Nature
Exploring "Why" questions about Nature
487 articles
Why is it that some primetime shows have 20 episodes per season, whereas others only have 10 episodes, or two 8-episode “half seasons”?
Because different shows have different scheduling needs and different paces at which they want to put the story out there. It's usually the network's decision.
Why are British TV seasons/series so short in comparison to American TV shows?
Part of it has to do with the standards set by producers. The US is all about extending the season in order to secure larger viewership. Take Supernatural for example.
why aren’t snow storms and earthquakes assigned names the way tropical storms are?
Winter storms are named now. The names for the 2016-2017 winter are available [here](_URL_0_) (autoplaying video warning). As for earthquakes, they don't develop over a long period of time so they don
Why do snow flakes form the way they do?
Snow flakes are caused by a process called deposition. Basically, you have water vapor in the atmosphere, which is gas. Normally, gas condenses into liquid (raindrops), then the liquid freezes into so
Why do train stations tend to have much less security than an airport.
Trains are fixed to the lines that they operate on. Unlike an airplane which can be guided to any target the attacker wishes, a train is set in a fixed track which can not be deviated from. Even in th
Why do polarized glasses help you see objects underwater, and make rainbow-esque colors when looking through window tint?
Polarized light is light with waves moving in a specific axis. [A visualization is very useful](_URL_0_). Light from the sun is not polarized - the waves are going in all directions equally.
Why do we cover railway tracks with rocks ? Does it improve the stability when a train goes by ? (due to the vibrations)
Although it doesn't look it, the ballast is pretty solid. It distributes the load from the passing trains, keeps down unwanted vegetation (there aren't many plants than can grow on rocks) and enables
Why are the Panama Canal locks necessary? Why don’t they just dredge a river that runs through? What would happen if they opened all the locks at the same time?
The two oceans are at different sea levels (Pacific is 20 cm higher) so there would be a flow (strong current) from one ocean to the other. Additionally sea life would be able to move easily from one
Why is Southern Europe relatively lush compared to the deserts of North Africa when they are both next to the Mediterranean?
To explain it like to a 5 years old: 1. Most of the coast of North Africa isn't a desert, it's actually just as lush as Southern Europe. Morocco through Algeria to Tunisia is all green, while Libya is
Why is Windows Vista so hated?
Vista's system requirements were much higher than XP's, and it dropped compatibility for a lot of software including drivers. For some people this meant that Vista ran slowly and either didn't support