Why?

2023-07-07 21:00:09 WHY is the Earth spinning faster?

July 19, 2020 was the shortest day since observations began - the Earth made a revolution around its axis by 1.4602 milliseconds less than the usual 86,400 seconds. Scientists claim that in the year of 2021, each day is 0.5 milliseconds shorter on average due to the acceleration of the planet's rotation.

In recent decades, the average speed of Earth's rotation has steadily decreased, and timekeepers have had to add 27 extra seconds to atomic time since the 1970s to synchronize clocks with the slowing planet. On New Year's Eve 2016, clocks around the world even stopped for a second to allow the Earth's rotation to catch up. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-07 14:00:11 WHY shouldn't we feed ducks with bread?

Lots of people think that feeding ducks with bread in a park or at a pond is environmentally friendly and safe. But it is not. Bread is hazardous for ducks.

The fact is that bread is rich in carbohydrates, but devoid of other nutrients. Bread is analogous to fast food for birds. Such a diet is similar to the diet of a human who eats only candy and sugar. Too much bread can lead to serious health problems.

Consuming too much bread leads to obesity in birds. Bread will also prevent birds from consuming the nutrients they need. A nutrient-deficient diet weakens wings and causes birds to stop flying.

More healthy alternatives to bread are available among human foods. For example, ducks will happily eat grapes (cut in half so they don't choke), barley, corn and rice. Farm stores also sell special food for ducks. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-06 21:00:12 WHY does the first second on the clock seem longer after a quick eye movement?

Here is an illusion called chronostasis. Its essence is that the first impression after a saccade (rapid eye movement) seems to us stretched out in time.

The most common example of chronostasis is the analog watch with a second hand: if you look at the dial, the first movement of the hand appears to be longer than its subsequent movements. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-06 14:00:11 WHY doesn't superglue dry in the tube?

Superglue contains a stabilizer chemical. The stabilizer keeps the superglue molecules from sticking together and the superglue stays liquid. When the superglue comes out of the tube, it reacts with the moisture in the air.

The water molecules have an electric charge, they act as a magnet and attract the stabilizer and the superglue molecules stick together. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-05 21:00:09 WHY do scorpions have blue blood?

The fact is that the blood of scorpions contains not hemoglobin, but hemocyanin, its analogue. While hemoglobin is an iron-containing substance, hemocyanin contains copper.

In contact with air, this element begins to turn blue and, giving oxygen to tissues, loses its color. Hence, we can easily conclude what color the blood of scorpions is. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-05 14:00:14 WHY do some animals grow such a fluffy tail?

The tail is not horns or claws, consisting of dead cells, but quite a living part of the spinal column with dozens of vertebrae, intervertebral discs, ligaments, muscles, blood vessels. So it is extremely sensitive, as anyone, who has ever accidentally stepped on the tail of a cat or dog, knows. And there is no way the warm-blooded people can freeze all this "stuff", otherwise it will end up in necrosis.

Thus, tail needs no less insulation than other parts of body of animal and even more, as the tail has relatively small volume and big surface, which gives off heat.

For this reason tails of animals that have to live in low temperatures are fluffy (at the same time, by the way, they serve as a warm blanket). Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-04 21:00:09 WHY can chess increase IQ?

They mostly refer to schoolchildren and students who have higher IQs without chess. Some studies have shown that subjects who played chess had a greater increase in IQ than those who did not play chess.

On the other hand, studies by the British Institute of Education showed no significant effect of chess on cognitive ability. In any case, the positive effect of this game is small and is probably related to the training of attention and concentration. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-04 14:00:09 WHY is our brain detecting pain but not feeling it?

Let's say you sprained your ankle or burned your finger. Nerve fibers immediately send a signal to your brain, which decodes the sensation as pain.

No wonder modern surgery is only possible after the discovery of anesthesia. However, if it is the brain itself that is the object of surgery, it has no need for anesthetics.

Nerve cells of the brain send themselves the same signals as in the case of a broken limb, but there is no data processing center for them. The brain, used to be in charge of the whole organism, has no idea when it should be in pain itself.

Here's the creepy part, but patients are often fully conscious during brain surgery, allowing the surgeons to see if they've gone too deep into our body's main processor. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-03 21:00:09 WHY is a partner's smell essential?

People tend to have physiological tools for capturing and evaluating a partner's odor, and this evaluation, without going into neurophysiology, "flies past" the intermediate stages of analysis, and is immediately perceived as "pass" or "fail”.

Further on, the person considers as an optimal sexual partner only those who received a "pass" at the first stage. It is connected with a number of mechanisms, which are beneficial for obtaining the healthiest offspring.

Due to a complex biochemical system, our smell translates information about the immune properties and composition of the microbiome. Typically, for healthy offspring, we need to combine the most different immune combinations and "befriend" the microflora, so we like people who have the most different "invisible characteristics" from ours. Открыть/Комментировать

2023-07-02 21:00:11 WHY are houseplants assumed beneficial for health?
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Studies have shown that rooms with many houseplants have 60% less mold and harmful bacteria. Also the green parts of plants clean the air and regulate the level of humidity.
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In addition, the presence of a green "garden" on the windowsill has a beneficial psychological effect on people, because it reminds them of the beauty of nature and life in it. Открыть/Комментировать