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explainlikeimfive/dgqvv4y
|
67jivf
|
What is physically happening in your eye as it adjusts to the dark?
|
The colored part of your eye, the iris, is a donut of muscles. Light enters your eye through the hole in the center of the iris, the pupil. Depending on the amount of light hitting the rods and cones in your retina, a signal will be sent to the iris to either open wider or close tighter. In a bright room the iris will squeeze down so that the pupil gets really small and doesn't let much light in. In a dark room the iris will pull outward, widening the pupil and letting in as much light as it can.
| 4 |
AskReddit/eae6e0x
|
a038va
|
What’s a weird smell you like?
|
Gas (Petrol). I don’t know why, but every time I go to a gas station I just love the smell. I’m probably loosing a couple million brain cells, but it’s fine.
| 7 |
AskReddit/do5rk84
|
75f4d2
|
Why cant you make it happen?
|
They said, "You and the Capt'n can make it happen." But it's been 11 long years on this island. We only had one bullet and he drew the short straw. Some would say the continental United States is no island. I'm no geographer, they might be right.
| 2 |
AskReddit/d2cvvpy
|
4fxry4
|
What motivates you on the days you don't feel like doing anything?
|
going out to get some fresh air. and if it is just to go to the super market. once i am outside and get the blood flowing i always feel refreshed and motivated to do something. and even if it is just a small thing like doing my laundry or something. at the end of the day i don't have the feeling that i wasted the day doing nothing.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c07gbzz
|
7ungc
|
Why isn't a comma used when writing a four digit year, e.g., 2,009 instead of 2009?
|
My theory, which I've only just made up, is that you barely ever need to deal with orders of magnitude when dealing with years. In almost all situations where you're comparing years (e.g. working out someone's age by subtracting year-of-birth from current-year) you're always dealing with four-digit numbers. So you don't need a marker in the string to help you figure out that they're four-digit numbers. For other types of quantity, however, you're much more likely to be carrying out calculations that involve numbers with varying amounts of digits. In those situations the comma marker is really helpful - removing it would make mental arithmetic much harder.
| 10 |
AskReddit/efvlqkq
|
ans0q3
|
What song makes you emotional, and why?
|
Yellowcard: Breathing It evokes imagery of the fire fighters who risked their lives in 9/11. It also makes me think about the loss of my grandparents. It makes me cry so much I have not been able to listen to it in years!
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/cfa6bc8
|
1xct70
|
What are the principles of Libertarian Socialism?
|
Libertarian Socialism is based upon the same general idea as most other Marxian ideologies (such as Leninism). That is to say they share the desire to see worker control of the means of production (the workers should own and run their own factories, farms, things like that). However, it differs from more authoritarian forms of socialism in primarily its methods. While Leninists will often advocate the use of a Vanguard party (a political party that forms the core of the revolution, and guides the ideology of the people) Libertarian Socialists will typically advocate either the direct transition to a stateless society (communism) or a transitionary period with everything laid out in a more democratic manner. This will include things such as worker's councils, which are democratic (democracy in this context means consensus as opposed to majoritarian) groups of workers in a given industry, sort of like unions (only with removal of the inherent hierarchy). Thus, in summary, we have the key principles of: Opposition to illegitimate hierarchy (this includes things like employer-employee relationships) Opposition to either the Russian Revolution (in the vein of some anarchists) or opposition to the USSR in the way that the Bolsheviks took it (as libertarian communists, such as Rosa Luxembourg, did). Worker control of the means of production Democratic and voluntary association and decision making Environmental sustainability Opposition to discrimination (whether based on race, gender, height, or anything else). I may have forgotten to clarify some terms, so let me know if you didn't understand anything. --EDIT-- Illegitimate hierarchy: A set of relationships in which one individual or group has power over another. This can be in the form of a threat, ultimatum, or any other form of coercive behaviour. Libertarian Socialists view the threat of imprisonment by the state as one such for of coercive behaviour. However, it would be acceptable to, say, stop a child from running into a fire, or to stop them running out in front of a car, as these are actions objectively taken for the benefit of the individual.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/cmus6ev
|
2pa2gv
|
Why are Omega 3's good for you?
|
Your brain needs a balance of omega 3 and omega 6 to build brain tissue. The total amount doesn't matter much (above a relatively low minimum threshold), just the balance. Both are produced in plants, but omega 6 are (mostly) produced in the seed and 3s are (mostly) produced in the leaves. Since the typical western diet has a lot more calories from seeds (wheat, corn, soy, rice and other grains as well as meat/dairy from livestock fed on these crops) the typical westerner has more omega 6s and so 'needs' more omega 3 to get the balance right. Wild Fish are high in omega 3 since most of the plant ecology in the ocean is 'leaf cells' so up the food chain those omega 3 get concentrated. This is also why farmed fish usually don't have enough omega 3 since fish farms work by raising fish on agricultural feed commodities (I.e. Grains like corn and soy). To get the right balance you could strive to eat fewer seed products ( including bread and pasta, but also livestock raised on grain and farmed fish) and more leaf products (including salad greens and leafy vegetables, but also meat and dairy from 100% grass-fed livestock and wild caught fish). Some caveats/exceptions and clarifications: Omega 3s and 6s are part of the fatty tissue, so white fish don't have as much in their muscle. White fish store their fat reserves in their liver which is why cod liver oil has a lot of omega 3 but cod fillets don't. Oily fish like mackrel, salmon, sardines, tuna have much more fat in their tissue so eating these fish will have more omega 3s. Every food source (except highly refined substances like pure sugar) has both omega 6 and 3, in different amounts and different ratios. So you can't just say "well I'll have a pound of bread and a pound of spinach and that should even out." Some plant seeds like flax are advertised as being "high" in omega 3s. This is a subjective statement: high compared to what? Higher than soybean oil? Yeah. Higher than 100% grass-fed beef tallow? No. Edit for further clarification: EPA and DHA are specific types of omega 3s. Their specific role is somewhat unknown, but they are correlated with healthy brain development, maintenance, function as well as a reduction in diseases like alzheimers. Humans can't synthesize either, so we need to obtain them through diet. Most of what I said above applies to both of these chemicals: eat leafy plants not grain-fed livestock. Specifically seaweed, algae and oily fish that feed directly on them are good sources.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c0vi8wm
|
cv4jl
|
If someone were to take $500 in ones and drop it from a building onto the streets, what repercussions would they face if somehow caught?
|
Build or buy an air cannon that can launch projectiles. Go to a busy intersection, public transit place, or government building. Set air cannon on a timer (preferably one that beeps) in a duct-taped box in a good hiding place. Run away very quickly with an excited look. Wait for cannon to blow. HAPPY MONEY DAY, PEOPLE!
| 2 |
AskReddit/esf1w9m
|
c7gcf7
|
What did you guys think about the Michael Jackson, Leaving Neverland documentary?
|
I didn't watch it. I haven't figured out how to Netflix my TV after switching over and I don't sit down and watch TV until after like 8 pm and watching something about Michael Jackson that is so bad that Weird Al stopped performing Fat makes me wonder if I even want to know.
| 2 |
AskHistorians/coqev2e
|
2wdxf1
|
When did the world public and politicians begin to see a second Great War (ww2) as likely or even inevitable?
|
Well, simply put, people thought that another Great War was inevitable by the mid thirties, because of the changing environment in Europe, and of course throughout the world. In 1931, with Germany's economy in a shambles because of the Great Depression, reparations payments for world war one were suspended, and finally postponed indefinitely in 1932. In 1933, a VERY shady election put the Nazis in power, and by 1934 the Nazis were in control of the country, and had set Germany on a course to do away with the rest of the Versailles Treaty. Re-arming, reintroducing conscription, establishing the Luftwaffe all followed. Italy was fascist, by 1936 you had a civil war in Spain, with the Soviet Union backing the Republic, and Italy AND Germany whole-heartedly supporting the Nationalists. So the Treaty of Versailles, by the mid-thirties, was dead in the water. The League of Nations would demonstrate it's impotence with the Japanese invasions of Manchuria and China, and with the Italian conquest of Ethiopia. The United States was slowly recovering from the Great Depression, and was firmly isolationist, or at the very least had no intention of involving itself in European affairs. Britain and France were both militarily weak, or had certainly seen better days, were dealing with terrible economies, as well as domestic unrest (primarily in France). If you think about it, how had Germany been defeated in WWI? Primarily through the efforts of 5 "Great Powers", Russia, France, Britain and Italy from 1915 to 1917, with the United States taking Russia's place as an "Associated Power" really from 1918 onwards. Who was to have enforced the Treaty of Versailles? Britain, France and the US, also Italy. What had been viewed as a corner stone to a successful post-war peace? The League of Nations. All of these, then, were lacking or had failed. Russia went Communist, and really from 1925-26 onwards was collaborating with the Germans. The United States, as stated, was firmly isolationist, Italy was fascist and was close to Germany, and Britain and France were to weak to enforce the peace. The League of Nations had proved unsuccessful. There was really little or nothing stopping the Germans from making a comeback, and seeking revenge for losing the first war. Once the Germans re-militarized the Rhineland in 1936, without firing a shot, war was really only a matter of time & place; by 1938, it was certainly inevitable.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/dea104s
|
5wh2vn
|
Why do we get sick of eating the same food?
|
A balanced diet is important to make sure you ingest al the necessary vitamins, proteins. and such that your body needs to make it work. As an example: your body needs a certain component of proteins it makes, an amino acid called lysine we cannot make in our own body (that's why it's called an essential amino acid). A person eating lots of cereals and nothing else (which was / is the case in some poor countries), won't get enough lysine, as it is (almost) not present in those foods. Their bodies won't be able to make some proteins necessary to get their bodies to work properly, and they'll get sick.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/cv1hcc7
|
3ky4l3
|
Why are wedding dresses so expensive?
|
A number of reasons: Luxury / status item - they are a once in a lifetime purchase so people are more likely to be willing to spend more on them than they would otherwise. Expensive materials - they are often genuinely made of more expensive materials than normal dresses Lots of material - as well as being often made of higher quality/more expensive materials they generally make use of lots of materials. Not just the train itself but generally they have a lot of layers, a lot of details and flourishes etc. all that add to the cost. Tailor made/complex machining - it is quite a lot more work to make a wedding dress than a standard dress, adding significantly to the labour cost of production. Fashion - currently trendy/fashionable dresses will attract a higher premium than out of favour designs Don't be fooled by people that suggest it is purely a rip-off to be charging such high amounts for dresses. Certainly there's a potentially very large premium added to the real cost of production but it's also fair to say that as dresses they are genuinely more expensive to manufacture. All that said.good value wedding dresses exist, my wife's cost <£100.
| 2 |
AskReddit/d6cf99w
|
4x4mka
|
When was the last time you bought a paper book from an actual shop and what was it?
|
I'm really into tabletop roleplaying, but get most of my games as PDFs that my friend sends me (which he actually buys legally, if you can believe it). We recently started playing Burning Wheel, and I fell in love with the system. As well, the physical copy is printed and bound like a bible, which I find really cool. As such, I bought a copy in order to support the studio that made the game I'm getting so much enjoyment out of.
| 2 |
AskReddit/e7h39zt
|
9msyuz
|
What is your favorite quote ever?
|
I was on a ghost walk in my town a few years ago. This one was done by some actors, playing up the 1800s aspect of the ghost walk with banter and clothing to match the period. Our guide was a super excitable con-man personality type who was hoping to show us some ghosts to make a few bucks from us (in the context of the "show", not like he was actually trying to scam us or anything) It was evening, and the sky was red. Seeing an opportunity to ad-lib, our guide started talking about how it's perfect weather for ghosts, ending in possibly my favorite quote, and undoubtedly the quote I use the most. "It's like they always say Red sky at morning; sailors take warning Red sky at night. GHOSTS!"
| 2 |
AskReddit/c313g49
|
mi43n
|
How much of what the Founding Fathers did to create America was technically legal at the time?
|
slightly off topic, but I think this is related an important: in contrast with OWS, the founders had some very clear goals. they were very well educated and had extensive debates that were informed by their understanding of ancient and modern history, and philosophy. they resorted to violent revolution only after all other options were exhausted. compare the American revolution and the French revolution. one ended relatively peacefully and created a nation and government that became the model for the free world. the other ended in bloodshed, terror and mass murder. why? because their goals and philosophies were different. America, inspired by mainly by John Locke, wanted small government and individual rights. unless you harmed your fellow citizen, you were free do do whatever you liked. In France, however, the key philosophic influence was Rousseau. he preached that private property was the root of all evil and that an abstraction called 'society' made us corrupt. so we needed to reshape 'society' to make everything 'fair'. if you trace the philosophic roots of the OWS movement, it leads directly back to Rousseau, as with most violent movements that elevate 'society' above the individual.
| 3 |
askscience/ca3sw3b
|
1etvrn
|
Does temperature of a body affect the light intensity produced by it?
|
>Does Stefan's law for black bodies apply to bulbs and stars? They aren't perfect black bodies (no material is), but they can be modelled as them. Speaking in the case of Stars, they are often described by their equivalent black body temperature - the temperature that a perfect black body, if it were of the same size and radiating the same amount of energy, would be at. Increasing the temperature of a black body has two main effects - firstly, the peak wavelength shifts blueward; secondly, the intensity of light emitted at every wavelength increases.
| 3 |
AskReddit/c5tub6w
|
yapms
|
How hard is life with a GED?
|
Not hard. It's pretty much the same as a high school diploma. However, a lot of people who are idiots/dipshits have GEDs. Prisons award more GEDs than any other institution. So you have to fight this stigma. The key is to make it clear to potential employers/high education that you are NOT one of them. This largely comes down to professionalism. If you show up to a job interview in a tshirt and flip flops and your application shows a GED, the employer will probably assume your flaky and lazy.
| 5 |
AskReddit/ceaiaw2
|
1tpv2s
|
When you were a kid what dreams did you have of your adult self?
|
Growing up I always wanted to get my Ph.D. in some sort of science. In high school, I was told that I should never apply to certain schools because I wasn't good enough (by peers). Sadly, I listened to these people and ended up at a good school with great professors. I worked hard through my undergrad and got into a Masters program. I was getting closer to my dreams. Well, one professor who taught a theoretical class hated me and had it out for me. I was told later by a member of faculty that he had it out for me and my grades were biased meaning he would give me grades to get my M.S. but never good enough to be considered for a Ph.D. program. I still tried my hardest but my dreams for a Ph.D. are gone and it's depressing to think that the dream was shot down by one person who did not like me. I'm going to apply to a couple of schools and hope something comes to fruition. Other than that I always wanted to be a father that would be there for my children and be a supportive role in their lives and help them reach their dreams. I've met a wonderful woman who I can see that happening with and currently she's pushing me to try to go to school again. Here's to trying to keep dreams alive.
| 2 |
AskReddit/c8ivpm9
|
18xfzw
|
What is the hardest truth you've ever had to accept?
|
Honestly, that life really sucks. That sounds so negative, but I'm actually happier when I accept that. I went through a period of depression and sort of a doom-and-gloom feeling. Accepting that life is supposed to be hard but that you can enjoy many moments of it helped me enjoy those moments more, rather than focusing on the sucky parts.
| 53 |
AskReddit/dvilgty
|
83kpao
|
What’s the biggest lie you ever told?
|
Let me preface this by saying I am a terrible person. So, when traveling the country alone, I like to pretend to be someone I'm not. I make up fake stories, change my personality, and, generally, lie. Well, one day I found a 1 year sober AA chip. So, I started keeping that 1 year sober chip on me. Then when I visited my hometown on my way across the country for a week, I had it. I went out to a bar with a friend from high school and we started hitting on these waitresses in the arcade bar restaurant next door. Eventually they got off and one of the waitresses stayed in the other bar with us but she brought her unattractive friend with her. Anyways, my buddy was chatting this girl up and I'm trying to hold a conversation with her friend as a good wingman should. Her friend is very obviously not having it. She's a professional cockblocker. So, I get a bright idea. I take out the coin and start twirling and flipping it whilst being ignored. Then I drop it off the table near the cockblocker. She picks it up for me and asks about it. I put it in my pocket and say it's a long story. She asks if I'm an alcoholic. I get immediately offended and say I don't want to talk about it, finish my beer and go to the bar for another drink, hoping she'll follow me. She doesn't so I order a round of shots for the table, a whiskey neat and a beer. When I get back to the table with this she is concerned and presses the issue. I "admit" to having been in treatment but say I'm not an alcoholic. I tell her I only went to treatment after the mother of my child said she'd allow me visitation rights if I did. Now she's engrossed. I went into excruciating detail and told her sometimes I feel like maybe I should go back to meetings but it's unfair. I told her I was on my way across country to find her because she moved to Washington after I started drinking again(I was moving for my job). She completely left our friends alone and I went to talk to her outside. She ended up praying on me. We both cried. I let her say some wise words to me and then asked that she drop me off at a hospital, saying they have churches open 24/7. She actually agreed. I gave my buddy money for cab fare and left my car at the bar. She dropped me off, I went inside and called a taxi to my hotel room. .my friend never closed the deal.
| 31 |
AskReddit/dk61yez
|
6n13kx
|
What would your parents be mortified to learn about you?
|
That I lie to them about the current state of my household finances. I am close with my parents and talk to them multiple times a week, but my spouse and I have been going through some money troubles for awhile now, and I refuse to tell them. They don't have a lot of extra money to spare themselves right now and I don't want them to feel obligated towards me in that way. I share a great deal with them, but not this.
| 1,896 |
AskReddit/cu8b7lc
|
3hlb6o
|
What is the best thing you've seen written on somebody's car?
|
I'm not joking or lying about this. But there was this car that was kinda dirty and I was driving behind it. I saw handwriting but couldn't distinguish what it was. And then I finally read it. It read "clean me" HAHAHAH I was dying I will never forget that car. P.s. Someone had written that because the white car(or whatever color car it was) was dirty. People are so clever
| 2 |
AskReddit/eu95mae
|
cfcidm
|
What is the oldest thing you own?
|
Ignoring some fossils; I have a somewhat tattered silver coin from 1757 from when George the second was king. I also have what I believe is a gambling token from 1788 when George 3 was king. those two are the oldest man-made things I own.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dlaoqky
|
6s7wk8
|
What's the worst way you've been screwed over?
|
A friend entered a giveaway where they had to send in their "worst experience in the bedroom" for some trashy mag. The prize for worst one was 10k and a free trip to a spa. She used my story and my first name and kept the prize for herself. I wouldn't have minded if she had just asked but the least she could have done was cut me some of the prize.
| 3 |
askscience/d1dxjn6
|
4bs8dw
|
Why do the different planets and moons in our solar system have vastly different environments?
|
The ability of a planet (or moon) to retain an atmosphere depends on several things: the mass of the planet, the temperature, and the composition of the atmosphere. The more massive the planet, the more gravity it has to hold onto an atmosphere. The colder it is, the slower the molecules in its atmosphere are moving which makes them less likely to escape. And the lighter the molecules in the atmosphere, the more easily they can escape. So Earth and Venus have thick atmospheres of mostly CO2, O2, and N2 because they are massive planets, but they are not massive enough to retain light gases like hydrogen and helium (Earth loses 50,000 tons of these gases to space every year). Titan is much less massive than Earth or Venus, but it is so cold it can still have a nitrogen atmosphere. And the giant planets are so massive that they have lots of hydrogen and helium in their atmospheres.
| 3 |
AskReddit/ej0ruux
|
b3n7hv
|
Who is the nicest serial killer?
|
I worked with a Scottish criminal psychologist who interviewed lots of serial killers. He said that Dennis nilson was nice and didn't want him to leave when he was interviewing him. It would have been sweet until you realise that's why he drilled holes in people's skulls and poured acid into their brains. Very charming though by all accounts.
| 3 |
AskReddit/c6y0s0m
|
12tq2t
|
What is the weirdest/coolest thing that who have ever found at an antique shop and had to have?
|
I found a little round pewter box with a fairy on top that was made for putting your tooth inside for the tooth fairy to pick up. It had three teeth in it.
| 2 |
AskReddit/csboqm7
|
3adt9p
|
What do you regret wasting the most time doing?
|
Overthinking. Too long do I spend reflecting on a decision I took or a decision I'm contemplating. The former, it can tear me up inside as I spend hours thinking of what I could have done differently or how the outcome could have changed for the better or worse. For the latter, I can overthink choices to the point of doing none of them, meaning the entire process is a waste of time, in my opinion.
| 35 |
AskReddit/cjihtyn
|
2cs5xw
|
What's broken in your house that you just put up with?
|
It's not really "broken," but it is obstructive. My toilet bowl is almost completely brown below the water line. I've tried a few different ways of cleaning it and nothing has worked. I don't own one of those rough scrubby things because I wouldn't know where to put it when I'm done. Where in your apartment can you safely store such a nasty thing? So I've just been dealing with it and not letting anyone come over because I'm embarrassed at how nasty it looks.
| 10 |
AskReddit/e37g0tz
|
92prsw
|
What is your favourite scene in a movie?
|
In Leon (The Professional), when Matilda comes home and sees the hitman outside her flat and keeps walking, she knocks on Leon's door in tears, hoping he'll open the door. You never see him open the door, you only see a flash of light on Natalie Portman's face. Later, when Leon gets shot walking toward the exit, you never hear the gunshot or see the shot being taken, you just see the exit form Leon's perspective, and there's another flash of light. Two of the best scenes in a movie.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/c99e56x
|
1brn43
|
How do black holes work?
|
If you took the sun and compressed it into a little cube, it would still pull on everything just as hard. So the earth would continue rotating just as it is now. But since it's much smaller, you can get quite a bit closer without getting burned (or hitting it). If you take something even bigger than the sun, and compress it even more than a little cube (into just one point, infinitely small), it will actually pull hard enough to suck up light that get's to close. Since it pulls so hard, the light won't bounce back out again, it will just join the little dot of matter. And so you get a black zone around the little dot, which is what we call a black hole (well, what we normal people would call a black hole. In reality it's just the tiny dot that's the real black hole).
| 7 |
AskReddit/cz3psoy
|
41nfq0
|
What is one thing that annoys most people, but doesn't annoy you?
|
Most folks I encounter tend to hate having their spelling or grammar corrected. Personally, I really appreciate it. The way I see things, the Internet is a great place to showcase thoughts and ideas, and I know I'd personally prefer that anything I offer be of the best quality possible. There are those who say that it doesn't matter, of course, or that offering a correction just derails the conversation. but as far as I'm concerned, I hope that people keep it up.
| 8 |
askscience/d0shhzb
|
49ihtu
|
Do plants ever reject a graft the way a human will reject an organ?
|
There must be some level of immune or tissue compatibility, even if it isn't the same as human or mammalian donation. You cannot just graft any plant on to any plant. Stone fruit trees can be grafted onto other stone fruits e.g. peaches to apricots, but not onto apples. Even within the stone fruit family, they don't always taken. Different types of cherries will often take grafting to each other, but don't like to go onto the larger fruits. There are similar constraints with other fruit families - apples and pears can be mostly graft among strains but not outside the fruit type
| 6 |
explainlikeimfive/cr6rxgk
|
35qdq0
|
How can pop music be considered a genre on its own?
|
The actual meaning of the word used to describe music isn't really important. Think about rock. That's just a stone. Metal is self explanatory. Pop music doesn't have to be popular. It just has to adhere to the musical styles of other pop music.
| 6 |
AskReddit/c6fkov4
|
10psj5
|
What are some of the good things about being with your SO?
|
My gf gave me focus, I used to be involved in bad things, drinking far too much, drugs an general idiotic behaviour. We have been together 3 and half years and getting married next year with a plan to start a family soon after, I never use to plan 2 days ahead of me. Now I have something to look forward to an I honestly don't know what I'd do without her
| 2 |
AskReddit/ccv6deo
|
1osjhz
|
What are you truly passionate about?
|
Thought. Can a person be passionate about that? Not necessarily problem solving, but rather just pondering about my own existence. I love it. There was a brief moment where I felt I truly understood and experienced "I think therefore I am." It was a beautiful moment. Unfortunately I left no tracks to my wondrous discovery.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cvh6432
|
3mpmes
|
What's the most illegal thing you've ever done and gotten away with?
|
Most illegal: Friend mentioned, at 2am one drunk/stoned summer night, of a closed down bar with a couple cool neon signs. One thing led to another, and we headed over to the bar in another friends car. Back door on the bar was glass, threw a rock or something through the door and down it went. I walked outa there with a nice Samuel Adams sign but I still feel bad about it. On a regular though, when I'm hungry for Moes I have a birthday coupon I'll edit the date on crudely in paint and print it real small. So I get an entree plus drink for 2 bucks
| 18 |
AskReddit/c3vncv2
|
q8t9s
|
What ideas do you have for making working out fun?
|
Crossfit, with friends. This is fun, not because you have any time to talk in between gasping breaths, but because of what you're doing during the workout and the feeling of accomplishment afterward. If we're just talking about completing reps on bench or whatever, taking stimulants makes it fun.
| 2 |
AskReddit/dvtl7cc
|
84y6m1
|
What social norm has never made any sense to you?
|
Here's a social norm that makes sense: Everybody gets sick. We all understand that illness happens; sometimes it's short term, sometimes it's long term. It can happen at any time, and we should extend extra care to those who are sick so they may recover faster. What I'm about to say is extremely controversial to some: Everyone experiences mental illness. We should all understand that mental illness happens; sometimes it's short term, sometimes it's long term. It can happen at any time, and we should extend extra care to those who are sick so they may recover faster. The social norm that has never made sense to me is how mental illness is treated. We are extremely hesitant to consider people to have mental illness, likely due to how we still perceive the mentally ill as inherently dangerous. The result, however, is that many people who actually are dangerous may never receive treatment and continue to be harmful to themselves and/or others; and yet others suffer from a lack of focus and/or coverage of mental health as a ever present health issue. You go to the dentist twice a year, or at least you're supposed to. How come compulsory psych evals don't happen once or twice a year? Imagine how much suffering that could eliminate by catching potential violence instigators before they act out, or how many instances of domestic abuse could be uncovered by encouraging victims to speak to a trained professional on a semi-regular schedule. A proactive mental health stance, instead of a delayed and reactive one. Edit: Oh heck, this comment blew up! Thanks for gold and kind words. A lot of people cried foul over the use of the word "compulsory" and I admit that it was a poor choice of wording. What I meant was "part of your routine annual health plan". Be it health insurance or national coverage, I strongly believe that people's health plan should cover, and encourage, twice annual mental health checks. Obviously, there's a lot of reform that must be done to ensure there are enough doctors and so it doesn't become another source of over medicating the populace for drug company's sake, but it's entirely possible to do with strong leadership.
| 10,242 |
explainlikeimfive/did1odj
|
6eu95s
|
When you pay with a credit/debit card is there any physical legal tender being moved around?
|
No, cash is essentially a "promise to pay". When you take your $20 to the bank, they take the money, and put it in their legal tender pile, where it becomes part of the bank's "reserves". They then update your account with the "promise to pay." Banks are required to have a sufficient level of "reserves" (i.e. physical assets and/or cash) to cover off the money that customers have physically paid in. Where banks do not have sufficient reserves, this can cause trouble, as they can run out of money. It's happened in the past, and it's very upsetting for the bank and its customers. Most banks have signed guarantee agreements with their country's government. When you use your debit card to pay a store, then it causes a transaction, not between you and the store, but between the store's bank (e.g. Barclays) and your bank (e.g. NatWest). You spend $20 in a store called Debenhams. NatWest tells Barclays to give Debenhams $20. NatWest adds $20 to the total that it "owes" Barclays NatWest removes $20 from your account Barclays adds $20 to Debenhams' account. Now, imagine millions of these transactions taking place per second. It would be pretty inefficient if the Barclays and NatWest organisations continually moved $20 increments around. For each movement of $20 from NatWest to Barclays, there are likely matching transactions the other way. The banks use broker interfaces to cancel out these transactions. The "Promise to pay" aspect here is what makes it work. Essentially, modern commerce is made up of such promises, each of which produce a much smaller movement of actual cash. (EDIT: formatting)
| 4 |
AskReddit/cyzta4b
|
415olg
|
Is smoking really as harmful and addictive as it's portrayed?
|
Yes it is. The main problem with smoking is that it doesn't appear to be universally unhealthy (even though it is) I was a nurse and I saw 70 and 80 year old people who had smoked for 50 years plus, and they might not appear to have anything wrong with them. My grandmother was like that. But the flip side of that is the 20 and 30 year olds maybe smoking for only 10 years but develop aggressive lung, throat and mouth cancers.You could live for decades with no issues (well no life threatening ones at least, but you will certainly have effects that make your life grind to a halt) but it isn't a gamble that is worth taking.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/e4zzpfc
|
9b31a7
|
What force causes supernova to explode?
|
The star is held in a state of equilibrium, an outwards pressure from ongoing fusion, balanced against the inwards force of gravity from the total mass of the material. Some supernovae occur when the outwards pressure is disrupted, and thus no longer resists gravity, causing the star to collapse violently inwards, and then 'rebound' in a violent explosion. One possible cause for this would be a massive star moving to the production of iron in its core. Producing iron consumes energy, instead of producing it. As a result, the outwards 'push' drops rapidly, while gravity continues to 'squeeze.' Another form of supernova can occur when a degenerate star, in other words a star that is already 'past its prime' if you will, accumulates enough material to reignite fusion. One way this can occur is in a binary system, if the star pulls material off its companion star. This tends to disrupt the degenerate star.
| 9 |
explainlikeimfive/ee1zcvy
|
afxc7a
|
How did we come to the conclusion that gravity has the same speed as light?
|
We measured it. By which I mean we measured both the gravity and light coming off a stellar collision and found that the difference could be explained by the vacuum of space being very slightly imperfect so the light wasn't going at the speed of light in a vacuum, while the gravity was. Since the collision happened 130 million lightyear away/years ago and the light and gravity arrived only 1.7 seconds apart, there really isn't any better explanation available than that they were going at basically the same speed.
| 10 |
AskReddit/dma24zm
|
6wqy9o
|
Why does public transportation matter when it fails to turn a profit?
|
Because infrastructure in general isn't meant to run a profit. Instead, it's supposed to provide a service or utility that allows for greater economic activity and output that in turns drives the economy and ultimately increases tax revenue.
| 4 |
explainlikeimfive/cyps2t0
|
3zx9sm
|
Who decides the borders for states within a country and by what logic?
|
As others have said, it depends on how the government parceled it out. If you look at the western states, you see a lot of nice, straight lines in the borders. Some exceptions, sure, but it generally holds true. That occurred because the government decided to carve up the land before Americans settled there. They parceled it in a way that's logical to us. You don't get that as often in the east. Other borders were drawn due to disputes. Delaware? Originally part of Pennsylvania. Seceded from the state when the American Revolution broke out because of continuing, strong disagreements with the government of Pennsylvania (PA was so large and populous at the time that they could pretty much ignore anything the counties that now reside in modern Delaware wanted). West Virginia? It was a collection of counties that seceded from the state of Virginia due to disagreements over allegiance in the Civil War, and they never re-integrated. But, while the governmental disputes create some borders, agreements create others. For example, in the 1820s, Michigan Territory and the state of Ohio were locked in dispute over a stretch of land called the Toledo Strip. Both claimed ownership. In 1836, the federal government made a deal with Michigan: admission as a state and ownership of the upper peninsula, which isn't connected to Michigan; in return, the disputed strip of land would be ceded to Ohio. Michigan accepted the agreement, which is why the upper peninsula is part of Michigan. If Michigan hadn't agreed or had taken the Toledo Strip and the agreement never made, the upper peninsula would probably have eventually been incorporated into Wisconsin. If it looks like there's no rhyme or reason, you just end up having to look into the history of that particular border. You'll eventually discover what people were thinking at the time. Each one is unique.
| 2 |
AskReddit/ce8rbkd
|
1tk1px
|
What's the weirdest thing you caught anyone doing in public?
|
I saw a young black kid try to burn down a YMCA. He threw a plastic bottle in the heater of the sauna. I caught it in time and probably saved the building from burning down. Not sure what happened to the kid, dont think he even got in trouble.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cksxijk
|
2hic02
|
Have you ever listened to an intense crime in progress on a police scanner?
|
Yeah actually I listened to one with friends about a year ago about a guy who robbed a convenience store. He got found several miles away hiding under a bridge and had lost his shoes
| 2 |
AskHistorians/cqcdj85
|
32kbyw
|
When and why did "chief," as opposed to any other high-ranking title, become the standard English title held by Aboriginal American leaders?
|
Chief was originally used in English meaning "the principal or most important part" (circa 1300). In the 1500s it grew into a noun meaning "tribal leader", in relation to the Gaelic clan systems of Scotland and Ireland. It was later used in relation to American tribes as a natural extension of this definition. This answers your question, but I think a more interesting question is: >When and why did "chief," as opposed to any other high-ranking title, become the standard English noun applied to Gaelic clan leaders?
| 58 |
AskReddit/dx0py46
|
8aqkpn
|
What items should you NOT buy at the Dollar store?
|
Ziploc bags - I forget how many they put in their packagaes, but its a tiny amount compared to what you can get at the grocery store. Paper towels / Toilet paper - often they'll be sold as single rolls, and they're terrible quality. You can get a better deal on name brand stuff when buying in bulk. Hefty trash bags - same as the Ziploc bags, they just give you a tiny amount. Off-brand 2 or 3 liter soda bottles - these are just awful. Have some respect for yourself. Generic Beer - Unless you're trying to quit drinking altogether.
| 27 |
AskReddit/dhc3nbs
|
6a67qv
|
What animal is an evolutionary failure and why?
|
The answer to this question depends on how you define "evolutionary failure". If we're going with a group of organisms nearing the end of their evolutionary timeline, I'd have to go with horses. Dozens of extinct genuses of equids, and there are only horses, donkeys, and zebras left.
| 3 |
AskReddit/ekecy6f
|
bavxcj
|
What historical figure would you like to meet, kidnap and replace with a different historical figure?
|
I would say that slave that kept stealing the plans of the British and replace him with Trump. as even before he was in the White House, he was a prominent figure, and now he is probably going to be in history books forever. but I'm not saying this to get rid of him from the current time as our time would most likely cease as that slave was VERY good at what he did, the moment you get anyone who was less good and put him in there, it becomes worse. Oh, and I'm presuming that he basically is immortal until the time at which the dude I kidnapped would've died and dies in the same way and then they are swapped back and he becomes whatever he would've been in the new timeline, alive once more. So. I'm not like someone who wishes Britain won, but I'd be very interested to see what would happen to the present if you removed one unsung hero from that period of time and replace him with the most. "unignorable" person in our time.
| 2 |
AskReddit/co4hab2
|
2u2az3
|
To Redditors who have successfully learned a new or more than one language, how is the process like ?
|
I learned swedish by doing a rosetta stone free trial for a week just to get the alphabet, pronunciation and a few words. Then I went to the library and read all my favorite books in swedish. I already knew what was in the books and after a couple thousand pages I was fluent enough to start speaking. Having someone to talk with made all the difference after the first year. I'm still struggling with norwegian and bulgarian because I lack the most important factor; immersion. Fun fact; the first time I realized swedish was 'clicking' is when I was tripping on shrooms and went for a bike ride and realized I was having a conversation with myself in swedish.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/dgx3di0
|
68b5l6
|
Why are eggs so ubiquitously useful in cooking?
|
Eggs have proteins and other nutrients, and are somewhat neutral-tasting. But what makes them useful is that the proteins in the egg white unfold and bind to each other when heated, congealing from liquid to a jelly-like solid. Thus, adding egg whites to a recipe is like adding a non-toxic (and actually quite nutritious) glue that will hold together whatever the other ingredients are.
| 69 |
explainlikeimfive/cr5s1wl
|
35mk37
|
Why cats only move their heads to look, instead of their eyes, like humans or some dogs?
|
In most cases and when the motion's big enough, humans wouldn't. Watch the gallery in any tennis match youtube video as an example. People could easily use just their eyes to track the ball, but they turn their heads to follow it. The eyes are used for finer movements like following a sentence that you're texting from a character to the next (try it) or small rapid movements like a single finger wagging around. But the default motion for something larger like your whole hand waggling around (try that too) is to use your neck to turn your head so you're facing the target, and then your eyes will twitch to fine-tune where you're looking.
| 4 |
AskReddit/cvyw460
|
3onwyt
|
What do you do to feel better when you're sad?
|
I feed my sadness a little bit. Listen to a song that makes me sad. Let the feeling run its course. Then I do something for someone else, even if it's something small like feed my dog or give her an ear scratch. Doing something for someone else, without fail, makes me feel better.
| 5 |
AskReddit/e3zxri4
|
96ej4n
|
How do you deal with the fears and stresses of growing up?
|
Don't go to bed without having done at least something to improve yourself. Learn something, run/lift/train, practice something, make decisions like saving an extra dollar and taking the stairs instead of the escalator whatever - the point is that if you ever find yourself in a situation where you end up having to fight through or survive through something, then you will at least be the best version of yourself. It's a bit like that quote, "On the day that you die, the person you become will meet the person you could have been". There is also nothing wrong with feeling fear/stress, it's perfectly fine to think of these situations and then premeditate how you might or could react. If you also know that something terrible could potentially happen, then you have two choices: (1) If you can do something about it, great! Do something about it. (2) If you can't do anything about it, great! Don't bother with it and spend your time doing something else.
| 2 |
askscience/dc8w86k
|
5n2q3n
|
What stops us from being able to see SUSY particles if we are able to see standard particles just fine?
|
SUSY, if it exists in nature, is what is known as a broken symmetry. Exact SUSY would, as you probably know, give exact copies of all Standard Model (SM) particles but with spin differing by one half. We don't see this though, which means, if it exists at all, SUSY must be broken by some effect. The result is that the SUSY partners must be much heavier than the SM equivalent - current constraints mean that they must be ~1TeV or heavier. A caveat of this is that we don't expect them to be much heavier than say ~10TeV, because at higher masses the symmetry is less appealing. This is because a big draw of SUSY is that it fixes the hierarchy problem - this basically refers to a problem with the mass of the Higgs boson and it's higher order corrections. For slightly broken SUSY, the superpartners more or less fix the problem with the Higgs mass. However if the SUSY partners are really really heavy then the problem isn't fixed at all. this would make SUSY less appealing. That said, if we saw a stupidly heavy SUSY particle at any energy it would be interesting, it just means there is less motivation to believe they exist. tl;dr - SUSY particles must be heavy, which means they don't interact as much with the SM particles, so we can't detect them easily.
| 5 |
AskReddit/cp93awo
|
2yfrxh
|
What was the most complex dream you ever had?
|
I rememeber my dreams most nights and they are always bizarre, but I think the most complex thing I've found after recording them is that they all happen in a town I've constructed in my head. I could draw the town if I wanted and similar things always happen in the same places. I've been told the different parts could represent the different aspects of me. Like the tall tower being my head and the old house being my heart and so on. Once I worked this out I realised how complex it was!
| 3 |
AskReddit/dkddywl
|
6nzbyw
|
What country do you live in, and what is the best thing and worst thing about living there?
|
Wales. As an English man living in Wales it's great, nice countryside, cheap houses, good jobs. Just a shame the natives hate me for where I was born.
| 2 |
AskHistorians/d048xmy
|
46b4tr
|
Why was there no Scandinavian unification during the 1800 century similar to the Italian or German unifications?
|
There were strong scandinavist leanings after the danish lost Norway to Sweden and after Sweden lost Finland to Russia in the early 19th century. While certainly popular, the movement had little solid support from the upper echelons of Scancinavian society, and there was no obvious leader in the same way Prussia were for a german union. Still, there were some cautious cooperation between Sweden (with Norway in tow) and Denmark, especially among liberals. This ended quite abruptly after the second Schleswig War of 1864, where the danish called on Sweden for assistance on Scandinavist grounds and the swedes refused, partly recognizing a lost cause, partly being on the german side. Though the movement has some support even today and contributed to the decision to use the same currency, though the nordic kronor has since diverged in value. If we ask why in general we enter the realm of speculation which, as I've understood it, is frowned upon on this forum. Certainly though, the matter of relative power was a problem, both between Sweden-Norway and Denmark as well as the relative weakness of scandinavian states in international context. That there were no common language, no clear political center and no strong support from the political establishment were all contributing factors as well.
| 7 |
AskReddit/d1sujge
|
4dognq
|
What's the best thing you or someone you've seen do on their last day of work?
|
I did my job still. I made sure everything was done and finished so they wouldn't be behind when I was gone the next Monday. When I finished all my work up I made sure I made myself completely useful to whatever else my bosses needed. they rewarded me by having me to bullshit work until the day was over.
| 5 |
AskReddit/dicd3lu
|
6eqxed
|
How come most people find it hard to believe there is no life after death, yet nobody questions if they were alive before birth?
|
Because you are demonstrably alive before birth. If you've ever felt a baby kicking it's mother you would be in very little doubt about that. I don't believe there are many cases of someone who's genuinely dead kicking the inside of a coffin.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/cnp9fqx
|
2sfub1
|
Why does it feel like I'm walking really fast after getting off the treadmill?
|
I've often wondered this as well. When I jump off it feels like I'm in hyperspace. There's a great answer above as to why it happens, but to reduce the effect slowly bring down the speed of the treadmill over a period of a couple minutes. Even bring it down to 1 for 15-20 seconds. It will help reduce the sensation.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/exfyhwn
|
csnvaa
|
What does "meta" mean?
|
"Meta" means "referring to itself." So "metagaming" isn't just playing the game, it's playing with the way that people play the game. If I play rock, paper scissors with a stranger, I'm just playing a game, whatever. But if I watch that person play and learn that they always throw out paper first, and if they lose to rock they'll always throw out rock the next round, then I'm "metagaming," because I'm learning the strategies that someone uses to play the game and using that to win, instead of the actual rules of the game itself. "Meta" occurs a lot in reddit threads when the thread itself becomes self-referential. Like if I make a comment on some thread about peanut butter, and then on another unrelated comment about coffee, someone brings up "Yeah, but where would you put the peanut butter," that's a meta-joke in the thread, because it relies on reading other comments in the thread to understand the joke.
| 3 |
AskReddit/d1unhfx
|
4dv6uv
|
Who are the people who died at the top of their game?
|
Jim Morrison literally died at the top of his game. LA Woman was the last album released before his death and it's also their best. Freddie Mercury didn't die at the top of his game, but knowing death was imminent, Queen made some of the most beautiful and accepting songs of all time. Sean Taylor, former NFL player was considered one of the best players in the game before his house was robbed and he was shot. Walter White. Former drug kingpin of the south west. Yes I know, he was a terrible human. But this doesn't really say good or bad, just who died at the top of their game.
| 2 |
AskReddit/di4jnm2
|
6dq8ix
|
What is the weirdest thing you're self conscious about?
|
Personally I'm weirdly self conscious about how fast my windshield wipers are going. I'm always afraid other people are gonna see how fast they're going and think I'm weird for having them go that fast.
| 11 |
AskReddit/dz09ah4
|
8jk6fi
|
What's your favorite pizza ?
|
I already get a lot of flack because I like pineapple on my pizza, but truthfully my absolute favorite pizza is pineapple, ham, mushroom, and jalapeno. It hits all the right places. It's savory, it's sweet, and it's spicy. Nobody I've ever known has liked the same combination, and nobody probably ever will. I can never convince anyone to try it, but it's the bomb.
| 2 |
AskReddit/d8s4rul
|
57i2fh
|
Why do some people fight for religious freedom only to pressure you into believing their religion is the only one that is "approved of" by God?
|
Pressure you? How? Do you mean attempt to persuade or convince? If it is wrong to attempt to convince people to accept your ideas then liberals, conservatives, feminists, libertarians, etc. should also take note.
| 5 |
askscience/ckv8e1c
|
2hqmzh
|
How is ice/water erosion prevented or minimized in jet engines?
|
I would say first that the working medium is very different. High temperature, high pressure steam / superheated water is very different than dealing with air that has a little water (relatively speaking) mixed in. If you dunked a gas turbine engine directly into a tank of water it'd rip itself apart immediately. The big commercial airliner turbofans are designed so no amount of water that would be encountered while flying would normally cause a flameout at high power settings. Keep in mind that the majority of the air that passes through the big first stage fan section of an airliner turbofan never goes through the engine core and those large first stage fan blades have durable leading edges meant to minimize wear from rain, hail or sand. Additionally, centripetal forces fling water, ice and debris out to the edge of the fan and away from the engine core. Any water that is taken in is quickly vaporized in the compressor stages. And the intake sections of jet engines where air actually flows into the core (the more vulnerable compressor stages) are designed specifically to avoid forming large amounts of ice, they'll do things like heat struts and intake walls with engine bleed air to prevent ice formation.
| 7 |
AskHistorians/csp7ukh
|
3bsmzt
|
What was the relationship between ancient Greek colonies and the long standing cities on the mainland?
|
In general colonies were considered completely independent cities and were founded as such--Syracuse, Tarentum, Cyrene, etc. owed no political power or loyalty to their founding cities. Colonies were obviously generally close to their mother cities, as they shared mutual traditions, cults, and dialect and often had close economic ties as well. But they were perfectly independent--Corcyra, for example, was a Corinthian colony but was constantly at war with her mother city (Thucydides even believed that the first naval battle in history was fought between Corcyra and Corinth, and conflict between Corcyra and Corinth shortly before the Peloponnesian War helped provide a major spark for the beginning of the conflict). Special types of colonies, in which settlers retained citizenship in their mother cities and where the mother city had political and legal powers within the daughter city did exist, but are the (rather rare) exception, and far from the rule. The Athenians set up cleruchies, a uniquely Athenian imperial institution, in many of the rebellious or frontier regions of their empire. Cleruchs were given a land grant by lot, and thus became eligible for elevation to the hoplite class, which required land holdings. The cleruchies were therefore essentially military garrisons of a permanent type, and could be relied on to police surrounding areas--they were common along the Thracian coast (though possibly not Amphipolis) and in areas that had rebelled. Often critical cities that had been seized in war were settled by cleruchs (e.g. Aegina, whose citizens were expelled in 431 and the city settled as a cleruchy). But obviously this was the exception--colonists set out to found new cities, and cleruchies were not properly colonies, as they were politically dependent on Athens and often weren't particularly self-sustaining, as seen by their retention of Athenian citizenship
| 2 |
AskReddit/cfothav
|
1yy5o3
|
What is the worst side-effect you've experienced?
|
Methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis. It's a chemo drug, so the standard chemo side effects apply, although to a lesser degree than someone undergoing cancer treatment. Thinning hair, nausea. But the worst are the mouth ulcers. Methotrexate actually killed my mother.liver failure. The stuff I'm on now has fewer side effects, but one of the main ones listed is lymphoma. Awesome.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/die6joj
|
6ez12q
|
How can Wal-mart sell so many items for cheaper than other big box store prices?
|
Wal-Mart is notorious for selling lower quality versions of similar products at other stores. They have other angles, but above all, keep an eye on the quality at Wal-Mart, it is noticeably less than other stores.
| 8 |
AskReddit/c9vg125
|
1dzuxw
|
What profession is the most overpaid?
|
It's worth pointing out that a lot of the things people are calling "overpaid professions" - movie star, sportsman, etc - aren't really professions. Those guys are more akin to companies that have large revenues, from selling a very marketable product. In fact, in most cases, they're not only like companies, they are companies. It's not really a fair comparison to look at what a company has brought in, and put it beside a salary.
| 173 |
AskReddit/d56ulx7
|
4s6fzi
|
What is the bravest thing you've ever seen someone do?
|
My son when he was 4 years old. I was sitting on the porch with him when a hornet flew up and started buzzing around us. I told him to sit very still until it flew away. The hornet was hovering very close to my face, and suddenly my son jumped up and snatched the hornet out of the air, yelling, "I'll save you, Mommy!" Of course it stung him, but through his tears he said, "I saved you, didn't I, Mommy?" I've never been so proud of someone.
| 11 |
AskReddit/c6lw2vq
|
11eyki
|
What is one common grammatical error that drives you crazy?
|
There are three newish ones that have been driving me crazy recently. People confusing breath with breathe. Breath is the noun and is pronounced BRETH. Breathe is the verb and is pronounced BREETHE. Hint: the silent e at the end of breathe makes the first e a long one. You do not breath. You breathe. When you breathe, you draw breath. This one jars my brain every time I see it, and I see it a lot. People confusing faze with phase. Mark, being an open-minded sort, was unfazed by his young son's dress-up-in-Mommy's-clothes phase. People not knowing the difference between phenomenon and phenomena. Phenomenon is singular. If you have more than one phenomenon, then you have phenomena.
| 9 |
explainlikeimfive/de5ulth
|
5vubz7
|
If a country is at war and another government blows up your property, what is your remedy?
|
Even if insurers provided you coverage for war time loses, their total loses would be so high that they would be unable to pay out without government intervention. Therefore, at the end of the day, it is likely up to the government as to whether your home would be covered as they would need to bail out the insurers. (That's assuming you're covered for such a scenario, which many policies exclude)
| 2 |
AskReddit/etoua5k
|
ccrlcj
|
What compliment did a stranger give you that made your day?
|
An old lady stopped me in the grocery store and said "You are beautiful and you have a great smile. I thought I'd stop and tell you because we all need to hear it sometime" Made my day. And I chose to make other people's day because of it, hopefully. If you admire or like something about someone, tell them."we all need to hear it sometime."
| 3 |
AskReddit/ehy8zo1
|
ay4uib
|
What is your significant other's most annoying habit, but you wont tell him/her?
|
His snoring. It's disgusting and most certainly annoying. I usually play soft music/podcast off my phone with some headphones are night. As he falls asleep with the TV playing and I don't care for his taste in shows. He'll try so very hard to be sweet and wear headphones to allow me to play my stuff out loud. But the whole reason I wear headphones and do music, is so I don't have to hear him snoring and gargling in his sleep. So if he can't hear me, but I can hear him. It defeats the purpose, because he snores louder than my phone can play at Max 100% volume, so there's no way I can hear with it at 5-10% volume to sleep
| 3 |
AskReddit/e99kg89
|
9v4mc2
|
Why do some people get very upset when their partner forgets a holiday or anniversary even though they know that they love them?
|
I think they must be very early on in the relationship. My husband and I have our wedding date engraved on the inside of our wedding bands. and I still forget it. We kind of tag-team special dates- “Are we doing Valentine’s Day? Maybe Netflix and nachos?” Birthdays we go a little bigger for, because that’s more personal and specific (plus, cake is delicious). But joint holidays like anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, etc.I frankly don’t know why someone would be upset if their SO forgot about that. Life happens. I’d be more concerned with the relationship on a day-to-day basis than some Instagrammable big gesture one day out of the year. I guess it depends on your priorities.
| 2 |
AskReddit/cyvv6z6
|
40ooq7
|
How would you go about telling a co-worker that his shoes stink?
|
Leave him a nicely-worded note that explains the situation and doesn't identify yourself at all. Do not tell a single person that you are doing it because then there is a chance "stink-shoes" finds out. There is a guy at my work that smells bad and says he has only been told twice in his life that he doesn't smell good. Make them aware of the problem and most people will work to fix it.
| 2 |
AskReddit/ci6kche
|
281p3u
|
What popular movie has the biggest plot hole in it that no one seems to notice?
|
From Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade: the "Word of God" challenge makes a big point about certain death befalling anybody who steps onto the wrong letters - this is proved when Indy gets his ancient alphabet wrong and steps onto a J. The trouble is, the only way he can stop himself falling through the hole is by grabbing hold of the adjacent letters, neither of which is the correct one.
| 251 |
AskReddit/c1xu3d1
|
hexgp
|
Who works for Regal Entertainment?
|
I work at a regal as a concessionare/usher/box. It sucks. Especially unpaid, forced, 35 minute breaks. But maybe if you're a manager, you should, because they run the show and can send employees home at will. Depends how big the theater is.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/dawx3at
|
5h2n6b
|
Why do people faint at high G forces?
|
A blackout can be caused by the G forces involved forcing blood away from your head or making it difficult for blood to reach it. You faint because your brain is not receiving oxygen (cerebral hypoxia). That is absolutely potentially dangerous in extreme situations but amusement parks certainly have to be designed to mitigate the effect received such that a normal person should not experience danger. However anyone with weak conditions or anything that would make them more susceptible to G-force influence would do well to stay away and these rides will have a multitude of warnings or even disclaimers that have to be signed before you can get on. Note that pilots can also suffer the reverse which is a redout (too much blood is forced up to their head).
| 3 |
AskReddit/cw15wx1
|
3owtzv
|
How would people react if we actually observe evidence of alien life?
|
Would the majority of people really care that much? Sure a lot of the population would be amazed follow it intensely, but the basic population, think they'd lose interest real fast unless the aliens declared war on Earth for some reason.
| 3 |
explainlikeimfive/d8rvnn6
|
57gwsu
|
Why do some people's hand become numb after they laugh?
|
I've never heard of this phenomenon before, but I have an idea of what might cause it. Presumably you're talking about really big, gasping bouts of laughter, right? It's possible that someone laughing like this would hyperventilate. If someone breathes too much, they'll blow off lots of the carbon dioxide in their blood. This makes the blood a little less acidic, causing a temporary condition know as respiratory alkalosis. The symptoms of this include light headedness, pins-and-needles, and weakness in the hands and feet. One the person's breathing returns to normal, the level of carbon dioxide in the blood builds up again, the alkalosis goes away and symptoms disappear. As I say, this is just a theory. To confirm this, you'd need to do a blood gas test on someone who gets this symptom after laughing, and you'd have to do the test while they were experiencing it. Edit: and it goes without saying that unexplained weakness or numbness should be evaluated by a medical professional. This is not medical advice.
| 3 |
AskReddit/csxoucn
|
3cou2f
|
What's one of your favorite albums that most people don't know about?
|
Hank & Cupcakes is a Israeli duo out of NYC. Their two albums "Naked" and "Cash 4 Gold" are phenomenal. I've been to two of their shows and the showmanship they have is amazing and they are even better live. The only other fan of them I know is my cousin.
| 2 |
askscience/c454dm4
|
reaa4
|
How does a 3D printer work?
|
3D printing works by building up an object layer by layer. There are several 3D printing technologies and they are are all quite different. Selective laser sintering (SLS) technique uses a high-powered laser to fuse particles of plastic, metal, ceramic, or glass. At the end of the job, the remaining material is recycled. Another one is fused deposition modeling (FDM), in this technique ABS plastic or another thermoplastic is melted and deposited through a heated extrusion nozzle. Multi-jet modeling (among the fastest) is an inkjet-like 3D printing system that sprays a colored, glue-like binder onto successive layers of powder where the object is to be formed. This method supports color printing. The first 3D printers to come to market, made in the mid-1990s by Stratasys with help from IBM, used FDM, as do many personal printers.
| 6 |
AskReddit/ew03pjo
|
cm5jmh
|
What's the nicest and coolest thing a complete random stranger has ever done for you?
|
I was the random stranger my friend was going to introduce me to one of his friends at a bar before I met him I noticed he was hitting it off with a girl and saw she was drinking a beer so I went to the end of the bar and said to the bartender “see that girl down there yeah here get her a beer and say it’s from that gentlemen next to her” I met him later that night and 2 years later he and the girl are in a long going relationship
| 3 |
AskReddit/ef5s29d
|
akl5o7
|
What do you think are the main characteristics of great leaders?
|
EDIT: TL:DR at the bottom I've worked for and with quite a few leaders in my life - currently I'm mostly serving as a consultant to VP-level with a few high-flying Directors in between. The objectives of a leader when it comes to people management is to make the group greater than the sum of it's parts. That ability to make people independently work towards a common goal, is actually quite rare, but once you see it, you are not in doubt anymore. A lot of people think that their boss is "nice" or "friendly", but that should honestly be secondary to being "motivating" or "leading". I'll take a boss who can provide direction or sparring, over a boss I can talk soccer with, any day of the week. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to define exactly what makes the difference, but here are some traits that I've noticed are shared among the excellent leaders I've seen: 1. Ability to articulate goals and objectives so they feel meaningful to everyone If people don't know how their contribution affects the overall outcome, no one cares. 2. Ability to provide enough context for it to be repeatable One thing that the "friendly" and "nice" bosses often get wrong, is to tell people what they need doing, and then try to weasel out of telling them a proper why. It becomes a little like calling in favors with your employees. "Hey John, I really need this thing done, because my manager is asking for it". If I ever hear one of the guys I'm consulting fall in to this cop-out upwards-appeal I will strike down quite hard. John-on-the-floor shouldn't worry about what you need to provide to your manager - that's your problem. Tell him what you need, and tell him how it fits in to the objectives of his team (your team) and/or the company as a whole. It's fine if it's short - actually it's usually good if it can remain accurate - but the whole point is that John needs to be able to tell his coworkers, friends and wife that he is working on this thing because it is needed for XYZ. That empowers John, and makes him feel part of a whole, instead of having to come up with a reason of his own. I usually tell my clients that if you can't explain your people why they are doing a certain task, then you ask upwards whether it's really needed until you get an answer. If you get no proper answer, then work towards eliminating that task instead. 3. Ability to absorb and process information and make quick decisions If you are a good leader, you will have people coming to you from all directions needed your input, your validation, your 2 cents and your "hey can you just look at this" attention constantly. That's a good thing, but it's very taxing, and even more so if you're a slow reader, or the personality type that needs to 'ponder'. It's a fine line between being rash and being assertive, but this might be why the higher layers of organizations tend to attract people who also has some less attractive character traits. It requires a great deal of confidence to make a big decision after having only spent a few minutes skimming, but the alternative is "analysis paralysis" where the decision is postponed until ALL information is available. Spoiler alert: hindsight is 20/20, and very few decisions can stand the test of time. A good decision made timely, is way better than a great decision made too late. This also means that holding grudges towards other people for eventually-bad decisions is pointless. Judge their decisions based on the knowledge they had available at the time - not on the knowledge you have now. Final words This turned really long, but wanted to provide a little context. Being a great leader is hard work, and it's an acquired skill for 99% of people. Nobody would expect to be the best tennis player in the world first time they are handed a racket - being a leader is no different. TL:DR: Set direction, give goals, give the "whys", read fast, be smart, be confident, don't dwell, practice, practice, practice.
| 2 |
AskReddit/elb7wfe
|
bf6hgq
|
What is the smartest thing you’ve seen an animal do?
|
I've a dog that's a con artist. I'm sitting in his favorite chair. He looks at me like, "Are you gonna move?" I just look at the dog and laugh. Five minutes later the dog is going apeshit in the back yard. I hear growling and snarling. Something is wrong. I open the back door to see WTF is going on. The dog races between my legs. Before I can even turn around and close the door he's already in the chair with "You got out of it. The chair is mine!" body language. Note that he's done similar to the other dog except that instead of growling and snarling, I've watched him trot around with the other dog's favorite toy in his mouth just taunting the other dog. The moment the other dog jumps out of the chair to get the toy, the Smart Dog drops the toy and jumps into the chair. He understands the idea of baiting to get what he wants and he understands that different dogs/people require different bait.
| 3 |
AskReddit/cre6d0z
|
36i9fy
|
What fashion statement/trend makes you automatically judge a strangers character or personality?
|
ear stretching. No offense meant, honestly, but it makes me think they're pretty sure their band is about to blow up, so they're only working at the coffee joint for a limited engagement. A nice thought, but not always realistic.
| 3 |
AskReddit/clajqdy
|
2jcz2b
|
What was the biggest mistake that your parents made while raising you?
|
My parents divorced when I was a baby. The few times I think they may have spoken, it was all just hurtful things towards each other. Talking about each other, it was all mean about the other parent just to sway me to their own side. They never parented together, and used me as a tool to hurt the other. I now have a boatload of mental health issues to deal with. I don't care how much I could potentially dislike my future children's father. I will never bad mouth him in front of them. We will suck it up if need be and parent together with respect.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/cscuola
|
3ai9a8
|
Why does ice stick to my hand when I pick it up?
|
This inly happens when you pick up ice that is colder than the freezing point. Your fingers heat up some of the ice on the edge to the point where it melts, but then your finger cools down, and the rest of the cube refreezes that water on your finger.
| 2 |
AskReddit/erlhe91
|
c2odxi
|
If a mirror reverses right and left, why doesn't it reverse up and down?
|
Because left and right are subjective to the viewer (up and down aren’t). The mirror doesn’t actually reverse left and right so much as it makes it seem reversed. Just like “stage right” is left to the audience and right to the performers, it’s all about perspective.
| 2 |
explainlikeimfive/d7z295v
|
545ntw
|
How Did Baby Boomers ruin the economy and housing market?
|
Well blaming it on ONLY them isn't necessarily true. Long story short: someone approved giving big loans to people buying houses. More people bought houses and kept making money (in equity) by selling their previous home(s) and buying more houses. As long as the market kept increasing in value through inflation thanks to the increased interest in buying homes, they keep making money to pay back banks and a little extra on top. Eventually there was too much selling, and just like stocks, the value dropped due a saturated market. People panicked and wanted to sell, causing value to drop even faster. My family isn't comprised of baby boomers. My family did this, and we lost quite a lot.
| 2 |
AskReddit/e9bb3wh
|
9vdllc
|
What should kids of about 10-12 be able to do without adult supervision?
|
By the time I was 11 or 12 I did pretty much everything without adult supervision. I had to be home by a certain time, but in the summers, I would leave the house in the morning and get home at 10:30. If I was going some place that wasn't an established friends house, I would call a parent and let them know where I was going to be.
| 4 |
explainlikeimfive/d4b9ugn
|
4obmsf
|
Why aren't housing prices included in the CPI or inflation measurements?
|
The price of shelter is included in the CPI, and makes up 33% of it (although a small amount of that is for hotels, not long-term shelter). For renters, it is pretty straight-forward. They count the rent. For home owners, they count the "owners equivalent rent", that is, how much it would cost to rent a place equivalent to the one you own.
| 3 |
AskReddit/cp7vyhb
|
2yazf5
|
What are some things from the years 2000-2010 that people in the future will describe as "so 2000's"?
|
In Theaters June 2028 Put on your Uggs and Crocs and set up a killer iPod playlist, because this summer, director Amber Sanchez takes us back to 2006 in her hilarious coming of age romantic comedy "Times Like These". After his father got a new job at an up and coming social media company in LA, seventeen year old Alex Stewart (Aidyn Rogers) is uprooted from life in small town Illinois and must now navigate the Southern California social scene. Not knowing anyone, Alex spends his time stuck on his ex girlfriend's Myspace page. All seems hopeless until Alex meets Jennifer (Khaleesi Decker) a beautiful and smart cheerleader who is way out of his league. Alex' attempts to woo Jennifer fail miserably after he accidentally pokes Jennifer on Facebook, causing Jennifer to think he's a loser. Alex finally begins to show some confidence and charisma with Jennifer and gets her number. Unfortunately, Alex when tries to look smooth and whips open his Motorola Razr to take her number, he loses grip of the phone, hitting Jennifer in the head. Not only is his phone broken, but Jennifer thinks Alex is an idiot. English teacher, Thad Murphy (Dane Cook) takes pity on Alex and resolves to help him become the cool enough to woo Jennifer. Thad and Alex work together and eventually discover that both Alex and Jennifer share a love of poetry. The two bond over their new found common interests and a relationship blossoms. Conflict emerges when Jennifer elects to go to college at UCLA and Alex gets a full scholarship to Notre Dame. All seems lost until Alex' father reveals the nature of his work project, a social media platform that enables users to chat face to face via webcam, allowing Alex and Jennifer to continue their relationship. Soundtrack: In Da Club, It Wasn't Me, Times Like These, Lose Yourself, Hey Ya!, Beverly Hills, The Middle, All the Small Things, Ignition Remix
| 54 |
AskReddit/e5pf6t4
|
9ej4fg
|
What was the last thing that made you cry?
|
Recently I lost a second sibling to drug overdose. This happened a month and a half ago and she was put on life support after arriving at the hospital and being recessitated. I traveled over 1,000 miles immediately to be by her side and help my parents in making the decision to discontinue the life support due to the fact that according to the doctors her brain activity was almost non existent and there was no chance of her coming back. It was a lot tougher than I ever could have imagined. Saying goodbye and having to leave the room knowing that was the last time I would ever be able to hold her hand and see my little sister in person was the most recent thing to make me cry.
| 4 |
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