putting vegetables in their food? | Or maybe they are omnivores? I've seen 'research' for both arguments but don't know what to think.
Also, I don't wanna spend tons of money on 'healthy', veggie-full diets if that's not what my dog needs.
Edit: words are hard. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1v7b15/eli5_if_dogs_and_cats_are_carnivores_why_do_we/ | {
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"Because people are morons and think that what's good for them must be good for their pets as well. Canines are carnivores that can have some vegetation in their diet, but it should be mostly meat. Felines are obligate carnivores that only eat vegetation to help with expelling indigestible matter in their GI tract.",
"While cats are primarily carnivores and dogs are often considered omnivores, both require some fiber in their diet to help food move through their digestive system. It is widely believed that cats get this in the wild by ingesting herbivores and while doing so they ingest small bits of plant matter that remains in the digestive tract of their prey. The best diets for home feeding of domestic dogs and cats tend to be the grain free high protein diets found in foods like Merrick dog and cat foods. \n\nHere's a link to their site talking about their foods: \n\n_URL_0_\n\nThere are other brands that are just as good, but the very best tend to have at least 70% meat or protein. ",
"Both cats and dogs can eat plants, carnivores or not, and absorb nutrients from them. While wolves generally eat almost only meat, they can eat plants. Dogs on the other hand, have evolved along side humans and have becomes much closer to being omnivorous. [A study](_URL_0_) found that dogs have additional copies of a gene to digest starches where as wolves only have one. This suggest that dogs evolved along side humans, eating our trash, which included lots of starchy plant matter. A dog can actually thrive on a 100% plant based diet with no issues. Some dogs with certain conditions actually benefit from it.\n\nBasically for dogs, they evolved to eat a similar diet to us, even though they originally evolved from primarily carnivores while we evolved from primarily herbivores. Veggies are good for both of us.\n\nCat's on the other hand are obligate carnivorous. Meat is basically an obligation for them. Cat's likely evolved along side us too, but hunted the pest and prey animals, rather than digging through our trash. Although I'm sure they did that too. But again, just because an animal is a carnivore in the wild and wouldn't touch any plants, doesn't mean that said animal can't benefit from plants. Some of it is however likely filler, zoos will often feed carnivores carrots and such, mostly just to entertain them, and it's not bad for them. They'll still gnaw them down cause they're so sedentary and bored. \n\nCat's digestive systems are more sensitive than dogs however, and require more specific diets. The reason being is because cats are originally desert animals and tend to urinate very little. This causes their digestive chemistry to be very sensitive to small changes, and feeding a cat lots of plants can potentially throw it's Ph balance off, form crystals in it's bladder, and possibly kill it. But a few plants here and there isn't going to do that to a cat. A dog on the other hand can eat pretty much whatever garbage you throw at it with only a few notable exceptions.\n\nYou can feed meat to herbivores, and they'll still digest it, you can feed plants to carnivores, and they'll still digest it, just not as efficiently. The majority of nutrients in meat can be found in plants and vice versa. There's really only a few specific things that aren't crossed over that make cat's obligate carnivores, along with the issue of their sensitive digestive system. \n\nAll that being said, I'm not an expert on cat or dog food. If you want to know which brand are worth buying or a waste of money, do some google research. Based on dogs evolutionary history with us, I would think an ideal diet for a dog would likely include at least some plants. Cat's may be a different story though.",
"dog food is sold to the owner, not the dog. "
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[],
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"http://www.merrickpetcare.com/our-mission/five-key-promises/"
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da02g6 | why do some cities in the us have sherrifs department instead of police departments | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/da02g6/eli5_why_do_some_cities_in_the_us_have_sherrifs/ | {
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"Sheriffs are elected officials in charge of a county. \nPolice chief is usually appointed by the mayor. \n\nSome smaller towns may choose to rely on the sheriff's office instead of setting up a duplicate infrastructure for having their own police force - training, benefits, insurance, cars, tools, radio channel...",
"Sheriffs are usually for counties. It's a different type of jurisdiction...city cops only have jurisdiction in the city...but county cops (sheriff) have jurisdiction throughout the county, including all the cities.\n\nUsually sheriffs won't bother patrolling cities for city specific laws.\n\nOf course the above is a broad generalization",
"Large to medium cities and some large campuses have dedicated police departments. Some towns are too small to sustain a department. Also people live in unincorporated areas not directly covered by city services. \n\nSheriff's departments are maintained by a larger government structure, usually the county. Deputies will be be responsible for primary police work in the smaller areas without their own police departments for the same of efficiency. In a single county there might be several police forces working alongside deputies serving areas without them."
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63rboy | the difference between a racecar and a sports car | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/63rboy/eli5_the_difference_between_a_racecar_and_a/ | {
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"in the strictest of terms race cars are special built for a track or one type of event, their modifications make it to where they are no longer street legal, a sports car is just a sporty car. you can make a car a race car but you can't make a race car a normal car",
"Maybe a sports car is road legal? You cant actually drive most racecars legally on the roads. Due to being striped for racing ect",
"Each race car will have a list of restrictions that govern many different aspects of the car's dimensions, engine displacement, and even the shape of the outer shell. It will also have a very strict set of safety requirements regarding roll cages, fire suppression, and more.\n\nIn many hobby racing classes you are allowed to take standard production vehicles and modify them to meet safety and race requirements.\n\nIn professional racing circuits the cars are most often purpose built customs designed specifically for racing purposes - these vehicles lack the \"creature comforts\" ~~and~~ of a street car.\n\nThe requirements for street driven vehicles in limited areas of the world can be met by modifying a custom/race car to meet road car requirements (adding turn signals/ brake/head lights, emission systems and the like).\n\nIn most areas of the world, you have to be licensed as a manufacturer to be able to produce \"streetable\" cars and the economics of meeting these requirements often creates a significant \"barrier to entry\" that prevents the average joe from manufacturing their own vehicle."
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66rgey | why do curse words/expletives change so much compared to other words? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/66rgey/eli5_why_do_curse_wordsexpletives_change_so_much/ | {
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"Curse words are generally related closely to a time's taboos. For instance, words like \"fuck\" and \"shit\" were not taboo in the Middle Ages because among the common folk there was little to do to hide your sex and pooping (thus making it difficult to be taboo). In that time, God and Jesus' physical bodies (and later, bodies in general) were taboo, so swears would be things like \"Christ's blood\" or \"God's wounds\". Now that we all have our own places to sleep and can do our sex and poops in private, those are taboo things, increasing their vulgarity."
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d1hfo2 | why some bones in the body hurt more than the others? | For ex: hitting on shin bone hurt more than hurting your knuckles, why? Is it to do with number of nerve endings or the type of bone itself? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d1hfo2/eli5_why_some_bones_in_the_body_hurt_more_than/ | {
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"If i remember correctly, it's because the shin one is very close to the surface. So when you hit against something you are hitting the actual bone. When you hit your knuckles it depends on how you hit them, it could also hurt, but there is more tissue to protect it.",
"It's a function of the internal biology of the different parts of the body. For example, hitting your \"funny bone\" is actually you hitting your ulnar nerve, which runs down your forearm. In the spot that people associate with pain, the nerve is relatively unprotected, which is why pain is more intense there\n\nThe other typical spot people associate with bone pain, the shinbone, is directly beneath the skin in pretty much everyone. Hits there hurt so much because of the periostal layer. The periost is a layer that covers every bone in your body, and is covered in pain receptors. These receptors send signals directly to the brain, and again, in the shin they're relatively unprotected by other things to soften the blow"
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4n621u | differences between p/e ratio, eps, div/yield, and mktcap | I have been trying to learn finance in my spare time and I kinda understand these terms but when I start looking at actual tickers and data sheets, I can't understand what they mean or why they are important. I also need to know how they play into whether purchasing that stock or determining the "worth" of the stock, ie: whether that stock is worth the asking price or if it is worth more or less than the asking price.
Thanks in advance | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4n621u/eli5differences_between_pe_ratio_eps_divyield_and/ | {
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"P/E ratio is price/earning ratio, per share. So if a stock trades at $100/sh and has earnings of $5/sh then it's P/E is 20.\n\nEPS is earnings per share, so that $5 in the above example. It is calculated by taking the total earnings and dividing by number of shares, so $5 million in earnings and 1 million shares outstanding would mean an $5 EPS.\n\nMarket Cap is the value of all the shares outstanding, to get a total value of the company. $100/sh x 1 million shares means a $100 million Market Cap.\n\nDiv/Yield is the ratio of dividends paid to shareholders relative to stock price. If a company paid out $1 a year in dividends (usually paid out quarterly, so 25 cents quarter) and the stock is $100, then the yield is 1%. If they paid out $4, then the yield would be 4%. If they paid $4 and the stock was worth $40, then the yield would be 10%.",
"EPS is earnings per share. It represents the ratio of net income (minus dividends) to the average number of outstanding shares during the reporting period. Very roughly, it can be thought of as the amount of profit each share represents. EPS is usually quoted per quarter. \n\nP/E ratio is price per share divided by earnings per share, where the earnings are counted over a year. Again, roughly, it represents the amount of profit a dollar buys. P/E might be talked about in terms of the past year or expectations of the coming year. Sometimes, people will exclude cash (or other 'non working' capital the business owns but doesn't make profit from) from the price of the business, which you would see as P/E ex cash. A high P/E represents a market that believes the company will grow a lot in the future, so while a dollar doesn't buy much profit from last year, a lot of people expect it to return more in the future. Very stable, very established industries (value stocks) aren't expected to grow or shrink, so the P/E tends to be priced for little growth. For example, utilities have low P/E, since people will need as much electricity next year as they did this year. But Tesla has a huge P/E, because there's enough belief that it can be the size of GM. \n\nDividend yield is the ratio of dividends paid out on a share versus the cost basis of the share. As in, if I buy a share for $100 and it pays $1 in dividends in a year, it has a yield of 1%. \n\nMarket cap is the price per share times the number of outstanding shares. It's the most common approximation to the 'total' value of the company. When some says public company X is a $Y company, they're usually refering to market cap. \n\n/facts\n\nOpinions:\nAs far how these affect your investing decisions, some people like to use P/E as a gauge of the market's expectation of growth for that stock. If you think you know better, you can profit from that. I'd caution that a lot of lay people who think they know better than the market end up paying bankers' salaries. Exceptions are usually industry experts who really do see something that other sophisticated researchers do not. It's not impossible, but you know if it applies to you. \n\n\nDividend yield has a couple attributes. If you're building a portfolio for growth, you should consider dividend yield as an addition to expected price growth, especially if you reinvest the dividend. Of course, yield can have less risk than growth, so that gets priced in as well. \n\nSome people like to make income portfolios instead of growth portfolios. They seek to maximize new income from their capital, and they emphasize growth less. Dividends are paid per share, not per dollar, so if the price of the stock goes down, you dont lose income unless the dividend goes down too. If you're making a dividend portfolio, you try to maximize yield within your tolerance for risk of the company being able to keep paying it (and the value of your overall investment going down ). "
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704f56 | how can buzzfeed take pictures from instagram without asking permission? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/704f56/eli5_how_can_buzzfeed_take_pictures_from/ | {
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"Buzzfeed largely operates on an \"ask for forgiveness, not permission\" standpoint. Basically, all you can do is demand they take it down. And then they do. But since Buzzfeed articles have a lifespan of about 2 minutes, they don't care if they have to take it down after 99% of the people who will ever read the article already has. \n\nIt should be noted that posting your image on a public social media network already has terms and rights built into it.",
"Buzzfeed largely operates on an \"ask for forgiveness, not permission\" standpoint. Basically, all you can do is demand they take it down. And then they do. But since Buzzfeed articles have a lifespan of about 2 minutes, they don't care if they have to take it down after 99% of the people who will ever read the article already has. \n\nIt should be noted that posting your image on a public social media network already has terms and rights built into it."
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3baqcu | if a gay couple marry in u.s.a what happens when they travel to places (such middle eastern states) are they not allowed to travel there and such? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3baqcu/eli5_if_a_gay_couple_marry_in_usa_what_happens/ | {
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"In countries that don't recognize same-sex marriage, they will simply be treated as two unrelated people traveling together, with no special rights or privileges of a married couple.\n\nBut since they are of the same sex, they can get a shared hotel room even in a very conservative country that doesn't acknowledge homosexuality.\n"
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1qklyb | why do humans have such great height/weight disparities compared to other animals? | Just curious why you see such a difference in height and weight in humans and not really any differences in animals. Any explanation for this? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qklyb/eli5why_do_humans_have_such_great_heightweight/ | {
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"The Cheetah goes to the savannah for it's food.\n\nI go to Trader Joes - AS MUCH AS I FUCKING WANT!!!! YEEHAW! eat to your hearts content, piggy...",
"Weight disparities have everything to do with diet. You can see such weight disparities in loads of species when changing their diet. So because weight differences are primarily due to diet in humans, let's focus on height. Height disparity has a ton to do with mating behavior. You might have to bear with me for this one.\n\n < edit > : Should clarify, that between populations, size differences have a lot to do with temperature changes, and food availability. In very hot areas you would want to have a lot of surface area when compared to body volume, so evolution would favor thin people. In cold climates you would want a large volume to surface area ratio. Another factor is the available energy. Food is out energy, and in areas with abundant food year-round, you don't need to store much food. in areas where you might go long periods without food you might need to store some up. But one of the largest reasons for the disparity in size comes from our history of mating habits < /edit > \n\nAges ago, humans lived in a different type of society. In that society, males competed with other males for mates. We call this male-male competition. Now, they didn't just compete for one mating opportunity, they competed to control a harem of females. In this type of society a larger male with larger canine teeth could do better in fights, and therefore would be more likely to secure the harem. This led to more mating opportunities, and so the genes for large males with large canines.\n\nIn situations like this, where evolution has favored large males with large canines, we refer to the difference in size between a male and female and sexual dimorphism. There is sexual dimorphism in gorillas, for example, for the attributes of canine size, body size, and skull shape.\n\nNow, sexual dimorphism for humans was prevalent for really long periods of time (compared with our modern scale of time), with males having multiple female partners. During this time males were bigger and scarier, and necessarily so. Not only did they compete with other males, they protected the females. Sometimes when a new male comes to dominate a group he will kill the infants. Females don't want that, plus they may actually like their male. So a new male is generally a hostile thing, and represents tumultuous change for the group. Soon, this would all change though.\n\nHumans were smart, and eventually built tools. These tools allow us to chop wood, break open nuts, kill animals, indeed allow us to kill each other. Suddenly, in an era where hand-to-hand (or tooth-to-tooth) fighting was prevalent, we now have tools to allow us to kill each other. Suddenly, it didn't matter as much how big you were, or how big your teeth were, it mattered how well you could make and use tools. The little guy could win in a fight against the big guy it he can successfully club him or stab him to death first. This was synchronous with a major turning point in human evolution - the point where our brains became more important than many of our other evolved traits.\n\nOK, so now we have a group of humans where it was previously good for males to be big, strong, and physically dangerous, but now intellect and other traits are more important. In the old world, evolution was selecting *for* size and strength. Size meant more mates, more offspring, etc. But at the same time, bigger males means you need more food for them, and need to devote more energy to growing that mass and maintaining it. Now, evolution has relaxed selection pressures for size. This means that although evolution isn't actually actively selecting *against* body and canine size, it's no longer selecting *for* it. So now the selection pressure for male size is much closer to that the same pressure that females have for size.\n\nWith that out of the way, DNA doesn't change overnight, nor is it limited to one sex. Although the selection pressure is off for huge males, the males are still carrying the DNA to be big - or at least currently they are .. or at least somewhat. Really what has happened is now there still are the genes for big males, but now new genes for smaller males arise and they get spread because they is very little selection against smaller males. I mean females still do slightly prefer larger males, but this isn't a huge selection pressure, and it might just be an evolutionary leftover on the female's part.\n\nSo, when you look at the humans in the world, in different societies you will see a different amount of sexual dimorphism for size and canine size between the males and the females. The groups with the largest amount of dimorphism are the ones that had the most selection for large male size and/or the shortest time since that selection was relaxed. In societies where that selection was minimal, or it's been a very long time since it was relaxed, the males and females are of roughly the same size. The fact that females vary in size along with the males is for two reasons. First, the males are carrying genes for body size, so they are transmitting those genes to their daughters as well as sons. Secondly, with each group you look at, you can understand that evolution was selecting for a particular \"base\" size for the humans anyway; females had to be large enough to birth the children, children had to be large enough to survive their environment, heat/energy reserves must meet the needs for the environment, etc.\n\nRambled a bit there. Feel free to ask me to clarify anything"
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1rd737 | what prevents people from making an exact copy of their game disc ? | if we are able to read whats on the disc why can't data be written to a DVD or BLUray like the way the manufacturers do it . At a Microscopic level isn't it all pits and vacant spaces on the disc that is being read by the laser in the optical drive and converted into bits. So why can't a disc with the same pattern be recreated ? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rd737/eli5_what_prevents_people_from_making_an_exact/ | {
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"Game system makers come up with clever schemes that appear to be errors on the disc, which copiers either ignore, \"fix\", or fail when they read them.\n\nThe game system looks for these \"errors\" to authenticate the disc.",
"Commercial games are pressed for one, not burnt. Blank discs are pressed also, with a mostly empty groove.\n\nEither have IDs which tell what they are, and what/where they came from.\n\nPresed discs say they are an audio CD, console game (and for what console), and may include security keys/signatures.\n\nAlso, game discs may be made with a different checksum calculation. \n\nConsumer disc writers cannot write the ID area (it already has data stamped into it), plus use a consumer checksum algorithm.\n\nTL;DR, consumer drives cannot write what a console looks for in an original disc."
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b2a30l | why does our brain paralyze the body when we fall asleep? aren’t we already relaxed when we’re snoozing? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b2a30l/eli5_why_does_our_brain_paralyze_the_body_when_we/ | {
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"text": [
"Your brains are going crazy while you sleep, so if your body wasnt paralyzed your body would be going crazy too"
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bsym9u | how does a banana get more sugary after it over-ripens, even after it is cut off of its tree? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bsym9u/eli5_how_does_a_banana_get_more_sugary_after_it/ | {
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"All the sugar is already in the banana but it is woven in long threads that don't taste sweet in mouth. When it ripens the threads break down and we can taste the sugar again.",
"It can ripen after being cut off if a fruit first grows to size with starch, and then starch gets broken down into sugar as it ripens. It already contains all the carbohydrates, it's just more like a potato than a sweet fruit.\n\nNot all fruit work this way though, pomegranates and citruses won't get any sweeter after they're picked."
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af20qi | why does cracking lake ice make that ghostly sound? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/af20qi/eli5_why_does_cracking_lake_ice_make_that_ghostly/ | {
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"I think I know exactly what sound you mean. At a high level it's a weak crystalline material that is vibrating when those cracks appear. It's like a big drum head and makes the sound.",
"Water expands as it crystallizes. Since water is also incompressible as a liquid, this means the crystal ice needs to shear as it forms to make room for new ice, which causes that cracking sound."
]
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1u2oee | other than show everyone my internet history what is the worst the nsa could do to me? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1u2oee/eli5_other_than_show_everyone_my_internet_history/ | {
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"I'm making an assumption about your age, but give this (_URL_0_ podcast)[http://www._URL_0_/podcast/why-people-born-after-1995-cant-understand-book-1984/] an hour of your time. I like it and its fair to the younger people they are talking about. \n\nBasically, If you are a redditor older than early twenties, the answer is easy: They can violate your privacy, an idea once valued. If you're younger, its harder to explain. The NSA is a government organization that could write a more honest and accurate college entrance essay about you than you could, because they, unlike you, have data on everything you've ever typed or spoken near a phone. That ability is not inherently bad, but it requires you to place an enormous amount of trust in your government agencies. ",
"The NSA has stored, since about 2006, virtually every phone call, text message, or email that goes through the United States. Any sensitive information, whether it be illegal or simply private, is now accessible to a blank government agency for use indefinitely in the future. \n\nWe enjoy those freedoms now but its important to remember that history is not set in stone. Those rights *can* be taken away in the future. "
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ck9fpk | why don’t muscles show up on x-rays, but do on mris? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ck9fpk/eli5_why_dont_muscles_show_up_on_xrays_but_do_on/ | {
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"X-rays are effected by dense substances like bone so they are clearly defined on X-rays. MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imagers work by vibrating molecules under a powerful magnetic force show entirely different views of the body - _URL_0_",
"For the most part x-ray photons pass easily through the muscle whereas passing through the bone is much harder so that the areas that show up white or transparent on an x-ray are those that werent showered with photons alot.\nAn MRI on the other hand measures the relaxation of an excited spin of hydrogen atoms and depending on how much water there is in a certain tissue we can determine its type. Seeing that muscles are largely comprised of water they will show up with MRI."
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5mh8le | in a country where suicide is illegal, how is the lawbreaker punished? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5mh8le/eli5_in_a_country_where_suicide_is_illegal_how_is/ | {
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"They aren't. A successful suicide isn't something where the offender can be punished.\n\nAttempted suicide is a crime in some places, though.",
"Laws against suicide are increasingly rare, and when they do exist, they are rarely enforced. Often they are a legal maneuver to give law enforcement the power to intervene in a suicide attempts.\n\nWhen it is enforced, it is usually for religious reasons. In countries that mix secular and religious law, this will often impact the disposition of their body...what rituals can be performed on it, where it can be buried, etc.\n\n"
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34qdq9 | why does boxing have judges and points? why dont they just fight until a ko or until someone gives up? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/34qdq9/eli5_why_does_boxing_have_judges_and_points_why/ | {
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"So like a fight to the death?",
"So the fight is focussed on skill and technique as opposed to a pair of guys beating eachother to death.",
"Boxing is already a brutal sport and horrible for your long term health. Fights used to be 16 rounds (modern boxing) and the effects were devastating. Muhammad Ali is the most famous example, Jerry Quarry is another. Your gray matter is not meant to be sloshed around hitting the inside of your skull for 12 rounds, unlimited rounds would be suicide.",
"The longevity of the boxer's career would decrease. And in order to earn a great sum, they have to build up their careers. They can't do that if they fought in the way you are suggesting",
"In addition to some of the safety related things that people have mentioned, there's also the fact that boxing is entertainment, not just a competition. Having a limited number of rounds effectively places a maximum limit on the duration of a bout. That makes it a lot easier to schedule it for TV, for example. "
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11laev | i'm taking calculus class on college, and having some problems with limits, can someone eli5? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/11laev/eli5im_taking_calculus_class_on_college_and/ | {
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"Lucky for you I am taking it as well and feel I have a good grasp on it. All a limit is is trying to figure out what a graph tends to do when we approach a point.\n\nIf we have the graph f(x) = x/x we get a graph that is a straight line with a missing point in the middle at x=0 (since x =/= 0 otherwise it is undefined). But if we were to figure this out manually by picking very small numbers close to 0 (like 0.0000001/0.0000001) we notice that it tends towards 1. So we can safely say that f(x) at 0 should be 1. This is essentially a limit figuring out what a value of f(x) should be if we ignore the undefined error will will get.",
"I'm going to answer the question about limits for functions; if you're talking about sequences, let me know.\n\nA limit for a function, `f` is asking what value `f` is tending towards as it approaches a particular point. So `lim x- > a f(x)` is asking what value is `f(x)` near when `x` is near `a`?\n\nOne way to answer that would be \"a value, `y`, is near `f(x)` when `x` is near `a` if for any neighborhood of `y` we can think of, there's a neighborhood of `a` where all the `x`s in that neighborhood have an `f(x)` value in that neighborhood of `y`\".\n\nYour immediate response should be, \"Well, that's great and all, but what's a neighborhood?\" That's a complicated question that gets in to topics related to topology, but the answer to the real numbers is that a neighborhood is an open interval around the point.\n\nSo, in specific for the real numbers: `lim x- > a f(x) = y` means that for any open interval around `y`, there's an open interval around `a`, such that for all `x` in the interval around `a`, `f(x)` is in the interval around `y`.\n\nThis is normally phrased in terms of epsilons and deltas and the absolute value of the difference between `y` and `f(x)` being less than one, when the absolute value of the difference between `a` and `x` is less than the other.",
"So the graph of a function looks kinda like [this](_URL_0_), right? Straight line, goes on for infinity in one direction and infinity in the other. Pretty normal.\n\nBut wait, what about a function that looks like [this](_URL_1_)? It's curved, and the curve gets *really* close to 0, but never touches it. So no matter how far along the X axis you get -- no matter how big X gets, the curve will never touch y=0. You could go along the X axis *forever* - for infinity - and y will never equal zero.\n\ny will get smaller and smaller -- 0.5, 0.25, 0.1, 0.05, 0.01, 0.008, 0.004, 0.001, 0.0005...and so on. \n\nThis means that the limit of this function *f(x)* as x goes to infinity (since *f(x)* = y) is 0.",
"Let's play a game. You have a function f, let's say the function defined by f(x)=sin(x)/x for now. Now I'm going to pick a number really close to 1. Now your job is to pick some number x close to 0 such that f(x) is *even closer* to 1 than the number that I chose. Let's try a few rounds\n\n I pick | my distance from 1 | You pick x | f(x) | x distance from 1\n 2 1 1 0.84.. 0.16...\n 1.5 0.5 0.5 0.95.. 0.05...\n 1.05 0.05 0.5 0.99.. 0.01...\n\nNow, it's actually possible to prove that it doesn't matter how close my number is to 1, you can *always* find some x which will make f(x) *even closer* to 1, and the way that you find that x is by making it close enough to 0. You can always choose an x close enough to 0 to make it so that f(x) is as close to 1 as you want: even if I pick 1.00000000000000000001, you can find some incredibly tiny x so that f(x) is even closer to 1.\n\nThis is pretty close to the formal definition of what a limit is. In this case, when you can *always* win by taking an x's closer and closer to 0, we say that the limit as x approaches 0 of f(x) is equal to 1."
]
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2z97k0 | theoretically, could a human baby be trained basic manners & bathroom skills as quickly as a puppy can be, if trained in the same manner? if not, how come? | Its always fascinated me how a puppy can be reasonably house trained & taught basic commands by 4 months, but a human baby is still completely useless at that age, even though were vastly more intelligent. Why can't human babies be trained the same as puppies? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2z97k0/eli5_theoretically_could_a_human_baby_be_trained/ | {
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"Not really because our brains develop much more slowly (or else child birth would have been even harder). At these ages chimpanzee babies are smarter than human babies. ",
"I'd assume not. Babies are born with very underdeveloped brains - notice how most animals can stand within minutes and it takes us a year or so. This is because humans have huge heads compared with their bodies and so the brain needs to be underdeveloped to fit out of the mother's pelvis. Because of this underdevelopment, it takes longer for humans to learn many basic functions than most animals."
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4jfbv2 | how does cold stuff pull heat away from warmer stuff | I have an icy cold beer in front of me. If I put my palm a couple inches away from it, I feel the icy cold beer pulling heat from my hand.
Is this just the cold air or what? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4jfbv2/eli5how_does_cold_stuff_pull_heat_away_from/ | {
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"text": [
"Heat is just how \"jiggly\" or excited atoms within a system are (ie your hand)\n\nCold is an absence of that energy\n\nWhen you touch the cold glass you're transferring that energy to the glass."
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198yfi | what do trigonometry graphs show us? | So, as I sit here doing my pre-calculus homework, our unit is graphing trigonometric functions such a y=csc(x-(pi/2)) and y=sec(2(x-(pi/2)))+1 and I get how to graph them but, what is their actual use and is it applicable to a scenario outside of math class? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/198yfi/eli5_what_do_trigonometry_graphs_show_us/ | {
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"It's probably not useful to graph that specific function outside of math class. But being able to graph *similar* complicated functions is useful, because a lot of very complicated functions show up in engineering and science, and drawing graphs is sometimes the quickest way to solve a problem.\n\n(Of course, you'll rarely need to graph the functions by hand. But it's useful to know how you would graph them by hand, because it will let you know that something's up if the graph of y=csc(x-(pi/2)) does not pass through y=-1, x=0.)",
"I am not exactly clear on what you are asking – I see several possibilities:\n\n**When are you going to use the concepts in trigonometry in general?**\n\nIt is useful on its own and helps build the scaffolding you need to continue your mathematics education. For example, the properties of triangle are immensely useful for tasks such as navigation or measurement. Trigonometric functions are pretty fundamental to dealing with periodic functions and phenomenon (think waves, earth going around the sun, etc.) which are pretty much everywhere in nature.\n\n\n**Trig is wonderful, but why graph functions?**\n\nIt is just another tool in your math arsenal. Certain tasks are easier if you can visualize what’s going on. Certain people do better with the same problem if they can create the visual graph where others, like me, would dive into the algebra.\n\n\n**Trig is great, graphs are great, but why do them by hand?**\n\nAll the computation (you can include drawing graphs here) you will learn through high school and even into your undergraduate education can now be done on calculators/computers and can be done much much faster with a lower chance of errors. With the ubiquity of mobile devices, even if you end up in a profession where these concepts are useful (pretty much anything interesting) you will almost never do them by hand yourself. So then why learn it at all?\n\nThis is a complicated question and more on education of rather than mathematics itself. I will preface the following with this disclaimer: I am not a professional educator (only experience as a teaching assistant for a few classes) and I don’t have numbers backing my opinions up – they are opinions based on my personal experience and that of my friends and colleagues. \n\nThere are some that would argue to drastically reduce the amount of computation done by students when learning mathematics. [Here is Conrand Wolfram (the Mathematica software) arguing that]( _URL_0_). While I do agree in principle which much of what he says, I don’t agree with the degree of reduction: The amount of a student’s homework and exams that is purely computation should be reduced, but not to a trivial amount (or zero). I think computation by hand is important for both the understanding and remembering the concepts.\n"
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3d775p | what exactly is the kaaba and what is its importance in islam? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3d775p/eli5_what_exactly_is_the_kaaba_and_what_is_its/ | {
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"It's the direction where we pray to and It's the place to do the spiritual pilgrimage that is Hajj. It also serves as the hub for muslims to meet from around the world. ",
"The big building you always see in photos is the Kaaba, and it houses the holy relic known as The Kaaba Stone. \n\nAccording to Islam, the stone was found by Abraham and Ishmael. This means it predates Islam itself by thousands of years. \n\nScholars theorise that the stone is a meteorite, and point out there was a history of stone and meteorite worship in that region long before Islam arose. \n\nSome Muslims ascribe supernatural powers to the stone, while some believe it is symbolic. ",
"The Kaaba is the first Mosque that was built by Abraham and Ishmael. It contains the Black Stone, which was supposed to be a gift from the archangel Gabriel to Abraham\n\nIts supposedly the only piece of the existing structure that was placed by Abraham himself.",
"The Kaaba is the black, cube-shaped structure that sits in the middle of Mecca's Grand Mosque. It is the holiest site in Islam, identified as the first Mosque; prayers are said while facing the Kaaba and able-bodied Muslims are expected to go on a pilgrimage there (the *Hajj*) atleast once in their lifetime.\n\nThe Kaaba itself is made out of granite, and its [interior](_URL_1_) is a 10m by 12m room, made of marble and limestone.\n\nMuslims believe that the Kaaba was built by Abraham and Ishmael (although it has been rebuilt over the centuries, most recently in 1629). Historically, it was a site of worship and pilgrimage for pre-Islamic Arabs in the region for centuries prior to the birth of Muhammad.\n\nIn the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the [Black Stone](_URL_0_). This is an object that has been venerated at the Kaaba since pre-Islamic times, but in Islamic tradition it was sent from Heaven to guide Adam and Eve to build an alter and set into the Kaaba by Muhammad.\n\nIn pre-Islamic times, similar stones were venerated at the Arabic cities of Ghariman and Abalet (Red and White respectively). \n\nIt has traditionally been theorized that the Black Stone is a meteorite, but there is also evidence suggesting that it may be volcanic glass of terrestrial origin."
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7wg1vs | how do we simulate zero gravity? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7wg1vs/eli5_how_do_we_simulate_zero_gravity/ | {
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"First of all, \"zero gravity\" does not exist. The range of gravity is infinite.\n\nAs for simulating *zero-g*, you can do it with an airplane by placing the plane in a steep climb and then lowering the nose so you follow a parabolic trajectory and the plane falls out from under you at exactly the right rate (accelerating downwards at 9.81 m/s^(2)).",
"This is easy to answer: counter the acceleration due to gravity with acceleration due to momentum. When the two cancel out, the object of study will be \"weightless\". It will still be subject to mass and friction, but gravitational aceleration force is perfectly countered by the object's own acceleration matching that force.",
"One of two ways:\n\n- Swimming pools. NASA has a _massive_ pool it uses to simulate spacewalks for astronaut training. It isn't exactly like zero-g, but with properly designed tools, it is close enough to let the astronauts get a feel for how thing move and react.\n\n- Freefall. NASA had a special plane nicknamed \"The Vomit Comet\" that would climb to a specific altitude then basically freefall for about a minute (they outsource this now). This freefall simulated zero-g _very_ accurately, but for only a very short period of time. It is less useful for actually training on specific activities (hence the pool) but does give the astronauts a better feeling of what zero-g is actually like on the body.",
"What we commonly call zero gravity is actually, generally speaking, \"Free fall.\" \n\nYou can picture being in a box, that is dropped out of a plane. Both you and the box accelerate downwards due to gravity. Why don't you slam into the roof of the box? Well you're accelerating downwards as fast as it is, so you are falling in front of it. Why don't you slam into the floor of the box? Same deal, it's accelerating downwards as fast as you are. You're falling behind it. What does this look like, to you, inside the box? You're floating in the box. "
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8psgcx | how do graffitis sprayed on the street tend to come out very sharp and detailed when the spray can itself sprays a random dot pattern? | Like how do these artists manage to control these random dot pattern in their favor to create straight lines or preventing from overlapping different spray colors. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8psgcx/eli5_how_do_graffitis_sprayed_on_the_street_tend/ | {
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"Stencils. Underground graffiti artists tend to premake their art using stencils, to avoid capture by the police. These can be made from any foldable, lightweight material, and cardboard is a common choice. These stencils act like painter's tape, and create sharp lines.\n\nFor the artists that do legal work, they don't use stencils as much, because time is not an issue, but they will still use cardboard or other material to create sharp lines with the otherwise random spray paint.",
"They have different nozzles they put on the cans to create different effects. The paint cans professionals buy are quite different (and more expensive) than the stuff you get at a hard ware store. It's meant to stay vibrant on stone, and resist weathering. You can check out [this site] (_URL_0_) to see the kind of stuff artists use opposed to idiots that just vandalize walla with shitty tags. ",
"Imagine a spray can is like a shotgun. The closer you are to your target (your canvass), the less your projectiles (paint) spread.\n\nThey make different nozzles for spray cans, too."
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46l5kf | obtaining a separate identity legally and without getting diagnosed with dissociative personality disorder. | In Country A, say I cover all bills, limit expenses, pays tax AND I have all the moral reasons with me. Can I just travel to say, Denmark and claim that I don't have an Identity( Dont know who I am, lost passport etc.) And then get a new passport with completely separate identity?.. Isnt this part o the refugee crisis in EU btw. ..sorry if its too specific for eli5 its only an example. And yes I searched the sub. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/46l5kf/eli5_obtaining_a_separate_identity_legally_and/ | {
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"No, you aren't allowed to claim you have no identity and get a new one. The country you would be moving to would want to be able to conduct a background check on you or know more about you before admitting you and the country you're leaving would want to be able to find you again if they need to in case it turns out you did something before you left. There's a lot of risks to the state if they let people change identities and almost no benefit.\n\nBeing a refugee gives you a good chance to lie about a new identity since most documents establishing your former identity will have understandably been lost or destroyed, but it's not something you're allowed to do.\n\n > AND I have all the moral reasons with me.\n\nI don't really know what that means. Do you mean you have a specific reason for needing to change your identity like witness protection? In that case, the countries still know your real identity and they just help you hide it.",
"To lie about who you are would be fraudulent. Even if you did obtain citizenship elsewhere, if it was based on false pretenses it can usually be revoked.\n\nBut you can openly change things about yourself according to the law of the country you are in. For example, in most U.S. states you don't need to do anything special to change your name--adopting a new name for daily use is legally sufficient. It's perfectly legal to come to the U.S. and adopt a new name, though sometimes you will be required to disclose all names you've ever used.\n\nOther countries, especially in Continental Europe, are more restrictive with such things, but it's usually still possible to do things like change your name. Certainly in a social context, you don't have to tell people where you're from or that you are not (or did not use to be) a citizen."
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1x0ocy | the new farm bill that the u.s. recently approved | Specifically, can someone explain crop insurance to me? How is it different from the "direct payment" farmers have been receiving? How will it impact land values? Why would a farmer even bother watering his crops if he knows the government will pay with crop insurance? Is there something that I am missing? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x0ocy/eli5_the_new_farm_bill_that_the_us_recently/ | {
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"Congress has given billions in welfare payments to massive agribusiness (and themselves) while cutting welfare to children and the elderly. ",
"Born and raised on crop farm, still work there during summer.\nFarmers buy crop insurance to make sure at the bare minimum they can make very basic payments. To receive crop insurance you have to lose a large portion of your crops, so much that no sane farmer would just buy insurance to use it. It would be like breaking a bone on purpose to get some benefit out of your Aflac insurance. Farmers receive much more money if they produce as much as possible. \nLand. Values will not change because of the farm bill, most of the lands value is based on if it is able to be farmed, forested, rocky, wet, hilly. Those are some of the things farmers look at when buying land. \nOverall the farm bill has little to do with farms, 80% of the money that the bill has goes to food stamps. Around 20% goes to farm subsidies, people do not realize how big agriculture is in the US. It is a 1.5 trillion dollar industry, and one of the few things that we have a positive export rate and unquestionably lead the world in terms of innovation and yields. \nThis new bill plans on making it more difficult for farmers to receive subsidies in order to get more money to food stamp programs. \n\nAlso the president is coming to my University on Friday MSU so that's kinda cool. My majors are Ag business management and food industry management. "
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695fh4 | why do apples make water "taste dry" in your mouth after you eat them? | I'm curious to know if it's tannins like grapes or if something else causes this to happen | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/695fh4/eli5why_do_apples_make_water_taste_dry_in_your/ | {
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"It's partly tannins and partly it's astringent, or known to make the tongue pucker a little which leads to that feeling of dryness you're talking about. It's also what causes red wine to have a similar sensation as the grape must sits much longer allowing the tannins to leak out. \n\nNot all apples have the same tannin levels so some are sweeter and taste more juicy, and others are more tart and pucker inducing. "
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55hflv | where does the strength from a hydraulic press come from? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/55hflv/eli5_where_does_the_strength_from_a_hydraulic/ | {
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"Mechanical advantage is what allows hydraulic presses to exert the high forces. Similar to gears, when you have a small diameter cylinder connected to a larger diameter cylinder the force exhibited on a smaller cylinder is multiplied in the larger. The larger cylinder fills slower, thus the actuation speed is reduced. In the case of a bottle jack, hydraulic fluid is pumped into a larger chamber from a smaller one, requiring little force, but many pumps, resulting in a high force, but low speed response. This being said im a little drunk, and may not be explaining this exactly right.",
"Explaining like you're 5:\n\nIt's basically the fluid version of a lever or gears. You exchange speed for force.\n\nAn example: You turn on your kitchen sink faucet, and stick a glass under it. In a second or two, your glass is full of water, but it's not very heavy. However, if you stuck a bucket under the faucet and left it for a few minutes, you'd have a really heavy bucket of water because the bucket is wider and deeper. Now imagine this with the water flowing much faster, and in a closed system so there's a ton of water pressure instead of weight.",
"Fluid under pressure exerts the same pressure per square inch throughout the system. The basis of a hydrolic press is to take a small piston to pressurize the liquid and attach it with tubes to a larger piston that will do the work of crushing stuff. If you have a small piston with an area of 1 square inch, and you apply 30 pounds of force to that piston then the fluid will apply 30 pounds per square inch throughout the system. Therefore if the large piston has an area of 6 square inchslee it will carry 6 x 30 = 180 pounds of force. \n\nJust like gears, levers or pulleys the strength comes from going a longer distance. The small piston will pump at a high speed, hundreds or even thousands of times just to move the large piston by a few inches.",
"The strength of a hydraulic press comes from the hydraulic power unit. A hydraulic power unit or HPU consists of a prime mover (likely an electric motor), a hydraulic pump, and a reservoir (holds the oil needed to fill the actuator or in other words cylinder). Often times there are more components on the HPU but for simplicity these are the necessities to form a system.\n\nTo explain to a 5 year old: the pump moves fluid from the reservoir to the cylinder which presses or forms the material on the production line. \n\nSource: I am a Certified Hydraulic Specialist. ",
"To create a pressure of 1500 psi to an area of one square inch, you need to apply 1500 pounds of force. That's why it's called psi - pounds per square inch.\n\nNow, to apply the same amount of pressure to a much smaller area - say, 1/25th of a square inch, you only need to apply 1/25th of the force - 60 pounds. This can be done by hand, especially if you add a lever.\n\nLiquids - like water and hydraulic oil - are (mostly) incompressible. That means that they don't get \"smaller\" when you squeeze them, like air would. That also means that if you pressurize such a liquid (e.g. by applying 60 pounds of force to a small, 1/25th square inch cylinder filled with it), all of the liquid will have that pressure and apply it to *all* the surfaces it touches. This is also why if you have a dented plastic water bottle, gently squeezing it will usually un-dent it - the water pushes the dent out.\n\nNow you connect the small cylinder (that you push) to a big cylinder (piston) where the liquid pushes against an area of 10 square inches. Remember, you pressurized it to 1500 psi - that means that the liquid now applies 1500 pounds of pressure to each of the 10 inches of surface, pushing the piston forward with a force of *15 thousand pounds*.\n\nNow, of course, the force doesn't come from nowhere. Once whatever is in front of the large piston gets crushed by even a little bit, a lot of liquid will move, and in order to keep applying the pressure, you'd have to push that small piston very, very, very far.\n\nSo what you do instead: Once the small piston has reached the end, you close a valve between the small and large piston (keeping the pressure in the large one), open a different valve to connect the small piston to a large tank of unpressurized hydraulic fluid, pull the piston back up, switch the valves back, and pump some more fluid into the system by applying 60 lbs of force. Each time you move the small piston, the big piston (which has a 250 times bigger cross-section) moves only 1/250th of the distance, but it does so with 250 times the force. So you pump the small piston 10 inches, the big piston moves only 1/25th of an inch. But even if you just push with 60 lbs, the big one pushes with 15000 lbs, and if you push the small piston 25 times, you have squished whatever got in the way of the big piston by 1 inch.\n\nOf course, if you don't want to do this by hand, you can take a small pump instead of a piston. It doesn't have to create a lot of pressure if the big piston is big enough.\n\nNow, to the front of the piston, you can attach either a small or a big tool. The force the piston is putting behind it will be spread across the entire surface where the tool is touching the object that you're trying to destroy, so a smaller tool will bring much more force to a small area than a big tool that will spread the force across the entire object."
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1r6ohf | it's snowing here finally, so i'm wondering...how does anti-lock braking actually work? how does the car know when it's "slipping?" | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1r6ohf/eli5its_snowing_here_finally_so_im_wonderinghow/ | {
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"There's a speed sensor on every wheel connected to a simple computer. when you apply the brakes the computer compares the different wheel speeds. If it senses one or two wheels suddenly slowing, it activates a solenoid that pulses the pressure in the break lines. Allowing the wheel(s) to begin rolling for a split second and regain traction, before apply pressure again. Anti lock systems are more about maintaining control than they are about decreasing stopping distance. Super modern systems work with accelerometers and the traction control to pulse individual break lines in order to improve traction, and decrease the chances of skidding weather the brakes are applied or not. ",
"Sensors on each wheel monitor how fast the wheels are turning. When you lock up your brakes, they don't go from turning to locked instantaneously. Typically the front wheels (that do most of the braking) lock up first, and then the rear (if you're braking hard enough or on a very slippery surface). \n\nThe senors are tied to a computer that monitors the speed of each wheel. If it senses that (a) you are hitting the brakes and (b) one wheel is turning at a different speed than the others it will engage the ABS and pulse the brakes for you. It can make this measurement very quickly, so even if you panic stop and attempt to lock all 4 wheels up immediately, there's still enough time to tell that you've locked up. \n\nChanging tire diameter (by putting on different size rims), especially in cars with different size tires on the front and back, can mess up ABS systems because the whole system is based on making sure the tires are spinning at the same speed. "
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frpw8w | how will an increased lifespan lead to a fitter life overall | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/frpw8w/eli5_how_will_an_increased_lifespan_lead_to_a/ | {
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"We will not live until we are 150 unless we invent a new medicine that prolongs life. Some new medicine that prolongs life is being tested on rats. Some older rats that take this medicine also become healthier and stronger and can run for long distances. If we can make this medicines work on us too, then maybe we will also become stronger and healthier too even if we are old."
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||
zwwt0 | how are banks different and what makes them better than others? | What sets banks apart? Differences between Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Bank of (Insert State Name Here), etc. ?
What's the best? Why? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zwwt0/eli5_how_are_banks_different_and_what_makes_them/ | {
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"Without going into specifics, different banks offer different benefits. Some banks will give you more interest on your deposited money. The higher the interest rate, the more money you get back. Some banks charge less interest for loans and mortgages. This is important if you want money to start a business or if you want to buy a house. Furthermore, banks will have other benefits: no ATM charges, international access, free checks, reliability, etc.\n\nThe best bank depends on what your are looking for. If you solely want a place to keep your money, a bank with higher interest rates is better. If you want to use your bank to take out loans and mortgages, you want lower interest rates. If you work internationally, an international bank would be preferred."
]
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|
aagqpm | why does chinese food not seem to keep you full whereas other food does? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aagqpm/eli5_why_does_chinese_food_not_seem_to_keep_you/ | {
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"Sorry moderator. Carbs are an essential part of asian cuisine. Because they're basically sugar as processed by your metabolism you feel less satiated by them. Fats make you stay full longer, proteins make you full but eventually break down to sugars and carbs, at their base, are simple sugars that spike your glucose then leave you wanting for more. ",
"The bulk of the food volume is normally rice or noodles, which are starches. Starches are Carbs that are broken down fairly quickly in the digestive system and so the food does not keep you full as long as things that have more protein or fats which take longer to digest. "
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2l5s4d | the end of the world according to the book of revelations | Not trying to start a theological debate, it's just I want to understand the events stated on the book (I always get lost in the allegories) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2l5s4d/eli5the_end_of_the_world_according_to_the_book_of/ | {
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"Anti-christ rules a while, everybody must wear the mark of the beast or they can't buy, sell, or trade, christians ascend into heaven either before or after, then christ returns and has a final battle that banishes evil forever. Then the earth is a paradise again.",
"John of Patmos (who may or may not be the same as John the Apostle) is shown a vision by God where there is a throne room of heaven, and a scroll sealed with seven seals.\n\nJesus is there in the form of a lamb with seven horns and is proclaimed to be the one with the power to open the seals. (And does so)\n\n[The Four Horsemen]\n\n- After the first seal is broken, Conquest rides out to conquer the people.\n- After the second seal is broken, War rises to take peace from the earth and make people kill each other.\n- After the third seal is broken, Famine causes destruction that follows the aftermath of war.\n- Fourth seal = fourth horseman of Death\n\nThe fifth seal reveals the souls of those who had been killed for maintaining belief in God (martyrs)\n\nSixth seal breaking causes a great earthquake - sun turns black, moon turns red, stars fall from the sky towards earth.\n\nSeventh seal = silence. Period of calm before the 7 Trumpets (yes, the number 7 is repeatedly used throughout) cause even more destruction.\n\n[Four angels at four corners of the globe prevent wind from striking the land or sea until a seal is placed on the foreheads of the servants of God (144,000 people), to protect them]\n\n[Angel Trumpet Time!]\n\n- First trumpet = fire rains upon earth, destroys 1/3 of trees + grass\n- Second trumpet = blazing mountain thrown into the sea. Destroys 1/3 of sea creatures and 1/3 of ships\n- Third trumpet = Star named Wormwood falls from the sky and turns 1/3 of waters undrinkable\n- Fourth trumpet = sun and moon go dark, leaving 1/3 of earth without light.\n- Fifth trumpet = plague of demon-like locusts, told not to harm those with seals from God. Torture their victims for months - they will wish for death, but will not be granted it.\n- Sixth trumpet = 1/3 of mankind killed\n- Seventh trumpet = heaven opens. calm? Before the SEVEN BOWLS OF JUDGEMENT. Yes. there is more.\n\n[SEVEN BOWLS OF JUDGEMENT]\n\nEach angel pours a bowl of destruction onto the earth and each one has the same effect as its corresponding trumpet (ie. land, sea, rivers, sun, earthquake...), but whereas trumpets were 1/3, bowls are 100%.\n\nAs the final bowl is poured, total devastation occurs. \n\n\nSource: studying medieval apocalyptic history.\n",
"As it was written, it wasn't intended to be a prophecy of the end of the world. It was an allegory for the difficult political situation that Christians at the time were facing, particularly John who was in exile (jury is out as to whether this was the same John as the Apostle, but probably not). John uses imagery from the Old Testament as well as things borrowed from Roman and Persian mythology. Rob Bell goes through the historicity of Revelation in really mind-blowing detail. \n\n_URL_0_",
"It's actually about the oppression of the Jews by the Romans of the time, 100 CE. 666 refers to Nero Caesar. "
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bkevaw | how do we stop ourselves from just peeing whenever we have to go? | Currently in traffic and have to pee like a race horse. I know that I have to go really badly and that if I wasn’t holding it I’d be peeing all over my car right now. So what actually stops me from pissing myself? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bkevaw/eli5_how_do_we_stop_ourselves_from_just_peeing/ | {
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"There is a muscle which holds closed the output of the bladder, and you can consciously make it stay closed."
]
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2n5vbk | what makes sex such a strong motivator / tool? | Am I also incorrect in assuming that males are motivated more by sex than their counterparts? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2n5vbk/eli5_what_makes_sex_such_a_strong_motivator_tool/ | {
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"Pretty sure it's our basic need to survive and pass on our genes. If sex wasn't a strong urge, why would anyone do it? We'd all die off."
]
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|
4bamgb | why is the homosexual lisp a thing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4bamgb/eli5_why_is_the_homosexual_lisp_a_thing/ | {
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"text": [
"It's a way to immediately identify other homosexuals via self imposed body ticks that eliminate the confusion caused by the guessing of ones sexual orientation.\n\nIt's also simply an accent from various places around the world, like from Barcelona. "
]
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||
1w40fd | is there an actual difference between various brands of cigarettes? | This is coming from a non-smoker. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1w40fd/eli5_is_there_an_actual_difference_between/ | {
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"text": [
"Yes. Tobacco has varieties just like any other crop, and different manufacturers use different blends, methods of preparation, additives, and flavorings."
]
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2wbfc7 | how are these "people trees" grown? | _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wbfc7/eli5_how_are_these_people_trees_grown/ | {
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"It's called Tree Shaping. Wikipedia has a huge article on it, but it boils down to a few things:\n\n1) You can put it in some sort of a \"cast\" and keep it that way until it retains its shape naturally (you can't do this with thick trees)\n\n2) You can suspend the tree (roots and all) above the ground and spray it with a nutrient-rich water. Because the roots are a lot more flexible, this allows the tree shaper to make just about any design they want. As the roots grow, the upper parts become part of the trunk. When the shape is completed, the tree is planted\n\n3) Gradual tree shaping. This is done in the same way as #1, except you can do it with larger trees. Instead of just putting it in a cast, you slowly push branches in the desired shape (over the course of weeks, months, and years) until they hold that shape naturally.\n\n4) Not covered in the wiki article, but still important is using light. Certain plants like Lucky Bamboo are often shaped using light. Since a plant will always grow towards a light source and away from gravity, you just tilt the plant at an angle until it starts to grow in that direction. Then you change the angle later."
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1prt4o | what would happen to the earth, and humans, if our sun went supernova? | If a supernova occurred in our solar system what would happen to us? What would be the thing to kill us? Would we realise it was happening before it happened? If so what would be the time-line of events in our bio-sphere? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1prt4o/eli5_what_would_happen_to_the_earth_and_humans_if/ | {
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"It would destroy the earth utterly. However, that can't ever happen. The sun is too small to ever go supernova. ",
"This video does a really good job of explaining in detailed steps what would happen in exactly this situation. It's done in a fun, musical style - the best part is a guest appearance midway through by Neil deGrasse Tyson who does a funny rap bit:\n_URL_0_",
"Well all of the particles from all things within our solar system would be separated back in to its most basic radiological form. We would drift into the vast void of the known and unknown universe. Yes we would know that the sun went supernova before it happened by approximately eight minutes. However the likelihood that our planet would still be around by then is minimal. Our sun will most likely have expanded before prior to recondensing inorder to go nova. At which point, if our planet hasn't already spiraled into the sun as a result of it's gravitational pull, we would be engulfed. ",
"Supernovae don't just \"happen\" there's a pretty extensive lead up (the entire lifetime of the star), and so its pretty obvious when its about to blow within a hundred thousand years or so. In addition, the build up to the supernova would probably be enough to destroy the Earth (the Sun would probably have already stripped away the atmosphere and oceans, and gobbled up the rocky remains).\n\nAssuming the Sun did go supernova, we'd be gone. The shockwave and intense radiation would probably vaporize Earth in a few moments.\n\nAs far as realizing it, we'd have to wait 8 minutes for the supernova to appear to us (due to the distance between the Earth and the Sun). The intense light from it would flash boil the oceans instantaneously, and strip away the atmosphere, and kill you of course. A few moments later, the shockwave would hit, and what was left of Earth would be vaporized (if not atomized or converted to plasma).\n\nOf course our sun can't go supernova, because it lacks the necessary mass at its core to fuse anything higher than helium to carbon (I believe). Our sun will probably die and form a planetary nebula with a central white dwarf (which is much more gentle than a supernova on a cosmic scale).",
"A supernova within a few dozen light years, or even thousands if it created a Gamma Ray Burst directed at us, would kill us. ",
"I would think the thing to actually kill US would be the insane amounts of gamma radiation emanating from it. Not to mention the fact that the sun itself would expand beyond our orbit.",
"you never specified where the supernova would occur, so i'll theorize for it occurring anywhere in our solar system instead of just the sun.\n\nwe would be killed by radiation and eventually vaporized along w/ earth. \n\nin all likelihood, gamma radiation.\n\nno. the radiation would be traveling at the speed of light and would kill us instantly upon striking earth.\n\nradiation would strip the earth's atmosphere, kill us and then earth would be destroyed by the subsequent blast. the timeline, depending on proximity of the blast, would be within roughly 7hrs. (distance from earth to the Kuiper Cliff @ the speed of light)"
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sriux | - why do we just not globally exterminate mosquitoes? since this insect is a major cause of disease-spread and has no solo-purpose that can't be replaced by another existing insect? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/sriux/eli5_why_do_we_just_not_globally_exterminate/ | {
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"Two main reasons off the top of my head:\n\n1. We don't know how to extermine only mosquitoes.\n2. At best we can guesstimate what will happen to other animals due to mosquitoes dying off, but not much more. Historically, surgical attempts to mess with ecosystems haven't gone too well.\n\nPesticides kill lots of pests, they get concentrated in bigger animals who eat those smaller pests. Remember DDT? It's rarely used now because it messed with the way large birds (bald eagle being the most recognizable) breed.\n\nMosquitoes make up the a huge part of the biomass that feeds water animals (fish, insects and amphibians), both at the full grown stage and as larvae. I'm sure some insect would come to take its place, but in the meanwhile the ripple effect on the ecosystem would be enormous... introducing rabbits to Australia enormous.",
"It's all about the eco-system. If for some reason a type of fish carried diseases then killing off that species would have massive impacts on the rest of the species in the ocean.",
"Exterminating them is the wrong idea: breeding them to somehow carry the *cure* for malaria instead would be a kind of solution. \n",
"We are actually doing something to get rid of them, its pretty much like this. \n\nMosquitoes only mate with one male, so the scientists are putting males in microwaves (Kinda) and making them infertile. Then releasing them into the wild and then they are having sex ..... nothing happens, both pairs die without producing more. \n\nTHIS IS HAPPENING NOW!!!\n\nELI5: Your dad gets his dick cut off so you and your mom cant make more kids \n",
"What about the frogs? Think of the poor frogs.",
"I would also like to point out that mosquitoes are pollinators. Only females drink blood, and they only do so in order to get nourishment for their eggs; mosquitoes actually survive on nectar.",
"[This is what would happen.](_URL_0_) In other words, the impact of genociding mosquitoes is minimal, and may be something to consider actually doing. And yes, other insects will fill the niche.\n\nJust for insurance, I'd say collect a bunch of larva of all the species around the world, and put them away. Kill off the mosquitoes, and see what happens. If shit starts turning south, reintroduce the population.\n\nNo, how to go about killing off the whole world population... That's something we probably need to work on.",
"This doesn't do anything to answer your question, but I think it's kind of cool.\n\n[Mosquito Laser](_URL_0_)",
"Because bats, frogs and lizards and birds would die.",
"I once asked my dad this when I was a child, and he just got a sad look on his face and asked me why on earth I would want the majority of dragonflies to die of starvation.\n\nThat's how I learned about food chains.",
"Mosquitoes are part of the food chain. They may be a small part, but if you eradicate them, you have no idea what kind of impact that'd have on the chain. No one really knows for sure, but pretty much anything that depends on mosquitoes and other small insects for their diet would starve, or be forced to shift their diet to a different insect and in turn eradicate that species.",
"Mosquitoes are also an important source of food for spiders.",
"Because we don't know how. All attempts to previously exterminate mosquitoes (locally) failed miserably and increased the spread of disease.",
"Because we have more humans than we need already\n\n:tinfoilhat:",
"The hubris of humanity: wipe out a species that has existed for over a hundred million years and think that it won't have any lasting effects on the ecosystems of the Earth."
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1rtofk | how does street numbering work? | I've done some pizza delivery in the past and noticed on our maps that the numbering was divided into blocks, and that you could tell the approximate location of an address just by the number.
As far as I understood it, the numbers on north-to-south streets corresponded to the appropriate street (like 4790 N Main would be on Main street, close to N 48th St.), and the east-to-west streets corresponded to how far the address was from the center of the reset point (for example, 7443 W Broadway is about 7.5 miles west from 0 Broadway, where continuing would then be addressed like 3250 E Broadway).
What I don't know is why this is, who decides it, and furthermore, why streets are designated differently (street, avenue, parkway, terrace, etc.). | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rtofk/eli5_how_does_street_numbering_work/ | {
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"It works different in every city. Literally, down to the difference of \"street vs. avenue vs. boulevard etc.\". Different cities have totally different layouts and different rules for the naming conventions. It generally is all decided by the city government, with a little influence from county and state.\n\nIn Chicago, for example, there are 800 street addresses per mile, and roughly 100 per standard block, meaning 8 blocks per mile. In New York, it's roughly 20 blocks per mile. Boston is a giant clusterfuck that I won't begin to speak on. "
]
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4h83kq | why is it that discrimination against a majority race isn't considered discrimination? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4h83kq/eli5_why_is_it_that_discrimination_against_a/ | {
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"Legally it is. Race-based discrimination is still illegal, regardless of your race. \n\nWhat you've been told refers to a sociological definition of institutional racism that defines it as prejudice combined with institutional power. Under that definition, because our society is predominantly white, institutional racism can really only be directed against minority groups. However, the common definition of racism applies to any group. ",
"There's a difference between the act and the effect. Racism and discrimination can exist against white people. What doesn't happen, at least not in the US, is any adverse effect from that. White people *as a group* are not adversely affected by discrimination because to a large extent we still control the levers of power and privilege. "
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6qrcys | why was russia's ban on adoptions to us such an important response to the magnitsky act? | I was reading through the Bill Browder testimony transcript ([found here](_URL_0_)) and was interested to know the context on the following line:
> In November 2012 the Magnitsky Act passed the House of Representatives by 364 to 43 votes and later the Senate 92 to 4 votes. On December 14, 2012, President Obama signed the Sergei Magnitsky Act into law.
> Putin was furious. Looking for ways to retaliate against American interests, he settled on the most sadistic and evil option of all: banning the adoption of Russian orphans by American families.
How is this the most "Sadistic and Evil Option"? Why would this influence the US to revert the Magnitsky Act?
I am not trying to devalue adoptions in any way, shape, or form, but simply want to understand the reason for it having such political weight. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6qrcys/eli5_why_was_russias_ban_on_adoptions_to_us_such/ | {
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"I don't think the Russians are seeing \"evil\" and \"influence US public opinion\" as mutually exclusive. The SMA hurts a couple dozen people most Americans have never heard of. Many people know someone who has wanted to adopt, I even know someone who adopted a Russian orphan. They are hoping to impact (==hurt) more people, so that public opinion will swing in favor of SMA repeal. It's rather evil, but evil works a good percentage of the time where US public opinion is concerned.",
" > How is this the most \"Sadistic and Evil Option\"?\n\nIt destroys the future of children as a method of applying political pressure.\n\n > Why would this influence the US to revert the Magnitsky Act?\n\nIt wouldn't, but it shows Putin is willing to retaliate for harm against him. \"Hurt me and I will hurt children.\"\n\n"
]
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"https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/6qolqi/bill_browders_testimony_to_the_senate_judiciary/"
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[],
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1rtivo | why is "fuck" a bad word? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rtivo/eli5_why_is_fuck_a_bad_word/ | {
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"text": [
"Vsauce actually did a great video on the subject of swear words and why they're taboo just a couple of days ago. You can watch it **[here](_URL_0_)**."
]
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"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7dQh8u4Hc"
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||
zxj2k | why are un-cut diamonds illegal to have in some countries? | I was just wondering, you can buy uncut diamond in the deep web, but why is uncut diamond illegal? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zxj2k/why_are_uncut_diamonds_illegal_to_have_in_some/ | {
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"It's not illegal to have uncut diamonds, it is illegal to import conflict diamonds in most western countries however (it's very hard to get a hold of a real conflict diamond these days, especially if you buy them from a legitimate business). Those diamonds however are likely conflict diamonds that are illegal to import and without any paper to prove otherwise. "
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41uu6e | how can a company like uhaul allow me to drive their trucks halfway across the country and leave them at different uhaul centers? wouldn't some centers lose more trucks than they take in and vice versa? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41uu6e/eli5_how_can_a_company_like_uhaul_allow_me_to/ | {
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"text": [
"Yes, it happens just like you expect. Companies like U-haul and RV rental companies, etc. have programs to mitigate this - car transport, or RV companies will buy 1-way plane tickets for drivers to move their RVs for them.",
"Yes, but the interstate drives are pretty rare. Most drivers take it one town over or something and they just hire a guy to bring it back. They might not even need to because someone from another place will drive a truck to your town and then your back even again. \n\nUhaul makes a fuck ton on the long interstate drives so they don't mind.",
"It costs more to move from places no one wants to go for this reason. Return cost is transferred since it is unlikely that someone will do so voluntarily.",
"I worked for a camper van hire company in Australia. We would sell rental cheaper in the direction where we needed vans, or from start points where we had a surplus. We sometimes gave rentals free, or even bought customers air tickets if they didn't care about where they finished. Our last resort was putting the vans on a train or truck.\n\n\nLPT: everyone wants to be in Sydney for NYE so we didn't want any vans there at Christmas. You can probably find great rental deals from Sydney to Melbourne or Brisbane in December",
"The expense required to relocate vehicles is built into the cost of the one way rental. They have people whose job is it to drive them back to where they are needed.\n\nAlso, they will sometimes offer steep discounts to people who happen to be going in the right direction.",
"Can't speak on other companies, but one way (long distance) rental prices fluctuate based on supply/demand where you rent and where you're dropping off. A Uhaul from Portland, Oregon to somewhere in Minnesota could very well be cheaper than taking it to San Francisco, CA. Doing this keeps the number of corporate shuttle trips down. It's also why you may be offered a sweet deal at the time of rental if you drop off your Uhaul one town over from your destination."
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1rllk6 | what does it mean when a video game is in pre-alpha/alpha/beta? | How do they determine which stage they are in? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rllk6/eli5what_does_it_mean_when_a_video_game_is_in/ | {
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"It means that the game is not done. Imagine you are building a house. You start with the foundation that might be called pre-alpha. You ave an idea of the shape of the house but it's not realy a house yet. \n\nThen frame in the walls. Then you insulate it and put siding up. At this point it might be called an \"alpha\" house. People can look at it, but if anyone gets to close they will clearly see that it's not finished yet.\n\nAt some point, late in the construction process, you invite a whole pile of people over to the house so they can jump up and down in it and make sure it stays standing. This would be the bata stage. The house is mostly done, but not polished. You are just kind of testing it out to make sure it's structurally sound.",
"[**Pre-alpha**](_URL_0_)\nThe game is in very early stage of development. They're not testing things, constructing stuff for basic functionality, they're also designing the software.\n\n[**Alpha**](_URL_2_)\nTesting the software, trying to break it, and when they have people try to hack it. At the end of the Alpha stages of development, they usually have a 'feature freeze', which is when they stop adding features to the game.\n\n[**Beta**](_URL_1_)\nThe phase in which you're familiar with, and is sometimes open (Open-beat, also on the wiki page) to users to help test. They are no longer testing the actual software, but are testing how usable it is and whatnot. "
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3fzbgo | what is happening to the engine when i'm at high rpm's, but i haven't shifted yet? | As in, I just floored it in my automatic car, but the car hasn't shifted into 2nd gear. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3fzbgo/eli5_what_is_happening_to_the_engine_when_im_at/ | {
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"The car has a sensor on the accelerator to determine how far it's pushed down. When you 'floor' it you generally want to accelerate fast. In order to do so you require high RPM and thus high power from the engine. So the gear shift is delayed in order to achieve the higher RPM. This is due to gear ratios within the transmission. ",
"Mechanic here. Basically you've got a valve inside your automatic gearbox. On one side of the valve is pressure generated by the speed of the gearbox, and on the other is your accelerator pedal. The gearbox is constantly trying to shift up a gear into a higher ratio, while the accelerator is trying to shift down a gear. When you floor it, on a simple system, you activate a switch called the kick down system, which automatically drops a gear down to ensure that you get maximum engine revs before shifting. You let off the throttle, the transmission speeds up, and the pressure on the shift valve changes enough to overcome the accelerator pedal pressure, and the transmission changes into a lower gear. \n\nModern computer gearboxes are far more sophisticated, taking into account things like engine temperature, engine speed, vehicle speed, the difference between the current and next ratio, and from there decide when the ideal time to change is. TLDR: the harder you push down on the gas, the lower ratio the gearbox wants to go. "
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6bq0v5 | why is marijuana detectable through urine drug tests for so long (at least 1 month for regular smokers typically) while other drugs (meth, cocaine, heroin, etc.) aren't detectable generally past 72 hours-a week at the most? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6bq0v5/eli5_why_is_marijuana_detectable_through_urine/ | {
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"text": [
"THC and many of it's derivates are fat-soluble, a characteristic that many other drugs do not have, and slows down the removal from the body. This is very similar to how some vitamins are dangerous in high amounts, while others can be taken in large quantities daily with few side effects."
]
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1p7xz4 | when installing a computer program, why does the last 1% often take longer than the previous 99%? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1p7xz4/eli5_when_installing_a_computer_program_why_does/ | {
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"text": [
"Because time/progress indicators are a remarkably hard problem which has little payoff for getting right. There isn't an obvious way to get the indicator right as each step in the process contains diverse sub steps that are often not compatible with each other (writing to the file system vs checking a remote site for updates vs writing to the registry). A system might be faster than average at one task while being slower than average at another. \n\nThe 99 to 100 bit is generally the point where it hands off to the OS to do its thing for registering new programs. Depending on the program, this could take longer than the rest. \n\nThey could do this better - for instance, using an instrumented installer to gather stats on installs on 100 different machines/networks and using some averaging to get better estimates. Or using more sophisticated heuristics on the early part of the install. But people don't normally make purchasing decisions based on the installer, so this expense isn't worth it (especially since installers are generally outsourced and everyone has this problem).\n\nSource : software developer, written my share of installers",
"Often there are many different types of operations that need to occur when installing a program: copying files, checking versions, downloading, making changes to the registry/config files, etc. Since the installer cannot know how long each of these operations take, but has a general idea of how many operations it needs, the progress bar is based around \"5 of 9\" steps completed. Each of these steps can take a different amount of time. It may also be grouping several similar steps into one larger group, which, again, takes a different amount of time."
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5j0pbd | what factors differentiate a crime of passion from a premeditated crime? | Is it merely whether a crime was reactionary/provoked, or does the severity of the crime and the period of time involved also play a part? If so, at what point does one become the other?
For example, if a woman discovers her husband cheating on her, and stabs him fifty times immediately, killing him, this would most likely be a crime of passion.
If the same wife discovers her husband cheating, and stabs him only once, but a week later, would this be a crime of passion, or premeditated?
What if she staba him a hundred times, a month after discovering his infidelity? Which would it be?
P.S. I'm not sure if a "crime of passion" is a legal delineation, but I imagine it would be an extenuating factor during prosecution, while premeditation forms part of the definition of first degree murder. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5j0pbd/what_factors_differentiate_a_crime_of_passion/ | {
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"It's a grey area. The concept doesn't exist in all jurisdictions.\n\nI believe that you have to establish that the person was so effected that they were driven to irrational behaviour that was out of character for them.\n\nIf the woman had no history of violence and stabbed the cheating husband a week later (after slowly bring driven crazy by the knowledge) and then turned herself in without making any effort to hide it, she may have a case.\n\nIf she has a history of beating her husband and/or she has spent the week planning how to hide the body or fake an alibi then that's premeditation and isn't a crime of passion.\n\nIn a similar vein, crime of passion may not exist, but you could plead mitigation by way of temporary insanity. A different way of essentially saying the same thing. \n\nEdit: The Wikipedia entry is quite decent, specifically the entry on France. Which set the modern standard for this defence in the Napoleonic code\n\n_URL_0_"
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20y3fe | what is the difference between positive and negative g-force? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/20y3fe/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_positive_and/ | {
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"Direction.\n\nNormally you feel a force of +1g, pushing you straight down.\n\nIf you were in an elevator accelerating upwards which, you might experience a force of +2g. And if the elevator was accelerating downwards very quickly, you might actually feel an upwards force of -0.5g. That's what a negative g-force is, when it feels like you are falling up. \n\nNote that elevators don't accelerate fast enough to feel those kinds of forces, but many amusement park rides do."
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||
59vv55 | what causes clouds to form or congregate around mountains? | I was at the Rock of Gibraltar today, and there was a large amount of clouds on only one side of the mountain for the entire day. Other than this mass of clouds, the sky was mostly clear. Any insight into what would cause this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/59vv55/eli5_what_causes_clouds_to_form_or_congregate/ | {
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"Wind pushes air into the side of the mountain. Where can it go? Some air goes around but some is forced upward. The air going up reduces in pressure with the altitude, expands, and cools. This reduces the amount of water vapor it can hold and often results in it condensing to form clouds."
]
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|
2angmn | how do you advance ranks in the military? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2angmn/eli5_how_do_you_advance_ranks_in_the_military/ | {
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"Air Force Reserve Officer here. You're asking a pretty broad question. I'm not sure how it works for enlisted or other branches, but officers in the AF Reserves: O1 to O3 are \"time in service\" meaning they're automatic. To transition from company grade to field grade officer, you need to go to Squadron Officer School. After that, you wait for a slot to open up O3 to O4. Haven't looked into going higher than that yet but I'm pretty sure you have to go back to Air War College to make it from O4 to O5. After O5 I heard it's pretty much who you know."
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2mp5lk | why do cars take forever to heat up, when my space heater is instant? why don't we use "regular" heaters in cars? | It's such a pain in everyones ass to wait 15 minutes for their freezing car to warm up, why not work on a solution? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2mp5lk/eli5_why_do_cars_take_forever_to_heat_up_when_my/ | {
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"text": [
"Your conventional space heater uses an electric heating element, that uses a lot of electric current, more than what the alternator on a car can efficiently put out. Sure you can have a high demand electric heater in the car but your fuel efficiency is going to pay the price",
"Your car's heater uses waste heat from the engine's cooling system. The benefit is that that heat is \"free\" (it's a byproduct of combustion). The downside is that it takes a while, since your engine block is a big hunk of metal. An electric space heater consumes a lot of watts--it would be difficult and costly to achieve the same thing in your car that now can be achieved for essentially nothing (other than the electric fan, which isn't a big deal).",
"Like others have said the heaters in cars rely solely on the heat of the coolant hence a cold engine block must be warmed then the coolant gets warm. Some cars do have electric heat and a/c they tend to be the higher end models with stop start technology because when the car stops then the heat would drop etc but even then it requires a large battery to maintain"
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1b3ldj | what is the "quantum" in quantum physics, quantum computers and so on? | What's the difference between normal and quantum? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1b3ldj/eli5_what_is_the_quantum_in_quantum_physics/ | {
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"Go and grab a magnifying lens and look at your monitor, can you see the little squares composing it? That's a pixel. It's a quantum of image.\n\nIf you look at a picture on your screen, the image will be created putting these little pixel-tiles one close the the other. It seems smooth, but if you look close enough and see the tiles you will realize it is discrete.\n\nWe are not inside of a computer ( probably ), however if you take a magnyifing lens big enough you can see something similar to your pixel tiles composing everything.\n\nThere are people that spend their lives looking for these very small subatomic particles and before they could actually be seen there were guys that made calculations to understand how a world composed by small \"quantums\" would behave.\n\nSmall things behavave in a funny and fascinating way when you reach what is called the Planck scale.\n\nEdit: typo",
"You can obviously look up the definition of quantum or quanta on google (discrete amount of any other physical quantity, such as momentum or electric charge), so I guess that's not all of your question.\n\nQuantum in those settings you mention refers to Quantum Mechanics. It's a set of mathematical laws (can be boiled down to 5 or so) that governs how we think the universe works. In a sense the language of the universe. Quantum Computers is using those laws/rules to do calculations. \n\nQuantum mechanics got its name from the fact that a lot of things that seemed smooth, or continuous, turned out to be made up of small discrete units. The most famous is probably the realization that light comes in discrete packages (photons). That was a huge surprise because we thought we had proven light was a smooth wave.",
"Pretty sure its an outgrowth of the discovery that energy changes on the atomic level by discrete, indivisible amounts. I think the term 'quantum of energy' was used to describe this and the name stuck.",
"You know normal physics right? In classic physics everything is linear. If you punch a tree with more force your hand will hurt more. Or (a bit more scientifically) you can put in any amount of energy and you will get a specific outcome. It was common sense that this Principe applied for everywhere.\n\nExcept for it didn't. This is were quantum physics comes into play. You can use light to move electrons in an atom (different story), but what they (e.g. Einstein, which he got his Nobel Prize for) found out is, that there are specific energies you have to put in to make this move happen. You need these EXACT amounts of energy, nothing more or less. And this 'being an exact amount' is what you call quantized. \n\nThat is why you call quantum physics quantum physics. It deals with the field in physics where things are quantized. \n\n\nNow why they want to make quantum computers. Photons have some funny abilities. You know Schrödinger's cat? Stuff like that. For example you can have two Photons which are entangled. It has something to do with data transfer. Entangled photons exchange information soooo fast. (Scientists might have found out, that they to that with 10c, which is thought to be impossible.) This is (of course) a part of quantum physics. That is why it is in the name."
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ewrmap | why is icelandic considered a separate language and not old norwegian? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ewrmap/eli5_why_is_icelandic_considered_a_separate/ | {
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"Because the spelling, phonology and grammar have changed quite significantly, even if an icelandic speaker can with a small amount of effort understand old norse. \n\n\nAlso, because it is a language spoken by icelanders in iceland. As the mainland languages started diverging the need to signifiy the uniqueness of Icelandic became more evident.",
"Same reason Norwegian is considered a separate language for Old Norse (not Old Norwegian). Both evolved over time and are now different from their parent. Due to isolation and a smaller, more homogenous population, Icelandic (and Faroese) has changed less than other Norse languages, but it has still changed."
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cvofqx | why are car navigation and voice controls so clunky when we have the technology in phones to be very smooth? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cvofqx/eli5_why_are_car_navigation_and_voice_controls_so/ | {
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" Siri and all those like it ship the audio off your phone to a server at Apple/Google/wherever to do the speech to text processing. They have huge farms of optimized servers for that. Your in-dash navigation system has to do it all itself with a relatively slow processor.",
"The primary difference between the tech in your phone and in your car is connectivity.\n\nYour phone is *always* connected to the internet (as long as you have a signal) and uses that connection to improve the processing of voice commands and navigation instructions. (With some navigation apps, like Google Maps and Waze, you can see this in real-time when they tell you there is a slowdown ahead and suggest alternate routes.) The same is true of voice recognition - your phone uses dictionaries on the internet and AI software to interpret what you say into a coherent statement.\n\nYour car is relying on a *static* map and dictionary. Map info does not get updated unless you buy an update and install it on the car's harddrive. Voice recognition relies on a dictionary on the car's harddrive instead of the (more robust) dictionary *and AI* that can be employed by your phone via the internet.",
"There's a few reasons. The main one is that auto manufactures have been extremely reluctant to allow another company to take \"possession\" of the vehicles infotainment system. \n\nCar companies are good at making cars. They are less good at making voice control systems. They could outsource this processing to someone like google but the car companies don't want to lose that level of control and access to the data. So they have been extremely resistant to doing this.\n\nNext issue is development timelines. Most cars take 5(ish) years to develop before they actually go on sale. At some point in this process the infotainment system becomes \"locked in\" for production. Then the actual model of car is sold, basically unchanged, for another 5(ish) years. Sometimes development is a lot longer, sometimes the sales period is a lot longer. But it's not unreasonable to think that the infotainment system in a \"new\" car might have been designed 5-10 years ago, that's a LONG time when it comes to something like a voice assistant. Go research what Google and Apple were doing in 2009 (hint, nether google assistant or Siri existed then).\n\nThere's 2 more factors. The first is known as the data advantage. Google, Amazon and Apple have gotten as good as they have at voice control because they have been collecting voice control based data for a long time. The more voices that these services can hear the better they can become at learning what people are trying to say. Car companies sell a lot of cars but it's not nearly as many as smart phones are selling, I know many people who don't have their own car but I don't know anyone without a smartphone (or who shares a smartphone). Most 16 year olds have their own smartphone but most don't have their own car. So there's the fact that the car companies have WAY less data available to them to collect, combined with the fact that most cars are not sending this data back home. And this leads us to the next point.\n\nMost smary voice systems today don't actually do the \"smart\" thing on the device itself. A google home is just a recorder with an internet connection, not a speak renegotiation processor. It records you, sends that snip of a recording to google's BIG server farms where google processes it and returns a result, the speaker then plays the result. It all happens very fast and is dependent on an \"always on\" internet connection. \n\nMost cars don't have an internet connection like that. So a car is doing all of the speach processing using the computer in the car. A computer that is already somewhat old and outdated, built by a company that builds cars and not computers and it's more of a general use computer not one specifically designed for speech to text processing. So it's just disadvantage on top of disadvantage.\n\nAll of these are why things like Android auto and Apple CarPlay exist. These services allow your smart device to control the head unit of the car. It basically becomes just a dumb display. But even with that innovation auto makers were still very resistant to allow it. They don't want to give up control of the central screen in the middle of the car. But because they really suck at this stuff they are slowly having to let go. It's now possible (but only just barely possible) to buy a car that has it's primary infotainment system built around Android, but it's not widely available and I think it's only 1 or two models that are mostly in the design stage."
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argnfa | what number do banks use to calculate interest? | Is it the total amount you had in your acct that month? like if I withdrew $100 one day then deposited it back into my acct the next and repeated that cycle would i get more in interest or would just leaving the money in the bank give me more interest? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/argnfa/eli5_what_number_do_banks_use_to_calculate/ | {
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"Average daily balance for the month * interest rate.",
"You get interest based on how much is in your account at the end of each day.\n\nIf you have $0 in the account at the end of each day, you get zero.\n\nIf you have $500 every day (say you left it alone the whole month), you get $500 * interest rate.\n\nIf you moved money in and out, and you averaged $300 per day, they pay you $300 * interest rate. It's the daily average balance."
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6mkyxu | how can usps not insure all their packages? if the package is lost-in-transit, they've taken money from you for a service that they didn't provide, and then don't refund you the value of the product or even the value of the service?! | Like, if they lose your parcel, they don't even give you the shipping fee back... Isn't that illegal?! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6mkyxu/eli5_how_can_usps_not_insure_all_their_packages/ | {
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"No it's not illegal. It's incumbent upon you to insure it if it has any value. Once it's insured, it can't be lost, because extra steps are taken to make sure it doesn't get lost. Plus, you get a tracking # so it can be tracked and located. If it's insured, the carrier knows that he is personally responsible for that item until it's delivered (known as an accountable item, just like certified and registered items). Source: was a casual carrier during summer in college"
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30oozn | could you expose newborns to math to make them learn naturally like language? | Explained | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/30oozn/eli5_could_you_expose_newborns_to_math_to_make/ | {
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"We do that! Most babies start learning to count at the same age as they start learning to speak.\n\nCould we teach algebra and trigonometry at that age? No. Maths, far more than languages, is a progression of different techniques. In the very early years, where babies learn without even trying, they will be able to learn to count, and to add simple numbers. But there are many, many more things to learn between there and trigonometry, and they really need to be learnt over a course of many years.",
"It's hard because you don't use math as much as you use language. Besides, you need language to teach math properly so it has to come later. The first years of life are great to get abstract knowledge but I think math is too much to learn so fast and easy."
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6f1dsh | how and why does a word like 'bi-monthly' exist as it does? it simultaneously means twice a month and once every two months, which is an incredibly important distinction. | Surely no one could ever actually use it in any capacity given the conflict. It couldn't have originated as it exists now, could it?
**Edit:** Because some comments are insisting there's only one definition for it _URL_0_
1. occurring every two months
2. occurring twice a month | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6f1dsh/eli5_how_and_why_does_a_word_like_bimonthly_exist/ | {
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"Isn't it semi- for things that happens twice every X, and bi- for things that happen every other X?",
"Semimonthly means twice a month. Bi-monthly means every two months. People are idiots and use the wrong one. Not the words' faults...",
"Bi- as a prefix usually means every two (as in bicentennial=200 years), but using it as \"twice per\" seems to have crept into usage as a malapropism. The more correct and less confusing way of saying \"twice a month\" is \"semimonthly\". The error might arise because \"bi-\" can also be used to denote \"a pair of\" like bipedal=having two legs and bimonthly by analogy meaning \"a pair per month\". That's just speculation though.\n\nThe same issue is also found in biennial incorrectly used as \"twice a year\" but semiannual is the right way to say this. Car dealers seem to get this right often in their semiannual sales. Good on them.",
"originally the prefix \"bi-\" meant every other and \"semi-\" was used to mean half (so twice in the given period) in the same way that \"semicircle\" means a half circle. somehow many people started using \"bi-\" when they really meant \"semi-\", probably because for something that happens twice in one month they were incorrectly associating \"bi-\" with the two occurrences instead of the time period that follows it. now both usages of \"bi-\" have become common enough that they are both accepted as being correct, which also has the effect of making the word fairly useless in most contexts.",
"Language is an emergent order, so there are no people in charge to make sure things always make sense. So, if you were to use bimonthly, you'd want to make sure the context explained the meaning you intended. For example, if the word were used in a legal contract without clarification, I'd expect problems down the road. \n\nsemimonthly should be used if you mean twice a month, to avoid confusion\n",
"Bi- means two\n\nSemi- means half\n\nBi-monthly means \"two month\" \nSemi-monthly means \"half month\"\n\nUsing Bi-monthly to mean \"twice a month\" **is incorrect**\n\nJust like using Literally to mean Figuratively **is incorrect**",
"There seems to be a lot of guess work going on in these comments. I, unfortunately, am going to add another guess, but hopefully my preface will help you view all the other comments with some healthy scepticism.\n\nIn English English the prefix 'Bi' almost always means '2 in 1'. You will find that the terms bimonthly, biannually, and biweekly are not ambiguous terms in British English.\n\nIn American English the prefix usually means '2 of'.\n\nMY guess would be that the mixing of these two systems has caused the confusion.",
"You're mixing bi-monthly with semi-monthly. The former means every two months. The latter means twice a month. "
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1j4qtt | what is the difference between a dj and someone who plays music from their computer at a venue? | What does a DJ do that can't be done and recorded on a computer to be replayed? I don't see why they get so much credit, unless they make the beats themselves? Thanks | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1j4qtt/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_a_dj_and/ | {
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"A DJ generally mixes the songs together so that they sound like one continuous song. It's a much harder job.",
"There could be a great difference or none at all. The two aren't mutually exclusive. Plenty of skilled DJs mix live using laptops.",
"This is something EDM critics bring up all the time. There are some amazing talented DJ's like Hardwell for example, who will mix music live in front of thousands of people, and because it's live, can adjust his set list (although I'm sure in his mind he knows what he'll play) to how the crowd is reacting. On the other hand there is Steve Aoki, now I love him, however he spends so much time in front of the decks and with the crowd, obviously you can tell what's up. But, he gets the crowd going like no one else. To sum up my long answer, it's all about interacting with the crowd and getting everyone to jump, clap, and just go crazy, a pre-recorded set can't really do that. And as far as producing their own beats goes. You can be a great DJ and not the best producer, and vice versa.",
"DJ's are buff with gold chains and skanky girlfriends and guys who bring computers are effeminate music nerds."
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6t06ww | why won't a stack of office paper burn like a hardwood log does in the fire pit? | Built a fire in a fire pit the other day.
Puta a few hundred pages of office copier paper in the bottom along with the twigs and bigger branches. Also put a few logs in.
The wood burnt normally but I had to keep stoking the paper pile to get it burnt.
Is it just that a stack of paper doesn't have oxygen in it compared with a hard wood log? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6t06ww/eli5_why_wont_a_stack_of_office_paper_burn_like_a/ | {
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"Basically, carbon ash is a really good insulator and oxygen barrier. The outside of the paper stack will burn, but the core can't get any oxygen underneath the ash, and is fairly well thermally insulated until you poke it with a stick. ",
"Not enough air. Even hardwood is relatively porous, as the sap burns out, which delivers oxygen to the rest of it. Stacked paper doesn't let any air in between the layers, so only the very outside can burn. \n\nEver tried to burn a book?(Don't hate me, it was \"Strong Women Stay Slim\", it deserved it)\nSame thing. By being so dense, it protects itself.",
"Paper also has a lot of additives. Pure wood burns in two ways - the C6H12O6 recombines to form steam - even if no oxygen is present - and CO2 which requires oxygen. Even if there's no oxygen, it can keep smouldering.\n\nThe additives in paper (chalk, among other things) doesn't burn, but just turns to ash, which chokes the fire.\n\nYou need powerful ventilation, that blows the ash away as it's formed."
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aqe149 | why do blue led holiday lights appear purple in reflections? | My blue LED holiday lights are indeed blue, except when their light is reflected on my white wall. The wall appears purple. I captured this with a white piece of paper. Am I going crazy? _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aqe149/eli5_why_do_blue_led_holiday_lights_appear_purple/ | {
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"Lots of paints and papers include fluorescent compounds. These are made to absorb UV light and output visible light to make the surface look brighter, but many of them are also activated by blue light. These fluorescent compounds are absorbing some of the blue and producing red and green light.",
"LEDs can emit multiple wavelengths of light which combine to form the colour you see coming from the diode with the naked eye. I would assume that the pigment of the paint or the degree of reflectiveness of the surface causes some wavelengths of the light emitted to be absorbed, and the rest reflected back into your eye, making it appear to be a different hue."
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60f6xj | what is the bad feeling you get but cannot figure out what you did that makes you uneasy? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/60f6xj/eli5_what_is_the_bad_feeling_you_get_but_cannot/ | {
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"When i was young i went to the beach with my parents every so often. But this one time i was swimming out a bit too far. Before i knew it the current was taking me and my beach ball to open sea. In my struggle to get back i had to ditch the ball and my mother and a bunch of strangers had to pull me out of the water. To this day i still dream about that fucking beach ball and i have no clue why. The experience was not scary but the scene of that beach ball drifting away makes me feel sooo guilty that i remember it decades later. In short: dont ever lose your beach ball because it will haunt you",
"The word to describe this is Malaise. It is a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify.",
"Isn't it just...anxiety ? ",
"It's by no means the only answer, but that feeling can be caused by infrasound (sound of a frequency below that which can be detected as sound by humans) [wikipedia](_URL_0_)",
"One example of uneasiness I know of can be caused by getting good news about something after you got bad news about it just moments ago. Even though everything is actually okay, you still feel uneasy because the hormones from both instances are still running around your system and conflicting with each other.",
"If its just a feeling emotionally its anxiety, your body can just have random anxiety particularly if you been under stress at work or school. It can even happen if you eat too much sugar, caffiene, or the beginning of slight indegistion. If its more of a physical feeling something could be wrong or it could be anxiety again. ",
"I am a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. According to him, that \"feeling\" (good or bad) or that \"hunch\" is based on intuition rather than fact. And, intuition is explained as data processed too fast for the conscious mind to comprehend.\n\nI personally prefer this theory than the ones about anxiety. "
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5jf2uc | can someone explain how drug control rooms help drug addicts? | I had seen a post about drug control rooms in Europe recently about drug control rooms(?) with my husband and I wanted to see about starting one here in the u.s because I want to help addicts like my dad. I know that he probably won't stop, but I want him to be safe while he uses and I don't want him to be alone and risk oding. I love my pops...I just want to help him live a longer life if possible...help? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5jf2uc/eli5can_someone_explain_how_drug_control_rooms/ | {
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"How do they help addicts?\n\nThey provide a safe environment, usually with clean needles, in which to use. There's medical attention nearby in case of OD. Most importantly, it's an environment where users can be exposed to *help,* where they can ask for help, where they won't be arrested or judged. ",
"I don't know about starting one here in the US, but they help addicts in Europe by providing a safe environment and teach people how to properly and safely use drugs. Here is a [link](_URL_0_).",
"It is basically a safe, no questions asked environment where people can use illegal drugs. It doesn't help with their addiction, but it makes it less likely they will die of an overdose.\n\nYou probably can't set up your own drug control room. They typically have to be state sponsored, otherwise you might be an accomplice to a crime or face civil lawsuits if anything goes wrong.\n\nAlso, it probably isn't a good idea. One key feature of drug control rooms is dispassion. The people who run them don't know the people who use them, and that is vital to setting boundaries. Doing that for someone you know not only enablement, but an invitation from them to take advantage of you."
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54uqms | if the image of a planet that is "x" million light years aways is also "x" million years old, how can we determine whether or not that planet contains life at the present? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/54uqms/eli5_if_the_image_of_a_planet_that_is_x_million/ | {
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"You can't as a matter of principle because information can't be communicated faster than the speed of light. The only thing you might be able to do is determine whether life existed at the time the light you're seeing left the planet.\n\nEdit: stupid typo",
"we can't. the observation is X million years old. even if we found hard evidence of an alien life civilization around a star, that civilization could be long dead already",
"No, and at a million ly we wouldn't be able to detect any features that would tell us whether life had ever existed on that planet. Given the sheer scale of the universe and how many stars with planets exist, it's entirely possible that we're one of many intelligent species, but that by the time any of us could send a signal to any other, we'd be long gone. \n\nKeep in mind that all of recorded human history doesn't even amount to 10,000 years. ",
"The current known physics suggests that there's nothing faster than speed of light. Meaning, you (or any other particle with a mass) cannot travel more than 3.00×10^8 m per second.\n\n\n\nMeaning, if there exist a planet which is 300000000m away from earth, it will take around 1 second to reach their light to us. Now, if at this speed, if light travels constantly for a year, it would travel 9.461x10^15 meters. Which is also known as a 'Light Year(LY)' in astronomy. So, ultimately 1 LY = 9.461x10^15 meters. Do not confuse here LY with time unit although the term 'year' exists there. LY is the unit of distance. \n\n\nNow, imagine, if there's a planet, say Planet-A is 5 LY away automatically means that the light will take almost 5 Years to reach to us from its origin i.e. Planet-A. Had it been 100LY away from us, and it would take 100Y to reach us.\n\nInteresting thing is, the light we see (observe) is, in fact, 5 Years old of Planet-A. The real time light from Planet-A will again take 5Y to reach to us. Thus, whatever we're observing from that light, is the PAST of that planet. Yes, by the same logic, you could reason that you're actually observing an older face of your girlfriend when you see her even in person. The light (photon) took some fraction of time to reach you, thus being a past (for you). \n\nLet us say, if some other Planet-B is x Million LY away, the light from there will take x Million years to reach us. Please, not that it DOES NOT mean that that Planet-B is x million years old, as we don't know that whether that light we're observing is from the birth time of that planet or not. (This might answers your question 1).\n\nNo, we can't really determine whether or not that planet contains life at present or not, because the very reason that if that planet is let us say 10 LY away, to observe the actual-present light, it will take 10 years to reach us and only after that, we can observe/deduct the life existence there. Thus, WE cannot really determine whether or not that planet contains life at the present (unless the planet is drastically near to our earth).\n\n\nI hope this answers your question.\n",
"when the image of a planet x is million light years away, what it means is that we are seeing it as it is million light years before. \n\nwe couldn't determine anything that have that large amount of time gap. too many probability between this time gap. it is like predicting if human species would grow 4 more pair of arm based on current ecosystem and environment.\n\nwhat we can do is that we can observe more to understand if during that million light years ago, did that planet is able to host life according to our human living requirement.",
"Mostly we are looking at systems that are only a few light years away. For instance the recent announcement about a goldilocks zone rocky planet around Proxima Centauri (the closest star to us) is about 4.1 light years away. Now, its not exactly where it appears to be, we are looking at where it was 4.1 years ago, it has since moved, we have since moved, but 4 years isn't too bad. If we can detect high levels of oxygen on the planet, there is no known natural process to make gaseous oxygen appear in the atmosphere, so... we would assume there is life. But if no oxygen, there could still be a different form of life we don't know about. \n\nSo if it had life 4 years ago, we would assume it still to have life now. ",
"If we're talking about such huge distances, the concept of \"present\" or \"simultaneous\" becomes... [Well, relative.](_URL_0_)",
"Well, we can't conclusively decide if a planet/body has life now in the general sense, anything could have happened in those years. Heck, for all we know there is life in the image but we don't recognise it.\n\nHowever, we can make some pretty sound assumptions. If the planet appears to be orbiting very close to the sun (like Mercury) or very far from the sun (like Pluto) we can reasonably assume there is no liquid water/ammonia/other that can support life as we know it. \n\nIf the planet is tidelocked then chances are the temperature differential has killed anything that ever lived. \n\nIf it doesn't have an atmosphere to protect from space debris and radiation. \n\nSize and therefore gravity. Too high doesn't allow the delicate structures needed for life to form, too low and any life form that moved in any way would fly off. \n\nSo, taking a more local example - it is a pretty safe bet that non of the asteroids in the asteroid belt has life and never will. The moon most probably never had life and never will. ",
"So this is a little late, but nobody addressed a very important point missing in your question. We currently cannot identify planets that are millions of years away. The most distant planet discovered is a little under 28,000 light years away, and the nearest (exo)planet is a little over 4 light years away. \n\nSo if we were able to determine any planet that we have discovered thus far contains life, it is highly likely that is currently still capable of supporting some form of life, even if it has evolved another 20,000 years. \n\nBut as for your original question, we cannot be certain, even at 4 light years, that the planet currently contains life, only that it did 4 years ago. Just like you cannot be certain that the sun hasn't already blown up, just that it didn't blow up 8 minutes ago.\n\n"
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5nh9ax | why do large, established companies like coca-cola outsource their branding to boutique firms? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5nh9ax/eli5_why_do_large_established_companies_like/ | {
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"Advertising is something that is generally outsourced to companies who specialize in it. It is very specialized, they are the experts at it, and they are the ones who do it. Sometimes they will keep some of the analytics in house, but generally at a minimum the creative and such is outsourced to the \"experts\" (but they may outsource parts (or all) of the analytics too!)\n\nIts very uncommon for large or even smaller companies to have their in-house advertising department, or at least one that could hold their own against a company who's business is advertising.\n\nBut one last thing -- remember \"advertising\" is not the same as \"marketing\". And companies generally keep marketing completely inhouse",
"I would like to add to u/PragmaticStatistic2's points by saying a lot of companies want a \"fresh take\" on a direction and so their in house staff is not Going to get paid to engage in experimentation because there's a lot more regular work to do. The boutique is asked to come up with a concept (often guided genntly by another agency or corporate) and then present their concepts. They come up with 3 or more ideas in a rough form and if the hiring agents like it, they move forward. Sometimes the boutiques hired are there simply for \"ideas\" and only make some style frames to hand off to another studio to work with in production. There is a LOT of pressure to come up with new ideas constantly. So if you're a young designer, know the field by absorbing as much design as you can so you know what's been done and are more likely to come up with something \"outside the box.\""
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925krc | why laptop screens or monitors almost always have clouding or light bleed on the edges while smartphones screen don't | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/925krc/eli5_why_laptop_screens_or_monitors_almost_always/ | {
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"Most computer screens take advantage of LCD technology, which have a backlight and liquid crystals. The backlight is the lightsource, and the liquid crystals make up the pixels. Each pixel is basically a mini electric circuit, and depending on the voltage you can change the amount of light that can pass through. If you add color filters, you get color LCDs. The edges of the screen will show the white backlight.\n\nEarly phones used LCDs, but the problems with LCDs is that they are lackluster. They don't show black color very accurately, for example, due to the backlight. The backlight is always on, so the blackest black an LCD can show would be close to, but not exactly pure black, which noticeable by the human eye. Today, most flagship phones use AMOLED, which is mostly made by Samsung. AMOLED does not use a backlight. Instead, each pixel emits true light, so a black pixel will be no light. Since there is no black light, your smartphone will not have a white border. AMOLED technology suffers from burn-in, and if exposed to direct heat, the screen will be damage irreparably (LCD screens can recover from heat). However, AMOLED can depict rich, intimate environments much better than LCD screens can, so the trade off is worth it."
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3mgmic | ferrofluid is really cool, but what exactly are the possible applications? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3mgmic/eli5_ferrofluid_is_really_cool_but_what_exactly/ | {
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"To talk about applications we need to first talk about what a ferrofluid actually is.\n\nFerrofluids are just liquids with magnetic particles spread evenly in them, that together become magnetized when you place a magnet near them.\n\nGenerally this means that you can use a magnet to move or otherwise influence the liquid in which the magnetic particles are placed.\n\nThe original purpose was to be able to move liquid fuel around in an environment of weightlessness(by a guy at NASA in '63), but it can be used to create a liquid seal to prevent dust or other contaminants getting into machinery(it's used in hard drives), and there seems to be a good chance that this sort of functionality could be used for things like oil clean-up, by adding non-toxic magnetic material to spills instead of needing to use chemicals that are usually as bad as or worse for the environment than the oil itself.",
"Very expensive suspensions for high performance vehicles. _URL_0_",
"Totally unrelated and possibly impossible, but in the popular game series Mass Effect there exists a robot created sniper rifle called the Javelin that fires a stream of ferrofluid at a fraction of the speed of light, which kills EEEVERYTHING. \n\n_URL_0_\n\n",
"Bose speakers use ferrofluid. It stiffens or relaxes the speaker cones in response to the frequency of the audio signal. Some frequencies are better reproduced by a stiffer cone, some with a more relaxed cone. The fluid allows one cone to excel at reproducing a wider range of frequencies because the fluid can adjust based on the signal bring reproduced. ",
"What are Other Ferrofluid Applications?\n\nCooling in loudspeakers for better sound.\nOne of the first economical applications for ferrofluid was in voice coils for loudspeakers. It increases the quality of the sound as well as the lifetime of the device with a very tiny amount of ferrofluid by efficiently cooling the system through a process called thermomagnetic convection. In this system, the voice coil produces heat as well as a magnetic field. The process is the result of the fact that magnetic materials in general tend to lower their magnetic susceptibility (how strongly they are attracted to a magnetic field) as they get hotter. This causes the colder regions of the ferrofluid to be more attracted to the voice coil than the hotter regions of the ferrofluid directly near it. This movement of the colder fluid towards the coil displaces the warmer fluid away from it. The whole process then repeats itself in a cyclical manner.\n\nLiquid O-rings for making computer chips.\nReally, liquid o-rings can be used for more than just making computer chips. People love regurgitating that they are used in computer hard drives. The truth is the first serious application of ferrofluid was for vacuum rotary seals in the semiconductor industry (but the same principles apply). When computer chips are made, they are processed in the form of a 'wafer' that sits in a process chamber that must be under vacuum. It is very useful to be able to rotate the wafer in the chamber while it is being processed. The only way to rotate the wafer in a stationary chamber and still keep the system under vacuum without creating friction and introducing particles is with ferrofluid. The ferrofluid acts both as a seal and a lubricant. A magnetic field is used to keep the liquid in place around the drive shaft as a permanent seal for the system. \n\nMagnetic hyperthermia for better chemotherapy.\nMagnetic particles can be made to vibrate under the control of a magnetic field. These vibrations give way to heat. In this way, they can be injected into tumor cells to weaken them.\n\nTargeted drug delivery for cancer treatment.\nMagnetic nanoparticles can be surface modified to carry drugs as well as chemicals that act like sensors. These 'sensors' are designed to have an affinity for unhealthy cells. Then the magnetic nanoparticles are injected into the bloodstream and a magnetic field is used to guide them area in need of treatment. When the chemical sensor interacts with the unhealthy cells, it releases the drugs to kill the unhealthy cells. This is a bit like using a rifle as opposed to a shotgun when compared to traditional chemotherapy, which kills all cells indiscriminately regardless if they are healthy or not.\n\nShape shifting mirrors.\nThere is research into using the shape shifting properties of ferrofluid to make tunable mirrors capable of filtering different wavelengths of light. This could be useful for applications with tunable mirrors so that filters don't have to be replaced.\n\nSpace craft propulsion.\nIt has been re-iterated on the internet many times that NASA invented ferrofuid in 1963 in an attempt to use it as rocket fuel that could be manipulated in zero gravity by a magnetic field. However, they threw this idea out the window. However, in a somewhat ironic twist, ferrofluid is now being researched once again for space propulsion but in a much different way. Researchers interested in creating tiny satellites (about 10 cm) are aware that ion propulsion is would be effective. This is the use of a stream of ionizing gas to create thrust. This stream requires a very small needle like point. When ferrofluid is made out of an ionic liquid (special liquid salt material) it can be made to self assemble it's spikes into the required needle like points. These points then emit a stream ions that could possibly one day act as thrusters for satellites. \n\nKeeping you curious.\nMost people don't realize it, but curiosity is a very important human emotion. It's the curious mind that figures out how things work and how to improve those things. All innovation stems from curiosity. Therefore, things that make you curious are very practical. No great achievement would be made or even pursued if it wasn't for a deep desire to better understand. Our curiosity is a good thing and we should embrace it.\n\n[Source](_URL_0_)"
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1jchpp | why are glasses 'bad' for my eyes, and contacts 'good'? | or are they? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1jchpp/eli5_why_are_glasses_bad_for_my_eyes_and_contacts/ | {
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" > Why are glasses 'bad' for my eyes, and contacts 'good'?\n\nThey're not.\n\nIn fact, if you want to be objective about it, the opposite is true. Contacts cause a slightly higher risk of infection, since they directly touch your eyes. Of course, with proper cleaning and hygiene, that risk is negligible.",
"No.\n\nUsually, if anything, contacts are more likely to be \"bad\" for your eyes, in that they can lead to infections / eye drying out with poor habits/use. \n\nWith proper use, neither is better/worse.",
"I have no sources for this but I remember reading once about how contacts were better because you're still able to use your peripheral vision as opposed to glasses. Apparently the less you used your peripherals, the worse your eyesight got. The thing I read was about Beijing or something saying how since they were so crowded all the time they never used their peripheral vision and thus had decreased eyesight. Who knows, that might all be bullshit though.",
"I work in an eye doctors office, I used to be an optician, and now I'm office manager.\n\nGlasses only bend light, that's it. The only way they change your eyes is if you are used to squinting or using your eye muscles to change the shape of your lens (basically flexing the lens in your eye) and then you wear glasses, your brain will tell those eye muscles to relax, and you will no longer use eye muscles to change the shape of your lens when you are not wearing your glasses.\n\nIn my experience this is 90% of the reason people say their eyes get worse when they start wearing glasses.\n\nContacts are great, you gotta be sure to clean them every day, and to not wear them longer than the company says they are \"good for\". The silica will naturally deteriorate, and wearing a 2-week contact for a month could have the contact rip, and then you could have multiple small pieces of silicone on or behind your eye. This is mostly what leads to infection. \n\nAnyone with questions can ask. I'll be happy to answer anything I can."
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52q58m | why do people have a hard time pronouncing sounds from a new language, even though their vocal chords are capable of making that sound? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/52q58m/eli5_why_do_people_have_a_hard_time_pronouncing/ | {
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"Producing a sound primarily has to do with muscle control and memory with the various surfaces of your mouth, not so much your vocal chords. You have problems pronouncing sounds in a new language because your mouth is not used to moving in that manner and you have to train it how to make those shapes correctly. Very little changes if anything changes in the way your vocal chords are operating. ",
"Practice, or lack thereof. Essentially, you have been speaking the same way for your entire life. By the time you're an adult, the way your body makes your native speech sounds is pretty much hard-wired, you don't even have to think about it. You just think of the word you want to say, and your body simply makes those sounds. \n\nBut a new language with \"new\" sounds is not automatic. Your brain is not used to thinking about the physical act of speaking. It wants to \"cheat\" and use the physical movements it already has ingrained. So until you train your body and brain on the new sound until it also becomes instinctive, you will have trouble with it. ",
"Most languages actually have a very specific set of vocal movements, even if we don't notice or realize it in the first place.\n\nThere are plenty of phrases in French which utilize vocal movements that the English language would never use.\n\nBonus fact: these vocal movements are actually what allow us to make direct distinctions of someone's nativity due to what we know as \"accents\".",
"Like u/cdb03b and u/Snatch_Pastry said, it has to do with practice and muscle memory. You make sounds out of your mouth without thinking because you've been doing it forever. When I was in Thailand learning Thai, the [\"ng\" consonant](_URL_0_) was very difficult to pronounce because we don't really have that sound in English.\n\nMy parents speak Gujarati and Americans find the \"bh\" consonant really hard to pronounce. A lot of Gujarati names start with \"bh\" and Americans often butcher them (not their fault).\n\n",
"In addition, our brains actually get rid of synapses (connections) as early as 1 year old if we don't use them. By 12 years old, our neurons are specified for the languages we have heard. This translates into difficulty hearing slight differences in sounds from a foreign language and producing those sounds. In summary, the vocal chords are the same but the language centers of the brain are not. \n"
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9w8czd | how does blitzkrieg attack work? what makes it special and recognizable to this day? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9w8czd/eli5_how_does_blitzkrieg_attack_work_what_makes/ | {
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"It literally means \"lightning war\". Basically, the Germans threw a ton of forces in one direction extremely fast when the enemy wasn't expecting it and didn't have time to respond.\n\nThis type of war strategy is effective if done right because it lets your forces secure key positions/territory that they need, overwhelm the enemy forces (which can have a strong psychological effect on them), and divide up the enemy forces so they can't coordinate a strong resistance. ",
"Previously tanks and other mechanized forces were used as support for slower moving infantry to try to push a front and take enemy territory. The blitzkrieg changed that by having the tanks and planes punch through and destroy vital supply and communication centers behind enemy lines. The enemy would then either have to rapidly withdraw or risk being cut off from resupply or even encircled. The infantry would them come in and take vital areas and prisoners. ",
"Before blitzkrieg, you planned attack by using on foot infantry to attack borders and taking areas of land.\n\nWith blitzkrieg, the planes flew over the border defense troops and attacked the strategic target behind, and tanks and armored transports followed into the target faster than the defense foot infantry can mobilize. Borders and front lines were ignored in favor of cities and supply points.",
"The essential characteristic of a 'blitzkrieg' is to penetrate the enemies' lines and encircle them.\n\n*Why* you do this is because a modern army requires extensive logistics to function. If you can penetrate to the rear and disrupts their supply chain, whatever combat troops are encircled very quickly cease to be effective.\n\nThe reason it became pre-eminent in World War II (but not earlier) was that the combination of armor and airpower were able to move quickly enough that they could break an enemy's lines and exploit the gap before that enemy could usefully react. This was not the case in World War I, where the lack of ability to rapidly transport troops through such a gap meant your own troops would get cut off.\n\nIt's also arguably not the case in the modern day. While it's hard to say because there hasn't been a war between major powers since World War II, the doctrine for such a war tends to veer more towards 'deep strike' tactics that depend on developing air supremacy and paralyzing enemy forces rather than using tank envelopment.",
"Instead of spreading out their tanks, Artillery, mechanized infantry and tactical bombers like was traditionally done to support slow moving foot infantry. The Germans took their panzers and groups then into battalions, regiments and divisions, they also concentrated their mechanized infantry with their tanks, put their Artillery in armoured tank chassis and have 1 in 4 vehicles a radio. Instead of moving a broad front forward they concentrated their attack power into a spread head and hit one point using coordination and sheer volume of power to breach a hole in the front line and than spread out into the enemy rear area where the were unopppsed and captured command and control nodes, supply dumps, bridges, airfields, vital crossroads and more famously would link up hundreds of miles behind the front line encircling massive amounts of troops and cutting them off from resupply, reinforcement and escape. It became the basis for modern day operational maneuver warfare which all modern armies with an offensive doctrine and capability use.\n\nLook up the battle of sedan and the battle of France 1940"
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33cvtc | why doesn't the military allow steroid use? wouldn't they make them better soldiers physically? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/33cvtc/eli5_why_doesnt_the_military_allow_steroid_use/ | {
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"You don't want a bunch of hormone filled, angry, jealous, pimple faced soldiers carrying guns and manning drones...",
"It wouldn't. It would increase the already astronomical rates of depression and suicide, and cause all kinds of organ problems that will take them out of medical authorization to serve. Don't mess with drugs your doctor doesn't prescribe - very bad things can happen.",
"Prolonged steroid use has a lot of negative side effects. Slightly stronger soldiers aren't worth the vastly increased medical issues. ",
"Being a soldier isn't about being strong and fast - it's about being precise and disciplined.\n\nVirtually any young person is reasonably good health can meet the physical challenges of soldiering. It's the mental ones that distinguish exceptional soldiers - and steroids don't help with that at all."
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8kncea | why is camilla the duchess of cornwall, but charles the prince of wales? why is he a prince, not a duke? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8kncea/eli5_why_is_camilla_the_duchess_of_cornwall_but/ | {
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"He is also a Duke. But Prince is a higher title than a Duke so it takes precedence and is the primary title he goes by when using a shortened title. \n\nHis full title is : His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, CC, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.",
"His is both a prince and a duke and many other titles.\n\nWhen his mother become the Queen he become Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland\n\nFrom the 14th century the title Prince of Wales is title to the heir apparent for the crown. He was created Prince of Wales in 1958 ( got the title)\n\nThe better question is why Camilla don't use the Princess of Wales title? Because as his wife she it the Princess of Wales.\n\nThe explanation is that it is today associated with hist first wife Diana. Hist separation and divorce with her in combination that he had a own extramarital affair with Camilla beginning in 1986 when he and Diana was still married. It would look bad if she used the title. They also had a civil rather than a church wedding for similar reasons.\n\nSo she choose to use the title Duchess of Cornwall",
"British peerage and titles has a long and complicated history, further complicated but the current monarch's ability to change those ancient rule and traditions as they see fit. \n\nThe title held by the heir apparent in the UK is the Prince of Wales, Charles is next in line for the throne, so he gets this title. Traditionally the bride of the Prince of Wales also gets the title Princess of Wales, and once she is married, can be referred to has \"Her Royal Highness\" or as an HRH.\n\nWhen Charles and Dianna divorced, Dianna by agreeing to the divorce, gave up the title Princess of Wales and her status as an HRH. She was no longer a member of the Royal Family. In olden days, 1\\) Members of the royal family didn't divorce, so there aren't 1000 year old rules about what to do, and 2\\) If the wife of the Prince of Wales died and he remarried, the new wife becomes the Princes of Wales.\n\nSo logic would dictate that Camilla, Charle's new wife take the female counterpart to his title as heir apparnet. But, again the rule are not clear for divorce, and the monarch, in this case Charle's mother Elizabeth, can change these rules because honestly they're just silly 1000 year old traditions that don't mean anything anymore. \n\nElizabth II knew that Dianna, especially after her death was popular, and Charles and Camilla were not, that haveing Camilla take what the people saw as Dianna's rightful title \\(The Princess of Wales\\) would be insulting. The job of the monarch these days, well in all days, is to keep the people happy. So as a condition for royal consent to the marrgie of Charles and Camilla \\(oh yeat btw the monarch still gets to approve/deny royal marriages at will\\), Elizabeth II decreed that while married, Camilla would not be the Princess of Wales, and would not be granted the Title of HRH. She was allowed to take the peerage of Dutchess, so as not to insult Charles too much, as Duke/Dutchess titles are reserved for family of the reigning monarch. \n\ntl;dr \\- Nobody except Charles likes Camilla, so the queen said that if they married, she \\[Camilla\\] couldn't take the title once held by the still popular Dianna and make the royal family look bad. ",
"To be a prince or princess, you basically have to be of the royal blood i.e. one of your parents was born as a royal \\- unless the monarch gives a special exception.\n\nPrince Phillip wasn't of \\*British\\* royal blood \\(his is Greek and Danish\\) but Her Majesty made him a Prince apparently because he was upset his son outranked him.\n\nCharles, Anne, Andrew and Edward are of the royal blood. Their respective spouses aren't \\(Andrew is divorced\\), so no prince or princess titles, but Charles and Andrew got Dukedoms, Anne is Princess Royal and Edward is the Earl of Wessex.\n\nWilliam and Harry \\(Henry formally\\) are Princes, as William's three children. \n\nAnne's two children via her first marriage don't. Maybe because she was a woman?\n\nAndrew's two daughters are princesses.\n\nEdward's children \\*could\\* have been HRH, but they decided when he married to give them the styles of the child of an Earl, so they're Lady Louise Windsor and James, Lord Severn.",
"Charles is both Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. Prince of Wales is the more senior title, so he primarily uses that as his main title.\n\nAs his wife, Camilla is both Princess of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. However, Charles' first wife, Princess Diana, was very popular amongst the public, and (at the time) Charles and Camilla were not. Since Diana was known as the Princess of Wales, Camilla uses one of her other titles as a mark of respect (and also to avoid controversy).",
"He is also a duke. People are not restricted to one title. Charles holds a number of titles, including two duchies. Camilla *is* the princess of Wales, but does not use that title, largely because it was used by, and strongly associated with, Princess Diana."
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4kqvf7 | if cellphones are replacing landlines, why aren't there versions of white pages for cellphones? how are landlines any different? | Doesn't seem like privacy is an issue since the white pages direct you to home addresses and phone numbers. Is this any different? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4kqvf7/eli5_if_cellphones_are_replacing_landlines_why/ | {
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"Iirc, the White Pages (or Yellow Pages and Thomsons as they are in the UK) are funded by the businesses that advertise in them.\n\nNobody advertises in phone books any more because there are so many other free and cheap ways to advertise your business, especially with the internet and Google.\n\nIf there are no businesses advertising, there's no income, so no money with which to pay somebody to compile the phone numbers and no cash to buy the paper, ink and distribution.",
"Problem Is there are multiple cell phone companies, so if each had their own book it would be incomplete and inconvenient to have to look through 5 books to find a person. Land lines used to be one company in an area generally. It was a weird deal because they were a company, but a utility and basically a monopoly. Even after it was deregulated it still stayed much the same.\n\nAnd even if someone does somehow arrange to get one combined cell list, it's still going to be very incomplete because people could choose to be unlisted and a large percentage would. I know I would.",
"Bad enough people calling the house, it would fucking suck to be called on my cell phone by randoms",
"I'm don't know, but I'm sure Google is working on something like that, especially after they expand Project Fi. Also the phone calling app Truecaller works something like a directory. Although they are still growing as well. ",
"None of these answers are correct. Land lines run through telephone cables. Telephone cables are a public utility and are part of the public record. They are a city directory. A city has a record of all its addresses, the people who live there, and the phone number registered to that address. Companies access this public information and publish it.\n\nCell phones do not work this way. They work through cell phone towers, owned and operated by private companies. Your cell phone number is not registered by a town clerk on a public record. If Verizon wanted, they could publish a list that only included Verizon customers, but that would be neither practical, useful, or profitable."
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3clt5z | reddit - why do americans use the dutch flag to make clear their store is open (or that they have used cars etc.)? | Dear Redditors,
I have a "burning" question that no one could answer while traveling through North America for 3 months.
While traveling i often saw a dutch flag with the words "Open" or "Used Cars" or whatever on it, so why do they use a Dutch Flag? or is there just no reason for it.
Example (Picture i took): _URL_0_
Thanks for your answer(s) ;-).
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3clt5z/eli5_reddit_why_do_americans_use_the_dutch_flag/ | {
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"It's not seen as a Dutch flag - just red, white & blue stripes. They want to put up a flag & RWB seem like good colors, so they get something simple. ",
"You might be interested in [this recent thread from /r/vexillology](_URL_0_). Nobody seems to know a definitive reason why. The most common belief is that it doesn't have anything to do with the Netherlands, and is just a way to put red-white-blue and a message on a flag."
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fbzj0h | how is it that some mirrors make me look slightly fat and some otbers make me look slightly thin? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fbzj0h/eli5_how_is_it_that_some_mirrors_make_me_look/ | {
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"Lighting can play a big role in how good you feel you look, but mostly I think you're referring to mirrors that are slightly curved. A very slight curve inward can may you look leaner and even a bit taller, proportionally. Slightly curved outward and the mirror can make you look a little fatter."
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343omy | how do we genetically modify cells and viruses? | I saw a video about how they are using old viruses and "modifying" them to attack cancer cells? How do we alter and modify them? What is the process like? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/343omy/eli5_how_do_we_genetically_modify_cells_and/ | {
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],
"text": [
"First a piece of DNA is created, or often taken from somewhere else, that does some desired thing. This could be making a specific protien, or hormone like insulin that we want or need. For anti-cancer viruses, depending on the method being attempted, it could be DNA to mark cancer cells for the body to identify and attack itself or ways to kill the cancerous cells directly.\n\nThen [one of these](_URL_0_) is used to inject the virus with the DNA. Cells only read DNA to the extent that they are told what to do, they don't pay attention to what they are doing (this is where cancer comes from anyway). So the virus is introduced into the host and scientists see if it acts like they want it to."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://i.imgur.com/xYhP37O.gifv"
]
] |
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