r/explainlikeimfive 21d ago

Other ELI5: Monthly Current Events Megathread

16 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

This is your monthly megathread for current/ongoing events. We recognize there is a lot of interest in objective explanations to ongoing events so we have created this space to allow those types of questions.

Please ask your question as top level comments (replies to the post) for others to reply to. The rules are still in effect, so no politics, no soapboxing, no medical advice, etc. We will ban users who use this space to make political, bigoted, or otherwise inflammatory points rather than objective topics/explanations.


r/explainlikeimfive 6h ago

Other Eli5: when withdrawing cash abroad, why do you always get given the option to accept or decline a conversion?

580 Upvotes

And is it always better to do one or the other? Or is it situation dependant?


r/explainlikeimfive 2h ago

Biology ELI5: How do bugs or other small animals recognize the causality of human actions affecting them?

123 Upvotes

If ever? Like when a human throws water at a bug, I always imagined from the bug’s perspective it would be a natural disaster like how we perceive storms.

Because sometimes a cat doesn’t even seem to notice a human arm belonging to the human in front of them as a whole torso, or are they all smarter than this?

So to extend the question, it would be: (1) do they at least recognize a human limb belonging to the human agent? (2) They couldn’t possibly do this when a human uses an external tool, or could they? (3) Further, would looking into this give any insights on how we humans understand causality when we perceive events?

Thank you in advance to smart people


r/explainlikeimfive 2h ago

Technology ELI5 Why do smaller movie screens need to cut off part of the image? Why can't they just shrink it so it fits on the screen?

48 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 12h ago

Biology ELI5: Why do dark circles form from lack of sleep?

219 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 23h ago

Other ELI5: Why do completely different mythologies have characters and creatures that feel like versions of each other?

1.2k Upvotes

I’ve noticed how often the same types of characters show up in mythologies from cultures that were very far apart.

There always seems to be a thunder god, a trickster, fairies, a giant serpent, gnomes, an underworld ruler or a hero who has to defeat some kind of monster. Did these stories spread between cultures over time, or did people independently invent similar characters because they were dealing with the same fears and parts of nature?


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Technology ELI5: What prevents an aeroplane to back up flight data to the cloud during or after a flight?

1.2k Upvotes

What prevents an airplane's black box automatically sending all its flight data to the cloud while the plane is flying, or immediately after a crash? Why do investigators still have to recover the actual black box?


r/explainlikeimfive 22h ago

Biology ELI5: How does Joey Chestnut eat so much? Example 76 hotdogs+buns in 10 mins etc

479 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 2h ago

Technology ELI5: What is the difference between front-end and back-end programming?

13 Upvotes

I am learning js, html, and css, and was recently told that front-end isn't "real programming". What languages are used in back-end, and whats the point if you can host on github pages? Thanks in advance!


r/explainlikeimfive 8h ago

Biology ELI5: How do non-native species become "naturalized" to an environment? How does this happen without thousands of years of evolution?

21 Upvotes

e: To clarify, I am familiar with the idea of invasive species. I mean how does a species that is introduced into an ecosystem become incorporated into the ecosystem, neither going extinct nor going out of control.


r/explainlikeimfive 19h ago

Biology ELI5: Why can increasing dopamine with Adderall have a calming effect?

136 Upvotes

I thought dopamine increase = more anxiety and racing thoughts?


r/explainlikeimfive 10h ago

Biology ELI5: Why do shallow cuts sometimes hurt more/for longer than deeper ones?

22 Upvotes

I've noticed that when I accidentally get a shallow cut (especially when there's no bleeding) they tend to hurt more, than when I get a deeper one. So I'm curious, why's that? Does the bleeding have something to do with it?


r/explainlikeimfive 2h ago

Biology ELI5: how does maternal alienation work psychologically ?

5 Upvotes

like what's actually happening and how does it work


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Biology ELI5 - How does salt dehydrate you, but is also a primary ingredient in sports / hydration drinks?

1.2k Upvotes

Gatorade, Pocari, etc


r/explainlikeimfive 19h ago

Biology ELI5: If the body balances the effect of caffeine by adding more receptors, is there a threshold where the effectiveness stops decreasing or will the effect of the same dose of caffine eventually become your original baseline?

47 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 7h ago

Chemistry ELI5: Why does the taste of food change based on its temperature?

2 Upvotes

Hi! I am not talking about raw food that get cooked, because I can understand in that case, but specifically about the difference in taste between cold cooked food and warm cooked food or also drinks. Why does some ingredients taste stronger/weaker/more salty/more spicy depending on their temperature?


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Mathematics ELI5, What is Jacobian Conjecture ?

265 Upvotes

well i guess a few of us have seen there has been a breakthrough regarding this JC being false all this while. and this was backed by some highly qualified person in mathematics. its wild actually if its true.


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Planetary Science ELI5 heatwaves in Europe. Why rising average temperature makes heatwaves more extreme instead of just making the climate a little bit warmer everywhere in more or less uniform manner.

87 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Other ELI5: How exactly did JFK go "against the Military Industrial complex"? What did he do in particular that supposedly angered them?

142 Upvotes

I looked at the other JFK-related ELI5 threads, but nowhere I found this particular question answered. Thank you for your thoughts.


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Other Eli5: Why salt and pepper are such ubiquitous seasonings.

183 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 21h ago

Technology ELI5: How do viewership metrics work for Nielsen and other similar trackers prior to internet on TV viewership and current viewership tracking, and how accurate is it?

22 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Other ELI5 Why Sharks in Aquarium dont attack Staff or Divers?

770 Upvotes

have went to places like big aquarium with sharks and when the divers or staff are feeding the sharks never attacks them, i looked online if there are such cases and i dont see any records of attacks either

I have seen divers go right next to the sharks and they dont ever nibble too nor was there any incidents


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Technology ELI5: What is 'bridge mode' on a modem?

41 Upvotes

I have a wifi modem (from Bell fibre). It doesn't cover the entire house, and certainly doesn't reach the basement where I need it the most. I asked a technician what my options were, and he mentioned getting some wifi mesh devices, and then turning the modem to 'bridge' mode.

I have a basic understanding of wifi. The modem turns the wired signal into wireless. I understand that if I just plug in another wifi emitter, it makes a separate wifi network. So what exactly is bridge mode? What does it do? Do I have other options too?

EDIT: Thank you all for your input! Everyone's so helpful! Obviously there are many follow up questions, which I'll ask in comments :) Thank you!


r/explainlikeimfive 14h ago

Chemistry ELI5: what is the ingredient that is actually in SSRIs that help to boost neurotransmitters in the brain?

0 Upvotes

eg. some pills work better than others that may have little to no effect, but all have different ingredients..

what is the acutal ingredient or element that boosts happy hormones (serotonin/dopamine) in the brain?


r/explainlikeimfive 1d ago

Biology ELI5: Why do so many mammals have 5 fingers and toes on their hands and feet?

68 Upvotes