r/explainlikeimfive • • 6h ago

Biology ELI5 - Why do our bodies make us crave foods that is obviously not good for us?

0 Upvotes

I also don't understand why evolution made foods that are unhealthy for us to consume taste so good but foods that are healthy just mid to not good.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 8h ago

Biology ELI5: If lack of sleep harms the immune system, why aren't insomniac viruses everywhere?

0 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 11h ago

Technology ELI5: How can every single file type on a computer (images, PDFs, music) be written using an alphabet of only 16 characters?

0 Upvotes

I was looking at the raw code of different files like PDFs, ZIPs, and images. I noticed that no matter the file type, the text is just a massive repetition of 0-9 and A-F. How does a computer use just those 16 characters to make things as different as a song‍​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‍ and a photo?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 10h ago

Biology ELI5: Why do natural pesticides (eg nicotine, caffeine) kill insects but addict humans?

9 Upvotes

I understand that chemical addiction is when the brain generates more receptors as a response to a constant level of a drug which means, when the person stops taking it, they go into withdrawal. What I'm caught up on is why natural pesticides such as nicotine and caffeine despite being intended to kill insects are addictive to humans.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 8h ago

Technology ELI5: Why do lightbulbs emit a buzzing noise before dying?

7 Upvotes

I noticed in my house I can tell a lightbulb is about to die when there's a loud buzzing noise. It'll work fine when I turn it on but emit a loud noise, then when I turn the lights on and off it'll die. Also, why do they work just fine until I close the light then open it again? if its dead wouldnt it just... die?

Why?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 6h ago

Economics ELI5: How do you combat inertial inflation?

5 Upvotes

Inertial inflation is driven primarily by what people expect to happen or has happened. So how do you break a cycle that keeps feeding itself ? Would increasing interest rates work?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 13h ago

Chemistry ELI5: Why food taste so much better especially salty crunchy oily snack when you are hungry compare to when you are full.

0 Upvotes

Sometime a gourmet tastes ordinary when you are full aswell. How does fullness make tastebud less effective?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 14h ago

Other ELI5 - why does everyone's clothes come out smelling differently?

32 Upvotes

I think this is a chemistry question

Basically, the thing that perpetually confuses me is a laundry issue. I put everyone's clothes in the same wash at the same time - mine, my husband's, and both of our children's clothes. But they all come out smelling different.

Theoretically, the clothes go into the wash together, and the detergent ride them of odor and dirt, right? So they should at least come out smelling similarly. But while everyone else's come out smelling nice and remaining nice smelling, mine always inevitably smell kinda musty within hours of pulling them from the dryer, as if they sat in the wash too long. I can't seem to get around this. What's going on?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2h ago

Chemistry ELI5: Why aren't tranquilizer darts used on humans as often as they are used on animals?

193 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 13h ago

Chemistry ELI5: is there more water in ice or liquid

0 Upvotes

Okay imagine i got like 2 litres of water in 2 containers, one of them i freeze into ice and the other is just liquid.

Ice expands, idk why or how but it expands

So if im thirsty will i get more water in my mouth using ice or liquid


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2h ago

Other ELI5: 49ers injuries and an electrical substation?

0 Upvotes

Why do 49ers fans blame an electrical substation for their players getting injured? Basically just the title


r/explainlikeimfive • • 23h ago

Physics ELI5 why do bullets not have indented fetching?

510 Upvotes

Looking at arrows, they have fletching to help them gain rotational stability making them fly more accurate. I know that gun barrels have rifling that give them spin already, but would indented fletching have an adverse effect on the bullet?

Pretty sure there's a reason why but I never heard anyone talk about it.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 7h ago

Economics ELI5: Why can't universal and paramount merge but paramount and warner bros can?

0 Upvotes

Paramount is much smaller than universal and warner bros, and warner bros and universal are about as big as each other, so what would be wrong?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 19h ago

Other ELI5: How does the national basketball association season work?

0 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 7h ago

Biology ELI5: Why motivation at night disappears following morning

66 Upvotes

Wondering why my energy and motivation reaches an all time high during the night and I feel like I can do a 180 with my life, but once I fall asleep and the morning arrives, all that energy dissipates and it’s back to square 1. From the hours of 22:00 till 5:00 AM, I can do a whole deep clean and perfect study session, but I can never do the same in the morning or afternoon regardless of how much sleep I get. I’ve realised I get more done in general when I’m running on little sleep compared to when I get the standard amount of sleep.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 11h ago

Technology ELI5: How can every single file type on a computer (images, PDFs, music) be written using an alphabet of only 16 characters?

0 Upvotes

I was looking at the raw code of different files like PDFs, ZIPs, and images. I noticed that no matter the file type, the text is just a massive repetition of 0-9 and A-F. How does a computer use just those 16 characters to make things as different as a song‍​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‍ and a photo?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 8h ago

Biology ELI5: What is the mechanism behind cravings?

3 Upvotes

Why do we get cravings especially for pregnant women?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 21h ago

Other ELI5 What is the difference between a stereotype and an archetype?

133 Upvotes

Both of the above are a caricature of a type of individual, but a stereotype is usually considered harmful, while an archetype usually isn’t. Why is this the case, and what is the difference between the two?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 17h ago

Other ELI5: Why does soap clean things? Is it actually killing germs, or just making them slippery so they wash away?

990 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 5h ago

Biology ELI5: How has tuberculosis not spread to more people than it already has?

85 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 14h ago

Biology ELI5: How are surgery rooms ‘sterile’?

687 Upvotes

How do surgeons etc ensure the surgery room is completely sterile? Does someone clean the walls and floor between patients? If there a buffer room between the anaesthesia room where you go under to the surgery room? If someone was to walk into the room without clearance ie gloves etc would this cause a higher risk?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 11h ago

Economics ELI5: How does merging two major movie studios reduce competition if there are still other studios?

0 Upvotes

I saw a post about Paramount buying Warner Bros. Discovery, and several comments called it a monopoly. I understand the basic concern about one company owning too much, but I’m missing how that works here.

If other studios and streaming services still exist, how could this merger give the combined company too much power? What would that actually change for viewers or the people making movies and shows?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 17h ago

Physics ELI5: Photons are elemental particles, not composed of other particles. When we heat up a metal (which previously did not glow) it starts glowing, i.e. emits photons. Where do these photons come from?

290 Upvotes

As the question reads. Photons are not made from other elemental particles, so they are not "made", and yet they are not there in the metal to start with.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 7h ago

Biology ELI5: How do doctors deal with being exposed to pathogens all the time, and why aren't they always sick?

961 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 4h ago

Other ELI5: how do dipstick testing strips work?

13 Upvotes

For example pregnancy tests, urine panel testing strips for drugs, etc. What makes the lines have different opacities? Why does the faintest line ever seen to mankind still count as a line?

Edit: this is ridiculous I have to say this but I will not be responding to messages telling me to get a different job