r/AlwaysWhy

I always found this one a little weird. In French, “entrée” refers to a dish served before the main course, which makes sense given that the word literally relates to “entry.”

But in American English, an entrée is usually the main course.

So how did the meanings end up so different?Why did the French and American meanings end up going in different?

In many parts of North America, seeing white tailed deer near suburbs, roads, parks, and farmland is surprisingly normal. Their populations number in the tens of millions in the U.S., even though humans have dramatically changed their habitats and continue to hunt them.

That seems a little backwards. You would expect urbanization, habitat loss, and hunting to make deer less common, not more visible.

So what makes white tailed deer so good at adapting to human modified landscapes? And why does development sometimes seem to create conditions that actually benefit them?

In many bilingual families, this happens more often than people expect. A child may grow up hearing their parents speak a language every day, understand almost everything being said, but still reply in another language and never become comfortable speaking it.

For example, some children of immigrant families can fully understand their parents’ native language but answer only in the language they use at school or with friends.

Why does the brain sometimes develop strong listening skills without developing the ability to speak the same language?

I never really thought about it until recently, but the grading scale basically goes A, B, C, D, then suddenly F. If the letters are meant to form a simple scale, skipping E seems kind of strange.

Apparently, E was actually used in some early American grading systems, and F was later introduced as a failing grade.

Why did E disappear? Was there an actual reason F became the standard, or did A through D plus F just gradually become the norm?

Both Latin and Arabic spread across huge regions and developed different local forms over centuries. Latin eventually became several separate Romance languages, while many Arabic varieties are still grouped under one language today.

Some differences are about how people speak, but others involve writing systems, religion, history, and identity. Why did these two language families end up being classified so differently?

We usually learn that temperature is related to the random motion of atoms and molecules. That makes wind seem confusing. If air is constantly moving, why does faster moving air usually make us feel colder instead of hotter?

A cold day with strong wind can feel much colder than the actual temperature, while a fan can cool our skin without actually lowering the room temperature.

What is the difference between the movement of air that creates wind and the molecular motion that determines temperature?

Every moment, our bodies are under about 1 atmosphere of pressure from the air above us. Yet we barely notice it.

But when pressure changes quickly, such as during deep-sea diving or sudden exposure to a vacuum, the same invisible force can become dangerous.

Why does the human body handle enormous constant pressure so easily, but struggle when that pressure changes?

Before and during the Civil War, both pro-slavery Christians and abolitionists cited the Bible when arguing about slavery.

Some argued that Scripture permitted slavery and set rules for how masters should treat slaves. Others argued that slavery violated core Christian teachings about human dignity and how people should treat one another.

How could the same text lead sincere believers to such radically different conclusions about slavery?

The U.S. conducted more than 100 atmospheric nuclear tests in the Nevada desert, exposing downwind communities to radioactive fallout. Yet the surrounding region did not become permanently uninhabitable.

How did so much radioactive material disperse without simply accumulating over time? How much stayed near the test site, how much traveled farther, and how did wind, rainfall, geography, and radioactive decay affect where contamination ended up?

Throughout the 20th century, Palestinian leaders responded differently to proposals involving partition, autonomy, and statehood. Some proposals were rejected, while later movements moved toward accepting the idea of a two state solution.

These decisions were made in very different historical moments, when the political situation, priorities, and expectations were constantly changing.

Why did certain proposals seem unacceptable at the time they were presented? How did Palestinian political goals evolve from the early 1900s to the end of the 20th century?

People find old letters between famous men and go, "Oh my God, Lincoln/Washington were gay!" But I kind of doubt that's how they would have understood those relationships.

Romantic the language can sound by modern standards. Men could express deep affection, share beds, or write intensely emotional letters without it necessarily being seen as sexual.

I've noticed similar things in early 20th century letters too. So what changed? And when did this shift really happen?

Modern airliners already transmit things like position, weather, maintenance data, and other flight information while in the air. Yet after some crashes, investigators still have to physically locate and recover the flight recorders.

If aircraft can already send data to the ground, why isn’t there a standard system that continuously backs up the most important flight recorder data remotely?

If continuous streaming is impractical, why not automatically transmit key data when an aircraft detects a serious emergency?

I noticed this pattern.

Like when the MeToo movement happened and then died down—-> Andrew Tate and black pill stuff

The liberalization movement —-> now Kirk and maga

Is this unique to this century or just part of historical behavior patterns of human population?

I was just thinking about how oftentimes we tend to say that a person or group has a right to something to mean that they should have a right to that thing, or conversely we might say that a person or group doesn’t have a right to something to mean they shouldn’t have a right to that thing. It seems like it would be possible to say, “They should have the right to this,” or “They shouldn’t have the right to this,” and that would avoid a lot of potential for miscommunication when talking about rights. I know in some cases it would be possible to figure out whether someone is talking about what rights a person or group do or don’t have, or what rights a person or group should or shouldn’t have based on context, but in other cases it could be somewhat ambiguous.

As one example if I was asked if parents have the right to spank their children it might be a little hard to tell if the person asking was asking my opinion on whether parents should be permitted to spank their children, or whether the person is quizzing me on whether parents are legally allowed to spank their children. As someone who is against spanking I might be thinking that answering yes to the question could come off as being in favor of parents spanking their children, but as someone who knows that spanking is legal where I live I might be thinking that answering no could come off as being unaware that spanking is legal where I live.

I understand that a lot of people are religious and believe that there’s a higher power who has laws beyond human laws. I wonder if saying that people have the right to something or don’t have the right to something to mean they ought to have the right to something or not have the right to something could be related to religion, in terms of believing that a deity enforces a right that humans might try to take away or that a deity doesn’t permit something that humans allow.

So it may be because I'm used to the heat now but damn, so I mow yards and am on the football team (we mostly practice outside in pads) so extra hot but it's usually like 8pm when it's not hot (why do we practice at 8pm because of the heat. Also anything below 80F feels like -10F cus I'm cold-blooded (not really I prefer the heat)

A few years ago, free returns felt like a normal part of online shopping. Especially with clothes and shoes, people got used to ordering multiple sizes, trying things at home, and sending back whatever didn't fit without thinking much about the cost.

But over time, more retailers started adding return fees, shortening return windows, limiting options, or making the process just inconvenient enough that people became more careful before buying.

If free returns helped make online shopping feel risk free, why did so many retailers start treating them as a problem instead of a selling point?

This is a really interesting phenomenon I've observed and I'm just wondering where this assumption comes from.

You see someone criticizing (or maybe even just inquiring) about a soceital dynamic or something people do and sometimes people jump to;

Isn't that what you're doing right now?

Okay but do you actually xyz?

Trying to point out the hypocricy

Why is it not possible to recognize that your survival is dependent on systems that have little integrity, so sometiems just to get by you will also be forced out of that integrity (Sometimes without even realizing) but still being able to say; that's not good, that's not how it should be. We're all doing something here that we could have a look at maybe.

Is there any explanation for why and how this assumption developed?

The heart is also a muscle, yet it can contract continuously for decades. Skeletal muscles, meanwhile, can become tired surprisingly quickly during exercise.

What actually limits how long other muscles can keep working?

Before Covid, going to the movies was a common form of entertainment. People would go not only for major blockbusters, but also for comedies, dramas, and movies they were only mildly interested in.

During the pandemic, theaters closed, streaming became the default way many people watched new releases, and studios changed how quickly movies moved from theaters to home viewing.

But even after major hits started bringing people back, overall moviegoing still hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels.

If people used to regularly spend money and time at theaters, what changed enough that many of those habits never came back?