How does a laxative work? There are several different types of laxative, and they all work in different ways. Some add bulk to the stool, some soften it by helping it hold more water, some lubricate it, some pull water into the bowel, and some stimulate the nerves and muscles in the intestine. There are […]
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How does a ship’s anchor work? A ship’s anchor works because the anchor digs into the seabed and the heavy chain creates a huge amount of resistance while keeping the pull on the anchor low and steady. Most people think that when ships rest at anchor, the only thing holding them in place is the
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Why do insects have such short lives? Many insects seem to have short lives because they have evolved to prioritize rapid reproduction over a long life. However, it only seems that way if we focus on certain kinds of insects, or if we only look at their adult stage. Not all insects have short lives.
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Why are some places windier than others? There are many reasons why some places might be windier than others. Some of those reasons are temperature differences, topography, the amount of surface friction, and wind funneling. Wind is caused when air moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Air behaves
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Why does China only have one time zone? China only has one official time zone because that is what Chairman Mao decreed in 1949 to promote unity in the newly formed People’s Republic of China. The world is divided into time zones because of the speed at which the Earth rotates and the amount of
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What is a psychotic break? A psychotic break, more commonly called a psychotic episode, happens when a person loses touch with reality. Their thoughts and perceptions become disrupted to the point where they may struggle to tell what is real and what is not. The phrase “psychotic break” is informal, and although some episodes are
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When were streets first named? Nobody can pinpoint exactly when streets were first named, but, presumably, people started to give streets names from the very earliest cities. Among the world’s first cities were Jericho and Çatalhöyük. They were both formed in about 7500 BC and began as a collection of a few hundred people, before
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Why don’t we notice when we blink? We don’t notice when we blink because our brain suppresses its visual center and makes sure our eyes are pointing in the same direction. Everybody is different, and we all blink a different number of times depending on the time of day, the condition of our eyes, the
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How does muscle memory work? Muscle memory works because the brain makes more efficient connections between neurons. We call it muscle memory because it feels like our muscles are working on their own, but the memory is down to the brain and the nervous system. The more you repeat an action, such as learning to
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How could you build a base on the moon? There are several problems involved with building a moonbase, but the biggest one is how to get all of the materials up there. NASA has just announced that they are going to spend $20 billion to put a base on the moon within the next seven
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