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AskReddit/c1tbhmj
|
h85vz
|
What is the most important thing to change in the world right now?
|
I think the most important thing to do right now is fundimentally change how governments operate by demanding extremes of our politicians. They should live together like monks, completely destitute and under total public surveillance. For the most part, they are forbidden from leaving their dorm/compound. They spend most of their time learning and debating. We have to make them as corruption-proof as possible.
| 4 |
AskHistorians/chqjptu
|
26ep9r
|
How many native Americans were killed by the US government?
|
I do not mean to minimize some of the deplorable acts carried out by the U.S. Army and Government, but it was hardly a "genocide." Genocide implies a systematic policy of extermination. Settler/Native conflicts never worked towards the utter destruction of the other group. The removal of the Five Civilized Tribes from the South had the highest death toll of any action taken by the U.S. Government against Native peoples (outside of outright war). The highest figure I've seen attributed to this event was something like 25,000 deaths, though it's important to remember that figures like this can be highly political and often lack good documentation. One of the most vicious massacres carried out by the Army was against the Sioux at Wounded Knee Creek. The 7th Cavalry killed some 300 Lakota men, women and children (other terrible massacres include Sand Creek, Marias, and Washita River). Additionally I should note that these shameful events were met with public outrage, not acclaim. I want to be clear here though, mass violence in America was not limited to just whites versus indians through the Colonial Period, Civil War, and Postwar years. Early on, colonists in Acadia/Canada and New England were encouraged to bring in each others scalps for payment (during any one of the numerous wars between France and England). After the Civil War, guerilla groups like Quantrill's Raiders killed innocent families in towns and cities (there was a major one in Lawrence, Kansas). At Mountain Meadows in Utah, Mormon militiamen killed over a hundred members of the Baker–Fancher wagon train. The Dakota Uprising of 1862 saw the Sioux kill hundreds of civilians in Minnesota. Comanche raiders were universally feared by Texans, Mexicans and other Indians due to their brutality. These examples don't detract from some of the darker episodes of U.S. history, but they due serve to show that modern conceptions of race/racism/homogeneity cannot be transcribed onto the very complex history of America. SOURCES It's a little late for me to go look up all my books. But if anyone has any genuine qualms with my post I would be happy to provide some more information.
| 2 |
AskReddit/ct7unlk
|
3dr56w
|
Where is the weirdest place you woke up after a night of binge drinking?
|
I woke up in a seedy Hunter S. Thompson-esque motel closet in a vomit covered t-shirt on which I had written "free mustache rides". The motel staff walked door to door knocking to wake up the guests. We walked outside onto the walkway along with dozens of crackheads and prostitutes from the other rooms.
| 4 |
AskReddit/ck9pg3l
|
2fj21b
|
Why do you deserve the life that you are living right now?
|
My life isn't easy because I've made a few career errors. If I had handled things differently I would have applied myself better so that I could do a job I would enjoy. Family . I deserve the happy family life because I tried My best and my kids love me for It.
| 2 |
askscience/cndknkt
|
2r6bza
|
How does the Heart "Know" that it needs to beat faster/harder during exercise?
|
During exercise our muscles do work, and this involves the production of metabolites by muscle cells. These metabolites can stimulate receptors near or in the muscles that send information to the central nervous system and stimulate increased heart rate and force of contraction. The metabolites signal to the brain that the muscles are working hard, and the brain responds by increasing heart rate, which sends more blood to the active muscle (allowing it to continue working hard). This is and example of positive feedback. Another interesting phenomenon is that the intention to exercise alone can produce an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Before you even initiate muscle contractions, these physiological changes start to occur in preparation for increased demand for blood (and the oxygen/nutrients contained by it). This is because signals are sent from the brain to both the heart and muscle when we intend to initiate muscle contractions. This is an example of a feed-forward mechanism. To answer your second question, regulation of blood flow and pressure is a complex process involving constant feedback from the muscles and blood to the central nervous system and back to the muscles. Initially, the heart will ramp-up heart rate and force of contraction to increase blood flow, but will eventually stabilize once adequate blood perfusion has been achieved (assuming exercise intensity remains constant). Heart rate will stabilize to a level that is proportional to the demands of active muscle during a specific intensity of exercise. Source: took a course in exercise physiology.
| 9 |
explainlikeimfive/d9slj8b
|
5c00pc
|
How much "power" does the president of the United States have?
|
The president's power is kept in check by the Legislative and Judicial Branch of the government. The president can create executive orders to implement things rapidly, though these can be struck down by the Legislative or Judicial Branch. The president cannot author laws, but his position as the leader of his party lets him use the "bully pulpit" to pressure congress to pass law in his agenda. The president can also nominate supreme court judges. So in theory, the most power president would be a president elected along with his party having majorities in both the house and senate while there was a vacancy on the supreme court. As long as he had his party in tow, he could pretty much pursue his agenda.
| 36 |
AskReddit/ccn9b4p
|
1nykvl
|
What is your favorite/best trick to falling asleep at night?
|
For the past two nights I have been mildly anxious due to a new job that will be stressful to start. To keep mind busy (without anxious thoughts) I have tried a new technique and it has also helped me fall asleep. Count backwards starting at 99. Think about the number and create a different scenery/theme/action for each number. 99- the nines are hanging on a door and they swing back and forth as someone approaches the door and knocks 98- the eight sits in a tall patch of grass and unwinds into a red and black snack that slithers away 97- the seven is pulled away by a small hand, placed into a glass of milk and used as a straw I started off simple and have built more complex situations as the nights have continued. I can't remember what numbers I have made it to each night.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cyrf0n3
|
404cy3
|
What (affordable) item should everyone buy to make their lives easier?
|
A Leatherman multi-tool. If you're going to buy one, at least spring for the Wave, as it has the ability to accept forty-two different type of screwdriver bits. If you really want to go all out, I recommend the Charge Tti. It's a tad on the expensive side, but should be affordable to most even if some saving is necessary. I would not want to live without it. There is very little it cannot do.
| 10 |
explainlikeimfive/cgu01oq
|
236w5i
|
Why do scabs get itchy?
|
There are several theories that explain why scabs itch. There are histamines in scabs that irritate the skin around the wound. Some doctors think this is the body’s way of getting rid of the scab which is no longer needed. When it itches, you scratch it and it is comes off. There is a flaw in this theory, because sometimes the scab itches before the wound is healed. A second theory has to do with nerves in your skin that are cut when the skin is cut. When a wound is healing, the new skin is very thin, so the nerves are even more sensitive. As they are healing, their signals may be affected and the brain gets the wrong type of signal. The brain may interpret it as an itch and want to respond by scratching it. Another theory is that as the wound heals, the scab pulls on the new skin, and that causes the area around the scab to itch. Lastly, dryness could be a reason for itching. When the wound occurred, the skin, nerves, and oil glands were affected, and without oil, the skin would become dry.
| 16 |
explainlikeimfive/ddlz1n6
|
5tdmn7
|
If I moved 1 meter/second below the speed of light, why does it appear to move at light speed from me?
|
your time will go slower the faster you travel. therefore, if an observer at our "speed" looks at you and a photon he will see you traveling with a speed difference of 1m/s. For you, since one second will be much longer time, any photon can travel through much more space in that second, effectively increasing its speed conceived by you. Another effect of special relativity is space dilation. The faster you go, the smaller one meter will be. Therefore light even has to travel less meters in that longer second to obtain speed of light.
| 18 |
AskReddit/ccrxr3r
|
1og5ye
|
If you could start a revolution and knew it would be successful, what would your revolution be about and what would the world be like afterwards?
|
I would start an anarcho-communist revolution. Immediately after the revolution, the first priority would be to get everyone food. This means giving all farmers absolute control over the lands they farm, turning manufacturing to making equipment for them and necessities for them, then giving that equipment to them for free, no strings attached. Those in the city would then request food similarly for free and distribute it freely. Once food is taken care of, housing should be. First and foremost, no more rent. Everyone living in an apartment they are renting would be allowed to stay their, if they wish, and, if they do stay there, they would own it merely by virtue of living there. Those without a place to stay or who stay in horrible places would be given free access to abandoned houses, which currently outnumber homeless people. Following that, everyone needs clothes. As with the previous necessities, these would be distributed by the people, to the people, free of charge. People who sew clothes would give freely, just as they would then get their food and housing free, and, indeed, if they insisted on charging people, we would insist on charging them for food, since, if you don't want to participate, you don't have to, but not participating isn't all fun and games. The whole while, control of everything would be handed to those who use them. Factories get controlled by the people who work in them. Homes get controlled by the people who live in them. This, alone, would immediately improve working conditions. Workers in a factory, no longer concerned with profit, as everything is being given freely, can automate more stuff, the machinery to do so would be given to them just as freely as they give their stuff, and anything in the factory that hurts the working conditions could be changed. Windows would get opened or made, even if some sections of walls need to be broken down to do so. Indeed, this would also improve quality. No longer would there be any benefit for producing low quality stuff. What does a house builder gain for using shoddy parts if he can get both the shoddy parts and the high quality parts for free? Absolutely nothing. Now, with such a radical transformation of industry, no longer would anyone be in need of food, housing, clothes, or even more luxurious things, for those would be just as free as everything else, so what motivation would their be to steal or join a gang? The vast majority of crimes are wiped out just by that. Indeed, if someone does steal from you, you can easily replace most everything since everything is free. With that, all policework could be replaced by community organizing. We wouldn't need to lock people up, for that rarely helps. We would just need to protect ourselves from the most ardent psychopaths who want to go out and kill people, and they can be defended against by turning every community into a community watch. Neighbors would coordinate to defend themselves, though it would be rarely needed. With police now not needed and regulators no longer needed, what purpose of the state would be left that communities couldn't cooperate freely, without any enforcement, to achieve? Roads would be made by self-managed construction workers at the request of the communities. The environment protected by industry no longer needing to make as much to sustain the ultra rich nor needing to make as much to keep sustainable, as well as by people setting up clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power, since the government no longer enforces the monopoly of fossil fuels and no one's livelihood would be threatened. The state would serve no purpose, so we wouldn't need to create one to replace the one we destroyed with the revolution. All that would be left would be building a new world in the shell of the old. This isn't merely words or idle speculation, to me. I actively agitate to this end and join protests to move to this end. I connect with like-minded individuals to move to this. This question isn't just a hypothetical, for me. It is something I am doing. For me, the revolution has already begun. I am already fighting for my revolution.
| 16 |
explainlikeimfive/crhjvmh
|
36vu7y
|
Why do first class ticket holders go on planes first?
|
I fly FC exclusively and honestly I hate boarding first, at least on planes where the entire plane then walks past you, bumping into your head, etc. I usually wait to get on last. On planes where you go two separate directions once on the plane it's much better.
| 3 |
AskReddit/e55lfar
|
9btoz7
|
What is your ideal dystopian/utopian setting?
|
My ideal utopian society is one in which we have a reigning form of government that doesn't really have too much of a say in anything but major trade agreements. In the case of wars for countries, it is not up to their federal governments as to wether they should go to war or not, it would be up to their states, their towns. I think the world would be much more cautious about fighting others. Especially because anybody that did want to fight would see the result almost immediately. On a second note, if this is a global utopian society, any fighting that did occur, I would want it localized to one region on the earth, where their were certain restrictions on the war, but if your region won, you won. You killed, and you're done with it. There is no change in territories, only lives. You want a perfect world? you have to ensure that there is a way to teach people the horrors of the world. You want to fight somebody? I'll just make sure that you realize they will fight you back.
| 3 |
AskReddit/eszzl76
|
c9moah
|
What film was so bad you walked out of the theater?
|
I have never walked out on a movie. They are only 1.5 - 2.5 hours and that is not so long to endure torture. Although after I watched Rent in it's entirety I had a stomach ache because it was so bad and I needed to take a shower afterwards.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c0ug09b
|
cqea8
|
What canceled show would you most like to see return to TV again?
|
Stargate SG-1; Stargate Atlantis (either separately, or as a single show). Daria (while it received a proper ending, a renewal would be nice) Star Trek: Enterprise - it has just started to become worthy of the name "Star Trek" before it was cancelled John Doe
| 2 |
AskReddit/c4w6qgr
|
ukkqq
|
Has anyone actually been offered a 'happy ending' at a massage parlor?
|
Yep! If you are in Phoenix, Arizona there is a really good massage parlor right down the street from the dog race track. Any massage parlor open after 10pm offers full release. And now you know.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dffdvqc
|
61lfw7
|
What should you do during a existential crisis?
|
I see a lot of people suggesting therapy and I'd agree to that for sure, but a therapy appointment isn't going to help you at 1am or whenever this crisis hits. What will help you is to identify whether or not you need medical attention. Is your heart rate very high? Can you breathe? Do you feel any chest pains? Yes to any of those means you should call 911 if you are alone or if you feel it is needed, or get a family member to drive you to Emergency if you think you'll be okay. If you don't feel any life threatening symptoms but you are having a massive epiphany about existence itself -- consider that no immediate action is warranted. You don't need to hurt yourself or anyone. If you feel like you need to hurt yourself or anyone call 911. Apart from that, consider that it took you your whole life to figure this out to that point. so you should spend at least a quarter of that considering the revelations of your existence and what may feel like crisis may in fact simply be epiphany. Epiphanies can help you find some critical questions that may deliver you into a deeper meaning. For example, recently I had the sudden revelation that a key pattern in my childhood resulted in extended patterns that caused me to make choices based on conditioning rather than freedom of choice. Last year this would have put me into crisis for sure. This year it is freeing and feels more like a leap forward. Yes it is existential. and it felt like crisis. and it made me question the entire meaning of my life, and when I try even now to separate myself from my abusive childhood conditioning -- it's very scary. But again, I'm only here for at most 100yrs so I might as well spend the time in contemplation and accept that no action on my part would ever result in a better approach to my minuscule existence. The universe is like 13.8bn years old or somewhere near that. My existence barely registers as any value whatsoever. No crisis could convince me I should shorten such a minuscule existence. it would be like going to the barber for another shave an hour after the perfect shave. It wouldn't make any difference at all. Let things develop. Take time to consider implications fully. Fully takes years. not hours.
| 6 |
AskReddit/c83rh3p
|
17ap51
|
What are some nicknames your friends or co-workers have obtained because of an embarrassing or interesting story?
|
My friends are jerks and in highschool they threw a rollo at another friend and hit him in the eye. He started crying so my friends started calling him Rollo.
| 2 |
AskReddit/drkl7ie
|
7l9sqh
|
What are the weirdest or grossest foods you’ve encountered eaten around the world?
|
The weirdest I’ve eaten is cow tongue. Tastes good, but the texture is really hard to deal with. Octopus is also really weird, I have a hard time eating it cooked, I can’t imagine how people can eat it still alive.
| 2 |
AskReddit/d71my3d
|
506x44
|
What is the worst fast food restaurant to work for?
|
I can't say that it is the worst, but it is one that I worked at. Burger King is a terrible employer. They are only concerned with getting the food out of the window as fast as possible. Quality didn't matter, safety didn't matter, and they pretty much won't promote anyone from within the company to higher than a shift manager, which still pays less than the average crew member should be earning.
| 4 |
AskReddit/cphcwy8
|
2zbars
|
How do you fake confidence?
|
Pretend that the people around you don't know you don't have confidence (and for the most part, that's true). Pretend you've met them for the first time. Now is your chance to leave a lasting first impression that you are a confident, assertive person. You're not, but they don't know that. But if you fake it, they'll never find out. Be loud and clear. Stand straight, chin up, shoulders high, back not slouched, look them in the eye. Pretend it's all a movie. A challenge. You do it for a few minutes then you're done. Eventually, this grows on you and becomes a habit, and you cease the acting.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dcpzn0v
|
5pc0xq
|
What is the worst feeling in the world?
|
The morning after a tragedy. You wake up slowly and at first all you register is that your warm and pleasantly sleepy, the world is still a good place. Then you remember the previous day and your stomach drops and you lose your breath. That abrupt departure from contentment to abject horror is the worst feeling in the world.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/chl3226
|
25vaxe
|
How does second hand smoke kill people?
|
Mainly cancer, but they can contract other breathing related diseases like bronchitis. It would be very difficult to determine the cause from just open air SHS alone by walking past smokers outside bars, work etc, but there is a large impact on people who spend a lot of time in enclosed spaces with smokers, ie parents smoking in their house or in the car with their children present.
| 2 |
askscience/c8l6o52
|
196a5f
|
What does science think about polyphasic sleep?
|
It's real in the sense that it exists. Does it work? No, not at all. Virtually all species on this planet have evolved to live on a 24-h day. For this reason, we contain circadian clocks that time not only our activities and sleep, but also a million other things, including our hormone release, our metabolic cycles, our blood pressure rhythms, etc. Different species have adapted to be active during different parts of the day. Humans have evolved to be diurnal (day-active) and to get the large majority of our sleep during the night. We are not unique in this; several other primates also sleep in a relatively consolidated block during the night. Consequently, our body sends a very strong sleep signal during the night and a very strong wake signal during the day. For this reason, it is generally difficult to initiate and maintain sleep during the day, with the exception of a small window in the mid-afternoon, which is used by siesta cultures. Adopting a "polyphasic" schedule (where polyphasic is here taken to mean naps evenly distributed across the day) is in essence doing battle with your own biological drives. You must attempt to sleep during the day, when the body is strongly promoting wakefulness, and attempt to stay awake during the night, when the body is strongly promoting sleep. The net result of such a schedule is chronic sleep restriction.
| 6 |
explainlikeimfive/chnigwn
|
264cj8
|
Why does beer taste better when it's cold?
|
Two reasons: Flavor, and preference. First: Cooler temperatures will stifle certain aromas and flavors in beers. For beers that are designed to highlight the malt and hop flavors of a beer without subjecting your palate to the esters and/or off flavors produced during fermentation, you would likely serve these beers cold(er). Beers that may be better served warm(er) tend to be ales that are fermented at higher temperatures to take advantage of the spicy and/or fruity flavors/aromas produced during fermentation. Craft beers are generally delicious at cellar temps. Second: Why do you prefer cold soda? Preference. This is likely based on your upbringing and what those around you have conditioned you to like but can be influenced by time of year(winter vs summer) and sensitivity to cold. Lastly: Beer is beer. Yes Bud, Coors, and Miller are all beers with very specific markets and very polarized consumer opinions. They are best served ice cold due to their style. The corn or rice in their ingredients are meant to provide a consistent, light flavor to the beer to reduce the need to offset any cloying malty sweetness with bitter, and often times expensive, hops. This gives them a consistent, inexpensive product that has a broad consumer base.
| 5 |
askscience/dpudfgn
|
7d18kz
|
How does a thin film circuit work?
|
For the most part, they work exactly like regular electric circuits. The trick is that rather than discrete components, the devices are built directly on the substrate. To do this, we need a positively charged material and one with a negative charge. If we dope adjacent regions of silicon with our opposing charged materials, electrons migrate from the negative regions to the positive regions, forming a depletion layer between them. This area does not normally conduct, but by imposing an electric field near this region, on the gate traditionally, we can deform the depletion layer and selectively make it conduct electricity. This configuration of materials can be used to create a single transistor, and many thousands (and likely millions) are required to make complex systems.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c9temm6
|
1dsfw4
|
What should I get for my parents once I get my first paycheck in a few weeks?
|
Props for thinking of your parents. Nothing you buy them really expresses what they have done for you and their importance in your life. So why don't you sit down and write them a letter telling them that. You can do it on nice parchment paper and sign it and frame it if you wish. They will cherish this far more than any present.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/cdcqhw5
|
1qgwuf
|
What's happening when a TV commercial gets cut off in the middle of it airing?
|
When a cable company pays a retransmit agreement; they're allowed to insert advertisements over local stuff. These are triggered by IBOC signals; used to be rapid dial-tones you'd hear from time to time back in the 90's before the digital switch over. Occasionally; an advertisement would get queued up that was longer than the break; since that information wasn't often known. So as soon as the broadcaster sent the tones to discontinue local ads; the local system had to comply; whether it was done airing the ad or not. Things are largely different; broadcasters are able to slip in the digital stream the start of local-ad allowances along with the length of the break; so the system is able to choose ads that are the appropriate length. It still doesn't work perfectly all the time. Prime example was two years ago when Comcast inserted local ads over a playoff game that was running long. In that case; the system picked up some automated commands that said it was ad time; when in reality it wasn't. Screwups like this very rarely happen on the local broadcaster or national level; and are just the result of sloppy cable operators.
| 2 |
askscience/e5uwukb
|
9f9afi
|
If I were able to watch an object enter a black hole, would the object going into black hole eventually come to a stop from my point of view or would it disappear as it passed the event horizon?
|
It will technically never stop, because it won't ever reach the event horizon from your perspective. It will continue to slow down and light coming from it will continue to get red shifted further and further. It will be invisible to human eyes pretty quickly. You'd need some other kind of detector to continue to observe it.
| 18 |
AskReddit/cmflah2
|
2np5mq
|
What are your thoughts on the Bermuda Triangle?
|
It's the Illuminati's Area 51. Think about it. The Bermuda Triangle has 15 letters. Illuminati has 9. 15-9 equals 6. 5+1 equals 6. Area 51 has 6 characters. 5-1 equals 4, the number of letters in "Area". There's one currently acting President of the United States. 4-1 equals 3. There are 3 sides in a triangle. There is 1 Bermuda Triangle, and there's one eye inside the Illuminati symbol, which is a triangle.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cf3nrtd
|
1wn9ax
|
What's something you thought would never happen to you but actually did happen?
|
I never thought I would be happy. I have Bipolar Disorder Type II, and I was a miserable nutcase for years. I dropped out of college, couldn't hold a job, I began to alienate everyone that loved me. I hated myself and was convinced that one day I would commit suicide. I thought about it constantly. Then about 7 years ago, I got on a new medication (oddly, it's actually an anti-seizure medication) that works wonders. As long as I take it, I am a totally normal, happy person. I fell in love, got married, and a few weeks ago I found out I'm pregnant. I'm so ridiculously happy now. For so long, I thought I was unloveable and crazy. But now, I have everything I ever wanted: a normal life.
| 13 |
AskReddit/cuhjzxt
|
3ilqkm
|
What is your family motto?
|
> יפה תלמוד תורה עם דרך ארץ > It's good to study Torah with the ways of the world (poor literal translation) It's a quote in Hebrew from a book of the Mishna called "Ethics of the Fathers" and it's literally been my family motto since the mid 19th century. Essentially it's a philosophy about how Torah study is very important, but it must be complemented with the study of science, history, philosophy, and art. Hence how I'm at the tail end of around 6 generations of college graduates who were/are also huge Torah scholars. Several "Rabbi Doctor" s in my lineage too.
| 4 |
explainlikeimfive/dal2x6f
|
5fl6a6
|
Why do some of us fell the urge to smile at something we know is terrible, like seeing another in pain or hearing someone has been killed, even though we know we shouldn't?
|
Everybody responds to things in their own unique way depending on many factors throughout their life. My guess is that the behaviour of smiling when hearing of distressing news is a learned psychological coping mechanism. It could be a way to avoid inner feelings of fear and distress, especially if a person has been taught to feel shame regarding appropriate outward expression of emotional distress in their family of origin. I know a guy who laughs when he hears distressing news, it's a part of how he releases the energy of the emotions he is uncomfortable with because he was taught that crying and yelling is inappropriate. I don't know if that lands for you regarding your experience in your life, but that is my theory.
| 3 |
AskReddit/dq2ky68
|
7e54th
|
What TV series has the best character development ?
|
The Wire. Undoubtedly. One of the great things about that series was that you could start to see the same character archetype working in completely different social hierarchies, and it made even some of the most odious characters empathetic. That's a series that I rewatch almost yearly, and every time I pick up something new. It's so dense that it rewards you for watching it again.
| 13 |
explainlikeimfive/ched3mu
|
2576ip
|
Why do people (Soldiers, Police, Government Agents) always seem to duck when approaching a helicopter?
|
Have you ever approached a helicopter with the blades still turning? The blade might be between 50-100cm above your head, but it's just a natural tendency to want to duck just in case. I call it The Highlander Reflex - you instinctively want to stop your head coming away from your body.
| 11 |
AskReddit/canfg7z
|
1gsper
|
What country are you from and what do you believe are the pros/cons of that country?
|
UK Pro: the NHS, which I simply cannot rave about enough. A healthcare system that is free at point of use, whether you're seeing a doctor about having a sore throat, or having life-saving surgery and treatment. Fine, we pay slightly higher taxes for this system, but the level of safety net it provides is just about incalculable, really. Cons: the power our media, particularly newspapers, has over politicians and politics in general. Too often, very minor themes or agendas become huge just because the media want them to be, and our political class is totally in thrall to them. They then use falsehoods and a lack of fair reporting to propagate those agendas, influencing the public (and therefore the public debate) through what are essentially lies.
| 5 |
explainlikeimfive/cikg989
|
29fn2y
|
Why do domesticated animals (dogs, cats) like to be pet?
|
It's grooming behavior. For dogs, it's common in pack environments. For cats, it's reminiscent of how a mother cat will groom her kittens. People take those places. For a dog, it's just a pack with mostly furless two legged dogs. And for a cat, the dependent relationship with a human takes the place of its relationship with its mother, arresting its maturity and keeping them in a somewhat kitten-eque state.
| 10 |
AskReddit/d7vbw09
|
53qd98
|
Have you ever had an instant connection with someone and how did that friendship work out?
|
lot's of times. many of my friends are people who i made eye contact with and we both realized we were thinking the same thing about the situation happening around us. one girl things escalated to us currently dating, (this was a slow natural progression as when we met we were both dating others) everyone i have that instant connection with I like to think we will always be friends even if i havnt seen some of them in many years.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cj8tfxv
|
2btn45
|
Do you have any scars?
|
3-inch scar on the back of my head from a pressure ulcer I developed while wearing a back+neck brace. I can't grow hair there. 5-inch scar on my back from surgery incision on a shattered vertebrae scars under each armpit for chest tubes, extra scar on left side due to an operation to remove scar tissue from my lung. Bullet hole scar on left shoulder from a Glock 19. Scar on left scapula from bullet removal. And I'm not even 18 yet.
| 3 |
AskReddit/ctvzyby
|
3g8ztn
|
What's the dumbest song lyric you've ever heard?
|
Ignoring all the standard terrible pop culture lyrics which of course are bad but aren't as interesting. I always found the opening lines to the Black Sabbath - Paranoid album pretty dumb. I love the album, every song is great, but the opening two lines always make me laugh. > Generals gathered in their masses, > Just like witches at black masses. > using like to compare and rhyme 'masses' with 'masses' slow clap
| 35 |
explainlikeimfive/dnv8jtb
|
743nbr
|
Why can't we remember things from infancy?
|
First of all, when a baby is growing up, he's learning everything about his environment all the time (they pay so much attention to new things that they can be easily distracted to the point of forgetting what they were doing). By the time they reach a certain age, their brain will start to get rid of every memory that doesn't teach them anything about the world they're living in. The rest of them will be interpreted as physical laws, and not experiences. The second reason is that babies still haven't really developed language. That is really important because language is what we use to describe, represent and give meaning to what we experience. If the human brain doesn't have this capability of abstraction, it cannot recall specific situations. People who didn't develop language until later in life often describe that they don't remember anything before that point (I had a Linguistics professor that told me about a research subject who couldn't recall anything that happened before she was 12 years old. If I'm not mistaken she was neglected and abused by her family and didn't really have any kind of education before that).
| 2 |
AskReddit/dqwhnnm
|
7i6wq5
|
Who was your most horrible teacher, and what gave him/her that title?
|
It wasn't even that he was a bad guy. He was a sweet man, and clearly loved interacting with students. The problem was that he was not suited to be a teacher. He would get distracted incredibly easily and start telling stories for extensive periods of time that had nothing to do with the class, which meant we weren't learning anything that we were paying tuition to learn. He also had trouble giving explanations. We would ask a question and he would sort of ramble in circles without really giving an answer. He knew his stuff, but had extreme difficulties with making a coherent statement.
| 2 |
AskReddit/do6s8wv
|
75jyqi
|
What’s the best thing that’s ever happened when you were drunk or high?
|
My friends and I were walking home from the bar on a Friday night. On our way back to our apartment we have to pass by a Jimmy John's. We went in because we were drunk and hungry, but they had already closed up for the night. We were about to walk out when one of the employees gives us a box full of sandwiches that people never came to pick up that day. It was the best night ever.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dp07h3x
|
799kph
|
What happens after you die?
|
Depends on what you define as yourself. If you think of yourself as a seperate entity from reality. I can tell that this is not at all the case and when you die, thats it sorry buddy, thanks for coming because theres nothing after it. In saying that though, I am pretty convinced that nothing and everything are two sides of the same coin. I am still trying to develop a decent line of logic to communicate what I mean but the point is that, I think that when you die, you become nothing, becoming nothing might not be such a bad thing if it leads to what I think it leads to. Anyway, I think we are all part of reality to the full extent, no one is seperate from it because literally everything about us has to follow the laws at which this universe operates. I think that our lives, are just the product of universal laws being manipulated to create truly complex systems overall allowing for reality to experience its own system. I think that when we die, it could just be viewed as complex activity coming to a close and everything about us returns to nothing (which I am hoping is the same thing as everything) Forgive me, I am slightly intoxicated on alcohol from a lit night in town, so I can't tell if theres any counter points to what i am saying but it feels like it makes sense so i will leave it at that and I will counter anybodys counters tomorrow when I wake up to make sense of what I just wrote now.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dexbjr1
|
5zdstj
|
What is your addiction that you've tried to overcome but can't?
|
Just addiction in general. I have done my fare share of rehabs, NA meetings, etc and haven't touched heroin, crack, or anything similar in over 8 months. However, I still have addictive tendencies in everything I do. Reddit, for one. Cigarettes. Weed. Caffeine. Zzz-quil. Sleep. Shopping. Work. Anything I use to alter my state of mind, get away from my daily thoughts, or generally feel better, I do more than I should. If I've learned anything in recovery it is that I don't have a drug problem, I have a ME problem to address. I'm starting therapy soon to get to the bottom of issues in my life and discover why I feel a need for something outside of myself to make me feel happy on a daily basis.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c7ttv4q
|
1691jx
|
What are some things you always see in movies or TV shows, that never actually happens in real life?
|
Car doors - or for that matter, an entire car - will not protect you from gunfire. In real life a bullet will cut right through the door and kill you, and often will go right into one side of a car and out the other, still with enough power to kill you.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cal18yj
|
1gkbwf
|
Isn't it strange that we're all so worried about making money and finding jobs that we rarely pursue anything great on a societal level?
|
I don't know if I'm capable of advancing science or human safety by even a smidgen, but I am capable of providing for my family and ensuring my kids grow up with more possibilities than I had. If doing what has to be done to advance in my field and make a sufficient salary is not "great", I'm willing to accept I'll never be great. I will never improve the world. I'm okay with just improving my little corner of it.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/cubmos3
|
3hx37r
|
What's so special about the Mona Lisa's smile?
|
The painting is famous in part because it's so detailed for its size. It's really small in person. But also I think that for the time period, Leonardo's decision to paint her as he did was very unusual. Portraits in the proto-Renaissance/high Renaissance were meant to display the subject's wealth and status. Usually they'd wear fancy clothes and lots of jewelry. Mona Lisa is so hyped up because she's not like that at all; she's plainly dressed, in front of a weird, kind of murky background typical of Leonardo but unusual for the time. All of the other junk is stripped away, all that's left to focus on is the woman herself. And she's just the wife of a modestly successful merchant. But whether or not you see her in person, you can tell that he painted her to look self-assured and relaxed. Typically people in portraits looked very stuffy and pompous in this period. But Mona Lisa doesn't seem so affected. The little half-smile is lauded because it's quite naturalistic in that way. It looks like she's just being herself, thinking about something amusing or interesting to her. Also, I believe it was Vasari, an art historian and contemporary of the high Renaissance masters, who said that the Mona Lisa had blushing cheeks and red lips and eyes that looked wet like in real life. She was probably more vivid and healthy-looking before people started laying varnish all over her, so the effect back in the day would have been even more enchanting.
| 45 |
AskReddit/d2c1hqf
|
4fuggo
|
Why do you have that scar?
|
I have a huge scar on my calf from falling 12 feet out of a tree and essentially impaling my leg on a stick. Needed 30 stitches. As a 13 year old girl that was a hugely traumatic experience lol.
| 27 |
AskReddit/c6ds42x
|
10icf8
|
What do you get excited or enthusiastic about?
|
Past, present and future. Whenever I stop and think about my smartphone, I get all excited at what the future has to offer. The future of Gaming, MMORPG, Phones, TV, Computers, etc. It's all gonna be so crazy I just can't wait. That and anything with a motor has always got me exited.
| 2 |
AskReddit/ddajf3r
|
5rvukj
|
What is the weirdest prank call that you have made?
|
My definition of prank calls when I was a kid would be calling relatives on our landline and then hang up once they answer the phone. Caller IDs didn't exist then. I would always call my mom's uncle (I consider him as my grandpa) every time, but then I'd hang up. It was fun.
| 5 |
AskReddit/c0knmh2
|
b2q4j
|
Should I move from New York to San Francisco?
|
I've lived in both New York and San Francisco for at least 3 years each, respectively. It's really a day-and-night kind of situation you'll find yourself in. You HAVE to ask yourself first, what kind of person you are. If you choose to try the San Francisco thing, there's absolutely one piece of advice that you should always, ALWAYS try to keep in mind, and, believe me, you'll thank me for it,
| 5 |
AskReddit/du6ezex
|
7x8vjg
|
How do you bake a potato in the bathroom without being caught?
|
Blow a hair dryer in any container on low. You can probably keep it over 300 in there for long enough to bake a potato. To prevent being caught if anyone knocks, just tell them you're masturbating and definitely not baking a potato.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/ci8i5rm
|
288gpg
|
Was the Iraq War a loss or a win?
|
Both. It was a success for the “defense” contractors who sucked billions of dollars in handouts from the government teat. It was a loss for the energy companies that thought they’d make billions of dollars from Iraq’s oil fields.
| 22 |
explainlikeimfive/daeabx2
|
5emqg1
|
How were investment bankers able to profit from the financial collapse in 2008?
|
Buy Low, Sell High. If that's not an ELI5 answer, I dont know what is. Basically, if you bought a company, let's say Microsoft just because, you would have paid about $18 per share. If you had, say, $10k invested in MSFT back then, you would have had about 555 shares. If you sold that today, that original $10 would turn into $33k, so about 330%. Considering the average annual return is about 4%, that's pretty incredible. If you were an investment banker, you would be buying with a lot more capital, and probably buying stock that was hit harder by the collapse (e.g. housing, loans, banks, etc). Keep in mind my answer is super generalized, so don't quote me.
| 2 |
AskReddit/esg93ql
|
c7mhzr
|
What tricks actually worked for you to make new healthy habits or to become an overall better person?
|
Make things a game or a competition To exercise I will make a list of workouts (52 different sets of exercises) and when it comes time I'll shuffle a deck of cards and pull four cards out. Then to help with work chores I'll put myself against a coworker (friendly intent OFC) and see who can get the most done first.
| 2 |
AskReddit/e57203z
|
9bz5mf
|
What are you gonna do tomorrow that makes you happy?
|
I work nights and my boyfriend works days. We don't live together but our dog lives with him (he has his own place with roommates, I live with my parents). Because of the flipped schedules, I often see the dog way more than I see him. So tomorrow, we both don't work and we are going to build a nest in my den and watch the rest of The Wire and cuddle. It's gonna be nice.
| 71 |
AskReddit/e5hqtoh
|
9diezi
|
What is your “Eccentric Teacher” story?
|
My history teacher through secondary school, he always told stories from his life in the lessons but still managed to get all the teaching done. He had a plastic sword he used to point to pictures on the wall
| 2 |
AskReddit/c4xgr90
|
uplz9
|
Why shouldn't you talk to cops?
|
My car was stolen. I found this out from the police who came to my door to arrest me. They said I had been driving drunk and left it in the middle of the street. They also had "somebody on the street who said that you did this." I hadn't been driving in over 4 days and I never drink even one sip of alcohol and drive. They took me to the car and the ignition was clearly popped and my window broken. They just wanted to clear the case quickly by arresting me for this bullshit drunk driving that they had invented. Your right to remain silent can prevent you from even inadvertently making statements that could be construed as an admission of guilt. This was the second time in a few weeks/months that my car was stolen, and when they finally gave up on the drunk driving bullshit they started in with the idea that I was stealing my own car for the insurance money (preposterous since my insurance was not covering the full repair damages each time anyway). As the victim of a crime, it felt great to be the prime suspect facing a few hours of police intimidation. Don't talk to the cops, if I had said anything vaguely about even using the car they would've started in with that "So are you lying now or were you lying then?" line of bullshit. The cops aren't your friends, and they certainly aren't here to help you.
| 21 |
AskHistorians/c7krvld
|
15aabe
|
How important was Platonism in the development of early Christian theology?
|
As 1000facedhero and Tiako rightly point out, Augustine's Confessions is rife with references to his study of neo-platonic philosophy; one of his Christian teachers (I don't have a copy with me) alludes to the neo-platonists as pointing him in the right direction before his ultimate conversion. But, as glaughtalk observes, we can detect this strain as early as the gospels themselves. Here's a very abbreviated account of the link: Christian theology -and, critically, hermeneutics- went through a period of dynamic and multidimensional transformation between the apostolic fathers and Augustine, divided (generally) into two categories: before and after the council of Nicaea. Before is harder to explain, in large part because we have so few extant texts, but let it suffice to say that the distinction between 'heretical' and 'orthodox' interpretations of Christ's teaching didn't really exist before Constantine sat everyone down and compelled them to come to a decision at Nicaea. We didn't even have four 'official' gospels yet, so its hard to even know what Christian writers like Justin Martyr were reading as sources. As Christianity spread among intellectuals, some interpretations emphasized Christ's Jewish-ness while others, often more neo-platonic in flavor, emphasized Christ's role as the logos, or divine truth inhabiting the world. See, for this second category, Clement of Alexandria and Origen. This divide was formalized in the split between Antiochean and Alexandrian schools of theology, whose varied influences ultimately produced two incompatible views of Christ's nature. Antioch tended toward "adoptionist" theology: Christ was born a man and God 'adopted' him into divinity, and so he had two natures, one human and one divine. This Christology emphasized the difference between these two natures, and generally clung very close to literal interpretations of Christian texts. The more neo-platonic Alexandrian school of Clement and Origen emphasized, by contrast, the union of divine and human in Christ. Disputes over Christ's nature became more and more intense, until, somewhat suddenly, the emperor converted. Constantine knew that if Christianity were to become the religion of the emperor, there could be no loopholes, so he convened the council of Nicaea to put the thing to rest. It did not. Controversies continued right up to Augustine, and the tone of the dialogue, with a lot of attention paid to the details of defining abstract concepts like homoiousious versus homoousious, seems to be very greek and very neo-platonic in nature. Its impossible to effectively summarize everything that happened, but for a particularly neo-platonic focal point check out Irenaeus: he complains about the wild abstractions of the Gnostics and argues for Christianity as a down-to-earth, realistic platonic religion. Athanasius, who helped resolve the controversies surrounding Nicaea, also seems like a good place to look, as well as Origen and Clement, whose liberal biblical interpretations owe a lot to platonic philosophy. I'll end by saying this: Neo-platonism was really a widespread intellectual context in the time Christianity was being born as a religion. By the time we get to Augustine, the very vocabulary of Christian theology had been shaped by platonic philosophy, there was no turning back. That Augustine came back to Christianity through neo-platonism in Confessions seems no surprise given the context.
| 4 |
AskReddit/c950j2w
|
1ba4se
|
Why is southern style sweet tea rarely served on the west coast?
|
I live in the US but not on the west or south and I am not sure what sweet tea is. I have heard of it but have never seen it offered on a menu, not even at McDonald's. Mostly it is something that is mentioned on television and I assume it is likely a regional thing like grits are.
| 2 |
AskReddit/d0wllq0
|
4a01us
|
Which people do you have no sympathy for?
|
People who drive along the side of the road when there's a traffic jam to get ahead of everyone then try to cut back in line, I have no sympathy and will not let you in. this was in a thread a while back someone said anyone who let's these people in front of them is weak, and I wholeheartedly agree.
| 94 |
AskReddit/c4y7lbd
|
uss9i
|
How do pigeons know who/where they're supposed to deliver messages to?
|
Carrier pigeons can only be used to carry a message to one place: their home. When the pigeon is released, it flies back home. So people needed to carry pigeons with them when they left a place if they wanted to be able to send messages back to that place.
| 4 |
AskReddit/c4uup6g
|
uf6yy
|
What makes you happy?
|
Adrenaline is the one thing I've experienced in my life that gives me absolutely true joy(haven't had any serious relationships to speak of yet, so I assume that will be up there when I do). Freeride mountain biking, driving cars fast, and bouldering make me really, truly, definitely happy.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/dlcv5o2
|
6shqzx
|
Why do cell phones show high/max signal strength until you use it, then suddenly lose all signal?
|
Phones do not constantly check for signal quality. It's possible to go from an area with good signal to an area with poor signal, without your phone updating its connection quality check. That is, until you try to use it, and it suddenly realize that it has no signal.
| 2 |
askscience/ctyge41
|
3gewrf
|
Do nerve cells/nerve systems work like actual circuits?
|
I don't know too much about electronics yet so bear with me and let me know if I make a mistake. Neurons work very differently than our electronics. They're vastly more complicated and more simple at the same time. For one, each individual neuron works kind of like a simple transistor. It has two states: either on or off (firing or not firing). On the individual level, neurons switch on and off by opening specific channels that let in potassium or sodium. The fired vs. not fired state depends on if there is a higher concentration of sodium or potassium in the head of the neuron. This is different than transistors (I believe) that allow for either the flow of current or the interruption of current. Neurons are also an all or nothing kind of thing. I hear there are transistors now that take into account how much current that is being applied to it as a way of storing data. The brain's neurons either fire fully or not at all. You can think of them as a transistor with a wire sticking out of it that connects to another nerve cell. Neurons also have the capability to tell other neurons to fire (this is called a synapse), something I do not believe is present in electronics. The channels that block synapses from happening are voltage gated and only open when a specific set of situations happens. The closest I could come up with (with my limited knowledge of electronics) would be an integrated circuit. The brain also has the ability to form new neural pathways. For example, when you're learning a new language there's a specific pattern that your neurons are firing in. The brain remembers that specific way to fire the next time a situation comes up. As for the specifics like resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc. the nervous system doesn't really have anything comparable. The way that we use electricity is we can control and modify voltage, resistance, and current to suit our different uses. The nervous system doesn't really do that. What it does is that it just has tons of different pathways that it can choose to fire neurons. I can't think of anything that would be similar to capacitor where it stores charge for later use and fires it when needed. I suppose if you want to go extremely technical, neurons are like that in a sense because they're constantly ready to fire being that the gradient for potassium and sodium are kept out of balance purposefully so that when the channel opens, the sodium and potassium will flow based upon concentration gradients. For the power supply, the neurons are bathed in it. They use glucose (and a ton of it too) to power themselves. They uptake glucose from the surrounding fluids and they create ATP. ATP is a molecule whose bonds are unstable and give off lots of energy when broken. ATP is used as a catalyst in biochemical reactions in order to give a cell energy.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dvwtaue
|
85efe2
|
What is the best Music Festival you've been to and why?
|
Many years ago there was a music festival on the outskirts of Cantwell, Alaska. Man, what a great event. There were no big name players, just very good local talent. And the hippie chicks ? They are my people. The Alaska State Troopers were cool. Everyone was smoking weed, but they knew they were hugely outnumbered so they just kept their cool. And as for that, we did too. It was quite harmonious. Cantwell ! Thanks, it was a very good event.
| 2 |
AskReddit/ce8q86j
|
1tk06e
|
If you could change one thing about Reddit, what would it be and why?
|
Allow limited anonymous posting. Allow reddit admin's moderators to know who the poster is, and punish them as needed. But allow people, who need to sometimes ask really tough questions or say really embarrassing things, to do so anonymously, rather than forcing us to create many accounts to hide behind.
| 2 |
askscience/c3ngq9s
|
p8zm7
|
In countries where solar energy forms a large proportion of their total gird (or will in the future), how do they manage their grid during night times?
|
You are stumbling into interesting territory. The intermittency of solar power, on all time scales, is a big problem. Let's talk about each of those time scales: 1) Seconds: The grid has to be able to adjust when clouds pass over your solar farm. The clouds cause the solar farm to stop producing much power, and a "gas peaker" plant has to pick up the load within a second or so. Failure to manage this correctly leads to big big problems. Also, when the cloud suddenly goes away, the peaker plant has to back off within a second or so. 2) A day: solar cells don't work at night, so you have to have other means of producing power at night. 3) Annually: The shape of the daily variation depends on the time of year (and your geography, but thankfully that doesn't change too much). So, in the winter, you need more coal plants and such than you do in the summer. Generally, the daily power output shape for solar cells follows the electricity demand curve quite nicely, but the day/night variation is only about 20%, so solar power greater than 20% of the total has to be replaced at night anyway. Does that answer your question? Problem #1 could be significantly mitigated with appropriate short-term storage technology, but I haven't heard anyone propose a reasonable solution to problems 2 and 3.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dr1kzgw
|
7iv50v
|
What is your local town-lunatic known for?
|
We have a homeless guy who everybody un-affectionately calls "Scratchy". Scratchy harasses anybody downtown for money, but especially loves to bother women with children. If you do give him money, he will complain about the amount. He uses all of his panhandling earnings to buy scratchers at the local ale house - hence the name Scratchy. Two years ago, Scratchy won $10,000 on a scratcher and the government took all of it in back child support payments. We also have a serial dog predator, but I think Scratchy is the winner of town lunatic at the moment.
| 27 |
AskHistorians/cbhd01y
|
1jqf3j
|
Which exact battle/campaign of Gaius Marius saw the first action of his new structured legions?
|
The traditional narrative is that Marius' legions first campaign was in the Jugurthine War, and that campaign, combined with the stunning success against the Germans, marks a sharp dividing point between the old legion and the new. If you want a more definite marking point, you can say that the old legion died by or with the Social War. However, to a very real extent this is inference, as our sources don't really go into that level of detail. They spell out (to an extent) the Marian reforms but do not discuss its implementation, its effects on unit cohesion, or diversities between the different Roman armies. I and others, however, contest the narrative. For one, the simple logistics are somewhat absurd. The traditional narrative has Marius raising multiple legions (so 10-20,000 men, I can't remember how they reckon it) from the new military pool and sending them to Africa in a matter of months. But the supply chain wouldn't work--even a city like Rome would not be able to create that many sets of military kit that quickly. To my mind, this argues for Rome having already had a practice of equipping soldiers and of recruiting from classes that did not meet the property requirements. Marius more likely stands at the culmination of a long process going back decades than as a unique and lonely innovator. Personal heresy: I do not think the Late Republican recruit pool came from urban areas, as is often said, but rather from the dispossessed rural populations that worked as tenant farmers, sharecroppers or other renting arrangement. The fact that the obsessive political concern of the armies was land speaks to me of a primarily rural concern, and we shouldn't assume that it is every poor person's dream to own a plot o' land with the Missus and ma and pa.
| 20 |
AskReddit/c1mbyab
|
gbj3c
|
Why can't (or, doesn't) Wikipedia use a better search engine?
|
I don't see much of a problem with Wikipedia's current search. At any rate they run the site on surprisingly low budget for a top 10 site. they probably need a search engine that doesn't need a ton of servers to run quickly.
| 3 |
AskReddit/dccq1sc
|
5nmlux
|
What products can you buy online with the same quality but a lot cheaper than in stores?
|
Clothing. A friend of mine started up a clothing business and went for a tour through the factory in Bangladesh where everything was being made. He was shown the sewing floors where he could see clithing being made for Hugo Boss and some other big ticket brands being stitched right next to cheap store name brands. Some of the materials might be different and there's the difference in design of course but all the stitching is exactly the same. He says he even saw the same clothing articles having different tags sewn into them with one being a high end brand while the other would be one you'd find in kmart.
| 2 |
askscience/cpb2o1l
|
2yisvr
|
Why is the Earth tilted and why does it not change in its orbit?
|
Hi OfficialTacoLord > Why is the Earth tilted The earth (and any other planet for that matter) got its tilt from collisions in the early time of our solar system. Another influence are gravitational and tidal forces which act on the planets, but in a minor scale. > why does it not change in its orbit? I suppose you mean that in an intuitive way, that it should change its it axial tilt as it moves around the sun. But why would it do so? There is no force acting, hence no change in axial tilt. The axis stays in the same direction, because there is nothing forcing it into another one. To be more accurate however, there are forces that act on the earth, namely tidal forces from moon and sun. They can grab on earth, because of its ellipsoid shape and try to tilt the axis up, but never really suceed to do so, because they are pretty weak. As a result, we have effects like precession and nutation (changes of axial direction over different timespans). So the answer is, we do have changes in axial tilt, but not over a single year, but over dozens to thousands of years, and pretty slight.
| 3 |
AskReddit/e1sf8l7
|
8w3lhm
|
What’s the best and worst thing about the city you live in and what city is it?
|
Roseville, CA: The best thing is that it's a fairly affordable city to live in-- considering it's in California. The worst thing is that there isn't much to do unless you feel like driving 30 to 45+ minutes in any direction toward a neighboring city with actual things to do.
| 5 |
explainlikeimfive/d4ar2pf
|
4o9pzl
|
What is happening in an automatic transmission that prevents a stall when stopped in gear?
|
Automatic transmissions have a part called the torque converter in addition to an automatic clutch. The torque converter consists of two impellers in line in an oil-filled casing where one impeller is connected to the engine and gearbox and the other to the drivetrain. When the engine turns one impeller, it transfers the rotation through the oil to the other impeller. This is a soft coupling, so when the drivetrain is blocked (e.g. because you're holding the brake), there is no immediate damage.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/ex9th4c
|
crppvb
|
Why do hangovers get worse as you age?
|
Unfortunately we don't really know what causes hangovers. It could be dehydration, it could be toxic byproducts, it could be withdrawal symptoms. All of these theories have drawbacks though. For example, the toxic byproducts of alcohol breakdown are usually long gone by the time you have a hangover. Or benzodiazepine withdrawal (like from Xanax) doesn't cause hangovers, despite it working in the brain very similarly to alcohol. So, until we know what causes hangovers, we can't really know what makes them worse as we age
| 2 |
askscience/dvhmes9
|
83fzqv
|
Does gravitational waves effect the expansion of universe?
|
Gravitational waves are not a pushing force. It's more like the amount of pull fluctuates. Or to put it in simpler terms, a gravitational wave experienced on the Earth well never "push" you but only change your weight up or down very slightly.
| 8 |
AskReddit/e34mrl9
|
92ch30
|
How will you differentiate between a leader and a manager?
|
A leader inspires employees to do better by convincing workers that it is in their interest to perform at a high level. A manager simply enforces corporate policy and shirks their employee's concerns whenever possible. Managers maintain status quo, whereas leaders seek out opportunities for change.
| 4 |
AskReddit/ewx3qa6
|
cqji37
|
What do you like about your friends?
|
My best friend and I are basically platonic soulmates. She's easy to talk to, we're always there for each other, and we have a similar sense of humor. Like she might as well be my sister. My other friends? I can hold a conversation with them and they're fun to hang out with. Oh and they're good people too. What's not to like?
| 2 |
AskReddit/cpmz8ol
|
2zwmti
|
What was the most important lesson you learned from your last relationship?
|
I learned that people change. Was with my ex for 8 years and we met when we were 20. People go through the most life changes in their 20's and we simply grew into different people and grew apart. And from the person he grew into, while I still don't know what I want from a partner, I at least learned what I don't want.
| 3 |
AskReddit/exgc7rw
|
cspxiq
|
What is the best way to solve the homeless crisis?
|
Sometimes, it's just about giving them cash. I think it was in England that they made an expirement by donating £2000 to some homeless, and nothing more. But with that money, those homeless could afford to take a shower, sleep some night at an hotel, buy new clothes, so they looked more respectable and I think some of them got a job. I don't say that it will solve the crisis alone, but sometimes all they need is a little push in life.
| 3 |
askscience/c49k6hj
|
ry3be
|
Is there any scientific evidence that soft drinks taste different in mugs compared to glasses, if so, what is the mechanism?
|
While not scientific, your tongue would taste the ceramic mug differently than a glass bottle or glass cup, and whatever coatings may be on either of them. The taste of the vessel you drink from could possibly interfere and either add or detract from the taste of the liquid being consumed. I'm not a taste expert, but I think it would be reasonable to assume it would.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dv6bgfm
|
81zhy0
|
How long would it take for the US to completely invade Canada?
|
Invade, not long. Conquer, well that’s another story. Technically any intrusion from another country’s military with hostile intent is considered an invasion. Making it stick is the hard part.
| 5 |
AskReddit/cszyuod
|
3cxw7g
|
What is the stupidest reason you've ever gotten into a fight?
|
This was not only the stupidest, but also the most serious and childish fight my boyfriend and I have had in 4 years of being together. It was a Saturday afternoon in spring of 2013. We had just got back into Magic The Gathering and we're playing a very intense game between my zombie deck that contained the card Endless Ranks of the Dead and his green deck that contained the card Vigor. I don't remember the exact combination of events that led to the fight, but it was about regeneration and those two specific cards. We were actually yelling at each other about how it worked and did not talk to each other the rest of the evening. To give some perspective, we don't fight often and when we do we don't ever yell and mostly talk about it like civilized adults. I actually said "I don't know that I can be with someone who feels that way about regeneration." Everything was fine once we consulted with other MTG players. Tldr: Magic The Gathering almost broke up an otherwise perfect relationship
| 5 |
explainlikeimfive/c69nc29
|
101tdh
|
How do 47% of people in the US not pay federal income tax?
|
There are a few groups of people who don't pay federal income tax. The biggest group (about 60% of them) don't because they qualify for enough deductions to reduce their burden to $0 (think lower-class families with kids). Both parties are responsible for introducing tax cuts/credits, so if this is in response to Mitt Romney's leaked video, it's a bit of a stretch to blame it on Obama and the Democrats (in fact, the biggest jumps in non-taxpayers happened under Reagan and Bush II). With that said, they do pay payroll taxes, for things like Social Security. Almost a quarter are elderly and retired. About 15% are the under-the-poverty-line types.
| 50 |
AskReddit/cmavcbj
|
2n6trh
|
What's the most morally wrong, yet lawfully legal action people are capable of?
|
Exploit lack of information or education. There is a large emphasis on buyer beware that extends across law, politics and economic issues. Some examples; Near destitute families being targeted with devastating loan policies. Legislation and legal process being the convoluted mess that it can be, being used by those that have the power or knowledge to utilize them to bully and persuade those in the dark. To me, education is a privilege, and if you use that to exploit the less fortunate, you are morally corrupt. When the law protects and even facilitates this kind of behavior, my blood boils. Where I come across it, I will do everything in my power to decimate it completely. Villainy hiding behind bureaucracy, in my opinion, is one of the greatest evils we face.
| 7 |
askscience/e20d8rw
|
8x0syw
|
Does egg yolk color tell us anything about the nutritious value of the egg?
|
As eggs age,their proteins denature. A good measure (rather than color) of this is the shape or height of the yolk when the egg is out of the shell and laying on a dish or in a pan. The higher or rounder the yolk, the better condition of the proteins.
| 209 |
AskReddit/ddup7ap
|
5uk68y
|
What trait are you most proud of that your parents passed on to you?
|
My mom has an infectious smile. When she smiles at you, you just can't help but smile back. It lights up her whole face and makes her look like a beautiful ray of sunshine. When my mom smiles, she's the most beautiful woman in the world. People always tell me that I have my mother's smile. It's the trait that I am most proud of.
| 2 |
askscience/egcgwod
|
aplfpv
|
How radiation sickness cured?
|
Generally you treat it like most sickness, fluids, nourishment and rest. You can't really undo the damage once ionizing radiation has killed or broken cells in a body. Most cells damaged by not killed will self destruct, but some may become cancerous. Of those that become cancerous, sometimes the body can deal with them, sometimes they die off later and sometimes they do become an out of control cancerous growth. Depending on the severity of radiation exposure, it can be ultimately fatal in and of itself. As damaged cells self destruct, it can eventually kill a patient, sometimes days or weeks after exposure. In some cases, people exposed to high radiation doses are effectively walking dead. And as the damage catches up with them, they will worsen and perish. This is mostly for external radiation doses though, if the radiation comes from ingested materials there are more direct treatments necessary to remove radioactive elements from the body. Depending on the nature of the radioactive elements, various elements can be administered to help flush them from the body. For example, to treat ingestion of radioactive iodine, large doses of safe iodine can be administered to limit how much a patients body will hold onto of the radioactive isotope. Aside from needing to remove ingested and absorbed radioactive materials, the recovery process is similar. The body needs to heal itself, if the damage isn't too severe. There's no medicine you can administer to reverse the damage as far as existing technology is concerned. Just rest and recovery. You could look at radiation sickness as more of an injury than a typical sickness. Much like a broken bone, or cut, you have to let it heal, and keep infection away. Being severely irradiated can leave your immune system very weak too, causing secondary infection to be fatal. So typical care for weakened immune systems must be used for recovering patients.
| 3 |
AskReddit/eb3etzx
|
a352s7
|
When was the last time you cried from physical pain, what happened?
|
Burned my leg - I was having a bath and when I turned on the hot tap to warm it up, the shower head was running directly unto my thigh. That was ok. It was when the blister got infected and my cat jumped right on top of it, then I cried.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cnc27tb
|
2r3bc3
|
How many people would you let die if it meant your SO didn't die?
|
Hate to be that guy, but it depends on the circumstance. My wife and I love each other more than can be described here in this short post, so we both understand that sacrifices need to be made. Depending on the circumstance, it could be 0 or it could be thousands. If my wife had to die in order to save a train car of children, she would understand that I love her and would willingly do it. If an army is invading my homeland, I would kill as many people as threatened her. Yes, I know I'm lame.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c1gcw6n
|
fjcjj
|
What is the coolest thing you have ever done but no-one else got to see?
|
Coolest thing I ever did. OK, this isn't really cool (I felt horrible after) but it was something I wish someone else would have seen. OK, my uncle jimmy went on this trip to Australia and came back with a gift for me. It was (his words not mine) "a genuine aboriginal boomerang" Honestly I think he bought the thing at a gift shop but heres what happened. Me and him are handing out at his house in his yard. His house is on a large area of land with trees scattered here and there. We were outside drinking and I decided I would try out the boomerang. I took the bad boy and flung it randomly as hard as I could and heres what happened. The boomerang goes up and does this perfect arc all the way right towards this tree. On the branch of this tree is a squirrel and this guy is just hanging out not bothering anyone. In a matter of 5 seconds my Boomerang bashing the squirrel off the tree and he falls off into a creek next to my uncles house. He climbs out soaked and then runs off in a panic not knowing what happened. I have never felt more guilty in my life.
| 3 |
AskReddit/dlfk771
|
6sud8e
|
Why heavy rain called cats and dogs?
|
I looked it up and this seems to be a common theory: The most common one says that in olden times, homes had thatched roofs in which domestic animals such as cats and dogs would like to hide. In heavy rain, the animals would either be washed out of the thatch, or rapidly abandon it for better shelter, so it would seem to be raining cats and dogs It's pretty funny if it's true. Imagine walking in the rain and suddenly a dog falls on you.
| 4 |
AskReddit/drqj077
|
7m0vr3
|
How can an orchestra not be deafening for itself when even I as an audience member am overwhelmed by the sheer volume at times?
|
The acoustics set up for orchestra's, choirs plays etc are such that the sound is projected away towards the audience. This includes how the walls are built, shaped, covered, floors, microphones, even the shape of the room itself. This is not so much in other environments, like say a football stadium performance, and can throw off the group or person as they can hear themselves differently. Any professional music like that, imo, should be seen in the right environment for best sound quality and comfort of audience and artists performing. Source: singer, hobby instrument player, former actor on stage.
| 2 |
askscience/c9k1iii
|
1cua1v
|
Do noise canceling headphones protect your hearing?
|
Noise-cancelling headphones use a microphone to detect outside noise and then create another signal to cause destructive interference. While one might think that two sound waves could only trick the ear into making things quieter, interference is actually a property of all waves. When one sound wave is at its crest at your ear drum, and another sound wave is at it's trough, they will cancel each other out, providing they have the same frequency. This destructive interference is the same exact thing as the resultant wave. If the interference works properly, the sound that you hear should be exactly the same as if there were no outside sound at all. However, noise-cancelling headphones can't always work perfectly so the noise is really only reduced.
| 6 |
explainlikeimfive/ceqboba
|
1val3q
|
How can Verizon breach a contract, which they received $2.1 billion in tax breaks, and not face a lawsuit/penalty/sanction, but if I were to breach a contract (of a much lesser dollar amount) I would be sued with almost 100% surety?
|
You can breach contracts all day long and face no penalty whatsoever, as long as the other party doesn't care enough to enforce the contract. Ignoring the possibility of legal jargon that got Verizon out legally, Verizon cares enough to enforce their contract with you, but the Commonwealth of PA doesn't care enough to enforce their contract with Verizon.
| 5 |
AskReddit/d68d3a6
|
4wmft2
|
What is something you have never told your parents?
|
I may have abused the whole "child of non-civil divorced parents" sometimes. It was nothing major but there were some things my mom would let me do and somethings only my dad would let me do soo I would just do those things at my certain parents house growing up. They couldn't even talk on the phone without having a massive argument so I didn't have to worry about them telling each other what I had and hadn't done.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/dtt8ik9
|
7vlf1n
|
What happens to an abandoned city/town/village when all the people have either moved or died out?
|
Depends on if the land is public or private. Sometimes it is redeveloped, or sold or leased to another party, or used for something else. Other times it just sits there. There are plenty of "ghost" towns all around the world that are old villages that are slowly being reclaimed by nature. As for if it is removed from a map or not, depends on if it is a place worth interest or not. Plenty of "ghost" towns still get many visitors. One function of maps is to point out places of interest, so "ghost" towns usually remain on the map, until nothing is left but foundations. Even then, the history of the town is documented, and so the town never really disappears completely. There are plenty of towns underwater from dams, that we know about, and are still there, just under the water.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c0x2ydh
|
d2hrs
|
Do you think The U.S. has become to complacent with police brutality?
|
>Now it seems every week there is new story on reddit about police brutality with no wrong doing found by the cops! There's your problem right there. Reddit is a site that you post links from OTHER sites too. Do you really think the majority of cases are as bad as the media report? Even if they all are as bad as they sound, how many police are there in the USA? According to one site. >There are as of 2006, 683,396 full time state, city, university and college, metropolitan and non-metropolitan county, and other law enforcement officers in the United States. There are approx. 120,000 full time law enforcement personnel working for the federal government adding up to a total number of 800,000 law enforcement personnel in the U.S. So assuming every week one of those does something bad and it gets reported, that's pretty good going I think.
| 6 |
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