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[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Can someone explain to me how Formula One works LI5?" ]
Formula One racing is generally considered the most high-tech racing circuit in the world. Each year, the different teams (called "constructors") work to make their cars better, spending millions of dollars. This means that each year, different teams will have the technological advantage. This year, for example, Red Bull Racing switched from the RB6 to the RB7 model, and also switched from Bridgestone to Pirelli tires. Since winning in this sport depends both on how good a driver you are and how good the car you're driving is, there are two championships each year - a Drivers' Championship (won last year by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel from Germany) and a Constructor's Championship (won by Red Bull Racing).
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "why do humans perceive numbers in a logarithmic way instead of a linear way?" ]
Going from $1 to $8 is a 700% increase, while going from $501 to $508 is less than 2%. It's more about percentages than raw numbers.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "In cases where people die of an allergic reaction, why is the reaction the body chooses one that kills you rather than letting in whatever its trying to keep out?" ]
Allergies are a *defect* (like a software bug) in the way our body's immune system works. Because having an extra-powerful immune system mostly kept our ancestors alive against many *real* threats, evolution didn't weed these people out, so we inherited this problem.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "with taxes on almost everything, how is it that governments don't eventually end up with most of the money in the economy?" ]
> How is it, that the receivers of this tax money, don't just eventually end up with most of it, and the rest of us end up broke? The government spends a huge amount of money on goods and services. All those people working for the government get paid, all those things the government use are bought from suppliers, etc. In the US we have fairly consistently been spending more than is taken in with taxes.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do game designers fix glitches in their games when the cause of the glitch makes no sense?" ]
The cause of glitches is usually some miscalculation on the programmer's part. Fixing the glitch comes down to finding out where this miscalculation is, and fixing it.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do showers get dirty if water and soap run through them all the time?" ]
1) water drops evaporate and the dissolved minerals are left behind 2) soap scum is left behind. It sticks to surfaces and doesn't wash off with just water
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Eli how is it that a company like Comcast can change the terms on their residential package contract midway putting a 300gb cap on internet usage without customers re-signing new contracts and still get away with it?" ]
The contract with you probably allows for specific unilateral changes to certain aspects of it. This is quite common in these types of service contracts. You don't read the contract anyways, and if you want service from them then you need to agree to the contract. So agree or no service.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do they color black and white photos from before color photography was invented?" ]
Before modern day colorization techniques, my Mom grew up in the 40's and 50's, and she said when they got their black and white photos, they would use make up and color the photos just a little bit. I learned this when we were flipping through an old scrapbook and my Mom had a slight pinkish tone to her lips and cheeks but it was obviously just a b & w photo. I just thought that was very interesting and strange.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How literally are we taking the \"like you are talking to a 5 year old\" thing?" ]
I think this reddit would've worked better if it was called explainlikeimtwelve.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why is everyone bringing up net neutrality all of a sudden?" ]
To see this response, please pay $19.95 to upgrade to the Web + Social Sites package. For a total of only $99.95 per month you'll have access to all of your favorite standard sites (_URL_1_, _URL_2_, _URL_0_) plus the hottest social sites on the web, including Reddit and Myspace. And don't forget about this month's deal on a streaming pass. For a one time activation fee of $215.49 only $12.95 per gigabyte after that, you can stream data, which means you can use Hulu, Netflix, and play some of the games in our Online Gaming Access Package (not included). Exciting games like Microsoft's Minecraft!
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why does my iPhone say I have 4.4 gigs of memory used in pictures and yet I have no pictures on my phone" ]
It's photos saved in messages, possibly cached photos. Delete some conversations, or (I highly recommend) jailbreak your phone, install iCleaner and it will clear ALL that crap out.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why is there an increase in the number of insects and other critters in my home in the summer, vs in the winter, shouldn't it be the other way around?" ]
Because there are more insects. Most insects will hibernate or simply allow most of the species to die off in the winter and let eggs hatch in the spring. In the summer you have all those insects able to live easily and therefore they are growing and creating new colonies and laying more eggs.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do Venus flytraps digest pray?" ]
The head of the flytrap seals itself and essentially becomes a ‘stomach’ of sorts Once the pray is trapped and sealed inside the head, it begins to release enzymes and chemicals which break down the prey and digest the essential nutrients. It can’t always digest everything and often you’ll find parts of insects dropping out after it’s finished eating Mostly the external carapace of the creature which again will eventually break down and add nutrients to the soil around it ☺️
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Since Edward Snowden has been out of the inner circle for so long, how is he still relevant and threatening?" ]
What I have understood from [Citizenfour](_URL_0_) documentary, the information he released wasn't nearly everything he had access to. He simply decided to inform public just about the mass surveillance. Imo the argument that he can't do more damage now is false. Another thing is that he hasn't been charged yet thanks to asylum in Russia.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do celebrity's nude photos get \"leaked\"?" ]
Modern phones have cloud technology that saves content on servers owned by the provider. Gaining access to an email and password is relatively easy work for a serious hacker and it would be all you need to access those photos on said servers.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "You know when you crack open an egg to fry and its a double yoker, if that egg had been kept alive and grown would the chicken(s) have been conjoined or...?" ]
I think this is pretty rare, but it's one possibility for a double-yolked egg.[half-sider parakeet](_URL_0_)
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do our teeth fall out at such a young age and grow back? Wouldn't it be more beneficial for this process to happen at like age 50?" ]
Evolution doesn't care how long you live; it only cares whether you have children. So no, it would not be more beneficial to wait until age 50 to replace your teeth.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How can a touchscreen project black in a power saving way (details on the screen inside)?" ]
An LCD element is made so it is transparent unless you apply a voltage. When you apply a voltage to the element it is going black. It does not take much power to do this as you only need a voltage and no current. The electricity does not pass through the elements but still affects it. You can get window sized LCD elements that runs on tiny solar cells.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "if insects do not have lungs, how do they drown?" ]
Answer in [gif format](_URL_2_) Now, we just have to debate how to pronounce "gif"
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How can a dollar of subsidy create more than a dollar of GDP?" ]
The 5 year old answer would be The simplest way to think of it is let's say you give a company a dollar to buy wood. They buy a dollar worth of wood and then make it into a statue. They then sell that statue for two dollars. Technically that one dollar of subsidy was used to make 2 dollar of GDP. The more complicated answer if you actually have to tax subsidies into effect when your calculating GDP. But if these subsidies have a high ROR then it's possible to get more money then you put in.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Does anyone want to explain the Bohr Model of Hydrogen atom to me?" ]
so Bohr suggested that atoms arent muffins(like was thought before him) where electrons are inside of protons like raisins in muffins, but rather like planets, with protons being in the middle and electrons spinning around them like planets around sun(later with quantum physics it became more complicated than that). So he also said that if you give an electron some extra energy it might jump to higher orbit. Energy is measured in joules and electron-Volts, same thing just different units(like inches and feet). So Bohr energy levels are energy you need to make electron jump orbit in hydrogen atom(simplest atom), and Bohr radius is distance between proton and electron in hydrogen while electron is at its lowest level.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What do bears do while they're hibernating?" ]
They sleep, and that's it. They live off fat stores, just like you've heard, and they also convert that fat in to water. Hibernating mothers can even produce milk for their young from those fat stores. They don't pee, their body converts their urine in to proteins, IIRC. They develop a [natural fecal plug] (_URL_0_) that keeps them from shitting themselves. (*Edit* - *to flesh this comment out some: the plugs are made from partially digested brush, and whatever they clean off of themselves while grooming - even bits of the pads of their paws*)
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What makes UNIX/Linux more stable and secure than Windows?" ]
Unix had privilege levels because it's originally a multi user system. You need root access to do any real damage to the system
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Where do the guys who sell oranges or flowers on the side of the road get their supply?" ]
I don't know if maybe it's different in other places, which is what I would assume reading the answers here already. I live in the American south, and if you come across someone selling produce on the side of the road it usually came out of their backyard. Even the "certified roadside stands" (like peach stands) grow most of their own produce. Although they will buy produce from someone else who grew it in their own backyard. When I was in high school, my sweetheart and I would pick figs out of his grandmother's back yard during the summer and sell it to the local peach stand.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why can't Social Security Numbers be like credit card numbers where they get renewed (new number) every couple of years and if they get lost or stolen the old number can be cancelled and you get a new number?" ]
The problem is that your Social Security Number is widely used as a *unique identifier* for a person. The whole reason it's worth stealing is because everyone uses the same number to reference a person. If you just get a new number every few years, it'd either be worthless for a credit report **or** somebody would just have a list of all your previous SSNs matched up against your current one and you'd have to tell everyone who uses it to update to your new number anyways. The fundamental issue is that the SSN was never intended to be a general purpose citizen identification number, it was just meant to be used for a single government program. Security was never even a concern in designing the system. If you want a safe & secure system for identifying a person, you'd need to approach the problem completely differently.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do some insects survive high velocity impact during flight without immediate fatalities?" ]
A beetle's body does not have too much mass, and the velocity of the beetle is not too high either. Therefore, the momentum of the impact is not enough to cause significant damage to the beetle. Velocity X Mass = Momentum. If the mass or velocity of the beetle was increased, damage to the beetle is more likely to occur.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How is it possible for the universe to have no starting point or end?" ]
"The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you." -NDT
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "in the year 1AD, what year did people of that year say it was?" ]
Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 754 Ab urbe condita). There was no BC/AD at the time, Anno Domini was a convention adopted in the early medieval period. At the time the dominant calendar would probably have been the Julian calendar (We now use the gregorian calendar, which is similar to the julian) in the Roman empire, and the previous year would have been what we now call year 1 BC, as the Julian calendar doesn't have a year zero. Also called Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Piso (or, less frequently, year 753 Ab urbe condita)
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why Valve aren't in trouble over Dota 2" ]
DOTA doesn't actually belong to blizzard, it was a custom map made by ice frog, this person owns all of it apart form the fact that if blizzard never made warcraft 3 it wouldn't exist. so valve then hired ice frog(that owns all of DOTA to make a sequel under valve. source: _URL_0_
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How time was invented?" ]
Did we invent distances? or did we just invent ways to measure them and units to count them? Same goes with time. Clocks have existed for several thousand years (many civilizations had them as early as 2,000BC, in the form of water clocks and sundials). The passing of seasons has also been observed and measured for about as long.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Is it true that disproportionally large numbers of Syrian refugees in Europe are young men? If so, why is this? Where are all the women and children?" ]
They are waiting for the man to get asylum/resident permit, so that they can safely travel. Basically the guy risks his life going with human smugglers and once he lands on his feet he can bring the children and wife to the new country through lawful means.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do we heal quicker over a night's sleep than awake?" ]
When you sleep, you're lying in one position pretty much motionless for 5-9 hours. Your body is using very little energy on your muscles or other activities, so it can devote itself to healing. And with no motion, there's no risk of further aggravating your injuries. Theoretically you would get the same healing effect if you spent eight hours lying in bed awake watching TV. But you would really have to stay *in bed* for all that time - no getting up to get a drink, or go to the bathroom, or anything.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "With the recent information on Session's on Russia, why do we have to wait for him to resign? Can't we just go after him for treason or whatever and give him the harshest punishment for lying under oath?" ]
Resignation is the preferred method because it's the quickest and least politically messy. With a refusal to resign, a formal impeachment process would have to be initiated in the House of Representatives, beginning with a Judiciary Committee investigation, articles of impeachment being voted upon and presented to the House as a whole, their approval leading to sending them to the Senate for trial, and then the Senate would have to convict on the articles of impeachment to remove the official from office. There is also a danger that a complicit President could pardon an impeached official to avoid what might be uncovered in an investigation, so legislators may prefer to avoid that danger altogether by having an official resign voluntarily and preserve the possibility of future prosecution.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do some cars keep headlights on for a few minutes when the car shuts off? What is the point?" ]
It's to allow you to see your surroundings. For instance, so you can see the inside of your garage garage at night without having to fumble around in the dark for a light switch.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Do gas pumps really measure dispensed gas to the thousandths? And if so, how?" ]
Gas, fuel, diesel etc is typically measured using a special flowmeter called a turbine meter. Basically, the fuel is pumped through the turbine meter on the way to the nozzle. The turbine meter contains funnily enough a turbine which spins as the fluid passes through it. The spinning spindle of the meter has magnets on the shaft which trigger pickups on the outside of the meter which allows the number of rotations of the turbine to be counted. The turbine meter is carefully calibrated so the amount of fuel per revolution is known and thus the amount of fuel passing through the meter can be calculated. The meters can be extremely small so the volume of fuel per revolution is extremely low allowing for very high accuracy.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do 'modern' flags tend to have stars?" ]
First of all, that cross is only for Scandinavian countries. Look at the flags of Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Hungary, Spain,... And many of those flags are more modern than others. The star spangled spangled banner was made in the 1770 or something. The German flag of today was made in 1945... The stars of Australia and NZ are there, because those stars are only visible from those countries. But normally, **the stars are a sign of excellence and perfection.**
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do poor/third world countries support such high populations?" ]
> Is the standard of living so low that everybody can just barely get by? This. Not only that, but in many places, people DON'T actually get by. People starve to death every day on this earth. The fact is, many of these countries CAN'T sustain the population growth that they have.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why does the camera pan to Dikembe Mutombo when a suns player makes a block?" ]
Because while he was in the NBA, he used wave his finger after he blocked shots. _URL_0_
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do non-hearing people sound \"that way\" when they speak?" ]
They can see how lips move, but they can't see how throat, tongue, windpipe, etc move. Observing mouth movement is not enough to recreate all the sounds, you need to be able to hear it in order to accurately replicate what others are saying. Not to mention you can't get the tone or pacing correctly either by just looking at mouth movement. In addition some of them can't hear their own voice either, which makes it even harder to know if they pronounce something correctly or not.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do you text in Chinese?" ]
Pinyin and knowing the tones. Chinese has a writing script based on roman alphabet which is what kids and beginners use when first learning the language. This is called pinyin. This is basically the phonetic transcription of the language. There are then 4 corresponding tones in Chinese. Flat (1), Rising (2), Falling-Rising (3) and Falling (4). The word 'train-station' in Mandarin is huǒchēzhàn. So you type it out like that but add the tones by adding a number after the corresponding character. (But not every character has a tone.) So huǒchēzhàn would be huo3che1zhan4 and this would type out as 火车站
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "When we become overly emotional our chests/throats tighten up, why?" ]
We’re not totally sure, but this article gives some suggestions: _URL_0_ But how do emotions trigger physical sensations? Scientists do not know, but recently pain researchers uncovered a possible pathway from mind to body. According to a 2009 study from the University of Arizona and the University of Maryland, activity in a brain region that regulates emotional reactions called the anterior cingulate cortex helps to explain how an emotional insult can trigger a biological cascade. During a particularly stressful experience, the anterior cingulate cortex may respond by increasing the activity of the vagus nerve—the nerve that starts in the brain stem and connects to the neck, chest and abdomen. When the vagus nerve is overstimulated, it can cause pain and nausea.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How come some people claim to only care about personalities and not physical properties yet aren't bisexual?" ]
Because this is a lie mostly, its just more of a statement of Personality > Looks, so even if they look like crap they wont date them its just lower standards than average, no one actually completely doesnt care about looks
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What actual crimes did the \"villians\" from Scooby Doo commit? What could they be tried for and what would be their punishment?" ]
Generally harassment, theft, fraud, and trespassing. Realistically you could add attempt at murder and kidnapping to most of the monster charges, because of what they general do to the mystery crew. Also in a lot of places wearing masks for nonreligious or holiday reasons in public is a findable offence, but that is very dependent on location.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why everyone hates Bono" ]
Because everytime he claps his hands, a child in Africa dies.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Before I put my contacts on I almost mistaked a white \"push\" thumb tack for the vitamin I had set out last night... What would happen if someone swallowed a thumb tack or nail? Would it pass regularly, or shred your insides during digestion?" ]
I doubt it's large enough to cause any harm.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "The difference between Subvocalization (inner monologue) and \"thinking\"" ]
They're the same thing from my understanding. I believe it's more commonly referred to as 'inner speech' when we're thinking, and 'subvocalization' when we're reading, but subvocalization is what we do whenever we hear a voice in our head, whether its reading or thinking. Auditory hallucinations actually cause movement in the larynx, too, just like thinking. Born-deaf people have a visual inner-voice. They think in images, like seeing sign-language, or visualize lips moving, instead of hearing a voice in their heads. I believe deaf people who have learned how to talk can 'hear' a voice (mimic the throat movements), and their inner voice may switch between speech and visualization depending on how they're communicating, much like bilingual people. If reading books feels more like a movie to you, its because you're visualizing, rather than subvocalizing what you're reading. According to Wikipedia 30% of people primarily think visually, 25% primarily in words, and 45% use both.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "what is the point of the 9/10's of a penny on gas prices?" ]
They are not the same. $4.999 != $5.000 -- even though you don't have a coin to represent the difference, there is a difference. 9/10ths of a cent adds up to some real money over thousands and thousands of gallons of gasoline.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How likely could a baby or young child survive from e.g. the 10th floor of a building in an emergency situation if wrapped in thick layers of towels, blankets, and duvets, and the \"ball\" was somehow wrapped together with rope/belts/etc?" ]
How thick are the blanks around the baby I'll guess you used every duvet in your house so 12 -16 inches thick below the baby. The younger the baby the better as the lighter the baby the better the blankets will do. If the baby on its back not head or feet first lands on the thickest part of the blankets on soft soil not hard packed or concrete then I would say the baby will live probably injured though.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What did people use before lip balm?" ]
People used goose or other animal fats on their lips and faces, especially in cold areas to protect against windburn and cold, dry air. Also, beeswax and oil. The Burt's Beeswax brand that I use now is essentially just that.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why can we make fun of Muslims under freedom of expression but speaking anything against Jews will bring up Anti-Semitism?" ]
i don't know where you live, but in most countries you can easily make jokes about Jews without bringing up antisemitism. from the other hand in many countries you can't make jokes about Holocaust.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why is it that some people need to adjust their sitting posture every 2 minutes but some people can sit in the same posture for one hour?" ]
I was actually thinking about this the other day because I'm the kind of person seems to never get comfortable. I found out if you stretch and loosen up your muscles you'll have an easier time sitting still or even falling asleep at night.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "- Why isn't there a universal currency" ]
To allow different economies and their respective government bodies to inflate and deflate their individual currencies. On a macroeconomic level, this allows for proactive monetary policy that can curb the effects of a stagnating or expanding economy. If the world operated on the same currency...well, just look at Greece. It can't print more money and bail itself out because the central euro bank (ie rich Western European countries) don't want the euro to drop in value.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What is String Theory? Has it been proved wrong? Whats the current replacement theory/idea?" ]
I cannot really answer your first question, at least not in any ELI5 appropriate manner. I can, however, give a little insight in the latter questions: String theory has not been proven wrong. One of the main reasons why this is the case is, that it is spectacularly hard to design an experiment to actually test string theory in the first place. Sting theory is one of the more complex theories we have developed so far - mathematically and physically. There is not really a replacement for string theory, as it is "just" one of many attempts to find the missing link between gravity and the other three fundamental forces.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How did the U.S manage to (mostly) eliminate the intense corruption common at various points in the 19th century?" ]
The problem with Eastern European countries that they spent a long time being ruled over by dysfunctional communist regime which encouraged a culture of political corruption. While they transitioned on paper to liberal democracies in 1989, that kind of political culture isn't something which disappears overnight. I imagine Eastern European corruption will probably lessen with each new generation of politicians, but it'll take a long time.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How incorrectly typing in a website address takes you to those random proxy sites that advertise random things." ]
There's two things that can happen. First, someone may have bought the mistyped domain and put up a bunch of ads on the page, just for that case. Second, and far more annoying is that your ISP may be directing you there to get some extra profit. If you ask for a web site that doesn't exist, they're supposed to return a "doesn't exist" message. Instead, a lot of places say "sure it exists- it's the ad-filled page over here"
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Lost City of Atlantis" ]
Atlantis is mentioned in two of Plato's works, Timaeus and Critias, and serves as a hubristic enemy to Plato's ideal of a perfect state. Plato's perfect state defeats Atlantis, thus proving its superiority and soon after, the gods submerge Atlantis in the sea as punishment. Most historians and scholars dismiss Atlantis as pure fiction, entirely made up by Plato, however others have searched for possible kingdoms that Plato might have drawn inspiration from. One of the most convincing locations is Santorini, which was almost entirely sunk by a volcanic eruption.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do people have to wipe their butts but animals don't?" ]
I know the answer to this from the last time I saw it posted.. Animals prolapse their cinnamon star when pooping, which means the poopy part retracts right back in so no mess!
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How does soap clean stuff?" ]
Soap acts as an emulsifier. An emulsifier is an agent that allows the mixture of oil and water. So the dirty oils on your skin mix with the water and it is washed off.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "If I lift a pile of book and carry it towards another table, is work being done on the books?" ]
Yes- not from any force in the vertical direction unless you move the pile upwards. The work done comes from the force x the direction of movement- meaning when you move the books horizontally work is done.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What would happen if the US heavily taxed the wealthy?" ]
The fears of any progressive tax system is that higher taxes on higher incomes would limit growth, as there would be less incentive for a person to try to earn more. If I own a small business and earned $999,999 why would I want to try and earn more if I'd only get $.30 for every dollar I earned? The other fear is that companies could decide to set up operations in other countries in order to avoid higher taxes.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why are the bellies of starving children always heavily swollen?" ]
It's a disease called Kwashiorkor, which is caused by a deficiency in protein intake. Sufferers are getting enough calories, but usually almost entirely in the form of carbohydrates. _URL_0_
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How does a laser speed gun work to measure a car's speed?" ]
Light moves fast. Really, really, fast. But it still has a measurable speed, so as long as your timer is quick enough all you need to do is fire a laser at something and start counting until the moment the reflected laser light comes back. Because we know the speed of light is a constant, by counting the (very tiny) amount of time between when we fired the laser and when we get the reflection, we know how far away something is. So that's how a laser measures *distance*. How does it measure speed? Well it's the same idea, only instead of firing a single beam of laser light it fires lots and lots of very short pulses. Each of those will reflect off the car and reflect back, and so we can calculate the distance the car was when each one reflects back. All that's then required is to calculate how quickly that distance decreases and that's the speed of the car.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "If police officers are not required to tell us when they are undercover, what stops all police offers from just wearing normal clothes and always being undercover?" ]
Why would they? Clearly marked police presence is a crime deterrent. Very few police activities involve being sneaky and doing undercover stuff (though that's what you see on TV and the movies). A lot of what police do, like helping people, really isn't possible if you don't know who they are.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "why do files when you change their format gets either corrupted or oftentimes changes into a different and oftentimes readable file format." ]
It's not so much that *changing the format* corrupts it (because the data remains unchanged). All changing the extension does is change what program your computer is going to open the file with. If you switch something to .txt, it's going to try and open it in Notepad, which can only read plain-text files. Now if the data within the file is stored in plain-text, Notepad will probably be able to read it. But if it's not, it'll will become gibberish like you saw.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do we get skin tags when we're older?" ]
At the risk of sounding young, what are skin tags?
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "When a device needs multiple batteries, why do they always have to face different directions to each other?" ]
The design of the battery holder is cheaper that way. Ultimately, the batteries always need to be end to end + near the - on the next battery. By requiring that one row faces one way and the other row the other way, one side of the battery holder can be made with a simple metal plate to connect the two halves and the output from the entire thing is at the ends of the two batteries at the other side. If they were all facing the same direction, they would need a wire going from one end to the other to connect the two halves and would need a second wire for the other side of the output again going the whole length of it. So the answer is opposite directions keeps the + on one row near the - on the other, which means they don't need big long wires to connect them, saving money.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do people fear autism?" ]
No one is afraid of it in a classic sense. It's like any other abnormalities, everyone wants their child to be normal. It can cause serious lasting personal issues unless treated early and properly. I'm not a afraid of sheep but i don't want my son to be born with a sheep's head
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why is it that when you swat a fly with your hand, it either appears to be completely unharmed or it dies/becomes seriously injured?" ]
So you swat a fly and you're wondering why its either: Unharmed, injured or dead? What the fuck other options are there? What would you expect to happen?
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do UK cinemas have advanced screenings instead of just releasing the film?" ]
To get people talking and blogging (etc.) about it, and gauge the audience response. Advanced screening audiences are generally a mix of reviewers and self-selected fans of the movie franchise who are already excited about it, or at least are in the target audience. That's the two groups of people most likely to tell others about the movie. ^^Hello ^^to ^^Jason ^^Isaacs.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Where does the dead bacteria go once you've sanitized it?" ]
Dead bacteria is just a bunch of dead organic matter. Its similar to dead skin cells that wash off in the shower or a slab of meat or bunch of vegetables. If somethings dead it can be absorbed by something else living for their nutrients. So the dead bacteria will quickly be broken down. Depending on the way you killed the bacteria, you may have burst the cell membrane already, and the proteins and dna inside can quickly break down even without a living thing. The matter can also become inorganic matter depending on what its used for.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why Netflix would have to secure the rights to a certain song on a show they've begun streaming, when they're already paying for the show itself." ]
You're trying to apply common sense to music licensing. Yes, they got the clearance for the music to be on broadcast TV. Yes, they got the clearance for it to be on the DVDs. But if those rights specifically excluded Internet streaming, then they have to change the song, unless they negotiate that clearance. And, obviously, it's cheaper to use different music.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How does after-hours stock trading work? How can you trade when the market's not open?" ]
There are smaller trading platforms and you can trade among others on that platform, rather than the whole market as a whole. So if your brokerage uses one particular platform you might only be able to trade with 5 or 10% of potential traders. The smaller supply/demand pool means more volatility.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What's the point of martial law, and when would it be enforced?" ]
Martial Law is, essentially, the suspension of due process. Police are authorized to do whatever is necessary to keep the peace or to address whatever situation is found, and government, specifically the executive branch, would be allowed to basically make up new rules as they see fit. Hopefully martial law is *never* enforced, because it's pretty terrible. The only real conceivable time it might be enforced in a modern democracy would be in the case of some disaster so major it threatens the very existence of the country: a massive invasion by a foreign power, some sort of global natural disaster... But even then, you would hope not, because when your democracy declares martial law it's not really a democracy anymore.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Counting Numbers and Numbers" ]
Subtracting is a measure of change. So subtracting the page numbers tells you how many times the page number changed, so you have to add 1 to get the total number of pages.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "if picking at scabs and zits is bad, what explains the irresistible urge to do it?" ]
The reason we have such a nagging urge is because our skin's nerves tell our brain that something is attached to us. The brain interprets this stimuli and responds by urging our hand to scratch it or get it off. The benefit to this response is that potentially harmful parasites or insects can latch on to our skin and transmit disease, so it's better to be safe than sorry.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How do magnets break harddrives?" ]
Take a piece of iron and rub it across a magnet a couple of times. You'll notice that it becomes magnetic as well. This is called "ferromagnetism." Now imagine that you have billions of pieces of iron, each one tiny. Some are magnetized and some aren't. That's how your hard drive stores data. The 1s and 0s that make up digital data are essentially tiny chunks of ferromagnetic material on the disk in the hard drive. If you take a magnet and wipe it across the hard drive, it will magnetize all the little pieces of ferromagnetic material, erasing any information they previously held.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why did it take up until now (this year), for something like Obergefell v. Hodges (National Gay Marriage) to happen? Why didn't a gay couple try this years ago or throughout history?" ]
It has been tried before, but they didn't win their cases. It took until now for the opinions of the supreme court to change. Here is a case from 1970: _URL_0_ And from 1986: _URL_1_
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why with certain neurological diseases do hands/fingers and feet tend tu curl up?" ]
This is caused by lack muscle control, which could mean complete relaxation or over-use of muscles. A neutral/relaxed hand position has the fingers slightly curled (you can test this yourself). So if your muscles can’t get signals from the brain, curling would be the result of them being relaxed. Also, if the muscles that curl and un-curl the fingers were both trying to work at once, this might happen. Fine control of the hands requires coordination of one set of muscles tensing and the opposing muscles relaxing in order to open the hands, and especially to open them in a precise way.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How does a Tornado kill you?" ]
As the great sage and eminent drunkard Ron White put it, it's not THAT the wind is blowing, it's WHAT the wind is blowing. Your body will become part of a random, high speed debris field. Something WILL intersect with you.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "If kids are normally taller than their parents, does that mean the human population is steadily growing in average height?" ]
Yes but no. Children are often taller than their parents because people get shorter as they age due to spinal cartilage wearing down. The average height of the population is increasing over time, but that's because height is seen as an attractive feature and more likely to be passed to future generations.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How is it that people (general, public, politicians, scientists) deny climate change?" ]
I don't think that they are denying that it's happening, but they are more suspect to the cause of it. Some people think that it caused by human influence. Some people think that it is a natural fluctuation that we just so happen to be witnessing. Then there are people who are in the middle, who see facts like cow farts' role in the production of methane, and then they think that this is a much more detrimental cause then CO2 emissions. Then then are people who are willfully ignorant of the facts all together so they tend to side with whoever side they typically side with on other issues.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "The sharp divide in America between the Christian message (love and peace for all, blessed are the meek) and the Christian practice (hatred of immigrants, ultra-wealthy preachers)?" ]
People are often hypocrites, no matter what they profess to believe in. Christians no more so than anyone else. FWIW, ultra-wealthy preachers are an exception, most clergy live modestly. Any many Christian organizations and believers actively work to support immigrants.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "The arguments now being made AGAINST Kony 2012/Invisible Children" ]
Toppling a leader does not resolve the underlying issue (and has the potential to lead to greater turmoil - known evil of Kony vs. unknown evil of the next person to step up). EDIT: For [this link](_URL_0_) to Visible Children.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "How does dumping a bucket of water on your head help the ALS cause?" ]
It's a combination awareness/donation drive. "Dude, why the hell did you just dump a bucket of icewater on your head!?" "For ALS." "What's ALS?" "The reason Steven Hawking's paralyzed." "Oh, that thing. Yeah, that sucks." "Yes it does. Wanna donate for a cure? If not, you've gotta dump a bucket on your head too." "Well, OK. Sounds like a good cause."
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why can young kids practically abuse my dog and he doesn't give a shit, but as soon as an adult looks at him wrong he barks?" ]
Your dog may be aware children are like puppies, and as such treat them as puppies. According to [this study](_URL_0_) , bites to children are usually less severe, which may support that theory.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why is internet (a direct connection) only fast enough to stream a few TV shows at once when digital TV antennas can receive hundreds simultaneously?" ]
Just for terminology correction. The antenna does NOT receive and do anything with the channels it hears. IT just funnels the signal into a tuner. The tuner, which is on a set top box or integrated into your TV can generally only deal with processing and figuring out a single tv channel at a time, not hundreds. IT's like saying there is a hundred website on the internet you could potentially go to. However, your web browser has only one window, so you can only see one at a time. Thats how an antenna and tuner work.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Scientifically, what is happening in the body when we experience a \"mini heart attack\" after missing a step or any other \"close call\" in avoiding a potential injury?" ]
It's a hormone called adrenaline. Your adrenal glands, which sit on top of your kidneys, release it. It activates your body's fight-or-flight response, which elevates your heart rate, opens up your muscular blood vessels, and in general does a bunch of things to prepare you to fight of a potential enemy or run far, far away.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why can I exhale for so much longer than I can hold my breath?" ]
The feeling of suffocation doesn't come from lack of oxygen; it actually comes from saturation of carbon dioxide in your blood. Your body needs to breathe *out* as much as it needs to breathe *in*, so a long constant exhale mitigates both the powerful breathing stimulus and more than half of the actual physical effects of simply holding one's breath.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do different parts of my body smell different when I sweat?" ]
If I remember correctly, it depends on the type of sweat duct, most only release sweat, which is mostly water and therefore much less smelly, but others, especially in areas like the armpits, also release pheromones and other things that smell.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "What is the difference between Alternative Rock and \"regular\" rock music?" ]
IMO, it has to do with how the band is promoted, where they play, and largely what their "message" might be. Counter-culture is a big aspect, and even mainstream bands can be put in this genre.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "why do we have capsaicin receptors on our buttholes?" ]
> I mean I understand evolving with capsaicin receptors in our mouth because we consume food that orifice You didn't evolve receptors to detect capsaicin. Capsaicin evolved because it irritates existing receptors in your tissues, making mammals less likely to eat the plant or its seeds. That the receptors exist in other tissues than your mouth is immaterial to the evolution of the substance, they're in your mouth too and that's good enough for the benefit to plants. The plants that typically have capsaicin are typically distributed by birds, who are not sensitive to the substance and are less likely to destroy the seeds.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "When I buy a domain, who am I buying it from?" ]
When you buy a domain name that doesn't previously exist, you're not buying it *from* anyone. You're paying a registrar for the right to create the domain name and have it registered to you as an individual or company. It's not like all the possible domains are sitting in a server just waiting for someone to choose them, any more than all possible English sentences are sitting in a library waiting for someone to write them.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why are penises and vaginas considered more taboo in movies then boobs?" ]
Sex is taboo. Penises and vaginas are actual sex organs. Just like butts, which aren't censored either, nipples/boobs are only sexual objects according to circumstance and culture.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "If heat rises, why does it get colder the higher up you go?" ]
The atmosphere thins out and cannot hold the heat in. In your house, your roof acts like an impermeable atmosphere. That rule would apply even if your house was in the sky, so long as you had the heat on.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "The difference between isosmotic and isotonic." ]
Isotonic is the value in which a solution must have the same values as the system it is being placed in so as to not cause a ph or salinity change. For instance isotonic water has a 0.09% (sic) salinity so that it can be administered to human bodies without adverse reactions, swelling or dehydration. A solution that is isomolal is one that has 1 molar substance in 1Molar solvent ie water. Im not familiar with the term isosmotic but i would gander that it is an equilibrium through a permeable barrier with two seperate fluid types ie cytoplasm and blood plasma.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do people face the DJ?" ]
"Raves" have changed drastically in the last few years. With EDM being as big as it is, they have changed from the DJ just being there for music to where the DJ is now like the lead singer of a band. All the focus is on him/her. When I first got into the scene it was like you're describing it. Everybody just danced where they wanted, with whoever they wanted and the DJ just chilled in the corner throwing on track after track keeping the night going. It was ethereal. Now shows are just about dbags trying to get to the front and crowds mindlessly jumping around.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do certain things \"grow on you\"?" ]
Well, when you have more time to consider all the qualities of something, you have time to pick out the things you do like. And if you are mostly focused on the things you dislike about something, eventually you will learn to grow accustomed to these qualities and even reason them into being able to deal with them. This ends up leaving mostly things you can appreciate to, well, appreciate. Another example would be something that isn't necessarily something that makes a negative impression at first. Sometimes things are challenging to negotiate/learn/experience. A particularly difficult book, an experimental song, a particularly strong-tasting dish, a challenging idea: all of these are things that can grow on you but are difficult to fully enjoy at first not because they are perceived as bad or less-than-good by you.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "why a helicopter can’t drop me on the top of Mount Everest" ]
Because it's too high, at those altitudes the helicopters engine just cannot produce enough power , the blades also just cannot produce enough thrust , the higher the plane or helicopter flies the less thrust and power it has its called density altitude, and it's due to the fact that the higher you go the more spred out air particles become due to the fall in pressure So if the air is thin it's sucking in less air to the motor which produces less power and the blades have less air to push against so less thrust
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why do corn ears grow silk on them, and what is the purpose of it?" ]
Corn silks are the silky tassels running the length of an ear of corn. They serve as styles or tubes for collecting the pollen that fertilizes each seed.
[ "Provided a user question, retrieve the highest voted answers on Reddit ELI5 forum", "Why is Linux not very popular?" ]
It is *extremely* popular. The Reddit server that sent you this block of text is a linux machine. Linux utterly dominates every market in the computer world *except for desktops*. And that is only because linux wasn't totally usable as a desktop until fairly recently, Ubuntu wasn't 100% usable and stable until around 2010, and that means that Windows and MacOS have inertia. That said, the numbers for linux desktop adoption have been rising steadily for the last decade, with a sharp uptick very recently because of the sudden availability of good games.