q_id
stringlengths
5
6
title
stringlengths
3
296
selftext
stringlengths
0
34k
document
stringclasses
1 value
subreddit
stringclasses
1 value
url
stringlengths
4
110
answers
dict
title_urls
list
selftext_urls
list
answers_urls
list
j372t
[li5] can someone please explain, season-by-season if possible, a cohesive plot for the tv show, lost?
Sure, I understand what happens in each individual episode well enough (except for the science-y stuff), but I'm only 5 and I have a hard time seeing the series as a whole as being very cohesive.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/j372t/li5_can_someone_please_explain_seasonbyseason_if/
{ "a_id": [ "c28r00m", "c28r0m4", "c28r44r", "c28r6ig", "c28rg2i" ], "score": [ 2, 5, 2, 2, 6 ], "text": [ "I cant wait to read these. I watched it. Like most shows its sorta loses it towards the end.", "Are you looking for in-depth, episodic explanations for each season, or do you want a brief paragraph for each season? I could do the latter from memory, but if you're looking for a huge post covering every single thing from every season, I'm gonna need to break out my DVD sets and wikipedia.", "Not sure if that's possible.", "You're worrying about the wrong things. I used to be so obsessed with trying to find the answer to every question lost posed (and at one point, at the height of it's popularity I probably did have all the answers) but that isn't the point of Lost. Lost was and has always been a show about the characters. The producers have always said the show is about the stories and lives of the characters and how they crash together (ha) on this magical island.\n\nI'll say this: It wasn't a dream. It's not purgatory. It was all real. It all REALLY happened. It's a science fiction show and some people were expecting real science to explain the things on the show like smoke monsters and time travel and that's just not realistic. You have to accept the show for what it is: A science fiction drama with a lot of unexceptionable mystery.\n\nI know this isn't satisfying to you as it also wasn't for me. If there is enough interest on this thread, I can break out my old notes (yeah I'm a nerd) and give you an in-depth explanation.", "Whoo boy, here goes. I'm going to be glossing over a LOT of stuff here, and skipping lots of character backgrounds and general weird stuff, but most of it you don't really need to know.\n\nSeason 1:\n\n A plane crashes on the beach of a strange island. Many people were on that plane, but they all have to band together to survive. There is a monster on the island that nobody has seen, and it eats people. Lots of strange things start happening to people; some believe that they were destined to end up on this island, others just want to leave. \n John Locke and Jack are both natural leaders, and end up having lots of arguments about how best to survive, with Locke thinking that they need to learn more about the island and Jack focusing on more material needs, like water and shelter. At the end of season 1, Locke finds a hatch in the ground and proceeds to dig it up, thinking it will lead to their salvation. He convinces a few people to get some dynamite to blow it open. While this is happening, the other people have been building a raft. A few of them leave on it, but soon after they leave the island they are intercepted by strange people. These people abduct Walt and blow up the raft, believing Walt to be special somehow. \n\nEnd season one.\n\nSeason two:\n\n Locke ends up going down the hatch that he blew up. It turns out there was a man living down there named Desmond. He was told that he needs to push this button every 108 minutes or else everyone in the world will die. Locke believes him, but nobody else really does.\n The people who were on the raft end up getting captured by some people who they believe to be savages, or \"Others.\" They eventually find out that these people are the survivors from the tail section of the plane, and most of them are dead. They all head back to the other end of the island, and some unimportant people got dead and stuff. \n Did I mention there's a French chick living in the woods? Yeah, whoops. She's there, and she caught a dude in the woods because she's a BAMF. Jack takes him back to the hatch and tortures him a lot, because he doesn't believe his story. \n Michael shows back up after going crazy and leaving to find his son. He has been co-opted by the others to rescue Ben, the guy everyone is torturing for fun. Michael shoots a couple people like Libby and Ana Lucia, only because we needed to feel sorry for Hurley some more. He lets Ben go, and shoots himself. \n Before Ben left, he convinced Locke that the button didn't do anything. It turns out, it actually does do something. Something almost happens, but we're not quite sure what. Apparently the button has a giant magnet thing built into it, and that's what crashed the plane, when Desmond failed to press it once.\n\nEnd season 2.\n\nSeason 3:\n\n A whole lot of nothing happens. I'm serious. This is when the show went to crap. Jack, Kate, and Sawyer are captured by the Others, and Ben is their leader. He tortures them for like, ever. Oh yeah, and he has cancer and wants Jack to operate on him. \n The others live in a village and have a book club. No, I'm not joking. Their capture of some of the survivors of the crash leads to an all out war between the plane survivors and the others. You get more glimpses of the monster in this season, but still don't really know what's going on.\n It turns out that after the hatch exploding, Desmond can now see the future. He foretells a few events, and tries to prevent them from happening and fails. He tells Charlie that he's going to die.\n A lot of battles between the others and the plane crash survivors happen, but basically Locke is trying to keep everyone on the island. Ben killed all of the Dharma initiative when he was a boy. This dude Richard never ages. At the end of the season, they contact a freighter that claims to have come to save them. Charlie gets into contact with Penny, Desmond's girlfriend, right before he dies. He tells Desmond the freighter is not Penny's.\n\nEnd season 3.\n\nSeason 4:\n\n WOOOO TIME TRAVEL! Yeah yeah Marines, yeah yeah whatever. This season's importance is all about Desmond and Daniel Faraday, and that's all they keep going forward with in future seasons.\n The freighter is carrying a bunch of marines and a few scientists. The marines are belligerent and want to kill everyone. The scientists want to figure out why time travel is happening. Desmond gets on the boat, and becomes dislodged in time for an episode, and it was awesome. While dislodged, he talked to Daniel in the past and got Daniel interested in time travel. \n The mercenaries try to kill everyone, but they get eaten by the smoke monster at the end of the season. Six people end up escaping the island: Sayid, Hurley, Jack, Kate, Sun, and Claire's baby Aaron. At the end of the last episode, Jack is telling Kate that they need to return to the island because all of their lives are miserable now.\n\nEnd season 4.\n\nSeason 5:\n\n The oceanic six have been lying about the island, saying they were the only survivors of the plane crash. They end up trying to go back.\n While this is happening, everyone on the island has become dislodged in time. They are jumping all over the past and the present. This causes some of them to get headaches and die, and will happen to all of them unless they do something at this special Dharma station. John Locke turns a wheel in this station, and fixes the island, but ends up waking up in the desert in the middle of nowhere. His goal is to get the oceanic six back to the island. Ben ends up murdering Locke for no apparent reason, and Locke's corpse is put on the plane going back to the island.\n The remaining islanders are stuck in 1974, and end up joining the Dharma initiative. Sawyer becomes head of security. When the people who escaped the island come back, they're stuck in the 1970s as well. In order to get back to their own time, they decide to detonate a nuclear bomb. Because that makes you time travel, I guess.\n Locke was dead on the plane, but is miraculously alive back in 2007 on the island. Ben freaks out, and they become buddies. Locke becomes the leader of the others, and convinces Ben and Richard to take him to see Jacob. Ben and Locke go to see Jacob, this mythical dude with super powers, and Locke convinces Ben to kill Jacob. Jacob totally had it coming. Locke turns out to be an imposter, something using Locke's body to further its own ends.\n\nEnd season 5.\n\nSeason 6:\n\n Locke is evil, and being possessed by the smoke monster. It turns out the smoke monster can possess dead bodies. The smoke monster wants to leave the island, and it turns out the island is a prison for it. It can do that using Locke's body. Evil Locke ends up convincing a lot of people to work for him, including Sawyer. \n Richard Alpert has been alive since the 1800s, but was a protege of Jacob's. Apparently he didn't know the smoke monster could possess corpses, because Jacob never told him? WTF, Jacob. \n Sawyer and Jack betray Locke by trying to leave without him on the submarine, but there was a bomb on it I guess. It blows up. \n Apparently there is a magic light at the center of the island. Jacob was its guardian. He was trying to guard it from the smoke monster. Jack and evil Locke end up going to the light and using Desmond to extinguish it. Evil Locke was hoping this would destroy the island so he could leave, and it starts to. Jack decides to sacrifice himself to save the island. Hurley ends up becoming the new protector of the island, and Ben becomes his assistant.\n The end scene of the series has everyone in a church, meeting up again. Apparently they all waited in the church for the last ones to die. This is like purgatory, I guess. Hurley ends up going inside the church, but Ben stays outside. Then they all go to heaven I guess, who the hell knows.\n\nEnd season 6.\n\nI'm exhausted, ugh. I can't believe I watched that show all the way from start to end. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [] ]
34y23w
what legal restrictions are there on car designs? why can't ford make a car that looks like a lamborghini and costs $50k instead of $500k?
Obviously there are internal mechanics that are proprietary, but what keeps car makers from deriving their designs from high-end cars? Where's the line between new and ground-breaking, and too derivative?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/34y23w/eli5_what_legal_restrictions_are_there_on_car/
{ "a_id": [ "cqz40l1", "cqz6a62" ], "score": [ 3, 2 ], "text": [ "The biggest reason is the market. Ford could make something that looks like a supercar, but it wouldn't be profitable for them to do so.\n\nA company like Ford makes money in volume, so they make cars that appeal to large numbers of people. Supercar manufacturers make fewer vehicles, but charge more for them, and so can be more esoteric in their designs.", "There are aspects of cars that can be protected by intellectual property. They'd get the shit sued out of them. [Here's an example](_URL_0_)" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/intellectual-property/b/copyright-trademark-law-blog/archive/2012/07/18/infringing-a-4000-pound-trademark-bentley-motors-sues-manufacturer-of-car-body-kits.aspx" ] ]
bxb749
why do people say redundant abbreviations?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bxb749/eli5_why_do_people_say_redundant_abbreviations/
{ "a_id": [ "eq4who1" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Technically GPS system is not necessarily redundant. The Global Positioning System is the Satellite system which is separate from the receiving system, such as say your phone or car.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nATM machine and others: Because people forget the origin of things or never knew them. ATM embodies the idea of the device that dispenses money and people know it's a machine, hence they call it an ATM machine. I definitely knew what an ATM was for a long time without knowing what ATM stood for." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
32bb1o
5: why in britain do they use the metric system yet they use mph for speed measurements?
So I've been watching Top Gear (BBC) again lately and have always wondered why they will make fun of America still using the imperial system for measurements but many car manufacturers still use MPH on their speedometers.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/32bb1o/elif5_why_in_britain_do_they_use_the_metric/
{ "a_id": [ "cq9m32v", "cq9m33t", "cq9m3rm", "cq9oeim", "cq9rpa0", "cq9s05b", "cq9s4mh", "cq9ufld", "cq9wp75", "cqa6vc2" ], "score": [ 8, 119, 17, 29, 2, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Because the road distances are still measured in miles.\n\nAnd that is still the case because replacing signs is expensive.", "We began moving to the metric system around 40-50 years ago. When I was a child, shops still used to show weights in imperial - but a European directive that shops need to sell in metric really sped up the transition.\n\nThere are a couple of things which we still use imperial measurements for though. They are distances/speeds on roads (because it would be too difficult to change), and measuring the volume of our beer (because there would be a huge backlash if they tried to stop us selling and buying pints!)", "See, we never quite accepted the metric system in the UK. Yes, it's officially what we use but most people still think in miles and feet and inches in day to day life. We've very much gone for a mix and match approach with metric vs imperial. ", "The metric vs imperial muddle really goes deeper than that - we buy beer in supermarkets in millilitres and litres, but beer in pubs in pints. However we buy vodka, whisky etc in millitres/litres in both pubs and supermarkets. We measure the weight of ourselves in pounds and stone but the weight of food in the supermarket - these days - in grams and kilos. We decide if we want an 8oz rump steak or a 16oz rump steak in a restaurant, while in a shop the packet will be only marked with the weight in grams. Children are taught to measure small distances in centimeters and millimeters, while on the school playing fields their PE teacher explains football and rugby distances in yards. \n\nThe plan *was* eventually to move us fully to metrication (such as Australia and Canada achieved) but a Conservative government came to power half way through the process and stopped it. There was no strong political will on either left or right to continue with legally mandated metrication and it pressed ahead at a slower and slower speed until formally abandoned in the mid 2000s - though some legislation is on the books which prevents certain types of independent traders from using imperial only (they now have, unlike when the heavy-handed legislation was first conceived, the right to use both side-by-side.)\n\nTL;DR - An uncompleted metrication process has led to us to adopt it for some things and not for others, and convention has developed about which system to use where and for what. ", "It's incorrect to say we use the Metric system. We use metric for a lot of things but we also use imperial a lot. In the 90's the government finally passed a law that said everyone had to sell food and drink in metric measurements, although some exceptions were allowed. Oddly, petrol is sold in liters, and has been for a long time, but fuel efficiency is given in MPG which makes working out the cost of driving complicated.\n\nIf you're interested in this issue, /r/metric is a good sub", "I was born in 1995. I much prefer using Metric. I dont even know how long a mile actually is. A km is easy im 1000m, ten lengths of 100m sprint track, I can visualise it easily. I use metric for a height and weight too, but other people dont, but only really those who are either: old, uneducated, or just used to it from their parents, which are likley one of the above, and definitely old.", "We can buy beer in pints in pubs but bottles in shops are in ml, except some are 568ml as that's a pint and that's how we like it goddamit!\n\n\nWe buy diesel and petrol in litres but compare miles per gallon. My car holds 60 litres and does 44mpg. \n\nA handful if roadsigns are in metres, most yards and miles.\n\nFood is in grams but I still ask for and get a pound of bacon. Lots of food is sold in 454g units or portions thereof\n\nMy tape measure has cm and inches. I use both depending on my mood,and will subconsciously mix and match (the wood needs to be 32inches by 18 cm for example)\n\nCurrency is decimal but we use pounds and 100ths of the pound\n\nI can do the maths of 454g is a pound and 568ml is a pint in my head all the time\n\nWe Brits are weird but I wouldn't change a thing", "Academia uses metric, which is really the main reason we're considered a 'metric' country. We're taught mass and lengths in metric units, but on the roads we use imperial (except petrol is by the litre, yet for some reason we still use miles per gallon), personal measurements tend to be imperial (feet/inches and stone) and food & drink is mixed (steaks are ounces, beer and milk pints, recipes usually grams and ml, pretty much everything else metric).", "Why are inches used as a measurement for penis size, even where there is a metric system in place? ", "The worst measurement in the UK is \"stone\" for weight. So outdated. I weight 8.5 stone. That is just dumb. No one else uses it. I'd say that should be the first one fixed. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
6qk1yj
why is it much easier for a child to laugh than an adult?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6qk1yj/eli5_why_is_it_much_easier_for_a_child_to_laugh/
{ "a_id": [ "dkxugtx" ], "score": [ 8 ], "text": [ "A lot of humor is essentially unexpected things happening at unexpected times. Simply put, to a child more things are new, and thus bound to be unexpected. Kids can laugh at things like how lemons taste the first time. Adults know what it's going to taste like." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
702oc9
how can drug companies be sure that new drugs won't have serious side effects years later?
New drugs are tested to see whether they'll have any immediate adverse effect on humans however there are surely some effects which only manifest themselves years later. How do drug companies account for these?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/702oc9/eli5_how_can_drug_companies_be_sure_that_new/
{ "a_id": [ "dmzvn44", "dmzwv3w", "dn010l6" ], "score": [ 10, 2, 5 ], "text": [ "2 simple answers to this. First answer is that they have been testing the drug for a very long time and are confident that there are little to no adverse side effects. Second answer is that they have no friking idea and are hoping really hard. ", "Short answer: They don't.\n\nSlightly longer answer: During testing, they are supposed to carefully monitor for things that could eventually cause side effects. [Sometimes they miss things.](_URL_0_)", "I don't believe they can be certain, but the FDA can require postmarketing surveillance by the drug manufacturer in many cases (continued clinical trials and studies after the drug has been brought to market.) _URL_3_\n\nConsumers and healthcare professionals can also report adverse events to the FDA through a MedWatch report. _URL_0_\n\nVioxx is one of the somewhat recent drugs that were completely withdrawn from the market due to adverse events from long-term use (which the manufacturer knew about years before the drug was withdrawn.)\n\n_URL_2_\n\nEdit: I forgot about REMS. The FDA can require participation in a REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies) program whenever they feel a drug needs extra safety precautions/monitoring aside from the product labeling included with the drug.\n\n_URL_1_" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenfluramine/phentermine" ], [ "https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm", "https://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/UCM328784.pdf", "https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/postmarketdrugsafetyinformationforpatientsandproviders/ucm106290.htm", "https://www.fda.gov/drugs/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/post-marketingphaseivcommitments/" ] ]
3lxl0k
why don't american's have citizenship to their ethnic origin but offspring born abroad have american citizenship?
Example, Joe is from America, is 100% Italian but does not have Italian citizenship. He and his wife move to Ireland and have a child, so that child has American and Irish citizenship. From what I can determine, most of the European citizenship requirements work the same way as the US.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3lxl0k/eli5why_dont_americans_have_citizenship_to_their/
{ "a_id": [ "cva4ugb", "cva54b5", "cva555t", "cva8vkd", "cva903q" ], "score": [ 8, 2, 4, 2, 3 ], "text": [ "Because we practice two types of birth citizenship: *jus sangris*, meaning that a child born to an American parent is an American citizen, and *jus soli*, meaning that any child born in the United States is an American citizen.", "Typically, countries only allow citizenship to pass on to children born abroad for one or two generations. If Joe's family stays in Ireland and his child never lives in the US, then Joe's grandchild won't be an American citizen.", "Citizenship is not fixed to your ethnicity. Citizenship is a legal status granted by the government on certain requirements. Not something necessarily received by ethnicity. \n\nMost of European citizenship requirements do differ from the US citizenship requirements. Unlike the US, most of European countries do not grant citizenship to foreign citizens born in their country. Most European countries grant citizenship to children whose parent is a citizen. And in many cases, this is optional. \n\nFor example if the parents of Joe are not citizens of Italy, Joe cannot be a citizen either. If the parents of Joe are not citizens of Italy, how can it be substantiated that Joe is 100% Italian? If Joe would have been born in Italy, to non-citizen ethnic Italian parents, from the perspective of Italian government it is equivalent to Ivan born to Russian parents in Italy. \n\n\n\n", "There is nothing preventing U.S. citizens from *also* having citizenship in the country of their ethnic origin (in your example, Italy), or any other country that they may be eligible for; U.S. law does not prohibit multiple citizenship. But as far as the government is concerned, a U.S. citizen is treated as a solely U.S. citizen, any other citizenship is irrelevant. This is generally the case for all countries that allow multiple citizenship: citizenship in another country is permitted, but not recognized in any way. (An exception is naturalization; if you naturalize you must renounce any other citizenship.) So you may say Joe is 100% Italian because his grandparents were from Italy, but the U.S. government considers him 100% American and doesn't care about anything else he claims to be.\n\nAll countries in the world today have some form of *jus sanguinis*, which means that a child born to a citizen abroad can receive citizenship through the parent. But most countries place limits on it, such that, for example, if the citizen parent has never lived in the country, citizenship can't be passed on. So the reason Joe does not have Italian citizenship has nothing to do with U.S. law, it's more likely Joe's parents never lived in Italy so they couldn't pass Italian citizenship on to him under Italian law. \n\nMost countries do not have any form of *jus soli*, which grants (actually imposes) citizenship to anyone born on its soil regardless of the parent's citizenship. The countries that do are mostly in the Americas (e.g., U.S.). ", "Different countries have different rules for who qualifies for citizenship, based on whatever criteria those country's lawmaker have decided on. In the USA citizenship is given to those born on US soil and to people born to US citizens abroad. In some countries people who have ethnic ancestry can qualify for citizenship or they have an easier time getting citizenship. I believe that is the case in some European countries like the UK, and Germany (not sure about Italy), and it may also apply in China. Israel gives citizenship to people of Jewish descent." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [] ]
7lk584
what is gap insurance? why is it an option on my lease agreement but not my auto insurance?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7lk584/eli5_what_is_gap_insurance_why_is_it_an_option_on/
{ "a_id": [ "drmu6vs", "drmucjn", "drmunli", "drmy0gi", "drmyosz" ], "score": [ 3, 3, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "the car is sold to you for $25,000 (the purchase price). \n\nyou take out a bank loan for $25,000\n\nthe second you drive it off the lot, it's now only worth $23,000 because it's now a used car. \n\nyour loan is using a $23,000 collateral against a $25,000 balance. if you crash the car the instant you get out of the lot, insurance is only going to give you $23,000 for it. you're now paying for loan with no usable car. the bank wants $25,000 to close the loan. \n\ngap insurance is for the difference between loan balance and vehicle value, aka the gap. ", "Since new cars depreciate quickly at first, there will usually be a period when your car is worth less than the outstanding amount you owe. Gap insurance covers you for that gap in value if your car is written off and your insurance doesn't pay out enough to clear the finance.\n\nIt's not a bad idea to have it, but it's likely that a policy offered through the lease company will be quite expensive. If you want the cover, it's worth checking whether you can get it more cheaply elsewhere. ", "There are times where your payments will be worth less than the present value of a car — for a lease this will be the case for the duration. If you get in a wreck and the car is totaled, then the replacement cost check would be less than the vehicle is worth, meaning you’d owe money toward the totaled vehicle. Gap insurance covers this gap.\n\nAs an example, let’s say you lease a $40k BMW 3-Series. A year later, it’s crushed by a dump truck and totaled. The insurance company values the vehicle at $32k, but your lease payments remaining and buyout (can’t turn back a destroyed car) left come to $36k. Gap insurance would pay the $4k difference.", "It's possible your insurance company actually does offer it, just by a different name (see [new car protection](_URL_0_) for an example[1]). It's worth talking to your agent or a customer service rep before purchasing the car to find out.\n\n[1] Full disclosure: am both employee and policyholder of example page company", "Gap insurance covers the difference between what something is worth and what you are liable for.\n\nAuto insurance typically only covers the value of an item immediately before it was damaged or destroyed. If your two-year-old vehicle is worth $15K, but you owe $20K on it, your insurance will only pay out $15K if it destroyed, leaving a $5K gap for you to cover. If you want, you can buy extra insurance to cover that gap.\n\nWith a lease, it is the same idea. After a three-year lease is up, you \"owe\" the lessor a three-year-old car in good condition. If the car was destroyed, the insurance company will likely value it at a lower price than the lessor, resulting in another gap.\n\nAs with any insurance, it is a bad investment unless absorbing the loss would dramatically impact your standard of living. And if it does, then you probably shouldn't be buying what you are thinking about insuring. Insurance is only for necessities (house, car, life, health, liability) whose loss would be financially catastrophic for you or your family.\n\nWhat's more, you should never buy insurance for a product from the same people who are selling it to you." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [ "https://www.erieinsurance.com/auto-insurance#compare" ], [] ]
6gykug
when a currency's value goes down after a major political decision, like brexit, what exactly is causing it to go down?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6gykug/eli5_when_a_currencys_value_goes_down_after_a/
{ "a_id": [ "diu3pt7", "diu42xz", "diu4jcw" ], "score": [ 2, 2, 4 ], "text": [ "Fear and uncertainty. Currency traders like things to be predictable and follow established patterns of behavior. When something happens that falls outside those patterns it sets off the 'oh shit oh shit oh shit' reaction and they unwind overexposed positions. ", "If you invest in British companies or accounts you do so in pounds. If you invest in other countries you do so in the currency they use. So if you think returns on British industries are going to go down as a result of Brexit, you want to swap currency into the one that will give you more. Selling an asset, particularly when everybody has the same idea, will push the value down and increase the price of the one that's wanted.", "There are two factors at play here. Both come from the fact that it is generally believed that Brexit will take a toll on the British economy in the following years.\n\nThe first one is foreign investors pulling out, sooner rather than later before things start to get ugly (in these investors' minds). When doing so, they sell capital in British Pounds (GBP). The investors then sell those GBP for another currency, creating offer on the market and driving the price down. \n\nThe other factor comes from the Foreign Exchange markets or FOREX. The GBP, like almost every currency in the world now, is a fiat currency. It is backed by the government and its ability to levy tax on the country's economy. A news like Brexit cause a lot of FOREX traders to doubt the future of the UK's economy and the ability for the British government to back its currency. FOREX traders will try and get rid of GBP quickly. To sell fast, they have to lower their prices, if this happen on a large enough scale, the general exchange rate goes down. \n" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
2petcz
why we go to work, and we go to school, but we don't go to home
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2petcz/eli5_why_we_go_to_work_and_we_go_to_school_but_we/
{ "a_id": [ "cmw08x0", "cmw1nfy" ], "score": [ 2, 3 ], "text": [ "You may go to **a** home, but you don't go **to** home because in virtually every context it refers to any home of anyone, anywhere. \n", "It's because, when you say \"I go home\", \"home\" is not a noun (erm... a \"thing\" or a \"place\") but rather and adverb. You're not saying a place where you're going, but rather something like the direction in which you're going, since \"home\" is not a place, but a concept - hell, \"home is where the heart is\". And you don't put prepositions before adverbs.\n\n[Here is a more lucid ELI5.](_URL_0_)\n\nEdit: oh, and it's not just home, but also with downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "http://www.englishcurrent.com/grammar/go-home-adverb-no-preposition/" ] ]
2d7bce
what's the difference between a text message and an email?
It seems silly but it's really a question my 4 year old asked me today, and I was kind of stumped explaining it to her. In her mind, both are messages that get sent to my phone, that can contain text pictures or video. So I started by saying, well we did'nt always have texts and emails on our phone, email used to be just on PCs and text used to be just on phones. Then I said text was when you need a more immediate response than an email, but she seemed confused as to why I get both alerts on my phone, yet one is more immediate. So I continued by saying most people have more than one email address but not more than one number that they can receive texts at. I went on to say texts were a little more personal than emails, as not everyone has your text number, all this seemed to confuse her more. For someone that's 35 years old that saw the progression of land lines to pagers to email addresses to cell phones to text messages to having them all on your phone, it seems plainly obvious. I'm having a hard time explaining what the difference is to a 4 year old who has seen all these message formats on the same device for their whole life.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2d7bce/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_a_text_message/
{ "a_id": [ "cjmsob9", "cjmstvh", "cjmtjpy" ], "score": [ 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Emails can be seen as more 'formal' nowadays, especially with the ubiquity of instant messengers. They take longer to write, and because they don't have a character limit, can hold a lot more information.\n\nTexts are more 'informal,' because of the quickness, need for extensive shorthand, and in many ways, the disposability of the medium. You're not likely to save texts, but you WOULD save various emails.", "I think I'd tell her that there's no real difference, it's just different ways to communicate, just like you can say the same things with different languages in the world. Then I'd add that with mail you can also send pictures and drawings and write longer texts, and have her try out the different mediums to get a feeling for what makes most sense in different situations.\n\nIn any case she'll grow up through different ways of communication like we do so maybe the best way to teach her about it is having her try out mail, SMS etc to her granny, writing a letter with paper and pen, stuff like that.", "To take this in another direction, the difference between a text and an email isn't based on urgency. \n\nAn email is sent to an email address.\n\nA text is sent directly to the phone." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
2aicrv
why do people hit electronics; tvs, computers, radios that aren't working?
Is this caused due to their ignorance, the consumer being angry that its not working properly. Or back in the day did this actual fix the problem?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2aicrv/eli5_why_do_people_hit_electronics_tvs_computers/
{ "a_id": [ "civehv4", "civemfn", "civenl1" ], "score": [ 4, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Because deep down, we're all just cave people. Simple, grunting, hairy cave people.", "There are good technical reasons a shock will sometimes fix electronics. Probably the most common is oxidized contacts on connectors, a little shock can reseat the connector to a less oxidized area and restore connection. Recently with lead free electronics a phenomenon known as tin whiskers can occur. These are tiny stands of tin that grow out of the plating on the components and can cause short circuits. A good shock can dislodge these whiskers and restore operation.", "If there is a poor or lose connection, hitting it may solve the problem; at least in the short term. Since it is much cheaper and quicker than getting out a repairman, for most of us, it is something we try. Although the success rate may be very low, in terms of cost/benefit it makes sense." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
30gl0y
if social media and the internet is so important to the infrastructure and recruitment of isis, what stops telecommunication companies and service providers from stopping all service to isis-contorolled areas?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/30gl0y/eli5if_social_media_and_the_internet_is_so/
{ "a_id": [ "cps92n1" ], "score": [ 7 ], "text": [ "First, shutting down the internet is hard.Iraq throttles a lot of their information and monitors it extensively, but it's so far fairly ineffective at stopping it from getting out. Assad recently [shut down Syria's internet](_URL_1_) but this was only for a short time. Egypt, during the recent uprising also \"pulled the plug\" but this did not entirely stop information flow. Faxes, satellite uplinks, and people bringing information through the border literally bringing it in a physical form over. Also, there is nothing stopping them from creating \"skeleton\" systems, linking cell phone towers to get data out like [those used by Mexican cartels](_URL_2_)\n\nSecond, not a lot of their recruiting and propaganda is done directly from IP's within the region. . Most of Iraq and Syria is either blocked out right now, closely monitored or in Syria's case controlled by an opposing power. Not that this matters. They reach broader access either through accounts elsewhere (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Palestine, Yemen...) with followers all over the world [re-tweeting and re-posting their messages and employing help from sympathetic individuals across the planet.](_URL_0_) So, even if the internet was blacked out, there would still be loads of propaganda being produced." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "https://news.vice.com/article/isis-fighters-and-their-friends-are-total-social-media-pros", "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/29/syria-internet-shut-down-online-blackout-explained_n_2213263.html", "http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/11335/Mexican-Drug-cartels-have-their-own-private-cell-phone-network" ] ]
3lqhem
if he wanted to, could kim jong-un easily turn north korea into a democracy?
[deleted]
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3lqhem/eli5_if_he_wanted_to_could_kim_jongun_easily_turn/
{ "a_id": [ "cv8fmh4", "cv8gcsy", "cv8hax6", "cv8l2gn", "cv8ndhf" ], "score": [ 2, 8, 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "\"Easily\" hell no. There would be mass opposition with his government. There would be a lot of people in the govt purging each other, vying for power and ideals. Bloody. ", "Kim Jong-Un doesn't have absolute control. There's a lot of factions in the government he has to buy off. [Here's](_URL_0_) a cool documentary on it.\n\nA democracy has to have people that want to keep it though. North Koreans are like cult members, so even if all of the leaders wanted a democracy it wouldn't be easy.", "It would be less difficult than you think. North Korea has a fully functioning legislative beach, they run elections and have multiple parties.\r\r_URL_0_\r\rThe reason that they aren't particularly democratic at the moment is that there is only ever one name on the ballots, selected by the people in power. Writing in another candidate is possible, but has to be done in view of officials, and is obviously not likely to succeed.\r\rAt this point if Kim Jong Un wanted to change the system he would have very strong opposition from the rest of the government (he'd be proposing that they make their positions vulnerable).", "Democratic institutions and ideas have to be built up over generations. So while technically he could decree it you would have something even worse than Iraq where people would simply have no idea of how to make it work or who to vote for. \n\nIf they got lucky it would end up like Russia under Putin. That would be a huge improvement for NK but...\n\n\n\n ", "Without outside help? No, probably not. \n\nNorth Korea is really poor. The Kim regime is kept in power because the upper levels of government and military command are the only ones who live a \"middle class\" or up lifestyle. A sudden change to democracy would mean sharing the meager GDP with the whole population, not just the elite. The self-interest of the elite means they prop up the Kim craziness, because toppling it would mean chaos and everyone suddenly is poor. \n\nEven if the elite were to go along with it, there probably aren't enough skilled leaders of government and industry. The short and mid term effects of a sudden change would probably be even worse than what it is today, as hard as that is to imagine.\n\nThe least bad scenario would probably involve various powers (the US, South Korea, China, etc) getting serious about it and investing billions of dollars into a coup that topples Kim and installs a friendly regime, or maybe just to bribe a Kim into being less crazy. This outside money would keep the elite from going crazy and would help keep the average impoverished citizens from starving. \n\nThis benevolent regime would likely need to be in place for at least a decade, considering that the population has been brainwashed for several generations. You can't just say, \"you're free now, elect your leaders!\" The people lack the vocabulary of democracy and have no context for it. They would need a transition period to realize the old regime isn't going to put them into prison camps, then another period to take baby steps into figuring out democracy." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEJqEuM5V68" ], [ "https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_People%27s_Assembly" ], [], [] ]
1yjfoz
what do game developers who use kickstarter do with the money they receive?
I was wondering what do they use the money for. Do they use it strictly to hire help for developing the game like additional programmers, artists and whatnot? Do they use it on legal and launching fees? Or is the money they receive like a salary to help them pay for life expenses while they develop the game? I am asking as someone who would like to eventually develop games independently and I was wondering, if I am to develop a game only by myself, where would the kickstarter money actually go?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1yjfoz/eli5what_do_game_developers_who_use_kickstarter/
{ "a_id": [ "cfl190x", "cfl1egc", "cfl1kx1", "cfl5ks0" ], "score": [ 5, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ " > Do they use it strictly to hire help for developing the game like additional programmers, artists and whatnot? Do they use it on legal and launching fees? Or is the money they receive like a salary to help them pay for life expenses while they develop the game?\n\nAll of that, plus any business needs they may have, such as new equipment, licenses for software or libraries/game engines.\n\nAnd you are very unlikely to get kickstarter approval, let alone funding, as a sole developer on a game. Unless you can show you have real solid design skills, artistic abilities, and the ability to write the code for the entire game by yourself, you're going to need help unless the game is super basic, in which case you can do it in your spare time and won't need kickstarter funding.", "They make the game they promised, in theory.", "they can use it for whatever they want. there is no contract binding other than the delivery of the final product when you give money to a kickstarter fund.", "They spend it.\n\nHopefully, they spend it to develop and deploy of the product for all those various reasons you mentioned and more. They may just pay themselves, and quit their regular job." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [] ]
67wk6j
why are some crayons shaped like a triangular prism
thx
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/67wk6j/eli5_why_are_some_crayons_shaped_like_a/
{ "a_id": [ "dgtr8dl", "dgtr8v9" ], "score": [ 6, 3 ], "text": [ "So they won't roll onto the floor. Getting onto the floor allows feet and chair legs to crush them into the flooring, making a hard to clean up mess.", "Have you ever seen Ticonderoga pencils? They are triangle shaped and you can feel the difference in grip between it and a round pencil. \n\nPart of the reason is to give an easy grip to the average crayon user: toddlers. They have weak grips and bad finger dexterity, so the triangle shape helps guide their fingers to the correct positions and helps them hold onto the crayon. Flat surfaces are easier to apply a stable force against compared to the more curved regular pencils. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
2azlq0
when did our calendar start? like in 900a.d. did they say it was year 900?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2azlq0/eli5when_did_our_calendar_start_like_in_900ad_did/
{ "a_id": [ "cj0bpq3", "cj0bvo6", "cj0byp4", "cj0bzuy", "cj0c65v" ], "score": [ 2, 11, 4, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Our current calendar system is the [Gregorian calendar](_URL_1_), which was establish in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII. It is basically a revised version of the [Julian calendar](_URL_0_), created by the one and only Julius Caesar in 46 BC. The Gregorian calendar has the same months and month lengths as the Julian calendar, but inserts leap days according to a different rule.", "The calendar (in the \"what year is it?\" sense, not what the months are called and whatnot) that we use now (that says that it is the year 2014) was first devised by a monk, Dionysius Exiguus, in the year 525 (if the system he devised was in use at the time). He was updating a table of when the Easter feast should occur - since Easter is tied to a few astronomical events (the vernal equinox and the following full moon), people who understand such things had to compute the correct dates by hand. They would do a batch all at once and then work them out again when their list was running out. He did the math backwards to try to determine the number of years since the \"incarnation\" of Christ. He was probably off by a few years.\n\nAnyway, the calendar wasn't widely adopted for a few hundred years and everyday people may not have cared what year it was for quite some time after that. Only people who needed to keep long-term records of events would really have any use for it.", "The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus in order to replace the older Diocletian era system, since he felt it was inappropriate to continue the memory of Roman Emperor Diocletian, who violently persecuted the Christians. He calculated the day of the nativity to serve as the base year of his calendar, but most scholars today agree he got it wrong.", "The de facto global standard calendar is known as the \"Gregorian Calendar\" and was instituted in 1582 as a series of tweaks to the Julian calendar (named after Julius Caesar, who implemented it in 45 BC). Pope Gregory XIII wanted to tweak the calendar to fix what he saw as an issue in the calculation of the date of Easter because the Julian system of leap years let the calendar drift about 10 days since the Council of Nicea set the date of Easter back in 325 AD.\n\nThe problem was that in 325 AD they declared that March 21 was the equinox and the date of easter would be the \"14th day of the moon on or following the vernal equinox\"... but the vernal equinox had moved to March 11 by the time of Gregor because of the way the Julian calendar calculated leap years. The pope wanted the equinox to happen on the 21st, just like it was in the old days, and he didn't want it to drift again. To do that, they had to do two things: they changed the rules for leap years so that there were only 97 leap years per 400-year cycle, and they needed to move the calendar forward 10 days.\n\nChristendom went to sleep the evening of Sunday, December 9, 1582 and woke up the next day, Monday, December 20, 182.", "First, there are multiple types of calendars with different year numbering systems. This is specifically geared towards the Gregorian system, which was a reform of the Julian system (which was a reform of another system which was a reform of another system and so forth and so on).\n\nThe numbering of our years as we currently use them began in approximately 525 AD, when [Dionysius Exiguus](_URL_0_) proposed to the Roman Catholic church that they ought to unify the year numbering based on the birth of Jesus. Combing through their records, the figured it was 525 years previous when Jesus had been born and used that as his standard. Since he was a ranking scholar on calendars, his adoption of the year numbering system spread throughout the church and from there throughout the area under its purviews.\n\nBefore we moved to numbering system currently used, years were named after the Roman consuls who were in office that year. It's like naming years after the President or the Speaker of the House - you can understand how referring to events in the year of Millard Fillmore or how war erupted in the first year of William Pennington or the stock market crash of the first year of Nicholas Longworth might be hard to keep track of." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar", "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar#Gregorian_reform" ], [], [], [], [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysius_Exiguus" ] ]
a5fn9m
this is gonna sound dumb but...
I was just wondering if gravity is the same underwater or does it slowdown or speed up
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a5fn9m/eli5_this_is_gonna_sound_dumb_but/
{ "a_id": [ "ebm7fb7", "ebm7lty", "ebmfies" ], "score": [ 12, 4, 2 ], "text": [ "It's the same. It just feels different because of buoyancy, which is the same thing that makes helium balloons float.", "That's not a dumb question. The force of gravity is still the same but the water itself causes more friction and depending the density of an object it can look like something falls slower under water but that is just because low density objects displace more water.", "When you go into a bath tub, you see the water rise, right?\n\nYou're taking up the space of the water.\n\nIf you took that extra water and weighed yourself against it on a scale, the water would be heavier, and you would be lifted up. The water has more density than you.\n\nWhen you're in water, the water pushes you up as well, because it has to go on the bottom, it's heavier than you. Dense things sink, non-dense things float.\n\nTL;DR gravity doesn't change, the water is just pushing you up." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
17up5r
why don't cars have direct drive transmission instead of a gearbox?
Wouldn't direct drive be more efficient/less complex than an engine with a transmission?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/17up5r/eli5_why_dont_cars_have_direct_drive_transmission/
{ "a_id": [ "c88zrb0", "c88zry1", "c890x27" ], "score": [ 3, 16, 2 ], "text": [ "while it has many advantages, you need a more specialized motor (instead of using a different transmission to make minor changes), no way to disengage the engine, the engine would have to work excessively hard when at high speeds leading to damaging the engine", "A gasoline or diesel engine has an ideal speed that it wants to be running at. This is usually somewhere in the range of 1500-4000 revolutions per minute. But, the wheels of your car need to spin either slower or faster than that depending on what speed you want to go. So, a gear box lets your engine continue to run in its ideal range while the tires spin at a higher or lower rate.", "Yes, a direct drive would be more efficient way of driving a car. Electric cars frequently have only one gear ratio between the motor and the wheels. \n\nSadly, Gasoline and Diesel engines have a fairly narrow operating speed range. And the range of speed you need to drive car wheels at isn't very narrow. That means you need \"something\" to match those, and provide a method for stopping the wheels without stopping the engine. \n\nGears are very efficient at converting mechanical force from one form to another. Each gear interface ends up sucking up ~2% of the torque put in. Because there are two extra gearboxes, AWD cars lose some fuel economy due to the extra gear interfaces. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
1hbhpm
the kennedy assassination "magic bullet" theory
pls
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1hbhpm/eli5_the_kennedy_assassination_magic_bullet_theory/
{ "a_id": [ "casqf14", "casqrxl" ], "score": [ 3, 5 ], "text": [ "Seinfeld explains it _URL_0_", "People believe that for Oswald to have shot both President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally with the same bullet it would require some outside force like magic. They look to the fact that Kennedy was sitting directly behind Connally. They say that at the angle Oswald shot at it would be impossible for the bullet to directly hit both. \n\nThe issue with this idea is that is doesn't take into account that Connally's seat in the car that day was offset by a few inches from Kennedy and they were not \"back to back\" as they would be in a traditional car. When this is taken into account the shot becomes quite possible. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKxCFN8ZLlw" ], [] ]
3kwkrh
what happened in australia last night?
I've read a few articles and it doesn't seem like this was a planned election. What process happened that led to the new Prime Minister?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3kwkrh/eli5what_happened_in_australia_last_night/
{ "a_id": [ "cv12vye" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Last night? It was like an hour ago.\n\nThe Liberal Party held a spill to vote for a new leader of the Liberal Party. They voted to get rid of Tony Abbott and now Malcolm Turnbull is the new leader of the Liberal Party.\n\nThey'll now go to the Governor General and ask the GG to appoint Turnbull as the new Prime Minister of Australia. \n\nThe next Federal Election will have to be held within the next 12 months as the last one was 2 years ago." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
5ql659
climate change and proof of it?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ql659/eli5_climate_change_and_proof_of_it/
{ "a_id": [ "dd04cxl" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "_URL_0_\n\nClimate change is happening - these is direct evidence of rising global temperatures over the past fifty years. So it is difficult to be a denier of climate change as a whole, since the fact that it is happening is plain and clear.\n\nMost people who argue are the ones who argue against *human-driven* climate change, in which case I suggest taking a peek at that chart." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "https://xkcd.com/1732/" ] ]
4ekabd
if animals aren't aware that they are going to die, why would they try so hard to survive?
I've seen people on the Internet and even some studies that say animals are only motivated by survival, but at the same time, they have no idea that death is a thing or that they'll be dead one day. If you have no idea that you'll ever die, why would survival be such a big motivator?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4ekabd/eli5_if_animals_arent_aware_that_they_are_going/
{ "a_id": [ "d20urfr", "d20vbv9", "d20vh85", "d20zo20", "d2106xk" ], "score": [ 6, 22, 3, 3, 3 ], "text": [ "Does a falling ball \"know\" it's trying to return to Earth? Or does it just do what it must?\n\nAnimals behave out of instinct. When hungry, they are driven to eat. At a certain time of year, they are driven to mate. When startled, they automatically flee. They don't know the effects of these actions, but that isn't necessary.", "Because they are genetically programmed to. It's evolution. Individuals that do not try to survive are not able to live long enough to reproduce - or in some species' cases, to care for their young either (imagine a mother dying and leaving her babies helpless).\n\nTrying to survive doesn't mean you need any special awareness of what death means though. All you need is to be programmed to run at the sight of a particular predator. Your computer is programmed to run millions of things, even your programs literally try to survive without crashing, but it doesn't mean your computer needs to be self-aware to perform those tasks. Self-awareness is not required for a survival instinct.\n\nAt its most basic level, it's programming that says \"Bad thing detected. Flee from or kill bad thing.\"\n\nIt's wrong to even say they have motivation (for most animals), it's simply just what they do. It's like asking why your car tries to survive. It's a false question. Motivation isn't a factor.\n\nFor your more intelligent animals, survival is a motivator because survival means avoiding pain and suffering. They aren't really thinking \"I want to survive\" so much as they are thinking \"I want to avoid horrible pain\".", "survival is built into our DNA through natural selection, a principle first coined by Darwin (and Wallace). Basically, populations could grow exponetially, however there are limited resources and there are variations that arise within all populations of organisms (through mutations, and interaction with the environment over time). Those with the favorable variations (ex: deer's reflex to take flight when startled by a noise or visual) are more likely to survive, and thus spread their favorable trait to the next generation (through sexy stuff). ", "What makes you think that animals dont know that they will die? \nOf course they might not conciously think about it like humans, but for example, alot of animals know when they are nearing death. \nAlso, survival is a broader term for many aspects of living. Eating when you are hungry, running / fighting when you are in danger, tending wounds when something hurts. These are all part of survival, but they do not require you to actively think about not dying. Being hungry sucks, so you go eat.", "You need to remember that animals are VERY different to humans. \nA lot of the stuff we take for granted is totally alien to them. Measurements for one thing. A cow doesn't care if it's Sunday. \nThey might have a notion of 'Its now warm and light so I can find food. < And later > Now there is less light and cold, So I'll sleep', but what does 3pm mean to them? Nothing. \n\nEqually, An animal won't 'Ask for' or 'Demand' stuff, nor will it issue orders or instructions to its peers. It probably dosen't even see them as peers. It wouldn't have 'Questions' 'Laws' 'Political correctness' 'Politeness' 'Etiquette' or anything like that. \n\nLets reduce it to a basic scenario. When we point our finger human beings follow the direction of the finger whilst cats look at the end of the finger.\n\nThere is a quote from Wittgenstein: \n'If a lion could talk, we could not understand him' \n\nIts frame of reference would be so far removed from our own, That would not be able to understand what they are talking about, and they wouldn't not understand what we are talking about. \n\nSo they may not understand death - Or they may - We don't know what their frame of reference is." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [] ]
3ex3du
why do big infrasturcture projects (bridges, skyscapers, metros...) take much more time to complete than 40-50 or 80 years ago.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ex3du/eli5why_do_big_infrasturcture_projects_bridges/
{ "a_id": [ "ctjbamk" ], "score": [ 7 ], "text": [ "Besides all kinds of laws (zoning, environmental....) the character of the infrastructure projects has changed. Decades ago they were building these projects on greenfield sites (think something like the Interstate highway system). There is very little of this going on anymore. Instead they are rebuilding, expanding an existing piece of infrastructure and they want to maintain existing use (vehicle travel, etc) while doing so. This is a very time consuming and expensive thing to do." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
1dcwa9
antiparticles, what are they and when do they exist?
I know that when matter and anti-matter particles meet they annihilate and produce energy, but when do they meet? And how come this energy produced doesn't produce a constant flash during our everyday lives? Surely we would notice 1900MeV of energy? My only thinking as to why not is because it's very rare, but i didn't think matter and anti-matter is rare...Any help appreciated to clear this up!
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1dcwa9/antiparticles_what_are_they_and_when_do_they_exist/
{ "a_id": [ "c9qcjsa", "c9p3zpq" ], "score": [ 2, 3 ], "text": [ "We, and everything around us, are made of matter. These are 'normal' particles like protons, electrons and neutrons. Antiparticles are exactly the same as normal particles, apart from they have the opposite electrical charge. So a proton and an antiproton have the same mass, they're the same size and everything, but the proton has a charge of +1 and the antiproton has a charge of -1.\n\nAs you said, when a particle meets its antiparticle and they collide, they annihilate and their mass is converted into energy (as in Einstein's famous equation). However, the same can happen in reverse - if you have enough energy, it might produce two equally massive, oppositely charged particles; a particle and an antiparticle.\n\nIt is a little bit of a mystery why there is so little antimatter around, since the Big Bang theory reckons that equal amounts were created (from the energy, as just described) in the beginning. If there were equal amounts of matter and antimatter, they should have annihilated with each other, and there should be nothing left but a whole lot of energy.\n\nScientists don't know what exactly happened, but part of it is thought to be because particles decay. Just like radioactive atoms decay, sometimes elementary particles decay too because they are intrinsically unstable. For example, a neutron eventually decays into a proton because it is more stable (this takes a long time though). Some scientists think that strange decays happened, and so there was more matter left than antimatter.\n\nOthers think that somehow, there was a tiny difference in the number of particles and antiparticles created in the first place. The difference was tiny compared to the number of particles in total, but it still meant there was enough matter left over to make the Universe. \n\nAs corpuscle634 said, there are lots of places that we use antiparticles, especially for medical imaging. Many radioactive substances undergo beta decay which produces electrons; other radioactive materials produce positrons. Particles produced in this way tend to move very quickly (there is a lot of energy involved) and so yes, the annihilation in PET scanners would happen very quickly (you are full of electrons!).\n\n**tl;dr: Matter is what we are made of, antimatter is very rare, we don't really know why. Lone particles move fast so annihilation happens soon. Annihilation can happen in reverse to make particle-antiparticle pairs.**", "In our region of the universe, there is almost no antimatter - you're not going to find it outside of a physics laboratory that studies it, and then only in tiny quantities. So the answer to your question is that it is rare.\n\nNow, you can make something like an electron and a positron if you have enough energy. But then they'll probably annihilate each other almost immediately and release energy. But the energy they release is exactly equal to the energy that was used to make them, so it's as if no antimatter existed in the first place." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
33lv7i
ben franklin effect.
Why do we start liking people more if we do them a favor?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/33lv7i/eli5ben_franklin_effect/
{ "a_id": [ "cqm43zs", "cqm6z8h" ], "score": [ 7, 3 ], "text": [ "The theory is that we have cognitive dissonance (I don't like this person, yet I am doing them a favor, something is wrong here) and we resolve it by looking for reasons to like them, and thus justify our actions.\n\nAs an aside, I've totally used this to win people over. It works - might not make you the best friends ever, but helps take the edge off a bad workplace relationship.", "Cognitive Dissonance is still the primary force behind this but people also get an inflated sense of self after doing someone else a favor so your overall attitudes toward the person get altered once doing them a favor. \n\nsees person that I provided help to last week--- > \"wow, I'm so nice\"" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
3m8s5z
what does a bard actually do in a game of d & d?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3m8s5z/eli5_what_does_a_bard_actually_do_in_a_game_of_dd/
{ "a_id": [ "cvcyuil", "cvcyxj4", "cvcziwr", "cvczjch", "cvczmvz", "cvczqqc" ], "score": [ 11, 6, 8, 9, 3, 3 ], "text": [ "Bards are kind of a cross between an encyclopedia about weird shit and a buff bot. \n\nUnless they are assholes and useless, then they are used as armor", "Story is as important in d & d as combat and bards play more of an importance and has more of its special features in how they interact with the story. They tend to interact with everyone else in weird ways. They are intended to think of ways of dealing with situations outside of the box and obscure their true purposes.", "D & D is as much about story as combat. Bards play songs that have effects, buffs, debuffs on enemies, weird utility uses, lots of stuff to creatively solve problems.", "Depends on the edition, but several things:\n\n1) Healing and buffing. They keep the party alive and may improve certain aspects of them.\n\n2) Control and debuffing. Bards often have abilities to move or debuff enemies, making them weaker and more vulnerable. \n\n3) Charisma. Many bards act as the \"face\" of the group, having strong interpersonal skills and thus being useful to convince NPCs to give information or aid, talk down merchant prices, and even prevent battle through the magic of conversation.", "They are ideal for role-play heavy play groups (if the group plays D & D more like the Dr. Who RPG, where you can talk your way through combat).\n\nFrom a strictly game mechanic perspective, I've seen them used best as support roles in large groups, 5 or more, as they can buff the entire party while debuffing all the enemies, and in very small groups!\n\nWhere everyone has to either multi-class or perform some sort of double duty, a Bard is your divine spell caster, your arcane spell caster, and/or your rogue, depending on whatever your party is missing. Since they can use a long sword or rapier, they can be a finesse/dex fighter, because they can use a short bow, in a pinch, they can be a ranger.\n\nTl;Dr - Use where RP heavy, and in very large or small groups.\n\nIf you're in a min-max/munchkin game, skip the Bard. If you're in a moderate game, somewhere in between, and your DM does nothing to support your Bard, you have a shitty DM.", "Tons of stuff!\n\nIn combat, bards are primarily used in all sorts of support roles. They can continuously buff the party with songs, while also maintaining a separate cache of respectable spells. They also have enough weapon proficiency to hold their own in melee or ranged combat (though wearing armor is probably going to inhibit your spell casting to some degree, depending on which edition you play). Of course, if you're playing 3d edition or later, you can always dip into another class for a few levels. Fighter, rogue, and sorc/mage are pretty powerful complements for a bard.\n\nOutside of combat, rogues are among the best utility classes. Performance checks are a great way to impress people or create a distraction. Bards also usually have a decent complement of thieving skills (in earlier editions, bards were pretty much 1/3 rogues; later editions became more flexible as to where a bard's utility skills went, but rogue-related skills are still favored in a lot of builds).\n\nOf course, there's lore as well. Bards are usually incredibly knowledgeable about all kinds of legends and myths, histories, rumors, etc. That can be valuable in the field, and it can be *incredibly* valuable when trying to identify magic items.\n\nSo in sum, bards are very versatile, which makes them a good fit with pretty much any party, and a lot of fun to play." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
lg0fg
compound bow
How does it work? Why is it easier to draw, but provides more power?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lg0fg/compound_bow/
{ "a_id": [ "c2sfef4", "c2sfef4" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Okay, ELI5 version sans mechanics:\n\nWith a standard bow you pull it back, and it's hard. You pull it back farther, and it's even harder. Once you reach full pull on the bow, it's pulling back against you as hard as it's going to. So the whole time you're at full draw, it's very difficult to hold it there.\n\nThe compound bow is built in a way so that once you get it to full draw, it's easier to hold it there that it would be on a normal bow. The pulleys shift so that the 'full' is easier to maintain. You can take more time to aim without getting as tired, and the final stretch of drawing it isn't as bad. So you just have to pull enough to get over the hump\n\nIt's like if you were pushing a rock up a hill. The normal bow is just a straight shot up the hill. You push it all the way, then you let it go. The compound bow is like you push it up the hill, then get it to a flat part where you don't have to work as hard to keep it there. And it's the pulleys that do the work of getting it back off the flat part of the hill. Hmm . . . weird analogy. But sorta works.", "Okay, ELI5 version sans mechanics:\n\nWith a standard bow you pull it back, and it's hard. You pull it back farther, and it's even harder. Once you reach full pull on the bow, it's pulling back against you as hard as it's going to. So the whole time you're at full draw, it's very difficult to hold it there.\n\nThe compound bow is built in a way so that once you get it to full draw, it's easier to hold it there that it would be on a normal bow. The pulleys shift so that the 'full' is easier to maintain. You can take more time to aim without getting as tired, and the final stretch of drawing it isn't as bad. So you just have to pull enough to get over the hump\n\nIt's like if you were pushing a rock up a hill. The normal bow is just a straight shot up the hill. You push it all the way, then you let it go. The compound bow is like you push it up the hill, then get it to a flat part where you don't have to work as hard to keep it there. And it's the pulleys that do the work of getting it back off the flat part of the hill. Hmm . . . weird analogy. But sorta works." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
44b6rs
why does everyone care so much about the superbowl?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/44b6rs/eli5_why_does_everyone_care_so_much_about_the/
{ "a_id": [ "czov2fx" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Football is fun to watch. The super bowl is the culmination of an entire season of drama and excitement where one team gets immortalized as reaching the peak of their sport, the other walks away a loser. \n\nFootball is like a combination of the most real reality show, violence and chess rolled into one. The players all have some history and drama associated with them, for example this season we've got Peyton Manning back in the game who is respected as one of the greatest to play his position. But his legacy thus far has been tainted by poor performance in the playoffs and recently allegations of steroids. This game may be his last, and his legacy to the game hinges on it. \n\nThen there's the sporting aspect. Football is small bursts of sheer athleticism. Usually under pressure like on the biggest stage of their lives, the athletes do crazy shit that seems impossible. It's fun to watch, like a circus performance. \n\nLastly there's the strategy. Football is a game of chess. This year we see some great offenses against great defenses. We're going to be watching how the coaches prepared for each other's game plans in light of the pinnacle of their careers, most coaches don't make it to the super bowl. These are smart, hyper competitive guys who want to win and will use their wits to try and outsmart the other team. It's fun to watch on that level when the stakes are high. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
a1xtlu
what is happening physiologically when i'm about to fall asleep, but then i think of something negative (such as a bad memory or future deadline) and i'm suddenly wide awake?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a1xtlu/eli5_what_is_happening_physiologically_when_im/
{ "a_id": [ "eattj0k" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text": [ "Sleep requires a relaxed body and mind. When you access a memory, you are mentally reliving that memory, and if the event made you anxious, angry, or uncomfortable enough then you are no longer relaxed.\n\nThink of your brain as a muscle; if you were relaxing all your muscles to go to sleep, then suddenly just your arm flexes, that traitorous arm has now delayed the sleep process for the rest of the body." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
2qlyp6
why are there so many paedophiles in the priesthood. is it possible that paedophiles entered the priesthood to get access to children, or did being forced to live a life where sex was forbidden turn them into paedophiles?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2qlyp6/eli5_why_are_there_so_many_paedophiles_in_the/
{ "a_id": [ "cn7arci", "cn7c21b", "cn7c6jf" ], "score": [ 2, 5, 2 ], "text": [ "I don't think they're pedophiles per se, but they're sexually frustrated and young boys are the easiest and most convenient outlet. There is lots of them and for the most part, they are trusting and easily coerced. ", "I don't think their are more pedophiles in the priesthood than in the general population. It's just that as a priest you have easy access to children. A pedophile who works as a manager of a zaxbys isn't going to have the same access to kids, so is a lot less likely to do anything. ", "There is no evidence to suggest there are more pedophiles that are priests compared to general population. In fact most studies show that it's well within the distribution. It's however more dramatic to write in the newspaper since priests should theoretically give good example and be \"the good guys\"." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
6zijbo
do small tribes in places like africa and brazil show the effects of generations of inbreeding?
I was curious after reading [this article](_URL_0_) If 20% of the tribe was killed then the tribe was resaonably small, how have they survived for so long without the effects of inbreeding and how can they repopulate without the negative effects of inbreeding?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6zijbo/eli5do_small_tribes_in_places_like_africa_and/
{ "a_id": [ "dmvi5ra", "dmvixk2" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Humans have know of the ill effects of inbreeding for a very long time and all but the ultra-religious have found ways to deal with it. Swapping women between tribes is the usual means of correcting this. Tribes tend to not be as exclusive as most people tend to think. Individuals hop from tribe to tribe, usually after burning a bridge or two.\n\nAlso bear in mind that \"uncontacted tribes\" means that we, the West and other modern nations, haven't documented them yet. Locals are often fully aware of the tribes and have contact/trade with them.", "Most groups of people who live at the tribal level have long ago established, without knowing anything about genetics, rules that turn out to help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding. They have arrangements with other tribes, usually involving negotiations and dowries but sometimes closer to raiding and pillaging, that widen the gene pool. Each tribe might have such arrangements with a number of other tribes, so over generations there is quite a bit of genetic diversity: tribe A might have arrangements with tribes B, C, and D, tribe B with tribes A, D, and E, so when tribe A intermingles with tribe B they are really drawing from the gene pool that contains A, B, C, D, and E directly, and to a slightly lesser extent any other tribes that C, D, and E might be in contact with.\n\nDespite knowing nothing of the genetics, people could see that inbreeding was not a good thing... in many cultures where people live/lived at the village/tribe level, there were/are rules *requiring* that marriages draw from outside one's specific tribe. All of the other reasons - political/economic/military alliances, and the hope that other tribes won't want to attack tribes their own children married into - are good too, but the genetic side-effect is a big plus.\n\nThis is not so different from the way a lot of human history has taken place, it just seems weird because the world has changed in ways that these isolated tribes have not. Intermarrying between groups has always been used to foster peace (or create a bigger group for war), to strengthen economic ties, to have people to rely on if something bad happens. The history of the royal houses in particular are full of these tales; Shakespeare made a career out of mining those stories. (George R R Martin is doing the same thing right now, mining the War of the Roses. This real-life conflict between House Lancaster and House York is the inspiration for the fictional conflict between House Lannister and House Stark.)\n\nSo while 20% of the tribe in the link was wiped out - a tragedy resulting from being in the wrong place at the wrong time and seeing the wrong people doing the wrong things - that did not wipe out 20% of the tribe's gene pool. If the tribe continues to exist, they will have a greater-than-average influx of external DNA as they regrow their numbers, and this will more than counteract the side-effects of being an isolated tribe and the risk of genetic problems that might result if they did not make such alliances with other tribes." ] }
[]
[ "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/uncontacted-tribe-massacre_us_59b61a37e4b0354e4412bdf7" ]
[ [], [] ]
3r4lrt
why does water sometimes taste like nectar of the gods while other times its just, meh?
It's nice to know other people have these conundrums
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3r4lrt/eli5_why_does_water_sometimes_taste_like_nectar/
{ "a_id": [ "cwkucj0", "cwkw696", "cwkwpeu", "cwkwu9q", "cwkwx6p", "cwkx9x9", "cwkxac0", "cwkxaxy", "cwkxoxq", "cwkxtqm", "cwkydll", "cwkylac", "cwkyvjw", "cwkzlgm", "cwkzm1h", "cwkzpce", "cwkzvao", "cwl19rf", "cwl1w4m", "cwl1yns", "cwl2jq4", "cwl2p42", "cwl3pm5", "cwl3qwy", "cwl3yl5", "cwl4aa3", "cwl4ayr", "cwl4hvq", "cwl4o46", "cwl55fn", "cwl5po4", "cwl5z1b", "cwl6dbd", "cwl739c", "cwl7o0z", "cwl7u1b", "cwl80tj", "cwl8imq", "cwl8j89", "cwlb8jf", "cwlc2rx", "cwlc973", "cwld1yz", "cwld5g4", "cwldjvd", "cwldxin", "cwle5og", "cwleetc", "cwleol9", "cwlf2bl", "cwlgn76", "cwlhpgv", "cwlj3tp", "cwlk7iz", "cwlkir1", "cwlkuwd", "cwlmz6a", "cwlokst" ], "score": [ 4536, 272, 4, 210, 12, 10, 38, 3, 254, 127, 2, 6, 99, 71, 12, 13, 4, 4, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, 11, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 6, 5, 2, 2, 3, 4, 7, 4, 6, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 6, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 6 ], "text": [ "The human brain has a way of regulating how much water a person can drink. When a person is thirsty, similar to feeling hunger, drinking water will taste better than when the person drinks past the feeling of being thirsty. \n\nThis is because if a person drinks too much water, the person could deplete sodium levels in the body, and develop hyponatremia, or cerebral edema (excess fluid in the brain).\n\nSo just think about when you eat something after being hungry for a long time and then trying to eat the same thing after being full. It will taste better when you're hungry versus when you're full. ", "It depends on the water source too. Not every \"water\" you drink has the exact same composition.\n\nI find bottled water even at room temperature to have a tasty, pure and refreshing \"flavor\" to it, but I'd rather die from dehydration than have to drink tap water (at least where I live)", "Also remember we can get water from different sources, try to collect rain water, melt glaciar ice or make a deep hole on the ground, every source gives water different minerals and properties, I personally love natural water from subterranean aquifers, they have A LOT of minerals that give them a particular heavy taste.", "I find temperature to be the main factor. When the wall pipes get really cold my tap water seems to go from \"meh\" to \"damn fine\".", "Basically your brain monitors your body states. When you are thirsty, it signals \"drink something!\" and motivates you to look for something to drink. \nWhen you do get something to drink, in this case water, it also rewards you for satisfying that need by releasing chemicals in your brain; in a fmri which is an imaging technique. you'd also see activation of the reward centers.\n\nI guess that cases were water tasted like the nectar of gods to you, you were probably thirsty and or your brain sensed your body was low on water.", "I grew up drinking well water from a rural area. it was fine but kind of meh, i didn't really care for it. When I moved out and bought a brita \"new and improved\" filter, my life changed. whether you think it's a scam or not, it's absolutely different and there is a significant difference in the taste of tap water vs tap water that has been brita'd. I would advise though against any bottled water.", "Minerals in the water my have a role to play as well. Water with lots of iron just tastes like blood.", "Water has a taste? To me, all water is neutral, and much like science, I use water as my \"neutral\" stance on everything. I know this may be heresy to some, but I'd rank coffee above, and tea below, water.", "Maybe this is irrelevant, but I'm 14 weeks pregnant right now and you know how pregnancy causes food aversions? Well one really bad one I'm dealing with is that I can't drink water. I take even a little sip and I feel like I'll barf. It really sucks, I'm so sick of juice and Gatorade. And I can't even drink tea either! All you water drinkers out there, feel grateful.", "We have also evolved to avoid stagnant water (due to the higher probability of disease and parasites in standing/stagnant water versus flowing water.) One of the ways we do this is by gauging the oxygen content in the water. Stale water will be less appealing to our senses than water fresh from the tap. You can test this by letting a bottle of water set out for a day or so. take a sip, it will be pretty unappealing. Then put the lid on the bottle and shake it for a bit, aerating the water, and it will taste substantially better. ", "For me in a true answer from a 5 year old, it's down to the rock paper scizzors of water\n\nColdness\nProper delivery method\nHow dirty it is\n\nNow if you can keep all 3 in the right area, water can be amazing. But if you go too cold you get slush, tiny razor shaped ice, or just a brick in your freezer. If your water is being consumed from a plastic cup, versus a glass, versus a paper cup, versus direct contact with a bottle/mug, well you get where I'm going with that. Finally, clean water is disgusting. All the *soul* of water is from minerals and all the other junk that in reality makes water less pure. I could sell contaminated Mexico/Columbia water and it'd get better reviews for flavor than any of the cold styrofoam you can buy bottled. \n\nClosest thing I came to with decent tasting bottled water was Fiji, but even that is probably some dude's tap water thrown into a nice bottle. \n\n", "Might well be lead content in water: the higher the lead content, the sweeter and more flavorful the water. It is why kids find chipped paint containing lead appetizing and tempting to ear or nibble on: reason why paint containing lead [has been outlawed](_URL_0_) in most places where young children reside.", "Also, why do I have such trouble drinking room temperature water? Invariably it ends up dribbling out the sides of the glass because I tilted it too far, or I start choking on the water for no reason.", "In the UK there is a vast difference in water tastes depending on your supplier. I know in my home village the water was incredibly hard - but I'd grown up on it so I loved it. It would wreck our kettle and taps with limescale. I always hated going to my Grandma's house (roughly 30 minutes away) because her tap water was so soft it felt like slime on my tongue. \n\nNot sure if that's a thing in other countries or just exclusive to England...", "I find that water treated by reverse osmosis tastes great. All other water I have tasted, I basically choke down. I wish it were not so, but I hate the taste of most water. I don't refuse to drink it if there's nothing else but I am as aware of its unpleasant flavour as much as if it were food. I am constantly thirsty for no medically identifiable reason so I really go out of my way to get reverse osmosis treated water. It isn't expensive, just hard to carry as much as I use. I do wish it weren't such a wasteful process.", "Why does water give me cotton mouth sometimes?", "I would say when you're really thirsty almost any kind of normal beverage taste like god nectar.", "Cause sometimes you're thirsty and sometimes you're not! The composition is secondary. Take Aaron Ralston for example: after being trapped for five days and severely dehydrated he drank some very nasty bacteria filled dirty water that had pooled in the desert canyon and said it was the tastiest water he's ever had in his life. I can drink from the same water fountain before my martial arts class and again after sweating several pounds and the water after training just tastes fabulous. Your body needs water and makes it taste better the more you need it. Same goes for food. ", "Plus when you're dying of thirst aren't you gonna react gratefully to finally having water?", "I had always been told it's the contaminants. Iron in water tastes good, etc. Not sure if fact or myth.", "Why does fiji/smart water actually taste better is my damn question. that stuff is insanely tasty.", "I think it's based on how thirst you are/how dry your mouth is. I remember onetime I went on like 50 mile bike ride on a hot day in July, and when I got home I swear the ice cold class of water I had tasted like the sweetest, most satisfying beverage I had ever drank in my entire life.\n\nControlling for thirst, I am sure sometimes sometimes the various levels of minerals in the water makes a different.", "There are other thoughts about the taste of water that are more unusual - Victor Schauberger theorized that some water was alive, tastes good and is and good for us. This had to do with motion and energy in the water. The guy also met Hitler, apparently.\nThis is an interesting link with some more info:\n_URL_0_", "Follow-up ELI5: When I drink water first thing in the morning, why does it make me feel gross and sick for a few minutes afterward?\n\nEdit: My Google Fu turns up that drinking *cold* water *too fast* in the morning does it to some people, too. I have a week of experiments ahead of me.", "I don't know, I thought all water tasted bad until I tried filtered water through a charcoal filter. I think a lot of it just has to do with your brain altering your senses based on how hungry or thirsty you are. Food tastes better when you're hungry than it does if you're super full.", "Some water has barley, hops and other goodness to make it taste amazing. Some water is meh and doesn't have those additives", "Chugging down whole bottle of water after my long run of 12k is on the best feeling in the world. Next is orgasming and next is taking hot shower after a hard day/run.", "Generally the \"TDS\" level or total dissolved solids dictates the richness of the water. Most brands in America have low TDS levels (look on the bottle packaging), countries in Europe are known for taking their bottled water much more seriously than America.", "Ah, life-giving water. Nectar of the Gods. Graham can now feel strength and renewal flowing through him.", "King's Quest?\n\n\n_URL_0_", "I think simply because some water is shit while other water is just better. Like nestle bottled water? Nah. Aquafina? Hell yes! It's probably the same shit but the label probably has an effect", "Since water doesnt have a flavor, then couldnt it just taste different depending on whats on your tongue/saliva?", "A good example of this is for people who have undiagnosed diabetes. Before I received the diagnosis, I went months pounding water and using the bathroom a lot. The reason for this was that my body was trying to flush out the keytones in my body from breaking down my fat cells. To facilitate this, my body made me crave water. One of the few times in my life where I would choose water over any other beverage.", "Wow, it's a shame no real experts were able to chime in. I figured that with all of the water vendors out there, especially ones who add minerals to water, someone from an actual water supplier or manufacturer would have some input...", "Why is it I can only enjoy water cold otherwise I just feel sick?", "Thirst is determined primarily by levels of a hormone called angiotensin II. When cells in a part of the kidney called the juxtaglomerular apparatus sense that the body is volume-depleted or hypernatremic (high salt compared to water), angiotensin II is synthesized. This response is incredibly powerful and hugely influences the degree to which water tastes like nectar of the gods. ", "Can we get a water sommelier up in here? ", "I've been given $1000+ bottles of wine as gifts from a rather well-off oenophile friend. And while I politely thank him, I usually just put the wine away to appreciate in value. On the rare occasions where I open a bottle, I inevitably come to the conclusion that NO wine can compete with an ice cold glass of water. ", "Interesting that nobody has mentioned TDS yet. Essentially water isn't just H2O, in fact if you were to drink pure water, there's a decent chance you can become deathly ill. \n\nWater has a contains impurities like sodium, magnesium, and other minerals that keeps cells from absorbing it. The Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) concentration is what changes the taste. There are some waters that have a very low TDS, and some that have a very high TDS. Many believe that high TDS water is better for you. In addition, various waters have a different pH. Ideally you want to avoid water with a low pH, bottled waters like Iceland Spring contain high pH's. This can also affect taste. \n\nThere are actually international Water Sommeliers, only one of which is in the US. Numerous interviews have been conducted with him, and he even has created his own water brand. \n\nI LOVE Water. ", "Ever had your body crave something? A Pregnant women craves all kinds of things. I think it is just your body tricking your mind. \n\nSometimes I think any and all Orange Juice is just amazing. I have also tested low for Vitamin C several times.", "I never understood the people who said that water doesn't taste like anything. Yes it does. It tastes like water. ", "It's directly proportional to the length of time since you had a drink of water. Works the same way for McRib sandwiches, and sex.\n", "My son did a science project about the effect of different containers (glass, aluminium, two types of plastic, stainless steel) on the taste of water. Participants had to taste from the 5 containers in random order, and rank them according to taste. All containers were filled with water from the same source, and at the same temperature.\n\nHis findings were inconclusive, until we realised that in general, the ranking corresponded much more to the sequence of tasting than to the type of container. In short, the more you drink, the worse it will taste.", "since you're 5:\n\nYou have to pee but you can't for many hours, then you get to go and it feels like one of the best things in the world.\n\n\nnot all pees are alike, just like having the same drink at different times are not alike. ", "Everyone should drink just pure H2O.\nJust, H2O. Nothing else.\nReally helps flush your system, \nAll of it.", "When my wife was pregnant she said the water tasted sweet. I never understood what she meant until I had vomited one day, and then drank some water: the water tasted like someone mixed in a few packets of sugar. I'd drink nothing but water all the time if it was always like that, but it only lasted a couple hours.", "Life giving water. Nectar of the gods. Graham can feel strength and renewal flowing through him.", "All things taken into consideration, why the hell does my tap upstairs taste better than downstairs? ", "When you're really high and have cottom mouth, sprite tastes like, and I quote myself, \"the holliest water\"", "Da fuq? I posted a nearly same exact worded question a year ago:\n\n[Why does water taste like nectar from the gods when thirsty, but boring as shit otherwise?](_URL_0_)", "Minerals & bacteria. there's water that you can get in labs that's just pure h20- and apparently it tastes terrible, and is somewhat bad for you.\n\n[Here's a video that can explain it better than i can.](_URL_0_)\n", "I think if you limit responses to tap water you will find that the less a city oxygenates and adds cleaning agents the better CLEAN water tastes. This assertion is further justified when considering HARD water, which contains a large amount of salts", "Its either because of varying levels of thirst/ dehydration, or because some water has different mineral components or pH level. For instance Evian is much more alkaline than tap water.", "Minerals and pH level.\n\nMinerals can make water, especially well water, taste so very damned sweet! (Although it could also be antifreeze seeping in from the junkyard up the street.)", "Probably the same reason a starving human will start to find gross parts of animals appealing. \n\nCases where someone was forced to live off of just fish to survive in the wilderness report that they began to crave things like the eyes and guts and things that we'd normally ignore. This was because while the person was getting sufficient calories they weren't getting the vitamins and minerals they needed and the body reacted accordingly. Suddenly eating fish offal became enjoyable and tasted good to them. \n\nThe body and mind are amazing things.", "I just moved 4 miles away from my old place, where the water tasted like it was piped through an oil refinery, to a new place where the water... tastes like it's been filtered through the snow capped ridges of the alps. It's encouraging me to drink more water. (Pop drinkers unite!)", "I can report after having a right temporal stroke and now living with dysphasia and a significant hole approaching the size of a golf ball inside my brain according to the last scan.... since then foods taste rancid to me if they are watery, and definitely taste better if they are fermented. I cannot tolerate tap water anymore - and can barely choke down bottled or filtered water due to taste {even if very cold, and not because of aspirating- which I have done, btw.} Oily foods taste rancid to me and after the first of the year 2015 [when we switched over to food with less trans fats,] most processed foods taste like crap to me due to less trans fats. I prefer home cooking because of these flavor changes. My taste buds are also fucked up by the amounts of medications I am taking... taste is certainly a perceptional function! The only water I am willing to drink now is Kefir water made with organic culture. My sons tried to install a reverse osmosis filter for me, but I hated it. A basic water pitcher filter, a Britta works best for making my morning coffee.... I have gone thru a lot of disappointment with my taste buds with morning coffee due to this stroke; and it's no fun for me to eat out away from home as restaurant food is just awul. The outcome of the stroke changing my perception of flavor to the extent that I have become so picky about the manufacturer of foods based on their combinations. Pizza is usually a huge disappointment for me, I'd rather have a food with a single flavor like a straight-off- the- grill flatiron steak with no sauces added, and not try to eat some mixed flavored food like pizza with toppings. Cheeses like Blue or swiss make me want to puke. I miss the bloom of some of the \"stinkier\" cheeses and find they no longer change flavor in my mouth while I'm eating them. \n In my community, they don't use fluoride and I'm not sure how they sanitize the water to prevent bacterial growth in the pipes but don't think contaminates in our water is the issue. \n Seriously, do to my low level of activity, I rarely get so thirsty anymore that I have to quickly grab water to drink. For the most part it's hard for me to eat enough calories on a daily basis since the stroke my sons (adult) are usually pushing enriched drinks and shakes on me. Sweets have remained mostly unchanged - especially chocolate. It's a blessing to be able to still enjoy chocolate of all types. My sons have gotten good at making Ben & Jerry's chocolate Icecream shakes for me. They make it with kefir milk and Ben & Jerry's chocolate ice cream. Regular ice milk is terrible tasting, and even some of the more expensive ice cream tastes awful. \n I went from being a typical overweight person who used to eat just about everything regardless of taste, to a person with a stroke who is more discerning about flavors than ever before. For me, the stroke took away my ability to enjoy drinks and foods Indiscriminately. As a result of the stroke I'm on a low fat, low salt diet and have to be careful with foods containing Vit K due to the blood thinners I am on. I have to be careful how fermented foods are made: salt is forbidden to me, vinegar is OK, and if I do use salt it should be pink Himmalian salts. \n While reading this, I'm thinking to myself that the stroke did more than fuck up my enjoyment of food. It fucked up my life in multiple ways! Edited for typo's. \n", "I've been consuming water almost exclusively for 10+ years, I would have to say the three biggest reason I notice a difference in taste is cause by these major factors: How you got the water, tap, stream, bottle, warm, and cold; What condition your mouth is in, if you just woke up and have some serous morning breath your water isn't going to be pleasant, have you cleaned your teeth today; and finally how long has it been since you've consumed water, your body has cravings to help regulate your in tank on things water is one of those. Just like if you starve your self and eat something it might become the best tasting food of all time.\n\n\nHonestly it all comes down to the fact water loves to absorb everything it's around and touches, if your mouth tastes bad you'll notice with a fresh cup of water. If you leave some water out it will over time take properties of the air in your room. Even lab equipment used to give scientists the closest to pure water can only maintain that the water never touches air they do also uses a [grading system](_URL_0_). Which is why if you consume distilled water it can have a stale taste to it. \n\n-sorry for formatting errors" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/environmental-health/exposure-topics/lead/lead/" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://schauberger.co.uk/living-water/" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://youtu.be/Z7QHC9R9A7E" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/2krj6g/why_does_water_taste_like_nectar_from_the_gods/" ], [ "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMh1lyeNsPc" ], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://www.elgalabwater.com/water-quality-en-us" ] ]
6t7ag9
what is an usb-c port?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6t7ag9/eli5_what_is_an_usbc_port/
{ "a_id": [ "dligwm8", "dlih353" ], "score": [ 8, 2 ], "text": [ "[Type A](_URL_1_) is the standard USB you find in all computers. There's a difference in speed between generation 2.0 and 3.0 or even 3.1, but their functionality is the same. \n\nType B is usually found in its [micro form](_URL_3_) on a lot of smartphones. \n\n[Type C](_URL_2_) is even thinner, and can be plugged in both ways. These are mostly gen 3.0 speeds. \n\n**Note** that USB is simply the name of the internal bus/connection to your other hardware. The type A,B,C are just form factors of the connectors, most commonly used by USB. \n\nAnother more recent example is that type C ports are also used in [Thunderbolt connections](_URL_0_). The Thunderbolt interface combines USB with other standards like SATA, DisplayPort or PCIe. This means you can use it for charging, connecting monitors, external graphics cards, and lots of other applications. It's present in most high end laptops and some high end smartphones. ", "It's that new cable used by most new phones and can be plugged in either direction. [USB-C](_URL_0_)" ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "https://sgcdn.startech.com/005329/media/products/gallery_large/TBLT34MM50CM.main.jpg", "https://sgcdn.startech.com/005329/media/products/gallery_large/UUSBHAUB3M.C.jpg", "http://www.belkin.com/images/productmt_aem/895090/renditions/cq5dam.web.372.372.jpeg", "https://sgcdn.startech.com/005329/media/products/gallery_large/UUSBHAUB6IN.C.jpg" ], [ "http://www.belkin.com/resources/img/overview/f2cu029/USB-C_Reversible_291x291_v01-r01.png" ] ]
2a91x6
why is calling someone/something "jew" more racist than saying "jewish"
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2a91x6/eli5_why_is_calling_someonesomething_jew_more/
{ "a_id": [ "cisqxh6" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text": [ "It's the difference between a noun and an adjective. Calling someone a Jew, as a noun, makes it seem as though their religion is the only important thing about them, and can be dehumanizing. \"A Jewish person,\" as a phrase, recognizes the inherent humanity or person-hood of the subject, and also mentions that this person belongs to a particular religion. \n[spelling error edited]" ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
1xd2uw
why do hackers bother messing around with social media?
Someone got into my email and has been launching an assault through my twitter and facebook. To me, it really seems like there's nothing to be gained by doing this. Is it actually just a "because I can" activity or are they after something specific?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xd2uw/why_do_hackers_bother_messing_around_with_social/
{ "a_id": [ "cfaal88", "cfaekkd" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Social Media is a big pool of data. One can use data mining and learn a lot about society's thoughts and mindsets. Evidently, if hackers mess with social media, the data that companies mine through will be invalid.\n\nOther than that, probably because its like a big red flag if done through social media. You never hear about people hacking a magazine, right?", "Another possibility is to try to gain personal information and use it to try to guess bank or credit card passwords and thus gain access to that money." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
5wydt1
is a vegan diet objectively healthier? not concerned about the morals behind it...
What is healthier? Is it really okay to eat fast food as long as you keep calories down? Why were people more thin before the 90's, with all the rich food provided during those times?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5wydt1/eli5_is_a_vegan_diet_objectively_healthier_not/
{ "a_id": [ "dedrt9o", "dedrwni", "dedrydv", "dedsm30", "dedtaos" ], "score": [ 4, 5, 3, 2, 3 ], "text": [ "Healthier than what? Than the average American diet, yeah probably. \n\nAre there diets that are roughly equally healthy, some of which involve animal products and some of which don't? Definitely. It's not that animal products are inherently unhealthy, it's that a lot of the very unhealthy stuff we consume disproportionately come from animals.", "Nope.\n\nYou actually have to take great pains with a vegan diet to avoid nutrient deficiencies. \n\nIf you put that much work into a regular diet, you could easily come up with something just as healthy.", "no, humans are omnivorous. we're not supposed to only eat plants, were not even that good at digesting most of them. \n\nand actually if you're not careful it can be really hard (or even impossible) to get appropriate amounts of B12 in a vegan diet, most vegans supplement to maintain a healthy intake. \n\nhe only real reason to go vegan is for ethical ones. If you were trying to devise the most healthy diet it would be one that would include animal fats and proteins in reasonable amounts. ", "It really isn't healthier, meat is very good for you. Like I mean go for it if you want, have fun in supplement land tho.", "Tricky question. I'm going to say \"no\", with a side order of \"maybe yes\". \n\nSo. \n\nVegan diets - Are they healthy? Depends. It's pretty easy to eat a healthy vegan diet, it's also easy not to. A lot of people go vegan for the health benefits, and I would recommend everyone to go vegan for any reason they choose. \n\nThat said, vegan diets are really easy to get healthy. You will need to supplement B12, and you might have to supplement other nutrients if you're prone to deficiency. \n\nI, for instance, have a greater need to supplement vitamin D since I live in darkness most of the year. Women, for instance, might have a greater need to supplement iron. \n\nB12 is a must, however, and I cannot stress this enough, but it's as easy as dropping a vitamin pill once a day and you're golden. Eat a balanced intake somehow, and you won't have to worry. I personally subsist mostly on Joylent, but it's hardly any trouble to make vegan food that a) tastes good b) is cheap c) is healthy. \n\nA lot of basics will get you far - Potatoes, beans, lentils, vegetables, nuts, leafy greens etc. It's a learning curve, but nothing more than usual. \n\n > Is it really okay to eat fast food as long as you keep calories down?\n\nYou won't die, but could be an issue nutrient-wise. I'm not an expert by any means, but a lot of fast-food contain a lot of fat, sugar and salt and less fibre, vitamins and whatever else you might need. The composition of the food is unhealthy, not just the caloric intake. There's nothing wrong with an indulgence once in a while, however. Everything in moderation. \n\n > Why were people more thin before the 90's, with all the rich food provided during those times?\n\nI can't give you a specific answer for the time period (also, region?), but generally it has to do with the size of the middle class, their disposable income and the sheer amount of food. \n\nPeople eat _a lot_, and consumtion in general rises as the middle class grows and gets wealthier. Consumtion of animal products, especially meat, rise as well along with increased consumtions of sugar, which in turn bring a lot of welfare diseases. Obesity, diabetes, various forms of cancer. \n\nCurrently seeing this in China as the middle-class grows. \n\nIf you have any questions, especially about veganism, you're welcome to ask them, or pay a visit to r/vegan. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [] ]
1g3pn0
why is it really hard to punch yourself in the face?
It's like against my programming or something. what is this?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1g3pn0/eli5_why_is_it_really_hard_to_punch_yourself_in/
{ "a_id": [ "cagxbqd", "cahp9mu" ], "score": [ 5, 2 ], "text": [ "I want to know what lead to this question being asked and I hope it involved you punching yourself in the face over and over", "Don't forget that we're animals & still have instincts. An animal's primary instinct is to survive. Avoiding injury is key to survival. Pain is our body's way of saying \"that might injure you, stop it\". We instinctively avoid things that hurt. Punching yourself in the face would cause pain. You're body says \"fuck you, that'd hurt\" and won't let you punch yourself in the face." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
55p5ry
what is trap music?
Sounds like rap. I must be getting too old.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/55p5ry/eli5_what_is_trap_music/
{ "a_id": [ "d8cgs48", "d8chb0t", "d8cyxyc", "d8d574t" ], "score": [ 2, 3, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "This question might be better suited for r/outoftheloop", "It's a genre of rap, mainly southern rap, T.I , Young Jeezy, UGK\n\nA trap house is where drug deals go down.", "He also could be talking about the EDM genre called trap. Pretty much it's southern hip hop influences meet early 2010s dubstep. ", " It is a style of rap music that is originally from the south but has spread all over the world. Its defining traits are Roland tr-808 style drum samples, very heavy bass drums, lyrics about selling drugs and less of an emphasis on complex bars.\n Like others have said, \"Trap\" comes from trap house which is a house where drugs are sold. The word originates from some projects in Atlanta know as \"the trap\" due to the high level of crime and violence. Because of the association with drug sales, house selling drugs (primarily crack) were described as \"trap houses\". When people from that part of Atlanta made rap music about their experiences there, that was \"trap music\". " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [] ]
41z2tv
how do you tame a wild animal?
If humans just came to earth, how would they domesticate wild animals to beomce like the sheep/cows/dogs/horses we have today? Tried finding information online, but its all tutorials for taming animals in games.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/41z2tv/eli5_how_do_you_tame_a_wild_animal/
{ "a_id": [ "cz6bmjk" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text": [ "All of the domesticated animals became that way because we selected the most docile specimens of the species and bred them over a number of generations, selecting again the most docile for each new generation. Depending on the lifetime of the particular animal this can take many years. In a tightly controlled experiment, it took over 50 years to domesticate a breed of fox.\n\nA single wild animal can be trained to be tame, but it can never truly be domesticated. There are different methods for taming depending on the type of animal. Usually they involve raising a juvenile animal and using conditioning techniques as they mature. Some animals will take to this somewhat readily while with others it is much more difficult and/or dangerous. There are also laws in certain jurisdictions requiring training or licencing for wild animals, and sometimes it is outright illegal. Look into the laws in your country/region before moving forward with something like this. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
3lww8b
why do some actors in shows have their names directly linked to their characters in the credits when others usually aren't?
Not sure if that explains it well enough but I'm talking about when in pre or post credits they'll usually fade in and out on just the actors names like "Charlie Day" but then they'll occasionally do something like "and Danny Devito as Frank Reynolds"?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3lww8b/eli5_why_do_some_actors_in_shows_have_their_names/
{ "a_id": [ "cv9ztlx" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "That's called special billing, and it's usually something that high-profile, stand out actors will request as part of their contracts to make them stand out from the rest of the cast. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
3s451s
why do governments shred confidential documents instead of burning them?
TIL that after Iranian students attacked the US embassy in Teheran in 1979, they were able to reassemble thousands of pages of confidential documents. If this is possible, then why do governments still shredd documents instead of burning them?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3s451s/eli5_why_do_governments_shred_confidential/
{ "a_id": [ "cwtx12m" ], "score": [ 7 ], "text": [ "They had both shredders and a furnace. The furnace malfunctioned so they had to resort to shredding only.\n\n_URL_0_\n\n > Anticipating the takeover of the embassy, the Americans attempted to destroy classified documents with a burn furnace. The furnace malfunctioned and the staff was forced to use cheap paper shredders." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis" ] ]
4yvt3m
how are presidents taken care of once they leave office?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4yvt3m/eli5_how_are_presidents_taken_care_of_once_they/
{ "a_id": [ "d6qr2tf", "d6qr38g", "d6qrtct", "d6qruqs" ], "score": [ 3, 9, 5, 2 ], "text": [ "They get Secret Service protection for life, and presumably this restricts practical living places. They also get a pension.", "They're given a pension as well as secret service protection for life. There were some notable ex presidents who were broke after leaving office so it was instituted when Truman retired since he was not a rich man. Hoover also took the pension. Not because he needed it but wanted to not make Truman look bad for taking it, since then it's become standard.", "The Former Presidents Act of 1958 grants former Presidents $25,000/yr for life (later amended to $161,000), a Secret Service detail at all times, transitional funds available for seven months after leaving office (to buy a home, get an office set up, or whathaveyou), office staff not to exceed a total income of $150,000 for the first 30 months and $98,000 afterward, and medical insurance useable at any military hospital, or for two-term Presidents an available medical insurance plan for any government employee.", "They are given a pension and they get secret service protection for life. They have normally fortified personal property (such as the Bush Ranch) while they were in office and that is often their place of residence once they leave office. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [] ]
1khtyo
how can some smaller engine cars out perform cars with bigger engines?
It has confused me and my brain lacks the logical power to give me a sensible answer. Surely bigger means more power?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1khtyo/eli5_how_can_some_smaller_engine_cars_out_perform/
{ "a_id": [ "cbp2hpl", "cbp2hvl", "cbp2u89", "cbp2vel", "cbpaakx" ], "score": [ 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "How fast a car can go depends both on the size of the engine and the size of the car itself. The engine is pushing the car along, so it's easier to push a light car than a heavy one. It's just like how a much weaker five year-old can still throw a tennis ball farther than you can throw a bowling ball.\n\nEngines are extremely heavy, so the engine size has a lot to do with the car's weight. Making a performance car is mostly a balancing act of trying to determine whether it's better to make the car lighter, sacrificing raw power, or heavier in exchange for more horsepower.\n\nYou can also make a smaller engine more powerful than a bigger one by being clever with the design. For example, superchargers and turbochargers are pretty light relative to how much power they add to the engine.", "Weight to thrust ratios. \n\nLarger engines are heavier thus requiring more force to propel forward. Think of a large engine like a bowling ball, it takes a lot of energy to push it. Think of a small engine like a ping pong ball, you can push it forward just by blowing on it.\n\nEngines are also designed to do different things, A tractor is designed to pull a lot of weight. The engine is big and heavy and gives the tractor power to pull heavy things, like a cart full of bowling balls. A go kart is much smaller and designed to go fast. The engine is super light and the go kart is very light as well. It would struggle to pull the bowling balls, but will beat the tractor any time they raced.\n\n", "(Full disclosure: I'm not terribly knowledgeable about engine design and the numbers were just pulled from quick Google searches, but I hope this helps)\n\nThere are a lot of factors including engine design, suspension, handling, etc. etc. etc. that determine whether a car will \"out perform\" another on a given course (dragstrip, autocross, etc.), but the biggest one if you're considering small vs. large cars is the power to weight ratio.\n\nA Honda Civic Coupe (1.8L, or 1800cc) making 140 horsepower will do 0-60 in 9.1 seconds. It has an 1800cc engine, but weighs 2700 pounds. That's a power (HP) to weight ratio of around 103 horsepower per ton. It has a sizable engine, but it's moving a lot of weight.\n\nA Honda CBR1000RR motorcycle (1000cc engine) making 178 horsepower will do 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. It has a 1000cc engine, but weighs only ~430 pounds. That means it has a power to weight ratio of 827 horsepower per ton, around eight times that of the Civic. Even though the engine is significantly smaller, it's moving much less weight and so it can do so faster.\n", "It's largely a function of RPM. If you compare a modern 2.4L F1 engine running at 18,000 rpm to a 5L V8 running at 6,000 RPM, (all else being equal) the smaller engine will be making almost 50% more power (half the displacement, but 3x the rotational speed).\n\nEdit: this is assuming that the cars are equal. Power-to-weight of the cars is another important factor.", "Not necessarily. \n\nThere is a measure of what the power of an engine is and it's called horse power. 1 hp = 746 watts. \n\nSome 4 cylinders 2.0 L engines kick much more power than for example a 3.0 V8 because they can reach higher RPM, and because of extra components like volumetric compressors, turbos, etc..\n\nFormula 1 is a good example as motors are limited to a volume of 2.8 liters and 8 cylinders maximum. But they reach 18,000 RPM and have over 1,000 HP.\n\n" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [] ]
5ksea4
do fish make audible noises? how do they communicate if not?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ksea4/eli5_do_fish_make_audible_noises_how_do_they/
{ "a_id": [ "dbqd7ss", "dbqfxxo" ], "score": [ 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Some do make noises. Others may release substances that can be tasted or smelled, manipulate electrical pulses, display bio-luminescence, or rely on good ole body language. ", "Watched an awesome doco which discussed exactly this last night: _URL_0_\n\nYes many of them do make noises and apparently like chattering birds they do it mostly in the mornings and evenings." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "http://attenboroughsreef.com/reef_sound.php" ] ]
beibmt
how are some publishers' games "playable" at just 20% of the download?
[deleted]
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/beibmt/eli5_how_are_some_publishers_games_playable_at/
{ "a_id": [ "el637yf" ], "score": [ 6 ], "text": [ "A huge portion of the disk space taken up by a game may be items like maps, video/audio files, higher resolution textures, etc\n\n\nThe actual base code needed to run is often very small in comparison. If the downloader prioritizes the base code and enough of the resources to play a level or two, the whole game may not need to be downloaded just to start playing.\n\nThe downside of course is that some features may not be available and the game won't let you play a level that has missing assetts." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
7j9h5w
what is so different about their pathways that causes aspirin to be useful in anti-platelet therapy and ibuprofen to be a detrimental factor regarding heart disease?
Considering that both ASA (aspirin) and Ibuprofen both inhibit COX-1 and COX-2, why does chronic use of Ibuprofen increase risk of heart disease whereas ASA is given to patients having a heart attack? I know that ASA is derived from salycilic acid and Ibuprofen is derived from propionic acid. Otherwise, I cannot find a distinctive difference between the two. I've already found information regarding the increased risk of hypertension and peripheral edema with chronic use of ibuprofen. I am specifically looking for what causes the difference between the anti-coagulant effects of ASA and the increased risk for heart disease from Ibuprofen. [Link regarding Heart Disease and Ibuprofen](_URL_2_) I promise, I searched prior to submitting. I did not find the **exact** answer to the question I have. [ELI5: Differences between Aspirin and Ibuprofen](_URL_1_) [AskScience ASA anti-platelt therapy but not other NSAIDs](_URL_0_) Rephrasing of the question 1: Why is Aspirin more notably considered a "blood thinner" and Ibuprofen an anti-inflammatory even though they inhibit the same enzymes, therefor being capable of completing the same function, but chronic Ibuprofen use has a side effect of increased risk for heart disease? Rephrasing of the question 2: What is the difference between aspirin and ibuprofen that causes them to specialize in different treatments? Anti-platelet therapy and pain relief respectively, even though they follow the same biochemical pathway, but both have slightly different adverse effects?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/7j9h5w/eli5_what_is_so_different_about_their_pathways/
{ "a_id": [ "dr4nneh", "dr4r90p", "dr4rjca", "dr4rwsb", "dr4v9hj", "dr4wzgu", "dr4wzrw", "dr4zev2", "dr54zti", "dr55hpo", "dr55z8w", "dr5xtvj", "dr6ah9z" ], "score": [ 1181, 2, 85, 56, 10, 9, 934, 2, 2, 4, 10, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Both aspirin and ibuprofen inhibit COX1 & COX2 yes but the degree and mechanism for each is different. \n\nIbuprofen is a reversible inhibitor of COX2 so you only get the anti-platelet effects when you’re taking it. You have to keep taking high doses to get those anti-platelet benefits but you risk GI ulcers from constantly inhibiting COX1 and heart failure from your kidneys having to continually clear the large amount of drug. \n\nAspirin is a irreversible inhibitor of COX2 so a little bit goes a long way. Once aspirin inhibits COX2 it is inhibited for the life of the platelet, about 8-9 days, so you don’t need to continually take high doses to reach therapeutic levels like you do with ibuprofen. \n\nEDIT: Aspirin is an irreversible COX 1 inhibitor, and that’s where platelet inhibition/antiplatelet works. My bad!", "As far as I remember, aspirin is weakly COX-1 selective at low doses. COX-1 promotes platelet aggregation, while COX-2 inhibits it. The irreversible binding to COX-1 inhibits platelet aggregation, and since platelets lack nuclei no new COX can be produced. Ibuprofen and most other NSAIDs are not COX-1 selective and bind reversibly, as some other commenter mentioned.", "Can someone ELI5 the question?", "Did you mean to submit this to r/askscience? Because this seems well above the eli5 level of knowledge and specificity.", "ASA in low doses inhibits thromboxane, which is responsible for the cardioprotective anti-platelet activity with only minimal COX1/2 activity. Because ASA is causes irreversible blockade, the duration of the antiplatelet activity persists for the duration of the platelet (1w+).\n\n\nNSAIDs at typical doses(much higher) have much more effect on COX2, which through complex poorly understood mechanisms are thought to cause the increased cardiovascular risk. This is why many COX2 inhibitors were pulled from the market. Of note, NSAIDs also increase bleeding risk due to antiplatelet action, however, it is shorter duration due to the reversible inhibition opposed to irreversible inhibition with ASA.\n\nSorry for grammar and spelling, writing on mobile.", "put this question on /r/medicine\n\nI can answer for Aspirin - Aspirin (ASA) is a platelet aggregation inhibitor, they decrease the formation of platelet plugs. It inhibits cyclooxygenase, an enzyme needed for the synthesis of thromboxane A2 (TXA2). By inhibiting TXA2, ASA decreases the formation of platelet and anticoagulant drugs, but has no effect on existing thrombi; it only curbs the formation of new thrombi. \n\nELI5 - Aspirin works on not allowing a clot to form, but does not effect established clots. This is useful, because most heart attacks or strokes are caused by a clot. ", "Actual ELI5: aspirin loves to hug a platelet and won't let go! So until a new platelet is made, aspirin will continue to help your blood thin, because the way the platelets are hugged by aspirin keeps the blood thin. But ibuprofen likes to only hug until something better comes along, so it won't keep the blood thin for a long time. So you have to keep taking ibuprofen to keep your blood thin. Plus, taking lotsa ibuprofen makes your tummy hurt and your heart tired :C\n\nThat's what I gathered from the top comments anyway", "Aspirin in low doses irreversibly inhibits COX 1 enzyme that is located in thrombocytes without interfering with COX 2 that is necessary for normal function of endothelium (the line of cells that are covering the interior of blood vessels).\n\nBy taking the ibuprofen for long periods of time, you also inhibit the before mentioned COX 2 in edothelium and you compromise it's anti-clotting function.\n\nKeep in mind that larger doses of aspirin can also increase the risk of cardiovascular incidents since you once again inhibit COX2. Also, the elevated blood pressure from ibuprofen use can put additional strain on endothelium.\n", "I once had inflammation of my throat and since eating hurt too much without pain killers I decided to eat later when I'd arrived at school. I took 2x 400mg of Ibuprofen on an empty stomach and washed them down with a can of Redbull. 10-15 minutes later it felt like I'd taken speed. Did the Ibuprofen enhance the caffeine/taurine in the Redbull or what happened? Anyone know? ", "Both of those should be out of your reach.\n\nI’m gonna warn your parents.\n\nMaybe you want to know what’s the difference between orange and purple Flintstones vitamin?", "ELI5: Imagine you are having guests over and there is a room that you don't want anyone to go into. If you simply close the door that's ibuprofen. If you lock the door and throw away the key that's asprin.\n\nMore details: \n\nBoth asprin and ibuprofen affect the production of compounds that contribute to platelet aggregation (clotting). The difference is that asprin is an irreversable inhibitor (locked door, no passsage because people can't open door) while ibuprofen is a reversible inhibitor (closed door, some passage if people choose to open door).\n\nAnswers to your specific questions:\n\n1) Both drugs act on COX enzymes (COX-1 AND COX-2) non-selectively. This just means that they affect both COX enzymes **not** that they affect them equally - that's the key point. COX-1 and COX-2 work together to regulate blood clotting. COX-1 promotes clotting (platelet aggregation) COX-2 inhibits it. Main side effects of COX-1 inhibition tend to be gastrointestinal. Main side effects of COX-2 inhibition tend to be cardiovascular. I feel like that answers your questions but I'm going to ramble.\n\nAsprin acts significantly more on COX-1 (anti-clotting effect), and does so irreversably. Ibuprofen acts on both to similar degrees, or at least not nearly as different as asprin, but reversibly. Inhibition of COX-2 is what is associated with cardivascular risk because you are removing the inhibition of platelet aggregation (basically making platelets more sticky so they clot). That's why COX-2 selective NSAIDs like Vioxx were pulled.\n\n2) It is the difference between irreversible and reversible inhibition as well as the difference in affinity for each COX enzyme. Since asprin acts more on COX-1 its effect is primarily anti-clotting. Ibuprofen acts on COX-1 and COX-2 but because it's inhibition is reversible the anti-clotting effect is lower than asprin but the pain killing effect greater since it acts on COX-2 more than asprin. \n\nThe main adverse effects of both asprin and ibuprofen are gastrointestinal like ulcers, stomach bleeding, stomach discomfort and upset. These are caused by inhibiting COX-1. The cardiovascular side effects of ibuprofen are related to COX-2, which asprin acts less on.\n\n", "The simplest way to describe the difference between aspirin and ibuprofen (a NSAID) is in how they affect your body. Aspirin works by stopping platelets (which are used to cause a clot and stop bleeding) from coming together. Aspirin is irreversible and requires platelets to be remade in the body to decrease this drug’s effect too. NSAIDs will stop platelets from coming together, and will also block the inflammation process. NSAIDs are also reversible, and due to this their effect are not long lasting (effect is in hours, not days).\n\nInflammation occurs when the body wants to heal itself by sending the immune system to an area that has undergone damage or identified infection. The immune system is able to enter an area needing its help by increasing blood flow. When blood flow is increased the immune system can quickly get to work, and this is also the reason why inflamed areas are warmer and typically red when seen on the skin. Increased blood flow also means blood is more able to be clotted.\n\nNSAIDs typically stop two mechanisms: COX-1 (which when stopped can stop platelets from creating a clot, but increase stomach bleeding) and COX-2 (which when stopped can prevent inflammation). Most NSAIDs stop COX-1 and COX-2, and because they effect both mechanism this type of drug are called non-selective. Some NSAIDs are selective to stopping COX-2. The NSAIDs that only stop COX-2 (commonly called “coxibs”) are popular for people who deal with pain caused by inflammation (especially in the joints - think arthritis), but are unable to handle the stomach issues and bleeding risk caused by non-selective NSAIDs. However, stopping COX-2 also stops an enzyme called prostacyclin (PGI2) from working.\n\nProstacyclin is important for heart health because it relaxes (dilates) heart blood vessels and breaks up clots caused by the coming together of platelets. This is important for the heart because blood vessels when not relaxed will increase blood pressure (bad for overall heart health) and limit blood to the heart (especially when these vessels have plaque/fats trapped along their walls). Also stopping prostacyclin can increase the formation of clots in the heart that can block blood flow either across the heart or to the brain (which can cause a stroke).\n\nAspirin only stops platelets from coming together by stopping COX-1 (this is why it can also cause stomach pain when taken at high doses). When taken at a low dose (less than 100 mg) aspirin will stop the formation of clots in the heart. Areas at great risk of clot formation would be veins that have stents placed in them because the immune system is attacking the stent (because it’s a foreign object in the body). This is why it’s a great medication for patients at risk of heart failure or (a recurrent) stroke.\n\nIt’s important to also consider that the negative effects of NSAIDs to heart health are significant, but require a large and long term dose to really take effect. Another thing to remember too is if you are going to take NSAIDs and aspirin together take it can greatly increase your risk of bleeding. As well, if taken together NSAIDs should be taken 8 hours before aspirin or 30 minutes after aspirin has been taken (this is because NSAID’s effect are reversible while aspirin’s effect are irreversible). Strangely enough aspirin has also been shown to decrease colon cancer risk.", "ELI5 answer : aspirin permanently stops one clotting button on platelets for their life span (7 days) while other nsaids only work for a short time while also raising blood pressure which hurts the heart and increases the risk of heart attack (aspirin also raises bp too!). \n\nNow for the detail oriented... Aspirin is a suicide inhibitor of Cox 1 in platelets. It occupies and acetylates the cox 1 binding pocket permanently on a platelet. The life span of a platelet is 7 days, hence the reason why aspirin is typically held for 7 days before a major surgery. In order to regain full function, the body must produce more platelets. Now that's not the only way to activate a platelet. Platelet aggregation is also affected by the p2y12 receptor (target for drugs like plavix) as well as serotonin, adenosine, and other inflammatory mediators (prostaglandins) produced by cox enzymes that might encourage clotting so they only become less apt to clot per say with aspirin therapy. When a plaque ruptures in a coronary vessel the aspirin reduces the ability of platelets to effectively block off that blood vessel. Other nsaids only bind that enzyme for a little while and then dissociate rendering the platelet fully functional. Nsaids also raise blood pressure as well within the body by not allowing the afferent renal artery to dilate in the kidneys which try to raise your blood pressure in response to reduced blood flow to the glomurulae increasing damage to coronary blood vessels and exacerbating plaques and their formation thus increasing the risk of heart attack. Cox also decreases acid production from the parietal cells in the stomach so when they are inhibited, acid production increases thus increasing the risk of ulcer formation and subsequent bleeding. Pretty much all nsaids are detrimental to the heart except for aspirin and Aleve (naproxen) which are cardioprotective. I'm not certain exactly why aleve is mildly cardioprotective but I'm sure it has something to do with its long action. Fun fact, prostaglandins that produce inflammation are derived from the fatty acids in your cell wall, omega 3 fatty acids are good for you because they produce less inflammation (you are what you eat) Source: am pharmacist. " ] }
[]
[ "https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/2g6cio/how_does_aspirin_inhibit_platelets_but_other/", "https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/17fji7/eli5_the_differences_between_aspirin_ibuprofen/", "https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/ibuprofen-and-heart-failure" ]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
1honns
how does kickstarter prevent fraud?
Ive seen now quite a few kickstarters that have been very close to being funded, but missed out by only a small amount. What is there to stop the project organiser from contributing to his own kickstarter? By creating a dummy kickstarter account, using a different account, they could contribute a small amount to push it over the limit and guarantee they get thousands.. They wouldnt lose anything, as they donate to themselves. Obviously kickstarter must prevent this.. But how?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1honns/eli5how_does_kickstarter_prevent_fraud/
{ "a_id": [ "cawcjz8", "cawclej", "cawdfyg" ], "score": [ 2, 13, 6 ], "text": [ "short awnser is it dosent.\n\nif you are asking how kickstarter protects itselve then the awnser is kickstarter is not responsible for the possibility that a project even if its funded ever gets finished", "But if you need 16 grand for your project, and you get 15 and put in the last grand yourself, thats effectively the same as having just set the bar at 15.\n\nI mean the bar is totally arbitrary, its just the point where you defined \"yeah thats enough money to do this\" if you decide 15 grand is enough and you can stump the rest yourself, who cares?", "There isn't any protection against this, AFAIK. \"Kickjacking\" (kickstarter+hijacking) is a really shady practice that sucks." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
308f5z
why is it that lobbing politicians in the u.s is not considered bribing?
I'm not from the U.S. and in my country, lobbying is considered a bribe, and so, forbbiden. So, what is the argument given that makes it not against the law? EDIT: yeah, I meant lobbying! My bad EDIT 2: ok, so basically, it's not a bribe because it should be transparent to the public eye. But doesn't it has the same effect as a bribe? I mean, a big oil company, for example, gives money for the campaign of some politician if he votes against an environmental bill, or something like that. Would this be legal if both sides were open about it ? And doesn't it just means more control over politics by the rich and powerful?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/308f5z/eli5_why_is_it_that_lobbing_politicians_in_the_us/
{ "a_id": [ "cpq1v9f", "cpq1yzj", "cpq20jq", "cpq20u7", "cpq2t2z", "cpq43cy" ], "score": [ 3, 4, 7, 8, 3, 4 ], "text": [ "Usually there's no definite proof that the intended law/bill/vote was a **direct** result of these contributions. Innocent until proven guilty.", "Lobbyists act as a representative of a larger group and they inform politicians on fact and views of that group. This could be anything from environmentalists to corporate oil groups. Lobbyists do not bribe as that is illegal. They may donate the legal amount of money to politicians, but so do regular people and companies.", "I think you might mean lobbying? If so, lobbying can be done in many different ways (grassroots lobbying, direct lobbying,etc). Lobbying itself doesn't always concern money; there are other ways in which lobbyists can influence legislators. One of the reasons that lobbying isn't illegal is because the definition is so wide. Anyone who influences government, whether by writing a letter or by \"donating\" 1 million to a campaign does some form of lobbying. In addition, the process itself is relatively unknown and conducted in secret, and thus very hard to regulate. There are anti-lobbying laws that restrict and regulate lobbying, like the federal regulation of lobbying act of 1946 and the lobby disclosure act of 1995 but there are a lot of loopholes that lobbyists use to get around the laws.", "The biggest difference relates to transparency.\n\nA bribe is usually something conducted in secret where one party secretly pays another party under-the-table to perform a specific action (e.g. to vote for or against something).\n\nLobbying on the other hand is quite transparent in the US. The public can see what companies/groups are lobbying the government and in most cases the financial contributions etc. that may influence politician's position are publicly documented.\n\nPoliticians would really only get in trouble if they were hiding secret deals like \"Hey Mr. Law-maker, we will pay you $500,000 if you get this bill passed!\" ... It's not so much a problem when it's more like \"Hey Mr. Law-maker, we think you're a great guy, that's why our company is helping to fund your political campaign / organization... by the way, we were also wondering if you would consider supporting this new legislation, it will help our company grow and create new jobs etc.\"", "It's because very few politicians enjoy being flung through the air. The few that do--Ron Paul prominent among them--will reward you with favours on occasion. This only happens if you can successfully land them in the big pile of hay, though.", "Lobbying -- the act of petitioning the government -- is expressly protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. What's not allowed is /bribery/ -- a more explicit quid pro quo of favors for some official act, but realize, as [Sen. Russ Feingold explained, it often goes in the other direction](_URL_0_):\n > I've had conversations with Democratic givers out here in the Bay Area and I'll tell you, you wouldn't believe the requests they're getting. The opening ante is a million dollars. It's not, gee, it'd be nice if you give a million. That's sort of the baseline. This is unprecedented. And, in fact, one thing that John and I experienced was that sometimes the corporations that didn't like the system would come to us and say, you know, you guys, it's not legalized bribery, it's legalized extortion. Because it's not like the company CEO calls up to say, gee, I'd love to give you some money. It's usually the other way around. The politician or their agent who's got the Super PAC, they're the ones that are calling up and asking for the money." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [ "https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120406/18051618415/is-lobbying-closer-to-bribery-extortion.shtml" ] ]
jnaxq
if generic products are name brands just re-packaged, how do the companies make money?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/jnaxq/eli5_if_generic_products_are_name_brands_just/
{ "a_id": [ "c2dijvn", "c2dims3", "c2diynb", "c2dijvn", "c2dims3", "c2diynb" ], "score": [ 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "The generic products are made from the same stuff as the name brand (usually), but either the generic cuts corners or just charges less -the name brand company might make $0.25 on something, and the generic might make $0.10 on the imitation.\n\nThe generics aren't repackaged, but just an imitation, possibly a very good one. It's kind of like setting up a lemonade stand next to a pop machine - you hope to get business when people see that you're just as good and a better deal. ", "Name-brand products cost a lot more money after they're made to make sure they stay popular. Many popular product manufacturers will spend millions of dollars just advertising the product. That advertising money must be made up somewhere, so the cost of the product goes up. For generic alternatives, a company can also make the generic brand, never have to advertise for it, and sell it at a lower price to those who don't care about name-brand stuff.\n\nThe name-brand stuff is to make sure the public knows that \"Product XYZ is the best!\" although it may not be true ;)\n\nThe generic stuff from the same company is the same thing, but without all the hype. This lets you have more customers since now you are tailoring to people who don't care about name brands for whatever reason.\n\nThey will continue to make money because they will never sell the product for less than it costs them to make it (in almost all cases). Just not as much money as quickly.", "Let's say you're a company who sells plastic forks. It costs you $1 to make a box of 100 forks, and you sell each box for $1.50, making a 50 cent profit per box. Your competitor sells forks at $1.20 per 100, but their forks are lower quality. Some people buy your forks because they are higher quality, others buy the competitor's because they are cheaper.\n\nYou could lower your forks to $1.15 for a box, undercutting the competitor and gaining more customers, but then you would only make 15 cents per box, so you would need to sell about 3 times as many forks to make the same total profit. Or you could keep selling them at $1.50 and just accept the fact that some people will buy the cheaper forks.\n\nThe third option is to keep selling your forks at $1.50 a box, while also selling the same forks as a generic brand for $1.15 a box. This way you still get the same profit from your loyal customers, but you also gain new customers who will buy the generic forks because they are cheaper.\n\nThis is kind of over simplified (not sure what the actual profit on each box is, it might be lower) but it's basically how it works. \n See also: [price discrimination](_URL_0_)", "The generic products are made from the same stuff as the name brand (usually), but either the generic cuts corners or just charges less -the name brand company might make $0.25 on something, and the generic might make $0.10 on the imitation.\n\nThe generics aren't repackaged, but just an imitation, possibly a very good one. It's kind of like setting up a lemonade stand next to a pop machine - you hope to get business when people see that you're just as good and a better deal. ", "Name-brand products cost a lot more money after they're made to make sure they stay popular. Many popular product manufacturers will spend millions of dollars just advertising the product. That advertising money must be made up somewhere, so the cost of the product goes up. For generic alternatives, a company can also make the generic brand, never have to advertise for it, and sell it at a lower price to those who don't care about name-brand stuff.\n\nThe name-brand stuff is to make sure the public knows that \"Product XYZ is the best!\" although it may not be true ;)\n\nThe generic stuff from the same company is the same thing, but without all the hype. This lets you have more customers since now you are tailoring to people who don't care about name brands for whatever reason.\n\nThey will continue to make money because they will never sell the product for less than it costs them to make it (in almost all cases). Just not as much money as quickly.", "Let's say you're a company who sells plastic forks. It costs you $1 to make a box of 100 forks, and you sell each box for $1.50, making a 50 cent profit per box. Your competitor sells forks at $1.20 per 100, but their forks are lower quality. Some people buy your forks because they are higher quality, others buy the competitor's because they are cheaper.\n\nYou could lower your forks to $1.15 for a box, undercutting the competitor and gaining more customers, but then you would only make 15 cents per box, so you would need to sell about 3 times as many forks to make the same total profit. Or you could keep selling them at $1.50 and just accept the fact that some people will buy the cheaper forks.\n\nThe third option is to keep selling your forks at $1.50 a box, while also selling the same forks as a generic brand for $1.15 a box. This way you still get the same profit from your loyal customers, but you also gain new customers who will buy the generic forks because they are cheaper.\n\nThis is kind of over simplified (not sure what the actual profit on each box is, it might be lower) but it's basically how it works. \n See also: [price discrimination](_URL_0_)" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination" ], [], [], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination" ] ]
5pu12h
now that obama is no longer president, how does he make money? does he get money from the government?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5pu12h/eli5_now_that_obama_is_no_longer_president_how/
{ "a_id": [ "dctu7qd", "dctum2j", "dctuxc7", "dctvkxw" ], "score": [ 2, 2, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "He has a retirement salary. This was implemented after President Truman was bankrupt after his tenure as president and Congress and the populace considered it shameful. \n\nMost Presidents were also independently wealthy before becoming President so they have those investments as well. \n\nPresidents also make money by writing books, and giving speeches. ", "the Obama's aren't poor to begin with. before he was president, he had a net worth of about $1.5mil not enough to retire on..but very close. Barack was an attorney then professor then senator. Michelle was a attorney, then director of various City of Chicago committees, Dean of students at Univ of Chicago, director for the UC hospital, etc.\n\nBarack was making over $150k before his Presidential campaign. Michelle was making over $270. Their 2006 tax return stated an income of $991k \n\neven if Obamas never became First Family, they are pretty damn well off without the $200k pension", "Ex-presidents receive the Executive Level 1 pension, which is $205,700, the same that other high-ranking positions award (any Secretary of X is on the same). They are also given certain benefits like lifetime secret service protection (this is important because kidnapping an ex-president could get you insane amounts of classified information) and a budget for an office space with staff, and the first lady is entitled to a pension of $20,000 (although Michelle has not claimed it). There's also a building in Washington DC, spitting distance from the White House, where former presidents are allowed to stay for free while visiting (but they don't live there full-time).\n\nObama has lots of ways to make money, though. He's written 3 books, from which he made a good amount of money at release and will continue to earn royalties from (~$300,000/year at last count, this declines over time), and he's stated his desire to write more. A well-written book about the presidency by a popular ex-president is a guaranteed hit, any publisher in the world would offer him a $10M advance on that, and that's what he's planning to write.\n\nEx-presidents are in demand as speakers; George W. makes an average of $130K per speech he gives, and he left office unpopular and with a reputation for being ineloquent; even Sarah Palin makes $30K - $80K. Obama left on a high approval rating both at home and overseas and his speeches have a strong reputation, he could be commanding $250K. He's a former law professor and has stated his desire to speak at law schools and high schools, although school gigs typically pay nowhere near as high as corporate ones.\n\nIt's become a tradition for presidents to spend their retirement raising money to fund the library built in their name, which Obama is doing now -- the Barack Obama Presidential Library is planned for Chicago's south side and he's going to raise money to pay for that.\n\nAs a fun sidenote, ex-presidents often find themselves being offered really good deals on housing. Having an ex-president in a neighbourhood drives prestige and property values up, partly because having a 24/7 secret service detail on your street is a home security dream. So people who own multiple properties in the same area will give an ex-president a great deal on a house just to get him near their other houses.", "A former president receives a lifetime pension that is equal to the salary of Cabinet members (something a little over $200,000 now). S/he also receives expenses related to transitioning from the office for 7 months, and then continues to receive funding for a private office and staff and certain travel expenses. \n\nPer wikipedia: \"Persons employed under this subsection are selected by and responsible only to the former president for the performance of their duties. Each former president fixes basic rates of compensation for persons employed for him, not exceeding an annualized total of $150,000 for the first 30 months and $96,000 thereafter.\"\n\nWith pension and annual office/staff/travel expenses, it can come to over $1M/year.\n\nThe are also entitled to lifetime Secret Service protection. When Richard Nixon became the first (and only?) former President to choose to drop Secret Service protection in 1985, it was estimated annual protection cost $3 million. \n\nThe Former Presidents Act was passed during the Eisenhower administration in part due to some of the challenges Harry Truman faced upon leaving office when he was reluctant to trade on the prestige of the office of the presidency. (_URL_0_).\n\nIn 2016, Congress passed a bill to cap expenses, but President Obama vetoed it with the explanation that it would have unintended consequences on his predecessors and their staffs. (_URL_1_)" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [ "https://theintercept.com/2016/02/08/taxpayers-give-big-pensions-to-ex-presidents-precisely-so-they-dont-have-to-sell-out/", "http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/07/22/obama-vetoes-cuts-former-presidents-expense-accounts/87462850/" ] ]
1brm9v
the hatred of office depot on /r/circlejerk
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1brm9v/eli5_the_hatred_of_office_depot_on_rcirclejerk/
{ "a_id": [ "c99hqp7" ], "score": [ 4 ], "text": [ "They're circlejerking in support of Staples, of which Office Depot is a competitor. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
5hrm2y
how did songs such as "jingle bells", "deck the halls" and "silent night" become part of the permanent christmas carol canon, and why have contemporary songs not been able to replace them?
[deleted]
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5hrm2y/eli5_how_did_songs_such_as_jingle_bells_deck_the/
{ "a_id": [ "db2ecdl" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Nostalgia and public domain copyright.\n\nA lot of Christmas songs are **really** old, but the versions that typically get played on the radio were created in the 1940s to the 60s, just in time to become a beloved part of the Baby Boom generation's childhood.\n\nAlso, a lot of christmas songs are under public domain with no rights and requirement, so if people want to perform or cover their own version, there's no legal red tape. \n\nA few modern versions have snuck in though! Mariah Carey's made herself a part of every Christmas Top 40 setlist since 1994." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
18y0tx
why is it bad to shave against the grain?
Divorced parents, raised by my mom, nobody around to explain important stuff like this to me. So i didn't find out until i was almost 30 that you aren't supposed to shave your face "against the grain." Been shaving for over 15 years, i find i have to shave the stubble on my throat under my jaw against the grain or it accomplishes nothing. So why is it supposedly so bad?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/18y0tx/eli5_why_is_it_bad_to_shave_against_the_grain/
{ "a_id": [ "c8j00ie", "c8j01w9", "c8j08e5", "c8j0buq", "c8j17gt", "c8j1bky", "c8j1ldt", "c8j26j8", "c8j2l95", "c8j2sak", "c8j6qro" ], "score": [ 3, 30, 16, 8, 2, 6, 3, 2, 3, 4, 2 ], "text": [ "As a male, I find that presumably it's just more irritation. On top if that, more of a chance for breaking out, etc. ", "Hey there, I am in a similar situation (divorced parents, raised by my mom) and so I did not have the whole shaving experience explained to me either. It took me some trial and error, but I have been shaving successfully for many years (at least I think I have been).\n\nIt seems to vary between individuals, but some people get really bad razor burn when they shave against the grain. Basically, the hair gets cut so short that it recedes into the pore and a layer of skin can grow overtop. This happens many times, creating a bunch of small, red, inflamed pores (kinda like zits) in the area that you have just shaved. It can be somewhat prevented by the use of after-shave, but it doesn't really work for me.\n\nPersonally, this only occurs in my neck-beard area and so that's the only place I really pay attention to \"shaving with the grain\".", "Head on over to /r/wicked_edge. They can help! ", "If you're using a cartridge razor, then the individual blades work like this:\n\nThe first blade pulls the hair slightly above the skin, and each subsequent blade cuts the hair a little shorter. So if you're shaving against the grain, you're catching the hair at the best possible angle for that first blade to grab it for the rest of the blades to cut it, but by doing so, you're also cutting it further below skin level than you would be if you were shaving with or across the grain.\n\nFurthermore, when you shave, you're taking off the top layer of skin, which if you apply too much pressure, can cause your body to produce an inflammatory response (sending blood and other immune system proteins & cells to a damaged area) in that area. The response is more severe when you shave against the grain because you've pulled that first hair up further than you would have if you had shaved against the grain, and by pulling up the hair further, you're also cutting off more of the skin surrounding it - think about when you grab one of your arm hairs and pull; it pulls the skin up with it.\n\nThese two things can cause the pore from which the hair grows to close up, while the hair continues to grow. This produces an ingrown hair, where your hair grows into the top layer of skin.\n\nTL;DR You'll irritate the skin more by shaving against the grain than you will with the grain.\n\nIf you're curious and want to learn more about shaving techniques and products, check out /r/wicked_edge, everyone there is super helpful, and it has some great links to products, instruction videos, etc.", "huh, my dad taught me to shave against the grain. Never really found it that painful or irritated.", "I do the first stroke with the grain, and the second against the grain. I find that this gives a cleaner shave, and on very rare occasions I get ingrown hairs. Also, wash/soak your face with warm water before shaving, cold water after shaving, and use a soothing after shave balm - your face will be smooth as a baby's.", "Depending on your skin it might be perfectly fine. I shave again the grain on my neck every day and rarely get razor burn. I use a safety razor, not cartridges. I did get some nasty burn with the cartridge razors fwiw.", "First of all go to r/wicked_edge Then, your problem isn't shaving against the grain it is your process. Let your beard grow out and look to see which way the grain grows throughout your face an neck.\n\nNext time you shave start by shaving with the grain to remove the bulk of whiskers. Then, shave across the grain to further de-whisker (not scientific term lol) Finally, shave against the grain the get the smooth face you are looking for.\n\nFinal notes: thoroughly wash face with warm water to soften whiskers and clean face with cold water after and use a quality moisturizer. Also, use a light touch and let the razor do the work.\n\nHappy shaving!", "I've never heard of this. I share with the grain first then against. If I don't do this I won't get the \"clean shaved\" feel. How do people attain this if *not* going against the grain?", "For the love of all things holy, switch to a double edged safety razor. Do your first pass with the grain and then shave in whatever direction you want. Best. Shave. Ever.", "You end up cutting the hair too short, to where its below the skin layer, and they end up becoming ingrown, and it sucks." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
35yij6
wifi on planes, trains, and buses
How do they manage to get WiFi on some planes, trains, and buses? How much does it cost to provide WiFi? Is it so much that it explains why some planes offer it but others don't (even within the same airline)?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/35yij6/eli5_wifi_on_planes_trains_and_buses/
{ "a_id": [ "cr8zs5g", "cr900w5" ], "score": [ 6, 3 ], "text": [ "It's expensive because it is a niche product and transfer rates are slow. There's two options of obtaining wifi on planes that I am aware of. \n\nThe first is using a 3G service like GoGo. They have built out a 3G network on land and point their services up for planes to connect to. The other alternative is to use satellite. Both options are slow, especially for the number of people on board. This is why they often push you towards in-flight movies/shows which can be cached locally.", "on land they use the cellular network just like your phone, like a 3G router. This is not so easy on trains because of tunnels and reception issues plus having to provide wi-fi on the whole length but it's not difficult on buses. \n\nOn planes they use mostly satellite links, or within the US there is also a company that uses cellular towers pointed to the sky for faster service. \nThe speed can be very low, and satellite internet costs money, so it costs money and not all companies provide it. Certainly not for free. \nAs far as specific planes not offering it, maybe they didn't do it because it costs money to equip them or they're focusing on just some lines. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
68mmqk
why is it that if the msm is "fake news" and vice versa that they aren't "fake news" is no one sued for libel?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/68mmqk/eli5_why_is_it_that_if_the_msm_is_fake_news_and/
{ "a_id": [ "dgzl254" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "Three things:\n1. News organizations have certain protections in place constitutionally that prevent them from receiving backlash in most cases.\n2. Public figures such as politicians and high level business executives have lost certain rights to privacy and protections against attacks by media. This is because they are out in the forefront of society. \n3. Slander and Libel require that the accusations be completely untrue and done with the malicious intent to cause harm." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
y48h4
how would someone go about leaving the country?
I have been throwing the idea around in my head for a few years now, and I just realized, I have no idea what I would have to go through to accomplish this. I live in the U.S. but if the process is similar in other countries, then please explain for as many people as possible
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/y48h4/eli5_how_would_someone_go_about_leaving_the/
{ "a_id": [ "c5s6z3t", "c60si7r" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Do you mean go visit another country and come back eventually? Or, do you mean renouncing your citizenship and no longer being a citizen of the United States?\n\nIf the first, it's pretty simple. You definitely need a passport. You can read instructions on how to get that [here](_URL_1_). You might also need a visa to enter whichever country you want to go to. Some countries will give you a tourist visa immediately upon landing (that's what the stamp in the passport is). For some countries you need to apply for a visa from the country's embassy before you leave.\n\nIf it's the second question, [read this](_URL_0_).", "Firstly, you need to obtain a passport.\n\nOne approach:\n* Firstly, find a job in target country (or be rich enough to prove you can support yourself).\n* If you found a job, then you need to apply to that country for a **working visa**. Your employer in that country will most likely need to obtain official documents from their end. For example, working in Japan requires the Japanese employer to obtain a *certificate of eligibility*. Your employer will usually send these documents back to you.\n* You will most likely need to gather a bunch of other documents and evidence.\n* You then need to apply to that country's embassy for a working visa. This can take one or more months, depending on many variables.\n* If you successfully obtain a visa, move to said country and begin working.\n* Once living in said country, you usually have to renew your visa with their immigration authorities if you wish to stay there. If you don't renew, you have to leave.\n\nOften, you will need a **degree** of some sort, or **about 10 years of relevant work experience** in your chosen field (I used the latter to move to Japan from UK). It helps a lot if you don't have a criminal record.\n\nIf you are already working for an international company, see if they offer the chance to transfer to a branch office in your target country. This is what I did.\n\nYou can usually find exact immigration details on your target country by checking their embassy website in your own country (or by visiting their embassy), or by searching for the relevant government websites in the target country. Details vary a lot by each country, they all have different rules and requirements.\n\nAs you're a US citizen, you'll likely need to find out about paying taxes and whatnot to the US too. Otherwise, depending on your personal situation, you may not have to do much when you *leave* your country. Always keep your passport updated, with at least 6 months to a year left on it before it's expiry date.\n\nI've probably forgotten one or two details..." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/841/how-do-i-go-about-renouncing-my-u-s-citizenship", "http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html" ], [] ]
1o1vgk
how are companies like snapchat sustainable and turn a profit?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1o1vgk/eli5_how_are_companies_like_snapchat_sustainable/
{ "a_id": [ "cco2l2h", "cco2l7v", "cco307h" ], "score": [ 10, 5, 2 ], "text": [ "Internet startups don't need to be sustainable these days. Their plan is to grow big really fast, get lots of users & then sell everything to Facebook/Google before it's time to worry about making money.", "Also, sell user data to advertising tanks.", "They aren't and they don't." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
1qbots
why cops chase cars making dangerous situations even worse?
Why cops chase cars? I recetly saw Dubai's police cars(100km/h in 4.7secons) now this is FAST but chasing a car provides danger to policeman, other people, cars and of course the law breaker itself. And if they chase the car down in that speed what they are going to do? Shooting tires will cause danger for others as well.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1qbots/eli5_why_cops_chase_cars_making_dangerous/
{ "a_id": [ "cdb85s2", "cdb8e5t", "cdb8lzd", "cdb934p" ], "score": [ 4, 3, 3, 3 ], "text": [ "They aren't just going to let them get away. But most police departments have policies in regards to police chases to help mitigate risk.", "I don't know how they do things in Dubai, but in the US most jurisdictions have been discouraging high-speed pursuits since the 80s and 90s and encourage other means. Google something like \"high speed pursuit policy\" and you'll find tons of documents about limitations that are put on law enforcement officers for safety's sake. ", "Generally if they believe a suspect is an active threat to public safety they will engage in an active pursuit at those kinds of speeds. In typical scenarios police will simply tail the suspect from a distance, coordinate with other officers to set up roadblocks, spike strips, helicopter coverage, etc and then attempt to take a suspect down that way. \n", "Keep in mind there is a deterrent effect. Chase down a few people in dangerous situations and hope that other people get the idea that even if they run they'll get caught.\n\nIn some places there are various policies about not chasing people in particularly dangerous situations and what to do about it. But you have to sure that those policies don't become a 'get out of jail free' card. Oh we can't pursue anyone going over 200Km/h, so as long as you just get to 201Km/hour police will stop chasing you sort of thing, that would be worse. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [] ]
tamqw
- how does sprint stay in business if their profits are consistently around $800 million losses?
Might not be the most reputable [source](_URL_0_) but I've come across other articles with similar findings.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/tamqw/eli5_how_does_sprint_stay_in_business_if_their/
{ "a_id": [ "c4kyps9" ], "score": [ 6 ], "text": [ "They have a lot of assets. \n\nIn 2011 their income was -$2.89bn, but they still had close to $50bn in assets. 10 year summary [here](_URL_0_).\n\nBasically they are living off savings at the moment. Some companies can afford to do this for a very long time." ] }
[]
[ "http://ycharts.com/companies/S/net_income" ]
[ [ "http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/financial-statements?symbol=s" ] ]
2lrzgg
why are black oil sunflower seeds not safe for human consumption?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2lrzgg/eli5_why_are_black_oil_sunflower_seeds_not_safe/
{ "a_id": [ "clxkiq1", "clxkwwz" ], "score": [ 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Where did you hear this? Black oil sunflower seeds are used mostly for bird seed or making sunflower oil which is then fed to people or used for cooking.", "Human food needs to meet certain quality standards before you can sell it, bird seed doesn't. If the seed wasn't handled and packed under sanitary conditions, you have to put \"Not for Human Consumption\" on the label." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
cs2fxh
why are burgers/hotdogs “unhealthy” when they’re just some bread with meat and veggies?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cs2fxh/eli5_why_are_burgershotdogs_unhealthy_when_theyre/
{ "a_id": [ "exc0zhz", "exc3igw" ], "score": [ 2, 3 ], "text": [ "it’s not “fresh”. if you’ve seen what goes in s hotdog, you don’t wanna eat them. they put the waste of the meat in the hotdogs. burgers are a grey area. if you buy the meat yourself and cook it yourself, usually it’s more healthy than say a burger from a fast food restaurant", "Healthy foods generally provide a decent quantity of things the body needs to survive: protein, carbohydrates, fiber, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc. While hamburgers and hotdogs have some of these things, the quality of them can be (but doesn't have to be) questionable.\n\nHot dog buns and hamburger rolls are not typically whole grain. They are very processed. They lack fiber. They often have chemical dough conditioners and preservatives. They are laden with processed sugars and refined carbohydrates, which are not good for sustaining energy.\n\nThe meat in hamburgers and hot dogs can also be very processed. While some brands (or homemade) control for quality and ingredients, other brands are filled with preservatives, hormones, fillers (like pink slime), and parts of the animal that you wouldn't typically choose to consume. The fat to protein ratio is often skewed in a less than ideal way.\n\nThere is nothing wrong with the veggies on a hamburger or hot dog, except for quantity. A typical hamburger has a slice or two of factory-ripened tomato and a few shreds of iceberg lettuce. While these things provide minute amounts of vitamins and fiber, I doubt it would even count as 1 full serving of vegetables.\n\nHot dogs and hamburgers also often come with condiments. Ketchup is mostly sugar. Mayonnaise is mostly oil. Hot dog relish is also high in sugar. (But mustard and raw sauerkraut are beneficial!)\n\nCan you make a hot dog or a hamburger healthy? Absolutely. Load up on those fresh veggie toppings. Get some dark green lettuce and some vine ripened tomatoes. Add a bunch of sauteed mushrooms and onions. Choose lean ground meats and hot dogs from reputable sources or make your own. And try to find whole grain buns." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
bv6cyz
how do relational databases work?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/bv6cyz/eli5_how_do_relational_databases_work/
{ "a_id": [ "eplvwhv", "epmdbjg" ], "score": [ 4, 6 ], "text": [ "Lets give it a try: A relational DB is a way for storing and accessing data. It is based on \"relational algebra\". \n\nMost commonly, a data model is designed first, then data is deconstructed by the process of \"normalization\". This aims to turn your data in a basic form like into separate tables. E.g. one table for customers and one for orders. \n\nThe so called \"keys\" are important so you can \"join\" the data again and make a report that answers questions like \"what did each customer order?\". One benefit comes from you not needing to store all those \"answers\" and reports permanently, but rather modify your \"query\".\n\nSo why not put it in a single table then you ask? Because the normalized data is more flexible and eliminates waste like storing same data multiple times. It's one of the key features of RDBMS, which was invented around the 70's where hardware was very limited.\n\nThe language to query the data is called SQL; there are variations to this like T-SQL or PL/SQL. An RDBMS is the system/software you choose e.g. SQL Server or Oracle.\n\nSo taking the example, when an RDBMS contains the pure facts about customers and orders, it can say \"ask me anything about the customers and orders and i can answer them for you\". This can include something basic like \"how many customers do we have?\" to more complex ones like \"what is the most ordered item and by which customer?\"\n\nSource: I'm a DBA and developer.", "Let's say we're trying to maintain a family tree. We know about people. Every person has a name, a father, a mother, a date of birth, maybe a date of death, and maybe a list of addresses (birth place, places where they lived, burial site, etc.). Imagine writing all this down on a sheet of paper in a table format. Each person has a row, and each thing we know about that person has a column.\n\nHow do we deal with those addresses? Each address has a number, a street, a city, a state or province, a country, and maybe a postal code. So maybe five or six columns for each address. If you just record birth place and burial site, that's ten or twelve columns right there. The table starts getting a little cramped. If we want to track every place the person lived, it gets even worse, and what happens if you lay out the table to keep track of four total addresses, but someone has lived in ten different places?\n\nWe might solve the problem by writing things down in two different tables. We have one that lists the people, and we have another where we list all the addresses we know. Then in the table listing the people, we have one column for each address where we use some sort of number or tag to indicate which address we are referring to. That makes the table easier to read. If you don't need the addresses when you're reading the list of people, you can just ignore those columns, and they don't really get in the way. If you need the address, you can look it up in the address table.\n\nIt doesn't solve the problem of how you deal with some people having a lot of addresses, though. So, there's another approach. You can make a third table. In this one you have three columns. For each person, you have a row for each address we know about them. One column indicates who the person is. One indicates which address we want. And a third column says what the address means \"birth place,\" \"burial site,\" \"residence\", etc. This approach is more complicated. To find a person's birth place, you look for the row with their tag on it and the meaning \"birth place\". That gives you the indicator for the address. Then you can look up that address in the addresses table. This is more complicated, but it's more flexible. It lets you track as many addresses per person as you like. This new table, by the way, is called an \"association table\" because it associates or connects two other table: people, and addresses. Also, it means that you don't have to have columns for addresses in the table of people, making it a little easier to read.\n\nFor all of this to work, these different tables need to have some way of pointing to a specific row in another table. For the association table, it's no good to write \"John Smith\" for the person, because there are so many \"John Smiths\". There are several ways to deal with this, but the easiest is to add another column to the people table where we write a unique number for each person. Then we can refer to that person by their number. That column is what we call an ID or a \"key\".\n\nThis is the core of relational databases but on paper. You have more than one table written down, and you have IDs or keys for each row in the tables that you can use to relate two or more tables together. There's a lot more going on in relational database than this, but this is kind of the heart of it." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
1d9sym
how would higher capitalization rates get rid of too big to fail banks?
I read [this](_URL_0_) article in the Times this morning and, since I have scarcely any knowledge about the financial system, really have no idea how capitalization rates will in any way make the banking system safer? Won't the big banks like Chase still just be there? Edit: Comma.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1d9sym/eli5_how_would_higher_capitalization_rates_get/
{ "a_id": [ "c9oa6lf", "c9ocvki" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "It's not about getting rid of the big banks; it's about making them less risky.\n\nBanks are owed a lot of money, and people default on their loans when times are hard. The capital reserve held by the bank acts as a buffer against these situations, helping them to avoid short term losses.\n\nA higher capital reserve ratio will enable a bank to survive a bigger short term loss without needing a taxpayer bailout. They would still be too big to fail, but they would be far less likely to *actually* fail.\n\nThe article probably put it best when it described the plans as 'a meaningful rainy-day fund'.\n\nOf course, the tradeoff is that the bank can make fewer loans with the same amount of capital. The cost of borrowing will rise (because supply is more limited) and the criteria for loans will get tighter. That said, many people think this would be a good idea, because we all arguably took on too much debt due to the availability of cheap, seemingly-low-risk loans.", "You have to realize that \"money\" these days doesn't necessarily match up 1-to-1 with a dollar bills. If I deposit $1000 in a bank, they could give somebody a loan of $900 and still tell me that I have $1000. If this is done enough times, they magically put money in the system that wasn't there before. As long as everyone pays back their loans & people don't close their accounts all at once, things are great.\n\nThis is called \"fractional reserve banking\". On an instinctual level, it's shady & makes money meaningless. Practically, it makes our society work.\n\nThe banking crisis was caused because banks were 'creating money' by selling each other money that was owed to them & then counting it as an asset. When the economy went to shit & everyone stopped paying their mortgages, it collapsed like a house of cards.\n\nThe idea is by forcing banks to have a larger chunk of 'real money', rather than just saying \"somebody owes us, we can pay you later\", they can actually pay their bills if somebody decides to collect on them." ] }
[]
[ "http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/business/two-senators-try-to-slam-the-door-on-bank-bailouts.html?ref=todayspaper&amp;pagewanted=all" ]
[ [], [] ]
etaecf
what happens to the good bacteria if we take antibiotics?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/etaecf/eli5_what_happens_to_the_good_bacteria_if_we_take/
{ "a_id": [ "ffgp2rh", "ffguejr", "ffguyui", "ffgws03", "ffgycnl", "ffh34ti", "ffhevo4", "ffhfdl4", "fff0xb5", "fff53p1", "fff9e75", "fff9pmo", "fffa1lr", "fffc1sz", "fffc3b1", "fffdi0k", "fffdxxr", "fffezg1", "ffffbqx", "ffffpek", "fffhgpb", "fffho52", "fffhuvo", "ffficeq", "fffiokr", "fffojh0", "fffs2s8", "ffg5p75", "ffgdudk", "ffgdxyk", "ffgfbwp", "ffgh04r", "ffgh8d6", "ffgkgpz" ], "score": [ 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 6333, 3, 6, 132, 25, 7, 7, 186, 89, 2, 11, 3, 2, 5, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "They die, mostly, but now there's less competition with other gut bacteria.\n\nGive 'em some nice, fibrous green stuff, like celery, so they have lots of time to sit and chew and multiply for while.\n\n & #x200B;\n\nNote: Antibiotics may cause constipation (due to the same reason your question brings up). In this situation, eating fiber is still helpful, but you should eat it slowly. Probiotics are better to take first. Ask your doctor.", "Antibiotic use could prove tricky for people with clotting issues. Bacteria in our liver produces vitamin K which is an essential part of the clotting process. Without it we would not be able to form a clot resulting in excessive bleeding.", "There are good bacteria and there are bad bacteria. The good bacteria help for a few reasons including suppressing the bad bacteria and producing vitamin K, among other things. \n\nAntibiotics are not all made the same, some kill certain bacteria more than others. This is why some antibiotics are also more concerning for killing the good bacteria and leaving the bad ones. \n\nThe most feared problem with killing off all the good bacteria is something called pseudomembranous colitis, a very bad diarrheal illness. This is caused by a bacteria that's in everyone's gut called C. Diff. Normally C. Diff is kept quiet by the good bacteria, but it's also tough to kill with your common antibiotics. So when the antibiotics go through your system, the C. Diff can often be left as the last man standing which allows it to give you bad diarrhea which can be highly contagious to others.\n\nTlDR: C. Diff is the 'bad bacteria' doctors are talking.", "Broad spectrum antibiotics are a best guess at killing the cause of an infectious disease, narrow spectrum antibiotics are more targeted. \n\nTypically you'll be started on a short course of broad until cultures come back when you'll get a course of narrow, though often the broad is the best bet against common chest and urinary infections.\n\nBroad spectrum will kill a lot of innocent bystanders, narrow less so. Interestingly enough many infections are caused by bacteria that normally live in or on the human body but somehow get where they should not be.\n\nEven more interesting, many infections, bacterial and viral, get better on their own and medicine just makes the process quicker.\n\nAnd finally, antibiotics are heavily used in farming as a growth promoter for livestock and so even though we humans get the blame for begging docs for antibiotics when we don't need them the same rule apparently doesn't apply to farm animals. Or snakes.", "This is why people sometimes get yeast infections after antibiotic use. The Candida yeast is already there in a healthy system, but usually kept in balance by the other things that also live there like \"good\" bacteria. When you take broad-spectrum antibiotics you kill a lot of those bacteria in the process, allowing the yeast to overgrow in the sudden absence of their territorial competition.", "Research shows that when you take an antibiotic you lose lots of good bacteria. Later, some of the good bacteria come back, but many do not. After taking antibiotics you have permanently lost a lot of good bacteria and biodiversity in your gut. And it is a myth that \"probiotics\" help repopulate. They don't.", "There’s two kingdoms. The purple kingdom and the pink kingdom. Inside these kingdoms there are good guys and bad guys. Most antibiotics focus on one group but there are many that work on both. Few decades ago we figured out how to wipe out the purple people if they got out of control nazi styles. We invented the atomic bomb (penicillin) and we were super heckin proud of ourselves. Then we figured out there were all these pink people that were also doing some significant damage. When we had our backs turned the purple people (lookin at you staph aureus) like... invented biowarfare. We’re freaking out because atomic bombs don’t work against that and just as we figure out a solution (methicillin) they invent cyber warfare. So there are some bugs that are stupid and evolve kind of slow (syphilis) and we will probably always be able to treat with lil mini bomb penicillins. They might wipe out some good bugs but not too many. Then there are others... like... (methicillin resistance staph aureus) where we need to explode the whole freaking planet along with the kingdom in order to get them all.", "certain bacteria are sensitive to special types of antibiotics; we have proof of this by using the Kirby Bauer test where we use staph, strep, *enterobacteria*, *E.coli*, *Bacillus cereus*, *Bacillus subtilis,* these are examples of what might be in your body when you become ill, this test will ensure that whatever nasty strain of bacteria you have the proper antibiotic is prescribed. So to answer your question, some die; mostly more of the bad bacteria.", "The same thing that happens to bad bacteria. Think of antibiotics like a drone strike or nuke. The bad guy dies, and so do all of her good guy friends.", "Yeah everything dies and that’s why probiotics are recommended. \n\nBut your gut is a complex environment and usually has many many types of “good” bacterial; just one or two or a handful of different types really doesn’t cut it.", "It all dies and fucks your digestive system up - from someone who has had too many (necessary) antibiotics and a fucked up digestive system although no point talking to the doctor because there is no proof to any of it blah blah.\n\nSeriously - antibiotics only if really necessary.", "The majority of posts in this thread are misleading. It is most certainly NOT so simple as other people have made it to be. This is the purview of the discipline of pharmacokinetics, which is extremely complicated. \n\nYour gut flora exist in your intestines (primarily lower) which are typically not accessed until passage through your liver and then systemic circulation in your body. \n\nAntibiotics are prescribed to tackle a specific infection in a specific area- for example an upper respiratory infection. Although the targeting is not perfect, the majority of the drug is intended to spend its lifetime in the area of infection, until it gets degraded, metabolized, or excreted. So that is one manner of control drug-makers have is formulating the pill such that the drug itself exists primarily in the area of effect. \n\nAlso, your gut flora are many, diverse, and can exist in super structures such as bio films. All of these things can help them withstand antibiotics over a new colony formed in your body (the infection you’re trying to treat). In addition, the antibiotic you’ve been given may be specific to the infection you have and this will not target some or even all of your gut flora. \n\nBasically, it’s a complicated process. Bacteria are super resilient and it’s likely some of your microbiome survives the dosage of common antibiotics. \n\nThat being said, eating fermented foods is good and everyone should do that several times a week!", "Others have answered this fine, but I wanted to add:\nThere aren't \"good\" bacteria or \"bad bacteria.\" There are just bacteria, some that have greater or lesser potential to cause disease. Bacteria can respond to their environment and can \"decide\" to peacefully coexist with you or to attack you, depending on what strategy they determine is more likely to keep them happy and fed. \n\nEg, many, many people are colonized with MRSA which can cause serious disease but usually doesn't. Part of your immune system's job is to manage all the different species to kill bad actors and to placate the rest so you have a happy, functional gut.", "This is why a lot of women get yeast infections when they take antibiotics. It's common practice to prescribe an anti-yeast infection medication along with the medication for the actual problem .", "The appendix apparently helps here - it's connected to the gut but unlike most of it which is a straight through pipe is a blind ended tube. Not much of the food (or antibiotics) going through your gut ends up in there so the bacteria there serve as a resevoir for normal gut bacteria which repopulate the gut.\n\nCertainly researchers discovered that if your appendix is removed you are far more likely to get a reoccurance of c-diff.", "People here talking about taking probiotics to repopulate their gut microbiome need to know how laughably trivial the amount of live cultures there are in products such as yogurt. It’s essentially marketing hype over a hot button topic and those companies are profiting off of misinformation.", "It depends on the antibiotic.\n\n\nSome bacteria have certain mechanisms and identifiers that sperate them from other bacteria. We have developed antibiotics that can target specific strains/species of bacteria with minimal inference to the \"good\" bacteria.\n\nWhen the causative agent is unknown, generalist \"air strike\" antibiotics are given. \n\nLook up \"Beta-Lactam Ring\" to see more about how this specific type of antibiotic interferes with bacteria growth.\n\nSource: nursing major\n\nI'm just paraphrasing a lot of what was taught in my clinical microbiology class. Hopefully someone else can give a more in depth, nuanced example besides \"air strike\".\n\n\nEdit: bacteria exists all over your body. On your skin, inside your nose, on your scalp, etc. Although your gut microbiome is important, it is not the only one.", "They get killed off too. That's why it's good to take probiotics after doing a full course of antibiotics to build up the friendly bacteria again.", "Good gut bacteria can also be flushed out by diarrhea. For decades doctors thought the appendix was useless but we now know that the appendix stores a reservoir of good gut bacteria that is used to replenish your gut after diarrhea. I imagine antibiotics kills good gut bacteria in your appendix too. In fact that is now how they treat appendicitis bc they no longer remove it (unless they have to).", "It kills a lot of benefitial bacteria too. That is why you can get quite a lot of intestinal problems from taking antibiotics, as one of themany side affects of antibiotics. Some beneficial bacteria that supresses other bacteria from growing dies, allowing unaffected bacteria to grow, making you ill. \n\nAs a side note to this, bacteria you have can become resistant to antibiotics, which you risk every time you take antibiotics. For example e.coli wich is a part of normal intestinal bacteria can become resistant, which isnt a huge problem if it only stays where it belongs, but e.coli is one of the most common bacteria to cause UTIs wich then can become a problem if your version of e.coli have become antiobiotic-resistant.", "They are killed. This is how a lot of patients get C. difficile (terrible diarrhea). C. diff is a normal gut bacteria that is held in check by the \"good\" bacteria. Once the other gut flora is killed off by antibiotics, C. diff can often flourish.", "So general speaking, it depends on the type of antibiotics. Some antibiotics are what they call broad spectrum antibiotics. This mean they are like a big bomb that seeks to destroy everything. It's really good at killing lots of bacteria of different types, so it's used a fair bit. Generally in hospitals, doctors begin with broad spectrum antibiotics while they wait for cultures (identity tests) to come back that tell them what they are fighting and what it's weak to. Then they can use more specific antibiotics to fight things. That said, all antibiotics can change/kill the populations of bacteria in your body. This is why antibiotics can cause yeast infections, thrush, and infections like C-Diff. When healthy bacteria is killed off, the organisms that survive don't have much competition and can go wild. So if we're talking mouth or vagina, the yeast in those places can \"go wild\"... so in case of your mouth, it can cause redness, irritation, white furry tongue from yeast. In terms of your bowels, it can cause diarrhea when things are unbalanced, and C-Diff, or Clostridium Difficile is a bacteria that can become an opportunistic infection, where your normal gut bacteria isn't there to compete, and it causes severe diarrhea as well, that often requires specific antibiotics to treat, or even fecal transplants. (Transplants of healthy donor stool (poo) )", "You know when you take antibiotics you’re more likely to get stomach problems (diarrhoea etc)? It’s because the good bacteria usually stop this from happening by looking after our gut. \nWhen you take antibiotics a lot of the good bacteria die and so these protective mechanisms are temporarily not in place. It’s no worry though, because once you stop taking the drugs you’ll naturally build them up again through exposure to the environment and food sources!", "Short answer: Antibiotics don't know the difference between good and bad bacteria, although depending on the antibiotic, it can be more selective.\n\n & nbsp;\n\nLets blow up these bacteria and think of them as balloons. You have all these different colors of balloons. Most of the colors are good, but those dastardly red balloons are no good and you want to get rid of them! Antibiotics are a needle that pops these balloons. You want to get rid of the red ones, but the needle will also pop the green, blue, etc balloons as well because even though the balloons are different colors, they're still made up of mostly the same things. \n\n & nbsp;\n\nIn medicine a common example is a person who takes clindamyacin (antibiotic) and gets C. Difficile (bacteria) afterwards. The clindamyacin kills both all the good and bad bacteria, and the C. Difficile that's left grows a lot faster than the other bacteria which leads to illness. \n\n & nbsp;\n\n*A caveat: It's not black and white between good and bad, most bacteria in our body needs to be there in certain quantities to maintain balance. Different antibiotics work in different ways so there are some that we have which are more selective than others depending on the bacteria.", "Ok, how do I put this? \n\nDo you remember when you were a kid and one day your parents took your elderly, arthritic dog to the farm and the old pupper loved it so much there that they never came back?\n\nYep, that's what happens to your good bacteria too, lil' Johnny / Suzie.\n\n(best ELI5 I could manage)", "They die too. However not every single bacteria dies, so the survivors replicate (as well as new bacteria constantly coming in with the food you eat). Eventually you’re back up to the normal levels of healthy bacteria.", "Although the top comment is correct in some cases, it is not generally that simple. Some antibiotics are general and will kill bacteria indiscriminately. An over-consumption of antibiotics can lead to a disruption in your gut bacteria, leading to major complications. \n\nHowever, the people who make these things are smart enough to know that, so selective antibiotics are being developed. The most common types are Gram specific antibiotics. There are two types of bacteria: those with a thick outer coat (Gram positive) and those without one (Gram negative). Certain antibiotics utilize a mechanism of action specific to either degrading the thick outer coat, and therefore only killing Gram positive bacteria, or only killing the ones with less protection, killing the gram negative. If the bacteria causing your infection has been properly diagnosed, it can be identified as a Gram positive or Gram negative bacteria and targeted with more selective antibiotics, leaving all of the other type alive in your body, allowing you to maintain some good bacteria. \n\nAntibiotic research has grown even more specific and some antibiotics have a mechanism of action that targets proteins specific to an exact strain (or at least a very limited group) of bacteria. Increased selectivity allows for termination of unwanted bacteria while maintaining your internal balance as much as possible.", "Be careful if you are on antibiotics for a prolonged period of time. When I was about 12 I was on antibiotics for 6 months straight for a reoccurring eye infection. Then I started developing terrible intestinal problems, chronic stomach pain and I’m not exaggerating I would get the urge to poop and have about 45 seconds till I would shit my pants. It took several years (about 8), and many tests/procedures to figure out I developed a gluten intolerance from the prolonged use of antibiotics because all of my good gut bacteria died.", "Imagine your body as being a network of tunnels. The good bacteria and bad bacteria usually aren't too close together in the tunnels. Antibiotics essentially fill the tunnel with gas and light it up, in most cases. That's why you should always eat yogurt with active cultures if you're on antibiotics. That being said, there are some types of antibiotics that work more like Osmosis Jones and can target specific bacteria", "There is a lot of misleading information here. The human microbiome is a complex ecosystem. To say that we have good and bad bacteria is a vast oversimplification. There are bacteria that can have beneficial roles such as in digesting certain foods and producing healthy metabolites. But these same bacterium can have detrimental effects. What constitutes a healthy microbiome is how balanced the community is and how stable the dynamics of the population are.\n\nIf you take a large scale ecosystem in the wild and you render a certain species of plant extinct. Then the animals that feed off that plant will die off and then as result the carnivores that way that animal will starve off and die. All of sudden you have an unstable community and this can wreak havoc on an ecosystem.\n\nSimilar things will happen if you kill off organisms in your microbiome. You lose the balance. And usually all the organisms in your microbiome work to keep each other’s population in check but if you mess with this dynamic using antibiotics, all of a sudden you might have what you call “opportunistic pathogens” that will take over and grow uncontrollably. This is pretty much what happens when people have a C.diff infection. \n\nAn accurate description of what you’re describing is what you call dysbiosis which is a term used to indicate that the microbial balance of the gut has been rendered unstable and off balance.", "It kills the good bacteria too. That’s why a common side effect of antibiotics is diarrhea, because it’s throws off the balance of good and bad bacteria in the digestive tract. I know a lot of times doctors and pharmacists suggest taking a probiotic to counteract the antibiotic killing all the good bacteria.", "Here's the scientific answer: _URL_0_\n\nAntibiotics have been making our host-native microbiomes extinct, and this is resulting in huge increases in chronic disease and general poor health.", "Good bacteria is killed by antibiotics the same way bad bacteria is. Picture all bacteria (good and bad like people fighting) picture antibiotics as a hail of arrows. The arrows kills indiscriminately whether the person is good or bad. This mass killing of bacteria then leaves a lot of free real estate in your gut for the remaining bacteria to flourish which can lead to strong bad bacteria replacing the good bacteria that was accidentally killed. You can take probiotics which help the good bacteria stay strong when you take antibiotics. So for probiotics picture giving the good bacteria a shield to protect them from the hail of arrows.\n\nFeel free to make a free real estate meme about bacteria. I'm too lazy.", "Due to antibiotics not being able to see the difference between friend bacteria and foe bacteria it may and will kill any it will come in contact with, meaning it will destroy even the friendly ones" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/bat7ml/while_antibiotic_resistance_gets_all_the/" ], [], [] ]
qg3eq
why can't we start re-pumping the heart once it is stopped?
1) Why is it that once its stopped we can't start it again. 2) We can replace heart by artificial heart when the person is alive and it works. But why can't we do it AFTER a person is dead? It is not that some physical part of body is no longer active, everything is as it is.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/qg3eq/why_cant_we_start_repumping_the_heart_once_it_is/
{ "a_id": [ "c3xbxv9", "c3xbyt2", "c3xcbyl", "c3xd3b6" ], "score": [ 2, 9, 2, 9 ], "text": [ "It is possible to repump but it's very difficult to do because you need to keep a steady rhythm and you need to give the person constant supply of oxygen as well, otherwise even if you do revive them they're braindead, and this is assuming that you started attempting right his heart stops, because his brain starts getting damage from oxygen loss after about 5 minutes. But then I can be wrong.", "1.) You can. This is basically what CPR or (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) is for. You see Doctors and EMT do it when someone heart stops beating (Often called a Coding.) Basically what your doing is acting as the person heart until the heart starts beating again by pushing on the persons chest.\n\n2.) The heart basically supplies blood to the entire body. Body carries among other things Oxygen. If a person heart stop his body stops getting Oxygen and this point all of the cells in their body start suffocating. The most sensitive part is the brain. If a person's brain does not receive oxygen it will die rendering a new heart useless because the person is brain dead. Even if the person's brain is getting Oxygen all of other internal organs may also die.", "You can. CPR keeps the heart beating after it stops. Also, that's what defibrillators do. It shocks the heart back into beating. \n\nHowever, after just a few minutes of no heart beat, a person undergoes brain damage because no oxygen is getting to the brain. \n\nIf you start CPR almost immediately on a person whose heart as stopped, you can theoretically keep the heart beating manually for a long time until emergency crews arrive. There have been stories of people doing CPR for up to an hour until assistance arrives.", "The heart pumps blood which gives cells oxygen. Cells need oxygen to make energy, and most need energy to do what they do.\n\nWithout energy for too long, they die. So obviously, if the heart stops, after a couple of minutes, all the cells start dying. Once the cells are dead, even if you restart the heart, but it'll just be pumping oxygen to dead cells.\n\n**Real life comparison -** Think about an icecube. That's your body cell. The freezer is your heart. The freezer keeps the ice-cube 'alive'. If the freezer breaks, the ice cube begins to melt. If you can turn the freezer back on quickly, you'll save the ice cube, but if it's off too long, you'll just end up with a puddle. Turn the freezer back on, and you just have a frozen puddle." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [] ]
ex2c5m
why do they send fire trucks with ambulances when there’s no fire?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ex2c5m/eli5_why_do_they_send_fire_trucks_with_ambulances/
{ "a_id": [ "fg5vkjc", "fg5vq7b", "fg604tl", "fg6055k", "fg61sw5", "fg6h2lw", "fg6o6qq" ], "score": [ 41, 7, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3 ], "text": [ "Firemen do not only fight fires, but respond to emergencies where life is endangered. I suppose this depends on the city, but most (if not all) firefighters are also trained/certified paramedics and they do have a decent amount of first aid equipment. Oftentimes, firefighters get to the scene of an accident faster than the paramedics do, so they can stabilize a casualty prior to transport. Additionally, some injuries require extraction and movement that paramedics are not equipped to handle. This can include pulling someone out of a wrecked car, or rescuing anyone trapped in a similar fashion.\n\nWith car accidents, there is always a risk of fire. Firefighters might respond to a car accident in order to clean up the gasoline from a damaged fuel tank.", "In most (if not all) places, firefighters are trained in basic first aid. Where I live, there are far more fire stations than ambulance stations, so the firefighters will often be able to arrive first. They can do some great stuff like CPR until the ambulance arrives, and then the paramedics with their more advanced care can take over.\n\nOther comments above are also correct. The firefighters will often help to carry things, can handle gas leaks without a fire, and help to break people out of crashed cars so the paramedics can treat them! (Among many other things.)\n\nSource: I'm a paramedic", "Beyond the other answers of \"additional services may be required,\" in our area personnel are typically assigned to a vehicle. Particularly in CPR cases you may have 6-8 responders to the call. That may be an aid car with paramedics (advanced life support/ALS), firefighter/EMTs on another vehicle (basic life support/BLS), and a batallion chief in their own vehicle. Firefighter/EMTs may do the basic work of getting patients on a gurney, scene stabilization, et cetera in between taking turns on chest compressions. The paramedics will supervise, administer medication and provide breathing support, and so on...\n\nEach vehicle may come from another call, and as soon as the patient is being transported in the aid car, the others they go straight to another call without returning to the station. \n\nMultiple vehicles provides flexibility and faster response times as new situations develop or are re-prioritized.", "firefighters are trained and equipped for extractions and rescues. Paramedics are not. I don't understand either why fire trucks and firefighters show up to a routine medical call (heart attack, broken leg, stabbing) but for any sort of accident they may be needed.", "While about everything said here is true, the 'real' reason is for budgeting. \n \nIt is easier to argue for a bigger budget if you can show how your vehicles/personnel have answered X number of calls this year. The bigger X is the better equipped you are to try and increase your budget. \n \nIf you have a $1 million firetruck that is used only 2% of the time the bean counters are not likely to approve other projects as they are needed. So you make them tag along on calls they are not needed on to inflate the numbers. \n \nThe second 'real' reason is training. You want people who are used to answering calls when it is really needed. Best way to train someone to answer calls is to make them actually answer calls. They get to experience the process, learn to not panic, fill out after action reports, and build muscle memory to the entire thing. Maybe they even get numbed to some of the awful things out there, which can keep them coolheaded in rough situations. \n \nAll in all you do it because it benefits everyone involved. The department, the firefighters, the admins, and the people being assisted.", "Rural America answer.\n\nIn my small town we have Volunteer firemen and damn few of them except Saturday afternoon. Two fire trucks, one ambulance, one brush truck, one tanker.\n\nIf there is an emergency they send both the fire truck & Ambulance for Injures that aren't full identified, like a car accident, assuming they need the ambulance and perhaps the fire truck or additional personnel.\n\n If there is a second emergency, They dispatch the firetruck from the accident directly to the concern and call the neighboring town and alert them that both vehicles are occupied and to be ready if a third accident occurs, or that they will need the neighboring towns ambulance for the second incident.\n\n Next they call guys at work and have them leave work and assist at an emergency. This may involve going to the station and collecting equipment or just going directly. they don't like doing this because it is a pain in the ass but it happens.\n\nAs you can imagine the response time is slow, so don't get too injured.", "Here in Texas it is because the Fire Fighters have basic medical training and there are more of them so they will likely get to the emergency before the ambulances do. So they can stabilize the patient or at least take initial information till the paramedics get there. \n\nThey are also there in case there is something that could catch fire (car wreck), something that needs to be destroyed to get to the patient (breaking down a door, jaws of life to cut apart a car, etc), or if they need extra muscle to get the patient out." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
2zrmfg
why do some earbuds have a "bias" in one ear?
I just bought new earbuds, and already I can tell that the music is louder in the left. It also happened with another type of earbuds, though those were cheap ones. Is it the brand, or is my hearing damaged?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2zrmfg/eli5_why_do_some_earbuds_have_a_bias_in_one_ear/
{ "a_id": [ "cplnoe0", "cplnoxx", "cplnz7t" ], "score": [ 5, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "If it is only with certain one's than its due to being cheaply built. I have never experienced this however, even with the crappy free kind.", "Some brands design their ear buds to have a specific sound stage. Whether that stage is wide, narrow, neutral or offset depends purely on the company.", "In all likelihood it's a fitting issue. The soft tip earbuds especially need to get a good seal or they won't be nearly as \"punchy\" with sound. The other issue could be a bad contact in the audio device, only affecting one side. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
4602be
does "stress sweat" really "smell worse" tha regular sweat?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4602be/eli5_does_stress_sweat_really_smell_worse_tha/
{ "a_id": [ "d01mdd9", "d01py03", "d01rd2h" ], "score": [ 42, 7, 3 ], "text": [ "Humans have two different types of sweat glands; eccrine glands and [apocrine glands](_URL_0_). The two have different functions and therefore different smells. Apocrine sweat glands are sensitive to adrenaline. So, yes, stress sweat smells more than the watery sweat that comes out of eccrine glands.", "Mythbusters did this one (as the smell of fear, but same difference).\n_URL_1_\n\nFrom here: _URL_0_\n > There is a detectable scent that humans give off when they are scared.\n > \n > plausible\n > \n > After reasoning that the “smell of fear” would be contained in the sweat produced by a person who is afraid, the Build Team began collecting sweat samples from themselves. For a control sample, they each ran on a treadmill for 20 minutes to collect “normal” sweat from exercise. Later they each laid in a transparent coffin for 7 minutes with scary creatures – Kari with scorpions, Tory with snakes, and Grant with rats – and again collected their sweat. Volunteers were brought to smell each sample in a double-blind experiment and try to determine which samples were produced under the stress of fear. The accuracy of the volunteers was no better than random, indicating that they could not smell fear. Next, an experienced odor scientist was given a chance at differentiating the samples. She correctly classified 5 out of 6 samples, leading to the plausible classification of this myth. However, in a second test, she failed to identify which 1 out of 20 samples was produced from fear (generated as Tory rappelled 170 ft (52 m) into a cave).\n > ", "I have extremely rancid smelling stress sweat that does not even go away after showering, on the other hand when I exercise and sweat I cannot even smell it. I don't know the reasoning for it but I guarantee you, it really does smell much worse." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocrine_sweat_gland#Sweating" ], [ "http://mythresults.com/fright-night", "http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/sweaty-kari/" ], [] ]
761qp2
why does mold on food grow in spots rather than relatively even across the surface?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/761qp2/eli5_why_does_mold_on_food_grow_in_spots_rather/
{ "a_id": [ "doamlnj", "doamnik" ], "score": [ 2, 8 ], "text": [ "One spore hits the piece of food and a colony grows out from there. It's not like you are sprinkling mold spores in an even coat onto your food, they are just floating through the air until they land in a hospitable spot for them to start growing. This is also why the spots are circular, they are growing outward evenly from a single point of origin.", "Each spot is its own colony of mould arising from a single organism which are distributed randomly across the surface of the food. It ends up being a carpet of mould with lots of colonies all growing together over time. To get an even coverage, the organism would have to be evenly spread across the surface right from the start. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
1xcw66
how do coke and pepsi retain such high margins on their products? why hasn't this attracted more high-quality competitors in the cola space and driven down prices?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xcw66/eli5_how_do_coke_and_pepsi_retain_such_high/
{ "a_id": [ "cfa7h44", "cfa80o8" ], "score": [ 4, 10 ], "text": [ "There are dozens of competitors but coke and Pepsi are such brand names that everyone buys them over RC or Stewarts Cola. ", "Part one: Brand loyalty, cultivated over decades. There are lots of ['house brands' of cola](_URL_0_), many of which do taste very close to either Coke or Pepsi, but people are willing to pay more for the brand name because they are assured that it will taste the same as every other Coke or Pepsi they've had in their lifetime. \n\nPart two: distribution. Coke and Pepsi can maintain that brand loyalty because you can't go anywhere that sells soda without one of those two being available. Fast-food restaurants are essentially forced to pick one or the other, lest they run the risk of turning off their customers. Ones that aren't, like local mom-and-pop restaurants, often carry *both* for this reason. Every grocery store, convenience store, WalMart and mom and pop, vending machine, has one of those two brands. \n\nSo, since customers can nearly *always* buy a Coke or Pepsi, rather than experimenting with other brands, it's very difficult for any new brand to gain a toehold in the surgary brown water market." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/05/17/best-cola-we-rank-the-house-brands/" ] ]
5ssrs3
how character customization is made in video-games? things like facial features, body structure, etc?
Seems pretty complicated to me.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ssrs3/eli5_how_character_customization_is_made_in/
{ "a_id": [ "ddhjfcs", "ddhl9db" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Not an expert, but I ASSUME they are just molded into a the proper shape using 3D modelling software, and then when you are customizing your character the parts are essentially Mr. Potato Head-esque, and everything snaps together to make a human-like face. It's the equivalent of molding clay into a nose. I think. I am not an expert.", "Behind the scenes, pretty much every aspect of your character design you can think of will have a value (or multiple values) assigned to it, either length, width, height, angle, shape, size, colour etc. Beyond this there will be a \"default\" state in which all of these values are fixed to preset values. When you are customizing your character (whether it be by sliding bars or picking presets from a list) you are essentially amending the values for the different physical attributes. When you hit the randomize button the game is just applying a random number generator to each of these values and offering you the opportunity to tweak the final result, accept the suggested configuration, or to press randomize again to get new values." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
397wby
do chickens get sad when farmers take their eggs?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/397wby/eli5_do_chickens_get_sad_when_farmers_take_their/
{ "a_id": [ "cs14jl3" ], "score": [ 28 ], "text": [ "On a normal day, my chickens don't even notice... they lay their eggs in the nest box and then go back out to the run and forget about them. But periodically one will get \"broody\", meaning her mothering instincts kick in and she wants to sit on some eggs until they hatch. When this happens she'll become much more protective. She'll stay in the nest box most of the day, and the other hens will slip eggs under her so she'll care for them. When I go to take those eggs, she'll puff her feathers up to look bigger. She might peck at me when I take them. But once I've scooped them out she forgets about them almost instantly and just waits for new eggs to appear. Her instinct seems to be about protecting the space, not counting eggs.\n\nOnce she's sat on them for a week or so, though, she will become aware of their numbers. If I were to slip another egg under her then, she might try to knock it out of the nest. And once they hatch, I wouldn't be able to slip any other chicks in with her, unless one of her eggs hadn't hatched -- if she sat on 8 eggs, she'll want to raise 8 or fewer chicks and will reject any extras." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
2bq3ql
i have mild asthma, if i can only spare 30 minutes to an hour a day to exercise, what should i do?
ELI5 because I know absolutely nothing about fitness, and the internet is a stormy sea of contradictory information on the subject, much less on the specific subject of exercise for asthmatics. My goal is to lose fat, not particularly to build muscle.
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2bq3ql/eli5_i_have_mild_asthma_if_i_can_only_spare_30/
{ "a_id": [ "cj7s33p" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "anything cardio is fine. or lifting weights. cardio directly burns fat, whereas lifting weights build muscles which burns fat and increase metabolism which burns fats. lifting is kind of an indirect way of losing weight." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
379fml
why do islamic men usually have facial hair?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/379fml/eli5_why_do_islamic_men_usually_have_facial_hair/
{ "a_id": [ "crkrm6p" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Various interpretations of Islam make it a rule to be followed by some sects. Whilst all Islam believes in the Qu'ran (which doesn't mention the matter), a lot of additional rules come either from things Mohammad said, or things that people who knew Mohammad or knew a man who knew Mohammad etc claim he said. He said a few things about facial hair (allegedly), the main one being that Muslims of the day should identify themselves from heavily mustached Pagans by doing the opposite of them, trimming their mustache short and growing their beards instead, for example. Some Muslims believe that's an eternal command that should still be followed, others put it into context and say there's no longer a need to differentiate themselves from Pagan facial hair fashions in that way." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
1elv9x
how do dvds/blurays deal with scratched disks? how scratch tolerant are the readers?
And how does the player deal with disks that are too scratched to read?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1elv9x/how_do_dvdsblurays_deal_with_scratched_disks_how/
{ "a_id": [ "ca1iv4p", "ca1ln0z" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "In addition to the bits for the video, the disc also has a lot of extra bits devoted to detecting and correcting errors that occur when reading the video. Whenever it reads a chunk of the video, it runs a test to compare what it read vs what the error detection bits expect. If it looks like there was an error, it tries to use the error correction bits to reconstruct the correct bits. If that doesn't work, it tries to physically read that chunk again a few times. If that still doesn't work, it just moves on with the rest of the video.\n\nA simple example of an error correction code is a Parity Bit. If I'm going to record a chunk of 8 bits, I might throw in an extra, 9th bit that indicates if there were an odd or even number of 1-bits in the chunk. That way, if you read the chunk like this {1010?010, parity_is_odd = 0}, you can count the number of 1-bits (3 is odd) and compare it against the parity bit (0 means there should be an even number of 1-bits). From that you can figure out that the mystery ?-bit should be a 1 to make the total 1-bits count even (4).", "Corysama has given a great explanation of what is done in the data to help guard against scratches.\n\nI'll talk about the physical disk.\n\nThe disk is made up of several layers. The data is on the bottom of a metallic layer. But below this layer are several layers of clear plastic. These physically prevent you from touching or scratching the part of the disk that holds the data.\n\nThe reader shines a laser through the plastic at a the data.\n\nThe thing which can ruin a disk is scratching the plastic. This is because light, including laser light, travels through the plastic at a different speed to the speed it travels through air - and as it changes speed, it bends. Scratches in the plastic, then, can stop the laser light from reaching the right part of the data.\n\nIt is possible to fix this, with a CD/DVD repair kit which you can probably buy from your local record shop, or from eBay. You apply a liquid to the disk. When the liquid hardens, it forms a clear solid which has a similar \"refractive index\" (meaning that light travels through it at a similar speed) to the clear plastic layers of the disk." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
15a6t0
would detonating a nuclear bomb in the middle of a super storm break it up?
Example: If we saw a massive hurricane in the ocean and it is predicted to get even larger, would it be a good idea to send a nuclear missile to the eye and use all of that energy to destroy the storm? Or would this just kill a bunch of fish?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/15a6t0/eli5_would_detonating_a_nuclear_bomb_in_the/
{ "a_id": [ "c7km5sh", "c7km6l7", "c7kmcmn", "c7koeb3", "c7kq9e1" ], "score": [ 16, 135, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "Hurricane Research Division put the answer in their FAQ: _URL_0_\nCredits to[ _URL_1_](_URL_1_) for showing it first", "No, a hurricane has many more times the energy of a nuclear bomb tied up in it. It would be like dropping a lit firecracker into a washing machine on the spin cycle.", "Expanding upon this question, wouldn't we be able to use large explosives to take out tornados?", "Not a good idea. Imagine how wide the fallout would be spread.", "no. most natural desasters easily have more energy than most nuclear bombs." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/C5c.html", "http://what-if.xkcd.com/23/" ], [], [], [], [] ]
17lvs7
what will happen to hong kong in 2047
Are the laws just going to be like 'regular' China? Will they just keep it an independent city-state like Singapore and Taiwan?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/17lvs7/eli5_what_will_happen_to_hong_kong_in_2047/
{ "a_id": [ "c86pru5", "c86s9ro", "c86tb4m", "c86tu4b", "c86xpsu" ], "score": [ 28, 4, 3, 8, 2 ], "text": [ "Right now, it is *not* independent like Singapore or Taiwan, and unless there's a **big** change in Beijing, it won't ever be.\n\nIt is difficult to predict how firm the grip the Communist Party has on power will be by 2047, but if nothing changes then yes, it's supposed to become like the other areas. It might still have some exemptions if that was advantageous to the Party, though - to keep its standing as a financial centre, for example.\n\nAny answers to this have necessarily a healthy degree of speculation; that being said, I think by then mainland China will have become more Hong Kong-like instead of the other way around.\n\nEdited to add some more explanation.", "The common overwhelming answer I received when I asked those in HK/Macau was 'Doesn't matter, I'll be dead\"\n\nSeems they're leaving it for the younger generation to decide.", "Wait, I thought HK had been handed back to China several years ago. What's going on?", "I don't know about 2047, but this will be how HK is like in [2046](_URL_0_).", "You might want to ask what China will be like at that time. China is a country where massive change is taking place and there is no way to extrapolate where it will be in 2047." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [ "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8rG4plRMZ4" ], [] ]
cm66fl
why can my heartbeats sometimes shake my entire body with each throb at 110bpm but not feel the same when my heart rate is 150bpm or higher?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cm66fl/eli5_why_can_my_heartbeats_sometimes_shake_my/
{ "a_id": [ "ew0bex9" ], "score": [ 12 ], "text": [ "Except at extremes, heart rate plays into pulse strength less than blood pressure does. While higher blood pressures can cause more noticeable heartbeats, the strength of a heartbeat/pulse is also largely dependent on something called the pulse pressure - the difference between the top blood pressure number (pressure while the heart beats) and the bottom blood pressure (pressure between beats). If the arterial pressure while the heart contracts is close to the pressure while it’s at rest, the heart beat (pulse) will be less obvious. Think for example, 105/85. But if each heart beat raises the pressure a lot relative to the resting/diastolic pressure, then the pulse is stronger, ie. 140/60." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
40e7ly
what is the most likely outcome as a result a new global financial crisis?
With China looking like it can't make up its mind whether it is fine or slowly on the decline many experts predict we could be starting down the road to another global financial meltdown. How would such a collapse play out, assuming that lessons have been learnt in the years following the last collapse?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/40e7ly/eli5_what_is_the_most_likely_outcome_as_a_result/
{ "a_id": [ "cytk1l5", "cytkag7" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ " > many experts predict\n\nNo, sensationalist media outlets predict.\n\nExperts do not, in fact any expert would have pointed you to the Chinese stock market crash in jul 2015, you know - the one that had no impact on the Chinese economy? [Link] (_URL_0_)\n\nThe issue here is people compare the american stock exchange too closely to the Chinese stock exchange - China's really isn't the same. It's far more regulated and comparably volatile.\n\nSo here's the actual root of what you're getting at though - what's with China's growth and here again is the difference between expert predictions and sensationalist predictions.\n\nIf we extrapolated Chinas growth rate, in a short period of time it would be the world super power - but that's always been on the assumption that the Chinese growth rate didn't change.\n\nEconomists however have been saying for the better part of a decade that Chinese growth will cap, once it has caught up with developed countries.\n\nA perfect example of this at work was the Japanese economy last century, they witnessed unprecedented growth at the end of WWII, however they were unable to maintain that once their economy was on par with the developed world - there's no evidence to support the idea that China will be any different.\n\nTL;DR: Chinese growth will likely cap, Chinese economic turbulence has little effect on the world economy, the Chinese stock exchange is a rubbish indicator of the state of the Chinese economy.\n", "The government's enacted policies in place to where if there is an economic meltdown people are guaranteed a certain amount of money. There will be bank runs, but it shouldn't be as bad. IIRC imports may be affected but exports may go up.\n\nIt would really depend on how long the crisis lasts." ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Chinese_stock_market_crash" ], [] ]
313yru
why does it seem like isps are only a problem in the usa? are there more/better laws in other countries? are isps really worse here than in other places or are we simply the most vocal about the problems?
I searched both here and on Google for some answers to this. I've been in a long standing argument about net neutrality with my aunt, and this thought popped into my head. I think it's a self-explanatory question. I only hear about these problems here. Is that just because I live in the US or are things really worse here? Why?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/313yru/eli5_why_does_it_seem_like_isps_are_only_a/
{ "a_id": [ "cpy7m6o", "cpyppnq" ], "score": [ 8, 2 ], "text": [ "If we are talking about developed countries it's almost predominantly problem of usa. Current laws in your country allows to create mono/duopolies. There are no laws about sharing infrastructure, so entry cost is enormous. That's leading to heavily inflated prices and things like datacaps. ", "Yes it is just a North American problem, and its basically down to corruption, I mean Lobbyists.\n\nISP's just about everywhere else get regulated by their governments to force them to not be the hilarious assholes they are in the USA (hello comcast). \n\nThis is done in one of two ways (possibly both).\n\n1. Direct regulation, an ISP must do X, and/or must not do Y.\n\n2. Whole sale requirements. An ISP that owns infrastructure is required to allow third parties to rent their infrastructure at a price determined by the government. This allows for competition. Competition means an ISP needs to give you a reason to pick them over somebody else. Better price, better service, both." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
cwd34h
when it's hot outside (at night) and i turn on the ac fog starts building up on the windshield. what's the science behind that?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/cwd34h/eli5_when_its_hot_outside_at_night_and_i_turn_on/
{ "a_id": [ "ey9tnea" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "Cold air makes water molecules condense. When the hot humid air outside hits your now cold glass windshield, the water molecules group, slowdown and form fog. Similar to how a glass of ice water outside in the heat forms water droplets on the outside." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
5ukbrz
how does a judge/lawyers etc. decide how much money to award someone for something like emotional distress? is there some sort of formula or rule of thumb or is it decided arbitrarily on a case by case basis and up to the judges discretion?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/5ukbrz/eli5_how_does_a_judgelawyers_etc_decide_how_much/
{ "a_id": [ "dduoxaz" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "There is a legal concept called \"treble damages\". Basically, if you have to sue somebody to get them to do something they should have done in the first place, you are entitled to the amount in dispute plus three times that amount. This amount is so you can get your money back, pay your lawyer, to compensate you for the time you had to spend in court (which can be months or years), and to act as a deterrent so others don't do things to get sued. This is the traditional payment for \"pain and suffering\"\n\nThere are also \"punitive damages\". These come into play when somebody does something particularly egregious and typical treble damages would not serve as a deterrent. The famous example of this is the Stella McBride vs. McDonald's case (the hot coffee case). It was discovered that McDonald's was aware that customers wanted to drink their coffee when they got it, but served it so hot that it could cause burns anyway because they could keep the coffee on the burner longer, saving money while knowingly putting customers in danger. This is why the jury awarded McBride millions of dollars.\n\nAs a footnote, McDonald's did appeal the multi million dollar judgment and won, reducing the award to the standard treble damages." ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
4okrgx
why is the system size of a solar panel array measured in kw?
Why is it not measured in area?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4okrgx/eli5_why_is_the_system_size_of_a_solar_panel/
{ "a_id": [ "d4de3k4" ], "score": [ 5 ], "text": [ "Because people need to know how much energy it produces to make sure it will provide enough (or not too much) for their needs. The size isn't nearly as relevant. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
du8fri
why can't we just not replace the blood of people infected with hiv with need blood in which the virus isn't present.
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/du8fri/eli5_why_cant_we_just_not_replace_the_blood_of/
{ "a_id": [ "f72nuw8", "f72o13q" ], "score": [ 9, 12 ], "text": [ "As a cure? Two reasons. One, you can't just totally drain someone dry and refill their cardiovascular system. But even if you could, that wouldn't cure them; the virus does not live only in the blood.", "What you are describing is called an exchange transfusion, and this is sometimes used for certain diseases like malaria and sickle cell anaemia. The problem with HIV is that it’s very good at hiding in places other than the blood, so even if you replace the blood it just comes back." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
3ch2lp
why is obesity not more of a pressing concern when hundreds of thousands of people die each year because of it?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3ch2lp/eli5_why_is_obesity_not_more_of_a_pressing/
{ "a_id": [ "csvgfc5", "csvgiql", "csvhbuu" ], "score": [ 3, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Fat people don't like being told they're fat so they refuse to accept their plight or outright ignore any and all advice given by health professionals.", "Because companies make money off you eating their food, and in order to maximize profits, they make the food using cheap ingredients and mask the taste with insane amounts of sugar or salt. And these companies are very good at marketing.", "There are several reasons:\n\n1) You can't catch obesity from others and society lacks empathy. In other words, society doesn't care if it's not their immediate and obvious problem. Rising health care costs and a plummeting economy are too abstract for people to understand that an obese nation hurts everyone.\n\n2) People don't choose to be obese.\n\n3) Poor people are obese as a consequence. How? Lots of work has been done to understand this; when you're poor, you can't afford to go to the store all the time, you can't afford to allow your food to spoil, you can't afford to screw up a meal, and you can't afford calorie deficient healthy food. So they'll shop as infrequently as possible, food with an atomic shelf life, food they don't have to cook, and food that is calorie dense.\n\n4) Poor people can't afford entertainment. It's really hard for even the barely affluent to comprehend that for the poorest people, a bag of chips constitutes the most entertainment they can afford. You can't tell people to toil and struggle non-stop to strive for a better lot in life; everyone needs to take a break in some capacity.\n\nIf you want to fight national obesity, you need to get healthy food to poor people on a scheduled meal plan, and it has to be no more expensive than their current diet they can afford. They can't afford to drive out to whatever central location to get a meal. I've worked in a soup kitchen, and the people that came were in walking distance, and that's how they all got there.\n\nEither that, or increase their wealth and (social) mobility so they can afford healthy food and the time it takes to acquire, make, and eat it." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
4bv7uj
why is "fast" air cold?
Couldn't find a better way to put it. But for example, fans; how do they make air feel cold? Also, how does even hot air feel colder if the wind blows?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4bv7uj/eli5_why_is_fast_air_cold/
{ "a_id": [ "d1cpvmb", "d1cpyq4", "d1cq20b" ], "score": [ 6, 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Your body is hotter than room temperature, so it heats up the air around you. Fans move that heated air away from you and replaces it with room temperature air.\n\nAlso, if your a perspiring even a little, it cases that water to evaporate, taking heat with it.", "They don't, really, or not in some atomic sense.\n\nIt's more that our bodies are constantly creating heat. The air molecules collide with our body's molecules, and this collision allows the heat energy to be exchanged from our body to the air.\n\nThe air then carries this away.\n\nThe faster the air is, the faster this happens, so our bodies can't readily recreate the \"heat field\" around us, and thus we feel cooler.", "The \"cold\" you feel when air rushes by is actually heat leaving your body faster than usual. Why does it leave your body faster when the air is moving?\n\nLet's say you're in a room with still air. The temperature in the room is about 72 degrees. However, the air right next to your body isn't 72 degrees, it'll be more like 80, since it's been warmed by your body.\n\nNow let's say that a fan turns on. Now, since air is constantly moving, there isn't any 80 degree air just hanging around your body, it's being constantly blown away and replaced with 72 degree air.\n\nHeat moves faster when there's a higher temperature difference, so (98.6-80) feels warmer than (98.6-72)." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
8f8vyg
how was the english alphabet formed?
Seriously boggling my mind. At first I thought it was created based on the sounds humans can make ("Guh "Dah" "Hah") but... aren't those sounds formed based on our knowledge of the alphabet? Babies can make only a few sounds until they imitate their parents. Does that mean there are potentially other letters that have not been... made yet?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/8f8vyg/eli5_how_was_the_english_alphabet_formed/
{ "a_id": [ "dy1ktmi", "dy1md8q", "dy1rqin" ], "score": [ 2, 2, 16 ], "text": [ "It was derived from a few other alphabets from languages that came before English, including latin, I believe.. IIRC we tracked it back for a while but we lost the trail somewhere around ancient greek. \n\nAs to other letters, of course there are, because we're not the only alphabet around. Lots of other alphabets use sounds as letters that we don't.\n\nEdit: I checked, and it goes \nproto-writing > Egyptian hieroglyphics > Proto-Sinaitic > Phoenician > Greek > Old Italic > Latin > English. At least according to wikipedia. Guess we tracked it down better than I remembered.", "the English alphabet is derived largely from the Latin alphabet, which as you might guess is the alphabet developed by the Romans. The Latin alphabet itself is derived from Cumaean Greek version of the Greek alphabet, which was itself descended from the Phoenician abjad (an abjad is a writing system that uses only consonants with vowels indicated in some other way).\n\nAn alphabet is a writing system where each character represents a basic sound, so there's no reason to have a character for a sound that's not used in that language. There are numerous characters in other alphabets for sounds sounds that aren't used in English, so they're not part of our alphabet. Even other languages that use some version of the latin alphabet have sounds that aren't used in English so they have different letters (for example, Danish has the letters Æ, Ø, and Å).\n\nSo yes, in a way there are characters that have \"not been made yet\", in the sense that they aren't in the English version of the latin alphabet, but every sound that exists in any language has a corresponding character in that language. \n\nTo give you an example of a new letter being added to an alphabet, let's talk about the letter \"J\", which you may be surprised to learn is only a few hundred years old. The letter \"J\" originated as a variant of the letter \"I\". In Latin, the sound we now use for \"J\" was pronounced like the letter \"Y\". The letter \"J\" was added because as languages evolved, the letter \"I\" developed different sounds depending on how it was used. One of those sounds became a new letter, \"J\", which is also why \"J\" comes after \"I\" in the alphabet.", "The alphabet we now use to write English is a foreign import. Originally, English used a completely different alphabet, using a form of letters called \"runes\" (you can see runes in *Lord of the Rings*: it's the stick-like writing made of straight lines, as seen for example in [the left panel of Thorin's map](_URL_0_)). The English version was also called \"futhark\", because the first six letters are \"f\", \"u\", \"th\", \"a\", \"r\" and \"k\".\n\nNotice something? The third letter is \"th\". When the Romans came they brought with them their own alphabet, and started using it to write English. The problem is that their alphabet was designed for Latin, not English. English contains lots of sounds that Latin didn't, so the question became: How do you write those sounds?\n\nPartly, the created some new letters. In the Latin alphabet, \"i\" and \"j\" were the same letter (it was written \"I\" in capitals but \"j\" in lower case), as were \"u\" and \"v\" (\"V\" in capitals, \"u\" in lower case), so those letters were split to create extra letters. They also created another extra letter by fusing \"uu\" together to make \"w\".\n\nThey also adapted a couple of letters from the runic alphabet: \"þ\" (called \"thorn\") for the \"th\" sound (the third letter in \"fuþark\"), and \"ȝ\" (called \"yogh\") which, depending on context, could sound like \"g\" or \"y\" (a linguist would write these sounds as /g/ and /j/ respectively), or like a kind of gargling noise made in the back of the throat, a sound that no longer exists in English (a linguist would use the symbol /ɣ/ to write this sound). Additionally, the letter \"d\" was modified to \"ð\" to make another way of writing the \"th\" sound.\n\nWe no longer have those three letters: instead we use digraphs to represent them, another technique of writing \"extra\" sounds: putting two letters together. So \"þ\" and \"ð\" are now written \"th\", and \"ȝ\" (where it used to have that gargling sound) is now written \"gh\".\n\nThis explains some of the weirdnesses of English spelling. It explains why \"gh\" appears seemingly at random in words like \"night\". It even explains why the name \"Menzies\" is pronounced \"ming-is\": the \"z\" is there because mediaeval printers got it confused with \"ȝ\". Similarly, whenever you see signs like \"Ye Olde Tea Shoppe\", the \"y\" in \"ye\" is there because printers got confused by \"þ\".\n\nSide-note: the letters \"þ\" and \"ð\" are still used in Icelandic.\n\nIt's important to remember, though, that writing comes *after* the language itself. Our alphabet doesn't dictate how we speak our language: alphabets are attempts to represent our speech. We don't have a clear idea of how the first human languages came about because writing was invented tens of thousands of years later, so we have no historical records that go back that far. And babies learn a native language naturally, but have to be taught how to write -- speech is natural, writing is not.\n\nIn answer to your question:\n\n > Does that mean there are potentially other letters that have not been... made yet?\n\nWell, sort of.\n\nIf you listen to a foreigner speaking English, you notice they have a \"foreign accent\". This is because there are sounds in English that don't exist in their native language, so they use the sounds in their native language that are closest to ours. These sounds often don't exist in English, so that's why they sound weird.\n\nEarlier, I talked about the symbols that linguists use to write sounds. These symbols are taken from the International Phonetic Alphabet: this is a system that linguists use to transcribe all the sounds used in all the languages of the world (at least in theory). [This is the basic chart](_URL_1_) -- as you can see, there are far, far more symbols than there are letters in our alphabet.\n\nThis system is so detailed, you can even use it to explain differences in accent. For example, in standard British English (the dialect called \"RP\") the word \"forward\" is pronounced /ˈfɔːwəd/ and \"foreword\" is pronounced /ˈfɔːwɜːd/, but in the General American dialect both are pronounced /ˈfɔɹwɚd/.\n\nBut each language uses only a small subset of these sounds. A new-born baby has the ability to learn all the sounds of human speech, but that would be a waste of time. Instead, it will listen to its parents and build up a kind of inventory of the sounds it hears -- this inventory of sounds is known as a language's \"phonology\" (or, more accurately, its \"phonological system\"). The baby then only has to learn these sounds: most people then lose the ability to learn more sounds, which is why when in later life you learn a foreign language, you will struggle to get the sounds exactly right.\n\nIf you're wondering about the history of our alphabet, it started off with Egyptian hieroglyphics, which are insanely complicated. Over the centuries, the symbols became simplified and began to be used to represent the first sound of the word -- imagine if our alphabet went \"apple, boat, cow, dog...\" That system was improved by the Phoenicians, then the Greeks got it and changed it again, and that's where the ancestors of the Romans got it.\n\nOur alphabet isn't actually very good at writing our language because it wasn't designed for it. The prize to the best alphabet, if you ask most linguists, goes to Korean: its alphabet was designed specifically for that language and only that language and is ridiculously easy to learn (when it was invented, in the 15th century, the proud boast was \"a wise man can learn it in one morning; a stupid man can learn it within ten days\"). There is a theory that the shapes of the consonants are based on the position of the tongue and jaw used to make the sounds." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [ "https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/lotr/images/f/f6/F27c_thorins_map_from_the_hobbit.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130209175313", "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/The_International_Phonetic_Alphabet_%28revised_to_2015%29.pdf/page1-1275px-The_International_Phonetic_Alphabet_%28revised_to_2015%29.pdf.jpg" ] ]
ede79g
how does a cruise ship have enough hot water for 2,000 people to take a shower every morning?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/ede79g/eli5how_does_a_cruise_ship_have_enough_hot_water/
{ "a_id": [ "fbh98i6", "fbh9cnj" ], "score": [ 3, 2 ], "text": [ "Ships of those size would have several boilers and other forms of heat exchangers. It's not hard to get hot water on ships because main engines and many auxiliary machines require cooling water. When this cooling water is heated, it can pass through a heat exchanger and heat up the potable water for the showers.", "It turns out that things like the engine produce a lot of heat. Rather than just to dissipate that heat away, they actually use it to heat the hot water tanks.\n\nThey also make use of electric tankless on demand hot water heaters to supplement demand spikes." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
3z72tg
why is cable tv almost always the wrong aspect ratio?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3z72tg/eli5_why_is_cable_tv_almost_always_the_wrong/
{ "a_id": [ "cyjqbol" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "You mean why are they still using 4:3 aspect ratio instead of 16:9? I think this is mostly an american thing, the 4:3 aspect ratio is still in use because apparently a significant number of people still own 4:3 TVs. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [] ]
3oo6l8
how does the us gov get an accurate tally on the number of undocumented immigrants within the country?
How do they get a proper count, really?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3oo6l8/eli5_how_does_the_us_gov_get_an_accurate_tally_on/
{ "a_id": [ "cvz4e1z" ], "score": [ 2 ], "text": [ "The short answer is it's not all that accurate. What they do is they try to estimate the total number of immigrants through surveys, and then they subtract the number of legal immigrants, which they know roughly from visas. The problem is that immigrant populations are not all that likely to be responsive to surveys. To account for this, they adjust the numbers upward. Pew's numbers (which are not government numbers) have a 90% confidence interval from 11.1M to 12.2M illegal immigrants, so there's a pretty good deal of uncertainty.\n\n[Here's](_URL_0_) my source, it's a pretty short but interesting read" ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/how-do-we-know-how-many-undocumented-immigrants-there-are/" ] ]
60gh3p
difference between 3 year and 4 year bachelors degree
I know many countries such as in Europe and Australia have 3 year bachelors degrees which are default there, so I'm wondering how they differ from normal 4 year degrees in North America. What's the catch? How can you finish a program that normally takes 4 years, in 3 years? Do the people in Europe and Australia learn less, or have to do less, that they can graduate a year earlier?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/60gh3p/eli5_difference_between_3_year_and_4_year/
{ "a_id": [ "df65kiu", "df66t8y", "df6cz9o", "df6ekhx", "df6f3iy" ], "score": [ 2, 50, 3, 2, 14 ], "text": [ "We have three and four year degrees here in Australia. Bachelor of Arts is three, Bachelor of Teaching is four. ", "In England there are no general education requirements at university, and there's not really a concept of majors and minors. You pick a course at the start, and you follow that course throughout those three years. E.g. If you do physics, you will only have classes related to physics. Some courses do allow you to take a few classes from other departments, but only a few.\n\nCompare that to the US system where as I understand it, you have much more freedom to pick and choose classes.\n\nThis means English university education is much more focused, so you can get it done in less time, at the cost of having a less rounded education. \n\nAnother relevant thing is the pre-university education is also more focused. At age 16 students usually pick 3 to 5 subjects and learn only those. So going into university they usually already have fairly in depth knowledge of their chosen subject, or at least things that are relevant to it.", "Canada has both 3 and 4 year university bachelor degrees. Usually, a 3 year degree will be a \"general\" degree (e.g. Bachelor of Science) whereas a 4 year degree with be specific (e.g. Bachelor of Science in Physics).", "In the US we have to take ALL our general courses over in college, even though for the last 12 years its been drilled into our heads. If that doesnt show our educational system is shit I dunno what does.\n\nThen there are electives that are required for some reason. Man I am majoring in physics but that sure in a nice pottery class. In many cases a bachelors is not finished till the 5th year as well do to when classes are offered. For example a friend of mine had two classes left, but they were offered in the spring not fall.", "I've studied in both the U.S (4 year) and the U.K (3 year) and the main reason is *general education*. For context I was always studying 'Business' \nIn my year at america I did a handful of business topics, an art topic, an english language topic and some other random things. These all counted towards my degree.\nIn england I studied only business topics, and they were sometimes spanning the whole year (not just one semester). \n\n3 year courses are usually much more focused, 4 year can afford to have more generalized education which supposedly gives you a 'better worldview/approach to later life/etc/etc/etc' but I think it's just to add more debt." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [] ]
20twz6
why are people on reddit so pc (politically correct)?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/20twz6/eli5_why_are_people_on_reddit_so_pc_politically/
{ "a_id": [ "cg6nxut", "cg6nzbs" ], "score": [ 2, 2 ], "text": [ "What reddit are you reading?\n\nThere is plenty of people being incredibly offensive/politically incorrect all over the place.\n\nYou may just not see them because they usually get downvoted to hell real quick. ", "Reddit is full of arrogant self centered self important politically incorrect trolls. Where are you subredditing?" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
6girn3
why do some people thrive on being as annoying as they can to everyone around them?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6girn3/eli5_why_do_some_people_thrive_on_being_as/
{ "a_id": [ "diqlmrk", "diqlogx" ], "score": [ 3, 3 ], "text": [ "Simply to get a reaction. If the person struggles to get positive feedback, then negative will have to do. If you can consistently give them an \"atta boy\" for appropriate, non-annoying behavior, and shutdown & ignore annoying behavior, you might have a really positive impact on that person's life.", "Because all humans are hard-wired for attention. Some people need more of it than others and cannot readily recognize the difference between positive and negative attention. Attention is attention in their brains. Not only that, but many of these people have discovered that being annoying illicits a more dramatic response in general. Even better when all you want is attention in the biggest way.\n\nIn the field of Psychology there are many named personality disorders that demonstrate this trait." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [] ]
6ep0x1
if phones can get access to the internet everywhere via cellular, why can't computers?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6ep0x1/eli5_if_phones_can_get_access_to_the_internet/
{ "a_id": [ "dibwp18", "dibx0lj", "dibx0wz", "dibxwwy", "dibzb15", "dic7j87" ], "score": [ 3, 2, 6, 2, 2, 2 ], "text": [ "You can install a cellular card in your computer.\n\nThe problem is why would you want to? Computers are more or less stationary and can benefit from stationary infrastructure.", "They can. Cellular internet is just slower and much more expensive than stationary internet infrastructure.", "They can, My in-laws don't have internet in their house, they just have a hotspot device that they turn on and off when they need internet. But generally, wi-fi is faster and more reliable than cellular data. Even 4G LTE is not as fast as AC internet speeds.", "They can. Computers are not typically designed to be nearly as mobile as a phone, so it's more common to use wifi to get internet access. But there's nothing stopping you from adding cellular connectivity to one.", "As others have said, they can. The hardware to receive a 4G (cell network) signal just isn't built into them, because it's slow, expensive, and not generally necessary in anything larger than a tablet. \n\nIt's worth noting that we can run out of space for cell signals to travel in the air. So generally speaking it's not good to overuse such devices, even if that limit is pretty high.", "They can.\n\nMobile phones include a modem that is capable of communicating with cell towers using a number of mobile communication protocols.\n\nPacket switching protocols can and do operate on several of these mobile communication protocols. In fact, LTE is a purely packet switched network, a simplification of the older UMTS+HSPA which are circuit switched and packet switched respectively.\n\nMany manufacturers offer USB devices that include HSPA/LTE modems and expose to the operating system a network interface functionally identical to a WiFi access point or wired Ethernet connection. However, these devices still have to authenticate with the mobile network, and thus require a SIM card and mobile subscription." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [] ]
4dswcn
can we found out the exact chemical makeup of any substance? if so what processes are used?
[deleted]
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/4dswcn/eli5_can_we_found_out_the_exact_chemical_makeup/
{ "a_id": [ "d1u09w9" ], "score": [ 3 ], "text": [ "[Gas chromography and mass spectronomy.](_URL_0_) Basically we burn something and then shine light through the gasses that result in it. Different things bend light different ways. So then we compare what has been observed against what we know and that gives us the chemical make up of a substance. - in very broad terms. " ] }
[]
[]
[ [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_chromatography%E2%80%93mass_spectrometry" ] ]
6j49b4
what's the difference between an airplane and a jet, regarding hardware and such?
Are specific parts either needs to specify as one or the other?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/6j49b4/eli5_whats_the_difference_between_an_airplane_and/
{ "a_id": [ "djbdju3", "djbdni3", "djbdp5u" ], "score": [ 3, 5, 3 ], "text": [ "A jet is an aircraft that uses the force of ignited fuel-air mix for propulsion. Airplane is a general term for a flying vehicle.\n\nA simple Google search would have given you this answer....", "For an airplane to be a jet it must have a [jet engine](_URL_0_).\n\nNot all airplanes do. For example, a prop plane: A plane where the forward motion is created by propeller engines is not a jet.\n\nAn ELI5 explanation of how A jet engine works: Air is pulled into the engine by fan blades. This smooshes the air together. Fuel is sprayed into this compressed air and lit on fire. The resulting explosion forces air out the back of the engine very fast, creating forward thrust.\n\n", "A plane is any type of fixed wing aircraft. A jet is a subset of a plane, which uses a jet engine (creates thrust by jet propulsion). " ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_engine" ], [] ]
a1tnvr
why must you drag a new program into the application folder (on a mac) for it to work properly?
explainlikeimfive
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/a1tnvr/eli5_why_must_you_drag_a_new_program_into_the/
{ "a_id": [ "easld6g", "easmgzn", "easrkwg" ], "score": [ 3, 7, 10 ], "text": [ "You need to talk more about \"work properly.\" Mac programs can generally run from any location.\n\nThere are processes, like updates, that may look in the applications folder. When an update process simply replaces the application file an update may instruct you to drag it into the application folder to \"replace\" the old file so you don't wind up with multiple copies, that's a good idea. It is widely claimed that assigning auto run to file types looks only in the applications folder but that does not seem to be correct.", "Obligatory not-a-mac-user. Devs apparently assume that you install everything to that folder, so if there’s other apps an app wants to communicate with, it’ll usually search there and not bother asking if you have it installed anywhere else (Unlike a large number of third-party Windows apps that just have you find it yourself and then save the file path for later use).\n\nThe app file also apparently seems to be just a reskinned folder that contains multiple files inside. The coding might be so lazily done that when the actual app needs to reference files inside the app “file”, it might just use the full path of the app “file” instead of using a truncated file path that ignores where the app is installed.\n\nA layman-friendly explanation is that some lazily-coded apps go “Okay, so this file should be exactly here, on drive C, in the Applications folder, in ButtFart.app...huh? Where’s ButtFart.app?” when they could’ve gone “It’s here, where the app is, but in the folder called lib, and the file is called DFlatAssembly.dll. Found it? Good.”", "Source: am software developer who targets Macs. \n\nIn general, Mac apps will run just fine no matter where they are located in the filesystem - you can even run them off a mounted thumb drive, for example. There is no registry as there is on Windows that needs all kinds of path information and keys added to it for an app to function, so there is no real need for an installer per se that sets all stuff up like on Windows. \n\nHowever, there are good reasons to ask users to put applications into the Applications directory: Someone else mentioned upgrades - this is very true. My upgraders assume that you are running the app out of the Applications directory. Every now and then I hear from a user who has dragged the application out to their desktop. They launch it, it tells them there is an update, they tell it to install. This quits the app running on the desktop and starts *a different app* that performs the update, and puts the updated version into Applications for them. Then they launch it from the desktop again, and it tells them there is an update (because they are running the old version from the desktop, not the newer version in their Applications directory).\n\nTL:DR; You don't need to drag an app into the Applications directory for it to work properly, but by convention that is where the developer assumes it will be, and certain things may behave oddly if you keep your app somewhere else." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [] ]
1tasqz
why is the play button a sideways triangle, the pause button parallel lines, fast forward button (and so on).. how did this come about and why is internationally recognized?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1tasqz/eli5_why_is_the_play_button_a_sideways_triangle/
{ "a_id": [ "ce637an", "ce63cel", "ce63wfa", "ce65b1w", "ce65pyj", "ce6651m", "ce66bha", "ce671hs", "ce67mr5", "ce67poa", "ce685ko", "ce6889e", "ce68js6", "ce68y92", "ce694mj", "ce69upr", "ce6a3gf", "ce6a4k7", "ce6ad35", "ce6avjh", "ce6bg3m", "ce6bjol", "ce6bnkh", "ce6cl5n", "ce6cpvd", "ce6gmth", "ce6luyo" ], "score": [ 309, 43, 14, 2, 15, 5, 2, 4, 2, 2, 37, 3, 2, 4, 84, 4, 3, 5, 3, 5, 12, 3, 3, 3, 4, 8, 2 ], "text": [ "The vertical lines represent the sides of frames on a reel. Pause means you are stopped between two frames, play means you are moving through the frames left to right (hence the arrow), fast forward is moving through the frames at some multiple of 1x, and the scene skip button pushes you forward to some preset \"hard\" frame edge. ", "The logic of the play/pause/ff/rw buttons originated from media controls on reel to reel tape players. The direction of the triangle indicated which reel was being spooled to. As for which specific company or individual first put them into use, no one seems to know. \n\nEdit: Three a's are now e's, praise lefrisbee!", "Apparently, Swedish engineer Philip Olsson designed them while working in Japan, and they've been accepted since. That's a start, but I haven't been able to find any more info.", "Probably good post war German design. ", "Not able to answer your question, but I just thought I'd let you know that these are commonly called Transport Controls. Just FYI.", "Side note: it may be internationally recognized on music/video playback devices, but it turns out this changes on appliances. Our dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer here in Switzerland have what you'd think is a \"play\" button, except it means stop.", "The Play button represents an arrow meaning progress. Fast Forward is two arrows meaning double progress, because it's generally at double speed. Rewind is just a backwards fast forward. Stop button is probably a square because it represents a stop in progress, Blocks don't go anywhere. Pause's origin seems to be unknown from what I know, but I guess it was simply derived from stop. Perhaps the space inbetween the lines represents it keeping your progress instead of stopping playback entirely. Skip buttons are a combination of play and pause to represent skipping one from ahead. Next and Previous were then derived from then. Finally, the Eject button is simply an arrow I would think is meant to symbolize the tape/disc coming out of the machine.", "I wonder if part of the reason why \"going to the right\" is regarded as \"forward\" is because of our grammar.\n\nThe common way to structure a simple active sentence would be something like:\n\n\"The boy walked to the store.\"\n\nThe action goes from left to right. This is also why most English speakers, if asked to draw the scene depicted by this sentence, would draw the boy on the left and the store on the right.\n\nPerhaps if we had adopted technology and their associated symbols from another culture/country with a reversed grammatical structure, things would be different. ", "The play button isn't a sideways triangle. Everybody knows it's a normal triangle that's been turned slightly to the left.\nEdit: words", "Guess here, reel to reel film editors? You start with source footage on left, it moves to the right. Etc", "I think I'm old enough to actually answer this.\n\nYou see, way back when technology ran on tubes and ribbons there was a thing called Serpentine Tapes. A serpentine tape was used in electronics, most of which you might remember today as a VCR. I'm skipping a lot of history but only because it will make sense using VCR as an example.\n\nAnyways, tapes played forward in one direction. That direction was feeding one reel from the left side to the right side reel. That's why the Arrow that points to the right means PLAY. The tape would pass through heads. These heads would either record or read the electromagnetic signals on the tape and produce an image or write and image with sound to the tape. When you paused a tape, it would hold the tape tightly against the heads in a frozen state. Kind of like having two walls on either side of the tape. That's why two vertical lines represent PAUSE. Rewind was two arrows backwards, because you always rewind much faster than play. Same for fast forward, as being two arrows going to the right. Now here's the kicker, the Square that means STOP comes from being stuck in a box. If you are surrounded by four sides, you cannot go forward or backward. \n\nThese symbols were first labeled with the corresponding words when they first were being released for consumer consumption. But as time went by, they became symbolized meanings. \n\nOne could ask why the [Phone Handset](_URL_0_) represents a Call icon on cellphones, when your cellphone doesn't look like it at all. \n\nIt just comes down to a learned symbol. We learn symbols as we grow up, and the more prominent it is in society then the easier it becomes to recognize. \n\nEDIT: now here's a question you have to consider - Why does red mean stop everywhere except electronics? In electronics, Red usually means ON or Record.", "This comes from old reel to reel players. The sideways triangle is the most basic form of an arrow pointing to the right. When you press that button the tape begins moving that direction and plays. The two other buttons often found with it are two triangles right and two triangles left. This is for fast forward and rewind and are meant to designate they are going at double speed. Stop has always been a square, and record has always been a red circle mainly because a red light has always been used to designate that a recording is happening. Typically the red dot and the play button had to be pressed at the same time, meaning you were playing while recording. And pause has always been two rectangles, meaning that it was a segmented stop. \n\n", "I had a DVD player once, that I bought brand-new about 15 years ago. I am pretty sure it was a Sony. It had the same standard button icons on the remote and the player's face that we are all used to now.\n\nPlay, Fast Forward, and Reverse all seem to make sense to me. Most people tend to think of going to the right as moving forward. Right-handedness is often considered better than left-handed, etc. It is the way many people read, which has been mentioned, so progress tends to be thought of as moving to the right.\n\nFor those that read right-to-left, unfortunately they do not read German, Japanese, Chinese (horizontal style is left-to-right), English, etc. The countries that built the electronics first sold on the consumer markets made the call -- left-to-right -- hence the right-facing arrowhead or triangle pointing to the right.\n\nStop makes sense. In context, a square does no appear to be moving anywhere. Star Trek took advantage of this by noting that true spaceships that are never intended to enter an atmosphere could easily function without a cool-looking shape or being aerodynamic. Therefore -- the Borg \"Cube\" ship, and the probably more efficient to build and operate \"Sphere\" ship.\n\nBack to my old DVD player. The on-screen display would actually \"grow\" the arrowheads from a central point, so that they would form smoothly from the base towards the direction of travel. For example, when stopped, and I pushed Play, the square would evaporate from left-right at the same time the Play arrowhead would grow in from left-right. When pausing, the Play arrowhead would evaporate from right-left until right when there was only one column of pixels remaining, a new column would appear to the left. Depending on your next button-press, the arrows could grow from either of the two columns, or bars, that represent the Pause function. So now I wonder -- did someone have this visual concept in mind when they created the double-bar symbol for Pause?", "From a graphic design standpoint it reads as an arrow pointing to the right. [Most nations use a language reading left to right](_URL_0_). Right arrow also \"reads\" as next or passage of time so it is a fairly good graphical representation of play button function. Double play buttons read visually as play x2 or fast forward; opposing it reads reverse. While not a sourced origin the design has a logical explanation amongst iconography.", "The symbols for play, stop, pause and record — the original media control symbols — were first introduced by Swedish Engineer Philip Olsson. Olsson was working in Japan while finishing his studies at the Royal Institute of Technology, having also earned a degree from a Swedish design school.\n\n", "First time I remember these symbols was from working in a studio with the 24 track Ampex real to real. It was marked with the symbols but the other decks where not. The right facing arrow was along the tape path and indicated the how to thread the tape and the direction of tape travel through the head and transport. IMHO they evolved from this as follows:\n\nPlay - 1x tape speed along path\n\nFast forward - 2x(or more) tape speed along path\n\nRewind - 1x tape speed backward\n\nFast rewind 2x(or more) tape speed backward\n\nStop - no tape movement left or right, so just the square with no \"arrows\" in either direction\n\nPause - The tape travel stopped and the transport was opened leaving a gap between the capstan and pinch roller, symbolized by the space between the parallel lines\n\nSource: personal experience ", "I have no sources to provide and I'm too lazy to make sure I'm right but here goes.\n\nPlay: Arrow indicating to movie, proceed, start, however you want to say it. You know how you read left to right? That play button tells you to start reading. Something like that.\n\nPause: _URL_0_\n\nFast Forward: Play button twice to indicate haste. Rewind is the same but points in the opposite direction because it's going backwards.\n\nStop: A block that indicates that it's the end, kind of like an [end bar in music](_URL_1_).\n\nSkip: Stop + Play combined. Ends the current track and proceeds to the next one. \n\nRecord: From the appearance of a lit red light on a recording studio.\n\nAs far as history goes; all Wikipedia has to say is, \"The symbols for play, stop, pause and record — the original media control symbols — were first introduced by Swedish Engineer Philip Olsson. Olsson was working in Japan while finishing his studies at the Royal Institute of Technology, having also earned a degree from a Swedish design school.\"", "Old timer here, with a non-made up explanation: \nI thought it started with reel to reel tapes, then cassettes, then video cassettes. The left reel will be the tape reel and the right one is the empty take-up reel. The tape travels from the left to the right. If you Google 'original sony walkman', you will see there is an arrow on the door of the cassette door supporting this direction. Play is an arrow to the right. Stop is a square, about the same size as the arrow. FF is two arrows to the right and rewind is two arrows to the left. Pause, which was not present on very early tape recorders, is a medium between stop and play. On a cassette deck, pause would keep the heads on the tape, and motor spinning but unclutched. So it would be in play mode (heads up) but tape transport would be stopped. So I understood this to be the basis for pause- a hybrid of play and stop.\n\nRecord has transitionally been a red button, usually to the left of rewind, and record and play would need to be engaged at the same time. \nThe 'track forward' and 'track backward' is like the rewind and ff buttons, but with a vertical line at the tip of the arrow. I think some early cassette decks had this feature, where it could detect silence between tracks. ", "The Sketchbook of Susan Kare _URL_0_", "why is it internationally recognised? large portion of it will be due to ISO standards like [ISO 7000 - Graphical symbols for use on equipment -- Registered symbols] (_URL_2_) and [ISO 18035 - Information technology -- Icon symbols and functions for controlling multimedia software applications] (_URL_1_)\n\nThere are a lot of [ISO member countries](_URL_0_) \n\nVery unlikely that the ISO created them in the first place though.\n\nEdit: added link to wikipedia ISO member countries", "I'm late for the party but I brought symbols that were used in USSR for playback, pause, etc: _URL_0_", "I don't think of it as a sideways triangle, but rather an arrow pointing right without the rectangular body. - > ", "They're arrowheads, and the ff and rewind are blurred moving arrows.", "I may be over simplifying but i always thought that the right facing triangle just meant forward, as in the media is moving forward at the proper play speed, and the dbl. back and dbl. forward were meant to say, the media is moving faster in this direction (multiplied by however many arrows there that appear). Then again, i am fairly naive.", "Just look at them.\n\nPlay ( > ):\nWe read left to right. A time line always goes from left to right. An arrow to the right means the movie is going right. Playing.\n\nFast Forward/Rewind ( < < , > > ):\nSame as play, but in both directions, and faster.\n\nPause (l l):\nThis one is a little harder to just assume by looking at it. Just a square makes more sense, but I'm not too sure. There's no arrows though, so clearly nothing is moving.", "Play is an arrow pointing the direction we read (and see logical progression), fast forward is double forwards. Back and rewind the same idea. \nSquare for stop as there's no direction, pause because the two bars isolate a single frame in a movie/point in a song etc...\n\nI'm no expert, but this seems logical to me.", "I'm pulling at strings here, but my assumption is that the play button is a sideways triangle because it looks like it's pointing forward; fastforward is 2x triangles because it's pointing forward twice, or going forward twice as fast. As for pause, in music, there is a notation called a 'grand pause.' This is two lines on the top of the staff that intersect almost vertically. They look like train tracks, and are often referred to as such. Grand pauses are held silence within the piece, and there is no limit to the amount of time you can hold a grand pause. [Example of a grand pause in music](_URL_0_)" ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://cesaualberta.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/phone-icon.jpg" ], [], [], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Writing_directions_of_the_world.svg" ], [], [], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesura", "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_%28music%29" ], [], [ "http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2011/11/22/the-sketchbook-of-susan-kare-the-artist-who-gave-computing-a-human-face/" ], [ "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization#Members", "http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=30820", "http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=60898" ], [ "http://www.rw6ase2.narod.ru/jpg/majak233s07.jpg" ], [], [], [], [], [], [ "http://d3cgb598vs7bfg.cloudfront.net/images/upload-flashcards/front/8/7/24578422_m.jpg" ] ]
2stu5e
why has ceo pay seemingly skyrocketed over the years?
It doesn't seem like their quality has increased. And doesn't the board have to approve their pay raises? What incentive do they have to do this?
explainlikeimfive
http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2stu5e/eli5_why_has_ceo_pay_seemingly_skyrocketed_over/
{ "a_id": [ "cnsrwrj", "cnst5ud" ], "score": [ 3, 3 ], "text": [ "Part of it is supply and demand as it is challenging to find a great CEO and for large companies they can drive massive shareholder value. The other part of it is that the company's board sets the CEO salary. This means that if you can friends elected to a company's board they can increase your salary.", "If you are in the UK I recommend a program called [The super-rich and us](_URL_0_) episode 2 explains what happened in the 80s\n\nThe british gas CEO was the highest paid CEO in the country when they floated on the stock market and had a pay packet of £450,000 per year. After public outrage due to the amount he was paid, Margaret Thatcher put together a panel of CEOs to investigate and come up with a formula for how much directors and CEOs should be paid. They came to the conclusion that the pay was reasonable, that pay should be performanced based, and should be decided by stockholders. One of the problems with this is that CEOs tend to be very large stockholders of the company they run and can effectively choose their own pay. This opened the door for CEOs to increase their pay exponentially seeing it as a benefit to the company but seeing the labor costs as a cost to the business and one that can and should be cut." ] }
[]
[]
[ [], [ "http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b04xw4rw" ] ]