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Why seemingly every country is in debt?
At any given time there is a lot of money not getting spent. If all of that money were sitting around under people's mattresses it would mean that a huge amount of resources aren't getting used. Debt is just the agreement that people with resources who don't currently have a better use for them to lend those resources to those that do, often to be paid back with interest. Governments are pretty trusted as borrowers go, so lenders are willing to lend them money at very low interest rates. When you can borrow money at low interest rates, it makes other forms of income (e.g. taxes) look more expensive by comparison. If the government wants to fund something, it is often cheaper to do so with borrowing than with taxation.
What is the difference between a muffler, a suppressor, and a silencer If there are only at all.
a silencer is a made up thing movies use. a suppressor is a real thing that actually makes a gun sort of quieter but not even remotely silent or even quiet. A muffler is a car part.
Why does Paper make such loud noises when I rip it?
It is made up of a lot of strands with their own tension, when you rip paper you are breaking a lot of strands at once. Its like a rapid fire popping sound of that tension being released.
How long do you have to be dead before you're stopped being referred to as " the late"?. For example the late Margaret Thatcher sounds fine but the late Shakespear does not.
That's an interesting observation. This seems like it's likely a vague thing with hazy boundaries that no firm definition will suffice for. With that said, though, I'd say a good general rule might be something along the lines of "Margaret Thatcher was alive during the living memory of the vast majority of people who are currently alive", whereas Shakespeare was not. I say "vague and hazy" because obviously somewhere in between two extreme cases like Margaret Thatcher and Shakespeare, there is, say, Jimi Hendrix. Is it reasonable to refer to him as "the late Jimi Hendrix"? I think you'll find that different people have different opinions on that. And I think it's reasonable for them to have different opinions on it.
How do animals have multiple births at a time and humans(most of the time) only have one
It all revolves around our brain and development. Humans have adapted to give birth to highly developed offspring with big heads to house our complex brains. Brain development, big heads, and organs capable of supporting the brain take a lot of time to develop from a single cell (9 months). There are also a lot of resources needed for development. Humans get around these problems by devoting time and resources to a limited number of babies to insure their survival to maturity. It is not advantageous to waste resources during pregnancy or childhood on many offspring that will not survive. Other species have offspring that do not require as much resources or time from the parents. This allows them to produce offspring in large numbers more quickly because it does not cost as much and insures that at least some of the offspring will probably survive to maturity. There is no perfect system. Evolution has just produced different systems that work for different species.
why do we need coin currency? Why not set prices to a flat dollar amount?
The fractal amounts are still meaningful in many transactions. For example, if gasoline could only be sold for $4/gallon or $5/gallon would make a huge difference to the vendor and the consumer alike. Also, some industries live off those fractions. Credit cards, for example, charge the vendor a small fraction of the charge. Each charge isn't that much, but when multiplied by the millions of transactions every day, they add up.
Why can't everyone be nice to each other?
I'd say for two main reasons. Humans love to break into tribes. With a clear divide between Us and Them. Typically that creates some sort of feeling of superiority or resentment. And also, treating someone like crap actually makes you feel good. It makes you feel powerful and important. It's why we like sarcasm and a good comeback. And those little micro-rewards in your brain create long term behavior patterns.
How does diplomatic immunity work and why do we have it?
There have been cases in which the other country will forfeit diplomatic immunity. There was a famous case in D.C. where a drunk Russian diplomat plowed down some people in Georgetown, and the Russians eventually waived his immunity and extradited him back to the U.S. (He'd long since fled home.) But they didn't *have to.*
Do animals actually understand us when we speak or is it just anthropomorphism?
They do understand body language and tone. And depending on the animal and breed, they can learn between 30-90 words (more for mimicking species like parrots). Now, thinking that an animal understands you when you say something like "Good morning fluffy, you ready for a ride to the vet?" In most cases the only thing they will pick up is their name and your tone (as well as body language). But if a dog perks up because you say the word "walk" then they probably learned that word and have some association with it (like walking with their owner). This is just and adaptation of normal behavior in the wild. Animals need to be able to recognize patterns in order to accurately assess how risky a situation is. Normally, the cues are visual and some audible, but not language. A rattle snake doesn't say, "bad dog" but the rattle is a noise that an animal must learn to survive, right?
How do hotel comparision websites earn money?
Yes, they earn commissions. All of these online travel sites, whether for hotels or flights or whatever, are just travel agencies with a web-based storefront. Like traditional travel agencies, they earn a commission from the airline/hotel when they make a booking.
Is there s reason we refer to sales prices and wages/salaries by their untaxed amount? Wouldn't it save time, frustration, and resentful remarks about Uncle Sam if we did the calculations ahead of time and used the practical number?
Not american, but IIRC Sales tax varies from state to state, So I'd guess companies just use the base price for simplicity (it makes no difference to the company how much tax is applied) As regards Wages/salaries the untaxed amount is constant, If I take a 20K job and somebody with 2 kids* takes the same job, they will pay less tax than me. Or any other variable that changes your tax decuctions *
Why doesn't the US or any other country use napalm/chemical warfare in modern day wars like in Vietnam?
188 countries have signed the Chemical Weapons Convention which is an arms control agreement that outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.
Where do metals originate from?
the coolest thing about all matter is that it comes from the stars - literally. Everything you see and everything you are made of is from an exploded star. Metals are fairly complex elements and so they come from only certain kinds of spent stars.
Why do other countries (outside of the US) have little or no commercial breaks on TV?
As an example, I believe England has their stations technically run by the government, kind of like PBS here The US on the other hand leases out different bands to companies (nbc, cbs, etc) so they have to pay for their costs
Why are dogs not intimidated when a human snarls and shows their teeth?
It is about intent. A dog knows when you mean business and when you are bluffing. They are like us in that they don't want to be hurt and if you can make them believe that you are going to do more damage to them than they can do to you, the dog will back down. Your son probably doesn't have the ability to show intent behind his actions yet. It's like the difference between walking up to your dog and saying "get on your bed" and actually meaning it in such a way that the dog knows that if it doesn't listen, shit is gunna fly.
what is my body doing in the "Aaaah, AAAAAAH-" moment of a sneeze? Why does it vary in length?
When you start to sneeze, it's because of some sort of irritation in your nose to release histamines. When histamines reach the nerve cells in your nose, it tells the brain to start what I'll call the Sneeze Sequence. The "Ah" sound you make is due to your body reflexively taking a large breath. During this time, the muscles in your throat and nose expand, creating an opening that allows large amounts of air to pass through. Then, your chest muscles rapidly contract, forcing the air out of your lungs and through your nose. The variation in length is based on personal anatomy and how your brain handles the Sneeze Sequence. It's different from person to person.
When a song gets "leaked", where does it come from?
When a band is recording a song or album, there are many people involved from the time they start recording until the media is sent out for sale. Any one of the people who are involved in that process can get a copy of the song or album and leak it. So, once the music is recorded and mixed, copies of that music are sent to various groups. Anyone that touches the media has a chance to make a copy. Some artist actually put some sort of unique signature on the different files that they provide to different parts of the process. This way, if they happen to find a version of their song released on the Internet, they can much more easily track down who stole the song and released it.
How Come Harry Called Snape "The Bravest Man He Ever Knew"?
You can still be a prick and also be brave. The two are not mutually exclusive. He had many heroic moments, not the least of which was to raise his wand against Dumbledore, his friend and confidante at his behest, to secure his place as a spy, but also to protect Draco Malfoy's soul from the agony of killing, and to end the suffering of said friend. He spent the next year, in secret, helping those who hated every fiber of his being for something about which they were intentionally mislead. Then to allow himself to be killed, again, to mislead Voldemort about the true master of the Elder Wand (because, he's not stupid. He knew the whole time.) That takes a lot of guts.
What causes small droplets of saliva to be launched out of your mouth sometimes when you open it.
I think you are refering to gleeking. In general, gleeking occurs when an accumulation of saliva in the submandibular gland is propelled out in a stream when the gland is compressed by the tongue. The stream of saliva is released in the general direction of the front of the mouth. If the mouth is open the jet may project several feet. Some people can do this on command by pushing/ramming their tongue against the the back part of their front upper teeth. I can lol lightly biting my tongue in different areas to stimulate salivation helps do it repeatly.
Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the Saints?
Catholics believe that the saints and Mary are very close to Jesus and God. They don't pay directly to saints and Mary, but rather they pray that they intercede for them. Meaning that the saints pray to God on their behalf, and since they are so close to God to put in a good word
How come Google can search the entirety of the internet instantly but when I search my C: drive through the Windows Start Menu it takes forever?
It's because of indexes. When I want to find something in a textbook, I go to the index first. That helps me find the right page. If there was no index, I'd have to read every page until I found the right one. That could take a long time. Your C: drive probably doesn't have an index. It is possible to create an index, but it's quite a basic one. Google has lots of extremely advanced indexes to help it find the information quickly. (Plus, it uses lots of different computers to spread the work around too.)
How do fans work if all they do is warm the air?
While, technically, heat is the result of molecules moving faster, in practice you need to make air move hundreds of miles per hour for it to become measurably warmer. The little 10mph breeze from a fan is basically an immeasurable increase in the energy of that air. Our bodies are hot so the air around us heats up. A fan blows that hot air away so we radiate more heat into the outside air. It also helps our sweat evaporate a bit faster, cooling us down further. When this naturally occurs outside, we call it "wind chill".
Why are churches tax exempt?
It has nothing to do with the separation of church and state regarding their tax status. Churches are eligible for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. They do have to abide by the restricts such as they cannot endorse a political candidate. The question to ask is why are some organizations allowed to be tax-exempt? The first thing is they are not in it for an owner to make a profit (the organization may make a profit but it can be taken as the owner of a for-profit would). The second is they provide value to the community. It would make sense that churches should not take a profit (although some do try to skirt the issue). They provide value to the community in that it is a community group for people. Some churches provide other services such as charity work and providing free meeting places for other community groups.
Why is "they are" correct grammatically, while "everyone are" is incorrect, when they are both used as singular pronouns?
Think of 'everyone' as 'each and every one'. 'One is', singular. 'They' is used when there is a plurality of people *or* when there are plural options for addressing someone and you don't know which to use. 'They are', plural.
the consequences of not bailing out the big banks and companies
Around 1990, the economy collapsed in both Sweden and Japan taking down the banks with bad loans. They dealt with it in opposite ways. Sweden ripped the band-aid off, i.e. they fired the CEOs, made the bank stocks worthless, wrote off and auctioned the bad assets and sold the banks back to the public when they became profitable again, they recovered within five years. Japan, never forced the banks to write down the bad assets, change management or anything. So these banks just kept existing too broke to meet the loan requirements of Japans businesses. They have NEVER recovered and it's been nearly a quarter century! For the record, because of the powerful banking lobby, we have basically followed the Japanese model, so much for learning from history. **TL;DR The economy needs access to capital which banks can't provide if they collapse, but we did it all wrong.**
The dialects of the Chinese language.
They are two completely different languages, with different grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, the lot. However, Chinese characters each denote an entire word as a whole concept and not letters or syllables, so speaking any Chinese dialect is not necessary to be able to read and understand Chinese writing. Two people can read the same text and understand each in radically different languages - including non-Chinese ones. Thus, when China's government wishes to announce something to all Chinese, they simply announce it in writing and every one who can read it can understand it.
Why does saliva sometimes spray out of your mouth like a shower when you yawn?
It's caused by accidently putting pressure on the saliva gland (sublingual) under your tongue. The slang term for this is 'Gleeking' (so you can google it).
Why does cannibalism have negative side effects?
Any disease that the person who died has is obviously capable of infecting other humans. And societies tend to look down on eating their own, because it would be seen as encouraging murder. But otherwise, yes, meat is meat. It is said to taste a lot like pork.
How do aquired tastes work?
It doesn't smell any different to you as it does to me. You have created associations in your brain between the smell, the taste, and the effect. You enjoy the effect, so you start to enjoy the smell because you anticipate the result. It still has the same smell though chemically to your smell receptors in your nose. You can use this to create small Pavlov situations. You may hate broccoli on its own. But if you start to put broccoli in things you enjoy to eat, you slowly create the same associations. Over time with enough positive associations, broccoli on its own becomes good to you, because you think about everything else as well.
why does milk taste so good after eating something with syrup or peanut butter?
**Likes disolve likes. Polar substances like water disolve polar substances like sugar. Non-polars like oil, fat, and gasoline dissolve non-polars. We've all seen this, oil doesn't mix with water. Chocolate and peanut butter have fat which don't disolve well or at all in water, but do in milk because milk has fat.**
The Difference between a Mechanic, Technician, Engineer, etc. I hear the terms used (seemingly) interchangeably.
Mechanic generally only means someone working on engines. Technicians are doing practical work with something at least vaguely technical. You could call a mechanic an auto-mobile technician or something if you want to. An engineer generally mean a university-trained professional that designs new systems; they often leave the actual act of installing things to technicians. An engineer designs a plane, a technician/mechanic actually puts it together and makes sure it's going according to plan.
Can electric appliances cause WIFI disturbance?
Motors with brushes have some arcing associated with them. The arcing emits a very wide range of frequencies which can interfere with any consumer radio system. _URL_0_
Why do we chill when we are actually burning with fever?
There's a part of your brain that controls your temperature called the hypothalamus. When you get a fever, your immune system makes your hypothalamus change your desired temperature higher. Your body basically wants to get warmer, so it makes you feel cold. When you feel cold, you try to get warmer yourself and you shiver to move your body to create warmth. Your body forces you to feel cold because it wants you to get warm. If you felt hot, you would try and cool yourself down, which is the opposite of what your body is trying to do.
How honey, agave syrup, etc. is "healthier" than white sugar.
the short answer is that they aren't. it's all marketing. if they can slap "natural" or "organic" on something then they can sell it for more and have people breaking down the door to get it. the caveat to that is, natural agave and honey from your local area can serve to build up your immune system and help with allergies. it's not a cure all, and it's not total immunity but theoretically it is better than white sugar. also real honey tastes better than the stuff at the supermarket, and all honey tastes better than white sugar in cereal and tea and stuff imo.
What does "meta" actually mean?
Meta means "viewing things at the next higher conceptual level". For example, an analysis might study the effectiveness of a particular drug. A meta-analysis studies multiple analyses. Meta can **sometimes** result in self-reference, like a TV show making a joke about being a TV show. But saying meta is the same as self-reference completely misunderstands what is actually means.
How were the 'adult' ages of 18/21 established in the western world for things like voting, drinking, legal liability, etc.?
Arbitrarily. Almost. There had to be a line drawn somewhere, for legal purposes, that a person will not be considered a child anymore. That was picked to be 18/21 for different things. It might as well have been 17/22 or 19/20 or any nearby numbers really. The law makers, decided 18 would be appropriate enough and here we have it.
Student debt is making it harder for millennials to buy houses in stead of renting. What effect will this have on the economy?
Student debt is not just dragging down the housing market, it's dragging down the entire economy. Reducing the discretionary spending power of the currently largest demographic block in the US is obviously detrimental to the entire economy. Part of why the US's growth rate in the past 10 years has been less than stellar is partially because student debt has curtailed millenial spending. Reducing discretionary spending reduces functional demand, reduces economic growth. If we really want to free up the economy, we must address the student debt problem. Specifically, for housing, this will reduce appreciation and likely harm the retirements of boomers who were counting on the profits from real estate appreciation. It will also slow down family creation and marriage rates, both of which should slow the economy as well.
Why do we need car dealerships?
Same reason we need any store, some people like to try things out before they buy it.
How is it possibly true that "the Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the United States" - is it really led by girls?
I believe that almost all the upper level management of the Girls Scouts is also female. Their CEO is currently Anna Maria Chávez, and if you look at their [list of past leaders](_URL_0_), it's pretty much entirely females. So yes, it's a very large business that's led almost entirely by women. I'd say their material checks out.
Where have all the college-student jobs gone?
Well, for starters, in 1979 you could pay for an entire semester of college by working for two weeks at minimum wage. In 1993, you could pay for a week of school with 20 hours of minimum wage work a week. Now, you have to work 48 hours a week of minimum wage to pay for school. So, it makes more sense to take out a student loan and actually have time to go to school than to work while going to school. [Source](_URL_0_)
Why is it always so cold in the hospital?
Bacteria and viruses don't survive as long on cold surfaces. Making it a bit chilly saves lives from infection.
What are the pros and cons of upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10?
I switched 3 devices form 7 to 10. I strongly prefer multi monitor window management in windows 10, this is something I do quite a lot of with my job so it's really important to me. All 3 upgrades were 100% hassle free. One of them had an issue, but it was my fault (I upgraded early by way of an insider build (beta), and forgot to remove myself from the insider program). Even with the beta, there was zero issues upgrading. I upgraded 1 desktop that I'd built myself, 1 HP desktop that had been significantly upgraded and 1 stock laptop. All of the hardware is several years old, so nothing cutting edge. I don't use egde (the new Internet Explorer) so I can't speak to that. I use Cortana a little, but generally only for voice commands. In general I find 10 to be just as fast. The Windows 8 computer I use at work is a dumpster fire, do not recommend.
Why does the hair on your head need to be cut continuously but the hair on the rest of your body knows when to stop?
All hair have a certain lifespan, your eyebrow and eyelashes can only grow for a month or two before they die and fall off. Your hair on the other hand can grow for about 7 years (this is why very few people can grow their hair past their butt).
Why do I crave something specific when I'm hungry and some times I don't know what I want? What is happening in my body?
Sometimes (pregnant women especially experience this) your body will be lacking so kind of mineral/nutrient, so it will direct you towards foods containing that nutrient. It could also just be dependent on sensory cues.
Why do most rappers say "uh, yeah" before a song?
It's just a way for rappers to find their rhythm and get into the song. It's the equivalent of bobbing your head to the beat or something.
Why do bubbles have that strange rainbow kinda color?
Very thin films take on a sharp color. This is due to light reflecting off of both surfaces of the film and interfering with itself. This happens with a bubble, but the film is not uniform in thickness. So instead of getting one very distinct color, [you get rainbow patterns](_URL_0_).
What are the current Problems with nuclear Fusion?
You are creating something as hot as a star. No physical material we have is strong enough to withstand that kind of heat and pressure. Any metals, ceramics, even carbon nanotubes would melt and rupture instantly. So the reaction is contained by floating it inside of a magnetic field so it doesn't actually touch anything. This field has to be very strong to contain the energy being created, and so it takes a lot of energy to keep the field up. Currently we can create fusion reactions, but we always end up putting more energy into them than we get out of them. We either need to find a way to generate more energy in the reaction without needing additional energy to contain it, or we need to increase the efficiency of the magnetic torus that contains the reaction so it doesn't take so much energy to maintain. This is why cold fusion is so sought after, because without all of the heat then you don't need high energy toruses to contain the reaction.
How are denial of service attacks still possible?
Same reason McDonalds can't do anything about one guy coming in an ordering 30 large fries and holding up the entire store for a half hour. That's basically what a DDoS attack is. There are counter measures that these companies take, but ultimately there is little they can do that would not also negatively effect their business. Best solution for Lizard Squad is to get the FBI involved and have the lot of them arrested. A couple years in prison with "Horse Cock" Charlie should straighten them out.
Why are simple antibiotics not available without a prescription?
Because antibiotic resistance is a huge problem. People overuse antibiotics for things that sometimes don't even need them, like the flu which is a virus and not bacterial. If the general public were able to purchase antibiotics off the bat then resistance would go up massively. Plus, there are so many different types of antibiotics that the general public wouldn't even know which ones treat what illnesses. The ABX for UTIs tend to be different than that of strep, or staph, or STIs etc... Source: I'm a medical professional
Why don't laptops have a slot to clean fan dirt?
The more user-servicable you make a piece of electronics, the bulkier and less reliable it will be. People generally make their purchasing decision based on aesthetics or specs and not on the ease of maintenance. This is the same reason that iPhones don't have removable batteries.
How does communism work? Does everyone get the same share of national revenue, regardless of profession? What about those in the sciences, politics, business, and other "highly paid" professions?
There are so many forms and interpretations of communism that this is hard to answer. But, if we look at the classic "academic communism" based on marx then, no...if well done there should be no social class. Since all people are doing are things that benefit society, differentiating the value of one brink in the wall from another is impossible. It's only our capitalism that equates the "value" of medicine with money and resultant social class, to the communist the job that isn't needed is the job that isn't done and other jobs are bricks in societies wall. In it's ideal, money doesn't exist. In practice, no country got to "communism" they were all communistic in government structure (or tried to be) and socialist (a gateway economic structure) in economic organization.
- how can you get stretch marks on your bum from sitting down too much?
Your can't. You get stretch marks from rapid weight gain or growth. So if you put on a lot of weight in your hips and butt you can get stretch marks there. Something you can get from sitting down too much are pressure sores commonly called bed sores, or hemorrhoids.
I am very nearsighted. Why does my vision appear to significantly sharpen when I squint?
The cornea and the lens of eye work together to focus Light into the back of the eye (a bit like the projector thingies that you can hang from ceilings to display images in a white canvas a bit further away), where the images from the outside will be "developed" (where you have the cells that help make sense of what you are seeing and transmit the info to the brain). When you are nearsighted the lens shape is a bit off, so the whole light conduction to the back is a bit fuzzy. When you squint you change the shape of the lens (with all the muscle pressure) just enough to improve the vision a little bit. Edit: Look at the users bellow, they posed alternative explanations for the squinting effect. I also added a few scholastic references (very acessible) explaining the effect for the users that forgot this is Eli5. _URL_2_ _URL_1_ _URL_0_ _URL_3_
What's wrong with the big pharmaceutical industry?
I was a clinical scientist in big pharma for years. I ran phase III human trials. It takes on average, testing of 100,000 new compounds to bring one to market. Of those 100,000, only 13 will make it to toxicology testing. 12 will fail. The expense is mind-boggling for all of this. On top of the drug development, the FDA has far more stringent standards than almost any other country. On top of this is the desperate need to make money. Big pharma had to compete with Apple, Ford, GE for your investment dollar. Mostly it's not individual buyers, but mutual funds. Big pharma is owned by the retirement plans of the USA. Because of the expense of research and the need to compete on the stock market, drugs are overpriced. (Some high tech drugs really DO cost a small fortune to produce) It's not because the companies are any more greedy than any other big business, they are owned by the American populace, but people like to create phantom "evil owners" and "evil employees" that work there.
when I sleep in my bed and my hand touches the concrete wall, it feels really cold but when I touch my wood bedframe it's warm.
Hotness/coldness isn't a measure of the temperature of the object. It's a measure of how fast the heat enters or leaves your hand. A metal bar feels colder than a wooden one on winter's night because metal is a better conductor of heat. It literally sucks the heat out of your hand faster than wood. Concrete isn't as good as metal, but it's better than wood.
How do Blood Thinners (Rat Poison) work? What makes the blood "thin"?
Your blood contains things called platelets - these are basically a type of cell whose job it is to plug any holes that might form in your bloodstream. And normally, these holes and tiny tears happen *all the time*, but you never notice them because your platelets plug said holes and prevent any leakage. Blood thinners, both as a rat poison but also used for medical treatments (such as heparin and warfarin), work by preventing these clots from forming. This can be done through different pathways, such as interrupting the chemical signatures the body uses to conduct the clotting process or by accelerating the processes that the body uses to break down bloodclots. Rat poisons operate through the first method - by interrupting the clot-forming pathways. Also included in rat poison are other chemicals that cause the blood vessels to be more 'leaky', speeding up the process of internal bleeding.
When a woman gives birth how long does it take for her stomach area to go down?
It's different for each woman and it just depends on her body type, whether she delivered vaginally or by cesarean, and her activity levels before and after pregnancy. I mean, she will immediately not look pregnant anymore once the baby and placenta are out, but she won't be back to her pre-baby size for a while, and some women never do go back to that size. A woman's abdominal muscles can weaken from being stretched out over a huge belly and until she strengthens them again, they will sag outward after she gives birth.
Why can't we just throw satellites or sensors into a black hole to see what happens?
The nearest black hole is 1600 light years away, for a start. Even if we have a black hole at easy reach (and it somehow wasn't destroying us all) the definition of a black hole is that it is so massive that its escape velocity is faster than the speed of light. Information can't move faster than light, so if we sent a satellite into a black hole it and all of its data would be lost as soon as it crossed the event horizon.
Why do roads have unnecessary bends?
I think the premise is false - just because it seems unnecessary, it's highly unlikely anybody is going to build needlessly curvy roads. Obvious factors would be geography (Sometimes cheaper to simply avoid a big rock formation than to go through it), land ownership (maybe they couldn't acquire the land, or again, it was cheaper to go around), following a previous road/trail rather than trying to re engineer it, avoiding any other obstacles and, finally, some roads are built deliberately curvy to increase driver concentration.
What makes the Mona Lisa painting special?
It was stolen. That is about it. Before the theft, it was often thought of as one of his lesser works. However, once it was stolen there was a big todo over the theft. When it was recovered, everyone wanted to see the "stolen masterpiece". That fame has remained.
From a cancer-risk point of view, is 10 minutes in the sun each day for 12 days equivalent to 2 hours in the sun during one day?
If you burn, it's definitely not equivalent. When you get burnt, your skin is showing signs that cells are actually dying. Your body contains mechanisms to deal with the DNA damaged caused by UV radiation, but when these mechanisms become overwhelmed, your cells need to abort and kill themselves to prevent skin cancer. It might be more equivalent if you didn't develop a burn in the long-exposure scenario. Bad sunburns in childhood are particularly associated with skin cancer risk, but so is overall sun exposure.
How would a fourth dimentional being perceive a three dimentional being?
Like being flat in that fourth dimension -- if the fourth dimension is time, then we're only able to see what's going right now, where a four-dimensional being could freely move backwards and forwards. You need to ignore the memory bit though -- pretend you're a (stupid) fish, so you have no idea of past or future. A really good way to toy with the concept is the [book Flatland](_URL_0_). Old, but easy and fun to read!
My friend's mom died this morning after a 3 year battle with cancer. ELI5 why it's so hard to cure, and why we haven't done it yet.
Cells in your body duplicate to replace dead cells. They know when and how to do so based on information found on their DNA. When a cell replicates it makes a copy of the DNA for the other cell, but sometimes something goes wrong during this process and the other cell's DNA is messed up. Now most of the time this is fine but should there be an issue in the DNA about how and when it should replicate the result can be a cancer cell. Cancer cells split constantly, producing even more cancer cells that continue to split. The resulting group of cancer cells is called a tumor. If the tumor gets to big and damages a vital organ the result can be death. It is hard to cure because you have to find a way to kill every single cancer cell without doing to much harm to the rest of the body. Sorry to hear about your friends mom :(
Why has Africa generally been unable to develop like the rest of the modern world?
It's not that Africa hasn't been able to develop, it's been actively undermined. Nearly all of the continent was under colonial administration until the end of World War II. It's spent hundreds of years having its resources siphoned away and having its political systems eroded. Once independence finally came, it was granted along mostly arbitrary lines. There's no national cohesion because the borders of states were basically drawn at random, not along any sort of national lines (like exist in Europe and North America). Really, it's going to be generations just to get people in a lot of these countries to stop hating each other long enough to get basic stability. After about 400 years of being shot in the foot, I seriously doubt that the continent as a whole will *ever* catch up to Europe or North America. Some specific countries will do well, but most are deeply and systemically broken.
What would a standard conversation between a pilot and air traffic control sound like either on take off or landing?
You can listen for yourself at _URL_0_. Mostly it is just business, and that means jargon, especially at larger and busier airports. A lot of it goes something like this: * Pilot: "Centennial Ground, Cessna 52872 at Charlie One, run-up complete, request southeast departure, information Kilo." * Ground: "Cessna 52872, taxi to runway one-seven left via alpha." * Pilot: "Taxi to one-seven left via alpha, 52872." Translated, the pilot flying Cessna 52872 is telling Centennial Airport they are at location C1, ready to take off, are travelling southeast, and has weather information K (they get a new letter with each hourly update). The tower is telling them to go to runway 17 left via taxiway A.
How do those penny auction websites work?
The price of the items is dirt cheap. But what they fail to mention is that you have to pay for bids and the auctions end times extend after every bid. So while you may have purchased that new laptop for $10, you spent $500 in bids, just like all the losers of the auction also spend hundreds in bids.
why do people's accents seem to disappear when they sing?
BA in linguistics here. I believe it is for a couple reasons. Reason number one being that you simply don't hear it as much. The differentiators in accents (particularly American accents) are in things like "r" sounds and vowel sounds, and when you hold these sounds out in a long way like you're singing, they sort of morph into a more universal pronunciation- if you're Scottish and roll your R sounds, or American and pronounce your R sounds very hard, or from London or Boston and ignore them completely (like "cah" instead of "car") it all sort of comes out the same when you hold it out to fit the cadence of a song. Second major reason has to do with the style of music. I think pop music and rock music are generally associated with a specific style, same way country music is. Look at Keith Urban, he is an Australian country singer and he still sounds like all the other county singers from the US. EDIT: spellings and stuff
why do snipers (in movies anyway) work with another guy with binoculars? Do they do this in actual combat?
They're called a spotter and they identity targets for the sniper. And yes, many snipers work in pairs, with one spotting and one shooting.
How do programs or files get "deleted" from a hardrive? Where do they go?
Typically, the file gets a 'deleted' tag put on it (contents are not touched) showing that the sector of hard drive where the file was at is now available for use by anyone. This is why some people can recover files even with a while after it's deleted.
What is exactly happening in a person body whey they overdose?
It depends on the drug. Every substance (from water to cyanide) has what they call an "LD50" that is the dosage (in mg per kilo of mass of the subject) that will result in the deaths of 50% of the subjects. LD50 = Lethal Dose 50% So without asking about a specific substance, we can't really tell you what's happening.
I've seen HDR photography, audio playback, rendering, etc, but not HDR microphones. Why is that?
HDR photography typically mixes more than one photo to get the effect. Essentially it's because technology has trouble recording images or sound to the same quality that human eyes or ears work to. There's also a brain making sense of it all and that is replaced with photo editibg techniques or sound mixing techniques for recording. A microphone that handles loud sounds as well as quiet sounds is harder to make than just using two for better quality.
In apps like whatsapp and facebook where it shows when the user was "last seen", how is this determined?
Bot removed my comment :( Anyways, a bit more detail. They (they apps) store a LOT of data, including what was the last time you opened the app, close the app, where did you click etc. Therefore the 'last seen' is the time you last used the app or exited the app... Hope this is enough?
The difference between a generalization and a stereotype
I'd say stereotypes are generalizations, but not all generalizations are stereotypes. A generalization could be pretty neutral, just an oversimplification, like: "Cartoon movies are all G rated". A stereotype, generally (hah), has a negative connotation. So, "Black people are good at basketball" would be a stereotype.
Why do my cheeks hurt from smiling?
Overuse of any muscle can lead to fatigue and pain. Running for example may lead to pain in the legs etc. Your face has muscles in it required for smiling, if they get used a lot the same principles apply with them as for any muscle.
Why is Apple allowed to bundle iTunes with iOS and restrict competing products, while Microsoft couldn't do the same with IE with Windows?
Apple does not control almost all of the market, so bundling iTunes and restricting competing products will not prevent competing products from being successful.
Why is it easier to 'pop' your knuckles the more you do it?
You probably are just better at the technique after practice. There is currently no evidence that cracking your knuckles causes any physiologic change. Edit: correction, actually chronic knuckle cracking has been shown to be associated with hand swelling and decreased grip strength. The evidence also shows no association with degenerative bony changes. I still don't believe there is any reason that cracking your knuckles would cause changes that make it easier to crack them later, given what we know about the mechanism of the cracking sound, but this has not been explicitly studied as far as I know.
Why are people scared of the dark?
It's natural. Humans rely primarily on their sense of sight. When it is dark, we can't see potential predators.
Why do employers bargain collectively for and subsidize health insurance but not other big items like auto insurance, auto loan, and mortgage?
During WW2, the American government instituted wage and price controls as a preemptive measure to keep inflation down. So businesses that wanted to hire the best people couldn't offer more money than their competitors. But they *could* pay for your healthcare, and it was a pretty sweet deal for both parties - the employer could use it as a tax writeoff, and the employee didn't get taxed on it because it wasn't a wage. By the end of WW2, employer-provided healthcare was basically universal. [\(Source\)](_URL_0_)
How is Coca-Cola's recipe still a secret?
Nobody who knows it has disclosed it. And nobody who *doesn't* know it is particularly motivated to try to find out what it is. It's just fizzy sugar water, after all, not the polio vaccine.
Why do men go bald more often then women?
Baldness is caused by something called DHT (dihydrotestosterone). It is a byproduct of testosterone. It causes finer hair and a receding hairline. Because men have more testosterone, they have more DHT. Some men are more susceptible to DHT which is why they get male pattern baldness.
Why very cold (liquid) beer, turns to slush as soon as it's opened.
If it's carbonated, then releasing the pressure causes the gas to expand - which drops the temperature suddenly, which freezes the liquid. It's also possible that the liquid may have been supercooled - that is, it's below its freezing point but unable to freeze because it can't find anywhere to get started. The sudden release of pressure, and the bubbles that form, may be just the starting points (nucleation sites) needed to allow it to freeze.
The camera effect where the scene freezes and the camera pans the scene.
IIRC, this technique was pioneered while filming The Matrix. They set up a lot of cameras (I think it was originally stills, probably video cameras now) — in a circle or arc around the subject. Then they all take a picture at exactly the same time. Ta-da! A moment frozen from multiple angles. Of course, there's some post-processing to clean things up afterwards — and the technique is compatible with green screens and CGI.
"science is not a democracy"
What it means is that just because a lot of people believe something doesn't mean it's true. Some ages back people believed space was filled with some gas, they called it aether. Didn't make it true. At one point people thought the earth was flat. Didn't make it true. In science there is no safety in numbers. And in Democracy, a majority doesn't mean you're right. Now, having said all of that, I'd argue it's MORE important for you to realize that the saying is flawed because it creates this supposition that just because a whole bunch of people think something, that must make it WRONG. Conservatives try to use this to discount anthropocentric climate change without understanding that peer review is a VERY important part of the process of determining if a body of information is correct.
Why do some words in English have two or more very different meanings?
Sometimes it's the same word that evolved into having two or more different (but related) meanings. For example a "wave" is a repeated fluctuations, just like when you wave your hand (you move it side to side) or ocean waves (the water moves back and forth). Sometimes the two meanings are far enough from each other so that it doesn't seem like they have the same origin, but they do - for example "duck" means "to plunge into" something, which is why the bird is called duck - because it plunges into the water. Sometimes they're two entirely different words, usually from different languages, which evolved into being written the same or even sounding the same. These are known as homographs or homophones. For example the fish "bass" comes from Middle English *baers* while the musical instrument "bass", which comes from the word for a low note, comes from the latin *bassus* which means low (similar to the English word "base").
How are white Monster Energy drinks 0 calories when it has 2 carbs per serving?
Erythritol. Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates, but erythritol has a caloric value of 0.2kcal/g which allows the Monsters to be labelled as sugar-free and 0 calorie.
what exactly are those squiggly lines floating in my eye
They're called floaters. They're basically just some proteins that are in your eye. _URL_0_
What makes the Mona Lisa so highly regarded?
It's by a famous artist/inventor and got a ton of press 100 years ago after being stolen. That made it an iconic piece of art, causing it to be studied by artists and the general public which has resulted in it's popularity perpetuating.
When my bread goes moldy, where does the mold come from?
Mold is everywhere; in the air, in the bread, on every surface, on and even inside your body.
Why do people put their hands on their head when something bad happens?
Just a theory, but it's likely derived from an instinct to protect our head/face when in danger. Another theory, it may be a learned form of non-verbal communication. (I know I do this, and can picture adults doing it, but I don't know if it's common among children.) It could be a way of signalling to others that there is a dangerous situation. This could explain why when a crowd sees something bad go down, not everyone does it. By contrast, if it was based on a self-defensive instinct, we'd expect more of the crowd to do it.
What happens with the relationship between large predators and their handlers? Why do those animals (mostly) cease seeing their human handler as food?
Predators don't necessarily just see 'all other things' as prey. In the case of large predators and handlers they're also tamed. They've been socialized to the presence of humans. They're certainly still dangerous animals, but they are accustomed to the fact that people are around, and potentially also have been trained to recognize that cooperation is better (Treats!) than confrontation (back in the box!).
Why does is it impossible to find news that is accurate and can be trusted?
If you like podcasts, try listening to On The Media. They examine and explain news coverage of all kinds. The hosts don't report the news per se, but rather help listeners to understand the often confusing and contradictory relationship the press has with the truth. Their website even has a "Breaking News Consumer's Handbook" so "you can glide through the murky waters of the media like a Navy seal." The show is produced once a week, with mini episodes in between sometimes. Comes out of WYNC, an NPR outlet. Very entertaining to me. In fact, it's where I get most of my news, so I don't have to weed through the rhetoric.
why does it seem so many gas and convenience stores (US) are owned by foreigners?
They probably mostly are. It's not something someone born here would strive for necessarily, whereas for foreigners it's an opportunity to make a pretty decent amount of money for themselves, while not really stepping on too many toes along the way.
If a women receives donor blood from a man, isn't she technically 'on steroids' ?
Testosterone has a really short half life (4 hours or something), so generally in the time it takes to collect and process the blood, testosterone has most likely been used up. Generally when collecting blood, we screen it for disease and abnormalities (such as dengue, malaria, hiv, ect) and then store it either as whole blood or plasma. Whole blood when your red blood cell counts are low, plasma is for when you have a low volume of blood and/or if you can't clot your blood properly. (Or at least, that's how vets handle blood transfusions)
Why we can “feel” it when someone/something comes within millimeters of touching us, but doesn’t actually touch us
In general you simply cannot feel those things. If that thing is a different temperature it is possible you could feel the warmth or chill imparted to the air. Or you might actually have thin hairs from your skin touch the object which you could then feel. But most likely what you are describing is an imagined ability which doesn't actually exist when tested under controlled conditions.
What make a person gorgeous and why? Also, what makes a person ugly and why?
There are multiple articles and studies done on this, but basically it goes back to our survival instincts/days of early man. It wasn't about beauty, but a healthy partner who could reproduce the best possible child. So not too skinny or fat meant they were eating right, symmetry is a big thing- subconsciously, if they have a good symmetrical figure/face, it's "attractive". So basically what you might call hot (Oh those boobs/butt/look as his muscles) is what, as early humans, we considered healthy and a good partner.
What bodily mechanism stops us from shitting or pissing ourselves?
Sphincters. Rings of muscle which close off orifices and passages.
How would unbundling Google Search from the rest of the Google services prevent Google from monopolying?
It doesn't necessarily affect Google's near-monopoly in search, but it limits how much that position can allow them to monopolise other markets. Go to Google in IE and you get a box suggesting that you install Chrome. That gives Chrome a big advantage over Firefox or Opera and probably goes a long way towards explaining [this graph](_URL_0_). Owning a website visited by something like 90% of web users in Europe gives you huge power to promote any other business you may be involved in at the expense of your competitors.
If the economist predicts a growth of 3% but it comes to be 4% in reality, was the economist off by 25% or 33%?
The prediction was off by 25% (it was 25% short). Growth came in at 33% over prediction. So it depends on how you phrase it.
What on earth is WWE wrestling about
Hey... uh... you know all those movies and TV shows you watch? They're not real either. You still watch those despite knowing it's acting, don't you?
Why does water and soap cause my shower to become a nasty, vile, putrid, black-mold infested cesspool of filth?
Because it's actually water, soap, dead skin cells, whatever you scraped off yourself, soap particles in hot soapy water flung everywhere which create scum, and bacteria. There's all sorts of nooks and crannies in a shower where the gunk accumulates and breeds. Clean often and in-depth!