Society
Exploring "Why" questions about Society
481 articles
Why is it that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump seem to be the leading presidential candidates when it seems that public opinion of both is very low?
First, this is how it always is this early in campaign season. Anyone with a little bit of name recognition immediately is at the forefront, regardless of their quality as a candidate or likelihood to
Why a Catholic priest would find molesting a child somehow less offensive to the church than intercourse with a woman. What exactly is the logic here?
The whole "pedophile priest" thing isn't really about the Catholic faith. It's more to do with the sickest of pedophiles and their ways of attracting young boys. Really sick pedophiles like to get inv
Why does ‘republican’ mean something completely different in Europe compared to what it means in the US?
Because it is the name of the other major party of the US, so the political ideology and goals of that party greatly define what republican means in the US. In Europe on the other hand there are still
Why is Golf the go to sports for rich and/or powerful people like Presidents, CEOs? What is special about it?
It costs a lot of money to play, it's played in a space that is exclusive, which allows for privacy, and it is a slow paced game that allows for conversation and socializing. The slower pace also allo
Why is Carfax, a commercially owned company, allowed to collect all kinds of information on our cars, and sell it to others for money?
Every bit of information that is on Carfax is either: 1) Not information that qualifies for privacy protection 2) Information that is already public - this includes police records 3) **Information tha
Why can public schools, funded by the government, limit the rights of its students?
It's a legal concept called [in loco parentis](_URL_0_). The school is legally acting in place of your parent while you're a student, and as such are allowed to act in your best interest as they see f
Why in some places people in jail aren’t allowed to vote?
There are many people who are affected by a government but can't vote. Including children, non-citizens and even people in other countries. We don't normally grant the right to vote based on who is im
Why did the cost of US college tuition skyrocket?
Universities realized that people were always getting approved for their federal student loans, so they kept raising tuition knowing that the students will be able to pay their crazy prices.
Why do the poorest countries and neighborhoods insist on having multiple children despite no resources?
This has been the subject of a lot of statistical research over the past few decades. The answer is stunning in it's simplicity. Women who have high-paying jobs with good careers have fewer children b
Why do people (Soldiers, Police, Government Agents) always seem to duck when approaching a helicopter?
Have you ever approached a helicopter with the blades still turning? The blade might be between 50-100cm above your head, but it's just a natural tendency to want to duck just in case. I call it The H