Answer to:
Is there anything that can beat a polar bear in a fight? Velociraptors. (Also the reason never to go into the long grass)

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What would it take for you to believe in God? Sufficient evidence to conclude that the existance of God is more likely than not. However, I have not been made aware of any such evidence. Although people still say things like 'the beauty of flowers is all the proof I need...', but I'm afraid I would need something a lot more convincing than that!

Answer to:
Are folks overreacting to the swine flu? We've had it before and we have medicine for it. What are your thoughts? Not worried, but this does seem to have a greater potential to become serious than bird flu or SARS did. Though I am worried about potential merging to give flying-pig flu... There is no cure, but there are drugs that have been shown to be reasonably helpful, most developed countries already had some stockpiled. According to the WHO we are at phase 4 now. To me this means- 'Maybe I...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Should it not be time over for the British monarchy?should it be abolished? I am not a big fan of the monarchy, but that is as a group of people. Half of them are very stupid (probably due to in breeding!), Prince Philip seems to do a bad job of hiding his intolerance, whilst Prince Charles is always saying things he really shouldn't and promoting wacky ideas like alternative medicine. However, I do not think it should be abolished as a concept, yes they cost...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How many people do I have to know if i wanted to be able to congratulate everyday (365 days) someone's birthday? I know the answer is probable by making a mathematical equation eg) May 1st John's BDay,May 2nd Jessica's,May 3rd Tina's,May 4th Ray's etc The minimum is 365, obviously. But consider the probabilities... Say you find 364 friends each with a different birthday the chances of your next friend having a birthday on the missing day is only 1 in 365, so you need to make a lot of friends to stand a reasonable chance of filling that last day! Then consider 363 friends, only 1 in 181 chance of a new friend covering one of the two...

Answer to:
What is one thing you know for sure? I am thinking, and therefore I am.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If Obama had inherited the white gene of his mother instead of the black of his father; would he have been elected president? Well that's no quite how skin tone genes work I'm afraid! The simple rules that are seen in hair colour are the exception. With skin tone there are many genes at play and they act in a cumulative manner so although Obama could have had a slighter lighter or darker skin his current appearance is by far the most probable. Although I think it is a great step for America to elect a...

Answer to:
Can someone verify for me if p(x)=x^2-2x+4 is a real number? You have defined the function, don't you need to set a value as a solution? (so p(x)= a number) Or am I missing something? Although in general terms the quadratic equation ax^2 + bx + c =0 (where a is not 0) can be rearranged to- x = (-b +- (b^2 - 4ac)^1/2) / 2a (Please excuse the format, difficult to write a formula here!) So there are three main possibilities- b^2 -...

Answer to:
Religion... The road to salvation or the highway of brainwashing? Your thoughts? I'll take option two. Prepare for the ranting and raving...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Computers, love them, hate them or somewhere in between? Somewhere between, and for different reasons- Windows computers- Love the price, hate the fact that you can't switch it on without it crashing. Mac computers- Love that they actually work, hate that they charge you more for white plastic (or more recently- aluminium). If only you could easily put Mac OS X on any hardware... sigh...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
I know that it sounds stupid to ask this but are there realy such things as elfs No. There aren't even any elves.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If Man has evolved from Primates why hasn't man super evolved into some other species in the last 2000+ years? Firstly, may I thank you for saying apes/monkeys! I really hate that. Man IS an ape but what we evolved from wasn't, and we ARE primates but what be evolved from probably was too, and monkeys had nothing to do with it! The reason we have not evolved is due to a multitude of reasons. When talking about a species that procreates at the rate of man, 2000 years is (in general) not enough...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is there only one truth? There is only one truth or there is no truth. People can have different opinions and interpretations about things. There can be multiple factors that cause events or provide explanations. There can be many beliefs across the world. But it all boils down to this- Questions like what is matter, how big is 'x', how far away is 'y', have only one true answer. Questions like...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Have you ever witnessed anything paranormal? No. If anything happened that seriously led me to believe that it was 'paranormal' I would be extremely worried and would want a check up, unless I was too far gone by then!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How is the charge of an atom of a transition metal determined? I'm not sure whether you mean experimentally or in terms of nomenclature. If you are presented with a transition metal compound of unknown composition there are many ways to deduce the charge of the metal ion. If the anion is known then titration could be used to determine concentrations, eg if you have a charge neutral species and twice the concentration of the anion than cation, then...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What part of the universe are you from? Western Spiral arm of the Milky Way. Though I'm thinking of moving.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
British Rail or RyanAir? Well there is no British Rail anymore, so I guess it will have to be Ryan Air!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
I broke a cfl lightbulb on my carpet and only a little bit of the bulb broke. Is it safe and do I have to throw out the carpet It will be fine. The health risk is near enough zero. Just clear it up and vacuum it, and that means you won't cut yourself on broken glass either.

Answer to:
Do most redheaded people have green eyes? This seems to be the case with everyone I know. In many cases genetics is not as random as people think. Some genes are carried at similar gene loci and so tend to pair up. For example, blonde hair and fair skin tend to come together, olive skin and black/brown hair too. Of course not all red heads have green eyes, but I expect that the proportion a green eyes has been skewed by this kind of genetic pairing.

Answer to:
What is the plural form of deer? I thought deer never had an s, but on yahoo literati it accepts as a word. Any one know why? The plural of deer is deer. Deers is an error, the result of a misconception. Many people think that fishes is the plural of fish. This is incorrect, with each word having a different meaning. Fishes refers to multiple species of fish. So if there are many individuals of one species the plural is just fish. As soon as you add other species you have a group of fishes. People have tried to...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Did you know that graffiti was actually plural for graffito? (I didn't) Any other singular/plural forms of words that might be little known? I like octopus, many people correct others when they say octopuses and say that it is 'octopi'. In fact octopuses is the correct plural, and science frequently uses octopodes. It stems from Greek vs Latin. Octopus comes from greek and the plural of the suffix -us is -uses, whereas in Latin the plural form is -i (eg radius and radii)

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What is the wrong answer? "I'm not afraid of Chuck Norris, he can't be that tough."

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Are you only human? No, I am also an ape, a primate, a mammal, an animal, a vertebrate and a eukaryote. In that order!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Have you ever had a job where you had to sign a confidentiality contract? I'm afraid I can't talk about it. In fact I've said too much already!

Answer to:
Who here believes in intelligent design? Well given the world today I'm not sure I even believe in intelligence! Ok seriously now, I don't believe in intelligent design for two reasons. Firstly, there is not enough evidence to support it, and far too much against it. Evolution is the method by which life has developed, and chemistry is the reason life came about in the first place. Whether people want to believe it...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Do you think its dangerous to live near Pylons, and do you think magnetic fields can affect us and our well being? No. Absolutely not. Magnetic fields have no effect on human health, unless you have implants/pace makers. Even then the magnetic field radiated by pylons is nowhere near enough to have any effect whatsoever.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What do you think of Vaccines for babies? I have heard a lot of negative things about vaccines lately. There is currently no scientific, repeatable, statistical evidence to link vaccination of babies/children to, for example, autism. I use autism here as it is the most common fear. You cited an article where 70% of parents asked linked their child's autism with their vaccines. Firstly note that the sample size is 53, which is nothing. Secondly, this question was sent by email, ask...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Does Superman defy the Laws of Thermodynamics? No, the laws of thermodynamics apply to the passage of energy (usually heat, hence the name!). Superman does not break the laws of TD any more than a plane does. He must have some kind of propulsion system somewhere! In fact the second law of thermodynamics is so fundamental that in science there is a saying that fellow scientists will always consider your ideas, no matter how stupid, unless...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
I have an Isosceles triangle A- is (x + 10), B- is (2x), C- is (2x - 30). What is the measure, in degrees, of angle B? I know the answer is 80, but I don't know how to get the answer. This question needs more information. Normally capital letters give the angles in triangles and lower case the length of the sides, is this the case here? Secondly, you have not stated which two of A,B and C are the same. You can try different combinations until you get an answer where the sum of the three angles is 180 which is required. But given you know the answer is 80 it is possible...

Answer to:
Are humans naturally evil or good? Well half of us are definitely evil, as shown by one of my favourite 'maths proofs'- Women are the product of time and money so- Women = Time x money, But we all know that time is money, so time=money, so- Women = money x money Women = (money)^2 But money is the root of all evil, so money= root(evil), so- Women = (root(evil))^2 Women = evil No offense anyone,...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How do you make homeopathic remedies at home? Well you can get a small amount of something that might actually help you and some more stuff that clearly won't, and then add as much water as you can possibly get your hands on and just throw it in. Now the next step is the most tricky, you need to convince yourself that (even though you have milligrams of solid dissolved in so many gallons of water that for all intents and purposes...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is there evidence that evolution could never take place? How does the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics and entropy refute evolution? I'd like to say that there is a mountain of evidence for evolution, but there are always problems that need to be resolved. This does not mean evolution is wrong though. Realistically, in modern science evolution is about as secure as the theory of atoms. We can never be 100% certain, but we are so sure that we call it a 'scientific fact'. Many people do not understand evolution...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Are you willing to pay a higher price for humanely raised beef, pork, chicken, lamb, etc.? I find the idea of 'humanely' raised animals strange. Imagine putting little nappies on them, dressing them, sending them off to school for the first time...! So no I absolutely do not think we should even have 'humanely raised' meat, let alone pay more for it! I think most people would be willing to pay more for meat from well treated animals, but that isn't to...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is fluoride dangerous? I assume this is in reference to fluoride in water, toothpaste etc... In which case the answer is not really. There are many stories about the dangers of fluoride, but at the concentrations found in drinking water or toothpaste the risk is low. One daily newspaper in the UK ran a headline saying that one teaspoon full could kill 100 people or something along those lines. It was actually...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Is fluoride dangerous? Seems answerbag got my answer twice!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is fluoride dangerous? Crazy Answerbag?! 3rd Time they tried to show my answer!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Two numbers have the same sum, product, and quotient. What are the numbers? This question appears to be a duplicate. See http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/726556 .

Answer to:
Two numbers have the same sum, product, and quotient. What are the numbers? Hmmm.... I'm really stuck on this. I can't see how it can work. In order for the product and quotient to be the same the following must be true- xy = y/x So multiplying by x and dividing by y gives- x^2 = 1 So- x= +-1 (can't do the proper "plus or minus" symbol here!) Substitution gives- (+-)y=(+-)y So y can take any value Now considering the...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
If you were an equation (or some other mathematical function) which one would you be? Would have to be Euler's- e^(i'pi') = -1 It doesn't do everything, it's interesting without being too clever, but it has a little of everything- the rational, the irrational and the imaginary!

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
If animals have feelings, how can we possibly sit by whilst they are TORTURED for testing of such important things as cosmetics, household goods, new weapons, you name it. I just want to cry and scream for all of the innocent, trusting animals. It is a moral dilemma. I do not support the testing of cosmetics, household products etc on animals. I believe it is not necessary and cruel. Fortunately, here in the UK testing cosmetics on animals has been banned for around a decade now. Having said that, I do not have a problem with eating animals or using their eggs, milk etc, so long as they are treated to an acceptable degree and are...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Do you need straight A's at GCSE level to stand a chance of getting into Oxbridge (England)? Certainly at A-level. There are very few who don't have all A's at a level. With GCSEs there is a little more leniency, with a B or two allowed, especially if applying from a state school and in subjects quite different from the one being applied for. The common myth though is that you need a stupid number of A-levels. This is not true, all they expect is 3 A's at A-level and...

Answer to:
I bought a used car from a quantum mechanic one time. Every time I went somewhere I wound up somewhere else. Another odd thing, if I went too fast I gained weight. Oh, yeah, I also had to drive in reverse to avoid collisions. Weird, huh? Lol! That's 'classic'! You know I've been having some problems with my car, got it from some guy called Heisenberg or something. It seems that when I go faster I have problems knowing exactly where I am. Weird isn't it?

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What number has a special meaning for you? Mine is actually pi (as in 3.14159...). Now I know that it is geeky, but I can't help that! I'm reading for a chemistry degree and people often don't realise how often pi comes up. It is not just useful for areas of circles! It comes up in maths in trigonometry, imaginary numbers, statistics, probability theory, advanced calculus and series expansion to names a few. In science...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What are some commonly-accepted values in your society that you don't believe in? I find that too many people think that faith is a virtue. I disagree, I think belief based on evidence and reason is a much better. Just think if the justice system was based on faith and not evidence! One thing that gets me is people who to say 'I trust you, I have faith that you are a good person.' I don't feel good about that, they have basically assumed I'm a good...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Is it possible to have two heating sources (wood burning and gas) connected to the same central heating system? Yes, at my home we have an oil boiler and a wood burner. So it is possible. However, it can be quite a complicated procedure and requires extra safety features. For example you must not ever allow both sources to be on at the same time, or the water in the pipes can boil and you quite literally risk explosion. So you must seek professional advice. When we built our extension on our house my...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What trivia do you know about the Godfather triligy? As most people know Marlon Brando won an Oscar for best actor, and Robert De Niro won an Oscar for best supporting actor for the young Vito Corleone. These are the only two actors to win Oscars for playing the same character. Godfather Part II is the only official sequel ever to win an Oscar for Best Picture. Finally, Sofia Coppola appears in all three films. She is the baby boy(!)...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
How can we overcome Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle? It cannot be overcome. Most people do not realise that the HUP is derived from pure mathematics, it is then applied to real systems. The HUP gives the minimum uncertainty in measuring two variables. In practice it is not always possible to reach this level in experiments. With improved technique we may be able to reach the minimum uncertainty predicted by the principle, but the HUP itself...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
In chemistry what is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? The Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle is an equation that describes the uncertainty in measuring two variables in quantum mechanics. The beauty of it is that it can be derived from pure mathematics and the proof does not require the consideration of any real system. Many people get confused between the HUP and the Measurement problem. Put simply, the HUP is a quantitative assessment of...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
When you talk about the temperature, do you use Fahrenheit or Celsius? I use Celsius. Never really got Fahrenheit, seemed a stupid scale! I'm rather mixed up with my units- I can use meters/kilometers or feet and inches equally well, but I don't know pounds/ounces only kilograms, litres are easy but gallons are a problem... I'm also studying science which adds a whole load of other units. So I also measure temperature in Kelvin, I can weigh in...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Why / how did you pick your avatar ? what (if anything) does it mean (to you)? Somebody found it for me. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. (Sorry, that was poor!)

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Who would win in a Drunken Bar Brawl between Jesus H. Christ and Charles R. Darwin? Neither, clearly Chuck Norris would come along and beat the crap out of both of them.

Answer to:
I believe in a God, do you? No. I have not come across sufficient evidence to believe in God(s) or any other supernatural beings. I don't know what else to say, seems like a short answer! :-)

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Are there goldfish in your mango juice? Actually there could be! How would I know?! Orange with orange?! Well, I'm off to put all my juice through a sieve...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Why does an imac come with 1 gb of ram and then you have to add/more upgrade if you want to increase it does it run ok with 1gb or do you need to add more. RAM is the memory a computer temporarily uses to run programs (in basic terms). If you buy a Mac computer then 1Gb or RAM is sufficient for casual users. The kind of people who use computers for the internet, word processing, pictures etc. If you tend to use programs that are demanding- 3D games, advanced video editing etc it may be worth making it 2Gb. You can do this on the apple store,...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
While micro-organisms are at the bottom of the food chain are viruses at the top.. making the circle complete? This actually a very difficult question. Mainly because viruses are not considered to be living things, so can they contribute to a food chain? On the one hand they take an active and not a passive role, but on the other hand they are no more alive than the sun which is not considered to be part of the food chain, but simply the source from which almost all producers get their energy. Indeed...

Answer to:
What is the sequence of 1,4,3,7,5,10? Possibly it is: 'add 3' 'minus 1' 'add 4' 'minus 2' 'add 5' etc So the sequence will go: 1,4,3,7,5,10,7,13,9,16,11... That's the best I can make of it!

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
The EU has fined Microsoft $1.4 billion. Why? Well if their experience of Microsoft is anything like mine I can see why. Maybe they got sick of the constant crashes and 'blue screens of death'! I only wish they could use the money to subsidise the over priced Apple Mac computers so I can afford to get a computer that works... But more seriously Microsoft seems to have abused its market position and broken EU competition laws.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Whenever a Journey song comes on the radio I cannot resist cranking it up. can you? Just a small town girl... classic! Crank up the Journey!

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Logically, is it possible for a dictionary to evolve over billions of years from a explosion within a paper factory (which is basically the theory behind the origins of life of an evolutionists)? No. Here's why: Firstly, exploding paper factories and dictionaries do not self replicate. This is absolutely crucial for evolution to occur. Secondly, there is no selection pressure. There is no need for dictionaries to change. However, in theory it could. Lets say somebody typed a thousand letters and spaces randomly into MS word. They then copy and paste it 10 times, but the...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
How long after leaving the ocean did we lose our ability to breathe underwater? Why did our evolution dictate it wouldn't be advantageous to have the ability to breathe both on land AND in the water? Well imagine the energy required to produce a respiratory system capable of both land based and submerged respiration. Initially, leaving the water would have been a massive advantage, as land would be an area almost free from competitors/predators. However, evolution does not tend to favour the 'jack of all trades' approach as it is inefficient, instead the specialisation to occupy...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
What is deism? (since some claim the founding fathers of the U.S. were primarily deists and not Christian) Deism is a philosophy where people apply logic and reason to the idea of God/supernatural powers. Deists tend to believe in a God, but not a personal one. Merely a creator that does not interfere with life. They do not believe in miracles, religious books or organised religion. Most Diests believe in some form of after life but not in relation to any particular religion. Deism was popular...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
What if it turns out that God really doesn't exist? That there is no superior being, no omnipotent creator, no intelligent designer after life has passed? That we all are a product of serendipity and happenstance and favorable random events? Well I wouldn't be surprised, and I don't think anything would change much. I live my life as though there is no God anyway. However, one small criticism- I don't think that 'random' or 'happenstance' are the best words, but I'm probably just being feciscious!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Should people be forced to pray? Absolutely not! For two main reasons; firstly that people should be free to make their own religious decisions and secondly because many people (myself included) think that it is a waste of time, and could be dangerous! There was a case in the US recently where the relative of a deceased hospital patient tried to sue the doctor for failing to pray for his patient. Now firstly it is the...

| 9 people like this

Answer to:
What is your all time favorite Dire Straits song? Not their most famous- but the full length "Telegraph Road", as seen in their "Love Over Gold" album. I just love the 15 minute build up, from the almost silent beginning to the amazing and full-on ending!

Answer to:
What character traits make a genius a genius? Genius is not an arbitrary concept, but a precisely defined, statistical result. An IQ of 145 or greater is the definition of genius, and it is set such that 0.1% (or 1 in 1000) people are in the category. But there are different levels of genius, again based on IQ, like 'genius', 'high genius' etc. (There are different scales when measuring IQ and the values given...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Are you aware that the THIRD law of thermodynamics (not second) has NOTHING to do with evolution? Quoting increasing entropy as a reason against evolution is one of the most stupid things I've ever heard. If you want to know why, feel free to ask. Well absolutely nothing ever ever ever can disobey the laws of TD, so I guess everything has at least a little to do with it, but I'm just being facetious! I can see that the third law of TD has nothing to do with evolution (and I have never had anybody say that it did)- it states that 'the entropy of any transformation between internally stable substances approaches zero as...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
If you see a question that offends you, do you flag it or ignore it? I often ignore it, but sometimes answering it can be interesting. I only flag questions that don't make sense. I have never flagged questions that I have found offensive, I really hate this culture where nobody can be offended. I believe that people have free speech, and that nobody has the right not to be offended. Only that people have the right not to be threatened. I live in the...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Was there adam and eve or did we come from primates or monkeys? Neither. Adam and Eve is a nice story (along with other creation stories), but it is just ridiculous as a genuine theory of the origin of life. However, as a Chemist/biologist (note the capital C and little b!) it really bugs me when people say we 'came from monkeys'! Firstly 'monkeys' refers to a range of species (like cats involves lions, tigers etc) and a new...

| 9 people like this

Answer to:
Why are there so many non-believers of Christ in the world today? Well I think almost everyone believes in Christ, but only around 25% believe he is divine. As to why many believe he was just a man there are many reasons. I believe this as I don't see evidence for the divine, other people believe in other deities which do no consider Jesus, and some people simply have not heard of Christ! These are all fairly obvious reasons, but it is quite a...

Answer to:
Do you feel, as I do, that there is a lot of prejudice, hatred and intolerance, hidden in the questions in this category? It is as if the questioner is making a crude and generalized statement about a group and then asking the answerer to affirm it. Am I Yep! Seems like a lot of questions are just a statement with a '?' at the end, here are some questions I'm thinking of asking myself... (!) Religion is a stupid idea? Atheists deserve to burn in hell? Evolution has been proved wrong and it is a big conspiracy by the democrats? Creationism is the lowest form of intelligence and only moronically stupid people believe in...

Answer to:
On Christmas eve or morning, do you ever feel like you did as a child? Well I'm still pretty young (19), but no. Maybe I'm slightly cynical but... Christmas now starts around september when supermarkets start bringing in mince pies and turkeys, then october kicks in and all the other shops bring out decorations and gift ideas as if christmas is on your mind that time of year, by november my sisters are constantly reminding me what presents they want....

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What is the cost of freedom? I hear Tesco is doing a buy-one-get-one-free on freedom. (Terms and conditions apply. Whilst stocks last.)

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Are comparisons between Christianity and Microsoft warranted? Both are lead by men who have gained far too much power for not doing a very good job. Although I do have to admire God for gaining so much influence whilst probably not existing. Very impressive!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
My husband is Pagan. I'm Christian. What do you think of that? Am I going to hell? Is the relationship doomed? I don't think religion is a reason to worry, if you are married it seems you can't have that many doubts! I'm not a christian so I don't know about the hell thing (or even think there is one!) I am an atheist and my girlfriend used to be a christian, it did cause a few problems, but on the whole it wasn't a big issue. Eventually after talking things through both...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What has Syria done to be included in Bush's "axis of evil"? I think it's just that Bush can work out how to spell it. That's why I'm sure Kyrgyzstan is quite safe.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
How often does a person become religious if they had no religious upbringing? This is quite a complex question! There are many factors at play. Here in the UK religion does not have a big role in society, people are not pressured into making decisions about their beliefs. (Interestingly if you ask what religion people are 75% of the UK will say christian, but if you ask 'do you believe in God' only around 25% will respond with a definate yes). In vast...

Answer to:
How many years are in a light year? A light year is defined as the distance that light travels (in a vacuum) in one year (ie 365 days, 5 hours, 18 minutes etc). In a vacuum light travels at ~186,000 miles per second. A light year is a useful unit of distance, and avoids having to use millions and millions of miles/kilometers.

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Could you help me out ? i got an evil number going here. its 666 It's ok, 666 isn't an evil number, the modern bible is a mistranslation, the actual 'number of the beast' is 616. So you are well past the evil point! If that doesn't help just remember that numbers are just numbers, and the evil 666 or the unlucky 13 is just utter crap!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Why does everything in the universe seem to tend towards a spherical shape? Stars (suns), Planets, and moons are round, stars in galaxies cluster and turn in a massive orbit. Everything seems to create a magnetic field. Could any other shape have worked? It's to do with gravity. Small objects like meteors are not very round, whereas as large objects like the ones you mentioned are. Larger, heavier, denser objects exhibit enough gravitational pull to cause the object itself to become round, as everything is being pulled into the centre, and a sphere is the best shape to get everything as close to the middle as possible. Everything that has...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
What would Jesus do? Ah yes... those ever-annoying wrist bands that people seem to think will suddenly convert all around them... Personally, I try not to think "WWJD?", after all should we live our lives making decisions based on what another particular person would do? Yes, in my life I may decide things by wandering what my parents, family, girlfriend, Nelson Mandela etc would do... but at the end...

Answer to:
Is Buddhism a philosophy or religon Maybe you are asking the wrong question- If a philosophy turns into a religion, but nobody is around to hear the announcement, did the announcement ever happen? And so is the religion still a philosophy? But what is the sound of one man making an announcement anyway? Hmm... I had better meditate over this...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If "Homophobia" is the word used to describe an irrational fear or hatred of homosexuals, then what word would you use to describe an irrational fear of men? There are two ways to pronounce "homo". Firstly is with a long 'o' (like in home) and the other with the short (like in hot). One way is Greek and the other Latin, but I forget which way around. The long sound means man (Homo Sapien), but most people say homophobia with long sound which is actually incorrect as the speaker is refering to gay/lesbian. It should have the...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
I see homeless people with dogs all the time, the dogs never look healthy, why would they get an animal when they cant afford to take care of themselves? It's due to how the benefits system works (here in the UK anyway). Homeless people are caught in a catch 22 situation, they can't recieve benefits because you have to have a permanent address to get them, and they can't get a home until they recieve benefits to help pay rent etc. However, if your income is low you can get a weekly grant of ~£10 to help pay to maintain...

| 7 people like this

Answer to:
Is there anything that would ever make you renounce your faith? What if you saw something that proved another deity? Would you renounce your faith to save yours or someone else's life, or to save yourself or someone you loved from torture? Well I would renounce my lack-of-faith and start beliving in a deity if I saw evidence that proved one, it would be stupid not to! I don't know if I could convince myself there was a God in the other circumstances you mentioned as there would be no extra evidence; but if the stakes were high I would of course lie about my beliefs to save a loved one. The existance/non-existance of...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What do you think of the new look of answerbag? Seems very slick now, I'n sure it will be ok onec I get used to it. Only major flaw is that it looks a bit dull now, what happend to all the colour? It's mostly just plain white now, simple folk like me need colour to feel warm and fuzy!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is it possible for a person who's nothing but a figment of your imagination, to be smarter than you? In theory they can't know anything that you don't know. However, it is not always what you know that counts, but what you have the capacity to learn/guess. For example, an imaginary friend could not know the exact population of the world if you don't; however, that does not stop your imagination being able to have a good guess at it and appear to have known the fact all along....

Answer to:
I am a young girl. I'm confused wether to wait till i'm married or have sex with a boyfriend when i get older.I'm worried the man I'm with will not wait for me once i'm older.Plus how will you know how that person is in bed? I don't think anybody 'should' wait until marriage or 'should' have sex before. Some people prefer to wait until marriage and have a healthy relationship, others have a physical relationship well before and also see success. The golden rule is- Do What YOU Feel Comfortable Doing! The decision should be yours alone, but don't feel you even need to make one yet....

Answer to:
What is the meaning of life? Well maybe the answer IS 42, and you are in fact looking for the question? I suggest you enlist the help of some mice and dolphins and search for it! However, I too have (thus far) failed to find the question, so I have come to my own view. There is no meaning to life, as this conveys some kind of pre-determined purpose, which I don't believe there is. But I do believe in aims and...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
If i believe god exists, but i don't like him or trust him, am i still Christian? I can understand your point, even though I am an atheist. However, if I am wrong, and the Christian God does exist then, like you, I see no reason to love/honour/trust Him. What is the basis of your distrust? I ask as I can see two possible reasons, firstly anger that the world can be an unhappy and unfair place, or secondly that the God described in the Bible is a cruel being that gives...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Have you ever written down your entire family tree? Wow! The ENTIRE family tree? That would take a long time! Right- There was Bob the single celled organism, then a lot of my acient family in primordial sludge, a few billion or so anphibians, a few more land mammals, then a whole load of primative primates, then some apes (all called H. Sapien, total lack of imagination there) and there are about 6.5 billion close relatives around today, as...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Do you think Bush can read? I don't think he likes to talkerise about it too much, in case he gets confusimacated.

| 7 people like this

Answer to:
Do you agree in the idea of identity cards in the uk? I'm not against the concept, as little new information would go on them, it would just all be in one place. However, this frightens me a little. If somebody has a fake passport somebody can say they'd like to see their drivers lisence etc, but an ID card would be an infalible document. So if anyone faked an ID card (which some would) there is no 'higher power' document...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What is the most common name in the world? I belive the most common first name is Muhammad, and the most common last name Chang. But I don't think there are many people called Muhammad Chang out there!

| 8 people like this

Answer to:
Have any large / giant human skeletons / bones been found? Some large humaniod bones have been found, but a whole skeleton is just too much to realistically hope for. Many archeologist probably go to sleep dreaming of finding a whole skeleton! The bones found are obviously not H. sapien, but previous relatives of modern day humans. Gigantopithecus blacki is prehaps the largest primate to have ever lived, at around 3 metres. The height was calculated...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
To what genus does the frog Crinia signifera belong? For any binary name (like the one you have quoted) the genus is the first word, so Crinia, and the species the second word. That means any organism in the world can be identified using these two words, or if its a new species classified using this. It is often written as C. signifera (which should be in italics, but I can't do that).

Answer to:
What are the signs that one is getting "too old"? 1.When you can't stand up or sit down without groaning. 2. You have little idea what modern acronysms are like DVDVDVD....? HDTVhdmi? For example, my phone has some kind of Wiffy-Blue-tooth-connector thing. 3. You complain about how bad kids are. 4. Believing that everybody is stupid (where are all the competant people these days?) and uncultered (like nobody gets your parady of...

Answer to:
If you could only read one book for the rest of your life what would it be? "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" - A Trilogy of 5 Books, by Douglas Noel Adams. Pure Genius.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If you could improve anything on the human body, what would that be? Having studied biology to a reasonable level I have to say I would change quite a lot. For example, the nerve endings in the eye stick out into the eye ball itself, requiring the need for a blind spot for them all to feed into and they absorb many light photons. The immune system is effective, but could be a lot better. It takes many stages to counter pathogens, and with a little adjustment...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Define the Universe and give 2 examples. A slightly unusual question.. but here goes: 1) Science- simply all matter and energy in all possible forms. There are probably parallel universes too, and that definition would hold. If I could summerise the universe in one word I would say HUGE. It is incomprehensively massive, I found a video online that shows how big stars can be, I suggest you watch it (it's only 90 secs), and then...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Who is the real father of your country (whatever country you are from) Some stone age human who first ventured over the English Channel (if indeed there was one, maybe England was linked to France directly at that time). The name England comes from the Angles, a tribe originating from Scandinavia and around the Baltic. They moved to became called Angle-Land, which has evolved into England.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Do animals think? Seeing as humans are animals then yes! Ok seriously, that depends on the animal in question. For example, there is little doubt that developed life forms have thoughts, however, they don't have a language. Many people presume that thoughts require words, however, when you really think (ha ha) about it a lot of your thoughts don't require the use of words, I'm sure it's...

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
Do you think Hitler was a good leader? Not for what he did but for the fact that he was able to get millions to follow him. Without doubt Hitler was a truely 'great' leader. However, this does not stop him being a terrible human being. Having studied Hitler in GCSE and A-level history, I have to say that he really knew what he was doing. He only made one major mistake in trying to gain power (The Munich Pustch), but even managed to turn that around. The methods he used were carefully considered,...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Is school too hard for kids nowadays? I'm currently in my first year at university, and I can tell you I wish school had been harder so I was more prepared for this! Some of the university lecturers have been giving the same courses for years and they assume that we have the same scientific knowledge (I'm a chemist) today as students did when they first gave the lectures. Believe me we don't! The mathematical...

Answer to:
Is the evolution of conscousness an imperative needed to satisfy observer phenomena? Consciousness is not fully understood, so there are many ideas. What most scientists agree on is that consciousness is a physical property, ie it is not part of a 'soul'. Memories etc exist as molecules like proteins, but current predictions place consciousness as an electromagnetic force- ie electrical impulses. One interesting theory is based around simulation. Your brain is...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Are you paid according to what you do, or what you know? (If you're in the workforce) I'm not in the workforce, hence I have to pay according to what I don't know. I'm an impoverished student!

Answer to:
Did you see who did it? Why yes, it was Rev. Green in the kitchen with the candle stick.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If you were offered the job of president of the USA would you take it? If so, why? If not, why not? I guess I can't because I'm British, but I would take it if I could. I'd try and turn America into a force for peace, not agression like a certain Mr. Bush seems to be doing! If I was president I would: 1) Stop invading the Middle East, or anywhere else for that matter. 2) Go to the UN and appologise for George Bush's actions and beg for peace keepers to be sent to...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Are you the problem or the solution? I'm not part of the solution, I'm part of the precipitate! (Sorry, sad science joke!)

Answer to:
Do you work for the FBI, CIA, NSA, or any other secrect service agencies? I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. That's just the way it is I'm afraid.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Do do you rely on your instincts alot? All the time, if I can't remember an answer to a question I usually write down my first thought. I often just instictively know when somebody is lying. Instincts are also great in public speaking if you're not using a script, just let the words flow!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What is funnier, seeing a tiny persin geting out of a huge automobile, or a huge person getting out of a tiny automobile? Probably a huge person with a tiny car. Like the clowns do!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What is your favorite gangster movie? The Godfather Trilogy. I am the puppet behind you all! *evil grin*

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Do you belive Hitler commited suicide or is he still alive? I think the evidence is very strong for his suicide. Even if he didn't he would probably be dead by now! There was a plan to relocate Nazism in Argentina, a few Nazis were tracked to the Rainforests of South America, but I doubt Hitler himself was amoung them.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
How mny kinds of energy are there? There is only one "type" of energy, but it exists in many different forms. Kinetic- movement Potential- The potential to do work, can be gravitational, chemical, electronic etc Heat and light are obvious. These are just the most common forms, there are other more abstract forms like dark energy, but that is getting into advanced science.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If we are evolved from apes, what do you think humans will look like in a few thousand years? How will we adapt to our enviornment? Well, firstly a few thousand years is not very long in evolutionary terms. Secondly, we did NOT evolve FROM apes, we ARE apes and all apes share a common ancestor, probably a more primative primate. Evolution only occurs if there is a selection pressure, to put it simply, a desperate need to evolve (say putting short haired animals in the arctic). Currently, there is not a great deal of...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What number describes you? and yes I said NUMBER! e^( 2'pi'i ) (Read as " e to the two pi I ") I often over complicate things and fail to see the simplicity!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What are memories made of? Well... proteins, electrical impulses, chemical gradients, neurones etc. To be precise!!!

Answer to:
Why is drinking red wine suppose to be healthy for you? And how much should you drink? A glass or two with a meal is good for you, but you shouldn't drink every day of the week, or you can develop a mild dependence. Each small glass is approx. 1.6 units (that's UK units), and an average man should have no more than 21 units per week, a woman 14. Red wine contains many antioxidents. These react with radicals (a by product of respiration) and elmininate them, radicals...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Have you signed a petition in the last year? Relating to what? I signed a petition to stop faith schooling and promote teaching of ALL religions & atheism in schools (here in the UK).

Answer to:
What is the formula for the hypotenuse of a right triangle? Pythagorus' theorum. The general formula for a right angled triangle (and ONLY a right angled triangle!) is this: "The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the two remaining sides." For example a triangle with sides 3 and 4, hyoptenuse?: 3^2 + 4^2 = 25 sq.root 25 = 5 Hence the length of the hypotenuse is 5.

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What would you die for? The usual things like my girlfriend of my family. I guess most people would do that. If it came down to it I would risk it all to protect my religious beliefs if they were in dire straits, which may surprise people as I'm an atheist.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Since light can act as a particle, does that mean it has mass? This is a very difficult question. We imagine light as a wave when it suits us, a particle at others. In reality it is a mixture of the two that we can't comprehend. If you take a motionless photon of light it would have no mass, but a photon can't actually stop. On the other hand, photons have momentum, which is a property associated with mass and velocity. To get around this...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What do u think about the astronaut lady who wore a diaper across the country? It's interesting that you home in on the...er... underwear, rather than the possibility of severe jealousy, kidnap and attempted murder. But I guess the idea of a giant space nappy is quite funny!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Why don't planes fly directly over the Atlantic? This is a rather interesting idea. If I ask you what is the shortest distance to get from the top of a building to the bottom, you would say a straight line down. This is true as you are working vertically. However, if I ask you what's the shortest distance from one corner of your desk to the other (a horizontal object I hope!) you'd be tempted to say a straight line again. In fact it...

Answer to:
Do you believe that humans can be considered animals? Yes absolutly. We are: Animal, Chordata, Mammalia, Hominidae, Primate, Homo, H. Sapien. There is simply no arguement! Every living thing (at least the ones we know of) can be classified as Animal, Plant, Fungus, Protocista or Prokaryotae (although a sixth possible kingdom is being debated). Humans are most definatly in the animal kingdom.

Answer to:
If you don't believe in a creator or spiritual part of our nature, how do you explain our common urge to do the right thing, even at our own peril (against what evolution would suggest we do)? This is a very complex question, running deep into evolution and genetics. The best book that I can think of is Richard Dawkins- The Selfish Gene, it explains EXACTLY your question. Briefly, we are all 99.99% the same genetically. That means that if one of us dies the number of human genes in the world decreases. If we look after each other, to a point, we can maximise the number of human...

| 12 people like this

Answer to:
Why is water transparent? The question should not be why is water transparent, but why aren't some other liquids/solutions? Water is transparent simply because it does not absorb light in the visible spectrum, and all frequencies of coloured light are transmitted through. Other solutions abosrb light in the visible range, for example a solution that aborbs red and green light will appear blue, as that's...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
How did the medical emblem of two snakes intertwined around a dagger originate? It is called the Caduceus. There are many theories, the symbol was originally a Greek symbol of commerce (of all things!) and associated with the Greek God Hermes. In the seventh century, it was first linked to medicine as people used Hermetic astrological ideas based on planets. As you can see Hermetic comes directly from Hermes mentioned above. Another idea is less pleasant, the...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Do you celebrate christmas as the birth of jesus or do you (like me) celebrate christmas because of the love and the presents? For me Christmas is a time to have presents, good food, see friends/family, relax and have a week off until New Year and the start of work again. Christmas seems like a time for everybody to be nice to each other (they can't seem to do it all through the year). The history of christmas shows this, late december is important in many cultures. Christmas started as a pagan festival to...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
For those kids who have always been the smart one, what do you think of your "average" minded friends? At school there I always had a mixture of friends- a few as intelligent as me, others less, it didn't really make a huge difference to how I viewed them. To be perfectly honest, I was one of the smart ones. But it was often lonely, being the only one interested in certain things like politics, philosophy, science etc. I used to relish the rare occasions that I sat down with somebody and...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Are you atheist? (Don't preach) I'm proud to say I am. "PREACH!" (Sorry, couldn't resist)

| 19 people like this

Answer to:
What is the lowest natural temperature ever recorded on earth? The lowest natural temperature was around -90 oC. However, scientists have recorded temperatures of around -273 oC in the lab, which is but a fraction of a degree from absolute zero.

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Ive heard a rumor that girls can only get pregnant 2 days between their periods,e.g period 1st jan second period on 1st feb two days between those periods can get pregnant??true or not true? This is absolutly incorrect. I'm putting it bluntly so nobody tries to work their contraception (or lack of) around this. It is possible for women to get pregnant if she has sex at any time. There are times when it is much less likely (ie just before the period), but there is always a chance. Sperm can survive up to a week inside a woman, and ovulation doesn't always occur on the...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Have you ever put false and/or misleading information on your census form? I put Consumerism under Religion on mine. In the UK there is always a question on "How do you travel to work". My old history teacher was always tempted to tick the helicopter box, and she promised us she would when she is too old to be sent to prison (ie it's not worth prosecuting her). So I'll let you know if she ever does!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What is your favorite motivational quote? "Hey don't worry, what's the worst that can happen? You fall down and die. Ok, off you go." My Dad talking to me when I first abseiled. Surprisingly it actually worked...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If you look directly behind you now, what do you see? A large poster of the Periodic Table and a print out of the greek alphabet. But I'm not quite as sad as you think (cough cough), I'm at university studying chemisty. I guess it's still quite sad, I bet nobody on here will talk to me now! Sniff sniff...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Do you think ANSWERBAG should have a spelling check botton? why? It would be nice, good spelling and grammar is nice. I often have to check, my spelling is not great. People might even spell button correctly! I hope that was a joke on your part!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If you feel that Christians are wrong for trying to convert athiests, why? It's all down to how they do it. If it's simply asking questions and polite debating in the hope that they will "see the light" then that's ok. It's the ones who stand on the street shouting out about how much we need God to "save" us because we are "all evil" that are wrong. It works both ways though, I try to be polite but firm when...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
For the atheists: A large star positioned perfectly to give our planet warmth and light,the pleasure of food, music,sports,love,hate,forgiveness,friends,family,a baby's smile,water to drink, bathe, swim in. "All one big accident"? For the religious: A planet bathed in radiation from the sun and only a pathetic layer of ozone stops us all dying, but still lets enough through to cause cancer, large areas experincing weather too hot or too cold for humans to bear, storms that flaten our towns and cities, diseaes like aids spreading accross the world faster than we can cope with, starvation and poverty for most of the...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is it true that the word "Rythm" is the only word in the english language that has no vowels? No, there are plenty: Sky, hym, why, myth, fly, spy, syzygy (yes that is a real word!), There are quite a few, as I don't count 'y' as a vowel like some people do.

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What is the ultamate question? When will people learn how to spell?! That might be the ULTIMATE question! Or failing that, how is it that everytime you pull a tissue out the box, no matter how fast or slow, the next one is always there waiting?

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Can a condom really protect you from getting HIV? Yes, but not totally. The only way not to get aids is not to have sex or exchange body fluids with anyone. However, condoms are very good at offering protection, around 98% of the time if used correctly. It's quite alamring how many people believe that the HIV virus is smaller than the fibres in a condom. It's simply not true. Here is a simplified example: If you fill a condom...

Answer to:
What makes us burn/tan? And why don't I ever see people with dark skin (African American’s, middle-eastern-American, etc...) or people of Asian decent with sun burns? (Not meant to be racist at all, just a curious sheltered white girl) We burn/tan due to a reaction in the skin. Sunlight partly contains Ultraviolet light, which can cause DNA damage, which can lead to cancer. In intense light the body protects itself by moving 'pockets' of melanin around the nucleus of cells, which is where the DNA is. Melanin is a dark pigment which absorbs the UV light, so protecting the DNA. This is why people tan. However, the...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
If Jesus was born today, would He be accepted by society as a Savior? Interesting question. I think people would be more skeptical, for three main reasons: 1) We have a much better understanding of life, the universe and everything. 2) We also live in a less religious world, in that there are over a billion non-religious people about. 3) I think people would need a lot of convincing of why they needed to be "saved" and what from. Myself...

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
What is the difference between an agnostic and an atheist? Agnostism can be split into two (main) forms: i) Those who are unsure as to whether God, Gods, supernatural powers, etc exist or not. ii) Those who say that we will never know if there is the above mentioned or not as it can't be tested. Atheism has one main form: i) Those who don't believe in God/supernatural powers However, as atheists are united by not beliveing in...

| 13 people like this

Answer to:
How is our lives going to change over the next 10 years? Our grammar will continue to slip further from our grasp! (How ARE our lives going to change!)

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Why are there question posted on AB without the name of the poster? Originally, questions were asked without the author being displayed, obviously this has now changed. However, it would be unfair to post the names of people retrospectively in case they asked embarassing questions! If you check the dates all the anonymous questions are quite old.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What do you believe, but cannot prove? To be absolutly accurate nothing I believe can ever be proven, with the one exception that I am thinking. ("I think therefore I am"- Descartes) Less pedanticly; opinions, like green is a good colour, or brussel sprouts are actually quite nice can't be proven. Ideas, philosophies, theories can't be proven, like evolution, the lack of a God, Heisenberg uncertainty...

Answer to:
What will your famous last words be? Ahh... so that's why you have to keep your arms and feet inside the carriage at all times!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How do you chop onions without tears? Run it under cold water (after removing the skin). This helps dissolve some of the sulphurous gases.

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What is there beyond the universe? A big sign saying "Insert tab A into slot B, glue carefully and leave to dry"

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
What are the chances of getting pregnant on one night That depends on the circumstances. Contraception used (if any), stage of female menstral cycle, position, even time of day can change the chances. Generally the chances of getting pregnant are still significant if intercourse is performed "one night". If in doubt take a test, see a doctor or go to a clinic.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What would you do if someone right now slapped you in the face with a fish? I'd get an even bigger fish and slap them with it so that they fell into a canal. (See Monty Python!)

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Can you survive a fall from normal skydive height without a parachute? Due to terminal velocity (ie the maximum speed a human being can reach when falling to the earth) if you can drop from 1000 feet then any higher makes no difference. As long as something can break the fall it has been known for people to survive, however it is very unlikely!

| 9 people like this

Answer to:
Does God hate some people and who? Any idea? According to the bible, he "loves" us "all" whilst we are here, it's only after we die that judgement comes. For the following groups if we don't appologise it's too late I'm afraid: People of other religious Non-religious (that's me gone then) Homosexuals Disabled people People who have pre-marital sex People who masterbate People who eat...

Answer to:
Would your friends say you are arrogant? "Bah! My friends know nothing! I KNOW I'm not arrogant! I'm much to good for that!"

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Why do they say Catholicism is the one true church? Well if they didn't they'd have a bit of a problem! Imagine a sign outside a catholic church- "Come worship here, we're not actually the one true church, but we're close to where you live so why not give it a go?" It's a form of religious evolution (don't get to say that very often), the churches/religious groups that proclaim themselves as...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
What gets you "in the mood?" Glenn Miller...!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with it Lol! So true! However, more worringly did you know that if all the money spent on pet food in Europe alone was saved, we could educate every child in the world, to the standard of reading, writing, maths etc?

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What do you think of Bible Criticism? Should man be allowed to criticize the Bible? I think criticism is healthy, not just of the bible but in general. People should be free to criticise anything they want, so long as they do so in a polite and mature manner. With regards to your example, I should be able to say the bible is not the word of God, but it shouldn't be acceptable for me to shout it from the local park and call all christains evil or something silly...

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
Wish they brought Futurama back? YES!!! I love Futurama! Anyone who trys to stop it can BITE MY SHINY METAL ASS!

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Would it be possible for a woman to get pregnant a day or 2 after her last period day? It is possible to get pregnant at any point. The menstral cycle isn't exactly clockwork and sperm can survive for up to a week inside a woman. Although just after a period is an unlikely time to get pregnant (woman are most fertile at ovulation) it cannot to totaly rulled out.

Answer to:
Why do people fear death, when at one point we were not alive before conception and birth? To quote the great Mark Twian: "I've been dead for hundreds of millions of years, and it didn't cause me the slightest inconvenience." Evolution makes us fear death, that is the logical thing to do. It encourages survival. But its nice to think like Twain sometimes!

Answer to:
What is your philosophy of life? "Life is but a brief interlude between nothingness and eternity" - (I forget who said this, sorry!) I live my life for now, like it's the only one I'm going to get; I don't believe in an afterlife or anything like that. I'm actually quite happy with that, I want to get a job that pays ok, have a family, retire and die peacefully. Rather simple really, I...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Do you drink to enjoy the taste or in order to get drunk? Ususally the taste. I live in a town with it's own brewery, it makes FANTASTIC bitter! I went to university 3 months ago, and I've been trying to track down a pub that serves it, I'm that sad! Appart from the odd pint of bitter or cider, I share a bottle of red wine with my girlfriend at the weekend. I don't often get drunk and most days go by without any alcohol at...

Answer to:
If one song were to describe your life, what song would it be? Momma_Bear's answer reminded me of another Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song: "I won't back down"

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Does a HP deskjet 612C come with a power cord? All HP printers should come with a power cord. However, recently you have had to buy the USB connection lead for the computer seperatly. I couldn't believe it when I got mine, they don't come with the lead to connect them to the PC!

Answer to:
Do you eat because you're truly hungry or because you THINK you are hungry, or do you just follow the clock? I always look at the clock think "Hmm... lunch time" and feel hungry. If I see other people eating I ususally get hungry too, no matter what time!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Atheists: How many times have you been asked, "What if you're wrong? Have you ever thought about that?" Do you get tired of it? Well if somebody says it I alsways say "What if your wrong about Islam? Or Zeus? Or any other religion?" (Unless they are Muslim of course, where I say christian!) To quote Richard Dawkins- We are all atheist to thousands of Gods, some of us just go one God further.

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What would you choose to be your last meal? I'd have to choose something organic, "healthy living", low fat etc just for the irony. Maybe a nice green salad with a low fat dressing.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If you were given the death sentence, how would you like to die? (any style) Something dramatic, you know, tie-caught-in-the-wood-chipper type thing. I'd have to make the headlines!

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Why don't we refer to modern day relgion as mythology? Because it's exaclty that- Modern. One day we will, either a new religion will come along or atheism will continue to grow until it takes over. Either way Christianity, Islam, Judaism and so on, will one day be referred to as mythology, just like Zeus, Thor... "The religion of one age is the literacy entertainment of the next" -Ralph Waldo Emerson (Down rating here I come!)

| 14 people like this

Answer to:
Where do you stand on Pro-Choice versus Pro-Life? Why? What stage is something considered living? Preparing for a massive down rating... ready: I am Pro-Choice. I believe that there are some situations where abortion is certainly the right thing. If a foetus is severly deformed/ill/underdeveloped to the extent that it would die quite painfully and quite quickly if it were born. Another situation is where there is undue risk to the mother's life. In circumstances where the...

| 11 people like this

Answer to:
Are you a Christian? Baptised Roman Catholic, raised by atheist/agnostic parents who didn't talk about religion at all (thus giving me a free choice), grew up agnostic (as I think all young children are at heart), discovered science as an explnation for everything around 12 years old, been a full fleged atheist ever since (well the past seven years as I'm only 19).

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What's your IQ and do you care? My IQ score is high enough so that I know what it means. But low enough for me to want to do better. It's high enough for me to realise that IQ tests are not a particually effective measure of intelligence. But low enough for me to miss that the previous statement is in fact a paradox.

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Do insects, spiders and flies, and such, the sort that invade our homes, feel pain when we swat them or spray them? The answer is almost certainly no. Insects, arachnids, and other less developed forms of life lack conciousness and so feel no pain, nor do they have emotions or concious thought. (Slightly more developed animals like fish or small mammals have limited fellings and conciousness, no not in the same way we do, well most of us anyway!)

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Jesus or Santa? Well if I'm allowed to call him Father Christmas like all good Englishman should, then I'll go with him!

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What is bagicide? Killing a badger. Then killing a 'd' to cover up what you did. Well, well, well, down rated eh? Sense of humour failure!

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
How long do you think it will be before Answerbag sells out and puts advertising to the left and right of the questions? I see they are now putting ads between answers, so not long!

Answer to:
Who was the greatest person of all time? Somebody that nobody knows about- bare with me... I have always liked those people who do something amazing, and never take any credit for it. You hear of people who rush strangers to hospital and don't ask for any credit, or people who give there life for somebody they never met before, anonymous donations of millions to charities. In England, a couple of years ago a gentleman was...

| 7 people like this

Answer to:
What is the purpose of trees shedding their leaves every year? During the winter light levels are much lower. There are two options available to plants. Some, like confiers, retain there leaves, but they are small and require little resources to develop. However, many trees lose their leaves as there is insufficient light to make photosynthesising worth while, as more energy would be required to grow and maintain leaves than what the tree gets back from...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Plants that are naturally found in deserts such as cacti, generally have fewer stomata then plants found in other habitats. Why is this? What effect would you expect this have on the maximum rate of photosynthesis and why? Interestingly water level is not considered a limiting factor in photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide, light and temperature as the factors viewed as 'limiting'. This is because by the time water levels became too low for the plant to photosynthesise it would already be dying anyway, due to wilting, poor transpiration and mineral transportation as well as very inefficient capillary action....

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
In your opinion, which is better, Red or Blue? Interesting... Red is the colour of love, but also blood and pain. In the UK red is the colour of the Labour Party, but in America its the Republicans. Red means danger, but also wealth (as well as purple). Blue is the colour of the sea and the sky. But it's also cold and frigid. It means Conservative in the UK, Democrats in the US. So it's not just what they look like, but...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
In what way(s) are you trying to be part of the solution? By avoiding being part of the precipitate.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If a schizophrenic threatens suicide, is it declared a hostage situation? Interesting, if they disagree with each other then yes. If they agree it must be assissted suicide!

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
How many squares are in a chessboard? 64 squares, an 8 by 8 grid. You can also make: 49 2x2 squares 36 3x3 25 4x4 16 5x5 9 6x6 4 7x7 Add the 1 8x8 So in total: 204 You don't need to count them all, each value is just a progression of square numbers.

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
As a result of richard hammond trying to break the fastest land speed record - in a way hasn't he achieved a world record for the fastest land speed crash and survivng of all time, yet no one realised this ! ! ? ? Excellent point! You're probably right! I'll phone The Guiness Book of Records.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What makes you treat other people the way you do? Are you too nice, or not nice enough? No right/wrong answers here. I'm just interested in what/how you think. This is a difficult question to answer, I can explain what makes me decide how to treat other people, but then I have to ask myself- how do I decide to base my decisions on these factors? Tricky, but here goes... When I first meet somebody I know nothing about I suppose I treat them how most people do- politely and a little nervously. I'd say that those people I become friends with I...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
I'm starting a new planet and need some help with the rules. Any suggestions? No people with afros in the cinemas. P.S. I wish I had my own planet, where do you apply?

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Do you think it's bad that i'm only 13 with all of my family being basically full on Catholic and I'm atheist?I always hate it whenever I see people mentioning Christ and my view on him is that he was one of the very first DOCTORS. No, not at all. I'm an atheist, but most people I know are (I live in England, athesim is very strong, probably over 50%). However, even I encouter those who flaunt their religion. My 'policy' is simple- if they keep quiet I keep quiet, but if they challenge me, act prejudiciously, or try to convert me I unleash arguements and engage them in debate. I think I've...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
I'm a very skilled hacker and HTML artist.I have made over 13 websites of only 6 I am proud of.I found a way to automatically make my badge number go up,I haven't used it yet but would you hate me if I did? Well even if we did I'm sure you could find a way to hide it, delete comments etc. Just ask, do you want to be viewed as an asset to Answerbag, or looked down at as a 'cheater'?

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Do you beleive in the christan beleif No, I'm an atheist. However, I do believe in good spelling.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What is the most blatant stupid thing that you have ever done? I picked up a thermometer that read 220 oC. Then I put ice on the burn, (which you should never do- seriously, only EVER cold running water, NOTHING else) and the blister was about 4cm long and 2cm high. Very stupid!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What is the greatest question in life? How is that that no matter what you do, when you pull a tissue out of the box the next one is always there waiting? Seriously, you can to it really slow or fast- still there. Trample the box with an elephant, pull a tissue out- the next one is still there ready and waiting! Hmm.. I've been rated down. Sense of humour failure!

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Does man have a Free Will? I don't believe we do, it is a very difficult question to answer, but I'll try my best... The body is matter (no suprises there I hope), but so is the mind. I simply cannot believe that there is a 'soul' or part of the mind that 'doesn't-exist-but-does'. Through research we have isolated genes and chemicals responsible for all kinds of emotions and...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
If you were the last person left on Earth, what would you do? I'd have to keep an eye on those sneaky apes, wouldn't want "Planet of the Apes" to come true. Then I'd make a HUGE sign saying: "Welcome to Earth - Population, Me"

| 52 people like this

Answer to:
What song would you want played at your funeral? I could say good old Frank's "I did it my way" but that is one of the most popular songs (at least here in the UK). I would want a secular funeral (no churches or grave yards for me!), so maybe for irony "Highway to Hell", or "Sympathy for the Devil". That would raise some eyebrows!

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
Is anybody else on Answerbag not an American? English! Rule Britannia!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is it true that being an atheist relies on the assumption that there is a God? Maybe the best thing to do is to answer by counter-example: Is it true that not believing in unicorns relies on the assumption that there are unicorns? Please feel freee to swap 'unicorns' as you wish. Any suggestions?

| 14 people like this

Answer to:
Was the Bolshevik seizure of power inevitable? I believe it is fair to say that the fall of the Tsarist regime was inevitable, but not the rise of Bolshevism. Tsarism was an anomaly in the 20th century, a feudal system that fell in Britain in 1381, France in 1789 etc. Combined with the vastly incompetant Tsar Nicholas (who lead his country to dissaster in world war 1, insisted he was divinely appointed and kept a dubious relationship...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Why are we alive? Are we in a dream of some other life form on some other planet? This seems to be two distinct questions here, the first "why are we alive?" is dealt with in the science section: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/56556 However, I think you really want an answer to your second question, which I would describe as "How do we know we are real?" Of course we can never 'know' if we are 'real' or not (of course that...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Whose the better Jedi: Mace Windu or Yoda? Yoda the answer is.

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What is your favorite line in a movie? I'm gunna make him an offer he can't refuse

| 16 people like this

Answer to:
Do you believe in reincarnation? In a non-religious way yes. I believe that the atoms in my body were once part of stars (that is how heavy elements like carbon are made). I also believe that when I die my body will break down, and the proteins, sugars, fat (hopefully not too much of that!) and individual atoms will move on to other forms. Some may sit in soil, others in bacteria, maybe a few in the bodies of animals, some...

| 9 people like this

Answer to:
Is gravity the strongest force in the universe? No! Not at all! Gravity is an exceptionally weak force! Think about it, it takes something with the mass of the earth just to hold us weak little humans to it. Even then we can just jump up! As an example, the force that of attraction between an electron (1s electron to be specific) and a proton is around 10^40 times stronger than gravity. It's just we don't knowingly...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
What other things besides light have properties of both a particle and a wave? I had a lectur this morning about how electrons behave in this way, its known as wave-particle duality. I believe this is also true for protons, neutrons, qwarks and other subatomic particles.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Why have we not been able to achieve absolute zero? If you want to cool something down, say a cup of hot water, you put it near something that is cooler, a bigger cup of cold water. So in order to cool something to absolute zero we need something that is colder than absolute zero. Now call me Mr. Boring if you like, but I'm not entirely sure that's possible. I checked with my tutor, and we seem to be within a few hundreths of a...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
When water turns to ice. why does it expand? when most other liquids compress as they cool. Water has a feature called "hydrogen bonding" this is where an oxygen forms a weak 'bond' with two hydrogens from other water molecules. this forms a regular pattern, a lattice. In a liquid the water molecules have too much energy for any significant hydrogen bonding as they quickly break. the water molecules are packed quite closely together. In ice the water has less...

| 8 people like this

Answer to:
If you were to drill a hole all the way through the earth, and drop something through it, (Discounting the molten core.) what would happen? It would fall down towards the centre of the earth. It would pass by the centre (due to its large velocity) then would start to slow down. It would slow down to a stop, go back towards the centre and go past again, but a little less than before. This would continue until the object finally came to rest after many passes past the centre, each one slightly less than the last, hovering where the...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
When is death certain, biologically speaking? The biological definition of death is when the heart ceases to function. Many people think that brain activity defines life, as they believe the brain controls heart beat. This is only partly true, the brain can adjust your normal heart rate from resting rate of around 60-90 bpm for a normal adult, but it doesn't make the heart beat in the first place. The heart is myogenic (it can beat...

Answer to:
4 reasons for u.s. involvement in ww1 1. Sinking of the hospital ship "Lucitania" by German U-boat. 2. US had a lot of close politcal and economic ties with UK, needed to been seen to be supportive 3. It was very difficult for the US to remain neutral as the population was divided in their opinion, though many disliked the idea of dictatorships winning the war in Europe. 4. The Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted...

Answer to:
What do magnesium carbonate and hydrochloric acid make when put together? You form magnesium chloride, carbon dioxide, and water. Namely: MgCO3 + 2HCl -> MgCl2 + CO2 + H2O (Excuse the lack of subscripting in the formular, I couldn't work out how to do it!)

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
How well do meteorologists predict the weather compared to 20 years ago? 40 years ago? In the UK the improvement has been incredible. The 5 day forcast now is better than the 1 day forcast 20 years ago. And 40 years ago you might as well have picked the forcast out of a hat!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Hello.. i was just asking my boyfriend and i have had sex and used a condom is there any possibility of getting pregnant? as i am afraid to use birth controll pills and afraid of getting pregnant what should i do? There is a small chance, condoms are around 98% effective, if used correctly (so don't lose too much sleep over it). The other main benefit of one is prventing most (but not all) STIs. However, other forms of contraception have an even higher success rate. The pill is up to 99.5% effective. I can understand your concern with birth control pills, there is no physcial barrier present...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is this all there is? Is there nothing more? Now there is this. This has always been here, but it was in my head until now. Nobody knew about it, not even I, until the subconscious thought presented itself. There is only what has always been here, since the beginning, but it seems much of it, like this thought, has been hidden away until now. But there must be an infinite number of things still hidden, in time, space, minds... many...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Elimination method and substitution method... x-3y=7 and 2x-6y=21? Elimination method would lead to x and y on both equations being the same. Therefore you can only eliminate both, not just one of them: x-3y=7 => 2x-6y=14 2x-6y=21 - 2x-6y=14 0x-0y=7 0=7 Clearly this doesn't work. Substitution leads to the same answer: x-3y=7 => x=7+3y 2(7+3y)-6y=21 14+6y-6y=21 14=21 0=7 Again this doesn't work. There are no...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What happens if you go even a tiny bit faster than the speed of light? Some told me that you might go into a different dimension. According to the laws of physics - you can't. Only something without any mass can travel at the speed of light, as you have a mass (no offense!) you can't go that fast. Hypothetically, if you did go faster than light you may go back in time! This is what a previous theory in physics said, before it was replaced. To explain using a simple method: 1. A clock strikes 12 noon,...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Why do we put salt on icy sidewalks in the winter? Salt lowers the freezing point of water (I believe by around 5 oC). The salt splits into ions in the water (Na+ and Cl-) which distrupt the arrangement of water molecules. Therefore, the water freezes at -5 oC instead of at 0 oC, so melting the ice if the temperature is above this. Glenn: I believe you are right! I should have written a more detailed answer; so to clarify, I believe the...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What are some good and/or funny quotes? Grafitti on a city wall- "Physchic wanted- You know where to apply"

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Why is 1+1=2? 1+1=2 cannot be proven as it is an axiom (it is because it is). It is a completely man made law that every other mathematical function is based on, hence somebody decided many thousands of years ago that one and one is two. This basic statement has been built through a long series of proofs into what we see today; trigonomitry, calculus, algebra, computer programmes etc. For example, if we...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
In history christians put their religious holidays over the pagan ones,why did they do this??was it in fear of what they didnt know? By doing this Christianity introduced itself gradually into Pagan life. Instead of Pagans being presented with "The following days are now holy, you must treat them as such...", which most would have resisted, their celebrations slowly evolved into Christian ones, making the transition easier. The reason Christianity was encouraged by the Roman Empire (which made it main stream)...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
In the past thousand years, how many times has a Muslim nation attacked a Christian nation? And what about Christian nations attacking a Muslim nations? Now, after some research I can list the major conflicts from 1000 CE. Due to the changing of borders accross the centries I am listing the conflicts, but not how many countries were involved as this is impossible to tell. Muslim attack Christian: 1086- Muslims attempt to retake Southern Spain 1453- Ottoman Empire expands into Christian territory. 1500- Muslims take Constantinople 1571-...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
I am so bored...does anyone have anything interesting to tell me? If you are middle aged and in average health you are more likley to die in the next 46 minutes than win the lottery! (Thats a 49 balls choose 6 lottery). Scary?!

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
In the past thousand years, how many times has a Muslim nation attacked a Christian nation? And what about Christian nations attacking a Muslim nations? Well, starting from 1000 CE as requested there have been many attacks. At that time were the crusades, these were stared by Christians to "reclaim the holy land", there were three main ones spread over 100 years. During this the Crusaders attacked, raped, pillaged and murdered anyone in their way, and acted in a much more hideous way than Muslims. Muslims took prisioners,...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Did Jesus literally die on a cross? In a way yes. Traditionally people were executed on a 'T'. After all, function would the extra bit in the top hold? Jesus was crucified on a 'T' with a sign on the top, in the middle. Thus forming a cross. The interesting question really is what happened afterwards? There is some evidence that Romans through the bodies to the ground and left them to the dogs to scavange...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Is Great Britain still called Great Britain? Yes. The official name is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". It is the third longest country name in the world! EDIT: Lady Fuschia, I believe (but not sure) that it's the United Arab Emirates, as their actual name is quite a lot longer than that!

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What's sodium benzoate? Chemically, it's benzene carboxylic acid reacted with a sodium compound to form a carboxylate salt. In terms of its use, it is a preservative in food and drink products.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How do evolutionists say the universe came into being? There is no fixed answer to this question. Being an "evolutionist" (nice word by the way, I like it!) doesn't go with an opinion on the origin of the universe. However, most do follow the "Big Bang" theory. This stipulates that around 15 billion years ago matter (and anti-matter) expanded rapidly from a singularity (an extremely dense area causing a rip in the fabric of...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Are there any safe, proven methods to improve my short-term memory? I think so... hang on a second... I know I wrote it down somewhere... oh here it is... The short term memory centre in the brain actually only stores memories for a few seconds, and many scientists now believe it can only hold seven pieces of information. There is little that can be done to help with this. However, the "long term" memory includes things that happen just minutes...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
How is it safe to watch someone weld on TV? I've known that watching someone weld without eye protection would damage one's eyes. It is perfectly safe to watch on TV. Welding can cause eye damage as it emits outside the visable range as well as the blue/white colour you see. It emits UV light, which damages the eye. However (for obvious reasons!) televisions do not emit UV light. Hence and image of somebody welding leaves out the UV and only the visable light remains.

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
How did the eye evolve? And of what use is a partially evolved eye? What use is half an eye? Simple! It's twice as useful as a quater of an eye. This may seen foolish, but it must be remembered that evolution is very, very slow. If you remove the lens, pupil, iris etc you have half an eye. But it is still useful as it can still detect light. Evolution must be taken in context, today half an eye is inferior, a few billion years ago it was like having...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Which is the world's most common animal? The beetle. There are more insect species in the world than all other animals, plants, fungi and bacteria put together. Over 750,000 insects have been indentified, and just under half are beetles. Furthermore, scientists predict that we aren't even half way to catagorising all the insect species on Earth.

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
I have liked my now boyfriend for a long time, I really love him. How long should we wait for us to have sex? My advice is too wait until you are totally comfortable. There is no need to rush, but on the other hand don't feel pressured into waiting until marriage by religious fanatics. Sex is about (other than reproduction!) showing your love for somebody, and is perfectly natural. Discuss it with him, if you can't talk about then your probably not ready. I guess it is different for everyone. Just be...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Why, given that the biological purpose of the act is solely to reproduce, is it that human beings prefer to have sexual relations with people that they like on a personal level? It is an evolutionary advantage. One modern theory about love (which I will use instead of "like on a personal level") is that it leads to more children being born. If there were no such thing as love each male would want to reproduce with the most attractive females in the "pack" (indicating she had the best genes). However, these few women would only be able to have one...

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
How sucessful are condoms in preventing pregnancies as well as STDs/STIs? They have an excellent record. If used correctly they are around 98.5% effective. It must be remembered that the vast majority of failures are due to user error. Condoms are a must for people who are having "one night stands" etc, as they almost totaly prevent pregnancy and STIs. (And contrary to the views of the Vatican condoms DO prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and can be of HUGE...

Answer to:
Which incident was the main cause for World War 1? Historically, it is seen as the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. He was shot in July 1914 by a Serbian terrorist group "The Black Hand". Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, which prompted Russia to side with Serbia, France sided with Russia, Germany declared war on France, and invaded through Belgium which caused Britain to declare war...

| 7 people like this

Answer to:
How can a single cell organism evolve when they lack the competition and 'fitness' of which Darwin speaks? This is one of the biggest questions in biology. Essentially, how did life first begin. To answer this question is ten times harder tha explaining the whole of evolution! The simple answer is- we don't completely know. But I'll try to explain the ideas we do have... There are three key \"elements\" of life, DNA (or RNA as it was a first), lipids (essentially these are a form of fats) and...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Do jets' condensation clouds increase global reflection? They have quite a profound effect. After 9/11 aircraft were grounded in the US for several days. During this time meterologists recorded a 1 oC change in average air temperature. 1 oC change may not sound a lot, but in terms of climate change it is a major factor. NASA rockets induce local climate changes for days after launch, such is the cloud formed.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What is a good example of a recent biological observation that demonstrated evolution in practice? Very recently, within the last 5 years, Head lice have shown evolutionary development. Two insecticides are commonly used to treat an infestation are Permethrin and Malathion. Orignially these were extremely affective. However, recent studies by the Univeristy of Bristol (UK) have shown that Permethrin now has an 87% failure rate and Malathion 64%. Many head lice have been found to have genes...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Is it plausible that time sometimes does change speeds, but we can't prove it because the clock, our only means for measuring time, also speeds up and slows down? Einstien's Theory of Relativity Applies here. His theory states that people willo disagree on time dependent on their relative speed. For example when a clock is taken in a rocket into space it is a few seconds out, because of the speed it travelled at.

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Is the atheist belief structure based on probabilities or proofs? This varies form person to person. Atheism is closely linked with science, and science does not prove anything, it only disproves. So I doubt many people will say they can "prove" there is no God. Personally, my beliefs are based on a "balance of probability", this means that I accept many of the theories around today about how life first came about and how it evolved,...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
The evidence of the bible is clearly factual and evolution has been clearly disproved, so why don't the evolutionists just accept that there is a God that created this universe and that we will have to answer to Him?(maybe I answered my own question) I hope this question is rejected, it is just a statement of belief with a "?" on the end. But I'll humour you... Hmmm... that's stange! I didn't hear that evolution had been disproved! I guess I must have missed the news that day! I seem to remember there being lots of evidence for it... Rocks found dating back billions of years Fossils of animals long since...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How could it be true that God created the Earth and man if science is discovering the origins of the universe, the days of the dinosaurs and the ice age? As an atheist it seems strange to say this... but these discoveries cannot rule out the idea that God created the Earth. Firstly, religion is a faith position that cannot be proved or disproved. Secondly, as I seem to say in many of my answers- its all about a balance of probability. I believe that the evidence shows that the Earth could have been created simply though chance and...

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
If I am a smoker, have I permanently increased my odds of getting lung cancer? This is difficult to answer. Cancer is casued by mutations in genes. Many of the chemicals in smoking cause genetic mutation, but after you stop smoking the chemical concentration drops and the mutations eventually cease. However, it takes more than one mutation to cause cancer. If, by chance, smoking has caused one of the mutations that is required to cause cancer then the risk of getting it...

Answer to:
What does the 'D' stand for in SunnyD? It stands for "Delight". It was originally marketed as "Sunny Delight", but it has become "SunnyD" as this appeals more to most of the people who drink it.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Why is Germany blamed for World War I even though it didn't start the war but merely joined it through alliances? Although Austria started the war, in response to the actions of the Serbian terrorist group The Black Hand, Germany was largely responsible for the war becoming a global. Germany sided with Austria, due to their alliences. This in turn provoked Russia, who feared a tutonic expansion. Germany had had a plan to invade France (the Schlieffen Plan) for over a decade, and took the hostilities as a...

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
At what temperature does ammonia boil? At what temperature does it freeze? It boils at -33.7°C (239.3K) Freezes at -75°C (198K), where it appears as white crystals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonia#Properties

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
When is the safest time during the month to have unprotected sex? Unless trying to get pregnant, totally unprotected sex is never a good idea, but biologically speaking it can be shown like this: Day 1: Start of period ~Day 5: End of period ~Day 14: Ovulation (fertilisation possible) ~Day 19: Point where egg cannot be fertilised ~Day 28: END After day 19 of this cycle MIGHT be ok. However, a period is NEVER that predictable at ANY age. And remember...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Should I dispose of used water filters, such as Brita, through my city's hazardous waste collection program? If they are the filters used in normal household use then no. They are a very basic mechanism that is no real threat (otherwise they wouldn't be very safe to drink form afterwards!). Anything that is hazardous should clearly state the fact on the packaging, and give suitable instructions of proper disposal. EDIT: They are not designed to trap "nasties", the harmful ingredients...

| 8 people like this

Answer to:
Can fish mate without a male fish? Most cannot. Live bearers (fish which allow their eggs to develop inside) definatly can't. Some female fish can store sperm and use it at a later time, but a male is still needed to start with. (I see this is your first question- So welcome to Answerbag!)

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Can anyone give me one good solid piece of evidence that God exists? No. I can't. Whats more I never will be able to. And conversely I will never be able to do the reverse. Many people will claim that the fact that we are here is proof of God's existance and wonderful, great, lovey-duvey-ness. Others will claim that their new partical-accelerateriser-thingy can prove that God doesn't exist. I'm an atheist, and I will state quite happily...

| 9 people like this

Answer to:
How are hybrid roses created? They interbreed two slightly different Roses by cross pollenating them. A new variety is made that should share some of each of its "parents" characteristics. It doesn't always work- just because a red and a white cross doesn't mean the result will be pink roses. At the moment it's mostly trail and error, but soon we should be able to use genetic modifications...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
When did atheism first become a mainstream belief system? The first people to doubt the existance of any God or creater were back in the time of the Greeks. Some intellelectual philosphers started to see the world could be explained without God. By the time of the Romans a very small number of the public were atheist, Roman grave stones have been found clearly stating that the occupant did not belive in God. However, atheism didn't become common...

| 12 people like this

Answer to:
How does the theory of evolution explain why there are still monkeys around? Firstly humans did not evolve from monkeys, we share a common ancestor. But I will address the question why is this common ancestor still around? Evolution does not follow a line. It branches by a method called "speciation". That is- A group of individuals from a species live in an area A few individuals move to a different area (they may get lost, forced to move by a storm...

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Is the "evolution theory" a scientific fact? As ever, things are not quite as black-and-white as that! Evolution is in the grey area in between! Strictly speaking, nothing presented by science is a "fact"- science cannot prove anything. It is based on a balance of probability gained on the basis of experimentation and observation. We can't even catagorically prove that atoms exist! However, evolution is not just an idea...

| 6 people like this

Answer to:
At the moment of death, is there a detectable loss of mass to the body that is unexplainable in physical terms? No, but the mass of the body does slowly decrease over a period of time. Water is lost, cells break down and release gases, the bacteria in the stomach and other areas die. However, there is no sudden loss of mass as death occurs. (Certainly not due to the soul acending which I guess is what this question is refering to!)

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
Do evolutionist believe that when a woman concieves that the baby is not a baby but a fetus, and that the fetus evolves into a human being? No. Evolution is defind as "a significant cahnge in the frequency of the genotypes in a population over time". Essentially for evolution to occur there must be a change in genes and DNA. Once a egg is fertilised it has the same genes and DNA it will have for the rest of it's life. Just like we do not call pubity the act of a child evolving into an adult, but the development. A...

Answer to:
Dont monkeys know how the earth was made and if we evolved from primates or if the Almighty made them? Firstly, it's a common misconception is that humans evolved from apes, which are quite intelligent animals. The actual case is that apes evolved form a common ancestor, which may not have been a primate at all, or at the most not a very intelligent one. Secondly, knowledge is not passed on through genes. Only instinctive behaviour, which does not include knoweldge of how the earth began....

Answer to:
How is morality related to evolution? The study of other primates has suggested that morals may be linked to evolution. For example, some species of Gorilla find 'adultery' unacceptable. Some tribes of monkey have been known to banish or kill an individual that kills another in the tribe. But whether these morals have developed due to a genetic instinct, and therefore through evolution, or by the primates themselves...

Answer to:
Do humans have more genetic defects than other organisms? Humans are no more or less likely to develop genetic mutations through life compared tp other animals. However, we do have a lot a defective genes. This is partly due to the fact that we have gone through an "evolutionary bottle neck", that is there was a point in human history where our population became low and inbreeding occurred, this can cause inbreeding depression, where many...

Answer to:
Would the colors we see on earth look the same on other planets? We would not see any new colours that we could not see here on earth. Colour is a perception our brains make on certain frequencies of light, and if the frequencey is too low or too high no colour is seen.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Is there any scientific merit to the theory of intelligent design? In the answers to this question much has been made of the probability of the world we see today having come about by simple chance. Many say we are so improbable that something must have caused this outcome. However, there is an anaolgy that can be used to explain how this isn't the case... I have a pack of cards, the probability of naming a card and then me picking that one is 1/52....

| 8 people like this

Answer to:
Do illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup? Maybe they get more of an effect. You see literate people must get tired of reading all day, I know I do. But maybe for illiterate people alphabet soup is a new and exciting adventure! A puzzle that must be solved! Like us having hyrogliphic soup!

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What are Zeno's Paradoxes? There are many examples; however, most depend on the idea that motion and space are impossible... A runner is moving along a line from point A to B. The line can be spilt into an infinite amount of points, so before the ruuner reaches the end, logically, he must pass the middle of the line AB, which we will call the point C. But there are an infinite amount of points between A and C!...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Do we all believe in God, because we are innately weak and need to have a greater being over us? Well... this is going to be a bery controversial answer that I'm sure many people will disagree with. But what the heck... The idea of God and religion started as a belief that there was a purpose to life, but not the specific idea of a God (see the question in this section "Why do we believe in a God or gods?"). This has a clear evolutionary advantage- it stops people giving...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Is there any evidence to prove that the human soul has mass? It depends how exaclty you define the soul. There are molecules in our brain that are responsible for thoughts, memory and emotion for example. Now this cold be interpreted by some to be a person's soul, in which case the mass is simply the mass of the molecules and elecrical impulses involved. However, if you take the soul in a more traditional sense, as a part of a person that exists...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How do thoughts occur in our mind? We are beginning to understand toughts in the brain. Many people believe in an untangable part of a person, or somthing that is not matter, just a presence, a soul if you will. However, recent research is showing that everything has a physical presence. Experitments on mice and flies has shown that by altering their DNA to produce more CREB (a molecule found in the brain) their thought and...

Answer to:
Assuming that I do not have leaky valves on my tires, why do some of my cars tires lose air when left unused in a garage for 3 months? What's happening? It is simply nothing can keep air tight indefinitely. Tiny holes in the tyre will allow air to escape very very slowly. However, after 3 months the effect becomes noticable.

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
How did finches make it to the Galapagos Islands? It is generally accepted that a few were carried there from South America by a freak storm. Surprisingly, this is not an uncommon occurrence across the world. Tagged birds have been carried 1000s of miles in a few days by strong winds!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
After gold has been mined, does it grow back? It does not "grow" back at any real rate, only due to decay of radioacive molecules which is rediculously slow. However, it is possible replicate this- after the Chenobyl accident experts studied the lead lining that shielded the core of the power station which absorbed the gamma radiation. Some lead molecules had decayed after years of constant exposure to radiation, and a few had...

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
If I can't hear what you're saying, then have you really said anything, since I wasn't able to hear what you were saying? Pardon?

| 5 people like this

Answer to:
How can a human be certain that a thought or idea is not a cognitive distortion? We can't. This is the point of Rene Descartes famous phrase "I think therefore I am". He decided to try and find out what was 100% true in the world. He could only prove he was thinking, and could not even prove he was thinking what he thought he was thinking!

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Why is the “inferior” ape family still in existence, but not a single one of the presumed intermediate forms, which were supposed to be more advanced in evolution? The issue here is that of niches. A niche in ecology is the role a speices plays in a habitat. Many 'inferior' apes (a term I do not agree with) eat fruit, leaves or chase prey and kill it with their bare hands. These apes are able to chase and kill small fast animals. However, species of the Homos genus (those species classified as human) mostly hunted with spears and flints, and...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Why didn't men evolve to have no facial hair? A foetus is female at conception, they must develop male characteristics as they grow. Testosterone is the key male hormone that stimulates the development of the penis etc. During puberty a side affect of the high testosterone levels is extra hair. So a lack of facial hair in men would also mean a lack of functioning genitals! Which would be distasterous for a species! EDIT- Comment...

Answer to:
Do people who use their sense of smell for work, such as perfumiers and wine tasters, have more smell receptors than most people? It is unlikely that they will have more. The receptors and nuerones in the brain that deal with senses are developed after birth, but after a certain amount of time (called a 'critical window') the development will almost stop. However, it is likely that those who deal with smell a lot will have better, and more sophisticated, receptors.

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
I missed a few days of pills, then I started to double up on the pills to get back on track. Am I at risk of getting pregnant? If you miss a few days of 'pills' then yes you are at risk of pregnancy. But it is absolutly NOT a good idea to double up. This will not shortern the time until you are protected again. Exceeding the recommended dosage is never a good idea and can lead to very nasty side affects.

Answer to:
Is religion used to control people? Absolutly. Religion for many centuries was the root of almost all power, it is only recently that the grip on society has started to slip. However, much control still exists, for example adultery is considered to be unethical in many cultures (even in some species of primates!), but is not illegal in secular societies. But in Christianity adultery is considered an evil, and many children are...

| 22 people like this

Answer to:
Why are flush handles always on the left side of toilets? In society the left hand has been considered 'wrong' or 'dirty', hence people would use their left hand to...er... clean themselves, as the right hand was used for eating, this is still common in many Arabic cultures. Flushing with the left hand simply keeps the right one clean for more healthy events!

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
Are there any genetic factors which make one person more or less likely to be religious than another? Yes, studies on twins have shown there is a good correlation. A few studies have been done, try website below for one example: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7147 Another study, that I have been unable to find on the internet, took examples of 200 identical twins that were seperated at birth. They found that in around 60% of cases both were religious or both atheist. (Note...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How would an Atheist answer this question: "Who or what started the Big Bang?" As an athiest I can give my opinion, but I am not aware of how the athesit community as a whole deals with the question. The Big Bang was the point at which time started, therefore there was no 'before'. If nothing happened before, and there was no time for anything to happen in, then simply nothing caused the Big Bang. It was spontaneous. This is not a satisfying answer, I...

| 12 people like this

Answer to:
How did the answer "42" originate as the answer to the meaning of life? In 'The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy' by Douglas Adams. An extremely funny and philosphical series of books.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
What is the purpose of mankind? Why are we here? I don't believe there is a meaning of life, no purpose or reason. We are simply the result of chemical reactions, and entropy. Although I, and many other people are, quite happy with that. However, there can be an 'aim', this is self made. For example, to achieve happiness, wealth, to help others etc.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
If enough ice is placed in boiling water it'll cool down. So if millions of people were to enter Hell, wouldn't our comparatively cool bodies soon cool Hell to the point that it's actually comfortable? Brilliant! I believe that is a way of wording the Second Law of Thermodynamics! Absolutely it should cool down, so in this increasingly secular world it should be a lovely temperature for when athiests like me arrive!

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
How can atheists make an absolute statement (God doesn't exist) without absolute knowledge? I think many atheists make the statement "I do not believe there is a God", I would only use the phrase "God doesn't exist" for simplicity. In a serious debate I doubt many people would have the arrogance to say that there is no God and can't possibly be one. For most atheists the decsion is based on a balance of probability, not absolute truths.

| 8 people like this