Everyday Life
Exploring "Why" questions about Everyday Life
477 articles
Why is under-cooked steak “rare”?
Here's what etymonline has to say about it. It comes from the Old English word "hrere" which meant lightly cooked. > "undercooked," 1650s, variant of Middle English rere, from Old English hrere "li
Why does our taste in food change as we get older?
One theory i heard is that children are far more sensitive to bitter flavors. Since young children can't handle natural toxins as well as adults, and since toxins have a bitter flavor, humans have evo
Why do most cakes and dessert recipes call for eggs?
In a cake, eggs act as a leavening agent, thus making cake light and fluffy. In baked foods like cookies, muffins, etc, eggs add moisture and act as a binder. I don't eat eggs, so I always look for th
why is red wine recommended with beef? What does it add that say water or soft drinks don’t?
It's a flavor pairing. Take a great steak, pepper it, and the flavors of that steak will be complimented by an earthy, peppery, hot Zin. As you're chewing the steak, take a sip of wine, and the flavor
why aren’t the big companies sharing their self-driving car data to achieve autonomous cars?
Why would google share their technology? Everyone wants to be the first/best in the market because that is how they will make money. There is no reason google would share their technology with a compe
Why do most countries have extremely different dialects that cannot be understood by people in the same country while the United States basically has one?
We're freakin' *young*. Those dialects grew up over centuries of isolation. The average person wouldn't go from Edinburgh to London, ever.
Why is it easier to wash dishes with hot water?
The hot temperature combined with soap helps to dislodge grease which may have congealed onto silverware and plates. Grease becomes less viscous as it is heated and thus easier to wash off.
Why were Milkmen once a thing in America, and why did they stop being a thing?
Milkmen have been a thing since long before refrigeration existed. You can even see it in things like "Fiddler on the Roof" which is set in the early 1900s and it was a well established job for a long
Why do we (humans) need our food clean and cooked while animals can just eat their food raw and not get sick?
You can eat raw food, but it has to be right after the kill, otherwise bacteria begins to spoil it quickly.
Why is it worthwhile to separate colors from whites in laundry?
In the past, you would often add bleach to whites to help clean them. However, it would destroy colored dyes, so you would need to separate them first.