Split (1)

train · 325k rows

question stringlengths 19 300	answer stringlengths 28 1.02k
Why are today's weight standards different from the mid 1900s?	Part of the reason is that, on average, we have more muscle than we did back then (weight lifting and working out in general weren't really a thing back then.) We're also much fatter on average, for a variety of reasons.
How does a CPU work? Please use simple metaphors for each subsystem.	[Check out this video.](_URL_0_) It explains not only the CPU but also how it interacts with the RAM.
Why does water taste different after sitting for a few days?	Bacteria and other microbes are everywhere all the time, and they need water to grow. So what you're tasting is a melange of those microbes and the waste they produce as they grow. They've been floating through the air or transferred by some other means (e.g., your mouth and hands), or may have been in the water from the beginning. At any rate, water helps them live and multiply. A nice glass of fresh water left exposed to ample oxygen at room temperature makes for a nice little incubator for all manner of microscopic critters.
Why does feeling lonely make you want to spend more time alone?	Its an evolutionary trait. When we're feeling lonely, we experience a heightened sensitivity to danger and threats in a social context. The reaction that makes us want to spend extended time alone is called "preventative rejection", and in theory is protecting us from further rejection and negative interactions with others. This allows us to minimize the damage from any negative interactions that might have caused the loneliness to begin with, but in the long term leads to potentially self-defeating feelings of hostility, fault finding, and self blame (as seen in almost every other comment on your post!) EDIT: grammar EDIT 2: WOW! Thank you beautiful strangers for the gold - I'm glad that my response was helpful to so many; I've received a ton of messages asking further questions, please feel free to keep it up!
why can't we reproduce the contitions or environment to make truffles?	We can. Wikipedia says that people began to notice that truffles grew under certain trees and cultivation was common in France. _URL_0_
Why do videos run better than video games on computer?	Lets say you get hired to do a job. This job involves taking papers and holding it up for people to see. Sometimes you get tasks where you're given a stack of papers with stuff on them and you just hold one up, then the next, then the next, etc. Fairly easy. Now lets say you get a task where you have to draw the contents of the paper before holding it up. It's going to take you a lot longer to process the task right? That's basically whats going on with a video that's pre-rendered, versus something like a video game that has to render each frame (page) individually.
If lenses are round, why are photos square?	actually, squares are rectangles, but thats not important. First rule, you cant reasonably make a square lens. Its all easier round. Ok, so now do you make a round film? round digital sensor? round pictures? round picture frames? No its clear the end result will be a rectangle, and in the case of film, you would have to LOSE resolution to make a circular image on a strip of paper. SO they let the film define the shape that is captured.
How do women use the john while wearing dresses, especially the long flowing variety?	Yep ya gotta hike it up. If it's big like a wedding dress or something we have a friend hold the dress for us.
Why are higher values of money made with paper rather than coins, if coin money lasts longer?	Paper is cheaper to make and people don't like carrying coins around. In the US the Sacajawea dollar was tried for awhile a few years ago but never caught on because most people still preferred paper bills.
What's actually happening when we laugh so hard it hurts?	You're causing a hypoxic (low oxygen) state in your diaphragm and other accessory respiratory muscles. Source: I'm a paramedic student.
Why does paper money have serial numbers but coins do not?	Serial numbers are an anti-counterfeiting measure. The US government is not seriously concerned about people counterfeiting coins because of the difficulty and extremely low reward for the risk.
What is that "hot blooded" feeling you get when you feel aggravated?	Your pulse and blood-pressure rise to prepare yourself for a fight. That means more blood gets pumped into your head and face, too. Since blood is warm, you feel hotter.
What does pain feel like?	Wow, thinking about it, this is a very loaded question. It's difficult to explain pain to someone that can't feel it. I imagine you've suffered some emotional pain at some point in your life. If I had to describe how physical pain compares to that, I'd say it's fairly different yet somehow similar. Personally, I think emotional pain can be much more severe. Most injuries tend to heal after a while, so it's usually temporary. Emotional pain can leave scars for life. I've had my fair share of broken or fractured bones, flesh injuries and some other minor issues. I've been lucky enough to not have lasting damage from any of these. A broken arm doesn't keep me awake at night, but a bad breakup or the death of a loved one definitely does. I'm not sure what else I can say about this, but if you have any other more specific questions I'd be happy to answer. Also, you should consider doing an AMA, I'm sure Reddit would love to pick your brain about some of your experiences.
How to understand camera lens F numbers	A 12 gauge shotgun is a larger barrel than a 20 gauge shotgun. A 6 gauge ear stud is bigger than a 14 gauge ear stud A F/2.8 aperture is bigger than a F/5.6 aperture. If you think of photography like filling a bucket with water (light), then the aperture is how wide your hose is, and your shutter speed is how long you turn the tap on for. Wide hose only needs the tap turned for a short time to fill the bucket, narrow hose needs the tap turned on for longer to fill the bucket to the same amount.
why the US military can't deploy military police officers in areas of the country with little police presence or cities that can barely afford a functioning police force like Detroit?	The US military is not allowed to operate on US soil save in the event of invasion or fighting those of treasonous disent (civil war). It is one of the protections that prevent the President from becoming a dictator.
Why do waves in the ocean look frozen when you look at them from an airplane?	They are continuously moving, but with nothing nearby as a reference point and at a great distance, it is hard to tell. It's like how a plane in the sky looks like It's going real slow, when it's actually going like 600 mph.
how does file compression work? As in .zip, .rar, etc.	To give a really simple example.... Say you want to compress a text file that contains: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Originally that file is 20 characters long. You can compress it by doing this instead: "Ax20" You've now reduced it to 4 characters with no loss of information. In reality, compression works similarly to this, it looks for patterns that can de described in a shorter way. For example it may take less space to say the word "and" appears at certain locations than to actually list the word again and again.
Supernovae, Neutron stars, and black holes.	* Supernova: when a massive star blows up, initiated by the sudden (takes less than a second) collapse of it's core. The collapse of the core is initiated when the pressure from nuclear fusion can no longer hold up against the immense gravity pushing in. There are generally two types, Ia and II. * Neutron Star: a super-massive and super-dense star where all the space between the the neutrons and electrons of the atoms of the star has been eliminated. In other words, the atoms have been crushed so there is virtually no space between the neutrons and electrons. A teaspoon of neutron star would weight millions and millions of pounds. * Black holes: when a super-massive star's core collapses all the way down to a singularity, an infinitely dense and infinitely small point. Bends space-time so much that not even light can escape it's gravitational pull. If you get close enough (called the event-horizon), you will never be able to escape the black hole's pull.
Why does flushing the toilet make the water in the shower hotter?	Toilets use cold water to refill their tanks. Flushing causes the tank to refill. Showers mix cold and hot water to get the temperature you want. Cold water is diverted to the toilet leaving only/mostly hot water. More modern plumbing systems don’t have this issue, but its prevalent in older houses.
Why do we make cars that easily go way faster than the speed limit?	Well, all countries have different rules, the same goes for speed limits! The best example is Germany, they are known to have roads with NO speedlimit, meaning you can go as fast as your car (and your bravery) will take you!. That also explains why there are many sports cars in that country too. How about other countries with speed limits?, well to be honest. People who buy such cars just do it because....well they can! Think of it as a show of status rather than practicality. Its like why people buy virtual clothes or cosmetics. Theres no advantage to getting them, the only difference is that you are now seen as a richer person!
Why do we get dopamine releases from completing a hard video game level or accomplishing a feat, but not from solving a math question?	I actually get a huge rush from solving a math problem... You get the dopamine rush from doing things you like, partially. If you don't like something, you won't get the rush. Something like flappy bird is easy for most people to enjoy, so you get the rush.
Why are babies attracted to cartoons and not regular television shows (non-cartoons)?	I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the soft shapes and simpler designs. That's why shows like blues clues are the way they are. I don't really know but I hope that helps.
Is fire just a chain reaction between the molecules?	Molecules aren't igniting. Something burning is a chemical reaction where the molecules of the burned substance are increasing rapidly in kinetic energy (their movement is increasing). The "chain reaction" depends on the energy of the activation of the reaction and the amount of substance that is able to undergo said reaction. So, the fire is a release of energy from the reaction. -hope this helps, it was a rather confusing question.
Why are you not supposed to use cruise control while pulling heavy trailers?	Say you get a speed wobble. You need to come off the throttle immediately and slow down to recover. Your cruise control obviously doesn't know a speed wobble started and staying on the throttle will make the wobble worse. Same thing can happen in slippery conditions. Cruise control can make the car slide more if your traction control doesn't intervene.
How do they build those rickety rope bridges? I can't wrap my brain around it...	Generally you take a thin rope that's a lot longer than the gap, secure one end and take the other end the long way, down through the valley or whatever. You pull it tight and secure it, then you can use that rope to pull across a bigger, heavier and stronger rope, and do that as many times as you need until you've got enough strength to carry workers who build the thing out into a full bridge. Yes, this does mean hanging from a few ropes over an abyss while building the bridge. Sometimes people even take the first string across with a kite.
Why does a mobil's GPS need mobile data and data connection to work?	Your phone doesn't need a mobile connection to receive GPS signals. As you rightly suggested, these are constantly transmitted from orbiting satellites, and no internet connection is necessary to receive that data. However your phone does need an internet connection to download the maps which it uses to display where you are -- although some mapping apps do have the ability to pre-download data for specific areas so that they'll work without online connectivity. However to store detailed maps of the entire planet would require far more memory than even the largest SD card available, so phones generally simply download just enough of the immediate area to be displayed at any given time.
What is the evolutionary purpose of pine cones?	The pine cone contains seeds, when it's wet the cone "scales" tighten up and close, and when it's dry they open. This means that when seeds get blown out it's drier, which means they travel further. The cone itself is just the bag for the seeds, it's not useful itself after the seeds are gone.
Why can you just tag the base to get a runner out at first in baseball but it seems like you need to tag the runner himself all other times?	It's an issue of "forced" or not. If the runner has an alternative destination then you have to tag them, if they do not...you can tag the base. In the case of a runner stealing from first to second, the runner could return to first base if they decided to do so, so...you must touch them. When the player has just hit the ball, they _must_ go to first base, so...you can just touch the base. For an advanced (!) example, if there is a runner on first and someone hits the ball, the runner on first can be made "out" by just touching second base, because the runner on second can't go back to first base because it's occupied by the person who just hit the ball.
How do trees die? Do they have a life span and die from "old age", or do they only die when they become infected with a fungus/infested with termites/etc.?	They die like anything else. Sure they can die of the causes you mentioned. Even if none of those happen to the tree, over time cells become less able to reproduce identical copies of themselves. Due to this, the tree will not be able to keep growing or replace its current cells, so it will die. Trees don’t need to replace their cells that often, so they can live a long time.
Why land masses who are somewhat close to Antarctica such as New Zealand don't get cold?	New Zealand is somewhat close to Antarctica in roughly the same way as Paris is somewhat close to the Arctic, and has a broadly similar climate.
The whole thing about DRM and Ubisoft.	Ubisoft is notorious for the DRM (Digital Rights Management) in the games they make. The most frequent example of it is the requirement to be connect to the internet at all times while you play. So if you wanted to play for example single player Assassins Creed but where offline no dice. The reason for the DRM was to stop pirates, you cant play the game without connecting online and if they detect a pirated copy they would just close the game. Problem solved! Piracy stopped! Expect pirates just disable that bit of code, allowing them to play offline. The result is piracy continues, and in fact the pirates get the best version of the game because they can play it offline while your paying customers are stuck with the online always requirement. Ubisoft has recently announced that they will stop using the always connected method of DRM for future games.
How does a medicine, like one to help quit smoking, develop into side effects like suicidal thoughts?	Because it changes the chemical composition of your body, specifically your brain chemistry. Think of it like this: Medicine A works by causing your brain to produce lots of chemical A. Chemical A being present in your system helps to curb your desire to smoke, which is great. But chemical A does lots of things besides that... maybe it regulates your heart rate in some way, maybe it affects your mood, maybe it affects your memory. One of those many side effects could increase suicidal thoughts.
Why does hot air seem difficult to breathe?	Hot air is less dense than cold air so there is actually less oxygen present in it for your lungs to pass into your bloodstream
Can you please give me a couple sentences about each of the potential presidential candidates?	I assume you mean the upcoming Finnish presidential election a month from now? Or are you referring to the six candidates for a nomination to be one of three or four candidates on a ballot nearly a year from now?
If rotten smells (dead animals, rotting meat, etc) come from the bacteria that eat the rotting material, where do those bacteria come from and why can't we smell them all the time?	Poop comes from our bodies but we don't smell like poop all the time. Those bacteria are everywhere, but we're not smelling the bacteria. We're smelling the things those bacteria give off when they eat. Of course, the bacteria are always eating and dividing, but we only pick up the smell when the bacteria find a huge treasure trove of food (like a rotting body) to eat and turn into other stuff like more bacteria (and the chemicals we smell).
When I charge my phone through the USB port on my computer, does it charge slower than it would through a wall charger?	The answer is, alas, "maybe". If your PC was build before 2012, and your phone uses a 2A charger, then yes. Even if neither of these is true, then it still might be "yes". The USB standard for peripheral devices specifies that power consumption can't exceed 100mA without negotiating a higher transfer rate over the protocol. The USB charging port standard supported up to 7.5W (1500mA @ 5V). This standard was intended for when the port was used only for charging, and so generally wouldn't be used by a USB port on a computer. In 2012, the charging standard was enhanced to include a mechanism for negotiating power transfer of 10W (2000mA @ 5V). Theoretically, the standard also supports a 60W charging protocol, but the USB 2 connector is incapable of supporting this. If your device does power negotiation over the USB peripheral protocol, and the PC was built to support the new enhanced charging standard, then you might get 10W over the connector. Otherwise, your charging will be slower over PC USB.
Why is water in drawings portrayed as blue even though most rivers and lakes do not look blue?	Large bodies of water like rivers, lakes, and oceans really are blue. Pure water with nothing else in it is transparent. But large bodies of water are not remotely pure. (They may be clean and potable, but they're not "pure".) You know how a bottle of maple syrup looks dark brown, but a small drop of it looks very light brown, almost transparent? Large bodies of water are the same. Take a small cup of it and it looks transparent. But look at a large volume of it and you're seeing through millions of gallons of it, and the tiny tint to the water makes it overall appear a light, medium or even dark blue. The main reason water is blue is because some of the particles in water absorb red light, so what's left is blue. But some lakes are also colored by algae. Finally, while not a primary factor, reflecting the blue color of the sky is sometimes part of what contributes to water appearing blue.
What exactly is the difference between Arab and Persian?	I mean, this is kind of like asking "what's the difference between French and German?" Well, a lot. Arabs speak Arabic, Persians speak Farsi Arabs are principally from modern day Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia while Persians come from modern day Iran. Persia existed as a unified polity before Islam and practiced, for the most part, a distinct, dominant faith (Zoroastrianism). There are countless tiny minutia that distinguish Arabic and Persian culture as well. I'm not familiar enough with either culture to really get into that kind of stuff though.
When watching a game/fight how do they and who is in charge of switching from camera to camera for the best shot.	The TV station has a crew of people back in a specialized trailer where they watch all of the cameras, prepare replays/graphics, etc. and there's a producer directing it all and making the final call as to what gets shown. He can be in constant communication with all his operators, cameramen, announcers, etc. making sure everyone's on the same page. [Here's an interesting article](_URL_1_) about the producer for Sunday night Football on NBC, and it sort of gives you a glimpse of how it can work.
What is "blue light" and why does filtering it on my phone help protect my eyes?	The most important thing about filtering blue light from your electronic devices is that blue light keeps you awake at night. Light signals your body to stop the production of melatonin and destroy the melatonin in your body, and blue light is the most effective at causing this. Melatonin signals the rest of your body to sleep and gives you that sleepy feeling. Filtering out the blue from your phone screen and computer monitor helps prevent sleep disorders because it helps prevent those devices from falsely signaling your body to stop producing melatonin.
Why is the tenth month called October? Did it used to be the eighth of something?	Yep. In the Roman calendar, the year started in spring -- that is, with March. They had ten months, and then just said "aw, fuck winter, it's not worth months." That didn't last, so two more months were added at the end of the (Roman) year -- January and February.
why do root beer floats foam when you put the soda on the ice cream?	The ice cream has a very rough surface and is cold. The level of dissolved carbon dioxide in the soda is a function of temperature; the colder the liquid, the less carbon dioxide it can hold. The cold temperature of the ice cream causes the soda to cool, forcing carbon dioxide to come out of solution and form bubbles. However, the carbon dioxide needs a place to start forming a bubble. The rough surface of the ice cream serves as points for the bubbles to start forming (these are known as condensation nuclei). When that many bubbles form in a liquid, it takes on a frothy, foamy texture/appearance; hence, root beer floats are foamy.
How did a piece of leather sharpen an olde timey razor when leather is softer than steel?	The purpose of the leather isn't to "sharpen" it's to "hone". In the first stage of getting dull the tip of the razor will bend. The leather strop is used to 'push' the tip back into the right alignment without removing any material. This process is called "honing", you should do it a lot, which is why you don't acutally want to use something hard that will remove material (you'd actually wear out the knife from loss of material). If the knife becomes very dull then you start to do actual damage to the edge, and then you need to remove material to make a new edge. That process is called "sharpening".
When a gun is fired in fully automatic mode, is the recoil pattern predictable or random?	I've fired exactly two automatic rifles in my life, I was young and didn't know the type of one, the other was some hands on historical thing and I was allowed to shoot a tommy gun filled with blanks down range, but it was pretty "predictable" both times, every shot gives recoil, so as long as the shots are consistent, the recoil will be. Unless, however, you mean travel caused by recoil. In which case that completely depends on your ability to control the weapon, the amount of recoil can definitely make a difference, but generally if you know how to handle it you can control it to a surprising degree. Though you'll always have travel with automatic rifles.
What gives art its value?	Quality, story associated with the work, notoriety of the work and the artist. Hitlers art was worthless, so he killed a couple people and tried taking over the world and boom his art becomes valuable. The Mona Lisa wasn't worth shit. It gets stolen and recovered and boom it is valuable. Also a lot of the value is subjective. I was on a cruise and there was a contest for a Picasso. The huy asked me the price of the painting. If I was right I would win it. I told him $3. He looked at me like I was nuts. He said it was worth over 10K. I said I'd give him $3. I think that piece of shit is still sailing around on that boat.
What do doctors do with unnecessary body parts like an appendix?	Biohazard waste (removed body parts and those disposable tools that come in contact with your blood, for instance) are destroyed in a way that is designed to make sure that no living cells could remain, such as dissolving in chemicals or burning to ash in an incinerator. I would like to point out that body parts that are removed are not necessarily unnecessary- even the appendix, the archetypical useless organ, is currently thought to provide some function (providing a safe store of positive bacteria to re-populate the intestines after something like diarrhea flushes them out)
How come we can increase our muscle mass but not our bone density?	We can increase our bone density. If it happens too much, it would result in osteopetrosis. Nutrition affects the bone density as well as other factors. Calcium helps bones grow stronger, which means denser.
As Christmas is around the corner, can someone please explain why Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate it?	Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate Christmas because of a few reasons: Jesus commanded to commemorate his death and not his birth. Early apostles and disciples didn't celebrate Christmas. There is no proof Jesus was born on December 25th. They believe Christmas isn't approved by God as it is rooted in pagan customs. That last point is fairly true. Christians basically appropriated pagan customs and put a thin veneer of Christianity over preexisting festivals. The Yule Log is for the deity Yule of course, and offerings of milk and cookies to Santa are extremely similar to offerings to hearth gods; don't you think it is weird Santa comes down chimneys? Christmas basically is unrelated to Christ other than an example of Christianity's forceful extermination of rival religious and cultural traditions.
How did dinosaurs become oil?	They didn't. It comes from small marine animals and other life that lived before the dinosaurs. When they decomposed mostly carbon and hydrogen was left over, as the oxygen was removed over time the left over remains were covered by layers of sediment. As they got deeper in he earth, around 3048 metres, or 10,000 feet, pressure and heat turned the materials to the hydrocarbons that create crude oil and gases. The amount of pressure determines which type of hydrocarbons are produced. It's bad for the earth because when they are burned, they create gases that go up into the atmosphere and stay there. Too much of them causes the heat from the sun to be magnified.
As I repeat a task, I get better and better at performing it. However, with enough repetitions, I'll suddenly lose the ability to perform well for a brief period of time. What is this phenomenon and why does it happen?	As a musician, my own 2 cents is that becoming tired has a lot to do with it. Take learning a new song, for instance. When I first start out, I suck. Then I practice and get a little better. Practice a lot, and I get pretty good. But there is definitely a point where practicing too much does the opposite. I become fatigued, over-think it, get sloppy. Then, if I leave it alone for a while, I can play it very well when I start fresh. Too much learning or practicing isn't necessarily a good thing. Perhaps. But then, I'm a musician, so I'm probably high.
3D Printers. How do they work? What's used for "ink?"	They do work. It's kinda like a really precise hot glue gun. They use plastic that's melted down and then put in the shape that a computer tells it.
Why are there no international laws prohibiting excessive forms of capital punishment (stoning, crucifixion)	Because countries have to agree to it just like war laws and the Geneva convention. Why would a country that stones people to death agree to a law that says not to do so?
What happens to your vocal cords when you sing falsetto?	It's simplest to just show an animation: [Here's your vocal cords singing normally](_URL_1_) [Here's your vocal cords singing falsetto](_URL_0_)
How do banks know if a check has already been deposited?	The bank won't know when you're making the deposit but as soon as they send the check information over to the bank that issued the check, it's going to come out that somebody's cheating the system. This seldom goes well for the cheater. It's illegal and you will get caught.
How do scientists know that they've found 90% of near earth asteroids?	This is an estimate based on the number, density, and size distribution of the observable objects. Given that they have found X number of asteroids of different sizes, and that there are so many within a certain area of space, and that number is much less in other areas of space, they can estimate about how many they think might be yet unobserved. Edit : sorry, jut read second question - by tracking an objects speed and direction, they can math out about where it's path will take it, and check that against our own location.
How can multiple people watch the same online video at once?	While the video is being played back it's read into a server computer's memory chips temporarily. From there it can easily be read many times per second to serve multiple users. If huge numbers are playing it, multiple servers are used.
Why do printers STILL suck?	Printers are the interaction between the digital world and the physical world. Sometimes the physical world of ink and paper doesn't work and you have to intervene. Usually more expensive printers ($150+) work very nicely and have no problems with jams and wifi. On that note about ink however, that's just the companies trying to get more money out of you.
How do phones and cell-towers deal with the Doppler effect?	It doesn't matter The Radio waves are moving at 3x10^8 m/s, thats 300,000,000 m/s. If you travel towards a cell tower at Mach 10 you'll be moving 3,430 m/s and change the wavelength by 3,430/300,000,000 or 0.0011%. You're not traveling anywhere close to Mach 10 so the impact is truly insignificant
The difference between deductive reasoning and making inferences?	Nothing. Deductive logic involves starting with a set of premises/axioms/assumptions and then, using logical rules of inference deriving a conclusion from those starting points such that, if those premises are true, the conclusion is necessarily true.
Why does the shower change temperatures if you flush the toilet while the shower is running?	Because the temperature of your water is set by mixing hot water and cold water. The toilate and shower often share the same source of cold water, flushing the toilet means there's less cold water available to the shower. So the nice mix that you had so carefully created, is all of a sudden has way to little cold in it, so the resulting product is way to hot.
Would creating a matrix disprove the theory that we could be living in one?	If anything it would add more credibility to the theory, as it proves that a lifelike universe is possible. And no, the new matrix citizens can create a simulation of their own matrix. Surely it won't be an exact simulation of their own universe, but neither can ours be (as that would require the computer simulating itself). Computationally, it's no harder to simulate the atomic movement of a bunch of rocks than to simulate the movements of a computer. At the atomic scale, the distinction kind-off disappears.
Is it true that going to the hospital for major problems in the US is expensive as hell? Why?	Health care in the US is a business, and not a basic right, so it tries to make as much money as it can.
What makes a great conductor great? and conversely what sets them apart from a random high school band teacher?	A good conductor synthesizes and provides an immense amount of information at any given moment. Clear cutoffs, attention to musical expression, balance...the list goes on in other posts. A GREAT conductor not only provides the mechanics that the ensemble needs to function, but provides leadership. A great conductor empowers their ensemble emotionally and musically. They need to be a total technician in regards to their conducting, but it has to serve an artisitic end. Otherwise...it's just noise!
Why does poop, urine, sweat, etc. smell bad?	Many animals have evolved to not like the smell of poop because poop is not nutritious and is full of bacteria. The animals who didn't think poop smelled bad probably died from the bacteria. The animals who developed by mutation receptors in their noses that recognized toxins in poop avoided the poop and lived. These animals had more offspring and thereby passed these receptors onto their offspring.
It is generally common knowledge that psychics are scams, my question is how do they still make enough money to keep their business going?	(1) Not everyone accepts the idea that they're scams. (2) Even some people who accept that they're scams find it fun.
Why does a sniper need a spotter, when both of them are using scopes to look at the target? And how does the spotter know the wind speed if there are no moving objects like trees or a flag?	They're both using devices that give them that information. A spotter is used because while a sniper is certainly capable of gathering all that information and calculating it, having someone to feed him/her numbers speeds up the calculation of a long shot significantly. That's especially important if lives are contingent on the sniper taking down a target quickly. As for wind speed, etc., an electronic anemometer has been available for almost 2 decades now. A spotter gets to position this and other devices and convey the data to the sniper in a single package. And the spotter isn't in the same place, so assuming good communication, you have a much wider "field of vision" based on the spotter's reports. Wind speed, direction, presence of glass, movement, possible civilians nearby, etc. are all concerns for a sniper. A spotter alleviates many of those concerns and allows the sniper to focus on accuracy.
Why there is so much hate to Comcast?	They have a near monopoly position on an 'essential' service. Their 'near-monopoly' is due to the way the US telecom/internet industry is structured. They lobby to keep it that way. They also abuse their position to maximize profits at the cost of customer well-being/satisfaction. This works because (a lot/most) customers really have no where else to go and require the service to 'function' in modern society.
What would happen if, the moment you were arrested for a serious crime, you refused to talk, forever.	You never need to talk, you will be put on trial, the evidence presented and a verdict reached. Though its possible the judge and your lawyers may get pretty fucking pissed at you for refusing to acknowledge the court and authorities asking basic questions like "do you understand the charges" and may declare you unfit for trial or reach some type of plea agreement, probably not in your favor. You never have to discuss the case, but completely refusing to acknowledge anything or sign anything is pretty much a fuck you to the court and they will hold you in contempt and put you in jail or a mental facility until you are willing to comply with basic instructions of being on trial.
In the US, why are alcoholic beverages not required to have the same nutrition fact labeling as other foods and beverages?	Food is under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which does the nutrition labels. Alcohol is under the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), which does not have a labeling standard.
Why are some of my dino nuggets ice cold and the others lava hot, even when I place them in a circle?	A microwave produces [standing microwave waves](_URL_0_) inside it to vibrate certain molecules in food to heat it up. The issue is that the wavelength of the microwave is about 12 cm long. Due to the nature of the standing wave, this means that there are spots where the waves cancel out every 6 cm (nodes). The cold nuggets are sitting in these nodes so they don't get heated. This is why the turntable in a microwave is very important to rotated the nuggets around so they are evenly heated.
why is it that when food is too hot to touch it doesn't necessarily burn your mouth when eating?	Because the inside of your mouth is already around 37C and coated in slimy film, where as your hands are dry and have a surface temperature relative to the air temperature. If you dipped your hands in say..slime, they could also pick up hotter objects. Your hands and other sensory organs are wired to tell you "this hot, painful" as a protective method, and it may be that hot food your holding wouldn't actually burn you.
Why do people instantly grab/press a body part which just got hit/injured?	I would assume people do this to prevent further damage to that body part. For example, if you are in a fight with someone and they punch you in the left arm, you would cover it to try to block more damage from happening. It could also be for applying pressure on a wound to lessen the bleeding.
Why are some websites updated with "© 2016" at the bottom while others may say "© 2012" or whatever year, when clearly they're still copyrighted?	The copyright date establishes the beginning of the copyright (this is very simplified, but go with it). If I write something in 2012 and never change it, it stays with that copyright and it will eventually come out into public domain. If I continue to update the same site or information, the copyright updates as well and pushes back the date when I (or more specifically my estate) loses copyright.
Where does the battery "juice" (or charge) in my laptop, phone, etc. go when it runs out?	It is converted into kinetic energy used to spin your hard drive, heat from the various components in your computer operating, light from your monitor and from the various indicator lights on your laptop and the various laser reading heads on different devices you may have, magnetic fields as you write new data to your computer hard drive, radio waves as you use wireless, and many other things.
Why do businesses seem to be stingy with ten-dollar bills?	Often they have few if any to give. The thing is, fives are more versatile since they can break tens or twenties, but tens can only break twenties or higher. Higher than twenties the next up is fifty or a hundred, so youre better off breaking with twenties and fives (2 20s and 2 5s = 50. 5 20s = 100). Considering most bills arent going to need flat fifty as change, but say, 47.73 or so (who the fuck buys a large mocha with a 50? Assholes, thats who), stocking tens doesnt really make sense. When the registers are stocked after drawers are counted, those are the bills they get. Most or all tens they get came from customers,.
What happens to the animals killed during crop harvesting?	A farmer friend of mine said, yes they do occassionally clog up the works (bigger animals) but for the most part they end up in the harvester, and caught by various filters, and by the sorting devices later. Larger animals, once freed (they are obv dead), are often tossed off to the side for the predators/scavengers. Animals around farms are often smart, and a 'pecking order' is visible while driving. The combine scares the mice from the swath, the eagles/falcons swoop down for the mice, the cyotes run out to catch the birds once they land OR hunt for the nests these birds have near by. Apparantly the crows will mess with the other animals - they wait for the eagles to do the heavy lifting and catch the mice, then the crows attack the eagles making them drop it.
Why is disinfecting wounds painful?	There's two main reasons. First, the wound is sensitive, as that part of the body has been damaged and is screaming at your brain to start taking damage control steps. Putting anything in an open wound is going to hurt some. Second, the things we use to disinfect typically do that by killing biological material, which will include the cells around and in your wound. So basically you're quarantining and nuking the area to make sure the infection doesn't spread. The basic part of your brain that handles pain doesn't understand that, or the reasons for disinfection, it just sees more damage to an already damaged part of the body, and registers it as pain.
Why not sue the FDA when a product hurts someone? Why is it that the company that made the product is the one to be blamed when they assumed everything was all good and well after approval by the FDA?	Oftentimes, the FDA was also a victim of fraud, specifically of fraudulent submission of bad safety research. Why blame the FDA when the company is 100% at fault?
How did (western?) musicians decide upon 7 musical notes?	I don't have enough knowledge to go into detail, but I do know that the 7 note scale is not universal. Middle eastern music is based on a completely different scale that has more notes, and far eastern music is based on a 5 note scale. So, yes, it's completely possible! The first paragraph here notes all sorts of different styles which are based on a 5-note scale: _URL_2_
Why most high caliber Sniper rifles are shown as having low capacity magazines?	Because if you had a 30 round magazine of 50bmg, it would be 2 ft long, weigh 10 pounds.
How are exchange rates decided? Who decides the actual numeric value of one currency in another?	In the modern economy, most exchange rates are determined essentially by supply and demand. For example, if you are American you are paid in dollars, but need Euros to buy goods produced in Germany. When you want to buy a German good, you are "demanding" Euros and "supplying" dollars so the value of Euros increases relative to dollars. Governments and central banks can affect the value of their currencies through monetary policy but it's all based on this principle.
Cold temperatures wake us up while hot make us tired, is this purely a matter of comfortability or is there something happening to our bodies?	[There was a study done](_URL_0_) and it says the optimal sleep temperature is between 60-68 degrees farenheit. Too warm or too cold and you can become restless. It's interesting that warm temperatures make you tired, the opposite rings true for myself.
What do they mean when they say the mass of the atmosphere of Pluto has decreased by a factor of 2 in two years?	Uhhhh, Pluto is heading into it's hundred year 'winter' season. The atmosphere is freezing to the planet as ice. It's a 'dwarf' planet equivalent of a comet (sorta). Everyone saying it's lack of gravity is missing the fact that that process takes eons, not two years.
why wired data transfer is faster than wireless.	I think it's mostly because wireless transfer is more prone to interference - it's very difficult to corrupt data that's being sent over a wire, but it's very easy to corrupt it (even unintentionally) if it's sent through the air. Particularly if there's any sort of obstacle between the transmitter and the receiver. Sure, any computer worth its salt can detect errors like that and send a "data was corrupted, please resend" message, but that takes time. So it'll take longer to move your data. As you put it, "you can move more data across a cable than you can through the air".
If you were sucked out of a spaceship, how would you die and how long would it take? Would it be the cold to kill you first, the lack of oxygen, or the lack of pressure?	Lack of oxygen would do you in long before anything else. The pressure differential would cause a lot of pain, but wouldn't be immediately fatal, and the cold would take hours to do any real damage.
Why are search boxes in many websites so seemingly innefective, while googling the same thing almost always gives me what I was looking for?	Google has been optimizing their algorithm for a long time. It uses all of the past searches everyone has ever made using Google in order to learn what results people are most likely to click on, and then offers those results ahead of others. Because Google is popular, a lot of people have used it, and so they have a lot of example searches to learn from. Think about the other websites. How many people use them? How long have they been around? I bet they don't have as many previous searches to work with as Google...by a long shot. So they aren't going to have the same training data for machine learning, and their performance won't be comparable as a result.
Why are baby animals so cute? Is there a genetic advantage to this?	There is some belief that traits we identify with 'cuteness' are traits possessed by immature animals, and as such there's a protective/friendly hardwiring in the brain. The advantage would presumably be that immature animals are less capable of caring for themselves, and therefore those that are cared for by adults perform better. It may be that the traits we find cute are shared in a general fashion by other nonhuman animals, so we respond similarly to them. Interestingly, a noted phenomenon in domestication is that domestic animals tend to retain traits common to immature members of their ancestor populations, into adulthood.
What is ASMR? Can anyone describe what it’s like?	It stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Basically, it's a physical/physiological reaction to certain sounds. These trigger a tingly sensation esp on the spine and head. It can also be used as a relaxation technique. Others have a sexual response to it. So it's kind of the reverse of nails on a chalkboard Sounds such as whispering, tapping, water running, and so forth can create a pleasurable physical reaction. I'm not sure of the chemical mechanism that causes this, but that's the easy answer.
how come all my friends' houses and clothes have a distinct, separate smell?	Because every family has a different routine in regards to what they eat and what they shower with. Also, because they have different cleaning rituals and how often they actually clean. Some people clean everyday where others only clean on weekends and some, SOME, never really clean. different combinations of all these factors, and usually people who live in the same home share the same rituals and eating habits, thus will generally smell the same.
How is it I can spend 3 hours laying still in bed not sleeping, then doze off repeatedly in the middle of driving the next morning?	Are you saying that you actually doze off while driving? Repeatedly? This is not normal and is a grave concern to me. I have never dozed off while driving. You should not be risking your life and that of other drivers that way. I'm frankly totally shocked. If something like that happened to me, I think I would see a doctor immediately.
How does a cars speedometer know not to increase when a cars tires are spinning?	It does not know. It assumes the tires are in proper contact with the ground, and when they are not, it gives an incorrect reading. Future speedometers may be corrected using GPS, but that generally is not done today.
why it takes so many years for a county like Iran to build a nuclear weapon when the technology has been around for over 60 years?	There are certain resource hurdles involved in just acquiring the right materials. There are then just lots of technological hurdles involved in refining and enrichment. Countries like North Korea that have nukes but you wouldn't necessarily think of being advanced probably had substantial help from China.
How do burning arrows stay lit after the immense acceleration they experience being shot from a bow?	Depending on the fuel used, it can be almost comically challenging to put it out. If you've ever dealt with a gas fire, you'll know what I mean. I'd wager they were using coal-tar or peat or natural gas of some sort -- though I'm a little out of my depth here.
How is the US allowed to just raise tarrifs when laws that have minors effects on trade have to go all the way through the WTO?	The premise of your question is mistaken. The European Union has initiated a WTO case against the US over these tariffs.
Why do we use the base 10 system, and what are its benefits over other mathematical systems?	no benefit, other than a convenient correlation with the number of fingers. there are better systems that work better with the base 2 of computers and which have more easily divisable fractions. Base 16 would probably be an ideal candidate for both things.
how does hand sanitizer make your hands clean when you don't use anything to wipe the dirt off them?	Hand sanitizer is not the same as hand cleaner. Its only function is to kill the micro-organisms on your hands. There are certain gels called hand cleaners that work like a pencil eraser though. Those ones do actually clean your hands by trapping dirt and then flaking away as you rub them together.
If someone gets arrested but is later found innocent, why does their arrest and initial charge remain on the NCIC's database?	if there is no record that it happened then the government might think they forgot to arrest you or something. if you are found innocent you can remove it from your publicly viewable record.
How is it so difficult for video game publishers to detect cheating on PC?	The fundamental problem is that the user has physical control over their own PC and the only information the game manufacturer gets is whatever their PC sends. > Doesn't their code have digital signatures? Sure, and those can always be defeated someone with enough time and perseverance. Let's say the code is running on my PC. The first thing the code does is check to see if it's been modified, and refuse to run if its code doesn't match the signature. No problem, I just modify the code that detects whether it's been modified or not. The code uses the code's signature to encrypt all messages to the server? No problem, I just modify it so that there's another unmodified copy of the game installed and it encrypts messages using that signature instead. Basically any checks on the client side can be bypassed by a programmer who knows how to disassemble. It's only a matter of how long it will take or how tricky it will be.
why certain surgeries require months of recovery time	Well, it really depends on the part of the body being operated on. Different types of cells in different areas of the body replicate and replace at different rates. A neuron, for example, can take as long as 7 years to replace itself (which is why brain damage is such a nasty injury). Shoulder muscles can take months to repair themselves. Surgeries are great. They can help speed up the process of repair, and correct for improper repair (such as in the case of broken bones), but they can't actually do the real repairing themselves. They just set all the pieces in place and help the body along in the repair process.
Why do Japanese albums often contain bonus tracks not available elsewhere?	There is complex and lengthy process to be allow to sell albums in Japan. This leads to the fact that most of the time, album are release in Japan later than in other country. To make sure people wait for the japanese release and don't just buy stuff abroad through internet, companies put exclusives bonus tracks in these releases

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.