q_id
stringlengths 5
6
| title
stringlengths 3
296
| selftext
stringlengths 0
34k
| document
stringclasses 1
value | subreddit
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 4
110
| answers
dict | title_urls
list | selftext_urls
list | answers_urls
list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4uymuk | after criminals "flee to mexico" to avoid us officials how do they make money to live? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4uymuk/eli5_after_criminals_flee_to_mexico_to_avoid_us/ | {
"a_id": [
"d5tyzru",
"d5tzcjx"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Haha, just like any other place....odd jobs and what not. When Mexicans flee mexico how do they make money here (in the us). The answer to that question is the answer to your question",
"You know mexico has jobs right?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
dbyn3n | on most electronic devices i’ve seen “complies with part 15 of fcc” and “does not cause harmful interference”. what does that mean? and what would “harmful interference” actually do? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dbyn3n/eli5_on_most_electronic_devices_ive_seen_complies/ | {
"a_id": [
"f24slte",
"f24sn2t",
"f24sn6t"
],
"score": [
6,
2,
4
],
"text": [
"At least one of the C's in FCC stands for communication.\n\nWhen it has things that say it complies with their code, and doesn't cause interference, they mean it's not going to interfere with radio, or other similar wireless tech.\n\nMost of these kinds of things are rules in-place so that state or federal communications (ie: police radio, ambulance dispatch, etc), can be used reliably for their intended purpose - instead of getting interrupted by some kid with a bluetooth device.",
"The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regulates communications using electronic media (radio, TV, cable, satellite, whathaveyou). A lot of their rules, such as this one, are holdovers from radio that still apply today. They have a long list of rules and regulations about the things under their purview.\n\nPart 15 of the FCC rules governs devices that emit radio waves. In short, any device that emits radio must be licensed by the FCC unless it qualifies as exempt, and those radio waves can't interfere with the lawful operation of higher ranking devices, such as actual radios, and that if those devices interfere with it, they have every right to because they're more important.",
"Almost every electrical device these days _may_ create and broadcasts electromagnetic radio noise (whether its designed to or not). FCC rules section 15 cover unlicensed transmissions of radio waves from electronics - what is allowed, what is not allowed and what exemptions you need to apply for if you violate the rules if possible. \n\nIf you want to sell an electronic device in the US you have to have your device tested by an accredited lab (TUV, UL, CSA etc.) to make sure your device won't interefere with baby monitors, pace makers etc. etc. Essentially they take your device and put it into a special chamber that isolates it and they read all frequencies that are emitted by your device, what power levels etc. \n\nIf your device is found to violate FCC 15 and you can't claim an exemption you have to dig into why. Maybe you're using cheap Chinesium components or power supplies which throw off weird 2.4 GHz frequencies for some reason. If you use good quality components and your electrical designers know what they're doing its less likely you'll have problems... but you still need to get your device tested. \n\nThere are similar international standards for other markets too, but they're all somewhat similar. If you comply with part 15 of the FCC title 47 rules you should be good in most markets."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
699rzq | why does protein not get a %dv on nutrition labels in the us? (and some subcategories like sat. fat but not others like sugar?) | I understand that protein recommendations are based on a person's weight, but isn't the label just a suggestion based on a 2000 calorie diet for an average healthy person? So why can't it be a suggested average based on the same person that needs a 2000 calorie diet? Also why does it tell you the %DV for some subcategories like saturated fat but not sugar? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/699rzq/eli5_why_does_protein_not_get_a_dv_on_nutrition/ | {
"a_id": [
"dh4vof3"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"**Protein**: A %DV is required to be listed if a claim is made for protein, such as \"high in protein\". Otherwise, unless the food is meant for use by infants and children under 4 years old, none is needed. Current scientific evidence indicates that protein intake is not a public health concern for adults and children over 4 years of age.\n\n**Sugars**: No daily reference value has been established for sugars because no recommendations have been made for the total amount to eat in a day. Keep in mind, the sugars listed on the Nutrition Facts label include naturally occurring sugars (like those in fruit and milk) as well as those added to a food or drink."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
67toof | how do unions stay competitive with nonunions? | I have these friends on Facebook that just joined a construction union and they always post things about how union members make so much more money than nonunion workers. If that is true, then why would anyone pay the union members more money for the same job? It just doesn't seem like they would have any competitive advantage over the nonunion workers. This notion conflicts with everything I know about microeconomics. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/67toof/eli5_how_do_unions_stay_competitive_with_nonunions/ | {
"a_id": [
"dgt6opr",
"dgt6ppm",
"dgt74ey",
"dgt8sl6"
],
"score": [
3,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Well partially because for some industries and trades, you don't have a choice, it's Union or nothing. also Unions make it easier for employers and employees because everyone is on equal footing across the board. Everyone is on the same pay schedule for raises, vacation etc",
"In some fields, like the movie industry if you hire non-union then you cannot hire union workers. Since most of the industry is unionized that means you get the dregs of the work force, and not enough of them.\n\nIn other fields that are not in that much control use the image of those that are to make their workers seem to be more skilled than the competition. People are willing to pay for skill. ",
"Public/government organizations often mandate that work must be provided to union labor and many major cities have laws requiring union labor. For example, in NYC you can't have a non-union electrician run power to an overhead light, even if they are certified, licensed and insured. It's illegal. Unions generally don't stay competitive based on their merit, they stay competitive by bribing politicians for laws and regulations that work to their benefit. \n\nIn NYC, there's even a law that you must have a union oil guy on site any time a crane is in production in the city. The reason for this is if they fail they can be dangerous to the city. The problem with this law is that all of the cranes currently being used in NYC are hydraulic based and have no oil. Doesn't matter, no construction can take place until a union oil guy is on site monitoring non-existent oil levels in the crane. \n\nMy office building is SEIU run meaning the front desk people in the lobby, security, maintenance, etc are all SEIU union guys. We're not allowed to have lunch delivered for meetings or ourselves unless the restaurant pays a \"bribe\" or union dues to the SEIU despite not being in the union and having no say in the union. Even if they are on the visitor list and given authority by a building employee/management the SEIU employees will not allow them passes to use the elevators and will threaten them with trespass if they even wait in the lobby holding food for me to come down and get it. They have to wait outside on the street corner (often in the rain) for me to come get it from them. If I want food delivered to the conference room for my meeting the front desk has a handy list of restaurants who paid their bribe who they will allow to use the elevator.\n\nThis is how they continue to exist. They grant themselves exclusivity to professions and work closely with state/federal governments to receive preferential treatment. In so doing politicians who support them get all of the union employee voters as well as lucrative donations.\n\nIf you look at the top list of donors to politicians you'll see many of them are unions and historically have been.\n\n_URL_0_\n\nThe SEIU is the 9th largest political donor in the nation and they gave 100% to Democrats in the 2016 elections. In the 2014 mid-term elections they were the 5th largest political donor and again gave 100% to Democrats. When you have that much money to pass around you can get whatever legislation and regulations you want to work to your advantage. This is why unions tend to be strongest in Democrat run cities/states. Their donations/corruption has a long history there. Often when Republicans get voted in they begin to scale back the union protections to bring their states closer in line with the norm.",
"It depends on how union friendly your locale is. The IBEW near where I am, in Texas, hurts for jobs through the winter, while nonunion workers will make bank. Union workers here might get better hourly, but the job continuity seems to make it a wash.\n\nContrast that to a place like Seattle, they can't get enough IBEW workers up there. Seattle is union friendly and happens to have a lot of work going on.\n\nAs far as wage competition goes with union vs. nonunion, people who actually know union workers know that most of them do really good work. And you have to pay for good work. Any handyman can tell you that they'll do electrical work for you for cheap, but they'll likely jury rig the hell out of it, leading to dangerous results. You'd be hardpressed to find a shitty union electrician because they'll have the company on their ass, as well as their foreman. Plus, if you're apart of a trade union like that, you have to go through their apprenticeship program or already have experience under your belt to get with them. People don't think of it much this way in this country, but unions are basically a business, too, and they have reputations to protect."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php"
],
[]
]
|
|
7b5owo | if i buy a steam giftcard from gamestop, who is actually profiting? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7b5owo/eli5_if_i_buy_a_steam_giftcard_from_gamestop_who/ | {
"a_id": [
"dpfdm5f",
"dpfe275",
"dpfj982",
"dpflkh3"
],
"score": [
6,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Gift cards are typically \"sold\" to stores below face value, and the retailer of the card gets some cut of the proceeds for the card sale. \n\n\nI can't remember if steam handles the distribution of their own cards or not, but many gift cards are produced and/or distributed by a third party who may handle cards (and part of the back end system) for a lot of companies. ",
"I think a good portion of the profits from gift cards comes from a high percentage of them that never get used, or get held for a long time as basically an interest free loan for the business. \n\nIf you already have it the best thing you can do at this point to \"put it to the Man\" is use it all as soon as possible.",
"some portion of the giftcard WENT to gamestop. They usually buy a giftcard (say $10) for less than its actual value (say for $8) and then sell them for the value printed on the card.\n\nThis is a good deal for steam (or whoever issues the gift card) because many of them never get used or only get used partially.\n\nThis is also a good deal for gamestop (or whoever resells it) since they make a neat profit from selling these cards.\n\nSince your card has already been bought from GameStop, they HAVE MADE their profit, so now you using or not using it only impacts STEAM.",
"You're basically paying early for something, which means you can make interest on it. So if you give me 70$, for a game you're going to buy next month, I just stick the 70$ into a savings account and earn interest, use the 70$ to buy your thing and walk away with more money than I had before. (more complicated on such a large scale but you get the idea)\n\nSome people also forget to use their card, but this will never be the official answer because most gift cards don't expire anymore (it's illegal to do so where I am), so the business would be required to honor it at any time (provided they don't declare bankruptcy) "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
5aoua2 | hydrocarbon lakes of titan(moon)? | So if hydrocarbon is an organic compund how it formed itself on Titan?
One more question, is there any correlation between those hydrocarbon lakes and the formation of oil(petroleum) beneath the Earth's surface? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5aoua2/eli5hydrocarbon_lakes_of_titanmoon/ | {
"a_id": [
"d9i4g9l",
"d9ilvet"
],
"score": [
22,
3
],
"text": [
"Organic compounds means only that it contains carbon. It has little to do with whether or not it was created by living stuff (however all living stuff is made of organic compounds).\n\n",
"The Earth exists in a region of the solar system where we have liquid water. The temperatures that we experience are what drive this condition and why the Earth is about 71% covered in water and most of that is in the oceans. In other regions of the solar system, closer to t he sun for instance, they don't have liquid water. Instead, they have intense heat which generates liquid metals like lead. On the other end of the spectrum, you have really cold planets and moons. Titan for instance, is very cold. Since things that normally exist as solid on Earth exist in liquid states in really hot areas, things that normally exist as gases on Earth can exist as liquids, assuming the areas are cold enough. Since Titan is very cold, water exists as solid chunks of ice on Titan and they have liquid hydrocarbons. (Methane and ethane) These hydrocarbons were probably not formed on Titan necessarily, more like deposited. Now, how they were deposited is an interesting question that still stumps astronomers today. Perhaps it was a similar process that deposited substances in Earth. What we have found is that most of the critical things (carbon, water, ect) we have on Earth, we have been able to find on comets and meteors. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
mjva6 | topological space, manifolds, differentiable manifolds, etc. | Explain like I'm a 5 year old, but I'm a precocious 5 year old who wants to know some math behind it.
Also explain to me [this comment](_URL_0_) about why a 4-dimensional universe is the most stable type of universe. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/mjva6/topological_space_manifolds_differentiable/ | {
"a_id": [
"c31imy1",
"c31imy1"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"I can get the first two for you.\n\nTopological space: You have some things. They can be any things, it doesn't matter what. You declare a bunch of different bunches (sets) of these things to be \"open.\" You check that when you put open sets together, even infinitely many of them, you get another open set. You check that when you take finitely many open sets and look at what's in all of them, you get an open set. You check that the set of no things and the set of all things are open. Done.\n\nManifold: A manifold is a topological space where if you \"zoom in\" near any of your objects, you can get close enough that you can \"bend\" the nearby area into a copy of the real line, or the plane, or any higher-dimensional version of these things.\n\nWhat I actually mean by \"zoom in\" and \"bend\" is technical and I can't say exactly what I mean by that without getting into lots of details.",
"I can get the first two for you.\n\nTopological space: You have some things. They can be any things, it doesn't matter what. You declare a bunch of different bunches (sets) of these things to be \"open.\" You check that when you put open sets together, even infinitely many of them, you get another open set. You check that when you take finitely many open sets and look at what's in all of them, you get an open set. You check that the set of no things and the set of all things are open. Done.\n\nManifold: A manifold is a topological space where if you \"zoom in\" near any of your objects, you can get close enough that you can \"bend\" the nearby area into a copy of the real line, or the plane, or any higher-dimensional version of these things.\n\nWhat I actually mean by \"zoom in\" and \"bend\" is technical and I can't say exactly what I mean by that without getting into lots of details."
]
} | []
| [
"http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/miykl/why_are_there_three_space_dimensions/c31c1ea"
]
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
5yxctu | why do enantiomers have different physical properties? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5yxctu/eli5why_do_enantiomers_have_different_physical/ | {
"a_id": [
"detngk9"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"In general, they don't. They only have different properties when interacting with something in the environment that is asymmetric, such as polarized light and other chiral molecules."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
1votwv | why must pc and mac games be developed separately? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1votwv/eli5_why_must_pc_and_mac_games_be_developed/ | {
"a_id": [
"ceud40p"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Windows and OSX provide the tools that an application need to talk to the computer hardware itself.\n\nBecause Windows and OSX speak to the hardware differently, the applications have to speak to the operating system differently -- ergo, two different development paths."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
ukttt | why was the last transit of venus 8 years ago, but the next one won't be until 2117? | I read that it occurs in cycles of 243 years in pairs of 8 years apart, but I don't understand why it's only 8 years apart one time and then 121.5 years apart from the next time? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ukttt/eli5_why_was_the_last_transit_of_venus_8_years/ | {
"a_id": [
"c4whl6x"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"As far as i understand it, the orbits are not perfectly flat. Think of earths orbit being completely flat around the sun, and Venus' being tilted upwards at one side. So venus and earth are very rarely at the same point and inclination around the sun.\n\nSo most of the time venus is below the disc of the sun or above it from our point of view."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
32pe37 | sometimes i open my mouth and spit shoots out much in the same way venom shoots out of the mouth of a snake. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/32pe37/eli5_sometimes_i_open_my_mouth_and_spit_shoots/ | {
"a_id": [
"cqdbw11",
"cqdees4",
"cqdefm9"
],
"score": [
16,
2,
5
],
"text": [
"The muscles in your jaw are compressing the [submandibular salivary gland](_URL_0_ ), where spit is made, and the excess pressure causes saliva to squirt out the Wharton duct.",
"If you press the bottom of your tongue against the roof of your mouth a certain way and move your lips out of the way, you can do it on purpose. I can fire it about 4-5 feet. It helps to scratch your tongue against your teeth first to produce excess saliva.\n\nIt's called [gleeking.](_URL_0_)\n\n[Here is a video showing someone doing it.](_URL_1_)",
"Its called gleeking, I can do it and it's a cool ability to have "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salivary_gland"
],
[
"http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gleeking",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY_W1oToNJA"
],
[]
]
|
||
76wrjy | in university, why dentistry is seperate major from medicine? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/76wrjy/eli5_in_university_why_dentistry_is_seperate/ | {
"a_id": [
"dohakk1",
"dohz2ll",
"doi9ub5"
],
"score": [
16,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Medical student here. You're thinking about this backwards.\n\nDentistry can be separate **because** you don't need to understand the intricate workings of the entire body. You can dedicate all of your time to every aspect of the mouth, because you don't need most of the knowledge gained in medical school. If it was feasible to produce every specialty of doctor without the general phase of \"medical school,\" we would do that. The amount of time they'd have to spend learning the basics means it's easier to put all future doctors together and teach them all at once.\n\nA surgeon needs to know every nuance about a patient and how it will affect their surgery. A dentist only needs to know a few extraneous things that influence what they're doing. They don't need to know how all of your medications interact, and for example the way they treat diabetic vs non-diabetic patients is mostly the same. Dentistry can be successful with pure specialization, where any field of medicine requires a broad foundation of knowledge.",
"History.\n\nSpecifically, back in Ye Olden Days, if you were sick or injured, you could go to a doctor or you could go to a barber. A doctor was a Man Of Learning who studied Galen and read Latin and made medicines. A barber did all the \"dirty work\" that was considered \"beneath\" doctors - cutting your hair, cutting off limbs, and pulling your teeth. \n\nEventually doctors started to standardize and create universities and whatnot, and dentists wanted to do the same, but again, dentistry was \"beneath\" the study of medicine and considered a completely different discipline. They were forced to create a separate system of education and practice. It is only relatively recently that we have discovered how important oral health is to a body's overall health.\n\n_URL_0_\n\n_URL_1_",
"Dental student here. Dentistry is considered a specialty of medicine. \n\nThere are a lot of stuff going on in people's mouths. We spend 4 years in dental school, and most people spend between 1 and 6 years in residency after dental school. All dental students learn the same basic sciences as medical students (anatomy,pharmacology, biochem, body systems, and disease). Most schools tailor this education towards how it relates to dentistry. \n\nDentists don't just treat cavities, we treat everything in the mouth. There are hundreds and hundreds of diseases of the mouth and teeth. We are separate from medicine because it takes a lot of time to learn how to diagnose and treat those diseases (aside from historical reasons). On top of all of that, we have to develop hand skills to treat cavities and do other restorative work, which takes a few years. Not only are we healthcare professionals, we're also basically artists. Except for some surgical specialties, medical surgeons don't require nearly the level of precision and fine motor skill that dentists require. We work on the order of 0.1mm (sometimes less), and do that in someone's tiny mouth, using a mirror. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"https://io9.gizmodo.com/5965741/how-barbers-became-surgeons",
"https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/why-dentistry-is-separated-from-medicine/518979/"
],
[]
]
|
|
4pbpel | how did "check engine" lights work before cars had computer diagnostics? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4pbpel/eli5_how_did_check_engine_lights_work_before_cars/ | {
"a_id": [
"d4jlykj",
"d4jmc50",
"d4jxg6l"
],
"score": [
18,
7,
2
],
"text": [
"They didn't. The first check engine lights were introduced as a feature of the early computer controlled systems in cars during the early 80's.",
"Cheaper cars that lacked dials for things like battery, temperature, and oil pressure would have simple sensors all hooked up to the same light. When one of those measurements were too high or too low, the light would go on.\n\nThey got the name idiot light, because they would go on without telling you what was wrong, but your car would usually still run so people ignored them.",
"The check engine light is used to alert the driver when there is a problem with the engine management. A modern engine uses several sensors to keep the air/fuel mixture at a constant ratio for all given situations. The engine computer must know the amount of air entering the engine and the amount of oxygen present in the exhaust. With those two parameters it can adjust the fuel ratio. There are many other sensors that read the position of the crank shaft and cam shafts so the engine computer can know how to adjust valve timing and spark. When the engine computer gets readings from the sensors that are out of parameter it will set a code and turn on the check engine light. More often than not, the light is an indication of a failed sensor rather than some catastrophic failure of an internal engine part. Older engines simply didn't have these sensors or engine management so there was no concept of a check engine light. \n\n\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
2yifg7 | is it possible to have a species' evolutionary line split at our point or later? | So I know that evolution is based on the concept that if a trait helps an individual smash then that trait will carry on and eventually become the norm, this over long periods of time will cause mass changes. But is it possible for if all the members of a species as advanced as ours divided and one group favored intellectual capability and the other favored physical capability that they would eventually become so different they would be completely different types of people? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2yifg7/eli5_is_it_possible_to_have_a_species/ | {
"a_id": [
"cp9t42z",
"cp9t4me",
"cp9tk7x"
],
"score": [
8,
6,
5
],
"text": [
"Sure. If each group found a niche in which it could succeed, then it's absolutely possible, in the future, for *Homo sapiens sapiens* to split into *Homo sapiens sapiens* [nerds] and *Homo sapiens athleticus* [jocks] or whatever.",
"Theoretically yes, but you need a separated/isolated group, an environmental \"pressure\". \n\nSo it's unlikely. people won't willingly \"breed\" like that.",
" > \"Humans\" already have. Homo sapien, Homo Neandethalensis, Homo Denosova, Homo Almasti, Homo Florensiensus, Homo next generation, Homo empire strikes back.\n\n > Human is a general term for our genus, it just means \"human-like\". But do you mean \"Will modern humans (Homo sapiens) ever diverge into separate species?\" Then yes, eventually.\n\n > We can already kind of see it with races, we can measure differences between white people and black people and asian people. They aren't significant differences, but they're there. People say it's like dog breeds, but it's not quite that much. Black and White people aren't as different as a Shepherd and a Poodle, more like a German Shepherd and Australian Shepherd, same basic dog, just different colours.\n\n > But that's off-topic.\n\n > With plans to set up colonies on Mars and such, you're creating two separate geographic locations, and geographic isolation is one of the things that helps create two different species. It's why there's a difference between the African Lion and the Cougar, between the Jackal and the Coyote.\n\n > Soon there would be Homo sapien terra and Homo sapien martis, two different sub-species, and as each one remains isolate and develops it's own mutations and such, they would become different species in full, Sapien terra and Sapien martis. As different from one another as Modern Humans are from Neanderthals.\n\n > Then they would separate even further, maybe a natural disaster that makes the equator impassible, leading to Sapien terra borealis and Sapien terra austellus. Whereas the Martians go on to new world, creating Sapien martis anticuus on Mars and Sapien martis novus out in the stars on Planet X. Which would soon become Terra borealis and Terra austellus on earth, as related to Martis anticuus and Martis Novus as we modern humans \nare to the Chimpanzee.\n\n > Currently, as we are, evolution is unlikely to take place rapidly. We are very good at making out environment suit us, perhaps too good. Because of this, there isn't much evolutionary pressure to create and pass on new traits. We are still evolving, albeit very, very slowly.\n\n > Side-note, my names for the new humans aren't the actual planned names or anything, I just used latin descriptors."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
flnknb | why is the recommendation to wash your hands for 20 seconds but the same rules don't apply to washing dirty dishes? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/flnknb/eli5_why_is_the_recommendation_to_wash_your_hands/ | {
"a_id": [
"fkzl9c9",
"fkzljln"
],
"score": [
3,
12
],
"text": [
"Because a dish is a flat surface with no pours or anything, hands are covered in creases and pours that get much more exposure to infection",
"Pores, creases, and under nails and inbetween fingers are hard to clean out which is why we need to clean for 20-30 seconds. Though some dishes need to be soaked for awhile or cleaned longer for the harder food particles, grease, and stains, or like an iron skillet which needs more careful attention to cleaning due to pores in the iron. Think of your hand like a hard to clean plate/bowl or like an iron skillet if you must."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
3xcsvc | why do my white dress shirts get sweat stains only on the collar? | On the collars of my white dress shirts I have brownish-yellow stains right where the collar touches my neck. This *only* happens for white shirts, *only*on the collar, and *only* when I haven't washed them in a while. Does anybody know what precisely causes my (clear) sweat to cause a (brown-yellow) stain? And why is it only on the collar and not the sleeves/cuffs?
TLDR: what is the science of sweat stains? Specifically the ones not caused by deodorant in the armpits. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3xcsvc/eli5_why_do_my_white_dress_shirts_get_sweat/ | {
"a_id": [
"cy3gznz"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"It's probably more dirt than sweat. Your neck rubs on your collar, which transfers the dirt to the collar, particularly if your neck is sweaty.\n\nArmpits don't rub as much and aren't as exposed to dirt from hair and fingers etc. That means they only get sweaty, not sweaty and dirty."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
7c7hkf | why does a gunshot sometimes makes 2 subsequent noises? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7c7hkf/eli5_why_does_a_gunshot_sometimes_makes_2/ | {
"a_id": [
"dpnr07q",
"dpnu7s9",
"dpnv9j5"
],
"score": [
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"This has to do with the speed of the bullet versus the speed of sound or the sound of the gun shot. When a bullet is fired is moves faster than the speed of sound (usually). Therefore, if the bullet hits near the recording device, you may hear the impact of the bullet before you hear the gunshot.\n\nEdit: In these videos it seems that you are hearing the gun being fired and some echos as it bounces through streets or off of terrain.",
"The two cracks are the sound of the gun firing and the sonic boom of the projectile breaking the sound barrier.\n\nDepending on your location relative to the shooter, you can hear the two cracks in different orders. If you're behind the shooter, you'll hear the gun firing first followed almost immediately by the sonic boom. If you're down range from the shooter and the bullet is travelling towards you, you'll hear the sonic boom first as the bullet passes nearby and then the sound of the gun going off. The bullet can literally be moving faster than the sound of the gun going off.",
"Could it be simply an echo? Seems like an obvious answer that's being overlooked."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
1b1mxv | yoko ono's involvement in the beatles' breakup | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1b1mxv/eli5_yoko_onos_involvement_in_the_beatles_breakup/ | {
"a_id": [
"c92qtla",
"c92u08q"
],
"score": [
68,
4
],
"text": [
"There many reasons for the breakup, roughly in order of importance:\n\n* the death of manager Brian Epstein\n* George Harrison's frustration that Lennon and McCartney wouldn't let him contribute creatively\n* John Lennon going off the deep end and getting weird\n* Lennon and McCarthy's diverging creative direction\n* a general feeling the band had run its course creatively\n\nAs part of Lennon getting weird, he became absolutely infatuated with Yoko Ono, and left his wife for her. She would accompany him everywhere, including the recording studio, where wives and girlfriends had never been allowed. Lennon did not stop her from making suggestions and generally acting like an equal instead of a visitor, infuriating the rest of the band.\n\n",
"Yoko Ono had radical ideas, which were perceived by the band as \"poisoning\" Lennon. Even by today's standards, she has different and unusual ideas about what good music is. Her influence on Lennon, and the way that he looked to her more and more about the direction of his music rather than to consult the group led to rifts. Ono felt that the band had worn out, and that it had nowhere to go in terms of originality and quality."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
6u415z | why is bargaining at markets expected and a normal part of life in many countries? wouldn't sellers make more money if they stick to a price instead of changing it for every potential customer? | Bargaining and negotiating at the African and Asian markets seems like so much work when all you want is fresh food, for example. If I can afford the prices, why should I waste 20 minutes arguing to make it 20 cents cheapers? But then I feel like the seller may make it even cheaper for the next customer and I'm the one getting ripped off.
| explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6u415z/eli5_why_is_bargaining_at_markets_expected_and_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"dlpqk69",
"dlpqngr"
],
"score": [
10,
2
],
"text": [
"Negotiating earns more than selling at a single price, because the single price is often very close to the lower end of the negotiating range to keep sales high. However, it costs the seller time (it also costs the buyer time, but the seller doesn't pay that cost). \n\nThat means there's a tradeoff between selling time and profit that determines whether negotiating is better than charging a single price or not. The point at which one is better than the other depends heavily on how much money the negotiator can earn elsewhere. That's why even in high income nations, most cars are sold via individual negotiation (large transaction that few people do more than a few times in their life so giving a salesman a large portion of what they negotiated for the owner is still profitable) and in lower income nations negotiations can reach deep down into inexpensive goods (the seller's best alternative to not spending time negotiating isn't very lucrative). ",
"The two elements at play are the buyer's willingness to pay (the maximum price you would pay for an item), and the seller's willingness to accept (the minimum price they would accept for an item). For a sale to happen, the willingness to pay has to exceed or meet the willingness to accept.\n\nEvery cent below the buyer's willingness to pay makes the buyer marginally happier with his purchase. Every cent above the seller's willingness to accept makes the seller marginally happier with the sale. So they argue and hope to arrive somewhere above the minimum price the seller wants to sell, and below the maximum price the buyer wants to buy.\n\nSellers may engage in this because they believe there is great variation in a customer's willingness to pay, and they can capture more value by bargaining with each buyer than if they set a static price. Sellers may set static prices when the willingness to pay varies relatively little, they value their time more than what they expect to capture from bargaining, or they are selling in volumes where it becomes impractical to negotiate every sale individually."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
eqzprg | someone simplify what discord is for me. i don’t get why it’s so popular. | Everything I’m interested in always directs me towards their appropriate discord page. I don’t understand what it’s advantage over Reddit even is. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/eqzprg/eli5_someone_simplify_what_discord_is_for_me_i/ | {
"a_id": [
"ff23pbw",
"ff24ll5",
"fezhm4x",
"fezjwnn",
"fezkmif",
"fezritr"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
16,
2,
4,
3
],
"text": [
"Remember chat rooms? That's Discord.",
"Discord is a social media app which acknowledges the popularity of creating groups on software like Skype, so it emphasizes only having groups (called \"servers\"). \n\nOn a Discord server, you can further break it up into separate channels with separate rules. Some are only for text, some are only for voice, some allow images, some don't, some are limited to only certain users or users with certain ranks (which you can create), etc. You have a lot of control, especially as a content creator. (For example, you have a popular internet show and want a place for fans to talk and sometimes interact with you. Discord is the place to go.)\n\n**Why is Discord popular right now?**\n\n- Skype is notorious for dropping calls. Discord is relatively light on internet usage and you won't be disconnecting that much.\n- Discord has decent, if not good customer support. More than you usually get these days.\n- Unlike sites like Teamspeak, you won't have random strangers coming into your server if you don't want them to.\n- Discord is VERY friendly with gaming. Suppose you play Team Fortress 2 and wanna play with friends, but don't wanna harass your friends to go online. Discord can tell what game you're playing on your computer (or other systems, if you connect them), so on launch, you can see a list of your friends playing TF2 (or see what your friend IS playing, if anything).",
"reddit is more of a forum, whereas discord tends to be a messaging service. it's more 'intimate' than reddit since it's live, you can meet other people with similiar interests but its not at all expected to talk just about that. \n\nas an example i was part of a motorbike discord and most of the conversation revolved around the best way to make potatoes and pictures of one of the admins dogs.",
"Discord is a voice communication app similar to TeamSpeak. It also has integrated text chat rooms, streaming functionality, integration with many games, and a very convenient UI that allows users to quickly switch between voice/text rooms and between multiple servers.",
"Discord is an app that lets you text, chat, and communicate with others using video and audio (kind of like Skype). You can create a group chat for folks who want to talk about the same general topic, or communicate with someone one-on-one. It started as a place for gamers to get together and communicate, but now it's used by all kinds of people to plan events, complain about things, share interesting knowledge, etc. \n\n\nAs far as why some people like it more than Reddit, well, different people like different things, different people have different needs, different people feel comfortable with different kinds of programs, online spaces, designs, etc. It's pretty much a matter of personal taste and how you want/need/like to interact with other humans and the world in general.",
"Discord is closer to WhatsApp and Skype\n\nReddit is more like Facebook and Amino\n\nOne is for socializing and direct communication \n\nThe other is for general info"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
1rbl3q | how is snowden still 'leaking' facts about the nsa? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1rbl3q/eli5_how_is_snowden_still_leaking_facts_about_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdljpl7",
"cdljq1x",
"cdljs9y"
],
"score": [
138,
10,
3
],
"text": [
"Snowden isn't actually leaking facts anymore. When he fled the country he gave all the data he had to appropriate news sources. What he gave them was a huge amount of data and they have been sorting through it since his initial leak. ",
"They were talking about him on npr the other day, they said he downloaded around 200,000 documents, so there's a lot of material. ",
"This is just an opinion of mine but I think because the massive amount of data he has and the short attention span of the media if it all got released at once important material wouldn't get appropriate attention. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
3ru9qb | why is cnn considered to be such a terrible news source? is it really that worse than other major news sources?(bbc, msnbc, fox news, etc) | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ru9qb/eli5_why_is_cnn_considered_to_be_such_a_terrible/ | {
"a_id": [
"cwrdzuj",
"cwrk1dv",
"cwrxdte"
],
"score": [
25,
8,
2
],
"text": [
"I wouldn't say that CNN is necessarily a poor source of information, but they're definitely guilty of sensationalizing things like the MH370 crash.\n\nThey're definitely in the \"give them what they want to hear\" camp more than \"tell them what they need to know.\"",
"They go to great lengths to sensationalize stuff.\n\nDuring the West African ebola cris, they interviewed an author of a 1987 novel about a fictional ebola outbreak in the US, and called it prophetic despite the extremely few confirmed cases: _URL_3_\n\nIn their Gulf War coverage, they weren't satisfied with being the closest network to the frontline, they also felt the need to recreate the warzone conditions in the hotel they were staying at: _URL_0_\n\nIn their coverage of the missing Malaysian plane, they pandered to crazy Twitter theories like black holes in the Indian Ocean: _URL_2_\n\nAnd then there is this: _URL_1_",
"These news shows are in the business of ratings. Higher ratings are how they sell their advertising slots for more money.\n\nThey aren't in the business of providing information and insight to their viewers. They aren't trying to make the world a better place through their communications. Their product is targeted to provoke emotional responses which keep you viewing. They go to great effort to convey a distorted sense of reality. \n\nEach viewer would be better off if they stopped watching."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApZDJo5wsH4",
"http://imgur.com/gallery/SoHT4Yh",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpVd7k1Uw6A",
"http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/10/10/cnn-turns-to-outbreak-fiction-writer-for-ebola/201113"
],
[]
]
|
|
44f6ai | why does the human brain enjoy getting points on websites like reddit regardless of the lack of financial rewards? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/44f6ai/eli5_why_does_the_human_brain_enjoy_getting/ | {
"a_id": [
"czpsgor",
"czpsne1",
"czpszml",
"czpt1jc",
"czpt3m8",
"czptlkf",
"czpue59",
"czpuyik",
"czpw3hn",
"czpxdvq"
],
"score": [
205,
27,
2,
16,
2,
2,
5,
2,
2,
10
],
"text": [
"As social creatures, humans get a feeling of reward whenever they receive a signal saying \"other people accept and appreciate you.\"",
"Same way we enjoy highscores in video games. This is just a big social video game and karma tells us how well we are playing and we get to pretend it is the real world so we feel like adults.... or something...",
"Positive reenforcement. When you're in a group of people and everyone agrees with you, it feels good. The points are the same thing.\n\nFurther being competitive, people like to amass a better score then their peers.",
"The reward centers of our brain are easily manipulated.\n\n_URL_0_",
"dopamine. we set goals for ourselves and when we accomplish them our brain gives us dopamine as a reward. Naturally we like feeling rewarded, so we seek out accomplishing those goals. \n\nSome of us tend to be have more addictive personalities and traits and will spend countless hours a day here farming karma. \n\nYou'll notice that a very small percentage of the entirety of reddit accounts post submissions and/or comments. the vast majority don't really participate and have a casual relationship with the site. then theres the 1-10% that are addicted and spend the majority of the day on the site.\n\n_URL_1_\n\n_URL_0_",
"We all like to believe ourselves interesting, intelligent or witty, these \"points\" are basically ways we tell ourselves we are right. The chemicals released from our brains when we get them reinforce those thoughts.",
"why would you care about financial rewards and not karma from Reddit posts and comments?\n\nBlasphemy!",
"It matters for the one who posted. It matters not if they're \"just\" Internet Points. Judging from one of those \"what was your highest scoring post\" or \"people with so much karma, how did you get there\" posts, people actually care about it. Here on Reddit (or Facebook, or Twitter for that matter) those Internet Points are a means by which some people can measure how popular they are. For them, it makes for a more easy way than, say, a couple of friends with whome you're hanging out with and who laugh at a joke you made. Those Internet Points are tangible, possibly a way to say to others \"see, I can be funny!\", instead of them rolling their eyes because they didn't think the same joke funny. That's highly rewarding for people, even if no financial connection is made. \n \nOf course, some people actually do get a financial reward out of it. And at that point, those Internet Points become a lot less magical and a lot more serious...",
"If you like documentaries, you may find this Frontline episode interesting.\n\n_URL_0_",
"interesting how you say 'lack of financial\nreward' as if money is not part of the system of social value we create in our minds. I think we often forget that money has no actual value, we just attribute the value to paper and coins, and through various incredibly complex influences in the media and all parts of society our idea of value our own worth as a human being gets so tied up with money that some of us will literally do anything for it.\nthe only thing that gives money any more value that Reddit points or karma or whatever (I'm pretty casual and don't really know how this stuff works) is because we as a society have all agreed that it has value.\nI think people (including me) forget this all the time and it's important to remember it so one can try to focus on the more important things in life rather than whatever object it is you want to acquire next."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-brain-gets-addicted-to-gambling/"
],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule_(Internet_culture)",
"http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/07/exploiting-the-neuroscience-of-internet-addiction/259820/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/generation-like/"
],
[]
]
|
||
7ftndm | why does the "church of scienctology" still have tax exempt status in the usa? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7ftndm/eli5_why_does_the_church_of_scienctology_still/ | {
"a_id": [
"dqeb8ay",
"dqebdd4",
"dqedyp3",
"dqeiudr",
"dqel7xo",
"dqema3u"
],
"score": [
14,
70,
59,
2,
2,
4
],
"text": [
"The IRS threatened to take it away, and they arranged for their members to file a huge number of simultaneous lawsuits about it. The government decided to give up.",
"There is no hard set definition of what a religion or \"church\" is in US law and each group that desires to gain tax exempt status under the religious clauses applies and then is either granted or denied that status. Once granted there is really no strong mechanism to remove the status as attempting to do so would be hindering a recognized religion and would be a violation of the First Amendment (or at least could be argued to be a violation). \n\nScientology obtained the status after years of petitioning for it, and finally effectively holding the IRS hostage by filing hundreds (if not thousands) of individual lawsuits that bogged down the system and force them to divert resources from other issues and took up court time from more legitimate cases. ",
"Real questions should be why any religion should get tax exemption at all?",
"Why do you think Scientology exists? It's tax avoidance. ",
"It's the same reason why John Oliver's \"Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption\" (_URL_0_ | _URL_1_ | _URL_2_) was registered as a church. The definition of what constitutes a religion is very lax in the US.",
"This is from Australia, but I'm sure the reasoning is the same.\n\n > The Church of Scientology requested a tax exemption from wages originating from a religious institution based on the Victoria Pay-roll Tax Act 1971. The High Court asked the question on whether Scientology was to be accepted as a religion, and decided that they were. Scientology met the two criteria that they stipulated for the determination of whether an organization is religious; first “belief in a supernatural Being, Thing or Principle” and second, “the acceptance of canons of conduct in order to give effect to that belief.”\n\nIn other words, it meets the same standards as any major religion."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y1xJAVZxXg",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUndxpbufkg",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwkqh3lCgvw"
],
[]
]
|
||
5fc8ve | why is "fake news" not libel? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5fc8ve/eli5_why_is_fake_news_not_libel/ | {
"a_id": [
"daj2uf9"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"Well, when it's politically inclined, as it often is, the bar for libel also includes publishing that damaging false material with deliberate malice. \n\nThat's a notoriously high bar for a politician to prove is true in court (which is a good thing, imo).\n\nIf you're a politician, why would you ever engage in legal action against some website or the like publishing obviously fake stories about you? You'd have to dedicate a lot of resources to actually winning the case and in the meanwhile you'll have drawn a ton of attention to them and they'll write to their audience about you attempting to \"silence them\" or some such BS and you'll have made the problem that much worse."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
3mc5kv | why are companies like google and microsoft always under anti-competition scrutiny, but apple is not? | Alright you arm-chair attorneys of Reddit! [or real ones for that matter!] Here is the link that inspired the post - _URL_0_
A few notes:
1) I admit I'm a Google loyalist, but I'm asking this question sincerely so I can be talked off my ledge
2) It seems to me that Android by its very nature is an open platform [you can change anything! default apps, color schemes, fonts, you name it!], whereas Apple has created an intentionally closed ecosystem that only functions at its best when used with its 1st-party products
3) Maybe I just dont understand anti-competition laws - e.g. the famous Microsoft IE case - there was nothing preventing users from installing their own browser and setting it to default, and Windows is Microsofts product! Why should Microsoft have to support the use of other software if they dont want to?
Thanks! Looking forward to the responses, but lets try and keep the dogma to a minimum, shall we? [ya right..] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3mc5kv/eli5_why_are_companies_like_google_and_microsoft/ | {
"a_id": [
"cvdr4at",
"cvdr7i6",
"cvdrdzt",
"cvds87u",
"cvdy61b",
"cve059d",
"cve1n99"
],
"score": [
4,
3,
154,
16,
2,
12,
3
],
"text": [
"Because market share is one of the defining attributes of whether or not someone is using their monopoly (or near monopoly) position to enact anti-competitive measures. Apple simply does not have enough market share to be an issue. A company that has 90% market share will have a huge impact on the market if it enacts certain policies, whereas a company with only 10% market share enacting those same policies won't.\n\nHaving a closed ecosystem/not many customisation options is not by definition anti-competitive, so I am not sure why you are bringing it up.\n\nAnd in the famous Microsoft IE case, you need to look at the case within the context of its time. Remember that at the time, just installing another browser was not as simple or easy or fast as it is nowadays. Now we all have high speed internet and downloading firefox is a quick thing. Back then, most people had dial up internet, and having to download another browser was a lot more time (and indirectly money) consuming. ",
"My guess would be that Windows and Android are used in a wide range of products. And since the system that is on various devices limits what you can/cant install on it to a certain extent, they are pushing you away from competitive apps and into their own. Since this is a product on multiple manufacturer's phones, the locking out of certain apps can be seen as cornering the app market through the use of their OS software providing an unfair advantage.\n\n\nApple only puts its software on it's own products, without trying to put IOS on a Galaxy S6, for example. Therefore they are allowed much tighter control, since you bought the apple product with the apple software you can be logically locked out of third party apps should apple block them. ",
"Apple is constantly under anti-competition scrutiny.\n\nThey just won a $1B suit over their iTunes software in December.\n\nThey just lost a case in Taiwan in June over their pricing schemes for hardware. \n\nIn the US, they're currently under investigation for anti-competition violations with their Apple Music service, raised by Spotify's owners.\n\nIn Canada, they're currently under investigation for anti-competitive contract pricing with Canadian cell carriers.\n\nHeck, I'm just citing iPhone-related cases in the past year. \n\nAnti-competition all comes down to proving that they're violating specific laws in a specific way. There's many exceptions, there's many loopholes, and there's many people willing to a raise a suit whether they can win or not.",
"Google basically has monopoly in the search engine market.\nMicrosoft has basically been monopolist in the PC OS market with Windows.\nApple doesn't hold a massively large share of the markets they operate in, mostly because they sell premium products that not everyone can afford.",
"\n I think *all* the tech giants are under scrutiny by the world's governments, including Apple, as many users have suggested. An example I saw recently: [$324.5 million USD settlement in 2014 for Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe](_URL_0_) .\n You might find, if for example developing an Android app, that Google is not so 'open' (or organized). You may also find that Google does not have a search engine monopoly if you travel to China.\n Which brings up another point, anti-trust in US, Europe, China, or India will be different targets dependent on who has struck a deal with who. One government might let Apple skate, while another brings down the hammer (e.g. on providing governments encryption keys to personal information).",
" > 3) Maybe I just dont understand anti-competition laws - e.g. the famous Microsoft IE case - there was nothing preventing users from installing their own browser and setting it to default, and Windows is Microsofts product! Why should Microsoft have to support the use of other software if they dont want to?\n\nHaving market power isn't illegal – you can even have a monopoly on something without breaking laws. What's illegal is using your market power to actively prevent other companies from being able to compete with you in a way that, *if there were no other company or threat of other company*, you wouldn't do.\n\nThe italics are the important part – with the IE case, Microsoft bundled IE with Windows ONLY as an attempt to stop Java from becoming a thing (there were emails showing concern that the future of computer applications was on web browsers with Netscape via Java). Microsoft tried to say it was a way to make Windows better, but a judge decided Microsoft was unable to show that if Netscape and Java didn't exist as a threat to Microsoft's market power, Microsoft would have followed the same strategy.\n\n**TL;DR** (plus edit): Firms can can get away with stuff that beats the competition, but only if they would do that same stuff even if there were no competition, or that stuff would still make sense even if the competition didn't give up.",
"Random IT guy here, on break, but I felt like the comments might have been getting off base.\n\nMS got in trouble for bundling their software (IE) on Windows. Sure. So why isn't Apple under the gun for bundling Safari on all their iOS devices? I thought that question was more on key to the OP.... maybe not? I can go back to lerking lol.\n\nAren't they still coming with built in browsers? I see IE loaded up on Windows as the default all the time, and now even Edge. Tickle me confused. "
]
} | []
| [
"http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/25/ftc-google-android-antitrust/"
]
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_Litigation"
],
[],
[]
]
|
|
1z483k | why do websites sometimes load in that awkward list format? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1z483k/why_do_websites_sometimes_load_in_that_awkward/ | {
"a_id": [
"cfqcnxy"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"I assume you mean when there's no colours or images or anything like that? it's because the CSS scripts aren't loading for some reason. CSS stands for cascading style sheets. most websites use scripts written in CSS in order to change the layout and looks of the whole thing, and it gives it colour. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
o1oj0 | how come my link karma isn't a direct correlation to the number of points i get for a submitted link | a while ago I submitted a link that ended with about 700 points yet the link karma I received was only 500 | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/o1oj0/how_come_my_link_karma_isnt_a_direct_correlation/ | {
"a_id": [
"c3dopmh",
"c3dpa5e",
"c3dpa91",
"c3dpbx9",
"c3dpnvu"
],
"score": [
2,
31,
3,
15,
3
],
"text": [
"I am interested in this as well. I have also noticed that the score of a link, for instance on the front page, is not just (upvotes - downvotes). Always wondered how it's computed and why it isn't a straight difference.",
"[the website where everything's made up and the points don't matter](_URL_0_)",
"I had assumed it was an average score of both link and comment karma. I'm also assuming i'm incorrect. ",
"The actual votes you see aren't accurate. Reddit gives a fake number that is proportional to your real up/down votes.",
"Here's the official explanation in the FAQ (although sounds like you guys have had a different experience?)\n[_URL_0_](_URL_0_)"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"http://sharetv.org/images/whose_line_is_it_anyway-show.jpg"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.reddit.com/help/faq#Howisasubmissionsscoredetermined"
]
]
|
|
3q7yiu | when one country pays another country (for example buying land or paying debts) what currency is used? | And if they use the other nation's currency, how do they obtain it? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3q7yiu/eli5_when_one_country_pays_another_country_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"cwcv0sv",
"cwcwje6"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Theu will most likely use the same currency as the country who is selling, they will buy the target currency through the international market such as foreign banks.",
"The US dollar is the major one for now. For example, it was actually somewhat [concerning](_URL_0_) that major Chinese-Russian deals recently started settling in yuan.\n\nThe USD still dominates, comprising an average of 63.8% of all official foreign reserves, but that's down from it's peak of 71% in 1999. The Euro's at 20.5%, and the yen is third at 4.7%. These are currencies that are seen as the most stable, and so will retain their value over the course of these long-term agreements. No nation wants to suddenly find itself on the short end of the stick because the Rupiah (Indonesia) or Canadian Dollar or whatever isn't worth what it used to."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-slaps-down-the-dollar-2015-6"
]
]
|
|
2e4nd9 | why don't we distill water for drinking? wouldn't it be a lot more pure than spring or filtered? | we get minerals out of water that would be taken out when distilled, but we could get them from other sources such as food. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2e4nd9/eli5_why_dont_we_distill_water_for_drinking/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjw0k86",
"cjw0kxu",
"cjw0l70",
"cjw0pgw"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Water distillation requires evaporation and condensation. \n\nTo do this on a large scale requires a lot more power than it does to filter it, and you would also have to constantly clean the condensers due to various deposits that would form on them.\n\nDistilled water is also not as good for you as mineralized water. We could put it back in but then people would complain about it being the new 'water fluoridation' conspiracy and...\n\nYeah. Just filter it. ",
"The minerals in our water aren't harmful to the majority of the population. Most are in fact beneficial, but you're right that we get those minerals elsewhere in our diets. So yeah, it would be more \"pure\", but there's really no need for ultra pure water.",
"Distilling water takes a lot of energy for a marginal benefit. \n",
"Distilled water doesn't really taste that great. A little mineral content makes it better-tasting. I don't really think that counts as a \"impurity,\" since it's there on purpose and isn't harmful in any way."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
6sd2xd | why does x^0 = 1? similarly why does 0! (zero factorial) = 1? | I know that they equal to 1, but why, what's the logic here?
Something I've always wondered; that my teacher's never answered. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6sd2xd/eli5_why_does_x0_1_similarly_why_does_0_zero/ | {
"a_id": [
"dlbrp2o",
"dlbrqxv",
"dlbrxpf",
"dlbt677",
"dlbt6z7",
"dlbvu1a",
"dlbzleq",
"dlc8t2u",
"dld3v2s"
],
"score": [
271,
6,
10,
16,
7,
4,
2,
24,
3
],
"text": [
"When you multiply two numbers together with the same base, you add their exponents to find the answer. \n\n2^3 times 2^2 equals 2^5 \n\n\nor 8 times 4 equals 32\n\n\ne.g.\n\nx^0 * x^2\n\n= x^(0+2) \n\n= x^2 \n\n= 1*x^2\n\n\n\nso in the way that this was constructed, choosing x^0 = 1 makes the rule consistent when dealing with x^0\n\nThere is similar reasoning for the subtracting powers rule when dividing.\n\n\nn! can be used to compute how many permutations of n items there are. that is, how many lists of n items where order matters.\n\ne.g. you have an orange and an apple. You can arrange it to be {orange, apple} or {apple, orange}\n\n\n 2! = 2*1 = 2\n\nIf you only no items, there's only one way to order it. \n\nThe empty set { } \n\n\nso from the viewpoint of using factorial to compute permutations\n\n0! = 1 \n\nis a good choice. There's probably other uses of factorial that I'm not aware of where 0! might be chosen to be something else so that it is consistent with that usage ",
"In regards to your second question, it's mainly for the sake of continuing the sequence. \n\n4! = 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 = 24 \n\nWe can then divide that by the greatest number to get 3!, And so on and so forth.\n\n4!/4 = 3!, 3!/3 = 2!, 2!/2 = 1!\n\nSince 1! is just 1, dividing it by the greatest/only number still leaves you with 1\n\nDoes that make sense?",
"Answer to your first question is simple: \nI think you'll understand this:\nx/x = 1 \nnow, if you say: \nx^2 / x ^2 \nThis can be re-written to xx/xx\nor you go this way: \nx^2–2 which then ends up being x^0 \n \n0! = 1 is just defined this way, since it is the only value that makes sense.",
"If you understand that: \nx^1 = x \nand \nx^(-1) = 1/x (as long as x is not zero)\n\nthen you should understand that \nx^(1)\\*x^(-1) = x\\*1/x\n\nbut \nx^(1)\\*x^(-1) = x^0 \nand \nx\\*1/x = 1\n\n",
"The same reasoning holds for both of these, and it's the same sort of reasoning that leads to x\\*0 = 0.\n\nOne of the nice properties about addition (and multiplication) is that the order you add things up in doesn't matter. If you want to find the sum of the list [1, 5, 3, 2, 7], you could add up the first three elements (1+5+3=9) and then add the last two (2+7 = 9) and then add those results together (9+9=18), or you could add up the first two elements (1+5=6) and the last three elements (3+2+7=12) before adding *those* together (6+12=18) and you'll get the same result.\n\nWe'd like this property to hold for *any* way of splitting [1, 5, 3, 2, 7] into smaller lists. For example, we'd like to be able to say that the sum over [1] plus the sum over [5, 3, 2, 7] is also 18, and since we know the sum over [5, 3, 2, 7] is 5+3+2+7 = 17, it must be the case that the sum over the single element [1] is just 1, as we might expect. But what if we split it up in an even more extreme way? What if we put *zero* elements in the first part of the sum and all five in the second? Then we'd have \"the sum over [] plus the sum over [1, 5, 3, 2, 7] is 18\". But we already know the sum over [1, 5, 3, 2, 7] is 18, so the \"empty sum\" of zero objects must be 0. And it doesn't matter what the other elements in the list are - the empty sum will always end up being 0 through the same logic.\n\nIf we define multiplication as repeated addition, we have x\\*2 representing the sum over [x, x], x\\*3 representing the sum over [x, x, x], and so on. In particular, x\\*0 is the sum over [] and is therefore 0. So x\\*0 \"should be\" zero, if we want our definition of multiplication to be natural.\n\nThe exact same reasoning works with products, but with 1 as the value of the empty product. If the product over [2, 4, 3, 2] is 2\\*4\\*3\\*2 = 48, then we not only want the product over [2,4] times the product over [3,2] to equal 48 (which it does, since 8\\*6 = 48), but also the product over [] times the product over [2, 4, 3, 2] to equal 48, which implies the product over [] is 1. Then x^n is the product over [x, x, ..., x] with n copies of x, so that x^0 is the \"empty product\" and therefore 1. Similarly, n! is equal to the product over [n, n-1, ..., 2, 1], which is the empty product when n is 0.",
"The answer is that we want x^0 and 0! to conform to certain generalizations that work for numbers other than 0.\n\nFor x^0, we want the equation x^a /x^b =x^(a-b) to work when a=b just as well as it does when they are not equal. Obviously x^a /x^a =1, so x^(a-a)=x^0 must also be equal to 1.\n\nIn the case of factorials, it's to make combinatorial formulas work better. For instance, there are n!/b!(n-b)! ways to choose b objects from n objects if b < n and b > 0. If we define 0!=1, the expression also works for b=n and b=0.",
"A simple way of looking at factorials is to think of the ! as meaning \"how many ways can I arrange this number of things?\"\n\nAKA you have 2 apples, 1 red and 1 green. How many ways can you order them in a row? Answer is \"2!\" (2 ways; red-green and green-red)\n\nHow many ways is there to deal a deck of cards? \"52!\" (a very big number)\n\nHow many ways is there to order a whole load of nothing? Once. You've got nothing, anything you do with nothing will still be nothing. So you've got 1 way; leave as nothing. Thus 0!=1\n\nedit: Also just seen I pretty much copied an answer from 2 hours ago. ",
"Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained:\n\n1. [ELI5: how do we know x^0 is 1? How did we figure this out? ](_URL_1_)\n1. [ELI5: Why does 0! (zero factorial) equal 1? ](_URL_2_)\n1. [ELI5: Why is 0! 1 and not 0? ](_URL_3_)\n1. [ELI5: Why is \"x^0= 1\"? ](_URL_5_)\n1. [ELI5: Why x to the power of 0 = 1? ](_URL_4_)\n1. [ELI5: Why is x^0=1 ? ](_URL_0_)\n",
"X^a divided by x^b always equals x^a-b. Also, X^a / X^a always equals one (any number divided by itself is one). If X^a /x^a =1, then X^a-a must be equal to one. X^a-a is X^0 , so X^0 =1. \n\nFor 0!, I always thought of it as an artifact of n!/(n-1)! =n. This makes sense- 5!/4! = (5x4x3x2x1)/(4x3x2x1), which clearly is just 5. Therefore, 1!/0! Must be equal to one, and if 1! Is also equal to one, in order for 1/0! =1 to be true, 0! =1"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/j8wmr/eli5_why_is_x01/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5v8ef4/eli5_how_do_we_know_x0_is_1_how_did_we_figure/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3w07ac/eli5_why_does_0_zero_factorial_equal_1/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5gc0v3/eli5_why_is_0_1_and_not_0/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ickmp/eli5_why_x_to_the_power_of_0_1/",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ofw7a/eli5_why_is_0_1/"
],
[]
]
|
|
1ymtg4 | the scope of a gun is on top of the nozzle the bullet comes out of, so wouldnt the bullet hit a bit lower than where you aimed for? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1ymtg4/eli5_the_scope_of_a_gun_is_on_top_of_the_nozzle/ | {
"a_id": [
"cflw1jk",
"cflw8p2",
"cflxo05",
"cfly3xi"
],
"score": [
21,
2,
6,
2
],
"text": [
"The scope is adjusted to correct for this (and for bullet drop in flight) at a specific distance. If you change distances, you need to readjust the scope. The scope is not purely parallel to the barrel, otherwise the bullet would always hit low. ",
"Yes, absolutely. Plus, remember the bullet falls while it's in the air, too. So, you have to calibrate your scope for a certain distance.",
"The comments on here are essentially correct. I'll add a few things, the sighting of a rifle depends greatly on the muzzle velocity of the bullet. This will indicate the associated drop of the round. At short distances, this is small for firearms,and setups vary for different loads.\n\nFor hunting I set up my rifle to be \"zeroed\" at 200 yards, so at say 100 it will shoot 3\" high, but for hunting, it won't make a real difference. And at 300, it will be like 5\" low. This makes it quicker to make slight adjustments to my aim on the fly.\n\nWhat typically people don't realize is that in hunting, it is pretty hard to quickly and accurately estimate distances, adjust your aim and make an accurate shot,in the amount of time you have before your prey escapes. My setup, is pretty standard for Western US hunters that are presented with somewhat longer shots. ",
"It all boils down to adjusting the scope so your point of aim matches with the arc of the bullet. On iron sights and scopes both the adjustments ultimately make you aim the muzzle (not nozzle) ever so slightly up. This adjusts the arc so that as it falls it impacts where you are aiming. And yes, 100 yards is the usual sight in distance because of what is called \"minutes of angle\". At 100 yards, one moa is one inch. Most longer range scores adjust at a quarter moa per click of the elevation (up/down) and windage (left/right) adjustment knobs. Reflex and red dot sights usually adjust at 1/2 moa per click, and iron sights like those on the m14 adjust at 1 moa per click. And moa increases at distance, 100 yards=1 inch, 200=2 inches, so on and so forth. Ultimately all the sights do is adjust the angle at which you hold the rifle, which in turn adjusts the initial angle of the arc the bullet travels in. Imagine a straight line with an arc going through it. The straight line is the line of sight and the arc is the bullet path. Adjusting the sights on the rifle changes the arc and makes the point of impact match the point of aim."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
5ouw2l | why do humans get the same flu? don't our bodies make an antivirus? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ouw2l/eli5_why_do_humans_get_the_same_flu_dont_our/ | {
"a_id": [
"dcm9sen"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"\"The flu\" is just a very broad term for the actual Flu Virus. There are many strains of it and it is very very good At evolving and changing itself. We have flu shots which are essentially a flu vaccine for whatever flu strains they think are going to be the biggest danger that flu season. As time goes on the virus changes and we see different flu vaccines. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
dbt3sd | what causes chest aches, pains, and tightness when i'm emotional? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dbt3sd/eli5_what_causes_chest_aches_pains_and_tightness/ | {
"a_id": [
"f241i6d",
"f2435ff"
],
"score": [
2,
5
],
"text": [
"When you’re emotional, your body can sometimes reacts physically. \n\nYour brain normally reacts to stressors (imagine seeing a bear in the woods), and tells your body “We gotta go!!” Your brain then sends signals all over your body. First, it causes your heart to pump harder and faster so that it can supply blood to run from the bear. Second, it prepares your muscles to actually run. It does many other things in times of stress but these are the main two regarding your symptoms!\n\nThis is how a body reacts to typical stressors! Sometimes, your brain is really bad at deciding what a “true stressor” is. So when you get emotional, your brain may think you’re in distress. It then sends those signals to your heart and muscles! When your heart is pumping harder and faster and your muscles are tensing up, that’s what’s causing your physical symptoms. \n\nThat being said, I suffer from this too! It can be terribly annoying and frustrating. If it starts to become an issue, I’d recommend talking to someone about it! Doctors have plenty of medications - some of which are generally very safe and non-habit forming (like beta blockers) to help with this :)",
"Your heart has a big cluster of nerves around it so that if you're ever very scared, your brain can wake your heart up and tell it to beat faster! Most of the time in the animal world, being scared means you're about to get some exercise. You need good blood circulation to outrun whatever is chasing you.\nBeing very confused or sad is, chemically, a lot like being scared; It pokes the same part of your brain. Because of this, your brain will keep waking up your heart over and over when it isn't supposed to. Humans don't have predators to run from, so all those wake up calls and chemicals can build up and end up causing a lot of pain.\nThe best way to handle that feeling is to go for a jog or do some pushups. It's hard to deal with long term stress and sadness, but you can at least take each chemical reaction as it comes!"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1jzre1 | why is arnold palmer tea/lemonade cheaper than water? | I can go down to a local supermarket and buy a gallon of Arnold Palmer for 79 cents. I can go to any gas station and buy a giant can of the stuff for about a dollar. Why is this cheaper than water and bottled water? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1jzre1/eli5_why_is_arnold_palmer_tealemonade_cheaper/ | {
"a_id": [
"cbjvt3k",
"cbjvt80"
],
"score": [
6,
4
],
"text": [
"because people are suckers and will pay $$$ for bottled water",
"Goods like this are priced based on what people are willing to pay, not what they cost to produce.\n\nThe real question is, \"Why are people paying so much for water?\""
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
5l6fzm | what are bugs, in a game? | What are bugs in a game, and what makes them happen. If a specific event is happening according to the codes, and then a bug appears, what goes wrong? Is it the game itself that decides to not follow the codes or is it the code that is poorly written? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5l6fzm/eli5what_are_bugs_in_a_game/ | {
"a_id": [
"dbt9u33",
"dbtaqti",
"dbtetha",
"dbtfyvo"
],
"score": [
3,
12,
33,
2
],
"text": [
"A bug is a certain piece of error in software, that causes certain things to occur when the program is run. They're not errors that affect compilation, so are only discovered when the specific code they're associated with is executed, and a flaw is discovered.\n\n_____\n\nSay that the \"W\" key is supposed to move the player's character forwards by 1 tile. _Instead_, it moves them forward 1 tile, and then _another_ tile. This issue does not break the software. If it is not discovered during coding, it will be once the player tries to move forwards.",
"The code might always do the same thing but the information being fed into the code can change and be imperfect. For instance, if I have a function that adds two numbers and returns the results it will work perfectly if I give it 5 and 2 (returns 7) or 1 and 1 (returns 2). But what if I give it a string like 'cat' and 1? Different programming languages would evaluate that differently but overall the function would not return what is expected and a bug is born. \n\nSmall oversights like that are the reason many companies have a QA departments and where this joke comes from: \n\n > [QA Engineer walks into a bar. Orders a beer. Orders 0 beers. Orders 999999999 beers. Orders a lizard. Orders -1 beers. Orders a sfdeljknesv.](_URL_0_)\n\nAlso, developers might strive for clean code but it's more of a goal rather than the reality. In the real world you are working within deadlines and things are missed. \n \nI recycled this comment [from this earlier discussion.](_URL_1_) ",
"You tell Timmy (your computer):\n\n > \"Run to the store and buy a gallon of milk, and if there are eggs, buy a dozen.\"\n\nTimmy runs (literally) all the way to the store, buys a gallon of milk, checks to see if there are any eggs, and because there are eggs there he buys 12 more gallons of milk. He then runs home (again, literally) and drops several because he can't hold them all.\n\nThis is, of course, not what you wanted. The problem is that computers need to be told *exactly* what to do, for everything. It's not easy to control how the computer will interpret your commands and sometimes it acts in unexpected ways (buying 12 gallons of milk instead of a carton of eggs). \n\nSo when you're playing a video game a bug will occur because the computer did something unexpected. You tell the developers and the programmers will go find where the program went wrong and will write (or remove) code to ensure the computer will better know what to do in the future.",
"They usually happen because a situation arises the developers didn't anticipate.\n\nFor example, let's say you are support to slay the dragon, talk to the princess, who tells you the dragon's heart can be used to make a potion to save the dying king.\n\nBut the developer who made the map accidentally leaves an opening so that if you time it just right, you can sneak by the dragon and get to the princess. Since that's not supposed to be possible, the princess is programmed to give you the same post dragon speech, and the program marks the quests as complete. Since it is complete, the dragon no longer spawns, so you can't kill him to get the heart, so you can't advanced the plot. You are stuck, hope you have a recent save.\n\nAll because some developer didn't like how a rock looked and moved it a few pixels to the side. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"https://twitter.com/sempf/status/514473420277694465",
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5l648q/eli5_if_code_is_deterministic_why_do_bugs_appear/"
],
[],
[]
]
|
|
3e6xla | why is it that i've lost weight by the time i have awaken in the morming, yet i haven't gone to the washroom? where did all of the weight go? | I weighed myself before bed and was 170lbs and in the morning just when I got up I was 165. I did this before a trip to the washroom. So where exactly did a whole 4-5 lbs go while I was sleeping. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3e6xla/eli5_why_is_it_that_ive_lost_weight_by_the_time_i/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctc1faw",
"ctc2l41",
"ctc3vql",
"ctc85dk",
"ctc9643",
"ctccbhj"
],
"score": [
104,
3,
39,
4,
21,
2
],
"text": [
"Magic! No, not really.\n\nThe short answer: Into the air.\n\nOkay, you know you inhale in oxygen which is O2 right? And exhale carbon dioxide which is CO2. Ever wonder where that carbon atoms comes from? Done.",
"Thanks for the responses. I literally weighed myself an hour before bed and was 170.6 and this morning I was 165.2 (I have a digital scale). Can I actually lose over 5 lbs in one 7-hour sleep? That's what's more baffling to me. I knew you breathe it out somehow, but I didn't think to that extent. ",
"It's surprising, but most of the mass that leaves your body doesn't leave via the intestines, but via the lungs. When you burn fat during exercise, the fat molecules break down, and most of the carbon atoms are released into the air as CO2.\n\nEdit: Here's a great [YouTube video](_URL_0_) on the subject.",
"Everyone saying that the weight loss is due to breathing out CO2 are correct. However, you're not losing 5 pounds overnight with this method.\n\nThere are two possibilities. One, you got up in the night and took a long piss. Another possibility, the more likely one, is that your scale is not accurate.",
"Lets cut to the heart of the matter. You didn't actually lose 5 pounds overnight.\n\nYour body is like a bucket filled with various items such as muscle, fat, semi-digested food, and water, lots and lots of water.\n\nThe amount of water in your body can vary dramatically: especially when thought of as weight. A liter of water, a largish soda, weighs over two pounds, and your overall body hydration levels can vary a lot more than that.\n\nIf, just before bed, you drink a big glass of water, as you sleep your body is going to absorb and then begin excreting that water through sweat, or through your breathing. When you wake up who knows how much you secreted during the night.\n\nThe key is: it doesn't matter. Take a piss, drink another glass of water, poop, whatever, and your weight is going to be all wonked out compared to what it was before you went to bed. Over the course of day's or weeks, this is all going to average out and your weight will be in the same range it was before.\n\nThe only thing in this bucket that actually matters, from a weight loss perspective, is the fat (or muscle but try not to lose that). Short of cutting off a leg the only way for there to be less you than there was when you went to bed is for fat to be burned overnight. I figure you might burn 500 callories max while you sleep and that is about a 1/7th of a pound of weight. This assumes you were not also digesting food while you slept to feed this energy need.\n\nSo, aside from varying water weight that doesn't really matter, you are not losing weight in your sleep.",
" > Search before submitting with keywords from your topic. The search box is in the upper right corner of the subreddit.\n\n[This question has been asked *at least* eight times in the last year](_URL_0_). "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ialLlcdcw"
],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/search?q=morning+weight&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=year"
]
]
|
|
2hr2dl | is there anyway you could beat cancer without any kind of treatment? if so how does it work? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2hr2dl/eli5_is_there_anyway_you_could_beat_cancer/ | {
"a_id": [
"ckv8din",
"ckv8kg0",
"ckv8r5f",
"ckv8u0m",
"ckv9053",
"ckvatej"
],
"score": [
3,
5,
17,
3,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"Not really. Cancer is a group of abnormal cells that your body has already failed to take care of. ",
"The only known way is a vaccine called Gardasil or Silgard, which is a vaccine against HPV. HPV is known to cause certain cancers, primarily cervical, but also penis, anus, oropharynx, etc. It does this by living inside the cell and growing when the cell grows. However, the virus sometimes messes up and makes its host cell abnormal, so all the cells that come from the host cell is abnormal too. All these abnormal cells become cancer. \n\nThe vaccine prevents HPV from living inside the cell, so it essentially prevents cancer before it can happen.",
"For the most part, people who don't have cancer are people who are beating it successfully. We all have cells that are cancerous and we're constantly beating them back. What we mean when we say a person \"has cancer\" is to say that they've not been able to beat it. So...to answer your question, probably not. There are certainly cases of people surviving cancer without treatment, or surviving after the cessation of treatment. There are also tons, and tons, and tons of people who die and are found to have cancer, but the cancer was not the thing that killed them!\n\nedit:spellsings",
"The sort of cure you are looking for would probably be possible to make only when we develop the technology for mass gene therapy, which we are a long way away from.\n\nAs to a cure without any treatment, your body produces pre-cancerous cells all the time that are taken care of by your immune system. Part of the definition of cancer is that it is uncontrolled.",
"Almost certainly not.\n\nIf someone tell you otherwise, they're probably trying to sell you something.",
"spontaneous remission, it's one of those lightning-strike rare things. medical science hasn't figured it out quite yet, but noticeable hormonal changes seem to be involved. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
1pf2li | how does the endocrine system work? | I have a big biology test coming up tomorrow and I just need someone to help me understand how the endocrine system works. My book has a way of making everything look more complicated then necessary. So please: explain like I'm five. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pf2li/eli5_how_does_the_endocrine_system_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd1nhcb"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"I feel I should put this out here before you get an answer.\n\nIf you're from the UK, certainly, you'll be doing college level (A2) biology to be doing the endocrine system in any detail, so an ELI5 just won't cut it for your test.\n\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
3byau2 | what is the difference between a mod and an admin and why are there problems between them? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3byau2/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_a_mod_and_an/ | {
"a_id": [
"csqo0e4"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"An admin is someone employed by Reddit. They show up red when they respond to threads. Mods moderate individual subreddits and are not employed by Reddit. They show up green in subreddits they moderate.\n\nYou can read about the problems on pretty much any thread, but the main reason is that admins aren't very available to mods, even of large subreddits. The admin that was fired was one of few that regularly spoke with and assisted mods, and losing her meant it would be even harder to talk to admins should the mods need anything from them. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
2abi7h | why is imgur the 'default' image hosting for reddit? | OK maybe I'm a bit out of the loop or something, but all the top voted posts on reddit are generally imgur image links. How did imgur come to be the most popular, and why is it if an image is hosted on some other site it is frowned upon? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2abi7h/eli5_why_is_imgur_the_default_image_hosting_for/ | {
"a_id": [
"citdeb3",
"citdfz2",
"citfmwz",
"citfzwu",
"citgb36"
],
"score": [
47,
14,
2,
11,
2
],
"text": [
"Imgur was designed by Alan Schaaf in 2009 as a gift to reddit users who complained about other image hosting sites being rubbish. The reason its still used very often amongst reddit users is that its most likely what users are most familiar with, and to be fair its easy to use and \"doesn't suck\"\n\nmore [here.](_URL_0_) ",
"I don't think it's generally frowned upon to host your pics somewhere else, but Reddit and Imgur are a couple now. Reddit has a few exes that Reddit doesn't want to talk about, [because Reddit's been burned before and for long was a victim of abuse in a similar relationship.](_URL_0_)\n\nImgur was originally set up as an image hosting site *for* Reddit, but somehow it has started to develop its own personality.",
"Because every other site sucks.",
"Well I've never made it beyond the loading page of iminus. So the fact imgur doesn't take fucking forever to load is great. ",
"What other simple and easy to use image sharing site is out there?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imgur"
],
[
"http://www.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/1gvnk4/quickmeme_is_banned_redditwide_more_inside/"
],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
a1uazp | when a foreign policy official cites, "vital us interests" is he or she referring to an actual list? what are they and who decided? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a1uazp/eli5_when_a_foreign_policy_official_cites_vital/ | {
"a_id": [
"easrmwv",
"easrv7z",
"eatbth8"
],
"score": [
2,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"'Vital US Interests' or 'Vital National Interests' or any number of variation on these are just catch all terms used by everyone. It means its important for some reason but they're not going to talk about specifics. Its a meant to be nebulous term as to not give away any information, while being able to justify what they are doing.",
"No, not really... it's more a broad guideline of what the government should be doing for its citizens... like economic prosperity, national security and then some slightly more specific areas within those like trade, energy security, military, fighting terrorism ",
"There's not a \"vital_us_interests_Ehtiopa.docx\" stored in a file per se but yes the policies are enumerated in a variety of policy and strategic documents. Like when the Arab Spring was happening and that effected Bahrain one vital interest was a naval base that the US used and no matter who was in charge of Bahrain the US needed to stay involved for the sake of that base. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
817c0o | why do public schools (and many offices) exclusively use internet explorer? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/817c0o/eli5_why_do_public_schools_and_many_offices/ | {
"a_id": [
"dv0znek",
"dv0zr6q",
"dv139cv",
"dv17d6u"
],
"score": [
32,
2,
4,
3
],
"text": [
"Certain settings in Internet Explorer can be controlled through a Windows Domain environment with something called Group Policy. For instance, you can use Group Policy to enforce the Homepage of IE, whereas Chrome and Firefox would require running extra code on every device to keep the home page set to what you want.\n\nAdditionally, Chrome and Firefox may allow people to allow extensions to them even if they aren't a system administrator. Depending on the scope of these addons, it just becomes more to manage.",
"Internet Explorer is bundled with the operating system and updating the OS is going to keep it up to date as well. The reason it is exclusively supported is that supporting more applications is more effort, and IE has historically had weird quirks and non-standard features which some applications take advantage of (and presented security risks). What this meant is that an application designed for IE may not work in other browsers and the IT department doesn't want to bother testing or designing to universal standards.",
"Additionally, Many business use SharePoint for their intranet and some SharePoint features don’t play well with Chrome of Firefox. ",
"It's easier to choose or develop in-house web applications if you don't have to worry about them working in many different browsers.\n\nIt's easier to troubleshoot problems if everybody is using the same browser. You don't have to deal with problems where something works in one browser but not in others.\n\nBrowsers (and their plugins and extensions) are notorious for security problems. If you want to avoid viruses, worms, hacks, etc that exploit security problems, you have to update your software regularly. It is easier to keep one browser up to date than it is to keep several browsers up to date.\n\nIn tech support, an easier thing to do is almost always cheaper, all else being equal.\n\nInternet Explorer comes with Windows. You don't have to make your users or tech support people do anything extra to get it. Users do not like to be told that they have to do things where it's not immediately obvious how that helps them.\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
ccmh9s | why does bird feces sparkle? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ccmh9s/eli5_why_does_bird_feces_sparkle/ | {
"a_id": [
"etnvjzh"
],
"score": [
11
],
"text": [
"Bird poop sparkle because of the bones they eat from bugs. There’s this chemical in bugs called, “Chintin” which makes it hard for the birdies’ to digest"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
1pa1hr | i cut my finger while drunk the other night and noticed i barely felt it, what is going on in the brain that dulls the pain? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1pa1hr/eli5_i_cut_my_finger_while_drunk_the_other_night/ | {
"a_id": [
"cd0ahpn"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Alcohol is a depressant. Its essentially just like any painkiller. It slows and dulls the reaction of your nerves. It doesnt do all the work in the brain, although that is part of it."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
1m48px | why won't a socialist form of government work for the united states? (and if it would, why would it?) | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1m48px/eli5_why_wont_a_socialist_form_of_government_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"cc5mdqp"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The culture in the US is not like the culture in Europe. This includes what it means to be successful and what it means to be happy. In America you are successful if you make a lot of money, enough to provide your family with a house, a car, college education for your kids (the American Dream). In Europe these things tend to be provided in part by the state or generally unnecessary (most people in Europe rent rather than own, it's the expected norm), so whether you have them or not is not considered an adequate measure of success. Instead it's more about non-monetary achievements like job prestige or self-actualisation.\n\nIn America, being happy is being free to make your own choices in life. In Europe being happy is more about being well looked-after (universal healthcare being a great example of this) and being part of a community.\n\nAmerica as a whole focuses on working hard for high rewards and failing if you don't do so. Europeans do less work hours per week, have more vacation time per year, and earn less income per capita than America. It's a cultural difference.\n\nIf a Social-Democratic government was implemented in the US (I'll assume you're not talking about actual socialism here; that's a whole different basket of eggs) then there would be a massive outcry by the people, because it would be too harsh a change to something too deeply engrained into US culture. It would be like banning guns outright - you'd probably get an uprising."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
l88rj | google's search algorithm | I know it might be a trade-secret or something, but essentially what makes Google's search so much better? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/l88rj/eli5_googles_search_algorithm/ | {
"a_id": [
"c2qkf1p",
"c2qkfsz",
"c2qlw5j",
"c2qkf1p",
"c2qkfsz",
"c2qlw5j"
],
"score": [
2,
5,
3,
2,
5,
3
],
"text": [
"Like your 5?\n\nThey have bigger computers.",
"A lot is trade secret, but there's 4 things you should read:\n\n1. [Their SEO Guide](_URL_2_)\n2. Their PDF guide - google- > Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide \n3. [The Map-Reduce Paper](_URL_0_)\n3. [The GFS Paper](_URL_1_)\n\nThese papers are very well written to be easy to follow, despite being academic and technical. They describe the system rather than just being written with big words to make it seem awesome.\n\n\n",
"So before Google was around, search engines were not really search engines, but more like indexers. They would look up the word in their huge database, and bring you the results in no particular order.\n\nSergey and Larry realized that some pages were more important than others. And a good way of figuring out how \"good\" a page was to see how many other pages linked to it. Sort of like, if you hear a rumor from someone and want to learn who started this rumor, you would ask that person who they heard it from, and keep asking until you reach the source. \n\nSo they figured out a way to chart the web as a graph, with nodes being the websites, and edges being one way (sometimes two) where a node points to another one if it's linking to that. \n\nThis way they were able to find nodes that matched your query, and also had most other nodes pointing at it. This usually meant this page is important, cause a lot of people are linking to it (that's why Wikipedia usually comes up first, everyone points to that).\n\nOf course, if you just leave a system like this, it stops no one from creating fake pages that link to their own page, just to give it more score on Google's pagerank system. There are a lot of methods Google employs to make sure pages like that are caught, which are sorta outside this question's range. \n\nMy sources: Probability and Computing Class back in school.",
"Like your 5?\n\nThey have bigger computers.",
"A lot is trade secret, but there's 4 things you should read:\n\n1. [Their SEO Guide](_URL_2_)\n2. Their PDF guide - google- > Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide \n3. [The Map-Reduce Paper](_URL_0_)\n3. [The GFS Paper](_URL_1_)\n\nThese papers are very well written to be easy to follow, despite being academic and technical. They describe the system rather than just being written with big words to make it seem awesome.\n\n\n",
"So before Google was around, search engines were not really search engines, but more like indexers. They would look up the word in their huge database, and bring you the results in no particular order.\n\nSergey and Larry realized that some pages were more important than others. And a good way of figuring out how \"good\" a page was to see how many other pages linked to it. Sort of like, if you hear a rumor from someone and want to learn who started this rumor, you would ask that person who they heard it from, and keep asking until you reach the source. \n\nSo they figured out a way to chart the web as a graph, with nodes being the websites, and edges being one way (sometimes two) where a node points to another one if it's linking to that. \n\nThis way they were able to find nodes that matched your query, and also had most other nodes pointing at it. This usually meant this page is important, cause a lot of people are linking to it (that's why Wikipedia usually comes up first, everyone points to that).\n\nOf course, if you just leave a system like this, it stops no one from creating fake pages that link to their own page, just to give it more score on Google's pagerank system. There are a lot of methods Google employs to make sure pages like that are caught, which are sorta outside this question's range. \n\nMy sources: Probability and Computing Class back in school."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"http://labs.google.com/papers/mapreduce.html",
"http://labs.google.com/papers/gfs.html",
"http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=70897"
],
[],
[],
[
"http://labs.google.com/papers/mapreduce.html",
"http://labs.google.com/papers/gfs.html",
"http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=70897"
],
[]
]
|
|
v8s20 | how do fountain drinks work? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/v8s20/how_do_fountain_drinks_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"c52bso0",
"c52e7wf"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Soda pop is a combination of syrup flavouring and carbonated water. Fountain drink dispensers have a tank underneath which uses Carbon Dioxide gas, water and pressure to make carbonated water. The syrups (flavour of pops) comes in 10 litre BIBs (bags in boxes) tubing connects the bag of syrup and the carbonated water and when you press on the flavour of soda you want carbonated water and that specific syrup is mixed as it is dispensed to give you pop. There is a different syrup BIB that the store has to buy for each flavour of pop. The BIBs are bought straight from the distributer (i.e. Coca-Cola, Pepsi...)",
"Inside the machine there is carbonated water and soda flavor syrup, when you push the lever the machine mixes the water with whatever syrup you have selected and pours it into your cup. \n\nThis is why sometimes you can get soda that tastes really watery, because the machine is low on syrup. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
4ck513 | why do our eyes sometimes fixate on a certain spot? | Occasionally, my eyes just get stuck on a certain spot, and it happens randomly. I don't see anything noteworthy at that spot and it takes some time to get rid of that feeling. I don't blink in the meantime, they just fixate and don't move, no matter what. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ck513/eli5_why_do_our_eyes_sometimes_fixate_on_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"d1izwiy",
"d1j1pfh"
],
"score": [
3,
2
],
"text": [
"The same thing happens to me- I always just associated it with zoning out, and so it might have something to do with our brains trying to solve something subconsciously, or something like that.",
"The same thing happens when I am at end of a train of thought and suddenly realize that I am fixated at one point and can't focus or unfocus from that."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
anokpf | how does iso, shutterspeed and if you shoot raw/large jpeg/etc affect your photos? | My mind doesn't wanna grasp the answers I've been trying to research and watch videos but I still cannot get it. | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/anokpf/eli5_how_does_iso_shutterspeed_and_if_you_shoot/ | {
"a_id": [
"efux28h"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"I'm not a photographer but I do understand these concepts enough to explain them to a 5 year old :)\n\nISO is the sensitivity of the light sensor. Lower number means it is less sensitive, higher is more sensitive. This also affects the quality of the image. \n\nShutterspeed is the speed at which the shutter (barrier between the outside world and the light sensor) opens and closes for a photo. \n\nYou didn't mention it, but the aperture is the weird shaped thingy around the camera lense. This acts in the same way as your pupil. If it's wider it lets more light in and vise versa. \n\nRAW is a file format, it is the highest quality you can (and should) take photos with if you need to edit them afterwards. It basically contains every bit of information about the image that the camera has. This is very needed for photo editing as you can edit the exposure settings in a program like Adobe Lightroom.\nJPG is a lossy image file, basically just an image - nothing special. The kind of photo your phone takes. You can edit it but it is not as detailed as RAW. \n\nOkay so not combining ISO, shutterspeed and aperture let's you take clear, well lit photos in most light conditions. There is always a trade off though. \nTo make a scene lighter, you can decrease shutterspeed - this means you'll need a tripod so that you do not make the image blurry. You could widen the aperture - this also means you'll need a lower shutterspeed and you need an expensive camera to get really wide or small apertures. Or you can increase the ISO - this will make the image grainier the higher it is. \n\nNow, a combination of those camera settings is how you take clear images regardless of your surroundings and is very dependant on the specifics of your scene. \n\nI hope this helps :) Typed quicky on a mobile so it's not formatted or perfectly written. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
3siql2 | why is *french bashing* a thing in the uk, whereas it basically doesn't exist in other countries like spain or italy? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3siql2/eli5eli5_why_is_french_bashing_a_thing_in_the_uk/ | {
"a_id": [
"cwxk6kz",
"cwxk8ea",
"cwxk8iu",
"cwxkdum",
"cwxwblb"
],
"score": [
2,
5,
16,
4,
2
],
"text": [
"We've been taking it in turns to beat each other in wars for about 1000 years. It's traditional and actually based in grudging respect.",
"Answers so far are that Britain (/England) and France have traditionally been enemies - the Hundred Years War, the Napoleonic War, the Norman invasion of 1066.\n\nI don't really buy that answer. For one thing, you can't distinguish between Norman and Saxon (and other Britons) any more. We've had a thousand years of inbreeding, and loads of migration. The Hundred Years War was essentially between the Normans and the French.\n\nFrench bashing doesn't consist of \"French people are evil\" stuff, it's more \"France is incompetent\". You know, \"cheese eating surrender monkeys\". There's no hatred, just mockery.\n\nIn both world wars, Britain and France were allied. France ending up getting occupied because they didn't have to foresight to put a sea between them and Germany. Britain had to bail them out. Combined with Napoleon's ultimate defeat, and it seems like a bit of a pattern; never mind centuries of French military victories, they lost the only three anyone remembers.\n\nItaly was opposed to the Allies in both World Wars, at least initially, so it doesn't hold France's incompetence against it. Spain was officially neutral, but generally pro-Germany in both wars, particularly WWII.",
"Probably because we are neighbours. And because of British humour. We bash *all* our neighbours, equally - it isn't just the French.\n\nThe English bash the Scots and the Welsh. The Scots and the Welsh bash the English.\n\nWithin England, Londoners bash everyone else. People from Manchester and people from Liverpool go at each other hammer and tongs. Those cities are 30 miles apart.\n\nHeck, in the countryside, neighbouring villages tell jokes about each other. \n\nThere is a lot of actual ill-feeling towards the French by actually prejudiced people. But most of it is just pure and simple friendly banter, which we do to people we actually quite like.",
"I don't really see \"French-bashing\" as a thing. I know it used to be at one point, but in my experience we don't treat the French any worse than any of the rest of our neighbours. As a rule, English people tend to non-seriously view anyone near to them with joking disdain: Jason Manford put it very well in a Live At The Apollo skit [here](_URL_0_).\n\nNo-one remembers Agincourt, or any of the other notable French-UK battles, they're just given as excuses (along with the whole WW2 \"White Flag\" thing), it's really just how we react to our neighbours. We don't actually hate any of them. Sure, they all hate *us*, but that's completely different.",
"As someone who lived years in Spain, I can say \"French Bashing\" is very common in Spain. Can't speak for Italy."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/Q_iHYDMNh-0?t=8m6s"
],
[]
]
|
||
1l01e7 | why gases are transparent, while solids and liquids, at least when thick enough, are opaque? | Or would pure O2 be opaque if you had a large enough layer of it?
EDIT: For the sake of argument, lets have the gas be O2. Light won't travel through water more than 1000 m (at least ocean water).
Is oxygen completely transparent in visible light, or is it like water, opaque if the layer is thick enough. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1l01e7/eli5_why_gases_are_transparent_while_solids_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"cbudy8l"
],
"score": [
6
],
"text": [
"Every element or molecule that exists reflects light differently, so your question is very, very broad. Every substance changes its properties when transitioning from a solid-liquid-gas, as well.\n\nWe can generalize a bit though. In a gaseous state, most matter is at least partially transparent. Some do have color, but in either case, the reason you can so easily see through them is because its compnents are dispersed. Take a solid lead wall. You can't see throgh it, but if you broke it up into a million pieces, and then scattered those peieces around, you would be able to see just fine through the spaces between the pieces, right? The same thing applies to gas, but you are talking pieces of an atomic size, so you can usually see through them, and not even be able to see the pieces anymore."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
2y6r2a | if you masturbate a lot (20 times in 2 days) what happens to your body? limp penis? | What are the effects and will they go away? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2y6r2a/eli5_if_you_masturbate_a_lot_20_times_in_2_days/ | {
"a_id": [
"cp6s3op"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"You will probably bruise it. It will start to hurt, your balls will get swollen from the constant \"vibrations\"."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
3tdjkn | how can individual us states deny syrian immigrants after obama made the decision to allow them? and what happens if every state denies them residence? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3tdjkn/eli5_how_can_individual_us_states_deny_syrian/ | {
"a_id": [
"cx58y6w"
],
"score": [
8
],
"text": [
"Legally they cannot deny entry. What they can do is deny them State jobs, and State aid. They would still be able to get normal jobs and federal aid. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
r985u | does "air" have a weight? | I don't really know how to word this but I'll try my best.
The oxygen we breathe, does it have a specific weight? Would it even be effected by gravity at all since it doesn't have a specific surface area?
I know this is a really dumb question but then again so am I... > . > | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/r985u/eli5_does_air_have_a_weight/ | {
"a_id": [
"c43xqzt",
"c43xrd3",
"c43xwxe",
"c43yisx"
],
"score": [
13,
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Absolutely - there would be no reason for air to stick around on planet Earth were it unaffected by gravity.\n\nAnything that has mass is affected by gravity, and all atoms have mass. The periodic table of the elements tells us the mass of each kind of atom in relation to carbon-12 (a kind of atom).\n\nAnd remember, air is made up of many more things than oxygen. It's mostly nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide, and a few other ones in very small quantities.",
"Everything has a weight, but that's only because we're measuring it on earth.\n\nThis ''stuff'' has mass, and hydrogen atom 'weighs' 1.00794 u. (This would be the weight of an Hydrogen Atom because an Hydrogen Atom has 1 proton and a electron, ignoring any other forms of it e.g ions.)\n\nBecause you're asking for oxygen, which is number 8 on the periodic table, it has 8 protons and electrons. Do 8 times 1.00794 u ~~because Oxygen is a diatomic molecule (it pretty much always comes in pairs of 2, hence O2)~~ and add the mass of the neutrons and we get 15.9994 u. U is the unit for measuring atomic masses and one u is equivalent to 1.66053886 × 10-27 kilograms\n",
"It may seem like it's not affected by gravity because it's just there, not actively moving towards the ground. It's just sitting on top of all the other air, so it's the same as us sitting on a couch.",
"if i recall correctly, going 33ft under water is the pressure equivalent of adding another atmosphere on top of you. so yes, air has weight."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
3vfzgu | why do dogs hump human beings even though they know they are not dogs? why do other mammals not hump the way dogs hump? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3vfzgu/eli5_why_do_dogs_hump_human_beings_even_though/ | {
"a_id": [
"cxn6a1z"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Humping is a show of dominance in the dog world. Don't let your dog hump you, you hump him. It'll learn really quickly who is in charge. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
az0ro7 | how was robot chicken allowed to parody all of the things that they did without getting sued for some sort of copyright infringement? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/az0ro7/eli5_how_was_robot_chicken_allowed_to_parody_all/ | {
"a_id": [
"ei4jx32",
"ei4k0rn"
],
"score": [
13,
3
],
"text": [
"Because parody is considered [protected under the First Amendment.](_URL_0_) It is exempted from copyright infringement by its very nature.",
"Copyrights and trademarks don't bar any and all mention or representation of an IP. \"Fair use\" is a legal doctrine which is a defense to an infringement claim. Parody is typically fair use. There's a few factors in the law to determine whether something is fair use or not, such as whether the new work is \"transformative,\" or makes it into something different, whether the primary use is commercial or other, whether it provides any commentary, whether it would be likely to cause brand dilution or compete for the same market, and so on. It's a totality of the circumstances analysis, so you don't have to hit every point on the list. \n\nBecause nobody is going to forego seeing a movie or TV show in favor of just seeing the Robot Chicken version instead, and because the Robot Chicken version is transformative, it is very likely fair use.\n\nPlus, I think they do get licenses for a lot of stuff."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/why-is-parody-protected-under-the-first-amendment-34481"
],
[]
]
|
||
9r4opl | why does it feel like a car is moving faster when you're in the passenger seat? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9r4opl/eli5_why_does_it_feel_like_a_car_is_moving_faster/ | {
"a_id": [
"e8e6abl"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"The car doesn't feel faster, *per se*, but you as a passenger feel less safe because you're not the one driving the car."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
176z46 | u.s. tax returns? | In the U.S., why do we pay taxes only to get some of that money back in tax returns? And how can people owe taxes? I've always been confused about this "magic money" they send me... | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/176z46/eli5_us_tax_returns/ | {
"a_id": [
"c82rr7p",
"c82rrz3",
"c82z3in"
],
"score": [
7,
6,
2
],
"text": [
"When you get a tax refund, the government has determined that you had too much income tax witheld from your paychecks during the year. Essentially, you've accidentally loaned the government money (for free) and they are returning it to you.\n\nWhen you owe taxes, the government has determined that you had too little income tax withehld from your paychecks during the year. Essentially, you haven't payed your share of the costs to run the government and they need an additional payment to settle you up.\n\nGenerally, the goal is to get close to owing/getting nothing when you file your income taxes, but most folks take the stance that it's better to get ~100-500 in refunds than to owe that much (which sucks).",
"It isn't 'magic'\n\nYou've been paying taxes all year. Your employer takes it out of your paycheck.\n\nBut with all the deductions and credits you may qualify for, you've probably been overpaying taxes. Your 1040EZ just tells the IRS how much to send back to you and they keep the rest.",
"While we're on this subject, can someone tell me how to file a tax return? I'm about to do my first one ever"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
2mymfo | if powder cocaine and crack cocaine are essentially the same thing, why is there so much more of a stigma attached to crack? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2mymfo/eli5_if_powder_cocaine_and_crack_cocaine_are/ | {
"a_id": [
"cm8rbmg",
"cm8riq0",
"cm8uu43",
"cm8wdnt",
"cm8wsni",
"cm8x8i5",
"cm8xov6",
"cm8xym6",
"cm8yhu7",
"cm8z10i",
"cm8z1js",
"cm91psk",
"cm92c74",
"cm93pqh",
"cm9bkkx"
],
"score": [
21,
42,
93,
16,
7,
9,
3,
2,
8,
4,
22,
3,
4,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"Because crack cocaine is mostly used by blacks and other minorities while regular cocaine is mostly used by whites. Cocaine is seen by many as something for the rich, for celebrities, something a famous musician snorts off the bare asscheek of a willing groupie while crack is seen by many as a drug for lowlifes only.",
"Same drug. \n\nWhen you snort cocaine hcl into your nostrils, only a portion of what you snort gets into your blood stream. The high is not as euphoric as other methods of administration, but it lasts longer. \n\nWhen you smoke cocaine base, most of what you take into your lungs immediately goes to your blood and brain. The euphoria is intense but the high doesn't last very long.\n\nAnd then there's the needle. When you inject cocaine hcl into your vein, all of the cocaine gets in your blood and you get a super intense rush of euphoria. High doesn't last that long.\n\nEventually users find that\n",
"Crack is a lot cheaper, which is the biggest factor. Its associated with crime because poor people who get really into crack end up stealing or resorting to crime . Cocaine is so expensive that most people who begin to habitually use it are already well off.\n\nAnd then theres the fact that crack is breathed in, so its very intense. People high on crack will behave more strangely because of this intense high, whereas a person on cocaine can basically function fairly normally. \n\nFinally due to the intensity of the high people who use crack for a night will suffer from a more intense crash. They can exhibit intense paranoia and psychosis, which coke can cause too but it usually requires extremely prolonged highs to get to the level that a crack binge might cause, an entire day or two.",
"Average costs of cocaine usage is quite high relative to crack. You can take cocaine and process it into crack and resell it for profit. \n\n\nWhen you've only got 20 bucks, your options for drugs are basically shitty weed, cigarettes, and alcohol. \n\n\nThen along comes crack. \n\n\nFinally - a drug that makes you think that everyone wants your dick, but you can't seem to find it. \n\n\n",
"The difference between crack and coke is this. No one uses crack casually. ",
"Cocaine is predominantly used by rich people, crack is predominantly used by poor people. The group that is targeted by police is the one that is easily prosecuted and sent to jail without much legal resistance. People in jail means more money for police and more money for jails, so it's obviously in their best interest to go for quantity of inmates rather than actually making things safer. Rich people are able to peacefully use in private and avoid being caught because they know they aren't being targeted. \"Crackheads\" are back and forth between jail and the streets, and with a felony conviction, they have little chance to turn their life around. So you have these poor, no-hope people that are addicted to a drug with no way to pay for it.",
"My college organic chemistry teacher did a great lecture on exactly this.\n\nBecause cocaine is typically in a highly stable form bonded with a chloride salt, it does not vaporize (smoke, burn) well. Smoking is a most effective way of having something enter your blood stream. Therefor the cocaine hydrochloride is reacted with a weak base to free the amine group up, making it a more combustible product. \n\nAlso the way your body metabolizes the cocaine HCl is different from freebased crack cocaine, something about cocaine HCl is broken down by the liver more readily or something.\n\nA more qualified chemist can definitely elaborate on this.",
"it is a class divide. He affluent use cocaine. The poor use crack. You could argue that it is racially motivated, too, but I think it is more of a class issue. The poor get punished more harshly. _URL_0_\n\nLook up the supreme court case where they agree that sentencing for crack is 100x more harsh in sentencing. To correct this they drop that to 18x more harsh lol. too funny",
"Socioeconomic status.\n\nCocaine HCl (powder) has been associated with much higher socioeconomic status because it's expensive, and expensive because it's more potent and pure. Crack is cut and diluted (typically with a solvent), giving it more volume. For example, 1g of powder could make 5 or 10g of crack\n\nThis is a bit tangential, but I saw other mention route of administration, or how you put it in your body. How you put it in largely determines bioavailability, or how high you 'feel' compared to what you put in because your body begins to metabolize it instantly. For example, morphine taken orally has about 30% bioavailabilty, so if you take 30mg you 'feel' about a 10mg high and takes a while to set in. As a general rule of thumb, smoking/snorting is about 80-90% bioavailability, and shooting it IV is 100% and hits you instantly. Also, route of administration affects your body differently. Smoking crack has very damaging and obvious effects on the face and mouth, making it easier to directly see the damage its doing and look like a crackhead \n\nTL;DR crack is cheap and thus more prevelant among people with low socioeconomic status\n\nEDIT: More to your point and at the risk of oversimplification, many of these stigmas and associated laws were created in the 80's when affluent white people did cocaine and poor minorities did crack",
"Powder cocaine is expensive, so it is associated with rich people. Crack-cocaine is cheap, so it is associated with poor people. The stereotype of a cokehead is a high rolling stockbroker snorting lines off the butts of $1,000 escort models at a rich-people orgy. The stereotype of a crackhead is malnourished homeless person living in a cardboard box in a ghetto or skid row area.",
"Short of it? Black People and Reagan.\nLong of it?\n\nCocaine can be turned into Crack by (basically) cooking cocaine with water, flour, and detergent. (Once again, basically. I cannot stress this enough, this is NOT actually how Crack is made.)\n\nIn the eighty's Cocaine became real big in the drug trade. It had actually been big in the seventies and sixties, it really blew up in the mid 70's, though, and by the 80's it was in full use. However its price point stopped it from being in common use with the general public. In the early 80's the process by which cocaine was turned into crack cocaine was developed and because it was so easy and cheap to produce and dealers could get much more use out of turning cocaine into crack, the price point of crack compared to cocaine was drastically lower. With such a low price point, crack became widely disseminated through the lower income neighborhoods. Coincidentally, thanks to years of racially motivated housing codes, city ordinances, and years or racist hiring practices, most low income neighborhoods in big cities were filled with black people. Most majority black neighborhoods in big cities were low income ( Compton(L.A), Brooklyn(NYC), D.C., Liberty City(Miami), Overtown(Miami), Southside Chicago, South Dallas, 3rd Ward(Houson), 5th Ward(New Orleans)). SO when crack hit the low income neighborhoods, it spread like wildfire. Parents would get addicted and give up their rent and food checks for crack. (Hence the first and fifteenth of every month being known as payday for dealers). With the increase of drugs, came the increase of crime that accompanies it. \n\nIn the 80's also came Reagan and his \"War on Drugs\" in which, all the way down to a local level, incentivized police departments to crack down on drug crimes. At the federal level, Reagan and Congress passed legislation that set levels of criminalization for different types of drugs. It was at this point that crack was placed on a five to one criminal offense versus cocaine. Which means if you and your friend are carrying a gram of crack and cocaine each and he has the crack, and you two get pulled over and searched, he's going to jail for 25 years versus your five.\n\nCommon belief among the African American community is that Reagan, A. introduced Crack to the lower income neighborhoods to subvert the Black Panther movement, and B. Criminalized Crack more than Cocaine because black people were more likely to be caught with or use crack due to the low price point. \n\nBut yeah, that's why Crack is seen as worse than cocaine.. in a nutshell.\n",
"In 1986, a college basketball star named Len Bias died from an overdose of powdered cocaine. Possibly because Bias was black, some self-appointed drug experts--who actually had very little experience in the field--testified to Congress that he was killed by crack, and further that crack was way, WAYYYYY worse than regular coke in terms of effects and addiction potential. This was all part of a larger panic about a \"sudden epidemic of crack,\" which in fact, was neither sudden nor really an epidemic. But Time Magazine called it an epidemic, and that was good enough for the anti-drug crowd. So Congress passed a law containing a \"100:1\" clause for crack making the penalties for crack 100 times stiffer than those of powder.\n\nIn reality, the only major difference between the two was that only well-off (mainly white) people could afford powdered coke, while poor (mainly minority) people could afford crack. Putting more poor and minority people in jail for longer times was considered a win-win (for, um everybody but the poor and minorities), so the disparity stuck, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that there was really no difference.\n\n\n\n\n",
"Me: What did you learn in school today.\n\nKid: I learned the letter \"T\"!! Like in toes!\n\nMe: That's awesome!\n\nKid: What did you learn today?\n\nMe: *thinking: don't say you learned about crack, don't say you learned about crack*\n\nKid: Well?\n\nMe: I learned about crack...ers. cheese-it crackers! :D",
"A lot of it is socioeconomic association, too. Cocaine is more expensive and considered a white or rich person's drug. Crack is cheaper and considered a black or poor person's drug, thus being more associated with crime and poverty than cocaine. Also more likely to be policed since it's generally in poor communities or crime ridden areas. ",
"Because crack is wack.\n\nIts actually mostly because crack is used by poorer (read minority) people, and powder cocaine is used by richer, white people. White people in government don't want to arrest their white friends, so just make the cheaper drug associated with minorities have a higher punishment.\nvoila"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/21/supreme-court-crack-sentencing_n_1615723.html"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
e59jvh | breathing in air is how the lungs expand, but what make the lungs expand on their own? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/e59jvh/eli5_breathing_in_air_is_how_the_lungs_expand_but/ | {
"a_id": [
"f9iih2d",
"f9iijou",
"f9iitiu",
"f9iwmht",
"f9kbegr"
],
"score": [
13,
2,
3,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"You have a muscle called the diaphragm, which is basically a large sheet of muscle tissue under your lungs. \n\nWhen you breathe in, that muscle goes down, decreasing the pressure in your lungs. Atmospheric pressure then pushes the air into your lungs. \n\nWhen you breathe out, the diaphragm relaxes and presses on the lungs, forcing the air out.",
"there are muscles in between your ribs that are connected to both your ribs and lungs that pull your lungs outward by contracting. there's a bigger muscle under your lungs called your diaphragm that does most of the work. them pulling your lungs down and out cause your lungs to have lower pressure than the outside air which pulls in the air you breathe. everything relaxing causes there to be high pressure on the inside of your lungs and the air to go back out",
"There's a muscle right at the bottom of your rib that separates the bottom half of your torso from the top. When it contracts, it pulls down, making the lungs expand. Look up images of the diaphragm! [Wikilink](_URL_0_)\n\nFrom a physics point of view, the diaphragm muscle causes the chest cavity (the upper part of your torso) to expand. When you breathe in deeply, there are muscles between your ribs that help too. This expansion causes a pressure drop and, like drawing water into one of those syringe water gun things, expanding volume creates suction which draws liquid/gas in through any hole available. This pulls air in through the mouth.\n\nThe lungs are stuck to the inside of the chest wall with a thin layer of lubricant.\n\nTL:DR: The muscles of the diaphragm and intercostals (Stomach plate and rib movers) open the lungs",
"No, breathing in air is the CONSEQUENCE of the lungs expanding. The lungs expand mainly by the diaphragm muscle pulling down on them.",
"When you initiate a breathing cycle, the diaphragm ( a sheet of muscle near the bottom of your chest) contracts or rather pulls downwards, increasing the volume of your chest cavity. Additionally, your ribcage expands in volume. \n\nNow, the lungs, like balloons, expand to fill the increase in volume generated by the earlier changes. As a result, the residual air inside the lungs has to occupy a larger volume. Because of this, air pressure becomes lower inside the lungs than in the environment. To attain equilibrium of pressure, air from outside rushes into the lungs, equalizing everything.\n\nThe breathing in of air is a consequence of lung expansion and not the other way around"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoracic_diaphragm"
],
[],
[]
]
|
||
ngjud | how an animated audio and video is synced up | How do animated movies make it look like the character is actually speaking? this may be easy to answer but i've always wondered
EDIT: ANIMATED MOVIE... GOSH I AM DUMB | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ngjud/eli5_how_an_animated_audio_and_video_is_synced_up/ | {
"a_id": [
"c38x25w",
"c38x25w"
],
"score": [
21,
21
],
"text": [
"First, the actors record the audio\nThen, the animators make what's called a [dope sheet](_URL_0_) to figure out how many frames it will take for the words to be spoken.\nAnimate and fine-tune your animation until perfect!",
"First, the actors record the audio\nThen, the animators make what's called a [dope sheet](_URL_0_) to figure out how many frames it will take for the words to be spoken.\nAnimate and fine-tune your animation until perfect!"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.desktopacademy.com/images/06_SoundtrackBreakdown_DopeSheet.jpg"
],
[
"http://www.desktopacademy.com/images/06_SoundtrackBreakdown_DopeSheet.jpg"
]
]
|
|
62ughp | how is the carbonation in sparkling water stored, and why does it come out when agitated? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/62ughp/eli5_how_is_the_carbonation_in_sparkling_water/ | {
"a_id": [
"dfp87u8"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Carbonated \"sparkling\" water is bottled in a high-pressure facility. The high pressure of the air allows for more gas molecules to become dissolved in the water. When the bottle leaves the facility, it retains the pressure, and the carbon dioxide remains dissolved.\n\nWhen you open the can or bottle, the pressure is relieved and the water can no longer contain so much dissolved carbon dioxide. It collects on any imperfections in the can or bottle, which is why you get the little streams of bubbles floating to the top instead of a big explosion of air. Unless you shake it. By agitating the water, you allow for the carbon dioxide to come out of dissolution faster than usual, which further agitates the water, and you get the idea.\n\nBy the way, this is why the Coke-and-Mentos thing works. The Mentos has tons of \"imperfections\" (nucleation points) and the rapid release of carbon dioxide from the Coke causes the liquid to become more agitated."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
b7h0y6 | what happens when you stretch your back or neck that causes dizziness or pain in your head ? | Is this bad for you, should i stop? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b7h0y6/eli5_what_happens_when_you_stretch_your_back_or/ | {
"a_id": [
"ejrnr05"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Could be a blood pressure issue? Or Lehmets (sic) Sign which is a commonly reported symptom of MS.\n\nIt could be arterial or an issue with your nervous system.\n\nDoes this happen with only stretching? Or do your bones crack when you stretch?\n\nI usually crack my neck or back because I tend to have the false believe that it will *relieve* my headaches. It’s a horrible impulse.\n\nIt might be worth looking into the kind of head pain you experience when you do these things."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
b0flz4 | why do muscles like your biceps and triceps hurt after a workout, but your heart doesnt get sore after a workout like a hard run? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/b0flz4/eli5why_do_muscles_like_your_biceps_and_triceps/ | {
"a_id": [
"eie9yzi"
],
"score": [
12
],
"text": [
"They’re made of different muscles. Cardiac muscle is unique in that it is continuously in use and does not need rest. Other muscle - the kind you use when you work out gets “tired”, and literally torn up after use which causes it to grow. This, along with the release of various acids, endorphins and other things after you work out causes tiredness and soreness. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
9ywfxp | how do phone companies make their old phones run slower, intentionally, when a new phone gets released? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9ywfxp/eli5_how_do_phone_companies_make_their_old_phones/ | {
"a_id": [
"ea4knea"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"They stop updating it for one.\n\nI'm pretty sure they also install malware to make it run even slower. Either that or it's the shady porn sites I keep visiting"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
9yng12 | how do animated film drawings/readings stay relatively uniformed considering there are 1000s of artists with different drawing skills and traits? | Renderings*
Each artist has their quirks, traits, and ability level. How do animated features stay consistent in design throughout the movie when there are 100s or 1000s of artist drawing/rendering a single movie? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9yng12/eli5_how_do_animated_film_drawingsreadings_stay/ | {
"a_id": [
"ea2q81s"
],
"score": [
5
],
"text": [
"Being able to draw \"on model\" is a required skill for hand animators. This means being able to replicate the way that character is drawn within some very, very precise restrictions. Drawing the character's head 2% to big, or drawing the angle of their smile 3 degrees wider than it should be, would be considered off-model.\n\nThat said, most animation these days - even hand-drawn stuff - is computer aided, meaning that artistic quirks and traits are kept to a minimum."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
1mtlv6 | how did we end up finding osama bin laden and why did it take ten years to do it? | Seems like the longer it went, the harder it would've been to find him. Seemed like the good news came out of nowhere. How'd it happen? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mtlv6/how_did_we_end_up_finding_osama_bin_laden_and_why/ | {
"a_id": [
"ccci1di",
"cccisbh"
],
"score": [
13,
2
],
"text": [
"It's actually the exact opposite. These people build there lives ready to go into hiding at a moments notice, so it's hard at first to find them. \n\nBut the longer they hide, the harder it gets. Eventually someone makes a call, gets sick, forgets to shut off a phone or close a curtain. They get tired and sloppy, trusted agents have to be replaced. You get the idea. \n\nSo if you look wide enough and long enough you catch one of these screw ups and you follow that home. ",
"There are a lot of geopolitical nuances as to why it took so long to find him, but the big ones primarily involve offending the governments that could have helped us. Okay so bear in mind that Osama Bin Laden had a reputation for helping kick out the Soviets and was something of a controversial figure in the Middle East moreso than an outright villain the way he was viewed in the west (when we weren't using him to fight proxy wars for us) and so far less people were cooperative than might have otherwise been. A huge factor in effective international manhunts is securing the aid of the countries in which the target is purportedly hiding, but the United States had been violating the sovereignty of nation states in that area of the world left and right since the mid 80's (giving weapons to Saddam Hussein, deposing elected leaders in Iran and other places, bombing Lybia, etc.); and, as such, these places were ostensibly uncooperative. So basically the US had to work much harder to track him being as though American spooks might be arrested if discovered in some places on top of the logistical issues with searching a foreign country for a man with so many supporters. Eventually we supposedly tracked down his courier and followed him to Bin Laden's compound. Also, the news came out of nowhere because it would be unbelievably incompetent to basically announce to Bin Laden how close they are to finding him."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
|
3jf5bv | what's the difference between micellar water and regular tap water? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3jf5bv/eli5whats_the_difference_between_micellar_water/ | {
"a_id": [
"cuopf23",
"cuopfy8",
"cuopp2n"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"Micellar water contains the following ingredients: Water (Aqua), Hexylene Glycol,Glycerin, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) FlowerExtract, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Sodium AscorbylPhosphate, Peg-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, DmdmHydantoin, Cetrimonium Chloride, TetrasodiumEdta, Citric Acid, Potassium Chloride, SodiumChloride, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate.\n\nIt's an assortment of cleansers meant to wash your face.",
"It's another example of modern \"Snake Oil\", Like all previous Snake Oils, it will have its followers who can quote pseudoscience to \"justify\" their belief. \n\nIt is one of those things that people will laugh at in a few years, while they embrace their current version",
"Since I never heard of micellar water before, I googled it. The explanations given by websites promoting it say that is water filled with small balls of fatty substances that allow the mixture to clean skin well. These small balls of fats are called micelles. Because of how they arrange themselves, they are able to stick to other substances and wipe them off of the skin. \n\nThis sounds pretty much identical to the mechanism through which soap is used to clean oneself. Based on that, I don't see any reason why micellar water, as a product, would have any advantages over soap and water. \n\nIf you just want to know the difference between micellar water and tap water, it's that micellar water contains soapy stuff inside of it. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
vqx0j | the first past the post voting system and why it always devolves into bipartisanship. | Extra points if you can *actually* explain it to a five-year old. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/vqx0j/eli5_the_first_past_the_post_voting_system_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"c56twe0",
"c576b0m"
],
"score": [
4,
3
],
"text": [
"Let me leave this here:\n\n_URL_0_",
"Let's see if I can manage to condense this into a kid-friendly analogy without missing anything important.\n\nSay you're in class with all your friends, and the teacher gives you an option as to which type of movie you want to watch: a Disney movie, a Nick movie, an animated movie, a musical, or an educational movie. You can only pick one movie - each person only has one vote.\n\nYou know that almost everyone in your class likes either Disney movies or animated movies, but you really love educational movies. Still, since you're the only one who wants to learn about whales, you know that you won't get to watch the type of movie you want to watch. Instead, you decide to pick either a Disney movie or a cartoon.\n\nNext week, your teacher is letting you pick movies again! Best teacher ever. But since no one voted for watching something educational, she doesn't even give that as an option. So you can pick Disney, cartoons, musicals, or something from Nick. Your best friend LOVES SpongeBob, but she's the only one who wants to watch that. Even if you and she both voted for Nick, it still wouldn't win. So you both agree to vote for a cartoon, because at least you won't be watching Bambi AGAIN.\n\nNext week, the same thing, only Nick isn't a choice anymore either. You want to see a musical, but since you want your choice to matter, you pick Disney, because Dumbo is alright, you guess.\n\nAll of a sudden your teacher is only letting you pick between two movies, because that's the only two things anyone will vote for. If you only get one vote, voting for something unpopular is really hard, because not only will you stick out (that nerdy kid wants to watch Bill Nye?!), but you'll have put in your vote and still not gotten what you wanted, so you have to settle for voting for what you SORT OF want.\n\nDoes that make sense?"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo&list=PL87DB3F7E8107A4AE&index=3&feature=plcp"
],
[]
]
|
|
3oyrqe | why does it take so long to change the resolution on my monitor? | I mean, when I change the resolution in the OS settings or set a game to fullscreen, it takes like a second or two. Is the process so complicated? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3oyrqe/eli5_why_does_it_take_so_long_to_change_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"cw1nb38"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Many of the things involved with displaying graphics are cached (stored) in memory somewhere to make drawing new things on the screen much faster. When you change your resolution, your computer basically wipes out most of that cache and rebuilds it for the new resolution, and that can take a little bit of time.\n\nAnother part of it comes from tabbing between a full screen program like a game and windows. Most of the delay is still cache related and needing to reload display information, but it can also be a limited RAM issue. The display from the one not being displayed can easily be stored in the page file (memory stored on disk) when it's not open, which can lead to you waiting for that information to be loaded from your hard drive. The full screen issue can happen even if the resolutions are the same."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
4j1pd6 | why is there such poor oversight over the fbi? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4j1pd6/eli5_why_is_there_such_poor_oversight_over_the_fbi/ | {
"a_id": [
"d32wuz0"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"What evidence do you have that they are crossing constitutional lines all the time?\n\nAdditionally what evidence do you have that they are never penalized? If someone broke a law while conducting classified work, the results of that penalty would not be publicly known. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
1m9nu9 | are all websites hackable, and why (not)? | Is there any website that is 100% secure and cannot be hacked into? Or are all websites subject to holes in their security that can be exploited? Why or why not? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1m9nu9/eli5are_all_websites_hackable_and_why_not/ | {
"a_id": [
"cc72wtx",
"cc72zv6",
"cc731tz",
"cc73n1z"
],
"score": [
2,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"All websites are theoretically hackable, secured or not, the only way to guarantee a site cannot be hacked is to make a front page to the site which required high level authentication to get past and then have meat of the site located on a secured server not even associated with the original host site. If there is a public access page anywhere on the server it can be hacked.",
"The easiest way to put this is that if you are connected to the Internet, you are almost guaranteed to be hackable. Even if the only real way to get hacked is somebody stealing administration credentials, it is still possible. \n\nTL;DR - Public access = \"hackable\"",
"If you need to provide access to users through the internet then it's possible someone could use that access without authority.\n\nThat's why places like nuclear power plants and government facilities will often completely remove some of their critical components from the internet altogether. In those cases the only way to \"hack\" them would be to get past the dozens of armed guards to get to a computer on the inside of the building.",
"The only secure system is one that is locked in a vault with no network and nobody has a login. Not terribly useful. Everything else is a compromise between security and usability."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
88coll | how do video games know when a bullet hits the opponent? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/88coll/eli5_how_do_video_games_know_when_a_bullet_hits/ | {
"a_id": [
"dwjkqd3",
"dwjl071",
"dwjp2vl"
],
"score": [
3,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Depends on the game. I believe games such a battlefield actually send a bullet projectile and just record the position of contact on the player.\n\nI might be talking shit but that's my best guess.",
"That's dependent on the game as well as the gun in question.\n\nIn COD for example, all guns are hitscan. There is no bullet drop, no travel time. If your crosshair is on an enemy and you hit fire, the server registers that as a hit.\n\nFor games like Battlefield, many guns (particularly snipers) have their bullets treated as projectiles. So firing your gun creates a physical entity in game that travels at a set trajectory/speed that, if it collides with an enemy player model, is registered as a hit.",
"Former game developer here,\n\nThis has to do with physics and collision detection.\n\nAround each player's avatar is an invisible \"bounding volume\", typically a box. This is a very simplified model of the actual avatar, as far as the bullet physics is concerned. It's cheaper to see if you shot a 12 polygon box than a 150,000 polygon model. Right? When something tries to occupy the same space this volume occupies, or your avatar tries to walk through a wall or something, some simple math checks for contact or overlap using this volume.\n\nHaving a big box around your whole avatar simplifies work. It's cheap to see if a bullet hits a big-ass box, and if it did, then we can use tiers of smaller bounding volumes that surround the head, torso, arms, etc, to see if the bullet actually hit the model or just barely missed between his legs, for example. There's a hierarchy of boxes and smaller sub-boxes, until they're small enough and close fitting enough that the result is \"good enough\", and you've hit the guy.\n\nNow, how the bullet actually does this is another story. The simplest bullet physics is ray casting - you draw a straight line unto infinity (this is all mathy stuff, and is actually simple and cheap to compute), and you find the first polygon along that path from the origin it comes into contact with. The game will filter and sort out all the collision volumes in proximity to the ray, sort them in order of distance from the origin, and then start doing ray-volume collision calculations. A hit means you go down the hierarchy to see if it's a hit or miss, and if it's a miss, you keep on going down your list, until you run out.\n\nThen there's bullet-drop physics, and this isn't a straight line, but a mathematical curve. Everything else is the same.\n\nThen there's bullet travel physics, where you account for time. The origin of your line or curve is the end of the last time frame, and then you cast a line (lines have a start and end point) across the scene as long as the distance that bullet can travel at that speed for as long as the next time slice. Calculus gets involved because bullets speed up in the direction of gravity, slow down due to wind resistance, have a terminal velocity, etc. You can get as complicated as you want, as a game developer. So all that gets computed and affects how long that line is going to be. Then you do all the same filtering, sorting, and testing.\n\nWhen it comes to shotguns, which have a spread, you can cast a cone or really any arbitrary volume and do much the same thing. I've never wrote code like this, so I'm not sure how you'd screen out the meat shield you just blasted so the guy standing behind him doesn't get hit, but the guy behind and off to the side does. I would speculate you'd project a volume using the hit target as a template, and exclude any models that fall in that path. But not all shot is bird shot, if you're firing buck shot, you've got 4-8 balls, you might cast lines for those. But the idea of using a volume instead of a line is useful to discuss. For example, if you have a wide-ass laser beam, then you're seeing if two boxes are colliding with one another by seeing if their volumes overlap. If you had an explosion, you just use a sphere that maybe expands over time, and see if the sphere occupies the same volume as a target.\n\nAs for inflicting damage, that's up to the game code. Simplistically, a hit means damage points or death or whatever it means in the context of the game. Since you know which bounding volume was hit in that hierarchy, you know what part of the body was hit, so you can tie specific behavior to that.\n\n > when a sniper shoots long range and eventually connects with the target, how does the game differentiate that from an up close shot vs a long range shot?\n\nWell, you're drawing a line, and you keep track of where you started and how far you've come. For games that differentiate, you implement some game logic that scales or tiers damage relative to distance.\n\nSo basically, there are many things in a video game that exist within that 3D space that aren't visible, they aren't rendered, and they have interaction mechanics with all the other entities you don't need to or get to see. In the data in memory, they are going to have position and volume, and other relevant data, and they end up in queues of data that need to be computed with every frame of gameplay. Filter, sort, test for condition, and execute the relevant code on the relevant objects, change their game state. 30-60x a second. The more you can simplify it, the more you can cheat, the more cycles you can spare to do more or more elaborate physics, game mechanics, or rendering."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
689h85 | how does body dysmorphia work? | I mean, i have a vaguely idea of what it is, but i don't really understand how it works, how it affects someone, or how can someone develop it, help? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/689h85/eli5_how_does_body_dysmorphia_work/ | {
"a_id": [
"dgwwcuf",
"dgx0kf8",
"dgxh8gw"
],
"score": [
7,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"Ok, the super simple answer- body dysmorphia is when you see a different version of your body than what is real. This can happen when a person puts a lot of stress and anxiety into how they look. For example, models' livelihoods depend on keeping a very specific body type. This can cause some to focus on only the negatives, until the negatives are all they see. They genuinely think they are hideous or completely unacceptable because of a single thing that may be minor/non-existent to the rest of us. Bodybuilders can get this too, because they focus so much on their size that they can start thinking that their not big enough, and when they look in the mirror that's all they see- a person who isn't big enough.",
"I have some body dysmorphia. For me, it's not that I don't see that I'm skinny, I just see the very small amount of fat that I have and I hate myself for it. Some days I can see myself the way I am, and I think I look good. Some days I look at myself and I see more fat than there really is and it's very hard to look past that. \n\nI'm currently 177 cm and 64 kg, within the healthy range, and I'm happy with that. I know that I probably will never be happy with my body, because I think that my thighs are too big, I have a muffin top, and so on, but I'm trying to be okay with myself. So far it's working pretty well. ",
"I think there is a correlation between body dysmorphia and eating disorders. There are countless reason why someone would have an eating disorder. The disease becomes so encompassing that they, for lack of a better term, \"see straight\"."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
3cjt2c | if i access the internet on my own phone through the companies wi-fi, can they see what i've been browsing and does this create any legal worries? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3cjt2c/eli5if_i_access_the_internet_on_my_own_phone/ | {
"a_id": [
"csw61c3",
"csw66po",
"csw8owk"
],
"score": [
11,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Yes they can see everything that goes through. \n\nIf you're using SSL they'll only have the websites visited, not logins or anything like that.\n\nI personally don't trust any public hotspot or access point. If I need to do anything remotely sensitive (that requires a login) I route through my home VPN or use 4G/LTE.\n\nLegally it depends on your contract, company policy and place of residence. I can't speculate on that.",
"Yes, if they have configured it. They may not be able to see certain things, depending on how you browse. Using SSL or a VPN can mask content. If your session is unencrypted, pretty much everything sent or received is available and visible to them: the site, the page, images etc.",
"If you are using the company's Internet connection, regardless of whether it's on a company computer or your personal phone/laptop, it's likely they'll be monitoring everything you do."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
4ga7sa | what's the difference between coding and programming ? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ga7sa/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_coding_and/ | {
"a_id": [
"d2ft2us"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Ultimately, nothing.\n\nThough, you'll get some people who'll define coding as the act of actually writing code, and programming being the overall process including design/architecture/etc."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
2yp8mc | what are the advantages/disavantages of using google's/opendns dns instead of my isp? | Sorry if this has been asked before - I searched for a while but couldn't find anything this specific. Basically, what I'd like to know is what are the advantages and disavantages of changing my DNS to Google or OpenDNS instead of using the one that my ISP provides.
So far, I only know of one advantage: I can avoid the block on TPB that was installed by ISPs earlier this month on my country. But I know there are other ways to avoid this block too, so I'd like to know if there are any disavantages to changing my DNS. Thanks. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2yp8mc/eli5_what_are_the_advantagesdisavantages_of_using/ | {
"a_id": [
"cpbq7tp"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Using a DNS server is like asking someone for directions to a website. You give it a common name like \"_URL_0_\" and it looks up an address for you: [206.190.36.45](_URL_1_) that your computer can get a website from.\n\nDNS servers talk to each other and should generally all provide the same service but the DNS server can tell you whatever it likes, so maybe your ISP decides it doesn't want you going somewhere and suddenly when you ask for \"_URL_2_\" it says \"could not find host\" instead of saying 104.28.5.42\n\nThat's not necessarily a huge issue if it is only 1 site and you have other ways of finding it, but eventually you might realize that you don't know the IP address of anything off the top of your head and if your ISP wanted they could prevent you from reaching the entire internet just by denying DNS services. So really it isn't a practical issue, it is a trust issue. People generally trust google more than they trust their ISP, so they switch to google DNS servers because they know those servers will keep doing their job with minimal shenanigans."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"yahoo.com",
"http://206.190.36.45/",
"thepiratebay.se"
]
]
|
|
907309 | why do power lines go over mountains rather than following roads? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/907309/eli5_why_do_power_lines_go_over_mountains_rather/ | {
"a_id": [
"e2o6qlw"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Pushing through more line increases transmission losses, which means the generating stations must work that much harder to provide power.\n\nSince the roads that climb over mountains tend to be winding, you'd be *significantly* longer if you followed them. A few feet in your house is pretty inconsequential, but saving a hundred miles going straight over a mountain is massive.\n\nThere's also a lot less actual infrastructure to maintain if you pick the shortest path, even if the initial construction is more complicated."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
8alp62 | how does soft plaque form in arteries? | [deleted] | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8alp62/eli5_how_does_soft_plaque_form_in_arteries/ | {
"a_id": [
"dwzmz20"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"The disease is called atherosclerosis.\n\nWhat happens is when you have a lot of lipids (fats), this will build up on the walls of your blood vessels. Other factors like blood glucose level, hormones and other effects trigger your white blood cells to stick to the fats and accumulate, forming soft plaque.\n\nThe next step happens when the white blood cells die “attacking” the fatty region. They release the insides of the cell, which contains calcium. This calcium slowly builds up over the fatty region and becomes crystallized. Cholesterol is trapped together with calcium, forming hard plaque.\n\nAt this point, the plaque grows and shrinks the lumen (opening) of the blood vessel. This causes high blood pressure to maintain the same rate of blood flow. At the same time, the rough and uneven nature of the plaque causes blood clotting. If the plaque breaks, there is a huge release of trapped platelets which causes blood clots all over your body and possible stroke / heart Attack.\n\nThe main treatment for atherosclerosis is prevention or slowing the growth of these plaques. There are no proven ways to cure the plaque, but you can perform bypass surgery to skip past the region or stents/balloons to expand the blocked region."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
6r1sz2 | why is it that we don't tend to recall the things surrounding our tv or screens when we watched them? | For instance, when we are watching a cartoon on our tv or phone, we look back on it, but only tend to remember the scenes themselves? Why is it we don't remember the things surrounding the screen like our hand holding the phone? Or the frame and stuff around a tv? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6r1sz2/eli5_why_is_it_that_we_dont_tend_to_recall_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"dl1pbon"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"The human brain has evolved to only pay attention to changes in nearby environment and ignore anything that doesn't change. This is from our ancestors' need to look out for food/prey, danger, rivals, etc. We ignore stuff that doesn't move because it doesn't pose a threat to us, and our brains don't care about anything like that. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
279rr5 | why do dogs walk at an angle when walking "straight"? | I have had 6 dogs in my lifetime and notice they all share a similar trait of walking at a 10 degree'ish angle when walking forward and it has always looked funny to me. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/279rr5/eli5why_do_dogs_walk_at_an_angle_when_walking/ | {
"a_id": [
"chyqgib",
"chyqwzm",
"chywvz9"
],
"score": [
12,
3,
2
],
"text": [
"Because if they walk in a straight way, their back and front paws hit each other when they are walking but if they walk at an angle they don't.",
"The real question here is, why do they poop north?",
"Your dogs aren't properly balanced. Their front and rear angulation is not the same. Dogs who move at an angle typically have a rear that is more angulated than the front end. As a result, their rear end swings off to the side to avoid having the back feet hit the front feet. \n\n[Here's a site on dog gait analysis](_URL_1_). Definitely not ELI5 material, but I wanted to site a source. \n\nAlso, a [video on dog movement](_URL_0_). Very visual and user friendly. \n\nAnd a discussion on [structure and balance](_URL_2_). More like ELI5thGrader. \n\nBalance is really important in a working dog (hunting, herding, search and rescue, narcotics work, and dog sports). When a dog isn't balanced and the rear is more angulated than the front, the rear end is more powerful. A more powerful rear end means that every time the dog jumps and runs, the front is taking a beating. The longer the joints get pounded on, the more likely they are to break down with arthritis and injuries over time. For the average family dog? Not a giant deal. But if you were going to run long distances with your dog, I'd suggest talking to your vet about your dog's structure and movement to discuss preventing injuries or strains. \n\nThink of it as the difference between front wheel drive (front is more powerful), rear wheel drive (rear is more powerful), or 4WD or AWD. You want the balance that 4WD/AWD offer when thinking about dogs. :-) "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nESyr_-M6po",
"http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/chapter_91/91mast.htm",
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPBmW7nB0Qg"
]
]
|
|
3e0w9j | why do people giggle when they're tired? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3e0w9j/eli5_why_do_people_giggle_when_theyre_tired/ | {
"a_id": [
"ctaifsx",
"ctaj99w"
],
"score": [
11,
7
],
"text": [
"people giggle when they're tired?",
"An Eli5 was like this before, Essentially you have less control over your emotions the more sleep deprived you are."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
2mw7ce | how do sommeliers detect other flavors like pineapple, mango, lime etc. in wine? isn't it just supposed to be fermented grape juice? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2mw7ce/eli5_how_do_sommeliers_detect_other_flavors_like/ | {
"a_id": [
"cm84eti",
"cm84wt7"
],
"score": [
3,
6
],
"text": [
"You might be quite surprised at how dramatically the yeast and the fermentation conditions can affect the flavor of grape juice, not to mention the enormous variability in grapes.",
"You're correct; there's nothing in a bottle of wine but some grape juice that we've let get stinky. But the actual chemicals that made up the grape are where the changes come in.\n\nJust like how every human is born unique and different than every other, each grape vine (except for the ones we clone) is going to be a little different. Which means that the grapes that it creates are going to have a very slightly different makeup. Maybe a few extra sugars, maybe a protein that isn't present in other strains, maybe just a higher-than-normal amount of sulfur. \n\nThen we consider what we do to the grape. The soil it's growing in, the temperature and humidity; the type and amount of yeast we use to ferment it, the length of time it's fermented, the type of wood used in the barrels and the amount which we char the inside of the barrel. Each of these things changes the chemical makeup of the grape juice in some way, altering some chemicals, adding or removing others, in differing quantities.\n\nSo how does that make the wine taste like pineapple, or mushroom, or anything else? Well, everything is made up of a bunch of chemicals, and we share a lot of the ones that relate to taste, smell, or texture of the wine. When any of those sensations *remind* us of another thing, we can describe the wine like that. Ever eat a walnut, and felt how dry your mouth gets? A \"nutty\" wine will have that sort of savory taste and dryness. Imagine biting into a blueberry; how it starts out sweet and juicy, but the aftertaste is tart. Some wines do that as well, despite having no blueberries. Mushrooms smell like rich soil; so do certain wines. \n\nFun fact, this also works really well with gourmet coffees.\n\nTL;DR It's all grape juice, but not all grape juice is exactly the same as other grape juice."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
3rwqrb | why do we dream about school (e.g., missing a final exam) for the rest of our lives? why isn't it ever about anything fun? do other cultures dream about something similar? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3rwqrb/eli5_why_do_we_dream_about_school_eg_missing_a/ | {
"a_id": [
"cws1dp2",
"cws6tna",
"cws744e",
"cwsevmh"
],
"score": [
6,
12,
5,
2
],
"text": [
"Sounds like something specific to yourself. Almost all of my dreams are fun, exploratory adventure-type things. Also, mine don't contain much talking, if any. I think everyone has *very, very* different dreams specific to their own personalities.",
"There are hundreds of theories but a very popular one (and one that makes the most sense to me) is that dreams consist primarily of two factors. The part that is \"real\", some actual experience you have seen or been told of that you are visualizing and experiencing. This is why even in your 30's you'll dream about taking a test, you experienced it before or have been told about it before. You could dream about something you've never experienced before like flying on a dragon(although this general happens less often) because you've seen movies with dragons. \nThe second part is more fun and more directly answers your question. This is the \"mood\" of your dream, and in theory the mood of your dream is the average mood of your day, affected more by the mood leading up to your sleep. If you spent the day stressing about your bills, you'll have a \"stressful\" dream(such as taking a final). If you find yourself constantly having dreams with the same mood, it's probably because of the way you interpret things during the day. If you are more likely to be stressed out by things than others, you will probably have a stressful dream. People who suffer from depression and anxiety tend to have really awful nightmares, because they spend their day interpreting things negatively. There isn't much I can offer to fix this other than try to be happier during the day? Less caffeine might help as well. \nTl;dr If you are stressed during the day, you'll have a \"stressful\" dream.",
"I get those types of dreams often! Like once or twice month. My most common one is that it gets to be the end of the semester and I suddenly realize that there was a class I signed up for that I never attended, I just completely forgot about it. And panic sets in. I hate that dream.\n\nThe other school-related one is much more rare, but it involves something happening where I didn't legitimately 'pass' some elementary school year, and it made my high school, bachelor's, and master's degrees invalid. So I end up having to go back to second grade for a year to pass it. That one is just bizarre.",
"A couple of things. \n\nYou are likely getting a biased notion about # of fun dreams vs. # of anxious dreams, because an anxious dream is more likely to wake you up.\n\nSome dreams seem to be planning or preparation for possible problem situations - to pre-program yourself for handling the situation. If you are worried about something, you may be more likely to dream about how to solve that - and possibly to remember that you dreamed it. \n\nYou may have well dreamed this missing class scenario when younger - enough that it has been learned - as something to be worried about. Then it can come up in response to other worries."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
1qzu4x | how does water "reset" bed hair? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qzu4x/eli5_how_does_water_reset_bed_hair/ | {
"a_id": [
"cdib2sx",
"cdibyhd",
"cdidz73",
"cdikufu"
],
"score": [
5,
10,
47,
2
],
"text": [
"I was seriously going to post this after work tonight. Good call! Curious to see the answers.",
"I'd like to know also. My hair is shorter as a guy and depending on how I sleep it can be sticking out at odd angles. If I simply wet the spot and try and push it down, it doesn't really work. If I full on shower my hair behaves.",
"Barber here. Your hair has certain a bonds that give it the shape that it holds, there are strong bonds that give it it's curly or straight nature. Water and heat will break down the weaker bonds that will reform when cooled/dried. Stronger bonds are broken and reformed chemically with permanent waving (perms) or chemical straightner. So warm water is the best way to fix bed head. ",
"Engineer here on girlfriend's account: There are also issues with electricity, putting a polarized molecule in your hair will help neutralize the strands' charges with cause them to repel each other ... which is caused when you rub your head on your sleeping apparatus when you sleep."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
az0oat | what is a software? how does it tell the computer what to do? computers and other electronics are just a bunch of circuits. how do we communicate with the? how was the first program written? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/az0oat/eli5_what_is_a_software_how_does_it_tell_the/ | {
"a_id": [
"ei4lhc7",
"ei4lley"
],
"score": [
2,
2
],
"text": [
"That's a lot of questions you got there. Let's start slow...\n\nAll software is, is basically just a set of instructions to a computer to do something. The list of instructions is usually really, really long and complex, but computers are very good at doing lots of little things in order really, really fast, so to the computer, this long list isn't complex at all. This list of instructions is written by a programmer who generally has a number of tools at his/her disposal that make it much easier to write these instructions. Instead of having to write each instruction out one by one, the programmer can use a \"high level programming language\" to describe what they want the computer to do in more abstract terms and the list of instructions is generated for them by something called a \"compiler.\"\n\nIn the old days (like say mid-1970s and before), there were no compilers. The list of instructions was just painstakingly generated by a programmer who had to create this list using punch cards (actual paper cards with holes punched out to represent each instruction). A [woman named Grace Hopper](_URL_0_) was credited as the first person to ever record the term \"computer bug\" when she literally found a bug stuck inside the computer causing it to malfunction.\n\nIn terms of how the software talks to the hardware, this is something that depends on the kind of computer. But in general, the operating system (like Windows or Linux, or Mac OS) is the lowest level of software that communicates with the hardware. The OS serves many purposes, but one of them is providing the application developer with a set of capabilities (tools and services) they can use to get things done on the computer. Things like how to display stuff on the screen, how to read the keyboard, how to store and retrieve files, etc...\n\nThis topic is extremely broad and complex in some spots so if you can narrow it down to some more specific questions, that would help. ",
"Any software development language translates back to ones and zeroes (true and false), this \"language\" is called binary and has such a format that it can be interpreted by your hardware.\n\nI.e. the letter a is translated as 01100001\n\nHow the hardware interprets these ones and zeroes can become quite the read :)\n\nBut if you have some time...\n\n_URL_0_\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"https://thenextweb.com/shareables/2013/09/18/the-very-first-computer-bug/"
],
[
"https://www.quora.com/How-does-computer-hardware-understand-binary-digits"
]
]
|
||
1tgdwi | if dragons were real, how would they breath fire? | Lets say dragons would exist, which two fluid they combine to make this big fire. How much of this fluid they need to produce to have a big flame. Are there a fluid which would ignites itself when u combine it with air? Is this even posible for living being to do that? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1tgdwi/eli5if_dragons_were_real_how_would_they_breath/ | {
"a_id": [
"ce7nqkm",
"ce7nrsv",
"ce7ntz4"
],
"score": [
6,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"There's a bug that can combine two gases into one, creating a toxic cloud. I reckon a dragon's fire would work similarly.",
"Hmmm maybe an organ that produces/stores hydrogen gas and a mechanism in the jaw that produces a spark?",
"I'm sure you could design biological structures to contain an oxidizer and a fuel but I find it really hard to believe something like that could ever evolve. There's like no useful intermediates. Like, flight evolved because it was increasingly useful to be able to jump slightly higher, then glide, then fly. But a biological flamethrower would be a useless waste of resources every step of the way before completion."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
2xno8o | how can women only own 1% of the worlds property? | The international women's day is coming up soon. A lot of pictures like this one: _URL_0_ is speading on my facebook page, and I wonder if, and in that case how this is possible? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2xno8o/eli5how_can_women_only_own_1_of_the_worlds/ | {
"a_id": [
"cp1prlc",
"cp1pz8n"
],
"score": [
3,
10
],
"text": [
"They don't consider jointly owned property 50/50",
"That image is on _URL_2_ because of [this article](_URL_0_) debunking the figures. The figures seem to turn up in 1978, with minimal justification. The 10% of income claim is explained by\n\n > women were 33 percent of the world's formal workforce, and they were \"only on the low income level in the pyramid of employment,\" where—even in those lowly jobs, based on data from \"several countries\"—they earned 10 percent to 30 percent less than men. Therefore, \"one could assume that women's income is only one-third of the average income of men.\" Since they were one-third of the workforce, and earned one-third as much as men, their total income was .33 * .33, or 11 percent. (She rounded it down to 10 percent.)\n\nFor the claim of owning 1% of property, the author offers only\n\n > \"if the average wage of women is so low, it can be assumed that they do not normally have any surplus to invest in reproducible or non-reproducible assets.\"\n\nwhich sounds a lot like \"I totally made it up\". Even if it were true, it doesn't imply that 99% is owned by men. Plenty is owned by governments, corporations, or churches. 28% of land in the USA is owned by the federal government.\n\nThere are some more reliable figures [here](_URL_1_), concluding\n\n > On average, across 10 countries in Africa, 39% of women and 48% of men report owning land, including both individual and joint ownership. Only 12% of women report owning land individually, while 31% of men do so. "
]
} | []
| [
"http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/hua_hsu/cohen_onepercent.jpg"
]
| [
[],
[
"http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/03/women-own-1-of-world-property-a-feminist-myth-that-wont-die/273840/",
"http://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/killer-factcheck-women-own-2-of-land-not-true-what-do-we-really-know-about-women-and-land/",
"theatlantic.com"
]
]
|
|
37olu9 | how long would it take to launch a mission to europa find life in that moon and get a scientific confirmation? | If that mission gets approved today would I see the results in my lifetime considering the current technology? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/37olu9/eli5_how_long_would_it_take_to_launch_a_mission/ | {
"a_id": [
"croirz4"
],
"score": [
2
],
"text": [
"Well, work began on the [Galileo probe](_URL_0_) in 1977, it was launched in 1989, and it arrived at Jupiter in 1995. The Galileo probe was delayed because work on the Space Shuttle was a higher priority, but a hypothetical Europa probe would probably require significantly more time to design. So, twenty years is plausible."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_%28spacecraft%29"
]
]
|
|
1bya1u | why you shouldn't say anything to a cop without a lawyer and how exactly a lawyer protects you from incriminating yourself when being questioned | Edit: Thanks all | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1bya1u/eli5_why_you_shouldnt_say_anything_to_a_cop/ | {
"a_id": [
"c9b7xye",
"c9b7y59",
"c9b80fq",
"c9b82qt",
"c9b9zmh",
"c9bao04",
"c9bduww"
],
"score": [
7,
31,
3,
6,
15,
3,
3
],
"text": [
"Cops are legally required to read you your Miranda rights if you are put under arrest, which include 'the right to remain silent'. They will also tell you that anything you say can be used AGAINST you in a court of law, they don't say that what you say can be used FOR you in a court of law, meaning nothing you say during your arrest can help you. So just stay quiet. As for waiting for your lawyer before answering questions, their job is partly to make sure you don't say anything dumb and lose the case for yourself. They, more than likely, know the judicial system much better than you and I, and want to be there to make sure questioning goes as smoothly for you as possible. Hope that helps at least a little bit!",
"If you're stopped by a cop they can ask you any question they want. They can ask you questions you *don't have to answer*. They will make you *think* you have to answer them and won't let you know that you don't have to. Anything you tell them can be used against you in court.\n\nA lawyer will stop you from answering questions that you're not required to answer that might hurt you in court. It also tells the cop that you know your rights & they can't push you around.",
"A LEO is considered an officer of the court. It is their job to gather evidence. Anything you say to an officer can be considered evidence, even if that information incriminates you. \n\nYou should say as little as possible to a LEO because they will use whatever you say as evidence. \n\nA lawyer helps by knowing exactly what would incriminate you, and keeping you from giving them information that would incriminate you. They are also good at recognizing strong arm and manipulation techniques to get information out of you. ",
"Being questioned by the cops is incredibly intimidating. Some people will even confess to crimes they didn't commit, just to make the cops stop questioning them. So it's very dangerous to have cops questioning you for a long period of time.\n\nHow do you avoid that? Simple; just tell the cops \"I won't say anything without my lawyer\". They're required to stop questioning you and let you contact your lawyer reasonably quickly. And with a lawyer there, if you *do* decide to talk to the cops (which is still usually the wrong decision), she can stop the questioning before the cops pressure you into saying something stupid.",
"The trouble with saying anything to a cop, even things that aren't incriminating, is that it can be twisted later on to make you look bad. For example, let's say you were arrested and accused of a murder that happened in Atlantic City. Now, you haven't been to Atlantic City since you were a child, so of course you must be innocent! So, under the pressure of an angry cop grilling you to confess, you blurt out \"It wasn't me! I've never even been to Atlantic City!\"\n\nUnfortunately, this will go badly in court. They have you on record now saying that you've never been to the city, but in truth you were exaggerating, saying more than you meant under pressure. So when a lawyer produces records that say tat you visited Atlantic City with your family when you were 10, it makes you look like a liar. It doesn't matter anymore that you were 10 when you were last there; now the jury only sees you as a liar who's statements can't be trusted at all, EVEN THE HONEST ONES.\n\nThis can happen in a lot of different ways. Say you really have never been to Atlantic City. But the cops go to Atlantic City and pass around your picture, asking people if anybody had seen you around before. And some tourist comes forward and says \"yeah, I might have seen that guy last week.\" Again, they now have a contradicting statement to yours, even if it is a weaker one. The jury is probably going to listen to the police over you.\n\nThe police also can misrepresent your statement if they're sloppy. Say you clearly state \"I've only been to Atlantic City when I was 10, but I've never been to the city since.\" Well, the cop who wrote down your statement was in a hurry to do something else, so he wrote down that you said \"I've NEVER been to Atlantic City.\" Again, this is only part of your actual statement, but in court that record is all they have to go on for what you said. Again, they can produce something that challenges the statement (that you didn't actually make), and the jury thinks you're a liar.\n\nIn court, the jury only gets a glimpse into what's actually going on. The evidence is controlled mostly by the police who handled the situation, and they themselves might not get all of the information, or twist the information by mistake. But once something gets put on the courtroom table, you'll have a hard time taking it back, even if it's not true. The jury's already thinking about it, and it's going to hurt you. So, if you ever get in a situation with the police, do the smart thing, and say nothing until your lawyer gets there. He'll attempt to make sure the records are accurate, because he want's you to win your court case.",
"[This](_URL_0_) explains it pretty well.\n\nThe short version is, legally speaking, it is impossible to say anything to the police that helps you in court. If it tends to prove your guilt, it is evidence, if it tends to prove your innocence, it is evidence.\n\nAlso, the police interview people all the time...you might think you are smarter, but it is unlikely to stand up to their experience. Best to not even play the game.",
"You shouldn't talk to the police because any flaws in your story will always come back to hurt you. For example, if they asked you where you were at a 9pm, you could answer truthfully and say that you were buying food at the store. However, if they ask the clerk in the store and they say that you were there at 8pm (an honest mistake), then it appears that you are lying. To a jury, someone that lies is more likely to be guilty.\n\nSecondly, anything you say can be used a motive for your alleged crime. If the cop asks you if you were friends with the victim, and if you answer truthfully and say that you don't like him, you have just made yourself a good suspect. If you lie and say that you do like him, the police might find out you're lying by asking your buddies, and like I said above, a lie is just as bad as a straight up confession.\n"
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc"
],
[]
]
|
|
2gefqp | why does everybody thank soldiers for what they are doing? | I'm really not looking to offend anyone as I know this is a very sensible subject, but I just can't understand why people always thank soldiers for their service.
From my point of view, nobody is forced to join the army. If you don't want to join it, fine, don't. But if you do decide to join it, it is your choice and no one else. I see it on the same level as my accountant. He decided to do that job on the same level as someone decided to join the army and get paid for it.
I understand they put their life at risk, but once more this is their choice. Why would I need to thank them for that? They are getting paid to do what they do.
I'm looking for another point of view, since mine maybe totally be biased. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2gefqp/eli5why_does_everybody_thank_soldiers_for_what/ | {
"a_id": [
"ckib5os",
"ckib76g",
"ckibxz5",
"ckicggz",
"ckido84",
"ckie51t",
"ckietwz",
"ckih6qx",
"ckilgid",
"ckilo0q",
"ckin1j0",
"ckiv5x8",
"ckiwspj",
"ckj3uwz"
],
"score": [
21,
2,
74,
7,
3,
4,
51,
3,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
3
],
"text": [
"They made a choice that most people wouldn't. They effectively give up a huge section of their rights, freedom and (possibly) their lives in order to serve the community.\n\nMost people respect that notion and feel that thanking them for the service is at least a small gesture of respect.",
"I guess that they get thanked being as they have served 'our country'. It's an honorable thing to do.",
" > Why would I need to thank them for that? \n\nVeteran chiming in. \n\nYou don't need to thank us. For many of us, it makes us uncomfortable. It's appreciated, but we don't really have a response for it. All I can really do is nod. Saying 'You're welcome' doesn't seem correct to me.\n\nWe all joined for our own reasons. Whether it was love of country, to see the world, to pay for school, or to escape a situation back home. That doesn't matter. We joined. For our owned reasons.\n\nThe thanking thing is kind of new. My father was Korean war era vet, and my mom would be classified as a Vietnam era vet, and neither recall it being common place. It wasn't a thing when I first joined, and I only remember it starting towards the end of my service (I'm Gulf 1-2 era).\n\nIt's just become commonplace. Like saying bless you when someone sneezes.\n\n",
"I won't swear this is why, but I know it has something to do with it: During WW2 everybody respected our soldiers because they were truly defending our country. By time the Vietnam War rolled around Americans were quite war-weary as it appeared that this new war (the third in twenty years) was not being fought as defense, but as offense. Partly because of TV, Americans began to question this new war and eventually condemn it. As they demonized the war many also demonized the men and women fighting it. Too many soldiers came home to be spat on and called horrible names like baby-killer! Once things calmed down people looked back and realized condemning our soldiers for doing what the were forced to do was wrong, very, very wrong! So now, with that realization, Americans are tripping over themselves to NOT make that mistake again. War sucks! Soldiers, not necessarily so!",
"I thank soldiers for their service because I have family, a lot of family that are/were in the military. I've watched them through their PTSD, hiding behind things, drawing their concealed carry on imaginary enemies. Each soldier has a story and if any are as bad as my family's, it's the least I can do to say \"thank you for doing what I couldn't\". ",
"You don't have to thank us but recognizing people for a sacrifice is greatly appreciated. \n\nI believe this feeling of having to thank a service member stems from some sort reaching out. Like \"I'm sorry for your loss\" when someone dies. Like paying respect with a moment of silence. It's a moment of acknowledgement.\n\nWe have all experienced loss and in the collective social mind, this is how we let each other know that we feel for you and can only hope that by this small acknowledgement, the sacrifices made are not in vane.",
"Active duty soldier here.\n\nWhen I order a sandwich at subway and they hand it to me, I say thanks. When the janitor cleans the garbage at my office, I say thanks. When a doctor did surgery that saved my life, I said thanks. When a police officer helped me out after I got robbed, I said thanks. They all volunteered to do those jobs. They even get paid for it (some more than others). But by \"volunteering\" for that job, it means that I don't need to do that job; I sincerely appreciate them doing it for me, which allows me to do mine. I'm thankful for that, and I express it when I can. There's rarely a singular moment when you get to see a soldier doing their job in a way that helps you directly; so, when's the best time to say thanks? \n\nThe biggest difference between soldiering and most jobs (e.g. the accountant) is the contract you sign. When you become active duty, you kind of sell yourself to the government. You voluntarily give up a lot of your own personal freedoms in an attempt to accomplish your job. And you are often bound to that contract 24/7. Many of them joined for a multitude of reasons, and most of them joined (at least in some part) due to a sense of duty or desire to serve their country. I think this is particularly important when we realize that, once you have signed up, you have to do what you are told even when you might disagree with the orders. Given the paltry amount of money most soldiers make, part of the \"benefit\" that comes with service is the effort our national culture makes to make them feel \"supported\" (e.g. cultural reverence in language, certain financial discounts, federal recognition on certain holidays, specific memorials to their sacrifices, and financial and medical support after you are done service). If the accountant wants to stop being an accountant, they can just walk away, but most soldiers cannot. Soldiers do make a larger number and more significant personal sacrifices than most jobs, which is why people mention their \"sense of duty\" or a \"calling to serve\" as one of the major reasons they picked that job over the many many other options that are safer and pay better. In my opinion, these are fundamental reasons that justify \"supporting the troops\" even if you don't necessarily support every single thing they do. \n\nMike Birbiglia made a joke once: \"I love the troops, because if they weren't the troops, then I would be the troops, and I would be the worst troops.\" I imagine that resonates with a lot of people, so they want to say \"thanks for your service\" since they would probably rather say it to someone than have it said to themselves.\n\nEdit: I'll just tack on that I really don't get thanked very often. Most of the time, I get thanked at a gas station when I'm re-filling the car on a long drive away from the base (which I do a lot for my job). It usually surprises me, though, when it does happen, because it doesn't happen very often. Most service members serve in highly concentrated areas (e.g. near a base), where there are so many of them that people seem to just be accustomed to having them around all the time. Now that we don't typically wear uniforms on official travel anymore, you won't even notice them at the airport as much. ",
"People who thank service members do so because they are *grateful* for that persons sacrifice. You don't have to understand the sacrifice and you don't have to say thank you. You don't even have to be grateful for it. Plenty of people aren't. ",
" > From my point of view, nobody is forced to join the army. If you don't want to join it, fine, don't.\n\nWars will go on regardless of if there are volunteers or not. By volunteering to join, the volunteers are preventing a potential draft.\n\n > I see it on the same level as my accountant.\n\nYour accountant doesn't risk death.\n\nTo sum it up, soldiers risk death. If they don't volunteer men will be selected and risk death. You thank someone for preventing you from (potentially) involuntarily risking death",
"\"...nobody is forced to join the army.\" I feel like not being forced to makes the sacrafice even greater. Also, nobody is forced to be a volunteer for any cause (firefighter, blood donor) but they're still great causes, and deserve gratitude in my opinion.",
"People are forced to join the army if nobody volunteers though. So when I thank a solider, I'm not only thanking them for fighting my battles, I'm thanking them for volunteering to do something unpleasant so that the rest of us aren't forced to do it. If nobody chose to be an accountant, we wouldn't have an \"accountant draft\".",
"Because they are taking a huge risk to keep your rights intact.",
"At a random hibachi bar, I found myself sharing a table with an army recruiter and his family. As a recruiter, he told me he is required to wear his uniform everywhere. People in the restaurant approached our table regularly to thank him, which he handled well but you could tell he was getting annoyed. When he asked for the bill, the server told him it was already taken care of. The next table waved and he smiled and waved back. After that table left he kind of freaked out. He told us he didn't like being thanked constantly and hated having his meals paid for, he said, \"It's my wife's birthday and now this special dinner feels like a gift from someone else!\" He apologized for coming off selfish but I didn't see it that way at all, I really understood his view point. ",
"Are you saying you don't thank your accountant?! Sick fuck. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
|
3ycalt | how is cliven bundy not in jail after having an armed standoff against federal officers? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ycalt/eli5how_is_cliven_bundy_not_in_jail_after_having/ | {
"a_id": [
"cyc92yv",
"cycgrl3"
],
"score": [
22,
6
],
"text": [
"Because an attempt to arrest him would result in armed confrontation with law officers, and likely death on both sides. He and his supporters words and actions have threatened this. \n\nThe government agencies involved are making a conscious decision to let this wacko have his own little piece of America instead of igniting a powder keg of rights issues that would likely lead to civilian militias rising up across the nation.",
"He's threatening violence..just like Waco or ruby ridge...actually iirc in ruby ridge weaver got off on almost all his charges because of the armed standoff, his kid getting killed, his wife, it was just a huge mess...Then Waco came and the same setup with a compound where 70+ people died in the standoff...Cops don't want to risk it. Also during both of these there were protests and numerous sketchy situations "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[]
]
|
||
1i7jrf | the whole black person watermelon thing. | Watermelon is straight up delicious. Everyone of varying colors loves that shit, so why is it a racial stereotype thing? Does anyone actually know? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1i7jrf/eli5the_whole_black_person_watermelon_thing/ | {
"a_id": [
"cb1qtmt",
"cb1t90j",
"cb1v8u7",
"cb1vxwy",
"cb27t78"
],
"score": [
104,
11,
2,
6,
2
],
"text": [
"Well we're still feeling the ripple effect from old racism and slavery. Watermelon originally came from South Africa and spread through most of Africa in ancient times. It was the moors who brought watermelon to Europe and early American settlers who brought it here to the USA. When slavery was at its peak, watermelon's popularity in the states also rose dramatically because African slaves would be inclined to have food from their native homeland (them and their ancestors ate watermelon pretty regularly). Proponents of slavery would use the watermelon as an iconic symbol to push their agenda, \"all you need to keep a slave happy is a watermelon, so obviously they are subhuman since us white folks need more than just watermelon to be happy.\" After slavery ended here in the us, there were still plenty of racial overtones that continued on with the watermelon. You are right that it is complete bullshit, one study showed the African Americans only account for 11 percent of watermelon consumed in the us.",
"I couldn't find the watermelon scene but if you want to know where most of the black stereotypes came from you should watch [Birth of a Nation](_URL_4_). Early film was very influential and brought a national identity to America, for better or worse. Basically a version of the American Civil War from a 'southern' point of view. Here are a few highlights:\n\n* Touring the slave quarters [(14:13)](_URL_1_)\n* One of many scenes with actors in blackface [(33:31)](_URL_5_)\n* 'Guerillas' raiding a peaceful white town [(35:52)](_URL_7_) \n* A black congress takes over America and chaos ensues (fried chicken, malt liquor, bare feet, and insatiable lust for white women) [(1:54:01)](_URL_0_)\n* Birth of the KKK [(1:57:57)](_URL_6_)\n* The black man can't speak no good english (and throws away his vote) [(1:42:10)](_URL_3_)\n\n* Also a random WTF scene [(1:43:07)](_URL_2_)",
"This is a pretty good explanation\n\n_URL_0_",
"That's like asking someone to explain the whole jew money thing. Money is straight up valuable. Everybody of varying colors loves that shit, so why is it a racial stereotype thing? Does anyone actually know?",
"There's nothing mysterious about this. Watermelon is popular in the South (as is fried chicken, as far as that goes), among both blacks and whites. Traditionally, it wasn't eaten much in the North. During the Great Migration (1910-1930), millions of rural blacks moved north, mostly to the midwest, for higher paying industrial jobs. (In 1900, only 8% of blacks lived outside the south; by 1960, it was about half). They brought their foodways with them, and things like watermelon and fried chicken became associated with blacks in the eyes of many people, even though these are traditionally southern foods and not particularly \"black\" foods in the South. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[
"http://youtu.be/iEznh2JZvrI?t=1h54m1s",
"http://youtu.be/iEznh2JZvrI?t=14m13s",
"http://youtu.be/iEznh2JZvrI?t=1h43m7s",
"http://youtu.be/iEznh2JZvrI?t=1h42m10s",
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEznh2JZvrI",
"http://youtu.be/iEznh2JZvrI?t=33m31s",
"http://youtu.be/iEznh2JZvrI?t=1h57m57s",
"http://youtu.be/iEznh2JZvrI?t=35m52s"
],
[
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eitsutpOc"
],
[],
[]
]
|
|
7y196n | how are subatomic particles “caught” to be used in a particle accelerator | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7y196n/eli5_how_are_subatomic_particles_caught_to_be/ | {
"a_id": [
"ducsouk",
"ducx2dd",
"dud74ne"
],
"score": [
5,
2,
5
],
"text": [
"Most of the time they are not caught. They are generated, in a collision, and studied as they fly past. When they hit the wall, they are lost.",
"The particles accelerated by the accelerator are ions, atoms stripped of some or all of their electrons (protons are just ionized hydrogen). Because they have a net charge they can be acted on by magnetic and electric fields. The particles are accelerated to incredible speeds then smashed into each other (in counter rotating rings) or smashed into targets. The subatomic particles are (sort of) like sparks or chips from the impact. They can identify the nature of the chips by their lifespan, decay speed and products, and reaction to electromagnetic fields. \n",
"If you're asking, for instance, where the LHC gets its protons from, they come from [this bottle of hydrogen gas](_URL_0_). They're then ionised and fed through a number of accelerators with cool names before being injected into the LHC proper."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[
"https://mediastream.cern.ch/MediaArchive/Photo/Public/2008/0804060/0804060_04/0804060_04-A5-at-72-dpi.jpg"
]
]
|
||
13rxoy | "the dark web/underground internet" | The one with TOR and all of that stuff. Links would be helpful too. | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/13rxoy/eli5_the_dark_webunderground_internet/ | {
"a_id": [
"c76moqh"
],
"score": [
3
],
"text": [
"You can't get into some things on the Internet just by doing a Google search or typing their address into the URL bar. Examples of this include your email account, your online banking account, and a company's internal network.\n\nNow, the vast majority of things on the \"dark web\" are just things which require you to log into them. But there are a few things which, instead, just require that you use a thing called TOR. "
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
|
2der2b | if there's so many people who absolutely despise comcast/tw for the monsters that they are, why can't we do something about their unethical ways of business? | explainlikeimfive | http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2der2b/eli5_if_theres_so_many_people_who_absolutely/ | {
"a_id": [
"cjosww8",
"cjosx7r",
"cjou19a",
"cjou276",
"cjoufah",
"cjoujuh",
"cjovw70"
],
"score": [
10,
12,
2,
6,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"People are too comfortable and complacent to be bothered to go however long without internet and cable. Really the only way we could accomplish anything is by getting everyone (or a VAST majority) to abandon their cable and internet.\n\nGood luck getting that to happen in America.",
"Sure, you can all refuse to purchase their services. You can lobby your local governments to break their monopoly. You can petition your state and national government to reclassify them as public utilities. You can move to an area that they don't operate in.",
"You aren't required by law to have internet.",
"Civic control of the internet. \n\nYour library district should be your internet provider, plain and simple. I don't get why this isn't yet a thing.",
"For every person who is vocal about hating Comcast, there's another ten who just don't care and are content with their service. AOL still makes $500 million a year on dial-up internet, even though there are options far superior and far cheaper than it. \n\nIn order for anything to change, there would either need to be government intervention or a mass exodus from their service. ",
"Because no one else seems to have enough money to become a competitor.\nAlso, remember this question when Google controls most of the fiber lines in America.",
"I'll give you an example from Israel. We had only 3 Mobile providers that controlled the market. the prices were insane. for example, you'll get only 3GB per month, limited texts, and calls being really expensive. Each month would probably end with like a 86$ bill or even more. Than, the minister of communications made a revolution. He allowed more providers to come into play and the prices got a lot lower. REALLY LOWER. Now, we can have UNLIMITED SMS+Calls+DATA for under 14$ a month, and the expensive ones being 25$. We even have deals that can end at about 3$ per month.\n\nAll you need is to make a big fuss."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
5w40ff | why it is universally (in america) known that anorexia and too thin bodies are unhealthy and should be discouraged but obesity and too big bodies have led to "fat acceptance" and haes? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5w40ff/eli5_why_it_is_universally_in_america_known_that/ | {
"a_id": [
"de73ylk",
"de755hu",
"de75dio",
"de7eluk",
"de7ffrr"
],
"score": [
2,
6,
2,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"One is a clearly defined illness, one is just laziness that eventually becomes an illness.\n\nPeople don't like being told what to do, especially when all you do is just sit around and eat mc Donalds all day. Fat people usually find excuses for their behavior, that everything is out of their control and they already tried everything they can to lose weight, so having this mindset, regardless if it's correct or not, and then being told over and over again to lose weight is bound to make someone snap.\n\nLosing weight isn't just cutting corners for two weeks (or days), but a complete lifestyle change. Many people don't get it, don't want it, and just want to be left alone with their unhealthy habits. Cue in the fat movement, who (wrongly) tries to tell everyone that fat is okay and beautiful, to on the one side shut up everyone who keeps nagging them to lose weight, and on the other side strengthen the believe that being lazy and getting fatter and fatter is okay.\n\nAs a rather big guy, I don't agree with this. While I do find it annoying when people tell me to lose weight, I do think that they have their heart at the right place. I just needed the right kind of inspiration to finally start losing weight, but this was my decision and didn't start after people kept telling me to do so. I believe this is the case for the majority of people. ",
"These movements have sprung up because of an intense culture in America and the west in general saying that skinny=sexy and therefore fat=disgusting. For example, the average supermodel is skinnier than something like 98% of American women. As a result of this culture, fat people get harassed and attacked based just on their weight. If you keep getting told day in and day out that you suck as a person because of your physical appearance, you will internalize it. You'll have no desire to improve yourself because you feel you don't deserve it. Having people in you life that not only like you despite your weight but think that your weight doesn't matter helps someone immensely. And despite what you may think, these movements are genuinely helpful for the mental wellbeing of obese people, which in turns leads to making it easier for obese people to change their lifestyle for the better. ",
"Well the most obvious answer is that there are a lot more overweight people in the USA than underweight. Nearly 68% the last I checked. When the overweight comprise the majority of the country they are going to speak out about how they are treated. \n\nBut I think the bigger reason is that being overweight is largely considered a character flaw and they are sick of being judged lesser for it. ",
"Being underweight in America (e.g. heroin chic) is much more acceptable in our society than being overweight. Also, there's a big difference between overweight and morbid obesity.\nI don't know about men but the majority of women would take, \"You need to gain a little weight dear.\" as a complement. No one ever interprets, \"You need to loose weight dear.\" as a positive.",
"Are you *seriously* saying that people are *not* \"discouraging\" fat people? That Americans do not see obesity as unhealthy?\n\nOverweight people are harassed and bullied and mistreated. They are not taken seriously by their doctors, they are seen as less intelligent, they are passed over for promotions at work, and they are intensely judged for anything they do. So yes, America does treat fat bodies as unhealthy and it does discourage them.\n\nFat people are constantly told that their body is unhealthy.\n\nThe problem is, that *just doesn't work*. Fat people don't lose weight if you shame them any time they go outside. They don't lose weight if you tell them they're terrible human beings. We can see that from simple statistics. Most fat people *remain* fat.\n\nInstead, they develop anxiety or depression, both of which make it even harder to lose weight.\n\nAnd that is why \"fat acceptance\" is a thing. Fat acceptance is not people saying \"being fat is healthy\". It is saying \"fat people are still human beings\". It is saying \"I might be fat, but I want my boss to judge me on my job performance, not on his preconceptions about fat people\" (and countless studies have shown that this is exactly what happens). It is saying \"I might be fat, but if I go to my doctor and complain of serious symptoms that would normally warrant being examined for cancer, I don't want to be told that I should just lose weight\" (Again, there have been stories of people with serious illnesses, including cancer, going undiagnosed for literally *years*, because every time they went to a doctor, they were simply told \"you just need to lose weight\"). That is why \"fat acceptance\" is a thing.\n\nAnd HAES? Have you actually googled it? You should. Take a look.\nCertain people on the internet who love to get laugh at fat people tend to misrepresent it as a movement claiming that \"being fat is automatically healthy\". That is not what it stands for, and a quick google could have shown that easily.\n\nInstead, what it actually means is \"you can strive to be healthier even if you're fat\". Fat people are often told that unless they can lose weight, *nothing matters*. That their health is a lost cause *unless* they can first shed the weight. HAES instead says \"Ok, you're fat, and losing weight is difficult. But even if you're fat, you can still do things that will make you healthier than you'd otherwise be. A fat person who exercises and eat healthily is going to be healthier than a fat person who doesn't\".\n\n*That* is the message of HAES. It is *literally* a movement started to promote healthier lifestyles for fat people.\n\nSo in short: America *does* almost universally agree that being fat is unhealthy. And attitudes like yours work *really* hard to make fat people more* unhealthy, while systematically undermining any efforts to help fat people become healthier."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
||
dzyqvl | how and why did the usa make the decision to go 'germany first' in ww2? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/dzyqvl/eli5_how_and_why_did_the_usa_make_the_decision_to/ | {
"a_id": [
"f8ax9jr"
],
"score": [
4
],
"text": [
"Japan never intended to invade the USA. Japan was expanding on Asian side of the Pacific and the USA was the only country that could stop them. In order to expand without interference, Japan tried to incapacitate the American Pacific fleet. The USA was not in any immediate danger from Japan. The biggest threat Japan had to offer was attacking British India. However, the Japanese had a long way to for that and there were plenty of Indian soldiers capable of resisting invasion.\n\nGermany was steamrolling through Europe. When Japan attacked, Germany was perhaps 30km away from taking Moscow. The British were pressuring the Americans for a while for more help in order to resist Germany. The greatest and most immediate threat was in Europe. If there was too much of a delay, the Nazis might have defeated the Soviets then finished off the UK. Without Russia or the UK, there would be no home-ground from where to wage war with Germany."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[]
]
|
||
9m3aay | what is system administration? | As far as I know, system administration is about maintaining, configuring and extending software, in contrast to building it from scratch. But am I missing something? What exactly does a system administrator do? | explainlikeimfive | https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/9m3aay/eli5_what_is_system_administration/ | {
"a_id": [
"e7bko7w",
"e7btqba",
"e7bvju6",
"e7c3cth"
],
"score": [
12,
3,
2,
2
],
"text": [
"It's a somewhat dated term in modern computting but basically it covers the maintenance of servers used to host applications and environments. That maintenance includes supporting and repairing the underlying hardware if needed (which may be coordinating service calls).\n\nIn general its making sure the servers are running correctly. Tasks can range from basic configuration management all the way through writing and deploying software (either the coffee the syaadmin had written or software from vendors or software the company that owns the systems writes).\n\nCreds: I've been a sysop, system administrator, systems engineer, and SRE over the last 30 years. Humor bit: basically all those are different names for the same job. :)",
"In a ELI5 sense, think of a sysadmin as a bus driver. He hasn't built the bus (that's the engineer's job), but he has a pretty good idea of how it works, knows how to drive it and can change a tire if needed or maybe hot-wire the ignition if it won't start properly. He knows how many passengers can safely ride the same bus at once, and over time he gets to know all the little quirks of the engine and so adjusts his driving style accordingly.\n\nHe is in charge of keeping the bus running along smoothly, as otherwise the passengers (i.e. the users) will start complaining. If the ride is bumpy, he might be able to adjust the suspension in order to fix the problem. But if the suspension has been built in a way that doesn't let you adjust it, there's nothing he can do about it either. And if the bus needs an oil change every few days, all he can do is stock up on oil so he has enough when he needs it. So when enough problems accumulate, he can try to convince his boss that they should buy a new bus.",
"System administration has nothing to do with extending software. That is a developer role, although the lines have been blurred somewhat in recent years by the rise of DevOps (Development + operations).\n\nSystem Administration deals with the configuration, architecture, networking etc of systems, such that a consistent and maintainable state is achieved across a platform, with the aim of maximising up-time (the amount of time that a server is able to serve requests), as this is how a digital services company will make their money. \n\nIt generally requires an in-depth understanding of networking protocols, client-server interaction and systems architecture. This generally requires a lot of time in UNIX command line interfaces (not always, but over 90% of web servers are Linux/UNIX so MS command-line is very rare), and as such requires a lot of knowledge of not only how to achieve the result that you want, but be able to cope with errors on a very minimalistic interface i.e. without a GUI to scream errors at you.\n\n & #x200B;",
"Keeping software upgraded\n\nBuild out new infrastructure for new initiatives\n\nRespond to security issues (like patching vulerabilities) or outages\n\nI mean what is a mechanic? They keep things running smooth. That's what a sysadmin does for systems, and sometimes there's a lot (I could fill a whole page on my resume with \"skills\" just cause of all the stuff nowdays). The lines between sysadmin and dev are blurring as a lot of systems stuff is being automated. Not replaced (though C levels seem to think so), just automated."
]
} | []
| []
| [
[],
[],
[],
[]
]
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.