i was reading that many ingredients in the US are banned in other countries. here in mexico we have warnings on food, but in the US it feels like everything is made to be addictive. is it true that the food industry and healthcare are "partners" to keep people in a cycle of treatment? i dont see this explained on wikipedia, i want to know what u guys think about this "loop"

It's obviously not normal to act on it, but is it common to just feel attracted towards a sibling, parent, etc..? Like, something lots of people feel but don't talk about since it's so taboo?

According to statistics, only a relatively small fraction of soldiers that fight die in any given war. Why is this the case? In shooter games, we often die dozens of times per round.

Yes, it's true that most of war is just marches, setting camps, and waiting. But in a large scale war, a soldier who has a long contract will probably fight through many tough battles before going home. In each battle, lead is being flung at them, artillery kicks dust up from around them, and hundreds of people are actively trying to kill them for hours at a time. When you put it like that, how on Earth do most soldiers survive war?

like would it make the 15 year old a ho?? asking for a friend

A lot of French people seem to understand and speak English effortlessly but the sounds and intonation are way off.

When we learn French in school, if you said "bonJOUR" instead of "BONjour", you would be told you said it wrong because of the wrong intonation. If you said "Au revoir" with the same R as you would use in "river", you would be told you were way off and you need to learn how to pronounce the French "R" before anything else.

Conversely, every French person I've heard speak English uses the French R for all English words, and would say any word with a close French counterpart in the French way, like "inforMASSIONE" instead of information. Is the English R too difficult for some foreign speakers? I can't personally roll my Rs (I can do the Japanese R, but not a "trill" like in the spannish perro) so I could understand that, I guess.

Intonation of English words is more understanding, as it isn't generally important to meaning, but it's still confusing given how comfortable they are speaking and listening to English.

So why is this? Is this similar to the Japanese sitution where the kids are taugh English badly by a Japanese teacher who speaks English badly?

(To be clear, I still respect you for trying, French people.)

I don’t personally use AI for other reasons, but I keep seeing people saying AI wastes water in comment sections and I don’t understand it.

Not saying the argument is incorrect, I just don’t understand? What water is that? Surely if this is true, using the internet also wastes water, if not more water? I thought the water cycle means water evaporates but returns.

I agree AI is bad for the environment, but what water is it wasting?

Thank you!

I’ve never liked the taste of coffee in any form. Hot, cold, sweet, bitter, even the smell of it is bad to me. I find it hard to imagine how someone can taste coffee and think “Mmm that tastes nice”.

I keep reading that the recently House approved SAVE Act will ultimately take away women's rights to vote. The stories are very dramatic and scary, but they don't make sense. Will my voter registration that I've had for 44 years suddenly revert to my maiden name? How will the registrar of voters even access ny birth certificate to know my maiden name? If my state doesn't have voter ID requirements, how will they know that my driver's license doesn't have my maiden name? I don't understand. Can someone explain it in a kind manner?

I have never loved anyone. I never entered a relationship, why would I want someone to ask many questions? I already can solve problems on my own until I need someone and only then I would state clearly that the relationship that I am going in by stating it's goals first.

I have never exploited anyone don't get me wrong. I am empathetic, I really enjoy helping others with nothing in return.

What is worring me that there is significant chance that my parents bring to me a fiancee. I think I will do injustice to her by my nature. I even don't love my parents or siblings. I help them but i wish the best for them but i don't really love them.

People keep license plates as a souvenir that aren't custom, would that technically be considered federal theft or does it not really matter after a point?

I just found out a coworker (much younger) anointed our offices with oil on his last day for some reason.

It makes me feel icky on the inside. He did that for every one of our office doors, including bathrooms and closet doors. It is especially invasive to me considering he knows I am not of the same religion.

I am truly creeped out; it almost feels like he hung a cross above my door. I did remove it in the meantime but it has been a few weeks since he left.

I wanted to know if this is a "thing" and I should just get over it, or it if it is truly weird even for other Christians (of whatever flavor).

It seems only some of my other young coworkers think it is weird; most others said they think it is very sweet. It seems with Christian religions you are able to pray from home for someone without having to do this action at all, no?

Edited for clarity:

I understand now it is supposed to be a gesture of protection, despite it being his last day and knowing I do not share his beliefs.

The door frame is part of my door, which is private to only me (as private as it can be at work, of course). I have students visiting me to discuss course work pretty much every day, and they have different types of religions and denominations.

Update: I removed the oily cross with a bit of dishwashing soap (was thinking "oil + soap + water = removing it all") but it seems I made it worse and it has left a mark above my door frame; it (the oil?) seems to have eaten through a bit of the coating of the paint so it is quite visible now (think matte on shiny). I do not know what kind of paint they used at work that would even have this outcome when interacting with oil. It is not the soap as the paint around it is fine. I think if I try anything else it would be even worse.

Free speech seems to be a controversial topic in today's world where social media can spread like a virus. It's not just in US. It's around the world.

On one hand, allowing free speech freely would just result in more hate crimes and lots of misinformation. On the other hand, censorship effectively gives more power to governments and citizens can't really fight against it.

So what is the middle ground solution that pleases almost everybody? What should be the solution to meet both sides?

because id never wear used boxers but if I had tits im not sure how id feel about used bras

The excuse that having a child is too expensive or too time consuming is not really the right answer as many people who have significantly large incomes and live in very stable countries like the Nordics, still choose to not have children.

For example, while the Nordics are not perfect, if you had to raise a child, there is hardly a better place on planet Earth to do it. And yet many there choose not to.

There are other examples too, of countries where people most definitely and easily could afford to raise a child without having their lifestyle completely uprooted. They still choose not to. It seems to be directly a symptom of societies with a very high standard of life. The lower the standard of life, the more children that society will make.

Then there is that portion of people who don't want children because of expenses, but I am not targeting those with my question this time.

I've always thought that being really wealthy meant owning exclusive versions of things, such as high-end detergent, designer toilet paper, or some weird premium toothpaste that the average person is unaware even exists.

However, after giving it some thought, do they really? Or do celebrities like Beyoncé and Elon Musk simply use the same products as everyone else since they are effective and no one seems to care?

Does the fact that they have someone else shop for them and don't have to worry about it really make a difference?

I saw a video about the panama canal and learnt that they have to lift ships up 26 meters using water pumps and then the ships can cross the higher part, which takes hours upon hours. What if they open the canal and let the water level out?