Everyday Life
Exploring "Why" questions about Everyday Life
479 articles
Why does it always come down to “drink lots of fluids” when you tell the doc you gave the flu?
There's no cure for influenza once you're sick. It's a self-limiting and mild infection that your immune system will fight off, all you have to do is keep your body working long enough for it to do so
Why do I gag when I put a finger down my throat but food doesn’t have the same effect?
Because when you swallow, peristalsis is pushing the food down that way and your brain recognises that. Also, you tend not to hold food right at the back of your throat with your throat open. If breat
Why do you have to get your oil changed after 3 months if you haven’t driven 3,000 miles?
And you're told this by people who sell oil. Maybe that should give you a clue. Certainly in modern cars, that should be unnecessary.
Why is the camera recording quality noticeably worse when the same broadcast is reporting news outside of North America or Europe?
Not every country has the necessary electronic and technological infrastructure to transmit and receive the crisp video and audio that's most easily found in such countries as you named.
Why do car batteries have a positive and negative side which need jumper cables to charge, rather than a simple plug system like most other batteries?
Batteries all have a positive and a negative side. I am not quite sure what plug you are talking about that most other batteries use. The terminals are often standard but the location of the terminals
Why is my car built to go faster than I can ever legally drive it?
Because a car being pushed to the absolute limits is going to break a hell of a lot faster then one cruising along serenely and well within tolerances.
Why do we have to cook things with a low flame for a long time. Why not a high flame for a short amount of time?
Large flame means high temperature. High temperature means the outer layer of food might burn before the inside has been heated up. Low temperature takes more time, but gives you much more even cookin
Why is it quieter to pee on the side of the toilet bowl than it is to pee directly on the toilet water
Peeing on the side, you are hitting bowl at an angle which reduces the force with which the steam hits it. Peeing inside the bowl, the stream is hitting water at almost 90 degrees which means that the
Why is it recommended to drink lots of milk after swallowing bleach ?
There is a protein in milk, one protein structure called lactase (kind of like a microscopic arm made of legos) is responsible for making bleach less harmful when swallowed. This protein "lego arm" bi
Why do dogs drink out of the toilet, even though you give them fresh water?
As far as the dog's concerned, a source of water is a source of water. All he'll care about is that there's always water there, it's clean (by the dog's standards) and at a convenient head height for