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61mc37 | why regulator water looks carbonated after it's been sitting (in a glass) for a while. | If I leave a glass of water out overnight, air bubbles accumulate along the inside walls of the glass. Also, would this change if it was softened or distilled water?
[picture](_URL_0_) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/61mc37/eli5_why_regulator_water_looks_carbonated_after/ | {
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"Water out of the tap has gases dissolved in it. Not, you know, a lot, but some. As it sits in the glass, imperfections in the inner surface provide sites for bubbles to form as the gas tries to leave the water. It's a much slower, tidier presentation of the same effect that creates the Diet Coke and Mentos trick.",
"Temperature plays a role in this too. Warm water can hold less gas than cool water, so as the contents warm over a period of time, the dissolved gasses come out of solution. "
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"https://imgur.com/gallery/nP4gN"
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4hhz8n | why do our bodies slip into comas? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4hhz8n/eli5_why_do_our_bodies_slip_into_comas/ | {
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"A coma is usually the result of physical trauma to specific regions of the brain related to consciousness. The damage can occur in numerous ways such as lack of oxygenation, injury, tumor etc. ",
"A person falls into a coma when a part of the brain, for what ever reason, gets damaged. \n\nThe brain works as a whole, and when a part isn't working, the brain can't function properly. When this occurs, the brain basically goes into \"recovery mode\", in which it tries to repair the damaged parts. The thing is, there is no indicator when, or even if it will repair the damage. That's why a person, in a coma that isn't medically induced, can sometimes stay in a coma for just a few days, and other times stay there for years, possibly never waking up again.\n",
"The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is useful when explained. We use it in traumatic brain injury to assess the patient's injury severity. There are 3 components, motor, verbal, and eye opening.\n\nIf we think of Coma as a spectrum of arousal, from awake and alert to comatose, that helps. \n\nFor the motor portion: 6 - follows commands, 5 - moves toward a noxious stimulus, 4 - withdrawal from noxious stimulus, 3 - flexion posturing, 2 - extension posturing, and 1- no motor\n\nFor verbal: 5 - oriented, 4 - confused, 3 - inappropriate responses, 2- incomprehensible sounds, and 1 - no verbal.\n\nFor eye opening: 4 - spontaneous, 3 - to voice, 2 - to stimulus, and 1 - no eye opening \n\nThe more severely the brain is injured, the more difficult it finds processing things like speech, language, and coordinating movements. When the ability to function of the cerebral cortex, the conscious brain, is too injured, reflexes take over.",
"Imagine your brain is an underground gnome city. Gnomes mine and live inside and trade with outside world. When some damage happens inside, few service gnomes repair it and normal life goes on. But if there is some really bad damage, like whole floor falls down, it takes more than just a few service gnomes to fix it. So, they call other gnomes to stop doing less important tasks (like trade with outside world) and come and help with repairs. Trader gnomes shut all doors, and go to help. When repairs are done, they come back, reopen trade, and you wake up from coma.",
"A lot of people are talking about comas caused by traumas which are not very common and the cause of less than 15% of comas.\n\nThe majority of non-induced comas are caused by drug poisoning (40%), lack of oxygen (25%), and strokes (20%). The remaining 15% includes traumas, blood sugar levels, hypothermia, among many others.\n\nAs for why, it all has to do with reticular activating system (RAS), which sounds far more complicated than it is. It is a region in the brain (specifically brain stem) that regulates the impulse \"wake up\". Drugs can interfere with the transmission of these messages and cause you to not wake up. A lack of oxygen can also shut this down, which is also the case for a stroke. Finally, trauma, such as a car wreck, can also damage this area. If it cannot be repaired by the body, then a person can pass into a vegetative state sometimes for many years or forever. As you are probably aware, there are many fascinating stories of people waking up from comas after 16 or more years.\n\nSource:\n_URL_1_\n_URL_0_\n"
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25r8o7 | --unions | What exactly is a union, what's the advantage of joining one? Why do employers advise not to join one? So on and so forth. I recently found out my father, a commercial airline pilot, is a member of a/the(?) union so it peaked my interest to finally find out what it is exactly.
Thank you. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/25r8o7/eli5unions/ | {
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"A union is essentially a group of workers joining together to create a company that negotiates on their behalf with their employers.\n\nMy mother is part of the Canadian United Postal Workers (CUPW). And is going to become a steward.\n\nEssentially, her union helps handle any claims for Worker's Comp, make sure that she isn't mistreated, and handle any contract negotiations ranging from wages to benefits.\n\nThe benefits of joining a union is that you are guaranteed a certain level of benefits and pay, and when the time comes that you might have to fight your employer because of an on-site injury, or harassment, the union is there to support you, giving you some weight instead of being a single person against a company, or even the government.\n\nEmployers don't like Unions because without them, they could really give people poor wages and compensation. McDonald's is a great example, a lot of McDonald's full-time employees are on government assistance and aren't able to live off of the job. But if they had a union, then the union could go to McDonald's and say \"Hey, none of the workers are going to work anymore if you don't give them enough to live on\""
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oymsw | why do people think obama is a socialist? | Socialist, Populist, these are words I hear throw around. While I have some understanding of Socialism I guess I dont see its relevance, then again I'm not so politically inclined. so, ELI5? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/oymsw/why_do_people_think_obama_is_a_socialist/ | {
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"He isn't a socialist. The majority of Americans are just really really stupid.",
"Simply because he's using tax dollars to help people rather than let people keep the money to use for themselves.\n\nIn the USofA, helping poor people isn't the 'American' way.",
"During any election, the Democrats try to demonize the Republican candidates while the Republicans try to demonize the Democrat candidates. Since the Republicans wanted to win the presidential election, they spent time and money promoting the idea that Obama was bad. Specifically, since Obama made statements about helping the poor and \"spreading the wealth\" from the rich, political opponents tried to characterize Obama as an extremist and a socialist. (Americans associate socialism with evil and the USSR.) Simply put, it's based not on Obama's actions as president, but on a narrative used by people who want him defeated in the next election. "
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f8pyqd | why is cooked fish "flaky" and layered compared to beef, poultry, pork, mutton, etc? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/f8pyqd/eli5_why_is_cooked_fish_flaky_and_layered/ | {
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"text": [
"Muscles, aka meat, contract. That's what they do. They can't exactly bend on their own. \nMost animals we eat move by contracting muscles: think what happens when you bend your forearm:your biceps contracts and pulls your forearm closer to your upper arm.\n\nFish, on the other hand, move by wiggling their whole bodies. To imitate this 'bend' many smaller muscles are connected one to the next to the next.\n\nThink bending your index finger: each part pulls the next one closer and the next one, the one after it.\n\nWhen cooked, the connections between the muscles softens, that's why it seems flaky."
]
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||
3naazc | why can't we derive energy from gravity? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3naazc/eli5_why_cant_we_derive_energy_from_gravity/ | {
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"We can, and do. You've described the concept of [tidal power](_URL_0_). The bulge in sea level you mentioned is just high and low tide, and the \"bucket\" can be a dam that fills a reservoir at high tide and releases at low tide.\n\nIt doesn't violate conservation of energy, because the _ocean_ pulls on the _moon_, too. All else equal, and ignoring the effects of Earth's rotation, you'd tug on the moon's orbit and slow it down. The slowing, in this case, would be imperceptible. The energy ultimately comes out of the Moon's kinetic energy in its orbit."
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2hoiwe | if patents are only supposed to last 20 years, why are there so many issues with technology patents from the 80's and 90's? shouldn't they have expired? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2hoiwe/eli5_if_patents_are_only_supposed_to_last_20/ | {
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"Patents last 20 years. Unfortunately, companies do the (arguably) unethical thing of tweaking their invention slightly, making it technically a new, novel invention but still similar enough to carry out the same work as the original invention. They can then patent this new invention and have another 20 years of protection. This act is referred to as \"[evergreening](_URL_0_)\""
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5m0l9n | how does the liver work? like mechanically? | Say I eat some cyanide. Somehow that cyanide gets from my stomach to the places where it does that thing that it does that kills me. And somehow my liver does a thing where it gets to the cyanide and it turns the cyanide from dangerous cyanide into not dangerous cyanide. And then the cyanide leaves.
What's happening here? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5m0l9n/eli5how_does_the_liver_work_like_mechanically/ | {
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"Poisons work in a lot of different ways. \n\nCyanide. \n\nIt doesn't get turned into a 'not poisonous' cyanide by the liver. There is no such thing. \nCyanide works by blocking the cells ability to uptake oxygen. \n\nVery small amount, there's no issue, as the amount of cyanide can't effect enough cells to have a negative effect. Generally up to 0.5mg/L.\nCyanide is present in certain fruits, nuts etc. \n\nAfter 0.5mg/L, there starts to be enough to mess with your body. It creates heart issues, brain problems, low blood pressure. \n\nOver 3mg/L will kill you, as your body cannot recover or deal with the lack of oxygen in the cells and you'll die of a heart attack shortly after. \n\n"
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62h2wx | what are the procedures to a man going overboard on a ship (commercial, private or military). | I expect these are different per country or continent.
But would the ship actually be stopped, would a search and rescue team be sent?
And what are the repercussions to arriving with a man short at their destination?
Any other explanation relating a man going overboard would be great.
| explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/62h2wx/eli5_what_are_the_procedures_to_a_man_going/ | {
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"On a Navy ship an alarm is sounded, and a marker is put in their computer system with the lat and long of where they went overboard. The ship performs an S-turn so that they end up facing back the way they came. They deploy a RHIB to retrieve the man overboard. Sailors are also often fitted with a sensor on their uniform that is assigned to them so they know who it is, but it is also a beacon with a readout on the bridge and also on the retrieval boat/RHIB.",
" > But would the ship actually be stopped, would a search and rescue team be sent?\n\nYeah, they don't just sail away. That is a dick move. This of course assumes they know about where they went overboard.\n\n > And what are the repercussions to arriving with a man short at their destination?\n\nThe Captain probably has some explaining to do along with whoever managed or commanded that person not picking up their absence earlier.\n\n > Any other explanation relating a man going overboard would be great.\n\n\"Hey, Bob fell off the ship! Throw him a flotation device and call the bridge to let them know to stop and turn around!\"",
"Here is a list of man overboard incidents from cruise ships: _URL_0_\n\nIn most cases, if the person is noticed falling over, the ship is stopped and a search is launched and the coast guard is called. If nobody sees it, and the person is just later reported missing, not much can be done.\n\nUnless there is a reason to suspect foul play, it is unlikely there will be any repercussions. \n\nHere is what Transport Canada says to do about a person overboard on a small vessel: _URL_1_",
"For most military ships it goes something like this:\n\n1. Someone spots a man in the water and contacts the bridge.\n2. The Officer of the Deck makes an announcement over the 1MC (ship wide public address system) \"Man Overboard! Man Overboard! Launch the Alert Helo! Watch to rescue stations! Man the (port/starboard) davit!\" Followed by \"All hands to muster! Report to your mustering station. Traffic to mustering station is up and forward, starboard; down and aft, port.\" \n3. The ship will slow to an appropriate speed for launching and recovering boats and/or helicopters and they will deploy as necessary to rescue the unlucky mariner.\n4. While this is going on everyone not involved in the rescue or other critical duties is reporting in person to their muster station to be counted to ensure that everyone is accounted for.\n\nWhen traveling with other ships they will also be notified so they can muster and assist in the rescue."
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4b4met | how does someone born without a birth cirtificate or social security number obtain identification later in life? | Is there a set process for how to deal with this? how often does occur? How is it verified that it is indeed a person who simply was never registered and not someone trying to create a new identity? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4b4met/eli5_how_does_someone_born_without_a_birth/ | {
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"In the past, it was very common for poor people or people living in rural areas to not have a birth certificate. Born at home, far from any doctors or hospitals with the assistance of other women. \n\nAt least 2 of my father's brothers have the same \"birthday\" on their birth certificates, for pretty much that reason. It wasn't until years later that a birth certificate was needed, so someone (most likely my grandfather or another male elder) had one issued at the local hospital, and just guessed their ages. \n\nIn those days, and in that country it was unlikely my grandfather knew much about his children, because taking care of the children was the responsibility of the women in the house. \n\n_URL_0_\n\nThere are processes in place to get a birth certificate and SSN issued, if you didn't have one issued at birth. Even in the US, there are a lot of poor inner city people who have no identification, and it wasn't that long ago that many poor rural folks didn't either. ",
"People are not born with Social Security Numbers. Parents usually apply for them quickly, because they need one to claim the child as a dependent on their tax return--but it's wholly optional. Whether it's the parents applying or the person themselves as an adult, they need to provide sufficient proof of identity and in particular of their date of birth.\n\nBirth certificates are issued by the jurisdiction in which you are born. They are meant to be issued at birth, but sometimes they aren't. Some jurisdictions will issue a delayed certificate if you can prove your date of birth. However, for any purpose for which you ordinarily need a birth certificate in the United States, it also suffices if you have proof there is no certificate--such as a letter from your state registrar that there is no certificate on record. That being the case, you will be permitted to provide alternate proof of your date of birth, such as newspaper publications, early school and doctor's records, family bible recordings, and other evidence."
]
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2i54yl | why does the volume vary so much on different channels? | Some channels are so quiet that when you switch back to others it blows out your speakers | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2i54yl/eli5_why_does_the_volume_vary_so_much_on/ | {
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"America is atrocious for standards. I live in Japan and every channel has the same volume and display ratio but when I go back home I am baffled by the lack of uniformity among stations.",
"Well, my phone froze and screwed up my long detailed response so...\n\ntl;dr Television stations, much like radio stations, adjust how their channel sounds and looks to what the marketing department says their audience likes.\n\nIf the survey says it needs to be louder, they'll make it louder. If it says they need a bigger logo, they're gonna make a bigger logo, and so on."
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5zplif | why can't you eat nuts even *near* some people with nut allergies? | Like when they make you not eat anything with nuts on a plane if someone has a nut allergies or kids can't bring peanut butter to school if a kid has a nut allergy. I mean... how do they even get contact with them? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5zplif/eli5why_cant_you_eat_nuts_even_near_some_people/ | {
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"The oils in nuts, and many foods, evaporate. Once airborne someone nearby who is severely allergic can breathe them in and have a reaction. \n\nAdditionally these oils can transfer to things that you touch after you eat them, so if the person allergic touches that item too they can have a reaction. \n\nAnd finally with kids, if they are young enough they may accidentally consume it either because they did not know the allergen was in the food (such as a parent bringing in cookies) or via trade with someone's lunch (which is also a contact exposure risk). "
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cnmc5s | what’re the benefits of dha? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cnmc5s/eli5_whatre_the_benefits_of_dha/ | {
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"DHA, (or Docosahexaenoic Acid) is just a type of omega-3 fat.\n\nYour body makes a small amount of DHA naturally from other fatty acids, so if you want to take a super-dose to supplement it, you can. There's a lot of science surrounding omega-3 fats as beneficial to health, but the primary benefits are generally accepted to be:\n\nReduced risk of heart disease, (though JUST DHA tends to be worse than DHA and EPA combined in reducing bad cholesterol)\n\npossible benefit for ADHD, as DHA is said to increase blood flow in your brain during mental tasks, and people with ADHD have been seen to have lower naturally occurring blood levels of DHA\n\nReduced risk of early preterm births, based on a study specifically tracking pregnant women taking DHA, vs those taking a placebo\n\nFighting inflammation, Omega-3 fats in general, including DHA, have this effect.\n\nMuscle recovery after exercise, based on reported soreness after taking DHA daily for a week or so in regularly-exercising individuals\n\nThere are a bunch of other reported benefits, but it should be noted that most of these reports are based one one or two studies and it's not necessarily CONCLUSIVELY the result of DHA (though nobody's saying it's BAD for you).\n\nSo if nobody's reporting problems with taking it, and some people report benefits after taking it, then folks will start to say it's beneficial to take."
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x7v4z | how does a pedal powered generator work? | I'm refering to generators that create power when people petal bikes. I thought it was somewhat like a windmill but on a smaller scale. However, after researching it and I've only managed to get myself confused.
What peices make it work and why?
How does each seperate peice of the system work and what would happen if you didn't have said peices?
An explination of the math and terms such as amps, watts, AC, and volts would help too.
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/x7v4z/eli5_how_does_a_pedal_powered_generator_work/ | {
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"Almost all electricity you use on a regular basis is generated the same way. If you have a coil of wire and a magnet, moving one or the other near each other will produce electricity (the flow or movement of electrons). The faster the parts (coil or magnets) are moving, the higher more electrical energy is produced. In this sense, ALL electrical generators (except batteries, solar or other relatively modern sources) are the same: windmills use wind to spin a magnet, power plants use steam to spin wheels attached to a magnet, dams dump water over wheels to spin a magnet. \n\nYour bike generator has a little wheel that rubs against the bike wheel that spins a magnet (or coil, not sure). The faster you pedal the more electricity you can generate for the light. You don't get this for \"free\". Electricity is a form of energy, so you have to either pedal harder or go slower when the generator is engaged. \n\nAs far as the \"parts\", a bike generator probably has some gears that change the speed of the rotation from the little wheel to the spinning electricity parts. Like I said before, any coil of wire and magnet will produce electricity, but the strength depends on the speed of the motion (and the strength of the magnet). \n\nI don't know if bike generators produce AC or DC. As far as an ELI5 explanation goes, it's not really important because lightbulbs don't usually care between the two (unless they're LED's). "
]
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4fhfrp | how do papercuts occur? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4fhfrp/eli5_how_do_papercuts_occur/ | {
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"text": [
"Simply put, when paper is cut into it's form (say a book or so) the paper is left with a very sharp, clean edge. If you run your finger against a sharp object like that, you're bound to get cut"
]
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[]
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||
8pw0mw | like we see ants, can ants or other insects see bacteria or micro-organisms as their "ants"? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8pw0mw/eli5_like_we_see_ants_can_ants_or_other_insects/ | {
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"text": [
"No. In fact ants have *worse* visual detail than humans do. While their legs may be more precise than ours, their eyes are not. They can't see micro-organisms."
]
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2crawt | why do so many americans hate on france when france is america's biggest ally throughout history and helped america gain independence? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2crawt/eli5_why_do_so_many_americans_hate_on_france_when/ | {
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"text": [
"Because France opposed the invasion of Iraq on the ridiculous notion that the WMDs didn't exist. Oh, wait.",
"Personally I love France, though I think that the French just have a reputation among Americans for being arrogant, especially to people who don't have a firm grasp on the language, yet try to use it in the country. Most depreciating french jokes by Americans rely on the fact that France was still reeling from WWI, not realizing they were the powerhouse to be feared for centuries, plaguing all of Europe.",
"Well Charle De Gaulle essentially soured relations post WW2. He took a beggars can be choosers approach to the Marshall Plan. France needed our money but practiced \"Politics of Grandeur\" where essentially we were spurned after contributing to the liberation of France, and the rebuilding of France. Also De Gaulle joined NATO took the good shit and then left NATO because they wanted to be independent of super power influence. Americans feel France also initially fucked up in Vietnam and left us to go over and try to fix shit. France has been a notoriously double dealing country and can't be trusted despite accepting tons of aid and support.\n\nEdit: Many people are debating the specifics of the events. That is not the question. The question is why do Americans view the French as shifty cowards. So in answering the question you have to accept historical inaccuracies and a certain bias. \nEdit: For clarity.",
"Most recent flash point was they opposed the Iraq war and blocked UN action on Saddam for \"principled\" reasons but then it turned out their leaders were just taking bribes from the humanitarian \"Oil for Food\" program. \n\nThat will sour things a bit. ",
"Because we pick on the people we like the most.... ",
"I'm sure it's not true for the majority. I have never met a single American (and I know quite a few) who hated France. Some of them had issues with the way our government (I should mention I'm French) agrees or disagrees with US' foreign policy, but they still love the country (if they have visited it) or have an interest in it. It is also true the other way around. Most french people might disagree with American politic, but we still buy your music and watch your movies and dream of going there at least once (I have had that chance twice and it was incredible)",
"Hey France, thanks for helping us out in the Revolutionary War against them damned red coats. \n\nYou're cool by me. ",
"Many things....\n\nAfter World War II the US was hoping to be able to export a crapton of stuff to France, among other countries, as the nation was rebuilding. They needed this to keep the US economy running at the speed it was during the war. War creates a great demand for goods, when war stops you need to find a new target for those goods or risk recession due to overproduction. The Marshall plan was a part of this: let's give them money so they will buy our stuff to rebuild.\n\nFrance however went very protectionistic about it's economy after the war in order to get on their own feet and rebuild their own economy. They still took the money from the Marshall plan, but they kept it in their own country and didn't buy American goods with them. This caused a post-war recession in the US, and naturally they blamed France for it.\n\n\nOther than that, it's also just culture. Both France and US are very patriottic people, believeing they're number 1 (while of course neither of them are, not even close). Their nations are built on slightly different values though, making them not always see eye to eye.\n\nOne of the things the US also likes to toss at France is the fact that they surrendered in the World War. They like to ignore that by doing so they saved millions of lives and were subequently able to mount a resistance from within that helped ultimately win the war when the other nations joined in. France wasn't the only one to surrender, and it was the humanitarian thing to do at the time, but they seem to receive the most flak for it.",
"You're going to get a lot of \"reasons,\" but the truth is we do it because it's funny. There is some history with some political stuff and things and whatever, but every country has that with every other country. The real reason France gets it harder than any other country is because the jokes are funnier.",
"I don't think the hate is serious, most of it is pretty much just joking. Similar to Americans making fun of Canadians",
"Since the end of WW2, there have been various misunderstandings between France and the US: France wants to keep its \"independence\" from the US and so has decided to distance itself from them, and sometimes kind of overdid it, and this has been seen as a betrayal in the US. On the other hand, Americans, despite generally having genuinely good intentions, often acted like bullies, convincing the French they were right to keep some distance.\n\nThere are also cultural differences as well as the US' British and as such, Francophobic, heritage, which play a role. Combine that with the fact that for political reasons, particularly when France, still seeing itself as a friend but not a lapdog of the US, opposed the Iraq War, American media have a tradition to bash the French, and you have a large basis for Francophobia in the country.\n\n\nUnfortunately, it seems most answerers here answered like they're five.",
"Living in an Asian city full of expats from all sorts of countries I can say that the French are the least liked or en par with the Indians who are mostly selling copy hand-bags or trying to get you to go into their restaurant. Even the French people I know don't like the French (my French friends don't hang out with French people).\nIn this city, definitely it has to do with arrogance towards other people. Generally, the French people here give you the vibe that they think they are something better than the rest. Plus most of them are extremely uncomfortable speaking English or have a strong accent that you can barely understand.",
"Most recently because France didn't go along with Iraq. Overall perhaps because France is a bit arrogant like the USA with a history as a world power, and tries to maintain independent policies rather than following the USA all the time.",
"Aside from the good answers here I would like to Parisians. \n\nWhat the fuck, you have a beautiful city in a beautiful country that is worth visiting. I dont understand why *some* of them are incredibly rude. \n\n",
"We don't. We make fun of you guys, but [78% of Americans](_URL_0_) have a positive opinion of France.",
"Hating the French is one of the last accepted form of xenophobia and racism.\nIt also provides an easy excuse to self aggrandize oneself at the expense of the hapless French ( wrongly perceived as weak).",
"Americans joke on WW2 France, because instead of initially resisting the Nazis, France just gave up and let the Nazis march right the center of Paris. THEN the French have the *Gaul* (get it?) to cop attitude against Americans because they're butthurt by the reality of their national surrender.\n\n(and in case you were wondering, Polish-Jokes came about because in WW1, the Poles led a horse-mounted calvary defense against tank attacks.)",
"While in the Air Force, I worked with some pretty gung-ho people. They were all about the serving. While on a run one morning, I don't know why it came up, one of the guys said the French are a bunch of traitors and he wouldn't care if their nation was invaded, he would refuse to go serve and protect their country, or something silly like that. I thought he was joking so I said \"I know you're just joking but some people apparently think like that\". He says something like \"What? No, I'm serious. They are a bunch of pussies that surrendered in WW2 and won't help us now while we are dying in Iraq\". Soooo, that's what that American hates France I guess. ",
"Because most Americans have self esteem issues and use it as a defense mechanism. ",
"Honestly I have never met anyone in america that \"hates\" France. To tell you the truth I have met very little people in general that \"hate\" other countries. It's all media and stereotypes, honestly.\n\nYes I here the \"France is a pussy\" joke once in a while, especially during the Iraq war, but in reality no one was very serious about it.",
"I'm French. \n\nAt first, I thought like the top comment that it was mostly for joking, because every nation ikes to makes fun of other nations. But then, I read a lot of redditers saying we were cowards... I never though of people seeing us like that. For me, we lost WW2 (because of bad political and military decisions at the time), we were not cowards, we just lost.\n\nThen, I was educated to think like that, but I see the French more like Resistants (despite being less than 5% of the entire population at the time) that fought dispite losing the war, and fought for their country and for principles. It is on this perception of us that we build ourselves. We resist (at the least the Resistants won over the Collabo with the Allies help, so we see us like that)\n\nFor the Iraq, well... there must have been strong economical and political reasons from Chirac at the time, but i think it is mostly because we knew this was a bad idea and we were indepent. Allies for sur, but no lapdogs.\n\nI hope my english was okay for you readers !\n\nOne last thing. I personnaly have no problem with the rename of French Fries into Freedom Fries, because fries are from Belgium and they should deserve the fame of it, not us :)\n\nAnd yes, one last last thing, we like to drink wine, but not as much as you think we do. And cheese, they are way better in Italy !"
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1sgwd6 | what the hell has kanye west done to warrant so much boasting? | I mean he was even nominated for Times 'person of the year' and came 6th after Snowden. What the hell am I missing here? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sgwd6/eli5_what_the_hell_has_kanye_west_done_to_warrant/ | {
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"He's one of the hottest producers in the music industry and pretty much every one of his solo works has been critically & popularly acclaimed. He's a very influential artist in the music industry which is only furthered by his very brash and egotistical public persona. ",
"First and foremost, Time's Person of the Year list is about who was in the news the most. It's not about best or most important person of the year. \n\nWhy is Kanye in the news so much? Because he positions himself to be. He's a powerful person in the music industry and his insane antics get him a lot of attention. His solo albums have sold more than 15 million copies in the past 10 years. He's had like a dozen top-10 singles, and he's been a featured artist on another dozen. He's been a huge starmaker, and he's probably the single most important, dominant voice in hip-hop. He almost single handedly helped to shift mainstream rap away from gangsta & crunk. In addition to all of this, his albums are incredibly well received critically- several are already considered modern classics of hip-hop. He's won 21 Grammys, making him the #6 most awarded artist of all time- he's on pace to be the #1 winner within 5 years. Three of his albums are on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. \n\nHe's a smart businessman. He owns a food company (KW Foods LLC) that buys future franchising rights on chains. He has multiple fashion labels and lines to his name, and shoe deals too. He also is a philanthropist and has a charity that fights illiteracy; the charity is dedicated to his mother.\n\nHe's constantly the talk of the town, largely because of his bizarre and unpredictable behavior. He really rocketed to the world's attention with the \"George Bush hates black people,\" comment on live television after Katrina. He's constantly making inappropriate comments to the media.\n\nSo yeah. He's a big powerful media presence.",
"He just stays stupid,that's the only thing he does well. This is our world man. People get famous doing shit & being dumb,and get big money for that. Meanwhile a douchebag in u.s thinks he's the next jesus or so (self)called 'genius',or should i say 'yeenius', kids in africa or elsewhere poor country starve to death,can't get to school,get sold by their parents for 2 months salary, get raped so their brothers and sisters could eat one dinner. Yeah lot of people think this douche is worth his millions just because his ego, a sextape or 'songs'. I don't care been downvoted by kanye fans by the way,i really really don't give a shit. "
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6l1qwu | why does everyone think people from canada are nice? | I went to Montreal a few weeks ago and everyone was kind of dicks. Even a homeless man wouldn't take our money when he found out we were from the US. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6l1qwu/eli5why_does_everyone_think_people_from_canada/ | {
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"To be fair most of Canada thinks people from Montreal (and other parts of Quebec) are dicks. \n\nNow... the fact that the homeless guy was rude to you when he found out you were from the USA may have more to do with the fact that you are from the USA than the fact that he is in Canada. Some people don't agree with American policy world wide. Some people don't like American arrogance (my husband is American and he can be very arrogant at times).\n\nGenerally speaking though, Canadians are more chill than Americans, and tend to be more polite (which is akin to being nice). Canadians tend to hold doors open for others (although to be fair this is not as common as it used to be) and to apologize to others even for the slightest of wrong doings. \n\nI am in my 50's and will say that over all Canadians now are less nice than they used to be but I attribute that to the general growing population, and more stress.\n\nSmall town Canadians are still super friendly and nice.",
"Probably because you're english and American... I'm from Ontario and I speak both French and English. I went to Montreal once and decided to speak English and they were total assholes. Went back the next day speaking French and BAM I won their love. Also they hate Canadians... they don't sell Molson Canadian and everywhere in Canada they have a cigarette brand called \" Canadian classics\" but meanwhile in Quebec there called \" Quebec classic\".... I tried getting the Canadians kind and she corrected me rudely.. never go to Quebec. ",
"I took a trip from Anchorage Alaska to Jasper and pretty much everybody we encountered through Yukon, B.C., and Alberta were super friendly.",
"I think it's a stereotype from TV and movies. There's good and bad from any country. Most folks from rural or suburban areas of BC have been very friendly but the bulk of people from Vancouver city limits I've encountered over the years were vain and rude. ",
"Cultural variances. Being nice and being polite aren't the same thing. Some cultures value being polite (abiding by perceived social norms to avoid conflict), some value being honest even if it is abrasive and \"not nice\". \n\nA polite person won't tell you you're being an idiot to your face. A nice person will help you avoid looking like an idiot in future interactions with other people. Polite people may talk about you behind your back to their friends and the greater community saying you're an idiot even if they tolerate you on the surface. That's where the insidious aspect of being \"polite\" comes into play. Just because someone is polite doesn't mean they like you. People confuse being \"polite\" and being \"nice\".\n\nThere are some cultures where if you do something that makes you stand out, people will tell you about it bluntly. That's considered \"not nice\" but in many ways people learn from the experience faster than cultures that promote social cohesion (nice) over corrective communication. To each his own.",
"Travel the world, then go to Canada.\nYou'll understand immediately.\n\nPeople wait in line for the bus when it's freezing outside. The streets are clean. People are respectful and polite.\n\nI suppose they have a culture of respect that permeates enough of society to become a stereotype.",
"Been to Montreal once and will never go back. \nBecause I couldn't speak French, I was given the royal run around when Greyhound lost our luggage. Quebec seems to be the only province that if you have to change busses, they don't move your luggage for you.\n\nYeah, dicks would be the appropriate word for the majority of Quebecers.",
"Looks like you don't understand basic statistics. What you said is the equivalent of \"I went to Canada and there was snow in the mountains. Why do people think global warming is real?!\"",
"Quebecer here. People from Montreal and other big cities (Toronto, Vancouver) are usually being very individualistic and tend to ignore other people. This is pretty different in small towns, but rural areas tend to be more conservative. On top of that, most french speaking people don't like other canadians (and they might assumed you were one) because of what happened in the past (conquest, english domination, disrespect to the culture, abuse, lake meech accord, '95 refenrendum shenanigans, etc.). \nOverall, people in Canada aren't that nice and that stereotype is just one big lie."
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820fru | what would make space shuttles move laterally when lifting off? | I always thought it curious: when I watch videos of,say, Challenger's final mission, the shuttle seems to move forward instead of straight up--even though the whole unit with its boosters appear to stand perfectly vertical as it is firing off. What makes this possible? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/820fru/eli5_what_would_make_space_shuttles_move/ | {
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"Some of the nozzles are angled, and many of them are steerable. They specifically *want* the vehicle to rotate and then head out as much horizontally as vertically -- it has to reach 17,000 mph horizontal velocity by the time it reaches orbital height.",
"In order to avoid causing a rotation, the thrust of the engines must point through the center of mass of the rocket. Since the main engines of the shuttle are offset from the center of the stack, they must thrust at an offset from directly forward. So the combined thrust of the engines and the boosters is slightly offset as well. The shuttle moves in the direction of the net thrust, so as you noticed, it moves slightly off from where it is pointing."
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1sjbo2 | how do we know that humans have kept correct time since ancient past? maybe we have accidentally skipped a couple of days, and today is not 10th dec, 2013. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sjbo2/eli5_how_do_we_know_that_humans_have_kept_correct/ | {
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"I think the weather would be a good indicator of the time of year it is. ",
"You know that the calendar is just an arbitrary date, right? We could just as easily call this the 47th of Wiggle. In fact, we know very well that we *have* skipped days when the Gregorian calendar was adopted.",
"To expand on what nos_esse said, it's actually pretty much a given that we've missed some days since the ancient past. It is important, for one, to acknowledge that, while the majority of the world measures the passage of time using the Gregorian calendar (the one with the twelve months of varying lengths, with 365 days in a year and whatnot), not everyone uses that calendar. The Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. There are much more accurate calendars, lunar calendars, based on the lunar cycle. \n\nAnyway, the point is, we didn't always use the Gregorian calendar. And when we, as a people, made the switch, we lost some days in the process. I don't honestly understand why we use the Gregorian calendar when there were, and still are, more accurate and consistent ways of measuring the passage of time. \n\nHowever, that being said, it doesn't honestly matter that much that we lost some days, because the way we measure time is merely a convenience for us. The terms we use are arbitrary -- they only mean something because we give them meaning. And what is the real benefit of having an accounting of each and every day since man was first capable of measuring time? That doesn't really benefit us.",
"[This German dude had a really kooky idea that's somewhat related to your question](_URL_0_)",
"\nThe responses here are incomplete. There are probably some days in some places which are uncertain. However, records of eclipses were written down in many civilizations, and by calculating retroactively when these eclipses occurred, a lot is salvageable. "
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2wonxk | how can those treadmill sensors tell what my heartrate is while i'm running really fast and the whole thing is shaking like crazy? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2wonxk/eli5_how_can_those_treadmill_sensors_tell_what_my/ | {
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"They work by detecting the electrical impulses your heart puts out every beat.\n\nSo long as you hold on to the sensors and complete the circuit, it doesn't make how much things are shaking.",
"The most probable answer is they don't. Depends on the model.\n\nMany weights also claim to be able to calculate your bodyfat percentage, but that's also bullcrap. They use a crappy formula and get a result that could be miles off\n\n*EDIT: I just noticed you spoke of treadmill sensors, so seems they're not guessing. I don't know what kind of sensors they are so I dunno*"
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1kchoy | what does the mc in front of people's last names mean? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1kchoy/eli5what_does_the_mc_in_front_of_peoples_last/ | {
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"it comes from \"mac\", which means \"son\".\n\nYou would say \"kozteaz son of bob\"\n\nOr kozteaz mac bob.\n\nThis eventually became \"mc\" and then the names merged to become something like \"McBob\"",
"\"Son of.\"\n\n[Source.](_URL_0_)",
"Same thing as \"Johnson\" (son of John) and \"Anderson\" (son of Anders/Andrew).\n\nFelt like a dummy when that one dawned on me."
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8c42no | when someone says the universe is 13.5 billion years old, what exactly does that mean? | Space itself stretches. Time flows at different rates in different regions of the universe. So, what does 13.5 billion years mean? How is time being defined? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8c42no/eli5_when_someone_says_the_universe_is_135/ | {
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"Time is being defined as \"what we're experiencing here on Earth right now.\" Hence the use of the word \"years\", which is an Earth-orbit related unit. \n\nBasically, if they wanted to specify a different frame of reference for the universe age, they would have specifically mentioned it.\n\nIf you're wondering HOW they arrived at the \"13.5\" number, [this Wikipedia article](_URL_0_) explains it in some detail. \n\nBriefly, there are two assumptions:\n\n* That the rest of the universe, even the parts that are too far for us to observe, behave like the near parts of the universe that we CAN observe, so that we can generalize what we see.\n\n* That the current behavior of galaxies moving away from us at the observed rate and acceleration, is not some recent phenomenon, but has always been happening (this is the Big Bang theory).\n\nSo they look at what they're seeing right now, and they assume that the forces of gravity etc. always behaved the way we currently observe, and predict backwards how long it could have taken to get to where we are right now. And they're using \"size\" and \"time\" in Earth terms. As if you could take the Earth \"OUT\" of the universe and observe without being affected by it, with time passing on Earth as you're observing as it does now (1 year per year).",
"It's actually more like 13.77 billion years, give or take about 60 million years. It's also not correct to say that \"Time flows at different rates in different regions of the universe\" because there's no universal reference from to measure the passage of time from. The 13.77 billion year figure is relative to the cosmic microwave background or a comoving frame, so that number is the number of Earth years in the comoving frame since the Big Bang era happened. That means that no matter who is trying to find out the age of the universe, they'll be able to find the comoving frame and figure out the age in that frame and get the same value.",
"On earth, we refer to time in terms of daylight and earths rotation around the sun. This is a very abstract concept because one year on Earth is very different than one year on mars. One year is defined as the time it takes Earth to rotate around the sun. Using our abstract definition of time, we have determined that if the Earth was around from the time of the big bang and we were orbiting the sun, then from the beginning of the big bang till today, the Earth would have gone around the sun 13.8 billion times. I know it is hard to comprehend, but according to how we measure time, the Big Bang started 13.8 billion years ago.",
"I’m trying to picture the Earth moving around the sun 13.5 billion times and I can’t. So I guess I have no idea what it means. "
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3aqlf1 | the relative differences in speed between 2g, 3g, 4g and lte technologies. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3aqlf1/eli5_the_relative_differences_in_speed_between_2g/ | {
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"Each \"G\" represents a generation of data technology (2G stands for second generation). So they describe more of a range rather than a specific speed:\n\nFirst Generation phones and towers were fully analog. \n\nSecond Generation phones and towers used a couple of major standards which ranged in speed from about 50 kbps to up to 1 mbps. There were a large number of transitional technologies in the second generation, so speeds generally increased more than in subsequent standards. \n\nThird Generation began in 2003, and had no speed requirements. Most of the systems had peak speeds ranging above 144 kbps and averaged about 400 kpbs in practical use. This was when mobile broadband started becoming a branding term. \n\n4G includes several standards (one of which is LTE) and standards should all have peak speeds between 100 mbps and 1,000 mbps (or 1 gbps). However, actual user speeds are likely to be slower than peak speed (due to movement, distance from the antenna, shared capacity, and many other reasons). "
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4tbdmi | how can servers go down for active users? | I've always wondered how this can work. I know with certain online games, they can go through waves up being up or down for everyone. But how does that happen?
In my head it should be "server has room for 1000 people, we have 900 in right now, if 1000 more try to join we let in 50 and put the rest in a queue to allow in once we have room. This will also give us a little bit of flexibility in CPU so we can process the 'comeback later' statements." I know when I try to join a game of say Battlefield 4 if a server is full for a match, I gotta wait and I'll be in slot 2 of 2 or something.
With the worldwide launch of a certain game where you chase monsters, it rekindled the question, can you explain in simple terms what is going on and why servers can be down for hours and active users get kicked out? Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4tbdmi/eli5how_can_servers_go_down_for_active_users/ | {
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"That's the sort of thing you'll try to do to manage demand, but it's made more complicated because a single user doesn't necessarily make one connection to the server and keep it open for the whole time you're playing. In your queue analogy, we need to let some of the people who are already in go out for a smoke and come back later. We can stamp their hand to show that they're one of the 900, but they have to get through the crowd to get back to the door so that we can see their hand and let them back in. And if they never come back, we have to decide when to stop waiting and give their slot to someone from the queue.",
"Pokemon Go works closer to how the Twitter or Instagram app works, not BF4.\n\nIn Pokemon Go the amount of data transferred between your phone and the server doesn't grow depending on the number of players. In BF4 the amount of data that need to be exchange will grow x80 between a 1vs1 and a 40vs40, this is why in BF4 you need to put players into \"rooms\", in Pokemon GO this would have been useless.\n\nELI5: Pokemon GO network works just like what happens between your browser and a website not a BF4 server. You don't have queue on Reddit, when the Reddit server is over capacity it returns an error page, it doesn't care if you were an \"active\" visitor. This is what happens in Pokemon Go too. "
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3g4u35 | considering how common cracked phone screens are, why do the the manufactures seem to go out of their way to make the screens so damn hard to replace? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3g4u35/eli5_considering_how_common_cracked_phone_screens/ | {
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"Why would they want to make it easy for you to be able to replace the screen when they can just sell you a whole new phone at full price?"
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3048c3 | in countries like the uk, or ne usa, when people live in remote, relatively isolated villages (say population < 500), what jobs do they do exactly? i mean, there are only so many jobs that the local farm or the village grocery store need. | ? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3048c3/eli5_in_countries_like_the_uk_or_ne_usa_when/ | {
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"Most of them are farmers. The 'local farm' isn't really a thing, but small farms are still common. A few people in the coffee shop, a few in the grocery, and some municipal administrators. Probably a bar.",
"Certainly in the UK people commute to the city. ",
"They dont grow crops in the highlands, but they raise sheep - lots and lots of sheep. And those sheep need vets, and sheep food. They are not kept in pens, but allowed to roam over the hills - so the farmer needs vehicles, and those need fuel and maintenance. \n\nAnd all those people need a doctor, and thier own food, and a place to socialise - and hairdressers and accountants and so on and so on",
"Firstly, many are retired: as high a proportion as 2/3 in some areas.\n\nOthers are farmers who will drive to a city once a month to a market to sell their goods/livestock, or will be visited a couple of times a week by a tanker or lorry to collect milk or crops. You'd be surprised how many farms there are in the highlands, they're just on a smaller scale.\n\nThere are also small \"micro-industries\" - small distilleries or breweries and other specialists, technology companies (my own is in a village of several hundred), small scale specialist manufacturers and similar.\n\nSome will work in areas which tend to be seasonal, or involve long stretches away from home followed by long stretches at home. Off-shore oil workers, fishermen, serving military officers, those in the merchant navy could all fall under this category, but also engineers and other contract workers who may work on a project several hours away for 6 months of the year, then not work for 6 months\n\nYet more will \"telework\" - working remotely at a company several hours away, or self employed etc running small businesses, usually in the technology/information sectors, but journalists, authors etc too. They may also travel in to a city to work for a week, or a few days each week. A 2 hour commute every day is a nightmare, but doing it once a week to spend 3 days in the city isn't a big problem.\n\nAnd the rest tend to be services provided to these other people: shops, butchers, doctors, dentists, cafe's, post offices, schools, churches etc. There will be a plumber in one village, an electrician in another, and a cluster of villages within a moderate sized area can provide most services to each other\n\nEach village is not self-sufficient, but they will each have the basics several of them within half an hour's drive can cover most more major services.",
"What do you mean by \"local farm\". Farms are rarely publically owned. They are primarily private land and homes. \n\nIt is also rare to be 2 hours from a significant population as you put it. It is fairly common to be 2 hours from a major city, but most are within 2 hours a small city. It is also not at all uncommon to commute 1-2 hours. ",
"Usa here my town was 500 people we had 2 other small towns come to our school and when I graduated there were only 8 kids starting their first year. It's a lot of retirees: Municipal jobs at city hall, grocer, a few oil companies that come and go, construction, banks, elevators, golf course, post office, school, the local phone/cable company, gas stations, mechanic shops, farmers/ ranchers and their helpers, police force, cafes, bars, retirees, hardware stores, hair cutters, accountants, insurance people, lumber yard, general store, pharmacy, truck drivers, auto parts stores, and commuters to the next big town for office jobs or any other job. Very few young people stay."
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1sn0vd | why is the comparison of the necessity for balancing our federal budget to balancing my personal budget flawed? | I know economists all think this argument is overly simplified and ridiculous, but I do not understand why. Why is it more efficient for the government to run a deficit, whereas I am better off not running a deficit?
Thanks | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1sn0vd/eli5_why_is_the_comparison_of_the_necessity_for/ | {
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"Here is why:\n\nThe US Federal Government is one of the largest sources of stimulus for the greater US economy. There are times (not 100% of the time) when it is better for the Federal Government to run a deficit, notably during periods of economic recession, because:\n\n* Constraining the Federal Government to running in the black during periods when tax revenue is depressed is illogical. Tax revenue will bounce back eventually, and many government programs can't be stopped and started on a whim.\n\n* The spending *by* the Federal Government helps stimulate the economy, pulling us out of that recession.\n\nNow, in comparison, *your* personal finances do not, in fact, stimulate the economy, at least not nearly as much. Perhaps one three-hundred-millionth as much? Moreover, your revenues (your wages) are **not**, in fact, going to bounce back. You might not get another job. You might be 80 years old and not going to live a whole hell of a lot longer.\n\nAnd, if you decide to say \"FUCK YOU\" to your creditors? Well, really, nothing happens. Aside from your credit rating tanking, nobody cares if you default on your loans. The US Federal Government, on the other hand, is considered to be the most unassailable, stable, rock-solid debtor on Earth. The US is the Lannisters: They always pay their debts.\n\nThis means that while the US Federal Government takes out their loans at the most attractive possible interest rate (1-Year T-Bills currently at 0.13%; No, that's not a typo) while you pay about 4.5%, and that's only *if* you put up collateral (the house you're taking a mortgage on).\n\nSo it's a hell of a lot cheaper for the US Federal Government to run a deficit, it's a hell of a lot more beneficial, and it's more practical than it is for you to do so.",
"Because running a deficit stimulates the economy, increasing the government's income from income taxes.\n\nGovernment deficit spending during a recession is analogous to taking out student loans while in college. If you are shortsighted, all you see is an expense without a benefit, but when you deficit spend, it adds more money to the economy it helps employment grow, which increases incomes, which increases the money coming in from income taxes in the future. It rapidly improves the economic situation of citizens, and eventually improves the economic situation of the government itself. \n\n > ..whereas I am better off not running a deficit?\n\nThat's not true either. Student loans make sense if the investment in your education yields enough more income down the road. Even going into *massive* debt to buy a house usually makes sense. You can't look at the cost of the borrowing alone, you also have to look at the upside that the spending is likely to bring you to see if it's worthwhile. Debt is bad, but forgoing debt is often worse.\n\nHow does deficit spending stimulate the economy you ask? This comes from the fact that deficit spending *creates* money. Money isn't gold, or cars, or houses. Money is anti-debt. Whenever anyone takes out any sort of a loan, they create money. Run up a credit card bill, you created money. Take out a car loan, you created money. Run up the national debt, you created *tons* of money. That money flows around until it pays off some other debt and then it's destroyed (while that's a bit over-simplified, for this topic it's a very accurate approximation.) There are theoretically lots of ways that we can re-fill the economy when it drains and hits a recession, but since it requires debt creation during a time when, for the private sector, recovering the cost is least likely, relying on the private sector doesn't work. Since the federal government gets insanely good deals on borrowing money (it's practically free) and it's income goes up when it does so, stimulative deficit spending on the federal level during a recession is a bit of a double no-brainer. This is why good economists all agree with this course of action. \n\nThe more interesting question here, is why do we need more deficit spending to stimulate the economy when our debt is already so high. Why wasn't previous deficit spending enough to heat up the economy. This is where macroeconomics gets important, and where consensus among economists seems to evaporate. Unfortunately, we're having a hard enough time getting politics past the easy question of should we deficit spend now, that I have little hope that we'll make progress on restructuring our economy to be smart about the more controversial less well understood stuff.",
"**Tl;dr The government prints its own money. You do not.**\n\nOr, to put it in another more technical way, the US government *borrows in the same currency in which it spends.* This would be a problem for smaller economies, but because *almost every other country on the planet ALSO borrows US dollars*, it is not a problem for us. "
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7p7z7n | why is it that the amount of inertia and the strength of gravity are both based on mass? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7p7z7n/eli5_why_is_it_that_the_amount_of_inertia_and_the/ | {
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"Things with mass inherently have inertia, and that inertia scales directly with changes in mass. Similarly, things with mass bend spacetime in such a way that a gravitational field is produced, and the degree of that bending in spacetime, and the strength of the resulting field, also scale with changes in mass.\n\nThere isn't really a \"why;\" that's just how they are.",
"You have stumbled upon one of the great mystery in physics! There is no known reason why all object with inertia interacts with gravity at the same proportion! Yet all observations demonstrate this."
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3rwfx2 | how has snoop dogg not been arrested for smoking marijuana? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3rwfx2/eli5how_has_snoop_dogg_not_been_arrested_for/ | {
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"do you want to be the guy that arrested snoop dog. Cause i dont want to be the guy that has to arrest snoop dog. By the time your done slogging through all of the hate you will be getting, it wouldnt be worth the pay.",
"He has been arrested for possession of marijuana several times. Who ever told you that he hadn't didn't even bother to read Snoop's [Wikipedia entry](_URL_0_).",
"I'm guessing he has some sort of prescriptizzle?"
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46zw6y | why is it that heat helps abdominal pains, and sore and knotted muscles but it doesn't help with headaches? | What's the main difference in the pain to make it different? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/46zw6y/eli5_why_is_it_that_heat_helps_abdominal_pains/ | {
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"Headaches are not muscle related. Heat, a lot of times helps muscles to contract/relax. Many times, headaches are caused by dehydration, an issue that applying heat would not help at all. "
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13szxt | what exactly does it mean that the n64 runs on 64 bits? | [Best answer imo](_URL_0_) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/13szxt/eli5_what_exactly_does_it_mean_that_the_n64_runs/ | {
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"Imagine you're writing numbers on a piece of graph paper, with one digit per square. If you have, say, 20 squares per line, and you can't have numbers go from one line to the next, then you can only work with numbers up to 20 digits.\n\nRoughly, saying that a processor is 32- or 64- bit is effectively saying how many (binary) digits it can work with. I can give you a more detailed answer if you want.",
"A 32 bit computer stores most numbers as 32 bits. This gives you a range from 0 to 2^32 -1 to use. You'd probably think that 2^32 is an enormous number and you'd never need more than that. Turns out we sometimes do. a 64 bit computer stores numbers as 64 bits which gives you a much larger range of numbers to use. \n\nOur computers are only recently starting to switch to 64 bit operations. The Nintendo 64 barely ever actually used numbers that complex.",
"It has to do with how the CPU and all the other essential parts of the console (the RAM, storage, and input/output) store and pass data to each other. \n\n \nLet's start at a high level. You know that games are written in some kind of programming language - for the N64, I think it was C. [1] \n\n \nLanguages like C are ways for human programmers to express what they want the computer (or in this case, console) to do. Once the game developers are done writing the game, the C code gets **compiled** (translated, essentially) down to a simpler, but much harder to read - for humans, at least - language called **assembly**. \n\n \nWhen we compile C code down to assembly, we have to break all the complicated structures like loops, if-else statements, function calls, etc. (which you may be familiar with if you've coded before) into a small set of simple **instructions**. These instructions essentially tell the CPU to do things like add a couple numbers, move some bits from one **register** (a storage unit within the CPU) to another, or go to a different instruction and execute that. \n\n \nAssembly language is the closest you can get to directly moving bits around in the CPU, without actually expressing everything in binary (0s and 1s). In fact, assembly language is directly translatable to binary. This is where the 64-bit distinction becomes important. \n\n \nYou see, there is a reason everything eventually gets boiled down to 0s and 1s. At the hardware level, the only way we can represent information is through on/off states (i.e. high or low voltage levels) - off/low is represented by a 0, and on/high by a 1. We can store these states in registers, which I mentioned earlier, and pass them around and through logic gates (which take two sequences of bits as input, perform operations like AND, OR, NOT on them, and output the result) along **buses**, which are basically just wires on the circuit boards. Hence, once we translate our instructions from assembly into binary, we can store them in registers, fetch them, and execute them one-by-one. [2] \n\n \nNow you may be wondering: how exactly do we know which instruction to fetch - for that matter, whenever the CPU needs data, how does it know where to find it? The answer is, we use more bits to represent the **address** of the instruction or data we want to fetch. The length of the address - how many bits are in it - tells us how many possible \"cubbyholes\" the data can reside in. Since an n-bit binary number can go from 0 to 2^n - 1, an n-bit address gives us 2^n possible places to look for an instruction or piece of data. \n\n \nLikewise, the length of the instruction affects how much data you can convey in it. It only takes a few bits to tell the processor what operation to do; the rest of the instruction can be used to pass along data for that operation, like numbers to be added or the address of some data (possibly another instruction). \n\n \nNow, finally, comes the answer to your question: the fact that the N64 \"runs on 64 bits\" means our value of n in this case is 64. So our addresses are 64 bits long, and so are our instructions. [3] This is called the **datapath width** of the processor, as it also means the physical buses between components are twice as wide. \nHence, any time you want to grab a particular bit in memory, you have 2^64 places to possibly get it from (quite a lot). Your instructions are also 64 bits long, which means that your registers must be 64 bits \"wide\" (i.e. can hold 64 bits) and to be consistent, all your other data must reside in memory in blocks of 64 as well. \n\n \nSo what's the point of all this? Let's work our way back up through the layers of abstraction to find out. As opposed to a 32-bit architecture, having all your addresses and data in 64 bits means that the CPU can hold more data in working memory i.e. it can support larger RAM sizes. You may have heard of RAM or even upgraded your computer with more RAM - it is essentially the \"working memory\" of the processor. While going about its tasks, the CPU can load data from disk storage into RAM, or store temporary data in RAM, and access it much faster than if everything was stored on disk. [4] \nHence, whereas a 32-bit processor can utilize at most 2^32 bits = 4GB of RAM, a 64-bit processor can support 2^64 = 2 exabytes of RAM! That's a massive improvement, and we're not even close to having hardware that powerful! \n\n \nAnother advantage is that since all data is in 64 bits, you can also represent larger values in your programming languages, so an integer variable that would have represented 2^32 - 1 (32 1's in binary) at most, can now represent 2^64 - 1. The downside to this is that the same data now takes twice as many bits to represent, with just a bunch of 0s at the front (i.e., 2^32 - 1 goes from being 32 1's to 32 0's and 32 1's). So the same program requires more memory to execute in a 64-bit system than in a 32-bit system. \n\n \nAll in all, having a 64-bit architecture offered the N64 greater speed and processing power. It's the same reason why you're seeing laptops and operating systems all switching to 64-bit now, and software coming in 64-bit as well as 32-bit versions. \n\n \nI hope this made sense and gave you a better understanding of how every computer works at its core! Let me know if there's anything that needs clarifying :) Sorry about the length.\n\nIf you're interested in computer architecture a great resource is _URL_0_ - its a free course designed to teach you the fundamentals of computer systems, from the transistor level all the way up to designing your own processor! (Ever see those awesome Minecraft CPUs? This is the stuff they had to learn beforehand!)\n\nBerkeley also has all of the lecture notes from our [computer arch course](_URL_1_) online, if you want to delve even deeper :D \n\n \nFinally, footnotes are below - they're not essential to understanding the 64-bit distinction, but might answer any lingering questions you have!\n\n[1] C is usually considered a relatively low-level language, meaning you get more direct control over the hardware (allocating bits in memory, etc.) so it's very powerful, but it takes more effort to understand, and code in. Higher-level languages like Python or Java abstract away these finer controls, trading them for more human-friendly syntax. \n \n\n[2] This idea of essentially storing a program (a sequence of instructions) as data, and manipulating it like any other data was not obvious at first! It's called the *stored-program concept*, and led to the historic proposal of the [von Neumann architecture](_URL_3_), which is the basis for how all processors are designed today. It allowed us to progress from having to punch in the entire program every time you wanted to run it, to writing it once, compiling it, and then running it anytime you wish. \n \n\n[3] Hold up, I said we could fit addresses into a 64-bit instruction after using some bits already, but addresses themselves are 64-bits long! Well, we can get away with *relative addressing* - instead of referring to an absolute position with 64 bits, we can just go backwards or forward from our current position by adding or subtracting those 58 bits from our current address (because remember, every instruction has an address!) \n \n\n[4] Why is it faster for the CPU to access RAM than your hard drive? It's quite intuitive; the registers that make up RAM are physically much closer to the processor, whereas other storage mediums are usually farther away, and therefore data takes more time to travel back and forth (in addition to the time it takes to find the data in your hard drive!) \nHence, accessing memory from \"off-CPU\" is costly, whereas accessing registers on the CPU (arranged in caches) and nearby RAM takes less time. It's like borrowing a book from the library so you grab it from your desk whenever you want, as opposed to going back to the library everytime you need a book. These different places to store data form a *[memory hierarchy](_URL_1_lectures/14LecFa12CacheI.pdf)* that has a huge effect on program speed. "
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kturs | what are the different kinds of lightbulbs? | and how do I identify them in the wild?
space | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/kturs/eli5_what_are_the_different_kinds_of_lightbulbs/ | {
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"There are [incandescent lightbulbs](_URL_1_). These have a bulb-shape and get hot. They work by putting electricity through a thin wire made of tungsten, which gets really *really* hot: hot enough that it shines brightly. \n\nThe other main type is [fluorescent](_URL_0_). These usually have a more spiral shape, although other shapes are possible. Roughly, these work by using electricity to excite mercury atoms (which are in a vapor inside the tube), causing them to emit ultra-violet light. The glass is coated with a special material the fluoresces, meaning it \"converts\" the ultra-violet light into visible light. \n\nAlso, you can make spaces in comments by typing\n \n & nbsp;\n\nFor example:\n\n & nbsp;\n\n & nbsp;\n\n & nbsp; ",
"In addition to the two mentioned by thewortsnoveltyacct, there are also light-emitting diodes. These are semiconductors that allow current flow one way (as do all diodes), and light is emitted when electrons relax after passing from a high-energy band to a low-energy band in the semiconductor. They look like [this](_URL_0_).",
"Incandescent - wire in a bulb (vacuum), gets hot, warm light (slightly orange/yellow)\n\nFluorescent - Tube of gas, opaque, gets warm, a whiter more sterile light, flickers rather than dims.\n\nHID - bright light, pure white (may have a slight blue tint depending on how you view it), haven't really seen it much other than on cars\n\nLED - small (typically smaller than a pencil eraser), typically on a circuit board with other stuff, typically in multiples, various colors, usually if its on an electronic device (made after yr 2000), its an LED",
"There are [incandescent lightbulbs](_URL_1_). These have a bulb-shape and get hot. They work by putting electricity through a thin wire made of tungsten, which gets really *really* hot: hot enough that it shines brightly. \n\nThe other main type is [fluorescent](_URL_0_). These usually have a more spiral shape, although other shapes are possible. Roughly, these work by using electricity to excite mercury atoms (which are in a vapor inside the tube), causing them to emit ultra-violet light. The glass is coated with a special material the fluoresces, meaning it \"converts\" the ultra-violet light into visible light. \n\nAlso, you can make spaces in comments by typing\n \n & nbsp;\n\nFor example:\n\n & nbsp;\n\n & nbsp;\n\n & nbsp; ",
"In addition to the two mentioned by thewortsnoveltyacct, there are also light-emitting diodes. These are semiconductors that allow current flow one way (as do all diodes), and light is emitted when electrons relax after passing from a high-energy band to a low-energy band in the semiconductor. They look like [this](_URL_0_).",
"Incandescent - wire in a bulb (vacuum), gets hot, warm light (slightly orange/yellow)\n\nFluorescent - Tube of gas, opaque, gets warm, a whiter more sterile light, flickers rather than dims.\n\nHID - bright light, pure white (may have a slight blue tint depending on how you view it), haven't really seen it much other than on cars\n\nLED - small (typically smaller than a pencil eraser), typically on a circuit board with other stuff, typically in multiples, various colors, usually if its on an electronic device (made after yr 2000), its an LED"
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4q6q75 | 360 degree video. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4q6q75/eli5_360_degree_video/ | {
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"The material is recorded as data that when played back through a software player allows the user control of the viewing direction and playback speed. You use multiple cameras to take video shots at the same time. Take each video at the same frames per second. Then take apart each video frame by frame and arrange and distort each video frame into a flat spherical view to create one larger video frame. Then put it all together in one new video.",
"Kinda neat: If you take a 360 degree image/video, apply it to the inside of a sphere (in a 3d modeling program) and then go inside the sphere, you can look around like you're inside that world. \n\nhope that makes sense.... ",
"Wasn't the first guy to do it Stephen Chow in his movie Shaolin Soccer, where video is taken from many angles put into a software that stitches the videos together to make a spherical view of the subject.",
"Here's a rather interesting video I watched recently about how they get 360° video to work. Hope this helps. :)\n[Video](_URL_0_)",
"360 Video is an interesting format. The video file itself is still a square image, but the content in it is arranged in a specific way to be *distorted* onto a sphere, basically. If you watch a 360 Video on something that doesn't know how to treat it differently (most YouTube enabled TVs, for example), you'll see how the video file is actually presented. Basically, it looks distorted and stretched, but that's because it's intended to be mapped and stretched onto the interior of a sphere. \n\nHow it's captured is usually with a special camera rig that either natively captures a 360 view (with special lenses, etc.), or with multiple cameras capturing an in-total 360 view, which are then stitched together with software into a 360 view. \n\nA good video to watch if you're interested in learning more is [Making of \"Where's Waldo 360\"](_URL_0_). "
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3vm3qc | will certain olympic sports reach a point where progress can't be made in them? | To fix ideas, consider the 1600 meter race. While its astounding that people continue breaking record in this event, am I correct in assuming that eventually "peak human performance" will be reached? For example, it seems unlikely that an unmodified human will ever reach a point where they can run the 1600 meters in 30 seconds. When "peak performance" is reached, will such events be meaningful (given that records will never be broken)? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3vm3qc/eli5_will_certain_olympic_sports_reach_a_point/ | {
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"While record breaking may become increasingly rare, remember that participants aren't racing against records, just each other. So sure, records may one day become harder to break, but the races themselves will mean pretty much as much (or as little, depending on who you ask) as they do now. ",
"You don't need to break the world record to win the gold.\n\nThe current world record holder doesn't always win every event they compete in either.\n\nWe'll eventually reach a point where the world record in many track events is such a perfect storm of temperature, pressure, wind, genetics, and sheer will that it will be effectively untouchable. \n\nSome freakish genetic outlier will run the perfect run and set a record that will stand for a very long time, but people will still compete in those events to try and beat other people. Competition doesn't require you to beat every other human ever, just the bums running with you.",
"At the most basic level true passionate athletes aren't trying to beat or set a record, win a medal, or even beat the people they are competing against...they are competing against themselves. It doesn't matter if Joe Runner can't beat the world record, as long as he can beat his own personal record.",
"There have been dozens of \"unbreakable\" records. Someone always finds a way to break them. Who knows what speeds will be possible with robot legs",
"There are some in which that is already the case. \n\nIn Javelin they've actually changed the shape of the Javelin numerous times to make it harder to throw as far",
"Not an Olympic sport, but consider horse racing. Maybe you've heard how hard it is to win the Triple Crown? We hadn't had one for 37 years until American Pharoah won this year.\n\nIf we ran every horse at the same time that ever ran (we're talking 140 years) in those three races, Secretariat would win all three races. He holds the record for all three of those races, and that's stood for over 40 years.\n\nWhat's even more incredible is that the Preakness favors faster horses, the Belmont favors endurance, and the Kentucky Derby is somewhere in between. If that isn't reaching peak performance then I don't know what is. Despite that, horse racing is still wildly popular and will continue to be for a long time.",
"They will never reach a point where progress can't be made in them, although in theory they would. Because the progress in many sports is tiny, and the margin of victory is also tiny.\n\nTake swimming. London 2012 100m men's freestyle. The gold was 47.52 seconds. The silver was 47.53 seconds.\n\nThe difference was one 1/100th of a second. If every 4 years the winner got 1/100th of a second better (which is not unlikely) it would take 208 years before they got to 47 seconds. \n\nSo they can continue getting a tiny better better almost forever.",
"In long jump, since 1968, there has been only one legal jump beyond 8.90, with the records having lasted 23 and 24 years..\n\nAltitude, legal wind and exceptional athletes on a good day will break it, but it looks like we are pretty close to the peak."
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37sk1d | if researchers can infect lab rats with most cancers by injecting them with cancer cells can they do that to humans too? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/37sk1d/eli5if_researchers_can_infect_lab_rats_with_most/ | {
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"I don't know that that's actually done. I certainly haven't heard of it. If it is possible, I would say that due to selective inbreeding lab rats of a certain genetic lineage are nearly genetically identical. So, you can transfer tissues from one rat in that line to another without the tissue being rejected, including cancerous cells. In humans, you can't transfer cancerous cells from one person to another because the body rejects foreign tissues. In close family members you *might* be able to do it depending on several factors, the same factors that govern organ donation.\n\nFor what it's worth, in my lab we just breed mice to be more susceptible to cancer, and then feed them carcinogens or expose them to UV light. We don't inject them with cancerous cells."
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1mdfss | why aren't all/most hospital items copper/silver plated? | If these materials don't get infected, why aren't they all plated with it?
Wouldn't the cost offset the cost of disinfecting them? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mdfss/eli5_why_arent_allmost_hospital_items/ | {
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"Copper takes about 2 hours to completely disinfect a surface from bacteria and virus. As such it makes sense to disinfect things directly to remove the infectious agent quicker most of the time. Therefore thing are are being actively disinfected have less need for copper but items such as \n\nbed rails, call buttons, touch plates, chairs, door handles, light switches, etc \n\nare moving to copper. Items that can be replaced quickly and are highly infectious (Scapels for instance.) are just replaced.\n\n\n",
"people would steal everything.... and mass production makes it cheaper just to make new ones and throw the used items after 1 use. ",
"Also copper and silver are poisonous when to much is ingested. All copper cooking utensils such as pans and jelly molds should be tin lined and ingesting silver over time turns your skin blue. "
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2bh8ad | ssd capacity affects performance? | Why is it that the higher the size of the SSD Drive the faster the speed for read/write. Why are all SSD the same speeds (not across all SSD Brands but within a product range). SSD capacity affects performance? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2bh8ad/eli5ssd_capacity_affects_performance/ | {
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"Yes, surprisingly. Bigger capacity translates to more storage chips, and that translates to greater parallelism in transfering data. Thus, faster performance for the big boys :)"
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83xd1z | physiologically, why is it easier to throw something accurately underhand vs overhand? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/83xd1z/eli5_physiologically_why_is_it_easier_to_throw/ | {
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"The overhand throw involves a much more complex set of motions using several joints and a lot of different muscles. There's more to get wrong."
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3mt69v | did native americans have land and borders | Earlier today, I got into a bit of an argument with a person over whether or not Pocahontas was a princess or not because according to this person, Powhatan didn't own any lands or have borders despite being in charge of like 30 or more different tribes during the time.. So please help me. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3mt69v/eli5did_native_americans_have_land_and_borders/ | {
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"Many tribes did not have the same type of personal land ownership concepts that Europeans did (though some did, particularly those that built cities) but virtually all of them had the concept of territorial control by the tribe, had defined borders, and had wars with other tribes for access to resources (such as hunting grounds) or for intruding on their holy lands. "
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figx5x | what would be different about the way the sun rises and sets if the earth was not tilted on an axis? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/figx5x/eli5_what_would_be_different_about_the_way_the/ | {
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"If the axis was at 90 degrees relative to the orbital plane the sun would set and rise as it does on the equinox so just like on March 20 in and September 22-23. So just look out next Friday.\n\n \nThe equinox is the day that the equator lines up with the orbital plane twice per year. So the sun rises due east and set due west on every part of the earth. with the day and night of equal length.\n\nThe exact due east, west and equal day and night is if you ignore the atmospheric effect that is relatively small in most places. The day is 12 hours and 6 minutes at the equator but at the poles, the sun will be above the horizon the whole day. The only sunrise on the north pole is 2 day before the march equinox and the only sunset is 2 days after the September equinox, for the south pole it is the opposite. \n\nSo just like the equinox. The real huge effect would be the enormous changes in climate with no winter and summer."
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1tpxq1 | why does schizophrenia typically start to affect someone in their late teens or 20's? | I recently had Someone close to me committed for hearing voices and having paranoid delusions. It sounds like they may have paranoid schizoactive disorder, however I grew up with this person and they have never shown any of the signs of any kind of brain disorder until now (they just turned 22). Is there any reason that this disease affects a certain age group first? Or is it just genetics being a ticking time bomb? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1tpxq1/eli5_why_does_schizophrenia_typically_start_to/ | {
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"Can I tack another sub-question onto this? A friend of mine is in a PhD psychology program and mentioned that a person really only \"has\" schizophrenia for about 10 years and after that they tend to be okay. She didn't know much about it, just something she heard in class, I think. Does anyone know anything about this? It's fascinating, if true.\n\nEdit, thanks for all the responses! What you all are saying is what I had always heard about schizophrenia; it's a chronic illness that can be managed with meds but not cured. I'm going to ask her about it next time I see her.",
"There is still a lot to be studied in this area, and with the proper funding perhaps we will get more advanced knowledge; but, as far as theories go there exists a few that work in combination: The prefrontal cortex (executive functioning part of the brain) and connected areas are primarily in play in symptoms, this area of the brain often doesn't finish developing until your mid to late twenties. Gene expression and genetics overall are in constant play during this development, simple malfunctions can lead to the increased likelihood of developing the disorder. What often leads to this eventual development for those with the predisposition is stress. Often times the twenties have very dynamic and stressful days with many inconsistencies that can lead one to develop the disorder. \n\nEDIT: I should also mention that my brother is also schizophrenic and was relatively normal up until his first \"episode\" so I can relate very well.\n",
"There are a lot of theories and interrelating factors, such as genetics, developmental stages, and stressors/coping; plus there's still a lot of research to be done on this topic. I don't think I could form a coherent explanation at this moment (too tired), but it is not unusual for someone at age 22 to just be showing symptoms. It's also possible that they have been in the prodromal stage for years- meaning the symptoms were not as severe, could be easily overlooked and/or hidden, and are usually mistaken for the \"normal\" emotional changes of adolescence.\n\nAlso, schizoactive disorder? Do you mean schizoaffective?",
"I have seen a person who was diagnoised with Paranoid Schizophrenia his twenties, managed it for a decade or two on and off and then left home. He returned after a few years (after wandering many cities as a destitute) and refuses to take any medication. He is in his 50s now and is difficult to manage. It is really difficult for the close relatives to see him the way he is currently. Since he is paranoid, he suspects the relatives mix medicines in his food and inspects it thoroughly before consuming. Is there a way to convince him about medication being good for him? He is calmer when he takes medicines.\nDoes anyone here know if Yoga really helps?"
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qnphv | why some vegetarians to eat fish | Aren't they not supposed to eat animals? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/qnphv/eli5_why_some_vegetarians_to_eat_fish/ | {
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"By definition, they are not vegetarians.",
"Well, most vegetarians that eat fish, do so because a fish has had a whole life of freedom in the ocean before somebody caught it. Pigs, chickens and cows mostly live in captivity all their lives and are sometimes being fed nasty stuff to grow faster. That is why some people do not like to eat meat, but are ok to eat fish.",
"There's no 'supposed' to.\n\nPeople eat, or don't eat, whatever they want. \n\nThe word 'vegetarian' is used to describe people who cut out meat from their diets to varying degrees. Some cut out all meat. Some cut out only red meat. Some cut out any animal based product. All these people are generally describe as 'vegetarians' to keep things simple. You can get pedantic if you like and start with the whole *Ovo-lacto-vegi-blah-blah* prefixes, but that starts to get silly.\n\n",
"I think it can be explained by the fact that we, as mammals, are much more closely related to pigs, cows, and even chickens, than we are to fish. This allows our sympathies to be much more easily directed towards \"cuter\" animals like piggies than they are towards those bug-eyed swimmy little shits.",
"I'm not vegitarian, but have friends who are.\n\nSome eat fish because their dislike of eating animals is based on estimated intelligence of the animal. So eating a pig makes them feel a lot guiltier than eating a clam. Clams barely have a nervous system. Many also avoid eating octopus, again because it's pretty intelligent, while eating shrimp happily.\n\nOthers are trying to avoid factory farms. One friend is geneally vegan, except for meat she hunts and kills (or raises and slaughters) herself. She'll eat some store-bought fish because she needs protein, doesn't want to eat too much soy, and is terrible at fishing.\n\nAnd they normally say they're vegitarian when people ask, because it gets the general idea across (*\"Please don't offer me meatloaf\"*). Saying \"pescatarian\" in casual conversation sounds douchy.",
"Proper term for that would be pescetarian. Like Steve Jobs.",
"I'm a lacto, pollo, bovine, cervine vegetarian. I sometimes cheat though. "
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opydp | why does my tv flicker on and off whenever my refrigerator cycles on? | It didn't always do this, and everything is still plugged in the same way and with the same cables. It just started to do this recently; whenever the refrigerator cycles on, my 40" Samsung LCD starts to flicker and then the screen shuts off for a second or two. Sometimes it goes off and on several times.
Is this a problem with the TV, or with the circuitry in my apartment, or with the electricity itself? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/opydp/eli5_why_does_my_tv_flicker_on_and_off_whenever/ | {
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" Are they on the same circuit? Just like brown outs occur on a larger scale in big cities when a lot of electricity is being used at the same time like on a very hot summer day and every household is running the AC. When the fridge cycles on for a few seconds it pulls more electricity than normal to get the compressor to start. This will pull from other appliances on the same circuit. If too much is pulled then the breaker or fuse will trip to keep wiring form overheating and possibly causing a fire. Many other appliances will cause the same thing. I've noticed in my home that when the AC compressor starts or I turn on he vacuum my lights in that room will dim a little. If your TV is on the same circuit as your fridge you could run an extension cord to another room and wait to see if it occurs. You can kind of think of electricity as water. If you have water coming it to your house and you have one faucet running then you have plenty of pressure. Turn on every faucet take a shower and flush the toilet and you will see a significant reduction in pressure. Your tv flickering is the electrical equivalent of this.",
"This isn't a great sign. You may want to consult an electrician, or just someone you know who's a little better with it than me - BUT, that circuit is drawing too much power relative to the breaker. "
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4g8v31 | why san francisco is an attractive place right now for tech startups | I mean, to me it seems like with the highly dense residential area and extremely high cost of living it wouldn't be an attractive place but it is. Can someone explain this? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4g8v31/eli5_why_san_francisco_is_an_attractive_place/ | {
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"It's the major hub for technology. It's easier to network and connect with others who can help your startup. ",
"They are shortsighted idiots, and are causing one of the worst gentrification crises going on in the US right now. It will end in flames\n\nSF (for now) is an exciting, attractive city, and if one big tech company decides to locate there for some reason--I dunno, maybe the ambiance--there will invariably be a pack of of Big Dog wannabes who figure if the place is good enough for BigCo, it's where the action is, and it's for them. These people are morons.\n\nAnd there really is no logical reason for it. As expensive as Silicon Valley is (my rent on a mediocre apartment in San Jose is $2800), it's MUCH cheaper than SF, has much less gridlock, and much more available empty land (there is approximately ZERO available land in SF). Indeed, there are still a shitload of empty buildings left over from the last tech crash. And of course, you can't throw a rock without knocking down a couple dozen engineers. A silicon valley engineer who accepts a hot new job in SF is going to regret it some day.\n\nSo what this process is doing to SF is driving out anybody but the wealthy. Property owners are tossing out middle- and working-class people from buildings they've lived in for decades, generations even, and building $million-plus condos in their place. And while the wealthy might NOW look upon that as a good thing, they're going to regret it soon, because they'll wake up one morning and find there are no working-class people left to make their lattes and scrub their toilets. When you kick working-class people out of SF, where can they go? Answer: nowhere. Go a few miles in any direction in SF, and you run into water or more wealthy neighborhoods. People could go live in Oakland or someplace, but how do they get to their job in SF? The public transit is *already* choked past capacity.\n\n\n"
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nqokp | what does it actually mean when companies in the us say they support certain legislation? (e.g. godaddy with sopa) | Why is this support considered so important? Is it purely lobbying money? If so, it almost seems like lawmaking is mostly companies putting money towards "buying legislation", and people can only affect this process by voting with their wallets. Is this view in any way accurate? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/nqokp/what_does_it_actually_mean_when_companies_in_the/ | {
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"It means they endorse it and agree with it. That way, when it's debated on the floor, people can say \"X company agrees with this legislation, it's obviously the right move to make.\" \n\nIt doesn't necessarily (though *can*) mean they're contributing money/resources to it.",
"It means they will profit from it",
"It means they endorse it and agree with it. That way, when it's debated on the floor, people can say \"X company agrees with this legislation, it's obviously the right move to make.\" \n\nIt doesn't necessarily (though *can*) mean they're contributing money/resources to it.",
"It means they will profit from it"
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23muhw | how can apple products be smoother and faster than others with less hardware capability. | Hello, I have been an Android man since Google came out with it. However I recently had an upgrade for my phone service and decided to get an iPhone.
I just want to stress that I think Android is better in almost every category(more customizable, more integrated with the web, more open source, etc) but I would have to be a fool not to acknowledge that the iOS is zippy fast and has an unrivaled grace to it. The phone never seems to glitch or lag or crash at any point.
Then I decided to compare the specs of my iPhone 5s to some of the most top end Android phones like the new Galaxy S5 and the HTC One and I right off the bat I noticed that iPhone CPU specs are years behind its competitors.
The 5s has 1.3 GHz dual core processor and only 1 GB of RAM. Compare that to the Galaxy S4 which has a 1.6 GHz QUADCORE and 2 GB of RAM, or the new S5 which has nearly double the specs, and yet the iPhone is still equally smooth, if not moreso.
This has never just been the case for phones, but for most of the products Apple make. Their MacBook laptops outperform Windows computers with less hardware and they are less prone to viruses (yes I know, that is starting to change, but still).
I have asked some folks and they tell me the main difference are the SSD hard drives that Apple use in tier products. Well, HP have many laptops that use SSD drives (my brother has one) and while they are admittedly faster than a computer using a standard hard drive, they still cannot process as quickly as a MacBook.
My question is why? What is Apple doing that make their products so seamless? Explain it in the most watered down way possible.
Sorry for the lengthy question, and no trolling please. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/23muhw/eli5_how_can_apple_products_be_smoother_and/ | {
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"Optimization of the software for a specific set (or smaller subset) of hardware. \n\nThe components in PCs and Android phones will vary significantly, yet that same Windows/Android code has to work across a range of processors, memory and video cards. \n\nWith Apple's control of which components goes into their products, they can more easily optimize their processes to run best on a particular set of hardware. \n\nEdit: words. On mobile. ",
"On paper, Apple's laptops, desktops, but most importantly phones, appear to be weaker. Less cores, lower clockspeeds, and less RAM. But Apple controls everything about their phone's hardware and software. Software is designed in tandem with hardware teams, so optimization is the highest.\n\nThis is why Apple's A7 equipped iPhone's and iPads beat out the competition in almost every benchmark assessment, despite lower amount of cores and clockspeed. Apple's custom chipsets and integration of hardware and software teams allows them to produce greater results with unorthodox hardware.\n\ntldr: Optimization and quality engineering beat out pure specs.",
"Apple apps work directly with the processor, memory and hard disk, they are written in C. Android apps have no way to access any system resources directly since they all run on top of Java virtual machine. Kind of similar to when you run a virtual machine on your PC. It is much slower then running a program directly. Every operation has to go through that Java machine. Its known to eat up a lot of CPU and RAM for even simple apps. Also Android is much more lenient about letting apps stay running in the background if they request so and consume resources. Which is good for some apps, but makes it slower.\n\nOn the positive side its almost impossible however sloppy your app is to crash Java VM. It isolates the operating system. But for Apple a bad app could bring down the whole system, so thats why Apple need to approve them."
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4gwi43 | how does russian in latin characters work? | I'm sorry if my title doesn't make sense but I don't know how to ask this exactly.
If I search for this phrase in Google: "slishkom cennij shtob prodovatj" it will say this:
Showing results for слишком ценный чтобы prodovatj
No results found for slishkom cennij shtob prodovatj
Obviously "slishkom" (or any of those other "words") isn't an English word, so that's not an English to Russian translation. So what is going on there exactly? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4gwi43/eli5_how_does_russian_in_latin_characters_work/ | {
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"We use alphabets, and combinations of letters to represent sounds. Some languages use the same alphabets, others use different ones. For translating between the different ones, we use agreed transliteration tables to represent broadly the same sound patterns.\n\nIf you want to represent the sound that you think of at the very beginning of the word \"sound\", a Latin character for that is \"S\". The Cyrillic character for that sound is \"C\". Sometimes you need multiple characters because the same sound isn't used as much. So the backwards letter \"R\" in Cyrillic can be closely approximated using Latin characters as \"ya\".\n\nUsing this transliteration, you can write Russian speech in Latin alphabet, and Google knows you're doing that.",
"It's called \"transliteration\", and basically just means that you are using characters from the Latin alphabet to imitate the sounds of the Cyrillic alphabet.",
"It's possible to write Russian with Roman letters; there are several mutually-incompatible ways of doing so. The major point of difference is whether to make sure every Russian *letter* of the written word is substituted with a Latin one, or to record the pronunciation faithfully in the chosen alphabet. The writer of this snippet has clearly chosen the latter.\n\nIt's pretty clear that Google knows to check text to see if it matches transliterated Russian words. It's interesting that it corrects *shtob* to чтобы, which would be *chtoby* in Roman letters (it is, however, pronounced with a /sh/), but doesn't correct *prodovatj,* which should be prod**a**vatj."
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a27azc | why do potato chip companies put so much air in bags of chips? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a27azc/eli5_why_do_potato_chip_companies_put_so_much_air/ | {
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"I think it's to act as a cushion. If all the air was out of the bag, even the smallest thing landing on a bag of chips would crush most of them to crumbs.",
"The air is a cushion. When the bag is packed in a box which is tossed around a warehouse and then a truck and then another warehouse and then stuffed onto a shelf, the air protects the chips inside.",
"It's not air, it's nitrogen - the oxygen in air contributes to chips going stale. So using nitrogen keeps the chips fresh.\n\nAs others have said, the inflation of the bag also acts as a cushion, reducing how much the bag can be crushed."
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soakk | how is inflation arrived at by a country if the gov't would print a lot of money? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/soakk/eli5_how_is_inflation_arrived_at_by_a_country_if/ | {
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"More money = money is worth less (since everyone has more of it) = higher prices (inflation). \n\nPrinting more money doesn't actually fix anything."
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41y060 | if the city of flint made the dercision to switch water supply, why is the governor being blamed while the mayor is the victim? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41y060/eli5_if_the_city_of_flint_made_the_dercision_to/ | {
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"During the time in which the decision was made to switch the water supply, the city of Flint was under the emergency management of the state government. It was a state official who authorized and carried out the switch and so the Governor is the ultimately guilty party. The mayor was, in basic terms, suspended from duty during the time of the implementation of the water supply switch. ",
"The river water is actually okay. But they wanted to save money and stop buying from Detroit. Detroit did not want this. When they switched, and it was only for a temporary time period until they could hook up with a new system, They did not add an anticorrosion chemical to the water which Detroit had in their water. The lead in the pipes of homes began to leach out into the water."
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2amha2 | stars blinking | Does anyone know why stars blink as they do? I would love to know as I have always loved looking up onto the skys. and this questing always comes up. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2amha2/eli5_stars_blinking/ | {
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"The atmosphere consists of many many layers of air \"pockets\", and these pockets are constantly moving around in the atmosphere. What makes each pocket different from another is that they have slightly different temperatures and densities.\n\nHere's why that's important: if you've ever looked at a straw in a glass of water, you've seen how it appears to be bent, even though you know the straw is straight. This is a result of an effect called 'refraction'. Essentially, light moves and different speeds in materials with different densities. To understand why this causes refraction, imagine if you were running with a bunch of your friends in a straight line, shoulder to shoulder. If people at one end of the line started slowing down, then the people at the other end would start moving past them, and your line would slowly wheel and change direction. Well, when the leading edge of the light ray hits the water, a similar effect happens, and the light ray \"bends\" and changes direction.\n\nJust like with the water in the glass, light moves at different speeds through the different pockets of air, and so every time a light ray moves through a pocket, it changes direction slightly.\n\nNow because those air pockets are all moving around, sometimes a bunch of light rays from a star get bent toward your eye, and the star appears brighter. Then the air pockets move around some more, and now most of the light rays from the star are being bent away from your eye, so the star appears dimmer. This constant brightening and dimming of the star is what we call \"twinkling\".\n\nThis also explains why the planets in our solar system don''t appear to twinkle: stars are so very far away from us that they are just tiny little pinpricks of light. This means that the apparent size of a star is much smaller than the size of one of these air pockets. But the planets are much closer to us, and so their apparent size is very big--much bigger even than the size of the air pockets. So the light from a planet passes through a bunch of air pockets instead of just one at a time, and this means that even though the light from one part of the planet is getting bent away from us, the light from another part is being towards us, and so as a whole, the planet doesn't appear to get brighter and dimmer. The brightening and dimming average out, and the planet's brightness stays roughly constant, which means no twinkling!"
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c1q81w | how does replanting rainforest differ from regular forest? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/c1q81w/eli5_how_does_replanting_rainforest_differ_from/ | {
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"They’re vastly different. Regular forest is “old growth forest”—it’s a vast ecosystem that has existed for perhaps millions of years. Thousands or millions of species have evolved to coexist in that environment. But then loggers come and clear cut the forest, chopping down the trees and destroying the habitats of all of those species that lived together in the forest—the animals that lives in the trees, the smaller plants that lived on the ground and were trampled by the tree’s destroyers, and then all of the smaller plants, animals, and fungi that lived in the ecosystem. If they then plant new trees,that doesn’t help all of the species killed off by the destruction of the whole ecosystem."
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7mdkuh | how does a computer recover corrupted data? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7mdkuh/eli5_how_does_a_computer_recover_corrupted_data/ | {
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"Tolerances, error detection and error correction.\n\nTolerance: In TTL logic if the voltage on a data line is between 2V and 5V that's a logical 1, and between 0V and 0.8V is a logical 0. This means that the hardware can take a bit of variation and it makes no difference. This is by the way why expensive cables for digital data are nonsense -- unlike with analog, 4.5V and 5V are exactly just as good.\n\nError detection: Take 8 bits, let's say 10011100. Then add an extra parity bit. When the number of 1s in the byte is even, parity is 0. When odd, parity is 1. If one bit flips now parity is wrong, and we know something went wrong somewhere.\n\nError correction: With a slightly more complex system we can detect where something has gone wrong. Since we know the position, we know that the bit must have flipped, so we flip it back and problem solved. Easy example of error correction:\n\nWe take a group of 8 bytes and write them down on one line each, then we calculate the parity for both rows and columns:\n\n 01100011 0\n 01101111 0\n 01101101 1\n 01110000 1\n 01110101 1\n 01110100 0\n 01100101 0\n 01110010 0\n\n 00000111\n\nNow flip a bit somewhere:\n\n 01100011 0\n 01101111 0\n 01101101 1\n 01110010 1 < --\n 01110101 1\n 01110100 0\n 01100101 0\n 01110010 0\n\n 00000111\n ^\nNow if you check the parity it'll be wrong on one row and one column, so we know where in the table the error can be found. Flip it around, and fixed! There are better methods of course, but this one is easy to explain.\n\nCDs and DVDs specifically have several levels of error correction, so that it can handle both small local mistakes, and large scratches on the surface.\n\nNow if that wasn't enough, then it really doesn't really deal with it, and you have corruption for good. Some programs can deal with an amount of it (eg, it can be tolerable for audio or video), some break badly."
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3f0doh | how does an unknown music artist's song become a major hit? | I mean, do they just upload it on facebook or youtube and someone randomly clicks on it and because it is sooo good, they share it with their friends or something?
| explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3f0doh/eli5_how_does_an_unknown_music_artists_song/ | {
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"Record companies scout for talent and then promote specific new artists relentlessly in many cases. ",
"Record companies pay large sums to broadcasting to play their songs. I've heard it's around $50,000 grand for a single to get in rotation enough to stick "
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7nhafy | why does meat to stick to cooking surfaces? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7nhafy/eli5_why_does_meat_to_stick_to_cooking_surfaces/ | {
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"The meat breaks down when heated, and releases its carbon. The carbon sticks to the pan, and the meat like glue.",
"Anything that goes from being viscous to being rigid will act like glue, because it'll first conform to whatever surface it's touching, getting into all the nooks and crannies. Once it hardens, it'll grab on to said nooks and crannies, and be more or less difficult to remove.",
"To us metal pans look and feel smooth, but take a look with a microscope and it's a mountain range unlike any other. \n\nThe food and the material of the pan form chemical bonds, especially with protein rich food because they form more complex bonds. \n\nOil fills these mountain ranges and reacts with the heat causing a coating called patina. To prevent sticking. ",
"Meat will stick to a cooking surface until the meat is browned. After a crust is formed the meat should come off the surface easily. ",
"Meat is full of protein, large and complex molecules. These molecules \"break-open\" when heated. Now you've got all kinds positively\\negatively charged bits dangling about that stick to anything they touch with the opposite charge.\n\nI'd kill to see the old post where someone actually knew what they were talking about. It explains OP's socks.\n\n",
"The same reason you can't easily wash cum off your hands with warm water. The proteins break down with the heat into a sticky substance that glues itself to the surface. ",
"The interactions of proteins and heat can introduce the Maillard reaction which denatures the proteins into basic sugars that caramelize. If your pan is hot enough to cause the meat to stuck, turn the heat down and wait a couple minutes. Alternatively, you can add a couple tablespoons of water to create the steam separation between the pan and the protein. ",
"The simple answer? Proteins are sticky. They get stickier when they're denatured with heat. That's why you dab a little egg wash on the edges of pastry to seal them; the proteins in the egg are sticky.",
"Anyone remember the Frugal Gourmet? (I know I am uncool and old)\n\n\"Hot pan, cold grease\" to prevent sticking. This mantra is repeated by Jeff Smith as the best way to prevent food from sticking to the pan when sautéing or stir frying. The idea is that you heat up the pan first then add the cold oil and almost immediately add the food.\nActually though I think it is a myth. If you heat the pan and then add oil you still get “hot pan, hot oil” because the cold oil heats up almost instantly when added to the hot pan."
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4c1mm6 | why are reading books more beneficial to your mind than reading the internet? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4c1mm6/eli5_why_are_reading_books_more_beneficial_to/ | {
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"I am squarely in the \"read what you love as long as you read\" category.\n\nHowever, the is a slightly different relationship with long form writing. There is a greater ability to build and maintain more complex visuals, a level of exercise in deep reading (context, anticipating direction, making connections to other parts of the story, ability to develop complex arguments, themes, or evidence support) that lots of reddit posts in a row doesn't quite mimick. I have also seen my own level of patience and capacity for extended focus to decrease in times that i replace extended reading with online list-icles and threads.",
"Are you actually reading *literature* though? Reddit is not literature (except for maybe r/shortstories). Literature means stories, narratives, fiction, etc.\n\nReading literature is *believed* to be beneficial (we're not entirely sure why) because it gives you the opportunity to experience someone else's life vicariously. Even with short stories, you don't have enough time to really get into their perspective. You're really looking for [books](_URL_0_).\n\nThat's not to say reading around on Reddit and the rest of the internet is *not* beneficial, but it's not going to do the same things as books.\n\nAlso, it's worth noting that when reading electronic media, [you will have more difficulty remembering what you've read](_URL_1_). We're not entirely sure why that is, but it probably has to do with the longer, undistracted nature of reading a book: e-media has links and pop-ups and colors, and it's missing the physicality of books that scientists think might help your brain make strong connections with what you're reading. Personally, I think it's a conditioned response because of how we're used to treating e-media - the fast memes that are there and gone and so easily accessible that you don't *need* to remember because you can just google it again.\n\nIn any case, for a few reasons, books are scientifically, objectively better than the internet. But the internet isn't necessarily *bad*, depending on which parts of the internet you hang out in. ELI5 will probably make you smarter, but you might want to stay away from 4chan.",
"Novels take a fair amount of time to construct a thorough, complex situation. There is a lot to consider as we learn the motivations of different characters, and how different plot elements interact. \n\nLiterature on the Internet tends to be short stories. These can be excellent too. They're just different. Some great authors have published highly respect short stories.\n\nIs a short story or novel on paper different from the same thing on a screen? Arguably not.\n",
"It's not. However, Reddit comments are not \"literature\". What exactly are you reading for 2 hours a day that you deem literature on the internet, but isn't a novel?",
"I was just having a conversation with a friend yesterday about how we were glad we read a lot as kids - it made us both be able to easily use context clues in what people do or say to understand situations quickly!\n\nAny type of novel or fiction is more complex than what you read online. Even manga and news articles have a generally easy reading level for easy understanding. Comments in forums even more so, if not worse. (But I do encourage people to be aware of the news too!)\n\nIn books you get to use context to figure out the story/words you don't know, expand your vocabulary, dissect characters, use your imagination, understand themes, and more.",
"Most literature goes through checking, filtering and revising processes that remove grammatical errors and challenge lazy thinking or clichéd thoughts. Sadly, the internet does not have this facility. ",
"I wrote a research paper on this.\n\nReading books, novels, etc increases attention span.\n\nReading on the internet decreases your attention span, but at the same rate, increases your thirst for knowledge.\n\nBasically, in the time that I read 1 novel in a series, I could read a summary of the whole series in a fraction of the time and be onto another subject by the time you are finished a chapter.",
"I don't see why literature makes you more intelligent. It's just a preference of entertainment. I enjoy reading, I enjoy movies, and I read both books that are educational and for entertainment. Some literature has a lot of deep political or ideological messages that could be stimulating, but so do movies. It should be more important what you \"consume\" and not how you consume it.\n\n\nI learn a lot from reading the News online or watch a documentary.\n\n\nReading the equivalent of Jersey Shore is no better than actually watching Jersey Shore just because it comes in a ink.",
"General speaking, thought out literature is an exercise regiment for your mental \"muscles\" in making connections between elements in the story. Wider vocabularies in the story probably also take a role in this as well.\n\nInternet comments, news articles, and blogs typically don't have those same features.",
"There is nothing inherent about the internet that makes a written text accessed through it any less meaningful than that same text in the format of a book. You're still reading the same words, getting the same message and stimulating your mind in the same way. If I read Herodotus's Histories on the internet (and I have), am I going to get any less of an experience than if I read it in a hardcover book? Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of people who would prefer reading the same text in a book instead of on the Internet. But their issues have less to do with the ability to interpret the text, and more to do with their atmosphere - they don't enjoy it as much. But I know others who don't have a preference - myself, for instance. This has nothing to do with physiology - we aren't \"wired\" to prefer books over a computer screen. It's a learned cultural habit that stems from our society's integration of paper for the purposes of reading and writing over the last several hundred years.\n\nI see people arguing that books somehow require a greater attention span than something written on the Internet. But that's not fundamental to the format of a book, it's a cultural habit to sit down with a book for a while. There's nothing to stop someone from reading a book in short bursts, distracted by numerous things around them. And there's nothing to stop someone from being able to read something on a computer screen for hours at a time without being distracted. We have to be able to distinguish cultural norms from physiological ability. It's not that we can't give as much attention to something on a computer screen, it's that we won't.\n\nEverything I wrote above only addresses instances where the actual written content is the same. We all know that the majority of written content on the internet is quite different from the majority of written content that one can find in a book. And most written content on the internet doesn't go through a QA process like most books do. It'd be difficult to find a Reddit post that could belong in a book, let alone a good book - although this is becoming less of a case, not because the quality of writing on the Internet has improved, but because the average quality of writing in books has decreased simply because that QA process is applying to less books now.\n\nBut again, if the actual literary **content** is the same, there is no fundamental difference. Sun Tzu's \"The Art of War\" is the same text whether you read it on a scroll, a softcover book, a hardcover book, your phone screen, or your computer screen. But depending on your lifestyle and what you're comfortable with, your experience may vary.",
"It is people being elitist about reading, which is silly. \n\n\nRead what you are interested in, don't read fiction if you don't like fiction."
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cpd4lv | what is the difference between code and script. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cpd4lv/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_code_and/ | {
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"Some people make a distinction between \"compiled\" languages that produce executable machine code & \"scripting\" languages that are either interpreted or compiled to a VM at runtime. Either way, it's still \"coding\" and the only difference is how the language is implemented.\n\nCompiled languages tend to be lower level & require more lines of code to get something done but you generally have faster execution times. Scripting languages are faster to develop in but run more slowly.\n\nThere's not really any fundamental difference in the languages themselves & the distinction is generally made by people who are trying to inflate their ego & say the languages they work in are somehow superior to the \"scripting languages\".",
"Code generally refers to a sequence of 0s and 1s that is meant to be interpreted by your computer as a program. It can also refer to other representations, but \"code\" is not readable by a human (without a reference manual nearby).\n\nScript refers to a plain text file that contains human readable script that is meant either to be interpreted by a runtime environment, or compiled into another stage.\n\nScripts can be compiled to many targets. You can compile your script to another scripting language, for example. Or, you can compile it to an intermediary stage called \"byte-code\", which would then be interpreted by an interpreter. The other way you can compile your script is to machine code, which is the string of 1s and 0s I was talking about earlier.\n\nThere is also a class of programming languages called \"scripting languages\". Nearly all scripting languages are interpreted, and they thus have some features that bind them together, such as being highly platform independent, having a garbage collector to manage memory, and being forced to run slower since basic instructions can involve many processor instructions. There are also some other features generally considered common, such as having a large standard library with standard implementations of common features, and being largely tied in with education, being that they are simplest to use.\n\nAs a developer you will find yourself using compiled languages more and more often, but scripting languages have an important role in development that will never fade."
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29pykc | why does the president of the united states need to be born in the united states to be eligible to run? | It seems like the country that a person was born in has little to do with their abilities to lead. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/29pykc/eli5_why_does_the_president_of_the_united_states/ | {
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"It's a constitutional requirement.\n\nThe why behind *that* why is likely because the anti-federalists (Jefferson and his gang) hated Alexander Hamilton and wanted to ensure he could not become President,",
"It's not a matter of their leadership ability, it's intended to guarantee loyalty. The idea is that most people are loyal to their birth country, so you'd want someone born in the US to be the one acting as commander in chief of the US armed forces, among other things.\n\nMay not be perfect logic, but it's tradition at this point. Nobody has made a big enough deal of it accompanied by a strong enough argument to get it changed. ",
"Their ability to lead might not be the issue, but it was designed to minimize foreign influence. Whether or not that works, or is reasonable, is less clear. ",
"No, but it does minimize foreign influence.\n\nIf the leader was British, he might give the British unfair trade deals and support the British in areas where it's not in the best interests of the Nation.\n\nTake it one step further. Imagine that the UK then attacked the USA. The leader is now torn, obviously he defends the nation he leads, but does he simply resist? Or does he destroy the UK? How does he treat Canada? If he destroys the UK, how will the press handle it? Will he be the man who betrayed his homeland? Or will he be the man who hurt his homeland to defend his home?",
"It goes back to the early days of the country. The founding fathers didn't want the British to sneak a charismatic person over and get him elected President to turn the US back into a colony, so they limited the office to those in the US at the time and those born here after that (the idea being they'd be loyal to the US and not England). "
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azmybf | why is it necessary for artificial sweeteners to be hundreds upon hundreds of times more sweet than sucrose? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/azmybf/eli5_why_is_it_necessary_for_artificial/ | {
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"It isn't \"necessary\" per se but it is useful. For example if you have a sweetener which is 1000 times sweeter than sugar then you can get the same flavor by using only one thousandth as much of the sweetener than sugar. That means even if the sweetener has calories you can drop it to basically nothing while keeping the flavor. ",
"It isn't necessary. They just are by their nature. I'm sure there's plenty of only-slightly-sweet ones discovered. But if you can use less of a ingredient for the same effect, why not use that option? "
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6fotb3 | what is the history behind boys hiding their emotion? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6fotb3/eli5_what_is_the_history_behind_boys_hiding_their/ | {
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"Male humans generally keep their emotions to themselves as not only is it viewed as 'masculine' to keep tight control of your emotions, men find little sympathy when they do display their emotions.\n\nThere may be an evolutionary reason for the deliberate withholding of inner emotions and thoughts. In times when humans lived in tiny groups, there would likely be a main male leader. If the group was not doing well and food was scarce, it would be bad if the leader began to display lots of negative emotions because it would damage the morale of the other members. \n\nThis isn't to say women are incapable of hiding emotions due to either social rules or for self- and group-preservation, but men do it way more often because they have to. ",
"I was listening to a program on NPR a couple of years ago that highlighted that the degree to which emotions can be displayed and which emotions can be displayed and by which gender are very tied to culture. They vary significantly from one culture to the next, and from one era to the next.\n\nShe highlighted that if you go back 150 years ago it was perfectly acceptable in the US for men to take to tears when hearing beautiful poetry or music. Lincoln f.ex is recorded as doing it several times. And of course most poetry etc at that time was written by men.\n\nToday it is still common to see Middle Eastern men openly show affection and tenderness to their kids, while here in the US men are more restrictive on that score.\n\nIIRC she said the cultural shift in the US happened roughly a century ago.\n\nI've tried finding the relevant NPR interview, but can't. I wonder whether it was Carolyn Strange speaking about her book \"Honour, Violence and Emotions in History\" but I may be wrong.",
"The expression of emotion (though not necessarily emotions themselves) is influenced by the culture of the society the person is born into. Both Americans and Russians experience happiness, but it's not normal in Russian culture to smile at strangers, while in America it is. What emotions are \"allowed\" to be expressed by what gender, and how they can be expressed, is also largely a cultural thing.\n\nSo in our culture, logic and reason are seen as the opposites of emotion (think Spock), even though emotion is fundamental to making decisions. This comes from a couple of different historical influences, particularly Greek philosophy. Being logical and reasonable is seen as a good thing: thus, being outwardly emotional and allowing emotions to dictate your decisions is not seen as a good thing.\n\nHowever, we still feel emotions. And we do on some level recognize emotions are necessary. So how do we reconcile \"logic good, emotions bad\" with \"emotions exist\"? We say that logic is important for big decisions (affairs of state, money, war, etc.) and emotions are good for smaller, more personal decisions (friendship, romance, honor, and insult). Notice that the former is dominated by men while the latter is dominated by women.\n\nSo over time you get this dichotomy where women are taught to express emotion more, while men are taught to suppress it... except in the case of anger and insult, because those things are tied to honor, and until very recently, honor was a male thing (women couldn't duel over an insult, for example, but two men could duel if one insulted the other's lady). Add to this a healthy serving of Victorian gender ideals (women are sweet pure homemakers, men are dirty politicians given to vice) and you get the modern idea of emotional expression by gender.",
"One thing to consider is the effect of evolution on men as they are put in the position of defending the tribe. Even a little look at Sun Tzu shows that misdirection is paramount in war. \n\nIn a tribe where all men admit they are terrified and don't want to die are going to loose to the guys who suck it up and shut the contagious aspects of fear down by not sharing it. Ancient hunting techniques often require close coordination of a group. Some guy storming off because of hurt feelings gets int he way. So there is selective pressure for men to be the masters of their emotions. \n\nIf you ask women what they like in a man they say confident. So form that first time you nervously ask a girl out every guy is putting up a brave front, cause he has no confidence she is going to say yes to anything. Which means women are selecting men that hide the emotions she doesn't publicly like him having."
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1w6t13 | why do cameras have so many mega-pixels when screens only display a few hundred thousand? what's the point? | Ignoring the ability to zoom in - what is the point? If my screen has 1920x1080= 2073600 pixels why do I need 10 million pixels in a photo? Am I missing something?
edit: Yes I did forget about printing. But perhaps because it is not very relevant to me. When was the last time any of you printed a photo? I think most people like me don't print photos very often and anyone who does will most likely have more specialised equipment to do so like a DSLR.
I want to know about why the quality is better at higher resolutions? Why do photos taken on old digital cameras look grainy if I'm not even seeing all the pixels?
edit2: I guess I was being silly thinking printing/editing was simply not enough of a reason before. Thanks for the answers everybody! | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1w6t13/eli5_why_do_cameras_have_so_many_megapixels_when/ | {
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"You are forgetting printing. The more pixels you have, the larger, sharper prints you can make.",
"Printers print at upwards of 300 DPI. If you want to print a picture, you need that resolution. You may want to crop the image to change how it is framed, and you may want to enlarge it.\n\nDo enough of this, and you will quickly find that you need all of those 10 megapixels.",
"Crop & Zoom. The more megapixels you have the more you can do of both.",
"For printing large sized pictures or banners.",
"It's easier to edit a larger source image while preserving detail in the final, resized product.",
"Printing and editing capabilities are the big reasons.\n\nIt's also a marketing point. The quality of the glass (the lens) is extremely important. On top of the ability to change the lens, the option to use high quality glass are a couple of the big reasons why professional photographers or enthusiasts typically use slr cameras.\n\nThere is a very large difference is photo quality between lenses on the same camera. Check out someplace like _URL_0_ for examples."
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5tqd6y | what would happen if nato broke up? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5tqd6y/eli5what_would_happen_if_nato_broke_up/ | {
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"Well nothing immediately. But obviously each member state would be more vulnerable to attack, with a particular problem to the Eastern European countries. "
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4p61zw | how do snipers calibrate their scopes while on assignment? | Presumably they can't setup a range somewhere and shoot at it but I'd also assume their guns get banged around a bit while they are on the go. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4p61zw/eli5_how_do_snipers_calibrate_their_scopes_while/ | {
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"Professional military snipers, and presumably others have log books of their previous shots in training situations. Commonly called DOPE or data on previous engagement. So they review their log book to see how their rifle performed on previous similar conditions. \n\nAdditionally once in position, they take a few minutes to examine the terrain. Either visually estimate the distances, or use range finders to key features in the kill zone, look for evidence of cross wind, etc.\n\nThis section of this video (I recommend watching the whole thing) will give you a better visualization of what I said.\n\n_URL_1_\n\nThis other segment in that same video, also is a good example of a more modern situation _URL_0_\n",
"It is the life of a designated marksman unit to keep their weapon NOT banged up. \n\nAnd they use the previously logged data at home practice range where they've fired thousands if not tens of thousands of rounds and recorded consistency hits and conditions. \n\n"
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4izv1u | when dying naturally, does the body manually shut itself off, or does the person's life just end abruptly? | The concept of death has always boggled my mind, but if their is anything that's always peaked my interest, it's death by natural causes. When someone dies naturally, what exactly does that mean? Does the body just manually shut it self down for no reason? Or does the body just cut off, like pulling the plug on a PC? I'm curious because the term "natural causes" has always befuddled me. What exactly constitutes something like that? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4izv1u/eli5when_dying_naturally_does_the_body_manually/ | {
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"It doesn't shuts itself off. This would serve no evolutionary purpose.\n\nWhen someone dies of natural causes, they suffer a major failure of a critical system that they require to continue living (e.g. a stroke or a heart attack). We refer to it as \"natural causes\" because as people age, it becomes inevitable that eventually one of these systems will fail, so it's considered a natural part of the life cycle. But the human body doesn't intentionally shut anything down; it just succumbs to an increasingly likely system failure.",
" > it's death by natural causes\n\nDeath by natural causes just means a death by some internal mechanism (disease, heart attack), as opposed to external (car wreck, gun shot).\n\nThe body ceases to function appropriately due to whatever the actual specific cause is, although generally speaking the *ultimate* 'cause of death' is going to be the brain starved of oxygen (or otherwise destroyed) by whatever failure is involved.",
"To add to what's already been said, in terms of the actual dying process, recent evidence suggests it's not abrupt but instead [spreads like a wave throughout the body](_URL_0_)",
"There's no such thing as old age death or \"the body just dying\". Natural causes just means no one else did it, you weren't stabbed, something really bad happened, internally.\n\nDeath = no oxygen to your brain for too long.\n\nHow does that happen? Generally your heart stops beating. Or it beats but the blood pours out a hole that shouldn't be there and doesn't get to your cells. Or your lungs have filled with gunk and aren't bringing in enough oxygen to recharge your red blood cells. Or an internal organ failed, causing toxins to build up in your bloodstream that would normally get filtered out. Or a blood clot floats through your bloodstream and lodges somewhere important, blocking the flow. Or the internal pacemaker that tells your heart muscles when to squeeze has been erratic or too fast, eventually causing those muscles to wear out and no longer be able to pump enough blood to be of use. Or... let's be honest, there are so many, many ways this can happen. But that's the trick --- there is no one way, everyone's different.\n\nThere are a billion ways to die \"naturally\". The body doesn't just shut down. Each piece continues to do everything it can with the materials at hand. But to do that requires fuel. Organs generally fail one at a time. However, they often cascade... once one fails, it causes the failure of the next, then the next, and so on.\n\nIn the end, \"Natural Causes\" can mean anything from cancer, to stroke, to pneumonia that caused the lungs to fill with fluid. Watching someone die is generally a slow process, unless their brain was blown out the back of their head. Then, yes, that's like pulling a plug on a PC. Mostly, though, it takes time. The body tried to survive, even as everything around it fails and dies.",
"Like others have said, natural causes can be any death that wasn't caused by outside forces, like heart attacks or stroke -- if someone is said to have 'died in their sleep', it's usually something like that. But if you mean something more like \"old age\" death... it's a slow failure of individual functions until the brain just can't be sustained any longer. It generally starts out slow (especially if put on a machine to compensate for whatever has failed), and then multiple failures happen. \n\nThe last moments are often equated to a flickering candle: the person is there and gone, there and gone, until they truly flatline. ",
"I was a hospice social worker and I have held many hands of many dying people. This is GENERALLY what happens when someone dies in somewhat slow motion (Lou Gehrig's disease, cancer, etc.). This is also in no particular order. \n\nTheir skin starts to look waxy. Like they are a wax person in a House of Wax.\n\nTheir skin also takes on a yellowish look. More so if they're dying of Liver failure.\n\nTheir appetite changes and eventually stops altogether. \n\nTheir desire to drink anything also goes away. \n\nMucus membranes start to get kind of tacky or sticky. You can use a sponge or vaseline jelly to keep their lips from drying out and getting chapped.\n\nThey look dehydrated.... eyes sunken in, skin doesn't spring back when you pinch them.\n\nTheir breathing becomes irregular and takes on a rattling sound; the rattle sounds like they just need to cough really deeply. \n\nTheir kidneys shut down and they pee rarely, like once a day or less\n\nThey lose interest in everything and begin sleeping more and more until they're pretty much sleeping all the time.\n\nThey may see deceased relatives that they were close to.... parents, a spouse, children. Sometimes they state that they see angels. I hesitate to call them hallucinations because I believe that they are actually seeing people coming for them. Sometimes they talk to them.\n\nBreathing becomes more irregular and may be shallow. \n\nThen they just slip away. Sometimes patients need to be told that \"it's okay to let go\" and others will slip away after family members have left them alone, as if they are sparing their family the pain by dying when no one is around to see. ",
"ELI5 answer: This is some pretty deep stuff for someone who is 5. Let me put on some old cartoons. \n\nELI18 answer: Your body doesn't do a complete shutdown so much as it has a huge breakdown. One important part fails, and then parts that rely on it fail, and then everything eventually fails and you are dead. When someone says \"natural causes\" they mean that the an organ or body part just wore itself out until it broke. \"Unatural causes\" would be a death from an outside source, like a snake bite, falling down stairs, getting hit by a bus, or getting murdered. ",
"A living creature has \"homeostasis,\" which is the state of everything working within normal parameters. Your blood pressure, levels of different elements, and all that contribute to your homeostasis. When something throws off homeostasis, your body will try to compensate. A catastrophic loss of homeostasis can cascade into systemic organ failure and death.\n\nA small cut reduces your blood pressure at the wound, triggering the circulatory system to move in and plug the hole. If your arm gets cut off, your circulatory system can't compensate for the sudden catastrophic reduction in blood pressure and blood volume and you go into hypovolemic shock, your tissues can't enough nutrients to function and they start dying.\n\nAs for old age, your organs have worn out over decades of use (and possibly abuse). Something eventually fails, disrupting your homeostasis, and takes the rest of your body with it."
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6gi0id | how do shows and videos have the same person in the shot at multiple places within the same scene? | For example the last scene in Childish Gambino's music video for "sweatpants" _URL_0_ | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6gi0id/eli5_how_do_shows_and_videos_have_the_same_person/ | {
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"From my basic knowledge they put the camera on a tripod so it doesn't shake or move at all and then film it twice and then layer the shots together so that there are 2 of the same person on there :) ",
"The classic effect is called split screen and involved a stationary camera filming the scene twice. An imaginary line is used to divide the scene into a left and right portion which are filmed seperately. The actor(s) are careful not to cross that line so that later the two film reels can be projected to create a 3rd reel that takes half of each to make a single complete frame.\n\nSplit screen effects are most noticeable when they are used to make doubles of the same actor, however they can often be used for dangerous or special effects shots (for example an actor may appear to be sitting next to a live tiger, but the tiger is actually filmed seperately and the split screen effect is used to put them together). Since the creation of the technique there have been many advancements:\n\n* Motion controlled cameras (cameras that are moved by motors on a programmed and repeatable course) allowed the effect to work with a moving view point.\n\n* Non-linear editing suites gained the ability to perform the split screen effect without manual projection, even allowing the dividing line to be moved dynamically during the scene. This way actors could appear to reach past the dividing line by moving it around during the editing process.\n\n* Computer editing and compositing made it easy to combine many elements together (actually non-linear editing suites could do it, just took more work), either through green/blue screening or manually cutting the elements. This completely removes the need for a specific dividing line and filmed elements can now be layered directly on top of one another.\n\nSo for the scene with 4 copies of the same guy in a booth you *might* (there are several exact ways to pull off the shot):\n\n* Use a motion controlled camera to film the shot 4 times.\n* The first two times they film him in the two rear seats.\n* For the next two shots they lay down green paper/sheets over the back seats, the table where his hands sat and the wall immediately behind him and then shoot the two front seat shots.\n* The green sheets allow those areas of the film to be easily identified by computer and cut out digitally (creating a transparent area). \n* Shots of the left side have their right side cut off, and shots of the right have the left side cut off.\n* All 4 shots are now layered over each other, the transparent areas allow the guys in the rear seat to appear behind the guys in the front seat.\n\n"
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3ryr0i | speech recognition | How to things like Siri and google voice search know what I'm saying?
Edit: Thanks! | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ryr0i/eli5_speech_recognition/ | {
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"Sound is interpreted by the computer as a signal. The frequency of the signal can be mapped out into a function/graph. The distribution of this graph can be compared against other signals that correspond with known phonetics. So we interpret a sound as a signal, and compare it against the different sounds that make up our language.",
"By being really fucking amazing, that's how. \n\nWhen you speak, your lungs and vocal chords cause the air inside your body to vibrate. This creates a domino chain -- the vibrating air inside your body bumps against the air outside your body, which makes it vibrate too. These vibrations travel as a chain until they bump against the microphone on your phone or computer. \n\nNow when something vibrates against something else, it is really exerting pressure on it, and then easing the pressure, and then exerting it again (put your hand on your leg and vibrate it. You'll see what I mean). The microphone wants to measure the speed and intensity of the vibrations of your voice. To do that, it needs to measure the air pressure of the world around it and how quickly that changes. \n\nYour phone does that by taking a lot of air pressure samples. Here's the cool part. In order to adequately understand speech, your phone might take 44 100 samples EVERY SECOND. \n\nAt this point, your phone has recorded your speech... but how does it know what you are saying? Well, first, it helps to know that your voice makes one big soundwave, but that big soundwave is actually composed of a bunch of smaller soundwaves (like a chord on a piano is really several distinct notes). Your phone uses mathematical formulas to figure out just what smaller soundwaves are involved. Every speech sound will use a different combination of small soundwaves. \n\nBut hold on! You don't pronounce letters the *exact same way* every time you speak! And the way you say the letter \"p\" won't sound 100% the same as someone else's letter \"p\"!\n\nSo now the computer has to just figure out the message. First, it will compare the soundwaves you're making to a vast selection of what different letters sound like when pronounced by different people under different circumstances. It will also consider what words and sentences people are most likely to say. If you say \"hellobob,\" the computer has to use statistical analysis to figure out that \"Hello, Bob\" a more likely message than \"Hell O'Bob\" or \"Heh lobe ob.\"\n\nAnd all of this fits in a compact package right inside your pocket. ",
"When you speak your voice is at certain pitch. This is a the fundamental frequency, for a guy around 100 hz( 200 hz for a female). Lets assume yours is 100 hz. Your voice produces a bunch of higher frequency sound every 100 hz, 200, 300, all the way to about 10,000 hz. What happens is there's a general decay in strength, but around certain frequency they start rising. These relative peaks are called formants. \n\n For instance in vowel you have two main formants. One often below 750 hz and one above to about 2500 hz. This is shaped by the size of you cavity behind your tongue and in front of your mouth. For instance \"e\" has a low first formant and high second. Then there's unrounded sounds and rounded ones. O versa A etc. Unrounded vowels have more intense higher harmonics . Singing tends to really alter this, which is why singing took so long to get right. \n\nOther letters like consonant like P, K, S, Z, R, etc, have their own formants too, but its more complicated and specific, but may have distinguished formants around 7,000 hz. After that, the voice fades away.\n\nBy seeing your peaks and how they compare with other peak, plus the probability of a word making sense in the sentence, they have the computer understand you."
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2d22ir | why do chewing noises annoy me? | Why do chewing noises (not necessarily loud) bug me to the point where I might have to walk away? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2d22ir/eli5_why_do_chewing_noises_annoy_me/ | {
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"Misophoniac to the rescue! \n\nI have exactly the same problem. it's called Misophonia and not considered as a disease or something like that. There are research on the phenomenon since 2003 or so.\n\nI've found a lot of informations on the internet, especially on /r/misophonia. It's a very complicate thing: when you hear people chewing, you are not disgusted, and do not want to throw up. Indeed, you feel pain in your ears, like if something was poking the inside of your ear. I have the same triggering sound as you: mastication. I've known a girl who suffered from misophonia when people said the word \"cheese\" (not in English) so triggers can be different according to the person.\n\nThe fact is, when I hear someone chewing, I don't feel disgusted, as I said. I am just completly lost, I feel aggressed, attacked. My ears hurt and I feel forced to move them so they produce a very discrete sound. \n\nI'm currently on vacations at my grandma and everyone here chews loudly and it's horrible for me. Even if it's not polite I spend each meal with ear plugs, but that's not enough. Each time we go to eat I want to break down and cry. It's horrible.\n\nI've also noticed that misophonia depends on the person who chews. I like my dad very much and when he masticates it doesn't disturb me. But I hate the manners of some persons I know and I can't stand to hear them chew. \n\nI think it's closely related to the opinion you have on people and how you like them, but also on their manners. A lot.\nThe worst is when you tell that to people and they say \"But I don't chew loudly!\" or \"But everybody does!\". I am a very calm person but situations like this one drive me insane. I quickly can become violent if I feel \"attacked\" like that. \n\nPeople usually say that you can cure misophonia by associating the triggering sound with a feeling you like but it takes at least 9 months. I've tried but it's almost impossible. \n\nI hope I helped you out - I know your pain."
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4yqbtx | how can we control our arms and legs but not control our heart, stomach and nerves | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4yqbtx/eli5_how_can_we_control_our_arms_and_legs_but_not/ | {
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"You don't have full (i.e. \"conscious\") control over your body. \n\nYou have multiple nervous systems in your body, some of which are voluntary (the somatic nervous system governs movement) and you control those. Some of which aren't (the autonomic nervous system which governs organs and the enteric nervous system which governs digestion and gastrointestinal stuff) and are involuntary.. \n\nI presume it's an evolutionary efficiency thing: if you had to consciously make a decision to keep your heart beating or consciously decide \"Ooh, time for adrenalin\" when a panther is bearing down on you, you probably wouldn't live very long. "
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3po4k3 | alien megastructure | Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the events we're observing from KIC8462852 be over 1,500 years old...due to the speed of light? It's possible that whatever we're seeing, isn't currently happening anymore, right? It's possible that the object isn't there anymore. I'm not an astrophysicist but I know a thing or two about the speed of light...right??? Please be kind.
| explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3po4k3/eli5_alien_megastructure/ | {
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"You are correct: it is entirely possible that it isn't there any more. If they had amazing telescopes, and are still around right now, they would be seeing the events around the fall of Rome right now.\n\n\nThat said, what is interesting is the fact that it was there at some point in time.",
"You're absolutely right. What we're seeing might not be there anymore. If it's an alien structure, just for the sake of argument, they could have done a lot of things to it in that amount of time. If it's naturally occurring, it's probably still there. Things don't often happen that quickly on astronomical timescales within otherwise stable systems. Supernova? Brightest thing in the universe for a few Earth days. An accretion disk orbiting a stable star? Billions of years can go by. "
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338rd6 | how come rapists get longer sentences than murderers in the us? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/338rd6/eli5_how_come_rapists_get_longer_sentences_than/ | {
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"I would be shocked to find out that first degree murderer's get shorter sentences than rapists. \n\nHowever, I would not be surprised that the average sentence of anyone convicted of a criminal homicide---which covers everything from shooting someone in cold blood (murder) to driving while your too tired and accidentally hitting someone while asleep (manslaughter)---was shorter than the average sentence of a rapist. Especially if you include those who rape children in the equation. \n\n\nBut, I could be wrong. Where did you get this statistic?",
"You're wrong. In America, 97 out of 100 rapists never see the inside of a jail cell. and the 3 that do, serve about 5 years. The average sentence for homicide is over 9 years. ",
"Could you clarify how you know your assertion to be true, with a link to the source of that statistic? It sounds like a loaded question, so I've removed the question for now until you can reply with a link."
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5zxkdd | why do toddlers have an instinct to throw themselves on the ground then kick and cry/scream when they don't get what they want? why not just stand/sit and cry? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5zxkdd/eli5_why_do_toddlers_have_an_instinct_to_throw/ | {
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"I don't think i've ever seen a child do the laying kicking and screaming outside of movies/TV\n",
"Because they feel their emotions so intensely that they kind of don't know what to do and makes it so much worse. Mine locks his knees and goes stiff, we've been working on how to handle these emotions and how to identify them and problem solve and it's cut back the giant tantrums quite a bit.",
"I've seen an adult woman do it before. I have no idea why. Maybe the flooding of such a strong emotional response makes your body behave oddly, like it literally doesn't know what to do with itself. Crying just isn't enough to release the energy.",
"My daughter did this at age two. In the middle of one, I took her into the bathroom, put her in the shower with all her clothes on, turned on the water and left. She never threw another tantrum."
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7zznpm | how do sun rays stay hot? | Sun rays travelling through -70'c or colder space but how are they still hot when reaching earth surface?
| explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7zznpm/eli5_how_do_sun_rays_stay_hot/ | {
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"The sun's rays that make it to you aren't heat rays. They are radiation energy. When that radiation hits you, your shirt, the ground, etc it absorbs the energy and gives off heat.",
"Temperature is a measure of the movement of the particule of a body.\n\nSun rays are made of light, so it doesn't have a temperature.\nWhat it has is energy, and energy is conserved.\n\nThat means that to lose energy, the rays have to hit something, to which the energy is transferred as movement to the particles ot this something (so as temperature).\n\nSo if it doesn't touch anything during it's travel, sun rays will still have the same amount of energy when reaching earth."
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cporzk | what is inertia and why does it happen? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cporzk/eli5_what_is_inertia_and_why_does_it_happen/ | {
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"Inertia is the inherent property of mass that causes objects with mas resist changes to their velocities. It's a fundamental property of the universe; it's not \"caused\" by anything.",
"Inertia is the ability of mass to resist a change in its velocity, it means that you have to push stuff in order to get it to move. If you're in your car and brake suddenly and move forward into your seat belt, that's inertia. your body is resisting the change in velocity that your car is experiencing. As for why ... it's a fundamental property of mass, it just is. It's like asking why there's light.",
"Inertia is the resistance of a physical object to any change in how it’s moving. If the object is stationary, it doesn’t want to start moving. If the object is already moving, it doesn’t want to change how fast it’s moving or what direction it’s going. To get the object to start moving, or to change how it’s moving, we have to apply a force. The force we apply, and the resulting change in the way the object moves, can be used to define and measure the object’s “mass”, which is the amount of physical stuff in an object.\n\n(The other way we define and measure an object’s mass is by the gravitational effect the object has on other objects. This connection between inertia and gravity seems weird and surprising, but it’s a really important feature of how the universe works.)\n\nEdit: grammar/clarity.",
"Inertia is the idea that things will continue doing what they are already doing. This is typically applied to movement, as objects continue moving once pushed, unless pushed again, however the concept is applied to other things such as temperature. As of right now, scientists consider inertia (in the sense of movement) to be an intrinsic property of nature, however it is very possible that we will discover that inertia is caused by some other physical effect in the future."
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4s49n0 | why do americans dye their cheese orange? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4s49n0/eli5why_do_americans_dye_their_cheese_orange/ | {
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"What color is cheddar cheese where you come from? All cheese is naturally white, or off white, or even a golden yellow, depending on the type of milk used. But you'll never find a cow that gives orange milk. The color instead comes from the flavorless Annatto seed, which gives Wisconsin cheddar that pumpkin orange hue.\n\nFound this cool article explaining the history which actually started in England by the way.\n_URL_0_",
"The cheese isn't dyed orange. The orange color comes from Annatto seeds, a sweet and nutty seasoning added to several types of cheese. There are plenty of American cheeses that don't include Annatto, and are therefore not yellow-orange. Cheddar cheese in America is normally yellow because Kraft, the largest cheese manufacturer, uses Annatto, but white varieties exist as well. Colby cheese was created in America, and has always used Annatto. American cheese is a blended cheese, typically including cheddar. Since cheddar is typically yellow, American cheese is also typically yellow.\n\nIt's only off-putting since you're not used to it (which is strange, since yellow/orange cheese isn't exclusive to America). Just understand that it's yellow because of an ingredient, not because it's been dyed.",
"French Mimolette cheeses are orange and yellow. The same technique used in America for cheddar. ",
"\"During the summer, the high levels of carotene in the grass would have given the milk an orange tint which was carried through into the cheese. This orange hue was regarded as an indicator of the best cheese and thus the custom of adding annatto spread to other parts of the UK, with Cheshire and Red Leicester cheese, as well as colored cheddar made in Scotland, all using this natural dye\"\n_URL_0_",
"How much cheese is too much cheese?",
"The dye is annatto. The explanation seen on [Wikipedia](_URL_0_) is the one that I see repeated most often:\n\n > Using annatto for color has been a traditional characteristic of Gloucester cheese since the 16th century, when producers of inferior cheese used a coloring agent to replicate the orange hue achieved by the best cheesemakers. During the summer, the high levels of carotene in the grass would have given the milk an orange tint which was carried through into the cheese. This orange hue was regarded as an indicator of the best cheese and thus the custom of adding annatto spread to other parts of the UK, with Cheshire and Red Leicester cheese, as well as colored cheddar made in Scotland, all using this natural dye. Many cheddars are produced in both white and red (orange) varieties, with the latter being more popular despite the only difference between the two being the presence of annatto as a coloring. That tradition has extended to many modern processed cheese products, such as American cheese and Velveeta.\n\nEssentially, the color became associated with higher quality cheese. So, the producers made their cheese of the same type the color of high quality cheese so that it would sell better.\n\nAFAIK, this explanation (carotene in the cow feed) is the same reason why butter and margarine are colored yellow and not left white. Yellow butter indicated the cows were better fed, so the butter would be higher quality. Margarine is colored yellow to match the quality color for butter.\n",
"cheddar isn't orange????",
"There is some orange cheese in Australia (eg red Leicester I had after dinner) but on the times I've visited the US there is noticeably more orange cheese there. It's a matter of proportion I guess. Where do you come from that orange cheese is weird to the point of making you feel a little sick? Genuinely curious."
]
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5myor3 | why does it seem like almost nobody in the world wears socks? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5myor3/eli5_why_does_it_seem_like_almost_nobody_in_the/ | {
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"I have no idea what planet you are from, but here on Earth we men regularly wear socks. While I admit to working from anecdotal evidence I can't think of a signle friend who doesn't\n\nIs it possible some of these men you're seeing are wearing below-ankle socks and therefore it's hidden by the shoe?",
"Do you live in 1985 Miami? "
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2196yb | why do i have to press ctrl+alt+del to log log into my window's computer? | I have found articles showing you how to change this stupid step, but I would like to know why it is there in the first place? Why am I not just presented with a login screen? How does this help anyone? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2196yb/eli5why_do_i_have_to_press_ctrlaltdel_to_log_log/ | {
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"Ctrl-Alt-Del is called a trusted keyboard sequence. No other program can hijack or use that sequence. So, when Windows asks you to use that keyboard sequence, you know for sure that Windows is the only program asking for it. Otherwise, any old program could pretend to look like the login screen, and then steal your credentials.\n"
]
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eszf2z | why does laying in bed help when you’re feeling unwell, how does resting help with the recovery? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eszf2z/eli5_why_does_laying_in_bed_help_when_youre/ | {
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"Fighting disease or healing from an injury takes a tremendous amount of energy. Basically any and all metabolic output that’s not necessary for basic survival is going to killing germs or rebuilding tissue. So trying to do anything else is either asking your body to try and produce more energy while it’s already fighting off attack or it’s stealing energy from the healing process and prolonging the recovery time.",
"Your body has to have spend energy in order to fight an infection or heal a wound. For small cuts and bruises, it's not that big a deal. But for colds and other infections that affect the whole body, the energy demands are much higher.\n\nSimply put, staying in bed and resting allows your body to devote more energy to healing than it would if it had to heal *and* move around.",
"Simply put, when you rest, your body isn't as busy dealing with other things. It can focus on fighting your illness instead of dealing with whatever strenuous activity you might be doing otherwise.",
"To put it simply your body uses energy to fight the infection, virus, bacteria or damage.\n\nConserving that energy by staying rested and in bed helps your body prioritise the energy to combating your ailment.\n\n\nArtificial “fevers” can help too essentially raising your body temperature to help kill off bacteria and viruses taking lots of vitamin c you can’t really overdose on it, you can pop 20 vitamin c tablets and eating small meals that are less intensive to digest like soup and less meat more vegetables and fruit. Also never snort up that snot that comes down always blow it out and remove it because keeping it inside your nasal cavity and “snorting” it back can cause more problems"
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3khpr5 | why do we whistle? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3khpr5/eli5_why_do_we_whistle/ | {
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" Uh to attract women?"
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34jhwd | why did google succeed and aol crumble? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/34jhwd/eli5_why_did_google_succeed_and_aol_crumble/ | {
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"AOL's main service, their internet browser, was overtaken by other, better services which were also free. Their email was similarly overtaken. Google, on the other hand, provides an excellent service to this day in their search engine, and has been able to expand into one of the largest data crunchers on the planet, which is very much a service in high demand.",
"AOL's main business model in their heyday was to make the internet easier to use by creating their own proprietary environment with a graphic interface, one-stop dialup-service, etc. Pretty soon the internet became as easy to use as AOL (and it was never all that hard anyway if you weren't a grandparent at the time) just by using a browser, and you could get basic dial-up access for about half the price of AOL or eventually higher-speed access for about the same price. \n\nGoogle actually provides valuable services to this day - it's a very good search engine that hasn't clogged itself up with too much content (I'm looking at you, Yahoo. You used to be cool.) and keeps its advertising fairly unobtrusive. They've also branched out and diversified in smart ways like buying Youtube, whereas AOL/Time-Warner's attempts at similar diversification have largely been blunders.",
"AOL was an online service provider around the time the WWW was becoming popular. At the time, the Internet as we know it today isn't what was widely available; AOL, Compuserve, some other big players and small dial-up BBS communities were what you got, and aside from BBSes you typically used the provider's installed program to access their services, not a web browser or email client like we use today. Their business model needed to keep people paying for their service and using their proprietary software, but with Mosaic, Netscape, Gopher (edit: and news readers...how could I forget those?) and other vendor-independent browsers it quickly became cheaper and more interesting to use a simple bare Internet service provider and the rapidly evolving WWW. AOL tried to add Internet services to their product but couldn't keep up with the pace, offerings or pricing but were popular for a while on the Internet with Webcrawler, the first Internet search engine I recall using and AOL Instant Messaging which still persists today.\n\nGoogle is only recently becoming an Internet service provider. Their first thing was the search engine. They were the first I know of and the most effective at providing useful search results while keeping spam links to a minimum. Plus they were free, so everyone came to use them. They smartly played off their popularity to sell ads that are less annoying than other providers' ads (insert gripes about DoubleClick here and the fact that Google owns them), offered unprecedented amounts of free email storage and free spam filtering for their gmail service and gradually introduced other products that people want. They make their money off of advertising to their users, and they have effectively attracted users to their free products.\n\nSo AOL started proprietary and couldn't keep their service competitive with Internet + world. Google made using the Internet more usable for free as long as they get to spy on what you're doing and show you some of the least annoying ads on the Internet."
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wijcl | if the average digestion process takes about 24 - 72 hours, why certain things (like taco bell) seem to feel like they "go right through you". | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/wijcl/eli5_if_the_average_digestion_process_takes_about/ | {
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"Also, why the hell can't Redditors digest Taco Bell?",
"Isn't that only when you're sick?\n\nI've had to shit shortly after eating many times, not just fast food. I figured it was because the stuff I ate earlier digested and the system kind of slowed down or paused. The shit was 'processed', but not sent out yet. Then after I eat, the digestive factory fires up and sends the processed shit to the door. That's when I feel I suddenly have to poop after just eating. ",
"I have exactly 22 minutes from the beginning of a Chinese food meal until I toot my way to the bathroom and bring forth the hydra. ",
"Because you expect it to. If you're eating regularly, you're defecating regularly too. When you eat something subjectively vile like Taco Bell, you probably get indigestion from all the fat; possibly you feel overfull because you crammed too much into your gullet. You feel queasy. Shortly thereafter, you have to go to the bathroom. This is the food you ate yesterday, not the dogmeat taco. But because you felt sick to your stomach, plus you have this wive's tale going through your head, you say to your Halo buddy \"That went right through me!!\"\n\nIt's essentially internal selection bias. You don't notice the proximity of your bowel movements to food that doesn't upset your stomach. But when you eat poorly, you notice, and then draw unfounded conclusions. ",
"The people that eat Taco Bell and fast food frequently might not have the healthiest of digestive tracts.",
"These comments belong in /r/shittyaskscience",
"It may be related to an overstimulation of the [gastrocolic reflex](_URL_0_).",
"This is certainly not the case with all foods, but I think there's a few things at play here. Disclaimer: I'm no doctor:\n\n1) Eating gets your digestive system going in general. I'm not an expert, and couldn't find anything about this in a quick search on Wikipedia. But anecdotally, I think this rings true / is generally accepted. This means if anything you eat manages to sneak through via #2 and #3, it's more likely to come out shortly after you've eaten (and thus seem like 'it went right through you').\n\n1.5) I'd wager that you're not having Taco Bell for breakfast, but rather, more mild food. Probabilistically, most of these big Taco Bell, Chinese Take-out, etc meals center in one 6ish hour period around lunch and dinner. Since the bulk of your food intake is around this time window, that all comes out centered in a similarly-sized window of time. In other words, if you graphed all peoples' pooping times, they're not equally likely to poop at all times in the day. You're likely to eat an abnormal meal and then *around* the same time, poop something else out. \n\n2) 24-72hrs is an average, and it's the solid matter that takes the most time to break down. Liquids can go through more quickly, and can more readily seep through the various 'blockers' your digestive system sets up to compartmentalize itself (like the sphincter between stomach and small intestine). Hot sauces especially (chile oils for instance) are good at this, since they can also irritate those 'blockers'. So when #1/1.5 happens, some parts of what you recently ate can already be close to the finish line.\n\n3) Foods your digestive system isn't used to can throw it off. Gut bacteria are used to 'eating' a certain type of food you're throwing down your gullet, and switching it up can mess with that 'ecosystem'. (Ones used to eating what YOU'RE used to eating will be useless, and you won't have much help from bacteria that are good at eating what you just switched to, since until now, there wasn't anything for them to thrive on.)",
"Anyone else craving Taco Bell after reading this thread? I know I am.",
" Taco Bell™ contains special formulations of Astroglide to allow their food to simply slide past regular food already in your intestines.\n\n These then combine with enzymes in your rectum to dilate your anus and cause the rectum to convulse, thus expelling any Taco Bell™ product within 12 to 16 minutes. \n\n Powerful sedatives erase any negative thoughts about violent projectile bowel movements and make you want to return to Taco Bell™ immediately.",
"I could be wrong about this but here goes (also not a doctor).\nHaving IBS (so I'm used to this experience anyway) there are certain foods called 'trigger foods'. What I 'think' happens is that when I eat one of these it causes the digestive system to over react. It thinks its bad for me (probably is) and tries to flush itself in a panic. So any of the waste food that I ate earlier thats waiting to pass gets shot out. \n \nThe reason I think this is the case is because I'll eat a trigger food along with something super spicy (gawwwd what was I thinking) and the spicy horrible burning sensation doesn't occur until maybe 6 hours later. So yeah its still going through me really fast, just not immediately. But my bowels are still moving faster than the normal 24 hour period to get it out of me as soon as possible. In order to do that it has to get whats already there out asap as well so the next in line can brew up.",
"Spicy foods cause your digestive lining to produce more mucous. This helps things along their way.\n\nThis is a big reason why spices are used in hot climates. It's hard to keep meat clean in hot climates so by adding spices you lessen the chances of a parasite holding on to your digestive tract and making you sick. This is kind of a survivalist trick too. If you aren't too sure about the food, but it's all you have, spice it up and possible add some tobacco.",
"A friend of mine has a Traditional Chinese Medicine practice and actually explained this to me from the TCM standpoint.\nSalty foods draw moisture into the digestive system, which makes them more through more quickly. Fatty foods stimulate the release or production (I don't know which) of bile, which makes things flow more quickly. Spicy foods stimulate the whole digestive process and speed it up. All of that combined with the fact that most of their food is already a paste-like consistency that you're having with a drink make it go particularly quickly.",
"Curious now, is there something wrong with the fact that I move food through my system on a regular basis of 9-10 hours? ",
"I'm sorry, but I believe most of the answers here are wrong.\n\nTaco Bell, and most other fast foods, have a *lot* of salt and sugar in them. When you eat that much salt at once, your bowels flood with water to try and dilute the salt (this is called osmosis). When your bowels flood with water, you have a bad time. "
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62adhi | why are people so judgmental in highschool? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/62adhi/eli5_why_are_people_so_judgmental_in_highschool/ | {
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"Being a jerk is easy. Compassion and tolerance are learned, and they take years of life experience and maturity to develop.",
"This isn't what you'll want to hear, but... because you're children. You haven't lived much, you haven't done much or experienced much, you've never been independent, and you're still learning the basics about almost everything. To add to that, you have all of the physical changes, and the whole \"figuring out who I am and where I fit into the world around me,\" thing. \n\nAs you may have noticed, all of this is pretty stressful and sometimes worse and *everyone* has coping mechanisms for that. Those mechanisms can range from utterly benign, through the kind of judgmental closed-mindedness you're describing, to extremes of social aversion, self-harm, and violence. People like to feel like they have some kind of control, and \"hey just wait until you grow up a bit,\" is cold comfort. \n\nIf you need an analogy, think of how anxious people get on airplanes, even though airplanes are incredibly safe. By contrast people don't even shrug when they make the decision to drive, despite the tens of thousands of people killed each year doing so in this country alone. What's the difference? Well, the biggest difference is the perception of personal control over the situation. "
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1so2mw | why is the pope so important? do his quotes and views really change the whole catholic church? | I'm not a Catholic and so I've never really understood why the pope is so important. Does what he thinks and says really change the Catholic church and what Catholic's believe and how they treat people (athiests, LGBTQ, etc.)? From my non-Catholic view all I ever see is a pope that really only exists to make quotes and put the church in the press. Selected as TIME person of the year this year, I'm curious just to what extent this man influences Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Thanks. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1so2mw/eli5_why_is_the_pope_so_important_do_his_quotes/ | {
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"The pope acts as a leader for the Catholic Church. When it comes to matters of faith, he is \"right.\" _URL_0_\nThis means that his opinions and quotes have a pretty powerful impact on most Catholics, and can in turn affect those of others",
"The catholic church has a structure to it that you don't see as much of in other christian religons. All priests report to a local Bishop. All bishops report to an Archbishop. The Archbishop's are overseen by Cardinal's and the Cardinal's report to the pope.\n\nSo the pope is like the head of the government that is the Catholic church. Everyone below has to do what he says. In addition, a Catholic believes that god speaks through the pope (not all the time, just on occasion). So in addition to literally being in charge, the pope's attitudes tend to set the tone for the church as a whole. \n\nNow, the Pope saying something might not change people's worldviews over night. But his direction will trickle down to the individual congregations eventually. It stirs discussion inside churches and helps direct the sermons that people hear every Sunday."
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551qco | how are carbon nanotubes similar to/different from carbon fiber? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/551qco/eli5_how_are_carbon_nanotubes_similar_todifferent/ | {
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"Let's say you have a bunch of sheets of paper.\n\nIf you lay them all flat on top of one another, and glue them all together, you'll pretty much get a big block of paper. If you push hard enough from the side, you might be able to separate the papers again, though it'll be tough...but if you try to rip the whole thing, good luck. You probably can't. So you have a material that's pretty strong, at least if you're trying to rip it. However, the papers are packed pretty tightly together, so nothing can really get through them. If you tried to drop a tiny little bead through them, nothing would happen. It's sealed off. If you use sheets of carbon instead of paper, this is **carbon fiber.**\n\nNow suppose instead you rolled the sheets of paper up into tubes, and connected the tubes end-to-end. It would definitely be weaker than your big brick of paper, since you could just crush the tubes flat, but now you can drop that small bead through them and it'll fall through easily. So while you have something made of the same basic stuff, it behaves way differently; instead of being strong but allowing nothing through, it's (comparatively) weaker, but in the right direction, things can easily pass through! This new tube structure is **carbon nanotubes.** \n\nIn real life, the \"glue\" in the big block of papers is actually more carbon that chemically bonds them together, and the \"beads\" in the tube example are actually electricity. Also, carbon nanotubes aren't anywhere near as weak as a tube of paper."
]
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||
ebyk7r | how do podcasts insert advertisements that are unique to my location? | I have noticed some ads in my podcast for things in Southern California, and I'm sure listeners in the northeast get different ads. I'm not surprised the podcasts know where I live, but what's the technical method they use to serve these ads? I was under the impression a podcast is just a single audio file. Is there a database of ads that get injected into the file once I play it? Or once I download it? And does this work the same for podcasts on Spotify versus Apple? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ebyk7r/eli5_how_do_podcasts_insert_advertisements_that/ | {
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"A podcast is a single file when you get it but is it not necessarily a single file on the server.\n\nSo you have podcast files that are split into multiple parts and you put them together with the ads into a single file when you download it. What is selected depending on your IP address. Perhaps cookies and other similar data if it is available.\n\nYou can combine multiple sound files into one with needing to encode the sound. Look up \"mp3 merger\" and you find a lot of software and website that do that. I suppose you can do the same in other audio formats.\n\nAnother option if fewer ad alternative is needed you can just upload multiple files and the server just select one.\n\n [_URL_0_](_URL_0_)"
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478o4z | why are the great plains of north america nearly treeless? there doesn't seem to be a problem with growing plants in this region. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/478o4z/eli5_why_are_the_great_plains_of_north_america/ | {
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"A combination of a few things:\n\n* The plains are more prone to drought than more wooded areas and grasses can handle this better\n\n* The flat terrain means lightning and fires are bigger threats, which again, favors grasses over trees\n\n* The area actually did have quite a few trees, it's just that most have been removed",
"Believe it or not large areas were meadows with cottonwood trees and other trees when beavers lived there. The beaver ponds held back the water, saturated the soil and grass and trees thrived around them. When the beaver were trapped out their dams fell to ruin there was nothing to keep the water from running away. The ground dried out and the grass and trees were replaced by sagebrush and tumbleweeds.\n\nI got this information from a new book on the history of the beaver in North America.",
"I can't say with certainty WHY it's treeless, but the great plains once had 25+ feet of fertile topsoil that was created through grazing of immense herds of buffalo. Google \"rotational grazing\" to learn how topsoil can be built with the use of grazing animals. Grazing animals often prevent large herbaceous plants from taking hold, including trees. A huge amount of this topsoil was lost from erosion after large-scale agriculture came into effect once the white man came into play. The dustbowl of the 1930's was a prime example of losing this fertile topsoil. Non-sustainable plowing and seeding practices destroyed this area of North America, with respect to agriculture. There is virtually no fertility left, which is why the monocrops of corn, wheat, and soy rely so heavily on artificial fertilizers. \n\n",
"There are many factors affecting tree growth. /u/lollersauces914 mentions some, but I would like to add another.\n\nIf you look at [global wind patterns in the USA](_URL_5_), the [westerlies move air from the west coast across the plains and towards the east coast](_URL_4_).\n\nIn addition, the there are many mountain ranges along the west coast that cause a [Rain Shadow effect](_URL_3_). Basically, as air travels west, it rises to cross the mountains. Rising air begins to cool, water in that air condenses, and falls as precipitation (rain/snow). Once the air has passed over the mountains, it follows the terrain down and warms, but it is now very dry air (remember- the moisture is on the other side of the mountain). I personally think that the geography of Oregon and Washington is a great example of the Rain Shadow effect. [Most people think of Seattle as very wet, but on the other side of the mountain range, you will find a desert](_URL_1_).*new link\n\nIt takes time for that dry air to acquire moisture, so very few life forms can be supported here. As the air continues to move east, it collects moisture from the surroundings. Interestingly, you can see how the moisture increases across the USA [from a very dry, brown landscape immediately following the mountain ranges and gradual increase in green vegetation](_URL_0_) as you move from [desert to short grass prairies (East Colorado, West Kansas) to mixed grass prairie (most of Kansas) tall grass prairies (Illinois)](_URL_2_).\n\nThis dryness allows for frequent prairie fires which further inhibits the growth of most tree species. Few tree species do well with fires.\n\nLike you have said, it is not like there are no trees, just very few trees.\n\nTL;DR: There is not enough moisture in that biome to sustain large, long living organisms. Those that do thrive there have special adaptations."
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m2g55 | why do things get so much cheaper the more you buy? | EG 1 ticket costs 4 bucks, but if you buy 20 of them at the same time they only cost 40? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/m2g55/eli5_why_do_things_get_so_much_cheaper_the_more/ | {
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"It is due to a marketing method called [price differentiation](_URL_0_). Also, when you sell an individual ticket to an individual person, you must take a number of steps (agreeing the sale, accepting payment, delivering the goods). Some of these steps require no additional effort when you sell multiple tickets in one go to the same person (agreeing the sale, accepting payment, delivering the goods).\n\nSo when you sell 1 ticket, it will cost you 4 dollars to process the sale for 1 ticket. You need to sell the ticket at 10 dollars to have a 6 dollar profit\n\nWhen you sell 40 tickets at the same time, it will cost you maybe 7 dollars to process the sale for all 40 tickets. The only thing you need to do extra is print some more tickets, and reserve the seating. In this case, you could sell 40 tickets at 5 dollars, grossing you 200 dollars, and your cost will be 7 dollars, netting you 193 dollars for just a slight bit more of your time.\n\ntl;dr: you offer the same basic product with varying perks to different target markets, at a different price.",
"It is due to a marketing method called [price differentiation](_URL_0_). Also, when you sell an individual ticket to an individual person, you must take a number of steps (agreeing the sale, accepting payment, delivering the goods). Some of these steps require no additional effort when you sell multiple tickets in one go to the same person (agreeing the sale, accepting payment, delivering the goods).\n\nSo when you sell 1 ticket, it will cost you 4 dollars to process the sale for 1 ticket. You need to sell the ticket at 10 dollars to have a 6 dollar profit\n\nWhen you sell 40 tickets at the same time, it will cost you maybe 7 dollars to process the sale for all 40 tickets. The only thing you need to do extra is print some more tickets, and reserve the seating. In this case, you could sell 40 tickets at 5 dollars, grossing you 200 dollars, and your cost will be 7 dollars, netting you 193 dollars for just a slight bit more of your time.\n\ntl;dr: you offer the same basic product with varying perks to different target markets, at a different price."
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33g4i1 | how does zimbabwe concurrently use the us dollar, chinese yuan, indian rupee, japanese yen, etc. do citizens of zimbabwe have to carry around currencies of all kinds? do stores accept any currency? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/33g4i1/eli5how_does_zimbabwe_concurrently_use_the_us/ | {
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"It's not so much that they use all those different currencies, it's that they don't use their own.\n\nZimbabwe's dollar lost so much value that they at one point printed a 10 trillion dollar bill. So, as it became financially pointless to continue printing money that had practically no value, they opted to instead allow citizens to simply use other nation's currency instead.\n\nNow, as for how this works. In the US, my dollar is worth $1 when I go to spend it because the person/company/etc. I am buying from knows that when they go to spend it it will also be worth $1 to whomever they are paying. I have never been there so I don't know this firsthand, but so long as you're paying in a currency that the person/business knows it can use when it comes time for them to pay someone, they'll take it. \n\nThings may cost different prices based on what currency you use, an example being a can of soda being $1USD, or .99€, or $1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Zimbabwe dollars.",
"I'm from Zimbabwe and travelled back there a few christmas's ago. We don't use the Zim$ anymore, people were using the $ U.S. On the black market way before it became legal tender in the country. It's majority $U.S. that you will find the prices marked as in the shops and markets, other currency like the S.A Rand can be used but they usually aren't used every day. At least not where I went. The interesting thing to note about using the $U.S. Is that Zim doesn't create its own currency and so the bills are circulated long after they would be destroyed by banks in America. Finding a clean dollar there is like gold! "
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2xlm72 | while both minorities have faced oppression in u.s history, why do asian americans seem to be "better off" compared to african americans? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2xlm72/eli5_while_both_minorities_have_faced_oppression/ | {
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"A large number of Asian Americans immigrate to the United States to do highly skilled work. These jobs typically have higher pay than average. Once the these immigrants get residency or citizenship, they have the benefits of a high household income to raise their children. A high household income gives them advantages in moving to a good school district, paying for extracurricular activities, and hiring tutors. For some families, the parents can cover the costs of the child attending college to reduce the financial burdens when the child graduates.\n\nOn the other hand, many African Americans are descendants of Africans immigrated against their will during the slave trade. While Asian Americans want to immigrate to the US to become \"western,\" there is some stigma for African Americans among their own group to fully integrate. If you are considered successful by US society, your fellow African Americans often view you as becoming too \"white.\" There are other factors such as increased police attention due to racial profiling that limits your potential if you are African American.",
"Good question. From my own experience in Muslim immigrant community, we all strive to get a university degree as it is kind of embarrassing if your kids dont go to university. College is second best. \n\nAlso immigrants tends to start businesses of some sort. Half my family who came to Canada started some sort of business and are doing well. \n\nFrom a survey last year it was found contrary to common perceptions, American Muslim women are more likely than American Muslim men to have college and post-graduate degrees. Additionally, they are more highly educated than women in every other religious group except Jews, with 43% of Muslim American women holding a college or postgraduate degree, compared with 29% of American women overall. ",
"The following is my opinion and I'll preface it with my own background. \n\nI'm a Blasian American male. curly hair. Raised with a caucasian step father. \n\nIn my experience asian families tend to have a mindset of growth. when i say that its saving many times with the mindset of \"i took care of you where young, you take care of me when i am old\" Its a cyclical way of living that allows reinvestment. and fosters cultural growth by having (sometimes) 2-3 generations in one household. Its the strong family bond and tradition that breeds success over time. \n\nIn contrast \n\nBy and large the african american community has been fractured for an extended period of time. first by color hue. (perpetuations that continue to this day in the form of (#teamlightskin,#teambrownskin,#teamdarkskin) as a group the mindset tends to be \"whats in it for me?\" or where can i get \"my piece\" and normally this mindset would foster self growth and embodies the competitive spirit that we all enjoy but with old beliefs what beauty and what holds value it is somewhat rare to see african americans put money back into their communities (in large quantities) my uncle used to say that nobody wanted to watch anyone else \"get out\" if i'm stuck here you should be too mindset. so the money is spent elsewhere maybe at a more expensive non ethnic market down the street. because \"i'm black but i'm not going to shop at that store thats 'ghetto' \"\n\nliving above your means is something extremely common the world over. but culturally the idea that you should save and hold onto money isn't what is popular. the popular idea that is emulated throughout the masses is\n\n\" Get money, Look nice - Because its all about appearance\"\nExpensive clothes, Expensive Car. \"\n\nIts not as cool to have 50,000 in the bank saved for your house as it is to say I just blew 3,000 \"I didn't even feel it. I'm \"ballin\"\n\nsocioeconomically i would say that there are still instances where predominantly black schools don't get the perks and newest books or software,hardware and best teachers. But in order for that to change you have to be willing to put money into the environment you so desperately want to escape. (via taxes) so that other kids, youth and the people around you can contribute to the overall betterment.\n\nInstead you have a group of \"Food Stamp Entrepreneurs\" \n(Knows everything about how to work the system, and very little about how to stay out of it)\n\n",
"To put specific voice to something implied in the other answers, there's some self-selection involved.\n\nMost black people in the US were born in the US from parents born in the US. A far greater percentage of Asians in the US are either first or second generation immigrants, meaning either they or their parents chose to come here.\n\nPeople who decide to pick up their whole lives and move overseas to another country already are very ambitious. Their ambition doesn't decline once they get to the US. They also strongly influence their children with that same ambition.\n\nThis doesn't mean that Asian people are more ambitious than black people. It just means that the ones that aren't ambitious aren't over here to begin with.\n\n(None of this is meant to ignore other factors.)",
"Asians expected it and moved on (shit happens) African Americans hold it over every white persons head and doesn't want to do shit about it or make there lives better/easier and decide to not be an active member of society (not all African Americans) \nFYI my best friends are black so let the hate roll in :)",
"There's a statement I remember from a psych course. \n\n\"If you ask an American mother why her son is doing well in school, she'll tell you 'because he's so smart.' If you ask an Asian mother the same thing, shell tell you 'because he works so hard.'\"\n\nEdit: [learned helplessness](_URL_0_) could apply. Im clearly no peer reviewed article, but a hypothesis could be brought forward that says \"...because of systematic oppression no minority has seen in recent history + the normal oppression a minority may feel in a white dominant world.\" I imagine, as a white male, the two together may be a real answer.",
"I think one thing that's not been mentioned so far is that black people put pressure on other black people who are smart or work hard to be dumb. In my high school, the smart black kids (especially the boys) would be ostracized and other black kids would say they are \"acting white.\" Even the black kids who speak English like white people are said to be acting white. A lot of times, those smart black kids would have no black friends at all because the other black kids thought they were acting white, like some kind of traitor to the race. There's a very strong anti intellectual feeling in the black community. And it makes it even more difficult for them to be successful. ",
"Emmanuel Todd, in his book \"After the Empire - The Breakdown of American Order\", has put forward an interesting theory. He says the US has always been a mix of Universalism and Differentialism. The Universalists in us want to see everyone as equal, and it has been critical for the \"melting pot\" process. In seeming contradiction the US has always been Differentialist too - we exclude those who are \"others. \n\nIn reality the two are complementary - the fear of being \"others\" makes people strive to be mainstream. The blacks and native Americans have always been \"the others\", but other groups have swung in and out of this disadvantaged group, f.ex Italians, Irish, Jews, Asians, Hispanics. \n\nHis view is that the U.S. need for \"others\" means African-Americans will never be integrated, and this is why you see greater segregation between whites and blacks in the US today than almost anywhere else (well, except countries with very small black population, e.g. Russia).",
"Being an African american i would say because people constantly remind me all the time that im a minority. It isnt as bad as when i was in middle school through high school. I was one of two black people in my graduating class and people would always make jokes or say nigger and then look at me and apologize even if i wasn't in their conversation. Or if i was at least acquaintances with a person they would use me as an excuse to be racist or drop a \"n bomb.\" now it mainly happens when i have to work with certain people and they work with lazy black people and then look at me and say \"i dont hate you i hate niggers\"",
"Basically its because their cultures are polar opposites of each other.\n\nIn the Black culture, at least in the city, its an accomplishment to graduate high school. Most often there is little to no parental involvement in Black kids lives. There is a lot more violence and hard drug usage in Black culture as well. This along with an overall feeling of helplessness(not that I can blame them), is why blacks are the poorest members of our society. \n\nIn the Asian culture, you are expected to go to college. Usually home life is very stable with 2 parents very active in their lives. Also most Asians choose to live in communities that are fairly safe.\n\nIts not one race being superior to the other or any of that bullshit. Its just that Asians are in an environment where its hard not to succeed and Blacks are in an environment where its hard not to fail.",
"From what I have seen as a non American not living in America, it seems to be a massive cultural difference. Asians generally have a crazy work ethic, constantly striving to be the best they can in all situations. African Americans, like our Aboriginals, have a culture of being the victim and that everything is \"poor me, give me money because I am a victim\" instead of \"I need to work my fucking arse off and prove that I am just as good as everyone else\". If you're black and you want to get out of your shit station and move up, you're trying to be better than everyone else and therefore you're a threat or seen to be abandoning your brothers and subsequently ostracised from the greater public for not being \"one of us\". \n\nYes, there is still a section of people who will look down on the black community and try to keep them where they are, but that is mindset is changing outside the black community. The problem as I see it is that there are a shit load within the black community who look down on themselves and refuse to do what is required to change their station, or let someone else break the cycle. They are so stuck in their rut of being the poor, underprivileged victim that they won't let themselves advance in the ways they need to to break the cycle, instead focusing on keeping each other locked in the self destructive spiral under the arguments of \"I'm going to bring you down if you think you're better than me\" and \"Don't you dare get rich and abandon your poor brothers\""
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zfpw1 | why isn't it easier for immigrants to become a u.s. citizens? | Wouldn't the country benefit from having taxpayers absorbed into the system? It seems like people here will either take advantage of the system without being counted or they'll participate in the system as a citizen. This whole statement could be incredibly false because I, like Jon Snow, know nothing.
Is there a maximum sustainable population cap or something? Or is the process just an exaggerated version of the DMV?
EDIT: Bah, *become ~~a~~ U.S. citizens | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/zfpw1/eli5_why_isnt_it_easier_for_immigrants_to_become/ | {
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"There's no particular incentive for a country to make migrants intro citizens. While they wait for their papers to come through, they contribute just like citizens do, but get fewer benefits in exchange. \n\nIt's a bit like \"why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?\". "
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41vvks | why are sexual fetishes so much more common in men than they are in women? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41vvks/eli5_why_are_sexual_fetishes_so_much_more_common/ | {
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"What evidence do you have that this is the case? I've certainly never seen data that suggests it.",
"I don't think they are more common in men than women. I think that our current society allows men to have sexual fetishes and doesn't allow women the same sexual exploration, or at least shames the discussion of female fetishes. Since sex is highly patriarchal and all. "
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3ajoay | how can the stock market grow at an average of 7% when gdp only grows at 2%? | So historically, the stock market has grown at about 7% per year, but GDP growth is averaging about 2%. I know that the two aren't perfectly correlated, but shouldn't the long-term growth rates be similar since GDP represents the total output of the economy and a broad-based stock index like the S & P 500 should represent the aggregate value of publicly traded companies? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ajoay/eli5_how_can_the_stock_market_grow_at_an_average/ | {
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"This is just a guess, but globalization maybe.\n\nGDP is money spent in inside the country. The stock market goes up when companies are expected to be more profitable. When companies cut costs by outsourcing labor and buying from cheaper markets they become more profitable (good for stock market), but they spend less inside the country (bad for GDP).\n\nWould appreciate any corrections.",
"They measure two very different things.\n\nThe stock market measures what a company is worth (now and in the future). GDP measures what was produced."
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30mgf8 | if minimum wage goes up to $15, what happens to those only earning marginally more than that at present? | I'm a 3rd grade teacher with a Bachelor's Degree and 5 years of experience and I make ~$39,000/year or ~$18.75/hr. I'm certainly not in it for the money, but I'm curious about the effect of a minimum wage hike upon the lifestyle of my family.
If the minimum wage goes up to $15/hr and workers without even a GED or any experience make that $15/hr, what happens to the paychecks of workers like me? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/30mgf8/eli5_if_minimum_wage_goes_up_to_15_what_happens/ | {
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"It would probably be up to the individual employers. A lot of people would demand higher wages, I'm sure. I make just over $40K a year, and I'd be fine staying here, even if minimum wage went up.",
"That's an excellent question, tawteach77.\n\nWhen the minimum wage increases, the purchasing power of low-income earners increases. Low income earners will typically spend all of their money on goods that are produced and supplied by other low-income workers, so historically, every time the minimum wage has gone up, unemployment has gone down as businesses hire extra workers to meet the sudden surge in demand.\n\nThe result of reduced unemployment is an increase in demand for labour. Workers who are working difficult jobs or jobs they strongly dislike for a little bit more than minimum wage might move in to lower paying but easier or more satisfying minimum wage positions, creating a shortage that drives up the price.\n\nUnfortunately, being a teacher is a very emotionally rewarding career. As such, the supply of teachers is considered to be 'inelastic'; that is, the quantity of people wanting to be teachers does not vary much with the pay of teachers. Because of that, your profession will be largely shielded from the effects of any minimum wage increases.\n\nThis is further compounded by the presence of a teacher's union, which prevents competition between school districts for the best teachers. An increase in minimum wage might have increased the purchasing power of some districts who would have hired veteran teachers, forcing a bidding war. Because teacher salary is mandated at a specific rate by the union, this process cannot occur. In the current political climate, it is unlikely that the union will be able to increase this rate in the near future."
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9nc0bs | how is produce transported internationally without wilting or spoiling? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9nc0bs/eli5_how_is_produce_transported_internationally/ | {
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"There are climate controlled shipping containers called \"reefers,\" and the process by which they were developed for use involved a team traveling inside them around the globe for quite some time-at least a year. I forget the specifics, but there's an interesting [episode of \"99% Invisible,\"](_URL_0_) a really great podcast, about this. "
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60m47b | why are my old smartphones (2013) so slow today doing simple stuff like photos and internet browsing when it could run playstation 3 graphics games with ease? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/60m47b/eli5_why_are_my_old_smartphones_2013_so_slow/ | {
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"Planned Obsolescence.\n\n_URL_0_ \n\nBasically, if you make the perfect product, then people would not need to replace or buy a new version.\n\nHowever, if you ensure that your product degrades over time, then you'll force your customers to make repeat purchases.\n",
"The speed of your apps depends less on processing power and more on software updates... As the days pass, updates are designed to cater for newer generations of operating systems with better security and stability features. It's not the actual function of the app but the precision and stability part of the update that takes up more processing power... "
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fp2r7z | what's epistemological anarchism? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/fp2r7z/eli5_whats_epistemological_anarchism/ | {
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"Think about Back to the Future.\n\n\"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads\"\n\nThe idea is that a lot of significant scientific progress was made while ignoring the accepted ways of understanding and studying science (the road)\n\nNewton showed where Aristotle's road came up short and built a new one that was better. Similarly, Einstein built a better road than Newton. Basically if there's a scientist/physicist whose name you recognize, they probably ignored the road and built a better one.\n\nSo if you want to advance science, get off the road of established and \"proven\" methods, because off the road is where the undiscovered things are where you can build a better road to."
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6z7n5m | why americans use drywall instead of concrete and bricks to build houses in areas prone to natural disasters? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6z7n5m/eli5_why_americans_use_drywall_instead_of/ | {
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"Concerete and bricks are *a lot* more expensive than drywall, and aren't immune to damage from natural disasters, either.",
"It is wrong to say the houses are built of drywall as most of the structure and protective elements are made of wood with iron reinforcing the joints. Wood is cheaper then concrete and brick and can be built stronger.",
"My understanding is cost of labor to build a complete house. American labor is expensive and has to be kept to a minimum.",
"In the long run, it's cheaper to build a house that needs to get replaced every 25 years than it is to build something that can actually stand up to a major hurricane or tornado. A category 5 hurricane has *sustained* wind speeds over 150 miles per hour. An F5 tornado can hit 300 miles per hour - enough to lift a house off it's foundation, regardless of how strong the walls are.",
"Dry wall is an interior finish not a structural material. Therefore homes can be built to optimum hurricane code and still utilize the material. It is better than old plaster interior walls in terms of a construction material as a homeowner.",
"I think to better phrase it you would say \"why wooden frames as opposed to concrete\" \n\nIn California at least- this is because the wooden frames hold up to earthquakes - also as I understand it, concrete is quite expensive in comparison.",
"\"Prone to disaster\" means, at best, \"on average once every 20 years\".\n\nIt is cheaper to repair once a generation than it is to build with more expensive materials...especially when that disaster might take out the more expensive material anyway.",
"The only natural disaster that concrete and brick houses are better at dealing with are fires. \n\nWith tornadoes most damage is done by winds so strong that they dismantle concrete, brick, or stone either directly or by throwing debris into them only slightly more slowly than they do wood. You can make a tornado bunker that is above ground with 4 foot thick walls and steel reinforcement. Homes do not do that, even in places that they make concrete homes. \n\nHurricanes tend to do most of their damage with flooding. Concrete and Bricks flood and mold just as easily as wood. When they are washed away the ground itself is washed away so they break just as easily too. For the extremely powerful hurricanes we have the same wind issues as tornadoes. \n\nFor earthquakes the concrete and brick homes are far worse than wood. They are too rigid unless very expensive tech and building practices are used and so they just crumble when an earthquake happens as they cannot flex. \n\nAnd finally they are 3-10 times more expensive than wooden homes. Chances of you actually losing your home in your lifetime are low, and you get insurance to protect against it. So it is far better for most to spend what money they have to build a larger nicer home. \n\nAlso you seem to think drywall is a structural weight bearing material. It is not. It is the interior finishing of the wall. Wood is the structural component and wood/fiberglass is the outdoor wall slat. ",
"In Florida, the newer houses tend to be made of wood with steel reinforcements. The drywall is applied \"on top\" of the wood. That way, the building can be both sturdy and aestethically pleasing. ",
"Drywall isn't the main holding structure of a home, but regardless building codes vary state to state to account for natural disasters actually. California building codes account for earthquakes, Tennessee for tornadoes and Flordia for hurricanes. These include various foundation differences as well as different reinforcement requirements made with various weather aspects kept in mind. I also believe a strictly concrete and brick house would be a bad idea in a hurricane because water at that wind speed and pressure would severely weaken the structure.",
"Most people have mentioned cost. There is another angle to \"cost\" that is not as big in the USA as in many other places: sustainability.\n\nIn many countries, electricity, gas, oil, and other means of heating or cooling down a house are a lot more expensive than in the US. That's where house energy ratings (HER) come in. These ratings are meant to let people see how expensive the upkeep of a house will be. \n\nBrick houses with proper insulation are less expensive in upkeep, especially in colder climates: it's easier to keep them heated. In the US, electricity, gas, oil, and other means of heating are cheaper than in many other developed countries, so the energy requirements aren't as much of a point of consideration for many buyers, whereas in many places in, say, the EU, the energy requirements of a house will make or break a broker's deal. So a house that is cheap to buy because of the materials used in its construction, but has bad HER, will sell much more easily in the US than in other places.\n",
"It's cheaper and faster to build and repair. \nIt can also withstand vibrations more than concrete. \n",
"I believe that what the OP is trying to ask is why we build timber frame houses in the US, rather than concrete or cinder blocks/brick. I have been asked this a lot as well by Latinos, who consider American houses to be cheaply made. Some say it is the cost of concrete, but that seems odd because the majority of homes built in Mexico/Central/South America are built of either poured concrete or cinder blocks on a concrete slab. My wife's uncle has a poured concrete house in Ecuador that looks as good as or better than most timber framed McMansions in the US. They don't even consider using timber framing down there. The same applies to tile floors and tile roofs, which are considered somewhat expensive in the US, and generally seen only in higher end houses, but you will find tile floors and roofs in the poorest houses in Latin America. It is nearly all imported Italian made tile, which is the same thing they brag about here. roofing shingles are almost unheard of, and rarely seen. ",
"One good reason to use drywall is that it does not catch fire like wood does. \n\nThis is not an answer to your question but as many good answers said, drywall is not what you build the structure with.\n\nBut if you build a house of wood, haveing drywall interior is wise to keep fires from spreading so quickly.",
"Drywall is a to make the inside of the house look nice. It has absolutely no supportive or constructive function. Wood is used because it's a abundant and cheap. It also handles earthquakes better, like in CA. For the rest of the country, the middle and south of the US are generally lower cost of living. Meaning less money to build with. Housing tends to be cheaper, though not always as land is also cheaper as well.\n\nWood houses are significantly easier to update as well. Running wires and plumbing is easy, and it's not uncommon to update a house every decade or so dependING on the area and homeowners.\n\nI live in PA. No disasters hit here beyond the occasional small scale flood. There is no reason to use concrete. Brick houses are pretty common, though.",
"You need to specify the type of natural disaster you're taking about. Wood does extremely well in earthquake prone areas, whereas bricks tend to do poorly in those same areas.",
"Hell, why not build them out of solid diamond? That's strong. Oh wait, we already can barely afford a house made of wood and drywall. ",
"I remember reading a best-of answer on this very question... \n\nI think the reason that USA/Canada homes are built in the stick framing way was because of building codes and cost of materials...\n\nMaybe do a search of reddit for construction methods.. I'm on mobile and its not working for me..\n\nFun fact: the majority of Australian houses are concrete pad, brick construction with metal/tile roofing. So when I came to Canada I was so surprised that they build their houses/apartments with wood and plastic...I had no idea. "
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4zs9vx | why do we ride horses and donkeys but not cows or sheep? (sheep would be comfy, i imagine.) | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4zs9vx/eli5_why_do_we_ride_horses_and_donkeys_but_not/ | {
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"Two reasons\n\n1- Physiology. Horses are relatively easy to mount and control with the reins. Cows are very wide and while you can mount them for a time (rodeo) they are uncomfortable to ride for extended periods of time.\n\n2 - Social structure. Horses have a hierarchy. You break the lead horse and the rest of the horses see you as the new leader. Cows don't generally have such a defined hierarchy. If you manage to tame the biggest bull, other bulls will just keep challenging you.\n\nNot to mention that we most likely domesticated horses first and they are much faster than cows."
]
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||
1ajo9a | why do mental health issues like depression, anxiety and adhd appear to be increasing exponentially year on year? | I've been a little obsessed with this lately. Can it really be as simple as people being diagnosed properly (or improperly...)? Or is there something that has changed significantly in our society? E.G. social pressures? nutrition? sedentary lifestyles?
I'm kind of convinced there's a much stronger link between sugar / processed foods and the rise in mental health issues, than we are led to believe. But that's just my thought. I'd love to hear from others. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ajo9a/eli5_why_do_mental_health_issues_like_depression/ | {
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"First of all, what makes you think diagnoses are increasing \"exponentially\"? Have you researched actual rates?\n\nSecond, it's difficult to say what the cause is, but it's absolutely certain that many of these conditions weren't diagnosed in the past, so some portion of the increase is due to diagnosing these conditions, and not just sending people to mental institutions or ignoring them altogether.\n\nI've never heard of anything regarding processed foods or sugar leading to mental conditions like this. It seems like your everyday \"natural-science\" which tends to focus on mythical toxins and less on actual research and facts.\n\nWhy do you think sugar or processed foods is involved? Have you heard of any studies or research that would support it?\n\nFinally, one of the guidelines of this subreddit is \"don't be a walter\". Consider your objectives here. Do you want information and explanation for a complex issue in simple terms, or are you looking for someone to prove your already held beliefs wrong?",
"The rate in increase isn't exponential.\n\nBut as the rate of awareness increases the rate of diagnosis increases also. \n\nI.E.: People always died of cancer, but if we didn't know cancer existed we can't diagnosis cancer. ",
"There's alot of theories about why there are more people being diagnosed of all kinds of mental health issues. \n\nMy personal thoughts are that, at least in America, large portions of the country have had a fundamental shift in the way parents raise their kids. I think that new parents can't control their kids (which is perfectly normal) and rather than having patience to try and help the kid work through it on his own, parents just take their kids to the psychiatrist having already researched ADHD and in their heads have already diagnosed their kids as having it.\n\nNaturally, the parents describe to the doctors the exact symptoms associated with ADHD and the kid gets put on something. For me it was Concerta and Clonodine , for others it can be Adderal or Ritalin. Now these drugs can be very helpful to children who are so crippled by their hyperactivity that they can't complete basic functions in school, but they come with many potential side-effects, two of the most common being depression and anxiety.\n\nBoth conditions usually present themselves during puberty/adolescence, so once again the parents who think that it's a good idea to medicate their children instead of really raising them take them back to the psychologist and get them diagnosed for the anxiety or depression that they likely have only as a side-effect of the drug that their developing mind was put on at a very early age because they couldn't sit still or they'd look out the window and daydream during class (which are both also very normal for kids). \n\nI'm not saying that there aren't people who really need medication and I'm not discounting the theory that there could be an increase in mental health issues due to High Fructose Corn Syrup, MSG, or Caffine; but I think what we really are looking at is a MASSIVE epidemic of overdiagnosis.\n\nFull-disclosure: I may be a bit biased as this is the story of my childhood. I am a hyperactive person who had issues as a child and was medicated at a young age. When I got into middle school I was diagnosed as being Bi-Polar and I got put on Depakote/Depakene and in Sophomore year I became very obsessed and depressed over a girl and attempted suicide. At the beginning of my senior year, after thinking about this (what I wrote in this post) for a long time I managed to convince my Mom and my psychiatrist to take me off of all the pills. That was half a year ago and I feel happy and creative and my mind doesn't feel sluggish like it did on the concerta. I am still hyperactive but I think it's better that I learn to control myself than be medicated for it."
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