No Stupid Questions
- Is it "an RTS" or "a RTS" ?
R is a consonant (indicating "a") but also if you say the word R it starts with a vowel (indicating "an")
both look wrong :(
- What to do when your work/school requires a doctor's note but you're not even well enough to go to the doctor to get a note??
Fucked up my knee really bad yesterday, while doing a required task at school. Have been bedridden since noon yesterday, was planning on getting a doctor's note today because both my work and my school are extremely physically demanding and if my knee doesn't work, I am down for the count. But I can't even fucking walk now and I don't have anyone to take me to the doctor. What do I do?
- When I urinate, why is it sometimes frothy and but usually not?
It doesn't seem to have any correlation with the concentration of the urine, as even really dark stuff is usually froth-free.
- Which is better for the environment, TV stations or streaming platforms?
I’m just thinking if the energy use that data centres and streaming platforms require, and the climate crisis. Would one be significantly better than the other in terms of energy use?
- What shows do you remember where the hero got the power item at the end?
The obvious is Endgame when Iron Man had the stones.
The next is The Last Dragon, when Leeroy had the Golden Glow.
I feel like it's a trope of the 1980s on, but I can't remember additional examples.
And I definitely don't remember the earlier examples.
What shows had that oh so satisfying "oh really? Do you now?" Twist at the end of the story.
- why are my cat and dog more attracted to each others food than their own?
shouldnt reailt pet foods be tailored to those species tastes? or is it just gettin some strange?
- I've just realized that a horse foot is just one big finger. So the inevitable question is: Is it the middle finger?
I've just realized that a horse foot is just one big finger. So the inevitable question is: Is it the middle finger?
- if you want to ruin electronic equipment, what common household item is best?
this is not actually something I'm planning on doing, I'm just curious.
my first thought is water, but then I considered, wouldn't salt water be better, with its enhanced conductivity? and that got me wondering, what else might work better still?
extra points if it does so without making it obvious what's at fault, or if it could plausibly happen by accident (or spontaneously)
- What’s the deal with the Barbie movie and Oppenheimer?
I know they came out the same day but it’s hard to see a reference to one without the other.
- how can someone visualise fourth, or higher dimensions?
can our brains actually learn to comprehend, to envision dimensions beyond the perceptible three? how could you describe higher dimensional shapes in a way that would allow someone to visualise them?
- Maker Friendly Etsy Alternative?
I've not had much luck with this, so... here goes nothing! I love supporting independent creators, but using Etsy leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They're full of drop-shippers, they ruin makers by closing accounts without warning... you know, all of those nasty things.
Are there other options out there aside from hunting for makers' personal sites? Any help would be appreciated, as I've not had much luck finding an alternative
- Is there a solar powered light (for the yard) that attracts bugs, but is not a bug zapper?
Wanting to relocate some wild frogs/toads, they seem to like a certain flower bed because the "night light" on the house brings the bugs. My thought is if I make another area enticing, they will go there.
- What is the point of drag queens?
What is the point of drag queens?
Please be kind to me, I'm asking because I'd really like to understand this and I have no oportunity to learn first-hand. I don't get what drag queens are about. It seems to me there's fun to be had, but how? What is a good drag queen supposed to be like? Is it like a cosplay of women? (They mostly don't look like women, so I suppose it must be more complicated.) Is it some kind of cabaret stylization? I'm not well versed in cabaret. Is it somehow sexual or sensual for the participants? It doesn't necesarily look that way, but there's the whole big controversy in the USA. I'm so confused. Also, as a woman, I'd love to know if it's just a man thing or whether there's a women's version as well? Can a woman become a drag king?
- What's the deal with the digital zoom thing everyone seems to use in video essays?
I see this technique everywhere, but I guess I haven't found the right terms to search for what it's called or why it's so ubiquitous in certain types of video.
If you follow people who produce video essay-type content that features them speaking directly to the camera, they will often cut in and out from "closer" views of themselves to add visual emphasis to lines. Some keep it subtle enough that you might not even notice it, while others pepper it all over the place to the point that it looks like they're bouncing off the camera when you slide through the preview.
Is this a commonly taught/known technique, or is there just some template for it built into popular video editing packages?
For anyone else who didn't notice it before and can't un-see it now, I'm sorry.
- What is with all of the tankie talk on the Fediverse?
I do know what a tankie is, and why one would be against them, but I have never encountered so many people using the word. It's all over the place here. Why?
- Isn't there a risk of accidental water inhalation when swimming instructors throw babies into the water to teach them how to swim?
Occasionally, I will see a video posted of an instructor throwing a baby into water and watching them flounder about until they right themselves and float. The comments are a mix of "that's terrible, what is the instructor doing?" and "you guys are clueless, this is how they train the babies."
My question is, while tossing babies in the water after training may be the standard, and might save their life one day, isn't there a risk that they will inhale water when being randomly dunked under water and panicking?
I know humans innately stop inhaling when in water until we can't hold our breath anymore, including babies to an extent, but I don't know if babies are as capable of this as a grown human. Especially when they do NOT expect being dunked under. I've seen adults and kids not expect that, and they end up coughing out tons of water. If water gets in the lungs, can't it kill you? Cause a lung infection? "Dry drowning"? I never see this talked about in relation to the baby swim training.
- Is places like Mastodon, Twitter, and this Threads thing just places for people to just write some blurb?
I have never understood the concept of Twitter and such, is it basically like Live Journal with a text limit ? How do the interactions even work ? Just people saying something unprompted and then people just talk?
- If art is subjective, why did schools enforce the idea that there's "right" and "wrong" ways to interpret literature?
I'm not talking about objective things like grammar, vocabulary, or structuring. I'm mostly talking about more subjective things like theme and mood. I get for younger students, since they need to learn to analyze and interpret literature. But for higher level students this might become more or a problem, especially when reading old poems and scripts. Why do schools make it seem like there's only 1 right way to view a story?
- Why did it become a normal thing for people to end statements with a question mark when they correct someone? Is it a TikTok trend that blew up?
This is something I first noticed about a year ago, give or take. Like, I'll say "the sky is purple" and someone will respond with "it's blue?" Why do people do that?
It's such a strange thing for me, because I'm used to question marks being used for questions, not statements. It feels like at some point, I accidentally fell into an alternate dimension where this is considered a normal use of punctuation.
I know English is a continually-evolving language, so things like this shouldn't be unexpected. Even still, this development feels bizarre to me.
- Do you actually put olives on top of your sandwiches?
When you look at a cartoon illustration of a sandwich, you will usually an olive or other similar topping on top of the sandwich. Have you actually put olives on top of your sandwiches? If so, why?
- Why is bass sometimes the loudest?
So you know when it's quiet and your neighbor is playing loud music, but you can only hear the bass? Why is it like that?
- Please use /m/kbinmeta to ask question about kbin.
This magazine is not the place to ask question about kbin. Use /m/kbinmeta instead.
- Why do they make pants without pockets?
I just don't understand the logic. Why wouldn't you always choose the pants with pockets?
By the way, this is my first post to this website. I apologize if I made any mistakes.