q_id
stringlengths 5
6
| title
stringlengths 3
296
| selftext
stringlengths 0
34k
| document
stringclasses 1
value | subreddit
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 4
110
| answers
dict | title_urls
sequence | selftext_urls
sequence | answers_urls
sequence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6r72dn | where does all of the waste from burning coal go? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6r72dn/eli5_where_does_all_of_the_waste_from_burning/ | {
"a_id": [
"dl2sv14"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"I collects in dust and ash that is left behind from the fire. It also becomes smoke and other gasses I also believe some get transferred into energy that becomes heat and so on. All in all. It becomes what is left behind"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
cjgb2d | why dont we raise space ships with balloons before using rocket engines to escape earths gravity? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cjgb2d/eli5_why_dont_we_raise_space_ships_with_balloons/ | {
"a_id": [
"evd4bxw",
"evd4g79",
"evd547q",
"evd5b30",
"evd5faz"
],
"score": [
3,
19,
2,
14,
3
],
"text": [
"I wonder how much helium would be required to lift a shuttle or what-have-you to the edge of the atmosphere where the shuttle's can fire and take over. Plus the matter of timing it would be difficult I assume.",
"The physics are complex, but simply put, look at a Goodyear blimp. The blimp (the actual envelope containing the helium) is huge relative to the tiny cabin attached underneath. Now, replace the tiny cabin with a spaceship made of materials capable of sustaining atmospheric re-entry, fuel for the round-way trip, plus whatever gear and human payload is inside. The helium envelope would have to be so phenomenally huge to even be able to lift said spaceship that it would be totally impractical as a solution.",
"Lifting the whole ship would need an enormous amount of helium and that would not be worth it (probably, didn't do the maths). Otherwise, using helium to speed it up wouldn't work, since helium doesn't rise fast. The rocket would go faster than the raising helium, which means the balloons would only cause more drag and would pop even sooner.",
"The problem isn't getting up into space, that's the easy part. Lots of airplanes and blimps and things get up to those elevations. The problem is you need to go FAST. You see, rockets don't just go UP, if all you did was go up, and I mean straight up perpendicular to the ground right up to the ISS, as soon as you cut power, you'd fall right back down to Earth. You achieve orbit by going tangent to the surface of the Earth, and then accelerating. You end up going so fast, that you start outrunning the planet. They describe space as zero gravity, that's not true. Astronauts experience > 80% of Earth's gravitational field when in orbit. They're actually in FREE FALL toward the planet, except the planet keeps moving, and so they keep missing! That's why everything in space (at least in a space ship) seemingly floats.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nSo the goal, the hard part, is not getting up, it's perpetually falling toward the planet and missing, and that's why we need rockets that generate all that thrust, because the ISS alone is moving at 17,000 MPH, and if you want to achieve EVEN HIGHER orbits, you need to be going EVEN FASTER.",
"I like your idea.\n\nGoing into orbit is not just flying straight up and then circling earth, it's actually flying sideways until you're fast enough to \"fall around earth\" and high enough to escape the atmosphere.\n\nA normal weather balloon can rise up to 38km high until it pops, so that would be the maximum height for our spacecraft-balloon. The ISS for example orbits earth at 400km, so the balloon would only cover a rather small percentage of the flight. On top of that, when the balloons pop, you're standing still. To accelerate into orbit at 28000km/h you would need ginormous engines and a very advanced stability control system to steer and rotate your rocket since you're lacking any inertia from the ground. This will be almost impossible.\n\nSadly it's more effective and easier to just start from the ground and get over with those pesky 38km when you've got to travel a total of 400..."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
5cgcbr | what makes brick and glass keep its consistency instead of "melting" back into sand and clay? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5cgcbr/eli5_what_makes_brick_and_glass_keep_its/ | {
"a_id": [
"d9w8mpm",
"d9wayab"
],
"score": [
5,
4
],
"text": [
"Both of these things are made with extreme heat, which changes the chemical properties of the substance. ",
"To add to /u/slash178 's comment, the extreme heat changes the chemical properties of the substance because it rearranges the molecules into a different conformation that may allow different chemical properties. Generally this heat excites the atoms and will make them more reactive to other, surrounding atoms, and creating more bonds to stick them together."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
23dkpd | analog and digital data | I know a little about analog and digital data but don't understand things like sampling and conversions | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/23dkpd/eli5analog_and_digital_data/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgvxz7c",
"cgvz0y2",
"cgvzih4",
"cgw7z2b"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"In short, analog is continuous and digital is discrete. Signals in the real world (like electromagnetic waves) are all analog. You can then sample those signals to get a digital signal. Digital signals (like binary) are useful because they can be processed easier.",
"Analog is like height. You can be a bit taller than your friend, or a lot shorter than Kobe Bryant, essentially there are an unlimited number of values.\n\nDigital is like gender. You are either male or female. You can't be \"more female\" than another girl. Likewise, digital signal is either on or off.\n\nEdit: Sorry I re-read your question and realised that you're not exactly asking this, but I'll leave it up just in case.",
"Analog data is continuous: it can take any of a range of values. Once noise is added to an analog signal, it cannot be removed, because it's impossible to tell the noise from the signal.\n\n Digital data is discrete: it can take only a finite number of values. This makes it more resistant to noise, because you can take the closest value to the received signal and as long as the noise is below a certain threshold the data can be reconstructed perfectly.\n\nSampling is the process of converting an analog signal to a digital one. At regular intervals, you make a measurement (called a sample) of the analog signal. If your sample rate (the number of samples taken per second) is greater than twice the highest frequency in the input signal, then the orignal analog signal can be reconstructed perfectly from the samples. For this reason, it is common to remove frequencies to high to be represented correctly, otherwise artifacts known as *aliasing* can occur.\n\nTo convert a digital signal to analog, you sample it, and then convert each sample to a digital value. This process will introduce some amount of noise; the amount depends on the bit depth of the sample. The simplest way to perform this conversion is to select the digital value closest to the input signal, but this process can produce undesirable artifacts so more sophisticated methods have been devised- compare [this image](_URL_1_), where the closest color has been selected for each pixel, to [this one](_URL_0_), using Floyd-Steinburg dithering.\n\n\nTo convert digital data to analog, you first output the value of each sample point in turn. The resulting signal has a stepped appearence. You then pass this signal through a filter that removes frequencies higher than twice the sample rate. The result is a signal that is very close to the original analog signal.",
"Analog is just a signal that can have any value, ideally between two given points.\n\n\nTo make it digital, you need to sample that. You have a bit depth, which the more bits the more different levels of the analog signal you can record. You have a sample rate, which is how many samples you have in a given time, usually by a second.\n\nFor example, a compact disc is 16 bits, which means each channel has 65,536 distinct audio levels, in the neighborhood of a 3V spread. It has a sample rate of 44.1 Khz, meaning there are 44,100 samples each second. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dithering_example_dithered_web_palette.png",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dithering_example_undithered_web_palette.png"
],
[]
] |
|
2xlpf3 | how creative commons (cc) works for photography? | Like in some specific cases, like when there's a famous athlete in the photo, and the photo is marked as usable for commercial usage and modifiable. Or when you are in the photo, without your permission.
EDIT: Also when there's a brand logo in the photo. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2xlpf3/eli5_how_creative_commons_cc_works_for_photography/ | {
"a_id": [
"cp1ca8b"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Creative Commons allows you to share your pictures (for people to use) while maintaining a bit of control over how they are used. If you put an image online and someone would like to use it, technically they need to ask your permission (although it often doesn't happen). If you license your picture as Creative Commons, then the person doesn't have to ask your permission because it is automatically granted. In addition, you can stipulate a few things too: they must give you credit, an/or they cannot use it for commercial use, and/or they cannot change your original work, and/or they must license their work (using your image) the same way you licensed yours. \n\nTL;DR It makes sharing intellectual work easier "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
5jdksr | what causes/why do end stage cancer patients often experience delirium in the days and hours before death? | Seeking answers to many questions after my Mom passed last week from Stage IV small cell lung cancer. I find many studies that describe the prevalence and relationship of delirium to morbidity, but none that explain what is going on in the body that causes it. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5jdksr/eli5_what_causeswhy_do_end_stage_cancer_patients/ | {
"a_id": [
"dbf9rh2",
"dbfa81w",
"dbfcofu",
"dbg6h13"
],
"score": [
3,
5,
3,
5
],
"text": [
"Not an expert, but, death is a process. As parts of the body die they release toxins and of course this effects the rest of the body. And drugs, drugs probably played a roll in the delirium you noticed. Sorry for your loss. :-/ ",
"In many cases, it's an effect of the heavy doses of morphine. Palliative care often means just making someone as comfortable as possible by trying to ease pain, which includes heavy, heavy doses of opioids. ",
"In addition to the other answers, if the cancer has spread to the brain, then it's pretty obvious why one may be confused.\n\nIf the cancer has spread to the liver then the liver will not be working properly, which means that many toxic products (including drugs given by doctors) will not be cleared effectively and remain circulating in the bloodstream, which will also have an effect on the brain to cause delirium.",
"The short answer is: lots of things.\n\nDelirium at the end of life is caused by dysfunction of the brain, and that can be from:\n\n- a direct insult like metastases (satellite growths of the original tumor) in the brain itself causing swelling and direct invasion of brain tissue\n- a lack of oxygen to the brain, caused by lung disease such as the primary tumor, pneumonia, aspiration, ARDS, etc., and by poor oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood (not enough circulating red blood cells, i.e. anemia)\n- a lack of glucose to the brain (in advanced cancer and some other end-of-life scenarios, you lose almost all of your muscle tissue, which is where your glucose stores are kept in the form of glycogen)\n- a lack of blood flow to the brain in general (low blood pressure due to dehydration, sepsis, heart failure, adrenal failure, or any of a number of other things\n- strokes (blood clots in the blood vessels that feed the brain) and bleeding in the brain, which can be caused by dysfunction of the blood's clotting system\n- any of a number of toxins in the bloodstream that affect the brain:\n - toxins from outside the body, mostly in the form of medications (the biggest culprit here is probably opioid painkillers like morphine). As mentioned elsewhere, as the liver and kidneys fail, more of these drugs will build up in the bloodstream because they aren't broken down or flushed out.\n - toxins from inside the body, byproducts of your body's normal functioning, which are now not able to be eliminated because of liver or kidney failure. Examples would be the buildup of ammonia and other byproducts of gut fermentation, which are normally eliminated by the liver, and the buildup of urea, which is normally eliminated by the kidneys.\n\nThis is not a comprehensive list, but should give you an idea of how complex the causes can be. \n\nOn a personal note, I'm so sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is hard, but watching a loved one die from advanced cancer is its own form of torture. I'm glad you're able to talk about it; it really does help you come to terms with the experience. \n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1wwhh9 | what do ivy league schools do with their curriculum that makes them so much more prestigious and demand higher requirements than normal universities? | Is it something to do with how much more rigorous their undergraduate path is, or is it more to do with post-graduate things like working towards a PhD? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1wwhh9/eli5_what_do_ivy_league_schools_do_with_their/ | {
"a_id": [
"cf5zbk5",
"cf60lxp",
"cf65515",
"cf65s1e",
"cf66nom",
"cf69xl7",
"cf6c23q",
"cf6d8p6",
"cf6dehv"
],
"score": [
148,
53,
14,
12,
6,
2,
2,
8,
8
],
"text": [
"Its not about the schooling, its about who you meet in class.\n\nMany of the professors will be the top of the field, Nobel Prize Winners, or just generally important/notable figures.\n\nMany of your classmates will come from families that run things. You'll have CEO's, Old Money, etc etc. represented. Making the right friends can set you up for life, and even just knowing someone can get you a leg up. Heck knocking up the right girl (or getting knocked up by the right guy) can set you up for life!\n\n",
"First of all, it's worth mentioning that a lot of the attributes that make Ivy League schools so prestigious also apply to other great schools. For example, schools like MIT, Stanford, Caltech, U of Chicago, etc. could probably be lumped into the same category. The Ivy League itself is technically just a college sports division. \n\nAnyway, what's different about prestigious schools? As someone else mentioned, because these schools have historically educated lots of successful people, there's an improved chance of gaining connections with people who are rich, powerful, or successful later in life. Knowing these kinds of people doesn't guarantee that they'll do you any favors, but a rich person or a CEO can probably help you out more career-wise than your standard office worker. \n\nLikewise, the professors are more likely to have impressive backgrounds. If you end up going into research or academia, that can be a big plus. It also is amusing to take a class and see that your professor wrote the textbook or made a discovery relevant to the subject. \n\nThe classes may also be taught at a more advanced level. Don't get me wrong; the vast majority of what you learn is identical to any other place. However, the students are particularly good. They have the highest GPAs and SAT/ACT scores in the country. Needless to say, they're good at being students. As a result, if you have a class graded on a curve, you really need to step up your game to keep up with everyone. You may also go into more depth. As an example, I took a class at an Ivy League school, didn't do well, then took an equivalent course somewhere else. I got an A at the other school, then looked at my old tests from the Ivy League and realized I still didn't know enough to do well in the original class. And if you're doing a group project, you're not going to have that one guy who's just deadweight. (I'm sure you've experienced that before. There's always someone in high school who doesn't contribute and lets the rest of the group do the hard stuff.) Almost everyone is smart and you can get into some really intellectual conversations. \n\nThen there are things like funding. Prestigious schools have more money to make improvements, fund research, build buildings, etc. [Here's a list of schools by endowment.](_URL_0_) Sort it by dollar amount and it's clear who has the most available money. \n\nThen there is the matter of getting a job after graduation. Statistics vary by source, but Ivy League and other prestigious schools tend to have the graduates with the highest incomes (along with graduates of military academies and schools with large engineering programs). There's also the way a prestigious degree looks on one's resume. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that people are impressed when someone says they graduated from Harvard or Yale. A school's reputation can help in giving someone credibility or showing competence in their area of study. \n\nTo be clear, there are plenty of people from non-prestigious schools that are academically gifted and successful. However, prestigious schools, including ivies, have historically taught great students and powerful people. This has helped their reputations, leading to them getting the brightest, most impressive students nowadays. With so many disproportionally talented students and large amounts of funding, attending these schools certainly presents multiple advantages. The curricula aren't totally different. You can probably use the same textbook for an equivalent class at any school. However, prestigious schools may be able to cover more ground quicker and students can often handle more challenging work. ",
"I went to a top school (not Ivy League, but ranked above some of the Ivy League schools), and then took some classes at the local college that advertises how affordable it is (i.e. you're run of the mill university).\n\nOne difference is that the top schools have a lot more money. You could see it pretty much everywhere that the top college just had more money than it knew what to do with, with perfectly cut grass and the like.\n\nAs far as the classroom goes, there wasn't much difference in the quality of professors, but there was a huge difference in the quality of students. What would have been an easy assignment at the top school was extremely difficult at the regular school. This enabled the professors to go more in depth and cover more subjects.\n\nThe only other real differences I can think of at the moment were that there were more Indian students at the regular school, and there was more rich kids at the top school.",
"Don't get distracted by all the haters. It's not just about \"networking\" or \"the brand name\" or whatever. These people aren't answering your question. If it was just networking and brand name why would they need high SATs and GPAs? Why not just rich, well-connected people? Well, it's because they actually teach material in much greater depth, require a broader understanding of fields, and want the students to push and learn from each other.\n\nWith averagely smart people, you can't do all of calculus in two semesters, or read 10 whole books in an intro philosophy class, and certainly not expect one student to do both. Graduates from these schools tend to know more things than equally intelligent people from lesser schools. Only reason I know this is because I went to a lesser school and my equally-intelligent peers know more than me...which is frustrating.",
"Ivy League schools, and their non-Ivy equals, of which there are many, attract top students. A professor can teach at a higher level and challenge the students more when the students all are more intelligent and more motivated. \n\nAlso, students learn from each other.",
"I've been a student and/or an instructor at various times in 4 institutions in 3 countries. I'm currently at a famous American university, and if it's anything to go by, the amount of money these places have is just _staggering_ in comparison to the others. Having only been to one university in the US, I can't compare domestically, but I would guess that the endowment and budget of this one institution is probably greater than the entire university systems of the other two countries combined. It's hard to compete with someone who can outspend you by orders of magnitude.\n\nPrestige is derived more from research output than teaching, and Ivy+ schools (traditional Ivy plus MIT, Stanford, Caltech, and a few others) have a _lot_ of money that enables them to attract and retain research talent (there are at least a dozen Nobel laureates at my university) and undertake more speculative research. It's something of a self-fulfilling prophecy: they're prestigious because of their research output, they can raise more money because they're prestigious, and they attract good researchers because they're prestigious. The net effect is that they continue to be prestigious because they're already prestigious.\n\nAt the undergraduate level, there's also something of a self-fulfilling nature to their success: they can be _extremely_ selective, admitting only the best and most hard-working students, which gives them a serious advantage over schools that have to cater to a broader student base.\n",
"The prestige comes from the students, the faculty, and the resources, not the curriculum itself. And if the schools failed to deliver in training these students to be a light unto the world, both academically and morally, then they'd stop attracting such good students, alumni donations would drop, etc.",
"My graduate degree is from an ivy league school and I've taught at ivy league schools and elsewhere. It's true, the designation itself is pretty empty and meaningless. There are plenty of deadweight professors at the ivies (a common situation is that their research is very good but they're terrible teachers, or avoid teaching whenever possible, or simply don't care about teaching--quite a lot of teaching being done by grad students), and plenty of legacy students who certainly aren't any brighter than many of the students at less prestigious schools. \n\nBut a really important thing to keep in mind is that students at the ivies, and the 'name' schools in general, have a strong culture of achievement. They won't look down at required classes, for example, if the classes don't have a strong connection to what they intend to major in; many of the students will always have tried to perform well in school, and so they will try to perform well in ANY class, whether it's related to their major or not. More students doing the reading and considering the material will, in turn, make the class better. In colleges that are less well-regarded by admittedly idiotic standards such as U.S. News and World Reports' (what you call 'normal' universities) lists and such, students often think their sports are more important than their class assignments, or they don't want to do work in an area that seems to them outside of their major, or whatever. No offense to the many students on Reddit, but many college students are somewhat sheep-like, and tend to look to their peers with respect to how to approach the material. Not all ivy students work hard (grade inflation, etc.) in every class, but ivy students in general tend to take the work seriously; that's often not true, or only true for a handful of students, in 'normal' universities. \n\nYou can expect an ivy league curriculum to provide a pretty good background in a given area, but in my experience what really sets the ivies apart isn't the professors, or the curriculum, but the culture of achievement that you encounter there (and granted, social connections are important too!). Students at other universities are often just as bright, and many of them end up turning out just as successful. What they accomplish is often in spite of, rather than a result of, the educational culture of the institution/student body. ",
"I wonder how many answers so far don't follow the 10th rule of this subreddit: Do not guess.\n\nI've been to two Ivy Leagues schools (undergrad and grad). Though I agree with many of the other commenters, I would add that expectations are higher. The professors expect that the students will perform at a higher level. Students expect more from themselves. And recruiters expect more from students in interviews. There is of course a bell curve distribution, but the average level of expectations is higher.\n\nI don't know if the curriculum is vastly different because I haven't attended a non-Ivy, but I would guess that it's not. But just the simple fact that expectations are higher leads to a more educated student population even holding other variables the same (e.g., resources, size, socioeconomic status, etc.) In other words, they glean more knowledge from the same set of data.\n\nAnd why does the student body at an Ivy (plus the other top schools) have higher expectations? Supply and demand. There is an extremely limited supply of these top schools, and they cherry pick from an enormous talent pool. This also leads them to be able to charge extravagant tuition well in excess of the cost of education (exacerbated by subsidies from the government and the education lending market.)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
9kmfzn | why do some foods like bananas and peanut butter taste so much better when combined than when separate? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9kmfzn/eli5_why_do_some_foods_like_bananas_and_peanut/ | {
"a_id": [
"e708zpi",
"e70buh5"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"I was literally just thinking this, no idea but the two textures together issa yes for me dawg. ",
"A balance of flavors like sweet and salty is more pleasant than just sweet. Also a mote complex flavor will be more stimulating to your brain than a single note."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
3896mw | why is it made such a big deal for people to try and eat vegetables with their dinner, but not fruit? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3896mw/eli5_why_is_it_made_such_a_big_deal_for_people_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"crt9y88",
"crtgnv0"
],
"score": [
15,
3
],
"text": [
"Veggies tend to have more vitamins and nutrients than fruits with the exception of vitamin C, which most of us probably get enough of anyway. Also, fruits, while not necessarily bad for you, tend to have a lot more sugar than vegetables.\n\nAlso, vegetables are traditionally served with dinner because they are cooked and not as sweet. Fruit is often part of the dessert. That's not to say you can't mix the two (strawberries in a salad or something), but most people would prefer sauteed spinach with a steak instead of an apple or banana. \n\nCulinarily speaking, a vegetable is something you usually cook and is more savory. A fruit is something that you usually don't cook and is sweet. There's a reason those became the culinary definitions and that they don't always line up with biological definitions (for example, a tomato is a fruit biologically speaking but a vegetable culinarily speaking).",
"Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, nearly anything with seeds in it is botanically a fruit, we call them vegetables specificly because they aren't sweet. So the distinction between fruits and vegetables is an arbitrary one based on our preference for where to include sweets in a meal. \n\nVeggies with your dinner and fruit for dessert."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
2a2rco | how come high blood pressure increases the thickness of cardiac muscle, which in turn, increases the risk of infarction, yet we encourage cardiovascular exercise, which also thickens cardiac muscle? | I'm not questioning the health benefits of cardiovascular exercise, but this is one concept that always seemed paradoxical to me. Running, for example, increases the thickness of cardiac muscle, which in turn would increase the mass the coronary arteries have to perfuse, resulting in ischemia and infarction. Am I misunderstanding something here? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2a2rco/eli5_how_come_high_blood_pressure_increases_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"ciqx0tt"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
" > Am I misunderstanding something here?\n\nYes, cardiovascular exercise does not thicken cardiac muscle, it makes it more efficient. Thick cardiac muscle is weak cardiac muscle. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
3f5ygn | how do hurricane-strength isolated thunderstorms spontaneously appear on an almost daily basis where i live? | Example: _URL_0_
Get this almost daily in Virginia. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3f5ygn/eli5_how_do_hurricanestrength_isolated/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctlk7ah"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It could be warm, wet air from the ocean being forced upward by the Appalachians in a similar way to how tornadoes are generated in the Midwest by warm air from the gulf being forced up by the rockies."
]
} | [] | [
"http://gyazo.com/a8dab40f6e04d6b52c88dfba297bfad9"
] | [
[]
] |
|
25sv9a | what exactly is "happiness" on a chemical level? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/25sv9a/eli5_what_exactly_is_happiness_on_a_chemical_level/ | {
"a_id": [
"chkg0sk",
"chkpcr7"
],
"score": [
4,
3
],
"text": [
"Dopamine is the chemical responsible for pleasure in the brain. Addictive substances actually can \"overdo\" your dopamine levels and deplete them. \n\nOf course, happiness isn't really the same as pleasure; it's more of an emergent property from all of the chemical and electrical stuff going on in your brain.",
"Basically it's Dopamine(pleasure) and Serotonim(well being/mood).\n\n*Why is it that whenever I'm checking ELI5, no one explains like OP's 5.*"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
alv46w | how do animals like squirrels survive in the polar vortex temperatures? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/alv46w/eli5_how_do_animals_like_squirrels_survive_in_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"efhau3k",
"efhcbq6"
],
"score": [
4,
13
],
"text": [
"Hibernation. \n\nBc the auto mod sucks. They eat lots of food in the summer, hide some in fall and sleep most of the winter. Sometimes they come out and go to their food stores for a snack before winter is done. ",
"Most small rodents dig burrows in the snow. It’s called the subnivean(subnivian?) zone and uses the snow as an insulating layer that keeps anything below it at ~32 degrees Fahrenheit even when surface temperatures are much lower."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
4kf9a9 | why some people can't (or have a hard time trying to) differentiate left from right? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4kf9a9/eli5_why_some_people_cant_or_have_a_hard_time/ | {
"a_id": [
"d3egn6e",
"d3eil2f",
"d3ekqeu",
"d3elcza",
"d3er8v8"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
5,
6,
2
],
"text": [
"I've never meet someone like this, but if I did, I'd teach 'em the method I learned as a child. Spread your thumb and index fingers apart, look at the back of your hands, the one that makes an \"L\" is left. ",
"I had a hard time with this until I fell and get a scar on the left side of my face. Now when someone asks I just feel for it.",
"It's got to do somewhat with spatial intelligence. I have very very very little spatial intelligence. I cannot imagine what something will look like after it's built/completed. I cannot determine where I'm oriented in a building or in a city. I can't suture (put in stitches) because I spend most of that time just trying to figure out which way I need my needle to start in order to finish in the spot I want it. I usually have to concentrate before calling left or right because I don't think well that way. I'd bet that artists and creative types are less likely to have this issue.",
"I can think of two contributing reasons:\n\nHumans are mostly symmetric (on the outside, at least) along that axis but not in the others, which makes it trivial to disambiguate those other two. The difference is explicit between which direction a person's head or feet are, as well as which side of a person's body does or doesn't have a face. Identifying the left and right sides in contrast is extremely difficult, and often you couldn't possibly tell whether an image of a person was flipped or not unless you were very, very familiar with that person's face or features.\n\nThere's a similar ambiguity when viewing the external world from your personal perspective- the sky, ground, and gravity explicitly tell you which way is up or down, and you can only ever see \"forward\" and never backward, which gives that away. But there isn't a fundamental difference in the general case between the left-hand side of a scene and the right-hand side, other than contextual ones dependent on the situation. IE, \"Should I turn right or left, quick!?\" and so then, \"um, um, towards the gas station\".\n\nSo, it's easy to communicate to someone to just \"go where your face is pointing\", or \"go towards the sky/ground\", but there is no easy way to generally imply going left or right without referencing some weaker, less-obvious identifier for what that means- such as identifying \"right\" as the side of you that has the slightly stronger arm (means you have to then remember which side that even is), or \"left\" as the side of you that has the hand which can make an \"L\" shape with your blah blah something something. \n\nIt's just a speculation, but I'd wager that it's easier for people to think about it faster if they have some form of off-center birth defect/amputation/condition, because it makes identifying the direction explicitly linked with something physical that is always in that direction.",
"I have an extremely hard time with this when it come to charting (I'm a nurse) where I gave the injection, where the wound is located, ect. I have to stop and think, \"ok, which is MY right/left. Ok, now rotate so I'm facing the same way as the patient. Oh ok. Got it.\""
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
3pmgfs | if google have ended forced g+ integration across its accounts, why does youtube still require a g+ account to be created to leave a comment? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3pmgfs/eli5_if_google_have_ended_forced_g_integration/ | {
"a_id": [
"cw7izp1"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"How successful have you been with everything but YouTube?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
1hfzxw | with all these posts of edward snowden applying for asylum, i'm curious, how does one wanted by a government apply for asylum? | Specifically, I saw on the front page that he's applied for asylum in at least 15 countries. So how do you contact a country for such a thing A, without being found by your pursuant country, and B, how do you make those contacts at all?
Note to the NSA: I'm just some recent college grad with no job and no inside information and no plans to do anything that could possibly cause me to be charged with espionage or the like. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1hfzxw/eli5_with_all_these_posts_of_edward_snowden/ | {
"a_id": [
"catxvcq",
"catyg5p",
"cau8h2z",
"cauce0h"
],
"score": [
6,
8,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Note to the NSA: /u/philhasreddit is totally lying. I mean, just look at him. Shifty eyes much?",
"Typically you go to country A, which grants you temporary entrance which your case for asylum is being heard.\n\nSometimes it gets difficult. You might have to hang out in country C for a while, hoping they don't deport you to B, or sneak into A illegally and hide out until asylum is granted.",
" > So how do you contact a country for such a thing A, without being found by your pursuant country\n\nThey know where he is. He's trapped in an international airport.\n\nI wouldn't be surprised if the US has eyes on him at all times now.",
"They know where he is, it's just that they can't get to him He's in an international airport, and even if he wasn't the US can't legally go into whatever country he is in and take him by force without that countries permission.\n\nAs for how they were delivered, Sarah Harrison, who is a legal adviser for wkikleaks, is helping him with his case and who delivered the asylum requests for him. Any regular person can request asylum I believe, as long as you can get to an Embassy of the country you're requesting from. That's what Julian Assange did, and that's why he can't leave the Embassy."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
2i64e7 | why do earbuds have little speakers on the back? | I've always thought that it was just for a nifty way of letting others listen with your earbuds without putting it in their ears, but now i really doubt this is the reason. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2i64e7/eli5_why_do_earbuds_have_little_speakers_on_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"ckz7jd5"
],
"score": [
9
],
"text": [
"It's to provide somewhere for the air to go as the speaker moves inside. Speakers generate sound by compressing the air in front of it in specific patterns and frequencies. So, as the air is compressed inside of your earbud, most of it goes into your ear, but not all of it. The speaker still needs to alleviate that excess pressure inside the enclosure and so the designers poke holes in the back to allow that excess air to escape. This allows for the speaker to properly function. If the holes weren't there, you would notice everything being much more bass-y as the speaker wouldn't be able to compress the air inside the enclosure as quickly.\n\ntl;dr: The holes alleviate internal pressure and allow the speaker to operate normally."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
xjsfj | why does everyone hate ryan seacrest? | People have disliked this guy well before NBC included him in Olympics coverage but I never understood why. I don't think he's particularly exceptional or anything, but I don't see where all the hate comes from. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/xjsfj/eli5_why_does_everyone_hate_ryan_seacrest/ | {
"a_id": [
"c5n03yv"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Critics seem to find him the current pinnacle of an increasingly vacuous entertainment industry where everything has become an appeal to the lowest common denominator. By appealing to so many people, you lose a lot of depth that comes from allowing yourself to appeal to smaller, more focused groups. For many, this has lead to a frustrating culture of compromise.\n\nSome people also find the very quality of inoffensiveness (in which Seacrest excels) offensive in itself. Why this is, is somewhat unclear, at least to me.\n\nThere is, as with many things, a bandwagon effect as well. From the vocal groups that have their own reasoned conclusions about him, many more follow to feel a sense of camaraderie through taking pot shots at relatively easy targets (see also Nickleback :P)"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
3cy2s0 | with games like counter strike or team fortress 2, why do people buy purely cosmetic items for several hundred dollars? | What gives it such a high value? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3cy2s0/eli5_with_games_like_counter_strike_or_team/ | {
"a_id": [
"ct005wj",
"ct035us",
"ct04y6x",
"ct05gut"
],
"score": [
12,
5,
5,
6
],
"text": [
"Aesthetics! And rarity of the item. Many people who buy these ridiculously expensive items play MLG, this gives there players POV a much better, and more professional look. ",
"Everyone has a hobby, this just happens to be theirs. You could say the same thing about pretty much every trading card game. Are some of the expensive cards better? Probably, but the black lotus isn't $27,000 better.",
"It's because it's rare / uncommon. Looks way better and gives you some bragging rights to other players.\n\nThere's no deep reason behind it.",
"In real life, people pay thousands for jewellery that does literally nothing other than look pretty. Same deal, but then there's also fancy guns etc which look pretty *and* pwn noobs."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
7tkr9w | what happens to all those error reports windows sends when a program crashes? there has to be a countless amount of them. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7tkr9w/eli5_what_happens_to_all_those_error_reports/ | {
"a_id": [
"dtd7aef"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Microsoft performs automated analysis of them to group them together by type. As you say, there are millions of them, so the first step is to reduce that number. If the same bug causes a hundred thousand crashes then the developers only really need to see the information about that crash once. So this analysis determines that \"these crashes are all really caused by the same bug\", and bunches them together.\n\nThen this information is made available to the developers of the application, so they can log in on a website and get information about reported crashes.\n\nThey'll then log in to the website where this information is available, and see that \"this crash occurred 100,000 times within the last month, and have the option to download information about the crash.\n\nThis data contains information about what the application was doing at the time of the crash, as well as a description of the system it occurred on. The developers can use that to figure out what happened, and fix the bug."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
1bshmw | why the uncertainty principle stops quantum entanglement being used for ftl communication. | Edit: I'm glad to have created such interesting discussion, I would also be grateful if people here would check my other question, I hate to bump it but it has had little attention despite being of a similar subject. _URL_0_
I've also removed the Answered flair, as their is some debate between answers. Thanks a lot for the interesting and helpful replies so far though! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1bshmw/eli5_why_the_uncertainty_principle_stops_quantum/ | {
"a_id": [
"c99mnex",
"c99o5d3",
"c99plgc",
"c99ux6u"
],
"score": [
24,
12,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"It doesn't. There's just no mechanism which *would* allow quantum entanglement to be used for FTL communication; it has nothing to do with the uncertainty principle.",
"Short answer: it doesn't. And there is disagreement as to whether quantum entanglement would help with FTL communication - **from what I've seen, it would be at best limited to very specific circumstances.**\n\nLonger answer: quantum particles get entangled with each other. Imagine these particles are bros: even when they're apart, they'll do whatever **the other isn't doing**, because they're totally in sync bros like that. Now these bros move fast: they're always going places and doing things, each just like the other. So they move so fast that if we find out where one is, we don't know where they'll go next. If we find out where they go next, by the time we've asked, they're already someplace else. Bros move quick, so we can't know exact location and exact direction at the same time. **In fact, there are lots of things you can't know about both bros, because they're always on the move!**\n\nStill, there's some thought that maybe we could send info via Bro: a sort of Bro-network. The problem is, the Bros do what they want, not so much what we want. If you make a sound on your telephone, your telephone does what you want, and so it can send that information. Bros do what *they* want, not what *we* want, so they won't send info for us. Now, we can maybe trick the bros into going to places, so some physicists (broicists) are hopeful that maybe we can trick them into sending information, but others aren't because the bros are just too wild. That's not so much because we can't track them down though: it's because they're uncontrolled.\n\nI've found [this] (_URL_0_) to be a helpful link, though as several of the commenters point out, every time is says 'overturn' you need to replace that with 'bypass'. We bypass the uncertainty principle, we don't overturn it.\n\nEdit: minor clarification.\n\nEdit 2: based on other commenters, I have adjusted the analogy a bit and added clarification. Additions are **bolded.**",
"It's not a perfect analogy, but quantum entanglement is a bit like putting a coin heads up in one box, and tails up in another. If you open one box, you know instantly what's in the other box, but you can't use it to communicate, because changing one box won't change the other one. ",
"The responses in this thread are a microcosm of the entire debate about this."
]
} | [] | [
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1bsskr/eli5why_does_the_no_cloning_theorem_forbid_the/"
] | [
[],
[
"http://io9.com/5602933/quantum-computers-could-overturn-heisenbergs-uncertainty-principle"
],
[],
[]
] |
|
1q7hi8 | why haven't major manufacturers (eg canon, hp) launched a desktop 3d printer yet? | Are they even developing one? Is current technology too complicated? Why can every hobbyist do it but not them? Are they worried about copyright laws? ...?
3D printers have been around for many years now, and it would be a huge market, but there are still no major brand 3D printers... makes me wonder about that whole situation. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1q7hi8/eli5_why_havent_major_manufacturers_eg_canon_hp/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd9yx4h"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"What would people use them for?\n\nThey're not as useful as you might think. You can only make certain types/shapes of objects, out of *one* material. You can't 3D print a (working) car. Or a sandwich. Or a light bulb.\n\nRight now only hobbyists care about them because those are the people that need varied \"parts\" built on demand."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
3nwjzo | why do we repeatedly check the fridge for food and snacks when we already determined there is nothing in there to eat? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3nwjzo/eli5_why_do_we_repeatedly_check_the_fridge_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvrvopk",
"cvrzcg3"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"One can only hope.... for a magical food bringing fairy\n\nIts a force of habit i think, we're hungry so we check where we storage our food, hungry/cravings is usually a subconscious feeling, meaning we dont think consciously about it, so we keep opening that fridge even though we determined theres something in there",
"Many refrigerators are disorganized, and the first time you look, you aren't motivated enough to really root through it to find every last thing.\n\nOnce you get hungrier, you try again, hoping you missed something."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
41gvob | will drinking a beer make me more hydrated? | Say I were stranded in the desert, would it be a good or bad idea to drink a beer to quench my thirst? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41gvob/eli5_will_drinking_a_beer_make_me_more_hydrated/ | {
"a_id": [
"cz2aeyi",
"cz2eray"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"they are primarily water so yes. however, they are also a diuretic so they will cause you to piss this out as well. Gotta make sure you don't do that or it's useless. ",
"Are athletes allowed alcohol/beer on sidelines of sporting events? Idk why they'd drink it but maybe like 1 at half time or like midway through a quarter of they were used to it or had a high tolerance. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
2vdg69 | why do schools measure ability based on a student's average grade instead of a student's median grade? | Wouldn't a student's median grade be more reflective of their usual performance in a class? Also, students wouldn't be punished as heavily for a "bombed" test, so professors wouldn't need to curve as often. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2vdg69/eli5_why_do_schools_measure_ability_based_on_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"cogn7u0",
"cogn8q2"
],
"score": [
5,
4
],
"text": [
"What if a student wasn't that strong in a specific aspect of their subject. Say there were 5 tests in a physics class. Kinematics, thermodynamics, Astronomy, Relativity, and Electricity. If the kid got 100, 99, 98, 60, 20 on his test scores, his grade would reflect a 98, indicating he was doing very well in the class whereas his average would be around 75 or so.\n\nAlso, median grades do not allow for weighted grading, where a teacher can make a test score worth more than a homework assignment. ",
"Average grade shows how the student did over the entire course, not just one their most mediocre exam. The point of a course is typically to learn all the material. Plus, averaging allows you to easily weigh different exams and assignments differently."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
3kg76w | can subliminal messages be used to change someone's opinions and make them do things they normally wouldn't do? | Or is it mainly to get people to buy crap they don't need? Changing people sounds more like hypnosis and subliminal messages are different right? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3kg76w/eli5_can_subliminal_messages_be_used_to_change/ | {
"a_id": [
"cux5ddc",
"cuxbt3p"
],
"score": [
5,
3
],
"text": [
"Hypnosis and subliminal messages both work by suggestion.\n\nSuggestion is just that — *a suggestion*. It impresses concepts, images, shapes, emotions, sounds to someone's senses, and relies on the subject's mind to follow the suggestions to arrive where the suggester wishes. \n\nThere are seemingly-distinct ideas which most people of a given cultural background will relate to one another.\n\nExample: for most people who haven't been raised in isolated jungle communities, and who are familiar with Horses, for them, the visual imagery of a horse invokes the concept of a lover. So a person who wanted to suggest to a subject to be thinking about a lover, or their lover, would find a way to evoke the imagery of a horse.\n\nAnother example: flowers. The imagery of flowers calls to mind for most people thoughts of children (think of how many people tend flowerbeds and flowerpots, and what flowers are for, among other signifiers). That's a bit easier to understand.\n\nAnother example: for most people in mainstream cultures, suggesting a ladder, through visuals or the experience of manipulating a ladder or using one, brings to mind thoughts of their friends.\n\nSimilar correlations occur, with varying strengths, for many other ideas and experiences, even combinations of ideas.\n\nA final example is this – what is happening here.\n\n Unless you've recruited someone to read this for you (or are using text to speech), you are imagining a voice saying these words, *suggested* by tiny black squiggles on a light background.\n\nI hope this answer enlightens you on the matter of suggestion, and puts a shiny, happy smile on your glowing face.",
"No. Although subliminal *perception* is a real, measurable thing, subliminal *influence* is 100% junk science.\n\nYou also need to understand that you can't actually embed REAL subliminal messages in things like TV or movies. See, TRUE subliminal messages happen at a duration of a few TENTHS of milliseconds at most, not the pokey 1/24 second of one frame of film. A single frame of movie film is MORE than consciously perceptible by the audience, and some directors--William Friedkin in The Exorcist comes to mind--have used the technique for shock value. Ditto for TV. To be a TRUE subliminal message, it has to flash by so fast you don't consciously perceive it. That's why it's called \"subliminal.\"\n\nPsychologists have confirmed that people can perceive a subliminal stimulus, but there is zero evidence that that stimulus can influence your behavior in any way.\n\nAt some point or other, everyone has heard the old story that \"they\" flashed \"drink Coke\" on a movie screen, and sales of Coke increased. In fact, no such thing ever happened, the story was made up out of whole cloth by a guy who was trying to launch a marketing consultant company back in the late 1950s. The test itself never even happened, let alone the results.\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
1bf1n9 | what does different sounds when connecting to dialup mean | I was always curious what all that sound mean to my PC and ISP's modem by part, before they go to digital mode, and who produces which sound.
I think that long hissing is data bursts but what that SCREE-OOOO-SCREE-OOOO-BEEP-BEhiss and other non-hissing-like sounds mean? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1bf1n9/eli5_what_does_different_sounds_when_connecting/ | {
"a_id": [
"c969g6h",
"c96b96k"
],
"score": [
3,
7
],
"text": [
"The two modems are communicating with each other about what their capabilities are. They are deciding what the best way to communicate is - in terms of speed, error checking, etc - given their capabilities, and the quality of the line.\n\nThere's a diagram [here](_URL_0_) which shows exactly what's happening.\n\nAs an aside, the noises don't stop once the connection is made. The speaker is turned off, so you can't hear them any more, but the communication between your computer and your ISP once the connection has been made sounds near enough the same.",
"First modem dials.\n\nSecond modem answers \"Hi! I'm a modem, are you too? Are you a fax machine? If you're an old modem, I can speak very slowly. I can go faster if you want.\"\n\nFirst one: \"Yes I am a modem! I can go faster!\"\n\nThen the wee-o wee-o schhhhhh part is some singing all possible notes on the line to check which ones can get through clearly. There are so many notes at the same time and it's done so fast that it is heard as noise. \n\nThen, a \"song\" made out of chords from only the easily heard notes will be used to communicate.\n\nOn some modems, you'll hear a buzzing sound at the end; this checks if the answering modem can talk with bits instead of musical notes if a) both modems allow it and b) the line is clean enough.\n\nThen your mother would pick up the phone at about 98% of an MP3 that you've been downloading for an hour and a half. Modems would then go \"Eeek! Mom!\" and hang up."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.geek.com/chips/incredible-infographic-thoroughly-explains-dial-up-sounds-1538019"
],
[]
] |
|
2wojmv | why is stephen hawking so important? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wojmv/eli5why_is_stephen_hawking_so_important/ | {
"a_id": [
"cosr1vb",
"cossmfc",
"cosu20c",
"cot0fz6"
],
"score": [
104,
27,
19,
2
],
"text": [
"Steven is important because he has challenged the status quo with plausible theories that have encouraged deeper debate and a greater understanding of our universe. He has turned a generation of young people on to science. He is also very important in what he has been able to accomplish while his mind has been trapped inside a non-functioning body. He has defied the odds, living decades longer than his diagnosis suggested and his contributions to science are staggering. He's also changed a lot of people's thinking about the value of handicapped people in society. ",
"You may find this video interesting -- it's literally called 'Why is Stephen Hawking a big deal'?:\n\n_URL_0_\n\nIt goes into a little technical depth on his scientific achievements. It's presented by an actual university physicist.\n",
"Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with people saying he's only famous because he's cripple (paraphrasing, see downvoted comments)? \n\nELI5: Why do people think Stephen Hawking didn't deserve his fame?",
"Whewww...no live for Bill Nye in this thread. Don't get me wrong folks, I admire mr hawking greatly. don't be so quick to dismiss Bill Nye...there are a lot of children and young adults who had their eyes open to science by Bill Nye long before they ever heard of Steven Hawking "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZiWKmhuaZE"
],
[],
[]
] |
||
1uv56o | why exotic cars are so expensive | I understand the cost of engineering and materials used in some sports cars will make them expensive. However cars like the Bugatti and Maybach costing absurds amount of money are they truly worth their cost? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1uv56o/eli5why_exotic_cars_are_so_expensive/ | {
"a_id": [
"celymgf",
"celynyp",
"celyqtj"
],
"score": [
2,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"Like most luxury goods, they cost as much as people are willing to pay for them. Because of the reputation for quality and performance in things like Bugatti, people are willing to pay out the nose for them.\n\nAnd of course you got material costs, manufacturing costs (vehicles are often built to order rather than assembly line), supply and demand (few cars, many people wanting), etc.",
"Prices on exotic cars are a combination of high production costs, and how willing people are to spend absurd amounts of money on a car. In addition to the cost of the materials, the production costs are significantly higher because those cars don't have the same economies of scale as say, a Honda Accord. The more of a car you plan to produce, the cheaper each car gets, because a bunch of one-time costs (such as buying the machinery, paying for the facilities, etc.) get spread out among far more cars. If you produce a million cars, each one can be significantly cheaper than if you only produced 1000 of them.\n\nAlso, exotic cars cost more because people are willing to pay for the name. Just like how Gucci handbags aren't really much different from any other bag but still cost 10 times as much, a Bugatti costs more because it has the name Bugatti on it.",
"Additionally, owners pay for the cache of ownership and exclusivity (which is why cars like Buggatti, LaFerrari, the 918, Sesto Elemento, etc. are made in limited numbers.) If everyone could buy one, the cache would be gone ..."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
3cyqzl | what are those tiny shimmering things that appear in my vision after i do a cartwheel or blow my nose too hard? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3cyqzl/eli5_what_are_those_tiny_shimmering_things_that/ | {
"a_id": [
"ct07epp"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Those stars you see are caused by blood not getting where it needs to go in your eyes. Ever heard the phrase he got hit so hard he is seeing stars?"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
2fltqq | why does my urine give off a wave of heat when i pee? | Maybe my feces too...? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fltqq/eli5_why_does_my_urine_give_off_a_wave_of_heat/ | {
"a_id": [
"ckagmj7",
"ckaijva"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Your internal body temperature is 38*C. Thus your urine is about that warm.\n\nThe outside world rarely reaches that temperature.",
"Because inside your body is warmer than outside your body. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
c8z0qb | if we need to boil water normally to produce steam, why is the steam from some humidifiers cold? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c8z0qb/eli5_if_we_need_to_boil_water_normally_to_produce/ | {
"a_id": [
"esrapyw",
"essg55q",
"esspev3"
],
"score": [
2,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"Ultrasonic humidifiers use vibrations to send water droplets into the air. Evaporative humidifiers, however, evaporate water inside the humidifier and send water vapor into the air. ... These are known as steam humidifiers, or as “warm mist” humidifiers if the vapor is cooled before being emitted.",
"Actual steam is invisible. If you can see it, it isn't steam. It is mist. You can generate mist at room temperature or below.",
"Humidifiers do not create steam. Steam is a gas, which is a different state of matter than the liquid form, water, or the solid form, ice.\n\nSteam is created by heating above the boiling point.\n\nHumidifiers increase the humidity in the air by adding water vapor, which does not require excessive heating. Water vapor is still technically a liquid, but the water droplets are so small they can be suspended in air and are considered gaseous.\n\nThere is a difference between water vapor and steam."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
4fmt1i | why is it necessary for voting to be anonymous? | Is there a compelling reason for people to not know how you voted. Most people will happily elect the information when asked anyway. Also, like email, someone would have to hack the system to find out, which isn't an issue for the average person as nobody cares how I voted.
From what I see, it also appears that accountability is lost when you cant trace back to source that votes were counted. Thus corruption is an ever present problem. Surely this is more prevalent issue than anonymity?
Why is anonymity still a requirement, what am I missing? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4fmt1i/eli5_why_is_it_necessary_for_voting_to_be/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2a5mo5",
"d2a5pac",
"d2a5pht",
"d2a5rsy",
"d2a5w9i",
"d2a6csh",
"d2abtdq",
"d2aex30",
"d2ao92b"
],
"score": [
19,
2,
7,
9,
2,
2,
5,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"I'm sure there's several reasons, but the one comes to mind is the case of someone potentially being coerced, blackmailed, forced, etc to vote for someone they don't want.",
"If voting isn't anonymous, then the rich can buy the votes of the poor. Bosses can insinuate that you'll be fired if you don't prove that you voted the way they want. Family can threaten to disown you. The mafia can threaten to kill you. Etc.\n\nBut if you can't prove how you voted, then no one has any way to hold your vote against you.",
"In the UK it was one of the six principles of \"Chartism\"\n\n_URL_0_\n\nThe article is fairly comprehensive and goes into why. But the major principles underlining a secret ballot box are:\n\n- forestalling voter intimidation.\n- prevent voter buying.\n\nBoth of those above require knowledge of the vote cast. Trust won't do. If the ballot box is secret, and thus the vote, then there is no way to \"know\" the outcome of the two points above. A simple measure can have far reaching outcomes.",
"If voting records were public, it would be much easier to bribe or force others to vote a certain way. For instance, someone could pay you money to vote for candidate X and check that you voted for that candidate, while with anonymous voting, you could just lie to the briber and they'd have no way of knowing. Similarly, your boss could tell all of their employees to vote for candidate X and punish those that did not do so.\n\nAdditionally, if you live in an area where a particular candidate is hated, anonymous voting allows you to vote how you want without fear that others will judge you for expressing your honest view about who's the better candidate. ",
"Giving a vote expresses a politically point of view which in turn is an expression of a personal and normative view of how society ought to be organised, and how politicians ought to approach current political issues. Given that there exists strong (and heartfelt) disagreement about such matters, it is better to let citizens themselves choose when and to whom they wish to share these point of views. Thus most voting scenarios internationally allow for the citizen to give his or hers vote more or less anonymously.\n\nCorruption of the voting system is related although also a different issue. Corruption can occur at many points in the voting process and not only abuse a potential weakness due to anonymity. You could imagine a corruption scheme taking advantage of a weakness in the passing of summed voters in a local area as well.\n\nAs a European Im not very knowledgable about US voting system and anonymity. But I can image that small differences between nations show that anonymity can be preserved differently. One way is having total anonymity where you place your vote in an isolated place on a ballot with no ID. However, you could also have partial anonymity placing a vote isolated but on a ballot with ID. And other variations Im sure.\n\nAs many Democracies are under various types of pressure in these decades it is my personal opinion that a nation can learn from observing the procedures of other nations with well functioning procedures. Yet not an easy process.",
"It used to be that voting was not anonymous in the USA. Back then there would literally be people who would go to voting polls and watch who you voted for. If you voted for the wrong person you could and often would lose your job. \n\n Another law about no campaigning at polls comes from where they would hand out Thanksgiving turkeys at polls in exchange for votes for a specific candidate.",
"I come from a small town, everybody recognizes your car.\n\nImagine if I voted against the incumbent sheriff, but he still won. Then he got the records of who voted for him and who voted against him. Now, the sheriff can tell his deputies \"watch that Akerlof fellow, he's up to something,\" and I end up with a cop car following me whenever I'm in the county limits.\n\nIs that likely to affect how I vote in the future? If I know this is a possibility, will it affect how I vote even if it hasn't happened yet?\n\nSituations where people in power can see how people voted lead to abuses of power.",
"I live in Venezuela, there was a big deal some years ago about the voting system. Our ex-president Hugo Chavez was in power and the opposition requested a referendum to get him OUT of the presidency. to make that happen they needed more than 2 million signatures, and they got them, but what happened, one of the politicians of the government PUBLISHED said list of signatures, next thing you know, all those who signed got harassed, got fired, many of them were threatened (even death threats). Many many people lost their jobs in the government with the excuse that if they were against the government they were terrorists and were going to sabotage the public system. I'm on mobile so when i get home i'll explain more and format this whole thing. but please check this out _URL_0_",
"Back when America (I assume that that is the country you are referring to, since this is an American election year) casted their ballots in front of the public, people's bosses and landlords would tell their employees/tenants how to vote. And if your boss/landlord found out that you voted the way that he didn't want you to, he would fire/evict you (and imagine if your boss and landlord told you to vote different ways).\n\nAnonymity makes it so that people may vote however they want to without worrying about the consequences. The point of voting is to make sure YOUR voice is heard, not the voice of your boss."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartism"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasc%C3%B3n_List"
],
[]
] |
|
1f65t4 | why do some people get the death sentence for killing 1 person, while others have life in prison for killing 10 people? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1f65t4/eli5why_do_some_people_get_the_death_sentence_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"ca763em",
"ca7btmw"
],
"score": [
22,
3
],
"text": [
"Simple.\n\nDifferent states, different lawyers, different prosecutors, different judges, different evidence.\n\nThe american justice system is based on Enlightenment thinking where no rule can be just without recourse. Which is simply stating \"If you don't review each case individually your verdict will often be unjust\" therefore we make a decision on a case per case basis, not say killing X people is worth y years in jail.",
"I hate to say this, but many who kill one person do it on 'crimes of passion' or 'crimes of opportunity'.\n\nAs seen recently (e.g. batman killer, guy who shot the senator, guy who shot up the kindergarden) people who kill 10 people are often batshit crazy and their lawyers get them leniency on their mental state.\n\nI honestly don't know how I feel about that."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
6ncf6h | today is national mac and cheese day. where do all these national (insert random thing here) days come from? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ncf6h/eli5_today_is_national_mac_and_cheese_day_where/ | {
"a_id": [
"dk8ephi"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Industry groups, individual companies making shit up, and internet commenters making shit up. Of course, businesses can sometimes buy political declarations making it official.\n\nBut sometimes the lie just becomes the truth. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
2vj0hh | how come, instead of giving 500 million dollars to one person who won the lottery, they don't give 1 million dollars to 500 people? | Wouldn't it make more sense? And wouldn't more people buy tickets? 500 million or anything over 10 million is just absurd. Plus, so many people could do such good things with 1 million. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2vj0hh/eli5_how_come_instead_of_giving_500_million/ | {
"a_id": [
"coi1olx",
"coi1yzw",
"coi22p2",
"coi25rf"
],
"score": [
2,
11,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"~~Because then no one would buy the ticket. The chance of winning a large sum of money is what makes people buy tickets.~~\n\n~~The point of any lottery is this: People buy tickets, one person wins and gets some of the money from the ticket sales, the rest of the money is profit the for people who run the lottery.~~\n\nSorry, misunderstood the question.",
"I believe it's nothing but a marketing thing.\n\nYOU could win 500 000 000!!, which is 500 times more than **one million!**\n\nYou greedy little 99%...",
"This makes me think of another point...\n\nI flew for a charter airplane company in my earlier years. During that time, I met quite a few rich people and celebrities.\n\nOne thing I learned... Sort of a \"Universal Truth\"...\n\nRich people are not rich because they know how to make money or because they have a lot of money...\n\nRich people are rich because they know how to manage money.\n\n\nLook at how many rich people have \"crashed and burned\" -- M.C. Hammer, many other celebrities... Many multi-million-dollar celebrity winners are now dead or penniless...\n\nYou could take every penny and possession away from Warren Buffet, magic him back to 18-years-old, and give him $500. He would probably end up exactly where he is now -- a multi-billionaire.\n\nSo many lottery winners take the Cash Payout instead of the annuity... which is actually, theoretically, the best decision...\n\nBut, I wonder how many of those people would be much happier now if they had just chosen the annuity...",
"Another thing that I always noticed about rich people (rich people who STAY rich) ...\n\nThey are not afraid to spend money, but they positively hate being \"ripped off\" or wasting money. A rich person will happily pay $2000 per night for a hotel room with a magnificent view, but if you charge him $15 for a common cup of coffee, he will bite your head off.\n\nI learned this lesson very early in my \"piloting\" career. I would grab sodas from the vending machine because they were 50 cents cheaper than the sodas from the hotel. My passengers would wink and smile at me, and tip me $20. The very last thing that you ever want to do with a \"rich\" person is attempt to rip him off. He's rich because he knows exactly what you are."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1x045g | with as far as science has come, why can't we just somehow make healthy foods taste as sweet or savory as unhealthy foods without altering it's nutritional value. | ELI5 | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1x045g/eli5_with_as_far_as_science_has_come_why_cant_we/ | {
"a_id": [
"cf6woo6",
"cf6wwhs"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
"MSG and artificial sweeteners basically do exactly this, so could you explain in more detail what you're asking about?\n\nEdit - Actually MSG does offer sodium, which is part of the nutritional value, although less than salt does.",
"Just because we can do a lot with science doesn't mean we can work magic. Taste works by detecting actual molecules - if a taste bud is looking for a certain molecule to make you taste \"savory buttery goodness\", you have to give it something that is at least similar to fat. And because nutrition value is based on the molecule's structure, there's not much you can do.\n\nA homeowner wants his house painted red, but doesn't want to pay for the shade of red he wants. You can try to mix some colors that are close, or give him something other than what he wanted, but you just can't give him that exact red without giving him that exact red. That's how taste works."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
kx1qg | the undervaluing of the chinese currency. | we hear a lot about how china devalues its currency for its own advantage. can someone explain how it is possible for them to get a free lunch so to speak? Is it that they will pay later? If china can do it why don't others do it if it is simple? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/kx1qg/the_undervaluing_of_the_chinese_currency/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2nxg4r",
"c2nxg4r"
],
"score": [
7,
7
],
"text": [
"So all of your friends get together the day after Halloween to trade candy. Charlie has *a lot* of lollipops to trade, Evan brought all his Mars Bars, and Andrew brought those little gummy Dots. You brought [insert favorite candy here]. You're all trading back and forth, hoping to get the most candy from everyone else at the cheapest price, so you bargain. You trade two of your favorite candy for one of Evan's Mars Bars, which you then trade to Andrew for four boxes of dots. While Andrew is trading with Charlie, you trade two of the four boxes of dots to Evan to get two pieces of your favorite candy back, meaning you end up with more than you started with. \n\nEveryone's trying to come out on top, trading back and forth for whatever candy is the best value at the moment when suddenly Charlie yells to stop. He announces that from now on, his price for four lollipops is one box of dots (the candy that you all use to value your own), or an equivalent value of another candy. He will no longer accept offers of different amounts. Only one box of dots for four lollipops, final.\n\nWhat does this mean for you? It means that now there is no reason to trade for anyone else's lollipops at any other value. If you trade one box of dots to Evan for three lollipops, you'll be worse off than if you'd traded them to Charlie for four. And why would anyone trade five lollipops for a box of dots when they could go to Charlie and get the box four for lollipops and keep the change?\n\nThis is how China gets away with devaluing its currency. Basically they say, \"this is how much one Yuan is worth, and if you don't pay it than you don't get it.\" no one else pays any other price for Yuan because there's no reason or profit in doing so.\n\nThe Chinese do this so that their products will be cheaper in other countries. A widget that costs four Yuan to produce will only cost one dollar in the United States. If the exchange rates changed to, say, only 2 Yuan to a dollar, that product would suddenly cost two dollars and less people would buy it.\n\nOther countries do manipulate their currencies, but in different ways, often by controlling the amount of money in circulation (simply printing more money causes the value to decrease, and removing it makes it more valuable), but that's an explanation for another time. Suffice it to say that it's not in their best interests to do it to the extent that China does.",
"So all of your friends get together the day after Halloween to trade candy. Charlie has *a lot* of lollipops to trade, Evan brought all his Mars Bars, and Andrew brought those little gummy Dots. You brought [insert favorite candy here]. You're all trading back and forth, hoping to get the most candy from everyone else at the cheapest price, so you bargain. You trade two of your favorite candy for one of Evan's Mars Bars, which you then trade to Andrew for four boxes of dots. While Andrew is trading with Charlie, you trade two of the four boxes of dots to Evan to get two pieces of your favorite candy back, meaning you end up with more than you started with. \n\nEveryone's trying to come out on top, trading back and forth for whatever candy is the best value at the moment when suddenly Charlie yells to stop. He announces that from now on, his price for four lollipops is one box of dots (the candy that you all use to value your own), or an equivalent value of another candy. He will no longer accept offers of different amounts. Only one box of dots for four lollipops, final.\n\nWhat does this mean for you? It means that now there is no reason to trade for anyone else's lollipops at any other value. If you trade one box of dots to Evan for three lollipops, you'll be worse off than if you'd traded them to Charlie for four. And why would anyone trade five lollipops for a box of dots when they could go to Charlie and get the box four for lollipops and keep the change?\n\nThis is how China gets away with devaluing its currency. Basically they say, \"this is how much one Yuan is worth, and if you don't pay it than you don't get it.\" no one else pays any other price for Yuan because there's no reason or profit in doing so.\n\nThe Chinese do this so that their products will be cheaper in other countries. A widget that costs four Yuan to produce will only cost one dollar in the United States. If the exchange rates changed to, say, only 2 Yuan to a dollar, that product would suddenly cost two dollars and less people would buy it.\n\nOther countries do manipulate their currencies, but in different ways, often by controlling the amount of money in circulation (simply printing more money causes the value to decrease, and removing it makes it more valuable), but that's an explanation for another time. Suffice it to say that it's not in their best interests to do it to the extent that China does."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
4ch5r5 | what kind of "filler" is in tobacco? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ch5r5/eli5_what_kind_of_filler_is_in_tobacco/ | {
"a_id": [
"d1i4z0s"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"In cigarettes it can be anything from sawdust to paper.\n\nIn cigars, filler is refers to as the parts of the leaf that provide combustion when lighting."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
v02g4 | windpower: how is it generated and why do so many people have a problem with it? | I am just not sure about this. I get that the mills are large and could be considered ugly, but I hear about health risks associated with them and I am not sure what those could be. Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/v02g4/eli5_windpower_how_is_it_generated_and_why_do_so/ | {
"a_id": [
"c503dmq",
"c503uim"
],
"score": [
3,
7
],
"text": [
"Ok, if you take a magnet and spin copper wire around it, the electrons trapped in the magnetic field become electricity.\n\nA wind farm is just a big one of those with a propellor being used to spin the copper wire around the magnet.\n\nThey make a sound as they spin. It's kind of annoying. (tho new designs are improving them)\n\nThey slow down the wind, which can possibly affect local weather patterns.\n\nThey kill some birds and bats (I think that's because of the air pressure generated at the tips of the fast moving prop blades, but not sure, might just be getting swatted out of the air. I think more birds are killed by window strikes)\n\nBut for the most part the people against wind power are paid to be outspoken against it by competing industries (coal, oil, nat gas etc.) ",
"There are no explicit health risks associated with wind power. Wind energy is a zero-emission/renewable energy source. People against wind power usually fit into one of the following:\n\n1. Don't like wind power because it will decrease my property values\n\n2. Don't like wind power because the volume of wind turbines (i.e. wind farm) will make the view outside my house ugly.\n\n3. Don't like wind power because it can kill migratory birds or bats (this is currently disputed as to the severity).\n\n4. Don't like wind power because the turbines make a \"whirring noise\" that I can hear from my house.\n\n5. Don't like wind power because I have a financial interest in other industries, like coal or natural gas. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
37wqtb | when bill gates makes those adds saying we're this close to wiping out polio but just need more donations, why doesn't he just donate the rest? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/37wqtb/eli5_when_bill_gates_makes_those_adds_saying_were/ | {
"a_id": [
"crqfnc1",
"crqgmpo",
"crqltbd",
"crqo1if",
"crqpbsj",
"crqvr2e",
"crr2cti"
],
"score": [
130,
347,
10,
62,
7,
5,
6
],
"text": [
"He does not have unlimited money. As of 2013, he had already given [$28 billion](_URL_0_). It's not like he hasn't been trying.",
"There is unlimited demand for funding campaigns. So he spends his money on less publicity-prone projects and asks for world wide funding to campaigns that are simple to understand and close to finishing. Doing this is an effective way to raise even more funding to these campaigns.",
"it's important to get people involved. It's not a 1 man army thing. he wants to convince people they can make a difference so we can do far greater things than him doing it by himself.",
"Bill Gates is working to be what is called a Force Multiplier. There is more than US$40B or whatever the current number is of work to do. If he just paid for it all, the money would be spent with no one to carry it forward after he's gone.\n\nInstead, his foundation works to establish perpetual solutions that can carry on. He is also careful to use his influence to bring in even more resources, from other wealthy people, government, international relief and others. He's aware of money he has to spend himself vs. resources he can get by just identifying and asking for them.",
"According to reports around his departure as CEO at Microsoft his plan was to donate all his fortune when he died and only leaving each child around 10 million USD (doubled if they use it for philanthropy). So knowing this he Is trying to raise awareness now as he can't do this when dead. ",
"Contrary to public opinion, rich people cannot just blow all their money to solve ALL the worlds problems. Not even MOST of the worlds problems. Yes, they have money cannons that let them pick a given problem and pretty much straight up solve it. But on average, this leaves a huge amount of problems unsolved. In order to fix the vast majority of problems the world faces, we all need to work together. Though nobody, not even rich people, actually have any real obligation towards helping anyone else, it won't work if we don't all join in. Yes, someone like gates can, and has, donated tens of billions to solving a variety of problems, but that only goes so far. He's donated over half of his current net worth, so effectively one third of all the money he's ever had, to charity. You personally do not need to go that far, but maybe when you are stopped at a light and someone is asking for some change, you hand them those useless coins in your cupholder. Useless to you, but they might mean a dinner for someone else.",
"Polio is not a problem of money. Polio's last reservoir seems to be in Pakistan's tribal areas. And that's a vast, inaccessible, aggressive, lawless, xenophobic area. \n\nThey don't trust western vaccination teams, believing them to be CIA spies. The belief is not *entirely* unfounded. Bin Laden's location was guessed because medical teams giving \"free vaccinations\" were collecting DNA for the CIA. Of course Bin Laden never showed up, but DNA tests on the blood samples showed that they'd found some of Bin Laden's direct descendants living together in one place.\n\nThey have the money to go in there and do it. But that's not the point, the vaccination teams would probably be denied access, kidnapped, if not killed.\n\nSo your next thought may be \"well we should just do a sneaky-but-benevolent power move and drop the vaccination in the water supply\". Well even if vaccination could work like that, there is no single water supply. You can't load it into a crop duster and spray 10,000 sq miles of people. Or \"let's just send in army teams and vaccinate by force, it's ok because we're ultimately helping.\" Well you're gonna do a lot of political damage there. There will be shooting, LOTS of shooting, on both sides, and this will snowball out of control within a week. So badly escalated that vaccination efforts would be quickly forgotten. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/bill-gates/9812672/Bill-Gates-interview-I-have-no-use-for-money.-This-is-Gods-work.html"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
2lc7ap | is isis actually a huge threat or is the media just blowing it out of proportion? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2lc7ap/eli5_is_isis_actually_a_huge_threat_or_is_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"clteosa",
"cltgswc"
],
"score": [
12,
2
],
"text": [
"Short answer: yes.\n\nLong Answer:\n\nObviously, if you live in the Middle East, then yes. They might come to your country and slaughter you or sell you into slavery.\n\nAs for the rest of the world, there are a lot of things to be concerned about:\n\n-They are further destablizing an already politically volatile region of the world.\n\n-They are conquering a region that produces a lot of the world's oil, which is an essential resource.\n\n-They could potentially conquer nations that have nuclear/biological weapons.\n\n-The further they grow, the more power they gain (and can project into other regions).\n\n-They could potentially threaten crucial shipping routes, such as the Suez Canal.\n\n-Their success and media campaigns are re-invigorating Muslim extremism accross the world.\n\n-They have threatened to use their resources to commit state-sponsored acts of terrorism.\n\nThere are a lot of reasons to be concerned if they aren't at least somewhat contained.",
"What's really scary is looking at the time frame ISIS has been in the news, and compare that to the amount of deaths cops have committed on our own soil, within that same timeframe. You don't have to include justified shootings if you don't want to. \n\nWether it's getting your head sawed off, or getting tazed to death while cuffed, you're still dead."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
32hc18 | why do cartoon series seem to go down in quality as the animation improves? | I'm a huge cartoon aficionado. I have just about every cartoon series, old and new, that you can think of - but I've noticed a trend with certain ones that makes me a fair bit irritated. The shows start to suck as the animation improves. What's even odder is that it always seems to happen around season 4 of each series. I have a few examples:
* Spongebob Squarepants - This is a big one, biggest because it's probably the best known example. Quality of the show seemed to top out around Season 4-5. The quality of the animation went up but somehow became more... static and less interesting. Like it became canned bread or something. Eventually the show itself just became awful. I think a commonly cited episode was the one where Squidward's toenail gets jammed or something disgusting.
* Rugrats - Season 4, the animation is much brighter, but the episodes are just mostly "potty" humor - the adult references are much less and the show is just boring as hell.
* The Powerpuff Girls - This show was *awesome* until season 4. I didn't even realize it at first but I had to look back - the outtro screens are changed to be brighter - the girls heads are bigger and their bodies are smaller. The content of the show isn't smart or intuitive any longer. Any adult references (they referenced South Park in season 2 I believe) are completely gone. I have a feeling Lauren Faust is partially to blame here, as I've never enjoyed *any* of her content (I despise MLP).
I know it's pretty silly to get agitated about something as trivial as cartoons, but the charm in much of this content is the dual meanings of a child enjoying it for one reason and an adult enjoying it for an entirely different reason. It seems like these shows eventually stop doing this and end up only appeasing the young audience - I can't blame them, as these are what the cartoons are intended for. But I've seen plenty of cartoon shows that seem to do fairly well with keeping the content high until the end. Samurai Jack, Doug, Courage the Cowardly Dog (my personal favorite), Hey Arnold. Fuck, even Hey Arnold's animation went way up by the end, but the show was just awesome until they fucked it up with that movie.
Anyway, any insight would be appreciated, especially from animators or people that have worked in this industry. Thanks.
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/32hc18/eli5_why_do_cartoon_series_seem_to_go_down_in/ | {
"a_id": [
"cqb74y1",
"cqb77lf",
"cqba52j"
],
"score": [
7,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"My guess is as time goes on, they're perfecting the graphics, but also running out of ideas for the show. ",
"The quality of these cartoon goes down the older these cartoon gets, because the creators run out of fresh ideas to put into the series and all the great ideas have been created already. But the show has been succesful, so it has to continue to run more profits, and because more profit comes in, there will be more budget for the animation quality to improve.\n\nSo these two variables are tied to the age of the cartoon, not necessarily to each other.",
"It may be as you get older, you start noticing flaws and criticize the program harder. Nostalgia is a powerful thing and sometimes nothing can match experiences from the past"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
72u80w | microwaved liquid seems to lose heat faster than conventionally heated liquid. why? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/72u80w/eli5_microwaved_liquid_seems_to_lose_heat_faster/ | {
"a_id": [
"dnla95q"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Well, you'd have to experiment to see if it's a real effect. It may just be something that you've imagined, or related to the circumstances when you tend to microwave vs. when you tend to use a kettle.\n\nIt's also not necessarily true that the temperature is the same - you may be boiling water in a kettle, but it may only be a little above body temperature in your microwave. The drinks may be the same temperature when you start to drink them, but that's fresh-from-the-microwave versus having sat out for a few minutes while it cools.\n\nYou may use different vessels in the two scenarios, since not everything is microwave-safe. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
eo9kqk | why do fingernails fly off when cut, but don't if you soak them first? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eo9kqk/eli5_why_do_fingernails_fly_off_when_cut_but_dont/ | {
"a_id": [
"fec1hfn",
"feajpzv"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Think of it like spaghetti. A dry spaghetti brakes drastically, a cooked or whet one does not",
"When they are wet, they are soft, and the blade doesn't need to have a much force, and potential energy, behind it.\n\nWhen they are dry, you need to use much more force and potential energy. When the nail is finally cut, all the energy has to go somewhere."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
1yunj4 | if i slept every other night, what consequences would it have on my body/brain? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1yunj4/eli5_if_i_slept_every_other_night_what/ | {
"a_id": [
"cfnx6cd",
"cfnxgd8"
],
"score": [
3,
7
],
"text": [
"I'm very interested in the answer to this. Years ago I went to a prom wit some chick. We went to an after party at her place and they all got drunk and passed out. I took this as my que to head home. Well her mom was up and we got to talking. I swear she told me she sleeps every other night. I told her it though that was unhealthy and she said she has been that way for years. Anyway I thanked her for letting us have a good time and headed home. I often wonder about that conversation. Lol",
"I work 24 hour shifts. The first symptom is cognitive decline. I literally get stupid. I also become more distractable and irritable. Not thinking clearly leads one to be more accident-prone. Sleep deprivation stresses your heart and greatly increases your chances of a heart attack. It messes with your metabolism, causing weight gain. It also triggers depression. Sleep deprivation is, all in all, pretty horrible for you mentally and physically. There are some studies out there that describe what it does to you."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
2iyzn1 | how do archaeologists know who a certain skeleton in a tomb is? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2iyzn1/eli5how_do_archaeologists_know_who_a_certain/ | {
"a_id": [
"cl6rmgz"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"You know how we place tombstones on graves with inscriptions on them? They did that back in ancient times as well. Only the inscriptions were on and inside the tombs. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
2xg67v | how do prop needles work in movies and tv shows? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2xg67v/eli5_how_do_prop_needles_work_in_movies_and_tv/ | {
"a_id": [
"cozubq5"
],
"score": [
7
],
"text": [
"Did you ever do that thing with a mechanical pencil where you crank the lead out super far then hold the button down as you press it against your skin to perform this illusion?\n\nIt's a collapsible needle. Really simple.\n\n_URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htxmJFg-dik"
]
] |
||
vigyb | how to understand how much info can be contained with a terabyte of space. | Analogies, explanations, anything. I need to understand! Please and thank you
EDIT: Sorry for not stating this earlier. I'm a photographer so, I guess I'm mainly worried about pictures. **BUT** every post has been very helpful so far. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vigyb/eli5_how_to_understand_how_much_info_can_be/ | {
"a_id": [
"c54st7y",
"c54urxm",
"c54uzwk"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"1 [Bit](_URL_1_) is the representation of a 1 or 0.\n\n1 [Byte](_URL_2_) is 8 bits, initially used to encode a single character of text. Example: The letter A. ( Each symbol, including the space in that example is represented by 1 byte, or 8 bits. )\n\n1 [Kilobyte](_URL_3_) is 1024 bytes (2^10), or 1000 bytes (10^3) depending on the context. Roughly a thousand symbols in type.\n\n[Terabyte](_URL_0_)\n\nEtc... This may help:\n\nkilobyte (kB)\t10^3 1,000 bytes,\nmegabyte (MB)\t10^6 1,000,000 bytes,\ngigabyte (GB)\t10^9 1,000,000,000 bytes,\nterabyte (TB)\t10^12 1,000,000,000,000 bytes,\npetabyte (PB)\t10^15,\nexabyte (EB)\t10^18,\nzettabyte (ZB)\t10^21,\nyottabyte (YB)\t10^24\n\nA typical audio cd is 700MB ( Megabytes )\nA typical dvd is 7GB ( Gigabytes )\n\n",
"If a \"typical\" page of printed text contains ~2 KB of data, then to print 1TB of text one would require 500,000,000 sheets, or a stack of paper ~31.6 miles tall.",
"It depends on what you want to store in this space. There's stuff that takes very little space (like letters and words) and stuff that takes a much bigger amount (like HD quality video for example).\n\n----------\n\nLet's start with the small stuff: letters. Basically a letter can be coded in a single byte (=8 bits). Since a terabyte is a thousand billion bytes, you can store a thousand billion letters. Such a big number is hard to imagine, so let's see what that means in book form.\n\n[This](_URL_0_) is the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Ignoring pictures, graphs and everything, it contains about 200 million letters.\n\nWikipedia is a much bigger encyclopaedia. If Wikipedia (english version) was printed in volumes equivalent to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, it would look like [this](_URL_1_). Each stack contains 200 books. Compare with the 33 volumes in the previous picture, who only take a row and a half. Still, Wikipedia only has 14 billion characters (again, ignoring images and other multimedia content). That's 70 times less than we need.\n\nNow imagine a library with [this many stacks](_URL_2_), and imagine there are 4 rooms like that, or 4 floors. That's how many letters you can store in a Terabyte.\n\n----------\n\nNow let's take something that takes much more space than letters. An image is composed of pixels which can have any color (there are much more possible colors than there are possible letters in a text) and there are millions of pixels in an image, and there are several images in each second of a video, so it adds up fast. A video file will require much more space than plain text.\n\nAs an example, let's take a HD video stored on a blu-ray disc. Given an estimated bit rate of about 3MB/s and an average duration of 2 hours per movie, a terabyte could store about 40 blu-ray movies in HD quality.\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terabyte",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilobyte"
],
[],
[
"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h5jGZ3X2tiM/T2suMFYO6QI/AAAAAAAABCU/mMAX4VmIlQw/s1600/EB+all.jpg",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Size_in_volumes",
"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nPnjabwn6r4/TwbhgZzKDRI/AAAAAAAAAK0/Pp-PKuQd654/s1600/cornell+law+school+library%252C+ithaca+ny.jpg"
]
] |
|
2ahuk0 | what is a free market economy? are there other types too? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ahuk0/eli5what_is_a_free_market_economy_are_there_other/ | {
"a_id": [
"civgtfx",
"ciw8ptj"
],
"score": [
21,
5
],
"text": [
"It's worth mentioning that free markets =/= capitalism. A market is a method of distribution based on trade of commodities, while capitalism is an economic system characterized by a market *and private ownership over the means of production*. What this means is that other forms of (free) markets are possible. Market socialism, for example, is advocated by some (including some anarchists), and is characterized by the lack of private ownership and therefore the lack of wage labor.",
"Free market is a lie. There is no such thing.\n\nIn any market, there are only three possible types of transactions.\n\n1. Two things of equal value can be traded.\n2. Two things of unequal value can be traded.\n3. A third party not involved in the trade takes on part of the cost.\n\nFree market ideologues pretend only 1 is possible when in fact I challenge anyone to provide an example in our current economic system that is completely free of types 2 and 3.\n\nAn example for type 2 is and employer trading a wage to an employee for what the employee actually produces for the company. In our current system a wage must be less than the output of the employee or there is no incentive to hire the employee.\n\nThis is a form of exploitation and it is misleading for anyone to call a system that allows such a transaction to be free.\n\nAn example for type 2 is fracking for natural gas. This is where pressurized water is used to fracture rock to extract natural gas. This destroys local ground water. There are cases where people can light their tap water on fire. When natural gas that is extracted this way a large part of the cost is born by the people that have to deal with contaminated drinking water.\n\nThis is another form of exploitation since a third party not involved in buying or selling natural gas must bear a large pert of the cost. This type of transaction also encourages poor choices because costs are hidden to the people buying and selling the item.\n\nIf there was a real attempt to have a free market one would have to make sure only type 1 transactions could occur (which means some type of intervention).\n\nSo, one can either have oppressive markets that are free of outside influences or one can have free markets that are managed in a way that makes sure only type 1 transactions are allowed."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
2esa39 | what would the world be like today if the united states had never succeeded from england? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2esa39/eli5what_would_the_world_be_like_today_if_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"ck2ga4q"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"While what you ask is thought provoking, it might be better suited to one of the following subreddits.\n\n * /r/AskReddit \n * /r/AskHistorians \n * /r/askpolitics\n\nELI5 is for the simple explanation of concepts, rather than direct answers to questions, and not for speculation. Which unfortunately, is exactly what this is asking for, a direct speculative answer."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
je0wh | explain why the earth spins to an actual 5 year old. | We were sitting at dinner when my 5 year old asked me why the Earth spins. I've been out of school for so long I didn't have a good answer for her, so I said I'd ask someone who knows better than I do. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/je0wh/explain_why_the_earth_spins_to_an_actual_5_year/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2bc5uq",
"c2begb5",
"c2bc5uq",
"c2begb5"
],
"score": [
10,
2,
10,
2
],
"text": [
"Naturally this answer glosses over some of the physics + cosmology involved, but here's what I think is a good LI5 answer.\n\nTake a basketball. Put it on the floor and start spinning it. Notice how it eventually stops? Now imagine that you're in space, where there is no floor to stop the basketball. What will happen? It will just keep on spinning forever.\n\nWhen the Earth was created, it was spinning because it shot out of a star really fast and probably hit something on the way. Take your basketball and roll it by someone's foot. You'll notice that as it bounces off, it starts to spin. Same idea with Earth. Only difference is, like I said before, the Earth kept spinning because there was nothing to stop it.",
"Imagine you want to play on the merry-go-round at the park, but there's nobody to push you. So you get a running start and then jump on and it starts spinning. If your friend does the same thing, it'll spin faster with both of you now on it. If, over time, all your friends do the same thing, you'll be going at a pretty nice speed AND the merry-go-round will be full. This is essentially how the Earth was created, except instead of people, they were rocks and the merry-go-round is in space so there's nothing to stop it from spinning over time.\n\nAnd when the really big kid gets sick and falls off, they're the moon (at least until they hit the ground).\n\n",
"Naturally this answer glosses over some of the physics + cosmology involved, but here's what I think is a good LI5 answer.\n\nTake a basketball. Put it on the floor and start spinning it. Notice how it eventually stops? Now imagine that you're in space, where there is no floor to stop the basketball. What will happen? It will just keep on spinning forever.\n\nWhen the Earth was created, it was spinning because it shot out of a star really fast and probably hit something on the way. Take your basketball and roll it by someone's foot. You'll notice that as it bounces off, it starts to spin. Same idea with Earth. Only difference is, like I said before, the Earth kept spinning because there was nothing to stop it.",
"Imagine you want to play on the merry-go-round at the park, but there's nobody to push you. So you get a running start and then jump on and it starts spinning. If your friend does the same thing, it'll spin faster with both of you now on it. If, over time, all your friends do the same thing, you'll be going at a pretty nice speed AND the merry-go-round will be full. This is essentially how the Earth was created, except instead of people, they were rocks and the merry-go-round is in space so there's nothing to stop it from spinning over time.\n\nAnd when the really big kid gets sick and falls off, they're the moon (at least until they hit the ground).\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
7g9r0j | my olive oil is sinking below water. why? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7g9r0j/eli5_my_olive_oil_is_sinking_below_water_why/ | {
"a_id": [
"dqhjtrt"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"You were making ramen, so I am guessing your water was hot, making it less dense, that blob of oil may have just hit the water without force to break the surface tension, and sink with the help of gravity, and started to rise as the water cooled a bit and the initial impact had worn off."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
24hp3j | what will happen on the international space station if the situation with russia and the usa/nato escalates? | Does any country have exclusive rights to be there? Or are there already rules Joe stipulations in place for if anything like this happens? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/24hp3j/eli5_what_will_happen_on_the_international_space/ | {
"a_id": [
"ch783m8",
"ch7fe05",
"ch7fjtp",
"ch7pk2d"
],
"score": [
64,
9,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"The ISS is governed by a set of written agreements between the parties that operate it - the US, Russia, Japan, and the EU. Those agreements cover dispute resolution between the parties and also describe how the ISS could be disassembled if necessary.\n\nThe worst theoretical case is that the Russians cut the ties between their section of the ISS, close the hatches, and detach their modules from the rest of the structure and fly them away. They plan to do this if/when the ISS is decommissioned anyway. The Russian segments have the thrusters the ISS uses to adjust it's orbit and they have their own solar power systems. That would leave the rest of the structure without the ability to move out of the way of orbital debris or to be flown higher to overcome atmospheric drag. NASA, the EU and Japan would have to scramble to fly some hardware to the ISS to address those concerns quickly.\n\nRight now the only human-rated vehicle that can reach the ISS is Russian (the Soyuz). However SpaceX says that by the end of May they'll be ready to talk about crewed Dragon flights and I'm sure they've had a plan ready to fly crewed Dragons from the ISS back to earth since the start in an emergency basis. So we could almost certainly get everyone off the ISS without the Russians' help, and there's a good chance we could get new crew to the ISS if we were willing to accept a high risk to the mission.\n\nThe ISS is mostly \"run\" from NASA's side. 80% of the station is NASA, EU or JAX hardware. The tech that handles most of what the ISS has to do to operate is managed by Americans. NASA could operate the ISS without Russia but the reverse is not true.",
"The Ruskies and Muricans blaze it up at laugh at us because they're in fucking space and don't care. ",
"They're all smart enough to see through the political fuckery and potential war. . . And if I'm wrong we may see the worlds first zero g stabbing spree. ",
"A Matrix like knife fight."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5xr383 | compared to other western european countries, why does the german language sound so different? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5xr383/eli5_compared_to_other_western_european_countries/ | {
"a_id": [
"dek8a2m"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Southern Europe are mostly Latin based languages, while northern are Germanic or Slavic based. It's not that far away from Austrian, Swiss."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
zwq2k | what happens physically to people when they are heart broken? | I recently broke up with my girlfriend of 3 years and I feel like crap. I never feel like eating, feeling a little bit depressed, and I've had a knot in my stomach ever since. What physically is going on? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zwq2k/eli5_what_happens_physically_to_people_when_they/ | {
"a_id": [
"c68e87d"
],
"score": [
11
],
"text": [
"Your brain is telling parts of your body to secrete various hormones in response to the mental stress you're in. For the most part, this is your body's misguided attempt to prolong your life because you're experiencing mental trama."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
87shy3 | when comedians have their own tv shows, why do they need writers? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/87shy3/eli5_when_comedians_have_their_own_tv_shows_why/ | {
"a_id": [
"dwf6fcn"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"If its a weekly show, even if its only half an hour, there's an amazing amount of work that needs to happen each and every week. The writing for each episode can only happen in 1-2 days - since the writing will dictate if there's any special props, sets, wardrobe, extras etc. that are required, special music, licensing/rights if there's to be a clip shown or played. Those things just don't show up overnight. So the script has to be in close to final form days before the show is recorded. \n\nThat, and to come up with truly top notch stuff, consistently week after week? Thats hard. Podcasts are a little different. You're not expecting them to bring their A-game for an hour twice weekly... if they want to drone on about how the barista at Starbucks spelled their name wrong and you're willing to listen that's fine. But that's not the kind of content that can fill a weekly show that is broadcast on a major network or streaming platform and keep the audience coming back week after week or nightly. \n\ne.g. Seth Meyers is a funny guy and I'm loving his weeknight show. But to consistently come up with a funny (and topical!) 5-10 minute monologue plus another 10-15 minutes for \"A Closer Look\".... *every night*... That's too much for any person. \n\nTry it yourself. Go and write a 10 minute presentation. Keep track of all the time you spend polishing it and practicing it. I bet it will take several hours. Now try for an hour long presentation... it will be days/weeks of effort. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
20gosk | why do physics objects clip in games? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/20gosk/eli5_why_do_physics_objects_clip_in_games/ | {
"a_id": [
"cg35lxr"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It's because the sprites (2d) and models (3d) that you see are the visual aspect of an object, while there is a background aspect of an object's size according to the computer. It's very painstaking and resource-consuming to create an exact replica of an object, so we use boxes or polygons to describe a more basic shape to the computer for it to work with. Sometimes we need more basic structures in order to keep processing at a minimum threshold.\n\nUsing these hidden boxes and polygons, we can get the computer to respond on collisions such as stopping at a wall. The more basic the computer's shape is, the less control you have over clipping into a wall or another object. There is the option to have an object have padding between itself and the wall as well. If you've ever tried to make a basic game before, you should have encountered this problem.\n\nIt ultimately depends on how much work is put into it. However it is necessary in some games such as MMOs because of you can't get past someone's character that's blocking a doorway then you could just be blocked out or harassed in that way (not to mention it's pointless processing).\n\nThere's also clipping of a model's appearance (like a sword clipping through your avatar's armor) which has a similar idea but is implemented differently."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
ekrix3 | why are all rockets cylindric-shaped ? would it be possible to have hexagon-shaped (or other) ones ? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ekrix3/eli5_why_are_all_rockets_cylindricshaped_would_it/ | {
"a_id": [
"fdd9nss",
"fdd9qzl",
"fddcvow"
],
"score": [
20,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"Propellant in rockets is kept under pressure and cylindrical shape redistributes pressure evenly. It might be possible to make a rocket with edges but it will require substantial reinforcement of those edges leading to heavier rocket, which is never a good thing. For the same reason planes, submarines and gas tanks all have cylindrical shape.",
"Circles have the least surface area for their enclosed space. The result is that cylinders are good at containing pressure and have very good aerodynamic drag characteristics. Rocket fuel is under high pressure, and rockets want to minimize drag. Thus, cylindrical rockets.\n\nIt's also easier to make a cylinder than a hexagon.",
"Rockets are mostly rocket-fuel.\n\nReally the tyranny of the rocket equation dictates that your average rocket is mostly just a mechanism used to accelerate rocket fuel up into orbit with anything else like an actual payload with satellites or astronauts being only a tiny portion of the whole.\n\nif you want to store your rocket fuel spherical tanks tend to be the best way to do so. You get the most volume of contents for the least material and it is structurally stable under pressure.\n\nHexagonal tanks would require more material for the same amount of contents and have weak points at the edges.\n\nIf you were launching a rocket from a place without atmosphere like the moon, this would be the end of your considerations. You could just put a bunch of spherical tanks on a platform and call it a day.\n\nOn earth you have air though and it gets in the way of trying to go really fast. This is why in addition to being round rockets also tend to look somewhat aerodynamic.\n\nBasically rockets are the shape they are because that is the most efficient shape to accelerate as as much rocket fuel as possible from a place like earth."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
er16pv | the difference between a thought and talking to yourself? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/er16pv/eli5_the_difference_between_a_thought_and_talking/ | {
"a_id": [
"ff02wyt"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"I suppose the internal conversation to \"create\" the thought isn't really creating the thought. Rationalizing it maybe. I think we need to first figure out where your \"thoughts\" come from. Are you in control of your thoughts or do they just pop up.? Thoughts pop into my head all day. It's a matter of what I do with them. Disregard, act on them, or ponder if it a good idea to act or not on that thought. That is the \"conversation\" you describe in my head at least."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
6igq0h | what is antifa and what are their beliefs | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6igq0h/eli5_what_is_antifa_and_what_are_their_beliefs/ | {
"a_id": [
"dj63htf"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Antifa stands for anti-facism. They fought against fascist groups such as Mussolini, Hitler, the KKK. Later they supported communism and were supported by Jews, anarchists, and migrants. Nowadays, they fight neo-Nazis, the Alt-Right, and other racist and authoritarian groups. They support left wing ideologies and are relatively aggressive about it. They are more likely to punch a neo-Nazi in the face than try to reason with them. So they are basically left wing anarchists/extremists."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
4mivdc | if most cells in your body are recycled and replaced approximately every 7-10 years, why is there permanent damage from things like smoking? | I know that some cells are never replaced, but from what I am aware of, the time frame I stated is generally accurate. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4mivdc/eli5_if_most_cells_in_your_body_are_recycled_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"d3vtnjt",
"d3vtt8u",
"d3vu7zk",
"d3vuays",
"d3w1y7c",
"d3w27zw",
"d3w339z",
"d3w6kpw"
],
"score": [
30,
409,
16,
3,
2,
10,
4,
4
],
"text": [
"From what I understand carcinogens in cigarettes alter DNA. So, while damaged cells may be replaced, your DNA might screw up the reproduction of cells eg. cancer.",
"1) The replacements are not airdropped in by the Cell Fairy, any cell you have is produced by another cell dividing. And division working as it does, DNA damage is inherited by the child cell if the progenitor is damaged itself.\n\n2) There's more than just cells in your body. For instance, the reason skin sags with age is due to damage to the extracellular proteins of the dermis that normally support the actual cells, or things like arteries clogging. A lot of these cannot be helped by replacing cells, but may be damaged by external factors.",
"Where do you think the new cells come from? They come from old cells. So if you damage the code of the cell, every time they replicate the new cell will be damaged as well",
"Yeah same with eye floater I have had for 9 years, they have faded but are still there in small quantity",
"This SciShow video explains the answer to this question completely. :)\n\n_URL_0_",
"This is the best way i can think to explain it.\n\nImagine that your dna is a cake recipe, this recipe has been passed down through your family for generations. You now have a child and it is time to give them a copy of this recipe, however when you go to copy the recipe, there are smudges and stains from each time you used it. You think you got the recipe right, but when your child goes to use the recipe, the cake turns out terrible.\n\nHere, the smudges and stauns are dufferent enviromental factors, pollution, carcinogens, raduation and what have you. Each one makes it harder to for the recipe to be copied. This is what cancer is, the inability for dna to properly make identical cells.",
"I see people here quoting that 7 years bit all the time, but it's not wholly accurate. It isn't as if every cell in the body is constantly regenerating at the same time and pace. The cells of your stomach lining don't last long at all. Your red blood cells last about 4 months. Some cells last a matter of days, some a number of years...but the key is in the DNA, which remains the same and is passed from cell to cell as they divide. So, DNA mutations pass along as the new cells grow. There are also some cells that never leave us. For example, neurons are with is from birth to death, so when we lost those cells, they are not replaced with new ones. \n\nIt's much more complicated, of course, but that's the basics of it. ",
"To add to the great answers already given it breaks down to 3 reasons.\n\nFirst and most importantly, your new cells grow from old ones. Damage to your DNA (the main cause of cancer) is passed on to future generations. \n\nSecondly, tissues can store toxins even if the cells themselves are replaced.\n\nFinally the idea that all of your cells are replace over 7-10 years is a myth. Different tissues in your body are replaced at different rates ranging from a few days to basicly your whole life. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCiuMomjVx0"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
39zcna | how did microsoft finally manage to achieve backwards compatibility for xbox one after saying for so long that it was very difficult/almost impossible? | I'd appreciate some help trying to understand what changed, or how it was achieved. I was reading [this exchange b/w u/SighReally12345 and u/TGMais](_URL_0_) and I was definitely way out of my comfort zone. Drop a little easy-to-understand knowledge on me? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/39zcna/eli5_how_did_microsoft_finally_manage_to_achieve/ | {
"a_id": [
"cs7ufow"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"The problem with running Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One is that the Xbox One's processor uses a different architecture than the Xbox 360. The Xbox One physically cannot run the instructions in an Xbox 360 game. \n\nIn order to get around this, you need to translate the instructions from one architecture to the other. The \"normal\" way to do this is through an emulator- a program that runs on one machine, reads in a program designed for another architecture and translates the instructions in real time. The problem is that this is incredibly inefficient- just like the whole \"Inuit have 20 words for snow\" thing, instructions from one architecture do not directly translate well into another. \n\nWhat Microsoft appears to be doing is translating things ahead of time, and then going back through the translation and fixing things. This requires some work for each game that they want to work on the new system, and it's not quite the same thing as backwards compatibility. This is why it will only work on certain games and not all of them. You'll also likely have to download and install the program for each game you want to run (thankfully, most of the data in a game is the audio and the models, which won't need to be translated, so the download will be a lot smaller than the original game)"
]
} | [] | [
"https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/39xjxb/backwards_compatibility_announced_for_xbox_one/cs7fszh"
] | [
[]
] |
|
je0i0 | li5: what are the evolutionary benefits to having homosexuals? (aside from dealing with overpopulation) (pax, not trying to be snarky) | Edit: Thanks for replying all. I've never before upvoted every single response in a thread. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/je0i0/li5_what_are_the_evolutionary_benefits_to_having/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2bbqrw",
"c2bbrvq",
"c2bc1j3",
"c2bc3s0",
"c2behbk",
"c2bbqrw",
"c2bbrvq",
"c2bc1j3",
"c2bc3s0",
"c2behbk"
],
"score": [
16,
3,
8,
8,
2,
16,
3,
8,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"One hypothesis goes like this, but there are others:\n\nSay gene *n* is the \"homosexual gene\" in men. In reality, most complicated genetic information isn't determined by one gene but by many. Ignore that for the moment, it's not relevant for this example.\n\nAssume gene *n* in men makes them homosexual. This means their amount of offspring approaches zero. I say *approaches* because gay men have kids, often as a result of sexual experimentation or repressing their homosexual tendencies earlier in their life.\n\nSo, for men, gene *n* is bad news for having offspring, which in evolution is kind of a dead end.\n\nInterestingly, though, gene *n* has the effect of making *women* more fertile, and/or more sexually attractive, and/or more likely to want to have more children.\n\nSo rather than a dead end, gene *n* will be particularly good at expressing itself if male *n* and female *n* in a gene pool with *n* tends toward female - through a combination of female *n* having more children than female *non-n* and female *n* being more common than male *n*.\n\nOf a few hypothesis I have heard, this one is probably the easiest to follow. I assume by the wording of your question that I'm neither talking over your head or insulting your intelligence - if you'd like it simplified a bit, however, I'd be happy to oblige.",
"A lot of [animals](_URL_0_) have sex with other animals of the same sex. Scientists aren't sure why yet, but they say it happens most with almost all kinds of animals. Scientist have mostly studied homosexual animal sex in \"social animals\", like monkeys.\n\nMost animals that have homosexual sex don't only have homosexual sex. They have sex with animals of the other sex, too. For example, boy monkeys that have sex with boy monkeys will also have sex with girl monkeys, and girl monkeys that have sex with girl monkeys will also have sex with boy monkeys. In other words, scientists say most animals are bisexual not homosexual. A few kinds of animals, like black swans & tame (domesticated) sheep, seem to have some animals that are only homosexual.\n\nThe reasons that animals have homosexual sex isn't well understood. Scientists think homosexual sex in animals may be used:\n\n* to feel closer to one another (show affection)\n\n* for fun (entertainment)\n\n* to say hello \n\n* to show one is better (more dominant) than another\n\n* to apologize\n\n* as a way to release sexual tension when an animal of the other sex isn't available\n\n* because the animal is only attracted to other animals of the same sex",
"Another explanation I've heard is similar to the explanation for why human women live past their reproductive age; it's evolutionarily useful to have grandparents around because they help raise the grandchildren even though they use resources. Same deal with homosexuals; having a few people who aren't reproducing around helps take some of the excess load off of a population.",
"There's several theories but little or no research to back them up. Here's one that hasn't been mentioned, it's called The Gay Uncle.\n\nLets say you have two brothers, Sam and Bob. They live in a family group with their parents and some of the their extended family--cousins, grandparents, whatever. Sam is gay, Bob is not. Sam and Bob are genetically more similar to each other than anyone else in their community (except their parents). When Bob settles down and has kids his wife will care for them while Bob does manly things away from home. Sam has no children so he helps Bob's wife. This might give those kids a better chance of surviving long enough to have their own children and passing on genes similar to Sam's. ",
" > evolutionary benefits to having homosexuals?\n\nNot every trait has a direct correlation to an *evolutionary benefit* and it remains questionable whether homosexuality actually has a direct *evolutionary benefit*.\n\nI would argue that sexuality is strongly influenced by genetics, and that heterosexuality is more prevalent because of the inherent ability to naturally reproduce and pass on complimentary *heterosexual genes* to offspring.\n\n\n",
"One hypothesis goes like this, but there are others:\n\nSay gene *n* is the \"homosexual gene\" in men. In reality, most complicated genetic information isn't determined by one gene but by many. Ignore that for the moment, it's not relevant for this example.\n\nAssume gene *n* in men makes them homosexual. This means their amount of offspring approaches zero. I say *approaches* because gay men have kids, often as a result of sexual experimentation or repressing their homosexual tendencies earlier in their life.\n\nSo, for men, gene *n* is bad news for having offspring, which in evolution is kind of a dead end.\n\nInterestingly, though, gene *n* has the effect of making *women* more fertile, and/or more sexually attractive, and/or more likely to want to have more children.\n\nSo rather than a dead end, gene *n* will be particularly good at expressing itself if male *n* and female *n* in a gene pool with *n* tends toward female - through a combination of female *n* having more children than female *non-n* and female *n* being more common than male *n*.\n\nOf a few hypothesis I have heard, this one is probably the easiest to follow. I assume by the wording of your question that I'm neither talking over your head or insulting your intelligence - if you'd like it simplified a bit, however, I'd be happy to oblige.",
"A lot of [animals](_URL_0_) have sex with other animals of the same sex. Scientists aren't sure why yet, but they say it happens most with almost all kinds of animals. Scientist have mostly studied homosexual animal sex in \"social animals\", like monkeys.\n\nMost animals that have homosexual sex don't only have homosexual sex. They have sex with animals of the other sex, too. For example, boy monkeys that have sex with boy monkeys will also have sex with girl monkeys, and girl monkeys that have sex with girl monkeys will also have sex with boy monkeys. In other words, scientists say most animals are bisexual not homosexual. A few kinds of animals, like black swans & tame (domesticated) sheep, seem to have some animals that are only homosexual.\n\nThe reasons that animals have homosexual sex isn't well understood. Scientists think homosexual sex in animals may be used:\n\n* to feel closer to one another (show affection)\n\n* for fun (entertainment)\n\n* to say hello \n\n* to show one is better (more dominant) than another\n\n* to apologize\n\n* as a way to release sexual tension when an animal of the other sex isn't available\n\n* because the animal is only attracted to other animals of the same sex",
"Another explanation I've heard is similar to the explanation for why human women live past their reproductive age; it's evolutionarily useful to have grandparents around because they help raise the grandchildren even though they use resources. Same deal with homosexuals; having a few people who aren't reproducing around helps take some of the excess load off of a population.",
"There's several theories but little or no research to back them up. Here's one that hasn't been mentioned, it's called The Gay Uncle.\n\nLets say you have two brothers, Sam and Bob. They live in a family group with their parents and some of the their extended family--cousins, grandparents, whatever. Sam is gay, Bob is not. Sam and Bob are genetically more similar to each other than anyone else in their community (except their parents). When Bob settles down and has kids his wife will care for them while Bob does manly things away from home. Sam has no children so he helps Bob's wife. This might give those kids a better chance of surviving long enough to have their own children and passing on genes similar to Sam's. ",
" > evolutionary benefits to having homosexuals?\n\nNot every trait has a direct correlation to an *evolutionary benefit* and it remains questionable whether homosexuality actually has a direct *evolutionary benefit*.\n\nI would argue that sexuality is strongly influenced by genetics, and that heterosexuality is more prevalent because of the inherent ability to naturally reproduce and pass on complimentary *heterosexual genes* to offspring.\n\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavior_in_animals"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavior_in_animals"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
kvbz3 | why people in third world countries starve when people used to be able to live off the land? | I am not trying to judge them in any way, just something I think about sometimes. We hear all the time about people in Africa etc. dying of thirst and hunger. People have lived there for a long time, and somehow survived off the land. What changed? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/kvbz3/eli5_why_people_in_third_world_countries_starve/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2nih0x",
"c2niiri",
"c2niphk",
"c2njowa",
"c2njp9b",
"c2njw59",
"c2nk7b6",
"c2nkb6p",
"c2nlibt",
"c2nm4pp",
"c2nmbeg",
"c2nnfsr",
"c2no0xj",
"c2ns0bc",
"c2nih0x",
"c2niiri",
"c2niphk",
"c2njowa",
"c2njp9b",
"c2njw59",
"c2nk7b6",
"c2nkb6p",
"c2nlibt",
"c2nm4pp",
"c2nmbeg",
"c2nnfsr",
"c2no0xj",
"c2ns0bc"
],
"score": [
7,
37,
63,
20,
16,
7,
3,
8,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
3,
7,
37,
63,
20,
16,
7,
3,
8,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"First world nations heavily subsidized their farmers. If for examples your growing corn in the United States you may be earning more money from the United States government giving you tax money then from the consumer buying your crops (Depending on the season and area.) \n\nThis causes a problem because in a third world country even if all of your labor is very inexpensive or even free the cost of producing food when you add in the cost of fertilizer, seeds, equipment purchased and repaired may be equal or less then just purchasing food from a Western country. This problem is made worst because people will often donate food to your country and it's difficult to sell your food when there is free food available.\n\nThe result of this is that people stop farming and will often move to urban locations or take up different jobs then farming. \n\nSometimes the price of food increase in western countries for reason such as increased fuel prices, or market fluctuations. Because third world countries are buying all their food from western countries this hurt them alot more then in Western Countries where the people have more money and more competition to keep prices down.\n\nYou'd think that this would then cause people to go back to farming but there is another problem. Farming is both physically difficult and actually requires alot of planing and training. Things like crop rotation, knowing how and when to plow a field and what pesticides prevent which pests require knowledge and experience. Many of these communities don't even have internet access to look up the information on Wikipedia. As such even now when it would make sense to grow your own food and make money, people may not know how to actually do it, or may not have the resources to start farming.",
"Living off the land has always sucked. Famine has always been a part of any primitive agricultural society. Nothing has changed.\n\nOf course, Africa's other problem is war, which always makes everything worse.\n\n[Edit] So other people in this thread have given good answers too. You should read those also.",
"Partial explanation: Because they (who are starving) don't own any fertile land, or enough land or enough tools.\n\nThe original industrialism in England happened when people were forced off of their land by wealthy and powerful large-scale estate-owners. The people who were forced away became \"cheap labour\" who could be employed in the cities. Similar things are happening today. People are moving from their self-sufficient lives to work in sweatshops in big cities. Some people see this as a proof of how hard living off the land is. But others, including me, would say that it is because they are effectively forced. Governments make deals with big industries like mining, industrial agriculture etc. and let them buy land for cheap, land that people live on. If the land isn't sold away, they might be forced away by pollution or similar. Or, they are lured away by promises of wealth. Or, they have been specialized and dependent on others in their economy, so they don't have the skills to live off the land completely, and they can not compete with the low prices of large scale producers, so whatever they sold doesn't make them any money anymore.\n\nThere is a lot of bribing and corruption going on, but there is also the idea that this behaviour is good for \"the economy\" of the country. Forcing people from their land not only makes room for large scale production on the country side, it \"liberates\" people into being cheap labourers in factories, causing overall production to increase. These governments are imitating what happened in England, because they believe that it is \"how industrialisation happens\" and is the way you must do it.\n\nIn Africa, lots of old colonialism plays a big role too. The British, Belgians and others simply took the land, and when decolonisation happened, the land didn't end up back with \"the people\" but is controlled by wealthy landowners, warlords or corrupt governments.\n\n**TL;DR Just because there is land to be farmed doesn't mean that those who own/control the land are ready to give it up just to be nice to starving people.**",
"OP, the use of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd worlds is out dated. The terms are now developed and developing countries. The 3 worlds theory was used to separate communists, the west, and other countries not involved in the cold war. Since the USSR no longer exists, the theory has no real value today.\n\n\nAs for your questions, I'll try my best to keep it ELI5.\n\nThe people who you see starving represent a small, small part of the developing world. Those people are starving because their governments are allowing them to. Their governments can't invest in sectors that would help the nation grow. In this case, it's agriculture. Agriculture is always the first step a country takes to becoming wealthy. It goes agriculture > trade > manufacturing. \n\n\nSo you see, the people dying aren't dying because they can't farm. They're dying because they live in an area that *can't* grow food and their government won't help them find jobs in areas that *can* so they can feed themselves. \n\n",
"Just to clear something up about the term \"third world country\".\n\nPeople so often think it means a country that is extremely poor with lots of famine and disease, something like that. It actually just refers to a country that was not allied with the US *or* with Russian during the Cold War. That's it. \n\nTrue, *many* \"third world\" countries are dirt poor, but many aren't. *All* of South America is third world, as is Saudi Arabia, India, and many others.",
"This isn't really ELI5, but people have always been dying from hunger and famine, it's just a rather recent trend for us to care about it.\n\nThere's a saying that poor people in these places are up to their necks in water and all it takes is a small ripple to submerge them \"the ripple that drowns,\" as it is known. These are the people who try to live off the land, and barely scrape by year after year, then one year the crops fail and they have no food or money to feed themselves.",
"Just to add on to what everyone else has already expertly explained, recent trends in extreme climate patterns probably aren't helping either.",
"Too many people, not enough fertile land. ",
"In Somalia, for example, unstable government does not allow farmers to stay in one place for a growing season. In addition the lack of safety inhibits people from investing in agriculture. Adding in a drought, the situation gets even worse.",
"I always picture trying to explain the wide gaps humans have in technology levels to aliens. \n\n* Alien: \"Okay so these humans on this part of the planet live in climate controlled homes and drive SUV's, over here on this patch of land we have humans who live in huts and have trouble surviving their first year of life...\"\n\n* Me: \"Uh well you see... it's uh... yeah... wanna play some Call of Duty?!\" ",
"People have always starved when there are famines or droughts, escaping this is a relatively modern phenomena. We have more people on this earth than ever before, but the same amount of earth. Can you live off of the land? Society moves forward with specialization, but as a cost we are at the mercy of the capricious economy. This is especially true for poor developing countries.",
"play this game! 3rd world IS outdated. we say \"developing world\" or maybe \"global south\" nowadays. these are the day to day dilemmas you might face if you're lucky enough to have land to begin with. try to imagine the \"macro\" problems that manifest in the \"micro\" ones in the game...\n_URL_0_",
"Because there are a hell of a lot more people in those regions today than there were when people lived a hunter-gathere lifestyle. Also, don't kid yourself, being a hunter gatherer wasn't all fresh mango and topless ethnic looking chicks, hunter-gatherers died of starvation all the time.",
"Sometimes it's because the constant air-drops and free food put the farmers and workers out of business and falls into a rut because no one has to work.",
"First world nations heavily subsidized their farmers. If for examples your growing corn in the United States you may be earning more money from the United States government giving you tax money then from the consumer buying your crops (Depending on the season and area.) \n\nThis causes a problem because in a third world country even if all of your labor is very inexpensive or even free the cost of producing food when you add in the cost of fertilizer, seeds, equipment purchased and repaired may be equal or less then just purchasing food from a Western country. This problem is made worst because people will often donate food to your country and it's difficult to sell your food when there is free food available.\n\nThe result of this is that people stop farming and will often move to urban locations or take up different jobs then farming. \n\nSometimes the price of food increase in western countries for reason such as increased fuel prices, or market fluctuations. Because third world countries are buying all their food from western countries this hurt them alot more then in Western Countries where the people have more money and more competition to keep prices down.\n\nYou'd think that this would then cause people to go back to farming but there is another problem. Farming is both physically difficult and actually requires alot of planing and training. Things like crop rotation, knowing how and when to plow a field and what pesticides prevent which pests require knowledge and experience. Many of these communities don't even have internet access to look up the information on Wikipedia. As such even now when it would make sense to grow your own food and make money, people may not know how to actually do it, or may not have the resources to start farming.",
"Living off the land has always sucked. Famine has always been a part of any primitive agricultural society. Nothing has changed.\n\nOf course, Africa's other problem is war, which always makes everything worse.\n\n[Edit] So other people in this thread have given good answers too. You should read those also.",
"Partial explanation: Because they (who are starving) don't own any fertile land, or enough land or enough tools.\n\nThe original industrialism in England happened when people were forced off of their land by wealthy and powerful large-scale estate-owners. The people who were forced away became \"cheap labour\" who could be employed in the cities. Similar things are happening today. People are moving from their self-sufficient lives to work in sweatshops in big cities. Some people see this as a proof of how hard living off the land is. But others, including me, would say that it is because they are effectively forced. Governments make deals with big industries like mining, industrial agriculture etc. and let them buy land for cheap, land that people live on. If the land isn't sold away, they might be forced away by pollution or similar. Or, they are lured away by promises of wealth. Or, they have been specialized and dependent on others in their economy, so they don't have the skills to live off the land completely, and they can not compete with the low prices of large scale producers, so whatever they sold doesn't make them any money anymore.\n\nThere is a lot of bribing and corruption going on, but there is also the idea that this behaviour is good for \"the economy\" of the country. Forcing people from their land not only makes room for large scale production on the country side, it \"liberates\" people into being cheap labourers in factories, causing overall production to increase. These governments are imitating what happened in England, because they believe that it is \"how industrialisation happens\" and is the way you must do it.\n\nIn Africa, lots of old colonialism plays a big role too. The British, Belgians and others simply took the land, and when decolonisation happened, the land didn't end up back with \"the people\" but is controlled by wealthy landowners, warlords or corrupt governments.\n\n**TL;DR Just because there is land to be farmed doesn't mean that those who own/control the land are ready to give it up just to be nice to starving people.**",
"OP, the use of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd worlds is out dated. The terms are now developed and developing countries. The 3 worlds theory was used to separate communists, the west, and other countries not involved in the cold war. Since the USSR no longer exists, the theory has no real value today.\n\n\nAs for your questions, I'll try my best to keep it ELI5.\n\nThe people who you see starving represent a small, small part of the developing world. Those people are starving because their governments are allowing them to. Their governments can't invest in sectors that would help the nation grow. In this case, it's agriculture. Agriculture is always the first step a country takes to becoming wealthy. It goes agriculture > trade > manufacturing. \n\n\nSo you see, the people dying aren't dying because they can't farm. They're dying because they live in an area that *can't* grow food and their government won't help them find jobs in areas that *can* so they can feed themselves. \n\n",
"Just to clear something up about the term \"third world country\".\n\nPeople so often think it means a country that is extremely poor with lots of famine and disease, something like that. It actually just refers to a country that was not allied with the US *or* with Russian during the Cold War. That's it. \n\nTrue, *many* \"third world\" countries are dirt poor, but many aren't. *All* of South America is third world, as is Saudi Arabia, India, and many others.",
"This isn't really ELI5, but people have always been dying from hunger and famine, it's just a rather recent trend for us to care about it.\n\nThere's a saying that poor people in these places are up to their necks in water and all it takes is a small ripple to submerge them \"the ripple that drowns,\" as it is known. These are the people who try to live off the land, and barely scrape by year after year, then one year the crops fail and they have no food or money to feed themselves.",
"Just to add on to what everyone else has already expertly explained, recent trends in extreme climate patterns probably aren't helping either.",
"Too many people, not enough fertile land. ",
"In Somalia, for example, unstable government does not allow farmers to stay in one place for a growing season. In addition the lack of safety inhibits people from investing in agriculture. Adding in a drought, the situation gets even worse.",
"I always picture trying to explain the wide gaps humans have in technology levels to aliens. \n\n* Alien: \"Okay so these humans on this part of the planet live in climate controlled homes and drive SUV's, over here on this patch of land we have humans who live in huts and have trouble surviving their first year of life...\"\n\n* Me: \"Uh well you see... it's uh... yeah... wanna play some Call of Duty?!\" ",
"People have always starved when there are famines or droughts, escaping this is a relatively modern phenomena. We have more people on this earth than ever before, but the same amount of earth. Can you live off of the land? Society moves forward with specialization, but as a cost we are at the mercy of the capricious economy. This is especially true for poor developing countries.",
"play this game! 3rd world IS outdated. we say \"developing world\" or maybe \"global south\" nowadays. these are the day to day dilemmas you might face if you're lucky enough to have land to begin with. try to imagine the \"macro\" problems that manifest in the \"micro\" ones in the game...\n_URL_0_",
"Because there are a hell of a lot more people in those regions today than there were when people lived a hunter-gathere lifestyle. Also, don't kid yourself, being a hunter gatherer wasn't all fresh mango and topless ethnic looking chicks, hunter-gatherers died of starvation all the time.",
"Sometimes it's because the constant air-drops and free food put the farmers and workers out of business and falls into a rut because no one has to work."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/"
],
[],
[]
] |
|
1rrlw7 | why do we have salt and lemon with tequila? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rrlw7/eli5_why_do_we_have_salt_and_lemon_with_tequila/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdq5gag",
"cdq5n7z"
],
"score": [
8,
7
],
"text": [
"The salt-tequila-lime (or lemon) ritual is functional. Salt affects taste buds in your mouth and reduces the bitter taste. The citrus (lemon/lime) is acidic and helps refresh your palate so you don't have any after taste.",
"Because usually you served with low grade tequila. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
41e86l | why do so many diets focus on calorie intake, but ignore saturated fat intake? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41e86l/eli5_why_do_so_many_diets_focus_on_calorie_intake/ | {
"a_id": [
"cz1m6sl",
"cz1mk7z",
"cz1mwew"
],
"score": [
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I can't remember a good enough explanation from the top of my head, so here you have a copy paste from one of the first results from Google:\n\n > For decades we’ve been warned that eating saturated fat, the type found in meat, cheese, and other dairy foods, can lead to heart disease. Instead, we've been told to choose healthy fatsfrom nuts, seeds, fish, and vegetable oils.\n\n > New research questions that belief. A recent review of 72 studies found no link between saturated fat and heart disease. The review also showed that monounsaturated fats like those in olive oil, nuts, and avocados don't protect against heart disease.\n\nTl;Dr: there's no need to focus on saturated fats.",
"Diets are focused on weight loss, and weight loss always boils down to calories in, calories out.\n\nSaturated fat is high in calories, so if you reduce calories, fats will go with them.",
"Because most diets' aim is to lose weight (which -simplified- comes down to the amount of calories you eat and use). For that it doesn't matter how saturated the fats are. \nHowever, most guidelines for a healthy diet (whose aim is to keep the incidence for wealth related diseases as low as possible) do suggest a Mediterranean diet (low saturated fat, many vegetables and fruits). "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
tbjor | what's the difference between multi-grain and whole grain foods? | See above. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/tbjor/whats_the_difference_between_multigrain_and_whole/ | {
"a_id": [
"c4l79ul",
"c4l870e"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Typically Whole Grain foods have one, or occasionally, two types of grains used in the production of the product. Multi-grain foods have more than that. Many bread products will actually list the grain count, such as \"7 grain\" or \"12 grain.\" \n\nUnless you were asking about the difference between Whole Grain and Whole *Wheat*, in which case the difference is between a product made mostly with grains and the other with wheat.",
"Multi-grain means that several sorts of grain are used. The opposite is something that would only use one kind of grain.\n\nWhole grain means that it uses the grain with its \"skin\" (the bran). The opposite is refined grain, which removes the \"skin\", like for the flour that's used to make white bread.\n\nSo a product can be both whole grain and multi-grain if it uses several sorts of grain, and that the \"skin\" of the grain isn't removed."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
3atv6b | weather charts | So I'm watching the evening news on the television (get with the times, I know) and I realise that no matter how well the weather person tries to sell me their pressure systems, lows and highs and cold fronts I have no idea what any of it really means...
So what are the basics of reading and understanding the weather charts (I think they might be called synoptic charts?) that are presented to the general public on the news and in newspapers? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3atv6b/eli5_weather_charts/ | {
"a_id": [
"csfwllx",
"csfztj6"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"The main feature of a chart is \"isobars\". These are often drawn as thin, black roughly-circular shapes. Their significance is that if you pick one of those lines, every point on that line has the same pressure.\n\nWhy is this important? Well, air pressure is one of the biggest drivers of weather patterns. Low pressure is generally associated with bad weather; high pressure with good weather.\n\nThe closer together the isobars are, the more change you'll experience in air pressure as you travel over the area. This steep \"gradient\" of air pressures likely means stronger winds. Isobars close together=strong winds, isobars far apart=calm weather.\n\nOften, these two points tie in together. In an area of low pressure, you often see isobars packed very tightly together forming neat little circles inside circles inside circles. High pressure areas often have very few isobars.\n\nThe next thing you'll see is fronts. Fronts are where two different air systems meet each other. They nearly always indicate bad weather. Cold fronts (where cold air is moving into an area and displacing warmer air) normally result in the type of puffy clouds that can cause sharp showers and even thunderstorms. They are shown on charts as a (typically blue) line, with little triangles along the line. Warm fronts (where warm air displaces colder air) result in low, flat clouds that can cause drizzle or steady, persistent rain. They are (typically) red lines, with little semi-circles drawn along them. Sometimes you get two fronts following closely behind each other, in which case they can merge into one \"occluded\" front, which can contain a mix of the type of weather you get in cold fronts and that which you get in warm fronts. They are (typically) purple lines, with alternating triangles and semi-circles drawn along them.\n\nThat's the basics, but let me know if there's anything else specific you want to know.",
"* High pressure? Follow the lines around it clockwise.\nLow pressure? Follow the lines around it anti-clockwise.(Reverse these for the southern hemisphere).\n\nThat will give you the direction the air is moving (I.E. wind).\n\n* Then consider the temperature of that air. Is it coming from a hot place, or a cold place (relatively)?\n\nIf you have hot air moving towards cold, you get a \"Warm Front\", I.E. flat, grey cloud layer, consistent drizzle, dull day.\n\nIf you have cold air moving towards hot, you get a \"Cold Front\", I.E. tall and distinct puffier clouds, sunshine in between, individual columns of rain showers.\n\n* Next is to consider that the wind direction also blows areas of pressure around.\n\nAreas of low pressure can be moved around a high, or vice versa. Prevailing winds also affect the movement of pressure systems.\n\n* Get to know your local micro-climate to combine with your understanding of pressure.\n\nFor example, in the UK typically a SW wind is warm and wet, a NW is cold and wet, a NE wind is cold and slightly wet, a SE wind is cold and dry. Terrain like mountains and coastlines also have significant effects on how the weather will play out for you.\n\n___\nThat's all there is to it. If you know which way the wind is blowing, where the pressure system is and how that will move, and the peculiarities of your own area, you can make a pretty good guess as to how the weather is going to change for you over the next few days.\n\n"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
4hir7k | how do the flashing lights, alarms and gates at train crossings know when to start and stop when trains pass by? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4hir7k/eli5_how_do_the_flashing_lights_alarms_and_gates/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2pvrga",
"d2q3cvu"
],
"score": [
19,
2
],
"text": [
"They run a small electric current down the rails. When the train is coming the axles of the train cause act like a short between the rails which causes the behavior of that current to change. The crossing guards can detect this change. Because the nature of the change is a function of how far away the train is from the crossing a smart crossing can figure out how far away the train is, and how fast it's moving, and use that to figure out when it needs to close & open the gate.",
"Many crossings are automated with track curcuity that can detect an approaching train shunting the tracks, and the speed it is approaching at. But these are expensive so install and maintain and are unreliable in flood prone areas. Some are controlled using the signaling system, when the dispatcher requests a signal for a train a crossing activates and when the control point is unoccupied it then retracts the gates. Also some low volume/speed crossings use a push button activate (this is rare). Basic flashing lights are controlled by an \"island circuit\" once it is activated it starts the flashers until it is deactivated. Of course if the train clears and the gates stay down that could indicate a broken rail interrupting the circuit or a crossing card malfunction."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
b16has | how a drug induced seizure works | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b16has/eli5_how_a_drug_induced_seizure_works/ | {
"a_id": [
"eijnq8u"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"In this particular case, it is likely an increase in serotonin in the brain. In addition to having action at the opioid receptors, tramadol affects norepinephrine and serotonin concentrations in the brain. Too much serotonin can lead to seizures and serotonin syndrome (seizures can actually be a symptom of serotonin syndrome). Any chance that you're taking other medications, like an antidepressant or antipsychotic? "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
3zar56 | why is the us election cycle so long? | Seriously, it feels like I've been hearing about preparations for the next election for over a year. In Australia the PM announces an election, usually around the time they have to do it by but sometimes earlier when it benefits them, then we have a month or so of ads and campaigning and so on and the we cast our votes and it's done. Why does it take so long in America? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3zar56/eli5_why_is_the_us_election_cycle_so_long/ | {
"a_id": [
"cykjhtz",
"cykjz01",
"cyl2qie"
],
"score": [
11,
7,
4
],
"text": [
"U.S. presidential elections take place every four years; they aren't announced and they can't be \"called for.\" Since everyone knows when the election is coming, they have a long time to prepare.\n\nThat said, this year's election is unusual in how early it \"started\", which is mostly testament to the paucity of good candidates.",
"It's due to the political parties. The actual elections are just on one day in November. \n\nHowever, in the case of presidential elections, the way the major political parties choose their candidate, they go state by state, 1 or 2 at a time.\n\nAlso, a few years ago, there was a US Supreme Court ruling in the case called Citizens United Vs. Federal Election Commission. It said that limiting the amount of money a person can donate to a political campaign would be limiting free speech. So money = speech now, politically. Politicians now start VERY early in the 4-year cycle to build up money (generally, if you have more money, you will win your election, or at least there is a correlation with money to your performance in the election). \n\nYou know how celebrities cultivate a fan base through social media so that their projects will do better? Like how comedians can play to a house full of their fans, rather than trying to win over new fans at the show? That's what US politicians do. If you have people willing to give you money (that you can use ANY way you want to, even for personal use, as long as it isn't for something that is illegal), even if you lose the election, you now have all this money!\n\nStephen Colbert (he had a long running show called the Colbert Report where he pretended to be a right wing propagandist) actually went to the Federal Election Commission and started a \"SuperPAC\" to show everyone how ridiculous the unlimited money thing is.\n\n[Check this youtube video](_URL_0_)\n\nI went into the weeds a bit. But basically, \n\n* Long primary election season\n\n* candidates want to start earlier and earlier each year to raise more money.",
"First you need to understand why are primaries work how they do. If the system was simple, every state would vote on the same day. However, little states would be ignored by candidates. So we spread them out.\nThe states that go first gain an advantage (more ppl campaigning = more money amono other things). So states sometimes try to push their primaries earlier. Of course the states who are already planned early, still want their spot as the first. So these states push theirs earlier too. I think it was the 2012 election where I think New Hampshire threatened to hold theirs in Dec 2011 if anyone tried to move before them. \n\nTLDR: States want the power/money from having early primaries so they keep moving the dates earlier."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/YuyYBE0mD-s"
],
[]
] |
|
2e6ljy | how do mobile/cellphone carriers charge for data, in terms of actual data packets sent and received? | Searched for this but couldn't find an exact match to what I am going to ask.
I want to know, specifically how mobile/cellphone carriers charge their data when it comes to actual data sent/received.
I'm talking about layer 3 networking - namely TCP.
When you request a page in your browser, you attempt to open a TCP connection to the remote server. Usually this will result in the three way handshake (Syn, SynAck, Ack) then subsequent ACK packets containing the data, usually followed by a FIN.
Cell networks, like Wifi are unreliable in computer network terms. So what happens if you're moving and get signal loss? TCP by its nature will try to retransmit or if all else fails reset the connection. Do we get charged for each TCP reset/retransmit? - If so, if we have fairly bad coverage, we could be getting charged huge amounts for essentially useless data. (useless in terms of what we see on our screen)
Can anybody who works in telecoms, with an understanding of TCP/IP explain this to me? My knowledge doesn't cover the 'telecomsy' side of this.
Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2e6ljy/eli5_how_do_mobilecellphone_carriers_charge_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjwk3as"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Finally an ELI5 question on my field of expertise!\n\nin 2G and 3G networks, the data goes through [GPRS core network](_URL_0_). This network takes care of allocating IP addresses, converting GPRS packets to (usually) IP packets, access control, QoS and a dozen other things, including (data usage) charging and billing. Data between your cell phone and GGSN isn't in IP containers but in GPRS containers (4G is different here).\n\nSGSN is the element that calculates the amount of data sent and received by each subscriber. You could think it as an IP router (although technically SGSN is still more on \"GPRS realm\" than in \"IP realm\") that calculates traffic per IP address, or a switch that calculates traffic per port.\n\nEvery once a while (depending on network configuration) and at the end of each session, information on the amount of data transferred during that session is sent to the invoicing system in what is called a CDR or EDR (Call Detail Record or Event Detail Record), if you are a postpaid subscriber. If you're a prepaid subscriber, the SGSN and IN platform coordinate when to terminate your session (running out of credit).\n\nIn LTE and other 4G networks, this works a bit differently, but the basic principle is the same.\n\nTL;DR: if the TCP packet doesn't go all the way to the network (getting lost between base station and your mobile phone), you're not charged for it.\n\nSource: worked 18 years in telecoms, last 10 years as a consultant."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPRS_core_network"
]
] |
|
a0wdti | is wearing sunglasses in professional poker illegal/against the rules? if so, why do players in televised poker sometimes wear them? [sports] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a0wdti/eli5_is_wearing_sunglasses_in_professional_poker/ | {
"a_id": [
"eakv5an",
"eakvc0r",
"eal78qq",
"ealk19j"
],
"score": [
12,
18,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"No it's not against the rules. As you say, people wear them and they aren't told to take them off.",
"The sunglasses are part of the poker face. They're allowed because high-level poker is far less a game of luck than it looks to be. The game is all about putting on a character who sees what you want your opponent to think you see like a shroud. That character can be anything, and the sunglasses are part of it. Everyone in the game knows that the people they are interacting with at the table are completely fake, an obfuscation of the person within. Or, rather, the people they are interacting with are entirely real, but only within that game. People who are good at this kind of self-alienation, capable of not just wearing a mask, but wearing an entirely different person, are the true Poker masters. Sunglasses aren't a crutch, they're a prop.",
"First off, despite how movies and tv like to depict it, most reading is not about looking for some facial tic or obvious tell. It is about using your knowledge about that player and their betting style to inform decisions. \n\nFor instance, let's say your opponent raises pre-flop, you call with 10-10, and the flop is 8, 10, Q. Your opponent raises. \n\nLet's say you know for a fact that your opponent is a tight aggressive player who will only raise pre-flop with a strong hand. You can rule out a J-9 and assume they probably are holding A-Q and are looking to push you off the straight draw. Even if they have something like A-J you're definitely ahead on the flop; you're only screwed if they have Q-Q. You're probably good to call on the flop and raise on the turn. \n\nWhereas if they have been playing loose aggressive and have been raising with J-X all night, you need to be a lot more cautious with this hand. Depending on your read you might have to give them credit for the straight or at least a straight draw, and be very wary how much you sink into the hand before you fold. You might want to consider raising on the flop instead and see if your opponent commits to the hand or folds out. \n\nOf course, seasoned players will periodically switch between looser and more aggressive styles of play to make this harder to read. \n\nWhen it comes to reading faces, sunglasses, hoods, etc. are meant to create a blank, expressionless, less human robot vibe. This works well for those players who want to create a badass, stoic, blank slate image. On the other hand, you have players who are constantly talking, making facial expressions, and otherwise trying to distract you to throw you off your game; they generally *don't* wear sunglasses, as they want you to look at them as much as possible. ",
"I've heard people wear them on TV because the lights tend to be pretty bright. Go to an actual casino and you will see almost no one wearing sunglasses, and the people who are wearing them are not good at poker."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
2m4e6x | why does stainless steel cutlery sometimes get surface rust? | As above. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2m4e6x/eli5_why_does_stainless_steel_cutlery_sometimes/ | {
"a_id": [
"cm0txoi"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Stainless steel corrodes less easily than carbon steel, but it's not rustproof. If you store it wet, don't clean it, etc., it will eventually rust. Some alloys are more resistant than others."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
3m5eb9 | how do the nazca lines not just vanish? what is keeping them as well preserved as they are? | Thanks. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3m5eb9/eli5_how_do_the_nazca_lines_not_just_vanish_what/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvc53ar",
"cvc55sn"
],
"score": [
5,
3
],
"text": [
"They are made by moving all the rocks off the desert to create empty spaces where the lines are, a bit like how pictures are made in an etch'a'sketch by scraping the stuff off the inside of the screen. Unlike an etch'a'sketch though, you can't pick the desert up and give it a good shake to reset it, so the lines just stay there.",
"It is one of the driest if not the driest deserts in the world. There quite simply is not enough water there to wash them way. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
3nrk6r | how would the us federal and state governments coordinate the response to a large scale emp event | What actions would they take? What are the primary systems they'd work to get back on line? How would they do it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3nrk6r/eli5_how_would_the_us_federal_and_state/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvqqur8"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"I think it would begin with FEMA, DHS, etc.. If you've heard of the book *One Second After* by William R Forstchen, it's about an EMP(sequel recently came out).\n\nSecond EMP question today!"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
22xgsv | porn addiction | As a male who looks at porn probably once a day, I don't understand the line between someone who looks at a lot of porn and a porn addict. What impact does it have on a person that makes it deserving of the word "addict"? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/22xgsv/eli5_porn_addiction/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgrc2j5",
"cgrcanj",
"cgrd34g",
"cgre9cl",
"cgre9la"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"I am no doctor, fyi. But I believe addiction is when you feel you can't go without it and when it negatively impacts the relationships in your life. For example, you have to go look at porn even if you know you have other obligations. This was how other addictions were explained to me. ",
"See _URL_0_ . It's a dubious concept. What that article doesn't say is that I think there are political motives behind it. For example, someone facing prosecution over materials censored in some jurisdiction might use it as a way to diminish responsibility, or those arguing to impose censorship might claim the phenomenon as a reason. I bet that if we conclusively put an end to all censorship, the idea would never be mentioned again.",
"Funny enough I just watched this yesterday. _URL_0_. It does a fantastic job of explaining it. ",
"The porn itself is not addictive: the variety is. \n\nYour lizard brain gets really happy because it's got so much choice. So what happens is not just \"Wohoo, tits!\" It becomes, \"Wohoo! Tits! What next!?\" \n\nYou can observe a similar thing with cattle - put a bull in a pen with a cow and it will fuck the cow several times a day for a week or so. Then it will slow down. Introduce more cows, the bull will go right back to several times a day. I forget the scientific name for this. \n\nTl;Dr: You are a cave man and you're basically given instant access to infinite types of fire and that's fascinating to you, so much so that no singular flame can hold your attention for long. ",
"Looking at it once a day doesn't make you an addict in fact im pretty sure there are plenty that do far worse. What would make you an addict is if you didn't have the ability to stop and it leads to self destructive behavior. \n\nLike if you just couldn't resist he urge to watch porn at work and got fired as a result it starts looking more like an addiction. Imo if you have control and can stop and moderate your usage when you want then you not addicted. You can still do something a lot simply because its something you enjoy to do."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porn_addiction"
],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSF82AwSDiU"
],
[],
[]
] |
|
55v9lc | why are some foods more addictive than others? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/55v9lc/eli5_why_are_some_foods_more_addictive_than_others/ | {
"a_id": [
"d8dymad"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"For the _vast_ majority of human history, you didn't have ready access to food. You literally didn't know when or from where your next meal would be. As a result, when you had food, you needed to fill up on the things that would sustain you while you were trying to find your next meal. Fats, carbs, sugars, etc. are all high energy foods that keep you going. We evolved to find those foods delicious to encourage us to eat more of them when they were available.\n\nIt has only been in the last 100 years or so where food has been so plentiful that we don't need to gorge ourselves when food is available. Unfortunately, those instincts are still in us."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
jtpb3 | how do text messages (sms) work? | Please explain like I'm 5 | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jtpb3/eli5_how_do_text_messages_sms_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2f1qhg",
"c2f1qhg"
],
"score": [
8,
8
],
"text": [
"First, your phone converts the message into bits by using the [GSM 7-bit alphabet.](_URL_1_) Think of this like a secret code, except it's not secret.\n\nThe bits are then converted to radio waves, which are send from your phone's built-in GSM radio (the same radio used for phone calls) to the nearest cell phone tower. (Your phone is always checking in with the nearest towers to check the time and get messages, so it knows which tower to send it to.)\n\nThe tower knows how to tell SMS apart from a call, and sends it over a wire to a computer called a [Short message service center](_URL_0_). The SMSC checks who the recipient is and then checks if they are in service range. If they are, then the message is sent to the tower nearest the recipient and then sent over radio to their phone. The phone then turns the messages back from bits into english characters by using the same code, but in reverse.\n\nIf the recipient is out of service rage, the SMSC waits until they return to service range and then sends the message.\n\nThe reason you can only have 160 characters in an text is because it was originally squeezed into extra unused space in the already-existing cell phone radio protocols. In languages like Arabic and Japanese, they need to use more bits per character because they have more characters in their language, so you can only send around 70 characters.",
"First, your phone converts the message into bits by using the [GSM 7-bit alphabet.](_URL_1_) Think of this like a secret code, except it's not secret.\n\nThe bits are then converted to radio waves, which are send from your phone's built-in GSM radio (the same radio used for phone calls) to the nearest cell phone tower. (Your phone is always checking in with the nearest towers to check the time and get messages, so it knows which tower to send it to.)\n\nThe tower knows how to tell SMS apart from a call, and sends it over a wire to a computer called a [Short message service center](_URL_0_). The SMSC checks who the recipient is and then checks if they are in service range. If they are, then the message is sent to the tower nearest the recipient and then sent over radio to their phone. The phone then turns the messages back from bits into english characters by using the same code, but in reverse.\n\nIf the recipient is out of service rage, the SMSC waits until they return to service range and then sends the message.\n\nThe reason you can only have 160 characters in an text is because it was originally squeezed into extra unused space in the already-existing cell phone radio protocols. In languages like Arabic and Japanese, they need to use more bits per character because they have more characters in their language, so you can only send around 70 characters."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service_center",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_03.38"
],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service_center",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_03.38"
]
] |
|
47pso4 | if only one cylinder in any given size motor fires at once, why do motors with more cylinders have more power? | Like, why would an 8-cylinder motor have more power than a 6-cylinder with the same sized cylinders? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/47pso4/eli5_if_only_one_cylinder_in_any_given_size_motor/ | {
"a_id": [
"d0epzak",
"d0eq5v4",
"d0eqqna",
"d0f0d9w"
],
"score": [
5,
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"The easiest answer is this: If you have only one piston firing, the engine axis gets force only once per revolution. If you have 8 pistons, it gets force 8 times per revolution and so on ... the more cylinders, the closer together the force can be transferred to the axis, thus making it stronger and more powerful.",
"The power in an engine is measured in horsepower. This began when horses were used to do work, moving things at a speed such as pulling weight up a slope.\n\nMost engines operate at about the same rpm. They idle fast enough to keep running.\n\nAt a working speed of several thousand rpm the six cylinder engine will fire 6 times 2000 times per minute. That is 12,000 times in a minute. An 8 cylinder engine will fire 8 times 2000 or 16000 time a minute. If the cylinders are the same size the 8 cylinder is producing more power.",
"Generally speaking, an engine's power is based on the displacement and how fast it can operate. The number of cylinders affects the smoothness of power delivery. The highest power to weight ratio for reciprocating piston engines is attained with just one cylinder, as adding cylinders adds weight in the block and crankshaft; but that big one cylinder engine shakes and vibrates horribly, as you can't balance out the vibrational forces of the piston and connecting rod. More cylinders helps even out the vibration and power delivery.\n\nThree cylinder economy engines rattle and shake, the firing pulses having a decent gap; four cylinder engines have very small firing pulse gaps, but still don't have good second order balance and a practical displacement limit of 2.4 liters before you need to add a balance shaft; six cylinder engines actually have firing pulse overlap and can be very balanced in an inline configuration; V8 engines have a firing pulse every 45 degrees of rotation; V12 engines are perfectly balanced and have lots of firing pulse overlap, which makes them very smooth. The more firing pulse overlap an engine has, the lighter the flywheel can be relative to the power output, which allows Ferrari V12 engines to be very rev happy. More complex engines cost more to engineer and build, though.",
"Because they don't. There is one power stroke for every 4 strokes in a typical \"4 stroke\" engine (the stokes are up, down, up again and down again). The strokes are controlled by a spinning \"cam shaft\" and makes the different valves open and close at the right time; the cam shaft spins once for every two strokes (up and then down).\n\nThe more pistons you have, the more force you get out on each revolution. I had an old one-cylinder motorcycle; it got one \"pop\" of power for every two rotations. A three-cylinder engine will get three pops for every two rotations, and so on.\n\nEarly engine, by the way, ran way slower than modern ones; they included big flywheels to even out the force. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
3h2fhv | differences in drinking attitudes amongst christian denominations | I was baptized Lutheran, raised Catholic, and am now atheist, so I consider myself well-versed in Christian theology, history, and culture. ...I also enjoy booze.
Thus, I'm curious as to why Catholics and Catholic culture is more tolerant of alcohol consumption than many Protestant denominations. Mormonism, obviously, forbids alcohol altogether, and most devout Baptists and non-denominational Christians I've met are teetotalers as well. However, I've never met a Catholic- practicing or otherwise- who abstained from alcohol on principle. I spent ten years in Catholic school and it was clear that no major anti-alcohol sentiments exist in modern Catholicism.
There's some noteworthy history here, too. Everyone knows the reputation of the Irish when it comes to alcohol, and Protestant churches were at the forefront of the prohibition movement in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
I was just wondering if anyone knows why this disparity exists. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3h2fhv/eli5_differences_in_drinking_attitudes_amongst/ | {
"a_id": [
"cu3nqnj",
"cu3o4oq"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"I think, in some cases, it's just a matter of who was in charge at a pivotal time. Like, John Wesley just didn't like alcohol, and so the Methodist church is technically abstinent (many Methodists do drink in their own time, but wine is not generally used for communion) Had Charles Wesley had his way, it might have been different... and this part is not going to be explained well, but: part of it has to do with how the different denominations think \"Evil\" exists. Like, the abstinent churches believe that the evil is in the wine, while the moderation churches believe that the evil is not what goes in but what comes out (in words or actions). So the abstinent churches think that if you don't put evil in you, you're pure, whereas moderation churches believe that it's not evil until you start doing bad things and you generally start doing bad things when you've had too much. So drinking is okay, but getting wasted and into bar fights is not...perhaps part of why Catholics generally aren't teetotalers for moral reasons is because they *have* to drink wine in order to accept the Eucharist. It's canonical law that it be fermented wine for the transubstantiation (though recently in some cases, some congregations offer grape juice for addicts or people with health issues, but not all do that yet...) ",
"I've noticed this too and always thought it was strange... I mean Jesus turned water into booze and it was deemed a miracle . "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
1n2v1l | what's the point of the braille on signs if blind people wouldn't know there was a sign in the first place? | For example: A blind person is walking down a hallway and there is a restroom door with a sign accompanied by braille. How would a blind person know that there was even a bathroom door with a sign to read? They would never know where to put their hand to read the braille unless assisted by another person and in that case that person could just tell the blind person what the sign says and where the bathroom is. So why even have braille on these signs? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1n2v1l/eli5_whats_the_point_of_the_braille_on_signs_if/ | {
"a_id": [
"ccewmye",
"ccezle4"
],
"score": [
10,
3
],
"text": [
"Some people are considered \"legally\" blind. While they can't make out numbers or letters, they can find the sign. They still have some vision. \n\nThe term \"blind\" does not just mean someone who can't see anything at all.\n\nThat's just one reason certain signs have braille. ",
"In the US, the American's With Disability Act standardizes the placement and features of all kinds of signage. How high the sign is from the ground, which standard of braille to use, size of the sign, color, etc. It is standardized so that disabled people have an idea where to feel/look for the info anywhere in the public sphere. Mostly it is used for bathroom signs, fire escapes, handicap accessibility, and other essential information people need to live."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
aqaktg | if every object attracts every other object it's then impossible to be perfectly standing still even in space ? | I might be wrong but that's what I learned in school. I'm attracting the ground as much as the ground is attracting me. The forces applied being similar, I'm standing still compared to the ground.
Let's say I'm in space with no speed or anything and an object goes near me, not like 1 cm more like 1km. It should attract me, even by the tiniest amount. Same goes with a distant planet or something. Even from far away it will drag me, even if that's very slow, doesn't it ? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aqaktg/eli5_if_every_object_attracts_every_other_object/ | {
"a_id": [
"egekhv3"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Yes, things are attracted to each other by a tiny amount even over a nearly infinite distance. However you should also understand that all movement is relative and so being \"still\" is simply a point of view, not an objective state. You can be stationary relative to a field of reference but there is no universal reference."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
jcl9y | what is a credit rating and why is it bad to be aa+? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jcl9y/eli5_what_is_a_credit_rating_and_why_is_it_bad_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2azyjd",
"c2b1nvb",
"c2b4f1t",
"c2azyjd",
"c2b1nvb",
"c2b4f1t"
],
"score": [
52,
5,
2,
52,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"Like you're five: Okay, so you're at a family reunion, and the ice cream man comes. You just got your allowance, so your cousins start asking you if they can have a dollar for ice cream, and promising to give it back later. You don't know them very well, so you go ask your mom what you should do. \"Mom, if I give a dollar to Adam, will he give it back?\" \"Adam is a good kid, and if you give Adam a dollar you will definitely get it back.\" \"Mom, if I give a dollar to Brian, will I get it back?\" \"Hmm, Brian's a good kid, but ... well, I'm sure you'll get your dollar back.\" You're not sure why your mom said \"But\", but you're pretty sure that Adam will give you your Dollar back. If you've only got one dollar, you're probably going to give it to Adam, not Brian.\n\nA credit rating is something that companies do for people, companies, and countries that is like what your Mom did for your cousins - you don't know if you trust them, so you ask somebody you do trust. Going from AAA to AA+ is like having that \"But\" in there...it makes people worry that they might not get back money they loan us.",
"Sometimes you have to pay for stuff you need, but that stuff that costs more than the money you have (like a house, or a car, or a war, which cost a lot). When you want to do this, you go to a bank, and the bank gives you a loan. Eventually you have to pay the bank back for the money you loaned, and you have to pay them a little extra money called 'interest', to say thank you to the bank for giving you the money. \n\nThere are different kinds of loans for different kinds of people. The bank thinks rich people can definitely pay back the loan, and they can do it pretty fast, because rich people are good at making money. The bank thinks less-rich people might not be able to pay back their loans very fast (if at all), because less-rich people aren't as good at making money. The bank makes rich people pay less 'interest' money to say thank you for paying back their loan fast. The bank makes less-rich people pay more 'interest' money for taking a long time to pay their loan back.\n\nThe rich people get a loan called AAA+. The less-rich people get a loan called AA+. There are other loans which are worse than AA+ for people that are kind of poor. People that are really poor don't usually get loans. Pretty much all banks give out AAA+ loans. Some banks give out AA+ loans, but some don't. If you want to get a lot of money, and don't want to pay a lot of interest, you need to get an AAA+ loan. \n\nIf you've been getting AAA+ loans for a while, you get used to only having to pay a small amount of interest. So when you go from AAA+ to AA+, you pay more money in interest than you're used to. This means you have less money for other things, like that new computer you wanted, or the trip to the dentist that you so desperately need. \n\nTo solve the problem and get back your AAA+ score, either you have to work harder to pay back your more expensive loans, or you also have to suffer a little because you don't get some of the things you need or want. Maybe you'll do some of both. But you have to do one or the other, because if you don't, things will just get worse and worse.",
"Are the reasons arbitrary? Does some board review subjective facts and out of their experience tack on a grade, or is it formulaic? ",
"Like you're five: Okay, so you're at a family reunion, and the ice cream man comes. You just got your allowance, so your cousins start asking you if they can have a dollar for ice cream, and promising to give it back later. You don't know them very well, so you go ask your mom what you should do. \"Mom, if I give a dollar to Adam, will he give it back?\" \"Adam is a good kid, and if you give Adam a dollar you will definitely get it back.\" \"Mom, if I give a dollar to Brian, will I get it back?\" \"Hmm, Brian's a good kid, but ... well, I'm sure you'll get your dollar back.\" You're not sure why your mom said \"But\", but you're pretty sure that Adam will give you your Dollar back. If you've only got one dollar, you're probably going to give it to Adam, not Brian.\n\nA credit rating is something that companies do for people, companies, and countries that is like what your Mom did for your cousins - you don't know if you trust them, so you ask somebody you do trust. Going from AAA to AA+ is like having that \"But\" in there...it makes people worry that they might not get back money they loan us.",
"Sometimes you have to pay for stuff you need, but that stuff that costs more than the money you have (like a house, or a car, or a war, which cost a lot). When you want to do this, you go to a bank, and the bank gives you a loan. Eventually you have to pay the bank back for the money you loaned, and you have to pay them a little extra money called 'interest', to say thank you to the bank for giving you the money. \n\nThere are different kinds of loans for different kinds of people. The bank thinks rich people can definitely pay back the loan, and they can do it pretty fast, because rich people are good at making money. The bank thinks less-rich people might not be able to pay back their loans very fast (if at all), because less-rich people aren't as good at making money. The bank makes rich people pay less 'interest' money to say thank you for paying back their loan fast. The bank makes less-rich people pay more 'interest' money for taking a long time to pay their loan back.\n\nThe rich people get a loan called AAA+. The less-rich people get a loan called AA+. There are other loans which are worse than AA+ for people that are kind of poor. People that are really poor don't usually get loans. Pretty much all banks give out AAA+ loans. Some banks give out AA+ loans, but some don't. If you want to get a lot of money, and don't want to pay a lot of interest, you need to get an AAA+ loan. \n\nIf you've been getting AAA+ loans for a while, you get used to only having to pay a small amount of interest. So when you go from AAA+ to AA+, you pay more money in interest than you're used to. This means you have less money for other things, like that new computer you wanted, or the trip to the dentist that you so desperately need. \n\nTo solve the problem and get back your AAA+ score, either you have to work harder to pay back your more expensive loans, or you also have to suffer a little because you don't get some of the things you need or want. Maybe you'll do some of both. But you have to do one or the other, because if you don't, things will just get worse and worse.",
"Are the reasons arbitrary? Does some board review subjective facts and out of their experience tack on a grade, or is it formulaic? "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
92m2oc | with how much sitting we do throughout our lives, how come our butt cheeks don’t have calluses? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/92m2oc/eli5_with_how_much_sitting_we_do_throughout_our/ | {
"a_id": [
"e36nfsm",
"e36nph6"
],
"score": [
7,
2
],
"text": [
"Because you are able to get up and shift your weight as needed. Someone who is bedbound or in a wheelchair is going to get skin breakdown and eventually skin ulcers (bedsores) which can take years to heal.",
"Calouses form when your skin is repeatedly and sometimes vigorously chafed. It grows thick and strong to reduce damage from future chafing. This can be prevented or lessened with protection such as gloves or caring for your skin.\n\nWhen you sit, it's generally a much more gentle interaction with the surface on which you're sitting, which is often padded. Additionally, you're probably buffered from that surface with pants or similar.\n\nSurely there are situations where the surface or duration or other conditions will lead to the kind of damage that can cause chafing, but it probably isn't repeated often or intensely enough."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
1vij1h | why do professional female sports have much lower viewing figures | With the exception of a few sports - Tennis being the most obvious one - it seems like there is much less coverage and or interest in female professional sport. Why is this the case? Is it a result of legacy Chauvinism? Is it because the physical aspect is more pronounced in male sports? I enjoy watching a female Tennis match so I think it could work...
FYI, I am a male. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1vij1h/eli5_why_do_professional_female_sports_have_much/ | {
"a_id": [
"cesloyq"
],
"score": [
9
],
"text": [
"The athletics are not as amazing. When you take away the novelty that all the athletes are female its just a bunch of REALLY unimpressive players."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
a1o9kx | how does the universe even exist? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a1o9kx/eli5_how_does_the_universe_even_exist/ | {
"a_id": [
"earea5m",
"earej9q",
"eargfyl",
"eargsne"
],
"score": [
6,
3,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"Good question. It appears to. We seem to live here. We can do tests that show the universe behaves in a constant manner. It seems to have started at one point, but we doesn't know much else. ",
"“How exactly does a posi-trac rear-end on a Plymouth work?“",
"After many years of pondering, scientists finally discovered the answer: [here it is.](_URL_0_)\n\nIt's a difficult question to answer because it isn't well defined.\n\nDo you mean why does it exist in the manner it appears to at the moment? We've got a lot of answers to that.\nWe've got some theories about why there are galaxies, and what might be beyond our observable universe.\nWe've got theories about what happened just after the big bang...\n\nBut why did the big bang happen? Why are we here and why don't we just pop out of existence at any moment?\nWe don't have a confident answer.\n\nThe question is at the moment regarded as an unscientific question: no test can be devised to falsify any possible answer you could pick. Does the universe exist because it's a simulation on a computer? We've got no experiment that can say it isn't.\nDoes it exist because some deity is imagining it? We've got no experiment that can say this is false.\n\nMaybe the universe is like pi or the Mandelbrot set: you don't need to calculate pi for it's first 3 digits to be 3.14: they already were before you started, and the Mandelbrot set is an infinitely detailed shape: we can never calculate all the detail, but we know that there's going to be more detail waiting for us beyond the level we realize on our computers. \nMaybe that's what our universe is like: a shape that drops out of pure maths, which exists to be discovered, whether you go looking for it or not, and we are merely a pattern in the shape, and we feel like we exist, whether someone calculates us or not.\n\nOfc, there is no experiment to falsify this claim.",
"This is the same thing I think of at 3am. How does existence even exist?! "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/EFRpFkZFrOU"
],
[]
] |
||
2fwpg7 | what is bad about internet fast lanes? why can't we all be fast already? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fwpg7/eli5_what_is_bad_about_internet_fast_lanes_why/ | {
"a_id": [
"ckdf7sf",
"ckdf91n",
"ckdjsmq"
],
"score": [
5,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Fast lanes are a marketing term to refer to variation in lanes.\n\nIt's not that they're taking the existing infrastructure, and making some things faster, and the rest the same, it's that they want to be able to make some faster than others, which could certainly mean slowing most of the stuff down and only letting preferred traffic through at the regular rate.\n\nThey aren't hoping to build new infrastructure.",
"It's a misnomer. Companies aren't going to suddenly add a bunch of faster lanes (if they would, why haven't they yet?).\n\nInstead, what they *can* do is slow down everything else. So unless you pay more for \"fast lane\" access, your service will be *slower*. It's extortion, basically.",
"It isn't about being faster. Speeds would be the same except certain companies and customers could pay to be in the \"fast lanes\" which we all have access to now. People who don't pay would be slower and still be directed to specific companies first for profit. Now the internet is a level playing field. It would no longer be that way. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
4w9119 | why does erdrogan have so much support from turkish people but almost everyone else agrees he's a madman? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4w9119/eli5_why_does_erdrogan_have_so_much_support_from/ | {
"a_id": [
"d651ts0",
"d657das",
"d658q54"
],
"score": [
11,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"The answer to that question varies greatly depending on who you ask, but a broad based approach would probably garner at least one of 3 answers: 1 - He is viewed as a supporter of the middle and lower class, 2 - He has a strong religious following in Turkey due to his Islamic beliefs, and 3 - Since 2003 when he took office, the government has made major improvements to state infrastructure, building a long list of bridges, roads, and metro lines and beefing up the healthcare system.",
"That is a complex question. To keep it short, it is partially nationalism. They want to have a strong leader. \n\nAt the same time Erdogan nationalized and controlled more and more of the media, so people will only read about what he wants people to know and think. Many journalists who wanted no part of that have been arrested. That is how Erdogan mainly gained support and spread his nationalism.\n\nA small (in comparsion to the prior points) factor is also the islamisation of Turkey. Originally after the Ottoman Empire ended and Turkey was founded, it was founded as a secular country where religion has no say in education or government. Erdogan wants to reverse that and through the media and religion itself makes people more religious again to gain even more support.",
"He's an Islamist, meaning that he would like Turkey to become an Islamic state in the long term. The people of Turkey are also mostly Muslims, so they support his long-term goals. That's about all it takes when Religion is a strong factor in a country. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
4kk62u | there is clear proof that there are kkk members in the police force in america, why isn't anything being done? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4kk62u/eli5_there_is_clear_proof_that_there_are_kkk/ | {
"a_id": [
"d3fikkr"
],
"score": [
8
],
"text": [
"Because it's not a crime to be a Klan member. We can exclude officers based on their actions, but not their political beliefs. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
6974zq | why villains in tv shows often speak this very british english? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6974zq/eli5why_villains_in_tv_shows_often_speak_this/ | {
"a_id": [
"dh4a726"
],
"score": [
14
],
"text": [
"You'll notice that it's not merely british english, it's posh british english (either \"proper\" [received pronunciation](_URL_0_), or an attempt at it). It's unlikely that villain you're speaking of speaks with a cockney or Yorkshire accent. The UK (especially England) has a big thing with [your accent being strongly tied to your social class](_URL_1_). \n\nEven though people outside the UK tend not to be aware of this, the \"upper class\" feeling still makes it through — in having the villain speak RP, the point is to make them sound sophisticated, snobbish, or both.\n\nThere is actually a somewhat interesting story related to this.\n\nBecause RP makes you sound so sophisticated and authoritative, it was also the default accent to use in radio broadcasting, hence it also being known as \"BBC English\". However, if you are European and of a certain age, and you were taught english as a foreign language, private tutors would teach you to speak with that accent. \n\nNotably, Nazi Germany officials would've been such people. The Nazis would broadcast propaganda by radio, pretending to be the BBC, and relaying fake negative news about the war, to demoralise the home front. This was made especially effective because the Nazi's accents matched the expected accent for BBC presenters.\n\nTo fight that propaganda, the BBC started introducing [presenters with stronger regional accents](_URL_2_) instead. The aim was that such broadcasts were very unlikely to be propaganda, as the nazis would be unable to accurately imitate those accents."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class_in_the_United_Kingdom#Accent_and_language_and_social_class",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Pickles"
]
] |
||
2co9pr | how does the secret service protect obama against a lone shooter or bomber in a crowd? | It seems like protecting one person would be impossible. I am surprised terrorists haven't been able to just sneak into a crowd and wait for Obama to show up at a rally or something and then somehow kill him. Sort of like how Gabrielle Giffords was shot. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2co9pr/eli5_how_does_the_secret_service_protect_obama/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjhefwn",
"cjhemuz",
"cjhhj5a",
"cjhi2fm",
"cjhi9xj",
"cjhj5pk",
"cjhj84o",
"cjhjjmj",
"cjhjnkr",
"cjhjny1",
"cjhjyvd",
"cjhk1dc",
"cjhk1hg",
"cjhk31u",
"cjhk3wl",
"cjhkbk5",
"cjhkhj5",
"cjhkkzh",
"cjhknz1",
"cjhkxgz",
"cjhkyzp",
"cjhl6pq",
"cjhlcaf",
"cjhljbh",
"cjhmp89",
"cjhninx",
"cjhnkov",
"cjhnksh",
"cjhnmoc",
"cjho9hn",
"cjhol6w",
"cjhouj7",
"cjhoznd",
"cjhozvk",
"cjhp029",
"cjhququ",
"cjhr4qi",
"cjhrist",
"cjhswgb",
"cjhtt9g",
"cjhu530",
"cjhu7x3",
"cjhuy9q",
"cjhv0bk",
"cjhv45j",
"cjhva6v",
"cjhvnp0",
"cjhx0ly",
"cjhx915",
"cjhy2mf",
"cjhy52o",
"cjhymsu",
"cjhyr3z",
"cji0cxl",
"cji0rlq",
"cji15m9",
"cji2azp",
"cji2ne0",
"cji6iyx",
"cji6ltb",
"cji77z0",
"cji7smq",
"cji8xmb",
"cjie41a",
"cjiryl7"
],
"score": [
1764,
168,
152,
3,
24,
305,
218,
3,
7,
77,
4,
7,
353,
11,
10,
3,
6,
7,
6,
3,
8,
3,
2,
11,
7,
9,
8,
2,
4,
3,
4,
2,
3,
3,
2,
3,
2,
24,
2,
8,
18,
2,
3,
2,
48,
21,
4,
2,
18,
7,
7,
7,
8,
5,
3,
3,
4,
2,
2,
7,
4,
2,
5,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"[This is a cool documentary that will probably have a lot of answers](_URL_0_) to any questions regarding protecting the president goes.\n\nBasically the secret service does their job well and does things in advance. If the president is scheduled to be somewhere they are there several weeks ahead of time looking at everything. If you can get close to the president you've been screened one way or another.",
"The NATO summit is being held in my home town in September and there have already been lots of American suits nosing about. They seem to leave nothing to chance. Lampposts and drains have already been sealed. It is going to be a right pain in the arse at the time. ",
"Very well. \nThe Secret Service protects Obama against a lone shooter or bomber in a crowd very well. \n\nSome things are very obvious, like using identical armored cars/helicopters for transport (so even if you're able to fire an RPG at his car, which is already virtually impossible, you'd have a poor chance of actually hurting anyone who's not a security guard), switching around times and routes, performing advanced scouting, blockading streets or redirecting traffic et cetera. \nOthers are less obvious but also unlikely to be a secret, such as having many undercover agents inside crowds in case somebody needs to be tackled, placing counter-snipers everywhere, and probably having two different escape plans (at bare minimum) for every location the president is planned to be in. \nOf course, you also have the security personnel itself which most likely consists of extremely skilled agents who train extensively. \n\nIn addition to that, there's probably no small amount of surveillence deployed in order to perform advanced risk assessment as well as misdirection, misinformation and a policy of getting the hell out of there if anything seems to be out of place.",
"Lots of paranoia all the time and quick reflexes. Have to start getting in front of the person you're protecting while they raise the gun, not once he fires. ",
"I attended an event where Mitt Romney stopped by during his last campaign. This was late in the campaign, so he was a Secret Service protectee by this time. \n\nI was amazed to see so many people watching him speak from open windows in the surrounding buildings. He was outside and there was line-of-sight and not much distance (just across the street!) from their positions to Romney. I noticed it right away but the Secret Service didn't seem to notice for at least 10-15 minutes. They eventually walked over to the buildings and gestured for everyone to close their windows. I still felt like he was pretty exposed. A closed window is only marginally more secure than an open one. \n\nMy conclusion was that, despite their extreme preparation and planning, you can't truly plan for every exponential possibility, and they're really hoping to deter anyone with ill will by showing an intimidating level of force and sophistication. While there's plenty of real, tactical security in place, there's also a lot of security theater happening. ",
"When Obama was in downtown Houston recently the secret service rented out the ENTIRE floor of the hotel he was on. The hotel entrance was facing a HUGE patch if grass owned by cheveron so they could see anyone walking towards the door. They shut down part of the highway that faced the hotel (it was a mile away) and they rented out every dump truck in the city and surrounded the hotel with them. They planned a strategical place that only had one entrance where you could see someone coming for a whole city block. And then barricaded it.\n\nEdit: I'll look for more photos. But [here is the front door.](_URL_0_) ",
"Watch this video as Obama takes a walk, then watch it but only looking at what's happening in the background.\n\n_URL_0_",
"Someone mentioned that the podium (or furniture near it) the president speaks from has some kind of radar triggered airbag in it to catch incoming bullets.",
"Pretty awesome HD pics of the SS on Obama detail\n\n_URL_0_",
"This is how the British protection services look after the deputy prime minister. They let him sort it out himself _URL_0_",
"I remember when G.W. Bush visited my country, Denmark. \n\nHe went to our Prime Ministers house, which is at the same small lake as our house. \n\nIt was forbidden for a week to sail any boats on the lake, several areas in the forest got \"trespassers will be shot\" signs - (this is in a country where guns and self defense are generally illegal)",
"It's changed a lot since the 80's. I met Jimmy Carter when I was in middle school in 1982, after he was out of office. He looked so old, different than on the TV. We were outside of my school in the Ozarks, and there were plenty of SS agents around him, but what just occurred to me is that it was *extremely* exposed outside, mountains all around, plenty of opportunity for someone to take him out from the bush a mile away with the right gear. You don't see the Pres exposed like that anymore, it's just too easy nowadays to get rifles with enough power to take someone out from a mile away. \n",
"Let me tell a brief anecdote about how on top of their shit the US Secret Service is.\n\nWhen my dad was in his 20s, he took a road trip around the South (we're all from New England). Long story short, he wandered into two different places he shouldn't have been (the backyard of Jimmy Carter's personal house, and a private hallway in the capitol building where the Congressional offices were). The first time, he got off with a warning. The 2nd time, they saw he had been at Carter's house but he convinced them that he meant no harm and was just exploring. They let him go.\n\nFast-forward about 10 years. He's working for a State university and Geraldine Ferraro (a candidate for VP) was giving a speech on campus. My dad left his office and went to go watch the speech, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. A guy in a suit said \"Sir, you need to come with me\" and walked my dad away. Apparently whenever someone under Secret Service protection is giving a speech, they compile a list of any known \"problematic\" people who live nearby and don't let them anywhere near. My dad was flabbergasted that they even kept a record of his antics from years prior, but he was forced to leave the speech.\n\nThey're really, really good at their jobs and pay close attention to detail. ",
"I work near a suburban airport that is used as a staging point for presidential security. About one week in advance of the president's/VP's arrival, a C-17 and about 3-4 helicopters arrive, Sea Knights. The C-17 is full of the people, vehicles, and stuff needed for security. They all fly off in the helicopters for a couple of days and do their thing. The C-17 leaves to get the Marine-1 helicopters. Then on the day of arrival an aerial convoy of 6-8 helicopters head off to meet with AF-1. I love all things that fly so it's fun to watch the thunderous convoy flying over my building. Security is tight at the staging area, they have Marine's and other suits posted at their private hanger/area.",
" > It seems like protecting one person would be impossible.\n\nThere are three parts to managing the safety of the President:\n\n - Intelligence: i.e. understanding where the threats are, who the threats might be, how the threats are changing. Signals intelligence and human intelligence are important parts of that.\n - Managing the environment: In practice, this means that each place the President goes to should be as controlled as possible - who's there, entries, exits, the physical environment. The White House is a controlled environment, for example. The Presidential limo is a mobile controlled environment, albeit a temporary one. Even where it can't be completely controlled, there are better and worse options - where he walks, what his route is, who he talks to etc. An environment is also vetted and cleaned. Vetting means assuring that people and places are safe. Cleaning means locking down the environment - removing street furniture, welding manhole covers etc.\n - Close protection. The people we see are the last line of defence, the apocryphal men who take the bullet. In honesty, the scenario people imagine, like Reagan facing a gunman, is only one among many risks -bombs are a major risk - and they are only one among many people looking for it - spotters, snipers, sniffers and software are all used to do that job too. A key part of their job is knowing how to get the President back to a safe, controlled environment as quickly as possible *under any circumstances* - a fire in the building, the limo breaks down, the crowd surges towards him, he has a heart attack. Not all threats are necessarily malicious. Their job covers all of the eventualities.\n\nBut in summary: it *is* impossible to totally eliminate risk. The best they can do is manage the risk. When you have forward intelligence, have controlled the environment, vetted it, cleaned it and are providing close protection you screen out a lot of risk. The number of people who want to do harm to the President is small to begin with. The number of people who have the ability to do so even smaller. The Secret Service's job is to find those people before they get to the President and to manage access to him/her.",
"Layers of security and preparation for the presidents arrival.",
"This story of mine isn't even for the presidency. I ran the student union for Missouri State University and in 2003 we hosted John Edwards as he was gearing up for the Democratic Primary.\n\nI received notification that the Secret Service would be onsite for a security review and I couldn't believe the amount of detail they asked for and gathered. I had to provide blue prints for my building and the campus, road maps, geographic surveys, and I watched while a team of about 30 covered every square inch of my building. They were measuring the distance from the podium to the exits...in inches.\n\nThe day of the event the entire campus was on high alert. There had to be 200 security officials or more. Every person went through a metal detector, so a lone gunman would have been flat out impossible in our setting.\n\nHowever, in something like an arena, it would be interesting to see their procedures at play too.",
"Some person at my university wasn't allowed to use her room for a week and they wouldn't let her retrive her cello case for a performance no matter how much she begged them. Turns out her room was over looking the field POTUS was gona be speaking at and they used it as an observation/sniping platform. It was being talked about all over the school. ",
"When I was going to school at University of Michigan, I lived a couple blocks away from the Big House. When the POTUS came to deliver a commencement speech, Secret Service approached my housemates and I about security for the President. They told us they were going to commandeer our house for the length of the speech, and said we had two options: leave the house and don't come back until they were gone, or don't leave the house and not leave until they were gone. They posted a sniper on our roof, not sure how many though because I chose to go to the speech.",
"When the president travels on Air Force One, there is a huge aura of confusion and misinformation with his travel plans, routes, and times. I'm involved and security (NOT TSA), police, and fire response for a major airport. Our managers are standing next to the Secret Service during his arrivals, and they are changing the times and directions of his flight up until about 2 minutes out. Not to mention there is significant planning and visits to the airport as other people have said, to ensure nothing goes wrong. Without giving away any more SSI, I can also say there is pretty much a no-fly-zone over the president as he travels, a complex motorcade, and lots of eyes watching.",
"This is an interesting topic because I am reminded of that time President Bush was giving a speech and some random guy in the audience threw his shoe at him. The guy was maybe around 30 feet away, I'm sure the video clip is easily found. I was kind of surprised to see almost no immediate reaction from the secret service. No service guy jumping in front of the shoe or at least out to guard the pres in case the shoe was anything more than just a shoe (I dont remember if this was before or after the guy who had explosives in his shoes on that flight). No quick draw, bullet to the face by the agents to the attacker. I honestly wouldn't have blamed the agents if they did take the guy out. Like him or not, Bush was a president at the time and who knows what the shoe guy's intentions were but who wants to take that chance? I don't know the full details of the event or what it is like being a secret service agent but if I was an agent close by I think I might feel worse at watching that clip knowing that I didn't do anything (even though it turned out OK) than if I did shooting a guy who simply was tossing a shoe in protest. I mean, I'm sure I would have felt terrible but I think it would have been a justifiable and proper action.\n\nFortunately it was just a shoe and no one got hurt. ",
"The guys you see surrounding the president are really just the last line of defense. Most of the Secret Service's work goes into intelligence gathering, interviews and determining the risks that need to be mitigated in order to keep whoever they are tasked with protecting safe.\n\nThe worst nightmare is the lone wolf scenario where the person isn't being supported by any other groups or individuals. If you can't detect him, you can't stop him.",
"I would imagine it relies on you somehow finding a place that has a sight on where he will be for more than a few seconds, plus you have to get to the place without any security seeing you or having checked out this spot you've found, then you being capable of making the shot which alone I doubt many can actually do and if you're that far away probably none that can make the shot without you having somehow obtained an weapon capable of doing it with you having all the timings right.\n\nBasically it's very very low chance all of these things work out at the same time so low that it's just not worth the sentence you get when you're caught trying. ",
"I was the airport cop on duty when G. H. W. Bush flew into Aspen to meet PM Thatcher in August of 1990, the day before we attacked Iraq. I was never briefed by the Secret Service, nor any of my bosses. I just showed up (I made my own schedule) and started helping with crowd control. 2 C-130 aircraft arrived before POTUS, and disgorged the vehicles and a buttload of heavily armed military types. I was surprised how close I was to the action when Bush arrived in a much smaller aircraft than what is commonly thought of as Air Force One (747). Again, no one from the SS approached me or questioned my presence there. I was 100ft from the most powerful man in the world, and unlike the crowd I was keeping back, had a clear view of the the goings-on on the tarmack. Pretty damn surreal.",
"There are an insane amount of things going on behind the scenes that you don't see.\n\nOne time the Clinton family came into my dad's airport and the amount of preparation that was put into this was just simply immense. Every single person who came within eye shot of the President had to be screened and given specific badges to where on their person. What did these badges do? Tells the snipers lined throughout the entire airport to not kill this person on sight. Every building and hangar was closely monitored by agents and snipers. In short they took pretty much every precaution possible to ensure no hostile person gets within 1000 yards of the president without getting a leaded greeting. ",
"Follow up question, because I've wondered this for a long time now. Did the amount of security change sometime between, say, '93-94ish and now?\n\nI was at a play in/near Branson MO (Shepard of the Little Hills). I'm all of perhaps 11 or so, and all of a sudden there's this commotion. Turns out Clinton decided he wanted to see the show. During intermission, there was a huge line to meet him, he was signing ticket stubs and stuff. I remember there being secret service agents at the back, and around him, but he was just sitting in the crowd (good seats, but not front row or anything, either). I'm pretty sure we didn't go through any sort of metal detectors to get in, and I KNOW we weren't seriously screened or searched. I have no idea if this was an unscheduled visit (I can't imagine that it was), but it seems to me thinking back that it would have been incredibly easy for someone to have made an attempt on his life then. That said, it was 20ish years ago, so I could certainly be misremembering some things.\n\nAlso, I didn't get my ticket signed, the line was too long and intermission ended before I got to him. I do remember my dad telling me that when I got to him to shake his hand and only say \"It's nice to meet you Mr. President\".",
"This will probably be buried, but I briefly worked at the WFC across from the WTC site. It happened to be during the tenth anniversary of Sept 11, so there was a ceremony that involved the president. On the day of the event, there were snipers everywhere, like on every building overlooking the site including ours. I even snapped a pic of one using my mobile phone _URL_0_ (sorry for the quality).\n\nI was a bit surprised because no one in the building I was in was searched or scanned or anything. Granted I was far enough away that maybe it didn't matter, but I did have a direct line of sight to the ceremony.",
"Multiple rings of security. Screening areas with metal detectors and agents. Agents within an arms reach of the president. Counter snipers and tactical teams. Also lots and lots planning. Every route has been driven, every building has been scouted, tons of armored and duplicate vehicles.",
"I don't know exactly HOW they screen everyone, but they do. Story time: volunteered at an event in Charlotte in 2008 when Obama was running. Ended up working right at the stage, handing out water to the crowd before he got there and helping escort people from the stands behind him over to a restroom area that was secured by secret service. Once they got everyone up in the stands (probably 30-40 min before he got there), secret service came up to me and pointed at a guy up at the top of the stands. They said \"That guy, last row, hat and backpack, get him down here.\" So i went up, told the guy to follow me, and directed him down to the secret service guys who took him elsewhere. No idea what they did with him, and can't remember if he ever came back.\n\nAdd to that, there were snipers everywhere, plain clothes Secret Service, and regular suit & tie secret service. Everyone near the stage was screened in some way. I was never directly questioned, but I also have no doubt that they new exactly who I was. ",
"As far as snipers go, there are optimal positions for firing from distance on a target. The Secret Service knows what those are, too. If the President is vulnerable, they've already scoped that spot out and have counter-snipers.",
"I saw Obama give a speech during the 2012 campaign. You couldn't get in line to join the crowd in the first place without showing an invitation. (Invitations were distributed by means of sending an email to a mailing list saying essentially \"Invitations to see the President speak available at the following locations - only X number available, first come, first serve.\") You would not be allowed to queue without showing an invitation, and if you had an umbrella, backpack, purse, anything that could conceal so much as a switchblade, you would not be allowed to join the queue until you had put it in your car. Couldn't get within visual range of the stage without passing a metal detector and allowing them to either temporarily keep or at least examine literally every article on your person. In the end, we were allowed to keep our cameras and our wallets. We got everything else back, but only *after* the President had left. Once you were actually shown to the seats, you were told \"oh, yeah, by the way? Don't make any sudden movements. In fact, try not to sneeze, even. You'll make the snipers anxious.\"\n\n**tl;dr** it's nearly impossible to get a shooter or bomber into the crowd in the first place, and when the crowd is actually gathered, they post snipers so jumpy they put the cross-hairs on you if you twitch.",
"Somewhat relevant, Hillary Clinton came to speak at my college a few months back. My friends and I heard rumors that there was a way to acess the highest point on campus through the math and science building if you took the faculty elevator. So naturally we go for it. The elevator opens to a concrete stairwell and we go up the last 2 flights by foot. As we round the corner to this small room with two windows that overlook all of campus, 2 secret services members are there, one with a snipe rifle. The guys look at us and we explain we heard you can see the whole campus from up here, and the guy goes, \"You heard right, but now is a good time to leave.\" We quickly left and to this day I felt like it was something out of a movie.\n\nEDIT: We just kinda randomly went up there, didn't even realize that it happened to be the day Clitnon was speaking.",
"Shortly after Obama was sworn in Barbara Bush was scheduled to speak at a luncheon at my university several years back. It was a smaller, private school, probably something like 5000 students regularly attending that campus. \n\nThe secret service showed up a week in advance. They took over and locked down our school's primary administration building, I don't know what was happening in there, it was closed. They had vans posted at both entrances 24 hours a day for the entire week prior with two guys sitting in them. There were snipers on the roofs of several different buildings sporadically throughout the week and the entire day Mrs Bush was there. There were agents dressed like students walking around during the days. She came, she spoke, they cleared out the next day and everything went back to normal. A week of that for an ex first lady spending 1-2 hours at a luncheon. \n\nI'm guessing that there is rarely something that makes it to the media because these guys are extremely thorough and absolute pros. \n",
"Another interesting thing to watch out for is their hands, ala _URL_0_\n\nYou'll notice that they pretty much ALWAYS have a fingertip-to-fingertip hand posture, which promotes quick reactions to the majority of close quarters attacks.\n\nKind of fascinating all the pre-planning that goes into an event involving POTUS or the VP. I worked an event that the POTUS attended and the SS had a number of vehicles setup for different possible emergency routes in-addition to the normal exit strategy. They even had some Little Birds stationed not far away in-case shit got really hairy.",
"Dont know if this is super related but really no matter how well they scan the place if the president is in some open space like walking through crowd there's really not that much that can be done. Hell our CZ president was shot dead close, but it was only a guy mad on government so he had only a fake gun. The fact that presidents don't die that often is probably because killing a head of state makes people mad. killing a lotta people makes a bigger, scarier message, also way easier to do.",
"Finally a question I can contribute to! \n\nLooking the part is 90% of the battle. If you had a choice between taking on the president guarded by unshaven, non pressed suited, maybe having a smoke and looking at rocks. Or cleanly shaven, well pressed suits, eyes looking in every direction? Looking and being vigilant matters in every way possible, their presence alone deters these acts. \n\nSecondly, no one can completely stop things from happening. We can only mitigate the chance of something happeneing. Again, looking the part does a fair share and the rest is just effective SOP. (Standard operating procedure). Like traffic control, security cordons, aerial support, etc.\n\nSource: Army Engineer w/ PSD experience in Iraq/Afghanistan. \n\nSorry for any bad formatting, on my phone.",
"When I was stationed at MCAS Miramar, the President came to visit. \n\nAbout a week or two before hand, same thing. Guys in suits showed up. Apparantley the President was going to eat at the mess hall. The messhall was within a certain radius of the Barracks and no vehicles were to be parked within that radius. We couldn't park where we lived. \nThey were super serious but very polite and this being a military base, respectful. We were ordered not to speak with them. Though I do remember that during colors, they stood at attention as well then continued doing whatever they do. \n\n\nReally though, I was like 19 or so and I remember thinking at the time this was stupid. We are Marines on a military base, why treat us as such? Looking back I realized that you can never be too cautious. \n\nHere is a link to the article from that:\n_URL_0_",
"Obama stopped in a store I was working at a few months ago with his daughter. It was supposed to be a \"surprise\" visit but I realized that the secret service was actively stopping in the store in the weeks before. They weren't in suits but I saw several \"customers\" dressed in suits when the president actually came. I wasn't working at the store the day before but apparently everyone knew what was up because it was being extensively searched by secret service and when I went to work I had to be screened patted down and couldn't bring anything inside. The entire boulevard was shut down hours before his arrival, cops were posted up on every corner surrounding it for miles and then his heavily armored huge stretch limo pulled up, I could see snipers on the rooftops and it was very interesting, he was a very articulate speaker.",
"I have a quick story about the motorcade. A friend of mine was a police officer and was detailed to help escort either Bush 41 or Clinton from the airport in Grand Rapids, MI to Holland, MI. It was a typical 2 police up front, black SUVs, 2 limos, more SUVs and my friend helping in the rear. About 10-12 vehicles in the motorcade. \n\nThey leave the airport and he's just playing \"follow the car infront of you.\" They get about half way to the destination and happens to look down at his speedo.....118mph. He realizes they've been traveling this speed the whole time.\n\nKeep in mind, all over/underpasses have been blocked for a few hours and have been repeatedly searched (over several days) to prevent a bomb being planted. \n\nThey make it to Holland without incident. He happens to ask a Secret Service officer about the speed. He was told \"it's hard to hit a moving target and it's even harder the faster you go.\"\n\nPresident Obama did the same route about 5 years ago, except he flew on Marine One, and there was 3 of them, constantly changing position as in a shell game to make it difficult to \"target\" the right one",
"I live in Toluca, Mexico (where the North American summit was held in February this year) and I live close to the airport. One or one and a half weeks before POTUS was supposed to arrive the secret service, Mexican army and federal police already had choppers going around the city and checking routes, buildings and whatnot. Eventually on the day he arrived they closed the airport 2 hours before and 3 choppers flew around it. I climbed on the roof and set up a camera and a chopper flew immediately above me to check if I had a sniper or anything dangerous. After the \"threat\" was cleared they moved on. After the Air Force One landed it took them around 20 minutes to get Obama out of the plane and another 10 to get the cars going. The convoy consisted of ~50 cars. 2 Beasts, 1 ambulance and the rest were SUVs. They closed down a 10 lane road for 10 miles for 3 hours just for him. Along with many other roads. When he arrived to the building the Beast he was in was parked in an enclosed area so that no one could see him get out of the car and shoot him. The same procedure was carried out when he left. \n\nTl;dr: they make everything. Everything possible and impossible to keep him safe. No matter who's affected as long as he gets out alive. ",
"I've been to a few Obama events of different sorts. There's definitely layers of protection. \n\nThe first event was a campaign event in 2008. The second I was a photographer at a Presidential visit and speech at the university where I work in March 2012. The third (and most interesting), was an off-the-record surprise visit to a restaurant on campus. \n\nThe OTR visit was different because I was part of a small group with a little advance notice, so I saw all the preparations that happened immediately before his visit. I [posted an album and wrote about it](_URL_0_) a while back. (Direct link to the album: [_URL_1_](_URL_1_))\n\nI arrived at the restaurant about an hour ahead of time, and the staff and customers had NO idea what was about to happen. The poor waitress was really confused trying to serve a group of 6 people at a table with a lot of cameras who didn't want to order anything. \n\nFirst, I noticed city police start to arrive in the area and set up stations around the outside of the restaurant. Shortly after they were joined by very serious earpiece-wearing officials in suits (Secret Service of course) who started leading the police and setting up rope line areas. Then the Secret Service came inside, talked with the managers and started wanding everyone with a handheld metal detector. Being a college campus at 11am, a few people left their breakfast on the counter and took off when they started wanding people. \n\nThen Obama arrived, surrounded by several additional Secret Service agents. Some stayed close, others spread out around the restaurant and made sure there was always a clear path for him to leave if they needed. They were very serious and focused on their jobs. Obama ordered lunch, and walked through the entire restaurant, shaking hands, posing for pictures, and talking with each table. \n\nAfter about an hour, he made his way outside where there was a rope line set up. Police and Secret Service were throughout the courtyard and street. His limo was waiting as he and his protection detail shook hands along the rope line. \n\nMy favorite part: Since I was a photographer, I was told to move at the last second—which would have prevented me from shaking hands with him. I had to run from one side of the rope line around to another at the last second, then caught him at the very end of the line by yelling \"MR. PRESIDENT!\" as I put my fist out for a bump. I think I caught the Secret Service agents off guard, as seen in the second to last picture, there's 4 of them giving me the stink-eye. ",
"In 1988, George HW Bush (vice president at the time) came to my college when he was campaigning for the presidency. The organizers wanted a local college band to play and rev up the crowd and my band was chosen. We had to set up the night before so that the bomb sniffing dogs could go through our equipment. He wasn't scheduled to appear til 9 or so, but we had to be there at 5:30 to get checked in. I remember walking through a gauntlet of 30 agents and officials all staring hard at us. Very intimidating. We performed for about 40 minutes or so and in the middle of one of the tunes, our power was cut. It was time for George to walk up to the podium. Since our job was done, I grabbed a soda and started drinking it. immediately, a secret service agent came up and took it from me. Didn't want me throwing it at the Vice President, he said. Guess I must have had that radical activist look to me. A minute later, George walked by about 3 feet from me. I figured the agent was thinking better safe than sorry. Or maybe he was just thirsty. ",
"It is. It is 100% impossible to protect a public figure (one who has to go out and make public appearances and talk to people etc).\n\nHOWEVER, they can make it very difficult and realistically only a person who isn't concerned about living or getting away could do it. Person would also need to be a pretty good actor, enough so their nerves don't show. Technically proficient in their weapon of choice (the guy who shot Gabby Giffords wouldn't get Obama for instance). The actor would have to ensure that death would be instant, or near instant. Medical help isn't far away and he's got among the best in the world. Dexterity and speed are a must as well. The actor needs to be able to disguise intentions just up until they act. 1 cut / bullet / bomb. All they are going to get. Can it happen? Sure. Is it likely? Not at all.\n\nUSSS does a lot. A LOT. But to guarantee 100% the safety of a public figure is impossible. They do as much as is humanly possible to get as close as humanly possible to that 100% figure though.\n\nThen there's the matter of repercussions. Who is going to train and bankroll and equip a guy or party to do this? They would be hunted to the ends of the earth. No sane state government is going to do this unless they are trying to make some huge geopolitical moves. Terrorists didn't attack nuclear power plants (and did the pentagon and twin towers instead) because they were scared of our reaction.... \n\nRealistically, you only have psychologically disturbed people going to be willing to fit the first and second criteria, wanting to kill the president and not caring if they die afterwards. And they are hardly proficient enough at everything else to get it done.",
"I imagine it must be a pretty difficult challenge if someone is ill with an infectious disease and either doesn't know it or deliberately tries to get close to someone important. Sheesh, imagine the paranoia you must have to work on the planning and logistics of letting important people out and about with the public.",
"I can offer some other explanation from the perspective of a pilot...living in the LA area, I know better than to try to go flying when Obama is in town. There is a moving 10-mile radius No Fly Zone over his person at any given time. There are also many temporary restrictions put on the airspace around Air Force One at all times. I know the question pertained to crowds, but this further illustrates the extent that the Secret Service and US Gov go to to protect the president. \n\nA few years back, Obama was in Southern California on the same day that a completely unaware drug smuggler was flying a marijuana-laden Cessna into the SoCal area. He wandered into the radius around Obama without evening knowing that Obama was there...imagine the shock on his face when a few F-16s from March Air Force Base wound up a few feet off each wing with the pilots telling him to land immediately. And imagine the shock on the faces of the secret service agents when the suspected aerial terrorist was, in fact, in possession of a big load of weed. ",
"Probably too late, but I haven't seen this method posted here, and thought it was pretty cool.\n\nI live in San Francisco. When POTUS comes, he stays in the presidential suite (top floor) of the Intercontinental. There's not a lot of good vantage points into his room. However, my friends apartment is the top floor of the highest residential building, and has a line of site directly into the suite, if they don't close the curtains.\n\nWhen we were up there, it struck me how easy it'd be to send a bullet into his room. My friend who's done consulting for the whitehouse, and owns the apartment explained it away.\n\nTurns out the Secret service has a handful of radar like machines (think of a the spinning thing on top of Google Self driving cars) that they plop on the top of various buildings before his arrival. Anything like binoculars or a sniper scope get picked up as a very distinct flash on their imaging devices, and then you get a sniper trained on you, or the secret service will come and knock, and kindly ask you not to use your binoculars, etc. ",
"You assume that streets swarm with terrorists, which is true only in newspapers.\n\nIf you think that secret service's job is hard, think about how hard is to kill a president.\n\n[Look at the list of terrorist attacks](_URL_0_) that happened in the US within the last 10 years. Amateurs, unorganized random psychos who just want to hurt other people. All they can do is to hurt unarmed people on the streets and in unguarded buildings, like churches and supermarkets, how can they possible kill a president?\n\nIf you take organized terrorism, i.e. terrorism by intelligence services, it does not exist for a different reason.\nIt's true that world leaders have resources to kill each other. Putin can kill Obama, Obama can kill Putin. But they won't, because it's pretty much pointless - leaders are expendable. Another leader will be elected, but the war between countries(especially nuclear war) will take life of millions, maybe hundreds of millions. \nNo matter how they hate each other, they have to look for other solutions.",
"Its not so simple as you see it. Prior to events the Secret Service has already staked out the venue they got people all over the place. Its highly organized and highly detailed. ",
"TRUE STORY: I used to fuel jets for a living. I was sitting in a gigantic truck with 7000 gallons of jet fuel in it. When the president came to our town to visit I was told to face the tower and to turn my vehicle off. We technically can't do that out on the tarmac because of safety - something goes wrong, we need to be able to get out of the way etc.\n \nAfter AF1 landed and taxied, and finally after the president (took forever and severely delayed flights for hours) left the airport - I was \"allowed\" to move again.\n \nAfterward, the guy \"in charge\" of their airport protection squad or whatever it was called, told me that there was at least one sniper on that airfield that had me \"in his sights\" the entire time the president was there because I was deemed to be the largest threat to the president's life that day.\n \nMade me feel kinda cool....after the fact....",
"I once worked in a hospital when a former FLOTUS was admitted for tests. The Secret Service agents wore nice dark suits and ear buds. They stayed outside her room when the medical staff performed the tests. I did see a few of them noshing in the hospital cafeteria. They have a weakness for macaroni & cheese. ",
"An interesting fact. A panel of government employees were sat down and given a test about a recorded person telling a story and they had to guess if it was a lie or the truth. All of the participants scored right at about chance except for one exceptional group. Secret Service agents. With subconscious micro-expressions agents were able to read their intent to lie shown with very honest micro-expressions.",
"I know that when he stays in a hotel, all three floors are completely cleared, with the president staying in the middle. \n\nThe floors above and below him have Marines, secret Service and EOD (bomb experts).\n\nThe sweep everything. Rooms, mailboxes, etc. They even check the potholes in the road.\nSource: My son was EOD.\n\nQuick story. Bush was staying in New York, and my son and about seven Marines were done for the day and lounging in their room.\n\nThe hotel sent up a cart loaded with food that barely got touched, so Bush pushes it into the elevator and goes up the the room my son was in. Bush says, \"I hate to see this go to waste, and I know you guys are probably hungry\"\n\nMy son said you never saw seven guys go from lounging into frozen saluting statues so fast in your life. The Marines didn't even move their eyeballs until the President left. \n\nI am not a fan of Bush, but he did something nice for my kid.\n\nEdit:paragraphs",
"I actually had a buddy get arrested for attempted assasination of the US president once. He was 16, and was walking down the railroad tracks with his brother. All they had was a little 20 gauge. But they happened to be crossing a part where track met road, right as the presidents convoy was driving past. They were held for about a day before being let go.\n\nJust two drunk kids hunting doves on the railroad tracks.",
"All the deleted comments in here are making me nervous...",
"I've been around presidents twice...the sercet service isn't just the guys in the suits...they also will appear to be visitors/guests as well. So if you standing in a crowd and have a clean line of sight to the president you can be sure a sniper has you in his scope...and their is a secret service agent feet away.",
"Well, that stuff you see in the movies where they sweep areas before hand is true. There are also trained snipers around, and you may not see them, because you know, they're snipers. \n\nAlso, his plans might be announced, but not all of them. Sometimes they change up routes or locations. For example, he was supposed to be on Jimmy Kimmel a few nights ago and canceled, late enough that the staff had already had background checks. \n\nWhen he spoke here last week, they sent everyone through \"airport\" type security. He spoke inside the building which was locked down. Also, the streets in front of the theater were blocked and policed heavily. \n\nLong story short, it's probably possible to do something like you're describing, but very improbable. ",
"I was on the Abraham Lincoln for the \"mission accomplished\" banner. Every single person on that ship had just spent 10 months at war on an aircraft carrier. Even we were instructed to remove all items from our pockets for the event and corralled to tight, photogenic areas. \n\nI opted to go to bed instead. Rack time is best time, and that fucker can kiss my ass. ",
"I'm Bulgarian and when my grandfather passed away this past June, I went back to Sofia (capital) for the funeral. Afterwards, the normally quiet restaurant we frequent was buzzing with American suits (dark glasses, earpieces, the whole 9 yards) like I had never seen. Keep in mind this was shortly after the Russia-Ukraine conflict began so no surprise American politicians were all over Eastern Europe building diplomatic relations. While we were eating dinner and wondering who was in town, my dad suddenly looks up and asks me, \"is that John McCain?\" Sure enough, I turn around and he and his possy are heading out, almost completely surrounded by suits. I managed to get a [picture](_URL_1_) with him and he asked if this is what they called a \"selfie\". The suits took a step toward me when I reached into my pocket to pull my phone out. I wouldn't have been surprised if I found myself pinned to the ground in a second. I had a conversation with him and let him be. \n\nNot just Obama, but any American politician with a name frequenting the news ticker is super protected.\n\nThanks for the \"selfie\", Senator!\n\nEdit: meanwhile, this shit can happen easily in my country: _URL_0_",
"when he was in Ann Arbor, the building he was set to make his speech in was covered in scaffolding and very alert construction workers, who weren't actually working on anything. the day of the speech they were all gone.",
"secret servicemen walk through the crowd, whsipering in the ear of any suspicious-looking subjects \"two words: president biden\"",
"*If you answer this question, you are definitely going to wind up on the no fly list.",
"Clinton came to town one time and my company at the time was instrumental in arranging his appearance.\n\nWe were never screened, interviewed or searched in any way. We were given tickets to the auditorium where he would be speaking and did not pass through any metal detectors or anything like that.\n\nAfter his speech, he had the motorcade stop and he got out and shook hands with a few people and there is no way they could have known who would be standing in the crowd or if they were dangerous in any way.\n\nOf course if anyone was waiting in the crowd lined along the streets who actually wanted to hurt him, they couldn't have predicted he would stop either, so it all evens out.\n\n\n\n",
"I just wanted to stop by and say, \"Congratulations! You've made the list.\"",
"They don't. Jack Bauer does..",
"Aaaaaand... youre on a list"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F84iywFfvc"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://i.imgur.com/qkNcgqi.jpg"
],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP9AxNaX9ik"
],
[],
[
"http://cryptome.org/info/obama-protection.htm"
],
[
"http://youtu.be/V1oSfHybz9o"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://imgur.com/a/2G2L4"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://cryptome.org/info/usss-hands/usss-hands.htm"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=9114"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/OSU/comments/yl74e/president_obama_at_the_union/",
"http://imgur.com/a/CU29j"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_the_United_States#2000s"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdjNV9nv3QQ",
"http://i.imgur.com/9xwiUyD.jpg"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
f3mu3y | what is the difference between the ceo and president of a company? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f3mu3y/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_the_ceo_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"fhjtgia"
],
"score": [
12
],
"text": [
"One of the key differences between the roles are the business responsibilities. The president is responsible for strategy and operations management, whereas the CEO is tasked with deciding and pursuing the company mission, vision, and strategy, as well as maintaining the financial success of the business.\n\nAnother main difference between the two roles are the level of hierarchy. When both a CEO and president role exist within a single company, the CEO outranks the president. This means the CEO is the top person, and the president is the second-highest ranked person."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
453jdp | why are concert and sports tickets vendors not required to disclose all obligatory fees in the same way airlines are? | Yesterday, I booked a flight and tickets to a concert. For the flight, the price displayed in my initial search on Kayak was the exact same that I ended up paying. With the concert tickets, on the other hand, the initial price displayed was $50, but then when I actually went to book the thing there was close to $10 added on in various service fees, for a total of almost $60.
I'm aware that there are regulations that require airlines to disclose fees, but are there similar regulations for other industries? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/453jdp/eli5why_are_concert_and_sports_tickets_vendors/ | {
"a_id": [
"czuvvd0",
"czuw4q9"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Industries are generally only regulated when they need to be for the health and safety of the public, or when the consequences of not being regulated can have a significant negative impact on the economy. None of that applies to concert venues.\n\nAnd in your example, the fees *were* disclosed before you purchased.",
"In the United States, the government tends to avoid regulating matters of pricing. Most industries don't have any regulation about pricing except that you must be told the real price before you permanently agree to pay.\n\nAirlines are much more regulated than most other industries."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
1n3fpf | why don't theaters have a headphone jack? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1n3fpf/eli5_why_dont_theaters_have_a_headphone_jack/ | {
"a_id": [
"ccf16iw",
"ccf194t"
],
"score": [
7,
6
],
"text": [
"Because it would be too easy to illegally record the movies audio",
"Why would they need em?\n\nCinema's come with some excellent sound systems. Full 7.1 surround. No headphone your average person is gonna bring is gonna top that."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
||
23d4an | why does falling water splash when it meets another source of water? | I'm assuming it has something to do with surface tension? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/23d4an/eli5_why_does_falling_water_splash_when_it_meets/ | {
"a_id": [
"cgvszba",
"cgvszj6"
],
"score": [
2,
5
],
"text": [
"Water doesn't move out the way for anything hitting it, so the water falling onto the body if water bounces back up.",
"Yes, precisely. Surface tension and viscosity are different for all fluids, and not all fluids will behave in the same way. More surface tension will keep water droplets more together as they start moving and separating after the impact from the falling water. Most of the splashing is just a result of the sheer impact from the water displacing other water, just like a rock would.\n\nHere is a famous demonstration of a milk drop falling into milk. Fascinating effect: _URL_0_"
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[
"http://imgur.com/E57zyRO"
]
] |
|
1wttjm | why does my heart feel heavy/sore and my throat feel tight when i'm leaving a loved one? | I've tried googling and searching but haven't really found anything that has answered my question.
Example: I see my boyfriend every other week and when I have to say goodbye, I get sad and my heart feels heavy/sore/(tight)? when I leave and my throat feels tight and like I have a lump stuck and I was curious as to why this is. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1wttjm/eli5_why_does_my_heart_feel_heavysore_and_my/ | {
"a_id": [
"cf5as2n"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Emotions and other psychological phenomena can often manifest themselves physiologically (throughout the rest of your body). It is usually normal.\n\nSome people shake when they're scared. Some people cry during tense situations. Some people feel more energetic when they're happy."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
6hzgxl | why is it more acceptable to make fun of someone's height than someone's weight? | Even though people can control weight (to some extent) while height is basically fixed. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6hzgxl/eli5_why_is_it_more_acceptable_to_make_fun_of/ | {
"a_id": [
"dj2auem",
"dj2bomw"
],
"score": [
9,
10
],
"text": [
"For exactly that reason; when you make fun of someone's weight you are also attacking that persons character and even more so their (lack of) will power to maintain a healthy diet. Weight is a window into so much more or a person's life than height and there for attacking it comes off as much more personal. ",
"Making fun of something like height, which can't be controlled, is basically pointing an unfortunate situation. One can't be seriously criticized for something they can't control.\n\nMaking fun of weight, which can (mostly) be controlled implies actual criticism of someone's actions. It's a rebuke of someone's value system which has a higher potential to make someone feel threatened. It's considered a more aggressive social action. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
|
1srdw9 | the difference between firing someone vs. someone quitting under their own volition, from the point of view of the company. | Are there different costs? Liability?
For the purposes of this post, I'm asking about a professional, non-union job.
Edit: in US, California, for example. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1srdw9/eli5_the_difference_between_firing_someone_vs/ | {
"a_id": [
"ce0fuf4",
"ce0fvm1"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"depends on the company, country, state and local laws... ",
"From the company point of view people leaving (if you already wanted the employee to leave) is better. It reduces the risk of a lawsuit, and doesn't require unemployment benefits to be paid out. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
[]
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.