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dhe2aq | why are most coins in the world circular? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dhe2aq/eli5_why_are_most_coins_in_the_world_circular/ | {
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"It is a convenient shape, for stacking, for machines (counting and vending). A circle is the same size in every orientation you take it",
"In addition to the other points people have made, round shapes don’t poke you, don’t poke holes when in you pocket or purse. Also sharper corners would wear down over time.",
"It's like that for a few reasons.\n\nIn the older times, coins would be stamped and formed by pressing a bit of metal, so it ended up in a shape that would resemble a circle (imagine pressing a bit of dough with a stamp, the corners will be rounded, or it'll be completely circular.\n\nCurrently we have circular coins for either cultural reasons (they've always been like that) and because it is convenient.\n\nA circle is a very convenient because it has no corners which may be weaker, it has only one orientation when flat, so it can be stacked and carried easier and it certainly doesn't poke you.\n\nAlso, it can contain sizable detail inside of it without using as much material as a square coin would. A number for example of equal size on two differently shaped coins would consume less material on a circular one (unless it's shaped around the number).",
"It is a security measure.\n\nCoins used to be a specific amount of precious metal, gold, silver, or copper usually. People used to \"clip\" coins, shave off a little bit of the metal to keep then try to spend the coin at its full value. You do that enough times and all those little slivers can add up. \n\nCircular coins make this harder to do, as the round shape makes clipping more obvious and you can only take a small amount. Later, ridges called *milling* were placed on the edge of the coin to make clipping every more apparent.",
"There are some modern coins that aren't circular...?",
"Judging from [this picture of a Roman coin](_URL_0_), that appears to be (roughly) the shape you get when you squeeze a bit of silver in a press.",
"All of those reasons, plus you also get the most area for the least material, so you have plenty of surface to imprint your security image on. \n\nAs metals have become more expensive than the currency they represent coins have got smaller to save on material and the circle is the most efficient use of material to get large area from less material.",
"In 1969 the heptagonal 50 pence coin was introduced in the UK. \n\n\nA pressure group, the 'anti-heptagonists' protested against it. \n\n\nTheir leader Essex Moorcroft said \n\n\n\" I have founded the society because I believe our Queen is insulted by this heptagonal monstrosity. It is an insult to our sovereign, whose image it bears.\" \n\n\n [_URL_0_](_URL_0_)",
"I bet you posted this after todays certain post, huh. \n\n[_URL_0_](_URL_1_)",
"Square coins kept getting stuck in medieval vending machines. \n\nImagine you're at the Roman Colosseum and you get up to buy a non gluten, dairy free, vegan hot dog quickly before the next Christian gets slaughtered only to be stuck trying to get your square drachma into the machine before you miss the big event.",
"We have a saying. Money needs to roll! ( we need to spend money) We can't fucking roll money if they are square or triangle now can we? The guy who invented the triangle way back when was stoned to death by circular shaped stone things by the inventor of the stone wheel.",
"European coins used to be round for the same reason pizzas are round. If you want to create a roughly uniform shape from a ball it's far easier to make it a flat disc. As european coin making frequently relied on making coins from blanks that had been repeatedly hammered to make them flatter the round shape was the easiest to produce. \n\n\nChinese coins tended to be slightly thicker, very small and fully cast. To get around the problems with casting and later keeping them from getting lost chinese coins had a square hole in them. This square hole allowed them to be securely mounted while the mold-edges were filed away, and then you could thread them on a string to prevent them from getting lost.",
"Because a cylinder shape (which is what happens when you stack coins) is the best shape for filling up as much space as possible while keeping the items in question safe. A square, on the other hand, has a puncture load on every corner. It's the same reason soda cans are cylindrical.",
"Some answers here are incorrect.\n\nIt's not for security reasons, as shaving a circular coin is not particularly harder than a square one, and they were circular long before people stopped weighing them in transactions. The risk of the coin containing less silver or gold than it should was never a real concern as weighing is easy. Having a recognizable mint pattern on it was more about guaranteeing the composition of it.\n\nIt's also incorrect that they were pressed. [Plenty of ancient molds have been preserved](_URL_0_), and we can see it's not the case.\n\nIn reality it's probably because a a circular coin retains its shape better over time (corners chip easily).\n\nIt's also another layer of authentication. The most important feature of a coin is that you can easily see its authentic, which makes transactions quicker and more reliable. If I see the [Athenian owl](_URL_1_), I can safely assume I'm looking at an actual Athenian drachma made of silver. I can weigh it if I think it's a bit worn, but generally speaking it makes things easier.\n\nIt's easier to chip out a rectangle or a triangle out of a piece of metal, than it is a circle, so that's another aspect of guaranteeing authenticity - that this coin came from a real mint."
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mlrui | how "e" raised to "i times pi" is -1. how can you raise a real number by an imaginary number and get a real number? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/mlrui/eli5_how_e_raised_to_i_times_pi_is_1_how_can_you/ | {
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"It happens because of how closely related the exponential and trigonometric functions are.\n\ne^*ix* = cos x + isin x.\n\nIf you're okay at calculus, [this site](_URL_0_) has a pretty good in-depth explanation.",
"Imagine the real line going sideways and the imaginary line going up and down. Each complex number can be thought of as a point somewhere in this infinite square - where it is left and right tells you the real value and where it is up and down tells you the imaginary value. Together, these define the complex numbers. Now, -1 is a complex number as well as a real number, it just has up and down value 0 (so it's 1 to the left on the horizontal line). Another way to represent a complex number would be to say how big it is (i.e. how far from the middle where both of those lines meet) and starting from the right, how far around you go. This is given by r (how big it is) and theta (we'll just use T) how far around you go. You can translate between these two kinds of representations like so: z = r(cos(T) + i\\*sin(T)) - this tells you the left-right position and the up-down position using r and T.\n\nRaising e to the power of a complex number has a special definition, but if you were to only use complex numbers that were also real numbers it would work out the same as the regular definition for the reals. Here is the special definition for complex numbers:\n\nLet z = x + iy be a complex number. Then e^z = e^x \\* e^iy and e^iy is defined to be cos(y) + i\\*sin(y). In fact, if z=iT for some angle T in radians, e^z = e^iT = cos(T) + i\\*sin(T). But this is just the same as the representation of a complex number which is 1 big and goes around T far. \n\nSo if T were pi (as in we're looking at e^i\\*pi ) it would be a complex number which is 1 big and goes around pi far. Since pi is half a circle and we're going around starting from the right, this means we land 1 far to the left of centre. That's just the real number -1.",
"It happens because of how closely related the exponential and trigonometric functions are.\n\ne^*ix* = cos x + isin x.\n\nIf you're okay at calculus, [this site](_URL_0_) has a pretty good in-depth explanation.",
"Imagine the real line going sideways and the imaginary line going up and down. Each complex number can be thought of as a point somewhere in this infinite square - where it is left and right tells you the real value and where it is up and down tells you the imaginary value. Together, these define the complex numbers. Now, -1 is a complex number as well as a real number, it just has up and down value 0 (so it's 1 to the left on the horizontal line). Another way to represent a complex number would be to say how big it is (i.e. how far from the middle where both of those lines meet) and starting from the right, how far around you go. This is given by r (how big it is) and theta (we'll just use T) how far around you go. You can translate between these two kinds of representations like so: z = r(cos(T) + i\\*sin(T)) - this tells you the left-right position and the up-down position using r and T.\n\nRaising e to the power of a complex number has a special definition, but if you were to only use complex numbers that were also real numbers it would work out the same as the regular definition for the reals. Here is the special definition for complex numbers:\n\nLet z = x + iy be a complex number. Then e^z = e^x \\* e^iy and e^iy is defined to be cos(y) + i\\*sin(y). In fact, if z=iT for some angle T in radians, e^z = e^iT = cos(T) + i\\*sin(T). But this is just the same as the representation of a complex number which is 1 big and goes around T far. \n\nSo if T were pi (as in we're looking at e^i\\*pi ) it would be a complex number which is 1 big and goes around pi far. Since pi is half a circle and we're going around starting from the right, this means we land 1 far to the left of centre. That's just the real number -1."
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aobfq2 | why is sexual isolation not reversible? | When speciation occurs over time and two species that used to be able to reproduce can no longer reproduce to make a viable offspring.
I don’t think this process is reversible, and I was wondering if anyone could explain why it isn’t (if that’s truly the case) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aobfq2/eli5_why_is_sexual_isolation_not_reversible/ | {
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"When the two populations have experienced enough different mutations that their offspring are not viable it is extremely unlikely that later mutations are going to sync up such that later offspring are viable. It isn't technically *impossible* but so unlikely as to be dismissed.",
"It is possible for reproductive isolation to be reversed. The likelihood of it recombining gene pools of previously isolated metapopulations (species) relies on a lot of stuff: intensity of selection, response to selection, generation time, gene expression rate, etc. I have not encountered any examples of this from sympatric speciation (reproductive isolation), but the same selective pressures and what not from above can combine two metapopulations if the source of reproductive isolation is removed. A lot of genes go \"dormant\" and come in handy for hypothetical situations like that. This is all a gross oversimplification, though the general idea stands."
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3wk3or | why did some animals become mainstream pets? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3wk3or/eli5_why_did_some_animals_become_mainstream_pets/ | {
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"They were the easiest to tame and domesticate. Also, some had actual uses beyond \"companion\".",
"Dogs that liked to be around humans did better than those who didn't. Eventually dogs lived in our villages and ate our garbage in exchange for offering us some protection.",
"Pets are a fairly recent development. In the meaning of keeping an animal for poor enjoyment, rather than usefulness. Apart from birds, which have been kept for much longer for pure enjoyment. Most of what we keep as pets now used to be kept as working animals. And food (rabbits). Keeping rodents and reptiles/spiders as pets is even newer. \nWealth and more leisure time is probably the biggest factor. We now have the money to feed animals that we have no need in keeping and the leisure time to spend time with them for fun.",
"Like a king charles cavalier spaniel. I can picture one of those mother fuckers purched on a throne in the 15th centur the same way he plops himself on the high pillow my parents place for him in the middle of the couch. He knows who the boss is and he doesn't give two squirts of piss about you if you ain't it. "
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1tn6e0 | why does ordering something from a tv commercial takes so long to be received versus getting it from an online site ? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1tn6e0/eli5_why_does_ordering_something_from_a_tv/ | {
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"Because often times a large part of their profit is from overcharging you for the crappy shipping they use which in reality costs about 1/5th of what you paid. Additionally home shopping network, and others like it, are typically geared towards an older target demographic, those that aren't, for the most part, computer savvy... so they don't necessarily realize how big of a ripoff the shipping costs are. ",
"Many of the products sold through infomercials, especially information products, are not actually created until an order is placed. So, you may order a DVD set today but the next batch of orders are not created until the next week. It's a sort of 'standard' that the price of shipping should cover the entire cost of creating the product. So, if the DVD set is $30 and shipping is $5, that's generally what it actually costs to print the DVDs and the case they come in."
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7dpvmb | does temperature affect evaporation rate below boiling point? | I figure that water would evaporate faster as you get into higher temps, but is there some force at work that keeps the rate consistent below boiling point? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7dpvmb/eli5_does_temperature_affect_evaporation_rate/ | {
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" Water evaporates much faster at higher temps. Think of a clothes dryer. If the heat didn't speed the evaporation of the water in the clothes, there would be no need to warm the incoming air. Smear a drop of water on a cool surface and the same surface when it's warmed. It's easy to see the difference."
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3bnoy2 | what is will power and where does it come from if emotion is based off of chemical interactions? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3bnoy2/eli5_what_is_will_power_and_where_does_it_come/ | {
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"\"Will power\" is not a concept that modern psychologists really use -- it's kind of an inaccurate idea.\n\nA more accurate version is \"delayed gratification\". This means the ability to give up a short-term pleasure in order to obtain a larger long-term reward. Since our brain is motivated by *both* of these forces, they tend to compete with each other. Which one wins is determined by many variables."
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4wov03 | is it possible for humans to procreate during zero gravity space flight? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4wov03/eli5_is_it_possible_for_humans_to_procreate/ | {
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"Probably, sperm don't need gravity to travel. So a woman could probably get pregnant, but as far as after that, we just don't know. IIRC Vsauce did a video on this.",
"The short answer is, we don't know. Possible, maybe. The short term effects on the embryo, baby or the longer term health effects on the adult based on conception and possibly gestation of a human fetus in micro-gravity is unknown. \n\nWe may never know, because a large scale experiment would be unethical and expensive. Try in r/askscience, maybe they know about research on mammals such as rats in space."
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aw870k | the indian “head bob” | I’ve seen a lot of references to the Indian cultural communication method colloquially know as the “the head bob”.
I’ve read that it means different things in different contexts... what are the main ones? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aw870k/eli5_the_indian_head_bob/ | {
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"In America it is generally understood that rotating the head up and down means \"yes\" and rotation side to side means \"no\".\n\nHowever in India there are a lot more head movements with different meanings. Along with the two Americans are familiar with one might also indicate \"yes\" by rotating the head along the axis of sight. Also vigorously performing the yes or no head movements indicate that the decision is set.\n\nMoving the head down is calling someone over. Moving it upward is asking \"What is up?\" (Americans often recognize this as well). The same action may also be used to hit on girls as well as paired with a wink to indicate \"Carry on.\"\n\nHead wobble is also common both when enjoying music as well as an indication of respect and attention when being spoken to."
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blh3oo | why is it princess eugenie and princess beatrice, but it's lady louise windsor and james, viscount severn? | Obviously there is Prince Harry and William as the grandchildren in the succession line, and all of the Queens children are Princes and Princesses (Charles, Anne etc), but why are two of her grandchildren Princesses, and another two are not? Both grandchildren from Andrew and Sarah are Princesses (Eugenie and Beatrice), but her grandchildren from Edward and Sophie are Ladies and Viscounts? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/blh3oo/eli5_why_is_it_princess_eugenie_and_princess/ | {
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"This one's entirely up to personal choice. Whose choice, exactly, is not entirely clear, but when Prince Edward married, there was a royal press release that all of his children were to be styled as nobility, rather than royalty."
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230qn5 | why is fluoride put in water marketed to babies if they are going to lose all of their teeth in a few years? | I've seen the "baby water" in the grocery store many times. I've checked it out, and it looks like the only difference is that it has more fluoride. Why do they add it if the babies potentially don't even have teeth yet, and are going to get a new set within a few years? Does it strengthen bones? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/230qn5/eli5_why_is_fluoride_put_in_water_marketed_to/ | {
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"Because their teeth can still rot before they fall out, which can still be painful, and getting fillings as a child sucks. EDIT: Also consider the associated plaque, bone loss, and risk of infection associated with poor dental hygiene.",
"Yes it strengthens bones. Besides, human beings need a little bit of fluorine to live. Fluorine/Fluoride is necessary to ensure that bones mineralize normally.\n\nI don't see why people are worried about it. We need potassium, chlorine, sodium, copper, iron, and a bunch of other scary sounding elements to live, I don't really get why people pick out fluorine as the dangerous one. It's possible to get too high a dose, but in America, the amount of water you'd have to drink to get it would kill you far before the fluorine would.\n\nUnfortunately, in places like India and China, fluorine overdoses happen occasionally (around .5% of the population) It is a big public health issue, but in regulated developed countries, it's not a problem.\n\n_URL_0_",
"Their adult teeth are developing below the gumline. When the adult teeth develop, they'll incorporate small amounts of fluoride from your system if there's any there. This results in teeth made of fluoroapatite, a slightly stronger mineral than the hydroxyapatite that normally makes up the teeth - in particular, fluoroapatite is more acid-resistant.\n\nDrinking fluoridated water achieves this result to a small degree, forming a thin layer of fluoroapatite on the surface of the tooth. But it's not incorporated deeply into the tooth structure as it is if you're exposed to fluoridated water as a child."
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efaqp2 | tears | What's actually happening when we blink back tears? If it doesn't flow down the face, where does it go? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/efaqp2/eli5_tears/ | {
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"You have small ducts in the inside corners of your eyes. If you can keep the tears from spilling over, the fluid drains out through those ducts into your nasal passages."
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3cu7ly | if rape is common in male prisons, why doesn't the public take it seriously? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3cu7ly/eli5_if_rape_is_common_in_male_prisons_why_doesnt/ | {
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"I'm not sure how prevalent it is, but in general the public doesnt really care about the lives of prisoners.\n\nPrisons charge prisoners (and their families) ridiculous prices for essential items and completely rob them on telephone charges. What are they gonna do, shop around for a better prison?",
"Prisoners are not a very attractive group of people, so crimes against them don't attract much sympathy. It's sad, racist, and not a good reflection of our values.",
"I will assume you mean USA prisons? There are so many things wrong with the US prison for profit industry that the raping part seems like the iceing on the cake.",
"Crimes against males are often ignored or taken lightly. This includes domestic violence (pussy) and rape (lucky). That and the fact criminals are often painted as murderous raping monsters regardless of what crimes they actually committed. This doesn't help them in terms of gaining sympathy. ",
"It's because the media, including TV shows and movies, portray criminals as...well, TERRIBLE PEOPLE. And these terrible people are getting their karmic retribution in prison. \nAs an anecdote, I personally think it has something to do with the rules of law as seen in the Bible.",
"There are some good ongoing efforts being made to reduce (and eventually eliminate) prison rape. In 2003 Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act, [wiki](_URL_0_), and some progress is being made on the issue. Not (obviously) enough and not with as much support as it might have, but it is something government money and attention is being spent on.",
"I read an ama from an ex con from a federal prison. Apparently it's mostly Hollywood drama as there are more than enough willing participants for those who want gay sex",
"The public doesn't care much about prisoners, and they also don't care much about male victims of rape. It's probably both of these things, as you would still hear outrage over a female prisoner being raped, and you would still hear some outcry over a male being raped.",
"It is because many consider any of the abuses that happen to criminals in prison to justified by the fact that they are criminals. They have forfeited their right to live in civil society and it is almost considered part of their punishments. ",
"Because we view prison rape as a form of retributive justice. However, it would most definitely be considered as both cruel AND unusual, so we let prisoners do it to each other, allowing prison systems to deflect blame."
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7isfdu | how did we come up with the asteroid theory for dinosaur extinction? | ELI5 | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7isfdu/elif_how_did_we_come_up_with_the_asteroid_theory/ | {
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"It's not the only theory but it's the one best explained by all the evidence. First, there's the 150km wide impact crater off the Yucatan peninsula. It was created by a roughly 10km wide asteroid impacting at 30+km/s and it's been date to 65 million years ago which is exactly when the dinosaurs became extinct. We know how catastrophic an impact like that would be so it already makes sense as the cause of the extinction. \n\nThere's also evidence of a large impact besides the crater such as ejecta layers in the rock, shock formations in the rock, melted rock from the molten impact site, and the high presence of certain rare elements that are only found in asteroids or deep within the Earth. This is all exactly what you'd expect to find in rock layers from the same time period, and there's a lack of evidence for other explanations.\n\nThe fossil record also indicates a sudden, catastrophic die-off rather than a slow decline in the number of fossils, which is what you'd expect from a sudden mass-extinction event.\n\n\n",
"Say that you find a dead body and you try to figure out what killed them. You examine the person and find a wound. You can look at the shape of the wound, and you can poke around inside the wound looking for any foreign material. You find small shards of glass, leading to the conclusion that glass was the murder weapon. \n\nYou have a mystery, you gather evidence, and you form a conclusion that can explain all the facts. \n\nWhen scientists began finding fossil relics, they found that the age of the rock that the fossils were embedded in could tell you when those animals walked the Earth.\n\nIt's a misconception that the oldest rocks are the deepest, because rock formations are displaced all of the time, and weathering and uplift, and many other geologic processes can sometimes bring old rock to the surface. But even before radio carbon dating, scientists could look at other things in the rock, seeds, plants, even pollen and insects, and get a general idea of how old the rock was. \n\n\nWell they found that dinosaur fossils tended to be located in rock layers that were millions of years old, however [at a certain point](_URL_1_), those fossils just stopped. In newer rock they found only smaller animal fossils like rodents and such, and in older rock they had megafauna like dinosaurs. So they could pretty much look at a layer of rock, and pinpoint the layer of rock between living dinosaurs, and dead dinosaurs. \n\nAnd much like finding those glass shards in the murder victim, they looked at what was inside these rock layers. They found some odd things. There were beads of glass there and glass usually forms in volcanic events and meteor impacts. They also found layers of rock that seemed to be made of ash. The final nail in the coffin of \"What killed the dinosaurs\" was a chemical analysis of the rock found large amounts of an element that is relatively rare on Earth, but common in asteroids; [Iridium.](_URL_2_)\n\nThis iridium dust was present in rocks all over the planet that were from that time period. So some how a rare element, mostly found in asteroids, managed to cover the entire earth in ash, all at the same time. Before this event you had dinosaurs and after the event you didn't. \n\nThe only thing they couldn't figure out was where was the crater? Surely something that big, that catastrophic left a crater behind right? And it turned out there [was a crater](_URL_0_), but that it was so large, we didn't even know we were looking at it. The crater was partially under water, and it was so large that you can't see it all at once because of the horizon; we didn't see it for a very long time. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
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"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_boundary",
"http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/extinction/dinosaurs/asteroid.html"
]
] |
|
3p14ts | can a planet have two suns like tatooine? | And why is it possible? Does one sun revolve around the other? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3p14ts/eli5_can_a_planet_have_two_suns_like_tatooine/ | {
"a_id": [
"cw27z81"
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"score": [
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"text": [
"Yes. There are plenty of binary star systems in the known universe. However, the planets orbiting them might not be habitable, as temperatures would likely vary greatly due to how the planet orbits the stars."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
17opg3 | envy--why exactly do others' accomplishments cause us to feel worse about ourselves? | It's a given that we feel worse when someone else has something we can't have.
My theory is that learning that there exists a person (whom we know) who has something we want "rubs in" the fact that we are missing something. But if missing something makes us feel bad, why don't we feel bad constantly, and not just when others remind us of it? If we don't always feel bad about missing something, do we really miss it/want it?
Btw, if this is in the wrong subreddit I apologize. I'm honestly just curious and trying to figure out the reasoning behind this experience. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/17opg3/eli5_envywhy_exactly_do_others_accomplishments/ | {
"a_id": [
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"While someone getting to have something that you can't have is certainly a part of it, I also think that respect is a major part of Envy. It makes sense that people get what they deserve, for better or for worse. It also makes sense that some people are a bit better at this-or-that than you. So it makes sense that some people get to have better things than you. \n\nHowever, what happens when you don't feel that someone deserves what they have? We all hear about how \"millionaires\" are a bunch of money-grubing jackasses. They spend time fighting to lower minimum wages for their corporations, while buying themselves a new gold-plated Ferrari every other month. Obviously, this gives the impression they aren't very good people, and they don't deserve all the nice things they have. \n\nThat, I believe, is the root of envy. You feel that you are better than someone, thus you deserve to have at least as much nice stuff as they do. Wither its envy over some asshole who's got a hottie for a girl, or some douchbag with a nicer car than you, the fact is that you don't respect the person you feel envy towards. Disrespect is the basis of envy. Its not so much about *what* someone has, its *who* has it. \n\nThats why almost no one minds that Bill Gates is richer than basically everyone. People respect him. He's a brilliant business man, he revolutionized an industry, and he is a major philanthropist. Its okay that he's richer than you. Compare that to the guy that cut you off in his new BMW, and the difference in respect is clear. \n\nFinally, this explains why the Holy Catholic Church considers Envy to be one of the Seven Deadly Sins. If you don't respect someone, how can you learn from them? Besides, if you Envy what they have, then you acknowledge that they have good tastes in their possessions. Envy stems from disrespect, and disrespect blocks self-improvment. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
36dcyw | what's the difference between silk produced by spiders, and silk produced by moth larvae? why don't we farm spiders for their silk? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/36dcyw/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_silk_produced/ | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"Moth larvae will live happily in a box together, spiders however will kill and eat eachother. So it's much easier to farm moth larvae instead of having individually housed spiders producing the silk :)",
"Practicality and ease of collection.\n\nWe haven't figured out a simple and reliable way to get a spider to give us a consistent and unbroken silk fiber of the correct type (remember, spiders can change the silk they make to serve certain functions, like strong and stretchy structural silk, or sticky silk designed to capture prey).\n\nWith silk worms (moth larvae), they spin a silken cocoon out of a single strand of the type of silk fiber we need. By placing the cocoons in hot water, the bonds break down, and you can extract the single strand. It's a pretty easy process, and hundreds can be done simultaneously. \n\nSilk worms are easy to raise by the thousands (or millions!). They don't fight among themselves, they don't wander. There's also no risk of bites. Practicality wins out, using cocoons is far easier than trying to extract it from live animals."
]
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[],
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||
2hxq7v | is adblock plus detrimental to websites that rely on advertisements? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2hxq7v/eli5is_adblock_plus_detrimental_to_websites_that/ | {
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"text": [
"How to explain this for this subreddit..yes!",
"It really depends on the target audience.\n\nA website for grandmothers who quilt is unlikely to have many tech-savvy users that have AdBlock installed. The odd user who does isn't going to make much of a difference.\n\nA website like reddit has a target audience that is more familiar with technology, so the frequency of users who have AdBlock installed will be greater. This may seriously affect advertising revenue.",
"The answer is... it depends. \n\nAt first it seems as though the question is tautological. If a website *relies* on advertisements then anything that removes those advertisements is *by definition* detrimental. But that interpretation of your question lacks nuance.\n\nDepending on the type of advertisement, merely showing the ad might not be enough to generate any revenue. Some ads require the visitor to click on them, others require them to actually buy something. So for a user who never clicks on ads, Adblock doesn't harm website revenues in any way. Other ads may generate revenue on a pay per view basis, which would be negatively affected by Adblock. \n\nHowever, some websites use adverts that display in popup (or pop behind) windows. These popups are blocked by almost every modern web browser's default settings - no Adblock required. And what's more, nobody gives a second thought to it. There are no cries that popup blockers are somehow unethical or injurious to websites that rely on them for income. So it seems the issue is not a black and white one."
]
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[],
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||
evpmfq | why, after building millions of cars and seeing that all of them rust, do automobile makers still not spray a rustproof coating or use stainless steel wherever appropriate? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/evpmfq/eli5_why_after_building_millions_of_cars_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"ffx4mmq"
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"text": [
"Stainless steel is expensive and harder to work with. Spraying an undercoating at the factory costs money. They pass those savings onto the customer who hopefully will have a rusted out car in 6-10 years and buy a new vehicle."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
cmsskv | why is the oil in the us so much cheaper than its european counterparts? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cmsskv/eli5_why_is_the_oil_in_the_us_so_much_cheaper/ | {
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"text": [
"The US is one of the world's largest oil and gas exporters, and has a ton of domestic refining capacity. Combined with relatively low taxes on petroleum products, that makes oil cheap to buy in the US.",
"The government gives ~~corporate welfare~~ subsidies to the oil companies to drive down the price. Also, Euro countries probably charge a lot more in tax on fossil fuels.",
"We process our own oil (in addition to importing cheap oil) and export a fair amount of the refined products made from it to Europe. We also tend to have fewer taxes on it.",
"I assume you mean petroleum product that you burn instead of use for lubrication or the oil or oil that is used in food.\n\nThe main difference is the amount of tax on it. \n\nAt [_URL_1_](_URL_0_) you can find the tax for gasoline you ahve a 18.5c/gallon federal tas and the lowes state tax is Alaska 14.65c/gallon and the highets Pennsylvania 57.6 c/gallon. So the total tax is between 33.15 c/gallon and 76.1 c/gallon.\n\nA us liquid gallon is 3.78541l so the tax is $0.087/l to $0.201/l\n\nCompare that to for example Sweden where the tax is at 6.70 SEK/L that is $0.70/l. \n\nThen there is value added tax (VAT) I have not idea if in the US in states that have VAT it is added to the tax tax but it is in sweden with 25% so the total tax is $0.875/l. The VAT is also added to what the company that sell it charge\n\nThe result is that gasoline that cost on average 16,48 SEK/l in april 2019 of that 61% was tax. That is equivalent to $ 6.50/ gallon and $3.965 was tax. \n\nIt looks like the average us gas cost was $2.50 in March\n\nThe tax rate might not be as high in other countries in europe but it is higher than in the US.",
"It mostly has to do with taxes. The U.S. has relatively low gasoline taxes compared to Europe and elsewhere.",
"We produce and refine way more oil than Europe does, so there's lower shipping costs/import taxes/etc. We also have lower gasoline tax and lower business taxes in general",
"Also, don't forget that the US dollar is the reserve currency for the world. This gives it a substantial advantage in purchasing/selling on petroleum markets."
]
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[],
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[],
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"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_the_United_States",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel\\_taxes\\_in\\_the\\_United\\_States"
],
[],
[],
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||
2evcv1 | how come tattooing doesn't cut skin off? | If a tattoo needle is constantly piercing your skin like a bajillion times a second, and making a (say....)circle, how come the skin doesn't peel/fall off?
Even shading for that matter. How does it not cut off skin if you're dragging this piercing object across your skin repeatedly? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2evcv1/eli5_how_come_tattooing_doesnt_cut_skin_off/ | {
"a_id": [
"ck3arri"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Sometimes it does when done by a bad tattoo artist, but only with solid images. They go over the same area too many times, too deep. The entire patch of skin becomes one big scab and falls off eventually ."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
45a5my | hindu deities, how are there so many versions of the same gods? | I am doing a research project on Hindu deities, and I am not understanding how some of the major gods are basically just versions of other gods. Ie: Durga is explained to be a fiercer form of Parvarti. I found a quote that reads "All Hindu gods and goddesses are the same god or divine energy." I am still not wrapping my head around how there are so many versions of one god, but they all have different names and different god or goddess titles. It is not a direct question, but any help would be appreciated. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/45a5my/eli5_hindu_deities_how_are_there_so_many_versions/ | {
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"text": [
"So, let's talk about you. You're a person, probably a student somewhere. No matter where you are or what you're doing, you're always you.\n\nBut! You're not always the same you. When you're at home with your parents you act one way. When you're at school in class, you act another way. When you're hanging out with friends you act a third way. You're still, well, *you* in all these situations, but your parents, your teachers, and your friends all have a different understanding of who *you* are based on how you act around them.\n\nIn this, *you* are the main entity, and the person that your parents know, your teachers know, and your friends know are all different manifestations of you. \n\nNow, scale this up to the level of Gods. There is the same divine essence, but depending on the context it may have different forms or titles. From its own point of view, it is unchanging. From the point of view of its worshippers, it might be quite different depending on the context.\n\nAnd to go one step further... *everything* could be considered a manifestation of this one divine essence, just interpreting itself from different points of view in different contexts.",
"All the Hindu deities are part of the same ultimate divine power, known as Brahman.\n\nThere are three main divisions from there, known as Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. These can be looked at in a similar way to the Christian Trinity. One being, three bodies.\n\nFrom there, it gets more complex and there are a thousand more divisions and fractals, each representing a slightly different aspect. For me, when I was studying them, the easiest way for me to picture it was each God as a different facet of the same gem. Each has its own qualities, but they're still all part of one Whole.",
"As in case of a musiccal band you need different instrument artists because we like patterns, curiosity and complexity and as individual artists they use different parts of the the body (as per the nervous system cycle different sensory and motor synapses. For Eg: In case of percussion: Synapses of Fingers/limbs and ears, In case of wind instruments: Synapses of Breathing pattern and finger/limbs and ears)\n\nLikewise, in case of Gods, each God is the epitome of his purpose/passion of life or skill (similar to @PenguinTod)\n\nFor Eg: Ganesha is for devotion, Karthikeya for valor on a broader spectrum of personalities but can be extrapolated to other finer finer qualities as in the case by @fumunculus for Parvati as Saraswati, Durga and Laxmi\n\n\n\n"
]
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[],
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|
1nsvnf | the sopranos; why after whacking someone killer always leaves the gun at the scene of the crime? script's stupidity? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1nsvnf/eli5_the_sopranos_why_after_whacking_someone/ | {
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"text": [
"Since the gun is not a legit purchase and may have the serial numbers removed, as long as they wiped it down there is generally no one to trace it to them.",
"If the gun can't be tied to you, and you've left no evidence on it (DNA, prints, etc) it makes more sense to leave the weapon behind. There's no chance you'll be caught with it later. ",
"Also could be a reference to the Godfather. When Michael Corleone kills Sollozzo he is specifically instructed to bring his arm down to his side and drop the gun."
]
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[],
[],
[]
] |
||
1vzlnd | how can king trademark words like candy and saga, and what is to stop me from grabbing a dictionary and starting with a? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1vzlnd/eli5_how_can_king_trademark_words_like_candy_and/ | {
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"cexae34",
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"text": [
"Trademarks only cover uses that you can show could cause confusion to a consumer. So you can have Apple Computers and Apple Apple Company, and neither is infringing on the others' trademark.",
"To be fair, they're only trademarking them in regards to video games. You'd have to show that you're using the word in a particular context and that you got there first. It keeps another company from calling their game *Something* Saga, hoping to cash in on consumers thinking it's part of the King line of games that use \"Saga\".",
"The first part seems to be covered by other answers. In response to the second part: You'd need an actual product to begin trademarking. After that you could probably fill out the paperwork for nearly-unlimited frivolous trademarks, but you also need to be prepared to defend your trademarks repeatedly in court or they become fairly worthless. This is actually part of why companies sometimes seem to be needlessly picking on \"the little guy\" over trademark issues. If they decided to be lenient, that leniency could be used as an argument later by a more aggressive entity to show that the company's trademark has become obsolete."
]
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[],
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||
83kxo5 | what time do astronauts have on their watch? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/83kxo5/eli5_what_time_do_astronauts_have_on_their_watch/ | {
"a_id": [
"dviloz0"
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"text": [
"UTC.\n\nThis is mainly because this sleep schedule is convenient for most parties involves (mostly Russians and Americans). Its a compromise between American and Russian timezones, and fits fairly well for everyone else given that the exact opposite timezones are mostly found in the Pacific Ocean. \n\nEveryone should use the same timezone on the ISS of course since having half the station doing their thing while the other half sleeps of course leads to shitty sleep. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
3xgx35 | what is going on with the dnc and why is it so detrimental to a campaign? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3xgx35/eli5_what_is_going_on_with_the_dnc_and_why_is_it/ | {
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"text": [
"From what I understand...\n\nThere was some sort of database error in the DNC (Democratic National Committee, the official name of the Democratic Party). In that error, one of Bernie Sander's staff accessed a part of the voter information database that should have only been accessible to Hillary Clinton's staff. Once the unauthorized access was discovered, the DNC banned the Bernie 2016 campaign from any use of the DNC databases. \n\nThis is detrimental because Bernie 2016 would need access to the DNC voter information--the party keeps a lot of information about a lot of different things. And if you're trying to target a certain advertisement or mailer to a certain demographic, you need that information.\n\nThe things that make this interesting are:\n\n- There's a Democratic debate tonight (Saturday 12/19), so Hillary, Bernie, and Ringo will be talking to each other tonight and things could get *awwkkkkkward*.\n\n- Some people believe that the DNC super-overreacted in shutting down Bernie's access just because one guy did a thing. Also, some people believe that the DNC leaked the story to discredit Bernie and sweep some support toward Hillary."
]
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[]
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||
21szqk | why can't we "drain" volcanoes before they explode? | I don't just mean the lava/magma, I mean also releasing the pressure inside. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/21szqk/eli5_why_cant_we_drain_volcanoes_before_they/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgg841z"
],
"score": [
2
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"text": [
"Imagine you had a sealed pot, full of boiling water. You want to reduce the pressure inside the pot, but you can't turn off the fire. If you create a whole in the pot, releasing the pressure, then there's going to be a jet of steam. Doesn't matter where you make the whole, the pressure's going to come out, and come out with force. \n\nSame with a volcano. You could \"drain\" them (if you were willing to spend the money on drilling equipment) but the drain just becomes the volcano, just in a slightly different place. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
8znz95 | why do many rivers tend to make an "s" pattern in the way they flow? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8znz95/eli5_why_do_many_rivers_tend_to_make_an_s_pattern/ | {
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"text": [
"Water will hit a rock while going slightly downhill and will go around the edge of the rock, and then continue along the original path. Alternatively it’ll hit a region of denser rock that is less erodible and so it will go around the edge before continuing on. ",
"Since it’s pretty well impossible for a river to be perfectly straight, there will be a small curve somewhere.\n\nThese tiny curves cause water to rush into them, which will cause more erosion of the bank in that spot. That erosion causes a larger curve, causing more erosion. This starts a feedback cycle that forces a river to get more bendy in a section. \n\nThen, when it gets really bendy, another effect arises. If there’s a sharp turn, the water will rush against the bank on the outside of the curve, which will slowly erode that section of bank. This can eventually basically cut a channel that bypasses the bend altogether. Then you have a sort of oval shape with two off-shoots. \n\nThe part that used to be the bend will be bypasses by the water, since it will tend to take the shortest path. Sand deposits carried by he river will pile up at the loop part, and eventually close the loop off, creating oxbow lakes. \n\nAt the end of that whole series of processes, the river ends up straight-ish again, with small curves. Then the process starts again. Look up oxbow lakes, there are some pictures and gifs that are really mind-blowing. \n\nBasically, the end result is that rivers switch back and forth between being bendy and straight. So there’s a natural average bendiness of rivers overall. "
]
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||
32dy2m | in a capitalistic country like the us, why are universities so expensive and without competition between each other? | I mean, with so many students looking for the best offer, I don't understand why doesn't any investor try to take a bite out of that market. To run a university is not cheap, but I don' think that's the point, studying in private universities in my country (Spain) cost usually around 6.000 €/year and, even if the costs are higher there (higher salaries to pay, etc. ), I don' see how that scalates so much.
Is there a lobby or such a thing in that field? If the only requirement to start up a university is capital, why don't we see massified affordable private universities trying to attract potential "consumers"? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/32dy2m/eli5in_a_capitalistic_country_like_the_us_why_are/ | {
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"text": [
"Because universities are impacted. The demand is higher than the supply, so kids will pay what it takes to get it. We also have huge government aid programs that will fuck you when you're out, but allow you to go without worrying about the immediate cost. ",
"There are a *ton* of \"for profit\" universities in the US, these are different than \"private\" colleges. They are extremely competitive with each other. The students usually attend these universities because for various reasons they cannot attend a different school. They are often a very captive audience with little alternatives.\n\nThey also tend to pay for school in one of two ways, either a) a loan or b) \"scholarships\" which are usually govt sponsored and paid for programs\n\nHere's a small breakdown from: _URL_0_\n\n > On average, 86% of all funding at for-profit colleges are from federal tax-payer dollars. For-profit colleges enroll between 10 to 13% of college students, yet receive 25% of all federal financial aid dollars.\n\n > Specifically, for-profit colleges receive:\n\n > 25% of all Department of Education student aid funds, totaling $32 billion Education department grants and loans in 2009-10;\n\n > 37% of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, or $1.6 billion in benefits in the first two years of the program); and\n\n > 50% of Department of Defense Tuition Assistance Funds.\n\n\nSo basically, the schools have little reason to compete on cost, in fact raising tuition and costs are usually more profitable, since the students aren't really paying anyways, the cost is fairly irrelevant and will be paid to the maximum they charge, almost regardless of what the charge is. So you can simply charge more money and it will get paid, the only \"loser\" is the government.",
"A lot of these private institutions that are so expensive ($50,000/year) are so expensive because they have, for example, 20,000 applicants/year for 6,000 spots. Sure, some people are going to chose to go elsewhere because they are sensitive to the price, but plenty of other children will be thrilled to get into such an exclusive school and will finance it either with personal family wealth, scholarships, or debt. \n\nWe don't see cheaper universities at the same quality level of instruction because professors want to go to the most exclusive, highly regarded institutions as well. They want to make the most money and gain the most prestige possible. They also want to work in the best facilities, use the best labs, and all of these things cost money that high tuition supports. "
]
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[],
[
"http://forprofitu.org/fact-sheet/"
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4cjlq1 | . why do many employers give their hourly employees sporadic, weekly-changing, temporary schedules? | So many employees assign new shifts every week. Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if they had set times each individual was meant to work? A schedule that didn't waver, have overlap, technical errors, over scheduling, and wildly differing hours (ex. Working night shift and then working morning shift)? Not to mention accidental no shows from when someone read the schedule wrong or forgot a shift. Can someone explain the benefits of this alternative scheduling that seems to be so wide spread? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4cjlq1/eli5_why_do_many_employers_give_their_hourly/ | {
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"I also work in the industry and we use an app (_URL_0_) where we employees can just swap shifts as we need to, without having to go through the manager every time (he just approves the swap on his app). We can also put in requests for shifts and requests for days off. This makes my life much more flexible and even though I still don't have a constant schedule it feels more like I'm in control of my life again. I also think my manager feels it is a lot easier to consider everyone's wishes like this and is much more willing to make sure people get what they want. ",
"This doesn't apply to all situations, but sometimes the person in charge of writing the schedule is either a total dick, or they can seriously clueless. I had one manager who took great glee in scheduling just about everyone to work the latest shift he could find for them the day before a day off, then he would schedule you to come in on an early shift after your day off; like I said, a total dick.",
"You are describing a few things.\n\nChanging from days to afternoons to nights and back again is often caused when the employer has a lot of employees with families. They want to make it so no one is stuck permanently on a shift that makes them unable to see their family because that is a fast way to lose an employee.\n\nOversheduling and overlap shifts are usually used when you have a job where you are interacting with people. They want the next shift already working when the previous one leaves so there is never an empty area and so that if someone is late, no one gets screwed over.",
"I'm one of those assholes. I hate having schedules that change constantly, and I do what I can to keep things stable, but there are a few factors I have to take into account. \n\nKeep in mind that every staff member has certain times they simply can't work. Because of this, if you change a single shift, you usually have to change everything. \n\n The biggest thing is that business will fluctuate based on local holidays and events. If I know there will be a school day off, I have to bring extra people on. This will change the rest of the week, since I want to keep everyone at as many hours as they have asked for. \n\nThe next is staff turnover. People come and go, and you have to make time to get people trained up. It helps to pair a newbie with a strong team member. That dices things up. \n\nFinally, I like to get a sense of how people work together. It helps to see if Susie and bob get along, but I also need to know if Matt and bob work well. And Susie will probably tell me she doesn't like working with Matt. Fine, I won't force her to. But that is just one more thing I have to keep in mind while scheduling. \n\nAt the end of the day, if you ask for 40 hours, or 20, or Fridays off, I will do anything I can to keep work from interfering with your life. That trumps having a stable schedule. Like I said, it isn't perfect, but getting your hours, having an enjoyable work team, and a good life balance trumps consistency. It is a balancing act. \n\nEdit: I also keep a log of every day, so I can look to see what last year was like so I can predict what might happen on any specific day. It helps to plan for weird busy times. It isn't perfect though. I hate overlap, but I really hate having employees who are swamped at work. I'd rather have 2 guys twiddling their thumbs than one girl in tears because she got swamped. ",
"While it can be nice having a fixed schedule, it just won't fit all people and all jobs - often the worst offenders here will be places like shops and restaurants that will have constantly changing staff with different needs, and staff holidays, illness, personal preference (often there will be preferred and disliked shifts, so it would be unfair to always give those to certain people) and customer demand will give constantly changing needs - why spend lots of time creating a nice fixed schedule when it will just get altered straight away?",
"Our work is project based, and as each project is tailored to our client, the hours and skills required vary. It is not unusual to have 7-15 projects going at once, but it does mean I cannot guarantee that someone who is working, for example 10-6 will always be able to work those hours forever and ever into the future.\n\nThat being said, I should also clarify that:\n\n*Right now, everyone knows their schedule for the next month, and I am figuring out what everyone's schedules will look like beyond that for another month or so. This tends to be an ongoing process.\n\n*There are TONS of scheduling software options out there which allow you to provide this info to employees electronically, 24/7. We use one of them. This takes away a lot of the 'I read the schedule wrong' kind of issue, as it is always available and very easy to check.\n\n*We are very up front about the need for this type of schedule when we recruit/hire. I would much rather someone decide they just cannot hack it and not pursue a career with us than to try and convince them it's 'not too bad' only to have them feel deceived and demoralized later.\n\n*We actually take pains to avoid the late shift/early shift scheduling - and if we have a dire need to do this (rare), then that's a conversation with someone about how to make it work best for them.\n\nI am seeing a lot of comments here about working late/early back to back and avoiding benefits, etc. etc. I have to say, a lot of the issues with this type of scheduling come down to a lack of communication -- either on the part of the employer or the part of the employee, or both. As an employer, I have to work to be sure both the software updates (to the schedule) and the communication (in person or by email, depending) are always happening. But I have also run into some (now former) employees who try to avoid talking about their schedule because what they really want is an \"I'll show up if I feel like it and you should accommodate it\" type of schedule (which no one at our company has, the owner included).",
"Many times there is an assumption of nefarious and evil intent in what we see. It is eaasier and probably just as correct that incompetance and lack of real business knowledge or leadership vision is the reason.\n\nSome managers or Hr departments think that it will give the store more flexibility to just call in who you need. busy day call in more people, slow day send people home. You save on hours and the store is more profitable. \n\nThe reality is that it is a short term win for a long term loss. It is a system that will degrade over time to the lowest levels of productivity because it is not a simple hours in hours out equation.\n\nFirst it allows managers at the store level to NOT have any leadership or forward thinking. They do not have to pay attention to what is going on around them, and results in reactive vice proactive management. It seems easy to say well it is a busy day so call more people in. Except it is already busy. Calling people in means the manager goes into the back and sits on the phone calling people instead of on the floor running things and providing help oversight. By the time people do show up it may be slow again. Meanwhile the customers get aggravated since the lines are long and no one is on the floor to help them with questions. Short term over long term. Short term saved a few hours. Long term customers won't come back.\n\nSecond thing overall. Employees will go down hill. You could start off with the best employees, but you will lose the good ones to other places where they have steady income and better hours. Eventually you will end up with only the employees that can't get a better job or employees that have zero experience and you are there first employer ever. Once they get to a point that they are pretty competent they will move to better pastures. The turnover rate is super high. Again this is seen by many as a plus since long term employees will by definition make more money. Experience and performance cost money. So you save money short term, but in the long term employees are not a good at the job or motivated as they could be. so in the long run it feeds back on itself and costs you.\n\nSo in reality is usually is not a \"bad person\" actually saying \"let's screw people over with this system\". It is usually someone saying \"we are losing money at all our stores, what can we do? Labor is one of our biggest expenses, cut labor. Trim down hours.\" It seems like a good bet, but in reality costs almost every company that does it. Sometimes they do it well and manage to recover, but in reality many just continue down hill since it is a short term fix, that has long term ramifications.\n\nThis applies to the question of why call in shifts. As far as changing every week. Sometimes it is the needs of the business. Holidays, big games, personnel training or turnover. Or a big one I ran into for larger workforces. The bigger the schedule and the larger the workforce, the more special requests you get. I can't work XXX night, I have class. My cousin is getting married Sat. I have to stay home and change my grandma's diapers on Wed and Thursday since the caregiver has those 2 days off. COncert on friday, I can't work friday night. (And if you think they will show up on Sat morning you're just as high as they were on Friday.) You have a huge list of demands and requests to meet.\n\nLots of valid reasons. Also lots of invalid reasons. I have known a couple people who used the schedule as more of a hammer to a find out who is \"loyal to the company\" or to show \"I run things around here, not you. You'll work when I tell you to work.\" The first list above is unavoidable, the second here is shitty managers. Some combination of the two is usually the reality. ",
" > Technology is speeding this transformation. In the past, part-timers might work the same schedule of four- or five-hour shifts every week. But workers’ schedules have become far less predictable and stable. Many retailers now use sophisticated software that tracks the flow of customers, allowing managers to assign just enough employees to handle the anticipated demand.\n\n_URL_0_",
"Employees don't usually stick to set hours though. Sickness including weekenditis, family problems eg being unable to get baby sitters, personal preferences etc usually build up to stop a set schedule from working. That said, a set rota or rotating rota works well when everyone actively wants it to.",
"On top of everything else mentioned about busy hours slow days, etc, Id like to point out that in a lot of places, managers are given hours. One week they might be allowed to schedule 250 hours. Next week they only have 200 hours to work with. \n\nWhere I work, we are expected to make above a certain $$/labor hour. The estimates are in large part based on what we made that week last year, which is kind of shit. Say half the team calls out this year. Our Dollars made / labor hour is going to jump way up. So that week next year they expect us to make a lot of money with very few people working, so maybe he only hands our manager 150 hours to use that week. Its obviously not enough hours, so he has to cut peoples hours or give a few people extra days off and have the people who are working come in at weird times to try to cover everything. \n\n",
"Employee scheduling isn't easy because there are so many variables. Employees have requested times off, shift preferences, number of hours per week/month. Then the business has cycles. They may be weekly or annual cycles which are easy to plan but sales and other factors can drive more customers in less predictable ways.\n\nThen you have people who call in sick at the last minute. If someone takes that shift, now you have to rearrange the entire schedule so they don't have overtime or too much overtime.\n\nDisclaimer: I'm the founder of a staff scheduling company: [time360](_URL_0_)",
"Scheduling hours is a very complex problem. \n\n_URL_0_\n\nThis is one of the unsolved problems in computing. The only way to find a solution is trial and error. Which means there will often been non-ideal solutions.",
"Because there's a fucking book out there on how to be a manager that says keeping a little anxiety in the workplace is a good thing and these deuschebag managers read that crap and follow it instead of talking to their employees.",
"They don't want employees to get used to / feel entitled to specific shifts. When you keep people in a state of constant flux, if you need them to come in for an odd shift, it won't be out of the ordinary.",
"I know a lot of hourly workers that *don't* have this issue. It really depends on how quick employee turnover is in those fields. Making a schedule that will work for everyone, and can still allow for covering of missed shifts (due to sick days or emergencies or whatever) takes a while to figure out and get down properly. \n\nIf you can't go a month without losing an employee, you'll never be able to make a good schedule. (Food service is easily the worst offender here.) There are also a lot of jobs with very low turnover, but these typically require some skill (Machinist, heavy machinery operator, etc.) that are also still hourly, but have very consistent and unchanging schedules. Maybe one persons gets goofed up for a week because someone else takes a vacation, but it doesn't mess up *everyone's* schedule, because when the employees are more consistent and reliable, the scheduling can be too. ",
"I ran a bar and restaurant. If it had been up to me, the schedule would have been set in stone. Less work on my end.\n\nThe reality is, though, many of the workers want to rotate around. Not only is there better opportunity for tips on busy weekends, but sometimes people want weekends off, too, so they can relax an party it up. Many people work these kinds of jobs because the hours are very negotiable. Sometimes they have kids and need to fix their schedule to another parent's schedule who can watch the kids, for instance. There was usually an agreement on an initial schedule, and then changes would periodically happen through the month. I had the rule that anyone could change their schedule so long as a) the shift was covered by a consenting worker b) the change was made outside of 24 hours c) everyone effected knew about it, including me.\n\nOther businesses could be different, but that's how the industry worked in my area."
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mwb11 | how angel investing and venture capital works | I understand what they are there for, but how does the process work? Which one is ideal for what stage of a start-up's growth? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/mwb11/eli5_how_angel_investing_and_venture_capital_works/ | {
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"Angel investors are generally investing *their own money* in an organization, whereas a venture capital firm is investing *other people's money*, money that other people have invested in the venture capital fund.\n\nAs such, venture capitalists tend to have more money to invest, and therefore *do* typically invest more money than angel investors.\n\nBoth types of investors exchange money for shares in the company. Venture capitalists will often demand a seat(s) on the board of directors so that they can help manage the company; not so much with angel investors. Since the venture capitalist only has a certain amount of time to spend managing the companies in its portfolio, it limits the amount of companies they can invest in. So, they're more likely to invest in fewer companies; companies that are more likely to succeed.",
"Angel investors are generally investing *their own money* in an organization, whereas a venture capital firm is investing *other people's money*, money that other people have invested in the venture capital fund.\n\nAs such, venture capitalists tend to have more money to invest, and therefore *do* typically invest more money than angel investors.\n\nBoth types of investors exchange money for shares in the company. Venture capitalists will often demand a seat(s) on the board of directors so that they can help manage the company; not so much with angel investors. Since the venture capitalist only has a certain amount of time to spend managing the companies in its portfolio, it limits the amount of companies they can invest in. So, they're more likely to invest in fewer companies; companies that are more likely to succeed."
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43r4cx | what does it mean for a food to have 'anti-inflammatory' properties? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/43r4cx/eli5_what_does_it_mean_for_a_food_to_have/ | {
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"It means that the food contains chemicals that can help to reduce inflammation.\n\nIt will not make you harder to set on fire."
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8lzt42 | seeing as how electricity often takes the form of plasma in many instances of physical manifestation, would it stand to reason that all plasma could be utilized the same way if its heat energy were concentrated/channeled enough? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8lzt42/eli5_seeing_as_how_electricity_often_takes_the/ | {
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"Electricity does not take the form of plasma, plasma is a state of matter where electrons and nuclei dissolve in a quantum soup example the sun.\n\nElectricity is electrons flowing through matter generally via the valence electrons.\n\nAlmost forgot to mention, high voltages can produce plasma (example lightening)"
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7p87e1 | why do movie studios opt for cgi when it seems like practical affects would be cheaper, easier for actors to work with, and preferred by audiences? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7p87e1/eli5_why_do_movie_studios_opt_for_cgi_when_it/ | {
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"Because CGI generally does look better the reason alot of people think practical effects are better is because we only notice bad CGI ",
"Practical effects are generally not cheaper. At least not in modernity. They are also very difficult on the actors. You are looking at hours of time applying the practical and hours of time removing it every day of filming. Some things (like Star Trek) could take up to 4 hours each side. On top of 6-10 hours of filming that is an insane amount of time. \n\nAnd also the modern methods that look best are a mix. You use practical and CGI together. "
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fx9gdm | why the sun feels hotter in some places than others? | I live in Rio and when it's 75°F and sunny it feels almost chilly; i've also lived in Houston, TX and when it's the same temperature it feels hot and the sun burns, even in winter. And it doesn't make senses because the sun is lower at the sky in Texas because of the higher LATITUDE. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fx9gdm/eli5_why_the_sun_feels_hotter_in_some_places_than/ | {
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"Seems like a moisture and wind difference between the two. People normally say things like \"it's not the heat, it's the humidity.\" Which is true. Imagine taking a hot relaxing bath, now imagine that everywhere you go. It's hot, you sweat instantly, you feel like the sweat on you never goes away and everything in the air sticks to you. \nThis is because the moisture in the air in places like texas and Louisiana (where i live) doesn't need/have room for the moisture on your skin causingsweat to evaporate slower, so your body's cooling system can't really function as efficiently as it would in a dryer, breezier place.",
"Hard comparison to make. Rio has mountains so it's possible that the ground gets more shade during the course of the day resulting in less accumulated heat, also Rio is ocean adjacent. Cool air is rolling in from the sea.\n\nTexas is a large flat state, no natural structure to cast shade and it has very little coastline. It's not even ocean. Humidity can also be higher in Texas but I don't know about that in Rio.",
"There are various factors to consider: winds, geography, population, air pollution, humidity, etc. Here is a [link](_URL_0_) that compares Houston TO Rio. You can also click the hyperlink on the page to reverse the comparison. I can’t help but wonder if the average wind speed in Rio is higher which would help reduce the FEELING of heat.",
"Ozone layer depletion can change how hot the sun feels. I’ve visited Australia a few times and they have a thin ozone layer and I would get sunburned on a 70 degree F day in about 5 minutes.",
"The sun being even a few thousand kilometers closer or farther isnt going to effect how hot we feel, by the way. Else, we'd melt on mount Mount Everest or the moon, and our deep space explorers wouldnt function etc"
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4mj4p9 | why does being in hot weather make some people irritable, the rain make people tired, and winter make people depressed? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4mj4p9/eli5_why_does_being_in_hot_weather_make_some/ | {
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"The winter depression is probably linked to low levels of sunlight which will effect serotonin and vitamin d",
"When people are physically uncomfortable, they get irritable so they they feel encouraged to move to an environment that is comfortable.\n\n\nWhen it rains, that has a big effect on the atmosphere, it is darker, the barometric pressure gets low, it gets more humid etc. Energetically water and rain has a grounding effect.\n\nIn the winter people get depressed because of the lack of sunlight, and because the cold environment feels hostile and uncomfortable."
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2m5ky8 | why do we have hair on our knuckles? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2m5ky8/eli5_why_do_we_have_hair_on_our_knuckles/ | {
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"We have hair on our knuckles , for the same reason we have hair on our arms/legs ( if you believe in evolution) . Now it doesn't really serve a purpose .. But it used to be part of our 'coat' .",
"That's a recessive trait called mid-digital hair. Anyone if I'm wrong please correct me, it's been almost 10 years since I learned about it. "
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7rzvju | how does a country’s military/businesses/etc transition when they are taken over by another in war? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7rzvju/eli5_how_does_a_countrys_militarybusinessesetc/ | {
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"It really depends on the war, the extent of the damage to that country (it may not have a functional military by the end), terms of the resulting treaty, etc. There's not a hard and fast rule when it comes to warfare: it's sorta the point where the rules all break down."
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1zchpl | why i am i not hearing about anything being done about the comcast-tw merger? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1zchpl/why_i_am_i_not_hearing_about_anything_being_done/ | {
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"text": [
"It's in its early stages, it takes quite a while for two large companies to merge into one. "
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5cbiaw | what us lean muscle? | Why do fitness experts and healthy food marketing harp on " lean muscle"? Is there other muscle? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5cbiaw/eli5_what_us_lean_muscle/ | {
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"There are 3 different types of muscle: Skeletal muscle, smooth muscle and cardiac muscle. Typically, lean muscle refers to skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle are all the muscles that you have voluntary control of (your limbs, torso, back, neck, face, etc...) and act to move your body. \n\nSmooth muscle is found in many of your organs and has a variety of functions depending on where it is. Usually, it controls the diameter of hollow organs. One of it's most well known functions is to control your blood pressure by changing the diameter of your blood vessels. \n\nCardiac muscle (as the name suggest) is the muscle that makes up your heart. It is very similar to skeletal muscle, except it has special junctions in it that allow it to contract in synchrony so that your heart beats like a pump. "
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6h9gn7 | how/why most stars are binary systems | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6h9gn7/eli5_howwhy_most_stars_are_binary_systems/ | {
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"Most stars are not. its estimated that 1/3 of the stars in the milky way are binary systems, but 2/3 are not. And since our methods for determining if a system is binary are flawed, the number may not even be that high.",
"The post has an article, which has a possible explanation right in it:\n\nEgg-shaped cores collapse into two centers\n\nThey concluded that the only way to explain the observations is to assume that all stars of masses around that of the sun start off as wide Class 0 binaries in egg-shaped dense cores, after which some 60 percent split up over time. The rest shrink to form tight binaries.\n\"As the egg contracts, the densest part of the egg will be toward the middle, and that forms two concentrations of density along the middle axis,\" he said. \"These centers of higher density at some point collapse in on themselves because of their self-gravity to form Class 0 stars.\"\n\"Within our picture, single low-mass, sunlike stars are not primordial,\" Stahler added. \"They are the result of the breakup of binaries. \"\nTheir theory implies that each dense core, which typically comprises a few solar masses, converts twice as much material into stars as was previously thought."
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73q0ap | if the wavelength of light corresponds to its energy, and space expanding lowers the wavelength of light, where does the light's energy go? | Edit: stretches the wavelength, not lowers it. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/73q0ap/eli5_if_the_wavelength_of_light_corresponds_to/ | {
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"Conservation of energy is not always true. Noether's theorem establishes a one-to-one correspondence between symmetries and conservation laws. The symmetry associated with conservation of energy is time-translation symmetry. In any system where this symmetry holds, energy is conserved. And in any system where this symmetry doesn't hold, energy is not conserved.\n\nAn expanding universe breaks time-translation symmetry, so on cosmological scales where the expansion of space is non-negligible, energy is not conserved.\n\nCosmologist Sean Carroll writes about it [here](_URL_0_)."
]
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43838a | is it feasible to build a modern computer from scratch? | I am talking you, the elements and whatever god or gods you may or may not believe in. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/43838a/eli5_is_it_feasible_to_build_a_modern_computer/ | {
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"No, it's not. Especially since different parts of a modern computer require many different fields of knowledge to build. Chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, software engineering. You'd also have to know several programming languages including C++, C#, HTML, PHP, and probably some Lua and Java.",
"No.\n\nYou'd have to build multiple generations of computers from scratch to get caught up. Design & manufacture of modern CPUs is highly dependent upon the existence of slightly-less-modern computers.\n\nIt would take you hundreds, if not thousands, of lifetimes to catch up.",
"I assume you're talking about a modern consumer computer (the kind for emails and such).\n\nYou: Even if you already knew everything you needed to know, building a modern chip fabrication machine literally from scratch (i.e. from raw materials & hand-crafted tools to churning out a Pentium CPU) would take a single person a colossal amount of time. Singlehandedly building the machines that help build the machines that help build the machines that help build the machines that help build the machines that let you build a modern computer would almost certainly not be possible within a single human lifetime.\n\nThe elements: It's nearly impossible for \"the elements\" to randomly create an iMac from a pile of dirt with the right composition. It's not literally, absolutely impossible, though. \n\nWhat god or gods you may and may believe in: Sure,why not? You can give god(s) any powers you want."
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[],
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9rncs7 | why do human eyelids follow the iris when looking down but there's no eyelid to follow when looking up? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9rncs7/eli5_why_do_human_eyelids_follow_the_iris_when/ | {
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"e8icqq7"
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"text": [
"Because your eyelids aren’t the same. You have a hood and the bottom one. The hood is far more mobile. The bottom one *does* follow your eyes up, just not as much. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
3yb92a | how do windows registry cleaners decide what to remove? | What is considered a useless entry? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3yb92a/eli5_how_do_windows_registry_cleaners_decide_what/ | {
"a_id": [
"cybzyju"
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"score": [
8
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"text": [
"Some basic things right off the bat are references to .dll files that are no longer there. For example if you uninstalled a program and the registry had entries pointing towards a now removed .dll file that's considered useless. Another one would be having an entry that references a filetype that the cleaner determines is no longer used by your system. So if you had something like Audacity and your registry kept track of what program to use to open their filetype, then you uninstalled Audacity, but the registry entry to open that file was still there, your cleaner would want to get rid of that.\n\nI can't really remember what some of the other basic ones are, but I do know that a lot of cleaners have loose parameters as to what they should delete so they can *outperform* their competitors by removing more *garbage* from the system. This is why it's important to always backup your registry even if you don't think anything could go wrong.\n\nOne more thing a lot of people speculate as to whether a registry cleaner actually speeds up anything and if it's worth the risk for your average end user. Either way do your research and make backups."
]
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[]
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5rmpwz | what is a band and when does a band go from being a band to being an orchestra? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5rmpwz/eli5_what_is_a_band_and_when_does_a_band_go_from/ | {
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"\nUsually, a band does not have stringed instruments. \n\nA band would consist of brass instruments, like trumpets and trombones, and woodwind instruments such as flutes, saxophones and clarinets. \n\nOrchestras are primarily made up of stringed instruments, such as violin, viola and cello. Brass and woodwinds are also sometimes included in an orchestra.\n"
]
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[]
] |
||
5lzq4h | why do wedding dresses turn yellow after a period of time? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5lzq4h/eli5_why_do_wedding_dresses_turn_yellow_after_a/ | {
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"Many white things turn yellow over time. Generally it's the result of sunlight or oxidation. White cotton generally gets its white color from being bleached and washed with fabric whiteners.\n\nFabric whiteners and brighteners are temporary dyes that add a slight blueish tint to the wash. Modern ones use optical brighteners _URL_0_\n\nIn the old days people used Reckitt’s Blue, which was a blue bar of soap, which was scrapped and the flakes added the wash. It coated clothes in a blue powder that made yellowish clothes look white at least until the powder fell off from wear.\n\nEdit: minerals like iron in the water, makeup and sweat also make white clothes turn yellowish."
]
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[
"https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_brightener"
]
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||
7o0gzn | why is there so much room in food packaging? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7o0gzn/eli5_why_is_there_so_much_room_in_food_packaging/ | {
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"To avoid crushing your food. The packaging can be squished a bit until the pressurized air can support whatever is crushing it.\n\nIf your chip bag was 100% chips it would be 1/3 crumbs."
]
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[]
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||
54r3og | during a police interrogation, can you actually get away with not saying anything until you're provided with a lawyer? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/54r3og/eli5_during_a_police_interrogation_can_you/ | {
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"The fifth amendment allows for you to not incriminate yourself. The sixth amendment gives you right to council",
"The amendment that protects that is the 5th. What's really happening is that the person is choosing to remain silent until their attorney is present so that the attorney can help them choose what to say.\n\nCops aren't quite as useless during that time as they show in TV, they could try to persuade or trick the person into saying things without an attorney present, but most of the time it's easier and faster to just get them their attorney. ",
"Depends on where you live, but I assume you are talking about the United States.\n\nIn the US, the sixth amendment to the constitution says the following:\n\n > In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.\n\nBrewer v. Williams (1979) held that once adversarial proceedings have begun against a defendant, he has a right to legal representation when the government interrogates him. \n\nSo basically, yes, it works like it does on TV. At least, it does in the States.\n\nNow, in practical matters, the police are allowed to lie to you. There's nothing stopping them from trying to convince you that you don't need a lawyer. You could say to them something like \"I think I need a lawyer,\" and they could say something like \"Why do you need a lawyer? Lawyers are for bad guys. You aren't a bad guy, are you? We just want to get a bit of information\"",
"Not exactly. The police are prohibited from asking you questions at that point, and if they do ask you questions anyway, they can't use the information they gain from those questions against you. \n\nBut, there are gray areas. For example, the cops might keep talking to each other, and if you respond argue that you implicitly revoked your request. \n\nIf you are interested in the strategies cops use and their legal context, I really cannot recommend this video enough: _URL_0_",
"Legally, you can get away without saying anything regardless of whether you have a lawyer or not. You never have to talk to the police.\n\nIf you request a lawyer, the police have to stop asking you questions about the underlying case until you have a lawyer present. They can still hold you and generally make small talk, but the interrogation is supposed to stop.\n\nRealistically, this is what happens most of the time. Sometimes police may say that someone never requested a lawyer or purposefully miss a request, but that usually ends up hurting their case because if they get caught any evidence they obtained will be suppressed.\n\nEdit: Since it has caused confusion, I simply meant there's no law requiring you to answer police beyond basic identifying information. I wasn't trying to comment on the admissibility of your silence as evidence. Your silence can be admitted as evidence against you if you voluntarily talk to police or are read your Miranda rights and then don't affirmatively invoke the right to remain silent. If you are arrested, the best thing you can do for your legal case is say \"I'm invoking my right to remain silent and I want a lawyer\" and nothing else (until you get your lawyer).\n",
"Yes. Don't say anything. The most information you're ever required to give (depending on your state's Stop & Identify statute) is your name and date of birth.\n\nSource: Am attorney.",
"You don't have to talk to the police whether or not you have a lawyer. In fact it's in your best interest not to, because they are trying to build a case against you, not help you. The police rely on the ignorance of the accused who don't know they don't have to talk, along with people who think they can bullshit somebody who does interrogations for a living.",
"Immediately say, I want my counsel. Close your eyes and take a nap till the attorney arrives.",
"_URL_0_\n\nWhat you need to know, from a law professor and a cop. \n\nShort answer: do not, under any circumstances, speak to the police. ",
"In theory? Absolutely. No government actor may compel you to say anything that might incriminate you, and in practice, this means that the only thing you are ever *required* to say to the police is your name, address, etc.--and even that isn't necessarily a universal requirement. \n\nIn practice? Well. . . maybe. In the long run, the police are actually subject to surprisingly tight limits on what they'll be able to do if they intend to prosecute you. But in the short run? It's just you and them in that box, and guess which one of you has all the power? \n\nHint: **not you**.\n\nThe police aren't *supposed* to beat the crap out of you for not cooperating. The police aren't *supposed* to let you sit in an interrogation room for 24 hours without letting you go to the bathroom. The police aren't *supposed* to just let you rot in holding with no notice to the outside world until you talk. The police aren't *supposed* to deliberately lie to you about your constitutional rights. \n\nI think we can all recognize that if a police officer decided he wanted to do any of those things. . . he probably could. He'd probably face some kind of negative consequences down the road, the most likely being that any criminal case he was trying to make against you would get thrown out or at least rendered much more difficult for the prosecution to win. He could even potentially face a civil rights lawsuit, exposing both him and his department to civil liability. It's even *just* possible that he could face employment sanctions, though police unions are pretty good at deflecting that sort of thing. But all of those remedies are down the road. The fact of the matter is that in the moment, when you're the one sitting in the police station being questioned, there is *nothing* you can do to enforce your rights, including the right to remain silent. \n\nSo, in very practical terms, while the police generally can't *make* you talk--even if they were to torture you, you could theoretically say nothing--they very much *can* make your life *incredibly* unpleasant if you don't. And though the law strongly disapproves of such tactics, the only remedies become available long after the situation has resolved itself one way or the other. \n\nEDIT: Lest anyone think I'm painting too stark and depressing a picture here, remember that the very same thing could be said about why the person sitting next to you on the bus doesn't whip out a knife and open your jugular. If they decided to do that, and caught you by surprise, you're dead. End of story. Ultimately, there is nothing *physically preventing* people from doing all kinds of unbelievably heinous stuff. But, for whatever reason (and believe me, there are a *lot* of reasons), *most* people act more-or-less decently *most* of the time. And ultimately, society is basically what happens when we start expecting people to do that. So no, there's nothing to physically prevent the police from torturing suspects in their custody. . . but that's no different from any other situation, when it comes right down to it. The laws of the legal system aren't like the laws of physics: people break them all the time.",
"You need to remove the idea that police are 'helpful' in any way or form once theyre conducting a case/investigation on **you**. This is important, because all cops arent bad and yes they are humans too, but its their job to put whomever behind bars or write tickets. \n \nThere's also a time and a place to say you want a lawyer present and that is actually *after* you have been detained/arrested. Not while youre being stopped for some traffic ticket. Merely refusing to give your name is enough reason for a cop to take you in, so dont just immediately start being a dick for no reason but at the same time dont incriminate yourself by saying you have drugs in the car or something. When dealing with police you need to be very careful about what you say but at the same time be courteous. ",
"Officer here. \n\nYes. Officers/detectives would have to stop questioning you immediately, but it is HIGHLY unlikely that it would change your status. You would almost certainly remain in custody and be booked. We tend not to place people in \"custody\" without probable cause to arrest.\n\nI'd also like to point out that despite what you see in movies, police are not lawfully required to read you miranda rights following an arrest. This doesn't negate the arrest. \n\nIn fact, 95% of arrests will not involve miranda rights because it is a patrol officer who has no interest in talking to you or questioning you further. \n\nEven IF, an officer violates miranda, and questions you about the crime without advising you of your rights, that only excludes statements that you made following your arrest. All the other evidence gathered and probable cause can still be used against you in court, provided it was not a \"fruit of the poisonous tree\" and obtained from information provided during the unlawful questioning. \n\nFurther, if an officer is not questioning you about the offense, and you make a statement of guilt or culpability, it can still be used against you as an \"excited utterance\".\n\nSay for instance I arrest you for robbery. I have three eyewitnesses who pointed you out on the scene and I recovered a gun from you following a terry frisk. As I'm transporting you to jail, I ask \"Is there anyone you want me to call to come pick up your car?\" And you respond with \"My wife, man she's going to kill me when she finds out I robbed that guy.\" That statement would be an excited utterance and permissable. ",
"In the UK, the caution we give when we arrest someone is - \n\n\"You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.\"\n\nSo basically, you don't have to say anything until court. However, if you're asked during interview why you did something and don't answer, it can be mentioned in court that you had the chance to give your reasoning in a previous interview. If you were asked then, why didn't you give the answer you're giving now? That can affect how the court sees you in terms of your integrity and how they judge you.\n\nWhen booked into custody, you're told that you have the right to a lawyer. If you don't have access to a lawyer, one will be provided for you. You can refuse this if for any reason you don't want one.",
"In america, you're never under any obligation to talk to the police. You don't even need to ask for a lawyer. You have a 5th amendment right against being compelled to testify against yourself. Otherwise known as \"the right to remain silent\"",
"There are many details, some of which other commenters here have gotten correct and some of which they have gotten wrong. There are also debatable issues. The takeaway for you is this, though:\n\nIf you are stopped, tell the police your name. From that point on, the only word out of your mouth is \"lawyer.\" If you try to expand that to \"Get me a lawyer\" or \"I want a lawyer,\" the police might hear you say \"I think I want a lawyer\" which has very different implications. So don't expand it. Say \"lawyer.\" Say \"lawyer\" and nothing but \"lawyer.\" If that is the only word you say, then there is nothing the police can legally do. They don't have to get you a lawyer right away, but they also cannot get information from you. Say the word \"lawyer\" and then shut up.",
"Yes, don't talk to cops. You are innocent until proven guilty. If you talk to a cop, now you have given them a straw man (your alibi) to attack, vs actually proving you were at the scene of the crime. This is how innocent people get locked up. They have nothing to hide so they have no reason not to talk to the cops. Suddenly their alibi doesn't check out and now they're a suspect and convicted.\n\n40 minutes on why you shouldn't talk to cops.\n_URL_0_",
"In the UK, you are offered a solicitor BEFORE questioning unless you explicitly state to the desk Sgt that you don't want one. If you get mid-interview and ask for one you will be provided one and the interview will be terminated before speaking again. I conducted hundreds of criminal interviews and the only time I ever thought 'Oh shit' when they asked for a solicitor was when I first started CID. Otherwise most of them keep their mouths shut during the interview and will only ever speak when they have noticed a glaringly obvious thing. PM me if you want to ask anything. \n\nEdit: To clarify in the UK you wouldn't have the situation where you say \"I ain't saying nuffink till my lawyer comes\" because you wouldn't ask questions to a crook when he already asked for one. ",
"You have the right to remain silent, BECAUSE anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.\n\nIn short: yes, you can. They can hoot and holler and make it seem like your days are numbered all they like - but if you feel as though you're 100% innocent, and you want to speak with your lawyer first, then remain silent.",
"Short answer: yes. You can sit there and stare at the ceiling and never make eye contact. It's your Constitutional right to take a nap in the interrogation room. \n\nPersonal advice: As a military police officer, if you're ever ever ever ever EVER brought in for any sort of questioning- whether you have a rock solid alibi, you know nothing about the crime, you witnessed the crime, or you ate Cheerios near the crime scene back in 4th grade- ALWAYS exercise your Constitutional right to have an attorney present and keep your mouth shut until your lawyer gets there. \n\nCops, detectives, and anyone performing the questioning/interrogation will do ANYTHING to get you to say what they want to hear. They most likely have an idea painted in their mind of what went down, and are trying to get that story told. They can legally lie to you, give you food/drink, and deceive you pretty much any way they see fit in order for you to get you to say what they want you to say. \n\nJust say you want a lawyer present, and then keep your mouth shut until the lawyer arrives. That is your best course of action, and frankly, it would be stupid to not have one there. It may cost you a little time on the front end, but it could end up saving you from spending that time in a prison cell and the some.\n\nTl;dr: ALWAYS HAVE A LAWYER PRESENT WHEN BEING QUESTIONED BY THE POLICE. IT IS YOUR RIGHT AS A FREE AMERICAN.",
"I had a lawyer once tell me, \"if you're ever arrested, put my business card between your lips and keep your mouth shut.\"",
"Always been amused when I'm informed of my right to remain silent then when I choose to observe such right am told I will be in more trouble for not talking or things will become worse.",
"Legally, yes. Also it's what you SHOULD do.\n\nAnything you say can and will be used *against* you.\n\nYour testimony to the police cannot be used to help defend you. Say \"I wish to exercise my right to remain silent, and request an attorney.\" Then stfu.",
"Here's something that never occurred to me. My partner is a New Zealand citizen and I'm American. If we were in the States and both ended up beng accused of something what is the basis for her legal protection? The constitution only protects citizens, doesn't it? Sorry f it seems like a dumb question, but reading the previous comments got me thinking.",
"What a lot of people are citing here is this [video](_URL_0_), which is a very good explanation of what you're really asking. Also, I think everyone should watch it, especially if you live in the US.",
"With the caveat that Courts can weasel around things for police to an extreme degree, yes. It's the sixth Amendment, and a case interpreting it.\n\nOnce this right is invoked, the police are no longer allowed to speak to you without your attorney present-it is specifically designed to end the interrogation. \n\nThis only applies to individuals who have been charged with a crime, and is not the same thing as a person's Miranda rights (which have different rules).\n\nThere is no requirement to ever speak to the police, however, so they are about as helpless as this in almost any case.",
"I am a Detective in the U.S. and can speak for myself and other Detective's from my Agency. \n\nIf someone is in custody and are not free to leave, we will advise them of their rights per Miranda. If someone states that they want a lawyer, then the interrogation/interview is over. \n\nIt really is that simple. ",
"You don't have to say a word to the cops.\n\nYou still have to comply with orders. Walk over here, hands behind your back, etc. But you have the right to remain silent in all circumstances. Even in court, you can plead the 5th",
"I was taught by my brother. Identify yourself and when asked a question your only response should be \"lawyer\". For example:\n\nPO \"Would you like some water?\"\n\nYou \"lawyer\"\n\nPO \"Is the sky blue?\"\n\nYou \"lawyer\"\n\nSo on and so forth. Now it's important to stress that you will get fucked with by the police. Games aside, you keep saying your favorite word.",
"YES!! (assuming you are in the United States).\n\nIf you ever, ever, ever, ever find yourself being interrogated by the police, under absolutely no circumstance should you say anything other than \"I would like a lawyer\", it doesn't matter how innocent you are.\n\nPolice can, and have been known to, falsify statements or take statements out of context during an interview that are later used against someone in a court of law. Don't say a single word to the police without a lawyer present. Further, don't fall for any common police interrogation tactics, either. If they tell you it makes you look guilty, just remember that it's better to look guilty on the streets than innoncent in a jail cell. If they haven't actually arrested you, they may only detain you for a few hours (actual time varies from state to state), so don't fall for \"Well the lawyer can't get here until tomorrow so you'll have to wait in a holding cell overnight.\" They can't legally hold you without making an arrest.",
"Once had.a cop at a traffic stop say \"mind if I search your car?\" I said \"yes.\" He proceeded to begin reaching into my car shining a flashlight. I said \"Stop. To clarify, yes, I do mind if you search my vehicle.\" He stoppee, and seemed frustrated his word game didn't work. \n\nFor clarification, he was going to attempt to search whether I answered \"yes\" or \"no\" to his question if \"I minded\" him searching my car.",
"See this YouTube by a lawyer. It's awesome. There is also a part two with a detective. _URL_0_\n",
"Never talk to cops without a lawyer present. The only exceptions to this are: Fuck you, there are no exceptions. Ask if you're free to go VERY politely. If they say no, ask what you're being charged with while obeying commands...again VERY politely. Once charged invoke the 5th amendment and demand a lawyer over and over to every question they ask no matter what it is. Never deviate from this no matter how much of a pig piece of shit they are by trying to incriminate you for using your Rights, which is nearly all of them.\n\nTheir job is to meet an unofficial quota of enforcement, which means currying a certain amount of revenue in citations, or throwing a certain number of people, innocent or guilty, into concrete boxes in a given period of time.\n\nThe rich, powerful and their fellow enforcers are nearly immune to the laws they pretend to value. Resist.",
"to all the responses, I am confused. why do police want to get innocent people in trouble by manipulating them to talk about singing they did not do.",
"It was ruled semi recently that you can't simply stay silent, you have to evoke your fifth amendment right by saying something along the lines of \"I wish to evoke my right to the fifth amendment.\" Although that may only be in court rooms idk",
"My grandfather was an NYPD homicide detective and his advice to me was \"Never trust a cop\". He also told me to always invoke my right not to speak to police and ask for a lawyer immediately. His point was that the average citizen is incapable of protecting their rights in the face of a trained detective.",
"Cop here: \n\nIf you are in a room we can't ask you anything and most departments will not allow us to stay in the room/pressure you once you've asked for a lawyer. \n\n",
"_URL_0_. \n\nNot a lawyer, but...\n\nNote point two, further down, the right to refuse to say anything.\n\nNow, this is Massachusetts. Also, interrogation implies you've been arrested. There is some precedence for denying Miranda depending on the circumstances of the crime/event, i.e. Terrorist attack. \n\nBut it's hard to compel a citizen to speak, I would believe, unless encouragement is used (that could reverse a conviction).",
"Former cop here. First off, being a public servant is not what it once was. The entire climate has shifted in the last 20 years for the worse. That being said, even the most innocuous statement made by a suspect, even in a traffic stop, can be used against you and to the advantage of the prosecution. Remember, police and prosecutors are VERY good with knowing the law. The average citizen...not so much. So if you're ever brought in for questioning or accused of a crime it will behoove you to have an attorney present and with you, on your side. There's many ways to incriminate yourself without even knowing it. Defense lawyers are in tune with this. ",
"Ask yourself, \"What do I have to gain from talking to police?\" The answer is nothing. You are not going to talk yourself out of trouble. Even an honest person will be tripped up by making a statement and having a faulty recall later. You risk nothing by keeping shut. If you are charged with anything, give your attorney a blank slate to work with. Let your first statement be on the witness stand if possible. Do not risk incriminating yourself or making a prior inconsistent statement that can be challenged in court.",
"I am an American and I have told my kids that no matter the situation, if they are questioned about their involvement in a crime, except the obvious like a speeding ticket, ask for an attorney and shut up. Even if they are 100% innocent. You never discuss any potentially illegal activity with a police officer unless you had nothing to do with it. ",
"Let's say I get arrested, and I am now being interrogated. I decide the wisest thing to do is to plead the 5th, and request a lawyer. Is there any ways possible that a police officer or detective can pretend to be a lawyer in order to get information out of me? It seems like police are allowed to say anything to you to get information, and that would be something I worry about.",
"I was advised of my rights got put in contact with legal council and his advice was say nothing. I probably would ha e if he hadn't then started talking about family guy and king of the hill ",
"Yes, on my state the laws might vary. I was in court a couple weeks ago, the officer I had tried to ask me questions, I wasn't all there and barely comprehensible but that was one of the things I did say he left me alone and started questioning staff around him, doctors and nurses. Who did answer his questions but was later asked by his superiors to get a warrant, I'm not sure how HEPA works in these cases but I know he didn't put things the doctors said in my favor, only what affected my case negatively. My case went good as for the legality of some of those things it might be questionable, but if you're not sure always use your rights to your advantage most officers want an arrest and have to justify it, it's usually never in your favor to talk. I'm not saying officers are bad, but if they're investigating you or questioning you get an attorney, things always go smoother that way and you don't burn yourself with your own words.",
"Yes. The police WILL lie. Don't believe a word they say and dont say a word other than, I'd like to call my lawyer.",
"During any police questioning, the best thing you can do, is not say a word. If you want a lawyer, clearly state you wish to speak to a lawyer. Do not answer any followup questions, or engage in conversation of any kind. Even if you think it to be totally separate, do not say a word. Period, end of story. \n\nDo not talk to anyone else if you are being held. Cop or not. The next conversations you should have are with your lawyer and only your lawyer. \n\nSo to answer your question. Yes you can. No matter what the police say to you, you have the ABSOLUTE right to stay silent and should ALWAYS avail yourself of that right.",
"Basically yes, but unlike TV or movies, they do not need to read you your rights upon arrest. It must be done before interview or interrogation. In the shows where they slam the guy on the hood and start with the \"you have the right to remain silent\" total bullshit. At that point if they start talking in the back of the car and later claim they weren't read thier rights, we'll the cop didn't ask any questions. It's considered a spontaneous statement. Most cops will advise them of their rights if they start to talk to cover their ass.",
"It depends on the state/country you're in. As a general rule the only things you have to do is confirm your identity and current address, everything else should be answered with \"no comment\". The police aren't your friends they see you as a means for a promotion. \nOver here there's no clear cut interview termination if you ask for a lawyer, just politely refuse to answer their questions. They will tell you if you're being charged with an actual crime.",
"It should be noted that in some U.S. states a person can be detained long enough to verify their identity. If one is in one of those states it's probably worth identifying one's self if asked.",
"Okay, a related question.\n\nI'm in the US of A. I'm in the lower middle class income (or upper-lower class). I can't afford to keep a lawer on retainer. I need a court-appointed attorney. Can I have one before they try to interrogate me, or do I have to stay in jail until my arrainment?",
"Canadian here that was detained. You actually never have to say anything. Even with the presence of a lawyer. Lawyers always reinforce to just shut your mouth, by talking you can only add evidence not take it away.",
"In the U.K.one if the first things they say to you upon arrest is \"you have the right to remain silent. You have the right you a lawyer.\"\n\nAlso... NEVER TALK TO THE POLICE!\n\nHere, you legally only need to say your name and address. Do this, nothing more.\n\n",
"I highly recommend watching this. It is 45 mins but worth it. A law professor and a polices investigators thoughts on talking to the police. \n_URL_0_",
"Absolutely, you don't have to say a fucking word if you don't want to. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to (must have been dozen upon dozens) who talked themselves into jail. You have the right to remain silent, use it. Cops are not your friend in an adversarial setting.",
"Warning: Police are **master manipulators**. They've done this before. You haven't. Even if you've found yourself chained to a steel table in jail multiple times in your life, the police still have done this hundreds more times than you. Even the first time an investigator goes into interview, he's coming in with years of professional training just for this purpose.\n\nYou will not succeed at psyching out or duping the police. They will talk you into a corner. You will feel the pressure, and you will cave and you will talk.\n\nAs a man who has been jailed for things he's done wrong, and for things he *didn't* do, I say from experience, Keep Your Mouth Shut.\n\nEnjoy the company of the voice inside your head. The sound of a cop's voice should cause you to recoil deeper into your own thoughts. Humans are social creatures, and law enforcement knows how to exploit that. Sitting in a steel room for an hour will affect you more than you imagine. It's so very easy to talk. Just Shut Up.",
"To be clear: If you don't say anything, you likely won't be provided with a lawyer.\n\nBe clear, speak up, demand a lawyer and say nothing else.",
"With that said, how many people would recommend having own lawyer on retainer? And at what point is one able to call their lawyer? Are they required to let you call lawyer within let's say one hour of arrival but can let you sit pleading the fifth for 59 minutes while they keep asking you questions? ",
"Is this true in Canada too?",
"You can refuse the entire interrogation. Story time! Cops came knocking at like 10am looking for me. Someone had done some burglaries on drug dealers. I answer the door, told them to fuck off. They offered super nicely to take me to the station, ask me some questions. Told them to fuck off. Over the next month police seemed to be everywhere. Pulled over for everything. Caught drinking in public. Detectives dropping off business cards, telling me it's a matter of time. Unmarked cars outside my house. They threatened to mess up my dad's job. Eventually they just gave up. I never answered a question and never got interviewed. I was the one who did the burglaries."
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294qmp | why can sports teams, sports channels on tv, or sporting news on the internet reveal the exact details of sports players' injuries if hipaa exists? | I thought there existed patient-doctor confidentiality? Why don't you see players suing journalists, teams, websites, newspapers, etc. over violations of HIPAA? Are they exempt for some reason? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/294qmp/eli5_why_can_sports_teams_sports_channels_on_tv/ | {
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"HIPAA only restricts certain types of organizations from revealing health information (basically healthcare providers and insurers, plus their agents). The Hospital---without a release from the patient---couldn't say much of anything about a famous person's injury or treatment, but the coach or the team can. It is also almost certainly part of any athlete's contract that they consent to share health information with the team, probably with only a limited expectation of privacy in return, if any. ",
"It was said already: Consent. If the player decides not to give consent, the team can't say anything. Contracts that the player signs to be on a team might already include the fact that the team can provide medical information",
"Gambling is big business and point spreads need to be accurate. An injured star would affect the point spread. In the past the people running the sports betting were not people to be trifled with. Well, they probably still shouldn't be trifled with...\n\nAlso, it gives the people who report on the sport something to talk about on TV which generates Ad revenue.\n\nAlso, not all teams doctors are actually doctors and don't follow HIPAA guidelines.\n\nThere is at least one college football team that I know of that doesn't release an injury report because it is expected and not mandatory."
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2132j4 | the protective qualities of charcoal | Activated charcoal can be used to help those who have ingested harmful substances. Suits embedded with charcoal are used to protect against chemical/biological agents in the military. Putting charcoal under the soil of a potted plant can keep fungus and other undesirable pests from growing - so what is it about charcoal that makes it protective? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2132j4/eli5_the_protective_qualities_of_charcoal/ | {
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"It is extremely porous and has a large capacity for adsorption, meaning substances (often organic macromolecules in the situations you describe) can stick to its surface and be bound up. Its doesnt have as high a capacity as some other materials, but is cheap and can be made with varying pore sizes to suit the substance(s) being targeted. "
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2n09me | what happens if you're traveling faster than the speed of sound in a jet and you try to talk? | Would be any different if you where traveling the same speed outside of the jet and tried to talk? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2n09me/eli5_what_happens_if_youre_traveling_faster_than/ | {
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"Inside the jet? Nothing interesting. The air around you is not moving any more than it normally would. If you're outside the jet at supersonic speeds, you have bigger issues than hearing your own voice."
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2i17i3 | why is bronze never used in cook-ware? | I don't think I've ever even *heard* of bronze being used for things other than statues, weapons, and armor. Cookware, tools, and other more mundane objects always seem to be made of either copper or iron. Why? When bronze was invented why didn't people make tools and cookware out of it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2i17i3/eli5_why_is_bronze_never_used_in_cookware/ | {
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"Copper makes fine cookware, and the additional hardness offered by a bronze alloy isn't really needed for the application."
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4p0bap | why are people who watch cartoons looked down upon for being childish? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4p0bap/eli5_why_are_people_who_watch_cartoons_looked/ | {
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"Historically, most cartoons were made for children. Not everyone knows that there are now many animated films made for adults, so they get confused and imagine you're watching a children's show.",
"Your friends are idiots but it's because in the US, animated TV and movies are generally children's movies. In Japan there is lots of animated content for all ages, so they may be confused and think your watching kids movies and crying your eyes out. \n\nTotoro is a great movie but it *is* also a kid's movie. RWBY has it's fair share of \"juvenile\" humor and Gravity Falls, while super-fucking-deep is on Disney Channel. Reason to look down on you? No, but I can see why they might think you watch a lot of kid's stuff.\n\nNow if you said Princess Mononoke and they said *that* was for kids.... they are nuts. ",
"People like to feel superior. It's just ignorance, arrogance or both. \n\nPeople reacted the same way in the 80's and 90's when you were an adult who played video games. Until every teenage girl in the known universe got addicted to Farmville. \n\nIt's still all too common with Anime and Japanese media. You have a copy of Princess Mononoke on your shelf and suddenly you're an Otaku. \n\nDid this person watch Toy Story? Did they like it? Then then can suck it. ",
"Because most cartoons are made for children, or have content that people, as a culture, have defined as being immature or childish.\n\nAlso important is the attitude that the viewer takes towards the shows they're watching. An adult might watch whatever show, and then forget about it and move on with their lives. There aren't a lot of bedroom posters, figurines, etc. for Law and Order, or the news, or Breaking Bad. Adults who are notorious for watching cartoons tend to end up being Bronies, or anime fans with figurines that look like naked 8 year old girls, or the asian equivalent of superman with lasers and flight. Etc. \n\nThe silent majority who enjoy things like Archer, or Bob's Burgers get lumped in because the others are the ones that people see and can readily identify and \"label\" as \"adult people who watch cartoons\"",
"Because watching a speedy car go in a circle is the adult thing to do, not get involved in a deep story with character development."
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1hqoio | why the japanese empire invaded small islands during ww2 and didn't have a larger mainland campaign | Watching The Pacific by HBO and wondering why the small islands were so important over larger islands or mainland accumulation. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1hqoio/eli5_why_the_japanese_empire_invaded_small/ | {
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"You only hear about the island battles because that is were they fought Americans, and thus the only part of WW2 that is \"important\".\nThere were many battles fought on the mainland especially in China.",
"[This is what the pacific region looks like](_URL_0_). Notice all those tiny islands on the right side of the map like Wake and Iwo Jima? The ones that are so tiny you can only see their name.\n\nNow look at the scale at the bottom left of the map. The pacific is a huge region of open ocean, dotted by teeny tiny islands hundreds if not thousands of miles apart. It's also far away from any friendly allied ground.\n\nWhen you look at the pacific as a theater of war, all those tiny islands are strategic gold. You need those to establish your air strips and supply bases among other things. Air superiority is a wonderful thing but aircraft only have a limited action radius. The distance from Dover (England) to the German border is less than 250 miles. Compare that to the distances on that map of the pacific and you'll quickly realize why those tiny islands are so valuable to anyone trying to wage a war.\n\nIf they allies wanted a mainland foothold, they first needed to secure those islands. Both to make sure they had a good supply line and to deny those same islands to the enemy.\n\nFun detail. A lot of those islands had small, primitive human cultures who never had any contact with the outside world until some of the most technologically advanced civilizations started waging the biggest war the world had ever seen on their doorstep. Flooding their islands with modern food, clothes, medicine, weapons and more. After the war, the remoteness of these islands meant that all involved parties withdrew again leaving this bounty (and no explanation) behind for the locals. Who promptly constructed almost religion like cults called [cargo cults](_URL_1_).",
"The goal was to secure petroleum from Indonesia with outlying naval bases.\n\nThe land war in Manchuria didn't meet much resistance and Indochina fell pretty easily.\n\nAs always, Thailand cleverly sided with the victors …",
"It really depends on the point of view you're looking at the war from. For Japan, the war started at least in 1937 (the second Sino-Japanese War), and by that point they had taken Manchuria and Korea, and were fighting battles in mainland China regularly. \n\nWhen it came to war with the US, The Japanese knew that the US would win in a full out war, so they designed the attack on Pearl Harbor to be so shocking that the US would just negotiate an end to the oil embargo on Japan. But the opposite happened and the US went into full attack mode. \n\nThe Japanese used many of the smaller island battles as a possible chance for the last big, bloody battle that would finally get the US to negotiate an end to the war. But FDR had put into place a policy of unconditional surrender - meaning there was never going to be any negotiation, no matter how bloody the battles got.\n\nLike u/TheSecretMe said, the islands were strategic gold. Once the US took Saipan, the war was essentially over - it gave the US an airbase that was close enough for the B29 to bomb regularly.",
"They did have a large mainland campaign. It was called China.",
"As others have pointed out Japan had huge mainland operations. On average about 3/4 of the Japanese army was operating in mainland Asia, mostly China.\n\nThere were two reasons for this. First Japan was primarily worried about their traditional enemies China and Russia. So they kept the bulk of their forces positioned against them. In fact the whole point of the pacific campaign was to grab resources and create defensive depth so they could win the war with China. Second Japan never had enough sea transport to fully supply more than 10 divisions at a time. So they ended up with small forces, starving under supplied forces, forces relying on local supplies, or all the above."
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3rty6v | why don't more cell carriers enable wifi calling and texting? | It would save some load off of their cell towers.
It's definitely possible because I know US T-Mobile did it | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3rty6v/eli5_why_dont_more_cell_carriers_enable_wifi/ | {
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"They don't want to spend money that will make their telecoms towers obsolete. They'd still have to maintain them, but then having WiFi calling as well is just move investment for little benefit. What they gain in WiFi calling usage, they'd lose in cell tower usage. Essentially, what's the point?",
"I would love an answer to this. Just now realized it's not a feature for all carriers. I need it as I need my phone to work from home and my connection at home is nonexistent. My wifi is great though."
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77h5k0 | why doesnt food caught in your teeth for days make you sick from bacteria? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/77h5k0/eli5why_doesnt_food_caught_in_your_teeth_for_days/ | {
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"It can, especially people with heart disease. Son who had heart surgery has to take penicillin before going to the dentist every time.",
"There are a lot of bacteria in the mouth that are commonly referred to as the HACEK group. Two main ones to concern yourself with are Eikenella if you get bit by a human or Cardiobacterium if you get a tooth pulled, have severely rotting teeth or become unable to fight off infection (if you are getting treated for cancer) because it can cause heart damage. \n\nBut, specific to the revolving door of hundreds of types of different species of bacteria that may be ingested or stuck at any given moment..it is dependent on many variables. Three main things you would look for in that stuck foreign body would be is there one predominant bacteria beating out everything else? Are they creating toxins? Are they organisms consistently considered pathogenic?"
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fabhkn | if the different human races only interbreed with themselves, is it possible to make new species of humans? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fabhkn/eli5_if_the_different_human_races_only_interbreed/ | {
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"No, for the simple reason we are one species. What you might get is evolution and eventual speciation due to gene mutation, but that's as likely to happen in any sub-population.",
"Theoretically yes. In fact, generating new species becomes more likely the more you divide breeding pools. \n\nLet's leave aside the cultural idea of \"race,\" which is not a particularly useful biological concept. Let's say you're an all-powerful dictator who separates humans randomly into 2 groups. You declare that people may only reproduce with others in their group, and their children must reproduce within the group as well and so-on. \n\nOver time (a long period of time), each group will develop its own unique set of mutations that it propagates through reproduction, and they will never share these mutations by interbreeding. Eventually, you might find that people in the first group are so different from people in the second group that they couldn't reproduce even if they wanted to. That's when you've created a new species.\n\nThis is a high-level view of how speciation works in the wild. Except instead of a dictator, breeding pools are separated by physical barriers that are difficult to cross, like mountains or oceans. All that said, it's unlikely that humans will ever speciate again because modern society exposes us all to roughly the same evolutionary incentives. It doesn't matter if a certain kind of food or threat is more common in specific parts of the world. We will use travel, trade, and technology to even things out.",
"If you take *any* grouping of organisms and isolate them from the general population, over time evolution could possibly cause speciation to occur.\n\nHow long this takes (if it takes place at all) will depend heavily on the selective pressures that are in place that affect reproduction.\n\nEven if you isolate two groups reproductively, if the selective pressures are the same, then you can expect them to follow mostly the same evolutionary path, barring random genetic fluctuations.\n\nAnd while it is possible for even purely random fluctuations and mutations to result in speciation, it would take an extraordinarily long time for there to be any meaningful divergence. Even the most isolated uncontacted tribes, that probably haven't intermingled with outside populations for thousands (perhaps dozens or hundreds of thousands) of years, are still homo sapiens sapiens."
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lp7xe | why the fuck does my printer never do what i want it to? why doesn't my computer communicate with my printer as well as my other external devices? | Eg: _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lp7xe/eli5_why_the_fuck_does_my_printer_never_do_what_i/ | {
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"Lots of settings and things going on, and they're all made super cheap these days.",
"Ink is where the money's at. There is little quality control when it comes to printers. They are made cheaply by third-world country laborers.",
"I just bit the bullet and bought a commercial lazer for 300. been working fine for 5 years now. only downside is toner is 100 bucks. fuck you hp. ",
"My highest-voted submission was about this. Thousands of responses. Consensus: they're just shit.",
"Drivers are problematic. Companies often abandon support sooner than customers would want, which often means you're trying to print with a print driver that was written for an OS older than your own. Try getting a 15 year old device to print from Windows 7 64-bit, for example. Printing subsystems are notoriously finicky, and having your OS have to pretend it's working in a 32 bit environment, or that it's running XP adds the the likelihood of incompatibility.\n\nExtra software is even more problematic. Most consumer-grade printers come with a host of utilities, such as ink level monitors, \"enhanced\" printer drivers with supposedly more user-friendly output, software to help you buy ink the second you're out, special software to compose CD labels, etc. This software is usually supported for even less a period of time than the drivers for the hardware.\n\nHardware is problematic, particularly ink-based hardware. Ink can dry out and clog the pathways down which it travels.\n\nHardware is cheap. Almost all inexpensive consumer-grade printers are made to sell ink, not printers. Corners are cut, and hardware is rarely made to be any more reliable than what it takes to get it beyond its manufacturer warranty.\n\nThere is no business advantage in making a consumer grade printer that lasts 20 years, because customers will simply not vote with their dollars and punish them for it. For every customer a major manufacturer loses due to quality, it gains another from someone deciding that they will never buy some other manufacturer's product again. Currently, there are no companies that I know of making consumer-grade printers which have decided to make money on both the printer and the ink, which would allow them to price the ink more reasonably, and lower the total cost of ownership.\n\nInk, ink, ink. Another result of the economy of scale in consumer-grade printers being ink-based is that the quantity of ink per cartridge is reduced, the manufacturer often reports ink outage well before the fact to encourage early ink-buying, and consumers who take the manufacturers at their word often end up throwing away enough ink to get them through many more pages.\n\nHardware is infrequently used. This is related to ink, particularly. The best thing you can usually do for an ink-based printer is to use it regularly. The worst case scenario is often people who only print two or three times a year, particularly with photograph-quality printing.",
"There actually is no good reason. Yes, there are different 'languages' that a computer uses to speak to printers, but we have created and use so many new ones all the time, there's no real excuse for it.\n\nThere are also a lot of settings with a printer, but designers have worked on way more complex systems and made them simple and very easy to use. Especially since we do almost the exact same things almost all the time.\n\nWhat's very likely happening is that because the technology is so well understood, contracts are won by whoever bids the lowest and can undercut competitors resulting in a ton of corner cutting to get fat $200-400+ margins on printers (I mean they're always on sale or given out freely with cereal nowadays). I would then say it's actually politics and not programmer/design difficulty that result in terrible interfaces for printer companies like HP.\n\nThere's money to be made for someone to go out, somehow wrestle the various printer company's protocols, and then write a unifying easy to use single stop solution. The problem is that all the printer companies will probably resist.",
"As far as HP printers are concerned, the gents who engineer the hardware never talk to the gents who engineer the software. This is supposedly true with everyone. ",
"ELI5: Why do people ask this question every hour?",
"I use an HP Printer with whatever driver comes with Ubuntu (HP-lip I assume).\n\nPlugged it in, within 3 seconds it was ready to go. It reports ink levels, I can run cleaning programs, and I can choose the print quality from draft to best.\n\nAs long as it's plugged in, it works at least as well as, say, my external eSATA hard drive.",
"_URL_0_\nWatch this documentary to learn why, they exactly use printers as one of the example.\n\n",
"Join us at[ r/printers](_URL_0_) brother.",
"TLDR; printers have always fucking sucked, even before the manufacturers lit on to their 'great idea' of \"sell printers cheap, make it up on ink\".",
"Sometimes it's due to stupid production decisions that the consumer is never supposed to know about.\n\nOnce I bought a Kodak printer for college. The ink was cheap and it worked pretty well for an inkjet. Then suddenly it stopped printing black. My mother and I called tech support after running all the diagnostics and they said the print head was clogged and it was a common problem. They offered to replace it for free, and did. After a bit of prying on the phone (the tech support guy tried to dumb it down for her and didn't want to tell her any details) - she had to tell him that she works in a development and production department at a tech-based company as well (she does) to get a straight answer. Apparently they had designed the print heads for a certain type of ink, then at the last minute switched the black ink they sold to a cheaper alternative with larger pigments. Those pigments turned out to cause a major print head clogging problem.\n\nSometimes your troubles are just the result of someone's stupid decision to save money in manufacturing. They should have either kept the more expensive ink or waited to release the things until they had redesigned the print head. But they decided it would be less trouble to field tech support calls and replace the print heads for people who complained. Sigh...",
"The same reason a CD burner is faultier than an iPod: More moving parts means more that can go wrong.",
"I hate printers. In fact I have the touch of death for printers made by Lexmark, any Lexmark printer I touch dies within 30 days.\n\nOwned two Lexmark printers, both of them died one month after I touched them.\n\nWorked at a Walmart the lady said go get that paper out of the printer for me I saw it was lexmark I warned her of my lexmark touch of death. She said that was silly they have had that printer forever and its always been good. I say It will break in a month, I touch it to get the paper out of it. One month later I walk into her office shes fiddling with the printer I say \"whats wrong\" she replies \"its broken\" I tell her \"Told you so.\" I was never allowed to touch their printers again.",
"\"ELI5: Why the fuck does my printer...\"\n\nWhat kind of language is that for a 5 year old?\nAnswer me young man!",
"That's a brilliant question! I was just looking for printers on Amazon and couldn't help but notice almost zero printers that had more than 3 out of 5 stars. If Automobiles were as reliable as inkjet printers, I'm pretty sure the entire world would be unemployed.",
"Lots of settings and things going on, and they're all made super cheap these days.",
"Ink is where the money's at. There is little quality control when it comes to printers. They are made cheaply by third-world country laborers.",
"I just bit the bullet and bought a commercial lazer for 300. been working fine for 5 years now. only downside is toner is 100 bucks. fuck you hp. ",
"My highest-voted submission was about this. Thousands of responses. Consensus: they're just shit.",
"Drivers are problematic. Companies often abandon support sooner than customers would want, which often means you're trying to print with a print driver that was written for an OS older than your own. Try getting a 15 year old device to print from Windows 7 64-bit, for example. Printing subsystems are notoriously finicky, and having your OS have to pretend it's working in a 32 bit environment, or that it's running XP adds the the likelihood of incompatibility.\n\nExtra software is even more problematic. Most consumer-grade printers come with a host of utilities, such as ink level monitors, \"enhanced\" printer drivers with supposedly more user-friendly output, software to help you buy ink the second you're out, special software to compose CD labels, etc. This software is usually supported for even less a period of time than the drivers for the hardware.\n\nHardware is problematic, particularly ink-based hardware. Ink can dry out and clog the pathways down which it travels.\n\nHardware is cheap. Almost all inexpensive consumer-grade printers are made to sell ink, not printers. Corners are cut, and hardware is rarely made to be any more reliable than what it takes to get it beyond its manufacturer warranty.\n\nThere is no business advantage in making a consumer grade printer that lasts 20 years, because customers will simply not vote with their dollars and punish them for it. For every customer a major manufacturer loses due to quality, it gains another from someone deciding that they will never buy some other manufacturer's product again. Currently, there are no companies that I know of making consumer-grade printers which have decided to make money on both the printer and the ink, which would allow them to price the ink more reasonably, and lower the total cost of ownership.\n\nInk, ink, ink. Another result of the economy of scale in consumer-grade printers being ink-based is that the quantity of ink per cartridge is reduced, the manufacturer often reports ink outage well before the fact to encourage early ink-buying, and consumers who take the manufacturers at their word often end up throwing away enough ink to get them through many more pages.\n\nHardware is infrequently used. This is related to ink, particularly. The best thing you can usually do for an ink-based printer is to use it regularly. The worst case scenario is often people who only print two or three times a year, particularly with photograph-quality printing.",
"There actually is no good reason. Yes, there are different 'languages' that a computer uses to speak to printers, but we have created and use so many new ones all the time, there's no real excuse for it.\n\nThere are also a lot of settings with a printer, but designers have worked on way more complex systems and made them simple and very easy to use. Especially since we do almost the exact same things almost all the time.\n\nWhat's very likely happening is that because the technology is so well understood, contracts are won by whoever bids the lowest and can undercut competitors resulting in a ton of corner cutting to get fat $200-400+ margins on printers (I mean they're always on sale or given out freely with cereal nowadays). I would then say it's actually politics and not programmer/design difficulty that result in terrible interfaces for printer companies like HP.\n\nThere's money to be made for someone to go out, somehow wrestle the various printer company's protocols, and then write a unifying easy to use single stop solution. The problem is that all the printer companies will probably resist.",
"As far as HP printers are concerned, the gents who engineer the hardware never talk to the gents who engineer the software. This is supposedly true with everyone. ",
"ELI5: Why do people ask this question every hour?",
"I use an HP Printer with whatever driver comes with Ubuntu (HP-lip I assume).\n\nPlugged it in, within 3 seconds it was ready to go. It reports ink levels, I can run cleaning programs, and I can choose the print quality from draft to best.\n\nAs long as it's plugged in, it works at least as well as, say, my external eSATA hard drive.",
"_URL_0_\nWatch this documentary to learn why, they exactly use printers as one of the example.\n\n",
"Join us at[ r/printers](_URL_0_) brother.",
"TLDR; printers have always fucking sucked, even before the manufacturers lit on to their 'great idea' of \"sell printers cheap, make it up on ink\".",
"Sometimes it's due to stupid production decisions that the consumer is never supposed to know about.\n\nOnce I bought a Kodak printer for college. The ink was cheap and it worked pretty well for an inkjet. Then suddenly it stopped printing black. My mother and I called tech support after running all the diagnostics and they said the print head was clogged and it was a common problem. They offered to replace it for free, and did. After a bit of prying on the phone (the tech support guy tried to dumb it down for her and didn't want to tell her any details) - she had to tell him that she works in a development and production department at a tech-based company as well (she does) to get a straight answer. Apparently they had designed the print heads for a certain type of ink, then at the last minute switched the black ink they sold to a cheaper alternative with larger pigments. Those pigments turned out to cause a major print head clogging problem.\n\nSometimes your troubles are just the result of someone's stupid decision to save money in manufacturing. They should have either kept the more expensive ink or waited to release the things until they had redesigned the print head. But they decided it would be less trouble to field tech support calls and replace the print heads for people who complained. Sigh...",
"The same reason a CD burner is faultier than an iPod: More moving parts means more that can go wrong.",
"I hate printers. In fact I have the touch of death for printers made by Lexmark, any Lexmark printer I touch dies within 30 days.\n\nOwned two Lexmark printers, both of them died one month after I touched them.\n\nWorked at a Walmart the lady said go get that paper out of the printer for me I saw it was lexmark I warned her of my lexmark touch of death. She said that was silly they have had that printer forever and its always been good. I say It will break in a month, I touch it to get the paper out of it. One month later I walk into her office shes fiddling with the printer I say \"whats wrong\" she replies \"its broken\" I tell her \"Told you so.\" I was never allowed to touch their printers again.",
"\"ELI5: Why the fuck does my printer...\"\n\nWhat kind of language is that for a 5 year old?\nAnswer me young man!",
"That's a brilliant question! I was just looking for printers on Amazon and couldn't help but notice almost zero printers that had more than 3 out of 5 stars. If Automobiles were as reliable as inkjet printers, I'm pretty sure the entire world would be unemployed."
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3nr213 | how the weather in california just flipped flop from scorching heat last week to cool? and why are so many people getting sick by this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3nr213/eli5_how_the_weather_in_california_just_flipped/ | {
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"Weather dynamics, a heat front or cold front (generally high pressure low pressure areas) flow. In some days the air (generally from the south) is pushed up higher, making more warm air in the area, if the low pressure front (colder area) is more present, it will be cold.\n\nGenerally a constant temperature change is pretty annoying as we cant adjust ourselves to the weather, making it pretty exhausting"
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3an3h5 | does a popcorn kernel have the same nutrients as a piece of popcorn? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3an3h5/eli5_does_a_popcorn_kernel_have_the_same/ | {
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"I was watching an episode of Good Eats on Netflix last night, and based on the way they spoke about it, I think the answer would be yes. They were explaining how popping came about because it was the only way they could access the nutrients inside back in the day. They're possibly less potent, but I'd imagine they'll still be there. ",
"I would assume the nutrition to be similar. I know that when vegetables are boiled, fried, or baked they lose nutritional value because the heat alters the chemical composition. The same nutrients are still present, but not in the same quantity. Since popcorn is a starch, I assume some changes occur under heat, but not as much as more complex vegetables."
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2580cm | what would happen if i ate nothing but nuts? | I know when I eat nuts, I shit a lot of the undigested pieces right out and I like it a lot. So what would happen if I ate nothing but nuts and water forever? Would I literally shit nuts? How long could one live on such a diet? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2580cm/eli5_what_would_happen_if_i_ate_nothing_but_nuts/ | {
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"You wouldn't live very well. The body needs a balanced diet. You'd have very little to no calcium, protein, iron or some required vitamins. You wouldn't die in a week or anything but your health would get worse over time.",
"You'd get rickets and scurvy for lack of A and C vitamins. Nuts are high in fat and protein with decent carbs. Add berries and you might be OK.\n\nEdit: also depends on the nuts. Almonds have calcium, cashews have iron. Peanuts are a bit lame. Have a sardine or leafy thing once in a while.",
"There are several types of protein called essential amino acids which humans need to survive and cannot produce on their own. While animal proteins like meat, eggs and dairy provide all of them, very few plant sources contain them all. Soy and quinoa are the only two I can think of that do.\n\nWithout getting all your essential aminos, you'd likely die in a matter of weeks or months."
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6q8bpr | how if most insects die during winter, how can their populations not be hurt when spring comes? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6q8bpr/eli5_how_if_most_insects_die_during_winter_how/ | {
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"insects reproduce in huge amounts. one female usually capable of laying hundreds of eggs. when one of those eggs produces a female and it matures, it can do the same thing. so their populations start small, but after hitting a certain point they just explode.\n\nA good example is bed bugs, because ive just been dealing with that hell. For the first 50 days or so after a pregnant female shows up, you won't even know there's a problem because of how few there are. By the time day 100 rolls, you have thousands.\n\nSo its all about reaching that point that allows the population to explode, and a single pregnant female is enough to do it. they seem to suddenly burst out of nowhere in huge amounts, but really they just stay hidden as long as they are vulnerable."
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2e0886 | why have asian-americans flourished, while african-americans remain under-educated & impoverished? both were slaves here at one point, and both were heavily discriminated against throughout us history. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2e0886/eli5_why_have_asianamericans_flourished_while/ | {
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"I would hazard to guess that it has a lot to do with cultural differences. Black people were vocal and actively promoted their equality, whilst Asians quietly stuck together. The first group were a target for the ruling whites, while the second flew under the radar. This allowed the Asians to accumulate things like wealth and educations, while African Americans were embroiled in a struggle that was weighted against them, and still is, to some degree.\n\n",
"i'd like to point out, not all asian americans flourished. the ones you are seeing in the top of the sciences and engineering sectors are the ones that immigrated out of China on highly competed positions to be foreign exchange students and workers. the ones you are seeing as flourishing are the new generation of asian immigrants. the \"old\" generation living in chinatowns and opening up restaurants and gift shops are IMO stagnant.\n\nit's also the same reason why \"all indian doctors are Patel's\" because those people are the creme de la creme that have made it out of their originating country.",
"I don't think asians were slaves like africans were slaves. \n\nAfrican americans were subjected to slavery, and sharecropping, and Jim Crow laws. They have more of a distrust of anything this country does to them.",
"My guess would it largely has to do with work ethic/motivation. Asian parents who came to the country with essentially nothing, started businesses, & worked for the primary purpose of providing opportunity for their children to succeed with whatever means they could. They push them to work harder in school, and really don't give them any other option but to perform at a top level or face discipline. Criticize them all you want for being over-baring, but its hard to deny that its been an effective way to overcome social & economic barriers. ",
"While it is true that asians that came here early met with slave like conditions... by enlarge they weren't actually slaves. Remember the Irish were treated in a simillar fashion. \nAfrican Americans came from actual slavery. Familly units were broken up routinely. They had no wealth whatsoever as they were property. The (mostly Chinese) Asian immigrants could actually amass wealth, and maintaine family and social relations. I'm not saying that any immigrants had it easy coming here, but comparing the Asian experience to the African experience (remember that most of the Asians that came here did so voluntarily) is a complete nonsequiter.",
"Asian immigrants are largely more recent while African communities tend to be a result of the much earlier slave trade. Being a slave put them vastly behind in resources and opportunities even after liberation, so they had fewer chances for advancement; the lack of wealth spans generations since they were unable to pass on opportunities or resources to their children. Breaking out of this cycle is possible, but difficult and requires some luck. \n\nMore recent immigrants (in both Asian and African groups) tend to be both self selected (legally immigrating to the US is expensive enough that only people with a reasonable chance at success try) and filtered (the US does not issue visas to everyone that asks), so they naturally have more resources and are in a better position to succeed.",
"I do not agree with most of the answers here. I think it has little to do with Africans having more \"primitive\" cultures vs the Asian countries. These replies are purely speculative and don't belong here.\n But while we are guessing at the answers, could it have something to do with the fact that the black slaves had their cultures completely dismantled and \"squashed\" out and have had to recover culturally whereas Asians were able to retain more of their traditions and culture? Maybe that's a small factor.",
"Asians seem to outperform everyone because: \nA) exchange students are the top in their class in asia (and/or wealthy). That's how they got accepted into the program to begin with. \nB) education and being successful is an extremely important cultural aspect in Asia, so children of immigrants put much more effort into their work than your average \"american\" student will because their parents impose that mind set on them.",
"A better example would be the Irish. About 500k were shipped to the Americas as slaves. They were less healthy and phyiscally strong then African slaves, and as a result were actually cheaper and treated worse.",
"Many Asian-Americans have very close knit family communities, and put a lot of pressure on their children to be successful. While a lot of African Americans have family problems and stuff. I know this can sound a bit stereotypical but it's part of the reason. Also, more Asians chose to came here and were sadly treated poorly, while a lot of Africans were sold off into slavery by other tribes and some were kidnapped etc. ",
"CTRL-F \"genetics\"... enjoy fireworks.",
"Cultural differences, mainly. The stereotypes of the math loving chinese kid and the basketball loving black kid aren't exactly made up from thin air. Education has long been heavily emphasised in asian communities, where education has been associated with \"whiteness\" in black communities and therefore seen as a negative. but don't take my word for it: _URL_0_",
"Black culture makes it cool to be a gangster, cool to not be educated, makes them think that the \"white man\" is keeping them down, and makes them slaves to food stamps, the welfare check, and Section 8 housing.\n\nBack when we had segregation, the black community had to make their own businesses, and actually be successful. Even though we had massive amounts of racism, the back people were actually more well off then, then are now. In the 50's the black communities had a lower crime rate than the white neighborhoods.\n\nMost Asian ethnicities on the other hand, have cultures that support each other.",
"The biggest problem with questions like these is that over the course of centuries, countless factors have amassed that contribute to the answer that can not be explained by a single post on reddit.",
"Asian Americans got to keep their culture. They immigrated to the US through choice.\n\nAfrican slaves obviously did not. They came to this country through violence and every attempt was made to eradicate their culture and break their spirit; it shouldn't be a surprise that it worked.\n",
"African immigrants actually have the highest level of academic achievement in the US, exceeding all immigrant groups and the US population in general. This is true of first and second generation black Americans as well. [Source](_URL_0_).\n\nThis group are more comparable to Asian-Americans because Asian-Americans are largely a recent immigrant group. According to the 2012 census there are 19 million Asian-Americans but in 1950 there were only 321,000.",
"Alright I'll give this a shot. I'm an Asian American, family coming here over 30 years ago as poor refugees after a civil war. I've interned and worked at various Asian American organizations in America and studied Asian American Studies in college. \n\n\nFirst, you are right in that you're making a broad generalization. Not all APIAs are in the situation you speak of. Same with Black Americans. In fact, the broad generalization of Asians being rich and smart is called the \"Asian American Model Minority Myth\". The stereotype paints a picture of smart, educated, assimilated, and rich Asians in America that have \"made it\" and suggests the Asian race doesn't need a hand out or help. It also suggests the question \"if Asians can do it, why can't Latinos/Blacks/Natives/West Virginians/Purple people do it too?\" This is a problem in that it's suggesting a few things. 1: Asians are inherently smart and that it's tied to race. 2: Overlooks the Asian Americans that struggle, especially groups that are refugees (Vietnamese, Cambodians, Lao, Hmong, Karen, etc.) 3: Suggests that other races aren't up to par as this \"model minority\" group.\n\n\nSecondly, understand that the APIA racial category in America is vastly diverse. This is an important factor. You have very rich, highly education APIAs, and also very poor ones that are on welfare. You have Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Tibetans, Polynesians, Samoans, Thais, etc. \n\n\nThird, because of that diversity, you have different socio-economic levels within the racial category. And the reasons behind this, which you are asking, is vast. Some reasons are:\n\n\n* Socio-economic mobility in America is tied to the family or individual's socio-economic status in the old country. For example, many military officials, government officials, politicians, etc. from the former S. Vietnam fled here from their country to escape persecution. These are families that were exposed to many things that would help any family in upward mobility, namely, some English skills, standardized education (some even had P.hDs from France or the US), and money. Compare that to a super poor, illiterate farm family fleeing the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and you have two vastly different families that will develop differently in the States. \n\n\n* US immigration policy has always been hard for Asians. The Chinese exclusion act of 188X (on my phone, forgot) was the first (and maybe only?) US law excluding a specific race from immigrating to the US. So for the longest time, until about the 1960s, Asian immigration was capped. This is somewhat important in that this is why the APIA population is small (3.4% of the population).\n\n\n* Some Asian Americans have been here for a very, very long time and have been able to acquire more and more in each generation. The Japanese are an example of this. They mainly came over 100 years ago. As generations are born in the states, they assimilate and take on more opportunities. During WWII, Japanese American men comprised of several military units that fought valiantly in Europe. They then came back, went to school, and became successful. Daniel Inouye is a good example of this. There are dozens of Japanese American politicians who are 3-4th generation. They're success lies in the fact that their families have been established in America for generations. Vice versa may apply. If your family is poor, there a chance your kids will be poor, and being poor may continue for generations. \n\n\n* As another posted suggested, rich Asians come here and succeed in numbers that rival Asian Americans. My University had a huge ass Korean and Chinese international student population. They made up 50% or so of the \"Asian\" student population. These guys were filthy fuckin rich. I saw one drive around in a Mercedes SUV that had diplomatic plates. Often, Americans can't tell them from Asian Americans and assume we're all the same.\n\n\nThere's other stuff. I'm on my phone and I'm tired of typing. I don't think I specifically answered your questions, since I'm not knowledgable on African American Studies, but I tried giving my insight. ",
"I was a student of John McWhorter @ UCB, who studied this very problem. His research concluded that it very much was cultural, and that victimhood and the romanticization of ghetto culture measurably hurt the performance of black youth in schools. As if to prove his point, he presented at a black community townhouse, and was very vocally condemned for daring to ask them to stop the obsession with reparations, discrimination, etc. and focus on self-improvement. He wasn't denying all that, he was just pointing out that type of thinking is what perpetuated poverty. Very sad. ",
"This is something referred to as \"model minority\" status, and it has a lot to do with how whites interact with the different cultures.\n\nYou may recall the \"#CancelColbert\" debacle on Twitter several months back. In all the hullaballoo, the thing that was forgotten and overlooked is that it is, quite often, considered significantly more socially acceptable to mock Asians. Think of the little-dicked stereotype running around the \"Hangover\" movies. Think of how \"How I Met Your Mother\" did an entire episode wearing yellowface, thirty years after we caught on to blackface being a terrible idea. Think of all the \"ching-chong-ping-pong\" talk that people feel perfectly okay engaging in.\n\nWhites treat Asians like a favored pet while not giving them true racial equality- we let them have this perverse sort of \"almost-as-good-as-white\" status, and pat them on the back for their good behavior, when what we're really doing is using them as a club to beat on other minorities.\n\nIt's no coincidence that the term \"model minority\" was coined in the mid-60s, just when black Americans were coming to terms with their ill-treatment and were finally angry enough to do something about it. The asians were quiet, they kept their heads down, they never complained about their ill-treatment or the jokes we make at their expense. They never point out that not all of them are good at math, or that not all of them know how to use chopsticks. They suffer these indignities silently... and they never go away or get any better. When someone points it out we treat them like a buzzkill.\n\nWe use asian-americans as a truncheon to abuse blacks and hispanics who aren't willing to settle for that kind of second-class status. We point to the asians and say that if they'd simply focus on individual achievement then there'd be no problem, that there's no reason to get so angry.\n\nBut no matter how successful a black man is, he'll always be seen as a black man first. He could be a millionaire, a businessman, an athlete, and he could sill be viewed as a thug and shot by the first cop that doesn't know who he is.\n\nAsians have to endure the stereotype of being quiet and deferential, which is certainly safer when you're dealing with the cops, but it's no less small-minded, racist, and untrue.",
"gosh, i can't think of any non-racist sounding explanations.\n",
"The basic fact is you are looking at history in the wrong way. Asian Americans and black Americans have faced vastly different circumstances in society and to attempt in any way to compare the two groups' position in society as they not only have different historical experiences but also deal with different types of present day discrimination and stereotyping. \n\nIf you want to look at a simple reason why there seems to be such an economic disparity between the two groups is to simply look at their origins. The vast majority of black Americans in the US were brought over with the slave trade to work in plantations and did so until the Civil War. Following the Civil War however, the majority of the black population was essentially partially re-subjected to work as sharecroppers and other unequal economic arrangements in the South while those in the North faced systematic workplace discrimination. It wasn't until the 1970s/80s that black Americans had a decent chance at competing in the workplace, and even now they still face institutional disadvantages. \n\nThe vast majority of Asian Americans however were never \"slaves\". While many did face disadvantages in the US, the underwent voluntary immigration and because of that they general had some sort of source of financial support that they could use to start a business, work within the local immigrant community, or something along those lines. The average Asian immigrant who arrived on the shores of America was already vastly more well off than the average African slave who did the same. As a result over time Asians who have voluntarily immigrated have been able to build a a broader base of wealth, allowing them to send their children to better schools etc. \n\nAs a result, the disadvantages of minorities manifest themselves in different ways, while black Americans may be more likely to be in poverty or involved in crime, Asian Americans deal with issues like having the [lowest per capita rates of achieving managerial promotion](_URL_0_). ",
"The culture feeds on itself. Back then, African Americans could not go to school or they could only go to shitty all-black schools, so you ended up with culture that is built by a group of really poor, uneducated people. It is hard to succeed if you are born into this culture. Whites born in a trailer park have a hard time advancing in society too.\n\nMost Asian Americans immigrated to the U.S. at a later time when minorities were more accepted. And there is also a selection bias where only the Asians that are willing to abandon their old life to seek a new one are probably ones that are most willing to take risk and work hard. Lazy people would not attempt a change so drastic. That work ethic gets passed onto their children.\n\nThis same effect can be seen in African immigrants today, although most people have not realized it yet. African immigrants are pretty much performing at the same level as Asians in terms of academics (in stuff like percentage of that will get a college degree or graduate degree, etc). African immigrants typically do not identify with African American culture and they have their own communities, but they have largely gone under the radar. Again, there is a selection bias in the types of Africans that would immigrate to the U.S., and those that do raise their kids in a culture where education is very important. Wikipedia has some more information on this group: _URL_0_",
"Asians were never slaves i the U.S.\n\nAsians generally are self-selected immigrants and such people generally do better. West Indian Blacks who move to the U.S. do very well.\n\nThere is long term deep wide spread pervasive institutional racism against Blacks. Asians experience no such thing.\n",
"Asians were not slaves. They weren't bought and sold and their offspring were not sold either. That being said, the culture of responsibility in the average Asian family is better so they flourish. The value of education, improvement and family harmony are better exhibited by the Asians. Partly the black community is responsible for its own problems. Don't hear \"Hey chink\" coming from too many Asians. ",
"segregation, separate but equal and things like that made sure blacks were kept downtrodden and weren't given the same opportunities as the other races for centuries. there's only so much initiative you could show before getting disappointed and giving up. all these made it such that you didn't even have role models of your own race to look up to. \n\nand racism is very different from other classist discrimination in that you can do it on people's appearances. that made social mobility very difficult.\n\ntheir society, aspirations, and family structures have been systematically dismantled. it's going to take a while to get them back on a level footing. ",
"Its also worth noting that among the successful Asians, and I use that phrase very loosely, a disproportionate amount are of the lightskinned variety. You know, the big three, Japan China Korea. A lot of the poorer Asians are often from, say, Vietnam or Cambodia, and have roots to refugees from their respective wars.\n\nI think there's a huge disparity between not necessarily races (though there definitely is a disgusting amount!) But between those who had the luxury of choosing to be here (immigrants chosen for wealth, academics, other utility) versus forced (fleeing war, slavery, etc).\n\nThe ones who chose to come here had a much better starting advantage and probably it was easier to start the snowballing of their wealth. The ones who were forced, well, they didn't have much to begin with and unless you can get to a critical mass of opportunity and success, it's really hard to climb out of that hole. And it's not like there's all that much out there to help you really get out of it if you're one of those kids. There's enough to get the far right of the bell curve a chance and enough to complain that poor people don't seize their opportunities and are lazy, when in fact there's just simply not enough of anything to go around. And when that's the case, those poor people forced to be here are the ones that get shafted first.\n\nObviously this isn't true for everything or anywhere near an absolute truth, nor does it even closely account for every factor, so add two dashes of salt.",
"Couple of responses are really good here. EDIT: HOLYSHIT! I posted this before reading some of the other responses. Good lord.. I believe wiki has the correct answer and I've posted it here.\n \nYes, the high achieving Asian immigrants (I'm Indian does that count?) mostly often enter the country via higher education programs in STEM. essentially, smart folks from India/China/Korea where ever else come to the US and thrive. No surprises there. They make up the so called the Model Minority category\n\nHowever, here is a piece of information that is mostly overlooked. African immigrants are basically in the same category. Immigrants from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya etc. come to the US is basically the same route as Indians or Chinese people and end up doing just as well as them. America as a society seems to designate all people of any amount of african decent with the blanket term 'African American'. \n\nHere is an excerpt from Wiki:\nAfrican immigrants to the U.S. are among the most educated groups in the United States. Some 48.9 percent of all African immigrants hold a college diploma. This is more than double the rate of native-born white Americans, and nearly four times the rate of native-born African Americans.[15] According to the 2000 Census, the rate of college diploma acquisition is highest among Egyptian Americans at 59.7 percent, followed closely by Nigerian Americans at 58.6 percent.[16][17]\n\n\nAs a point of fact, Wiki seems to be actually calling out an \"Invisible\" model minority with regards to African immigrants. That should answer your question most comprehensively \n_URL_0_\n\nTL;DR: The Africans are doing just as awesome as the \"asians\" you just dont see it.\n",
"Another recent example is with Hispanics in the US. The only thing I've ever been able to really break it down to, in very simple terms, is Asians and Hispanics have either strong work ethics or a strong will to overcome adversity. While there are decades old socio-economic reasons why all these groups have been repressed, I see much better family structures in Asian and Hispanic communities that you don't find as often in black communities. Having a strong support group at home has a huge impact on your future opportunities.\n\nFurther, I would argue, stereotypes hold truth (though not always applicable in individual instances) as Asians seem to pride themselves on educational excellence and drive while Hispanics as hard workers. There are no positive stereotypes for African Americans, yet many negative.\n\nWhen you see on TV riots in Ferguson and LA or look at areas like Detroit and parts of Chicago, you don't see Asians or Whites or Hispanics, you see African Americans (mostly) and this further separates them from the rest of us and further reinforces the negative stereotypes about their communities. Looked at this way, where is the insentive to help these communities when they appear to not want to help themselves?\n\nOh, and Al Sharpton and Company. They've done everything they can for decades to prolong the race war between blacks and whites. When even the leaders of your community don't have your best interests at heart, how do you win?\n",
"The saddest thing about racism is that regardless of culture or location, people with darker skin are almost universally discriminated worse than those who are lighter.\n\nWhether it is northern Indians looking down on their darker southern counterparts, Chinese and their attitudes towards people from South East Asia, even to Africa itself where the animosity between darker skinned Hutus and the lighter Tutsis boiled into horrific genocide, colourism is not only prolific but identical in attitudes worldwide.\n\n_URL_0_",
"People always want to make this about some kind of magic cultural thing, but it has a lot to do with federal law. Legally immigrating to the U.S. is really difficult, and generally requires a lot in the way of resources, education, and drive (or else family connections.) The typical Asian-American's story involves coming to America recently (especially from 1965 on, when quotas were dramatically loosened on Asian immigration.) The average African-American's ancestors came to America as slaves, and gained freedom with no money.\n\nSpeaking of federal law: Housing policy made it virtually impossible for many African-Americans to obtain home loans, thus frequently confining them to renting at high prices in inner cities. Asian-Americans were able to buy homes in the suburbs. Guess who got hit harder by urban decay and crime.\n\nProving the point, recent African immigrants have dramatically higher educational attainment than native white Americans, comparable to Asian-Americans.\n\nTL;DR: Immigrants are not a representative slice of anything, and most Asians came to America late enough to have a better chance.",
"Dont forget jews, and irish, and to a lesser extent italians and germans and indians, they were all disadvantaged too. Its mostly just blacks among minorities that cant make it.",
"I'm speaking purely anecdotally here, but my parents immigrated from India in the mid-80s. My dad had maybe twenty dollars to his name and had to work several oddjobs: pumping gas, used car sales, and yes, liquor store managing. I grew up knowing my dad worked most of the time just to support us.\n\nMy sister and I were born here in California and raised with the understanding that we *must* succeed in school so we won't struggle financially like our parents did. They immigrated not to better their own lives, but to provide better lives for future generations. I have opportunities my parents couldn't imagine, so I have to take advantage of that by not squandering the education that they worked so hard to fund. They paid for my tuition so I don't have to worry about whether or not I can afford to graduate; I couldn't afford *not to*.\n\nMy parents' view of success is that they can provide for their children, who are expected to surpass them. My entire family, and almost every Indian-American family we know, operates this way. This may be why education and career are so emphasized to us, and why our parents are seen as pushy and overbearing to outsiders (and even to those of is raised in this culture).",
"1. Because you're generalizing. \n\n2. Because you are comparing American slavery of Asians to American slavery of Africans -- which is ridiculous. \n\n3. You may not know this but black people we're whipped for being able to read -- for centuries in america. \n\nYou may want to consider the culture of the Africans who willingly came to America.\n\n",
"I believe this has a lot to do with their family/culture. I have one black friend whose parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in Africa. He is studying medicine in college right now and he is pretty smart and well behaved. I don't know his family too well but from what I can tell they're doing as well as any white family I know. Their parents are together and their children are hard working members of society. They put a lot of priority on his education and he is on his way towards success because of it.\n\nHowever there is another black friend I know whose family has been in America for a really long time(probably been here since slavery). His father ditched him when his mom was pregnant and he can be pretty ignorant and violent at times. He got this one girl pregnant and immediately ditched her as well and now she's raising a child by herself.\n\nMy first friend grew up with a supportive family that raised him right and put a lot of effort towards his education. He turned out alright but my second friend grew up with an absent father and his mother struggled to raise him but she did the best she could. I'd argue that the reason why Asian-Americans are doing better than African-Americans is that Asian-American families tend to put a lot of value on family unity and education while a lot of African-Americans don't. The difference can be seen in African immigrants who tend to do much better than African-Americans.\n\nI have another friend who is an elementary school teacher and she tells me that her Asian students tend to do better than her black students due to the fact that the Asian parents put a lot of effort into teaching their children how to read and do math and other things when at home while most of her black students have parents that do not try to get their children to study at home and expect the school system to take care of everything and because of that these 4th graders are reading at a 2nd grade level and such.\n\nNow why African-American families tend to not be unified? I don't know the real answer to that. It may be the war on drugs putting their fathers in prison starting a cycle of absent fathers or it may be something else. However there is a significant difference between African-American families and families of African immigrants.",
"The ELI5 answer is that cultures that emphasize education are always more productive and involved in their civic communities. ie better off.\n\nThe long answer would take a few Ph.Ds to understand.",
"ARE. The word you are looking for is ARE.",
"\"Because black people are actively and consciously inferior to Asian people.\" - every top post in this thread. \n\nThis might be the most vile thread I've read in a long time. It's beyond just offensive, it's actively dangerous. People are going to believe this shit. Vote based on this ignorance. I'm so depressed. I feel so sorry for all the minorities who have to suffer because these stereotypes are believed to be ontologically true. ",
"This is a complicated question. I'll give a high level answer and provide a couple of examples that have been shared with me when I asked this question:\n\nThe are institutional factors that have to do with discrimination in housing and the way some of the drug laws have been set up. For housing you can use [Chicago](_URL_1_) as an example. Housing and real estate are one of the main ways which generational wealth is accumulated. Without fair housing it's very difficult to move out of poverty because school funding is tied to property taxes etc. This housing discrimination is also a huge factor, because it prevents people from mixing/interacting together which perpetuates stereotypes etc. Another factor is the war on drugs for example look at the penalties for crack vs coke (crack is the mostly black coke is mostly white) they are essentially the same drug but one carries a much steeper penalty.\n\nEconomically, and I feel an under reported factor, is that for the first 245 (1620-1865) years of america white people were able to generate wealth off the back of free labor and were able to claim land for themselves. If you think about this for a second, and look at america as a startup, from the predevelopment phase to almost 100 years after launch america had free labor that literally got no return on their investment and no equity on the upside while the \"employers\" were able to bring in revenue generated by slaves via infrastructure development, production etc and invest that money elsewhere. Not to mention that people were living in conditions that we would consider unacceptable for animals. People were actively prevented from reading books acquiring knowledge etc... Think how happy you would be today if your dog tried to pick up a book and read black people were considered worse than that!\n\nThen in the period after slavery black people didn't have equal rights with white people until the year 1968 (think about that for a bit from 1856 to 1968 only 46 years ago black people weren't considered equal to white people). So essentially black people have only been considered equal to white people for only 20% of the time the US has officially been around (1776 slavery started around 1620). Prior to that they were considered property (aka animals) for 250 years and for a 100 years they were considered below whites etc. So for only 50 out of 450 years have black people in america had the same rights as white people.\n\nThere is also a lot of research now on what slavery actually did to black peoples concept of what a family is and made familial bonds a lot weaker as people for 250 years would be sold and families ripped apart.\n\nThere is also a lot of research now on whether or not humans are naturally inclined to treat people with darker skin worse (especially in times of economic hardship) and it's showing that there may be some natural bias involved. [A study showed that hard times could make people more racist](_URL_0_)\n\nAdditionally as some other people have pointed out there are problems within the black community of people being focused on street life etc. This to me comes from a lack of exposure and could be fixed simply if we ensured that all schools had the same level of funding, redistricting of schools and getting rid of gerrymandering.\n\nLastly my personal opinion is that the explosion of media has been hugely negative to african americans because until recently most of the images you see of african americans are in very confined roles etc so the images that everyone sees are of them mostly as drug dealers rappers etc which then reinforces and perpetuates these stereotypes (just my thoughts on the matter, again not trying to make excuses, but trying to give some background).\n\n**tl:dr Black people have only been considered equal to whites in the US for the last 46 years which is only 11% of the time they have been in america. Additionally there were some questionable and intentionally harmful policies that have prevented them from advancing in the 5 decades**",
"I'd like to point out that \"Asian-American\" is a huge umbrella term that includes peoples of South Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islands and East Asian origin. Many ethnic communities within the Asian-American and Pacific Islander category are also impoverished and under-educated. In fact, [the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities are the fastest growing poverty populations in the United States since the recession.](_URL_0_)",
"**TL;DR: duty + persistence + honor + self sacrifice = gain**\n\nAs a ethnically-Japanese American, descended from totally uneducated plantation workers in early-1900's Hawaii, I have something to add. To give you an idea, my mom was born and raised in a village in 1930's Hawaii with no running water, and from a family that eeked out a living in the dirt. If you want to see the type of lifestyle in a decent-stylized movie then rent [Picture Bride](_URL_2_).\n\nI know that each sub-culture group has its own way of dealing with oppression, deep pain, loss, and injustice; we also tend to turn our struggles into heroics. I'm most familiar with it as [gaman](_URL_0_) which was an ever-present concept in my family's culture. It's the idea that you will withstand any and all pain with dignity and forward movement in your *family's* life (Note: not just your own selfish life).\n\nGaman is summed up by my great-grandmother's often-used statement \"There's nothing else to be done\" as she returned to her virtually slave-like existence while working in the fields during the day and then taking care of 8 kids+husband at night. The extreme persistence has even been showcased in popular culture by the [442nd regiment in WWII](_URL_1_).\n\nThere's also something else in our culture which is a whole-hearted and selfless attitude for the next person in line. In modern Jap culture, it comes across as extreme politeness. Not to say that it doesn't mask a huge wealth of poor or perverted behavior though. Also, if you aren't willing to give stuff up for the family then you can be an outcast.\n\nMy great-grandmother worked like a dog so her daughters/sons could have families and farm land of their own. That was her goal and she made sure everyone knew it.\n\nMy grandmother and her siblings made it known that their goal was to do whatever it took to get their kids to college.... and they did it. They worked as janitors, lived like peasants, and eventually sent their kids to the big city Honolulu to go to school. I am sure that my grandparents didn't understand what 'education' was but knew that all of the plantation managers and politicians went to college.\n\nMy mom graduated from nursing school in 1961; in fact all 5 kids went to college. And when she raised me, one day, she told me that she was 'giving all her hope to me'. She actually used those words when I was 15 or so. She told me it was my responsibility to live not for myself but for the family and community. It is a little frowned-on in my family to just 'go for the money' in a career. And, yes, a few in the family or not well-off but I think they are decently happy.\n\n**Regarding regret, injustice, and calls for justice from past transgressions:**\n\nI can't think of any one subject of injustice that my family has kept alive in day-to-day conversation. It's not that they forgive the WWII internment acts.... it's more that there was nothing to be done now about it so 'let it go'. When I hear other non-Asian families talking about stuff from the far past (generations ago), I respectfully listen but the anger I hear in their words doesn't resonate with me as much as I wonder if it should. Am I not empathetic? Am I just not understanding the depth of their injuries? In my family we don't really talk about the deepest pains and tend to spare the younger generations much of the details. Probably seems dysfunctional but as my g-grandomother said \"There's nothing else to be done...\"... so move on.",
"It's a culture problem. But you can't say that. People assume culture = race, so if you call out a culture problem, you're a racist. You can't even call out behavior of black people. Even if you call a white and black person out for the same problem, you'll be accused of being a racist for doing so to the black person when their skin color has nothing to do with the behavior you're calling out.\n\nSelf-victimization and refusal to take any criticism without turning it into the race card means that you don't grow from the criticisms of others. It's a lot like how you can't debate a creationist because they will say all your evidence is BS. Insert the requisite \"not all black people...\" here, but that's not the issue. The problem is that there are certain cultural sensibilities that are the *rule* rather than the *exception*.\n\nMy wife and I both worked in a 90% black school for quite some time. Trying hard at anything but sports was practically disallowed in the community. Black kids are ostracized by their piers and community for trying too hard. If you're making effort, you are \"acting white\" and that's not acceptable. I saw so many poor, black kids try to rise above it and absolutely get demolished socially by their community because it simply wasn't acceptable.\n\nEven black faculty, most of which had graduated from that school and were returning to make a difference were demonized by some parts of the community for being \"uppity.\" This isn't white people talking about black people. This is black people talking about black people. They complain about how those people were just trying to act like their were better with their \"fancy college degrees.\"\n\nMy wife now works at a mostly white, affluent school. This is a school where literally someone came to town yesterday and asked to speak to the principal. \"I've done my research and this is the best school in the area. Where do I have to live to put my kids in this school.\" The school also got their standardized test grades yesterday. Black kids 56% passing in science. Asian kids... 100%. White kids.... 95%. Even among the socioeconomically disadvantaged, the scores were 76%. Literally, poor white kids did better than not poor black kids. BTW... the Asian population at the school was significantly higher than the black population and still 100% where the black kids couldn't cut it.\n\nWe looked at the scores at my wife's previous school. This is a school with like 5% white kids. You'd think that if the school is so atrocious overall, that the white kids wouldn't be able to do well in a school that is mostly black and has an overall passing rate of 46%. Wrong. White kids had an 84% passing rate in a 90% black school where the black passing rate was 37%. Once again, the < 1% Asian... 100%. And this is a school that was 95% socioeconomically disadvantaged. The white kids are poorer than the black kids. Basically there was a white flight several years ago and the only white people left in that town are very poor. Yet they still more than doubled the passing rate per capita of the black kids.\n\nSo sometimes it's not just poverty. There are just social attitudes toward education in the black communities. Parents are way less involved and many are actively mistrustful of teachers in general and white teachers in specific. In the 90% black school, the biggest problem was racism... black against Latino. Don't even get me started on how hateful black parents were to Latino faculty.\n\nBut once again, you can't criticize behaviors and attitudes because that will get you labeled a racist. Reddit is the worst about this. If you have a problem with something stereotypically black, you're a racist. If you think anything is stereotypically black, you're a racist. I just wish we could have a conversation about behavior and culture without people pulling the race card.\n\nNot all cultures are equally valid. It's not a popular opinion, but it's true. For example, if you think cutting of women's clits is acceptable and an important part of your culture, I don't think that's okay. Sure, that's an extreme example, but people like to bask in the PC idea that all cultures are equally valid. They aren't. And if part of your culture causes you to be willfully ignorant and anti-education... I don't think that's okay. And black people are far from the only cultural group that I see with those stances. People have those ideas for different reasons (I'm thinking, old, white, religious, conservative people).\n\nSure, poverty may exacerbate the situation, but I think the root cause is due to culture and the fact that you can't call a spade a spade without being labeled a racist. If you can't criticize bad decisions and behavior, then the group making them and doing them are never going to be held to account. If you think you have the answers, you don't try to look for them any more. If you're answer is \"white oppression\" and never \"anti-intellectual culture\" you'll never try to fix it.\n\nIf you want to see more people make the conclusion about culture, \"acting white\" and the uproar it causes, look into the work of Nigerian-American anthropologist John Ogbu. People wanted to know why there was a disparity, he moved in and basically lived with people to look deeply into it. When his conclusion blamed the black families rather than the white teachers, they refused to accept it or make changes.\n\nSadly, I've had good friends who are victims of this mentality. Thy are so ostracized for acting white. They basically have to choose to abandon their black community to \"act white\" in a world where there are *real* racists who legitimately will judge them purely on the color of their skin. It's damned if you do, damned if you don't and it sucks. \n\n\nNOTE: I live in the south. Race issues, by all accounts, are quite different down here. Just because you've never seen the types of race issues I've seen doesn't mean they don't exist or that I'm being hyperbolic. It probably just means you have less perspective as a result of either knowing relatively few black people, large black communities, or your self-selected exposure has you only dealing with the outliers. I've just seen way too many incredulous posters on reddit who simply can't accept that it can be as bad as what I've seen most of my life.\n\nTL;DR - Because large swaths of black culture are unwilling to examine their own behavior and instead want to blame the system. Meanwhile, they tear down black people who try to achieve for \"acting white\"\n\nEDIT: Also, the answers that will be most upvoted are the \"acceptable\" answers. The ones that tell us we can't making any speculation because that would be overgeneralizing. The ones that only mention the outlying examples and try to be as politically correct as possible. Nobody wants to address the problem because they are either gunshy or have just been trained to never address the issue due to PCness.\n",
"There are a lot of successful black folks... whove fled the hood and assimilated in american society...\n\nThe hood is a lose lose scenario. you can think of the hood as a separte country with its own economics dialects etc... \n\nSo while other minorities have fled their countries n attained the american dream... you can think of those born into the hood as not ever leaving their \"country\" to begin with... they are like foreigners in their own country... and getting out is slim...\n",
"All the top comments have said \"Well basically we're not as great as you think\" or \"there's still a lot of discrimination and people on welfare\" or \"it wasn't always so great\", but that wasn't the question. The question was why aren't Asians and Asian Americans treated or regarded in a similar way as black people *today*?",
"If you want truth you've come to the wrong place to ask this question. If you have a gut feeling based on common sense, maybe just go with it? The top comment here is some nonsense about the best and brightest Asians being the ones to emigrate to America. This is patently false. Most of them were very very poor, so poor that poverty in America is like Club Med by comparison. Many were fleeing death and oppression in their home countries, such as Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s and 1980s. Rich Chinese weren't coming here to work on the railroad or in the factories, they were poor, and after a generation they became business owners and doctors.\n\nII've been living in Vietnam the past few years. I see kids who barely have enough food to eat go to school/work all day/night 6 days a week, and on Sunday they may be studying English or helping their parents. The sacrifices they will make to have a shot to learn English and improve their lot in life from $50 a month in salary to $100 put Americans to shame. There was a kid outside my apartment sleeping on the sidewalk under a mosquito net on a dirty busy street with a huge bushel of fruit he was trying to unload all day every day for about a week. That's dedication. You think poor black kids in America will do that? You really believe the reason they don't is because the white man is holding them down?\n\nRacial groups in America are where they are because of the culture and heritage they choose to embrace. While this Vietnamese kid sleeps on the sidewalk, works all day, and dreams of the chance to get U.S. citizenship and get a whopping 7 bucks an hour working 3 jobs at Walmart Costco and Target, a lot of poor people in America study hip hop, hate school, smoke weed all day every day until they hold a conversation like a tree stump, embrace gangsta life, and don't give a damn about improving their lot in life unless it involves hustling. They get to learn English for free and they don't even want to. You want to see a black man who went on the great things from a very poor background with close ties to slavery, look up Clarence Thomas. Read his life story from the time he was a child. If this was more typical of black culture in America, you'd see many, many more successful black people than you do.\n\nThis is the truth, I think it's pretty ELI5, but it's also going to upset people here and get downvoted to oblivion because it doesn't match the politically correct victim mentality Reddit party line, and it doesn't match the propaganda being pushed in schools/universities/movies/media. You'll have about as much success getting this truth out as you would getting Americans to accept Communists in the 50's or Rooskies in the 80s. Look at the schools and the shit Americans are fed from generation to generation and you'll be able to figure out a lot of truth for yourself about the world. Every generation thinks they are the ones that finally know the truth, they are the ones that finally aren't being herded like sheep by their schools and their \"news\" and their TV. If you find a lot of people agreeing with you, chances are you are doing exactly what the powers that be expect you to. You are the McCarthy of today, except you think you love people instead of hating people.\n\nHere's a TLDR: Stereotypes and common sense have a better chance of being true than the long-winded feel good social activist garbage people will use to explain these amazing tried and true coincidences. Until people face the truth, they aren't going anywhere. If you're going to spread bullshit, you can do better than \"it's because all the rich and smart Asian people come to America while all the rest stay in Asia.\" When you make upa bullshit excuse for a real problem, that problem doesn't get solved, and you're actually hurting people more than helping.",
"Well so we're Irish Americans. Th eyes lived in the same houses as African American slaves. Why African American names sound Irish. ",
"Two points to consider...\n\n1) African immigrants [do just as well](_URL_0_) in America as most immigrants populations do. Most African American were not immigrants, in the traditional sense. In fact, the two demographics that have the worst economic stats in America are: African Americans and American Indians. Interestingly enough, the vast majority in these two groups did not choose to be part of a capitalistic society.\n\n2) Asian American are [6-7 years older](_URL_1_) than Black Americans when they have their kids...this is of major consequence, one that is not discussed enough.",
"Value systems. The fact is, you can take a randomly chosen school from the worst part of Detroit or Chicago, take out all those black kids, and replace them with a randomly picked bunch of Japanese school kids, and viola! best performing school in the district. You can't address a problem that you don't acknowledge, and we don't help by talking about how they've been held back. We all face obstacles, socio/economic, but the only one who can overcome my problems is me.",
"Everyone is talking about different countries on different continents. OP is asking about Asian-Americans and African-Americans. What is the reason for the differences IN America. ",
"If you're reading this then you know why. You know you know why too. ",
"I'm a black male that grew up in the inner city Chicago, and moved to a better suburban area for high school.\n\nIn my experience parent(s) play a major role in the success of African Americans. If you have a strong parent(s) that to mold the child and instill values then that child will typically be successful.\n\nGangs are a major factor in the inner city for African American males. This is especially true if the only parent is female and has to work long hours, two jobs, or just isn't around to be a strong influence. In these areas, the choice is typically either to join these groups or constantly be ridiculed or bothered. A lot of times, these gangs sell themselves as family or seem to have a lot of money which will appealing.\n\nEven in situations where gangs, drugs, and violence are avoided there maybe an unfortunate station where someone on the right path is killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.\n\nIn addition to all of the factors stated above, it typically isn't the cool thing to be educated in African American community. I can't tell you how many times I was called college boy, or be told I was speaking white because I'm not using slang and trying to better myself. ",
"Read white liberals and black rednecks by Sowell. ",
"This is well predicted by [group differences in IQ](_URL_1_) and other standardized tests. Asians *on average* do slightly better than whites, who do better than blacks. It also turns out that the [same pattern holds for economic performance](_URL_0_). "
]
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[],
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[],
[],
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[],
[],
[],
[],
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"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyYG81MN8jE"
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[],
[],
[],
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"http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/therootdc/post/rethinking-the-achievement-gap-lessons-from-the-african-diaspora/2012/09/04/eebc5214-f362-11e1-a612-3cfc842a6d89_blog.html"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_ceiling#Under_representation_of_Asian_Americans"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_minority#Invisible_Model_Minority:_Africans"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_minority#Invisible_Model_Minority:_Africans"
],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_based_on_skin_color"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
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"http://time.com/2850595/race-economy/",
"http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/May-2014/The-Long-Shadow-of-Housing-Discrimination-in-Chicago/"
],
[
"http://nationalcapacd.org/spotlight-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-poverty-demographic-profile"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaman_\\(term\\)",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_\\(United_States\\)",
"http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/picture_bride/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/black_immigrants_an_invisible.html",
"http://blacktistics.com/?p=503"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_groups_in_the_United_States_by_household_income",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence#Group_differences"
]
] |
||
7jwfwi | how are cuttlefish so good at camouflage? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7jwfwi/eli5_how_are_cuttlefish_so_good_at_camouflage/ | {
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"Cuttlefish have special cells in their skin that contain little sacs of dark pigments. They can squeeze these sacs down very small, so you can't see them and the cuttlefish appears white, or they can spread these sacs out flat, so the cuttlefish appears dark.\n\nWhat's really cool about cuttlefish is they can control, almost cell-by-cell, which cells appear white and which appear dark. By darkening some cells but keeping others white, they can make patterns across their bodies that let them camouflage themselves."
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11pspt | the concept of having multiple massive non-profits gunning for the same cause. what do they have against consolidating all their resources and possibly doing more together than they ever could separately? | The best known example I can think of is the Susan G Komen for the cure and AVON Breast Cancer foundations, who actually went to court against each other for the slogan "for the cure".
_URL_0_ and _URL_1_ are another two I can think of. And there are plenty more.
Even local non-profits. Do we really need a dozen different agencies in the same county catering to support services for foster youth? Why not merge into some kind of co-op to cut on administrative/overhead costs and better serve the clientele? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/11pspt/eli5_the_concept_of_having_multiple_massive/ | {
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"A lot of the time there is disagreement about exactly how to best serve the community. For example, some non-profits prefer to give money directly to the poor or researchers, while others want to focus on lobbying the government to change policies or give out more grants.",
"competition can make both sides work faster, and ideally they are taking different approaches to the problem. ",
"for another perspective, it might be because they are greedy and want their own money somehow.\n\nand I know you said non profits, but just because they manage to qualify as 'non-profit' doesn't mean they don't get *something* in return.",
"people like to have their own charity, it's a pride thing. and a tax thing.",
"the administrators and boards who might make the decision to merge also stand to lose their sense of power and maybe even their jobs in staff considilations.",
"Honestly, I think its because even in non-profits there are people sitting at the top with big salaries. I've often times had the same feeling as you because my own self has been involved with a charity (as a volunteer) that gets gamed by another charity that has almost an identical cause. For what I see it as, charities should be happy that there are other charities with similar missions because the ultimate goal should really just be helping the people in need -- not competing for which organization gets the credit. ",
"1. They often have slightly different missions...Catholic Charities and UNICEF both want to feed starving children, but they are going to disagree when it comes to population control.\n2. The people who run charities are professionals who do so to earn a living...they are not interested in making themselves obsolete.\n3. A lot of charities are linked to corporations, who are interested in the PR benefits as well as doing good work...merging with another charity loses out on the PR."
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2ygvf5 | how can people be put under anesthesia for emergency surgery but for general surgery they say you will aspirate and die if you eat anything 24 hours prior to being put under? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ygvf5/eli5_how_can_people_be_put_under_anesthesia_for/ | {
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"Aspiration is relatively rare, but given the damage it can cause, and that the only downside is that you miss a meal, people are warned not to eat before surgery. But if you need emergency surgery, well, you need emergency surgery. In that case, the benefits outweigh the increased risk of aspiration.",
"Anesthesia makes you sick, and if you vomit when not able to control yourself you will choke on it. Emergency situations don't remove the risk, they just outweigh it.",
"The risk is that you'll vomit, so if you know in advance that you'll be in surgery they ask you to not eat anything that day. (The odds that you'll die from the vomit are not tremendously high but it's a compelling reason to give to patients).\n\nIf you need emergency surgery then by definition they can't afford to wait for your stomach to empty. The risks from vomiting are less than the risk from delaying the operation.",
"Also as another way of reducing this risk they stuff a tube up (or down) your nose and vacuum out your stomach the whole time. So there isn't really anything to throw up. ",
"Sometimes emergency surgeries don't occur immediately either. When I had appendicitis, I got checked into the hospital on a Sunday around 7 pm and didn't have the surgery until 10 am, Monday. In some cases, they prefer to wait for a regularly scheduled surgeon to take care of a procedure instead of calling them in at 11 pm. And this also allowed me to fast for over 12 hours.",
"Emergency vs. elective surgery is risk vs. benefit. Emergency surgery, by definitlion, has to be performed. Elective surgery does not, and can wait for optimal conditions.",
"I was a former paramedic and current Army Reserve medic. When I intubate someone in an emergency situation, they usually vomit/aspirate food as we all eat pretty regularly. In scheduled surgery they like to take this factor out of the equation. ",
"It's never 24h without food for surgery. Generally speaking is 6h without solid food or 4h without a significant amount of liquids by mouth. There is new data to suggest it can be less time, i.e. liquids up to 2h before surgery. The above decreases the risk of aspiration and its an easy thing we can control. In emergency surgery i.e. trauma, its not something you can control and the option of waiting the above mentioned time limit isnt usually possible. In which case, anesthesia intubates using some tricks to minimize aspiration and then sticks down an NG tube to decompress the stomach."
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65w4qj | why are male beauty pageants significantly less famous than women's such as miss universe? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/65w4qj/eli5_why_are_male_beauty_pageants_significantly/ | {
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"Warning: possible bro-science. Due to testosterone, men are more attracted to visuals. Women are attracted to emotions. Pageants are primarily a visual display, and men rather prefer to see women.",
"Across the human species, men are more visual in their attraction to mates than women are. Staring at a bunch of female hotties is something that appeals more strongly to a bunch of males than the other way around. \n",
"The cultural norm has been that women attract mates with their appearance, and men attract mates with they abilities.\n\nWe should note that beauty pageants have been in a serious decline in recent decades. Miss America used to be a must-see event, people would talk about it like they would the Academy Awards and the media would cover her throughout the year like she was royalty. These days it barely makes the news unless there is some controversy."
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5lkk0z | why do we need to tightly regulate blood ph. what are the physiological consequences of a low/high hydrogen ion concentration? | Is it merely osmolality change that causes the adverse consequences? And what are the adverse consequences? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5lkk0z/eli5_why_do_we_need_to_tightly_regulate_blood_ph/ | {
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"pH is tightly regulated due to its effect on denaturing proteins..... It's consequences are broad ranging from affecting the haem oxygen dissociation curve, the carriage of co2, the generation of super oxides in neutrophils etc.\n\nThe exact relationship between pH and concentration of h, however, is widely debated.\n\nYou can find out more on _URL_0_\n\nGreat site\nSource icu registrar"
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3ef042 | how did this guy only get convicted on 9 of 11 charges when they found all the bodies in his house? | I was reading this article( _URL_0_) from TIL and was curious how he didn't get convicted of all 11. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ef042/eli5_how_did_this_guy_only_get_convicted_on_9_of/ | {
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"he was convicted of 82 of the 84 total counts against him. he was convicted of all 11 counts of murder."
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2i7gh3 | why is an ipad cheaper than an iphone? | I mean, it's basically just a huge iPhone with the only exception that you can't call, but that's no problem seeing as you can have a $20 phone for calling and a $470 iPad, and **STILL** be cheaper off than buying an $1000 iPhone.
So why is this?
edit: Well, in my country the most expensive iPhone without a contract is the iPhone 6 Plus with 128 GB storage space. It costs $1,253. The most expensive iPad is the iPad Air with 128 GB storage space, it costs $1,090. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2i7gh3/eli5_why_is_an_ipad_cheaper_than_an_iphone/ | {
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"the smaller and lighter hardware in the phones is more expensive. battery is a good example",
"Because the iphone price is set as an incentive to get a contract/subsidized price. They don't really expect people to pay full retail but if they do, all the better. ",
"Two reasons. \n\n1) In the microelectronics industry, component cost is inversely proportional to size. The smaller and more integrated something is, the more expensive it is.\n\n2) Demand. More people want an Iphone than an Ipad, so Apple can successfully charge more for it. The Average Sales Price has little to do with the actual unit cost and much more to do with what someone is willing to pay for it. ",
"Capitalism. The price for your product is as much as people are willing to pay. People are willing to pay more for a phone than for a tablet, and therefore they can drive the prices higher.\n\nHowever, it's also true (and it's been said higher too) that miniaturization is expensive, and making efficient and tiny components for a phone is more expensive than the big components for a tablet. "
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3f76wf | what does nicotine do to your body to make you feel the way it does | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3f76wf/eli5_what_does_nicotine_do_to_your_body_to_make/ | {
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"So nerves in your body are activates by chemicals binding to certain proteins called \"receptors\". There is an entire class of receptors called \"nicotinic\" receptors, named so because nicotine binds to these receptors. That is not to say that nicotine is used in your body to \"activate\" these receptors, it's just that nicotine binds to these receptors and causes its invariably complex effects.",
"I was always curious as to why I needed to poop after having a smoke. \n\nIt would appear that nicotine relaxes your muscles. My advice, smoke on the toilet "
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453p2r | why do lots of places only accept a passport or a driving license as identification when some adults don't have either? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/453p2r/eli5_why_do_lots_of_places_only_accept_a_passport/ | {
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"Typically places will accept a state issued photo id. The drivers license is the best/most accessible example of that, but you can get a normal state id card which is equitable. So you can use that if you don't drive. You should have *some* form of id, so they're reasonable asking for it usually. ",
"Because the ID is only as good as the issuing authority. Does a work ID qualify? Unless you know how the company properly identified the person to give them that ID, you can't be sure how they authenticated the person is who they claim to be.\n\n",
"The actual requirement is a \"government issued picture identification\" of which drivers license and passports are the most typically used. You can get a picture identification card at the DMV, court house, or tax collector's office in most states. ",
"The majority of citizens either one or both. Almost all immigrants and foreigners will have a passport. The people that have neither are small and those places will usually find some way to accommodate them (social security card, state ID, military ID, etc, etc.)",
"Generally, the legal risk of selling to the wrong person is much higher than the risk of alienating the few customers that don't have either of these things. \n\nFor example, alcohol. Serving to someone that's under age in Texas can get you thousands of dollars in fines, and can get the business tens of thousands in fines or even a potential loss of liquor license, which pretty much shuts down the business.\n\nCompare this to the risk of pissing off a customer that doesn't have the time or money to get a government issued ID, which costs like $25. That person is never going to be your best customer, so there isn't a whole lot of incentive to make a risky exception for them.",
"Legal precedent has made these the only defensible forms of ID when you're charged with selling to a minor. If you sell to someone who has a reasonably realistic fake government issued ID you're okay. However, if you sell to someone with a fake school ID or something along those lines, you're still in trouble.",
"When they say \"driver's license\" what they almost always actually mean is \"state issued identification card\". Since so many adults in the United States have a driver's license it's just become common to ask for that as a standard form of government-issued I.D. \n\nIf you don't have a driver's license you can, and should probably get a state I.D. card.",
"I used to work in a cell phone store. We had a sketchy sub-dealer who would fax us IDs for new accounts. The corporation was very clear on what qualified as an ID: state licence, passport, military ID, firearms licence.\n\nThe sub-dealer sent a fax with two cards from homeless shelters with the applicant's name. One of them said, in big letters, \"THIS IS NOT AN ID\". Nope. My boss had a little talk with the sub-dealer.",
"In most cases, there is no legal requirement that a private business accept a particular form of identification. There may be things they can *not* accept (for example, perhaps it is required to be government-issued to meet their regulatory burden), but they are free to decline a perfectly valid form of identification.\n\nOn the other hand, wrongly accepting invalid IDs can cause the business to be slapped by a massive fine. So for them, it pays to be cautious--if they only accept the most common forms of ID they will be familiar with, the risk of wrongfully accepting a fake is greatly reduced. It's not every day that someone in Alabama sees an Alaskan state ID card; a store clerk for example will probably not be familiar with its security features. Though the ID may be quite valid, the store might rather turn down the one Alaskan customer than risk thousands of dollars in fines.\n\nKeep in mind that the real origin of these policies is regulatory burden and stiff fines--the business would probably be happy to have you as a customer if not for those worries.",
"I actually know someone whose only forms of ID are her social security card and birth certificate. She was a runaway at 15 and never got a state ID, and didn't bring her birth documents (as many runaways don't.) She had to go through the necessary channels to get a new birth certificate (surprisingly easy) and whatnot, but still hasn't gotten a state ID (she's not a licensed driver.) We keep bugging her to get on it, but so far, she's actually had zero problems carrying around her birth certificate as a form of ID, other than some weird looks from cashiers, because most people probably haven't seen one in decades. \n\nSo a birth certificate works in most regular cases if you don't mind the cashier remembering you as the weirdo who won't go get an ID. "
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3tdxfa | is it bad for me if i crack my neck by snapping it backwards? | For example i look at the ceiling quickly and push my chin up. This causes a large popping noise and relieves a lot of tension. Is this harmful or more harmful than a side to side neck crack? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3tdxfa/eli5_is_it_bad_for_me_if_i_crack_my_neck_by/ | {
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"Any kind of fast, jerking/wrenching motion has the potential to cause pain and/or damage. Slow neck rotations are far safer. ",
"I crack my neck all the time. The popping sound you hear is from gas escaping the space. You should be safe but if your unlucky then any sorts of unlucky things can happen. \n\n1) You have Vit. D deficiency? Weak bones mean you could crack something in your cervical spinal segments. \n\n2) You could have a nerve pinch that causes constant pain. Or worse you could sever one of your spinal arteries causing you to bleed internally. \n\nBut most likely what will happen? You will crack your neck and feel great. "
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a2nv3n | why don’t animals break bones as easily as humans | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a2nv3n/eli5_why_dont_animals_break_bones_as_easily_as/ | {
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"Animals still break bones \"easily\". I'm a hunter and pretty often have to put down a deer with a badly broken leg\n",
"Animals rarely get into car crashes.\n\nBeing serious here, lot fewer situations in daily life that an animal can be in that breaks a leg. ",
"They break bones just as easily.\n\nIt's just that they will just die because they are now disabled (so they become prey and can't feed themselves) instead of getting it attended by doctor which pusts cast on it and carrying on like human would.",
"probably because they don’t engage in the same variety of high-risk activities that humans do.\n\nI’m sure if animals used cars, bikes, skateboards and trampolines as much as humans do, their break rate would be much higher"
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91g27l | why does vinegar + aluminum foil clean stainless steel? | A short while ago I bought my first stainless steel pan and managed to burn it on my first use. I let it sit with water and dish soap, scrubbed it, boiled water and vinegar in it, added vinegar and baking soda, scrubbed it some more.. nothing worked. While the burnt bits were removed, the pan was still stained with some dark spots and it looked bad.
Then I googled some more and read that adding a water and vinegar solution with a piece of aluminum foil would remove stains from the pan. I was a bit skeptical, but I tried it out and lo and behold, it was like a miracle was happening in front of my eyes. Within 30 seconds or so, all the stains were gone and the pan looked like new. That got me thinking.. why did it work? Did the burns actually go away? Were they merely covered by a layer of aluminum? Is it toxic in any way?
Could someone explain what happened? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/91g27l/eli5_why_does_vinegar_aluminum_foil_clean/ | {
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"Galvanic corrosion. When one metal (stainless) is connected to a less noble metal (aluminum) through an electrolyte (vinegar), the less noble metal gives up electrons and corrodes. ~~You basically plated your pan with aluminum.~~ EDIT: This is incorrect. Didn't have my coffee this morning. You need to apply a current for electroplating to happen, and aluminum is too active to be plated. This is likely just the acidity of the vinegar removing oxides from the stainless.\n\nPlease stop spamming my inbox now lol.",
"And how can I get aluminum clean? I have some aluminum parts on my stove. Once threw them in our dishwasher which made it totally worse.. tried baking soda and boiling them in soap. Still have black/dark spots.",
"If the spots are oxidized steel then it's possible what's happening is the same as what happens in a thermite reaction just VERY slowed down. Electrons from the aluminum move through the electrolyte (vinegar) and into the oxidized steel (iron) which causes it to return to its original state. This is essentially a battery where the aluminum is the anode and the pan is the cathode. ",
"Dude, vinegar and baking soda neutralize each other. In the right ratio, you as well use pure water.\n\nJust use vinegar. It gets off anything that's burnt on.",
"If you had simply put boiling white vinegar in the pan and let it sit it would have removed the stains. YouTube vinegar steel etching",
"Question: does doing this help for cast iron?",
"Here's how I look at it, considering that this reddit tells me to explain it like you're five.\n\nLet's start with your stainless steel pan. Stainless steel is an alloy - basically a mishmash of metals and other substances, the end material having characteristics superior to individual components. This being considered, your stainless steel pan is mostly going to be iron mixed with carbon, but the main star here is iron (Fe).\n\nSimple reaction of fire with steel wool, which is typically stainless steel, produces a rusty material which are basically oxides of iron, or iron combined with oxygen in different proportions. This combination is possible because of the high temperature.\n\nSince you used your pan to cook, this is possibly what you see on the pan, oxides of iron that have stuck to the surface.\n\nLets move to the aluminum foil and vinegar. Vinegar is considered an acid, albeit very weak in a sense that is not dangerous to handle. The vinegar is a good environment for what is going to happen next.\n\nSo now you have everything together, the aluminum and your pan, all in your vinegar solution. The vinegar starts to slightly dissolve the scorch (iron oxides) on the pan and so you have iron ions swimming around. This starts of a reaction known as a reduction-oxidation reaction or simply a redox reaction. The aluminum foil dissolves slightly to give aluminum ions, and the iron ions from before become solid again. In a few words \"The aluminum displaces the iron from the vinegar solution\" Why does it do this? Because aluminum is more reactive than iron and so wants to be dissolved in that sea of vinegar more than iron. Fortunately, there is a guide for this difference in reactivity known as the activity series for metals, where you will find aluminum above iron in the series (more reactive)\n\nBecause of this reaction, see that the pan looks as new again. The pan is simply cleaned, no new coating is applied. The scorch is only superficial, so only some of the outer portion of the pan is removed. We're talking at the atomic level here. The fundamentals of this lie in the understanding of redox reactions and basic electrochemistry.",
"Deglazing is great for stainless. Heat up the pan, and then run it under water. Let the reaction do its work. When the bubbling stops, you can repeat, OR what I do is (wearing kitchen gloves) I use steel wool and scrub the few spots that are left. ",
"Probably what you have there is carbonized food stuff and polymerized oil essentially. The BEST way to clean stainless steel pots and pans is with oven cleaner. It's essentially a strong lye solution. Buy some easy off. Make sure you glove up and ventilate the area. Spray your pan down with the oven cleaner and tie it up in a big black trash bag. Let it sit for a day and then scrub. Repeat as necessary. I do this once a month in restaurants to keep the pans looking brand new. ",
"Simple chemistry. Aluminium is more reactive than steel. If you add some acid, the corrosion transfers from the steel to the aluminium. I can go into a more complex explanation involving electronegativity and half equations if you want but that wouldn't really be ELI5ing it. \n\nYou can also polish silver like this - just put the silver on a piece of foil in a glass dish, pour in baking soda, vinegar and a little boiling water and the black bits will turn silver again. \n\nThis can all be explained by looking at the reactivity series of metals. Metals can be ordered from most to least reactive. A more reactive metal is more able to react with other compounds than a less reactive one.",
"The aluminum foil is an abrasive. It's harder than the burnt bits but not as hard as stainless steel, so it can scratch through the burnt bits without damaging the steel. \n\n_URL_0_",
"You made a battery. Acid and two different metals results in a battery, which produces an electric potential. This basically accelerated corrosion from acid by running a current through it.",
"This is known as a single-displacement reaction. Essentially, when you burn your pan, you're forming a layer of various metal oxides on the pan (namely, iron). When you put the vinegar in, it starts dissolving the oxides (vinegar is a dilute form of acetic acid, a weak acid); however, the amount of oxides actually dissolved is relatively miniscule, and the solution is eventually completely saturated with dissolved iron oxide. This means the first reaction is in **equilibrium**. By adding the aluminium foil, however, the aluminium displaces the iron from the iron oxide to form aluminium oxide and iron atoms. This means a decrease in iron oxide in solution; the equilibrium is disturbed. In order to regain equilibrium, more iron oxide is dissolved into the vinegar. This cycle continues until there is virtually no iron oxide left on your pan, and your pan is rust-free! ",
"What exactly did you do? Clean the pan by scrubbing with foil? Or was it just sitting in the pan not doing anything?",
"Holy crap. I just tried this and cleaned a pan that has been uncleanable for a few weeks.\n\nNote: You have to scrub with the foil. You don't just let it set there."
]
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8y3e1x | why cant our brains correct/adapt to poor eyesight without the use of glasses? | From reading an earlier post about the upside down goggles, which take X long to readjust to seeing "properly" again, would it be possible to regain good eyesight given enough time without glasses? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8y3e1x/eli5_why_cant_our_brains_correctadapt_to_poor/ | {
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"Your brain can't process unfocused images that it receives into focused images, it can only interpret them. So your brain won't adjust to poor eyesight by figuring out how to sharpen your vision, it'll adapt by making it easier for you to understand what you're seeing, even if it's blurry. This won't overcome things like being unable to read fine print at a distance, but you will be able to recognize things that someone who just took their glasses off a minute ago wouldn't.\n\n**Edit:** fixed typo",
"No, because the images produced by the eyes aren’t flawed in predictable or reversible ways. \n\nPoorly-focused vision is like light hitting a white wall. You can’t use that to determine where light came from (whether it’s from a lightbulb, or another object lit by a bulb) because the whole wall is just lit up white.\n\nOnly by focusing light can you produce an image that is affected by what direction the light came from. That lets you use vision, or a camera, to see and understand what’s around you.\n\nIn very real ways (you can actually show this mathematically) there is *less meaningful information* in poorly-focused vision, and no amount of adaptation can extract more from it.\n\nPeople can certainly learn to function better without glasses (even blind people can learn to function without any sight) but this isn’t because their vision is getting better. ",
"Correcting upside down vision is a \"learned\" thing. Our brains naturally understand how to orient an image to make it face up. It cannot physically alter the shape of the eyes however. This is \"hard coded\" into your DNA. The cells will continue to grow in a misshapen way as the instructions on how to grow tell it to.",
"Many people don't know they need glasses till they get tested. A lot of people who wear glasses will tell stories of how the first time they wore them they suddenly realised that everything had been out of focus before but they just thought it was normal until they saw something different. So without glasses you don't \"Gain good eyesight\" you just adjust to your limited vision.\n\nThere is even an extremely rare condition where completely blind people are convinced that they can see\n_URL_0_",
"For the same reason CSI can't _actually_ just click \"enhance\" on a blurry video and get a clear image from a couple of pixels...the information simply isn't there. An upside down image has the same amount of information as a right side up one, it's just flipped around in a simple way. A fuzzy image is lacking information compared to a clear one. "
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2fynga | what would happen if you were going the same exact speed as a shock wave from a large explosion would you hear the explosion the whole time while traveling with the wave? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fynga/eli5_what_would_happen_if_you_were_going_the_same/ | {
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"No, because noise is changes in pressure. If you were going exactly the same speed as the wave, you'd be in a consistent high- or low-pressure area."
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2gxz1h | what gives art its value? | Whats stopping me from painting a blue square and selling it for thousands? obviously i'd get zilch but proper artists can get away with it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2gxz1h/eli5_what_gives_art_its_value/ | {
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"Quality, story associated with the work, notoriety of the work and the artist. Hitlers art was worthless, so he killed a couple people and tried taking over the world and boom his art becomes valuable. The Mona Lisa wasn't worth shit. It gets stolen and recovered and boom it is valuable. Also a lot of the value is subjective. I was on a cruise and there was a contest for a Picasso. The huy asked me the price of the painting. If I was right I would win it. I told him $3. He looked at me like I was nuts. He said it was worth over 10K. I said I'd give him $3. I think that piece of shit is still sailing around on that boat.",
"While the quality of the art plays a factor in the value of the art itself, The back story of the art also plays a very important role in it's valuation.\n\nLike /u/idamnedit mentioned,\n\n > Hitlers art was worthless, so he killed a couple people and tried taking over the world and boom his art becomes valuable. The Mona Lisa wasn't worth shit. It gets stolen and recovered and boom it is valuable.\n\nHere's a simple thought game. If someone like you or I made \"a blue square\" and tried to sell it, It's quite obvious that we won't get anything meaningful. One the other hand, if someone famous, someone who isn't generally associated with art, someone like Bill Gates paints \"a blue square\" and sells it off for charity, there will be people queued up to buy it.\n\nIt's simple supply and demand. Paintings made by ordinary people like you or I is a dime a dozen whereas paintings that are rare and exclusive perhaps due to it's back story or due to the artist who made is much more valuable.",
"We give art its value. \n\nIts primary value is in what the art says. In 1917, an art museum was running a promotion in which they advertised that they would accept any form of art in their museum. Duchamp challenged this notion by submitting a urinal, signing it, and submitting it as a piece. The museum tried to protest against it, but Duchamp maintained that it was 'art', as there was no other criteria by which they defined art. \n\nIt's now classified under 'Dadaism', which basically means that nonsense can be in itself an art form. Humans have a tendency to assign meaning to things even if they are nonsensical, which is what the art form draws on. \n\nThe art in itself doesn't have to make sense, but we can pull meaning from it simply from the context in which it is being displayed. \n\nThat's why people who go to museums try to stare at the art until they can figure out what it means to them; it draws on the context of the situation (i.e being displayed in a building specifically designed to display things of explicit and implicit meaning) to provide its value. \n\n'Conventional' art like paintings of people or places also carry meaning, but in a different way; it's about the presentation, perspective, or detail involved in a specific scene. 'Abstract' art bases its meaning on drawing your attention to things you might not have considered, which is why it's harder for most people to understand. ",
"For me, art has been always related to freedom. Every art piece is a moment of freedom for its artist. Thats why artists do it. Kandinski called it \"interior needing.\"\n\nSome art pieces have the power to free us as humans, to talk for all of us as evolving animals.\n\nSome grand artists like Picasso, Malevich (White square on white ) had helped the world to be more open-minded. Is like visual phililosophy.\n\n You can't see it if you don't want to. Has nothing to do with beauty. Its about registering our existance and searching for a meaning.\n\nEven the modern art haters, your life is marked by those artist in a collateral way despite your eyes are so small to see it.\n\n(Sorry for the spell!, no time to check it)\n"
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d1wxny | why are mouthguards for top teeth not bottom? | Why do they make mouthguards for teeth and especially nighttime grinding guards only for top teeth? Why not bottom teeth instead? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d1wxny/eli5_why_are_mouthguards_for_top_teeth_not_bottom/ | {
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"In terms of mouthguards for sport it's because the top teeth are in most people in front of the bottom teeth, so they're the ones likely to be hit."
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6igqi2 | why do people in war zones, poor areas, extreme oppressing countries do make babies knowing there is no healthy future for their families? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6igqi2/eli5_why_do_people_in_war_zones_poor_areas/ | {
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"Religious beliefs, lack of access to birth control, replenishment of population being killed, hope that conflict will end soon. In many cultures, children are critically important to having enough labor for tending fields, etc. so as bad off as they are, they'd be even worse off without children to help. Also, some counties have programs giving grain/food to school children, so they may be a source of food for the family in that regard.",
"In poor regions, much of the population usually works in agriculture. Having a child, since ancient times, has been a way to get help on the farm and around the house without actually having to pay anybody. \n\nThey also may not have access to contraception, or education on how it works. \n\nAlso, poor people still want to enjoy life. What is the most fun two people can have with no money? Bingo.",
"Though the main reason is lack of education and awareness, I would say lack of 'alternate entertainment' sources plays a big part. I've seen this happening in villages in India. Same family which a generation ago had 5-6 kids, now has 1-2. Why? Because with advent of high speed (relatively speaking) accessible internet on cheap mobiles, people have more avenues to pass time than before",
"I believe that when the chances of offspring reaching breeding age are lower, instinct drives us to have more offspring, in order to increase the chances of continuing the genetic line."
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3p2xkx | why does steve jobs get so much more love than bill gates? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3p2xkx/eli5why_does_steve_jobs_get_so_much_more_love/ | {
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"Because he's dead...\n\nNot many hailed Jobs as \"God\" while he was alive. Only after his death were there Movies, Books, and countless other things written/said about him.\n\nI'm sure when Bill Gates passes away, a movie will come out about him, and we'll all come to realize what a wonderful & sometimes terrible person Gates has been.\n\n\"You don't know what you got till it's gone\"",
"Bill Gates built up a reputation as a vicious businessman in the 90s. It wasn't until stepping down from MSFT that the philanthropy became a serious thing for him. Since he wasn't really in the spotlight at the time, people just remember Evil Bill.\n\nJobs is remembered for his positive public persona, turning AAPL from a dying tech company into one of the biggest companies in the world, taking credit for all the user-friendliness of Apple products & his turtlenecks. How can you hate a dead guy in a turtleneck?"
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cmbsio | why do medicines that are supposed to be taken every x hours not effective if it is taken too early or too late? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cmbsio/eli5_why_do_medicines_that_are_supposed_to_be/ | {
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"If you take them too early you still have the earlier dose in higher concentration in your system and can potentially reach an overdose level for the drug (particularly if you are at max safe dosages to begin with). If you take them too early you can have the levels in your system drop below useful levels and that dip makes it less effective.",
"Drugs do their thing at a certain range of concentration within the body. Sometimes that range is wide, sometimes narrow, but the body gradually clears it out at a normally predictable rate.\n\nTo keep the medicine in the desired range of concentration it needs to be taken regularly and on schedule; too late and it can drop too low in the body and too early and it can go too high in concentration. Each has different results but neither is the desired outcome.",
"Taking them at the proscribed timing is when the medication is \"most effective\". It's seldom \"not effective\" when taken at other times, just not as effective as your doctor had planned. The side effects may be greater as well, as dosing is often a trade-off between effect and side-effect.",
"You Take 10 molecules of Drug A at 6 am,Drug A has A half Life of 12 hours meaning by 6 pm the amount of Drug A in your blood will be 5 molecules..Now to kill a certain Pathogen,Suppose we need 10 molecules of Drug A..if we give 8 or 9 molecules it won't be effective and giving 20 will produce side effects..So your doctor will prescribe you to take the second dose of Drug A at 6pm so the concentration of Drug A remains constant and not too high to produce toxicity and not low enough to render it ineffective..\nI've Explained it as simply as I could,Sorry for Grammar (Not A Native speaker)"
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epucg8 | why do cars look so much bigger from the inside? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/epucg8/eli5_why_do_cars_look_so_much_bigger_from_the/ | {
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"The farther away things are, the smaller they appear. The car is around you, so it appears much bigger than the road, which is farther away. It isn't a huge difference, but enough to mess with your perspective."
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28kfmp | why can i go a whole weekend day barely eating, but on any given workday (i sit at a desk) i have extreme cravings to snack all day? | I can wake up around 9am on a weekend, not eat until 2pm, then barely get hungry again until 8ish. When I get to work Mon-Fri I want to chow down nearly all day long and often can't resist the urge. Is it a chemical in my brain trying to comfort myself with endorphins because work sucks? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/28kfmp/eli5why_can_i_go_a_whole_weekend_day_barely/ | {
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"While at work I interpret most feelings as hungry. Bored? Have a banana. Stumped? Crackers. Cold? Ooh, is that cake?!?",
"yup something like that. boredom and unpleasant emotions and hunger are best buds",
"There are other places this happens as well. Uncomfortable at a party? Find your way to the snack table, or find some hor d'oeuvres.",
"So from the comments, and personal experience, you're bored. Currently dealing with this issue as we speak. I am trying to lose some weight but when I come to work I just want food. At home, when I am focused on other things I am not as hungry. Especially those dang candy bowls they put out.",
"It does depend a bit on when you first eat, and I assume you eat breakfast before you go to work on weekdays. When you sleep, all your brain function is run by stores of energy through your liver. When you wake up and don't eat, you don't shift to running from the nutrients you ingested, you're still on liver function. That's why you won't get hungry if you don't eat breakfast, but it's bad for your body to run on just your liver for extended periods of time. That's why they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.\n\nLet me see if I can find where I read that, I'm trying to explain it off the top of my head.\n\nEdit: [Here is where I learned about it here on Reddit](_URL_0_) and [here's an internet article explaining it a bit.](_URL_1_)",
"Dehydration can play a role in this. Offices with lots of electronics, computers, air conditioning, etc. will tend to dry out the air, which can cause you to lose water faster. Many people [mistake the sensation of thirst for hunger](_URL_0_) and thus end up snacking to satisfy the craving.\n\nSource: Chronically dehydrated person in an extremely dry office learning to drink more water.",
"Try this: get a couple big cups of water and some of that Mio flavoring (or I use the free cranberry apple tea they provide at work), and just always have water available. When you finish one cup, go fill it up, but keep two in case (it happens) you don't want to or can't leave the desk. Using this trick, and logging my 16 oz cups of water per day, I consume an average of 7 of them. (112 oz) just at work. It can really help to knock out the cravings.\n\nAnother trick is keeping almonds at your desk. But only measure out 10-15 of them and then put them away. Chase them with some water and it will knock out cravings after about 10 minutes, for only about 100 low carb calories!"
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"http://www.livestrong.com/article/520183-glucose-homeostasis-the-liver/"
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7q2w4u | how can a choke hold knock you out in 5 seconds when most people can hold their breath for at least 30 seconds? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7q2w4u/eli5_how_can_a_choke_hold_knock_you_out_in_5/ | {
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"I’m sure there’s a more educated answer coming, but my understanding is being in a chokehold is also cutting off blood circulation, not just restricting oxygen.",
"When you hold your breath you're still getting blood to the brain, but a proper choke hold cuts off blood to the brain. \n"
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9cxfn5 | how do pcs/consoles read disks/cds? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9cxfn5/eli5_how_do_pcsconsoles_read_diskscds/ | {
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"The reflective surface of a cd is basically a clear flat coating over a series of seriously tiny bumps and divots. There's a tiny laser in the computer that shines on the disk, right through the clear protective layer, and reads whether it's over a bump or divot.\n\nThe computer rotates the disk and moves the laser inwards or outwards to have the laser over any part of the disc it wants, so it can \"read\" it.\n\n\nBasically think of an old school record player, but with the needle being a distance sensing laser",
"The mechanics of a disk drive and a CD are quite different, and there are many variations of disk drives:\n\n1. Pre \"solid state\" drives, the data was stored on magnetic \"platters\" which were spun at fast rates and then a reader \"head\" would be moved to correct position on the spinning platter to locate the sector that held the desired data. Here is a picture of a platter with the arm in the foreground that holds the reader head - works kinda like a record player arm and stylus. _URL_0_\n\n2. Solid state drives store on microchips - no moving parts, pure electronics. This is like the memory card in your phone or camera, just higher performance and larger.\n\n3. CDs are \"optical\". They work much like the disk drives in that they spin and an arm is moved to proper location to read the information. However, unlike the magnetic storage of the disks, the CD has a physical characteristic that is then read by \"looking\" with a laser. The laser can see a bump for 1 or a trough for 0...on the face of a ring of the CD.",
"Good answers here but one correction: CDs don't follow a \"pit for 1, land for 0\" scheme. Instead, the laser detects when it goes over a transition from a pit (divot) to a land (bump), each time it goes over one of those transitions is a 1, otherwise it is 0. So let's say we take 2 bytes (16 binary digits) of the track and lay it out straight, and there is one transition about in the middle, so the first half is a pit and the second is a land. That would read as 0000000100000000, not 0000000011111111. If there is a transition say after every 3 bits, it would be 0001000100010001, not 0000111100001111.\n\nThere are also some rules in the encoding that there *must* be a transition after so long in a pit or land, as part of its eight-to-fourteen modulation (where it takes 14 bits to represent 8 bits), which is used in a coding scheme which gives the disc some error correction."
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2edegl | how the windows .exe file works | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2edegl/eli5_how_the_windows_exe_file_works/ | {
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"What are you asking exactly?\n\n.exe files are binary files, they contain instructions that can directly be understood by your CPU. When you click on one, windows load it into memory and then your CPU start executing each instructions one by one."
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3nifcg | how is it possible to withdraw money from any atm using any bank card? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3nifcg/eli5_how_is_it_possible_to_withdraw_money_from/ | {
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"The ATM sends every money request to its bank. If it's a card from that bank, it tells the ATM whether or not the transaction is approved. If the card is from another bank, it sends that request to the other bank for approval. This all happens in a matter of seconds.",
"Pretty much the same way you can ask me this question even though I'm probably thousands of miles away from you: They just ask the bank over a network. Or in the case of mobile offline ATMs they just assume you are good to take out < 100 dollars and then when the thing syncs up when they bring the atm to the central office and your bank gets the message you took out 100 dollars but only had 50 your bank just gets mad at you and puts a bunch of fees and tells you you owe the difference. "
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dugy8d | why can’t we stop a receding hairline? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dugy8d/eli5_why_cant_we_stop_a_receding_hairline/ | {
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"Actually, you can fairly effectively stop a receding hairline by taking something that blocks testosterone from being converted to dht, or blocking dht from being used in the body, suck as as finasteride. If you are genetically predisposed to it, dht will take your hair, and its a natural byproduct of Test. Not only that, but you can somewhat effectively regrow lost hair with something like minoxidil depending on your circumstances.",
"Because it relates to DNA and dihydrotestosterone that result in the loss of hair, changing those would in theory stop a receding hairline, but that is very difficult - _URL_0_",
"I (F, 28) have alopecia. I start wearing a lot of beanies and head scarves every time I go into another hair loss cycle. I've thought about getting some wigs or hair pieces that might look like my natural hair too. Having light hair also helps mask hair loss if your hair is just \"thin\"... On this most recent cycle of hair loss I've lost about half of the hair all over my body and wear hats 90% of the time. This is one of the cheapest and simplest solution. There are also a lot of anti-thinning, DHT blocking shampoos/conditioners which might help you. Minoxidil is also a good option to try. \n\nIt's not completely related to what you're looking for, but I can definitely say that hair pieces, weaves, and wigs can look very natural and are a great option for people who are struggling with their hair. A nice hair piece or wig can give you that little extra bit of confidence if you're really self conscious about hair loss.\n\nOR - embrace the lack of hair and shave it off like my siblings did. Bald is beautiful too.",
"The same reason we can't stop aging among thousands of other things. Its complicated and nobody has worked out how to do it yet.",
"there's an Science Vs podcast about this. only one solution to this. cut your balls and be hairy your whole life, I'm not kidding",
"As others have mentioned, the concentration of androgen rises to toxic levels on the scalp but often times you'll seen an 'island' pattern form of skin where the surrounding hair is unaffected. So pure concentrations of DHT don't explain that.\n\nThe latest happy accident was when a lady went for a botox treatment(yes, women can go bald too later in life) and afterward saw some regrowth. What happened is the botox killed the nerves that pull on muscles, which stops you moving them and crushing the collagen which smooths out wrinkles.\n\nBut it just targets muscles regardless. This loosened the skin on the scalp and allowed for more bloodflow to the area. More blood means less overall concentration of DHT in the area. So the initial culprit may be the muscles pulling the skin too tightly over the scalp as we age.",
"I hear finasteride works well. It does suppress dht though - a stronger version of testosterone - and has a chance of making erections not work. Also there's something called PFS, or post-finasteride syndrome, which can cause lifeling impotence, muscle loss, and depression... :l\n\nPick your poison, eh?",
"This is actually a good question. Viagra and Cialis are billion dollar drugs, and male-pattern-baldness / MPB is a global issue. I think is shallow to be concerned about that, but...people ARE shallow, and pharma companies want to make a profit. Seems like an easy target. Invest a few million on the most promising ways to accomplish this, and reap billions...",
"Because, ultimately, we don't really understand how aging works, or how to forestall it, at the molecular level. At their core, the fundamental technologies behind rocketry and computing were all developed in the mid 20th century, and they're comparatively simple, human devised systems. Biology is immensely more complicated, and takes place at a scale where observation is much more difficult, and we also don't want to harm the subjects being studied.\n\nRather than focus on the biomechanics specific to hair loss, the ideal treatment would be one which functionally arrested aging at, say, your mid 20's.",
"Have not reviewed entire thread so this may have been addressed.\n\nBut what about gene editing technologies such as CRISPR CAS 9 and the newly discovered (maybe more confirmed) “Prime Editing” which apparently has less “off target” (negative) genetic effects?\n\nI mean there has GOT to be a FORTUNE to be made in solving this problem right?",
"Also avoid companies like Monat that sell $80 small shampoo bottles that they say will restore hair. It’s a pyramid club on top of that. \nMinoxidil and finasteride and biotin among others are proven to keep your hair from falling out.",
"In this thread: lots of explaining how hair loss works on a scientific level, exactly zero explanation of OP's question.\n\nThe thing that causes hair loss is broken down testosterone, and without constant medication that stops the reaction from happening then it will keep happening. We can stop/slow down hair loss with the meds, but the question is how much money does the person want to spend, and how dedicated to regularly taking medicine for it are they?",
"All of you saying \"just go with it\" or \"it's natural so don't fight it\" or \"you can still get dates and be attractive\", and every other variations of these sentiments: ok, fair points for some guys - but there's a lot of us that just don't like how we look bald, or with thinning hair, and want to find a way to get our full heads of hair back. That's all, it's not complicated and it's not repressing or being in denial - it's just wanting to have a look you like. And yes, *of course* you can get used to being bald. But being used to something isn't liking it. So try and be a little less dismissive or judgmental for those of us that just want a certain look and want to explore ways that work to get it.\n\nNote: there *are* promising medications and treatments to reverse hair loss and various other types of baldness. An Italian company has shown a very promising treatment that could be seen as early as next year. The company is [Cassiopea](_URL_0_) for anyone interested in reading more. The company has a good clinical record and has earned a solid reputation with the FDA with a hormonal acne treatment that's passed phase III trials.",
"For similar reasons as why it's quicker to cut down a 80y.o. tree than to grow an 80y.o. tree. It's just super easy to murder things. Way easier than pretty much anything else.",
"It is odd that those individual follicles have their DNA stamped with the code to revert back to lanugo hair (baby hair). You don't necessarily go bald, it's just that some of your follicles are returning to a previous, underdeveloped state and some indeed \"die\" off. Hair \"plugs\" work very well as they take hair from the part of the head that never recedes and fill in the light areas. I've seen more than a few satisfactory results. And the prices are becoming increasingly competitive here in the States.",
"If you wanna talk about receding hairlines and going to Mars, look at pictures of Elon Musk from college vs today. Man looks a good 10 years younger now than he did back then.",
"Because you can still conquer the world with a receding hairline. If the other side has Mars robots or city bombs and you don't, different story.",
"If you had the money to send a robot to Mars, you could stop a receding hairline.\n\n[This guy knows.](_URL_0_)",
"Imagine finding a machine made by aliens millions of years ago that is so advanced that it's capable of complex thought and reasoning, can express emotions, can do advanced image classification and processing, has self regenerating components, contains an entire biochemical power plant, has a vast network of complex nano machines that fight microscopic aggressors, and those only just scratch the surface of what goes on inside of it.\n\nNow imagine taking that and trying to figure out how it works on a fundamental level so that you can manipulate and control it. That's basically what modern day medical science is tasked with. Once you internalize just how incredibly complex a system a human being is it makes a lot more sense why it's not so easy to do something like stop a receding hairline. Honestly I'm frequently amazed with how well we do understand the human body and how much we can control despite it's complexity.",
"OP and everyone else reading this. Google Pumpkin Seed oil pills and baldness. There was a study done that showed they not only stopped the receding hairline but also brought back hairgrowth."
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9m70iy | why do bugs fly into glasses of water where they immediately die? | With some regularity I'll come back to a glass of water that's been sitting out and find that there's a dead flying insect in it.
Given that humans didn't invent standing pools of water, it seems like any bugs that *can't* fly out of water after landing in it would have evolved to *not* *fly into that water in the first place*. Is there something different about glasses of water, as opposed to a natural puddle, that would trap a bug? Why don't bugs know to avoid this apparent death sentence? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9m70iy/eli5_why_do_bugs_fly_into_glasses_of_water_where/ | {
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"Well, insects aren't that bright and rely almost exclusively on evolution for their survival as a species. A large majority of insects don't land in water because nature likely selected against those that did - the ones that fell in water and never got out died and likely didn't reproduce as much as those that managed to survive. Either that, or falling in the water is simply too rare of an occurrence for anything to happen in a population, so you will always have a few insects meet their end in the water.\n\nBut not so fast, insects don't immediately die in the water. For a short time, they're still able to float and swim around. You might be wondering, why doesn't it drown? Insects are special in that they breathe using spiracles or paired holes on the body, that are connected to tubes that carry oxygen directly to bodily tissues (99% of insects don't get oxygen via the blood). Water is also special in that it's got this neat surface tension property where water molecules form a net-like structure because of hydrogen bonding. Combined with tiny hairs that cover the body, the spiracle is often shielded from water entering the spiracles. This saves the insect for some time, but eventually, they will still run out of oxygen and die after several minutes. Nature has just bought them some time to hopefully get away.\n\nBut if an insect gets into soapy or oily water, that surface tension is gone, and liquid will immediately rush into the insect's respiratory system, immediately killing it in a second or so."
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1q20a9 | how do music players and game systems pick thinks at random? | Surely this is a basic form of ai? How is music on shuffle pre programmed? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1q20a9/eli5_how_do_music_players_and_game_systems_pick/ | {
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"They pretty much are preprogrammed. _URL_0_",
"Short answer: They don't. They choose in an order that is merely enough to trick a human brain into thinking it's random.",
"There is no AI. It's a randomizer algorythm. While it is random to an extent there is nothing random about it at all. In college I had to write a couple of these for such project favorites as \"dice roll.\" ",
"Basically, the program will assign a unique ID to every item to be randomly picked from an array (list) or if it is pulling from a database, each item should already have a primary ID(unique ID.) \n\nThe program will then have an algorithm(steps or instructions), some listed in the above wiki link, that will randomly pick one of the numbers in the array or database. Said algorithm should also add a number to its pool when something is added to the database or array "
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7p2hbd | why do old light gun video game accessories (like the nes zapper) not work on modern tvs? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7p2hbd/eli5_why_do_old_light_gun_video_game_accessories/ | {
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"CRTs would turn off the pixels and then light them up again each frame, lighting them up one by one in sequence. By timing when the light gun \"sees\" the pixel light up, it can deduce where the gun was pointing.\n\nPlasma/LCD/LED screens are permanently on, they just adjust the pixels each refresh. There is no \"off\" state (unless the screen is actually off). The mechanism which the light guns used on CRTs simply does not exist.",
"CRTs are a glass wall of phosphorus that is lit from behind by a raybeam of electrons. The ray sweeps horizontally across the screen row by row, lighting up the phosphorus where required to make the picture. It does this 50 or 60 times a second depending where you are from. The NES knows what time the ray started the top row and measures the time it takes to see it with the gun. This then gives the location on the screen. \n\nPlasmas are essentially a huge matrix of single pixel CRTs so they don't scan.\n\nLCDs are basically curtains hiding a back light source so they don't scan either. \n\nBecause neither scan, the NES can't calculate the location from when the new frame starts drawing.",
"the zapper doesn't actually shoot anything - it has a camera inside the barrel, where the bullets would come from if it was a real gun.\n\nsee how the screen flashes when you pull the trigger? that's because for just a moment, instead of showing the game, the screen just shows white squares - wherever the targets are in your game. if the camera in the barrel sees one of those white squares, the zapper tells the game that you hit that target!\n\nthe older bulkier TVs displayed game graphics really fast - that's why you don't notice the white squares during the flash unless you look really carefully. The newer TVs are better, they're not as blurry and can show higher quality pictures - but it takes them a little bit of time to do that. So by the time the screen flashes, the camera in the zapper has already 'looked' for the white squares - and because the TV hasn't quite gotten ready to show them yet, the camera doesn't see them, and tells the game you missed, even if you were really aiming at the target.",
"Timing.\n\nWhen you pull the trigger on the NES Zapper, the game flashes a black screen, then white squares where the ducks were. The gun is just a photo-sensor and sends the data (how much light it's seeing) back to the NES. So, if the game senses a black-then-white pattern at *exactly* the right moment, then the duck was shot.\n\nThe problem is while CRTs were analog and basically instant, (most) modern TVs have a few milliseconds or so delay, which totally screws up the timing between the game and the display. \n\nImagine just a few milliseconds delay. When the game outputs black, the gun is still seeing light, and then when the game outputs a white square, the gun is still seeing black.\n\n^\\*: ^grammar"
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2l785g | mormonism and christianity | so question: whats the difference between mormons and christians, like what do they believe in thats different and how is church different? How hard would it be to become mormon if i am a christian? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2l785g/eli5mormonism_and_christianity/ | {
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"Mormonism is based on Christianity, but it has an additional set of gospels that detail Jesus's adventures in the New World.\n\nThere are a variety of ritualistic and mythological differences between Mormons and more mainstream Christians, but there aren't all that many doctrinal differences. If a Mormon thinks it's a sin, then most evangelical Christians would agree - and vice versa. Compared to the entire spectrum of Christian belief, Mormons tend to fall on the more conservative side.",
"At its very roots, Mormonism is from the same theological tradition as Christianity, but there are some major differences. They both believe in the Bible, although Mormons interpret a lot of it in a very different way than do Christians. For example, Christians believe in the Holy Trinity (That the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are really all one entity and are all equally God) while Mormons believe the three are very separate entities, with the Father being the only one that is actually God.\n\nMormons also believe in a second book called the Book of Mormon, which discusses how Jesus went to Central America after the crucifixion and establishing the church there.\n\nThey believe that God used to be a guy like you and me who lived on a planet orbiting a star called Kolob. He lived a virtuous life and was awarded God status over a planet of his own, Earth. Mormons believe that if you do everything right, you can one day become a God yourself.\n\nBecoming a Mormon isn't particularly hard to do, since they are very interested in expanding their membership base as much as possible. I believe you just have to study for a while, have some interviews, profess your faith, and be baptized. However, that's just \"base-level\" Mormonism, and there's a much more complex hierarchy that you can work your way through."
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6hemap | why can somebody post a picture/video of anyone online without their consent but sometimes you are asked to sign a consent form? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6hemap/eli5_why_can_somebody_post_a_picturevideo_of/ | {
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"People can post anything online it doesnt mean it's all legal & law enforcement have devisions dedicated to incarcerate & prosecute those illegally posting content."
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3i2ge6 | why can some insects survive high radiation levels they wouldn't encounter on earth and others don't? | For instance take the clichéd cockroach. They can survive substantially higher levels of radiation such as that from a nuclear weapon. Surely in nature they would never encounter such high levels of radiation, outwith some stellar events. Furthermore why do only certain species have such a great tolerance to radiation whilst others do not.
It seems like genetics are coding for an unnecessary and unlikely exposure to radiation. Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3i2ge6/eli5_why_can_some_insects_survive_high_radiation/ | {
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"They do not have specific adaptations for surviving radiation, but they are pretty tough little bugs that can survive injuries, starvation, etc. Insect biology just handles radiation damage better than mammals and things, mainly because they're much simpler than vertebrates. \n\nThere are arthropods that can survive the vacuum of space, not because they need to live in space bot because they evolved to survive *dessication* (drying out). Tardigrades are the instant ramen of the arthropod world.",
"Evolution isn't necessarily aimed at the outcome, its just a set of mutations that end up with the end result getting better and better over time. Certain parts of that evolution are specific, like cockroaches being able to eat almost anything, others like the radiation example are simply side effects of how their system works with regards to cancer and redundancy protection. \nIf it turned out that surviving nuclear war was a disadvantage in some other way, like it was just too much and could be made leaner somehow, evolution will degrade or completely remove it eventually, but like I said, its simply a result of something else, not necessarily the desired effect."
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2ct23y | why does iran, india, and australia have 1/2 hour time zone increments? | Looking at a world map of time zones, it seems like the half hour timezone increment isn't needed. But they exist. Why? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ct23y/eli5_why_does_iran_india_and_australia_have_12/ | {
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"This is because they chose to do so. The main reason is to keep in a more precise sync with the mean solar time.",
"This isn't an explanation but newfoundland Canada also has a half hour time zone",
"/u/davinci9 provided a great explanation for India, but for another odd time zone example, Nepal has a time zone of UTC +5:45 (5 hours and 45 minutes ahead of UTC).",
"Because Australia is big enough to warrant three timezones, yet the population of the middle time zone isn't actually right in the middle. I live in Adelaide, which is +9:30GMT and is 1.5 hours ahead of Western Australia (which is in-line with China) and half an hour behind the eastern states. \n\nAdelaide is about a 9 hour drive from Melbourne, an eastern city, yet the distance to drive from Adelaide to Perth is three times as far. Because we are closer to the eastern states it makes sense to have us only half an hour behind rather than the full hour."
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bu042r | why is the dark side of the moon not black or shadow like as opposed to the transparent look it gives off during the day? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bu042r/eli5_why_is_the_dark_side_of_the_moon_not_black/ | {
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"It is, but the sky is closer to you than the Moon so when the sky is blue there's blue light coming from the direction of the Moon, which is more apparent when there isn't strong light coming off the Moon itself. \n\nHere I'm assuming you're using \"dark side of the Moon\" to refer to the part of the Moon visible from Earth but not currently lit by the Sun, rather than the side of the Moon that's not visible from Earth.",
"The reason you can see the dark side of the moon is [Earthshine](_URL_0_). Sunlight hits the Earth, some of which gets reflected off, which hits the moon and then gets reflected back to the Earth.\n\nAnd just in case it's not obvious, the moon is not transparent during the day. The atmosphere is in front of the moon, so the blue light it scatters obscures anything less bright than it.",
"The side of the moon you see at day isn't the dark side of the Moon, it's the \"bright\" side.\n\nThe Moon is tidally locked with the Earth. It means that each times it does a full revolution around the Earth, it does a full revolution around itself. See it this way : turn around a tree somewhere. But carefully keep your eyes on the tree when you do it. You're body turns on itself (aka, your foot are not always pointed toward the same direction), and you'll find that you make a whole turn each time you complete a revolution around the tree. That is what the Moon does. No matter which part of the day, or night, no matter where you are on Earth, the Moon ALWAYS shows you its face. Not his back. \nThat's why the other side is the \"Dark Side\". Not because it's dark (it ain't, it's the same colour), not because it's in the dark (it ain't, it receives light from the same the same way the \"bright\" side does), but because we can't see it."
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3k9abx | how does compulsory school works in usa? (details inside) | I heard that school is compulsory in US, can you tell me how would it work in following case?
Let's say there is a 12 year old 'stubborn' kid who doesn't like to go to school. Even though his parents force him to go to school, he literally would sit in his house all day.
Will the police daily come to house, handcuff him, escort him to school daily ?
How else would they enforce compulsory school and truancy laws? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3k9abx/eli5_how_does_compulsory_school_works_in_usa/ | {
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"Well in the case of an extremely problematic child it's a bit case-by-case, but something would be done, yes.\n\nThe legal obligation is more to force parents to force kids than to force kids. A parent refusing to provide education for their child has a big legal issue on their hands.\n\nIt's not just the USA, either.",
"Typically the parent of the child is fined for the child's truancy. Where I live it's like $200 for the first case of not going for like 10 days and the fines go up as time passes.\n\n(The average rent for an apartment is about $800, to kinda compare)\n\nIf the child has a legit reason (medical or otherwise) to not attend then the truancy is dismissed."
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86v9bk | how do big supermarket chains decide on what needs to be ordered and put on the shelf? | I work at a very small grocery store stocking shelves. 3 times a week we get a very large delivery from the supplier's warehouse, that we then break down by aisle and put it out on the shelf. We only have 9 aisles in the entire store, so the day before we get our delivery the store owner walks up and down the aisles and decides what we need to order for the next delivery. Do large stores like Target or Walmart do their ordering by hand or is there like some kind of computer program that decides what needs to be ordered? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86v9bk/eli5_how_do_big_supermarket_chains_decide_on_what/ | {
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"Supply chain management. Their system knows how many of each item they order, what days they sell the most product, when items are running low, etc. ",
"At least the larger stores I've worked at had an IT system that showed exactly how many of an item you had in store, and when it was checked at the checkout counter it would subtract one from that number, and then people were hired to figure out how many of the items people bought per day, to figure out how low the stock could go before they had to order new stock.",
"It's both. Source: worked at a large chain petstore, and the logic is similar.\n\nBig box stores have something that will be called something along the lines of \"automatic replenishment.\" Some items will be ordered in set amounts every period - whether it's once a week, twice a week, etc. Others will get a specific amount ordered. Either way, when it comes in, you have an invoice for everything you ordered, and an invoice for what they sent you. Whatever the invoice says you got, a manager puts it into their POS (point of sale) database. When something is sold, the POS tells that to the database, so the inventory is tracked. \n\nEvery item has an \"order more of this\" amount, so that you order, say, 10 more when you have 2 left, so you never actually *run out*. Running out of items is bad for sales! After years and years of tracking sales data, the company generally knows how quickly stuff is sold, so they know that for that item, it'll take X number of days to sell the last Y number of items on the shelf. So if you put in your order two days before it will arrive, and you sell one item, on average, per day, then buy more when you have two left. Or more likely, three. That also means they *generally* know how much of that item they need to order. You don't want to order too much, or it'll sit around not selling and taking up space. Worse, if it's perishable it'll go bad.\n\nBut inventory is **never** perfect. There is always shrink, and less likely, swell. Shrink is whenever your actual inventory on the shelf is less than what your database says you should have. Swell is the opposite. Shrink happens for a lot of reasons. Theft is the obvious one, especially for big box stores like Walmart. Other causes might include getting damaged or returned and not reshelved, getting used for something in the store without that being written down, or even just rolling under a shelf when no one is looking and getting lost there. Occasionally the supplier makes a similar mistake or something gets miscounted and they send you too few items. That can also be a cause of swell, if they send too many; or if you fix inventory and then find an item hiding behind something on a different shelf.\n\nSome of that can be mitigated through careful records. Items written off for store use should be pulled out of inventory promptly by management. Perishable items after their sell-by date should be removed from inventory. All of that is handled manually, usually by management. *Most* of it can be accounted for as the person sees it happen.\n\nMost big stores, though, have days (or rather, usually nights, after closing) where parts of the store are counted, by hand. Presumably, this would happen at *least* once per quarter, but it depends on the needs and costs of the business. If it costs more to pay people to count your stuff than you lose because of missing items, maybe don't inventory your store quite as much. Since most big stores have different departments, each department head will be responsible for checking and adjusting the real inventory in the store according to the schedule. That manual adjustment changes the ordering levels. If you always order stuff when you have 2 left, and you didn't order more because the computer said you had 4, but hey, look, you really only had 2, then ordering automatically is going to get back on track.\n\nOf course, ordering sometimes has to be done manually, too. It's the department manager's job, or the relevant inventory type manager's job, to notice when stuff needs to be ordered and make sure it happens. The manager might notice, for example, that a particular item *usually* shows up every week on the truck, but last week it didn't get ordered. Better go count them, because the computer might *think* there are some on the shelf when there aren't any. If there aren't any to buy, the POS will never tell your inventory database to remove enough from inventory to trigger automatic replenishment. Or maybe the manager notices that one item is selling out rapidly for whatever reason and the automatic replenishment amount isn't enough, so it needs to be adjusted higher. Say, there was a cute gif of a bearded dragon that went viral and suddenly everyone is buying them, so maybe order 12 this week instead of 6.\n\nFinally, if the CEO of the company isn't dumb, they'll have a periodic, probably once or twice per year, third-party inventory. That means paying a separate company to come through and not just count, but scan every. single. item. in the store. No errors, no casual \"I saw six cans of this cat food but I didn't check to see if a customer left a can behind the bird seed.\" Every shelf is scoured, every item accounted for, and it's handled by another company so managers can't fudge the numbers if they're doing something shady. It's a hassle, but it resets the inventory for *everything*, so you *know* moving from that day on that if inventory says you have one more than you see on the shelf, that one went missing, it wasn't just someone putting it in the computer wrong or whatever.\n\n**TL;DR:** One or more managers will have, as part of their duty, counting stuff and making sure that enough of the necessary items are ordered to keep inventory at appropriate levels. However, at big retail stores that would take too many man-hours to do every single item by hand, so the computers keep track of what comes in and what gets sold so most of it is done automatically."
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Subsets and Splits