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LAUNCH Lab 13

AskReddit/cfz7ph9

202gso

What's the weirdest thing you've seen in the woods?

One night I was with some friends and we were trying to spot red deers on their mating rites (they roar witch is a very unique sound) when I suddenly hear some disturbing noises. I stood dead still and a grown wild boar ran straight past me. Another time I was hiking in the alpes and a European badger passed in front of me, I had to stop walking else we would have collided. And one time my parents and I were driving in the Ardennes and we almost hit a male red dear that was standing in the middle of the road. I guess it's not so weird to find forest animals in the woods but I think those were pretty unique (and a bit scary) experiences. Edit typo.

explainlikeimfive/cfjs3nx

1yehmf

Why do big-budget movies, especially non-action ones, have such a long film shooting process?

most films have a 3 month principal shooting time. Of those 3 months, they'll deal with getting areas to shoot (if outdoors) and deal with weather and municipalities and natural lighting. They may only get a few minutes of actual shooting done in a given day, and they may need to shoot that scene several times before getting a useful take. Then they have to come back and redub the audio, and may need to reshoot.

AskReddit/d6in6wg

4xv1r2

What's something that makes you smile every time without fail?

Recently it's been all the gifs of Olympians winning. Seeing these athletes smile and/or cry for winning a medal because they have trained their whole life for it just makes me smile uncontrollably. I'm so proud of anyone who can set a goal and achieve it. It's even better when you get to share that joy with the entire world.

AskReddit/e2ixlek

8zhaem

What is the creepiest thing that has ever happened to you that you can’t explain?

I was asleep on a school night back in high school when I suddenly saw a really bright light flash in my eyes. I became really nervous because I thought that bright light was from the sun and that I had overslept but when I opened my eyes, it was still nighttime, around 3 AM. In general, I get cold very easily, so I never sleep with the fan on or without my shirt and pants. So I woke up to this bright flash of light and jolted up, my shirt was gone and the fan was on full blast, and I had some gibberish words repeating in my mind- “Pikit mata.” I googled the words thinking maybe they meant something, and I found that it’s Filipino and means “to do something with your eyes shut.” I figured that I may have just somehow gotten hot that night and turned on the fan and removed my shirt in my sleep, but I can’t figure out what the light or the words were from. I also never found my shirt.

askscience/edklk6o

adtfsa

Why do red and purple look similar when they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum?

Your perception of color is related to the wavelengths of various visible light, but it's not a linear scale, the information is translated into color to emphasize important distinctions you might see in the world, rather than give you a precise accounting of wavelengths. Somewhat separately - violet and purple are not the same color, and only violet is part of the EM spectrum. Purple pigment is a combination of red and blue, so it does resemble both colors.

AskReddit/dgt3n9d

67tbto

How did you improve as a person between the beginning and end of high school?

I don't think I improved much, I was probably worse. I was popular, and it went to my head. I improved and matured more in the next two years after high school than I ever had. I was forced to face the real world and it was hard. Sorry, I know this isn't exactly the answer you are looking for, but I feel like it works kind of too.

AskHistorians/c8f4g0e

18gvyg

How surprising were gas attacks in WWI?

Just to add to Monty725's good reply, a great book to read about this is Canadian historian Tim Cook's No Place to Run. Most historians of the war argue that poison gas on the battlefield was a failure and usually measure its effectiveness based on its lethality. Cook argues that this may be true in that gas was not a "war-winning weapon," but historians should remember that gas was a much more "complicated and nuanced weapon." It was far more effective at removing men from combat and leaving fear and unrest among its survivors. One soldier wrote that "it is a terrible and hateful sensation to be choked and suffocated and unable to get breath: a casualty from gun fire may be dying from his wounds, but they don't give him the sensation that his life is being strangled out of him." Thus, gas was effective for many reasons other than its lethality. One, it was a weapon of fear. There was no escape from gas on the battlefield, there was no way to tell if you were actually out of range of the gas cloud, or it would be trapped in the buried earth of an artillery shell blast, or even spending a night in a respirator because a sentry mistook fog for a phosgene gas cloud. As Cook's title notes, there was "no place to run." Two, gas was primarily a casualty-causing agent rather than a killer. Cook notes that in 1918 when the Germans were using mustard gas, British gas casualties rose to from 7.2% in 1917 to 15% of total casualties. Yet, at the same fatality rates from gas dropped from 3.4% in 1917 to 2.4% in 1918. Gas wounded soldiers - requiring their comrades to bring them off the battlefield, clogging up supply lines, aid stations and weakening the manpower available to actually continue an offensive. Or, imagine heading to the frontlines while passing the lines of gurgling, choking men who would never die from their wounds but would never recover either. The fear of gas was a far more important weapon than the casualties inflicted. Even gas casualties statistics are misleading. The British army reports somewhere between 1.1 and 1.3 million gas casualties in the war, of which 91,000 died. Yet, if the German released 600 canisters of chlorine gas and killed 50 British soldiers, this would be seen as a failure, even if the entire line of trenches of British soldiers were forced to wear respirators for the duration of the battle - drastically changing the nature of the engagement even without the statistics to prove success. To, finally, directly answer your question, both armies on the Western Front (dont know much about other theatres) quickly adapted to the reality of gas warfare. Soldiers were trained to put on masks and protective gear quickly and without thinking - even a few seconds could save you from decades of agony or death. Intensive gas training was increasingly a part of an effective unit's ability to fight on the battlefields of the Western Front, as there was always the fear of gas in any battle by the last years of the war. Soldiers had to act without thinking - the second the whistle blew that gas was spotted, or when a gas shell landed 5 metres in front of you, you had to immediately adjust your gear or put on your mask, and then keep fighting. Any hesitation could be lethal, or worse. Total gas warfare, when both sides began using choking gas, tear gas, and gas that burned any skin it came in contact with, meant that armies had to be trained at many levels. Small things like Doctors removing contaminated fabric from the wounded to avoid gas burns had to be "learned" in medical services dealing with gas casualties. Still, total preparation did not stop gas casualties. Hiding gas shells in the midst of a high explosive artillery barrage could catch soldiers unaware, or gas stuck in shell holes, or gas mixing with the mud and water of the trenches. Days after an attack, a soldier might be discovered dead after digging a hole to rest in during the night, or severely burned as water shifted in the muddy landscape onto a soldier as he slept. Cook’s work on gas warfare stands out as one of the few historical studies that belie the established narrative in the Canadian literature on the war. Unlike other Canadian historians of the First World War, such as Duguid and Nicholson, his writing on gas warfare provides depth to the history of the weapon as more than simply an immoral tool of war. He argued that the “gas environment” where a soldier had to fear a gas attack at any moment, or endure fighting within the gas cloud, had had dramatic consequences for all the soldiers of the war. Cooks attempts to re-imagine the entire soldier experience of the trenches as one equally marked by toxic gas as by artillery shells and machine gun bullets. The image of the war he describes presents an important but subtle difference from what other historians have written. It is an atrocious world where the brief moments of courage do little to overcome the unending horrors of gas warfare. It was “like water rotting wood,” Cook writes, “not often immediately deadly, but … constant, insidious, and demoralizing.” His picture has little in common with the image of the successful, deadly, and honourable Canadian soldier. By the end of the war during the Hundred Days, Cook argues that “the Canadian way of war was steeped in poison gas.” Consider that 1 in 4 American casualties were from gas warfare, which demonstrates how the lack of proper gas protocols in the unbloodied American army severely affected their fighting capability. Gas warfare was a reality of the Western Front, one to which armies had to adapt or perish. And for the interest's sake, chemical agents has been used since the First World War. The Italians used it against the Abyssinians in the 30s, Japan used it against the Chinese, there are unconfirmed reports that Egypt used it against Yemen in the 60s, the United States' use of napalm in Vietnam, allegations of Soviet use in Afghanistan in the 80s, and of course Iraq using it against Iran also in the 80s. One of the biggest fears of the American Army as it entered Iraq in the First Gulf War was being confronted with chemical warfare.

AskReddit/copkg05

2wcilb

What's something that people do in public that makes you automatically think differently of them?

Those mouthbreathers who play music off their phone and pretend that holding it to their ear makes it somewhat better. Like dude, just get a pair of cheapo headphones and have some sense of decency you shitsipping frittata. I immediately assume that you are an uncultured swine with 0 knowledge of basic social constructs.

AskReddit/chb1zwm

24uvsb

What unites the whole world?

I believe that there is a universal phrase that does unite the world: Hakuna Matata. I am friends with people from all over the world (Europe, Asia, Central America, South America, Middle East, and Africa). Whenever any of these friends may share something that just purely sucks, and I don't know how to provide adequate advice, I just say, "Hakuna Matata." There hasn't been a single time when the person doesn't answer with the biggest smile. And even though I may not have the correct advice for the situation, I believe quite passionately that trying to solve a problem in a bad mood never works out for anyone.

Ask_Politics/crm6o0n

37f1u8

What are some reasons why northern California and southern Oregon splitting off and forming a new state named Jefferson would be a bad idea?

It's not practical. Do you really want to see every state break up into little homogeneous political zones? You can't make everyone happy in a state, especially one the size of California, but trying to break off from a state because you disagree with the government just won't happen.

AskHistorians/dxxh67v

8eoyu2

What was Cambodia like before the Khmer Rouge took over, and how did it compare to neighboring Thailand and Vietnam?

That depends on the time frame you are asking about. In the five years between 1970 and 1975 (the year the Khmer Rouge took over) the country was embroiled in a civil war between government forces led by Lon Nol and Sirak Matak against the communist armies of the Khmer Rouge and the North Vietnamese / NLF. This period, known as the 'Khmer Republic', (the government formed by the men who staged a bloodless coup against the monarch Prince Sihanouk) is characterised by heavy amounts of corruption and the mental and physical stress of a population being bombarded by American planes as well as the wars of factions of communist guerillas. That being said, life still went on both in the country side and in the cities, the largest of which, Phnom Penh still functioned like any south east asian city. That is until it was besieged by the communists in 1974. It should be noted that the Khmer Rouge held vast areas of territory in Cambodia before their 'final victory' in 1975. If the time frame you would like to know about is wider than that then it would make sense to differentiate Cambodia from both Thailand and Vietnam in a couple of important ways. First of all, both Thailand and Vietnam are the hereditary enemies of the Khmer (Cambodians). Cambodia's forebear - the Khmer Empire (famous for its temples at Angkor) had a massive territory at its peak in the 12th century - covering most of mainland south east asia. Following a lengthy period of decline both the Thai kingdoms and the Dai Viet (Vietnamese) became much more powerful than the Khmer and Cambodia's borders shrunk to roughly where they are today. Notably, at various point both the territory surrounding Angkor (Siem Reap province and Battambang) were at times annexed by Thailand and in the south west of the country the area known as 'Kampuchea Krom' was annexed by the Vietnamese (it is still Vietnamese territory). Cambodians always had an anxiety that one or both of these kingdoms would eventually swallow up Cambodia. A country with a large amount of land, but not a very large population. Differences between the cultures of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are numerous. For starters they all speak different languages, and have different religious cultures. Thailand and Cambodia are both Theravada Buddhist - but Cambodia converted to this faith in around the 13th century. Vietnam is more influenced by China than India, and ideas of Confucianism are mixed with Mahayana Buddhism rather than the more austere Theravada school. They all have indigenous customs and religious beliefs which co-exist with these larger religious systems. To get to the main thrust of your question however, most of the countries in south east asia are highly influenced by what some scholars call 'monsoon culture', whereby the relationship between the land, the rain and agriculture figures heavily in society. Walking through different towns or cities would not look drastically different between the three countries, and life would tend to revolve around similar things and practices. To bring the discussion into more modern times (but before the wars in Indochina beginning soon after WWII) it would make sense to look at the influence that the colonial power of France had in the region. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were all French assets and Vietnam was the country treated with the most 'respect', if that word can be applied. What I mean by that is that the French used Vietnamese workers and administrators in taking care of important tasks in Cambodia, because they viewed the Khmer as lazy and incompetent. Therefore Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city, was heavily influenced by the whims of the French - but also maintained a large proportion of skilled Vietnamese people in it's population - for example of the one hundred thousand who lived in the capital in the 30's less than a third where Cambodian. Life in the city was cosmopolitan, modern - Phnom Penh was known as the 'pearl of south east asia', until the wars began that is. The large central market was one of the biggest in the region, there were many chinese merchants, the royals maintained largely figure head roles but were visible to the populace. It was as Philip Short (author of an excellent biography of Pol Pot) called 'a strangely un-khmer city'. In the country side it was a different story - very focused on the land and farming. Tight little villages that had little contact with the outside world and the cities - life revolved around the monsoon cycle and perhaps there would be a little shop that sold some wares imported from the city. Naturally advances in regard to transportation allowed a higher degree of mobility to some of the people in the country side but it was slight. I am no expert in Thai and Vietnamese history but I know that in relation to Vietnam the Cambodian populace was left further behind than what the French had done in Vietnam. For example in 1930s out of about half a million school age children less than a few thousand had access to even the rudiments of a 'modern' education. This is getting rather long so I will summarize for you: It depends on where you are talking about in relation to 'pre-revolutionary' Cambodia. The city was cosmopolitan, mordern - rock and roll and bars and everything. Phnom Penh was a great city, not unlike others in SE Asia. (which is why it was such a big deal to march its 2 million inhabitants into the country side, dubbed 'new people') The country side pre Khmer Rouge was characterised by a rural agrarian lifestyle, little education, lots of living off of the land and a focus on a spiritual co-existence with the land. (Why these people were designated the 'old people' in Democratic Kampuchea) In regards to differences between Thailand and Vietnam, again it would depend on what kind of community you are asking about. I imagine rural communities wouldn't be that different (except for the cultural aspects) and the life in major cities wouldn't have been drastically different either (with Phnom Penh boasting a large population of Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese as well) I hope that began to answer your question. I could recommend several books or documentaries if you would like to know more, I also started a podcast explaining the Khmer Rouge period that you can find at www.shadowsofutopia.com Relevant Sources: P. Short 'Pol Pot: History of a Nightmare', D. Chandler 'A History of Cambodia', P. Yathay 'Stay Alive My Son'

AskHistorians/d66i4ku

4wbswf

Was the last Roman-Persian War (602-628) the biggest war in Antiquity?

Preface: I don't know anything about China so I'm not going to factor it into my post. There are also larger numbers for battles in various Greek sources but I'm no expert on those and I don't really believe most of them so I'll just talk about Rome. There are lots of possible to answers, as huge numbers are often thrown around in the ancient sources. The last Roman-Persian war wouldn't make the list in terms of numbers, though it would be right up there in strategic and historical importance, especially considering its role in weakening the world's two superpowers just as Islam came on the scene. In the Roman context, the largest pitched battle in antiquity in terms of casualties where we can be pretty confident of numbers might have been Battle of Cannae, with probably about 130,000 troops on the field and something like 80,000 Roman casualties, not to mention the thousands of Carthaginian casualties.* But the Battle of Arausio might be a better candidate, where the Romans appear to have suffered even greater casualties than at Cannae and the Germans probably suffered significantly more casualties than did Hannibal's troops at Cannae. At Arausio total battlefield deaths could easily be in the area of 100,000.* If we're going to believe the figures given in the ancient sources (aside from crazy outliers like many Persian numbers for Marathon or Thermopylae) then Roman victories such as Aquae Sextiae or Alesia are even greater in terms of casualties. Maybe I'm a bit of a sicko but I find the Roman defeats more interesting: overwhelming Roman victories are a dime a dozen. The biggest war the Romans ever fought in terms of numbers was actually probably the long period of civil war that saw Augustus become the princeps, at the climax of which the Empire had 1.5 million troops in the field (Howarth 42). This was almost certainly the most troops any power of the ancient world had ever been able to field, and was without doubt never equaled. Whatever numbers you might read anywhere else, no other state but Rome in the entirety of antiquity had the logistical capacity to field such numbers. *Daly discusses these numbers on pp. 25-32, 202. Roman casualties might have been only around 50,000 (not including those captured) so maybe Arausio is a better example. *Compare that to one of the bloodiest days of WWI, the oft-referenced "Black Day of the British Army", the first day of the Battle of the Somme, where the British took half as many casualties, about 20,000 killed, over a front of several dozen kilometers. Sources: Gregory Daly, Cannae: The Experience of Battle, London: Routledge, 2002. Howarth, Randall S. War and Warfare in Ancient Rome, from The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World, Eds. Brian Campbell and Lawrence A. Tritle, Oxford University Press, New York, 2013, 29-45.

Ask_Politics/cb9jtc6

1iz3a8

Is there a political issue that can't be understood by the left/right dichotomy?

That depends on how you conceive of the left-right spectrum. Some prominent political scientists (eg. Phil Converse) have found that very few people actually think about politics in ideological terms and have only a cursory (or worse) understanding of what "liberal" and "conservative" actually mean. Colloquially, in the US at least, a lot of people simply equate "leftist" with the Democratic party and "rightist" with the Republican party, and refer to as "leftist" those things that Democrats tend to support, or "rightist" those things that Republicans tend to support. If you ask most people, being "leftist" means supporting big government on economic issues and small government on social issues, while being "rightist" is the opposite. But objectively, there's no logical reason or overarching philosophy that explains why big government economics have to go with small government social politics. We call those left and right primarily because that's where our political parties happen to stand right now -- even though the parties' positions on various issues have reversed occasionally throughout history. If you think of it that way, where to most people "left" simply means "what Democrats usually like" and "right" simply means "what Republicans usually like", then in a two-party system like the US, the norm should for all issues to collapse down to a single-dimension spectrum. This is because parties have an electoral incentive to differentiate themselves from one another, yet enforce party unity to prevent divisions between their own members. Generally speaking, the Democratic Party wants all Democrats to think exactly alike, and to disagree with Republicans on key policy issues. So, if you've got basically two different groups that are differentiating themselves from one another, and members of each group aren't doing much to differentiate themselves from other members of their own group, then one dimension/spectrum/axis is all that is needed to plot the issue positions of those people. To the extent that there are some cross-cutting differences that divide members within those groups, there can be other dimensions as well. This can occur when there is a brand new issue that has just come onto the national agenda, or when people are cross-pressured by loyalties that are powerful enough to counterbalance their partisanship. Black civil rights are the classic example of this, and for many decades political opinions were divided not only along classic lines of liberalism and conservatism, but also (for lack of a better term) racial attitudes and states' rights. Today, as you mentioned, this authoritarian/libertarian divide is probably the most prominent cross-cutting issue we have, but it still doesn't come close to race in the pre-civil rights era. Foreign policy is also usually considered an area of public opinion that doesn't fall neatly into the left/right dichotomy, but at the moment that may be so tightly associated with partisan battles about Iraq and terrorism that it looks like any other issue right now. Moreover, is it really a left/right dimension and an authoritarian/libertarian dimension? OR, was there always an "economic issues" and a "social issues" dimension all along, and we're just now seeing an increase in Republicans who favor small government on social issues, thereby making the second dimension detectable where before were couldn't differentiate it from the first dimension?

AskReddit/cwm1jfr

3r9c8k

How did you decide to have or not have kids?

I'm 29 and I've been with my girlfriend for 9 years now. We're both really ambitious in our careers now and think that kids would be a distraction. My rule is I don't feel ready for a kid until I've got a Lamborghini in the garage.

AskReddit/cvnu77o

3nghvs

What is the best movie you have ever watched stoned?

Pine Apple express, every single thought of the two main characters made complete sense to me. It's the most l've ever related to a movie as both main characters represented my rational and non rational stoned personalities.

AskReddit/db6bjce

5i8sag

How did you find yourself?

Without sounding like I have it figured out, I will tell you how I "found" myself. I just want to be clear, though, you are asking two very different questions. The first question you are asking is: how do I figure out what I want to do for a career? The second question you are asking is: how do I figure out who I am. These are very different questions, as your career doesn't have to define you. Let's try to answer the first question first: how do you figure out what you want to do for a career? I'll tell you how I figured it out: I experimented. I graduated with a BA in International Affairs, did tech consulting, tried Marketing and E-commerce, Public Relations, and then landed in my current role where I get to manage all media acquisition and interactive tech development for a cruise line. Each step of the way, I tried new things and put myself in uncomfortable positions until I finally found the right mix of things I like to do. I will not do this job forever, as I will continue to experiment with new things. The most important thing is for you to discover what MOTIVATES you. Right now, the creative process of constructing something I can watch people use, enjoy, react to.that motivates me. It is the best feeling I've had in a job, but I my first or second job out of college did not allow me to really know that. Your means to experimentation is networking. Networking doesn't mean shmoozing people at parties, giving them your resume and asking for a job. Networking means making meaningful relationships when you DON'T need something, asking to shadow people at work, taking them out for coffee and just listening. Again, it does NOT mean you immediately ask for a job. The answer to your second question--how do you find out who you are--is vastly different. Many people exude confidence and seem assured they have it all figured out. Everyone.EVERYONE.who knows anything about life is confused, doubtful, lonely at times. This is perfectly normal and you should allow yourself to have these feelings. Who you are is the combination of the thoughts you have, the tasks you do and your impact on others. Figure out the things you love to do, whether they are social or otherwise. Put yourself out there occasionally.diversify.just as with the answer to the first question, experimentation helps you quickly understand what you like immediately, could like eventually, or dread. This is my advice for you. It may not work for you, but it's what has worked for me.

AskReddit/e3xk9ro

963qkn

Who among you feels like you’re the only one that remembers to clean out the dryer’s lint trap?

Me. I use my mums dryer on occasion when we have the kids over at her place. Check the lint trap and there's like a months worth of lint in that thing. Her belt snapped the other day because it was running too hot (belt expanded too much). And apparently the whole blower was gagged full of lint. Smh.

AskReddit/dlslbdl

6uh4xu

Why are you maintaining a relationship with a sociopath?

People who end up into and hold on to relationships with sociopaths tend to be people who are easily manipulated, very forgiving, and have anxiety and other real issues when faced with separation. That's my theory.

AskHistorians/ch62und

24d156

Were the Jews actually exiled by Romans or is it a myth?

So it depends on what you mean by "exile". It's relatively clear that some people were displaced. Josephus references 90,000 people being brought to Rome after the Great Jewish Revolt. And during the war it's exceedingly likely that at least some people fled the conflict to more peaceful areas. There are references to some Sicarii escaping to Egypt, for example. No one bothered to figure out how many, but some people were definitely displaced. There wasn't an exile in the total sense, since Jews were still allowed to live in Judea. That's not really disputed by anyone's narrative--there were enough Jews in Judea for another revolt in 135, and Jewish texts were still being written, mostly in the Galilee, even after 135. But what is clear is that the community began a substantial decline after 70. Gradually the religious centers, where big-time books were written, moves to Babylonia, which had already had a Jewish community for centuries. So at least some Jews were forcibly displaced, and it's likely a number more fled the conflict. That goes for both 70 and 135. This wasn't the beginning of the diaspora, since there were substantial communities of Jews living elsewhere from earlier. In fact, the majority of Jews probably migrated voluntarily, rather than being forced out, though forcible expulsion did occur^1 . But many Jews were forcibly removed as slaves in large numbers, both after the revolt in 70 and in 135^2 . Gruen, Erich S. "Diaspora--Jews Amidst Greeks and Romans" Smallwood, Mary E. "The Jews under Roman Rule". One interesting tidbit from this book is that after the revolt in 135, the market was flooded with Jewish slaves, such that they had no more value than a horse.

askscience/coyd6qw

2x8m52

How fast can a wheel theoretically spin?

At some speed the forces on the outside of the wheel will overcome the strength of the material and tear it apart. Better materials, manufacturing, and design will mitigate this and allow higher speeds. If we assume an infinitely strong wheel spinning in vacuum, then I suppose you could go until the outside was approaching light speed.

AskReddit/eq0silg

bwvzil

How can a teacher protect their students to the best of their ability in the event of a school shooting?

At an active shooter training we were taught Run, Hide, Fight. Get the kids to run with you first, hide if you can, fight as a last resort. I work in special education and a lot of our kids would freeze, panic, and be difficult to get out of the classroom with us in that situation. A coworker asked the cops training us if we should try to get those kids to come with us or just leave with the rest of class as soon as possible, and he just said, “That decision is on you.” There are a few ways to protect students in this situation, but they are decisions made in a split second under an amount of pressure I can’t even imagine (and I hope I never experience). Edit: Sorry, the order is hide, run, fight.

AskReddit/c87jo8h

17p6sf

What are "rookie mistakes" a lot of people make in buying a house?

They spend at the top of their budget. Buy something a little cheaper and only plan to be in it 5-7 years. You will learn what you like and dislike by then. Bust the budget on the second house. That's the one you'll stay in for 15-25 years. Edit: grammar

askscience/dbf5u6k

5j73xi

Is the scalar inflation field from the Big Bang still around / capable of doing anything today?

Inflation is very much an active area of research. For obvious reasons there is a lot we don't know about it. One of the big questions that observers and theorists are working on is the type of inflation - I.e. what kind of inflation field caused the universe to grow the way it did. Popular models quite often involve "phi to the n" fields, however I think current data rules our or restricts these. Others are similar to a think called starobinski inflation. I don't really know much about any of these models, so maybe someone can fill in the blanks? In terms of the effects of inflation now and in the past, I think without knowing the exact form of inflation it is difficult to answer. All we know really is that the universe grew quickly for a short period of time in the early universe, making things quite flat and leaving every part of the universe looking more or less the same!

AskReddit/c70jgku

133q6n

Has either the U.S.S.R. (or Russia) or China ever actually engaged U.S. troops in close combat?

The Archangel campaign 1919. U.S. troops fought the Bolshiveks. 240000 Chinese "volunteers" crossed the Yalu to attack UN forces in Korea. The Son Tay raiders in Viet Nam encountered caucasian troops when securing one of the outlying camps during their raid. And there were numerous sea & air incidents during the cold war.

explainlikeimfive/d11nbm8

4alxjc

Did the movies of the 1920's - 1940's portray voices and language accurate to the way common American people spoke at the time?

In the early 20th Century, regional dialects were still quite pronounced. You could not only tell if someone came from Buffalo or Baltimore based on their accent, you might even be able to nail it down to what part of the city they came from. As mass media started to reach larger and larger regions, this presented a problem. If you wanted a movie set in a generic location, but your actors were obviously from Boston, Chicago, and Cincinnati, that could be difficult for the audience to buy. Eventually, performers settled upon the Mid-Atlantic accent. It was kind of a hybrid between US and British English that was popular among affluent Americans and those who wanted to appear that way. Performer would pick up that accent, and even though few people actually spoke with it, everyone could understand it and it became the neutral choice.

explainlikeimfive/ca3oaoh

1et8wd

What is usenet and why should i be using it rather than torrents?

Nobody here, as far as I can see, has actually explained what Usenet is. Usenet is a one-to-many text messaging system that used to be the dominant form of content available online. Each user could post a message to a channel on a local server, provided by your university or ISP. That server would share the local posts with other servers, and your message would propagate throughout the net. It was a bit like email, but if the mailboxes were openly shared, and duplicated in many places. Pretty early on people figured out that they could take a binary data file like a GIF and encode it as a form of text and post it to usenet. Other people could download and decode the file. Quite often the file was split into parts if it was large. Gradually these binaries came to dominate the system, even as spam killed off the community that existed in the many specific discussion channels that carried readable text, and public attention shifted away to the web. Nowadays the system lives on almost entirely devoted to sharing binaries. The only companies offering usenet services are private servers you have to pay to use. They retain the data for much longer periods of time, and take care to ensure that all parts of multipart uploads are available. As far as why they are preferable to torrents, I don't know.

AskReddit/dz4pg07

8k4f8z

What did an authority figure say to you when you were little that still affects you to this day?

When I was like 4 or so COPS was on TV and I remember saying it seemed like only black people tended to get arrested. My mother came over and said that wasn't true. She then sat me down and said to me, "Anyone that will show or teach you anything will always show and teach you in a way that agrees with how they think about it. You always need to figure out how to look past that to find what's the truth." I don't know why in the moment I found it so important but it really defined how I processed information I learned from outside sources up to and including modern day.

AskReddit/ecid5hk

a9d7sl

What do you miss the most on Christmas away from home?

I'm home for Christmas for the first time since 2013. My parents divorced in 2016, so this is the first Christmas I've had to split between their houses. They only live 15 minutes apart, but still. I'll never have that everyone home together for Christmas again, I'll miss that the most.

AskReddit/dxn08v0

8dgv70

What’s your favorite story to exaggerate that people always eat up?

I don't exaggerate it but I have a long story about a time I thought I was having a paranormal experience. People who believe in god/ghosts just love the story and are enthralled, until the end where I reveal what really happened. TL;DR of my story is that text messages set off K2 meters.

AskReddit/es9fsi7

c6laeh

Why US get criticized for illegal immigrant dying crossing the border?

Because the immigration policies and the specific ways immigrants are treated at the border (such as detention and separation of families) not only contribute to but motivate the despair that makes people think trying to cross the river is a good idea. For those seeking asylum, it's not a matter of whim, but of survival, and that's not being acknowledged.

AskReddit/cbknme2

1k2ds1

What is your worst or craziest strip club experience?

I was super hammered in an already shady strip club, ended up puking violently all over the bathroom stall and blacking out on the floor. Was literally thrown out by bouncers

AskReddit/c3cr69n

nxmqf

What was your greatest accomplishment of 2011?

I pooped on a girls car I dont like. I dated an older chick. Oh and I made deans list at my first semester in college (I dont consider graduating high school that great of an accomplishment). 2011 really wasnt too bad for me.

AskReddit/ca6vo3l

1f53vj

What old things have you found that you thought were lost forever and how did you find them?

I found many of my old toys (as in toys that were bought at some point but never got to play with) in the back of my grandmother's closet when we sent her off to the loony bin. We found more strange things in there that did not belong to anyone in the household. She was a strange woman.

explainlikeimfive/e2eg15b

8yxef8

How does the U.S voting system works?

Each state has a number of electors, when you vote for the presidential candidate you want elected, you are actually voting for who you want your states electors to represent in the election. Presidential elections are "indirect votes" in this sense, since America was never meant to be a direct democracy, but a Republic, which are two different but related concepts.

AskReddit/dc4nhby

5mmh6d

Why do so many Americans accept socialized education, highways, libraries, and police departments, but reject socialized healthcare?

I am not sure I can answer why some are accepted, but generalize in asking, "where do you draw the line in expanding bureaucracy?" In many instances, the government is inefficient and even wasteful with public money. Certainly there are exceptions. As a public educator, I see a lot of wasted money and red tape that prevent schools from being efficient. As far as highways, who wants to pay a toll for every highway?

explainlikeimfive/d1moqrs

4d00wv

Why is there a 'whoosh' sound when you drive past parked cars?

The moving car in your example emits a lot of different noises, the engine, the tires on the pavement, and the wind, they all 'come out' of the moving car and bounce on the parked cars and back to the moving car, that's the 'whoosh' you hear from the moving car, your own sound bouncing back.

AskReddit/dwl63bg

88k669

What language do you think in?

Sometimes when I’m playing games and something unexpected happens, I stutter out random French words. Dunno why. I think in French sometimes when I can’t think of the English word, which is weird because English is my first language.

AskHistorians/cgstcqc

231q5z

Was UK more successful in negotiating its colonies independence than France?

The French decolonisation process was a disaster. Algeria is, of course, the most famous one but the fact is that there are many other examples of this. My favourite is that of Guinea where they stated they would be gaining independence and refusing to retain any ties so the French, in reaction, left but not before cutting off all electricity and water supply out of spite. The difference is that, unlike Britain, France did not want to lose any colonies. While there was violence in British colonies (India, Malaya, Kenya) whether through weariness, penury or clemency, Britain allowed many colonies to leave without strife, particularly those with majority white populations. Of course, British decolonisation had negative Unintended effects - Israel is the most prominent one, but the slipshod division of India and the Pakistans has caused even more conflict.

AskReddit/cfvvtmc

1zq2mx

What are some of your most vivid dreams?

When I was in grade school, I had a dream I was being stalked all day at school by Goro from Mortal Kombat. When he finally captured me, he just spanked me with his four arms. Looking back at this one, I just have to laugh, but it is definitely one of my most vivid/memorable dreams.

AskReddit/cixg2zf

2ap5ny

Why are horse girls always crazy?

Horses are really easy to project one's feelings onto. These girls grow up getting most of their emotional needs met by an animal that conveniently thinks and feels about them exactly what they need to hear, because they're doing the projecting. They have a close physical and emotional bond with something that can't break up with them or make them feel bad, and can't disobey without immediate consequences. Horse girls often don't bond with other people much growing up, since horses are easier. And when they do try to bond with people, they look for the same relationship - never being questioned or held accountable, never being insulted or betrayed, never being broken up with, and never "disobeying." When someone doesn't fit that definition of a "relationship," they get dismissed as a bad person and the girl retreats to her horses.

AskReddit/d5y2own

4vfw82

What is your favorite poem?

"America" by Allen Ginsberg. In the 1950s America was probably the best country in the world. It's middle class was exploding. It's was arguably the most influential member in WW2. It had nuclear weapons. Despite all this Ginsberg laid out it's faults in a frank manner, and I think it's still relevant today. It's not the best poem in the world, but for me, it's definitely my favorite.

explainlikeimfive/ery5a18

c4s1ug

Why does snot change color from clear to yellow or brown when you are sick?

Yeah it's just excretions from the battle going on. From what I remember, yellow is dying white blood cells, green is bacteria, brown is usually blood that's been up there awhile? Color change is good for when you're sick it means stuff is happening.

AskReddit/eaqgrzj

a1k9kw

What’s the weirdest thing about modern life that people just accept as normal?

most people accept as normal Modern medicine. Like oh your back hurts? Swallow this pill and you’ll feel better, but don’t take too many because that could kill you. And if it still hurts I can open you up and look to see what’s wrong.

AskReddit/evxeow8

clqs5f

What are some odd things to hear from a talking doll?

There was a group of people that once bought a bunch of talking GI Joe dolls (the large dolls not the action figures) and Barbie talking dolls. The dolls had similar voice mechanisms so they would swap them and then return them to the store being careful to make it look as if the doll's package was unopened. This led to a bunch of GI Joes saying things like "Lets go shopping!" and Barbies saying things like "This is going to be tough, can you handle it?"

AskReddit/ewitedh

cojjmi

What is something you can’t believe is so ‘normalized’ in today’s world?

gofundme campaigns for medical expenses in the US. This is basically how public healthcare works in other countries. Can't we just pool our taxes together and pay for everyone? We wouldn't need to pay for medical insurance then. So, it's not like we would have an added bill to pay. Our money instead would just be put elsewhere for the benefit of all. No online begging necessary.

AskReddit/ccfmumi

1n5eof

If you were a serial killer, what would you leave as your calling card at each murder?

I would leave business cards with links to different subreddits. The investigators would have to follow them to find out their relevance and then slowly all their time will become consumed by reddit. They'll get no where with the case and then when they turn to reddit for help someone innocent will get blamed and I'll be free to go.

AskReddit/cvavjsv

3lykj7

What event in history deserves it's own HBO Series?

I am ridiculously late to the discussion, but I would sell a kidney for a series about Hatshepsut, the female Pharaoh who ruled in her own right. Or maybe one about Ahkenaten, the Pharaoh that tried to change the state religion to be monotheistic (also King Tut's father and Nefertiti's husband). I'd also love a show starting with Ramesses I assuming the throne after the catastrophic 18th dynasty that runs through Seti I and Ramesses II's reigns. The harem conspiracy to assassinate Ramesses III is also fascinating and super dramatic but that would be better as a movie. Basically the entire 3000 years of Egyptian history is ripe with potential and I spend a lot of time thinking about all the movies/series that should be made instead of the Exodus or Cleopatra retellings that come out every decade.

AskReddit/dlfitg3

6su6fd

What topics would be more interesting if a dog explained them?

The reason I'm asking this is I have a YouTube channel called The Dank Dog and it stars my Westie Jax. And I've always wanted to start a series called a dog explains, but I can never think of anything funny or interesting that would work. That's why I went to AskReddit.

explainlikeimfive/dc6mpcq

5mv7st

Why does the monarchy remain a thing in the UK nowadays?

As the powers of the monarchy were gradually whittled away, republicans (people who want to abolish the monarchy) gradually became less interested in abolishing it, because most people's problem with the monarchy is that it's undemocratic: supreme power is granted to someone merely because of who their parents were. But if the monarch is only a figurehead and lacks much power, most people don't seem to mind having a monarchy. I still oppose all monarchy. But it seems like most British people don't care. In both the UK and Spain (also a monarchy), the monarch and royal family are more well-liked than any politician.

AskReddit/eq3fgtd

bx4ykn

Why do some people want big government/high taxes when the government has historically been horrible at managing virtually everything?

Infrastructure, healthcare, education, parks and Rec, law enforcement, welfare, social security, etc. are all paid with our taxes. Local taxes, gas taxes, state taxes, federal taxes. IMO, a successful society is a well maintained, educated, healthy society. That’s where my taxes should go. It is the price to pay for a safe, secure society. imoimoimoimoimo.

explainlikeimfive/eb88y29

a3ozsg

How do farmers keep pests away but at the same time allow bees and insects to pollinate their crops?

I'm an organic gardener. I use substances that are essentially benign except for certain types of insects. For instance I use horticultural oil to kill scale insects on plants. The oil goes on the leaves and branches and coats the insects causing them to suffocate. By the time flowering season rolls around rain and weather will have broken down the oil. I use diatomaceous earth around plants in my greenhouse, this is basically an organic silica powder that slices open insect shells as they walk through it causing them to dehydrate and die. You can eat this stuff and it won't harm you. ​ ​

AskReddit/e3ndj7k

94sa67

What business in your town is definitely a money laundering front?

There's a restaurant in my town that's been open for years, even longer than I've lived here (which has been a decade now). I've never seen their parking lot full, or even close to full. They always seem to be open but never have customers inside. They have an old vintage, rundown looking pickup truck that has sat in their parking lot for the same amount of time that they've existed. Absolutely none of the locals that I know of have ever been in there, no one knows how the food is or what the service is like. I've seen one review for them online where the person said ordering food from them was treated almost like this big unexpected thing that they don't do, and it was poor quality, and they were watched by the "employees" until they left. All the locals here have theories on what kind of "front" this place is. I've settled on a secret mafia meeting place theory, personally.

askscience/c2k0krg

kfzuz

Does rubbing vinegar into the scalp eradicate dandruff?

Not exactly, no. Dandruff is dry skin flaking off of your scalp. Vinegar doesn't remove the dry skin. I've heard that rinsing your scalp with vinegar can help to close the follicles / alleviate dryness. Most of the suggestions I've seen were for rinsing with a 3:1 blend of water to apple cider vinegar after you wash. The scent should go away once your hair dries.

AskReddit/e7xfosi

9oxeh2

What was an embarrassing moment you had when you were younger, but now look back upon it and laugh?

I slid down the concrete ramp by the dumpsters outside of my uncle's bar when I was 5 or 6. It ripped a hole in my shorts, and my Snoopy underwear could be seen. My parents took me into the bar anyway, because they weren't going to let my foolishness ruin the night. I was so embarrassed that I didn't leave my chair the whole time! ​ Being 29 now, and still going to that bar now and then, I just can't help but laugh about it when I walk by those same dumpsters.

explainlikeimfive/cm892qs

2mwn7z

If Humans all started in the same place, why did we develop different languages?

The simple answer is that migration happened long before any extant languages were created. In some cases, migrations could have taken place before language at all. After they were separated, the languages changed and developed over centuries to become different. Just look at how different British English and American English are - and that's been over a short time with lots of contact in between. If you took a group of people who all knew the same language and separated them completely, in a few hundred years the two subgroups would be speaking/writing languages that would likely be quite different than the original and each other's.

AskReddit/eq97wg1

bxrm3q

Which nation will benefit most of the trade war?

None, the trade war is decreasing welfare for every country involved but you can make an argument that Japan might benefit because the Japanese yen is a safe haven currency or at least has been in the past. If investors move their money to Japan the yen will appreciate and Japan will have a stronger currency.

AskReddit/ccvlz9r

1ou3ws

If I was a customer of your business or company, what are some unknown facts I should know to save money?

Be pleasant, you never know if you are taking to someone who has the authority to give you a discount, and with many smaller shops, even the checkout people could give to something small, vouchers or a freebie. Being that douche that haggles over price, complains about pennies and returns used items because of a price difference is literally the worst way to save money. If you do that, I will remember you next time I have 20% discount vouchers available. Guess who won't be getting one? Having said that, it never hurts to ask, as long as you do it in a nice way, not expectant of a discount or special treatment. Just let people know you are interested in one if it is available.

AskReddit/e5od0bl

9ef2yh

What are you proudest about in your country?

It’s really hard to be proud of a country that won’t offer universal healthcare, gives away money to oligarchs, subsidizes worker pay for greedy corporatists, and has been at war for 20 years. At least we have freedom, not the rest of the developed western world /s.

AskReddit/d1urbxe

4dvua2

What's the most creative way you've seen someone use a tool?

My mechanic is a 20 year old guy who lives on his parents farm. He loves being outside and working on our Trucks and off-road Rigs. I asked him if he could make me a heavy duty wrap-around tubular rear bumper for my truck, Instead of going out and making a pipe bender he got some old sheet metal and welded his own 90 degree right angle die and a frame. He then mounted a 10ton Bottle jack into the frame and used it to push the die into the metal and bingo, Instant pipe bender. He has used it to make my bumper and i'm just waiting on him to weld in the mounts and it will be done. Not a creative way of using one tool, But a creative way of using multiple tools to create his own tool.

askscience/dygbgjd

8gxpg8

Is there Uranium on Mars and how easy/hard is it to extract and prepare for use in the Kilopower fission generator?

There is uranium in martian soil, it's hard to say how easy it would be to collect without knowing how deep it is, but several articles suggested the surface soil contained trace amounts with "hotspots" around the planet, in which case it would be fairly easy to collect. On the downside, it is extremely difficult to process and enrich natural uranium. We are able to do it economically on Earth because we do it on an industrial scale, but generating the amount needed to power a habitat would require so much equipment that it would just be easier to enrich it on Earth and send it that way. The reactor appears to work by using enriched uranium as a heat source to power a Stirling engine, which is a type of heat engine that only requires a temperature differential to operate (i.e., combustion is not required). The heat from the uranium hot rock is transferred to the Stirling engine. The engine turns from the temperature differential, and the motion is converted into electricity via a conventional generator. The safety of the device depends on whether the uranium core is critical or sub-critical, I didn't find a clear answer either way. If it's sub-critical, there's a danger of radioactive fallout in the event the core was destroyed by an explosion or some other means, but beyond that it would appear to be fairly safe. If it has a critical core, then there are dangers similar to what we have with nuclear reactors here on Earth, but the coolant appears to circulate completely passively, meaning no pumps are required (the biggest danger with almost any reactor is a situation where the coolant pumps aren't able to run). The next biggest safety concern would be a situation where the power to the habitat/colony was suddenly cut off, meaning the reactor would be generating a great deal of heat without anywhere to send it. Even after shutting down the reactor, there's decay heat that must be handled to prevent damage to the core. Decay heat generally makes up around 5% of a reactor's power, so given the power of the cores mentioned (around 10 kW), you only need to be able to reject 500W of heat or so to the Martian atmosphere in the event of a power failure, which could be accomplished via radiators.

AskReddit/csj6npn

3b61e3

What is the best shelter to give away my two small dogs?

I've got two dogs that I adopted from a rescue shelter and that's the only way to go. The county dog pounds will keep your dog for a certain amount of time and then euthanize them unless they are adopted or taken by a rescue shelter first. At the rescue shelter I went to many of the dogs were kept at foster homes while they awaited adoption. Both of my dogs were in foster homes and the families were sad to see them go -- that's a very good sign in my opinion. I asked the woman who ran the shelter what happens to the dogs who don't get adopted and she said they "live here with me for the rest of their lives". When I drove up there were about 25 dogs roaming free and playing together in a large fenced yard, barking at me and wagging their tails. Inside was a large dog who lives in the waiting room (he has his own couch there) and beyond the waiting room there were other dogs sleeping together on large dog beds and a pack of them who followed the woman who ran the place wherever she went. Because the rescue shelters have limited space they will usually only take dogs that are well behaved and likely to be adopted. If you can only house 40 dogs you don't want the same 40 to be there for years and years because then you can't rescue other dogs. This might not be as important to you as it would be for someone looking to adopt -- all rescue shelter dogs are sweet, friendly dogs or they don't get into rescue shelters. If you want to see how one rescue shelter operates look for a tv series that you can stream on Netflix called Animal House. It will make your decision easy. Or as easy as it can be to give up your dogs. I'm sorry to hear that you've got to do this, it makes me sad just to think about it.

AskReddit/ejjv55e

b6eczq

What ever happened to the band FUN?

You had me curious, so I did some looking. Here's an official statement. Fun was founded by the three of us at a time when we were coming out of our own bands. One thing that has always been so special about Fun is that we exist as three individuals in music who come together to do something collaborative. We make Fun records when we are super inspired to do so. Currently Nate is working on his first solo album, Andrew is scoring films, and Jack is on tour and working on Bleachers music. The three of us have always followed inspiration wherever it leads us. Sometimes that inspiration leads to Fun music, sometimes it leads to musical endeavors outside of Fun. We see all of it as part of the ecosystem that makes Fun, fun. So it sounds like the 3 of them are each on their own stuff right now.

AskReddit/dv8ml6k

82aixj

Do you want children and why?

No Honestly, I don't think humanity has too long left to live comfortably. I wouldn't want to subject my offspring (and any other generations) to whatever might happen. I do this out of love Also children destroy relationships and dogs are great

explainlikeimfive/c7a5xyo

145t90

What is the problem with the US deficit?

rahul55 gave a pretty standard version of the popular conservative viewpoint on the federal debt and deficit. The problem is, that viewpoint is wholly ignorant of macroeconomics or what "money" really is - at least modern fiat currencies like the dollar. It assumes that Federal debt works just like microscopic (e.g. family) debt, which it doesn't. The total supply of dollars in the world is very important - if it is matched to the amount of trade that happens in the extended U.S. economy, then everything works well. If there are too many dollars, there will be inflation. If there are too few, there will be deflation, a dynamically unstable condition that encourages hoarding of currency. If enough people hoard currency then the economy collapses. The authorities (I use that term to lump together "the Federal reserve" and "the U.S. Government", which are distinct but which cooperate) control the supply of U.S. dollars primarily through regulation and government deficit spending. By increasing the required reserve fraction that banks must hold, it is possible to decrease the amount of dollars in the world - but this is rarely needed (except to combat too-intense inflation). By increasing government deficit spending, it is possible to increase the number of dollars in the world to match economic growth (which historically averages around 3% per annum). Major deficit spending would be a major problem in good or okay economic times, because it would cause major inflation by injecting dollars into the economy without a matching amount of goodies. But there is a circumstance in which major deficit spending by the government is desirable. That circumstance is one in which the money supply is collapsing, which is exactly what happened in 2008. In the years leading up to 2008, there was a huge real estate bubble driven by the banks. The various banks figured out that, by combining traditional loan-based banking with investment banking, they could reduce their effective reserve ratio. That meant they could lend out (and create!) more money. The supply of newly created money drove housing prices through the roof, until the bubble collapsed -- and a good fraction of all the dollars in the world vanished rapidly. The way to recover from a popped bubble like that is to inject more dollars into the economy immediately, usually through increased government deficit spending. That causes more Treasury notes to be printed - and those treasury notes serve as reserves against which the banks can create more dollars. That process replaces the lost dollars from the popped bubble, and keeps the economy from collapsing due to deflation. Deficit spending of that magnitude is scary, because if the government did it in normal times, the money supply would increase rapidly and cause tremendous inflation. But if the money supply is already contracting, an equally large (and opposite) stimulus is needed to maintain roughly constant levels. Despite the grousing, the deficit spending 2008-2011 was (and remains) a major triumph of modern economic theory in avoiding a depression that could/would have been larger than the Great Depression. The people at the top of both parties understand that, which is why the pattern of domestic deficit spending ramped way up under G.W. Bush's last budget year (2008-2009), even above the huge deficits he ran up to pay for his wars. But, as the economy recovers, large deficits are not sustainable in the long term, because they would cause massive inflation in normal economic times. That is a big part of why Obama's administration has been working so hard to ratchet the deficit down gradually as the economy recovers (the U.S. government deficit this year is projected to be about 2/3 what it was in Bush's last budget year). Regardless, even if deficit spending did cause inflation (it generally does, but has not been in the current post-2008 economy), as long as the federal debt is denominated in dollars it merely constitutes a sort of "use tax" on currency. One can argue whether that is a good or a bad thing, but it simply means that the number of dollars required to do anything increase gradually over time, so that holding currency (instead of investing it) incurs a cost. Current economic consensus is that a small amount of steady inflation is a good thing because it encourages investment. That is why the long-term inflation rate remains at about 3% in the U.S. That is a goal of monetary policy, not a side effect of someone siphoning funds. tl;dr: your loss.

AskReddit/d5b3th9

4spauf

What is the most important video game of all time?

Kind of a silly question. There are many games that are important, all were important for their own time. Pong was the first mass produced popular home video game and created the home console market. Collosal Cave Adventure pushed both text parser games and the adventure genre into the public sphere, then Mystery House proved that you can do it all again with graphics. Super Mario Bros. popularized the side-scroller and possibly re-vitalized the entire market after the post E.T. crash. Space Invaders invented a genre that has near-infinite possibilities yet still can remain simple. Tetris showed that you don't need too much fancy hardware to make a good, fun, game. Everquest popularized the MUD with graphics genre, later to be known as MMORPGs. FPS's became a thing everyone tried to do once Wolfenstein 3D came out, but it was Doom and DWANGO that made "Deathmatch" a household term. Pacman practically raised an entire generation on feeding quarters to the machines at your local pizza joint. Thief: The Dark Project popularized stealth games. Minecraft caused voxel-like graphics, survival elements, and crafting to become near-ubiquitous.

AskReddit/elotodo

bgzv30

What's something you do on autopilot that you probably shouldn't?

Drive home from work. I've lost count how many times I all of the sudden realize that I have no memory of how I got from the last 10 miles to where I am when it happens. I go on autopilot and completely zone out

explainlikeimfive/dcmdajm

5ovbs5

Why is it impossible to make/say a word without using vowels?

It isn't, rhythms would be an example of a word without vowels. In general,a vowel sound is made with your tongue pretty unobstructed, while with a consonant it is somehow constrained by teeth or roof of mouth or being pressed down. Alternating between constrained and unconstrained tongue helps our listeners to differentiate words better (think of a drunk who speaks only in vowels, you can barely understand him unless you mentally fill in the consonants)

explainlikeimfive/c5peimr

xre8k

Why is black associated with evil?

One thing tho, many of you seem to think that "black" and "dark" is the same thing. It is not. IMO, the color black doesn't necessarily have anything to do with darkness. Any other color can also be dark - dark red, dark blue etc. I don't know the direct answer to why black is associated with evil, but that is not the only thing it can be related to but also strength, authority, power, elegance and death. Black can have many faces. EDIT: Black represents the absence of color, black is a mysterious color associated with fear beacuse it prevents visual contact. Black has also been the representive color in revolting movements like anarchists and fascists, so therefore black has become associated with something bad. Benito Mussolinis fascistic militia had the color black as well. EDIT II: By asking this question, you can also ask questions like why red is associated with appetite, why blue is the calm color and why yellow is the productive color.

AskReddit/cdqsly0

1rtqli

What will become of gas stations once car owners can 'fuel up' at home?

You will always need gas stations (which will eventually become electric stations) because people drive far away from home and can't exactly just pull up to other peoples houses on long trips. Also, we all need someplace for Arizona tea, condoms, and BB guns.

AskReddit/eu2kh4p

ceh1yt

What makes you ashamed of being a human being?

The way that so many of us don't think about the consequences of our actions. Whether that's about sustainability and our environment, the "fast-fashion" industries that abuse their workers and pay them unlivable wages, or intentionally reckless drivers. sometimes it really makes me question the humanity of others.

AskReddit/e5ds1rr

9cwxv0

What’s a restaurant or food you hate but everyone loves?

Asian food in general. I have a really hard time finding something while everyone else describes the different instances in which they tried each dish on the menu. Also I really don’t like beer (but I do love a good cider).

AskReddit/doe5ovl

76i4yo

What is the worst car you have ever driven?

I'm sure someone else on here has driven a Yugo or something, but for me, it was a coworker's old Dodge Ram. I borrowed it to pick up a desk that I'd seen on Craigslist. The truck's steering wheel was so loose that I had absolutely zero feedback as to which direction the wheels were going. I weaved all over my lane on the highway just trying to keep the thing going straight. It's a good thing no cops were around, because I would have definitely been pulled over. I've driven some hoopties in my life, but at least they went straight. After I got back, I asked him if he was going to fix the steering on it. "Nah bro, it's supposed to be like that." Absolutely not.

AskReddit/e79dy7h

9ltm01

What's it like to be an introvert intuitive (someone who is very good at, and naturally drawn to understanding themselves on a deep level)?

It means I’m incredibly comfortable being alone and silent. Sitting with my thoughts reenergizes me on a deep level. I enjoy deep thought and daydreaming. I have a husband who respects my personality and doesn’t bother me when I need that reflective quiet time. Over the years, I’ve come to have a deep understanding of who I am and confidence in my personal philosophies. I am extremely loyal to my small circle of people, and I know precisely what I want during my life. This has allowed me to marry the perfect person for my lifestyle. We are a great team, and we support each other’s dreams and endeavors wholeheartedly. It’s very satisfying.

AskReddit/cg9bysb

213no9

What ad completely turns you off from its product?

Its usually the volume of ads, not a particular ads. i realized that the more a company spends on advertising, the more they are probably ripping me off to afford all the advertising. In Canada, every second ad is for one of our evil cable/internet/cellphone overlords who charge 100 month for something that a municipal government could provide free of charge for a fraction of the amount they spend on transit. TL;DR -- The more ads you see for a product, the more you are getting ripped off when you buy it.

AskReddit/c0mbbjs

be2rf

Why is it easier to tap my fingers from pinky to index finger instead of the other way?

I read your post title wrong and started tapping my index finger and pinky together. I then realized that I was having a completely new experience with the hands that I have been using every day for 31 years. Upvote!

AskReddit/edy82x8

aff89w

If we lost all memory of Photoshop, which pictures would be the hardest to explain?

Honestly, even if that happened, we'd deduce that Photoshop exists just from the sheer number of ridiculous shopped pictures. The hardest stuff to explain would be the subtle edits that are just tame enough to look real.

explainlikeimfive/d20ip0t

4eixjw

How can I avoid ever having to get a root canal?

Ehm, take good care of your dental hygiene. Brush your teeth and floss them! Visit the dentist regularly (like twice a year I think) to check for cavities. And when you do need one, get your tooth pulled out instead, if you really don't want a root canal.

AskReddit/evu78qs

clbdg9

How many balloons do you have to tie to a baby to make it float away?

According to HowStuffWorks.com it takes 5 liters of helium in a balloon to carry 5 grams, the average baby weights 2,500 grams-4,000 grams. So between 500-800 balloons

AskReddit/dsshnpp

7qucyh

What is the biggest false signal of Intelligence that almost everybody falls for?

Explaining something using complicated, un-relatable terms. The biggest signal of intelligence is being able to explain complicated concepts in plain language so anyone can understand. A good example is the half-A press tutorial about Super Mario 64 on YouTube.

AskReddit/dh0d15b

68pucg

What is the greatest video game of all time?

Counter strike 1.6. The mods and different game modes were a revolution to my pc gaming back in the day. Smoke a j and hop on VoIP with some buddies was the best time ever

AskReddit/c812q26

170k3b

What would be the absolute worst news, ever?

You have cancer, it's un-treatable and you have about six months to live. That's the news my first wife received. The six months was a bit too accurate. That's a long time to dwell on your short life and contemplate death. To this day she's the bravest and most courageous person I've even known. Edit: Ok, that's the worst news I've ever heard anyone getting. The absolute worst news would be to hear that for my child. I have friends who lost their son to cancer. It would crush me beyond compare.

AskReddit/d5p3b1i

4uet0e

Why is mental illness stigmatized?

Mental illness is stigmatized for a variety of reasons. Negative stereotypes of the mentally ill as dangerous or completely unable to manage their lives abound in the media. Also mental illness (unlike other diseases) has the potential to put others at risk. I.e. if you have a bad liver or heart no one else is at risk but if you are mentally ill the concern is you are a risk to others. While this is true the real risk from those suffering from mental illness is extremely small and most people with mental illnesses are around you everyday just trying to get on with their lives like you.

AskReddit/ca2xkpf

1eqezl

What's the most offensive thing you can say to another person?

Sit down kids, it's story time. I was in my Econ class and we were being divided in to groups. The teacher pointed to designated areas that corresponded to the number that we were given. I was zipping up my backpack and because of this my full attention was directed towards the floor. A disembodied voice asked "Is this the 6 group?" I, for no discernible reason, responded "Si, dis is the six group, senior" in the most bluntly offensive, Speedy Gonzales-esque, faux mexican accent that has ever been uttered by any human. I then looked up to see that the person I was speaking to was in fact of Mexican heritage. To this day, I still feel bad.

askscience/c6kk6kf

119s43

How does the ISS maintain orientation when using the Canadarm2?

Canadarm2 engineer here. The ISS temporarily disables the attitude control system when the Canadarm2 is active. This is to prevent the two control systems (ISS attitude and Canadarm2 motion) from interfering with each other and creating unwanted oscillation. In addition, the attitude control system is designed to respond to a particular mass distribution. If the Canadarm2 is moving something large, then the mass distribution is changing dynamically, and the attitude control software has no defined solution for that situation. So, they build a solution for the "before" state and a solution for the "after" state. While the Canadarm2 is moving the payload between these states, the ISS goes Free Drift. After the Canadarm2 is finished with its operation, the ISS attitude control is reestablished and the station recovers its orientation. Due to the large mass of the ISS, the amount of motion while in Free Drift is relatively small; the crews do not notice it. Typically, the ISS attitude is pre-planned to be near equilibrium during these operations so as to minimize motion during Free Drift.

explainlikeimfive/d26ve77

4f8j4o

Why has been there no massive multi-national effort to end global hunger?

There are so many questions that complicate it. How much food does each person get? The bare minimum to keep them alive, or a greater amount? What kind of food do they get? Where does this $40,000,000,000 come from? Where will the food be grown - most countries suffering from famine aren't prime farming territory, so who else's farmable land gets cut into? Who will make up the tremendously large work force required to grow and distribute this food? How do we stop warlords and other criminals from stealing many peoples' food and hoarding it for their soldiers? Will we continue feeding them forever, or just for a while until they can produce their own food, which ends up costing infinity dollars? How much will the people working in this system get paid? You don't just cut a check for 40 billion and solve world hunger. It would be - by a wide margin - the greatest and most complicated humanitarian campaign in human history, orders of magnitude greater than anything else yet done. I'd love to believe in a world where this sort of thing will happen, but I'm not sure I'm optimistic enough for that.

explainlikeimfive/cvq7bt0

3npz9d

What are eyebrows for?

To prevent sweat from entering your eyes. And they produce a wide range of facial expressions that give information on your current mood. Long live eyebrows!

AskReddit/dxaqbap

8bytzk

How is the british royal family perceived by other countries?

Despite its expense and lavish lifestyle, the British royal family seems to be a source of endless fascination - a tradition, despite its foibles and controversies, that shows no serious sign of ending.

AskReddit/d8rpqmf

57gemc

What can we all do to help with things like climate change, disaster relief, etc?

Support politicians who support nuclear power. Volunteer with the appropriate agencies. Stop thinking you're going to change the world by making a dent with feel good gestures. Going vegan and recycling your coffee cups isn't going to do anything. But doing things like building wind turbines, reseeding natural areas, and doing things that make large-scale changes can actually help.

Ask_Politics/dsxfe8h

7rj2cz

Would the the Pay our Military Act of 2013 still apply if there's a shutdown now, or was that act only applicable on the 2013 shutdown?

No. The PMA of 2013 only applied to FY2014. A new bill would need to be passed and signed into law to ensure the military is paid in full and on time if Congress does not pass a funding bill.

AskReddit/e331j8k

924ggh

What is the worst Halloween costume you ever put on?

I went as a slutty stick of butter for Halloween last year. I made the entire outfit myself. It was supposed to be a tongue in cheek commentary on how sexy Halloween costumes are ridiculous. Instead I just ended up enjoying it. I called myself "slutter". It is my legacy.

AskReddit/ed4ot04

ac1yqv

When you were in high school, what were some huge lies you told your parents?

My mom was super chill and trusting. One of her only rules was that all boys had to leave the house by 10 PM when I was in high school. By 10 PM she was usually in her bedroom getting ready to go to sleep. I would open and close the front door and loudly say goodbye and make some tapping sounds with my shoe on the tile like someone was leaving. My boyfriend would regularly sleep over using this method. We would just set an alarm for him to slip out the door at 4 AM and hang out/do it till our hearts content.

AskReddit/czogwyz

4495uv

How do you and your SO deal with your sleep incompatibilities?

Well, at the moment we rarely sleep at the same time since we have different schedules which means we have different sleep schedules. And the biggest incapability we had in the past was solved when I got diagnosed with sleep apnea and started the CPAP machine to deal with it. All the other little sleep issues are easy to deal with the couple of nights a week we are actually in bed at the same time.

AskReddit/d62cwjl

4vy1is

What's the most blatant lie you ever told that people actually believed?

I have an identical twin - and when I say identical I mean /really/ identical. Same face, almost the same hair, even dress similarly, etc. I visited my twin at uni where we went to one of her friend's parties. A mutual friend of hers who didn't know she was a twin came to the party and asked if we were twins. We lied, saying that I was a visiting friend of someone else and kept up the lie the entire night. While no one told him the truth, it was the most blatant lie I've ever told and should have been so obviously false to him based on how we looked and how we acted towards each other.

AskHistorians/cadfiab

1fsrfn

Why was the US willing to invade North Korea in the Korean War, but wasn't willing to invade North Vietnam in the Vietnam War?

Because they're connected in that the UN invasion of North Korea and the intervention of the Chinese that came as a consequence became one of the reasons for why the US chose not to invade North Vietnam. The US didn't want to risk triggering an even larger conflict than they were already involved in. A US invasion of North Vietnam could have brought in the Chinese into the battlefield or even the Soviet Union, effectively turning it into a possible world war.

AskReddit/cggur0e

21vbrh

How have you accidentally ruined someone's life?

accidentally let it slip where a friend of mine that owed a lot to shylocks was staying. as a result of my big mouth they found him and beat him so badly he spent 6 weeks in the ICU barely holding onto his life. Still uses a cane 20 years later.

AskReddit/eov1mmg

bt92pw

Did you ever had a creepy or maybe beautiful sign of someone who just passed away?

I went to the cemetery for the first time after my Nonna had passed away. It took me months to go because we were really close and it hurt so much. As I'm driving up to the cemetery, the radio started playing Queen (who are my favourite band of all time). I park, go see my Nonna and about half an hour later I get back in my car and begin to drive out. I get to the gates and all of a sudden, another Queen song comes on the radio.

AskReddit/ek9iu9p

ba7c42

What are some psychology experiments with interesting results?

Anything Elizabeth loftus has done on false memories is super interesting and eye opening. Particularly the experiment where people viewed a video of a car collision and were then asked leading questions about it. Like some were asked how fast the cars were going when they “bumped”, “collided”, “smashed”. And the people reported to have remembered the cars going faster when emotive words like smashed and crashed were used.

AskReddit/c29boxi

j5jb8

Could a bright light harm your camera lens?

No. To be clear: to affect the lense, it would have to heat it up so much that it started to deform or soften. It is feasible to overheat the sensor, however. That can happen if you point your camera at a high energy light source for a long time, such as the sun, or a raging furnace.

AskReddit/cjekr7a

2ce5yi

What social clique were you or are you part of in high school and what kind of people were in it?

My school only had around 165 students so there weren't many social groups. The main ones for my year were the 6th year girls, 6th year guys and the 6th year smokers. These were the the ways people grouped themselves during lunch. I hung out with a group of misfits who were from all years. It was mainly made up of people who liked theatre but there were a few of us who just liked the company.

explainlikeimfive/cbg5fv3

1jmkat

Is there any chance of finding substances on other planets that are completely new colours that we haven't experienced before, and would our eyes be able to recognise it?

There aren't going to be frequencies of light that are completely outside of our well understood physics, no. There are all sorts of colours we can't see, but that's not the same thing. Ultraviolet, radio waves, infrared, microwaves, etc: all 'colours' of light that we can't currently see.