Explain Like I'm Five - Eli5 Mini Podcast

Why do we have two different types of screws?  If the Phillips head is superior, why haven’t flathead screws just been phased out over time? What are the benefits of the Allen and Torx type screws? Why do manufacturers like IKEA like to use Allen wrench screws for self assembled furniture instead of standard Phillips or flathead screws? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: darthhfaded, dmullaney, lucythefur, nagmay,dusktheumbreon and hawkeye18 To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Do laser beams get wider over a distance? Why are most lasers red and not white in color? What’s the difference between a powerful flashlight and a white laser? Did Albert Einstein invent the laser? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: titaniumdragon, skoncol17, syloh, gibson45 and e_snap To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

How does siri hear me say “hey siri” if it isn’t constantly listening to my conversations or me speaking? Why are most voice assistants’ wake phrases 3 syllables? “Hey Siri”, “Alexa”, “Hey Google”. How are synthesized voices (like Alexa and Siri) made? Why did the guy who is the voice of Siri not even know his voice was being used? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: buildedit, gnonthgol, xtremeed, mjmurcott, bigmamamk, sacredfool, taxoro and scienceissexy420 To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

How does a country devalue their currency, and why would they want to do that? What does it mean when people say a government is manipulating a currency? And what does it mean to either ‘peg’ or ‘float’ a currency? Explain the Bretton Woods system? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: sakiliya, wrsaunders and baldbear_13 To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

When and where did money originate? Why are there two prevailing theories for how it came about? Why are there issues with the barter theory? If not the barter theory, what’s the other theory? What are some of the interesting phrases written on paper money? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community. To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Do Saunas and Steam rooms offer any actual health benefits? Do they help one’s skin? What happens to your body in a sauna? How can I sit in a 85 degree celsius sauna and not get burned, while water of the same temperature would scald badly? What is the Finnish connection? How do wood structures in saunas not rot or get moldy? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: billsauntieshouse, boobooaboo, maxweehus, saedius, groundbreakingcar379, sinistercheese, misomiso82 and onwardupwardforward To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

How effective are ice baths and what are the benefits? How did they become so popular? Is it wrong to take a hot shower after a big meal? Is there danger from taking a shower in a thunderstorm? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: jimmyb3121, qjkxkcd, copnonymous, sixpennydruid, nova_saibrock, xylarthetimeless and greenstrong To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

If there's 3.2 billion base pairs in the human DNA, how come there's only about 20,000 genes? What is a gene? What is the double helix? Why is it significant? Who deserves credit for the discovery of DNA? Why do some people think Rosalind Franklin should have been awarded a Nobel Prize? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: 1994x, coolbeans1114, xandarg and nickcagefan2 To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Is it true that the temperature on Saturn is hot enough for it to rain diamonds. How can this be when the planet’s so far out from the sun? And how can this be given that Saturn is a gas planet? Why does Saturn have a Hexagon on its North Pole? Why are Saturn's rings almost perfectly flat and flush with each other? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: 10sans, kschoes, agate_, cessnablackbelt, jaa101, drdimebar, turboaoul81, wild_tetsujin and busterwasmycat To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

How do bears manage to keep their muscles strong after hibernation? If bears can hibernate through the winter living strictly on fat, could people potentially do the same and just sit around and not eat anything? What mechanism allows seed to hibernate for thousands of years and simply wake up to the first sign of water? Would a bear that's raised domestically, including sleeping indoors, still go through hibernation? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: ripghost, nesbiteme, riconquer, auswanderer, zodadoza, 7ambez, inspectormac9, coolappz and meowsaysdexter To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Why does every elevator have a "door close" button if almost none of these buttons actually work? Is it a placebo? Why do some elevators have an up and a down button on their door, when they call the elevator to your floor regardless? If an elevator is falling to the ground, would jumping right before it hits save your life? Why do engineers say a space elevator would have to be built at the equator? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: benignevil, elev8torguy, different_secret4912, ansuz07, captainpatent, flexipiezo, tomrlutong, ravingrook and professorferox To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Why are there exactly four strokes in swimming? Why are the Native Americans credited with the invention of Front Crawl and why is it also called the Australian Crawl? How did Butterfly come about as a variation of breaststroke? When was the dolphin kick invented? ... we explain like I'm five To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com  

What’s the difference between Pickleball and Padel? Why is it called Pickleball? Was it named after the family dog? Why is the court the same size as a badminton court? Who is investing significant money into the sport? Can Pickleball or Padel surpass tennis in popularity? ... we explain like I'm five To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

What is the tesseract? The geometric shape, not the fictional Marvel space stone! How can we visualize a 4D shape in a 3D world? What did the great Carl Sagan say about why it’s so hard for us to imagine 4 dimensions? Who discovered the tesseract in the first place? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: lifewitheloise, portarossa, geetarmikey, green_meklar, sabertoothedpudding and okami31 To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

What does a central bank do? What’s the difference between a central bank, a reserve bank and a monetary authority? Why are some people against having a federal reserve? What is a CBDC, a central bank digital currency? How is it different to crypto currencies? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: reingding13, yellowjacketcoder, ronquistador, rdavidson24, sakiliya, wrsaunders, litecow and cross_keynesian To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

How realistic are the Hollywood movie portrayals of amnesia compared to real-life amnesia? Why is it that when people get amnesia, they don't forget everything? Why do people with amnesia not forget their primary language for example? What’s the difference between retrograde and anterograde amnesia? Is there anything that can be done to treat or manage amnesia? Is it possible to ‘fake’ amnesia? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: favoritecolorsreddit, jowwill, stuartgotz, dildingo, rosemourne, cerberus73, wzup, untenabell, faelyn42 and omegaprimus To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

How do French words like “cul-de-sac” and “hors d'oeuvres“ end up part of the English language without being translated to English words? Why did a language as widely spoken as Latin completely die? Why does this 'dead' language still have such a powerful presence in modern English? What is a calque? Why do some Latin phrases remain untranslated in common usage, like "status quo," "vice versa"?  ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: fergi20020, nmxt, schnutzel, nico87ca and phasmafelis To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Did you know that some of today's deserts were once seas, lakes, or lush forests? How do oases exist in such arid regions? Why does the US have huge cities in the desert? Why did people settle there? How is the Sahara linked to the thriving of the Amazon rainforest? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: dreadmcyt, murky-entertainer-81, toddwhiskey, teelmetheworld, fehnboi, exponentials, a_saddler and chel_of_the_sea To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

Why do some countries have Presidents, some have Prime Ministers, and some countries have both? What is the difference? What about France, where there’s both a president and a prime minister. Why is it that in some places the President is more powerful but in others like Germany the Prime Minister is more powerful? ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: lawstuden2, lancashire_lad, feb914, winstonl, psyk60 and chickentrousers To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com

How can just a few hundred cables under the ocean provide the internet to the entire world? Who actually owns and manages these cables? Who lays these undersea cables in the first place? What do these cables look like? Was it a shark or boat anchor that nearly took down the internet in several countries in 2008?  ... we explain like I'm five Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: tezoatlipoca, newpassionfruit and chaotic_lemming To the ELI5 community that has supported us so far, thanks for all your feedback and comments. Join us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eli5ThePodcast/ or send us an e-mail: ELI5ThePodcast@gmail.com