Everyday Life
Exploring "Why" questions about Everyday Life
479 articles
why toasted bread tastes different than regular bread
No. When you heat bread, chemical reactions take place on the surface of the bread that fundamentally change it. See the recent question about the Maillard reaction for a little more, if you want.
Why do the words terrific and terrible have different connotations?
They both came from the same Latin root, as someone already explained. The meaning of words and phrases in language changes over time. Another interesting development is the relationship between Germa
Why is water transport so inefficient? Why can a mid-level car easily reach 200+kph, while you need a 1000+hp offshore boat to reach the same speed?
Essentially friction and surface area. I'm no expert but look how much of a boat/ship is actually making contact with the water, now look at how much surface area your tires on your car take up, a hel
Why is the sea made out of salt water?
Almost all natural water contains salts and other minerals including rivers and sweet water lakes just in different levels. Rivers flow constantly so the salt they pick up from the ground does not hav
Why rent a house when you can buy one and pay for it every month, when you move out just sell it and get profits?
Buying a house requires one of two things: enough capital to buy it outright, or sufficient credit to get a mortgage. Not everyone *has* either of these things, especially when one considers that in t
why do my clothes get darker if they get wet? can they ever be that dark without being wet?
The layer of water on the clothing gives the light another substance to be absorbed into or refracted off of. This results in less of the light reaching your eyes, making it look darker. [This short v
Why does everyone use danish cookie containers as sewing containers?
Yeah man, it starts with old ladies being the least wasteful people you will meet. So, they get these old lady cookies from other little old ladies in their social group- then reuse it for sewing stuf
Why does putting salt on a slug kill it?
> I'm comfortable with the idea of diffusion (by which I understand that, due to the continued random movement of particles, a given substance will spread out in a fluid until there is no concentra
Why do we lack the instincts our ancestors had, e.g. telling you which foods are poisonous
We still have them. Ever gone "EW" from spoiled food and decided not to eat it? Ever smelled something horrible and realized that it wasn't edible?
Why do butter and margarine cook so differently despite tasting very similar?
Leaving aside the fact that I don't agree with butter tasting similar to margarine: Butter has milk solids in it, along with other organic compounds that undergo caramelization while also being a fat