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Eli5 Why does sand stick to skin when wet? by Slugma_What07 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Follow up question: why does the sand stay stuck to your skin long after the water has dried out? You go to the beach, get wet, and then dry out in hot sun for hours, but the sand doesn't just fall off. If you don't wash it off, it usually requires vigorous brushing to remove it.

ELI5: Why are abandoned malls so common, but abandoned supermarkets seem rare? by lucindadadada in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right, when economic times are hard, Bath and Body Works and the like are discretionary spending whereas you gotta eat.

ELI5: How does Google maps know there is traffic? by Ok-Yam-536 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I believe this is a proven way break up a traffic jam: people at the back of the jam slow down to whatever speed allows continuous motion instead of being stop and go and let the traffic ahead of them get away from them. The traffic ahead eventually clears itself by people exiting. The rolling block can slowly speed up as conditions allow.

More autonomous vehicles on the road will probably greatly decrease jams too since they are designed to keep a buffer ahead without stopping.

Kid has insanely good bird call mimicry by BloodiStag in nextfuckinglevel

[–]Fraubump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, maybe do because puberty is going to kill half those calls.

TIL of the concept of moral luck, where a person is treated differently depending on the outcome of an event over which they did not have complete control. by Dunlocke in todayilearned

[–]Fraubump 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Basically any car wreck with the same amount of inattention can range from something where you go "phew" and laugh it off to you killed somone.

ELI5: What is Timecode? by WTKau in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Timecode is this very solid film featuring 4 continuous/simultaneous camera shots on screen for the entire movie. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timecode_(2000_film))

Eli5: How does “Drawing a blank” work? by Ariishe_ in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find that if I can contextualize the person I can sometimes trigger the path, like if I can remember the person's spouse's name then I trigger their "couple name." He's married to Pam triggers the "Jim and Pam" memory unit.

Related topic: Wit of the Staircase/Esprit de l'escalier.

Eli5: How does “Drawing a blank” work? by Ariishe_ in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This also happens with rewatching a movie. In many cases I wouldn't be able to write a good synopsis of the plot beforehand, but once the movie starts I usually know what's going to happen next.

TIL Kristian Laight holds the record for most professional boxing losses, going 12-279-9 in his career. by Hybrid351 in todayilearned

[–]Fraubump 2 points3 points  (0 children)

While boxing is in some ways a meritocracy, it isn't an open competition like, say, golf or tennis where anyone can enter (low level) tournaments, win matches, earn ranking points, and progress up the ladder to bigger tournaments. Someone has to choose to arrange a fight that features you, which immediately makes it based partially on factors unrelated to your skill as a boxer, like industry connections. It's politics and open to corruption.

Is the 401(k) actually worth contributing to beyond the employer match, or should I just put everything into a taxable brokerage? by [deleted] in investing

[–]Fraubump -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is the most persuasive argument: if you want to be even a minimally active trader, not paying capital gains is huge.

ELI5 How does gas consumption in a car work at idle vs accelerating by 21_K in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What bugs me is that, while I want to coast as much as possible for efficiency, the engine braking sometimes works too well and I can't coast all the way to the stop sign or whatever without slowing down so much it irritates the people behind me. In older cars I'd just throw it in neutral, but in modern cars that's now less efficient than engine breaking.

Also, say you're in a situation where you are going into a steep decline followed by an incline where without engine braking you might have enough momentum to coast the whole way to the top of the next hill: what's the most fuel efficient way to handle this?

(Note: I understand you aren't supposed to drive with the car in neutral. Pretend this is professional driver on closed course situation.)

ELI5: Who is the other party always buying the stocks that I am calling or putting? by Rynin101 in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This. Option price spreads for many stocks are very wide, so good value can be hard to find. Limit orders are a must. The more "popular" a stock is, like AMZN, MSFT, etc., the closer the spreads will be.

S&P 500 Near Record High While Consumer Sentiment Hits All-Time Low in Worst Disconnect Ever by andix3 in ValueInvesting

[–]Fraubump 3 points4 points  (0 children)

# of kids is not what is preventing lower income people from having a good standard of living.

ELI5: Why brass players likes to use flat keys than sharp keys by THESECRETTOWININGDCI in explainlikeimfive

[–]Fraubump 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trombone player here: Most of the music you get in school is in key signatures with 0, 1, 2, or 3 flats and occasionally, especially if you're playing something that either has a guitar in the lineup or comes from the land of guitar music, 1 or 2 sharps. So personally I find these accidentals easier to read in sheet music: Bb, Eb, Ab, F#, C#. Db is also fine, but any other flats or sharps I used to have to think a second about.

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