Recent comments in /f/explainlikeimfive

slimsag t1_je8qb0r wrote

Reply to comment by mindvape in ELI5 Why are pickles not just called pickled cucumbers? by Shabless

it is correct to say sauerkraut is both fermented AND pickled

'pickled' just means preserving something in a brine. This can be done through an acid brine like vinegar and heat treatment.. or through lacto-fermentation (a salt brine which helps a particular type of bacteria, which produces acid, grow.)

Even in just the context of cucumber pickles at your grocery store, you can often find both types and not even know it.

Cheaper brands on the shelves like Vlasic will be heat-pasteurized in a vinegar brine, normally not refrigerated as there's no live bacteria producing gasses so the jars won't explode.

While other brands like Claussen, Mt Olive, etc. will be in the fridge section because they were lacto-fermented and need to stay cool to slow the bacteria to keep them fresh longer (and avoid unwanted pressure buildup in the jar.)

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Dcln-e t1_je8p6qr wrote

Reply to comment by Axe-of-Kindness in ELI5 Why are pickles not just called pickled cucumbers? by Shabless

Sorry to disappoint but:

"The word 'maze' dates from the 13th century and comes from the Middle English word mæs, denoting delirium or delusion. The word 'labyrinth' may date as far back as the 14th century, and derives from the Latin labyrinthus and the Greek labýrinthos, or, a building with intricate passages"

https://www.nbm.org/brief-history-mazes/#:~:text=DID%20YOU%20KNOW%3F,a%20building%20with%20intricate%20passages.

"maze (n.) c. 1300, 'delusion, bewilderment, confusion of thought,' possibly from Old English *mæs, which is suggested by the compound amasod 'amazed' and verb amasian 'to confound, confuse' (compare amaze). Of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Norwegian dialectal mas 'exhausting labor,' Swedish masa 'to be slow or sluggish.'

https://www.etymonline.com/word/maze

I wish the world was cool enough that the origin of the word maze was related to corn as in corn maize. Although, to cheer you up here are 2 Labrynth/Maze facts that I shamelessly stole from mentalfloss.com

  1. LABYRINTHS—THE PREDECESSOR OF THE MAZE—WERE FIRST CREATED NOT TO CONFUSE, BUT TO SEND VISITORS ON A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY. 

Ancient labrynths were designed to be serene and introspective, and followed a single circuitous path. In Germany, for instance, young men would walk through a labyrinth as part of their initiation into adulthood.

  1. LABYRINTHS ARE UNICURSAL, WHILE MAZES ARE BRANCHING.

Though the terms are often used interchangeably, mazes and labyrinths have slightly different definitions. Officially, the word “maze” refers to a collection of branching paths, through which the traveler must find the correct route. “Labyrinth,” meanwhile, refers to a pathway which, while winding and potentially disorienting, is non-branching, and leads directly to its endpoint.

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its-a-throw-away_ t1_je8oogf wrote

Reply to comment by Moskau50 in eli5 What would happen if I had a big enough airplane to throw a ball around then the airplane turns while the ball is in mid air? by the_lost_cheeto

This is untrue. During a coordinated turn, all forces balance such that apparent force of gravity acts straight down as seen from inside an airplane with no windows. The rolling motion that sets the bank angle needed to turn can be felt. But once established in the turn, without windows or instruments, it is impossible to deduce that the airplane is turning in a particular direction.

While sitting in your seat during a turn, if you threw a ball straight up, It would come straight down again. The only discernable change is the apparent strength of gravity.

Here is a great demonstration of the primciple. The pilot performs a barrel roll, which is like a turn, except roll continuously increases in a particular direction until the airplane is upright again. Again, like a turn, once the forces needed to establish the barrel roll are complete, apparent gravity acts vertically through the airplane, pulling the water into the cup.

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