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How can wood be "Fire-Hardened" without burning to ash? | Fire-hardening involves removing moisture from the wood, then burning off an outer layer. The fibers are burned away from this section but much of the lignin, which is a complex repeating molecule (or polymer) is left behind. These tightly interlock to form a smooth, waterproof surface that can be deep enough to protect the wood even when scratched. This was used in early weapon production, and a method of Japanese wood preservation known as Shou Sugi Ban. Often other plant oils are added before or after burning to enhance the effect of the coating. |
How do colors work in space? Are the photos we see the true colors of planets, nebulae, etc. or is everything actually gray scale to the human eye? | A little of both. Things in space really do have colors - Mars is red, Saturn is yellow-y, etc. Mostly depending on their dominant chemical makeup. (Mars, for example, is literally rusted, thus the red color.) However, many images from space telescopes and such are... well, not fake, but deliberately colored towards some effect. This can range from something relatively minor, like exaggerating the saturation so that finer details are easier to see, to something pretty major, like assigning visible colors to different non-visible exposures (radio, x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet). In all those cases, the caption usually explains how the image was processed, and the processing is done to aid scientific study of the image. But it still means, it wouldn't quite look that way "in person". |
How does the Wayback Machine work? Do deactivated accounts and deleted posts still get stored even if you don't archive them in the _URL_0_ website? | They have maaaaaaassive servers in the petabyte range. (It's a major source of funding stress for them I think – getting more and more storage) edit: [9 PB + 20 TB/mo](_URL_0_) i was wrong They regularly crawl through the web (so your personal webserver won't be accessed unless you host a semi-popular forum or something) and store each of the results given. Given most pages are less than 1 MB and most are less than 300-500 kB, they can store many snapshots of a lot of pages almost indefinitely. They rarely delete anything i think, at least very rarely. They only take the snapshots of un-logged websites (ie if they took a snapshot of reddit, they would only take a snapshot of what everyone sees before logging in) so any personal information stored is kind of your problem. |
Why is battery still required for the car's engine to keep running? | During the operation, the battery just serves as energy storage in case electrical demands exceed the output of the alternator at any given time, which is rare. But in most cars, the alternator (which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy) is connected to the belt. If the belt snaps, no electricity is being generated, and all electrical demands will be sourced from the battery. But in most situations, if the belt snaps, you have worse things to worry about depending on what else is connected to the belt. |
If Spider-Man is a mutant, why isn't he considered part of the X-Men? Does Magneto consider him on the mutant side? | Spider-Man is not a mutant. He falls into the "Altered Human" category of Marvel Supers, along with other characters of similar age, like the Hulk, the members of the Fantastic Four, and the Silver Surfer. |
How knowing mathematics is important for learning how to code a computer | As a web developer, I wouldn't say I use much mathematics, what I do use is logic. Maybe math is heavily suggested because it forces you to think logically? On a side note, I know certain programming like motion (for games) and such does deal with math. |
If the average human body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, why does 98 degree weather feel so hot & have the potential to cause a heat stroke? | because our bodies generate heat and need cooling. at 98 degrees it wouldn't be able to cool very well. |
Why is burnt food a carcinogen? | First, you have to understand what cancer is. Cancer is when some of the cells (tiny pieces) in your body start growing and making new cells much faster than they're supposed to. The part of the cell that tells it how to grow is called the DNA, and it looks like a long, curled up chain. The shape of the chain is like writing that tells the cell how to grow. Burning food and digesting burnt food creates a bunch of different chemicals. Some of the chemicals are called epoxides. These chemicals stick to DNA and change its shape. Most of the time that just makes the cell die (which isn't a problem because we have a lot of cells). But if they change the shape in the right (wrong!) place, it could mess up the way the cell grows and cause cancer. |
Why does my cat want to cuddle then suddenly attack me viciously? | He doesn't want to cuddle, he wants warmth, just let him do his thing, then, pat his head, don't over stimulate him. You'll want to know your cat well, after the Facebook thing... |
Explain like I am five the real life historical undertones of LOTR. Please. | Tolkein himself was adamant that his work was about individual people standing up for what is right, not a veiled reference to any particular war. The most important chapter, according to the author and many readers, is the next to last- "The Scouring of the Shire", which was left out of the movie. As to Potter, he's just an entitled twat, born with abilities instead of having to work for them. The whole story is a fantasy about how his family didn't realize how special he was, but then some super special people found him and eventually recognized him as the most super duper special of them all. |
how does bone marrow actually manufacture blood? | Pharmacist - Bone marrow contain a special type of stem cell. These divide and multiply. Under the influence of various hormones, some of them mature into the various cellular components of blood. While there are many types of such cells they are generally referred to as white or red blood cells. One of the treatments they use for kidney dialysis patients is the hormone that tells the body to make "red blood cells". One of the treatments they use for chemotherapy patients it the hormone that says make "white blood cells" Other parts of the blood are made and regulated elsewhere. Your digestive and kidney systems handle the salt and water balance. Your Liver makes all the proteins you need to make blood clot and keep the water from leaking out of your veins. |
How did English surpass French as the "lingua franca" of the world? | The UK's international influence from trade and colonization had eclipsed that of France by the mid 19th Century. At about the same time, US influence was on the rise, especially in the New World and the Asian Pacific. Then in the early 20th Century, multimedia took off with the US in the center of it. Music and movies, and eventually radio and television started to export American English speaking culture throughout the world in an era where France has been devastated by two world wars. |
In America, how do multimillionaires and billionaires store their money if they are only insured up to $250,000 according to the FDIC? | Investments. And their cash assets are just spread over several banks...or just over the insured limit. Most people with net worth over $5 million have most of their wealth in growth or income-generating investments like stocks, companies or real estate. |
how do shopping cart anti-theft wheel locks work? | There is a braking device inside the wheels which contains a radio receiver. Around the boundary of the store grounds is a transmitter loop, much like an invisible dog fence, putting out a signal. When the cart crosses the invisible fence, it receives the signal from the transmitter and triggers the brakes inside the wheel, locking it up. |
How do doctors, nurses, etc. tend to sick people constantly without getting sick all the time themselves? | Im an ER doctor. I got sick all of the time x 10 years. I just took a year off and didn't get sick at all. It's prompted some soul searching. |
Why would anyone willingly take Fentanyl if it’s going to kill them outright, and why would a drug pusher would willingly kill his clients with it? | "Yo man did you hear Joey died from an OD last week?" Ya? He must have had some Strong shit and fuck up. Ya Mikey has the best shit in town if even Joey OD..we gatta get some. Something like that |
What are the results of the Indian Elections, and what does it mean? | People are giving out pros and cons, but this means there is a bias. Without bias, the elections have no meaning. A party has been elected democratically in India, and it is just like any other election. Pros and cons, and "what does the election mean" come with perspective. If you are not an Indian citizen you will have a very difficult time understanding the political aspects, unless you collect a large unbiased investigation on the history of politics in India. TL:DR This is not a ELI5 question. |
Why are so many people on /r/politics and /r/worldnews rooting for Chris Dorner? | Because Reddit generally hates cops and the united states. It is the cool thing to do. |
What is the difference between a "good" quality watch and a "poor" quality watch? | It's all style. High-end watches are [Veblen goods](_URL_0_): They're in demand *because* they're so expensive. A fancy mechanical Rolex will keep much less accurate time than any $10 Timex with a quartz crystal. |
What's the logic behind the majority of dishes being round? | This is likely due to durability and history of being made on a potters wheel. To the first point, corners and points are the easiest pieces of a piece to snap off. Being round eleminates corners and makes all edges equally strong. To the second point, a very common method of production of ceramic dishes is on a potters wheel. As it spins uniform pressure is applied to create a shape. This would most easily form uniform round shapes. |
What can one do to help the environment? | Don't have children. Reducing the number of humans is a sure fire way to reduce humans impact on the planet. |
What molecular attribute governs bouncy-ness | Elasticity and electromagnetism. Basically, when the ball hits the floor, it deforms elastically. Atoms and molecules are pushed together, against their own repulsive forces. This stores energy. Once there is no more energy to store (the ball has stopped), the molecules use that stored energy to return the ball to its original form, which pushes it up. |
United States "territories and possessions" | A territory is a part of the United States that is not a state or the District of Columbia. People living there are US citizens, but typically do not have all the rights of people living in states, nor do they have all the obligations. Basically, they can't vote for president, they can't elect representatives, and they don't have to pay many federal taxes. The remaining US territories are islands in the Carribean and Pacific. Most are too small to have state level governments...some are completely uninhabited. Puetro Rico is the only territory large enough to consider statehood, but its citizens have decided against it in multiple referenda. There are a lot of ways these islands became territories. Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded by the Spanish after the Spanish-American War. The US Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark. The North Marianas Islands asked to be a territory rather than seeking independence. |
Why does 60° water feel way colder than 60° air? | So you're standing in your birthday suit in a 60 degree room. You're a little chilly, but there's a tiny pocket of air immediately around you that has been warmed up by your body, so you're comfortable. Unless a fan is turned on, which disturbs your warm air pocket. That pocket is gone when you're in 60 degree water, and it's harder for your body to create a warm pocket. |
How did Michael Jackson change skin color? | He had vitiligo, as confirmed from his autopsy, dozens of sources, pictures of his hands and legs, and by himself. He used make-up to even it out and some people claim he bleached his skin to speed up the process. In the end, his skin looked very pale and was very sensitive to the sun, that's why he wore clothes that covered most of his body and held an umbrella in the summer. |
Why not construct concrete homes in the tornado alley instead of rebuilding every time? | Cost, odds, and aesthetics. The odds of being hit by a tornado are very small - they aren't that wide and only touch down for a few miles, usually. So odds are a house isn't going to get a direct hit by a tornado. Then it is a question of cost and aesthetics. Since home builders and buyers know their house is very likely not going to be hit, they'll go with the house that is much cheaper - it means they can afford a bigger and nicer house (or just save on money). Also, while there are plenty of good looking, modern, high end concrete homes, if you don't have skilled concrete tradesmen, a concrete home can look ugly, or you'll just need more materials as a facade. |
In regards to alcohol, what does proof and percent by volume really mean? Is one more important than the other? | The term "Proof" is a holdover from less scientific days, where unscrupulous people might try to sell you watered down booze. You'd mix a bit of the liquid with some gun powder and drop a match. If it burned, that was "proof" that the beverage was not watered down. In modern times "proof" is quantified properly, and 2 "proof" points equals 1% ABV (so 100 proof whiskey would be 50% ABV). So ultimately we're talking about 2 terms with slightly different scales measuring the exact same thing. |
the appeals process in the American court system. | There are a *ton* of court cases, and everyone has to wait their turn in line, this just takes up a lot of time waiting for a court to hear your case. In addition, lawyers and prosecutors need time to build their cases, gather evidence and do a variety of administrative procedures to ensure everything is going right. So add this all up, and well, its just really really time-consuming. There are also a variety of tactics for both sides based on extending the amount of time before trial, but these are quite complicated and more case-specific issues. |
why do airport security take sharp objects off you (safety razors, safety pins, nail scissors) and then allow you to buy them at the pharmacy in departures? | The TSA exists mostly as a show of force to dissuade people from trying things in airport security zones. If a clever person really wanted to get something nefarious in, they probably could, but most people simply aren't that dedicated. By making everyone subtly hate the TSA, the mythos that they are unbeatable permeates the society and fewer people try anything. This isn't to say they are ineffective, of course, it's just that their effectiveness has little to do with their actual security precautions, and more to do with the sociological consequences of them. |
The difference between rar files and zip files | One reminds you every time you use it that it hasn't been purchased; the other doesn't. |
Why do we use the color red for stop, yellow for caution/slow, and green for go? | I know the answer to this, I just cant explain it that well because its been a while since I have heard the reason. Basically the red light that travels from the light can travel the farthest due to its longer wavelength. This means it is easier to see from farther away, even if its shady/cloudy/foggy, etc. Green is the complimentary color to red so it makes the most sense. Also, another reason would be because red indicates danger, and demands attention, like blood. Where green is a cooler color. Both of these combined make lights what they are today ^^^Please ^^^don't ^^^hurt ^^^me ^^^this ^^^is ^^^my ^^^first ^^^ELI5 ^^^explanation |
Why do car batteries have a positive and negative side which need jumper cables to charge, rather than a simple plug system like most other batteries? | Batteries all have a positive and a negative side. I am not quite sure what plug you are talking about that most other batteries use. The terminals are often standard but the location of the terminals is determined by the layout of the battery and can not be standardized across different types of batteries. Military vehicles, buses and trucks often do have a standard plug for charging the battery and jump starting the vehicle. However this have not catched on with normal cars yet. |
What is gas lighting? | Maybe you're looking for a practical example? A good way to begin is by moving everyday objects into new places and pretending they have always been there. Move a lamp from one corner of a room to another. When they notice or comment say, "What? No, that lamp has always been there." Act casual. |
Does time pass at the same rate for 2 stationary objects 500 million light years apart? | It depends on where in the universe you are. Time dilation occurs when spacetime is warped, and while relative motion is one way to cause this, perhaps the more common way is simply having mass. Everything that has mass distorts spacetime and causes time dilation, and the more mass the larger the distortion. Assuming you and the alien were at locations with exactly the same gravity wells, then yes, time would pass for both of you at the same rate. |
Why do militaries paint missiles? Aren't they just going to explode and get destroyed anyway? | Missiles spend most of their operational lifetime not exploding. The paint is for those times. |
What is the case for keeping the electoral college versus just using the popular vote? | The Electoral College is a check on the electorate. The people could vote for a charismatic populist despot (like Hitler) and the supposedly well-informed and impartial Electors could cast faithless votes to either elect someone else, or send the Presidential Election to Congress. This reflects the fear of pure democracy that was common in the 18th and 19th centuries. However today there is greater distrust in political elites and experts (who are subject to corruption) than in the electorate (who are fickle and generally poorly informed). Regardless, the Electoral College is a constitutional institution. The US Congress and 38 states must agree on a constitutional amendment to replace it OR states equaling 270 electoral votes must sign and approve the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, effectively creating a popular vote regime that would dictate the votes of the Electoral College. Currently states totaling 161 electoral votes have signed the Compact. |
If the FDA allows rounding in food labels, which allows food labels to say something has 0g of trans fat when it actually has > 0g, why don't we measure trans fat in milligrams like with sodium? | Fat is a macronutrient and is measured in grams. Sodium and other minerals and vitamins are micronutrients and measures in smaller increments. |
Why is it when a body part falls asleep, we perceive it as a static-y feeling? | The very short version is that you've restrictied the blood flow to a particular extremity. Nerves being the nessicary sensitive bitches they are rely on lots of blood to function properly. If that's cut down, you get the "jerking off hand of death" for 5 - 20 minutes as the blood flow restores normal function. In the mean time, your nerves are sending a "I'M DYING!!1!" to your brain. I find this is a really good time to try "the stranger". |
How a Turing Machine works and how it is important to computers | A Turing machine is a very simple computer. It's just a long strip of "paper", combined with a machine that can write on the strip, read from the strip, and move the strip around. It's important to computers because it's believed that Turing machines are *equivalent* to computers. So if you prove that something is impossible to do on a Turing machine, it's impossible to do on a computer. If you prove that something is impossible to do *quickly* on a Turing machine, it's impossible to do quickly on a computer. That's very helpful when you're trying to study the theory of computers, because as I said the Turing machine is a *lot* simpler than any real computer. |
What happened to Mongolia? | Genghis Khan's empire was huge but unstable. It broke apart almost immediately after his death. As time passed on the last remnants of the empire simply faded away. Most simply assimilated into local culture (like the mughals of India) and others were just conquered by more powerful and stable empires like in China. |
Why does the word closet have two different meanings ? | what are the two meanings you think it has? |
What happens to your body when it has a seizure? | here's a scenario: -normal person's brain = quiet and organized students in a classroom -person brain during epilepsy = detention room with students that were given sugar and everyone is all over the place and crazy and no one can control them. basically, what happens in a person's brain during epilepsy, is the neurons go haywire and crazy your body is somewhat mimicking what's happening in your brain. |
How do indoor shooting range backstops work? | I was going to write out a long post on this, but it turns out someone has done it before me and even has pretty pictures. [Here is a good rundown of indoor range backstop options in a PDF.](_URL_0_) The two basic approaches are angled barriers that deflect bullets into a catchment area, or soft materials like sand or rubber that decelerate bullets safely. Often these approaches are combined, and each has its own pros and cons. |
how massive public companies go private. For example, Dell going private a few years ago and Michael Dell apparently banking off the transition. Follow-up: the Dell and EMC merger. | so, in the specific instance of the Dell privatization, Michael Dell took out a giant loan from several financial institutions and made a deal with the major stockholders to purchase the stocks. He also used that money to buy a significant number of public stocks and use his newfound majority to 'purchase' the remainder of the stock. His bet was that he could re-work the company as a private investor to make it worth more money than the value of his loans. |
How do gas masks work? | There are 2 types. One type is a air purifying, the other is air supplying. An air purifying would use filters of different types to "clean" the air you breath. For instance, a P100 air filter would clean out dust and debris, as well as some organic material. Air supplying is obviously, as it sounds, providing you with fresh air from a hose, usually attached to a bottle, with compressed air. |
How are those metal soaps able to take off the smell of food from our hands? Like that of fish and other quite pungent food? | It doesn't work. Here is a site that talks about it: _URL_0_ or you can do some more research online. There isn't much else to say. |
The movement of long string-like things through the air/water | It’s a ripple in the air-filled material propagating through the arms, a traveling wave of vibration. These waves originate from the movement of the larger body, which all the arms (which are all about the same) are connected to. So they all move in about the same way. The light weight in air and the bulkiness—and sheer size—of the kite is what makes this movement look so trippy. Beautiful kite. |
I´ve been reading that Iceland didn´t bail out their banks but bailed out the people. What does that mean, and how did they do it? | They basically said "we will bail out domestic depositors, but not international investors". Most of these international investors had already been bailed out through their own banks who expected Iceland to make good on its promises. When Iceland reneged on the deal, there was a lot of pressure on Iceland to make good on it, both in courts and through international diplomacy. It's still not fully resolved. The line that "they bailed out the people, not the banks" looks good on a Facebook meme. But the reality is they bailed out their own people by screwing over British and Dutch banks and investors, because Iceland's banking fund for such things was not properly capitalized. |
Why do we forget most of our dreams after waking up? | Recalling dreams has a lot to do with mindfulness of one's conscience, your inner dialogue, imagination, etc. So I think we often forget our dreams because we just aren't trained to recall them. But then you might remember a dream that was intense or had an emotional response. I feel like the same thing is true for your conscience while you're awake. I mean just think for a minute - how much of your inner dialogue do you remember from today, specifically? Or how much of your imagination wanderings do you remember from today while you were awake? If you're like me, not that many. Recalling your dreams is similar in my mind. You have to train your brain in mindfulness of your conscience while awake and eventually you'll start doing so while you're dreaming too. Keeping a dream journal or mindfulness meditation can aide in this - and you can eventually get to the point where you can lucid dream which is a real treat! |
Why does eating uncooked dough make your stomach sick? | Most doughs have eggs in the ingredients. You can get sick from uncooked eggs / bacteria. regardless of eggs, bacteria tends to only go dormant when it's cold. Bacteria can pop right back to life at room temperature and even in your gut. It takes about 160 F to kill bacteria. Cook your food throughly first. Except good steaks. |
What's the difference between Spotify Radio and Pandora? | The difference is mostly in their aim. Say you like the music of pink floyd, and go to pandora. Pandora will create a playlist of progressive rock, psychedelic stuff, and some pink floyd, with aims of showing you the varied musical world revolving around pink floyd, opening the proverbial pandora's box. Now say you went on spotify and told it you liked pink floyd, you would get a nice Pink floyd playlist. Different sites, with different aims, that is all. |
Why is it that you can *feel* like you're forgetting something? | Simply put: Because you're remembering that you had to remember something, but you're not remembering *what*. Hence, you feel like you're forgetting... something. |
E: How come intangible assets (e.g. patents) do not depreciate even though they have an estimated useful life (i.e. they expire)? | Accounting student here, about to graduate. They do depreciate but they give it a different name. Its called amortization. |
Economically, what would happen to the world if all of the Walmarts were to shut down? | Their business would move to other companies. In time, another company (probably Target) would move into the space left by Walmart, and would become the new Walmart. So, in essence, nothing substantive would happen, other than a name change. |
How is it possible for female ducks to have evolved with protective vaginas? | The female duck isn't abstinent; it wants to *select* the best drake (male duck) to mate with. Ducks only mate once a year, and often form monogamous pairs, so it may be "beneficial" for drakes to rape female ducks to increase the chance that the brood that is hatched that year contains the drake's DNA. However, this means that the female duck loses its selectivity. Since it is getting raped, it can't really chose the best drake to mate with. So it began to evolve a defensive mechanism to prevent the rapes, while still allowing mating with the chosen drake. |
how does the sit in that is going on in the House of Representatives work? | The House is in recess right now (could be wrong though) so the representatives there are basically sitting in protest and to draw attention to their cause. The House can go ahead and try to put a bill to vote or they could convene in another location if the Speak of the House decides to. That is in the procedural rules I believe |
Why modern cars have more of a whine/hum and older cars have roar/rumble. | Older cars tend to have a larger and slower engine, while newer ones usually have small, fast running engines. Also, there wasn't really any insulation around the engine or in the actual muffler to stop sound. If you were to chop the muffler off basically any new car with a decent sized engine, you'd see it sounds almost exactly like an older one |
Why do we "dance" when we have to pee really bad? | Anything to take your mind off of the urgency. Alternately, you could slam a car door on your hand to take away the pee urge. |
What is that sensation where you hear something inside your own head when falling asleep sometimes? | _URL_0_ I experience this on a regular basis. Just wait until you are able to interact with the noise... Not a good time. |
How did the court come up with the punishments for crimes. eg. 15 years maximum for GBH. | They make it up! With the war on drugs came a big dick measuring contest with who's going to be "tough on crime". The 24 hour news cycle solidified this. Let's say youre a politician trying to make their mark and you hear about this new drug that the kids are using. Well marijuana carries a one year sentence(misdemeanor) and cocaine 5 (felony), and this drug is "bad" so let's make it a felony since felonies are bad.. 5 years. If we make the sentence one year or rehab the media will blast me for being soft on crime, better make it 5. That's why things that were considered relatively minor years ago are now felonies. Also no one usually gets the max. They stack multiple felonies against you and you plea guilty. That is another issue though |
What long term damage does weed have on your body? (Assuming that you smoke 5-6 times per week) | Inhalation of any particulate matter (smoke, dust, air pollution, etc) is bad for your lungs, with potential results such as obstructive lung diseases like COPD. |
If there is no such thing as "zero gravity" but only things constantly falling, is the entirety of the Universe constantly falling towards somewhere or are things only constantly falling towards each other due to gravity? | Yes they are, which is why you get spiral galaxies. However the falling towards each other is offset by the original expansion of the universe from the big bang. |
How do our bodies create a vacuum to inhale air? | Your diaphragm relaxes. Naturally your body wants to be full and your diaphragm contracts to push air out. Then it relaxes to pull it back in. |
Why do sounds early in the morning appear much louder than they are during the day? | Less ambient backround noise. The world is still asleep, so the normal noise of life (traffic, kids, electricity humming in lines etc) is not as loud as it would be during the day when the world is awake. |
Why don't phone batteries limit charging after reaching some threshold charge percent? | They do. Any device powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery has a charge controller. Batteries are charged by applying a voltage greater than the cell voltage of the battery. If lithium ion batteries are left with a higher voltage applied after they are finished, they could catch fire. |
Why exposing a company with factual information can end up getting you sued? | They can sue you if they feel like it. They have the right to sue you. It might get thrown out in court by a judge, but it doesn't mean they can't sue you, make you rack up legal bills in your defense or whatever until a judge sees the case and makes a decision. Simply suing someone is generally a bigger threat than the merits of a case, because a powerful side can complicate things so much that it bleeds you dry on money and time, while being mundane for the big boy. Completely normal business/legal practices |
Why are models usually stoic? Won't we find a smiling person more engaging, therefor attracting us more to the product? | If the model is physically beautiful but the shot is moody, serious, and appears aloof and unrelateable to the viewer it creates a kind of mystique and unattainable vibe (cold, aka "cool"), which gives the product its own appeal. You don't want to be friends with the model, but you want to be them. Runway models are acting as living mannequins and too much expression would distract from the garments they are showcasing. |
Why is it that most singers close their eyes when singing? | 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. |
"Who are you wearing?" | The red carpet is basically a celebrity fashion show. The designers loan the celebrities clothing for free, in exchange for having their name mentioned. Reporters are interested because when someone wears a good-looking new design, they want to know who was the clever designer who made it. It is like appreciating art. |
Why car manufacturers name their cars after the year after they are first released | Marketing. Would you buy a 2010 Toyota when you could have the 2011 Ford? |
A question from r/adviceanimals: Why do gifs load slower than HD video? | A gif is a series of images played in succession, like a flipbook. Videos are encoded. Very smart people do fancy things to make it so that the file is smaller. For example, a lot of the time, most of the stuff on-screen isn't moving, so the computer doesn't bother drawing it again: the software just says "yeah, leave that stuff there, it's good where it is." For a GIF, the computer has to draw it again even if there was no change, because it doesn't know any better. You may notice that videos often get more blurry and choppy when there's movement, and that's a large part of the reason. |
Why do some wires, such as phone chargers, eventually become fussy and work only when placed into a very specific position? | Cables like that are made up of a bunch of very thin wires inside. If you abuse your cables, such as by coiling them up very tightly, you can break the internal wires or the connections between the wire & the connector. Treat your cables well - don't coil them up tighter than they were when you bought them. Pull out by the connector, not the cable. Don't try to make tight bends with the cable at the point where it meets the connector. |
Why is all life on earth based on RNA/DNA ? | The simple answer is that it works so well. A system which works well has advantages of anything else. So there are more descendents using it than any other. One interesting variant is mad cow disease and its relatives. This is not life as we know it but the proteins are copied. So the disease is propagated without using nucleic acid. |
How can movies show little kids smoking cigarettes? | The cigarettes are most likely vaporisers, with fake cigarettes so that it looks real. Most movies I've seen of kids smoking were from decades ago though, when smoking was thought of as normal. I actually haven't seen many recent films where children.are smoking. |
Why is body odor usually confined to the armpit, even when a lot of people take extra measures to protect against it? | The human body has two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. Eccrine glands are present all over, and typically secrete sweat that is mostly made of water. Their purpose is to keep your body cool when you're exposed to heat or enduring intense exercise. Apocrine glands, however, are located in targeted areas of the body—the armpits, for example—and they don’t really do much to cool you down. Instead they release proteins and lipids, and those molecules are the real smell culprits. Bacteria that live on the outside of your armpits feed on the secreted lipids, allowing them to thrive. They also disrupt the outer shell of the proteins that are secreted, releasing odor. |
Why do arcade games that use game cards have to still count the tickets by ones or twos on the card swiper screen? Can't they just instantly put it on your card? | You don't notice digital transactions as much as physical ones. One common piece of advice is to tell people to deal with daily small transactions in cash; you're less likely to buy that bagel and coffee every day if you have to pull cash from your wallet every time, rather than if you just mindlessly swipe a card. Arcades want you to think nothing about how much you are spending, but physical tickets make it seem like you're winning a lot. You're just swiping your card, but netting a bunch of tickets when you do well. They're hoping you notice less that you just spent $20 and got yourself an eraser. |
How come a drug developed to treat one disease, can be found to treat other unrelated diseases? | Imagine you have two circles of friends, circle A and circle B. Sometime circle A is feeling down and needs cheering up, and sometimes circle B is feeling down. So what you decide to do is pick one person from circle A and cheer them up, in doing that they go back to the other people in circle A and cheer them up. Now it turns out, that this person in circle A is also in circle B, so you discover that cheering up this person lifts the mood of both circle A and circle B! This is analogous to the way drugs work, replace "circle A" and "circle B" with disease A and disease B, and replace the person with a protein or other drug target. The protein interaction network (kind of like a social network) contains individuals which are shared in the parthenogenesis of more than one disease. So making a drug which targets this protein can help in more than one disease. |
What's the point of having and operating CCTV if you can rarely actually identify anyone using it? | Detterent. Cheaper insurance. And even though you may not be able to identify people, it still serves to show what happened, which is often useful for insurance and legal purposes. |
Why is a photocopying machine so huge compared to a normal colour printer? | There are very small photocopiers too. On the large ones, most of the extra size is for complex paper handling: several large supplies of different sizes of paper; a collator that can make 10-20 separate copies of a whole document; sometimes an auto-stapler; a high-speed jam-resistant paper feeding and duplexing mechanism. |
How do we know that two identical snowflakes have never existed and never will? | We don’t in the sense you are thinking of. They mean statistically negligent. Like if I told you that you would never get struck by lightning while winning the lottery. Technically speaking there is a chance, but the odds are so low we are comfortable verbally using a definitive statement. |
Which is a better, more practical healthcare option? | At 630 a month? You should probably be looking into Medicaid. The Obamacare marketplace is for people that make too much for Medicaid. Part of this rollout was also a boost to how much you could make and not still qualify for medicaid--however, many (red) states chose to not take this option. The federal government was even going to cover this increase in Medicaid costs for the first 2 years, but cannot force the states to change. If you are in one of those states, this is very difficult for you, and I wish I had a better answer than talk to your congressmen. |
How do birds fly from standing still? | It certainly is not effortless, their wings are part of their body and flapping hard enough to shoot off the ground takes a lot of effort. Their bodies are very light and their wings very large comparatively so a big strong flap pushes enough air to propel themselves. |
How come so many games are called top game or game of the year? | "By Who?" is the million dollar question, and also the answer. My game can be called game of the year by review site number 57, while your game is called game of the year by review site 58, and somebody else's game can be game of the year by review site 59. As long as somebody calls it game of the year its all legal. |
How/why did China's population grow so large so fast? | Holy crap, something I can actually answer! From what I remember in my Chinese history class, Leader Mao wanted a strong army and felt a large population was necessary. Lots of campaigns were led to convince people to have as many kids as possible. It didn't take long before the country had a massive population. The only problem was lack of food. A massive famine came and wiped out a large amount of people, but not enough to even out the population. To this day, they've never really recovered, and even have laws in place to stop you from having too many kids. Edit: _URL_0_ I found a source! |
What is in magnets that make them magnets, as oppose to a piece of iron or other metal. | Permanent magnetism is caused when most of the electrons in an object have their spins aligned in the same direction. There isn't really a way to ELI5 it. |
Where do "smells" go after they have dissipated? | Think of a glass of water being the gaseous area around you... The smelling zone... You now drop on drop of liquid food colouring into the glass, the dark heavy first impact area of that droplet represents, let's say a fart. After the initial impact of the fart it begins to dissipate into the rest of the water, trailing off, getting fainter and fainter. Fast forward 5 minutes and you can only barely see a hint of a slight mention of colour left in all of the glass because it's spread so far out that it's like it's not there, but it's just not discernable any more. |
How come we don't get burns (or worse) on water slides? | The water acts as a thin barrier between you and the slide, so that reduces the friction to the point where you wont be burned. As long as you're wet, you should be ok with a brush against the side (where the water doesnt flow), but sliding down when everything is dry would result in some serious friction burns. |
Why do humans need a variety of sustenance in order to stave off malnutrition, but many animals can live on only a single food? | We eat a variety of foods to live *optimally*. In theory, you can survive off a singular diet, and as long as you get enough calories, you will live. However for optimal brain development in children, for the longevity of our bodies and living many years without disease/illness, we eat lots of different foods. For example, if you get very low amounts of calcium, you get weaker bones which will affect you as you start to age, however for most animals that is not a concern because a predator is likely to eat you by that time anyways. |
How can an Air Force pilot become so good at maneuvering something as complicated as an aircraft? | There's lots of room for trial and error. That's what simulators and trainers are for. Then, once you're flying in real top-line planes, you don't start off flying inches off the ground - you pratt about well off the ground to start with so you have time to recover. People who've flown both often say flying models is harder than flying the real thing. And you should see what people can do with models. |
If climate change is such a massive problem, why can't the government create laws to begin to limit the usage of items that increase greenhouse gases, until they can gradually completely ban it? | You wanna tell Americans they can't do something? Good luck with that. |
I'm from the UK and only heard about Comcast recently; what is so bad about it? | Cable company and ISP. People get mad at their admittedly poor customer service and their state reinforced local monopolies (rarely do ISPs compete with each other in the US). Then a bunch of people whose mothers pay their cable bill come to Reddit to complain that they aren't getting free gigabit to their house. |
How do the battery meters in phones/laptops/other electronics 'adapt' to changing battery life as a device ages? | Short answer - badly. longer answer - they monitor the amount of energy that they are using and cross reference it with the measured battery voltage. If the battery voltage gets low enough that it's a good assumption that it's nearly dead, then the device re-calibrates its own estimate of what the capacity is. |
Bodybuilding, power lifting, strongman, crossfit training, calisthenics, etc. What's the difference? | Largely it's the goal of the training. Power lifting is strictly about developing strength for specific types of lifting. Body building is about developing muscle tone and size, but not necessarily strength. Calisthenics tends to use lighter or just body weight, with a goal toward overall aerobic fitness. Crossfit, at it's best, is a mix of weight lifting for overall strength and calisthenics for aerobic fitness. Different sports and goals require different training methods. |
How do DDoS attacks work? | Imagine a web server to be a bit like the queue at the post office. Most bigger websites have more than one cashier (server). In the queue, there are lots of people like you and me, asking the servers for a page. DDofS is basically when you get all your mates to queue up, and when they get to the front of the queue, they make some random request. If you have enough mates, this stops anyone who actually needs to use the post office from doing so, because the queue is so long. Except that it's not just your mates that you get to queue up. You basically use some kind of malware (virus, etc) to take over computers all over the world, hundreds of thousands of them, and get *all* of them to queue up. Each computer spends so little time in the queue that its owners probably won't even realise it's busy doing things it shouldn't be doing. But there are so many of them that it's impossible for any individual person to join the queue and guarantee to be served. |
If an overweight person goes several days without eating to lose weight, what are the unhealthy side effects this has on the body? | Fasting is fine, short term fasting with good liquid intake is not going to be detrimental for a healthy individual. Good luck keeping it up though, the will power required is astronomical. |
How do computers "delete" data? Where does that data "go"? | it doesn't go anywhere. imagine a hard disk as a tiny record(yeah, like the one your dad listens to kiss on) the pieces on a drive are arranged to signify certain code that the computer reads and provides you with data. when you delete something that part of the drive is now free to be written over. the thing is it's not always wiped immediately, that's why the FBI can come find all of your CP even after you deleted it, there may still be some sort of physical trace on the disk. but even if the data was deleted completely it wouldn't go anywhere. the arrangement of the disk would simply read something else, or nothing. the data simply ceases to be. |
The battle of Stalingrad (lack of Russian armor) | Most of the fighting in the battle of Stalingrad happened inside the city itself where armor is not all that useful. Tanks are powerful in open country because they can bust a hole in the enemy's lines and then move into their rear areas and wreck their command and supply units. Inside a city a tank is basically reduced to being a mobile pillbox, and one that's fairly vulnerable at that. [Operation Uranus](_URL_0_), the follow on operation that lead to the encirclement and destruction of the German 6th Army made extensive use of armor. In this case Soviet tanks (with infantry support) broke a hole in the flanks on both sides and then raced to meet in the middle, forming a pocket that trapped the bulk of the German forces inside. This kind of high speed high impact fighting was what tanks were meant for, so it's how the Soviets used them in this case. |
How does the concept of Universal Basic Income work? | The idea is that instead of need based aid, which requires a huge, inefficient bureaucracy to administer, you just give everyone a set amount of money. Welfare, education, health care, retirement, all of those, at least in part, are provider for with a basic stipend everyone gets. Those who don't need it will still get it, but typically they will be on the ones bearing the tax burden to pay for it. If all goes well, having a healthier, more educated, and happy society will pay the costs of basic income over the long run. |
How do (did some) hunting tribes survive living of an all-meat-diet (like some Inuit tribes)? | They eat a lot of things like organs, fat, and bone marrow that contain more nutrients than the normal cuts of meat you'd find at the grocery store. It's entirely possible to meet your nutritional requirements on a totally carnivorous diet if you're willing to eat the "gross" parts of animals. |
What would happen if you put sunscreen (or some form of spf) on plants/trees? | Plants have a waxy coating, cuticle, on their leaves which protect against the environment. The underside of the leaf opens at night and allows the leaf to respire. The plant also produces flavonols that protect against uv rays. Basically nothing will happen to the plant of you applied Sun block unless you applied it to the underside of the leaf, blocking the stroma that are required for release of O2 and intake of CO2. |
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