ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

Latest Episodes:

ELI5 DNA - what is the double helix? Aug 25, 2023

Show notes

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:

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ELI5 Saturn - does it really rain diamonds? Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

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:

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ELI5 Hibernation - is there a way humans could hibernate like bears do? Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

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:

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or send us an e-mail:

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ELI5 Elevators - is the door close button a placebo? Aug 04, 2023

Show notes

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:

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ELI5 Swimming - why are there exactly 4 strokes? Jul 28, 2023

Show notes

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:

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ELI5 Pickleball - why has it become so popular? Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

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:

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or send us an e-mail:

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ELI5 Tesseract - what is it and what does it look like? Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

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:

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ELI5 Central Banks - do crypto currencies make them obsolete? Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

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:

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ELI5 Amnesia - why don’t people forget their primary language? Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

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:

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or send us an e-mail:

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ELI5 Latin - why did such a popular language like Latin die out? Jun 23, 2023

Show notes

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:

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or send us an e-mail:

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