r/explainlikeimfive • • 15d ago

Other ELI5: Monthly Current Events Megathread

14 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

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

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


r/explainlikeimfive • • 10h ago

Other ELI5: How did Germany move away from Nazism after Hitler’s death?

1.0k Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 15h ago

Other ELI5: Why do women have discharge?

1.4k Upvotes

Possibly a dumb question, but my school / parents never taught about discharge. I actually spent years thinking I was broken because I didn't know what it was.

Obviously I know it's normal now and it changes throughout my cycle, but I don't think anyone ever explained to me why our bodies make it in the first place.

Is it basically the vagina cleaning itself? Does it have something to do with ovulation? ELI5


r/explainlikeimfive • • 9h ago

Biology ELI5: why do people with albinism have shaking eyes?

88 Upvotes

what exactly is happening that makes them shake?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 6h ago

Engineering ELI5: Why does driving just a little faster use so much more gas?

46 Upvotes

I've always wondered about this. If I'm driving 60 mph instead of 80 mph, I'm obviously going slower, but I'm also spending more time on the road. So why does driving faster end up burning so much more gas, even though you reach your destination sooner?I know wind resistance has something to do with it, but can someone explain how that actually works in simple terms?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 18h ago

Engineering ELI5 Why are batteries in phones measured in mAh and in cars it's kWh?

297 Upvotes

I get the difference between kilo and mini but why is one in Amps and other in Watts?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 11h ago

Physics Eli5 the smallest "size" of a photon?

32 Upvotes

Is a single photon just the smallest possible wave of light in an EM field? And how did we discover that size?

So photons don't have mass and don't "take up space" in the sense that unlimited photons can be in the same space, but they can still be measured to have a "size"?

Is this like if I took a tape measure to a ghost, I could say it is 5' tall, but the ghost doesn't actually take up space( like it can go through me)?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 14h ago

Other ELI5: can bedding actually lower your body temperature, or does it just feel cooler?

45 Upvotes

I understand how a sheet can feel cool when you first touch it, but I’m confused about whether bedding can actually lower body temperature in any meaningful way. Is the feeling mostly caused by heat moving away from your skin faster for a short time, while room temperature and airflow still determine what happens later? I’m also wondering how moisture changes the feeling, since a fabric could feel comfortable when dry but different after several hours of sleep. Could someone explain the difference between initial coolness, heat transfer, breathability, and actual body-temperature regulation in simple terms? I’m asking how it works, not looking for a product recommendation.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 1d ago

Biology ELI5 How have the alligator and crocodile genus manage to survive tens of millions of years of what mother nature has thrown at them?

573 Upvotes

The earliest form is said to have started close to 85 million years ago, are the two species just that hardy?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 1d ago

Physics ELI5: How do mirrors work?

129 Upvotes

Intuitively, I thought it was light reflects off an object (like you) then reflects off the mirror then hits your eyes and you see it.

But then someone said it was the light just directly reflects off the mirror to then hit your eyes (nothing else like light from the sun hits the mirror then you) but that makes no sense because then you shouldn’t see the objects in front of the mirror in the mirror???


r/explainlikeimfive • • 1d ago

Chemistry ELI5 How do charcoal filters stop smells?

98 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 1d ago

Mathematics ELI5: what does Q-Max really measure in a sheet?

8 Upvotes

I understand that Q-Max is used to describe how cool a fabric feels on first contact, but I’m still not clear on what the number physically represents. Does a higher value mean heat leaves your skin faster in that first moment of touching the fabric, rather than the sheet staying cooler all night? I’m also trying to understand how two sheets can feel similarly cool at first but feel different later, once body heat, humidity, and the rest of the bedding are involved. Could someone explain the measurement with a simple everyday comparison, without turning it into a product recommendation?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2d ago

Chemistry ELI5: If the iron in our blood is what makes it red, why is iron silver and not red?

975 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 1d ago

Other ELI5: Post Tax Deductions somehow saves money?

26 Upvotes

Hi, good morning. I'm uneducated in this discussion. I'm considered doing a Dependant Care FSA, which has a $5000 max per year($192.30/paycheck). This is a "Pre-Tax" Deduction.

I would then, as i understand it, pay the 383/week for Daycare, submit a request for reimbursement, and get that back. How exactly does this actually "save" money?

Secondly as a continuation, same thing for Roth IRA vs 401k?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2d ago

Engineering ELI5 Where does the extra fuel consumption goes to, in cars with different cylinder capacity?

387 Upvotes

I drove around 500 kms with my friend. My car has a 1.6 engine; his has a 1.4. We went together, so roughly the same speed (around 110 km/h most of the time).

In that distance, my car consumed more gas than his (let's say, for example, 6 litres).

If that gas is not converted into speed, then what is it being used for? Heat? The engine is heavier, so it needs more gas to move it?

Thanks, and sorry for any mistake in my English.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2d ago

Biology ELI5: What causes back pain before/during your menstrual cycle?

511 Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 1d ago

Other ELI5 How Cube match magic trick works?

95 Upvotes

I have seen magicians give a Rubik's Cube to a random audience member while keeping one for themselves. The audience member randomly scrambles their cube, and so does the magician. At the end, the patterns on both the audience member's cube and the magician's cube are exactly the same. How is this done?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2d ago

Physics ELI5: Why do liquids evaporate below boiling temperature but solids don't "liquefy" under melting temperature?

803 Upvotes

Basically the title, why do some liquids evaporate slowly even when way below boiling temperature like water and alcohol, but my desk isn't slowly turning liquid?

Bonus question, do all liquids evaporate or is there a specific subset?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 15h ago

Mathematics ELI5: What does "hard" mean in NP-hard problem is as least as hard as NP problems.

0 Upvotes

What does "hard" here mean? I know that if all NP problems can be reduced to this problem in polynomial time, then this problem is NP-hard. But when you reduce a problem, don't you reduce it to a simple problem so that it's easier to solve 😂 So NP-hard is actually NP-easy?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2d ago

Technology ELI5: Why do battery-powered devices with "dead" batteries often start working if you just swap the existing batteries around inside the device?

300 Upvotes

Happened moments ago with a remote- opened it and switched the 2 AAs' positions and VOILÀ! Realized how often this works with all kinds of devices and started wondering "But... why?" 🤔


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2d ago

Other ELI5: Why does the area around a river sometimes smell like fish/dead fish after rain?

100 Upvotes

Pretty sure it's not petrichor, and it's only sometimes, not always. Is it really dead fish?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 3d ago

Biology ELI5: How can the heart beat continuously for a lifetime without tiring out like other muscles?

2.9k Upvotes

r/explainlikeimfive • • 21h ago

Biology ELI5: If steroids help keep your autoimmune system in check why not take them forever?

0 Upvotes

Basically what the title says. Why do you even need to go on and off steroids?


r/explainlikeimfive • • 2d ago

Biology ELI5: Why does it take weeks for an antipsychotic to take effect?

70 Upvotes

Lets say you have someone with bipolar, as soon as they take an anti psychotic it blocks dopamine when the drug reaches the brain. But its effect is not seen immediately even though they have highly sensitive dopamine system. However, if someone who has anxiety takes a tranquilizers the effect are seen immediately. Im wondering why the discrepancy?

if its possible I am willing to accept a more complicated answer even though its ELI5.


r/explainlikeimfive • • 22h ago

Other ELI5: Why, in Great Britain, are most B-roads (and many A-roads) lined with hedgerows on both sides?

0 Upvotes

The hedges completely eliminate the ability to see the beautiful surrounding land, and make every drive feel like you are trapped in a hallway. Is it a privacy thing? A wind-break? Simply historical tradition?

(American here, who enjoys wide-open views.)