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5joof0 | what is that sudden feeling you get when you lose your balance? | It feels like something "falling" inside your stomach. It happens when I slip, fall backwards on a chair, or suddenly go down a small bump on the highway. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5joof0/eli5_what_is_that_sudden_feeling_you_get_when_you/ | {
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"Your sense of balance is determined by a fluid inside your inner ear. Whatever surface that fluid is touching, your body considers that to be down. When you slip and fall, it sloshes that fluid around quickly, and your body registers: \"oh no, falling!\" and reacts automatically.\n\nYour body tries to stop your fall by quickly and immediately tensing the muscles in your torso, trying to restore your balance. It knows which way is up, so it can usually do this without you having to consciously think about it. You'll instinctively flail around until you either fall over completely or find your balance again.\n\nIt'll also give you a bit of adrenaline if the sudden danger of falling sets off your fight or flight response, which is why that feeling in your stomach is often accompanied by a quick little stab of panic. These sensations: your brain interpreting the fluid in your ear, your muscles tensing, and that quick little panic, are what you're experiencing as a \"falling\" sensation.\n\nFun fact, if your body does this while you were sleeping, waking you up suddenly, it's called a hypnic jerk, and happens because your body started relaxing your muscles as you fell asleep, then got confused and thought: \"Relaxed muscles? I'm not standing up! I must be falling down! Better tense them up again quick!\""
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bo3871 | what phonemes are and how the differ from syllables? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bo3871/eli5_what_phonemes_are_and_how_the_differ_from/ | {
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"To make sentences so we can talk to each other we need words. To make words we need to make sounds in the proper order. All the different sounds we need to make for talking are called phonemes. \n\nLetters by themselves can be one or a few phonemes like how “c” sound sound like “s” or “k”. Vowels sounds are different phonemes. And letters together are phonemes like “ch” and “st”. \n\nSometimes phonemes are a syllable. A syllable is the sounds we can make in just one beat of a song. “Cat” is one syllable but has 3 phonemes. “Octopus” has three syllables and even more phonemes."
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21buh5 | how does the army work? how does one get a promotion and such? | Just watch FMA:Brotherhood again and wondered how does someone get a promotion from like Private to Lieutenant or something. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/21buh5/eli5_how_does_the_army_work_how_does_one_get_a/ | {
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"Military promotions are not nearly as sexy as they appear on TV.\n\nIf you're enlisted, you earn rank by passing formal tests, doing your job well, and earning time in rank/service.\n\nIf you're an officer, you earn rank by earning time in rank/service, meeting educational goals (like getting advanced degrees), and doing your job well.\n\nYou then get to be evaluated by a board, who puts you against everyone else who is up for another rank, and they decide if/when you get to be promoted.\n\nBattlefield commissions and promotions (like going from SSgt to 2dLt overnight) really don't happen anymore, because officers are required to have 4-year degrees and graduate from a commissioning program.",
"'How does the army work' is a little too big to fit into this, and I'm a little wary of trying to make contrasts of real world military against sci-fi anime, but I'll try to sum up how military hierarchies work.\n\nIn the US army, and in many organized armies around the world, you have two separate 'lines' of ranks - enlisted personnel, and officers. For both lines there is a generally increasing amount of authority and responsibilities, but enlisted non-commissioned officers (higher ranking enlisted, like sergeants) will fall under the authority of commissioned officers (lieutenants and so on). Officers are the decision-makers of the military, NCOs are the leaders who closely supervise the junior enlisted in putting those decisions into action.\n\nIn order to become an NCO you must spend enough time in the military after enlistment to develop and show leadership qualities that let you go through extra training to be given responsibility in leading soldiers. There are several routes to become an officer, but generally they require a college education and appointment by existing officers. Some officers spend time enlisted before deciding they want to become an officer, but it isn't a requirement.",
"For enlisted, E-1 to E-4, it's time-in-service, time-in-grade, and commander's discretion.\n\nFor enlisted, E-4 up to E-7, it's all about the promotion points and s time in service, time in grade, required education, commander recommendation, board recommendation.\n\nRegarding promotion points, the maximum cut-off score is 798. Nobody gets 798 points. It's virtually impossible. It's the Army's way of saying, 'nobody in this field is getting promoted.'\n\nThere are a few ways of earning promotion points. Your commander can give you up-to 200 points. Your promotion board can give you up-to 200 points. Your PT test can earn you up-to 200 points.\n\nCertain awards can earn you 5-10 promotion points. Schools give you 2 promotion points per week. College classes can give you some points (5 per credit? 2?). All of those things that have maximum caps such that you can never quite get to 798.\n\nNow, when the Army runs low on E-5s in a certain job, they lower the cut-off score a bit to get the top ranked E-4s to fill the E-5 jobs. Similarly, when they run low on E-6s, the lower the cut-off to move the top E-5s.\n\nEventually, you get to E-7 and that has some additional requirements but, by the time you get there, you'll already know the answers."
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csbrut | how does our body decide when to loss fat verse muscle? | I understand in order to loss weight, we need to be in a calorie deficit. What I don't understand is why our body chooses to lose both fat and muscle during that calorie deficit at the same time. Wouldn't it make sense for the body to "burn" through the reserve fat first before burning through the muscle? What factors affect this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/csbrut/eli5_how_does_our_body_decide_when_to_loss_fat/ | {
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"The body can roughly lose 1kg of fat a week but not much more than that so if your calorie deficiency is too large the body starts digesting muscle. I would not ever recommend you diet to this point of muscle digestion as it floods the body with myoglobin which in turn can cause kidney damage",
"It's dictated by hormones, mainly insulin. Insulin is released in larger amounts in response to many carbohydrates, but especially sucrose (a sugar). Insulin signals the body to store fat and not to use it as fuel. Combine a caloric deficit with low insulin levels and fat will melt away rapidly, and lean muscle mass will be (mostly) preserved. But keep insulin high even in a caloric deficit, and you'll waste away plenty of muscle. \nPut another way - meat and veggies in just about any quantity will lower insulin levels, sugary and starchy foods in any amount will spike it. Greatly reduce/eliminate sweeteners of any kind and flour/corn/most grains and you'll see great results with even a small caloric deficit. But even a big caloric deficit will hardly budge the fat reserves if you eat bread, drink soda and have desserts."
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6m7t9c | why do politicians get away with so much? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6m7t9c/eli5_why_do_politicians_get_away_with_so_much/ | {
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"The vast majority of politicians are lawyers.\n\nThe vast majority of politicians are wealthy.\n\nThe politicians write the laws.\n\nIt's a stacked deck in their favor.",
"Get away with what? Writing laws in not inherently illegal, as those laws determine what is and is not. If in your opinion, politicians are doing something you don't like I'd guarantee you there's someone out there who does support it. "
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2yriup | what's the point of a juvenile law system and an adult law system if a juvenile can be tried as an adult? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2yriup/eli5_whats_the_point_of_a_juvenile_law_system_and/ | {
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"A juvenile can be tried as an adult for certain crimes, but not most. If a kid shoplifts it will be treated differently compared to when a 30 year old shoplifts.",
"The cases in which a juvenile can be tried as an adult are fairly specific, usually extreme assault, murder, and sex crimes. Juvenile courts handle anything where the minor isn't being charged as an adult",
"Treating a child as an adult is a very rare exception for horrific and brutal crimes. And that exception too is 'part of the system'. A check against letting the worst offenders go because their birthday isn't for another three weeks, etc. ",
"Juveniles can be tried as adults, but they don't have to be. It depends on the severity of the crime, and the age of the defendant. It is not a guaranteed thing either way. According to my law professor the general guidelines are 12 and under are children, 12-14 are presumed to be tried as children, 14-16 can be tried in either, 16-18 are presumed to be tried as adults, and 18+ are tried as adults. It gives the judge some latitude in how they handle the case."
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4tyhat | when mma fighters do choke holds people pass out but strangulation is silent way to kill someone. where is the threshold between making someone pass out and killing someone by physically cutting of their air supply. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4tyhat/eli5_when_mma_fighters_do_choke_holds_people_pass/ | {
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"MMA chokes do not cut off the air supply. That would actually take a very long time for someone to pass out. When applying a proper choke you want pain and discomfort and you are also attacking the artery in the neck, not the airway in the throat. So when doing a choke the person is thinking \"I dont like this I don't like this\" not \"I can't breath I can't breath\"",
"They don't choke the actual airway. The way the rear naked choke is performed the fighter only lessens the amount of blood going to the brain causing people to pass out in practice if done correct it's considered 100% and is only lethal when done improperly.",
"Most martial arts chokes work by restricting blood flow, not air. The result is the same though, the victim passes out because the brain isn't getting oxygen. The brain can survive up to ten minutes without oxygen, but after 3-4 severe damage is likely. Luckily for sport purposes unconsciousness usually occurs in 15 seconds or so. Which means you can choke a person out without causing real harm. "
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2f75ct | how do snakes climb up trees? | Okay so I've been wondering this for a while and it popped up again after a recent conversation with my brother. I understand how snakes move and swim, but climbing? Links to supporting documents would also help.
Sorry if this has already been a question, done some digging and couldn't find one.
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2f75ct/eli5_how_do_snakes_climb_up_trees/ | {
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"Not all snakes are able to climb trees, and many are able but often fall off while climbing. To climb a tree, a snake makes the scales on its underside stick out and catch on the rough parts of the bark. Parts of the bark may stick out far enough to support the snake's weight. Then the snake can push against these parts to slither up the tree.\n\n\nThe snake may also curve into an S shape and push the sides of its body outward, against the inner edges of a groove in the bark. It can cling to the tree with the front of its body, then pull up its lower body to get another grip and keep climbing. Then it can extend the front of its body higher for another grip. By switching back and forth between these two grips, the snake can climb the tree.\n\nSources : _URL_0_"
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7q6ytd | why can’t all games have the level of realistic graphics that you see in mods? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7q6ytd/eli5_why_cant_all_games_have_the_level_of/ | {
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"The big difference is that the original developers are trying to sell a game to a particular target audience, and mod developers are not. \n\nCertain effects or texture quality will be more demanding on hardware. As a studio, it wouldn't make sense to spend time working on graphics that most of your customers' hardware doesn't support. That costs money but doesn't lead to extra purchases. It's an especially important effect for games that target console users, because then a lot of your audience is on the same hardware. That's the hardware you're going to make your game look as best as possible on while running at an acceptable framerate.\n\nMod developers can support whatever graphics their own hardware supports. It doesn't matter if others can't run the mod and decide not to use it; the developers don't have anything to gain or lose either way. Another effect of not worrying about sales is that it's no trouble to revisit an old game and update the graphics now that most players probably have the hardware to support it. For professional studios, updating old games does not generate a lot of new sales, although there are a few examples of updated editions being released, like Age of Empires II HD."
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3j0kra | how are scientists able to predict with accuracy what will happen in outer space even hundreds of years from now, yet can't forsee weather predictions precisely in our own atmosphere? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3j0kra/eli5_how_are_scientists_able_to_predict_with/ | {
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"If you a flip a coin, how accurate will you be in saying if it's Heads or Tails? (.5 accuracy). If you flip an \"infinite\" number of coins, how accurate will you be in guessing the distribution of coins? (1, perfect accuracy). \n\nso the first principle here is that it can be easier to make predictions about general distributions of things over periods of time/space than it is to make a single prediction about one event. This is also why it's easier to talk about climate than weather (in general, there's not much rain in california).\n\nthe second is that space is relatively less complicated than weather on Earth (as far as we know). Weather on Earth is super dynamic. Things change all the time. \n\nIn contrast, space is mostly empty (REALLY empty). So things going in straight lines tend to just keep doing that forever.\n\nWhen things do interact, the scales are so large (solar masses) that we can pretty much ignore a lot of small bits: tiny comets, asteroids aren't going to change the speed/direction of a star, really. On the other side, a comet isn't going to really be affected by another comet; the star is the one moving the comet around mostly. \n\n*edit*\n\nI guess I could help sum things up with that straight line comment... so if you have a galaxy that is a complex system of many things, but the center of mass of that galaxy is going in a straight line.... it's probably going to do that \"forever\" (a long time), even if the tiny bits inside it are moving all around."
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1pck5l | how can my body continue to produce so much poop when i've hardly eaten in days?? | I currently have a virus thing which means I'm most of the time on the toilet. I just Don't understand How I can continue with this pace when I've hardly eaten . | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pck5l/how_can_my_body_continue_to_produce_so_much_poop/ | {
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"You have a few days of meals, about 3 - 5, worth of waste sitting in your colon. If you continued to not eat, once you are all cleared out, you will cease pooping.",
"Quantum poocanics: poop exists only probabilistically. You are experiencing what is known as quantum pootunneling.",
"Your bowel prep prior to your colonoscopy only cleared your colon. The main function of the colon is to recapture water turning a moist stool into a firm one. The distal portion of the small intestine (the ileum) is also full of poop (albeit wetter).\n\nThe lack of solid food/calories causes digestion/peristalsis to slow and your light meal after your scoping effectively reactivated your bowels (into overdrive in fact) allowing a stool from the ileum to travel the entire length of your colon in a few hours.\n\n-Mine's not a just a funny username, btw",
"About the virus/diarrhea thing: your stomach, salivary glands, intestines secrete a large volume of fluid regardless of oral consumption ( > 1.5 liter/day). Furthermore, the virus may be attacking the water pumps in your gut causing further secretion of fluid. You will continue to evacuate this fluid, plus the 200 ml/day of bile that your liver puts out even after you've totally cleared your bowels. You WILL get dehydrated if this continues. You have 30-50 liters of total body water depending on your total body mass. Your kidneys will adjust to the state of dehydration and try to hold onto water, but this is not nearly 100% efficient. \n\nJust be glad you don't have cholera! Those poor people can do 20-40 L of diarrhea per day and the treatment consists of a fast IV and a big bucket."
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2scpnz | why are some people so adamant about increasing density in suburbs, while others are strongly against it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2scpnz/eli5_why_are_some_people_so_adamant_about/ | {
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"It's better for the environment to take up less space.",
"People who want more density want it because it's better for the environment (shorter commutes and cheaper heating/cooling), health (walkable communities), culture (more interaction) and congestion (easier to build transit infrastructure). It's also cheaper. People who oppose it mainly just don't want government imposing rules - they think that people should be able to build what they want, and most North Americans want big houses with big yards and big garages. "
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rqlax | neuro-linguistic programming | What is it and how does one use it? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/rqlax/eli5_neurolinguistic_programming/ | {
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"Well, the short answer is that it's a pseudo-scientific discipline that claims to teach you how to use language to control people. It is very effective at earning a living for its small group of professional proponents, who will happily charge you money to supposedly teach you how to do it, and when it inevitably doesn't work, say that it's because you must be doing it wrong."
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3pb7tf | why can't over-the-air radio or television be received on cell phones? | Tune the right frequency, decode, voila: watch or listen. There's no technology reason why not. Considering the possibility of emergency alerts and info, isn't this a safety issue too? Shouldn't all phones have this by default? Is the cell phone company blocking this for some shortsighted business reason? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3pb7tf/eli5_why_cant_overtheair_radio_or_television_be/ | {
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"They do have FM receivers. But they're disabled because carriers want to be able to charge you for data you use by streaming audio\n\n_URL_0_",
"Many smart phone actually do have FM receivers built in.\n\nI think there were even laws a while back that would make FM-receivers in mobile devices mandatory in some places like the US. Not sure if these laws actually were enacted and are still in force though.\n\nNevertheless many cellphones have the capability to receive FM radio signals built in.\n\nWhat a lot of them don't have is the ability to actually use that hardware function. There is an obvious conflict of interest with the phone companies who want to make money of your data-usage and who have the ability to restrict what works on your phone on one side and the possibility to passively receive FM-Radio without paying anyone.\n\nIt works for more people than probably realize it though.",
"I have a Japanese cell phone that allows me to do just that. \n\nThere is a little antenna you pull out on top. It's called 1Seg I think. My Galaxy Note 2 had the same feature.\n\nEDIT - Forgot to mention, it also has a 3d screen like the Nintendo 3DS.\n\nAnd it has an exclusive copy of Earth Defence Force which can also be played in 3D. \n\n...And porn. Lots of 3d porn. I loved that phone.",
"Is there a list of phones which have fm radio? Wouldn't a radio on ur phone be handy in an emergency ?",
"In India all phones have fm radio. Some Chinese phones even had little antennas on top to get the free TV channels"
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4r1lpe | how does google maps track my location even though i have no wi-fi or a sim card? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4r1lpe/eli5_how_does_google_maps_track_my_location_even/ | {
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"How are you connecting to Google Maps?\n\nIf your device has GPS, it would use that to locate you on the map, but without access to Wi-Fi or a cellular data network it wouldn't be able to download any map data except for what had already been downloaded previously.",
"It still knows which cell tower you're connected to, whether you have a SIM or not. Phones are still connected - that's how you can make 999 calls without a SIM.",
"GPS.\n\nGPS requires no Wi-Fi or any connection at all.\n\nGPS works with geo-stationary satellites which constantly send signals to earth. Lots and lots of satellites. Those signals include which satellite send the signal and the time when this was send. A module within the smartphone receives those signals. If it received signals from atleast 3 different satellites, it can calculate based on the position of the 3 satellites and the time it took the module to receive signals from those the position on earths surface.\n\nAs I said, this is no connection. Your phone sends nothing for this. It just uses data which is broadcast to everyone all the time."
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5st26u | what are the differences between regular operating systems and real time operating systems, and why aren't all operating systems made to be the real time kind? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5st26u/eli5what_are_the_differences_between_regular/ | {
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"The main benefit of a real-time operating system is providing a predictable amount of time that it will take to perform a particular task. A regular OS utilizes a buffer to allow dozens or hundreds of processes to run simultaneously but the end result is that the results of how long it takes to process the task isn't consistent.\n\nA processor can only process so much no matter the operating system, so it's not real-time in the sense that everything you want to happen just happens when you want it to. Generally they're only used in cases where there is a very high value in having predictable results, such as aerospace controls, and various industrial uses.",
"The key feature of a real time OS is that if a request is made, it **will* complete in X milliseconds or less. Everything else is secondary to that. If the computer is controlling a self-driving car, it is going to read data from sensors several times a second, making adjustments each time. Those adjustments have to be made before the next reading comes in, an unexpected delay means the computer might react too slowly and cause an accident.\n\n > why aren't all operating systems made to be the real time kind?\n\nBecause it is a very limiting requirement. Imagine a pizza place the guaranteed 30 minute delivery, or you get a million dollars. They would have to have dozens of delivery drivers sitting idle, just in case they got a whole much of orders at once. Compare that to a 30 minutes or it is free guarantee, where they can guess how many drivers they need, and occasionally give out a few free pizzas if they are wrong.\n\nA real time OS has to have enough resources available for the worse case scenario at every moment. A regular OS can use its resources more efficiently, because taking a few extra seconds to load your browser isn't going to cause a multi-car pile-up during rush hour.",
"/u/kouhoutek really nails it, real-time isn't the good thing it kinda sounds like, it's very limiting. \n\nBut as a side note, many computer and OS designs let you have your cake and eat it too. For example, inside your cell phone there's the \"true\" OS, which isn't real time and uses a scheduler. And then on a *smaller separate computer* is the OS used for the LTE radio. This one IS real-time, and it shares a chunk of RAM with the main system. This way, you get the benefits of a multi-tasking OS with a scheduler, and the real-time benefits of never missing a radio signal."
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6qni74 | why do non-u.s. countries like australia have to wait weeks to get tv shows like got or rick and morty? | Surely the wait period (especially for popular shows) just results in high amounts of piracy. Couldn't they reduce this by releasing shows at the same time? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6qni74/eli5_why_do_nonus_countries_like_australia_have/ | {
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"Every country has a different set of distribution rights for a movie or television series. If the show isn't available in your area it's not because America doesn't want you to watch it, it's because the rights owner in your country doesn't want you to watch it somewhere else ",
"Because the entertainment industry hates money and wants people to watch it illegaly... duh"
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oulnn | how did mitt romney get his wealth? also, his controversial doings at bain capital - what exactly did he allegedly do wrong? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/oulnn/eli5_how_did_mitt_romney_get_his_wealth_also_his/ | {
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"Imagine you're running a popsicle stand with your friends. You are doing okay, but one day it turns out your stand isn't making money, and your friends aren't happy. Then another kid with a bunch of money comes along and says 'Let me buy your popsicle stand, I am good at running them, and I will turn it around, and your friends will be happy, I won't pay you much since you aren't doing well, but at least you're getting something.' So now the rich kid owns the stand and starts tyring to make it more efficient by firing some of your friends, since he didn't think they were necessary. He streamlines the stand, making it more profitable. If your stand recovers and ends up stronger than before, then the rich kid makes money because he owns it. If it looks like it will keep failing, he lets it fail in order to take in tax benefits and sill try to salvage some profit. That is in a veeeerrry basic nutshell what Bain Capital does. Romney is getting attacked for firing people when really, that was his job: to streamline companies to try to help them recover. But even though a lot of them didn't, he still made a boatload of cash by making them take out loans and getting tax breaks. Nothing he did was illegal, in fact it is exactly what capitalism does, but because his work cost people jobs it is a big political point agaisnt him. \n\nPlease forgive me if I sound a little biased anyone, I tried not to.",
"Romney was a management consultant at a high-end management consultant place called Bain Management. They're used by businesses to explore possibilities -- for instance, \"should we expand our business into India?\", \"Do we sell the best possible mix of products?\". \n\nHe did well at this job, then Bain made him the head of a private investment firm called Bain Capital. This company invested private money mostly into LBOs -- leveraged buy outs. In an LBO, you borrow money, then you buy a company in trouble, then you try to make all your money back as quickly as possible. \n\nSometimes Bain would close a factory, firing all those workers. Sometimes Bain would take money out of worker's pension funds. Sometimes Bain would lie about their interest in a company, offering a high price to scare other bidders, but then rapidly come down in price once there were no other bidders. Always, Bain would charge the company they just bought extremely high fees for their advice.\n\nNothing Bain Capital did under Romney was illegal, but many of their actions hurt individuals, sometimes greatly. Some of these actions are defensible -- some companies would have gone under, some factories were not fixable, etc. But Bain Capital set a very high bar for greed and ferocity, and the harm they did is well-documented.",
"One thing Bain has done, which I have not seen mentioned yet, is that once they acquire a company, they will have it take on a crushing debt load, then will raid the company's cash to pay themselves back.\n\nYou'd think the lenders would get wise to this, but perhaps there is some non-intuitive way this is profitable (or otherwise beneficial) to the lender.\n\nThis is bad because it destroys what value the company originally had, just so it can be a shell used to borrow money, distribute it to others, and then go bankrupt itself.\n\nFor example, KB Toys - Bain bought KB in late 2000 for $18M, and used leveraged debt to make up the difference of its $305M valuation - this is debt put on KB's books, not Bain.\n\nA little over a year later, in mid 2002) Bain extracted $85M out of KB in the form of dividends. A year and a half later KB filed for bankruptcy.\n\nBain essentially mugged KB, then shot it in the head."
]
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[],
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||
8by0oy | why do some usb cable's not allow a connection with a pc for file sharing, whilst some do? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8by0oy/eli5_why_do_some_usb_cables_not_allow_a/ | {
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"text": [
"It's not the same type of cable.\n\nUSB is a four-wire cable standard. Two wires for power feeding and two for data transfer.\n\nThe cable you have that is not working is probably shipped with a charger for your phone. It only has the two power feed wires, because it's cheaper to produce that way.\n\nYou can plug it into the computer, the computer will detect that something is plugged in. But because whatever it is is not responding to communications (and no wonder, there are not data wires!) it just assumes that it's not needed for anything and stop trying."
]
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[]
] |
||
d3gy4q | why is it that drugs, such as nicotine, caffeine, thc etc. affect you more on an empty stomach? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/d3gy4q/eli5_why_is_it_that_drugs_such_as_nicotine/ | {
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"text": [
"When you have an empty stomach and ingest coffee (example), the only thing your body has to absorve Will be the coffee and when it gets to your blood it will be more concerned as it didn't absorb any other thing."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
16rvmd | how do things get "lost in the mail"? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/16rvmd/eli5_how_do_things_get_lost_in_the_mail/ | {
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"Think about what the postal service actually does. They take an envelope or package from an office in one location and bring it to any other place in a matter of days, regardless of whether it's coming from a big city or a tiny town. That's a huge undertaking and it's remarkable that it's so reliable. \n\nSo, where can things go wrong? I have no experience in this field but I can come up with a few reasons. First, some people just have bad handwriting. If a letter is supposed to go to 123 Main St., someone could misread it and deliver it to 123 Mam St. instead. Sometimes people make careless mistakes. Perhaps the mailman accidentally grabbed an extra letter when filling a mailbox. As a result, the letter goes to the neighbors of the person supposed to receive it. There could also be errors with machinery. Perhaps a sorting machine malfunctions and a letter gets sent to the wrong post office. There's also a bunch of opportunities for people to prevent a letter from getting to its destination. For example, someone has to pick up the letters from the mailbox to the post office, then someone has to transport it to a different location (maybe multiple times), and then the letter has to be delivered to a specific address. If any single person along the way decides to open the letter or it gets misplaced, it won't reach the proper destination. \n\nTL;DR: There are a lot of steps involved in getting a letter from point A to point B and a problem with any one can get the letter lost. It's actually remarkable that so many letters actually get to where they're supposed to go. "
]
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[]
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||
3246wk | aspertame/sucralose vs sugar, how it breaks down, is it really any better for you, and what are the negative health consequences of them? | SO is diabetic, so they drink "sugar-free" stuff constantly. Which I know will not make their blood sugar rise but does it still get broken down and stored in fat cells? I don't fully understand the breaking down of complex carbohydrates while we're on the topic either. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3246wk/eli5_aspertamesucralose_vs_sugar_how_it_breaks/ | {
"a_id": [
"cq7ps4t"
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"text": [
"Sucralose doesn't break down so just passes through your system, but aspartame is broken down into three things:\n\nAspartate, a common amino acid.\n\nMethanol (Into mildly toxic Formic acid).\n\nPhenylalanine, Another common amino acid (but toxic to those with phenylketonuria, a rare disease).\n\nAspartame thus does not produce fat as it is not a sugar. It is not considered toxic, despite the methanol production, because it is in such tiny amounts the formic acid has no effect on you. Fruits and stuff also contain methanol so no real worry. People with phenylketonuria must not consume aspartame."
]
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|
2vzfto | why are the channel assignments on the digital cable guide so haphazard and disorganized? | And why can't we assign our own numbers to each channel as a custom template? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2vzfto/eli5_why_are_the_channel_assignments_on_the/ | {
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"I think a few factors contribute to the seeming randomness of channel placements. These are just things I have noticed in my time working in a small-ish IPTV provider. This is by no means a definitive answer.\n\n1. Some channel providers are actually large companies which have multiple individual channels under their umbrella, for example Viacom. They may want their channels to be grouped together so when channel surfing from one you are likely to stop on another of theirs.\n\n2. If networks know their channel number and have it assigned they can use it as part of their branding. This is most commonly seen with local channels.\n\n3. The software and guide information displayed on your providers cable box is almost guaranteed to have not been developed by the company. They may want to let you sort by genre but it simply isn't a feature of the previously chosen software they have millions of dollars sunk in to.\n\n4. Most companies do try to organize the guide, its just a fight between organization and things like #1 and #2 above. Plus, no matter how it is organized someone will disagree. If you sort by genre someone will want it by channel package etc. "
]
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|
pgwrf | li5 dungeons and dragons | One of my friends says he has a D & D book from his dad, and we are going to try it this Friday. Can anyone explain it? I'm an avid Forum role-player, but I don't understand D & D. Is there a set world with lore, or can the DM create what he wants? How would I start? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/pgwrf/li5_dungeons_and_dragons/ | {
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"[Music For the Mood](_URL_3_)\n\nDungeons and Dragons (or any Pen and Paper roleplaying game for that matter) is similar to a video game. Only there are few limiting mathematical and physical boundaries that vidya holds. In video games, more often than not, you're not going to be able to do anything you want. In Dungeons and Dragons, you're not going to be able to keep it simple. As strange as that sounds, that's just the way it is. You want to play a Noble Knight? Sure go ahead. You want to play a crazed wizard hellbent on enslaving all mortals? Go for it dude. Want to play a luchador with a passion of grappling and submissions? Be my guest. There are virtually no limits. One of my DnD games ended with a guitar duel between the dwarven bard player and the Orc BBEG (big bad evil guy). \n\nYou need to look at the rules, I don't know what edition you have but if you'd like I made a powerpoint presentation on how to play 3.5e edition. I also have various maps I've played throughout High School Career (I was the real ladies man in case you can't tell).\n\nGenerally speaking, the game runs on stats. Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS) and Charisma (CHA). Each stat determines something about your character. High STR means your character is tough, while low INT means he's not bright. My powerpoint would really help you get through this a lot quicker, so I [uploaded it](_URL_12_).\n\nYou need a few things to start playing. Any number of books (Player handbook for the PC (player characters) and DM, the Monster Manual would help the DM find out what monsters are good. Though you could find out about any monsters through various sites on the internet.\n\nWhen making a character, you need to decide an alignment. Alignment shows you what a character is like morally. Because I suck and I didn't include it on my powerpoint it goes like [this](_URL_7_). To really get you thinking about alignments I'll start with getting some pictures of people who best describe them. \n\n[Lawful Evil](_URL_1_).\n\n[Chaotic Evil](_URL_17_)\n\n[Neutral Evil](_URL_11_)\n\n[Lawful Neutral](_URL_15_)\n\n[True Neutral](_URL_14_)\n\n[Chaotic Neutral](_URL_6_)\n\n[Lawful Good](_URL_9_)\n\n[Neutral Good](_URL_19_)\n\n[Chaotic Good](_URL_0_)\n\n If you need more clarification let me know I'd be happy to do so.\n\nAs for the story, it can be either or.\n\nThere are Dungeons and Dragons campaigns like the ones listed [here](_URL_8_). They range from fantasy Arabia, Steampunk settings, Tolkien-esque High Fantasy, Conan The Barbarian low fantasy and everything and anything in between. Some of the better known settings such as [Eberron](_URL_2_) feature steampunk golems, vampire kings and dinosaur island all on the same planet. While other such as [Dark Sun](_URL_13_) is a post apocalyptic fantasy setting that emphasizes little to no magic and is a little more grittier than standard fantasy. \n\nThen, more often than not there are custom made campaigns the DM / GM (Dungeon Master / Game Master) have created themselves. For some more info on whacky adventures I suggest you stroll over to the [Traditional Games](_URL_20_) board on 4chan (some NSFW stuff in here)\n\nFor my last bit, I'm going to hook you up with the basic links that I have used to master Dungeons and Dragons\n\n**[Donjon](_URL_10_)** - Name generator, Dungeon generator, Location generator even a low tier Campaign generator. Very helpful with small things. Good to bookmark.\n\n**[Seventh Sanctum](_URL_18_)** - Another name generator as well as a useful location and setting generator. Again very useful.\n\n**[Redblade](_URL_5_)** - DnD 3.5e Character Generator. After reading my powerpoint you can breeze through the character generator and make whatever character you would like. It's a blast really, even makes a printable file you can use. \n\n**[Dingles Game Monster Generator](_URL_4_)** - A simple monster generator. Your DM may want to be a little careful because sometimes it can cook up a godamn behemoth. Stay away from boars and bears.\n\n**[Sup /tg/ Archives](_URL_16_)** - Your go to for anything. Don't be intimidated and look for something in the search bar and you'll be amazed my friend."
]
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[
"http://www.5thavenuecinema.org/storage/v_for_vendetta.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1304309471032",
"http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-S33882,_Adolf_Hitler_retouched.jpg/200px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-S33882,_Adolf_Hitler_retouched.jpg",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eberron",
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZIEUPudUDk",
"http://www.dinglesgames.com/tools/MonsterGenerator/dnd35/",
"http://home.redblade.org/",
"http://sedatedworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/jacksparrow.jpg",
"http://i.imgur.com/l8bV8.png",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_campaign_settings",
"http://www.superman-picture.com/superman-5.jpg",
"http://donjon.bin.sh/",
"http://images.wikia.com/alienhorrorsaga/images/6/67/The_Alien_Queen_by_14_bis.jpg",
"http://www.mediafire.com/?ltlw3aam1ewiqyg",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Sun",
"http://wrixel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/924357-459124_dr_manhattan_pic_super.jpg",
"http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2011/07/John-Goodman-in-The-Big-Lebowski.jpg",
"http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html",
"http://www.buzzpirates.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/joker-1.jpg",
"http://seventhsanctum.com/",
"http://mightygodking.com/images/neutralgood.jpg",
"http://boards.4chan.org/tg/"
]
] |
|
bi43ig | how does an infinite universe not violate conservation of energy and imply the existence of infinite energy | Wouldn't the idea of the universe being infinite be automatically invalidated by the fact that such a thing implies the existence of infinite energy? Since ZERO energy is absolutely impossible (you can only come closer and closer to zero, not reach it), an infinite universe would either imply that, at some point in the universe, the empty space's energy reaches zero (an absurdity) or that there is infinite energy - and that would be problematic in and out of itself.
ELI5; why is the idea of an infinite universe becoming more and more accepted if it causes such problems then? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bi43ig/eli5_how_does_an_infinite_universe_not_violate/ | {
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"Although the universe's size may be unbounded, it contains only a finite amount of matter and energy: the amount released at the Big Bang. As the universe expands, this finite amount gets spread thinner and thinner.",
"Why can't the universe just have an infinite amount of energy overall?\n\nIt doesn't cause any problems. That energy is spread out over an area that is expanding while the amount of energy is remaining the same, so it will tend towards zero energy per unit space due to entropy.\n\nAnd this is of course talking about the whole universe, not just the observable universe. The observable universe has an (obviously) finite amount of energy in it.",
"The main workaround for speculations about \"infinite reality\" is the supposition that the universe as we know it has zero **net** energy.\n\nIn other words, everything that happens is balanced by something else, so that (taken as a whole) there are no conservation violations. Or, if interpreted cynically, \"nothing actually happens.\"\n\nThere is no possible way to prove or disprove this. It is philosophy.",
"The energy in the universe might be infinite (because it is infinite in size), but the energy density (= energy per volume) is definitely not infinite. Also, zero energy is not impossible, you might be thinking of temperature. In which case yes, the universe cools down as it expands.",
"For practical cases, the answer is that it doesn't matter. We only care about the part of the universe that we can actually interact with, which is finite, and in most cases we're only really looking at the conservation of matter within a closed system.\n\nIn the case that the universe is infinite in size (which may or may not be true, but is likely) then we still don't necessarily have a problem. You can have an infinite quantity and put the restriction on it that you don't add or subtract anything from that infinite quantity. You simply state that if some amount of energy moves from one place to another, the total sum of energy of those two regions must be constant. It simply doesn't matter whether the total amount of energy everywhere is bounded or not."
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6diiqw | why do americans want the state to run their schools? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6diiqw/eli5why_do_americans_want_the_state_to_run_their/ | {
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"Because changes at the Federal Level are slow, entirely because the Federal Government has to get a consensus in a nation of over 300 million people. If an individual state wants to change its curriculum, they shouldn't have to wait for the Feds to do it. In addition, if a given state wants to promote a certain set of programs that don't really make sense for the majority of states (e.g. veterinary programs in high school are somewhat common throughout the Great Plains, entirely because the state wants to promote people going into veterinary fields that provide valuable services to the state agricultural industries), they shouldn't have to fight the Feds in order to set up such a program.\n\nIn addition, given that the states are responsible for the lion's share of the funding for educational programs in the US, it follows that they should also have the power to set the curriculum.\n\nRemember that many states are comparable to entire nations in terms of population and geographical size (hell, California and Texas would be overnight economic powers if they were their own nations). Federal level control works well in France and Germany because those countries don't have the same degree of geographic and cultural variation as you'll see in the US.",
"First, to dispel your current assumption, not all American citizens want public schooling to be ran at the state level, that is the more conservative school of thought regarding the issue, and there are a couple aspects to that. First, the US Constitution lays out that what is not explicitly delegated to the federal government by the Constitution falls under the jurisdiction of the states. This isn't always the case, the Commerce Clause comes to mind when exceptions are concerned, but this is usually one of the first things someone may mention if asked why they would prefer education be ran at the state level. The other part to this, which is moreso an elaboration on the previous statement, is that those who feel it should be run at the state level also feel that because the state governments will be closer to their public education systems, by comparison to the national government, they will have a better idea of the needs of their school districts and can legislate funding or standards accordingly."
]
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[],
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||
e93o1p | how can permanently deleted photos be recoverable? | Old news but I happened to stumble across a fappening article from back then. One of the actresses says the photos that were leaked were deleted a long time ago, so she thinks the hacker went through a lot of work to find them.
Is that possible? If so, how does that work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e93o1p/eli5_how_can_permanently_deleted_photos_be/ | {
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"Because the Data itself was not necessarily deleted, just the pointer to it. A good comparison would be a wardrobe with clothes (picture) in it. On the front you have notes (Pointer) which tell you where a certain piece of clothing lies in your wardrobe. If you now remove such a Note you wont know anymore where that specific piece of clothing is (therefore deleted) you could still look through your wardrobe though. Since the clothing itself wasnt touched, it is still there, it is just much more work to find it this way.\n\nEdit: Cloud saves as mentioned by someone else is a possibilty too",
"It completely depends what you mean by “permanently deleted”. When you delete something, depending on your system, it just makes that space available to be written over. It doesn’t actually delete the file. This is why it’s good to use a multi-pass deletion program every so often for your free space. \n\nSome cloud services don’t permanently delete files until a few months. iCloud offers recovery up until a certain amount of time with some of its services. You have to go to _URL_0_ on a computer, not iOS or Android, but it’s possible with many files. \n\nIt’s up to you to truly delete things you don’t want discovered."
]
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1re4st | corporate takeover bidding | In Australia, the [bidding war for a dairy producer](_URL_0_) has been in the news recently.
Why do the bidders need to bid like this? Can't they just go to the stockmarket and buy up the shares they need? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1re4st/eli5_corporate_takeover_bidding/ | {
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"text": [
"There is a lot of risk in a corporate takeover and buying shares on the open market opens up the acquiring company to even greater risk. Buying up a large percentage of shares tends to have the effect of driving up the cost of these shares and if people are aware that a hostile takeover attempt is occurring, the cost of shares can go very high and the company might take steps to dilute the stock value. If the attempt fails, the acquiring company then either has to hold its stock or dump it, potentially losing a lot of money.\n\nAsking shareholders to agree to a takeover reduces risk for the acquiring company and tends to make the transition process smoother."
]
} | [] | [
"http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/saputo-increases-takeover-offer-for-warrnambool-cheese/5114654"
] | [
[]
] |
|
cgbk4t | what are “subliminals” on youtube and do they work? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cgbk4t/eli5_what_are_subliminals_on_youtube_and_do_they/ | {
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"text": [
"Subliminal advertising was a theory which was proposed that if you showed one or two frames in a larger film it was past before the conscious brain spotted it, but the subconscious brain would spot is and then be vulnerable to the influences of the frames such as being thirsty. However the initial research on it was faked and it appeared in the numerous places including an episode of Colombo before it was known that it was junk."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
2ftxgt | why isn't all the armor, weapons, clothing, etc from medieval times still around? why isn't there a large quantity of, say, roman armor piled up somewhere? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ftxgt/eli5_why_isnt_all_the_armor_weapons_clothing_etc/ | {
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"Metal is valuable and expensive. Most of it would have been melted down and used as something else once its useful life as armor or a weapon or whatever was over.",
"Well the Roman Empire wasn't really a medieval thing for one. There is plenty of genuine medieval armaments on display in various museums and in various collections. \n\nMost of it got destroyed because it's wasn't really that valuable. Plenty of swords or armour got broken beyond reasonable repair so it was melted down for scrap or abandoned. \n\nAnything that got ditched or forgotten by the Roman Empire has long since been destroyed by age.",
"Is a common misconception that everyone on a medieval battlefield was a night in shining armor. The vast majority were dirt poor conscripts that were lucky to have a leather jerkin. Armor was very expensive and only the richest had them, thats why being a knight was such a big deal. "
]
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||
rhnj7 | why is bush v. gore considered to be such a bad ruling? | It seems there is a legal consensus that the rationale the High Court used to justify the Bush v. Gore ruling was inconsistent bordering on shoddy. What exactly (from a primarily legal perspective) made that decision so suspect? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/rhnj7/eli5_why_is_bush_v_gore_considered_to_be_such_a/ | {
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"\"Bad\" is subjective. I was only 17 at the time, and I would have voted for Gore, but looking back the Supreme Court made the right decision in my opinion.\n\nEssentially the Supreme Court decided that the method used to recount the votes cast in Florida was unconstitutional because there were no rules in place to dictate how a vote could be recounted. So you could look at a ballot and say, \"Yeah, that looks like a vote for Gore.\" But I could look at the same ballot and say, \"No way, that vote doesn't count.\" Under Florida law, both of us would be correct. The Supreme Court said this violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it allows a citizen's vote to be interpreted by someone else, creating a gray area where voting should be black and white.\n\nSome people think that each of the Justices had a vested interest in either a Republican or Democratic administration and they were voting \"along party lines,\" so to speak. The Supreme Court could have remanded the case back to the Florida Supreme Court, but since it was a federal election it would have set a (dangerous, some will say) precedent for allowing individual States to have huge influence on national outcomes."
]
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[]
] |
|
1toodb | why does kim jong un always have a following of military officials? | It looks like he's part of the League of Doom, but using the buddy system to not get separated... In every picture I see of him, he's always inspecting something with a bunch of military officials following him around, either taking notes or just standing there. Why? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1toodb/eli5_why_does_kim_jong_un_always_have_a_following/ | {
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"Because North Korea is a dictatorship, he's the dictator, and dictators pretty much always like to show the people their military strength. It keeps them in line, not to mention showing the rest of the world their military strength. \n\nGo look up Hitler and Stalin. They too were dictators and they were always photographed and filmed inspecting military units, etc. ",
"Both previously posted answers are not answering OP's question. It's not about Kim inspecting military units, it's about the entourage following him around, even when he is visiting apparently Civilian facilities.\n\nThere are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, even apparently Civilian projects like the infamous ski resort, many factories and other projects are managed and run by the military, which controls large parts of the economy - or what's left of it. So some of those people following Kim around on his visits (or \"guidance tours\", as the North Korean propaganda calls it) are actually just in charge there and are expected to immediately enact any changes Kim suggests. That's the reason for their note taking.\n\nSecondly, some of those officials are simply members of the inner circle. Un's uncle was very often participating for example. You have to imagine North Korea's elite around Kim Jong-Un traveling around the country via train and helicopter, visiting military units, farms and factories in an attempt to appear close to the people. Those visits are not just visits. Kim Il-Sung, Un's grandfather, was painted as a genius among men by the propaganda and with it comes the expectation that he's infallible and an expert in every field. His son and grandson have \"inherited\" this quality. The idea is, as previously mentioned, that they are giving crucial advice to the people during their visits.\n\nOf course, this is mostly bogus. There are a few dozen farms, factories and shops specifically created for propaganda purposes and those facilities receive a majority of those visits - while producing nothing or very little. Sometimes foreigners are shown around there and most quickly realize their real purpose."
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7j55go | where did anchors get their shape? | According to my (limited) nautical knowledge, an anchor is just a heavy object that holds a boat in place by sitting on the sea floor. Is there a reason why anchors are generally shaped with upturned hooks, besides making them look badass? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7j55go/eli5_where_did_anchors_get_their_shape/ | {
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"When the ship starts to move it will drag the anchor. If you just drag a cube of steel nothing but it's weight will stop you. If you put some hooks on it then when you drag it the hooks will dig in and fight your motion more than just the weight of the anchor",
"This is more complicated than one would think, actually.\n\n & nbsp;\n\nFirst off, understand that anchors are not actually what keeps the boat from moving. It's actually the cable that connects the anchor to the boat which keeps the boat or other sea vessel stationary. The cable uses the movement of the water to form a natural catenary. The catenary is the curve of a cable. This occurs because the cable is fixed to the boat and the ground so the weight of the cable causes the catenary. This curve of the cable absorbs the sudden movements of the water, such as waves, and allows the vessel to remain in place.\n\n & nbsp;\n\nNow, the catenary only works properly if it is safely secured at both ends. This is where the anchor comes into play. There are various types of anchors that are used. It all depends on the material that makes up the sea bottom. Some areas are extremely rocky and require a different anchor than if it were a soft sand. Their shapes are all different. For example, the [Mushroom Anchor](_URL_1_:) is used in a soft sea bottom for vessels that are going to be there awhile. It is designed so that it goes straight into the sea bottom and uses suction to remain. This is for more permanent mooring. The more traditional [Fisherman's Anchor](_URL_0_:) is designed so that the two flukes (points) can dig into a soft sand bottom. \n\n",
"Ahoy, matey! 'Tis a fine piratey question. Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained:\n\n1. [Why are anchors shaped the way they are? ](_URL_2_) ^(_15 comments_)\n1. [ELI5: Why are boat anchors shaped like that and how do they work? ](_URL_1_) ^(_23 comments_)\n1. [ELI5: How do anchors work? ](_URL_0_) ^(_7 comments_)\n",
"Auxiliary question: where and how are anchors made?"
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"https://www.google.com/search?q=fisherman%27s+anchor&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiN-obN9YLYAhUi8IMKHfSoDYsQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=949#imgrc=EzNeNj8v3KavjM",
"https://www.google.com/search?q=mushroom+anchor&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwidmcaU9YLYAhUE3YMKHWJNAQcQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=949#imgrc=oPDekpl8_64ZsM"
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"https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/3iwb7p/why_are_anchors_shaped_the_way_they_are/"
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nma24 | the uses, pro's, con's and why so many programmers/web dev's use of github | I've seen github be thrown about here and there and I've even been on the site but I just have no clue about it... | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/nma24/eli5_the_uses_pros_cons_and_why_so_many/ | {
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"github's like a mashup of facebook and a type of application called \"source management\" software. \n\nfacebook, as you know, is a social network that allows you to share a bunch of things about yourself with others, and browse the things that others share. \n\n\"Source management\" software...hmm. Imagine if you had Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder, but you could right-click on a text file and there was a menu option called \"See previous versions of this file\". Upon clicking it, you could browse older versions of that file, as well as browse a list of messages you left for yourself every time you updated that file. Source management software allows you to hierarchically store all of the files that contain the source code to a program you wrote, AND, as I described above, look at the different versions and the change lists for each of the files within your program.\n\nNow imagine what happens when you combine the social features of a site like Facebook with a very awesome version of source management software. You can do things like look at the code for other peoples' software they've written (people you may not have even met IRL!), make a copy of all that code for your personal use (called a fork or, in some special cases, a branch), make changes to that software that you can optionally share with the original creator of the software, and then should you choose to share, easily merge the code that you've added to that person's software into their original source tree (only with their permission, of course). Github is essentially a way for every programmer in the world to eventually work together on one big development team.\n\nI guess I covered some uses and pros. Not sure of the cons. I guess, like any new piece of software w/ a lot of subtleties and powerful uses, you can shoot yourself in the foot in ways that you can probably recover from, but only through great pain. I've been told using Github can sometimes feel like throwing a running, high powered chainsaw into a time machine set to a week ago and hoping for the best.",
"Probably the big reason a lot of programmers don't like to admit is that it's free. Free as in beer, although I believe it is free as in speech also. When you are looking for a tool for a problem you're having, it's pretty common to look at all the free tools first.\n\nThe other pro and con is that (unless you go with their paid service) anyone can look at your code, and anyone can suggest patches to your code. This is good for collaboration and getting bugfixes, but if you're not a great coder or are shy or whatever, that might be a turnoff.\n\nIt does require the use of git as your source control, which is a pro or con based on whether you are already using or want to use git. ",
"github's like a mashup of facebook and a type of application called \"source management\" software. \n\nfacebook, as you know, is a social network that allows you to share a bunch of things about yourself with others, and browse the things that others share. \n\n\"Source management\" software...hmm. Imagine if you had Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder, but you could right-click on a text file and there was a menu option called \"See previous versions of this file\". Upon clicking it, you could browse older versions of that file, as well as browse a list of messages you left for yourself every time you updated that file. Source management software allows you to hierarchically store all of the files that contain the source code to a program you wrote, AND, as I described above, look at the different versions and the change lists for each of the files within your program.\n\nNow imagine what happens when you combine the social features of a site like Facebook with a very awesome version of source management software. You can do things like look at the code for other peoples' software they've written (people you may not have even met IRL!), make a copy of all that code for your personal use (called a fork or, in some special cases, a branch), make changes to that software that you can optionally share with the original creator of the software, and then should you choose to share, easily merge the code that you've added to that person's software into their original source tree (only with their permission, of course). Github is essentially a way for every programmer in the world to eventually work together on one big development team.\n\nI guess I covered some uses and pros. Not sure of the cons. I guess, like any new piece of software w/ a lot of subtleties and powerful uses, you can shoot yourself in the foot in ways that you can probably recover from, but only through great pain. I've been told using Github can sometimes feel like throwing a running, high powered chainsaw into a time machine set to a week ago and hoping for the best.",
"Probably the big reason a lot of programmers don't like to admit is that it's free. Free as in beer, although I believe it is free as in speech also. When you are looking for a tool for a problem you're having, it's pretty common to look at all the free tools first.\n\nThe other pro and con is that (unless you go with their paid service) anyone can look at your code, and anyone can suggest patches to your code. This is good for collaboration and getting bugfixes, but if you're not a great coder or are shy or whatever, that might be a turnoff.\n\nIt does require the use of git as your source control, which is a pro or con based on whether you are already using or want to use git. "
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2j649n | what is the easiest way for me to reduce my carbon footprint without going all environmentalist all over everyone's day. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2j649n/eli5_what_is_the_easiest_way_for_me_to_reduce_my/ | {
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"Turn off the lights when you don't need them.\n\nOnly run water when you need it.\n\nRide a bike occasionally.\n\nCarpool if you like your co-workers. *Saves money and the world* \n\nRecycle \n\nDon't litter",
"Eat less beef. A person who eats no beef has a similar carbon foot print for a vetegarian. Chicken and pork have a much better carbon foot print."
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67mncg | the significance/obsession of usa citizens with prom and high school graduation. | Is there something that I'm missing here?
I thought it's normal to finish high school and prepare to go to pre U than Uni.
But after seeing limousine being rented, hundred plus USD dress, another hundred plus USD for shoes, and top that with another couple of hundred USD for other necessary stuff, I'm questioning my own logic.
It doesn't stop there, it seems, graduating high school is widely celebrated even to a point that parents give out paid vacation trips or a car as gift.
As for the students theme self, OMG they spent months preparing for prom and the fight for Queen and King is actually real. I thought it was just TV shit.
Back to the question, why? what is it I'm missing here? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/67mncg/eli5_the_significanceobsession_of_usa_citizens/ | {
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"Well no, that stuff is greatly exaggerated.\n\nRenting a limo isn't that common because they are expensive, and it is easier to just drive yourself.\n\nProm dresses and shows are expensive, but all formalwear is expensive.\n\nThe fight for Prom King and Queen can be real, but it is a popularity contest. It is only serious if you make it serious.\n\nParents who are giving out paid vacations are generally the very rich.\n\nThose that are buying cars for their kids are normally doing so because the kid needs a car for college.\n\nAll in all, prom and graduation is just a an event that everyone goes through so it becomes a staple to celebrate like a 21 birthday. Most people take it in stride, other people make It a defining moment in their life. There is no major mass cultural obsession with it.",
"There is no pre-U in the US. You go straight to University after high school. \n\nGraduation of High School is considered the beginning of your adult life. From that point forward you are expected to either to to college (university) or to go into full time employment. It is the end of your childhood and therefore it is a major point of celebration. The High School diploma is also the bare minimum for most jobs so it is an important achievement to get. \n\nAs for prom, that is one of the primary social events of teenage life. ",
"TL;DR: We've lost most of our developmental milestones and coming-of-age rituals. So high school prom and graduation are a major milestone for most people, often the *only* milestone. They're an important cultural event and ritual that signals a transition from childhood to adulthood. People want to mark the occasion and remember it later in life.\n\nThe US, like many Western societies, is gradually secularizing. It is also highly urbanized. And finally the cultural importance of marriage and the nuclear family has been declining for decades. As such, we've found that many of our developmental rituals have faded away. \n\nIn many religions, there's some type of coming-of-age ceremony. Jews have bar mitzvah at age 13. Many Christians have Confirmation around the same age, where children are taught important theological points and are allowed to take communion at church for the first time. Lots of cultures have various rituals and ceremonies for the time when a child is perceived to have become mature and able to take on adult responsibilities and privileges. These ceremonies aren't always religious, but in America, historically, they have been. Most people in America, even if not personally religious, have a Christian background. But religion has faded greatly from public life. Most people rarely go to church, if at all, and a sixth of the US population has no religion. So religious coming-of-age ceremonies are gone for many people.\n\nSecond, we have urbanization. Rural areas tend to be \"old-fashioned.\" Traditions are stronger. There's a variety of reasons for this. Part of is it the closeness of communities. In urban settings, you can be alone, you can get lost. If you have no interest in keeping up traditions, there's no local authorities: familial, religious, or economic, to force you to keep up with tradition. If you stop going to church, stop wearing traditional clothes, stop going to holiday gatherings and other ceremonies, no one's going to notice. But in rural settings, people rely heavily on one another, and you'll be gossiped about heavily if you're an oddball who doesn't keep up with tradition like everyone else. So you do. Rural areas often have all kinds of gatherings and rituals, especially for children. Barn-raisings, harvest festivals, Christenings for babies, and especially early marriage. In old times, in rural places, people often moved straight from their parents' house straight into a new home with their spouse. They married at 19 or 20 and started having kids immediately. Weddings then became a huge deal. You kindof weren't an adult until you got married, but there were always the occasional \"bachelors\" and \"spinsters\" who delayed marriage or never married. This has gone away. The average age when a woman first gives birth now is 27, compared to 22 a century ago. And marriage is delayed as well. We now give weird looks to people who marry before 21. That used to be about the average age people got married. Now it's not abnormal to wait until you're in your 30s to marry and have kids. ",
"Prom is stupid, but graduating high school is a symbol of becoming an adult. You'll soon be on your own and providing for yourself or going to college, so you celebrate the end of your 13 years of schooling and say goodbye to your days as a mandatory student.",
"Celebrating high school graduation is a tradition carried forward from the early 20th century when graduating from high school was not as prevalent as it is today. Back when my grandparents were young, maybe 50% of students actually completed high school, as many opted to drop out and take up working on the family farm or the family business. Of those who did graduate, maybe 20% actually went on to college as there were no student loans at the time and you really didn't need a college degree to get a decent job. So, in those days it was a pretty big milestone to actually graduate high school, as most people would then move on to full time work and essentially be considered adults.\n\nThis carried forward for many years, even into my parents generation, where the majority of kids did make it through high school, but only about 50% went on to college. Again, the other 50% started full time work.\n\nThis traditions has been carried forward through each generation. Also, of note is the fact that upon turning 18 and graduating high school, you become eligible to be drafted to the military. At times of war, this was a big deal, like during WWII for my grandfather or Vietnam for my father.\n\nAs far as prom goes, this is essentially a coming of age ceremony in the USA. Seniors have their first truly formal dance as adults. As far as expenses go for prom, it is really a function of the economic status of the students that attend any given school. As you can imagine, students in wealthy areas spend a lot of money and student from poorer areas spend less. My high school was mostly upper-middle class and some upper class, so some people went crazy, but most people were spent around $300 or $400 total. We had rented a limo, but it was split between 4 couples, so it only cost me around $40 for my share. My suit was rented for about $100 and a group of about 40 of us rented a giant beach house for the after party, which I think was about $100 per person. Most people form groups that pool resources to have an awesome party, but at reasonable prices. Of course, the movies aren't going to depict an average prom, so those only show super extravagant and somewhat unrealistic depictions of prom.\n\nSo, really prom and graduation are time honored traditions here in the USA. Does it make as much sense these days? Probably not, but I'm not going to turn down a reason to have a giant party.",
"In the USA there isn't mandation to finish high school or go to college at all. Some really successful entrepreneurs are drop outs in fact.\n\nGenerally speaking, Prom is usually the last time you'll spend with the majority of your high school friends. It's a last hurrah with them unless your school does a senior trip, in which case THAT is your last hurrah with them. \n\nFinishing high school is often seen as the gateway to the rest of your life. As such, it is usually celebrated pretty much because, you're not getting any more celebrations. It's a send off party really. Plus Prom is insanely lucrative for local businesses that host it or support it. \n\nYour parents are usually fairly happy you've managed to not be a complete failure as well. Wealthy parents will do stupid things like give kids a new car. Middle wealth might pass their car down. Most of the time, this is to facilitate actually getting to college or moving out. Cars are expensive. High school grads likely won't be able to afford one, and US environments have much less public transportation support. In addition, things aren't as centralized as say Europe. We don't go to the \"Shops\" as it were. You might have a trip of 50 to 100 miles to hit 3 different stores for supplies, depending on who you shop with. It's pretty much the singular reason why WalMart does so well.\n\nPersonally, I think it's (graduation) a huge light show for the equivalency of showing your parents you're capable of memorizing crap like a parrot. Not much to be celebrated really. Back in the day, it was something much fewer people could do. Like now with masters degrees and doctorates. BUT, it's so dumbed down anymore, they've sucked the value from it. College is getting there for 2 and 4 year programs.\n\nSo, no, you're not missing it. It's a hollow celebration for the most part, mostly driven by tradition."
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3jjjg3 | why do a lot of people, particularly americans, think the us government are the ones who carried out 9/11? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3jjjg3/eli5_why_do_a_lot_of_people_particularly/ | {
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"The US government has always been very deceiving. Causing a lot of Americans to be untrusting ",
"Arguments may include.\n\n- They learned to fly in America.\n\n- The nation that spends more money on it's military than the world combined can't find two jets.\n\n- They only sent out two fighters to look for the missing jets.\n\n- Bush was unphased upon the news.\n\n- Can jet fuel burn steel beams?\n\n- Why did America attack Iraq when it wasn't involved?\n",
"Only 15% of Americans believe that the US carried out 9/11. That is not a lot of people in comparison to the size of the US. ",
"Ever since watergate, an old scandal involving Nixon, Americans have always had doubts about their government. If you are unaware about Watergate, just do a quick google search. That was literally the shift in gears.\n\nAs for 9/11, only a small majority truly believe that it was our governments doing. The rest who you see say that are the Epik meme kids. \n\nAnd as another user mentioned, even if our government did not cause 9/11, the prevention actions to find the hijacked planes and stop everything were not that great. But again, can't blame em. Not like they knew this would happen. ",
"I don't think \"a lot\" of people do. Some surely do. But the loud minority on the internet probably seem more widespread than they are.",
"I am not a 9/11 conspiracy theorist, but a lot of my friends are, and what I always tell them is that essentially it doesn't matter whether or not the government committed the 9/11 attacks, because the security apparatuses that are in place don't allow us to ever know one way or the other. That is the actual insider crime and conspiracy that is right out in the open. Even if the government didn't commit the attacks, the veil of secrecy that does exist means they could have and we would never know the difference. \n\nSo even if I don't personally buy into the logistics of a 9/11 insider attack, the fact that I can never completely discount the possibility due to a lack of transparency in my government is disheartening. "
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5qfsts | what makes plastic surgery look so obviously overdone? | It seems you can always tell when someone has had work done on their face, but what is it exactly that gives it away? Shouldn't the goal be to not tell you had work done in the first place? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5qfsts/eli5_what_makes_plastic_surgery_look_so_obviously/ | {
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"It's like CGI in films. You don't notice a lot of it. You only notice what stands out. Tens of thousands of people undergo cosmetic surgeries every day, and you'd have no idea. It can be simple things like having protruding ears pinned back, eyelids changed, lip lifts, nose jobs etc etc.. if surgery is done well, you'd never know. It's when people go crazy with lip filler and augmented cheeks that things start to get noticeable. ",
"I think the Uncanny Valley hypothesis could help you understand this. Its básically the idea that human replicas that look almost like humans but not quite can make us feel un confortable. This also explains fear of clowns or costumes. I am guessing people that has had surgery stops looking completely human and our minds detect it.",
"So how do you know all the people that have had work that you don't notice?\n\n_URL_0_",
"There was a cool video about why we hate CGI in movies and the conclusion was that we hate bad CGI because we don't notice when it is done well. I think this applies to plastic surgery as well.",
"You notice 100% of the (visible) flaws, and 0% of the (invisible) successes.\n\nObviously you'll think that most surgeries look bad.",
"You think you can always tell, because you only notice the botched jobs/ over done stuff.\n\nYou're only noticing a tiny fraction of procedures, usually attempts by older people to reclaim their youth and it looks freaky, old people can't just botox themselves young again. ",
"It doesn't all look bad, you just only notice the bad stuff.\n\nYou know how people always complain about how bad fake boobs look? That's because they only notice the bad ones. Good ones they just assume are natural. I know a few women who have breast implants that don't look at all fake, aside from being unusually large for how skinny they are.",
"I think of it like using the Liquify tool in Photoshop. Really skilled digital artists can alter a person's appearance while keeping in mind proportions, continuity, patterns, and the background (e.g., edges which, when distorted, give away that Liquify was used).\n\nLikewise, a skilled surgeon knows not only the appropriate changes to make, but also keeps in mind proportionality and continuity. Their technique also minimizes scarring or hides them completely in the folds of the skin. \n\nPoor surgeons will agree to changes that they *know* will not look normal (excessively large cheekbones and lips). Their poor technique also stretches the skin to an abnormal degree making it very painful for the patient post-op and looking completely abnormal."
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lhlsm | how do student loan companies "take advantage" of students? | Having never been through it, I'm generally ignorant about this. I always assumed it went like this:
Pick college
Find out cost of college
Go to loan provider
Take out student loan for cost of college
Pay back over time
But I hear people talking about how these companies "take advantage" of students. What does that mean? Am I totally wrong about the process? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lhlsm/eli5_how_do_student_loan_companies_take_advantage/ | {
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"If your degree costs you 100K but your top earnings in your field will be 40 or 50K you will be able to pay back the loan, but you will have no life. That 100K is sold as a good debt. There is no such thing as a good debt. It will reduce your ability to pay or purchase a home, car or pretty much anything else. God forbid you default ...or need a forbearance for an unexpected illness and watch your loan amount creep up even higher. The system is flawed to say the least.\nPay back over time: Pay back is what is expected on any loan. What is not expected is the worst recession since the Great Depression. It could take decades for our economy to recover, if ever.",
"1: Students are told they should take out loans for the cost of college & living expenses. This can be upwards of 40k-60k *per year*. \n\n2: Some loans accrue interest from the onset, while some do not. The ones that do are more prolific and easier to obtain. This means that your loan can increase by 10-30% before you're done with school, not counting deferments taken while looking for the job (where interest accrues but you don't make payments).\n\n3: Finding a job after graduation is exceedingly difficult these days, and even then, most entry-level pay won't cover the $500-1000+/month needed to cover the student loan payments (let alone the amount needed to gain headway on it). This is even assuming you find a job in your field. If you want an example, I currently have ~45k in loans, which costs me around $800/month... at minimum. Paying the minimum will only just keep you above water. I'm currently paying *$1600/month* because I want those loans gone sooner than later. I also got lucky and landed a decent job- most of my friends are making less than half of what I pull.\n\n4: Student loans are often set with 10-20 year lifespans. This may not sound bad, but the interest must be paid before the principal can be paid. This means that of the $1000 you're giving them per month, maybe $200 goes to the principal. Even with a good job, loans don't go away quickly.\n\n5: Student loan interest can be deducted from your taxes, but you can only get at most $1000 off. It caps out very quickly.\n\n6: Student loans cannot be absolved via bankruptcy, and the interest will *continually, eternally* compound. If you can't pay, they'll garnish your wages... for life.\n\nIn summary, if you work your ass off, find a well-paying job, and can live super-cheaply, you'll be ok. However, that's a *very large burden* for even the best of folks, and when the economy is in the shitter, it's too much weight for many to support. ",
"If your degree costs you 100K but your top earnings in your field will be 40 or 50K you will be able to pay back the loan, but you will have no life. That 100K is sold as a good debt. There is no such thing as a good debt. It will reduce your ability to pay or purchase a home, car or pretty much anything else. God forbid you default ...or need a forbearance for an unexpected illness and watch your loan amount creep up even higher. The system is flawed to say the least.\nPay back over time: Pay back is what is expected on any loan. What is not expected is the worst recession since the Great Depression. It could take decades for our economy to recover, if ever.",
"1: Students are told they should take out loans for the cost of college & living expenses. This can be upwards of 40k-60k *per year*. \n\n2: Some loans accrue interest from the onset, while some do not. The ones that do are more prolific and easier to obtain. This means that your loan can increase by 10-30% before you're done with school, not counting deferments taken while looking for the job (where interest accrues but you don't make payments).\n\n3: Finding a job after graduation is exceedingly difficult these days, and even then, most entry-level pay won't cover the $500-1000+/month needed to cover the student loan payments (let alone the amount needed to gain headway on it). This is even assuming you find a job in your field. If you want an example, I currently have ~45k in loans, which costs me around $800/month... at minimum. Paying the minimum will only just keep you above water. I'm currently paying *$1600/month* because I want those loans gone sooner than later. I also got lucky and landed a decent job- most of my friends are making less than half of what I pull.\n\n4: Student loans are often set with 10-20 year lifespans. This may not sound bad, but the interest must be paid before the principal can be paid. This means that of the $1000 you're giving them per month, maybe $200 goes to the principal. Even with a good job, loans don't go away quickly.\n\n5: Student loan interest can be deducted from your taxes, but you can only get at most $1000 off. It caps out very quickly.\n\n6: Student loans cannot be absolved via bankruptcy, and the interest will *continually, eternally* compound. If you can't pay, they'll garnish your wages... for life.\n\nIn summary, if you work your ass off, find a well-paying job, and can live super-cheaply, you'll be ok. However, that's a *very large burden* for even the best of folks, and when the economy is in the shitter, it's too much weight for many to support. "
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2v21i4 | does being on your period matter when it comes to surgery? | they never show this part. if a trauma patient gets sent to emergency, who changes her tampon/pad during/before surgery? Do they even do that? Would it affect surgery with blood losses? LOL | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2v21i4/eli5_does_being_on_your_period_matter_when_it/ | {
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"No. Where a female patient is in their menstrual cycle does not really effect anything when it comes to emergency surgeries/anesthetics. Pads are removed and whatever flow that happens, happens. The patient is just cleaned up afterward. Also, for the placement of the urinary catheter, the lack of a pad is better. In general, all foreign bodies are removed prior to surgery... including any pads."
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9do65n | cousin degree and removal. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9do65n/eli5_cousin_degree_and_removal/ | {
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"If the shared ancestor is a grandparent, then the person is a first cousin. If it's a great grandparent, then the person is a second cousin. Great great grandparent, 3rd cousin, and so forth. \n\nIf the person is one generation different from you, once removed. Two generations, twice removed.\n\nSo your uncle's kid is your first cousin. Your first cousin's kid is your first cousin once removed. Your first cousin's grandson is your first cousin twice removed.\n\nYour second cousin's kid is your second cousin, once removed. \n\nYour second cousin's dad, is your second cousin, once removed (also, because both are one generation off).",
"The degree is how many generations ago you had the same ancestor. So first cousin means you had the same grandparents, second cousin means you had the same great-grandparents but not parents...etc.\n\nHow many times removed is how many generations there in between you and the cousin. So your aunt or uncle's children are not removed, they're your first cousins. If that cousin has a child, that cousin is your first cousin once removed. [Here's a handy chart to help you figure it out](_URL_0_)."
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5hfz41 | why, when transferring files, does the speed fluctuate? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hfz41/eli5_why_when_transferring_files_does_the_speed/ | {
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"Let's say you have a bunch of marbles you're putting into a bag with a narrow opening. Some marbles are small enough where several can go into the opening at the same time. Others are larger and only one can fit through the hole at a time. This slows things down.\n\nMemory in the computer is compressed into different-sized marbles and you're trying to shove them through the same hole."
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6iilxh | why would the devil punish you for breaking the rules of his enemy? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6iilxh/eli5why_would_the_devil_punish_you_for_breaking/ | {
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"In Christian Doctrine the Devil does not run hell. Hell is the place where he will be imprisoned and tortured at the end of time and his goal is to take as many human souls down there with him as he can. ",
"Cuz the devil was a made up concept for a made up concept.\n\nThere's no real indication in biblical text of Satan, lucifer, and the morning star being the same entity.. Revelation is the only book that indicates an evil/antagonistic being, and it was written after Christ died, but outside of that there are loose interpretations of Satan being an enemy of god...everything has a purpose, and everything is planned and known. God has knowledge of his creations pasts and futures, and angels don't have free will like humans, so there is an issue with that logic as well...\n\nThe devil and hell was really a construct of dark age/post Rome Christianity. It helped reinforce the idea that people better conform to certain principles, otherwise their punishment will extend beyond this life for eternity..as well as causing people who had relatives that were sent to hell or limbo to atone for their loved ones sins, causing non-stop selflessness that was enriching the church/state/empire further..\n\nSimple contradictions like this occur in all religion doctrine and accepted views..\n\nIf the devil is this ultimate enemy of god, can influence man(unlike god), and is an ultimate trickster, couldn't man have written the Bible under the influence of the devil?",
"The stereotypical Western conception of Hell - a place ruled by the devil, where demons torture the souls of sinners - does not appear in the Bible.\n\nThere's a couple of words that get translated as \"hell\" and conflated:\n\n*Sheol* (Old Testament)/*Hades* (New Testament) - Often translated as \"Hell\", but more accurately means \"the grave\"; where souls wait for judgement day.\n\n*Gehenna* - The name of a real place in Jerusalem, but used in Matthew 10:28 to describe a place where body and soul can be destroyed, and in Mark 9:43 as \"unquenchable fire\".\n\n*Tartarus* - 2 Peter 2:4 gives this as the name of the place where rebel angels are imprisoned, awaiting judgement day.\n\nThe Lake of Fire - Revelations refers several times to a lake of fire, referred to as \"the second death\".\n\nAlso, Lucifer (the rebel angel) and Satan are not the same entity. Satan comes from Hebrew *Ha-Satan*, meaning 'the adversary'—not the adversary of God, but a 'prosecutor angel' whose job was to test the faithful. Which explains what he was doing running around the Judaean desert in the gospels, and making bets with God in the book of Job."
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aes37j | how do different types of brain scans work and what is the difference between them? | EEGs are pretty straight forward but what purpose do MEGs, CT scans, CAT scans, MRIs, and PET scans serve, how does each imaging machine work, and what is the difference between them? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/aes37j/eli5_how_do_different_types_of_brain_scans_work/ | {
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"MEG scans work by mapping the magnetic fields produced by the electrical currents in the brain. It can measure brain activity in specific regions in real time. CT and CAT scans are the same thing, CT scan is just the more modern, commonly used term. This machine uses x-rays just like a regular x-ray machine but it takes them in \"slices\" to produce a 3d image of the body part in question (not just the brain). MRIs use powerful magnets and radio waves to make 3d images of the body (again, not just the brain). A powerful magnet aligns all the water molecules in your body in the same direction. Radio pulses disturb the alignment, and detectors measure the rate at which the molecules revert to the aligned state. Different tissues have different amounts of water so they align at different rates, and this translates into images. a PET scan works by injecting the patient with a small amount of a radioactive tracer chemical. When radioactive things break down (decay into lighter elements) they emit positrons. When positrons hit a electron (it's negative) they annihilate and give off some gamma rays. The PET scanner can detect these rays and form an image.",
"MEGs and PETs are imaging techniques used when you want to see the body as it's functioning in real time, especially when it comes to things like measuring brain activity and function.\n\nMR and CT scans are more for trying to see the state of the body's anatomy. So for things like trauma, finding out why someone has abdominal pain, if someone is having a brain bleed/stroke, etc.\n\nCTs are usually the first go-to modality because it's easily accessible, quick, relatively cheap and can give you a good idea of what's going on. The trade-off is that it's not the best quality, so in cases where if the doctor feels like they need to go in deeper with more clear imaging, then they step up to ordering an MRI. MRIs have better quality but are also really expensive for patients wallets and the machines themselves are multi-million dollar holes of loudness and claustrophobia. Since MRI machines are powered by massive magnets, they are too dangerous be used on anyone that has any sort of metal or other electromagnetic devices in the body (like pacemakers)."
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7bdj02 | bilge pumps | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7bdj02/eli5bilge_pumps/ | {
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"It's probably ballast water, not bilge water. When the ship is empty they pump water into ballast tanks to lower the ship into the water deeper and keep the ship more stable. As they load the ship they pump that water out."
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5vxxyk | awd, 4wd, 4x4?! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5vxxyk/eli5_awd_4wd_4x4/ | {
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"Just going to quickly state the **main** difference is in how power is delivered to the wheels. Front wheel drive drives the front wheels, rear wheel drive the back.\n\nThese two approaches have some set back. Front wheel drive cars can struggle to retain grip in mud and wet conditions and rear wheel drive have a tendency to try to kill you through drifting. Good fun if you know how to drift, terrifying if you're not expecting it. \n\nI do believe terminologies get interchanged mistakenly here, so I might well make a mistake or two here, so bearing that in mind:\n\n4 wheel drive and 4x4 are the same concept. 4x4/4WD is most effective for off roading, where power is sent to the wheel with the most traction. Very handy if you get stuck. Most (if not all) 4x4's have the option for \"lock\". This rotates all wheels evenly, regardless of what's going on. This is generally for the REALLY stuck moments, and typically doesn't support going very fast (most models lock you into first gear, some more advanced models release the lock if you go too quickly [so called \"on-the-fly locking]). It's important to note that the goal of 4WD/4x4 is to provide **grip**.\n\nAWD is a system of traction control. This varies between manufacturers but the concept is to provide the maximum amount of forward acceleration possible. Subaru, for instance, tend to send ~20% of the power to the rear, only sending more if it's needed. Audi have their Quattro system, and most other models use ESP (Electronic Stability Control). [this](_URL_0_) is a great demonstration of ESP in action. AWD's main goal is to provide **stability**.\n\nBut again, depending where you come from in the world these terms change around a LOT. For instance, in my home country of South Africa, we call 4WD 4x4. But hopefully I've at least laid some ground work :)\n\n*EDIT because I realised I could have stated something a touch more simply.\n\n4x4: How do I keep the car moving? I'll send power to the wheel with the most grip\n\nAWD: How do I stop the car skidding? I'll cut power to the appropriate wheel and apply brakes if necessary"
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2wzqsz | i live in new york. there are pigeons literally everywhere. if death is part of the natural life cycle then why aren't there dead pigeons everywhere? even more so, why have i never seen a dead pigeon anywhere? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wzqsz/eli5_i_live_in_new_york_there_are_pigeons/ | {
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"Rats are also a part of the natural lifecycle. Rats like dead pigeons. They love to have them over for dinner.",
"Birds of prey, scavengers like possums and rats, cats, and the fact that dying pigeons tend to try to hide all combine to leave few visible corpses.",
"Also, where the fuck are all the baby pigeons?! All the pigeons I see are either adult or fat ",
"Very few wild animals die of natural causes like old age or whatever. As they get older and weaker a predator like a hawk (and there are now lots of hawks in most major cities) or even a stray cat picks them off.\n\nThe ones that do age into infirmity tend to huddle themselves up in a crevice or under a bridge or something before passing away.\n\nAnd if the pigeon were to die in a place you might see it, it would be accessible to rats, so it's probably already long gone.\n\nIt's the circle of life.",
"Animals usually don't normally just drop dead while going about their daily business, they will go somewhere secluded if they are weak and dying. For a similar reason, you're also pretty unlikely to ever see a pigeon's eggs or babies, they keep them in places that are higher up and inaccessible. I am sure spiderman has seen a ton of dead pigeons, if he is real.",
"I lived and worked in Chicago for nearly 20 years. Lots of pigeons there too, especially on Lower Level Wacker Drive. While I saw occasional dead pigeons (but not in numbers commensurate with the overall population), something I never did see, in all my years there, were baby pigeons. I always wondered about that.",
"Also where are all the baby pigeons, and for that matter pigeon nests with pigeon eggs?? \n\n",
"As an animal control officer I can tell you there are people like my self picking up pigeons and all kinds of wildlife all day and night long whether they are sick, injured, or dead.\n\nEdit: Moving this to an AMA.\n\nEdit: I posted in IAMA I am dealing with verification and trying to figure out how to link it here, but I have already answered a few questions there.\n\n_URL_0_",
"I've seen at least two dead pigeons in NYC. One was just dead on the ground, the other was being eaten by a hawk.",
"Have seen plenty of dead pigeons in my life, in several cities. You just haven't lived long enough or observed the right places yet.\n\nSOURCE: ex New Yorker",
"Because your NY Public Works keep the streets clean of dead animals, lest the citizens riot.",
"Other answers aside:\n\nIf a pigeon lives for say 6 years. It's body decays in 0-5 days. Lets say on average it's 2 days. This means that a pigeon is alive for 2190 days and dead for only 2. So your chances of seeing a pigeon dead is only 1/1000. On top of that, dead pigeon's don't fly to where you normally see pigeons and as others have said, they might tend to die in places where you aren't normally looking for pigeons. \n\nWith each of these factors the chance of seeing a dead one keeps going down. Seeing them flying around doesn't count, because those pigeons can't be dead. Seeing them eatings stuff in the park also doesn't count, because likewise they can't be dead.\n\nEven with all those odds. I think you're just not looking very hard. I've seen tons of dead pigeons. ",
"I used to be in a school where pigeons went when they were sick and dying, probably because it was in the middle of a park and silent (when there weren't kids around). They would just waddle around until they just curled up in a corner and died. Then we told a teacher who picked them up in a bag and threw them in a bin. Pretty sad to see, but fuck pigeons.",
"Probably because dead pigeons are disgusting and a janitor probably picked it up before you got a chance to see its gross rotting carcus... ",
"I have seen scores of smushed pigeons and rats on the streets. But, to answer your question, they only come to the streets when they are healthy enought to feed, at night or when sick they would be in their eave, tree, abandonded building, etc.",
"Well I don't know about New York, but in Chicago there are volunteers for the Field Museum of Natural History who walk around very early in the morning picking up dead birds that have flown into windows and such. They put them in plastic bags and write down the date/time and location and bring it to the museum for the specimen collections. On average they probably get about 100 birds a day. These will go into the freezer until someone (usually a volunteer) has time to [stuff](_URL_0_) them. Or the carcasses will go to the beetle room where the bones get picked and cleaned. Because, you know... science. There are hundreds of thousands of specimens just sitting in drawers. It's a fantastic resource for scientists and artists. Also, there are predators. A few falcons are intentionally released and tracked downtown for population control.",
"You've never seen a dead pigeon because the streets of NYC are actually cleaner than most people think. People (whether the city, paid street cleaners, or building management) clean up stuff like this regularly. If you wander around in secluded/industrial areas where most middle class consumers don't go, you will see plenty of pigeons. \n\nSource: saw dead pigeons pretty regularly when I lived near the Sunnyside rail yards in Queens.",
"Its when you start seeing dead birds, and then more dead birds, you should worry. Dont drink the water, cook your own food, gas mask it and pack and get out of Dodge fast.",
"All this talk about dead pigeons. BABY PIGEONS YO, no one has ever seen one, ever I tells ya.",
"Street Sweepers sweep up loads of dead animals. Also, in NYC if you call 311 if you find a dead animal such as a bird on your property and they will come to remove it. \n\nThey decay fast. They're small birds, lots of feathers. ",
"I always figured the bodies were taken by the rats.",
"Pigeons die all the time, but most of them either die in a place that isn't very visible. Those that do leave behind a corpse in plain sight are carried off and eaten by scavengers or is disposed off by someone who doesn't want a dead pigeon on their property.",
"They get devoured by other pigeons before they hit the ground.",
"There are several major reasons for this:\n\n * Animals in the wild rarely die natural deaths. Nature is cruel, and most animals meet their end inside the stomach of a bigger predator, which means there is no distinguishable body to be found. \n\n * Scavengers. NYC is full of them. Rats, ants, roaches, flies. You name it. A group of scavengers can pick a pigeon clean in less than a few hours, so the few bodies that do actually hit the ground are being devoured fairly quickly. \n\n * If an animal does die of natural causes (old age or disease) it doesn't just drop dead mid flight. They know when they are dying, and will go to some place secluded. The concrete jungle that is NYC is absolutely full of places for them to hide. Roof tops and subway systems just being two of the major areas where a pigeon could fly to and stay in a secluded area if it knows it's dying. Of course, this wraps back around to the first point, that if an elderly pigeon is weak and dying, it's just easy prey for anything that wants to eat it.",
"Have you ever seen a baby pigeon? Thought so",
"The lack of dead pigeon sightings is directly proportionate to the number of Chinese restaurants in the area.",
"I feel like the pigeons come to New Jersey to die. I live fairly close to Edgewater and West New York in NJ. Sometimes, along the river coast, I see dead pigeons below the boardwalks. You know, between the wooden planks.",
"I read that pigeons don't give a fuck about dead bodies. There was an experiment to try to stop them nesting. They threw dead bodies in the pigeons gathering areas and the pigeons were just idgaf. ",
"I wonder if there is some unknown heroes whose job it is to climb on skyscrapers all day and collect pigeon carcasses.",
"Food for thought but New York also has people everywhere , but you don't see dead people everywhere. ",
"I live i downtown toronto and see dead pigeons all the time, easily once every two weeks.",
"For the same reason you don't see dead Sasquatch all over the Pacific Northwest - pigeons don't exist.",
"The rats run away with their carcasses and bring them into the sewers where they are eaten by the alligators. The circle of life. ",
"In Copenhagen all the pigeons go to die up in the attic of one of the oldest churches through a small broken window. They get the need for unity when it comes to dying, pretty incredible, actually. ",
"Dead pigeons are actually lighter than air, and float directly up to the upper atmosphere. Many clouds are actually full of dead pigeons, and they are a likely cause of the unexplained disappearance of airliners, flying into frozen clumps of millions of dead pigeons which literally shatter the aircraft apart.",
"ELIover9000: I live in New York. There are people literally everywhere. If death is part of the natural life cycle then why aren't there dead people everywhere? even more so, why have I NEVER seen a dead person anywhere?",
"I read the first few comments which seemed to be all jokes, and while I am not an expert allow me to suggest some hypotheses. \n\n- Cognitive bias. You do not notice/remember dead pigeons. \n- Street cleaners (if you have these guys in the US.) take care of them early in the morning during the sweeps \n- Wild animals (cats, ect) hunt them, and remove carcasses \n- They collectively die somewhere conveniently, where people are unlikely to go (it happens)\n\nMix and match as you please, but don't underestimate the power of Cognitive Bias.\n",
"If you live in new York and you haven't seen a dead pigeon then you obviously haven't been paying attention because they are everywhere. Go walk under any overpass and you'll easily find a dozen. ",
"I saw a pigeon at lunch break once, was missing the top of his head and his brain was exposed. The feathers stuck out like a crown around the clean cut around his head.\n\nThat guy got sandwich from me for 2 weeks until he disappeared",
"We rise above mere mortality to become one with the gods.",
"I live in Glasgow, Scotland. We too have pigeons everywhere, but I have only ever seen one or two pigeons lying dead in the street. \n\nI have, however, seen dozens of dead pigeons in various states of decomposition while exploring some of the abandoned railway tunnels under the city. \n\nMy guess is when they get old and sick, they don't leave the nest as much. They die of illness or starvation where they roost -- which is either on rooftops, high ledges, or in abandoned structures -- and lie where they fall. They will not tend to roost in places where they will be disturbed, and therefore you'll rarely see dead pigeons in areas with a high human footfall. \n\nThose that don't die of \"natural\" causes will be killed by predators, such as urban foxes, and usually consumed, so there's nothing to see.",
"I live in Lithuania and have seen a lot of dead pigeons. I think it's mostly because there are a lot of stray cats in the neighbourhood who hunt them all the time. Still, power to the numbers, there are a shit load of them",
"Related question: why have I never seen a baby pigeon????",
"Where do you think the meat street vendors sell comes from? ",
"I also live in NYC, but I've also never seen a dead squirrel, or any dead animal unless they were run over.",
"This guy has been denying to me that he used reddit for months. I knew he used reddit, because he would send me shit off of the front page, and then immediately deny that he got it from reddit. Today he told me he was a reddit user so I could go upvote his front page post, I thought I would do this instead. Am i an asshole? that's for you to judge, is /u/djharrington88 a liar? Yes, he is",
"Does the same thing apply to Bigfeets?",
"I live in a city. There are people literally everywhere. Why have I never seen a dead person lying in the street?",
"If you've ordered food delivery service in NYC chances are you did more than see a dead pigeon and didn't even know it.",
"I've seen dead pigeons before, the real question is why have I never seen a BABY pigeon? ",
"It's a glitch in the matrix , Mr. Anderson , we're working on it.",
"I thought they spontaneously combusted into rats.",
"Lots of dead pigeons in west new york NJ maybe they all die in jersey",
"I kill them for a living so I see feckin hundreds !!!\n",
"[Most pidgeons are smart enough to die in the country. Otherwise they know this will happen to them!](_URL_0_)",
"There's also a shitload of people in NYC, but you most likely haven't seen a dead guy either, have you?",
"Well, there's regular street cleaning for one thing, and a lot of omnivorous rats for another... although I don't know how you've missed seeing a pigeon smeared into the sidewalk, in a disgusting paste of feathers and rotten flesh. That's a pretty normal slice of New York. I've seen that a LOT. \n\nAlso, growing up as a kid in Central Park... I saw tons of claws and severed heads, etc. left behind by scavengers and birds of prey. I mean, besides all the needle-caps and stuff.",
"Pigeons never die, they just go missing in action. ",
"My best friend's cat growing up had free range on the roof of his apartment on 81st street, near the Museum of Natural History. Gigantic flights of pigeons used to rove there, when there was I guess more garbage... and fewer birds of prey. Anyway, this cat used to kill a pigeon every couple of days. Pretty gnarly.\n\nAnyway, one time, when I was making out with a girl, in my friend's room, during this party, and she screamed at the top of her lungs and ran out. I was like WTF? Well, the cat had murdered a bird on the roof right above us, and it's blood leaked down the side of the building, right across the window, like something out of a horror movie, and even after I calmed her down about it... it kinda killed the mood. ",
"I was in Prague couple weeks ago and saw like 3 dead pigeons. We just kept thinking with my boyfriend \"why there are dead pigeons everywhere??\". So yeah, great vacation.. :D Never seen one before. Oh actually I lied, I saw when a bus drove over some poor pigeon :(",
"have you ever seen a baby pigeon?",
"When a pigeon dies, it transforms itself in a rat. \nTYL: pigeons are flying rats.",
"I see dead pigeons all the time. Mostly from hit and run accidents though.",
"You see lots of pigeons carcasses in the A/C units of hospitals and skyscrapers. Also in rooftops.",
"You will soon start to notice dead pigeons. \n\nOne time while sitting by a stream, I remarked to myself that I'd seen a lot of ducks but I'd never seen a dead duck. Within minutes a dead duck floated by.",
"What do you think Rats eat? Sleep tight tonight.",
"Because Chinese restaurants took over Little Italy",
"I once saw a pigeon in Aix-en-Provence, France that had been fully pierced through the torso with a metal spike, and he was walking around totally unfazed.\nSo to answer your question, pigeons do not know death.",
"I used to explore abandoned buildings, and there are often hundreds of dead pigeons in them. And baby pigeons. I've seen a pigeon nest built in the skeleton of a dead pigeon, atop a 3 foot mound of pigeon shit.",
"I live in a 1 600 000 inhabitants city and I have never seen a single dead person.",
"So I've had a theory about this for awhile. I'm convinced that pigeons turn into rats at night. That's why you never see pigeons at night. Then the rats turn back into pigeons during the day. That's why you never see a rat during the day. ",
"Because you don't get out much?",
"I saw a dead pigeon the other day. It got hit by a car. Also all the aforementioned reasons caused by the circle of life. (Just wanted you to know someone's seen a dead pigeon)",
"Former New Yorker checking in, ask yourself this: why have you never seen a baby pigeon? Or even just a young one?",
"One time I witnessed a pigeon trying to hump a dead pigeon on the island in the middle of Time Square. Was a little sad.",
"I've seen them smashed by cars and trains. Saddest part is their mate usually standing by the carcass or watching from nearby. ",
"I dont even live in NYC, but I visit several tines a year and ive seen numerous dead pigeons. Street sweepers and shop owners clear most of them.",
"Also live in New York, have seen plenty of dead pigeons. I have no idea what you're talking about.",
"The dead pigeons are eaten by the rats, and dead rats are eaten by the pigeons.\n\nTherefore, this reaction generates over 10,000,000 rat furs for sale every year.",
"I've seen dead pigeons in Minneapolis. I once saw a dead pigeon being consumed live on a hawk cam. There are plenty of animals that will run off with free dead meat found in the street. ",
"I was living there trying to make it as an artist sitting on the sidewalk one winter when one flopped down dead in from of my eyes. I moved away and stopped doing art.",
"Pigeon gets injured. Kindhearted member of the public takes it to nearest vet for nursing back to health. \n\nVet says \"fuck that, that's the 7th one this week\", and it gets a one way trip to heaven, then our freezer. When our freezer is full, they all go for disposal. Lovely. Thanks, kindhearted members of the public.\n\nTl:dr - they're all in your vets freezer.",
"I see dead pigeons all the time. Especially in train stations, on the road... and a few times even being dragged away by feral cats. Lol, you need to go outside more. ",
"Also, why do we never see pigeon eggs?",
"Have you ever seen a baby pigeon either? Maybe they're immortal",
"More interestingly, why haven't you ever seen a baby pigeon?",
"You don't generally see dead people places either.",
"Many cities have falcon nexting boxes to keep the pigeon population in check. I picture [pigeon-hunting for a falcon](_URL_0_) to be about as difficult as making a PB & J is for us.",
"I saw a pigeon die once. He flew really lopsidedly into a gutter to lie down and started twitching and spasming until he went stiff.",
"They die on rooftops. When I first got into hvac I saw bones on the roof and thought \"hey, who is eating chicken wings up here?\". Then I realized they were dead birds and was like \"ohhh\"",
"The older pigeons move to Florida or Connecticut.",
"Well my neighborhood has quite a few stray cats or cats that are let out, not sure which it is, so they probably have dead pigeons for breakfast, lunch and dinner. ",
"I saw a seagull die once. I was swimming at the local jetty and it was really cold so not many people were about. There was a seagull floating on the water, alive, and you could swim up to it and even touch it without it doing anything so I was curious what was wrong with it. Then it just suddenly fucking died. It did a 180 degree spin and it's legs went straight up in the air. It floated away very slowly. It was one of the most depressing things I've seen.",
"Rats, and when the rats die, the cockroaches eat them, and cockroaches never die. ",
"It's a myth. Pigeons are immortal. Seriously though, they go hide to die. I have found dead pigeons before. ",
"You have probably good street sweepers there, I don't live in a big city but once in a while where I'm in a city I saw several times dead pigeons for now.",
"Because when they near death, they go rest in a location where they can sleep. Have you ever seen a sleeping pigeon? Probably not, because animals sleep in hiding spots that are generally out of sight.",
"I'm too late to the party for this to be seen, but, if you actively look for them you'll find sick and dying pigeons.\n\nI've taken several pigeons in varying states of injury to the [Wild Bird Fund](_URL_0_). Two of them were poisoned intentionally by some scumbag exterminator, one of them had lead poisoning from living underneath an elevated subway station in Brooklyn, and one of them had Paramyxovirus. Most of them unfortunately died anyway, but the ones I did save certainly would have died if I hadn't found them.",
"Probably because there are 10x as many rats to get there first.",
"The rats and cockroaches eat the dead pigeons. You've seen rats and cockroaches in New York too right?",
"In my neighborhood in the city there are a few hawks and my dog and I often stumble across remnants of pigeons. A bloody wing here, a bloody foot there. I actually got to see a hawk capture a pigeon and devour it in a tree on the bridle path in the park recently. Crazy shit. ",
"I have seen dead pigeons in NYC (admittedly, a rare sight). Maybe you haven't lived there long enough? I also once saw a hawk land on the back porch of my apartment and devour a pigeon he was carrying.",
"You live in NYC and have never seen a dead pigeon? How long have you lived here?",
"Are you kidding me? I see squashed pigeons all over NYC.",
"I've read about volunteer groups in large cities who go out every morning to sweep up and/or rescue birds. The amount they find per day is very high, mostly from birds flying into highrise buildings, and in particular reflective glass ones.",
"As someone who has worked on many rooftops, I can tell you there are a metric shit ton of dead bird carcasses up there.",
"They like to fly out over water and die. Often, even small bodies of water will do. As a result, a lot of them are to be found in your quaint little water towers. You're drinking them.",
"In most citys and towns I see loadsss of pigeons but way more people, and I've never seen a dead body just lying in the street. ",
"where did pigeons even originate from..? ",
"All the rats eat them before you see them dead. ",
"I live just a few blocks from the puget sound, and work in a parking garage right next to it. We get lots of pigeons too (nowhere near as many as new york gets I'm sure), and I find at least a few dead ones every week. Maybe it's a weather or some other environmental difference? ",
"I see them under bridges. Not water bridges. Just regular roads",
"I live in a very large city and see dead pigeons all the time",
"You haven't seen anything until you see a hawk work a pigeon over. It's brutal. ",
"Yeah I found one all right. Never want to find one again.\n\nWe had a dead pigeon get stuck in a roof gutter one time during a strong summer downpour. I was looking up at the gutter trying to figure out what was blocking it when I realized there were hundreds of maggots from the dead bird mixed with the rain water falling down on my face since the bird was blocking the water from going down the downspout, and was just dumping over the side. Apparently he had been dead up there a while.\n",
"Pigeons (crows, too) are pretty gross scavengers. They'll eat a dead pigeon before you get the chance to see it.",
"Google informs me that a pigeon in the wild will live like four years on average. Let's say its body would last six hours after after death before being more or less completely scavenged (this seems like an overestimate, especially in a place like NYC, which is chock full of rats, roaches, Mets fans, etc.).\n\nSo even ignoring facts that have been pointed out here (like \"dying pigeons hide\" and \"pigeons generally die by predation, not old age\"), for every dead pigeon you see, you'd see almost six thousand live pigeons.",
"Birds of prey have made a resurgence in big cities due to their ability to live in high rises and diet of birds and rodents. This does create a life cycle and may be another reason why you don't see the dead animals.",
"ELI5: How has OP not managed to see a dead pigeon? I've been to NYC a handful of times and I've seen a dead pigeon and also a dead rat in the gutter.",
"For the same reason you don't see dead people all over.",
"I used to work for a city in California. As one redditor already explained, animals usually go somewhere secluded to die because they are older or ill. That being said, we had issues with West Nile for a while and if a bird dropped dead (especially crows), we had to pick it up and then call vector control. We had to bag the animal and hand it over for testing. Our staff was trained on what to look for if a bird was acting strangely and how to properly bag and take care of a bird that was found dead. Because workers for departments like streets and parks have routes each day, if a bird has died (or squirrels and other small animals as well), they clean it up quickly as it is a health problem. \n\nTL;DR: Sometimes the nice workers from the city put the animals that went bye bye in a special sack because they need to go to a special place. ",
"you mean city chicken?\n",
"Pigeon's don't die, they just suffer terrible injuries and go about their business as usual: [text](Zombie Pigeon: _URL_0_)",
"The person that has the answers you seek is....Mike Tyson. He has all of your dead pigeons. All of them. ",
"Find a quiet underpass... dead pigeons: I guarantee it.",
"Do you know why you dont see dead pigeons in NYC? They have little chinese men run around and pick them up and bring them back to China Town to make your food. And you thought they use cats? pffft.",
"I'm assuming NYC has a sanitation department. That would probably be part of your answer.",
"I would imagine they don't just drop out of the sky. They probably start to feel ill before they die and like any other animal they find somewhere comfy and quiet to feel unwell in .. like a gutter or chimney or nook. That's where they die. \n\nWhat I would wonder is why you never see a baby pigeon? ",
"Pigeons don't die, at the end of their natural span on earth their wings grow a brilliant silver and gold color and they fly off towards Valinor to live in song and happiness."
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2rt0td | - what does the quran actually say about acts of terror against infidels? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2rt0td/eli5_what_does_the_quran_actually_say_about_acts/ | {
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"The thing with the Quran, like the Bible, is you can find peaceful parts that utterly condemn any violence and you can find angry parts that preach wars of conquest against nonbelievers. The holy texts don't have a coherent message all the way through. So it's hard to say what conclusions you would come to if you just went by the book, without any outside interpretations or teachings.\n\nWhy is Jewish and Christian militant extremism less common? They're older for one thing, they've mellowed out over the centuries. Christianity is about 600 years older than Islam, and if you look at how extreme and violent Christianity was 600 years ago, it's not a pretty sight. Also they're mostly followed by people in more secular countries, where religion plays a more minor role in society. And they're followed by people in richer, freer countries. Jews and Christians live better lives, they don't have as much to be angry about. Muslims in much of the world live under dictatorial regimes, aggressive wars waged by the US and Israel, and they're treated unfairly even when they emigrate to Europe or the United States. This unfair treatment breeds anger and sometimes it causes people to retreat to religion and they become religious fundamentalists and some small minority of religious fundamentalists will become violent people who want to attack others in the name of their religion. "
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33b8n6 | how does someone get on a game show? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/33b8n6/eli5_how_does_someone_get_on_a_game_show/ | {
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"Yes. There are sign-ups and auditions that often travel around the country to select people. When I was in college, seemed like every year there was a call out to come try out for Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy.",
"You sign up, and then audition. Usually, you have to get yourself to their audition location at your own expense.\n\nI filled out an online application for a game show once, and a producer called and talked to me for about ten minutes, and then she *strongly* encouraged me to fly out to LA (on my own dime) to audition.\n\nI thought about making that flight for exactly one day, then decided against it. That producer called me on September 10, 2001."
]
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36x612 | why was facial hair suddenly discouraged/made against the rules in the u.s. military? | I've seen so many sweet pictures of awesome beards, what became the issue? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/36x612/eli5_why_was_facial_hair_suddenly_discouragedmade/ | {
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"I thought it was about lice but apparently it's because a gas mask doesn't sit properly on a beard.\n\n*The Navy and Coast Guard were the last to ban beards. In January 1985 the Navy banned them. The Coast Guard banned them the next year in 1986. Same reason as the other services. You can't get a good gas mask seal over whiskers.* - Yahoo answers that I googled for you. :P",
"As a veteran we were always told that you cannot get a tight seal on your gas mask if you have facial hair.",
"Gas mask seal is commonly cited and may well have been the inspiration a century ago when the world powers were shelling each other with canisters of nasty stuff. Today certain units allow their members to grow beards on deployments but not in garrison. The standards also apply when nobody has gas masks available.\n\nHygiene is also cited, but frequent shaving opens the skin to more infections and problems than just leaving it alone does.\n\nReally it's an appearance thing. The military is slow to change, and the cultural mindset among the leadership is frequently \"rules are rules,\" and \"the rules are tradition.\" AR 670-1 is just a hoot in general."
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2w07jy | how does a cell phone call from mainland us to hawaii work? | Is it transmitted "over the air," across the Pacific, to the cell towers on the Island? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2w07jy/eli5_how_does_a_cell_phone_call_from_mainland_us/ | {
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"text": [
"No, the cell network is plugged into fiber-optic cables that carry the traffic under the ocean. The cell network on the islands is plugged into the other end."
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2cuiuv | how does "buying"/"naming" a star work? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2cuiuv/eli5_how_does_buyingnaming_a_star_work/ | {
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"text": [
"It \"works\" by companies taking money from gullible people. You can't buy or name a star as a consumer.",
"It's just there for a fun little thing to show off on a certificate or to tell your friends about. Stars aren't actually going to be named after you, and many people \"own\" the same stars.",
"The companies that do this have no official standing. They just publish a book that has people's names and stars in it, and act like it is official.",
"Quite simply: It doesn't.\n\nThe IAU (International Astronomical Union) is the only organ with international authority to decide the naming of celestial bodies. Any person or company claiming to have the right to name or sell a celestial body in an official manner is plain simply lying.\n\n",
"Anyone can make a list of stars. Star naming/buying companies just ~~make their own~~ take an existing list and charge you to name a star on it.\n\n\nAstronomers already have plenty of lists (catalogues) of star names that they use (e.g. Flamsteed, Hipparcos, Henry Draper) that are accepted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). These tend to be a simple naming format, usually a few letters indicating the catalogue and a number (e.g. HD 48915)\n\n\nThere's nothing 'official' about any company's list, and astronomers will only ever use those agreed by the IAU."
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4kapc3 | what gives a photon its frequency? does it vibrate while travelling? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4kapc3/eli5_what_gives_a_photon_its_frequency_does_it/ | {
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"Light basically comes in waves. The electric and magnetic fields are oscillating: the changing electric field induces a changing magnetic field, and the changing magnetic field induces a changing electric field. The two oscillations exchange energy back and forth as it propagates through space.\n\nThe frequency is determined by the rate at which the energy is exchanged between the electric and magnetic fields. At 1GHz, it takes a nanosecond for the energy of the electric field to be transformed into the magnetic field and back to the electric field.\n\nThinking of photons as particles is misleading. They have some particle like properties, but mostly a photon is a *quantized excitation of the electromagnetic field*. In other words, the EM field cannot contain arbitrary amounts of energy at arbitrary frequencies. If you think of a wave on a string, that wave can have apparently arbitrary amplitudes. The EM field cannot: it is only allowed to have discrete energy levels. At frequency f the energy can only come in multiples of h*f, where h is a number known as *Planck's constant* (things are also a little more complex than the string example: a string vibrates in 2 directions along a 1 dimensional line, EM fields vibrate in 3 directions in 3 dimensions). When an electron excites the EM field, we say it emits a photon. But it doesn't shoot out a tiny billiard ball, instead a part of the EM field starts vibrating at a specific frequency and at a fixed amplitude (or an existing vibration increases by that amplitude)."
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2am5ri | why if we have short links, do we still have long ones? | _URL_0_ for example instead of _URL_1_
For example. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2am5ri/eli5_why_if_we_have_short_links_do_we_still_have/ | {
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"The long link is parsed by the server to determine what to display. It has meaning that's picked up on by Google and other search engines gets indexed better.\n\nThe short link is just looks up the long link and forwards to it.",
"Because the long one is more descriptive.\n\nNotice how this link also still works : \n\n_URL_0_",
"Why, if we have long links, would we need short ones?"
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"http://redd.it/2am5ri",
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2hm1e2 | why do people get so offended when someone wears a hat at a restaurant or often times even inside? where did this originate? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2hm1e2/eli5_why_do_people_get_so_offended_when_someone/ | {
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"cktw00z"
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"The removal of hats when indoor originates from knights removing their helmets to show that they're friendly and not challenging their king or other superiors. The tipping of the hat (and the salute) also originates from the knights, they would open their visor with their right hand when they met fellow knights. \n\nDuring the industrialization, people wore hats (pretty much everyone wore them) as a protection from dirt (people are complaining about pollution today, but in many places it was way worse in the latter part of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century). The hats did become quite dirty, and should therefore be taken off and left in the entryway or mud room. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
3xg8mg | how do colour catchers work in the laundry? | Why are they the only thing in the wash that sucks up any "leaked" colours? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3xg8mg/eli5_how_do_colour_catchers_work_in_the_laundry/ | {
"a_id": [
"cy4dp7p"
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"text": [
"They're traps, essentially. \n\nWhen you wash newer colourful clothes, some of the dye leaks out and gets dissolved in the water. Those colour molecules just float about until they touch something. Sometimes that touch that thing in a way that makes them stick to it or become trapped into it, so they add their tiniest bit of colour to that thing. But a lot of time they just bounce off of it instead and either add their colour to something else, or they get drained away when the water changes to rinse cycle.\n\nColour catchers are really \"sticky\" to those floating dye molecules, though. They're specially designed to grab and hold on to any dye molecule that touches them. The dye molecule is now trapped and held securely, and so won't find its way onto that white shirt that's also in the wash.\n\nSo when your wash is done, the score is White Shirt Team 1452 molecule-points, Colour Catcher Team 16,389,475 molecule-points. Colour Catcher Team wins! "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
3a6s3p | why do we always talk about usa having a "rape culture" when places like sweden, new zealand, belgium, etc. are ignored and have higher rape rates? | Here's the [source](_URL_0_)
Also, other countries like Norway and Brazil have near identical rape rates. Sweden's is off the charts high at like 3x the frequency of the United States.
I understand why it's not discussed in 3rd-world countries because they have a multitude of other issues but I rarely if ever see these other first world countries embattled with the "rape culture" debate with it's citizens like the U.S. is. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3a6s3p/eli5_why_do_we_always_talk_about_usa_having_a/ | {
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"The people who came up with, use, and complain about \"rape culture\" live in the United States and have not really considered things beyond where they live.",
"I don't live in those countries. I don't speak their language, I'm unlikely to affect the opinions or policies of those countries. I'm an American, my neighbors are American, and the majority of people who read Reddit are American. I'm not going to spend much time debating with other Americans over the viability or morality of China's food regulation laws or Israeli cottage cheese boycotting. I'm going to spend time debating things that affect me and those around me, because I only have so much time in my life and can't emotionally or financially afford to be frustrated about everything else in the world.",
"Disregarding the whole debate on what rape culture entails...\n\nHigher rates of *reported* crime do not always mean a higher rate of *actual* crime.\n\nRape often goes unreported, because of the difficulty in getting a conviction and societal pressures that often encourage women to remain silent. Greater awareness and enforcement of sexual assault laws will lead to an initial increase in the number of reported cases.",
"1. We do? I, for one, think of rape culture as being a fairly global phenomenon.\n2. I live in the United States, so *if* I talk about the United States having a rape culture, it's because I live here and have experience with this culture.\n3. Rape culture is about a lot more than just the number of rapes. I'm not an expert on the term or its use, but I know that much. I imagine you could google it and find some well written articles on what it really entails.",
" Rape culture is the idea that rape is normalised within Western society. A large part of this is because of victim blaming what is when the victim is made to feel like it is somehow their fault and this leads to the victim not reporting it as a crime, telling anyone or even feeling ashamed/scared that anyone will find out and fear of not being believed if they did make a police report.\n\nTherefore rates and statistics of reported incidents can be directly effected by rape culture and in fact be lower because of it. \n\nThis website has some more information:\n_URL_0_\n\n\"Rape culture is…\n…the existence of “Keep Calm and Rape A Lot” t-shirts. They really, seriously exist.\n\n…the media’s constant glossing-over of sexual assault with euphemistic language: “inappropriate behaviour,” “sexual misconduct,” and even plain old “having sex.”\n\n…Facebook’s refusal to pull sadistically graphic images of violence against women (while deeming photos of breastfeeding moms to be objectionable)!\n\n…a beauty website that calls toddlers “effing hot” – even the preschool set can’t escape objectification!\n\n…a magazine editor’s blasé admission that “the women we feature in the magazine are ornamental” and “objectified.”\n\n…major news outlets waxing sympathetic about how two teen rapists’ “promising” lives will be destroyed by a youthful mistake, without once mentioning how the rape might affect the survivor.\n\n…kids who call losing a sports game “getting totally raped.”\n\n…a pizza marketing campaign that makes a joke out of rape.\n\n…a subculture of self-proclaimed “ratters” who hack into women’s computers and steal their photos.\n\n…college women being instructed to vomit or urinate on demand to protect themselves against rape.\n\n…10,000 untested rape kits collecting dust on a shelf somewhere.\"\n\n\n\n"
]
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"http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5195/sweden-rape"
] | [
[],
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[],
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"http://www.wavaw.ca/what-is-rape-culture/"
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7h8opi | candle wax | Currently burning a candle in a glass jar, and am wondering where the wax goes/what happens to it as the candle burns and shrinks in size. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7h8opi/eli5_candle_wax/ | {
"a_id": [
"dqp1ldq"
],
"score": [
7
],
"text": [
"It burns.\n\nMore specifically, the heat causes the wax to melt, be pulled up through the wick and evaporate. The wax fumes then burn, providing the flame. It's not the wick that burns, it's the wax."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
|
218k2g | when we sing, why does it sound good to ourselves but not as much to others? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/218k2g/eli5_when_we_sing_why_does_it_sound_good_to/ | {
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"text": [
"You're hearing your own voice reverberating through your head. Other people don't have the benefit of your cranial acoustics.",
"For starters, you're not hearing what they hear. The voice you hear coming out of you is basically the sum of all the sound waves you make bouncing around in your head and body-- which is why you sound so odd when recorded and played back. \n\nSinging is learning to control the pitch that comes out and compensating for the difference between in your head and out of your mouth.",
"I sound horrible to myself and in recording. Yet people tell me that I sing pretty well. What is going on?",
"Don't know, I'm the other way around. I hate my singing voice.",
"One thing I have noticed, is that usually, our brain tends to add the background music to the song, whereas others simply listen to your voice as it is.\n\nThere are many great songs which sound horrendous without the instruments. (Case in point: _URL_0_)\n\nKaraoke is a different case though.",
"Which brings us back to the old George Carlin line, \"your own farts don't smell that bad.\""
]
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[],
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[],
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"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IArxakPsPE0"
],
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||
38uf8j | how people can patent genes in america? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/38uf8j/eli5_how_people_can_patent_genes_in_america/ | {
"a_id": [
"crxx20g"
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"text": [
" > The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that human genes cannot be patented.\n\n > But in something of a compromise, all nine justices said while the naturally occurring isolated biological material itself is not patentable, a synthetic version of the gene material may be patented.\n\n > Legal and medical experts believe the decision will have a lasting impact on genetic testing, likely making varieties more widely available and more affordable.\n\n > The overriding legal question addressed was whether \"products of nature\" can be treated the same as \"human-made\" inventions, allowing them to be held as the exclusive intellectual property of individuals and companies.\n\nAfter this court decision, you cannot. It is impossible to patent and give \"rights\" to naturally occuring genetic material."
]
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[]
] |
||
48e55c | how to "charge" your ipod with a lemon. how is it relatively possible? | Or even a potato or onion. I've seen dozens of videos of it. It just makes no sense to me according to what I know about science. I know the whole potato and a battery thing can make a light, but that seems different to me. ELI5: | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/48e55c/eli5_how_to_charge_your_ipod_with_a_lemon_how_is/ | {
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"Well, it is basically the same thing, the current and voltage actually charing the phone is very small because bigger would ruin the battery. It needs minimal power for a long time, which suffices with a lemon. They operate the same way as a potato battery.",
"Have you ever learned about electrochemistry? Basically you put an anode and cathode in a solvent and that solvent acts as a charge medium, allowing charge to flow from one pole to the other. So, you acidic juices in lemons or oranges conduct small amounts of electricity and allow for stage events like potatoes turning on light bulbs or whatever. You're just not seeing the electro chem side to it. ",
"Batteries essentially take electrons from one metal and move them to another metal. But you have to plug them into a circuit in order for the electrons to make it to the second piece of metal. The most common potato batteries are made with a nail and a penny, because they have the right types of metal to complete the reaction. The power comes from the metals, not the potato. The potato creates a path for metal ions to move between the pieces of metal in order to balance out the electric charge going through the circuit. It works with a lemon too. Electricity is electricity, whether it comes from an AA battery or a potato battery. But each type of battery can provide a different amount of electricity. "
]
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[],
[],
[]
] |
|
dng0v4 | how do certain animals or reptiles grow according to the size of their cage. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dng0v4/eli5_how_do_certain_animals_or_reptiles_grow/ | {
"a_id": [
"f5alr1z"
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"score": [
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"text": [
"They don’t. It’s misinformation which leads to neglectful abuse. A small cage will stunt a reptiles size, and it causes issues and isn’t at all healthy or natural for them. Same with fish (most commonly told about goldfish). It severely reduces their lifespan and quality."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
||
3o7f1l | if the supply of people who wish to become professional athletes is high, and the demand is so low, how come the salaries are so insane? | I am not sure talent and practice alone can explain this gap, it seems like a free market failure to me... Maybe I'm wrong? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3o7f1l/eli5_if_the_supply_of_people_who_wish_to_become/ | {
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"Because every team wants to have the absolute best.\n\nIf you don't have the best players, you don't get into the best leagues. You don't get the best money coming from advertising, TV coverage or merchandise.\n\nFor professional sports teams, paying their top stars megabucks is what allows them to make money - if Team A doesn't pay enough, the stars will all go to Team B, and so will the revenue.",
"The problem is that you're equating \"the supply of people who want to be among the top 100 in the world at this sport\" with \"the supply of people who are the top 100 in the world at this sport\". Once you realize these are very different numbers the supply/demand idea works out differently.",
"Just because many people *wish* to become professional athletes, doesn't mean all those people are also capable of reaching that level. Many athletes do have some natural talent (or physical characteristics that help them), but even if it was only all training, not everybody can train like a pro does. That takes a lot of time and money, which is not something everybody has to sink into training.\n\nSecondly, even among all professional athletes, some will do better than others. And those are the ones that are paid very royally. There are also loads of athletes who makes far lower wages, simply because the sport they are practising isn't that much in the public eye. Worldclass soccer players make loads of money because if you can function at the level of Pele, there are lots of clubs that want you, and they will outbid each other to get you. If you function at a very high level in curling, you are still not going to get the same salary as a Pele, just because that sport is not as huge. Hell, even among all soccer players, you have some that get extraordinary wages, but you also have loads and loads of soccer players that play for local clubs. They are still professionals, but they sure aren't raking in millions. The salaries are only insane for a small subsection of all professional athletes. \n\nAnd the third factor is the value they bring in. The reason why clubs wants these once in a million athletes is because they will help their team win. Which isn't just cool in terms of winning a cup, but also great for selling advertising. Everybody wants to put their ad on the shirt or around the field of a winning team. Lots of people watch those matches, so companies get a lot of airtime and awareness from that. And they are willing to pay the big bucks for that, which is more money coming into the club. A club is going to be fine paying a few millions for a unique player like Pele, if they get several times back that amount in advertising money from being able to sell Pele's chest as the prime spot for putting your ad.",
"The supply of people who wish to become professional athletes IS high, but the supply of people who can compete among the best athletes in the world is quite low.",
"If you think about it the other way round, it makes sense. The demand is for a world-class athlete, and there are very, very few of those."
]
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3h8ucz | why do companies like wwe block out their own logos on television? | Since they own it they should be able to show it, right? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3h8ucz/eli5_why_do_companies_like_wwe_block_out_their/ | {
"a_id": [
"cu59lnf"
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"score": [
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"text": [
"They don't want people to assume that the people wearing their logo are sponsored or affiliated "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
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|
3ukuu2 | how are key combinations made for door locks? | There are literally billions of locks and keys of the same general type in the world. And there must be multiple manufacturers. So how come no 2 keys in the world are a copy of eachother in the pattern? Is there some sort of database of all the key combinations employed in the world or something?
For example, there must be thousands of not millions of keys of this type: _URL_0_
So how come there isn't another combination like this made by a manufacturer somewhere else in the world?
Or is there? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ukuu2/eli5_how_are_key_combinations_made_for_door_locks/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxfp6uq"
],
"score": [
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"text": [
"There are plenty of doors /locks with the same key. \n\nQuestion is are you going to waste your time trying to open all the similar locks until you land on the right one?\n\nI might be off but on the key you showed there is more than a thousands combination. \n\nEnough that it will take you sometime to find an identical one. And this would be right at the city shipping dock center where there would be enough locks to have a chance to have an identical one."
]
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"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31amYeTY7NL._SY300_.jpg"
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[]
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|
2ygmsa | what did benjamin netanyahu do that makes him so hated by much of the us, israel etc. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ygmsa/eli5what_did_benjamin_netanyahu_do_that_makes_him/ | {
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"Not everybody in Israel hates him. I don't and I live in Israel. ",
"He's something like the George W. Bush of Israel. He's very conservative, panders to a set of influential donors, pushes hawkish positions to the point of war mongering and has little regard for human rights, diplomacy or international law.",
"In America he is loved more (by conservatives) than Obama by a factor of infinity. ",
"I live in Israel, the elections are 8 days away, and Benjamin's Netanyahu's (Bibi for short) party is the second most popular in the polls. the following are among the most common of his criticisms:\n\n * He and his wife live a very extravagant lifestyle during a minor economic depression. Their yearly expense report shows spending $300,000 on cleaning (a single house), $45,000 on electricity, $117,000 to food and catering (again, to one of their houses), $35,000 on gardening, and $19,000 on flower arrangement (this is all direct taxpayer money BTW, not subtracted from anyone's pay). I could fill a short magazine with the shit spending (and likely, receipt forgery) that happens there. This gives the Netanyahu household a very \"Marie Antoinette\" vibe.\n\n * There are rumors from many people who associated with him in the past that he is very hard to work with and that most of the decisions he makes are actually made by his wife, be they military, economical, or cultural. It doesn't help that his wife is quite the unlikable character. One story about her is that she demands that all her milk cartons be bought with an individual plastic bag for each, and attacked an assistant that failed to do so.\n\n * Bibi has been prime minister of Israel for 6 years in a row now (9 totaling) and has done very little, if anything to prevent or fix the economic downturn and housing crisis the country's been experiencing.\n\n * Even in these elections, he often redirects questions involving local economy and astronomical cost of living, and focuses on Iran and foreign threats. One of his more infamous quotes is \"When we talk about housing price, and cost of living, I don't ever forget life itself. The greatest threat to our life right now is the arming of Iran with nuclear weapons\".\n\n * He's considered hesitant in general, sources claim that it was his hesitation that caused Israel's last large scale operation in Gaza (Protective Edge) to be considered a failure.\n\n * In his time in office, he brought international relations, especially with the US (Israels greatest ally), to the lowest it's been in decades. Just a few days ago, he bypassed the White House, further damaging US relations, to deliver a speech in Washington that was transparently designed to boost him the coming election.\n\n\nAs you can tell, I am not a fan of the guy.\n\nDL;DR Israel wise: he's about as 'white, rich, tycoon friendly, right wing' politician as we have in the roster, and popular opinion is, he's been in charge for long enough to do some serious damage, and will do more the longer he stays in office.",
"So there's the long-term reason, the mid-term reason, and the short-term reason.\n\nThe long-term, \"we've hated/disliked Netanyahu for years\" reason is that he's seen as a warmonger. He espouses the interventionist foreign policy known in America as [neoconservatism](_URL_0_), which was practiced by the Bush Administration and got us into a war in Iraq. He has constantly warned the US that the Iranians are building a nuke, stating repeatedly that Iran is only one year away from a nuclear weapon - the first such warning was back in 1991. He has also seemed to intentionally stall peace talks with the Palestinians, including authorizing the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. To many Americans, this looks eerily similar to our historical treatment of Native Americans, which we look back upon as shameful and which we wish we could undo.\n\nThe mid-term reason is that Netanyahu and President Obama have an extremely rocky relationship, and relations between the two respective countries are probably at their most strained level in history right now. Which leader you blame for this, Obama or Netanyahu, tends to depend on your political affiliation. For Obama supporters, the thought process is \"he takes millions of dollars in our tax money, he depends on us to veto any UN resolution against his country, and yet he snubs our President any chance he gets. What a dick.\"\n\nThe short-term cause is what's been building up over the last month, and what just happened last week. Though it's not officially codified anywhere, it has been US foreign policy protocol for decades (at least) that if a foreign leader is going to speak to Congress, the White House should be consulted or at least notified first. Recently, Netanyahu was invited to speak to Congress by Congressional Republicans, and the White House was neither consulted nor notified beforehand. This was a major snub of Obama, both by the Republicans and by Netanyahu. It broke two taboos in American politics: the concept of \"politics stops at the water's edge\", meaning that we try to downplay our party-line divisions and show a united front when it comes to foreign policy; and the idea that we should never allow foreign leaders to interfere with our domestic disputes. Though the first one has been violated before, the second is especially angering. Americans have a fiercely independent streak, and the idea that a foreign power is choosing sides and meddling in our politics raises a lot of hackles. So that's why Netanyahu is specifically in the news right now."
]
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[],
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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism"
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||
2ewitb | why does it take longer to heat up 3 corn dogs in the oven then it does to heat up 2 at the same temperature? | Well i just made some corn dogs in the oven. Usually 18 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit cooks em up perfect, but i usually only cook two at once. Feelings mighty adventurous tonight i decided I'd throw caution to the wind and pop in an extra corn dog this time. 18 minutes went by, cooking at 350, i take them out, take a bite and it's not even nearly as cooked as i would prefer. Had to throw 'em back in there for another several minutes.
I feel like i could explain this, but it would be like a 5 year old's explanation... | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2ewitb/eli5_why_does_it_take_longer_to_heat_up_3_corn/ | {
"a_id": [
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"score": [
2,
2
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"text": [
"Heating more things requires more heat. More heat takes more time.",
"Thermodynamics m8!\n\nThere's more mass in the oven, therefore it takes longer to heat that extra mass than it otherwise would."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[],
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] |
|
5hmuvw | why can't companies include the aa/aaa batteries needed to use their product with said product? it can't be that hard to throw a few batteries in and charge a little extra. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hmuvw/eli5_why_cant_companies_include_the_aaaaa/ | {
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"text": [
"I could be wrong but batteries have both a relatively short shelf life and stronger regulatory guidelines. You don't want to deal with MSDSs if you don't have to",
"Sometimes products can sit on a shelf for a while. Batteries have a relatively short shelf life and will begin to corrode if left for a long time. ",
"If you include the batteries, then you're on the hook if something goes wrong. If your subcontractor screws up and gives you a bad batch of batteries, then the customer names you and them in the lawsuit. If someone is an idiot and uses the battery wrong, the burden of proof is going to be on you in a civil suit. If the box is sitting on a distributor's shelf too long and the batteries go dead or rupture in the meantime, you're the one the customer is going to gripe to.\n\nMeanwhile, if you say 'batteries not included', all that goes away. If the client buys a bad battery or screws up using it, that's between them and the battery company, and if they try to use a dud battery that's no one's fault but their own. ",
"Consumers are more likely to purchase a device that costs less because they don't always \"life-cycle\" price. If a Device costs $20 without batteries and $22 with them, a consumer may be less likely to buy a device, even though they will have to pay the extra $2 for batteries anyway. \n\nAlso as others have pointed out, batteries tend to corrode after awhile, which is a health risk. ",
"One more reason: At least in Brazil, if you sell regular batteries, you are required to accept used batteries back for proper disposal. So if the product includes batteries, the manufacturer/seller will have to have the logistics for that. Battery manufacturers already have that, so the cost of it is already added to the batteries. A toy manufacturer (or importer) would have to charge extra not only for the battery, but for the collecting/proper disposal.\n\nI, for one, don't want regular batteries. I've been exclusively using rechargeables for the last 8 years or so. Current Hybrid NiMH batteries keep their charge for 3 years or more even if not in use (the major inconvenience of previous rechargebles).\n\nBest of all, they don't leak and ruin whatever device they're in.",
"Some products do come with the batteries. It's common for something like a television or DVD player to have batteries in the box so the remote can be used right away.",
"Adding batteries to a product, even if not installed in the product, adds the risk of battery leakage and fire to shipping and packaging concerns. Government regulations may apply to shipping batteries that would be better to avoid by not including the battery. For example UPS and FedEx, both of which have contracts with a lot of online retailers, have guidelines and restrictions on Lithium battery shipments."
]
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15wpez | how are "real" reality tv families (such as on honey boo boo or duck dynasty) selected/discovered? | Random applications to cable networks? Connections? Dumb luck? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15wpez/eli5_how_are_real_reality_tv_families_such_as_on/ | {
"a_id": [
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"text": [
"A lot of them try very hard to attract attention.\n\nRemember that [guy in Colorado who launched a balloon and told the press his kid was on it](_URL_0_)?\n\nThat was a publicity stunt aimed at landing a TV show. "
]
} | [] | [] | [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_boy_hoax"
]
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|
6jq3g9 | why is ice okay in something like sweet tea, but tastes/looks weird in something like milk? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6jq3g9/eli5_why_is_ice_okay_in_something_like_sweet_tea/ | {
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"Well, sweet tea has a higher concentration of water than milk does, and is also a suspension of sugar/tea leaves. Milk is different, in that it's a combination of fat, protein, and water, which is weird if it's too watery, since that would typically lead us to believe the cow it came from had issues.\n\nTLDR Tea is basically water flavored by soaking leaves in it, so it'll naturally have a higher or lower concentration depending on how long it's soaked. Milk isn't made that way.",
"Also, if you put ice in whole milk- the cold of the ice causes the fat from the milk to sort of gather along the outside of the ice. It's a very unpleasant feeling in your mouth. The ice becomes sort of yellow and greasy.\n\n(I don't buy anything other than whole milk, but since everything else has lower percentages of fat - I would imagine its effect on ice would be less noticible )",
"Personally unless it's alcohol I don't like ice in any of my drinks, it waters it down and ruins the flavor. No one is ever excited to drink the last bit of their tea that is 80% melted ice cubes."
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ke765 | the different types of alcohol (chemistry, not beverages) | What are the differences between ethyl alcohol, ethanol, methanol, etc. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ke765/eli5_the_different_types_of_alcohol_chemistry_not/ | {
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"Ethyl alcohol is ethanol. It has the chemical formula H₃C-CH₂OH (two carbons). This is what you find in alcoholic beverages.\n\nMethanol has one carbon instead, with the formula H₃COH. This is what's dangerous in moonshine - methanol is much more toxic than ethanol because its metabolic products are formaldehyde and formic acid, the latter inhibits cellular respiration - so even though you have oxygen in the body, your cells can't use them because one of the enzymes in the pathway is blocked. Ethanol, on the other than, is metabolized into acetaldehyde (which is still bad, but neither aldehydes stick around for too long) and acetic acid (what's found in vinegar), which is far less toxic.",
"Written as ELI 12\n\nAlcohol is determined by the OH (Oxygen and Hydrogen) bond to a carbon. The name \"eth-\" and \"meth-\" are names given to the amount of carbons in the structure that are found in the longest carbon chain. Take a look at the molecular structure of the alcohol and find the longest amount of carbon atoms that are bonded together. This chain determines the name of the compound. Some alcohols have multiple carbon chains and are named differently, such as 2-ethyl Hexanol. This compound means that there is a ethyl carbon chain at the second carbon atom in the longest carbon chain, which is 6.\n\nThe number (2- in this case) in the equation will always be the lowest possible number in multiple naming options. These other options are called \"isomers\" and are copies of the compound with bonds in alternative places.\n\nAlcohol names such as ethene, ethane and ethyne vary in their bonding structure. The \"-ene\" means single bond, \"-ane\" means double bond, and \"-yne\" means triple bond. Stronger bonds lead to properties such as higher boiling points among others.\n\nThe word alcohol is a naming device. It is an organic compound and a hydrocarbon that has various reaction properties. It will grow and perform different actions based on the atomic structure.",
"Ethyl alcohol is ethanol. It has the chemical formula H₃C-CH₂OH (two carbons). This is what you find in alcoholic beverages.\n\nMethanol has one carbon instead, with the formula H₃COH. This is what's dangerous in moonshine - methanol is much more toxic than ethanol because its metabolic products are formaldehyde and formic acid, the latter inhibits cellular respiration - so even though you have oxygen in the body, your cells can't use them because one of the enzymes in the pathway is blocked. Ethanol, on the other than, is metabolized into acetaldehyde (which is still bad, but neither aldehydes stick around for too long) and acetic acid (what's found in vinegar), which is far less toxic.",
"Written as ELI 12\n\nAlcohol is determined by the OH (Oxygen and Hydrogen) bond to a carbon. The name \"eth-\" and \"meth-\" are names given to the amount of carbons in the structure that are found in the longest carbon chain. Take a look at the molecular structure of the alcohol and find the longest amount of carbon atoms that are bonded together. This chain determines the name of the compound. Some alcohols have multiple carbon chains and are named differently, such as 2-ethyl Hexanol. This compound means that there is a ethyl carbon chain at the second carbon atom in the longest carbon chain, which is 6.\n\nThe number (2- in this case) in the equation will always be the lowest possible number in multiple naming options. These other options are called \"isomers\" and are copies of the compound with bonds in alternative places.\n\nAlcohol names such as ethene, ethane and ethyne vary in their bonding structure. The \"-ene\" means single bond, \"-ane\" means double bond, and \"-yne\" means triple bond. Stronger bonds lead to properties such as higher boiling points among others.\n\nThe word alcohol is a naming device. It is an organic compound and a hydrocarbon that has various reaction properties. It will grow and perform different actions based on the atomic structure."
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o2xo6 | why cars like toyotas cant look like lamborghinis | Even if under the hood its nowhere near a supercar, why cant they make the body close or the same? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/o2xo6/eli5_why_cars_like_toyotas_cant_look_like/ | {
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"They could, but people wouldn't buy them.",
"I believe body types are copyrighted or trademarked, so you can't just throw a lamborghini body on.\n\nAlso, the frame of the car would have to change, which means you'd be changing the seating, the engine mount, etc - and since the size of the space under the hood isn't the same, you'd be redesigning the engine also. \n\nNot to mention people buy Toyota for different reasons than they buy Lamborghini, aside from price. You have the Lamborghini to go fast on roads, show off your wealth, and make yourself attractive to the opposite sex. You have the Toyota to get the groceries, take the kids to school, and drive to work.",
"There's a huge market in [body kits for the Pontiac Fiero](_URL_0_) that make it 'look like' a Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.\n\nThey're not very popular.",
"Because Lambos are form following function. \n\nTo put it another way, Lamborghinis are styled the way they are because of what they're designed to do. \n\nIf you want to build a car that goes from zero to fast in almost nothing flat you've got to put a huge engine into it and you've got to transfer a massive amount of power to the wheels using as little weight as possible.\n\nIf you want that same car to be able to go around tight corners in the Italian Alps at completely unreasonable speeds without flying off into space you need to put the engine smack dab in the middle of the vehicle, shove the passenger compartment forward, and muck about with the rest of the car to ensure that the balance isn't too terribly far off.\n\nIf you expect this thing to have any prayer of staying on the road at north of 150 miles per hour you need it to be low to the ground. A Lambo Gallardo is about 2 inches lower than a Camry is to the ground (and, as I understand it, when it's moving fast it's even lower).\n\nAll of that combines to make a car that has a very different kind of space available to it than a standard passenger sedan. The car must be lower, it will have a shorter hood, different transmission, and different weight distribution.\n\nAll of those things will force body designers to make certain decisions which someone designing a Toyota Camrey won't make.\n\nThen there's the market. Someone buying a Lambo will likely tolerate less leg room, lower head clearance, and limited trunk space if it means that the car performs better. People shop for different things when they're considering a family sedan versus a quarter-million-dollar super-car. As a result, Toyota can't get away with using all of its trunk space to house an engine and Lambo can afford to jack up the price by $10,000 to put in its characteristic doors. \n\nBut all that aside, it's marketing that really closes the deal.\n\nBecause when you're selling a super-car you're probably selling it to a wealthy guy who wants to spend his money on a sexy beast of a car: it has to **look** fast, exotic, and exciting. \n\nBut when you're selling a four-door family sedan you're selling it to a married guy and his wife. Fast, exotic, and exciting aren't selling points then; they're liabilities. Toyota wants people to look at a Camry and see \"safe,\" \"dependable,\" \"comfortable,\" and \"practical.\" A car that looks like a testosterone fueled star-fighter that runs on money isn't going to sell nearly as well to the audience their cars tend to target.\n\nBy the way, that's why lots of car companies own more than one car brand. Volkswagen, for example, is part of the same company that owns Audi (Luxury) and Bugatti (fast-sexy-supercars).",
"Supercars don't look awesome to everyone. The majority of the people who drive a Toyota Corolla wouldn't want to drive one. They're gaudy and flamboyant, annoying to get in and out of, have very little usable space. These are not the things that an average consumer wants. "
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1u3rte | when patients are on life support for an indefinite amount of time, who is responsible for the bill? | With a judge granting Jahi McMath, Will her mother get a huge bill if Jahi passes away? Will her mother get a larger bill if her life is extended for months but passes away? Will her mother pay a different bill if Jahi ends up recovering and living a full life? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1u3rte/eli5_when_patients_are_on_life_support_for_an/ | {
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"correct me if wrong, but I believe any bills would be owed by JM individually, or her estate. If she passes away, the estate would be responsible for paying the bills, but no liability would extend to her mother or other family members.\nIn all likelihood, the bills will never be paid, and we (U.S. citizens) will all collectively absorb their costs.",
"The last part of your question is the same as asking if your hospital bill will be cheaper if the broken leg you were treated for actually heals. Absolutely not!"
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2k7um0 | explain inertial forces and why inertial forces only happen in non-inertial reference frame? | It says in my notebook: Inertial forces appear in non-inertial reference frames, frames which move with acceleration according to other inertial reference frames. Doesn't make sense. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2k7um0/eli5_explain_inertial_forces_and_why_inertial/ | {
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"Inertial forces are forces that don't exist but appear to do to an objects inertia, or tendency to keep moving. \r\r\rIn an inertial reference frame (one that does not change speed), inertial forces don't occur. If you leave a box on flat ground is not going to start moving out of nowhere. \r\r\rIn a non-inertial reference frame, like a car breaking, inertial forces exist. To someone on the ground, a box on the roof of a moving car is going to keep moving forward as it was before as the car stops. There was no force acting on the box, but there was one stopping the car. Now if you are in the car, and your frame of reference is that of the car, to you it appears that a force pushed the box off the roof of the car and sent it flying. "
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2m3g2l | how do my pets seem to "know" when i am sick? | Pets seem to treat you very differently when you are feeling off. It seems to go even beyond sensing sickness .For example, I have received abnormal attentiveness from pets when sad, or under the influence of certain recreational drugs ("dude, the cat *knows*"). How do they know??? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2m3g2l/eli5_how_do_my_pets_seem_to_know_when_i_am_sick/ | {
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"One of the resulting traits of animal domestication is empathy with humans. Whether this was a selected trait for breeding or just a happy accident I'm not too sure but it is definitely a trait that exists now.",
"I sincerely doubt they understand your situation or the thoughts in your head. Certainly there is no way to prove it for a fact.\n\nThey can judge your behaviour very well though and they will react appropriately. Maybe when you are sad or depressed, the behaviour cues your dog observes get interpreted as \"my human pack brother is hurt, I am worried\". Or, the cat sees that you are acting abnormally and that your pupils are dilated (aka high as f***) and thinks that you sense danger that they cannot see, therefore they are on edge as well.\n\nAlso, they are conditioned to do certain things like lick your face. If you are \"hurt\"/sad, your dog might randomly lick your face because your eyes are \"leaking\". If you smile or rub their head they think they did something good or helpful, so they might very well do it again next time and every other time.\n\nThey don't know the same way humans know.",
"Some pets (dogs especially) know how you're feeling the same way a person would - by observing your behavior. When you know a person well, you know when they are acting out of character. \n\nAnimals also have more acute senses than humans in some ways. For example, dogs have been trained to smell cancer. I am certain that a fevered sweat would be easily detected as well. \n\nAnimals might not be able to build space shuttles or write sonnets, but they are not necessarily stupid. If your best friend, mom, or SO would notice, an animal can notice. ",
"I think animals can smell it. My cat raises a paw in mid air and looks at me for premission to lay on my stomach area. He does not do this to my husband but jumps right up on him. This cat is not the only cat that did it but two others did asx well. They all knew I was suffering from a muscel disease (Myasthenia Gravis) and they were careful. I think its smell, something we cant pick up."
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2x0lxr | if topgear gives a car a negative review can the bbc be held financially responsible if it's proven that the review hurt sales of the car? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2x0lxr/eli5_if_topgear_gives_a_car_a_negative_review_can/ | {
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"Nope. You can't sue someone based on a critical opinion unless it contains lies. ",
"Yes and no. It depends on what is said, really. If they say things like \"only child molesters own Fords and the F150 has been known to remove your testicles\" then yes, they might get in trouble for that (though they'd probably dodge it by claiming that it was said as a joke).\n\nIf they review the car and criticize it based upon factual data and their own testing, they cannot be held accountable.",
"Not unless the things they said about the car were false. If they said \"don't by Ford F150s because they all catch on fire after 30000 miles\" then there could be a case. However, if they are just giving their opinions on a car (and people happen to align their purchases with that opinion) then a company doesn't have any recourse (how would they even prove people aren't buying because of top gear anyway?)."
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8vk8lv | why do people that are just making their voice lower not sound like people with naturally low voices? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8vk8lv/eli5_why_do_people_that_are_just_making_their/ | {
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"Think of it like a guitar and a trumpet playing the same note. Would you still be able to tell the difference?"
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bbptpp | why does the railroad have it's own medicare and social security? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bbptpp/eli5_why_does_the_railroad_have_its_own_medicare/ | {
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"To summarize: In the 30's railroad unions pressured the government into passing laws to centralize their retirement, disability and medical benefits. The various private plans in use were dubious and workers were not guaranteed the benefits and pensions they were expecting.\n\nIn addition positions in Railroads were seniority based, so younger workers would often find themselves laid off or unable to be promoted because older workers refused to retire because their benefits were so bad.\n\nThe program was implemented in at a time just before social security was enacted, so it kinda became grandfathered in.\n\nThe system was maintained because benefits and social security varied from state to state, so keeping the existing program meant that railroad workers would have the same coverage across the country.\n\nBy the 80's the pension fund had become insolvent due to a combination of economic crisis, the shrinking railroad workforce, and the pressure to keep up the pensions of those already retired. Retired railroad workers outnumbered the active workforce by 2.5 times. This threatened to reduce the pensions of existing retirees to 40%.\n\nPresident Reagan reacted to this by abolishing the railroad pension plan and merged it with social security. He then privatized many of the health benefits. This solved the issue but in the process cut benefits for existing workers and retirees and forced them to pay taxes on pensions."
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bx99lo | what makes an activity enjoyable for people? for example, why is solving math problems considered fun for a certain individual, while playing an instrument is fun for another? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bx99lo/eli5_what_makes_an_activity_enjoyable_for_people/ | {
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"My best guess is that it has something to do with a combination of the way the reward centers in the brain are activated, nostalgia for how one learned the task, and the presence of role models relating to that task and what those role models meant to the individual."
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2zayrv | what is the difference between the goal of "losing your ego" as espoused by various meditative/spiritual/religious practices, and "depersonalization" as described as a symptom of various mental illnesses? and why is one seen as desirable while one is...well, a symptom of mental illness? | For example, in many meditative practices or religious/spiritual ones, the description of losing your sense of self is seen as a good thing. Or many even go so far as to describe the sense of self as an illusion altogether.
Meanwhile, the phenomenon of "depersonalization" is seen as a symptom of many mental illnesses, ranging from anxiety to schizophrenia.
I'm not very well educated on either subject, and basically only have this wikipedia article as reference in regards to depersonalization → _URL_0_
Any insight here would be greatly appreciated! One thing to note is that I'm not trying to insult the goal of "losing one's self", or anyone who holds certain views about this. I'm simply curious about how these things things are different and am failing to find a clear difference on my own.
Thank you in advance for any response to this! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zayrv/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_the_goal_of/ | {
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"I would imagine in religious meditation, losing yourself means becoming completely at peace, losing all your thoughts and a more euphoric experience. \nI've had depersonalization disorder 24/7 for the past 6 years. It's a groggy, dream like state where you can still have conversations and be functioning, but you're just disconnected from your body and you feel numb. I don't even think twice about it anymore, my world just kept getting \"blurrier\" as I got more confused. Its hard to explain, but I know its not the same as meditative disconnection. It feels like don't know my body anymore, but I think religious people know their bodies very well when they lose their senses.",
"Based on some books I've read (notably \"Happiness\" by Matthieu Ricard), some Buddhists think that \"I\" is a harmful construct which exists only in our minds. This sense of self is what causes us harm because it allows us to be hurt. If someone insults me, my ego is hit and I feel hurt. If someone cuts me off while I'm driving, I get mad because \"who do they think they are doing that to ME\", I desire things I don't have (\"I want this\"), etc. \n\nIf you can rid yourself of this sense of self, you can avoid a lot of what makes us human beings unhappy. \n\nI have never heard about depersonalization but what I read on Wikipedia seems very different from what people try to achieve through meditation. It seems more like a disassociation between your mind (sense of self) and body, as if they both exist separately. \n",
"I have occasionally suffered from depersonalization, and I think it just doesn't feel the same as a reduction of ego (I can't claim complete egolessness for myself yet) from meditation. It's hard to describe the difference, because those two things are just hard to describe in themselves. but they're not the same. Also, I think it being voluntary is a *huge* factor. When you meditate, you are much more ready for unusual states of mind, and you're usually in a comfortable environment and relaxed. It's what people who take psychedelic drugs call \"set and setting\". Your environment greatly shapes whether a certain state of mind is perceived as positive or negative. I have experience with meditation, drug use and mental illness, and while I see the connections between them, there are still important differences. I think, for example, an analogous comparison would be between the \"emptiness\" of Zen and the emptiness felt from clinical depression. In both cases there's a reduction of the perceived inherent meaningfulness or essense of the world, but depression feels horrible and meditation does not. There's a difference between going skydiving and having to use a parachute to escape a crashing plane :)"
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3uhatf | why do emails have size limits? | When sending videos and stuff. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3uhatf/eli5_why_do_emails_have_size_limits/ | {
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"Bandwidth and storage issues. Probably more on the latter. Obviously there has to be a limit on how much e-mail storage a person has. If there was no limit on what I could send them, then I could disable a person's e-mail by sending them a large enough attachment.",
"* Email is a fairly inefficient way to transfer large files.\n* In practice email accounts are often free and the provider has little interest in allowing mails that use more resources by several orders of magnitude. \n* Both the sender's and the recipient's provider must be willing to deal with the message. Providers may conclude that letting users send messages that are too likely to cause issues on the recipient's side causes more trouble than it is worth.\n* Typical email software is designed under the assumption that individual messages load reasonably fast and can be kept indefinitely without worrying about space."
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4pi7f6 | why is ram way more expensive than ssd if ram is not able to store data when powered off? shouldn't it cost less? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4pi7f6/eli5_why_is_ram_way_more_expensive_than_ssd_if/ | {
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"RAM is orders of magnitude faster than the memory used in SSDs. You're paying for the MUCH faster speed.",
"RAM is much faster and much more powerful than any sort of storage, be it solid state or hard drive. For this reason, it's much more expensive. They serve entirely different functions, and trying to compare their prices is like comparing apples to oranges.",
"Let's say you're a CPU. You have your own little desk with stuff on it, and you want to write something. So you pick up a pencil and a piece of paper, and start writing. Picking up things from your desk takes about 1 second.\n\n*Your desk is CPU registers. It's where CPU actually does things. But CPU registers are limited in capacity, essentially speed of light comes on the way of making the memory access times faster, you want them to be as small as possible to keep access times low. These are about megabyte in size, usually a bit smaller, and the access times are about one billionth of a second.*\n\nBut let's say you need to go get something from garage. Like, you forgot you had your crayons stashed there. It takes you about two minutes to go fetch 'em. Still pretty close.\n\n*That's RAM. It's large in size, but because of this size, it's also slower, and it's not too big a deal to go fetch things from there. Programs you run reside here, so it has to be big enough, but again, speed is crucial, your CPU is doing nothing while you wait for RAM.*\n\nBut next you realize your garage doesn't have something. So you do what every rational person does, you order it from Amazon, and get the item in two business days. You're happy, and get back to whatever you were doing.\n\n*This is what, from CPU perspective, SSD looks like. It's the difference of 50 nanosecond RAM access time, and 100,000 nanosecond SSD access time.*\n\nBut let's say that instead you need to start a farm. So you wait for the next spring, buy a plot of land, prepare it, start sowing seeds, wait for them to grow, and reap your harvest only about a year after you started.\n\n*This is regular HDD, viewed from CPU perspective. It's about 100 times slower than SSD, and about 10,000,000 times slower than CPU registers.*\n\n**tl;dr**, as many have noted before, you're paying for vastly faster speeds."
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74mcch | how do doctors detect down syndrome in pregnancy? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/74mcch/eli5_how_do_doctors_detect_down_syndrome_in/ | {
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"One way would be amniocentesis. Fetal cells can be sampled by sticking a needle into the amniotic sac and sucking up some fluid. These cells are then karyotyped, which allows the chromosomes to be counted. Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, which is why it is also called trisomy 21. Blood tests and ultrasound can apparently be used to screen for symptoms, but definitive diagnosis requires fetal cells.",
"It's a two-way process. There are two markers in blood plus the measurement of the thickness of the neck in a given week of the pregnancy. \n\nThe doctor checks then in a look-up table the risk of Down Syndrome given the age of the mother, the blood test results, and the ultrasound measurements. \n\nIf the risk is very high, the only way to know for sure is an amniocentesis, but in that case there is a risk of losing the pregnancy, so it's not routine.\n\nThere have been some advances in research that have proven that the baby's blood mixes with the blood of the mother, and the trisomy could be detected in a blood sample from the mother, but this is still under research.\n\n",
"The NIPT test is the newest method for this, much more accurate than markers and much less risky than an amino. \n\nThe mother’s blood contains a small number of expired cells from the placenta. If the baby has downs, it is reflected in the placenta as well. After blood is drawn from the mother, it is analyzed and they are able to actually identify and count the chromosomes for both the mother and for the baby (from the expired placenta cells). Since there is a pair of each chromosome, the expectation is that there is a relatively similar number of each chromosome. If there is a disproportionate count of chromosome # 23 then the risk is very high and an amino is usually ordered. If not, it is considered to be only a 1:10,000 risk. \n\nAs a bonus, they count the X and Y chromosomes and 100% accurately determine the sex of the baby. \n\nSource: my partner had the NIPT after having a scare with the markers testing showing a 1:15 risk. The geneticist explained the test thoroughly. We were relieved that the result was that there was no down’s detected and that we were having a girl. "
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96g74l | what is the point of showing me online advertisements for products after i have purchased them from amazon etc.? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/96g74l/eli5_what_is_the_point_of_showing_me_online/ | {
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"The advertisers don't know that you actually purchased the item, all they know is that you were looking at the item to begin with. "
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||
2hmjbx | why do they have pills for animals that prevent insect bites (frontline, comfortis) safely, but humans do not? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2hmjbx/eli5_why_do_they_have_pills_for_animals_that/ | {
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"They don't prevent insect bites, they kill the insects. Frontline and Comfortis are essentially \"pet pesticides\". They work poisoning the fleas. The fleas can still bit the cat, but they end up getting poisoned. Fleas are particularly attracted to furry animals because the fur provides shelter and protection for them and they have all the food that they can eat. Humans on the other hand are not covered in fur or hair, so we don't need to take flea medication because fleas won't live on our backs. However, we do have lice shampoo if we ever get head lice or crabs which acts in a similar way to how Frontline and Comfortis act. ",
"The pills don't necessarily prevent insect bites, they prevent infestation. Flea treatments kill fleas or otherwise interrupt the flea's life cycle after the flea bites to ingest the chemical.\n\nFipronil, the active ingredient in some Frontline formulations can be used on humans aswell. This is actually a sort of nerve agent, but it's not dangerous to mammals because we don't have the same cell biology - it can't bind to mammalian cells and act as a nerve agent in the same manner it acts on insects and other non-mammals.\n\nThere are also insect repellents that do prevent bites, such as permethrin, that can be used in both animal and human insect repellents aswell.",
"It is my understanding the drops for cats and dogs are neurotoxins and some also have insect growth regulators. They don't stop the insect from biting they just kill them if they do. If the insect doesn't die it generally can't reproduce anymore. I know of a case where a lady could not find drops for her daughters cats so she bought drops for a dog. They killed both cats.",
"Frontline is a topical, not a pill. There are similar topical treatments for humans, like permethrin which is also the ingredient found in flea/ tick collars and equine fly spray. \n\nSpinosad is the active ingredient in Comfortis and Trifexis, but is also used orally to treat head lice in humans. \n\nMany oral dewormers used in animals also are used in humans: ivermectin, pyrantel, praziquantel. Generally parasite burdens are much lower in humans and these drugs just aren't needed very often.\n\nProbably the biggest human biter would be mosquitoes, and as far as I know, there isn't a drug that you or your pet can take orally that will repel mosquitoes. "
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1kswdy | how do the live score services and websites (_url_1_, _url_0_) work? | I know that the bigger leagues can be tracked by a trained team to keep scores and statistics, but they have a lot of championships and I just feel the work is overwhelming. Also, how do they make their money? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1kswdy/eli5_how_do_the_live_score_services_and_websites/ | {
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"I can tell you that it is not just the bigger leagues that have trained teams. When it comes to sports, no matter how big or small the school or league, there are parents, or families, or directors / presidents of those leagues who care that everything is tracked and available. \n\nI used to intern with my college's Sports Information Director (SID). A team of two (spotter and typer) ran a program (I can't recall the name) where we would sit at the event on a laptop and indicate everything that was happening. Every event that could happen during the game had a key. \n\nFor example, in basketball, home-team player number 34 takes attempts a layup that was missed and rebounded by away-team player number 2. \n\nThe spotter would call all this out while the typing would look something like this.\n\nL H 32 R D 2\n\nL refers to layup attempted, which brings up a prompt for home or away team. 32 is the players number. R indicates a miss (G would indicate a made shot) D refers to a defensive rebound (which automatically means it is by the away team) and 2 is the player with the rebound. \n\nIt seems complicated but it is really just typing as you barely even watch the game, rather you just listen to what the spotter is calling.\n\nMy college was a division 2 college, and we had people at every major sports event, from basketball to football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, ect. Every school that has a sporting program has an SID. \n\nI now work with a major television network responsible for producing professional sports broadcasts (MLB, NHL, NBA games). In the case of MLB games, the MLB has a person at every game running a computer program that updates and feeds the websites that everyone frequents for scores. It is really more of babysitting, as the program has cameras and data feeds that automatically updates balls, strikes, runs, ect. \n\nHope this answers some things."
]
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"flashscore.com",
"livescore.com"
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[]
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|
2asddu | why aren't labor unions considered a natural product of a free market? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2asddu/eli5_why_arent_labor_unions_considered_a_natural/ | {
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"While people coming together to negotiate as a whole may be a natural product of a free market, their legal rights and protections are based on government intervention. Whether that government intervention is a good thing or not is obviously a matter of opinion. It's clear though that unions wouldn't have nearly the impact they have without those legal protections. This is why those who oppose unions seek to eliminate those legal protections, and those who support them try to strengthen them, because they have an impact.",
"Free markets efficiently ration our assets using competition to set prices. That breaks down where a monopoly exists, and a union is an violently enforced monopoly on labor.",
"I would say that Labour Unions do exist as a product of the market. Essentially functioning as Worker Insurance, they can negotiate better conditions of employment for their customers. I think that they can effectively function without laws operating in their favour. "
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3tyqfx | why are we grossed out by human breast milk? | Yet cow milk and milk from other species is totally fine. But if you're not a baby then human breast milk is a big no no (at least socially). Why is that? Logically wouldn't it make more sense to be drinking milk from your own species? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3tyqfx/eli5_why_are_we_grossed_out_by_human_breast_milk/ | {
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"logically maybe, but not practically. getting enough pregnant women together, who are consistently producing milk, to devote the time to constantly giving milk, like cows, would be amazingly astronomically expensive (think of how much money a cow's time is worth vs how much money a human's time is worth). and even if you could get a substantial number of women to do this, you couldn't get nearly the volume of milk we get from a fraction as many cows.\n\non top of that, puritanical sex-shaming has been an ingrained part of american culture for... a very long time. so anything associated with a woman's breasts becomes somewhat sexy and by extension kind of immoral outside the very specific context of breast feeding and even then you can still see pushback. ",
"Because the human breast has been sexualized in our culture. I don't think anyone thinks it's gross it's just a private matter. No one is like \"ew, titty milk\"",
"My wife recently gave birth and is nursing our son, and even she refuses to even taste the milk, and got furious with me when I was going to. We had friends over and it grossed them out to. I posited that it seems much weirder to me that they drink the milk from a different species, but they persisted that cow milk is normal, breast milk is weird.\n\nI think Dr. Melanie Joy's conept of the condition most people have as Carnism is what is at play (_URL_0_). While she doesn't specifically call out breat milk, she has identified the switch that makes us rationalize eating Chickens but not dogs. In this case naturally we would avoid drinking milk past childhood in general, but our brains are already switched on that it's OK to drink it from this specific animal."
]
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[],
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"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnism"
]
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5felsp | what's the difference between dram and vram? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5felsp/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_dram_and_vram/ | {
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"DRAM is the stuff that's in your PC to just use for whatever, storing variables, programs in execution, and the like. VRAM is the stuff that's in your video card to hold graphics data like textures, 3D models, and really anything that's going on the screen.",
"DRAM is those sticks of RAM you usually have 4 slots for on your motherboard. It's purpose is just random access. VRAM is dedicated RAM hard lined into your video card in order to render and produce complicated video feeds and physics actions in a program. This ram is designed to do just that and not much more. "
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[],
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||
1o893q | what is orbital hybridisation? how this explains bonds? i still don't get it... | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1o893q/eli5_what_is_orbital_hybridisation_how_this/ | {
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"Okay so in any molecule we expect the bond lengths to be the same between atom x and atom y no matter their orientation in the molecule. So take the example of CH4. In this example you would expect the bond lengths of each C-H bond to be the same. In order for this to happen the energy must be the same in the orbitals between all C-H bonds. So the Carbon needs to hybridize it's energy orbitals. It starts out with it's 2 non-bonding electrons in the first energy level labeled the 1s energy level. This level doesn't hybridize because they are non-bonding. In the 2s orbital you have 4 electrons, these electrons are shared in the 2sx and 2sy orbitals and the 2sz orbital and these are the energy levels that need to hybridize in order to bond with other things. The electrons move so that each orbital has one electron to share with the H to bond. After this they hybridize, the lower energy level orbitals gain some energy and the higher level orbitals lower in energy until they meet it the middle. \nTL;DR- Hybridization is just the two energy levels \"matching' each other so they have the same energy. Therefor they can bond. ",
"Besides [having a few errors](_URL_2_), I don't think the [other comment](_URL_3_) is satisfactory.\n\nHybridization theory is a _post hoc_ rationalization for what we observe, and it serves to bridge the gap between electron configuration in atomic orbitals and [molecular orbital theory](_URL_0_).\n\nThe electron configurations you may be familiar with - for example, 1s^2 2s^2 2p^2 for carbon - is not enough to explain some of the bonding behaviours we see. Methane turns out to be perfectly tetrahedral, thus having a shape completely different from the shape of atomic orbitals - the 2s orbital is spherical, and the three 2p orbitals are dumbbell shaped along the three orthogonal axes. So we theorize that when the carbon and hydrogen atoms form bonds, they form _molecular orbitals_ from their respective atomic orbitals. Not only that, the one 2s and three 2p orbitals in carbon \"mix\" to form 4 hybrid sp3-orbtals. In mathematical terms, the hybrid orbitals are [linear combinations of atomic orbitals](_URL_1_) - the orbitals \"add\" and \"subtract\" from each other in the \"mixing\" process.\n\nHybrid orbitals don't explain bonds any more than Lewis structures do - they just rearrange the electrons so the bonds that result are more consistent with observations, but the level of theory is still easy enough to be taught."
]
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"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_orbital_theory",
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_combination_of_atomic_orbitals",
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1o893q/eli5_what_is_orbital_hybridisation_how_this/ccpqsn6",
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1o893q/eli5_what_is_orbital_hybridisation_how_this/ccpo2me"
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5axtxm | what are the constituents in coffee that make it a natural laxative and diuretic? | And what mechanisms in the body are in play? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5axtxm/eli5_what_are_the_constituents_in_coffee_that/ | {
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"There is conflicting evidence on whether caffeine is actually a diuretic or not. Studies show both increased urine output over control and also the same output in different studies. Caffeine can cause urinary incontinence in some individuals causing them to have to pee before the bladder is full and they can mistake that for more output when it's just more frequent.\n\nAs for the laxative effect, there are over 1000 compounds in coffee and not all are well studied. Energy drinks and caffeinated soda don't typically cause people to need to poop so it's unlikely that it's the caffeine. The compounds causing it in coffee are still unknown and it doesn't affect everyone."
]
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9fj63q | grammar and syntax | What is the difference and therefore the correct time to use both "use to" and "used to"? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9fj63q/eli5_grammar_and_syntax/ | {
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"As far as I know only “used to” is correct in English. Where had you heard or seen “use to,” that you had this question?",
"It's lenition of the /d/ in \"used\" and /t/ in \"to\" in the imperfect tense. It's technically \"used to\" but \"use to\" is not incorrect.\n\nr/[_URL_0_](_URL_0_)",
"Fellow ESL teacher here.\n\nUSED TO + VERB is a structure we can use to talk anout things that happened *repeatedly* in the past, orwere a regular condition in the past - regardless of whether they are still relevant in the present. \nFor example, \"when I was a kid, I **used to watch** cartoons\". Whether or not I continue to watch cartoons is irrelevant, because I'm talking about the past. \n\n\nThe USE TO part happens in negative statements and questions, where we use an auxiliary verb which is alrady expressed in past form, so changing USE to past is not necessary. For example, \"I **didn't** **use to like** broccoli, but now I love it!\", or \"As a teenager, **did** you **use to** have posters on your wall?\"\n\n & #x200B;\n\nUSED TO is sometimes taught with another structure, WOULD + VERB. For example, \"When we were kids, we **used to go** to grandma's house on Sundays. She **would make** pancakes for everyone. After breakfast, we'**d go** to church\"."
]
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"https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-it-used-to-or-use-to"
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5tscla | what are the benefits of practicing yoga everyday? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5tscla/eli5_what_are_the_benefits_of_practicing_yoga/ | {
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"An Indian here.. I used to practice yoga daily early morning when i was 13 year old till 15 as it was compulsory in my school. After I completed my high school, I kind of completely left practicing yoga.\nThe main difference i observe is the strange feeling of activeness i used to have the entire day when i used to do yoga. But now I feel lazy to do anything during the day. In addition to this , there is the fitness factor ,of course.\n"
]
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||
34dhow | does bacteria still live in you when you're dead in space? | When someone dies, the bacteria in the digestive track still stays alive and feeds off the body because of the lack of immune system. The body will bloat because of trapped gasses. If someone were to die in space without suit (just their body and nothing else), would the bacteria still be able to live on inside the person, given that the bloating gasses is evidence of a sealed area. I can't fall asleep because I'm thinking about this. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/34dhow/eli5_does_bacteria_still_live_in_you_when_youre/ | {
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"Well, Pseudomonas Aureginosa has been shown to survive on the outsides of the space shuttle for a trip in space. There is no reason why they wouldn't until they run out of food or moisture."
]
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[]
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|
1zspfa | if the internet were to be shut down permanently, where would all the data go? would it cease to exist? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1zspfa/eli5_if_the_internet_were_to_be_shut_down/ | {
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"That all depends on how you define \"the internet\".\n\nThe textbook definition of the internet is \"a network of networks\" and by that definition it simply consists of the cables, routers, and switches that join together billions of computers across the world. If those cables were to all be removed the data would still exist on the same servers and computers it currently exists on, but would just be inaccessible.",
"The internet is stored on hard drives, not magical pixies. ",
"The Internet is a collection of computers and other devices across the world that are all connected to each other.\n\nA web page you view is simply a file stored on another computer that your browser connects to, often HTML files.\n\nSo if the Internet was shut down, and it was just all the cabling, you could still access the data on the hard drive of the computer if you had physical access to said computer (usually called a 'server').\n\nIf you mean all the computers were shutdown and the connections killed, again, you could still retrieve the hard drives and physically access them.\n\nEven data in 'the Cloud' is still stored on a physical storage device of some sort. Short of those devices being destroyed, 'shutting down the Internet' won't do anything to the data."
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3kwc8g | what's going on with australia's prime minister? how can he just be removed from office? who is trying to remove him? why are they doing this? | Sorry, but I have little to no understanding of Australian politics. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3kwc8g/eli5_whats_going_on_with_australias_prime/ | {
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"Australia is a Parliamentary system. This means that the leader isn't chosen directly by the people. The Parliament is elected by the people, and the Prime Minister is then the leader of, normally, the largest party in the lower house (in terms of getting the post, it's a lot like Speaker of the House of Representatives, if you're American). Because the leader is chosen by Members of Parliament, MPs can change their leader whenever they like through a vote of confidence. This means the national leader in Parliamentary systems can change without a General Election.",
"You vote for a representative for your local area. They may or may not belong to a party. The party or coalition with the most support in the lower house (House of Representatives) of parliament is said to form government. Their leader is put forth to the Governor General to be the Prime Minister which is not a Constitutional position. If the GG signs off on it which by convention they do then that person becomes the Prime Minister. If there's a change in the factional support within a party then they present a new person to the Governor General for Prime Minister.\n\nYou only vote for your local rep. You don't vote for a party and you don't vote for the Prime Minister (you may if you live in their electorate vote for them but that's only a vote to elect them to a seat in parliament and not as Prime Minister)."
]
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37atv5 | why does music on the radio seem "dry"...? yet when i play that same song in my car with a cd or ipod, the mix sounds so much better. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/37atv5/eli5_why_does_music_on_the_radio_seem_dry_yet/ | {
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"It's because the frequency response on transmitted FM signals is limited to 30Hz-15kHz. So you don't get the highs and lows you can get playing from a CD or other media.",
"Music on the radio is heavily \"compressed\" - referring to dynamic range compression, not data file compression like an MP3.\n\nThat basically means that the louds and softs are all removed, making the song a constant volume. This is done on purpose because people often set the radio to a nice background volume - either while driving, just above the level of the car, or while working or something like that. Nobody wants the radio to suddenly get a lot louder or a lot softer. However, that ruins the dynamics of the music, and when you listen to the original recording it's often a lot more dynamic.\n"
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4sx11b | why do paramedics tell gunshot victims who are potentially on the brink of death to not fall asleep? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4sx11b/eli5why_do_paramedics_tell_gunshot_victims_who/ | {
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"Same reason that they tell people with head injuries & concussions to stay awake - a conscious person can tell you how they feel. It's much easier to track somebody's condition when they can tell you where & what hurts than if you're trying to figure it out on an unconscious body.",
"If you can talk to me I don't need to do CPR on you. \n\nMy rule to patients when I did EMS, \"Nobody sleeps on this bus!*\"\n\n\n*except me or my driver between calls. ",
"An unconscious person can't talk to you. Being able to talk to patients is important in assessing their status. Getting clues on what might be hurt, whether their status is changing, etc. \n\nAlso, airway management. Sure, paramedics are trained to secure that - but it's an additional, essential thing to take care of in an already critical situation. \n\nIt's not like your brain or any other organ would magically take damage if you passed out in a situation like that - it's not harmful in and of itself. The dangerous factors are the problems that come with it (missing reflexes - > airway issues, for instance) and making it significantly harder to figure out the things that actually *cause* the unconsciousness, which are in all likelihood serious issues (shock [not the \"extremely stressed out\" kind], damage to the brain, some kind of substance overdose, hypoxia, ...)"
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62sv3j | why do squirrels and other small animals run across the road in front of cars when they're safe where they were? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/62sv3j/eli5_why_do_squirrels_and_other_small_animals_run/ | {
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"Squirrel can't live on one side of the road. That just isn't enough space for them to find food and avoid predators. So no they were not safe there, and they were crossing roads because they're going somewhere that happens to be on the other side of a road.",
"We use erratic movements to confuse predators. The problem comes when things like cars aren't actually predators, so that unexpected darting brings death, instead of avoiding it.",
"I'm not an animal behaviorist or anything, but I assume it's tunnel vision. \n\nYou see humans doing the same thing crossing the street or turning onto a road when cars are oncoming. \n\nThey fixate on the moment, thinking, \"Should I go now?\" ... \"I should probably have gone a second ago. Now the timing is worse,\" ... \"My window is shrinking. The car is getting closer. I need to go now!\" Then they veer out dangerously, taking the chance instead of losing it. \n\nI assume its worse in animals because they have less inclination to second-guess their instincts. ",
"Not an expert, but I think I've once seen a documentary about deer. Apparently they are not really able to estimate the size of something approaching, so for example if a car is so far away that it appears to be as big as a coin, they think it is as big as a coin, so they underestimate the danger and are startled by the sudden growth of the vehicle and also stunned by looking at the headlights so instead of moving on they freeze on their path. Don't know about squirrels though, maybe it could have the same cause.",
"Sorry that that squirrel forced you into its assisted suicide. 🙁\n\nFor the future, if you see an animal who looks like it might dart out in front of you again, honk at it. I use this and have turned sure hits into near misses for squirrels, cats, and even deer. \n\nSometimes, neither of you sees the other and there's just nothing to be done but try to stop. ",
"I've read that some birds can't comprehend very high speeds, so that when they see something far away, like a car or a plane, they can't imagine that it'll be upon them in seconds. Maybe it's the same for squirrels. \"Oh look, that monster is pretty far away still. I have time to--\"",
"The real question is how come all that road death hasn't resulted in evolution toward squirrels that don't like roads.",
"I think it's hard for humans to comprehend how incredibly stupid animals are. Someone with a 120 IQ can't even fathom what someone with a 20 IQ is thinking. \n\nIn the case of squirrels, deer etc. I think that it's perfectly likely that when they're startled, their instinct is to immediately run with absolutely no regard to which direction they happen to be pointing at the time. If the deer is facing away from the road, it runs away from the road. If the deer is facing toward road, it runs into your car. This probably wouldn't happen in the wild much - if a deer sees a bear, it watches it and has a long time to figure out that it should run in the opposite direction.",
"I've read before that if an animal is crossing or has crossed the road they will run back to the side of the road they came from because they know it is safe. They don't run in the direction they haven't explored yet because there may be unknown dangers they haven't had time to check for yet. ",
"You could have at least left a suicide note next to its dead body. So its little squirrel family could have some closure.",
"They don't know what a car is, and they have not evolved to cope with them yet, as it is not something they have encounted in nature in the last few millions of years..cars have only been around 120 years. That said, they DO respond to big things coming at them as if they were predators..and their instinct is to evade them using zig zag motions..which of course doesn't work well when a 2 ton car is coming at you and you are only a few inches tall. \n\nSquirrels are driven by insticts triggered by stimuli..if they see or hear something that attracts them across the street or are evading something near them, they don't reason that they have to cross a street...they don't make the distinction between street/not-street. It's just space. ",
"Maybe they're just not very smart. By comparison, ravens and crows not only know what cars are, they know what cars can do. They'll hop a few steps out of the way of that dead squirrel roadkill, wait for the car to drive by, and hop right back to dinner. No fear, no feathery escape, just a casual \"Hey Bob, car's coming. Let's move.\" \n\nThey also understand tire tracks on the highways and will move nuts they can't crack onto the highway so a car can run it over and crack the shells. \n\nThey've also been known to follow roads in search of food, knowing that there's probably roadkill along the way.\n\nMy guess is, they're also hunting down the squirrels that seem smarter so they don't become a challenger :) ",
"Probably for largely the same reason that people flail their arms around like crazy when a bee is near them. It's probably the worst possible way to react, but instincts are instincts.",
"They are trying to improve and showboat their fitness, or in some cases taunting/playing with the car, expecting it to slow down (most drivers are considerate and avoid mindlessly killing animals)\n\n\nI've experienced small birds land directly in front of me, startling me to a halt... and in that split second they mated and flew off, chirping merrily.",
"Why do people go into space, or underwater when they are perfectly safe where they are?",
"How can't they tell this giant thing moving at them at a high speed is dangerous?"
]
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9qqek9 | how does memory work in the human brain and how does it differ to how memory works in a computer? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9qqek9/eli5_how_does_memory_work_in_the_human_brain_and/ | {
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"e8b6a46"
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"text": [
"In a computer, you typically have a couple of CPUs / GPUs that do computing and store a little data in their registers that they use for computations, and huge areas (f.e. ROM, RAM and hard disks) that only hold data. All data is stored as ones and zeroes.\n\nIn the brain, basically every one of the billions of cells is a small computer that does a little computing and holds a little data. But the cells are connected in highly complex networks that make them effectively form higher level computers and memories. So, memory and computing are not clearly separated and clearly structured, but intermingled and intransparent."
]
} | [] | [] | [
[]
] |
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