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How can companies make food taste so consistent?
I actually found ketchup tastes very different in different parts of the world at McDonald's.
Why does the body store fat (or so much of it) if we can not realistically live off what the fat cells provide, why not have a cut off point?
Too much body fat was never a health concern for 99.999% of human existence. It is only a concern now because of how much food we have access to and the sedentary life the modern world has made. Evolution only kicks in to traits that affect reproduction or survivability *until reproduction*. Evolution does not made things "better" for us, or make things more ideal.
; Why do two headed snakes seem so common?
It does happen with other animals, and they tend to not survive. Snakes are basically a tube with a digestive system...so they deal with issues pretty well. When you only have to eat once a month, fighting with your other head (in captivity!) isn't as life-threatening.
The difference between mutation and evolution.
Mutation is a naturally occurring phenomenon within DNA. As mutation occurs, certain traits change. If a new trait makes survival more likely, this trait is likely to become more widespread throughout later generations of a population. This is an aspect of evolution. TL;DR: Mutation that leads to beneficial traits is a cause of evolution.
Why does my body get covered in goosebumps and why do I feel light headed / relaxed when I'm really enjoying a piece of music or song?
There are two competing theories on this. One, listening to music triggers the same reward pathways as addiction and reward, coating your striatum in dopamine. Your brain can predict (to some extent) what's going to happen next in the music, so it's anticipating the dopamine shot before it actually gets it, and it's that moment between the anticipation and the reward that gives us goosebumps. Two, the amydala (what controls our emotions) reacts uniquely to music, acting as if it has 'real' triggers. However, your brain knows that this isn't 'real', so is constantly shutting that down before it becomes a true fight-or-flight reaction, so we get the hairs-on-end physical reaction without the adrenaline.
Why was Super 8 film such a popular format at its time and even when it was already outdated?
It was cheap. The projectors were cheap, the cameras were cheap, and the film was cheap. As a kid, I had an 8mm camera and projector. No sound, but I made a lot of movies with it. Before the Hunt Brothers tried to corner the silver market, it only cost a few dollars to purchase the film and have it developed.
Why would an asteroid collision wipe out life on earth?
> but would it stay there for so long that we would all freeze to death? Your bigger worry is starving because all the plants have died out due to lack of sunlight. But yes it would stay up there for months AT LEAST. Assuming you weren't caught in the blast or any of the earthquakes or megatsunamis such an impact would cause of course.
Why are much-wanted TV shows like Firefly and Arrested Development (well, previously) so hard to get back on the air despite a rabid fan base?
OK, Like you are 5: 1) TV shows are expensive to make; for example an "inexpensive" show such as a reality show on TLC runs about $700,000 per episode. A drama such as Firefly (with special effects) or AD (with dedicated sets, larger crew, etc) costs much more. 2) Additionally, each 1/2 time slot has a "cost", based on how much money a network thinks it can/should make in that 1/2 hour. 3) The "good majority of folks online" could very well be a false sample, and in fact the "rabid fanbase" may not provide the amount of viewers necessary to cover (1) and (2) compared to other shows that can. You are online all the time, so it seems like a large viewership to you. To the networks, it is all about minimizing (1) and maximizing (2) -- and your favorite shows cannot compete with "Ghost Hunters" or "Toddlers & Tiaras" in that equation.
Why should we drink ~2L of water a day if most of it just goes straight through us?
It doesn't go straight through us. Water is used by many of the bodily processes we go through on a daily basis, and in addition the water that we don't "use" is used to wash out waste and transport waste away, as well as help act as a heat sink inside our bodies. Water is useful in many functions and very little passes straight through the body without being used by at least one function.
How can the quietest room in the world be -9 decibels?
Decibels are a logarithmic scale. 0 isn't no sound, it's just the lower-limit of what a human can typically hear. So -9 isn't no sound at all, it's just quieter than the quietest sound a human can detect, by a factor about the same as the factor between 0 decibels and 10.
How to drive a car with manual shift.
ELI5? There's a third pedal on the left called a "clutch." To shift gears you press down on the clutch, while lifting off the gas pedal. Then you shift gears and release the clutch while pressing down on the gas.
What's the difference in a violin and a fiddle?
_URL_0_ > A fiddle is any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin.[1] It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music. Fiddle playing, or fiddling, refers to various styles of music. All violins are fiddles, but not all fiddles are violins. Basically, a Fiddle is a category of stringed instruments, specifically the category that is played with a bow, not picked or strummed.
LI5: Can you explain why some people think buying a house is a bad investment?
House costs 100k (at least). You put put 10k down. You owe a bank 90k House value drops a lot, you try to sell your house but you can't until you lower the price to 50k. You now have 50k. You now owe a bank 90k. You now have -40k That is a way in which it would be a bad idea to invest in a house. This is an extreme example obviously, but lesser examples happen all the time. I own (have for a year or so) but if I tried to sell now I'd owe the bank money but wouldn't have a house. If I had rented I wouldn't be in this situation. The good thing is I don't need to sell, so soon I will be in a position where it was definitely a good idea to buy, as opposed to just probably a good idea now. Unless my house value tanks, then I'm screwed.
Why do cars have blind spots (dead angle)? Can't we design side mirrors that would help eliminate this problem?
You actually can set up mirrors on a regular car to eliminate blind spots. Most people just set their mirrors up incorrectly.
Why do most people sneeze in groups of three?
I disagree with your premise that most people sneeze in groups of three.
Why do redditors watch 'my little pony'
Hahaha, this question again. The answer is pretty simple: The show is *actually good.* So far in Season 2 they've had - a fight with a god of chaos (voiced by John De Lancie aka Q from Star Trek) - Two big musical numbers - temporarily turned evil and beat each other up, - shot-for-shot recreated a Star Wars scene - set off a rainbow-colored nuclear blast - snapped a bear's neck, - had a *severe* psychological breakdown - and referenced the Big Lebowski. And we're nine eps in. Basically, it's not the old pony show at all. It still has it's cute moments but they're enjoyable because they don't talk *down* to you, and rarely hammer you over the head with a moral. The writers are all talent from other cartoons (including things like South Park) or other "real" shows; the result is characters with some depth, actual conflicts, and a fleshed-out almost Harry Potterish universe...it's like nobody told the ponies they're ponies. I never thought for a second I'd like it either. But I do!
how do muscles push?
Skeletal muscles move bones by pulling on them. Because we control this movement, they are called voluntary muscles. Muscles can pull but not push, so skeletal muscles are often arranged in pairs that pull bones in opposite directions.
Why the sound of a thunder can be heard for a couple of seconds, although the lightning strike itself takes much shorter time to happen?
Thunder echos off of anything it hits, like hills or buildings, so its effect seems to stretch out as you hear all the echos shortly after the initial hit.
What are ACH transactions, and how is it a bad system?
I wouldn't call it a bad system, just an outdated one. ACH is the system that US banks use to transfer money to each other. The system is run by the Federal Reserve Bank. When you request to send funds to an account at another bank, your bank sends the cash to the Fed, and the Fed then sends the funds to the receiving bank. People don't like the system because: - The Fed acts as a middleman, so there is a lack of privacy in the transaction. - The transfer isn't instantaneous. There are strides being made to speed up the process, but it can still take up to a day for the Fed to move funds. - Its a legacy system developed forty plus years ago.
how did humans clean their teeth before toothpaste?
some didn't like most parts of Europe, like a lot of poor people don't. other places used to use tooth powder and their fingers. a bit like charcoal, like in india they call it monkey powder. but in middle east and Muslim country they used to use miswak due to the prophet pbuh recommending it. and still do. it's the twig of the salvadora persica tree. and it's broken, then end made bristly like a toothbrush and then used to brush the mouth, gums, throat etc. it's been proven to be more effective than toothpaste and toothbrush in killing oral bacteria. but it does require access to fresh sewak tree to use, which is rare in the west. you have to realise before the farming of sugar and sugary foods, most people did not have oral health problems. most people did not have access to enough food or alcohol or sugar for oral hygiene to become the serious problem that it is now. so people weren't losing their teeth so easily till the industrial and slave revolution.
Why do sunsets look incredible after nasty thunderstorms?
The refraction of light from all the water vapour in the sky due to cloud cover and high humidity means brighter and more dramatic colours for us as the sun sets. Each water molecule acts kind of like a prism, distorting the light into different colours. A similar thing happens after a bush fire, with a smoky sky making a stunning red sunset.
What are the steps to becoming a Professor?
- Get a bachelors degree, get a masters degree, get a doctorate. - Fill out lots of job applications and then go on lots of interviews. - Publish papers, write a book or two. - Fill out lots more job applications. Go on lots more interviews. - Get hired at a community college as an adjunct professor for 25K per year. - Become depressed because that is what employees at McDonalds make.
Why is Shakespeare Still so popular?
The biggest reason I'm aware of is that the themes still remain relevant. Unrequited love, loneliness, betrayal, revenge, triumph, tragedy, etc, etc, etc.
why video games are always released on Tuesdays
I honestly have no idea why games are released the way they are, but I'd like to point out a few things. As far as I know, the Tuesday release is North America only. Europe is Fridays, and I think Australia is Thursdays. I'm not sure about Japan. And it seems to me that releases for Nintendo systems (or at least first- and second-party games) are always released on Sundays.
what is Millennials ?
We tend to refer to a whole generation of people by a name, because their fashion and internet memes / fads change from generation to generation. Millennials are people born in the 1980's and 90's; unlike previous generations, they grew up with computers and internet and phones, and are quite active with social media. They were also just about out of college when the recession of 2001 hit the computer industry and caused a lot of them to be unable to get jobs.
Why isn't there an affordable working printer out there yet? They all suck.
Most printers these days use the "razor blade business model". They sell you a printer for the least amount of money they can, then make their profits on the consumables (such as ink cartridges). This exploits the fact that most consumers are sensitive to the initial price of an item, but not so sensitive (or sensible) about the ongoing cost of operation. It also exploits the fact that consumers have few good ways to judge the quality/reliability of such a product before they buy it, and that few of them pursue the few such resources that do exist. These give the printer manufacturers incentive to make a product that works just well enough to survive the warranty period (usually) and to make it as cheaply as possible.
Where are all of the foreign domain names?
Generally, they're used by people who speak that language, and you presumably are reading English content. If you're making English-language queries on _URL_1_, for instance, you'll be shown results that are in English, which are far more likely to be hosted on English-language domains. If you were to search _URL_0_ for something in Japanese, you'd be a lot more likely to see domain names that are in Japanese.
Why does a person feel more sleepy when day drinking and then stopping, than when compared to drinking from the evening onwards?
Because alcohol is a depressant, if you drink and then stop you will feel tired and ready to sleep because thats what alcohol as a drug does to you. Generally if you drink in the night you will be going to sleep very soon after finishing drinking anyway which makes it kinda biased. However alcohol also converts to sugar basically which is energy so as long as you keep drinking you wont fall asleep as easily.
Why on some mornings it is a struggle to get up, but others I am jolted to begin the day.
This can be the result of being woken at different stages of your sleep cycle. If you're woken (by an alarm clock or other intrusive effect) during stages of deep sleep, you will feel very tired and sluggish. If you're woken during the lighter stages of your sleep cycle you will feel fine. Most adults have sleep cycles that work in approximately 90 minute intervals; so an ideal nap is around 90 minutes of sleep. It also means if you wake up naturally 10~15 minutes before your alarm clock goes off; you're probably better off just starting your day than falling back asleep and being woken during a deeper stage.
How did milking a cow first come to be? When did someone decide that drinking a cows milk was a good thing?
Nobody is really sure and it happened a very, very long time ago. Way before we have any surviving records. In fact drinking milk from animals may have predated cows even existing. It's likely some clever prehistoric dude saw a young animal drinking milk and figured there might be some food there. People are pretty clever about finding food. People started keeping these pre-cow animals around for their good milk and tasty meat and eventually the modern domesticated cow was created.
How did Vision and Dental coverage come to be "outside" of general health coverage in the USA?
Starting with dental, dentistry was not something that doctors used to perform. Teeth pulling was actually performed by barbers! And there was no other options than pulling. So once we got dentists, medical insurance didn't want to touch them. They weren't sure of the future costs, or what was reasonable, and people didn't expect to see the dentist enough to need to deal with insurance. For vision, vision insurance, for the most part, only covers routine or preventative care. Glasses, contacts, annual exams. If you have a significant eye issue, glaucoma for example, the treatment would be filed under medical. So vision insurance isn't insurance at all, its more of a savings plan for eye care. The money you pay is used to pay the doctors later, minus a small fee, or the doctors just agree to give you a discount as arranged by your vision plan. It can be useful as your vision plan can haggle for discount services/goods for you.
The difference between breathing ‘through your chest’ and ‘through your stomach’.
Breathing through your stomach: Mainly by contracting your thoracic diaphragm (separates thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity), which increases the volume of your thoracic cavity and draws in air. Breathing through your chest: Mainly by contracting the muscles between your ribs (intercostal muscles), which again increases the volume of your thoracic cavity and causes air to be drawn in. "Mainly", because most of the time, you use a mix of both, slightly contracting your diaphragm and your intercostal muscles. And even if you "breath through your chest" your diaphragm will contract, too. We can do this because a) sometimes our body needs ALL the air it can get. And using two different methods at once is more efficient (higher increase in volume = > more air drawn in) and b) safer, because if one fails (or partly fails, think of a broken rib) you still got the other one
. Why does food packing say "Use by" a certain day rather than "Consume by" a certain day. How else should I be "using" my cheese wiz?
"Use" takes many fewer letters. Since the message isn't essential marketing to get you to buy the product, the less space it uses the more is available for Marketing.
How do tabloid papers like The Globe get away with running obviously made up stories about public figures?
One way is to word everything as a question. So if your headline reads "Is Kim Kardashian a Hobbit?" then nobody can sue you because, hey, you're just asking questions. Another strategy is to use so-called weasel words. Instead of saying "Kim Kardashian is a Hobbit", you say "Some people have claimed Kim was a Hobbit". See? It's not you, the tabloid, saying that she's a hobbit, its' "some people" saying that, and you're just reporting what "some people" are saying.
Why do the majority of Americans believe that Henry Ford invented the automobile when in fact he did not?
Give it a few decades and you will have kids that think Steve Jobs invented cell phones. While Henry Ford did not invented cars, the model T was the first mass produced model that was affordable to the regular people. Basically, he was a great marketer.
What made Einstein so regarded as a genius?
Ted-Ed has a good video explaining it called [Einstein's Miracle Year](_URL_0_). Basically, in the span of one year Einstein published four different papers on four different topics(Wave-Particle duality via photoelectric effect, existence of atoms via Brownian Motion, Special Theory of Relativity, and Mass-Energy Equivalence aka E=mc^2 ), each of which revolutionized modern physics(Later he also published his General Theory of Relativity, which overturned Newton's version of gravity). Very few physicists will ever publish one revolutionary paper, let alone four, let alone in the same year.
The plot of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas(movie)
It is the story of a journalist who goes to cover a story about a motor cross race. He gets distracted by his drug use. The movie meant a lot to me but the message is more up to you. To me it seemed like the message was finding yourself, even if you have to fail along the way. It is based of Hunter S. Thompson, famous journalist. I am not totally aware if I got this right, just my opinion.
ELI 5: How can it thunder and lightning without raining?
Lightning is a static electrical discharge between the clouds and the ground. Thunder is caused by the expansion And contraction of air superheated by lightning. Neither of these things are in any way dependent on rain falling at the time.
Does the principle of confidentiality between a doctor and a patient also holds in the other direction?
As an MD the answer is no. This allows the patient to attack the doctor, not only in the courts, but also in the press. The doctor can not refute the publicly aired allegations. This is not uncommon.
Why people thought tablets would replace laptops/pc
The issue is that people needed a computer smaller than a laptop or a desktop. The idea that the smartphone would so quickly grow to the point where it would be that replacement instead of the tablet came as a surprise to most.
Why do numbers come first in Alphanumerical order?
Because they are traditionally sorted by the ACSII code and special characters and numbers have lower values than letters. _URL_0_ Some systems may sort by different rules.
why do churches get freedom from taxes
Not just churches, but all non profit charitable organizations can have tax exempt status. There are certain legal guidelines that they must follow.
Why do liquid detergent and fabric softener bottles use such small print when labeling what they are? (Image examples in post)
Because the manufacturers want you to be brand-loyal: to wash your clothes not with "detergent" but with **Tide**, to soften them not with "fabric softener" but with **Downy**.
Is there a "best if used by" date for Nuclear Bombs?
Yes, well it's not really "used by" it's more of a "change oil after X years". The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which oversees the U.S. nuclear stockpile and production complex, is funded at $8B per year. Most of that money is spent on NNSA’s Life Extension Program (LEP) where the stockpile of nuclear warheads and bombs is continually refurbished. Existing warheads are certified annually to be safe and reliable.
If heat rises, why do mountaintops often have snow in places like California and Hawaii?
Hot air rising is the exact reason why there is snow on mountain tops. Imagine a little cube of air at the ground surface. There is some amount of water vapor in this cube. The air is hotter than the surrounding air (and is therefore less dense), so it begins to rise. As its rising, the pressure of the air is decreasing, so it begins to expand. As its expanding, the temperature starts to drop (roughly at 1 degree Celsius per 100 meters of lift). Now, as the temperature is decreasing, the cube is also losing the ability to store water vapor. Eventually, the cube will rise high enough to where it will no longer be able to contain the amount of water vapor it started with, and it will begin to get rid of the excess water through precipitation (snow). Generally, by this point, the temperature will be low enough so that it will stop rising.
Why do people/things feel significantly heavier when they relax all their muscles? Otherwise known as "dead weight"?
Somebody answered this last time but basically: A person who is awake will always center their weight automatically, and it makes it easier to carry them and more comfortable for them to be carried. When theyre limp and unconcious then their weight is just left flopping around.
How bad is alcohol for a teenager?
At 15 your body is still developing, so it is generally not advisable to meddle with your body chemistry too much before it sorts itself out. According to [wikipedia](_URL_0_) heavy drinking will mess with your brain and make you stupider, i.e. your memory will be crappier and learning will be more difficult. Besides, alcohol can be quite nasty regardless of age. When someone gets too much to drink, they may lose conciousness which is a state where medical help is required - it basically means you've drank more poison than your body can handle on its own, so you may stop breathing, or simply choke on your own vomit.
What does it mean when commercials use "actual users not paid actors" at the bottom of the screen? Has anyone here been an "actual user" for one of these commercials and were you paid or not?
When companies advertise, they want to tell you that their product or service is good and that you should buy it. If you know that they gave someone money to tell you it is good, they know that you would not believe it. If they show actual users, they want to tell you that these people really believe that they product or service is good and that the people do not just say that because the company paid them. And no, I've never been in a commercial.
How do people test the intelligence of A.I?
It depends really what the AI is built to do, a chatbot is an AI that helps you when you have problems with something on a website, when you start looking at other AI's such as IBM's Watson which was put onto the game show jeopardy, it absolutely destroyed 2 previous winners, it was a very intelligent AI. The chatbot that I made last year in my computer science degree was fairly stupid and only reacted to certain things that people said but had phrases that it could output if it didn't see anything it understood. If you haven't already seen IBM's Watson on jeopardy it is something good to watch :P
Why is _URL_0_ telling me that a person whom I know is deceased has viewed at my profile in the last two days?
Thinking logically this can be either of two things. 1. His website profile is obviously not him but a collection of data on a website, so any number of people could have his passwords and loved ones could be going through his things looking for loose ends. 2. The website lied or glitched for whatever reason. (Maybe it fabricates harmless user interaction to make it appear more valuable and busy than it is.)
If your neurones make a new connection when you learn something new, would it be possible to run out of space in your brain for new connections to form.
No, basically a neuron is capable of thousands of potential connection to other neurons, your brain is formed of trillions of these neural pathways (synapses) and they do strengthen and weaken over time. Your brain cleans out old or unused pathways as it develops more. The potential for creating new pathways is always extremely high in our brain and we don't really know the upper limit capacity, but even if you could prolong human life by a significant factor, your brain would never reach full capacity as it would be losing connections as well as creating new ones. Sometimes when you try to remember something and can't do it right away, then it comes back to you later, it's in essence your brain found a new pathway to old information because the old pathway to it was lost. This is an example of how you lose connections, but because there's trillions of connections there is almost always a backdoor to certain information.
What is Asbestos and how do people die from inhaling it?
It's basicly finely shreded naturaly occuring fiberglass. When you breath it in, it attaches to your lungs. You're breathing in glass. Breathing in glass tends to kill you. _URL_0_
Why do most songs nowadays require a capo to play on guitar, but when you look at most songs from the 60s to 90s, they were rarely used?
Capos aren't *always* required depending on if you can tune your strings high enough without busting them, but that's the general use of a capo; to play higher pitches without retuning. If more songs use capos nowadays, it's simply because they're using a higher key than standard but use the capo to avoid having to retune.
What is Compression Artifact?
While not an actual answer at all, here's a neat relevant thing. [The video explains itself.](_URL_0_) A small warning, the sound gets quite unpleasant before too long edit: actually, I forgot, it's sort of a digital recreation of [this](_URL_1_), which is also pretty interesting.
why do men's dress shirts come folded, filled with cardboard and tissue paper, and fastened by so many pins?
In a word, Marketing. Men like quick and easy. That form of packaging shows off what It might look like wearing one. Hold one up in front of the mirror, and bingo bango you just chose your shirt!
why is it called both the Sea of Japan and the East Sea?
If you are located just to the west of it, and you don't love Japan, you call it the East Sea. If you don't think China should have any claims over it, you call it the Sea of Japan.
How can Germany abolish tuition fee for university students while we are paying thousands of dollars or more each year?
The German political culture is not opposed to socialist policies like the nationalization of a university system. Another huge factor is that German education is much more rigid than in America and the standards for being in a path towards University are very high. This means that a large volume of Germans that are not serious about furthering their education are not running off to University as in America.
What would I need to legally start my own country?
You really only need one thing: The ability to defend that piece of land. Go ahead and claim a piece of land anywhere you like. Even if someone disagrees with you, as long as you can militarily defend your land then it doesn't really matter if they disagree. You can do what you like with that land. No one can stop you. That's how countries have risen and fallen throughout all of human civilization. Now, if you DONT have that military defense, then all the paperwork and "rights" in the world won't be able to save you if someone else decides that they disagree with you. They'll just take it right back. You only have a country as long as you have the ability to defend it.
What is "alcoholism" and how does it differ, if at all, from habitual heavy drinking?
Alcoholism is an alcohol addiction. Addiction is when you continue to do something despite repeated negative consequences. If someone is able to drink often but drink responsibly and avoid negative consequences then they may be a heavy drinker, but it wouldn't make sense to call them an alcoholic. If someone is getting busted for drunk driving, losing their job, alienating friends and family, etc., but still continue to drink then it would be fair to say they have an alcohol addiction and are therefore an alcoholic. (note: I am basing this on a phycholigical definition of addiction which can be applied to all forms of addiction, rather than a definition based strictly on physical dependance, which I don't think applies to many addictions)
why does beating the remote control make it work when the batteries are running low?
Often the batteries don't "die", the contacts simply corrode a bit. By jostling the batteries you a) rub off the corrosion and/or b) find a new contact point. Twisting the batteries also works, you don't need to attack your electronics
Wtf does the Vice President do?
The vice president's Constitutionally mandated roles are: - Serving as a president of the senate, casting a vote only when there is a tie. - Taking over the responsibilities of the office of the President of the United States if the president is dead or incapacitated. Other than that, the role of VP depends entirely on what the president wants/allows the VP to do. This varies greatly from administration to administration, and changes over time. And no, the VP is not the second in command of the United States. The President of the United States is the chief executive of the executive branch of government, as well as the Commander in Chief of all military forces. The VP had no executive or military authority under the Constitution.
Why is under-cooked steak "rare"?
Here's what etymonline has to say about it. It comes from the Old English word "hrere" which meant lightly cooked. > "undercooked," 1650s, variant of Middle English rere, from Old English hrere "lightly cooked," probably related to hreran "to stir, move, shake, agitate," from Proto-Germanic *hrorjan (source also of Old Frisian hrera "to stir, move," Old Saxon hrorian, Dutch roeren, German rühren, Old Norse hroera), from PIE root *kere- "to mix, confuse; cook" (source also of Greek kera- "to mix," krasis "mixture"). Originally of eggs, not recorded in reference to meat until 1784, and according to OED, in this sense "formerly often regarded as an Americanism, although it was current in many English dialects ...." EDIT: since this reply gained some traction, I'll pimp etymonline a bit. It is a great site for understanding why a particular word has its specific meaning. Here's the link to rare: _URL_0_
What is the benefit to not allowing officers to be recorded?
Some people feel that it would prevent the police from being able to do their job if they are going to be scrutinized by the public and risk losing their job over every little incident.
Why are the Yen and Euro considered safe havens?
Say you are an Indian business man, you probably keep some money in Indian Rupees since you still do need to pay your workers and buy stuff like food, but the Indian Rupee is not a particularly stable currency so you would be smart to put your excess money into a more stable currency. The US dollar is the most popular choice, but generally 4 other currencies are also used as they are also considered to be extremely stable. They are the Euro, Yuan, Yen and Pound. To massively oversimplify the more of these currencies you have the more stable your assets are. So when the dollar is weakening people will move some of their money to a place that isn't weakening, or is weakening more slowly. Usually most of the issues are relatively short term and these moves are as well, but with a little bit of luck you may even make money.
Why does bottled coke taste different from canned coke?
And if you happen to be drinking Mexican Coke, which comes in glass bottles, it tastes better because it's made with sugar instead of corn syrup.
Why is it that we have no sense of smell in dreams?
As opposed to sight and sound, smell is not stored in the brain in the same way. Close your eyes and you can imagine what your mom looks like. Start thinking about your favorite song and you can hear that artist's voice. The same does not hold true for smells. Think of pizza. You know it smells good. You can tell when someone brings in a pizza, but you can't smell it in your mind; you need the actual smell. This holds true for dreaming since dreaming is a phenomenon of the mind.
Why does transferring files create this pattern?
A common reason for speed to vary is the size of files currently being copied. Small files are slow especially on a traditional hard disk drive. Each file has its own location on the drive, requiring the head to move and wait for the data to appear under it. The grinding sound you may recognize is the head moving back and forth rapidly. Typical music files of a few megabytes are small enough to lose noticeable throughput. Large files like video files can stay close to peak throughput because they can take advantage of long sequential regions of space. Another reason for variable speed is that data stored on the outside of the disk (which is mapped as the beginning of the drive) is faster to access. There's more disk surface passing by for every revolution, allowing more data to be stored, and faster. I'm not sure how either would create a nearly perfect sinusoid, but maybe I gave you a lead.
How/why do we simultaneously have eye contact with another individual although we were not thinking about it.
random chance and recognizing false patters. How many faces do your eyes shift to in a full room? 10? 20? A hundred? How often do you catch people's eyes just at the right time? Maybe once? It's not that it happens that often, its that when it does happen, its memorable.
How do doctors and nurses handle menstruating patients?
As a ICU RN, I have had female patients in various of consciousness, who are having their menses. Just as we would bathe and clean any patient, we would clean her up and place a pad on her. Naturally, when possible, which is almost 100% of the time, a female RN will clean up the genital area of these ladies to avoid embarrassment or distress of the patients and their families, and we give them as much privacy as possible.
Why are bodily expressions like urine, feces and semen all relatively controllable, but periods just come a flowin' whenever they feel like it, without any say in the matter?
There's no sphincter there. There's vaginal muscles but if you tell girls on their periods to flex them you'll get stabbed in the face.
Why can diseases be past down from mother to child but not immunizations?
Diseases that are passed down from mother to child are hereditary, and are inherited because they are part of a mutation in genetic code. Immunizations, however, are not part of your genetic code, so they can not be passed down. Another example is if you dye your hair, that cannot be passed down to your offspring because you are not changing your DNA in doing so.
How come it's so hard for us to reach the bottom of the ocean due to pressure when we're equipped with high-end technology, but fish and other animals can live down there with no problems at all?
There are fish living in the deepest parts of the ocean: the pressure in and around them is equalised i.e. they are not resisting the pressure. We humans can't handle that pressure because we are air-breathers, and the air needs to be in the range we can breath. If you compress air it becomes denser and harder to breathe. The same is not true of water: under massive pressures it barely compresses at all, meaning that water-breathers like fish can still extract oxygen from it at extreme depths.
Why do girls have better hand writing than boys?
I have a degree in psychology. It's because girls develop their fine motor skills at an earlier age than boys do. In a way, they get a head start during the years where they are learning to write, draw, color, etc. Boys eventually catch up though. But this is why girls tend to have nicer hand writings.
Why do many people claiming to be US patriots display the Confederate Battle flag when the Confederacy was fighting against the US?
America is a free speech country, you can mostly say whatever you want, it doesn't have to make sense or reflect history accurately.
Why do I get light-headed when I stretch?
When you stretch you are tightening your muscles in your limbs, because of this extra space your heart pumps blood into these areas causing a loss of blood flow to your brain which causes you to be light-headed. Also, I remember reading an /r/askscience post regarding why it feels good to stretch my legs, the answer was that it's difficult for your heart to circulate the blood from your legs back to the heart so stretching your legs causes the muscles to force the blood back to the heart, causing a satisfying feeling in your legs
how come we're perfectly fine with impossibilities in dreams?
Via [Wikipedia](_URL_0_): > Certain physiology studies suggest that "seeing is believing" to the brain during any mental state. If the brain perceives something with great clarity or intensity, it will believe that it is real, even when asleep. Dream consciousness is similar to that of a hallucinating awake subject. Dreams or hallucinatory images triggered by the brain stem are considered to be real, even if fantastic. The impulse to accept the experience as real is so strong the dreamer will often invent a memory or a story to cover up an incongruous or unrealistic event in the dream. For example, "That man has two heads!" is not usually followed with "I must be dreaming!" but with something like "Yes, I read in the paper about these famous Siamese twins." Other times there will be an explanation that, in the dream, makes sense and seems very logical. However, when the dreamer awakes, he/she will realize that it is rather far-fetched or even completely absurd.
There was an episode where the Mythbusters dipped their hand into molten lead, isn't lead toxic just to be around?
It isn't radioactive, being near it is going to do nothing to you. Which is why it's safe to keep a gun loaded with bullets holstered near your nether regions. Getting lead in your blood stream however, is not good. It can eventually cause cancer and other nasty side effects. What the Mythbusters were doing was demonstrating the Leidenfrost effect - dipping their wet hands into molten lead. The water immediately turns into stream, creating a protective barrier around the hand. So their hands never actually touched the lead. Even if you are handling lead though, it will take a lot more than one touch to get any negative effects
How do knots in your back form? and how does digging into them with someone's elbow get rid of them?
Your muscles - especially fast-twitch muscles - get overexerted. They lose the ability to "turn off" and spasm. Additionally, lactic acid and proteins build up in the muscle fibers. A good deep tissue massage or proper stretching or physical therapy will stretch the tense muscle, helping it to turn off, while also increasing the blood flow to flush out the lactic acid. The touch of another person also aids in the release of pleasant hormones. Your pain receptors also priortize heat over pain, so the extra warmth of a hot hand, stone or extra blood flow will help with pain management.
How does the prosecution seek the death penalty in California when we don't have the death penalty
Proposition 62 was rejected. California still has the death penalty. The higher courts ensure it can't actually be carried out, but the people and the prosecutors still support it.
Big public companies like JPMorgan, GM, GE, BoA and Apple have millions of different shareholders, both private and institutional, what is the process to fire and appoint the CEO?
The Board of Directors hires and fires all Executive Officers. The Board of Directors is elected by the Shareholders.
How does a petrol pump know when to stop filling?
There is a smaller tube inside the pipe that goes in your tank. This is the "sensing pipe". The small tube connects to a valve that shuts off the flow. When the tank is full, fuel reaches the end of the nozzle, this pressurizes the small tube which activates a valve which shuts off the flow of fuel. _URL_0_
How does canned food "keep" so well for so long?
The canning process kills all the organisms in the can; it's sterile and sealed so there is nothing alive in there that could spoil the food and nothing can get in.
if NASA tests their new rocket with 3.5 million pounds of force, how do they stop the rocket from crumpling, or shooting off?
See the giant piece of concrete in front of the rocket? That's sunk in the ground, and while it doesn't weigh 3.5 million pounds, the reactionary force resisting the rocket's push is equal to 3.5 million pounds. As for why the rocket doesn't crumple, the rocket is basically packed solid with fuel, and designed to resist the force trying to push the walls of the rocket apart, which isn't as strong as you might imagine since the rocket is a shaped charge that is designed to explode toward the rear.
Why is suit and tie still a thing when clothing fashion in general change so often?
The suit has also changed, namely in how the sleeves are trimmed, the lapel size and the width of the tie, as well as the pockets and number of buttons and vents. Formal wear is generally changed less often because formal wear is supposed to provide an air of grace and enduring rather than normal fashion, which is always supposed to be new in some way. Nonetheless, the suit has also changed in ways I mentioned above, and it has been changing for hundreds of years, from the frock coat to the tailcoat to the modern suit jacket.
Why is being obese considered unhealthy?
It leads to many health complications such as high blood pressure and diabetes...
How are there downvotes on Subreddits which have disabled the downvote button?
You can't disable the downvote button. You can hide it, but anyone who doesn't use your subreddit's custom style (there's an option to disable that) can still downvote.
what are the different versions of Linux and why do they exist?
It's not that much unlike Android. There's Samsung's "Android", HTC's "Android", and so on. Then there is Android TV, Android Wear, Android Auto...etc. So it's not just "one OS" with a single interface. Linux is a "core" on top of which many "OS's" are built.
Why does it smell different outside when it's cold?
Are you talking about day to day cold or seasonal. Diffenrt plants die when its cold and different plants have pollen released at different times in the season, its possible that day to day temperature difference can stimulate seasonal changes. additionally humidity might change the smell.
How do submarines adjust buoyancy?
First understand that buoyancy is a factor of both weight and VOLUME. So while air under pressure has the same weight as air not under pressure, and volume of that air increases. So a sub has air and pumps that air into the ballast tanks where it is under less pressure. So now the same quantity (by weight) of air now occupies more space. The sub has lost the water that was in the ballast tanks so overall the sub is lighter (and the sub has the same volume as before) so it raises.
What renders a cancerous tumor inoperable/not removable vs.Being able to remove it via surgery?
Generally, if it is too close to, wrapped around, or entering a vital organ that cannot have pieces removed, or if it is in a location that will cause death if an attempt to remove the tumor is made.
How could someone possibly believe that the Holocaust did not happen?
You need to look at it form the other direction. The atrocities the Nazis committed are used to invalidate many of the the positions they held. So if you support some of those ideals, in order to make them valid, you need to find ways to minimize their culpability in committing those atrocities.
When I'm several stories up and I look at the ground why do I feel like is want to jump knowing it would kill me?
There is a theory that L’appel du vide (call of the void) is a result of our base brain still recalling a time when we lived in trees and, like monkeys, would jump out into open space without hesitation to get to another tree or escape an obnoxious proto-human who was hassling us. That may actually be partially the reason for fear of heights. There can be a painful cognitive dissonance between a curious urge to jump to freedom, and knowing it will kill you.
Why do magnets with two poles become smaller magnets with two poles each when split up?
Think of atoms in a magnet like a giant stack of lego bricks. Magnetism causes all of the atoms to line up the same direction so this stack represents a typical magnet. If you break that magnet in half, the orientation of the upper convex bumpy side and the lower concave side stay the same. It sticks back together if you stick a top to a bottom or a bottom to a top, but it won't stick together any other way.
why does my bladder fill up so fast when I'm drinking
Alcohol is a diuretic. It accelerates the production of urine regardless of fluid intake. Because of this, dehydration is a leading cause of hangovers. Protip: after a night of drinking, have a bottle of sports drink (or a big glass of water) and a vitamin before going to bed. You may feel a bit less like garbage in the morning.
If it's so easy for Americans/Canadians/Europeans to go fight for ISIS why doesn't the FBI/CIA/NSA just send over tons of spies?
Well being as they would be spies, do you know that they aren't?
How does kinetic energy play a role in chemical reactions?
When molecules collide with each other they may react with each other. So if you increase the kinetic energy of the molecules, you increase the number of collisions that occur in a given time interval. So you are increasing the rate of the overall reaction.
What are the positives/negatives for the Iran nuke deal
Benefits: tourism will be easier - Iran is a pretty cool place. Downside: Have to listen to a hysterical Netanyahu and his congressional bitches for the next few weeks.
Why do playing cards develop a bad smell when left alone for a long period of time?
You are not far off. Playing cards are laminated with plastic to make it water resistant and longer lasting. Just like laminated magazine paper or temporary ID cards. When kept in that mason jar for a long time, presumably in an attic or a storage closet. (both of them are in contact with the outer walls and can get quite warm in the summers) the heat is trapped in the mason jar. Kinda like a car in the sun. This caused the plastic to react, presumably melt, and give off the smell you said of. Hope this helps
How do different eyesight problems differ to each other? i.e. long sighted, short sighted, astigmatism
To see, light has to hit our eye, and then reflect back onto the retina. This image is then sent to our brain and then comprehended. If you are short-sighted, the eyeball is either curved wrong, or too long, and instead of hitting the retina directly, the light goes in front of the retina, causing you to not be able to see things far away. Long-sighted is the opposite, with a too-short eyeball causing light to go behind the retina. This means you can focus on things far away, but not too close. Astigmatism is something else entirely. It just means that your cornea or lens ( the visible,curved, clear part of your eye) isn't smooth. This means the light rays again aren't refracted properly. You can have astimgatism and be near-sighted ( I am!) it's just a double whammy of not refracting the light properly.
Who are the :lawmakers" in the US?
It means "the US congress" (i.e. the Senate and the House of Representatives) if on the federal level, or an individual state legislature if on the state level. Those are the groups who write laws.