Nature
Exploring "Why" questions about Nature
487 articles
Why does it seem like all Caribbean islands (Jamaica, Bahamas, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, etc.) seem to be third world countries, with terrible economies and infrastructure?
Historical and geographical reasons. Most of those islands were colonized by Spain in the 16th and 17th century and used to produce sugar and tropical fruit crops. The colonial government had little i
Why is there snow on the Mt.Everest when the clouds are under the top of the Mountain?
Additional clouds go above it. There is no one single altitude at which clouds form. But you're right that *many* are below the peak.
Why is light seen as a rainbow when reflected on the back of a CD?
White light is made by all the rainbow colors, and what we see in a rainbow is the white light of the Sun being separated in all of the colors of the rainbow because of little drops floating in the sk
Why do waves in the ocean look frozen when you look at them from an airplane?
They are continuously moving, but with nothing nearby as a reference point and at a great distance, it is hard to tell. It's like how a plane in the sky looks like It's going real slow, when it's actu
Why does the moon cause waves in the ocean but not on smaller bodies of water like lakes?
The moon doesn't really cause waves, it causes tides. Wind causes waves, and the ocean has a lot more wind than lakes do.
Why do the windows need to be open during takeoff and landing of an aeroplane?
Safety. In case of an emergency, cabin crew need to decide which side of the aircraft is safest to disembark from. Leaving the window shade up allows them to make a quick call.
Why are the bottom of plastic bottles a funny shape and why can’t it just have a flat bottom (eg. Mountain Dew, Pepsi ect)?
I am old enough to remember when plastic soda bottles did have flat bottoms -- it was a separate piece, like a cap. The part containing the liquid was round, like the bottom of a test tube, and that s
why don’t window blinds have one pull string instead of two to prevent uneven blinds?
There has to be a string on each side because trying to pull them up by the center would mean flopping to one side. To have them controlled by one string, you'd have to tie the side strings together.
why does North America get so many more tornadoes than the rest or the world?
A long north-south stretch of relatively flat terrain known as the Great Plains. The cold air in the north wants to push toward the equator because of centrifugal force, which in turn displaces warmer
Why are windshield wipers sold as singles not pairs? Do people often replace them one at a time?
Not every car has the same size blade for each side. For example, my Ford Focus uses a 22 inch driver and 19 inch passenger. My Nissan Versa uses a 26 inch driver and a 16 inch passenger.