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2gu4bx | why do the scots simply vote to secede from the uk, but for the southern us states, it resulted in the civil war? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2gu4bx/eli5_why_do_the_scots_simply_vote_to_secede_from/ | {
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"Because the South attacked Fort Sumter. Also they didn't ask the US permission to leave, they told the US they were leaving.",
"There's a legally recognized vote for Scotland to secede or not secede. The Confederate states left without permission, then attacked the US, and did this all for an extremely fucked up reason (to defend slavery), not the reasons the Scots are doing it (to get a government that better represents their interests). "
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11jfg7 | why are there ridges on many u.s. coins? | Bonus question: could (70%) concentrated hydroflouric acid (HF) eat through any US coinage currently in circulation. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/11jfg7/why_are_there_ridges_on_many_us_coins/ | {
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"Blind people use money, too.",
"During our country’s earlier years, all coins were made of gold or silver, and did not have ridges. Each coin’s value was based on the amount of gold or silver in it. For example, a $10 gold piece contained ten dollars worth of gold, and silver dimes contained ten cents worth of silver.\n\nBut some dishonest people sought to make an illegal profit from these coins. They filed off the edges and sold them for their value in gold or silver. The smaller-sized coin often went unnoticed, but this dishonest practice decreased the value of the original gold or silver coin.\n\nTo prevent this, the government began milling, or grooving, the edges so a coin could easily be identified if it was trimmed.\n\nCoins today are no longer made of pure gold or silver, but the milled edges remain because people are accustomed to seeing them that way.\n\n\nSource- I googled it. Srsly.\n\nNo but this basically means back then people could just make the coin smaller, keep the gold they took off the coin, and still use the coin as $10. \n\nSo they put grooves on it so it would be 100000000x harder to do that. \n\nNow it's just tradition."
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6qpj3c | passing out from donating blood? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6qpj3c/eli5_passing_out_from_donating_blood/ | {
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"How are you at blood tests seeing your blood being taken?\n\nDid you eat that day? Could be lack of sugar. ",
"No your body can function without being awake. All your organs are all needed to stay alive. Take being asleep, your organs can't shut down or you'd die, but for the most part your brain shuts down. ",
"It's not uncommon for people with a fear of needles or blood (blood-injection-injury phobias) to pass out. It's caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure or vasovagal syncope.\n\nLook up the applied tension technique the next time you donate blood or need a shot. However, if it's never happened to you before, it's a good idea to talk to a doctor to rule out anything more serious.\n\nYour brain is always a priority. What you are reacting to is the change in blood pressure. If oxygenated blood truly didn't get to your brain, you'd be catastrophically brain dead in about five minutes.",
"Both times I donated plasma, around the 2nd or 3rd return cycle, my limbs got tingly, my body was hot but I also had cold sweats, and my sight went into tunnel vision. It was terrifying and I thought \"this is what death feels like\". Can anyone elaborate on this experience?",
"See a doctor, don't ask health questions here especially if it's involving passing out. Could be you have low blood pressure, could be you're anemic, I don't know (hopefully I'm not [deleted] for this but I do believe seeing a doctor is the best answer!)",
"Your blood sugar probably tanked even if you had eaten that day. After you eat, your body balances out your blood sugar (well unless you're diabetic) and when you have blood removed that balance changes. At least your description matches exactly with what I experience when I got hypoglycemic after an especially hard workout.\n\nNext time make sure to chug a glass of that super sweet juice drink they usually have. \n\nps: No, I'm not diabetic, I got worried that I was and got my levels checked. Doc said I'd just burned too much glucose."
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3caoxt | the euro: what are some of the consequences of such different sized economies having the same currency? | People are mentioning how Greece can't devalue their currency while being part of the euro. Now I am wondering what are the other good/bad ramifications of such different economies having the same currency.
Sorry it's not a very specific question. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3caoxt/eli5_the_euro_what_are_some_of_the_consequences/ | {
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"Devaluing your currency is in this case going to be central bank directed inflation. The European Central Bank has done it with quantitative easing, whereby they buy bad bonds from individual countries, similar to what the U.S. Has done. Where it differs from the U.S. Is that each u.s. State has to balance its budget each year, while each country in the euro zone keeps their own financial policy and can run up debts. This is a problem, because some countries on the euro are very strong economically and financially, I.e. Germany, and some very weak, I.e. Greece. The theory is, that if Greece had its own currency, it would have lost a ton of value by now, so that exports would resume because it would be so much cheaper to buy Greek goods. However...this still implies incredible pain and suffering for the Greek people, as introducing the drachma would be a very uncertain proposition."
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du9211 | why can humans not regrow damaged nerve cells? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/du9211/eli5_why_can_humans_not_regrow_damaged_nerve_cells/ | {
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"The nerves that don't grow back are those in your spinal cord. Basically that's because it's too complex. The cells \"don't know anymore\" to what cell they were attached before, so they can't grow back.",
"You cannot grow back *nerve cells*. Nerve cells have very unique morphology (size and shape), which would be very difficult to recreate. There is a small area in the brain where new nerve cells appear, but it has nothing to do with damage.\n\nHowever, you can actually grow back *nerves*. Nerves are not cells, but rather protrusions from cells (called axons). They regenerate after damage. But if the damage is too severe, the nerve will not be able to reconnect with the cell.",
"nerve cells are permanent cells, that's a part of it.\n\nPeripheral nerves can grow, depending on the EXTENT of the damage, if the nerve has been compressed, or if the peripheral cover of the nerve is intact while the nerve is cut, it will regrow. If the nerve is cut through, it will not repair without reattachment \n\nCentral nerves can but only in theroy, but inefficiently and slowly. Its clear that some stroke paitents areable to show some development and growth of new cells even, but this is limited at most. Most cells are there once and then never again. In the spinal cord, the connections are too complex for this to properly function so it wouldn't even it could. They tend to die after being cut. The answer in short is, why any of this happens is unclear, but they just don't, sorry to say. \n\nMaybe someone can give you a more clear explainaitn as to why axonal death occurs upon cutting, or why peripheral nerves can react differently. But it still won't clarify why nature has developed in such a permanent way.",
"You actually can. It is a fairly new discovery but neurogenesis is 100% a real thing. It is a very slow process that can be sped up by things like exercise but it happens every single day. The plasticity of the human body is incredible and this extends into the nervous system. \n\n_URL_0_",
"Peripheral nerves are able to regrow over time. However, their counterparts in the central nervous system do not regenerate.",
"I cut a nerve in my pinky along with artery and tendons on glass about a month back. At the moment half of it feels numb. I've been told nerves will grow back just very slowly, around 1mm a day if you're young, slower as you get older. Apparently it'll take a year to get feeling back to the tip of the finger.",
"Radiofrequency ablation is where they fry your nerves to help with pain. I get it done to multiple areas of my back- I can say that nerves do grow back over time. My Dr said to think of them as grass. \n\nIf anyone reading this has a lot of nerve pain, I highly suggest checking it out. I have arthritis all through my back from breaking it and degeneration and these procedures have given me my life back without having to take pills or get major surgery. I only miss a couple of hours of work and I'm on my feet the next day kicking ass. Some doctors put people to sleep for it, I stay awake and drive myself home. While it isn't permanent, at least for me, I can get 6 months to close to 2 years of relief per damaged area. \n\n(steps down from podium)",
"There are limited examples of regrowing lost nerve cells. The process is called neurogenesis, and it’s worth a google. The primary difficulty with neurogensis is that cells divide by cutting themselves in half (“binary fission”), and neurons are extremely asymmetric and polarized, so division is impossible. However, some stem cells can mature into neurons, and these stem cells can freely divide before maturation. The exact frequency of neurogenesis remains a matter of intense debate among neuroscientists.",
"If a traumatic brain injury taught me anything it's that neurons can't regrow but can reroute their connections and minimize any damage.",
"On average, human peripheral nerves regenerate at a rate of approximately 1 inch per month.",
"Omg I love this post! I had my 5th facial nerve severed due to a brain tumor. They reattached it, but it only ever partially healed. It’s been over 4 years now so it won’t ever fully heal",
"Some cells do grow back, just super slow. It depends on which nerves we're talking about.\n\nSensory nerve fibers can regrow on the order of a millimeter a day. This is why getting a deep cut can make the distal skin feel numb for weeks or months but not forever. This process is complicated and involves the proliferation and growth of accessory cells (schwann cells) first.\n\nUnfortunately brain cells and upper neurons of the spinal cord are not as good at regrowing...\n\nNeurons are terminally differentiated cells that don't proliferate. When nerves regrow, it's still the same cells just regrowing a limb. The cells you have in your brain were almost all there by the age of 2.\n\nSource: am MD"
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775dqj | what is the sense of having "the right against self-incrimination"? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/775dqj/eli5_what_is_the_sense_of_having_the_right/ | {
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"The 5th amendment just means you don't have to testify against yourself. It's important because without it the government could theoretically force confessions. Coming from a tyrannical government the framers wanted to make sure the defendant had as many rights as possible. ",
"I think a lot of it is an incentive to keep people from contempt of court. It's like the prisoners dilemma, where a happy medium can be reached if there is an agreement between both sides. Either you invoke your right and the system declares what happens due to your crime, or you lie and the system doesn't catch it (unlikely), or you lie, get the book thrown at you, and end up in a much worse place with an additional lying under oath charge. \n\nIf there was no protection for this, there would be no reason to tell the truth. The court has already found that you declare yourself not guilty, otherwise there would be no trial.\n\nEdit: typo",
"The whole premise of our legal system is that you're initially assumed to be innocent & the state must prove guilt. Ultimately, it's a protection against torture - if the authorities can force you to confess things, people will get hurt if they're giving the \"wrong\" answer.\n\n",
"Torture. If you don't have a legal right to refuse to speak, then the government can punish you for not speaking. It's a small step from there to being punished for not saying what they want, or tortured into admitting to anything, whether you are innocent or not. Feel free to google forced confessions in Japan for some examples.",
"Isn't the: \"...everything can and will be used against you...\" on one scale and the \"let's not say anything stupid\" on the other?\n\n",
"It can cause a big problem if it wasn't there. If you're in court, and they just ask you if you did a crime (and let's assume you did), if you say you did it - bam, you're guilty. If you lie and say you didn't - bam, now you're guilty of perjury. It also stops you from being forced to confess to a crime via force or coercion.\n\nOne of the fundamentals of the US legal system is that all suspects are (at least legally, if not culturally) considered innocent until *proven* guilty. The burden of proof of guilt is on the prosecutor and the accusatory party, not on the person being accused.\n\nIt can also be used to stop someone from admitting to another crime that's unrelated to the current case. Let's say you're accused of murder. You're innocent, but only because at the time you were selling drugs. While you might be able to work something out with your lawyer, it prevents you from being forced to then admit to some other crime in court.",
"The basis is that the State cannot force you to convict yourself. The burden is on the state to prove your guilt - not on you to prove your own innocence. Torture is one explanation, but there are a number of others. The attorney-client, priest-penitent, and spousal privileges also derive from this principle.",
"Like so many other rights and rules, this is the result of [abuse by the English monarchy.](_URL_1_) Basically, they were hunting for protestants, and when they found someone they thought was a protestant, he was given two options: Confess and be executed, or don't confess and be executed for lying. \"I'm not guilty\" wasn't an option.\n\nFor the purpose of modern justice, however, this right makes a lot of sense even without the specter of torture. \n\nThe government has a lot of options when it comes to putting people they want in jail, even when they cannot prove the crime they're investigating. The police can literally trick you into committing a felony for \"lying\" to them by asking you questions about obscure events that happened a long time ago. Did you talk about *this thing* with *that person* on *such and such a date* 3 years ago? No? We've got a recording, welcome to your felony under [18 U.S.C. section 1001.](_URL_2_) The only way to protect yourself from manipulation during an interrogation like that is to not talk. Here's a lawyer explaining how [that exact thing](_URL_0_) happened to one of his clients. That's how they put Scooter Libby and Martha Stewart in jail: They couldn't prove that either of them committed the crimes under investigation, but since they talked to the investigators and *something* they said turned out to be untrue they went to jail. \n\nHave you ever shaded the way you said something to make it sound like you weren't such a bad person? Welcome to federal prison on a felony conviction. It's human nature to not want to make yourself look bad, and the government will take ruthless advantage of that, so the Fifth gives you a chance to not screw yourself over and let the trained professionals work things out the way the system is designed to work.",
"[This video](_URL_0_) makes probably the best case made for the importance of the right against self-incrimination. \n\nThe government has pretty significant advantages in a criminal case over any citizen. Key reasons are, the government is constantly passing more laws, they have lots of people who can investigate crimes, and they know the facts better than you do (and often better than they will admit). \n\nBecause of these advantages, the US system requires the government to be able to prove a criminal case without any assistance from the accused. "
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3ftpc2 | when people get "keys to the city", do those keys open anything or are they purely symbolic. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ftpc2/eli5_when_people_get_keys_to_the_city_do_those/ | {
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"At this point it is purely symbolic. It used to be in olden days city's would close their gates and lock them at night to protect against raids and what not. Back then being given a key to the city granted you access throughout all hours of the day. That doesn't really happen nowadays so it's just to give honor to the individual."
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52b2op | are ticks really unkillable? | I've always heard as a kid that the only way to kill a tick was to burn it. If I give it a really hard stomp will it die, or are these things real life white walkers? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/52b2op/eli5are_ticks_really_unkillable/ | {
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"Ticks are hard to crush because they're very flat and hard, but you can easily kill a tick by cutting it, burning, poisoning, or crushing with a small pressure point. There are more ways to kill a tick than by burning. ",
"They are hard to kill. You could probably kill them by squeezing them with a pair of pliers, but you can't kill them by squeezing them between your fingers. I wouldn't recommend stepping on them, because you might lose them, leaving them alive to get on you or your dog later. Also, there's a risk of fire if you burn them. \n\nDuring tick season, I always keep a roll of Scotch tape handy. When I find a tick, I tear off a 1-inch long piece of tape, stick the tape to the tick, and then fold the tape around him, sealing it all the way around. I figure he'll never get out of that, and he'll soon suffocate. You can drop the tape in any wastebasket. Or collect them!"
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2hzawv | what causes some people to keep their eyes open after death and not others? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2hzawv/eli5_what_causes_some_people_to_keep_their_eyes/ | {
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"I don't know the answer to this but I suspect it's as simple as this: if your eyes are open when you die they stay open, if they're closed when you die they stay closed (at least mostly).",
"The opening and closing of eyelids is controlled by the [levator](_URL_0_) and superior tarsal muscles. Which stop working at death. So if they eye is open most likely it will stay open. ",
"There are several factors which contribute to this phenomenon. Sometimes the manner or cause of death influences it. Individual age, hydration status, and even co-existing brain tumors or diseases have been linked to whether someone dies with eyes open (meaning the upper lid does not cover at least half of the pupil in one study) or closed; there have not been many legitimate research studies done on the subject. \n\nWhat *can* be done after death is to close the eyelids and tape them shut before rigor mortis starts. Once rigor has begun (and it begins in the face, progressing head to toe), it's nigh impossible to get *anything* to move, including those pesky open lids. Once rigor has passed, hopefully the funeral home has possession of the body and it's for them to handle.",
"If you have a boner while dying ,will you be death with a boner? \n",
"Flexors are stronger than extensors when it comes to muscles. I thought when people died, small things like that would cause eyes to be open until the acetylcholine (sp?) disengaged due to death. That's my guess.",
"Small addition to this; when you die, do you actually shit yourself? Or is this a myth?",
"I'm not an expert or anything, but I assume it's due to the fact that some people close their eyes before dying and some people don't."
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1b0v75 | why the mlb does not have a salary cap | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1b0v75/eli5_why_the_mlb_does_not_have_a_salary_cap/ | {
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"Because the rich teams like to treat the rest of the league as their farm system, and the players like being showered in money. \n\nSince a salary cap has to be part of the union agreement, they work together to make sure that never happens.",
"If a baseball team is run like a company, the company is in its right to pay its workers as it see´s depending on the benefit that worker brings to the company, the company itself would either self regulate wages or fail if the wages are unbalanced as for the benefit the company receives from paying them out. \n\nTL;DR : If the team makes more money off the publicity and merchandising a high end player brings, it benefits them to pay them a higher wage to keep them happy. "
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3eup5c | is it illegal to take money you find on the ground? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3eup5c/eli5_is_it_illegal_to_take_money_you_find_on_the/ | {
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"Not really. From what I understand, unless someone is actually in distress looking for the money, it's yours.\n\nJust don't go blurting out that you found a 100 dollar bill"
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329fsd | there is currently an ant infestation in my 17th floor office... how the hell did they get here | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/329fsd/eli5_there_is_currently_an_ant_infestation_in_my/ | {
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"Ants are very small and thus have a very low mass. Gravity does not overcome the force of friction that the walls give against their feet because their mass is so small. That's why they can climb 20 stories straight up. A more probable idea would be that they have built a presence in the walls of the building over a few years and something on the 17th story attracted them to concentrate on that floor (food most likely). "
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6hayxt | what is the difference between a movie and film? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6hayxt/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_a_movie_and/ | {
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"Same thing. The term 'movie' is a casual way to say 'moving picture' and it caught on. 'Film' refers to the roll of film that old cameras used to capture action.\n\nTechnically, since new movies are shot digitally and not using film, they aren't 'films'.\n\nIn conversation, 'film' has a connotation of being something high-brow, like the Godfather or a documentary, while 'movie' is colloquially something that is casual, fun, or low-brow, like Zootopia."
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3hzka8 | why do funny things make us curl towards our core and fall over? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3hzka8/eli5why_do_funny_things_make_us_curl_towards_our/ | {
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"text": [
"Laughing activates the abdominal muscles and diaphragm, we curl over instinctively to ease breathing."
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3lr2pk | why are pixel graphics games so popular and making a comeback? | i mean yeah i get a few platformers but now EVERY indie and quite a few big company games are pixel games! is it because its easier to make the graphics? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3lr2pk/eli5_why_are_pixel_graphics_games_so_popular_and/ | {
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"It is easier to make them and since it has been such a long time since that kind of graphics were most used, nostalgia has transformed pixel graphics more into an aesthetic style rather than \"poor graphics\".",
"Other people here have tried to answer, but they are quite off base\n\nPixel art is cheap. like, very very cheap. extremely easy to animate too, as in pixel art games its alright to have a few different frames for each animation. AAA games dont need to do this because they have gigantic budgets. This is why Pixel art (or other, simple art styles) are a reasonable go-to for indie games with very little to no budget "
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23ivzl | nutritional supplements, what should i be ingesting and what is purely hype? | I know this is a little vague, but i was at a GNC the other day and the sales person was trying to sell me all kinds of miracle supplements and training accelerants. The side effects sounded scary and the results seemed implausible. So what should i be trying to eat regularily and what is just hype? Doesn't need to be for training could be for digestion, eyesight, any health benefit really. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/23ivzl/eli5_nutritional_supplements_what_should_i_be/ | {
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"Assuming you eat a healthy, normal diet, you usually don't need supplements at all. If you have problems, you might need supplements, but talk to a qualified nutritionist first.",
"Creatine. It actually works. You'll notice you'll get a bit more out of your workouts and it'll help w/ recovery as well. It's also relatively harmless as long as you stay hydrated. The only real noticeable 'downside' in my experience is putting on extra water weight. Not really a big deal unless you're trying to make weight for a competition or those numbers on the scale just mean A LOT to you for some reason. \n\nAnyway, this page will explain it in-depth. \n\n_URL_0_",
"Honestly, very little of that crap is scientifically proven to do anything except nothing or give you cancer (or something else).\n\nThe stuff that does work, only really works if you already have a deficiency in the thing you are taking. You will just pee out $40 of supplement that you already had plenty of.\n\nIdeally, a person who;\n\nsleeps and exercises well and regularly, \n\nand who avoids extremely processed (thus devoid of food) food (white breads and pastas, added sugar foods, processed cheese etc.)\n\nand instead eats as much variety of good food as possible\n\nand gets enough sunlight \n\nShould be fine without supplements and vitamins and nonsense. \n\nIf you get a blood test and come up low, it rarely means you have to take that supplement for life. You take it for maybe 60-90 days and then check again. Change your life style to correct the deficit.\n\nIf you wanna make a cash investment in your health, off the top of my head; \nGym\nPersonal trainer session\nBooks on nutritional science \nSee a nutritionist \nDecent shoes\nPay a physio/trainer to teach exercises targeted at joint health\nHome equipment\n\nTl:dr supplements and vitamins and whatever are shit, go outside and don't eat like crap, it's cheaper and actually works.",
"Honestly, they will try to sell you fluff. I was buying some whey and creatine from GNC a few months back and ended up getting into an argument with the manager over him trying to peddle me useless crap.\n\nIf you're talking about supps for working out, I'd suggest nothing more than creatine and whey. The rest of the supplements they will sell you are useless. I mean, sure, if you have a zinc deficiency or something, take that. Beside that, though, you don't really need much else. \n\nIf you really want to buy supplements, though, you could get some multivitamins, fish oil, maybe a pre-workout (I suggest c4 or jack3d old formula if you can get your hands on it), and maybe zinc because a few studies show some correlation between increased test levels and usage of zinc.\n\nAside from that, just buy whey protein powder for to augment protein consumption (ON and Isopure are good, but whey can get pricey) and some creatine (get monohydrate) for bulking. A healthy diet and sleeping schedule will outweigh any supplement by far. ",
"GNC workers are of course the last people you should trust about any of this.\n\nBasically though the main thing is just be on a workout routine that you stick with. Don't just jump into supplements unless you already have a routine going. They won't help you.\n\nProtein is really the only essential one in my opinion. The powdered protein shakes are great because they contain a lot of protein and not much else. In order to get the same amount of protein you would need to eat a lot of meat and that meat would come with a lot of extra fat. A pretty standard whey protein has like 25g of protein and less than .5g of fat plus a healthy amount of calcium which is good anyway. To get the same amount of protein from meat you would be paying a lot more money and likely getting a much fattier product.\n\nWhey protein is really what 90% of people use, and the brand really does not matter. There's really like only 2-3 places that manufacture the pure protein power and its all the same stuff but then other companies add stuff like flavoring to it. Really, just pick the one you think tastes best and comes cheap. I get mine from WalMart for like $15. Only thing you might want to look out for is you might want one without lactose in it. I know some people's systems don't handle the extra glass of milk+protein powder every day, but it varies by person.\n\nAlso, if you are a male avoid Soy-based protein. This has estrogen in it. Avoid.\n\nA multivitamin is a good idea for some people depending on your eating habits. I know when I was in college I did not eat nearly as many fruits and vegetables as I needed and a multivitamin is just an easy way of saying \"I'm sure I'm short on something. Here's a bunch of everything.\"\n\nAnything beyond that though I really wouldn't consider unless you were entering a competition or something. Other stuff might give you a slight boost, but really just doing an extra rep or lap will do far more than a supplement.\n\nCreatine does work, but you have to start doing cycles where you bulk up and then cut down. Unless you are already several months or a year into your training program you probably should avoid it. You need to have been committed to a program long enough to know that you will stick to it for time enough to get through that cutting down phase. Otherwise you'll just bulk up and retain a bunch of water and you might not look as good as you'd like."
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aelaae | if a cheetah is the fastest animal on earth why are they only successful on a small percentage of their hunts? | I can't remember where I heard it but a long time ago I heard a statistic that cheetahs only catch gazelles on something like one out of so many hunts and it was a low number. Why is this the case is cheetahs are the fastest? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aelaae/eli5_if_a_cheetah_is_the_fastest_animal_on_earth/ | {
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"They have bad stamina. \nBy the time they catch up with the prey they are already too tired. \nGazelles on the other hand are slower than cheetahs but have very good stamina",
"They have straight line speed. But a gazelle is good at weaving. Also a cheetah can only keep up the speed for a brief time before it wears out. In fact, the cheetah will often nap before eating if it does catch a gazelle.\nAlso a cheetah likely won't die if it doesn't catch that gazelle, but the gazelle definitely will if it is caught.",
"Because gazelles are fast too. Cheetahs are successful at a hunt just over half the time; this is still better than many other animals. Lions are only successful about 25% of the time. \nIt is just the way nature balances the relationship between prey and hunter. If they were successful all the time there wouldn’t be enough prey to go around because the cheetah population would explode. ",
"Watch a dog chase a rabbit sometime. \n\nThe dog usually has a straight line speed advantage, but the rabbit can take a hard right turn on a dime without losing a bit of speed. As soon as the dog almost gets to the rabbit, it'll turn and gain some crucial ground on the dog that can't turn as quickly so they can escape. \n\nSame with a Cheetah. They're the fastest, but Gazelles are still pretty fast. Lets say if the gazelle runs in a straight line, the cheetah will catch it in 10 seconds, and the cheetah only has 15 seconds of gas. \n\nIf the gazelle takes a quick, unpredictable turn around the 7 second mark, it can gain 5+ seconds of distance because the cheetah turns slower. By the time the cheetah closes the distance again, it's out of gas and gives up. \n\nBut if anything goes wrong in that plan, that Gazelle is lunch. ",
"Gazelles have been bred to escape cheetahs by ... cheetahs. They catch the sluggards, the ones that are quick and smart enough to escape get to breed. When the gazelles are mostly fast enough, there isn't enough advantage from more speed/strength/quickness to pay the metabolic cost for more quickness/speed.\n\nWolves breed smart fast deer. Cheetahs breed smart fast gazelles. Lions breed smart fast wildebeests. \nHumans breed slow stupid cows. It's GOOD to be homo sapiens."
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4oktae | what do gas stations do with the information they get from scanning/swiping your driver's licence? | Can they sell the information to insurance companies or is it simply to verify the ID isn't fake? A friend of mine always uses his passport as an ID because they can't swipe it. Last night, the gas station refused to sell him cigarette without an ID that could be "verified." Edit: see to sell | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4oktae/eli5_what_do_gas_stations_do_with_the_information/ | {
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"It's used by the point of sale software to determine if the purchaser is old enough to buy age-restricted products like tobacco and alcohol. By the store requiring that the clerks swipe/scan the ID, they will get a lot less of \"oh, I thought he was old enough, I must have read the ID wrong\".",
"What gas station/convenience store swipes IDs? I get that it's to verify it, but I have never seen this, I only see them looking at it and taking it at face value, I guess fake IDs aren't popular where I live."
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cpxfqy | why is there only one variety of banana available for general consumption? | _URL_0_
This article that says that a soil infection may lead to the demise of the entire banana industry. Seems that there is only 1 commercially viable variety of banana, the Cavendish, so if that goes, no more bananas on the shelves of supermarkets. And the Cavendish replaced the previous banana, the Gros Michel.
Why is there only 1 viable variety of banana? Whether thru natural or artificial means, I see multiple types and varieties of tomatoes, potatoes, apples, lettuce, corn, peaches, and on and on at the supermarket. Is there something about bananas that prevents scientists from manipulating them to create what we want from a banana? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cpxfqy/eli5_why_is_there_only_one_variety_of_banana/ | {
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"Check out this documentary - _URL_0_\n\nThis isn't really a question that can be answered efficiently in a ELI5 format. It's a hugely important question in agricultural ethics.",
"Other species of banana have been developed and sold. They don't travel as well as the Cavendish, so they are more expensive. The Lady's Finger banana is sometimes on sale in the US, and it's actually the taste that banana flavorings are trying to duplicate.\n\nBut small expensive bananas don't get chosen when there are bigger cheaper bananas next to them. Not enough recipes are variety specific, like the tomato recipes are that call for Red Plum Tomatoes, so sales are low.\n\nOnce the Cavendish is wiped out, we'll have more variety of tastier bananas, but they will cost more.",
"Wild bananas is something you would not find in the fruit stand. They are small and filled with bitter seeds which makes them almost inedible. You might be able to use it for cooking or making alcohol just like wild apple types. In order to have a banana that can be mass produced, transported and that people actually want to eat there needs to be lots of mutations. You can try your entire life to make a new type of banana and will probably fail. And even if you make a new type of banana then it will probably not be as good as the Cavendish. And no banana plantation would start growing the second best banana in the world. Cavendish did not become popular until the Gros Michel became impossible to grow as the Gros Michel could survive transcontinental shipping without any packing material like the Cavendish needs.\n\nThere is actually some types of bananas that might provide viable after the Cavendish. One of the most popular is the Flhorban 920. It still faces some technical issues for plantation growing and might not yet produce high enough yields. However it have been sold in markets with a greater profit then Cavendish, although this might be due to it being more exotic. It does not taste like either the Cavendish or the Gros Michel."
]
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"https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/colombia-confirms-dreaded-fungus-has-hit-its-banana-plantations"
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fc1jnv | when people collect large amounts of trash from the ocean and beaches, what ensures them that the trash won't end up back there? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fc1jnv/eli5_when_people_collect_large_amounts_of_trash/ | {
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"In that situation it would be entering whatever the normal trash processing system is in that location. It could be going to a landfill, or parts could be recycled or burned.",
"Typically any trash collected from beaches and the ocean is resulted from littering or spills. Once the trash is placed in a landfill, it's highly unlikely to end up anywhere else.",
"What ensures it won't end back in there? It depends on the country and their waste management policy. One would expect the waste picked up in a beach in Scotland would with all intent, should end in a proper waste management stream i.e it will go to landfill, recycling centre or be incinerated for energy. \n\nJust because trash is removed from a beach doesn't mean it will go back into the sea, it is very possible that the waste collected didn't even originate from the country it was collected from.",
"The young man that developed and deployed the automated machines in the garbage patch and in Asian rivers is using the materials as raw materials to produce novel products. \n\nThus, it's no longer trash. It's a product!",
"Incinerating it. So the ocean and beaches aren’t polluted, just the air and communities. \n\nKidding, obviously.",
"My question is how do they not pick up sea life and animals in those things. Are fish and the like naturally afraid of them and keep away? I feel like this is such a dumb question...",
"People tend to throw garbage where garbage is collected. If it looks like a trash can or a landfill, people will treat it as such. If an area is clean, people tend to keep it that way. And if they don't, it's very easy to detect and punish those who go against the norm."
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af7o57 | why do humans sweat after eating chilli or spicy food in general? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/af7o57/eli5_why_do_humans_sweat_after_eating_chilli_or/ | {
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"The spicy chemical in chili works by confusing the heat sensors in your mouth. They tell your brain that there's something hot there, even when there isn't. Your brain's reaction to detecting heat is to start sweating to reduce the heat.",
"Basically it is down to capsaicin. Capsaicinoids bind to the TRPV1 receptor in mammals to simulate the body's response to overheating, resulting in sweating and other cooling attempts. However because birds don't have the TRPV1 protein they are generally immune from the effects of capsaicin. - _URL_0_"
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4crphv | how do social websites like facebook, linkedin and twitter know to suggest people that i haven't spoken with in 10 years or only had very brief dealings with a long time ago? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4crphv/eli5_how_do_social_websites_like_facebook/ | {
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"Friends of friends. Someone on your friend list may have recently spoken or friended one of those people. \n\nSchool association. Some of those people may have reported as being in the same high school or college as you. \n\n",
"Example is that LinkedIn is suggesting a tour guide I used in 2004. We swapped a few emails but that would be the only communication I've had with him. How the hell do they know we know each other?",
"There is one suggestion that keeps popping up for me that makes no sense. I worked with this guy for two days in another state, we barely spoke. He is in every suggested friends list I have. We have zero friends in common. Zero. I can only gather that he has searched me enough times that Facebook has flagged him as an acquaintance. It bugs the shit out of me every time I see his face too. ",
"There have been accusations lately that there is a measure of eavesdropping going on via the mic on your device at least with Facebook. User beware\n_URL_0_\n",
"One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far is that the facebook app will crossreference your phone book against the phone numbers of other facebook users, if it finds a match it'll suggest the friendship to both parties though won't provide any indication why. From there it could potentially assume you know the person and start suggesting their friends as well, though I don't think I've personally seen it do that"
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67dfzq | why do coaches/trainers tell you to stand up to breathe when you're exhausted? | Isn't it better for the lungs to be in a bent over position? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/67dfzq/eli5_why_do_coachestrainers_tell_you_to_stand_up/ | {
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"By standing, you're expanding your chest cavity (it even helps to raise your arms over your head), plus, it helps oxygenated blood to saturate your limbs.\n\nIf you try to breathe to fast/heavy while sitting, then suddenly stand up, you can pass out.",
"No, the most \"open\" position for your lungs is upright with your arms above your head. It allows your diaphragm to move (forcing air in and out of your lungs) more effectively. Hunching over just restricts this action making breathing less effective and even harder. "
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ddoglt | why can bugs climb nearly any surface? | Are they sticky? Can they just grab on to imperfections in the surface? If they are sticky, is there a finite quantity of stickiness where if they used it too much they’d need to replenish? If it’s a surface concept, are their solid surfaces that they can’t grab on to? Is there a type of bug/insect/small-thing that can’t climb walls/ceilings/etc.? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ddoglt/eli5_why_can_bugs_climb_nearly_any_surface/ | {
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"Claws. Teeny tiny claws.\n\nAt that scale, a surface we see as smooth is actually pitted and gnarled. They just use their claws and hang on.\n\nNo insect could hang onto a perfectly smooth surface, but it would take a hell of a lot of engineering to get to that point.",
"In addition to what others have written here about how the bugs attach to the wall, it's also important to realize that bugs weigh a lot less in reference to the surface they are climbing than bigger creatures like cats or humans. Weight increases approximately cubically (x³) with size while grabbing space only increases quadratically (x²). The bigger you are, the harder it becomes to grab and hold onto a vertical face like a tree or a wall."
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bztjhf | do all wifi routers have both 5ghz and 2.4ghz wifi? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bztjhf/eli5_do_all_wifi_routers_have_both_5ghz_and_24ghz/ | {
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"You would see a second SSID with a 5ghz label. \n\nE.g. SSID = HomeInternet You would see a HomeInternet (5ghz). \n\nNot all routers have it but most newer ones do."
]
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||
3gqll7 | why do a lot of people go through a phase in which they hate themselves? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3gqll7/eli5_why_do_a_lot_of_people_go_through_a_phase_in/ | {
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"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never had that lhase; I'm fabulous!!\n\nIn all seriousness, most people go through that phase after they have had a negative experience. Whether it be someone insulted them or they saw models on tv and made them feel self conscious. ",
"Because everyone want to be the best at everything. The funniest, smartest, strongest etc. When you realize you aren't the best at, most likely, anything you can't help but feel bad about yourself. ",
"Essentially it's because people naturally compare themselves to everyone around them - including the ridiculously extreme examples in the media. \n\nNoone can measure up to every example they see, and many times the issue is compounded by conflicting ideals (big strong man vs in touch with feminine side vs rich professional vs father/husband etc...)\n\nWhen they inevitably fail to measure up to their perceived ideal standards, they see themselves as failing (to some extent at least) and start to blame themselves for their imagined shortcomings. \n\nThe reason it's often \"just a phase\" comes down to realising that the imaginary standards are exactly that (imaginary) and recognising the things that they do like about themselves and building the self-worth that comes along with it.\n\nSource: Used to hate myself. Learned not to. ",
"What do you mean phase? I still hated myself and have since middle school."
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yn6qu | how is something in orbit "constantly accelerating" towards the thing it's orbiting? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/yn6qu/eli5_how_is_something_in_orbit_constantly/ | {
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"Because acceleration encompasses changes in direction too.",
"If it were not accelerating, then it would travel in a straight line (at a constant speed) - so it would not be in orbit, but would fly off in a straight line!\n\nHere's an easy way to think about it:\n\n\nSuppose you have a ball on a string, and you swing it over your head in circles. The *tension* in the string means it is always being pulled (i.e. accelerated) towards your hand. As soon as you let go (i.e. the tension/acceleration stops), the ball will stop orbiting and fly off.",
"Hold a bowling ball above the ground and then drop it. Lets say the ball is in the air for a second before it hits the ground. While the bowling ball was falling it was accelerating.\n\nAs a small aside, in the real world the bowling ball can't accelerated forever. Eventually it reaches 'terminal velocity'... but i won't get into that here. For now we're going to ignore this effect.\n\nSo, what if you were to throw the bowling ball off to the right instead of just dropping it? Well, the bowling ball would be moving to the side, but oddly enough the vertical acceleration doesn't change *at all*. It still would take exactly a second for the bowling ball to hit the ground and for that second the ball would be constantly accelerating as it rushed towards the ground.\n\nNow lets bring the Thor into the equation. He's going to throw the bowling ball to the right, but he's much stronger than you. He throws the bowling ball so far that we have to take into account the curvature of the earth.\n\nIn this case the bowling ball has a slightly farther distance to fall because the earth is curving away from the ball. So lets say the bowling ball takes 1.5 seconds to hit the ground. Again, the bowling ball is constantly accelerating as it moves towards the earth.\n\nNow lets go grab Super Man. He's really strong. He's so strong that when he \"tosses the bowling ball to the right\" it goes really really far. The earth curves away from the bowling ball, but the bowling ball keeps falling towards the earth. The bowling ball is constantly falling (and accelerating) but it sort of misses the earth. It misses the earth, but since it's still curving along with the earth, eventually the bowling ball gets back to superman... and since we're pretending there is nothing to slow it down, it just keeps going. The bowling ball is now in orbit. It's constantly falling towards the earth, but it's moving fast enough to the side that it keeps 'missing' the earth. \n\nAn object that is falling towards the earth, but also moving to the side enough that it perpetually misses the earth is in orbit.\n\n[Here](_URL_0_) is a good illustration. You would drop the ball straight down from the mountain. Thor would throw the ball to point A or B. Super Man would throw the ball along path C or D. "
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54p4k6 | is it possible to make an electronic device to recognize smell? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/54p4k6/eli5is_it_possible_to_make_an_electronic_device/ | {
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"[Sure, they've been around for more than a decade.](_URL_0_)\n\nThe device just needs to be able to identify airborne molecules. Biological noses have special receptors which particular molecules fit into like a puzzle piece. The combination of activated receptors is identified by your brain as a smell. Electronic noses usually have several sensors, each of which is sensitive to all or most volatile compounds. The combination and degree of signal on each sensor allows to the electronic nose to identify the smell. \n\nEssentially, the biological nose uses binary signals, and the electronic nose uses analog."
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2kqkzz | why would it be devastating to the human race if we found proof of extraterrestrial life? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2kqkzz/eli5_why_would_it_be_devastating_to_the_human/ | {
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" > Couldn't only good things, especially for Science, come from knowing?\n\nNot every scientific breakthrough is good. We could say achieving nuclear fusion has not been the best of times, amirite?\n\nThe thing is, I don't think it would be mass hysteria. I mean, some people might freak out, others would probably seriously question their faith..but I think most people would go about their lives normally.",
"The ability to travel over those great distances would imply an intelligence and level of development so much greater than ours. We would be like ants by comparison",
"think in america especially it could kinda mess the \"man up stairs\" theory"
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4w18jy | how do scientists know the mass of the obervable universe? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4w18jy/eli5_how_do_scientists_know_the_mass_of_the/ | {
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"I imagine it's how you find the mass of any other large space. Like in forest scouting rangers actually go and survey a specific unit of the forest like a square mile or something and then count how many trees are in it then scout out another square mile elsewhere in the same forest. After you've surveyed enough square miles then you can calculate the average amount of trees in any given square mile of the forest. After that just multiply the average amount of trees by the area of the forest. So the same could be done with the observable universe.",
"It's a large estimation. Just like a scientist can try to estimate the number of grains of sand on a beach, or the number of trees in a forest, they can try to estimate the number of suns and planets in the universe.\n\nThey won't be exactly right, but with careful observation and reasonable assumptions, they can usually guess that number within a factor of 10 or so, which might be close enough for practical purposes."
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1smsr1 | what determines what art is a masterpiece? | I've seen some art that looks like a kid could have drawn it and I find out it sold for 2 million dollars. How is that possible? What makes it valuable? There's some people posting their own stuff on reddit that seems to be just as good as the stuff you see in a museum. How come there's hangs on a refrigerator and others hang in a museum or are sold for thousands at an art auction? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1smsr1/eli5what_determines_what_art_is_a_masterpiece/ | {
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"A lot of art is judged within the context in which it was produced. Where at the time it was something 'new' and 'innovative' in the art world. Exploring new concepts that can be done with various media.\n\nKazimir Malevich is a nice example of this. His work is butt-ugly. And especially his later supernalist(sp) works ( _URL_0_ ) are boring and uninteresting now. But in the time that they were painted/published they where revolutionary and groundbreaking because they explored new avenues of the medium that hadn't been considered before.",
"Valuable art is that which changes the story of art. It explains how we got from A to B, in art books and art museums.\n\nIt doesn't matter if an average person likes art, for it to be valuable or not. For high monetary value it only matters if certain influential people like it. Most importantly, it matters if other artists love and respect it - so much that they change what they later make. It makes \"a dent in art history\", to paraphrase Steve Jobs.\n\nThe quality that makes other artists respect art (which is different to what the general public usually likes) is often something that is completely new, not like something they've seen before, confident, often seemingly not caring if other people like it or not. Valuable art usually has *balls* of some kind (often now lady balls).\n\nIt is also probably made, and visible, in a big art capital, so it can be seen by and influence lots of other (soon to be also important) artists.\n\nIt's a little like the guy you work with in a small city might be a courageous, kind, and forgiving man. Nothing will change that, and that's completely valid and worthy. But he's only Nelson Mandela and 200,000 go to his memorial if he does something that changes history. ",
"Masterpieces in this day are misnomers, and in fact, back when it was used correctly, an artist only had ONE masterpiece.\n\nHe/she would begin as an apprentice and practice and refine their craft. Eventually, they would present to their teacher a masterpiece which signified that they have learned their craft and were able to create a piece of artwork so beautiful that they graduated from apprentice and became masters. Hence 'masterpiece' was the piece made to prove ones self as a master.\n\nOnce the artist became a master, all their works were considered pieces done by a master, therefore technically all were masterpieces, but just not called that.\n\nToday, there isn't such a simple thing as apprentice to master, so it's become a subjective term that people use."
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ntjte | why haven't humans evolved to have a higher
pain threshold? | I mean, if I for example broke my leg in a remoteish place I would be dead, I wouldn't be able to stand the pain long enough to hobble/crawl my way to safety. But if I could stand the pain I would be able to hobble/crawl my way out and survive. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ntjte/eli5_why_havent_humans_evolved_to_have_a_higher/ | {
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"And on the flipside, if you sprained your ankle in the middle of town and didn't have pain, you'd probably walk around on it all day and make it worse.",
"When we think we're in danger, our pain thresholds increase anyways. \n\nIf you're in a remote place and you've broken your leg, the most important thing to do is to FIX YOUR LEG. Your body tells you about pain because it doesn't want you to hurt yourself even more than you already have.",
"Pain is generally your body's way of telling you that there's something wrong and you shouldn't be pushing yourself. Generally, if you break your leg, you don't want to be hobbling on it because that can make the injury much worse, or permanent, or even deadly. Yes, it's true that in some cases, it would be better if you didn't feel pain (like a survival situation) but in MORE cases, it's better that you feel the pain.",
"Just rephrasing what's been said already:\n\nWe haven't evolved that way because it's not advantageous. The only thing your body \"understands\" are that you are injured or about to injure yourself severely and that it must inform you of this fact so that you do not injure yourself further.\n\nYour body does not understand what kind of situation you're in, only what's happening to it, so it cannot make judgements like you describe.",
"pain is a good thing. it's our brain telling us \"hey, in case you don't realize, you're hurt and should take care of this right away.\" our pain receptors/nerve endings are mostly just under our skin, so in the case of serious injury we don't necessarily have a stronger pain threshold, but we might not hurt quite as much because those nerve connections to our brain have probably been severed.\n\nin the case of something severe, our brain will pump out adrenaline and we hit that \"fight or flight\" response. nonessential organs temporarily shut down, our heartrate increase (more oxygen to our muscles to help them) and the adrenaline in our system will help to suppress the pain.\n\nyou still feel pain when you're crawling out on a broken leg because you're making the injury worse by crawling. continuing pain is your brain saying \"hey, maybe crawling isn't such a good idea. let's try something else.\"",
"And on the flipside, if you sprained your ankle in the middle of town and didn't have pain, you'd probably walk around on it all day and make it worse.",
"When we think we're in danger, our pain thresholds increase anyways. \n\nIf you're in a remote place and you've broken your leg, the most important thing to do is to FIX YOUR LEG. Your body tells you about pain because it doesn't want you to hurt yourself even more than you already have.",
"Pain is generally your body's way of telling you that there's something wrong and you shouldn't be pushing yourself. Generally, if you break your leg, you don't want to be hobbling on it because that can make the injury much worse, or permanent, or even deadly. Yes, it's true that in some cases, it would be better if you didn't feel pain (like a survival situation) but in MORE cases, it's better that you feel the pain.",
"Just rephrasing what's been said already:\n\nWe haven't evolved that way because it's not advantageous. The only thing your body \"understands\" are that you are injured or about to injure yourself severely and that it must inform you of this fact so that you do not injure yourself further.\n\nYour body does not understand what kind of situation you're in, only what's happening to it, so it cannot make judgements like you describe.",
"pain is a good thing. it's our brain telling us \"hey, in case you don't realize, you're hurt and should take care of this right away.\" our pain receptors/nerve endings are mostly just under our skin, so in the case of serious injury we don't necessarily have a stronger pain threshold, but we might not hurt quite as much because those nerve connections to our brain have probably been severed.\n\nin the case of something severe, our brain will pump out adrenaline and we hit that \"fight or flight\" response. nonessential organs temporarily shut down, our heartrate increase (more oxygen to our muscles to help them) and the adrenaline in our system will help to suppress the pain.\n\nyou still feel pain when you're crawling out on a broken leg because you're making the injury worse by crawling. continuing pain is your brain saying \"hey, maybe crawling isn't such a good idea. let's try something else.\""
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1j0t03 | how did east germans make the transition towards a capitalist society? | When I'm in Berlin, I always wondered how that worked: people in the soviet union had no material possesions. They didn't own their house, car, etc. They worked for the government. How did they integrate in the West German society? Did they integrate or did the people in the West have to adapt too? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1j0t03/eli5how_did_east_germans_make_the_transition/ | {
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"text": [
"At unification people had 2 years to file ownership claims to the Treuhand (Trust Agency that inherited state-property from the GDR). Claims were invalid if they were made on the basis of Soviet, Nazi, or GDR seizures. Determining who owned what in 1933 and who was the rightful heir in 1990 was a major undertaking.\n\nProperty created by the Nazi or GDR government (such as most businesses) were sold at auction. Part of the participation in the auction required the submission of an economic employment plan to ensure that jobs would be saved in the transition to privatization."
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u7lh3 | what effect does more cores and slower speed have on a cpu versus having less cores and a higher speed? | For example, is a quad core at 3.6GHz better than a 8-core at 3.1 GHz? How can I compare different CPUs? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/u7lh3/what_effect_does_more_cores_and_slower_speed_have/ | {
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"Generally, a faster clock speed will allow the core to preform a single action faster, whilst many cores will allow it to do more things at once. Think of cores as people: Whilst one really smart person can solve a complex calculation faster than a hundred people of average intelligence, a hundred people can make a building faster than a single person. \n\nWhen choosing a CPU, it is important to know what you are using it for (Many simple tasks, or one complex task). Also, an 8-core CPU may not actually have 8-cores, as much as 4-cores that are 'dual threaded'. Dual threading cores allows them to function with certain applications as if they were two cores, at a slight reduction in speed. \n\nFor general computing and gaming I would recommend a quad core at a higher speed, with one or two cores for the game or main activity, and two to three cores free for background processes. Using a core for a dedicated server, though, would depend entirely on what application you are using, but would most often only need one or two cores, as it wouldn't have any background tasks. When using a computer for high end CPU rendering, as many cores as possible would be recommended, providing the application you are using can utilize that many cores, as it will do many similar, simple tasks over and over again.",
"A simple way to think of it is like a highway. A quad core only has four lanes, but a higher speed limit. The 8-core has 8 lanes but a slower speed limit. The 8 lane highway will be able to processes more cars/second, but no car will go quite as fast as on the four lane highway with the higher speed limit."
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3soiuk | how does more expensive shipping take longer? | I'm ordering something on Ebay, and the One-Day shipping is more expensive than the "Expedited", and takes longer to arrive. How is that possible? Not only that, but "One-Day" shipping says it will take 6 days to arrive. How does that make any sense?
For reference: _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3soiuk/eli5how_does_more_expensive_shipping_take_longer/ | {
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"\"One-day shipping\" means that it will take one day from the time the package is sent to the time you receive it. There's no guarantee that the package will be sent immediately - it might take a few days for them to get around to your order.\n\n\"Expedited\" means they move your order to the front of the line but it doesn't specify anything about how they ship it.\n\nIt's also possible that they've fucked up & put the wrong numbers in for shipping cost/time or the estimates are wrong."
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wndib | circumcision | What are some pro and cons of circumcision? Reasons besides religious purposes? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wndib/eli5_circumcision/ | {
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"This is one of those subjects that has been discussed ad naseum. I'll try to hit the highlights.\n\nPros:\n\nPossible health benefits (this one is the biggest debate)\n\nAesthetics\n\nCons:\n\nThe idea that the child should be the one to choose\n\nClaims of loss of sensation/physical pleasure.\n\n",
"When I was an infant (1960's), circumcision was common due to \"cleanliness issues\".\n\nWe now know that is total bunk, and was probably a racially motivated slight against Jews that had taken on the myth of being \"hygenic\".",
"Since no one else has posted many pros, I will do so for OP:\n\n* There is evidence that male circumcision can lower the risk of contracting aids and other STDs slightly for the individual (**PLEASE NOTE THAT I SAID \"SLIGHTLY\"**). A link below is provided for reference.\n\n* Circumcision reduces the risk slightly for certain infections, like urinary tract infections.\n\n* Some have stated elsewhere that uncircumcised individuals experience odor issues more than those that are circumcised (can anyone confirm this?).\n\nReference\n\n_URL_0_",
"Remotely relevant (thogh not an answer to your question), there is currently a debate going on in Germany whether infant circumcision should be illegal. (A court recently ruled that yes, it is in fact illegal, which was not the case previously.)",
"This might help: [Penn & Teller - Bullshit! - Circumcision](_URL_0_).",
"Cons: \n\n* The foreskin contains tens of thousands of nerve endings, resulting in a wealth of sensory bandwidth. Regardless of sensitivity, it's like the difference between touching with a just fingertip or touching with your whole hand. The experience is a richer one. \n\n* The foreskin acts as a toroidal linear bearing, giving the penis a completely frictionless gliding mechanism. Take a pinch of eyelid and rub between thumb and fingers - note how there's zero friction against your fingerpads? Same deal. \n\n* The nerve endings in the foreskin include a large percentage of stretch receptors, allowing you to feel motion in great detail. Think how sensitive your lips are to being moved around during kissing. \n\n* The foreskin protects the surface of the glans from wear and tear, leaving it soft, supple and sensitive, instead of going dry and leathery. \n\n* Infant circumcision is done without adequate pain relief - analgesics strong enough to cover the healing period are strongly contraindicated for newborns, as is general anasthesia for the procedure, as is a local nerve block. \n\n* Infant foreskins are *tiny*. A 1-millimetre fuckup removing an adult foreskin is trivial. A 1-millimetre fuckup removing an infant one... this kills the penis. \n\n* A healing wound, on your genitals, in a diaper that gets filled with piss and shit on a regular basis. Jesus fuck. \n\n* The number of adults who actually opt to get circumcised is extremely tiny; almost nobody has one wants to be without one. \n\n* Bodily integrity is a pretty basic human right; without extreme medical necessity or informed consent, you don't just go cutting bits off people.\n\n* Studies purporting to show protection from HIV are very strongly disputed, and major objections have been made to their methodology and relevance. \n\n* Hygiene considerations are nonexistent - it takes a couple of seconds in the shower. \n\nAll up, there's a whole lot of major downsides, and no real upsides. "
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1ccfrx | speculative bubbles | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ccfrx/eli5_speculative_bubbles/ | {
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"So lets say you're at lunch, and someone has some new cookies you have never had before. You trade him your apple for the cookies. The next day, he and another friend have more of these cookies, and they trade them away and you get more cookies. All of a sudden your other friends in school hear about these cookies, and even though they have never had them they really want them so they offer you lots of their food for the cookies you have been storing up. Word spreads and all of a sudden people will offer you their whole lunches for just one cookie, all because they sound like they would be so good!\nThis is how a bubble forms. More accurately, people speculate on future value, which in turn drives up current value due to increased demand for the commodity. The commodity can be anything, from Bit-coins to \ntulips.\nNow, someone finally eats a cookie. Turns out they are awful. All of a sudden, the cookies are worthless. Bubble popped. "
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||
eewius | when people get a decent amount of sleep, they don't taste their morning breath. however, if they get very little sleep, this taste lingers throughout their day. why is this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eewius/eli5_when_people_get_a_decent_amount_of_sleep/ | {
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"Bad breath in the morning is sometimes caused by your mouth drying out if you sleep with it open. Sleeping with your mouth open is sometimes a symptom of sleep apnea or blocked sinuses, which lead to lower quality sleep. So, basically it's not that you don't notice your bad breath if you sleep well, but rather that bad breath is a symptom of whatever caused you to sleep poorly.",
"Throughout the day? I have never noticed morning breath after brushing my teeth, that's kinda the point of it."
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1sy57w | why is the zimbabwean dollar worthless? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sy57w/eli5why_is_the_zimbabwean_dollar_worthless/ | {
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"The government of Zimbabwe owed a lot of people a lot of money. They thought that they could get out of debt by just printing more money. This caused massive **inflation** - the reduction in value of a currency due to an increased supply.\n\nPeople frequently post questions here asking why the government can't just print more money to pay off their debts. This is exactly why."
]
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||
84jxat | what causes a lazy eye, and what is the perspective of someone who has one? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/84jxat/eli5_what_causes_a_lazy_eye_and_what_is_the/ | {
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"I think it's a muscle issue in the eye where one side of the muscle is pulling too much or too little. I'm not sure exactly. But i had it when I was a kid. For me it was like having double vision constantly, coupled with farsightedness. It improved a lot since I was a kid (virtually non existent these days) but for the first few years in elementary school I had to wear an eye patch to strengthen the muscle in my right eye. "
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||
2uyq9c | if america has so many problems in iraq - why don't they just leave ? | All these problems with crazy Jihad and ISIS in Iraq? Why doesn't America just pull up stakes, [cut their losses and go home?](_URL_0_)
They left Somalia once it got too crazy and Vietnam as well. And Lebanon if I recall history correctly. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2uyq9c/eli5if_america_has_so_many_problems_in_iraq_why/ | {
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"text": [
"Warhawks control the country. War is good for business. It's good for 24 hour news, it's good for the military, it's good for defense contractors, it's good for the state."
]
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90lrx2 | why do lightning bolts sometimes break into segments before disappearing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/90lrx2/eli5_why_do_lightning_bolts_sometimes_break_into/ | {
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"Lightning is just the transfer of built up electricity from one place to another. Sometimes, it's strong enough to reach the ground. Other times, it can dissapate into nearby clouds before reaching the ground. \n \nSo if you see it flash, but not hit the ground, that basically means there were two clouds near each other with fairly uneven charges in them, and the lightning is the flow of that charge from one to the other, to balance things out."
]
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||
1mfhpz | "bulking" in fitness, what is it? what is the science behind it? | It just seems illogical to eat badly and improve fitness. What am I missing? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mfhpz/eli5_bulking_in_fitness_what_is_it_what_is_the/ | {
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"There are two types of bulking; clean and dirty.\n\nA bulk involves packing on muscle mass and fat as part of a training regime. One cannot gain lean muscle mass, without a fat gain, it's simply impossible. Even if the fat gain is negligible.\n\nPeople bulk for two main reasons: jump up a weight class, and look bigger. The more muscle one has, the bigger (and with correct training) the stronger they are. \n\nThe dirty bulk is what it sounds like: a three hour Smolov squat session followed by 8 Happy Meals and a small Ugandan child deep-fried in pure seal fat. You're packing on raw size and don't care how. This leads to quicker gains, but more fat.\n\nA clean bulk is a caloric excess of good food. So the guy weighing 225 eating 4 chicken breasts and his bodyweight in vegetables is probably clean bulking. It takes time but often lacks the huge fat increase. Bulking is follow by cutting: basically means you've gained muscle and fat, now it's time to keep the muscle and drain the fat - you \"cut\" weight. I at the moment am cutting because I'm too weak for my powerlifting weight class. I need to drop from 96kg to 88 or less. It sucks, I'm so hungry but it's so worth it."
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1gv584 | how can i tell where a sound is coming from if it all travels the same route to the same place? | Like I can hear someone behind me even though all sounds go straight to the eardrum through the same ear canal. How? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1gv584/how_can_i_tell_where_a_sound_is_coming_from_if_it/ | {
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"The \"pinnae\" which is the visible part of the ear is not symmetric front to back. The sound bounces differently off the ear and into the ear canal, and your brain can detect the difference and translate it into direction. If you attach a different prosthetic ear or damage your existing ear there is a period of time where your brain relearns the subtle changes to the sounds and restores your sense of sound direction.\n\nEdit: Side to side direction is much easier to distinguish because of volume and the slight delay as sound takes time to propagate through air (the closest ear will hear it slightly before the more distant one).",
"If you had just one smooth ear you would be right. It would be impossible. But your ear is actually a really cool shape.\r\rYour ear on the outside has lots of different folds and bumps. Really look at it in the mirror sometime. They are important.\r\rThose bumps bounce or block the sound into your ear in different ways depending on whether the sound comes from the Fein or the back or the top or the bottom. The ear on the outside changes the sound.\r\rEventually your brain learns about all those changes without you even thinking about it. You hear a sound and then you see where it came from. Your brain remembers how it sounded and connects that to where it came from.\r\rEventually you get really good at using the changes from your ear on the outside. It isn't perfect though. If you can't see where a sound is coming from or something is distracting you it is easy to get it wrong."
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6j0w75 | when did writing your name in a fancy, semi-legible way come to be recognized as your signature? | Why not just write your name in your normal handwriting? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6j0w75/eli5_when_did_writing_your_name_in_a_fancy/ | {
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"Since almost forever. Rulers and lawmakers have always \"legitimized\" a law or contract by putting their symbol on it. Before everyone could read and write, signatures were often symbols such as crests. But most kings in England were literate and signed their legal documents. [Here's King John's signature from 1205](_URL_0_)\n\nWhen more people became more literate, their signatures became just their written name. Back then, everyone wrote in cursive. It wasn't until the late 19th, early 20th, that the printed form became popular due to typewriters. However, although people started printing their writings and contracts, they kept cursive for their name. And recently people are getting fancy with their signatures. \n\nThey can legally do that. A signature can be anything you want it to be, even a stamp or a crest or a paw mark. Litterally anything. Most laws such as the Uniform Commerical Code define a signature as \"any symbol executed or adopted with present intention to adopt or accept a writing.\""
]
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"http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-10-14-image-ma_746_versocrop.jpg"
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comef0 | why will the world population peak at 9 billion? | Heard this a couple of times and have read a few articles, but cant find a concise explanation. Can anyone provide one? Thanks. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/comef0/eli5_why_will_the_world_population_peak_at_9/ | {
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"text": [
"Birth rate is declining globally, however the current population is living longer, so the people that are currently being born live longer than previous generations, so there are more people alive for longer leading to a temporary increase in the number of people on the planet.",
"You need on average 2.1 of fertility rate to keep your population stable. There is two phenomenon that seem to be universal so far in the world.\n\n1) The more income per capita a country have, the less the fertility rate is. Basically, people have more time and money to put on luxury and hobbies, they spend on average more time at school, children cost more since you want them to have a good education and this mean that people want or have less children. When the income per capita is lower, children actually help the family, they work usually on the family buiness and that help financially. Another reason is the higher availibity of contraception method in country with higher income per capita. It depend on the culture of the country, but usually higher income country end up with a fertility rate of around 1.5 to 2, which is below the minimum to keep your population stable. Most of end need higher immigration to compensate, while other like Japan don't bring more immigration and their population is dropping.\n\n & #x200B;\n\n2) There is a second phenomenon and it's link to the HDI of a country. HDI is human developpement Index and it represent how well it is to live in that country. It take into account education, life expectancy, and standard of living. In that case, the graph make a J shape, meaning that as HDI increase the birth rate decrease (just like we see with income), but pass a certain amount of HDI the fertility rate go up again to around 2, which make the population stable. The reason seem that in country with higher HDI it seem easier to have children, education cost less, you often have better support for families from the government, etc.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nSo as more country get an higher income per capita, the average fertility rate of the world is decreasing. It was 4.96 in 1950, 3.6 in 1980, and 2.5 in 2015. Statistically when the population of the world will reach 9 billions, the fertility rate will be close to 2 and then it could drop below and the population of the world slowly decrease, or it could stabilise, we are not sure what will happen, we can just extrapolate the data we have."
]
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[],
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|
avolsp | why can't foods have both a best before date and use by date? | Seeing as even properly stored canned food becomes dangerous to eat after a long time, shouldn't there always be a ''Use By'' date on everything? I understand that can be hard to estimate, so maybe the earliest theoretical expiry date under recommended storage conditions could be used. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/avolsp/eli5_why_cant_foods_have_both_a_best_before_date/ | {
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"text": [
"Well they could, but there are no regulations that force companies to do that. In fact there aren’t really any regulations towards the dates on products. The companies themselves choose those dates. Most, if not all, use those dates to determine when they think their product might not perform or taste the best. Even then I’m pretty sure those dates are BS. Companies make more money if you just throw stuff away and buy another one even if it’s still good. From a business standpoint, if they put both a best before and a use by date, they’d sell less products. Without anyone forcing them to do that there’s no reason to",
"Use by is reserved for food that will go bad by a certain date regardless of the storage conditions (outside of freezing). Meat and dairy for instance will rot. It doesn’t matter if you brought a cooler full of ice packs to the store to keep at cold, it will go bad eventually if left in the fridge.\n\nBest by is reserved for food that is pretty safe for a long time due to preservatives or the lack of moisture to provide bacterial growth, but will retain its best quality until a certain date. It will be at its best if consumed by X date. Condiments, dry pasta etc fall into this category,\n\nMuch of this depends on how it is stored. Dairy use by dates for instance, if I’m not mistaken, goes off of it being stored unopened in proper cold conditions. If you grab a gallon of milk first thing then wander around the store for an hour before catching a movie and leaving it in your back seat on a summer day, you’re gonna have a bad time.\n\nDried spaghetti on the other hand will taste its best by a certain date almost regardless of how you treat it provided it isn’t opened first."
]
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[],
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31gcaw | warhammer 40k | I keep hearing it is really complex and expensive. what exactly makes it so costly? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/31gcaw/eli5_warhammer_40k/ | {
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"Basically what makes it so costly is that Games Workshop, the company that produces it, has a monopoly on it. Since 40k is one of the oldest and most popular tabletop games, you basically have to buy from them if you want access to that player base. Add to that the fact that they change the rules and rebalance the armies periodically, so if you want to remain competitive you have to buy new things. There are similar games out there with better models and more static rules for cheaper, but good luck finding a group who plays any of them.",
"It's like playing a game of toy soldiers only you have to buy every single soldier separately, you have to buy the paint to paint each soldier properly or you can't use them, you need a book that explains how good each type of soldier is and they release a new version of that book every couple years with new information making some of your soldiers no longer valid, and they keep making new ones and you can only buy the soldiers fromantic one store which has really high prices.",
"Games workshop charges A LOT for the models and rule books. The game requires certain \"point\" size armies to play (each soldier is worth a certain number of points) so you need to buy a decent number of models just to have enough for a legal army.\n\n\nOn top of that paints and brushes, primers, green stuff, sealer, tools, etc. can really add up over time. You might need 7 different colors or more to paint 1 soldier and now you have to paint 20 or 30 of them you're gonna go through a number of bottles.\n\n\nEven if you try to be as cheap as possible just the rulebook, codex and models will be 100-150 and primer, brushes, a couple paints and some washes for a quick paint can get to 50-100 pretty quick."
]
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1ru9gh | how do you remove gravity in a chamber? | We all have seen the nasa simulators on earth that have the same gravity as space. How do they get the pressure of gravity out of the chambers? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ru9gh/eli5_how_do_you_remove_gravity_in_a_chamber/ | {
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"text": [
"Those aren't on Earth - they are airplanes in parabolic flight. Look up \"vomit comet.\"",
"I think you might be confusing or mixing \"gravity\" and \"vacuum\". I'll try to explain the basics in laymans terms to help it make sense - this is not intended to be technically detailed or accurate.\n\nGravity is the idea that \"what goes up must come down\". There is no way to \"remove\" gravity - though we can briefly simulate that on earth by use of a [reduced gravity aircraft](_URL_0_).\n\nThe total vacuum of space, is the absence of air pressure. Right now, sitting at your computer, you are at the normal pressure humans live at. If you go deep underwater, you will be at higher pressure. If you go up in an airplane, you will be at lower pressure. If you keep going up into space, you will be in even lower pressure, and eventually reach a vacuum, which is the total absence of this pressure.\n\nWe can simulate these vacuums - we can use pumps to remove the air from a chamber or vessel, which does a lot of interesting things. You know how water boils at 100 decrees C? It turns out that boiling has to do with the relationship of an object's composition, it's temperature, *and it's pressure*! You can also make water boil, staying at room temperature, by reducing the pressure!",
"We have not yet found a way to create a chamber without gravity. ",
"You don't.\n\nNASA brings a plane up really high and puts it into a sort of free-fall. So you are still experiencing gravity- i.e. you are falling, but because the plane and all the objects inside it are falling at the same speed, it simulates weightlessness.\n\nThink of when you're on a roller coaster going down a steep hill- you feel weightless because you and the coaster are both falling, so relative to the coaster, you have less weight."
]
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[],
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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced_gravity_aircraft"
],
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csbp0s | how are ships stabilized in high waves? | What keeps the ships from toppling due to high waves in sea? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/csbp0s/eli5_how_are_ships_stabilized_in_high_waves/ | {
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"Almost all ships are built with enough stability that they're hardly ever at risk of capsize, though there are freak waves. In large seas captains will avoid sailing \"beam on\" to the waves for an increased margin of safety. The passive stability we're talking about here is simply designing the underwater shape of the hull so that it has a tendency to right itself if disturbed. Crudely, a wide-flat bottom is better. Also, you need to keep the centre of mass as low as possible. Technically, for best stability, you want to keep the centre of buoyancy as far above the centre of mass as possible; this distance is known as the [metacentric height](_URL_0_).\n\nCruise ships often add active stability measures. These are usually fins below the water line that are angled to push against the tipping force of the waves. You need some kind of control system to continuously angle the fins as the waves pass.",
"Primarily, a heavy keel.\n\nThe more mass you an concentrate below the waterline, the more stable your craft.\n\nSecondarily, keeping it pointed into the swell.\n\nA boat pointed into the wave is much, much more stable than one getting broadsided.",
"Usually ballast. \n\nThe hull or body of the ship goes way down under water where you can't see. The very bottom and middle part of the ship is usually called the keel. It is packed with super heavy material called ballast. \n\nOn old ships it was rocks or lead or special weights. Sometimes water tanks are used. On modern ships sometimes the keel part extends far below the bottom of the ship's hull in a big counterweight looking thing. \n\nAll that weight at the very bottom of the ship keeps it from flipping over or capsizing. The heaviest parts always want to be at the bottom.",
"Typically, the [shape of the hull](_URL_2_) is designed to keep a ship upright. \n\nWhen a ship lists (turns sideways), its center of mass stays the same (everything is tied down inside), but the shape of the part of the ship that's in the water changes (like in [this picture](_URL_0_)), so the center of buoyancy changes.\n\nThe shape of the ship underside is designed so that the way the water pushes at the ship [returns it](_URL_1_) to the upright position. You can see in the left diagram (a) that for a properly-designed hull shape, when the center of buoyancy goes to the right, the forces of gravity and buoyancy will act together to rotate the ship back upright. The (b) diagram is a poorly-designed and poorly-loaded ship (top heavy); the combination of gravity and buoyancy will rotate the ship even more."
]
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"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacentric_height"
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[],
[],
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"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_stability#/media/File:MetacentricHeight.svg",
"https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lei_Ju2/publication/318404171/figure/fig2/AS:555421170704389@1509434134646/a-Stable-ship-inclining-and-b-GZ-become-negative-causing-capsize-schematic-diagram.png",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_stability"
]
] |
|
9xrfcv | car air recirculation | In light of my school district finally canceling school due to the Camp Fire smoke being at a dangerous high. How does a car recirculating air work and how effective is it at protecting our lungs from the smoke? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9xrfcv/eli5_car_air_recirculation/ | {
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"Cars are really leaky, and not at all airtight, so the effect is minimal when you're surrounded by smoke. There's a small filter for incoming air typically between the hood and windshield (by the wiper arms) that lets cabin air in and filters it (older cars may not have a filter)\nSo when you turn on recirculate, a door moves and sucks air from the front passenger floor/kick area rather than the outside filter.\nI usually use this unless I need strong fan movement or am on a long road trip, as it doesn't cycle the air well and it gets stagnant.",
"Your car's AC has two options when drawing air, either from outside or recirculating. Drawing air from outside is pretty self explanatory, think of it like a fan in a window drawing air into your room. Re-circulation mode would be like if you closed that window and just had your fan blowing around your room. In both modes, the air will flow through your cabin air filter. Most filters are meant to filter out pollen and dust which are much larger than smoke particles. But recirculating will most likely make the air cleaner and will also keep your filter cleaner and therefore it will last longer. "
]
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3amwyk | with ice caps melting, ocean levels rising, and higher global temperatures, this theoretically would be a perfect storm for massive rainfall. why aren't we seeing an increase in precipitation within dry arid area's, instead of increased droughts worldwide? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3amwyk/eli5_with_ice_caps_melting_ocean_levels_rising/ | {
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"All of the above does not dictate specifically how precipitation occurs. Precipitation is also affected heavily by ocean currents and geography. \n\n\nSo for example, Nevada and the Rockies in general will continue to be dry places because rain clouds and water vapor from the Pacific ocean will continue to be unable to pass the mountains, which is the primary reason those places are so dry to begin with. \n\nHandy picture: _URL_0_\n\n\nOcean levels rising and higher global temperatures will have the biggest impact on coastal areas, which something like ~25% of the world's population lives near. ",
"Dry arid areas like north texas where we've gone from 10 years of drought to massive flooding in 6 months?",
"There are portions of Africa that have historically been desert that are now planting crops because of the increase in rainfall ",
"This MinuteEarth [video](_URL_0_) does a fairly good job of explaining changes in rainfall patterns due to global warming.",
"When air temperature rises, it increases its ability to retain water. This means that areas with warm air will absorb all the water from the land beneath it, making dry places even dryer. \n\nHowever, the vast majority of temperature increases are absorbed by the world's oceans, not the air. When ocean temperatures rise, it makes it easier for water molecules to evaporate into the air. This will result in heavier rainfall in places that are near the water, making wet places flood. \n\nThe end result of both these effects is more extreme storms and climates as the global temperature continues to rise. ",
"The reason places like the Sahara and southern US and mexico are dry is because they lie close to the 30 degrees north latitude. Rain works based on convection currents, at the equator you see a lot of rain, 30* north and South you tend to find deserts. \n\nWarm air holds more water then cold air, in addition war air rises. So at the equator water is lifted high into the air because it is warm, it then starts to move, lets say north. As it moves north it cools down and rain falls out, it continues until there is little water and it is relatively cool it falls down towards the ground and starts moving south. This image shows the major convection currents around the world. _URL_0_\n\nThis means that it just rains more in places that normally are wet, not that the water is carries further.",
"Severe flooding in Texas this year, Arizona and Australia last year. While that isn't enough to show climate change there are all points of interest in a larger forming picture. "
]
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"http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/images/wsci_01_img0102.jpg"
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"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEQghbA3pLM"
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66kpja | why are fingerprints used as authentication, although considered insecure? | So why are 'gadgets' - such as [door locks](_URL_2_), phones, even [credit cards](_URL_1_) - offer authentication using information, that can be found on many things we own (including the gadgets) and allegedly [even recreated from photograph](_URL_0_)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/66kpja/eli5_why_are_fingerprints_used_as_authentication/ | {
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"99.9% of hacking, attacks and other technology related crime are about one thing: as much money as possible for as little effort as possible. Fingerprint gathering takes time and work to attack ONE target, and that work must be repeated from scratch to attack the next. Or, you can setup a phishing site, send out a few jillion emails, and go to bed and cross your fingers someone was dumb enough to bite.\n\nMost fingerprint security devices are offline -- even on otherwise online devices. In the iPhone, for example, the fingerprint reader is a separate device with no internet access, it just gives the host phone a \"he's good\" signal if the print matches. This means it's pretty much impossible to hack remotely.... and no remote access is also important, because criminals hate sticking their necks out. Ripping off people in other countries via scams or remote-controlled software is easier than ripping off your neighbors...you'll get caught much faster.\n\n\nNow, if you're a **person of interest**, you shouldn't use fingerprint scanners. But for most of us Joe Schmoes, we're just simply too boring for anyone to target, scammers would rather target dumb people with \"password1\" passwords."
]
} | [] | [
"http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30623611",
"http://www.zdnet.com/article/mastercard-debuts-credit-card-with-a-fingerprint-sensor/",
"http://www.fingerprintdoorlocks.com/"
] | [
[]
] |
|
15s2dv | why aren't certain movies available on torrent sites? | I'm specifically thinking of two recent releases, Zero Dark Thirty and The Master. Most Hollywood films would be torrented multiple times by now, with either cams or rips. Why are some films MIA? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15s2dv/why_arent_certain_movies_available_on_torrent/ | {
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"Torrenting isn't that complicated, really. If someone likes a movie, they'll go through the trouble of ripping it and putting it in their torrent client's \"shared\" directory and post download links to sites such as [The Pirate Bay](_URL_0_). If more people like it, they'll torrent (download) it, and therefore they'll be seeding it as well. And if people like it a lot, they'll spread the download link across the multiple sites. The reason you can't find the movies you're looking for is because they're relatively new and unknown. I've not heard of either of them, but chances are, if they made it to theatres, someone, somewhere, has went through the trouble to DVD-rip or record them and upload them. I mean, there are folks who do that for a living. So it's out there someone. You may have to just search more. ",
"In some cases, some studios and agencies are quite active with their DRM take-down requests. A good example is The Hunger Games which was very actively hunted down in the initial weeks of its release and was very difficult to find. Not that I was looking for it. ",
"There are references to The Master if you google search the torrent but even when you click it says that it has been censored while plenty of other movies will take you right to the torrent download. I'm guessing that Weinstein and company are actively trying to crush downloads of this movie. That's my only logical explanation. The movie should clean up at the awards which is going to make it much more popular and probably drive a lot of sales. I'm sure they are doing whatever they can to keep downloads at a minimum to capitalize on DVD sales/rentals. The movie didn't do that well at the box office. \n\nThe Master is a masterpiece BTW. If there was ever a guy who deserved to have his products purchased it's Paul Thomas Anderson. So as to not sound too hypocritical, I saw the movie in theaters and wanted to watch again so I attempted to torrent prior to the DVD release. I'll gladly give PTA my money to add to my collection. "
]
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32j8xi | why do kegel exercises have tremendous benefits when flexing a muscle like the bicep does not? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/32j8xi/eli5_why_do_kegel_exercises_have_tremendous/ | {
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"The simplest answer would just be that the kegel muscle is a much smaller muscle and therefore is effected much more by flexing than a larger muscle such as the bicep. If you think about it as well, when you lift weights you are essentially flexing your biceps with extra weights in your hands. However, in the case of the kegel muscle, you do not need these extra weights as you would with a larger muscle."
]
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[]
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||
3s8815 | why do christians think the plain red cups at starbucks are anti-christian, when previous cups' reindeer and snowflakes and evergreens were nordic-germanic pagan symbols and not related to jesus in the first place? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3s8815/eli5why_do_christians_think_the_plain_red_cups_at/ | {
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"You shouldn't go looking for logic in this red cup nonsense.\n\nNot to mention that this is a very small *very* vocal minority who is complaining about this crap.",
"A percentage of Christians is too concerned with appearing to be more Christian and caring about Christian things to stop and actually think about what they're doing.\n\nWhich is something that happens with every group of people. They're too busy being [subgroup]y to stop and consider what, exactly, it means to be a part of that group.",
"They may not have always represented Christmas, but they do now. Christmas, being a Christian holiday, has come to be a pawn in the fight between people who feel that America is too Christian-centric and intolerant of other cultures, and people who feel that Christianity has made America what it is as opposed to say, what the Middle East is. As often happens in these political battles, both sides demand everyone pick a side, and now Starbucks is entangled in it. They picked the politically-correct side, presumably on the basis that that's the side more of their customers are on so they'll lose less business, and now the other side is mad at them."
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2wdqn9 | how can snapchat be worth ~$19b when i have never paid a cent for its use? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wdqn9/eli5_how_can_snapchat_be_worth_19b_when_i_have/ | {
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"Advertisements and user information, it's an established well known \"brand\" ",
"You're not the customer - you're the product. Your attention, information and interests are being collected, compiled and sold to advertisers who are willing to pay that service for access to you, so they can sell you stuff.\n\nSame basic model as NBC, just more finely tuned."
]
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||
czqe7l | why is that when listening to really loud music the vocals sound like they are one octave higher than normal? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/czqe7l/eli5_why_is_that_when_listening_to_really_loud/ | {
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"text": [
"They don’t? If you’re hearing things an octave high it’s because you’ve picked up on an overtone. Otherwise I don’t know what you’re talking about"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
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||
3z2ejo | how can the majority of the money in the world be digital, but fixed at the same time? could a bank just go into its computer system and change much money it has? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3z2ejo/eli5how_can_the_majority_of_the_money_in_the/ | {
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"text": [
"A bank *could* do that...for a little while. But it would show up on an audit, and they'd be shut down. And some people would go to jail. "
]
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[]
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||
33r8fc | why don't isis and al-qaeda like each other? | I mean they're basically the same right? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/33r8fc/eli5_why_dont_isis_and_alqaeda_like_each_other/ | {
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"text": [
"Its a power struggle. ISIS was an extremist branch off of Al-Qaeda which largely ignored each other. Now they want to kill each other so they can gain power.",
"They're very, very different.\n\nAl Qaeda is a religious protest movement, built around the idea that the West's attitude of secular progressivism is a literal spiritual disease, and that that disease manifests itself as consumerism and weird sexual practices. They don't fancy themselves as making a state, but opposing the spread of that spiritual sickness (which they call 'Jahalia').\n\nISIS, on the other hand, is just the winning army from a power vacuum. Their leadership and ambitions embody Jahalia, with sex slaves and promises of cash and earthly power. They have no intentions of overthrowing the United States or putting an end to greed and corruption - their ambition is to form North Korea 2, with themselves at the head.",
"I found this article quite informative and insightful. _URL_0_",
"The Bloods and the Crips are basically the same... they are just another gang. it's not about similar beliefs, it's about control of land, hidden behind religion.",
"\"I think your jihadist group is slightly too extreme!\"\n\"Well I think YOUR jihadist group isn't slightly too extreme enough!\"\n\n... Please don't take my answer seriously",
"Because Al-Qaeda has sold out to the western world.",
"Any extremist group, Islamic or otherwise, survives on the shared and steadfast belief that their ideology is completely morally correct. Without a strict adherence to this belief, it is very difficult to motivate people to die and kill for your cause. To stray from this would undermine the commitment of the rank-and-file. Therefore extremist leaders treat the slightest deviation from the promulgated ideology as an affront to the entire movement.\n\nSo from our perspective their difference seem trivial, but from the perspective of an extremist there can be no such thing as \"basically the same.\"",
"Basically, AL Qaeda has a sort of code of honor on have they do what they do. ISIS is just a whatever goes kind of organization. One thinks the other is too radical while the other thinks they aren't radical enough. Each one thinks the other has a false vision of Islam ",
"The BBC and PBS did an excellent documentary on the rise of ISIS. If you're in the U.S., you can access it via the PBS app on Apple TV (probably Google whatever, too, but I can't speak to that). Just go to the app (or maybe even the PBS website) and look for the Frontline TV show. If you're in the UK or Europe, you can watch it on the BBC. It is VERY worth your time to watch. \n\nAnd to oversimplify the answer to your question- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (ISIS) asked Ayman al-Zawahiri (al Qaeda) to swear allegiance to ISIS and him as the Caliph and al-Zawahiri said no. (It should be noted that it is the duty of a Muslim to swear allegiance to the Caliph- SO LONG AS HE IS A TRUE CALIPH. And that's another sticking point as many Muslims don't consider al-Baghdadi to be a true Caliph). ",
"ISIS was originally al-Qaeda in Iraq. Throughout the years they often made decisions without al-Qaeda central's approval, such as declaring \"statehood\" with the formation of ISI (Islamic State of Iraq), or engaged in activity contrary to al-Qaeda policy, such as attacks on Shias or bombing churches. However al-Qaeda continued to tolerate them even though there was little to no communication between the group and al-Qaeda leadership.\n\nThe breaking point came when ISI tried to absorb Jabhat an-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria) without approval from Zawahiri (leader of al-Qaeda) or Jawlani (leader of Nusra). Zawahiri ordered that each group should operate only in its respective region. Baghdadi (leader of ISI) disobeyed and continued with the formation of ISIS, effectively terminating his *bay'ah* (oath of allegiance) to Zawahiri.\n\nThe next big step was the declaration of a caliphate. ISIS said all other groups are now invalid and must pledge allegiance to Baghdadi as caliph and \"Amir al-Mu'minin\" (Leader of the Believers). So ISIS now views anyone who refuses to pledge allegiance to them as rebels who should be fought.\n\nHowever according to al-Qaeda's ideology, the selection of a caliph needs to be agreed upon by the Muslim community at large, contrary to the way Baghdadi was selected. They have also now been emphasizing their existing oath of allegiance to Mullah Omar as \"Amir al-Mu'minin\".",
"I'll go ahead and explain the ideological side of this. The ELI5 version is that they are both extremely radical groups with (slightly) conflicting religious interpretations.\n\nDeeper explanation...\nIn response to your question, \"are they basically the same?\" Yes. Kind of. AQ and ISIL both adhere to a Wahhabi Takfirist ideology. Wahhabism is a hard line interpretation of Sunni Islam. It is radical in the sense that Wahhabism calls for the implementation of Sharia law (law according to strict literal interpretations of the Koran) and generally condones jihad. Takfirism takes it a step further; to declare takfir on someone is to accuse them of being an apostate (an infidel or disbeliever), an offense punishable by death in Sharia law. Declaring takfir is not something to be taken lightly. If someone declares takfir, and it is determined to be a false accusation, then that person becomes guilty of apostasy. Either way, when takfir is declared, someone's gonna die, so it is generally reserved for only the most serious offenders. This is where AQ and ISIL differ ideologically. AQ adheres to a more \"traditional\" view of Takfirism, where declaring takfir is reserved only for the worst heretics. On the other hand, ISIL will declare takfir on anyone who doesn't join them. As mentioned before, a false accusation of takfir makes the accuser guilty of apostasy; in AQ's interpretation, ISIL are apostates. ",
"If you think about terrorist organizations as ideologically driven movements you would think they should unite under a common front against a common cause.\n\nBut they're not just ideological movements, they're also businesses. And there's nothing that businesses hate more than market competition. You know who cancer research organization all secretly hate, the Susan G Komen Foundation. They almost have a monopoly on cancer money and definitely have a monopoly on the color pink. You'd think all cancer organizations would just come together and share resources, but they don't.\n\nSimilarly Al'Qaeda and ISIS are recruiting members of an organization from the same pool of people (disenfranchised Muslims).\n\nAl'Qaeda is an evil franchise operation. Here's your own McDonalds with knowledge and training to form your own terror cell, enjoy. We will provide some weapons from time to time and also give you ideas for great targets. But how you run your own terror cell is entirely up to you, Allah Be something.\n\nISIS on the other hand is an evil corporation. It's full top-down management style in which the people at the bottom have little to know opportunity of moving up through the ranks. However since you'll always just be an employee you only have to take orders to earn your pay, and some people would rather simply be grunts.\n\nMarketing and advertising are the main ways they attract individuals. In the past Al'Qaeda almost had a monopoly on Islamist terrorism. Today there are many many Islamist movements to choose from. Every single time you see a beheading or an attack, these are intended to be advertising platforms for more recruitment.\n\nAl'Qaeda: We just struck a blow to America by destroying the twin towers, American Muslims join us!\n\nISIS: We just beheaded this Japanese guy, Muslims of Japan rise up with us!\n\nOverall market competition for Islamist terrorism may likely be the worst possible thing in the world as it will just draw all parties to become more and more extreme.",
"It's like the Baptists disliking the Mormons or the protestants/evangelists kind of hating the catholics. They are all Christians but different takes of it. \nUs vs them mentality. \nSectarianism.",
"It all started when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (leader of what was then ISI or Islamic State of Iraq back then) sent Abu Muhammad al-Jolani (then former ISI emir of Mosul) from Iraq to Syria to form an Islamist rebel group, to fight against Assad in the civil war. This group eventually became Jabhat al-Nusra (JN). \n\nAround mid-2013, Baghdadi called upon Jolani to merge their groups and form ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Sham). Jolani, not really fond of the proposed merger, sent an appeal to Zawahiri (head honcho of AQ, Baghdadi's immediate boss back then) to oppose the merger. Zawahiri ruled in favour of Jolani and told Baghdadi to restrict his operations to Iraq. Baghdadi refused and still formed ISIS, with most of JN's foreign fighters defecting to ISIS.\n\nFrom that time until Jan/Feb 2014. JN, ISIS and the rest of Islamist rebel brigades coexisted until ISIS began a series of provocations such as assassinations of fellow Islamists from other groups (including Zawahiri's personal envoy, Abu Khalid as-Suri). Rebels (including JN) united to fight against ISIS after the latter refused every attempts for mediation in a neutral Sharia court.\n\nSo essentially at that time AQ Syria (JN) and AQ Iraq (ISIS) were fighting against each other. AQ Central, seeing how Baghdadi was being unruly and causing dissent among the rest of Islamist rebel groups in Syria eventually sent a communique essentially disowning ISIS from the AQ family and disavowing any responsibility for any of the ISIS' actions. ",
"This might be a little bit long.\n\nAl Qaeda in Iraq(they called themselves the Islamic State in Iraq or ISI) leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi sent his top commander into Syria(while tensions were very high) sent one of his top commanders Abu Mohammad al Julani (a native Syrian) to help overthrow the Al Assad goverment. \n\nAl Julani would form a group called the Al Nursa front which would later become the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate. \n\nBaghdadi declared one day that Al Nursa front and Al Qaeda in Iraq were one forming the Islamic State In Iraq and Sham(ISIS). Al Julani disagreed with the merger becausse he thought that they had a deal were he would be the Emir(I believe means commander in Arabic) Syria and Baghdadi the Emir of Iraq.\n\n Al Julani appealed to Al Qaeda core leader Ayman al Zawahiri(Osama Bin Ladens successor) and Zawahiri sided with Julani and told Baghdadi to only focus on Iraq. Baghdadi didn't listen to him and instead took most of Al Nursa foriegn fighters and they have hated each other ever since.\n\n ",
"The reason they dislike each other is because it's not about religion it's about power. If it got them more followers they'd tell you Apples and Pears were holy totems.",
"Also, adding to my earlier comment. In terms of ideology, IS and AQ are pretty much the same. What they really differ is on how they would go about implementing it.\n\n\nAQ's view is essentially that they should first overthrow the 'apostate' governments in Muslim countries before establishing a caliphate\n\nIS' view is the other way around, they believe that establishment of a caliphate is a prerequisite before the overthrow of the so-called 'apostate' governments in Muslim countries.\n\nEssentially, they are very similar to the division between Trotskyists ('Permanent Revolution') and Stalinists ('Socialism in One Country') during 1920s, with AQ being the 'Trotskyist' side and IS being 'Stalinist'.",
"Yes you right... They are both funded and trained by Jordan Saudi arabia uae Qatar etc ",
"Another ELI5 BUT what is the difference between ISIS and ISIL? I here them both and still have no idea.",
"Basically the same in the way they like attention seeking and murdering innocence. ",
"ISIS is way more extreme and they take potential Al-Qaeda recruits",
"Al Queada is about preserving the Islamic identity by ending dependence on the west with its corrupting influence. ISIS is a crazy end of the world cult actively trying to bring the end of the world. Since they are both trying to recruit the same desperate unemployed and stupid people they are inherent rivals. ",
"not sure if they actually dislike each other, i think it's more complicated than that.",
"_URL_0_\n\nThis is a good video about the rise of ISIS including the split from Al-Qaeda",
"As a Muslim, don't care. Both are faggots and shouls go kill eachother.",
"First off, they are not the same. In order to find the difference, you will have to go back to 1999, when ISIS was first established, except with far less power and a different name. An important aspect is the age-old divide between Shittes and Sunnis. Shittes believe that Ali, a member of Muhammad's family, should have been the first caliph, after Muhammad died, and Sunnis believe that another man named Abu Bakr should have been the first caliph (which he became). ISIS considers itself as Sunni. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, ISIS pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, under the name al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). As AQI, they participated in the Iraqi insurgency (aftermath violence) that followed the war. They then merged with several other groups to form the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), and continued their attacks. After the US troops left, nobody was left to control them, as Iraq's army was a joke at that time. ISI began to attack not only the Shiites, but also the moderate Sunnis. This view was considered to extreme for al-Qaeda, so the disavowed ISI, and left them on their own. Since their was a state of anarchy in both Iraq and Syria, the new ISIS launched attacks on both countries, and now you have the mess that you have today.",
"They were part of the same group until 2014. IS has gone by a bunch of names, but the main ones in English are Al-Qaeda in Iraq, ISI (Islamic State of Iraq), ISIS/ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham/the Levant), and finally IS (Islamic State). Originally, they were part of the same faction. You have to understand what Al-Qaeda is, they are a franchise, providing financial support and the backing of the name to various Jihadi groups who agree with their ideology. IS have had longstanding conflict with the leadership of Al-Qaeda central, first Bin Laden then Zawahiri, mostly over beliefs regarding takfiri (declaring a Muslim to be a non-believer). Al-Qaeda thought ISIS was too loose with declarations of takfir and their massacring of Shias was risky. There's also a political struggle. Al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing, was originally tied to ISIS much more closely, but they refused to back ISIS when ISIS tried to absorb and break away from Al-Qaeda. Nusra tends to want to overthrow Syria and install a Islamic state, but their goals are much less ambitious than the full caliphate declared by Baghdadi (though some of them certainly have interest in a Caliphate), and as a Caliph Baghdadi is far less interested in borders than he is in control of land, and considers those who refuse to swear bay'ah (fealty) to him to be acting against God, and thus are actively enemies of Nusra now.",
"Aren't ISIS and the Taliban/Al-Queda basically like Crips and Bloods?\n\nI mean, both ISIS and the Taliban are known for fighting the U.S., but that's not why they exist. They're trying to take over as much as they can. That puts them at odds. Much how while gangs are anti-cop, they aren't gonna unify against the cops because they aren't there to fight cops, they're there to make money and get territory, they're only fighting the cops because the cops won't let them. I think a lot of people argue ISIS/Taliban, similarly, wouldn't give a shit about us if we just let them take over the Middle East. Then once they ran out of Middle East to conquer they'd start to look at us.",
"To put this in perspective, they are essentially two versions of the same thing. You can think of them as two chronological phases of the same operation that are happening at the same time.\n\nAl Qaeda is an Islamist terror group with very specific political goals, which in the realm of extremism, are actually fairly moderate. Not to downplay their brutality, but their goals have been generally reactionary and political in nature. Major motivations have included western presence in the Middle East, income distribution, non-Muslim bias, and things of that sort. The stated goal of bin Laden was to address these issues through terrorism in the short term. The ultimate goal of all Qaeda was to establish a caliphate, which is essentially a singular Islamic kingdom under unified political and religious rule. He expected the caliphate to come about 20 to 30 years from now, at best, as a continuation of his growing ideology.\n\nISIL, on the other hand, is the caliphate taking form right now. Regardless of their localized successes, of course the odds of it being truly established are minimal; however, it is a start toward that end. They maintain a very centralized power structure, organized military, and system of sharia law. They seized upon a power vacuum between Iraq and Syria and are attempting to establish their caliphate in that region. There are also signs that they are expending.\n\nIt is a safe assumption that bin Laden projected the caliphate a few decades into the future to allow time for existing Muslim states to politically join forces, instead of forcing it, which is what ISIL is doing. This will inevitably be their undoing as a number of Muslim states have already entered the fight against them.\n\nAs far as why they don't necessarily get along, it's a lot of the above. Though their goals may be similar, the methods to that end are as different as night and day. Al Qaeda sees ISIL as counterproductive and impulsive, and ISIL sees al Qaeda as disorganized and too wrapped up in the political establishment versus the establishment of the caliphate.",
"Why don't the Bloods and Crips like each other? They're basically the same.",
"Because the sky cake doesn't taste good if someone else is eating the sky pie!",
"For the same reason that Catholicism and Protestantism don't necessarily like each other",
"many of these groups have drastic idealogical ideas. some are just straight out crazy while some are more by the book. uve got so many factions of islam, from sunni, shiite and many offshoots of these. problem is there is no set answer in the quran. even leaders in the same groups have differences. \nthe level of radicalism is different in all groups, different enough to divide each of them. all of them in addition are kinda weak compared to competent militaries, no discipline and no real equipment. so this just leads to each faction wanting to rule and none having the power to actually force the other into submission.",
"No, they are not the same. \n\nAQ is a brand. It's like McDonalds or 7-11. You can have a Mom-n-Pop burger joint or a family gas station, but more people and money go to the well known brands. The catch is that not just anyone can pay to have a McDonalds franchise. McDonalds corporate needs to approve your use of their name. If you do crazy ass shit that goes against what McDonalds says or you could cause damage to their image they won't let you into the Golden Arches Club.\n\nIn 2004/2005, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (AMZ) was running the bloody show that was AQ in Iraq (AQI). He was the guy responsible for all of the beheading and massacre nonsense that pissed EVERYONE off. (*Which is part of the reason we double JDAM'd his fat ass*.) He was SO out of control that Osama bin Laden sent him a letter telling him to cut that shit out because it was making the original AQ look bad. Yeah, the guy who okayed the 9/11 attacks though that AMZ was being too brutal. That's how out of control this dude was. \n\nAfter AQI came AQ in the Islamic Mahgreb (sp?) (AQIM) and AQ in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and AQ of the Eastern Unladen Swallow (just kidding, but you get the idea). Then the Arab Spring happened and then Egypt and Syria and Lebanon and do you know what happens when fighting starts somewhere? The people who like fighting and killing go there. War, especially stateless, borderless war, brings the crazies like a southern baptist revival congregation to a free buffet at golden corral. \n\nOne of the ghosts of the Iraq war was a guy call al-Baghdadi. He was here and there and everywhere and nowhere. It may or may not be the same dude who's now leading what they're calling the Islamic State and we're calling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Lavant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) (*NOT Iraq and Syria*) or as the Arabs call them, Daesh. These guys are worse than AMZ. They're so bad that when they tried to hook up with AQ the leader of the group, Ayman al-Zawahiri (who ain't no pussy) basically told them to pound sand. \n\nAQ wants to push western influence out of Islamic holy areas such as Saudi Arabia and remove the Saudi royal family. ISIL wants to kill everyone who is not Muslim and recreate the Islamic Caliphate in Baghdad and the Umma, which basically all of the middle East, North Africa and parts of southern Europe with the ultimate intent of bringing about the *End of Days*. No shit. \n\nAQ = Bad news\n\nISIL/ISIS = Newspaper is on fire in your hands at the fuel refinery\n\nEdit: forgot an i",
"The way I see it is that they are like two 90s boy bands, they both want to be THE boy band yet the other boy band keeps stealing their thunder.\n\nSo they go all jihad and shit.\n",
"ISIL is much more focused on the Middle East and less on the West. Al Qaeda is Osama Bin Ladin's organization to essentially rebel against the west in a way that his family (second only to the Saudi royals) couldn't because of the US' involvement in protecting Saudi Arabia from Saddam Hussein. OBL basically was focused on defeating the West for Allah. ISIL wants to roll the clock back to 1916 using tactics they learned as Iraqi Army and Baath Party members. Terrorize the local populace into submission while claiming to be re-installing the caliphate.",
"Their long term goals don't fit together.\n\nbasically the people on top, on both sides would rather die than give up power. \n\nImagine: you can do whatever you want, get adrenaline rush erryday\n\nAre you going to give that power up?\nNewwwwwwwwp\n",
"Yes you are right they are quite similar when it comes to religious ideals (they both adhere to the heretical teachings of Ibn Taymiyya). However, as you do know religion is only a vessel used to obtain a material objective. Power and money dictate terms, and both entities answer to different commanders both vying to be king.",
"Put simply, Al-Qaeda is a religious, albeit radical, movement. \nIsis is a political movement. Al-Qaeda wants to implement its version of radical Islam, whereas Isis wants to take over iraq and syria and create a new nation. The similarity between the two groups is that they both use Islam as a method to recruit soldiers by telling them killing for them will grant them heaven. ",
"ISIS was too violent and barbaric since inception that OBL allegedly distanced himself from ISIS which once was called Al Qaeda in Iraq. ",
"believe it or not, \nal qaeda has a rules of engagement boot, \nand ISIS does not...Al Qaeda is born out of the Mujahideen after 1988....though both are the same \"sunni\"; ISIS believes in a a Caliphate and a united muslim nation \"without borders\" but this is more complex than it is made out to be.... I would recommend reading the The Sykes-Picot Agreement... ",
"Crips and bloodz rival each other?",
"ISIS is hardcore, absolute Islam (at least that is what they advertise). This means they adhere to a few tenets such as a caliphate (islamic state) and zero tolerance for dealing with non-true believers (not just muslims) in pretty much any way. \n\nAl Qaeda, while islamic, does not operate by these strict guidelines and most importantly does not subscribe to the idea of a caliphate, which ISIS says all true muslims must make every effort to emigrate to. Al Qaeda also tends to blur the lines when dealing with non-radical muslims in order to further their own objectives.\n\n[A much more detailed explanation](_URL_0_)\n\n",
"It's simple. When Simba came back, did Scar like it? Old lions don't like upstarts. Of course, in this case, we would like to see both Simba and Scar die.",
"A short and ELI5 answer: Both are assholes in a class. Just because 2 people are assholes, doesn't mean that they agree on everything. So in the end, they are both assholes who happen to hate each other.",
"ISIS believes in hardcore shit that Al-Qaeda doesn't adhere to, and to not adhere to it--in ISIS' eyes--is to be blasphemous/heretical/whatever the word is.\n\nThey don't buy into the whole \"the enemy of my enemy is my friend\" deal. Basically, if you're not *in* ISIS, you're an enemy.",
"Because there's only enough virgins for one crazy radical extreme muslim group. Duh.",
"Al-Qaeda hates ISIS because ISIS gives terrorists a bad name.",
"I think this question is best given for r/syriancivilwar. I venture there often. The reason Al-Qaeda hates ISIS is because ISIS suddenly turned on Nusra and even the rebels killing tens of thousands of them. Al Qaeda tried to mediate the conflict between ISIS and the Syrian rebels only to have ISIS attack and eventually execute Al Qaeda's Syrian branch (Al-Nusra). ISIS basically saw that they did not need Al Qaeda anymore so decided that they can gain extra power by striking out on its own.\n\nTLDR; Al Qaeda tried to talk to ISIS. ISIS then attacked Al Qaeda because it wanted to make a name for itself.",
"IMHO, both are fighting for political power rather than religious power, we hear news of smuggling oil, old antiques by ISIL or ISIS or whatever,and they are supported by very powerful lobbies, means who the hell in this world giving them training to drive tanks, automatic gun, and very sophisticated weapons, there are so many loop holes in there theory of fighting for islam, rather then i say they are fighting for their hidden masters, hidden agendas. ",
"You would think the United States and Russia are basically the same if you were muslim: both are largely white and christian.\n\nThing is, neither like each other: ideology varies, motives vary, political and economical interest are different and even ethnic backgrounds are different.",
"Because they play with different toys. They don't like how they play with their toys. ",
"ISIS is a sunni Islam terrorist group and Al-Qaeda is a ~~Shiite~~ terrorist group. Both hate America, but Sunnis and Shiites hate each other just as much.\n\nA little more than maybe explaining like your 5:\n\nShiites believe that Sunnis purposefully edited the Quran to remove mention of Muhammad's cousin Ali, who Shiites believe to be the first true successor to Islam.\n\nTl:dr; Sunni terrorist will fight Shiite terrorist and wouldn't work together against taking down their common enemy, the Western world. It really complicates who America should support in the Middle East.\n\nSource: I'm taking a college World Religions class and this was one of the topics we covered.\n\nIn case you are still reading and think everyone who believes in Islam are automatically terrorists I would like to take this time to say that in reality Islam is a very peaceful religion and are only supposed to invoke violence to defend themselves.. (The defending themselves is the fuel extremist groups use to justify their terrorism)\n\nEdit: I think I pulled from wrong source. Al-Qaeda might actually be Sunni, if thats the case than I guess I have no clue why they hate each other, I'm not deleting because I think its important people know about Sunni and Shiite relations.\n",
"I asked this question this morning to an Iraqi coworker that has been in the US for 2 years.\n\nHe said AL Queda is mad that Isis is killing too many people. He said typically they don't fight each other unless it is for disputed neighborhoods or territories. \n\n",
"Because the situation is really about power, not religion.",
"Isis came from al quaeda and al quaeda has no affiliation with isis anymore because they are just too extreme ",
"ISIS and Al Qaeda are different branches of a similar movement in Islam towards a contemporary islam. \n\nAl Qaeda wants people to live in a manner similar to muhammad the prophet: limited technology, very little outside influence etc.\n\nISIS grew as a response to Al Qaeda's failures to deliver. They didn't create a stronger muslim identity through withdrawing from aspects of modernity, their strongholds were destroyed. ISIS is trying to create a modern state with modern technologies and institutions based on islam. \n\nNot that anyone will read this. \n\nEdit: To clarify:\n\nAl Qaeda hates ISIS because Al Qaeda believes they are heretics by living the lives they do.\n\nISIS hates Al Qaeda because Al Qaeda siphons muslim support away from them and creates militarily weak spots in muslim countries.",
"They are both political factions with the only thing in common being that they take advantage of a religion to brainwash unfortunate people in third world countries to fight for their profit and power. The values of Islam mean nothing to them, so it wouldn't be something for them to unite under. In fact, they are both looking for power in the same region, so they have reason to hate each other as they are competition.",
"ISIS and the Taliban dont like each other either.\n\n\nIts almost like all the reasons for their Jihad against the West and, the U.S. terrorizing and killing people are bullshit. Along with all the hippy psychobabble about how we need to try to understand how they feel about about nuanced geopolitical politics.\n\n\nIf you arent one of them, living your life and worshiping according to their laws, you are an infidel that needs to convert or die.",
"Bloods and Cribbs.. Same thing but they hate each other..",
"_URL_0_\n\nHere you go! Best explanation I've seen.",
"My understanding is that ISIS had declared the new Caliphate, essentially a new muslim empire run by the Caliph, a religious and political leader believed to be the decedent of Mohammed. There are some pretty specific conditions that need to be met for someone to be considered a/the Caliph and Abu Bakr Al-Baghadadi, the leader of ISIS, is believed by some to have the right blood to be the Caliph. Al Queda (and most of the muslim world for that matter) sees his claim as essentially heresy thus the fatwah. I'm not an expert but this is what I understand. Would love to be corrected.",
"Muslims - they can't even get on with one another, let alone anyone else.",
"ISIS is all about the allahu o akbar, while Al Qaeda takes more pleasure in their killings",
"They are fighting each other because the winner will try (and fail miserable LOL) to destroy Israel. they think it will bring some imam back or some other garbage. Brainwashed logic",
"Before al Baghdadi rebranded the organization, ISIL was known as al Qaeda in Iraq. While serving under the leadership of al-Zawahiri (head of al Qaeda), AQI was responsible for a bombing campaign targeting American soldiers. The focus of these bombings shifted to target Shi'ite Muslims, despite repeated criticism and objection from central al Qaeda leadership. This was the beginning of the fracture. The split was finalized after internal disagreement over AQI's* advances into Syria. Baghdadi wanted to expand, extending his reach into Syria. Zawahiri rejects this advance, already overseeing the efforts of another cell already working in Syria, al Nusra. Internal discord leads Baghdadi and al Qaeda to disavow one another. ISIL then publicly claims that al Nusra is apart of ISIL. al Nusra denies this leading to fighting between the two. \n\nThe organizational structure of al Qaeda has changed over time, and the degree to which groups using the al Qaeda brand are autonomous from central leadership varies greatly from group to group. Generally, groups allied with al Qaeda have consented to adhere to the leadership so as to receive the financial and logistical support, as well as the ability to recruit under the \"brand.\" The control that central leadership exerts has generally decreased with time, especially since the challenge posed by ISIS. \n\nTo address their respective missions, the leadership of al Qaeda has been more focused on Western targets. While there have clearly been a great deal of attacks directed at both Muslim majority countries and Muslims specifically, these attacks have been repeatedly condemned by senior leadership. ISIL, on the other hand, is not a trans-national terrorist group, rather a Sunni militant group seeking to carve out their own country, or caliphate. \n\n*Without my notes in front of me, I don't recall if the Baghdadi had rebranded the organization at this point. \n",
"This usually happens to radical militant groups. It's like what happened in North Africa around the time of French de-colonization. Many Jihadi groups (if that's what they're called) fought against the French, but once the French left, the groups started fighting amongst themselves. \nThey would argue that their religious/political slant was the purest, and the others were impure. \nThese groups quite often implode or eat themselves if given enough time. \n(The can do an awful lot of damage before then however)\n",
"They are both latent homosexuals, and if you've ever seen two Queens go at it over the backyard garden of their rental property, you would understand.",
"A lot of the differences can be explained by the generational gap: Al Qaeda tends to have older members, while ISIS is primarily younger people. \n\nThis affects their propaganda techniques. AQ mostly lectures on the Koran and sends the videos to news channels (this puts limitations on how graphic/explicit they can be), where ISIS uses social media, which allows them to be very graphic and violent. ISIS propaganda is almost like a video game, perfect for their young target audience. \n\nThe younger demographic of ISIS is also more restless (you know how colleges are hotbeds of activism, and then people settle down? that), which I think is part of why they established the Islamic State first, rather than building support first, and why they're focusing on Middle Eastern enemies. \n\nLocal enemies are much better for such a passionate, hotheaded group--they can send their standing army out to fight, otherwise they'd have a bunch of restless teenage rebels without a cause. AQ, on the other hand, prefers terror cells, and well-planned dramatic gestures--that wouldn't work for ISIS, both because of the restlessness and because AQ is a much less political entity, at least right now. \n\nISIS declared themselves a state, which means controlling territory, which means an army. AQ is much less concrete, for the most part only visible when they want to be. The ability to plan things long term allows AQ to strike at the West/US in incidents like 9/11. \n\nAQ is also more \"tolerant\" than ISIS--they don't want the public to see Muslims killing other Muslims, so despite being a Sunni group, they don't deliberately target Shia groups. AQ is much more big-picture in that sense, going after the cause of the regimes they disapprove of rather than the regimes themselves. ISIS goes for the regimes, in part because of the standing army/territory thing. ISIS has far more fanaticism and is therefore less tolerant (think of college-age PETA activists, refusing to accept that anyone else could be right). ISIS, as a Sunni group, will specifically target Islamic groups that do not practice in the same way as ISIS. ISIS not only wants to establish an Islamic State, they also want to \"purify\" Islam.\n\nThis is literally what yesterday's lesson in my social studies class was. If I think of more I'll add it.\n\nAlso, ISIS thinks that AQ is too passive and tolerant, exactly what you'd expect of the demographics.\n\nEdit: The emphasis on the demographic is more affected by my opinion than it should be; however, the differences I listed between the two are accurate.",
"Haters got to hate. After a while they give up trying to figure out what to hate so they just hate everything and everyone. ",
"In all honesty the entire middle east is one giant proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran leads the Shia's and Saudi's are Wahabbi's which is a ultra conservative version of the Sunni sect. What's crazy is the US supports the Saudi's and they seem to be the ones producing all the terror groups that are causing trouble for the U.S... People don't like IS, but they haven't attack America yet.",
"The same reason why proponents of intersectionality turn on each other despite basically being the same. When your whole identity is based upon your politics, even slight differences of opinion feel like existential threats, and since you're already out to make everyone else bow to your whims anyway...",
"Really short version? ISIS is focused on making an actual sovereign Islamic state/caliphate. They are very focused on making everyone in the immediate Iraq/Syria area conform to their ideals (Sunni/Wahabi belief). Al-Qaeda (also sunni/wahabi) has more apocalyptic goals in mind. They believe that the end times are coming and are acting as the vehicle to drive out as much Western influence as they can.\n\nBoth groups are siminlar in their beliefs. However, their goals and methods are far to different for successful coexistance.",
"ISIS have declared a Caliphate. The Caliphate is only supposed to be established with the agreement of all Muslims worldwide; In other words, it will never, ever happen.\n\nIt is considered sacrilege by other Muslims, even Al-Qaeda. It would be like if some nation declared that they were the the City of God, and their head of state to be the messiah. Though, the Caliph is not quite a messianic figure, just a dude that Allah really digs as a ruler. But same ballpark. ",
"Someone in the middle east during middles ages would probably ask a similar question. \"Why don't British and French people like each other? I mean they're basically the same right?\"",
"Much like Protestants and Catholics, they focus on their differences (few) rather than their similarities (many).",
"even al queda is like.. man, you all fuckers crazy",
"Because they're both backwards ass camel fuckers who worship a pedophile, stone women for fun, and live in the 14th century. Why do you think logic is involved?",
"**ELI5 answer:** Both organizations have a political agenda which foresees them ruling over the Muslim countries with their own version of law. It has nothing to do with religion but everything to do with politics. Religion is just what they use to recruit fighters and make their actions \"Halal\" in front of other Muslims. So when two organizations (with their own set of laws) fight for control and power, it's natural they're going to be at loggerheads with each other, in other words, they will end up hating each other.",
"They have different goals. Al-Qaida wants western forces and military bases out of holy lands. They attack western forces to repel them, and attack them at home to reduce public support for their presence. \n\n\n\nISIS wants to form a country ruled by a Caliph. This means tearing down all governments in the way, and making their own country. They also want to have only their very weird twists on an already twisted interpretation of the Quran implemented.\n\nAl-Qaida and ISIS have almost incompatibile views and aims. We get told they're the same but thats because its easier to explain as \"They are islamists and thus evil\"",
"I think I have the answer that everyone can understand.\n\nAl-Qaeda is a little bit country, ISIS is a little bit rock and roll. ",
"Because they are ideologically destitute and desperate to be remembered. Yet blinded in a narssasistic cavalcade of chaos ridden, self-destructive conflagration of self-deprecating overall abuse of the niave power of the globally aware and somewhat humanistic puppeteer-like elitist left-wing socialistic antidisestablishmentarianisim of the modern neo sapian. Ya know what I mean? ",
"All the down voting has convinced me of Reddit's majority ISIS membership.",
"“ELI5: Why don't ISIS and Al-Qaeda like each other?”\nIMHO: Each side is interpreting a narrative/story in those terms which seem rational to them. It’s like a book circle descending into anarchy. Because they can’t determine what the author of the work they are reading that week, actually meant to impart. \nGiven that the tome is true, and ‘written by an all-knowing entity, sic. Surely it should contain a means for definitively testing its authenticity. Otherwise it is no better than any of those other ‘fallacious’ religious tomes, which don’t either. Any ideology whose primary unwritten commandment is “ Don’t Question”, automatically betrays its innate fear of examination and exposure. It has been pointed out that the Taliban condemn all the works of the West, except for their mobile telephones, 4X4 trucks, rifles, watches, etcetera, etcetera. Now ISIS is offering access to their own National Heath Service for believers. Given the obvious contradiction that a tribe possessing some genuine direct connection to a deity, would surely not have to suffer maladies nor injuries in the first place. How do they square the hypocritical ideological circle of condemning all that the West represents. Whilst at the same time, being subject to a complete reliance on the medicines and medical technologies of said heretical regime? \n",
"One side thinks coca cola is best, the other says Pepsi. They have been at war ever since.",
"Both ISIS and Al Qaeda are being very naughty little boys. They run around doing nasty, naughty stuff with other nasty, naughty people. In the end, they're just a bunch of dumb dumbs doing nasty-wasty things and they like giving boo boo's to other people. Sometimes they give such big boo boo's the other person's head comes off. Each one stomps around in their glitter shoes hoping the other will leave the sandbox so they can be king, but the dumb dumbs stay. They look like they really hate each other, but when nobody is looking they hold hands, share their love of unicorns and rainbows, and give each other reacharounds.",
"I heard this answer was from a little girl a long time ago when asked why isn't there peace in the Middle East: it's very hot and there's not a lot of water. That's the place you have a lot of in-groups and a lot of enemies. ",
"Judean People's Front vs People's Front of Judea, basically. That's pretty much it.\n\nNo one explains it better than Monty Python. Watch Life of Brian.",
"Because they're all a bunch of dicks that don't like anyone. ",
"Their versions of the flying spaghetti monster conflict.",
"Much of the reason is social in nature. In the late 50s when I took classes on Islamic culture I was told that men were not to wear full beards until they were over 35. It was way of people identifying someone with the life experience to make sound decisions. This is much the same as the rules on age that we apply to who can run for congress or president. I pretty much keeps some 15 year old boy with a large following (Justin Bieber type) being allowed near the nuclear red button.\nNow if you look at the two organizations side by side you can see that Al-Qaeda is basically structured using the old rules where as ISIS has everyone with a full beard as if the growth alone makes their decision processes good. Now if you spent fifty years developing yourself for leadership and along comes this kid and says he has the ability to lead simply because he has a full beard guess how you would feel about the new kid on the block.\n\nNow as for the decision processes of either group they still suck.",
"Aaaaaallright, so here's the story, with some reasonable simplification:\n\nThe two major sects of Islam, Shia and Sunni, aren't really too crazy about each other in many places. When the US invaded and occupied the Iraq, they dismantled Saddams Baath party and barred all members from positions of public service. A pretty shitty idea, as it turned out. In a totalitarian state, like Saddams Iraq, membership was pretty much mandatory for most meaningful positions. This completely wrecked public administration, healthcare, but perhaps most importantly, police and army. This created a severe Power vacuum that was quickly filled by Iraqs Shia majority (with support and cooperation from Shia Iran). The Sunni minority, that had ran things under Saddam, had effectively lost control of the country to the people that were oppressed for decades and who were now out for vengeance. Sunnis were quickly removed from the political decision making process. \n\nThe Sunni population now felt oppressed in turn (and they weren't exactly wrong) and wanted a change. That chance came with the Arab spring and the uprisings in Syria.\n\nThe leader of the al-Quaida Branch of Iraq, Abu Bakir al-Baghdadi, seized the chance to combine the increasingly radicalizing revolt in Syria and the unrest of Sunni Iraqis. He exploited the situation by sending one of his top mooks, Abu Mohamed al-Yulani to Syria and start a new al-Quaida chapter in Syria. al-Yulani was tremendously successful, rapidly infiltrating and absorbing other rebel groups and their formidable US-supplied equipment and armament. His organisation you might have heard of, it went by the name of Al-Nusra Front.\n\nNow here's where things get messy. Al-Baghdadi, still needing to intermingle the Syrian uprising and the Iraqi Sunni-Shia split, promptly declared that the lands and influence of the al-Nusra front and al-Yulani were part of his domain, which he named Islamic state of Iraq and Syria.\n\nAl-Yulani of course wasn't cool with that, having been promised Syria as his own territory. So both appealed to al-Quaidas top Jefe, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Zawahiri ruled in al-Yulanis favor, confining al-Baghdadi to Iraq.\nAl-Baghdadi was having none of that, denouncing his allegiance to al-Quaida, attacking the al-Nusra front in the back and taking over the vast majority of their territory, equipment and personnel.\n\nAl-Zawahiri of course was furious, cutting of relations with al-Baghdadi and ISIS. So, it has nothing to do with \"ISIS being too radical even for al-Quaida\" or somesuch. It was a political split of a vassal against his higher ups for more independence.",
"They are fighting for control of mineral wealth. They do not want to share. Everything else is a smoke screen. ",
"Because fundamentalist Islam is not so much about purity of religion or an united Islamic state, it is about one regional group wishing to rule over another regional group, and enforcing this by all means necessary. Terrorist groups do not speak for the whole of Islam, they are more akin to local warlords that wish to assert their power over rival Shiite or Sunnite groups. \n\nThe reason ISIS and Al-Qaeda don't like each other is because they are both fishing in the same pond, and on a regional level they have much more to gain from fighting each other rather than to cooperate. Cooperation might make them more resistant against Western domination but it would mean making concessions on the regional level. ",
"They both want power like so many other groups in the world. They both use religion and specifically radical Islam to try to attain that power. They each see each other as a threat to their power, as a threat to their recruiting, as a threat to their financing. That's why they don't like each other. ",
"Something to remember. These groups are as much about selling their brand as they are about selling their ideology. Each group wants to be the alpha and believes all other groups swear allegiance. They don't like it when another group gets more attention because this reduces they realm of influence in the area. If they aren't seen as powerful they lose control and respect. \n\nThis is a battle between Coke and Pepsi. Where instead of soda they are selling fear and hatred. ",
"As I understand it, Al Qaeda was the group assembled and trained by Osama Bin Laden. His personal army for his fatwa, or religious war. ISIS is a very radical offshoot of Al Qaeda who, like the Taliban did in Afghanistan, have a very strict interpretation of Sharia Law, and in that wish to bring the entire Muslim world back to one state, one country, under their God's law, free of Western occupancy or influence.\n",
"I'll put it simply for you. ISIL (formerly known as ISIS) is a religious group. Al Qaeda is a Nationalist group. As such there goals differ. ISIL wants to establish a religious state. All Qaeda just wants to establish or reestablish the power of their \"nation\" or ethnic group.",
"Because there's only so much money to go around. ",
"Just because they both claim Jihad doesn't mean they automatically like each other. They are still two groups trying to control the same region of the earth. Can't have two kings. ",
"I am also not well versed on ISIL and Al-Qaeda differences but I listen to this podcast called [War on the Rocks](_URL_1_) Listen to this [one](_URL_2_) and [this](_URL_3_) both lay out the differences and reason why they fight. Also [Vice News](_URL_0_) has a good series on the Islamic State.",
"Al Qaeda is more moderate than ISIS. Al Qaeda does not really believe in killing other Muslims(unless they work for the west) but ISIS believes everyone is an infidel even Shia Muslims so they are \"fair game\".",
"They are organizations that both teach that their way is the only way. As a member, you would be required to hate anyone who does not believe as the organization does, to the point of murdering those who won't change their minds. This is how the terrorist organizations maintain their power; they create zealots who believe that they are fixing the world by showing that their way is true.\n\nIt wouldn't make much sense for them *not* to hate a rival organisation with the same goals. Gotta hate the competition too.",
"Wait, Why cant our military just drop a nuke on ISIS headquarters?"
]
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"https://news.vice.com/show/the-islamic-state",
"http://warontherocks.com/category/podcasts/",
"http://warontherocks.com/2015/04/podcast-the-islamic-states-war-in-iraq-and-syria/",
"http://warontherocks.com/2014/09/podcast-in-search-of-a-middle-east-strategy/"
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5vfnr9 | why are certain unit abbreviations capitalized (e.g. ml, db) but not others (e.g. cm)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5vfnr9/eli5why_are_certain_unit_abbreviations/ | {
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"de1p9ns"
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"text": [
"The SI convention is that only those unit symbols that abbreviate the name of a person start with a capital letter. In many English-speaking countries, however, the most common shape of a handwritten Arabic digit 1 is just a vertical stroke; that is, it lacks the upstroke added in many other cultures. Therefore, the digit \"1\" may easily be confused with the letter \"l\". Further, on some typewriters, particularly older ones, the unshifted L key had to be used to type the numeral 1. Even in some computer typefaces, the two characters are barely distinguishable. This caused some concern, especially in the medical community.\n\nAs a result, L (uppercase letter L) was adopted as an alternative symbol for litre in 1979.\n\n"
]
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[]
] |
||
61gvbm | why does eating a lemon make your teeth hurt? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/61gvbm/eli5_why_does_eating_a_lemon_make_your_teeth_hurt/ | {
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"text": [
"Lemon juice is moderately acidic, and if your teeth have metal fillings that can set up an electric circuit. Biting aluminum foil does the same thing, but I don't advise doing either of those things."
]
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[]
] |
||
1jqhd6 | why can you get a urinary tract infection if you have sex and then don't pee? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1jqhd6/eli5_why_can_you_get_a_urinary_tract_infection_if/ | {
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"text": [
"Urinating flushes out the urinary tract, getting rid of any bacteria that may have been moved to that area by sex. If you don't, that bacteria has more of a chance to create the infection",
"People are farmlands for infectious disease.\n\nYour immune system is primed to deal with your own disease. At any point in time, you have billions of bacteria and fungus all over and inside your body. But you've got that all under control.\n\nTheir disease comes with different weapons and different camouflage. If you don't hose it all out, it might take root before your immune system can adapt.",
"For anyone who is interested it is often UPEC (uropathogenic Escherichia coli) that have specialized pilus (sort of like a sticky tail) that allow adherence to the urinary tract which makes the bacteria much more resistant to removal by urine flow.\n\nThe process of adherence takes time which is why it is important to urinate quickly following sex to prevent the adherence.\n\nPretty picture of E. coli undergoing attachment _URL_0_\n\n"
]
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"http://www.pnas.org/content/97/16/8829/F2.large.jpg"
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1oay4l | american football: why does one of the offensive players run across the field just before the play starts? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1oay4l/eli5_american_football_why_does_one_of_the/ | {
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"It helps the quarterback decide if the defense is using a zone or a man to man scheme (read the defense). \n",
"A player \"goes in motion\" for two reasons:\n\nFirst, it helps the qb learn what defense the other team is using. If a defender follows or players shift, the defense is playing \"man\" defense, where each defender is assigned to a particular offensive player. If all defenders stay in place, they're playing zone, where each defender is responsible for a specific area. \n(EDIT: Defenses may find ways to fool the offense, of course, by shifting or not shifting as they please, regardless of defense type)\n\nSecond, it may cause the defensive players to become confused about their assignments, leading to undefended areas of the field."
]
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4k97b5 | false vacuums and the whole thing about ending the universe | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4k97b5/eli5_false_vacuums_and_the_whole_thing_about/ | {
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"Consider a chemical such as gasoline. Its chemical structure is such that if given the proper energetic nudge and access to oxygen it can transform into a chemical bonding structure which is of lower potential energy. In so doing it releases energy in the form of heat and light. This general process operates across the universe without fail, with things potentially releasing stored energy.\n\nNow we come to a false vacuum. Normally we would consider a vacuum to be purely empty, a void of everything including energy. However that doesn't actually appear to be the case in reality! There is a \"quantum foam\" of virtual particles and antiparticles constantly appearing spontaneously and instantly annihilating themselves. Strange as it may seem we can observe some effects of this. If we were to place two surfaces very close together, so close that some of the larger virtual particles wouldn't fit, then we would expect there to be greater pressure outside of the gap and so push the surfaces together. And we *see that* happen! (Casimir effect)\n\nWhat this means is that even a vacuum devoid of matter has a potential energy which is not zero; in other words it is a \"false vacuum\". We don't know how it might happen, but what if somehow a false vacuum could be caused to drop to a true vacuum, in the process releasing that energy? Great, energy from nothing!\n\nExcept... what if the process was self-perpetuating like a fire on grassland? Energy from the void causing more energy from the neighboring void, on and on? There isn't much energy in a given volume of vacuum, but there is *a lot of vacuum*! An awful lot; this really cannot be overstated. We don't really know what might cause a false vacuum to collapse, so it might be impossible or a hair's breadth away from the flash point right now.\n\nIf it happened anywhere we might expect anything from the instant destruction of the universe to Earth encountering a seemingly flat plane of unimaginable energy extending to the edges of the visible universe, destroying all in its path and oncoming at almost the speed of light.",
"Water runs down a mountain to the lowest point. There's a lip halfway up the mountain where the water can catch and form a puddle. The \"true vacuum\" (lowest possible energy state) is at the bottom of the mountain, so the puddle is in a false vacuum because the water could fall lower, but it would need to be pushed up over the lip first. That puddle is our universe, and if we were pushed over the edge, or if the lip suddenly gave way, it would fall down into a whole new set of rules and constants that would make it look very different."
]
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4ikf6i | how does my iphone/ipod manage to display the out of charge symbol multiple times when there's supposedly no charge left? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ikf6i/eli5how_does_my_iphoneipod_manage_to_display_the/ | {
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"text": [
"Because there's enough charge held to still display that. Eventually there will not be, but the phone shuts down when there is still a little tiny charge left to be able to show that to you so that you know its time to charge and the phone isn't otherwise dead or broken, just out of juice.",
"ELI5 answer: Because if there was actually no charge left in your phone, it could explode when you re-charged it.\n\n------------------\n\nLi-Ion batteries are very dangerous to discharge all the way down to empty. If the battery becomes totally drained, it can breakdown internally and bulge/deform the casing, and no longer be able to store energy. Best case, it will significantly reduce the number of times you can fully charge/discharge the battery (aka the number of cycles) or reduce the maximum capacity that it can store.\n\nIf it's discharged too much (but not enough to immediately destroy the battery) the act of recharging it can trigger a thermal runaway, which will also destroy the battery.\n\nAs such, MFGs just decided to set limits on how much it will let you discharge the battery so the device lasts longer, and explodes less often... because if your Li-Ion device were truly dead, you'd have bigger problems than being annoyed that it still has enough juice to tell you it's dead."
]
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[],
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|
3svg6k | why are the south koreans protesting? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3svg6k/eli5why_are_the_south_koreans_protesting/ | {
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"text": [
"They're protesting proposed labor reforms that give more power to employers. Why's that important? South Korea has had some issues with their largest corporations, like Samsung, kinda being above the law. It's openly acknowledged that these corporations are involved in the government, so this kind of thing was bound to raise some protests. Straw on the camel's back thing.\n\nCheck out the wiki on [chaebol](_URL_0_) if you'd like a bigger overview."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaebol"
]
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|
22xesr | why are some people more curious about things in general than others? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22xesr/eli5_why_are_some_people_more_curious_about/ | {
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"text": [
"Why do you ask?",
"In the Big 5 Personality Trait model, this is called \"Openness to Experience.\"\n\nAt the very least, there is [SOME genetic component](_URL_0_), and encouragement during early life likely has some influence as well.\n\n\"Kids are born curious about the world. What adults primarily do in the presence of kids is unwittingly thwart the curiosity of children.\"\n- Neil deGrasse Tyson\n",
"I dunno. Who cares?"
]
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[],
[
"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8776880"
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||
1qsd3n | from crack to current, what is the story behind toronto mayor rob ford? | What has Toronto mayor Rob Ford been accused of doing? What has he admitted to? Are these things a reason to ask for his resignation? and finally, why hasn't he resigned? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qsd3n/eli5_from_crack_to_current_what_is_the_story/ | {
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"Mayor Rob Ford has been accused of many things in the past and present. It was first alleged that he smoked crack many months ago and there was a video of him doing it. Two news organizations verified the allegation saying that they personally had witnessed the video. The video did not surface. Rob Ford repeatedly denied that he smoked crack, denied that he was a drug addict and denied that there was such a video in existence. \n\nFast forward a few months later and the police, after conducting a thorough investigation, managed to recover the video file of the mayor smoking crack from a seized computer (note: the file had been deleted, but not properly erased from the hard drive). Rob Ford was then forced to admit that he has smoked crack cocaine in the past (during his time in office), but still maintains that he is not a drug addict and that he doesn't smoke crack (now).\n\nMeanwhile, during all this time, many other damaging photos, videos and other evidence have been released to the public including a photo of the mayor hanging out with people suspected as being heavily involved in hard drugs and a video where the mayor 'goes crazy' basically ranting on about how he will kill this person in extreme graphic detail, the excuse being that it was another of his 'drunken stupors'.\n\nThe mayor has also admitted to purchasing illegal drugs during his time in office and driving drunk. Now there are a number of new allegations (which the mayor has not admitted to) including the suggestion that he brought prostitutes to his office (he is married).\n\nDespite all this, the mayor absolutely refuses to resign. There is no process which allows the rest of city council to remove him from office unless he has been charged and convicted of a criminal offense (he has not been convicted of anything yet). Also, unless he is convicted of a crime, he will be free to run again for re-election next year."
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3kifvb | what would happen if i created a perfect seal with my butt to the toilet seat and flushed? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3kifvb/eli5_what_would_happen_if_i_created_a_perfect/ | {
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"Depends on the toilet. Some toilets work by sucking the water, others just pump in water until a siphoning effect is created. The former may suck you down to the seat, the latter would have no effect on you."
]
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[]
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||
e7l2u3 | where do leaves go after autumn | After the leaves fall off the trees and seem to chill in our gardens for all of the cold months where do they go in spring?! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e7l2u3/eli5_where_do_leaves_go_after_autumn/ | {
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"They're slowly broken down and decomposed. Various Fungi, Bacteria and Detritivores (such as worms and insects) decompose the leaves (Worms typically drag individual leaves, in lawns, down into the soil where they are consumed) and use the stored energy and raw materials within the leaves to fuel their own biochemical reactions.",
"If you've ever left a pile of leaves around for too long, you'll find the bottom has turned into soil and a new worm society has moved in."
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3ex6tg | what the hell is going on regarding planned parenthood | Trying to be objective about the situation. I'd like to hear from both sides what is really happening, why, and if it really is as bad as some people and the media are currently saying it is. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ex6tg/eli5_what_the_hell_is_going_on_regarding_planned/ | {
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"They donate tissue to research labs and are reimbursed for the costs of storing/shipping the tissue. PP does not profit from this. Research on fetal tissue, while perhaps unsettling to think about, is not illegal or immoral.\n\nA right-wing group videotaped discussions with PP representatives edited them to make it appear that PP is gleefully murdering babies for profit. The group has been exposed as a fraud but they keep publishing the edited videos because a certain percentage of people want to believe the lie.",
"A conservative group pretended to be a group of researchers which needed infant stem cells for research. They took the Planned Parenthood reps out to dinner and had a conversation which is totally normal to have in the business, but seems horrible to people who have never listened to medical professionals talk. They then edited the conversation to make it seem as horrible as possible. It's an entirely made up situation.",
"This is what Snopes says: _URL_0_\nI don't know how many conservative outrage types can read it all at one sitting because it is very long and doesn't say all the things they want it to. It also requires some basic understanding of medical research which is really the area for which The Lord is responsible. Some knowledge of the past escapades of the film makers and their shady background would be helpful but is outside of the conservative outrage mind and knowledge set.\n"
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2zrkrv | what is a maoi, how does it work, and what are the effects that one would notice from taking one? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zrkrv/eli5_what_is_a_maoi_how_does_it_work_and_what_are/ | {
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"MAOI are anti-depressant drugs. MAO breaks down certain chemicals in your nervous system. These chemicals, like dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, are associated with making you feel happy. Low amounts of these chemicals are associated with depression. By stopping the breakdown of these chemicals, we can offset any deficiency associated with clinical depression.\n\nIf you have TOO MUCH serotonin in your system, you can get flushing and diarrhea. If you have too much of some of these other compounds (like norepinephrine), you can also get dangerously high blood pressures.",
"monoamine oxidase inhibitor, it's a type of chemical/drug, typically used as treatment against depression when other types of anti-depressants don't seem to work.\n\nEssentialy, there's a process in your brain cells where an enzyme called monoamine oxidase remove the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine at certain levels. Dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine are essentially the happiness levels of your brain, what a MAOI does is that it prevents (inhibits) the removal of those to a certain degree, essentially chemically inducing levels of happiness.\n\nHowever since MAOIs also typically affect other neurotransmitters, it can create a whole laundry list of side effects. It's also just a terrible idea to take it with any recreational/psychedelic drugs and other anti-depressants and other behavior-altering medication/drugs."
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f6f69u | the name scheme for m16, m60, ak47, etc. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f6f69u/eli5_the_name_scheme_for_m16_m60_ak47_etc/ | {
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"M = model, number = model number. Optionally, some may have an A with a number.\n\nSo an M4A1 carbine is a \"carbine model 4 alteration 1\".\n\nThis is the US military naming scheme for rifles/weapons.\n\nOthers, such as the AK47, may have different naming schemes. In the case of AK47, this simply means Avtomat Kalashnikova, which was finished in 1947 hence the name.",
"In the case of the m16 and other m variants, m stands for model. The US military keeps it simple when naming guns usually. The AK47 is named after its designer. Avtomat Kalashnikova, Avtomat meaning automatic and Kalashnikova for Kalashnikov. Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov is the full name of it's designer. The 47 represents the year that the design was accepted.",
"The US military uses letters to denote types of weapons or modifications. In the case of something like an \"M16,\" the M simply is indicating the model of the rifle, so it's shorthand for a Model 16 Rifle. The US military uses this scheme for basically everything, with the letter generally indicating what type of role the piece of equipment has. For example, for aircraft an F indicates a fighter, a C indicates a cargo plane, and an A indicates a ground attack aircraft.\n\nAs for an AK-47, this is a Russian weapon. The AK stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova, or Kalashnikov's (the designer) Automatic rifle in Russian. The 47 is for 1947, which is the year it was originally produced."
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4b4t02 | is there any particular reason people tend to say (e.g.) "men and women who have served our country" instead of just, say, "people who have served our country"? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4b4t02/eli5_is_there_any_particular_reason_people_tend/ | {
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"Sounds better, and I'm assuming the majority of peoe saying it aren't up to date on today's made up genders",
"My guess would be that this phrase is used to remind you that these are actual individuals who served. \"People\" is a very general and anonymous word, it's not easy to think of an image when thinking of people. \"Men and women who served\" on the other hand immediately brings up an image of men and women in the army fighting for their country. It appeals to the emotion, which is probably what the person who's saying this wants to happen. "
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a2mib7 | why do boxers/mma fighters circle each other instead of going straight in? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a2mib7/eli5_why_do_boxersmma_fighters_circle_each_other/ | {
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"Usually it's important to work the ring so you're not on the outside as any rush in at that point for quick jabs and swings end up pushing the opponents into the edge of the ring which is a *TERRIBLE* position to be in as there is less opportunity to dodge attacks. ",
"Movement is key in boxing. You want to make the target(you) as difficult to hit as possible. Head movement and circling make the targets position less predictable, when performed correctly. ",
"Go straight in, and you’ll find your fighting career over in no time. Not to say it doesn’t work, because we’ve all seen videos of knockouts 5 seconds into the 1st round. But in the long run, that’s rarely a good idea. \n\nTo ”circle each other” as you put it, is more about feeling out your opponent, establishing a rhythm, etc. Throwing fakes out too also plays a part in seeing what your opponent does & doesn’t react to.",
"Circling serves many different functions, so this is hard to answer. It’s also something of a false dichotomy; it’s not like the only two options are to rush straight in OR circle.\n\nOne of the most important reasons for circling is to move away from the power strike of your opponent. If he has a monster right hand, you circle away from it so it can’t land... you are always just slightly farther away than your opponent’s reach. \n\nCircling like that is a means of evading, so why is it better than going straight back? Two reasons: one, you’ll hit the ropes or fence eventually, which will allow your opponent to close the distance, and two, because you can go faster forward than someone can back up.\n\nSo why is it a bad idea to go straight at a guy? For one thing, if you walk directly toward a fighter who is in his stance and the only variable you are changing is your distance from him, all he has to do is time a strike on you. It’s not much harder than punching a baltly loon that’s tied to a wagon. So an immediate improvement can be made by approaching straight on and incorporating some head movement. But better still is to circle, move your head and body, get slightly closer and back up, and to throw jabs to gauge distance to get a read on the other fighter before committing.\n\nThere are *tons* of other reasons, too. One is momentum. If I run at some who is punches me, I’ve effectively helped his punch. Another is that if the opponent has suspect footwork you can get him tangled up on his feet. You can also kind of take kicks out of the game since you have to plant to throw a kick, and that’s very hard when there’s appreciable lateral movement.\n\nUltimately it comes down to this: if you don’t circle, your opponent only has to solve the problems of defense and offense in one dimension. Circling adds a second spatial dimension to that problem, which makes it harder to hit you and also opens up new avenues of offense for you."
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985rzb | why is the euro considered to have a bad effect on the economies of some european countries (like greece and italy)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/985rzb/eli5_why_is_the_euro_considered_to_have_a_bad/ | {
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"Countries control their inflation rates and currency availability to try and increase/decrease their effective interest rates and the public's investment behavior.\n\nA country like Greece that is struggling with high debt and low investment rates would prefer a higher inflation rate. This helps them devalue their debt more quickly and spur investment.\n\nA country like Germany that *holds* that debt and has high investment rates would prefer lower inflation.\n\nSince Germany is the biggest political muscle in the Eurozone, they more or less set the monetary policy to help themselves and leave the Greek government with very few financial tools to help their own economy.",
"One of the most powerful economic tools a country usually has in order to tackle financial challenges is the absolute control of the amount of money being printed (and subsequently multiplied through the banking system). Since the euro isn't printed in Greece or Italy, their toolbox for reacting to bad times is very weak. \n\n The core problem is that the European Central Bank, which is in control of the currency, has to deal with a number of countries at different parts of the business cycle who therefore need different kinds of stimuli. What's good for Greece might be bad for Ireland and what's bad for Finland might be good for Spain. Depending on where you stand, this leaves us with either:\n\n1 ) The euro zone is too big. You can't properly stimulate a system that's in so many different gears. (I'm here)\n\nor \n\n2) The business cycles of the euro countries will synchronize over time as the trade evolves. The euro will speed up this integration. ",
"Some countries intentionally devalues their currency in other to boost exports or tourism.\n\nFor example, before Greece joined the Eurozone, they would be able devalue the Greek Drachma, so tourists from Germany or UK would be able to exchange more Greek Drachma per Pound or Euro, meaning their holidays in Greece would be cheaper, this might influence their decision to go on a holiday to Greece instead of Spain or Turkey. \n\nBy joining the Eurozone, you can no longer devalue your currency to boost exports/tourism. \n"
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bb5yje | why are some jobs less strenuous and higher paying than other jobs? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bb5yje/eli5why_are_some_jobs_less_strenuous_and_higher/ | {
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"Jobs are paid largely according to supply and demand. Some strenuous jobs, like the stereotypical job of digging ditches or similar kinds of unskilled manual labor, have a huge amount of labor supply. Most able-bodied people of working age are able to dig a ditch reasonably well, so you don't have to pay very much to fill your desired number of ditch diggers.\n\nJobs that pay better than that tend to have some combination of low supply or high demand. There aren't a lot of people qualified to design nuclear reactors, but there's some demand for them, so being a nuclear engineer is a very highly-paying job. There are a lot more people qualified to program computers than there are nuclear engineers, but there's also a lot more demand, so programming jobs are also typically pretty highly paid.",
"If there's not enough people to do a job, employers will raise the salary to get people's interest.\nIf there's a lot of people wanting to do the same job with the same diploma, the employer will take the one who accept to be paid less than the others."
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zur17 | why don't we get rid of parties? | The benefits of parties is negated by constant bickering and people who would feel compelled to help a person of another party would instantaneously be skewered by his own party. Bills take insanely long to pass and we're always shifting from one mediocre president to the next *if we are lucky*.
Electing our congressmen and president and watching their speeches and looking over their outlined plans should all be national holidays and we should end parties to put a stop to the petty feud that goes on between individuals that should be representing more than half of their people and not their "team." Then maybe we can finally judge our candidates based on their attributes and skills instead of their associations.
There is no other way to make this reality than the hard way. So let's send them a bill to revise the way in which national representatives are elected by eliminating parties and reforming the election system to be easier for people to compare candidates and select them on an individual basis alone.
Maybe then we will see some good decisions and perhaps some smarter people leading our country. This isn't anything against any elected official in general, it has nothing to do with any one individual, but the petty fighting, it just jumps in the way of the news that reports what actual progress they are making in their Houses.
The main criticism is that I'm 20 and don't know anything and challenging the 200 year old system would mean chaos for America. Explain like I'm five years old as to why this suggestion should be dismissed and dead on arrival. If we can make them unnecessary and the results could be more practical, why don't we do it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zur17/why_dont_we_get_rid_of_parties/ | {
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"What do you mean, \"get rid of parties\"? We obviously can't make it illegal for people to form political advocacy groups, so how do you plan to do this?",
"Political parties are simply a natural part of any democracy. Like Amarkov says, you can't keep people from forming political groups without stomping over the right to assembly. Having only two parties like the United States has is a result of our [voting method](_URL_0_).",
"The right to Free Association is protected by the 1st Amendment.",
"Even if your suggestion made sense, remember politicians never do anything to diminish their own power.",
"It's effectively impossible to get rid of political parties. Even countries that don't have laws allowing for political parties end up with advocacy groups that are essentially political parties. [Kuwait](_URL_0_) is a good example of this. Parties are just one of the inherent results of a democratic system.\n\n(There are exceptions to this rule, but they're all countries with like 10,000 people in them.)"
]
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1t0b0c | if diamonds are cut by diamond tipped blades and lasers nowadays, how did they do it during ancient times and how was the first diamond tipped blade created? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1t0b0c/eli5_if_diamonds_are_cut_by_diamond_tipped_blades/ | {
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"Despite being very *hard*, diamonds will break along planes. Finding those will allow you to \"shear\" them into the shapes you want. It's not easy, though, and requires a delicate hand.",
"Diamonds are very hard, but they are brittle. They will fracture very neatly along the planes of the crystals (which is why they facet so nicely.) You can break large diamonds with a very ordinary hammer. \n\nHowever, most of what you think of as \"cutting\" is actually grinding. While the only effective agent for grinding diamonds is other diamonds, grinding down diamonds produces lots of diamond abrasive. \n\nThe standard technique is to take a metal wheel, coat it with diamond dust, and use the resultant created dust to continue. You end up with plenty of abrasive as by-product. ",
"Basically, before diamonds were cut with blades, they were cleaved along their planes. It was expensive, offered poor cuts, and the resulting sparkle was less than ideal.\n\nOnce diamond-tipped blades and lasers came out, the number of facets on a diamond significantly increased, and lets diamonds sparkle a lot more.",
"Because hardness and strength are 2 entirely different concepts. While diamonds are the hardest material known to man, it's by far not the strongest one.",
"In actual ancient times and up until the Renaissance, diamonds were not \"cut\" into facets, and would not have been considered valuable compared to other gemstones. They polished stones back then and the most valuable stones were ones that were beautiful when polished (rock crystal/quartz, garnet, emerald, opals, onyx, pearl, cats-eye, mother of pearl, etc). Here's a couple nice examples of that...the latter from the 16th century.\r_URL_2_\r_URL_1_\r\rOnce they did start to cut gems into facets, they did it with a turning cutting-wheel. (Source: _URL_0_) Diamonds were cleaved with a chisel and mallet, then polished with a wheel and diamond dust, but still not very sought after because they were difficult to work with and the cuts did not showcase the stone like today. The \"brilliant\" cut was not introduced until 17th century and cuts like today's were not introduced until the 19th century.\r"
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"http://www.westga.edu/~rtekippe/slides2201/teuderigus.html"
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15wht9 | why there is so much "us only" content on the internet | It makes me feel like being in a third world country. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15wht9/eli5_why_there_is_so_much_us_only_content_on_the/ | {
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"You mean TV shows, like how we can't get on the Daily Show YouTube channel in the UK?\n\nIt's largely because once you've made your programme in your native country, you can then sell the broadcast rights to channels in other countries.\n\nWhen you've got a show to sell, the price will be much higher if you can go to the negotiating table and say: \"This is a very popular show, and nobody in your country will have seen these episodes. They are exclusive to you. People will tune in to your channel just to see it first.\" than if you say: \"Our show is really good but your audience has already seen the best bits on YouTube.\"",
"Mostly because of copyright and broadcasting rights.\n\nSay you are in the UK and want to watch an HBO show. HBO's agreement with, say BBC, might require that they not allow UK viewers to stream their show because BBC wants to get more paying viewers. HBO is then forced to forward these terms to Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, etc as part of those sites being able to show that HBO show.\n\nIn rare cases (like Iran), there may be an actual embargo in place that legally limits what can be \"exported\". Downloads are actually considered a type of export in those cases.",
"I'll trade you hulu for internet poker, deal?"
]
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4g33vs | why do humans/ human women menstruate instead of going into heat like some animals? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4g33vs/eli5_why_do_humans_human_women_menstruate_instead/ | {
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"Most likely due to our nomadic and stressful evolutionary past it would have been unacceptable to have a large portion of your gathering population go offline for a certain time every year, and would be better to inconvenience them every month rather than sacrifice the entire group to starvation. ",
"We don't really know for certain. There are a bunch of theories out there, some complete bunk, others more supported by science.\n\n- Popular theories in the past were that somehow menstruation cleanses the body of toxins. There are still people who believe this today. This theory is bunk and there has never been any scientific evidence for it at all. The womb does not release toxins or cleanse the body (that'd be the liver). Other theories said that menstruation was a way to handle sperm-borne diseases. Again, no evidence of this. Menstruation does not protect from these infections. Women are generally actually more susceptive to these diseases while menstruating.\n\nTheories that are more popular with science these days and have some evidence:\n\n- Menstruation evolved as a side-effect of the way embryos implant in the womb. In non-menstruation animals, embryos often implant very superficially. That means they don't need a lot of lining of the womb. In humans (and primates, one of the other species that menstruates and we have been able to study) embryos actually implant very deep into the womb lining. They literally burrow the fuck into that wall. That means that humans need a thicker lining of the womb to prevent the embryo from doing damage. So menstruation may have evolved as a way to defend against embryos that are quite aggressive in getting resources (all menstruating animals are hemochorial - that means the embryos connects to maternal blood vessels) and burrow deeply into the wall of the uterus as a result. Menstruation helps build up a good protective lining and offers a mechanism for getting rid of this lining in a way that demands the least amount of resources.\n\n- Another theory is that menstruation may have evolved as a way to deal with defective embryos. Humans actually have a high rate of defective embryos early into pregnancy. Anywhere between 30% - 60% fertilised embryos are miscarried, often before women even know they were pregnant. As you know, humans don't have many kids, and often only one kid at once, and when they do have a kid, that kid requires a lot of care. It is in our best interest that the many resources of pregnancy and child care are only invested in kids who will grow up healthy and strong. So for us it is actually best if embryos that have some small fault, are quickly miscarried to minimise the resource impact and free the womb up for another embryo again. Certain other species of primates (ones that we have been able to study) also have this high rate of miscarriage. This puts forward the theory that menstruation gives the woman's body more control in ejecting non-viable or disformed embryos. \n\nAt this point what we know for certain is that menstruation is something that evolved relatively recently and it is something that has evolved independently at least three times. We primates do it. Certain bats do and Elephant shrews do it. "
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a2jvd5 | how can ecuador use the us dollar? is there a specific agreement between the us & ecuador regarding this matter? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a2jvd5/eli5_how_can_ecuador_use_the_us_dollar_is_there_a/ | {
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"text": [
"They don't need US permission at all. They simply choose to buy and sell things, and collect taxes, and pay wages, in US Dollars. As long as they have enough dollars around, they're good to go.",
"Panama is the same way. They can use US currency because it’s stable in America, so they don’t have to worry about the possibility of extreme inflation of the Balboa. Using the dollar also entices investors and tourists to come to their country and US currency into circulation."
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5fu43r | how do poles form on planets and what is the magnetic field? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5fu43r/eli5_how_do_poles_form_on_planets_and_what_is_the/ | {
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"The exact process isnt exactly known but it seems to be from the materials in the earths core and their conductive properties.",
"I'm not sure what kind of pole you're referring to (magnetic or geographic) but I'll cover both just in case.\n\nFirst Geographic poles.\n\nGeographic poles are the result of the properties of a spinning sphere, They tend to be colder and have wind patterns that are different from the rest of the planet because of their proximity to the point of rotation and the fact that there is limited sunlight to input energy into the situation\n\nThe earth magnetic field is not well understood but it is generally accepted to work as such: There are two 4 major 'layers' in the earth, two of them are the inner, and outer core, and these are most likely responsible for the magnetic field. \n\nHow?\n\nOne interesting property of liquid metal (what the cores are made of) is that if you spin them in a certain way (convection), they will generate a magnetic current. The mechanism of why is complicated and in all honesty not really that well understood, but collectively it is called a 'geodynamo'. Basically the core functions as a bar magnet (not really but you get the idea), and so there the Magnetic poles come from.\n\nTL;DR:\n\nGeographic poles are a name for the point of planetary rotation, the earth magnetic field and resulting poles are the result of a spinning metal core."
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2tkqek | are all the stories in nosleep true or just fictional? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2tkqek/eli5_are_all_the_stories_in_nosleep_true_or_just/ | {
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"Fictional. If you read the sidebar it explains this. The comments are strictly to join in and pretend it is all real.",
"This is reddit, what do you expect? ",
"Why isn't this more upvoted. The ones about witchcraft and dark rituals really had me going for awhile. Especially with all the comments suggesting what to do and not to do.",
"You can post true stories, but it's meant for fictional stories, and everyone is supposed to pretend that they're all true.\n\nThe stories are supposed to be \"believable\", but I don't know what the parameters of that are supposed to be."
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1d1md7 | construction of life | I'm looking for a more physical explanation of how organisms are made rather than a biological one. I understand that matter can not be created or destroyed, but can be changed into energy and vice versa. I know that the total sum of all matter and energy in the universe is the same as it has always been for as long as the universe has been around. So that means that all the carbon and other elements that currently make up the 7.5 billion people on the planet at other times in the history of the universe possibly made up other discrete objects, right? When a person dies, and their body decomposes, do those elements dissipate and eventually reform in other configurations randomly? Conversely, how do the elements that eventually make up a person begin growing together when two people reproduce? And as one person grows and accumulates more mass, where is that mass coming from and how does it get there?
This might be too lofty a question for a five-year-old to ask, but the more I try to find an answer, the more confused I get, and I really need as simple an explanation as possible. Thanks. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1d1md7/eli5_construction_of_life/ | {
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" > So that means that all the carbon and other elements that currently make up the 7.5 billion people on the planet at other times in the history of the universe possibly made up other discrete objects, right?\n\nCorrect.\n\n > When a person dies, and their body decomposes, do those elements dissipate and eventually reform in other configurations randomly?\n\nNot quite randomly, they break down chemically. Decomposition is actually organisms eating the body, so that would govern the decay process.\n\n > Conversely, how do the elements that eventually make up a person begin growing together when two people reproduce?\n\nSperm and egg combine, and the blueprint is set. Additional materials are brought in by the nutrition of the growing fetus; there is whole support structure in a woman for providing this environment.\n\n > And as one person grows and accumulates more mass, where is that mass coming from and how does it get there?\n\nWe eat things. Part of that material is incorporated into our structure.",
"I'm not sure what you are asking as you keep using the term element. Sub-atomic particles such as protons and neutrons make up atoms. Atoms make up molecules. Molecules have certain properties and undergo chemical changes that result in a rearrangement of the atoms to create different molecules.\n\n > So that means that all the carbon and other elements that currently make up the 7.5 billion people on the planet at other times in the history of the universe possibly made up other discrete objects, right?\n\nNo just the subatomic particles (although there are even more fundamental particles such as quarks that I won't get into).\n\n > When a person dies, and their body decomposes, do those elements dissipate and eventually reform in other configurations randomly?\n\nDefinitely not randomly. It is chemical changes.\n\n > Conversely, how do the elements that eventually make up a person begin growing together when two people reproduce?\n\nThey exist in groups called chemicals that have properties which can be exploited. See biology.\n\n-----\n\nedit:\n\n > And as one person grows and accumulates more mass, where is that mass coming from and how does it get there?\n\nThey eat it."
]
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3neg2x | is it possible for an object in space to have zero velocity? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3neg2x/eli5_is_it_possible_for_an_object_in_space_to/ | {
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"Velocity relative to what?"
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26jsqu | why do abandoned buildings exist in cities like san francisco and manhattan when housing is in such high demand? | Why do abandoned buildings exist in cities like San Francisco and Manhattan when housing is in such high demand? Wouldn't the owners of these abandoned buildings be willing to sell because real estate values are so high, and shouldn't buyers be snatching up these "undervalued" properties to build condos, high rises, retail space, office space, etc?
I can't imagine any rational government intervention existing that would prevent these buildings from being sold...right? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/26jsqu/eli5_why_do_abandoned_buildings_exist_in_cities/ | {
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"Myriad reasons. The owner may have it tied up in court or in regulation. It could have environmental issues. They may be shopping around for a buyer. It may be unclaimed (owner died etc). It could be owned but the owner just doesn't care now because they have long term plans for it. It may be a part of a bigger deal that can't move forward until some other property is freed up. It may be condemned until the owner does repairs that they can't afford. \n\nI'm sure there are more. ",
"Banks are horrible in my area with this. People bought houses high, now they can't make payments and house isn't worth the debt owed. \nBank evicts the people, would rather have house empty. \n\nSomehow in our system, the bank finds it more profitable ( less losses) to leave the property empty than to sell it now for a significant loss. ",
"I think it's often that developers are sitting on them or people are sitting on them waiting for the developer to make the right offer. Here in Toronto, there's a weird cycle where things get really rundown right before a huge, expensive condo goes in. Why put money into the building when you know it can do nothing to increase the ridiculously high land value-- and that land is worth more without people having to get rid of tenants.\n\nSometimes a building is a heritage building but the land is worth more than they could ever get for that building. They aren't allowed to knock it down, so they wait for it to get condemned. \n\n"
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2nl9g4 | why do phone numbers call houses and not say anything? | The phone will ring for 30 seconds or so and when you answer it, there's nobody there. They'll just hang up. One just called me and the caller ID said "Unknown Number." They sad nothing for a few seconds and then a voice said, "goodbye." Why do people do this? It's really annoying. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2nl9g4/eli5why_do_phone_numbers_call_houses_and_not_say/ | {
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"Telemarketers, to save time, don't phone one person at a time, they phone half a dozen, increasing the chance they have at least one person pickup. They will complete the call of the first person to pickup and the rest essentially get dropped. They will however use the data to know that you are available at that time to phone."
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40nz1z | how does wifi speed get increased | So I got a text this morning from my mum saying that our internet has now had the speed increased from 152mbps to 200mbps. And I couldn't think how they did this without even coming out to the router etc. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/40nz1z/eli5how_does_wifi_speed_get_increased/ | {
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"Your WiFi speed isn't changing, it's the speed of your internet connection. DOCSIS 3.0 - the standard that cable modems use - is capable of handling over 1000 mbps if the provider is willing to send that much data & has the bandwidth to support it.\n\nThese sorts of upgrades can be done by flipping a switch and/or upgrading the infrastructure around town without doing anything more than telling your modem to reset a connection."
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160f40 | what is the difference between the radiation from electronics (e.g. laptops and phones) and carcinogenic radiation? | Is there any proof that cell phones give people brain tumours, or is that all a myth?
What is the type of radiation called that is given off by cell phones?
By carcinogenic radiation I mean the types that are proven to be dangerous. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/160f40/what_is_the_difference_between_the_radiation_from/ | {
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"The radiation concerned with electronic items (such as phones and things) is an electromagnetic wave, usually in the radio frequencies (just like a stereo). These waves are near harmless, and we're constantly being bombarded by radio waves from space and from our modern lifestyle. There have been many studies into the dangers of prolonged cell phone use and each study seems to come to a different conclusion, as such there is no significantly widely accepted answer on whether cell phones are dangerous or not.\n\nThe types of radiation that are dangerous are called Ionizing radiation, and are not given off by cell phones. Ionizing radiation is given off by radioactive sources, such as Uranium. There are three types of ionizing radiation, Alpha Beta and Gamma.\n\nI don't know whether you know a lot about subatomic physics so I'll use an analogy rather than going into lots of details about the physical make up of the types of radiation:\n\nLets imagine your DNA (the instructions to build you that are contained within most cells of your body) Is like a chain link fence.\n\nAlpha radiation would be like me throwing a basket ball at the fence, it moves pretty slowly but if it collides with the fence it can do a lot of damage\n\nBeta radiation would be like me using a sling shot to fire a tennis ball at the fence, it moves quick, and will do a lot of damage if it hits the fence , but the chances of it hitting the fence are much smaller than Alpha\n\nGamma is like me shooting the fence, the chances of a direct hit are very small, but if impact does happen the damage can be huge.\n\nAlpha Beta and Gamma radiation are all harmful to the human body. Fortunately Alpha and Beta are not harmful as long as they don't enter the body, as they can be stopped by the skin (Alpha radiation can be stopped by a few centimeters of air and beta can be stopped by a sheet of tin foil). Gamma radiation is very hard to stop.\n\nTL;DR: Cell phone radiation = Electromagnetic waves\n\nIonizing (dangerous) radiation = High energy subatomic particles\n\n\nEdit: layout"
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baoyxy | how does universal health care lead to longer wait times and why is it difficult to solve? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/baoyxy/eli5_how_does_universal_health_care_lead_to/ | {
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"Providing medical care requires training, skill and often specialized equipment and facilities. These are scarce resources and in the US many don’t seek healthcare because of the costs. But there is a demand there and if it were free they would seek care. But from the same scarce resources, so thus waits must occur for less critical issues. ",
"Universal health care is reliant on a triage system. The wait list is only for non life-threatening procedures. Any wait anyone has to experience is always going to be blown out of proportion. The problem is difficult to solve because it requires more people and equipment. Which is paid for by taxes and an overwhelming number of people don't ever want to pay more. "
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2ppzdv | bullet calibers and grains. | Example: 7.62mm is equivalent to .308 caliber (or something like that, I'm bullshitting at this point) at 56 grains or whatever...I don't even know enough to know how to properly ask the question. But what does all that mean (particularly the grains...I know 7.62 in this case would be the diameter of the bullet in millimeters, but what about caliber?) and how does it work? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ppzdv/eli5bullet_calibers_and_grains/ | {
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"If someone is talking about \"grains\" in terms of anything other than reloading they are referring to the weight of the actual bullet. \nOnly in the context of people reloading ammunition is \"grains\" referring to the weight of the powder going into the actual bullet.\n\n99% you can assume that anyone talking about grains is referring to the weight of the projectile leaving the firearm.",
"\"Caliber\" is the diameter of a bullet, either in inches or millimeters. Gun & ammo manufacturers take liberties with this, however, and the true diameter is often slightly different than what is advertised.\n\n\"Grains,\" as used by ammo makers, refers to the weight of the bullet, *not* the propellant used to fire it.\n \nThese two descriptors give you a fair idea of what kind of bullet you're dealing with. They do not tell you everything you need to know about a particular round, however. The shape of a projectile, for example, or the amount of propellant used to fire it (also measured in grains, but this isn't what ammo makers are referring to when they print the grains on the box), are also significant factors in how any given round behaves when fired.\n\n\n\n",
"Caliber is usually the diameter of the bullet but there are exceptions (usually related to marketing or following an older convention, a good example of this is the .44 magnum whose bullets are actually .429, the .44 follows the naming of it's parent the .44 special, and it's parent the .44 Russian). When used this way it's telling you the diameter of the guns bore which should be very close to the diameter of the bullet (it needs to be tight enough to ensure that the propellant gasses don't blow past it, but not so tight as to get stuck). It's also a rough measure of how large bullets are likely to be, larger calibers tend to have heavier bullets, though the correlation isn't that high. \n\nGrains are an old system used to measure mass, still used for bullets (projectile) as well as the powder, however, no modern rounds include a powder weight in the name. A few very old black powder rounds (most popular modern example is the .45-70 Government) may show a mass of black powder, however, modern powders vary widely so cannot be specified by a single mass number and the skill and equipment required to change powders is well beyond what most people can be expected to do. \n\nWhere a round originated in England or the US vs Continental Europe usually explains why mm or hundredths of an inch are used to measure it's caliber. Naming conventions between the two regions differ pretty widely (the second number in many continental rounds refers to a case length in mm). \n\nSo 7.62x39 (very popular Russian round) is telling you that it originated in Continental Europe (Russia) and it fires a 7.62mm diameter projectile and has a 39mm case. \n\nThe round .308 Winchester is very different from a 7.62x39, though it shares a .308\" bore. This means they're similar in the way a Ford Truck and Corvette both have 8 cylinder engines. \n\nOnce the round is named it usually is used in both places without changing the name--rounds need to be the same across the globe so that, say, a hunter in Africa can be assured the rounds he is buying locally won't make his gun explode. ",
"roughtly, Caliber is bullet diameter and grains is a measure of weight.\n\ncaliber listed as .xx is in inches. .50 Cal is .5 inches, .357 is .357 inches, etc.\n\ncaliber with mm is measures in millimeters, of course.\n\na grain is 1/7000 of a pound\n\ngrains are used to measure most weights in small arms ammunition, but if someone is talking about ammunition, they are usually talking about bullet weight. A 70 grain bullet is 1/100 of a pound, and is measuring the total weight of the unfired projectile (eg: how much the bullet weighs without the case, gun powder, etc...)\n\nnow, as to ammunition naming... none of the above matters. Ammunition is named by the people who make it, and the standards of naming have changed over time. like .308 Winchester and 7.62x51- they are basically the same thing with minor variations. 7.62x39 is something else again (com block ammunition design used most famously in AK-47 rifles). .357 is the bullet diameter of .357 magnum, but it is also the bullet diameter of .38 special. The case diameter of .38 special(and .357 magnum) is .38. (the original .38 used a bullet diameter and case diameter of .38 with the bullet having a heel that rested on top of the casing's rim)"
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2gym1j | why do famous musicians use older instruments? | Shouldn't the instruments made today sound better then those made hundreds of years ago? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2gym1j/eli5why_do_famous_musicians_use_older_instruments/ | {
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"Funny fact, some of the old instruments are better than modern ones (the best examples are Stradivarius). \n\nFor others it's just relative rarity, legend around them and personal preferences (like in some electric guitar cases). ",
" > Shouldn't the instruments made today sound better then those made hundreds of years ago?\n\nNo, not necessarily. Some, like Stradivarius violins, were crafted so finely that even a top of the line modern violin doesn't quite sound the same (I've heard that the wood he used had some special quality to it that you can't quite emulate today). Wooden instruments will sound different based on how the wood ages, so sometimes a few decades (or centuries) can give an instrument a warmer tone. Secondly, a lot of them like the prestige of owning an older instrument from a famous maker. A lot of guitar players really cherish their vintage Stratocasters and Les Pauls even though they still make the same models today, partly for nostalgia, partly for prestige, and partly because it takes time to break in a new instrument (and in the case of guitars, older instruments often have smoother fretboards as the frets wear down slightly over time).\n\nMost modern instruments are mass-produced, and some would argue that you just don't get the same quality of tone as you would with a classic hand-made instrument. At the very least, a handmade instrument will have unique (and likely imperceptible) sonic properties owing to minor variations and different conditions in the crafting process.\n\nTL:DR Older instruments are broken in and the wood ages, affecting the sound, certain crafting techniques aren't plausible on a mass scale today, and people feel special when they own an instrument made by a famous craftsman."
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4xn1bo | how high up do you have to be above water for it to be fatal when you hit the surface? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4xn1bo/eli5_how_high_up_do_you_have_to_be_above_water/ | {
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"It depends what cause of death you're looking for, impact or drowning.\n\n From the Golden Gate Bridge wikipedia article:\n\n > The Golden Gate Bridge is the second-most used suicide site/suicide bridge in the world, after the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. The deck is about 245 feet (75 m) above the water. After a fall of four seconds, jumpers hit the water at around 75 mph or about 120 km/h. Most of the jumpers die from impact trauma. About 5% of the jumpers survive the initial impact but generally drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water.\n\nHigh-diving records. _URL_0_: \n\n > In 1987 Olivier Fave attempted a double back somersault from 177 ft (53.9m) but broke his back upon impact and had to be rescued. ",
"How high could you go if the surface tension was being interrupted? Like jumping into a large breaking wave or similar disturbance.",
"Just on a side note: Do we have to worry about you asking such a question?",
"How about if you had something attached to the bottom of your feet like a rock. This would break up the water surface tension allowing you to enter the water with no impact trauma to yourself. Ignoring the subsequent problem of the rock dragging you to the bottom and drowning!",
"[Judging from this chart](_URL_0_) I would say you need to be about an 8. Anything above that and you may not be able to affect the change required to initiate the fall. Anything less and you probably would still be able to swim.",
"There was a Mythbusters episode on this a LONG time ago. I believe it was around 200 feet when the mere impact would kill you. They said it was like the equivalent of falling 50 feet onto concrete. But like I said it was a long time ago so I may not be remembering correctly",
"Watched a documentary about the people who've attempted suicide off the Golden Gate Bridge and lived..it was horrible to hear them say that the minute they jumped, they instantly regretted it..",
"Friend of mine broke his neck at appx 40 ft jump into a water filled quarry. Positioning and body type matter. "
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eug9cu | how do you help someone during a panic/anxiety attack? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eug9cu/eli5_how_do_you_help_someone_during_a/ | {
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"Being there helps a lot because, at least in my experience, you’re like a rock they can focus on. Gently reassure them but don’t try to hurry them either, the attack has its own speed and it has to run its course. Having someone nearby, especially a hand or a shoulder to hold, really helps me.",
"I think the most important thing to do is ask the person what they need. Some may want to talk through it, some may need touch, others need to be left alone. Let them know that you care and that you’re available, but let them be in control. If this is some one you are close to, perhaps talk about a plan before a panic attack starts.",
"don't crowd or talk too much.\n\nget a glass of water, and maybe some snacks. - eating is prob one of the fastest ways out for me.\n\ntalk tot he person while not in a panic and see what are the causes and thought going on, then try to make a strategy for the next one.",
"I'd recommend avoiding the terms \"calm down” or “chill out” etc. may sound dismissive. Ask what they need. If it’s the place, is there a stimulus to remove etc",
"Understanding that anxiety attacks are absolute hell is a good starting. Other posts are helpful too, but everyone is different, so you also need to learn how to support the individual."
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555n2v | forex trading and other programs of the sort | So, recently I've started having these Facebook friends posting these pictures of what appears to be some sort of stock exchange site or something like that I don't know. But here's the thing. I am 19 years old. These guys are making what seems to be like tens of thousands of dollars (guy literally posted a picture of him in his Mercedez with 8k$ in his hand, quite a douche move imo but still that's a load of cash) with little effort, and I find that really really weird.
What's going on with that? The worst part is they all seem to be part of some cult where they all jerk each other off and share all their posts and they keep commenting on each other's stuff saying yeeee you go boi or some shit like that.
Is that really possible? What's going on with this, it all seems really suspicious | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/555n2v/eli5_forex_trading_and_other_programs_of_the_sort/ | {
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"It's literally gambling. There are PhDs and masters in finance and economics doing these activities at banks professionally, like for a living (my former macroeconomics professor actually did this for over a decade). The margins in the long run are EXTREMELY low on these trades. A professional will need to move around millions of dollars around at a time just to make very small profits on average (to the point where even a 1/10,000th fluctuation is significant).\n\nI mean these guys move around TONS of volume of money a day to earn a profit. The daily trading volume in forex is over 5 trillion dollars, or the entirety of US GDP every four days\n\nAny amateur who makes money on these markets is merely being lucky in the short run. Even professionals can not beat the market. The prevailing consensus in economics is [the efficient market hypothesis](_URL_0_), the idea that markets already contain all given information about risk and trends, so you can not beat it on average except by luck because you only have the same information as everyone else does.\n\nSo the obvious advice is don't be stupid and buy into this. You can't beat the professional bankers (who themselves make extremely little). You are just as well off going to the casino and putting some money on red. It will probably be more fun anyway"
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10aogv | calculus | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/10aogv/eli5_calculus/ | {
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"Hopefully this is for your own curiosity rather than for a class!\n\nCalculus, at the most basic level, deals with rates: how quickly or slowly certain variables (like distance) change when other variables (like time) are changed. For example, people often say that sprinters run at x miles per hour. In reality, that's their average speeds. The speed at which a runner runs varies during a race. He/she starts at rest (0 mph), then accelerates in a finite amount of time, and then reaches their top speed. They may even have a sudden burst of speed right before reaching the finishing line. \n\nIf you know how far the runner has traveled at each point in time (which is quite easy to do with modern video cameras), you can use the tools of calculus to figure out the rate of change of his distance (his velocity) at any given time. You can also figure out the rate of change of his velocity (his acceleration) at any given time, too. \n\nCalculus gives you the ability to go back and forth between somebody's speed, acceleration, distance, etc, if you know just one of them. \n\nIn reality, calculus is so popular because the fundamental equations governing the universe always deal with the rate at which a quantity changes rather than the quantity itself. In Newton's second law of motion, F = mA, A represents acceleration, which is the rate at which speed is changing. To solve equations that deal with rates, you have to be well read on calculus. ",
"Differentiation: find slope of the curve.\n\nIntegration: find the area under the curve."
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amgzx4 | tax cuts & job acts 2017? | Back story:
I work in delivery and apparently because of this I can't claim mileage on my taxes anymore starting. . . This year? Is there anything else that this effects? And is it a good or a bad thing overall? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/amgzx4/eli5_tax_cuts_job_acts_2017/ | {
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],
"text": [
"I would still keep track of your miles. If you're driving a car that you own for work there is a 99% chance you're wrong and will still be able to use your miles. Also most people have a mileage sweet spot where they get the most savings, so it's not always wise to report the entirety of your miles."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
6r8yb0 | why does opening things hurt more in the morning? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6r8yb0/eli5_why_does_opening_things_hurt_more_in_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"dl3fsk3",
"dl3ndoa"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"It takes a bit of movement to get the fluid in your joints working. But you might have arthritis go see a doctor. ",
"Do you have arthritis or why does opening a bottle hurt you? (Serious question)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
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