q_id
stringlengths 5
6
| title
stringlengths 3
296
| selftext
stringlengths 0
34k
| document
stringclasses 1
value | subreddit
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 4
110
| answers
dict | title_urls
list | selftext_urls
list | answers_urls
list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
86tbud
|
how was monsanto allowed to sue farmers when monsanto seeds invaded their land and crops due to winds?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/86tbud/eli5_how_was_monsanto_allowed_to_sue_farmers_when/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dw7nr98",
"dw7nvh5",
"dw7o6tj",
"dw7oj1k",
"dw7prkn"
],
"score": [
20,
3,
14,
13,
9
],
"text": [
"Monsanto has stated they don't pursue if they find trace amounts, but the harvests of some they have sued have been found to be 95-98% patented seed- far more than could be due to an accident.",
"For better or for worse, genetically modified organisms are the property of the creator (or at least they can be). You can't grow monsanto crops without monsanto permission. If they can prove that you're growing without permission, they can sue you for infringing on their patented product.",
"Are you asking this because of a specific case that happened? To my knowledge, Monsanto has never sued farmers for inadvertently using seeds that had patented genes due to cross contamination. Monsanto has stated on their website and in court that they never intend to sue farmers for inadvertently using seeds that have Monsanto patented genetic material due to cross contamination.\n\n[source](_URL_0_)",
" > How was monsanto allowed to sue farmers when monsanto seeds invaded their land and crops due to winds?\n\nThis is common myth or lie perpetuated by the Monsanto haters. It literally has never happened. What has happened are a few farmers that used contamination as an excuse to get patented Roundup Ready seeds for free. [Percy Schmeiser](_URL_0_) was one such farmer.",
"They aren't. That is a myth often bandied about to smear Monsanto and GMOs in general.\n\nIt is a distortion of a single case where Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser **intentionally** gathered patented Monsanto seeds in order to cultivate them without paying royalties. The reality is Monsanto routinely pays farmers whose fields are contaminated with their seeds."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[
"https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/01/04/gmo-patent-controversy-3-monsanto-sue-farmers-inadvertent-gmo-contamination/"
],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto_Canada_Inc_v_Schmeiser"
],
[]
] |
||
8eqg1q
|
why do humans enjoy kissing with tongue? are there any benefits to it? is it strictly for enjoyment?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8eqg1q/eli5_why_do_humans_enjoy_kissing_with_tongue_are/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dxxabtf"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Kissing is a bonding activity. It strengths the emotional bonds that a pair (eventually mating pare) have. It is also believed that it shares pheromones and may give information on immune system compatibility via the sharing of saliva. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
5tklvo
|
why do all men and women in old radio/tv recordings have "that" voice?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5tklvo/eli5_why_do_all_men_and_women_in_old_radiotv/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ddn7r85"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The neutral radio voice was a requirement in Hollywood for along time in order to not alienate some audiences. I speak neutral English and can get a job on any radio station in the US. I have friends from the south, the north east and along the Canadian border who can only speak there with out getting laughed at.\n\nFor example:\n\nThey drive a cah while I drive a car.\nI'm about 6 feet tall not aboot 6 feet tah.\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4rufta
|
why do most porn sites not use https?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4rufta/eli5_why_do_most_porn_sites_not_use_https/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d546elu",
"d547ey8"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"If you were to submit your credit card information on the internet, the information needs to go from your computer to the server. What hackers can do is to \"sniff\" the traffic, and decode the information that is sent, consequently getting your credit card information.\n\nWhat HTTPS does is encrypt the information on the computer, send it, and then decrypt it on the server. So even if hackers get a hold of the traffic, they have no way of decrypting it. This is awesome, but requires a little bit of extra cost (development and encryption certificate). \n\nNote that this does nothing in protecting your identity. Your IP address is still sent as is. Most porn sites are simply view-only, so users are not actually submitting any private information, therefore, no need to implement HTTPS (SSL). However, most paid sites where you have to pay for membership, I would imagine do have HTTPS protocol installed.",
"I think it's because the affiliate and ad-networks don't work with https enabled. Most porn sites make their money in advertisement.\n\nIf it is a porn site with some kind of payment, you will usually be redirected to a site using https."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
2n6ewm
|
the benefits of wearing copper. on the body? in the mind? whatever benefit there could be.
|
I recently have seen people that i am close to start wearing copper bands or copper deodes on them. They claim there are benefits to the body (I am assuming like those power or balance bands, which i know are bs and more placebo). Others claim to wear them to help protect against electric current in the air or things like wifi, cellular signals, etc.
I have read that people living near copper mines live healthier lives but any one have any legit info on these effects? Thanks!
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2n6ewm/eli5_the_benefits_of_wearing_copper_on_the_body/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cmaqiuj"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"There is no effect. Copper if somehow taken into the body in a biologically available method can be harmful, but in the form of bands it is only effective in taking foolish people's money and announcing how silly they are.\n\nConceptually ring mail made of copper would render you somewhat immune to the risk of electric shock but it would need to cover the entire body."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
cxo118
|
if places like florida and puerto rico are hit by hurricane essentially every year, how do insurance companies make money? wouldn't they be paying out more money than they are making through premiums?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cxo118/eli5_if_places_like_florida_and_puerto_rico_are/
|
{
"a_id": [
"eymcg9s"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Firstly, the insurance is much more expensive when in an especially prone area. \n\nSecondly, they can include deductibles, where the home owner has to cover a certain amount of damages themselves before the insurence kicks in. \n\nSo if its a smaller hurricane and it only causes a little damage, the home owner might end up paying themselves, If its a larger hurricane, the home owner pays part of it and the insurence picks up the rest.\n\nSo they make more money up front and may pay less when needed."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
42lz20
|
why is everyone "still feeling the effects of recession" when the stock market seems to show better numbers than before the dot-com bust.
|
In comparison to 1999-2000 the index funds seem to be doing great. So why does the economy feel like we are collectively struggling instead of enjoying a boom?
edit: There are a lot of great replies and I learned a lot about the stock market and the economy in general. It seems the biggest thing I learned is that there isn't a convenient answer but a complex network of interrelated forces beyond any one person's control. Still reading and soaking it in!
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/42lz20/eli5_why_is_everyone_still_feeling_the_effects_of/
|
{
"a_id": [
"czyq22l",
"czbasgy",
"czbb3cf",
"czbbdv1",
"czbciil",
"czbdn3h",
"czbfp4t",
"czbfx1z",
"czbi1j7",
"czbil6g",
"czbjsy7",
"czbkvft",
"czbl4uv",
"czbli4a",
"czblq15",
"czblx5r",
"czbmbq6",
"czbmiic",
"czbmx0u",
"czbmzfj",
"czbntzq",
"czbnzzv",
"czbo1oa",
"czbo2ds",
"czbodh4",
"czbofzc",
"czbot7i",
"czbotz3",
"czbp3m6",
"czbp57f",
"czbp6xf",
"czbpfio",
"czbpjk0",
"czbplvx",
"czbppvp",
"czbpznn",
"czbq59f",
"czbq5yg",
"czbq8l0",
"czbqhk1",
"czbr3l5",
"czbrctm",
"czbro5e",
"czbs8oi",
"czbsjae",
"czbssza",
"czbtcoa",
"czbtmf7",
"czbtowf",
"czbu1hj",
"czbu278",
"czbu2i1",
"czbu6j6",
"czbuaij",
"czbuotx",
"czbv1wk",
"czbv34s",
"czbvaqx",
"czbvhbx",
"czbvxh3",
"czbw4uf",
"czbwavl",
"czbwh16",
"czbwk7k",
"czbwp3m",
"czbwzod",
"czbxfbp",
"czbxjsk",
"czbxspo",
"czbxvhz",
"czbxzi5",
"czbyfj6",
"czbywjj",
"czbzddf",
"czbzdse",
"czbzjki",
"czc0azi",
"czc0hz2",
"czc0i9n",
"czc0rwb",
"czc0xvk",
"czc18xv",
"czc1cj8",
"czc1fqg",
"czc1m2p",
"czc1xos",
"czc20vm",
"czc27hh",
"czc2fja",
"czc2otj",
"czc2t9x",
"czc34vc",
"czc35ua",
"czc395c",
"czc3bb3",
"czc3c92",
"czc3f0q",
"czc3fp5",
"czc3hwl",
"czc3ii3",
"czc3jyi",
"czc3l9t",
"czc3pnd",
"czc3whf",
"czc419q",
"czc4bhd",
"czc5qee",
"czc5qzm",
"czc5vbo",
"czc5xzi",
"czc638u",
"czc6je4",
"czc6t1j",
"czc6to2",
"czc6uy9",
"czc6zox",
"czc72y2",
"czc731j",
"czc74hm",
"czc78wh",
"czc78z5",
"czc7cs5",
"czc7cs7",
"czc7jer",
"czc7l5k",
"czc7ly7",
"czc7ook",
"czc7scl",
"czc87wa",
"czc8e7h",
"czc8exu",
"czc9n6o",
"czc9om7",
"czc9ui0",
"czca0a6",
"czcabm6",
"czcac0t",
"czcau37",
"czcb1uh",
"czcb70f",
"czcb8rn",
"czcb95j",
"czcbxzf",
"czcc58r",
"czccb3h",
"czccfst",
"czccmoi",
"czccq5u",
"czccuvz",
"czccy4i",
"czcdn1u",
"czcdnqk",
"czce5q7",
"czceq5z",
"czcf13h",
"czcf1ts",
"czcfjqj",
"czcfnt6",
"czcfpim",
"czcg0ie",
"czcg0v7",
"czcg6gk",
"czcg6kk",
"czcgaqp",
"czcgfjg",
"czcggi2",
"czcgirs",
"czcgma0",
"czch4l0",
"czchjbr",
"czchmqy",
"czci0m2",
"czci5h6",
"czcidaz",
"czcirvj",
"czcj649",
"czck0a0",
"czck41e",
"czcmhh5",
"czcx216",
"czdo698"
],
"score": [
2,
7,
283,
3,
4,
2974,
9,
122,
11,
90,
17,
12,
3,
6,
3,
5,
4,
13,
19,
2,
5,
5,
2,
12,
6,
2,
13,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
5,
6,
4,
3,
2,
3,
3,
3,
230,
2,
6,
8,
5,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
5,
3,
4,
3,
8,
3,
4,
2,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
5,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
3,
4,
3,
2,
2,
7,
9,
2,
2,
5,
4,
2,
2,
7,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
3,
11,
5,
3,
2,
6,
6,
2,
2,
2,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
3,
3,
2,
3,
3,
2,
3,
2,
5,
2,
2,
2,
4,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
2,
4,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
5,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
3,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
5,
5,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"the best answer is in the way we recovered from the recession. All major western economies chose to reduce the effects through huge expansionary monetary policies. These served to reduce the recession through exclusively benefitting those companies and individuals who were involved in the stock market - in effect, betting that any expansion in the largest companies would 'trickle down' to the average person. Surprise surprise, this didn't happen. Now the economy is left in a state where those at the top of the economy are doing better than ever before, whilst all those in the middle and lower classes are having a similar experience to during the statistical 'recession'.",
"Well, \"everyone\" doesn't invest in the stock market. About half of Americans do and many of them don't really rely on that income for anything but retirement. That said, unemployment is low and wages are rising, so it's still difficult to say people are still feeling the effects of a recession that ended 7 years ago.",
"The stock market does not accurately represent the state of the economy.\n\nFirst, companies traded on the exchanges have a host of methods to make themselves look good. For example, borrowing money at low interest rates to buyback stocks; this would inflate their stock value and hence the exchange index. But in reality, it does not reflect the state of the companys actual business. This behavior is encouraged by the short term 3-month quarterly reporting cycles.\n\nSecondly, companies on the stock markets can be seen as lagging indicators of the state of the economy. Sometimes this lag can be quite long; for example 3 months. This is also because of the way companies report results. With the exception of extraordinary news (good or bad), you just don't know anything until a company files results.\n\nIt is also possible to artificially inflate the stock market. A couple of large investments will send the index high. It doesn't mean anything real in the economy. This can happen quickly because of high frequency traders (computers trading) or the plunge protection team (a team who ensures that money is pumped into the market when it is falling quickly, simply for the psychological effect that the markets are doing well which encourages others to invest).\n\nFor realistic economical data, you would need to look at numbers like the Labor Participation Rate, the Baltic Dry Index, Russel 2000 Index and others.\n\nThis is not all the reasons, but this is what I know or what I think I know.\n\nYou can find interesting info on the state of the economy @ _URL_0_",
"In the UK at least, we have had a squeeze on public spending, but it hasn't really changed that much, we didn't have mass unemployment and interest rates stayed low throughout. What we did have was a massive amount of media coverage telling us it was the worst recession in a hundred years. Mostly what happened is that national dept went through the roof as governments paid for the consequences of billions upon billions of bad debt. The thing is that as long as credit agencies say we can pay it back, it doesn't *really* make that much difference. Do do however have the after effects of how this piling up of debt makes us feel - which is very uneasy about our economic system. \n\nSo my answer is in part it's because perception is more important than reality. Also we are now so in debt our economies are going to feel strangulated for a long time - and a lot of the 'growth' we are seeing comes from further expansion in personal debt - because interest rates never went up - so it's not real growth anyway. \n\nHave to say though I'm really really not an expert, just a layman who has read some stuff and is bored at work, so I might be entirely incorrect on all of this!",
"Stocks are plummeting now. But for 7 years stocks have been rising steadily, profits have been high for companies and unemployment has been falling. But wages have not been rising; so people do not feel like they are getting ahead and feel vulnerable. There are lots of theories about why wages are stagnate. My favorite is that the wealthy have crippled unions and captured the government. Others blame globalization and competition from low wage countries bring down our wages.",
"In an effort to shorten the depression, the Federal Reserve Bank made money very readily available. They even put the Federal Funds rate to zero. In other words, it cost NOTHING for the nation's largest banks to borrow money from the federal government, and virtually nothing for large companies to borrow money from the banks. Interest rates were really, really low for everyone. The intention was that companies would borrow this money to increase production and create more jobs. \nFat chance. There is no company on the planet that is going to increase production and hire more help when the demand for their products is low. So, the cheap money got borrowed by people to invest in other things. The stock market was really the only place to put money and hope to get any kind of return. So there was a ton of money invested in the stock market, which drove up stock prices and we saw a [long beautiful bull market starting in 2010.](_URL_1_) \nNow that the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates a little and ended [Quantitative Easing](_URL_0_), this period of cheap money for investing is OVER. Which is why the stock market has been so volatile in the last few months. \nIn addition, there were quite a few companies that used the cheap money to invest in technology that REPLACED WORKERS. So, the money intended to create jobs had, in some cases, helped to permanently eliminate them. \nTL;DR: The stock market does not reflect the economy. It reflects how much money is invested in the stock market. \n \n* EDIT: Yes, I did over-simplify the current stock market volatility. The implosion of Chinese markets, the low price of oil and probably several other factors are at play. I sit corrected. \n",
"A very very dumbed down ELI5 that was explained to me was this. Things have either stabilized or gotten better for wealthier people, but not for ordinary people. Probably oversimplified, but I think it's fair to say, like others have pointed out, that index funds and stocks and the like are not an accurate representative of how ordinary people are doing.",
"The not-even-vaguely-like-you're-five explanation: **labor force participation rate.**\n\nNow the ELI5 version of that, and it starts with this picture: [Civilian Employment-Population Ratio, 2006-2015](_URL_0_). That graph shows the least politicized, simplest answer to the question, \"who's unemployed?\" by asking the exact opposite question: out of all Americans aged 18-65, what percentage of us have jobs? Before the recession began, that number was 63.4%. At the bottom of the crash, it hit 58.3%. It's only barely crawled back up to 59.5%.\n\nWhat that means is that about 1/20th of the American working-age population, millions of people, would have jobs if the economy were still going as strong as it was before the bubble burst. You can argue about whether or not we should be judging employment rates by that standard, but that's what people have for a recent comparison: a mere 9 years ago, there were millions more jobs.\n\nThe stock market doesn't care what the unemployment rate is, except indirectly. The stock market could consist of two ultra-rich guys trading shares back and forth between each other and as long as they bid them up each time, the stock prices would still be going up. Yes, they would need something like a normal economy to keep getting more money to bid up the stocks. You're very smart. But 5 million or 10 million missing customers aren't enough to permanently crash the market. It is, though, just enough that every working person knows at least one.",
"Income inequality has a lot to do with it. All of the money that had to do with recovery just stayed in a small group of already slavishly wealthy people. Most people aren't feeling a recovery because there hasn't been one for them. If we want to change that we will need to find a way to redistribute that wealth. My recommendation is a basic income. ",
"I think the best ELI5 answer is, GDP is up, but so is inequality.\n\nWhen the crash happened, income was widely lost across all income groups. Since the crash, the economy has rebounded, but [virtually all gains went to the wealthiest people.](_URL_0_)\n\n > > The average income for the richest 1 percent of Americans, excluding capital gains, rose from $871,100 in 2009 to $968,000 from 2012-13, he wrote. The 99 percent, on the other hand, experienced a drop in average incomes from $44,000 to $43,900\n\nIf you're in the 1%, there is a recovery. If you aren't, there isn't.",
"Because most of the people that benefited from the economic \"recovery\" after 2008 are the extremely rich. The average citizen has much less purchasing power than they did pre-2008. This means while the overall economy is better, the middle-class is still eroding at a very fast rate.",
"This recovery from the 2008 depression is the worst economic recovery in history. There are a host of factors making it so. But some of the top ones are:\n\n1) Currency and Interest Rate manipulation by the fed - Interest rates have been a zero for a long time. This essentially prices riskier lendees out of the market for loans. In a typical recovery small businesses and entrepreneurs make up about 80% of loans, but for the last 7 years they have only made up 6%. Instead all of the investment and bank loans are going to giant stable low-risk corporations. \n\n2) Conversion of Disability into a don't-have-to-work program - Government Benefits are a double edged sword. While help for the disabled is an important social safety net, changes to the qualifying conditions to allow for minor injuries, anxiety, depression, and unverifiable conditions combined with special qualifiers based on age and education has created a monster. Once people qualify for disability, even for temporary conditions, there is less than a 1% chance that they will return to the workforce, and even attempting to look for work can put your benefits at risk. People are not happy on disability, and they barely get by, but because it is guaranteed income, few are willing to risk losing it by returning to work. This has led to unprecedented numbers or working age people leaving the workforce. The number of people age 20-29 who have permanently left the workforce has nearly tripled from a decade ago. \n\n3) Unsustainable Government Spending - At current deficit rates, the government will be paying 100% of its revenue to service debt by 2055. If interest rates went up to 10% that could happen by 2025. Something has to give, and it will look like drastically higher taxes, drastically lower government spending, or both. This makes risk even riskier, because no one is sure what to expect, or when the hammer of austerity will fall. So instead of investing and spending, everyone is hoarding cash, until they feel more comfortable about the future. \n\n4) Un-competitive corporate tax structure - Our corporate taxes (at 35%) are higher than every where else in the world, so all large companies are heavily incentivized to recognize their profits overseas and make capital investments in those places.\n\n5) Hyper-regulated business environment - Heavily favors large corporations and hinders Mom & Pop businesses which are the backbone of a growing economy.",
"Like you're five? I can try... So, a bunch of things crashed and a bunch of people lost their jobs and money because the companies couldn't afford to keep them, presumably because the need for their thing they do (could be making things, could be doing things for other people) has lessened. Keeping in mind, a lot of people that make a lot of money (but aren't quite rich) and their small to medium sized businesses, account for much of our countries economy. So, they fire people because need is low, and they are losing money keeping them.\n\nTurn around to things starting to pic up, the businesses that fired people, now are starting to have higher demand, but they hurt so much during the \"recession\" that they are holding off on hiring new people, which further slows things down because now you have fewer people, doing more work, making the same, or sometimes, less money, and still not as many that have any work at all, and they cannot readily contribute to the things people make/do.\n\nIt's kind of like a rubberband when you shoot it from your fingers, you might notice it keeps running into itself as it tries to move forward, you also might notice that you let go with your thumb and got a painful smack in the face.",
"The recent economic crisis in the US is a complex issue that has no one answer. It was caused by many things and one of them will never go back to what it was. We are in a global economy now, that has been building for a while but has accelerated quickly over the last 15 or so years. We no longer have the luxury of using foreign labor to give us low prices without paying for it in job loss. What will have to happen now is the US standard of living will decrease while the rest of the world's increases. Think of it as water seeking its own level.\n\nPoliticians won't speak of this because it is something that is irreversible. ",
"The stock market's performance is just a distraction from the real economy. 99% of people's lives have absolutely nothing to do with America's GDP.",
"The central banking system has extended its balance sheet to over $4 trillion to purchase stocks and bonds. This has artificially propped up the stock markets and the bond markets throughout the world. \n\nTypically, the stock and bond markets are a barometer of how the economy is doing, generally, however, think of it this way: A thermometer that takes your temperature indicates whether you are sick with a fever. But what if you take the thermometer and put ice on it? Is it indicating that you have a fever? No. You have artificially changed the reading. That is a decent analogy to the central bank extending credit unreasonably. \n\nAfter the 1999 tech bubble burst because of the change in prices caused by the change in the FCC regulations under Clinton, the central bank attempted to help the economy recover by creating incentives for home owners. Furthermore, local, state, and federal governments attempted to assist people to purchase homes by changing regulations, relaxing reporting requirements, and increasing the amount of subsidies to home buyers and builders. \n\nThe theory was that if we stimulate the building and purchasing of homes, then that will funnel money and credit into the hands of the most productive. However, what happened is that people would purchase a $500,000 home with a $600,000 loan and give a mortgage for that amount; they would then take the $100,000 and start a business with it (or otherwise invest it). \n\nThe investment did not return, the home values fell, and the homeowner could not pay on the mortgage. This happened so frequently that it led to the global collapse of several markets and financials. \n\nThis fundamental wound has not been repaired. \n\nThus, people have fled from investing and entrepreneurialism, banks have hoarded money given to them by the central banks, and everyone has turtled up in a defensive and cautious posture. \n\nThus real unemployment has been 15% or higher, new business startups have fallen, businesses who cannot receive capital investments have wrapped up (good business for me, by the way), and approximately 94 million people are not in the labor force (while some of that increase is because of retirees, it contains an alarmingly high number of working age and able people). \n\nTL;DR: Because we're not in a boom, we've kicked the can down the street, central planning has created a stock and bond bubble, and we're falling back into recession. ",
"All the money is staying at the top. CEOs get 50% pay rises while workers get fuck all. The rich benefit from the booms the workers suffer from recessions. ",
"Billy was tricking kids into thinking the cookies he had for trade were good, when really they were old and stale. When the teacher found out that there were old cookies among the kids, she took everyone's cookies. Except she thought Billy was a good boy, because she's friends with his parents, and so gave him some new cookies to share with his friends. Now Billy and his friends have even more cookies, while everyone else still have none. ",
"As many have mentioned, the stock market doesn't reflect the economy necessarily but rather how much money is invested in the stock market. But more to your point, the reason \"everyone is still feeling the effects of the recession\" is primarily due to wage stagnation. \n\nUnemployment is at 5%, we've added more jobs to the economy in the past year than we have in any year since 2007, and we had the largest stretch of 200,000+ jobs added since the 90s. Sounds great, but when people are making wages that have only grown about 2% in the past decade, while inflation is much more than that. People aren't earning what they need in order to make ends meet. Basically, since the recession, companies are making more money and expanding, hiring more staff, but they're not paying them any more than they would have 10 years ago. \n\nThe idea behind \"trickle down economics\" is that if companies make more money, they can afford to pay their workers more, and the money \"trickles down\" to the little guy. What actually happens, is executives make more money, invest more money, or spend it on gaining more market share or expanding production capabilities - but it rarely results in more money in the everyday American's pockets. \n\nThis is also why we see a relatively low workforce participation rate, somewhere in the low 60%'s: in some scenarios, its actually easier to retire early and live off of state benefits/meager pension/retirement and not work at all than to try to scrape by on minimum wage, or try to work multiple part time jobs. ",
"Unemployment is not low. The \"unemployment rate\" is low, but that's not reflective of actual employment. The U6 is a better measure of that, and both unemployment and underemployment are still quite high.",
"The same reason you hear wealth is getting more and more concentrated. Less people own more things, with that there is less options for the working man and less incentive for the owners to give raises.",
"The economy is actually fine. Not great but fine. The stock market does not really reflect the economy as a whole.\n\nPeople are not collectively struggling. People like to complain. Wages are very high on global scale, they are off their relative all time highs in the aftermath of two wars that destroyed the US's main economic competitors, but the standard of living in the US even for the worst off is extremely high and rising.\n\nPeople feel like they are struggling because advertising and technology are causing their appetites to grow more quickly than their incomes.\n\nWhile adjusting for \"inflation\" makes it look like wages for the bottom 80% have been growing only very slightly for the past 30 years, inflation does a poor job of adjusting for how technology and globalization decrease costs and improve our lives. No one is trading a 2015 income and a 2015 basket of goods and services for a comparable 1980 income and basket of goods and services.\n\nOr food is better, our entertainment is better, everything is cheaper, and safer, and more convenient.\n\nSo much of people's subjective reporting of their well being has to do with who they compare themselves too and the perception that we are struggling has a lot to do with people comparing themselves to the Kardshians's and Hilton's of the world instead of their neighbors.\n\nSomeone living in the \"struggling\" American lower middle class has an income, education, safety, health, and lifestyle that is probably in the top 5% of all of those ever lived in world history.",
"First thing you need to know is the stock market is not the economy. It's just how much some assets are worth.\n\nBut let's assume you mean GDP is higher than pre dot com bust. Then it feels like were feeling the pinch because economic confidence is low.",
"because 95% of income gains since 2009 went to the top 1%. so if it feels like we're struggling it's because we bailed out the rich at the expense of the poor and middle class. ",
"A lot of people are talking stock market and lending rates, but a lot of it is even more basic than that: gas prices.\n\nIt's only in the last couple of years that oil has dropped. We spent a lot of time in the past decade with prices at $3-$4 per gallon, which has a trickle down effect to everything from the price of milk to the cost of construction. Since most of us also weren't seeing much of a raise in income, rising or even stagnant gas prices took larger and large chunks out of monthly budgets.",
"Well, basically, when they said the wealth would trickle down, they were lying, it doesn't. While the wealthiest folks that make their money primarily from capital and owning stocks have gotten richer most people's wealth has nothing to do with stocks, it has to do with labor and their hourly wages. When adjusted for inflation wages have actually kept going down. Most people can't afford to consume, because of their depressed wages. This may sound contradictory because it seems like everyone has iphones and gadgets, but those are really small compared to the things their parents consumed like houses and cars. young people no longer buy cars or houses, and with that all the things that fill a house.",
"I'm going to keep it short and sweet. \n\nZero interest rates caused:\n\n1) money to flow out of bonds and CDs/GICS to riskier investments like the stock market to keep returns decent.\n\n2) companies to be able to use debt to finance stock buybacks artificially inflating their earnings per share. \n\nI can go on but these are the two main ones. We never left the recession and as soon as rates go back up to average levels (if a bond crisis doesn't force them up quicker) we will see that nothing has changed. ",
"When the stock market is doing well, stock holders are doing well. That's it. People who don't own stock don't really care that stock values are up, because unemployment is still up, wages are down, and the cost of living is steadily increasing.\n\nBut don't worry; the fabulously wealthy are recovering nicely.",
"SNs we're going to bomb soon started blindly pumping oil and since the Canadian dollar is pinned to the barrel our currency's tanked and we're officially in recession.",
"The people and organizations (funds, pensions, etc.) that have money put it where they can make the most return. There are really only 2 places to put money: stocks and bonds. Because the Federal Reserve has been artificially keeping interest rates low (by printing money faster than ever before), bonds have not been a good investment (their return rates are based on interest rates). That leaves stocks and all that money has been flowing there. So this is a reflection of phony low interest rates, not any real economic boom. \nNow the Federal Reserve can't lower rates any more since they are effectively at ZERO percent. So they are beginning to raise them. Once the rates get back up to where they should be (according to the market), money will go back into bonds. Bonds are longer term investments, used by companies and governments to fund things like new factories, roads, bridges, etc. So money will become available for those things. But this does not happen overnight. Once rates start going up (which they have very slightly), there will be a lag and the economy will have a big apparent downturn. Which will scare a lot of people and bankrupt many who have rushed to stocks.\n\nEasy, right? :)",
"I've got a lot of friends in commercial real estate (who lost millions) and they tell me the banks are still unbelievable tight in their lending and they don't seeing it changing in the near or distant future. \n\nMany of them will never recover.",
"A good number of people took lower paying jobs after they got laid off. They make less, but are probably trying to stay in their house, etc. They still have their bills to pay, but less money to do it. Unemployment numbers don't mean a whole lot, when the quality of work found is lower.",
"Because in reality the \"stock market\" is nothing more than a glorified casino where grown adults bet on futures and failures every day with great risk and loss - while the \"rest of the country\" is made up of people simply trying to survive day-to-day, and will not feel any effects until the professional gamblers inevitably fuck up real bad.",
"Here's what happened. Recession hit. Everyone is hurting and trying to find ways to cut costs. You know what's a great way to cut costs? Automate the shit out of everything. Globalization- outsource some random stuff as well.\n\nNow companies are able to make even more profits because they realized how much they didn't need all these people fired in the recession. That's why the market is above where it was way back then.\n\nIt's as simple as that. Stop blaming big banks or such for it being harder to find a job. It's as simple as technology is making it so much easier to replace these random office jobs we used to give to people.",
"The stock market has very little to do with how the average person makes money. Even more so when one considers that most of what we hear regarding the market being \"up\" or \"down\" on any given day is often only referencing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is comprised of a mere 30 stocks. \n\nThe stock market is just a measure of how the wealthy are doing, not people who actually work for a living. ",
"Because the stock market is being held up by 0% interest loans that the company's are using because its basically free money from the government to hold the markets up that high...",
"I'm pretty late and there's a lot of good answers already and I want to add that there's less discretionary spending as well due to raises in costs for housing, cable/internet, and health care. Inflation is also happening though the government is under-reporting it so your dollar isn't stretching as far as it did a few years ago. ",
"Basically because the great majority of gains have been captured by a very small portion of the entities involved... The upper class has swindled the wealth of the middle class... As already stated somewhere in the thread, the big players have all purchased/fashioned buckets to catch what trickles down in our \"trickle down\" economic stimulus packages.",
"The value of the dollar has dropped, thus prices have increased, especially the cost of living. Before the recession $12/hr was a living wage. Now it's not. Not really. ",
" American companies have used the recession and the subsequent fear of unemployment to squeeze more and more out of their employees. They have laid off lots of workers, forcing the rest to pick up the slack, and profits have skyrocketed. Caesar's World is a good example. They told all their employees there was no money for raises, No one would get a raise. Meanwhile the CEO got a five hundred million dollar bonus!",
"[This](_URL_0_) graph shows why the average person doesn't feel like the recession has ended... because real median income is still well below where it was pre-recession. This is also the median number. In general the poorer you are, the worse your income has fared, the wealthier you are, the better. We may be adding jobs at a decent clip, but real income for average people has not rebounded. ",
"The stock market is not an accurate indicator of real economic growth. It reflects gains in the values of stocks held, not job creation, real income, etc. Stocks rise and fall without having real effects on the lives of most people. In fact, it could be argued that the stock market is a very bad indicator of economic growth in that stocks are typically held by the investor class, who are generally insulated from the worst that the economy can dole out, while those who have the least protection from bad economic weather (the working poor and the lower middle class) don't have the means or knowledge to invest. ",
"It's 2007 and Yu-Gi-Oh cards are all the hot sh*t. You, your friends, and all of the other kids trade and sell the cards at your elementary playground for a quarter for the rare cards. Every kid decides to open up a lemonade stand to make money so they can buy more rare cards. Well with all the kids having more quarters to spend the price of rare cards go up so some kids get desperate and start spending money they don't have by paying a portion of the quarters up front and promising that they will pay the rest of the quarters owed when their lemonade stand rakes in more quarters. It gets to a point where everyone starts promising more and more quarters they don't have an event happens where it blows up and every kid realizes that nobody will be able to pay back their promised quarters b/c everyone owes too much quarters they don't have. Every kid is depressed and scared from such event and stops going to the playground to trade/sell Yu-Gi-Oh cards.\n\nA year later the teachers get mad that they can't buy cheap delicious child labor slaved lemonade so they devise a plan. They'll raise lunch prices and give extra quarters to the popular kids so they can go around and buy lemonade from the lemonade stands and get more kids to open back up their lemonade stands. Well the plan backfires since all the popular kids do with the extra money is go back to the playground and buy Yu-Gi-Oh cards from each other at a lot of quarters prices. Pretty soon the cards are trading at higher quarters than they were trading in 2007 but only among the popular kids. Majority of the other not so popular kids have not returned to the playground b/c they can't afford to open up lemonade stands to buy Yu-Gi-Oh cards.",
"There are an awful lot of comments here that are based on political desires rather than facts.\nThe reason that so many people feel so uncertain right now is because things were so bad for so long. The Great Recession was the deepest most living people in the US or Europe have seen. Unemployment was high. People lost their houses. The market crash wiped out a third (or more) of most people's retirement fund\nMany people are still scared, even if they were not affected directly. They are still scared and will be for many more years.",
"Two things: \n\n1) Stock market is nominal. This means it doesn't amount for inflation. So as prices rise, so do stock prices.\n\n2) The stock market does NOT equal the economy. The stock market just measures the profitability of companies. It does not care about employment, wages, consumer spending, or majority of the economy.",
"The stock market is artificially inflated. Cheap bank loans let companies get free money to invest in themselves. Meanwhile the middle class has been barely holding steady *at best*. Realistically, the middle class lost ground. The Fed recently ended the era of free money and investors are cashing in their chips. The stock market is now correcting itself to more realistic numbers. Meanwhile, us worker bees are holding on to our flat salaries and rising costs while the rich rake it in.",
"Because the stock market is a *terrible* indicator of economic health for working class (ie most) people. Companies make more profits (and have higher stock value) by laying working people off, paying them less, or giving them fewer hours.",
"Because the stock market has -- for the past thirty years at least -- been at violent odds with the economic well-being of every day working people.",
"Not everyone is still feeling the effects of recession. The past 3 years have been good for my business.",
"Stock market just had the worst start of any year ever. What are you talking about?",
"The people who profit from the stock market are not the people you see walking around your town every day. It is designed to make the rich richer and the poor *feel* like they have a chance. ",
"because of the cozy relationship between the people you elect to represent you and the companies that buy them in elections to effectively do their bidding - that means helping them make more money, pay less taxes and keep the average workers wages low. in the next election, look for the candidate with the voting record that is more in favor of you - the citizen.",
"Many businesses who were not (necessarily) harshly influenced by the recession cut staff and pay to the bone. Welders in my friends area, for instance, saw pay fall from $18/hr to $12/hr. If they complained, prospective employers simply told them they were lucky to be offered a job at all.\n\nI myself took a $4,000/year pay cut, (as a secretary in a field that WAS hard hit) Then I was unemployed for 2 years, and spent much of my savings. When I got back into the work force, I had to take an even lower paying job. \nThough I've been receiving raises, I still haven't gotten back up to what I was making before. ",
"because our government gave a bunch of free money to wall st so that the stock market looks good and politicians can go on stage and say \"look how great were doing, the dow has never been higher\" and not lose their jobs",
"Job gains tend to lag behind market gains.\n\nAlso, the rich have rigged the system so that only they make the money that gets made, while the rest of us fight over the same scraps.\n\n",
"We got 80 years on this earth, why the fuck would anyone have to work 12h a day when we can actually prosper with much less effort and wasted resources? The only thing that is stopping us is that in the current system, all products and services have to create profit. An object can not be sold for the cost it actually takes to procude it but has to have a little bit added on top of it. Every single step in the chain adds more on top of it. All of that is waste of resources.\n\nI'm not advocating that profit is entirely evil, it's just that there are no limits how much profit is decent and what ways we can use to get it.. Companies getting tax breaks AND subsidies AND creating profit AND lowering wages AND firing people AND avoiding taxes... That is the new american dream: free market from all of the responsibilities it has while enjoying all of the benefits.. Corporate welfare is why stock market is high while economy sucks. Few enjoys, rest of us suffers. In this entire page, i doubt you see one comment about happiness, quality of life being values. Only money..",
"OK I'll actually try to explain this as if you were a five year old instead of just spewing progressive propaganda at you.\n\nThe stock market is like anything else; it gets bigger when you put more stuff into it. People keep on adding more money, so it continues to grow. Now why would they want to keep doing that? Well, money needs to be kept somewhere, and people would rather that their money grows instead of just sitting around doing nothing.\n\nAt the same time, the country hasn't been growing as healthy as we would like (recession and follow up low growth). So to get people to put their money in a place that will help the country grow the most, they want to steer people towards placing their money in the best spot. In general, you can put your money in the bank, in the government (bonds), or in the stock market/private investment. Well, the government's bank (the Fed) thinks the best place for money to go right now is in private investment and the stock market, since this is historically where we see it help grow the country's economy the most.\n\nSo, we're seeing the country start to grow, but it's still pretty slow compared to where we would like it. Problems like war in the middle east, debt problems in Europe, war in Ukraine, and the slowdown in China have all been dragging our growth down.\n\nOn the other hand is unemployment. When people talk about feeling the recession, they generally are talking about how it's hard to get a good paying job. This is caused by there not being enough jobs for everyone to go around. Since lots of people don't have jobs and want them, there's no reason for companies to pay more money since if someone wants more money, they can just go to someone else who will take the job for less.\n\nBut why aren't there enough jobs if the economy is growing? Well, like I said economic growth is slower then we would like. Also, the growth has mostly been in companies like Google, Facebook, and Netflix, which can make really cool stuff with not a lot of people. In the past, we would see growth in stuff like GM and Ford and Boeing and construction companies, which need lots of workers to build big complicated things. So the combination of slower growth and growth in companies that don't need a lot of workers means that there are less jobs.\n\nStill, every day there are more and more jobs. Even if most of growth is making jobs for tech guys, the tech guys still spend their money on coffee and craft beer and vinyl records or whatever. So when they spend their money, it makes more jobs for other people. So unemployment goes down and down, until it gets to its \"natural level\".\n\nAfter the crash in 2008, lots and lots of people lost their jobs. But now that's it 8 years later, and we had all that growth, people who are looking for jobs are finding them. Also, people who gave up for looking for jobs will start looking for them now that they see that there are more jobs out there. Now, looking into the future, it looks like there will start to be more jobs then there are workers.\n\nWhen this happens, companies start to compete with each other for workers. Are you unhappy at your job because they stopped giving raises? Well, lots of people are starting to find jobs across town that pay more. Companies looking to hire people for new jobs are having trouble finding workers, so they start offering more money hoping that they'll finally find the worker they are looking for. Now, instead of workers competing with each other for jobs mostly, the employers start competing for workers, and wages go up. That's why a lot of economists think we are going to start to see pay finally start to go up in 2016.",
"the real reason is people are emotional idiots. They trade on whims and speculation, then go into panics/frantics. People don't think beyond the short term and more than one or two connections away.\n\nThink of the market now as a sale. Buy because the idiots are selling... both stock and puts.",
"Weve lost 5 to 10 million manufacturing jobs. We are a service country now, we dont make much. \n\nWe used to make everything from irons, dishwashers, light bulbs, tvs. Now we import everything and export little. ",
"A rising tide does not float all boats in our current political, regulatory, and tax structure.",
"The stock market isn't the economy. It just reflects one particular part of the economy, corporate profits. During the recession (2008-2009), wages, employment, and corporate profits all fell. Corporate profits have completely recovered, employment has mostly recovered, and wages are just starting to recover.\n\nThe first thing to recover after a recession is corporate profits, which is why the stock market went up. It takes much longer for companies to start hiring, because they only hire if there is more demand for their goods or services than their current employees can produce. Unemployment bottomed out in 2010, a year after the stock market started rising. Next comes wages. Since there are so many unemployed people, companies don't have to offer good wages to attract workers so wages continue to stagnant. Once unemployment gets low, companies have to start offering higher wages to attract workers since they are trying to poach them from other companies. Real wages didn't start recovering until around 2014. It will still take several more years for wages to fully recover from the recession. Unfortunately, we may enter another recession before this happens. This is what happened last recession when we hadn't fully recovered from the 2001 recession when the 2008 recession started.",
"You mean why is it the rich people are doing well and not everyone else?",
"Because all income gains (in real terms) in the last 30 years has gone to the upper echelon of earners.",
"because the only people making money in the surging stock market are billionaires and bankers.",
"Because we are still losing jobs. Since the recession the unemployment rate has been continuously rising. Its now the highest its been since the 1970's.",
"Numbers are always going to rise, inflation and long term growth are guaranteed by the type of economy we have. ",
"Our cost of living has risen immensely, but our wages have remained flat or lowered. \n\nELIF: We are being paid less money to buy stuff that costs more than ever before.\n\nFrozen burritos are my example. Pre-recession I could buy a pack of 12 burritos for $2.50. Post recession, I can buy a pack of 8 burritos for $4.50. Or, take potato chips. Before: 18 ounce bag. Today: 7 to 9 ounce bag, and it costs more than before.",
"I know analysts and stock gurus will always say it's this and that, oil prices dropping, oil demand is up, people aren't buying product, exports are down, but... what if just a lot of companies have reached their upper limit of growth? Can we expect every company like Apple and Google and Facebook to grow forever?",
"And the six ounce can of tuna has become a five ounce can, and the $5 foot long at Subway has become a $6-$8 foot long, and prices go up and portions go down on a weekly basis. Stephen Jay Gould's incredible shrinking Hershey bar comes to mind. Notice they no longer count food in the inflation index???",
"The reason there is a disconnect comes down to a large number of things, some caused by the recession and the reaction to it and others that were already taking place. \n\nIn a view simplified way, average people feel down still because we haven't had solid wage growth for most people for the past 20 years. The will continue to be a growing gap between people with highly-demanded skills and knowledge and those without. World trade means low-skilled labor in the US competes against the world of cheap labor. The US still manufactures things, more than ever in fact. We just do so with a lower % of the workforce than ever before. That is a good thing though, for a whole bunch of economic reasons that don't matter to this. \n\nOn the stock market side of things, if we're just talking about why it has risen so greatly there are a few things I would point to: \n- world-wide stimulus means there are very few places to put your money and get a good return. This means, all other things equal, the price of other investments rise. \n- US corporate earning growth has outpaced most of the developed world. It is better to put your money in a safe-place that is growing quickly. ",
"The average person is not invested heavily in the stock market. Most investments are from institutional investors. \nIf you look at the recession from a geographic standpoint, the middle of the country was left behind except for the largest population centers, and at that, only on the wealthy side of town. \n\nFor everyone else the recession is still here. ",
"Personally, I still have no job, despite everyone telling me their stories of their awful first jobs. \n\n1) I can't even get a bad job. \n2) How are you helping me want to look for work when all you do is complain about it? ",
"People also lost a lot of money when it collapsed, because they freaked out and sold everything. Bad idea. You should only sell before, if you know its going to happen. Which is pretty much impossible.",
"The recovery, as in the re-gain of assets, is focused very tightly in a few percentage of investors.\n\nSo 90% of people are still feeling the effects. a few small % of people have \"Record Profits\" or \"Record Returns\" on the back of the recovery.",
"Because there was no recovery and in many ways we are worse off than we were before 2007. Much of the growth is only a result of inflation. An additional point to make is that the market is being restricted so much that it can no longer out pace government spending.",
"Well, the problem is that the recovery never really occurred among most americans. Overall things never went back to pre 2008 levels and they certainly didn't improve enough to make up for the half decade of hell that followed financially. ",
"The short answer is that no one really knows. Economics is not a science and there are so many factors affecting what happens it's impossible to nail down which it is. Explanation range from shifting to a digital online economy. Where consumers buy products online. This gets rid of a lot of jobs. In addition much of American life has shifted online which takes a lot of revenue out of traditional job producing markets.\n\nEither way it's clear that the trickle down effect isn't working which is why a forced \"trickle down\" in the form of tax hikes for the wealthy, raised minimum wage and single payer healthcare system are looking more and more necessary.",
"Simple answer is what is considered a 'good' economy has changed. Years ago, a good economy was based off of manufacturing and wage growth, but sometime over the last 20 years people have been lead to believe a good economy is based on how many people are investing and how much is being invested.\n\nSo even though more money is being invested (thanks to retirement plans and speculating), that doesn't correlate with stagnant wages over the last 15-20 years.",
"Something that I haven't seen mentioned yet is inflation. Stock indeces are composite prices, prices are subject to inflation. The S & P hitting 2,150 is way less impressive than if those numbers existed in '99. Obviously just one point among many, but just like everything else, prices have increased like any other good due to inflation.",
"Because that money has permanently shifted to the wealthy. I'm glad we bailed them out they needed it.",
"Inflation went up, but pay did not. One example is when diesel went up supermarkets had to pay more for shipping, so they charged more for their goods. Seems reasonable. Well the top assholes saw that people would pay these prices they left them there. And you'd think the prices would come back down when diesel came back down. Nope, the top pricks just stuck the extra money in their pockets. Good ole capitalism. ",
"People who are \"feeling the effects from the recession\", aren't exactly feeling the effects of the recession. It's become a common excuse for reason of not being hired or being laid off. In reality they are just experiencing just average loss and gain of jobs. Unemployment, gdp, and gdp per capita, is the true way to judge the economy. And all of those have fully recovered from the recession. \n\nIt is actually good for an economy to have some unemployment, and right now America is at 4.9-5%, which is where it wants to be. ",
"The stock market is not the economy. Over the long term, yes it is. Short term volatility have little bearing on the overall economy & GDP. (As an example, think of the \"flash crash\").",
"The stock market isn't really and indicator of the economy you and I live in.\n\nCompanies can make a crap load of money and the only people that truly benefit are at the upper levels within that company and share holders. The rest of us see little benefit.\n\nIf you want a solution to this problem talk to Bernie.",
"My wife just got a job at a call center doing tier 1 support for Geek Squad. They are paying her less then I was paid 9 years ago to do tier 1 support for Unisys. This is why people are \"still feeling the recession\" ",
"Because the stock market isn't an accurate representation of the financial welfare of the population",
"Simple answer: because only the rich got richer. The poor got (comparatively) poorer. Thus, while it averages out as \"improvement\", most of us are struggling, and the 1 percenters are laughing all the way to the bank.",
"Its not a real recovery, its a \"wealth effect\" created by the Fed printing more money and not raising interest rates for years. It made the financial sector rich off of the middle class. That is why the \"numbers\" are up, but it isn't real. Its just another bubble that is going to pop, in a long series of bubbles that have been around since the Fed was created. ",
"The stock market is a good place for already-rich people to become richer. Hence the growing wealth gap around the world. So, no. the numbers at the stock markets are not a sign of good economy.",
"Many people do not own any stock, but were exposed to the job loses or stagnant wages of the recession.",
"The simple answer is that wages have not grown as fast as they could have. \n\nThe simpler answer is that people would rather blame something else for their own failures. ",
"You want the short version? We've done a lot to make things look \"better\" when in reality it's all artificial. Corporations know it, the government knows it, your spending habits know it. It probably won't last either, people still aren't consuming as much and that's the measure of the US economy. ",
"[Good set of charts explaining that this has been a recovery for cheap labor jobs, and for those next in line for cheap crony Fed money](_URL_0_)",
"i use to work for chase and when the recession hit the first thing they did was scale back our 1 hr break to 30 minutes, then they cut over time, well they would schedule to work just under the 40 hour work week for full and under 30 for part time so they wouldn't have to pay extra benefits. We were told this was company cost cutting strategies but from Ive learned it was a convenient excuse to do away with any extra costs. From what I've heard from former co workers is that they never got those benefits back and now the cuts are the new norm. ",
"Because there are people who don't have to pay taxes. Those people can break the law by making things up. The punishment for their law breaking is financial fees. The fees are so small that the people can still make money by breaking the law and paying off the fines. Corporations are people that don't go to prison. Although there are enough scapegoats that the people who aren't making as much money believe the ones who cheat are adequately punished.",
"The government creates more money thus causing the prices of things to increase. A lot of times the money that is created does not go proportionately into all the asset classes. This is why you end up with bubbles in the stock market and commodity markets. If you feel like the economy is slowing down it is because it really is. The rail roads and the ports are at their lowest levels of activity since 2009. ",
"Because in the past ten years, virtually all growth has gone to the top 1%. \n\nBerkeley economics professor Emmanuel Saez's estimate of income inequality is that 95% of income gains since 2009 have gone to the top 1%.\n\nFor the bottom 99%--that's you, me and everyone else here on Reddit--our incomes are barely rising at all: just 0.1% per year in real terms. ",
"b/c of the FED. without the fed the markets would tank\n1. consumer confidence is low\n2. unemployment is still high\n3. jobs created are part time and govt\n4. GDP shrank\n5. interest rates are low but ppl are still not borrowing\n\nbiggest problem debt is growing and economy is shrinking...... If you want a total collapse vote for Bernie Sanders ",
"This has been a prolonged recession, so that even companies that had enjoyed some resources as a buffer against bad times, have been drained. When that happens, it takes a while for the buffers to re-fil, before the companies dare act like they are in improved condition.",
"Because money is imaginary, it distorts perceptions and behavior. Humanity would be better served by a reality based economy that serves all people. Please investigate a resource based economy.",
"\"Because the owners, the owners of this country don't want that. I'm talking about the real owners now, the BIG owners! The Wealthy… the REAL owners! The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions.\nForget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.\nThey spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I'll tell you what they don’t want: \nThey don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests.\nThats right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that!\nYou know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It's a big club, and you ain’t in it! You, and I, are not in the big club.\nBy the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care! Good honest hard-working people; white collar, blue collar it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on. Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cock suckers who don’t give a fuck about you….they don’t give a fuck about you… they don’t give a FUCK about you.\nThey don’t care about you at all… at all… AT ALL. And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. Thats what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick thats being jammed up their assholes everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth.\nIt's called the American Dream,because you have to be asleep to believe it.\"\n ~ George Carlin\n",
"The reason the stock market went up is because the Federal Reserve printed a bunch of money and that money went into the stock market, real estate market, bonds, etc.\n\nRich people own assets like stocks, bonds, commercial real estate, etc. so making this stuff go up helps them. \n\nBut it doesn't really help average people. Some guy who makes $3k/month and has $5k in retirement savings doesn't give a shit if the stock market goes up. And if real estate prices go up, he actually gets fucked because now he has to pay more to rent his apartment.\n\nBasically, the reason people are still feeling the effects of the recession is because much of the supposed economic growth we've had since 2008 has been in stocks, real estate, etc. which rich people own. But the newly printed money that has caused stock prices to rise has also had the effect of pushing up the prices of things that everyone has to buy like food, rent, gas, etc. so now their cost of living is higher.",
"1. stock market doesn't equal economy\n2. the disparity in growth (aka inequality) is massive and has only been getting bigger.",
"The \"recovery\" is limited to certain well-off counties (like here I'm the DC area where I live). Most of the country has seen stagnant or decreased income.",
"You requested an ELI5, so here it is.\n\n Were you effected by the recession? Yes.\n\nDo you have money invested in the stock markets? Yes.\n\nIs the money you have invested in the stock market your primary source of income? No.\n\n Do you work for somebody else? Yes.\n\n You are not feeling relief from the recession because the stock market isnt tied to your financial well being like your job is. Whats more, its too late to invest in the markets to get relief, to do that you needed to buy low and sell high. Right now your inly option is to buy high and hope it goes higher.\n\n ",
"One point I did not see mentioned here. \n \nDuring the housing boom years, there were a lot of families living off of credit. Either credit from home equity loans, or straight up credit debt. And spending, rather than saving.\n \nOnce the recession hits, all thrashed credit dries up. People have to figure out how to pay back the credit, and to check their spending. They begin saving! \n \n \n\nSo then, the economy improves 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. Like, really improves. But no one is going back to borrowing like before the crash, and there are far fewer easy ways to get large amounts of credit. No more HELOCs with unrealistic valuations. No 25x margin borrowing for retail customers. \n \nThat makes you more careful with your hard earned money. And hard earned, saved income isn't nearly as fun as free spending. \n \nAnd THAT affects the way we feel about the economy now. Wary.",
"because stock market =/= economy, especially true the last 5 years.\n\n_URL_0_ read this and the links it contains.",
"We could be living it up if we cut our military spending by even a couple percent, and if the majority of our employers weren't selfish bastards.",
"Your premise is incorrect. The DJI has had an inflation adjusted annual rate of return of essentially zero percent since Jan 1, 1999. Considering the powerful tax incentives for people to buy stocks, which artificially inflates demand, this is very poor performance.\n\nOn average, publicly traded companies are doing about the same as 1999-2000. Privately held small business are doing worse (source: i own 3 small business). \n\nI think many people may falsely believe that due to historically high concentration of wealth in america, american business must be prospering. Not generally the case. In fact it could be argued, convincingly, that the concentration of wealth among the top 0.01% is one of the many factors hurting american business.",
"That will be because the rich cunts with the money are too chickenshit scared to take risks with their precious stacks of cash. Therefore, nothing is getting built, nobody is getting promoted, no expansion and no training, healthcare or stock options. Especially no bonuses for non execs.\n\nI thought we were going to have a revolution when occupy wall street happened, we still need one.",
"There are a lot of things that contribute to recessions and similar effects, so let's cover some. \nFirst: The stock market isn't a direct representation of how a country's economy is doing. While a 3 to 5 year trend of stock prices increasing is a positive sign, if inflation is equal, the relative value of the dollar changed, interest rates change, and if everything moves equal to the rate of change in stock prices, then really nothing has changed. If all values increase at equal rates, gains and costs, then people receive the same pay. \nSecond: More and more public companies are shortening their benefits to non management, and increasing bonuses. This shift shortens the percentage of working people who receive equal wages. That increases wealth to the top percentage of people. And decreases the amount of money to the rest. \nThird: The states engages in an enormous amount of foreign action, generally military. As such, the government has a disgusting amount of debt, and the spending has been diverted from other situations, generally public good. \nThere are lots of reasons for it. ",
"Well what about the people who lost jobs or homes? What was the recovery rate for those people?",
"Well here in Canada, our dollar is down by a shitload. Things I used to be able to buy for a decent price in the states now costs a shit load more.\n\nFor example, video games normally cost $50-59 here, now they are over $70.\n\nThat's the biggest effect this recession is having on me.",
"a lot of the people on this thread are upset with their conditions. let me ask you how much would make you 'happy' how much money do you think you should receive? because i can tell you . i've doubled my salary in the last 3 years, and it's good compared to just about any profession, but i could also go backwards. i just left a low six figure job i could've worked for 10+ years, because i wanted a different challenge. i can tell you, you always want 'more'",
"The free market is a fucking sham. It's a deregulated clusterfuck that has to grow, legitly or falsely, otherwise the bubble bursts when short term profit can't be made. The chessmasters play their games, but when they never lose, we do. Checkmate.",
"Because the recession mostly affects regular people, and small businesses. The stock market market, everyone else.",
"Only the wealthy are making any money. The second decade of the 20th century has seen the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the wealthy the modern world has ever seen. \n\nSo, ~95% of the population still has real wages that haven't increased since the 70's while the 5% that can participate in the stock market in a meaningful way are doing better than ever. ",
"Because the recovery is simply fake. It looks like a recovery, but it's nothing more than a stock bubble and a bond bubble. ",
"the us economy is collapsing. it is being dismantled. the stock market is fraudulant - wall street is shorting everything. very, very hard times ahead. \n\n[jim willie is your best source for economic news](_URL_0_)",
"the collective knowledge in this thread makes me want to believe that all of you are actually 5.",
"Easy. Socioeconomic inequality. As the rich get rich the poor get poorer. After WW2 there actually was a huge middle class that lived prosperously. Nowadays the middle class is a very small percentage and they struggle. The poor class is huge and they really struggle. IMO this has to do with a lot of factors but mainly it has to do with multinational corporations and politics. A cause and effect that took a few decades. And 9/11 and the recession just made it worse.",
"Stock prices aren't high because of an economic recovery. They are high because of money printing and low interest rates. If you take a look at a chart comparing the base money supply with the stock market, it is almost identical.",
"Others have already covered the poor correlation of the economy and stock market. He's my attempt at an Eli5 for basic economics...\r\n\r\nWhat makes a strong economy is cash exchanging hands. In short, the more hands it touches the better. Giving a million dollars to a bum would stimulate the economy because that person would spend it all and every single dollar would trickle up the chain. Each person along the way would take their piece and pass the rest on by spending, furthering the cycle. All parties along the way benefit and, as a result, the economy is better due to how many are impacted.\r\n\r\nGive the same million dollars to a billionaire and that million dollars goes straight to the bank and sits there. The economy gains nothing from that money. That money doesn't trickle anywhere. It sits in a bank and touches few to no hands. \r\n\r\nMoney moving from person to person in the economy makes it thrive. The stock market doesn't generally impact or reflect money exchanging hands.\r\n\r\nWhy are we still feeling the effects of the recession? Because the rich have nearly all of the money in the US economy and they aren't getting the money to the people who will spend it at a rate that would sustain a healthy economy.",
"I know of a particular company that values a less experienced workforce over more experienced because each new employee can be haggled and talked down to while they learn the BS trade. The owner can then keep paying as little as possible and once you do reach a point where you've received a few raises, they just say, eh... can't afford you. But I can keep this new guy who I'm paying less until I have to give him a raise at which point, that cycle will continue. I can also keep this other slacker because he does most of the heavy work I don't want to do. Hell I'll let him go, ask you to work in his place, give you a big 1 dollar raise, some shoddy training then have him ask for his job back in two weeks, move you back inside and end up letting you go later, while I keep my new, low cost workers. ",
"Because the stock market is not the economy, nor is the Dow Jones Industrial Average a good measure even of the stock market. There is high unemployment, low or negative savings rates, and large amounts of consumer and business debt incentivized by the absurdly low interests rates of the last seven years.\n\nBasically the Federal Reserve has channeled large amounts of newly created cash into the stock market to keep stock prices higher than they would be otherwise, creating what is called a \"wealth effect.\"",
"Oh my! Because all of the money printed in QE has just gone to the banks (and their stock market investments) and not into the actual functioning economy.\n\nThis causes the effects of:\n\n1. Monetary inflation, an actual decrease in the value of your money.\n\n2. Stock market bubbles and;\n\n3. Stagnant, or even contracting, indicators of real economic activity such as manufacturing production, bulk industrial commodities flow, GDP, employment and new job creation.\n\nAll this coupled with growing inequality which is being fueled by a 2 tier hybrid system of the laxest laws, lowest taxes and biggest government subsidies for large corporations there has ever been. While social infrastructure is under ideological attack.\n\n_URL_0_",
"Statistics and demographics play an important role here, too.\n\nSince ~1990s, we've experienced advances in technology that allow for far more safe and controlled births as well as a almost negligible number stillbirths. Couple this with an increase in childbirth and you have population growth.\n\n & nbsp;\n\nIf the population had stayed the same, we would be enjoying an economic boom, or the beginnings of one. \n\nSince population has increased (exponentially!) , the wealth is more and more dilluted as companies try to mantain the ridiculous and ever-growing \"must employ X amount of workers to remain viable\" quotas.\n\n & nbsp;\n\nTL;DR\n\nThere's more wealth, but there's more people that hold it. Economical progress is dilluted.",
"The problem is that wages haven't gone up at all even for good paying jobs. Benefits keep getting cut too. Companies are keeping more of their profits and not giving it to their employee's. If you don't work for yourself. You are on their team, they are not on yours. ",
"The absolute best thing for most businesses (ignoring the effects if this happened everyplace at once) would be if they could get rid of their employees entirely and do everything with machines. Jobs are created when there's demand that can't be supplied any other way than by hiring people. And hiring people is one of the least efficient ways for companies to make money.",
"Short answer: because the Fed has pumped trillions of dollars into the economy in order to artificially inflate the market. That's trillions of dollars that are borrowed into existence at interest, and which literally can never be paid off, because the interest money is borrowed into existence at interest as well. It's the biggest monetary scam in the history of the world.",
"The stock market grows exponentially, pretty much by design (you aren't interested in growth by a dollar, you are in gains of 1% though). So that's why the numbers look good. However, the stock market isn't the only thing in the economy. While unemployment is also looking great, wage stagnation means that salaries for the average person haven't moved much since the crisis. Also, massive inequality means that the economy is fragile (Stiglitz). Interest rates are dropped by the Fed during crisis, but they have been at zero for the past decade, and only recently increased by a whopping 0.25%. That means that, in the event of a new crisis, monetary policy would have limited effect because they can't drop rates lower. The mortgage industry is also pretty weak still (Shaky Ground). Developing markets went bust (China China China China China). Overall, everything is still in an uncomfortable spot despite the run up in the stock market over the past five years. ",
"the world still runs on oil, their's is cheaper than our's to extract and refine, and closer to the major market's. We are losing a price war, so we start a real one...it's becoming costly to fund this war, we are all feeling the pinch.",
"\"Seems to show\" is the key phrase here. The Fed is falsely manipulating the market. The current market isn't a true representation of our economy. \n\nThe truth is, there aren't many well paying jobs and actual employment is awful. ",
"Most people don't own stock and wage growth is still less than impressive. Whether its fair to blame people's problems on a recession that ended nearly seven years ago is debatable but things aren't great in this country.",
"Many people also have also delayed retiring to make back the money they lost, which means a lot of positions aren't opening up, especially for skill labor jobs.",
"A certain major shipping company is enjoying record profits, but that didn't stop them from negotiating a contract with the union that involved no longer paying for the health insurance. Now the union shoulders a big portion of that cost.\n\nI suspect many corporations view a recession and recovery as an opportunity to enjoy greater profit margins and bigger bonuses. Employees take a pay hit, and don't really get bumped back up when things improve.",
"When doing long term analysis of financial strength one must take into consideration not only inflation, but buying power.\n\nIn other words, if you've got more money but the money isn't able to buy you as much, you're actually worse off.",
"I work in magazine publishing and in 2008 lots of people were laid off, but the mags didn’t close. The remaining staff had to do it all themselves. Without pay rises obviously – you’re lucky to keep your job son, don’t complain. \n\nThe quality of the mags naturally dropped, but bosses weren’t bothered, they’re only interested in ad money coming in and that returned, but they didn’t replace the staff that were originally let go. \n\nNow the industry is in a situation like it was pre-2008 (with a really bad advertising year predicted) so they’re talking about covering the loss of ad money by laying off more staff. \n\nI suspect publishing is not the only industry operating in this way. \n",
"Well, that would be because even fewer people hold significant enough numbers of securities than before, all while the rest of us watch them get richer",
"((I will preface this with saying this is mostly speculation based on news stuff I've read))\n\nProbably because we're headed for a couple of major crashes in the global economy soon so we're arguably still in a bad state across the system.\n\nFirst, China. Hoo boy. You know when China was rapidly outpacing everyone else because of the One Child policy? \n\nAnd that means that the next few generations don't have as large of elderly population they need to care for, freeing up labour for other projects?\n\nIt's only short term. You eventually end up with a dwindling population (which gets rapey in parts because typically less female children (because a boy is valued over a girl as a worker) means less females in an area which means more sexually frustrated males) of only children who have been raised to be the entirety of the hopes and dreams of their family's future.\n\nBy three-four generations in, you've basically gutted your population (assuming total adherence to the rule) for the sake of a temporary boom.\n\nWhen that sucker falls, the world will feel it. \n\nNext, there's going to be major economic migration to the Northern European countries. America and the UK are known to be major players in the world markets, but with Sweden and Finland being often rated as the 'best places to live' in any list out there, it's likely you'll see more companies heading that way. So money will go that way to support the growing boomtowns.\n\nWhat next... Ah, yes. With the fully automated cars gradually coming out over the next 100 years, literally they're out already but the consumer is waiting for the price to drop... \nYou're going to see a decrease in fuel consumption and even a likely surge in renewable energy sources, since one's car could bugger off somewhere to recharge when you're not using it, theoretically. That will shake the global economy a bit once it rolls out.\n\n",
"Because people don't like sharing money? ",
"As a Canadian, when I try and buy something online that says it cost $100 what I'm actually going to pay is like $145. I feel it. The Canadian dollar being in the gutter deters Canadians from travelling abroad and from online purchases. Probably helps people who come to Canada though.",
"The answer is really simple. Because we have inflated the market by keeping interest rates at record low levels. \n\nCompanies have been able to effectively borrow money from the government for next nothing. Then, they take the borrowed money and use it to grow the company or pay dividends to investors that they would never be able to without the ridiculously low lending rates. \n\nThe problem is that interest rates cannot stay low forever for a variety of reasons. We saw the fed raise rates by 1/4 of a point in December and the stock market has since had a hugely negative reaction. 1/4 point move is as small as I have ever seen yet the market acted like a spoiled child who's crayons were taken away. \n\nWhat you are seeing in the stock market is an artificially inflated market. Once interest rates return to semi normal levels it is very possible that the 2008 recession will pick up right where it left off. \n\nThe other dirty little secret is that the current employment numbers are complete bullshit. Up until recent years the employment numbers included everyone. Now, when someone has been out of work for approximately 2 years we do not count them as \"unemployed\" anymore. We have never seen workers dropping out of the workforce at levels like this, despite the average retirement age still going up. The fact is the employment numbers haven't really improved much since 2008, we just change the definitions of the word \"unemployed.\" ",
"the simplified answer is partially answered by your question....the health of a company and or the economy may be as good or better \"on paper\" than compared to previous years (feels like we should be enjoying a boom but the reality appears to be different when we look around)....the reality is that company(ies) usually take year(s) to be in expected \"boom\" type environment if they ever return to such environments.\n\nfor example the result of responses from others posting here to your question. to summerize the company I work for (a multiple country coast to coast in each country corportation hence deep comfortable pockets) us employees enjoyed a really good work environment i.e. unlimited sick days per year within two hours of start of shift, company matched stock option plan / retirement savings / child school savings plans etc etc which were eliminated at the company matched contribution side when the economy tanked. after nearly ten years the company reinstated a three day written request in advance by at least 24 hours sick day option....\n\n**summary** it takes years afterwards where the company itself *feels* comfortable enough to return to the good old days of old, if they ever do, to provided those benefits that were taken away",
"Companies continue to automate and offshore. The US workforce now has to compete with the rest of the world, not just India and China, but with the entire Soviet Bloc, which is highly educated, and just as inexpensive, and came online during the late 90s.\n\nI really think the position the US was in after WW2, was more of an exception of prosperity than the norm. The entire industrialized capacity of the world was obliterated, and we were the only ones left standing.\n\nOn top of that our military status basically let us bully our way into all kinds of deals to keep us on top.\n\nThere is not much of an economic driver right now. The housing bubble was economic growth based on nothing.\n\nCompanies have been in cutting / lean mode for the past decade and are too scared to invest, even with record low borrowing rates.\n\nOn top of this, wealth continues to grow at the top at an extraordinary rate compared with the lower class.\n\nIphones, Facebook, and Google Spyware do not make an economy.",
"If 1% of the US population has 50% of its assets, then, no matter what happens, the US economy won't be able to bounce back quickly. ",
"The stock market has improved, yet salary growth for the majority of people was almost stagnant...and the only ones who saw great growth were the people on top. ",
"Quantitative Easing.\n\nFree money for every one but you and me (mega banks etc). They plowed that money into the markets for the last 7 years, instead of lending it out to spur the economy.\n\nNow they finally ended QE after 3 go rounds and now that the free money is gone the market will and is going to adjust back down over the next 2-4 years as that money gets called back in.\n\nTL:DR Fake money pumped up the stock market and now its pay back time.",
"I don't know where your quote is from, but assuming it's legit it probably stems from the fact that we have infinitely more business reporters now than in previous recoveries; and they will always need a large-scale narrative to describe otherwise incremental conditions. Most middle-class people didn't come anywhere near losing their job or their house, and several actually became more aggressive investors and consumers in the wake of discounted assets.\n\nSeparately, I do believe the combination of bank, insurance and mortgage failures exposing the frailty of our money supply and economic productivity, debt strains on the Fed and long-term nine-figure deficits have set in motion a permanent decline in America's economic and possibly strategic primacy.",
"Some of it comes from not raising the minimum wage, some from corporate earnings. Some from weakened unions and a lot from people falling for the rhetoric we are given from companies and corporations.",
"Since this hasn't actually been answered yet (the highest voted response is literally just an anecdote with no figures on actual economic concepts), I'll give my interpretation of things.\n\n\n\n\nWhile the stock market is important, it is **not** *the economy*. The stock market is simply one market; it is very large and can be important in reflecting certain things *about* the economy, however it is not always indicative of the change in health of all the money in the United States. If you consider a variety of things (gross inflation of the dollar due to mass printing by the federal reserve, debt which is not slowing down, deficit which is increasing at a rate we haven't seen before, proposals for *more* programs which will only further inflate the dollar and the amount of power the federal government has, failing tax system which incentivizes the wealthy to evade progressively higher rates of taxation) you'll see that on actual measured economic concepts, we're worse off now than we were before the Obama administration.\n\n\n\nReal household income has **decreased** thousands of dollars (depending on your source, the average is $5000-8000), the dollar has been abused and inflated by the federal reserve, interest rates haven't moved at the rate they naturally should be able to (considering they work best in practical application at natural rates decided by a market, not a central bank), and consumers are the ones hurting from this and other increased regulations.",
"You and I don't benefit directly from listed companies doing well. Doing well for companies means increased profits, reduced costs and a positive outlook. Here's the problem. \n\nCompanies aren't run for the benefit of their employees or their clients (customers). You can't annoy your customers or employees too much because if you push them to far they will leave. On the flip side, you can be too generous with both clients and employees and that affects profits without increasing either productivity or sales. So it's a balancing act.\n\nCompanies are always working to reduce their dependence on high cost employees. Things that raise costs are things like needing a skill that is relatively rare or having complex processes which take a long time to learn, or geographic constraints. This is why you see companies lobby for visa programs to allow high skilled employees into the country, why they like to outsource work to cheaper companies and why they automate and streamline processes to the point that you can't get a customer care representative who can deal with your complaint because it's a little different from the flow chart they where handed.\n\nCompanies are using the threat of outsourcing, the financial crisis and a dozen other things to brow beat the employees into accepting lower wages and fewer perks.\n\nCustomers can vote with their feet of course, and companies expect this. It's even got a name, \"Churn\". Churn is the expected turn over of customers, the net change. They accept you will lose some and win some, so why spend millions on expert customer care when it's cheaper to lose the customer?\n\nCompanies are getting better are psychology and sleight of hand. In the olden days you'd buy a pack of 5 mars bars each weighing 100g for $1. Companies realised that they could make more money by charging $1.20, but fewer people might buy them. So they start selling 5 mars bars each weighing 90g for $1. The customer thinks they got the same as the week before, but actually they are paying a huge increase. \n\nBut food is cheaper now right? Well, this is sort of true and sort of not. Things like milk is surprisingly cheap. This is because the large supermarkets screw the dairies into the ground. They often have to sell their milk for less than it cost to make it. The price of most products on the shelves is set by the supermarkets not the companies producing the goods. This means the supermarket can look good while the producer barely eeks out a living. \n\nFinally, retail companies use their pockets full of cash to nudge out local mom and pop stores. Want coffee? If Starbucks wants, it can put a store next to yours and charge half. It doesn't have to turn a profit, the other 50000 stores will do that, they just have to wait until you lose all your customers and can't pay the rent, at which point they can put their prices back up. People have less money these days, but they want coffee, so they shop on cost. This affects quality. Mom and pop made great coffee, but it was expensive because they couldn't subsidise it with their other stores. Mom and pop are now out of a job. They probably weren't wealthy running a little coffee shop but chances are it would have been above minimum wage, i.e. higher than the wages paid to the staff at the store that displaced them.\n\nFinally finally, the financial crisis is still a good excuse for bad management. Can't run your company properly? It's echoes of the financial crisis affecting the supply chain. Not the fault of the board, no siree.\n\nSo yes, company profits are increasing, and their future outlook is improving, but all at the cost of their employees and their customers, which is essentially everyone.\n",
"Don't use stock market to gauge economic strength, govs dance around a lot to make them look better than reality is, just like with school success numbers where in many countries exams are simply dumbed down so that rate of success looks great and the country has amazing education! *cough china cough* \n\nNot to mention that just because stock markets/rich people are doing well, does not mean its the same for the rest of the population, especially when the reason for success is expenditure cuts. \n\nAnd you thought highschool ends at highschool, hah, politicians and economists are the biggest posers that exist, its all about pretending and looking good, even if on the inside its all breaking down. \n\nI was going to give a slightly more elaborate answer but /u/slopmad gave a great reply with real life application already.",
"Because the goal of a company is to make as much money as possible, not provide a high quality of life to its employees. And the government does nothing to incentivize (that might not be a word) employers to pay employees better. So, it's an employer's market, and employees don't have a leg to stand on. It is the responsibility of the government to fix this, unless we all literally refuse to work for such low wages. I mean literally all of us, even if we starve. ",
"Remember, the economy is booming because more people have dropped out of the workforce and more people are in temporary and low wage jobs!",
"I was with a company for about 15 years at the time. It was at the tail end of the so called recession. I say that because we were killing it as a company. Our revenue was up YOY but they used the recession as an excuse to stop matching 401K, profit sharing and giving raises. I was on a call with many execs and they lamented about our stellar year but in the same breath said we were not get the above mentioned until the economy was fixed. It was BS. ",
"The stock market is doing great, but median wages have stagnated. Inflation and cost of living continues to rise, but people are not making more money. With this, people are putting more money into costs of living, and less into luxuries, less in savings, and being more stringent. ",
"The correct answer is: they arent. It's just a nice well rounded statement to summarize why someone is struggling financially.\n\nIt'll never go away. If someone is jobless it's because of the 'recession\n.' If a company doesn't give out raises or pays employees what the 'think' they should make, 'It's the recession.'\n\nUS companies don't owe their employees more than what's promised. Bonuses, options, vacation time, etc. are all apart compensation which is negotiated when hired. No amount of economy growth will make a company give out free money to their employers.\n\nAs far as requiring cash in hand, there is truth to that. It also affects the banks. Banks could operate at very low levels of cash on hand decades ago. Now they need a certain percentage. Certain states require companies to have ALL the cash it would take to pay out vacation time to their employees in the bank.\n\nMost people don't know that your paid vacation time is your money. When you leave you're supposed to get all that saved up time as payment. This depends on your contract and state. It is also why some companies have started being creative with vacation. If they say things like 'we don't track vacation just don't abuse it.', it means they don't want to have to pay you vacation wages when you leave.\n\nRegardless, it's a saying that won't go away any time soon.",
"_URL_0_\n\nBecause unemployment isn't actually back to where it was before the crash. It is if you go by U-3 measure which is the measure the government uses because it is always the lowest by definition and always the fastest to recover by definition. The real unemployment rate is best measured by the U-6 standard. Prior to the recession U-6 was at or around 7.5%, as of 3 months ago it was at ~10% as you can see in the chart in the link. That is a 33% higher rate of unemployment than before the crash.",
"Really late, but here goes:\nPart of the reason is free money. As a corporation, with Fed interest rates at 0% you can borrow money really cheap, in fact for free or better taking into account time value of money (inflation). What corporations did was borrow this free money to buy other businesses, or in a lot of cases buy back their stock. This has the effect of increasing your stock price as you are either adding revenue generating assets if you've acquired a business OR make your stock a rarer commodity, increasing its price if you buy back stock. When the entire market is doing this, the stock market will look like a rocket ship at escape velocity. The reality is, when the free money dries up, you can't do this anymore and have to show organic growth and increased profits which are both harder to do than buying a business and some of your stock back.\nThe increased effort at cost reductions also played a part as others have suggested.",
"Effects of recession=/=recession. Recession did damage to the economy, the job market, and the consumer. Recession ending doesn't mean people get back the houses they lost, or the job they lost, or the car they lost. It doesn't refill the bank account they drained, or put them back in the school they dropped out of. It doesn't reopen companies' agreements with firms that closed, or investors that went bust. All that stuff is still gone. \nWhat the end of the recession means is that we can stop having to sacrifice things to survive, and start building again. Many of us from scratch.",
"Didn't you read the report about the 1% taking 50% of the world's financial growth? What was even more startling to me was that the 1% constituted a base of 50000AUD pa. So more people are in the 1% in a global scale than you may think. I am in the 1% but I never knew it, I always thought I was outside it. Really puts inequality into perspective. \n\nDisclaimer: these numbers are highly guesstimated ",
"Corporate profits are up. Prospect for future growth is high. Cost of money is low. Stock market is up.\n\nLabor markets have been transformed due to technological advances and globalization. As a result, traditional low-skill jobs will continue to be automated or outsourced. Remaining low-skill U.S. jobs will continue to see wage pressure as a result. \n",
"This is probably too simplified, but I would assume it is because people who lost their homes and savings do not have investments, so the stock market doing well does't really help them. Yes, there may be job opportunities, but for someone starting at foreclosure status, it takes a while to get credit back and rebuild savings and assets. ",
"Because since the recession the distribution of money has greatly shifted. Fewer people now control a greater share of the money. When the stock market went down people who had money brought the stock off of the people who needed cash then. Then the stock prices went back up making a profit for thoes who could afford to buy during the recession. ",
"Basically companies to survive the recession had to cut down to bare bones. They realised that the company still runs fine with 20% less employees. Now that the economy has started to pick up a little bit, what incentive do they have to rehire?",
"A recession is caused, in part, by companies' lack of confidence in current & future business conditions. Very few are optimistic with technology & immigration eating into jobs, Obamacare making it expensive to hire full-time employees, etc.",
"Technology and immigration are working in tandem to evaporate jobs at an unprecedented pace. Add in new regulations like Obamacare, which make it more difficult & expensive to hire full-time American workers - and you have a recipe for disaster.",
"All of these answers are more or less wrong.\n\nThe reason is pretty much that, because of globalization of the economy, people in America are competing more and more with people from places like India or China with the same job titles and many American companies are trying to stay competitive by lowering labor costs. This is one of the reasons why the \"laissez faire\" model of economics that people like Rand Paul wants is so dangerous right now; deregulation would lead to a race to the bottom and economic disparity in other countries like China would become a reality in America.",
"The Stock Market, by itself, is not an indicator of how well the economy is doing. A better indicator is the job creation report. While the Obama administration touts creating 19 million new jobs in the last 7 years. Reality is a good economy would create 6 million new jobs per year to accommodate all the college/community college/high school graduates per year.",
"my glib and unsourced (but probably somewhat accurate) answer is that the money faucet that was trickling money down has had the leak fixed. \n\nplainly: money is being generated but its not being fairly shared with the vast majority of people.\n\none place you can look to confirm this is in the increase in wealth across economic strata. from the 0th to the 99.9th percentile, wealth gains were pretty stagnant, but above that, and in particular the 99.99th (top 0.01), 99.999th, and top 400 individuals (around 30k ppl total, iirc) have seen dramatic growths in wealth, \n\ni CAN provide source data on that last paragraph if people are interested.",
"There's also been a huge explosion in \"permanent contract\" labor - where while technically paid at a competetive rate, employees get no benefits, vacation, sick, or raises, but work \"full time\" on the \"project\" for years on end. This is a massive profit generator for companies and a huge problem for employees.",
"This biggest change is the slow rise in wages compared to the inflation of purchasables. The average income does support the cost of living in many places. So people who think they are in the middle class might actually be upper lower class these days. \n\nTLDR; People make less money in comparison based on cost of live and cost of goods comparisons.",
"The answer is capitalism for the poor + socialism only for the elite.\n\nThey get unlimited money with 0% interest from the fed... they give multimillion dollar bonuses to CEOs. They freeze your wages because you are not competitive with CHINA. You can't buy your products from China because that is against internaional law because it would undercut american companies who cannot compete with their prices BUT they can buy labor from china and you can't compete with that because their currency is so low.\n\nIn other words, socialism for the rich and capitalism WITH RESTRICTIONS for the poor.",
"The labor pool is at a surplus and demand is low. Automation is going to make it worse. The dot com 1.0 boom was probably the last time it was an employee's market.",
"I think that it's mostly it has to do with the income gap. Sure, companies are making money again, but it's not being put back into the labor force. If they took away stuff a few years ago, why give it back for free? It's not like they have to, and not enough people have stood up against it.",
"It's becuase the stock market is fake paper wealth and in a bigger bubble than 2008. The below video by Peter Schiff (predicted the dot com and housing bubble) explains it perfectly.\n\n_URL_0_\n\n\n Our country is $18T in debt so all we really did was take out 2 more credit cards (artificially low interest rates + printing money + bailouts of banks) to pay off our previous credit card. Politicians (both Bush and Obama) want to get re-elected and they will always pass the buck down the road instead of letting the free market naturally correct it self through savings (higher interest rates), productions, and capital investments from those savings. Instead we just borrowed more money to invest.\n\nThere is going to be a big bubble burst and the dollar will go down and lots of people will lose there job. The best way you personally can prepare for it is by making your skills super in demand (learning to program for example) - there will always be need for talent - even in a recession.\n\n",
"Company's aren't passing those profits down to their workers and instead are keeping all the money at the top while posting record profits. ",
"Because during the recession jobs and business opportunities permanently went away(like Mexico and China) and aren't coming back.",
"Largely it's a misnomer. The structure of the labor market is changing so that there are more time-time jobs in sectors like the service industry. People aren't getting the quality of jobs they were before though it's not really associated with the Great Recession.",
"I think a big issue is the time it takes for unemployed people to find work is still not at pre-recession levels. The stock market is not a great indicator of the economy, its just maybe one. But it gives little indication to how it affects working people. Unemployment numbers are better for that."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[
"http://www.zerohedge.com/"
],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing",
"http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/SPX-Dow-Nasdaq-Since-Their-2000-Highs"
],
[],
[
"http://i.imgur.com/JLkXQ7v.jpg"
],
[],
[
"http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/apr/19/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-says-99-percent-new-income-going-to/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://i.imgur.com/nJy6e6y.png"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://dir.richardsongmp.com/web/rgmp-asset-management/blog/664411-O-Wage-Inflation-Where-Art-Thou"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.unz.com/mwhitney/the-chart-that-explains-everything/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njcYmp4TtEE"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"www.zerohedge.com"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/02/chart-whats-the-real-unemployment-rate.html"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OKSrMWCw1k&list=PLPOToaDS0OPCxohuhNDOzFavIkI0_g96-&index=11"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
3mm2fb
|
what are these "american values" the president always talks about?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3mm2fb/eli5_what_are_these_american_values_the_president/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cvg69p7"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"It's just a catch-all term politicians use to confuse people into supporting them. The majority of Americans would probably say they support \"American values,\" but they'd all have different opinions as to what those actually are.\n\nIt's a way to say nothing of substance yet still gain support from the more gullible among us."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
3ezdoa
|
what causes fingerprints to be left behind when we touch things?
|
I've heard it's oil from our skin but wouldn't that dry out on surfaces quickly? Since we're always touching things why shouldn't the oil rub off our fingers faster than we can make it?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ezdoa/eli5_what_causes_fingerprints_to_be_left_behind/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ctju5ah"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
" > I've heard it's oil from our skin \n\nThat, plus some dead skin cells and some enzymes. \n\n > but wouldn't that dry out on surfaces quickly?\n\nOil evaporates very, very slowly. If you don't believe me, bake some brownies with vegetable oil and leave them sitting on your counter. They will stay moist for weeks. \n\n > Since we're always touching things why shouldn't the oil rub off our fingers faster than we can make it?\n\nRepeatedly washing or scouring your hands can do it, but simply touching stuff won't. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
3m9vec
|
what is pleasurable about anal for both parties, there seems to be very few pros to the hole thing.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3m9vec/eli5_what_is_pleasurable_about_anal_for_both/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cvd9ff7",
"cvd9l4k",
"cvd9v3a",
"cvdcqyf",
"cvdkdob",
"cvdq2ro"
],
"score": [
3,
9,
3,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"There are many. \n\n* it's kinky\n\n* for giver , it's extra tight and full of muscles that squeeze.. It's awesome\n\n* for receiver, it's right next to lots of sensitive parts, and can hit them at a new angle, or both angles with the help of a finger or toy. Or third party. \n\n* it's super sensitive and provides an intense \"full\" sensation. \n\n\nWhile it can hurt at first, for many people so does regular sex, and the pain can be mitigated with preparation.",
"The pro's are once you know what you are doing, giving or receiving, it feels really amazing. \n\nThe con's are that until you know what you are doing, there is the potential for messiness and pain, and there is a learning curve with it. \n\nBut as Rocco says... Don't worry, it's only the smellz. ",
"I used to try and get my wife to try it out, but it never worked out. Now, to get me to leave her alone she just says \"Shit dick\". No fucking thank you.",
"Well, as for the giving part, you're getting a tight hole to put your junk into. If the hole's been cleaned, or you put on a condom (or both), then you shouldn't have to worry too much about getting too dirty.\n\nAs for receiving, you know how it feels satisfying whenever you defecate? Well, we evolved to get pleasure from bowel movements so that we don't get plugged up. However, you can cheat that system by putting anything up there and moving it. Not only that, the prostate is up there, basically acting as a G-spot, a P-spot if you will.",
"As a married gay man who only ever receives in this department, it's a mix of things. Sometimes it can go very, very right, and is immensely pleasurable. For the most part, it's not specifically Pleasure, it's just... Different. Unusual, but good. A lot of it for me, personally, is the emotional connection, and seeing my husband lose control. The animal side of our nature, making my husband lose himself and go wild, is a huge turn-on for me.\n\nAlso, missionary position. Perhaps a slightly awkward angle, but it also stimulates the Penis at the same time, which is godly.\n\nIn short, sex of any kind is what you make it. If you aren't feeling it, you won't feel it. ",
"As a somewhat frequent receiver of strapon anal from my wife, I can tell you that it is quite wonderful to receive after some practice. We started with fingers and worked our way larger. It's an erotic and kinky experience and I can occasionally have a hands-free orgasm. It's quite incredible to be honest. I like to bathe first and make sure I'm very clean, that helps clear any mental blocks so it can be a purely pleasurable experience."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
de4f0h
|
why can we still hear direction with one ear completely blocked?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/de4f0h/eli5_why_can_we_still_hear_direction_with_one_ear/
|
{
"a_id": [
"f2rmzmq"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"A lot of information is conveyed by how sound reflects off of our ear before entering it. This is less effective than having two ears, but more effective than a single headphone."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
7cudtd
|
if technology is advancing exponentially, why is a new computer only marginally faster than my three year old computer?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7cudtd/eli5_if_technology_is_advancing_exponentially_why/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dpsq4he",
"dpsqb3z",
"dpsqkfc",
"dpsqvnd"
],
"score": [
4,
8,
4,
5
],
"text": [
"It's disingenuous for anyone to claim \"tech is advancing exponentially.\" There's no single value for the quality of our technology, so all it really means is that the new stuff being made depends on the most recent discoveries also being present. \n\nThe changes might be more significant/visible as AI continues to be integrated. I've already seen some crazy stuff it can do, and each incremental success contributes to the next.",
"How are you measuring speed? Time it takes to boot up your system? Hard drive speed increased significantly between HDDs and SSDs but is largely on the same level between those. FPS in a game? That should have increased significantly. Time it takes to respond to your input? That is largely a peripheral issue with only minor improvements. \n\n",
"The answer is that while speed was proceeding exponentially before, the rate of progress slowed down when they hit physics problems we could not easily solve. \nSpace between the bits of the chips were getting so small that weird quantum mechanics was causing electrons to teleport and short circuit the device. \nThe CPUs were running so fast they were practically melting unless you used liquids to cool them down. \nWe sustained some speed increases by working with the stuff we had alot better, or just adding more of the stuff we already had. \nBut until we solve those problems progress is going to be much slower. \nOnce we solve those problems, or find a different way of doing things, we get exponential growth again. \nThis happens with pretty much any technology. \nFor example, compare a gun made in 1887, 1917, 1947, 1997 and 2017. \n1887 - > 1917 HOLY SHIT IT NOW SHOOTS MULTIPLE TIMES \n1917 - > 1947 HOLY SHIT IT'S LIKE A RIFLE AND A MACHINE GUN HAD A BABY \n1947 - > 1997 Uhh, it's made of plastic I guess, oh and it's a bull pup now, thats kinda cool \n1997- > 2017 There was a change?\n\n",
"Probably because you're not buying the latest technology. For example, three years ago a cutting edge i7-5960X (at the time the \"fastest desktop CPU ever\") scores 15994 on cpubenchmark. The fastest current desktop CPU scores over 27000. That certainly isn't marginal. Comparing GPU's from the same period also shows a significant increase in speed.\nThe reason your new computer is only marginally faster is because that's what the market wants. Most people don't want the latest technology at huge cost. They'd rather have cheap and cheerful that does the job. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
9tb9ey
|
what exactly is muscle endurance? and how does it determine how many reps of an exercise one can do?
|
I understand what muscle strength is — it's the about the size of the muscle, more fibers ~ more strength. But what about endurance?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9tb9ey/eli5_what_exactly_is_muscle_endurance_and_how/
|
{
"a_id": [
"e8vj1s6"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Well, the cells in your muscles are alive, so they need blood to bring in oxygen and nutrients, to function (and allow you to do the exercises). \n\nWhen you exercise, your muscles consume the sugar (glucose) in your blood, and produce lactic acid, which is carried away by the blood, but only so much at any given time, based on the veins and arteries that go into that muscle.\n\nSo it's possible to exercise the muscle MORE than the blood flow can deal with; the muscle cells start to feel a need for more oxygen, more glucose, and accumulate too much lactic acid. Your body adapts, you breathe more heavily, your blood pressure increases and heart rate goes up to increase the blood flow, but you can still stress the muscle TOO much, even with the extra blood flow.\n\nAll of this feels like being tired, the muscle feels tired, then sore, then actual pain, as the cells don't get enough oxygen and nutrients.\n\nMuscle endurance is a measurement of the capacity of the muscles to get stressed during exercise. It depends on the muscle, somewhat, but also depends a lot on the performance of your heart and lungs, because it's all about getting oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood in, and lactic-acid blood out."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
bg63vi
|
why do us/european electronics companies build factories in asia?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bg63vi/eli5_why_do_useuropean_electronics_companies/
|
{
"a_id": [
"elilo6d"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Cutting costs is important, so cheaper labour and components are important reasons to set up in Asian countries."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4reur1
|
why does drinking water (depraving yourself of oxygen) help you when you're out of breath?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4reur1/eli5_why_does_drinking_water_depraving_yourself/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d50ibi1",
"d50jn4o",
"d50riuc"
],
"score": [
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"usually breathing a ton is more a matter of getting CO2 out than getting Oxygen in. Granted both are important but drinking water isnt enough time away from breathing.",
"Being out of breath and being deprived of O2 are different.\n\nYour blood hold O2 quite well, well enough that one breath can sustain you for minutes. It isn't so good at holding CO2 (produced by metabolic processes in the body like making muscles move). The CO2 essentially must be dissolved in the liquid of the blood as carbonic acid, then when exposed to air in the lungs splits to water and CO2 that you breath out. So the capacity for CO2 is low. \n\nYou breathe quickly because you want to pull that CO2 out of your blood. The problem is when you breath too quickly you don't exhale fully, so no new air gets deep, or you can actually over oxygenate your blood and cause new severe problems. \n\nDrinking water forces you to stop breathing so fast, a paper bag does the same. Better to just practice exhaling fully and breathing deeply. ",
"Drinking water when you're out of breath hydrates and cools your mouth. It also lets you stop breathing for a moment so you stop hyperventilating.\n\nOnce you stop hyperventilating and have a moist upper breathing apparatus, your breathing can slow. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
4nw31h
|
what's the difference between grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4nw31h/whats_the_difference_between_grape_tomatoes_and/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d480tcf"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Cook's like cooking with cherry tomatoes but farmers like growing grape tomatoes. \n\nThey are very similar. Grape tomatoes tend to be a little meatier and have a thicker skin, but typically aren’t as sweet as cherry tomatoes. The reason grape tomatoes are so common is they often hold up better, last a long time and ship well, which is why a lot of big growers grow them. \n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
3awgpw
|
how can a ziplock bag seal tight enough to hold water, but you can smell marijuana through it easily?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3awgpw/eli5_how_can_a_ziplock_bag_seal_tight_enough_to/
|
{
"a_id": [
"csgm4g0",
"csgmg7m",
"csgmj7w",
"csgnr5g",
"csgw4cv",
"csgxy3x",
"csh0xnb",
"csh17s6",
"csh17su",
"csh2cao",
"csh30fk",
"csh3d80",
"csh4s9r",
"csh5v9w",
"csh8lnq",
"csh9hol",
"cshbvb1",
"cshc9wn",
"cshcbhe",
"cshe9qy"
],
"score": [
5,
13,
2336,
77,
7,
3,
11,
2,
2,
2,
44,
56,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"How smell works and how liquid works is very different. First of all, part of it is probably smell on the bag or the smell leaks out of the zipper part. And while it doesn't let water through, mostly because of water tension, it does let smells through because they are smaller. I hope that was basic enough.",
"Probably because water is a polar liquid and its attracted to itself more than is to the plastic molecule or air molecules. The liquid oils(possibly even some solids) of the marijuana has vapor in the gas phase above it. Even though the bag seems pretty solid, if you were to zoom in on the molecular level there is probably pores and tortuous paths that the marijuana molecule diffuse through. It would also diffuse into the bag material as well as the through the pores due to the being a concentration gradient outside the bags ",
"Water is a special substance with a high surface tension. That means that water molecules have a firm grip on each other, and it takes significant pressure to push then through a tiny hole because they have to loosen their grips to fit through one at a time. Odors are gasses, and gasses love to drift around bumping into things like your nose. The Ziplock has tiny holes that are part of the thin membrane. Also, unless you're really careful, you get your pot on the outside of the Ziplock when you handle it.",
"Hmmm. What if you put your weed in a ziplock bag and then put that ziplock bag in a bag of water?",
"Is aluminium foil a good way to wrap your stash?",
"Plastic bags are not a perfectly smooth surface of plastic. It has tiny holes, just like how your tshirt has tiny holes between the fibers. These holes are small enough that water molecules are too big to fit through, but other molecules are small enough to pass through. You can easily see this with a simple experiment. Add some food coloring to some water inside of a plastic bag, then dip the sealed bag in a bowl of clean water overnight. In the morning you should find that the clean water has become colored, this is because the molecules in the dye are small enough to be transferred through the holes in the bag even though the water is too big.",
"You should be using mason jars anyway, it keeps the green nice and fluffy.\n\nIf you HAVE to use ziplock bags, use *freezer* bags - they are made to retain moisture and keep in the smell much better. I usually use a regular ziplock inside a freezer bag.",
"Could you not hide it in a burrito inside the wrap in the baggie?\nThat way the dog looks to be after an old burrito not drugs.",
"Get Op-Sacks at REI. Military grade zip locks made for keeping bears from smelling your food. They are the bomb",
"If this thread was talking about beer, I'd become thirsty. What would the herb equivalency to \"getting thirsty\"? ",
"This is one of the reasons you should use a mason jar. The rubber on glass seal is one of the few that is airtight. It is also a great way to improve your bud long term.",
"As someone who makes plastic bags for a living, the simplest answer is that oxygen transfer rating and moisture vapor transfer rating (colloquially used as OTR and MVTR) are totally separate. If you want something that can keep the smell of weed inside, look at multilayer structures with high OTR barrier properties like a metallized Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate. A name brand one would be DuPont's \"Mylar\" but there are many options. There's also some a few PET/Foil/LLDPE structures that do a good job holding a vacuum.",
"It's best to put that sack of stickie icky in a mason jar and screw it down tight, voila - no smell. Or if you're ballin' those \"smelly proof\" baggies work quite well. \n\n",
"What is your address? I will come over and explain this to you.",
"Ever heard of Gore-Tex? Gore-Tex is a very thin Teflon membrane (a polymer akin to plastics) that has been stretched so that it has zillions of tiny holes. These tiny holes allow the passage of water vapor (single molecules) but not the passage of water as liquid, which conglomerates into groups of thousands/millions of molecules, yet has the capacity to flow at the macroscopic level, and also has the capacity to break off and reconglomerate into other groups.\n\nAs a result, Gore-Tex is \"waterproof\", yet \"breatheable\" (it also allows passage of air molecules).\n\nAll plastics have some capacity to do this since they polymer chains are not as consistently connected as crystal solids. It is possible for \"solid\" plastics to be porous, and this is the case for nearly all of them.\n\n",
"You'll do well to hide drug smells from a good dog. \nI once saw a border collie detect drugs which were in: plastic wrapped 3 times and sealed with varnish, which was inside an alarm clock, in a box (shrink wrapped), all inside sealed plastic bags x 2.... and this was sat on a 7ft high shelf, dog leaning up. \nSource: prison. ",
"Well, you can see the surface of water. You can hold water in your hand and it maintains some form. You can't see scent. You can't hold it. Water seems to want to hold itself together, mostly while aromas disperse. I'd imagine that causes some shifting of the molecules and allows them to pass through. I'm speaking from zero percent scientific knowledge.",
"Polyethylene is permeable. The molecules responsible for the smell will pass through. Slowly but most definitely surely. We do stability studies of packaging at work, and the amount of material that passes through LDPE bottles is amazing.",
"Although this porous thing everyone's talking about in this thread may be true, I was told by a K-9 unit cop that the dogs can't actually smell the pot inside the bag. The only way dogs smell weed that's in a zip lock is from when the residue of the weed that is on the outside of the bag from you putting the weed in the bag and closing it.",
"the volatile oils in the weed must interact in some way with the plastic. Plastic being an oil derivative. Glass is not oil base and is chemically more neutral. just my guess"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
2c51nb
|
why are there so many checkout lines in grocery stores but never enough employees to fill them?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2c51nb/eli5_why_are_there_so_many_checkout_lines_in/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cjbz41c",
"cjbz4pg",
"cjbz5yd",
"cjbz92e",
"cjc0k3u",
"cjc0wny",
"cjc16pp",
"cjc2lnm",
"cjc2rzq",
"cjc38r2",
"cjc3cid",
"cjc3g9n",
"cjc3itd",
"cjc3kbw",
"cjc3q14",
"cjc3qbj",
"cjc3qcs",
"cjc3ufl",
"cjc3xj2",
"cjc49ff",
"cjc4cvs",
"cjc4jya",
"cjc4ndl",
"cjc4zhs",
"cjc58ze",
"cjc5n54",
"cjc6ku9",
"cjc6vqs",
"cjc6y8w",
"cjc750u",
"cjc75nm",
"cjc7cuv",
"cjc7d15",
"cjc7dnn",
"cjc7kt3",
"cjc7mcd",
"cjc7rf9",
"cjc82j6",
"cjc880v",
"cjc8a03",
"cjc8o9p",
"cjc9gq6",
"cjc9hsd",
"cjc9skd",
"cjca35i",
"cjca95b",
"cjcb8mo",
"cjcbg0q",
"cjcbjk9",
"cjcbm4g",
"cjcbswp",
"cjcbuj1",
"cjcbwfu",
"cjcc5g1",
"cjcccf7",
"cjcceay",
"cjcckcl",
"cjccsy8",
"cjccxgy",
"cjcczjo",
"cjcd6cb",
"cjcdj3z",
"cjcdke4",
"cjcdkjh",
"cjcdorm",
"cjcdr8y",
"cjcdy2g",
"cjcdzn4",
"cjce3ls",
"cjce8lz",
"cjce8wy",
"cjcele3",
"cjcertj",
"cjcervc",
"cjcg57l",
"cjcg5kc",
"cjcgowc",
"cjcgw5t",
"cjcifgc",
"cjcivva",
"cjciyzu",
"cjcj6tw",
"cjcjknp",
"cjcjufl",
"cjcjxmd",
"cjclcjn",
"cjclmre",
"cjclnuy",
"cjcmx52",
"cjcn0f0",
"cjcn2gf",
"cjcn6s6",
"cjcne19",
"cjco77j",
"cjcods7",
"cjcqllp",
"cjcqnmb",
"cjcqrkf",
"cjcqy7u",
"cjcr02h",
"cjcra3v",
"cjcrc36",
"cjcrr4y",
"cjcrxzo",
"cjcsrao",
"cjculev",
"cjcun3t",
"cjcv296",
"cjcwklm",
"cjcygnp"
],
"score": [
1181,
35,
2735,
22,
107,
51,
7,
2,
6,
25,
10,
2,
19,
5,
2,
17,
22,
4,
2,
10,
4,
2,
3,
3,
12,
2,
4,
2,
4,
2,
2,
3,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
4,
4,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
4,
2,
4,
2,
3,
2,
3,
2,
2,
4,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
3,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
3,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
3,
2,
2,
5,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"The store is built to accommodate their busiest days, but they don't staff as if it were Christmas everyday. ",
"There have to be enough registers for the maximum traffic that the store ever expects to see over its entire lifetime, since you can't just build new checkout lanes on the fly. This means that, while all of the registers may be open on, say, the day before Thanksgiving, the rest of the year it would be overkill to have that many open, and the store would lose money if they had 16 cashiers to handle 5 customers. So they cut back to the number of open registers that they actually need to keep up with customer demand without going overboard and leaving cashiers standing around with nothing to do.",
"A few reasons.\n\nRedundancy: if a lane goes down, you can just shut it down and move to the next one in line while tech support fixes it, rather than holding up customers.\n\nPeak use: A couple times a year, all of those lanes will be needed, mostly for big holidays. (Thanksgiving and a few others for grocery stores, Christmas season for regular retail) You can't really build more lanes, so you build the number of lanes you'll need at maximum and leave the ones you don't need idle.\n\nEDIT: Top comment on top thread on ELI5? Damn, that's never happened to me before.\n\nEDIT 2: Guys, I'm well aware that the \"peak use\" thing is an ideal case and that lots of stores don't do it that way. There's no accounting for bad management!",
"Nowadays there are lot of self-checkouts which are open all the time! Staff costs money, so they won't open extra staffed checkouts unless queues are building up.",
"Because having few staff costs less money and is not annoying enough to drive away more than a few customers, so saving money by only having a few checkers is worth a few customers being annoyed by the wait.\n\nELI15: In business calculus, you learn to derive a curve that shows profit compared to the number of employees on staff at a particular time. This curve shows the maximum profit is X employees between A:PM and B:PM on C-day-of-the-week, and the store manager tries to stay close to this level. \nEven though having every line staffed would be more convenient for customers, the store has to pay someone to stand there. This means that over-staffing costs more than under-staffing a little, and thus the store would make less money if they over-staffed. Different times of day require a different number of check-stands for maximum profit, but you can't add check-stands, so they have extra check-stands and just close the ones they are not using. \nThat is why self-operated check-stands are becoming so popular. They cost the same whether they are open or not.\n\ntl;dr: Too few checkers means customers leave, too many means employees cost too much. Enough checkers to slightly annoy, but not anger, customers is just right.\n\ntl;drttl;dr: Money.",
"_URL_0_\n\nPoor Queue Management is why. Movie theatres, banks, and some department stores use the single queue system... but very few Grocery Stores do. Single line queue systems scares away customers, and the basic idea is that customers don't care about what works. They want what they think works. And they think that more lines means shorter wait times. Obviously a large store, like Walmart, couldn't actually have only one line for the whole store... but clumping registers would still work. Having one queue for every 3 registers, for example, could work for higher traffic stores. \n\nExplanation video:\n_URL_1_\n\nBasically. The fewer lines, the better.\n\nEdit: So if a store were to implement a clumping system... Where a group of registers split a single queue, the store would effectively be able to reduce the total number of registers. The reason there are so many registers is that the 1-1 queue to register ratio is inefficient. \n\nEdit: Also, contingency. \"Better safe than sorry.\" Like the people below said, certain high traffic days might require far more registers. ",
"For budgetary reason a store only has only so many hours to distribute amongst it's employees. By adding an extra cashier, that's one less employee in a different department, plus there are probably not enough cashiers to man all the register all day without running out of hours by the end of the week. Also, after some time being open, the cash register is closed to compare the money in it to the sales to make sure nothing is missing. I don't know if any of this is true, but this is my guess.",
"You can scale up the number of employees on busy days, but you can't scale up the number of registers. So you build registers for maximum busy times, and you staff them for how busy they really are at the moment.\n\nYou have to factor in that, unlike some customers, stores believe that lines 3 or 4 deep represent ideal conditions.",
"One of the biggest reasons is labor allowance. Most store managers will have just enough cashiers scheduled to run the front end, which in turn saves on labor, further allowing the sm to bonus. In the end, it's over greed.\n\n\nSource: I'm a store manager. ",
"Not sure.. I always have to use the self checkout because no one is at the others.. \n\nI'm convinced that people don't work there.. Everyone is just a customer helping other customers.. ",
"This example is probably different than most retail stores, but I work at Trader Joes and for us it's all about efficiency. Most of our stores house 8 registers. On our hourly schedule, maybe 3 of our staff are assigned \"primary\", which is they stay on the registers the entire hour, cleaning up or doing front end stuff if it's slow. Whenever a line forms we have a bell system that rings that calls the people assigned to the other 5 registers up front to rapidly take care of the lines. When not on the registers these people are helping customers, stocking the store, writing orders etc. No point of having those 5 people just stand there doing nothing when not needed.",
"I work in a grocery store that caters to mostly Jews. The checkout lines are only full on Fridays which is the busiest day. ",
"Because they want the employees to work as hard as possible for the least amount of pay. They want to stretch the work of two to cover the whole store. It's not the manager's fault, usually, its corporate's fault for not supplying the store with enough budget to pay for the hours to cover enough registers for the business the store will get. \n\nAnd trust me, they know EXACTLY how much business they are expected to get on any given day. They spend their money on that kind of shit, instead, they keep track of what their sales were on the same day last year, when holidays are, etc. in order to give us a sales goal to meet that day. And if we don't meet it we are punished with even FEWER hours, even though its really not our fault. \n\nYou'll often find that when they DO call an extra cashier, its a stock worker or someone else from the store with other responsibilities to be filled, who is being taken away from their actual job in order to cover a deficit corporate COULD afford to cover but refuses to. ",
"I work in a super market and most of the reasons in this thread are just what the stores would explain to a customer if they asked. In reality: They try to understaff constantly every day to save money.",
"Former cashier here, all the lanes generally don't need to be filled during regular business days. I worked at a pretty big grocery store so we had a lot of lanes (I think 30). There were only a handful of times that all lanes were open:\n\n*New Years Eve/Day\n\n*Valentines Day (We had a LOT more 10 items or less lanes open)\n\n*July 3rd/4th\n\n*Thanksgiving Eve\n\n*Christmas Eve\n\nEven on Sundays we'd have one or two lanes available in case we needed to switch or open up a lane. Keep in mind that any cashier can also be a bagger, so the more lanes you have to open up the less people you have available to bag.\n\nAlso you have to have just enough staff to maximize your profits without being inefficient in getting customers checked out.",
"The best checkout lines are the one with multiple cashiers but one line. This way, you'll always be 'next' and never feel like you're stuck in a 'bad' line.",
"Customer Service Manager here. For our store, there are a number of factors involved that would account for the long lines, but a major one, believe it or not, is that the store cannot always hire and retain enough cashiers to fill the shifts.",
"I work as a front end supervisor at a grocery store that has roughly 50000 sq feet of floor space. We are currently going through renovations, but before we started we used to have 2 express lanes, 5 regular tills, 4 self scan, 1 till in our deli, and 2 at customer service. 95% of the time, we didn't all those running. 4% of the time we did for holidays; Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. The other 1% of the time are freak shopping peaks that are extremely hard to schedule for, and only really last for a couple minutes. Employee costs are usually one of the most expensive costs of retail. Margins tend to be lower on food then other product. Combine those 2 together and grocers can't afford to have these tills open and have that employee doing nothing.\n\nNow that we are going through renovations, we are down to 5 regular tills, 4 self scan, and 1 in customer service. And literally everyday I come in, someone is on all these tills, often not doing nothing. 10 am on a Wednesday? Full. 930 pm on Monday? Full. Why? To let the customer know we are there for them through our reno.\n\nAfter the reno, we are actually going to get more tills then we had before in. We are expecting a rough 10-20% jump in sales, and so when all is said and down, we are going to have a till in our deli, 2 tills in our new bistro, a till in our new coffee roaster area, a till at customer service, 2 express lanes, 7 full tills and 4 self scan.\n\n**TLDR;** Use them at peak times, too expensive to man all the time.",
"Cost.\n\nThrowing in a ton of registers when you're doing a build-out, while costly, is cheaper than trying to add them later if you need to expand.\n\nYou want to have enough registers to accommodate your busiest day of business at some future point. You don't really *know* what that will be, so you overestimate to cut expansion costs down later.\n\nSource: I've done several retail startups where this was frequently asked. This was the most common answer, though it really depends on who you ask and what their interest in the situation is.",
"My time to shine. I have a different, additional reason from everyone else.\n\nEvery cashier has their own till so that shortages and surpluses can be held accountable to one person. At the end of long, busy shifts, a till can have over ten thousand dollars in cash in it. If cashiers shared the same register, they would have to carry that till around the store to the safe each time they went on break or clocked out. Instead of opening the employee and the store to that vulnerability, each employee can effectively have their own lane, and leave their till in the register until after closing when it can more safely be transported and counted.\n\nSource: worked in the devil's den for a year",
"It's all about sales. Each week we predict how much our store is gonna make daily; usually by looking at last year sales. The predicted sales amount decides how many hours you have to do the schedules. You then schedules your full time employees (because they have a fix amount of hours each week) and then you distribute the hours left between your part time employees. (I would always keep a 10%-15% of the hours in case of emergency.) During the week, I would adjust the hours. If the store is doing very well I would add hours (employees) but if it wasn't I would cut hours. The goal is to never go over the hours you have for the week. \n\nIf your store always have huge line ups and few register opened maybe someone is not very good at scheduling their employees or he's very \ncheap and want to have the biggest profit with the minimal amount of employees. :(",
"I thought I read something on here a month ago where the store had a tax/financial reason for having more registers than necessary. ",
"Recently our main grocery store had self-checkout, which definitely decreased checkout times. The store was taken over by a subsidiary company (it was a loblaws, now its a provigo) and they got rid of self-checkout. However all employees are trained on the cashes, if a line has more than 2 people waiting, a shelf stocker will jump on an empty cash register. From what I can tell this has definitely improved checkout times.\n",
"walmart. 30 lanes. 3 open. 20 items or less line 50 people",
"Because you're not shopping on Black Friday. ",
"Walmart intentionally understaffs their stores during the \"peak shopping\" times becuase they believe the longer a customer is in the store the more the customer will purchase.",
"Big retailers would rather save that money in payroll. They schedule the minimum amount of people and leave the poor employees to figure it out. Guess you'll just have to wait in line. As a sidenote, never berate the cashier for long lines. We do the best we can and have no control over it. Shut up and deal. ",
"Many valid explanations have already been posted already here. I'll mention that the small grocery store where I work uses 5 of our 7 lanes on most days, and 6 registers are open during peak hours on weekends. The 7th is used for processing customer returns most of the time, but we open it during the the busiest holiday periods. \n\nWe do our best to schedule appropriate coverage for peak periods, but cashiers don't work split shifts to accommodate our customer flow, we have a labor budget that decreases every year or two while employees are entitled to bi-annual wage increases, we're required to have employees participate in training and other off-the-floor tasks and activities that take them away from a lane on a regular basis, state and federal law mandates lunch and rest breaks every couple of hours for every employee, and we average one call-out every day or two. Believe me, extra cashiers aren't sitting around in a lounge drinking tea and eating bonbons while customers stand in line. If you want to avoid lines, don't shop right before closing or at peak periods (weekends or Mondays at most locations in our area)",
"this is a pretty stupid question ",
"For Christmas. \n(ex supermarket worker) ",
"Worked two years as a cashier, the ideal number of people in line is 2-3 orders. This way the cashier is always busy. \n\nAlso the store I worked at had 12 registers and about 60 cashiers on the workforce. So there is never a lack of employees, just a lack of corporate money to pay them all, and as i mentioned before, paying a cashier to stand there doing nothing in down time is a waste of money. ",
"The amount of staff in store on a given day is worked out on a 'heat map'. This map is designed by people in head office who have probably never even work on a shop floor at any level.\n\nThe map show how many staff each department should needs based on how much money the store takes and some figures they cook up in the office.\n\nI worked night shift for example, the map says we were 'in the red' overstaffed by 30 hours each night (4 member of staff working 7.5 hour shifts). This means no overtime is allowed to be given, staff are on 7.5 hours/week contract in this store and rely on the overtime to make ends meat! Anyways -4 people meant the job wasn't getting done and standards slipped but store manager was sticking to his budget and just blatantly didn't care! \n\nThere are times where there are more manager then GAs. We have a manager for 1 aisle who has a team leader working under him then a GA.\n\nAs for checkout only a certain number of staff are checkout trained, others aren't allowed to use the tills so if you see a member of staff doing something other than being on checkouts it's not because they don't care it's because they aren't allowed to use the checkouts, why? Some staff, mainly the older ones who are on grandfathered contract have a front end agreement which means that they can refuse to be checkout trained, other staff have jobs that are a legal requirements such as label changes(price integrity) and some are personal shoppers which are picking online orders and have to pick 170 items/hours aswell as help/dodge customers!\n\ntl:dr - supermarkets are tight bastards, they don't want to employ more staff, most staff aren't allowed to use till(in big stores)\n\ntSco",
"I've worked at Walmart for 4 years and I honestly think it's due to the fact that they have the lowest prices and don't give a shit if you think the lines are long. Your going to stand in those lines for 30+ mins because you can't find those prices that low where you live at, on top of the more employees at registers, the more money to pay just to get you to not complain, which like I said they don't give a shit about ",
"1. Stores are built for expected peak capacity. \n2. Stores are run to save as much money as possible\n3. Having slack allows cashiers to swap in/out without completely shutting down a lane\n4. Having slack allows for registers that stop working to be repaired at a reasonable pace instead of having to have people on 24/7 on call status.",
"Black Friday\n\nEdit - you asked grocery store and I was thinking wal-mart and super target . ",
"Black Friday as a former retail drone Fuck that shit",
"I work in fast food. It is the same situation. People get mad when it is busy and there aren't enough registers open or staff on BUT in about 20 minutes it will be quiet again and we have too many staff. It is trying to find a 'happy medium' inbetween. Also I know my workplace works out projected sales and puts staff on accordingly.",
"They open them before christmas and thanksgiving. Employees are expensive.",
"Because staffing 15 checkout lanes with cashiers and baggers on a random Tuesday morning is a waste of money, but having 15 checkout lanes staffed with cashiers and baggers on, say, Thanksgiving morning is necessary. The infrastructure is built to handle the biggest customer surges, but staffed according to how busy the store tends to be at given times on given days. There is obviously room for error, which is why occasionally you experience long waits with only a few registers open - that just means that *typically* at that time it's not busy enough to warrant more.",
"I work at Sonic and we face a somewhat similar problem. There are 29 stations for cars as well as a patio for people without cars. If, however, we get anywhere near capacity we have no way in hell to effectively handle all that business. Even if we had 30 different people on the clock the system and the physical store are still configured in a manner that only allows for a relatively small volume of orders to be handled at once. \nI've complained about that more than once, but there's not a whole lot we can do about it. So, if you go to get 50 off our 6 inch Chili-cheese Dogs on national hot dog day then you'll have to wait for us to make your order and get all the other orders that are inevitably ready to go while the carhops try to deal with a huge influx of orders. We really do our best most of the time. Well, like, 70% of our best.",
"Because fuck the customers!",
"The same reason you buy insurance. Just in case.",
"Probably because during Black Friday some of the lanes get clogged with the dead or dying bodies of people who were trampled for sweet savings. ",
"Wegmans has enough at certain times of the day or near holidays. Other than that they do fine with just a few cashiers so no need to pay more. Also, self checkout has become huge in many grocery stores",
"Cashiers are generally the highest-paid employees in a grocery store. As an example, back when I was in university, I had a job in the photo dept of a grocery store at a whopping 7 bucks an hour. The cashiers all made a unionized 16 dollars an hour. Just about everyone in the store wanted to become a cashier (despite the repetitive nature of the work) because of the huge premium compared to any other hourly rate. Grocery stores operate on a very very narrow profit margin hovering around only about 1%. Their single biggest cost is labour, so if they can reduce the number of cashiers during off-hours, that is the easiest way to reduce costs.",
"It's a phenomenon called \"wishful thinking\"...",
"My own theory is that they were built when the stores cared about customer service. Now it is all about profits, and they shut the tills down so they don't have to pay the cashiers. Wally world and Safeway are good examples of that. Usually the big box stores are like that....of course, during big holiday seasons they are open, because they get more through. During regular hours, they get the same amount of people no matter how many tills are open, so they keep them closed to save money. If they tried that during peak holiday times, people would leave, and they would loose that extra income.",
"Companies want to save money by using the minimum amount of employees. The only time they would all be full are busy days such as Xmas or something. ",
"because front end management isn't getting enough hours to distribute. or at least that's what they keep telling me. source : i work at a grocery store in the front end... ",
"Because retail stores try to staff at the minimum possible bodies to run the store. The entire checkout lane number is really for black friday and high volume events.",
"Don't go on 1) 1st/15th which is when bi monthly people get paid, 2) Friday when bi-weekly/weekly people get paid, 3) or on a Friday near 1st/15th.\n\nMost people are shopping on those days. Go on middle days of the week between normal pay routines. It's far less busy.",
"Never is a very powerful word. ",
"Late to the show but 2 reasons:\n\n1) Equipment outages; you need to have a free lane with working equipment to shift people to. \n\n2) Preparing for busy days. ",
"I work at a Publix (a south eastern us grocery store chain) and we constantly have every check out lane open",
"It only becomes viable to put staff on in the registers in when the cost of staff on the registers outweighs the people that will leave or avoid the supermarket because of the lines waiting. ",
"I'm not sure if this is all places, but at where I work, people are checked into their tills, and they're responsible for every penny in it; the managers don't even touch a register if somebody is on it. Having more registers than working staff lets us move back and forth from working the register to doing other things that need to be done without paperwork every time we leave.",
"ELI5: why do people use the '10 items or less' self checkout lane when they CLEARLY HAVE MORE THAN 10 ITEMS?!",
"So many complicated answers to such a simple question. You just haven't been in a grocery store more than once a week or something I can assume. There are way more than enough employees to fill them and stores open up more and more lanes as needed, if they need to use them all they will. But most of the time they just don't have to. But there are definitely enough employees and they do fill them if they're actually needed.",
"super busy holidays is my guess. (for the number of lanes)",
"Cashier for a very large blue and khaki retail store here. Nobody wants to be a cashier here because we get treated like shit by the customers. I get yelled at on a regular basis because I'm \"too slow,\" it's my fault the coupon won't work, \"you can't deny me alcohol! I demand to speak to manager!\" In fact I got yelled at yesterday by a couple because were short on cashiers. It was time for me to leave and if we don't clock out within a certain amount of time we can get wrote up. I had turned my light out and was going to check out the last couple of customers in my line. A few people showed up and when I told them nicely my lane was closed they left with no objection. Then an older couple came and I politely said to them that my lane was closed. \"Well you all need more cashiers! I'm tired of coming into this damn store and there's only five lanes open! They hire the sorriest dumbass people to work here!\" Gee thanks, that soooo makes me want to check you guys out and continue loving my job. Needless to say I called a manager over who escorted them to another line because they weren't about to budge. ",
"For the same reason that the store has 5000 parking spots, half of which are empty 90% of the time.",
"Ask your mama to go with her on a Sunday at noon and you will find out.",
"Christmas, busy times, planning for uncertainty",
"At the store I work at we very often have the opposite problem or plenty of employees hut not enough check stands. \nWe have a system where when it gets busy up front (check stands) the manager will call for help from the other departments (grocery, dairy, produce etc). \nWhich means I then have to drop what I'm working on in my department and walk to the front of the store to check. \nIt's a pain in the ass and usual makes it difficult to get as much work done, however, the vast majority of customers are very appreciative of being helped so much quicker. ",
"It is not necessary to open every register unless it is a high traffic time like the holidays or special events. \n\nAn example would be you can pay one person to mow your yard or ten. The catch is regardless of how quickly you finish you pay them for three hours at 10/hr. One person finished in three hours and your total cost was 30 dollars. Ten people finished in 30 mins and you paid 300 dollars. Which one of these scenarios is the logical choice? \n\nOther than it being cost effective another reason is because at the beginning of the year a company tells shareholders where they expect their sales to be. Let's say the company performs poorly and turns in a smaller amount of sales than was initially reported. The company then decides what they can do to increase profits. \n\nThis is where the company is forced to go to their highest \"controlable\" expense and make adjustments. This expense is payroll. (my current job is doing this to us right now) Full time employees will be scheduled around 34 hours and part time could be as low as 8 but realistically somewhere between 15 and 22 hours. No matter what they tell you big business does not care about your time because they are not paying you by the hour. You might get upset that you waited 30+ mins to checkout but they saved more than what you spent most of the time. Yes, the loss of time may cause a few customers to take their business elsewhere but when you take the amount they saved in payroll and multiply it across every location that minimum wage employee working ten let hours just saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars a week, possibly millions. (speculation) \n\nAlthough I despise this method it is very efficient. That being said Fuck Wal-Mart and every one of their subsidiaries. \n\n",
"Sorry, but I am not able to explain queuing theory to a 5 year old. Try this if you are really interested: _URL_0_ \n\n",
"three words...... BRACK FRIDAY BUNDURU",
"Cost efficiency. It's cheaper to have you wait in line for 10 minutes than to add another cashier/bagger.\n\nDuring the peak times (e.g. Christmas), all the registers will be open so everyone can wait in line 10 minutes.",
"It's for thanksgiving and christmas.\n\nThat's what my boss told me when I worked at Food Lion. ",
"How did it take society so long to question this??",
"Also, Retail designers make their living from making their customer (the retail chains) believe that their new design will add so much traffic that more checkouts will be needed. Also a checkout is ridiculously expensive, and many retail designers work in or with the company that supplies the store interior - including checkout. Source: I worked with such a company for many years. Retail supplies is an utter bullshit symbiosis world. ",
"OP must not shop on the first of the month... Ever",
"To let you know how good they could be...if they gave a shit. ",
"It's called Christmas you tit.",
"in addition to the other comments here the Safeway stores where I live are mainly union stores and part of the union agreement is that stores can have to give out a set number of paid hours per week based on their individual stores profit. A store in a less populated area that's on the same block as a different store might get 200 hours a week to pay out but the store in a populated area without any competition might get 600 plus. So normally these stores get the required people and shifts for all the other departments like floral, produce, deli, courtesy clerks, store managers, Starbucks baristas, and stock people for the night shift. The rest of the hours get put into cashiers. \n\nSource: I've had several friends work at Safeway and they have explained the system they have set up",
"The number of checkout lanes that are open should be just enough so that the amount of money they lose from people deterred by long lines (lost revenue) is less than the cost of having another cashier working (hourly rate * minimum shift length).\n\nNormally, only people buying a very small number of items will be likely to say \"fuck this\" and not buy anything. Only if the lines are really, really long will people with a lot of items give up.\n\nYou'll normally see that when the lines are getting too long, they'll normally have someone to \"magically\" be available to work another line. Chances are they have people working on other shit (administrative, cleaning, running errands) that can double as cashiers when the lines get too long.",
"Those are for display purposes only",
"Time to shine: first off at my specific Kroger we only allow two cashiers on a register before the drawer must be pulled and \"cleaned\". Most employee's work in 4 hour shifts so about 4 cashiers every 4 hours cleaning a till takes a good bit of time so that once a till is \"dirty\" after two cashiers the next cashier can bounce to a different register. However if there is more than two p people per register we will pull the third to another register that a manager will run... We have a heat sensor system that cab accurately predict the number of registers we will need open all the way up to an hour in advanced... You must also think about the last minute call outs people running late. All that factors in.",
"Most companies or at least the one I worked for use what is called O.R. to maintain payroll requirement set by the company. O.R. Means operating ratio. It's calculated by corporate employees who every month decide how many hours your store gets per $1000 in sales. The store manager then looks at the same week last year and then together with the current increase or decrease in sales, makes the schedule. There are usually more than enough employees to man the checkout lanes in the store at \"most\" times. It just that only a few employees are actually scheduled to be in the checkout lane only, their entire shift. The company I worked for had produce, dairy, receiving, stockers and baggers trained to be checkers. The problem is these people don't think it is their primary job to come to the checkout. In all fairness they do have other jobs they are tasked to do, but it is up to your manager to make sure they know that checkout is priority number one. The managers are also able to checkout too. \n\nSo the reason why the lines are miles long and only two checkers are helping you is because those two checkers are the only ones scheduled to be in the checkstand as their primary job that day. Either everyone else is ignoring the calls for checkout or the checkers are oblivious to the long lines(or don't care). \n\nSolution is use your cell phone to call the store you are in. Ask for the manager and tell him the lines are ridiculously long and you are going to walk away if someone doesn't get out there. You will instantly here him call for help. This call for help isn't usually ignored.\n\nNote: At night, if there is long lines and 1 or 2 checkers, you are screwed. Most satellite help is gone by 9pm because he program that tracks sales says no one buys that many groceries that late. Which is true. It's just they don't realize that traffic is really high, but they are buying one or 2 items instead of cart fulls. So before you leave your house because you are jones ing for ice cream, ask yourself, \"is it worth the wait in line with a bunch of kids buying booze and other stoners buying ice cream and fruit loops\"?",
"I read somewhere once that the stores did this on purpose in order for people to view end caps and think about products that they might reconsider going back to get. Apparently having moderate lines actually increases sales profits.",
"Stores are trying to save money by not paying for extra cashiers when they don't absolutely have to.",
"Have you checked on the day before (or even on) Thanksgiving/Christmas?",
"Where i live (The Netherlands) there is a rule in the popular grocery stores that when you are the 4th in line and there isn't another checkout open you get your groceries for free.",
"The store that really gets me is Walmart. They opened one up about four years ago that has 30 registers. There are never more than 3 open. During Christmas rush, 3. In the middle of the night, 3. Doesn't matter. Once I walked up to a manager after standing in line for 20 minutes, my cart was full of stuff, I told her that she must want this stuff more than I do because I'm not waiting another minute. Then I left. She was still sputtering when I walked out the door. One thing I now do is that while I am waiting, I will call the store, explain to the operator that I am standing in line and I need to speak to a manager. I am always transferred immediately. I tell the manager that there are a lot of people in line and they need to open more lanes. This has worked every time.",
"Former retail manager for both checkout and staffing here: \nThe checkout areas (central-checout, or CCO as we called it) are physically designed for peak shopping times such as Christmas and thanksgiving. During the rest of the year, barring major holidays, only a portion of the registers are used. We used a number of lines, some express, and often used them for shift changes. An employee would start on another line, and a leaving employee would close down.\n\nWe were only allowed a certain number of staff in proportion to sales. If there is lots of business, then we'd require more staff. During peak hours, around lunch and say 4-6, we would try and have the most staff on-hand to handle customers.\n\nHere is where it gets tricky, scheduling. The minimum length shift for workers we scheduled was 4 hrs. We had portions of staff that had certain hours: regular full-time(RFT) @ 40hrs, regular part time (RPT) @ 24-36hrs, and intermittant (INT) @ 19 hours (usually your high school students and such. We were tasked with scheduling the folks to cover our max sales times. Seems easy enough, but with block times and employee availability it can be a bit of a challenge. RFTs work 8 hrs, and get the best shifts. RPTs work 4-8 and get the next shifts. They are your main cover for outside your RFT workers. INTs get the crap and late 4 hr shifts. We were limited on the continuous days we could work employees, so days off are required for everyone (thankfully). That, and if your INT employees are pulling too much time, they are eligible for other benefits (lunches, for shifts of 6+, medical depending on the company). \n\nTLDR: lots of registers for Christmas, few staff because of cost/sales and fluctuating customer traffic. Extra help is always hired at Christmas.\n\nWe actually had a group of employees who worked the floor and were also authorized and trained to run checkouts. They would help cover during rushes.\n\n\n\n\n",
"I would imagine because of the holidays. ",
"Came here to say fuck Walmart. That is all ,keep scrolling ",
"Having worked in grocery stores there is one thing i'd like to add,which may not be in this thread.The manager gets bonuses for keeping hours low and especially keeping overtime to a minimum,so they are always in a constant state of analyzing the schedule and sending people home approaching high amount of hours.Another trick they like to do is have you on as part time and work you just under 35 hours(median average) so you aren't a \"full time\" employee they are some of the worst human beings you will ever meet.Ive always stole A LOT from any of those jobs because they are pure fucking _URL_0_ would have been cheaper for them to have integrity and compassion and give people full time status for 401k and benefits instead of working them 40 hours for 5 weeks then 34 one then 20 one then rinse and repeat.they play on loopholes to not give people full time work,then the disenfranchised steal.I did anyways a lot.",
"Great Canadian Superstore in British Columbia actually turned this into a huge promotion. All lanes open Saturday and Sunday. It works too, I always think to go there if I need to shop on a weekend. But it's probably not cost effective, because there tends to be at least one or two unoccupied checkout clerks at any given moment.",
"As a person who fortunately works for a grocery company, Safeway, i learned that they only hire the minimum amount of people. Most to all employees at Safeway are part time. I am a cashier and everyday i have lines flowing down the the iles. Even when I call for back up by saying \"back up checker up front, please\" rarely my manager comes to the rescue. than i get bic#hed out by the customers who are impatient and lack the eyesight to realize no one is around to help. This leads to bad customer service and usually ends up with them complaining about it online. ",
"Pretty simple, if you don't mind paying more for your groceries then i'm sure they can hire some people to man those extra registers even when its slow. Just don't whine when your milk costs a dollar more than it use to.",
"Because while cashiers are cheap labour you still have to pay them for their work. \n\nThe store I used to work at would be willing to pay for a set amount of work hours for each department (and managers were encouraged to \"save hours\" by sending part time employees home early if it wasn't busy) and were regularly audited / reprimanded if they went over the allotment. \n\nSince all cashiers were part time they were easy to send home. They were pretty much all students too so they would be more than happy to go spend that time with friends.",
"Economics and Capitalism.",
"Well for me my store never has enough people scheduled up there, they jsut take people from other areas of the store to run the checkout lines if to many people are there. ",
"Work at a grocery store. Either short staffed or when they plan ahead for the coming days they tend to think it won't be busy so either way it's always short staffed. ",
"You realize that most of these stores were built in an era (not too long ago at all), where paying for labor was a natural thing to do, and seen as a cost of doing business. Now, employers see low-skilled labor as expendable, and push much of the work onto the customers themselves (think self-serve gas stations and self check-out stations in retail stores). The work we now do for ourselves that was once done by paid employees is called shadow work, and it adds hours of labor to our lives, while the low skilled workers who used to fill those jobs creep through the unemployment lines.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nTL/DR: capitalism is a bitch",
"In order for a store to be profitable there is a formula most companies track. \n\nSPEH (or some similar acronym) Sales Per Employee Hour. \n\nIt's basically the total sales for the day divided by how many hours of payroll are used. The idea being that the busier the store, the more hours they can use and still bring in the same amount of money per person working.\n\nWhere this comes into play, is that you need to remember stores don't only have cashiers they have to staff. We have trucks that need to be offloaded and stocked to the shelves, we have meat cutters and other personnel that have to work in the store and will impact SPEH.\n\nFor example, lets say store A makes 22,000 a day, and is expected to maintain an SPEH of $230. That's roughly 95 hours available to schedule for the day. Figure two managers working 9 hours each, we're down to 77 hours. Today also happens to be a truck day, so figure 3 stockers working 8 hours each and we're down to 53 hours. A Meat cutter and a wrapper at 8 each and we're down to 37 hours. So figure 5 cashiers (for the whole day) each working 7 hour shifts. Figure 2 working 8a-3p 1 working a 12p-7p and the remaining 2 working 3p-10p. Sounds reasonable except that the closing cashiers are also responsible for maintaining store conditions and getting the store ready for business the next day. Obviously these numbers will change based on how busy a store is and what kind of services they offer.\n\nTLDR most stores have a very tight and strict budget set by their corporate office and other labor needs to consider other than cashiers. ",
"It has to do with an equilibrium of profit...\n\nIf the store has too few cashiers to the point where people get annoyed enough to leave, the store loses sales.\n\nIf the store has too many cashiers, they lose profit through payroll.\n\nThe best-case scenario thus, is to have enough cashiers to annoy customers just BEFORE the point where they might consider leaving. This maximizes profit.",
"I'll just leave this here....\n_URL_0_",
"The thermal camera scheduling system at our local store works by counting people at the entry (and presumably the exit). Checkers are added as needed to meet the predicted demand. It seems to work pretty well, I have never had more than 1 or 2 people in front of me since they started using it. Seems like a good application of technology.",
"Greed, plain and simple. I work at one of the largest and busiest retailers in in my area and we never have enough people for anything(we are very badly understaffed). The store makes a ton of money and could easily afford more workers and hours, yet the corporations feel it is better to have one person do eight jobs than have eight workers do eight jobs. This is the price of corporations working on an infinite growth model, we are caped out on how much we can get from the customers, so they are making money by cutting workers, cutting hours, cutting benefits, cutting pay, make it so employees leave before raises (usually firing them for made up reasons, BUT telling them they will be glad to hire them again after two months but they start at the beginning pay), etc. THIS is why unions are still needed and I wish that my store was unionized. Anybody who is against unions just need to work at my job for a few months and they will have a very big change of heart.",
"I don't feel I'm qualified for this one since I always take the self checkout lane to reduce unnecessary human interaction. ",
"Personal experience: Because corporate dictates how many hours the store director can give to his employees each week, and if he goes over that limit, he gets written up. Too many write-ups and we get a new store director. Our store can only afford to have all 6 registers open on Saturdays, and even then only for half the day (and even THEN, it's not always a dedicated cashier on each register - sometimes it's a service desk guy or bagger-with-cashier-training who just hops on for an hour or so).",
"Because Walmart for example, doesn't want to pay enough people to run every register in the store.",
"For the people standing around, tapping their feet and hissing, \"god, doesn't anyone *work* here?\"\n\nYes. Yes they do. Just not now. Because it's 2pm on a Tuesday and no store is going to have that much staff because they usually aren't that busy. It's not the employees fault, blame the woman at the register arguing about coupons and trying to remember how to fill out a check.",
"When I was in high school and worked at a grocery store, there was so much downtime we'd be sent to do busy work. Face product on shelves, clean stuff, sweep and mop floors, fill balloons for floral, etc. There was never really a set time of day when it would be guaranteed busy, or guaranteed dead. Got sent home rather often to find out later it got crazy busy an hour later. They schedule based on sales for previous time periods, if I recall correctly. If it wasn't busy during the same day last month/year they schedule like it'll be the same. There's also a limit for how many man hours can be scheduled per week/month, if they go over employment hour budget, corporate would probably come down on management for that. \n\nIt's more profitable to inconvenience a customer for 5-10 minutes and if necessary pull supervisors/managers to the floor for sudden busy times, than it is to have a bunch of people paid to stand around and do nothing for hours. ",
"Big box stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, etc, make 30-45% of their gross earnings during the biggest buying drive times, which are basically mid October through mid January, with notable surges of traffic around Thanksgiving and throughout the Christmas season. \n\nAs these are the most profitable months, they need space enough to get customers out quickly during these times. This is when you will see more staff at the lanes. It'd be MUCH quicker if the lanes had more adequate staffing throughout the year, but corporate suits have deemed your perceived impatience and complaints of long lines an accessible loss compared to the money saved by having few front lane workers.",
"ITT: People who know very little about how a grocery store is run.\n\nGrocery stores run on probably the lowest overall margin of any retailer. Our goal in the company I work for is 3% net profit. Labor is the #1 controllable cost, and accounts for the majority of costs. \n\nIn the company I work for, the cashier hours are allocated based upon product scanned through the register. For example, each item scanned earns a few seconds, and any time a check is tendered it adds more time. Every action earns hours, and on top of that there is a buffer for downtime and various interruptions. Cashiers are expected to meet a certain level of speed, which is actually very easy to hit. In fact, our fastest cashiers usually do 1.5X the minimum requirement. Cashiers are given hours based on seniority and full time/part time status. \n\nI don't know about other chains, but the one I work for has a line free policy. If there are two customers in line at any given register then an additional cashier must be called, which is usually someone off of the sales floor staff. Of course, it takes 30-60 seconds for help to arrive, and customers can be very impatient. We have mystery shoppers who regularly audit our cashiers and employees for friendliness and promptness of service. \n\nAs with most grocery retailers, we do the majority of our business at the first ten days of the month. The first couple weekends are when you're most likely to see all of the registers open. Same with holidays. \n\nIf you are shopping at a grocery store that allows lines to back up without calling additional help then you're doing It wrong. Lines cause people to find other businesses to patronize. \n\n\nSource: 14 years in grocery retail",
"i guess if theyre paying people by hour, theyd rather save a tiny amount of money and make you wait 5-10 mins",
"What bugs me is that cashiers in the US can't sit while they work. They already have a pretty sad/mindless/? (you name it) job, and they have to stand all day long. I've been to many places in Europe where they scan the items while sitting down, and for some reason that makes so much more sense to me."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queueing_theory",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nczHfj-Oh8"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.eventhelix.com/realtimemantra/congestioncontrol/queueing_theory.htm#.U9lfvNDD_qA"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"evil.it"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinion/sunday/our-unpaid-extra-shadow-work.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://youtu.be/DKYJVV7HuZw"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
2howky
|
why does bacon taste much saltier when cooked?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2howky/eli5why_does_bacon_taste_much_saltier_when_cooked/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ckumuf8",
"ckumvab",
"ckuo1eo"
],
"score": [
17,
6,
3
],
"text": [
"you mean you've eaten it raw?\n",
"Bacon is usually soaked in salty water to get it 'Cured'.\nIt is also filled with water to make it heavier therefore sell at a higher price. That water is also full of salt.",
"So why are you eating it uncooked?"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
a7q043
|
congo.
|
Can someone explain to me; why there are states (Congo) that are rich in resources (cobalt, etc.), but have an abundance of poor citizens (relative to 1st world countries)?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a7q043/eli5_congo/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ec4u0zs",
"ec5da23",
"ec673ie"
],
"score": [
19,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"This is called the *resource curse.*\n\n_URL_0_\n\nBasically, if the government sees that it can run the country on incredibly easy resource sales, it doesn't bother to develop the economy, the education system, and so on. Also, since the value of the resource exceeds the value of labor, people aren't treated as valuable.",
"Lets say that I gave you a big stack of cobalt and told you that you couldn't sell it. Would that stack of cobalt have any value to you? \n\nThe answer is most likely no, because you can't eat it, live in it, other otherwise enjoy it in any way. All that stack of cobalt does it to take up space. In order for that resource to have any value it has to be turned into something else, like a sheet of alloy or as part of a battery. \n\nTurning cobalt (or any other resource) into something useful is not easy. It requires engineers and factory workers with a great deal of technical expertise, as well as specialized equipment. And those two things are very rare and very expensive to procure.\n\nNow someone who has a big stack of cobalt can obviously sell that cobalt. But the problem such a person will have is that cobalt isn't really that rare - raw materials in general are much more common than ability to turn those raw materials into something useful. As a result of this, simply pulling raw materials out of the ground is not usually very profitable.\n\nIf a country wants to be able to profit from its raw materials it needs to build up an industrial base. Doing that requires building up the aforementioned skilled engineers, factory workers, and equipment.\n\nStrictly speaking, the equipment is usually the easiest part of that, since you can just buy that with money. The people component is much harder. If, as is the situation in most third world countries, you don't have anyone already in the country with the existing technical skills needed, then you need to somehow convince the people who do to move to your country and that's something that can be borderline impossible to do if your country is a shithole.\n\nThen there is the problem of corruption. Assuming that you can convince people with sufficient technical skills to move to your country - hiring them and purchasing the equipment needed is an immensely expensive process. \n\nIf 90% of the funds raised for this endeavor are going to end up going to the current President for Life and his family then you really have to raise 10 times as much money as anyone else would. Typically money for these projects is raised by taking out loans, but no one in their right mind is going to loan a country 10 times the amount of money that it actually needs to build a factory - the lender in that case will never see its money back.\n\nThen there is a final problem for countries like the Congo, which is instability. Lets say you manage to somehow raise the money, hire the people, and buy the equipment. If the country is in the middle of rebellion it won't take very long before one of the rebels groups bombs your factory or shoots up some of your workers. Then all of the money and work that has gone into your factory has been for nothing, and you're back to pulling cobalt out of the ground for 25 cents a day.",
"There are probably a lot of reasons, but one major one:\n\nImagine you are the all-powerful dictator of a poor country. Then someone discovers lots of diamonds and oil there. Now, diamonds can be extracted by slave workers, and for the oil, you can just contract some foreign company. So, is there any reason to let your people take part in your wealth?\n\nThats one big reason why people in resource-poor countries tend to have more rights. The leaders simply need their people to be healthy, educated, and also connected, because wealth through the manufacturing of technogically advanced products is not going to happen otherwise. And its harder to stay in power as a tyrant over such a populance than over some starving villagers."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_curse"
],
[],
[]
] |
|
8df8x8
|
why the usa has such high rape rate beign a developed country?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8df8x8/eli5_why_the_usa_has_such_high_rape_rate_beign_a/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dxmokva",
"dxmq1ug"
],
"score": [
7,
5
],
"text": [
"Getting accurate crime statistics is difficult, and comparing statistics between countries is even more difficult. Rape is probably one of the most difficult comparisons to make, because of the massive cultural differences in how it's defined by the criminal laws as well as how comfortable victims are reporting it and how the police respond when they do. That said, the UNODC data showed the US having a rape rate that was pretty comparable to other developed countries, like Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, and Belgium. ",
"Sweden, Australia, and Belgium all have higher rates, and New Zealand and Iceland have comparable rates. So I am not sure your assumption is accurate. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
6kqgko
|
how does a motorcycle "wobble" happen, and is it as hard to correct as it seems?
|
Non-motorcycle rider here - I saw this video today - _URL_0_ - It seems like he couldn't do anything to correct it - Is it not correctable? What causes it? (Obviously the part where he wasn't holding the handlebars was partially responsible, I'd assume.) Thanks for the insight!
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6kqgko/eli5_how_does_a_motorcycle_wobble_happen_and_is/
|
{
"a_id": [
"djo09pm",
"djo1ckr"
],
"score": [
3,
3
],
"text": [
"A balanced tire should resist wobble through a process like a gyroscope. However, knocking it off balance at speed is a serious problem (don't take your hands off the handlebars!). Human reaction times are not fast enough to shift directions and damp the oscillation.",
"A properly set up bike, in good nick, will damp out a wobble. A bike with odd weight distribution, poorly maintained tires/bearings/bushings, will wobble. Especially in a long, fast curve.\n\nIn the case of what you're probably referencing, DumDum had at least one hand off the bars, and then most likely tried to correct the oscillation. Human reflexes aren't fast enough to correct a wobble. By the time you push on the bars to keep the wobble from happening, you add to the wobble. The fix, is to push the bars at what you think is the wrong time, thus actually pushing at the correct time, to kill the wobble, OR... on a well set-up bike, actually taking your hands off the bars, and letting the bike damp the wobble on it's own. \n\nScary Experiment: \nOn a long, straight piece of road, take your hands off the bars. The bike should track straight. \nIf the bike is tracking straight, (don't do this if it isn't) whack the inside of one bar hard. This will induce a wobble. \nWith your hands *still* off the bars, the bike will quit wobbling, and go back to straight line travel.\nA*maz*ing. "
]
}
|
[] |
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNwQK_HIHRU"
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
2sewi1
|
what about the us economy favors big businesses over small ones?
|
In America, it seems there are very, very few successful businesses that aren't part of huge chains or franchises. It seems to be true in every business, from farming to retail.
In other countries I've travelled to, smaller businesses are much more common. In East Asia, there are tons of street vendors and hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and their prices are actually *cheaper* than the big guys, which is the opposite of how it is in America.
I'm sure there are a variety of reasons, so I was just wondering if anyone can explain a few.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2sewi1/eli5what_about_the_us_economy_favors_big/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cnosww4",
"cnot6nl"
],
"score": [
8,
3
],
"text": [
"One thing to consider is that infrastructure in the US is really high quality, so it is easier to operate larger, disconnected segments of a business, especially in reference to transporting goods.\n\nAlso, larger businesses generally move higher volume, thus can operate with lower profit margins, which is generally a benefit to consumers, because of lower pricing.\n\nLastly, taxation and regulation is often setup in certain ways that are not a large problem for big businesses, but create a higher barrier to market entry for smaller ones. That is the hilarious failure found in most areas of regulations -- it often starts as an idea to help the little guy, but only ever helps the big guys.",
"Depends where you are in the US. I take it you live in a decent size city? Cities are expensive to do business in because it costs so much to have an actual store and property.\n\nBut in rural areas there are TONS of small businesses. Most restaurants are locally run and not part of some franchise. There are lots of general stores too (mom and pop stores they're called). \n\nIt's actually really odd to go from a rural area into a decent sized city because you can really see the shift in what types of stores/diners are available\n\nThere are very many successful small business, but they usually just operate in one or maybe two towns"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
e7vvrb
|
how do they make dams watertight if the cement is underwater and wet?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e7vvrb/eli5_how_do_they_make_dams_watertight_if_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"fa6cvzm",
"fa6erk8",
"fa6fnz8",
"fa6go5k",
"fa7aapx"
],
"score": [
3,
14,
4,
13,
6
],
"text": [
"You make the place where the dam is going to go unwet by building a temporary damn with wood or lots of dirt around it and pumping out the water (or diverting the water from where the dam will go). Then, after the dam has set, you take away the temporary dam.",
"Dams are typically built with roller compacted concrete. While it is porous at a technical level and not \"water tight\", it's not going to result in water seeping through it any more (significantly less in reality) than natural environment materials that do things like hold water into lakes. It's easy to hear things like \"concrete isn't water tight\" that come out of things like residential construction where you're worried about warping of your fine hardwood floors. That concern for a 6\" concrete pad just doesn't play out for the needs of damns, the type of concrete used and their size.",
"Concrete is water tight once it has cured. There are also special types of concrete which can be poured and cured underwater. \n\nGenerally instead of using the expensive underwater concrete, they divert the river and build the dam dry, then redirect the river into the new watertight dam.",
"The setting of cement is a chemical reaction, it's not just drying out. In fact, if you are laying bricks or cement on a hot day, you put covering over the wet cement so it sets properly. If it dries it doesn't form a hard layer, but will break up easily. The most common type of cement powder, Portland Cement, made from limestone, clay and gypsum will set underwater.",
"If you want to make sure your concrete cures properly you need to leave it underwater. If concrete dries it will cease to harden until it gets wet again. There is a chemical reaction with the water which makes it harden, no water no harden (other than absorbing water vapour from the atmosphere.\nEdit- adding flue dust or fly ash which have very small particles which fill in the spaces around the aggregate makes it more waterproof."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
41xde8
|
why is leather so commonly used for things like wallets, bags, etc.? i'm sure it has to do with the physical structure of leather, but why has it become such a standard material?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41xde8/eli5_why_is_leather_so_commonly_used_for_things/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cz5xcyx",
"cz5xmrx",
"cz5y0go"
],
"score": [
18,
5,
10
],
"text": [
"Before the creation of synthetic materials, what other durable material did people have? Belts, clothing and bags, boots all made with animal hides are used by people all over the world. Textiles need a lot of labor, to grow the crop, or forage for the crop, then someone to weave it on a loom.\n\nNow it's fashionable, and people in some cases functional preference.",
"It's very durable and ages well, it looks better over time and develops a patina from the oils of our hands.",
"It's cheap and plentiful, fairly easy to work with once it's been tanned, very strong, and it's water proof. It also is biodegradable, so it's safe for the environment, hippy."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
1fka8b
|
why in some islamic cultures do victims of rape get sentenced to death?
|
Is there anyone that can explain this to me from the point of view of the group handing out the death sentence? What is the justification of sentencing a raped woman to be executed?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1fka8b/eli5_why_in_some_islamic_cultures_do_victims_of/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cab2yc3"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Under fundamentalist Sharia law, a conviction of rape requires either a confession or testimony of four male Muslim witnesses. This is obviously a fairly difficult standard to meet, so rape convictions are even less common than in the West. Without the conviction, the woman is assumed to have consented to adultery, and is accordingly put to death."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
1yk3hq
|
where are all the dead squirrels? and birds?
|
I mean, you see one every now and then, but that hardly adds up. You'd think the ground would be covered in little animal skeletons by now. Do they all go somewhere hidden to die?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1yk3hq/eli5_where_are_all_the_dead_squirrels_and_birds/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cfl7l4q",
"cfl92yi"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Remember that these are animals in the wild. If you're the type of animal like a small squirrel that other animals depend on as food... you're not going to die of old age. You're going to get eaten. Those that DO get old enough that they start to slow down are then the prime targets for predators.\n\nBut let's say you've got some wise old squirrels that live out the entirety of their squirrel lives without falling prey to a hunter. The ones that aren't killed and immediately eaten will fall out of a tree, dead, at some point are then served up as snacks for scavengers.\n\ntldr: Stuff eats 'em.",
"racoons, rats, foxes, coyotes, hawks, etc etc."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
eihg0k
|
why are so many over the counter medications kept behind the counter?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eihg0k/eli5_why_are_so_many_over_the_counter_medications/
|
{
"a_id": [
"fcq50fn",
"fcq5rw3",
"fcq9lw9"
],
"score": [
2,
9,
8
],
"text": [
"Because they can either be expensive (and therefore you get more theft/\"sampling\") or have to be slightly controlled because of elements in them (one if I recall correctly has an agent that can be used in recreational drug making).",
"Anything containing pseudoephedrine (Sudafed, [Allergy]-D, etc] has to be kept behind the counter because of purchase restrictions put into place to deter it's usage in synthesizing methamphetamine.\n\nLoperamide (Immodium) is kept behind the counter by some pharmacies due to its potential to be used in large doses as treatment for opiod withdrawals.",
"How are they supposed to go over the counter if they aren't on the other side first?"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5e97ii
|
will the internet ever run out of space?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5e97ii/eli5_will_the_internet_ever_run_out_of_space/
|
{
"a_id": [
"daao5m2",
"daapp40",
"daapqoq"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
5
],
"text": [
"Internet \"space\" is based on servers. As long as we can build more servers & server rooms (pretty much tons of computers with data storage), the number of servers will keep increasing thus increasing the total capacity. So pretty much, no, there is no real limit on the size of the internet.",
"The internet cannot run out of space because it is not a single entity, it is like a community of people sharing space. It can however, run out of IP (v4) addresses which allow those community members to share storage and files. This is why a \"new\" version of IP addressing was designed called IPv6.",
"In theory, I guess we could run out of raw material to make hard drives or physical space to host servers. However that probably won't happen ever due to our exponential growth in storage space requiring less parts and space to store data. \n\nThe internet is simple a series of servers storing data. Amazon, Google even your personal webpage are all hosted on servers somewhere. We can always add more servers. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
6ub388
|
how do all kinds of dogs look so different but are still essentially...dogs ?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ub388/eli5how_do_all_kinds_of_dogs_look_so_different/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dlrb9u7"
],
"score": [
11
],
"text": [
"Selective breeding over literally thousands of years, to select for different abilities; hearing, smell, ability to run, ability to dig, strength, power, you name it. \n\nHumans naturally diverge based on their geographical location. Obviously nowadays with travel and the world being a much smaller place than it was, and general technology, these things have become less relevant, but this is the reason that more northern (or below the equator, sourthen) people tend to be lighter skinned, and people from hotter more equatorial regions tend to be darker. \n\nDark skin is an advantage in bright powerful sunlight because it protects against sun damage, a natural sunblock. Why isn't everyone dark skinned then? Because if you're in areas where sunlight is weaker (more temperate to cooler regions), dark skin prevents you absorbing enough vitamin D. Which is why people historically from those sort of areas are paler skinned, and the colour tends to vary with the general temperature of the area they're from. \n\nThose natural varations have just been exploited with dogs, over a long *long* time selectively breeding for certain traits to accentuate them, and diminish others. \n\nIt would in theory be possible to do with humans too, breed for height and...well whatever you want, given enough time, but that is obviously an *extremely* morally dubious area of thought. Known, if you're curious, as [\"Eugenics\"](_URL_0_).\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics"
]
] |
||
4fuh0f
|
what is the fundamental difference between socialism seen in the nordic states that has lead to their apparent success whereas it has failed or experienced power seizures and corruption elsewhere?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4fuh0f/eli5_what_is_the_fundamental_difference_between/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d2c1ylv",
"d2c20qi",
"d2c2b1j",
"d2cb9tv"
],
"score": [
2,
7,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"The fact that the word socialism has lost all meaning/is a broad term and applied Willy nilly to every state.\n\nNorway's economy and politics resembles the Soviet Union in no way",
"Fossil fuel wealth from the North Sea, which was discovered at exactly the right time and utilised with some foresight, unlike in the UK which used the wealth from the same to fund tax cuts for short-term populist gain. The Scandinavian nations are also old, well established states with stable governments and strong legal traditions, unlike many countries in the world which were founded during decolonisation in the 20th century and became a bit of a free-for-all in terms of corruption and exploitation.\n\nThe Scandinavian countries aren't really socialist states, of course, but rather social democratic states at the far left of what we would nowadays call the socioeconomic mainstream.",
"The socialism in Northern Europe is a means to lend assistance to those at the bottom, while Soviet style socialism tried to centrally plan the entire economy. In Sweden, etc. you can buy whatever kind of house you want and can afford, but if you're poor and cannot afford housing then there is state-provided assistance. In Soviet Union, the state controlled ALL housing and assigned it to people based on the state's policy for housing assigmment. In Norway, you can buy whatever car you want but you'll get a huge subsidy for buying an environmentally-friendly Tesla (enough so that they were the best selling car). Soviet Union you have to get approved to join a 20-year wait list to get the model of car the state chooses to eventually provide to you -- the same one everybody gets.",
"Scandinavian countries have relatively small, homogenized populations, and as already noted, Norway has significant active oil income to the state (like Saudi Arabia, which also has extravagant government funded handouts to its citizens that are not sustainable elsewhere). There was a short documentary a while back about the tension between Norwegians and their relatively poor counterparts in Sweden, many of whom have to support themselves by crossing over to Norway to do menial labor or work as household staff, and resent the oil-rich Norwegians as a result. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
30ucby
|
what does "100% juice with other ingredients" mean?
|
If it has other ingredients, how can it be 100% juice? If this is OK, couldn't Coca-Cola call their soft drinks "100% water with other ingredients"? Or Frito-Lay call Fritos "100% corn with other ingredients"?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/30ucby/eli5_what_does_100_juice_with_other_ingredients/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cpvva11",
"cpvvioi"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"That they use 100% juice IN it. So a bottle that is specifically labelled 'Cranberry juice' could be Cranberry juice (which is 100% juice), apple juice,(which is also 100 juice%) water (if the juice is 'from concentrate'), preservatives and even additional sweeteners. \n\nJuice is one of the MOST misleading label products of all time. OF ALL TIME. Read the labels-- and always read the labels-- of juice products.\n\nFor example, this popular 'juice' brand has less than 10% content that is actually from oranges and pineapples. The rest of the 'juice' in it is water/corn syrup.\n\n Ingredients:\n \n Contains Pure Filtered Water, Sweeteners (High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar), Orange and Pineapple Juices from Concentrate, Less than 0.5% of: Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Citric Acid (Provides Tartness), Natural and Artificial Flavors.\n ",
"In both your examples, yes, they could. But as they're \"junk food\", people will tend to see it as bullshit.\n\nJuice however, is seen, by and large, as \"healthy\". So people snap that shit up.... and stuff their bodies with as much sugar (or more) as a can of mountain dew."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
3l3wqb
|
why is the d.a.r.e program so ineffective?
|
Being that I went to a private school, I never experienced the program as a child but here on the internet I see everyone condemning it as one of the leading causes getting people into illegal drugs. Why is that?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3l3wqb/eli5_why_is_the_dare_program_so_ineffective/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cv2yl1e",
"cv2yw7i",
"cv3203c",
"cv35ccz"
],
"score": [
39,
19,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"Having experienced it as a child, I would say the number one reason it is ineffective is it paints all drugs as equally bad and immediate life destroyers. So when one of your friends smokes pot and is totally fine the next day/week/month you do not take what you were told seriously.",
"One of the main problems with programs like D.A.R.E is that they basically tell kids two main things \n\n1. Drugs are bad, and people who take drugs are bad too.\n\n2. Drugs are all equally dangerous. They have no positives qualities and they will kill you. \n\nThe problem is that non of these things are strictly true. What happens is kids reach their late teens/college and they start to find this out for themselves. \n\nYour best friend Mike starts to smoke weed with his older brother. He keeps telling you that it's great. You know that Mike isn't a bad person, and he hasn't died yet...so obviously the things DARE told you about drugs were bullshit.\n\nDARE makes drugs into more of a taboo. It's a proven fact that the less of a taboo drugs have, the less people will take them. Especially teenagers. When you tell someone they can't do something, and then they find out you were lying...they are bound to be more curious. ",
"It's main flaw was it lied about how bad soft drugs were, especially marijuana. Teens tried marijuana, or knew someone who did, and when their lives didn't immediately fall apart, they figured the authorities were lying about everything else, including the very dangerous drugs.\n\nIt was also painfully dorky and unhip, in the way only gov't propaganda can be. Our local police department made up trading cards featuring police officers and handed them out, honestly thinking we'd be into collecting them.",
"They assign a cop to a school, at least for me, who basically chills there for 4 out of 5 days a week doing various \"activities\" and speeches about drugs.\n\nThe activities, for me, included coloring in a picture and answering questions such as \"Was Jamie peer pressured when offered a cigarette?\" after a comic of three kids hanging out and one having a smoke.\n\nIt may have been different for others, but we were actually graded on that. I didn't mind it so much in elementary, or even Middle School, but in High School it got super ridiculous. The only thing I hated more than \"it's cool to be clean\" was Rachel's Challenge. \n\nMaybe I'm just selfish and wanted to learn more about the World Wars, but I knew what was okay, bad, potentially harmful, etc to put into my body. I didn't like having all that crap shoved down my throat when I already had no interest in drugs, smoking, etc. \n\nThat being said, I don't think it really contributes to people smoking or doing any drugs. Certainly not hard drugs. Most of the time it's a bad habit people pick up to waste time with friends and they end up latching onto it. Was really sad to have a buddy who smoked just to kill time. Nigga went through like a pack a day in highschool lol."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
4976dk
|
why very cold (liquid) beer, turns to slush as soon as it's opened.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4976dk/eli5_why_very_cold_liquid_beer_turns_to_slush_as/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d0pjmpr"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"If it's carbonated, then releasing the pressure causes the gas to expand - which drops the temperature suddenly, which freezes the liquid.\n\nIt's also possible that the liquid may have been supercooled - that is, it's below its freezing point but unable to freeze because it can't find anywhere to get started. The sudden release of pressure, and the bubbles that form, may be just the starting points (nucleation sites) needed to allow it to freeze."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
2zohlt
|
why is isis not being defeated?
|
All the western countries have been taking part.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zohlt/eli5why_is_isis_not_being_defeated/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cpktovx"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"ISIS is about as easy to get defeat as it would be to clear your house of termites with a letter opener.\n\nThey hide, often surrounding themselves with innocent people to prevent anyone from attacking them with airstrikes. It would be incredibly expensive and dangerous to send in ground forces to capture/kill a member of ISIS every time we find one, and we simply don't have the money.\n\nOn top of that, they multiply like cockroaches. They have incredibly effective recruiting, so more and more naive people join them every day."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
4xbnjv
|
why uploading a file at full upstream speed of most dsl/cable connections make the downstream really slow?
|
This is something I really don't understand despite being a long time IT guy.
On most Internet connections, upstream speed is much lower than the down stream, yet in many cases heavy upstream traffic can make the entire connection go down to a crawl, even though the downstream side has a much higher max speed.
Why does this happen?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4xbnjv/eli5_why_uploading_a_file_at_full_upstream_speed/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d6e6rmw",
"d6ec9y3"
],
"score": [
4,
2
],
"text": [
"Even a connection being used to download something needs a small amount of upstream bandwidth. That is because TCP has something called ACKs (acknowledgements) where your computer will send a packet that just says something like \"yeah I got everything up through byte 123456 ok\" -- and if the server stops getting those, or gets them too late, it'll stop sending more data, or will slow down. If you're maxing out your upstream connection, those acknowledgement packets will have trouble getting through on time.",
"When you're downloading a file, you're most likely doing so over the TCP protocol.\n\nWhen you receive part of the file your computer sends a \"ACK\" response, acknowledging that part. This allows the server to calculate what % of packets are getting through. \n\nWhen any point on the connection becomes congested (eg because the server is sending too many packets), that point will start dropping packets. Because the server knows that those packets aren't arriving, it can act by slowing down the rate at which it sends packets.\n\nThis is how files are sent from A to B.\n\nHowever, if you're using 100% of your upload, then some of the ACK packets will get dropped. This makes the server think that the download packets aren't getting to you, so it will slow down the connection. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
6tnr5r
|
why is naturally occurring hydrogen or h2 is called hydrogen but not dihydrogen or sonething? same question for oxygen and other such elements.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6tnr5r/eli5_why_is_naturally_occurring_hydrogen_or_h2_is/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dlm1wec",
"dlm1x2j",
"dlm2aki",
"dlmu4ka"
],
"score": [
2,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Because they are what's called diatomic molecules. They must exist in pairs to be stable enough.",
"It's just convention, resulting from the fact that atomic hydrogen (or oxygen, or nitrogen) don't really exist in standard atmospheric conditions.\n\nSo, when people are talking about nitrogen or hydrogen or oxygen, they're specifically speaking of N2, H2, or O2 (respectively). When we want to talk about their monatomic forms, we specifically say monatomic (or just atomic) nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, etc.",
"Because H1 is an isotope (very rare), same with the others. Calling H2 hydrogen2, would be like calling all cars \"not bright purple,\" because you saw Joker's car once. ",
"You can call it dihydrogen if you want. Chemists will know what you mean, although it is kind of rare. Your's truly will call it that when needing to emphasis that it is molecular H2 being discussed, not hydrogen as a substituent to something else, or a plasma. Both \"dioxygen\" and \"dinitrogen\" are more common than \"dihydrogen\", because the likelihood of confusion for them is higher."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
b9s8qf
|
how do minimizer bras work?
|
How do they make button-down shirts close better? It’s not like they can reduce the overall mass of your breasts. So...how??
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b9s8qf/eli5_how_do_minimizer_bras_work/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ek6ie62",
"ek6im54"
],
"score": [
8,
4
],
"text": [
"They don't reduce breast mass but they do redistribute it, holding them close to the chest and spreading them out relative to how they sit in other bras or when braless.",
"They essentially flatten the breast as opposed to making them perky."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
b41fqg
|
what’s a transverse wave
|
Like why is a electromagnetic wave transverse
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b41fqg/eli5_whats_a_transverse_wave/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ej3mjjv"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"As you know, there are two different types of wave: transverse and longitudinal.\n\nIn a longitudinal wave, the axis of the wave's vibration is aligned with the axis of its propagation. Let's consider a sound wave: the air compresses and expands in the same direction as the sound is traveling.\n\nIn a transverse wave, by contrast, the axis of its vibration is set at right angles to its axis of propagation. The classical example here is a water wave; it rises and falls, but the wave goes forward and back.\n\nThe reason electromagnetic waves are transverse is because an electromagnetic wave is comprised of electric and magnetic wave components, set at right angles to each other."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
73bza9
|
why isn't wasting tax payer's money considered to be embezzlement?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/73bza9/eli5_why_isnt_wasting_tax_payers_money_considered/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dnp64nk",
"dnp9065"
],
"score": [
10,
3
],
"text": [
"Embezzlement means that you're taking money for your personal gain. Most tax dollar waste cases are just spending money on things that they were supposed to spend money on anyway, but too much of it in a stupid way. Like chartering a flight instead of taking a commercial flight. He got where he was supposed to, just in a stupid and expensive way.\n\nWe really, really don't want to criminalize the decisions politicians make unless they're completely and inarguably CRIMINAL. Otherwise our politicians would spend 100% of their time trying to put the other party in jail for their bad decisions. It's much better to make bad decisions punishable by firing and loss of elections.",
"How are you defining \"wasting of taxpayers money\"? Because that matters. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
2fmm7x
|
cats always choose sitting on plastic bags over the comfiest of cushions or seats. why do they love plastic so much ?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fmm7x/eli5_cats_always_choose_sitting_on_plastic_bags/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ckaoz8x"
],
"score": [
7
],
"text": [
"Probably feels smooth against their fur, and it rustles, which they like for some reason. But to a cat a plastic bag has nothing on a paper that you are trying to read."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
656pux
|
why do we spend so much more money exploring space than our oceans?
|
So according to a quick google search, 70% of our world is ocean, 5% or less has been explored. There has to be a way to build and live there, create sustainable energy from it, and turn it into drinking water. I am just confused why we are constantly looking to space for future answers, when we still have 70% of the world left for possible expansion.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/656pux/eli5why_do_we_spend_so_much_more_money_exploring/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dg7ujro",
"dg7ujx6",
"dg7upxd",
"dg7vmtz",
"dg7wo6d",
"dg8m8m9",
"dg8oq0z"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
47,
53,
25,
2,
44
],
"text": [
"Well, it is much more expensive to explore space, that's for sure.\n\nBut it's also important to note that almost all of the money spent to explore space is government funded, and almost all of the money spent to explore the oceans is corporate funded. Energy companies, in particular, spend a lot of money on ocean exploration.",
"Space is sexy and unable to be experienced by the common man.\n\nThe Ocean is commonplace and anyone can get their feet wet.\n\n",
"The exploration of space is for multiple reasons : \n\n - Having a backup plan if the planet Earth is not habitable anymore.\n - Using the planet to put all the factories and other things that pollute to have a clean earth and have atmospheric layer on this planet.\n - Having a way of pression in case of war (a missile laucher in space would be pretty scary).\n\nAnd probably more...\n\nThe oceans on the other hand are smaller in size than a planet and have a lot of pressure (that's in part why we didn't explore them, we don't have the equipment to handle that much pressure yet). Also, there is no natural light in the deep water.",
" > There has to be a way to build and live there, create sustainable energy from it, and turn it into drinking water.\n\nWe can do all of these things. Underwater structures exist. Hydro-power exists, and desalination exists. There's not a particularly large base of people clamoring to live under the sea however, so the market doesn't really exist.\n\nAlso I'm not sure what you mean by \"more money on exploring space.\" space exploration is limited to relatively few entities, mostly governments.\n\nAll kinds of entities, public and private, are exploring the oceans. For instance, energy companies attempting to exploit underwater mineral content. \n\n > I am just confused why we are constantly looking to space for future answers, when we still have 70% of the world left for possible expansion.\n\nWe aren't really exploring space for \"Expansion.\" There's still a fair amount of room simply on the surface of the Earth that *isn't* water. There are no realistic plans in the foreseeable future for a significant portion of the Earth's population moving to another planet or Moon, and any sort of movement that actually put a dent in Earth's population is just about logistically inconceivable, no matter how good our technology. \n\nWe explore space for *information.*",
"You need to understand the objectives of space exploration vs deep ocean.\n\nAstrophysics provides insights on how the forces of the universe work leading to new materials, manufacturing methods, etc. Things we use today vs a misguided notion of extra-terrestial colonies (I'm all for trying to put humans on Mars but that's just a small extension for space exploration).\n\nExperiments in zero gravity have yield a vast amount of new tech and medicine that have improved lives. Satellite have expanded globalization, understanding of climate and environment. \n\nDeep ocean exploration is designed to understand how life evolves in different environments, and that (so far) can't be done in space. There's significant breakthroughs in understanding of life forms and evolution with deep sea exploration.\n\nBut while worth to be explored, deep sea imposes serious physical barriers. The pressure alone is a major deterrent. It's easy to pressurize a space station but the human body can't live for long periods under sea pressure as the higher density of air will cause pulmonary toxicity. Even life under 40ft would cause devastating long term damage to the body.\n\nUnderwater habitats would not be practical considering waves, currents and storms. The danger of physical harm outweighs any desire to pursue further, specially since there are terrestrial alternatives still being explored.",
"We can see most of the cool stuff in space from Earth. Gives us targets that we actually want to investigate further. It's a lot harder to see what's in the ocean, which means that we have to spend a lot of money actually going into the ocean, which is a terrible environment for conventional machinery. \n\nHaving been in both fields, even though a telescope may cost more to construct and maintain than an AUV or a research submarine, a telescope has the capacity to see the interesting bits on a much larger scale than the underwater vehicles, which generally find cool stuff underwater by bumping into it. \n\n",
"From a sailor's perspective, we're envious of how easy space is. \n\nSince the vacuum of space is transparent, Houston can see exactly where their ships are going. For exploration that's a big fucking deal. Unlike Columbus they don't leave Europe thinking they're going to hit India. With undersea exploration it's the same problem. The points of interest in the sea aren't bright shining stars or planets that you can see from across the solar system. Biologically, eyes work in space but they don't work underwater. The technological challenges to observe and monitor phenomena are harder when you're blind. Yes, the seafloor is just a few miles away, and not in the Andromeda galaxy, but for all intents and purposes it might as well be on the moon. It's more difficult to observe and monitor with Hubble-like clarity.\n\nBecause of eyes and the emptiness of space, all Galileo needed was a $50 telescope and an abacus or whatever. As a space explorer, he not just mapped the solar system but he modeled the orbits. He mapped both distance and _time_, space-time. Exploration-wise, that's like the whole ballgame. Since things move and change, it's important to be able to plot where stuff will be and what the conditions will be in the future. It's difficult to engineer solutions without reliably predicting that stuff. \n\nSince most of space is, well space, devoid of matter, the is no friction and water mass moving things around, just gravity. The math and physics of gravity are so simple Galileo could do it and Apollo could do it with slide-rules. But the ocean, like the weather, is governed by fluid dynamics as well as gravity. This is a much more computationally intensive type of physics to math out. It's hard to the measure and describe dimensions of a blob of liquid. Validating a model of how a blob of water moves in relation to temperature and gravity is more difficult than watching a few individual planets interact gravitation-ally. So if you want to know where an undersea current is going to move a sandbar or a fishery in the water column, you can't simply plot its orbit with relatively simple arithmetic. So mapping and modelling is a big problem. With today's super computers we've just barely begun to create reliable 'Galileo-level' weather models. Hydrodynamic models are a unconquered frontier of science and computational power. \n\nCommunication is another line of sight problem. Apollo can phone anyone on Earth from the moon with radio signals because he can see the whole thing. Radio doesn't work underwater terribly well. On the surface you need to bounce off satellites to get around the curvature of the Earth. It sounds like a dumb, solvable problem but the physics of a large mass of water between you and where you want to go is a stubborn, unrelenting obstacle. Yeah, the vacuum of space sucks, but it's kind of a stable, unchanging environment compared the the dynamic, interacting, multi-factorial oceangraphic, geological, biological, meteorological ocean processes.\n\nWhile escaping Earth's gravity is difficult, once you're in space, the frictonless travel means you can cover great distances in orbit without an ongoing expenditure of energy. Unmanned probes need more care and feeding at the bottom of the ocean. Things at great depth on the seafloor fail because the forces exerted by the water are greater than those in a vacuum. Think of the failure of the Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventor. Difficult to say whether the oil companies have a bigger budget than NASA when it comes to undersea exploration for oil...\n\nSo I would argue that we don't necessarily spend more money on space exploration or have more success colonizing space. It's just that the money we do spend generates a lot more exploration than a similar expenditure can achieve at exploring and monitoring the undersea environment. Like exploration is more than just getting there. You have to be able to write home and describe how the New World works. Want me to send my ship to an ice moon? Better know how geysers and shit works. You have to be able to understand its forces to engineer operational solutions. You need to be able to leverage its advantages for your gain. \n\nWe've explored ways to do that at the surface. But blindness underwater is a stubborn problem. Yes the abyss feels close, but it is much less logistically inhabitable than the International Space Station."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
2lhhvj
|
was mao zedong the biggest mass murderer in history?
|
I've often read that although Stalin and Hitler killed a lot of people, the biggest mass murderer in history is actually Mao. Apparently he murdered 60 million people or so. For example [here](_URL_0_).
But it seems that at least 45 million actually starved because of not-so-well-thought-out policies during the Great Leap Forward, where there were some failed agricultural reforms. Although this implies that Mao wasn't the greatest farmer in history, does this actually count as murder?
But if 45 million died from starvation, 15 million died because Mao intentionally ordered those deaths, so that doesn't excuse him from being one of the worst mass murderers in history. But is it disingenuous to call him the worst?
* **edit 1:** *What I'm attempting to ask is this: From my very limited understanding of this period of time, it seems like 3/4 of the murders attributed to Mao were the result of famine. The famine was not intended by Mao, but were the unexpected consequences of his bad policies. If he had been a bit smarter, he could have consulted with somebody who knew something about farming and could have avoided these poor policies. Since the deaths were unintentional, how does that equate to murder?*
* **edit 2:** *I'm definitely not saying that Mao was a good person. I'm much more familiar with the Cultural Revolution than the Great Leap Forward, and he was the clear egotistical murderous villain in the Cultural Revolution. And if he killed 15 million people intentionally, this still ranks him up there with the worst in human history. But I think saying that he is a bigger mass murderer than Hitler downplays just how evil the holocaust actually was.*
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2lhhvj/eli5was_mao_zedong_the_biggest_mass_murderer_in/
|
{
"a_id": [
"clusfxq",
"clusz8q"
],
"score": [
2,
7
],
"text": [
"In the words of Eddie Izzard, Hitler gets the attention because \"Hitler killed his neighbors\"; because of the the fact that Mao killed mostly their own people he goes under the radar of most people.",
"Lots of people died as a result of Mao's actions, but those actions were not really malicious attempts to mass murder people as much as they were simply failed policy.\n\nMao was trying to rapidly modernize and socialize the country. Some of his policies, combined with drought & weather conditions, resulted in agricultural failire and widespread famines. It certainly wasn't his objective.\n\nIt was a perfect storm not unlike (but more extreme than) the Dust Bowl in the US. Is Harding a murder? \n\nI don't think it's fair to call him the biggest mass murder. That title belongs to Hitler or Stailin."
]
}
|
[] |
[
"http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2091670/Hitler-Stalin-The-murderous-regimes-world.html"
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
751ems
|
why do we have this strong urge to have sex? and why is it frowned upon in so many cultures if its natural?
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/751ems/eli5_why_do_we_have_this_strong_urge_to_have_sex/
|
{
"a_id": [
"do2v2z8"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"I think the frowning comes from at least two different reasons.\n First casual sex(M/F) has for most of humanity time on earth involved risks mainly for the woman involved; getting pregnant. \n Second religious ideas about sex being sinful is dominant in so many religions the most used saying being \"its not for enjoyment, but only to make little ones\" \nI bet the strong urge to have sex is instinct to make little ones "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
1y5y0v
|
why can some electronics be used while charging, but others can't?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1y5y0v/eli5_why_can_some_electronics_be_used_while/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cfhme5n",
"cfhq0km"
],
"score": [
2,
6
],
"text": [
"Can you give an example of a device that can't be used while charging?",
"The charger may not provide enough charge to actually power the device. Take, for example, and electric razor or remote control vehicle, where you charge it for a long time to get a little bit of use out of it. to be able to power the device at the same time, it would need a separate circuit to provide power to the device and a heftier power supply. In something like an electric razor that doesn't allow you to use it while charging, it's going to be cheaper for them not to include this additional circuitry."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
1intnq
|
what the different web programming languages for and what can they do?
|
I am having a hard time choosing one since I know so little about most of them. Web technology has progressed so much in the last decade or so, now trying to wrap my head around this has become quite a challenge.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1intnq/eli5_what_the_different_web_programming_languages/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cb6avdw"
],
"score": [
8
],
"text": [
"You have probably heard the terms HTML, PHP, Javascript, AJAX, SQL, CSS, etc.\n\n\nHTML \n--- \nHTML stands for Hyper-Text Markup Language. This is what your internet browser uses to render pages. The text box you used to make this post, the subreddit info on the right, all of this is created using HTML.\n\n\nPHP \n--- \nPHP originally stood for \"Personal Home Page\" but it now stands for \"PHP: Hypertext Processor\" (which as you can tell, is intentionally recursive and silly). PHP is used to run server-side application code. When you pressed \"Submit\" to make this topic, your browser submitted an HTTP_POST request to the reddit server filled with the text you filled out and information about your account. PHP then handled this information and decided what to do with it (store it to a database somewhere). Servers are generally responsible for making sure the data you are submitting is safe and for generating HTML to give to your web browser to render.\n\n\nJavaScript \n--- \nJavaScript is client-side application code. This means it is executed by your browser (the same thing that understands how to render HTML). JavaScript is normally used to add effects to pages such as search-as-you-type effects, animations, and determining how to dynamically (in real time) change the display of information on a page. JavaScript can even allow you to create an entire website that operates off a single URL. These are called \"Single Page Applications\" and involve the JavaScript deciding what HTML your browser should render.\n\nAJAX \n--- \nAJAX stands for Asynchronous-JavaScript-And-XML. AJAX is used to get information from a server without causing your browser to refresh or load a new page. AJAX requests will ask a server page (which could have been written in PHP) for data. The server page will process the request and return the information to the AJAX in a data storage format such as XML or JSON. You can set up your JavaScript to listen for a response from the AJAX request and dynamically react to the information from the server without making a new web request.\n\nSQL \n--- \nSQL (pronounced like \"SEQUEL\") stands for Structured-Query-Language. SQL is used to store and read information from a database. SQL is executed locally on the database. Your server page (which could have been written in PHP), will present a SQL query to the database. The database is responsible for understanding this query and returning the relevant information to the server page. You have probably never seen anything SQL is directly responsible for, but every post on reddit is stored in a database somewhere, and every time you enter a topic a server page made a SQL query on a database so that it could present the proper HTML to your browser. There are other, non-SQL database solutions out there, but SQL and SQL derivatives are the most prevalent database languages in use.\n\nCSS \n--- \nCSS stands for Cascading-Style-Scripts. CSS is used to make HTML look good. Generally, you want to write HTML only to format and organize your page information from an organizational viewpoint. CSS is responsible for taking HTML constructs and making them look awesome. For example, whenever you see a button with rounded corners, that is CSS at work. Background colors? CSS. Different fonts? CSS. Link highlighting that isn't blue? CSS. CSS is parsed by your browser which is responsible for applying the styles you have chosen to the page you want. This is why different browsers will display the same web page differently. It is also why you have probably heard coding horror stories of writing CSS for Internet Explorer.\n\nEtc.\n---\nI personally prefer to work in the .NET framework, MVC in particular. That is a Microsoft coding framework for developing web applications and solutions. Because of that, I use C# (and because it is my favorite language to code in for normal stuff too) instead of PHP. In fact, you will soon realize that there are tons of alternative options out there. I primarily use JQuery and Angularjs, which are JavaScript libraries, instead of standard JavaScript solutions when developing a web site. Less-CSS or Twitter Bootstrap are good alternatives to writing raw CSS (which can give me an aneurism). If you have questions, feel free to PM me."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
4fvxvj
|
why do cheap phones and laptops seem to die out?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4fvxvj/eli5_why_do_cheap_phones_and_laptops_seem_to_die/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d2cfcw3",
"d2cgujg"
],
"score": [
3,
5
],
"text": [
"Cheap products are cheap for a reason. They tend to be made up of lower quality materials which are less durable. Also, the components aren't the most cutting edge out there, so they become obsolete sooner as well.",
"Part of the reason for the lower cost is lower quality. That $200 laptop might be damn near unusable in a couple of years. That high-end Macbook may be as good as new in seven years.\n\nYou pay for quality."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
362yox
|
why haven't we had any more 'world wars'?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/362yox/eli5_why_havent_we_had_any_more_world_wars/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cra7j22",
"cra7lrt",
"cra7q91",
"craaqr8"
],
"score": [
8,
6,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"The simple answer is that the major super powers that would be involved in a world war all have nuclear capability and it would mean the end of the world as we know it. There wont be any agreement that we will go to war without using nukes.",
"At the end of the last world war, we created a terrible new kind of weapon.\n\nYou see, for most of human history, it was easy to believe that people won wars because they were virtuous or industrious - all the same reasons that we believe people succeed in business today. But with the invention of the nuclear bomb, a hollow realization dawned on us.\n\nNo one could ever win a war again. If the bombs ever fall, there will be no more human race.\n\nSince that day, the United States (and all the great powers) have done anything that it takes to avoid a direct conflict with one another. Instead, we have 'proxy' conflicts, where terrorists, rebels, or small governments receive money and weapons to go and fight a great power. It's how great powers fight now.\n\nIt may yet be that some day, the human race will fail in this, the most important restriction we have ever undertaken. But if we do, it will be the last thing we ever do.",
"You'll get lots of varying answers because it's a pretty complicated question, but I'll throw my own 2 cents in here:\n\nNumber one, with the technological advancements in warfare there it is much harder to have a long protracted war between two advanced nations. Things will be over long before they have a chance to mature into a WWII style overtaking of a continent. Nuclear weapons are just one component of that. Even with just the advancements in surveillance, it would be extremely hard to build up to a large scale engagement without tipping everyone off, which would lead to pre-emptive strikes and things ending before they really began.\n\nSecondly, there isn't much benefit in attempting to take over other countries these days. Occupying land isn't nearly as strategically useful as it used to be. It's a digital and economic world now, and economies aren't based as much on land as they are on culture, manufacturing, and exports. You can see with Russia that there is still some patriotic value in land, but not in the way it used to be. There is no chance of America invading Mexico, or Germany invading France. It's not worth anything anymore. And since no one is going to be doing that, there's not many opportunities for massive countries to slug it out against each other in a long protracted engagement.\n\nBut, obviously thats a very simplified explaination. There are entire volumes of books that would lay it out better.",
"There have been some decent answers in this thread that boil down to \"because nuclear weapons\" but that's not the whole answer. It's a key part of it but not the real crux of it.\n\nWars prior to the mid 19th century (the 1800's) were like bare knuckle boxing matches between children. The two fighters would taunt each other, do some pushing and shoving, maybe throw a stone or two, and most of the time one of them would back down and agree in principle that they're the weaker. Occasionally these fights would get nasty and someone would throw a punch. Since the fighters are just little kids the fight would generally end once someone had taken one to the face and gotten a bloody nose and lost a tooth. They just didn't have the strength to take another punch.\n\nBy 1914 everything had changed. Nations were industrialized. Populations had swelled now that there was food and housing for masses of people. Wars were no longer about landing one good punch. They became about pummeling your opponent until they were a bloody pulp. The winning nation is the one who could take the most punches. That's why we got two World Wars (the root cause in the second one was all tied up in the flawed resolution of the first one.) These industrialized nations could take punch after punch and still come out fighting. The wars ended with everyone involved completely beaten and disfigured. \n\nNow we have Nuclear weapons. Countries with Nuclear weapons aren't throwing punches anymore, they're packing guns. It's no longer about seeing how many punches you can take in a fight with another nation. Now it's about figuring out if you can survive getting shot while making sure you can get a good kill shot on your opponent. \n\nIt's a Mexican standoff and nobody wants to get shot. There's no such thing as \"taking a punch\" anymore. If something provokes two nuclear powers to serious violence against each other then *everyone* is getting shot. The only safe way out of a Mexican standoff is to put your gun down and walk away but no nation is willing to do that. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
7ju9v2
|
how does military camouflage work?
|
How does it allow for snipers to be invisible. Or how does it allow hunters to be invisible while hunting deer?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7ju9v2/eli5_how_does_military_camouflage_work/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dr9k66k",
"dr9kc4j",
"draflpd"
],
"score": [
7,
10,
2
],
"text": [
"Mostly it works to disturb the human outline. We're very good at spotting humans and human-ish shapes. Have you ever seen a person in the dark but there wasn't actually anything there? That's your brain constantly searching for the shapes, proportions, and other features that mark \"human\" to you.\n\nCamo works by messing with those shapes and adopting the coloring of the plants you're trying to blend with. Like [this](_URL_3_) or [this](_URL_2_).\n\nIf you wear the appropriate suit that messes with the patterns that mean \"human\" to your brain, the brain won't register the shape as human. If you do it right, you can get things like [this](_URL_1_) and [this](_URL_0_)",
"Camouflage patterns don't actually make you invisible, it just makes it harder for someone to spot you. My 7th grade bio teacher had a great demonstration to explain camouflage in nature, you can try it yourself if you have different colored construction paper.\nEveryone gathered around their black table/desk top. Scattered around the surface were tiny squares of paper cut up, all a variety of colors. Red, blue, black, white, yellow, purple, etc. All the students were told to pick up as many of the squares as they could in 30 seconds, but you could only pick up one square at a time and then put it into a cup. By the end of the thirty seconds, there were almost as many black squares as there were when we started, a lot of dark purple squares, and almost no white or yellow squares, because the darker colors matched the black table top. That's how camouflage works (and how natural selection gives lots of animals natural camouflage).\n\nThe reason for this is that eyes are very good at spotting changes, things that are different from the world around it, but are more likely to skim over things that are blending in with their background, like black paper on a black table or camouflaged snipers in the bushes. Military camouflage has similar colors to the leaves/dirt of the territory the wearer is working in, and it's arranged in round-ish blotches because it more closely matches the patterns of the leaves around the wearer. Because the clothes (and sometimes face paint) blends in with the area, it's much easier for someone looking in the direction of a sniper or hunter to miss them entirely, their eyes passing over the clothes without seeing a change from the environment. \n\ntl;dr: Eyes are good at noticing change, and when camouflage matches the area around it, it blends in, so eyes are more likely to skim over it and not notice.",
"There 6 parts to effective camouflage; 5 S's and 1 M\n\n* shape - The human outline is very distinct. Camouflage can be used to blend this in with the surroundings, breaking up the outline of unnatural look items such as vehicles and the human profile.\n\n* shine - A sweaty face or polished metal will catch the light and create a \"glint\" which will betray a soldier position. Wrist watches, dog tags, buttons, belt buckles and even the glass of scopes and range finders all have to be considered.\n\n* shadow - A soldier hidden around a corner or hidden with a broken up shape will still throw a shadow with a light source behind him, potentially betray his position.\n\n* silhouette - Similar to shadow and shape, a human has a very distinct outline. Cresting a hill with light behind you will create a nice little target for anyone watching. Similarly hiding behind cover or concealment with your rifle barrel sticking around the corner is a big no-no (sometimes called \"flagging\" I believe)\n\n* sound - Sound carries, especially a night. Being invisible is of no use if you clank like a kitchen because of loose gear, if your footsteps is disturbing dry brush, you don't maintain noise discipline with hand signals and radio silence.\n\n* movement - movement draws the human eye. Remaining as still as possible makes you much harder to see.\n\n\nSmell seems to be stressed less, but if you plan on sneaking up on a person don't splash on half a gallon of cologne. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://www.strangecosmos.com/images/content/189914.gif",
"http://gph.is/XLNKnM",
"https://i.imgur.com/9IcjMnP.jpg",
"https://i.imgur.com/K8DVhO4.jpg?1"
],
[],
[]
] |
|
bkesqm
|
how does warm water surface a splinter ?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bkesqm/eli5_how_does_warm_water_surface_a_splinter/
|
{
"a_id": [
"emg56po",
"emgnevk"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"The body has existing repair mechanisms that will surface a splinter. The warm water makes the skin softer, so they work better and faster.",
"The skin reacts to immersion by swelling (ie prune fingers) and this helps squeeze out the splinter.\n\nAn interesting fact is that pruning is not just a physical response of the skin, it is controlled by the nervous system. If the nerve to a finger has been cut (presumably accidentally), the pruning response does not happen."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
591jru
|
what enhancements continue allowing picture and video quality to improve over the decades?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/591jru/eli5_what_enhancements_continue_allowing_picture/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d94x1h6"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"- Better digital sensors.\n- Better printers\n- Better digital displays\n- Higher bandwidths\n- Media with bigger storage space for higher resolutions \n\nMuch of if is about resolution, some of it is about capturing with the best possible contrast and colour depth (sensors and processing), some of it is about displaying with the best possible contrast and color depth."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
57qtbh
|
why do companies with thousands of servers take the whole system down for scheduled maintenance?
|
I notice a lot of companies do maintenance at off-peak hours, and often leave the service down for several hours at a time. I was wondering why it's necessary to take the service down at all. Why can't they take half the servers down, patch them, then fail over the live servers, so the system is down for a few seconds if at all?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/57qtbh/eli5_why_do_companies_with_thousands_of_servers/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d8u6amm",
"d8u6hj8"
],
"score": [
15,
2
],
"text": [
"If it's a server update, you can often do blue/green deployments where you slowly go through and update just a part of the pool before flipping over.\n\nWhere it gets more tricky is with code and, most especially, data.\n\nIf you make a large change to the codebase, you need to ensure the switch is atomic i.e. someone doesn't see a page on v1, clicks a button but gets an error because v2 expects different information. Nowadays this is fairly simple so whenever you see it, it's because the system is probably more legacy/enterprise-y.\n\nData's the hard one. If you're running a migration, changing how the data is stored, you need to make sure no changes are made during this window i.e. if you were storing name as FullName, but now store it as FirstName and LastName in the database anyone signing up during this migration may be affected.\n\nThis is particularly pronounced at scale. If you have a Users table with fifty million rows, even adding an index can take a few hours. Some companies like linkedin even changed their schema so each attribute is it's own table to get around this.\n\nOthers like Stripe do forward-only migrations e.g. to re-use the name example, they would update the database to have FullName, FirstName and LastName columns. They would also update all of the code to basically store all fields. They can now run the migration without fear of new users going missing. Later on, they can drop the FullName column.\n\nAll of this basically boils down to a few things which is why you'll see the sites go down:\n\nThings take a lot longer at scale. Rebooting ten servers takes a lot less time than 10,000. (Also factor in the fact that a fair chunk will fail.)\n\nThings have to be kept consistent. If users can continue using the site, you have to make sure nothing breaks in their experience (this is a lot harder with ecom sites).\n\nIf it's worth it to the company, they'll invest in the infrastructure and ops tooling necessary for this. But for your big legacy systems that are probably tied into a mainframe that was designed to run batch ETL jobs overnight? It's just not worth the time.",
"I'd imagne it doesn't really matter if there are thousands or just two servers. The issues are the same. I've personally maintained a system where there was a web server, a database/ERP server and backups for the both of them, totaling four machines running 24/7 serving an online store.\n\nIt's very poor practice to let your databases go out of sync. You see, while the first half of the servers would be offline, the online half of them would still be getting orders/data in from your customers. You'd end up in a situation where your new software has your old database and your old software has your new database. While you're doing the upgrade, you do not want to get new orders in and going fully off-line is the best way to achieve it. That's even when you've already made as sure as possible that your new software supports your old database. Often it simply doesn't.\n\nSecondly, it might not be the servers themselves being maintained. It might be the cooling infrastructure or power delivery systems or whatever.\n\nEdit: My dumbest typo of the day."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
cndtqv
|
are all qr codes unique or can the same code be used for multiple things?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cndtqv/eli5_are_all_qr_codes_unique_or_can_the_same_code/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ew9c32y"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"They all turn into a specific string of characters, just like other barcodes.\n\nOf course different readers might do different things with those codes."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
j8pb6
|
what do people who study business-finance do?
|
I'm good at math/science/tech, looking for an MBA so I can get a decent job, and I have no idea what people in Finance actually do. I'm interested in Finance as a potential future career. While not part of the rules of this sub, if necessary, you can explain like I'm 15.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/j8pb6/eli5_what_do_people_who_study_businessfinance_do/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c2a1wnd",
"c2a20m8",
"c2a1wnd",
"c2a20m8"
],
"score": [
3,
4,
3,
4
],
"text": [
"It's like being robin hood in reverse.",
"I have a Bachelors degree in finance and to sum it up, basically you learn how to manage risk. There are many specialties in finance and each of them in some way or another has to do with managing risk (not loosing money). You will learn how to read financial statements and interpret what the accounts, economists, marketing and all other business fields of study give you information on to make financial decisions. The time value of money is at the core of finance and any investment formula. By the way I am currently pursuing a Bachelors in information systems because I personally was sick of finance.",
"It's like being robin hood in reverse.",
"I have a Bachelors degree in finance and to sum it up, basically you learn how to manage risk. There are many specialties in finance and each of them in some way or another has to do with managing risk (not loosing money). You will learn how to read financial statements and interpret what the accounts, economists, marketing and all other business fields of study give you information on to make financial decisions. The time value of money is at the core of finance and any investment formula. By the way I am currently pursuing a Bachelors in information systems because I personally was sick of finance."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1p2yvv
|
where/when did the flamboyantly gay dialect originate?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1p2yvv/eli5_wherewhen_did_the_flamboyantly_gay_dialect/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ccy7w8x"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"According to wikipedia no one knows. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
40jj6z
|
what is happening with oil supply/demand and the fluctuation prices?
|
I just wanted to know what's affecting the gas/oil prices, why they fluctuate, and the situation out in middle east (assuming that's where the commotion is located). as a commoner, i just have a vague idea amassed from word of mouth
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/40jj6z/eli5_what_is_happening_with_oil_supplydemand_and/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cyun0qr"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"As oil demand continued to rise, the price of oil continued to climb. Then the US began extracting oil from shale, resulting in some competition to the middle eastern countries of OPEC. However, shale oil is expensive to extract. Knowing this, OPEC increased production, resulting in an abundant supply of oil around the world and causing prices to plummet. OPEC hopes to drive the US shale companies out of business after which it can better control the supply."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
16v6jm
|
how does a marathon(or any event) help cure cancer
|
I think it's somewhat easy to understand a marathon raising awareness for a certain cancer but for raising money for a cure for cancer, why not just declare that there is a group that is taking donations instead?
Regardless, I donated to a person in my company doing a biking event for a cure for cancer with a short and sweet "Fuck Cancer < 3" to go with it.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/16v6jm/eli5_how_does_a_marathonor_any_event_help_cure/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c7zndom",
"c7zo7vk",
"c7zptu8"
],
"score": [
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Usually with those events you have to pay to register and a portion of the registration fee goes to a charity that benefits the cancer in question. ",
"They don't. The money made from registrations and donations usually end up covering the cost of the event itself.",
"They often don't. Sometimes the proceeds from the event will go to a charity that funds cancer research, but most of the time it just goes to a company that \"raises awareness\"."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
3xnem3
|
how do fast food places like sonic have the ingredients necessary to make so many different types of foods when the building and cooking space is so small?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3xnem3/eli5_how_do_fast_food_places_like_sonic_have_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cy65722"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The raw ingredients don't take up a whole lot of space and they try to use the same ingredients for as many different things as they can to make it simpler. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
1hjb2l
|
why can edward snowden not get on a direct flight from russia to another country whose leaders wanted to meet with him before granting him asylum?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1hjb2l/eli5_why_can_edward_snowden_not_get_on_a_direct/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cauygr7"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"He can't board a plane without a passport. Countries are also beginning to not allow flights suspected of containing Snowden access to their airspace. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
1jdstb
|
why does a computer only last at most 4 or 5 years? why can't a computer last forever?
|
I understand that everything has an expiration date I'm just wondering about the specifics of home computers only lasting a couple years.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1jdstb/eli5_why_does_a_computer_only_last_at_most_4_or_5/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cbdo1se",
"cbdo4cz",
"cbdobcn"
],
"score": [
6,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Computers can last as long as you want them to provided you take care of them. The issue is that computers become obsolete very quickly. Technology advances at a significant pace and computers are built to take advantage of these advances. ",
"Who says they last 4-5 years? If you take care of your gear like anything it will last long, how relevant it will be running new software, that's an entirely different ball game. \nAs CPUs/GPU's/Memory/HDD's get faster and more powerful, software developers aren't as restricted by hardware bottlenecks, so yes a 4-5 year old machine (which i have a couple of them, 2 laptops and 1 desktop) will work really nice, especially if you throw in an SSD, but running new software and games would generally suck because of the hardware restriction:( \n\nOne way you can avoid it is gradually upgrade components in your system. Video card, motherboard/cpu etc etc... This way the gradual upgrades don't cost as much as a brand new box out the pocket.\n\nI currently use a Core i7 920 which i got in 2009 overclocked to 4ghz, 12gb of ram and, with a GTX 680x2 in SLI it runs pretty much every single game at maxed out settings on my 30\" panel. Initial investment in 2009 was about $1200 (built it myself, and that doesn't account for the monitor) and then i just swapped out video cards over the years. \n\nAlso depends on what you buy. If you get a high end Dell like Alienware or XPS they should be upgradable for some time, if you buy a MAC however (which by hardware terms is already out of date brand new) upgrading is pretty much a moot point",
"A PC could last for longer than they generally do, but as I noted in my response to /u/limbodog, there are economic incentives for manufacturers to not make them more robust. Customers tend to pick PCs based on things like price and performance (including running the OS of choice). It is hard for customers to gauge things like reliability, so it tends not to be the prime factor in making a buying decision. \n \nPC makers want to keep warranty returns within an acceptable range without incurring a lot of extra engineering and manufacturing expense. And they want to emphasize the things that will get consumers to buy their machine. \n \nSo as a result, they spend just enough on engineering to make it likely that the PC will last long enough. It's a business decision. \n \nThis also has historically worked out for the industry because the ever increasing processing power of microelectronics has meant that after a few years, a PC is considered \"old\" and \"slow\". Microsoft has helped this by continually bloating Windows with patches to help slow machines down over time. So consumers have gotten used to the idea that they \"need\" to buy a new computer every few years. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
562o5c
|
why do high schools even bother teaching second-language classes with methods that are demonstrably completely ineffective at teaching even a basic level of competence?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/562o5c/eli5_why_do_high_schools_even_bother_teaching/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d8fs2dn",
"d8fsiur"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"For the same reason tests are given as multiple choice, rather than short answer, and education is given as a, \"memorize these facts and regurgitate them later,\": the system is poorly designed from the bottom up.",
"I really wish that the one method of learning that public schools taught students from a very young age/grade, is the \"Spaced Repetition Method\".\n \nI highly recommend you look it up for yourself and utilize it. You'll feel like you're brain just got an upgrade."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
5hn228
|
why do we wrap and cook our foods in aluminum foil if it's so harmful to ingest?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hn228/eli5_why_do_we_wrap_and_cook_our_foods_in/
|
{
"a_id": [
"db1dqfz",
"db1dsrm"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"It insulates food. \n\nThe point is to not eat it. We also cook our food in pots and pans, do you have a problem with not eating those too? ",
"Because the foil does a few different things that are useful in cooking: \n\nIt can reflect heat, which can help keep things from burning. \n\nIt can hold in moisture, which can be a good thing depending on what you're doing. \n\nIt can retain heat to some degree, so it's useful for keeping dishes warm. \n\nAnd finally... while it's not that great if you do eat it, it's not going to do anything to food that it's just touching. I mean, there might be some ultra-microscopic transferral of aluminum molecules to the food, but you'd have to be cooking at such a high temperature that the food would be burned beyond eating anyway. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
elnh0u
|
why do things sound “deafeningly quiet” after a loud noise stops?
|
I’ve noticed that right after something like a vacuum or some other loud machine stops, the remaining silence seems quieter than usual & in a way so quiet it’s loud. I’m wondering if there’s a name for this and how/why it occurs.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/elnh0u/elif_why_do_things_sound_deafeningly_quiet_after/
|
{
"a_id": [
"fdj3o4i",
"fdj3xlg"
],
"score": [
23,
5
],
"text": [
"You brain dynamically adjust for the volume of sounds. So long as you can hear the sound well and it isn't overpowering, it will registers about the same, unless you are specifically paying attention. Your brain will also adjust to loud background noise, to the point where it doesn't really register anymore.\n\nThat means where your brain has adjusted to load noises, quiet noises seem extra quiet. The opposite is true as well. If you are trying to keep quiet and someone starts talking in a normal voice, it will sound overpoweringly loud.",
"Your ears hear something loud, to protect your ears from hearing something louder that could hurt your ears, a muscle tightens and basically stops sound some of the sound from getting into your ear."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
3yuxwd
|
what exactly is a rape kit ?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3yuxwd/eli5_what_exactly_is_a_rape_kit/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cygu4eb"
],
"score": [
21
],
"text": [
"Its used to collect physical evidence from the victim, sometimes done by the victim themselves, more commonly by a nurse.\n\n > Although a rape kit's contents may vary by location, it may include:\n > Instructions\n\n > Bags and sheets for evidence collection\n\n > Swabs for collecting fluids from the lips, cheeks, thighs, vagina, anus, and buttocks\n\n > Blood collection devices\n\n > Comb used to collect hair and fiber from the victim’s body\n\n > Clear glass slides\n\n > Envelopes for preserving the victim’s clothes, head hair, pubic hair, and blood samples\n\n > Nail pick for scraping debris from beneath the nails\n\n > White sheets to catch physical evidence stripped from the body\n\n > Documentation forms\n\n > Labels"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
9djy2o
|
amazon is so big, how come they are not being forced to breakup like other companies have been?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9djy2o/eli5_amazon_is_so_big_how_come_they_are_not_being/
|
{
"a_id": [
"e5i1gf7",
"e5i3kmk",
"e5i45pt",
"e5i4aod"
],
"score": [
44,
12,
13,
4
],
"text": [
"They aren't a monopoly. I can reasonably get access to similar products and services from other companies. There isn't really anything Amazon does that forces me to use them exclusively so they aren't viewed as anti-competitive. \n\nBig companies aren't broken up because of their size. They are broken up because they have little to no competitors in an industry and essentially force customers to use them for a particular product or service. ",
"They aren't a monopoly, and they aren't engaging in explicitly anti-competitive behavior. Wal-Mart and Home Depot are big, too. Apple is big. Just being big isn't a reason for being broken up.\n\nAmazon has lots of competitors in all their verticals, from Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, etc. on the retail side; MS Azure, IBM, and tons of other web hosting and CDN platforms that compete with AWS; to Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, etc. competing with Prime Video.",
"Amazon is big, but in 2017, Wal-Mart had more than three times the sales volume of Amazon. There is a huge amount of competition in retail.",
"Because they are in no way a monopoly. They are not the only video streaming service, they are not the only online shopping service, they are not the only e-book service, etc. \n\nThey are also not engaging in anti-competitive practices to become a monopoly. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
1zpwsb
|
how did fish grow legs and started to live on land?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1zpwsb/eli5_how_did_fish_grow_legs_and_started_to_live/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cfw00xn"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The fins of some fish evolved into pseudo-legs that allowed them limited movement on land. The first land-walking fish spent most of their time in the water, and only occasionally crawled onto the shore, maybe to escape a predator or find a little extra food."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
4aldv2
|
why such a high percentage of babies are miscarried/stillborn
|
[deleted]
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4aldv2/eli5_why_such_a_high_percentage_of_babies_are/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d11d78n",
"d11dfze"
],
"score": [
4,
3
],
"text": [
"Growing humans is tough, delicate work. A lot of different things can go wrong. \n\nMany miscarriages happen before a woman even realizes she is pregnant, and most occur during the first trimester. Many times it's nothing that the mother has done wrong.. Just something we can't see is going wrong and the body is just getting rid of a fetus that would have health problems and birth defects anyway.",
"It's actually thought to be even higher than that. That statistic just reflects the cases where the mother *knows* she's pregnant. It's suspected that there are many more cases where the mother miscarries before she ever knows she was pregnant.\n\nThe reason is that making a baby basically involves shuffling the parents' genes like you'd shuffle a deck of cards. There are a *lot* of arrangements of genes that result in a baby that can't survive. Very rarely, you end up with an arrangement of genes that results in a baby that survives long enough to be born but then dies shortly afterward or in childhood. Much more often, you end up with a baby that can't even survive in the womb. The result is a miscarriage.\n\n(There are many other causes of miscarriage. Pregnancy is complicated. Fetal non-viability is believed to be the number-one cause by far, though.)"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
1mi82u
|
i never used to like coffee but now i love it, i was told it's an aquired taste. same with beer, how does that work?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mi82u/i_never_used_to_like_coffee_but_now_i_love_it_i/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cc9glnp",
"cc9gn7w",
"cc9i15v",
"cc9idkk",
"cc9ih6l",
"cc9iohp",
"cc9kf4x",
"cc9kot5",
"cc9pjd8",
"cc9s9sh",
"cc9vm56"
],
"score": [
2,
71,
4,
9,
2,
2,
15,
2,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Caffeine and alcohol. Basically, drugs. \nEDIT: c'mon! Its true!",
"You're taste buds actually change as you get older. Basically your ability to taste bitter things is reduced as you get older, so stuff with a naturally bitter taste (coffee) doesn't seem as bitter when you're older.\n\nThat's a major reason.",
"I have a theory on this. My husband HATED coffee, Beer, Curry and a few other things. NOW, 8 years later, he is a total beer, coffee, and curry snob. My Theory: He was just not tolerant of crappy coffee, beer, and ethnic foods. ",
"I'm 29 and can't wait until I grow up and can tolerate coffee/beer. People look at you like you're an alien if you don't want them in the morning/at dinner with friends.",
"You became a man.",
"Like some people have pointed out, it does have to do with enjoying the effects that come along with the drug (alcohol and caffeine). But your taste buds naturally just change over time. You begin less sensitive or more to certain flavors and sensations and can find enjoyment in a broader palette of tastes. Dr. Pepper for example is apparently an acquired taste and some people love it. I despise it and think it taste like cough syrup, however many of my friends insist there is a complex and delicious flavor behind it.\n\nI used to hate licorice and now I really enjoy it (black only though). Same goes for beer, although I really only enjoy Guinness (which has a pretty low alc %). When I was a kid I used to love super spicy food, as spicy as I could get it. While I still enjoy it today I typically go a notch or 2 down from very spicy (at like a mexican restaurant or when getting a Roti at least). A big part of that as well might be because as a child we like to challenge ourselves and seem daring and cool by doing or eating stuff like that. And when we grow up some of us might mature and just want to find the taste in our food. ",
"While some of this is due to your taste buds changing as you get older, it's worth noting that there is a conditioned response at play with your examples (caffeine or alcohol). When you drink these beverages, they make you feel good. If you do this enough times, your brain makes a connection between the taste and the \"high\" you get from it. Eventually, your brain learns that it's something you like.",
"Generally this happens when the ugly taste precedes a desirable effect, such as getting wired on coffee, or wasted on booze. You learn to like the flavor because of something else. There aren't too many examples of acquired taste that don't involve some sort of desirable end result. If there's no wired/wasted/high thing going on with a food, look around for a sense of social superiority. That often drives people to eat all manner of gross crap.",
"I've always liked coffee, from the first sip. Only thing is now that I'm older I can more easily distinguish shitty coffee from fresh coffee.",
"i'm 34 yo. And dont like alcohol, last time I proved alcohol was in 1995 I hate the taste. I dont drink coffee too. (sorry no english languaje).",
"i for one liked the taste of coffee since the beginning, not so much with beer i suppose"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
2n0xwe
|
why does my fire alarm scream when i slightly burn my toast, but someone can smoke underneath without starting it?
|
How are the two smokes different?
Thank you.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2n0xwe/eli5_why_does_my_fire_alarm_scream_when_i/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cm9bwem",
"cm9h0j6"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I'd guess heat and smoke density are the factors in play. Depends on what/how you're smoking and how badly you burn the toast. \n\nAt the same time, sounds like you just need a new smoke detector. ",
"Because Cigarette smoke is white, Smoke detectors don't pick up on smoke but carbon particles in the air."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
6fiz0m
|
how do the city, district, and national governments operate in washington d.c.?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6fiz0m/eli5_how_do_the_city_district_and_national/
|
{
"a_id": [
"diijwwz",
"diik0wn"
],
"score": [
2,
8
],
"text": [
"The city and the district are the same thing. Run by a mayor and a city council. Because the District was originally governed by the Federal Government (up until the early 70s) and because the Federal government occupies so much acreage and therefore gives the city a lot (if not most) of its income, the federal government still holds the financial purse strings for the city and district and flexes its influence into local issues as much as it can. District residents can vote for president, but do not have a voting member of congress.",
"I lived in DC so I can answer this!\n\nWashington, DC is unique in the United States in that it is *not* part of any state or territory, but is instead a *federal district*. As a result, Congress retains the ultimate authority to decide whatever it wants regarding the internal affairs of the District. \n\nIn 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, which set up a local government for the District that devolved a number of powers from Congress to an elected body known as the City Council, which is comprised of eight geographic wards with one council member as well as four at-large council members and a chairperson voted on by the entire District. The City Council is responsible for the majority of District-wide governance similar to a combined state and city. Below this are area neighborhood commissions (ANCs) that cover a few square blocks each and are overseen by volunteers. However, there are two key twists here:\n\n* The City Council does not have universal powers at the local level. Certain areas of governance, such as the Height Act and specific planning areas, are retained by Congress.\n\n* Congress has the authority to overrule the City Council. This is very rarely used, if ever, but remains a contentious feature and is derived from the powers granted by the Constitution. The main area where this comes into play is budgetary authority: the City Council is tasked with creating the local budget and was required until recently to submit this every year to Congress for approval. While Congress would typically agree out of principle, there is the potential for certain items to be rejected. There are a number of areas of unwritten agreement about what local government can and can't touch and how much leeway it has, largely dependent on the composition of Congress (Democrats are largely for more power at the local level, Republicans against).\n\nSo what does this mean? Essentially, there is a constant game of tug of war between DC and Congress. Residents of Washington, DC are required by law to pay federal taxes, but do *not* have voting representation in Congress (they have a non-voting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton) because a strict reading of the Constitution only grants. You'll see the phrase \"taxation without representation\" on licence plates issued by DC as a protest about this fact. Statehood is highly popular within the District, but would require a constitutional amendment and ratification from other states that is highly unlikely barring a huge shift in Congress' make-up and internal opinions. \n\nLong story short, DC is a weird grey area that straddles the line between a city and a state and has a unitary level of governance with oversight. It has a set of devolved powers and is largely left on its own, but constantly has the threat of congressional action against its policies, such as assisted suicide. Its residents are federal taxpayers that do not get full representation in Congress and most do not agree with the current setup, but there is little chance of changing it in the short-term. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
8bssz7
|
how can two items with the same name be in the recycle bin at the same time?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8bssz7/eli5_how_can_two_items_with_the_same_name_be_in/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dx9byoo"
],
"score": [
21
],
"text": [
"The recycling bin isn't a regular folder. It also contains a reference to the original location (because you can restore it) and presumably uses a unique identifier other than the filename, so you can even have two items from the same location with the same name in the recycling bin. \n\nThe same way your school/work's student/employee database won't get confused if you have two people called John Doe, it creates a unique identifier for every new entry so it can internally keep track of things even if no human ever sees that unique identifier. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
9eo9vf
|
when on keto diet, why does the body use your existing fat supply and not the ones you're eating while on diet?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9eo9vf/eli5_when_on_keto_diet_why_does_the_body_use_your/
|
{
"a_id": [
"e5q9f9i",
"e5qsr3n"
],
"score": [
6,
2
],
"text": [
"I could be wrong, but your body will use dietary energy before it starts using body fat for energy. But the keto diet makes it easier to eat in a calorie deficit (due to fat and protein being more satiating than carbs) meaning your body will have to start using body fat reserves sooner. \n\nI should probably be a bit more educated about this since I’ve been eating a keto diet for the last 4 or so months. ",
"If, and only if, a keto diet makes you eat less overall calories than your body expends, then your body will have to dip into stored body fat.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nStudy found people who switched to a low carb/high fat diet actually had a slower rate of fat loss (at least initially), despite an increased weight loss. \n\nStudy was partially funded by Gary Traub's foundation."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiUyjMjuLl0"
]
] |
||
7mjngx
|
why is a slow resting heart rate good, when it is also healthy for your heart to beat fast during exercise?
|
EDIT: So several answers have come in, but I'm not sure my question is being understood. I'm asking, if it's healthy for your heart to beat fast during exercise, why isn't it healthy for it to beat fast(er) during rest? Wouldn't a higher resting heart rate almost be like a mini "workout?" Making it stronger?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7mjngx/eli5_why_is_a_slow_resting_heart_rate_good_when/
|
{
"a_id": [
"drufzq9",
"drug0s0",
"drulkok",
"druojkx"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
3,
10
],
"text": [
"The heart is a muscle, and it needs regular workouts to build its strength. The two things you ask about are strongly correlated. If you get regular, extended aerobic exercise where your heart beats at its maximum sustained rate (~ 220-age) then it will grow strong and at rest it will be able to beat at a low rate and still circulate your blood.",
"When a person exercises their heart, in better terms, becomes stronger. So a stronger heart will pump blood more efficiently throughout the body, and it won't need to pump as many times. A faster heart rate can over-work the heart over time and cause heart failure.\n\nThe reason your heart beats faster during exercise is to get rid of wastes in your body. Your body produces more CO2 and wastes during exercise and blood is the vehicle that gets rid of these wastes from the body via lungs, kidneys, etc. So your heart pumps faster to move the blood faster so it can remove these wastes and prevent acidosis aka your body having excessive acid. ",
"To answer your edit: \nIt is okay for your heart to pump fast during exercise because exercise is a short duration and while you're exercising, the heart is strengthening. The reason it is not okay for your heart to pump fast during rest is because you rest for a majority of your life. 1/24 of your day may be exercising but the other 23/24 is normally resting. Your heart should not be beating that hard for 23 hours a day. It will not be able to have sufficient rest and wear your heart out at a much faster rate.",
"its about strength and efficiency. \n\nYour question is quite valid... Why can't we just do Cocaine or drink caffeine to increase our heart rate for \"exercise\"? Or just be panicked (increasing our heart rate) to get a good workout? \n\nIt takes a little knowledge to come to a good conclusion. Ahem.\n\nThere's an upper and lower limit to your heartrate. Everyone's different depending on age and health. We've established some \"normal\" ranges. About +- 70-85 BPM at rest is normal; then the top number is dependent on some factors that you can look up on your own.\n\nAnywho, the heart is a muscle (duh) right, and it's activated and regulated by the bodys need for it's service (pumping blood). During stress it increases it's rhythm for both psychological (anticipation), and physical (sustaining, survival) need. More on this in a min. \n\nSo depending on how your health is, the body prefers a sorta calm state; (feelsgoodman.exe), your average resting heart rate lies in this realm. Anything above this indicates *some* sort of stress on the body. There's healthy stress and unhealthy stress. Unhealthy stress includes: unnecessary psychological anxiety/fear, drug use, sickness. While good heart stresses are things that lead to better states like: exercise to \"look better\" or strength to protect yourself, or even light activity like getting some food from the store (food endorphins bruh). Regardless of what you do, your body is reacting in harmony with what will sustain you.\n\nSo it's like just because your HR is high or low doesn't mean it's good for what you're after. Like a higher BPM is normal in sick people but your body is battling something which is good but if you lay around sick for months your muscles waste away because of lack of use . The body is always changing according to automatic (unconscious) and consious need.\n\nUnderstanding the hearts basic role then leads us to better answer your questions. You **gain** something from the **right** high heart stresses which are reflected in your heart rate. Consistent exercise (along with healthy eating and habit) nets gains both physically and mentally \"look good feel good\" (dopamine bruh). The bodies equal reaction to being well all around is a lower HR at rest when calm. \n\nThere's plenty more to look up about heart health that's awesome. You can get a baseline of your health with your sleep HR vs resting HR vs exercise HR vs rebound to resting HR after exercise, this is almost a sure way to indicate overall health.\n\nHope this was helpful.\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1i0lsm
|
please explain false positives and false negatives
|
I understand them vaguely and all the reading I have done makes sense for a bit and then I get lost...
Please help :)
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1i0lsm/eli5_please_explain_false_positives_and_false/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cazs6av"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Think of a pregnancy test.\n\nA *false positive* is when the test says you are pregnant when you are not.\n\nA *false negative* is when the test says you are not pregnant but you are."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
28bwmw
|
why can i easily hear/feel the liquids slosh around my stomach after drinking large amounts of fluids?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/28bwmw/eli5_why_can_i_easily_hearfeel_the_liquids_slosh/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ci9l8kn"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Because there are large amounts of fluid in your stomach sloshing around"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
7bn52n
|
are 2-hour naps plus 6 hours of sleep better or worse than 7 hours of sleep? why or why not?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7bn52n/eli5_are_2hour_naps_plus_6_hours_of_sleep_better/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dpj949g"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Sleeping for 7 hours straight is kind of new. Early humans would sleep during the darkest part of the night for a few hours then again midday during the hottest part of the night. The separation of sleep cycles would give them the most energy during the time that they needed it and preserved energy when there wasn't anything to do. During roman/kinda into early medieval people would sleep in two cycles again but both were during the night time/evening/early morning. They would sleep for 2 to 4 hours, get up and eat or study or whatever, then sleep again for 4 to 6 hours. I don't know why they did this really but they did from everything I read about it. So as far as you're question goes it depends. It depends on if you follow the cycle of then sun to rise with it and sleep when it goes down or to just get it all done with and not sleep during the day (or night for those night time workers). Naturally, we like to sleep when the sun goes down and rise when the sun is up but obviously there are people who do the opposite due to some science stuff I don't really know. As for myself I like to sleep for 6 to 7 hours at night and take a nap arou nd that 2pm lull but my sister hates naps and would rather sleep for 8 hours. (I'm into medieval/European war history so sorry I was unable to completely answer this)."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
1xmhed
|
why can't we build oil pipelines that won't burst?
|
If we could, it would solve a lot of the environmental concerns related to the Keystone or the Northern Gateway. It doesn't seem complex to pump oil through a pipe, so why do they seem to burst often?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xmhed/eli5why_cant_we_build_oil_pipelines_that_wont/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cfcnnio",
"cfcnub8",
"cfcobzy"
],
"score": [
5,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Material degrades over time. It'd be impossible to make a perfect pipeline. It's simply too big to ensure zero leaks ever and still be economically worth building",
"Not a metallugist or a petro-engineer but I'd say it has to do with 1) intense pressures and 2) scale. \n\n\nOil pipe lines are 100's and 1000's of miles long. Think of how many connections, seals, pumps, valves, tanks, and who knows what else in between are needed. Something will fail due to weathering, wear and tear, negligency, or good ol' human error.",
"Anything physical is subject to breaking down. In the case of oil pipelines, you're not only dealing with tremendous length but tremendous pressure. Because, as I understand, what they'd be pumping through the pipeline is a thick sludge (as opposed to the lower honey-like viscosity we are familiar with in motor oil or the watery consistency of gasoline), the challenges are even greater."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5nn48c
|
why hasn't the popularity of warby parker lowered the price of any other glasses brand?
|
Usually when a low cost competitor enters the market it helps spread out the price scale. The price of glasses at my eye doctor's is still nuts. (4x Warby Parker) Why hasn't the market corrected?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5nn48c/eli5_why_hasnt_the_popularity_of_warby_parker/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dccsmvn",
"dccssmq"
],
"score": [
3,
4
],
"text": [
"Because they're not large enough to reset a market of that size. Depending on the estimate you go by, there are close to 200 million people in the US who wear prescription eye-wear. It took WP four years to sell one million pairs of glasses (2010 - 2014), even if they sold one million pairs *each year* since then, that's still only three million pairs. \n",
"Because of a company called Luxottica, they essentially have a monopoly wordwide. \n\n*Sorry not savy enough to attach source"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
7w809x
|
why do burps smell/taste weird when you're going to be sick?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7w809x/eli5why_do_burps_smelltaste_weird_when_youre/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dtyj1ve"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"I've noticed that too. ;) \n\nI think it's because the sphincter at the base of your stomach has already let up a little bit of vomit into your esophagus when you burp, like a preview. And I know when I feel sick I'm already swallowing to try to get rid of the feeling - so a lot of times I accidentally swallow some air and then have to burp - and some stomach acid comes up too (though I might not feel it - the esophagus is quite long and the liquids can stay at the bottom and settle back into the stomach eventually). And so the gas in that burp has more of that dissolved stomach acid in it and tastes/smells sort of gassy and acidic. As opposed to normal burps which are different because they're just mostly composed of CO2 and other gasses from soda or swallowing air or produced by bacteria in your gut.\n\nSorry if that's gross. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
224si6
|
what are the little stars that appear on our vision sometimes?
|
When we get hit in the head, or sometimes if I move my head very quickly, I see little stars/lights flash around the outside of my vision. What's going on here? What causes it?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/224si6/eli5_what_are_the_little_stars_that_appear_on_our/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cgjdfia"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"The retina lines the inside of your eye and is responsible for sensing light. The light sensing part are the photoreceptor cells that send signals through your optic nerve to your brain so you perceive that light.\n\nHowever, these photoreceptor cells can also fire from physical stimulus. The transparent gel-like fluid in your eye known as the vitreous can move around and press on the retina with quick movement or hits to your head. This will make your photoreceptor cells fire randomly so that you think you are seeing something but it shows up as spots.\n\nLikewise, if you stand up from a sitting or lying down position very quickly, your blood pressure in your head will suddenly decrease. This may produce changes in the eye that can mistakenly fire the photoreceptors, making you see stars.\n\nSeeing stars when you move your head too quickly isn't normal (unless you move it VERY fast) so you might want to check with an eye doctor just to make sure everything is ok."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
2odc5g
|
how do the production team at edm festivals like tomorrowland and ultra time the effects on the screens so well?
|
What if the dj decides to change up his set last second, why is the effects on the screen so in sync?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2odc5g/eli5_how_do_the_production_team_at_edm_festivals/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cmm1hhl",
"cmma163",
"cmmhdlg"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"They are all run through a soundboard and the algorithm that produces them takes the current sound into consideration when generating patterns and effects.\n\nThey work basically the same way visualizations work in Windows Media Player or VLC or most other media software.",
"They play the whole festival off WinAmp and put Milkdrop on the big screens.",
"I saw an Interview with Armin Van Buren, and he explained it pretty well. There is a person that he hires that is basically in charge of the all the lighting and visuals and stuff. He communicates with this person through his computer and tells him what he is going to play next. That person then triggers some of the visual effects. This mainly only applies to songs to where the lyrics are put on a screen or something like that. All the other visual fx are done like other people have mentioned, it just comes from computer software. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
6lsms1
|
how reddit succeeded where the old forums failed?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6lsms1/eli5_how_reddit_succeeded_where_the_old_forums/
|
{
"a_id": [
"djw9az1"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"The cycle is basically that any good website starts off small, gets popular after 2-5 years, then as they slowly grow and grow, the new users bring shit content with them, disheartening the people who made the community to begin with, and then they go find a new site, while the old slowly dies, but never really, because server costs are low, and if they scale back correctly, they can perpetuate somehow being active **forever**"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
9zxhmv
|
why does hold music sound so terrible? in this age of uhd sound how come hold music sounds like it's being played through sock in a wind tunnel?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9zxhmv/eli5_why_does_hold_music_sound_so_terrible_in/
|
{
"a_id": [
"eacpxzs",
"eacslox"
],
"score": [
34,
4
],
"text": [
"Phone lines are designed to carry voice and not music. Humans can hear sounds from 30Hz to 22kHz but can only make sound from 300Hz to 3000Hz with out voice. So you need very different sample rates for the voice and music. This means that phone lines works terribly for music as it cuts out most of the high pitches and you are left with just the bass. Secondly as phone lines gets more and more digital we find even more ways to save on bandwidth by compressing the sounds so they take up less space. However this process uses very different compression algorithms for voice then for music. So the compression algorithms will add a lot of noise to the music as it is not designed for music. Adding to this you can have different compression for different sections of the lines as the line passes through different phone operators. So you get different types of distortions each time.",
"The phone network can only transmit a certain amount of data in total at a given time. Each call uses up a share of that data. To make calls require less of it, we compress the audio in certain ways. The simplest and first technique is to cut off all the high-pitched and low-pitched sounds, leaving just the medium. Human speaking voices only use this medium so it sounds fine for ordinary speaking and saves a *ton* of data, letting us fit more people onto the phone network at once. It only becomes really noticeable when we try to play music -- which uses a much bigger variety of high pitched and low pitched sounds -- over it.\n\nWe could have high quality musical audio calls if we wanted, but it means phone towers would hit their max capacity much faster and fewer calls would go through. It's just not worth it for better hold music.\n\nAdded to this is the fact that the phone networks were designed a long time ago, using audio technologies that are now kind of primitive. Upgrading them *is* possible but means old phones that don't support those newer technologies would stop working. So it's something that gets done very very slowly. Cutting-edge audio compressors like Opus can make 40 Kbps audio files today sound better than 100 Kbps audio files from 20 years ago."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
||
5sbp8n
|
if the conquistadors brought diseases to the new world, how come they didn't bring any diseases back to the old world?
|
If the Conquistadors brought diseases to the new world, how come they didn't bring any diseases back to the old world? Are people in the old world immune to all diseases that Natives American, Aztec people etc have?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5sbp8n/eli5_if_the_conquistadors_brought_diseases_to_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ddduyjp",
"dddv8jr",
"dddvh22",
"dddwyjn",
"dde5sze"
],
"score": [
30,
14,
8,
7,
4
],
"text": [
"They did. Syphilis is a disease they brought back. \n\nThe thing you missed is that it was a 3 month trip or longer across the ocean. Any deadly diseases they caught would have killed them long before they made it back to Europe. And deadly diseases did regularly kill settlers. ",
"There's a couple of things to consider\n\nBecause the Native Americans, etc live in smaller tribal groups rather than larger cities the conditions for diseases to develop were less favourable so a lot of diseases just didn't have the chance to develop.\n\nFor the diseases they did have that explorers could have caught - if they were likely to be fatal then the person(s) with the disease would have been unlikely to survive to return trip to Europe, so no deadly diseases made it back.\n\nBut some diseases likely did. But they would have been mixed up the general mess of other flus and colds that already existed.\n\nAlthough one thing that has often been suggested is that Columbus \nbrought syphilis back to the Europe with his crew. ",
"The old world was into domesticating animals (very significant), and into densely populated cities (also a little significant). Diseases developed among the farm animals and cities at far faster rate. The Europeans had already suffered through various plagues as a consequence of this, so when they arrived in American, the Native Americans got hit with all those plagues at once.\n\nIf you think of diseases as a crop, the European way-of-life was like a fertilizer. When Native Americans and Europeans met, the Europeans had inadvertently grown a much, much bigger crop of diseases to carry with them.",
"The new-world lifestyle (few domesticated animals, dispersed settlements) wasn't very good for breeding plagues; the old-world lifestyle (lots of domesticated animals, cities) was great for breeding plagues. Cities actually had more deaths than births right up until the 19th century - they depended on people moving in to sustain their populations.\n\nSee also: [Americapox - the Missing Plague](_URL_0_)",
"[Americapox: The Missing Plague](_URL_1_) by [CGP Grey](_URL_0_). explains it nicely in an ELI5 sort of way."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEYh5WACqEk"
],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2C_jShtL725hvbm1arSV9w",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEYh5WACqEk"
]
] |
|
855mje
|
how do we know that gravity is a force that pulls in objects, instead of it being the forces of the universe pushing us towards a larger object?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/855mje/eli5_how_do_we_know_that_gravity_is_a_force_that/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dvuv89b"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"I would argue there is no difference if the math works out. Either way that is Newtonian physics, aka old physics. General relativity says gravity is just your path through spacetime. That doesn’t push or pull really. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
3y3sfk
|
how can we remember so many song lyrics to so many songs but we cant remember basic other things? is it stored in a different part of the brain?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3y3sfk/eli5_how_can_we_remember_so_many_song_lyrics_to/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cya9qw1",
"cyaasna",
"cyab84x",
"cyabteo",
"cyacrxf",
"cyacxvc",
"cyadbmv",
"cyaf5q0",
"cyaibko"
],
"score": [
98,
282,
7,
55,
5,
13,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Try to turn your study guide or whatever you have to remember into a song that rhymes and see how much easier it is to remember it.",
"Repetition. You gotta do something a certain amount of times before your brain commits it to long term memory. \nYou usyally listen to catchy songs over and over. \n\nTry repeating the mundane things you need. You'll memorize them. I've memorized certain SKU numbers at my store for items without tags. Like Latex Balloons.",
"The short answer is evolution.\n\nOne of our earliest competitive advantages as a species was the ability to hand down generational knowledge. This evolved long before books.\n\nI cannot tell you why, perhaps no one can, but song and dance were the predominant manner of retaining knowledge early in our history. Since this information was very relevant to survival, the better you were at remembering songs, the better you survived.\n\nWhy songs and note just rote memory? Not sure. If I had to guess? Songs are used throughout nature as a way to attract mates. It stands to reason that both our ability to talk and preference to recall songs was aided by genes encoding for song.",
"ELI5: how come I literally don't know the lyrics to a single song other than \"Happy Birthday\", but other people end up memorizing them *unintentionally*? Is there something wrong with me? Do I somehow listen the \"wrong\" way? \nSeriously, I can't even remember the lyrics to the alphabet song (I know there's a sentence you're supposed to sing after you get to \"Z\" but I don't remember what it is). \n\nAnd what's worse, I listened to the same CD during my 30-minute commute for three months straight because I don't get bored of songs easily. So how can I listen to the same dozen songs for an hour per day and not be able to even remember more than 2 lines of a single song, but other people can be like \"yeah that song I heard on the radio in 2003? I still know every lyric\".\n\n\nMan, maybe I should make this its own post, I *really* want to know why I'm incapable of learning song lyrics and if anyone else feels the same way.\n",
"Information is easier to remember when there are multiple senses (eg, sounds, visuals, smells, etc) and/or emotions involved. Words with melody and rhythm along with any emotion the music makes you feel will get a lot more connections in your brain going than those same words said plainly spoken. ",
"Because there is a pattern with lyrics AND with music that is more predictable. Brains like patterns. Especially when those patterns repeat like a chorus or a musical theme. ",
"Also, you'll notice that you remember songs that you hate more readily than songs you're ambivalent to. Sometimes songs that you like.\n\nI worked in a fireworks warehouse a few years ago. We were obliged to play on the in-store radio whatever the promotional van out front was playing. I heard \"California Girls\" every 20 minutes like clockwork 10 hours a day for a couple weeks. I HATE that song. I remember every lyric. Same goes for \"Sunglasses At Night\" even though I've only heard it a couple times. I literally pulled out of a gas station at 2am because that was the muzak. I avoid that song whenever I can. I know the chorus.\n\nIf you're looking at language, there's a few things that make it easy to remember and understand. Doesn't hold true for all languages or all native speakers, but at least in English, we work very well with things that follow our natural beat pattern (and can interrupt it deliberately at points). It's iambic, and how we tend to stress syllables in an alternate pattern. You learn that before you learn actual words. Babies babble in the same pattern even when they're not forming actual words.\n\nAttaching words that rhyme to it builds association in the mind, so that it's easier to remember. You have a familiar rhythm and something built in to make it easier to remember.\n\nTry this one on for size and see how many lyrics you can remember after you hear it a couple times: _URL_0_\n\n",
"Hope this doesn't get lost in the pile, but there's a keyword that needs to be mentioned, which is \"mnemonic device\". A mnemonic device is something you associate with something else that you want to remember. Brains are bad at remembering anything in a vacuum. That's one of the purposes of emotion: it gets associated with a memory and makes that memory stick out more and last longer.\n\nSongs are great mnemonic devices. Humans love to seek out patterns. Songs are really just very very interesting, complex patterns. They are very interesting to your brain. So when you associate something else with them (like lyrics) it's much easier. That's also where we get things like \"My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Planets\" (Mercury, Venus, Earth, etc...). Just naming the planets isn't interesting enough to your brain, but that little story about pizza is, *and* it stands for planet names, which is even more interesting. We like patterns and we like narratives, and songs are often both.\n\nSource: minor in secondary education...You learn a *lot* of mnemonic device ideas...",
"Music is special in the way the brain handles it, as compared to other types of information. Basically, the brain needs to use a large array of different sections to successfully process music. This makes the neural connections for music more robust than neural connections in general. This results in cool things like, if you've ever spent time with someone with Alzheimer's, you can notice that even though they may be far gone in terms of having lost brain function, if you play music--music they know well--this can \"bring them back\" for a short while. Not only will they remember the songs, but they can move in rhythm, look alert, and show some of the skills they had seemed to have lost. I saw this in my grandmother, who could no longer walk or speak. But we brought in a professional singer who performed songs from the 1930s and 1940s, and my grandmother was able to sing and move purposefully while the singing went on. \n\nNeurologist Oliver Sacks wrote about these effects of music on the brain in his book *Musicophilia*, which is a great read if you want to learn more. Some other things he mentioned: if you look at a musician's brain using an fMRI (which can show you how the brain works as it is working), you can tell from the way their brain works that they are a musician, because of these strong neural connections made in the brain by becoming adept at making music. He claimed this was the only artistic skill that shows its effects in this way. You can't tell a great painter or writer or architect from looking at their brain with fMRI, but you can tell, if the person is a musician (this is not true of everyone--you have to be a musician, not just anybody who likes music). He provided a few other examples: there was a noted musician (classical music) who got brain damage that caused him to not be able to make any new memories--he couldn't remember anything for more than a matter of a minute or less. He did retain his old memories, though. It was agonizing to be with him, as he was in a constant state of \"what the hell is going on?\" But the one time he wasn't like that was when he was playing music. He retained his considerable memory of all of the classical music he knew, and he could play pieces that lasted for an hour or more, even though he lacked the ability to remember anything from one moment to the next. He could be alive, conscious, and joyful during that time, even though he was confused and distressed the rest of the time."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8dBJSVGBlY"
],
[],
[]
] |
||
6zew0l
|
how could nasa command the voyager 1 from 6 billion kilometers away?
|
To quote Wikipedia:
> Voyager 1, which had completed its primary mission and was leaving the Solar System, was commanded by NASA to turn its camera around and take one last photograph of Earth across a great expanse of space, at the request of astronomer and author Carl Sagan.
My wifi-signal barely reaches my kitchen, and while I understand they can build stronger equipment, how --on earth-- in space can a command be issued from over 6,000,000,000 km away, more than 27 years ago?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6zew0l/eli5_how_could_nasa_command_the_voyager_1_from_6/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dmuotny"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Your wifi signal is generated by cheap consumer electronics, which are specifically limited in power by FCC regulations. Germany's broadcast of the 1936 Olympics was the first radio signal with enough power to escape our planet, and is currently acting as humanities first interstellar announcement at a distance of 81 light years. That was a good 40+ years before Voyager.\n\nWith 40 years of additional advancements we were able to fine tune the beam so as to point it at a spacecraft, and relay commands to it. \n\nAlso worth reminding again, the first human any alien species is likely to see, is Hitler."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
2zmn6s
|
what is a note, cord, etc?
|
I'm not a very musically gifted person and rarely listen to music. Anyways I was wondering what is the definition of different common music terminology, and how can you explain it using frequencies and magnitude. I am not looking for broad definitions keys are combinations of notes, this could possibly be wrong, as during my prior investigation those words were used and I didn't understand anything as I don't know what notes are. It would be nice if someone would answer this as I feel I am often left out of conversations when people mention any of this music stuff.
Thanks in advance.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zmn6s/eli5what_is_a_note_cord_etc/
|
{
"a_id": [
"cpkbhzn",
"cpkbnvt",
"cpkbpvn",
"cpkbpvu"
],
"score": [
2,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"A note is a single pitch. For instance \"C\" is a note. (Don't quote me on this but a note has a specific duration in context) In a band, the lyrics are made of notes.\n\nA chord is a combination of notes that make a sound. For instance, C + E + G = a C major (happy sounding) chord. In a band, the bassline or guitar is probably playing chords.\n\nA scale is a set of notes that work well together. In the \"Key of G\" we use the G A B C D E F# G series. Musicisans note that all the notes are normal, but F is raised slightly to become F# (f sharp). Hence, Key of G = F#. In order to keep the chords consistent, we need to change the key signature when we move the base note. \n\nMajor Scale = Happy\n\nMinor Scale= Tense sounding",
"A note is a single frequency (for instance the Middle C note is typically a note that has the frequency 261.6 Hz ).\n\nA chord is a collection of notes played together or played in succession, a set of resonating notes. usually when you speak of a chord you are speaking of a specific chord that we associate to be harmonic or pleasant. So, a C major chord is the Middle C, the E above it (329.6hz) and the G above that (391.9hz).\n\nMagnitude (how loud some note is being played) isn't bound to induvitual notes. Notes have length (how long they last) and pitch (which usually is denoted by its name).\n\nA chord is usually referenced by the base note and its structure. For instance a G major chord is not the same as a G7th Chord. \n\n\nAnything you need further explanation about?",
"Let's just do frequencies since magnitude really just equals volume.\n\nA note is a single frequency. The best known would probably be A at 440hz. The next A comes at 880hz and so on up the keyboard.\n\nA chord is a combination of two or more notes/frequencies. The chords that you come across most frequently are combinations of frequencies that that break down into simple fractions/factors of each other. Those are the ones that hit our ears in the most pleasant ways. ",
"A note is a pitch. It's how high or low a sound is. Flutes play high notes, basses play low notes. In the song \"row, row, row your boat...\" the melody starts on one note (for the 1st row) and plays the exact same note 2 times for the other two 'rows'. if you sing the melody, you notice that \"row, row, row\" doesn't change pitch - it doesn't go up or down. When you sing the word \"your\" the pitch goes up a little.\n\nA chord is technically any two or more different notes played at the same time. Most chords consist of 3 notes.\n\nThe best way to learn all of this is to take a few months of piano or keyboard lessons. Pianos and keyboards are the easiest to learn because each key represents an individual note, so you can actually see the 'notes' you're playing. Guitar is cool and way easier to carry around, but you can't actually see the individual notes. The frets come sort of close, but a keyboard instrument is the quickest way to learn basic music theory."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
1oovr1
|
radiation and different ways it's measured.
|
There seems to be multiple units of measurements for radiation, why is this? What're the differences?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1oovr1/eli5_radiation_and_different_ways_its_measured/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ccu2uqq",
"ccu4sbg"
],
"score": [
2,
3
],
"text": [
"There all multiple units for the same reason just about everything has multiple units - time and convenience.\n\nThe big ones to know are \n\nSievert: 1 Sievert exposure = 5.5% increase in cancer risk. \n\nREM: Roentgen equivalent man = 1/100 Sieverts. \n\nGray: independent of the target, unlike the previous ones, equal to 1 J of ionizing radiation/kg. \n\n \nAnother fun one is the banana equivalent dose, which is equal to the radiation received from the natural radioactive potassium in one banana.",
"The curie (old) and Becquerel (SI unit) are measurements of radiation emissions. These correlate to the amount of atomic disintegrations per second, or the amount of radioactive photons emitted. This can be measured with the ubiquitous Geiger counter.\n\nNext you have the Rad (old) and the Gray (SI unit). 1 Gray equals to 100 Rads or one joule of radiation per kilogram of mass (1J/kg). This is a measure of the radiation absorbed by a material, but is independent of the composition of the material absorbed. A closely related unit is the Roentgen, which factors in the type of matter that is absorbing the radiation. Grays are important because these can be directly measured using a device that measures radiation exposure (as a Gray is the same regardless of what's absorbing it). \n\nLastly you have the REM (Roentgen equivalent man)(old) and the Sievert (SI Unit). Again, 1 Sievert equals to 100rems. What a Sievert does is take the absorbed radiation dose from the Gray and converts it into a more meaningful number for applying to biological tissue. This factors in that different types of tissue are more prone to radiation damage than others (fun fact, your brain is actually quite radiation-resistant relative to your other organs). It also takes into account the type of radiation involved, as Alpha and Beta particles are more biologically damaging than Gamma rays. Overall, the Sievert is a measure of the amount of absorbed radiation, weighted for the tissue sensitivity.\n\nThe relation between the Sievert and the Gray is important. We cannot directly measure a Sievert as it varies by tissue by. However, by knowing the output of Grays of our radiation source, we can calculate the amount of sievert the individual has absorbed. A few milligrays of radiation to the arm carries far less risk than the same amount of milligrays directed at your gonads.\n\nSource: I'm a Medical Radiation Technologist."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
6coihe
|
why do cheap knockoffs slightly change the name of the product (e.g. "rolex" - > "rqlex"), when the result it still violating trademarks by using logos and such? if you're going to violate trademarks anyway, why not go all the way?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6coihe/eli5_why_do_cheap_knockoffs_slightly_change_the/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dhw5gsg",
"dhw7orr",
"dhwas7l",
"dhwh7pd"
],
"score": [
10,
19,
11,
3
],
"text": [
"For example, this knock-off: _URL_1_\n\nThey're still using the trademarked Batman logo, so it's not like not saying \"Batman\" on it removes their liability...so why not just say \"Batman\"?\n\nOr this one: _URL_0_\n\nThey're already violating trademarks by using deceptively similar logos and wording (and also the trademarked Darth Vader mask), so...why bother changing it at all?",
"One possible answer: at least if you call it something else, you aren't committing fraud. Trademark infringement isn't a criminal issue, but fraud may be, if you are actually tricking people and claiming it is the real thing.\n\nAnother possible answer: the people who create knockoffs aren't necessarily the brightest bulbs in the Christmas tree, and may think that changing a letter actually does absolve them of civil legal liability.\n\nA third possible answer: Chinese law, or whereever these knockoffs are from, may have greater protections for a product that is a variation rather than a carbon copy, and may force a plaintiff to prove more to win a lawsuit.",
"Those cheap knock-offs are made in countries where trademark protections are lax or virtually nonexistent. They're not widely sold in developed countries that have robust intellectual property laws.",
"So you could find it online? "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[
"http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/03/20/13/3262A86600000578-0-image-m-80_1458479525732.jpg",
"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3Kr6SN5Zta4/maxresdefault.jpg"
],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
jnuc2
|
explain sports betting like i'm five
|
Mostly the phrasing like over/under, spread, stuff like that. I'd also like to know how odds are determined and who exactly determines them.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jnuc2/explain_sports_betting_like_im_five/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c2dn4pr",
"c2dng1b",
"c2dn4pr",
"c2dng1b"
],
"score": [
9,
5,
9,
5
],
"text": [
"* **Over/Under** - If the over/under is 42, you bet over if you think the combined scores of both teams will be more than 42. You bet under if you think the combined scores of both teams will be less.\n\n* **Spread** - If one team is favored by a 2 point spread and you bet on that team, they have to win by more than 2 points for you to win. If they win by 1 point, you lose. You can bet on the underdog and they can lose a close game but you'd win if it's within the spread. Point spread bets are even odds, so you bet $100 to win $100.\n\n* Another sports betting thing you may encounter is an odds line that looks like \"Giants -170, Jets +130.\" The negative number is the favored team. You have to bet $170 on the Giants in order to win $100 if they win. The positive number is the underdog. If you bet $100 on the Jets, you win $130 if they win. Odds bets like this do not include a point spread.\n\nHow the odds are determined... this might be ELI12. When you win, the house (or bookmaker, if you're betting illegally) takes a percentage of your winnings. Usually 10%. So if you win $1000, they take $100 of that and give you $900. If there's $10,000 bet on the Giants and $5,000 bet on the Jets and the Giants win, they have to pay out $10,000 in winnings (less 10% is $9,000), but they only have $5000 in losing bets. So they would lose money if the Giants won. Casinos (and more importantly, bookies, who don't have as much cash on hand) don't like taking that kind of risk. So they would rather have the same amount of money on each side, guaranteeing them a profit consisting of that 10% cut.\n\nSo the odds are determined by the house in an effort to get equal money on both sides. If they're getting too much money on the Giants, they will move the odds/spread to make the Giants less attractive. And they'll keep moving the odds/spread until the money starts to even out. ",
"I can't in all good conscience teach a five-year-old to gamble.",
"* **Over/Under** - If the over/under is 42, you bet over if you think the combined scores of both teams will be more than 42. You bet under if you think the combined scores of both teams will be less.\n\n* **Spread** - If one team is favored by a 2 point spread and you bet on that team, they have to win by more than 2 points for you to win. If they win by 1 point, you lose. You can bet on the underdog and they can lose a close game but you'd win if it's within the spread. Point spread bets are even odds, so you bet $100 to win $100.\n\n* Another sports betting thing you may encounter is an odds line that looks like \"Giants -170, Jets +130.\" The negative number is the favored team. You have to bet $170 on the Giants in order to win $100 if they win. The positive number is the underdog. If you bet $100 on the Jets, you win $130 if they win. Odds bets like this do not include a point spread.\n\nHow the odds are determined... this might be ELI12. When you win, the house (or bookmaker, if you're betting illegally) takes a percentage of your winnings. Usually 10%. So if you win $1000, they take $100 of that and give you $900. If there's $10,000 bet on the Giants and $5,000 bet on the Jets and the Giants win, they have to pay out $10,000 in winnings (less 10% is $9,000), but they only have $5000 in losing bets. So they would lose money if the Giants won. Casinos (and more importantly, bookies, who don't have as much cash on hand) don't like taking that kind of risk. So they would rather have the same amount of money on each side, guaranteeing them a profit consisting of that 10% cut.\n\nSo the odds are determined by the house in an effort to get equal money on both sides. If they're getting too much money on the Giants, they will move the odds/spread to make the Giants less attractive. And they'll keep moving the odds/spread until the money starts to even out. ",
"I can't in all good conscience teach a five-year-old to gamble."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
5hdtbm
|
how do regular building crews on big infrastructure projects and buildings know what to build where, and how do they get everything so accurate when it all begins as a pile of dirt and rocks?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hdtbm/eli5_how_do_regular_building_crews_on_big/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dazdwva",
"dazdz6b",
"dazebnc",
"dazf7cn",
"dazfmzt",
"dazfy02",
"dazgwqv",
"dazhbbd",
"dazk695",
"dazldc2",
"dazljbd",
"dazngpb",
"daznio5",
"daznmxn",
"dazpe21",
"dazrcr3",
"dazslq1",
"dazt863",
"dazt92r",
"daztwv5",
"dazu8uj",
"dazufc6",
"dazup8h",
"dazuq2n",
"dazuxd0",
"dazv7jo",
"dazwso5",
"dazxjgd",
"dazxld5",
"dazxlxg",
"dazyekb",
"dazyqj6",
"dazzhtv",
"db00r3o",
"db01if9",
"db01sjq",
"db029ds",
"db02lk1",
"db02m01",
"db03c99",
"db03gwr",
"db03hjn",
"db03tdd",
"db043do",
"db04nzd",
"db04srx",
"db05apv",
"db05c5n",
"db05eqa",
"db060y0",
"db069hf",
"db06dir",
"db06tvq",
"db076ya",
"db07bc1",
"db07bvi",
"db07cu1",
"db07k5z",
"db08nxh",
"db094bs",
"db09u9e",
"db0aaz5",
"db0adnc",
"db0bppe",
"db0c3d3",
"db0d340",
"db0d58x",
"db0digs",
"db0earl",
"db0fuaf",
"db0geml",
"db0gg98",
"db0h68a",
"db0h7hk",
"db0h8yu",
"db0hbwg",
"db0htgq",
"db0iw55",
"db0jbmf",
"db0jooo",
"db0krz9",
"db0ksbc"
],
"score": [
24,
6,
620,
3,
18,
150,
33,
3421,
27,
2,
2,
2,
8,
3,
4,
4,
2,
3,
4,
2,
8,
3,
2,
4,
2,
2,
6,
2,
2,
2,
2,
4,
14,
679,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
3,
4,
2,
3,
2,
2,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Because it doesn't begin with a pile of dirt. It begins with computer drafting, physical models, blue prints, lots and lots of math and engineering. By the time you get to the pile of dirt, there's lots of smart people with a plan and a map of what is going to go where.",
"Architects and engineers use longitudinal/ latitudinal co-ordinates to pinpoint a grid for the structure which is fairly accurate and requires a lot of coordination between the two and the builders. \n\nBasically satellites, lasers and hundreds of architectural/ engineering drawings. \n\nSource: am architect ",
"Think of it a bit like building a lego set. Someone has thought of and designed every step of what they are going to do and the order they will do it it. There is a complex hierarchy of management to ensure planning, materials, progress and quality control are all happening on schedule. But just like with lego you are following the next set of instructions. Since unlike lego the project could involve thousands of people the most important aspect of construction is communication.",
"A lot of times they don't get it right. The phrase \"close enough is good enough\" gets said quite often. ",
"Architects (plus all the engineers) will draw plans of what they need built. This will often include a demolition plan. \n\nThe builder will come up with the most cost effective sequence of construction. \n\nCivil engineers will include drawings of what needs to be done with the earth before actual construction of footings. \n\nThe consultant team (architect, civil engineer, structural engineer, architect, services consultant) conduct periodic checks to ensure the building is built in accordance with their documentation. Their checks are often tied with their payments. \n\nTL;DR there's a whole team of people who check and cross check each other to make sure it's being built right. But ultimately the responsibility is on the builder to get it done quickest. ",
"In terms of translating the plans to an actual physical location on the earth:\n\nGPS and surveying equipment. Usually the GPS will locate a benchmark location away from the disturbance and the traditional surveying equipment will locate everything relative to that. On the higher end stuff we even have satellite controlled earthmoving equipment, which can reshape the land to match a digital model without any operator input.\n\nedit:\n\n_URL_0_",
"I'm a commercial/industrial project manager. A lot of it is having the right team design it, then having professionals like myself divide the work into specific subcontracts. The guys installing the foundations are not installing the lights. It is my job to coordinate with the design team and workers so that everything goes in per the plans. There are always gaps in information, so we ask a lot of questions along the way. On big projects there can be upwards of 200 managers coordinating specific trades with 3000 workers on site. If you have specific questions about the construction process feel free to ask. ",
"Construction manager here with over a decade of building experience. First, have you heard of my profession? I'm the guy who coordinates between the architect and engineer's design with the subcontractors, to make the pieces fit together. It's a ton of work and a lot of coordination involved. \n\nWe start by coordinating the layout of the building, columns, beams, piers, slab elevations, etc. Everything gets taken into account in order to build the building correctly. Then move on to laying out sheetrock walls and coordinating the MEP system. We make sure everything is approved and ordered ahead of time, because something like a Fire Pump can take 16 weeks to get.\n\nAs you can also imagine, people make mistakes. For a building there are a ton of mistakes. So often times we will have to redo work because someone forgot to insulate a pipe, or the material installed was the wrong one specified. There are also lots of design issues that may not work or incorrectly drawn. It's up to the construction manager to find these mistakes and resolve them in order to move on. \n\nIt's certainly not an easy process and I don't think GCs get nearly enough credit for the work GCs do. Newspaper articles always mention the developer and architect who completed a new building, never the Construction Managers/GCs who coordinated the whole thing.\n\nEDIT: Wow thanks for the gold!! I did not think so many people would be interested in construction. I will try to answer as many questions as I can. Also, I forgot to mention the surveyors, they deserve a lot of credit because they have no room for error. They supply the information for every trade to work off, so it's important to find a qualified surveyor. Lastly, when I say Construction Manager, I am referring to a team of people. This includes the PM, Superintendent, APMs, Estimators, Assistant Supers, etc.",
"An Architect or Civil Engineer will make plans showing where the building or road will go. And what it will look like. They will include on the plans both surface items and any underground utilities that need built. \n\nSurveyors will take those plans and use their tools (GPS and total stations) to mark the ground where, or near to where the features will go. Frequently they may have to offset their marks because if, for instance, they put a mark where a manhole is supposed to go, as soon as the contractor digs the first bit of hole all their accuracy is gone. \n\nAs the contractor builds there will be an inspector that keeps track of progress and quality to make sure that the contractor is building how and where they should be. Making sure they use the right materials and methods. Frequently they will work with surveyors on large infrastructure jobs to make sure that everything is in place. The inspector will often be the one to find issues as a project continues, and may be the one that has to redesign a bit on the fly. This usually comes about because you have to assume things like, there aren't giant boulders underground in an otherwise clear field. If the change is drastic they will work with the engineer/architect to work around the problem. ",
"Plans. Dozens and dozens and dozens of pages of plans. Also, meetings. Hours and hours of meetings every week.",
"As someone trying to learn woodworking and carpentry, this is exactly what I want to understand. It makes me think of an painter who can paint a detailed, realistic portrait. How do you visualize the whole thing before you've started? How do you know where to put the paint?",
"There are also trade coordiantors. We draw out all of out trades work, in 3d exactly( or as close as possible ) to how it will be installed in the field. All of the major building elements are then checked to ensure they will fit in the space provided and be accessible for maintenance. This work is either installed on site, or pre-built in a fabrication shop and shipped to the site. \n\nIn todays construction world BIM is the way things get done on large projects. One large model of the building, in 3d, that has all major trades work in it. \n\n",
"Commercial general contractor here, we build hospitals specifically. Much of the coordination you are asking about takes place in what we call the \"BIM Process\". BIM stands for Building Information Modeling. We literally build the entire building on the computer, from the concrete slabs and columns to the plumbing piping and electrical conduit in the walls and ceilings. The entire thing is prebuilt on the computer! It takes weeks of coordinating the plans the engineers and architects have proposed to create a realistic and practical model that can then be taken by the subcontractors and built into a physical building where doctors and nurses can save lives.\n\nThis is a very brief overlook, I'll be around to answer any questions if anyone wants further detail.",
"Also surveyors have to come out and grade the property preparing it for a slab. That's also when they layout and install underground piping for sewage and water so it's already there when they pour the slab. Plumbers work off of that and build their way up referring to detailed prints (often wrong when you have a bad drafting department working for you) \n\nI'm an apprentice, correct me if I'm wrong ",
"Hi there. I'm a Structure Foreman for a construction company. \n\nIn a nutshell we subcontract to the primary builder and we do the concrete structure work, from footings/raft slabs to lift cores, stairs, suspended concrete slabs, walls, columns etc. Essentially the 'shell' of the building.\n\nThe design and build is coordinated through civil, architectural and structural drawings. These work off grids and relative levels set out by the surveyors. Then we extrapolate that information to build what is on paper. Once we are done the services trades, electrical/plumbing/fire do their part then the finishing trades to complete interior.\n\nI've worked on bridges, tunnels & commercial buildings. In the last few years I've worked on several projects, I am actually about to get up for work now. Currently working on a 22 floor building near completion, my next project is a two tower student accommodation, 10 floor and 22 floor buildings. We have anywhere from 10-20 projects on at a time with upto 800 employees, our largest job at moment is 94 floor building!!",
"To summarise everything below, \nAssume the site is fine to build on. \nSite is surveyed and benchmarks and levels are used to create setting out (guys looking through the theodolites).\nThis is like having a point to start from. First thing is foundations. These are set out from the data above. Once these are level and positioned, the frame /walls will be set out in the same process.\nOnce the foundations and frame are in it is then much more straight forward for the further sub contractors to hang all the 'innards' of the building off this frame... it can't be in the wrong place (to a point) because the frame they are hanging it off is positioned correctly. \nBuilds of this nature are broken down into phases and stages. \nThis is all laid out as part of the method statement. Person X can't fit part Y until person Z has fitted part W etc. \nPlans and drawings are always broken down into a workable scales with dozens of different drawings detailing different fittings, setting out and details.\n",
"I work for a ship yard so big industrial projects. The best way to think of it is that it is built in stages. Stock steel is brought in, cut into shapes and welded together. Take these small units and make medium units. Take medium units and make big units. Take big units and build ship. Sort of like a big Lego set but with months and millions of dollars in planning. ",
"They base location of construction from previously known points of reference. All measurements are made from that/those points with precise measuring/survey tools.",
"Short answer to all your questions: Survey Markers. In the US, the markers are set and regulated by the government entities (local, state, or federal). It's where all projects starts, and use these as reference point. These markers are everywhere around if you know where to look. Typically the surveyors will have manual to look for them. Everything built, start with surveyors using these markers as starting point to pin point the exact location of the project site.\nIn rural area, these markers are very distance apart but with good equipments, surveyors still be able to mark. Modern equipments like GPS help the process of surveying. The markers are always there. The responsible government entities will be back to these markers from time to time to make sure they are there as where it should be.\nSomeone is hiring Civil EIT? LOL ",
"Basically imagine the project broken up into systems: earthwork, foundations, structure, electrical, mechanical, etc etc. Each system is designed by a licensed designer (architects and engineers) often with input from the builders (contractors and subcontractors) themselves. The design is made into drawings that are reviewed for code compliance and approved by the city, reviewed for constructability and estimated by the general contractor and then priced by the subcontractors who actually put the work into place. Once the project actually starts, there is coordination between all parties: contractors coordinate subcontractors and remove constraints by planning work, asking the right questions of the architect and keeping crews building efficiently. Architects make sure the building is meeting their intent and refine and clarify their design as needed. Subcontractors coordinate with one another to efficiently and accurately install their work.\n\nIt is - unfortunately - a typically very inefficient process because of how contracts are written",
"Oil and gas engineer here. Not a building, but I would definitely call this infrastructure. \n\nWhen we want to extract oil or natural gas from an area, we build a well pad with 10-40 individual horizontal wells on it. The process from planning to completion of an entire pad can take 3-5 years and involves hundreds of people. \n\nThe whole process begins with the geology department, who determines the best locations to construct well pads based on various scientific and surveyed parameters. Once a suitable formation is targeted, the project moves on to the land department who determine who in the given area would be willing to allow a company to drill on their land. Once we've acquired the acreage necessary to accommodate horizontal wells, it goes to the drilling design department who determine how many wells to place in the leased land, as well as the best place to site the pad itself. At this point, as many as three years can pass and no actual ground work has been done. \n\nOnce all of the legal, design, and geologic things are worked out, the construction department begins the clearing of the pad. They survey the site, determine how to level it, and hire contractors to clear the trees and brush. The individual guys out on location don't know the designs behind the pad layout. All they know is what their trade is. If they are responsible for removing obstacles, the site manager tells them that they need to clear everything x distance this way and y distance that way. Same with everything else. The major designed decisions are broken down to simple on the spot operations. \n\nOnce the construction of the pad is compete, drilling moves the actual drilling rig in and drills the wells. During this process there is a chain of command, each with a varying level of detailed knowledge about the operation. At the top, managers are focused on strategic budgeting and scheduling. In the middle, engineers specialize in design and optimization and create solutions to problems that might occur. At the bottom are the guys on the rig, whose experience and hands on knowledge allow them to focus on operations and specific, immediate processes, such as monitoring well pressure, steering the drillbit, or monitoring drilling cuttings to place the position of various rock formations. Also, people who specialize in logging periodically run logging instruments into the well to map it's progress. \n\nFinally, it gets handed off to the completions group. During this process, the wells are stimulated and turned into the pipeline. During stimulation, a similar command structure exists. On site, each person is responsible for a narrow, manageable task. One guy monitors the pumps, while another controls the blender. All of these people communicate the relatively simple aspects of their job to the company man who then processes all of he information to make decisions on the progress of the job. \n\nAt the end of the day, it takes an army of people with progressively more strategic thinking working together to turn a pile of dirt into a producing well pad. It is like tactical can strategic. Someone has to know the major overarching goals, limitations, etc. and someone has to know the simpler more immediate operations. ",
"Check out BIM. Building information modeling. It's a complex model of the entire building and can include information such as construction sequence and scheduling.",
"There's workers and there's bosses and even the bosses have bosses. The bosses bosses draw the whole building on a piece of paper with every piece and they give it to the bosses. The bosses job is to figure out what order to put all of the pieces together in, like a puzzle, and the worker's move the pieces into place. ",
"Seems almost everyone is responding in regards to placing a building down. I work in infrastructure designing Commuter Rail stations for lines that only span about 10-20km through cities and urban areas that have 10+ stops on each. \n\nHow the shit is everything coordinated when you're talking 20km? Survey is taken for the extents of the proposed corridor and the track guys get to work placing a track centerline down in 3D CAD. CAD has built in Geodetic coordinates that have a northing and an Easting (North America). Align them up with Survey and boom anything you place down in the cad file has geodetic coordinates (even elevation). \n\nThis means ALL disciplines designing in the project during design phase have to use the SAME coordinates, this means everyone uses the Track drawings to place their individual components and coordinate from there.\n\nYou then have the CMGC use the real time models (CAD) or sheets upon sheets of coordinate data for each component during construction in the field. So he knows where to dig that hole in the pile of dirt and rocks. :)",
"They work off drawings produced by architects and engineers. They locate things in the real world with the help of a land surveyor. \n\nBuilders have to be very organised, to make sure things are ordered/ arrive and are built and installed in the right sequence. \n\nDepending on the size of project, the design, documentation, management team can often have many more people than are involved in the construction phase. ",
"To answer your question:\n\nFirst thing, each state/nation has a set of standard coordinate points, on which land parcels, and other reference points get referenced. These state-wide/nation-wide sets of coordinates defines where in the planet your site is located (The North West Corner of the site is 45,697 ft North, 456,556 ft East of California Datum Point XX). Once these coordinates are established, on the early stages of the design a \"reference grid\" gets lay down which specific to that job site. Usually this reference grid matches with major columns, walls, etc this is the main reference for architectural, structural drawings. When something is ready for construction (a foundation as an example) a surveying crew will come before any construction work stats and with the design drawings in hand will mark the different points the construction crews will use for their work. This is called construction staking. These markings are usually done with wood \"sticks\", strings and paint. \n\nOne thing to keep in mind is that Construction Survey equipment is unbelievably accurate. Those guys can draw a straight line pretty much for miles. They use special \"telescopes\" and scopes that can narrow down lines of sight, in addition to lasers, and GPS systems that also automate alot of this work. \n\n",
"I love the construction management/engineers on here taking credit for our survey work, it's just like real life! Then when something goes wrong, they have nothing to do with it, everything is all survey's fault. \n\nIt's been said, but we have primary control points with geodetic references on them to tie the project to the world, generally our secondary control points are set on a local coordinate system specifically for whatever project we're working on, so on the drawings there will be reference measurements to one of those primary control points so we know how to orientate the building/road/plant/etc and then from there establish secondary control within the lease of the work area. Most projects I've worked on require a 3mm tolerance for a good chunk of the anchor bolts or machine bases so the GPS equipment becomes irrelevant (due to only having roughly a 20mm precision when we need it tighter, plus the signal gets weak or distorted easily up against anything taller than the rover pole) so most of the layout, setting and as-builds need to be done with a total station, which is the camera looking thing on a tripod that you'll see in the side of the road sometimes. I hate my job.",
"ELI5 in one sentence: Copious amounts of planning, drawing, refining, and measuring. Literally sometimes up to 5 years before ground is even broke!",
"I work for an AE firm as a BIM (Building Information Modeling) Manager. It's part of my job to make sure the models that we're designing and passing onto the contractors/owners are buildable. Using the digital models that have taken thousands of hours to complete, we link them all together and then make sure the HVAC, plumbing, etc systems will actually fit into the building we've designed. All while ensuring we're following code requirements and owner requirements. \n\nThe contractors do the heavy lifting - literally - but in this day and age, hardly anything is done just on paper any more. I don't know of any firms that are hand drafting, and buildings are soon going to be crazy shapes and designs, thanks to generative design.",
"Most modern sites are carefully pathed with gps, then surveying crews. Things then get marked, a few discussions happen, shovels hit dirt, different specialty crews collaborate in virtually all steps toward construction completion. Add in project managers adding in job change orders here and there and its done. \n\nThe surveying crews, and the gps crews do a lot of good to get that accuracy. Taking measurements happens at almost every level of construction. ",
"We (designers) use a world coordinate system to locate item in real space and then further clarify with added dimensions. Called layout drawings\n\n\nContractors takes coordinate points, plugs into a theodolite/gps and drops those points down as base points and then, HOPEFULLY follow the drawings. But apparently it's too hard to do that sometimes (it shouldn't be)",
"Many good answers here regarding buildings. I am also a construction manager, for infrastructure projects such as roads, pipelines, treatment plants, etc.\n\nYour description of a \"pile of dirt and rocks\" is pretty accurate.\n\nThe people who have the ideas that they want something built or replaced go and hire the engineers. These guys and gals are sharp and they come up with a \"design\" that considers lots of things such as safety and compliance with the government rules. They have meetings and discussions and finally they have a design that they are happy with and it gets written down into a set of plans.\n\nFrom there, they usually go get a contractor who is capable of doing it and these are the guys who figure out what type of equipment is needed, the best guys to operate the equipment, where to start and in what order things get done.\n\nWhen you are first starting out in the field, it does seem like a big ant pile and appears many times like chaos. As you gain more experience and learn the best tricks from the old timers, your planning becomes better and better. After 30 years, like me, you can build the project in your mind and are able to communicate that to others.\n\nMore specifically, we use computer software to create a timeline of what activity starts when, how long it should take, and what needs to be done before it can start. This is how we tell people to be ready for the piece of work that they are going to do on the job.\n\nAlso, professional surveyors set stakes that are used to give us the actual locations on the face of the earth. Then we use equipment controls that receive signals from satellites revolving overhead and telling us where the equipment is on the face of the earth. Then the operator makes sure the equipment is working in the same place as the design says to be working. Many of these systems are accurate enough so that we can say we are a millimeter within where we are supposed to be. That's about the length of your wiener, there champ.",
"22 years here - 10 as a laborer, 2 as a project engineer, and another 10 pretending I know everything\n\nthis is how it really goes down\n\neveryone is drunk, high, both, or an imbecile\n\nthere are maybe five guys that are not all three or at least hold their liquor or show up reliably despite being high\n\nof those guys, there are three that can read the plans\n\none, can also layout\n\nthat guy spends all day with a can of spray paint, a sharpie, and grade stakes - he stays ahead of everyone and basically draws the plans out on the ground and leave the equivalent of post it notes on stakes\n\nthe game is to catch up with him since you cannot work faster than him, you get to sit around while he stresses out that you caught up with him and tries to lay something out for you to do\n\nI have watched many highways, railroads, streets, etc done this way - always one guy that gets it and mostly bitches about it after work that we'd all be fucked if he was hit by a car\n\nI assure you the managers and engineers don't know this - to them it is turtles all the way down and there is some magic guy that they imagine is some kind of engineer/manager in their own image that does this shit\n\nwhere do the plans come from, and how do they know everything so accurate, the fuck if I know - I was not the guy with the sharpie reading the plans and not the guy making them - probably another magic guy somewhere at a computer someplace",
"I'm really late to this party but I do this for a living. I can answer any questions if they have not been already.\n\n\nBasically the regular building crews have only a rough idea of about where things go. The current top comment is from a construction manager; he has no idea where things go either vertically or horizontally. Notice he said he coordinates, that's his job, management and scheduling. \n\n\nThe people that do know are the surveyors. \n\n\nWe start by performing a topo and an as-built survey. This is basically a three dimensional map that shows current elevations of a property and anything that is built on it. We also map everything that is underground, power, water lines, gas etc..\nThis map then goes to the civil engineers and architects who create detailed designs and structural plans based on the property. These plans have elevations and dimensions for almost everything.\n\n\nAt this point we get these plans both in paper form and in a “cad” file. We then use autocad or somthing similer to create precise coordinates for every single thing on the site. We also give these coordinate points elevations. \n\n\nSo say there is a storm water manhole that needs put in. We will give it coordinates with a “northing” and “easting” just like any other map and a certain elevation based off the civil engineers design. \n\n\nSo at this point the construction manager wants to put that box in, so he calls me and I come out with my equipment and set up on what are called “transverse” or “control” points. These points also have coordinates and are tied into the existing property locations we have already set up. From these points I can find and mark any point on the plans within a thousandth of an inch.\nSo I will put into my handheld computer that I need to go to that storm manhole and follow the directions. It will read something like OUT:100’ LEFT:22’ or whatever. Basically I just go to the exact location and mark it for the people installing the structures and tell them how far up or down the box needs to be.\n\n\nWe do this for every single thing on a site. Curb, light poles,manholes, planter boxes I mean everything. And this is how regular crews put things in exactly where they are designed. \n\n\nNow, this is an extremely simplified description of the process but hopefully it gives you the jist of it. Feel free to ask if there is anything more specific you wanna know about.\n\n\nAlso forgive grammar and spelling! I have the day off and have been sipping on some Macallan 15\nfor a…. bit. I ain't proofreading shit today. ",
"The first part of construction is to set an absolute point on the construction area in 3d i.e., elevation and the latitude and longitude. This is the most important thing. From there you have super detailed plans and very specific instructions on how to do everything else.",
"Can anyone on here succinctly explain how measurements are made to begin the layout process?\n\nFor example, you start from a known point using a Transit.\n\nBut, how do you know that's a known point? \n\nIs there some kind of universal known point from which all measurements are made?",
"Then there is the building inspectors who get no love. They find many problems and nip them in the bud only to have the contractors pissed because they may have to re do something and everyone else pissed because they have to spend more time than originally thought to finish the job and the people who will be using the structure usually have no idea that they narrowly avoided having a boo boo that they would have to deal with.\nA thankless job. Please take your building inspectors office doughnuts. \nAlso usually they are poor.",
"Did you not watch the logo movie?! They read the instructions! ",
"I work for a Virtual Construction and Design firm in Chicago and we're hired by a lot of General Contractors/Architects. We'll help them out with everything from:\n\nQuantity Take Offs: We'll receive PDF plans from client for their project including dimensions and materials they want to use. Using estimation software, we can then provide them with how much material they will need. This helps the contractors know how much they need so they don't over/under buy materials!\n\nBuilding Information Modeling (BIM): We will typically take either pre-existing 2D building plans from the client or what is called a point cloud scan (laser survey of the existing structure, land, etc.) and create a 3D model of the entire building before it is built! We include the architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing elements. This can be as detailed as the client wants.\n\nScheduling: This is one of my favorites. This helps clients determine how long building will take as well as the logical building order. We also will put these schedules into Virtual Reality for clients who request it, and create a video of the building of how it looks at each point in time from the ground up.\n\nAll of these different services really help get an accurate picture of the building before it has even started!\n",
"Short answer: Plans & measurements. Plans contain scale drawings with dimensions, detailed material lists, schedules to get everything in the right sequence. Measurements are made from stable reference locations, before, during and after construction, to make sure everything is where is should be (or, where it ended up being built, for changes).",
"The majority of the different aspects of a building don't have to be built to exact tolerances. \n\nFor example: The plans show a window that is supposed to be 6' X 6', but the framer/steel erector actually made it 5'11\" X 5'10\". The window subcontractor measures the opening before fabricating/ordering the window so it fits what is actually there instead of what the plans say is supposed to be there. \n\nThat isn't always the way it goes, but it is an example of how a lot of these things work. Sometimes something does have to be exact and it is on the contractor to ensure that all the trades involved are aware of that and build it correctly. There are dozens of different trades involved in constructing a building and the vast majority of them have been on many other similar projects and understand how everything is supposed to work. On the \"out of the box\" projects they are more careful to make sure they are doing everything according to the plans. \n\n",
"Everyone is answering about how plans are made. For the CREWS it all comes down to a few simple things. Reading plans and doing layout are the two most crucial steps for the subject you're asking about. Recapping what everyone has already said... The architects engineers and other firms they contract with spend 1000s of hours designing the plans and then contractors order large sets specified to their respected trades. So a masonry company will receive several table sized paper plans/specs that detail exactly how and where things are to be installed using layouts with dimensions that pinpoint installation locations. \n\n\nBeyond that it comes down to the human element. Most foremen in charge of their trade in the field have YEARS of experience in construction giving them a unique logistics skillset. Thsee skills are applied across interactions with other trades and allows for better scheduling, synergistic use of assets, and leeway in the construction process. What I mean is, not everything is going to be perfect nor does it have to be. As long as all other trades that will be effected by imperfect installation or intentional alterations are made aware well in advance of it effecting them then they can usually make other alterations as necessary. \n\nSomething else that really helps is breaking down the installations by section and tackling things as they come instead of trying to overcome the entire process at once. So if I'm installing interior walls and a wall on one side will be a few inches out if spec for whatever reason then that might just have to be the way it is and it's on to the next section which is completely uneffected by that decision.",
"Take a big job and split it into smaller ones. There are MANY layers of management on projects.\nThe site i'm working right now is tiny (500 square meters) but there is a development manager, a project manager, a site foreman and his building tradesmen below him and then me and the other specialists hanging out in the sidelines.\nThere are also architects, surveyors, structural engineers and a load of others that might never see the site. ",
"Fire Suppression System Designer here!\n\nUsually, from my point of view, they pour the slab (foundation) and then begin to assemble the columns to which the steel is then attached to. Once the roof goes on the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing start to get installed. Walls are then put in and then it's the finishing touches like painting and what have you.\n\nMy job is to look at the contract documents and design a fire sprinkler system to fit inside the building as well as make sure it's coordinated with other trades so we aren't clashing.\n\nDuring that process, depending on how big the building is, we do 3D-BIM (virtual) coordination. Which is exactly what you would think it is. \n\nOur plans go to the local AHJ as well as the Architect for approvals. \n\nAfter that we send our pipe to a fabricator and they fabricate our pipe, put outlets on and cut to our dimensions. Once that is done we install it. ",
"Not sure how they did it 20+ years ago but platforms like Aconex keep everyone on a site working from the same version of designs and they have 3D BIM modelling etc incorporated into it.",
"This post made me think of a my visit to a WW2 liberty ship on display at the pier in SF. This ship looks like a mini Titanic and they built the thing in less than a month With no computers, laser calibrated tools, or even a cordless screwdriver. And today it takes years to build an overpass. \n\nOf course this is also pre minimum wage, and pre OSHA and there was sort of a world war going on. So I guess people suffered for this level of efficiency.",
"\n\nIndustrial Electrician here.\n\nThe easy answer? Gps and autocad. Engineering lays it out. We build it per their specs. They come and check variance often. \n\nPlus they never engineer prototypes correct the first time. Always changes. \n\n",
"In western Canada General Contractors (GC's) seem to play a different role.\n I've been a Journeyman Plumber strictly on the commercial/Industrial side of Plumbing for the past 10 years, constructing new multi floor hotels/schools to large boilers systems as well as plumbing systems in high rise office buildings. As plumbers we seem to have control of the job, after the grade beams etc are poured we come in to do all our under ground piping, once our inspectors have come and inspected our work then we give the go ahead for the bottom floor to be poured, we need to babysit the guys pouring concrete as they use a pump truck with a hose to pump the concrete into the building, I say we have to babysit them because we have from anywhere between 20 to 250 pipes that extend through the concrete that we have carefully measured to make sure they will be inside walls once the walls are built (we will have many 4.5\" pipes inside 5.5\" walls so we only have half an inch of play on either side of our pipes) and quite often these pipes get knocked around by the concrete guys when they are pouring the concrete and moving their hose around... so to prevent us from having to jackhammer the floor later it is easiest to keep a couple guys on site to keep an eye on our pipes as they are pouring... \nThen we let the framers or steel erectors get one floor ahead of us, when they have the first floor ready and are working on the second floor we will come in and start all our plumbing/testing for the first floor and so on until we reach the top. And while they are working on the first floor we will dig in all our utilities from the street, we will dig in our water service and our sewer/rain water and manholes drains for the parking lot (s) and we will have the gas booked for this time as well.\nThen once we reach the top and have our drainage system installed, water pipes installed, gas lines have been run, line sets for air conditioning etc and everything has been inspected by our inspectors we will give the go ahead for the drywall to be started. Once the drywall is underway we will work on the hot water heater(s) heating system (boilers / roof top units / make up airs/ air handling units etc) \nonce drywall and paint is done we follow behind putting in all our fixtures, toilets, urinals, sinks, showers, drinking fountains, there's usually a commercial kitchen or two in these buildings.\nThere's tons and tons of work for the plumbers in these buildings and maybe I should mention when I say plumbers we also do all the duct work and sprinkler / fire suppression systems as well and like I said over the years the GC'S (around here) don't seem to do much, everything seems to stem off of us the plumbers and as a result we have started bidding jobs as the GC'S ourselves, I'm on my second project where I am the GC and the lead plumber at the same time and it isn't much more work for me, it actually seems to save time as we can skip the in between person when going to the architect or engineer with questions / problems.\nAnyways sorry for the long winded reply but that's the procedure on most buildings out here in western Canada.. \n\n\n",
"I work in transmission pipelines (none of the ones you've heard of). Not exactly a big building but a similar construction challenge. Take a 400 mile pipeline for example. You basically spend years surveying every inch of your proposed route, talking to every single state, local, and federal agency and land owner , re-route it 900 times for 900 different reasons, develop like 10 different revisions of alignment sheets for every revision, employ an army of right-of-way people, lawyers, construction dudes, etc. Then you have an army of engineers engineer every inch of it and drafters develop approximately 5 billion permit drawings, site plans, alignment sheets, plats, etc. And that's just the pipeline part. There's also compressor stations, launcher/receivers, valves, taps, loops, HDDs, etcetcetc\n\n\n\nTldr: basically just a lot of hard work spread over a long period of time. ",
"Hi, Im a site engineer. Possibly a bit late but i can give rundown of the construction process for us actually installing,\n\nWe receive a design produced in CAD. This cad file will be aligned to known control points inthe ground, with real world easting, northings and vertical levels.\n\nThis can then be used to produce a total station file with all the points logged with co-ordinates.\n\nThis can then be used with a total station, which is a modern theodolite. This then takes measurements of the control points to calculate its own position, then measure a target to give information on how close it is to the design point it has on file.\n\nBy this method we can measure the size of excavations, foundation levels, road positions, rail positions to 1mm or less accuracy.\n\nHope this helps if it isn't buried!\n",
"Steel framer here. Ability to visualize, and comprehension of PLANS.\n\nMath, depending on the job/role you play.\n\nIt isn't that hard when you have the right tools and plenty of experience.\n\nIt can be a long process, that really depends on crew size and weather or not everyone is always working.\n\nEngineers make sure it's all proper. Most people don't see structures the same as them.",
"Union Carpenter, here....So they start by bringing in a surveyor to establish control lines and elevations. These come from marks that already exist. A manhole may be X feet above sea level; a building next to your project might be set back Y from street center. Nowadays, GPS enabled instrument is the main tool for complicated layout.\n\n This gives the structural guys something to measure from. Everyone after can either use the physical structure or the surveyors work to place their own work. It's almost guaranteed that not everything will fit where it was intended. Changes are made constantly to account for this.",
"I work with computer models to assist with design and construction coordination. Sometimes we link the 3d model to a construction schedule to animate and review the process. It looks like this: _URL_0_",
"From more on the front-line worker's perspective, I'm a 4th level Sheet Metal apprentice. My company does the ducting and air systems in ICI sector buildings, and I've already been involved with some very large projects beginning to end.\n\nWhen it comes to our part of the building, we'll get our drawings from the engineers and architects, which will essentially let us know everything from how much air every room should be getting, where the controls for the air/heat/AC should be, what type of fans, rooftop units, heat exchangers, etc. etc. that we're going to need for the job. We're also given the size of ducting to be used on our drawings for the whole structure.\n\nUnfortunately, the drawings don't always work exactly as planned. Sometimes there's no way to make things exactly the way the engineer wanted which could be due to many reasons such as interference from other objects, mechanical/architectual changes, simple mistakes etc. \n\nThe trades and sub-trades don't just need to know how to build what we're told, but we also need to know how and when to make acceptable changes to existing designs and submit these to the engineer/architect. This is true for almost all trades, and why (at least here in Canada) becoming a journeyman is a lot of work and constant learning.\n\nSo to sum it up, we get plans to follow which break everything down into a functional final product, but don't always work perfectly, so we use our expertise to find acceptable compromises to get everything as close to the plans as possible.",
"I work as a layout engineer for a large construction manager. Our operations technology division works with the architect and structural engineers to draw the building(s) in a CAD file. I take this file and create a 2-D version and use it to create points based on the building features (centers of columns, wall line, building perimeter, etc). I then input these points into a data collector that I use with my total station. \nThe total station is a piece of surveying equipment that determines the location of the selected points based on its current position from angle and distance measurements. This used to be done manually by calculating angles and distances for all points from a known base point. Now, my total station calculates these measurements automatically and shows me, via the data collector screen, where the selected point is in relation to my current location. \nOnce I determine the location of the selected point (for example a column center) I mark offsets of this location on the ground so that the carpenters can build the column concrete form in the correct location. \n\nTL;DR: engineers build the building in a computer, and I use a fancy laser machine to mark out there building's features to be built. \n\nWould be happy to answer more questions about construction layout if anyone's interested. ",
"Surveyors. The surveyors use optical or laser alignment tools like total stations, levels, scanners, and trackers to set coordinate location/elevation of nearly everything on a job site. ",
"I work in construction and the way I see it is detailed drawings to any man who can figure it out. And it isn't always the man with the appropriate pay grade. ",
"Low voltage contractor here (A/V guy). As a lot of the project manger/engineer types have pointed out, it's mainly all about breaking down the overall plan into workable components. We work closely with the architects on all of our projects and begin planning as early as possible. Even though we are generally one of the last subs to come in it is important that we know the overall plan and we coordinate accordingly. We have great relationships with our builders and work with the PM and other subs through any issues or conflicts. Change orders and flexibility are the nature of the game. \n\nPerhaps the homeowner decided on different cabinetry after wiring and screwed up the location of a keypad or touchscreen. Maybe the drywall or trim guy ran a screw or nail through something on accident. Or the homeowner decided that he wants a bigger tv and our fancy recessed mount is now off center so the wall has to be reframed. It happens all the time. It's a fluid process that often requires a great deal of competence and creativity to accomplish. ",
"Construction Services Manager here with 9 years working in the civil road and bridge world for a consultant to the Florida DOT. Regarding infrastructure (roads and bridges) it definitely can start out as undeveloped dirt and rocks. Before the engineers even get funded to design a road or bridge (which is a process that can take many years in and of itself) the state will fund geotechnical surveys of the land they want to build on, and this process lays out where verything will go using GPS and the horizontal and vertical survey datums.",
"My father-in-law is a structural engineer, and a very good one. He worked on several very large infrastructure projects in our area. Every time I drive over one of the bridges he helped design I am reminded how I couldn't *ever* do this work. Any job I do needs an \"undo\" button.",
"Right now in Georgia they are building a billion dollar expansion to I-75 that is essentially an expressway from the exurbs to almost downtown Atlanta, bypassing a lot of exits and traffic along the way.\n\nI asked my wife the other day, I wonder how they were able to plan that highway around existing roads AND make it work. This is a long road and there are many supports being built around and between exit ramps. To me it seems like they just got lucky that they were able to place everything exactly where they needed it to build this new road, but then I realize how fucking smart engineers really are",
"Heavy highway carpenter here, I build bridges and big walls and shit. I feel like a lot of the answers given are good but not exactly ELI5, so I'll give a crack at ELY5-ing.\nBasically the plans are drawn up for where, how big, how much bridge/wall/structure blah blah blah. Not my job, that's office people. \nSurveyors come out and plot points for the dirt crews to come out and prep the earth for some building shit to go down. Also not really my job, maybe some operators can fill in those blanks. \nOnce the earth is prepped and the surveyors come in again we come in. We will find the points given by the surveyors and look at the plan details to see how far from that designated point we need be and what other little things need to go into the structure. Build up concrete forms in place, pour concrete into them, strip them and you have your structure. Most of the time, like on bridges, one structure is just the first phase toward the entire structure being completed so getting even the small shit right on each one can be critical in getting it right for the future phases of project. But it all breaks down to running good string lines, using levels, and strong bracing to prevent failure while placing concrete. \nThere's obviously much more to it but that's as ELI5 ish as I can get it",
"There are benchmarks on the property that are used for elevations and a datum that everything is measured off of.\n\nUsually the first people on site are the surveyors who find the concrete and steel post markers are and everything is measured off of those. \n\nOnce you have those locations, the plans will have dimensions for everything for the layout of the building. Columns are located on a grid drawing that will have the column. Enter lines detailed, along with the type of columns too.\n\nDepending on the footprint of the site, contractors will use GPS to locate points on the site where everything will be measured off of.",
"Also, to anyone curious, there are a lot of designers that go into a building. To name a few:\n\n1. Architect: This is your floor plans, ceiling plans, cabinetry plans, door plans, and is really in charge of most of the things you *see* in/on a building\n\n2. Civil/Site Engineer: Basically he's in charge of what dirt goes where. He'll also often do sidewalks, parking lots, etc. \n\n3. Structural Engineer: The guy in charge of making the building stand \n\n4. Mechanical Engineer: HVAC & plumbing\n\n5. Electrical Engineer: Lights, sometimes fire alarms, sometimes intercoms \n\n6. Landscape Engineer: Does all of the plants and other cosmetics on the outside of the building ",
"This has turned into a bunch of engineers/contractors/architects congratulating themselves for being engineers/contractors/architects. Ugh, The worst. \n\nAnyway, you know IKEA flat pack furniture? You know the directions are really specific? Like, leg 1 that looks like this goes into this hole, etc?\n\nFor a building, blue prints are exactly like that. The designers design a building, aka, they write up pages upon pages of IKEA instructions. But way more complicated. A contractor would take those drawings, buy all of the stuff that the detailed blueprints tell them to buy, and build it exactly the way the drawings tell them to. Modern day construction drawings are so complex and detailed, down to the specific mix of concrete, how many layers of drywall are supposed to be screwed onto what type of stud, at what spacing, etc.",
"Heavy equipment operator here. Surveyors are definitely the first line, but each trade needs to do a proper job in order to allow the next trade to do their job. Engineers plan it, surveyor shoots it, operators, like me, remove and rebuild it, trades guys move in and start building it. If the surveyors do a good job, I can do my job easily. If I do my job well, the trades can do their job. If the trades do their job correctly, the customer is happy. Really is that simple. ",
"Near where I live is a company that has an immense square \"pole barn\". When architects in the area want to try out surface finishes, window sealing, etc, they show up there. Workers build TO SCALE a big section of the building's exterior wall, say 50 feet wide and maybe 60 feet tall.\n\nThe outside looks exactly like it should when built. The inside is sealed up against the interior pole barn walls, and there's what looks like a submarine door on it. They then can reduce pressure inside of the structure and set up sprinkler units on the outside. More like fire hoses.\n\nThere's a forklift-mobile airplane engine structure with prop, and a set of levers for throttle and prop pitch. They blow wind and water at the side of the building with what a skyscraper might really see, then shut it all down and go inside and look for leaks.\n\nThey learn valuable information about how well their desired mounting & sealing methods work before actually constructing the real skyscraper.\n\n",
"I'm actually a surveyor, and I generally do houses in Florida. Building is based on my work. We get elevations of an empty lot and locate everything. Then we lay out the corners of the house with precise equipment to 0.001's of a foot. Then the construction can begin. A crew comes in and places the form boards of the house foundation based on our points we set, then they pour concrete and start piling blocks up to create a house. That's just a quick explanation, but it's really amazing to see an empty lot go from grass and dirty, to sometimes a multi-million dollar mansion. And i get to be a part of it every step of the way.",
"We had a 55' bridge installed across a creek to get to our building site. The very first thing the crew did was to drive a nail into the asphalt road adjacent to where the bridge was to be constructed. This \"control point\" dictated angles, elevations and distances to the foundations. So I think the main answer is surveyors identifying points on the ground where speceific structures are to be built based on the engineer's or architect's plans.\n It was amazing later to watch a crane gently lower the 3 steel ibeams into place with the predrilled holes aligning perfectly with the studs that had been placed in the abuttments. The magic of math!",
"GIS tech/utility mapper here. I can tell you it's not because the civil engineering plans are so well-drawn, clear, and accurate. ",
"Nobody has mentioned [Gantt chart](_URL_0_) scheduling? We use this extensively in tech infrastructure projects. \n\n",
"Tons of great answers on here. My quick take:\n\nArchitect lays out building to make it pretty and accessible.\n\nCivil Engineer makes sure it fits on the proposed site.\n\nStructural Engineer makes sure it stands up.\n\nMechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Engineers (this is what I do for work) makes sure the utilities meet code and design the systems to serve the building. \n\nThen it gets passed on to a General Contractor who interprets the plans, hires subcontractors, and they all bid on the job. Lowest reasonable bid gets it, buys all the materials, and builds it. \n\nThe real key here is the drawings (they aren't blueprints likes you see in the movies). The architect creates them in CAD (2d) or Revit (3d model) and those plans are used to generate drawings for and by all the engineers listed above. All these drawings together have to get approved for permits, get reviewed tons of times, and eventually get bid on by the GC. \n\nAll parties listed above are involved throughout the entire process, right up until keys are turned over to the owner. The Architect generally takes the lead on everything and coordinates the design portion (working closely with the engineers) and then works super closely through the construction process, which is all kept track of and coordinate by the project manager for the general contractor. The architect works directly for the building owner (guy paying the bills) and is usually the first one hired, and head person in charge. \n\nP.S., this entire process cost millions of dollars and for larger buildings can take years. Construction alone can take over a year or even 2 on large projects. Design is usually around a year max. ",
"ultra-simplified version:\n\nthere is a big book of drawings that detail every little aspect of the building; you may know them as blueprints. but they arent blue anymore, and are several pages long. each page deals with a different aspect of the building - it also includes scale ratios (how big on paper vs. how big IRL) as well as lots of building requirements and material information.\n\nSecondly, each page of that book, is a specialists job. no one gets overwhelmed, because they know what their job is (i.e; plumber, carpenter, HVAC) and they are called in by the Construction manager when it is time for them to do their thing. Being their profession, it gets easy after a while. edit: also, they can check the blueprints for any information they may need that is specialized for the building. \n\n\nThe coordination between sub-trades is the moving of the gears, as you cant have certain trades in before other trades. for example; you wouldnt want the electricians to come in after the drywallers, and youll need the carpenters on site first or second after excavators, to build the framework and such. its a rotating door of trades, sub-trades, inspectors, and issue-tackling. \n\nIt might seem like its scary complicated, but in practice, the overall process is pretty simple.\n\nSource: carpenter, worked on many different types of sites; from home and commercial reno, to tilt-up and house builds from the ground. Carpenters often run job sites, and must have knowledge of all/most sub-trades to be valuable in their workplace. Since mistakes are commonplace, knowledge of sub-trades can save a build thousands in contractor fees, though will vary from place to place.",
"If anyone is curious, a laborer basically spends most of his time picking up piss bottles left by Mexican crews. Nasty fuckers...I understand some cases where you are 30 feet up and the outhouse is on the ground floor. In that case throw it in the garbage on your way out. Nasty bastards fill up all manner if uncapped bottles full of urine everywhere they fucking go. And they will throw it on the ground six inches from a garbage can.\n\nsource: worked as a laborer for 3 years",
"Years of planning, lots of people are involved in building stuff. Even for small houses. Architects design, engineers make sure it all works. \n\nSource: I'm a truss designer for a lumber company ",
"The way I interpret your question, your more asking how everything can \"line up\" perfectly after a big multi facet project is completed. It does obviously require good communication between the sub trades involved, ie plumbing, hvac, electrical, mechanical, piping, concrete ect. But that aspect plays a much bigger role in efficiently meeting project mile stones, schedules, and budgets. As far as the physical aspects of the building working out \"perfectly\" from the time it's just a hole in the ground all the way to the 20th floor and the commissioning of the structure and its contents, that's not just accomplished by good construction planing and management. \n\nWhen starting a large project from scratch, we establish what's called a \"bench mark\" which is a fixed elevation we can set from an established object or ground height. We call this bench mark bm. We give the bm a value not of 0' which you might expect, but depending on the specs of the project, something like 100'. We do this so any structure below the bm does not require a negative elevation, which adds to unnecessary confusion. So say the ground floor elevation is 100', the foundation may start at an elevation of 90'. That does not mean it's 90' off the ground, it means it's 10' below the bench mark of 100'. The second floor would be something like 110'. When we start from an accurate fixed point, and survey in the elevations of future levels, structures, equipment pads, ect we can be accurate down to the 16th of an inch with fairly simple equipment, no matter how far up or down we go. Each floor will get a unique elevation mark in relation to the bm, commonly a level line drawn on a peice of tape on the structural steel, and then marked with the corresponding elevation. Then all elevations for that level can be taken off this mark in following with the blueprints specs. We survey in block outs for mechanical chases, electrical , piping ect, as well as set heights for equipment pads to be poured ect. This just carries on all the way up/ down the structure, taking care of all the up and down of things. For placement of things north south east and west, it simply comes down to surveying in centre lines, corner points ect, which are all given on the engineerd drawings. Obviously nothing ever works out perfect , so we make changes as necessary in the field, and when everything is how it needs to be, we do what's called \"as builts\" or \"redline\" drawings which accurately show the changes made from the original IFC (issued for construction) drawings. We do this for future Maintence and modifications sake. As long as everyone does their job well, mistakes get found and fixed, and the blueprints were all done properly, it's all really just math. Now in the real world....every step of that process has hiccups starting with the prints having mistakes; and then moving all the way down the line....and That is why good field supervision on projects is just as crucial to the final projects success as the managements back end work. ",
"It's simple.. \n\nYou take 100 simple tasks and hire 100 different companies who are extremely good at these specific yet not overly complicated tasks .. then they do them in the order that some really smart people deemed is the best order to do them in. Being that these tasks are not really rocket science, when problems occurs you can bet that the guys you hired have dealt with these problems before and can even help the real smart overall guys figure out how to solve this specific little problem. ",
"I Design for a living so here's a shot. Surveyors go out and take pictures of the existing ground (survey). They hand these pictures over to the designers in computer files that we can play with. We make all the changes necessary until it looks like what we want with detailed info. Once done we hand over our ideas to the guys who are going to build it with a list of materials and sometimes instructions along with a new survey. Once they start building they continously ask for the surveyors to give new measurements of the new idea as they add the materials they were told to. If all goes well, you end up with the final product, where you wanted it, with all the stuff you thought you needed. ",
"Someone buys a chunk of land and they want to build something on it.\n\nHe'll get a company to test the soil to see if the building can get built. Sometimes like in new york, pilings have to be anchored down in the bedrock because the soil isn't stable enough to hold a skyscraper. Soil design work and foundation design are done by Geotechnical engineers.\n\nAt the same time the soil is being tested, a design can be started. Designs are done by architects with the math being done by structural engineers. Once the soil tests say what can be built, the engineers will design the foundations.\n\nThe basic building design is done. Now the plans go out to the mechanical engineers to design the hvac and mechanical systems. Electrical designers to do the electrical layout. All the building is designed with consulting together and working out the fine tuning of where the systems are going together and how they'll fit.\n\nOnce the design is done, it goes out for bids (public buildings) or the private owner will just pick who they had do work before. The company will have a construction manager and his team run the building of the design.\n\nA company will come in and do the foundations. A different company will come in and start on the structure. All this is timed by the construction manager. The cm has to order the pieces and coordinate when the companies come to start their part of the work and the estimated time that it will take them to complete their sections. Like in a skyscraper, the structure can be built ahead a certain distance and the other companies can come in and start the electrical and mechanical systems. Anything that won't work according to codes or won't fit or any number of problems that pop up, the subcontractor will (most of the time) tell their boss and the boss will tell the cm. The design might have to get changed, so it will go back to the architects and engineers.\n\nEvery subcontractor has plans for their section of work. For the guys putting up structural members, it doesn't matter to them where electrical is going. It will be in the plans most of the time. They just work in their section of the building. If the electrical guys need something changed and can catch it while the builders are doing it, they can work together with the cm and figure it out as long as it doesn't change the design too much.\n\nThe design says length and width and material of each member. Say a house. It says studs are 2x4s. The wall is say 10 feet. The carpenters know how to make walls and follow the plans on where to put them. \n\nTLDR: builders know where to put stuff based on the design.",
"Surveyors. It's all nice and good that other people can come up with the design, like the engineers, or execute the design, like the actual construction crews - be it anything from residential to heavy civil. But the surveyors are the people who take the design and lay it out on the ground in a way that makes sense to everyone else. \n\nThey're the ones laying out stripping or clearing limits when the dozers and excavators show up. They're the ones who layout foundation corners for the excavation. They're the ones checking plumb on columns (don't kid yourself, labourer with a 4ft level)",
"My original comment got deleted due to lack of complexity. That is actually true. I am a land surveyor, my job is to measure distance for things as such, land, steel, dirt, etc. When something is being constructed, I will layout points, sometimes nails, wood stakes, wood blocks, etc depending on what is needed. This goes for Roads, buildings, and infrastructure and so on. A professional measurer as it were.",
"Blueprints blueprints blueprints. Sheet metal worker here, I install ducts. Every last detail that we need to know about a building will be in the blueprint. Another big thing to keep in mind, there's multiple trades doing different jobs. You have plumbers, electricians, sprinkler fitters, drywallers... So on. Each trade is responsible for different parts of the building, and each trade has a responsibility to communicate with each other and the project manager. \nOf course, nothing is ever perfect, and we see some pretty dumb stuff sometimes. Usually comes from the top down (engineers) but also, some people in the trades aren't very smart. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.equipmentworld.com/gpsgnss-101-how-machine-control-systems-work-and-what-you-need-to-get-started/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/jlX9n_qv7q8"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
4t6bn3
|
why can't some people wink?
|
I had a friend who couldn't wink, why couldn't he?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4t6bn3/eli5_why_cant_some_people_wink/
|
{
"a_id": [
"d5exdgg"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Your facial muscles, including your eyelids, are controlled by the facial motor nucleus. This is a cluster of neurons in the brainstem. But it's not a uniform thing, it's split up into smaller parts.\n\nThe upper half of your face gets sent mostly weak, bilateral signals. A lateral signal means that the signal is sent to each half of the body individually. Bilateral means it's sent to both sides at once. Because of this, controlling both sides of the upper half of your face is hard, and thus it can cause difficulty in winking, or raising a single eyebrow. If your friend's was weaker than normal, it might've made it impossible for him to do so."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
|
166ugo
|
why is the '1' on a phone keypad at the top left, while at the bottom left on a keyboard?
|
Why are they flipped? There has to be a reason for this!
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/166ugo/eli5_why_is_the_1_on_a_phone_keypad_at_the_top/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c7tafug",
"c7tahgy",
"c7tfjo8",
"c7thxwd"
],
"score": [
19,
612,
100,
5
],
"text": [
" The problem with answering this question is that people expect a logical, well-thought out reason--like marketing surveys or cost savings or a fierce design battle between the telephone companies and the calculator(and cellphone) companies. Alas, not so. The answer, in a word, is: tradition.",
"The phone's keypad originates from the old fashion [rotary telephone](_URL_0_), which has the 1 at the top and the 0 at the bottom, so they kept it that way to make it as similar to the old layout as possible.\n\nThe [calculators](_URL_2_) in the beginning used to work the same way as the [old cash registers](_URL_1_) did, with 10 numbers in a column, the lowest digits at the bottom, starting with 0 and moving up to 9, and were basically mechanical adding machines. So the layout with the numbers starting from the bottom up became the industry-standard for a typical calculator and then later for the numeric keypad.",
"As posted [the last time this was asked here](_URL_1_), there's an explanation [here](_URL_0_). \n\n(It's from the book *Why do Clocks Run Clockwise*, which is full of answers to this sort of question.) \n\nInteresting quote: \"when AT & T contemplated the design of their key pad, they called several calculator companies, hoping they would share the research that led them to the opposite configuration. Much to their chargin, AT & T discovered that the calculator companies had conducted no research at all.\"",
"Wait - on what keyboards are the numbers at the bottom? Every keyboard I've come across has the numbers at the top...?"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xLUReISo5cA/Tq7jXSUctGI/AAAAAAAACXM/MA2_ttgk4QU/s1600/svart%2520telefon_8717044%5B1%5D.jpg",
"http://evanescenciax.deviantart.com/art/Old-Cash-Register-82855095",
"http://www.nernst.de/museum/madas20.jpg"
],
[
"http://www.vcalc.net/Keyboard.htm",
"http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lr5wq/why_do_phone_numbers_start_from_the_top_left/"
],
[]
] |
|
unoew
|
what is up with bath salts and why they make people go absolutely fucking crazy
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/unoew/eli5_what_is_up_with_bath_salts_and_why_they_make/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c4wxxow",
"c4wy401",
"c4wy63w",
"c4wy9ha",
"c4wysbb",
"c4wzelv",
"c4wzfwf",
"c4wzki4",
"c4x0tp8",
"c4x0w4c",
"c4x9zun"
],
"score": [
2,
9,
195,
42,
2,
9,
2,
5,
6,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Many \"bath salts\" contain mephedrone or MDPV, which cause paranoia and psychosis in large doses. Both are now illegal, but underground chemists alter the chemical structure of these substances to produce new, legal substances.",
"They aren't actual bath salts, they're [MDPV](_URL_0_) (A stimulant a bit like a ramped-up version of certain ADD medications) or designer drugs very similar to MDPV sold as bath salts to get around legal issues.\n\nAs for why they make you crazy: prolonged use of large doses of some Stimulants tend to fuck with your brain. See: Crystal Meth.",
"Bath salts is simply a euphemism for recreational drugs, often research chemicals. They operate in a sketchy legal area as it is so they call them 'bath salts' or 'plant food' to emphasise that they're 'not' for human consumption to attempt to avoid legal issues.\n\nBath salts in general are typically chemical analogues of more well-known illegal drugs like MDMA. The daft part is despite being legal, they're often more dangerous than their illegal counterparts because there has been far less research conducted on them and less people have taken them.",
"(LY5) On the internet, there are many websites that allow you to buy drugs, just like you would buy Aspirin from the store. These drugs, however, are often bought because the person taking the drug wants to feel something different. Like how Aspirin can help take the pain away, these drugs can make everything seem much happier than it is, or make your mind feel like you're in a dream when you're actually awake. \n\nOn some of these websites that sell these drugs, they are often called 'Bath Salts' or 'Plant Food'. Though feeding it to your plant or putting it in the bath would not do anything other than make your plant very poorly. These websites often state clearly that what they are selling is \"NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION\" as a way of staying online. \n\nIf you want bath salts, then buy them from a supermarket and they will not do you any harm. \n",
"Bath salt is a term used to describe drugs that aren't illegal because of their lack of popularity. It's too easy to create lots of different drugs and harder to crack them down with laws.\n\nThey call them \"bath salts\" because that's how they're marketed on the streets. If the police asks, it's not really drug but a \"chemical not supposed to be consumed\".\n\nEdit: Happy cake day!",
"MDMA, MDPV, MDA, Meth all in the same family of compounds.. \"Bath Salts\" \"Multi Purpose Solution\" \"Glass Cleaner\" are all TERMS for distributors to get away with selling these research chemicals.. \"MDPV\" was the original \"bath salt\"; it was made by accident while fucking with MDA (not MDMA) in a lab trying to make legal MDMA (I might have inverted that).\n\nTLDR; bath salts and other obscure terms are just to get away with distributing these variations of MDPV. The chemicals are changed as the drug agencies go banning the next chemical. At this point MDPV is illegal and most of the early variations (that were actually good) are too. People go into psychosis because of lack of sleep and just plain using too much.\n\nSorry my tldr is longer than the original post :\\",
"[This is an episode of Intervention](_URL_0_) where a dude called Skyler is addicted and affected from snorting Bath Salts.\n\nHopefully this will help you with your answer.",
"As an addition to the other answers here, I'd like to mention that as far as I know the toxicology report still isn't out, and the role of \"bath salts\" in the one cannibalism case is pure speculation by a police officer. Please correct me if I'm wrong.",
"Bath salts make you smell and feel so good that you become totally fabulous and can do anything you want and no one will care because you are so totes fab. ",
"bath salts is a euphemism for drugs. People aren't actually going to the Body Shop and buying bath salts to get high.",
"The bath salts story has been planted by FEMA working with the mainstream media to suppress the true magnitude of what is going on with the beginnings of a true zombie apocalypse. /justmakingshitupforfunsies"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDPV"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.tubeplus.me/player/1972062/Intervention/season_12/episode_8/Skyler_%26_Jessa/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
||
e3egc5
|
how do video game companies encode audio commentary in sports games?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e3egc5/eli5_how_do_video_game_companies_encode_audio/
|
{
"a_id": [
"f92imi7"
],
"score": [
10
],
"text": [
"They have prerecorded generic and situation-specific commentary that correspond to established events within a game. This is then combined with recordings of every player and team name (plus whatever else might be appropriate, such as mentioning the weather) so that it appears the existing commentary is referring to what is actually happening on the pitch/field/whatever, with varying levels of success."
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[]
] |
||
5e3390
|
this reaction and the reagents involved
|
[This](_URL_0_)
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5e3390/eli5_this_reaction_and_the_reagents_involved/
|
{
"a_id": [
"da9bhbu"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"It's just hydrophobic sand. Basically, the material repels water, so when it is dumped in, it packs together to minimize contact with the water. There is no chemical reaction going on."
]
}
|
[] |
[
"http://randomenthusiasm.com/gif/a1052e9861ce5d018652fbd882dcbf0a"
] |
[
[]
] |
|
6074p8
|
calculating horse racing odds
|
It seems like there are a lot of variables in the process and I was wondering how exactly things factor into the final odds.
|
explainlikeimfive
|
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6074p8/eli5_calculating_horse_racing_odds/
|
{
"a_id": [
"dgpg2jz",
"df4lg4o"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"This is something I've wondered about for a long time... and now I have my brain wrapped around it. I will share it with you!\n\nWhen it comes to horse racing odds, the tracks/sportsbooks, etc. use a PARIMUTUEL system, which puts their risk of getting hammered at ZERO and allows them to take a cut of all the money wagered.\n\nAll the money wagered on a specific bet (a WIN, an EXACTA, etc) goes into it's own betting pool. They are all independent and have no bearing on each other.\n\nSo all the money bet on a horse to WIN goes into it's own separate pool.\n\nFor example, in a 6 horse race, we have the following:\n\n* Horse 1: total wagered: $30\n\n* Horse 2: total wagered: $20\n\n* Horse 3: total wagered: $90\n\n* Horse 4: total wagered: $40\n\n* Horse 5: total wagered: $50\n\n* Horse 6: total wagered: $20\n\nWe have a total of $250 wagered in the WIN category. The 'house' is going to take 20% of that, which is $50 bucks.\n\nNow we have $200 left over to divide among everyone who bet on the winning horse.\n\nLet's pretend Horse #5 wins. There was $50 wagered on horse 5.\n\n$200 - $50 wagered = $150\n\n50 into 150 goes 3 times, so the final odds on horse #5 is 3:1. It doesn't matter if one person bet 40 and another bet 10, the payoff is still 3:1.\n\nMaybe the odds were 12:1 when someone wagered on them, but what matters is where the odds on when the race begins.\n\nHad someone come in and plopped down $500 bucks on horse 1, the odds would have increased quite a bit. Had they wagered that on horse 5, the payoff would be much less than 3:1.\n\nThis works the same way for Exactas, Trifecta, and Superfectas.\n\nFor PLACE and SHOW bets, the system is the same except it is divided between two and three horse for each.",
"Bookmakers are very secretive about how they calculate what odds to offer, they don't want to give anything away lest competitors or savvy punters exploit it and learn how to recognise where the value will be in betting in certain ways. That's a whole other topic though. \n\n\nTaking the example of horse racing, odds (known as 'prices' within the industry) are initially determined by a judgement call from someone who's job it is to do these sorts of things. They will use their knowledge of the race course and the horses involved to inform such a decision, taking into account factors like:\n\n• Distance of the race, and what distance the horses are used to running. \n\n• Who the jockey is\n\n• Who the trainer of the horse is\n\n• where the horse has come in its previous races\n\n\nThere are statistics compiled on things relating the above sorts of factors to eachother (a particular trainer's ratio of horses trained to winning horses, adjusted for weights being carried by horses, and all sorts of more detailed things) that an odds compiler can use, but there is no one magic formula and ultimately it is a judgement call which will often involve checking what competitors are offering eg. If an odds compiler thinks a horse should be a big price to win, say 20/1 or more, but no competitors are offering more than 10/1, then all that really needs to be done is offer a price better than 10/1, say 12/1, and risk to the bookmaker is minimised whilst remaining competitive. \n\n\nThis brings us into the next group of factors deciding how prices change - market forces. All of the above can be used to compile 'early prices' given at the start of the day or the day before the event. (Big events have 'ante-post prices' weeks or months in advance, which are subject to greater change once early prices are given). Market forces dictate how the early price changes once it is 'opened up' to the market anywhere between a couple of hours or 10 minutes before the race, depending on how big an event it is. This is when the amount of money being placed on selections changes how big of a price a bookmaker is willing to offer. If lots of money is going on a horse its price will get shorter (lower), as it will be more money for the bookmaker to pay out if it wins. If a single large bet is taken on a horse, a bookmaker may choose to 'lay' the bet with another bookmaker offering a similar price, in order to be able to payout with no losses if that horse wins, but keep the current price that they are offering. Bookmakers at the track in competition with eachother are able to look over and see what is being offered and when one changes a price others will usually follow suit. These are the basics of how prices work, although most of the monitoring in the market now takes place online, as much more money is being gambled online. This way bookmakers can centrally monitor how much money is being placed on certain selections up and down the country (or even globally) and adjust prices that are displayed on the website and in all outlets at the same time. \n\n\n\n"
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[]
] |
|
2f3nqk
|
why don't job listings show hourly wages or salary?
|
I'm talking like if you're advertising for a low-level job like a lot attendant. It makes a big difference if the job is $8.75/hr or $12/hr. Why not show the pay so that everyone's time isn't wasted?
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2f3nqk/eli5why_dont_job_listings_show_hourly_wages_or/
|
{
"a_id": [
"ck6h5sh",
"ck5lh34",
"ck5lkbv",
"ck5o3ls"
],
"score": [
2,
3,
2,
6
],
"text": [
"\nBecause if they're willing to pay $12 / hour and mention it, then they will have a 100% chance that the successful applicant will be hired at $12 / hour.\n\nOTOH if they're willing to pay $12 / hour and don't mention it, they may have a 75% chance that the successful applicant will turn down the job if they can't negotiate $12 / hour, but a 25% chance they'll get lucky and find someone more desperate who is happy with their initial offer of $9 / hour. \n\nBasically revealing your true price in negotiations gives away all the value between what the parties are willing to accept.",
"They don't want to tell you that you're earning minimum until you get there, or it might attract less applicants.\n\nAnd, obviously, if they're paying you that little, they aren't concerned with the value of your time.",
"Because many would be ashamed if their customers knew both how much they charge and how little they pay their staff.",
"Sometimes because salary is negotiable from one candidate to the next. Though titles can be the same, importance of the work/project could vary wildly depending on the department. And since folks may require different skills or experience, pay will vary between them. They don't want to offer the small time account manager the wage of one put on a larger project. And if they set the salary low, they won't attract any big talent. "
]
}
|
[] |
[] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
|
j3ycu
|
r/fifth world problems? can someone explain to me what it is or what it refers to.
|
Sounded star-trekky, but after a google search and looking on the wikipedia disambiguation page, I still don't know what that subreddit is all about.
Example of what I'm talking about (something I found in that subreddit):_URL_0_ (Edit : **kinda scary image**)
|
explainlikeimfive
|
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/j3ycu/rfifth_world_problems_can_someone_explain_to_me/
|
{
"a_id": [
"c2n7g0g",
"c2n7g0g",
"c28xr25",
"c28xs5r"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"Fifth world problems is pretty easy to figure out.\n\nJust imagine that HP Lovecraft's Old Ones started a subreddit. Boom. That's it.",
"Fifth world problems is pretty easy to figure out.\n\nJust imagine that HP Lovecraft's Old Ones started a subreddit. Boom. That's it.",
"Richer countries (like the USA, or the UK) are often referred to as *first-world nations*, and very poor countries (like Uganda, or Ethiopia) are often referred to as *third-world nations*.\n\nThere is a subreddit called [r/firstworldproblems](_URL_0_) that is all about the horrible problems people in first-world nations must face. It is mostly people joking, because their first-world problems (such as **My iPod has no batteries, so I have to listen to the annoying person sitting next to me on the plane**) aren't really that bad if you look at third-world problems (such as **My third son starved to death yesterday because our rice was stolen by the mean people with guns who take our food**).\n\nr/fifthworldproblems takes the jokes a step further and tries to make things seem even worse than third-world nations, often taking things into the supernatural realm.\n\nAs for why it's fifth-world and not fourth-world? That's probably because you rarely hear about second-world nations, so they are keeping with the trend of using odd numbers.",
"You should put some warning on that image, that is not what I needed to see at 2:30 AM."
]
}
|
[] |
[
"http://i.imgur.com/5XcR7.jpg"
] |
[
[],
[],
[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/firstworldproblems"
],
[]
] |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.