Grab The Quora e-book that Answers over 100 Popular Questions

The Quora team have created a thank-you gift for you to download. It’s a collection of over one hundred of the best answers from the top writers on Quora. You can grab the “Best of Quora 2010-2012” PDF for free from their website. Here are the complete list of questions contained in the book. Enjoy!

Download “Best of Quora 2010-2012” PDF

Food

• Yoav Perry’s answer to Food: Why is it safe to eat the mold in Bleu Cheese?
• Brian Lee’s answer to Food Industry: How do supermarkets dispose of expired food?
• Jonas M Luster’s answer to Cooking: If there were ten commandments in cooking what would they be?
• Madeline Puckette’s answer to Wine: Why do American winemakers produce mostly varietals, while French winemakers produce blends?
• Andrew Roberts’s answer to Food: Why are the chocolate chips in chocolate chip ice cream generally “chocolate-flavored chips”?

Education

• Jae Won Joh’s answer to Medical School: What is one thing that you regret learning in medical school?
• Joshua Engel’s answer to Education: Are general requirements in college a waste of time?
• Melinda T. Owens’s answer to Choosing Colleges: How does a star engineering high school senior choose among MIT, Caltech, Stanford and Harvard?

International

• Wael Al-Sallami’s answer to Iraq: Is Iraq a safer place now compared to what it was like during Saddam Hussein’s regime?
• Anon User’s answer to Misogyny: Is Islam misogynistic?
• Kaiser Kuo’s answer to Chinese Culture: Do the Chinese people currently consider Mao Zedong to be evil or a hero?
• Mark Rowswell’s answer to Learning Chinese: Why do so many Chinese learners seem to hate Dashan (Mark Rowswell)?
• Navin Kabra’s answer to Indian Diaspora: How do Indians feel when they go back to live in India after living in US for 5+ years?
• Adrianna Tan’s answer to Travel and Tourism in India: Is it safe for a single American woman to travel in India?
• Yair Livne’s answer to Investing: If developing countries are growing faster than developed countries, why wouldn’t you invest most of your money there?
• Ryan Romanchuk’s answer to North Korea: What is it like to visit North Korea?
• Domhnall O’Huigin’s answer to Irish People: What are some common stereotypes about Irish people that are largely untrue?
• Patrick Collison’s answer to Irish People: Do Irish immigrants to the Bay Area feel guilty for living in such an amazing place?

Law

• Ryan Lackey’s answer to 99 Problems (2004 song): How valid is the implied legal advice in Jay-Z’s “99 Problems”?
• Ani Ravi’s answer to Iron Man (2008 movie): In the movie Iron Man, could investors sue Tony Stark for acting against the interest of the shareholders?
• Ti Zhao’s answer to China: Is it true that in China, you can hire someone to serve your prison sentence?
• Antone Johnson’s answer to Attorneys: Why are lawyers so expensive even with the excess supply of lawyers?

Life Advice

• Lee Semel’s answer to Human Behavior: What are some stupid things that smart people do?
• Kat Li’s answer to Dating and Relationships: What are the disadvantages of dating highly intelligent men?
• Alison Stone’s answer to Love: How do you know if you’ve found “the one”?
• Dave Cheng’s answer to Dating and Relationships: How do I convince my girlfriend (possibly future wife) that a diamond engagement ring is a waste of money?
• Lex Cooke’s answer to Dating and Relationships: How do boys feel about girls who don’t expend much effort on appearances (e.g., clothes, makeup)?
• Brandon Gregg’s answer to Security: What should you do if you suspect a car has been following you?
• Alecia Li Morgan’s answer to Motherhood: What is some advice every new mother should know?
• Jimmy Wales’s answer to Parenting: My kids (11 and 8) have started learning chess. Is it a good idea to let them beat me sometimes to encourage them?
• Matt Dotson’s answer to Economics: How would you explain to a five-year-old that higher taxes on the rich don’t fix everything?
• Andy Johns’s answer to Bereavement and Mourning: When should someone be finished grieving?
• Matthew Manning’s answer to Tips and Hacks for Everyday Life: How can you overcome your envy of people who are your age but are far more successful than you?

Literature

• Cristina Hartmann’s answer to Attraction (interpersonal): What book should I read to make girls think I’m smart in a hot way?
• Stephanie Vardavas’s answer to Jane Austen (author): Which Jane Austen heroine most embodies feminist principles?
• Shan Kothari’s answer to Jane Austen (author): What is so great about Jane Austen?
• Danielle Maurer’s answer to Harry Potter Book 5: Order of the Phoenix: Toward the end of Harry Potter Book 5: Order of the Phoenix, why don’t the kids just gang up on and overpower Umbridge?
• Tyler Borchers’s answer to The Hunger Games (2008 book): Is The Hunger Games a pro-girl / pro-woman story, the way Brave is?
• Monika Kothari’s answer to The Hunger Games (book trilogy & creative franchise): Does race or ethnicity play a role in The Hunger Games series? If so, how?

Music

• Aaron Ellis’s answer to Jay-Z: What is so great about Jay-Z?
• Josh Siegle’s answer to Music: Is it possible at this stage of human culture to create a new genre of music?
• Mark Rogowsky’s answer to Mobile Phones: Why don’t cell phones work at music festivals?
• Jess Lin’s answer to Violins: How do you know when to switch positions on the violin?
• Daniel Rosenthal’s answer to U2 (band): Why is U2 so popular?

Professions & Careers

• Michael Janke’s answer to Snipers: What is it like to be a sniper?
• Tim Dees’s answer to Law Enforcement and the Police: What have you learned as a police officer about life and society that most people don’t know or underestimate?
• Justin Freeman’s answer to Law Enforcement and the Police: What’s the best way to escape the police in a high-speed car chase?
• Michael Shinzaki’s answer to Poker: What is it like to earn a living through poker?
• Lou Davis’s answer to Doctors: Why does it seem most doctors are not compassionate?
• Yank Rutherford’s answer to Aircraft Carriers: What is it like to be the commanding officer of an Aircraft Carrier?
• Michael Forrest Jones’s answer to Hotels: How do good hotels always feel so clean and fresh?
• Anon User’s answer to Venture Capital: What is the worst part of being a VC?
• Anon User’s answer to Airlines: What are some things that airline pilots won’t tell you?
• Anon User’s answer to Recreational Drugs: What’s it like to be a drug dealer?

Science

• Matan Shelomi’s answer to Insects: If you injure a bug, should you kill it or let it live and not die?
• Brad Porteus’s answer to Black Widow: What does it feel like to be bitten by a black widow spider?
• Marc Srour’s answer to Spiders: How does a spider decide where to put up its web?
• Jay Wacker’s answer to Higgs Boson Discovery and Announcement (July 2012): If I want to look smart, what do I need to know about the Higgs Boson discovery?
• Alia Caldwell’s answer to The Universe: How has our understanding of the universe changed in the last 100 years?
• Oliver Starr’s answer to Animal Behavior (Ethology): Would a lone adult wolf be able to take down an athletic adult human?
• Nan Waldman’s answer to Mind Hacks: Does bouncing your leg improve cognition?
• Bradley Voytek’s answer to Neuroscience: What is the neurological basis of curiosity?
• Paul King’s answer to Life: Why do living things die?
• Ben Golub’s answer to Economics: What are the economics of lying?
• Anon User’s answer to Mathematics: What is it like to have an understanding of very advanced mathematics?

Movies

• Mark Hughes’s answer to Superheroes: Given our current technology and with the proper training, would it be possible for someone to become Batman?
• Mac Booker’s answer to The Dark Knight (2008 movie): In The Dark Knight, how did the Joker really get his scars?
• Marcus Geduld’s answer to Actors and Actresses: How do actors’ spouses feel about love scenes in film and TV?
• Oren Jacob’s answer to Pixar Animation Studios: Did Pixar accidentally delete Toy Story 2 during production?
• JJ Abrams’s answer to Movie Making: How do directors conceive and think through monster and action scenes?
• Richard Stern’s answer to The Godfather, Part II (1974 movie): Why does one of the goons trying to kill Frank Pentangelli in the bar say “Michael Corleone says hello”?
• Neville Fogarty’s answer to Jeopardy! (TV game show): What is it like to be a contestant on Jeopardy?
• Sean Hood’s answer to Screenwriting: How do screenwriters feel about bad reviews, in particular claims of formulaic writing?
• Ashton Kutcher’s answer to Movie Making: What determines whether an actor is cast in a part in Hollywood?

Politics

• Jennifer Miller’s answer to U.S. Presidential Elections: How early do politicians and presidential political campaigns begin quietly promising/planning cabinet seats and vice president positions?
• Peter Marquez’s answer to Air Force One: What’s it like to fly on Air Force One?
• David Hood’s answer to 1968 U.S. Presidential Election: What if Richard Nixon had won the 1960 Presidential election? How would history have been different?
• Craig Montuori’s answer to U.S. Immigration: Should highly skilled international students (including Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate) be given Green Cards?
• Paul Ryan’s answer to Economics: What are the chances of a debt crisis on the scale of Greece hitting the United States?

Prison Life

• Tommy Winfrey’s answer to Murder: What does it feel like to murder someone?
• James Houston’s answer to San Quentin State Prison: Do inmates in San Quentin have access to computers and the Internet? What kind of access?
• Kenyatta Leal’s answer to Incarceration: What does the first day of a 5+ year prison sentence feel like?
• David Monroe’s answer to Incarceration: Do you remember when the gavel dropped in court with the verdict and what that felt like at that moment? Flash forward to today looking back on that moment — how have you changed your life behind bars?

Sports

• Peter Cipollone’s answer to Olympic Games: What is it like to be an Olympic athlete after winning (or not winning) the Olympics?
• Carly Geehr’s answer to Olympic Games: Do Olympic or competitive swimmers ever pee in the pool?
• Daryl Morey’s answer to 2012-13 NBA Season: Why is Jeremy Lin so turnover-prone and how can he fix this?
• Drew Housman’s answer to Jeremy Lin: What’s it like to play on the same basketball team as Jeremy Lin?
• Hung Lee’s answer to UEFA Euro 2012: What makes the Spanish national football team so dominant right now?
• John DeMarchi’s answer to NFL: How effective would sumo wrestlers be as NFL linemen?
• Anon User’s answer to Professional Wrestling: Is wrestling fake?

Technology

• Paul DeJoe’s answer to Startups: What does it feel like to be the CEO of a start-up?
• Steve Case’s answer to 1995-2000 Dot-Com Bubble: What factors led to the bursting of the Internet bubble of the late 1990s?
• Kevin Systrom’s answer to Instagram: What is the genesis of Instagram?
• David Cole’s answer to Video Games: Am I missing out by not playing any video or console games?
• Ramzi Amri’s answer to Steve Jobs: Why did Steve Jobs choose not to effectively treat his cancer?
• Tim Smith’s answer to Steve Jobs: What are the best stories about people randomly meeting Steve Jobs?
• Peter Clark’s answer to Silicon Valley Company Culture: Which of the Hogwarts Houses does each of the Gang of Four companies correspond to?

Women

• Anne K. Halsall’s answer to Physical Appearance: What does it feel like to be an unattractive woman?
• Gayle Laakmann McDowell’s answer to Pick-Up Artists: Why are women so negative about the “picking up women” school of thought?
• Shannon Larson’s answer to Attractiveness and Attractive People: As a young woman, how can I shake the feeling that being good-looking is the primary thing that males will acknowledge and praise my existence for?
• Rebekah Cox’s answer to Women in Technology: What is it like to be a woman working in the tech industry?
• Nora Mullaney’s answer to Women in Technology: What advice would seasoned women in tech give to younger girls deciding to make a tech career for themselves?

The United States

• Ashton Lee’s answer to 9/11: What did it feel like to be inside the World Trade Center at the time of the 9/11 attacks?
• Marq Hwang’s answer to Asian Americans: What does it mean to be Asian American?
• Matt Schiavenza’s answer to New York City: Why is NYC so great?
• Max Cohen’s answer to Travel and Visiting in New York City: What are good tips for hailing a taxi in Manhattan?
• Laszlo B. Tamas’s answer to Lincoln Assassination: How likely would Abraham Lincoln be to survive his wounds today?
• Chris O’Regan’s answer to RMS Titanic (ship): How could the sinking of the Titanic have been prevented?
• Anon User’s answer to Hipsters: What do hipsters know that I don’t know?
• Ben Newman’s answer to Burning Man: What facts about Burning Man do virgin burners not believe until they go?
• Gary Teal’s answer to American Culture: Why does the USA insist on doing things differently than the majority of other developed nations?

Work Advice

• Ambra Nykol Benjamin’s answer to Recruiting: What do recruiters look for in a resume at first glance?
• Ian McAllister’s answer to Product Management: What distinguishes the top 1% of product managers from the top 10%?
• Kah Keng Tay’s answer to Productivity: How can you increase your productivity on side projects at the end of the day when you’re tired from work/college?
• Michael O. Church’s answer to Management: How do you fire an employee that just isn’t good enough?
• Michael Wolfe’s answer to Business: What are telltale signs that you’re working at a “sinking ship” company?
• Edmond Lau’s answer to Career Advice: How do you know when it’s time to leave your current company and move on?

Personal Experience

• Faisal Abid’s answer to Trains (transportation service): What is it like to be in a train crash?
• Flemming Funch’s answer to Scientology: What is it like to leave the Church of Scientology?
• Anon User’s answer to Kidnapping and Ransom: What is it like to be kidnapped?
• Dan Holliday’s answer to Drug Addiction: What does it feel like to be addicted to drugs?
• Karen Opas’s answer to Alcoholism: What is it like to be an alcoholic?
• Alex K. Chen’s answer to Asperger Syndrome: What does it feel like to have Asperger’s Syndrome?
• Laura Copeland’s answer to Asperger Syndrome: What is it like to be in a relationship with someone who has Asperger’s?
• John Clover’s answer to Family and Families: What does it feel like to have your sibling die?
• John H. Hillman, V’s answer to Wealthy People and Families: What’s it like to come from a billion-dollar family?
• Anon User’s answer to Intelligence: What does it feel like to be stupid?
• Anon User’s answer to What Does It Feel Like to X?: What does it feel like to be both very physically beautiful and very academically intelligent?
• Anon User’s answer to Attraction (interpersonal): What does it feel like to be unattractive and desired by none?
• Anon User’s answer to Sex: What’s it like to pay for sex on a regular basis?
• Anon User’s answer to Weddings: What does it feel like to cancel your wedding?
• Drew Young Shin’s answer to Heroism: What is the most heroic thing you have ever done?