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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
cv53nl
|
Why do bugs/spiders stay in the spot for minutes at a time without moving?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"ey1wv0r",
"ey1xakg",
"ey26cu2",
"ey3lq7x"
] |
[
"bugs sleep a few minutes at a time many times per day. They might be sleeping. they also might just not have anything to do at the moment. bugs don't need to be occupied 24/7. they also may freeze when afraid. I breed roaches and if they feel hidden they won't move until touched."
] |
[
31
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
9pp41s
|
Why aren't more buildings built into cliffs or subterranean holes?
|
Engineering
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e83bdfr",
"e83bnv9"
] |
[
"There are a couple of problems building into the ground or cliffs. One of the main factors is that earth/stone is heavy and difficult to remove. Building such a structure would require all the same parts and steps as above the ground, but first you would need to remove the material in that area which is a big project in itself. You also need to keep the hole in which the structure is built clear which means reinforcing from collapse and keeping water out of it such as with pumps. With a cliff perhaps it filling with water is less of an issue but rocks falling on it from above or the entire cliff face breaking off and falling away is a problem. Now supposing you have such a structure built there are further detriments. One of course is emergency exits in the event of a fire; if you are underground it greatly limits the possible routes of escape or rescue. Ventilation in general can be a challenge as lack of fresh air or even toxic atmospheres from spills (ammonia from refrigerators, etc) can lead to injury or death. We haven't even touched on the aesthetic penalty of storing people in a windowless box; people resent being sent away to the basement and covet corner offices with windows on two walls, how do you think they will feel having an entire building underground? Add therapy to the costs associated with such a building plan. When all of these factors are against such an idea it is a good sign that other solutions are superior."
] |
[
5
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
82wl7k
|
Why does our automatic breathing stop when we notice our breathing?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dvdc83q",
"dvdbujo",
"dvdbucm"
] |
[
"Because you're placing your attention on breathing, which causes an otherwise automatic process to become a manual process. By placing your attention on it, you are taking full control of it. We use our attention as a means to control things. For example, you may automatically pick up the glass to your left and drink the water without thinking, but if you place your attention directly on the action, it will become a manual process."
] |
[
14
] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6ki41k
|
if an unconscious person is operated upon by a hospital, is there an enforceable contract between them, even in the absence of an express agreement? Specifically, what kind of a legal obligation is that patent under, if not a contractual one?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"djmem6u",
"djmbldv"
] |
[
"Medical ethics, backed by law in English speaking countries, require that doctors to do whatever is immediately necessary to preserve a patient's 'life and limb'. (Within the facilities available to them and without putting themselves at risk.) So if you arrive at a hospital unconscious, they will do what they can to reverse that. Who ends up paying for it in the end depends on where you are and what the health service is like. Here in NZ, the state pays. Even if the patient is a stupid tourist with no travel insurance who just fell off a mountain. But if the unconscious person is in the USA, he or she has just inadvertantly handed over all their assets to the hospital. You guys need a single payer system so badly ..."
] |
[
35
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
c001dk
|
What exactly happens during the process of making glass so it gets transparent?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"eqz2h2a"
] |
[
"When light is absorbed by a material, the electrons are struck by a photon and jump up one or more energy levels. However, it has to be struck by a very specific frequency of light in order to be absorbed. Most opaque materials can absorb a huge range of frequencies within the visible spectrum. Glass, however, cannot absorb any of the visible frequencies of light. It's like picking up a ball (electron) and putting it on a shelf (energy level). You (the photon) can only reach up so high; if you can't reach, there's nowhere to place the ball (electron) except the floor (ground state). Since you didn't put the ball on the shelf, you didn't exert yourself (get absorbed), and could move on to find a different ball and shelf pair (atom). If all of the shelves are too high, you'll walk through the warehouse full of shelves (the material) without ever lifting a ball up, and someone will see you exit the other side."
] |
[
8
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
blc4aa
|
Why do insects fly around random points in space, and why is it usually directly above a pathway?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"emn9926"
] |
[
"Definitely confirmation bias. You as an observer are usually walking on a path, where you spot insects. You can make no conclusion about the population of bugs away from where you observe. Same reason why people think all bugs go towards light; those are the ones they see, they don't see the bugs which fly away from light."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8h9hve
|
How come many fish were able to survive the great K–Pg extinction, but pretty much no sea reptiles (Mosasaurs, Plesiosaurs, etc) were able to?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dyi28q1",
"dyiov73"
] |
[
"It takes a LOT of food and a very balanced ecosystem to keep a giant alpha predator alive. If the food diminishes or the ecosystem shifts, alpha predators die out pretty easily."
] |
[
20
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
j688uu
|
Why is it so hard to grab a piece of egg shell that has fallen into the bowl with the egg stuff.
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"g7x1e20",
"g7wsag7",
"g7wxwam",
"g7x3n33",
"g7ws3bz",
"g7wtnmq"
] |
[
"If you use a bigger piece of shell you can pick out the stuck piece with it. It's magic, acts kind of like a shell magnet."
] |
[
28
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
cgr8oy
|
why does a hot day or hot room make you so tired and weak?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"eujy9i9"
] |
[
"Scientists say that energy from the sun transfers heat to the body through electromagnetic radiation in the form of photons. This radiation causes body temperature to increase. When your body temperature changes more than .5 degrees, your body reacts by being sleepy, grump, or tired."
] |
[
7
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8oq7ki
|
How does Google keep their map updated?
|
They always seem to have all the roads and construction updated immediately. How?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e059qbq"
] |
[
"There are a lot of sources that Google can pull from, and obviously they don't really disclose all of them. They own Waze so a lot of the closure data is sourced from the users submitting real time info there. Users running Maps on mobile devices or in Android Auto that are still opted in to data sharing will also allow Maps to gather real time data about detours, traffic issues, and the like. Before the [Maps vandalism incident]( URL_0 ) there was a system called Map Maker where trusted users could directly edit the map itself in near real time. With high enough trust levels changes were published instantly. Old trusted users from that system still have some level of ability to publish changes quicker in the updated Maps interface. There are also the Local Guides program still in place where again trusted users can submit info. Changes to roads and boundaries are handled by a much smaller team now, but with better community hive mind input, they can spend time validating road updates and not as much time dealing with correcting point of interest edits like hours, phone numbers, websites, and closed businesses that all rely on community consensus to publish to the map more or less automatically."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[
"http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32704566"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
mh9g3h
|
What causes an undertow?
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gsxfjfo"
] |
[
"Water is constantly moving in most directions. When a wave washes ashore before being dragged back to waters edge you see this at work. Undertow is essentially the same thing on a bigger scale, the water on top is coming towards the coast and the water underneath is going out."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
ec8445
|
how are major food/drink companies allowed to keep recipes secret? Isn’t that a problem due to disclosure laws and the possibility of allergies?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fb9q9wm",
"fb9v9f3"
] |
[
"You can find a full ingredient list for any fast food chain online. Many will have the info in a pamphlet in person. The ingredients list on nutrition facts in the US lists things from largest quantity to smallest quantity, but it won't tell you that theres a tablespoon of paprika in a whole pack of hotdogs or anything that specific. Plus, many ingredients can fall under \"natural flavors\" or \"spices\". And that's perfectly legal"
] |
[
7
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
hyygzk
|
Why do game developers often leave unused assets on games that they ship out to consumers?
|
Wouldn’t it make more sense to remove anything that was unused to make room for something else, especially when it comes to old cartridge based games that had to use as much space as they could?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fzfmgn8"
] |
[
"From my experience programming, it is a metric ton of work to go through a program and make sure an asset isnt used, and the payoff isnt terribly large if you find it isnt used."
] |
[
10
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
iahxa5
|
Why can we get very high energy from oil, gas, nuclear, hydrogen... but not from other vast materials like soil, rock, air, water...
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"g1odoa9",
"g1oh5qh",
"g1ohne3"
] |
[
"Oil, gas, hydrogen are purified and burn, Uranium (nuclear) is only a specific type of the element which will split and release energy. In theory any element other than iron could be used to create energy lighter elements than iron by nuclear fusion, heavier by nuclear fission, but it is really difficult."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6dqhtj
|
Why are India and China so densely populated?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"di4r9v9",
"di4ugds"
] |
[
"Both areas have stable climates, good soil, plenty of water and of course, rice. Per square mile rice has a very high yield and can be grown in many places, as long as you have enough water for it. Rice is also very labour intensive, which would incentivize rice farmers to have very large families, which they also had no trouble feeding thanks to their amazing rice."
] |
[
19
] |
[
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_population_density"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
e7v1e6
|
why is our reflection on the inside of a spoon upside down?
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fa7iqjt"
] |
[
"When we look at any object, the image that we’re seeing is the light reflected off of that object. All light travels in straight lines. When we look at an object in a reflective surface that is flat such as a regular mirror the light hits the surface and bounces back to us straight on so the reflected image we see appears right side up. When the reflective surface is curved inward like the inside of a spoon, the light doesn’t bounce back straight on, Instead, the light bouncing back will appear curved. Light coming from the left side is reflected back toward the right and light coming from the top is reflected toward the bottom (and vice versa.) The point where the light crosses is called the focal point. If you’re looking at your reflection after the light has crossed the focal point you will appear upside down. If you get really really close up and look at the reflection before the light crosses the focal point, you will appear right side up."
] |
[
3
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
68rl22
|
Why does thinking about going to sleep make it harder to sleep than just thinking about random stuff?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dh0tbi2",
"dh0vnk8"
] |
[
"Because it's harder to sleep when you're stressed. Telling yourself you must sleep creates stress in your brain, which prevents you from sleeping."
] |
[
8
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
cjgb2d
|
Why dont we raise space ships with balloons before using rocket engines to escape earths gravity?
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"evd4g79",
"evd5b30",
"evd4bxw",
"evd5faz"
] |
[
"The physics are complex, but simply put, look at a Goodyear blimp. The blimp (the actual envelope containing the helium) is huge relative to the tiny cabin attached underneath. Now, replace the tiny cabin with a spaceship made of materials capable of sustaining atmospheric re-entry, fuel for the round-way trip, plus whatever gear and human payload is inside. The helium envelope would have to be so phenomenally huge to even be able to lift said spaceship that it would be totally impractical as a solution."
] |
[
19
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
ixf9rt
|
How does a global temperature average increase of just a degree or two cause such wild weather phenomena?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"g66jvar",
"g66h0zc",
"g66hhmn",
"g66h06y",
"g66hins"
] |
[
"Because this is an average. The temperature of the whole planet won't go up by 1 or 2 degree, some region will be affected then other, the average of will be around 1 or 2. It's mathematical, here an example. Let say 5, 5, 5, 5 and 5. The average is 5. Now let say 5, 5, 5, 5 and 11. The average is 6. The increase on the average is just 1, but the impact on a specific number is massive. [ URL_0 ]( URL_0 ) Here you can see the distribution of that increase in temperature for 1.5 and 2 degree. You can see that the increase is mostly felt in the pole. One big reason is that as temperature increase, the ice which is white and reflect more of the light melt, leaving a darker colour which absorb more heat. This is a feedback loop, that keep melting more ice. It's hard to predict exactly, but an increase of 2 celcius would increase the sea level of around 0.2 meters. Which mean during storm, flood will be a bigger issues in low elevation are, which is where most people live. By displacing the average, it also displace the extreme. So let say that the temperature on average is 20 and it can vary from 5 to 35. Maybe you have 10 days during the year at 30-35 celcius which is pretty hot and cause issues, like heat stroke and draught. Well if you increase the average maybe now instead of 10 days per year it's gonna be 12. This increase the risk of draught. There is also the energy needed to do that. To increase the average global temperature by 2 celcius, this would need around 10 x 10\\^21 joules of energy or 2.4 tera tonnes of TNT or 47,801 Tsar Bomba (the biggest nuclear weapon ever tested). Of course this energy is spread out over the entire earth, but that's additional energy available to power storm."
] |
[
35
] |
[
[
"https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2865/a-degree-of-concern-why-global-temperatures-matter/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
nswaic
|
What's that feeling when you learn/hear a new word for the first time and then start seeing/noticing it everywhere?
|
For example, let's pretend I get lost in a rabbit hole of geometry and wound up learning a new word, 'oblong'. Then I start seeing it in news articles, on TV, papers, videos, signs, in conversations, the internet, books; everywhere! The feeling wears off in 2 weeks or so. Obviously, I know it must be psychological, but how and why does this happen? Is there a name for this effect?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"h0oqwa7",
"h0oqhry"
] |
[
"The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is actually a term for 'frequency illusion', a type of cognitive bias your mind creates. To understand this, you need to know a little about cognitive bias as a whole. Though there's a whole lot of nuisances caused by cognitive bias, in short, it’s when your mind deviates from normal, rational thought and starts to make up patterns based off of nonsense. …frequency illusion is, in fact, two different processes happening at the same time: selective attention and confirmation bias. The first process, selective attention, comes about when you learn anything new. Basically, when you learn something new, it stays fresh in your mind - you’re paying more attention to it than other things. Because of this, you see it more often when going about your daily life. However, this very simple, logical process is amped up by confirmation bias, which is a cognitive bias that makes you \"search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors\", reports ScienceDaily. This means that your mind is on the look-out for newly learned information because it’s still super fresh and interesting to you. At the same time, your mind sees these new words everywhere, thinks that it's weird, and tries to make it fit into some rational system. In other words, because the information is new, you suddenly force yourself to believe that it's new to everyone and has suddenly popped up, when in reality, you’ve just stopped ignoring it. You actually see new words more often and believe there’s some weird pattern at work because your mind is trying to make sense of new information. It just so happens that most of it is made up. - [article]( URL_0 )"
] |
[
7
] |
[
[
"https://www.sciencealert.com/you-know-how-when-you-learn-a-new-word-you-see-it-everywhere-here-s-why"
],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
eqxx1e
|
Is electricity affected by gravity?
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"feyszql"
] |
[
"Electrons are affected by gravity. But gravity is much much much weaker than electrical forces, so unless you imagine an idealized unreal case in a hypothetical region with zero electromagnetic fields, gravity just doesn't matter much."
] |
[
23
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
5lvo8a
|
How your body reject all food and water when hungover knowing it's hungry and dehydrated?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dbytch7"
] |
[
"It thinks it has been poisoned, and is trying to prevent the ingestion of more poison. In general, not being poisoned is more important than being a little hungry and thirsty."
] |
[
9
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
88rd2a
|
Why do mobile companies insist on fully charging the phone on first use?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dwmpoah",
"dwmppru",
"dwmpp3l"
] |
[
"There’s no easy way to measure the charge level of a lithium ion battery, especially at higher charge levels. Battery controllers won’t pick up self discharge that happens over time so charging the device that’s been sitting for a while to full and leaving it on charge for a bit is necessary to recalibrate the device’s measurement of the state of charge."
] |
[
19
] |
[
[],
[],
[
"http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_charge_when_to_charge_table"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
70h7rj
|
What's the difference between healthy and unhealthy fats?
|
I know foods like guacamole and nuts have lots of healthy fats but what exactly makes something "healthy fat"
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dn34cfm"
] |
[
"Simplified so there are other little factors and effects but at its most basic level: 3 types of fat: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated (technically you can say unsaturated as a single \"type\" - mono/poly just refers to how many of what I'm going to talk about there are). Fats' chemical composition consist of a hydrocarbon chain. That's a part of the fat that consists of carbon and hydrogen. Now carbon and hydrogen bond together with rather specific rules (carbon must make 4 bonds in total, hydrogen can only make a total of 1 bond). Saturated fats: The hydrocarbon chain consists solely of single bonds. It is \"saturated\" and cannot create any new carbon-hydrogen bonds. Unsaturated: At least one of the bonds is a \"double bond\" (one = mono / more than one = poly). The double bond(s) can be broken to create a new carbon-hydrogen bond, therefore the fat is not yet saturated with hydrogen. URL_0 Due to the double bonds, unsaturated fats have a lower melting point. They generally help with cell membrane fluidity (stops them clogging up etc). Saturated fats can cause more clogging up of cells and blood vessels etc., due to them having higher melting points (so maybe less fluid at temperatures where unsaturated is more fluid). Now, there is another thing with unsaturated fats (cis and trans) which is to do with the actually organisation of the chemical components, and yes, there is a difference in health effects between them, but that is another topic entirely. Edit: correction"
] |
[
13
] |
[
[
"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SKndxv5AXe0/TpTt7HOw62I/AAAAAAAAAJk/hvCgmOlxE0M/s1600/fats.jpg"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
f8tuuu
|
What is wind shear and why is it dangerous?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"finhh8x",
"finhqtb"
] |
[
"What is Wind Shear? Wind Shear is whenever there is a sharp change in wind direction or intensity. This is caused by a combination of things, such as changes in the ground topography (mountains and valleys) and changes in air pressure overhead. You know those High and Low pressure systems that move in/out of your area? When they move in they push air up and down, that pushing up and down causes the wind to shoot out sideways sometimes. Like when you put your thumb on a garden hose (creating higher pressure and changing the direction of the water flow) Why is it bad? In airplanes - It's a strong change in wind direction, with enough force to either turn the aircraft or seriously mess with it's flight. It makes for a very bumpy ride, and if the aircraft is not properly mainted dangerous. Ever blast your dinner plate with water to knock food off it when cleaning up? Wind can do that to airplanes. In Cars - not as bad but it can, if bad enough, push a car slightly to the right or left. That can be dangerous if you are on an interstate traveling at high speed with other cars nearby. A few inches could easily cause a wreck if you aren't paying attention."
] |
[
8
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
hhs377
|
why do so many movies & shows about high schoolers use people in their 20s to play 14-18 year olds?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fwbxiv8",
"fwbxvjr",
"fwbydrf"
] |
[
"Mostly because anyone over 18 is considered an adult, so they can work long hours; otherwise, if they are under 18 they can only work a certain number of hours in the day."
] |
[
16
] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
iui27h
|
Alkalinity
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"g5kvozu",
"g5lxjpo"
] |
[
"Water by definition is neutral, with a pH of 7. So what you're really referring to is the dissolved compounds in the water, and the reactions between them under conditions of differing pH. Some compounds are pH sensitive, and indicate via color change, and some reactions can release energy as heat, but they're not necessarily always caused by a change in pH. Mixing acidic and basic solutions will create a pH equilibrium between the two-and there's a whole field of chemistry focused on that area."
] |
[
8
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6jinvp
|
The whole "mining" thing with RX video cards?
|
Repost
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"djeloap"
] |
[
"Crypto currency \"mining\" is basically solving a bunch of complex math problems, in exchange you get some of that crypto currency. It just so happens that Radeon graphics cards, specify the newer RX ones, are very good at it. GPU's are better in general at this than CPU's and Radeon based graphics cards are better at it than Nvidia based graphics card. This caused a very high demand for these graphics cards, as the price if Bitcoin and a few other crypto currencies have increased very quickly in the last several months. Many people are buying Radon RX series graphics cards to get in on the increase in crypto currency maker value."
] |
[
7
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8xx84q
|
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a fungus that turns ants into zombies to complete its life cycle. How does it do that?
|
[Wikipedia article.]( URL_0 ) This is by far one of the weirdest things in biology I've heard of, but how in the hell is this possible?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e26q18w"
] |
[
"Ants have very simple brains. They navigate by following chemical trails. Cordyceps invades every nueral pathway and floods the signaling with a chemical gradient that gets stronger when the ant gets higher up. A much more complex and poorly understood \"zombie parasite\" toxoplasma gondii which infect mamal brains - URL_1 And the horsehair worm - URL_0"
] |
[
3
] |
[
[
"http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/this-bug-was-infested-by-mind-controlling-worms/",
"https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-a-toxoplasma-parasite-infects-mice-they-never-fear-cats-again-9757150/"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
6kteyf
|
Why does America spend such a large amount of its budget on defence and military in relation to other countries in contrast to other departments? Couldn't this money be better spent else where?
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"djoubnl",
"djonsy9",
"djoosuq",
"djp9g7e",
"djon8au",
"djon0c8",
"djon8qx",
"djovla6",
"djotobn",
"djovsl9",
"djorbua",
"djosw0o",
"djorayw",
"djowhl6",
"djow0uu",
"djoshoc",
"djos1eg",
"djoqway",
"djoplk5",
"djowzr7",
"djp2vtk",
"djonw9r"
] |
[
"The Bretton Woods System. After WWII, at a conference in NH, the US surprised the world by not proclaiming an empire, but instead agreeing to provide free trade, protection, and safe deep water navigation. Understand at the time the US was the only world power. Perhaps no country has benefited more from the Bretton Woods System than China, but nearly every country that is a part of the system has and continues to benefit in meaningful ways. The US has been required to engage in fruitless wars (e.g. Vietnam) as a result of holding up its end of the agreement. The Persian Gulf wars were derided as the US protecting its oil needs, but in reality this protected the needs of oversees allies. Maintaining this system costs the US dearly, while reducing the costs incurred by other countries. Without perspective, it seems like the US is overly involved and imperialist, which draws criticism and pleas for the US to reduce its influence and presence. This needs to be filed in the \"be careful what you wish for\" category. The US will likely start to withdraw, and no country will benefit more from this than the US. It is likely many other countries will revert to their pre WWII military, political, and trade squabbles with neighboring states and ethnic groups. The US will be a global power without global interests. It is the most defensible land, and most other countries will be too busy with regional fighting. Really, no country in the foreseeable future will have an ability to invade the US. Advances in 3D printing helps to reduce supply chain logistics, and Mexican labor is becoming as cheap as any overseas. The US dominance in such a scenario doesn't emanate from any superiority of its people, rather its unmatched and unbelievable natural resources. More navigable rivers than the rest of the world combined, more contiguous arable land, more fossil fuels than the rest of the world with fracking, best positioned to withstand even the most dramatic global warming scenarios. These attributes are often overlooked, but their importance cannot be overstated. Until I researched Bretton Woods, and geopolitics before, during, and after WWII, I vehemently critiqued the US as a global empire, a hegemony, a nefarious, smothering power. Like most opinions I've ever had, the more I research, the more I have to adjust, and, frankly, the more questions and less certainty I walk away with. A great book on this topic is the Accidental Superpower. Edit: Thank you for the gold, undeserved. It's a fascinating topic and it's fun to consider different thoughts and perspectives, so thanks to everyone for taking time to share theirs."
] |
[
1045
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2015_national_security_strategy.pdf",
"http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/french-patrol-plane-aids-uk-search-for-russian-submarine-detected-off-scottish-coast-a6744171.html",
"http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/year_spending_2016USbn_17bs2n_1000304020#usgs302",
"http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/numbers",
"http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS",
"http://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2018/fy2018_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf",
"http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mod-asks-for-american-help-in-searching-for-russian-submarine-near-scotland-9966080.html",
"http://nssarchive.us/",
"https://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/collectivedefense/",
"http://www.cfr.org/defense-budget/trends-us-military-spending/p28855",
"http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/year_spending_1969USbn_17bs2n_1000304020#usgs302",
"http://www.brownpoliticalreview.org/2013/12/a-dreaded-rite-of-passage-koreas-mandatory-military-service/"
],
[],
[
"http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/06/25/the-biggest-military-budgets-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-infographic-2/"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures"
],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
b29xm7
|
What is the difference in formulation between hand soap, shampoo, body soap, dish soap, and laundry detergent?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"eirl6y1",
"eirj5d7",
"eis8cy1"
] |
[
"Dish soap is generally formulated to heavily remove oil/grease because that is what you are most often cleaning out of cooking pans etc Dawn is actually pretty often used to clean animals trapped in oil spills etc because it is so effective. A shampoo is kind of on the other end of the spectrum formulated to not remove as much oil because removing all the oil from your hair will damage it. Laundry detergent generally contains some form of bleach because it is most effective at cleaning fabrics it's also formulated to not make soap suds/bubbles. If you've ever put dish soap in your clothes washing machine you will know what i'm talking about lol an uncontrollable amount of suds will soon be flooding your house."
] |
[
25
] |
[
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
cvawx7
|
Why do oil rigs at sea have a constant flame burning on top of them? Natural gas? And why couldn't it be collected as well instead of wasting it?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"ey30nd7",
"ey37fl1",
"ey3bfum",
"ey3fzis",
"ey34rrb"
] |
[
"Yes it is natural gas. Oil reservoirs usually come with an associated pocket of natural gas. It could be collected if they wanted to but often its not economical to build the additional infrastructure required to capture and transport it so they just burn it off."
] |
[
36
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
7u4aek
|
how do solar panels capture energy from the sun?
|
Repost
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dthgnwg",
"dthglxd"
] |
[
"Photons have energy in them. When those photons hit a special semiconducting material, they can transfer that energy to the electrons in the semiconductor. This allows the electrons to move to a nearby metal electrode and loop around through a circuit to a baseline electrode on the other side of the semiconductor."
] |
[
5
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8lpl0p
|
How do gears - like on a bicycle work?
|
I understand this is pretty basic.. I am a grad student and i even did decently well on a couple physics courses I took in undergrad.. I just still can't grasp it..
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dzhgdax",
"dzhiiax"
] |
[
"It's basically the same principle as a pulley system. You are doing the same amount of work over a longer or shorter distance. Thus, in a lower gear, you are increasing the distance that the work is spread over, so it takes less effort for you when pedaling."
] |
[
5
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
6q279d
|
What does the US National debt actually "do" to us?
|
I don't understand the point of being concerned for how much money we owe (to whom…?) when we will just go ahead and spend more money anyway and raise the debt more (and repeat). What real-world repercussions can be observed from such an immense debt, what would change if it were immediately set back to nothing?
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dkudzpy",
"dku099g",
"dku0mg8",
"dku0m96"
] |
[
"So a lot people don't really understand what a National Debt is. It's not like credit card debt or student loans. So basically, people will buy notes from the government (called bonds or securities), that are basically contracts between the buyer and the government. The buyer pays some money for the bond, and over a period of years (usually 10-30 years), the government will pay the buyer interest on the bond. So actually, government debt is more analogous to a publicly traded stock (a person or group buys bonds, just like people buy stocks) with dividends (some companies pay dividends to shareholders, just like the government will pay interest to bond owners) than it is to personal debt. The interest rates are usually very low, around ~2-3%, which is much smaller than returns that you'd expect to make on the stock market. So why would anybody buy these bonds? Because, unlike the stock market, you are essentially guaranteed to get your interest payment. The US government has *never* missed a payment, so it's a very safe, attractive place to put your money if you want to at least keep up with inflation. So when people say that we're \"in debt\" to China, it really isn't an accurate statement, at least in terms of the layman's concept of debt. It would probably be more accurate to say that China has invested a lot of money in our treasury because they expect to get a return. It's something that's become highly politicized, too much in my opinion, because debt is something that's very easy for politicians to talk about. But they tend to misrepresent what it actually is by implying that the Chinese government is attempted to foreclose the White House. So most of this \"debt\" is owed to the public of the US, a lot of it is owed to other branches of the US, and a good portion is owed to foreign nations (like China). Since the US prints its own money, it theoretically doesn't ever have to miss a payment. However, having debt that is too high (and paying it back) would cause an unhealthy amount of inflation in our economy since the US would have to print lots of money to pay it off. So do we have too much debt now? I don't know, probably not, considering we're not experiencing hyperinflation. How much debt would cause that? I have no idea, I'm not an economist. So anyway, the TL;DR: Think of the US national debt more like a stock rather than personal debt. People, organizations, and countries put money in because the US Treasury will give them interest on that investment. Having debt is healthy because it means the government has more money to spend and people are investing our economy/government. Having Waaaay too much would cause issues with inflation."
] |
[
10
] |
[
[],
[
"http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/01/14/why-public-debt-is-not-like-credit-card-debt/"
],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
6lr09p
|
Why is it that most singers close their eyes when singing?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"djvzb1x"
] |
[
"Why do I stick my tongue out when learning new song on my guitar? No doubt the act of closing their eyes can be part of the performance, for show, but it is also part of getting into the moment, concentrating, and settling nerves. I don't know of any studies on the topic and a quick search didn't turn up anything too specific (I didn't look super hard). When concentrating on one thing intently most people have \"autonomic\" responses that are not consciously done. Even when a skill is mastered closing ones eyes can increase hearing or touch. I don't know if there is one answer to your question, because it would depend. That is the most common answer to psychological questions: it depends."
] |
[
3
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8vsscg
|
Why do some museum ban flash photography when viewing certain exhibits?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e1pxo0a"
] |
[
"Flashs produce very bright light. Light in general can harm some of the pigments used in art. This would fade the image and be very bad. Rather than expect people to know how bright their flash is, it's a lot simpler to just ban all flash photography. Given the number of violators, most people don't even know how to turn the flash off. Increasingly museums are going to \"no photos\" to deal with the ignorant masses of cell phone photographers."
] |
[
8
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
62cnfy
|
How does splitting an atom harness so much power?
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dflhn6a"
] |
[
"This question was answered on this sub in 2014. Here is a link explaining it. Basically splitting one atom only results in a little bit of energy, the objective is to split many of them very very fast. Link here to archived post. Hopefully it won't get removed by bots or pedantic mods. URL_0"
] |
[
8
] |
[
[
"https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fa1zy/eli5_why_does_splitting_an_atom_release_so_much/ck79ofr/"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
ey4k04
|
If a disease needs a host to live, then potentially kills the host will it eventually become extinct once everyone is either immune or dead? What is the benefit of killing the host?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fgf36kw",
"fgf6l97",
"fgfh1v5"
] |
[
"Most diseases keep the host alive long enough to multiply and spread. You’ll often hear of diseases that are communicable for several days before the host shows any symptoms. Continuation of the genetic material is the only pressure or driver, diseases don’t “plan” to kill or sustain the host. You’re right that if a disease kills the host very quickly, then the outbreak will “flame out” on its own. At the other end, if you think of colds, they don’t kill very many people at all and can keep cycling through a population, pretty much indefinitely. So, there is no “benefit” because earlier generations of disease are not sentient. They either spread well due to delayed host death or they spread poorly because they kill the host early."
] |
[
25
] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
g3mgsl
|
How do some metals manage to kill bacteria?
|
I read in an article that some metals (e.g. copper or silver) can manage to impede bacterial growth, how does that happen?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fns46p8"
] |
[
"It totally depends in the situation, the metal in question, and the bacteria in question, but the general gist is that **some metal ions are toxic** to certain life forms. A common example, though technically not about bacteria, are [copper IUDs]( URL_0 ). After insertion, they slowly release copper ions, which kills sperm cells. The copper is slowly depleted, which is why they only work for \\~5 years."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrauterine_device"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
o5bfi3
|
What is the hot material they pour into the rolling thing to line stripe & write things like “stop” on the road and how does it instantly dry?
|
You know the ones from the videos on Instagram.
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"h2luhzp",
"h2lvvjb"
] |
[
"It's hot melted stuff. It's not \"drying\" so much as \"cooling\" when it hits the pavement. The pavement has a lot of heat capacity, so it only takes seconds to get the stuff to the ambient pavement temperature."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
hh7ud0
|
How do nails (like the hammer kind) work? Like how do they keep things together?
|
I've looked it up and I just don't get it
|
Engineering
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fw8mm17",
"fw8vq26"
] |
[
"I think to add to the previous comments, this isn't simply a case of friction between two surfaces, because if that were the case, a nail resting on top of a plank of wood would be just as difficult to remove. When the nail is driven into the wood by the hammer, the wood immediately around the nail compacts to make way for the incoming nail. You can think of the wood like a spring, compressed between your fingers, it wants to return to its \"uncompressed\" state and the spring therefore pushes on your fingers til you let it go. Because the wood also wants to return to this uncompressed state, but the nail is in the way, the wood applies significant pressure to the nail. This pressure increases the friction between the two surfaces making for a strong bond."
] |
[
37
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
6ium98
|
How are we able to detect earth sized planets many light-years away, as well as potential composition, but aren't able to definitively confirm the existence of a much larger 9th, and 10th Planet in our own Solar System
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dj96lhs",
"dj95zyv",
"dj973qp",
"dj9gpd9",
"djafprh"
] |
[
"You're standing in a pitch black field at midnight. No moon, nothing. Your only light source is the screen of your mobile phone. 150 feet away is a guy in all black clothing. 1000 feet in the other direction is a giant fire with a guy dancing around it. It's farther away but you can see that guy because of the fire. (The void in the fire when he passes between you and the fire) You don't see the 150 foot one because your light source is not strong enough for his distance"
] |
[
264
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR5VJo5ifdE"
],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
ihsti9
|
why do we feel a random sharp pain in a spot on our bodies that isn't damaged, then disappears like nothing happened?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"g32d4kw",
"g32dth5",
"g32dzxy",
"g32e4gh",
"g32eh5p"
] |
[
"It’s possible that it’s referred pain, which is where a part of the body without nerves is hurt or irritated in some way but the pain shows up elsewhere in the body where there is no damage."
] |
[
114
] |
[
[],
[],
[
"https://www.healthline.com/health/precordial-catch-syndrome"
],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6jszgo
|
Why do new computers become cheaper over time (in nominal value) but cars do not?
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"djgri2v",
"djgz80b",
"djgrjwg"
] |
[
"There are a number of reason: cars aren't really advancing technology in leaps and bounds... there is no Moore's Law equivalent to engine horsepower or anything. The time of tremendous advancement and rapid price decline with autos was the era of the Model T. Since then, it's been adding conforts, from padded seats, to radios, to climate control, to navigation, to all sorts of safety advancements from airbags and crumple zones to ABS, lane detection, etc. Also, the cost of raw materials vs. finished good are different. A pile of silica, plastic, some trace amounts of metal, etc. don't cost much... hundreds of pounds of steel and aluminum, glass, leather, etc. cost a lot as raw materials. R & D, testing, etc. for cars to be deemed aerodynamic, crash safety, various government certifications, etc. all take time and money. Cars are way more costly to transport. Automakers have all sorts of legacy costs like employee and retiree pensions/healthcare to pay for."
] |
[
11
] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
j13ay9
|
Can a US state close its borders to other states?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"g6wuvh4"
] |
[
"During the early peaks of the Covid crisis several states, Rhode Island comes to mind, stationed their state police at the borders and turned back out of state vehicles - so the answer is a partial yes. Because the National Guard reports to the States it is certainly possible they could be used, however none of the regular active duty forces could be used by the States for this purpose."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6xuci9
|
How do we assure that there are enough key/keyhole combinations for doors to be safe?
|
Engineering
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dmiidcz",
"dmikn9o",
"dmio7q9",
"dmioofn"
] |
[
"We don't, not really. Most of the doors in the USA can be picked with your average rake/tension wrench combo in under 5 seconds for anyone who has done it once or twice before. It's a really simple lock. Car doors have more tension in them, so you need a slightly stronger tension wrench to counter act it, and you might need a specialized pick, but they come in the standard pick set. Your various padlocks are also typically very insecure. High-end locks are much, much more precise than these cheap, common locks. Laser etched grooves and all-that being so accurate that they're nearly impossible to pick or bump. You need the key that goes to the lock, otherwise you're generally not getting in without breaking it."
] |
[
33
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8hozgy
|
What does a computer do when it "extracts" a zip or rar file? Where is it getting that extra data from?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dyle2ah",
"dyle3aq",
"dyldx2o",
"dylg7n8"
] |
[
"It's extracting the compressed data from within the zip file. Compression attempts to store the same data in less space through clever math. As an extremely basic example, say you wanted to compress this string of characters: \"aaaaabbbbbcccccdddddeeeee\". Originally, the string is 25 characters long, but you could compress it to 10 by turning it into \"a5b5c5d5e5\". A program that knows about this type of compression knows that \"a5\" decompresses into \"aaaaa\", but the program that originally created the file doesn't know what these 5s are about. The computer needs to decompress or extract the string before that program is able to use it."
] |
[
64
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
jm5zgu
|
Why does the body get itchy everywhere before falling asleep?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gat6irn"
] |
[
"Okay so this is a very interesting process. A proper sleep requires the body to be perfectly still...otherwise you'd probably hurt yourself while dreaming. So, the body releases a certain chemical that paralyses the body during sleep. Now, if this chemical is released when you're not asleep, it can be rather torturous. So, the body tests itself to see whether you really are asleep or not. That is why you feel itchy. If you itch yourself, you move and the brain knows you're not asleep yet."
] |
[
8
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
906tuf
|
Why old tech is being shown in new movies
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e2o44ss",
"e2o4nde",
"e2oe6tu",
"e2ofxkf"
] |
[
"Because most people can't identify models in simple passing. If someone pays for the rights to feature their latest and greatest, the studio would use it, but otherwise it's just a prop phone with the model being completely unimportant."
] |
[
33
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
69aptr
|
Why do you feel so tired after doing nothing all day?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dh5559m"
] |
[
"Even while doing nothing your body is hard at work doing many things such as: *Fighting diseases (which your body has faced before) *Contracting Muscles (Eg. Pumping blood around the body) *Digesting food *Respirating (Processing Oxygen from breathing) *Creating Proteins for repairs *Conducting Mitosis (How Skin, bone, organ cells multiply) *Maintaining production of chemicals such as acids in the stomach *Creating Neurotransmitters that act as messengers to transmit signals between nerves *Etc. (Edit: Sry, I'm on a mobile, forgot how to make a list) All of this requires energy, so your body will need a break at some point. Also your mind is programmed to create hormones at some points in your \"Internal clock\" that will make you feel like you need to sleep. This is mainly because as you think, your brain is releasing toxins that need to get out of your body, the only time it can release those toxins is when you are asleep."
] |
[
3
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
68eeh5
|
Why do we still laugh at jokes we have heard before?
|
One of my favourite movies is Hot Fuzz even though I've watched it more times that I can count. In life, movies, tv, or any kind of entertainment -- why are many jokes still funny even if you've seen or heard them before?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dgxtwig"
] |
[
"If I hide behind your dresser and pop out and scare you, why would I be able to repeat that effect? Your mind or body still transmit information, whether it's new or old information is irrelevant. It still triggers those emotions in the same way. Not to mention mediums of entertainment are usually enjoyed with a heavily suspended disbelief - so we allow ourselves to forget we know what will happen the same way we allow ourselves to forget Johnny Depp is an actor and not actually a pirate or a guy with scissors for hands."
] |
[
5
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
7vdkhh
|
How do you make new friends without going to bars?
|
Culture
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dtrgxjb",
"dtrgze7"
] |
[
"Find things you like. Find groups of people doing the same things you like. Join those groups and go to meet ups."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
82yc1k
|
What is the reason that it is common to eat 3 meals in a day?
|
Culture
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dvdowy2"
] |
[
"'Mealtimes' are constructed to accommodate social, geographic and economic norms and lifestyles. Doctors will often ask you if you're getting three square meals, but that's just because its an easy way of gauging whether you eat enough. Its not the natural, or even optimal, way of doing things. Naturally, the time we eat should be determined by our stomachs, not the position of the sun in the sky. That's why more recently doctors recommend you have healthy snacks throughout the day. In modern Western culture, we eat three square meals because it coincided with industrial work patterns. The industrial revolution brought a very strictly regimented workday. Suddenly people were very concerned with hours and minutes. You couldn't simply allow workers on a factory line to pop off whenever they liked because they were hungry. Over time, our eating patterns developed around that industrial workday, to the point where they became a social and cultural fixture. You had breakfast before work, you had lunch with your peers when the line shut down at midday, and then you would usually have dinner with your family after the workday. We developed social patterns and rituals around those ideas, until they became so entrenched that many of us thought that's just how people have always eaten. In the modern world, with ready-to-eat meals available at all hours, those strict lines are also diminishing. You don't go home and have a big family dinner as much anymore. Lunchtime is also not necessarily a shared meal for all workers in a given workplace, because the nature of the workplace has changed. In short, its the way we organize our society that really determines our mealtimes. When we work, how we work, and even things like gender roles or technology can determine the cultural norms for mealtimes."
] |
[
28
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
dgjfiv
|
how do programmers know where to look when updating apps?
|
For example the latest Reddit update is this one. “Fixed an issue where clicking links would cause the app to crush” how would they know where to look to find the code that is causing issues ???
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"f3c4h5q",
"f3c51wx",
"f3c5kef"
] |
[
"They start by looking at the clicking links section of the code and reading it for potential issues. Then they make a change and see if that fixed it."
] |
[
5
] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
5pws3l
|
how do big hotels keep their showers so hot and high pressured?
|
Currently staying in a big hotel and had a shower thought this morning - how does their system cope with the 8am rush on hot water? Is it an upscaled version of what I have at home or is something special happening? How do they keep the pressure so good - my hotel shower is better than my amazing pressure at home!
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dcugxg3",
"dcuegwn",
"dcuwh70",
"dcufcmh"
] |
[
"Large buildings like hotels, high rise condos/apartments, etc have large boilers that can generate massive amounts of hot water and use pumps to supply pressure."
] |
[
10
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
9aa4cm
|
Why when lighting strikes the ocean, it doesn't kill all marine life?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e4tuo65"
] |
[
"For the similar reason that putting a drop of red food dye in the ocean won't turn all the water red. The electric charge spreads out across the surface and goes down into the water, and attenuates (gets weaker) as it spreads out. Animals in the immediate area where the lightning hits can be killed or injured, but there isn't enough charge to carry across the entire world's ocean."
] |
[
3
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
b7tozt
|
Why does ice melt faster when placed in diet Coke compared to regular Coke
|
I've noticed the ice cubes I put in a glass of diet Coke will disappear much quicker than in the regular Coke.
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"eju67hh"
] |
[
"Higher entropy I think. Same reason salt speeds up melting process, by introducing more stuff to bump around at the molecular level, it lowers the melting point of ice. Diet Coke has other solute (dissolved stuff) in it, and that reacts on a physical level with ice, making the heat transfer faster."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
btqc14
|
Why can’t people walk after certain injuries (not obvious paralyzing injuries)? Do you just forget how to walk and have to remember?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"ep1yo17",
"ep1nkv6"
] |
[
"Sometimes the injury is to the leg, hip, or back and it prevents walking for a time. Sometimes it is to the head, ears, or toes and changes balance and so that has to be relearned or recovered from. With the elderly you also see a lot of people barely being strong enough to walk getting an ailment that puts them bed ridden for a few weeks or months and that is enough time for their muscles to atrophy enough that they slip below the line of being capable of walking any more."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
mluoup
|
Why are moths so intensely attracted to sources of light?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gtnnhup"
] |
[
"It is believed that they use moonlight to navigate, since they are nocturnal. They mistake bright lights for the moon. I'm not sure if anybody TRULY knows, but this is commonly accepted."
] |
[
11
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
5tqlig
|
The difference between PPOs EPOs, and HMOs
|
I'm trying to decide what's the best plan with my new employer. My aunt, who does health care billing says PPOs are the best/HMOs are the worst. What are the pros/cons of each?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"ddoahnf"
] |
[
"PPO - Preferred Provider Organization. You have a network of doctors, you can go to anyone in your network without getting a referral. You can go outside of your network (but they pay a lot less outside of your network). Gives you the most flexibility, and is generally the most expensive. HMO - Health Maintenance Organization - You have a specific doctor that's in charge of you. You go to that doctor if you need anything. You usually need a referral to see a specialist. If that doctor wants to send you to a specialist, they'll give you a referral. There's no coverage outside of your network (not that the coverage for most PPO's is even decent outside of network for the most part). Tend to be cheaper. EPO - Exclusive Provider Organization. Kind of halfway between the two. You can see anyone in your network without a referral (usually). But there's no coverage outside your network. There are some HMO's that don't require referrals, and some EPO's that do. Need to look at the summary of benefits and provider directory for whatever policy you're looking at to be sure."
] |
[
3
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
mrp8zk
|
Why can't water burn?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gunn7le",
"gunnbb0"
] |
[
"It doesn't burn because it already has. What we call burning is actually just a chemical reaction where something reacts with oxygen. Energy is released in the progress of burning which means that the materials left after something is burned are more stable than they were before burning and typically don't burn a second time. Water is basically burnt hydrogen as it's molecules have two hydrogen atoms bonded with an oxygen atom. Burnt hydrogen (water) doesn't like to burn again. To make something that has already been burned burnable again, you need to put energy into it to break the bonds between oxygen and some other atoms. In the case of water, you can force electricity through it which turns the water back to hydrogen and oxygen gases that can be burnt again. Edit: Fixed a typo and added last paragraph."
] |
[
16
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8dmmyt
|
Why do human eyes show so much white while most mammals don't have much visible white of the eye?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dxoegwu",
"dxoaf5s",
"dxoi4wh",
"dxof8ey",
"dxofkpq",
"dxoiok4",
"dxog3sd",
"dxojoi8",
"dxohvyn",
"dxoi1fm",
"dxohziu",
"dxol5wd"
] |
[
"I remember reading somewhere that having the ability to tell where other humans were looking was a proposed reason as to why our sclera were white, while our iris and pupils were colored. It allowed us to follow the gaze of our companions and look in the same direction without speaking or moving to point. Comes in handy when you're hunting something and trying to be extra sneaky. Hard to do when your entire eye is the same color. I could be completely wrong, but it's a plausible theory I heard!"
] |
[
2475
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[
"https://advancedvisioncare.co.uk/eye-facts-human-vs-animals/"
],
[
"https://youtu.be/VUuH4TEmgLo"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
66l7k1
|
Why should we scan instead of photocopying?
|
[Explaining digital archiving to an aunt who lives in the past] When my wife's grandmother died, she entrusted several hundred old (1800s–1980s) photographs to my wife and me. My wife's aunt, who lives 1,000 miles away, is a hoarder stuck in the pre-computer age, and she keeps calling us requesting the original documents. She really wants to photocopy the pictures and snail-mail them to all her family, and she thinks she has a right to do so . . . right now! We are both trained digital archivists, and we've tried to explain to her that scanned copies are the best way to distribute and preserve these photographs for future generations. She just doesn't seem to get it. What would you do? How would you explain it to her?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dgjbzh5",
"dgjbv1x",
"dgjbywj",
"dgjbvgg",
"dgjsd2j",
"dgjd26g"
] |
[
"As someone that works with technology with people that are old and don't understand technology she almost certainly just doesn't know what the heck you are talking about and just wants the thing she wants to happen to happen. She wants a photocopy because that is the word she knows to use to mean a duplicate to mail. So when you start talking about digital archives and scans and whatever it just sounds like you are saying you won't give her the thing she's asking for and it's not communicated that your thing is the same idea. Scan the documents then send her high quality print outs, higher quality than a xerox would be, because that is what she wants and when you talk about digital whatevers she thinks you are just denying her the ability to have copies."
] |
[
7
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
lealp0
|
Why aren’t balls on the inside?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gmaw6s3",
"gmawn0y"
] |
[
"Temperature regulation for the most part. On a hot day balls hang lower, on a cold day they shrivel up against the body. Semen are very picky about temperature"
] |
[
33
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
gwyk38
|
Why is the Mona Lisa considered one of the greatest artworks of all time?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fsy0597",
"fsy05sb",
"fsy6jog"
] |
[
"it was stolen from the Louvre and there was a lot of news about it. People followed the attempts to recover it. When it came back in it was famous. It's an okay painting, but that's why it's famous."
] |
[
31
] |
[
[],
[
"https://youtu.be/d2wy7Fp2fqw"
],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
n0fqnh
|
Why is there no video quality setting for the 500-600 range?
|
So we all know 144p, 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, and 1080p. But why is there no setting for something like 550p?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gw6bu4s",
"gw6jw0j"
] |
[
"You will notice that these go up roughly (in most cases exactly) in a 1:1.5 ratio. In other words each jump improves horizontal resolution by 50% So an extra resolution between 480 and 720 would be an anomaly."
] |
[
13
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
e5urv2
|
How can healthcare be free in a country like Canada, but cost thousands and thousands of dollars in the US, when insurance companies still charge monthly rates/deductibles etc?
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"f9m42k8",
"f9m2di0",
"f9m4a1g",
"f9m4pz6"
] |
[
"The cost is taken care of by taxes. In the UK a percentage of all general taxation is used towards the NHS. So anyone who is saying it's free, no it's not. It's a standard tax rate paid by everybody. The difference is, if you suddenly end up in a huge accident, have horrific long term cancer or something like that, you don't have the worry of whether your chosen insurance coverage will cover it or not, nor do you have the battles with your insurers to make sure you get it paid. It's just dealt with, and everyone's entitled to it. There's a line touted by people in the USA in an effort to justify their weird system in that \"You can choose to pay for it\" and \"you're not paying for other people\". Firstly, really the main reason you'd choose not to pay it is if you can't afford it. For everyone else, health insurance is a fact of life. And as for not paying for other people let me just give a quick recap of how insurance works: You pay a premium. Your premium is paid, along with the premiums of everyone else, into an insurance pool out of which claims are paid. The insurance company uses statistics, and analysis to determine the likelihood of insured people making a claim, and importantly **that is used in part to determine the premium paid by anybody**. Translated: If more people claim, the insurance paid by everyone will increase. How could you put that another way? Oh yeah, *you're paying for other people*. Its baffling to other Western countries how some people in the USA have convinced themselves that they're doing the smart thing by using health insurance, covering their own back, screw everyone else, and somehow failing to realize that the whole business model on which insurance works means by definition, you're very much paying for everyone who uses the service. With taxed health coverage like we have, because nearly *everyone* pays it, it's a lot cheaper, and because there aren't insurance companies looking to make a quick buck, it doesn't create that feedback loop with the pharmaceutical companies that means drugs in the US cost well over five times as much as they do here on average, nor do you get situations like that arsehole Martin Shkreli from a few years ago."
] |
[
28
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
99vhyv
|
how are purchases correctly identified as fraudulent by credit card companies when there is nothing “unusual” about them?
|
By nothing unusual, I mean a charge within a spender’s typical budget amount and relative location. This happened to me recently, and in discussing my relief with friends, they also mentioned having charges correctly flagged by credit card companies. Conversely, if a person is traveling and a card doesn’t require travel notifications, how do the auto flags know those travel charges are legitimate?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e4qrwwv",
"e4qsj7w",
"e4rvmts"
] |
[
"Kind of like data mining. Some companies will alert you if you buy something off a new website, or if the website is frequented by hackers. Let’s say you buy a bike online for $130. $130 isn’t that much money. However, people usually don’t order bikes off the internet. That’ll raise a red flag. And of course if there’s a pattern that’s a red flag as well. Hackers tend to either buy a bunch of little stuff in a short span of time, or a few expensive things in a longer period of time. So companies look for things like that, even though it could be normal."
] |
[
8
] |
[
[],
[
"https://monzo.com/blog/2018/06/28/ticketmaster-breach/"
],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
ca8xhd
|
Why do surgeons close surgical incisions with stitches instead of cauterizing them?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"et6se25",
"et6yvlw",
"et6s4ts",
"et6xxg1"
] |
[
"Because cauterization will always leave a scar. It’s also quite easy for a clean incision to heal quickly on its own, and this sometimes leaves no scar it very little. The sutures are required to hold it closed. On some smaller cuts they can also use glue but it doesn’t hold as well on the bigger one or in area that move a lot."
] |
[
29
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6yw3oe
|
If the Germans in WWII were so technologically advanced/had better weaponry, why didn't they win?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dmqmr3y",
"dmqlv0p",
"dmqrrfu",
"dmqkyke",
"dmqptv5",
"dmqlgua",
"dmqps1l"
] |
[
"Their tanks were *not* more advanced than everyone else's. Russian tanks were more advanced in many ways than Germany's. Germany certainly had better tanks than us: our Sherman tanks could barely penetrate the Panzer's front armor, if at all. However, we could produce and mobilize several Shermans for each of their Panzer, and because the Shermans were so light they could drive around a Panzer almost faster than the Panzer's turret could track the Sherman. The conventional wisdom was that two or three Shermans would attack a single Panzer, we would lose one tank, and the other two would get behind the Panzer and shoot its rear armor before it could aim and fire again. And then we would make three more Shermans to replace the one while Germany made one more Panzer. Another problem was the practicality of their technology. The Shermans were much better suited for urban combat since they could maneuver better through the small, tight streets of European cities, while the Panzer could only fit through bigger thoroughfares. The German King Tiger tank was all but impossible for the Shermans to defeat, but it could barely get into a city *at all*, so it wasn't very useful for urban combat. Then you have things like the German [railway guns]( URL_1 ): stupidly large and powerful, with an emphasis on *stupid*. They required a train engine to move, with all the resources that a train engine requires, and could only be mobilized to areas where there were rails. And once allies destroyed the rails around them, they were stuck. Which makes the likes of [Gustav]( URL_0 ) even more ridiculous, as it required *two* parallel sets of rails to move and had to fire in line with the rails. It also required a huge number of soldiers to support it, which meant a high ranking officer to run the regiment, which meant a *colonel* was in charge of *one single gun*. That's an extreme example, of course, since IIRC only two of those monstrosities were built. Still, many of the German innovations were wastes of time and money. Take the infamous V2 missiles. Sure, they were kind of existentially terrifying, but they were also horribly inefficient. Their aim was garbage and their payload was garbage. Their bombs were much smaller than what a plane could carry, and they could only be aimed \"somewhere in the general vicinity of London, probably\", which made them useless for strategic bombing. They were purely a weapon of terror, and they arrived far too late to make a difference, even as Germany poured money and time in to developing them. Which brings me to another point: the timing of the technological advancements. Had Germany developed weapons like the [ME-262]( URL_2 ) fighter early in the war, it would almost certainly have gone much differently. But the ME262 came very late in the war. That's not to say that the [ME109]( URL_3 )'s weren't formidable, but we had planes - and more importantly, *pilots*, that could handle them. When the ME262 arrived on the battlefield, Germany was hurting for skilled pilots. The USA was cranking out ace pilots all the time, and protecting them, while Germany was already on the downward end of the war and losing their best pilots as we introduced the major workhorses like our P51 Mustang, which very much evened the playing field against the ME109. At the end of the war, our P51s couldn't come close to taking out the ME262, but our ace pilots could outmaneuver their rookie pilots. Taking on a 262 was still a bad idea, and our pilots rarely did, but by then it was too late in the war to make a difference. Incidentally, the 262 could have been ready much sooner in the war, but Hitler demanded it be fitted for ~~dogfighting~~ rather than ~~strategic bombing~~ [correction: the other way around]. The plane was practically ready for combat as a fighter, they had to be redesigned to be outfitted as a bomber. What should be evident by now is that Germany (and especially Hitler) made a lot of poor decisions about how to develop and deploy their technological advantages and wasted resources developing \"more advanced technology\" that either never saw combat, came too late to make a difference, or was too over-engineered and ineffective. As far as I'm aware, their intelligence operations weren't significantly better than anyone else's. Arguably, the allies were much better at it because we utilized new technology like radar and computers before they did. More importantly, we *dumped* resources into projects that we wanted to succeed. Famously, when Germany learned that the US was developing nuclear weapons, they predicted that it would take us some months or years to develop a working prototype - a prediction based on the size of the team working in Germany. In reality, we did it in a fraction of the time because we assigned *many times* the number of scientists on the project, completing our nuclear bombs before Germany could, much to their surprise. Similarly, they believed that their Enigma code was unbreakable, and it probably would have been if we had not had Alan Turing and his Turing Machine to do it. Straight up breaking the Enigma code was a *huge* contribution to our war efforts, and Germany never really knew we did it, even if they suspected. All of that is to say nothing of the military decisions that went into the war. All the best technology on the planet will get you nowhere if you have incompetent leadership. Germany had some very capable generals but Hitler was an idiot. Some of their generals were, too, and even their best made mistakes. They diverted resources to bad ideas like wasting trains to move Jewish prisoners to the concentration camps that would have been better served moving military resources. And that's also to say nothing of the tenacity of the allied soldiers, like the millions of Russians that ran screaming into gunfire. Or the French resistance that harassed the German forces occupying France during the war, diverting soldiers and resources to hold France that would otherwise have gone to fighting allied soldiers. And of course, things outside of anyone's control, like the Russian winter that no invading army other than the Huns has been able to withstand. *I am not a historian, please correct me if I've gotten anything wrong. EDIT: Made some corrections.* EDIT: I am aware of what a Turing Machine is."
] |
[
46
] |
[
[
"http://i.imgur.com/nP3hkcw.gif",
"https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9e/0f/9a/9e0f9ab3b9c78e572a9d3ee6772bb2e9--railway-gun-big-guns.jpg",
"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Messerschmitt_Me_262_Schwable.jpg",
"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-337-0036-02A%2C_Im_Westen%2C_Feldflugplatz_mit_Me_109.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-337-0036-02A%2C_Im_Westen%2C_Feldflugplatz_mit_Me_109.jpg"
],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
ahr342
|
Why do so many oven windows have tiny dots all over them?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"eeh773z",
"eehavg2"
] |
[
"the tinting is there supposedly to reflect thermal energy back into the oven that would otherwise escape, making ovens more efficient. So otherwise they'd lose a lot of thermal energy and work harder to compensate, requiring more energy."
] |
[
42
] |
[
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
9zgc08
|
Why are there some kids these days being born without wisdom teeth?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"ea8y793"
] |
[
"Mutants... Some people have a genetic mutation which suppresses the third molars (wisdom teeth). Over time our mouth had been getting smaller, at one point we had 12 molars (6 on top, 6 on bottom) but as our brain got larger, the cranial space got more cramped. Fun fact, Inuit people frequently have no wisdom teeth at all. Here is an interesting write up on it: URL_0"
] |
[
9
] |
[
[
"https://www.livescience.com/27529-missing-wisdom-teeth.html"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
7zrdob
|
When doctors refer to someone as "a fighter" are they just being comforting or is there some science to individual recovery/resilience?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"duq6189",
"duq61jn"
] |
[
"A bit of both. No matter how tough or spirited a person is, getting crushed by a train is going to kill most people. But I do recall reading about how the endorphins released while being happy can help encourage other organs to work harder, potentially increasing your recovery ability from injuries or illness."
] |
[
10
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
7rm41g
|
1) Why is there gaps or spaces between galaxies? 2) What fills these gaps or spaces? 3) Why aren’t galaxies connect like a web or something?
|
Something I read about earlier and it fascinating me
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dsy7gks",
"dsxxpvt",
"dsy1709"
] |
[
"Galaxies *are* connected like a web or something [if you zoom out enough to see it]( URL_1 ). It's important to note that the blobs of light in that image are *not* galaxies. They're *clusters* of galaxies, or superclusters, which can contain *thousands* of galaxies. Consider the organization of the solar system. Most of the matter that formed the solar system became the Sun, and the rest spread out over a [huge distance]( URL_2 ). That matter is pretty concentrated in local spots, which are the planets. The space between planets is pretty empty, of course, but it still has a lot of stellar dust particles and comets and asteroids and a lot of *stuff*. But compared to the density of matter on Earth, interplanetary space is *really* empty. Then again, compare the density of matter within the solar system to the space between our solar system and the next one. The solar system has a ton of matter. Several planets' worth. But there's less between us and the Alpha Centauri system. It all seems random and empty until you zoom out and look at the galaxy and see the [spiral arms]( URL_0 ) that show the organization of the local groups of solar systems. It doesn't look like there's a lot of stuff between us and Alpha Centauri, and there's not, but when you look at the bigger picture you see that, in fact, there's still a *lot* of stuff pretty close together. And there is a lot of dust and rocks and stuff out there, too. And you can zoom out again to see the nearby galactic local group. Then the Virgo Supercluster. Then, finally, the structure of the universe as far as we know it. In the empty voids between galaxy superclusters, there's sparse traces of dust and gas, but that's it. The rest of the matter is concentrated in the superclusters. And within the superclusters, most of the mass is concentrated in the galaxies. And so on."
] |
[
11
] |
[
[
"https://2ai9u93bg0gn4e99nu2g8mbj-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/heic0602a-1200x938.jpg",
"http://www.sun.org/uploads/images/Millennium_simulation_500Mpch.jpg",
"http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html"
],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
bgszal
|
Why do men have a refactory period?
|
I always wondered why: wouldn’t it be better for the progression of the species if men could have sex “continuously”? Is it to make sure the new sperm will be healthy?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"elnawf7",
"elnbyy0"
] |
[
"The human male penis has a big ridge on it at the glans (the head). The reason this is there is that it creates a suction effect for scooping out semen from a rival male. If there's semen already in there when you're having sex, you'll remove it. You have a refractory period to keep yourself from removing your own semen."
] |
[
82
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
9oao1v
|
Why do you lose memory, but recognize it when it appears again?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e7ssmvf",
"e7sojlk"
] |
[
"There are two theories of forgetting: Trace Decay theory: this theory states that over time our recollection of declarative memory, or memory of events, figures, people and so on, begin to fade away or deteriorate with disuse, thus causing one to forget. As far as language goes, we are constantly using it because we have to communicate with others about our ideas, feeling, and other pertinent information. So, we've been using language so long, it becomes second nature to us and will never \"decay\" as long we're using it. In other words, \"you don't use it, you lose it\" type of deal. Interference Theory: Another theory of forgetting deals with the competition of stimuli. Whenever there are too many tasks at hand, too many \"things\" to focus on, one stimuli or thought interferes with another causing one to forget the new skill or thought called retroactive interference, or the former, older skill termed proactive interference. Language isn't necessarily a skill that interferes with other tasks. Yes, one could argue, \"Why don't we forget our native language when learning a newer one?\" That's it you said it-native language. It's native for a reason. It's been there for a while, quite longer than the newer one has been introduced. Either way, the brain will manage to find a to communicate and generally that involves tracing its steps back to what is most familiar."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
71xsmr
|
say if Kim Jon Un got assassinated; what would happen to the country?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dne7uun",
"dne9f54",
"dnebamz"
] |
[
"The country would continue. There would be a power struggle with one leader finally emerging as the one in charge. No one would invade North Korea. The new leader might be wise enough to step back from development of ICBM's which are not defensive."
] |
[
13
] |
[
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
fzhrv9
|
Why don’t we have an international universal currency?
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fn49bjd",
"fn48v5h"
] |
[
"Because countries like being in control of their own economy. If evereyone used the same currency, one country could single handedly put the world into a recession"
] |
[
5
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6e8qrc
|
The relative lack of startups in banking/financial services.
|
The financial industry is well known for being very lucrative and paying enormous salaries. Why is there such a lack of competition in terms of new players competing for market share? Why isn't the industry overrun with competition that drives margins and salaries down to the levels of other professional fields such as management consulting or engineering?
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"di8ghg7"
] |
[
"There are quite a few, but many tend to be small, niche companies that focus on specific aspects of the financial market where technology and programming can make a big difference. On the consumer side you've got companies like Paypal, Square, Stripe Dwolla, Braintree all changing payment and transactions. There are all sorts of trading start-ups but they tend to not be consumer-focused and instead trade their own portfolios, or for select clients, or providing technology to other investment firms and hedge funds. Michael Lewis' Flash Boys goes into some of these companies. As for consumer-facing products, it's hard because of the all the regulations, info security, etc. to set up a new financial company. Easier for existing ones to expand their offerings since they have the backend systems, customer base. And the biggest money is in investment banking, but there isn't a way for that to change business models to online since it's so dependent to n relationships, networking, and so on. But you do have crowdsharing sites like Kickstarter and GoFundMe that are new ways for businesses to raise capital without direct VC investment or business loans."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
aixot4
|
My drain cleaner says "Drink water if swallowed. DO NOT induce vomiting"
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"eer7gg5",
"eer7if3",
"eer7gqg",
"eer7kyj",
"eer7ji4",
"eer7lch"
] |
[
"Because if you induce vomitting you force it through your throat again. Then it gets a second chance at attacking all the sensitive things there. The digestive system is much more capable of dealing with acids etc. So... Depending on what is in your cleaner your stomach can actually handle it :)"
] |
[
24
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8jww6m
|
How do slot machines work, and are they truly random?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dz32ykd",
"dz33xz4"
] |
[
"Past ones had a physical mechanism that would spin the reels by you pulling the lever. Modern electronic ones work the same as any other computer, with a random number generator (which is technically pseudo-random, but for all intents and purposes is essentially the same as \"true random\") running in the background that is used to calculate the given results of a pull on the fly when you pull the lever. In the US at least there is requirements that said generator be cycled in the background (to prevent timing it) and that odds on electronic slot machines be \"constant\" (meaning that a machine can't go \"quiet\" after a payout, for example). (In the event of simulated versions of physical games like roulette they also require the odds to match the physical game version)."
] |
[
15
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8d67pn
|
How do gift cards generate profit?
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dxkk28z"
] |
[
"I'll add my 2 cents. I work in retail and for my company, the actual selling of giftcards isn't what generates the profit. When someone buys you a gift card for my brand we know that at some point in the future you will buy something from us. Many times people will attempt to use the whole gift card which means they go over and spend money on top of that. TL;DR - gift cards are guaranteed future sales."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
l9jpnj
|
How do companies benefit from high stock value?
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gliesru"
] |
[
"If I own stock in a company, and I sell it to you, the money is just exchanged between us and doesn't directly do anything for the company itself in terms of funds. The only time the company raises funds from stock sale is during the initial public offering, when they are selling the stock themselves, with the profit going to the company directly. This is the whole purpose of selling stock in the first place, to raise this money on the front end. And then any time the company releases new shares in the future they make additional money. The company can also buy their own shares back from stockholders (at market price), and then sell them back to the market when the company is doing better to a proft that way. But the main concern of the company, when it comes to the stock market, is the fact that the shareholders are the owners of the company (quite literally), and they are the ones in charge of deciding who the CEO is (through the board of directors). So, the CEO wants the company to do well in order to raise the stock value so that the shareholders stay happy so that they don't fire them and install a new CEO. Also, the executives of the company get a large portion of their income/benefits in company stock, so when the stock is doing well the executives are getting paid handsomely. Likewise they can lose a lot of money if the company falls flat."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
6gqrbx
|
Why is the election season in the US so long compared to Election season is in European nations?
|
US election season usually last 18 months. Most European election seasons last about 2 months or so. Why is the disparity so large? Is it because the US is so much larger geographically?
|
Other
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"discwv5"
] |
[
"Two main reasons. The first is that US elections are scheduled in advance. This means that people now well ahead of time when it will be, and the parties have timed their primaries and events to be free media advertising, extending out as far as they reasonably can before the deadline. In democracies with sudden elections like Britain, parties need leaders to be known and set, so the primary can't be a season, but has to be done before the earliest possible election date, which in a place like Britain today could be really, really soon after the last election. The other is money. A long election cycle is financed by money, where parties can afford 3 years of steady advertising out of every 4 years. Places where there is less money in politics suffer from this less. The US could settle this very easily if a law was passed not allowing state primaries to be held more than 7 days before the convention, so that they were all held essentially at once. And if it was illegal to advertise for a political cause except for in the 30 days before the convention."
] |
[
3
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
f9ojbk
|
When washing your hands, why do bubbles always appear white regardless of soap color?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fisz6q4"
] |
[
"Think of the color white as the absence of color. When light enters soap bubbles, it is refracted (which means scattered all over the place). Color is perceived based off of what type of frequency of light is reflected or absorbed by the object. If you see something as blue, it’s because your eye is receiving every color except the frequency associated with blue light from the object. So soap, since it scatters the light everywhere, makes you receive every color reflected back to you, giving it a white-ish color. Same concept is why clouds are typically white."
] |
[
7
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
eikp93
|
What are these "bots" that can fish for things on the internet such as free codes?
|
For example, when people post a coupon code here on reddit in plain text almost always a bot will take the code. How is this done? Not only does the bot need to scan for a code, but go to a correct website and use it. HOW?!
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fcrgyr7"
] |
[
"The same way anything else works with computers, really. Somebody figured out there's something valuable getting posted. They made what is effectively an automated web browser that looks on places like reddit, searches for some text pattern, and collects the results. Reddit in particular has an interface that allows for very easy automation, hence the amount of bots that do all sorts of things, from reminders to the bot that goes \"And my axe!\" Then once results have been collected, the bot goes to another site, and plugs those results in the right place."
] |
[
5
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
6e4r7d
|
Why when I'm choking because something "went down the wrong pipe" does drinking fluids help relieve the choking?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"di7murk",
"di7ozdm"
] |
[
"It can. I believe what's happening is your epiglottis is being iritated by residual fluid or food. So anything to clear the area should stop the choking sensation. Coughing, clearing your throat and swallowing can help too. You can try to tuck your chin too while swallowing as well. I see swallow studies on xray at my job."
] |
[
14
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
btbfjf
|
How did we manage to map the brain and figure out what each part controls?
|
Just to clarify, im not really curious about the actions it controls, but im more curious how we figured out where those actions happens in the brain. Like for example, how did we figure out that the frontal lobe is associated with emotions etc?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"eovop72"
] |
[
"Most of the historical information on the function of specific parts of the brain was first discovered by looking at people who had lost those parts of their brain (due to a stroke, physical injury, or whatever else) and seeing what functionality they lost. Someone who lost their Broca's area wasn't able to speak, which means that the Broca's area is used for speech, or someone with a frontal lobe injury had reduced emotions - that kind of thing. Since then, directly stimulating part of the brain with physical contact, electricity, very high-power electromagnets, etc. and observing the results has also been used - basically the scientific version of \"poke it with a stick and see what twitches\". Obviously this is done on animal models more than on humans. Most recently, we can use radiographic techniques like fMRI and PET scans to see the areas of the brain with increased blood flow during specific activities - that's where the \"brain activity scans\" you might have seen around come from."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
7sambu
|
How did "Southern Gentlemen" of the 19th and 18th centuries procure and keep ice for their Iced Tea?
|
Repost
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"dt39rc7",
"dt3bn0m",
"dt39unq",
"dt39unc"
] |
[
"Cut a big block of ice out of a lake in the north of the country, and have it carried to you in the south before it melts. If you get enough big blocks and stick them in a cellar there will be some ice all year."
] |
[
7
] |
[
[],
[],
[
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_trade"
],
[
"http://mentalfloss.com/article/22407/surprisingly-cool-history-ice"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
cnvadq
|
Why does cloth get darker when wet, even if the liquid is clear like water?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"ewe4z76"
] |
[
"The water absorbs more of the light so less gets reflected. More light reflected = brighter color. More light absorbed = darker color."
] |
[
3
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
7md4a8
|
Why we still use towers to broadcast signals (radio,cell phone, etc). Why not small antennas that could be built anywhere with wires buried in the ground.
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"drt2txv",
"drt2y6r"
] |
[
"Cost. It's cheaper to build a smaller number of antennas in locations that allow sharing -- this usually means putting them high up so their signals can get past obstacles. One phone antenna tower may serve users across up to 100 square kilometres. (Typically fewer, but still a large area.)"
] |
[
7
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
991uoa
|
what is kepler's third law?
|
What is it, why use it, how do we use it
|
Mathematics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e4ka9q3",
"e4kaajo"
] |
[
"It relates how far away an object orbits a star, with how long it takes to make one orbit. It tells us that further away objects take longer to orbit. We can use it to figure out how long a \"year\" is for a particular planet given it's distance from a star, or vice versa."
] |
[
6
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
fqanbq
|
If banks lend out our money and typically only keep 10%, how does the money enter the banking system again?
|
For example, when we buy things at a store say Wal-Mart, do they have a bank account themselves at an institution? Where does the money of our debit or cash transactions post to? I know cash gets picked up by an armored truck, but to where? Thanks in advance for assisting my curiosity!
|
Economics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"flpm2fi",
"flppsex"
] |
[
"I bank big (really big) business. Yes they have bank accounts just like you do. They just have a bunch that they use for different things. Walmart has a receivables account where they receive credit card transactions and deposit money from the stores. They will have a payables account that they pay vendors and supplies. They will also have a payroll account that they pay their employees from. So yeah big business have bank account with banks. Now to answer the question you ask in the title of if the post. The bank lends out money that other business and people deposit. So like you say they keep 10% and lend out 90%. They lend money to business A. Who then in turns pays business B. Business B deposits the money from business B into their bank account. The money keeps moving in this cycle over and over again. The cycle ends and then begins again when the money makes it down to the employee in the form of payroll who then buys things from Walmart and starts the cycle over agin."
] |
[
5
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
kq6vva
|
Why does the liquid inside rotate with the tumbler? If there's a bubble at 12 o' clock, it will remain at 12 o' clock even when we rotate.
|
Physics
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"gi24w61"
] |
[
"Fluids are pulled by the rotating walls of the tumbler by friction. Friction causes the speed of the fluid at the wall to be 0 relative to the wall. This is called the \"no slip\" condition."
] |
[
4
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
9a4ny7
|
Why is methanol so much more toxic than ethanol, despite being in the same homologous series?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e4srvwb"
] |
[
"If my memory from school is correct, a byproduct of your body breaking down methanol is formaldehyde which is incredibly toxic. Fun fact our professor told us: one of the ways they used to treat methanol poisoning was to get someone as drunk as possible so their body would use the up all of the alcohol dehydrogenase (the enzyme that breaks down both ethanol and methanol). Since the enzyme breaks down the ethanol instead of methanol, the methanol will go unprocessed and not be a threat. Our prof told us this years ago, so I may be completely wrong, so I apologize if so."
] |
[
7
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
8r1f7a
|
Why can we easily walk for hours on end, but struggle when running just for a few minutes?
|
Biology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"e0nn6bk",
"e0nqu8j",
"e0ns18n",
"e0nocsm",
"e0nnu84",
"e0o6xx5",
"e0nngv7",
"e0nsf7a",
"e0o9xca",
"e0nv79j",
"e0nwa6u",
"e0notar",
"e0ntwog",
"e0no4mh",
"e0nw7hd"
] |
[
"Think of your body as a machine, like an engine. At cruising speed (walking) it can run pretty much forever until it runs out of fuel. That's because the energy being asked of it is in the range that it is easy/efficient to produce with little to no extra fuel. Moving to higher speeds (running) requires more power which requires extra fuel be consumed. This requires more effort, which causes wear and more fuel to be consumed, which generates more heat that requires more effort and energy to disperse. So, in much the same way a car's engine will try to overheat when you press the gas to make it go faster, your muscles are drawing more oxygen from your blood (fuel) and generating heat due to the extra effort of running. Harder to analogize is the fact that this means your lungs are working hard to gather oxygen and expel CO2, which your hearts is pumping harder to distribute to your muscles which need that fuel to generate the extra effort required by running. At the same time, the muscles are trying to dissipate the heat the extra effort generates as well as the lactic acid strenuous exercise may be generating Then there's the whole effect of the difference in impact/weight distribution between walking and running, which varies by surface, body motion, etc.... tl;dr - It takes a lot more effort for your entire body to turn fuel into motion when running than it does to walk at a leisurely pace"
] |
[
4642
] |
[
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
|
gn4765
|
How does Apple Face ID work in the dark?
|
Basically how does the camera recognize my face when there’s almost no light, or is there? (Dim screen light maybe?)
|
Technology
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fr7guit",
"fr7mg29"
] |
[
"It uses infrared which can’t be seen by our eyes. It’s the same thing that night vision goggles use."
] |
[
12
] |
[
[],
[
"https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/photo-face-id-infrared-dot-matrix.2084242/"
]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
fc6b2z
|
what does it mean to have hard water?
|
And what tf does it mean to soften your water?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"fj8tn4m",
"fj8zlib"
] |
[
"To have \"hard water\" means your water has lots of dissolved minerals, like calcium. This makes water taste good, but it's not good for faucets and soaps. Water softeners remove these minerals, often by moving them to a part of the water and then pouring that water out."
] |
[
10
] |
[
[],
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
ck8rld
|
If cold air condenses, how can it be true that the lower the pressure gets the colder it is?
|
Chemistry
|
explainlikeimfive
|
[
"evkh3sy"
] |
[
"Imagine your body has the same properties as air and I placed you into a box that you fit into perfectly. I cool you down, you condense (take up less space) and as such, your body stops touching the wall of the box and you have more room to wiggle. Now say I heat you up and you expand, you're going to start pressing up against the sides of the box as you take up more space. That pressing up against the wall as the temperature increases is where the increase in pressure comes from."
] |
[
17
] |
[
[]
] |
[
"url"
] |
[
"url"
] |
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