Everyday Life
Exploring "Why" questions about Everyday Life
479 articles
why does a bathtub of water eventually get colder than the room
It doesn't. Our sensation of heat is not the same thing as temperature. Easy example: tile floors feel colder than rugs.
Why don’t car manufacturers make windshields coated with hydrophobic surfaces so that water rushes off and leaves it dry instead of windshield wipers?
To my knowledge, there are no optically clear hydrophobic coatings. additionally, they may not leave the windshield as clear as you might hope to. and it would likely wear off with the constant sandbl
Why do countries have different names for one another instead of using that country’s local name (or something close to it) for itself?
Have you seen the top post at /r/mapporn? It's about all the different names of Germany. Countries are named in different times and from different point of views.
Why is nostalgia painful or bittersweet?
It is often bittersweet but not always. One reason it is bittersweet is because it clearly articulates the passage of time and inevitability of death. Another reason is that when one recalls a wonderf
Why do the majority of Americans drive automatic cars but in Britain most people drive manual cars?
It's primarily because of the car manufacturers following the demands of the consumer. In the US it's more common to take cars on long, uneventful highway journeys, where an automatic is beneficial; i
Why does Soda cost so much less than water?
Does it? I get water out of my tap for about 700 gallons for a dollar. Bottled water is more expensive because it's been found that people are willing to pay that much for convenience, but water itsel
Why are written and spoken English so different?
English is the result of a linguistic mishmash of Low German dialects, Norman French, Scandinavian languages, Church Latin and Scientific Greek, and loanwords from a hundred other languages from Itali
Why does food taste different when sick?
The taste of a lot of foods is influenced to various degrees by smell. So if your nose is clogged from being ill, your food will taste different.
Why do people look visibly different when they wake up in the mornings?
It has a lot to do with the horizontal vs vertical body position. The body has a high water content and throughout the day gravity plays it's part moving fluids around the body, and even compressing t
Why do the US and UK have the same Father’s Day but different Mother’s Days?
In the UK they dont celebrate "Mothers day" they celebrate "Mothering Sunday" (although it is named interchangeably). It is celebrated on the Sunday closest to March 25th, because it is nine months pr